"Hill, seriously? Does this feel like the right time?" Nick Fury, Agent Hill's boss, questioned his subordinate as he furrowed his brow, his unpatched eye looking at Roxanne skeptically.

"Fury, I know what you're going to say," the agent began explaining, showing one of her palms for transparency. "But I have decided to trust my instincts on this one. She can help us."

"Can she?" Black Widow asked, arching an eyebrow at the newcomer.

As she glanced at the faces that surrounded her, Ro gulped as she found everyone's expressions to be raging from incredulous to unimpressed. That is, everyone's except Captain America's. Her gaze landed on him once again to find him eyeing her with mere curiosity. This, far from making her feel less uncomfortable, only increased her anxiety, for she was having a hard time reading his more neutral expression.

"Woah, I'm sorry, someone must've forgotten to fill me in," the younger Black man exclaimed sarcastically as he gestured towards Roxanne. "Who is this?"

Hill took a step back and put a hand on Ro's shoulder as she addressed the rest of the group. "This is Roxanne Brooks, codename: Seda. A semi-recently discovered superpowered individual whom I think will be of great assistance to our mission."

Ro grinned nervously at the others. The agent now addressed her. "Brooks, meet Samuel Wilson, AKA The Falcon, army veteran and one of our few current allies. You're familiar with my immediate superior and SHIELD director Nick Fury, I believe. As for the other two, well, they need no introduction."

"Seda, you say?" Steve Rogers, Captain America, finally spoke, still eyeing the young hero curiously. "Are you that spider girl from New York?"

"Yes. Wow," Ro chuckled awkwardly, her face turning even redder than it already was. "Captain America knows who I am. I, I wasn't expecting that."

"Are we sure this is her? I thought Seda was Latina," the red-haired Natasha Romanoff, Black Widow, questioned.

"I am, yes. S-Seda, I mean," Ro clarified. "I'm not Latina, obviously. But my adoptive family is. I-I sorta picked the name as a kind of homage to them." She outstretched her palms as her babbling became increasingly more nervous. "With all due respect, Ms. Black Widow, ma'am! I-I'm sorry if my answer sounded rude. I didn't mean for it to. Last thing I'd wanna do is disrespect any of you in any sort of..."

"Brooks. Focus," Maria Hill called her attention.

The girl stopped talking and looked from her recruiter's stoic face to the others, whose expressions had remained nearly unchanged from the moment they saw her. She put her hands behind her back and sheepishly looked to the floor. "I'll shut up now."

Hill continued. "Brooks here is another one of HYDRA's targets and enemies." She regarded Captain America. "A few days ago, they sent your good friend Barnes after her before they switched their sights to Fury."

Ro couldn't help but take notice of the way the agent referred to her assailant. His good friend?

"What would HYDRA want with her?" Romanoff wondered.

"Project Arachne."

There was silence for a moment. Nick Fury crossed his arms, as the other three exchanged unknowing looks with one another.

"Are we supposed to know what that is?" Sam Wilson, or Falcon, as Hill had noted, finally asked.

Ro and Maria shared a look. "Show 'em," the latter said, tilting her head lightly.

The younger woman nodded, then exhaled sharply as she took a few steps back and examined the dimly lit room. She looked up and mentally tried to measure the distance she would have to jump. Ro promptly took a more appropriate stance and, accompanied by a THWIP sound, threw a string of web from her left wrist to one of the rooms upper corners, and used the web to swing to the spot, sticking herself upside-down on the ceiling.

"WOAH!" both Wilson and Rogers exclaimed once they saw the unusual, quick motion complete.

"Guess that clears it up, then," Black Widow said bluntly, raising her eyebrows as they all stared at the arachnid girl in the corner. She didn't seem remarkably impressed. Or if she was, she was hiding it incredibly well.

