Confessions of an Angel

BeForeverYoung

Summary:

She may no longer be light but that doesn't mean she is dark. She embraces both worlds equally. (Completely re-written)

Notes:

Okay so this is a Maria Hill centered story. In my opinion the woman is completely underated in the movies. I am trying to follow the Avenger movie timeline with my own twists and turns. This story takes place before the Avengers movie but I am planning on having all the Avengers eventually introduced into this story. This will be eventual Maria Hill/Natasha Romanoff.

Chapter 1: The Black Angels

She peered through the darkness and stared at the park. There was no one in the there but an older gentleman who appeared to be reading a newspaper. She paused at the gate, the black path that was laid out before her melted into the night. She shivered. The warmth of the sun was now long gone and the jacket that her mother tried to force on her as she left didn't seem like such a bad idea now.

She cut across the park every night, it was usually abandoned by now and it never gave her any unsettling feelings. Cutting across the park cut ten minutes off her trip home but as she stared at the lone man her stomach turned, how does he even see the print in this darkness?

Sighing she stared down at her watch. Dinner would start in seventeen minutes and if she didn't move now she would be late, more if she didn't cut through the park. Her mother will be upset if she is late…again. Her mother's angry glare in her mind had her pushing the gate open.

She moved quickly, her cheap slip-resistant shoes that she was forced to wear while waitressing allowed her to move at a fast pace. She was halfway across the park in three minutes but the uneasy feeling in her stomach grew as she moved closer to the man, whom was still sitting stoic on a bench.

The distinct sound of a leaf being crushed beneath a foot sounded through the park. She paused in her movement, and stared down at her feet expecting to see a dried leaf left over from fall beneath her foot but was surprised to see nothing. A twig snapping echoed and her head shot up trying to place the direction of the sound.

Her eyes shot wide as she saw another older gentleman in a suit and tie, flanked by two men who stood at a distance. She froze as she watched as the man approached the other man who still had his eye on the newspaper before him. Another chill went down her spine and it wasn't because of the cold. Something was definitely wrong here. She moved to the left and hid behind a tree, steadying her breath.

She peered around the tree just as the man in the tie spoke.

"Tell me you have found her."

The sound of a paper being crinkled sounded as the man on the bench folded his newspaper and laid it across his lap.

"We are close. We have tracked her to New York. I have Greller putting together a STRIKE team as we speak. We should have her by the end of the week."

"You said that in Detroit," the bite in the man's voice was evident.

"She had help."

"Yes, the mysterious helper, whose identity still remains unknown. She has been playing you like a fool since she escaped one year ago."

"She is a highly trained operative…"

"No more excuses! She is our asset. An asset that you said you had complete control over…"

"I will find her," interrupted the man on the bench standing.

"The enhanced power that we gave her is one of our greatest weapons. I want it back and under our control. "

"I will find her," repeated the man.

She watched as the two men stared at each other, a clear but silent power struggle between the two seemed to echo through the night. The man in the suit stepped forward and now the men were less than a foot apart.

She watched with baited breath as the man in the suit leaned forward and embraced the man, whispering something into his ear before pulling back. She moved back behind the tree, glancing at her watch, noting that dinner would start in five minutes. The sound of a twig snapping at her eyes shooting wide as she stared down at her foot to see a broken stick crushed beneath her foot.

Closing her eyes she waited for the inevitable. The men surely heard her. They would come, and what they would do to her when they found her filled her with despair. They were clearly not normal men. That was not a normal conversation. They were powerful. Scary. Dangerous.

She waited and waited…and waited. Finally after five minutes she gathered her courage and peered around the tree. The men had disappeared. There was no sign of them anywhere. She let out a sigh of relief before letting her body fall into the tree, the adrenaline that flowed through her veins just a few minutes before gave away to exhaustion.

She glanced down at her watch and flinched, her mother was going to kill her. If she moved quickly then she wouldn't miss dinner entirely. Still glancing at her watch she pushed herself off the tree and turned around to leave. The feeling of cold metal on her forehead had her frozen.

"I really wish you wouldn't have come through the park tonight. I'm sorry."

The sound of a gunshot echoed through the park.

Nick Fury was having a bad day.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to will away the headache that has plagued his mind since he started looking through the files on his desk. Looking down at the current file in front of him Fury felt an overwhelming urge to throw it in the air and use it for target practice—at least it would give it some use.

