In a matter of minutes, everything Elena knew about her mother was shattered to pieces and set on fire. She had very few memories of her mother before the fire and to learn that she was a vindictive, nasty woman who tortured innocent people for her own selfish gain, it was like a punch in the gut. The more she thought about Coulson and May's story, the more she realized that certain things made a lot of sense: how her grandparents never bothered with attending the funeral and showed no remorse over her death, how they both, even her usually compassionate grandmother, repeatedly told Elena and her brother that they were better off without her, and how they always refused to even speak of her mother. As a child, their strange behavior made Elena resentful but now she wondered if they had an inkling of her mother's true nature.

Besides dealing with the bombshell dropped by Coulson, the secrets she was keeping from him and the rest of the team were eating away at her. Her desire to be honest about her mission regarding Hamilton was outweighed by her orders from Fury, who wanted only a small circle of people to know the information. Making her even more torn was the younger members of the team being genuinely concerned about her and the news that SHIELD had a hand in her mother's death. Skye was the first to make her laugh, with the offer of pranking Moore. If Elena did not understand the importance of keeping the information secret, she would share what she had discovered among Hamilton's files.

She busied herself in the command center, tapping her fingers on the table. No matter how much she would love to stay on the Bus while the other agents visited her hometown, she knew that her duties as an agent were more important than personal matters.

"You doing okay there, scamp?"

Garrett walked into the command center. "How would you be doing if you found out that SHIELD had to kill your psychopathic, gifted mother?"

"Pretty angry. It's okay to let it out."

She sighed. "I'm not angry. I just—I understand why no one told me." He looked surprised by her calm response. "To be honest, I think I'm starting to realize why my grandparents never cared enough to go to her funeral. Maybe they knew about her real personality and my dad was just blinded to it."

"You're being a lot more mature than I would've been at your age. You know, Fury won't mind if you tell us about those files. I'm a level eight. As your superior officer, I order you to tell me what you found out from Hamilton."

Elena stopped typing on the table. "He's been funneling money into construction projects but they don't show up on the official reports and there were meetings with some SHIELD agents. Fury thinks some of them might be defecting or wanting to cause trouble. He's even more worried now that Loki's scepter was stolen and Dr. List's gone missing." She blinked several times then looked at a slightly tense Garrett. "Sorry, what were we talking about?"

Their conversation was interrupted by the other agents entering the command center. She tapped the table, bringing up various images of her hometown and its inhabitants on the screen. Before they arrived in Glenwood, Coulson wanted her to give a debriefing. Moore crossed his arms, leaning against the wall.

"Is this really necessary, sir? We're visiting a small town, not going after expert assassins," he said to Coulson, finding the debriefing pointless.

"Always good to know about the place you're visiting, Moore."

Elena spent half an hour discussing the different buildings in the town, mostly possible locations for any shady business, and individuals who were known for their disreputable antics. A picture of the church replaced an article about a lawyer in Glenwood who had recently been arrested.

"There's like an eighty percent chance that something is stashed there. Probably in the hellmouth."

"Hellmouth?" asked Trip, amused.

"Church basement. No one even knew about it until one of the pastor's sons went through this rebellious phase and stole his keys when I was like eight. Ever since, it's been a hangout for teens and there's this closet where the not so nice people hide their illegal stuff. I'm kind of banned so you guys have to go in there without me."

Several heads turned in her direction. She kept her eyes on the table, showing images of the church's interior. Skye, the first to speak, questioned how she was banned from a church but Elena immediately changed the subject to her family.

"Hart, you can't just say something like that and not—"

"It's nothing. Glenwood's really religious. You could like throw food on the floor and you get banned. What I did was a little worse but—nothing important. We'll definitely run into my family at some point so you should know how to deal with them too."

A picture of her grandparents, a couple in their early sixties, popped up on the screen. Her grandfather, Christopher looked like the typical snooty businessman with his crisp black suit and an expression that said everyone is beneath me. While her grandfather's cold expression could freeze a volcano, her grandmother Alana, who had the beauty of an old time movie star, brightened the picture with her warm smile.

"This is pretty easy. Grandmother's nice and really likes guests so expect to eat a lot of fresh baked cookies. My grandfather's a jackass. If they ask if you go to church, just say yes, even if it's a lie. Otherwise, they'll literally drag you to the next service so you can see the light."

The image on the screen switched to a picture of a blonde girl her age being hugged by a slightly older man, a blonde young man in a suit like her grandfather's, and a boy around twelve making a funny face. She explained that the girl, boy, and younger man were her cousins: Alexis, Nathan, and Jace. Alexis was her grandfather in miniature, ice cold and snooty, but without his smarts. She was easily prone to jealousy, especially around Elena, and tended to look down on anyone who did not suit her standards.

The other man in the photo was her husband Caleb, her high school sweetheart who worked with her grandfather and spent more time hitting on other women than paying attention to his own wife. He had been caught being unfaithful countless times yet Alexis always sided with him, blaming the other woman. Her cousin Jace was a rival in the creep department, though Elena herself, not any other girls who were not family, was usually the target of his disgusting behavior.

"I'm pretty sure he put a chip in me when I was seven so if he's at the spot where we land the Bus, don't be surprised. Don't touch me around him either. He'll flip out. Don't bother telling Lexi if Caleb hits on you. Past experience says she'll just call you a jealous bitch. Skye, he's really into the ethnic thing so if he starts flirting with you, shoot him with an ICER.

"Is there anyone in your family that you actually like?" asked Ward, practically hearing the resentment in her voice when she spoke about her relatives.

"Nathan's okay. I mean, he was six the last time I saw him so hopefully, he's not crazy like the rest of my family." She looked at Coulson. "My high school reunion is tomorrow so it's a good cover for returning to town."

Within the hour, the Bus landed in a clearing on the outskirts of Glenwood. Coulson's first thought was to investigate Harrison Garner, an esteemed businessman who had known dealings with international criminals like Vanchat. He was their only known connection to Centipede and possibly the Clairvoyant. Elena silently muttered a stream of curses when she tracked his location to the church. The plan was for Hand and Coulson to pose as a couple visiting the town to meet with Garner for potential business deals while the rest of the agents inspected the basement.

"Once you get into the basement, search it from top to bottom for anything related to Hamilton. From what I've read about Garner, he won't give us much time to discuss our fake proposal," said Coulson, handing an ICER to Trip.

Elena stepped off of the Bus. "Only problem is that you need a key to get in the basement and you only get one if you work in the church. One of the pastor's sons used to hide it under a rock near the door but it's been six years. They probably caught on by now. I mean, the pastor that banned me died so I can probably go in without a problem, right?" Hand pursed her lips. "I'll figure out a way. If you want to keep Garner busy, just keep complimenting him on his amazing business. He loves people kissing his ass."

Arriving at the church, she felt a sense of dread. The entire town was known for being deeply religious and it was rare for anyone to miss a service. She doubted that she would not run into a familiar face and with her terrible luck, it would be one of her relatives. Coulson and Hand entered the church, looking like the most awkward couple. As Blake suggested simply breaking into the basement, Elena spotted a girl her age, dressed in a dark blue, floral printed dress that stopped just below her knee and a pair of short dark blue heels, leaving the church. Her soft golden blonde curls bounced on her shoulders with each step down the staircase.

"It could be risky but we just take out the cameras then—"

"Shut up, Blake. I got this. Give me five minutes." The girl carried a stack of pamphlets over to a plastic folding table covered in a red checkered cloth. She tugged on the bottom of her dress as a light breeze blew past her. "Nope, just two."

Elena walked towards the table, where the girl was fixing the cloth. "Hey Caitlyn."

At the sound of her voice, the pamphlets fell from the girl's grasp into a pile on the grass. She turned around, her face ghostly pale. Her dusty green eyes quickly darted from Elena to the church entrance then back to her.

