- "This is the big bad wolf. I'm in the henhouse. Time to fry some chicken."
- ―John Garrett[src]
The Bombing of the Lighthouse was an attack planned by Nathaniel Malick in order to complete the elimination of S.H.I.E.L.D. after all the other main bases of the organization were destroyed. Although the bombs detonated, the Lighthouse was protected from complete collapse thanks to Yo-Yo Rodriguez who regrouped them in one spot to preserve other areas of the base.
Background[]
- "All S.H.I.E.L.D. targets destroyed."
"Except for the Lighthouse." - ―Nathaniel Malick and Sibyl[src]
In their attempt to achieve the complete elimination of S.H.I.E.L.D. throughout history, Nathaniel Malick and Sibyl sealed an alliance and coordinated a massive and simultaneous assault against S.H.I.E.L.D.'s main bases. As a result, many facilities, including the Triskelion, the Hub and the Sandbox were wiped out by a large fleet of Chronicom vessels.[2]
However, at least one S.H.I.E.L.D. facility was not attacked: the Lighthouse. Indeed, the base had been designed and built precisely to remain impervious to an attack from the surface, making out of reach of the Chronicom's assault. Knowing that Sibyl and Malick would come after them at the facility, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Phil Coulson, Melinda May and Yo-Yo Rodriguez put the base in lockdown and prepared for an upcoming assault.[1]
Bombing[]
John Garrett plants a Chroni-Bomb
- "How many bombs total?"
"An even dozen. Gonna pancake this whole puppy."
"Unless you want to get pancaked with us, call it off." - ―Melinda May, John Garrett and Phil Coulson[src]
In order to infiltrate and destroy the Lighthouse, Nathaniel Malick sent John Garrett to teleport inside the facility, using the powers he had previously harvested from Gordon. Garrett thus transported himself inside the facility without any problem, and was tasked with deploying a dozen Chroni-Bombs scattered throughout the base.
Despite having teleported directly inside the base, Garrett was spotted by the surveillance camera of the Lighthouse, thus alerting Phil Coulson, Melinda May and Yo-Yo Rodriguez of his presence. Therefore, since they knew his powers, Coulson used old schematics of Leo Fitz to craft a new version of the Quantum Field Disruptors, which were known to block the teleportation abilities. Using his computational abilities, Coulson was also able to estimate one spot where Garrett would teleport to plant one of his bombs.
John Garrett is blocked by Quantum Field Disruptors
Therefore, Coulson and May stationed at this spot and patiently waited for Garrett to arrive. Once he teleported, Yo-Yo Rodriguez used her superhuman speed to attach the disruptors onto Garrett's body, thus preventing him from teleporting out of the Lighthouse, meaning that he would be killed should the bombs detonate. Coulson thus pressured Garrett into contacting Malick so that the destruction would be delayed, but Malick, although unaware of Garrett's actual predicament, refused, abandoning his ally to his fate.
Since the imminent detonation of the bombs could not be prevented, Rodriguez quickly used her powers to move all the devices planted by Garrett to one area of the Lighthouse in an attempt to preserve the overall integrity of the base. The idea proved to be successful, and although a pile of rubble fell over them, Coulson, May, Rodriguez and Garrett all survived the blast. Rodriguez helped Coulson and May to get free of the debris they were trapped under, and then retrieved Garrett as well, who had been heavily wounded in the attack.[1]
Aftermath[]
- "My name is Phil Coulson. I'm an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. We received a coded transmission after the attack. Is it fair to assume that everyone here responded to the same coded broadcast?"
- ―Phil Coulson[src]
Despite John Garrett being responsible for the destruction of a significant part of the Lighthouse, S.H.I.E.L.D. decided to heal his wounds. This action, which was somehow opposed to what had happened to John Garrett in the original timeline, added to the fact that Garrett had been abandoned by Nathaniel Malick, convinced him to switch sides and ally with S.H.I.E.L.D.
John Garrett is shot by Victoria Hand
In the aftermath of the attack, Phil Coulson picked up a mysterious signal that he had begun to hear before the bombing. Upon realizing that it was a S.H.I.E.L.D. transmission indicating the location of an 0-8-4, the agents decided to use Garrett's teleporting powers to leave the Lighthouse as all other exits had been crushed by debris. The group then arrived at The Krazy Kanoe, a safehouse that had not been hit in the previous attack against S.H.I.E.L.D. Upon arriving, Garrett was shot by Victoria Hand out of fear that he would attack.[1]