Seeds

I completely blew the question on Von Neumann's entropy. Freaking thermodynamics. Test's over, Callie. Just let it go. Yeah, that's easy for you to say. You probably aced it. What you need is a little distraction. - This will distract me just fine. - Well, suit yourself. Whoo! Come on, Callie! Live a little! What are you waiting for? Callie, relax! Guess, we've earned this. Come on, have some fun, Callie. Come on, take it on! Guys get out. They can't bust us for coming in here! Get out now! No! Get it off me! Seth, pull! I'm trying! My leg! Get it off me! 1x12 - Seeds There is nothing more unsettling, being a part of something so horrible, completely unaware. The Cadet could have died. We drew up those concepts years ago. We didn't know they'd be applied in that way. Is this the device they found in the frozen pool? Correction the instantly frozen indoor pool. It seems like it was planted in the filter days before, like someone was waiting for those specific Cadets. Well, as far as they can tell, the device uses a crystalline nucleation process she designed. And a delivery mechanism he invented. That's why we're being asked to consult on the investigation. - So we're going to the Academy? - Science and technology division. Cadets are pretty shaken up over what happened. Agent Weaver asked if you two could speak to the student body - about potentiality to calm them down. - Of course. The talk. We've all heard the talk. - I haven't. - I guess you will. Well, I've heard a lot about the Academy. I'm excited to finally see it. Me, too. Never been to Sci-Tech before. Never? Huh. The different S. H. I. E. L. D. academies don't interact? Not much. Academy of communications does, but they're the biggest and focused on data analysis. - It's the easiest to get into. - Boring. - That's where you'd be, Skye. - Thanks. Operations is the most aggressive program. More people wash out of operations than the other academies. So which one's the hardest to get into? I'm picking up on the rivalry between sciences and operations. Are you and Coulson past all that, or you gonna help Ward steal their mascot? We're not going. After we drop you off, Coulson and I have other matters to attend to. Coulson hasn't come out of his office in awhile. - Do you think he's all right? - We saw him at a low. It's not easy for anybody. But Coulson's tough as they come. He'll be good. Just give him time. And while he takes that time, it's on us to figure out what's going on at the Academy. This was the SSR facility before S. H. I. E. L. D. was even founded. "SSR" stands for Strategic scientific reserve. Yeah, I know. Is this where you got all your PHDs? Oh, no, you need at least one to get through the door. Is science and technology what you imagined, Agent Ward? Yep no uniforms, no rope course, no defined muscularity on anyone. No marching in place, no I. Q. s in double digits. There they are. So good to see you. - You look as lovely as ever. - I concur. Thank you. Agent Ward. Pleasure to have you, sir. Agent Weaver. There's a list of suspects? Based on the level of intelligence it would take to put a device together like the one we found, we've narrowed it down to the top 10% of our Cadets. I'm worried there's a bad seed. Ops and sciences have differences, but both have to be careful about what we call "bad seeds," people who want to use the tools we give them for "Bad seed" isn't a S. H. I. E. L. D. term, Ward, just a term. I know you've already questioned the victim, but I have a few questions I'd like to ask him myself. I'll arrange for you to talk to Seth Dormer when he's out of class. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get Agents Fitz and Simmons settled into the lecture hall. Look at them the popular kids. - Who knew? - I did. Come on. While we have a minute, I think there's something you'll want to see. - The Wall of valor. - So you've read about it? Every S. H. I. E. L. D. facility has a memorial to the agents lost in the line of duty. S. H. I. E. L. D. 