SHIELD Base

Phil Coulson, current director of the security organisation SHIELD, didn't know what to do. He couldn't risk the Inhumans on his team, he had already lost Daisy, and he wasn't going to lose another member of his team. It was during his contemplation, that he got a call from General Talbott.

"Coulson, I heard what happened, I know Daisy meant a lot to you," he said "I know this might be a bad time, but I might have something for you."

"Unless you've got us a way to stop Hive from controlling the other members of my team, no thank you, General," said Coulson

"I don't have a way to free your people, Coulson," said Talbott "But I might have some more people that can't be controlled by your In-human god."

"Tell me more," said Coulson, his interest piqued

"In our investigation of the in-humans, the ATCU found some interesting things," said Talbott "Recently, a particle accelerator exploded in Central City, and not long after that, several people with strange abilities have started turning up there."

"What kind of abilities?" asked Coulson

"From what we know, there was one that could control the weather, one that could replicate himself, someone with super speed, a general I used to work with, General Iling is on his way there right now to recapture an asset that I believe is someone that can turn ordinary objects into bombs by merely touching them," Talbott explained "I could led Creel out to you if you wish as well, but I'm certain your team would not want to work with him."

"You would be right," said Coulson "Can you pull any strings with General Iling?"

"That guy doesn't listen to anyone," said Talbott "If you work out a way to convince him to work with you, be my guest, but from what I've heard, Iling won't work with you, he'll work against you if it seems like it's in his best interests."

"Thank you, Talbott," said Coulson "I'll head there as soon as possible. Can you pull some strings and try and get Iling to back off this case?"

"I'll try my best, Phil, but I don't make any promises," said Talbott, before terminating the connection.

Central City

"Come on, Allan, you're up," said Eddie, as his phone buzzed. His smile faded as he looked at his phone "There's a bombing on 8th and pass, I've got to go."

"I've got an early shift at Jitters," said Iris, as she grabbed her bag and headed for the door.

"It's getting late anyway," said Barry, as he ran off.

The Next Day

"Barry, what are you doing?" asked Joe

"Bombers typically have their own unique signatures, wires, fragmentation, a lot of sophistication, it's telling once I've analysed it. Show me a bomb, I can usually find a clue in it."

"I feel like there's a 'but' coming?" said Joe

"I can't find any sign of an oxidising agent, it's as if the floor just blew itself up," said Barry

Eddie entered the room "Security said the bomber was a woman, red hair, they cut off the security cameras' feed, no footage, but there might be something else." Eddie led the way to where a door was blasted off.

"She was after a file in here?" asked Joe

"Yeah, but it'll take days to work out what's missing," said Eddie

"Let's let Barry do his thing," said Joe, leading Eddie out.

Moving at super speed, Barry looked through the files and worked out which file was missing. Joe and Eddie had already gone back to the precinct, so Barry decided to take the elevator down to process the details of the case. No wiring, no casing, no sign a bomb was placed at all. It all pointed to the floor just blowing itself out for no apparent reason. It could have been a metahuman.

As he got out of the elevator, however, he noticed a man and a woman. The woman was of Chinese descent, well built with short hair, and a stern look painted on her face. The man was white, in a suit, with a glove on one of his hands.

"Barry Allen?" asked the man. Barry nodded "Phil Coulson, I'm the director of the ATCU. We might know some additional details about your bomber case."

"Why haven't you turned this into the police?" asked Barry, guardedly

"Because you and I both know that the police can't stop this person, Barry Allen," said Coulson "Or should I say, The Streak?"

"We're not here to expose you," said the woman quickly "We're here to help, and perhaps ask for your help in return."

"You have my attention," said Barry "Where do you want to meet?"

"Central City docks," said Coulson "Tonight. We'll tell you everything we know, and what we can do for you."

"And what you need help with," said Barry "And I'll do my best to help you."

"Of course," said Coulson

Central City Docks- Tonight

"This isn't a good idea, Barry," said Wells over the comm "These people will want to use you for their own reasons."

"I have a good feeling about them," said Barry, as he waited at the docks "I think they'll help us, and I was serious about helping them."

"I don't think it's a bad idea," said Cisco "You get to work with Phil Coulson, Director of SHIELD."

"SHIELD doesn't exist, idiot," said Caitlin, and Barry could almost hear her rolling her eyes over the comms at Star Labs.

"The Helicarrier over Sokovia says otherwise," Cisco replied

"Guys, remember I was in a coma for six months," said Barry "What is Sokovia, and what is a helicarrier?" before he could answer, a plane flew out of the clouds, its turbines turning to keep it hovering. The back of the aircraft opened and Phil Coulson held out his hand. Barry pulled himself up onto the plane.

"The conference room is already prepped," said Coulson "If you wish, we can set up a live feed so your friends can be in on it as well."

"Can you guys set something up?" asked Barry on his comms.

"I can," said Cisco "Just give me a few minutes, we can get a server set up in here. I need your server number so we can connect."

Coulson gave a number, and led Barry into a small conference room, with a flatscreen in the corner. Coulson turned it on to show Caitlin and Cisco at Star Labs.

"The metahuman you're looking for Beth Sansuse, she was a demolitions expert in the US army, until she was injured in a blast about a month before the particle accelerator exploded, if I'm right, your particle accelerator must have merged her with the shrapnel," said Coulson "Causing her to create explosions in whatever she touches."

"We already found out where she's probably going to go," said Cisco "Her emergency contact lives here in Central City. Cameron Scott."

