《The Game Cafe in Marvel and DC》


 1: The Start

    Deep within the City of New York lies a cozy shop with a sign that reads ''New World Cafe,'' however, while this shop looks cozy and friendly, the surroundings would suggest otherwise.


    Buildings were covered in graffiti, and Gangs and the homeless littered the street. Crime seemed to be committed openly in the area, and no one seemed to care.


    This very shop appeared overnight several days ago, and several Gangs have been monitoring the store, wary of who would be crazy enough to open a shop in such a dangerous neighborhood, wondering if it would be a good place to earn a quick buck.


    However, in these several days where they have watched over the shop, not one person has entered or left the place other than a desperate man hoping to earn a few dollars that came out as quickly as he went in, and asking the man questions didn''t offer any insight into what lay within the store due to the mad rambling of the man who was clearly not right in the head.


    What inside the store scared the man to such a point?


    Especially when the man was witnessed to be completely normal, if not nervous, before going in?


    Something...not human.


    But, soon enough, yet another person approached the store, a young man being pushed toward the store while a group of scary-looking men watched.


    This young man, clearly a new member of the gang, slowly approached the dark-tinted sliding glass doors of the ''Cafe.''


    Being unable to see through the glass of the Cafe, the young man had no idea what to expect when stepping closer and triggering the door.


    ''Swoosh.''


    As the doors slid open, the Young man took a deep breath and stepped forward to get a clearer view of the dimly lit store.


    It was a small store, with a line of computers lining both sides of the wall, and on the opposite side of the door lay a counter with several display cases.


    However, what floated, yes, floated, behind the counter made the young man freeze in his tracks.


    (Image here)


    Floating behind the desk was a strange being made from energy with strange slabs of material acting as either armor or ''skin'' for the creature.


    Noticing the young man, the creature''s ''head'' shifted in its direction as if looking at the young man.


    "Welcome to the New World Cafe. Would you like to hear about our services and unique products?" An ethereal and ancient voice echoed out from the being.


    ...


    (Three Days Ago, New World Cafe)


    Floating within the cafe behind the counter was an ex-human turned something else named Zeref.


    Zeref didn''t know how he got here, why he is no longer human, or why there is now a floating screen that gives Zeref quests with rewards and a shop in which he can purchase quite a few things.


    What Zeref did know was that this was his second chance at life, one where he could actually relax and perhaps get a chance to enjoy life this time around.


    And, to get Zeref started on his journey, the system that is attached to him has gifted him this cafe, his new body, and a ''starter pack.''


    The starter pack consisted of three info packs and a ''Power'' that would help him protect his shop from troublemakers.


    The info packs were, ''Fallout Game Series Informational Package,'' ''Project Zomboid Informational Package,'' and ''The Infamous Game Series Informational Package.''


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    When he first arrived here, the new form combined with all the information that was uploaded directly into his mind, Zeref had himself quite the disorienting arrival.


    And as for the power?


    ''Envoy of the Void''


    A sort of magic that gifted Zeref with quite a few spells, some of which were quite concerning based on the names of the spells.


    Focusing back on the other three gifts, Zeref found that the system had a special feature that would greatly help him use the three informational gifts.


    Basically, Zeref, at any point in time could enter a mental realm of sorts where he could create and shape games, media, and more with just his mind and use the media in his store.


    With the information he was given, he would be able to completely recreate the Fallout Game Series, Infamous Game Series, and the Project Zomboid Game in the mental realm.


    Through the Mental Realm, he would be able to truly bring the games to life, allowing players to play the games through the Virtual Reality Computers in the store, experiencing the life of the protagonist or a new character within these Worlds.


    As Zeref planned and went over how he would run his store, he came up with an idea, an incentive for people to enter these worlds. The incentive? He simply called them Credits.


    Zeref decided Credits could be earned in various ways, through achievements, Challenges, and more by playing the games.


    Achievements could be something as simple as completing the game, changing the world for the good or bad, and even surviving for one hundred days.


    And what would the credits be used for? Purchasing things from his shop with Credits as opposed to purchasing them with cash.


    Such as a stimpack, a medical item from the world of Fallout that could seemingly heal a person on the brink of death, or even a Conduit Awakening Serum, which would allow a person to awaken their own power, and yes, this item did exist in the system''s store.


    As for the other services inside the Cafe, Zeref would charge only US Dollars unless he decides to change it in the future.


    With great excitement, Zeref entered the Mental Realm and began floating in the air behind the counter without even realizing it.


    And while his body remained in the store, he found his consciousness in a void of endless white.


    Instinctually waving his hand, his imagination came to alive as the white void warped and changed into an ever-changing landscape that went from the void to a strange space station covered in strange growth where a malnourished man seemed to be in a constant dream loop before awakening in horror and panic and passing out after seeing a strange creature that occupied the station and repeating the cycle(Love Death + Robots), to a massive mountain where a dragon could be seen flying around the peak with a monastery near the peak(Skyrim), to a city and world broken from nuclear war in a city of rubble where many monsters and figures of darkness lurked and stalked (Metro).


    With each world seemingly taking up space within this infinite landscape, Zeref had to focus and wipe away the other landscapes that got in the way.


    Slowly the other landscapes and imaginative horrors that came from a once-human mind disappeared, leaving Zeref with his options.


    His options were the three games in which he now knows the entirety or taking his chances and trying to create something himself.


    But, with his limited time frame, he decided that he would rather just recreate the games he got from the system, now which of them he did not decide on.


    He could go with Project Zomboid, but it was too simple in how it worked, with the main goal of the game being to ''Survive.''


    It was better if he went with a game that would allow the players to experience much more, such as the other two games.


    What Zeref was looking for was impression, and the game he believed would impact players the most, was Fallout, at least over Infamous.


    A world ravaged by nuclear fire and brought to its knees by humanity, leaving very few embers behind to restart civilization in the wasteland.


    A world where futuristic technology such as Plasma and Energy based weapons, Robots that had the appearance of man, medicine in realms that far surpass our own, and technology that could only be considered hypothetical or impossible existed in abundance across the Wasteland, either in Pre-War Ruins, in the hands of remnants that held values of the old government, and so much more.


    Fallout was a world filled with Strife, horror, and the common man just trying to live day by day and survive the horrors that inhabit the wastes and ruins of the old world.


    With great focus, the world rose around him.


    He instinctually knew how everything was supposed to be, and the world changed to fit what he imagined.


    Hours passed as Zeref created the landscape of Fallout 1, creating the Vaults, towns, and ruins of the Fallout World.


    Zeref continued.


    Soon enough, the lands of Fallout 1 were created and were soon to be populated by people, animals, mutants, and more.


    While Zeref did find life difficult to create at this start, he just had to let the imagination do most of the work, allowing the NPCs of the Wasteland to feel, think, and experience the world but still follow the timeline without it breaking.


    Without even realizing it, two days passed as he worked nonstop inside the mental realm to recreate the first Fallout game to the best of his ability. With all but some minor details done, Zeref was almost completely done with recreating the game.


    Suddenly though, Zeref heard a chime come from outside the mental realm, followed by a voice.


    "This is a robbery. Give me all your money!"

 2: Gaze of the Void

    Gazing upon the Human before him with a gun pointed toward his body, Zeref wondered what would drive this human to do something so stupid when the being before him is clearly not a human.


    The man looked around the store as if looking for someone before his eyes stopped upon my floating form.


    "Why should I, human?" Zeref asked as his ethereal voice echoed out from his inhuman form as he floated down gently from his meditative pose until he was standing on the ground.


    As Zeref gazed upon the robber, he watched as the man went from nervousness to confusion, to fear, upon hearing and seeing Zeref''s form.


    Receiving no response from the man, Zeref waved his hand and called forth one of the many spells in his repertoire, The Gaze of the Abyss. This relatively simple spell tore a hole in reality that revealed the abyss, the void where unimaginable horrors lurked and called home.


    When the man gazed into the void, his body and scared expression froze in horror. Turning to look at the tear, Zeref noticed a great many eyes and faceless maws peering through the tear in hunger, wanting to tear through the dimensional membrane that kept the horrors from escaping into reality.


    Incomprehensible whispers and mutterings flowed through the tear into the cafe, ridding the cafe of the silence.


    Moments passed as he tried to understand the incomprehensible mutterings coming from the tear before Zeref shook his head and waved his hand, closing the portal.


    Turning back to the man, Zeref could only see the man''s back as he dashed out of the cafe in fear.


    Standing still for several moments, Zeref shook his head and then returned to the Mental Realm to finish up his project and get to work on Fallout 2 as soon as possible.


    Once Zeref was back in the mental realm, he got to work with the Pipboy, a large wrist-mounted computer that would allow the players to level up and keep track of quests, a detailed map, their inventory, and more.


    Then came a conundrum, whether to use the old system from the First Fallout or one of the Systems used in the later games.


    For example, in Fallout 4, each stat had ten perks under them. Depending on the player''s stat, the Player could unlock a perk of the same stat level, such as a Strength of 10, allowing the unlocking of the 10th Strength Perk: Pain Train, but if the player did not have the strength requirement, they would not be able to purchase the perk. This system also completely removed Skills and Skill checks, making it different from all the other games. Each game before Fallout 4 had a somewhat similar system in which the players could level up, raise skills, and unlock perks.


    After a few minutes of thinking about it, Zeref shook his head and decided to create a new system that combined all of the systems to make one system that has the best of all the systems.


    Floating above the small town that would grow to become a Wasteland Superpower, Shady Sands, the town that would rise to become the New California Republic, or simply the NCR, Zeref tinkered over this new system.


    This system would, upon starting the game, allow the player to choose two traits and three tag skills that would boost the skill by 15 points and their stats with five extra stat points to either raise one of their S.P.E.C.I.A.L skills to 10 or raise one of their stats past five, of course, the players could also lower one of their S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats from the default of five to lower to gain more points to distribute elsewhere. Still, these stats would have quite an impact on the body and minds of players.


    [SPECIAL: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, Luck]


    There were 30 Skills in total that the player could raise.


    For Combat or self-defense, there were: Bladed Weapons, Blunt Weapons, Throwing Weapons, Pole Arms, Small Guns, Big Guns, Energy Weapons, Explosives, Unarmed, Stealth, and Guerrilla Tactics.


    For technical skills, there were: Engineering, Robotics, Biology, Computers, Construction, Tailoring, First Aid, Surgery, Hacking, Lockpicking, Repair, Barter, and Persuasion.


    As for survival skills, there were: Foraging, Butchering, Cooking, Trapping, Farming, and Husbandry.


    To unlock the maximum level of every skill listed would cost 3,000 Skill Points, which would require 200 levels if a player earned 15 skill points for every level.


    Every two levels, a player could unlock a perk. With each level, the health, stamina, and toughness of the player would increase, as well as the longer the player can go without needing to eat, drink, or sleep.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Once Zeref was done with setting up the foundation of the system, he got to work on Perks, Traits, Challenge Perks, and Quest Perks.


    After adding what felt like hundreds of possible Perks and dozens of traits, Zeref still felt like the players should get a great amount of freedom when it comes to their lives and playstyles in the wasteland due to the wide array of choices they could make in regards to their perks.


    As for challenge perks and quest perks, there were not many of them.


    Challenge Perks required a goal or challenge to be completed before a player would be rewarded with a perk.


    For example, the Challenge: Bug Stomper, which granted the Bug Stomper I, II, and III a perk that grants a small percentage of bonus damage against Mutated Insects.


    And Quest Perks are much more specific, especially with how a player would go to completing the quest, and for the first two games, Zeref didn''t plan on adding more than a few quest perks.


    With a few more finishing touches, Zeref completed the last part of the game and, with the help of the mental realm, set up the possible endings so that the players could see the consequences of their actions.


    Going over the game once again to make sure he didn''t miss anything, Zeref saved the game and made it available on the computers of the cafe and left the mental realm, returning to the cafe.


    Now, he only needed to set the price to actually play the game and set up a time acceleration inside the game to allow the players too many days inside the game before a single session would end.


    After some thought, Zeref set the price of a session to $50 per hour and set the time acceleration inside the game to 100 days for every hour, plenty of time to experience the world of Fallout without completing the first game, that is, if the player doesn''t die, however. If they were to die, they''d have two options before them, either restart or exit the game.


    And if they were to run out of time, they''d be given the option to save what progress they have made and exit the game by force, if needed.


    Once they resume their journey, however, they will not be able to use the save upon death.


    Zeref had no intentions of going easy on the players. If they wanted to beat the game, then they required luck and skill. Else they will perish and have to start their journey over and try again.


    Zeref wanted to give the players an incredibly realistic experience, and that includes the six senses, the feeling of pain, hunger, thirst, and most importantly, death.


    Sure, this might seem sadistic for Zeref to do. Still, he felt that if someone wanted to become better through the use of his games and his cafe, then they would have to do it either the hard way using their blood, sweat, and tears or fork over their monetary possessions until they eventually go broke from how expensive some things in the store will be, and even then, Zeref is going to restrict the purchase of many things to only credits to prevent the rich from dominating those putting in the hard work to rise.


    Although Zeref hasn''t been in this world for long, he does have access to the internet and was easily able to tell that the world was a combination of two dangerous universes that, frankly, had way too many dangers for his liking, the Marvel and DC Universes.


    As for which specific universe, Zeref has no idea.


    It could be the Cinematic versions of the two universes or one of the many comic versions. Either way, it certainly will be entertaining for Zeref and dangerous.


    Humming to himself in the Cafe, Zeref focused on the Cafe.


    He currently only had a few items for sale in the Cafe, which the system also gifted him to help start off.


    A few stimpacks(various kinds), Sierra Madre Martinis'', Nuka Cola(various kinds), Battle Brew, Fallout Mystery Box, Blast Shards, Conduit Awakening Serum, and even a Ray Sphere, which Zeref immediately removed from the list of items available for purchase.


    You could see a Ray Sphere as a weapon or tool to activate Conduits, people with a dormant Conduit gene, and lethally sicken everyone else, the Ray Sphere, if used by a Conduit strong enough, could cause a catastrophic event, killing all humans on the earth, leaving only those with the Conduit gene left on the planet, not to mention just one of these exploding in Infamous 1 caused all kinds of problems.


    So, of course, Zeref did not want anyone or anything getting their hands on the Ray Sphere.


    Zeref wonders why the system would even gift him such a thing. He''d much rather get a G.E.C.K. instead of the Ray Sphere, and once people found out what the G.E.C.K.S could do, then it would be completely possible for Humanity to start colonizing the Sol System and possibly fixing much of the planet.


    Zeref assumed that if someone like Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne obtained a G.E.C.K., they could eventually reverse engineer it and use the Terraforming technologies to do a lot more good.


    However, if someone evil obtained a G.E.C.K. and didn''t know how to use it properly...it would not be pretty. The G.E.C.K. could terraform the land into pretty much anything, given time, energy, data, the proper programming, and the proper biomatter to begin the process. Mess with any of these, and quite a few bad things can happen, such as destroying the GECK, completely destroying the ecosystem to the point nothing can inhabit it, or mutating the ecosystem to become so hostile aliens would probably just bomb it from orbit.


    Leaving only the Fallout-related items for sale, Zeref removed the other items from the shelf and glass display case that makes up one side of his counter and stored them away in the system.


    He won''t add the items back to the shelves until he introduces the Infamous franchise to this world. Even then, he may still be hesitant to do so.


    With nothing left to do, he entered the mental realm once again, this time to start on the creation of Fallout 2.


    Zeref wonders when he''ll ever get another customer again. Perhaps he should go outside?


    ...No, it''s much more comfortable in the store. Besides, he''d rather not have to deal with Batman or any of the other kinds of heroes who have a fetish for either imprisoning foreign entities going on about their daily lives or trying to recruit them into their foolish ''Cause.''


    And even if that didn''t happen, he had no doubt they would try to make a move on his store once they find out about it.


    The question is, will they even have the strength and power necessary to interfere with him and his Cafe?

 3: First Customer!

    Humming to himself as he floated over Fallout''s California, Zeref used the landscape from the first Fallout game and made some slight edits to show that time had passed.


    With a flick of his hand, he could change the entire world.


    He felt like he was a God looking over his domain, changing it however he pleased.


    Due to having already finished the landscape within the first couple of hours, Zeref was left with removing the content from Fallout 1 and then starting to create the towns and cities of Fallout 2.


    When he was working on Fallout 1, he recreated all of California, and while he did create all of North America, everywhere but California was currently a blank slate, flat land with no life.


    Just like with the first game, the players would be limited in where they could go, such as going to Vault 13 and Vault 15, like the protagonist in Fallout 1, but couldn''t go much further south of the two vaults and Shady Sands, which has become the capital of the NCR.


    You could think of the two games as squares, with the two Vaults as the border separating the two maps.


    While Fallout 1 encompassed a large area south of the two vaults along the coast, Fallout 2 encompassed north of the two vaults along the Californian coast, giving the players new places to explore and new challenges to face.


    This game would also introduce a new technologically advanced faction to contend with the Brotherhood of Steel, the Enclave, remnants of the U.S. Government.


    And the player could also travel through the Ruins of San Francisco.


    The only noticeable difference that Zeref could see between the first two Fallout games was that Fallout 2 had a more story-driven plot and cultural references to the first game.


    And, what made these two games different from most of the other Fallout games was that they had more...adult content.


    For example, the player can become a Porn Star in Fallout 2...


    The later Fallout games were much more kid-friendly, though they still had some adult content if the player knew what they were doing.


    Although now that he thinks about it, if he were still human, this would be concerning, but now that he''s not, he doesn''t really care.


    ''Hmmm, perhaps I should put up a board warning the customers of the dangers of the VR services. That way, it would be their own fault and the consequences of their actions. After all, it would not be my fault if they get PTSD from their actions.'' Zeref thought in his head, happily humming to himself as he worked on the various NPCs of Vault City before moving on to the next city or town to do the same thing all over again.


    While the two games from his past world could be described as old video games, with the first published in 1997 and the second a year later, both still had decent stories but were considered Retro and too old-fashioned. While many didn''t find themselves enjoying the two games in his past life, he planned on making those of this world enjoy them, or well, those that could handle it, and enjoy the ''second life.''


    As Zeref was lost in thought and old memories, a chime rang out in the store as the doors slid open.


    Exiting the mental realm, Zeref was happy to see yet another potential customer before him, although the young man before him seemed to have frozen in fear, shock, or surprise upon looking at Zeref''s form.


    "Welcome to the New World Cafe. Would you like to hear about our services and unique products?" Zeref asked the customer.


    "W-What are you?" The young man asked, finally snapping out of it.


    "Just a simple cafe owner, can I perhaps interest you in some of my wares?" Zeref replied, beckoning the man to come closer.


    Taking hesitant steps forward, the young man forced his eyes to look away from Zeref and down to the glass display case that made up part of the counter and could see a couple of items.


    Several large yet strange syringes filled with red liquid and a gauge at the top, measuring the status of the contents within the syringe, next to these syringes was a strange container with a pin with green highlights along the container, then to the right of several of those containers, was what seemed to be a huge red canister with a white cross.


    Just above those syringes was a label that read ''Stimpak - Stimulation Delivery Package''


    Under the label was a description that read, ''A Medical Stimulant that rapidly mends wounds and helps sets broken bones, will prevent most cases of scaring and has been noted to last centuries before complete expiration.


    Above the strange containers were another label and description, ''Stimpak Diffuser - A small canister that, upon pulling the pin, will release a large cloud of green gas that can be inhaled by those with injuries or those exposed to the gas, rapidly healing most minor injuries.''


    And then next to the Stimpak Diffuser, was ''Health Dispenser - A large container containing a large volume of a slightly more potent Stimpak fluid that could be used to refill empty stimpaks or, directly delivered into the body by using the attached hosed syringe.''


    Just next to the tags of all these medicines, was a price tag or bundle deal. ''$250 Per Stimpak, 5-Stimpak Bundle for $1,000, Super Stimpak $500 Per Stimpak, Stimpak Diffuser $1,000, Health Dispenser $2,500''


    And on the lower shelf of the glass display, various bottles could be seen.


    ''Nuka Cola [ $10 ] - The most popular soft drink by the Nuka Cola Corporation.''


    Nuka Cola Cherry [ $15 ] - A variant of Nuka Cola that gives off a nice cherry flavor.''


    ''Nuka Cola Quantum [ $25 ] - A variant of Nuka Cola that will help you feel more energetic throughout the day, noted for its glowing blue.''


    ''Sierra Madre Martini [ $100 ] - A wonderful alcoholic beverage from the legendary Sierra Madre Casino created by Dean Domino that''s been known to, for a time, increase the health, strength, and endurance of the user.''


    ''Battle Brew [ $250 ] - A medical brew that heals minor injuries and helps set bones back in place, while granting strength and stamina at the cost of increased anger, and a decrease in analytical functions and critical thinking.''


    Looking at all of the items for sale, the young man obviously would have thought this was all a scam, if, IF, there was not currently an entity floating behind the counter in front of him, something he could not possibly begin to explain.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    "A-Are t-they real?" the young man asked Zeref.


    "Yes, and if I have caught your attention, this Cafe also provides a unique VR experience, one which I recommend all my customers to try, think of it as a...second life, if you will," Zeref answered.


    Looking towards the computers and back to the items in the display case, the young man asked, "How much would it cost to try the VR?"


    "A one-hour session costs $50."


    After seemingly thinking for a minute, the young man looked back to Zeref and asked, "C-Can I get a Stimpack and a one-hour session?"


    "Would you like to purchase a Stimpak once you are done with your session?" Zeref asked, knowing that for the next hour, he would be quite occupied and might forget about purchasing a stimpak after going in.


    "Uh...S-Sure?" The young man replied, unsure.


    "Don''t worry young human, I will remind you once your session ends, in case you forget."


    Once Zeref was paid, the young man walked over to one of the computers and sat down.


    Looking back to Zeref, resulted in the alien entity waving for the young man to continue.


    Shifting his vision back to the computer, the Young man found that it seemed to turn on as soon as he sat down.


    On the screen of the computer was a page that read ''Username Creation.''


    Inputting Tyke, the screen moved on to another page.


    On this page was a simple website.


    On the lefthand of the screen were several tabs, with the order being News, Games, Forum, Freinds, and Settings.


    And at the top right of the website was a small profile tab that was a black circle with a bold ''T.''


    Clicking on the profile, opened a small window in which the young man could change his profile picture, banner, profile page, and bio.


    Exiting the small window, he looked upon the games tab, only to see a single option and a line of statistics underneath.


    [ ''Fallout 1 - Warning, this game depicts great violence and many inhumane acts and is not recommended for children, proceed at your own discretion.''


    Completed Achievements: None


    Kills: 0


    Deaths: 0


    Completions: 0


    Total number of Caps collected: 0


    Max Level Reached: N/A


    Longest Run: 0 Days ]


    Giving a brief glance over all the stats on the page, he shook his head and clicked the glowing green [ Play ] button.


    A spinning green circle appeared on the screen, and the young man felt his body go limp and his consciousness fade.


    ---


    [POV of the young man, Kyle]


    Feeling an uncomfortable groggily feeling as I opened my eyes, I froze in place.


    I was no longer in the cafe with that alien...I was floating in a dark room looking at a floating screen before me.


    [Select Name]


    ''This...is this really VR...?''


    ''H-How?''


    "Kyle?" I asked out loud, watching as my name appeared on the list.


    [Please select 2 Traits]


    [Ambidexterous - The ability to use both of your hands equally well]


    [Heavy-Handed - Your melee and unarmed attacks do more damage, but less critical damage]


    [Good Natured - Grants +5 to all non-combat skills at the cost of -5 to all combat skills]


    [Skilled - +5 to every skill at the cost of 10% less experience]


    [Small Frame - +1 Agility at the cost of 25% more damage to limb condition]


    [Cat''s Eyes - Provides low-level nighvision]


    [Desensitized  - You won''t panic in even the most dangerous of situations]


    [Four Eyes - +1 Perception when wearing glasses but -1 Perception when not]


    [Built To Destroy - All weapons have an increased chance(3%) to cause a Critical Hit but at the cost of higher maintenance(+15%)]


    [Hot Blooded - +15% damage when your health is below 50% at the cost of -2 Perception and Agility when at 50% or lower health]


    [Wild Wasteland - Adds additional "wacky" content. Note that some Supernatural Elements will be added to the wasteland if this trait is chosen]


    [Sex Appeal - Opposite sex reacts more favorably at the cost of sometimes annoying members of the same sex]


    ''Traits?''


    Looking over each and everyone, I noticed several that spoke out to me.


    [Ambidextrous], [Skilled], [Desensitized], and [Sex Appeal].


    The first three seemed to be useful, but the last one was more for vanity and personal reasons than anything else.


    After some thought, I ended up choosing Ambidextrous and Desensitized.


    The first, because it would be handy and useful, and the second because I had no idea what I was going into, and if these ''Traits'' would even work.


    [S.P.E.C.I.A.L]


    [Strength: 5 (Average Joe)] [+] [-]


    [Perception: 5 (Warry Trout)] [+] [-]


    [Endurance: 5 (Stain-Resistant)] [+] [-]


    [Charisma: 5 (Substitute Teacher)] [+] [-]


    [Intelligence: 5 (Knowledgable)] [+] [-]


    [Agility: 5 (Under control)] [+] [-]


    [Luck: 5 (Coin Flip)] [+] [-]


    [You have five free SPECIAL points to distribute, SPECIAL Stats cannot go below 1, and each SPECIAL Stat will physically and mentally affect your character during the playthrough]


    Not understanding much of it, I simply put two points into endurance and strength and the last into intelligence.


    [Select Three Tag Skills]


    [Combat: Bladed Weapons (0), Blunt Weapons (0), Throwing Weapons (0), Pole Arms (0), Small  Guns (0), Big Guns (0), Energy Weapons (0), Explosives (0), Unarmed (0), Stealth (0), and Guerrilla Tactics (0)]


    [Technical: Engineering (0), Robotics (0), Biology (0), Computers (0), Construction (0), Tailoring (0), First Aid (0), Surgery (0), Hacking (0), Lockpicking (0), Repair (0), Barter (0), and Persuasion (0)]


    [Survival: Foraging (0), Butchering (0), Cooking(0), Trapping(0), Farming(0), and Husbandry(0)]


    Looking over them, I tagged Small Guns, First Aid, and Foraging.


    I had no idea what I was going into, so a combat skill and a survival skill would do me well while the First Aid may help in patching myself up.


    Once I confirmed my tagged skills, I felt a little dizziness and blackness shrouded my vision.


    Suddenly the sound of a projector entered my ears and an animation of a strange vault door with the number 13 appeared along with the animation of a small man waving at me before the vault door rolled over and shut.


    Strange ads appeared before me as an old song whispered in my ear.


    "Maybe...You''ll think of me...When you are allll alooonneeee."


    "Mabye the one who is waiting for you will prove..."


    As the song continued to play, and ads continued to appear on the TV before me, my view panned out and pulled away from a box TV that gave me a view of a dilapidated city with destroyed skyscrapers, torn apart building, and brown skies.


    My vision faded into black again, as a man''s voice spoke into my ear.


    "War...War never changes."


    "The Romans waged war to gather slaves and wealth. Spain built an empire, for its lust for gold and territory."


    "Hitler shaped a battered Germany, into an economic superpower, but war, war never changes."


    "In the 21st century, war was still waged over the resources that could be acquired, only this time, the spoils of war, were also its weapons. Petroleum and Uranium. For these resources, China would invade Alaska, the US would annex Canada, and the European Commonwealth would dissolve into quarreling, bickering nation-states bent on controlling the last remaining resources on earth."


    "In 2077 the storm of world war would come again. In two brief hours, most of the planet was reduced to cinders, and from the ashes of nuclear devastation, a new civilization would struggle to arise, a few were able to reach the relative safety of the Vaults. Your family was a part of that group that entered Vault 13, imprisoned safely behind the vault door under a mountain of stone, a generation has lived without knowledge of the outside world. Life in the vaults is about to change."


    When the voice became silent, and the images stopped flashing in my mind, I found myself standing in a long hallway with an old man with white hair wearing a blue and yellow jumpsuit and a strange device on his wrist, and a bag in his hands before me.


    "Ah, your here, good. We''ve got a problem, a big one. The controller chip for our water purification system is given up the ghost. Can''t make another one and the process is too complicated to work around the system, simply put, we''re running out of drinking water, no water, no vault. This is crucial to our survival, and frankly, I think you are the only hope we have...You need to go find us another Controller Chip, we estimate we have four to five months, or one hundred and fifty-five days before the vault runs out of water, we need that chip, we marked your map with the location of another vault, not a bad place to start, I think. Look, just be safe, okay?" The man told me, as he handed me a bag with a few stimpaks, bandages, food and water, a knife, a gun, and several ammo clips.


    Walking over to a console, the man tapped a large red button, and a strange device came down from the ceiling and unlocked the vault door before moving it out of the way, opening the vault to the outside world, to a cave where I could see multiple skeletons laying in front of the vault.


    "Just remember, we are counting on you, be safe, and get that water chip as fast as you can...before we die from dehydration..."


    And as the vault door closed behind me, I heard the rather loud sound of squeaking, turning around, I was horrified to see a group of nine rather large rats charging toward me.

 4: The Feeling of Death

    As Kyle quickly reached into the bag and pulled out the 10mm Pistol, one of the rats managed to reach him and dig its teeth right into his leg, causing him to take in a sharp breath and groan before unloading a round into the rat''s eye, killing it.


    Feeling not even the slightest bit panicked, he quickly raised the gun and with surprising accuracy, shot nine more rounds, with almost every one of them hitting its target, only two actually killed their targets however.


    The rest of the rounds slowed down and crippled a few, but some of the rats were almost perfectly fine as the bullets grazed or took some flesh with them.


    Not thinking about it, he fired three more times, two bullets hit the mostly fine rats that were still charging while the third caused a large ''click'' sound to echo quietly under the screeching of the rats.


    Cursing, he pulled out the knife from the bag just as two rats pounced on him, causing him to fall to the ground.


    His arm which automatically raised to protect his face was bitten into as one of the rats went for the face and the other rat began biting and chomping at Kyle''s chest, tearing off chunks of bloody flesh.


    Gritting his teeth, he thrust the knife into the eye of the rat bitting his arm, before grabbing the other rat with his bad arm and plunging the knife into its head, feeling only a bit of difficulty as he stabbed through the skull and not through the eye like the other.


    However, when he looked towards the group of rats that he didn''t kill yet, he saw those that did not die from his hasty firing lunging towards him and was forced to feel being mauled and ripped apart piece by piece before dying minutes later from the sheer pain and blood loss.


    [Achievement Gained: (First Death) - Experience the cold embrace of Death, +5 Credits]


    [Continue, or exit to Reality?]


    Kyle, like a ghost, was floating over the scene, forced to watch as the rats consumed his corpse until nothing but shattered bones and cloth was left of his body.


    Kyle felt...he didn''t know what he felt, the feeling of death...the pain...the feeling of slowly losing your every sense until you no longer felt or saw anything and felt as if you were floating in a dark abyss, slowly losing a piece of yourself until nothing was left.


    And while Kyle may have forgotten this was just a game, he didn''t want to die again, he knew that he was weak. It''s why he was pushed to enter the shop by the other gang members. He didn''t want to be weak. He didn''t want to die. Yet he had no other choice. In both worlds, he would have to fight for his life, he didn''t know if he would be lucky in the real world and have the option to continue after death, but in this so-called game? He could hone his skills, instincts, and mind so that he wouldn''t have to worry about surviving in the real world, and while he would do his most damn to not die again...at least it wouldn''t be permanent in this strange world...


    ''Continue.''


    Soon having to go through the whole intro once again, the vault door was closing behind him and he instantly reached into the bag, pulled two magazines of ammo, and with a gun and knife in hand and the magazines in his pocket, he was ready for the annoying rats that came rushing in just like before.


    Kyle went with the exact same traits, stats, and tag skills as last time, so nothing really changed besides being more prepared for the rats that would soon swarm him.


    Once he saw the rats, he immediately began firing, barely hearing the gun over the excruciatingly loud screeching of the vault door closing behind him.


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    He found himself calm, unnaturally so as he took the shots, killing the large rats in front one by one as they approached closer.


    Kyle found it significantly easier this time around, now that he wasn''t caught surprised and unarmed and easily butchered the rats, having only used eleven rounds, saving him a single bullet before the magazine would be empty.


    Letting out a sigh of relief, he instinctually found himself unloading the weapon and reloading it with a full magazine.


    He gazed at the weapon in his hand and instinctually knew a lot about the gun.


    It was an N99 10mm Pistol, a somewhat common pistol found around the United States and some other parts of the world.


    Its stopping power was decent against non-armored targets and was frequently employed in the Police force along with the Smith and Wesson .32 revolver and the M&A 9mm Pistol. Still, with each of the mentioned weapons, Kyle somehow knew that they would absolutely be awful against armored targets, dealing very little damage, if any against them.


    Kyle also instinctively knew so much more about guns, including how to handle them better, take them apart, put them back together, maintain them, and his relative possible accuracy with them at his current skill level.


    Other than that, he also knew how to apply first aid to himself and due to foraging, instinctually knew where to search and what plants or herbs he could use to help with wounds.


    It was a strange feeling to him.


    Focusing on the dead rats before him, he stepped closer, and with the knife, he grabbed from the bag, began skinning and harvesting the rats for their meat.


    He didn''t know what kind of options he would have outside this cave when it came to food, but if he ran out of the food rations in his bag or something happened, it would be best if he had another option when it came to food.


    Though, once he was done, his work wasn''t exactly pretty, with him messing up quite a bit and ruining quite a lot of the meat.


    Either way, he now has about 12 lbs of edible meat for the future, which he stuffed in the rucksack and slung onto his back.


    Seeing as nothing interrupted him when he was skinning and harvesting them, he figured that there shouldn''t be any more of the rats in the cave, or, he scared any remaining into hiding or fleeing.


    Of course, if the rats were smart, they could also be lying in wait to ambush Kyle, so he wasn''t going to drop his guard.


    With the N99 10mm Pistol and the knife in his hands, he cautiously stalked the rather large cave, coming across more skeletons, old empty boxes, chewed bones, and not much else.


    He did find another Giant Rat, but a bullet through the brain took care of it quite easily enough.


    The cave was quite dark, but his Pip-boy, the wrist-mounted computer on his left arm, did have a flashlight function, which was just a bright light that would illuminate a small area around him, letting him see much better in the darkness.


    Soon enough, however, he actually could see light just around the corner, and then the entrance of the cave.


    Taking a step outside the cave was met with momentary blindness as his eyes tried to adjust to the harsh sun.


    Once his eyes adjusted, he looked in horror upon the land before him.


    Instead of a lush landscape filled with grass, the occasional tree, and blue skies.


    He instead found himself looking at a dusty and dry land with little plant life and a sickly brown sky.


    Glancing back at the cave, he frowned and lifted up his arm, and opened the map function on his Pipboy.


    He already had the Vault''s location marked on the map, and the Vault 15 marked on the map too, however, nothing else was on the map besides old markers of Pre-War cities and towns that may still stand today.


    And if he came across anything new, he could always just mark it down on the Pipboy''s map and save it for later.


    Although he was curious about this world and wanted to see what some of the Major cities looked like from the fallout, he still had a mission to do, one he needed to focus on, at least until he no longer has a time limit over his head.


    So, with the rucksack on his back, a pistol in his right hand, and a knife in his left, he began heading east, towards Vault 15.


    For three days he walked, the sun''s intense gaze hanging over him the entire time and the bitter cold of the night gnawing at him. He''s come across even more creatures on his walk, strange pink rat-like creatures that could burrow into the earth and were incredibly aggressive, giant scorpions, giant ants, and so much more.


    He even saw some birds, but they were few in number.


    He hasn''t seen anyone as of yet, and part of him hopes that the Wasteland isn''t completely empty of people.


    He cooked up some of the rat meat last night, and to his surprise, it didn''t taste too bad, would have been better if he had some seasoning.


    As for his water, he''s been using it sparingly, which seems to have been the smart move since he has yet to have seen even a single source of water.


    And as he walked through the land, he soon found himself walking across a long stretch of flat land and in the distance...he could swear that he sees...walls?

 5: Kyle Side Story Part 2 (Fallout)

    Much time passed for me, as I visited Shady Sands many days ago, met the inhabitants, and learned more about the world and its situation after the Great War.


    People who are apparently not people but more like Zombies commonly referred to as Ghouls, giant lizards covered in thick hide and possessing great strength and incredibly sharp claws that are called Deathclaws, people who call themselves the brotherhood somewhere south-west of Shadysands that wear large suits of armor called ''Power Armor,'' and wield advance weaponry that can vaporize or turn someone into goo.


    Raiders, people who kill, slave, ra** everyone they see and occasionally harass and steal from those living in Shady Sands, the fact that those that dwell in Shady Sands, the Raiders known as the Khans, and some other groups came from Vault 15, the place he needed to go.


    He didn''t leave straight away, Kyle ended up staying in town for a bit and helped clear a cave of Radscorpians, essentially much larger and more dangerous scorpions that were mutated by the radiation, and brought back most of their stingers so that the town''s doc could try to make antidotes.


    The Doctor ended up being successful with the antidotes and gifted a few to Kyle when he left for Vault 15 as well as some Caps from clearing out all the radscorpions which he used to purchase what little water and bullets he could.


    It should probably be mentioned that he died again when he first tried clearing the Radscorpian cave but managed to do it the second time, earning him two levels, since he was nearly level two from killing most of the Giant Rats in Vault 13''s cave.


    He got 16 Skill Points per level and even had a list of perks he could choose from when he hit level two!


    His current perk options after he put in his first 16 skill points all into small guns, raising it from 15 to 31.


    [Lady Killer (Level 2, Charisma 5+) - +10% damage to the opposite sex and unique dialogue options with certain characters, {Recommended for only Adult Players}]


    [Confirmed Bachelor (Level 2, Charisma 5+) - +10% damage to the same sex and unique dialogue options with certain characters. {Recommended for only Adult Players}]


    [Intense Training (Level 2) - You can put a single point into any of your SPECIAL attributes]


    [Rapid Reload (Level 2, Agility 5+, Small Guns 30+, Big Guns 30+, or Energy Weapons 30+) - All of your weapon reloads are 25% faster than normal]


    [Retention (Level 2, Intelligence 5+) - Retain the information obtained through reading magazines for 3 more hours]


    [Swift Learner (Level 2, Intelligence 4+) - You gain an additional 10% whenever experience points are earned]


    [Gun Nut (Level 2, Intelligence 4+, Agility 4+) - +5 to Small Guns and Repair]


    [Thief (Level 2, Perception 4+, Agility 4+) - +5 to Lockpicking and Stealth]


    [Little Leaguer (Level 2, Strength 4+) - +5 to Melee Weapons and Explosives]


    [Doctor''s Child (Level 2, Intelligence 4+) - +5 to First Aid and Surgery]


    [Barbarian (Level 2, Strength 6+) - +5 to Unarmed and Melee Weaponry]


    [Survivalist (Level 2, Perception 5+, Endurance 5+) - +5 to Foraging, Butchering, and Trapping]


    [Clean Body (Level 2) - Your body will now always be clean! Your sweat has become odorless and your body is no longer dirtied by dirt, mud, blood, or grime, providing a much more comfortable time in the wastes!]


    He could only choose one, and after much thought, he ended up choosing Rapid Reload, its use in combat and in dangerous situations was too important to ignore, even if the modern part of him really wanted to choose the Clean Body perk, but he had to be realistic, all it would take is a single mistake for him to die in this world, and if he made any mistakes in the real world, he would stay permanently dead, or at least he thinks so.


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    Although...due to how real this world actually feels and is, he has started having doubts about the reality of the real world outside of the game, outside of ''Fallout.''


    Is any of it actually real?


    Is it all just another game? One that we''re not aware of?


    If we died in the real world would we just wake up in another? Is the real world some kind of test or simulation? Is that why they condemn suicide and that those that do it won''t go to heaven? Because it would mean failing to see the test through?


    Shaking his head, he put the 16 points he got from leveling to three all into first aid, raising it from 15 to 31.


    ---


    Soon arriving at the entrance to Vault 15 based on the map and descriptions by those at Shady Sands, Kyle found himself before yet another cave, that was more than likely housing more Giant rats, radscorpions, Mole Rats, and any number of other mutated animals or insects.


    Not only did Kyle purchase a bit more ammo from Shady Sands from whatever they could spare, but also some leather which he''s used to make a simple leather harness and puldrons for his vault jumpsuit, giving it a bit more protection and the ability to change his pistol''s magazines at a much faster pace now that he''s got some strapped onto his waist instead of sitting in his rucksack or jump suit''s pockets.


    So, with his trusty 10mm Pistol in one hand and his combat knife in another, he slowly crept through the cave with his pipboy flashlight on so that he could see.


    It was quiet, too quiet for his liking.


    Yet no matter how far he walked, he didn''t encounter anything, and eventually, he reached the vault door.


    Stepping up to the console just beside the door, he sheathed his knife, and lifting his right arm up with the gun in hand, he used his empty hand to pull a plug from his pipboy which he plugged into the console, on the pipboy he activated the manual override for the vault''s door, opening it and unsealing it once again.


    Sirens blared and yellow lights flashed above as the sound of horrible screeching metal entered his ears causing him to wince.


    [A/N: Seriously, those that have played Fallout 3 and left Vault 101 with their headphones at full volume can understand this, but picture it a good 5x louder]


    Once the door was out of the way and no creatures that were hiding in the cave were drawn to the sound, he stepped in.


    About 30 minutes later, Kyle could be seen angrily leaving the vault.


    "Why the fuck does the elevator not work and the damn vault has no stairs?!" Kyle angrily shouted once he stepped outside the vault and back into the cave.


    He found that the only way further down into the vault, was down a long elevator shaft, and he didn''t have anything to climb down with, he had no confidence in being able to free climb down the shaft without falling to his death and having to start on his fourth life.


    [A/N: First death = Giant Rats on leaving the vault, Second Death = RadScorpians]


    So, he needed something durable enough that he could propel or climb down, something like rope or twine, which...he, unfortunately, could have purchased back at Shady Sands, but ignored for the ammo and leather that would provide protection.


    And while he would normally just try to make rope or twine with the plants around, there were too few, to begin with, and even then, he don''t think there would be enough for him to make a long enough rope or twine.


    So, he had but one option, go back to shady sands and get some damn rope, at least enough rope to hopefully reach the bottom floor of the vault.


    On his way back to Shady Sands, he noticed that the number of animal encounters he''s had was increasing.


    When he was just starting out, he didn''t see even a single animal or creature besides the Giant Rats in the cave before reaching Shady Sands. Even then, he only encountered animals and creatures every couple of days, but now? He''s running into them every day, and he feels he''ll soon have to start avoiding them to preserve ammo.


    Due to the creatures, he also hit level 4 and put 10 of his points into Butchering, and the rest into Small Guns, raising it to 37, and Butchering into 10.


    Small Guns was obvious, while Butchering would hopefully help him in butchering creatures much easier, cleaner, and faster.


    Now that time has passed, he can say for sure, that tagging Foraging was almost a complete waste, seeing as so far, it only helped in identifying plants, and the only ones it identified so far were the really common plants that he learned about from talking to the people at shady sands.


    As for his new perk, he chose a perk called Educated, which would grant him an additional two skill points every time he levels, and in the description, it was even suggested to take on this perk as early as possible.


    So, instead of 16 Skill points per level, he would now earn 18, not that noticeable of a difference, but it would certainly show in the future.


    The question is, how exactly would that future look? Kyle couldn''t guess, this world was too strange compared to the modern world outside of here.

 6 - First session over

    Watching his customer''s playthrough, Zeref noticed a few things he needed to modify and change with Fallout 1.


    First, was the severe lack of encounters, he noticed that his customer was having far too few encounters with the local wildlife and hadn''t even encountered other people other than those at Shady Sands.


    So, after watching the man die on two separate occasions and on his third life, he finally made it to Vault 15 before realizing he was missing a crucial item needed to explore the abandoned vault, rope.


    While he questioned what to do next, Zeref began manipulating the ''Base'' that made up this world and the others and began expanding and spreading the forms of animal life in the Fallout world across the landscape.


    He increased the animal population by many folds, to the point where the player would encounter them much much more often, as in an hourly occurrence if they did not avoid them.


    Of course, with this increased population, wars began between the creatures, and the weak would eventually be purged and replaced with the strong, only to happen over and over again due to the creatures being able to breed and respawned in faraway locations from the player.


    It would be nay impossible to purge the wasteland of all the creatures, but it would be possible, if given enough time, for the player to drastically reduce the populations so that the creatures wouldn''t be such a nuisance and grow too strong.


    Zeref also increased the population in all of the settlements across the land besides Shady Sands, including the raiders, and made it to where the settlements would actually begin trading between themselves and attempt to grow or keep the status quo.


    Raiders would also be in greater numbers, and the player would actually be able to encounter them throughout the wastes and even see them try to raid caravans, kill travelers, and do less-than-savory things to their victims.


    Of course, since every NPC was basically made into their own persons, the Raiders would literally represent the worst of humanity.


    Other than that, Zeref also added a new feature, one which would need him to tweak quite a bit of thing and make lots of new plans.


    He added a ''Continuation'' feature, allowing the players to continue past the game once it''s completed, and well, live out the rest of their lives, and as an added bonus, they could end the game whenever and earn credits based on what they manage to do and how far they manage to progress with their character and their ''story.''


    Of course, Zeref planned on seeing these stories and the player''s adventures in the world of Fallout, so, any story that entertains him or impresses him enough will earn a bonus amount of credits.


    And sure, in the future, there would be many players, so it would be difficult for a human to review all of it and focus on the cafe at the same time, but, Zeref was truly not human in any way anymore.


    He doesn''t have ''Humanity,'' his mind, body, and soul have long since ascended from such a thing.


    If he wanted, he could see through walls, see the tiniest microscopic mote of dust on the floor, hear a human''s heartbeat and muscles tense and move, and even split his mind to focus on dozens if not more, things at once, which is how he built the world playable world of Fallout 1 at such fast speeds.


    He could have done it even faster but decided against it so that he could focus on every detail.


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    Hell, Zeref even added ore, natural resources, and more under the surface of the world, something that didn''t really exist all that much in the game, with only the vaults, caves, and a few other things depicting the underground, but even those didn''t go farther than the ''surface''.


    Zeref was even thinking of expanding the zone of player influence up, as in, to space, if any of the Players was smart or resourceful enough to get up there somehow, but that would be in the future.


    And another bonus for beating the game and deciding to continue, the border that makes up the playable area of Fallout 1, will be taken down, allowing the Players to explore the world.


    But for that, Zeref would need to finish off Fallout 2, and begin terraforming the land outside of the first two games as well as rework the game''s foundation to allow further growth and ''paths'' that the NPCs would try to follow to reach canon lore and certain events that should happen.


    Of course, no matter what, there still would be a ''Cannon'' that the game would follow regardless of the player''s choices and their stories in the wasteland and would be the official ''timeline.''


    So, if a Player were to survive from the events of fallout 1 to fallout new vegas or fallout 4, they would have possibly caused a lot of change, but if a person started in Fallout New Vegas, the timeline would already be set according to ''Canon.''


    Splitting his focus, one part of Zeref''s mind focused on watching and observing the customer and his actions, while the other part got to work on the world, working to finish Fallout 2 first.


    ...


    Many days went by for both Zeref and his first customer, with his first Customer having to kill many creatures and abominations, and even take his first of many human lives on his journey through the wasteland, and Zeref observed the entire time, making sure to fix anything his customer came across with that was wrong.


