As soon as Maria caught sight of the purple sky through the window outside Hope's room at The Farm, she picked her laptop up off the floor and placed it on the table. She then pushed her Bluetooth into her ear, syncing it with her computer.
She called Controls at the new Avengers Tower in New York. She hadn't seen the place yet, but she knew that it was up and fully operational and occupied.
When she was connected, it was Tony who'd answered. "You know when you call this fast, I don't have anything to report yet, right?"
"I know that's not true."
"Okay, yeah. Through satellite imagery we can see that this thing is completely encompassing the planet. Looks like there's a beam hitting us from outer space, giving it power."
"I think it's some sort of magic," she could hear Banner saying in the background. When he spoke up again, Maria could tell that Tony had switched on the controls speakerphone system, because she could now hear him better. "The energy readings are pretty close to Loki's Scepter's."
"You're not thinking it's him, are you?"
"No idea," Tony answered the question that she had asked Bruce.
"Is it harmful?"
Tony answered, "It seems to be fine. It's high enough that it's not disrupting air-traffic. And communications to satellites are obviously still working."
"And there's no radiation or anything physically harmful that I'm reading here," Bruce interjected.
"Good," Maria sighed in relief. "Is it stable?"
"So far, no energy fluxes," Bruce assured her.
"What about Dr. Strange?" She wanted to know if they had contacted their magic expert yet.
"Nat's on the other line with him now," Tony said, where Maria nodded to herself as she heard a beep in her ear, indicating that there was an incoming call on her line.
"Hold on. Fury's calling," Maria recognised his number.
She quickly switched lines. "Hill," she reported in to Fury.
"Whatdaya got so far?"
"We suspect it's magic" – she got a text on her computer from Tony; quickly reading it, she then continued her sentence with the newly presented information – "with its origins in Asgard."
Maria typed a message back to him that read: 'Fly up to the barrier and shoot it with something small. Then report back.'
Fury grunted, "Is it that greasy haired punk again?"
"Don't know. According to Thor, Loki's dead again."
Tony texted back; 'You want to see if it can be breached? Copy that.'
"So he's definitely a suspect then?" Fury asked while Maria opened her email account.
"As of the moment, yes, sir," she answered, knowing that the god of mischief had a habit of not staying dead.
Typing a message to Dr. Erik Selvig, she simply asked, 'What do you make of this so far?' Then sent the email.
Maria heard another beep, noticing that it was now Natasha on the other line. "It's Romanoff," she said to Fury.
"Let her on," he instructed.
Maria opened the line before she asked her, "What did Strange say?"
"He said the magic is coming from The Octessence. Which takes a skill level that far surpasses Loki's. He said it's so strong that even he himself is magically incapacitated at the moment. Whatever or whoever is doing this is very powerful."
Tony then sent another text to her that read, 'Shot it multiple times. Even used a personalized missile on the thing. Didn't do anything.'
"Stark says it's indestructible to missiles. I can further test it and get base to hit it with a nuke," Maria said, silently asking for Fury's permission.
Suddenly an email popped up from Dr. Selvig, reading; 'Whatever it is, it appears to be coming from Asgard. They are disbursing the energy anomaly to all 9 planets of the 9 realms.'
Fury concluded, "Hold off on nukes for now. Let's—"
"Asgard's cut us all off," Maria interrupted him.
"Elaborate," Fury simply said.
"Selvig just reported that it's not just us. Asgard has sent this energy containment to all their protectorates."
Natasha theorised, "Maybe they're doing it for our safety?"
Fury asked, "Can we get in contact with Asgard? Or anyone outside of this planet, for that matter?"
"We sent a communication out to Thor, but no answer," Natasha said.
Fury griped, "Typical."
"And everyone else off-world is too far away at the moment," Natasha continued.
"How 'bout Foster?" Fury asked. "She's got a more reliable communications device to get in contact with the realms."
Maria, knowing who was off-world, said, "She's currently on Asgard. Congress of Worlds meeting."
Natasha asked, "You think this could be something to do with them?"
"Someone attacking Asgard when all the senators are present?" Maria thought over her suspicion. "Well, that would be a solid strategy if you're looking to take power over the realms."
Maria then quickly typed a message to Tony, telling him to stand down and return to base.
"Romanoff, I'll be there in twenty," Fury stated. "Hill. Stay in contact and stand by for further orders. There's no point in moving you when I don't know where you need to be yet."
"Yes sir. I'll keep my ear to the ground," Maria said before she heard the click of him hanging up.
"As soon as we know more, we'll let you know," Natasha said. "In the meantime. Try to pretend like it's still your day off."
"Tasha, the sky is purple," Maria stated bluntly.