"E—Elena?" she squeaked. "You're—I didn't think—you…you shouldn't be here. If my father sees you anywhere near the church—"

"Well, technically your grandfather was the one who banned me but he's dead so I don't think it matters. Sorry about that, by the way. At least he went quietly in his sleep." Elena picked up the fallen pamphlets. "Ooh, church bake sale, huh? I always loved those. I really liked your cupcakes. You still make those?"

Caitlyn nodded, refusing to make any eye contact. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, the faintest smile tracing her lips.

"Every year. I uh—I didn't think I'd ever see you—I thought you were gone for good after the incident with your brother."

"Came back for the reunion. Life was hardly perfect here but I remember a few good memories, one of me inside the church is really sticking out right now."

"I—I know what you're doing. The service is going to end any minute and your grandfather's inside. It's like old times. You want to get a rise out of him. That's the only reason why…that happened. Ninety percent of your actions were to anger him."

"Wow, he really messed with your head, Cait. That's not true. Ninety's a bit high. I'd say seventy five at most and that day had nothing to do with him. I did it because I wanted to and the way I remember it, you did too."

Her cheeks were now redder than a tomato. "I don't want you to get in trouble. You know how my parents are so it's probably best if we don't talk out here…alone. I'll um see you at the reunion though."

"Sure. I don't want you getting in trouble either. It was nice seeing you again." Caitlyn stiffened when she hugged her though a second later, she was more relaxed and for a brief second, her hands traveled lower than her waist. Elena sneaked a set of keys out of her purse as she pulled away from the hug. "You're wearing that vanilla lotion. It's like you knew I was coming."

Caitlyn headed back inside the church, taking a quick glance back at her before shutting the door. Elena returned to the other agents, who were standing near a tall oak tree.

"Got the keys."

"Was that an old friend?" asked Simmons, curiously.

"Yep, that's Caitlyn. Her grandfather used to run the church but now her dad does and she always used to help out so I knew she had the basement key."

"She seemed very nervous around you."

"Pfft, half the girls in this town were nervous around me. The other half just didn't understand why," she replied with a smug smirk.

The church basement looked just as she remembered, smelling heavily of cheap beer and cigarettes with red cups scattered all over the floor and bottles of alcohol stashed in a box behind the tattered couch. They searched every inch of the basement for any clues while receiving constant updates from Coulson. Elena unzipped the cover on one of the couch pillows and discovered over a dozen folded up papers. Skimming over the papers, she stashed them into her jacket pocket.

"Find anything?" asked Ward, checking behind the couch.

"Nope. I think this is a bust. Coulson says Garner just left. We should get out of here before we get caught. Caitlyn's dad doesn't look that scary but trust me, he could give Banner a run for his money."

Coulson and Hand had no luck with Garner either, getting nothing more than his business card. "Instead of going right for Garner, we can start with one of his employees. That might be the better way to—why are you making that face?" His eyes were on Elena, who responded with a shrug. "You make that face when you're hiding something."

"I found copies of emails in the basement. They were all addressed to Hamilton and…it was sent from my grandfather's business account. I know how that looks, Coulson, and I would definitely have no problem believing that he was part of some shady deal. He's a huge jerk but one thing he's not is an idiot. He would never be dumb enough to use his business email for something like this. He'd make up a new one…one that couldn't be traced back to him. For all we know, it was one of his employees."

"Well, until we can rule him out, he's our top suspect. We need to talk to him. He already knows about SHIELD so there's no reason for a cover story."

"Coulson, you can't just accuse him. If he even thinks that he's a suspect, he'll literally shoot you in the face or snap your neck. I know he just looks like one of those business guys who sit in their office all day and talk about how rich they are but he's not exactly a wimp. One time, when I was six, I saw him wrestle an alligator and then later, I think it was our dinner. You've met him before. Do you want a repeat of what happened when you told him that I was joining SHIELD?"

He nodded. "Vividly but it doesn't change the fact that he may be involved in this. We have our ICERs if it gets a little out of hand. First, we need to find—"

A heavy force slammed into Elena's back, knocking her to the ground. She lifted her head and saw her cousin Nathan on her back, an excited grin on his face. He was no longer the little six year old boy whose head barely reached her waist, now at her shoulders. She relieved to see that six years had not changed him into a heartless robot like his older sister or a pervert without an understanding of boundaries like his older brother.

"I knew you were coming back! Lexi said you wouldn't but she's never right." His eyes widened at Coulson. "You came with the secret agent guy. Are they all secret agents too? Are you working on a case? Do you have to shoot somebody? Can I—"

Elena covered his mouth. "You're going to pass out if you keep talking. Relax and get up."

"Sorry." He helped her up from the ground. "Am I right? You're here for a case? Let me help. I can fight. I'm testing for my red belt soon."

"You want to fight something? Beat up Caleb. It's like punching a dummy. Where's everyone else? Back at the house? I'll just meet there after—"

"Now, they're inside. Come on. Mr. Coulson, maybe you should wait outside. I don't think my grandfather likes you yet. He has a dartboard in his office with your name on it."

Nathan latched onto her wrist with a vice grip and dragged her inside the church. Stunned whispers followed her down the hallway. Her old classmates looked shocked to see her back in town, as if her presence was nothing more than an illusion. Caitlyn was handing out pamphlets for the charity bake sale being hosted at the church later in the week. Overhearing the whispers, she scurried out of sight and disappeared into one of the rooms. Her grandparents and Alexis were speaking with Caitlyn's parents about the service while Caleb eyed a trio of college girls, all giggling whenever he winked at them, and Jace flirted with a dark-haired, very tanned girl. Six years had not changed them much, except that Jace was slightly more muscular.

"Coulson, if I hit him, it's on you. You know how creepy he is and it never ends well," she hissed.

"It'll be fine. Six years is a long time."

"Plus it looks like he has a girlfriend. I doubt he's as weird as you think. All high school guys are a little weird. Maybe he grew out of it," suggested Skye.

Seeing Elena, he seemed to forget all about the girl flashing him a seductive smile and tackled her in a hug. "Ellie, you're here. I didn't think—I missed you so much. You look even prettier now."

Behind his back, she held up one finger. "That's one. I told you," she mouthed.

Hearing about Jace's strange obsession was far different from seeing it in person. Coulson was the only one who ever met her family and even he was unable to come up with a reasonable explanation. He shook his head, a silent warning to not hurt her cousin. His smile faltered when he noticed Coulson and the other agents, particularly the men. She feigned a laugh to hide the pain from his tightening grip as his eyes passed over Ward.

"Jace, it's been like forever. Have you been working out more?" The rest of her family spotted her, leading to mixed reactions of excitement, anger, and frustration. Alexis whispered in Caleb's ear, her nails digging into his arm. "You should probably let me go so everyone else can get hugs in too. Not Caleb because his skin's probably crawling with STDs and it would make Lexi mad and I don't think Lexi or Grandpa like hugs that much. I'll hug grandma. Kind of hard to do that when you're hugging me. I think we're good."

"Why the hell are you here? Do you want to cause more trouble or do you want my grandfather to finish the job?" he said to Coulson, not bothering to hide his anger.

"Oh, is that your girlfriend walking over? Let's switch it up. You can hug Nate now and I'll hug Skye. Just friendly hugs that mean nothing because we're family." Elena raised her voice as the dark-haired girl walked closer, stressing the word family. She wriggled herself out of his grasp. "Jace, introduce me to your new girlfriend who I've never met before and she's never met me, your cousin."

"Elena, this is…um…"

"Brooke," she said, shaking Elena's hand. "Girlfriend sounds kind of weird since we just started dating. We went to the same college and I thought I'd visit. So you're the famous Elena. I feel like I know you already. Jace never shuts up about you. It's like you still live here even though you've been gone for so long. He can literally go on for hours about when you two were kids. You must've been really close."