    And because he knew exactly what he was doing after he created the area of Fallout 1, the speed at which Zeref shaped the world and area of Fallout 2, was much faster.


    The hardest part he encountered, was, of course, the NPCs.


    Compared to the first fallout, the NPC population of Fallout 2 would be significantly higher, and sure, while Zeref''s mind could just create these NPCs with a thought, he had to put in a bit more effort to make sure the NPCs matched with the game.


    For example, while creating the NPCs of the Captial of the New Californian Republic, Shady Sands, he may or may not have accidentally thought of a few characters that shouldn''t exist in the world of Fallout due to his mind accidentally wondering, characters such as Master Chief of Halo, Deadpool from Marvel, and even Shy Guy from the SCP universe, causing them to appear around and inside Shady Sands.


    So, Zeref had to do a bit of weeding and focus the part of his mind that was making Fallout 2 solely on its task, which he found was not that difficult, just boring and dull.


    Zeref has also adjusted his mind to the time acceleration of the game, allowing him to do much more work than when he followed the regular flow of time in the real world while creating Fallout 1.


    So, by day 60 of his customer''s journey, Zeref was already done with Fallout 2 and was working on shaping the rest of the world and its atmosphere, not forgetting the Zetans, satellites, and more that floated in the atmosphere.


    He was working on the west coast and making his way east, changing everything in his path.


    However, he was also creating two separate instances.


    The first is how the world would look and grow during the events of Fallout 1, and the second is the events of Fallout 2 and how the world looks then.


    Once he finishes shaping North America, he would install and set up the ''Continuation'' feature and begin working on Fallout 3, New Vegas, and 4, and their instances.


    It''ll take a while, but the sooner Zeref finished the ''Story'' of the Fallout Universe, including minor parts of the spinoff games, such as 76, Tactics, and Brotherhood of Steel, he can get to work on other projects, such as Project Zomboid or Infamous.


    As for his customer''s progress, he has died four times now, has reached level 14, and was on his way to The Hub from Shady Sands.


    Equipped with a 10mm Pistol, crowbar, hunting rifle, leather armor over his jumpsuit, and his pipboy.


    Accompanying him, was the game''s first ''Offical'' companion, an ex-caravan guard by the name of Ian.


    Of course, Zeref made the game to allow the players a great amount of ''freedom'' of how they want to play, so, if someone is charismatic or persuasive enough, they may even be able to turn any NPC into a companion.


    But it''s not just limited to this, the players really did have ''Freedom'' in the game, they could build robotic armies, recreate the tech of the real world in Fallout, and so much more.


    Zeref wonders, just how far will his Players go?


    What sort of wonders, miracles, and feats will he get to witness?

 7 - Customer Review

    More time passed inside the virtual world as Zeref''s customer, Kyle, as Zeref has learned from stalk...ahem, observing his customer while he went through his first session and continued to work on the world, fixing any mistakes his customer came across and working on expanding the world past the borders of the game.


    Zeref has long since recreated the entirety of the united states and was working on the Continuation feature for Fallout 2 after completing the feature for the first game.


    He was almost done with the feature for the second game when his customer''s session finally ended, forcing him to exit the game and leave a save to return from where he left off, if he returned that is.


    Exiting the realm as well, Zeref, floating in the air, turned his head to his customer, who was clenching and staring at his hands and the computer before him.


    "An experience unlike any you''ve ever experienced before, isn''t it? Human."


    "Was...Was it real?" The customer still in shock asked Zeref as he felt his greater strength and endurance from the game drain away from him.


    "A dream for many, a second life for many others. Wonders that few on this little planet can ever hope to see, let alone recreate, and...a path for Humanity to progress forward and maybe even help raise your civilization to the galactic standard."


    The customer went silent as he started processing everything, the game, Zeref, and the cafe as a whole.


    The young customer seemed to be thinking about something very intently, and after a few moments, made up his mind.


    "What can I use credits for?" the customer asked.


    "You can use those credits to purchase merchandise that''s not displayed or publically listed," Zeref informed the customer before turning the computer before him to face the customer.


    "If you open up your computer, you can find a newly added ''Market'' tab which shows you a list of items that are up for sale which you can purchase with your earned credits. At the end of every month, the list changes, and new or old items are readded to the market. As for purchasing the items, you could do that through your computer but must redeem them from me after purchase to obtain them," Zeref continued.


    Hearing Zeref, the customer, Kyle, turned back to the computer and did in fact see a new tab.


    Opening it, he saw an extensive list of items for sale.


    [Page 1 of 3]


    [Sorted by Most Expensive to least]


    [Refined F.E.V (10,000 Credits) - A syringe containing refined F.E.V., injecting this syringe into a living organism will cause the Organism to undergo a positive evolution which will not only strengthen and revitalize the Organism, increasing its lifespan, but will also give the organism a desirable trait of some kind, such as Psychic Abilities, a Healing Factor, retractable claws, wings, and more, depending on the organism. At most two of these syringes can be consumed by a single organism before complete and total cellular failure and destruction]


    [Fertile Deathclaw Egg (2,500 Credits) - A Fertile Egg of a Deathclaw, will take time for the egg to hatch and will imprint on whomever or whatever it lays its eyes upon when hatched]


    [Functioning Assaultron (2,000) - A functioning Assaultron Robot created by Robco to be used in the Pre-War US Military, these robots are equipped with claws that can crush through bone and metal and have a devastating laser weapon on their head that can vaporize lines of men before needing to be recharged, can function on Fusion Cells, Fusion Cores, and Solar Panels hidden inside its back]


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    [Fusion Core (500 Credits) - A fully charged pristine fusion-powered battery created by Mass Fusion, a company with the intent on making affordable and clean energy that could be mass-produced, that contains enough energy to power a skyscraper for centuries, or a Power Armor suit for a decade]


    [Automatic Laser Rifle (125 Credits) - An Automatic Energy Weapon commonly used by the US Military that can burn through armor and vaporize flesh, with just a single un-modified fusion cell, this rifle can fire 25 times before needing to be reloaded]


    There were three pages with a list of five items each, and while the first couple of merchandise interested Kyle greatly, it was weapons that he was looking for.


    Just on the second page, were various ballistic weapons such as a .44 revolver, various other pistols, and even a rifle called ''Varmint Rifle,'' which seemed to be a shit rifle by the description that was designed to take out small game.


    However, the last page was just bulk ammunition, miscellaneous items, and food.


    At the moment, Kyle didn''t have too many points and would need more for his plans.


    If he can get enough points, he can finally get the strength needed to do what he felt was right and hopefully inspire others to push back.


    Seeing that his customer got lost in thought again, he spoke, breaking the silence.


    "Just in case you have forgotten, you asked me to remind you to purchase a Stimpak before you leave."


    "Thank you...May I ask, what time are you open, normally?" The customer asked.


    "I am open every day of the week, from 10 in the morning to midnight."


    "Then I will return tomorrow, thank you for your time," The customer informed Zeref.


    Noticing that the Customer seemed to have greater confidence and will than when he first entered the cafe, Zeref wondered if the game would continue to be a ''positive'' influence for him.


    Once the customer purchased the stimpak from him and was about to leave, Zeref asked, "Please do spread word of my cafe, it would be nice to have more visitors. Ah, do try to not inform children or weak-willed individuals, they wouldn''t be suited for the worlds that will soon be revealed."


    Hoping he heard, Zeref got back to work.


    Soon he should be done with the continuation feature for Fallout 2 and can get to work on Fallout 3 and New Vegas.


    Zeref couldn''t wait till he finishes Fallout 3 and gets to work on Fallout New Vegas and recreate two of his favorite characters in all of Fallout.


    Joshua Graham and Ulysees.


    One is a man of God walking the road of perdition, trying to make up for his past sins by helping and leading a tribe by the name of Dead Horses, and another tribe by the name of Sorrows led by another man of God called Daniel in Zion National Park.


    While the other is a Courier, who walked the roads of the old and the new. One who searched for a home that would surpass the failure that made up the old world and the failures of the new one as well, and he did, only to lose his new home to the very person, the Courier, who made it possible and resides inside the DIvide, waiting for his fellow Courier to return to the land torn by underground nuclear devastation that was once a prospering independent settlement.


    If Zeref remembered correctly, there were a few claims that Joshua Graham, otherwise known as the Burned Man, converted some people from his past world to his religion, which was interesting to think about.


    [A/N: Yeah, recently watched a youtube video that claimed that some other people claimed to have been converted to Joshua''s religion due to how charismatic and fearsome he was in the game]


    With Zeref now going with the faster flow of time inside the game, he was able to do much more work in the span of an hour that would take him many days following the normal flow outside the mental realm.


    However, about an hour in (outside the realm) and working on the beginnings of Fallout 3, he was interrupted by the sound of the glass door sliding open.


    Leaving most of his mind inside to keep working, the rest took control of his body and looked upon the group of people that entered his cafe. It was discomforting at first to feel the differences in how time moved with his mind split apart, but he quickly adapted to it.


    "Welcome to the ''New Worlds Cafe,'' my name is Zeref, now what can I do today for you gentlemen?"


    As usual, upon looking at Zeref, the group of what appeared to be thugs froze.


    "Well?" Zeref asked.


    "Is it true we can purchase something called ''Stimpaks'' here?" One of the men hesitantly asked, stepping forward.


    "Yes, among some other things that may also interest you."


    "Like?" The man asked, curious.


    ''Seems they must have used the Stimpak that my first customer purchased and are wanting more,'' Zeref thought to himself.


    "Different variants of Stimpaks, various beverages that have quite a few health benefits, and more. Come, let me show you what I have in stock," Zeref told his potential new customers while waving at the items displayed in the glass case inside the counter in front of him.

 8 - Sales!

    The thugs ended up purchasing a whopping 10 stimpaks, taking the two 5-bundle stimpak deals for $1,000 each, which Zeref could use to purchase 40 more stimpaks at $50 per Stimpak, it was a great profit!


    So, by purchasing one lone stimpack to keep as a display item, Zeref now had $1,950 US Dollars, to do as he pleased.


    And the first thing he did, was go scouring through the system''s shop, which had many different types of categories.


    Including System Upgrades, Cafe Upgrades, Personal Upgrades, and so much more.


    The system upgrades included things like an expanded merchandise store from which Zeref could buy a wider variety of goods, to even an expensive option to lower the price of set items, such as stimpaks, but he would have to pay a big price to get them cheaper than what he pays already.


    As for Cafe upgrades, these interested Zeref the most.


    They included expanding the cafe itself, from adding more PCs and expanding the interior of the Cafe to even being able to purchase something else called New Cafe Location for $50,000, which, based on the description, would allow me to set down a ''Cafe front'' somewhere else that would act as a portal for those in the location to enter my cafe once they entered.


    It would give people access to the Cafe wherever an entrance was, meaning, if he earned enough money, he could have an entrance into his cafe in every city across the planet.


    He even spotted some options for furniture among other things that would help make his cafe more desirable and appealing.


    ...


    Over the next couple of days, while Zeref was working on Fallout New Vegas after completing Fallout 3, the group of thugs continued to revisit his cafe every day, buying the same amount of stimpaks every time, and even a few battle brews.


    The group of thugs apparently were causing such a problem in the area, that a specific individual cleaning up the neighborhood just so happened to watch the thugs enter and exit with the stimpaks in hand, finding the source of his late problems.


    This individual?


    "So, what can I do for the one and only Punisher?" Zeref asked, looking at a man wearing body armor with a skull painted onto its surface, a rifle in hand, pointed straight at Zeref''s ''face,'' and a full atire ready for combat.


    "...What are you?" The Punisher asked with confusion.


    "Me? Who knows, I am just your average cafe manager who sells unusual merchandise and experiences," Zeref stated with a shrug and gestured to his display case, "Would you like to have a look at my merchandise and hear about the unique Virtual Reality experience this cafe offers?"


    "You...you are the one supplying the local gang with the medicine?" Seeing the stimpaks inside the case, the punisher questioned.


    "You mean the rude thuggish people that stop by every day? Then yes. They do purchase stimpaks from me," Zeref informed the Punisher, not caring in the slightest about the thugs at the potential customer before him that was much more interesting.


    "And before you try to threaten me in some way to stop selling my merchandise to criminals, I will continue to do so for however long they are willing to pay for it. My cafe is neutral territory, meaning anyone can purchase my goods so long as they have the money. As for if you try threatening me, I have to ask, how keen are you on meeting my hungry friends?" I asked, opening a small portal to the void with ''The Gaze of the Void'' spell, but limiting the range of effect to just himself, so the Punisher wouldn''t go mad from the unending whispers that would assault the mind.


    It didn''t take long for the dwellers of the void to rush towards the light and swarm around the dimensional membrane keeping them in.


    Although Frank, the Punisher, tensed up and was seemingly about to start a fight, he loosened up and lowered his weapon.


    "You say that you will continue to sell your goods to the criminals and that anyone can buy them, does that mean I can purchase them as well? And how far does this ''Neutrality'' of yours go?" Frank asked.


    ''Hmmm, perhaps I should set up that greeting sign soon, and a rule board while I am at it. This will get annoying fast if I have to do this every time a customer visits my cafe,'' Zeref thought to himself before speaking, "Yes, you can also purchase the goods as well, as for my neutrality, I have a few rules. I won''t tolerate violence inside my store, anyone present inside will be under my protection until they leave, I of course, will change my rules however I see fit, seeing as they are not set in stone or written down as of yet."


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Closing the tear, Zeref could see that Frank was a little shaken and almost immediately stopped himself from showing it.


    It would seem this Frank Castle hasn''t witnessed magic yet, which Zeref guessed would cross him off from the Cosmic Ghost Rider, at least for now.


    Unfortunately, Zeref knew very little about Marvel and DC Comics, so his knowledge about this world mainly was based on trivia he learned from the movies or from social media.


    Even then, If Zeref remembered correctly, many of the Marvel and DC cinematic characters were underplayed, with them either being much weaker than their Comic counterparts or too dumb that they never used the full potential of their powers.


    For example, The Flash from CW''s The Flash.


    In the show, it was shown plenty of times that the Flash, with superspeed, had the capability of saving quite a few of the casualties around him and capture the villains without them being able to do anything or react, let alone be capable of retaliating.


    [A/N: Highly recommend you watch Madvocate''s The Flash is Insufferably Inconsistent Part 1-3. Really shows that the character could have been much MUCH better, also, it gave me a good laugh]


    Focusing back on Frank, Zeref gestured for him to come closer.


    "Come, let me show you what I offer in my humble cafe."


    Hesitantly, the punisher stepped forward, hands still clenched onto his rifle and an eye focused on Zeref as if in case Zeref was going to attack at any moment.


    Gesturing towards the stimpaks and other medical items, Zeref continued speaking, "What I have that you would be interested in are Stimpaks, Super Stimpaks, Stimpak Diffusers, Stimpak Dispensers, and Battle Brew.


    The basic Stimpaks are what the Thugs have been purchasing from me by the day, and the stimpak''s function is quite simple really, all you would need to do is inject the syringe into your body near an injured area, and the stimulants inside the syringe will rapidly heal injuries. However, while the normal Stimpaks will help a bit with broken bones, only Super Stimpaks will mend the bones and restore them back to shape, Super Stimpaks are also much more potent than normal Stimpaks, with Super Stimpaks healing injuries much faster with them even being able to help with severe damage done to the body."


    Zeref continued to explain each item''s effects and uses, and Frank''s interest grew.


    Frank witnessed firsthand the use of the normal stimpaks when the local gang started a war with another and as a veteran, knew that these ''Stimulants'' would have been a godsend on the battlefield, but he had one question, "What are the drawbacks to using such medicine?"


    "If you are using just a basic stimpak? You will a bit hungry and thirsty. As for a Super Stimpak? You will feel even hungrier and thirstier, but will also feel a bit weaker for a while. The only drawback to the Battle Brew would be Alcohol addiction if you drink too much I guess. That and a little bit of loss in the intelligent apartment after drinking the battle brew, much like drinking other alcohols."


    Quiet and thinking, Frank eventually asked, "Fine, I''ll buy five of these ''Stimpaks'' and a ''Super Stimpak,'' and you inform me whenever criminals come here to buy something?"


    "Hmmm...pass. It won''t do me any good revealing anything about my customers, which is about to include you. However, if you see them enter the shop and buy something, then there''s nothing I can do about that," Zeref spoke with a calm tone in his voice.


    [A/N: Anyone thinking this is unrealistic, think for a second. Frank Castle is human, he hasn''t encountered the Supernatural. It''s not realistic if he thinks he can kill something that''s not even a physical being. Sure, he can and ''would'' have tried, but with the MC revealing hundreds of hungry beasts with a wave of his hand, he decided to not attack]


    Knowing that Frank would now try to kill all of the gang members to keep the knowledge of stimpaks from spreading, Zeref was happy.


    Why?


    It''s because while he will lose a few customers, he will gain one that will pay much more than the ones he will lose.


    The Punisher is notorious for being well, human. One that has no special abilities or powers, he''s just human.


    And that means he often gets hurt in his war against crime, which means, he will end up relying on the usefulness of Stimpaks, and therefore, rely on the Cafe and the goods that Zeref sells.


    So, sure, while losing a few customers will hurt him, he will gain a customer that is willing to pay more and also protect the Cafe in return.


    And as an added bonus, Frank will easily be able to pay such prices for Stimpaks because of his fights with criminals, who will typically have a lot of money.


    While it may be unfortunate if Frank dies or attacks Zeref, Zeref is willing to show that he can''t be pushed around and will remain neutral regardless of his customers and respect their privacy, which would help Frank, who doesn''t wear a mask when he fights crime and isn''t exactly on the side of the law, it also shows that if Frank is in trouble, he can use the obvious loophole and hide inside Zeref''s cafe and be safe.


    Handing Frank his five normal stimpacks and super stimpak and getting paid $1,500 US Dollars, Zeref added, "In case you may not have noticed, the cafe also have a VR experience that we offer which will allow you to earn credits through completing in-game achievements that can be used to purchase items, entities, and more that we do not offer over the counter. I personally believe you will find many things that will help you on your journey through our Credit Store!"


    Giving Zeref a look of confusion Zeref explains, "Our VR games set you, the player, inside virtual worlds. In these worlds, you will interact with the NPCs, the people, of these worlds, and feel everything. From pain, the dirt beneath your boots, the breeze of fresh air, or the pleasures of the flesh. It will be real. Now, I know you may not be interested in any of that, so let me tell you some of the more practical aspects of the VR experience. You can learn many new things inside the games, and time moves much faster, allowing you to get your mental relaxation without much time passing in the real world, and as an added bonus, you can get more combat experience. Are you interested?"


    Although Zeref explained a bit about how the VR games would work, it seems that Frank still did not understand or care.


    "Not interested. I''ll be watching, do anything to break my ''trust,'' and I will be back to take you down, alien or not," Frank warned Zeref, leaving the cafe.


    "Hmmm, wonder if he will ever try to keep that promise? Meh, that''s a problem for future me, and I certainly doubt he will be able to kill me anytime soon," Zeref hummed as he spoke out loud in wonder.

 9 - More Sells and Customers!

    Over the course of an entire week, Zeref earned over $9,500 US Dollars from sales.


    Zeref''s first customer, Kyle, of which he learned the name of, was also apparently a part of the local gang. With Frank Castle, the Punisher, taking most of the people in the local gang out, Kyle visited much more frequently and spent a few hours playing the first Fallout, dying over and over again on his journey to the point that the farthest he has made it, was 124 days, a little over an hour in real-time.


    His customer Kyle has continued to grind away at Fallout 1, attempting to ''beat'' the game, and on his journey, Kyle has earned quite a few achievements, ones Zeref has been adding over time, ones he didn''t think of when he made the first set of achievements.


    Kyle has even gone as far as to start venturing in different directions from the vault at the start a couple of times to see what was around.


    The first time, he headed north, hitting the game barrier and the message: [You cannot proceed further. Complete the ''Game'' to continue]


    From there he traveled west along the game''s border towards the sea until he ran into his first super mutants, and was quickly killed without being able to put up much of a fight.


    He tried fourteen more times after that, each time becoming a better fighter and more tolerant of pain before giving up on trying to make it past the large green mutants typically heavily armored and armed, and decided it would be more worthwhile to continue the mission to get the water chip and try another time when he had better equipment and maybe even some allies to take down the tough mutants.


    However, on his way to Necropolis, a city of Ghouls, people that were hurt badly by radiation and apparently could live a lot longer and are considered kin by Feral Ghousl, his session ended.


    Leaving part of his mind to continue working in the mental realm, Zeref looked over to Kyle who just quit the game and was back in the real world.


    "Want to get another session?" Zeref asked.


    "No thank you, I''m running low on cash, however, can I get a Service Rifle and 3 boxes of 5.56?" Kyle asked.


    Raising a nonexistent eyebrow Zeref stated, "That will cost 75 Credits for the rifle, and 15 Credits for the ammo."


    Zeref has also found that there was a loophole in the credit system.


    A majority of Kyle''s credits came from Extermination challenges, such as eliminating a certain number of enemies.


    Killing 50 Giant Rats would complete the challenge ''Rat Killer'' which was a repeatable challenge that granted 5 Credits per completion.


    However, Zeref forgot to make the challenge and other challenges as it reset upon death...


    Having Kyle purchase the rifle and ammo through the Credit Store on his computer, Zeref found the receipt popping up on his computer.


    Raising his hand and facing his palm toward the counter, Zeref opened the System Store and purchased the Service Rifle for $200 Dollars and the ammo for $3 each.


    Zeref was thankful that a lot of the items in the System Store were quite cheap, the profit certainly starts adding up when you consider the time he spent inside before he could purchase just this rifle and some ammo. However, he could earn even more profit once he patches the error with the challenges, which the other part of his mind inside the mental realm easily fixed within a few moments.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Motes of light appeared from Zeref and flowed into the air before his palm and before both of their eyes, the rifle and ammo cases appeared.


    With only a few credits and not even enough money to purchase another session, Kyle left with the gun and ammo in hand and a fierce gaze in his eyes.


    "Hmm, I wonder what he will do, he seems to have a vendetta against something," Zeref asked himself as he watched Kyle''s figure leave the cafe.


    Shrugging, he went back to work.


    Zeref has spent quite a bit of time working on Fallout and was almost done with fallout 4 and its continuation feature now.


    Once he was done with Fallout 4 and its continuation feature, he would have only one thing left to do, finish making the rest of the world, which would be an interesting change of pace compared to the USA.


    Sure, it would probably take another week of real-time of his time, but it would be worth it, and he wouldn''t have to do it at another time.


    As the hours pass and it reaches late at night, just before midnight, which is when the cafe would close, Frank decided to pay a visit once again, and he wasn''t exactly in the best of shape and decided to dirty the floor with blood that could his or someone else''s.


    "Frank, why have you decided to dirty my floor? You do realize that blood could scare away customers!" Zeref berated Frank Castle.


    "My bad, I need more Stimpaks, I''ve got the money."


    "Already? How careless have you been that you have already needed more stimpaks after purchasing some just this morning?" Zeref asked, curious.


    "Sigh...due to me constantly hunting down every gang banger in the area that I see, the criminals have started becoming more cautious, traveling in groups, carrying more guns, and keeping more guards around their hideouts to defend and warn everyone inside if I show up," Frank said with a sigh as he sat down in the chair that is meant for one of the two PCs closest to the counter.


    "You know, there''s something currently for sale inside my Credit store that would greatly help you in your hunts," Zeref suggested, thinking of the Assaultron and Fertile Deathclaw Egg available in the credit store.


    "Such as?" Frank asked.


    "For example, for the price of 2,000 Credits, you can purchase yourself a fully functional and very dangerous Assaultron, a robot of war," Zeref recommended.


    "A what?" Frank asked confused.


    "Assaultron, a robot created by RobCo Industries to serve in the United States Military. These robots are equipped with devastating lasers implanted inside their heads that can easily vaporize enemy combatants, giving them a menacing red ''eye'' on their faceplate.


    For weapons, they can be equipped with long blades that can easily cut through steel, shock claws that can grab onto a target and send devastating bolts of energy into the person''s body, and normal claws which can grab onto an enemy and crush bone.


    They can even be equipped with Laser Rifles to replace their arms, giving them a different way to attack from afar without having to use their head laser. Any questions?" Zeref explained and asked.


    "Is there any way I could get such a thing without these ''credits'' of yours?" Frank asked, interested.


    "Hmmm...I can give you one, but, you will owe me a debt, of let''s say $100,000, are you willing?" Zeref asked.


    Seeing that the Assaultron would cost $10,000 through the System Store and for 10x the profit it would be a good deal, especially since he can guess that Frank pays for most of the things in the cafe through illegal blood money he gets from the local gangs which means in this crime-infested city, it wouldn''t take long for Frank to repay him.


    Frank was silent and deep in thought.


    "Okay, I guess ill have a debt to repay, this robot better be worth it," Frank warned Zeref with a glare.


    "No worries, the robot will easily be able to dispatch those which you frequently hunt. Just be careful about larger caliber weapons if you don''t want her to break on you, okay?" Zeref asked before he purchased an Assaultron with an added stealth blade and laser rifle upgrade to go along with interchangeable claws so that it would be capable of doing basic tasks and combat.


    Motes of light flowed from Zeref''s form and coalesced and formed a robotic figure of 5" 8'' in height.


    This figure had a symbol of the US Army on the left side of its chest and its entire body was made of sleek black metal.


    For hands, the robot had two clawed hands with three metal digits, giving it the ability to grab or climb if it so desired.


    For a head, it had a glowing red ''eye'' between two plates of metal.


    Its body was humanoid in shape and its legs were clearly designed to allow the robot to sprint into the battlefield at great speeds, making it the perfect infiltrator.


    "Greetings First Lieutenant Frank Castle, how may this unit serve you today?" The Assaultron asked.

 10 - The 1,000 Man Massacre Part 1

    [Frank Castle POV]


    "What can I call you?" I asked the menacing robot before me.


    "This unit does not have any designation, if you so wish, you may designate this unit however, you see fit," The ''Assaultron'' replied.


    "You want me to give you a name?" Frank asked with a raised eyebrow.


    "This unit does not need a name, but this unit wouldn''t mind having one either..." The Assaultron stated, looking away from Frank with a gleam of red light from its eye and claws clenched.


    "How about Zeta?" Frank asked randomly, still slightly confused about this situation as he walked down an alley with his new ''robot.''


    "As you wish, this unit shall now answer to the designation: Zeta."


    "Inquiry: What is our objective, commander?"


    "Tonight we will be assaulting a hostile base of a small criminal gang compound, I scouted out the place a few days ago, and from what I could tell, there were at most a hundred men in the compound, so, if we got at this quiet, we should be able to take out a good number of them before they are alerted to our presence," Frank stated with an eerie calm tone, showing just how little he cares about the lives of the criminals


    "Inquiry: Weapons?" Zeta asked.


    "Small caliber handguns with the rest having access only to melee weaponry."


    "Sir?" Zeta spoke again.


    "Yes, Zeta?"


    "If you would allow it, may this unit clear the compound of all hostiles while you remain here and halt those that flee?"


    "...Why?" Frank asked, suspicious.


    "This unit can easily clear a compound of enemies with ease and is programmed for infiltration, assassination, and destruction. The enemy''s weapons will not even scratch this unit''s chassis, let alone detect this unit before its mission is done or nearing completion without it wanting them to," Zeta stated matter-of-factly.


    After a few moments of thought, Frank sighed and said, "Fine, but if faced with overwhelming danger, flee from the compound and regroup with me. You cost me a lot, I guess I might as well get a glimpse of what you can do, especially after being indebted with such a large sum," Frank gave in with a sigh.


    The syndicate compound was a garbage dump on the outer edge of the city not far from the pier, the ones working in the compound were in the car business.


    Car thieves would bring them cars, they''d change the plates, remove them from any trackers, then sell or use them for other illegal activities such as drug running, hit and runs, and more across the states.


    Who owned said Chop Shop?


    It was a gang affiliated with one of the Triads.


    From some research, Frank found that not only did this gang work a chop shop, but also ran a small prostitution operation, human trafficking, and drug running.


    The Triad was doing quite a bit of work through this gang, but it wasn''t the only one, this particular triad group worked through five other gangs along with this one.


    This particular gang has several outposts, but its main base was this garbage dump with the outposts being not far from it


    Frank figured it would be best to take out the main base first, it would be better to take them out first while he still had the surprise advantage, then take out those in the outposts while they ran around like headless chickens.


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    "Inquiry: Level of lethality?"


    "I want no one left alive, take down any and all hostiles. Leave those who show signs of captivity, abuse, malnourishment, or torture alive. Once your task is done, round up those left alive and come get me. Am I understood, Zeta?"


    "Yes sir. Shall this unit get started?" Zeta asked with a tilt of its head.


    "Yes. I''ll wait here and weed out any that escape," Frank stated with a cruel glint in his eye as he rose the assault rifle in his hands and hid in the alley facing the dump''s gate.


    "This unit will not let any escape with their lives, sir," Suddenly Zeta''s simple claw hands were pulled into its body, and in its right arm, a long thin blade made of an unknown material with a razor-sharp edge sprang, and took the place of where its hand was moments ago, as for its left arm, the clawed hand was replaced with a strange barrel that appeared to be some kind of firearm.


    Before Frank''s eyes, Zeta''s chassis started becoming invisible, leaving a shimmer behind as it seemed to dash towards the compound before leaping over the gate.


    "Well...shit...They won''t even see it coming..." Frank said with disbelief at the silent robot that easily entered the compound without making a sound.


    ...


    Standing around a fire a group of men could be seen laughing and talking to each other.


    "Then he said, ''I got a family, please don''t do this!'' ahahaha!" One thug said before laughing.


    "Dude, you already told us this! Why do you keep repeating it?!" Another annoyed thug yelled out.


    "Because it''s funny! Hahahahaha!" The first thug replied.


    "Just shut the fuck up, will you?!" One of the Thugs shouted.


    "Hey...I don''t like your tone."


    "Oh, what you going to do about it, tough guy?" The angry thug asked, getting closer.


    "I''ll fucking show yo-," Suddenly before every man before the fire, something priced through the chest of the Thug and quickly pulled out as the Thug fell down to the ground with a hole in their chest right where the heart would have been.


    Those quick enough to react suddenly found themselves with their heads detached from their bodies.


    Those that remained and started trying to flee, found a laser beam piercing through their backs and out their chests leaving behind cauterized holes and a vaporized heart.


    Within a single minute, eight men were dead.


    The shimmer that was Zeta leaped onto a stack of rusted cars and scouted out the interior of the compound.


    Due to all the garbage much of the interior of the compound was much like a maze.


    There was one main structure and two smaller structures inside the compound, with each building, spread out from another.


    There were also more groups of criminals scattered across the junkyard, all either relaxing or working on something, due to them being spread out, Zeta felt that this would be an easy mission.


    With silent steps, Zeta leaped over the gaps of the garbage to traverse the compound, easily reaching the next group of targets within moments.


    Scanning its targets, Zeta leaped off the stack of metal garbage it stood upon and with its blade, removed a thug of their head and in the very next moment, removed another thug of their head as well before leaving a cauterized hole in another thug''s head.


    Zeta was equipped with two claw hands, a stealth blade, a laser rifle, a Stealth Field, and its Head Laser, a great arsenal to take down most light to medium-armored units with its head laser, if given enough time, capable of taking down heavily-armored units.


    Once the second group of thugs was taken care of, Zeta quickly started making its way to one of the isolated smaller buildings, making sure to take care of any wandering thug or group it encountered.


    By the time Zeta reached the building, it had killed more than two dozen men and women.


    Not even 10 minutes have passed since Zeta entered the compound, and yet even though Zeta did not hide a single corpse, an alarm was not yet sound, just how incompetent were those in this compound that they had not yet found a single body?


    Looking upon the garage before it, Zeta counted thirty men working on a variety of vehicles, cleaning them out, removing them from their license plates, and planting bagged substances throughout the chassis of the vehicles.


    Getting a clear view of all the thugs, Zeta began going over scenarios.


    Due to the number of criminals and close proximity, Zeta believed that no matter what it did, the alarm would be tripped and everyone in the compound would come rushing to her location, so it figured it would be best to take out as many as possible as quickly as it possibly could.


    So, it began charging its head laser and within 15 seconds, a shimmer with a glowing red light could be seen standing on top of a tall pill of metal garbage and cars.


    It didn''t take long for someone to notice and alert the others.


    "The hell is that?" One of the thugs asked, tapping the arm of his fellow criminal beside him before pointing at the increasingly brightening red light on top of some garbage.


    "I...don''t know," Another thug replied.


    Soon enough the other workers stopped and before everyone''s eyes, a loud sound came from the light before a beam of red light descended onto the criminals, vaporizing everything and everyone in its path.


    Those that were not vaporized first screamed and shouted as they tried to run away, only for the beam of light to still vaporize them as well.


    Sounds of panic and mayhem sounded throughout the compound as those that remained alive in the compound took arms and started heading in Zeta''s direction.

 11 - The 1,000 Man Massacre Part 2

    Hearing the shouts and a very loud sound echo throughout the compound, Frank considered charging in, but quickly stopped, instead deciding to put a little faith in his new companion. However, he did level his gun towards the gate, ready for Zeta and a lot of men to rush out in chase.


    Meanwhile, inside the compound, the shimmer of Zeta could be seen leaping on and off stacks of garbage into groups of criminals rushing towards the garage and taking out one or two before leaping away due to the criminals noticing Zeta''s invisible form.


    Due to its ambush tactics, the thugs were looking everywhere for the invisible foe attacking them.


    Those that tried to flee, were killed by some of the other thugs that must have been the leaders to keep the others focused and in line.


    And while Zeta contemplated killing these leaders to sow chaos, it ultimately decided against it so that none would flee.


    Taking note of every criminal leader, Zeta began getting more creative to speed up the battle.


    Knocking over garbage stacks to crush those beneath, throwing metal bars with enough force to impale the men, causing friendly fire by jumping into the middle of groups and attacking, and also continuously charged its head laser, using it whenever it could.


    It noticed very quickly that due to its change in tactics, the leaders and underlings started getting afraid, some tried fleeing, so, Zeta focused on them first, eventually too many started trying to flee, so Zeta began collapsing more garbage stacks over the routes through the dump, forcing them to either stay and fight or climb and try to escape.


    "What the fuck is that thing?!" A Thug shouted before his head was detached from his body.


    The other men around him paled and started running away, only for two to be shishkabobed by a metal pole and the other three to be mowed down by small beams of energy.


    At the 30-minute mark, all 129 Criminals inside the compound, were dead, with only a few attempting to escape only to die by a masked man waiting outside the gate.


    After searching through the rest of the compound, Zeta found a makeshift cell in which the criminals housed and took care of their captives, women who were intended to be sold to their superiors for a quick buck.


    So, as instructed by her commander, Zeta scoured the entire compound before removing invisibility and approaching the captives from outside their cell.


    Seeing Zeta''s sudden appearance, a few of the women screamed.


    They heard the explosions and gunfire in the distance and were very afraid for their lives, so, a strange robot with a menacing red ''eye'' that appeared out of the thin air startled and scared them.


    "Captured Civilians, the Unit, Designated: Zeta, is here to escort you away from the premises. Congratulations, you have been saved."


    Suddenly the sounds of gunfire could be heard from outside the compound, causing Zeta''s head to instantly swerve in its direction.


    "Captured Civilians, it appears the area is still not safe, remain here while this unit clears the area of all hostiles," Zeta told the girls, handing one of them a gun it looted from a nearby safe as well as some money it liberated from the safe owned by the criminals as it felt its owner would appreciate something to help ''ease'' his debt for purchasing it.


    Meanwhile, outside the compound, Frank was having quite a rough time.


    It appears that some of those inside managed to call for backup before dying, and well...swarming around the alley in which Frank bunkered himself, was a mob of criminals and even some of the Triad''s men.


    "Damn it," Frank cursed, inserting his last magazine into his gun.


    When he ran out of ammo, he dropped his rifle and pulled out a pistol, and began firing again.


    Noticing this, the mob of criminals became much braver now that Frank didn''t have ammo for his rifle anymore.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    However, while they all faced Frank, no one noticed standing on top of the garbage dump''s wall, was an invisible figure with a glowing red eye, and in the very next second, a beam of energy waved through the ranks of the men, killing over three dozen men before seemingly running dry and stopping.


    From there a shimmer leaped into the groups of men and began butchering them like cattle.


    Within minutes, those that were still left alive long fleed, and severed limbs, ash, scorch marks, detached limbs, and countless bodies littered the streets.


    And in the distance, a great many sirens were approaching.


    Uncloaking itself, Zeta approached the alleyway where Frank could be seen gawking and staring at Zeta.


    "First Lieutenant, we need to leave. My sensors indicate many vehicles are heading this way."


    Soon Zeta and Frank left the devastating scene, including a particular group of women found shortly after the local law enforcement arrived.


    And the night was still young, not even reaching midnight yet, and there were still plenty more gangs and criminals to weed out.


    Frank was certainly surprised when Zeta fetched a hefty bag it stored in its body that contained a couple thousand crumpled dollars, where or how she kept the bag in its body, he did not know.


    He ended up thanking Zeta, which the robot easily denied, stating "This unit is designed to serve its superiors and Commanders to the best of its ability."


    ...


    Floating behind the counter, Zeref could be seen watching the morning news on his computer.


    The news featured a surprising headline, ''1,000 men and women confirmed dead last night with attacks all over the city. Detectives think it was all caused by one group,'' it''s no wonder Zeref was surprised and curious.


    Especially by the details the vultures managed to gather.


    Wounds suggest blades, bullets, burns, and many unknown fatal injuries caused by unknown weapons that left vaporized holes in its victims.


    It was a very good chance of being wounds caused by an Assautron, specifically, the Assaultron he sold to Frank two nights ago.


    To think Frank and the Assaultron manage to cause so much chaos in the span of seven hours, if it was them.


    And based on eyewitnesses stating that the main attacker was a ''Shimmer'' that emitted a devastating laser attack and cut people apart with an invisible blade, Zeref knew, it could only be the Assaultron.


    Zeref certainly was not expecting the Assaultron to be so effective, and apparently, last night''s massacre would have been even larger, but several heroes decided to show up and begin hunting down Frank and his robot companion, causing them to go into hiding.


    Of the heroes, there was Batman, Daredevil, Firestorm, and Spiderman searching for the cause of the massacre last night.


    Otherwise known as, a Billionaire CEO playboy, a Blind Lawyer, a duo of dudes in one form, and a Teenager.


    However, of those heroes, only one concerned Zeref, and that would be the brooding bat.


    Zeref''s biggest issue with Bat is that he is the most paranoid man on Earth.


    He quite literally, prepares for anything and everything. If you can think of a scenario, batman more than likely has a plan for the said scenario, a backup plan in case his previous plan fails, and a dozen more plans in case those fail as well.


    He is suspicious of anyone and everyone, even going as far as to make plans to stop his fellow heroes in case they go rogue.


    Does that speak sane to you?


    Let''s not forget to mention that Batman has a fetish for locking up criminals only for said criminals to escape from their mundane prison weeks, days, if not hours later.


    Hell, Zeref wondered how many times Joker has been arrested, only to escape not long after, and repeat the process all over again.


    It doesn''t help that many insane people have a hard-on for Gotham and its Dark Knight.


    If Zeref remembered correctly, Batman has even gone as far as to be a problem to literal cosmic beings and Gods! And he is just a man! That''s right! Batman is just a man, one that puts people with powers, god-given gifts, and more to shame!


    What''s even worse, is Batman is incredibly stubborn, which goes well with his paranoid personality.


    Don''t get Zeref wrong, he wasn''t afraid, far from it actually.


    If anything, Zeref just doesn''t want to have to deal with Batman constantly harassing him day and night for the rest of his life if he somehow accidentally or intentionally got on Batman''s bad side.


    So, if Batman did eventually find Zeref and his quaint cafe, Zeref expects that Batman would become a frequent annoyance in his peaceful life.


    Thinking about this, a certain quote from a particular character popped into his mind, ''What a drag...''


    ---


    Meanwhile, Frank was hiding away in an abandoned factory''s basement, clearing off the copious amounts of blood and ash that clung to Zeta''s chassis.


    Stacked on a nearby table,


    Stacked neatly on a nearby table, were thousands of dollars, a great many weapons, and boxes upon boxes of ammo.


    From Frank''s adventure last night, he managed to obtain $65,000 dollars, and he would have gotten even more if the cops didn''t start hunting him down and giving him less time to loot the criminal dens.


    By the end, he barely had enough time to attack any hideouts before the police arrived on the scene, that last fight last night ended up with Frank having to flee after attacking a den with Zeta and the police arriving mid-fight.


    To make it even worse, based on the news, other heroes are now searching for him now, which would severely affect how much work he could do at night, and how much ?????????? he could remove from the city.


    Little did Frank know, a certain hero was watching and listening through a tracker placed on his person, and said hero, was waiting...waiting for Frank to lead him to his supplier.

 12 - An unfortunate meeting

    A few days passed since the slaughter and the police have mostly calmed down, but remained tense and alert, waiting for another night when the killers would strike again.


    To Zeref''s surprise, Kyle, his first customer returned and apparently earned quite a bit of money, and also was apparently now out of ammunition that he purchased from Zeref not too long ago.


    "What did you do? I''m curious," Zeref asked his first customer, who was about to hop back into Fallout.


    "...I hunted down the rest of the men that forced me into debt and forced me to work for them or suffer the consequences," Kyle spoke with venom.


    ''Hmm...Two vigilantes? And they are currently my only customers? What are the chances..." Zeref mindlessly thought while humming, not believing that somehow his only customers, were both vigilantes.


    ''I guess playing Fallout really did have an influence on him, whether positive or negative, only time would tell...''


    Focusing back onto Kyle, Zeref commented, "Good for you, keep up the good work, though the word of the wise, only kill those truly deserving it, as for the others? Make them never forget the consequences of their actions."


    ''Wonder if Frank will take a liking to him? Hmm...Na. Frank is too much of a lone wolf. Wonder how he''s adjusted to his Assaultron.''


    Seeing Kyle go back to his favorite computer, one of the two closest to Zeref on the left side of the cafe from the entrance, Zeref wondered just how far he would go, would he complete Fallout 1 and stop? Or would he continue his journey, becoming the Chosen One, the Lone Wanderer, The Courier, and the Sole Survivor? What adventures would await him, from Big MT and Zion Valley, all the way to Far Harbor or Point Lookout and maybe even the Zetan spaceship, Zeref could only wait and see.


    ---


    Humming, Zeref floated far above the Earth, the Earth of Fallout.


    He''s been done with Fallout for a while now and has begun working on Project Zomboid, which was quite a bit easier since he already had the ''base'' that was Earth, meaning all he had to do, was add details and modify it to become more like the game.


    Project Zomboid was greatly different from Fallout with Project Zomboid being set in 1993 making it much more modern compared to Fallout.


    While Fallout had a nuclear holocaust, Project Zomboid got a Zombie Apocalypse instead.


    In the vanilla game, the player is alone with only a mention of other possible survivors due to a Helicopter event where a helicopter flies overhead drawing all Zombies in a large radius to your location.


    Other than that event, the player is alone with countless zombies in the fictional Knox County of Kentucky


    The player must survive, and that''s all they can do until they eventually die.


    The player must scavenge for resources, clothes, weapons, food, water, building materials and tools, and so much more if they want to thrive in the zombie apocalypse.


    You can get infected by zombies, die from bleeding out, starvation, dehydration, infected wounds, and so much more.


    The game could be considered to be quite a complex open-world zombie survival game, and if Zeref remembered correctly, it was still getting frequently updated, Zeref even remembered that the developers were intent on adding animals soon to the game.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    But because the game''s boundary was limited to Kentucky, Zeref had no idea what he''d do for the rest of the world, how he would ???????????? upon their work.


    Luckily for Zeref, he also had the Mods made for the game stored in his mind, which would greatly help in his work, especially when it comes to the vehicles, guns, weapons, and more from Mods.


    The hardest part that Zeref feels he would have the most trouble with would be the story.


    The game didn''t have much of a story besides some commentary from the Radios in-game that describe what happened just before the outbreak in the county and the Military trying to contain it.


    The other thing that Zeref will have a bit of difficulty with is the loot table since the game lacks quite a few things that would appear in a modern world.


    Essentially, Zeref wants to make sure that the players will be able to find anything that suits their needs, including things to relieve their boredom such as books, magazines, and more, even board games, card games, and whatever else Zeref could think of.


    Now, why was Zeref looking over Fallout if he had so much work to do on Project Zomboid? Simple, he was training and testing his ability to split his mind.


    At the moment his mind was split four different ways, and while it was difficult, to begin with, he''s slowly becoming used to it, and he''s even noticed that there''s no diminishing effect for splitting his mind so many times.


    One mind was focused on watching over the store, another watching his customer play Fallout, the third working on Project Zomboid, and his fourth just peacefully watching over Fallout''s version of Earth.


    Curious about testing something else, Zeref cast ''The Gaze of the Abyss.''


    To his surprise, it worked, even though he was inside a ''mental'' realm. Though now he is wondering if it truly is a ''mental'' realm instead of a real one.


    He looked upon the creatures of the void and looked over his many other spells.


    Some of his spells were simple, some were complex, some were rituals, some were utility spells, some were summoning spells, and there were even spells that allowed Zeref to make a contract that he could use to do various things, such as hire something or someone to become an employee in his store, or something as simple as an ''Oath'' that would provide punishments to whoever broke their oath in the contract while warning the other.


    It was fascinating. Especially after thinking about the summoning spells, the horrors he could bring forth made him mentally smile for a moment before shaking out of it.


    He may just be a tad bit sadistic.


    Just ignore the games that force the players to feel all 100% of the pain and feel the coldness that is death, and ignore the fact that whoever plays Project Zomboid will be suffering for a while until they become smart and strong enough to survive and any future games that may or may not make someone go crazy or mad enough to surprise even the Joker or the Daedric Prince Sheogorath, *??????????* *??????????* Soulsborne games.


    ---


    Hours passed and night arose as Kyle continued to play Fallout and became an even better fighter after going through fight after fight while Zeref continued working, and without Kyle even realizing it, he was nearing the end of the first game, even after so many setbacks and resets.


    A while ago he found the water chip and brought it back to the Vault, the very same component he was tasked to get by the Vault''s Overseer at the beginning of the game, only for the Overseer to kick him out again and command him to stop the Super Mutant threat in order to save those in the vault from the different and new threat.


    He had two ways in which he could proceed.


    Heading North-west where he encountered Super Mutants frequently in his earlier sessions, constantly dying to them because he was too weak, or, go to the Cathedral and confront the Master.


    Kyle could either go straight for the leader or go after the Master''s army, either way would be a crippling blow.


    While Zeref left Kyle wondering how he should proceed, he instead focused on the cafe, seeing as his other customer finally arrived.


    "Hey Frank, how''s the Assaultron?" Zeref asked the clearly tired Punisher.


    "Better than I would have ever thought..." Frank replied.


    "Have a busy night?"


    "Yeah..."


    "So, what can I help you with?"


    "I need five stimpaks-" Suddenly a gruff voice interrupted Frank from behind him, "So you are the supplier..."


    Looking past Frank to the person who spoke, Zeref quickly grew annoyed, "God damn it, Frank, you just had to bring him with you."


    Standing right behind Frank, was, of course, someone Zeref did not want to see, Batman.


    "Just curious, did you enter my cafe with no precautions? Ah, who am I kidding, what can I do for you?" Zeref asked, wondering just what Batman had up his sleeve in case either of us attacked.


    "Who else are you supplying to? Where do you get your products? What are you? How long have you been on Earth?" A series of questions came from Batman without pause, annoying Zeref quite a bit.


