♪ Well, I'm sitting at this bar, drinking whiskey ♪
♪ holding tight to a photograph of you ♪
Hi.
Is there a problem?
Jack Benson was a friend of mine.
- I'm... I'm so sorry. - You were the one in charge, right?
Some kind of manager?
Uh, he... he was my friend, too.
Jack's wife said it was your fault. That true?
You know what? Um, never mind.
I think I'm just gonna go somewhere else.
Hey! I asked you a question.
Stay away from me.
Oh, man! What the hell?
- You did that? - No, I... I swear.
Aah!
Get away from me!
No. Lord, please, not again.
1x09 - Repairs
We have a mission.
- Any specifics? - No.
Well, we should follow the same plan as before...
take separate routes back, stagger our timing so no one suspects...
Wait, a telekinetic? I thought they didn't exist.
We never verified one. That's why we're going to Batesville...
to conduct an index asset evaluation and intake.
Does that mean we talk to her and see if she has powers?
- Basically. - Well, that needs a better name...
less I.R.S., more... better.
Something like the welcome wagon.
I want you to pay close attention on this one, Skye.
It's an opportunity to learn
how to deal with someone with newfound abilities.
It's not like I've never done this before.
- I found Mike Peterson before you did. - Remember how that went?
This is a chance to see how it's done when it's done right.
How many people like this have you encountered?
A handful. There's not that many people on the index.
They must wig out when they see the S.H.I.E.L.D. trucks roll up.
Each case is different. Some people are in complete denial
that there's anything unusual about them.
It's a delicate process, and from all reports,
this sounds like a particularly sensitive situation.
"Particle accelerator explodes."
Hannah Hutchins, one of the quality-control engineers.
- Was it her fault? - The town blames her.
Four technicians died in that blast... on her watch.
That's terrible... all those families.
Small church community... they're pretty rattled.
She must be, too.
Friends, co-workers dead, and on top of all that,
she might have some crazy power she can't understand.
- Or control. - Sir, the department of energy's
declared the particle acceleration lab too dangerous to enter.
But the good news is,
we still think we can retrieve the disaster-event data
from the instruments.
We'll determine the cause and see if there's any correlation
between telekinesis spontaneously forming
and a particle accelerator exploding.
Well, it does use giant magnets to fire billions of subatomic particles
into their anti-particles at the speed of light
to create miniature big bangs, so... seems like a good place to start.
- I read. - I'll try not to mention big bangs
when we talk to Hutchins about the explosion.
You'll stay in the car. This is a delicate situation.
We don't know what kind of danger this woman poses,
so I'll make initial contact with Agents Ward and May.
Wheels up in five. Better strap in.
It's a delicate situation, so you're bringing along warm and fuzzy?
- Hey, guys. - You're late.
We know what you did.
She blew up that gas station. Why aren't you arresting her?
Officer, is there anything you can do to get these people to disperse?
Been trying, but it's a free country.
Miss Hutchins, I'm Agent Coulson.
We specialize in strange occurrences like the ones you've encountered.
- You've come to lock me up? - To talk.
Well, what good will that do?
Get out of here!
We don't want you here anymore.
Officers, get those people back.
Move it! Move it!
It's her! That freak just tried to kill us!
Calm down.
Easy, officer. Put the gun down.
Leave me alone.
Miss Hutchins, please calm down.
- It wasn't me. - Please calm down.
We're not gonna let anyone hurt you.
- Time to go. - So much for the welcome wagon.
We don't believe that people have telekinetic powers, do we?
Well. May was forced to sedate her.
The woman made a police car move... with her mind.
There's no principle that would support...
Telekinesis. Not yet.
We did believe for a bit, though, remember? Freshman year?
When Sally Webber made the books fall off the table in neurobiology?
Oh, well, that was a particularly cruel prank.
- You screamed like a girl. - I am a girl.
You know, that's the one drawback of graduating three years early...
we never to pull any freshman pranks on anyone else.
Mm.
Fitz... Skye never went to the academy.
- She's a freshman. - A wide-eyed little freshman.
And being pranked is an integral part of becoming a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
Well, mandatory, really.
Why not give her the full S.H.I.E.L.D. academy experience?
It would be unjust to deny her such a thing.
Information data uploaded. Let's get going.
Yes, sir.
Just a mattress, sir? It's a six-hour-long ride to the fridge.
