1x06 — FZZT

Welcome to what the screen tells us is WRIGLEY, PENNSYLVANIA. The full moon shines overhead. We hear a young man (named in the subtitles as Justin speaking.

JUSTIN: Thing is, no one exactly knows what happened to the crying man that summer.

Justin is sitting around a campfire with a group of younger boys (not sure if they're legally allowed to be boy scouts, but, like, they're boy scouts). They all look very nervous at his ghost story.

JUSTIN: Some say that he drowned in the lake, but others say that they've seen his ghost, wandering these woods, in search for his lost sister.

Another man is behind the group near some cooking. He has plates in his hands.

OTHER MAN: Actually, they say if you're quiet and listen real hard... you can still hear him crying. [ wails weakly ]

[ laughter from the boys ]

JUSTIN: Mr. Cross, that was, like, the worst crying man ever.

MR. CROSS: Really? I thought it was pretty good.

The boy scouts visibly disagree.

BOY: Nah.

JUSTIN (to boys): You guys think we're kidding. Just remember to stick close to the campfire tonight, okay?

MR. CROSS: Hey, guys. Do you hear that?

JUSTIN: Hear what?

MR. CROSS: That humming sound. Stay here. I'm gonna take a look around the campground.

He walks off. The boys exchange furtive glances.

BOY 1: What humming?

BOY 2: W-where's Mr. Cross going?

JUSTIN: He's just trying to scare us. [ chuckling ] So lame.

No one really believes him.

JUSTIN: [ hands clap ] Come on, guys. Grab a s'more. (as he's tossing s'mores stuff to the boys) Well, that's for you.

BOY 1: Ooh, I want the marsh...

BOY 2: Ooh, marshmallows!

JUSTIN: Now, I know ... Tommy, I know you like chocolates. Here.

He bends to get chocolate. Behind him, we see a cup levitating.

JUSTIN: Don't hog the marshmallows, okay?

BOY: Mm-hmm.

One of the boys notices the floating cup. His expression causes the young man to look over his shoulder and see the cup as well. An arc of electricity runs along the handle of the cup.

[ electricity crackles ] 

The cup drops to the ground. Justin moves away from it.

[ Cross screams in distance ]

JUSTIN: Everyone to the truck now!

[ wind rushing ]

JUSTIN: Go, go! Go!

The boys throw down their things and pile into the truck. The campground is overrun with stray electricity.

[ electricity pulses ]

An arc of it hits the engine of the truck.

[ screams ]

[ all screaming ]

A part of the truck hits the ground, sparking.

[ everyone panting ]

Everything seems to be calm now. Justin gets out of the truck.

[the boys check on each other in the background]

JUSTIN: Mr. Cross? Mr. Cross!

[ the only sound is insects chirping ]

JUSTIN (to boys): Come on, guys. Let's go look for him.

He opens the truck door to invite them out with him.

BOY 3: Whoa. Is he nuts?

JUSTIN: Stay close.

Justin grabs a lamp. The troop goes into the woods searching.

JUSTIN: Mr. Cross, are you okay?

BOY 4: Mr. Cross! We should just go back.

[ electricity humming ]

Justin sees something, and we do, too. It's Mr. Cross's body floating on his back in midair. His eyes are closed as if he's either d*ad or sleeping. Electricity courses over his body.

[ boys screaming ]

They run away. Justin lowers his lantern in shock.

AoS title card.

[engines roaring]

Classic Bus In The Air Establishing sh*t, and then we go INT: the Bus cargo hold aka makeshift workout area. Coulson is running on a treadmill. Simmons is next to him, monitoring vitals

[treadmill noises, footsteps]

SIMMONS: Working up a good sweat there, sir?

COULSON: I don't sweat. I glisten.

SIMMONS: Blood pressure, heart rate, biochems ... all normal. All that's left is the blood sample.

[ treadmill beeps ] as Coulson turns it off and stops running.

COULSON: You should know ... I'm not a fan of getting poked.

SIMMONS: Tell me, sir, have you been feeling under the weather lately?

Coulson takes off the monitoring equipment.

COULSON: Why?

SIMMONS: I just noticed from your chart that you're not due for a general physical for another three months.

COULSON: I made a mistake ... took a call from my physical therapist. Asked how I was feeling. I said, "a little rusty." Next thing you know, I'm wired to this hamster wheel.

SIMMONS: Well, you can officially tell your physical therapist that you're fit as the proverbial fiddle, especially for a man of your age.

COULSON: A man of my age? That's something you say to an old person.

SIMMONS [painfully awkwardly]: Is it? [ chuckles ] Well, let's get you some electrolytes, shall we?

INT: Bus lab. Ward goes through the motions of prepping and holding up the night-night g*n. Fitz watches. Ward sets it back down.

WARD: Sorry, Fitz. It's close, but it's just not right.

FITZ: Really? 'Cause agent Coulson had no problems.

WARD: It's an ounce too heavy.

Skye, who is also in the lab, and is busy with some computers, looks up at Ward.

SKYE: An ounce? Seriously?

Fitz picks up the g*n to test the weight.

WARD: It's the difference between success and failure. When you're on a rooftop with a 15-mile-an-hour wind, your target is 500 yards away—

FITZ: Yeah, but we do have a r*fle.

Ward gives him an "I'm combat, you're just annoying" look.

WARD: Lose the ounce.

FITZ: Yeah, okay. On it.

Ward walks out. 

FITZ [mockingly]: "Lose the ounce."

Fitz takes up the night-night g*n and does a bit of a cowboy swagger.

FITZ [ as Ward, with an over-the-top Western-movie-type American accent ]: I'm Agent Grant Ward, and I can sh**t the legs off a flea from 500 yards, as long as it's not windy.

[ Skye laughs ]

Fitz looks over at her and smiles, big and bright. 

