1x09 - Repairs

[country music playing]

♪ Well, I'm sitting at this bar, drinking whiskey ♪

♪ holding tight to a photograph of you ♪

INT: small gas station store. We open on a newspaper article that reads "Laboratory Accident Kills 4. Lone survivor questioned after particle accelerator expl*si*n." We see the man reading it, probably a worker at the store.

[bell rings]

The man looks up to see a young woman walking between the aisles. The screen tells us that we're in BATESVILLE, UTAH. The woman grabs paper towels and then milk and then deposits her things on the counter in front of the man.

WOMAN: Hi.

A b*at.

WOMAN: Is there a problem?

MAN: Jack Benson was a friend of mine.

WOMAN: I'm ... I'm so sorry.

MAN: You were the one in charge, right? Some kind of manager?

WOMAN: Uh, he ... he was my friend, too.

MAN (talking over her): Jack's wife said it was your fault. That true?

WOMAN: You know what? Um, never mind. I think I'm just gonna go somewhere else.

She walks away from the counter. The man quickly walks out from behind it to block her path.

MAN: Hey! I asked you a question.

WOMAN: Stay away from me.

Suddenly, things start flying off the shelf next to the man, hitting him. 

MAN: Oh, man! What the hell?

It stops.

MAN: You did that?

WOMAN: No, I — I swear.

The shelving unit falls on top of the man, knocking him to the ground. The woman starts to cry in fear. The man crawls out from under the shelves.

MAN: Get away from me!

The woman lowers herself to her knees. The man runs out of the store, cell phone in hand. He stops running when he sees the gas pumps on the ground leaking gasoline onto the pavement. He runs away from the pumps. The gas spreads to a newspaper stand that's on f*re. The woman from the picture on the paper is the one inside the store.

WOMAN: [crying] No. Lord, please, not again.

There's a large expl*si*n that blows the windows in.

[car alarm blaring]

The woman ducks behind the counter and begins to sob.

BOOM. AoS logo title card.

INT: a hotel room.

[shower running] 

May puts her shirt on.

[cellphone chimes]

May checks the phone. She buttons up her shirt and looks at the readout on the phone.

[shower stops]

MAY: We have a mission.

Ward comes out of the bathroom, wrapping a towel around his waist. 

WARD: Any specifics?

MAY: No.

WARD: Well, we should follow the same plan as before ... take separate routes back, stagger our timing so no one suspects —

[door closes]

May's already gone.

[Ward chuckles]

INT: Coulson's office on the Bus. The woman from the store's picture is up on the monitor. From the information pulled up alongside the photo, we see that her name is Hannah Hutchins.

SKYE: Wait, a telekinetic? I thought they didn't exist.

We see that Skye's sitting in a char in front of Coulson's desk.

COULSON: We never verified one. That's why we're going to Batesville ... to conduct an index asset evaluation and intake.

SKYE: Does that mean we talk to her and see if she has powers?

COULSON: Basically.

SKYE: Well, that needs a better name ... less I.R.S., more... better. Something like the welcome wagon.

COULSON: 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.

Coulson gets up and hands Skye a file.

SKYE: It's not like I've never done this before.

Skye begins to read through the file.

SKYE: I found Mike Peterson before you did.

COULSON: Remember how that went? 

Skye makes a "f*ck you, but fair point" face.

COULSON: This is a chance to see how it's done when it's done right.

Coulson walks out of his office and starts out. Skye stands to join him in walking. As they talk, they head down the spiral stairs, walk through the lounge area, walk down the other spiral stairs, and land in the cargo hold.

SKYE: How many people like this have you encountered?

COULSON: A handful. There's not that many people on the index.

SKYE: They must wig out when they see the S.H.I.E.L.D. trucks roll up.

COULSON: 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.

SKYE: "Particle accelerator explodes." Hannah Hutchins, one of the quality-control engineers. Was it her fault?

COULSON: The town blames her. Four technicians died in that blast ... on her watch.

SKYE: That's terrible ... all those families.

Skye scrolls to another screen on her tablet and shows the four people who were k*lled.

COULSON: Small church community... they're pretty rattled.

SKYE: She must be, too. Friends, co-workers d*ad, and on top of all that, she might have some crazy power she can't understand.

They've just about landed in the cargo hold.

COULSON: Or control.

We hear Simmons before we see her.

SIIMMONS: Sir, the department of energy's declared the particle acceleration lab too dangerous to enter.

Fitz-Simmons are waiting at the base of the stairs.

FITZ: But the good news is, we still think we can retrieve the disaster-event data from the instruments.

SIMMONS: We'll determine the cause and see if there's any correlation between telekinesis spontaneously forming and a particle accelerator exploding.

COULSON: Well, it does use giant magnets to f*re 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.

Fitz-Simmons stare at him in awe at the fact that they didn't have to explain that to him.

COULSON: I read.

SKYE: I'll try not to mention big bangs when we talk to Hutchins about the expl*si*n.