"Well, what do you expect in our line of work?" she countered. "Talk to you soon," she said before hanging up, not even giving Maria the chance to say farewell.
Maria sighed, full well knowing that she wouldn't be able to relax until she knew what the hell was going on.
Three hours had passed when Maria, Hope, and Sharon had found themselves standing in the large field that was positioned behind the base's main building at The Farm. With Jason and Roz, as well as a few other curious agents, by the structure, about a tennis court's distance away from the three women. The two trainees also had a small pile of duffle bags beside them. Some personal and others full of weapons.
Maria was in her blue S.H.I.E.L.D. jumpsuit, Hope in her Wasp suit, and Sharon in a suit similar to Maria's but in white. All were looking up at the sky, waiting.
Suddenly the sunlight, which had been previously blinding them, was temporarily blocked as the shadow of a large pair of wings was cast over top of their heads.
Within seconds, a beautiful grey pegasus landed a little way in front of them with their rider. Maria wasted no time and stepped over to the new arrival.
Maria instantly noted the woman's beauty when she looked down to her from atop her mount. The woman smirked before hopping to the ground from off of her pegasus's back. She landed gracefully, yet not daintily. Like a warrior who moved with strength before agility.
The woman took a step towards Maria, as she very visibly raked her eyes over her body. "Commander Hill, I presume?" she asked when her eyes met with Maria's from their journey back up to her face.
"You presume correctly, Brunnhilde." Maria couldn't help but smirk at the gorgeously powerful valkyrie before her.
Valkyrie tilted her head to the side, biting the corner of her lip, before saying, "You look exactly how Thor described you."
Maria, enjoying the goddess's eyes of intrigue, coyly responding, "I can say he was pretty spot-on while describing you too."
"Spot-on?" The Asgardian seemed confused by the Earth Colloquialism.
"Accurate," Maria simplified her speech.
"Oh." Valkyrie held her gaze, staring into her eyes which went from exciting to slightly uncomfortable in its length and intensity. Maria broke contact first, knowing to keep it light. She was having fun not cheating. "Your people should be here shortly. They were only just behind me," she pointed up, over her shoulder with her thumb.
Maria nodded in understanding. The Avengers, along with a handful of combat S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, were currently en route to The Farm.
Valkyrie then reached behind her into her saddlebag and pulled out an item. Turning back to her, she handed it to Maria.
Maria took it, revealing it to be an envelope. It was close to a standard-sized stationary enclosure but it did not have its typical dimensions, since it was clearly of Asgard design. With its width stouter than Maria was used to seeing. It was also sealed with wax, a novelty that was so rare in Maria's life that she genuinely didn't know if that was the first time she'd seen a seal like that in person before. "Is this about the mission?" she asked, recognising Thor's moniker pressed into it, knowing that it was from him.
"No, but it still doesn't make it any less important." Once again she stared at Maria with her smouldering gaze. But Maria barely noticed it that time as her fingers felt something additional, laying on top of the thick piece of parchment that was enclosed inside the envelope. It was a small object where she was confident that she knew what it was; bringing a smile to her face and a warmth to her heart.
"So your home is overrun with enemies," Hope stepped right beside Maria, as she curtly stated. Her arms crossed, where Maria could feel her agitation radiating out from her.
Valkyrie looked over the newly presented woman, annoyance on her face like she didn't care for Hope's tone. "Ah, yes." She eyed her before turning her attention back to Maria. "Dark elves under the leadership of Malekith the Accursed, a rebel from Svartalfheim," she answered Hope's question while ignoring her. "He's aligned himself with a very powerful enchantress by the name of Amora, who hails from Asgard."
"What's their objective?" Maria asked.
"The crown. Specifically, Amora wants it. We believe they aim to take over all nine realms if they are successful in conquering Asgard."
Hope interjected herself back into the conversation with a flat, yet information seeking, tone, "You're enemies with the elves?"
"Dark elves," Valkyrie nearly grunted at her, obviously wanting her to stay out of the conversation. "And enemies isn't exactly the word I'd use. But we're definitely not friendly."
Maria was rather amused by their exchange but pushed on to the relevant topic at hand. She asked professionally, "How many strong are their forces?"
"About six hundred." She dropped her attitude as she looked back to Maria. "For perspective, the Einherjar" – who Maria knew to be Asgard's military – "are only two hundred. We are – however – better trained than the Älfeneel rebels, but—"
"Sometimes you just need more bodies in the field that are on your side," Maria interrupted her while nodding in understanding.
"Right. Hence why Thor sent me here once we discovered that I could breach Enchantress's magical barrier," she said proudly to Maria, lowering her chin so she could look up to her through hooded eyes.
"And how did you get through the barrier anyway?" Hope forcefully demanded.
