Escape from the Dystopian Future

"He discovered that there were universes stacked on top of his own..." The subject of this article comes from an alternate universe connecting to the main timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This universe is designated by the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki as the "Destroyed Earth Universe".

Escape from the Dystopian Future
Previous	Uprising in the Lighthouse Ambush on Quake
Next	Narratively: Infiltration into St. Louis Aerospace Facility
Date	2091
Location	Lighthouse
Result (Outcome)	S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Deke Shaw return to the past.
Combatants
S.H.I.E.L.D. Deke Shaw Flint Tess
Kree Watch
Commanders
Phil Coulson
Kasius
Casualties
Enoch Yo-Yo Rodriguez
Kasius Kree Doctor Tye Hek-Sel Kree Watch Commander Several Kree Watch members

"Some of us aren't getting out of here on a magic rock."
"We won't leave until humanity's in control of its future. But in the meantime, everyone do your job, meet at the rendezvous point."

―Deke Shaw and Phil Coulson^[src]

The Escape from the Dystopian Future was a successful mission in the future Lighthouse undertaken by S.H.I.E.L.D., aided by Deke Shaw, with the double objective of liberating humanity from the harsh rule of Kasius and having the S.H.I.E.L.D. team return into their time.

Background

"We do go back. Robin told me how. We can save everyone. Just one question, though. Who's Flint?"

―Melinda May^[src]

Despite having to overcome many ordeals since they had been sent into the future Lighthouse thanks to the Time Di'Alla, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents led by Phil Coulson managed to resist to the Kree Watch chasing them and was reunited with Leo Fitz. Together, they realized that they had to reach the surface of whatever what was left of Earth. They succeeded and found the remnants of the Zephyr One, where they were welcomed by the True Believers.

A dying Robin Hinton tells Melinda May to look for Flint

However, the True Believers turned on them and tried to kill them. In the ensuing fight, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s friend Robin Hinton was killed, but before dying, she revealed to Melinda May how they could return into their time: thanks to the young Inhuman Flint, an inhabitant of the Lighthouse who could rebuild a Time Di'Alla thanks to his geokinesis powers and a shard of the Monolith found by S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Zephyr One. Therefore, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team decided to return into the Lighthouse. To that end, and despite Sinara infiltrating the plane in an attempt to kill them, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were able to use the upgrades of the Zephyr One, which was able to fly into outer space.

Escape

The Kree Watch finds the empty Zephyr One

"This was your way out?"
"Can't fight them all. The rest need to be afraid to follow us."

―Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz^[src]

Using the Zephyr One's Containment Module, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team infiltrated the Lighthouse, leaving the plane to arrive in the docking area for Kasius and the Kree Watch to find it along with the deceased Sinara. The Kree Watch searched the plane without finding any sign of life, unaware that the Chronicom Enoch was there to guard the machine to be used with the Time Di'Alla.

In the Lighthouse, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents went in search for Flint, who was still with Alphonso Mackenzie, Yo-Yo Rodriguez and Tess. The two teams decided to split up to pursue different objectives: Flint and Mackenzie were to find Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons to build the Time Di'Alla; Rodriguez decided to find another Inhuman mentioned by Tess and who was supposed to be being held captive by the Kree Watch and the rest of the agents had to help the human population to get to safety in the Trawler.

Leo Fitz activates his beheading trap

Fitz and Simmons found Mackenzie and Flint. While Fitz rigged the room where they were with a trap, Simmons explained to Flint how he should use his powers to build the Time Di'Alla, using the shard they had reclaimed from the True Believers. As Flint gained more control over his powers, several Kree guards arrived, forcing them to retreat. Before they left, Fitz activated his trap, beheading their enemies much to Simmons' discomfort.

Meanwhile, Phil Coulson, Daisy Johnson, Melinda May and Deke Shaw took down several other guards and released a group of Inhumans. As May and Shaw took them to the Trawler, Johnson and Coulson were forced to remain behind to fight an Odium-empowered Tye, who fiercely dueled against both of them. Despite managing to slightly wound Coulson and Johnson, Johnson was able to stab him with his own knife, killing him.

Coulson, Johnson, May and Shaw were reunited with Tess and left her in charge of the Lighthouse residents gathered in the Trawler. They were then contacted by Enoch, who informed them that the Kree Watch had located him. As Enoch could not hold his own alone against the Kree Watch, Shaw offered to go and help him. Johnson refused to let him go and his own and expressed her intent to go, which led to an argument, but in the end Shaw convinced Johnson to remain with her friends and wait for the activation of the Time Di'Alla. Shaw arrived in time in the Zephyr One to save Enoch, although Enoch's systems were heavily damaged.

