The moment the extra heartbeat sounded, Melinda's muscles tightened instinctively. She spun around, pulling the handgun from her holster in one smooth motion, gripping it firmly and leveling it ahead.
Cautiously crouching, she scanned her surroundings with utmost vigilance, ready for whatever threat might come next.
Coulson also drew his gun, body slightly bent, pressing his back against Melinda's.
"This place is seriously weird," Coulson said quietly, eyes locked forward.
"Yeah, I felt that the moment I stepped in," Melinda replied softly, her gaze sweeping across the room.
Both of them were experienced agents. If a third person had been here all along, they would've noticed. Which meant that whoever—or whatever—it was had only just appeared.
But in a room this small, where could someone hide? And to have snuck in so quietly that even they didn't notice—it was enough to set both of their nerves on edge.
"Looks like Mr. Mavis isn't planning to show himself. Is he waiting for us to turn him into a sieve?" Melinda joked grimly.
"With his teleportation ability, our bullets probably wouldn't even graze him," Coulson muttered, clearly less optimistic. His body remained tense, every sense on high alert.
"You won't know until you try," Melinda replied.
Neither of them hesitated to assume that the unseen presence belonged to Patch Mavis. After seeing the footage, they had a rough idea of his powers. Only someone with teleportation could have entered the room without a sound or a trace.
Still, based on every movie and field experience they'd had, shouldn't the hidden person be shouting "I surrender!" right about now—or bursting out with a gun blazing?
But this script didn't seem to be following any normal pattern.
"Thump-thump." "Thump-thump." "Thump-thump."
The heartbeat grew louder and faster, to the point they could hear it clearly even as they spoke.
"Mel, this heartbeat… it's not normal," Coulson said, frowning.
"Yeah," Melinda nodded. "No normal human heartbeat could sound this loud—or this fast. I've only ever seen something like this from one big green guy."
"Hulk!" Coulson blurted out, then hissed, "That's impossible. But if it is, we're in serious trouble."
They didn't actually believe the Hulk was here, but the sheer intensity of that sound made their hearts pound in unease. Even if it wasn't him, whatever it was definitely wasn't human.
"Coulson, listen closely—the heartbeat's coming from the wardrobe," Melinda said. Her sharp instincts and trained ears had pinpointed the source.
Coulson listened for a moment, confirmed it, and nodded. The two of them began moving slowly toward the wardrobe, step by step.
When they reached it, one on each side, Melinda gave a quick hand signal. After Coulson nodded his approval, she kicked out sharply.
With a loud crack, the wardrobe doors split in two and fell to the ground.
They immediately aimed their guns inside—
Only to find the wardrobe completely empty.
"What the hell?" Melinda muttered, eyes wide. She was sure her judgment had been right.
"Mel, did you forget about Mavis's ability?" Coulson reminded her.
Teleportation.
Melinda's expression shifted—right, he could've escaped that way.
But then—
"Thump-thump." "Thump-thump." "Thump-thump."
The sound came again—deep, heavy, urgent—and still from inside the wardrobe.
"Coulson, watch out!" Melinda shouted.
Startled, Coulson's focus snapped back. He raised his gun instantly, aiming at the empty wardrobe once more.
They moved closer, weapons steady—but there was still nothing inside.
"This is seriously messed up," Melinda muttered under her breath in Chinese, eyes scanning every inch of the wardrobe.
"What was that?" Coulson asked.
"Coulson, don't talk," she ordered quietly, crouching down to peer into the lower corner of the wardrobe.
"Huh?" She tilted her head, noticing something, and reached a hand into the corner.
"Mel, what are you doing?" Coulson said nervously, ready to stop her.
But before he could, what she pulled out made his breath catch.
"Thump-thump." "Thump-thump." "Thump-thump."
Melinda was holding a pitch-black jar—and from inside came the same heartbeat they'd been hearing.
Coulson froze, mouth half-open in disbelief. "My God… that's impossible."
He crouched beside her, staring at the jar.
It was old, ceramic, utterly black with no sheen at all. Its lid was sealed with a piece of paper covered in strange symbols—eerily similar to the yellow parchment they'd found on the desk earlier.
"Nothing's impossible, Coulson. We've seen plenty of weird things in S.H.I.E.L.D.," Melinda said, regaining her calm, eyes fixed on the jar.
Coulson exhaled shakily, though his face still showed disbelief.
"Mel, should we open it?" he asked.
"Yes," she replied, nodding slightly.
She wanted to know too—what exactly was inside? Could it really be what the sound suggested? A human heart?
"Coulson, get ready. I'm opening it," she warned.
Coulson bent low, gun raised and aimed squarely at the jar.
Melinda took a quick glance at him, then tore the paper seal away without hesitation.
"Thump… thump…" "Thump… thump…"
Nothing exploded. Nothing jumped out.
But when they looked inside, both of them froze in shock.
A complete human heart floated in the jar, beating steadily, its veins and arteries clearly visible.
If that were all, it might have been disturbing—but not unbelievable for two seasoned agents.
What truly stunned them was that the heart was blue.
A deep, oceanic blue.
Then a low, chilling voice echoed through the room—
"Who… touched my heart?"