Roxanne let out another nervous chuckle. "Yeah. To be honest, I don't know what that project is either." She began climbing down the wall and back to the ground. "All I know is that it's the reason why I can do that, among other things. I was only 13 when HYDRA experimented on me, but I somehow managed to get away, and they've been looking for me ever since."

"They hadn't been able to find her because she hid her abilities from the public for almost ten years," Hill continued. "She only recently ended up on their radar because, inspired by your actions, Cap, she decided to use her abilities to help the people around her."

Cap squinted at Roxanne like a child studying a newly discovered insect through a magnifying glass. He seemed particularly focused on her face. Then, his eyes lit up in recognition.

"You're that girl from the Chitauri invasion," he exclaimed.

"There were hundreds of civilians running around during the Chitauri invasion, and plenty of them were women," Romanoff pointed out. "You're going to have to be a little more specific."

"She had almost gotten crushed by a building saving two of her friends. One of them was a kid who was about 10 years old."

"They're my siblings, and my kid brother was 11, actually," Ro corrected, giggling nervously. "He's 13 now, and he'd be totally losing his mind if he knew I was talking to you right now. I guess now would be a bad time to ask for a picture and an autograph." Judging by the way Agent Hill was covering her face with her hand, Ro probably should have kept that last sentence to herself.

"You'll have plenty of time for that after we deal with our current problem," Fury cut in, sternly. "I know we're asking a lot out of a new recruit with next to no experience, but you're kinda our only option right now."

"Your only option to do what exactly?" Ro asked.

"Catch," Cap said to her, tossing her what looked like a computer chip of sorts. "Long story short, HYDRA is about to launch three flying tanks with enough weapons to take out millions of people all at once. We need to put those into them before the weapons go online, and we have to get to all three of them. If we miss even one, they'll take out anyone and everyone HYDRA deems a threat."

"Hey Steve, I get that we could use all the help we can get right now," Sam protested, "but are we sure about her? She did get her powers from HYDRA, so who's to say she's not some sort of double agent?"

Ro couldn't help but be reminded of Alejandro and his betrayal by this statement, and a look of disgust crossed her face at the insinuation that she could potentially do the same thing as him. She let out a loud scoff. "I can assure you, I am not. I barely know anything about HYDRA, but I've crossed paths with them enough to know they're literally the last people on the planet I'd want to work for."

"I wouldn't have brought her here if we hadn't already thoroughly examined her background and files, Wilson," agent Hill explained. "After she was given her abilities as a teenager, she has had no other association with any other entities that could even be considered remotely suspicious."

Ro felt her throat dry a little. Technically, she did have one other association other than that, but it was the last thing she wanted to discuss right now. Or ever, for that matter. Not that a sicko toying with her feelings for two years would be all that relevant to them, anyway. None of that changed the fact that Ro had never willingly had anything to do with HYDRA, nor did she want to.

"And for her little experience, Brooks has already escaped from HYDRA forces no less than three times, one of which involved surviving an attack from the Winter Soldier."

"Huh. Gotta admit, not too shabby for a rookie," Natasha added, giving a slight nod of approval.

Roxanne couldn't help but half-smile sheepishly at the Avenger's compliment. Or at least, probably the closest thing she was going to get to a compliment from her. But the smile faded just as quickly as it had formed.

"Listen, Hill," she began as she nervously fidgeted with the chip in her hands. "Like I told you, I'm honored that you would even consider me for this mission, but, maybe they're right. Maybe this is too tall of an order for me."

She began to hand the agent the small object as Captain America approached her. "Maybe it's not."

Ro gasped as she turned and looked at the tall, blond man with a look of surprise.

"Do you mind if I talk to you in private for a moment, uhm, Roxanne, was it?"

Ro felt her legs shake a little. She could hardly believe her idol was talking to her once again, let alone addressing her by name. She turned to look at Hill again, who simply gave her a shrug, as if to say: "Do what you want, I'm not your babysitter."

"Uh, y-yeah, sure thing, Captain Rogers."