"Pretty close, yeah. Same college, huh? That's exciting. Why don't you tell me about it outside? It's really crowded in here and—" She was cut off by her grandmother calling her name. "Hi grandma. Who knew I'd find you in church? It's not like you spend half your day in here or something."

As expected, her grandmother was the only one, besides Jace and Nathan, to hug her. She assumed that Elena returned to her hometown for the reunion but her grandfather was much more perceptive, quickly recognizing Coulson. If looks could kill, Coulson would be stabbed with ten of Loki's scepters at the same time and torn apart by lions. Her grandmother, the peacekeeper of the family, greeted him kindly.

"This is such a lovely surprise. I didn't think you even knew about the reunion, to be honest. It's wonderful that you decided to come back. You are here for the reunion, aren't you? Not for some nasty agent business?" she asked, quietly.

"Yeah, I was on a mission but uh then I remembered the reunion so Coulson dropped me off. They're going off on another mission and I thought it'd be fun for them to see where I grew up."

"Oh, it's very fun," said Moore, likely storing every moment in his mind for ammunition in a later fight.

"Did you think it was wise to come in here or did you do it purposely, knowing it could cause a stir?" asked her grandfather, finally taking his eyes off of Coulson. "You've brought enough problems into his family. Perhaps you were planning on more by speaking with the Harper girl."

"Christopher, not here," whispered her grandmother, resting her hand on his shoulder.

Elena clenched her fists, already prepared for his verbal abuse. She had heard plenty of it throughout her childhood and knew that in his eyes, she was the black sheep of the family. Unlike her days as a child, she was not going to let him bash her to boost his own ego…

~Ward~

When Hart spoke of her relatives during the debriefing, he thought that she was exaggerating, that no other family could compare to his own trainwreck. Hart's family was hardly picture perfect itself and, like him, she was the brunt of their abuse, mostly from her grandfather. She was certainly the odd one out, looking more like her mother than the rest of them with their light blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. Her grandfather seemed to have just as much of a problem with Coulson, judging by his harsh glare that only fell when he spoke to Hart.

Grant listened to her grandfather accuse her of purposely visiting the church to cause trouble. Her reasons for being banned shortly before leaving for SHIELD remained a mystery though when her friend Caitlyn was mentioned, he wondered if the incident involved her.

"Oh, is just talking going to tarnish your reputation now? I wouldn't want that. You know what? Cait was right. I planned the whole thing. I knew, down to the exact second, when you would open that door. It's kind of your fault then, isn't it? You shouldn't be so predictable."

Her grandmother defused the tension by offering them an invite to dinner back at their home. Being the only way to find out if her grandfather was working with Hamilton, Coulson graciously accepted, his fingers subtly wrapped around his ICER. Hart held up two fingers behind her as Jace, who appeared to forget all about his girlfriend in her presence, grabbed her hand, pulling her down the hallway. Grant heard her other cousin Alexis quietly whine to her grandfather about Hart just being allowed in the house.

"Sorry about my grandpa, Mr. Coulson. He really likes to hold a grudge," said Nathan, rubbing the back of his neck.

As Hart said on the Bus, he was the only decent relative. "No reason to apologize. I don't think it'll escalate as badly as last time. If it does…well, at least I have a lot of back up. I knew the risks of coming here but Elena really wanted—"

"You can stop lying." Grant looked at him, surprised. "I know she isn't here for the reunion. She wouldn't come back after six years to see a bunch of people that she hated. You're here for a case and when you're done, she's going to leave again and grandpa won't like it. Am I right?"

Coulson nodded glumly. "I wish I could tell you differently, Nathan. If things weren't as they are, I'm sure she would visit without needing a case."

"It's not your fault. Grandpa always blamed you but he just doesn't like to admit that he's wrong sometimes. He drove her away…him and my uncle. Even if I miss her a lot, she's better with you. If she stayed here, she'd probably end up like Ollie."

Grant was speechless as they entered the massive mansion, nearly twice the size as every other house in the neighborhood. He never thought of Hart's family as that wealthy but it made sense, considering some of their snobbish attitudes. Coulson's cover story for those unaware of Hart's life as a SHIELD agent, meaning Jace's girlfriend and Alexis's husband, was that Hart worked for the FBI. Jace finally released her hand and hurried up the staircase to retrieve something from his room while her grandparents and Nathan headed into the kitchen. Alexis had not let go of her husband's arm since she first saw Hart yet Grant had noticed that he was blatantly staring at Hart the entire time.

"Coulson, you owe me five bucks. Told you she'd just be glaring at the entire time." She looked at Brooke. "So how did you and Jace—"

"I don't like you."

"Uh oh," whispered Nathan.

Hart's frustrated sigh suggested that she was waiting for those words. "Stay away from Jace. He never shuts up about you and it's so annoying. He's my boyfriend, not yours." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I shouldn't have to tell you that except I know your slutty reputation. Considering that, I wouldn't be surprised if you tried for both of us."

"That's another five, Coulson. First of all, gross. I'm not some backwoods trash. Second of all, you're not my type, Prissy McBitch." Brooke crossed her arms. "I already deal with jealousy issues from the blonde robot next to you so I'm really not in the mood to deal with more. I'm going to take my friends on a tour of the house so if you want, you can join Lexi's club where she sits outside and bitches about me to her pervy husband all day."

He followed her up the staircase and she opened the door to her grandfather's study. It was the most obvious place to check for any other emails to Hamilton or other related files.

"Your family's…"

"Really shitty? Is it that obvious?"

Grant stopped flipping through a folder. "I wouldn't use those words but I can see why you'd want to avoid them. I don't see my family that much either. Don't let what that girl said get to you."

"Never do. I've heard plenty of it from Alexis growing up. She once accused me of stealing her preschool boyfriend because he gave me one of his animal crackers." He stifled a laugh and heard Jace walking down the stairs. "I'll distract him. Just be quick. If you don't find anything in here, check his bedroom next and then the tool shed outside. Those are his usual hiding places."

Hart left the room to distract her cousin. There was not much time to search for evidence before they were called down for dinner. Though they were empty-handed, Coulson was beginning to agree with Hart that her grandfather had no part in Hamilton's scheme.

"He hates SHIELD. If he was part of a plan against us, he'd be boasting about it."

"Perhaps he's simply showing restraint," said Sitwell.

"Or it's someone else. We'll need to look into any employees with possible access to his account. Caleb works for the company so we can start with him."

In the dining room, Hart was sitting, not by choice, beside Jace, who was showing her pictures in an album. Brooke's smile was as fake as her tan as she pretended to listen to every story. He was also catching Hart up on what she missed with her classmates over the past six years, most of them never leaving their hometown.

"Do you remember how pissed she was after that? She hated you for like a week. She got married to Chester Clayborne, actually. His wife died two years ago in a car accident and a few months later, they were dating. Everyone says she's just into him for the money. I don't think she'll bring him to the reunion. They rarely go out in public together."

"Are you bringing anyone, Elena?" asked Brooke, feigning interest.

"Nope. Just going by myself."

"Aw, you have to come with someone. It would be so sad. I'm sure one of your friends could go with you since they're here."

Jace gripped the album and suddenly, it tore in half…

~Elena~

Elena stared at the torn photo album in Jace's hands. Though he blamed it on the flimsy material, she was not the only one with a stunned expression on her face. She glanced over at the other agents, who seemed to have the same thoughts as her: that Jace's strength was unnatural. Her phone vibrated on her lap, showing a message from May to not provoke him. Her grandmother entered the room with enough food to feed a small village and Jace's little stunt was only the beginning of a very awkward dinner.

Her grandmother was disappointed about her plans to leave town after the reunion. "You're only here until tomorrow night? You just got here, Elena. Surely you can stay longer."

