Debbie (portrayed by Shannon Lucio) was a supporting character in the first season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. She was a scientist working on the Centipede Project (which itself was funded by the terrorist organisation HYDRA), a program attempting to manufacture superhuman soldiers.
Appearances[]
Pilot[]
In the series' first episode, Debbie was working out of a laboratory in Los Angeles and had developed a device that could be attached to subjects' arms and administer serum that would grant them superhuman abilities. One of the key ingredients of the Centipede serum was Extremis, a nanotech compound that enhanced subjects' physical capabilities and could heal at an accelerated rate. However, Extremis was also highly unstable as it caused the subjects' bodies to overheat and ultimately explode.
One of Debbie's test subjects exploded in her lab and she was injured, but her life was saved by Michael Peterson, another man who had previously taken the Centipede serum. Debbie was taken to the hospital to be treated for her injuries. When interviewed by the media she pretended not to know who Peterson was to keep attention away from her involvement in the Centipede Program. While inside the hospital, Peterson came to visit; she again acted innocently while the nurse was in the room, but when the nurse left, she confronted Peterson.
When Peterson also showed signs of de-stabilization and threatened the secrecy of the Centipede program, she sent an assassin to kill Peterson to ensure his silence for good. The assassin was unsuccessful and taken into custody by S.H.I.E.L.D. Peterson's life was saved by S.H.I.E.L.D. and he returned to his family.
Girl in the Flower Dress[]
Since leaving L.A., Debbie had set up a new lab in Hong Kong and worked to stabilise the Centipede formula. She was assisted in this endeavour by Raina who kidnapped a local street performer named Chan Ho Yin, who possessed the superhuman ability to create and control fire. Raina convinced Yin that Centipede would enhance and improve his powers, taking away the restrictions put upon him by S.H.I.E.L.D.. However, when they knew enough about his powers and how his skin was protected from burns, they knocked him out with gas and removed the protective layer from his skin to use on their Centipede Soldiers.
Yin was no longer able to create fire without causing serious burns to his hands and arms. S.H.I.E.L.D. then attacked the lab and Debbie and Raina attempted to escape. When Yin escaped from Debbie's lab, Raina abandoned her in an empty hallway with him. He confronted her and despite her attempts to calm and confuse him by telling him that they could make him stronger than ever before, he refused to listen and set fire to the floor beneath her, incinerating her and reducing her to ashes in seconds.