Steve then exited the room through a different door than the one Roxanne had entered through with Maria, and the girl followed suit. The exit led to a long hallway, ever so slightly more illuminated than the quarters they had just exited, though not by much. Once they reached the end of the hallway, the Avenger turned around and regarded the rookie.

"I don't know if Agent Hill told you this already, but I actually suggested your recruitment to the Avengers some time ago. I didn't know your identity yet, but I was impressed and thankful that there was still someone looking out for New York since I couldn't be there all the time, let alone take care of smaller-level crimes. Something told me that whoever was under the mask had true hero potential."

Ro screamed internally. It took all of her willpower to not faint at that moment, although the redness in her face surely betrayed her true feelings.

"Now that I know that you're that girl from the invasion," Steve continued, "I'm getting more and more convinced. The way you saved your siblings that day truly impressed me. Not everyone has the courage and instincts to make that sort of sacrifice with no second thoughts."

The small smile he had on his face faded and his expression and tone became more solemn. "What we're asking you to do is potentially a much bigger sacrifice than that. I won't try to fool you. Our chances of succeeding are slim, and we can't guarantee your safety or well-being. But if we do succeed, we are going to save many, many lives, and given what you do, well, I want to believe doing that means something to you."

The girl tensed for a moment, then let out a sigh. "Of course it does. And, and it's not like I don't wanna help. I want to protect others, especially my family, but..." she sighed once again, dejectedly. "You saw how they reacted back there. None of your friends seem exactly eager to give me a chance, and honestly, with everything that's happening right now, I can't say I blame them." She lowered her gaze and frowned a little as a specific, highly unpleasant memory crossed her mind. "I'm not as ignorant as they think. I know first-hand what it's like to be betrayed by someone who seemed trustworthy. Someone who you would've never expected to stab you in the back but turns out to have been using you all along."

She suddenly looked up at Steve Rogers nervously, as she realized that what she was saying was starting to get a bit too personal. The man simply furrowed his brow faintly and looked at the ground, thinking. A few seconds of awkward silence followed until he finally spoke again.

"Let me ask you something, Brooks. Do you trust me?"

"Me?" Ro asked, taken slightly aback, but she quickly shook it off. "Yes, of course I trust you, Captain Rogers. You're one of the world's greatest heroes."

"Well, as it turns out, there's a great deal of people who don't think that way, and see me as their enemy. The fact that you trust me, the Avengers, or any other person whom you consider close, means you're willing to believe in them. I know that can sometimes lead to grave mistakes, but other times, if we choose carefully, it can be our best bet. Well Roxanne, if you're willing to help us, I'm willing to take a chance on you today. But ultimately, it's up to you."

The girl stared up at the captain wide-eyed, impressed by his words. Although she didn't say so aloud, she felt oddly reassured by how similar Rogers' viewpoint on trust and who to place it on were to her own. It was a welcome change after the cold treatment almost everyone else had given her for the past couple of days.

She looked down at the chip in her hand, and ran a finger on its edges as she thought. She still felt very much unqualified for this job and uncertain about her own skills. If she fumbled or messed up in any way, she could very easily get herself or, worse, someone else killed.

However, not helping didn't seem like a much better option. Not only would she feel like a perfect coward and let the man who literally saved her life down, but if HYDRA began a world-wide killing spree, if her family got hurt or even killed in the crossfire, if everything ended in a horrible tragedy, how could she live with herself knowing she had the chance to do something to stop it and didn't take it?

Both options terrified her. But it was clear which of the two was the lesser evil.

She finally looked Cap in the eye, and gave him a nod. "Alright. I'll help you." There was still fear in her eyes, but also determination.

Rogers returned the nod. "Great. Let's go, then."

He turned around to return to the room they had left moments before, but Ro stopped him in his tracks, suddenly remembering something.

"Wait, Captain Rogers!"

