Previously on "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."...
I have orders to kill him.
Put the gun down now!
We had the father of Hydra right in front of us.
Shooting Freddy would've given the Chronicoms
exactly what they wanted.
Our mission is to stop them.
Is that clear?
In 1955, there was a classified project called Helius.
If that thing goes off, it could take out...
The entire brain trust of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Arrest that man...
Agent Sousa
whoever he is.
Wow. Big fan.
They designed this EMP all wrong,
but if I can get it working...
- We can blackout Helius? - Hope so.
Here we go.
It's what they do when you win.
They self-destruct.
Damn it.
We need a medic for these two men or
at least that one.
Fate.
I don't believe in it.
But I know history.
I know how the story goes.
And when it's playing out right in front of you,
it feels like you can't escape it.
That fate's gonna catch up to you,
tap you on the shoulder,
whisper in your ear that your time's up.
I thought I shook you.
And then your story ends.
Sometimes the hero has to die,
and there's nothing you can do about it.
That day started in a fog.
My circuits were crossed up.
Color had bled from the world,
and I could hear my thoughts pinging around my head.
I could break those cuffs easy,
but something told me to hold off.
Right after everyone arrived,
everything went haywire.
The base was infiltrated, my test was sabotaged.
And my contact...
The scientist... he's dead.
Niles Lindmore turned out to be a hostile.
July 22, 1955.
My head was ringing like a bell,
but that date rang a louder one.
That was the day that made Daniel Sousa a legend.
Every recruit learned about it.
His final mission.
He delivered a groundbreaking S.H.I.E.L.D. device
to Howard Stark,
kept it from falling into Russian hands.
And then he was killed.
This was the day Daniel Sousa became
the first fallen Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
He lives.
I heard enough to know that this day
had been knocked off course.
Time for some answers.
Start with your name.
I had to cook up a story to get things on track.
Fortunately, I'd already read this one
in the history books.
Name's not important.
What's important is I'm your contact.
Remember I kept telling you what a fan I was?
That was me waving a hand in your face.
First, you're a big shot from the DoD,
now you're a brilliant scientist?
Pardon me if I don't believe a word you say.
Then why don't you ask the dead guy?
He and I helped develop
the gadget you're supposed to deliver,
but then he turned traitor,
sold it to the Russkies.
I came to the base to track him down.
You saw the moment he found out I was onto him.
Those weren't your everyday fisticuffs.
That typical for a couple of scientists?
These aren't typical times.
Lindmore would agree,
seeing as he melted like the Wicked Witch of the East.
You mean West.
And I can't answer for Lindmore.
I didn't see it.
Now, you want to play Twenty Questions,
or should we get this package to Howard Stark?
Maybe the mention of Stark sold him,
or maybe he heard the clock ticking.
Where is it?
The package?
I didn't bring it to the base.
Too many variables in play.
Well, time is one of them.
I got to get it on a train.
To Los Angeles. I know.
Tell me what train and let me make a call.
My contact will bring it to us.
Us?
The plan was for me to chaperone the gadget,
not a scientist.
It seems like you got a new plan now.
I couldn't use a 1950s phone
to dial a 21st-century airplane.
There was only one number I knew to dial.
These recruits today,
they don't know what it means to be stuck with a bad S.O.
I mean, mine...
He was a real, real son of a bitch.
Hey, I hope I'm not boring you, buddy.
You are a paying customer.
I am a bartender.
It is your right to share
and have me listen to your personal tale of misery.
Hmm.
The Krazy Kanoe.
Enoch?
Agent Coulson.
Such a pleasure to hear your voice
after two decades.
Glad you found a spot to hide out.
As am I.
But it will be a longed-for privilege
to leave behind the S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house
and rejoin you.
Sorry, Enoch,
we'll have to link up with you later.
Right now, I'm hoping you have a way
to get a message to the Zephyr.
It's urgent.
I can do better than that.
I can transfer you directly
now that I know the Zephyr is here in 1955.
24 years is plenty of time
for a lonely Chronicom to build the hardware to...
Fantastic. Put me through.
Certainly.
Stand by.
Your may proceed with your saga of struggle.
Right, so this hard-ass,
he thought I was gonna be his whipping boy,
and he also said something about how my face made him angry.
I got through to the team, filled them in.
Even if it wasn't the way they intended,
the Chronicoms may have altered history.