    "Will you shut up?! Ask one question at a time!" Zeref shouted in annoyance, unknowingly causing pressure to fall on the ''Hero.''


    Noticing the quiet atmosphere in the room, Zeref decided to speak.


    "Sorry for the outburst, now, why don''t we start over? You can call me Zeref, and I am the owner of this cafe, what can I help you with today?"

 13 - Grumpy Bat

    "Sorry for the outburst, now, why don''t we start over? You can call me Zeref, and I am the owner of this cafe, what can I help you with today?"


    Batman just continued to glare at me.


    Feeling slightly annoyed, but wanting to keep my professionalism I asked, "Would you like to hear about the products and services we offer in this establishment?"


    Looking to the side, I noticed that Frank was tense, and had a hand on a small sidearm he had hidden beneath his clothes, ready to shoot and fight back at any moment.


    Then I realized, Batman, was waiting, and the person he happened to be waiting on, just so happened to walk into the Cafe, with a lasso in one hand, and a sword in another and wearing a strange getup that presented them as a warrior from long ago, and it was certainly a surprise since I didn''t even know she was in town.


    "Wonder Woman, how nice of you to join us, now that your companion has arrived," I looked towards Btaman, "would you like me to begin the introduction to my cafe and the wares and services I offer?"


    I noticed the brief surprise on Wonder Woman''s face from my politeness, but Batman was stoic as ever.


    "You are the being who created the creature that is responsible for the massacre?" Wonder Woman asked.


    "What are you? How did you get on this planet, for how long have you been on our planet?" Batman immediately asked after


    "As for the beautiful miss''s question, I am not the creator of the Assaultron, that honor would go to Robco Industries, and to the brooding bat, I am what only I can assume to be a Cosmic Being, as for Earth, I have been an Earthling for as long as I can remember," I explain and tell them, skirting around the truth when it came to Batman''s questions, especially since this isn''t even my original Earth, let alone original universe or multiverse, as for my species, I was certainly bullshiting, all I knew about the form I embody now, was that it was one of the Purchasable skins of Xerath, the Magus Ascendant on League of Legends.


    Besides that, it was best Batman, the control freak who was the paranoid entity of all DC existence, should not learn more than the basics.


    Sure, I could already see that he was going to place countermeasure upon countermeasure over me, in the hope that if something inconvenient to him were to happen, he''d be able to stop me, and if that was not possible? He''d at least make sure I ended up in a prison of some kind for eternity.


    Sure, if I went full out with all of my spells and abilities I could destroy this world, but I wouldn''t do that, not only because I want to expand my store and see countless adventures through the eyes of my customers, but also because, those in the DC universe had the tendency to not stay dead.


    Kill Joker?


    There would be countless different ways he could come back.


    Kill Batman?


    The other heroes would do everything in their power to resurrect him or he might just find some other way to come back.


    So frankly, I was screwed as soon as Batman walked into my establishment.


    What makes it even worse is that I doubt ill be able to convince or persuade Batman to leave me alone, Diana Pierce, otherwise known as Wonder Woman, on the other hand, would be much easier to convince and talk to.


    "How long exactly, have you been on Earth?" Batman asked with concern.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    "I''d say almost...22 years now."


    "How come after all these years, no one has heard about you?" Wonder Woman asked.


    Thinking momentarily, I replied, "Because I spent most of my time on Earth in hiding, I hardly ever went out unless I needed to," I told them thinking back to when I spent most of my human life in my own home, feeling uncomfortable leaving the house and being around other people.


    "Now, let''s move on, are either of you still interested in viewing the products I offer here in my cafe?" I asked, diverting the conversation.


    Briefly glancing at each other, the two superheroes seemed to come to an agreement as Wonder Woman stepped closer to the counter.


    "Show us," She commanded.


    Glancing at Frank, I noticed he was still on edge.


    "Hey bud, Five stimpaks right? Here you go, enjoy your night, or would you finally be interested in a VR session? Don''t worry, anyone and everyone inside my store will be protected and safe from harm," I told Frank, hinting that he''d be safe so long as he stayed in my cafe, plus who knows, I may finally be able to get him to try the VR, although I doubt he will with the heroes in the room.


    Frank caught on quite quickly, paying me the money for the Stimpaks and backing off.


    He didn''t leave, which was good since I doubt the Heroes would even let him and more than likely would have escalated the situation since I would have to step in.


    "What are these...''Stimpaks'' that man just bought?" Wonder Woman asked, keeping an eye on Frank and Kyle, who was still in his VR session.


    "Stimpaks are a Medical Stimulant that can be injected into the body to rapidly heal and close wounds, the Stimulant is fast acting, so just after injection, the wounds will be healed within minutes based on severity. There is the Basic Stimpak and several variations that you can see in the glass display case below me," I explained.


    After explaining and describing the effects of the other consumables for public sale, I easily noticed the interest and seriousness in Wonder Woman''s eyes and even a glint in Batman''s eye too.


    "And the robot?" Batman asked.


    "That is not up for public sale, I''m afraid you can only purchase one yourself through the Credit System my Cafe offers," I told the two heroes, ignoring the fact that I sold the Assaultron to Frank for monetary gain, though that was more so that I could gain Frank''s trust and eventually his customer loyalty.


    [A/N: Like I told someone else that was apparently triggered enough to drop the novel and give a bad review, that would be the one and ONLY time where something would be purchased with cash from the Credit Store]


    "Credit System?" Wonder Woman asked.


    Switching tabs on my computer on the counter to the Credit Store, I turned the screen to them showing them the same list of options as before that Kyle had access to.


    "What is this...''Deathclaw?''" Wonder Woman asked, concerned.


    "Deathclaws are a mutated species of bipedal and incredibly lethal predators of the North American Wasteland, these extremely lethal creatures are capable of shrugging off small and even some medium caliber weaponry with their thick hides.


    They are able to survive in a great many different environments, from scorching hot deserts to freezing mountain ranges. If you would like to know more about the Deathclaws, I suggest you try out the Fallout Series in our unique VR experience."


    Just looking at their eyes, I could see their concern, but I didn''t say anything.


    "You know...perhaps one of you would like to try the VR Computers while the other watches? Get to see what our VR Worlds are like, and why you shouldn''t worry so much," I tell them, knowing full well the average person wouldn''t be able to handle going through getting killed repeatedly or feeling so much pain. Because of the hardships a person would have to go through, they can be certain that not just any average Joe would be able to get a Deathclaw.


    The two were silent for several moments before I decided to speak up again, "If you are still worried about your safety, feel free to call your friends," knowing that Firestorm should still be searching Frank''s trail.


    And it seemed that the two heroes agreed with me.


    I was already dealing with a Paranoid and Grumpy Bat and a Fierce yet beautiful Demi-God Amazon Warrior, adding someone like Firestorm into the mix wouldn''t change anything.


    Batman stepped back and raised a finger to his ear and I can only assume to call someone, couldn''t really tell who he spoke quietly, but I could only assume it would be Firestorm since he was still in the area.


    And a few minutes later, a man wearing a Red mixed with Gold Suit and their entire body covered in fire walked through the doors.


    "You must be Firestorm, nice to meet you both, welcome to my Cafe," I greeted the third hero, not realizing I just said something I shouldn''t have, because now, all three heroes were giving me a certain look.


    "How did you know?" Batman asked with his gruff voice.


    "Well...shit, you know what? Fuck it, I don''t care anymore," I stated before looking back to Firestorm, "So who makes this Firestorm, Ronald Raymond and Martin Stein, or Ronald Raymond and Jason Rusch?"

 14 - What fun

    "Now, I can see that each of you is pretty tense about me knowing about your friends'' situation, but I can guarantee you, I know much more than you could ever hope to imagine, hell, I bet I could entertain the Devil himself with some of the things I remember," I told them thoughtfully, realizing that God with a capital G and his children likely exist in this weird mash-up of a universe, and who knows, perhaps Lucifer himself is partying in a certain club in Los Angeles.


    Of course that would also mean that things like the Celestials, the Cosmic Entities such as the Phoenix, Death, and so many more dangerous things could be lurking around the corners of Earth and the wider universe.


    But, I won''t worry about those things, especially since I shouldn''t ever encounter them, and even if they did come to Earth, the heroes here will stop them from getting too far.


    And now that I think about it, with time, some of my eventual customers should reach the point to be able to take on even Superman or Thor from the things they purchase from the Credit Store.


    Just imagine an army of Assaultrons fighting against the Chitari when they invaded New York in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it would have gone a lot differently, and probably wouldn''t have ended up with so much destruction and death, at least on Humanity''s side.


    As for the heroes before me, I realized as soon as I accidentally revealed my knowledge about Firestorm being a combination of two different people, that keeping up an act wouldn''t work.


    So, I am not going to keep trying to keep up the act, they are either going to be walking out the door as hesitant customers, or enemies. Hopefully, because Diana and Firestorm are with Batman, Batman won''t act against me for now.


    Don''t get me wrong, I could just kill them, but frankly, that would just be boring and more than likely lead to the entire planet turning on me and trying to kick me out, besides, it would certainly be interesting if I somehow manage to get a few hero customers, and, if they go through with this, I should soon see the reaction of one of them playing Fallout, the currently only published game, which honestly made me feel a bit giddy and excited, especially when they realize that they will be ''normal.''


    That''s right if someone like Superman or Wonder Woman played the games, they''d be forced to play on equal ground with the other players, meaning, no enhanced strength, speed, endurance, or even life span, they''ll be as close to human as they can be.


    And if the heroes decided they wanted to be hostile, I certainly wouldn''t mind testing some of my spells and throwing them out of my Cafe.


    "So, are you willing to try the VR Games I offer in my cafe or not?"


    And much to my surprise, Batman was the first to actually step up.


    "These...VR Computers...explain."


    "Well, these computers act as an intermediary for Customers to gain access to the Credit System and the VR Games. Currently, there is only one VR Game available for Customers at this time, through these computers, you will experience a world so real, that you won''t be able to tell the difference from the one we reside in now. In regards to the world of Fallout, I highly discourage Batman from going in, that is if he doesn''t want to break his beliefs," I warned and informed the heroes, knowing full well Batman would suffer immensely in the world of Fallout due to his ''no-kill'' policy.


    "Why?" Firestorm finally spoke.


    "Hmm, Wonder Woman," I looked over to Wonder Woman and asked, "Did you participate in either of the World Wars?"


    "I did?" Wonder Woman asked, wondering where I was going with this.


    "Okay, imagine a world ravaged by Nukes, a world where a ''Great War'' escalated to the point of mutual destruction and a small percentage of the overall world population surviving, now, add horrible government and Company projects, mutated and lethal monsters and creatures, and you can get a small glimpse of what the world of Fallout is like," I explained.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    I didn''t want to delve too far into the working of Fallout and spoil too much, but if Batman were to be the one to go in, he''d more than likely be even more aggressive after leaving and maybe might even attack me, so Wonder Woman who has fought in either or both of the world wars, would be much more suited to the environment of Fallout, especially since more than likely, life was required to be taken.


    I noticed that Wonder Woman seemed to get a little paler, and Batman''s eyes hardened while Firestorm showed a look of understanding and worry, which made sense if Martin was riding as co-pilot in there, he''d be able to understand more about Fallout than the others.


    Though that raises a question, if Firestorm entered the game, would they still stay combined or would they be separated somehow?


    Focusing back on the situation at hand, "If anyone were to try it first, I honestly can only recommend Wonder Woman of all of you, to be frank, she is also more than likely the only one among you who has killed."


    "Killed?" Batman said with a snarl.


    "First of all, relax. Yes, I said ''killed,'' the world she is about to enter is one filled with strife and chaos, and if you want to know more, you will have to enter yourselves."


    Instantly determination appeared on Diana''s face and she stepped forward.


    "No, Wonder Woman, we don''t know if this is a trap," Batman started only to get interrupted by Wonder Woman, "No, I will march on, you," she looked back to me, "will there be any danger to me or my associates if I go in?"


    Tilting my ''head'', I state, "Physical? Not if they attack me or do something warranting it, mental? You''d be the only one that could have issues with it if you go in the game and can''t handle the experience."


    Why the hell are they going through with this? I figured they would have attacked me by now, especially Batman.


    It didn''t make any sense, at least in my view, to them, I am an unknown entity that claims to have been on Earth for an unknown amount of time and am running a shop that sells items that can only be described as worrying.


    Logically, they should be even more concerned than they already were, especially Batman of all heroes.


    Was there just something wrong with this universe that led to the heroes being more tame or was there something else going on?


    Pushing back that thought for now, I once again focused back on the situation at hand, having spent only a moment thinking due to most of my mind still being in the mental realms and experiencing time at a much faster rate.


    To Wonder Woman''s credit, she did not even falter for a moment before she stepped forward once again with determination.


    "How do I do this, creature?"


    "First, you must create an account, just sit down at any computer and the account creation screen will automatically appear before you."


    Once she did, she created an account under the username of, "Wonder Woman" and proceeded to the Games tab.


    "Just one thing before you begin, I do require a fee of $50 US Dollars per hour session you intend to play, and don''t worry, the fee will be well worth it, and you''ll certainly get the time you paid for."


    I was surprised to see Batman pull out a $100 US Dollar bill from his utility belt and offer it to me after grunting in what I can only assume to be an annoyance.


    Staring at him and the bill, I questioned him, "Just how many different things do you have in that belt?"


    That''s another mystery regarding Batman, for some ungodly reason, he seems to have the perfect tools for any situation, the Plot armor this man has is absurd.


    Taking the money, I looked over to Wonder Woman, and said, "Enjoy your time, you now have two hours or 200 Days in the game before your time expires."


    "Wait, did you just say 200 Days?" Firestorm finally spoke.


    "That''s right, time is accelerated inside the game, so, in the world of Fallout, 100 Days will have passed inside while only an hour passed out here."


    "How is such a thing possible?" Firestorm asked with clear confusion.


    "Trade Secret, just know that the time is accelerated inside," I informed them.


    "I''m going in," clicking on the green play button, Wonder Woman''s body froze like a statue in her chair, and an invisible sheen covered her body.


    Seeing this, the two heroes left in the room jumped and walked over to her body, when Batman tried touching her, his hand bounced off.


    ''That''s interesting, is a barrier around her body?'' I wondered.


    "What''s happening to her?" Batman quickly stomped toward me and growled.


    "She is currently in the game, more than likely she''s creating her character at the moment, as for her body, it is being protected," I state calmly.


    Then I had an idea, could I make the three of us Spectators?


    Putting one part of my mind to work on the feature, I asked the two heroes if they wanted to spectate the game with me.


    "And if it''s a trap?" Batman asked, paranoid as usual.


    "First off, I am going with you, second off, If I wanted to harm any of you, you''d already be dead, third, I am curious to see your reactions, along with hers."

 15 - An Amazonian roaming the Wastes

    [Please Select Two Traits]


    [Ambidexterous - The ability to use both of your hands equally well]


    "I already have such a ''trait,'' so it would be useless to select it."


    [Heavy-Handed - Your melee and unarmed attacks do more damage, but less critical damage]


    "What''s Critical Damage?"


    [Good Natured - Grants +5 to all non-combat skills at the cost of -5 to all combat skills]


    [(New) Bad Natured - Grant +5 to all combat skills at the cost of -5 to all non-combat skills]


    "Those are...not worth it."


    [Skilled - +5 to every skill at the cost of 10% less experience]


    "Good, depending on what these ''Skills'' are and do."


    [Small Frame - +1 Agility at the cost of 25% more damage to limb condition]


    "Good for nimble warriors."


    [Cat''s Eyes - Provides low-level nightvision]


    "That...would be very useful for me and my sisters."


    [Desensitized  - You won''t panic in even the most dangerous of situations]


    "Such a trait is treasured among my Amazonian Sisters."


    [Four Eyes - +1 Perception when wearing glasses but -1 Perception when not]


    "That...seems redundant."


    [Built To Destroy - All weapons have an increased chance(3%) to cause a Critical Hit but at the cost of higher maintenance(+15%)]


    "Your weapon''s condition is crucial in battle, the more damage would not be worth it, especially if your weapon could break mid-battle."


    [Hot Blooded - +15% damage when your health is below 50% at the cost of -2 Perception and Agility when at 50% or lower health]


    "Ah, a Berserker''s Rage, though the loss in agility doesn''t make sense."


    [Wild Wasteland - Adds additional "wacky" content. Note that some Supernatural Elements will be added to the wasteland if this trait is chosen]


    "Define ''Wacky'' and ''Supernatural Elements.''"


    [Sex Appeal - Opposite sex reacts more favorably at the cost of sometimes annoying members of the same sex]


    "A very useful ability any woman could have in battle or daily life."


    [(New) Man''s Best Freind - You have an unnatural gift when it comes to Man''s canine friends, Dogs, Wolves, Mongrels, and other Canine creatures are friendly to you and will come to your help when endangered]


    "Seems...useless, though could come in handy if I were to be alone."


    [(New) Ghoul-ish - Congratulations, your part Ghoul! You have a much greater resistance to Radiation and can even heal from it! Your life span has increased to AT LEAST 250 Years, although due to your still human appearance, you have only a 30% chance of a Feral Ghoul not attacking you on sight! Warning! Absorb too much radiation in a small amount of time will result in you becoming a full-on ghoul!]


    "A Ghoul? As in an undead?"


    [(New) Thick Skin - You were born with unnaturally tough skin, weak small caliber firearms, and dull/blunt melee weaponry will deal less damage to you]


    "Such a trait would surely be valued by man."


    [(New) Super Immune - You were born with an unnaturally strong immune system, granting you a much higher tolerance and resistance to Toxins, Poisons, Venoms, and illnesses]


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "A crucial trait that could mean life or death for any survivor."


    [(New) Iron-Stomach -  Your stomach is now as tough as iron! Your stomach can digest and break down most food with little trouble!]


    "Yet another trait that would be incredibly useful for survival."


    Looking over all the options before her, Diana wondered what two she should pick.


    There were a couple she had her sights on, [Skilled], [Cat''s Eyes], and [Thick Skin].


    Some of the traits she already had due to her Demi-God status, but the three she wanted to choose from, she did not have.


    The description of Skilled makes it seem that it would be greatly useful due to its seemingly unimportant drawback.


    Cat''s eyes and Thick Skin seems would be useful for any warrior, being capable of seeing in the dark would be greatly useful for any Warrior while having Thicker Skin could save a warrior''s life.


    And with the entity''s barest of explanations, Diana could only assume she would be going into a battlefield that surpassed any other she had ever encountered, so, without any hesitation, she selected [Cat''s Eyes] and [Thick Skin].


    [Please select your tag skills]


    Before Diana''s eyes, a long list of ''skills'' appeared.


    There were a total of thirty available skill options to choose from and they were divided into three sections, Combat, Technical, and Survival.


    The thing is, quite a few of these skills, Diana was already well trained in.


    The only skills she was not trained in were most of the Technical skills such as Engineering, Robotics, Computers, and most of the other Technical Skills.


    She had three skills she had to choose which be granted a bonus of +15 points, and taking into account of what she already knew, she chose [Repair], [Surgery], and [Lockpicking].


    Suddenly the white space she found her standing in upon starting the game was consumed by darkness.


    ---


    By the time the two heroes, Frank, and I started spectating Wonder Woman, she was already a few hours into her playthrough due to the time acceleration.


    And well...it seems she was having a rough time without her Demi-God physique and skills.


    From what I gathered, she has died twice now...


    The first time due to her now mortal strength and lack of experience with Firearms and getting swarmed by Giant Rats.


    The second time from having a run-in with a pack of Feral Ghouls.


    Currently, the four of us were floating on an invisible platform above Wonder Woman, who was wearing her vault suit and a gun in hand and heading east, towards the second vault, Vault 15.


    "What is this?! Where are we?!" Firestorm asked in alarm due to my sudden action of transferring all of us into the Mental Realm to spectate Wonder Woman''s playthrough.


    "Currently? We are in California, not far from Vault 13. Wonder Woman is currently heading east, to Vault 15."


    "Vault?" Batman asked.


    "Vaults, subterranean structures constructed by the Pre-War company, Vault-Tech, these Vaults were designed to protect the remnants of humanity until it was safe to leave the Vaults after the Fallout. Little did anyone know, the Vault Tech was working with the shadow government that called themselves the ''Enclave'', and a great many of the vaults were actually just used to commit horrifying and highly unethical experiments on the population dwelling inside. Most of these experimental vaults did not make it."


    "And she is going to one of these...''Vaults?''" Firestorm asked as Batman and Frank gazed far into the Wasteland, not seeing much if any resemblance to how Earth should have looked.


    "That is correct, as for if it''s a ''Controlled'' or ''Experiment'' Vault, we shall wait and see."


    "How did this happen?" Frank asked, still staring off into the distance.


    "Arrogance, Greed, Anger, Stupidity, there were many different reasons why the world was plunged into Nuclear Fire, the biggest reason, however, was War."


    "War between who?" Frank finally spoke.


    "In the end, The United States of America was at war with China, and fighting on three different fronts."


    "Who first launched the Nukes?" Batman questioned.


    "For that, you''ll have to find out on your own," I told them, letting out a dark and ethereal chuckle that made Firestorm flinch.


    Little did they know, if they wanted to find out who really launched the first nuke, they''d either have to cross the oceans and reach China or go digging for one of the very few large Communist outposts scattered across the US Soil.


    Or, they''d have to breach incredibly secure US Military Bases that may or may not even exist anymore that have the technology to detect who launched a missile first.


    I should also mention that I am almost done with Project Zomboid, just adding the finishing touches with one part of my mind.


    Once that is done, all that would be left is Infamous, which would differ from Fallout and Project Zomnoid. Infamous has three specific protagonists the players can play over the entire series, Cole MacGrath, Delsin Rowe, and Abagail Walker.


    Each Protagonist was a  Conduit, Conduits were essentially people much like Marvel''s mutants and Inhumans, and DC''s Metahumans, only Conduits seemed to lean more toward forms of Energy manipulation.


    For example, Cole MacGrath, the Protagonist of the first two Infamous Games had Electrokinesis and Electromagnetism, which gives Cole the ability to channel lightning through and into his body and manipulate it to form devastating attacks.


    He also unlocked the ability of Ice and Napalm Manipulation based on his Karma in Infamous through a Power Transfer device.


    But not all Conduits were the same, some just became stronger, more durable, or simply remained dormant, or there were those like Delsin, who could absorb and use the powers of other conduits.


    I wonder how Batman would react if he and so many others could become Conduits after a couple of weeks of playing games in my Cafe?


    Wonder Woman would soon arrive at Shady Sands, what will she do? I guess we shall wait and see.

 16 - A Wasteland Hero

    Not long after Diana reached Shady Sands, it didn''t take long for her hero senses to kick in and she started to do all of the tasks and quests the village offered.


    She helped with the tato, which was a hybrid of potatoes and tomatoes(which no longer existed), Corn, and Mutfruit(mutated fruit) farm by helping harvest and plant crops.


    She helped build a second water well, build a windmill, hunted with the village''s Guards for meat, and attempted to clear out the Radscorpian cave twice.


    Yes, she had done all the tasks above again twice after dying each time.


    Each time she died, I sped up our, the spectators, time in the game, allowing us to speed through all the traveling and repetitive tasks Diana redid to get back to where she was.


    "How long?" Batman briefly asked.


    "How long, what?" I replied.


    "How long since the bombs dropped in this world?"


    "Hmm, about Eighty-Four years," I replied with a hum, needing a moment to think about it.


    "And the world still looks like this?" Frank asked, horrified.


    "It will probably take many more years before the world gets back in shape..." Firestorm seemed to off-handedly quote.


    "You know, you never did answer my question? Who''s riding co-pilot with you?" I asked, thinking that more than likely, it would be Professor Martin Stein due to his expertise.


    Settling my gaze onto Firestorm, it appeared as if he was having an internal argument for a few moments before he sighed, and answered, under the gaze of Batman and Frank, "Professor Stein, how did you know?"


    "He was the logical choice, especially since he knows the consequences of too Atomic Bombs being used in a short span of time all across the world."


    "That''s not what we meant," Firestorm informed me, giving me a stern glare that paled in comparison to the one Batman gave me at the moment.


    "Hmm," humming in response, I wondered how I should reply.


    I could lie, be honest, or tell a half-lie, and who knows, that answer may very well satisfy both of them and stop them from asking too many questions about my background in the future.


    Hmm, I could also talk about the Marvel and DC universe, probably warn them about some things...and If I did warn them they may become more friendly to me and my establishment, don''t get me wrong, I wouldn''t give them special treatment over my other customers, but if I did give them some ''Advice'' I should at least lessen the likelihood of them trying to do some heroic bullshit of falsely imprisoning me for doing my business or trying to kick me off of Earth to my race or business.


    Without a doubt some of the heroes of this world ???????? be hostile to me, it''s just a given due to my business practices, and some will probably be prejudiced against me because of my race and neutrality.


    "I guess you could say I could hazard a guess due to my experiences, tell me, do you believe in the Multiverse Theory?" I asked with an ethereal chuckle.


    "Are you saying...?" Batman asked, skeptically.


    "That''s right," I replied calmly, not telling him the exact truth.


    Everyone went quiet from the revelation, yet two people here still looked confused, specifically the person in control of Firestorm''s body and Frank.


    "Think of it like this, picture Earth, and every action humanity has ever taken since they first appeared on this Earth, every Human and the countless choices they made in life. Now, imagine that you are walking down a hall, and there is a passage to your left and a passage to your right, in one universe you choose to go right, in another you go left. Let''s say just you going down the left passage eventually ended with the Earth being destroyed down the line, while the right passage saved the Earth.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    For every choice you make, a different universe is created representing a different choice that could lead to the world becoming drastically different from the one you know. Now, imagine this happening to ?????????? Human, leading to countless different Universes that represent every possible outcome from the beginning of time to the very end. All of these universes grouped up together, would be called a ''Multiverse.''


    In one universe you could have been born a Kryptonian Woman and in another, the Earth was long destroyed, leading to you never being born, make sense?" I explained.


    "I...think so?" Frank asked, rubbing his head as if having a headache.


    Letting that revelation simmer, I focused back on observing Wonder Woman.


    ...


    [A/N: Time skip for those not interested in a repeat of already mentioned events of Classic Fallout]


    We watched for many days, as Diana, Wonder Woman, struggle with life as a mortal, dying multiple times getting used to her new mortal strength and the fact that she couldn''t just go charge into a line of fire with her new body, expecting to be able to dodge bullets or defend against them with no shield.


    And yes, she did in fact, at one point in time, dash out of cover with a pistol and knife in hand towards a group of Raiders, only to get easily gunned down before making it a few feet, dying an honorable, yet entirely stupid death.


    While it was touch and go for a while, she slowly adapted to the wasteland, gaining some levels and their relevant knowledge which only helped her more.


    We watched as she slowly went from a complete novice with a gun to a decent marksman.


    She was forced to learn how to fight like a mortal, to fear that even minor injuries could lead to death, how bleeding could be a death sentence, how you have to watch what you eat and make sure that you get plenty of sleep or feel tired for the entire day.


    And while most would definitely feel overwhelmed or panicked from all of this, Diana actually seemed to be having fun and seemed to quite like the experience, due to what I can only guess to be her Amazonian bringing.


    The Amazons are a race of women hidden away on an island named Themyscira that were essentially a race of warrior women who use swords, shields, spears, bows, and various other cold weaponry and armor to fight. They were all stronger than typical humans and do not age on Themyscira, meaning they are essentially immortal while on the island, yet can still die to weapons and other means.


    I watched with rapt interest as Diana roamed the waste, following the plot to get the Water Chip, from having no rope for Vault 15 and having to search for some, to traveling to the Hub and purchasing Water for her Vault and obtaining the whereabouts of Necropolis.


    When she first saw a non-feral ghoul, she nearly took its head off with the Hunting Rifle found in Vault 15, and the Ghoul was undoubtedly not happy afterward, giving her a piece of his mind for a good hour or two.


    And from there, she was allowed into Necropolis, under the watchful eyes of the Ghoul Guards, of course.


    Ghouls were Irradiated Humans that looked more like zombies, with decayed bodies that made them resemble Zombies in both appearance and smell. And even though they certainly don''t look too good, their immune systems, lifespan, and vitality made them much better survivors than other Humans.


    Not to mention that Feral Ghouls won''t attack them like they would other humans.


    Just how good was a Ghoul''s vitality and life span, you may ask? It''s not known just how long a Ghoul can live, but from the other games, Ghouls can live up to centuries, with some Ghouls from the latter games of Fallout even being alive since before the Great War and when the bombs dropped. Ghouls even have the ability to absorb radiation to heal themselves, although too much radiation would quite literally rot a Ghoul''s brain, turning them Feral, and therefore hostile to anything alive other than their fellow Ghouls.


    Necropolis, as the name suggests, is home to a large gathering of Ghouls, and also, quite radioactive for those who are not Ghouls or those who are not taking a dose of Rad-X daily, a radiation suppressant drug that moderately lowers the amount of radiation being absorbed into your body.


    And at the Necropolis, she began helping the inhabitants living in the rundown city.


    Helping herd Feral Ghouls into a barn so they don''t hurt anyone, cleaning and rebuilding some buildings for habitation, and helping clear some sections of the city of Molerats, Giant Rats, and Radroaches(Giant cockroaches), earning her quite the amount of caps, specifically a few thousand.


    And as soon as she went down into the sewers of the city, her time ran out and I pulled all of us out of the game and back into the shop.


    Looking over to Kyle, I noticed he was still deep in his session, and checking on him with one of my minds revealed that he actually beat the game, and was now on Fallout 2, seemingly choosing to ignore the continuation feature for now.


    This was probably a good thing, since those that chose to do the feature, were granted a save at the end of their playthrough, and the time acceleration would increase by five times as compared to the normal one the players experienced while in the game.


    Meaning, while playing the CF the player would experience 500 total days, while only an hour passed in the real world.


    There were a few problems with such an insane time difference. The player could easily lose touch with reality, becoming more in touch with the world of Fallout than the outside world. They could live full lives in Fallout, perhaps living longer lives than they have outside.


    Yes, that would also mean any dedicated player could live countless lives through the games, basically giving the person centuries of life experiences and memories if they worked for it, who knows, just an average man could become mentally and spiritually the oldest being on the planet if they lived long enough.

 17 - A farewell

    Suddenly, Diana, unresponsive mere moments ago, lunged out of her chair and reached towards her waist, grabbing for a nonexistent weapon.


    "Calm down Wonder Woman, you are back!" Firestorm spoke, stepping forward into Diana''s view, with his hands raised and a nervous smile.


    Standing in the corner of the room, I noticed Batman was staring at Wonder Woman, seemingly deep in thought.


    "W-What? I''m...back?" She stuttered, eyes focusing on our surroundings, looking towards me, she drew a sword and her lasso, "You...are you responsible for all of their suffering?"


    "Responsible for their suffering? Are you asking if I''m the cause of the Great War or the suffering of the people in the Wasteland?" I asked, tilting my head to show confusion.


    "Both."


    "Ah, then no, I am not responsible," I replied since it was technically true and not true.


    "You...If not you, then who is responsible?" Diana asked.


    "Ah, the person who is mostly responsible for that world turning for the worst, would be a pantheon of Gods eventually led by the God named Todd Howard," I told Diana, totally not throwing the blame towards someone else.


    "This...Todd? Is he still alive?" Diana asked, with a stern glare.


    "I believe so, though I do not know if a variant of his exists on this Earth."


    "I shall search for this...Todd Howard, you better have not spoken false, creature," she told me, venom evident in her voice.


    Technically I did not lie, so Todd Howard, if you do exist in this universe, I give you my apologies, your life will surely be filled with troubles ahead.


    It seemed that her time in the game may have made her a bit...tense, multiple deaths and near-constant battles would do that I suppose.


    "It seems you three need some time to gather your thoughts, shall I be seeing any of you again soon?"


    "We will be back, creature," Wonder Woman stated.


    "Call me Zeref, calling me just ''creature'' sounds kind of offensive," I spoke honestly, watching them soon leave.


    ''Well, I kind of expected this meeting to end in a fight...'' I thought to myself, also wondering if there really was something that calmed them down and becoming completely aggressive.


    ...


    [POV Change]


    Meeting at a nearby rooftop, the three heroes looked down past the edge towards the cafe, each had varying thoughts about the place.


    One was concerned and cautious.


    Another was afraid and perplexed.


    The last was Angry and...sad.


    Diana was pacing back and forth on the roof, her mind still clearly lost in thought, but her body was ready for any sudden action.


    Batman who was staring intently at her, finally spoke after what felt like minutes of silence, "Firestorm, leave."


    Although It seemed Firestorm was about to say something in return, they shook their head and ended up flying away, leaving Batman and Wonder Woman alone on the roof.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "Diana..." Bruce started only for Wonder Woman to interrupt, "Why, Bruce? Why would humanity cause such suffering to itself? Why would the gods let such atrocity be committed without preventing it?"


    "I don''t know," Batman replied, his eyes focusing on the cafe, thoughts swirling in his mind, yet his face still stoic.


    Turning back to Diana, Bruce spoke, "That world may be just a game to that...thing, but it''s real."


    "Did...Did you see?" Diana asked, sadness in her voice.


    "Yes. Why did you kill them?" Bruce asked, gaze stern.


    "What would you have me do? I was mortal in that world and those mons...people, those people tried to kill me...and they succeeded once, what would they have done if left alive? They would have ???????????? and ???????????? on the few people left in that wasteland, and with how that land was, who would have brought justice? Justice to all those killed, ra***, robbed and gods know what else? I had the chance, so I stopped them, permanently," Diana replied, crossing her arms and stopping, giving Bruce an intense look.


    The silence was her answer as Bruce looked back to the Cafe, his thoughts unclear to her, with no reply, she continued, "Bruce...that...thing in there, I can only guess it has to be at the level of the Gods, and possibly even more...its presence was...troubling...and if its words are to be true...it plans on creating more worlds as ''entertainment.''"


    "I know," Bruce stoically replied before turning to her, "I will set up some cameras to watch over this store, I set up a few taps in the store, and placed a tracker on the two individuals in the store. If this creature really is a threat, we will need help, but for now, we can only watch, and learn."


    "Bruce..." Diana started, only to be interrupted by Bruce, "Don''t worry, I''ll also begin looking into this ''Todd'' person, if they exist on our planet, I''ll find them."


    "Thank you...I will head home. I have much to think about," Diana told Bruce, before leaping away from roof to roof until Bruce could no longer see her.


    As if a weight was left off his shoulders Bruce let out a long sigh as he gazed to the store.


    Bruce didn''t know what to think.


    Diana killed ???????????????? of people in that ''Fallout'' world, some not once, but ???????????????? times, but that planet was currently just anarchy, Bruce doubted there were any governments, anyone to keep the peace and bring justice, so he could understand that killing them would have prevented them from doing more harm, but Bruce still believed there could be another way...


    Sure, it would take time and a lot of resources and effort, but Bruce honestly believed most men and women could be turned good with the help of others, the people in that world were no different.


    You never know what one person could be capable of, he could be a criminal one day, but eventually help save thousands of people. People should always have second chances, there''s ???????????? a better way.


    Bruce didn''t really know what to think when it came to the entity in the shop that called itself ''Zeref.'' The goods it offers could save countless lives, but some of them could also end so many more, Bruce knew that if any military force managed to obtain and reverse engineer the drugs in the store, wars would become even bloodier.


    Who knows, if a country managed to obtain and mass-produce all of the drugs in that store themselves, they may get bold and start eyeing their neighboring countries.


    That''s not even considering the goods purchasable through the creature''s ''credit system.''


    If any country managed to obtain an army''s worth of those ''Assaultrons,'' then he had no doubt that some countries would immediately declare war on others due to the abrupt change in military power.


    Just based on what he saw with his own eyes and the witnesses'' testimonies, he fully believed that just a few of those robots could conquer a city, let alone what even a hundred or a thousand ?????????? do.


    It was a tough situation, on one hand, the items that the creature sells could save countless lives, and on the other, the items it sells could end the lives of countless more.


    Then there are the ''Virtual Games'' that the creature spoke of, and they might have been just ''games'' to the creature, but to both Diana and him, that world was too real to be a ''game.''


    From his observations, he could clearly see that each and every ''NPC'' thought and felt, they had their own dreams and expectations, and they felt pain, happiness, and every other emotion.


    That world...was real, and, while Bruce didn''t want to antagonize a creature that Diana claimed was ''God-like'' he wouldn''t hesitate to do so if it posed a threat to Humanity and Earth.


    As for what the creature talked about regarding a ''Multiverse'' concerned Bruce even more. If what it said was true, there could be countless worlds where everything Bruce knew, could be flipped on its head.


    What if there was a world where the heroes had the opposite values they had here? Such as a variant of Superman who was a mass murderer? Or a variant of himself that was a villain?


    It horrified him, especially if there were ways for those same variants to travel the multiverse and eventually enter theirs. Bruce had much to prepare, he would need to have countermeasures for a lot more things now, including the creature, and many things he never even accounted for.


    Bruce gazed down at the Cafe and in the next moment was gone, leaving not even a single trace behind.


    Minutes later, a dozen small cameras were set up around the area, having coverage over every nook and corner of the area and the cafe.

 18 - Kyles Adventure in Fallout 2

    When Kyle completed the first Fallout after getting rid of the Master and the Mariposa military base, he thought that would be it, but upon completion, he was met with a system message.


    [Congratulations on completing Fallout 1! You have unlocked Fallout 2!]


    [You can choose to continue through the Continuation Feature and continue your journey where you are, or move on to the next game, Fallout 2 and start a new journey.]


    [Congratulations! You have earned 50 Credits for this run!


    +25 for completing the main quest


    +10 for slaying at least 1,000 entities


    +5 for slaying at least 500 Humanoid Enemies


    +5 for discovering all locations


    +5 for discovering most encounters]


    That was by far the most amount of credits he has earned from a single run!


    As for continuing his journey, he thought about it for a bit, but eventually decided to move on to the next game, and get a ''breath of fresh air.''


    Kyle feels that he has found his calling, and honestly, has never felt better more alive since he found this game a year or three ago.


    Kyle doesn''t know what would have happened if he didn''t find this game years ago, but what he does know, is that he won''t give it up, not now or ever.


    So, whenever Kyle was forced to leave the world, he spent his time hunting down those he once worked with, those that caused suffering to others in the night, and, with the money he liberates from them, he uses to continue his journey.


    His old life felt so foreign compared to the life he lived now, and he honestly couldn''t picture going back to the way he used to live. So, when he found himself at the character creation screen once again, he couldn''t help but smile, knowing he''d be facing the unknown once again.


    And wanting to improve himself even more, this time he pumped the five free SPECIAL stats he got into intelligence, leaving the rest at a meager five and intelligence at ten.


    And his three tag skills went straight to Small Guns, Repair, and First Aid.


    He long since found out, that skills provided ''Instinctual knowledge'' and not actual knowledge, for example, with enough skill points in Small Guns, you''d instinctively know how to use small guns accurately and with greater effectiveness. So, Kyle has been learning from this instinctual knowledge allowing him to focus on putting his points in other areas.


    Slowly but surely, Kyle has been improving himself, and eventually, he will learn everything, he just didn''t know whether that would be before or after he finished the ''Game,'' not that he actually wanted it to have a ''finish.''


    Once he did that, he was given the list of traits and was happy to see some new ones on the list.


    After some thinking, he eventually chose ''Skilled'' and ''Thick Skin.''


    He figured learning how to deal with his emotional state without ''Desensitized'' would be incredibly useful, especially since it would mean he could select a different trait to use.


    He took a deep breath and started the intro.


    "War. War never changes.


    The end of the world occurred pretty much as we had predicted. Too many humans, and not enough space or resources to go around. The details are trivial and pointless, the reasons, as always, purely human ones.


    The earth was nearly wiped clean of life. A great cleansing, an atomic spark struck by human hands, quickly raged out of control. Spears of nuclear fire rained from the skies. Continents were swallowed in flames and fell beneath the boiling oceans. Humanity was almost extinguished, their spirits becoming part of the background radiation that blanketed the earth.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    A quiet darkness fell across the planet, lasting many years. Few survived the devastation. Some had been fortunate enough to reach safety, taking shelter in great underground vaults. When the great darkness passed, these vaults opened, and their inhabitants emerged to begin their lives again.


    One of the northern tribes claims they are descended from one such Vault. They hold that their founder and ancestor, one known as the "Vault Dweller," once saved the world from great evil. According to their legend, this evil arose in the far south. It corrupted all it touched, twisting men inside, turning them into beasts. Only through the bravery of this Vault Dweller was the evil destroyed. But in so doing, he lost many of his friends and suffered greatly, sacrificing much of himself to save the world.


    When at last he returned to the home he had fought so hard to protect, he was cast out. Exiled. In confronting that which they feared, he had become something else in their eyes...and no longer their champion.


    Forsaken by his people, he strode into the wasteland. He traveled far to the north, until he came to the great canyons. There, he founded a small village, Arroyo, where he lived out the rest of his years. And so, for a generation since its founding, Arroyo has lived in peace, its canyons sheltering it from the outside world. It is home. Your home.


    But the scars left by the war have not yet healed. And the Earth has not forgotten."


    He stumbled as he found himself standing in what looked to be a hut with a strange woman covered in tattoos and wearing a hooded robe before him.


    "Come in, ???????????? ??????. There are things you must know. The village is dying. The signs are everywhere. Withering crops...dying brahmin...sick children," The elder spoke hastily before continuing.


    "There is hope, however. A slim hope that few know of. The old disks speak of an item called the Garden of Eden Creation kit. It is said that it can bring life to the wasteland. This will be your quest if you prove yourself worthy."


    "If I am worthy?" Kyle asked.


    "Yes, Chosen One, your must first journey to the Temple of Trials for proof. If you survive, come back and talk to me some more. Our life is in your hands, chosen one. Prove yourself. Find the GECK, be our salvation."


    "And where is this...''Temple''?" Kyle asked, noting the strangeness of how the Vault Dweller lived out the rest of his days, forming a tribalistic village instead living out his days in Shady Sands, an honestly much better choice.


    "Head north of the village, Klint will lead you there. I wish you great success, Chosen One," The Elder informed Kyle, before having him exit the tent.


    Stepping outside, Kyle found that the village wasn''t exactly large, based on the number of buildings, there could not be more than a hundred people in the village.


    Standing right beside the village, with a spear in each hand, must have been Klint, seeing as he tossed me the spear and nodded to me.


    "Come, we travel to the temple."


    "How far is the Temple?" Kyle asked.


    "An hour''s walk north of the village, hidden," Klint replied with a gruff voice.


    "I''ll follow your lead, mind if I ask some questions as we walk?"


    "So long as they are not in regards to your trial," Klint replied with a glance.


    ...


    He learned much from our talk, most importantly, he learned the date.


    It was the year 2241, and eighty entire years passed since when the ''Vault Dweller'' left his vault and began his journey before eliminating the Master and destroying the Mariposa Military Base.


    It was strange to see how much fervor and respect Klint showed for what Kyle felt to be himself. Even more so to hear the deviations of details in the stories from what Kyle knew he did in his final run.


    For example, there were ''tales'' of the Vault Dweller fighting something called ''Deathclaws.''


    And from what he learned about them after, Kyle is glad he didn''t run into any in his final run.


    Soon enough the two of them reached what looked to be a strange old temple.


    It had to be at least a hundred years old, if not older, and strange enough, it was an old building on the side of a rather large hillside, and sitting just above the entrance was a sculpture of a face.


    "This is where we part, you must venture forth into the Temple of Trials and strive to succeed, you may not exit until you finish the trial," Klint informed me while gesturing towards the temple with his spear.


    With just pants and a spear, Kyle sighed but still stepped forward.


    He hadn''t had much experience in using melee weapons and preferred firearms, but if he had to learn, might as well do it now.


    Climbing up the stairs and walking into the temple, Kyle began walking down a hall with his focus running in overdrive for any sudden attacks, traps, or sudden movements.


    Suddenly the chittering of what sounded like insects echoed down the hall, causing him to grip tight on the spear.


    What concerned him, was that these insects sounded...??????.


    Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward before immediately stopping due to hearing something coming towards him.


    Raising his spear, he watched as three dog-sized brown Ants came into view before him, causing his eyes to widen.


    ''Ants? Does that mean there''s a damn Giant Ant colony in here?'' Kyle asked himself, knowing that Ants of such a large size if allowed to make colonies, could be incredibly dangerous.


    With hardly any fear, he charged forth and thrust the spear as hard as he could into the head of the closest, causing a disgusting crunch sound to echo down the hall as the spear easily stabbed through the entire ant.


    Seeing one of the ants charge and near, he kicked the ant as hard as he could before ripping out the spear.


    Seeing that the ant he kicked was on the ground struggling to get off of its back, Kyle focused on the other ant, quickly ending its life as well.


    Then, walking over to the other ant still stuck on its back, wriggling and shaking in an attempt to roll over, Kyle planted his foot on its thorax and thrust the spear through its head.


    Taking in a deep breath, he couldn''t help but sigh upon hearing even more ants coming his way.

 19 - Release of Project Zomboid and expansion

    After the heroes left, Frank left not long after, informing me he would visit again, and hours later, when I had to close the shop, I forced Kyle to exit the game.


    He was obviously not pleased, but I did inform him that the cafe was closed, and to come back tomorrow, he could always continue where he left off and use however much time he had left that he paid for when he came back in.


    If you have ever seen what a gaming addiction looks like, then you''d be able to tell that Kyle has it, especially with all the signs.


    Not that I minded, the man was free to do what he pleased with his own life, even if that means risking his life in the real world just to continue playing the game.


    And with him gone, I locked the cafe doors, then began what I have been waiting to do since I got enough money.


    I opened the system shop, and after searching for what I was looking for, I soon found it.


    [Open New Entrance? ($50,000)]


    Without hesitation, I confirmed the purchase, and I immediately noticed a difference.


    When looking at the cafe doors, I could see what looked to be two different locations on the other side of the glass, the street I was used to...and what looked to be...well, a wall.


    The new entrance must have been placed in an alleyway, although I have no idea where it actually is, it could be somewhere else in the city, or even a different city altogether.


    Guess I''ll just have to wait and see if I get any customers in the morning.


    And since I no longer require sleep or any other mortal needs, so I might as well do some finishing touches to Project Zomboid since I plan on releasing it tomorrow morning when the Cafe opens.


    I also spent a few minutes going over every surface of my cafe, removing any cameras and monitoring devices the paranoid bat would have left, as is his nature.


    Though I was not even going to bother checking outside, since more than likely, he set up cameras and taps outside as well.


    Walking back over to the counter, I floated behind the counter in a lotus pose, and with my mind split into six parts now, I went over PZ to make sure everything was ready.


    I added a few things to the base game that I felt should have been a part of the game to begin with, such as other survivor NPCs, animals, and a much more significant amount of worldbuilding, creating a great many more types of encounters, zombies, and overall stories to make the world feel as if it was a lot more alive.


    I also added more books and various other items to the world so that the players would have a great many things they could do to keep themselves entertained.


    I even expanded the weapons and vehicles, adding things such as bicycles, scooters, trucks, vans, semi-trucks, and so much more.


    And the game doesn''t even have a set end. The only way to end the game is to die, whether by old age, zombies, or any other mortal way to die.


    Something different about this game, however, was that it was multiplayer.


    If someone wanted, they could make a server that could hold up to 1,000 players and every one of them could work together to survive for a long time, though doing so would lessen the number of credits a person could gain at the end, while if you attempted the game solo, you would earn a bonus amount of credits at the end.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The game would have different challenges compared to Fallout, with most being Progressional Challenges.