[ Fitz laughs ] and sets the night-night g*n back down.

FITZ [ back to being a Scot ]: Hey. That's a sound I haven't heard in a bit.

SKYE: Yeah, well, you wouldn't be laughing a whole lot if you were living in Ward's doghouse.

FITZ: You made the rounds, apologized to us all. What more can he ask?

SKYE: I don't know. I have been busting my ass, memorizing every S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol manual, following every order. "Yes, sir." "No, sir." I even let them tag me like a stray dog.

She holds up her wrist. She's still wearing the bracelet from 1x05.

SKYE: I mean, I know I lied to you guys, but I was trying to protect my boyfriend.

FITZ: You know, we all make mistakes.

Fitz steps towards Skye, Very Overly Nonchalant, Very Totally Not A Little Bit Into Her.

FITZ: And who ca— I don't care — who cares about your ex-boyfriend?

SKYE: It's not like I'm comparing Ward to Miles, but at least with Miles, I didn't have to worry about passive-aggressive stuff. There was no mind games. 

FITZ: Mmm.

SKYE: We spoke the same language, you know?

FITZ: Yeah. Yeah, a bit like we do.

Fitz motions with his finger back and forth between himself and Skye.

SKYE: Totally. You and Simmons are so tight, it's like you're psychically linked.

Yikes. Fitz just got friendzoned. He makes a face indicating that that wasn't at all what he meant.

FITZ: No, you ... no. Actually, no. I don't think so.

And, speak of the charmingly adorable devil, Simmons shows up.

SIMMONS: So, Ward was here? Let me guess... the night-night p*stol again?

FITZ: Yeah. Oh, yeah, and he said it was off by an ounce.

SIMMONS: [ scoffs ] Of course he did.

Simmons puts her hands on her hips, doing a little bit of the cowboy swagger herself.

SIMMONS [ as Ward, in a deeply pissy-sounding American accent ]: I'm Agent Grant Ward, and I could rupture your spleen with my left pinky ... blindfolded!

Skye gives Fitz a look that screams "sure, buddy, you two TOTALLY aren't at ALL two halves of one whole person. Mhm."

SKYE: [ laughs ] That is d*ad on.

[door opens] as Ward enters.

WARD: Hey. Hustle up and grab your gear. We're on a mission.

The Bus kids are all holding in giggles.

WARD: Something funny?

The Bus kids shake their heads emphatically. Simmons holds out the night-night g*n (unaltered) to Ward.

SIMMONS [ back to being a Brit ]: Poor, silly Fitz. He mistakenly left a dummy round in the p*stol. Should be proper now.

Ward takes it in his hand, weighing it. He pulls it up to look through the sights and then relaxes.

WARD: Great. Thanks.

[ stifled laughter ] from the Bus kids as Ward walks away.

Outside, at the remnants of the campsite from earlier.

COULSON: Troop leader's name was Adam Cross. Apparently, he said he heard something in the woods, went to check it out. That's where the electrostatic anomaly occurred.

FITZ: What I don't understand is, usually, they're caused by a massive electrical storm.

SIMMONS: But there wasn't a storm within a thousand miles of here last night.

COULSON: This anomaly's different — it has a side effect we've never seen before.

May opens the hood of the truck and looks in.

MAY: The battery blew straight up through the hood.

WARD: Landed over here.

He's kneeling by the battery. Skye kneels next to him.

WARD: Hell of a force to create that kind of trajectory.

Skye pokes at the battery with a branch. [ leaves rustle ] Ward stands up and looks around; so does Skye.

WARD: Huh.

Skye copies his position—hands on hips—and gets close enough to him that she bumps into his back.

WARD: What are you doing?

SKYE: I'm shadowing my supervising officer.

WARD: Shadowing, not smothering. 

He starts walking. She follows.

WARD: There's scorch marks all over that tree. Lucky the whole forest didn't burn down.

SKYEL I don't get it. Seems to me like this electroshock thingy was some freak lightning strike. I mean, why call us? What's the big— [ chuckling ] Oh. Never mind.

We can see that she's entered a clearing where the rest of the team is. A super d*ad Mr. Cross remains floating in midair there.

SIMMONS: So sad a man died this way... and yet, so amazing.

Fitz is doing science-y readings-y things on his tablet.

COULSON: Fitz-Simmons, any idea what could cause an effect like this?

SIMMONS (talking over Fitz): There's the soliton hypothesis.

FITZ (talking over Simmons) Well, okay, judging by the horizontal...

SIMMONS (talking over Fitz): Perhaps, nanobatteries —

FITZ (talking over Simmons): ...electrical discharge, it could be —

Coulson signals for a time out.

COULSON: Time. Let's try that again. Any idea what could cause an effect like this?

SIMMONS (at the same time as Fitz): The hell if I know.

FITZ (at the same time as Simmons): Uh, no, no clue.

WARD: Seems to me like we're either dealing with some freak natural event or a new high-tech w*apon.

SKYE: Or could it be someone from your uber-secret Index?

MAY: There's no one on the Index with this type of power.

COULSON: That we know of. I'll contact agent Blake at S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, have him check it out. Whoever or whatever's responsible, we can't let this happen again.

SIMMONS: Fitz, see his forehead? Look at that endothelial discoloration.

She walks closer to the body.

FITZ: Yeah, same dispersal pattern as the strike on the truck.

SIMMONS: Could be an entry wound cauterized immediately.

She gets even closer. A small arc of electricity sparks from the wound on Cross' head.

[fzzt]

His body drops to the ground.

[thud]

FITZ: Freaky.

SIMMONS: Freaaaky.

INT: Bus briefing room. Skye stands at the table with info pulled up. Coulson and Ward enter.

COULSON: You found something on Cross?