Fitz added magnetic shielding to the cage after Simmons had her scare.
If miss Hutchins has this power,
then that room should keep it from getting out,
but in there, she'll be just as dangerous.
- How is she? - The dendrotoxin's wearing off.
She'll be awake soon, scared, in a strange room.
Our next interaction with her is crucial to gaining her trust,
which is why I want you there.
Are you sure that's a good idea?
If miss Hutchins is gonna believe anything we say,
she needs to know we're not hiding things from her,
which means you explaining the situation.
What if that doesn't calm her down? What if that makes her more agitated?
- Then he definitely wants me in there. - Pretty much.
- I'll observe from out here. - And I'll lose the tie.
If she is telekinetic, I don't want to have a noose around my neck.
Brought you some water.
It's okay. I'm Phil. This is Melinda May.
- How did I get here? - I sedated you.
I apologize for bringing you in that way.
Things were escalating. It was for everyone's safety.
Everyone's safety. Good. Okay.
Oh, lord, what have I done? I promise you, miss Hutchins...
nobody was hurt back there.
Wherever I go, things turn bad.
Were you angry at those people, back at the house?
Um, angry? No. I know most of them.
They were angry. I understand.
Oh, god. Frank's wife... the way she was looking at me.
Frank Delacort. He died in the accident.
Because of me, they're gone. I killed them.
- So sad. - And normal.
These readings are entirely within average ranges.
Of course, it's hard to find something
when you don't know what you're looking for.
All I can tell from these brain waves is she's upset.
You need a computer for that?
May's in there... the woman who shot her.
Sedated her.
Things got out of hand. May sorted it out.
- She's the Cavalry. - Mm.
Where does that name come from, anyway?
- Didn't Ward tell you? - You don't know?
Of course not. You spent no time at the academy.
It's quite a story.
Yeah, well, Ward isn't exactly a chatty S.O.
Well, imagine if you will...
a heavily secured compound. Manama, Bahrain.
Multiple S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are taken hostage,
tortured for information.
May's mission... eliminate the threat.
You mean kill people.
Not people... entire squads of mercenaries,
- almost 100. - More than 100.
More than 100 men, heavily armed.
Her vehicle got totaled, so she rode in.
And, um, she had a M249 in each hand.
Right... in each hand. And she rode in on a horse.
- Hence the name... the Cavalry. - Is this real?
She eliminated the enemy threat single-handedly.
She saw a lot of hurt that day.
- Is that why she's so... - Happy?
Particle accelerator data loading.
No! You do not touch that!
Two semesters minimum of holographic engineering
- before you get to touch this! - All right, all right.
I get it. I didn't go to your stupid
S.H.I.E.L.D. hogwarts or whatever. I'm gonna go upstairs.
And I'm gonna do my own research on my computer...
my boring, old, flat computer.
- Can you believe she bought that? - A horse... brilliant.
You think you have the next prank?
- We must carry on the tradition. - Yeah.
For weeks, I was getting reports from section two
complaining that the coupling assembly was coming loose at the bolts.
Tobias is the...
He was the technician down there.
We replaced the part, and we triple-checked it for damage.
Seems like I went down there every few days.
Did you find a problem?
No. But clearly, I missed something.
My team is working to determine
what really did happen and what might have happen to you.
To me? What do you mean?
We believe that somehow, as a result of the accident,
you acquired some form of telekinetic ability.
You think it's me?
The police car, the gas sta... you think I did that?
We're not sure, and this can be a hard thing to hear,
but all these events have one thing in common.
Me, but I'm not causing it. It's not me.
I wish it were because then maybe I could make it stop.
But if it's not you, then what is it?
You people won't believe me.
Try me.
God's punishing me.
He abandoned me. He doesn't protect me anymore.
That's why this is happening.
- Protect you from what? - Demons, sir.
I'm being haunted by demons.
Delusions of being persecuted aren't uncommon after trauma.
She's certainly been through her fair share.
She's blaming herself. It's guilt.
It's all of it. She's broken. Pore over the accident site.
If that tragedy gave her powers, we need to shut them down.
If it wasn't her fault, even better,
but until then, she's a danger to all of us.
Just let me go in and talk to her, sir, as a friend.
I can't let you do that. It's too dangerous.
She's not dangerous. She's nice... like, overly nice.