The man looked down at her and gave her another small smile. "Call me Steve."

She returned his smile, another blush crossing her cheeks. However, her tone quickly became more serious. "Steve, if you don't mind, I wanted to ask you about something, and I hope I'm not intruding, but," she hesitated, then continued. "Back there, Hill called the guy who tried to kidnap me your 'good friend'. Did you know him?"

Steve's smile faded quickly. He looked down in pain and regret, struggling to find his voice for a moment. This was clearly a sensitive topic for him, and Ro was about to backpedal on it, but he sighed and answered before she could.

"Yeah, I did. His name's Bucky, and he was my best friend back in the 40s. We grew up together, and we ended up fighting HYDRA together. Up until now, I thought he was dead."

Roxanne's mouth fell agape. In no way, shape, or form could she have been prepared for any part of Steve's answer. That guy used to be Captain America's best friend? When Hill called him Steve's 'old friend', she was sure that she was being sarcastic and that they had merely crossed paths or fought in the past. And he came from the 40s as well? He certainly didn't look like it at first glance. Then again, neither did Steve. She knew he still had a youthful appearance thanks to having spent around 70 years in suspended animation in ice. But what about that other guy? Bucky, was it? -She definitely was not expecting him to have a name like that, either- Did HYDRA do something similar to him?

"Wait," the girl wondered aloud, "if he fought HYDRA with you, why is he working with them now? Did, did he betray you?"

"No," Steve quickly answered, shaking his head. "I know Bucky well enough to know this wasn't his choice. I don't know what happened, but based on what I've heard about Project Arachne, I have a feeling that whatever they did to him, they probably wanted to do to you if they got their hands on you."

Ro gulped, horrified at the thought of what would've happened had any of her previous escapes been unsuccessful. "So," her voice trembled slightly as she recalled what the Vidal Francos had told her two years prior, "kidnapping, brainwashing, and being turned into a human weapon were probably involved?"

"Yeah, probably. Considering he doesn't seem to remember me or anything from his past." While still saddened, a look of great determination crossed the man's face. "And I don't know how, but I'm gonna get him out of there. I'm gonna get my friend back."

He then resumed his way back to the meeting room with a steadfast, resolute pace. Ro, still processing that last bit of information, stayed behind for a few beats, then followed after Steve again.

"Do you think that's even possible?" she asked him.

"I don't know that, either. But I sure as hell won't stop trying until I do. Whatever it takes."

The young woman's pace slowed down a little as she looked at Steve in admiration, who kept his eyes straight ahead as he continued walking without slowing down.

It looks like Ro's train of thought from earlier that day wasn't so out there after all. That man did indeed have a life before HYDRA. A life that included a friendship with Captain America, of all people. And his fate, indeed, had been something akin to what HYDRA's original plans had been for Roxanne. She could only imagine the horrors all of that implied.

She was still cautious about him of course, but if someone like Steve Rogers held him in such high esteem and was so determined to rescue him and bring back the man that he knew... surely he couldn't have been that bad of a person before it all happened, right?

Could someone like him still have a chance?

Steve returned to the rest of the group, Roxanne following closely behind. They found Maria and Fury sitting at a table behind a couple of laptops, with Natasha and Sam sitting around them. Once again, all eyes in the room turned to the newcomer.

"So?" Hill inquired, addressing both of them.

"I'm in," Ro answered with a nod. Although not very overtly, one corner of the agent's mouth turned upward, giving her recruit a smug look of approval.

Sam turned to Steve with a questioning look, who nodded in confirmation. The former let out a resigned sigh.

"I still don't think this is the right time. But, if Steve's made up his mind about it, there won't be any changing it now," he accepted with a shrug, and then stood up in front of Ro, extending a hand for her to shake. "Welcome aboard. Guess we'll see what you got."

The girl shook his hand and gave him a timid, awkward grin. While Sam did not return it, he eyed the girl with curiosity and returned to his seat. While this welcome felt far from warm, Ro was glad that at least one other member of the team had decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. But what about the rest?