"Grandma's right, Ellie. You should stay. You can even go back to your old house. They've been fixing it up all week. It looks just like it did before you left. The hospital said it would be good for Uncle Adrian if everything looked the same." Alexis took a sip of her tea, ignoring her grandfather's tense gaze. The tiniest smirk graced her lips. "Oh, did they not tell you yet?"

"Alexis, this is something to talk about in private, not in front of our guests."

"It kind of involves them too. Mr. Coulson was the one who had Uncle Adrian put away. Isn't what you said, grandpa? Shouldn't he know that the hospital is releasing him in two days?"

Coulson nearly choked on his glass of water upon hearing the news. Elena's fork fell onto her plate with a soft clatter and she squeezed her wrist, feeling her leather bracelet beneath her fingers.

"H—Hart? Are you okay?" whispered Fitz, concerned, as Coulson questioned her father's release.

"He's being let out on good behavior. You seem surprised by the news. Is it because your little organization was ensuring he remained imprisoned? I suppose it doesn't have as much clout as you thought. Now that he's proven to professionals that he's all well, Elena can stop this nonsense and be where she belongs. She deserves to be—"

"Fuck you," she muttered.

"What did you say?" he asked, staggered by her harsh words.

"I said fuck you. You haven't changed at all. You just want to control everything and everybody like little puppets." She turned towards Alexis, who was enjoying the scene unfolding in front of her. "I bet you loved dropping that little bomb, huh? Let me drop a few for you. Your sweet husband got four girls pregnant, three of them from our own high school, and the only reason they haven't confronted you or him is because I've been paying them off every year for child support and hush money…because unlike you, I care about my family and even though I wish you could see what a terrible person he is, I know you never will so I'd rather let you live in your perfect little bubble."

"Elena, please don't—"

"Fuck you too," she said, cutting off her grandmother. "Oh, Elena, stay a few more days. We miss you so much. You're just as bad as the rest of them. The only reason you want me to stay is for him and I won't entertain your little fantasy of—I can't do this."

Elena stormed out of the dining room and stopped in front of a slightly smaller mansion just a block down the street. Three construction vans were parked on the sidewalk. The last time she had been inside the house, it was partially destroyed by a fire set by her father, out of anger for her joining SHIELD. All traces of the fire were gone, the damages repaired by the workers. She sauntered straight past the men on the front porch and opened a cabinet under the sink in the kitchen, pulling out a 9 mm pistol.

Her hand shaking, she pointed it at her heart. The pistol was snatched away from her hand and the person behind her gently pressed her against the counter.

"Hart, what the hell are you doing?"

She elbowed Ward in the stomach. "Get off me. It's none of your business. It's going to happen sooner or later. Let me just get it over with before…"

"This is about your father? You're a SHIELD agent. If you're that worried about him, SHIELD can make sure—"

"Make sure what? That he doesn't find me? They tried that already and it didn't work. He always finds me. Why do you think Coulson and Fury had him locked up? Why do you think my family hates me so much?" Tears filled her eyes as she recalled the memories of her grandfather cutting her out of the family for her 'betrayal'. "They blame me. My grandfather kept saying that I was imagining things…that SHIELD was trying to brainwash me into thinking that my dad was this terrible person. He knew what he had done…all of them, even Lexi and Jace, knew but they didn't care. They weren't the only ones either. More than half the town sided with my dad and thought I was acting out after my brother's death…that I was just causing trouble to deal with my grief. My grandfather would say how sometimes, parents had to punish their kids."

She opened a closet near the kitchen, showing the deep scratches on the wooden door. There were dried blood stains on the carpet and a cross hanging on the wall.

"This is how he punished me and my brother when we made him mad. He would lock me in here for days and when the school called, he'd just say that I was feeling sick. He wouldn't give me food or water. I was just left in the dark with my own thoughts…to beg for forgiveness for my sins. When it wasn't the closet, he burned me or threw me around like a rag doll. The next day, he'd act like nothing happened and say how I was such a good little girl. Do you know how many years I spent trying to get people to listen? I tried talking to my teachers and the guidance counselor. All they saw was the picture perfect image he showed to the town. They just called it my rebellious phase. Do you know what that's like?"

Ward nodded. "I do. My family wasn't the greatest either. My older brother…I know what it's like, Hart. To feel like all the blame's being put on you and that you're going crazy because no one believes you. You don't deserve that. No one does. I know you're scared but Coulson would never let anything happen to you. He'll find a way to throw that lunatic back in that hospital and if he can't, he'd probably get the Avengers to protect you." He checked his phone. "Garrett said they just left your grandparents' house. They're going to check his company now. Are you ready to go?"

"N—no. I'm going back to the Bus."

"I'll stay with you."

"You don't have t—"

"I want to, Hart. Coulson's got a whole team with him."

She managed a weak smile. "Thanks."

Sitting on the Bus did not help much with her anxiety but if she had joined the search of her grandfather's company, she knew that it would have ended with her destroying the building. Neither of them had spoken a word since leaving her old house. Ward was oddly comforting, just content to sit with her in the commons area and drink beer. The team had gone from office to office but again, their search ended in failure. Hand assumed that her grandfather's employees were good at covering their tracks, not leaving any trace of their dealings with Hamilton.

Elena had not slept the entire night, her anxiety preventing her from just shutting her eyes. When she was not pacing around her room, she was in the lab, playing around with Fitz's latest experiments and reading the encrypted file on Skye's blood sample taken after she was injected with GH325.

She heard the door slide open as she peered into a microscope. Ward, Fitz, Simmons, and Skye entered the lab.

"Hart, here you are. Coulson thought you disappeared. I'm glad you didn't. Are you…okay?" asked Skye.

"Not really but tequila's helping. Simmons, look at these blood samples."

Simmons observed the samples under the microscope. "I recognize these from when we took Mike Peterson's blood for analysis. Why are you looking at them?"

"One is Mike's blood. The other is Jace's. I got it after he hulked out on that photo album."

"That would mean he's been exposed to the serum created by Centipede. You think he's another soldier?"

"No. His blood was a little different. It's like he got a smaller dosage. You're right though. It is the same serum and my guess is that he's the one working with Hamilton. My grandfather might be smart enough to cover his tracks but Jace isn't." She grabbed an ICER from the table and hid it in her jacket pocket. "I'm going to talk to him. If he sees anyone else, he'll freak out so it's better if I go alone. He won't hurt me. Once I get confirmation, I'll restrain him and send a message to Coulson."

Tracking Jace's location, she waited outside the local flower shop. He left the shop with a bouquet of lilies and a single red rose. Stashing his phone in pants pocket, he wrapped his free arm around her neck.

"Ellie, I was worried you left after last night. I tried going after you but Brooke said you needed time to calm down. I yelled at Alexis. She shouldn't have told you—I was going to tell you myself but I wanted to wait for the right. She was just being spiteful."

"I'm used to it by now. Those are pretty flowers. Are you getting them for Brooke?"

"We uh got in a little fight. I wanted to follow Coulson and those agents so I could talk to you and she said it wasn't my business. I think this'll cheer her up though. These are for you." He handed her the bouquet of lilies. "I was going to give them to you at the reunion. You're not just here to say you're leaving, are you? You have to stay. Everyone's been talking about you being back."

"No, I'm going to the reunion. I uh wanted to talk to you."

They sat outside the nearby café. Knowing that the Centipede serum was coursing through his veins, she struggled to think of a way to mention Hamilton without sending him into a rage. He brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"You still do that, just like when we were little. I never understood why you'd want to hide your face."

"Old habit. Look, I said some things last night out of anger and grandpa probably hates me even more now. Despite that, we're family and family looks out for each other. If I was in a bad situation and you knew, I'd want you to tell me and I hope you'd want me to do the same for you. I'm going to ask you something and I want you to be honest. Do you know Robert Hamilton?"