She never misses a birthday post to her friends,
runs the youth program at her church, rescues dogs.
Hannah's a safety inspector not just because she's detail-oriented
- but because she... - She genuinely cares.
Right. And someone with that much empathy
being responsible for that much loss of life, she's devastated,
spouting nonsense about god punishing her for...
People believe what they need to believe to justify their actions.
Is that how you justify your shoot-first policy?
At least let me try to repair that damage.
Until we figure out what's going on with her,
she stays locked up and you stay away.
Thought that was glued down.
You're asking the right questions, Skye,
but for now, that's all you get to do. I'm sorry.
I just don't understand her at all.
Everything to her is just...
Target acquired. Threat eliminated.
- Well, she's a specialist. - In one thing.
You can catch a lot more flies with honey
- than with napalm... just saying. - Hand me the lettuce.
And she says I need to stay away, but you know what I think?
I think she needs to get laid.
Might want to be less confrontational with Agent May.
I'm not scared of her. Well, I am,
but just because the Cavalry shot 100 guys on horseback
doesn't mean she knows how people work.
Wait, horseback? Where'd you hear that?
- Fitz-Simmons. - Were they messing with you?
Story gets bigger every year.
It wasn't 100 guys... it was 20. Trained assassins.
May crossed them off with one pistol, no support.
- She rescued a bunch of agents? - Mm-hmm.
There definitely wasn't a horse.
Well, if it went so well, why's she so squirrelly about the name?
I don't know, May's not in it for the glory.
She got the job done. End of story.
Where'd I put that knife?
Leave me alone!
Oh, god, please forgive me!
Oh. This must be the coupling from the reports.
Oh, dear. The technicians were right.
Were you even listening?
You weren't even a wee bit scared?
More disappointed, really.
It's fine. It's fine.
I'm just workshopping here, and, yes, I was listening.
I was about to go fetch our own magnetic couplings
to run simulations.
Oh, well, while you're in there, grab some more diazepam for Hannah.
She may need to be more heavily sedated.
And the prank needs more work, as well.
I know. I'm trying different things.
It's the timing that matters, Simmons.
Skye can't suspect a thing.
Ward, come look at this.
Tobias Ford.
Oh, isn't he one of the technicians who died at the plant?
Yeah, and he filed three safety complaints
in the past month, each one in Hannah's department.
She thought he was a friend. But he had it out for her.
Sad part is... he was right.
Oh. Couplings.
Couplings, couplings. Yes.
Actually... Oh.
Now, this I could use.
All I need now is a little bit of twine
and an unsuspecting victim.
Oh, that's fantastic, that is.
Well, that's odd.
My god. Fitz, look at this.
What are we seeing here?
It's as if the explosion tore open some sort of window to...
- To hell. - Aah!
Simmons! Are you okay?
Sir, Hannah's telling the truth. She's not telekinetic.
There's someone else on this plane.
- What was that? - Plane's lost power.
We're going down.
- Ward, you certified? - What about engine-driven generators?
Those are dead, too.
Switch batteries to maintain flight controls.
The rest will be needed to keep the cage shielded.
Flaps... 10.
- Lower landing gear. - What can I do?
Buckle up.
There's a decent-sized field up ahead, but it's gonna be rough.
Vertical landing's out.
- Coming in a little hot. - I got it.
Our ear comms are usually relayed through the plane,
so here's some hardware.
Did the girl do this to us, sir?
We believe miss Hutchins is the victim here.
Our theories about her powers have been disproved.
- By who? - I saw a ghost.
I... I know how it sounds,
but a man attacked me, and then he disappeared.
- Did you get a good look at him? - He dematerialized!
May, run your systems checks. Is the cage still shielded?
Most of the power dedicated to it.
This man or whatever he is has been tormenting miss Hutchins.
The cage might be the one thing protecting her now.
- We'll inform her. - Sir, can it be me to talk to Hannah?
Her life has been turned upside down, and we stuck her in a nightmare box.
She thinks she's being punished.
Can I please be the one to deliver the good news?
That a non-corporeal madman is hunting her?
Again, I think it'd be better coming from anyone else, really.
All right. I'll head upstairs,
activate the emergency transceiver, and radio HQ.
Ward, take a firearm. Escort Fitz-Simmons downstairs,
assess the damage, get us up and running.
Wait. Guys, um... where's Fitz?
Hello? Can anybody hear me?