SHIELD was running like a well-oiled machine, and today the Council has decided to throw a wrench into it. They wanted Fury to select a Deputy Director. He understood their reasoning behind it. If something happened to him in the field then SHIELD would fall apart without someone at the helm. The Council in their infinite wisdom had supplied Fury with twenty-five candidates. The files were waiting on his desk directly after the meeting.

That was exactly five hours ago and Fury just added the twenty-fifth file in the garbage with the rest of them. There was nothing glaringly wrong with any of the candidates. They were all great candidates. Their testing levels were all above standard, they military careers were unblemished with variety of medals decorating their file. But there was only one problem…Fury didn't trust any of them.

Fury ran his own profile on each candidate and on every single file he found a very faint, but still prevalent link to each Council member. It became very evident that after the tenth file that the Council was trying to put one of 'their' people on the inside, and not just on the inside but in a powerful position.

A knock on his office door was a welcome interruption.

"Come in."

The door opened to reveal Agent Phil Coulson.

Coulson paused at the door noticing the tension in Fury's shoulders. He approached Fury's desk slowly trying to read the mood of his boss, which was extremely difficult, Fury after all was the head on one of the biggest spy organizations, and he was nothing if not proficient in his field.

"Boss," nodded Coulson acknowledging him standing behind a chair. His eyes went from Fury to the overflowing trashcan full of files then back to the man himself. Coulson knew better than to question his boss about what was going on. You only make that mistake once, but he couldn't help but be curious as to what was in those files that had his boss on edge.

"Coulson," nodded Fury indicating with his hand to the chair inviting him to have a seat.

Coulson moved swiftly as he sat in the offered seat.

"I just thought you should know that Barton and Romanoff are back. The target was neutralized and Romanoff was able to gather all the information you asked for." Coulson leaned forward and placed a flash drive on the desk.

Fury nodded then leaned forward grabbing the flash drive. "How did Romanoff's first mission go?"

"She was very fast and efficient. Barton and her work very well together. Placing them together was a very good idea. She still has a hard time accepting orders but seems to be adjusting to being part of the team."

Fury nodded. He wouldn't deny that bringing the Black Widow to SHIELD made him extremely nervous. The woman was very deadly and it frustrated Fury to no end that he could not read her. So far she was proving to be a handful. Since coming to SHIELD she had put twenty six Agents in the medical bay, her rationale being "a difference of opinion."

Fury knew otherwise. It was common knowledge that Romanoff was not well liked on the helicarrier. She alone was responsible for the death of fifty two SHIELD Agents over the past 5 years. That is not a number that can be easily forgotten, and even with a direct order to the Agents on the helicarrier to not seek revenge against Romanoff, some Agents had acted regardless of his orders.

After being released from medical with an alarmingly large number of broken bones they were then discharged from SHIELD. The number of attacks on Romanoff are nonexistent now. Fury doubted it was because of the discharges of those Agents but rather the beating those Agents received from Romanoff.

"Good. Keep an eye on her."

"Yes sir."

Coulson started the action of standing but his eyes couldn't help but travel to the files in the trashcan again.

"The Council wants me to appoint a Deputy Director."

Fury noticed the curious look in Coulson's eyes when he saw the files. Coulson was one of his most trusted Agents and Fury knew he could speak to Coulson about this new development in confidence.

Coulson sat back down in his chair looking at the files in the trash. "You don't agree with their choices?"

Fury sighed and leaned back into the well-kept leather, "All the candidates they supplied me with are all connected to the Council in some way."

Coulson nodded, he understood Fury's reluctance to hire any of them. The Council was trying to get one of their people on the inside. That was something that made Coulson very uncomfortable.

"What are you going to do boss?"

Fury was silent and so, Coulson waited, knowing something would be said eventually.

"I need someone who I can trust to do the job. Someone with an extensive military background. Someone who doesn't scare easily. I need someone the crew will respect and follow. They need to have experience leading but know how to take an order. But I also don't want a lap dog. I want someone who will question me. I need to be able to trust them to stand up against the Council and do the right thing, not what the Council orders them to do."