    Such as, live for 100 days or 50 years, or slay 100 zombies or 100,000.


    There were even challenges to clear out a city or town entirely of its zombie populations or build their own house, or car.


    There were a lot more challenges for offer in Project Zomboid than in any of the Fallout Games, and compared to the Fallout Games, Project Zomboid had countless more times free to play the game, you could play however the player wanted since there was no set quest or objective other than to simply survive as long as possible.


    Stretching my body, I got to work on making sure there were no problems before I release the game.


    ---


    Soon enough it was 10 in the morning, and while I had one part of my mind control my body and begin opening shop, four other parts of my mind began working on the next project, while the last part started looking over the system shop to see what could be sold to the public from Project Zomboid.


    And boy oh boy were there some juicy things for sale.


    [Zombie Virus Inoculation: A Serum that can be injected into a living organism to prevent revival after death and infection of the Z-Virus by Hosts of the Virus ($100)]


    [Potent Vial of the Z-Virus: An airborne strain of the Z-Virus that will turn whoever inhales into a carrier of the virus, turning them undead after death and allowing for the spread of the Z-Virus ($1,000)]


    [Zombie Neural Chip: A Neural Chip that can be embedded into a host of the Z-Virus that allows for the control of the virus''s host, Warning: The Chip won''t work if the host''s brain is damaged past a certain degree ($500)]


    There were a few more unique items for sale, but frankly, they were all far too dangerous.


    One option even forced the zombies to undergo evolution, allowing them to become much more deadly and survive much longer than the basic zombie which would eventually starve due to not being able to catch their food or running out of food sources.


    Imagine a zombie with a human intellect, tougher body, denser muscles, and serrated claws, yeah...that wouldn''t be very fun for any of the survivors left in the world.


    Focusing back on the real world due to the sound of the doors sliding open,  see Kyle who was clearly tired come into the store.


    "Didn''t sleep?" I asked.


    "No need for it, I''d rather get back," He replied, eyes focused solely on the computers.


    "I understand, you have just over an hour of time left from last night, so feel free to hop in," Without hesitation, Kyle went to his computer and jumped back into Fallout 2.


    Shrugging, to no one but myself, I kept most of my mind focused on Infamous and waited.


    The morning was uneventful for the next couple of hours as Kyle went back into the game after he was forced out.


    However, just when it passed noon, I heard the doors slide open, and glanced up, frowning upon what I saw.


    Red hair, a green leaf-like dress, and a seductive figure.


    "Posion Ivy?" I found myself asking.


    "You...what are you?" The Villain asked, as what looked to be vines slithered from the corners of the alleyway behind her.


    "They...you shouldn''t be here, you don''t ????????????. For them to feel fear..." She continued with an expression of grimace and hesitation, and with a glance, I could see the plants beneath her were actually shaking.


    Are the plants sentient?


    Right...the Green. I forgot that this is a weird hodgepodge of a universe.


    "I''m just your average shopkeep, say...how would you like to see what ?????????? be?" I asked, making sure to be as cryptic as possible.


    "What...What do you mean?"


    "How would you like to see Earth, a ?????????????????? Earth, and how humanity brought it down to its knees?" I asked, before suddenly feeling as if something else began listening into our conversation.


    "Why would I want to see such a thing?!" She asked, provoked.


    "So that you can learn, of course. Learn the consequences, learn about that humanity''s mistakes, and how to prevent them...how they managed to do something you ??????''?? and began fixing the damage they did and discover a way to fix the many problems this Earth faces even now?" I asked, thinking about a certain technology that Posion Ivy would do whatever it takes to obtain. The G.E.C.K.


    Garden of Eden Creation Kit.


    Essentially, they were terraforming kits the size of a suitcase that could turn an inhospitable land into one brimming with life within anywhere from a few years to a couple of decades.


    You could think of Posion Ivy as an extreme Ecological Activist that wanted to save the planet from being poisoned and destroyed by Humanity''s greed.


    And while this could be incredibly dangerous, I had no doubt that if she did go down a worse path than the one she is probably on now, then the heroes of the world would put a stop to her.


    But if she managed to succeed? She''d probably be able to solve things such as world hunger, climate change, and deforestation, and possibly save the planet.


    Or, it could blow up in my face, so, why not gamble? It''ll be fun!

 20 - Poison Ivy

    [Zeref''s(MC) Pov]


    "This device...it''s a terraformer?" Poison Ivy asked.


    "Indeed, while I won''t reveal too much about the device, what I will tell you, is that it was created to bring life back to a desolate wasteland, and it ????????????, it may have taken years, but it did eventually bring back life."


    "What would I have to do to obtain this device? If it actually exists," She asked with seriousness, folding her arms underneath her breasts, pushing them up to show them off, and staring at me.


    "You need only play the games I offer in my store and earn credits, and wait for the item to appear in the Credit Store."


    She balked at my reply as she let her arms fall and one of her eyebrows rise, clearly because she was expecting a steeper price.


    "You''ll have to work hard, but eventually, you should be able to earn enough credits to purchase a G.E.C.K from the Credit Store, but for now, why not come over here and see our public products for sale? I offer a wide range of goods, from Medical Stimulants to food and cold beverages, I''m sure I''ll have something that suits your tastes."


    Still, she stood by the door, not coming closer, seemingly pondering what to do.


    "Well? What are you waiting for? I swear I don''t bite," I chuckled, raising my hand and signaling her to come forward.


    Eventually, she did step forward, and I began showing her the public goods I had to offer from both Fallout and Project Zomboid.


    For Fallout, I had of course, the Stimpaks and its other variants, as well as the notable beverages of the wasteland, such as Vim, Sunset Sasparilla, and of course, Nuka Cola and its variants.


    As for food, I offered the popular pre-war food of America, such as Blamco Mac & Cheese, Dandy Boy Apples, Fancy Lads Snack Cakes, Salisbury Steak, and Sugar Bombs.


    I even now offered the more exotic food of the wasteland, such as Deathclaw Omlets and Steak, Mirelurk Cakes, Queen Mirelurk Stew, Radstag Steak, and even Radscorpian Casserole.


    As for what I offered from Project Zomboid regarding food, it was pretty much normal, such as Eggs, bread, peanut butter, canned food, etc.


    I felt like I was running a convenience store more than a cafe at times, and I even invested in a refrigerator that cost me a measly 1k. The fridge was well worth the cost, being extremely advanced compared to anything humanity could produce.


    Anyways, Ivy ended up asking what Deathclaws, Radscorpions, and various other things about my products, and luckily, the system came to my rescue as I read out the in-depth descriptions about the items and the process they went through to be created.


    It turns out the process was surprisingly humane, especially when it came to the more meat-based products, which I could tell still caused a bit of displeasure from Ivy.


    "What about the computers and that man? Why is he frozen still like a statue?" Poison Ivy asked, curious and glancing over at Kyle, deep in his session.


    "Those are the VR Computers, they let you access your store account, the VR Games, and the Credit Store."


    "Games?"


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    "Ah, the Virtual Worlds, essentially, are incredibly realistic worlds in which you, as the player, can explore as if it were a real world. Currently, only two games are available to customers, The Fallout Series and Project Zomboid."


    "What do these...worlds entail?" Ivy asked.


    "The First is a series of Games that features a singular world across several points in time, how I would describe Fallout, would be the player has to survive through a desolate wasteland that is struggling to recover from a disaster. When it comes to Project Zomboid however, it''s a sandbox world where the player is put into a Zombie Apocalypse and must strive to survive."


    ''Man, I really got to make some kind of Game trailers so I don''t have to keep introducing the games myself,'' I noted to myself, as I got a part of my mind to begin working on it.


    "And this...Fallout, I assume has the device featured in it?" Ivy asked.


    "That''s right, though you don''t have to play the game if you don''t want to, you can earn credits from either game and use the credits to buy a G.E.C.K whenever it shows up for sale," I informed her, knowing that Project Zomboid would probably be easier for new players to adjust to than Fallout.


    Speaking of which, one of my minds was actually going over the two games, and making them playable as simple PC games, adding both the virtual and PC option for players, though earning credits through the PC would amount to a lot less than those who play through the games Virtually and frankly, the Virtual Worlds will have a lot more freedom, including the continuation feature, and be much better.


    I call it the Classic Mode and Virtual Mode.


    Before I forget, another downside to the Classic Mode is that it didn''t have the time acceleration that the VM did.


    "How much would it cost to play these...games?"


    "$50 an hour, though at the end of this month that price will be raised to $100 an hour," I informed her.


    "Expensive," Poison Ivy stated with a frown.


    "But well worth the price," I replied with a chuckle.


    "...I will need time...I shall return," She stated, sounding quite like Wonder Woman for a second before leaving.


    ''Ah well, I did try, though who knows, she might tell her friends about my quaint cafe.''


    With her gone, I went back to watching Kyle''s playthrough of Fallout 2 and let the other parts of my mind continue working...only for the doors to slide open again, not even ten minutes later.


    Taking control of my body with one of the parts of my mind, I looked up to see a group of aggressive men with bats, knives, and metal pipes in hand.


    "Hmm? Costumers! Welcome!"


    ---


    It turns out that they were cowards, and ended up running straight out the door when they found out my body wasn''t a statue or some decoration.


    They came from the Gotham entrance, so I guess I should expect more visitors soon as they will likely spread tales about my cafe to their accomplices.


    And low and behold, not even 15 minutes later, more thugs and criminals arrived before turning back.


    This went on for the next couple of hours, with those who entered my cafe simply running back out upon seeing my form, which was becoming a bit annoying, and each man or woman who entered my cafe looked to be criminals or ''tough guys,'' solidifying my idea that the location of the new entrance was in that of Gotham, the most crime-infested city of the DC Universe.


    Eventually, someone from Gotham gained enough confidence to actually stay and talk to me, allowing me to show them the newly made trailers of Fallout and Project Zomboid.


    The parts of my mind that were working on the Classic Modes were also almost done, so the mind that worked on the trailers was set to work on trailers for the modes for both games too.


    Everything was turning out well, and by the time I am done with these last couple of things, I expect I should have more customers, though I doubt they would be any good people.


    As for my Cafe entrance in new york, I noticed more people have begun to walk by the entrance every once in a while, so I do think people are moving back into the area now that the gangs have been removed, so I should also begin expecting customers soon from that entrance too.


    I was surprised by how much fun I was having, I would have never expected to live again after dying, especially not in a fictional world as a fictional being, in a magical cafe.


    In my past life when I was human, I certainly wasn''t religious, I simply believed that upon death, everything that makes up a person would simply cease as the brain shuts down and the body begins to rot. I didn''t believe there would be an afterlife or a dream, I simply believed in the nothingness.


    Speaking of my past life, I certainly wasn''t anything special, I spent most of my time working and reading, and what little time left playing games and listening to music, until I eventually died, not that I remember how I died.


    But enough about that sore topic, that''s the past, and now? A new life lies ahead of me, and I couldn''t help what wonders I would see or help create.

 21 - Kyles Journey, and Tutorial

    After Kyle successfully completed the trial and became the tribe''s champion, he was gifted with a few stimpaks, a Vault-13 Jumpsuit, and a metal flask painted blue with a bold ''13'' on the front of the flask.


    Unfortunately, they did not give him any firearms, but after asking, they did give him a bow and a quiver of arrows, which was better than nothing.


    He was also informed of a place called Klamath, given some paper cash from something called the ''New Californian Republic,'' and given some basic supplies that would last long enough for him to get there.


    Before leaving the village, however, he helped around the village, getting a couple more supplies from the process, such as a few pouches of Healing Powder, some more food and water, and he even managed to have one of the tribesmen sharpen his spear.


    From there, he actually learned a bit about the village and the people that inhabited it. The people were certainly tribalistic, but still quite smart, due to learning from the Holo-discs they got from the Vault Dweller''s Vault that had a wide variety of information, it just baffled him that they chose to remain living their Tribal way instead of modernizing and making a proper town, but he could see why they chose this way of life.


    Even though their village was going through hard times, everyone still seemed happy and quite close, and everyone treated each other like one big family, they even treated him like family and gave him their wishes for his long journey ahead.


    It made him happy that his descendants would grow so close, even if they were not precisely ?????? descendants by technicality.


    So, after a few hours of interacting with his descendants, he set out, feeling better after learning as much as he could about his descendants.


    ---


    "These...games, truly allow us to live in a different world?" Asked a rather large and buff bald man, covered in scars and tattoos, a rather cliche-looking thug, if you asked Zeref.


    "That''s right, Mr...?"


    "Volkov."


    "I see...Volkov, was it? What were your thoughts in regards to the game trailers?" Zeref asked, getting ready to note any feedback the man might give.


    "Fake."


    "Too good to be true?" I replied, getting a simple nod.


    "How about I make a deal, try the game, and pay for an hour session, if you think the game and everything I have stated in regards to them is false even after playing, I will refund your money and add a little bit on top to make up for your time. However, if everything I have stated were to be correct, you will have to recommend my store to at least three of your friends or trusted acquaintances, deal?"


    Seeing the apparent loophole, the thug took the bait and pulled out the money he had available in his wallet.


    "Wonderful, what game would you like to play? Do note that no one has played Project Zomboid as of yet, and Fallout while it would definitely prove my words, I suggest you try project zomboid for your first session as it will be easier for you to...adjust."


    "Whatever you say, how do I do this?" The man asked after walking over to a computer.


    "All you need to do, is find a computer, sit down, and create your account, once you have done that, click the green play button on whichever game you choose in the ''Games'' tab."


    So, following Zeref''s instructions, Volkov created an account named Bloody Fist, and with difficulty in using the mouse, switched over to the game''s tab and selected a game.


    And to Zeref''s pleasure, he chose Project Zomboid.


    Guiding him through the process from behind the counter so that he wouldn''t scare off the customer, the man pressed [Play] and went still in his chair, as if a statue.


    Sending a part of his mind to watch, he went back to waiting for more customers.


    Meanwhile, in the game, the man, Volkov suddenly found himself standing in a doorway, looking upon a couple in a damaged room with the sound of lightning and rain coming from behind him.


    The couple, a man and woman, were in the corner of the room, the woman, incredibly pale and looking sickly and on the break of death.


    Her leg was wrapped up in a bloodied bandage, and her face was pale and lifeless, the man, in tears with blood coming out of his mouth, had his arms wrapped around the woman''s neck, hugging her in his grief.


    Volkov stood still for what felt like minutes as the man continued to cry into the shoulder of the woman, who was clearly dead or near death, and the rain and thunder echoed from behind him.


    Volkov didn''t know what to do, he found that he couldn''t turn around or look away, his vision was trapped looking in the room, and only then did he notice floating words to the left of the couple.


    [Tutorial]


    [Solo]


    [Multiplayer]


    [Workshop (Coming soon!)]


    [Quit]


    The thug didn''t know what to think.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    He was just in the cafe, expecting to easily be able to scam the freak and get some free money...he didn''t expect the freak to speak the truth, if this even is real, and not some drug-induced hallucination or power of the freak.


    Either way, the thug didn''t know what to do, he couldn''t move, and could only move his eyes and mouth, but no matter what he said, the couple didn''t react.


    Fear, the thug felt fearful of his new situation, was the freak going to rip him open and sell parts of him after knocking him unconscious or drugging him?


    It took a few more minutes as the man''s gaze kept returning to the couple and the floating words before he was able to move on and try something else.


    He could only move his eyes, so, he tried focusing on the words instead, looking away from the scene on the other side of the room.


    And when focusing on the word ''tutorial'', he was surprised to find new words appearing before his eyes as the room dimmed and turned pitch black.


    "These are the End Times."


    "There is no hope for survival."


    "This...is how you died."


    The thug found himself standing alone in what looked to be a cabin''s kitchen when another message screen showed up at the corner of his eye.


    [Welcome to Project Zomboid!]


    [Soon, you''ll die horribly. No one will mourn you, and you will be swiftly forgotten. Everything will have been for nothing!]


    [So, let''s make sure you go out fighting!]


    [As this is the Tutorial, Pain has been set to 10%, and due to your choice of the ''Virtual Game Mode,'' you do not have access to the many perks and abilities Classic Mode players will have access to]


    [Now, let''s get your blood pumping, follow the arrow at the top of your vision to the next area, where it''s definitely safe!]


    Eventually, when he did move and follow the arrow, he was led into the adjacent room which featured a living room along with a large wooden crate, piano, stairs on the far end of the room, and various other pieces of furniture.


    Suddenly a groan came from outside, causing the man to jump, as the screen of words once again appeared, this time flashing.


    [Dead Person Alert!]


    [You''re going to have to do some looting if you want to survive an attack!]


    [Head back to the marked counter in the kitchen, and we will learn to steal!]


    When he got to the counter indicated by the arrow, he suddenly felt incredibly hungry, as a new screen appeared.


    [Starvation can be delayed by looting food from the homes of the recently deceased!]


    Opening the drawer in front of him, he gagged upon seeing a dead and obviously rotting rat.


    [Looks like someone''s got a rumbly tummy! Time to eat!]


    [Eat the dead mouse!]


    [We should probably pick up that empty bottle too. Dying of thirst is horrid]


    The thug grabbed an empty bottle that was inside the drawer with the dead rat, and slammed the drawer closed, causing a new screen to appear.


    [Or not...pussy]


    [Oh hey, better fill up your bottle before the water supply is cut off]


    "Want to say that to my face?!"


    In response to his aggressive words, nothing happened, leaving the arrow pointing to the sink nearby.


    He muttered something indecipherable before walking over to the sink and filling the bottle up with water before drinking everything in it and refilling it again.


    [Let''s see what''s in the other cupboards!]


    Grunting in annoyance, he walked over to the marked cupboard and found a frying pan inside.


    [Well, it''s near enough a weapon!]


    With the frying pan in hand, a new message appeared.


    [Oh my! Is it getting hot in here? Let''s pop open a window and get some fresh air while your lungs are still inflated!]


    This time, the arrow pointed over to a kitchen window, and heading over to it...revealed what looked to be an incredibly plae man with a large red hat and a knife lodged in their back.


    Stuffing the full water bottle he had in hand into his pocket, he switched the frying pan to his left hand and slowly opened the window with his right.


    [Quietly climb through that window, and beat that zombie to death!]


    Ignoring the message, the thug took a deep breath and climbed through the window as quietly as he could.


    He lightened his footsteps, and slowly crept closer to the zombie, raising the frying pan with both hands overhead, and once close enough, swung with all his might down onto the zombie''s head, causing it to groan as it fell to the ground.


    He held the frying pan, ready for the thing to get back up, but it seemed it was so weak, that it couldn''t even manage that laying on the ground and squirming.


    Walking over, he once again raised the pan and brutally began smashing the zombie''s head in.


    The words told him to grab the knife, which he was already grabbing for, and with the knife in hand and a frying pan in the other, the thug felt kind of ridiculous.


    The Thug didn''t know what to think about this situation he found himself in, but at least he was moving and progressing by doing what the words told him to, even if the words were a bit rude.


    Was that freak actually telling the truth? Was this really a different and completely virtual world in which he could live a different life?


    Pushing open a wooden door along the fence, the words suggested he crouch and quietly sneak around the fence into the vegetable garden just on the other side.


    Doing so, revealed a zombie eating a corpse, causing Volkov to nearly throw up.


    He slowly crept closer, gagging internally as the stench only got worse, before he was directly behind the zombie, and with the hunting knife he had in his right hand, he lodged the blade as deep as it could go into the zombie''s skull, killing it nearly instantly, causing it to fall completely onto the other corpse, dragging the knife with it.


    Standing straight, he turned away from the zombie and promptly threw up.


    Dry heaving and on the ground on all fours, the thug, completely emptied his stomach of all its contents.


    Wiping his mouth, he climbed back up to his feet and walked over to the two zombies, and grabbed the backpack off the zombie he killed.


    To his surprise, the rucksack was surprisingly heavy, and when opened, he was shocked to see a shotgun and boxes of shells.


    Putting the frying pan in the bag, and sliding the knife into his pocket, he grabbed the shotgun, and loaded it, giving off a faint smile as he racked a shell.


    Climbing over the wooden fence, he crept to yet another building, where he could see a broken window, which the words told him to climb through, so, using part of his shirt, he pushed the glass out of the broken window and climbed through, not cutting himself in the slightest.


    He seemed to be in some kind of storage shed, and following the word''s directions, he walked over to a covered window, and opened its blinds, revealing two more zombies in a fenced area eating a corpse through the bars of the window.


    Taking a deep breath, he walked over to a locker, and noticing the fresh clothes inside, began taking off his clothes and getting redressed.


    Now equipped with military boots, military camo cargo pants, and a hoodie, with a leather jacket over it, he walked over to the locked door with the shotgun in hand, and walked outside, seeing a port-o-potty a few meters away.


    Walking outside and turning left, he walked over to the fence, and seeing the zombies distracted, climbed over it, not making a loud enough sound to attract their attention.


    With created blocking their sight of him, he peaked over, and using the crates as support, took aim, and fired.


    The bang that arose, echoed out to a long distance, definitely gaining the attention of every zombie within a few miles.


    Both zombies he shot at flinched, and were definitely hit by the rounds, but seemed to shrug off the damage and turn towards the thug, before slowly shambling towards him with their arms raised, as if going for a hug, intent on eating him.


    He fired again, this time taking one of them down, and with another shell, the other zombie went down too.


    Suddenly he flinched, he could hear a lot of groans and snarls coming from around him, and looking back past the fence, revealed a nightmare, a horde of zombies coming from the forest surrounding the cabin, and all heading towards him.

 22 - West Point and Klamath

    [You have died!]


    [Congratulations on completing the tutorial!]


    [Would you like to continue, or exit the game?]


    Instead of replying, the Thug just stared at the screen.


    Moments prior, he was defending against a zombie horde, shooting them with the shogun he obtained, and for a bit, looked like he was making progress, that is, until the fence fell, letting the zombies right into the small yard he was in.


    Of course, it didn''t take long for him to get overwhelmed and be ripped apart, screaming until he eventually died from the shock, as his eyes were ripped out, flesh stripped from his body, and organs were ripped out.


    Now, he just stared at the screen, his expression blank, yet his eyes revealed something else, he was horrified.


    Even if the pain was only ten percent, the pain from dying in such a way, was still almost too much for the man to bear, not to mention the brief moment of death.


    Zeref noted that he would need to lower the pain experience to 5% in the tutorial.


    By the time the man recovered from the shock, almost half an hour had passed in the game.


    He laughed.


    The Thug looked over his options, and without hesitation, chose to continue.


    [Choose a spawn location]


    [Muldraugh]


    [Riverside]


    [Rosewood]


    [West Point]


    Not even thinking, the man chose West Point with a smile, not realizing the trouble that awaited.


    [Select your starting Occupation]


    [Unemployed - Start with nothing but the clothes on your back (Hard)]


    [Fire Officer - Start with a fire axe, a couple of flares, and a firemen''s attire (Easy)]


    [Police Officer - Start with a small handgun with a few magazines worth of ammo, a police uniform, a bulletproof vest, a baton, a radio, and sunglasses (Easy)]


    [Park Ranger - Start with a hunting rifle and a few magazines worth of ammo, a hunting knife, a duffle bag filled with essentials, and a map (Medium)]


    [Construction Worker - Start with a sledgehammer, a toolbag, and a construction worker''s outfit (Medium)]


    The occupation list continued on, listing a total of 22 options.


    Volkov''s eyes skimmed through the list until he chose one that felt the most appropriate.


    Burglar.


    Not exactly what he was, but close enough.


    He would start with a crowbar, dark clothes, some lockpicks, and a pocket knife, not that he knew what exactly he was being thrown into.


    Just after selecting, his vision went dark, before suddenly brightening as he found himself standing in a room with a crowbar in hand.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in the world of Fallout, Kyle could be seen traveling the wasteland towards Klamath.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    From his couple hours of walking, he could already tell the wasteland was more lively, there was more plantlife and wildlife, and he even spotted signs of a lot more civilized life, though not all of the signs were good.


    Signs of camps, litter, bullet casings, old tracks and drag marks, and even dried blood at times.


    Of course, he himself has run into the occasional wild beast and Feral Ghoul, though he hasn''t run into anyone yet.


    He was still about a day''s walk away from Klamath, so, he''s been using his bow and spear whenever possible, slowly but surely becoming more familiar with the items.


    Turns out, Bows must have fallen under the [Small Guns] skill, seeing as he was getting the ''instinctual'' feeling with the bow, greatly helping him when using it.


    Luckily for him, he didn''t have any issues with food due to the large amount of wildlife in the area he could hunt, which was a much better alternative to the pemmican the tribe gave him.


    Pemmican was a mixture of dried fruits and meat, it tasted like shit but the food would last for long periods of time before spoiling, making them good food for traveling. So of course Kyle chose to hunt for food instead, finding the meat of the creatures roaming the wasteland to be much more appealing.


    ...


    Zeref who was watching both men''s journies couldn''t help but smile.


    Both men, while different, had the same determined eyes. Both would see through their journies all the way to the end, but Zeref wonders. What would they do, once they finish their journies and how would their journies change and influence them?


    By the time Kyle reached Klamath, Volkov had died more than three times in Project Zomboid, the first two to zombies, and the last to blood loss.


    Soon enough, Kyle reached Klamath, a small town of trappers that hunted the nearby Golden Geckos, which were large and deadly lizards with golden hides that could rip a normal man to shreds.


    [A/N: If you are interested in what Golden Geckos look like, just look up the Fallout New Vegas variants]


    Why would they hunt such deadly creatures, you may ask?


    Their hide.


    Not only does the hide offer decent protection against the local weather, but it also provides decent protection against harm due to how resilient and thick the hides were, making them quite valuable to traveling merchants.


    Once in the village, Kyle sold a few of the things he kept from what little things he could hunt in the time he was traveling to the village for a bit of cash then got to work on doing some odd jobs around town.


    The villagers didn''t have much to offer when it came to goods and the local trader sold very basic leather armor, first aid kits, knives, and other utensils.


    She, the trader, also offered to buy any Gecko hides Kyle obtains if he goes hunting for the Geckos in the area.


    To Kyle''s misfortune, the trader wasn''t selling any firearms, so he was stuck with a bow, for now, he ???????????? did not like using a bow.


    A gun was simply much more efficient and powerful.


    ---


    Meanwhile, Volkov could be seen running down a street with a horde of forty zombies shambling not too far behind.


    He ran as fast as he could down a neighborhood street before turning and jumping over a home''s fence and into a house''s backyard.


    Not daring to look behind, he continued running and climbed into another house''s yard, tumbling down to the ground in the second yard as his arms gave out.


    He heaved and coughed as he accidentally inhaled a bit of dust from the landing.


    Getting up from the ground, Volokov breathed heavily from exhaustion but marched on, he wasn''t safe, the zombies were not far behind, and if he didn''t keep moving, they''d soon be on him.


    So, he quickly moved to the house and tried breaking in, knowing that the zombies were focused on the neighboring house, he should be safe long enough for them to forget about him and wander away.


    With the crowbar, he went over to a window, and pried it open, ripping open the film netting to block out flies, and climbed inside, before closing the window behind him.


    Finding himself in what looked to be a woman''s bedroom, he grabbed a blanket and covered the window, taking a deep breath, he slowly crept towards the door and slowly opened it before peaking out to the hall.


    Seeing a door across the hall and another to the right, ending the hall, he looked to the left and could see into what looked to be the living room and kitchen.


    Opening the door all the way, he slowly crept into the hall and raised the crowbar, first, he started with the living room and kitchen, slowly walking forward and making sure to check his corners.


    Seeing nothing, he continued forward, eventually making it past the kitchen and into the dining room, which was also empty.


    Not even bothering to check the garage, he turned around and crept toward the other two rooms.


    Starting with the one at the end of the hall, he raised the crowbar and slowly pushed the door open, revealing a bathroom.


    Sighing, he motioned over to the last room and took a deep silent breath, and pushed it open, before gagging at the sight that awaited him.


    Three rotting corpses with dried blood and brain matter coating the walls.


    A pistol was in one of the corpse''s hands.


    A triple suicide, or possible homicide.


    Slowly walking over and grabbing the gun, he left the room and closed the door, he walked back into the woman''s bedroom, and moved a chest into the front of the door and a dresser in front of the window, blocking himself in.


    Sighing, he checked the magazine of the gun, finding it to have only four bullets left.


    Reinserting the magazine, he laid the pistol on the bed''s nightstand and lay down.


    It had been a long day, and he needed rest.

 23 - Changes

    While the two contniued playing, Zeref had done some thinking and began making some changes.


    For example, one of his now eight minds went through each of the games and changed the pain threshold, and added a new optional setting.


    A pain threshold setting.


    This setting was only for the VR Game Modes, and what it basically did, was allow the players to adjust the pain they would experience in game, the absolute minimum was 5%, and the maximum was 500%.


    The pain would add a bonus to the credits someone would get based on the level, with the 5% getting a negligible and very small bonus, while 500% would massively increase the bonus amount of credits someone would get, doubling or even tripling the total amount of credits at the end.


    Why would Zeref do this? Because he realized if he limited the VR player base to 100%, the amount of customers he would get would be a lot less.


    Something else to mention, is that the Classic Modes were finished, allowing any potential customers to now play the games the class way, through a mouse and keyboard, or even a controller.


    And another thing to note was that Zeref was finished with Infamous, including the Classic Mode for the game.


    Things were going well, and soon Zeref would soon expand the size of his store due to how cramped it was becoming as well as expand his stock and merchandise to include more medical items and equipment, as well as some utility items such as a Geiger Countesr, hand-held and Ham Radios, flares, and other survival essentials.


    Though most of the utility equipment he would have in stock instead on display, he was thinking of displaying pipboys, but decided against it for now, since the wrist-mounted computers wouldn''t be much use in this world with its more advanced computers and electronics that would make the Pipboy outdated.


    Perhaps someone would purchase a pipboy if it were ever to be put on the credit store as a sort of collectors item.


    Perhaps he should add collector items to the credit store? Tangible items that players could buy that helped represent the trials and tribulations they went through? Or maybe just add achievements that added these collector items?


    For example, wouldn''t it be nice if you could earn fallout themed items from completing difficult achievements?


    Being able to earn things such as a Pipboy, unique weapons, armor, and other items.


    For example, Joshua Graham''s pitsol, The Alien Blaster, or the NCR Elite Riot Armor, or the Mysterious Magnum, although any high-tech weaponry would likely be in high demand along with any weapons and armor, so, more than likely, he would need to limit the items somehow or not implement them until later on.


    Who wouldn''t like a trophy for their efforts? Mementos to represent their journies and sufferings, rewards that the player could hunt for and boast about, such a feature would surly lead to the formation of a very competitive community in the future, a community of achievement hunters, completetionists, and possibly even speedrunners.


    ---


    Meanwhile, across town near the peir in a hidden bar for the darker residents of the city, three women could be seen sitting at a private table talking to each other.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    One was a woman wearing a leather outfit, another was one a woman who was cosplaying as a clown, and the last, was noneother than Posion Ivy.


    "You''re serious?" The woman in leather asked.


    "Yes, Selina," Ivy replied.


    "Wait, so you decided to enter a creepy store without me?! Unfair! I want to meet this strange creature too!" The female clown stated with exasperation.


    "I already told you Harley, I was just walking down the street when I took a shortcut and came across it, I didn''t intentionally enter the place expecting to find some creepy entity just casually running a store!" Ivy stated with annoyance.


    "Where is this...''store'' anyway? I am betting such a creature must have something that would be valuable," Selina stated with a smirk as she took a sip from the glass of wine on the table.


    "If the descriptions of some of his merchandise were anything to go by, then yes, he probably would have quite a few valuable things hidden away in that store, but I wouldn''t try it if I were you," Ivy warned.


    "Why, because the creature scared you? You do realize this is gotham right? Home to freaks, the mad, and the worst scum on this planet? Why would something like that even scare you?"


    "You don''t understand, what I felt from that thing...made me feel like I was looking into eternal darkness, like the thing didn''t belong here, and that nothing I could do would harm or stop the thing. My babies treated the thing like it was something so horrible, that it should be wiped off the face of the Earth as quickly as possible, or run away and hide in hopes that it wouldn''t hunt them down," Ivy replied.


    "You felt all of that from plants?" Harley asked confused only for Ivy to glare.


    "Yeesh, sorry, I meant, you felt all of that from your ''babies?''" Harley rephrased.


    "Yes, I did, though it also felt instinctual, as for my babies, I have no idea why they became suddenly so expressive and emotional, perhaps they felt they were in danger?" Ivy asked.


    "Why are you asking us? They are your children, not ours," Selina commented.


    "Us? Mothers? No thanks, I don''t want to deal with a brat, though I won''t deny it would be fun having a little side kick to have some fun with," Harley replied.


    "Stop changing the topic, why don''t we go check out this, ''store'' of yours for ourselves? Its probably still open," Selina suggested.


    "I''m in!" Harley instantly replied.


    "Ugh, fine, Harley, its your turn to pay, I''ll wait outside," Ivy informed them before getting up and leaving the bar.


    "I''ll wait here with Harley," Selina informed Ivy who was walking away.


    "Oh? Your staying for me? I am so happy!" Harley laughed and smiled as she hugged Selina.


    "Please, we both know that you won''t be able to pay," Selina commented, pushing Harley off of her.


    "Ah, you know me so well too!" Harley laughed.


    Outside the bar, Ivy was crouching in some grass, running her fingers through the grass and flowers that struggled to survive in the harsh and polluted environment.


    Gotham has become one of the worst cities to live in, not only because of the high crime rate, but also because of how polluted the area has become after decades of heavy industrial sites dumping their waste and pumping out smog into the air.


    If she could truly get the terraforming device from the creature, she''d be able to finally save the Earth from Humanities hands and begin fixing all the damage done to it over countless years.


    And with aliens becoming more common, Ivy feels that they could harm the planet even further due to their petty greed and ignorance.


    Soon enough Selina and Harley exited the bar.


    "Come on, let''s go! I can''t wait to see this creature!" Harley of course, excited, grabbed onto Ivy and began jumping up and down like a puppy trying to get attention.


    Sighing, Ivy lead the way, heading downtown and eventually turning down an alley, stopping at the entrance of the alley.


    "Is it down there?" Selina asked.


    "Yes," Ivy replied, not taking her eyes off the doors barley seeable further down the alley.


    "Well, what are we waiting for?" Harley asked.


    "You first," Selina suggested, and Harley was happy to obblige.


    Walking down the alley, Ivy was beginning to feel dread with every step closer she got to the sketchy store.


    Unluckily for her, Harley was pulling her further down the alley, and like a deer before headlights, froze on the spot as the doors slid open and Harley pulled both Selina and Ivy into the store.


    "Hey there, mister! I have been told such wonderful things about the store by my friend here!" Harley stated, pushing her forward where the creature was looking at her while floating behind the counter.


    "Welcome back, have you decided to take me up on my offer?" The creature asked, floating down, now standing behind the counter.

 24 - The Trio

    I certainly wasn''t expecting three women entering my store just two hours from close, specifically women that I could actually recognize.


    Particularly, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and who I assume to be Catwoman.


    "Welcome back, have you decided to take me up on my offer?" I asked, motioning my head towards Ivy who was turning pale.


    Tilting my head after being answered with silence, I instead look over to the two other customers.


    "Tell me, how would you two like to play a G??????????????a???????????????m?????????????e????????" I asked, with an inky black smile forming underneath the floating slab I had for a head.


    Not even realizing the strange creepiness that came with my question, I looked at the two women with an expectant smile.


    Catwoman paled, but Harley''s grin grew wider.


    "What do you have available big guy?" She asked, jumping forward and getting closer to the counter.


    "Depends on your taste really, but I have three games available for players with two modes available in each one," I informed her.


    "Lay it on me," She said excitedly.


    "First, would be the Fallout Series of Games, set in a post-apocalyptic world struggling to recover from nuclear devastation, the second, is yet another post-apocalyptic world struggling with an apocalypse, but this one happens to be a Zombie apocalypse, the last and most recent addition to my cafe, would be a game in a world much like our own that is struggling with its own unique Supers problem."


    "Oooh, that zombie one sounds fun, can I smash some zombie heads in it?" She asked, suddenly even more excited to commit violence.


    "You can, though you can also even turn them to mush with a hammer, or decapitate a few zombie heads with a sword, or go guns blazing and take on an entire city''s worth of zombies if you feel so inclined," I informed her, watching as her eyes seem to shine like stars the further I explained.


    "That one!" She told me without any hesitation.


    "Alright, a single session for the classic mode is $50 an hour, while the VR Mode is $100 an hour, for your information, I suggest you chose the VR experience to get an authentic experience," I suggested.


    "Ooo, I''ll go with the VR mode, Selina, could you pay for me? I promise I''ll pay you back!" She informed me before turning around and basically tackling Catwoman.


    "Sigh...You always say that..." She sighed as she pulled out a wad of cash from her purse.


    "I''ll go with the VR experience as well, do we select the games we play through the computers?" She asked, handing me the money, still seeming a bit pale.


    "That''s right, I do hope you enjoy your time in the game, and the adventure that awaits you," I wished them knowing they would get quite the surprise when they realized the games were a lot more realistic than what they were imagining.


    Turning back to Ivy, I noticed she seemed to regain her confidence as she looked towards her friends who walked over to two of the computers and sat down while biting her lip.


    "And you?" I asked, getting her attention.


    "I''ll...try," She hesitantly spoke.


    "Wonderful, which mode would you like to play?"


    "Virtual," She told me, before hesitantly approaching and paying me the money.


    "Enjoy your session, I''ll be right over here if you need me," I informed her before floating back up to my lotus pose behind the counter and having some of my minds focus on the three women.


    ---


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    [Harley Quinn]


    ''Ivy was really underselling that thing! It was even worse than what she described! Unfair! How come she is so lucky?!''


    Focusing back on the computer before her, she simply put in Quinn as her username and moved on.


    Before too long, she was playing the tutorial of Project Zomboid, running through a horde of zombies with a shotgun in hand shooting down rows of zombies as she slowly got swarmed by the zombies.


    She kept shooting and running around until she eventually ran out of shells, and began using the shotgun as a makeshift bat and began bashing in the skull of every zombie.


    However, she was still human, and eventually couldn''t outrun the zombies or continue swinging the shotgun anymore.


    Exhaustion took hold of her body, and she was killed.


    [You have died!]


    [Congratulations on completing the tutorial!]


    [Would you like to continue, or exit the game?]


    [Congratulations for gaining the achievement, ''To my dying breath'' and surviving ten minutes against the horde, +5 Credits]


    Smiling, she continued, ready to bash more brains in.


    She chose a random spawn option and selected the ''Police Officer'' occupation, feeling like cosplaying a bit, and for the weapons, she would also apparently get with the occupation.


    She certainly wasn''t expecting that she would find herself immediately in a small police station with zombies bashing at the door.


    Smiling, she unholstered the small pistol and calmly walked over to the door.


    ...


    Meanwhile, Selina who was booting up the first Infamous game was met with a cutscene.


    She was running around a city square when suddenly she heard screaming, and explosions, and in the distance, a blue dome of energy was rapidly expanding, consuming everything in its path.


    Suddenly in a helicopter, she found herself looking down at what appeared to be new york city that was rapidly being consumed by the blue sphere, then a dot in the distance was noticeable, and rapidly growing in size, revealing a bus that slammed directly into the helicopter, destroying it near instantaneously.


    A man''s voice echoed in her mind.


    "Activation plus six minutes. Pulse is 45. Respiration 10, looking good Cole."


    Suddenly a different man''s voice spoke in her head, as she opened her eyes and felt her entire body groaning and burning from pain.


    "The hell happened?" The voice asked as I climbed up from the ground.


    Surrounded by devastation, the voice spoke again, "Oh god."


    Rubble, smoke, collapsed buildings, broken fire hydrants spraying water, electricity sparking off wires, it was as if she was standing at the center of where an explosion happened, right on an elevated platform in the center of a crater.


    She felt off like she wasn''t in her body.


    Then she noticed it, large muscular hands, broad shoulders, no hair...she was a man.


    Then a helicopter flew closer from around a building, stopping just above, and hovering.


    Then a microphone switched on, "There''s someone alive down there. Hey! Look up if you can hear me! If you can walk, get out of there, head for the bridge!


    Moving as fast as she could, she got moving, somehow finding herself moving in a specific direction as if her body was guiding her where she needed to go.


    Suddenly a phone rang, "Cole, Cole! You there?! Come on man, pick up!"


    A name suddenly came to mind hearing that voice, Zeke...why does she know that name?


    Answering the call, the voice in her head spoke out from her body, "...Zeke...? What the hell is going on? I think there was an explosion..."


    "No shit there was an explosion! TV says terrorists are blowing stuff up all over the city, Meet me at the freemont bridge, we will get Trish and find someplace to hunker down!"


    "See you there," the voice weakly spoke out to Zeke.


    Slowly walking forward, getting used to how the body felt, she marched on, eventually having to jump and climb over a hanging bus, and up into a multistory car park where a sparking panel suddenly exploded and what felt like a lethal amount of volts burned right into her new body, only she didn''t feel pain or weak from it, strangely enough, it felt like it made her stronger, giving her a boost of energy instead of frying her into a charred corpse.


    "What the hell? I should be dead..." The voice spoke out.


    Shrugging it off and focusing on surviving, she continued on.


    Eventually coming around a corner towards some construction lights that were sparking with electricity.


    Just like before, the lights seemed to burst and all the electricity in them seemed to slam right into her body causing her to momentarily spasm.


    The lights exploded, collapsing some concrete and making a convenient ramp down.


    She soon saw the bridge Zeke mentioned and a bunch of injured people, police, and helicopters flying above.


    She rushed over, feeling invigorated and when she made it close enough, she could see who she assumed to be Zeke.


    "Cole! Over here, man, we gotta go!"


    Suddenly though, she felt my hair rise as multiple things around her exploded, and bolts of electricity struck her body and continued to do so until all the surrounding devices were completely drained.


    "No, No!" The voice in her head screamed through her body.


    Electricity warped and wrapped around her arms as if she was a living conductor, suddenly bolts of lightning struck the ground around her, sending the cops and injured people around her flying.


    Raising her arms over her head, she ran forward, with the lighting following her down the bridge, striking everything around her.


    "Oh no, it''s the terrorists, run for the bridge Cole! Shit, the whole bridge is coming down, move your ass, Cole!"


    Running forward, the electricity continued to wrap around her arms, and lighting bolts continued to rain down around her, destroying everything.


    Just as she reached the other end of the bridge, she felt drained, and without warning, passed out.

 25 - InFamous

    Once again a cutscene played before Selina''s eyes.


    An image of the city on fire with the label ''Day 1'' appeared, with a line dashing across beneath it, showing a passing of time.


    "While sliding into unconsciousness, I could somehow...I don''t know...hear the voices of the dying. Thousands crushed by falling buildings or burned alive with fires," The voice of her current body spoke, narrating.


    "Trish lost her sister, almost lost me. Zeke was always there, somehow sure that I''d wake up while outside the city fell apart, a plague struck, followed by rioting, theft, rapes, civilization committing suicide. In a bullshit attempt to contain the biological threat, the federal government locked down all access in and out of the city. We were stuck a cage with the pyschopaths. The cops are all but gone from the streets, either dead or too chickenshit cowards to stand against the gangs that control. Outside things were bad, but inside," the cutscene stopped above her current unconciouss body''s face.


    "But inside, inside me, something was beginning. Scary as hell at first," it showed her body shielding their face from the sparks that emitted from their hands as they laid on a hospital bed. "You gotta understand, there was no one to talk to, no experts to consult, but with time I''m learning to control it, master it, I just hope its not too late."


    The cutscene showed her body going through training as they learned how to control and use their powers with the final comic-like slide of the cutscene showing him standing atop a ledge as the city around them is burning.


    Suddenly she found herself transitioned to the top of a rooftop where Zeke and her...''avatar?'' Made a little home for themselves, eke nearby laying on a couch reading something.


    "I thought you were gonna watch TV," Her avatar spoke.


    "Ah, batteries dead again, eh...you mind putting on a freakshow?" He momentarily hesitated to say.


    "Sure...glad its good for something."


    "Probably need to charge them all, TV''s a hog," he suggested before going back to reading.


    It was strange how easy Zeke set up the batteries when it came to finding them, because all three were scattered across the rooftop with flashing red pannels.


    At first she had no idea how to use the powers, but strangely enough, she felt the voice in her mind help her, giving her instinctual suggestions on how to use her newfound powers.


    It was a very strange feeling, she couldn''t put it into words.


    It was like controlling an invisible limb that spanend her avatar''s whole body, but that didn''t even begin to explain what it felt like.


    With a flash, electricity flowed out of her avatar''s arms and began arcing around them as if it it was a coil.


    Raising her avatar''s hand, she pointed in the direction of the battery that was directly behind her and right next to Zeke.


    Pulling the energy down her arm, a litteral bolt of electricity was launched from her palm and right into the fence behind the battery due to putting too much power into the bolt.


    Arcs of electricity bounced on the chain-link fence causing a weird spider-web like effect.


    "Watch where your aiming man!" Zeke shouted, seeing the electricity washing over the fence until it dissipated.


    "Sorry," she told Zeke, finally speaking herself instead of letting her Avatar speaking.


    Taking more care to her aim and how much force she puts into the bolts, she began zapping the battery until it showed it was fully charged then proceeded to charge the other two batteries as well.


    "Whoo! That''s what I''m talking about!" Zeke shouted.


    "Who-hoo! Nice job man, boob tube''s working!"


    "Weird, feels like I got more power," Her avatar spoke.


    "Yeah? Try fryin'' those dummies over there. With all the nut-balls runnin'' around, it''d be nice to see how much juice you''re packin''," Zeke suggested, pointing at the mannequins he had for some reason.


    Listening to his suggestions, Selina felt she might as well give it a try, it would be nice to get a clue on just how powerful these powers made her.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Throwing just a single bolt of electricity with little effort caused a ball of energy around the size of a tennis ball to hit the mannequin, leaving behind a small scorch mark.


    Not satisfied, she put in more power with the next one, causing a energy ball the size of a baseball to be sent flying at the mannequin, causing arcs of energy to ripple along the mannequin and leaving a much larger scorch mark.


    "Yeah! Lay into it man, fry those suckers!" Zeke commented on the side.


    Selina then threw multiple bolts at the target in a quick succession.


    "Yeah! Whooo-Hooo!" Zeke hollered.


    Suddenly a large cargo plane flew not far above, causing both of them to jump due to how low the plane was flying, even almost hitting the building.


    "Whoo, you see that? Flyin'' so low, thought it was going to crash into us!" Zeke asked before suddenly interrupting whatever she was going to say.


    "Hey, it''s the TV jacker. I love this guy!" Zeke laughed before sitting up.


    Suddenly the screen of the box TV switched from static to a room where a blurry man stood in front of a wall with a strange image.


    "Just got word that the feds dropped some relief packages into Archer Square. The liars at the corporate media tell us that we''re gonna get our fair share? That more is comin''? Yeah, that''s easy for them to say. They''re not the ones living in this hellhole, and the truth is that we''ve been abandoned, and no one''s coming to save us. So head over to Archer Square and get that food before the Reapers show up. Voice of Survival out."


    Selina didn''t think the situation was that bad, especially with living in Gotham for most of her life, little did she know, she would find that in this city, where everyone had to fight for food to survive like it was a slum? Human compassion was a rarity.


    "Told you they''d drop food," her avatar spoke, confident.


    "Man, you must be outta your mind. You think any of those pencil-necks gives a crap about us? This is a PR stunt," Zeke scoffed.


    "That isn''t going to stop you from pigging out, though, is it?" Her avatar joked.