When they took the body of Dr. Lindmore,
who happened to be working on technology
vital to the future of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Okay, so, just to clarify,
the history books say that tonight,
Sousa delivers that thing and then he... he dies?
Unfortunately, yes.
So...
Lindmore's body is somewhere with his face erased.
And that's where the device would be.
We need to find his address.
Coulson, as soon as we do,
I'll send a team to retrieve this gadget
and bring it to you on the train.
You'll find me in the lounge car
on the 5:10 to Los Angeles.
Yo-Yo and Deke hit the road
to retrieve the S.H.I.E.L.D. gadget
from Dr. Lindmore's home.
You're quiet.
Still don't have very much driving experience.
I'm great on a scooter, though.
In the '50s,
were women allowed to drive?
Yes, of course. Why would you...
I'm sorry! I don't know.
I mean, we were just in the '30s
and they were really stylish,
but it was... so sexist and racist.
But the '50s, though
are still pretty sexist and racist.
It always gets better, just never fast enough.
And some things never change.
Can't hurt to try, though.
Well, it could
if we lose control of the timeline
and it goes skidding off the road.
So, that's not the mission now, right?
Yep.
We're the Agents of Status Quo.
Sounds like you don't agree with it.
Sounds like you do.
I don't know.
Doesn't look so special.
The good news was the package was now
in S.H.I.E.I.D.'s possession.
The bad news...
No... Deke wasn't.
Final boarding for the 5:10 to Los Angeles,
departing track three.
Sousa was getting jumpy.
I just hoped I'd see a familiar face on the train.
Where's your contact?
They'll be here.
Have a seat.
Or... go get yourself a drink in the bar car,
calm your nerves.
I don't need a drink.
Nothing to worry about.
I was worried.
The team was a no-show.
I felt trapped in an hourglass, sand up to my neck.
Turns out the person I was looking for
was looking for Deke.
She wasn't gonna find him.
And I wasn't gonna get the package any time soon.
So, it's day two of training
and I tell this guy, "Hey, I know you're the S.O.,
but I do things my way."
How interesting.
The Krazy Kanoe.
Enoch, it's Yo-Yo.
Agent Rodriguez.
I am pleased word of my presence has gotten out.
Perhaps your call indicates it's time
for me to join the team and... No, sorry.
I need you to connect me to the Zephyr right now.
Happy to connect you.
My attention is, alas
all yours.
So, he thinks he's gonna make an example of me?
I didn't see who took him.
We have to assume Russians.
I'm so sorry, Mack.
If I had my powers, I would've...
It's not your fault.
At least you got the package.
Just give me your location, and I'll send the Quinjet.
No one could blame Yo-Yo for putting a person first,
the package second.
But I was left high and dry,
and the train was on the move.
Sousa was squirming on the hook,
threatening to get loose.
I was gonna have to keep winging it.
There's my guy.
I was waiting for the signal.
Hat over his face.
I bought myself some time,
but what I didn't have was the goods.
The real McCoy was on the Zephyr.
There she is.
That's it?
That's a "gadget"?
This is like
the Rosetta Stone of S.H.I.E.L.D. tech.
Even the Zephyr can be traced back to this little darling.
Hmm, if you say so.
Wow.
It is incredible, isn't it?
Is it?
Mm.
Yeah.
We need to track down Sousa.
It's time we find that train.
The agent's life...
Must be exciting.
It fills the days.
Lot of threats out there.
Russians. And others.
Lying low, biding time.
I take it science doesn't leave much time
for a personal life either.
I don't follow.
No ring on your finger.
There was someone.
I couldn't stick around long enough to make it last.
How 'bout you?
Similar story.
Don't you think it's about time you show me
what all this song and dance is for?
Sorry, can't do it.
Stark's eyes only.
Stark's not gonna be at the drop, you know.
It'll be his man in L.A.
That's too bad.
I was hoping to meet him.
You worked on this for Howard
and you've never met him?
He sent a few encouraging messages to the lab.
Sounds like him.
What's he like?
A pompous ass.
Big thinkers can come off that way.
Makes for a divide between those in the lab
and those in the field.
Yeah, I'm feeling it now.
Think I will get that drink. Want something?
Never touch the stuff.
Doesn't surprise me.
You can relax, Mr. Coulson.
I come alone.
With a proposition.
Cutting a deal?
Doesn't seem like the Chronicom style.
Chronicoms adapt.
Consider this an opportunity.
