Part 2: Stark Knowledge
Location: Tony Stark's Private Lab, Lower Levels Time: Minutes Later
Tony looked up from his desk as the door opened. Holographic blueprints flickered around him, mid-project.
"Well, if it isn't the quiet storm himself."
Riven stepped inside, arms folded. "I need to know something."
Tony leaned back slightly, expression sharpening. "Okay. Hit me."
Riven's voice was steady. "What happened to Hydra. All of them."
Tony studied him for a long second, then stood, waving away the floating screens.
"After the big data dump? A lot of their fronts collapsed. Leaders exposed. Some went underground. Some... didn't make it that far."
"But not all."
Tony nodded grimly. "No. Not all. Hydra's like a virus. You cut off a head, two more find a way to crawl out of a hole somewhere."
Riven's jaw tensed. "Where are they now. The ones still operating."
"Some intel leads trickle in. Russia. South Asia. Eastern Europe. We monitor, track when we can. But we don't have eyes everywhere."
Riven looked down briefly, then back up. "I want to help."
Tony tilted his head. "Help, or... hunt?"
Riven didn't blink. "Does it matter?"
For a moment, silence stretched between them.
Then Tony sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I'll pull what files I can. You want targets, I can give you ghosts. Just don't start a war solo."
Riven turned to leave, but paused in the doorway.
"They're still out there," he said softly. "Doing it to someone else."
Tony didn't argue.
Because he knew it was true.