COULSON: 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.

MAY: Wheels up in five. Better strap in.

May is standing on the walkway over the cargo hold.

SKYE: It's a delicate situation, so you're bringing along warm and fuzzy?

[May scoffs]

Ward enters the cargo hold.

WARD: Hey, guys.

MAY: You're late.

INT: SUV. May's driving. They drive by EXT: house, where a lot of people are standing and yelling.

[indistinct shouting]

PERSON 1: We know what you did.

PERSON 2: She blew up that gas station. Why aren't you arresting her?

[shouting continues]

Hannah is on her porch, arms crossed over her chest, clearly trying not to cry. Coulson walks up, shows a badge to a police officer, and walks past the crowd with Ward following. May stays behind near the police officer and turns to look at the crowd.

COULSON: Officer, is there anything you can do to get these people to disperse?

There's another officer on the porch next to Hannah.

OFFICER: Been trying, but it's a free country.

COULSON: Miss Hutchins, I'm Agent Coulson. We specialize in strange occurrences like the ones you've encountered.

HANNAH: You've come to lock me up?

WARD: To talk.

HANNAH: Well, what good will that do?

Someone throws an egg at Hannah. She moves out of the way, and it hits her front door.

PERSON 3: Get out of here! We don't want you here anymore.

WARD: Officers, get those people back.

PERSON 4: m*rder!

[tires screech]

A police car drives down the road very fast. No one is driving the car.

PERSON 5: Move it! Move out of the way! Go!

PERSON 6: It's her! That freak just tried to k*ll us!

Skye gets out of the SUV and hurries over to person 6.

SKYE: Hey, calm down.

The officer next to Hannah draws a g*n on her. Ward puts up a hand to stop him.

WARD: Easy, officer. Put the g*n down.

HANNAH: [crying] Leave me alone.

Coulson has walked back over to Hannah as she makes her way down the steps.

COULSON: Miss Hutchins, please calm down.

HANNAH: It wasn't me.

COULSON: Please calm down. We're not gonna let anyone hurt you.

Hannah nods.

[night-night g*n goes off]

Hannah hits the floor. May stands behind her, night-night g*n raised.

MAY: Time to go.

Ward bends down to check on Hannah.

COULSON: So much for the welcome wagon.

EXT: a building with a sign on the fence that reads: Particle Accelerator Complex; Authorized Personnel Only. One of Fitz's dwarfs flies overhead. 

SIMMONS: We don't believe that people have telekinetic powers, do we?

Fitz reaches up and grabs the dwarf.

FITZ: Well. May was forced to sedate her. The woman made a police car move ... with her mind.

SIMMONS: There's no principle that would support —

FITZ: 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?

SIMMONS: Oh, well, that was a particularly cruel prank.

FITZ: [scoffs] You screamed like a girl.

SIMMONS: I am a girl!

FITZ: You know, that's the one drawback of graduating three years early ... we never to pull any freshman pranks on anyone else.

SIMMONS: Mm.

A contemplative, anticipatory pause.

SIMMONS: Fitz... Skye never went to the academy. She's a freshman.

FITZ: A wide-eyed little freshman.

SIMMONS: And being pranked is an integral part of becoming a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

FITZ: Well, mandatory, really.

Fitz leans over to the side as another dwarf flies around him.

SIMMONS: Why not give her the full S.H.I.E.L.D. academy experience?

The dwarf lowers itself into its case. Simmons puts away her tablet.

FITZ: It would be unjust to deny her such a thing.

An agent walks up to them.

FITZ: Information data uploaded. Let's get going.

AGENT: Yes, sir.

Establishing sh*t of the Bus in the air. Then we go INT: briefing room. We're watching Hannah in the Cage on one of the monitors in the briefing room.

[jet engines roaring]

WARD: Just a mattress, sir? It's a six-hour-long ride to the fridge.

COULSON: 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.

May walks in.

MAY: How is she?

COULSON: 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.

MAY: Are you sure that's a good idea?

COULSON: 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.

WARD: What if that doesn't calm her down? What if that makes her more agitated?

MAY: Then he definitely wants me in there.

COULSON: Pretty much.

WARD: I'll observe from out here.

COULSON: And I'll lose the tie. If she is telekinetic, I don't want to have a noose around my neck.

[May sighs]

INT: Cage. 

[Hannah mutters, crying,] as she holds onto a cross necklace.

[door opens]

Hannah sits up quickly and presses her back to the wall. Coulson and May are in the room.

COULSON: Brought you some water.

Coulson walks slowly to Hannah and sets the bottle at her feet.

COULSON: It's okay. I'm Phil. This is Melinda May.

HANNAH: How did I get here?

MAY: I sedated you.

COULSON: I apologize for bringing you in that way. Things were escalating. It was for everyone's safety.

HANNAH: Everyone's safety. Good. Okay. Oh, lord, what have I done? 

COULSON: I promise you, Miss Hutchins — nobody was hurt back there.

