What If...?

Time.

Space.

Reality.

It's more than a linear path.

It's a prism of endless possibility,

where a single choice can branch out into infinite realities,

creating alternate worlds from the ones you know.

I am the Watcher.

I am your guide through these vast new realities.

Follow me and ponder the question...

"What if?"

There was an idea to bring together a group of--

Remarkable people?

To see if they could become something more?

I know. I've heard the speech.

Then you realize what's at stake.

Which is why I'm surprised you'd wanna bet

the future of the Avengers Initiative on that.

Stark may be eccentric, but he's got potential.

What he's got is a hangover.

Did I ever tell you about this one time

I actually recruited a Russian assassin to join my American covert ops team?

Vaguely rings a bell.

Then you should know, I'm not afraid of a big swing.

Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to exit the donut.

I told you I don't wanna join your super-secret boyband.

No, no, no. See, I remember, you do everything yourself.

-How's that working out for you? -I've been worse.

You've become a problem, a problem I have to deal with.

Contrary to your belief, you are not the center of my universe.

I get it. -Hit him.

God. What'd she just do to me?

What did we just do for you?

That's lithium dioxide. It's gonna take the edge off.

It's not a cure, it just abates the symptoms?

Stark! You okay?

Stark! Tony. Tony!

He's dead.

Humanity, so eager, so willing to face the impossible,

yet blind to the bigger picture.

Inside one week, three strange and separate stories unfolded.

A genius battled his demons both inside and out,

while the world met the monster hiding in the man.

And a godly prince fell to Earth.

I am the Watcher.

And where humans see chaos,

I see the crucible that would transform

this collection of individuals into a team of heroes.

At least, that's how things played out in one universe.

But in this one...

Sir, we found it.

Kind of in the middle of something here, Coulson.

Not sure it can wait, sir. Locals are getting curious.

Set up a perimeter and tell the team I'm en route.

I may not have been a fan of Tony Stark, but I didn't kill him.

Save your spin for Pierce.

He wants you in New York first thing for questioning.

Wanna give us a minute?

This wasn't me.

I know that, but S.H.I.E.L.D. has protocols,

so my hands, like yours, are tied.

-You know these won't hold me. -Oh, I'm counting on it.

Someone inside S.H.I.E.L.D. compromised Stark's antidote.

I need someone on the outside to find out who.

Sure you wanna take another big swing on me, boss?

Safest bet I'll ever make.

Wow. So serious.

Maybe we should get some tunes going.

Lighten the mood.

You guys are no fun. Here. Mind holding these for me?

Of course. Uh... What?

I never did get what he sees in her.

Sure, she can land a punch, but only 'cause people don't expect it.

What? Stop! Stop the truck!

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Oh! Come on!

Best we can tell, it's extremely powerful and not from around here.

Electromagnetic, neutron, vita radiations, all off the charts.

Well, that doesn't sound ominous at all.

It's been happening all night.

The artifact has a bit of an attitude.

Also, no one can lift it.

Not even Jackson and he does CrossFit.

Something that powerful goes missing, someone always comes looking.

We just have to cross our fingers that someone is an ally.

So, what's the move?

Same as always. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

We got a man down. Sound the alarms.

I think the worst just got here.

Coulson, talk to me.

We got a perimeter breach. Multiple agents down and...

Whoa.

I got visual on the intruder.

He's a Caucasian male, mid-twenties with...

really great hair.

Excuse me?

It's an accurate description. Sir, he's gorgeous.

-I need eyes in the sky. Barton. Already on it.

He's making a move on the hammer.

One shot, one kill, sir. Just say the word.

Hold your fire. I wanna see this.

Whoa. Coulson wasn't lying about the hair. That's nice.

Fury, now or never.

-(THOR GRUNTS) Hold your--

Damn it, Barton. I told you to stand down.

I did! Wasn't me! I didn't shoot!

Drop your weapon!

I swear, I didn't shoot.

Your arrow would indicate otherwise.

This doesn't make any sense. I don't slip. I don't misfire.

-What's the word on our intruder? -Dead.

And if his blood samples are to be believed,

he's almost a thousand years old and not of this world.

First Stark, now Muscle Beach.

That's two high value S.H.I.E.L.D. targets killed by our own agents inside 24 hours.

-Barton's sticking to his story? -He's pretty bent out of shape.

-Won't talk to anyone. -He'll talk to me.

Wake up, Sleeping Beauty.

Barton.

Barton. Coulson, get a medic.

How could this... Who did you let in here?

-No one. No one.

Stay with me. Stay with me.

We're running a tox screen to see if it was a cyanide capsule.

Barton had a wife and kids.

If he was gonna go, it wouldn't be willingly.

You think he was murdered.

If I had to guess, my money is on the same someone who killed Stark.

But Barton was in a locked cell under observation.

There was no sign of struggle, no entry wounds.

It's weird, but I also have a space corpse

that looks like a Chippendales dancer rotting on the next table over.

Oh, wow.

Even while rotting, he smells like lavender.

Really? (SNIFFING)

Mmm.

Still, there's not a lot connecting a billionaire playboy

and a S.H.I.E.L.D. assassin, unless you have any ideas.

There was an idea.

Dr. Ross. Not sure if you remember me, but--

Oh, I remember.

And I'll tell you the same thing I told you

the last time S.H.I.E.L.D. came poking around.

I haven't seen him.

I'm not here about the green guy.

His name is Dr. Bruce Banner. And I'm in a rush, Agent Romanoff.

I'm here about Tony Stark. I believe he was murdered.

What? By whom?

Me. Or at least someone's trying to make it look that way, using this.

So, why did you come to me?

You're an expert in the tactical applications of cellular biology.

There are plenty of others. Why did you really come here?

I need to keep this off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar

and you seem to have some experience in that department.

Mmm. Well, your injector's clean

and there's no traces of lethal pathogens of any kind.

Then what killed him?

Whatever it was, it wasn't biological.

Your antidote didn't even make it out of the syringe.

It looks to me like a tiny projectile of some kind was fired from the needle.

You're thinking nanotech?

I'm a biologist, not a ballistics expert.

And I believe we're done here.

Huh. You got a side job, Dr. Ross?

What? I don't know. I...

A student must have left it there.

I got bad news and worse news.

-You in a secure location? -Not currently.

Barton's dead.

I know what he meant to you.

Who do I kill?

Looks like his and Stark's murders are connected.

By what? The Avengers Initiative.

Seems our killer is going after the candidates.

If someone wanted to kneecap S.H.I.E.L.D.,

that's a good place to start.

Who else is on the list?

That's the thing. Bruce Banner and you.

Under different circumstances, I'd be flattered. So would Clint.

You need to get yourself to ground. But first, find Banner.

Funny thing, boss. Think I already have.

I... I'm sorry, but I can't let you in there.

Move, or I'll make you move.

No need for violence, Agent Romanoff.

That's probably not gonna work out. For anyone.