#furyslefteye

[nataromanovas-blog]

Second Thoughts and Second Chances (Maria & Natasha) | 15 October 2016

@furyslefteye

Natasha Romanoff did not often request a private, off-the-record meeting with Maria Hill, whether to share clandestine information or as a girl’s night out. Whenever they did meet outside of SHIELD property, however, they tended to favor the seedier sorts of places, where no one but the occasional unlucky man would bother them. It was to such an establishment that Natasha had invited Maria today. Things were getting hotter, more nervewracking, with the SRA. Arrests and prosecution would begin in two days, for those who hadn’t already been arrested, and everyone, for or against the SRA, was feeling the pressure.

For her part, Natasha was feeling two kinds of pressure -- on one hand, from the government, to implement the law that she had openly approved through her own registration. On the other hand, from her own conscience, to mitigate its worst effects (and maybe, Natasha thought, all its effects).

More and more lately, she felt the consequences of her choices closing in on her like a vice. Like a spider’s web, trapping her more thoroughly the more she struggled. Was there a way out of this mess? A few months ago, Natasha would have said certainly; of course there was a way out. She could wriggle her way free of anything.

Now, she wasn’t so sure, and Maria had to feel it too. And Natasha had heard the rumors -- more news than rumors, really -- of a secret prison in the open ocean, a technological marvel (horror), and of the woman behind its creation: Maria Hill.

“Thanks for coming,” she said, looking at her glass -- whiskey, neat; she wasn’t so predictably Russian to drink vodka all the time, and this bar would undoubtedly have something cheap and second rate. She ran her finger around the rim as if she was lost in thought, rather than focusing intently on the woman next to her. “I was worried you’d be too busy.” She flicked her eyes up to meet Maria’s gaze. “How are you?”

[dr-betty-ross]

Why? || Maria & Betty

Betty fluffed up her coat, glancing back and forth as she crossed the street. Things had been done, her hand had been forced, now time to face those responsible. She gritted her teeth, trying to hold back the other from going in and just killing. After all, they were supposed to be allies. They were supposed to protect each other and do what the Avengers couldn’t. But, loyalty this day was just filled with fairy tales. Now she had been branded. She had been marked so that when anyone looked at her files they knew the secret she hid. They would fear her without getting to know her.

The only good thing is she could slightly understand Bruce better now.

She slipped inside the building, keeping her head low and her hood up. The other wouldn’t have left here. Not after spending so much time vetting it. Well, that and she was probably figuring out how controlling the General was. Always had to know what all his little pieces were doing. Always had to know where they were. Less chance of betrayal he said, that one night she had been invited in to sit on the big “meeting” with him and Stark. He was right, in a way, but even the most watched person could stab everyone else in the back.

How many other names had Maria given up? How many were given the choice between family or jail? How was she even sleeping at night? Betty could feel her gut twist at government officials in their shiny offices knowing that she could be used. That she was just no longer an object for their lust, but for their bloodlust as well. She scratched lightly at her arm before pausing in front of a door. After this was gotten off her chest she could go into hiding. Try to find a way to reverse what Maria had done. Her hand raised, pausing for only a moment before she knocked.

[justatrainingexercise]

DC Shakedown // Maria & Jim

Jim took the first commercial flight out of New York to DC the morning after receiving Maria’s emails. He had barely left the terminal before he had his phone to his ear to call Maria.

“Hill. I just touched down at Dulles International. I’ll buy you lunch if you wanna tell me what the hell you and Ross did.”

[rescuepottsceo-blog]

Losing my mind, but found my purpose. [Pepper & Maria]

It seemed like no time passed between one mission and another for Pepper. As much as she was tired and sick of having to deal with these problems, a small part of her relished the moments that she had in the suit. It really had become an extension of her own body when she wore it. 

The missions had become routine in a way. Pepper could practically schedule around them. On today’s schedule was some sort of unknown, possible HYDRA threat. Pepper flew to the rendezvous point, and landed softly next to her partner for the mission. 

“What’s the situation, Maria?”