This time Valkyrie didn't even look at Hope, she merely answered the question as if it were Maria who'd asked it, keeping her eyes on the woman of her interest. "With Undrjarn, my all-weapon. Magically created from the shards of the Ultimate Mjolnir. It proved itself when it transformed into a shield and allowed myself, along with Pegasus, passage through."
"Impressive," Maria smiled. Legitimately fascinated by her explanation. Any powerful weapon that made her job easier, easily got her stamp of approval.
Valkyrie bit her bottom lip, taking a step towards her as she drew her weapon, that was currently in the form of a flail. "You should see what else it can transform into," she practically purred.
"I'm assuming nothing that can get all of us to Asgard on the back of your horse," Hope said so sharply it was almost a bark.
Valkyrie narrowed her eyes at her, as she forced a smile while putting away the all-weapon. "My apologies, but who may you be?" Her words were polite, yet her undertone was anything but.
"The person who's going to solve your problem." Hope held her gaze, not intimidated in the least, where Maria couldn't help but smile at her. She was truly remarkable and she loved her just so damn much.
"This is Hope Van Dyne," Maria quickly introduced her, hoping to smooth over the situation by interjecting herself. "But when with the Avengers, she's better known as The Wasp."
Valkyrie's eyes widened as she gasped, "The Queen Slayer." She looked at Hope guiltily as she admitted, "I didn't realise." She then bowed her head, "It's an honour to meet you."
Suddenly Sharon stepped between Maria and Hope. "It's an honour to, what now?" she asked in a sour tone.
"To make the acquaintance of The Hope Wasp. The one who annihilated the entire brood race. A race that devastated nations for over a millennia." Valkyrie then asked her in confusion, "You must know of her great heroic deed, no?"
Sharon nonchalantly shrugged, "Meh. I may have overheard Thor mention it once." Maria caught Hope rolling her eyes towards her words, finding her reaction understandable. Sharon really was a brat.
Valkyrie suddenly seemed rather enthralled with Sharon as she unabashedly muttered, like she was talking to herself, yet had no care that she could be overheard, "Okay, you present like a thorn in the arse, and I'm kind of into it." She then spoke up, addressing Sharon, "Are you coming along with us?"
"Yeah." Sharon then gestured with her head towards Jason and Roz. "And maybe I'll drag my recruits along too."
Valkyrie merely glanced at the mentioned two before boldly proposing to Sharon, "Would you share a bed with me in celebration, if we find victory this day?"
Maria had to bite down a smile at the utter shock on Sharon's face. Hope, however, didn't find it as amusing as she gawked, "Wow, you move fast. You were only just advancing on Maria a moment ago."
"Yes," Valkyrie grinned like she was having way too much fun during this whole situation. Which Maria found interesting since her home was currently under siege. "But I didn't realise that you, her mate, were the Queen Slayer. I thought you were merely some ordinary human lover of hers."
Hope took a moment before she calmly asked, "I was that obvious?" She referred to Valkyrie's discernment of her relationship status with Maria.
"You wear your jealousy very openly. But – quite honestly – I respect that," she said as if she'd knocked others upside the head for advancing on her lovers before.
Hope still didn't seem won over by the woman as she asked in a judgemental tone, "So it's just a normal thing for you to knowingly hit on people in front of their significant others then?"
"Why wouldn't it be? It always ends in a victory for me. Either I'm successful and steal the mate away, or I get into a fun brawl with the jealous partner." She then smiled devilishly while looking off into the distance. "And then, on those really special occasions, it can even end in a three-way." She focused back onto Hope as she shrugged, "No matter how it goes, I'm guaranteed a highly enjoyable experience."
Okay," Sharon hesitantly asked, "and when you say 'three-way', do you mean in a fight, or in bed?"
Valkyrie flashed her a mischievous smile before simply saying, "Yes." Maria chuckled at the exchange. Specifically at Sharon's face of discomfort. Unfortunately, her outburst landed her a piercing glare from Hope, who seemed to have thought that Maria was reacting that way because she was intrigued by the notion of sharing their bed with another woman.
The glare didn't last long for that it was interrupted by one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Hoverfliers entering into their airspace. The aircraft which was about the same size as a regional jet, started its descent, right in front of them.
Within a minute a door at the side of the craft opened into a ramp, where Steve in his Captain America uniform, exited the flier and walked right over to them. "Greetings, ladies," he bowed his head with a warm smile.
"Greetings, singular man," Sharon mocked his entrance, as she presented him with the Vulcan salute.
Steve gave her a funny but endearing look which resulted in Sharon grinning at him. Maria couldn't help but shake her head at them and their endearing dynamic. Her and Natasha had a bet going as to when they'd finally get together. For months now Natasha had been trying to set Steve up with as many girls as possible, trying to make him realise that none of them came close to Sharon. Whereas, Maria had been stepping back, just allowing them to figure it out on their own.