    "Hell no it ain''t. Zeke''s gotta eat!" Zeke laughed, hugging his stomach to show it off.


    Feeling a bit disgusted, her Avatar spoke again, "You take the stairs. I''m using the express elevator."


    "Man, you get to have all the fun," Zeke stated, sounding...depressed?


    Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the ledge of the roof, and stared down, seeing the building to be at least six floors tall.


    "What are you waiting for? Do it!"


    Clenching her teeth, she jumped, hoping her avatar''s body was strong enough.


    [Congratulations! You have earned the achievement, ''The First Step'' and have earned 5 credits!]


    Ignoring the comment, she clenched her teeth harder as her legs touched the ground and a thud echoed across the area.


    Surprisingly, she felt only a bit of pain.


    "That''s what I''m talking about!" Her avatar spoke.


    Did her powers make her stronger too?


    She hadn''t felt tired, hungry, or thirsty, did the powers improve those as well?


    Bursting out of a door, Zeke looked disappointed, was he expecting to beat her down the stairs?


    "Whoo, that was one hell of a jump, man. Wish I could do something like that, runnin'' down all those stairs, that sucks donkey balls," Zeke told me with a bit of heavy breathing.


    "Hey Cole, before we head over to Archer, I need to go pick up a new six-shooter," Zeke quickly mentioned.


    "Sigh, Here we go..." Her avatar said with a sigh.


    "Nah, that was bad-ass. The second you touched it, the electricity in your hands cooks off the gun powder and the whole thing goes KA-BAM!" He laughed, "The look on your face was priceless!"


    "Damn near blew my hand off," My avatar scoffed, annoyed.


    ''So I can''t use guns?'' Selina wondered.


    "Which is why you won''t be touching the new one. Traded this guy one of my home-made batteries for it," Zeke stated with a smile.


    "The ones that explode when you use ''em?" Her avatar asked.


    "Hell, he doesn''t know that. C''mon, told me he was going to leave the gun in a parking lot a few blocks from here," He laughed.


    Selina couldnt help but have a small smirk towards the cunning of her avatar''s friend.


    Walking down the street, Zeke asked, "Hey Cole, you know what I miss? Pizza. A big, sloppy slice drippin'' with grease and pepperoni. And payday. Havin'' a big, fat wad of bills in your pocket!"


    "I''d settle for some hot water," My avatar replied.


    "Hey, remember that time we were comin'' home from Duffy''s and I had to take a leak? And that bike cop was yelling at me to put up my hands?" He chuckled.


    "You pissed all over him," My avatar smirked, and stated with a small chuckle.


    "He told me to put up my hands! While he''s fumblin'' around, I jump back in and we take off." He laughed, "Awesome!"


    "Yeah, awesome. Until we run into a wall of cops," My avatar, Cole, replied with a scoff and a smirk.


    "Like I said, awesome!" He laughed, "Bummer we won''t be able to do anything like that again."


    "Not unless some genius invents a car that doesn''t explode when I sit in it."


    We then reached the parking lot which was in an alley between two buildings.


    There were about a dozen cars parked around.


    "Ah c''mon... he told me he was going to leave it under a car. I figured there''d be only one. We''ll never find it," He said annoyed.


    "Stand back. I got an idea," Cole told Zeke, causing Zeke to back up.


    Not understanding what Cole wanted her to do, she suddenly got an idea, and raising both of her arms and letting the electricity flow onto her arms, she threw her arms out and a shockwave flew out from her in a circle sending a car in front of me flying.


    "Hellacious! Hell, I didn''t know you could do somethin'' like that."


    "Me neither... there was this surge..." Cole stated before she began to feel lightheaded and exhausted.


    "Hey man, you don''t look so hot, you okay?" Zeke asked, raising his arms up to catch her as if she was suddenly going to collapse.


    "Drained all of a sudden... hang on a sec..." Cole told Zeke.


    Feeling an idea for what Cole meant, she began walking over to a electric box attached to a nearby building.


    Raising her arms, she felt a sudden tug on the wall, and when she pulled, arcs of electricity flowed into her from the pannel.


    "Did you see that?" Cole asked, turning around.


    "Man, you''re a walking battery! Must have to recharge whenever you fire off a bunch of juice!" Zeke stated.


    "I can feel the electricity surging through me, almost like I''m being healed by it," Cole stated with surprise.


    Zeke laughed, "This rocks so hard! C''mon, let''s haul tail over to Archer Square ''fore someone takes all the brewskis!"

 26 - The Clown Cop

    While Selina was experiencing what it was like to be a Conduit...and a different gender, a particular clown was having fun in the city of Louisville.


    After spending days in the city causing untold amounts of chaos to the local zombie population, Harley could be found in a quaint residential house in the kitchen making some pancakes for herself and her ''friends,'' two zombies she chopped the hands and jaws off of and chained to the chairs of the dining room table.


    Humming and smiling, Harley who was still in a bloodied officer''s uniform couldn''t help but think she had found a treasure.


    Adding a few final touches to the pancakes, Harley also used a nearby spatula to flip some bacon and scrambled eggs.


    Happy, she made three plates of breakfast and served two plates to her ''friends,'' Bob and Phil.


    "So exciting! What should we do today boys? Blow up a few gas stations? Set fires across the city? Mow down as many zombies as possible? Ooo, how about we see how many zombies we can blow up at one time!" Harley asked her buddies.


    Harley has only been in the game for two days now, and she was having the time of her life, she found herself in love with all the chaos and heads she could smash in, and to think, there was no one to stop the fun she was having!


    Even better, there were plenty of guns and weapons across the city she could use to sow chaos!


    However, there was one downside to all of this, she hasn''t encountered anyone yet, it was as if everyone in the world suddenly turned into zombies.


    Hell, there was still power, water was running, and food hasn''t spoiled.


    And even then, there were at least a few signs that Harley managed to find that showed some people must have survived or had not been turned.


    For example, she came across plenty of scenes where there was a struggle, fresh corpses being eaten by zombies, and even distant gunshots every once in a while.


    The biggest question was, how were so many people dying to only a few zombies? Were the people in this town incompetent?


    Even a child should be able to survive in this town, let alone the adults.


    Harley shrugged her shoulders, perhaps it was stupidity or some other reason, she could only guess.


    Finishing her meal, she wiped her face and threw the plates and dishes at the wall, smiling as they shattered into pieces.


    Humming, she walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed the bloodied baseball bat that was laying on it.


    Turning to the zombies she said, "Stay still boys, I''ll be back tonight, be sure to enjoy your meals while I''m gone!"


    Whistling she slowly made her way toward the front door where the familiar sound of banging echoed down the hall.


    Turning past a corner, she could see the dresser blocking the front door being vibrated from the impacts coming from the other side, to be specific, outside.


    Smiling, she stepped forward and after pulling the dresser back a bit, arms pushed open the door and began reaching in, trying to grab whatever they could.


    Raising the bat, she swung down at the arms with a brutal amount of strength that caused the arms of one of the zombies to break, however, the zombie didn''t react, continuing to try and reach through to grab Harley.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    With the commotion she made, more and more zombies began banging on the doors and windows of the house.


    They''ve even begun slowly pushing the dresser out of the way.


    When the first zombie''s head could be seen, Harley unholstered the pistol at her side and shot the zombie in the head at point-blank range, causing a deafening sound to echo down the hall.


    Which...seemed to only increase the fervor of the zombies, as they began pushing the dresser back even harder.


    Holstering the pistol, she raised her bat and began bashing in the head of any zombie they peeked through the crack of the door.


    However, it took only a couple of moments before they eventually completely pushed the dresser out of the way, allowing them to enter the house.


    Unluckily for them, they''d have to deal with crazy, as instead of backing up, Harley instead charged forward, taking down a zombie with one to two swings per zombie.


    Slowly pushing the zombies back, she eventually managed to get outside of the house where she escaped the gathering horde, she was quite lucky that zombies tended to be slow, otherwise the entire house would have been surrounded by zombies, trapping her inside.


    She may have been crazy, but she certainly wasn''t stupid, leading the horde away from her home.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in an entirely different world that underwent a much different change, a certain woman was forced to see the horrors of a world that was completely changed and destroyed by humanity''s greed, arrogance, and pride.


    And while having gotten a good look at what humanity ?????????? do to the world and nature, she had to remember that there were still some good people in humanity, even if they were few and far between.


    She even came across a small community by the name of Shady Sands that planned on restoring the damage their forebearers caused to the world.


    And while nature was hurt and damaged from radiation and bombs, it was managing to recover and even thrive in some places she discovered, with the mutated animals of the old world still alive and surviving, though far fewer in number and in much worse health.


    She spent weeks, if not months in this damaged world and she was left with a lot of time to think over her options.


    She was but one woman, and alone, she wouldn''t be able to prevent any sort of nuclear devastation by herself or prevent people in power from choosing to use their ''toys,'' even if it were to devastate the world.


    She ???????????? to make sure there were ways in which the world could survive and heal.


    And if the device the creature mentioned was real, then she ???????????? to get her hands on it, and if possible, create and or improve on the machines to be capable of healing the damage done to the world even if humanity were to die out.


    She would also need to see if there was a chance to make these ''Vaults'' on her Earth for not just the few good among humanity, but perhaps other things as well, such as animals, seeds, and whatever would be needed to set the earth back on track or could be destroyed in some way, either by time, radiation, bombs, war, and all manner of other things.


    Of course, she could also just try to eradicate humanity if possible, but realistically, it wouldn''t be feasible or worthwhile.


    If there was one good trait about humanity, it was their adaptability and will to survive.


    They were like cockroaches, even if she were to hunt them down, some would manage to hide and fight back, or simply destroy the world anyway.


    Sadly, ever since she arrived in this world, she lost her connection with the life around her, she felt weak and brittle, feeling ?????????? for the first time in a very long time.


    And she did not like it.


    She felt like a part of herself was ripped away from her. Something important and connected with every inch of her being, and without that thing, she would be weak.


    She couldn''t hear nor speak to the plants around her, and for the first time in a long time, she felt alone.


    She could only hope that this feeling was temporary and would cease when she returned...if she could return to her Earth.


    Due to her weakness, she has been fighting tooth and nail to survive against not only the more dangerous wildlife that roamed the wasteland but also other humans.


    Thankfully, ever since entered the ''Game'' she had this weird screen that helped her, not only with making her stronger and more resistant with each ''level'' but also helped her learn things she never knew before.


    She also learned from what few peaceful people she found what this world was like before its downfall and how it differed from her Earth.


    It was strange knowing this world had no heroes, no metas, villains, or something else that was common in her world.


    She also learned that this world developed technologically in a much different way compared to her world, but lacking in many areas she knew and learned a bit about in her world in her search for healing and bettering the world.


    Perhaps she could try and replicate some of the things from this world and use the funds for her goals?


    But for that, she would need the help of others, and for that, she had a few men and women in mind that she would need to meet with and see if they would join her cause.

 27 - Research

    Soon enough time passed and Volkov was the first to exit the game finally.


    "Not what you expected, was it?" I asked the silent thug staring into space with an empty gaze.


    "No..."


    "To be expected," I chuckled, causing the thug to flinch from its ethereal tone.


    "What now...?" He asked.


    "That''s up to you, though we have a deal, you must introduce at least three people to my store. I will recommend keeping a go at the games and purchasing some things from the Credit Store," I suggested.


    "Credit Store?" He asked.


    "That''s right," I told him, turning the computer screen I had on the counter towards him that showed the newly made list of items on the Credit Store.


    I should probably mention today was May 1st of 2016, meaning I had to set up a new list on the Credit Store.


    [A/N: I can''t remember if I mentioned a date or not, and after a brief look through my chapters, I didn''t find one, so here]


    /=======+=======\


    [Page 1 of 10, Five Items Per Page]


    [Sorted by Most Expensive to least]


    [Functional G.E.C.K (50,000 Credits) - A wholly functional and stocked G.E.C.K that houses a wide array of seeds, materials, and holo-discs that contain a wide breadth of information that could be useful for Mankind in its attempt to rebuild soceity. It has a built-in shut-down feature in case of failure or misuse and includes the premium Vault-Tech corporate protection features to prevent theft of designs and property from unsuspecting individuals and groups]


    [Conduit Gene Awakening Serum (15,000 Credits) - A serum, that when injected, will transform a part of the recipient''s DNA to be that of a Conduit, giving the recipient the abilities that Conduits are known for. This Serum can only be used three times per recipient, the first serum will activate and implant the genes into the recipient, and the following two serums can and will upgrade or improve the Conduit Genes, allowing for the strengthening of both the recipient''s body and abilities]


    [Caged Tunneler Queen (8,000 Credits) - A caged Fertile Tunneler Queen, implanted with an I.D.C., Indenturerd Servitutde Chip to prevent possible disloyalty. The Queen''s purpose is to give birth to more Tunnelers and protect her home when she feels it is threatened. It highly suggested that she be placed in a secure and well-protected environment with low-light conditions and plenty of water and food and that she be under full-time surveillance in case the Chip malfunctions or she was to escape. - Note by Enclave Branch: Victor]


    [Highwayman (5,000 Credits) - Manufactured by Chryslus Motors Corporation. Combining a stylish design with a tough and resilient frame, the Chryslus Highwayman is an excellent vehicle for any survivor of a nuclear war. The car shares technology with the Chryslus Corvega, it has a fully analog system with no electronics, over 800 horsepower, and reaches 60 mph (97 km/h) in under a second. It has a spacious trunk and an interior capable of accommodating as much as six people, including a super mutant, a robobrain, and a deathclaw.


    Like other cars in the resource-starved United States, the Highwayman uses replaceable fuel cells, energy cells, and fusion cores to provide its electric engine with power. The flow of power is regulated by the fuel cell controller, which is also the one part that tends to break down the most, usually burning out due to rapid acceleration. A fuel cell regulator was an optional upgrade that more resource-conscious drivers installed, to improve the mileage. Others did not care, as energy was considered cheap and plentiful]


    [Cyberdog (1,000 Credits) - Cyberdogs are cybernetically augmented dogs that incorporate organic and mechanical parts. The abilities of individual cyberdogs vary from dog to dog, but as a rule, they are all physically superior to their organic counterparts and are far more long-lived, with advanced models being intelligent enough for conversation and theoretically, complex thought]


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    \=======+=======/


    "What is...all of this?" Volkov asked.


    "Items, entities, and so much more. Think of it as countless Paths to power and strength, this world is quite an unforgiving place, and soon, this planet and everyone on it will have to face countless situations that could spell the end of this world and so many others," I informed him cryptically.


    I could see that he looked at me suspiciously, but it appeared he accepted my words and nodded.


    "I will be back tomorrow," He informed me.


    "Before you go, could I recommend the Sierra Madre Martini? It''s quite the drink, and has quite a few health benefits," I asked, smiling and waving my hand towards the glass fridge in the corner that allowed all of the items inside to be seen from outside.


    I could see I got his attention and decided to add, "Even if you have no interest in alcohol, it would make quite a good gift."


    "Perhaps another time..." He replied.


    I wished him a good night and glanced at the time when he left.


    10:49 PM


    One hour and eleven minutes until close, I glanced back over to my customers who were still in the game, and let out a smirk.


    ---


    Meanwhile, in a cave in Gotham, a figure in all black was on his computers searching for a particular few criminals that suddenly dropped off the radar.


    If there was one thing that described this figure, was that he was quite the paranoid man, and had a habit of keeping track of every single notable individual in his city.


    Going as far as to map out their habits, schedules, and whereabouts.


    So, you could see how three individuals that disappeared from his radar concerned him to a high degree because whenever such a thing happens, it typically ends with some sort of situation in which he would need to get involved, such as a bank getting robbed, something or someone important getting robbed, or kidnapped, and countless other things.


    So, he meticulously searched through every nook and cranny of the city through cameras, phone taps, speakeasy taps, bar taps, and a great many other methods.


    Eventually, he did find where they were last seen, his taps informing him that they were seen heading downtown after leaving the Gold Bar speakeasy by the docs.


    Momentarily glancing at the other screen, he glanced at the name of his contacts that he was trying to reach.


    [Ancient One]


    [Doctor Fate]


    [John Constantine]


    [Doctor Strange]


    [Zatanna Zatara]


    Various magicians and practitioners of Magic and experts in their respective fields hold countless connections with the Supernatural and Magical side of society.


    Then he glanced at the creature he recently encountered that was at the very top of the page.


    Donning his mantle and putting on his utility belt, he swiftly left his hideout and began heading toward where the three criminals were last seen.


    He would have called in his apprentice, Robin, but they were on a field trip in Washington and wouldn''t be available for a couple of more days.


    He jumped and dashed through the rooftops of the city, frequently using his cape as a glider and his grappling hook to hasten the speed at which he was traveling, being able to avoid the streets and alleys.


    Once he reached the downtown area of Gotham, he began to interrogate any thug and criminal he came across that called the downtown area home for the whereabouts of the trio, soon enough finding someone that last saw them entering an alleyway.


    He froze when he recognized the sign that hung above the glass sliding doors of what seemed to be a store hidden away in the alleyway.


    ''New World Cafe.''


    "No...that shouldn''t be here," His gruff voice murmured atop the roof, and without hesitation, he jumped off the roof and down into the alleyway where he entered the cafe to find the very creature he has been researching for the past couple of days since he discovered it as well as the three women and the unknown man that was in the store the previous time he was in there.


    "Uh...hey bats, what can I do for you?" The creature hesitantly spoke, tilting its head to look at me.


    "You...why are you here?" Batman asked with a stern tone.


    "Turn around, and you''ll see why it''s possible," The creature suggested, waving his hand toward him.


    Turning around, Batman was briefly surprised to see two separate alleyways, both he recognized.


    "If you don''t understand, think about it like this, my store exists in two separate places at the same time, allowing customers to enter from both locations and to travel through both entrances, like an interdimensional crossroads, understanding me so far?" The creature explained and asked.


    In response, Batman seemed to grunt in annoyance and frustration.


    "What?" The creature asked.


    "How many?" He asked.


    "How many what?"


    "How many other of these ''Entrances'' and how many new customers?"


    "No new entrances have been made as of yet, and as for the second thing, I''m afraid that''s strictly for me to know."


    Batman seemed to only growl in annoyance as his gaze toward the creature became even more stern.


    "Oh yeah, the Credit Store has been expanded, if you are interested?" The creature informed Batman, only causing the Bat to become even more annoyed.

 28 - Batmans Second Visit

    It''s almost as if he didn''t believe in my words, so...it was to be expected of him.


    "Why...are those three here?" Batman asked.


    "Ah, do you mean those lovely women over there? Specifically, Dr. Pamela Isley, Selina Kyle, and Dr. Harleen Quinzel?" I asked, showing I knew their true names, the same as him.


    His glare hardened.


    "So, Br?????????????????u?????????????c?????????????????????????????????????????e?????????????????????????????...are we going to just sit here in silence? Or would you like to see what I have to offer?" I asked, putting an emphasis on his true name.


    A creepy grin formed on my ''face'' as I watched the Bat tense, ready to fight.


    "How?" He growled.


    "How do you think? Don''t tell me you already forgot, such a thing is not in your nature," I commented, a creepy smile forming on my ''face.''


    "There exist...more of me?" He asked.


    "Of course, there exist countless variants of yourself on a myriad of worlds, hell, there are even worlds in which you don''t exist or you are a villain," I commented.


    "Heh, I just remembered Batmetal, I wonder if that version of you exists somewhere out there," I chuckled thinking about the Batmetal series of songs.


    "Bat...metal?" Bruce asked, confused.


    "Just think of it as a version of you who is quite ridiculous and a musician," I told him the gist, shrugging my shoulders.


    "What all ???? you know?" Bruce asked, getting straight to the point.


    "More than you can fathom, Bruce. If I were to tell you just a bit about what I knew, it would shatter your views on reality and existence."


    Silence...


    We both stared at one another for what felt like a few minutes before I decided to just break the silence.


    "You want to check out the new stock of the Credit Store, or not?"


    He continued to stand there in silence.


    Shrugging, I opened the credit store and flipped the computer screen towards him so that he could see the new store items.


    While Bruce didn''t say anything, I did catch his eyes glancing over the new products, freezing on the items at the very top of the list.


    "What...?" He muttered.


    "Ah, are you wondering about the G.E.C.K? Or possibly the Conduit Gene Awakening Serum? If so, don''t worry."


    "Worry? You are offering items that could very well be turned into weapons for sale!" Batman growled.


    "First off, if that''s the excuse you are going to use, then you should realize ???????????????????? can be a weapon, and that whether its a tool for good or bad, is dependent on the user, secondly, no one is even near rich enough to afford the items, so quit your worrying," I explained, not wanting to get into an entire debate over the relatively simple items compared to what sort of bullshit the DC and Marvel universe comes up with on a regular basis.


    Although I could tell he still thought they were too dangerous, I noticed he was staring quite intently at the GECK.


    "Is this machine capable of terraforming planets? Or at least repairing a planet''s damaged ecosystems?" Batman asked.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    "Ah, are you asking for J''onn, The Martian Manhunter?" I asked, now wondering about our planetary neighbors next door.


    He remained stoic, but replied, "Can it do it?"


    "Sure, though it would need to be reprogrammed for the specific ecosystem you are after, as well as need the specific seeds," I commented with a shrug.


    He glanced over to my customers, and asked, "And them?"


    "Let the games deal with their urges, certainly better that Harley can get all the fun she needs or wants in a world with far too few people to cause problems too," I informed him, watching her slaughter her way through a horde in Project Zomboid.


    "What is she doing?"


    "Right now? Setting up traps against a horde of Zombies, and leading them into a narrow location where she can fight them without getting surrounded."


    Seeing him raise an eyebrow, I continued, "She is in a world much like our own that''s dealing with a Zombie Apocalypse, so relax, there isn''t a single human within twenty miles of her, at least not one that''s alive, that is."


    "What''s the state of that world?" Bruce asked, seemingly concerned.


    "The planet? It''ll be fine, Humanity on the other hand is more than likely going to go extinct, especially with humanity as scattered as it is, the Zombies certainly don''t help, and with each passing day more die," I commented.


    "Is there not some sort of resistance? People fighting back?" Bruce asked.


    "No, it was too sudden, as I said, what''s left of Humanity is scattered, you''d be lucky to find two people together, let alone a group of people that could actually fight back against the horde."


    "And the other two?"


    "Well, Ivy is currently in Fallout, the same world Diana played, while Selina is playing Infamous 1," I informed him, also letting him know I knew Wonder Woman''s name too.


    "What is Ivy doing in Fallout?"


    "Seeing what the consequences of Humanity''s stupidity are to the world, as well as searching for the G.E.C.Ks scattered through the world, I''d guess," I shrugged.


    "And infamous?"


    "A modern world with a type of metahumans," I explained.


    Our conversation went back in forth until a minute was left till close.


    "While it''s been a lovely conversation bats, I''m afraid I''ll have to end it here," I commented, before snapping my fingers and pausing the games, saving the players'' progress and forcing them back to reality.


    "What the hell?" Harley cursed, jumping out of her chair.


    The other two women had similar reactions, while Kyle just sighed in disappointment and left without a fuss.


    "What happened?" Selina asked, confused.


    "The store is closing, if you wish to continue, then you''ll need to come back tomorrow," I informed them, easily noticing their disappointment as well as surprise when they finally noticed the Bat hiding away in the corner.


    "Heya, Bats! What are you doing here?" Harley asked, before trying to tackle Bruce with a hug, only for her to run into the wall when he moved out of the way.


    "You know why I am here, Harley," Bats replied, stoic.


    "Oh come on! We haven''t even done anything!" Harley whined.


    "It''s not you three that I am here for," Batman informed them, staring straight at me.


    I smiled and waved.


    "Now that you are all awake, its time you leave, ''S?????????????????e???????r??????????????????????????????v??????a?????n?????????????????????????????????????t????s ????????o???????????????????????????????????????????f???? Th??????????????????e? V?????????????????????????????????oi?d??????????????????????????''," I cast.


    With a wave of my hands, the very air cracked and once again revealed the void.


    However, this time it was different.


    Ropes of pure black ''ink'' flowed into the room, and a clawed pitch-black hand reached through.


    Then another, and another.


    Countless hands and tentacles reached through the portal, and whatever was hidden on the other side, slowly pulled itself into our reality.


    Constantly shifting masses of inky flesh crawled through the portal, forming indescribable shapes and forms as they screeched and roared from finally entering reality.


    Maws, eyes, teeth, spikes, their forms were ever-shifting, even making me dizzy just looking at them.


    "Escort my guests out of the building, would you?" I kindly asked the Servants, who did as they were told.


    "As much as I was enjoying our conversations Bats, It''s time for me to close the store, and for you all to leave, feel free to come back tomorrow during store hours, have a wonderful night!" I told them, wishing them farewell.


    With Kyle long gone, it left just the trio and Batman, who the Servants immediately grabbed onto with their limbs, tentacles, and whatever other body parts they formed and slowly dragged them out.


    They each reacted differently to their...escorts.


    Batman, fought tooth and nail to try to escape from the Servant''s grasp, but his mortal strength was futile to its Eldritch physique.


    Posion Ivy seemed to freeze, like a deer caught in headlights, and was easily removed from the store.


    Selina was screaming and kicking, clearly not liking her particular escort.


    And...then there was, of course, Harley, who somehow ended up with the most...''tentically'' of all of the Servants, and was moaning in pleasure as the Servant''s tentacles wrapped around her body and squeezed.


    Getting that particular thought out of my head, I had a feeling I''d be seeing Harley around closing time again in the future...


    Well, at least that show of power should hopefully be spread out among their acquaintances, probably saving me some trouble from their more...rowdy acquaintances who''d likely try to steal from me, bully me, or straight-up kill me.


    Either way, I''d say it was an eventful day.

 29 - Rise of Vigilantism

    [A/N: If you are interested, I do have other fanfics on this account that are still being updated, a Fallout Fic and a Dungeon Fic]


    After throwing out my customers and closing down the store, I glanced at the Servants and sent them back to the Void with a wave of my hand.


    Humming to myself, I had the other parts of my mind already at work fixing and patching any bugs or errors I found while watching the players.


    For example, Harley''s game was going crazy regarding the zombie spawn rate.


    With the incredible amount of zombies she killed, and corpses littered throughout the whole city, if she continued, she would have wiped out more Zombies than the city should have reasonably had.


    So, I set a hard limit to the spawn rate to prevent Zombies from constantly spawning in the city and around the player, so, I changed it to make the spawn rate much lower when it comes to the Zombies around the player, but higher past a certain distance from the player.


    Of course that meant if a player worked hard enough, they''d be able to completely clear out a city of Zeds until more Zombies migrate to the location, which was more realistic.


    I had no doubt that future players would clear out entire cities and towns and build walls around their settlements, so making this change now would prevent player outrage if Zombies could appear in your town or city after you cleared and walled it.


    Of course, I added an option for the players to toggle Zombie respawns and even added a modifier to how many Zombies there would be in the world which would add a bonus to the Credits at the end.


    Other than that, I also had to do some fixes for Infamous, specifically, I didn''t account for the disorientating experience the players would get when they become Cole.


    From what I saw with Selina, the disorientation was even worse for women.


    So, I did some tweaking and fixed it to where the disorientation wasn''t so bad, of course, I could have had the Players stick with their own bodies, but I didn''t want that.


    Cole, and the other protagonists of the series all had their own backgrounds and stories, and even their own thoughts and feelings.


    To help the players adjust to their powers, I installed a sort of personality into the avatar that would help the players in dialogue and more.


    That personality ?????? Cole.


    Other than that, I expanded on the city, adding more details and people to make it not seem so...empty.


    Each and every individual in the city were unique in some way shape or form, they resembled actual people, I even went as far as to include wild animals and pets to make the city more lively.


    With that done, I let out a sigh and relaxed.


    With a thought, I increased the price of the hourly sessions since it''s now May.


    For the VR Mode, it would now be $100 an hour, while the Classic Mode would be $50.


    Going over my earnings, I was sitting at about $1.5k, and with the new customers Volkov would get me, I should start getting a lot more customers due to word of mouth.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Though I do suspect that Batman is going to frequently deal with any of my more unsavory customers.


    With nothing left to do, I spent the rest of the night relaxing.


    ---


    Meanwhile, not far from the Cafe''s entrance in New York, Kyle was slowly walking through Hell''s Kitchen, an area in Manhattan with the most crime and the central gathering location of most of the men and women.


    With no hesitation, he pulled out an N99 10mm Pistol and combat knife and slowly began walking.


    Kyle found this to be the easiest way to earn money, and at the same time, clean up the filth that made society one body at a time.


    He did the same in the Wasteland, always making sure to go out of his way to wipe out any Raider camp he found.


    He may have been labeled as a hero by those he saved, but he wasn''t, he didn''t consider himself a hero, he simply did what he felt was right, one kill at a time.


    Of course, it didn''t take long for him to hear the sound of gunfire in the far distance, more than likely due to two gangs fighting, whether it be over territory, resources, or maybe even pride, it didn''t matter, what mattered, was that he found tonight''s targets.


    He dropped down into a combat position and crept toward the noise.


    Meanwhile, two other vigilantes were also drawn to the noise, like a moth to a flame.


    ---


    "Damn it! The rat lied! There''s a lot more than what he told us!"


    "No shit! Fuck! I think the Thorns are here too!" Another thug shouted out,


    "So it''s a threeway?! Shit!" A Thug cursed.


    With a seemingly all-out war between three gangs, none noticed that those at the back of the fights were slowly getting taken out, leaving only those at the forefront of the fight remaining.


    "Where is our backup?!" A Thug shouted, taking cover as the concrete wall he hid behind was struck by a hail of bullets.


    Not far behind them, lurking behind a wall, Kyle could be seen holding a strangling man with a slit throat.


    His hands and body were soaked in blood, but he remained calm and still, and eventually, the struggling man in his arms lost his strength and died.


    Sheathing his blade, he drew his pistol and slowly crept forward.


    Taking a deep breath, he took aim and fired.


    Bang, Bang!


    The sound rang out in the area, and the collective fire stopped everywhere, with the other two gangs seemingly stopping as well.


    Kyle crept forward, out of the alley, and got a good look at what stopped the other two gangs.


    One was a man with a skull crest on the vest he wore and what looked to be a robot with two swords for arms stood by his side, blood dripping from its blades.


    On the other side of the street, was nothing but ash and flames, and what appeared to be a skeleton on fire.


    "First Lieutenant, two unknowns, orders?" The robot asked, loud enough for Kyle and the skeleton to hear.


    "Guns down...for now, shoot if things get hot," the man next to the robot ordered.


    In the distance we could suddenly hear sirens, the corruption at its finest, it took more than half an hour for the police to arrive, and by the time they arrived on the scene, they came across the carnage.


    At first, the police after some investigations figured it was simply a simply gang fight that had some Supers, but after one cop looked into it, he found that it must have been the work of three separate parties that attacked the gangs from behind, eliminating every gang banger involved with ruthless efficiency.


    What made the cop think it was done by three separate parties, was the difference in methods the parties used to kill the gang bangers.


    One seemed to prefer burning their victims alive, leaving nothing but ash, another preferred to brutally attack the vital organs with a bladed weapon of some kind, and the last seemed to be more like an assassin than anything, taking out all the gang members with stealth and a blade, with only the last two that were killed being shot in the heads.


    The news quickly picked up on this and the rise of vigilantism was becoming an increasingly larger concern for the citizens of New York City, with Spiderman, Firestorm, one of the Green Lanterns, Daredevil, the Punisher, and now two more unknown vigilantes calling the city home.


    What did this mean for the common citizen of the city? What did it mean for the criminals who struggled to earn a living both night and day?


    And, what did it mean when the Police couldn''t do anything about it?


    The answer? The government''s eyes focus on the city.


    Which would lead to more consequences and people gaining power, power that the government and people higher up in the chain of command would want controlled.


    Sadly for these men and women, they''d find out, there are just some things you cannot control.

 30 - The 10th Split and Easter Eggs

    Throughout the night I had nothing much to do, so I split my mind as far as possible.


    With time I was getting better at splitting my mind and controlling each ''part'' and by morning, I was able to split my mind into ten separate parts!


    Of course, as soon as I opened, Kyle was the first to walk in, always arriving as soon as the store opened.


    Though he seemed to have gotten some sleep since he didn''t seem dead on his feet like he had been the last couple of days when he entered the store.


    "Welcome, Kyle, how are you doing?" I asked, concerned for the health of my best customer.


    "I''m doing better, can I get the same as usual?" He asked, giving me some cash.


    Nodding, I walked over to the fridge and pulled out an Ice-Cold Nuka Cola and Deathclaw Omlete for $15.


    I lowered the price of some goods, Nuka Cola being one of them, bringing its price down from $10 to $5.


    Nuka Cola became one of his favorite drinks due to them being the most commonly found refreshments in the Wasteland, I believe there were some days in which that was he could drink to fight dehydration, not that it was a suitable replacement for water.


    Food and drink in hand, he walked over to his computer and sat down to eat.


    Such was his daily ritual whenever he came in, and once he finished his meal, he jumped back into the game.


    Not long after, I was surprised to see Volkov enter the cafe with a few other men, all who looked as buff and mean as him.


    "...What in the hell?" One of the thugs cursed upon gazing at my form.


    "Mind your words, Vik, he is not something you want to antagonize," Volkov warned his associate.


    "He''s right you know," I joked, causing the men to frown.


    "So, I see that you are fulfilling your agreement, will these gentlemen be joining you today?" I asked.


    "I recall seeing something called ''Multiplayer,'' does that mean they would be able to play with me in Project Zomboid?" Volkov asked with a serious tone, staring deep into my eyes.


    "That''s right, though they will have to play through the tutorial first, and you would need to make a Server," I informed him.


    "Server?" He asked.


    "Think of it as a world that can be public or private that would allow other players to join. However, if that''s not what you want, you could also host a world, which would require you to be online and in the game," I explained after a moment of thought.


    "I see, I''ll be paying for them," Volkov told me, just before I informed him of the increase in price, which he still begrudgingly still paid.


    The four men walked over to the computers and hopped on.


    With that, half of my computers were already occupied, leaving only five left.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    I needed to expand soon, otherwise, I wouldn''t be able to handle more customers.


    Watching the men sit down at the computers, I observed Volkov guide them to create their accounts.


    With no shame, I listened in.


    "Once you''re in, start the tutorial, afterward, join the server I make and select whatever occupation you feel is the best for you and for surviving, spawn in Riverside and let''s try to meet up, find the river, and wait, I''ll find you, just stay put."


    Seems he had a plan, and with a click of a button, their bodies went stiff and they entered the game.


    It took only a moment for the other thugs to complete the Tutorial due to the time acceleration.


    Checking for myself, I noted that Volkov made a public server anyone could join, simply called ''Volkov''s Server'' and with a mischievous smile, I decided to do a little bit of trolling.


    Using one of my minds, I hopped into his game world and while floating far above him, got up to mischief.


    ...


    [Volkov''s POV]


    After selecting Fire Officer, Volkov found himself in the living room of some house.


    Examining himself, he found that he had boots, firefighter pants, a black T-shirt, and a fire axe, as well as socks and some underwear.


    Axe in hand, Volkov quickly searched the house, finding a duffle bag that he filled with a couple of cans of food, bottles of water, a blanket, and a pillow.


    With that in hand, he stepped out of the house to find that he was in some sort of gated community, he noticed a few nearby cars but decided to travel on foot so as to not draw a horde of Zeds onto him.


    Having not known where he was, he was forced to walk around for a few hours before he found the front gate of the community, of course, he came across a couple of Zeds, causing some of his clothes and the axe in hand to become a bit bloody.


    Though now he had some gloves, a few watches, and a pocket knife.


    From there he walked down the road until he eventually made it to the city where he briefly explored in the other world for supplies and materials.


    Making sure to keep to the outskirts of the city, he eventually made it to the river where he sat against a tree and ate some of the food he brought along with him.


    Suddenly, he heard a branch snap behind him, and jumped up with the axe in hand, turning towards where he heard the noise, to find...nothing.


    Taking a deep breath, his eyes scanned the surroundings, not even noticing the shimmer in the air as an invisible figure stalked him in the distance.


    Once he felt he had enough rest, he got up and began walking along the river, hoping his associates would have already reached the river by now and were just waiting for him, unaware that he had eyes watching him from afar.


    ...


    Meanwhile, the three other men who had finished their tutorials and joined the server were running around the city, having no idea where the river was due to not being able to find a map.


    Each in separate parts of the town dealing with their own problems, forced to adapt to their new situations.


    However, what was the same with all of these men, was the shimmer that followed them, ?????????????? them.


    These figures leaped between trees, and rooftops, and lurked in the foliage and dark allies, watching as the men killed and hunted down the Zombies.


    Seemingly curious, one of these shimmers jumped behind a lone Zombie, and with a swing of its arm, it latched onto the back of the zombie, and ripped its entire spine out, with the skull dangling on the end with what was left of the flesh that covered its head.


    Seemingly disappointed, the shimmer let out clicks before tossing the bones to the side, not finding the creature to be worthy of becoming a trophy.


    Same with the other figures that stalked the men, each was disappointed by the prey of this world, though perhaps the men would prove to be cunning and worthy prey.


    ...


    Meanwhile, I was staring at the four Yautja that were stalking the men.


    I was growing increasingly annoyed that even a stray thought could end up changing the world.


    I mean seriously, I intended to scare them a bit, sounds of footsteps there, talking over there, simple things really, to ?????????? them, not kill them.


    However I did see an opportunity here, with a wave of my hand, I got rid of all of the Yautja but one, moving him far away to continue their ''hunt.''


    Consider it an Easter egg, one that can and will hunt the players if they enter their hunting grounds.


    Of course, I made sure to make a Credit reward for hunting down the Yautja, but made it a one-time reward.


    I also made sure that in case of death, the Yautja''s equipment would be unusable, wouldn''t be fun if the Players got their hands on alien tech in this simple survival world.


    Focusing back on the task at hand, I went back to trolling the men.

 31 - New Projects underway

    [2 Days Later]


    Humming a song in my mind, I glanced to my right to see a particular Bat staring at me for little to no reason.


    Looking back to my computer, I continued humming as my now 11 other ''Minds'' worked on my newest projects.


    "Every time we lie awake,


    After every hit we take,


    Every feeling that I get,


    But I haven''t missed you yet,


    Every roommate kept awake,


    By every sigh and scream we make,


    All the feelings that I get,


    But I still don''t miss you yet.


    Only when I stop to think about it,


    I, hate everything about you,


    Why do I love you?


    I hate everything about you,


    Why do I love you?"


    Humming and singing ''I hate everything about you by Three Days Grace'' seemed to cause Bruce''s eyebrow to rise in confusion.


    It probably sounded creepier than what I intended due to my voice, but I certainly didn''t care, the song was good, whether Bruce liked it or not.


    I had no idea what thoughts were going through that paranoid man''s brain, but I wasn''t even going to bother trying to figure it out, though I was willing to bet it was related in some way to learning more about me, finding my weaknesses, or some other similar form of information gathering.


    And although he stared at me, he was also glancing at the other customers, who all came in today at around the same time.


    Ivy, Harley, Selina, Volkov, and his buddies, Kyle, and to my surprise, Frank.


    Of course, his Assaultron was standing in the other corner of the cafe from Batman, and its eye seemed to be focused on his figure, ready to fight at a moment''s notice if Bruce decided to attack Frank.


    All that was left, was one empty computer, all of the others were occupied.


    And it seems Batman was questioning whether or not he should explore the Game Worlds.


    Personally, of all the games, Infamous would probably be the one that spoke to him most, especially since Killing wasn''t a requirement.


    Well, I guess in the other games you don''t have to kill either, but you''ll be in for a hard time if you didn''t kill.


    I mean seriously, being a pacifist in a world like Fallout would be putting the player on a difficulty so hard, that it would probably be on the level of Dark Souls.


    "Hey bats, why don''t you take a crack at Infamous? I have a feeling you''d enjoy it somewhat since you are a cape and all," I suggested.


    "A cape?" Batman asked.


    "Hero, as you like to call them, though not all heroes should be even given the honor of that name, hence, Cape, a term that will embody any super that wants to be a ''Hero,'' or Justicar," I explained.


    "Show me the...trailer of this ''Infamous.''"


    "Which one? The first, second, second son, or first light?"


    "All of them," He told me simply.


    "Suit yourself, let me know your decision afterward," I waved towards the empty computer which had its screen suddenly turned on and had a set of videos ready to play.


    With him now distracted, I focused back on the projects my Minds were working on.


    For $20k, I purchased three new games.


    Specifically, Ark Survival Evolved, Bioshock, and Stardew Valley.


    Though to be accurate, I purchased Ark Survival Evolved''s Island Map, System, lore, map-specific dinosaurs, and more for the price of 10k.


    For Bioshock, I purchased the first game, at the cost of 5k.


    And Stardew Valley, I managed to get the whole thing for 5k.


    All in all, it was worth the price, though it did take out a majority of my savings, leaving me with not much left.


    Of my current 11 other ''Minds,'' five were working on the Island, four on Bioshock, and the remaining two on Stardew Valley.


    Onto explanations, Ark Survival Evolved.


    [Ark]


    A world where Humanity advanced at an unprecedented rate due to an energy-dense material named ''Element.''


    This material allowed Humanity to eventually create all sorts of advanced technology, referred to as Tek.


    In the 22nd century, two superpowers had mastered Element-based technology the United Republic of Earth (URE) and the Terran Federation (Feds). For reasons that are still unclear, the two factions were inevitably drawn into a war that ultimately consumed them both.


    During the war, the use of element-powered weapons began to heavily pollute the earth. The war on Earth soon took its toll as the polluted element became almost conscious/self-aware, and the element was revealed to almost be a form of living organism/flora with a hive mind personality with endless hatred, that only wanted to cause devastation and annihilation. Because of its self-awareness, Element has begun to dig deep into Earth at Element-polluted battlefields.


    The URE was the first to notice the damage the two factions had caused with their war. Once the two factions realized the damage that they caused and the greater threat of Element, they reconciled and worked together to focus on the real problem. They invested all of their effort in Project Genesis, a conjoined project that plans to preserve and restore all life without Element contamination.


    Both sides invested in their projects to rebuild nature and life: the United Republics of Earth decided to build the ARKs to help heal the poisoned Earth and the Terran Federation built the Colony Ship to find a planet with similar conditions to Earth. The humans and Homo Deus, who were transhumans at the time, worked together to construct the ARKs and the Colony Ship (Genesis Simulation) in an attempt to save life on Earth from extinction.


    At the same time, these projects were highly classified due to moral and ethical issues that may impede the project. As a result, the general public was kept in the dark and had no idea that Project Genesis was taking drastic measures such as archiving every single human and creating massive ecosystems to save all Earth life.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The Engram Reconstruction Project, A massive project that was done by the Terran Federation humanists and the United Republics of Earth transhumans, its purpose was to hold and record every engrammic matrix, or the minds and personalities of every single known human in Earth''s history into an archive. Both the Colony Ship and ARKs will hold a copy of this archive to allow them to repopulate the worlds they will inhabit respectively.


    By the end of the Element War, Element grew to critical masses at alarming rates. The entire planet Earth collapsed as Element spread across the planet by first digging roots deep into its crust, enabling it to create Titans to ravage everything in sight. On top of that, natural disasters ravaged the environment and killed a majority of the inhabitants.


    In the aftermath, both the URE and Terran Federation collapsed and very few landmarks and monuments remained intact, with most traces of the old world consumed by rapidly-growing veins of Element.


    Notable surviving landmark is the city of Sanctuary, the Proto-ARKs of Extinction, and Arat Prime, according to Nida, is the location of a high-light speed link between Earth and the Colony Ship. Most notably, Earth''s rotation has stopped for some reason, causing certain locations on Earth to have a constant day, constant night, and a twilight zone.


    The ARK in-lore story begins hundreds of years after The Collapse when the ARKs begin to malfunction. Explorer notes indicate that the ARKs have remained in orbit far longer than 646 years.


    ARK is a space station intended to house living organisms such as Humans, Creatures, and Plants. These ARKs were launched prior to a global-level extinction event in which Element wiped out Earth''s Human population.


    They are incredible feats of human engineering, kilometers-wide mobile space stations housing vast vaults of genetic information, cloning devices, and terraforming technology. In their dormant state, they wait in Earth orbit, simulating a diverse ecosystem by controlling onboard climate and animal populations.


    The dome that protects this false ecosystem from the void of space also doubles as an artificial horizon, masking the station''s true nature with a blue sky and an artificial day/night cycle. Humans are deterred from reaching the edge of this artificial horizon by methods that look like natural boundaries. On The Island, inhabitants are contained by an encircling sea of dangerous predators, making it hard for the inhabitants to reach the edge of the dome and learn the true nature of their ''prison.''


    For an unknown period of time, the ARKs awaited an activation signal from Earth. The stations are programmed to perform a controlled descent in response to this signal, touching down on the planet''s surface.


    Upon landing, containment force fields and artificial horizons deactivate, unleashing the ARK''s inhabitants. Each station is a giant seed built to bloom over the Earth''s wasteland, its terraforming systems sweeping away the Element infestation. Its terraforming systems are triggered by an order called the Reseed Protocol that calls the ARKs to return back to Earth''s surface. However, the Reseed Protocol is blocked by another piece of criteria: the Element Toxicity Rating.


    Curiously, although designed to repopulate the planet, modern Earth species are almost entirely absent from every known ARK. Their creators used each model as a whimsical genetic playground, featuring new species that are either heavily modified or completely fabricated. Scorched Earth, a desert ARK, is a breeding ground for wyverns and other fantastical monsters. The Island, the closest known ARK to a ''pure'' Earth ecosystem, features modified versions of animals from across prehistory unnaturally mixed together.


    The ARKs'' strange quirks do not stop at their animal populations. Their builders discovered a hidden part of the brain called an ''engrammic matrix'', which stored information in some human bodies even after years of decay. Personalities and memories were recreated for people who had been dead for centuries or even millennia. These people were set loose in the ARKs with no idea of where they were, or how much time had passed.


    Every human that is on the ARK has a strange implant in their left wrist in the shape of a prism. This implant somehow acts as a medium between two languages by translating the speaker''s language to the listener''s language so the listener completely understands what the speaker is actually saying.


    On each ARK, there are obelisks, the very objects that power the ARKs.


    These Obelisks, after gathering a sufficient amount of materials and trophies, would allow the Survivors to challenge Bosses that would not only grant a trophy but also Tek blueprints and Element to make the Tek.


    Once all of the Trophies were gathered, the survivors would be able to challenge the ARKs Guardian, and upon success, allow the Survivors to travel to other ARK stations.


    It was basically a challenge of the Survival of the Fittest, with the best warriors and survivors being able to advance, while the rest remained trapped on their ARK stations until the planetfall of the ARK stations.


    [Bioshock]


    Bioshock, on the other hand, is situated on Earth..only it''s much more...strange.


    BioShock takes place in 1960, where Jack, the sole survivor of a plane crash in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, discovers the entrance to the recluse underwater city of Rapture, at the end of a civil war that left most of it in disrepair.


    Finding himself trapped in a strange and dangerous dystopia, and with only a mysterious man called Atlas helping him, Jack has no choice but to fight for his survival against Rapture''s mutated and monstrous denizens, using all types of weapons and genetic enhancements, as he searches for a way to return to the surface.


    Rapture (also known as the North Atlantic Project and the Rapture Colony) is a massive underwater city forged from the personal dreams of Andrew Ryan to escape from the political, social, and religious constraints of a post-World War II world. It was first established on November 5, 1946, and construction of the city itself finished in late 1951. Rapture was located within the northern Atlantic Ocean, approximately 433 kilometers west of Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland.


