May, Fitz, and Simmons exchanged quick looks. They were still trying to understand what they could do now.
Coulson pointed to May first.
"Let’s start with you."
May folded her arms. Her voice stayed calm and controlled.
"My familiar improves my reflexes, awareness, and combat precision. I can see weak points in enemies and objects. I don’t want to share the rest — not yet."
Coulson nodded. He didn’t push her.
"Good. That already tells me enough."
Next, he looked at Fitz.
Fitz took a breath and spoke.
"My familiar can turn into any tool or weapon I understand well. The more knowledge I gain, the more powerful it becomes. It can also scan materials and machines and show me how they work."
Skye raised an eyebrow.
"So you just got an floating Rubik’s Cube omni scanner and mimic?"
Fitz nodded " Thats one way to put it"
Finally, Coulson turned to Simmons.
Simmons looked at her bat and said.
"My familiar can convert its own blood into different biological substances — medicine, antidotes, sedatives, stimulants... maybe even cures. But only if I know the biology behind it. It can also analyze living organisms."
Coulson looked impressed.
"That could change everything in the field."
Before anyone could say anything else, Skye spoke up.
"So basically, May got a stealth assassin, Fitz got a Swiss-Army super machine, and Simmons got a medical miracle factory."
Nobody corrected her — because it was true.
Fitz looked at the Crimson Blood Bat on Simmons’ shoulder.
"You’re not scared?"
Simmons shook her head.
"No. I think it it looks cute now, can’t say If it like remain as big as he was before"
Coulson took a deep breath.
"Alright. From this point on, your familiars are considered part of the team. We’ll need training sessions so you all can learn to use them safely."
Ward muttered under his breath,
"Still don’t see why we can’t get one."
Coulson gave him a look.
"Because Alex said no — and when people like him say no, you listen."
Ward didn’t argue.
Skye stretched her arms.
"So... what now?"
Coulson replied,
"Now we test your limits — carefully. No shortcuts. No acting alone."
Fitz nodded.
"I’ll run diagnostics on my golem."
Simmons smiled at her bat.
"And I’ll test biological responses. Carefully."
May didn’t say anything. She just walked toward the training area — her mantis silently following her.
"One more thing," Coulson added. "You’ll need to name your new partners. Names increase intimacy, bonding, and loyalty."
Coulson repeated it to the group to make sure they understood, and all three nodded.
Fitz cleared his throat awkwardly.
"I think... I’m gonna name him ’Scan-ny.’ You know... because he scans stuff."
He hesitated, realizing how silly it sounded. "Yeah, that’s a bad name."
He quickly walked away, embarrassed, while everyone stared at him in silence.
Coulson returned to his office with a sigh, closing the door behind him.Alex was already there — sitting casually in Coulson’s chair, feet up on the desk, sipping his whisky like he owned the place.
Coulson didn’t bother pretending to be surprised.
"You could’ve asked," he said dryly.
Alex smirked. "You weren’t using the chair."
Coulson sat on the edge of the desk, arms folded."No cryptic comments this time. Just answer one thing directly — it’s Ward you don’t trust, isn’t it?"
Alex didn’t speak for a few seconds. He swirled the glass slowly, watching the amber liquid turn.
Finally, he nodded.
"That guy is broken."
Coulson frowned. "He’s a good agent."
"Maybe," Alex said quietly, "but that’s not what I meant."
He finished the whisky and set the glass down.
"He isn’t loyal to you. He isn’t loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D. He isn’t even loyal to himself. He’s clinging to a life he thinks he deserves — and people like that can be turned by anyone offering a purpose."
Coulson’s eyes tightened.
"You think he’s compromised?"
Alex shook his head."I think he’s compromisable — and that’s worse."
Coulson exhaled slowly. "So what are you suggesting? Punish him? Fire him?"
Alex gave a small, almost sad smile.
"No. The best thing you can do before he crosses the line... is to wipe out his past. Give him an actual chance at a clean life. A new identity, a new start. Away from this world."
Coulson stared at him, stunned."You’re telling me the solution isn’t containment or interrogation — it’s mercy?"
"It’s mercy," Alex repeated. "Because if he stays here... someone will break him — and then he’ll break everyone else."
The room fell silent.
For the first time, Coulson realized Alex wasn’t warning him about Ward because of suspicion... but because he genuinely didn’t want to see Ward turn into what he was capable of becoming.
Coulson leaned forward slightly.
"Is that a prediction... or experience talking?"
Alex didn’t answer.
He stood, grabbed the bottle on the table, and poured one more glass for Coulson — not himself.
"You’re going to need that," he said.
And before Coulson could reply, Alex vanished — not teleported, not cloaked... just gone, as if he had never been there.
Coulson sat alone for a long time, staring into the whisky.
Because he had the horrible feeling...that Alex wasn’t warning him about the future.
He was warning him about a story he had already seen before.
Gulp.
Coulson drank the whole glass in one go. The burn hit his throat, but it wasn’t the whisky that made him shiver — it was the weight of the warning.
"I don’t know if I’m going to regret this or not..." he muttered to himself.
He tapped his fingers sharply on the desk, gathering his resolve, then pressed the intercom button.
"May, come to my office."
A moment later, the door opened. May stepped inside without hesitation.
"You called me?" she asked, reading his posture instantly.
Coulson nodded. "I need you to keep an eye on Ward."
May’s eyes narrowed slightly — not in surprise, but in confirmation.
"He’s the one the Avengers guy told you to watch, isn’t he?"
"Yes," Coulson admitted. "And this time... he didn’t speak in riddles."
May took that seriously. If Alex had been direct, that meant it mattered.
"I assume that’s serious," she said quietly.
"It is," Coulson answered. "Very."
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