"Wilson is right. Under any other circumstance, we wouldn't be doing this here, now, or in this manner," Nick Fury, who was sporting a beat-up appearance from his recent accident, spoke from where he sat. "The timing of your recruitment was unfortunate to say the least, Ms. Brooks, but all things considered, you're way better off giving us a hand here than back in HQ where HYDRA could take advantage of the chaos to snag you for themselves."

Ro tightened her lips and nodded in agreement.

"We are way over our heads with this mission as it is," he continued addressing her, "So all I will advise you is: follow orders, don't get killed, and don't pull any weird $#!+. You got that?"

The young woman felt a chill run down her spine. If his stern attitude and commanding presence was enough of an indication, Fury undoubtedly was the type of person one does not want to get on the bad side of.

"Yes, sir," Ro replied stiffly, barely avoiding her voice from cracking.

"Romanoff?"

The redhead woman, who was sitting across from Fury, had simply been staring at Roxanne attentively the entire time. She slightly narrowed her eyes and looked from the arachnid woman to Steve and back again. She finally stood up and approached Ro slowly without breaking eye contact. The brunette girl was feeling increasingly intimidated, and it showed in her expression.

"Fine by me," the Black Widow finally spoke as she crossed her arms. "There's just one question I need you to answer before I can start trusting you."

She paused for a moment, and Ro's entire body tensed up in anticipation. "Are you single?" she asked in a far more casual tone.

Steve groaned in annoyance. "Nat!"

Ro's body relaxed and she let out a sigh. "Newly," she rolled her eyes, bitterness in her voice. "I'd rather not talk about it. The less said about that, the better."

Natasha pursed her lips and eyed Steve with a pensive glare.

"Nat, don't," Steve warned, still visibly ticked.

"What? I'm not gonna set you up with a girl who just broke up. I'd wait at least a year."

Ro's eyes widened as a panic light lit up in her head, all conversation around her fading into muffled, indistinguishable background noise as she fixated on that statement.

Did she just say "set Steve up"? With her??? She had to be joking, right? The girl couldn't deny that it was an intriguing, and certainly appealing, idea. Not only was Steve a brave, kind, admirable person who had done so much for her personally as well as for the whole world, but he was also not bad to look at. At all. Roxanne wouldn't admit it aloud to anyone, not even to her siblings, but Rogers had sort of become a bit of a celebrity crush for her ever since the day of the Chitauri invasion. As girlish and embarrassing as that may sound.

But actually dating him? Could she ever do it? Not only was she excruciatingly unworthy of someone as extraordinary as Steve Rogers, but, as much as she hated to admit it, she still hadn't been able to get over Alejandro.

After all that time, the pain and emptiness that the fiend's betrayal had left her with hadn't vanished. Sure, it was easier to ignore a majority of the time, but whenever the idea of trying to date someone else was even suggested by her sister, mother, or anyone else, the girl felt sick at the mere thought and rejected it altogether.

How stupid, right? Despite that monster making it crystal clear that he never loved her, would never care for her, and didn't have the slightest intention of changing his ways for her or anyone else, she somehow still refused to completely let go of those two years of empty lies - evidently, she and Black Widow had very different definitions of "newly" single.

And sure, Steve Rogers would be, without a trace of a doubt, a much better prospect than Alex ever was. She could be certain that he would be honest with her and wouldn't play her the same way her last "boyfriend" had. The problem was, unsurprisingly, herself. There's no way someone like him could ever take interest in dumb, boring, unappealing her. She couldn't even dream of maintaining a relationship like that, let alone scoring a date.

All in all, the mere suggestion of it was a crazy idea.

Wasn't it?

"Brooks, you still with us?" Nat called Ro's attention back to reality.

The girl blinked a few times and shook her head a little bit as she tried to snap out of her thoughts. "Huh?"