His fingers tapped the edge of the table. "Hamilton? I uh—I never met him in person. I've only read about him."

"Jace, I know you're lying. I didn't come here for the reunion. Coulson and the others are with me because of a case. I found the emails in the church basement…in your old hiding spot. I know you're a lot stronger than before because of the serum. I don't care how you got it. I just want to know what you were doing with Hamilton. Is he blackmailing you to get money from the company?" Jace shook his head. "Then what is it? Let me help you."

"E—Ellie, I can't talk about this. All you have to know is that I'm doing it for you. I'm protecting you."

"From what? You need to tell me. Coulson and the others will figure it out and trust me, they won't be as lenient. Tell me what you've been doing. I'll help you get off the grid and I'll pin it on someone else. Hell, I'll put all the blame on Caleb. Lexi's better off without him. If you don't want to talk, fine. I'll get the answers myself."

Elena was halfway off her seat when Jace grabbed her wrist roughly and dragged her into the alley beside the café. He pinned her against the brick wall, with her arms above her head.

"Why can't you just trust me? I'm doing this for you, Ellie. He said it would keep you safe. That's all I—Brooke doesn't understand either. She keeps nagging me to go to the cops before I get arrested. He won't let that happen."

"He? Are you talking about Hamilton? The Cl—ow, J—Jace, you're hurting my arm."

"I'm sorry. I never want to hurt you. You mean so much to me," he said, leaning closer.

He cried out in pain as she threw her head forward, headbutting him in the face. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"It's okay. We don't have to be ashamed of our feelings. I thought it was wrong too but now that I know the truth, it's not. It's not a sin. I can admit it out loud. I love you, Ellie. I've loved you since I understood what those feelings meant. I don't have to fight it anymore." His hand cupped her cheek. "Because we're not really family."

"What the hell are you talking about? You're insane."

"No. I heard our grandparents talking about it a couple months ago. They had been getting these nasty letters about you. Grandpa thought they were threats from people you put away while working with SHIELD and one of the letters had a paternity test. It proved Uncle Adrian wasn't your father. Your mother passed you off as his and he never knew the truth. He still doesn't. Grandma said it would break his heart because he loves you so much and you're the one thing keeping his sanity together. When we tell them about us, they'll be okay with it. We can—"

Elena shot him in the chest with an ICER. Stepping over his unconscious body, she reached into his pocket and retrieved his key card to the company building. She drove over to the building and stepped into the elevator, using a device to shut off the power. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her mouse hole, a laser cutting device given to her by Fury, and cut a hole into the top of the elevator. She pulled herself through the hole then climbed the cables up to the top floor. Jace's office was the first door on the left. Swiping the key card through the scanner, she opened the door and sat down at his desk.

"Too easy," she said, getting the password right on the first try: her name. "Let's see what you've been doing."

She searched for every file related to Hamilton and began to skim through the dozens of emails. Her name was mentioned, as leverage for Jace to steal money from the company. Another incentive was multiple doses of the Centipede serum. Some of the emails were not sent by Hamilton, but from an unknown account. To the untrained eye, it would look like spam but the message was hidden among the jumbled letters and one sentence that stuck out was The Clairvoyant will reward you.

The next email she read from the unknown account discussed Dr. List's recent successful experiments and had an attachment for a construction projects all over the world. She stuck a flash drive in the computer to download the messages and called Director Fury.

"Any new intel, Hart?"

"I don't think Dr. List went missing, sir. I have reason to believe he went off the grid for illicit activity. Should I send you the files?"

"Bring them to me yourself. I'm at the Triskelion. I don't think you'll have time to reminisce about high school."

"Fine with me. I'll give Coulson the messages exchanged with the Clairvoyant then head straight over to you. Is Romanoff back from the Lemurian Star?"

"Not yet. Once she brings me those files, we might finally be able to put the pieces together. If Coulson asks, you have orders to bring your cousin to the Fridge for further questioning."

As the lights flickered back on, she was shoved violently to the floor. Jace wrapped his hands around her throat, a crazed look in his eyes.

"J—Jace."

"So much for protecting family. You're having me arrested? I did nothing wrong!" He leaned his forehead against hers. "I don't want to hurt you but I can't go to jail. I'll put you somewhere safe until you promise to forget everything. Just for—"

He slumped forward, unconscious once more, and May was standing by the door, lowering her gun. "Fitz tracked both of you the moment you left the Bus. Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Throat hurts a little but I'll live. I found confirmation that he was working with Hamilton and the Clairvoyant. Hill said to bring him to the Fridge. I'll do it while the rest of you go after any potential suspects. We need to get him out of here before anyone else shows up."

"Agreed. Bus is parked on the roof. Coulson, Ward, and Garrett are waiting by the stairs. Let's get him up."

Together, they carried an unconscious Jace out of the room. Coulson hurried over to them, checking the finger-sized bruises on Elena's throat.

"Coulson, I'm okay. It's just—"

She was cut off by a loud ding. Caleb and her grandfather stepped out of the elevator, speaking about the latest business proposal.

"Elena, how did you get inside the building?" Her grandfather's eyes drifted to Jace, who was dangling between her and May. "What do you think you're doing? What have you done to him?!"

"Grandpa, I know how this looks…just please listen to me. Jace got involved with really bad people and SHIELD needs to talk to him. I swear that I'll bring him back when they're done. This is for his own safety and yours."

"Enough of this! You are going to put him down before I have to resort to calling security and Elena, you are coming home. I let you indulge in this nonsense because I thought it may teach you some discipline but it's only made you worse. You are coming with me right now or so help me—"

Coulson stood protectively in front of her. "You won't be laying a hand on her, Christopher. Elena's free to make her own decisions and whether you like it or not, we are taking your grandson in for questioning."

"How dare you interfere in family business? I will do as I like because she is my granddaughter. You have no say in the matter. She's not your child!"

"She's as good as!" shouted Coulson, fiercely.

Elena was taken aback by his words. Her grandfather, for a moment ,was flustered himself before his angered gaze fell on her.

"Elena, this is your last warning. If you walk out that door, you will not be allowed back in my house. You'll have no home here."

"I don't care. I have a home…with SHIELD. As far as I'm concerned, they're the only family I need. You don't have to bother coming up with a cover story for Brooke. She already knows what he was doing."

Ward pushed open the door. "E—Elena, do not think this is a bluff. Take one step out that door and you will never be part of this family again. Elena!" he shouted as she and May carried Jace up the staircase.

~Ward~

Barely five minutes after returning to the Bus, Hart left again, in a jet that was flying alongside them, to deliver her cousin to the Fridge. She handed over intel taken from his computer, consisting of detailed emails exchanged between him and an unknown account that likely belonged to the Clairvoyant or one of their subordinates. The rest of them had been split into teams to determine if the possible suspects chosen by Skye were this all-knowing individual. Skye set up a system where one person had the coordinates to the suspect's location and within a mile, the second person received details on the suspect.

Grant and Trip were sent to visit Milton Keynes prison in England. He glanced at his phone for any messages from Hart. There was some concern among the team about leaving her alone with her cousin, who had been injected with the Centipede serum, and the possibility of him waking up and crashing the jet before she ever made it to the Fridge. He stiffened when Trip mentioned his family, the very subject being on his mind since he dealt with Hart's family and learned that, like him, she suffered abuse in her childhood. The fear in her eyes, at the idea of her father being released from the mental hospital, reminded him of his own whenever he thought of his older brother.

He stopped outside the main gate. "You want to keep it light? The Clairvoyant almost killed Skye and had Hart captured by Quinn so he could mess with her…possibly try to kill her too."

"Yeah? Well, he did kill my partner…Dan Monroe. Great guy. Had a son. You know what it's like telling a 6-year-old that his dad isn't coming home? So, we find the Clairvoyant, you might want to stay out of my way."

