After finishing Mr. Jones, I realized I forgot to add in Nick! So, here's something quick to get a look of how he dealt with learning of Alfred as America.


Nick was furious, and he didn't know who to take it out on. He contemplated pulling up the members of the Council and demanding if they knew anything about these nations living, but decided against it. He didn't want to have to explain the whole ordeal, especially if they didn't know themselves. The only other person would be the president, but the man was too busy for Nick to talk to.

This left Nick with no one to explain the situation he had just discovered, from one of his own agents, no less. He pulled up reports that Black Widow and Hawkeye submitted of their battles from the past few months. He ran through them, finding everything to do with Alfred. Nick had read the reports before, making sure that Alfred wasn't some spy sent to break up the Avengers. He hadn't been, something that had reassured Nick at the time. But now, he was torn in two.

Could he trust Alfred? When he had approached Arthur (or should he call England), the boy was knocked out, and so he couldn't get his say on the matter. However, as he thought about it, the whole thing made some sense. It explained why his boss was undisturbed that a supposed civilian got a hold of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s number, and why the president was at ease. Not to mention the picture had a lot of evidence. He still didn't understand how the whole thing worked, or even how that explained Alfred's super-human like strength, on top of the boy's amnesia.

A knock at the door snapped Nick from his own thoughts. Sitting in his seat, he looked at the still closed door.

"Come in," he announced.

Coulson stepped through the open door, looking cool and collected. It honestly surprised Nick that Coulson was taking the incident in strides. Maria had been livid, storming off to let off some rounds on a poor, unsuspecting dummy. Coulson didn't seem effected by the news at all.

"Is there something you need?" Nick asked.

"Do you have plans for Mr. Jones?" Coulson asked.

"Why Mr. Coulson, I didn't know you cared about the boy," Nick said with false surprise.

Coulson's tight smile didn't falter; he was used to his boss' random mood swings.

"Given his nature, I'm sure everyone cares for him," Coulson pointed out.

Nick could only release a grumble as his response; it was true. Even when he first met Alfred, something in Nick told him to trust the boy. Now that he knew the boy was America, he felt protective. It was quite strange, but at the same time, not really.

"I'll give you that agent," Nick said. "So you want to know what will happen to Mr. Jones, hm?"

Coulson didn't say a word. He kept silent, letting that be his answer. Nick continued anyways.

"It's a fair question. I don't know if Alfred knows about his identity; if he does, then we've met our agreement, haven't we?" Nick proposed.

"Maybe. But wouldn't he be better with the Avengers?" Coulson asked.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked, surprised by what his agent was saying.

"If Alfred is America, wouldn't he be safer with the Avengers?" Coulson proposed. "It would allow us to protect the country, from physical harm."

"Hmmm," Nick hummed as he thought over the idea. "It is an interesting idea."

"We don't have to do anything rash," Coulson continued. "It's just a thought."

With that, Coulson left the office, leaving his boss with that suggestion. Nick thought it over before nodding to himself. He'd call the Avengers to first see if Alfred recognized his place as America. Only then would he decide to oust the country, or let him stay.


Nick read over Natasha's report of the Kang incident. She was very brief, mentioning only the important things, like where Kang had been during the invasion and where he was held. It was obvious she was upset with Alfred leaving the Avengers. The boy had been indeed America, and it seemed that the decision for him to leave was already decided for him. Nick would admit that he was a little upset to see the young man leave, but he couldn't do a thing against it. It was probably for the best, anyways.

Now all that was left to do was protect the country.

Nick could do that. He would do that.