HANNAH: Wherever I go, things turn bad.

MAY: Were you angry at those people, back at the house?

HANNAH: 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.

COULSON: Frank Delacort. He died in the accident.

HANNAH: Because of me, they're gone. I k*lled them.

INT: the lab on the Bus. Skye stands in front of the monitor, watching what's going on in the Cage. Fitz-Simmons are at a computer terminal behind Skye, working.

SKYE: So sad.

SIMMONS: 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.

SKYE: You need a computer for that? May's in there ... the woman who sh*t her.

SIMMONS: Sedated her.

FITZ: Things got out of hand. May sorted it out. She's the Cavalry.

SIMMONS: Mm.

SKYE: Where does that name come from, anyway?

Fitz-Simmons give Skye a surprised look.

SIMMONS (at the same time as Fitz): Didn't Ward tell you?

FITZ (at the same time as Simmons): You don't know?

SIMMONS: Of course not. You spent no time at the academy.

Fitz-Simmons share a look.

SIMMONS: It's quite a story.

SKYE: Yeah, well, Ward isn't exactly a chatty S.O.

Fitz-Simmons approach Skye.

FITZ: 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 thr*at.

SKYE: You mean k*ll people.

SIMMONS: Not people ... entire squads of mercenaries, almost 100.

FITZ: More than 100.

SIMMONS: More than 100 men, heavily armed. Her vehicle got totaled, so she rode in—

FITZ: And, um, she had a M249 in each hand.

SIMMONS: Right. In each hand. And she rode in on a horse.

FITZ: Hence the name ... the Cavalry. 

SKYE: Is this real?

SIMMONS: She eliminated the enemy thr*at single-handedly.

Simmons turns away, and when her back is to Skye, Simmons' face splits into a grin. Simmons picks something up. Skye turns back to the monitor.

FITZ: She saw a lot of hurt that day.

SKYE: Is that why she's so —

SIMMONS: Happy?

Simmons, who had picked up one of Fitz's dwarfs, hands it to him. He puts it on a sort of docking station.

FITZ: Particle accelerator data loading.

Fitz hits a few buttons on the holocom that's set up in the lab

[computer beeping]

Fitz moves the file into the middle of the table and then sweeps his hand up, pulling it up into a 3D holographically projected model. He pulls something away from the model and passes it over towards Simmons. Fitz sees that Skye is also pulling at part of the model.

FITZ: No! 

Fitz smacks Skye's hand away. Skye gives him a hurt look.

FITZ: You do not touch that! Two semesters minimum of holographic engineering before you get to touch this!

SKYE (talking over Fitz): All right, all right.

Fitz puts the part Skye pulled out back where it was.

SKYE: 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.

Skye exits. Fitz-Simmons, without having to take their eyes off of their work, give each other a high give.

SIMMONS: Can you believe she bought that?

FITZ: A horse ... brilliant.

SIMMONS: You think you have the next prank?

FITZ: We must carry on the tradition.

SIMMONS: Yeah.

INT: Cage

HANNAH: 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.

COULSON: Did you find a problem?

HANNAH: No. But clearly, I missed something.

COULSON: My team is working to determine what really did happen and what might have happened to you.

HANNAH: To me? What do you mean?

COULSON: We believe that somehow, as a result of the accident, you acquired some form of telekinetic ability.

HANNAH: You think it's me? The police car, the gas sta — you think I did that?

COULSON: We're not sure, and this can be a hard thing to hear, but all these events have one thing in common.

HANNAH: Me, but I'm not causing it. It's not me. I wish it were because then maybe I could make it stop.

MAY: But if it's not you, then what is it?

HANNAH: You people won't believe me.

May lowers herself to eye level with Hannah.

MAY: Try me.

HANNAH: God's punishing me. He abandoned me. He doesn't protect me anymore. That's why this is happening.

COULSON: Protect you from what?

HANNAH: Demons, sir. I'm being haunted by demons.

INT: Bus briefing room. The team stands around the holocom.

SIMMONS: Delusions of being persecuted aren't uncommon after trauma.

WARD: She's certainly been through her fair share.

SKYE: She's blaming herself. It's guilt.

COULSON: 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.

Coulson walks away. For a moment, we can see the flash of an entity or person or something behind him. It's gone before we can get a clear look at it.

INT: Coulson's office on the Bus. Skye is pleading with Coulson. May is also present.

SKYE: Just let me go in and talk to her, sir, as a friend.

COULSON: I can't let you do that. It's too dangerous.

SKYE: She's not dangerous. She's nice ... like, overly nice.

Skye pulls up her tablet and starts going over data.

SKYE: 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 —

COULSON: She genuinely cares.

SKYE: 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 —

MAY: People believe what they need to believe to justify their actions.

SKYE: Is that how you justify your sh**t-first policy?

May cocks her head, irritated.

SKYE: At least let me try to repair that damage.

MAY: Until we figure out what's going on with her, she stays locked up and you stay away.