's history can be traced on walls like this. Huh. - "Bucky" Barnes. - Puts it in perspective what we do. Must make you guys proud all this history. Just wish I was a part of it. It's not self-pity, really. I'm just saying everyone here has earned this. They deserve it. I hacked my way in feels like I cheated. All you need to join is a dedication to the greater good. Coulson saw that in you the moment he met you. - You have got to put that away. - How can I? You read it. And you haven't stopped reading it. I just can't get my head around it. I remember what happened the pain - but I also remember Tahiti. It's - What's in that file it's the truth. Says who? - Director Fury. - If I hadn't asked, he'd have kept it from me, kept me from knowing. And now that you know, you feel better? Put it away. You want to tell me why we're flying to Mexico City? To get your head working on something else. I've been looking into Skye's past, like you asked, into the agent who dropped her off at the orphanage. Agent Avery. She was killed. But her partner wasn't. He disappeared. - Richard Lumley. - Went off-grid 23 years ago, - day after Avery was crossed off. - He's resurfaced? A few days ago, a Mexican teenager posted a selfie on his facebook page managed to capture our guy leaving a grocery store in the background. If he's good enough to avoid S. H. I. E. L. D. all these years, - he'll know. - And he'll be on the move. We have a short window to intercept. - He may have killed Agent Avery. - Or wanted to avoid the same fate. Find him, we find out. How long till we touch down? Today, we're proud to welcome back two of S. H. I. E. L. D. Academy's finest, our youngest graduates to date. You know their names. Please join me in welcoming Agent Leopold Fitz and Agent Jemma Simmons. Thank you, Agent Weaver. It's nice to be back. Unfortunately, it has to be under these circumstances. If you don't know the history of S. H. I. E. L. D. by now, there's no excuse unless you fell asleep in Professor Vaughn's class that's a perfectly acceptable excuse. Our instinct as scientists is to move forward, advance quickly, push the envelope. But given recent events, it makes sense to reflect back on our history. And you can't think of any reason a top student would want to go after you? No. Um, the top students are my friends. It's competitive here, but we usually don't resort to knocking each other off. This isn't operations no offense. None taken. All these names you would consider friendly? Well not Donnie Gill. I barely know the kid. - He doesn't talk to anyone. - And he was at the pool. Studying, but I don't think he's the guy. He just has trouble communicating with anyone below a 170 I. Q. And S. H. I. E. L. D. was founded after the SSR was able to defeat the nearly indomitable force known as Hydra. We tend to forget that these organizations Hydra, Centipede, A. I. M. were also made up of extremely brilliant scientists, men and women who started with the same unlimited potential as you or I. Potential can sometimes be dangerous. Plutonium has the potential to power a city or to be a nuclear bomb. Today, we'd like to share a few stories from the field in which we learned this lesson up close and faced the consequences when untested technology or biology lands in the wrong hands. And don't worry we brought pictures. Oh, god. Oh, god! What is this?! Hey, what's happening to me?! Help me! Help me! Get it off! Make it stop! Help me get it off! No! Make it stop! Find exposed skin. He needs glucose to raise his body's natural freezing point. Simmons, I need something to break the ice. - Jemma. Ready? - Yeah. Fitz, talk to me. Something's doing this to him. Find it. - Ward, there it is. Fitz, what now? - Smash the damn thing! It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's over. Who would do this? I don't want to hear excuses why it didn't work. I have people who do that for me. I just want you to take care of it before I arrive. Just keep in mind how much this will benefit us both, yeah? Mr. Quinn, plane's waiting for you, sir. And you can't think of anyone here who'd want to hurt you? I don't know anyone. Donnie, I'm gonna have you escorted back to your room. You get some rest and stay warm. Sorry I ruined your lecture. I was really looking forward to it. It's not your fault, Donnie. No genetic materials or prints found on the device. The components are rare and expensive. Freshman pranks are tradition, but these are something else. Attempted murder. So, Donnie was the intended target all along? He have anything in common with the Cadets at the pool? - These kids were popular. Donnie was - Not. Donnie hadn't made any enemies here, but he hadn't made any friends, either. He had a hard time adjusting? How old is he? high school when we met him. - Probably bored out of his mind. - Mhm. If things went well, we were considering graduating him early and assigning him to the Sandbox. Wow. Well, he would love it