Then you should pitch it to the man who runs S.H.I.E.L.D.
You are not a man, which is why I have come to you.
Lucky me.
Indeed you are lucky.
Not subject to the limitations of human life,
to the drama of mortality.
You must see the absurdity of them.
Humans make life on Earth worth living,
worth saving.
Even if we left this planet alone,
the humans you care about
will slowly die out around you.
I wonder how you'll feel in 1,000 years.
Cut to the chase.
What's the offer?
Give us what we want... Earth...
And your humans will have our charity.
Wanna buy a drink for a lonesome gal?
Same for the lady.
You're too kind.
My pleasure.
Traveling alone is so tedious.
It's nice to talk to someone.
Could use some good company myself.
Leave the bottle.
So, what takes you to Los Angeles?
Business, but not show business.
I'm betting I can't say the same for you.
How did you guess?
You see a few people with their faces wiped off their heads,
makes it hard to believe your promise of benevolence.
Sorry, no deal.
So far, we've kept this fight neat.
Refuse this and it becomes messy.
You're only making this offer
because you found out we were on your heels.
You time traveled, S.H.I.E.L.D. time traveled.
If you escalate, we will escalate.
You will never be able to see what we can see.
For instance, we knew you would be on this train.
We even know
that is not the item Daniel Sousa delivers.
Oh, yes.
We know this is the day that he dies...
Killed later tonight at a hotel in Los Angeles.
But all we had to do was make one call,
and he dies right now.
Mister, the lounge needs to close for a little while.
A lovely lady like you
would light up the silver screen, no doubt.
You think so?
I do.
Just one little piece of advice. Okay.
You need to work on your acting.
You thought you'd be fetching enough that I wouldn't notice
your friends clearing this car out.
Here I was, convinced my charms were working on you.
This doesn't have to be a big production.
Just come along quiet.
May I step in?
You again. Told you we were the good guys.
Too late for that drink?
Stark's eyes only, huh?
Who the hell are you people?
I'm Mack, this is Johnson, and that's Coulson.
We're Friendlies.
We have the package.
Alright, then.
Let's have it.
Well, first, we need to take a little walk outside.
Seeing my team was a relief,
but one of them was still MIA.
Rise and shine, big brain.
We were at the mercy of history.
We had to keep Sousa safe on the Zephyr
until he could make his drop.
We didn't tell him where we were from,
but he knew something wasn't right.
Miss Carter.
Real name... Jemma Simmons.
Apologies.
Welcome aboard?
You've given me names. How about telling me what group you're with?
Nobody has aeronautics like this.
Not Langley. Definitely not S.H.I.E.L.D.
Our outfit's off the books. You've never heard of it.
Best we keep it that way.
Must be way off the books.
You have no idea.
That's May, doing the flying.
Pretty slick.
Never seen a plane on top of a train before.
Or a plane on top of a plane, for that matter.
You okay?
W...
Who? May?
Simmons.
Sorry.
I-I-I-I'm fine.
I think you should come with me.
Y-You're not yourself.
I think I know how she feels.
You say you have the package?
I think it's time you hand it over.
Really? This thing?
I think Stark would be more impressed
by your flying headquarters.
Our budget's also off the books.
Now that you have this,
maybe you can give us something
to help us find our missing team member.
Could be he was taken by whoever ordered the hit on the train.
Russians?
Normally, I'd say yes,
but I don't think it's the Russians who are after this.
I think it's someone else.
Here's your scientist, boss.
Was that in the report you sent the CIA?
There's a bucket of reasons I shouldn't trust you all, but
you did save my life.
I think S.H.I.E.L.D. has been infiltrated.
By Hydra.
You got it. Yep.
Wait, what? How do you know that?
Classified,
but we're familiar with Hydra.
That's when it hit me.
Sousa wasn't killed by the Russians.
He was going to expose Hydra's presence
within S.H.I.E.L.D.,
so they took him out.
Who else knew about your meeting with Dr. Lindmore?
Only my superior, also classified.
Name wouldn't happen to be Malick, would it?
Sorry to break it to you.
The kid we let live in 1931
had come back to haunt us in 1955.
The name's Wilfred.
Now, why don't you tell me who you are
because you damn sure don't look like a scientist.
It had been two decades,
so Malick didn't recognize Deke.
Maybe that would help Deke stay alive.
I don't look like a scientist because I'm a salesman.