"Do you guys want to take this?" asked Barry "Or should we?"

"We'll bring her in," said Coulson "Barry might just scare her off, or get himself blown up. We can handle powered individuals."

"We'll send you the coordinates," said Dr Wells. Then, the conference call terminated.

"I'd like you to be on standby, Barry," said Coulson "If things turn bad, we might need The Streak's help to get us out."

"It's The Flash," said Barry

"Better," said Coulson, impressed "Well, we'll need the Flash's help if we need to get out, just in case she goes nuclear."

Near Cameron Scott's House

Beth Sansuse made her way down the fire escape, being careful not to touch anything in case she turned it into a bomb. The file she had taken contained information about her condition that she thought her former boyfriend could help her with, as a former military scientist that she thought could help her with her condition. But Cameron wasn't in, and with the police looking for her, she didn't want to stick around. When she jumped the last few feet to the ground, she saw a man in a black suit standing in the alley.

"Beth Sansuse?" said the man "I'm Phil Coulson, director of the ATCU. And we need your help."

"Don't come any closer," Beth said "I don't want to hurt anyone."

"I get it," said the man called Coulson "Your world is falling apart around you, sometimes literally, but I can tell you, I've worked with powered people before. I can help you learn how to control your powers, use them to do good things."

"I don't want to control them," Beth said, backing away from Coulson slightly "I want to get rid of them."

"If that is truly what you wish, we will help you do that as well," said Coulson. Then he threw a pair of leather gloves to her "These shouldn't explode if our calculations are correct. But I advise caution."

Beth cautiously picked up the gloves, relieved when they didn't explode, putting them on "What is it you want me to do?"

"Come with me," said Coulson, turning to walk out of the alley. Beth considered. Was she walking into a trap? Or were this man's intentions true?

It was certainly better than waiting to be recaptured by the military, but was becoming a pawn to this ATCU any better?

Beth shook her head. She was being given a choice here, which was more than Iling had given her. She followed after Coulson and got into the car.

Roof above the alleyway

Melinda May took the sniper rifle off its stand, packing it away into its box. This time, it had not been necessary.

SHIELD Plane- Conference Room

As Beth walked into the room, she saw two more people already. A man and a woman, both of Hispanic origin, sat at the table, and also sitting at the table, was The Flash, leaving the other two staring at him in awe.

"What I'm about to tell you is classified," said Coulson "It's taken all of our considerable resources to keep the existence of this particular group of enhanced people. They call themselves Inhumans, they're the result of genetic experiments by an alien race called the Kree. When the Kree created their army, they created a single Inhuman named Hive to lead them. He had the ability to infect other Inhumans. They've already taken one of our own. He's got powered people on his side, we need some on our side that can't be taken over by this Inhuman. That's why we need you."

"You want me to fight? And kill?" said Barry "I'm sorry, I don't think I can do that."

"We'd prefer to avoid killing also," said Coulson "These people don't know what they're doing, they're under Hive's control. I don't want to kill someone that isn't of their own mind, and as I said, Hive has taken one of our friends. We'd like to get her back in one piece."

"Do we have a way to counteract Hive's control?" asked Barry

"We've got our scientists working on it as we speak," said Coulson "Until we have something, I can't risk putting our Inhumans in the field. Therefore, I'll need you two to work with my team until we can finish our serum to counteract Hive's control."

"What about the 'Inhumans' this Hive has already affected?" asked Beth "Is there going to be a rescue mission?"

"We are planning a targeted strike at Hive's headquarters," said Coulson "To take out Hive, kill him before he can infect anyone else. We'd like you two to go with them, as powered support. Without Hive, I have hope that the other Inhumans will be released from his control."

"What about us?" asked the Hispanic man "Why are we here?"

"Beth, here, has not yet learned how to control her abilities," said Coulson "I need you to work with her until she can control them, before I send her out in the field."

The man nodded.

"Flash, I'd like you to come and meet the team that's going after Hive, give them a rundown of your abilities so there aren't any surprises," said Coulson "Meeting adjourned, you all know what you need to do."

Quinjet

"So we're clear," said Melinda May "We'll be going in, if we need help, we'll radio you. We don't want to show Hive our hand until we have no other choice."

"Understood," said Barry, nodding "What about Beth?"

"She'll be the same, assuming she's cleared for field duty," said Mack "We'll be heading out in about fifteen. So we're going to gear up."

Barry, not needing any special gear, waited, surveying the area, until Beth walked up.

"They tell you what we're doing?" he asked. She nodded, her gloves still on "They couldn't teach you how to control it."

"No," said Beth "But I'm a soldier, and a good one at that. As long as I have purpose, as long as I feel like I can make a difference, I won't turn my back on people that need me."

"I'm sorry about what happened to you," said Barry "Since the particle accelerator exploded, only good things have happened to me, your power doesn't exactly give you the ability to do good."

"Being fast doesn't exactly lend itself to doing good either," said Beth "You could very easily have turned out very differently if you were a different person."

"Which is why I know you could be just as much of a hero as I am," said Barry "Because you have that same inherent goodness, coupled with a sense of duty, but you are still a good person."

"You seem like the kind of person who always sees the good in people," said Beth "I just hope your faith in me isn't misplaced."

Barry saw Mac and several agents beginning to return, their arms laden with weaponry.

"Give me a second," said Barry, and sped off, bringing all of the weapons to the plane in less than a minute "We ready to go?"