Ward understood his animosity yet the mission was to capture, not kill. "We all got axes to grind. But we're here to take him in, not out."

"Ask yourself something, Agent Ward. If either of those girls hadn't made it, what would you be thinking right now?"

Grant's phone beeped and the details on their suspect, Elijah Fordham, appeared on the screen. He sent the information to Trip. The suspect had a military background and was serving eighteen life sentences for a killing spree.

"Sounds more psycho than psychic." They proceeded towards the security booth. "I read the report after they cleaned up the mess at Quinn's villa. Did Hart really bite one of the guard's necks?"

"So she says."

"I never met her before this mission but I heard the stories. I always expected someone like Agents Hand and May. I guess that makes it worse, doesn't it? My grandfather always did say the innocent-looking ones were the most dangerous."

Letting them into the prison, the guard slammed the door shut. Grant noticed that there were suspiciously no other guards behind the desk, just two fresh cups of coffee. Before they could search the prison past the front door, Agent Hand called in through their phones that Deathlok was at May and Blake's location and ordered all agents to reconvene at the Hub. When they arrived at the Hub, Blake, in critical condition, was being carried out of the Bus on a stretcher.

Hand was quick to blame Coulson for the failed mission despite them finally finding the identity of the Clairvoyant: Thomas Nash, a man presumed to be catatonic but nowhere to be found at the assisted living home. The belief was that Deathlok was waiting for them at the facility to prevent them from getting too close to the truth.

In his altercation with Deathlok, Blake was able to hit him with a tracker and Skye traced the location to a racetrack in Pensacola, Florida. On Hand's orders, Simmons and Trip stayed behind at the Hub to give a debriefing on Deathlok. The rest of the team, along with a strike team, flew over to the racetrack, in hopes of catching both Deathlok and Nash. Coulson ordered two men to guard every exit out of the building. The plan was for Fitz to use his golden retrievers to search every corner of the building as Skye tracked their visuals through her computer.

"Still no word from Hart? She's missing all the fun," said Garrett, waiting for Fitz to deploy the retrievers.

"Not yet. I hope she didn't run into any trouble with Jace. It doesn't usually take this long to get back from the Fridge."

"No, it doesn't." Garrett seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. "Maybe she wanted a little family chat."

She spotted him in the northwest corridor, noting that he was now more robot than man. Splitting up to different parts of the building, Grant led a small group to the west corridor. The moment he spotted Deathlok, he had to duck from a projectile blasting out of his robotic forearm. The tiny projectile caused a heavy amount of damage, half of the corridor covered in smoke and debris. Grant shot at him in a desperate attempt to neutralize him. The bullets simply bounced off his body and he ran towards the stairwell.

As a med team helped two of the injured men, Coulson, May, and Garrett continued with their search for Deathlok. Listening to the feed from his earpiece, Grant headed to the sub-basement where Deathlok vanished into the sewers. One of the retrievers picked up another person inside the building and led Coulson and Garrett to a room at the end of the hallway. May and Grant met at the bottom of the stairs before joining them in the room.

It was dimly lit with a single, grey-haired man in the middle of the room, sitting in a wheelchair. He was surrounded by all kinds of computers and screens. He hardly seemed like a threat, with a breathing tube in his mouth and a computer speaking for him. Not one of them let their guard down, keeping their guns pointed at him as a precaution. He introduced himself as Thomas Nash, explaining that The Clairvoyant was a name given to him by Edison Po, and assured Coulson that Deathlok was sent away, giving them a chance to meet face to face.

"I will join Raina in your prison, Agent Coulson, but I will see you wherever you go. Just as I saw you holding Skye in your arms, bleeding…dying…knowing it was all your fault. Just as I saw you comforting a sixteen year old Elena over the loss of her brother and then having to tell her all about your involvement in her mother's death. I could see how torn up you were at the hurt in her eyes, knowing she felt so betrayed."

Grant gripped his gun. As Nash taunted him with knowledge of what was to come, a force beyond their comprehension, Coulson was clearly rattled.

"Tell me, will you regret not getting one last goodbye with Elena? It's such a shame. An innocent girl cut down in the prime of her life because she chose to follow you and SHIELD."

"What the hell is he talking about?" said Grant, looking at Garrett. Not saying a word, Garrett made a hand motion to stay calm. Grant looked back at Nash. "What does that mean?"

"I've seen her death." He heard Skye say "What?" in a panicked voice, through his earpiece. "I'm afraid, Agent Coulson, that you may not be able to identify the body…if there's even a piece left when it's over."

"Go to hell," hissed Coulson.

"You won't be able to save her this time. Perhaps it's for the best. Let her die in a fiery blaze rather than her father's bare hands. Choose to believe me or not but it will happen, just as everything else I've seen. No matter where you go or what you do to me, I will always—"

His voice was silenced by a shot to the heart. As Grant lowered his gun, listening to Nash's heart flatlining, May pointed her own at him. She escorted him out of the building and into the back of one of the SUVs. He ignored the stares of his fellow agents, all whispering about how he disobeyed orders. Coulson maintained his composure in front of the team but Grant could see his fingers frantically tapping his phone, in hopes that Hart would answer the call…

~Elena~

After dropping off Jace at the Fridge, having to endure him begging for her forgiveness and declaring his love for her in front of amused agents, she flew over to the Triskelion. She sat behind Fury's desk, playing a pinball game on his computer. Fury, who had been meeting with Steve Rogers, entered the office.

"So how did Rogers react to your new project?" she asked, closing the game.

"Hated the idea."

She gasped. "No way. I am so shocked that he's not on board with three hellicarriers circling the word for potential threats. Seriously, I did not expect that at all."

"I'm going to order you to stop spending time with Romanoff. She's rubbing off on you too much," he said, making her smile. "Let's get to work on those files."

Elena uploaded the files from Jace's computer and the surveillance files she collected over the past few months. The content of the files appeared on the screen across from his desk.

"Jace was giving money to Hamilton for construction projects. Some of it was being funneled into Centipede's operations but most of it was going to an offshore account. I couldn't find who accessed it but I was able to trace it to a building in Sokovia."

"What could he build there?"

"The schematics look like some kind of research facility and I think Dr. List is involved somehow. In this email" She enlarged one of the emails on the screen. "Whoever this Clairvoyant is, they were telling Hamilton, Jace, and the other contributors that List was progressing in his experiments. No record of these experiments in SHIELD files. We haven't seen List in weeks except for one agent…Jasper Sitwell. He's not the only agent with unofficial meetings. Guess he held his cover well while he was on the Lemurian Star. Should I bring him in?"

"Not yet. Let's see what Romanoff managed to get off the ship."

He placed another flash drive into the computer. To their confusion, the files were sealed, unable to be accessed by even Fury himself. Sensing that something was wrong, she followed him to the office of the World Security Council.

"Sir, if the files were sealed by someone pretending to be you..."

"We've got an expert hacker on our hands, Hart. There's no telling what else they could mess with in our database. Until we neutralize the threat, we close ranks. Only trust a very small circle."

"Does that include Coulson, sir?"

"Yes but one thing at a time. If I get a chance to speak with the council, I'll send you in first to sweet-talk them. They like you a hell of a lot more than me."

Secretary Pierce was speaking with the members of the World Security Council. Each in their respective offices around the world, they were mere holograms sitting in comfy chairs. Seeing her and Fury, he ended the meeting, the four holograms vanishing from the room. He greeted Fury with a friendly handshake. The two of them had known each other long before Elena joined SHIELD.

He kissed Elena's cheek. "This is a wonderful surprise. Have you reconsidered my offer?"

"I'm kind of not into dating right now but tell your nephew he's very persistent."

"I'll get you to come around one day. How about another motorcycle to replace the one you've got stashed in the garage?"

"Very tempting but I'm still attached to this one. She's my baby."