[hankphilipmccoy]

FROM: “Hank McCoy” <henrypmccoy@xavierinstitute.edu> TO: “Maria Hill” <hillmaria02@gmail.com>

Subject: CONFIDENTIAL - OPEN ALONE

Maria,

I am sure you saw in the news that mutants are currently a target for the media once again. I have already informed Ms. Stacy, but I would suggest that for the time being you do not use your powers, publicly or privately. This is precautionary, but I believe something may be happening. The last thing I want is for my experiments to be another platform for the hate of the world. This is about your safety as much as anyone else.

In the meantime, I am about to go to a press conference with Janet Pym. If you are available, you are welcome to tune in.

Sincerely,

Hank McCoy Xavier Institute Department of Mutant Affairs

~ ”When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” ~

[3c-ifyouneedacupofsugar-blog]

All Alone in the Moonlight (Angie & Maria) 21 April 2016

Angie from one tired foot to the other as she waited for the bus.  Another day, another audition.  She really had to get some better shoes.  The ones she’d been wearing or the last year were getting worn, making her feel worn in turn.  But there was no bench at this particular stop, obliging her to lean against the buzzing street light while she flipped tiles...2..2...4...32...32...128...She let out a long, vocal yawn and looked back up to see if the bus had come yet.  It felt like the evening was moving in slow motion around her, leaving her with a distinct antsy feeling, like she had to be somewhere or do something.  Well, there was getting home and going to bed.  But Angie knew without trying that if she tried to sleep tonight she wouldn’t be able.  

Someone caught her eye across the street.  A figure walking alone.  There were plenty of people around, naturally; this was the theatre district of New York City.  But the woman wasn’t walking with anyone in particular, and something about that made Angie oh so interested in her.  She leaned forward to get a better look, then abandoned her lamp post and took a few steps towards the curb.  The woman was walking quickly.  Clearly the kind of person who always had something to do.  Angie looked both ways before running across the street in a hurry.  She felt a rip in her skirt as she did, but paid it no mind.  Angie could place the woman now.  The scent was a powerful one; like guns and government papers and a very particular kind of body wash.  She was one of Peggy’s former co workers.  From before that now-famous trial that they’d all gone through.  

Having recognized the woman, she began to trot more quickly after her.  “Hey--hey--hey--youuuuuuuuuuuu!” she called after her.  The words felt funny on her tongue, and didn’t seem to come out right.  She stood up taller and called again, louder, “hey YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU!”  Angie settled back down, and sniffed again.  Why had she thought of body wash earlier?  Now, the woman just smelled delicious.  She licked her jowls and began to creep slowly towards the juicy smelling woman.  She probably worked out.  She probably had nice meat Angie could really sink her teeth into. 

[fromthedeskofvpotts]

A Cocktail and a Lobotomy | Pepper & Maria (4 April 2016)

“Okay, I know you don’t do birthdays,” Pepper had said immediately after Maria opened the door to her apartment. “But consider this a personal favor to me.”

Then, she had showed Maria the bottle of Chardonnay wine she’d brought.

Good God, she hadn’t had anything to drink since December.

And it had been a long day. A long week. A long month. A long year, honestly, and the thing that had carried Pepper out of bed this morning (besides her work compulsion and undying sense of responsibility, of course) had been the hope to go out for a drink with Maria, to celebrate her birthday. Silly hope, sure, and Pepper should have known better. Maria had been just as dismissive of her own birthday today as she’d been last year when Pepper had approached her with the same offer. And like last year, Pepper intended to let it go.

But then Happy had asked her out.

And then suddenly her entire life seemed way too complicated, to the point where drinking on a Monday night was not only acceptable, but absolutely imperative.

(She could deal with a lot, business-wise, but if you threw in personal life curve balls, that was it. She needed a drink, or nine.)

Fortunately, she was very good at self-control, and the like. She was still telling that to herself a while later, as she poured the last of the wine bottle into her glass.

“No offense, and please don’t tell that to anyone who might take it personally, as in, Iron Man,” she said, placing the empty bottle back on the coffee table. Pepper was sitting on the floor right by it. “But if I could delete all men in the planet for like. What? Four to six hours, I think. That would be enough to give me the peace of mind to solve every single problem that I have.”

She sipped from her glass.

“Some of them should stay deleted permanently, though, obviously. Like, your Hydra ex –” She paused, widening her eyes. “—which, which, of course, is a bad topic, sorry.”

