The ground outside the warehouse was still dark and sticky with dried blood — traces of the twelve state and county troopers who'd died in the explosion.
The twisted wreckage of the helicopter still lay scattered across the open field.
Kai and Coulson stepped past the cordon and walked up to the warehouse door.
Coulson's expression darkened as he surveyed the scene.
"I've watched that footage more than once," he said quietly. "But seeing the aftermath in person… it still hits different."
Just as he reached for the rusted handle, Kai raised a hand to stop him.
"Wait. There's someone inside."
Coulson's expression immediately sharpened. His hand went to the pistol at his waist in one smooth motion.
After exchanging a silent nod, Kai took point, pushing the warehouse door open with a soft creak.
Inside, the dim light revealed stacks of straw and piles of old farm equipment. The air smelled of rust and ash.
Coulson followed close behind, flashlight in one hand, gun in the other.
They moved quietly until Kai gestured toward the back of the warehouse — behind a massive harvester.
Coulson aimed his pistol in that direction.
"Listen up! Whoever's hiding behind the harvester — hands where I can see them! Walk out slowly. Any sudden moves, I shoot!"
For a moment, there was silence.
Then a nervous female voice called out, "Don't shoot! I'm an intern reporter with the Texas News! I heard something happened here, so I came to investigate!"
A woman slowly emerged, hands raised, a camera hanging from her neck.
Kai blinked. Well, that's unexpected.
Coulson kept his gun trained on her.
"ID," he said flatly.
"I have it! It's right here—oh my god, wait, are you—Flashman?"
Coulson glanced at Kai. Kai just shrugged, completely unfazed.
Ignoring her outburst, Coulson pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt and tossed them to her feet.
"Put them on."
The woman sighed, crouched down, and obediently cuffed herself. "Seriously? With a superhero here, it's not like I'm going anywhere. So… are you guys from the state police or what?"
Coulson lowered his gun slightly but didn't relax.
After confirming a nod from Kai, he stepped forward, flashed his S.H.I.E.L.D. credentials, and pulled the woman's ID from her pocket.
Catherine Jones — Texas News Intern.
"Agent, I'm really a reporter," she said quickly. "You can check it online! Look, my camera's full of photos from the farm."
Coulson flipped through the photos — shots of the crash site, the wreckage, even the burned-out helicopter shell. Everything checked out.
Still, he didn't remove the cuffs. "The news about this incident was sealed the moment it happened. Ordinary civilians shouldn't know about it. So tell me, Miss Catherine, how exactly did you find out?"
"Catherine Jones" — or rather Skye, her real name — smiled faintly. As a top-tier hacker, crafting a flawless fake identity was child's play for her.
Her cover story as an intern reporter from the Texas News had fooled plenty before.
As part of the Rising Tide collective, Skye had dedicated herself to exposing the hidden truths governments and secret organizations buried from the public.
Ever since the Battle of New York, she'd been convinced the world was hiding far more than aliens and superheroes.
And this "monster" case? She was certain it was connected.
"It wasn't hard to find," Skye said smoothly. "There's been talk online for weeks — a string of brutal killings people claim were done by some kind of monster. Some even called it a werewolf."
She gave a little shrug, her cuffs clinking. "I didn't buy it at first. But as a reporter, I had to check. And the more I dug, the more I found posts being deleted, threads being shut down. Someone was trying to bury this."
Kai watched quietly, saying nothing.
Encouraged by his silence, Skye went on, "I interviewed people, tracked the data, cross-referenced the timestamps — and then I saw reports of a shootout between police and… something. Right here on this farm."
"The post got deleted within minutes, but not before I saw it."
Coulson nodded slightly. The cleanup matched S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol — suppress all public information to avoid mass panic.
Still, it seemed this one had slipped through the cracks before the blackout.
"There really was a fight here," Skye said, eyes wide. "When I arrived, I saw the wreckage, the blood, everything. Tell me—monsters really exist, don't they?"
Before she could finish, Coulson cut her off firmly. "Sorry, Miss Jones. Until we verify your identity, you're not going anywhere. And everything you filmed will be confiscated and destroyed. I hope you'll cooperate."
He gestured to Kai. "Watch her. I'll sweep the rest of the warehouse."
As Coulson moved off, Skye stood beside Kai, still handcuffed but visibly curious.
No matter how deep Coulson dug, her fake ID would hold. She'd made sure of it.
Still… her eyes flicked toward Kai.
He didn't seem like the type who cared much for interrogation.
He just leaned against a wooden post, completely relaxed — peeling another orange like he was on break, not standing in a crime scene.
Skye blinked. Wait… where the hell did he even get that orange?
Pretending to be casual, she tried again. "So, uh… Flashman, right? Mind if I ask—"
Kai didn't even look up. He just offered her half of the orange.
Skye stared at it, speechless.
Was he being smug? Flirtatious? Or did he genuinely not care that she might be a trespasser?
She had no idea. But one thing was clear — this superhero was nothing like what she expected.