[thump]

A sphere has fallen to the floor.

COULSON: Thought that was glued down.

Coulson gets up and picks up the item that fell.

COULSON: You're asking the right questions, Skye, but for now, that's all you get to do. I'm sorry.

Skye gapes at him before sh**ting a look to May, rolling her eyes, and leaving Coulson's office.

Establishing sh*t of the Bus flying through the night sky, and then INT: a little kitchenette in the lounge area of the Bus. Ward is cutting something up. Skye sits on the counter.

SKYE: I just don't understand her at all. Everything to her is just... [robotic voice] Target acquired. thr*at eliminated.

WARD: Well, she's a specialist.

SKYE: In one thing. You can catch a lot more flies with honey than with napalm ... just saying.

WARD: Hand me the lettuce.

Ward holds out a hand. Skye gets off the counter and hands Ward a bowl of lettuce.

SKYE: And she says I need to stay away, but you know what I think? I think she needs to get laid.

WARD: [inhales sharply] [deep breath] Might want to be less confrontational with Agent May.

SKYE: I'm not scared of her. Well, I am, but just because the Cavalry sh*t 100 guys on horseback doesn't mean she knows how people work.

WARD (talking over Skye): Wait, horseback? Where'd you hear that?

SKYE: Fitz-Simmons.

WARD: Were they messing with you?

Skye opens her mouth as if to protest, but ultimately doesn't.

WARD: Story gets bigger every year. It wasn't 100 guys ... it was 20. Trained assassins. May crossed them off with one p*stol, no support.

SKYE: She rescued a bunch of agents?

WARD: Mm-hmm. There definitely wasn't a horse.

SKYE: Well, if it went so well, why's she so squirrelly about the name?

Ward finishes making his sandwich. 

WARD: I don't know, May's not in it for the glory. She got the job done. End of story. 

Ward turns back to his sandwich and looks around.

WARD: What'd I do with that Kn*fe?

INT: Cage. Hannah is sad and scared.

[doorknob rattling]

[pounding]

HANNAH: [breathing heavily] Leave me alone!

[pounding continues]

A pound comes from behind her. She scoots into the middle of the room.

HANNAH: Oh, God. Please forgive me!

A pound comes from beneath her. She jumps up.

[whimpers]

[crying]

[pounding continues]

[screaming]

INT: the lab on the Bus. Simmons is still working with the 3D holograph of the accelerator. A long pipe is outlined in red in front of her.

[computer humming]

SIMMONS: Oh. This must be the coupling from the reports.

Simmons waves her hand. A mini holographic expl*si*n occurs.

SIMMONS: Oh, dear. The technicians were right.

Simmons looks over her shoulder to find Fitz in a gas mask.

SIMMONS: Were you even listening?

FITZ: You weren't even a wee bit scared?

SIMMONS: More disappointed, really.

Simmons takes down the hologram. Fitz takes off his mask.

FITZ: 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.

SIMMONS: 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.

FITZ: I know. I'm trying different things. It's the timing that matters, Simmons. Skye can't suspect a thing.

INT: lounge area of the Bus. Skye is sitting with her feet up. She's looking, on her tablet, at an article about the expl*si*n. She pulls up the employee record for Tobias Ford.

SKYE: Ward, come look at this.

Ward walks over to her, finishing up eating his sandwich. He looks over her shoulder.

WARD: Tobias Ford. Oh, isn't he one of the, uh, technicians who died at the plant?

SKYE: Yeah, and he filed three safety complaints in the past month, each one in Hannah's department.

WARD: She thought he was a friend. But he had it out for her.

SKYE: Sad part is... he was right.

INT: a hallway on the Bus. Fitz is carrying the gas mask. He opens a door.

FITZ (to himself): Oh. Couplings. Couplings, couplings. Yes.

Fitz enters the room and sets down the mask. He opens up a drawer and looks through things.

FITZ (to himself): That'll do, actually ... Oh.

Fitz looks at a mop.

FITZ: Now, this I could use.

Fitz grabs the mop.

FITZ: All I need now is a little bit of twine and an unsuspecting victim.

As Fitz is talking, we can see the figure from before behind Fitz. When Fitz turns around to leave the closet, the figure is gone, and the hallway is empty.

FITZ: Oh, that's fantastic, that is.

INT: the lab on the Bus. Simmons is looking at the 3D model on the holocom.

SIMMONS: Well, that's odd.

Simmons spins the model around and zooms in on one particular area of the expl*si*n. Her eyes widen.

SIMMONS: My god. Fitz, look at this. What are we seeing here?

Now we get a better view of what she’s looking at. It appears to be some sort of alien landscape complete with some sort of large moon or sun above it.

SIMMONS: It's as if the expl*si*n tore open some sort of window to —

When a male voice—not Fitz, Ward, or Coulson—speaks, Simmons turns around. We know, from Skye's looking at the article, that Simmons is facing the deceased Tobias Ford.

TOBIAS: To hell.

