The Game Cafe in Marvel and DC

62 – A vacation that will never be

Just what is the Cafe Owner? A God? A Lovecraftian Eldritch Horror? An Alien? None of the others know, and even Kyle, the longest customer to have enjoyed the Cafe's services, has no idea who or, instead, what the Cafe Owner is and claims that they just one day showed up in Hell's Kitchen. Then, there was the incident with the moon not too long ago. The few satellites and telescopes we had focused on the moon at the time captured the event in full.

A small object roughly 8 feet in height, or two and a half meters for those who haven't accustomed themselves to our measurement system, collided with the Moon at approximately three times the speed of light, creating a rather large and noticeable crater and wave of lunar dust that washed over half of the surface of the moon that could be seen even from the ordinary citizen with a basic telescope that was looking at the moon at the time.

It was a miracle that SHIELD, let alone Earth, had machines that could even detect objects moving at such speeds, but with the works of several rather brilliant scientists, several satellites were designed and placed above the Earth to track and record any objects that were heading to or from Earth, though the machines were not always accurate and were exceedingly expensive to create. However, such costs were more than worth it if they could detect possible extraterrestrial vessels heading toward the Earth or an object on a collision course with the Earth, not that they caught such a thing yet.

Such...boasts of power and speed have made any plans to capture the creature irrelevant. New plans and ideas were in the process of being made if there was ever a need to capture, imprison, or eliminate Zeref. However, for such plans to work, we will need data on how strong and durable the Creature is if we want to design any sort of containment that will hold them.

However, it is highly advised that we do not incite or aggravate Zeref, for if he uses all of his speed, it will be nearly impossible to stop them from doing whatever they wish. The best option we have against Zeref is mutual destruction. Otherwise, the best we can do is merely watch and observe while trying to keep the public unaware of its presence. 

Reading the report on his desk, Fury couldn't help but sigh and scoff in annoyance. Fury's had this job for years, but how come it seems to have become more challenging with each passing year? First, there was that Mutant issue with Magneto years ago at the White House that was broadcast on national television and thrust the Mutants into the limelight. Then, there is the issue in New York with Hulk and the Abomination rampaging on the streets, fighting each other and causing millions in damage. 

Not too long ago, in Antarctica, there was the expedition to recover the remains of Captain America, the Hydra warplane, The Valkyrie, the remains of Red Skull, the notorious leader of Hydra at the time, and the unknown artifact that was believed to be on the plane at the time it went down. 

Not only would it be prudent to obtain the Hydra artifact, but it would also be prudent to obtain the remains of both Red Skull and Captain America. Fury hoped that the serums that gave the two their...superhuman physiques would be recoverable, but after finding the plane, not only did they find the Hydra Artifact but also the still-living body of Captain America frozen in the ice.

With the World Council breathing down his neck, Fury had no choice but to extract the plane, the artifact, and the still-alive Steve Rogers, Captain America.

Now, Steve Rogers was in a coma-like state in one of the SHIELD sites in New York, in a simulated room based off of New York after the end of WW2. The doctors and psychologists believed that the best way to help Steve Rogers adapt to our time would be by going bit by bit. That's why they had him in a room playing a repeat of broadcasts from around his time, as well as a nurse wearing clothing of the time checking up on him every hour.

The doctors believed he'd wake up soon, but it's been several weeks, and they said he could wake up anytime now. 

Then there was this; he gestured to the report.

Now, he had to deal with a god-like entity that was playing God in three separate cities. Gotham, Hell's Kitchen in New York, and now Metropolis. The first two were easy to cover and keep secret from the public, but now the damned thing has opened up in a new area in the middle of a FUCKING PLAZA near the Super Mall in Metropolis!

How was he supposed to cover that up?! It's not like he can make demands against something that was equivalent to a living nuke, nor could he hide the entrance in Metropolis! 

Angry, Fury walked over to his liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whisky before downing the whole thing.

"FUCK THIS MOTHERFUCKING JOB!" He cursed, stressed and angry now that he had to make a report and tell the World Council, who would more than likely make his job even more problematic since he would no longer be able to keep the Cafe and that damned creature hidden from the wider world.

He had no doubt that the arrogant men and women would try to force the creature to give away his stuff for free or by force, regardless of whatever Fury tells them.

...

Meanwhile, three specific SHIELD Agents could be seen making their way to the Cafe in Hell's Kitchen, each not all that excited for their adventure into the hell that was the games in the Cafe.

Why would they? Coulson had to fight tooth and nail in Rapture, scouring every inch of the place for information and recordings left by the inhabitants of the underwater city. Clint had to fight against literal dinosaurs with nothing but a primitive bow and a small handgun, and then there was Black Widow, who had to survive in a literal wasteland crawling with mutants, killers, and monsters.

No human could subject themselves to such a thing every single day unless there were something wrong with them...which probably explained all of the other customers, most being notorious villains and criminals...

Then, there were the daily reports they had to write and send to Fury after the days or weeks of fighting and traveling within the game, only for a single day to have passed outside of it.

To put it simply, they were exhausted. Sure, they may be highly trained agents with years of experience, but they were still human. How could the other customers tolerate so much inside the games? The agents could only wonder.

Speaking of the other customers, Natasha, under Fury's orders, had begun profiling the others in the Cafe, reporting to Fury what 'games' they played, what they bought from the Cafe Owner, and how many hours they played the games. Due to this, Natasha had to take frequent breaks, precisely every 10 minutes, to check on the other customers to see what they were doing before returning to Fallout. She could only do this because of the sheer amount of time that passes inside the game compared to the time that passes outside of it.

Natasha knew that this particular feature was one of the main focuses of Fury; as an Agent and an assassin from the Red Room, she could see the advantages the Cafe could provide. Imagine sending a fresh recruit to play a game like Fallout every day for a month in real-world time. By the time they came out, they'd be an expert in multiple fields of combat, if not a Master in things like Marksmanship, CQC, Guerrilla Warfare, and more.

That's not even the only use that the accelerated time could be used for. What if the Cafe eventually releases a 'Game' that allows Scientists to experiment on a project for weeks while only hours pass in the real world? Or run insanely dangerous tests in a safe environment that would have no risk to human life.

Natasha knew that the Cafe was just too valuable to someone like Fury and SHIELD as a whole, but now that the store has opened a new entrance in the middle of a plaza of all places? Natasha had no doubt that the Cafe's existence would eventually be leaked to the public.

Sighing, Natasha couldn't help but think that she might need to request a vacation after this assignment was over. Hopefully, it will not involve a wasteland of any shape or kind, let alone an underwater city. You know what? Why not just a stay-at-home vacation? Lord knows if she will actually get that request approved; last she heard, this marks the sixth year that Coulson has made an annual vacation request, only to be denied by Fury.

When the trio made it to the Cafe, they abruptly froze in place as they heard the screams of terror and agony from a group of men that was torn limb from limb before their eyes by what they could only describe as 'Horrifying Cthulhu Lovecraftian Monsters.' What made this decision even worse? The SHIELD logo was on the uniforms of the armed soldiers that were gathered outside the Cafe.

Fury...Fury was not going to like this...