- Phil Coulson: That's the thing about Skye. What I told her shattered her world. Her lifelong search led to stories of murder, and now it's too difficult to continue. Her search is over. Her story ends here. But you know what she said?
- Melinda May: Tell me.
- Phil Coulson: She said no-her story started here. Her whole life, she thought she wasn't wanted, that she didn't belong, that every family that took her in didn't want her to stay, didn't care. But all that time, it was S.H.I.E.L.D. protecting her, looking after her. That's what she took away from the story-not the family she'll never have, but the one she's always had. Here I am, telling her something that could destroy her faith in humanity, and somehow she manages to repair a little piece of mine. The world is full of evil and lies and pain and death, and you can't hide from it-you can only face it. The question is, when you do, how do you respond? Who do you become?
- Grant Ward: You and Skye get comfortable with the students see if you can get them gossiping. Skye looks young enough to blend in.
- Skye: [Slightly offended] You're not exactly 'Old Man River' and Fitz looks younger than us.
- Leo Fitz: Time will come when you won't make fun of me for that. You'll be jealous. You'll be jealous, wrinkly, old hags.
- Donnie Gill: It's true what the other guys say - you are the smartest person to come through here.
- Leo Fitz: Is that what they say? Yeah? Well, Simmons is probably smarter, technically, but that - that's just because she likes homework more than life itself.
- Phil Coulson: But I'm tired of secrets, so I'm glad we're here. We need to root out all the secrets.
- Melinda May: Agent Ward and I have been having sex.
- Phil Coulson: Alright what's up?
- Melinda May: You tell me?
- Phil Coulson: You're talking, more than ever.
- Melinda May: 'Cause you're not.
- Agent Lumley: We were headed into the Hunan province of China.A senior agent had called in an 0-8-4. An object of unknown origin.
- Phil Coulson: We've dealt with those before.
- Agent Lumley: He said the entire village had died trying to protect this one. Avery and I were just fresh out of the Academy. And there was five of us just running the back end, until we lost communication with the first team. We went searching. We found the senior agent under a bridge. He he managed to escape with a gunshot wound to the neck, but he bled out. He was still holding on to the 0-8-4.
- [Breathes]
- Agent Lumley: Poor thing was covered in blood. We thought she was dead, too, but sh-she was just asleep in the dead agent's arms.
- Phil Coulson: [Stunned] The baby? The girl was the 0-8-4?
- Phil Coulson: the world is full of evil and lies and pain and death, and you can't hide from it you can only face it. The question is when you do, how do you respond? who do you become?
- Phil Coulson: Can you reach the North campus parking garage? We think Donnie Gill and his device may be trapped in the center of the storm.
- Grant Ward: That's not far from where I am. I can get there.
- [Opens the door to an insane storm and shuts it again]
- Grant Ward: Yeah, I can't get there.
- Leo Fitz: Is Science & Technology what you imagined, Agent Ward?
- Grant Ward: Yep - no uniforms, no rope course, no defined muscularity on anyone.
- Leo Fitz: No marching in place, no IQs in double digits.
- Agent Weaver: Based on the level of intelligence it would take to put a device together like the one we found, we've narrowed it down to the top 10% of our Cadets. I'm worried there's a bad seed.
- Grant Ward: [to Skye] Ops and sciences have differences, but both have to be careful about what we call "bad seeds," people who want to use the tools we give them for-...
- Skye: [Interrupting] "Bad seed" isn't a SHIELD term, Ward, just a term.
- Grant Ward: And you can't think of any reason a top student would want to go after you?
- Seth Dormer: No. Um, the top students are my friends. It's competitive here, but we usually don't resort to knocking each other off. This isn't operations. No offense.
- Grant Ward: None taken.
- Phil Coulson: [On the phone] Agent Phil Coulson with SHIELD. We've never actually met, but I'm familiar with your work - all of it.
- Ian Quinn: So, this is a "getting to know you" call?
- Phil Coulson: No, just a message that the first time your aircraft drifts over any country allied with SHIELD, we will shoot you out of the sky.
- Ian Quinn: So this is a courtesy call. Well, thank you, Agent Coulson.And I have a message for you. The Clairvoyant told me to say hello.