SKYE: Many things, actually, but you already knew that, thanks to my fancy S.H.I.E.L.D. house-arrest gizmo tracking my every key swipe, my online activity, my cholesterol. Just wish it came in another color... or came off.

WARD: The victim?

SKYE: Adam Cross — single, no kids, originally from Wrigley, Pennsylvania, not far from here.

COULSON: Been there. They have a nice little strawberry festival in the spring. Occupation?

SKYE: Phys-ed teacher at the local high school and Varsity baseball coach and troop leader and volunteer firefighter. This guy makes Captain America look like "the dude."

[ she chuckles ]. Coulson and Ward do not.

SKYE: "The Big Lebowski."

Nothing.

SKYE: Seriously?

WARD: What about a criminal record, restraining order, something that might give us a suspect?

[ beeping ] as Skye hits some buttons on the table monitor.

SKYE: Nada. Not even a parking ticket. I skimmed all his posts, anyone linked to his pages, hoping for a crazy ex or a superpowered stalker, and he's clean.

WARD: Everybody looks clean on their first go-round.

Skye looks appropriately like a puppy that has been kicked.

COULSON: Ward's right. We're missing something. Dig deeper.

Skye nods and exits.

COULSON: You've been pretty tough on her.

WARD: She lied to us — contacted the Rising Tide while we were on mission. If she wants our trust back, she's got to earn it.

COULSON: The background she ran on Cross is a good start. Put it up on the server. I want May to have a look when she's done with her interrogation.

INT: the Cage on the Bus. The young man (Justin) from the campfire site is there. So is May. So is a plate of cookies.

May pushes the cookies forward.

MAY [thr*at]: Have a cookie.

Justin gulps.

INT: Bus lab. Cross' body is on a table with a sheet over most of him. Simmons is nearby, taking notes.

[ door opens ] as Coulson comes in.

SIMMONS: Excellent timing, sir. I've been analyzing sagittal and coronal images of the victim's brain.

COULSON: What's Fitz doing out there?

Over Simmons' shoulder and outside of the lab in the cargo bay area, Fitz is doing things that are Not Being In The Same Room As The d*ad Guy.

SIMMONS: He detected a strange energy coming off the body.

COULSON: He's afraid of it, isn't he?

FITZ [muffled thru the door]: It's the smell! 

SIMMONS: There's no shame in it, Fitz. It's perfectly natural to be afraid.

FITZ: No, the only thing I'm afraid of is putrid, decaying flesh corrupting my pristine workspace. 

[ Simmons groans ] and rolls her eyes.

FITZ: Do you remember the last time you brought a d*ad thing into the lab?

SIMMONS: Oh, not the stupid cat again.

FITZ (talking over Simmons): The cat —

SIMMONS (talking over Fitz): And it's our lab, Fitz.

FITZ (talking over Simmons): — tell him about the cat!

SIMMONS (talking over Fitz): Not your lab.

FITZ: You left his liver next to my lunch!

COULSON: Guys! Can we please —

He gestures at Cross.

SIMMONS: Yes, sir. Um, as I was saying, this is the victim's brain.

[ beeping ] as she pulls up info from her tablet onto the monitor behind Coulson.

COULSON: Looks like a burnt baked potato.

SIMMONS: That's what happens when it's h*t with close to 2,000 megajoules of electrostatic energy. That's almost double the power of a lightning bolt.

May enters.

MAY: Kid's clean. You figure out why the body was floating?

SIMMONS: Not yet. The molecular density of the victim was temporarily altered by an unknown energy source. I'm hoping to shed some light on its effects once I extract a brain-tissue sample.

FITZ: It's happening again! 

SIMMONS: It's science, Fitz! I have to dissect something.

FITZ: No, the satellite's picking up another electrostatic event not 20 kilometers from here.

He shows them on his tablet.

INT: SUV as May and Coulson drive to the destination with Ward in the back seat. They're talking to the Bus kids (who are in the lab) via the comms devices. As always, italics means we're being shown elsewhere, and normal means we're being shown on the character speaking.

COULSON: Fitz, what's the latest reading?

FITZ: Uh, we're at 324 megajoules and growing stronger — dangerous territory, sir.

SKYE: There's a farmhouse a mile North of you, right at the center of the signal. That's got to be it.

COULSON: Skye, dig up everything you can on whoever lives at that farm. We need to know who we're dealing with.

[ beeping ] from the monitor in the lab as it shows electrostatic signatures growing, then fizzing out.

FITZ: Hold on, now. What just happened? Um, it's gone.

COULSON: What's gone?

FITZ: The electrostatic signal ... it seemed to pulse, then disappear.

COULSON (to May, who is driving): We need a shortcut.

May turns them into a field. They arrive at a farmhouse.

[ engine shuts off ]

[ car doors close ]

The three of them go up to the farmhouse, g*n out.

COULSON: Door's barred from the inside.

WARD: Hayloft's open.

COULSON: We could ram it with the truck.

May kicks the door open with ease.

COULSON: Or...

They go inside. They find another floating body.

COULSON (to Ward): Scan the perimeter. Whoever did this couldn't have gotten far.

Ward goes outside to scan the perimeter. May makes it up a ladder to the hayloft to get on eye level with the floating body.

COULSON: Barricaded himself inside. Went for his g*n.

MAY: He was scared, trying to protect himself.

COULSON: From who? How did they get to him?

MAY: Another burn mark on the forehead.

WARD (re-entering): No sign of anyone ... no tracks, no vehicles down the road.

COULSON (into comms): Skye, we need real-time SAT surveillance on this area right now.

SKYE: Hang on.

[keys clacking]

[ computer beeping ]

She pulls up a pic of some firefighters.

SKYE: I think I found something you might want to see first. Sending it over now.

Skye pulls up two names across the pictures: Adam Cross and Frank Whalen.

SKYE: The guy who owns the farm's name is Frank Whalen. He's a volunteer firefighter at the same station house as our first victim, Adam Cross.

