The Game Cafe in Marvel and DC

49 – Agent Coulson

Sitting outside of a coffee shop with a newspaper, a man wearing a nice suit could be seen enjoying a nice cup of coffee while observing a particular billionaire who was a renowned seller of weapons and military technology.

The man had a flamboyant hairstyle and goatee and was surrounded by paparazzi and photographers wanting a quick picture and some questions answered from the Billionaire.

Taking a sip from his coffee, suddenly, the earbud by his ear vibrated.

Setting down the coffee, he reached up and tapped on it.

"Hello?" He cheerfully asked, a smile ever present on his face.

"Coulson," a woman's voice said.

"Hill?" Coulson asked.

"You're being reassigned," Hill spoke, her voice seemingly monotone and professional.

"Why? I thought Fury wanted me on Stark?" Coulson asked, one of his eyebrows raised in confusion as he looked at the arrogant playboy basking in the attention from those around him.

"Another agent can approach him or Stane to facilitate the deal. In the meantime, Fury wants you to assist Black Widow and Hawkeye in their current mission," Hill explained.

"What? Why would the Director need all three of us for a mission?" Coulson asked, confused.

"Black Widow will brief you on the details. She has been given this number, and she will be in contact soon; good luck, Coulson," Hill stated before ending the call.

Sighing, Coulson sipped the rest of his coffee and waited.

Two hours passed as he sat at the coffee shop before Black Widow finally called him.

"Coulson?" Black Widow asked.

"Hello to you too, Natasha. Hill said I'm being reassigned to help you?" Coulson asked after greeting his fellow agent.

"That's right, though I hope you're prepared. Sending you a meet-up location, see you soon, Natasha out," She stated before hanging up on him just as suddenly as Maria Hill earlier that day.

A few moments later, he got a text with an address.

"At least it's close," Phil Coulson sighed as he got up from his chair and threw away his newspaper.

Getting in a black SUV with tinted windows, he drove to the other side of the city, just outside of Hell's Kitchen.

He was thankful that she didn't give him somewhere that was actually in Hell's Kitchen, seeing as his car most likely would have been gone by the time he was done speaking with Black Widow.

Pulling up to a sketchy-looking hotel, Coulson couldn't help but sigh, as knowing the area around Hell's Kitchen, the hotel was likely either a front or hideout for any of the criminals that called Hell's Kitchen home.

Getting out of his car and heading in, he found that the elevator was out of order, so he had to walk up three flights of stairs before he finally managed to get to the hotel room that Natasha and Clint were staying in.

Knocking yet getting no answer, he pushed the door open and immediately found a gun to the side of his head.

"Natasha...?" Coulson asked, glancing at the redhead who had a gun to his head.

"Just making sure," she stated nonchalantly before pulling the gun away.

Letting out a breath he was holding in. He tightened back up his tie to take the edge off a little bit while Natasha walked over to one of the beds and sat down.

Closing and locking the door, he looked around for a moment before asking, "Where's Clint?"

"At our destination, come on," She said, slipping on some shoes before stating, "I'll inform you of everything on the way."

"Sigh...don't tell me it's going to be one of 'those' days, is it?" Coulson asked with a sigh, only to get a nod from Natasha, making his sigh of exhaustion even worse.

"You should really ask for some vacation time," Natasha commented.

"You really think I haven't already put in a request?" Coulson asked, tired.

"Let me guess. Fury?" 

Coulson nodded, "Fury."

...

The two soon left the hotel in Coulson's car, and Black Widow began to explain just what Coulson was getting into.

"Wait...what? What do you mean that we are going to some seemingly magical store that allows us to play games that send us temporarily to other worlds? Not only that, but apparently, almost all of these so-called 'Games' are some kind of death world or send us into a fucked-up situation, and you asked Fury to send me into one that somehow you could not handle?" Coulson asked, entirely confused and baffled by the information.

"Yeah...sounds about right," Natasha commented, causing Coulson to lean back into his seat even more, causing her to chuckle at her friend's misfortune, "No worries, just don't forget this is an indefinite assignment until Furty decides otherwise," She commented making the man groan even more.

Soon enough, they made it to their destination, where the experienced agent with years upon years of experience froze upon seeing the literal Alien floating behind the desk of a literal Gaming Cafe.

It was the most exotic-looking Alien or Mutant he had ever seen, and when the two entered the store, the strange metallic slate made the head of the seemingly cosmic being turn to look at the both of them before speaking up with a strangely ethereal and ancient-sounding voice.

"Hello there, little spider. I see you've brought another victim to my wonderful cafe. The hawk is just over there, and he's already paid for the three of you. I hope you have a wonderful gaming experience...Son of Coul," The cosmic entity stated.

"How...How do you know my name?" Coulson asked, concerned, yet the entity seemed to ignore him as the metallic slate of its head straightened back up.

'Are we sure it's not some kind of alien machine or construct? Like that metal suit from Asgard?' Coulson thought to himself, not wanting to speak out loud and draw the creature's attention back to him.

Walking over to where Clint could be seen sitting as straight as a statute starting at a white screen, Natasha seemed to ignore him and sat down.

"Why..." Coulson started, only to be interrupted by Natasha, "Don't worry about it; whenever we enter a game, we leave our bodies behind."

"And that does not concern you?" Coulson asked, worried.

"Of course it does, but as we found out, you won't be able to do anything to those who are in the games. Try touching Clint. See what happens," Natasha told Coulson, gesturing to their statue-esk friend frozen in place beside them.

Looking between his two friends, he sighed and reached out to touch Clint, finding that, strangely, his hand stopped just before his body, unable to touch his body.

"Why can't I touch him?" Coulson asked, confused, as his hand touched what felt like a barrier.

"No idea, but whenever we enter the game, our bodies are left behind and surrounded by some kind of barrier that seems impervious to damage," Natasha shrugged as if she was somehow getting used to this madness.

"How is none of this concerning you?!" Coulson asked, shocked.

"It's far from the most shocking. Just wait. It gets worse," Natasha stated, sounding insane.

Coulson stared at her as if what she just said was madness, and he couldn't help but think that once this mission was over, he was going to get that damned vacation, whether Fury liked it or not.

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