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Maria Hill, former Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. She was not always like that.
At ten, she rejected the history of S.H.I.E.L.D that was fed to her. Instinct told her that Margaret Elizabeth Carter had more credit due than her male chauvinist pig of a teacher let on. Sure, Howard Stark contributed a fair amount. But this should not take away former Director Carter's rightful recognition.
When she was twelve, a few boys in her class mocked her for her lack of... well, athleticism. Not one to back down, Maria fought back. Hours spent in her backyard amounted to her beating them during physical education. They never provoked her again.
It became painfully clear when she was fifteen that academics was not her thing. She gave up the dream of attending an Ivy League school, and aimed towards the more feasible goal of joining a community college. As a freshman, Maria never understood the fascination that her peers had of boys. Heck, she never understood love. The time that others wasted cuddling in the back of movie theaters, she spent at the park, jogging.
This jogging habit followed her to college. She enrolled in a small one, right outside the neighborhood she grew up in. Every morning she woke at five, changed into her exercise gear, and went for a run around the streets. She was never the only one. There was the guy who was always wearing a black Adidas tracksuit; the mid-thirties woman with a frankly awful fashion sense; the young, probably younger than her, girl with blazing red hair. Then there was the group of people her age.
They looked like they were part of a military school, or something. Led by an athletic woman with pink highlights, none of them seemed to ever be out of step. She paced herself after them, once her coach made a comment on her speed and metabolism, in her last year.
("Hill! I need more shape if I'm ever going to not flunk you!" Turns out, training in her backyard was far from enough.)
They did not notice at first. After all, Maria was the mastered the art of blending in. No one would take a second look at her (or what she thought). So it was a surprise, when one dark morning, Pink Highlights slowed down, and allowed the rest to overtake her. Maria took no notice at first, but when the other woman took her wrist, with force, she stopped.
"Agent Victoria Hand, with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division."
Wrenching her hand away, "and how may I help you?" (She could barely restrain the annoyance from dripping into her hoarse voice)
"You've been pacing yourself with us."
No reply.
"You know, I'm recruiting. For S.H.I.E.L.D."
No reply.
"I think you'd fit."
"Me? I'm not 'Agent' material." (This time, her scoff broke free from the restraints of her throat.)
"Maybe not now, but you could be."
Hand took her hand again, dropping a small piece of paper onto her open palm.
"If you are interested, drop by this place tomorrow."
Maria bent her head to look at the address scribbled on the paper. When she looked up again, Hand was gone.
The address turned to be the address of the S.H.I.E.L.D Academy of Administration. The campus was unlike any other she had ever seen on her college tour.
"I was expecting you."
There she stood, Agent Victoria Hand.
"You'd thought I'd come. How?"
"That, Hill, is something you'd learn here."
(Maria was absolutely sure she had never mentioned her name to this woman.)
A few months later, she jogged once again. This time, it was around the never-ending campus. This time, she had a confused mother. This time, she was surrounded by people like her.
Fast forward a couple of years, Maria was on the fast track to becoming one of S.H.I.E.L.D's top ranking agent. Fury had taken notice of her, and had assigned someone from Operations to train her. Unlike her trainer, she preferred having a weapon, preferably a gun, in her hands. She hated the feeling of being unarmed in combat. Maria was definitely not powered. All she had was the artillery provided by S.H.I.E.L.D. Melinda May had an uncountable number of black belts under her name. For a while, May was the person she confided in. Maria was not much of a people person. She did not go out of her way, unlike some people (read: Coulson), to make new friends. But May, she liked.
Over time, this rare connection she had with someone else was lost amongst countless missions, amongst her running things behind the scenes and May being on the front lines, amongst inhumans in Bahrain and aliens in New York.
To many, it was a surprise when Maria was given post of Deputy Director ("If he needed eye candy around he could've at least picked Romanoff."). She might have potential in the eyes of her superiors, but she was far from attaining legend status (yet). After all, who would take notice of a meager agent from administration?
The number of people who actually thought she could do this could be counted on one hand (Fury, Coulson, Hand, May, and her mother). The people who were skeptical included herself.
Maria had always been skeptical. She was skeptical when Hand offered her a position in the Academy. She was skeptical when she was assigned to May. When she was made Deputy. When Agent [REDACTED] brought in Clint Barton, a circus performer. When Barton brought in Natalia Alianova Romanova, a Russian spy. When Romanoff was the one who brought in Bruce Banner. When Coulson brought in a multi-millionaire in a frankly impressive suit and a god. When Fury defrosted Captain freaking America. When Pepper Potts offered her a HR position in Stark Industries.
S.H.I.E.L.D fell unexpectedly, for those of them who were not waiting for it. All loyal agents were devastated. It was just that they had differing ways of dealing with it. Sharon Carter joined the first government organization in her sights. Coulson and May rebuilt S.H.I.E.L.D (although she was 99% sure that May stuck around just for Coulson). Maria took the job because it gave her the resources (read: lawyers and money) to protect herself from whichever organization that wanted her dead.
(Bonus points if it pays well.)
She was good in HR because she just knew what was good for people, despite not liking them. She knew it was good for Romanoff to work with Steve Rogers. She knew it was good for Coulson to work on Theta Protocol (he needed to feel good about himself again). She knew it was good when she found an isolated farmhouse for Barton. She knew it was good when May agreed to go back out onto the field again.
Maria had signed the letter of transfer. Not because she felt that May could no longer function as a specialist, but because she trusted that her former sparring partner knew what she was doing. Sparring with the Calvary (never let her hear that) resumed after the latter transferred to administration. Maria was more than honored to help keep her in shape. What a reversal of roles it had been.
Being on board of a helicarrier caused her to have a sense of deja vu. Having the same (loyal) agents around worsened things. It was times like that that caused her to regret not embarking on Coulson's rebuilding of S.H.I.E.L.D journey. But enough was enough. She had enough of living an agent's life. Now, she could be out in the open and not worry about breaking cover. Now, she could do what she wanted and not worry about her Deputy Director image.
When Ultron happened, she was there, on the front lines. Theta Protocol was what saved them. Granted, she and Fury were using resources that were no longer their's to control, but Director Coulson agreed to it. Nevertheless, it prevented what could have been a catastrophic disaster.
When Civil War happened, she was not there. She has returned to Stark Industries because Pepper needed help. To be honest, she was not entirely sure what happened between Pepper and Stark. It was not her problem to care about. But she worried all the same. The Sokovia Accords were difficult to deal with, that she understood. These things always were. Why it could not be sorted out, she did not understand. Just a year ago, the Avengers were working together to save humanity. And then they were fighting against each other. Time, Maria told herself. Time caused change.
People are different.