[the-other-ant-guy-blog]

“Close your eyes, what you’re seeing is not real, you have to listen to my voice, alright?”

He should have known better than to get involved, but he couldn’t help it. Scott had been walking along and seen a woman in what looked like danger: back to a wall in an alley with some guy looming over her and muttering. If he had been paying closer attention, he might have noticed that she didn’t look scared. Serious, really. Focused.But all he had seen was the body language and his body had gone into autopilot and the next thing he had known, he was rushing towards them. He didn’t have his suit on him. Hell, he didn’t even have one of those flashy disk things that Hank had been tinkering with. All he had was his keys, his wallet, and the clothes on his back. He had been walking to Cassie’s school to see her perform in the school talent show, some terrible drum solo she had been working on. He wasn’t exactly prepared to play vigilante.

Getting involved was probably the dumbest thing he had ever done, really.

Scott had rushed forward, voice barking out at the man. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing-”

And then he had gotten punched in the face with enough force to knock him back into the nearby alley wall with a decisive grunt. Okay. Really stupid move. Then came the pinch in his neck and he slumped forward, trying to stay on his legs despite their sudden rebellion.

“Ward, what the hell are you doing?!”

“We can’t risk him remembering anything about seeing us. It’s too dangerous. We don’t know who is out there.”

“Ward, he’s just some guy...hey. Wait. Doesn’t he look familiar to you?”

Scott was gripping the wall with his open palm, trying to brace himself as his knees kept threatening to give way. “What...what the...whadju do to me?”

He felt hands on his arms and he wanted to bat them away but he could barely focus enough to keep himself up. “You’re Scott Lang, aren’t you? The guy who trashed that millionaire’s place and stole the Ant-Man suit.”

“Alleg...alleje...”

“Right, allegedly stole the Ant-Man suit.”

Scott tried to look at the woman’s face but his vision was starting to shift and spin. She looked...purple? No, indigo. Now electric blue. Now a green blur. God, what the hell had they done to him?

“Scott, I need you to close your eyes, okay? I promise you’re going to be okay.”

“Hill, just leave him. We need to get out of here.”

“I’m not leaving some innocent civilian drugged in an alley, Ward. You should have thought about that before you dosed him.”

“Whadju...whadju do...” Scott leaned his head against the wall, and then his eyes went wide. “Cas...I need to...Cassie’s talent show...”

He could have sworn there was surprise on the woman’s face (or at least the blurred swirly mass where her face was supposed to be). If he had been more coherent, he probably would have realized how weird it was to be worrying about his daughter’s drum solo while he was drugged in the alley with two sketchy people. His priorities had always been a bit odd.

“Scott, close your eyes. What you’re seeing is not real.”

No, he needed to get up. Cassie was waiting. But god, his legs were feeling so tired. Hell, his everything felt tired.

“You have to listen to my voice, alright?”

It sounded nice, if not a bit distorted. Oh no. He knew this feeling. He was going to pass out soon from whatever had been in that pinch.

“I promise, you’re going to be okay.”

The world went black.

[mr-save-the-day]

Deception | Grant & Maria

“Grant Ward. Level 7 Agent, vetted. You were recently promoted, were you not?”

“I was sir. When I joined Phil Coulson's team.”

“Good, good...so that means you have access to the offices of all the upper level agents. We've been tracking your movements, and you've been making a lot of curious stops. You may have the clearance to be up here, but your business is supposed to be with this special team. How do you explain yourself?”

“A girl on my team, Skye, level 1, stumbled upon a group of people discussing Project Insight. She started asking questions, I was asked to cover her tracks. I was only doing what was best for us.”

“I see...is this why you were going to see Agent Hill yesterday?”

“Yes sir. Skye went to Maria and she began conducting an investigation. It's been going on for a little over a week now – if she's not stopped, she'll find out everything.”

“Do you think you can distract her?”

“Mystique seems to be doing a pretty good job of that. But I can try. Our missions have been dry lately, we're coming back to HQ a lot. If you want, I'll make sure she doesn't get anywhere.”

“I like you, Agent Ward. Keep this up, and you'll find a high place among our ranks when the time comes.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Hail Hydra.”

“Hail Hydra.”