"You blanked out for a while, there," the former spy explained calmly with a small smirk. "Look, I can tell you're not ready to date, and I respect that. Just been trying to help the old fossil over there get back in the market," she tilted her head toward Steve, who was now sitting where Natasha had been, seemingly having a private discussion with the other three. "He could use some warmth in his life after having spent so long in ice, y'know?"

Natasha winked at Ro, and the latter let out a somewhat timid, but genuine chuckle at the statement. She felt surprised at the change of attitude in the woman Avenger. Although she knew better than to get overtly chummy with her right away, maybe she wasn't as intimidating as Ro had initially thought.

"Come on. Let's go grab you a weapon," Natasha said as she walked towards the door to the long hallway, gesturing for Ro to follow her.

"Wait. What?" Ro exclaimed as she followed. "A weapon?"

"Don't worry. We'll start you off with something easy," Natasha continued as she led Roxanne down the hallway to a small room that just happened to have guns mounted from wall to wall. "Do you know how to use a gun?"

"Uh, no, not at all," Roxanne replied. She slowly scanned the room, trying not to think about the last time she had a gun in her hands and trying not to gag when the memory slipped into her mind unbidden anyway.

"Okay, that's fine," Natasha noted, grabbing two small pistols from the wall. "I know we're in a time crunch, but we might have enough time to just go over the basics."

"Wait," Ro cried out. "It's not that I don't appreciate you trying to help me, but I'm really not comfortable having a gun in my hands, not right now, at least."

"Okay, so, we need to find something easier than easy, practically level zero."

"Yeah." Roxanne winced. Something about the way Natasha said "level zero" reminded her about how Hill had called her a daffodil on the car ride over. When it came to leaving a good impression on her teammates, for every small step Ro took forward, she seemed to make one giant step back.

"How about these?" Nat opened a box which contained a bunch of small tube-shaped objects inside. She took one out and showed it to Roxanne.

"What is it?" the girl asked, examining the item in confusion.

"They're smoke bombs," the Russian agent explained. "Not technically a weapon, but good for a diversion or quick getaway. Think about it."

"Huh," Ro contemplated as she took the small item in her hand. She thought about the many times she had to make quick escapes in the past, even as recently as earlier that same week. She was beginning to wonder if maybe running away was all she was good at, but if that was the case, she might as well find ways to do it more effectively. "Maybe this is a bit more my style."

Natasha, who was already putting a few more smoke bombs onto a utility belt, smirked at the newbie. "I thought you might say that."

She then handed Ro the packed belt and walked past her back to the meeting room. "Now come on. We're gonna go through the whole plan one more time, and it now includes you, so you might wanna pay attention. And maybe take notes, just in case."

She exited through the door, and Ro lingered behind for a moment, her feelings of inadequacy and of being unprepared for the job back in full swing. However, now, there really was no turning back. She simply had to try. The young hero took a deep shuddering breath and followed Black Widow to where the rest of the team was. She pressed her lips into a hard, thin line as they were all briefed over the part each one would play in this crucial mission to try and take down HYDRA once and for all.

No pressure.

_______________________________________________________

"Hey, this is Camila. Please leave a message. Unless you're Joey Gonzalez. Hang up now, Joey. You know what you did!"

Roxanne couldn't help but roll her eyes. Camila didn't always have terrible breakups, but when she did, she always changed her voicemail greeting to some variation of "Hang up. You know what you did!"

"Hola, hermana. It's Ro. I just got assigned to my first Avengers mission. Yay," Roxanne cheered unenthusiastically. "If I don't sound excited, it's because," she sighed and continued, "I'm not. There's no easy way to say this, but this first mission is a lot more dangerous than I bargained for, and..."

Roxanne trailed off as she felt her voice hitch. She took several deep breaths to calm herself enough to talk normally again.

