Here's the next chapter.

Anything related to Maria's Madripool mission is entirely made up by me.

Since this takes place in 2027, I decided that Maria would be born ten years later than she is in the comic books. If I hadn't done that, Maria would be 40 years old. This way she's 30 something instead. I'm not going to change her file in Chapter 4, but just keep in mind that she's born ten years later than she is in all the other things.


Natasha sat with Steve on a bench in Central Park. The fall leaves were turning brown now, and it was almost October.

"I've decided I want the wedding near Christmas." Steve told her. "I think it's a good time of year and it's one of the happiest. It seems right that one of the happiest days of my life will be near the holidays."

"Are you sure? People might get overwhelmed with the wedding and the holidays. There might be less attendance."

"How many people are you planning on attending?" Steve exclaimed.

"Not many. The agents Fitz, Simmons, Simone, Skye, May, and Coulson. Maria and Bucky. Tony, Pepper, and Marie-Grace. Bruce and Betty, Thor and Jane, Wanda, Vision. Clint, Laura, Cooper, Lila, and Nate. Fury." Natasha rattled off. "But Clint has family commitments. Plus, there's only so much holiday spirit Maria handles a year."

"Why?"

"It's commonly known in SHIELD. Around Christmas she gets even more like 'Agent Chill' than she usually is. She hates the decorations, and she doesn't tolerate anything that screams 'holidays'." Natasha explained. "I think it's her knee-jerk reaction to..."

Natasha stopped herself. Steve didn't know much about Maria's abusive childhood. He didn't need to know, and if he did, he would freak out even more than Bucky had. Then Maria would get really on edge about the season.

"To always being alone at Christmas." Natasha lied.

"Maybe the wedding would change that." Steve said. "I won't let her spend another holiday holed up in her apartment... now that she's in the Avengers Tower, it's going to be harder for her to hide from celebrating."

Natasha almost scoffed.

"A Christmas time wedding does seem like a nice, old-fashioned idea. Just right for an old-"

Steve reached over and started tickling her. She slapped him away, but not before she let out a giggle. "You were saying, Miss Romanoff?"

"An old fashioned guy like you." she finished.

"That's what I thought." Steve said, his eyes glittering mischievously.


Bucky was looking for Maria. He stepped inside her bedroom. It was empty.

There was a picture frame on Maria's bed, with three photos in it. Bucky gently picked it up.

One of the pictures was of a beautiful dark haired woman, hugging a smiling blond man. Maria's parents. They looked so happy, Bucky thought. Maria had clearly gotten her piercing blue eyes from her mother. The woman's stomach had a trace of a bulge, and the man's hand was lying protectively over it. He flipped the frame over. Madeline and Garrett, November 1991.

Another picture was a professionally taken photo of a little dark haired girl hugging someone who was clearly related to Maria's mother. He had features similar to Madeline Hill, but he had dark eyes instead of Maria's mother's blue. He flipped the frame over again. Maria and Uncle Matt, March 17, 1996.

The final picture was six people, all in Marine uniform. Maria was in the center, the most decorated of the group. They all were smiling brightly and there was a sense of friendship that Bucky had had with the Howling Commandos. They were standing in front of a huge plane, an American flag flying in the distance. Marine Squadron 294: Lieutenant Maria C. Hill, Sergeant Major Katelyn J. O'Byrne, First Sergeant Sebastian G. Andrews, Sergeant William F. Neil, Sergeant Christopher N. Baker, Sergeant Caleb A. Jefferson; commissioned 1 April 2011, Madripool.

So that was Maria's Marine group. The ones that died. Bucky thought they all looked like soldiers he might have fought next to when he enlisted in the army.

"Enjoying yourself?" a voice asked. Bucky spun around. Tony was leaning in the doorway, a tool spinning in his fingers. "Never thought you'd be the snooping type, Barnes."

"I was looking for Maria." Bucky said lamely.

"She's at SHIELD. Sounded like she was inspecting the new rookies today." Tony said. "I wish I could have gone to see her scare those little buggers out of their minds." Bucky raised his eyebrows.

"Why are you here, Stark?"

"I was going to tell you that Steve and Natasha told me to tell you that you need to get your butt down to Nat's floor." Tony said. "Then I caught you looking through Maria's drawers-"

"It's on her bed, I wasn't pawing through her stuff-"

"Anyway. They want you. Something about watching a movie."


Maria had just finished cutting some of the recruits. One boy still sat there, his head in his hands.

"Are you alright, agent?" she asked, sitting down next to him.

He sniffed. "I'll be okay."

"What's your name?"

"My name is Grayson Andrews." he said. "Commander." Maria looked at him. He was well built, with handsome features and a determined expression, and steel blue eyes. He looked like the Andrews that Maria had trained with in the Marines.

"Why are you disappointed, Andrews?" she asked, looking out toward the main hub.

"I wanted to honor my father by joining SHIELD. Serve my country. The Marines turned me down, same with the Army, Navy, and Coast Guard." Andrews said. "And now I feel like I failed him. I've got nowhere else to go."

"Why did they turn you down?" Maria asked crisply.

"They didn't like the fact that I'm allergic to most of the pain meds that they would give me in the field. And I had asthma." Andrews replied. "I know it makes sense, but it's just... I wanted to be like my dad."

"How is your asthma now, Andrews?"

"It's better- if I have an inhaler, then I'm okay for everything."

Maria stood up.

"Welcome to SHIELD, Agent Andrews." she said. She was about to leave, and then Grayson Andrews stood up.

"When my father died in service, the letter they wrote said that a Lieutenant Hill rescued him from enemy clutches, but he died later from wounds. If I'm right, Commander, two generations of my family owe you a debt now. My loyalty is with you."

Maria stopped in her tracks, shock rippling across her face. She fixed her face in a mask and turned around.

"If you're truly loyal to me, you'll report to your S.O. immediately. Agent Carter is waiting."


Sorry it took a little time. I deleted that last section. Maria was going to fire whiskey bottles of people's heads and make recruits sing 'Love is an Open Door', but I decided she would never do that.