there. But he doesn't like it here, so I'm afraid he'll wash out. Maybe that was the idea. Agent Weaver, keep working with investigations - interviewing Cadets, instructors. - Of course. - And us? - Their interviews won't bear fruit. We teach Cadets to keep secrets. Where did you guys hang out when you wanted to get away from the faculty? Can we tell someone from operations? Yes, because we need to conduct our own investigation. Dario Marquez's dress shop. Marquez doesn't do the best papers in town, but he also doesn't use a computer. So, if Lumley's gonna make a run for it, your guess is he might pass through that door. It's worth a shot, so we wait. - And when we get there? - We mingle, low key. You and Skye get comfortable with the students see if you can get them gossiping. Skye looks young enough to blend in. You're not exactly old man river, and Fitz looks younger than us. Time will come when you won't make fun of me for that. You'll be jealous. You'll be jealous, wrinkly old hags. - I want Fitz to go talk to Donnie. - Sorry? Donnie's withdrawn, might know more than he's letting on. You're a hero here, Fitz. He looks up to you. Go hang out with him. Even if he has no clue who might be after him, - he could use a friend. - That is a wonderful idea. Ward has them from time to time. I'll meet you later. - What? It's strategic. - It's adorable. The Tin Man has a heart after all. So, where are we going? S. H. I. E. L. D. keeps careful watch of everything within their walls, so in the late '60s, to escape the cameras and the prying eyes of the faculty, a few Cadets started sneaking down to the boiler room to play cards, you know, exchange ideas. My kind of people. Some amazing breakthroughs have come out of here. - So the tradition lives on. - Of cramming into the boiler room? Well, over the years, we made a few improvements. Do you have one of these at operations? - No. - Did not think so. Drinks are on me. - Donnie. - Agent Fitz, sir. Oh, please. Call me "Fitz. " Mind if I come in? Yeah no. I mean, no, I don't. Okay, my room was just like this, except, um, um, there was a lot more laundry on the floor. You feeling better? You know, you shouldn't be afraid to tell me if you think someone could be targeting you. I'm not. It was it was probably just a prank. - Freshmen get pranked. - I remember vividly, but that doesn't mean that every freshman needs to be thawed. Is that a design for organic light-emitting diodes? - For active camouflage, I'm thinking. - Hmm. An ionized air cannon? - It's so small. - Well, I was able to double the - pressurization by making - By making it compact. Clever. I must say these ideas are way beyond what I was toying with in my first few months. You shouldn't keep these big ideas to yourself. You should run them by your instructors. These aren't my big ideas. So say you're gonna do what this guy did leave S. H. I. E. L. D., go off the grid. What's your move? I'd hide in the wheel well of a 747 flight from Newark to Singapore. Oxygen, a chute. The back half of the trip passes over 3,000 miles of land, a dozen countries could drop anywhere. You'd probably head to South America. - You speak Spanish. - Vacation Spanish. Lima, most likely, what with the growing food scene. - All right, what's up? - You tell me. - You're talking, more than ever. - 'Cause you're not. And you suddenly became active on the Skye investigation? She's proved herself stepped up in a big way for our team, for you. Is that it, or is it just to distract me? Both. I know you're having a hard time believing what They changed my memories. Who's to say they didn't change more? I say. I know you, Phil, and I knew you before. You'd know I'd be the first to go down that road if I thought it led somewhere. Do you believe me, at least? - Do you - Yes. Good. But I'm tired of secrets, so I'm glad we're here. We need to root out all the secrets. Agent Ward and I have been having sex I got him. He's headed your way. Looks like he's heading down the alley. I'm Agent Coulson, with S. H. I. E. L. D. Oh, thank god. It's about the baby girl, isn't it? Cyanide? What did you think we were gonna do to you? - What they did to her. - Agent Linda Avery? She wasn't the first one to die. We were headed into the Hunan province of China. A senior agent had called in an 0-8-4. An object of unknown origin. We've dealt with those before. He said the entire village had died trying to protect this one. Avery and I were just fresh out of the Academy. And