WARD: Our two victims knew each other.

SKYE: They were both responders when the aliens crashed New York.

WARD: Two victims from the same firehouse found in the same weird way.

SKYE: We're looking for a k*ller.

INT: ??? A man, sweating heavily, polishes something metal

[ blows on it ]

He sets it down carefully. It's a helmet, and it looks a lot like one of the helmets those aliens from Avengers wore when they inv*de NYC. Electricity courses over it, and we go to commercial with a [fzzt].

INT: the barn. The Bus kids have arrived.

One of Fitz's drones investigates the body.

[ beeping, whirring ]

Static electricity [fzzt]s off of Whalen's body and zaps the drone. Whalen falls to the ground. Fitz manages to catch the drone before it follows.

FITZ: Gotcha! Hey, um, anyone else notice all the metal scattered around the body, like an electromagnetic field was present? The question is, what created it?

SIMMONS: We need to get this body back to the lab as soon as possible. Something about these wounds...

COULSON (over comms): Skye, what did you find out about the firehouse?

SKYE: It turns out they sent an engine to New York with a dozen volunteers after the Chitauri invasion, including Cross and Whalen.

INT: SUV. The grown-ups are in the car in the same setup as before.

SKYE: Maybe it has something to do with why they were targeted?

WARD: Or how they were k*lled.

SKYE: You mean like... an alien w*apon?

COULSON: We don't know that. Let's just make sure we get to those firefighters before anyone else does.

EXT: firehouse. The SUV pulls up.

[ engine shuts off ]

[ car door closes ]

Ward, May, and Coulson enter the firehouse.

COULSON: Evening, gentlemen. Agent Phil Coulson with S.H.I.E.L.D. we were on the ground with you in New York.

FIREMAN 1: S.H.I.E.L.D., right. What's this all about?

COULSON: We'd like to ask you a few questions, take a look around.

May and Ward split off. The fireman from earlier comes up to Coulson and the table of firefighters he's with.

FIREMAN 2: Hey, guys. What's, uh... what's going on?

He is sweating profusely. The same guy who was sweating earlier.

INT: Bus lab. Simmons is examining Whalen's body. Fitz is examining the innards of a cabinet.

SKYE: What are you looking for?

FITZ: A scented candle.

SKYE: Not you.

SIMMONS: This wound — something doesn't quite make sense. Initially, I thought these were entry wounds, as if from a g*n. But they're not — they're exit wounds.

INT: firehouse

FIREMAN 1: What do you mean? Frankie's d*ad?

COULSON: I'm very sorry.

FIREMAN 2: You know how it happened?

COULSON: The same way your other friend, Mr. Cross, died the day before.

FIREMAN 2: Which was how, exactly?

COULSON: I'm sorry. Your name is...?

FIREMAN 2: Tony. Tony Diaz.

COULSON: You okay, Mr. Diaz?

DIAZ: Actually, uh... I'm actually not feeling so hot.

He exits. Coulson touches his earpiece to speak into it as he follows after Diaz.

COULSON: Ward, cover the back door. Nobody comes in or out.

INT: Bus lab

FITZ: What if this w*apon overloaded the brain past the threshold of its electrical capacity, causing it to discharge, like an E.M.P.?

SIMMONS: You're assuming we're dealing with an external source. I'm saying it was something from inside him.

[beeping]

SKYE: Something's happening — the satellite's picking up another reading. It's coming from the firehouse.

INT: kitchen of firehouse. It's just Diaz and Coulson in there.

DIAZ: That humming noise ... you hear that?

COULSON: No. I don't. Were you in New York with Mr. Cross and Mr. Whalen after the Chitauri invasion?

DIAZ: Come on. You don't hear that? [ sighs ] It's driving me nuts.

COULSON: Mr. Diaz, are you with me?

[ electricity crackling ] as a pan floats in mid-air in front of Diaz. Coulson pulls out his g*n.

COULSON: Whatever you're doing, make it stop.

DIAZ: I-I'm not doing anything!

COULSON: Where's the w*apon?

DIAZ: The what?

MAY (over comms): Coulson, I found it. It's a Chitauri helmet.

She's looking at it in a display case. She starts recording it with her phone.

MAY: Fitz-Simmons, are you seeing this?

SIMMONS: It's not a w*apon, yet it caused a cranial discharge.

COULSON: What are you doing with the helmet?

DIAZ: What, the — the alien thing? I-it's a souvenir.

Electricity [fzzt]s off of Diaz's hand, hitting the frying pan floating in the air. 

[thud] as it falls

DIAZ: Aah! Not again!

COULSON: Answer the question, Mr. Diaz ... what are you doing with the helmet?

DIAZ: The first time anyone's touched it since New York was a couple nights ago.

COULSON: Why?

The Bus kids listen intently to what they're hearing.

DIAZ: It had rust all over it. We were cleaning it.

Realization dawns on Simmons.

SIMMONS: That wasn't rust. (and just in time, she adds) May, don't touch it!

May backs away.

SIMMONS: Sir, he's not using a w*apon ... he's infected. I think the helmet was the source of an alien virus.

DIAZ: All we did was clean it — I swear. 

DIAZ: Me, Frankie, and Adam — we- we were bored on the third shift, so- so we decided to clean it. 

Behind him, Ward, May, and Fireman 1 appear.

DIAZ: Adam and Frankie...

COULSON: Mr. Diaz, I'm putting the g*n away now, okay?

SIMMONS: Sir, he's at 600 megajoules and climbing. Sir?

COULSON (to May): Clear everybody out. Clear everybody out... now!

They do as he says.

[door closes]

DIAZ: I-I'm gonna wind up like them, aren't I?

COULSON: [ sighs deeply ] Why don't you have a seat?

Diaz does. He looks distraught and in shock.