SIMMONS: Aah!

Tobias swings a wrench down at Simmons.

[Tobias grunts]

Simmons ducks out of the way; the wrench smashes into the holocom. 

[Simmons screaming]

Simmons falls to the ground and tries to scurry away from Tobias. Her back hits some drawers on a desk. When she looks around, Tobias is gone. Coulson rushes in. 

[Simmons panting]

COULSON: Simmons! Are you okay?

SIMMONS: Sir, Hannah's telling the truth. She's not telekinetic. There's someone else on this plane.

INT: Bus. We see a power box with different colored wires inside.

A ghostly hand materializes and grabs some of the wires. Slowly, the rest of Tobias materializes. When he's fully there, he pulls the wires.

[electricity powers down]

INT: lab on the Bus.

SIMMONS: What was that?

COULSON: Plane's lost power.

[lab doors close]

COULSON: We're going down.

The Bus, dark, descends towards the ground, and then we go INT: cockpit.

MAY: Ward, you certified?

WARD: What about engine-driven generators?

Ward is in the co-pilot seat; May is in the pilot seat. Skye is also in the cockpit with them.

MAY: Those are d*ad, too. Switch batteries to maintain flight controls. The rest will be needed to keep the cage shielded. Flaps 10.

Ward hits buttons and switches, doing what May's telling him to do.

MAY: Lower landing gear.

SKYE: What can I do?

MAY: Buckle up. (to Ward) There's a decent-sized field up ahead, but it's gonna be rough. Vertical landing's out.

INT: cargo area. Simmons and Coulson strap themselves into seats.

Back in the cockpit, we can see out the front window that the ground is coming up fast.

WARD: Coming in a little hot.

MAY: I got it.

The plane's wings begin to h*t trees as it lands. May and Ward are thrown forward when the plane hits the ground. It slides to a stop.

[breathing heavily]

Cut to Coulson and Simmons walking through the powerless plane.

COULSON: Our ear comms are usually relayed through the plane, so here's some hardware.

Coulson grabs a walkie-talkie. The cockpit g*ng joins Coulson and Simmons.

WARD: Did the girl do this to us, sir?

COULSON: We believe miss Hutchins is the victim here. Our theories about her powers have been disproved.

WARD: By who?

SIMMONS: I saw a ghost.

Ward gives her a skeptical look.

SIMMONS: I ... I know how it sounds, but a man att*cked me, and then he disappeared.

MAY: Did you get a good look at him?

SIMMONS: He dematerialized!

COULSON: May, run your systems checks. Is the cage still shielded?

MAY: Most of the power dedicated to it.

COUSLON: 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.

SKYE: 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?

WARD: That a non-corporeal madman is hunting her?

SKYE: Again, I think it'd be better coming from anyone else, really.

COULSON: 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.

SIMMONS: Wait. Guys, um... where's Fitz?

EXT: a closet with a closed door. We can hear Fitz's voice through the door, and then, when we're not in italics, we're inside with him. He has a flashlight.

FITZ: [muffled] 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.

Fitz tries the handle a few times, to no avail. He shoves his shoulder into the door, but it doesn't budge. He looks down at the bottom of the door and sees something lodged there.

FITZ: Clever.

Fitz uses the thing to push the door open. He bends down to pick it up and we see that it's the Kn*fe Ward had been looking for earlier. Fitz looks up from the Kn*fe into the hallway.

FITZ: Simmons? Come on. Turn on the lights.

Fitz walks down a hallway. At one turn, he runs into Simmons and Ward, and holds up the Kn*fe in a defensive position.

[Fitz screams]

SIMMONS: Thank God. Where have you been?!

FITZ: I have been locked in a closet freaking out, thanks to you two geniuses.

SIMMONS: That wasn't us.

FITZ: Well, then, who was it?

WARD (into walkie-talkie): We found Fitz.

MAY (in the cockpit, into walkie-talkie): Good, we'll need him. Looks like the main problem is in avionics bay two. But he took out all our systems.

FITZ: Who's she talking about?

Ward shushes Fitz.

MAY: 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.

FITZ: Did she just say "ghost"?

INT: Coulson's office on the Bus.

Coulson takes a large picture down from the wall behind his desk. There's a safe there that Coulson opens. An antenna comes up, and Coulson speaks into it.

COULSON: 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—

Tobias appears next to the antenna and smashes it with a wrench.

[electricity powers down]

COULSON: [scoffs] 1990s technology at its best.

EXT: Cage.

[knock on door]

SKYE: Hannah?

INT: Cage. When Hannah's talking, we're inside the Cage, and when Skye's talking, we're outside of it. When we're in italics, we're focused on the other person.

Hannah gets up from the floor and walks over to the door. 

HANNAH: Who's there?

Skye sits outside with her back to the door of the Cage.

SKYE: My name is Skye. We haven't met yet.

HANNAH: We crashed, didn't we? Are you all hurt? I'm so sorry.

SKYE: 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.

HANNAH: Demons.