– –

Well, thanks to being pulled away on a mission and then getting sick didn't give him much time to break more ground with Maria. He tried checking in on her and he wanted to invite her out to dinner a few times but she always refused. She opened up to him in that weird way where she's still closed off, but that wasn't good enough. She was so close to cracking Hydra and she didn't even know it. He needed her out of Shield, out of her office and somewhere he could watch her.

Grant needed Maria to need him.

From what he understood, she trusted Coulson and Skye. She talked with them regularly, and not all of it was strictly business. He wanted to be on their level of communication with her. He wasn't the person she talked to when she was in a good mood, or really any mood. But he consitently texted her once a week asking how she was doing. Sometimes she'd respond, most times she didn't. Sometimes the messages didn't even send when they were up in the air. For about a month he considered giving up and just trying to plant evidence in her office like he was doing for everyone else. But after he saw her so broken...he had to do more. Besides, he made a promise to Pierce. He had to ensure that she wouldn't be able to come back, even if Shield survived the complete break down. Grant wanted to incriminate her so badly that even the Avengers wouldn't take her in.

He had never seen her so afraid than when Mystique was there. Maria was always such a strong, stoic woman. Grant honestly tried to find the mutant, hunt her down, but it wasn't easy to find a shapshifter. Especially one that was a wanted criminal who did not want to be found. And he ended up at a dead end not long after he began his search. But really, he didn't need the actual Mystique. Just someone who could morph something – the eyes maybe, to get Maria to panic.

Grant did find someone off the mutant database. He was a shapeshifter that was documented when Shield did all their testing on mutants. He happily agreed to make a house call to one of the directors, albeit the assistant director.

I don't claim to know everything about Maria Hill, but I do know this: if you are persistent, she will be cautious. Pound on the door. Before she opens the door and after she closes the door again; just don't stop until one of the neighbors comes out to complain. She will have a gun, so be careful. Get her to open the door more than just a crack – I don't think she'll hurt you in her building. I could be wrong, so don't quote me. If she looks up at you, make your eyes flash yellow. If she keeps her head down, turn your hands blue. She will not be outwardly afraid, I can say that for certain. All these parts are important. This is my last chance to get her off Hydra's scent.

A week later he got a notification saying his mutant acquaintance was heading to her location. He smiled and immediately deleted the text.

Grant had some paperwork to catch up on, and he kept his phone sitting right next to him. For the next hour or so it was complete silence. He got work done for his actual job for once. Just as he was initialing one of the pages, his phone started buzzing wildly. The 'secure line' memo popped up.

Finally.

[dakotanorthinvestigations]

Ringtones Make the Heart Grow Fonder | Drabble (Part Two)

Link to Part One

6. Betty Ross: "Weird Science" by Oingo Boingo

As Dakota's knowledge of Betty Ross mostly consisted of 1) she apparently had some sort of connection to Bruce Banner and 2) she was a SHIELD scientist, her ringtone choice was fairly on the nose.

Plus, it was a catchy song from the 80s. Everyone needed catchy songs from the 80s.

"From my heart and from my hand, Why don't people understand My intentions? (Weird science) Plastic tubes and pots and pans Bits and pieces and Magic from the hand We're making (Weird science) Things I've never seen before Behind bolted doors Talent and imagination"

7. Thor: "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC

It took Dakota far longer than she cared to admit to pick Thor's ringtone, even given the obvious nature of it. She had toyed with the idea of various songs that mentioned blondes and even a few that talked about gods, but none had fit quite right. Having not yet met Thor, she didn't know much about him other than the man had a hammer that allowed him to wield lightning and that he was ridiculously attractive.

"Sculpted by other gods" levels of attractive.

That being said, her second choice for him was "Dude Looks Like A Lady" because goodlord, the man's hair was like a living Pantene commercial.

"Thunder, thunder, thunder, thunder I was caught In the middle of a railroad track I looked round And I knew there was no turning back My mind raced And I thought what could I do And I knew There was no help, no help from you Sound of the drums Beating in my heart The thunder of guns Tore me apart You've been Thunderstruck"

8. Phil Coulson: "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top / "The Light Before We Land" by The Delgados

The Delgados song had been originally selected for the sounds of orchestras. Having passed Coulson's office several times, Dakota had heard the sounds of cellos and whatnot playing from beyond the door. But the more she learned about Coulson (such as the fact that he had supposedly been dead, which was a bit of a weird one to wrap her head around), the song seemed to fit him more and more.