COULSON: You have any family — wife, kids?

Diaz shakes his head.

COULSON: Is there anyone you want to talk to? Anything I can do?

FITZ: Sir, you have to get out of there right now! He's going to —

Coulson removes his earpiece.

COULSON: Listen to me. I've been where you are right now. So please believe me when I tell you you don't have to be afraid.

DIAZ: What are you — what are you talking about?

COULSON: Your job ...

Outside the firehouse, May is listening in.

COULSON:  gets pretty dangerous, doesn't it? Mine, too. I got hurt once ... pretty bad. And I– I died. Some say it was only for 8 seconds, but I know it was more than that. I know I wasn't here anymore. I was there.

DIAZ: What's it like?

Coulson gives him a small smile.

COULSON: It's beautiful.

This seems to give Diaz a little peace. Outside, May looks emotionally wounded.

[ electricity pulsing ] as a Kn*fe raises in the air.

DIAZ: You better get going, buddy.

There's a b*at where Coulson seems determined to stay.

DIAZ: Go.

Coulson goes. 

[ electricity pulsing ]

[ electricity crackles ]

From outside, we see the firehouse glow with blue light.

[ FZZT ]

Back inside, people in hazmat suits walk about. 

[ radio chatter ]

[ sirens wail in distance ]

May gets scanned by one of Fitz's devices. When she proves clear, he moves onto Coulson, and then Ward.

[ beeping ]

FITZ: All clean — no traces of electrostatic energy.

SKYE: What about the other firefighters?

SIMMONS: They'll be quarantined and observed at a S.H.I.E.L.D. biohazard facility.

Two hazmat-suited men holding a large metal box walk out the back room. Skye and Simmons meet up with the rest of the team in the middle of the firehouse.

SKYE: Um, anyone else notice they're putting the infected alien thing on our truck?

COULSON: We're flying it to the Sandbox.

SKYE: Sandbox?

SIMMONS: It's a S.H.I.E.L.D. research facility across the Atlantic. They specialize in hazardous materials.

The box is loaded into the team's SUV.

COULSON: If what you suspect is true, that this is a virus, then those firefighters could be infected, and they're gonna need a cure. Find one.

SIMMONS. Yes, sir.

The rest of the team walks off. We see Simmons, and because no one else is around, she allows herself to indulge in looking terrified.

INT: Bus cargo hold. Hazmat suit guys pull in the box and then leave. Then we cut to INT: Bus cockpit, where we see May. Coulson enters.

COULSON: What's our E.T.A.?

MAY: 3:37 West Africa time.

Coulson checks his watch.

COULSON: Gonna be a long 4 hours and 26 minutes.

He starts to go, but May's voice stops him.

MAY: You okay?

COULSON: Fine. I just want this alien thing off our plane as soon as humanly possible.

MAY: You want to talk about your physical?

COULSON: Nothing to tell. My physical therapist requested it. He's updating his files or something.

MAY: You'd tell me if something was wrong.

COULSON: [ scoffs ] Of course.

[ intercom crackles on ]

SIMMONS (over intercom): Sir, I think I've discovered something. Could you come down to the lab?

COULSON: I'll be right there.

MAY: Phil. The fireman ... you did everything you could for him.

He smiles, nods, and leaves.

INT: Bus lab. On a monitor, we can see red blood cells. It's a view of what's under Simmons' microscope.

COULSON: So, what am I looking for exactly?

SIMMONS: Wait for it.

[ electricity crackles ] as blue energy sparks between two cells.

[ Simmons laughs delighted ]

COULSON: What was that?

SIMMON: A groundbreaking discovery! I believe the firefighters initially contracted the virus when they cleaned the helmet, the friction activating some long-decaying Chitauri organism—

COULSON: Hang on. These cells are from the bodies of the firefighters?

Simmons' smile grows to near-superhuman width as she talks.

SIMMONS: Brain cells, yes — the last vestiges of the infection. Some viruses "sleep" inside host cells for years before reproducing, as they did inside the helmet — the initial source. But what those cells tell us is that we're dealing with a propagating virus, which means —

COULSON: The virus can move from person to person.

[ electricity humming ]

SIMMONS: Exactly!

Something raises up in the air behind her. She doesn't notice; she's too busy smiling.

SIMMONS: And that's the most exciting part — how it spreads; not through the air or through direct fluid transfer, but through electric static shock.

Coulson notices the object levitating behind Simmons.

SIMMONS: [ chuckling ] It's like nothing we've ever seen on Earth. I didn't think it possible a virus could alter its host's molecular density and polarity.

Coulson slowly starts to back out of the lab. Simmons is preoccupied with a microscope, so she doesn't notice.

SIMMONS: That explains the floating. I can't wait till the virologists at the CDC and S.H.I.E.L.D. H.Q. see this.

She finally realizes he's no longer in front of her.

SIMMONS: Sir, is something wrong?

COULSON: I'm so sorry, Jemma.

He hits a button.

[ beep ]

[ alarm blares ]

The doors to the lab close, trapping Simmons, alone, inside. She turns and sees the object levitating behind her.

[ electricity crackles ]

[clatter as object hits floor]

SIMMONS: [ gasps ] Oh, no.

And we cut to commercial.

INT: bottom floor of the Bus. Simmons sits on the floor of the lab, her back pressed to the glass door. Fitz sits on the other side of the door in the cargo bay, his back pressed to hers, albeit with a pane of glass in the way. Simmons looks contemplative. Fitz is toying with a piece of equipment. When he finishes, he taps the glass to get Simmons' attention. He shows it to her, and they both smile weakly, each for the other's benefit. When they turn back around and away from each other, we can see how deeply in pain they appear to be. Fitz looks close to tears. Behind Fitz in the cargo bay, Coulson, Ward, Skye, and May are talking.