The door at that house was open, I went in, I-I...
Next thing I know, I woke up here with a screaming headache.
Where's the gadget?
Unless you're talking about toasters,
which is what I sell, I couldn't tell ya.
I-I'm telling you, you got the wrong guy.
You said to grab the guy and the case.
There wasn't no one else there.
Well, it sounds like you didn't look hard enough.
Listen, fellas, there's no hard feelings.
I-I wish I could help, but it...
It seems like your man here screwed up pretty bad,
which is surprising
considering the square jaw, broad shoulders,
lack of any... smile...
You wouldn't think he'd be so incompetent.
Looks like the boss is a little unhappy with you,
- but that's okay. - I'm s...
Thanks for helping me root out a bum employee.
Nobody's gonna miss a third-rate hoodlum.
Just like nobody's gonna miss a toaster salesman.
We have an address for Malick.
Maybe Deke's been taken there.
And Agent Sousa?
He still has a delivery to make.
I don't want it to happen, either,
but we kept Malick on course
despite the temptation to do otherwise.
Look, I'm not taking a side. I'm just saying...
Well, it's easier to let a bad man live
than to let a good man die.
That's catchy, and I wish I'd said it,
but Agent Sousa's sacrifice
was an inspiration to others in S.H.I.E.L.D.
Like yours was for the Avengers.
Well, let's not oversell it.
No, it's a fact.
And it's also a fact you got a chance to fight another day.
I did, but if Sousa lives,
we don't know what impact that will have on history.
I suspected they burrowed into S.H.I.E.L.D.,
but I thought it was the fringes.
If someone like Malick is Hydra...
They're dug in deep.
I'm not sure what's more frustrating...
That you won't tell me how you know what you know
or you're telling me I can't act on it.
Malick is just a piece of it.
If you expose him right now,
they'll just go deeper underground.
Then I'll follow them there.
Hydra took a lot of good people from me.
This is a fight I'll wage alone if I have to.
I'd give my life for it.
A great writer once said,
"The past is never dead. It's not even past."
Deke could now attest to that.
You don't have to do this, Freddy.
Nobody calls me that.
I did.
In 1931.
That was the year my life began.
You delivered a serum.
I helped you do it.
This is Deke. Hello? Is anyone there?
Impossible.
I get that a lot. Kept my looks.
I go hard on the vegetables.
I recall you held a gun on me once.
And I didn't shoot you.
I shot someone who was coming after you.
You'll have to forgive my memory.
When you reach my position,
it's easy to forget the people that helped you
on your way to the top.
I guess I owe you a debt of gratitude, Deke.
Yeah.
I'm glad life worked out for you.
Well, it looks like it has for you, too.
You get to walk out of here instead of being carried out.
Consider my debt paid.
Although, if I see you again,
you won't be so lucky.
Oh, uh...
What were you doing in that house anyway?
You're no salesman.
Just looking out for my future.
Aren't we all?
I'm not seeing anything unusual in your vitals.
Do you have any idea why you may have seemed so disoriented?
I don't know. It just happened.
Like what happened at the base.
What happened at the base?
Can't hurt to talk about it, May.
Be my guest.
May had a panic attack.
Why wasn't I told?
Because that's not me.
All the more reason, and I agree.
For you, that is severely abnormal.
You've always held tight your emotions.
To a fault, some might say.
Have you been feeling...
I've been feeling nothing.
Just blank.
And then
my emotions wash over me.
Out of control.
I made it to the end,
and then they assigned me to a desk job.
They said that that was the best fit for my skills.
The Krazy Kanoe.
Enoch! Buddy! It's... It's Deke!
How the hell... I'll connect you.
You know
you might be the best friend that I have.
Your overture of friendship
is the ill-considered product
of your forlorn disposition
and the nine drinks in your system.
I must decline the offer
and accept that I am alone in this world,
as I have always been.
Hey, guys.
Deke, it's Mack and Coulson. Where are you?
I'm in L.A. Are you safe?
Yes, but you are never gonna guess who I just saw.
Wilfred Malick.
Okay, or you will guess correctly.
Deke, sit tight for a little while.
I'm changing the mission.
We've landed. What's the holdup?
Johnson, will you join me?
It's time to let me out of this plane.
My drop's at 9:00. Give us a minute.
Right after we set off the gas canisters,
I-I-I felt trapped.
I couldn't breathe.
And that was the first time you felt afraid?
