"Why is it that all the women in my life always seem to manage to point a gun at me?" Sage asked, absolutely unbothered by Maria's serious gaze or the loaded gun aimed at her, "I mean if I had a nickel for every time this has happened, I'd have two. Which isn't very much, but it is strange that this has happened twice."

"Enough, Sage." Maria stated, "This isn't a game. I mean, you have to realize the significance of this entire situation right?"

"I do, and I also recognize that ironically, you don't." Sage stated.

"Really?" Maria asked, "How about you enlighten me then?"

"In due time, Deputy Director." Sage stated as she held her left arm out to the chaotic nightclub.

A bright blue light lit up from the burning top floor and out from the guzzling smoke flew Sage's Phase Chamber. It shot out from the building and zipped its way down the building at blinding speeds, doing a sharp curve before it hit the ground and landing in Sage's hand once she caught it.

"That thing still works?" Maria asked in surprise as Sage placed the Phase Chamber back onto her shoulder guard.

"Of course," Sage said as she started walking past her, but Maria stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Didn't I just tell you not to move?" Maria asked.

Sage turned her head to face her, both noticing how close they were to each other. Maria, although she hid it quite well, was flustered by how close they were to each other and the same could be said about Sage. While Maria knew these were feelings she had been trying to hide, Sage found them, like everything she discovered, interesting.

Sage smirked, "You weren't going to shoot me."

"You sure about that?" Maria asked.

Sage looked down at Maria's hand and she held onto it, causing Maria to stiffen at the touch. Sage leaned closer to her with a brief glance at her lips then back to her eyes, her smirk growing from seeing the effect she had on Maria.

"10 billion percent~" Sage whispered, sending shivers running down Maria's spine.

Sage moved Maria's hand away as she continued to walk past her towards a truck that slowly approached and stopped in front of Sage.

"Our ride's here." Sage announced, snapping Maria out of her trance. She turned around to see Sage leaning against the truck with a smirk and quirked eyebrow, "You coming?"

Maria widened her eyes at the sight of the truck. While it did seem familiar from the last time she'd seen it, the changes were quite significant.

The Peterbilt truck that Sage had taken ownership of sported a fresh coat of paint with a dark blue base and red flames traveling along the front along with the back. It was bigger than she had last seen it and an interesting symbol was embedded on the front of the truck.

"So this what you've been doing for the past 6 months?" Maria asked.

"That and a lot more." Sage said with a nod.

"A lot more that you won't explain?" Maria asked with a raised brow.

"I'll explain on the road." Sage said as she opened the door for her, "You do want to know what's really going on, don't you?"

Maria looked at the nightclub that was starting to get swarmed with police, paramedics and firefighters then back at her hotel where all her stuff was still being kept. She sighed knowing that remaining clueless on what was happening would be very detrimental and Sage was just offering her a golden opportunity. They did have to get away from the nightclub because of all the witnesses and her stuff would be recovered by an agent she would inform later on, so her best bet was to follow Sage and see what comes from it.

She holstered her gun and walked towards the truck, entering the passenger side as Sage shut the door and walked around the front, hopping into the driver's seat.

"I recommend fastening your seatbelt." Sage advised as she fastened hers and Maria quickly did so.

"Good evening, Deputy Director Hill." The truck greeted in a powerful yet honorable sounding voice.

"The truck can talk. Of course the truck can talk." Maria muttered with wide eyes and she turned to Sage, "This is a GTA isn't it?"

"The best one." Sage stated with a smirk as she started driving.

The truck shot forward, smoothly weaving through the streets. As they drove, Maria looked around the truck, seeing that the inner workings were quite literally as expansive and as complicated as a plane's dashboard. She figured the truck was similar to Raw's, dangerous with only the driver knowing how to properly use it to its fullest potential, and that driver being Sage. Which made her question whether that was a bad or a good thing.