Steve then focused on Maria, asking, "Are we ready to move out?"
She turned to Hope, where she nodded at her C.O., communicating that she was prepared. Maria then looked back to Steve as she instructed, "Yeah, let's move."
Sharon waved Jason and Roz over where they were tasked to bear the bags. They then all, minus Valkyrie and Hope, boarded the flier.
The door remained open where Maria kept her eye on Hope, signalling to her with a head nod.
Hope then lifted her arm, making Maria gulp. This was going to be a first for her. And, if she were being honest with herself, she was trying to avoid this experience ever since she had met Hope.
Suddenly, Hope's stinger went hot and Maria found herself face on with a bunch of large blades of grass right in front of her in the doorway. Looking up, she could still partially see Hope, now a giant to her, as she said something to Valkyrie. Not that Maria could make it out. But soon enough Hope had shrunk down not bothering to put up her helmet and flew over to Maria, landing right beside her in the ramped doorway.
"Hope, this isn't normal," Maria flatly said as her gaze was fixed on the lawn before her. Her eyes darting about to make sure there weren't any creepy, giant bugs around.
"You'll be just fine, Commander," Hope said with way too much amusement in her voice.
Maria grunted towards her comment as they both went to the other side of the threshold before Maria closed the door with everyone soundly inside. Shortly, they were being jostled about as Valkyrie fastened the hovercraft to a magnet that was mounted on the pommel of her saddle. The irony that they were all essentially riding up near the woman's crotch wasn't lost on Maria, finding the situation hilarious.
Soon, they were up in the air riding on Pegasus's back, and breaching the magical barrier in the mesosphere under the protection of the all-weapon. Once they reached space and the stars started blurring past them as Pegasus jolted towards Asgard, their ride became smooth.
The hoverflier was at about a thirds capacity with agents and Avengers. There were three sections of seating that ran from the front to the back of the craft, set up in train car arrangement with bench seats facing each other.
Maria ended up sticking around at the front of the craft chatting with Steve and Natasha. Hope spotted Scott in his Ant-Man suit, helmet and gloves off like Hope currently was, wandering towards her. Hope started in her partner's direction, independently of the rest of The Farm team who were moving to another aisle.
"Fancy seeing you here," Hope smiled at Scott as they met in the aisle.
"They say space is big, yet, here we are, bumping into each other in the middle of it like this," Scott flashed her a lopsided smile.
Hope chuckled, shaking her head at his goofy greeting before she asked, "Where are you sitting?"
"Right here with you." He grabbed her hand pulling her onto the closest bench to them, which faced the front of the ship, and was next to the window (not in the centre row of seats). She slightly winced due to the pain in her ribs. But the sensation was gone almost as fast as it had appeared. With Scott not even taking notice of her reaction. It was obvious that he hadn't been sitting there prior, making Hope's smile grow. Loving that he wanted to give her his undivided attention. "So." He shifted in his seat to face her. "How've things been? You an agent yet?
"You know I'm not," she shook her head, still holding her smile.
"Well, they could've made you one early for just being so damn good."
"Your perception of my abilities are very inflated," she said in both honesty and flattery. She understood that she still had a long way to go as an agent but loved that Scott thought her so worthy.
"No way," he rebutted, "They're perfectly accurate."
She laughed before asking, "How are you? How's Cassie and everyone?"
"Cassie's just as good as she was Monday when you guys talked on the phone."
"Did she win her soccer game?" she's asked, which Cassie had mentioned to her on their call, between picking her brain about being the Wasp, that is. The girl was starting to take it very seriously that the mantle was going to her next.
"No, but she did score a goal."
"Nice." She made a mental note to congratulate her later. "That probably felt like a win to her anyway."
"Oh, it did," he vigorously agreed. "She was singing about it in the car after the game."
Hope eyed him, knowing better. "Did you initiate the singing?"
"I'll have you know that I did not," he said proudly. "Paxton did."
"Where you joined in," she stated, not letting him off the hook.
He flashed her an impish grin while nodding his head in admission. "Maggie threatened to turn the hose on us when we got home 'cause the three of us wouldn't stop." He admitted, "We bolted into the house so fast when she pulled into the driveway. I think we were inside before she even cut the engine."
Hope sighed happily towards their silly antics before she asked, "And how are Maggie and Paxton?"
"They called off their wedding," he said plainly.
"They what?" Hope asked in confusion. "Are they still— I mean, are you guys—"
"No, no. It's all good," he assured her. "It's just, they didn't exactly feel comfortable being engaged to each other, since, well, me."
"They wanted to be equally committed to you."