COULSON: Simmons believes she contracted the virus approximately 36 hours ago when she received an electrostatic shock from the first victim.

SKYE: How much time does she have?

COULSON: Based on when the firemen were infected, how quickly their symptoms manifested... two hours at most.

SKYE: That's enough time, right? I mean, S.H.I.E.L.D. has dozens of labs and scientists working on this thing, don't they?

COULSON: They do. (to May) How soon can you get us on the ground?

MAY: Three hours.

Skye covers her mouth in shock.

MAY: Our path to the Sandbox has us right in the middle of the Atlantic.

WARD: Sir, correct me if I'm wrong, but if we can't land in time...

COULSON: Simmons will release a pulse that will blow this plane right out of the sky.

SKYE: We can't just sit here and watch her die. We have to do something.

COULSON: There's only one person on this plane capable of finding a solution for this, and I'm willing to bet my life that she will.

He looks at Simmons (or, really, at Simmons' back, pressed as close as it can safely be to Fitz's).

MAY: She's just a kid.

Fitz has finished whatever he's working on. He puts it in a box that transports it in a safe, hands-free way to Simmons inside the lab.

FITZ: I believe we have a winner. Fast and efficient — the perfect delivery mechanism.

Simmons takes it out of the box and hurries over to her lab table. Fitz [raps on the glass] to get her attention.

FITZ: Uh, hey, um, not that it was easy to find a mineralized solution that could suspend the vaccine and conduct electricity.

He's trying to keep things normal. She gives him a weak smile.

SIMMONS: I wish you wouldn't use the word "vaccine." It's really more of an antiserum. [chuckles]

She finishes checking out the device and turns to a white rat inside a cage.

SIMMONS: [deep breath] Okay, so... these antibodies should be able to target the virus' antigens, if this bloody alien virus even has antigens.

[ electricity crackles ] as she zaps the rat with the device and then puts it back inside its cage.

SIMMONS: [breathing heavily] Come on, now. Come on.

[ electricity crackles ]

Simmons looks up, tears in her eyes. Inside the cage are three white rats. One is d*ad and floating. The second one—the one she just tested on—is rising up into the air. The third and final rat is okay.

FITZ: Well... that wasn't very cooperative of him, now, was it?

Simmons gives him another smile, all "everything's okay!". [ Simmons inhales deeply ], turns away, and fights to hold tears back. Fitz, with Simmons' back turned, looks terrified.

INT: Bus briefing room. Ward and Skye are watching a feed of the lab.

SKYE: Why aren't you down there?

WARD: They don't need an audience. You can stay... if you want.

SKYE: I hate this. I just feel so—

WARD: Helpless.

SKYE: Yeah.

WARD: [sighs] I wanted it to be a person, some superpowered psychopath, someone I could hurt, someone I could... punish. That I could do. [deep breath] What I can't do is protect you guys from stuff I can't even see... or understand.

SKYE: [ inhales sharply ] So, what do we do?

WARD: [ breathes deeply ] We wait... and get ready.

SKYE: Ready for what?

WARD: For whatever it is we're called upon to do.

Skye nods. She understands.

INT: Coulson's office on the Bus. He's talking to some S.H.I.E.L.D. agent over his screen.

AGENT: Coulson, nice to see you're not d*ad.

COULSON: Did you get our analysis of the virus?

AGENT: We did, and S.H.I.E.L.D. has no record of anything like it. No one does. So it's imperative it reach the Sandbox without incident. In case of a pandemic, we're going to need it.

COULSON: I'm aware of that, but I don't need more orders or ultimatums. I need answers.

AGENT: I wish I had some for you. I'm sorry, Coulson ... I've been ordered to inform you that if you have infected cargo, you need to dump it.

Coulson's face turns to stone.

AGENT: Do you copy me, Coulson? These orders are coming from up top.

COULSON: I'm sorry ... bad connection. Didn't get that last part. 

[ beeping ]

[static] as the feed goes out.

COULSON (to May, who has appeared in the doorway behind him): Don't even think it.

MAY: I don't have to. That's your job.

INT: Bus lab. Simmons, with gloves on, works, works, works. Something that had been levitating drops, and it startles her.

[Simmons sighs]

FITZ: It's all right. Everything's gonna be fine.

SIMMONS: Please stop saying that. I see you looking at your watch.

Fitz lowers his watch arm.

FITZ: Are you sure you don't need my help just to —

She gives him a look that shuts him up quick.

SIMMONS: Are you sure this thing even works?

FITZ: Yeah, well, you know it does. My device isn't the issue— it's the vaccine.

SIMMONS [on the edge]: Antiserum! And all I'm wondering is whether you calibrated it correctly.

FITZZ: Hey, it's not the device. Hey, don't put this on me. I was doing just fine, tucked away in a safe, indoor, non-mobile lab at the academy!

Simmons gives Fitz a humorless, sarcastic smile.

FITZ: Then you had to go and drag us into this flying circus! [ panting ] Didn't even pass our field assessments, for god's sake!

SIMMONS: Oh, please, as if I forced you to follow me anywhere.

FITZ: You said, and I quote... [ high-pitched voice ] "Oh, Fitz, "it's the most perfect opportunity for us to see the world! We'd be fools to pass this one up!"

SIMMONS: I hate it when you use that voice. That's not even how I sound. And you were just afraid of going into the field.

FITZ (talking over Simmons): [ normal voice ] I was not afraid.

SIMMONS (talking over Fitz): And don't you dare act like these last months haven't been the highlight of your entire pasty life!

FITZ: Pasty? Oh, really?

It's obviously easier for them to bicker than to let the other see how deeply worried they are.

FITZ: Well, when did you become so sun-kissed?

[ Simmons scoffs ] 

FITZ: Because I'm pretty sure that every minute of every day, you've been stuck in a lab right beside me. At the academy, at sci-ops, this plane — you've been beside me the whole damn time!