She noticed that slightly behind the seats in center sat an open cube-like hole with multiple chords and wires connected to it and traveling down the dark hole.

"What's this for?" Maria asked, pointing to the hole.

"It's supposed to house a missing part." Sage stated with a serious look.

"Is it important?" Maria asked, noticing her change in mood.

"Very." Sage replied, turning a corner onto an empty road, "Take over."

"What-" Maria was about to ask, but then the truck cut her off.

"Understood." The truck replied as Sage unstrapped N.E.W.T. from her back and leaned back.

She took out a screw driver and started tinkering with the drone as the truck started to drive itself with the wheel turning slightly every so often.

Maria watched with an even more baffled expression and Sage noticed, glancing at her with a smirk.

"If you want to know what's been going on then now is the right time to ask." Sage stated.

"Uh...okay," Maria muttered with an exasperated breath as she got her thoughts together, "Why are you in Morocco?"

"I was following a lead." Sage replied.

"Sage." Maria said with a look and Sage sighed as she stopped working on N.E.W.T.

"6 months ago, when we separated, I ventured on with my own exploits. I found this oasis of knowledge called a library and took my time studying every book that every library in Los Angeles had to offer." Sage explained.

"I would find that unbelievable, but this is you we're talking about." Maria commented.

"Glad to know that we set a precedence." Sage stated with a smile and Maria gave her a small smirk in amusement as Sage continued, "With my newfound knowledge, inspiration of all kinds hit me like..."

"A truck?" Maria asked amusedly and the truck let out an amused chuckle, which did weird Maria out a bit, but Sage just rolled her eyes and continued.

"I had a goal in mind. One that would turn fiction into reality." Sage stated, "Unfortunately reality is quite often disappointing."

"You couldn't do it?" Maria asked in surprise.

"Oh no, I did it." Sage stated, "The way I went about it is very questionable in hindsight."

"And how did you go about it?" Maria asked.

"For my goal to be reached, I needed funding. A lot of it." Sage explained as she frowned, "That's when I met Sergei."

"Who's Sergei?" Maria asked.

"Sergei is a Russian inventor with several accolades in the technological field. If anyone could share the same passion I did with my goal, it was him." Sage stated, "And he did. After going back and forth with the idea, we came to an agreement."

"Something tells me that this inventor isn't just a typical inventor." Maria said in a suspecting tone.

"Then your intuition is astute, because Sergei is not only an inventor, but he is also the commander of..." Sage said with a sigh, "A Russian mercenary militia."

Maria narrowed her eyes with a clenched jaw, "What?"

"I believe she said-"

"I heard what she said!" Maria exclaimed, interrupting the truck, "Sage, I can't believe I'm saying this, but how could you do something so stupid!?"

"I was naïve..." Sage muttered.

"You were naïve!?" Maria asked with wide eyes, "Sage some people join gangs, you decided to partner up with a literal army of mercenaries!?"

"Please save your anger until I'm done explaining." Sage said, "Trust me, it gets worse."

"Of course it does!" Maria exclaimed with folded arms, "What was the agreement?"

"Sergei would fund my goal in exchange for..." Sage drawled out as she looked down.

"In exchange for what?" Maria asked.

"In exchange for his very own, custom made GTA." Sage stated and Maria was stunned by the revelation.

"Y-you gave a Russian mercenary commander his very own, custom made vehicle of mass destruction?" Maria asked through gritted teeth.

"What was I supposed to do!?" Sage exclaimed, "He was the only one I could turn to."

"You could've turned to us! S.H.I.E.L.D. would've been there to help you!" Maria shouted.

Sage scoffed, "As if I'd trust a government or any organization associated with it in this day and age with any of my ideas."

"No, you'd rather trust a group of mercenaries instead right!?" Maria exclaimed, taking out her phone.

"What are you doing?" Sage asked as Maria rapidly typed on the phone.