"Yeah, and since we can't all get married—"
"They're not getting married," she nodded in understanding. "That's so sweet of them. And also, kinda really sad how the law discriminates against your relationship."
"As long as we're together, that's the important thing," he said like he genuinely believed it. He was always good at looking past the negative to focus on the positive. Something Hope wished that she was better at doing herself.
Suddenly, Maria slipped into their seat block, sitting down on the bench opposite them that faced the back of the craft. She didn't acknowledge them, instead she had her eyes glued onto the tablet screen that she had in hand.
Both Hope and Scott studied her for a bit before he leaned in closer to his partner, talking underneath his breath, "Does she know we're here? Can she hear us when she's looking at that thing?"
They kept their eyes on her unchanged expression as Hope responded in a similar volume, "To be honest, I've yet to figure that one out. I've been theorising it's like a buffer situation. The accumulated sounds from her surroundings enter into her brain all at once when she puts down the screen."
Maria remained fully engaged in whatever it was on her tablet. "Her face didn't even flinch," Scott muttered, "Maybe she's been the T-1000 all along."
Hope finally peeled her eyes off of Maria to look at Scott before asking for clarification, "Terminator, right?"
"Yeah." He then turned to look at Hope. "And this entire time she's been trying to throw off her scent by pinning the whole robot identity onto you." He then brought his attention back onto Maria, where Hope followed suit. "Now I get why she's Fury's top agent. She's good. Real good."
"Any luck?" Natasha came over, flopping her arms over the back of the bench seat that Maria was sitting on.
Not looking up from the screen, Maria said, "No, bigger, sad, remember, times, joy, in, dark."
"Yeah, I saw that too," Natasha nodded.
Maria looked up from her screen, for the first time, as she cranked her neck to the side to address her friend. "What the hell does it mean though?"
"What are you guys talking about?" Scott interrupted them.
Natasha sighed in mental exhaustion, "I'm trying to decrypt a message. But this one's got me stuck." She then focused back onto Maria. "I entered those words into Google already." She shook her head, "And nothing came up."
Hope, interest now spiked, requested, "Read it out again," as she leaned forward in her seat, resting her elbows on top of her thighs.
Maria recited the list of words, not bothering to read them since she'd obviously memorised the message by then, "No, bigger, sad, remember, times, joy, in, dark."
"There are clearly words missing," Hope deduced out loud.
"Yeah. It's definitely reading as a simplified sentence," Natasha agreed.
"So it can't be Googled," Scott said.
"Yeah," Natasha nodded.
But Hope was barely paying attention to them, for those words were triggering memories of high school literature class. "No, bigger, sad, remember— There is no bigger sadness than to remember our times of joy in darkness." It hit her. She then looked to Natasha with a confident smile, "Or more actually, 'There is no greater sorrow than to recall our times of joy in wretchedness.' Dante's Inferno."
Natasha's eyes widened like something had just clicked inside her head. "Hell!" she pointed at her before reaching down to grab the tablet out of Maria's hand to then wander off. "Thanks, Hope!" she called over her shoulder before vanishing down the aisle.
"Is whatever that was important?" Hope asked Maria while pointing over her shoulder towards where Natasha disappeared to, with a sense of value and accomplishment settling inside of her, after helping the professional spy decode a secret message.
"Everything's important. Just not everything has the same level of urgency."
Her words made her recall the last time she'd essentially heard that. "Like that letter from Valkyrie?" she asked, her annoyance boiling up once again. "Or should I say, Brunnhilde?"
"Yes, exactly like that letter," Maria answered her casually, not giving her the satisfaction.
"So you read it then?"
"I did."
"Was the message enclosed classified?"
"No."
"Was it personal?"
"Yes."
"Are you going to tell me what it said?" Hope was now really agitated.
"No." Maria, again, held her nonchalant tone.
Scott then awkwardly muttered, "Yeah, I'm just gonna go back to my seat with Sam and Clint over there," he pointed as he got up.
While he was buggering off down the way, Maria called out to him, "Lang, I'm not a T-1000!"
Hope didn't see Scott's reaction because he was behind her, but she could only imagine that it was comical. Not that she cared to dwell on it since her sights were on something else. "Was she trying to sweep you off of your feet with the refined poetry of an ancient goddess warrior?" Hope asked, irritated, only guessing what Valkyrie may have written in the letter.
Maria smiled in amusement as she asked, "She really got to you, didn't she?"
"No," Hope said in complete denial.
Maria then studied her as she asked like she was genuinely concerned, "Are you honestly worried by her?"
Hope sighed, answering truthfully, "No," full well knowing that she had nothing to worry about. She just really didn't like the idea of sharing Maria. And even though she recognised that Maria wasn't actually moving towards that possibility, the thought of it still bothered her. Maria was hers and only hers, and that was that.