"What can I do for you, Nick?"

Fury requested for Project Insight to be delayed, concerned that there was a possible threat. In exchange for the favor, he needed to convince Stark to visit his niece's birthday party. Elena could not shake the bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Before joining Fury in his car, she sent a message to Skye that she was on her way back from the Fridge.

She tapped an icon in the bottom right corner of the screen labeled Phoenix and typed Tracking On. The icon flashed bright blue.

"Should I contact Coulson? Tell him to meet us here too?"

"Not just yet. I want to share our findings with Hill. Why don't you try working on that encrypted file from the ship?"

The two officers in the police car beside them were staring very intently at Fury. "Want to see my lease?"

Just as the police car moved forward a few inches, another police car slammed into them from the left side while two other cars rammed them from the right and from behind. Elena winced, rubbing her right arm. The glass A screen popped up on the front window, showing that Fury had a fractured wrist and Elena had a sprained elbow. She rubbed a cream in the glove compartment across a cut on her cheek. As Fury injected him injured arm with an anesthetic, a police van pulled up to the scene.

"DC Metro police dispatch shows no units in this area," said the computer.

The fake officers emerged from every police car, pointing their guns. She forced Fury's head down seconds before they began to shoot and waited for the propulsion systems to reboot, leaving them trapped on all sides. With each bullet, the window's integrity fell down a few percent. The officers from the police van carried out a battering ram, placing it against the driver's side of the car. Fury delayed the automated defense system despite the window integrity dropping below twenty percent.

"She here yet, Hart?"

She glanced down at her phone, the force of the battering ram knocking her into the door. "Almost. Just a mile away."

"Get ready."

"Sir, I think it's better if I stay with—"

"Now!"

A gun turret emerged from the console and he shot at the officers. In the middle of an explosion involving the police van and two of the cars, he used his other hand to push her into the street. She tossed a smoke grenade into the street as a distraction, giving time for Fury's escape. Taking out her ICER, she shot multiple rounds into the cloud of smoke. The smoke cleared, revealing most of the officers unconscious.

A sleek red and black motorcycle, with a phoenix adorned on the left side, stopped next to one of the flipped over cars. "About time, Phoenix."

She drove the motorcycle down the street, following after Fury. The traffic made it difficult for both of them to navigate, especially when people were purposely stopping their cars to watch the commotion like an intense football game. Fury was soon trapped again and the officers pursued him on foot.

"Phoenix, turn cloaking on and keep following me," she said, retrieving a pair of black fingerless gloves from her a compartment in the front of the motorcycle.

"Unadvised," replied the computer.

She slid the gloves over her hands. "Do I ever listen to your advice? I know what I'm doing. I've got comms on so listen for my instructions."

Getting off the motorcycle, she hurried toward Fury's car where one of the officers was shooting at him through the windows of a bus. She tackled the officer to the ground, knocking off his shades. Moore was laying beneath her, panting heavily.

"Hey, Bambi. You look a little banged up. Quick bullet to the head and no more pain. Just say the word."

"What the hell are you doing? Why are you attacking Fury?"

He punched her across the face. She stumbled backwards, her hands over her nose.

"Following orders. Fury's out and anyone on his side is being taken out too. Unfortunately, that means you. Wait, did I say unfortunately?" He picked up his gun. "I meant very fortunately. Where's Daddy Coulson to help you now?"

Elena swiped his leg and pressed her hand against his face. He groaned as an electrical charge surged through his body.

"He's waiting on the Bus and he's going to love hearing how I kicked your ass again." Moore struggled to overcome the severe pain running up and down his spine. "Have fun trying to get up. SHIELD will probably find you first so good luck coming up with an excuse."

"If you were a real agent, you'd finish the job. You're pathetic…just like Fury…just like Coulson."

"And yet you're the one writhing on the ground. Have fun in the Fridge, Moron. Phoenix!"

Her motorcycle reappeared at her side and she continued to follow Fury. She shot at the tires of one of the police cars, causing it to skid into a fire hydrant. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion and Fury's car flipped over several times.

"Hart, you there?"

"Yes, sir. Moore was with them. Why are SHIELD agents attacking you?"

"It's time to go off the grid. When we get somewhere safe, you can tell Coulson where you are but for now—"

Hidden by the cloaking technology, she sped towards the wrecked car, past a masked man with shoulder-length, straggly dark hair. Judging by his metal arm, she wondered if he was another subject of the Deathlok program. She crouched down on the driver's side, seeing a gravely injured Fury. He used his own laser device to make a hole in the road.

"Sir? Can you hear me?"

"I'm okay, Hart. G—get us out of here quick."

"Follow us to the next safe opening, Phoenix. Preferably far away from that guy."

Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, she jumped down into the sewers. She carefully carried him to the nearest ladder and fighting the pain in her side, she helped him up the ladder and into an alley between a liquor store and convenience store. Phoenix was waiting at the entrance to the alley. Too exhausted to drive, she set the coordinates and put the motorcycle on autopilot. About ten minutes later, they were sitting in a small, quaint apartment, listening to music on a record player.

Elena handed an ice pack to Fury and placed another ice pack on her elbow. Leaning against the wall, she peeked at her phone, finding over a dozen missed calls from Coulson. She reached for her gun at the sound of the window creaking open. Rogers stepped around the corner and lowered his shield at the sight of them.

His eyes flickered between Elena and Fury. "I don't remember giving you a key."

"You really think I'd need one? My wife kicked me out," said Fury, groaning as he sat up in the chair.

"Didn't know you were married."

"A lot of things you don't know about me."

Rogers switched on the lamp, illuminating their injuries from the incident. Elena pressed a finger to her lips and turned off the lights. Holding out his phone, he showed a message: Ears Everywhere. Rogers wiped a spot of blood from the side of her head. Fury, wary of the apartment being bugged, lied that he needed a place to stay after the fight with his wife and with his phone, warned Rogers that SHIELD had been compromised.

"Who else knows about your wife?" he asked, playing along.

Fury stood up from the chair. "Just my friends."

"Is that what we are?"

"That's up to you."

Elena jumped as bullets pierced the wall and Fury collapsed to the floor. Rogers pulled her down beside him, protecting them with his shield. With his help, she dragged Fury into the kitchen and began to treat his injuries. Choking on his own blood, he handed the flash drive from the Lemurian Star to Rogers, telling him to trust no one.

"Hart, go secure the Hub. Tell Agent Hand you have my authorized clearance to go on lockdown."

Not even a minute later, Sharon Carter, one of the agents assigned to protect Rogers under the guise of a neighbor who worked a nurse, kicked open the door and called into HQ for assistance.

"Hart, you need to get out of here," said Rogers.

"I'm not leaving him alone."

"It's not safe. Whoever attacked you and Fury before could be coming after you too. You shouldn't be here in the first place. You're just—"

"Look, you human popsicle, I'm not that much older than when you joined the army and you had like a thousand health problems. Don't say I'm just a kid. I've dealt with my own crazy shit over the years."

"Agent Hart, go to my apartment and I'll get you when the EMTs arrive," said Sharon as Rogers pursued the shooter on the rooftop of another building.

Elena sneaked into her apartment and hid inside the closet. She listened to the EMTs carry a critically injured Fury down the staircase. Once she heard nothing but silence, she stepped out the closet with her gun raised. The gun was pointing at Sharon's chest.

"Hart, calm down. You need to go with the EMTs."

"I'm fine. Fury was a lot worse."

"What happened out there? Just talk to me. You don't have to get treated, if you don't want to," she said, calmly.

Reluctantly, she followed Sharon to the kitchen and sat down at the table. Sharon handed her a cup of tea.

"How did you and Fury end up in that apartment? Take a deep breath and start from the beginning."

Taking a small sip, she thought about the fight with the fake police officers. "I need to talk to Hand. If SHIELD doesn't find him, he'll go back to the Hub. I don't know why but he tried to hurt us."