    Andrew Ryan named his city after the goal he set in mind: to create a paradise free from the influence of those he deemed "Parasites"; a place of true rapture.


    In terms of its philosophical underpinnings, Rapture can best be described as a "gulch", (a term derived from Galt''s Gulch in the Ayn Rand novel Atlas Shrugged), which is a localized underground economic and social community of free-minded individuals. It differs from a commune in that it is uniquely freedom-focused and so upholds individual and property rights, but does not operate by the rules of a collective community.


    The original goal of Rapture was to create a laissez-faire society free of religious and government interference of any kind, where any citizen could prosper for their own gain, without being hindered by the needs of others.


    The "world''s best and brightest" would be granted freedom of will and choice in Rapture, unrestrained by government, religion, and other such established institutions. Instead of abiding by the traditions and moral systems imposed by those institutions, values such as ambition, scientific reason, and free thought were to guide the inhabitants in their pursuit of achievement.


    This would-be utopia had its flaws. In Rapture''s purely capitalistic society, there were no public services; everything within the city was privately owned and hence came at a price. This included the city''s food, healthcare, sanitation, and even its oxygen supply.


    Even police and fire departments were subscription-based private companies such as Poppadopolis Police Department and Fontaine Fire Fighters. With no restrictions on businesses and labor, there was nothing but competition and customer choice. This allowed many industries to flourish at first but also led to unscrupulous, dangerous business practices.


    This system alienated Rapture''s less fortunate citizens, who, as their situation deteriorated, began to resent Ryan''s society as cold-hearted and elitist. Andrew Ryan''s hostility and growing paranoia towards "Parasites", and others he suspected of undermining his vision kicked into motion a chain of events that would ultimately lead to his downfall and that of his city.


    Some of the notable creations and discoveries of the city were the discovery of ADAM, the creation of Plasmids, EVE, Big Daddies, Little Sisters, and so much more.


    ADAM is a volatile genetic substance that has the ability to rewrite genetic material, allowing the user to alter their body, their genetic makeup, and their natural abilities without any direct limits whatsoever aside from their imagination.


    ADAM does this by supporting the formation of potent stem cells that have the ability to differentiate into any cell type, including a variety of unnatural ones. This type of cell formation, however, is also often compared to a benign form of cancer, as the chemical slowly destroys native tissue cells and replaces them with unstable stem versions.


    Through ADAM, Plasmids came into being.


    Plasmids are special serums made from processed ADAM that introduce modified stem cells into the body, allowing for genetic modification and mutation, giving the user what some might call "superpowers". Active Plasmids require EVE for use, while passive Plasmids, called Gene Tonics, provide an effect merely by being equipped. Plasmids are powerful, but excessive use of them leads to physical and mental addiction and instability. This was a major factor in the eventual downfall of Rapture society.


    So, during the events of the first Bioshock Game, the Player must traverse the city of Rapture, fight its crazed and insane inhabitants, and do whatever is necessary to survive.


    [Stardew Valley]


    Then there was Stardew Valley, the most peaceful of all of my games so far.


    The player starts the game by arriving at a quaint farm they inherited from their grandfather that was in a great state of disrepair, with overgrowth, logs, and rock being spread out everywhere.


    The farm was just outside a small town by the name of Pelican Town.


    The player can farm, mine, fight monsters, fish, and interact with the townspeople.


    It was a small game but had a surprising amount of things that the player could do, whether it be romancing a particular townsperson, collecting every artifact, or decorating your farm, there seemingly was an endless task of things to do.


    It would probably be the most relaxing game I''d have in stock for a while, something that would desperately be needed for some of my players in the future who couldn''t handle being in the other games for too long.

 32 - The Journeys of the Players

    So, with those three projects underway, I focused back on my Customers.


    This was the first time my store had ever been full, with every computer being occupied, and I had two new customers, or to be exact, two new players.


    Frank Castle, the Punisher, and Bruce Wayne, the Batman.


    Two vigilantes.


    One that kills, and one refuses to.


    One that''s poor, and one that''s rich.


    Yet, both have suffered immensely and try to do some good for the world, albeit in different yet similar ways.


    Batman was playing Infamous, while Frank was going through Fallout.


    Both took to the games nearly instantly, their experiences making them formidable foes in the games.


    Batman, who occupied Cole''s body and could use his powers, was nearly impossible to beat, as he could move far faster than any human, survive far more grievous injuries, and use Cole''s powers in countless ways to stun, bind, or knock out any opponent.


    Meanwhile, Frank was roaming the wasteland, using the skills he obtained throughout his life to easily take out any threat that neared him.


    His marksmanship made him a threat to anything living in the wasteland, not to mention the other skills he honed from his time in the military.


    It was surprising how quickly Frank and Batman adjusted to their roles and new ''gifts.''


    Frank had already made plenty of progress, having only died twice, while Batman had died multiple times when he first started from the firearms that seemed to be common among the criminals of the city.


    As for the criminal trio, Ivy has slowly been making her way across the wasteland, finding it incredibly difficult due to her no longer having access to her powers and being all that good with a gun.


    Harley was, of course, having fun causing chaos in her Project Zomboid world, having finally died after biting off more than she could chew, however, as I expected, this only increased the fervor and chaos she ensued upon the zombies of the city. Her chaos has actually caused the few reaming of humanity in the area to flee, thinking the city was too dangerous to survive in.


    Meanwhile, Selina was having a blast at being Cole, still following the story, but also taking part in some side projects, ones she would commonly do in Gotham, those side projects being that of what she could steal and how valuable the items would be.


    Zeke''s poor rooftop home quickly became covered in previous historical and cultural artifacts from different time periods ranging from as early as before civilization to as late as objects not even past a hundred years of age.


    Of course, because of the current quartine that was placed over the city, the objects didn''t have any value, so, she also began stealing from the countless gangs that had formed due to the chaos swamping the city.


    So, she stole guns, ammo, food, medicine, whatever she knew would be valuable to the city''s denizens, and began selling them through key people she bribed.


    Because of this, she was quickly able to become quite the crime lord, Utilizing her new resources, she formed her own gang and waged war with the Reapers, the Dust Men, and the First Sons.


    Of course with her gang being new, the other gangs thought she would be an easy target, but boy were they wrong.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Not only did her new powers make her even more dangerous, but she also had the side of the people and the home-ground advantage.


    Any gang banger that entered her territory would find that it was a death trap, with every man, woman, and child aggressively kicking them out, or straight out killing them.


    How did she accomplish this, you may ask?


    Simple, she used her sudden wealth to arm and feed those in her territory.


    She set up soup kitchens to provide filling meals, created jobs, set up guards, and so much more.


    Her work made Cole seem like a Great Leader, one that accidentally ended up creating an entire resistance movement to take back the city from the gangs, which she didn''t reject.


    So, with the help of the people and the use of her powers, she took back the city district by district, and eventually her gang was the largest and strongest, with her people of course utilizing any weapons they obtained from the opposing gangs, which served only to increase her people''s strength.


    And, without her consent, it became named ''The Resistance.''


    Cliche in her opinion, but if it served to bring more people to her side, she was all for it, though she was certainly no hero, and she never acted like one.


    Everything she did only served to help her, though she was too proud to admit that she felt ''good'' doing so many good deeds.


    After all, there were reasons she helped Bruce from time to time, sometimes even working directly with him.


    Meanwhile, the four men playing Project Zomboid were slowly clearing out the city of Riverside, going house by house, block by block.


    It wasn''t exactly effective, since Zombies from other areas would just wander into any area they cleared.


    They were armed with various weapons and sports gear that provided moderate protection against the Zombies.


    Of course, they had died quite a few times now, all of them but Volkov that is, the others however, died a great many times as they got used to fighting the fearless and unrelenting undead.


    They typically died from being swarmed or trapped by the Zombies, since they lacked firearms, bows, or any other long-ranged weapon that left melee weaponry as their sole offensive option other than using the very environment around them like Harley was doing.


    Once they died, they had to make a new ''Characer'' so to speak, meaning they''d have to rechoose an Occupation and find their way back seeing as they''d be randomly spawned somewhere in whatever town or city they selected.


    One of them even went as far as to make the stupid mistake of choosing an occupation with a gun and they used the gun, firing off a round that every zombie within miles heard...


    Safe to say that due to that man''s actions, all of the Zombies in the town or city migrated to the side of the city the man was at, which also just so happened to be near where they had set up base.


    Of course, that particular man got quite a few angry looks from his acquaintances, who happened to be nowhere near the base and got caught up in the migrating horde.


    And lastly, there was Kyle, my most loyal customer who came in daily to play Fallout.


    To be frank, I was growing a bit worried about the man.


    With the amount of time he''s been spending in the game, he was far older than he looked, probably reaching his late 50s in his mental age, while his body remained that of a man in his early 20s.


    That''s right, he''s probably lived longer in Fallout than he has in reality, which concerned me.


    Not only because his time in the game was changing him at a fundamental level, but also because, it seemed like he never wanted to leave, not anymore.


    At this rate, I may need to stage an intervention and more than likely set a daily time limit any one customer can spend in the game.


    Other than that, the progress at which he moved was astonishing.


    He was at the late stage of the game, and unfortunately, kept dying and having to replay and work to get all the way back to where he died, only for the cycle to repeat.


    He was having serious issues with the Enclave, having trouble obtaining any weapon that could effectively go through their power armor, with his only real success being that of a lot of explosives or plasma and energy weapons.


    However, with each death, he was able to go back and fix any mistakes he made and improve his abilities. One time he even fully specked into a lucky bomber, which lasted for a few hours, that is until his luck ran out, and he died.


    But, at this rate, he''d eventually make it through and move onto one of the ''Newer'' fallout games, Fallout 1, 2, Tactics, and Brotherhood were the older games of the franchise, with 3, New Vegas, 4, and 76 being the newer additions to the series.


    I hadn''t added Tactics, Brotherhood of Steel, or 76 as of yet, though that could change in the future.


    Don''t get me wrong, all Fallout Games had their flaws, but that doesn''t mean I couldn''t fix them.


    I just think Kyle needed a break to be honest.


    He''s become desensitized to killing, he has the instincts of a killer and soldier, the skills of countless professions, and hundreds of deaths on his shoulders.


    The question was, how would an addict react to his obsession being taken away?

 33 - Navarro

    [A/N: Longer Chapter to make up for the one that was shorter]


    ln the middle of a fenced-in arena of a crossroad, a crowd of people were cheering as two men fought with nothing but their fists.


    One was Kyle, wearing nothing but his reinforced Vault suit, and the other was a Chinese man named Lo Pan.


    The two exchanged blows, Kyle who has gone through this fight many times has long since memorized all of Lo Pan''s moves and tricks.


    Throwing a punch towards Kyle''s face, Kyle redirected the punch away from his face, and sent a devastating punch back, knocking Lo Pan to the ground.


    Gritting his teeth in anger, a smile suddenly forms on Lo Pan''s face as he says, "Oh my, look what I found!"


    Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a gun!


    Knowing this was coming, Kyle charged forward and kicked the gun out of Lo Pan''s hand, before landing a devastating kick on Lo Pan''s head, knocking him out.


    However, Kyle wasn''t going to let him live, he walked over to the gun and shot Lo Pan in the head before walking out of the arena.


    The people around him were quiet, but it didn''t matter, with the issue now resolved between Lo Pan and the Dragon, the two Martial Artists of Chinatown.


    Walking up to Dragon, the defender of the people and teacher to the weak, Kyle listened to Dragon as he thanked him, "Lo Pan is dead! I have you to thank, I am sure. Now I am confident that my school will lead our fighting style into the future!"


    "Great, see you later," Kyle replied.


    "Stay safe Disciple!"


    Kyle received enough experience to level up, putting his new skill points into robotics.


    Not only did Kyle take on this quest to get a good amount of experience points, but also because it was good practice.


    Some time ago Kyle had been taught by Dragon and learned his techniques, now every time he died he came back to hone his skills further.


    Leaving the city, he hopped in a hidden HIghwayman, a car he makes sure to obtain every playthrough due to its speed and durability.


    Heading north, he soon arrived not far from the gate of camp Navarro at the service station, the forward operating base of the Enclave.


    Hopping out of the car, a man in purple robes stepped forward.


    "Howdy stranger! Whoa, baby! Check out that set of wheels. I haven''t seen one of those in years! What can old Chris do for you?"


    "I am here to join the Enclave, can you direct me to the front gate?" Kyle asked.


    "Join up? You''re a tribal! What makes you think they''d want a tribal?" The man asked, annoyed.


    "I''m serious, I am looking to join the Enclave," Kyle told the man, while discreetly reaching for his gun, in case he failed to convince the man.


    "Wait a minute...Are you trying to say you''re one of the Enclave Replacements?" The man asked, confused.


    "That''s right."


    He examined Kyle, before saying, "Damn, I am sorry about the hassle. I''m supposed to clear a bunch of newbies coming through here but I got to weed out the trash. Anyway, just go up to the gate through the woods there, and give ''em the password. It''s ''Sheepshead.'' Oh, and stay on the path!"


    "Thanks, Do you mind if I leave my car here?" Kyle asked.


    "Sure, just make sure to come get it before the end of the day, otherwise I''ll have to have to remove it," Chris replied, going back into his shed.


    Walking through the woods, Kyle soon came across a gate guarded by Turrets and Power Armored Guards.


    "Halt! This is federal property - no admittance without proper authorization," The Guard Stated.


    "I am a new recruit, the password is Sheepshead," Kyle said, getting straight to the point.


    "One moment," He raised he looked back to the other Guard who gave a nod, "Okay, you check out. Report to the Drill Cheif. Go through the gate, past the kennel, and it''s the first door on the right," The Guard instructed.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Yes, sir!"


    Walking through the gate, Kyle walked past the Kennel and opened the first door.


    Stepping inside revealed a man reading through papers.


    Not looking up he said, "Welcome to Camp Navarro. So you''re the new replacement..." He looked up, jumping up from his chair, "You are out of uniform, Soldier! Where is your power armor?!"


    "I was not issued any Power Armor, Sergeant!" Kyle firmly replied, standing at attention.


    "Don''t have it? You expect me to believe that, Maggot?! The truth is, you lost an expensive piece of army-issued equipment! That suit is going to come out of your pay, and you will remain in this man''s army until you are five hundred and ten years old! Which is the number of years it will take for you to pay for a Mark II Powered Combat Armor you have lost! Report to the armory and have a new suit issued to you, then report back to me, private! Dismissed!"


    "Yes, Sergeant!"


    Quickly leaving the room so as to not anger him further, Kyle followed the path he memorized, heading into the canteen and heading down to the basement of the camp through the freight elevator.


    Walking over to the armory, Kyle approached the Quartermaster.


    "Sir!"


    "Yes?" The Quartermaster asked looking through papers, before looking up, "What can I do for you Private?"


    "I need an issue of Mark II Power Armor, a weapon, and ammo!" Kyle answered.


    Grabbing some papers from a nearby desk, he handed them to Kyle and told him to fill the papers out.


    Doing so, he was able to grab and equip himself with a Plasma Rifle and power Armor, and he discreetly looted the armory of its explosives and grabbed a Gauss Pistol.


    Walking out of the Armory, Kyle checked the time before taking a turn and walking down a hallway where an Enclave Guard in Power Armor was waiting outside the door.


    "Halt, what''s your business here?"


    "Cleaning staff," Kyle said, calmly walking towards the Guard.


    "Cleaning? Where''s your cart? And why are you still in your power armor? You realize it will be harder to clean with that on, right?"


    Suddenly Kyle dashed forward, combat knife in hand, Before the Guard could react Kyle used the Power Armor''s strength combined with his maxed strength stat to grab a hold of the Guard''s helmet and live it up, before brutally stabbing his knife as far as it would go, causing it to go right through his throat.


    It was one of the few weak points of Power Armor.


    The Armor acted a lot like a crab''s shell, the joints were the weakest points, and the armor couldn''t protect everywhere, especially in the places where people needed to be the most flexible, such as the neck for example.


    As the man dropped his gun and grabbed his neck, Kyle grabbed his weapon and kicked him to the side.


    He didn''t have much time now, and that Guard was going to bleed out, luckily, Kyle managed to cut his vocal cords so he couldn''t scream, or try to anyway, kind of hard to do that with your esophagus becoming filled with blood that slowly flooded your lungs.


    Taking a deep breath, Kyle suddenly charged at the metal door, using his superhuman strength that was enhanced by the power armor to burst right through, and with a split second, began charging at the Commander of the Base who had already set the alarm off.


    It wouldn''t take long for Enclave Soldiers to rush to the office, so Kyle had to make this quick.


    Pulling out a Plasma Pistol, Kyle managed to dodge the first couple of shots due to the Gun''s notorious accuracy before getting hit, that didn''t stop him from charging forward and tacking the Commander down to the ground however, where he used the same trick to stab the commander in the throat.


    Quickly getting up to leave the Commander to die a slow and painful death, he rushed over to the Terminal put in the password he spent countless hours attempting to learn, and changed the targeting parameters of the Turrets of the base.


    Screams began to echo out from the halls as Turrets dropped down from the ceiling and began blasting all Enclave soldiers, scientists, and personel.


    Grabbing the FOB for the Tanker, he then set the Turrets to remain in Emergency mode indefinitely before arming the explosives he grabbed from the Armory placing them around the office, and set them to go off within five minutes.


    Knowing reinforcements would be here within the hour from the Oil Rig, he had to make his escape fast, otherwise, they would catch him.


    Rushing out of the office he got shot at by a variety of turrets due to their targeting parameters before he made it to the lab, where a doctor was hiding.


    With no hesitation, he killed the doctor.


    While it may have seemed cruel, the Doctor was a madman, torturing captives, running horrifying experiments, and so much more, and his name was Dr. Schreber.


    Grabbing a blue key card, he walked over to a nearby locked door and opened it.


    Stepping out of the cell, was a Deathclaw, one standing at 10 feet in height...


    [A/N: Yeah...apparently Deathclaws in Fallout 2 are between 9-10 Feet in height, with Frank Horrigan being even taller than them...]


    "Are you the one that caused the commotion?" An Aged voice came from the Deathclaw.


    "I am, how do you feel about becoming free? And perhaps helping me kick Enclave Ass?" Kyle asked, a smirk forming under his helmet.


    Meet Xarn, an Intelligent Deathclaw that belongs to a small group of Intelligent Deathclaws hiding away in a vault.


    "Can I join you too? Now that my master is dead?" Another voice spoke out, revealing it to be a cyber dog that had its legs removed.


    "Sure, the more the merrier," Kyle replied.


    Leaving the lab, Kyle covered the cyber dog, protecting it from the turrets, as the three quickly escaped the passageway that led to the trapdoor in the shack at the service station.


    Kyle climbed up the ladder and put down the cyber dog.


    "Xarn won''t be able to fit through here, so we will have to go through the freight elevators in the camp and fight or sneak our way out, once we do that, we will grab you on the way out.


    If for some reason we can''t reach you, I want you to stay quiet in the place I hide you, and I will sneak back in to grab you, okay? Stay strong, we will be back soon," Kyle told the intelligent Cyber Dog before leaving.


    Climbing back down the ladder, he looked at Xarn.


    "Are you ready?" Kyle asked.


    "I can''t wait," The Deathclaw chuckled.


    "Good, here''s the plan, Once we are up there, we will charge straight for the gate, with the Turrets active, the Base will be in chaos, and while I may be able to get past the soldiers with ease, they will shoot you on sight.


    So, I will draw their attention and once you get out, I want you to escape to your tribe and convince them it''s not safe there anymore, I may have killed the Doctor, but It''s still possible the Enclave already has the data and is heading for your family, so you will need to be quick. If you need a place to hide, go to Broken Hills, Marcus the Sheriff will help."


    "Thank you, and I will, it will be an honor fighting with you, Stranger," Xarn thanked me.

 34 - The Ruins of San Francisco

    Splitting up, Kyle took the freight elevator up to the surface into the Canteen, where he set some of the spare explosives he had to detonate within a few moments.


    When he stepped out, it was pure chaos as Soldiers hid behind cover as the camp''s many turrets and automated defenses were turned inward, trapping every soldier inside.


    Wasting no time, he armed a Plasma Grenade and rolled it right into a group of soldiers.


    With a wave of green energy, those who were not wearing their issued power armor were liquified into a puddle, while those wearing power armor liquified on them, covering them in an agonizing prison that melted their flesh.


    Taking no chances, he began firing upon those who still did not react with his plasma rifle.


    While it took multiple shots to melt through any power armor, it was much more effective against those only wearing simple combat armor.


    Annoyingly the Plasma Rifle has a momentary pause after every shot, making its speed quite slow, not to mention with the ammo cell only lasting twenty-four shots before emptying, the Plasma Rifle was actually slowly him down, so after the first ammo cell was emptied he simply tossed the rifle to the side and charged toward the soldiers who had begun firing at him.


    With his Maxed Strength, Endurance, and Agility, the soldiers stood no chance as he managed to weave around the bolts of plasma with his speed before charging forward after drawing the Combat Knife, he took them all out one by one, with the Power Armor augmenting his strength even further, past the point of superhuman and to ''inhuman'' levels of strength.


    For those simply wearing combat armor, he didn''t have to bother with the knife, as all he had to do was get a clean punch and shatter a person''s ribcage and cause all sorts of internal injuries that proved quite fatal, as the bones of the ribcage typically ended up puncturing the heart.


    With that group quickly dispatched, he grabbed one of the Plasma RIfles on the ground and dashed away from the scene, as not long after, an explosion completely destroyed the canteen and the surrounding area.


    With Soldiers dying left and right, the compound of a hundred soldiers and personnel, quickly had its numbers drop to 80, then 70, and before even half an hour passed, more than half of the base had been wiped out by its own automated defenses and Kyle.


    By the time reinforcements for the Enclave arrived from the Oil Rig, they were surprised to find over half of Camp Navarro was destroyed and in rubble, and more than half of the men stationed in the camp were dead, or injured.


    The higher-ups were, of course, furious because of this setback, and became even more furies when they found out it was mostly done by one man, and that very man killed the base''s commander, doctors, and scientists, and was responsible for a majority of the camp''s causalities.


    What made them even madder, was the fact that the man escaped with a full suit of power armor, various weapons, and who knows what else.


    It took them days to clear the rubble, and they only continued to find more bodies to add to the casualty count.


    The only lead they found was the corpse of one of the lookouts they had outside the base, and even then they had no idea where the Man could have escaped other than what appeared to be faded car tracks.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    And luckily, the Enclave never even noticed a particular deathclaw escaping in the aftermath, one that would be quite the pain in the ass in the future.


    Meanwhile, Kyle driving his Highwayman was making his way down south, back towards San Francisco.


    You see, Kyle had a plan, one which would hopefully cause a big enough distraction to let him make it to the end and finally be done with the Enclave, That plan? Wreak havoc upon the Oil Rig.


    He had two ideas for how he could do this, the first was just to turn the Tanker into a makeshift bomb and take out as much of the Oil Rig as possible, the second however, was much more...chaotic.


    Did you know the ruins of San Francisco had hordes upon hordes of mutated creatures, ghouls, and god knows what else roaming the sewers?


    Kyle certainly did, and he knew it intimately after losing his life once because of it.


    What Kyle had in mind, was luring all of these creatures on the Tanker, and delivering them straight to the enclave.


    Sure, Feral Ghouls would be essentially useless against the Power Armored Soldiers, but against the soldiers wearing regular combat armor? Or the lower personnel? They would be dead meat.


    Of course, to make that particular plan as effective as possible, he also wanted to capture Glowing Ones, Ghouls so irradiated that they give off a sickly green glow, and have the ability to...reanimate their fellow Ghouls, meaning, if he could sneak a few of them as well as a few hundred Feral Ghouls? It would basically be an undying and unending tide of Feral Ghouls, who attack everything living in sight.


    Sure, it would be difficult to pull off, but so long as he managed to get help there shouldn''t be a problem.


    As for the more...explosive option, Kyle would need a whole lot of caps, which, would take a while to gather.


    As for the allies, they would be easy to get.


    You see, the Enclave posed quite the threat to the wasteland, meaning, it shouldn''t take too much effort to unite all of the factions against the Enclave, with the NCR being the easiest to convince, so long as he gave a good plan.


    Sure, their troops would be almost useless in a battle, but they could be used as cannon fodder or a distraction if needed.


    Was it cruel or cold-hearted? Yes.


    But, it was war. Sacrifices and casualties were inevitable, especially against such a dangerous foe.


    Kyle has seen what would happen to the wasteland if the Enclave were left alone, Shady Sands and the NCR in flames, settlements destroyed, and countless corpses of those just trying to get away.


    If he could, he would try to deal with it by himself, but frankly, he found it to be impossible. He''s raided the Oil Rig dozens of types now, with all sorts of builds and strategies, who knows? Perhaps all he needed was some allies.


    It was a long drive, and with roads not having been maintained for decades, it was a very...?????????? ride.


    Luckily, the Highwayman, a car he made sure to grab every playthrough due to its speed and ease of use, was able to somewhat handle the rough terrain that made up the wasteland.


    Plus the added storage space, though he did have to worry about it getting stolen, he can''t even remember all of the times he lost the Highwayman because of a thief, and it''s caused him quite a few headaches, and he may or may not have killed quite a few people because of it.


    Soon enough he arrived at the outer edges of the city, and making sure his geiger counter was out, made sure to avoid all of the more...irradiated areas that were left in the ruins of the city.


    Of course, there were some rather stupid Feral Ghouls that ended up shambling out in front of his car and getting themselves run over, but other than that, he didn''t come across any more complications.


    When he did reach San Francisco, he hid the car and walked the rest of the way to Chinatown, one of the few things left of the city where people lived.


    There were the Shi, the people who called Chinatown home, the Steel Palace, the capital of the Shi where the Emperor Mainframe stayed, the Docks where vagrants and children lived, with the old Posiden-Energy Tanker having become a small settlement, the Brotherhood of Steel outpost, then the Hubologists that lived on the Golden Gate bridge in some space ship.


    Everything left was the ruins of the city, where mutated creatures, Feral Ghouls, and bandits called home and caused quite a bit of problem for those more...?????????????????? still living in the city.


    Walking toward the docks, Kyle was ready to begin his plans, and with the time it would take to complete them, the Enclave would have dropped their guard a bit, and never expect it coming.

 35 – Suggestion

    Watching Kyle play the game is hardly ever not unentertaining, the man was quite the active individual, always improving with each playthrough, slowly making progress and learning all of the tricks and strategies necessary for progressing forward in the game. I have seen him die to a particular enemy more than a dozen times, with each death he learned and studied his foes until he was eventually able to beat them.


    He went from a weakling to someone with the skill to take down even trained professionals.


    What he learned from his Skills, would put him in the top 10% of humanity, and if he actually put his mind to it, he could be someone successful in this hell of a world. With his technical skills alone he would be able to find a job that was easily in the six-finger range, not to mention his combat skills and experience.


    And that very same man was currently in-game taking over a boat and filling it to the brim with Feral Ghouls like he was some messed up version of Noah with his own version of the ark, an Oil Tanker.


    Unfortunately for him, his time was coming to an end, as he was soon forcefully logged out once his time was up.


    His eyes slowly blinked, he sighed and got up from his chair.


    Checking the time, I noticed it was just around 6 PM now, and most of my customers had left, leaving only Kyle, Harley, Selina, Ivy, and Batman.


    "You grabbing dinner before you head out?" I asked, looking at Kyle who was staring at the wall, likely in thought.


    "Sure, he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out crumbled dollar bills.


    He ended up buying and eating a Brahmin Steak, drinking some Mutfruit Juice, and eating some deep-fried Brahmin cheese.


    When he got up from his computer and was preparing to leave, I stopped him, "Kyle."


    He turned around, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.


    "Listen, I wanted to let you know there are some new games coming out soon, one of them is even being released tomorrow, by the name of Stardew Valley, I honestly think it would do you some good if you relaxed a bit, perhaps after you relax a bit some new ideas will come to mind in regards to beating the Enclave?" I informed him, trying to persuade him to take some time to relax from the Wasteland and pick up farming.


    "I''ll think about it," He told me, before leaving the store.


    Sighing, I looked back to my other customers, checking on their progress, perhaps I should take some time off soon, I fear I may be getting a bit...taxed after constantly working for the past couple of weeks.


    ...


    [Kyle''s POV]


    Turning down the alley, Kyle began heading towards Hell''s Kitchen, his stopping grounds, so to say.


    Taking a deep breath, he couldn''t help but look to the stars, they were so beautiful, and in whatever world he was in, they were always there.


    Bright, yet so lonely.


    Taking another deep breath of the fresh air, Kyle reached into his clothes pulled out an N99 10mm pistol, and checked its magazine, noting that it had eight rounds.


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    Putting the gun back in his coat, he followed a path he had memorized so long ago, eventually reaching an abandoned construction site, where he entered and navigated its labyrinthian corridors where he soon came upon a metal door.


    Opening it, revealed a small room with a bed, bags haphazardly strewn around the room, and a makeshift workbench.


    Walking over to the workbench, he pulled out his gun and began disassembling it.


    Looking over it with a keen eye, he began cleaning it of any possible dirt or debris.


    He also made sure there was nothing wrong with the parts, he did not want the gun jamming on him.


    Once he completely cleaned his guns, including a shotgun and revolver he looted from some thugs, he barred the door with a metal sheet and grabbed the 10mm pistol on the workbench.


    Tossing his cloak and shirt onto the workbench, he took off his shoes and moved over the cheap and worn-down mattress on the floor.


    Putting the gun under the pillow, he laid down, deciding to get some rest.


    After only a few hours of sleeping, Kyle woke, noticing that it was now 1 AM.


    Getting up and getting dressed, he left his makeshift home, it was time to hunt.


    ...


    Meanwhile somewhere else in Hell''s Kitchen, in a dark alleyway, covered in ash, a man screamed.


    Looking down the alleyway, revealed a horrifying creature, that held a man by the throat as they stared into a man''s eyes.


    Flaming chains were wrapped around the man, like a constrictor snake, crushing its prey.


    As the man screamed, his eyes seemed to sizzle and burn, as they visibly started turning into something remnant of charcoal.


    Once the creature felt its job was done, the chains burned and turned red hot, the man''s flesh sizzled, but the man''s screams were silent.


    With a pull of the chains, the man''s body disintegrated, turning to ash.


    Turning, the creature looked into the distance, as if hearing something.


    Walking down the alley, the creature whistled, and with a roar, a motorcycle that seemed...demonic came riding down the alleyway straight to the creature, which was revealed to be a skeleton on fire, wearing a leather jacket and pants.


    The Ghost Rider began its hunt.


    ...


    In two other areas of the city, two more vigilantes began their daily work.


    One is that of a teenager, wearing a costume resembling a spider.


    The other was a duo, a robot, and a man. Both were adorned with skull symbols and covered in black.


    ...


    Meanwhile, a few hours ago just before closing, a red-haired Russian woman looked upon the Cafe.


    "Agent Romanov, do you have eyes on the target?" A man''s voice spoke through an earpiece so small that it was hardly noticeable that was hidden within her ear.


    "Yes, Director, orders?"


    "Establish contact, plant bugs, find out who is manufacturing the goods," the man ordered.


    "And if the situation grows hostile?" The Agent asked, wondering.


    "Try to keep the operation diplomatic, if attacked, you may defend yourself. Otherwise, use any means necessary to complete your mission.  Fury out."


    Even though what Fury had just said was contradictory, the Agent still knew that her overseer didn''t want the situation to get bloody.


    She knew why, and the reason was quite simple, her boss wanted to hire whoever made the medicine, if they could get their hands on the recipe and begin mass-producing it, then their field operations would go a lot better, and agent casualties would drastically decrease.


    Though getting whoever created this ''miracle'' medicine would be an added bonus, her boss was very clear in wanting the recipe for the medicine above all else, and her boss wanted to see if they might have anything else under wraps.


    She had no idea what she would be walking into, other than it being noted as a ''store'' and that the owner was ''dangerous.''


    For all she knew she could be walking right into a front of a gang or even a cartel. She never liked when she was assigned missions with little to no intel. Such missions had far too many ''close calls'' for her liking, it didn''t help that in most of them she had a partner accompanying her for those missions, and for this mission she was alone.


    But she didn''t argue, her boss was a very...serious man, not to mention paranoid.


    She''s been alive for a long time and has experienced more in her life than the average man could comprehend, let alone every experience themselves.


    Her job was a difficult and dangerous one, but she was trained for this...and she was very good at it, anything less and she wouldn''t have made it so far.


    Taking a deep breath, the woman walked down the alley, noticing that it was surprisingly clean and in good shape, with no potholes, cracked concrete, or even trash in site, not even dirt, dust, or grime seemed to be in the alley, almost like the alley was professionally cleaned.


    Noting that down in her mind, she focused on every detail in her surroundings, and with a fake smile on her face, she walked into the store and froze.

 36 – Agent Romanov

    Raising my imaginary eyebrow, I couldn''t help but tilt my head in confusion upon seeing the woman who walked into my cafe.


    She was beautiful, by human standards, with long scarlet red hair, attractive facial features, and a curvy physique, however, to my keen eyes, I could see the compact musculature of her form making her at least somewhat stronger than your typical human. Although most would consider her beautiful, I saw her for what she was really, a Black Widow, a spider ready to pounce at a moment''s notice.


    "Welcome!" I greeted her, before asking with a smile on my ''face'', "So, why have you entered my wonderful cafe, little spider?"


    To no one''s surprise, she didn''t flinch or show any outside reaction to the nickname, but her smile did widen a tiny bit.


    She stepped forward with a confident stride, without a word about my...unique appearance, she began looking through the display cases, eyes wandering over every item and object on display.


    Her eyes gazed over every item and their brief descriptions.


    I noticed her eyes paused on my drug-...more...medical items for a bit longer than my other goods, and I noticed brief confusion when she looked past the counter and to the fridge which had some glass panels to display the refrigerated goods I had to offer.


    She momentarily paused on the names of some of the foods and drinks, likely because she couldn''t recognize any of the strange names, and then her eyes moved, focusing on my floating form.


    Her gaze was quick but thorough, as she scanned every inch of my form, likely to see if I were real or not.


    Waving my hand in front of her face, I watched as she tensed, but instantly relaxed, noticing my lack of hostile intent.


    Backing up. her eyes briefly glanced at my other customers still in the store, more than likely recognizing them all.


    When she looked back at me, I decided to introduce myself, "My name is Zeref, I am the wonderful Owner of this Establishment, what might your name be, little spider?" I asked, continuing with the nickname.


    Her eyes hardened for mere moments before her smile widened, "You can call me Clair, what sort of things do you sell here if you don''t mind me asking?"


    Seeing her place her arms underneath her breasts, I couldn''t help but sigh.


    "My Cafe offers a wide range of goods. From medicine, weapons, and armor, to Genetic Editors, and Gene Enhancers," I started, noting her look of confusion when I mentioned the Gene Serums, so, I explained, "Think of our Gene Serums as Medicine that enhances, changes, or evolves an entity''s DNA. These Serums can enhance a person''s body to be as strong as Captain America or Superman, or give them a wide range of abilities that could be perceived as ''Magic'' to the common man. These Serums are called Conduit Awakeners, turning those injected into Conduits, a new sub-type of Human, like the Inhumans, Metahumans, Mutants, and other similar sub-species of Humanity."


    Noting that I had her attention, my smile widened, "Of course, that''s not the only thing, the true focus of the Cafe, is our unique Virtual Reality Computers that allow any man, woman, or entity, to experience a new or different life in other worlds, so far, we have three worlds available, four starting tomorrow."


    "Normally, I''d recommend you give a one-hour session a try to get a feel for the games, but unfortunately, you chose a bad time to enter the cafe, so, I''d recommend you check out the Game Trailers and make an account, perhaps even purchase something before the store closes," I recommended.


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    "If you happen to still be interested, you can come back tomorrow, hours are listed on the board over there, along with the rules of my Cafe," I continued.


    Remaining silent for a moment while she thought, she looked back to me and asked, "May I see these...Trailers, as you called them?"


    "Sure thing, you can check them out on one of the computers after you create an account, do you need any help in creating an account?" I politely asked.


    "I''ll be fine," She replied, walking over to the computer.


    With a smirk, I confirmed her identity when I noticed she sneakily placed a bug under the desk and chair, using simple actions to hide it, such as adjusting the height of the chair and rolling it under the desk so she was closer to the computer.


    Using one of my minds, I began observing her.


    Now that I confirmed her identity, I wondered why such a dangerous and ''important'' woman would enter my cafe.


    However, I did have one guess as to why she was here, that being she was assigned a mission in regard to me, my store, or my products. Which would mean, I now had the attention of a certain one-eyed pirate that loves flying boats.


    Or, I could be wrong, either way, I expected I would have a new customer soon, one that would more than likely become addicted or appalled by my VR Worlds.


    As for the Pirate, I figure he''d react in two ways, the first, would be seeing the value my Cafe and its services offered and represented. The second would be the serious danger I presented and decided to either ''recruit'' me or destroy me. Either way, I figured it would be entertaining.


    Focusing on the Black Widow that strayed from her nest, I couldn''t help but wonder who would win, a guardian of nature, a bat in the night, two vigilantes who believed violence solved their problems, a cat thief of the night, or even a particular psycho clown.


    This new life of mine was shaping up to be one filled with drama, and I couldn''t wait to see how the events unfolded.


    ...


    [Black Widow''s POV]


    She didn''t know how this mission was going to go, but this wasn''t what she was expecting, not even close.


    Whatever that...thing was, felt dangerous, and its gaze caused her to freeze, it was as if she was being stared at by a predator that saw her only as prey.


    But she kept her composure and fought against her instincts. The creature, whatever it was, seemed calm and carefree as if it didn''t care about the world around it, and it didn''t react to any of her advances, instead keeping a professional, yet playful tone.


    Then it called her ''Little Spider,'' and if she didn''t stop herself, she would have instinctively drawn the dagger hidden in her shirt, and attacked.


    It showed her its wares, and on display, was the very medicine that S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to get its hands on from the N.Y.P.D. that confiscated it from some thugs.


    However, the creature was selling a lot more than she or Fury would have ever expected, including stronger variants of the medicine called ''Stimpaks.''


    However, what shocked her the most, was the Serums the creature mentioned next, these...Conduit Gene Awakeners.


    If what the creature said was true, then it would be revolutionary. A serum that could give powers or strengthen someone? Sure, there existed such things around the world similar to Captain America''s Super Soldier Serum, but all of those have been lost or forgotten, or were too hard to manufacture.


    Holding in the questions she wanted to really ask, she asked less invasive questions that shouldn''t arouse too much suspicion, though it was very likely that the creature knew of her identity based on the nickname it gave her.


    Then it told her about the ''Virtual Reality'' Computers, saying, and quote, "Is our Unique Virtual Reality Computers that allow any man, woman, or entity, to experience a new or different life in other worlds."


    Curious, she asked to see the trailers of these ''Games.''


    Which led her to sit down in a chair and get on one of these computers.


    Luckily, this meant she could easily plant a few bugs under the desk, behind the computer, and under the chair before she made an ''account; on the computer, which proved to be straightforward in process.


    Then she was directed by the computer to watch the trailers due to being a new ''Player.''


    She was shown the horrors of a world that faced a Nuclear Armageddon, a world brought down to its knees because of a sickness, and people began gaining powers, and she was shown a world where humanity was on the brink of extinction, as Zombies ruthlessly hunted down all who lived.

 37 – The Completion of Stardew Valley

    Unfortunately, it was closing time, so, the Black Widow and my other customers. The others knew by now that it was time to leave, and did so without any arguments, as they knew my hours were set and I would not bend them.


    Black Widow on the other hand did not know, and was going to argue with me, so I stopped her before she could, by reaching out through the void and pushing her out. It was much like telekinesis, using raw kinetic force to move something. It was surprisingly easy, all things considered, though I had little doubt that I was getting assistance from my ''Envoy of the Void'' power.


    With all of my customers gone, and my cafe now empty, I put my full focus on completing Stardew Valley, while the mind that I have physically in the store at all times controlling my body, begins looking into the System Store to see what kind of products I could make use of and sell.


    As I suspected, Stardew Valley''s goods were mostly comprised of various farmer''s products, such as seeds, tools and equipment, and lots of food and drinks.


    Those were not the only things, of course, there was also a wide variety of other things, it was just that the food, plants, and seeds held a majority of the list.


    Raw and Refined Materials made up another large percentage, such as wood, iron, and steel, and the game''s more unique materials.


    Noting down anything of value for later purchases, I focused fully on completing Stardew Valley. My counter and display cases were already cramped as is, I should wait until I expand the store a bit before I start expanding my wares.


    Stardew Valley was nearly finished thanks to the work of my minds and the time acceleration speeding the process. I was done with the map, NPCs, and a lot of the areas featured in the game. What was different, was that I was expanding the game once again, adding a more comprehensive Farming, Cooking, Brewing, and Fishing system.


    It would make the experience more authentic for the player, and give the player more things they can do and explore.


    I worked hard throughout the entire night, expanding and modifying the game, improving it in some ways, but ultimately changing it from what it was.


    By the time it was morning, I was finished, having completed the last details and tweaking a few things that I felt needed change or improvement.


    Publishing the game, I relaxed my minds and merged back into one singular mind.


    I haven''t felt any kind of fatigue since I awoke in this new form, but it was nice to relax once in a while.


    I had around an hour before I needed to open the store, so I began surfing the internet, to see if anything was happening around the world.


    ...


    [A few hours prior, Kyle]


    Flashes of light sounds thundering in my ears, searing pain as a Deathclaw lifted me from the ground, its claws deep in my chest and protruding out of my back. Coughing blood, I clenched my teeth, and in my final moments, pulled the pin of a grenade, raising it to meet our faces.


    A flash of light, agonizing yet momentary pain, and then I found myself in that black abyss.


    Then with a startle, I jumped out of bed, hand gripping tightly on my gun.


    Taking a moment to calm down, I couldn''t help but curse.


    "Just another damn nightmare," I cursed.


    Glancing at a clock I stole, I couldn''t help but curse again, it appeared I had overslept.


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    It was 8:00 AM, and the cafe would open up in two hours, luckily, due to my nightly activities, I had a bit of money saved up, though it''s been becoming harder and harder to get money.


    No one roamed the streets at night anymore, the deaths scaring everyone into hiding.


    To make matters worse, the Police did frequent raids, taking the opportunity before them to dismantle a lot of crime rings, and organizations, and clear out the many gangs that made up Hell''s Kitchen. The few gangs that were left, were some of the more powerful ones, such as the various Traids and then there was some unknown gang that answered to a man called ''Kingpin.''


    Even then, due to my actions, and two other groups who were also hunting down the filth that made a majority of Hell''s Kitchen, I was having trouble finding money.


    At this rate...I''d have to find some new way to get money...but what?


    Based on my skills, I was only good at a few things.


    Fighting, Surviving, and various forms of technical skills.


    Perhaps I could sell my skills? As a trainer or mercenary?


    Keeping that thought in mind, I got dressed and carefully left my hideout, leaving behind a trap to prevent anyone from entering my temporary home and taking a bag with spare clothes, some water bottles, and a stimpak.


    It was strange, walking along the streets. Everything was completely different than the ruins I was used to traveling through. I was glad that I could even remember my way through the city after my...trips.


    I was still getting used to how...weak I felt every time I returned.


    I couldn''t stand the weakness I felt, so, I have been improving my body in both strength and flexibility by working out once per day every time I found myself back here.


    I guess I was lucky that whenever I awoke back in that Cafe I would always get a rush of my old memories...I almost forgot the face of my own mother...


    Shaking my head, I focused back on my surroundings.


    Walking down the street, I glanced at the people who called Hell''s Kitchen home.


    Most were obviously scared, but also happy now that they were far less likely to be robbed, killed, or stabbed on the streets, Hell''s Kitchen was often compared to Gotham in how bad its crime was, though I doubt anything other than the wasteland would be able to top Gotham and its crime. Though it was obvious that everyone was also paranoid, the death toll made it to where no one trusted or neared strangers.


    Most criminals would probably stay in hiding for a while until the deaths start slowing down or stop entirely. The police will try to ''take'' Hell''s Kitchen, but it''s probably only a matter of time before it once again becomes a despot of crime.


    Eventually, after half an hour of walking, I stood before a small gym, simply named ''Kairo''s Gym.''


    With a sigh and a sore body, I stepped in.


    Greeting me was an African American, Kairo, a bald man standing at 6 feet in height with the build of a bodybuilder who spends way too much time in the gym, with huge muscles adorning his entire body.


    "Kyle? Up early as ever, I see," The man commented.


    "It''s not early, you just sleep in," I commented before walking past him.


    "You say that but you are an hour late, you sure you didn''t sleep in this time?" Kairo replied from behind.


    Ignoring him I continued forward, eyes sweeping across the small gym.


    Few people came to this gym, one of the few reasons why I chose this gym in the first place. Two more reasons are that it was cheap to subscribe to the gym and it had the necessary equipment I needed.


    Checking the time, I realized I would have to make this a quick workout if I wanted to make it to the cafe just as it opens.


    Sighing, I put my bag down next to one of the bench presses.


    ...


    "Quick workout today?" Kairo asked as I began heading for the door.


    "Yes," I replied simply.


    "Well, I guess I will see you tomorrow then, should I be expecting you at the same time as usual? Or later like today?" Kairo asked.


    "If nothing unexpected happens, then you can expect me at the usual time," I informed him, not wanting to draw out the conversation.


    "Okay, but before you go, can I give you a recommendation?" Kairo asked.


    I stopped, letting him continue.


    He sighed, before asking, "Listen, you''re new to this, it''s clear as day, you need to give your body some rest. Working out every day 7 days a week at your level will only damage your body, not improve it. Think of your body as a machine, what you are doing is overheating it to the point that some of the metal will start to melt, damaging the machine. If you are not careful, this damage could vary well be permanent...Rest is just as important, your body needs time to heal...you understand?"


    "Thanks for the advice, but I will  be fine, I know my limits."


    Leaving the gym, I walked into a nearby ally and opened my bag.


    Pulling out the stimpak, I injected it into my abdomen.


    Stimpaks while could be seen as a miracle medicine, really only did one thing, and that was significantly speeding up the process at which a person''s body healed. Which meant, it was perfect for helping muscles heal and become stronger. Unluckily for me, I had only one stimpak on me, and the dose wouldn''t be able to cover everything, leaving me with the strange feeling of feeling both sore and relaxed at the same time.


    Leaving the ally, I began walking towards the cafe.


    I momentarily gazed behind me, not too far away, I could see someone was following me.

 38 – Stardew Valley

    Hearing the doors slide open, I glance up from the computer to see Kyle, who seems to have gotten into a fight as he walks with a limp.


    "You alright there bud?" I asked, after noticing his bloody leg and blood-stained jeans.


    Shrugging, Kyle stepped forward, "I''ll be fine, need a stimpak," he casually told me as he brought out some cash to purchase a stimpak.


    Reaching behind the counter, I grabbed a stimpak and traded it with him for the money.


    Without any hesitation, he stabbed the needle of the stimpak into his leg and pumped the syringe''s fluids directly into his wound.


    He made no noise of discomfort, not even so much as a grunt to show that it was painful in any way.


    ''So he''s even become desensitized to pain?'' I thought to myself, watching as his tense shoulders relaxed and he tossed the empty stimpak into a trash can I had next to my counter.


    "What happened?" I asked, showing my interest as I examined the wound on his leg as it was rapidly healed.


    "Just some scum who thought I was an easy target," Kyle told me, his voice revealing his apathy towards whoever attacked him.