What the hell's happening?
Did we crash? Who was screaming?
This is not funny, Jemma, if this is a prank.
This is a prank.
Clever.
Simmons?
Come on. Turn on the lights.
Thank god. Where have you been?!
I have been locked in a closet freaking out,
- thanks to you two geniuses. - That wasn't us.
- Well, then, who was it? - We found Fitz.
Good, we'll need him.
Looks like the main problem is in avionics bay two.
But he took out all our systems.
- Who's she talking about? - Grab your equipment and get in there.
I'm going to power down flight controls to conserve energy
and then go defend the cage door in case this ghost comes knocking.
Did she just say "ghost"?
Mayday, mayday, mayday.
Region North, this is S.H.I.E.L.D. 616.
We've lost electrical and are grounded.
Calculating coordinates, requesting supp...
1990s technology at its best.
- Hannah? - Who's there?
My name is Skye. We haven't met yet.
We crashed, didn't we? Are you all hurt?
- I'm so sorry. - No. No, no, no. We're okay.
Whatever's happening, it's not your fault.
We were wrong.
But you need to stay in that room so that you're safe.
Something... bad is out here.
Demons.
I don't know what it is.
Do you believe in god?
Honestly?
- Not really. - Well, I do.
And I know that he's punishing me, and I deserve it.
No. No, you don't. No one does.
I had a few nuns around me growing up, and they would talk like that,
scaring kids with stories of god's wrath.
It made me not want to believe.
The only words that stuck with me
were something that sister McKenna said from the Bible, I think.
She said, "god is love."
It's simple and it's a little sappy,
but that's the version I like. God is love...
the thing that holds us together.
And if that's true,
I don't think he would punish you for making a mistake.
I think he'd forgive a mistake.
- I want to believe that. I do. - I'll stand guard now.
Coulson needs help with the emergency transceiver.
I would rather stay here for a while...
It needs to get done, not discussed. That's an order.
I'll nearby if you need me, okay?
Try not to hurt her any more than you already have, Agent May.
He thinks it's hell, but I think it's an alien world.
- Fitz, it was stunning. - Well, there were reports in London
after the spaceship landed of multiple portals opening,
Thor passing between worlds.
You think that's what they were researching at that lab?
Trying to create another portal, yes.
Failing until a malfunction produced a burst of energy.
This "ghost" is a man trapped between our universe and another.
Perhaps that's how all ghosts are. It's a simple explanation, really.
Simple would be a relative term in this case.
- Bloody hell. - He was thorough.
Oh, god.
Plane's on uneven ground. Could just be settling.
Or the other thing.
Get to work.
Clear.
Ward, help!
Quiet.
Oh!
Help!
Seems like a hardware issue, not firmware.
I should be with Hannah, anyway. No wonder she keeps screaming in there.
You keep sending in the Cavalry,
you're bound to get a reaction like that.
- Don't... don't call her that. - Why not?
No normal person can shoot 100 Bahrain...
- That's not how it went down. - Whatever, 20.
- I just... I don't understand... - She didn't have a gun.
None of us did.
And it wasn't a rescue or an assault,
whatever they say at the academy these days.
We were the welcome wagon. And it went South.
- How many... - Plenty.
A civilian girl and a few of our guys were stuck inside a building,
being held by the followers of this gifted individual...
or worshippers. We never found out.
May did.
She took it upon herself to get them out.
Said she could fix the problem.
So she went in, crossed off the enemy force.
- Didn't say how. - Did she lose anyone in there?
Herself. May used to be different.
She was always quiet, she just...
she was warm.
Fearless in a different way, getting in trouble,
pulling pranks, thought rules were meant to be broken.
Sound familiar?
But when she walked out of that building...
it was like that part of her was gone.
I tried to comfort her,
but she wouldn't tell me what went down in there.
What did you say?
I said the words I thought she needed to hear.
It's why you want her on the plane...
to see if that person is still in there somewhere.
The lock is jammed.
Let me in or let her out.
- That's not up to us. - Let her out!
Talk to me. What's happening?
May, he's disappearing. He's passing between worlds.
It seems a little less of him is returning every time he appears.
But why is he after you guys?
Because he can't get to Hannah in there. She's safe.
If we wait it out, maybe he'll disappear fully.
- What are you going to do? - Fix the problem.
We got to find a way out of here.