Coulson nodded along to everything Fury was saying. The Deputy Director of SHIELD would definitely need to have all of those qualities, and more. Coulson thought about Fury's needs for the Deputy Director position and his mind kept coming back to the same person he knew outside of SHIELD.

Fury watched Coulson process his words. Fury noticed the light in Coulson's eyes as he nodded along. It wasn't hard to see that Coulson had someone in mind for the position.

"Who is it?"

Coulson smirked. Fury was always one step ahead of him. Coulson stood and then nodded towards the computer on the other side of the desk.

"May I?" he asked, waiting only momentarily for Fury to give him the go ahead.

Partially amused, and partially curious, Fury watched Coulson type furiously on the computer before he turned towards the screen that was projected on the far wall. Fury stood up and walked around his desk to inspect the woman on the screen.

"Captain Maria Hill," read Fury as he examined the picture of the officer. He couldn't help but notice the slightly uneasy feeling that developed in his chest as he stared at her. She was hard, if not nor borderline angry in the picture. Her eyes were cold and her face was stern.

"It says here she was killed in action Coulson." Fury pointed to the big red words KIA next to her photo.

Coulson smirked at him before turning and typing away at the computer throwing more information of the screen as the Captain's military history was displayed on the wall. He left the computer to stand next to Fury.

"She did four tours in Iraq in the special forces. She was an excellent leader. Very tactical in her decisions making. She was the first woman to every lead a Special Forces team. She was respected but also hated by many for being a woman in a leadership position."

Fury nodded as he listened to Coulson give him a summary of the woman in front of him. He still didn't understand why Coulson was giving him a run through on a dead Captain, but gave Coulson the benefit of the doubt.

"Her test scores were off the chart, the highest the military has ever seen. She was put on leadership track fresh out of training but denied it, choosing to serve in combat instead. Over the next couple years she moved up the rank relatively fast—faster than I have ever seen. She was a Captain of her own squad by the age of 24. After her 2nd tour in Iraq her squad earned the title, "The Black Angels."

Fury raised his eyebrows at this, he had heard of this squad.

It was well known that most of SHIELDS Agents were recruited from the military. The crew member frequently traded stories about this notorious squad. Many of his Agents spoke about how they were in heavy firefight and being overrun and a mysterious squad with black skeleton bandanas over their face would show up and completely destroy the enemy, often saving them in the process.

Agents would whisper about the teams' accuracy, every shot was a headshot even under heavy fire. The team moved very fast, faster than they had ever seen. Many crew members on the helicarrier were alive because of the Black Angels.

"I heard of this team. The crew frequently talks about them. I looked them up in our system and discovered they were all killed in combat."

Coulson nodded at this. He too heard the other Agents talk about the Black Angels. It was hard to miss. After a moment he returned to the computer and typed something in, bringing an OP report up to the screen.

"The team was ordered to infiltrate a base on the outskirts of Afghanistan. The military believed that the enemy was trying to create nuclear weapons. Their mission was to eliminate the targets and disable any nuclear weapons. The team infiltrated the base easily but when they moved to the lower levels of the base one of the scientists had set off one. It was a chemical weapon. High levels of gamma radiation…"

"Gamma?" asked Fury very surprised. "How did I not hear about this?"

"It was very hush hush. The military destroyed most of the files pertaining to the op. The military then listed all the members of the Black Angels as 'killed in combat.' They informed their families that they were killed in firefight in Iraq."

"And how to you know about this?"

"My brother, Matthew Coulson was part of the Black Angels."

Silence fell across the room.

Fury knew Coulson's brother was killed in combat two years ago but did not know that he was part of this elite group.

"I didn't believe the military when they informed my parent's that my brother was killed in action. Something smelled off. So I did my own digging. It took me over a year but I found out what really happened to him."

Fury stepped up to the screen reading through the op, now very intrigued.

"Tell me."

Coulson nodded and typed on the computer once again to bring up a handful of documents.

"I found a couple files that were not destroyed. As you can see by these reports, the team survived the initial blast. They were transported to a secure base in Afghanistan. The high levels of gamma radiation were infecting their cells. It was a very painful death"

Coulson ignored the sympathetic look in Fury's eye at the thought of his brother dying so painfully.

"The trail went cold after that. But I never stopped looking. A couple months later I came across this document," Coulson brought up another report. "As you can see it indicates that there was a survivor and that they were moved to an unknown blacksite location."

