The Before [Prequel- Part 1]

Newest Member of The Shield Team

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

On the way to the new Shield base, Coulson filled me in.

There had been a sudden surge in new Inhumans, and as soon as one popped up, they were killed. We got early intel on a possible Inhuman that went by the name Jose Gutierrez, and while I'm sitting back at the base, Mack, Daisy, Hunter, and Coulson are extracting him. Only Phil knows I'm waiting for them, so it will be a shock for everyone else.

As soon as I was sure I was alone in the office, I used to my phone to call Loki. I just wanted him to know that I got there okay and that so far, Hydra wasn't an issue.

Our conversation didn't last long, sadly, as the hangar doors opened, meaning that the Shield team was back.

After reluctantly ending the conversation and hanging up the phone, I walked out of Coulson's office and into the entrance of the underground facility to greet them.

~~~Daisy's pov~~~

"So, he can melt stuff. That's all I got so far." I informed the team. "We're going to need some backup if these people keep getting targeted like this."

"I already brought in the backup." Coulson shrugged, opening the decompression lock on the door.

He did what now?

"What? Who?" I asked, puzzled.

He didn't answer, just letting the door open.

Then I saw who was on the other side of the door waiting for us.

Catherine Stark.

"Hey, guys! Welcome back!"

"Cat? What are you doing here?" I asked, giving her a smile and a hug.

I haven't seen her in what felt like years!

"I'm your new team member! Surprise!" She gave me exaggerated jazz hands.

"Really? That's the best news I've had all day!"

I've known Catherine for a little over three years now. She helped out the team a lot when it was first forming. In fact, she tried to warn us early on about Ward.

We should have listened to her.

And, yes, I'm one of the few people who know she's a Stark. The only people in all of Shield who know are Fury, Maria Hill, Coulson, May, me, and Jemma. Which is good because none of us turned out to be Hydra.

So, Mack, Hunter, Bobbi, and Fitz still have no idea.

"Where's Jose?" She asked Coulson.

"On his way down to the lab where Bobbi is waiting for him. We're running extensive testing to find out exactly what mutation he has." He answered.

"Good. Oh, and I ran an analysis on that picture of that woman you sent me. I found some interesting stuff. The file's in your office."

"You are on top of things, aren't you?" Coulson looked at her, wide-eyed with the work she managed to complete.

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

"It helps me take my mind off specific stuff, so yes. Hi, Mack. Hunter. It's good to see you two again." I said casually.

It's true. It helps to take my mind off the fact that right now, I should be with Loki at the compound. Or that Hydra is still after me, and I'm at the base of the organization that Hydra is trying to destroy.

For undercover purposes, I was dressed in a white blouse and a black pencil skirt that fell right above my knees with a pair of black heels.

Is it practical? Hell no. But I'm playing the role of secretary. Secretaries don't usually go around wearing combat suits.

Daisy, Jemma, and Coulson are the only ones that are aware of my skill set. Specifically my magic.

It's safer this way. If Hydra does ever infiltrate Shield again, they won't know it's me who has abilities.

"They're not Hydra. You know, I've been digging, and my street sources tell me Hydra's gone silent." Hunter started, walking with us to Coulson's office. "Eerily silent, yes, but..."

Thank God! Hydra won't be an issue.

"Yeah, the Hydra finances we track are static. No money's changing hands." Phil nodded.

"And by the looks of the weapons these psychopaths are using, they're well funded." I sighed, pulling up my finds onto the monitor.

"So, if this woman's not Hydra, what is she?" He asked me.

"Everything else. I mean, look at this. Two years CIA, MI6, and a dozen others. Under all of which she used aliases."

"Oh, I like her," Hunter muttered.

"But how are we supposed to track down someone like this?" Mack interjected. "We can't look everywhere."

"If we can trace those weapons, that could give us a place to start. Take that gun down to Bobbi in the lab." Phil instructed. "Have the team analyze it."

"Oh no, no, no, no. I'm not going anywhere near Bobbi." Hunter shook his head.

"But you-" I cut Mack off. "It's fine. I'll do it myself. We wouldn't want to make Hunter feel uncomfortable in front of Bobbi. Because you know she is a very, very scary woman." I nodded sarcastically.

"Yeah, I know that was sarcasm, but I don't care. Great to have you back, Catherine." He rolled his eyes playfully and crossed his arms.

"Why, thank you, Hunter." I grabbed the evidence bag that held the gun and headed for the door.

"Mack, head downstairs and assist Skye with intake-" Phil started.

"It's Daisy." I reminded him.

He groaned. "Daisy. Damn it. Hard for us to get used to, huh?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Just you. And I've only known about the name change for a day now."

He ignored me. "Okay, so what do we know about this Jose Gutierrez?"

"He goes by Joey. Construction foreman. Motorcycle enthusiast. Appears to be able to liquefy certain metals spontaneously at a distance of up to three meters." Mack picked up his file.

Well, that's not scary.