"Who?"

"Moore. He—there was…and he was one of them."

"Slow down. You're not making sense."

Her vision slowly blurred and the last thing she remembered was her head falling onto the counter.

Elena woke up on the couch, finding herself alone in the apartment. There were ten voicemails, one from Sharon, five from Coulson, three from Romanoff, and one from an unknown number, on her phone. She listened to the first voicemail, hearing Sharon's voice. Sharon apologized for drugging her tea but seeing her in such a frantic state, she knew it was the only way to treat her injuries, including the gash on her side that had gone unnoticed by her. The next voicemail, from Romanoff, warned her that HYDRA had been secretly infiltrating SHIELD for decades and, regarding Fury's last orders, she needed to secure the hub while Romanoff and Rogers headed to the Triskelion.

Coulson's messages were difficult to hear, most of it just scrambled noise. She only heard that the plane was being forced to travel to the Hub and something about May and Director Fury. The final message was a scrambled voice repeating the word evila. Sneaking out through the window, she drove to the nearest SHIELD facility, about a mile from the Triskelion, and hijacked one of the jets. In the midst of setting the coordinates for the Hub, a message appeared on the computer screen: As your superior officer, I order you to follow directive 0545.

Arriving at the Hub, it was already in a state of chaos, with agents fighting fellow agents. She climbed through the ventilation system to keep an eye out for Coulson or another member of the team.

"Coulson, I got your message. I'm at the Hub," she whispered into her phone.

"Hart? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. Where are you?"

Peering through the vents, she spotted Coulson, May, Fitz, and Garrett in one of the control rooms. She used her mouse hole to cut through the vent and dropped down, landing next to Fitz.

"Found you."

Coulson nearly squeezed the life out of her. "Where have you been?"

"There was a problem at the Fridge. HYDRA was attacking there first and I had to hide out. I'm sorry I didn't call you back. What's happening here? Where's Fury?"

"He's…dead. Once we rescue Simmons and Trip, we'll find somewhere safe to stay."

"Why is May in handcuffs?"

"That's a story for later."

Garrett's suggested plan was to sneak into the situation room and kill Agent Hand, who they believed to be the real Clairvoyant. Elena was about to ask what he meant by real but Coulson only told her that it was a long, complicated story involving Ward. Coulson wanted to use a more peaceful approach, worried that killing first without asking questions would be a repeat of the situation with Thomas Nash, a puppet for the Clairvoyant, and he did not want to make that same mistake twice. Adamant that killing Hand was the only option, Garrett listed all of her alleged crimes, including killing some of his own men, shooting Skye, turning Mike Peterson into Deathlok, and torturing Coulson.

"Killing her quick would be a mercy."

"I never said Raina had been inside the machine. I never told that to anybody," said Coulson, suspiciously.

"I must've read it in a report then."

Remembering how Quinn told him that he would lead the Clairvoyant to the cure, Coulson began to put the pieces together. He realized that Garrett showed up right after Skye was shot at Quinn's villa and joined them on their mission to find the cure for her. Garrett jokingly told him that the long day was making him crazy but the distrust was evident in Coulson's eyes.

Garrett sighed. "Damn it."

The doors burst open and they raised their hands as a strike team entered the room. Coulson ordered the team to take Garrett into custody, exposing him as the Clairvoyant and a traitor to SHIELD.

"Gentlemen, I know Agent Sitwell was in charge of filling your ranks so at least a few of you know what to do in this situation," said Garrett, not looking the least bit afraid. "Anytime, boys."

Four of the agents shot the others from behind. "Hail Hydra!" they chorused.

They dragged the fallen agents into the corner of the room then handcuffed Elena, Fitz, Coulson, and May. Garrett admitted that he never had any intention of killing them. He attributed Fury's death to him uncovering secrets and the top ranks of SHIELD, secretly HYDRA agents, needed to silence him, though it was not enough to keep them from coming out of hiding. The infiltration of SHIELD had begun since its inception, with HYDRA using the organization as a cover for their own operations. He offered Coulson a change to switch his allegiances.

"I would die before serving HYDRA, you sick son of a bitch."

Garrett crossed his arms. "I hate to tell you but you've been serving HYDRA all along. I guess death is the only alternative. It's a sad thing. I consider you a friend. I was happy when I heard you made it through."

"So happy you had me tortured for three days to find out how they did it."

"I didn't enjoy that. Phil, this is me being honest." He chuckled when Coulson called him a psychopath then looked at May. "I know you'd fallen him to the grave so…" he said, pouting.

Instead of killing Fitz, he planned to use him and his scientific genius for HYDRA's tech division. He moved in front of Elena and unlocked her handcuffs.

"I think you know what to do, scamp."

She reached for her ICER and pointed it at Coulson's head. "H—Hart? What are you doing?" stuttered Fitz.

"You didn't think HYDRA would let Fury's latest pet project slip through your fingers, did you, Phil?" asked Garrett, gripping her shoulders. "After hearing that little confrontation between you and her grandfather, I imagine this hurts like hell, doesn't it?"

"No. She wouldn't—what did you do to her, Garrett? She would never join you."

"That is true. I knew you wouldn't join willingly so I had to cheat a little…make sure she complied." He brushed back her hair, showing the small incision on her neck. "A little chip to help with that. She's not the only agent to have one but I did have the scientists give her a heavier dose. Can't be too careful. She'll listen to every high ranking official's command. Sitwell took advantage of that a bit. Not too much. I told him to be respectful."

May glared. "She isn't a doll. How can you think this is right?"

"Well, soon enough, I think she'll start to enjoy what HYDRA has to offer and then I won't need that chip. Until then, like I said, it's to ensure compliance. She's still young, able to be molded. She's going to be the perfect little agent."

"E—Elena, listen to me. You can fight this. You know this is wrong," pleaded Coulson.

"Do you remember the first thing you said to me when you brought me to Operations? We were sitting in your car and you were showing me more of those stupid Captain America cards."

Elena pointed the gun at his heart. He furrowed his brows then looked into her cold, dark

"Yes. I said you'd be one of the best new agents in SHIELD."

"And you were right, except that I'm a HYDRA Agent. I suppose I really do take after my mother, don't I?"

The room shook as the lights flickered and a split second later, there was loud explosion out in the hallway. She slipped through the door while Garrett and the other agents fought against Coulson and May. Skye hurried out of the corridor that led to the command center.

"Hart, you're here. We didn't know where you—where are the others?" She staggered back from a punch in the face. "Ow! H—Hart?"

Elena easily disarmed the ICER from her grasp and threw her against the wall. Ward left the same corridor, sporting a few scrapes on his cheek, forehead, and chin.

"Skye?" He followed her gaze to Elena. "Hart, what's the matter with you?"

"I'm looking at a terrible S.O. Seriously, she can't even take a punch. She doesn't deserve that SHIELD badge. Now that HYDRA's taking over, she can just chuck it in the trash."

Skye stood up, holding her shoulder. "No, you can't be—Hart, you're not part of HYDRA. You're…a—are you pretending because real HYDRA people are watching us?"

"I have my orders. Get out of my way, Ward."

"No. If you're HYDRA, you have to be taken into custody. You're not getting out of here, Hart. I'll stop you," said Ward, getting in a fighting stance.

He groaned as she threw a magnetic chip at his chest, shocking him, and fell to his knees. She grabbed a fallen pipe from the debris and whacked him across the face. She threw another chip at Skye's leg, making her fall down next to him.

"Learned that from Romanoff on our first mission together. Nice try stopping me. If there is a next time, maybe you'll get in a punch or two."

"Hart," he wheezed, clutching his chest.

Elena headed out to the landing bay and boarded her jet. Typing in a new set of coordinates, she set the jet on autopilot and flew away from the Hub…