Maria Hill was not a fan of these days. She knew they were necessary, but this could indeed be the worst of them. She went through this once; she didn't want to again. This was indeed the worst punishment that Director Fury could have come up with.
And she had been entirely right.
Hill slumped as she walked toward the loud chattering in the front rotunda where groups of... children, really, were standing. These children were here to collect more information on and "interview." Not that they knew that. To them, they were just touring the place where they could possibly work.
Looking around the room, she saw the faces of those who felt like there were more than good enough to fit into the ranks. The reality that they would soon be here was almost worth the agony that she had to go through. Almost.
Hill loudly cleared her throat as the "interview" was about to start. The rotunda's outskirts were soon filled entirely with agents who were previously hiding in the shadows holding plastic containers.
Now that all of the young eyes were on her, it was time to announce herself to the class.
"Welcome, new recruits, to the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. Many just know us as SHIELD. You are here because you are the best in the skills we need: physical and mental. Before we tour the facility, give all of your belongings to the agents around the room. You will need nothing but the clothes on your back. And if you think you are sneaky, you will be going through a metal detector.
"We know all the tricks; we created some of them. If we find you doing anything you're not supposed to, you will be escorted out of the building, and your trial will be over. any questions?"
"What do you mean by 'trial?'" a small girl with more blonde highlights than should be legal asked.
"Good question. You all may be the best of the best, but we are looking for the very best of you, and if you get along with some of our other agents.
"If there is nothing else, get rid of your stuff and line up."
Hopefully, this goes better than most, Hill thought to herself. There have been horror stories from some of the other agents she spoke with before coming to this little meeting. There have been spies from other agencies who thought they could get past the facial recognition system or the pat-down that sometimes occurred when the security system went off. There was just no telling what would happen. There were jokes among some of the agents that SHIELD was just the TSA, only so much worse.
While daydreaming, Hill heard the metal detectors go off. Every single one of there. It was as if a colossal siren they had on the helicarrier had gone off. If Marian wasn't seasoned at hiding her emotions, she would have been cringing at the sheer intensity.
The agents operating the metal detectors were prepared for this and pulled out normal hand-held ones. They waved the wands around the remaining ones left in the group. The rest passed and walked through, but Maria couldn't help but noticed a girl in the back of the group who had a vast blush covering her face.
Looking up from the girl, Maria saw a familiar face looking straight at her, which looked at the girl in question before nodding. The face then disappeared from her sight. If something was wrong, Maria would know by the end of the day. There was no question about that.