"Good," Maria smiled warmly at her. "Now come here," she took her hand, gently guiding her to sit down next to her, right beside the window. "Look" – she pointed through the pane – "we're in outer space."
Hope shifted sideways in her seat to better look out the window where Maria instantly wrapped her arms around her body, resting her chin on top of her shoulder. "We are in outer space," Hope smiled, welcoming her current position in Maria's arms. "Have you ever been in space before?"
"No. This is a first for me," Maria admitted.
Hope studied the streaking slipstream effect beyond the image of Pegasus's flapping wing. "I wish we weren't in hyperspace. You really can't see much."
"This is true."
Hope's scientifically curious mind was just starting to come to terms with just how incredible this all was. "But – then again – we are still riding on the back of a Pegasus, heading to Asgard while travelling faster than the speed of light. So like, really, how cool is that?"
"Definitely cool enough to put your knitwear on. And for an actual legitimate reason too. Which would be a first time ever for you," she teased her.
'You're so mean to me and my knitwear," Hope pouted.
Maria then pushed her mouth to her temple, kissing it before she spoke into her skin, "I love you and your knitwear."
"You have an odd way of showing it." Hope saw Maria smiling at her in the reflection of the glass while she sunk back further into the woman's body. Loving how she always felt so protected and at home with Maria wrapped around her.
Hope then sighed, "Why is it whenever we're together, we're interrupted by some sort of S.H.I.E.L.D. related activity?"
"Because homeland security never sleeps." Maria then took a hold of Hope's hand, lacing their fingers together. "You sure you still want to continue your deep dive into this crazy life?"
"I'd be eternally bored if I backed out now." Hope thought about how much she loved all the adventure in her life, and to the degree that it had increased after joining S.H.I.E.L.D..
"You got a taste of the good stuff, and now you can't go back to beating up muggers on the streets of San Francisco."
Hope gasped, "How do you know about that?" Not realising that her presence had been detected when she used to sneak out at nights in her Wasp suit, surveying her hometown.
"I'm S.H.I.E.L.D. I know everything," Maria teased, yet Hope realised that there was some truth to her words too.
"Uh-huh. Okay, stalker," Hope threw back at her right before she saw Roz timidly, and slowly, walk towards them, through the reflection in the glass. But when the girl got closer and caught a better look at them, she awkwardly looked away, like she was just casually passing by. Hope instantly turned in her seat, where Maria let go of her, as she addressed her, "Hey, Roz. Come sit here with us." Assuming that that's what she had wanted to do. She did promise her that she could sit with them earlier, after all.
"I don't want to disturb you guys," she insisted, obviously noticing the intimate position they'd just been in.
Hope then discreetly elbowed Maria, where she seemed to have gotten the hint since she gestured to the seat in front of them, saying, "You're not. Why don't you join us, Solomón."
"Yes, ma'am," Roz excitedly said as she sat down.
Hope couldn't help but smile, glad that Maria was allowing her friend, who was also a new, green agent, to sit with her. That probably wasn't an ideal situation for Maria, casually interacting with her while also trying to establish a sense of respect in the hierarchical ranking system that they were all in.
Roz's smile quickly fell from her face as she froze up, where they all had to endure an awkward silence.
Hope, wanting to help her poor friend out, turned to the woman who was intimidating the girl with her mere presence, and asked, "So, Maria, do you enjoy watching hockey?"
Maria looked to her, giving her an odd look before answering in a confused tone, "I did, back before I enlisted."
Hope shifted her eyes to look at the girl. "Roz, you hear that? She watched hockey."
"Baseball too," Maria added.
"And baseball," Hope nodded her head encouragingly at Roz.
Her actions seemed to have worked since Roz also nodded her head as she then said, "That makes sense. You seem like a sports type of person." She was begging to find her voice as she continued where Hope left off. "Did you play them too? Possibly with a sibling or two, if you have any. Younger or older."
"Solomón, " Maria asked in intrigue, "are you profiling me?"
"N— no," the girl stammered in fear, "I—"
"Childhood activities and birth order aren't a bad place to start," Maria said like she was proud of her. "I'm not going to tell you about my family, but that was a solid attempt."
Roz accepted her answer as she quickly posed another question, "May I ask how you joined S.H.I.E.L.D. then? It's just, your personal files are mostly all classified, including your recruitment information."
"Oo, I would also like to hear about your recruitment," Hope said with excitement. Realising that she didn't know her story.
"Yeah, sure," Maria agreed like she didn't know if it was a good idea or not. "Well, I ran into Fury while I was still in the marines. I can't exactly say what it was pertaining to—"
"Because it's classified?" Roz asked in excited fascination.
