- "Did you get our analysis of the virus?"
"We did, and S.H.I.E.L.D. has no record of anything like it. No one does. So it's imperative it reach the Sandbox without incident. In case of a pandemic, we're going to need it." - ―Phil Coulson and Felix Blake[src]
The Chitauri Virus Outbreak was the release of a lethal virus carried by a member of the Chitauri that invaded Earth, infecting a group of firemen that took a Chitauri Helmet as souvenir.
Background[]
- "I believe the firefighters initially contracted the virus when they cleaned the helmet, the friction activating some long-decaying Chitauri organism."
- ―Jemma Simmons to Phil Coulson[src]
The Chitauri Helmet at the source of the outbreak
During the Chitauri Invasion, the Wrigley Fire Department sent several firefighters to New York in order to assist in the battle and protect civilians. In the aftermath of the battle, three of these firefighters, Tony Diaz, Frank Whalen and Adam Cross found a Chitauri Helmet, which they decided to bring back to Wrigley as a souvenir from this mission. However, this helmet had belonged to a Chitauri carrying a virus they were immune to.[4]
Outbreak[]
- "Some viruses 'sleep' inside host cells for years before reproducing, as they did inside the helmet – the initial source. But what those cells tell us is that we're dealing with a propagating virus, which means–"
"The virus can move from person to person." - ―Jemma Simmons and Phil Coulson[src]
The release of the Chitauri Virus was due to the manipulation of the Chitauri Helmet by Tony Diaz, Frank Whalen and Adam Cross, as they wanted to clean it up during one of their shifts, believing it to be covered in rust. Due to the contact with the helmet, the three of them were infected by the virus. Cross was the first person to die from the infection during a night he worked as a boy-scout group leader. Beginning to hear a strange humming due to the virus infection, he briefly left his group to go and investigate, before a massive electromagnetic pulse surged out of his body, killing him and causing his body to float mid-air.
The young men who were with Cross found his body and contacted the authorities, leading to S.H.I.E.L.D. being informed of the anomaly. In the next day, S.H.I.E.L.D. sent Coulson's Team to investigate the death of Cross. Since they did not know the cause of the anomaly, they did not take the necessary precautions, causing Jemma Simmons to get infected when she got too close to the body, although she was unaware of that at the time.
Frank Whalen is killed by the Chitauri Virus
S.H.I.E.L.D. then detected another anomaly, which was due to Whalen beginning to experience the symptoms of the infection, causing several metallic objects around him to float without him being able to control it. Phil Coulson, Melinda May and Grant Ward drove to Whalen's farm, but by the time they arrived, Whalen was already dead, with his body floating in the air and no sign of anyone else in the area. Through her investigations, Skye discovered that Cross and Whalen knew each other due to their affiliation to the Wrigley Fire Department, prompting S.H.I.E.L.D. to investigate this lead.
The flash of the pulse killing Tony Diaz
S.H.I.E.L.D. thus went to the Wrigley Fire Station, detailing the situation to the firefighters. Coulson then noticed that Diaz, who was still alive, did not look well, and followed him into a kitchen room. Diaz complained about the humming and caused some objects to levitate around him, thus showing signs of the infection. As he narrated the discovery of the helmet to Coulson, while May found said helmet in the fire station, Simmons figured out that a virus was the source of both Cross' and Whalen's deaths. Coulson ordered to clear out the fire station, and remained with Diaz until the last moment. Shortly after Coulson left as well, Diaz died from the electromagnetic pulse caused by the virus.
Jemma Simmons tries to develop a cure
With the origin of the deaths having been identified, S.H.I.E.L.D. seized the helmet to be sent to the Sandbox and ordered the other firefighters to be taken to a S.H.I.E.L.D. medical center for a full series of exams. The helmet was loaded on the Bus, but during the flight to the Sandbox, Simmons began to manifest symptoms of the infection, putting her, as well as the rest of the team, in grave danger. Simmons was placed in quarantine in the lab, where she tried to develop an anti-serum to counter the effects of the virus, but her first experiments were unsuccessful. Furthermore, Coulson received orders from Felix Blake that any cargo being infected by the virus had to be dumped into the ocean.
Discussing the virus, Simmons and Leo Fitz figured out that they could craft the anti-serum by using cells from the Chitauri host, since they had apparently been immune to the virus. Fitz thus took the helmet and brought it back to the lab, disregarding the risk of working side-by-side with Simmons. They elaborated another version of the anti-serum, but it apparently failed as well.
Grant Ward saves Jemma Simmons
Knowing that she was out of time, Simmons asked Coulson to tell her father about her fate, and requested some time alone with Fitz. She then knocked him unconscious and opened the plane's cargo ramp, planning to commit suicide so that she would die in the middle of the ocean and not endanger the lives of her teammates. However, upon regaining consciousness, Fitz realized that the anti-serum had actually worked, albeit with some delay. Due to Simmons having already jumped from the plane, he grabbed a parachute, but eventually let Grant Ward jump after Simmons to deliver the anti-serum, which saved her.
With both the source and the cure for the virus being determined, the Chitauri helmet was brought to the Sandbox under Blake's supervision.[4]
Aftermath[]
- "You were attracted to him."
"Well, he did jump out of a plane to save me." - ―Phil Coulson and Jemma Simmons[src]
Since Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons had been able to develop an anti-serum to counter the effects of the Chitauri Virus, and with the Chitauri Helmet being safely kept at the Sandbox, all risk of a pandemic involving the virus was eliminated. However, Phil Coulson's management of the crisis, especially his refusal to abandon Simmons after it became clear that she was infected, did not go unnoticed by his hierarchy, and Felix Blake warned him that sanctions could come should such a behavior was to be observed again.[4]
Simmons remained quite shaken about her infection by the virus and the drastic measures she had been willing to take to ensure her teammates' safety. Her jump from the plane left her with a temporary fear of heights.[5] The fact that she had been saved by Grant Ward also led her to develop romantic feelings towards him, although this abruptly ended when Ward's involvement with HYDRA was revealed.[6]