"I'm calling S.H.I.E.L.D." Maria stated, "Clearly backup will be needed to fix your screw-up."

Sage tapped on N.E.W.T. and he activated with his red eye looking up at her. She slightly pried open the top part of him and aimed the open part at Maria. The phone was suddenly pulled out of her hands by a powerful gravitational force and sucked up into N.E.W.T. as Sage shut the pried open part.

"Sage, what the hell!?" Maria exclaimed.

"No S.H.I.E.L.D.!" Sage shouted.

"No S.H.I.E.L.D.!?" Maria shouted.

"No S.H.I.E.L.D.!" Sage repeated.

"Fine, then get me the hell out of this thing!" Maria shouted as she unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for the door handle.

Sage lunged forward and grabbed her arm with a shake of her head, "I can't allow that either!"

"If you won't let me leave then you better give me my damn phone back!" Maria shouted as she reached for N.E.W.T., but Sage pushed her back and kept N.E.W.T. out of arms reach.

"Don't just grab N.E.W.T. like that! He's sensitive!" Sage exclaimed as N.E.W.T. beeped in agreement.

"Sorry if I don't give a flying-" Maria was about to say, but then the truck's horn rang out and it suddenly stopped, jolting them forward.

The truck stopped on the side of the road on a dirt path. Both their heavy breathing were the only things that could be heard as the two women glared at each other.

"Why did we stop?" Sage asked, turning to the radio on the dashboard.

"Because the both of you need to take a breath. Fighting amongst yourselves will accomplish nothing but distrust between allies...between friends." The truck stated, "Deputy Director Hill. My creator is a stubborn individual. She knows a lot of things, but doesn't know how to ask for help nor when. Especially when it is needed."

Sage pouted as she looked out the window embarrassingly and Maria looked at her with a small smile.

"Please let her explain all that is needed and help us in accomplishing our goal. We are in dire need of help and I believe fate has brought you to us to fulfill that role." The truck stated.

"How do you know it's fate?" Maria asked.

"Fate rarely calls upon us at the moment of our choosing." The truck stated, "I believe that is what it has done for you."

Sage rolled her eyes, "Really designed a mouthy AI, haven't I?"

"He's right though." Maria stated and Sage looked at her in surprise, "We shouldn't be fighting and wasting time like this."

"Does that mean you're going to help us?" Sage asked.

"I'm gonna need the full story first." Maria said as she looked forward at the long winding road.

"Okay, fair enough." Sage said as she sat up, "I built Sergei a GTA in exchange for funding to build the final piece of my goal."

"What is your goal anyway?" Maria asked.

"Like I said, to turn fiction into reality." Sage stated with an excited smirk, "But I did it, Maria. I actually did it. I made one part of the ever expanding impossible possible."

"I'd think so, since you can teleport and toss around black holes." Maria said and Sage shook her head and grabbed her hands.

"Those are just side projects. Miniscule achievements at best. What I accomplished is truly revolutionary. Something that is amazing. Something that..." Sage paused with an angry frown, "Something that was stolen from me."

"Sergei?" Maria asked and Sage nodded.

"He took his GTA and my goal with plans on replicating the full potential of my invention." Sage stated, "I can't allow that."

"I mean, I understand why, but why is this so dire to you?" Maria asked.

"Because if Sergei manages to fully replicate my idea then he will have the strongest military superpower ever made." Sage stated and Maria widened her eyes, "I have to get to him as soon as possible, Maria. Not to sound dramatic, but the fate of this world could be at stake and it will all be my fault."

Maria took a moment to look into her eyes and she could see the determination within them as they slightly glowed which illuminated their redness, but she could also notice the hints of regret within them. She could tell Sage wasn't a person that went out of her way to harm others and she could tell that this mistake was one she was desperate to rectify.

"I'll help you." Maria stated, tightening the grip on both their hands, "I can tell that this is something you can't do alone."

Sage smiled, "Thank you, Maria."