This rings far too painfully true. They're silent, and they're teary, and they're very afraid. After a long moment: 

FITZ: You have to fix this.

SIMMONS [admitting a horrible defeat]: I don't know how, Fitz. [ voice breaking ] The antibodies from the three firefighters aren't strong enough to fight this virus. It's born from alien DNA. There's no one... [ breaths shaky, on the verge of tears ] to create an antiserum from because no one's actually survived this except... [inspiration striking] the Chitauri.

FITZ (at the same time as Simmons): The Chitauri. Well, the minky bastard who actually wore the helmet had the virus...

SIMMONS: Yeah, and managed to survive without ever emitting an electrostatic pulse because...

FITZ: It was immune.

SIMMONS: Yes! She — she was just the carrier, like Typhoid Mary.

FITZ: Uh, "she"? Well, no, wait. That — you don't really think that — okay, doesn't matter. Um, so if — if I can scrape some epithelial cells from the inside of the helmet, we can create a vaccine?

SIMMONS: Yes! Antiserum, but yes.

Fitz rushes off to the Cage to grab the helmet. As he runs back to the lab, he passes Skye and Coulson.

SKYE: Isn't that...

COULSON: Fitz!

They hurry after him. 

Fitz arrives at the lab. He breaks the seal and goes in towards Simmons, danger be damned. Simmons looks at him with shock.

SIMMONS! No! That — You can't be in here!

The door seals them in. Besides each other, like always.

FITZ: Too late. It's done. Just try and do your best to keep your hands off me, yeah?

SIMMONS: Fitz, I don't know what you think you're doing, but —

FITZ: I'm doing what we always do. We're gonna fix this — together.

Simmons has a small smile and tears in her eyes by his gesture and belief. He sets the helmet on the lab table and scraps some stuff out of the inside of it. Behind the two of them, we also see May and Ward walk down the stairs to see what’s going on. Fitz runs the swab onto a culture disc Simmons is holding. As the two work, the others watch nervously from outside the lab. Simmons looks outside the door and sees everyone pacing and looking worried. They continue working. Eventually, they run a small vial through a whirring centrifugal force machine, and when Simmons opens the machine, the vial floats up in the air. Simmons goes to grab it, but an arc of electricity races through it, and it drops into Fitz’s waiting hand.

FITZ: Third time's a charm. 

He loads it into the antiserum-administering device.

FITZ: May I do the honors?

She nods. He smiles, and he approaches the third and final rat. Everyone outside steps closer to watch. 

[ electricity crackles ] as he zaps the rat.

SKYE: I can't breathe.

Fitz-Simmons watch the rat. Nothing happens. Simmons smiles.

SIMMONS: We did it.

[ electricity crackles ], interrupting Fitz's growing smile. 

The rat rises. Fitz's face falls.

FITZ: No...

Simmons walks towards the glass doors and looks at Coulson. She gives him a smile, because even on the brink of death, she's keeping it together and staying composed.

SIMMONS: Sir, I know the protocol in these circumstances, but could you please tell my dad first? [ voice breaking ] I just think my Mum would take it better if it comes from him.

COULSON: We're not there yet. There's still time.

Simmons tears up.

SIMMONS: Sir, please.

He nods. She starts to cry in earnest now. She still keeps it together, though. She does not sob.

SIMMONS: Would you mind if I had a brief moment alone with Fitz?

Everyone outside nods sadly and drifts away. May has to all but drag Skye, crying, out.

MAY: Come on. Let's go.

[ Skye sniffles ] and leaves.

Simmons wipes her tears and turns back to Fitz. He is abjectly refusing to look at her, as if that'll somehow make her okay. He busies himself with the device.

FITZ: We'll try again. The electrostatic pulse from the third rat seemed much less, so we're making progress. If we can calibrate the antiserum...

As he's talking, Simmons goes up behind him and picks something up. She smiles, tears in her eyes.

SIMMONS: Antiserum, yes. You finally got it right, Fitz. [ deep breath ] I'm so sorry.

She hits him over the head with a f*re extinguisher and knocks him out.

INT: Coulson's office on the Bus.

MAY: Agent Blake is on the line. He wants to know what's going on. If you won't answer, he asked for Ward.

WARD: Sir... what are our orders?

COULSON: They're unchanged.

[ alarm blaring ]

SKYE: What is that?

[ beeping ] as May pushes buttons on the monitor.

MAY: Someone's lowering the cargo-hold ramp.

Ward's eyes go big as he realizes what's happening.

INT: Bus lab. Fitz comes to.

FITZ: Bloody hell. [ groans ]

He uses the table that the rats are on as a leverage point to push himself up. As he does, he notices that the third rat is actually alive and well.

FITZ: Hey. It worked. The pulse just knocked the rat uncon... 

He seems to feel that something's off. Simmons isn't beside him.

FITZ: ... scious. Jemma?

He walks up to the glass doors.

FITZ: Jemma!

Outside, Simmons is standing with the wind bl*wing in her hair. The cargo hold is opening.

[wind blows]

FITZ [extremely muffled, through the door]: Jemma, it worked!!

Simmons turns and looks at him.

FITZ: Please, don't! No! Jemma, don't! 

He screams and pounds at the door, trying to pry it open. 

FITZ: Jemma!

She smiles sadly and for one final time before falling backward, through the open cargo hold door, and into the empty sky.

FITZ: Jemma!

He hurries over to a machine and works frantically. He puts a vial into his device and hurries back to the opening door of the lab. He grabs a parachute and hurries to put it on.

[wind rushing]

FITZ [nearly inaudible over the wind]: Need to find Jemma. I need to find Jemma.

Ward jumps down onto the first floor, landing behind Fitz.

FITZ: The antiserum worked, but she jumped!