"Correct. But, what I can say is, it was essentially a joint mission with the U.S. Military and S.H.I.E.L.D., and my C.O.s wanted to do something really stupid that would've killed a lot of innocent people. And when I brought this point up with them, and offered an alternative plan, I was shut down."
Roz gasped, "You were shut down?" like it was unfathomable that The Commander Hill would ever be turned away and disrespected.
"Yeah," Maria simply said.
"Was it because of sexism?"
Hope could see that Maria was choosing her words very carefully while looking a little downtrodden, as she said, "Ah, yeah. I guess you could put it that way." Which made her realise that Maria was, most likely, rejected like that because of her sexual assault accusations. Figuring this out, Hope instinctually moved to take her hand but caught herself, not wanting to tip anything off to Roz while she stopped her action.
"Damn," the girl said as Hope concluded that she should let Maria know that she was privy to that particular information about her. And hopefully, Maria wouldn't be too hard on Natasha for telling her about it.
"Anyway, Fury was there when I presented my operations proposal and was apparently on board with it since he went over their heads and implemented it."
"Was it successful?"
"Very," she assured Roz.
The girl said like she was expecting that answer, "Naturally."
"So, after that mission, Fury offered me a job." Maria shrugged, "And I took it."
"He sniped you from the Marine Corps," Roz smiled.
"He did."
"Cool." Roz then paused for a moment before asking, "So, S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"What about it?" Maria shook her head in confusion.
"Does it have flying cars?"
"Oh brother," Hope sighed, dropping her head into her hand. Aghast by her boldness.
"Ah." Maria studied her like she was trying to figure out where she heard about that. "There is one in production. Yes."
"I told you!" Roz bounced in her seat, practically yelling at Hope. She then brought her attention back to Maria as she informed her, "She didn't believe me."
Hope felt the need to justify herself. "Okay, but in my defence, a flying car sounds ridiculous."
Maria smirked at her, calling out her bullshit, "Says the woman who shrunk us down to the size of a Kinder Surprise toy."
"Hey," Roz excitedly interjected, "my abuela used to send me Kinder Surprise eggs from Mexico." She then shrugged, "Well, before she moved up to the states to live with us, that is. But I still remember that chocolate. It was so creamy and delicious," she said like she could still taste it on her tongue at that very moment.
"Yeah," Maria said, "my friend used to get them from Canada when she and her family went camping up there. She started a Kinder black market in school and sold them for five bucks a pop."
"Okay, but can we move on from your friend's criminal life selling contraband, and get back to flying cars?" Hope insisted with a smirk.
"Cars should fly, Waspy! Don't try to impede progress," Roz scolded her. She then looked to Maria, changing her attitude to a serious one, as she respectfully requested, "Would I be able to, possibly, maybe fly it?"
"She wants it for all her missions," Hope teased her.
"Shh, cool it, Waspy," Roz whispered, "Baby-steps here. Gotta keep my true intentions on the D.L."
"Sorry." Hope then turned to Maria, saying, in a silly gesture of damage control, "She would simply like to test out a flying car. A one-time thing. It's a very innocent request. Nothing more to it at all."
Maria gave Hope a smirk before looking back to Roz, her face turning serious. "I'm pretty sure the car is close to its testing phase. So how about this? If you prove yourself on this mission and those that follow, I'll see what I can do about making you its test pilot?"
"Really?" She cheered. Then quickly she contained her excitement as she continued, "I mean. I won't let you down."
"There's a good chance you might. I have very high standards, and you're just out of the academy with no field experience. It won't be a cakewalk to that car. I don't give handouts," Maria stiffened as she said.
"Yes, no. I completely understand," Roz said, now taking the conversation very seriously. "I wouldn't want it without earning your approval anyway."
"Good," Maria said sternly, yet Hope caught a warmth in her eyes. Like she was rooting for the girl.
Just then Steve walked up to them and asked, "Hey, I was wondering if I could steal Hope away for a moment?"
Before Hope could react, Maria abruptly put her palm up to him and said, "Want Hope? Pay up." He sighed, wordlessly walking away to a duffle in one of the front rows of benches, not far away, as Hope had to lift herself up in her seat to look over the back and see what he was doing. Within seconds he was back, flopping a small bag into Maria's still open hand. "Pleasure doing business with you. You may now take her," she said. But, unfortunately for Maria, Hope instantly recognised what he'd given her. It was those same damn Hungarian candies that she finally retrieved from her S.U.V. nearly two months prior when Hope brought her vehicle back to size. Hope then abruptly stood up, snatching the bag from her hand. "Hey!" Maria gawked as Hope passed by her and went to stand beside Steve. "Stop taking my candies away from me, woman!"