"I might not come back. Ever. There is so much I wish I could say, and I'm sorry that I couldn't leave you guys a better goodbye. I mean, there's a chance that this isn't goodbye, but it's pretty slim. If you don't hear anything from me in two or three days," her voice began to break, "it probably means I didn't make it. If that ends up being the case, tell the family that I love them and that whatever sacrifice I had to make, it was worth keeping you guys safe and alive. I love you."

As she sent the message, the tears that had built up while she recorded it escaped from her eyes. As only a thin door and wall currently separated her from the rest of the group, she tried to keep her sobs as quiet as possible so as to avoid showing any further signs of weakness. Hill had allowed her a few moments of privacy to communicate with her family before they set off to carry out the dangerous mission. Ro knew that Camila was working at this time and would likely not pick up her phone, but that was probably for the better. Speaking to her directly would've only made this harder than it already was.

After a few moments, a knock was heard on the cramped storage room's door. "Brooks, we're leaving in five minutes," agent Hill said from the other side.

Roxanne sighed and cleared her throat. "Okay," she replied.

She wiped her face dry and took a series of deep breaths, gathering herself, all while silently praying for a positive outcome. She was aware of the dangers that awaited them the moment they set foot in SHIELD HQ. Although the instructions she had received had been relatively clear and easy, she still feared messing up and dooming not just her partners but thousands of people. Being on high alert and remarkably focused had never been more imperative than now.

Once she felt her breath was relatively steady and her eyes no longer watery, Ro opened the door and got out into the hideout's parking lot, through which she and Hill had arrived. There she found the agent, standing alongside Steve and Sam, all of them geared up in their respective uniforms. Ro couldn't help but notice how Cap's uniform had a more vintage look compared to the ones she had seen him wearing in more recent photos and news reports. In fact, this one looked pretty much identical to one she had seen at the Captain America exhibit at the Smithsonian with Manuel's class a few days prior.

"You got your chip?" Hill asked, interrupting Ro's not-so-subtle staring of Steve, who luckily didn't seem to have noticed, as he was conversing with Wilson.

The girl's attention snapped away from the blond man and back to the SHIELD agent. "Uh, yeah, right here," she confirmed as she took it out of a small pouch in her newly-acquired utility belt, which went around both her waist and upper left thigh. Aside from the chip, the belt also carried a few smoke bombs, provided by Black Widow, who had left roughly an hour earlier along with Fury.

"And you remember the code you have to input?" Maria asked further.

"I do, but just in case..." she rolled back the sleeve of both her jacket and jumpsuit just enough to reveal her left wrist, which she showed Hill. A series of digits was written on it with marker.

"Good thinking," the agent remarked with a smirk. She then took out a small item from her pocket and handed it to the girl. "You're gonna need this."

It was an earpiece, which Roxanne immediately recognized as a communicator, which she put on immediately.

"So, any questions before we head out, or should we get going?"

As is common whenever most people are asked this question, Roxanne seemed to blank out on what she could ask. She glanced back at Hill and then at the two men, who were now looking at her expectantly.

The girl exhaled through her teeth and gave Maria Hill a shrug. "I guess let's get going."

_______________________________________________________

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm sorry for the weird censor blob in the second illustration. I'm honestly scared that Wattpad is going to flag the image as "innapropiate" for including guns, even if just silhouetted, so I'd rather be safe than sorry. If you want to see the full image, please remember to check out this same fanfic on AO3 as well.

Anyway, THE STORY IS BACK! Again... Yeah, I know, I know. Doesn't look good to have had two longer-than-expected hiatuses back-to-back, especially after I had already announced that I'd try to update once a month. But what can I say? Life happens, especially for an adult. But as I've reiterated many times: I have no plans to abandon this story, and I intend to finish it, regardless of how long it takes me! And if you're reading this, I'd like to give you an extra thanks for the extra patience, but more than that, to make up for it with two new chapters in a row. Keep on reading! ;)