The Before [Prequel- Part 1]

Explanation

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

Good news. We found Jemma and Yo-Yo. That's it. No sign of Loki, Daisy, or May. I'm not even sure Fitz was taken. He wasn't in the bunker with us.

Right now, we're taking refuge in a small room until Virgil wakes up and we can get some answers.

"Geez, Mack, how hard did you hit him?" I asked, trying to wake the guy up.

"What do you mean? As hard as I possibly could. Look, I don't half-hit people. It's a punch." He looked at me like I was crazy.

"What did he say before that?" Jemma asked.

"He said that we were coming here to serve a purpose," Phil answers.

"As food?" I questioned seriously.

"No. He said we were here to save them."

"Hey. Uh... How long have I been out?" The man slowly started to come to. "We can't linger here."

"Yeah, sorry. Mack thought you were an imminent threat." Phil apologized, but Mack didn't look very sorry.

Virgil looked up at Mack, surprised. "Alphonso 'Mack' Mackenzie. It's good to meet you."

Creeeeeepy.

"How do you know me?" He asked, taken aback.

"Oh, I know all of you." He said excitedly, getting out of the chair and turning to Yo-Yo. "Yo-Yo Rodriguez. Is it okay if I call you Yo-Yo?"

"No."

"Okay." Then he turned to Jemma. "Jemma Simmons. Biochemistry. I'm sorry Fitz didn't get to make the trip, but he is thinking of you."

Finally, he turned to me.

"Catherine Stark! The Raven Witch! It's an honor to meet you."

The use of my last name took me off guard. Even though it's been years, my name still isn't exactly public information. Especially to people in space.

"How do you know my last name?"

"All of us know your name. All of the true believers. She made sure of it. Oh man, she's going to be so excited to see you."

What?

"She? Who's she?"

His eyes widened. "Nevermind. You can't know that yet."

I was about to question him further, but Mack interrupted me.

"Hey! How do you know us?" He demanded firmly.

"I've been studying you for years, your history. I mean, I always believed. I mean, I had moments, and they tried to take that last bit away from me, but I always believed the stories were true."

This man makes no sense.

"What stories?"

"Well, this one. That you would come."

"To save you, Virgil. From those aliens that were attacking?" Phil asked.

He shook his head. "No, those... The roaches are an anomaly, a glitch in the plan. Don't be crazy. You're not here to save me."

"Who, then?"

"Humanity."

I think Mack may have punched him too hard.

Virgil looked around at our confused faces and spoke again. "I'm sorry. This is a lot to dump on your plate, but how do you eat an elephant, right? This'll make a lot more sense once I show you-" He was cut off by talons piercing his skull, killing him, and pulling him back into the darkness.