Yo-Yo Rodriguez finds a future version of herself

In another part of the Lighthouse, Rodriguez found the Inhuman she was looking for, and who turned out to be none other than another version of herself, who had been repeatedly killed and revived by Kasius and the Kree Watch. This future Rodriguez warned her past counterpart that the Destruction of Earth had been caused by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s desperate efforts to save the life of Coulson. However, before she could further elaborate, Rodriguez was forced to leave upon hearing Kree guards arriving.

Flint attacks the Lighthouse from outer space

In order to reach Kasius' Suites in the Lighthouse, Flint was given Deke Shaw's Helmet so he could go into outer space and attack the place from outside. Using his powers, Flint hurled asteroids onto the suites' window, causing a group of guards gathered by Hek-Sel to be sucked into space. Flint then entered the suites and the breach was sealed, enabling Fitz, Simmons and Mackenzie to join him. They were then joined by May and Coulson, as well as an unconscious Johnson who had been incapacitated by Coulson as she refused to return into the past out of fear of destroying Earth.

Flint builds the Time Di'Alla

While Simmons looked after Kasius' human servant Ava and removed her deafening implant, Mackenzie noticed that Rodriguez had not returned and left to find her. Meanwhile, Flint used his powers to successfully build the Time Di'Alla the team needed to get back into their time.

Kasius powers himself up with the Odium

Mackenzie arrived in the Crater, where he was confronted by an unhinged Kasius, who had already executed his Kree Doctor and who held the future Rodriguez hostage and threatened to kill her. Mackenzie, mistaking her for the Rodriguez he knew, watched in horror as Kasius drank a vial of Odium and slit the future Rodriguez's throat. Mackenzie was then forced to fight against the enhanced Kasius and two other Kree guards.

Kasius is killed by Alphonso Mackenzie

Mackenzie managed to shoot the two guards with his Shotgun-Axe, but Kasius proved to be to much of an opponent to him. Kasius violently beat up Mackenzie and nearly killed him until Simmons intervened, injecting Kasius with a Silencing Implant he used to use on his servants. Disoriented, Kasius moved forward to Simmons, only to be stabbed by Mackenzie from behind with the Shotgun-Axe. Immediately after, the past Rodriguez arrived, much to Mackenzie's relief. The three of them then ran back to Kasius' Suites.

S.H.I.E.L.D. sees the Time Di'Alla being activated

In the Zephyr One, Enoch and Shaw figured out that the equipment they intended to use was too damaged, leaving them with only one option: using Enoch's systems to power it, which would cause an explosion killing both Enoch and Shaw. As Enoch's systems were failing, meaning that they were running out of time, Shaw informed his friends that he had to activate the machine, despite Mackenzie, Rodriguez and Simmons having still not returned. Nevertheless, Shaw decided to activate the machine, which turned the Time Di'Alla in its liquid shape and sent back the team into their time, including Mackenzie, Simmons and Rodriguez, who had come back in time.

As expected, the activation of the Time Di'Alla caused a massive explosion which destroyed the Lighthouse. The explosion was witnessed from afar by the human survivors gathered in the Trawler.

Aftermath

"It worked. It takes you through time, but to the same place. I've been here before with Enoch. We made it."
"We're home?"
"Yeah."

―Leo Fitz and Melinda May^[src]

Thanks to the use of the Time Di'Alla, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team was successfully sent back into their time, arriving in the present version of the Lighthouse, an abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. facility occupied by the Chronicom Noah which they turned into their primary base of operations. Since they knew what fate befell Earth, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents made their objective to avert the complete destruction of the planet and its takeover by the Kree, so that the future they had witnessed would never become true.

Much to his own surprise, Deke Shaw was also transported into a past he never knew. Overwhelmed by what he discovered, Shaw had a hard time dealing with the rules and codes of present Earth, causing him to be arrested by the River's End Police Department. However, Shaw was eventually released thanks to Daisy Johnson and joined the S.H.I.E.L.D. team in their mission of saving Earth.

Yo-Yo Rodriguez was highly affected by the fact of having met her future self during the battle in the Lighthouse. Because of this, she believed that she could not be killed, which caused her to display some reckless behavior, much to Alphonso Mackenzie's concern. Rodriguez kept for herself the fact was Phil Coulson was dying and that the only way of saving Earth was to let him go, even when her teammates discovered about Coulson's condition. She ultimately revealed that they had to let Coulson die, first to Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons, then to the rest of her team.

Having managed to evacuate the Lighthouse thanks to the Trawler, the small part of humanity who had stayed in the future was left with an immense challenge to overcome in order to rebuild their civilization, with Flint intending to use his geokinetic powers to restore the planet to its initial shape.