The Game Cafe in Marvel and DC

48 – Reporting to Fury

Walking down a street, the two SHIELD Agents, Black Widow and Hawkeye, two of the most valuable assets of all Agents of Shield, are level 7 in the hierarchy.

Of Shield, there were 10 levels.

Levels 1-3 were comprised of most of the Agents and personnel shields; those at this level were granted free access to most of the unclassified information SHIELD has gathered since its founding.

Level 4s were granted access to Confidential information and were trusted Agents and personnel.

Level 5s were granted access to a large majority of Secret Information that was seen as sensitive.

As the levels increased, the more trusted a person was in SHIELD, and of everyone in SHIELD, only four people could be reliably said to be trusted by Fury, the Director of SHIELD.

Those four were Hawkeye, Black Widow, Agent Phil Coulson, and Maria Hill.

Everyone else Fury simply could not trust. 

This is why he put two of his best Agents, ones he trusts, to asses this situation for him.

The two agents soon arrived at a nice hotel, where they proceeded to act like a couple in front of the Hotel attendant and continued all the way back to their room, where they dropped the act as soon as the door closed.

Silently, they pulled out their guns and scoured through the room, searching under every surface and inside every piece of tech in the room.

"We're clear," Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye, stated.

Nodding, Black Widow stepped out from the bathroom, her weapon drawn and ready to fire.

Holstering her weapon in her...bra, she carefully walked over to one of the duffle bags on the bed, examining it for any signs of tampering.

Nodding, she unzipped the bag and pulled out a small cube.

Pressing a hidden button, she placed it down on the TV stand and waited.

A few minutes later, the cube began to glow before it was activated.

A Hologram of a Middle-aged and bald African American with a long scar running across one of his eyes with an eyepatch covering the same eye.

The man was wearing a black duster and boots, and he was looking at the two agents with his arms crossed.

"Report."

"Yes, sir," Hawkeye spoke up first.

"As you ordered, upon finding out that there was an additional new game offered in the Cafe, I pulled out from my Op and was assigned to help Black Widow. She briefed me on what to expect and helped me create my account," Barton explained, waiting a moment to see if Fury had any questions.

Not being interrupted, he decided to continue.

"The two new 'Games' that were introduced were called 'Bioshock 1' and 'Ark Survival Evolved,' of the two, I chose Ark Survival Evolved based on its name and my training in survival scenarios," Barton explained.

"And because you hoped you could use a bow," Black Widow joked off-screen, though Director Fury did not comment on it.

"When I...started the Game, I was put in front of a 2D Menu Screen that was very realistic, showing me an Island of some kind surrounded by a never-ending ocean, and floating above the island were three objects that I later learned were called 'Obelisks.'"

"And?" Fury asked after Hawkeye went silent for a few seconds.

"And...I was given a choice. To play 'Singleplayer' or join a 'Server,' of which there was only one option within, the 'Official' public server," Barton continued, only to be stopped by Fury.

"He really uses game terms to describe all of this? Are they really just some kind of entertainment to some sick alien entity?" Fury asked, baffled, as by all accounts, what Black Widow had already reported, these 'Games' sounded more like actual worlds than any sort of Games he had ever heard of.

Touching a small device in his pocket, he questioned if he should call an Old Friend to ask if she ever heard of it, but she was his last resort. A trick up his leave.

"Continue," Fury ordered.

Nodding, he started, "Thinking it would be better if I had the help of the other customers in the cafe, I, of course, chose to go with the public server, and that's where it started to go wrong."

"How so?" Fury asked.

"As it turns out, the island was by no means simple. The entire island is infested with Dinosaurs, and I want you to know I want a raise," Hawkeye told his boss with a glare.

"Noted. What else?" Fury asked.

"Other than that, I ended up working with...Harley," Hawkeye explained with exhaustion.

Looking confused, Black Widow explained, "Harley Quinn, the ex-lover of the Crazy Clown of Gotham."

He looked at Black Widow, "Why have you not reported on the identities of the other customers?"

"Because I was focusing on the Game, like you told me to," Black Widow replied with sass.

Fury just glared.

"Alright. I'll write up a report and get it to you in the morning," Black Widow informed him with a sigh.

"Good, what else?" Fury stated before focusing back on Hawkeye.

"Other than that, I have been trying to reach one of the Obelisks but have been...stopped because there's a giant dinosaur lurking in the river that attacks on sight. With Harley's help, we have constructed a simple thatch hut and are at least decently equipped, but not equipped enough to take on that Spino."

"Spino?" Black Widow asked.

"Spinosaur, big fucking lizard that could crush a school bus if it tried and has a shark-like fin on its back." Barton explained before focusing back on his report, "Other than that, there are two more things I feel I should report: Specimen Implants and Survivor Notes."

Taking a few moments to think, he continued, "When I washed up on the beach, I woke up with a strange metal prism embedded within my hand. This object, as I learned, was some sort of computer or something. Raising my arm and focusing on it brings up a hologram, showing me my current status and physical health, something called 'Engrams,' which is essentially a catalog of blueprints, and a lot more. Even can use it to send stuff like global messages to the other Survivors on the Island. As for the notes, we have only found a few, but it seems there could very well be journals and notes documenting the history of the Island's previous inhabitants."

That caught his interest, "I want a full report on these Specimen Implants. Also, I want you to gather all of the notes you can on the Island, and I want to know what happened on that Island, what those Obelisks are, why you woke up on a beach with a strange metal implant in your arm, and if there is anyone that is still alive on that Island other than the others in the Cafe. Do what needs to be done; if necessary, I will get you some manpower to complete your objective," Fury ordered.

"Is Coulson available?" Black Widow asked.

Fury sighed but nodded, "He is. I can get him here to help you both or work on the other worlds. Widow. Report," Fury ordered.

"Yes, sir."

"Since Clint chose Ark Survival Evolved, that left me with Bioshock and Sir? If you are bringing Coulson into this, I ask that I switch with him. I can go back to working on Fallout while he goes through Bioshock," Natasha, Aka Black Widow, requested.

"Why?" Fury asked with an appraising eye.

"It brings back bad memories..."

"The Red Room?" Fury asked, his eyes filled with a small measure of concern behind his stoic expression.

She nodded.

"Motherfucker..." Fury cursed before pacing back and forth.

"Permission granted. Go back to Fallout. As usual, I want daily reports. Especially on any unknown or newly discovered technologies, dangers, creatures, and more," Fury ordered.

"Yes, Sir," the two agents responded.

Nodded, Fury said, "Get some sleep; I want your full reports before noon tomorrow."

With that, his form suddenly disappeared after he waved his hand, and the cube deactivated.