SKYE: I don't know what it is.

Hannah sinks to the floor with her back to the door, sitting the same way Skye is, only she's inside the Cage and Skye is outside of it. We can see both of them sitting this way in profile, the door to the Cage dividing them.

HANNAH: Do you believe in God?

SKYE: Honestly? Not really.

HANNAH: Well, I do. And I know that He's punishing me, and I deserve it.

SKYE: 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.

May walks up but stays out of sight, listening.

SKYE: 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.

HANNAH: I want to believe that. I do.

May walks into view of Skye.

MAY: I'll stand guard now. Coulson needs help with the emergency transceiver.

SKYE: I would rather stay here for a while—

MAY: It needs to get done, not discussed. That's an order.

SKYE (to Hannah): I'll be nearby if you need me, okay? (to May) Try not to hurt her any more than you already have, Agent May.

Skye walks off. May looks after her.

INT: hallways of the Bus. Fitz-Simmons and Ward are making their way. Ward has a g*n and a flashlight. Fitz-Simmons have each other.

SIMMONS: He thinks it's hell, but I think it's an alien world. Fitz, it was stunning.

FITZ: Well, there were reports in London after the spaceship landed of multiple portals opening, Thor passing between worlds.

WARD: You think that's what they were researching at that lab?

SIMMONS: Trying to create another portal, yes.

FITZ: Failing until a malfunction produced a burst of energy.

SIMMONS: This "ghost" is a man trapped between our universe and another. Perhaps that's how all ghosts are. It's a simple explanation, really.

WARD: Simple would be a relative term in this case.

Ward opens a door to a panel and moves so Fitz-Simmons can get a look. It's the panel that Tobias ruined. It's a mess.

[rattling]

FITZ: Bloody hell.

SIMMONS: He was thorough.

[clang from behind them]

Fitz-Simmons jump, terrified, and Ward turns and points his g*n at the noise.

FITZ-SIMMONS: Oh, god.

WARD: Plane's on uneven ground. Could just be settling.

FITZ: Or the other thing.

WARD: Get to work.

Ward goes off in the direction of the sound and leaves Fitz-Simmons behind. He walks down the hallways, checking intersections, g*n held high. Seeing nothing, he lowers it and calls out to Fitz-Simmons.

WARD: Clear.

[Fitz-Simmons sigh]

Fitz-Simmons assess the damage. We can see Tobias standing behind them. They turn around.

[Simmons screaming]

Tobias shoves Fitz-Simmons into the room and closes the door behind them. Ward runs towards them. When he gets to where they were, Tobias att*cks him with the wrench. Ward tries to bodyslam Tobias but Tobias dematerializes and Ward ends up throwing himself against the wall of the plane.

SIMMONS: Ward, help!

Ward hears a [clank] from further on.

[Fitz shouts and yelps indistinctly]

WARD: Quiet.

Ward starts towards the clank. He gets to an intersection. Tobias strikes at him. He and Tobias fight. 

[grunts]

When Ward's starting to get the upper hand, Tobias dematerializes.

INT: little room into which Fitz-Simmons have been shoved.

Tobias materializes and holds the wrench to Simmons' neck. 

[Simmons screams]

In the halls, Ward looks around for Tobias.

SIMMONS: Help!

Ward grab his g*n and runs to where Fitz-Simmons are stashed. He opens the door. They jump. Tobias bonks Ward over the head and knocks him out. Tobias looks at his hand, which begins to glow blue and then disappears.

[Tobias screams] and shuts the door.

INT: Coulson's office on the Bus. Coulson and Skye are attempting to fix the transceiver. 

SKYE: 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.

COULSON: Don't ... don't call her that.

SKYE: Why not? No normal person can sh**t 100 Bahraini—

COULSON: That's not how it went down.

SKYE: Whatever, 20. I just— I don't understand—

COULSON: She didn't have a g*n. None of us did. And it wasn't a rescue or an as*ault, whatever they say at the academy these days. We were the welcome wagon. And it went south.

SKYE: How many—

COULSON: 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.

SKYE: May did.

COULSON: She took it upon herself to get them out. Said she could fix the problem. So she went in, crossed off the enemy force.

Coulson walks around and sits down close to Skye.

COULSON: Didn't say how.

SKYE: Did she lose anyone in there?

COULSON: 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?

Skye smiles, nods.

COULSON: 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.

SKYE: What did you say?

COULSON: I said the words I thought she needed to hear.

SKYE: It's why you want her on the plane ... to see if that person is still in there somewhere.

[door slams]

Coulson and Skye jump. Coulson goes to the door and tries it.

COULSON: The lock is jammed.

The lights in the room go dark. Coulson turns on his flashlight and looks around. The beam lands on Tobias.

[Coulson and Skye gasp]

Tobias busts up the transceiver with his wrench. Tobias grabs Skye by the throat.

[Skye screams]

Coulson swings the flashlight and finds Tobias holding Skye with his wrench pressed up to her throat.

