1: R.E.S.C.U.E.
He didn't know had long he'd been running. All he knew was that he couldn't stop.
It was the dead of night; sweat soaked his skin, his vision was getting blurry and every muscle in his body ached. None of it mattered, though; he had to keep going. That thing couldn't be far behind.
It had been chasing him for hours. Sometimes he could see it, sometimes he couldn't, but he still knew it was there; he felt a chill deep within his bones that told him he wasn't alone. He had to get away from the monster.
His salvation came as he sprinted across the fifth corn field in a row and saw a wooden hut at the end of it. Taking the risk, he stopped and looked behind him. Nothing. He looked in every direction in every angle. Nothing. Taking a deep breath and using the last of the strength he had in his body, he ran for the hut and slammed the door behind him.
There were hay bales scattered along the floor; he stacked them against the door and collapsed into a corner of the room, trying his best not to scream in agony as he gasped for breath. He found it funny that humanity seemed to take breathing for granted until they realise how much they've wasted their lives. He wiped the sweat off his brow with the sleeve of his dishevelled grey shirt and sat in silence, hoping the monster didn't know where he was and would give up its pursuit.
A few minutes went by, and all was silent.
He smiled. He'd done it; he was free. He thanked a superior being he didn't believe in that he'd made it out alive.
Then came a sound that left him paralysed and drained the blood from his face and fight from his heart - a long claw scratching the door of the hut.
The moonlight filled the small structure as the hay bales and door exploded into scraps as the creature kicked its way in. Now it was just the two of them, the man and the monster. The man looked at it in fear and acceptance; he knew his story was coming to an end. Sometimes the brave fight still isn't enough.
He saw the creature for the first time as it approached his shattered and exhausted body. It was the size of an average human but with navy blue flesh and rock-like shards protruding from its shoulders, arms and spine. There was no way this beast could be human.
"Look at me."
The monster's words pierced his ears, the hushed but growling voice slicing through the air in its venomous nature.
"Look at me."
This time he obeyed, looking up at the monster standing above him. His hazel eyes met the jet black stare of the creature, and all he saw was darkness and death.
"You are Blake Newman. Confirm this."
He obeyed the creature's orders again, nodding his head in defeat.
"H-How do you know who I am?" Blake asked.
"A good hunter knows its prey." It hissed in retaliation, lifting its arm into the air as the four digits on its hand merged into a sharp point.
"Why me?" Blake asked, his eyes fixated on how the creature's greasy skin glistened in the moonlight.
"In your heart, you know." The creature hissed, plunging its pointed arm through Blake's chest like a knife to butter.
As Blake closed his eyes for the final time, he again saw the death in the monster's eyes and greeted it with open arms.
…
When Phil Coulson, director of S.H.I.E.L.D., walked into the briefing room, he was pleased to see all his team were there five minutes before he had told them to be. He knew that they could read the seriousness of the matter at hand by the way he'd announced the meeting the night before.
As he walked by the group of agents, he nodded to each of them one-by-one to show his appreciation for their attendance; Daisy Johnson, Joey Gutierrez, Lincoln Campbell, Melinda May, Alphonso 'Mack' Mackenzie, Leopold Fitz, Jemma Simmons, Lance Hunter and Bobbi Morse.
Coulson pulled out the file he was holding under his arm and emptied the contents out onto a table before the agents, who examined the documents and photos in detail as Coulson observed.
"I'll be the first to say it – holy crap." Lance muttered as he looked at one photo showing the corpse of a man in a wooden hut with a bloodied hole through his chest.
"I take it this is the work of our Inhuman serial killer?" May wondered and Coulson nodded.
"We have to assume so. The way the victim was killed was identical to the body found three weeks ago." Coulson clarified.
"So that's two murders as well as the two attacks the Inhuman has been responsible for." Daisy added.
"Exactly. We know this Inhuman, which the media has nicknamed "Rage" due to the ferocity of its attacks, has been involved in four incidents. First was the murder of the still unidentified woman found in a middle of a wooded area by hikers a month ago. Then came the rampage at the middle school 30 miles from the location of the murder, injuring 25 people as it tore the place to pieces. Thirdly, it attacked a theatre performance another 23 miles from the school, injuring 123 and killing 2. And now this second murder, another 47 miles from the theatre catastrophe. The public know about the attacks but not the two murders; for obvious reasons it's hard to cover up a school and theatre collapsing in the centre of busy cities. The locations seem to be random and we can't find any links as of yet between the places the crimes took place nor the victims." Coulson explained.
"Have you managed to identify the latest victim?" Bobbi asked.