"Even with SHIELD's intel and resources it took me six months to find the black site. When I arrived to the site it was completely abandoned. There was," paused Coulson grimacing, "a lot of destruction. But I was able to find a couple documents at the base."

"All the files and computers at the site were fried but I was able to find these…" Coulson paused as he typed again to bring up some documents. He clicked on the first one and enlarged it.

"This is a report sent from General Thaddeus Ross to an unknown account. I tried to find out where it went to but the account had a very large firewall and encryptions attached to it. Not even SHIELD's best technicians could break it. The report says that the "female test subject 152 had escaped from the black site and that he had his people searching every city looking for her."

"I was one of the few people outside of high ranking military members that knew that the Captain of the Black Angels was in fact a woman. My brother made it known, whenever he was home that he did not like how the team frequently had to hide their Captain's gender in order to protect the team. He respected and cared for her very much. So I made it my mission to find her and do whatever I could to protect her. Matt would have wanted that."

Coulson paused the emotions in his voice was evident as he spoke of his brother.

"The rest of the documents confirm that Captain Hill is very much alive. I found a couple classified documents suggesting that the military was conducting experiments on her. They believed that Captain Hill's survival of the Gamma exposure, which resulted in her heightened strength and speed, could be reproduced. They believed she was the key to the creation of super soldiers, much like Captain America."

Fury stood in silence as he stared up at the picture of Captain Hill. This was certainly very interesting but most of all very disturbing. The reports in front of him suggested that this decorated Captain was subjected to heinous acts by the U.S. Military, right under his nose. They clearly did everything in their power to keep this off of SHIELD's radar, and this made Fury very nervous.

"She is alive?" asked Fury.

"Yes."

Coulson moved to stand next to Fury staring at the files on the screen.

"You know where she is."

Coulson didn't answer, refusing to confirm or deny Fury's statement.

Fury's eyebrows rose. Fury had never seen this side of Coulson before. He seemed reluctant to give up this information.

"You are suggesting that Captain Hill become the Deputy Director?" tried Fury again.

Coulson nodded at this question, "she is everything you need."

Fury stepped forward and stared at the reports before him. Coulson's words, "she is everything you need," echoed in his mind. He read the reports for a second time before turning to Coulson.

"I would like to meet her."

Coulson nodded before stepping forward, his eyes hardening before speaking.

"I want your word that you won't conduct any tests on her."

Fury didn't outwardly react to Coulson's demeanor or words but internally he was quite surprised by the complete change in the man before him. This was a Coulson he did not recognize. He had always considered Coulson his right hand man. Coulson always followed orders, but here he was, giving him an ultimatum.

Fury nodded.

"She will not be subjected to any tests."

Coulson didn't relax nor acknowledge his words.

"There are still high ranking military officials looking for her. She will need protection from them."

Fury nodded at this. This could be easily done. He would make in known to all branches of the military that Captain Hill was a member of SHIELD and no longer their concern.

"Done."

Coulson leveled Fury with a look before speaking, his voice cold and hard.

"You might have everyone else in SHIELD believing that we are better, that we are good, but you and I both know we have done things off the books that weren't right or honorable, all in the name of peace. So let me tell you something right now," Coulson paused making sure Fury was watching his every move.

The stiffness in Fury's shoulders at his words told Coulson that Fury was very much paying attention and that he did not like Coulson's tone, at all. Coulson paid no mind though and stepped closer to Fury looking him dead in the eye.

"If you make one step backwards, one slip up, give me one reason that you may hurt her…you will regret it. I will not hesitate. If there's a way out there to hurt you, I will find it," Coulson paused giving Fury one last look, "and I think you know more than anyone that I do not make idle threats."

The silence was uncomfortable, a silence between two men that for the first time in a long time displayed their true selves to one another. The powerful, dangerous men that they kept hidden beneath their well-trained persona were on display for both to see.

"You have my word Phil."

Coulson relaxed at Fury's words. His body no longer displayed the aggressiveness that it had just a few seconds prior, instead he slipped back into the calm, passive, stoic as ever, Agent Coulson.

"She is in New York, living under the alias Katie Warren."

"I want to meet her."

"When?"

"Now."