"It's not my fault you always deserve it. Trading me for junk food?" She unzipped the top of her suit, shoving the candies inside. "Like, really?" She then gestured to Steve, who started slowly leading them off with a smile of amusement towards them.
"It's fancy foreign junk food," she heard Maria calling out to her, making Hope stop to look back. "It's not like I'm swapping you out for a bag of peanut MMs. I obviously understand your market value."
Hope didn't have an opportunity to react to her cheeky words, for that Agent May suddenly walked over to Maria, from the other direction that Steve and Hope were moving towards. "Hill," the agent stoically greeted her, where Hope couldn't help but remain planted in her spot, wanting to observe them from afar. Hope knew that Maria was worried about May's thoughts towards her after the A.I.M. incident. Specifically, after the loss of Agent Simmons, who she works directly with.
"May," Maria nodded in greeting, matching her serious tone.
"So, my firearms recertification is coming up," she simply said.
"I'll be sure to book time at the range to evaluate you," Maria responded. Though, Hope knew that Gunnery Sergeant Mackenzie was the one who normally recertified agents. He'd said that much himself back at The Farm. Which made her realise that Agent May was probably asking for an excuse to be in the company of Maria.
"Great. I look forward to it," May said, now with a hint of warmth in her voice, as she bowed her head and left.
Hope turned back to Steve, who didn't seem to understand why she was eavesdropping on them, as he simply asked, "Good?"
"Yeah," she smirked, glad that Agent May seemed to be extending an olive branch to Maria. Hope didn't fully understand the extent of their relationship but Maria described May in a way a mentee would describe their mentor. Which Hope found interesting, since Maria was May's superior.
Steve then nodded before he led her a little ways away still, so there was no one around them. Turning back to her, he then began, "So I wanted to ask if you'd be my second on this mission."
Confused, she asked, "I thought that was Nat's position?"
"Yeah, normally it is," he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "But the thing is. I kind of need somebody I can trust."
Shocked by his omission, she asked in concern, "You're saying you can't trust Natasha?"
"I trust her with my life," he said adamantly. "But she's the first person to get additional orders from Fury and not tell me about them," he clarified. "I need to know what my team's doing and why. Especially with the person who's helping me lead it."
"Does Nat know you're offering me her position?" Suddenly Hope felt very weird about taking the spot away from her.
"No, but it won't come as a surprise to her." He then said like he was thinking out loud, "And, honestly, I think she'll take it as a relief. She doesn't like leadership roles. She barely even likes team roles."
"Being a spy isn't exactly a group activity," she nodded in understanding.
"Not in the slightest."
"But why me?" She still couldn't believe that she was being offered this opportunity, despite wanting it really badly. "I've been here for the least amount of time out of all of us."
"I'm looking at skill sets, not seniority. I liked how you handled things back in Wakanda. And the team respects you. Heck, even Tony respects you."
"I think it's more so, Tony fears me. He responds to threats," Hope smirked.
Steve chuckled before he said, "Yeah, I think it has more to do with you saving his metal heinie back in the birdcage." Hope thought over his words but still concluded that it was probably the fear thing. Since Maria seemed to scare him the most and he adored her. Not that he'd ever admit to that. "So," Steve studied her. "What do you say?"
Hope held his gaze as she could feel the corners of her lips curling upwards into a smile. "Okay. I'll do it."
"Yeah?" He looked excited.
"Yeah," Hope nodded with glee.
"Good. Glad to have you with me," he grinned with a nod.
Just then they dropped out of hyperspeed, with the windows now displaying a clear view of space. Hope rushed to the nearest window, catching her first glimpse of Asgard. It was beautiful. A golden city on an island that looked to be hanging from the stars. The place, too, was encompassed in a purple field, just like Earth. Though, unlike their home planet, Asgard's field had nine violet beams of light protruding from it, travelling in various directions, disappearing off into the dark vacuum of space. Which were all the physical connections of Enchantress's magic reaching the nine realms.
Just like before, Valkyrie held up the all-weapon where it breached the barrier, underneath the island planet, and allowed them passage through.
She flew up to the edge of the land, staying low while on the surface, passing water, and then valleys, till finally landing in a small meadow, surrounded by trees, away from the city.
Valkyrie placed the hoverflier down in the grass, where Hope knew that she was up again. She pulled Maria's candies out of her suit, tossing them on the seat next to her, before zipping herself up, ready to go on another adventure.
A/N: Thank you do much lxqn for commenting on this story. I was so close to deleting it off of this site, and just solely keeping and updating it on A03. But now I'm here, adding my latest chapter to it because of you :) (btw if any of you want to read a better version of this story with better editing, updates throughout it, and even pictures, AO3 is the place to be for that)