Ward takes the parachute and device from Fitz. Ward jumps out of the plane. In the air, he pulls the pack and steadies himself, searching for Simmons. Finding her, he streamlines his body and rushes towards her. When he gets close, he spreads out his body to slow his fall.

[ electricity crackles ] as he jabs her with the device.

He pulls his chute. They float down towards the surface of the ocean. They're okay.

INT: Coulson's office on the Bus. He's lecturing Simmons and Ward. 

COULSON: Don't get me wrong! I'm happy you're both alive — truly. And I realize you were trying to save the team, but what you did today? That was not your call. Just getting you out of the water ... do you have any idea what a pain it is dealing with the Moroccan office? Don't you ever pull a stunt like that again!

Simmons looks deeply apologetic.

COULSON [softer]: We'd hate to lose you, Jemma.

SIMMONS: Thank you, sir.

Coulson sits. Ward starts to leave.

SIMMONS: Oh, does that mean we're to leave now?

Coulson stares. After a b*at, she walks out with Ward and goes down the stairs with him.

WARD: So, what did you think of your first time skydiving?

SIMMONS: [sighs] Honestly, I'd rather not think about it anymore.

WARD: I thought what you did was incredibly brave.

Simmons stops in the lounge area in flattered surprise to process that. Ward stops to continue talking to her.

SIMMONS: Oh. Well, I-I suppose now's as good a time as any to tell you that, um... I may have misled you earlier. 

Ward looks like he knows what she's going to say. He smiles a little.

SIMMONS: You see, when I gave you back the night-night p*stol, I lied ... it's still an ounce off.

WARD: I know.

SIMMONS: You do?

WARD: Of course. After all... [ deep voice, similar to the one Fitz-Simmons did at the top of the episode when things were simple and happy ] I'm Agent Grant Ward. I just jumped out of a plane without a parachute on and saved your life!

SIMMONS: Actually, that's not quite it. It's a bit more nasally than that.

[ Ward chuckles ] and Skye peeks out from behind a corner.

SIMMONS: Oh. Hello, Skye.

Skye wraps Simmons up in a big, tearful, loving hug.

SIMMONS [a little taken aback, but very happy]: Ohh!

Simmons melts into Skye's arms.

INT: Coulson's office. He's looking over a file. May stands in the doorway.

MAY: How was Simmons?

He closes the file.

COULSON: Amazingly resilient. You'd never know she almost died.

MAY: Experience like that ... it takes a while to sink in. (about the file) That her medical report?

COULSON: Mine, actually. Blood work finally came back. I'm perfectly normal. Little heavy on the iron, but don't worry. You don't have to start calling me "Iron Man."

MAY (smirking): Wasn't planning on it.

[a b*at]

COULSON: My doctors never requested any tests. I ordered them for myself, but you knew that.

She nods.

COULSON: This piece of paper is telling me that everything's fine, but... I don't feel fine. I feel different.

A moment of silence.

MAY: Take off your shirt.

COULSON: Excuse me?

May gets closer.

MAY: Your shirt... unbutton it.

He obliges. May looks at the scar on his chest.

MAY: Whether it was 8 seconds or 40, you died. There's no way you can go through a trauma like that and not come out of it changed. You know how long it's taken me to —

COULSON: I know.

MAY: The point of these things (she looks at his scar) is to remind us that... there is no going back. There's only moving forward. You feel different... because you are different.

INT: Fitz's bunk. Fitz-Simmons are sitting on Fitz's bed. Fitz is cuddling a pillow and fidgeting, twisting his hands about. Simmons is looking at Fitz with pure adoration written plain as day across her face.

FITZ: ... And I was going to do it.

SIMMONS: I know you were.

FITZ: I had the antiserum, the chute ... everything. I just couldn't get the straps on.

SIMMONS (talking over Fitz): Fitz, please.

FITZ: And, you know, maybe I couldn't have done the whole "James Bond in midair" ...

Simmons waves her hands around in affectionate exasperation.

SIMMONS (talking over Fitz): Fitz, shut up.

FITZ: ... type ... thing.

SIMMONS: Please, just... Ward did an amazing thing, yes, but it wasn't Ward by my side in that lab, searching for a cure. It wasn't Ward giving me hope when I had none. It was you. 

She nudges him. He makes a noncommittal noise.

SIMMONS: You're the hero.

He looks up at her. They smile.

FITZ: Yeah?

SIMMONS: Yeah. Thank you.

Fitz nods, smiling. Simmons leans over and kisses Fitz on the cheek before getting up and walking out of the bunk. Fitz scratches at his neck, and then, when the full weight of his emotions dawns on him, his face drops into an "oh, no, I really truly am feeling something fierce right now" face. h*t over the head with love like a f*re extinguisher! Fitz hugs the pillow tighter.

AoS logo end card.

We see the Bus sitting in the desert in what the screen tells us is THE SANDBOX. LOCATION: CLASSIFIED. Inside the cargo hold, Coulson stands there as the Agent—agent Blake—walks on with a few soldiers.

COULSON: Blake.

BLAKE: Coulson.

He nods to the box. The soldiers pick it up and take it off.

BLAKE: That's the best you could come up with ... "we've got a bad connection"?

COULSON: I was pressed for time.

BLAKE: It's a bold move. You know our chat wasn't exactly private.

COULSON: They never are.

BLAKE: I don't know what happened to you in New York, if you really flatlined or if that's just what they tell us when we reach level seven, but whatever did happen doesn't give you license to disobey a direct order from HQ. You keep pulling stunts like that, someone might decide to take this little dream team away from you.

COULSON: I'd like to see them try.

BLAKE: That doesn't sound like the Phil Coulson I used to know.

COULSON: No, I suppose it doesn't. Get used to it.

Blake nods and then leaves.
{"type": "series", "show": "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", "episode": "01x06 - FZZT"}