there was five of us just running the back end, until we lost communication with the first team. We went searching. We found the senior agent under a bridge. He he managed to escape with a gunshot wound to the neck, but he bled out. He was still holding on to the 0-8-4. Poor thing was covered in blood. We thought she was dead, too, but sh she was just asleep in the dead agent's arms. I the baby? The girl was the 0-8-4? If she had powers or something, we never witnessed it. The five of us helicoptered the kid off, headed home. After we landed, we started getting crossed off. - Executed? - Tortured, heads bashed in. And when it came down to Avery and I, we realized the only way to keep our people and the kid from being hunted - Was to erase her from existence. - Avery was smart. She used the lead agent's credentials to fake a level 8 clearance, she set up a nearly invisible protocol. The foster system was ordered to move the child around every few months. - But they still got to Avery. - She died protecting that secret. - And you left town. - Oh, I left everything. I mean, whoever killed that kid's family and all those agents was a force to be reckoned with. - And that girl - Don't tell me a damn thing about her. I don't want to know. You understand? Just tell me is she okay? - She's safe. - Then maybe it was all worth it. - You taking me in? - Yeah. No. I'm not sure S. H. I. E. L. D. is the safest place for you right now. We'll get in the air and drop you somewhere along the route. Thank you. Bit of advice stop digging and stay the hell away from that girl. 'Cause wherever she goes, death follows. It's best no one knows about this, for Skye's safety and for ours. You can never tell her. - Bartender seemed chatty. - He's in computer sciences. Didn't take long to convince him I was a level 7 CS operative. And guess where I'm stationed the Sandbox. - Good thinking. - I asked if any of the Cadets had hopes on getting assigned there. Behind me the curls. Callie Hannigan ambitious, gunned hard for getting assigned to the Sandbox. And apparently, word's gotten around she just lost the top spot. - She was at the pool. - But didn't want to go in. A battery that carries a terawatt of energy? - This is amazing. - Would be if it worked. I'm I'm close. I've built some quarter scale, and they would work at that size, but the beat increases at a 4-to-1 ratio with scale. And it melts down. Why not use oxygen you know, breathe it in from the outside? Sure, it's not gonna react as well with the lithium ion, but the cooling effect would surely make up for that discrepancy. - No? - Holy crap. - I mean, it's just an idea. - That's insane. Uh, but you should show it to Agent Weaver before you test it. You have no idea how powerful this thing could be. Of course. Wow. I'm sorry. That that was awesome. It's true what the other guys say you are the smartest person to come through here. Is that what they say? Yeah? Well, Simmons is probably smarter, technically, but that's because she likes homework more than life itself. Nice to have someone to talk shop with all the time or to just plain talk to. You know, um, I didn't like it here at the Academy at first. - You didn't? - No. I was shy, a bit of a loner. My Mum did her best at home, but I may as well have been speaking Japanese when I talked electronics - So I kept things to myself. - Me, too. The kids in my hometown wouldn't talk to me. And when S. H. I. E. L. D. told my Dad I was gifted, - He said, "at what?" - Yeah. Well, hang in there. You'll find a friend here. Actually, I'm off to meet the rest of the team at the boiler room if you'd like to join. Uh, maybe later. I'm gonna try to draw up some of those changes. - Later it is. - And thanks. No problem. - Not a bad shot. - You mean for a girl. For anybody. Elastic collision equations, contact point geometry, and practice. So, why is a guy from operations hanging out in the boiler room, anyway? Looking for the smartest mind you have here to duck out, join my top shadow unit. Is that you? Could be. Shadow unit doing what? I've said too much already, but that tech in the lecture hall it was impressive. Whoever built that tech I could see them moving to level 6 within the year. Even though Donnie and Seth were hurt? The boys survived. Yeah, probably the best thing that's happened to them all year. Why don't you tell me what you meant by that? And I'll not tell Agent Weaver how eager you were to jump rank over at operations. I'm just