Maria worked closely with one of the new Deputy DAs, Kim Emori, and the two became fast friends. It was Emori's boyfriend, Silver Avenger D.J. Johnson, who convinved Maria to apply to PRIMUS, and he personally sponsored her application. She was accepted, found compatible with Cyberline, and became a top agent commander at the PRIMUS base in San Francisco.

Kim Emori was gunned down in 1992 and D.J. Johnson began a vendetta against theYakuza and the drug trade in San Francisco. Maria was also completely distraught over the death of her best friend. She recognized that the Silver Avenger was becoming too focused on revenge, and she helped pull him back from the brink. When he was promoted to the position of Golden Avenger, he recommended that Maria take his place in the San Francisco base, saying, "Maria is the only person I'd trust with my base." She has done an excellent job at living up to his expectations, except in the case of her office,which is a perpetual disaster area.

Maria still fences on her off time, and volunteers at various youth centers teaching fencing. She is not close to her family, who are wealthy businesspeople in the Bay Area, with the exception of a younger half-sister, Rachel, who can often be found at Maria's Japantown apartment.

Maria drives a Honda Del Sol, about which she and the Golden Avenger are perpetually arguing (though not seriously). Maria and D.J. Johnson often reminise together about Kim, though Maria has been hunting (as have all of the Golden Avenger's friends) for someone to set him up with.

Powers/Tactics:
Maria realizes that she is stronger on her personal combat skills than on group tactics, so she relies on her agent commanders for ground support and much of mission planning. She is confident in her own abilites, but not overconfident as many Silver Avengers are. However, she has a knack for getting people and groups to get along and work well together, which means that the missions she leads are almost always successful. Also, she never pushes for the closure of an investigation, instead finding the right moment to lay a trap. Unlike many Silver Avengers, she gets along well with her Base Commander, Alan Thurmond, and both share duties.

Maria has maintined the San Francisco base's friendly relationship with the press, which started under Silver Avenger Johnson. She appears on local television shows to talk about paranormal issues, and also volunteers to answer phones at membership-drive time for PBS.

Appearance:
Maria is very petite at 5'3 and 105 pounds (after a heavy meal). Her hair is thick and black, and her eyes are brown. When she's not on duty (which isn't often) Maria alternatively dresses very well and very grungy. The Chronicle and Examiner have both conducted impromtu interviews with the Silver Avenger after reporters discovered Maria hanging out in her favorite restaurant -- in a holey t-shirt and jeans.

Personality/ Motivation:
Maria finds it hard to maintain romantic relationships for long, for she has never really learned to trust people. Her friendships are of the utmost importance to her. The Golden Avenger is still a close contact, and among the Silver Avengers she is friendly with Sherrie Peters (Washington D.C.) and Alex Richardson (St. Louis), who has failed utterly at teaching Maria chess.

She has a propensity for dating superheroes (in their hero IDs or not), but not for very long. She is married to her work, and commonly works 14 hour days. It usually takes an order for her to go on vacation.

Quote

"I swear, if you make another comment about the Honda, D.J., I'm going to hit you over the head with it, and insurance premiums be damned." 

Known Haunts

Maria can most often be found in her office -- she is, after all, a workaholic. She's also known to frequent the city's wilder nightclubs.