TOBIAS: Let me in or let her out.

COULSON: That's not up to us.

TOBIAS: Let her out!

[Skye whimpers]

EXT: hallway and INT: little room with Fitz-Simmons. They're communicating on walkie-talkie.

MAY: Talk to me. What's happening?

FITZ: May, he's disappearing. He's passing between worlds. It seems a little less of him is returning every time he appears.

MAY: But why is he after you guys?

Fitz holds the walkie-talkie up for Simmons.

SIMMONS: Because he can't get to Hannah in there. She's safe. If we wait it out, maybe he'll disappear fully.

[creaking]

May stops. The lights flash, leaving her periodically in darkness. As they go on and off, we see Tobias appear, disappear, and appear again right behind May with the wrench prepared to stride. They go out; when they're on again, Tobias is standing up. He runs into a bunk and begins throwing things around. He pauses and runs in the opposite direction. He makes it to the Cage. The door is ajar. It's empty.

Outside. May is leading Hannah by the arm away from the Bus.

HANNAH: What are you going to do?

MAY: Fix the problem.

INT: Coulson's office on the Bus.

[Coulson grunts] as he tries to open the door again.

COULSON: We got to find a way out of here.

SKYE (about his spy gear collection): Any of this crap still work?

INT: little room with Fitz-Simmons and Ward. Ward, his head on Simmons' lap, comes to.

SIMMONS: [gasps] There he is.

WARD: What happened?

SIMMONS: Well, we lost communication. And you were h*t with a very large plumber's wrench.

WARD: A wrench?

SIMMONS: Yeah.

WARD: That guy's traveling back and forth between alien worlds with a wrench?

FITZ: Must have been in his hand when the blast h*t.

WARD: Not the kind of wrench you would use to loosen a coupling, is it?

Fitz-Simmons share a look over Ward's head. Coulson's voice starts to come in, staticy, over the walkie-talkie.

COULSON: [static] ... there? Maybe it doesn't work after all.

Fitz and Ward both go for the walkie-talkie. Fitz hands it to Ward.

WARD: Uh, yes, yes, we're here, sir. Where'd you go?

Coulson, we can see, is using a wristwatch to contact them.

COULSON: Nowhere. We were att*cked, locked in, then the guy disappeared.

FITZ: Hey, that's our story.

SKYE: Is May with you guys?

SIMMONS: She isn't with you?

Outside. May leads Hannah into a farmhouse.

MAY: I don't mean to scare you, I just need to use you as bait.

HANNAH: [crying] Well, that's comforting.

MAY: To draw him out, away from my people.

HANNAH: Then what will you do?

MAY: Whatever I have to.

The Bus

COULSON: You're sure this is how to do it?

FITZ: Yes. I'll max the signal, and the transceiver will act as a trigger.

COULSON: Okay, fine.

Coulson and Skye back away from the door. Coulson's watch is rigged to the door handle.

COULSON: They only made 20, I think.

[high-pitched buzzing]

[watch explodes; lock opens]

COULSON: Oh.

INT: hallway. Fitz-Simmons and Ward, now free, walk with Coulson and Skye.

FITZ: So, we believe that this man is responsible for the blast?

COULSON: Skye said she thinks he's the worker who filed all the reports.

SKYE: Tobias Ford. It looks like him.

SIMMONS: It makes no sense for a man to complain about safety issues whilst causing them. Another theory is—

WARD: Theories don't matter. Only facts, and the fact is, a b*llet will take you out of whatever world you're in. Any idea which direction may could've taken her?

SIMMONS: We'll deploy the golden retrievers. They're in here.

Simmons opens a door. The mop that Fitz rigged pops out, scaring everyone.

[screaming]

SIMMONS: Fitz! This is no time for childish nonsense like this!

FITZZ: Pranking was your idea. And obviously, I rigged this little beauty before I knew there was a dimension-jumping psychopath in the mix.

SIMMONS: Wait, childish. This guy is childish.

COULSON: What are you getting at?

INT: barn. Hannah stands alone in the center. Tobias materializes in front of her.

HANNAH: [gasps] Tobias. Is that you?

May runs into him from behind. They fight.

[grunting]

Bus.

SKYE: 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?

SIMMONS: To get her fired?

SKYE: 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 h*t you with a cop car.

COULSON: When we took her into custody.

WARD: Yeah, he's not trying to hurt her.

COULSON: He's trying to protect her.

SKYE: He likes her.

The cargo bay doors open. They head out. Fitz gets to the ground first and opens a case. Inside is a yellow glowing disk. He hits a button and it starts to spin really fast. Yellow spheres sh**t out of it and into the sky. They meet up in the sky and go in various different directions.

In the barn, Tobias has Hannah and is dragging her away.

[Hannah screaming]

May kicks out Tobias' legs from under him and knocks him down. May gathers Hannah, leads her past Tobias, and pushes her down to the ground.

MAY: Stay here.