Maria smiled back at her, rubbing her thumb over Sage's fingers, enjoying how soft yet firm they were.

"So what's the plan?" Maria asked.

"First, you have to agree that S.H.I.E.L.D. will not be getting involved." Sage stated and Maria gave her an exasperated look that Sage returned with her own direct one.

"Fine. S.H.I.E.L.D. won't be getting involved unless absolutely necessary." Maria stated.

"I suppose that's good enough." Sage said with an eye roll as she let go of Maria's hands, who found herself missing the touch as Sage checked her PIP-Boy, "Sergei is having his GTA transported along with my invention. We have to intercept it before it reaches him."

"How much time do we have?" Maria asked.

"3 days." Sage stated as she followed the tracker on the screen.

"How'd you get all this information anyway?" Maria asked as she leaned closer to look over at the gauntlet.

'Lavender?' Sage asked herself, catching a whiff of Maria's scent that she found quite divine, but then she shook her head at such thoughts.

"You okay?" Maria asked.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." Sage replied as she focused back on the PIP-Boy, "This is my Personal Information Processor, PIP-Boy for short. It's like a cellphone combined with a super computer. It can access any form of information I need, tracks my vitals and stats, keeps stock of all my resources, equipment and information etc., basically a handheld super computer in simple terms."

"As if your brain wasn't doing that already?" Maria asked with a smirk as she looked at her.

"The more work I can minimize; the more work I can create." Sage replied with a smirk of her own as she looked back at her.

They stared at each other for a moment, before looking back at the screen once invention's location was shown moving at a snail's pace.

"I got the information through the lead I followed at the nightclub." Sage explained, tapping on the PIP-Boy's screen, "The owner was an associate of Sergei that transported weapons through Morocco for him. I only needed a voice identification to connect to all their cellular messages, which connected to Sergei's voice and that gave me both their extensive information."

"This thing only needs a voice to gather every single piece of information on someone?" Maria asked with wide eyes.

"A voice, a picture, hell, just scan someone's handwriting and I'll have everything I need." Sage replied.

"That's a scary piece of technology." Maria comments with a nervous nod, now knowing that Sage must have extensive knowledge on her.

"Don't fear the beast. Fear it's master." Sage stated as she looked up at the radio, "I sent you our next location."

The truck started back up and got off the dirt path and back onto the road, continuing to drive forward.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to introduce you two." Sage said, "Maria this is my AI functioning GTA, Optimus. Optimus, this is Agent Maria Hill."

"Nice to have you on board, Deputy Director." Optimus stated.

"I guess it's nice to be here." Maria stated with a small smile and she looked at Sage, "Where to?"

Sage smirked, "We're gonna have to find some winter clothes."

"Why?" Maria asked.

"Because we're going to Moscow." Sage stated.

~

Within a luxury hotel sat an older man with flowing brown hair, a brown left eye, and a green right eye. He wore a brown suit with a brown coat over it as he sat alone at a desk whilst reading the local paper with some tea. This was prolific inventor and mercenary hire, Sergei Makarov.

Two suited men came up to him and one whispered in his ear whilst the other showed him a tablet with a video of Sage meeting up with the gang leader in Morocco, but then the camera cut off in a blue flash. The feed changed to show the bottom floor with N.E.W.T.'s black hole dissipating then Sage was shown shooting the leader in the head and then getting led out of the building.

"She's coming after me. After my property." Sergei stated in Russian, "It would be quite unfortunate if her flight was delayed in some way. Do see to it that my birds send her a proper farewell."

The two suited men nodded as they left the man's presence and he looked back at the tablet. He switched to a feed that showed a well-lit yet box-like room that was completely filled with a large tank-like vehicle that was covered up by a tarp.

"You shall be arriving soon, my glorious weapon." Sergei stated, "With you, I shall become the most powerful man in history. Only a few days left and your purpose shall be fulfilled, my Megatron."