On the other side-
Quinn had one hand gripping Skye's throat and the other holding a gun, pressing her against the window as he spoke, "Don't you get it?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. opposes everything you stand for—they are the villains."
With a raspy voice, Skye replied, "Maybe, but they're a good villain."
"They stand up and help others."
"And you? You kidnapped someone."
Quinn retorted, "I set him free. I saved him."
"I could have saved you too."
…
Meanwhile-
Killer Bee had entered Quinn's estate, searching for Skye for a while but with no luck. Frustrated, he muttered, "This place is really big."
He pressed his earpiece and asked, "Where do I go?"
May's voice responded, "Southwest corner."
"Killer Bee, tell me you've got the ground situation under control—I'm completely blind here."
Just then, the ground beneath Killer Bee trembled violently, almost like an earthquake, causing him to lose his balance for a moment.
"No one can last a round with me," Killer Bee remarked confidently.
…
In the office-
Quinn and Skye were shaken by the tremor as well.
After the shaking subsided, Quinn yelled, "Tell me what they're doing!"
When Skye didn't respond, Quinn took a deep breath to calm himself and spoke more gently, "Tell me what they're doing. You have to cooperate, or you won't get out of here."
Quinn once again aimed the gun at Skye and said, "S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't care if you live or die. They didn't give you anything and still sent you here."
At that moment, Skye recalled the move Ward had taught her. In one swift motion, she turned, closed the distance between her and Quinn, disarmed him, and pointed the gun at him.
"They did teach me a few things."
Quinn massaged his thumb, which had been twisted during the struggle, while two security guards behind him drew their guns, aiming at Skye.
One of the guards spoke, "This girl's got guts."
Skye, still pointing the gun at Quinn, responded, "Thanks for the compliment!"
Quinn, now composed, looked steadily at her and asked, "Do you have the guts to pull the trigger?"
Skye thought for a moment, broadened her eyes, and said, "Nope."
She tossed the gun aside and sprinted toward the balcony, leaping off the second floor into the pool below.
Quinn watched her dive into the pool and calmly ordered, "Get her."
The three guards immediately ran after her. But just then, the building shook violently, throwing Quinn and his men to the ground.
As Quinn lay on the floor, he saw two steel plates rise into the air, suspended mid-air. Instantly, he realized it was the gravitonium.
At that moment, he knew Hall was double-crossing him.
"Hall…"
Shaking his head, Quinn quickly ordered, "We need to get out of here. Get the helicopter ready, now!"
The three security guards helped Quinn to his feet and hurried him toward the rooftop, where the helicopter was already being prepped for takeoff.
…
In the lab-
As the accelerator continued its motion, the gravity field shifted again, causing the glass chamber containing the gravitonium to shift from the wall to the floor beneath them.
Coulson helped Ward to his feet once more, while Dr. Hall, who had prepared himself in advance, calmly aimed a gun at Ward.
"I wanted to get into Quinn's lab. All I needed to do was leave a few clues, create a puzzle for him to solve," Hall explained.
"Quinn likes to think of himself as clever."
Coulson looked at him and asked, "So, you revealed your own location. Why didn't you try reasoning with him?"
"You can't reason with an addict. He's addicted to exploiting opportunities," Hall replied.
"He doesn't care about friends, ecosystems, or the future generations destroyed by his actions."
Coulson countered, "Like your former students, Fitz and Simmons? They're in my ear right now, telling me you're not a bad person."
"We could have worked together."
At that moment, gravity shifted again, causing Coulson and Ward to fall to the ground. Dr. Hall, who had anticipated the change, remained standing, looking down at the two of them with anger in his eyes.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. is guilty as well," Hall shouted.
"You conduct experiments without considering the consequences."
"Your pursuit of limitless energy led to an alien invasion."
If Charles were present, he would have agreed with Dr. Hall's accusations—S.H.I.E.L.D. indeed had blood on its hands.
Coulson didn't argue, nodding instead. "You're right."
"This element is too powerful—for you, for him, for anyone."
"I don't need to tell you that. You can feel it yourself."
…
Elsewhere-
Quinn had boarded the helicopter, which immediately took off, breaking through the laser security grid as they made their escape. He had no intention of going down with the estate.
Meanwhile, Skye ran out onto the lawn near the party, only to find four security guards closing in on her from all sides.
Before she could make a move, they grabbed her.
In a panic, she shouted, "No, no! Please!"
At that moment, Skye spotted Killer Bee approaching, casually chewing on a lollipop.
With a flash of lightning, shaped like a zig-zagging Z, the four security guards collapsed to the ground, their bodies twitching momentarily before falling still.
Killer Bee approached Skye, pulled out a fresh lollipop from his pocket, unwrapped it, and handed it to her.
"Here, it's sweet."
Looking up at the tiny Killer Bee, who only reached her chest in height, Skye's eyes sparkled with admiration.
Had he just saved her like a hero?
It sure felt that way…
Skye took the lollipop from Killer Bee, popped it into her mouth, and smiled, "It's really sweet. And thanks for saving me."
Killer Bee grinned and said, "We need to get out of here and find Coulson and the others. I'm really interested in that thing controlling gravity."
With that, the two of them headed toward Coulson's location.
…
Back in the lab-
Due to the random and shifting gravity, everyone's positions changed again.
This time, Hall lost his footing as well, falling to the ground along with Ward and Coulson. His gun slipped from his hand.
Coulson seized the opportunity, crawling over to land a punch that knocked Hall to the floor. He then picked up the fallen gun.
Hall, leaning against the wall, slowly stood up and spoke, "I've seen the future. Disaster is coming, Mr. Coulson."
Coulson aimed the gun at Hall and replied, "All I see is a lot of people in danger right now."
He then reached over and pulled the power switch, cutting the power. However, as he looked down at the gravitonium generator, it was still running.
"No reaction. Fitz, Simmons, I've cut the power, but it's not working."
Fitz responded with urgency, "You have to find the catalyst."
"The thing triggering the chemical reaction in the core."