"Unfortunately not. It's the same circumstance as the female murder victim; no means of identification found on their person and no matches in any of our databases. We can't even put out appeals to find family because the President personally told me he doesn't want these murders publicised in any way at the present time." Coulson revealed.
"Let's just give the case to Sherlock Holmes and call it a day." Lance said.
"If only we could." Lincoln commented.
"He knows Sherlock Holmes is fictional, right?" Fitz whispered in Jemma's ear, who nodded with a smile.
"So no leads on the crimes, but what about the criminal? What do we know about this "Rage" Inhuman?" Joey asked.
"Only what eyewitnesses on the scenes of the school and theatre tragedies have given to the police and news channels. Alongside some very blurry images everyone witness has described "Rage" in the same way; oily, dark blue skin, rock-like shards protruding from the upper half of its body and black pupils." Coulson explained, reading off one of the documents from the folder.
"Not the kinda guy you want to meet in an alleyway at night." Lincoln said.
"Or in an alleyway during the day." Jemma added.
"All we know is that this Inhuman is dangerous and a serial killer with powers we can't fully explain or be certain we know of just yet. I'll be assigning half the team to find links between the crimes and begin hunting "Rage" down." Coulson announced.
"Only half of us? Why?" Mack questioned.
"Because unfortunately, a murderous Inhuman isn't S.H.I.E.L.D.'s only concern." Coulson said, pressing a pad in the centre of his fake hand which turned on a large holographic screen on one of the walls.
The team look on in confusion as a series of articles and news clips are projected onto the screen, including a video of the President shaking hands with a woman in a tight cream dress.
"Someone's not ashamed of their body." Daisy commented under her breath. Joey, Lincoln and May all heard the remark and gave out a slight smile (though May does her best not to let anyone see).
Coulson presses his palm again and the projections stop on a news article. The only word that stands out to everyone is 'R.E.S.C.U.E.'.
"What the hell is 'Rescue'?" Mack asked.
"Yeah, and is it an acronym or are the dots in between each letter to make it look cooler?" Lance asked.
"I'm impressed he knows what 'acronym' means." Jemma joked to Fitz, who gave her a wide smile.
"This morning the President made an announcement on national TV announcing he has given permission for a new organisation to be set up. Since we agreed S.H.I.E.L.D. should remain secret from the public, he's clearly decided to form a new unit for people to believe in instead." Coulson revealed.
"His charm knows no bounds." May remarked, shaking her head.
"Meet R.E.S.C.U.E., the Regional and Experimental Scientific Council of United Enterprises." Coulson said.
"Ugh, I hate it when they can't think of a way to name something without adding extra words that aren't part of the acronym." Fitz sighed.
"So what is it they're actually going to do?" Bobbi wondered.
"A very good question, and one the President seems to answer. According to his statement, R.E.S.C.U.E. aims to 'study the science behind extra-terrestrial beings and objects, including Inhumans, to develop technology to bring the world into a new age and make life easier for the human race. R.E.S.C.U.E. is coming to the rescue'." Coulson read out.
"Oh, he had me till that last line." Hunter winced.
"So, are the other half of the team gonna be investigating this organisation?" Joey asked.
"For the time being, yes. I don't like that the President didn't inform me about this beforehand, and a whole organisation appearing out of nowhere so suddenly? I don't buy it; this must've taken a lot of planning. I need a team trying to dig into R.E.S.C.U.E. as much as possible, as well as the founder and leader, Maya Anderson." Coulson answered.
"A.K.A. Little Miss Tight Dress." Daisy said.
"It's a nice dress." Mack commented, and all the men subtly nodded (except Joey), earning them all judging glares from the women.
"I just need peace of mind when it comes to organisations not associated with S.H.I.E.L.D. It's hardly surprising that I have trust issues these days. If Anderson and R.E.S.C.U.E. check out, we'll leave them be and focus all our energy on "Rage". I'll let you know how the team will be split shortly." Coulson stated and the group dispersed out of the room to get back to their stations.
"I'm impressed, you sound like you actually know what you're doing." May commented as she walked out.
"We'll see." Coulson replied solemnly as he followed her out.
Little did he know, he'd just set in motion a chain of events that would change everyone's lives forever.
…
THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE…
"Please, no! Just try again, one more time! Don't give up!" They cried desperately.
"There's no heartbeat, I'm sorry."
In an instant, the whole world came crashing down. They took the lifeless hand in theirs as more tears flowed.
"Don't go. Not like this. Please! Please!"
But they were already gone; their eyes, that would never blink again, looked upwards to their new destination. It was their time to join the stars.
"Time of death, 11:35pm."