saying they got to meet Agent Fitz. They've been talking about it for weeks. Weeks? We just came here - Talking about it to whom? - Each other. Jemma, please don't tell me you've left the boiler room already. Fitz, they staged the attacks. - Well, that's nonsense. Why? - To lure us to the Academy and to take them off our radar as suspects. You need to get out of there. He's after you. Relax. I'm out. You're overreacting. He's just a lonely kid. We had a nice little hang session. I actually helped him solve his power problem. Oh, no. That's what you're trying to power a bigger version of the ice machine? You weren't supposed to see this. This is very, very dangerous, okay? You can't have this here. We have to turn it in to Agent Weaver. You weren't supposed to see this. We need to go. Come on! - How could I have been so stupid? - Fitz, will you stop? - I'm sorry, sir. It's my fault. - Any word on the missing Cadets? Ward's coordinating the search effort with Agent Weaver. They've set up a perimeter and are going building to building. Where did you guys go? - We were trying to reach you. - Not now. - How dangerous are they? - Extremely dangerous. This device turns any moisture around it to ice very rapidly, at a great range. But Donnie's a good kid just felt isolated. Seth must have befriended him to manipulate him, using him to finish the the product. Product? Okay, I think they have a backer. The device the components are incredibly rare and expensive, nothing either of them could find on the open market themselves. If the parts are that rare, we can trace the purchases. Sometimes, it's not a bad seed, just a bad influence. Let's go. No, no. No, that's not the issue. Look, Donnie and I have the device ready to sell, a-and we solved the power problem, but, uh, look, we we we ran into some trouble. - S. H. I. E. L. D. 's looking for us now. - Seth, what did I say was the most important aspect of this deal? That nobody know about it. Right. Well, now the deal's gonna have to change. We were worried about bad influences? - He's the worst there is. - Ian Quinn. You gotta be kidding. Thermopile radiation sensors. Shipped to Seth's father, who's a lawyer for Quinn worldwide. Quinn's buying their technology. What a sleaze. The Cadets have no idea he's a criminal. - To them, he's just a venture capitalist. - This is Quinn's M. O. He finds young talent and he takes advantage, right? - Hello? - Contact Ward and Agent Weaver. Have them widen their search to include Ian Quinn. - Hey, can I talk to you for a second? - I have to brief May. - Just two seconds that's all. - Yeah. This is an unfortunate situation you've gotten us into, Seth. Where are you? We're we're hiding at a parking garage near the Academy. There's checkpoints set up all around. - We're boxed in. - It looks like I'll be turning around. Sorry we couldn't do business. No, no, wait! M-Mr. Quinn, please. Can you send a chopper or something to come and get us? Look, believe me it's worth it. - Prove it, Seth. - What do you mean? A demonstration I want to see what I'm paying for in action, right there at S. H. I. E. L. D. - Then you'll come and get us? - I wouldn't be able to resist. The deal's a no-go. Let's turn around, go back to the Seychelles. - You copy that, sir. - Darling, can you freshen this up? Ready for this, Donnie? Hey. We've come this far. - Maybe it's too far. - We're in this together you and me against the world, right? How many times have we said we want a chance to do something incredible? Well, this is it, and it comes with a ton of money. Come on. Say something. I'm I'm nervous. The the prototypes are harmless, burn out in minutes, but this? We haven't run virtual simulations. At this size, with the new power source, it's not it's not safe. Donnie, you need to grow a pair. Now, you can't bail on me now. We have one chance to impress Mr. Quinn, and now he's our only way out. We can't turn back after what we did back there. What what what you did. - You knocked Agent Fitz unconscious. - He found us out. And it was your idea to draw him here to fix your damn power source. Our plan has worked so far, Donnie, and so will this. W-what happened? I-is it a dud? I-I don't I don't I don't know. Ever since you got back from who knows where, you won't even look at me. And I know things have been heavy right now, but did I do something wrong? No. I did. Ian Quinn's not the only one who manipulates people, Skye. We do it all the time actually teach it at