Coulson parked the SUV in front of a very rundown apartment complex. He ignored any look that Fury gave as he quickly opened the door. The sound of sirens and booming music from the occasional passing car echoed through the street. Fury got out of the car and followed Coulson up the steps into the apartment complex.

Fury was taking in his surroundings and almost found himself bumping into Coulson, whom stopped suddenly at the top of the stair. Coulson seemed to be frozen at the top of the stairs. Fury watched as Coulson turned his head and his eyes narrowed to a lone black SUV parked down the street. The windows, even the front, were so darkly tinted that you couldn't see if anyone was in the vehicle. Coulson stared at the SUV for another split second before moving forward and opening the door. Fury gave a passing glance at the SUV over his shoulder just as the door shut behind him.

Coulson led Fury down a hallway and then to a flight of stairs. They walked up the stairs in silence. They finally reached the top floor and Coulson pushed through the door and turned right, leading Fury down a dimly lit hallway.

The sound of a baby crying, music being blared, and TV's followed them until they reached the door at the end of the hallway with the number eleven on it.

"Stand off to the side," nodded Coulson, "She won't open the door if she sees you."

Fury lifted his eyebrow at the comment but nonetheless stepped aside out of the line of sight of the peephole and the door and placed himself up against the wall.

After a long moment Coulson lifted his hand and knocked.

Fury raised his eyebrows at the sound of scuffling and then a loud bang, and then an equally as loud 'fuck' echoing through the door.

Ignoring Fury's pointed stare, Coulson cleared his throat. It certainly didn't sound like a future Deputy Director of SHIELD was on the other side of that door. The sound of multiple locks being unlocked could be heard as the door opened just slightly, the chain still in place. The face of a woman with short black hair, wearing dark sunglasses appeared.

"Phil," smiled the woman on the other side. "What are you doing here?"

To anyone else they would see a smiling woman excited to see a friend at the door. But Coulson knew better. It was an act, a very good one at that.

"Katie," he nodded, smiling back. "I was in town and figured I would stop in and check on you."

The smile was still on the woman's face but Coulson could see the tenseness in her shoulders, she was on alert. They stared at each other for a few more seconds before the door was promptly shut in his face.

Coulson stared at the closed door in confusion and tried to ignore the look Fury was throwing at him. He opened his mouth to talk through the door, but the sound of the chain on the door being unlocking was heard and then the door opened.

"Come on in Phil," said the woman walking away from him and the around the corner. "Shut the door on your way in. I have dinner in the oven that needs to come out."

Sighing in relief before motioning for Fury to follow him, both men walked into the home as Coulson closed the door behind them. The two silently walked down the hallway.

"I hope your hungry Phil," her voice carrying through the apartment. "I have lasagna just coming out of the oven."

Coulson motioned for Fury to stop and stay around the corner. As he replied, "I am actually starving."

He moved around the corner with a smile on his face, "I would love some…." Coulson was greeted with the barrel of a gun pointed at his head.

There stood Captain Hill with one gun to Coulson's head and another pointed at the corner of the hallway.

"Make one move Phil and I will blow your head off."

"Capta…" Coulson tried, but he was cut off.

"Don't Phil! Tell the man around the corner to come out slowly."

Coulson gulped but very slowly not making any sudden movements motioned for Fury to come from around the corner.

Hearing everything that happened, Fury quickly had his gun in hand but the look in Coulson's eyes as he stared down at the gun told him to put it away. He re-holstered his gun, not liking this situation at all. He rounded the corner slowly with his hands in the air and was now staring down the barrel of a gun.

Captain Hill growled in Fury's direction before turning on Phil but also not letting Fury out of her sight.

"What the fuck is going on Phil! You bring this man into my apartment! Did you finally sell me out? You better have more than just you two of you if you plan on bringing me in because I will kill both of you and then kill as many as those fuckers as possible! I will die before I let them get their hands on me!"

Fury watched the situation in silence hoping Coulson could calm her down before they both were killed.

"Captain Hill this is Nicholas J. Fury, my boss, and Director of SHIELD," hands still in the air Coulson nodded his head towards Fury.

"He's here to offer you a job."

Captain Hill tensed and as she stared at Coulson beneath her glasses before turning to Fury.

"SHIELD?"

Fury tensed at the growl in her tone and the way her finger twitched on the trigger. He stared at her for a few more moment, his eye watching her trigger finger before answering.