Any of this crap still work?
There he is.
- What happened? - Well, we lost communication.
And you were hit with a very large plumber's wrench.
- A wrench? - Yeah.
That guy's traveling back and forth between alien worlds with a wrench?
Must have been in his hand when the blast hit.
Not the kind of wrench you would use to loosen a coupling, is it?
... there?
Maybe it doesn't work after all.
Uh, yes, yes, we're here, sir. Where'd you go?
Nowhere. We were attacked, locked in,
then the guy disappeared.
- Hey, that's our story. - Is May with you guys?
She isn't with you?
I don't mean to scare you, I just need to use you as bait.
Well, that's comforting.
To draw him out, away from my people.
Then what will you do?
Whatever I have to.
You're sure this is how to do it?
Yes. I'll max the signal,
and the transceiver will act as a trigger.
Okay, fine.
They only made 20, I think.
Oh.
So, we believe that this man is responsible for the blast?
Skye said she thinks he's the worker who filed all the reports.
Tobias Ford. It looks like him.
It makes no sense for a man to complain about safety issues
- whilst causing them. Another theory is... - Theories don't matter.
Only facts, and the fact is,
a bullet will take you out of whatever world you're in.
Any idea which direction may could've taken her?
We'll deploy the golden retrievers. They're in here.
Fitz! This is no time for childish nonsense like this!
Pranking was your idea.
And obviously, I rigged this little beauty
before I knew there was a dimension-jumping
- psychopath in the mix. - Wait, childish.
- This guy is childish. - What are you getting at?
Tobias. Is that you?
He wanted her to notice him.
Why would he file a complaint to her office when there was
nothing wrong and then cause an actual safety issue himself?
To get her fired?
To get her attention, to spend time with her. Think about it...
he scared the guy who was harassing her at the airport.
- He tried to hit you with a cop car. - When we took her into custody.
Yeah, he's not trying to hurt her.
- He's trying to protect her. - He likes her.
Stay here.
It's okay. It's okay.
- Tell him I won't hurt you. - Tobias, wait, she's a friend.
- Hannah. - You have to stop.
- Please. - Listen, we believe
you're trapped between two worlds...
- this world... - And hell.
I'm being dragged to hell for what I did.
What did you do?
Just loosen a few bolts, and then you'd visit.
It was the best part of my day.
I'm sorry. I... I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt.
Oh, no. Tobias.
- How could you? - I killed them. I know.
And even worse, everyone started blaming you.
- I tr... I tried to stop them. - But you hurt more people.
I was trying to protect you from them,
trying to atone from my sin. Hannah, please,
maybe if you forgive me, I won't go to hell.
- Only god can forgive you. - And he won't.
You can't undo what's been done. That will be with you forever.
But trying to hold on to this life,
clinging to the person you thought you could be, that's hell.
And you're dragging her down with you.
You have to let go before my people come and make you do it.
If you care about her, and I know you do,
let her go.
Let the girl go, Tobias.
Let the girl go.
- Are you okay? - Yes.
What did you say to him?
Same words you said to me in Bahrain.
- She all right? - Much better.
Let me know if she needs anything.
- Can Fitz repair it? - No. This one's a lost cause.
But May isn't.
If anyone can bring her around, it's you.
You know what makes people tick.
Pun intended.
So do you. You see the good in them.
You were a friend to Hannah,
you can't wait to get inside May's head,
and you figured out Tobias without even trying.
Guess I'm full of surprises.
But this isn't one of them. I wanted you paying close attention
to the index asset evaluation and intake process
because someday, you'll be really good at it...
even the best.
- Thanks, A.C. - Maybe you'll get to rename it.
Good, because that name is super stupid.
I know.
Mind if I keep you company?
Cool.
We'll return in a moment.
- Ta-da! - That isn't a word in our language.
- I've never heard of it. - I'm checking.
Our language?
You mean the English language, first spoken in England?
"Aglet... a plastic or metal tube covering the end of a shoelace."
Oh, come on.
- She used her Britishness against us. - It's a word.
It's not funny. I was sleeping peacefully.
- Very clever, Simmons. - I didn't... I didn't do it.
- Well, Ward, I don't appreciate... - Don't look at me!
- Okay, well, Skye... - No.
Well, who, then? Look, the bunks should be off-limits, okay?
Don't laugh! Because I know it was one of you.