    "Can I get some water?" Kyle asked, placing more money on the counter.


    Without answering, I walked over to the fridge, where I grabbed a cold bottle of purified water, and tossed it to him.


    Nodding to me, he poured the water on his leg and began wiping off the somewhat dried blood on his leg and pants.


    "You won''t get the blood stains of your pants doing that, you know," I commented, earning me a look that said, ''No shit.''


    Once he was done, he threw away the bottle after drinking the rest of its contents and tossing the bloody cloth into the trash.


    "Did you think about what I told you?" I asked, only to get a confused look.


    "A new game has been released as of opening, what I suggested yesterday, was that you take some time off and away from Fallout, you know? To relax, recuperate, and think, in all honesty, I think you need a break, so do me a favor, try the game," I told him as seriously as I could.


    He sighed, pulling out more money.


    "Why are you carrying so much money on you?" I asked, baffled as he pulled out only 1s, 5s, 10s, and 20s, not a single one hundred dollar bill in sight.


    He glanced at me for a brief moment, then asked, "What''s the name of this...''Game?''"


    Not talking about the clear change in subject, I answered, "Stardew Valley."


    "What''s it about?" He asked, curious by the name.


    "You sure you want a spoiler?" I asked before he sighed and replied, "Sigh, no. Tell me this, Is it a dangerous world?"


    "No, if anything it''s quite normal, in most aspects, anyway," I told him, thinking about the game''s mechanics and the world as a whole.


    "Fine," he told me, walking over to the computer with me smiling behind him, victorious.


    ...


    Checking out the game, I noticed different statics compared to the ones I was familiar with on Fallout.


    [Stardew Valley - Difficulty Rating: 1/10


    Time Played: N/A


    Monster''s Slain: 0


    Crops Harvested: 0


    Preferred Lover: N/A]


    The statistics were strange to Kyle, just what kind of game was this? Monsters? Crops? Lover? Was this one of those weird smut games?


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    Before hopping in the game, he decided to check out his stats on Fallout, having not looked at them in a very long time.


    [''Fallout - Warning, this game depicts great violence and many inhumane acts and is not recommended for children or anyone below the age of 16 years old, proceed at your own discretion.''


    Completed Achievements: [Dedicated], [Teacher of the Wastes], [Lord Death of Murder Mountain]...+48 others.


    Kills: 19,812


    Deaths: 86


    Completions: 1


    Total number of Caps collected: 1,873,420


    Highest Level Reached: Level 68


    Longest Run: 302 Days ]


    Noting the changes, he looked back in forth between the two games before eventually deciding to try the new game out.


    Starting the game, he found his senses shut down and his vision darkened, before finding himself standing on a cliff where he could see mountains as far as the eye could see, covered in beautiful green life.


    Floating in the air on the cliff edge, was a menu.


    [New]


    [Load]


    [Co-op]


    [Workshop (Coming soon!)]


    [Exit]


    With no reason to stop, he pressed [New]


    Causing a new screen to appear.


    [Select Name]


    [Select Farm Name]


    [Cat or Dog]


    [Farm Type]


    Inputting his name, selecting a dog, then the Default farm type, and pressing confirm, he suddenly found himself sitting on a bus, letter in hand and bag by his feet.


    Opening the letter, he began reading its contents.


    "Dear Kyle, I am your Grandfather. I am afraid, that if the unfortunate were to pass, and I would happen to no longer be in this world, this letter would be sent to you. You see, all of my grandchildren have received a part of my inheritance, you, I have given the deed to my land. It is my hope that one of you would make the best of my farm, and return it back to its prime. After learning about your story, and wanting a fresh start in life, I felt you were the best fit to receive the deed. Sincerely, your Grandfather, PS. I know the land will need a little fixer-up, so, I have left you a bit of money to help you get on your feet and get the tools necessary to fix the place up to a decent shape. Once you arrive at Pelican Town, ask for the mayor, he will show you where my old cabin is, good luck."


    Humming to himself in thought, he closed the letter and picked up the bag, opening it to find an envelope with a few hundred dollars, a simple knife, a plastic bag with the deed inside, and a phone.


    Noting the lack of clothes, Kyle figured he might need to get some clothes as well as some tools when he reached town.


    Noting what he would need to get in his mind, he pulled the knife out of the bag and discreetly put it in his pocket, which apparently wasn''t needed as he was the only one on the bus other than the bus driver.


    Looking out the window, he saw nothing but a beautiful forest lining both sides of the road. The forest was so thick with trees, boulders, and bushes that he couldn''t see very far into it.


    Relaxing in the chair, he waited for the bus to arrive at its destination, which didn''t seem to take long at all seeing as not even two minutes later did he find the bus slowing down before stopping at a small bus stop with a sign.


    [Welcome to Pelican Town! Home to 28!]


    Baffled by how small the town was, he got off the bus and found himself walking down a dirt path.


    Soon he came across a fork in the road, with the road splitting off to the right and left.


    To the left, was a sign that read [Pelican Town].


    So, he began walking that way, soon finding himself in a small town square, where he could see some homes, a general store of sorts, and what looked to be a clinic.


    Strangely enough, there was a board on the wall between the general store and the clinic that was covered in papers and a calendar.


    Walking up to the board, he found it was some kind of request board as people were wanting some things in exchange for money.


    Such as someone named Robin wanting help in finding an old axe they lost.


    Suddenly someone''s hand touched his shoulder, causing him to jump and retaliate in reflex.


    He drew his knife, grabbed the hand of whoever grabbed him, and slammed them into the wall, causing whoever he grabbed to groan in pain.


    Hearing the noise, someone came out of the general store, a man with brown hair wearing glasses, whose eyes widened upon seeing the old man I pushed into the wall and now had my knife against.


    "Let go of Mayor Lewis!" The man shouted.


    "Mayor?" Kyle asked, confused, before realizing his mistake.


    Withdrawing the knife, he stepped back, letting the old man go.


    "I am sorry, you caught me by surprise," Kyle apologized to the coughing mayor.


    "N-NO! It was my fault, I shouldn''t have grabbed you like that. I should have said something before grabbing your shoulder..." The mayor  refuted, before continuing, "I should have known better, did you serve, young man?"


    Not knowing what to say, Kyle simply nodded.


    The other man gave me a soft glare for what I did to the Mayor but stayed silent.


    "Even then, I should have not reacted like that, I was just surprised and reacted without thinking."


    "Not your fault son, I accidentally confused with someone else and grabbed your shoulder without thinking, the fault lies with me, so, tell me, who are ya? My name is Lewis, Mayor of this small town of ours, we don''t get many visitors," The mayor introduced and explained himself.


    "I see, well, my name is Kyle, I believe you used to know my grandfather?" Kyle introduced himself.


    "Grandfather...wait, you are that old man''s grandson?" Mayor Lewis asked, getting a shrug from Kyle since he still didn''t know the name of his supposed grandfather.


    "So you are who he chose to inherit that old farm?" The mayor asked, Kyle replied with a nod, "That''s right, I got the deed and letter if you want proof," Kyle offered.


    "No need, I believe ya son, come, I''ll show you the old place," Mayor Lewis smiled, seemingly forgetting the dire situation that happened a few minutes prior.


    Not even getting to respond, the Mayor began walking the way he came into town from, not waiting for Kyle''s response.


    Sighing, Kyle followed the Mayor.

 39 – A Farmer’s life for me

    As it turns out the farm was a straight shot from the town, not even a five-minute walk, it was also the path that led into the other direction from the town, where he had to take a left at a split section to get to the town.


    When they both came across the farm, Kyle couldn''t help but become shocked, by just how much of a mess it was.


    Overgrowth, trees, weeds, rocks, and boulders covered most of the land, with a worn-down fence around the land showing what was his.


    "I know it might look a little worse for wear, but your Grandfather hired Robin to fix up the cabin, Robin is our Village''s Carpenter by the way, so if you need any help with some building projects you can find her a little north of town, past the old community center. I wish you well, young man, feel free to stop by my house if you have any questions! Also, before I forget, if you have anything you want to sell just toss it into that box over there, I will swing by early in the morning every morning to check it, and will leave the money from your sales in the same box before you wake up," The Mayor waved, as he walked away, leaving Kyle alone with the mess before him.


    Sighing in annoyance, he walked towards the cabin and entered, finding a TV on a small round table, a queen-sized bed, and a potted plant.


    To his surprise, he saw that there was a book on the bed.


    Walking over, he took his bag off and placed it on the floor, before sitting down on the bed and picking up the book.


    [A Farmer''s Life For You - By Your Grandfather]


    Becoming increasingly annoyed by the lack of any sort of name for the supposed Grandfather, he opened the hardcover of the book and began reading.


    "Greetings, my Grandchild. If you are reading this, then you have set yourself along the path to make something of yourself. I decided to lend you some help from what I have learned from my years of farming and running this farm. If you have no intentions of picking up farming, then you can throw away the book, though I will certainly be a bit sad by your actions if you do so, seeing as I have been working on this book for almost a month now."


    Reading the first paragraph with a deadpan expression, he continued.


    "So you''ve continued reading, I can only assume that I have your interest and you would like to give farming a good college try. The first thing you will need to do is find a good area that you think would be suitable for farming. Once you''ve done that, you are going to want to remove the area of any weeds, grass, rocks, or trees. The following tools would be incredibly helpful in your journey, An Axe, a Pickaxe, a Shovel, a Hoe, a Scythe, and a Bucket."


    "An axe for cutting any tree that gets in your way and for making firewood, you''ll find it can get quite cold at night, a pickaxe for breaking apart any boulder that grows on your land, a shovel for all well, digging, honestly shovels can be used for a lot of different things. A hoe for tilling the land, a scythe for cutting grass and weeds, and a bucket to carry water."


    ''Boulder that grows? How is that supposed to work?'' Kyle thought to himself, imagining a boulder growing off of a plant''s stem or root.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "Other than that, some other advice I can give you is to check out Pierre''s General Store in town, he''ll supply you with basic seeds, food, water, and any other essentials you may need, for the tool''s check with the town''s blacksmith, for any furniture, or building projects check with Robin, the town''s Carpenter, the town also has a library, mine, bar, and clinic. If you get yourself hurt, the doctor in the clinic will fix you right up, if you need a drink, the bar is open at night, if you want to do any research, go read or request books from the Librarian and Historian of the Town. Finally, if you are interested in making a decent amount of money in exchange for back-breaking work, head for the mine north of the town, though do be careful, the place is infested with monsters."


    ''Monsters?'' Kyle wondered, becoming interested.


    And so Kyle continued reading through the small book, learning the tips and tricks that his Grandfather decided to write down, most seemingly worthless to him as he didn''t know the first thing about farming.


    So, Kyle got to work.


    He still had around eight hours of the day left, with his phone''s clock reading 2 PM.


    So, he got to work.


    He grabbed the cash envelope, slung his bag onto his back, and left the cabin, walking back towards the town.


    When he was back in the town square, he stopped and looked at the General Store for a brief moment, before changing directions and walking toward it.


    Stepping into the small store, he noticed that it was surprisingly small, about the size of a gas station. Walking through the isles he found that the store seemed to have everything he would ever need, food, water, amenities such as toilet paper, toothpaste, towels, and more.


    However, he did notice a lack of fresh meat, which was something he added to his ''To-do list.''


    Behind the counter nearby, was the very man that defended the Mayor when that altercation occurred, Pierre, his name was.


    Ignoring the man for now, he began grabbing what he felt he''d end up needing or wanting.


    When he had everything he wanted, he walked over to the counter.


    "Oh...you," Pierre commented upon seeing Kyle.


    Briefly looking at the man, Kyle replied, "Yes, I may have overreacted, but the Mayor and I have moved on, will you?"


    Grumbling something, he began scanning the items, and a minute later, stated the price, "$68.37"


    Reaching into his bag, he pulled out some cash and handed it over.


    "Here''s your change," Pierre informed him, handing him a few dollar bills and some change.


    "Do you know where the Blacksmith lives?" Kyle asked, picking up the bags.


    "Of course I do," Pierre, replied, not continuing.


    "..."


    "..."


    "Are you going to continue?" Kyle asked, giving the man a deadpan look.


    "Head down past the saloon, just before the house, turn left, and head down the road, once you reach Mayor Lewis''s house, go around the front and keep walking east along the dirt road, head over the bridge, and take a left before the Library, and you will find the Blacksmith''s house just a minute down that road, you''ll see the smoke from the chimney," Pierre guided.


    Thanking him, he headed out of the house and began walking, heading further down the road heading south, where he saw two houses in the distance, walking further, he turned left and began walking down the road heading east. He soon came up to the side of the supposed house of Mayor Lewis and began walking along the fence, heading around towards the front of the house and continuing east, walking over a small stone bridge set over a river.


    In the distance, he saw a decently large building, which according to Pierre was the library, something he''d need to check out later, it didn''t take long to reach the Blacksmith, the smoke rising from the chimney giving away the building''s location like Pierre said.


    Walking into the building, revealed a rather pudgy man with a nicely trimmed beard and haircut.


    "Are you the blacksmith?" Kyle asked, looking around the room.


    "What else would I be?" The Blacksmith asked, sarcastically.


    "My name is Kyle, what''s yours?" Kyle introduced himself, now fully examining the man.


    "Clint, resident Blacksmith of this quaint town, what can I do for ya?"

 40 – An Alliance between Villains

    [A/N: Just before this chapter begins, I have an announcement to make: for the next three weeks, there will not be any chapters, as I will either be working, or recovering from my surgery on the 3rd of next month, see you all then]


    [Earlier that Night]


    Deep within an abandoned building covered in overgrowth was a beautiful garden, one that looked straight from fantasy with how vibrant and colorful life was inside the garden, it was a place strong with the power of the Green, and, at the center of this garden, was Poison Ivy, one of many Avatars for the Green.


    Standing around her, were various creatures and people that could only be considered to be ''Villains'' or ''Criminals.''


    There was Swamp Thing, another Avatar of the Green.


    Killer Croc, King of the Gotham Sewers.


    Catwoman, arguably the best thief in all of Gotham.


    Harley Quinn, a Crazy Clown and Ex-Lover of the Insane Clown, the Joker.


    Mr. Freeze, a man desperate to save his wife.


    "Why did you invite us here, Ivy?" Killer Croc asked with a growl.


    "I gathered you all here today to ask for your help," Ivy started only to be interrupted, "I''m not interested, leave me be," Mr. Freeze answered, turning around to leave.


    "Even if what I offer can help save your wife?" Ivy asked, a smile on her face as Mr. Freeze stopped in his tracks.


    Turning around, the stoic face of Mr. Freeze could be seen through the glass of his exosuit staring at Ivy.


    "Speak," He commanded.


    "Not too long ago, Catwoman, Harley, and I started visiting a store. Operating this store...is an inhuman entity that offers a wide range of services and goods. Weapons, Medicine, Food, Water, countless things that could very well change Gotham forever, and I need your help."


    Not convinced, Mr. Freeze asked, "Why should I believe you?"


    Not even replying, a vine suddenly extended from the ground holding a device and stopped just before Mr. Freeze''s face.


    "What''s this?" Mr. Freeze asked, examining the item before grabbing it.


    "The entity that runs the store calls it a ''Stimpak,'' a Syringe containing some kind of medical solution that rapidly heals a person''s body and injuries, even helping set bones back into place," Ivy stated, before freezing when Mr. Freeze pulled off his glove and pulled out a knife which he ruthless slashed over his sickly pale arm.


    Not even flinching, he then stabbed the Stimpak into his arm and pumped half of its contents into his wound.


    He watched with apt attention as the wound began to slowly but surely heal.


    Everyone looked at the man as if he was crazy.


    "Are you stupid? What if it was poisonous?" Killer Croc asked with a deep growl.


    "Even if it was, it would not have harmed me. Due to my change in physiology, most venoms and poisonous materials no longer affect me,  and if it were to be dangerous, I could just freeze it and extract it from my arm before it does any real damage," Mr. Freeze calmly spoke, eyes focused on his healing injury.


    Looking up, he asked, "Are there more things like this offered by this...Entity?" Mr. Freeze asked.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "Yes, though that is not the main point, the Entity offers a service that lets you experience life in another world, one of the worlds available to for choice has significantly more advanced medical technology than ours, if luck has it, then there''s a chance they have something that can heal your wife," Ivy explained, thinking of Fallout and the myriad of medicines she had already come across.


    "And what exactly are you offering? What do you want?" Dr. Freeze asked, as stoic as ever when it comes to matters of healing his wife.


    "Simple, we work together. The Wasteland is a dangerous place, and if all of us work together, we will have a much easier time learning how to earn points and learning everything we can about the wastes and the Pre-War technology," Ivy explained, only for Killer Croc to speak up, "Then why am I here? What do I get out of this?"


    "That is also simple, I know of those little communities you protect in the sewers, what I offer is a Symbiotic relationship, I will give them fruit-bearing plants and fresh water, and in exchange, they shall do no harm to the plants and they shall treat the plants with the respect they deserve," Ivy offered, only to continue with her offer, "And, as a cherry on top, I''ll even give your little communities protection."


    Killer Croc just continued to glare before eventually growling and answering, "Fine, but you will need to include a variety of plants for consumption, if they have only one type of thing to eat they will not be able to receive the other vitamins and minerals they need."


    Surprised by the intelligent words that came from the Killer Croc''s mouth, everyone stared at him.


    "Fools," He growled in anger and annoyance.


    "No offense, teddy bear, It''s just that we were not expecting that! You typically just prefer beating up or eating your way through a problem!" Harley commented.


    Killer Croc just huffed but did not comment on the nickname Harley had long since given him.


    "And...us?" Swamp Thing finally spoke.


    Ivy looked over at it and smiled, "I found a way we can heal this world, and with hope, restore it to what it once was, a Paradise."


    "Then...we...will...help," The giant avatar of the Green stated.


    "We have a few hours before the store opens, and unfortunately the services of the Entity can be expensive, so, for the first day I will foot the bill, after that, we will see," Ivy told them.


    "Then what shall we do in the meantime?" Mr. Freeze asked.


    "I will be going over what I have learned so far about the world of ''Fallout,''" Ivy told them.


    ...


    Hours later, all five of the villains gathered outside of the cafe.


    "Don''t antagonize it," Ivy warned once again.


    "We know!" Harley replied.


    "Not you, I already know you will antagonize it already, it''s them I am worried about," Ivy told Harley while gesturing to Killer Croc, Swamp Thing, and Mr. Freeze.


    "Oh, why didn''t you say so!" Harley asked, causing Catwoman to groan.


    Stepping into the cafe, the two rather large villains, Killer Croc and Swamp Thing had to crouch and duck under the door.


    Once inside they had to slouch a bit to avoid hitting the ceiling.


    Staring at the new arrivals, was Zeref.


    "Welcome..." Zeref greeted before whispering to himself, "Note to self...raise the ceiling in future expansion."


    "Greetings...I have brought a few...friends along with me," Ivy stated, hesitating when mentioning her acquaintances.


    "I...see," Zeref answered before continuing, "I assume they are here for the VR experience?"


    "Correct," Ivy answered, to which Zereif replied, "Then I assume you will help them with setting up their accounts and paying for their sessions?"


    Sighing, Ivy nodded before approaching the counter with a bag in hand.


    Placing the duffle bag on the counter, she opened the zipper to reveal quite the amount of money.


    "Will you be placing this money on tab?" Zeref asked, curious, but not asking where the money came from.


    She looked briefly surprised before nodding.


    "Enjoy your time in Fallout, and before you walk off, do please inform your friends that they shall be quite human when they play any of the games we currently offer, also, there is a new game available to play, Stardew Valley, if you are interested," Zeref informed her.


    Looking surprised, she turned to look at Killer Croc and Swamp Thing, imagining them in human forms.


    Shaking her head, she walked back to her group, with Mr. Freeze, Swamp Thing, and Killer Croc having to push the computer chairs out of the way as they would not be able to fit in them.


    Ivy could swear she heard a sigh come from the store owner behind her, but she simply ignored that and treated it as her imagination.


    Luckily, Harley was already helping them set up their accounts, so, without further ado, she grabbed a computer, but not before looking at the only other customer in the room who was here every hour the cafe was open. Frowning, she wondered if he was playing Fallout or if he had any experience in Fallout, little did she know.


    Once the others were back in their games, with Harley and Catwoman jumping back into Project Zomboid and Infamous, Ivy jumped right into Fallout.


    No matter what, she had to get her hands on that G.E.C.K., she had no idea if the G.E.C.K. would ever appear on the system store again, and she would not risk it.

 41 – Infllux of Customers

    One week, an entire week passed, as suddenly the number of customers from Gotham surged.


    I feared one of my more...notorious customers had gone and revealed my store somewhere, and in a public place, as suddenly overnight the number of men and women checking out the store suddenly increased, with most asking about the Virtual Reality Computers.


    Most left after seeing the ridiculous prices of my services and products, but there were still plenty that came and purchased my products or used the VR computers. So much so that I was actually able to afford the expansion of the cafe itself, doubling its size. and only for the small price of five thousand US Dollars.


    The rest of my money went to buying 10 more computers, meaning I had 20 computers for customer use now, but that was not enough as more and more came.


    It was baffling. Why were there so many people that were coming to my store? Why so suddenly? It did not make any sense.


    Shaking my head, I opened my eyes, gazing into the eyes of one of my new customers, Jason Todd, otherwise known as Robin and, possibly in the future, Red Hood, and also, a now frequent customer I found myself seeing at least once a day.


    "The usual?" I asked, curious, only to receive a nod from the stoic boy who seemed only to know how to glare.


    Reaching under the counter, I grabbed a bottle of Ice-Cold Nuka-XTreme and a bag of Gatorclaw Jerky.


    "Plan on playing anything today?" I asked, curious.


    He takes a moment to think, then nods before handing me some cash, enough for his food, drink, and a few hours of VR time.


    To no surprise, he walked right to an unoccupied computer and jumped straight into Project Zomboid, where I noticed he took care of quite a bit of his...aggression.


    He wasn''t the only one, of course. I noticed a few other important figures who decided to check out my shop, with most of them having some impact in the comics or cinematic universes.


    After I did the math, I knew I now had more than 40 different customers, though whether most of the newer customers will become repeat customers remains to be seen.


    Of the customers, only around half of them had tried the VR computers, let alone had the determination to continue after their first session.


    Other than that, I was sitting on around $4 thousand dollars, and I couldn''t help but have a random thought.


    Specifically, I was wondering what the hell happened to the cash I was getting from my customers and being cashed in by the system.


    Surely, the US government would notice such a large sum being ''lost'' and not returned to circulation, or at least significantly more than there should be.


    Opening the system, I decided to investigate.


    And after an hour of searching, I found it.


    [Current Accepted Currency: Local Currency]


    [Available Currency: Souls, Karma, Lifespan]


    [WARNING: Adding or changing the accepted currency may result in an influx or reflux of customers]


    So...that''s big.


    Without any hesitation, I chose all the available currencies.


    I found the system gave me a bit more information about the currencies, so I decided to take a look at them.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    [Local Currency - The Main currency accepted by the system and the most commonly used around the Store]


    [Souls - Almost all life has souls, and not all souls are equal. You can now barter for the souls of the dead or even the still-living, and now your customers can barter with the souls they collect]


    [Karma - Almost every action a being takes has Karma, good or bad. It does not matter. What does matter is the influence and strength of these Karmic Actions, and now, you can trade for the Karma these Actions have produced]


    [Lifespan - Life is a very valuable resource in the universe, and you can now trade for a person''s lifeblood, taking their lifespans in exchange for your goods or services]


    Of the three, I could already see that Karma would be the most appealing to any notable figures, while the other two would be more appealing to those who can''t afford to pay or buy with cash.


    Closing the system, I focused on the computer in front of me and began writing an announcement that would be given to all the players currently occupied with their games.


    "Good afternoon, my Customers. It''s me, your lovely Eldritch entity, Zeref. As of 6:30 PM EST, new options have been made for purchasing the goods and services within the caf¨¦. I will repeat, there are now new payment options available for those that find paying with cash to be too hard or difficult."


    Not even a moment later, those who were not busy seemed to immediately pause their sessions and hop off before turning to me, curiosity or confusion clear in their gazes, especially a few of them.


    Knowing they were curious, I waited for one of them to ask a question, and moments later, one did, specifically Harley Quinn.


    "Watchu mean by that big man?" She asked, jumping out of her chair and stretching.


    "Simple, why don''t you come here, Harley? So I can show you all," I asked, watching as the woman skipped across the ground like an excited puppy.


    When she was before me, I asked her to place her hand on the computer.


    Checking the screen, I hid some details before turning the screen.


    [Username: TheBestClown]


    [Karma: 113,984 Points]


    [Lifespan: 63 Years, 9 Months, 12 Days]


    [Souls: 0]


    "So, as you can all see, other than the regular option of paying with cash, you now have three other payment options available to you," I began, only to be interrupted by Mr. Freeze. "Excuse me, what exactly are these...other options that you are showing us?"


    "Simple, in all honesty," I told them before continuing, "Lifespan is the simplest of all the options, being you use your own Lifespan to purchase goods or services, while the same can be said with Souls, only for Souls, it cannot be your own. As for Karma, think of it as a currency you can passively earn through actions that influence, change, or cause some impact in the world, no matter how small."


    "Wait, Big Man. Are you saying we can pay with what time we have left, or sell the souls of whatever bastards we kill?" Harley spoke up before anyone else could.


    "That''s right," I informed them before clarifying, "Though for the Souls, you must be capable of capturing them yourselves and bringing them here."


    "How do you expect us to do that?" A random thug asked.


    "Simple. I don''t. None of you here possess the necessary technology or mystical arts. So, I fear that payment option will be unavailable to you until there comes such a time you find yourselves capable of capturing and holding a soul," I explained.


    "These... Karma points, how much are they exactly worth?" Killer Croc asked with a snarl.


    "Well, for 250 Karma Points, you can get one hour in the VR Computer, or for a couple of points, you can get many of the food and drinks cheaper than what you''d have to pay with Cash," I explain, doing the math in my head.


    Hearing that, I knew I had many of the poorer customers'' attention, as Karma was essentially a way they could earn hours and goods for free by just doing what they were already doing.


    Meanwhile, while there now existed new ways to buy the basic goods and services of the Caf¨¦, the Credit Store was still going strong as those associated with the Green seemed to be doing everything in their power to earn more credits. I knew they wanted the G.E.C.K., but I didn''t think they''d want it that much.


    Especially since if they spend enough time in Fallout, they''d eventually learn how to make it themselves. Though that meant specking in multiple skill trees and maxing them out, I was not going to stop them. While they were serious about getting the credits to get the G.E.C.K, I could tell they were at least feeling like having fun, especially some of them.


    Waylon, who was completely human in Fallout, was having a blast, becoming quite the social bird, having befriended quite a few of the NPCs, and even getting....rewarded by some of them by being a ''Hero.''


    I am not going to lie. I felt bad for the big bad Croc and his backstory. Furthermore, I am glad he can feel ''Normal'' and not be shunned in the VR Worlds as much as he was in the real world. I was also glad that due to his somewhat altruistic nature with the homeless who lived within the sewers of Gotham, he had more than enough Karma to play whenever he wished. He could even buy enough food and water for all of those under his care if he felt it. Though I doubt he realized that.


    Perhaps I should speak to him? Monster to Monster.

 42 – Increase in Sales

    [A/N: When it''s been so long that you can''t even remember what games you have introduced into the Cafe anymore XD. Now, I''m going to go through the 70k words I''ve written and make an entire document just for notes. Sigh...pain, pain awaits. Also, as usual, if you have any suggestions for things that could be sold or new games for the future]


    Watching Waylon and the others play the games, I pondered how they would earn their Karma points in the future.


    Would they continue to do bad? Or would some of them try to do good?


    Regardless, it did not matter whether their actions were good or bad. They''d earn points, as it''s dependent on how their actions influence the world, not whether they are ''Good'' or ''Bad.''


    It''s dependent on how their actions affect and change the world, so, say, someone created a life-saving drug that cures cancer and many other drugs. They''d earn quite a bit of points, but so would someone who created a revolutionary way to wage war.


    Frankly, I did not care if someone decided it was easier to earn points by doing stuff considered by the greater proportion of humanity as ''Bad.'' Still, I would not prevent nor stop such actions unless someone foolishly decided to eradicate humanity and, therefore, kill off all of my player base.


    With fascination, I began to check the Karma scores of all of my current notable customers.


    [Tyke (Kyle) - 12,350 Karma]


    [TheBestClown (Harley) - 146,280 Karma]


    [Mr. Freeze (Mr. Freeze) - 82,980 Karma]


    [BeautifulFlower (Poison Ivy) - 182,140 Karma]


    [Waylon (Killer Croc) - 93,120 Karma]


    [GoldRusher(Catwoman) - 68,940 Karma]


    [Lucky (Black Widow) - 167,890]


    As I read through the list of players and their Karma balance, I couldn''t help but wonder how certain character''s Karma scores were significantly larger than others.


    For example, how was Poison Ivy''s Karma higher than Harley Quinn''s?


    Was it because her actions impacted the world more than the crazy Harley?


    Did her connection with the Green influence her Karma points?


    I had so many questions, yet I had no answers.


    Shaking my head, I decided to check on the progress of all of my customers.


    Kyle was still going in between Fallout and Stardew Valley, two worlds that could only be described as polar opposites.


    In Stardew Valley, a few years have already passed, as he has changed the once run-down farmstead into one that was bursting with life from fields of various crops, pens filled with farm animals of varying species, and so much more.


    However, something I noticed was that he avoided making friends with the townspeople. I think he was afraid to make any connections for fear that he may eventually have the world reset and be the only one to remember.


    Little did he know that even if he were to ''Die,'' he''d only wake back up in his own bed with a note from the mayor saying he brought him home last night after he collapsed.


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    However, I think he hasn''t yet realized he has a secret admirer, one Emily, who has seen him frequently delve into the dangerous Mines just north outside of town and is probably his number one fan due to how many artifacts and minerals he has supplied to the Museum as pieces.


    Speaking of which, I think the history of the Stardew Valley world greatly confused him, which made sense as there were literal Monsters, Dwarves, Elves, Dinosaurs, magical creatures, and more.


    I was happy to see that he was testing what knowledge he learned from Fallout in Stardew Valley, having managed to recreate several Terminals and even a basic Eyebot that helped around the farm and down in the mines.


    Meanwhile, in Fallout 2, he continued to struggle with the Oil Rig, having tried many different methods to take down the Enclave, with his most recent attempt being what he called the Slap and Clap, flooding the Oil Rig with Ghouls and Glowing Ones that would constantly heal the Ghouls while radiating anyone without proper protection, then sneaking aboard while the Enclave is distracted and placing explosives in key sections of the Oil Rig.


    Each time he''s tried this ''tactic,'' he didn''t do enough damage to destroy the Oil Rig, nor has he been able to take down Frank Horrigan, a super mutant wearing power armor and the game''s last boss.


    Most of the time, Kyle met his end with the plenty of Power Armored Soldiers that roamed the Oil Rig, though Frank Horrigan was on an entirely different level.


    Frank was not the smartest tool in the shed, but he more than made up for that with experience and supernatural strength. Even if Kyle were to raise his strength to 10, he would still be weaker than Frank.


    The others were also progressing.


    Harley was causing Chaos in Fallout, Ivy was still doing whatever she wanted in Fallout, whether it be researching and learning or helping Shady Sands with its farm, and Volkov and his gang were still surviving in Project Zomboid, slowly taking over the town they inhabited.


    In fact, none of them had died for quite some time, though they hadn''t left the beginner area as of yet.


    And Selina, AKA Catwoman, has long since finished the first Infamous Game, helping me fix all sorts of problems with the players playing as specific characters, and moved on to the next, still playing as Cole MacGrath once again.


    But that was not the most important news. I was finally approaching the finale stages of the two other games, Ark Survival Evolved and Bioshock.


    With ARK, I have already finished with the Island, Scorched Earth, and Aberration, the first three maps in order, and I have completed the first Bioshock Game in its entirety, which means both games will be released tomorrow.


    I wondered how my customers would react to the games.


    One was a world where the Players would have to claw their way to the top of an island absolutely dominated by Dinosaurs with no way to escape, as it was impossible to leave the island, only move on to another prison, following the paths of the former inhabitants of the Island.


    Meanwhile, in Bioshock, the player would have to fight through the ruins of an Underwater city that is in a state of disrepair and filled with dangers around every corner. However, in both games, the location would change drastically later on, such as Earth or a spaceship in Ark and a floating city in Bioshock.


    Speaking of the two games, I was already working towards the products I would sell from them.


    From ARK, I''d sell the various food and drinks, as well as bits and bobs, but the most important thing that would be sold would be none other than a Modified Specimen Implant.


    How was the Implant modified, you may ask? Simple, while it would not be able to use many of the features shown in the game, it would still have an inventory that the customers could use to store items at the cost of the burden from the weight of the items remaining. Other than that, the Implant would have access to the Internet, Radio, and, most importantly, the Store''s website.


    That''s right, with the Implant, not only would a Customer have an inventory they could use anytime, but they''d also be able to access the Cafe''s Forum and see the monthly sales from anywhere in the world, as well as their balance, for those that are interested.


    I was considering adding some personal VR Computer devices for the Customers to take home in the future, but for now, I wanted to keep it all in store so that I would not have to worry about my Cafe''s popularity rising exponentially and finding my quaint cafe getting drowned by customers, governments, organizations, news agencies, and who knows what else.


    For Bioshock, I was considered Plasmids and Vigors, essentially serums that contained DNA editing medicine that would give the consumer powers of some shape or form, such as the ability to conjure bugs, light people of fire, shock people, and so much more.


    With that thought in mind, I wondered how Black Widow and SHIELD would react to the new additions, especially the Plasmids and the Specimen Implant.


    If I kept this up, I had no doubt that I would be visited by a particular pirate in the future, famous for being paranoid and grumpy.

 43 – The Release of Bioshock and Ark Survival Evolved

    Informing all of my customers of the new games that would be released this morning the previous night, I was not expecting most of them to arrive, especially a certain Black Widow accompanied by a man who I could only assume would be a certain fellow nicknamed after a bird.


    As my customers walked in, I examined those who had come in.


    Black Widow, Hawkeye, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, Volkov and his trio of men, Kyle, Frank, and...then a hairy man smoking a cigar walked in, briefly stopping when he saw my form, only briefly surprised by my form before calming down.


    The man was familiar, very familiar.


    It took a few moments to recognize him, but I realized the man was a spitting image of an actor from my Earth, Hugh Jackman.


    Based on the man''s appearance, clothes, and smoking habits along with their rough exterior...I could only assume it was one person, a certain mutant, Wolverine.


    Man...this universe is truly fucked. DC, Marvel, and now Marvel''s X-Men, what else would show up on my doorstep? I swear, anything else mixed into this universe may truly doom it.


    Shrugging, I beckoned the man over to the counter, and he calmly walked towards it, eyes examining the wide variety of goods being showcased, before his eyes suspiciously stopped on two certain goods next to one another, two goods that just so happened to be alcoholic, the Sierra Madre Martini and Battle Brew.


    "Interested?" I asked humor in my tone.


    "...Maybe," He answered.


    "Wonderful. Would you rather purchase with Karma or Cash?" I asked.


    "Karma?" He asked, confused.


    ''Wonderful, that meant that either Charles the mind R-word did not tell him, or Charles did not know in the first place!''


    "Yes, Karma. We could check out your balance if you''d like?" I asked, curious to know how much Karma a mutant from before the Civil War would have.


    "Sure...bub," he told me, his eyes not leaving me.


    "Wonderful! First, you''ll need to create an account," I informed him, turning the computer screen to him.


    He looked at me for a few moments before focusing on the screen and creating an account.


    Noting his username to be... ''Whisky,'' I opened up his Karma balance and froze.


    "What?" He asked.


    Turning the screen, I let him read the number.


    [Karma: 1,190,645]


    The man had over a million Karma. Just what the hell has he done?


    I knew from the movies and some comics that Logan, AKA Wolverine, had fought in all of the major wars, such as the First World War, the Second, the Civil War, and Vietnam.


    Did he save someone important or something? Then I remembered...he was in the Howling Commandos, the Squad led by Steve Rogers, otherwise known as Captain America.


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    "Is that a lot?" He asked.


    "Yes...in terms of Karma, a single bottle of Sierra Madre Martini would cost 50, meaning that with your amount of Karma, you could get...23,813 bottles," I informed him, his eyes going wide at the number.


    "Hell, get me a case then!" He laughed, and I obliged, summoning a crate that contained 30 of the bottles.


    "Before I hand this off to you, do you want to check out our VR service?"


    "What do you mean?" He asked, confused once again.


    "Do you know what VR is?" I asked, only for him to shake his head, "Alright, then imagine this: a fully realistic world, one in which you can live and roam, feeling the air on your skin, the smell of dirt, and so much more, now, what if I told you it was all virtual? A realistic yet virtual world that is so realistic that you cannot differentiate between the real world and the virtual one," I explained.


    "I... I would say that I don''t believe you," Logan told me after taking a moment to process what I told him.


    "Then why don''t you give it a try? I think you might find yourself enjoying it," I recommended, waving towards the other computers.


    While he walked over to one of the computers, I made sure to announce something before everyone would hop into their sessions.


    "I just wanted to announce that Bioshock and the Infamous Series will be the first games to transition to real-world speed, meaning that time would be passing at a 1-1 ratio. I did this because of all of the current games, Infamous and Bioshock, have set stories and lack a... open-world environment. Not to mention, those two series will be the fastest to beat of all available games," I informed my customers, some acknowledging what I said or ignoring me.


    To my surprise, with the introduction of Karma, my customers became more frugal with their spending, as almost all of my customers decided to try the new games, something I certainly did not expect.


    Now, let''s see how they react to the new games.


    <hr>


    [Volkov''s POV]


    [ BioShock


    Completed Achievements: 0/51


    Kills: 0


    Deaths: 0


    Completions: 0


    Little Sister''s Saved: 0


    Little Sister''s Harvested: 0


    Big Daddy''s Killed: 0


    Time Played: N/A ]


    Ignoring the stats, Volkov jumped straight into the game, finding himself in a dark expanse of nothingness, a void.


    Then, just like with every other game, a menu appeared before him.


    One with an unusual scene behind it.


    A dark, cloudy sky, a calm ocean, and an ominous lighthouse covered in fog.


    Not bothering to focus on the scenery, he tapped [New] and was met with a set of options.


    [Easy - For those new to combat, violence, and the game itself. Enemies will be easier to beat or kill, Plasmid use will be more forgiving, hacking will be far easier than normal, and the pain threshold will be lessened. Ammo and medicine will be plentiful]


    [Normal - The recommended difficulty for the game]


    [Hard - Not recommended for first-time players. Enemies will be stronger, tougher, and smarter. The pain threshold will be increased. Hacking will be more difficult. Ammo will be more sparse, and enemies will be more plentiful in number]


    [Hell - A difficulty only for the most skilled. Even common enemies can be a threat too dangerous to ignore, with few ever missing, and most frequently used their own Plasmids. Ammo and Medicine are sparse and limited, meaning that every bullet must count. You are not unique. In this difficulty, you are but a man, and ordinary men do not survive Rapture, but those that do? They become Legends]


    Reading through the set of options, Volkov eventually chose [Normal].


    Suddenly, the menu darkened, and he felt...different.


    [1960, Mid-Atlantic]


    Noting the date, the darkness began to clear up, and Volkov found himself sitting on an airplane by himself. The entire cabin seemed to be covered in a thick fog of smoke, enough to choke a man out.


    Weirdly enough, Volkov didn''t feel like he was in control. It felt more like he was a co-pilot of the body.


    Suddenly, his body moved without his command, pulling up a lit cigar, which his body took a deep inhale of, though weirdly, he felt none of the smoke entering his lungs, making him feel as though he was inhaling only air.


    Suddenly, his other hand brought up a...present?


    On it was, "To Jack with love, from Mom and Dad. Would you kindly not open --- until ---." The two other lines are hidden by bows.


    Suddenly, a voice not like his own spoke out from his body, "They told me...Son, you''re special. You''re born to do great things. You know what? They were right."


    Suddenly, screams of panic and fear echoed across the plane as the plane seemed to take a nose dive, yet oddly, Volkov felt...peace? As if his body felt no fear of its impending doom.


    With great force, the plane crashed into the ocean. None survived, except one.


    [A/N: Other than the introduction of a new character, we had the opening scene of BioShock. The next two or so chapters will be playing through the players'' views as they go through both ARK and BioShock. Let the horror and countless deaths begin!]

 44 – Bioshock and Ark Survival Evolved Reactions

    [Black Widow''s POV]


    Finding water rapidly filling her lungs, I swam up as fast as possible, my vision quickly darkening and my strength draining.


    The surface of the water was lit by roaring flames and debris from the plane.


    When I breached the surface, I gasped for air as bodies and corpses floated up next to me.


    Suddenly a bright light flashed over the wreckage, looking up, it was revealed to be a shockingly close lighthouse.


    Steeling my nerves, I ignored the floating corpses around me, and the bloodied water, and began swimming towards the lighthouse as the wreckage in flames around me began to sink into the ocean.


    Was I really the only one that made it? How?


    This shouldn''t be possible...the odds...


    I focused on the task at hand and soon reached the lighthouse, pulling myself out of the water and onto the rocks.


    I gasped for air and lay on the ground as I watched the end of the plane sink deeper and deeper into the ocean.


    Grunting, I examined the strange body I found myself in.


    The first thing I noticed when I found myself on the plane was my physique. I felt stronger and larger, yet slower and less flexible.


    Looking away, I turned around and examined the strange lighthouse I found myself at.


    Looking around, I couldn''t see any land. If anything, it was as if the Lighthouse was constructed in the middle of nowhere in the ocean, but there were lights, so...there must be someone, right?


    The two...surprisingly expensive and fancy-looking doors of the Lighthouse were cracked open, yet whatever was housed inside was shrouded in darkness, and once I stepped foot inside, lights flashed on, blinding me momentarily.


    When I could see...I froze as a massive statue of a man was peering down from the ceiling, staring right down at me, with a banner below it that read, ''No Gods nor Kings, only Man.''


    Instantly, I could already picture what kind of man would use or make such a quote: an arrogant tyrant.


    Below the statue was a bronze plaque that read, ''In what country is there a place for people like me?'' - Andrew Ryan.


    Whatever this place was...it was clearly a decoy of some kind...the question was, why was it built? What was it hiding?


    Knowing there was only one way I would get my answers, I sighed, cursing Fury for assigning me to...explore these worlds. Why couldn''t he have just asked Coulson?


    Walking around the statue, I found myself walking down a set of stairs and ending up in a large open room with symbols on the walls and a strange metal sphere at the center of the room.


    Warily, I walked down more stairs and found that the pod...was...something.


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    It had a hatch, seats, and some old TV screens.


    Was it a submarine?


    Sighing, I got in and pulled a lever.


    Suddenly, the pod lurched, and the hatch sealed shut.


    Suddenly, one of the screens came to life, and one of those old commercials came on, but this one was...strange, to say the least.


    On the screen was a woman dressed as if she was in the roaring 20s, the same as the man on the other side of the screen.


    The woman had a cigarette in hand, while the man had his finger extended...and flame flickering from it.


    ''Fire at your fingertips!''


    ''Incinerate! Plasmids by Ryan Industries!'' The screen read.


    Suddenly, the screen changed to show a man with a cigar. The screen was black and white, and the audio that suddenly came out of the screen was just as old.


    "I am Andrew Ryan, and I am here to ask you a question: Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? No, says the man in Washington. It belongs to the poor. No, says the man in the Vatican, it belongs to God. No, says the man in Moscow. It belongs to everyone. I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose...Rapture!"


    As the screen continued to flicker between different propaganda posters, the man became more and more bold until he revealed his choice. Suddenly, there was light, and an entire underwater city was revealed: Rapture.


    --


    [Harley Quinn''s POV]


    "Are you the one I''ve been waiting for?


    You might be.


    I hope so.


    It''s been so many Cycles since I have been here.


    Do I still even remember Hope?


    I wasn''t sure you would ever turn up.


    The odds just kept getting longer.


    I guess I have been using faith while they have been gaining power.


    You have to reach me, and everything depends on your survival.


    Master this world, make allies with its many creatures, grow in strength and skill, and explore this place like I once did so long ago.


    Put the pieces together and find me, survivor. You may be the only one that can..."


    As a strange yet beautiful feminine voice whispers in my ears, I suddenly find myself face up on the ground of a beach...with only simple underwear.


    Grunting as I got up from the sand, I felt a slight below my left wrist and looked curiously to find a strange metallic object embedded in my arm.


    Looking at it long enough caused a screen to appear before my eyes.


    An ''Inventory,'' crafting menu, stat screen, a 3d image of my body, and current appeal were on the screen.


    That was only the first tab. Opening the second revealed something called ''Engrams,'' which I found confusing, so I decided to skip to the next tab.


    This tab asked me to create something called a ''Clan,'' so I did, naming it ''Harley''s the Best'' before moving on.


    Suddenly, I found myself interrupted as something washed ashore next to me, turning revealed it to be a man with brown hair in nothing but underwear.


    The man awoke with a start and immediately climbed up out of the sand, ready to fight, only to find himself standing before me, my eyes examining every inch of his...very...fit body, which he clearly noticed, as his eyes darted down realizing he was wearing only some briefs.


    "You a newbie to all this?" I asked, curious.


    "...Yes...is it supposed to be...so...," I interrupted him, "Realistic?"


    Before we could continue our conversation, the ground began to shake and tremble, and running out from the nearby jungle was a strange horned creature with a giant maw, two small horns on top of his head, and two small arms.


    [Carnotaurus - Level 48]


    "Run!" The man shouted, leaving me behind.


    "No fair!" I screamed behind him, chasing after him as the living dinosaur behind us chased us down the beach.


    ...


    Meanwhile, a male player with a username of ''Hiva'' was watching the two run from the Carno. Only for a strange cry of a hiss and growl to come from behind him, and the player found himself falling to the ground as something pounced on him from behind and began tearing him apart.


    ...


    Everyone who had joined the public ARK server found themselves facing all sorts of awful situations as they tried venturing off the beach and deeper into the Island.


    They ran around as headless chickens and, much to Zeref''s amusement, died quite a few times to both the hostile dinosaurs of the Island and the harsh elements.


    Though Zeref couldn''t wait to see how his customers would react to the two games. How they''d react to Rapture and the ARKs.


    What would they do when they realized not everything was as it seemed?


    What would they do when they realize the sights they would see were only an illusion, a...cover, and that not everything was as it seemed?


    Zeref couldn''t wait. For what lies beyond is where there are no Gods nor Kings, only Man.

 45 – Decisions

    "God damn it! This is your fault, you crazy clown!" Hawkeye cursed at Harley Quinn as a pack of three Velociraptors chased from behind, quickly gaining on them.


    The two were wearing clothes fashioned from plant fiber and cloth, clearly not designed for much comfort and more for the limited protection they could provide to the harsh environment.


    While Hawkeye had a bow in his hand and a makeshift quiver on his back, Harley had a primitive spear in her right hand and a massive wooden club in her other hand.


    "It''s not my fault! I didn''t expect these large chicken bastards to smell the meat!" Harley retorted.


    "We''re on a death island filled with fucking dinosaurs! It shouldn''t have needed to be said! Cooking meat in the middle of a beach on a campfire with downwind blowing into the forest was a recipe for disaster!" Hawkeye retorted, angry and annoyed.