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. We are a very much classified force that protects the world from threats."

Captain Hill's finger twitched on the trigger again, clearly no believing a word that the Fury said before she turned back to Coulson.

"You work for this SHIELD organization?"

"Yes" nodded Coulson his voice calm and steady. "Director Fury recruited me right out of West Point."

Captain Hill and Coulson seemed to have a silent staring match for minutes and Fury got the feeling that this was a common thing between the two. Captain Hill was clearly trying to determine if what she was being told was true and Coulson was trying to look as open and honest as possible.

Finally Captain Hill dropped her guns slowly until they were pointed at the ground. Fury didn't feel relieved. The Captain's body language told him that just because she wasn't pointing her gun at him any longer didn't make the situation anymore safe.

"I swear to fucking god if this is a trap I will kill you both in the worse possible ways," Captain Hill all but growled at them before nodding her head towards the table, indicating for them to sit.

Coulson gave an audible sigh of relief before looking at Fury with a forced smile as they both made their way to the table.

Captain Hill sat at the end of the table as far away from the two as possible and Fury instantly noticed her hands were on her lap no doubt still pointing the guns at both Coulson and himself.

"I refuse to work for the military anymore," said Captain Hill breaking the silence.

"We are not the military," pointed out Fury.

Captain's Hill's tensed at Fury's words and didn't speak for quite some time.

"Why did you bring this man into my house Phil," she hissed. "You know that I want nothing to do with that life anymore. You just blew the cover that I have spent the past 4 months creating."

Coulson shot the woman a disbelieving look at her verbal attack.

"If I noticed the government issued SUV down the road then I know you have too. You have been made and you know it."

Fury watched the Captain stiffen at Coulson's words but her silence afterwards and the fact that she didn't check the window told Fury that she had noticed the vehicle.

Coulson nodded at her acknowledging her silent agreement with his observation.

"Like I said, he has a job offer for you and I think you should take it," said Coulson. "He can protect you from the people looking for you. He also agreed that there will be no testing. You can only run for so long Maria."

The use of her first name had her frozen. The only movement was small tick in her jaw. Finally, she turned to Fury.

"How are you able to protect me from the highest ranking military members of the United States?"

"Simple," answered Fury. "I rank higher."

Silence overcame the room.

"What is the job?"

Coulson let out an audible sigh of relief at her words.

Fury and Captain Hill completely ignored him as they continued staring at each other, a clear power struggle at play.

"I want you to be Deputy Director of SHIELD, my second in command."

The Captain gave a disbelieving laugh at this, "you cannot be serious."

Her laugh quickly died off as she realized Fury was continuing to stare at her, his face showing no amusement. Captain Hill looked at Fury and then to Coulson.

"Is he serious?"

"You will find Captain Hill," said Fury crossing his arms across his chest and leaning back in his chair. "That I am always serious."

"You want me to be the Deputy Director of an organization that I know nothing about?"

"Yes," answered Fury leveling her with a look.

Captain Hill stared at him for a few seconds before she repeated his earlier action and leaned back in her chair. She lifted her arms and placed both guns on the table, making sure to keep them pointed forward.

"You know nothing about me."

Coulson cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably in his chair as both Captain Hill and Fury brought their gaze to him.

"I have showed Director Fury all the files and have updated him about your condition as well as your dealing with the U.S. Military."

Captain Hill tensed at his words and Coulson shifted in his chair more as she brought her gaze from an uncomfortable Coulson then back to Fury.

"So you know what the files say," growled out Captain Hill to Fury before pushing herself from the table abruptly and standing.

"Those files," she spat out, placing her palms on the table just millimeters from the handles of the gun. "Only tell part of the story."

Fury leaned back in his chair placing some distance between himself and the angry Captain.

"We all have a story Captain and I am certainly not asking for yours. I am asking you work for me. Help me and in return I will help you."

Captain Hill stared at him for a few moments before sitting back down in the chair.

Fury watched as the Captain rolled her shoulders and as the angry Captain before him began to turn into something else entirely. Walls went up, her shoulders became rigid and suddenly she became bigger, more imposing.

"When do I start?"

Coulson's words echoed in Fury's mind as he stared at the formidable woman.

"She is everything you need."

Fury smirked.

"Now."