It was the first time I felt anything since...
The healing chamber?
Since the temple.
I went to a world where they don't feel.
Don't have emotions.
And now, I-I...
I've lost control of mine.
Anything from that world ruins us.
You also felt this... swell
when you saw the technology in the briefcase.
I was excited about it.
You were giddy.
Only Simmons cares that much about stuff like that.
This last episode of disorientation,
was there any panic attached to that?
No. No, it... I-I-I felt confused
and everything felt foreign
and you felt like strangers,
but it was just for an instant.
And... And then there was nothing to, um...
You shook Sousa's hand.
Right.
The confusion came on right after that.
May, do you feel anything now?
Worried.
And uh... concerned.
And now?
Less.
You're not being overwhelmed by your own emotions.
You're feeling... Everyone else's.
The people you touch.
On the base, running around you...
Yeah, bumping into me, feeling trapped,
and... and then Simmons and
then Sousa.
Oh, wait. And now you're feeling my concern.
Oh, God. May, this is extraordinary.
No, no, listen.
When I felt Sousa's confusion,
I felt something else, too.
We're gonna save him.
We won't let him get near that place.
We'll find a way to make the drop for him
and figure out the rest after.
Cool. Writing some new history.
Copy that.
It's the Director's call.
Let's make some waves.
What else did you feel? What was it, May?
An overwhelming urge.
I felt the need to...
To what?
To run.
Like I said,
sometimes the hero has to die,
and there's nothing you can do about it.
Maybe there was something we could do about Sousa.
Question was,
could we get to him before his killer did?
I see him.
Get it done.
The organization depends on it.
Say hello to Howard.
Will do.
I thought I shook you.
Job is done.
No more prying eyes.
He didn't have the package, though.
Sousa completed his mission. Died a hero.
Just like what's in the history book.
But not everything's in the book.
Obviously, the answer to the question,
"Could we get to him before his killer..."
I thought I shook you. was yes.
This'll make sense later. Maybe.
Don't forget this.
Turns out being an LMD has its perks,
like taking two in the back without a fuss.
And being able to spend some time underwater.
You got here fast.
We flew here as soon as we heard.
Where are the usual guys?
Day off.
Alright.
Just get the body out of there before we're all soaked.
How's Sousa?
Still sleeping it off.
It's gonna be quite a hangover.
It felt good to dry out.
It felt good to be back on the plane.
It was going to feel even better
when my system was restored to...
How's that?
Better.
Thanks.
And you're not still hearing it?
Internal monologue's gone.
Everything's back to normal.
Whatever
that is.
I get nothing off of him.
Time to buckle up.
You left this behind.
Thanks.
You okay?
Yeah, just got a good look at the status quo.
Not a fan.
Well, maybe next time we have the chance to change it,
we do.
I'm in.
Here we go.
Wish we didn't have to leave Enoch.
Me, too, but he's 3,000 miles away.
He's a Chronicom, though.
So he'll be wherever we're headed to next,
which I hope is home.
Ow.
What did you shoot me with?
An ICER.
It hasn't been invented yet.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Future S.H.I.E.L.D.
We're in a fight against body-snatching robots from another planet
who want to wipe us out and take the Earth.
The melting man you saw was one of them.
Why didn't you lead with that?
Do I really have to answer?
You'd be surprised what I've seen.
I sort of doubt that.
We weren't sure how to handle your situation.
What's my situation?
You're dead.
I don't feel so hot, but I know I'm not dead.
Well, history says you are.
You were shot after delivering that gadget.
I can show you the files.
You're a hero.
So, congrats, and
condolences.
I'm not dead.
We didn't change history, we just took you out of it,
faked your death.
You're alive, literally,
but to anyone not on this plane,
you were killed at that hotel.
I'm sorry.
Welcome to life after death.
I'll tell you all about it.
This plane, it's how you time travel?
Yep.
So the bump that woke me up...
Let me guess, we're not in 1955 anymore.
Nope.
Then... when are we?
We're trying to figure that out.
What the hell?
Oh, not necessary, Mr. Malick.
I have been left behind to help you.
You're the man who called,
told me Sousa was on the train.
You and I share an enemy, Mr. Malick.
The only difference
is that mine is from the future.
I think I might've met one of them.
You certainly did.
As it is certain.
S.H.I.E.L.D. will destroy all you have built.
It is time to prevent that.
How?
By doing exactly
what I say.