Chapter Text
Maria didn’t get out into the field as often as she’d like these days. Fury got to see the outside of SHIELD bases even less. So when the opportunity dropped in their lap to do something far more exciting than keep idiots alive over comms... Well, it was a good thing their back-up was a Russian super-soldier experiment gone rogue.
“Down.”
Maria didn’t hesitate to hit the dirt. The heat of an RPG rushed over her before exploding the cluster of assholes trying to put holes in her and Fury. Maria popped back up and picked off the two that dived off to the left while Fury dealt with the one on the right. The three of them waited a few long moments, scanning the wreckage for movement.
“Looks good,” Maria reported. Fury agreed.
“Wait.” The sound of a neck cracking could be heard over the comms. “Now, we’re clear.”
“Thank you, Agent Romanoff,” Maria said as she emerged from her cover.
“You’re welcome, Agent Hill.”
“Please flirt on your off-hours,” Fury said as he headed for the intact transports.
“The only off hours I’ve had in the last two weeks have been while I was unconscious,” Maria said.
“Could you at least add a “sir” in there and pretend to respect me?”
“I’m not the actress of the three of us. Sir.” Three years ago, Maria wouldn’t have dared to run her mouth this hard at Fury. But then he promoted her like a mad man, and she took her job of questioning his grandiose plans seriously.
At least, that’s what Mel, Victoria, and Coulson insisted her job was. They would know.
Maria saw a flicker of light off metal. She aimed and fired before she could really register the action. The breeze made her stomach and back feel cold.
“Hill!”
Maria frowned and looked down at the growing red stain on her shirt. The world started to tilt. Her limbs felt numb. She heard Natasha as the ground rushed up to meet her. “’ Tasha...”
Everything went dark, silent, and still.
~
“Nick...”
He looked into the rearview mirror. The sight of confused surprise was not what he was expecting to see on Natasha’s face. “Romanoff.”
“The bullet hole is gone.” Her voice was hoarse with grief, but the awe broke through.
He pulled over on the empty, dusty side of the road and got out of the car. Opening the back door, he looked at the exposed stomach under the light of the car’s interior lights. Bloodstained, bits of gore, but intact. “What the he-”
Maria wheezed and coughed. Her breath smelled of straight death, and Nick wasn’t the only one wincing. Natasha locked her grip around Maria’s wrists and knees, pinning her down.
“Identify yourself,” Fury ordered.
Maria tugged on Natasha’s hold weakly before settling for wiping her squeezed shut eyes on her shoulders. “Agent Maria Hill, ID number A 946430, and this close to biting whoever the FUCK is keeping me from scratching my nose.”
Natasha let go. Nick gave her a look but let it go.
“I feel like death warmed over.”
“You were,” Nick provided. “Which is why I’m debating between the brig or medical when we get back to SHIELD.”
Maria stopped moving. “What.”
Natasha took one of Maria’s hands and put it through the damp hole in her shirt. “You took a bullet. You bled out. Now you’re not.”
He saw the shock starting to creep into Maria’s eyes. “Sit up, drink this, and tell us what you remember.”
She took the water bottle and chugged it as she sat up. “We were moving out, I saw something move. I shot at it without really thinking about it. Then it was cold...”
“Hill,” he snapped, keeping her in the here and now. “You have no idea how you healed from a through and through bullet wound?”
“No, sir.”
He’d say something about how *now* he was “sir,” but he knew it wouldn’t be received well, if at all. “Do you feel in any way out of the ordinary?”
“I could use Big Mac, but I feel no compulsions to go anywhere or do anything.”
He looked at Natasha. “Keep both eyes on her and make sure she stays warm.” Locking eyes with Maria, he said, “You, don’t make me regret not taking every precaution by cuffing you and tossing you in the trunk.”
“Yes, sir.” Aaannd back to the sarcasm. He supposed that was just another sign of normal.
“This stays between the three of us,” he said as he got back into the driver’s seat. “You’re going through medical, but nothing invasive.”
She sighed but agreed. He got back on the road and sincerely hoped, for the first time in a long time, that everything would work out for the better.
Andromache stared up at the ceiling as she woke up from the dream of a new immortal.
“Why the FUCK are the new kids in the hardest places to get into and out of?” Noriko demanded as she sat up.
“Challenges help you grow?” Nile said as she rolled out of the bed.
“I’m going to challenge you to grow a hand back.”
“Not gonna lie, I wouldn’t be surprised if you did.” She handed the laptop to ‘Riko. “You’re gonna have to hack this one.”
“Sit. Learn.”
Andy rolled over, pressed her face into her pillow, and yelled. A hand patted her butt.
“Get it out, love.”
Pushing herself up, she ran a hand through her hair before heading for the tiny coffee maker. “Two in two years? What the fuck.”
“More people, more chances of new ones,” Noriko said. “Oh, this is going to be fun. Shadow government agency!”
“Spooks,” Nile muttered. “Ugh.”
“Same.”
Andy looked over her shoulder. “Noriko. My heart. My love. My soulmate. Please don’t use slang. You sound like you don’t know what you’re saying.”
‘Riko glanced at Nile. The youngest one shrugged and grinned. “If it annoys the hag-”
“This hag gave you a damn good orgasm three hours ago-”
“-then I say it’s worth doing again. Multiple times. Hourly.”
‘Riko pressed a kiss to Nile’s temple. “This is why you get to live.”
“You’re such a psychopath,” Andy muttered as she chugged the coffee out of the pot.
“But, I’m your psychopath.”
“Yeah, you are. Where to, ladies?”
“Crossroads of the new world.” Noriko tapped furiously, then shut down the laptop. “Manhattan. I’ve got a nice place for us to hole up in while we wait for our chance to grab her.”
Nile perked up. “A safe house that isn’t a breeding ground for the plague?”
Andy flipped her off even as ‘Riko nodded. “Exactly.”
“I like you best.”
“I’m gonna set it on fire when we leave,” Andy muttered as she headed for her bag. “Get dressed, assholes. We’ve got new blood to round up.”