It had become terribly depressing though, and given the nature of the rest of her ringtones, she was forced to switch it to "Sharp Dressed Man." Every so often, though, she'll listen to the song whenever she needs to gain an appreciation for the guy.

The Light Before We Land

"In cases such as these I'd like a hand Don't wake me up without a master plan With black & white instead of colour Don't you understand? When things that once were beautiful Are bland And when I feel like I can feel once again Let me stay awhile Soak it in awhile If we can hold on we can fix what is wrong Buy a little time For this head of me Haven for us In truth there is no better place to be Than falling out of darkness still to see Without a premonition Could you tell me where we stand? I'd hate to lose this light Before we land"

Sharp Dressed Man

"Clean shirt, new shoes And I don't know where I am goin' to. Silk suit, black tie, I don't need a reason why. They come runnin' just as fast as they can 'Cause every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man."

9. Natasha Romanoff: "Kill of the Night" by Gin Wigmore

Natasha was one of the most badass women Dakota had ever met. While Dakota had held it together when faced with the master assassin, the one meeting had resulted in the investigator deliberately checking over her shoulder at least every minute for nearly a week.

She was entirely convinced that, if at any moment Natasha decided she was a threat, there were about thirty different ways she might try to kill her. And, while Dakota was no newbie to assassination attempts, she really did not want to try taking on one of SHIELD's pride and joys.

That being said, it was nice to meet another badass.

Her second choice was "Redhead Walking" by REM, for...well, obvious reasons.

"The street's a liar I'm gonna lure you into the dark My cold desire To hear the boom, boom, boom of your heart The danger is I'm dangerous And I might just tear you apart Oh, ah, oh I'm gonna catch ya I'm gonna get ya, get ya Oh, ah, oh I wanna taste the way that you bleed, oh You're my kill of the night"

10. Maria Hill: "Beast" by Nico Vega

Dakota had only met Maria Hill once. It had been briefly and in passing while Coulson showed her around SHIELD. Upon introduction, Maria had given a small nod of recognition and turned her attention back to Coulson. That brief moment of eye contact had left Dakota feeling more intimidated than her multiple talks with Fury ever had.

If Steve Rogers was the "good ol' American boy," Maria Hill was the current "we'll stomp you with a smile" American.

Dakota swore this played in the background.

"Stand tall for the beast of America. Lay down like a naked dead body, keep it real for the people workin' overtime, they can't stay living off the government's dime. Stand tall for the people of America. Stand tall for the man next door, we are free in the land of America, we ain't goin' down like this."

[fromthedeskofvpotts]

Trials and Tribulations | One-Shot (Sept. 29, 2015)

Pepper didn’t have any problems with public speaking. She was very apt as a debater, the result of a naturally argumentative personality combined with early training starting in her high school years, cemented by a strong business career.

This, however, wasn’t a debate. She had been warned as much, urged to not say more than what was strictly necessary in order to answer the questions. It was a very lawyer-y advice, she supposed, “don’t compromise yourself,” and objectively, she had to acknowledge the necessity of this sort of attitude. She resented the implication that there was anything she could say that could be used against Maria, but protecting her friend’s interests was too important to her, so she was determined not to let her emotions interfere with her judgment. She’d done some yoga first thing in the morning, then she took Socrates for a quick walk around the block, and refused Tony’s very insistent invitation for a ride, because she didn’t want to allow his usual rapid-fire questions to pull her out of her de-stressed zone.

She was a little out of her de-stressed zone by the time she took the stand, but just a little.

She glanced at Maria as she sat down, but then forced herself to focus exclusively on her lawyer, mentally blocking out the audience in the room.

“Ms. Potts, what is your relationship to Maria Hill?”

Easy one.

“We have been friends for a few years.”

“For how long have you known each other, exactly?”

“Maria and I met directly after the incident in 2012.”

“What incident, Ms. Potts? Would you care to be more specific?”

Pepper was at a loss for a moment, she thought she’d been clear, but then it hit her that she’d just called it the “incident.” She had gotten used to referring to it as just that, for Tony’s benefit.

