- "I needed time to explain. You don't know how many times I almost told you, but I didn't know how. I didn't ask for this."
"Oh god, what have you done?" - ―Andrew Garner and Melinda May[src]
The Kidnapping of Melinda May was a semi-successful attempt by Andrew Garner to tell Melinda May about his secret identity as the Inhuman Lash.
Background
- "I tried to do what Ward wanted. I tried to kill him."
"Him? Professor Garner?"
"We had him. But I didn't know he'd change into that thing." - ―Werner von Strucker and Melinda May[src]
Lash attacks Werner von Strucker
Lincoln Campbell was attacked by Lash in a hospital in Cincinnati[1] and was on the run from the Advanced Threat Containment Unit.[2] While a fugitive, Campbell figured out that Lash was Andrew Garner and called Alphonso Mackenzie to inform him. Mackenzie brought Campbell to the Zephyr One and they informed Phil Coulson and Daisy Johnson of the theory. Coulson had the plane turn around from its intended destination in Colorado to go to the Cocoon where Garner was supposed to be.
Garner, a professor at Culver University, was sent to the Cocoon to evaluate Joey Gutierrez to see if he had enough control over his powers to be a part of the Caterpillars program;[3] unknown to all was that Garner was Lash, the killer of Inhumans, after he went through Terrigenesis.[4] While interviewing Gutierrez, Garner fantasized about how he would kill the new Inhuman.[3]
Melinda May learns Andrew Garner's secret
Melinda May, during the Skirmish in Lisbon, learned from Werner von Strucker that her ex-husband was Lash, because his transformation to the monstrous being saved Garner from Strucker's assassination attempt.[4] Not telling anyone of her findings, May decided to confront Garner. Phil Coulson fell in love with the leader of the ATCU, Rosalind Price, but was hesitant to trust her; however, he invited her aboard the Zephyr One to take her to Colorado. She was present when Campbell presented his theory, so she was allowed to call her operatives to assist in capturing Lash.[3] S.H.I.E.L.D. developed the Containment Module, which was able to hold an Inhuman, no matter what power he had.[1]
Kidnapping
Garner volunteered to assess Joey Gutierrez at the Cocoon, testing his progress in controlling his powers. As Garner was working with Gutierrez, his session was interrupted by Melinda May, who ordered Gutierrez and the other agents out of the room. Once the agents had left, May confronted Garner over evidence she had obtained proving that he was the Inhuman killer Lash. Garner ordered her to calm down before he lost his temper, but May pushed on until an angered Garner shot her with an I.C.E.R.. Garner, not willing to stay near S.H.I.E.L.D. until he explained, took May to an abandoned building at Culver University, handcuffing her to a tank and waiting for her to wake up.
Once May awoke, Garner began to explain how he had undergone Terrigenesis and the feelings he had once he transformed. May asked what he would have done with Gutierrez, if he would have killed him as well. Garner assured her that he would not have, and he and May discussed their relationship. As they shared a kiss, they were confronted by Phil Coulson, who had come to rescue May.[3]
Rescue
Lincoln Campbell prepares to battle Lash
- "Andrew, listen to me, we can help you, the ATCU is close to a cure."
"I am the cure." - ―Phil Coulson and Lash[src]
Coulson had brought a team of his agents including Daisy Johnson, Alphonso Mackenzie, and Lincoln Campbell, also backed up by Rosalind Price and a team of Advanced Threat Containment Unit agents. While Coulson's team took their positions, Price's agents held back to wait for his orders. However, while Coulson confronted Garner, Campbell decided to confront the man who had killed his friends and blacked out the room, storming in and disrupting Coulson's negotiations.
Lash battles Lincoln Campbell
Garner, angered, transformed into Lash, and Campbell fired electricity at him, forcing Lash to leave the room with Campbell in pursuit. Campbell continued to attack Lash; however, Lash absorbed Campbell's attacks and threw him around the room, leaving him unconscious. As he prepared to kill Campbell, Mackenzie appeared and shot him with an I.C.E.R.. Lash left Campbell and ran after Mackenzie. Lash knocked Mackenzie out but was restrained from killing him by Coulson, who desperately tried to reason with him again.
Lash tries to kill Rosalind Price
However, Lash ignored Coulson and attacked him instead. Price and her agents found Lash trying to kill Coulson, and the agents fired at him, letting Coulson escape. The agents were no match for Lash, and he killed them all, leaving Price the only one still alive. Price attempted to shoot Lash, but he picked her up and threw her over a balcony, to Coulson's distress. Daisy Johnson saw Price fall and used her powers to break her fall, lowering her gently to the floor. Lash left the area and went to search for Campbell one more time.
Lash transforms back into his human self
Lash cornered Campbell in a small room, but before he could kill him Melinda May appeared and blocked his path, begging him to stop. Though Lash ordered her to move, May refused, stating that she had never thought her death would be caused by him. May continued talking, saying that she would never walk out on him again, and her words caused Lash to revert back to human form. Once the transformation was complete, May shot Garner multiple times, knocking him backwards into the open Containment Module. Trapped, Garner transformed to Lash again but could not escape his imprisonment.
Lash is captured by S.H.I.E.L.D.
Once Garner was contained, the agents met and discussed what to do with him. Price recommended that he be taken to the Advanced Threat Containment Unit facility, where they were working on a cure. May hesitated before making the choice, asking Johnson what she thought of the issue. Johnson agreed with Price, and May told Price to do it before walking away to recover.[3]
Aftermath
Since Phil Coulson did not go to Colorado, the meeting that Gideon Malick had planned did not occur.[3]
Coulson used the fact that Lash was now under the supervision of the Advanced Threat Containment Unit to help enact Operation Spotlight and the Containment Module that held the Inhuman was one of the keys to the infiltration.
Melinda May apologized to Lincoln Campbell for the deaths that her ex-husband caused.[5]