the Academy. - It's our trade. - What are you talking about? I've been keeping something from you. But recently, I realized I had no right to do that. You lied to me. Agent May and I went down to Mexico City to talk to somebody somebody who knows where you came from. - Tell me. - When we started this, I warned you - that you might not like what you learn. - And I told you that it can't be worse than what I have imagined. It is. The agent who dropped you at St. Agnes was not your mother, but she was killed trying to protect you. 24 years ago, an entire S. H. I. E. L. D. team in a small village was massacred in attempt to secure you. I'll be damned! We did it! It worked! I did it. The ice stopped. So it's ending? No. It's just beginning. We're in the eye of the storm. A storm? But crystalline nucleation - should only create ice around the - It did up there. We seeded the clouds. In the most effective way in history, Seth. - We created a superstorm. - He said he wanted a demonstration. - What are you doing?! - I have to try to reverse the process. Look, Quinn specifically said he needed a working apparatus to come and pick us up. All the money in the world won't matter if we're dead. Please. Please help me. How do we stop it? We can't stop it. They're in real trouble. - Where is the device? - Most likely right there dead center of the storm. We've got to get Donnie out of there. Ward, how are things on the ground? We've got most everyone safe in the boiler room. Everybody, move back! Make some space! How bad is this gonna get? Bad. Can you reach the North campus parking garage? We think Donnie Gill and his device may be trapped in the center of the storm. That's not far from where I am. I can get there. Yeah, I can't get there. Is there any other way to get to Donnie? Think fast, people. I know one way. Hold on tight. Seth, hold the barium hydroxide chamber in place! - Okay! - Hold on! Okay, that should do it. Now take Seth! Seth? We're gonna have to try to get underground, ride it out till the storm passes. Hey, Seth. Seth! Hey, hey, Seth. Seth, can you hear me? He's been hurt! Please, you need to help him! He's in cardiac arrest! Skye, blanket for his head! Lay him down here! Sir, I need the A. E. D. ! Fitz, oxygen. I got it. Get ready to clear. Charging. Get back! And clear! Pulse? - Nothing. - Charging. Clear. - Pulse? - No. - Charging. - He's gone. No, Seth. Seth! Seth!! Come on, no! No. Don't go. No. Donnie, I wanted to wish you good luck. And I'm very sorry. Don't say you're sorry. My only friend is dead because of me. - I don't know what else to say. - Then don't say anything. What will happen to him? They're moving him to the Sandbox, but not as a researcher. They want to keep an eye on him. - Did, uh, you hear what I said in Mexico? - What, specifically? - A-about Ward and me, um - Yeah, I heard. I trust you know what you're doing, - and if it's a problem - I'll end it. Skye requested a moment alone on campus. - You told her, didn't you? - I had to. It must have destroyed her to hear all that. That's the thing about Skye. What I told her shattered her world. Her lifelong search led to stories of murder, and now it's too difficult to continue. Her search is over. Her story ends here. - But you know what she said? - Tell me. She said "no" her story started here. Her whole life, she thought she wasn't wanted, that she didn't belong, that every family that took her in didn't want her to stay, didn't care. But all that time, it was S. H. I. E. L. D. protecting her, looking after her. That's what she took away from the story not the family she'll never have but the one she's always had. Here I am, telling her something that could destroy her faith in humanity. And somehow, she manages to repair a little piece of mine. The world is full of evil and lies and pain and death, and you can't hide from it you can only face it. The question is, when you do, how do you respond? Who do you become? We'll return in a moment. Seth, I've gotta say you have exceeded my expectations. We're on to you. Who is this? Agent Phil Coulson with S. H. I. E. L. D. We've never actually met, but I'm familiar with your work all of it. So, this is a "getting to know you" call? No, just a message that the first time your aircraft drifts over any country allied with S. H. I. E. L. D., we will shoot you out of the sky. So this is a courtesy call. Well, thank you, Agent Coulson. And I have a message for you. The Clairvoyant told me to say hello.