“Of course,” she continued. “The Chitauri Battle in New York.”

Her eyes automatically darted to Tony, who was sitting in the audience, but her attention didn’t stay on him long enough for any significant glances to be exchanged.

Block the room, Pepper.

“And during the time you’ve known her, has Commander Hill ever given you reasons to question her character?”

“No, she has not.”

“Even considering her professional involvement in an intelligence organization?”

Pepper cracked one knuckle. One.

“It was always clear to me that Maria’s job entailed secret-keeping,” she said levelly. “I know her enough to take her discretion as a sign of professional integrity, not as a stain on character.”

“What do you say of the accusation that Commander Hill’s professional integrity might be a result of her loyalty to Hydra?”

“I say that Maria’s professionalism categorically precludes loyalty to Hydra, given the oath she swore to protect the country against organizations of this type.”

“Ms. Potts, you have been the CEO of Stark Industries since May of 2010, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“During the time you’ve known Commander Hill, would you say she has ever behaved so as to suggest she might be interested in influencing your professional decisions?”

“No, she has not. I prefer to keep my personal and professional lives separate.”

Some snickering from the crowd.

Damn it. Please don’t bring up –

“I understand that to this day you share strong personal and professional ties with Anthony Stark. Is that correct?”

She smiled.

Damn it.

“Yes, that is correct.”

Inhale, exhale for three seconds, don’t get worked up over the buzzing of the crowd…

“Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man, is a prominent Avenger. Ms. Potts, has it ever seemed to you that Commander Hill might be taking advantage of your connections in order to exert SHIELD or Hydra influence upon the Avengers?”

“No, it has never seemed that way.”

“And you are quite certain of your testimony?”

“Sir, quite frankly,” she cracked another knuckle. “Anyone who might have tried to take advantage of my connection to the Avengers or my position at Stark Industries would have willingly turned themselves in to the authorities in exchange for protection.”

“Protection against what?”

She tilted her head and smiled.

“Protection against me, sir.”

The lawyer blinked at her. She heard Tony’s distinctly entertained, “Oh, shit,” above the sounds of the cameras.

“Thank you, Ms. Potts,” the lawyer continued. “That would be all.”

[when-wasps-fly]

String Puppet | Maria & Janet

Again, Janet found herself called in to SHIELD by Director Hill.  She had to admit, when she’d first heard that the government was funding the Avengers now and calling the shots, she’d been more than skeptical of how things were going to change.  And there were some differences she didn’t like, for sure.  Generally, though, things were bigger and more fun, and the collaborative projects were just that much more collaborative.  And that didn’t even begin to touch on all the cool secret things she got to deal with now.  Her last mission—and she assumed that this was about another mission she was to help with—had been cutting edge information on the extremis before it even hit the news.  Maybe this would be something similar, a mission about something she had yet to even hear on television. 

Last time, she had been told to come out rather immediately, and she’d come in full suit.  Rather, this time she dressed in her regular clothing with the outer elements of her costume wrapped up and stuffed in her large purse in case she needed it.  Flying would have been faster than public transit, but the subway was going to be her friend today.  Size change, while it could do a lot of things, was really bad about keeping her makeup in order.  The little grains would too often get muddled and confused and she’d end up looking like a raccoon or a clown.

Today, especially, she needed it to stay as perfect as it could be, heavy as it was.  A thick, beige smear covered the left side of her face.  It was too sore to properly rub in, but the layers of dark eyeliner and fake eye lashes at least disguised the puffiness.  That and her eyebrows had been drawn a little darker to frame it, make the angles of her face more pronounced, and the whole effort covered further with a  pair of fashion glasses.  If she transformed, forget raccoon, she’d look like a grey-faced zombie.  Why she had to push her friend’s buttons on a day he was already in a bad mood, she had no idea.

Some half hour later, she found her way through to Director Hill’s office, which was naturally flocking full of SHIELD persons.  Busier than she’d usually seen a SHIELD room, but then again she’d never been up to the director’s offices, either. 

Director Hill, I’m here.  Does this shit storm have anything to do with why you called me in?  Or is it just a busy day? JVD

She looked around them and got a visual clear from the secretary to go into the inner office.  She knocked on the door, then eased it open.  "Director Hill?  Hi.  What's up?"