Tobias slams May into the gate of a horse stall. A beam from the ceiling breaks and heads for Hannah.

[Hannah screams]

Tobias appears in front of Hannah and takes the brunt of the impact. Hannah and May get to their feet. Hannah hugs May.

MAY: It's okay. It's okay.

May sees Tobias heading for them and she gets behind Hannah.

MAY: Tell him I won't hurt you.

HANNAH: Tobias, wait, she's a friend.

TOBIAS: Hannah.

HANNAH: You have to stop. Please.

MAY: Listen, we believe you're trapped between two worlds— this world ...

TOBIAS: And hell.

May nods. Tobias sinks to his knees.

TOBIAS: I'm being dragged to hell for what I did.

HANNAH: What did you do?

TOBIAS: 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.

HANNAH: Oh, no. Tobias. How could you?

TOBIAS: I k*lled them. I know. And even worse, everyone started blaming you. I tr— I tried to stop them.

HANNAH: [crying] But you hurt more people.

TOBIAS: 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.

HANNAH: Only God can forgive you.

MAY: 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.

[whirring]

Golden light fills the barn. Outside, a small probe flies around.

MAY: 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.

The rest of the group enters the barn. Ward keeps his g*n trained on Tobias. Coulson holds Skye back from going in deeper.

MAY: Let the girl go, Tobias. Let the girl go.

[Tobias inhales sharply] and dissipates. The last thing that disappears is his thumb. He was holding Hannah's hands. She drops her hands.

[Hannah sighs]

Skye rushes forward and hugs Hannah. 

SKYE: Are you okay?

HANNAH: Yes.

SKYE: Let's get out. It's over.

May walks towards Coulson. Coulson meets her halfway.

COULSON: What did you say to him?

May looks up into Coulson's eyes. She's almost crying.

MAY: Same words you said to me in Bahrain.

May pushes past Coulson and walks away.

INT: the Bus.

[electricity humming] as the lights come back on.

Skye walks into a bunk with a blanket and puts it over a sleeping Hannah. She closes the door behind her as she leaves. Ward rounds the corner and walks over to Skye.

WARD: She all right?

SKYE: Much better.

WARD: Let me know if she needs anything.

Ward walks one way; Skye walks the other. Skye sees Coulson leaning against the holocom in the briefing room. We move into the Bus briefing room along with Skye. Coulson is looking at his destroyed watch.

[Coulson sighs]

SKYE: Can Fitz repair it?

COULSON: No. This one's a lost cause.

SKYE: But May isn't. If anyone can bring her around, it's you. You know what makes people tick. Pun intended. [chuckles]

COULSON: 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.

SKYE: Guess I'm full of surprises.

COULSON: 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.

Skye smiles.

SKYE: Thanks, A.C.

COULSON: Maybe you'll get to rename it.

SKYE: Good, because that name is super stupid.

COULSON: I know.

They smile at each other. Coulson exits.

INT: cockpit. May is in there, flipping switches and flying the Bus.

[knock on door]

Skye enters.

SKYE: Mind if I keep you company?

May says nothing. She continues flipping switches and doing pilot stuff.

SKYE: Cool.

Skye sits in the chair and looks around. May glances sidelong at her and smiles, just a bit. The Bus lifts off.

S.H.I.E.L.D. logo end card.

INT: lounge area of the Bus. Simmons, Ward, Coulson, and Skye are sitting around a Scrabble board. Some words on the board are: "espionage", "on", "zodiac", and "tales". The word that's currently being completed is "aglet".

SIMMONS: Ta-da!

WARD: That isn't a word in our language.

[Simmons scoffs]

COULSON: I've never heard of it.

SKYE: I'm checking.

SIMMONS: Our language? You mean the English language, first spoken in England?

SKYE (reading from her tablet): "Aglet ... a plastic or metal tube covering the end of a shoelace."

COULSON: Oh, come on.

WARD: She used her Britishness against us.

SIMMONS: It's a word.

Someone enters that causes the g*ng to look up.

[laughter]

It's Fitz. He has shaving cream covering his hand and in the shape of a hand over the side of his face.

FITZ: It's not funny. I was sleeping peacefully.

[Simmons and Skye laugh harder]

FITZ: Very clever, Simmons.

SIMMONS: I didn't— I didn't do it.

FITZ: Well, Ward, I don't appreciate—

Ward holds his hands up, the picture of innocence.

WARD: Don't look at me!

[laughter from the group]

Fitz considers Coulson for a second, then shakes his head.

FITZ: Okay, well, Skye—

Like S.O., like trainee. Skye holds her hands up in defense, too.

SKYE: [laughing] No.

INT: cockpit. May has the radio open and is listening in on their conversation.

FITZ: Well, who, then? Look, the bunks should be off-limits, okay?

[laughter]. May smirks.

FITZ: Don't laugh! Because I know it was one of you.

May smiles wide. She looks very pleased with her prank.
{"type": "series", "show": "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", "episode": "01x09 - Repairs"}