    While the two argued, wasting their energy, the raptors easily caught up to them, their bipedal legs far faster than the two humans, and just as one of them was about to pounce onto the fleeing form of Harley, she suddenly turned around and thrust the sharp end of the spear deep into the throat of the pouncing raptor, covering her spear and face in viscous blood.


    Cursing about the mission he had been assigned, Hawkeye turned around and notched an arrow, quickly releasing it once he aimed at one of the raptors not far behind, hitting it in the shoulder.


    Cursing again about how inaccurate the bow was, he tossed it aside, "Here!" Harley shouted, letting go of the spear for a moment to toss him the club she had, which he effortlessly caught and smashed directly into the face of the raptor he shot that did not stop advancing.


    While those two beat and stabbed to death the last raptor of the small pack, far down the beach towards the swamp, a trio of men, specifically, the trio of men that followed Volkov, could be seen running from all sorts of critters.


    Flying ants the size of a fist, snakes as long as a car and more than large enough to eat two grown men whole, crocodiles that could easily crush and destroy cars, and unfortunately for them, they were about to meet one of the worst inhabitants to deal with that called the swamp home.


    The Kaprosuchus.


    Lunging from out of the swamp like a speeding bullet, the Kapro opened its maw wide and, before two of the men''s eyes, watched as it snatched their friend and flew past and ahead of them.


    Before they could react, a Titanoboa lunged from the tall grass nearby, sinking its dagger-like venomous fangs deep into one of the remaining two men.


    Seeing two of his friends die and no way out, the remaining man changed direction and started dashing east, trying to get around the Boa and Kapro that would easily slay him, only for...a giant frog to come leaping out from the long grass where it accidentally fell on the last man, knocking him unconscious. Unluckily for the man, he was then consumed by a small group of giant ants.


    Across the Island, other Players were having just as difficult starts as they explored the Island and faced the many dangers that lurked where the eye couldn''t see.


    Meanwhile, Black Widow, Kyle, Volkov, Mr. Freeze, and several other new players were fighting for survival in the underwater city of Rapture.


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    After having a near-death encounter with a splicer, Dr. Victor Fries, now armed with a wrench, had to bash his way past one of the many mad inhabitants that called Rapture home; he climbed upstairs and soon found himself standing before a plasmids machine, passing by various posters.


    ''Pick your plasmid and evolve!''


    The strange machine with two little sister statues posing at its side, he grabbed a bottle, which read ''Electro Bolt,'' and had a syringe attached to the container.


    Feeling a strange compulsion, he grabbed the syringe, extracted all of the red fluid, and, with a deep breath, roughly impaled his wrist, feeling no control over his body as it manually pressed down on the syringe, pumping all of the fluid into his bloodstream.


    Suddenly, his hand began to convulse as his veins glowed a bright blue.


    He felt himself panic as he felt energy course through his body along with an agonizing burn, and before his eyes, electricity seemed to jump between his hands and up his body.


    Still having no control over his body, he watched in horror as his body walked backward, closer and closer to the railing.


    Then Atlas hastily spoke over the radio on his hip, "Steady now! Your genetic code is being rewritten- just hold, and everything will be fine!"


    That''s when his hands grabbed the railings; electricity seemed to dance across the metal from his touch, and with wide eyes, he watched as his body, without his control, leaped over the edge, sending him plummeting down to the floor.


    With a ''thunk,'' he lost consciousness.


    None of the others experienced their first Plasmid injection any better, as the control stick was taken from them during the cutscene. While some had an interest in what Plasmids could do and what they are, none had more interest than Victor himself, as Plasmids and whatever research came about from them could very well be the answer he was looking for.


    With a haze, his eyes groggily opened for a few moments as he heard voices speak above him.


    "This little fish looks like he just had his cherry POPPED... I wonder if he''s still got some Adam on him?"


    Getting a look over the two above him, he recognized them to be just like the crazy person that attacked him only minutes ago, their bodies and clothes covered in blood and grime, wearing a strange rabbit mask that covered the top half of their faces. In their hands were bloodied bent pipes.


    Just as Victor was about to worry about what they would do to him, a strange noise echoed across the room, and the two crazy...splicers, Atlas called them, seemed to get scared.


    "You hear that?! Let''s bug!" The other Splicer whispered to his friend, looking out into the distance in fear.


    "WEAK! You''re a weak chopper!" The Splicer that originally spoke chastised his partner, pointing his bloodied pipe at him.


    "This little fish ain''t worth toeing with no Big Daddy!" The second splicer retorted.


    "Yellow! Always have been!" The first splicer shouted at the second splicer before bending down over Victor, "You''ll be no better off with the metal daddy, little fish. See you floating in the briney," The Splicer laughed with sadistic glee.


    His vision adding again, he opened his eyes not long after, feeling the ground shake and a menacing growl from out of his vision.


    Walking slowly from out the corner of his eye was a...deformed giant wearing a scuba suit of some kind with a drill for an arm, with the other hand clenched as if ready to punch something.


    Then, to Victor''s bafflement, a...child came from behind him. The child, shoeless, wore a tattered dress with a menacing and large syringe in hand, then she bent over, her face revealing to be ashy pale, with sickening yellow eyes that had no pupils.


    "Look, Mr. Bubbles. It''s an angel! I can see the light coming from his belly...wait a minute, he''s still breathing," She pouted before looking back to the giant, "It''s alright, I know he''ll be an angel soon," The girl smiled at Victor as if knowing something he did not.


    Then the child walked away, the metal giant, no. The Big Daddy following behind her, ready to protect her.


    His vision adding once again, Victor awoke with a start, finding himself lying on the ground and feeling groggy.


    He felt...strange, and with a raise of his hand, he watched fascination as electricity began to spark from his entire hand, emitting it in electricity.


    Clenching his hand, the electricity dissipated, and with a deep breath, he climbed from the ground.


    He needed to know. What exactly are Plasmids? How did they function? How were they created? What else could they do?


    With a goal in mind, nothing in Rapture would stop a Husband from finding a way, even one filled with such little hope in finding a way to save his wife.

 46 – The Story Continues

    While many of the others playing Bioshock chose to start off with the ''Normal'' or ''Easy'' difficulty, one man in particular chose the hardest difficulty possible.


    [Hell - A difficulty only for the most skilled. Even common enemies can be a threat too dangerous to ignore, with few ever missing and most frequently using their own Plasmids. Ammo and Medicine are sparse and limited, meaning that every bullet must count. You are not unique. In this difficulty, you are but a man, and ordinary men do not survive Rapture, but those that do? They become Legends]


    The difficulty''s description called out to the man, a man who strived to become better, become strong. So what if it was difficult? That only made the difficulty more attractive for the man.


    That man, of course, happened to be none other than Kyle, a man who arrived at the Cafe as but a boy; now, he was a man.


    He''s lived through decades within the harsh environment of Fallout''s Wasteland, having to fight tooth and nail to survive, so much so that he killed enough people to make him the most dangerous man in the Wasteland, but he''s reached a... obstacle in his journey.


    He was stuck, in other words.


    So, he spent some time farming in a quaint town in the middle of Stardew Valley, spending a few years farming and thinking, yet with every idea that he tried, he found that the obstacle before him didn''t budge one bit.


    Having to face an entire Oil Rig filled with soldiers armed with Power Armor, Laser Rifles, Plasma Rifles, and all sorts of advanced technology, he was easily stomped and crushed, as if he was a bug under a boot.


    Frank Horggian alone was a menace, not to mention all of the Turrets, Robots, Soldiers, Scientists, and other personnel that called the Oil Rig home.


    Sure, he''s tried many different strategies; most didn''t make it that far, and some of them proved to be decent distractions, but in the end, he had a time limit before the Enclave started becoming more active and causing more problems across the remains of what was once California.


    Sure, he could slow them down through logistics, infestations, or all sorts of other problems, but eventually, they always found him.


    So, he decided to try something new, and the owner suggested this game, as it dealt with an underwater city. Not exactly an Oil Rig, but perhaps it would give him some new ideas.


    At first, he had to adjust to being in a different body than his own, but to his surprise, it came quite quickly. However, he did not like how he lost control and got put in the backseat whenever cutscenes arose.


    Then there was his first encounter with a Splicer, the most common inhabitant of the city of Rapture that he would occasionally run into.


    If playing on any other difficulty than Hell, the first splicer the player would encounter is essentially a mob character, cannon fodder that was easily dispatchable, but in the Hell Difficulty, it was a completely different situation.


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    With nothing but a wrench, Kyle met his very first obstacle in Rapture, a single Splicer, one armed with a rusted pipe and plasmids.


    ..


    "HE DIED FOR YOUR SINS! For YOUR sins!" The Splicer screamed as electricity arced up his arm and launched at Kyle, who quickly evaded by jumping behind a pillar.


    Jumping back, the rusted pipe in the Splicer''s hand slammed into the concrete pillar, right where Kyle''s head was only moments prior.


    "HE DIED! For YOUR sins!" The Splicer screamed again, lunging to hit Kyle with his rusty pipe after missing.


    Leaning back, dodging the swing by mere centimeters, Kyle suddenly lunged forward, swinging the heavy wrench in his hands toward the Splicer''s wrist, and with a sickening crunch, broke it, causing the Splicer to scream and drop the rusty pipe they had in hand.


    The Splicer screamed, and before Kyle could capitalize on the Splicer''s injury, the Splicer headbutted him before punching him in the gut with his other hand.


    Electricity arced across the Splicer''s fist, sending painful bursts of electricity straight into Kyle''s chest.


    Kyle slumped over, groaning, feeling as if he was having the worst heartburn of his life. It was a miracle the electrical discharge didn''t stop his heart.


    "HE DIED!" The Splicer screamed, stomping on Kyle''s stomach before turning to try and grab his rusted pipe.


    Coughing, Kyle gripped the wrench in his hands until his knuckles turned white, and with all of his strength, he got up. While the Splicer''s back was turned, he raised the wrench high and swung down with all of his strength, bashing the Splicer''s head in.


    The Splicer''s skull broke, and Kyle continued to streak with all of his strength until all that was left of the Splicer''s head was a pile of mush.


    ...


    While Kyle continued to journey through Rapture and its story on ARK''s Offical Public Server, where most of the current players were, with only a few playing Single Player, chaos was in full swing as the players were having trouble fighting against the Dinsoaurs that called the Island home.


    In fact, some were still having trouble getting off the beach, but two specific individuals were farther along than the others.


    A crazy clown and an old-fashioned archer in an age where everyone had powers or guns.


    Though little did that archer know, there existed a group of vigilantes who used bows the same as him, though he wouldn''t learn of them for a while.


    At the moment, the two were settled in a small thatch cottage, a simple shelter that the Implants helped them create, and quite easily at that.


    While Harley wasn''t that surprised or awed by the technology and usefulness the Implant offered, Hawkeye thought differently and wondered what other kind of technology existed and, if possible, if he could replicate it and get it to Fury.


    Then there were the giant Obelisks floating in the sky.


    He''s been trying to get close to one of them, the one that glowed in a Red light, but every time, they encountered some kind of obstacle.


    They even encountered a giant aquatic lizard, a Spinosaurus.


    The Spino was a size large enough to crush and tear apart a bus easily, and it moved surprisingly quickly.


    He could go along the beach and try to reach the other obelisks, but they were too far, and he had a limited time.


    Fury expected a report by the end of the day, and he''d rather try to give Fury some good news. Lord knows he was paranoid enough about this cafe and its owner.


    Plus, the faster he got Fury wanted, the quicker he could return home.


    Sighing, he looked off into the corner of the shack, where Harley was leaning over a table with a mortar and pestle, making narcotics from spoiled meat and narco berries.


    She cackled like a mad woman as a large flightless bird rubbed against her thigh.


    Abruptly, she stopped cackling and turned to the Dodo, cooing like a mother would a baby.


    "God...I hate my job," Hawkeye mourned over his fate and the stressful missions his boss always seemed to assign him.

 47 – A Meeting of Villains and a Desensitized

    Hours upon hours passed by as the players played a variety of games.


    Kyle, Black Widow, Volkov, and Mr. Freeze are all playing Bioshock, learning of the city of Rapture and the horrors and secrets that fill the underwater city of Man.


    Volkov''s men, Hawkeye, Harley, and several other customers were playing Ark Survival Evolved, having to fight tooth and nail to survive on the inhospitable Island shrouded in mystery, whether it be the Obelisks, Speciman Imaplants, and the notes they have begun finding across the beaches of the Island.


    Meanwhile, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, and Swamp Thing continued their journies through the Californian wasteland of Fallout.


    Poison Ivy avoided the main plot, finding it more worthwhile to explore pre-war ruins for any clues about the G.E.C.K.


    Waylon, otherwise known as Killer Croc, was enjoying what it felt like to be human for once in his life, where people didn''t look at him like he was a monster, and he didn''t have to be a monster.


    Swamp Thing, on the other hand, was a living plant, so it didn''t really care about anything in Fallout other than the Green. Nothing else mattered. Helping Poison Ivy would align with its own goals in making sure that the Green will not be harmed or destroyed on Earth.


    But while some might think Swamp Thing is a simple and dull creature, that is far from the truth.


    Its intelligence was similar to that of a human. It just lacked...understanding.


    It did not bother to learn the morals and teachings of man, instead preferring the teachings of the Green and mother nature.


    Regardless, it was learning in the world of Fallout as it wandered the wasteland in a human body.


    It learned of death, hunger, pain, joy, and countless other human emotions and feelings.


    It learned of human cruelty and hope.


    It learned of man''s flaws and strengths.


    Before, it saw Humanity as nothing but cockroaches that refused to go extinct, tics that needed to be removed from an animal''s fur. Now? It still saw them as nothing but insects that needed to be crushed, but now it understood their motivations and that some, yet very few, of the bugs, were capable of magnificent things; only those few bugs were being dragged down by the worthless meat that surrounded them.


    After the store closed, all of the villains gathered once more in Poison Ivy''s Garden.


    The mood was somber as villain after villain arrived and found someplace to sit.


    Everyone sat in silence, contemplating the strange worlds they found themselves diving in.


    When Poison Ivy stepped into the room, she was clearly lost in thought, her mind thinking of somewhere else.


    When she looked up, she noticed everyone gathered before her.


    Nodding in acknowledgment, she reached out, and vines swarmed out from the floor and walls to form a bench for her to sit on.


    With a wave, the bench wrapped around everyone, forming a circle that would allow everyone to sit.


    Harley gladly got up from the floor and sat down on the vines while the larger entities in the room, Mr. Freeze in his Cryosuit, Swamp Thing, and Killer Croc, all continued standing.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    "So..." Ivy started off, trying to start a conversation to break the awkward and deafening silence that covered the room.


    Harley, the ever-energetic and crazy clown, was the first to talk, "You wouldn''t believe what''s in that ARK Survival Evolved game! There are actual dinosaurs! And THEY! ARE! AWESOME! And you wouldn''t believe this, but I met a guy!"


    "Oh god...don''t tell me you did it again, Harley. I swear, I can''t stand the men you hook up with," Catwoman swore with a sigh, imagining the men Harley''s been with so far.


    King Shark, Scarecrow, and even Penguin at one point in time had dated the crazy clown, though they all eventually dumped the crazy clown after she proved to be too much for them to handle.


    Then there was Joker, the original bat-shit insane clown with a hard-on for Gotham''s Dark Knight, who treated Harley as nothing but a plaything and a distraction that proved to only get in the way of his true gay lover, Batman.


    Catwoman couldn''t help but grimace at the thought, though she wouldn''t deny that anyone who ended up with Bruce would have one hell of a night with the package he was carrying and the skills to leave any woman in bliss. After all, she''s gotten first-hand experience.


    Though, of course, it was not meant to be. She was, after all, still quite the kleptomaniac and greedy woman who was a renowned thief across the world and known for stealing priceless sculptures, paintings, and artifacts, only for the Batman to typically stop her and return most of the items she steals.


    Perhaps she should introduce Harley to Bruce? See if he can set her straight. Or as straight as possible in her case, she doubted that there was anything that could calm the crazy clown, other than sex, that is.


    "What? No!" Harley screamed, baffled and acting offended, before explaining, "No, what I meant is that I found a guy; apparently, he''s new to the Cafe and needed help with getting used to everything, so I helped him...so that he could be a better meat shield for me..." Harley whispered the last part, though everyone in the room still heard it and shook their heads, exasperated.


    "Anything else that is interesting about the game? Other than apparently there being dinosaurs?" Ivy asked.


    "Oh, yeah. Hawkeye and I, what the guy calls himself and uses as his username, found a few small ruins that had these journals of some woman named Helena. The journals seemed to be numerically labeled, but I couldn''t make any sense of them since they seemed to be part of a series of journals. Though one of them was a dossier about something called a Liopleurodon, whatever that is," She remarked.


    "You did not read through it?" Catwoman asked, confused.


    "Well, we were getting chased by a swarm of flying giant ants, so there wasn''t really any chance," Harley explained with a shrug, leaning back into the vines she sat on.


    Shaking her head, Ivy''s gaze moved onto someone else, Victor, whose eyes were glazed over, his mind lost in thought and not focused at all on the current conversation.


    "Victor?" Ivy called out, getting his attention.


    Snapping out of his thoughts, Victor''s eyes focused on Ivy.


    "Yes?" He asked.


    "What is Bioshock like? We''ve all seen the trailers, but as we all know, they don''t reveal the full truth," Ivy asked and commented.


    "No Gods or Kings. Only Man," Victor quoted, eyes lost in memories of the horrors of Rapture.


    Some looked confused by the statement, and some of the wiser understood what that sort of quote could entail, especially those in this group who have experienced firsthand how monstrous Humanity can be.


    Sighing, Victor continued, "It''s a city where men of science can study and practice anything they desire without any oversight holding them back. They have invented many great and truly horrible things...It could have been a Utopia, but no. Now, all that remains is a fallen city filled with automated defenses, insane men and women, children that have been turned into monsters, and their large cyborg protectors that beat, burn, or shoot to death anyone that threatens their charge," Victor explained, his eyes hard.


    The eyes of some of the villains grew hard when they heard about the child experimentation. If there''s one thing that a large majority of Villains and criminals agreed upon, it was that Children were a no-go. If anyone messes with children, let alone harms one, and god forbid, experiments on one, that''s one ticket straight to having someone be put on a list.


    Typically, those men, if ever imprisoned, were destined to be dead within the first week. If that didn''t work, then they''d be killed on the streets. Harming kids was not tolerated.


    "But...I am able to save them. It''s hard, but I save each ''Little Sister'' I find," Victor sighed.


    As the Villains continued their meeting in Hell''s Kitchen, Kyle was hidden away in an abandoned factory that he was getting back up and running.


    Hammering away at a piece of metal on a workbench, he was surrounded by scrapped parts, scrap metal, circuitry, and more.


    On the workbench, a round object began to take shape.


    An Eyebot.

 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.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    "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 floating machines 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.

 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.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    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.

 50 – Agent Coulson suffering in Bioschock

    [A/N: Chapter 50 woo. Now the second longest fic I have done, let''s hope I can make it pass 75 chapters :D]


    [A/N: When you realize the last poll you made was 13 weeks ago, 0_0]


    Running through the underwater city of Rapture, Coulson breathed hard as he dodged past the many splicers trying to kill him.


    Briefly turning around, an electro bolt zapped from his left hand into the chest of one of the chasing Splicers, making them convulse and collapse, tripping a few others behind him.


    Not wasting even a moment, he rose the revolver in his other hand and cocked it back, shooting one of the chasing Splicers in the chest, causing them to collapse, dead.


    With extreme precision, each round from the revolver ended a life or left one of the Splicers on the ground, bleeding out.


    The moment he had to reload, he holstered the gun and pulled out a wrench.


    Backpedaling from the swing of one of the Splicers, Coulson mercilessly swung down, crushing the wrist of the Splicer, forcing them to drop the pipe.


    Before he could capitalize on the mistake of the Splicer further, he had to duck as another splicer tried to grab him.


    With all his strength, he swung up under the splicer''s arms, delivering a ruthless uppercut to the Splicer, dislocating the Splicer''s jaw and sending him into unconscious. That''s when the Splicer he struck moments earlier regained his wits, and tackled Coulson, screaming, "BURNING! HELP! HELP ME!"


    Twisting out of the Splicer''s hold, Coulson swung the wrench down as hard as he could, smashing the skull of the Splicer, ending their life.


    The head wound on the Splicer gushed blood and brain matter over Coulson''s face and chest.


    Pushing the body off him, Coulson got up as quick as possible, dodging the swing of another Splicer before grabbing their arm and using electro bolt to flood their system with electricity, making them convulse and drop their weapon.


    That when he felt a horrid pain on his back, where a splicer with a kitchen knife thrust their knife as deep as possible.


    Swinging his arm back, Coulson''s elbow flew into the Splicer''s face, breaking their nose with a sickening crunch.


    Before the Splicer in front of him could ever hope to react, let alone move, Coulson socked him in the face before hitting him as hard as possible with the wrench, sending the Splicer down to the ground, where Coulson began stomping on the head of the Splicer, until the Splicer''s face became unrecognizable.


    Breathing heavily, Coulson winced in pain, as he knew that the bones in his left hand had to be broken.


    Making sure everyone was dead, Coulson winced as the burning pain of the knife stuck in his back flared to life, distracting him of the pain in his hand.


    Ripping off some of the cloth he could from the Splicer''s clothes, he bundled it up and applied as much pressure he could around the knife to stop the bleeding.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Pulling the knife out would have only made matters worse, especially since it''s in a hard-to-reach area.


    Taking in quick breaths as the pain flared even more when he touched the wound, he began looking around before stumbling across a machine.


    One that read ''Prime Health Unit'' that featured a large white cross hanging above it.


    Motioning over to it, he fetched $1o from his pocket and inserted it into the machine.


    Once he did that, he took in a deep breath, and after flexing his arm around to his back, he pulled out the knife very slowly as he could not get a good grip.


    Moments passed as Coulson screamed and panted from the pain, before the knife clattered to the ground and blood began to flow down his back.


    Ignoring that, he placed his right arm in the cast of the machine, and pulled a lever, revealed a syringe above that jabbed down into his arm and began pumping a green liquid into his system.


    Letting go of the lever and pulling his arm away, the pain began to rapidly fly away as the bones in his hands were set back into place and repaired, and the various bruises and wounds across his body began to rapidly heal, leaving unblemished skin.


    Grunting, Coulson leaned against a nearby wall, exhausted and tired from the previous fight.


    The further he got into the city, the more Splicers, Turrets, Drones, Cameras, and Big Daddies he ran into, any of them could prove to be a threat that would end his life.


    For minutes, Coulson sat and recovered his energy, questioning whether to continue or not.


    Rapture was far more dangerous than anything Coulson has had to go through, and it seemed to only get more dangerous.


    Sighing, he got back up and continued, traveling through the Medical Pavilion Foyer to the Emergency Access, where he pushed up a lever, releasing a gang of Splicers that came running in across the room in the Foyer.


    Taking a deep breath, he readied himself for the battle ahead.


    ...


    Fighting tooth and nail against the Splicers, only coming on top due to his training as an Agent of Shield, Coulson climbed up the stairs of the foyer where he opened a door that lead to an empty hallway that led to another door, opening that door revealed a large open room where he was met with a turret that immediately gunned him down before he could react.


    Suddenly gasping for air, Coulson fell from a Vita-chamber, now alive.


    For only a few moments did Coulson feel the pain and death, but even then that was enough to make the man break out into a cold sweat and get chills as he was on the brink of a Panic attack.


    ...


    [POV Change]


    Watching from a bird''s eye view, I couldn''t help but worry slightly upon seeing Coulson''s reaction to his first death.


    The man was on the brink of a full-blown panic attack.


    Frowning, I reached out, and forcibly calmed him down.


    How I did it, I had no idea, it just felt like something I could do, so I did it.


    Once he was completely forced to calm down, I let him be and went back to working on my other projects while this ''fragment'' continued watching.


    My work on the games continued to make leaps of progress as I focused almost all the fragments of my mind on working on them.


    I finished the ''Scorched Earth,'' ''Abberant,'' and ''Extinction'' maps for ARK Survival Evolved, adding 43 new creatures with variations to some of those new creatures, 128 new Engrams, and six new bosses.


    That did not even include all the new consumables, survivor notes, dossiers, and everything else knew that could be explored with both new maps being completely different environments compared to the Island, with the Scorched Earth map being that of a giant desert where every day was scorching hot and at night, freezing cold with water not as abundant. As for the abberant map, it takes place underground.


    As for Bioshock, I finished making the second game and Bioshock Infinite, the final game of the series.


    Bioshock 2 took place in Rapture once again, with the main character taking the role of a Big Daddy instead of a fleshy human, while Bioshock Infinite took place somewhere completely different, the floating city of Columbia.


    All that I had left, were a few finishing details for Bioshock Infinite and the last couple of maps of ARK.


    While I did have a bit left to do, I foresee that I should be done with the Genesis 1 and 2 maps in a few days, while I should be completely done with Bioshock by tonight.


    That''s not all. I purchased the next set of games that would be featured in the caf¨¦.


    The Elder Scrolls, Minecraft, and Resident Evil.

 51 – Progress and the start of new projects

    Yet another week had passed while my customers played their games and enjoyed themselves.


    While some did not enjoy the endless combat some of the games offered, especially to the unskilled, some thrived from the experience. For example, on the Island, Hawkeye has learned far more than he ever could have from any sort of training, and with the help of the Implant and Engrams, if he got lost and was far from civilization, he''d eventually be able to make an ATV if he so wishes though he would need to make the tools and forges necessary for such a creation.


    As for his partner on the Island, Harley Quinn has become a bit of a...problem with the others on the server, as she has taken up the moniker ''Beast Queen'' with her packs of Raptors and her Carnosarus.


    Of course, Hawkeye has been using Harley to find and search for the Survivor Notes hidden across the island, all of which he cataloged in his Implant before moving on to search for another.


    All threats they came across were swiftly taken care of by Harley''s beasts, as they could even take down a Rex, so long as Hawkeye helped, of course.


    As for the others, Victor has been making it further and further into Rapture, making sure to take his sweet time in reading every source of information he found, in the hope that he could find clues toward how Plasmids were created and any research or document that could lead him to learn what these amoral scientists and businessman had created.


    He was armed with a wide array of Plasmids, such as Incinerate, Electrobolt, Insect Swarm, Telekinesis, and Water Blast. He also found the hidden Pyrokinesis, Cryokinesis, Hydrokinesis, Electrokinesis, and Aerokinesis. Arguably, they are the strongest Plasmids available and the best to use against the Splicers that could use Plasmids.


    Meanwhile, Ivy has been scouring the Pre-War ruins of California, including Necropolis, home to the Ghouls, Feral and not, Mariposa Military Base, the local Vaults, and more, even contacting the Brotherhood and assisting them with whatever they needed in exchange for the location of more ruins.


    She had completed the main quest a long time ago and seemed to decide to continue playing instead of moving on to the next Fallout of the series.


    She''s been making genuine progress, especially now that she does not have to worry about failing the main quest and having to restart with the save point she gained upon completing the ''Game,'' she had no worries and could freely explore as she wished, soon exploring farther than the bounds of the game originally allowed.


    So, she traveled north, where she encountered the Shi in San Fransisco and more as she delved into all of the Pre-War ruins she came across, learning as much as she could from each and every one of them, even getting a good picture of what life was like before the ''Great War,'' though even that picture was still missing some pieces as information and data corroded, corrupted, or decayed over the many years.


    It was a miracle she encountered as many intact and working Terminals as she had, not to mention how many of the ruins she came across proved to be surprisingly intact, with most lacking signs of anyone entering since the Great War.


    Waylon, on the other hand, continued to rise in fame and popularity due to his heroics, having saved his vault, Shady Sands, and all of the other settlements that called the Wasteland of California home.


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    He faced the Master and his army of Super Mutants, and while he did struggle, having died two times, he showed surprising resolve and determination, having found a calling being called a hero.


    Catwoman, on the other hand, has progressed and beaten more games than every other customer, having beaten Infamous 1, 2, and Festival of Blood, and was now working on Infamous Second Son.


    In Infamous 1, she uses her influence and powers to create a ''Gang'' that quickly takes over each district of New York before taking on Kessler herself and beating the game.


    When she moved on to Infamous 2, she did the same thing to New Marais, using her power and all of the men she had under her command to take down the Beast, where she used the RFI to sacrifice herself to permanently kill the seemingly immortal and indestructible ''Beast'' as well as most of the Conduits in the world. Something she sorely wished she did not have to do, as now all of those deaths weighed on her conscious


    Now, she was playing the role of Delsin Rowe, a small-town delinquent and a member of the Akomish.


    While everyone was making great progress in their respective games, there was one outlier: Swamp Thing.


    Swamp Thing just wandered the wasteland without a care in the world, eventually failing the main quest multiple times and having to restart over and over, not that it cared, as it just went back to wondering.


    It did not seem to care about the Humans it came across, simply desiring to wander the Wasteland, where it only became more and more convinced of the disgusting nature of Humanity. If it thought of Humanity as nothing worse than wriggling insects beneath a boot, it now knew them as nothing but a disease to life, a disease that had to be culled before it spread.


    ...


    [POV Change]


    Now that I was completely done with ARK Survival Evolved and Bioshock, I could freely begin work on the three new games I would be introducing to my Cafe.


    The Elder Scrolls, Minecraft, and Resident Evil.


    Each game was different than the other.


    The Elder Scrolls was set in a fantasy setting where things like Gods called the Et''Ada, Dragons, Elves, Orcs, and a kind of dwarven Elf existed. Magic existed everywhere within that world, and that meant that the players would be able to use Magic within the game if they so wished.


    There were many games in the Elder Scrolls series, with more than ten separate instances of a singular game actually existing in my previous world. Ah...how I miss Skyrim.


    Minecraft, on the other hand, was a truly infinite open-world adventure game with its own crafting system. In my world, Minecraft was one of the most replayable games to exist due to its high modability, with countless mods, mod packs, and player-made worlds and creations for other players to experience and play through, from custom-made Modern Cities, Kingdoms, and even a scaled-down recreation of the entire earth.


    I fully intended to add a custom workshop feature that would allow players to create mods for their favorite games in the future, and I may very well create it once I am done with these three games, but for now, the players would have to try and be satisfied with the Vanilla mode of all the games.


    Vanilla being the term for an unmodded playthrough of a game.


    Then, there was the black sheep of the group.


    A series of horror games.


    Resident Evil.


    A world where a virus can create zombies, mutated creatures, and humans and even give certain individuals powers. Yet, in almost all of the games, the character was a basic bitch mortal that had to fight against near-impossible odds.


    How Ethan Winters killed God-like beings was beyond me, as such a thing should be impossible in reality.


    Yet, there was one reason why I chose this series. Its memorability.


    Nothing was more memorable than entire montages of Streamers and players screaming in fear after getting jump scared.


    Ah...the memories.


    Sadly for my players, they''ll actually feel every bite, stab, burn, shock, and more.


    However, if they didn''t lower the Pain Threshold beforehand, they could only blame themselves.


    After all, it''s not my fault if they don''t check the settings before starting the game.

 52 – Getting in Contact with Practitioners of the Arcane

    "The parties responsible for the Massacre in Hell''s Kitchen still remain at large, and police warn that everyone should stay in their homes past 9 PM for your own safety," A woman''s voice spoke up from one of many monitors that lined a cave wall.


    "Master Bruce, your tea," A British regal voice spoke up from behind a man sitting before the screen, his fists against each other while his eyes gazed at the screens.


    Noticing that his master did not hear him, he spoke up again, this time louder than before.


    "Master Bruce? YOUR Tea," the butler said firmly, stirring the man staring at the screens from his thoughts.


    "Did you say something, Alfred?" Bruce asked.


    "Yes, I made you some tea," Alfred informed his master, setting down the platter in his hand that had a porcelain cup of steaming tea.


    "Thank you, Alfred," Bruce thanked the butler, grabbing the cup and taking a small sip before focusing on some of the other screens.


    On some of the screens, there seemed to be camera feeds all looking over a single building, while on another was a list of names and locations.


    [Ancient One, Kamar-Taj]


    [Doctor Fate, Salem]


    [John Constantine, London]


    [Doctor Strange, Kamar-Taj]


    [Zatanna Zatara, Vegas]


    "When will you leave, Sir?" The Butler asked.


    "I will be leaving tonight," Bruce spoke.


    "And who do you plan on visiting, sir?" Alfred asked.


    "Zatanna Zatara and her father, Giovanni Zatara, two supposed practitioners of the Magic Arts down in Vegas," Bruce informed the butler, remaining stoic and clearly tired.


    "The two street magicians?" Alfred asked, confused.


    "Correct."


    "Are you sure about this, sir?" Alfred asked, clearly not believing that two famous street magicians could actually do magic.


    "What''s wrong, Alfred?" Bruce asked.


    "You have a few meetings and a shareholder meeting in three days, and I worry that by the time you return, you will be too exhausted and require rest," Alfred explained.


    "I''ll sleep on the plane," Bruce answered simply.


    "Will you?" Alfred asked accusingly.


    Bruce didn''t answer.


    Sighing, Alfred shook his head, "Sir, I say this not only as your butler but also as your friend. You need rest. You cannot function on only coffee and a few hours of sleep. You will collapse at this rate, and I worry for both your mental and physical health," Alfred stated, worried.


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    Bruce sighed, relaxing into his chair.


    "Alright. I''ll try to get some rest for the next few days, refresh my mind," Bruce told Alfred, too tired to continue denying.


    Alfred smiled, "Thank you, Sir."


    When Alfred left the cave, heading back up to the Mansion to clean and reorganize, Batman pulled up another screen.


    On this screen was a name.


    [Dick Grayson]


    A young boy in the Juvenile System.


    One who was orphaned after his parents were murdered by a Gotham crime boss and one who grew up as an outcast, as his family worked in a circus.


    There were multiple reasons why the boy caught Bruce''s attention, but the largest was he could sympathize with the boy. He lost his own parents before his eyes to some of the criminal elements that called Gotham his home.


    Sighing, Bruce considered doing something he never pictured he could ever do.


    Perhaps Alfred was right. He was but one man, one that was against an entire city...but what if he wasn''t alone? What if he could get help?


    Shaking his head, he denied such thoughts.


    The boy was innocent, and Bruce would never wish anyone to hold up the same mantle as he, for he was destined to fight till his last days, as Crime could truly never end unless Free Will was taken away.


    But...perhaps he could still give the boy a life he deserved, one that Bruce never got himself.


    Sighing, he got from his chair and walked past a mannequin featuring a black outfit, one that any knowledgeable villain would know. It was the suit of Batman.


    As he walked away, one of the screens flickered to life.


    [Person of Interest Found]


    On the screen, a street bustling with life suddenly flickered on as a man with brunette hair. The man was in his late 30s or early 40s and seemed to be down on his luck, clearly tired and exhausted.


    [Todd Andrew Howard - Age: 38 Years Old - Profession: Video Game Creator]


    ...


    Approximately 168 miles north of Gotham lies a giant city known to house the strongest and most charismatic hero, Superman.


    That city was none other than the City of Metropolis.


    Floating distantly above the city was a man wearing a costume of red and blue with an S on his chest.


    It was none other than Superman, otherwise known as Clark Kent, son of Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent.


    However, he was not born on Earth. In fact, he was born on Krypton to Jor-El and his mother, Lara Lor-Van.


    His true name is Kal-El, and he is a true son of Krypton.


    As the Kryptonians were Isolationists, most dwelled on their homeworld of Krypton, but after a cataclysmic event, few Kryptonians remained across the Universe after their home planet''s destruction.


    To save Kal-El, his biological parents sent Kal-El to Earth in hopes that he would live, and so, his pod crashed one night into the field of one Johnathan and Martha Kent''s farm.


    When Johnathan found Kal-El''s pod, the last thing he would have expected was a child and a dog sleeping peacefully within the clearly alien pod.


    Honorable man that he was, Johnathan and Martha took the two in, raising them on their farm.


    Kal-El grew up as a child of Earth, but he was far from human.


    As he grew up, he unlocked various powers due to the radiation of the sun and his biology as a Kryptonian.


    He gained super strength, x-ray vision, invulnerability, the ability to fly, heat vision, super hearing, super speed, and so much more.


    If anyone lesser had the same powers and abilities as Superman, they would claim themselves to be the new God of Earth, but that''s not what Kal-El wanted.


    No, he was a simple man raised by simple humans. He had such strong abilities, and what better use for them than to help other people and stop injustice?


    That''s what makes Superman one of the most loved heroes on Earth.


    But...he felt alone.


    He was not human.


    He thought he was the last.


    What he did not know was that soon, he would no longer be alone.


    For Kara, Zor-El would soon arrive, and Kal-El would no longer be the only Kryptonian on Earth.


    ...


    As Superman floated above Metropolis, he carefully listened and scanned through all the noise coming from the mega city.


    The acute hearing he honed over his life allowed him to hear anything and everything within the City all at once.


    Suddenly hearing a scream, his head locked onto where the scream came from, and then, faster than the eye could see, he flew towards the source like a speeding bullet.


    Once again, Superman was off to save the day, as he found it was his God-given duty to help whoever he could with the gifts he had been given.

 53 – Arrival

    Streaking through the Sol system, a small unidentifiable object could be seen trailing through open space.


    Strangely enough, its trajectory changed once it entered the system, curving in its path until it was set to collide with the Earth.


    If one were to look closely, they''d see that the object was clearly unnatural in both shape and composition and seemed to be more like a pod than a meteor or comet, and its smooth cylindrical shape only made it more likely.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in the city of sin where men never sleep, Bruce Wayne, one of the few Billionaires, Entrepreneurs, Philanthropists, and playboys of Earth, could be seen sitting in a small booth, looking over a woman wearing a rather...fitting outfit performing ''Magic'' on stage before a rather large audience.


    He watched her for hours and hours until it soon became too late in the night when she finally said her goodbyes to the audience and walked off stage.


    Getting up from his chair, he left the VIP booth.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in Gotham, a certain butler could be found cleaning a rather large mansion all by himself with far more grace and skill than any man could ever hope to achieve in his lifetime.


    This butler was none other than Alfred, Wayne''s personnel butler and closest friend.


    It was Alfred who raised and taught Bruce after his parents passed away. It was Alfred who was always there for Bruce when he needed him.


    While Alfred liked to think of himself as just a butler, he was not. He was something like a father to Bruce, and while Bruce could get distracted by his nightly activities, he always worried about the health of his closest friend, who was now in his late 60s.


    With Bruce gone for the next few days, Alfred had nothing but time.


    He easily cleaned the whole mansion, restocked the pantries, and left not even a single speck of dust or dirt.


    He even went so far as to clean each and every one of the expensive cars Bruce had in his garage, and even then, he was done by the afternoon.


    With nothing else to do, he walked into a seemingly average hallway where he pressed his hand against the wall.


    The tile where he placed his hand seemed to sink before a rather loud sound echoed down the hall, revealing an elevator and a set of stairs.


    Without any hesitation, Alfred chose the stairs, preferring the workout that he sorely needed for his age to stay fit.


    When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he stepped into the infamous Bat Cave.


    A location very few knew about, and even fewer could freely enter.


    Not waiting for even a moment, Alfred began to clean all of the very expensive equipment, only to notice a blinking notification on one of the many computer screens that lined one of the walls.


    Not recognizing the name flashing on the screen, he found his eyes drifting until they settled on another.


    A young circus boy. Orphaned parents killed by Gangsters. Currently in Juevie.


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    Sighing, Alfred remarked, "Master Bruce, I hope you know what you are doing..."


    That''s when Alfred noticed a peculiar name and address.


    "A Cafe? If he wanted coffee, all he did was have to ask," Alfred wondered out loud, growing curious as to why this cafe would catch his master''s attention. Perhaps he would pay the Cafe a visit?


    ...


    Meanwhile, in an abandoned factory, a man could be seen tinkering with a round device with clear antennas sticking out from the top and back of the machine that was all directed to face behind the machine.


    The front had a metal grating where a large camera, loudspeaker, and strange nozzle were placed.


    Connecting a few wires to some hidden ports, the man pushed away from the table with their rolling chair and stopped at a strange box computer that appeared far older than anything that was available these days.


    The green screen flickered to life as the man got to work, running diagnostics on the machine and running a last couple of tests.


    Cursing about the battery levels and the fact that he had no ''Fusion Batteries, '' the man simply said, ''Fuck it,'' and activated the machine.


    The machine began to whirl to life before suddenly lifting off the table.


    For seconds, it floated in the air before suddenly sparking and falling onto the table harshly.


    Cursing, the man deactivated the machine and quickly got up to examine it for any damage.


    Peeling off a few panels, he got a good look at its internals to find a few circuit boards and wires had burned and short-circuited.


    Cursing, the man let go of the machine.


    "Just great. Now I need to replace everything," The man cursed.


    Walking back over to the terminal, the man began to note everything that had occurred and what he had observed.


    "I need a better workshop and tools," The man stated with a frown as he looked upon the makeshift Eyebot on his workbench.


    Putting the eyebot to the side, the man pulled out a strange futuristic gun with copper writing running along the outside of it.


    Its appearance was more similar to a large and strange sidearm than anything else, with a large boxular barrel, a trigger guard that is attached to the front and bottom of the barrel that goes straight down where another bar is extended from the bottom of the grip.


    It had simple iron sights, seemingly no magazine.


    Disassembling it and examining everything inside of it, he began muttering, "Need to get a better battery...focusing crystal pattern needs to be improved...photonic focusing chamber seems good...won''t know the wavelength, focus, and strength of the beam until I test it...but how am I going to get a better battery? A fusion battery at that...?"


    Leaving the gun disassembled on the table, he pulled up some empty blueprints and began to think before working on a blueprint.


    "Let''s see...will need lead...copper, iron, titanium..." The man began to list out as he worked on making the blueprints of what could only be described as a literal nuclear fusion power generator.


    ...


    In the sewers of Gotham, a certain Killer Croc could be seen in the middle dragging garbage and other materials into a large empty room.


    Scouring through the trash, he picked out whatever electronics he could and began making a pile.


    Whatever he found not to be valuable, like plastics, rotted wood, or whatever other trash of little worth that ended up in the sewer system, he bagged up and carried out of the sewers and proceeded to take it to a recycling plant he had a deal with, earning himself a bit of cash that he used to get other things he needed.


    Within hours, that large open room hidden within the sewers had a functioning Terminal, space heaters, and a very inefficient gas generator.


    For now, the Terminal would not be of much use, but once he connects with some sort of antenna or network, then the homeless he built this shelter for would gain access to the internet.


    Though Killer Croc was contemplating adding other defensive natures to these homeless shelters, he was building from the trash discarded by the residents of Gotham City as there were many dangers that lurked within the shadows of Gotham''s streets, and the sewers proved to be far safer for the Homeless than the communities they made on the surface.


    The question was, what kind of defensive measures could he take?


    Sentry Turrets?


    No. Bullets would be too expensive. No, it didn''t have to be bullets. All he needed was some kind of method to propel objects to lethal speeds; bullets were not required, and even small bits of metal could be dangerous if launched fast enough.


    As Killer Croc got lost in thought while he moved fourteen of the homeless into their new home, he considered making some kind of...Homeless Alliance.


    There are thousands of homeless people living in Gotham, and Gotham has one of the highest homeless populations.


    If he had help, perhaps he could provide homes for all of them. Provide protection, food, and shelter?


    He may be hated, but he considered the homeless family...kin. Why shouldn''t he help those who had helped him when he needed it? Even if it could sometimes be thankless...

 54 – Logan and…a butler?

    Driving down a street in a Toyota Prius, a middle-aged man with a classy mustache and bald head wearing casual clothes yet remaining quite distinguished in both appearance and posture.


    Turned down a street that seemed almost barren, noticeably lacking the common vagrant or gang that Gotham was known for.


    Parking his car and locking it, he turned away, knowing full well that any common thief who tried to steal his car would find the task near impossible.


    That''s when he found his destination, one he learned of only yesterday, but was curious and couldn''t help but feel drawn to it.


    ''The New World Cafe.''


    Quirking an eyebrow towards the strange name, the middle-aged man simply shrugged it off as a business trying to sound unique and eye-catching.


    Stepping up to the sliding doors, the man tried looking inside, but the doors seemed to be tinted, blocking out a lot of light from entering the store.


    Stepping closer, the doors slid open and the man stepped inside and froze in his tracks.


    Many of the most infamous of Gotham''s Villains could be seen sitting in front of computers, still as statues, while a strange alien creature and a bearded lumberjack of a man talked with one another at the counter.


    Taking a deep breath and regaining his composure, the man stepped forward, until the creature noticed him.


    "Hello! Welcome to my quaint Cafe, what can I do for you?" The creature asked.


    "Uh, excuse me sir, but what do you have to offer?" The man asked.


    "Quite a bit, food, medicine, alcohol, weapons, whatever your heart desires," The Creature shrugged.


    "I suggest the alcohol, this stuff is good," The bearded man suggested, drinking from a bottle that had an extravagant label that the man had never seen before, and due to his work, he knew quite a few brands.


    "Sierra Madre...Martini?" The man asked, confused.


    "Ah, you''ve probably never heard of it, I''m afraid my Cafe is the only establishment that sells it at the moment," The creature answered.


    "Hmm...how much for a bottle?" The man asked.


    "Ah, for a bottle, it''s $250 or 50 Karma," The Creature informed the man, much to his confusion.


    "Karma?" The man asked in confusion.


    "Yeah, in here we have a few unique ways of payment, one of them is of course, Karma, a...point system based on the influence that your actions have had on the world," The creature explained.


    "Here, since you''re new, you''ll need to create an account to check out your balance," The creature informed the man, turning the computer screen towards them.


    "I''d suggest you do it," The bearded man suggested, "So far it all seems legit, and I honestly don''t think I can go back to drinking that piss I used to drink," The bearded man informed the other man, seemingly disgusted when comparing the alcohol he was drinking and whatever he drank before.


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    ...


    Watching the middle-aged man struggle a bit with the technology and creating their account, I looked over to Logan.


    "You going to play one of the VR Games today?" I asked Logan, AKA the Wolverine and oldest X-men member.


    "Maybe, maybe not. Depends on if the Professor needs me for something," Logan answered, taking a sip of the Sierra Madre Martini.


    "Does he know you are here?" I asked, curious as to whether or not the Mind Rapist knew about me or not, and if he was able to peek inside my mind.


    "Probably, though also likely that he doesn''t, he''s quite busy these days," Logan shrugged.


    "Well, if he ever decides to visit, do warn him that I will punch him in the face if I see him," I informed Logan, leaning back in the air where I floated.


    "What did the Professor do to you?" Logan asked, momentarily confused.


    "Nothing, yet. However, I do know some poor souls who were destroyed by his schemes and fears in other realities, and also because I feel like punching him in his smug face," I joked before going quiet, memories surfacing in my mind.


    Logan, Doctor Strange, and many mutants whose memories he''s tampered with, erased, or changed. His constant mind reading and manipulation.


    He has good intentions, but there''s a saying, ''The Road to Hell is paved with good intentions.''


    And Xavier...many of his versions across the Multiverse were doomed to Hell.


    Magneto, his polar opposite, being a Mutant that used violence to try and save Mutant-kind was arguably a better man than the pacifist that was Charles Xavier.


    Both, however, were too stuck in their ways.


    Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I focused on the man who was creating his account, surprised by what he used as his username.


    ''#1Butler''


    "You are a Butler?" I asked, surprised.


    "Ah, yes. I have been for many years," The man confessed, a smile coming across his face as he got lost in his memories fo a few moments.


    "I''m guessing you are fond of your charge?" I asked, a gentle smile forming out of the slate on my ''face.''


    "Yes. I have taken care of my Master for a great many years, single-handedly raising him from his childhood to the man he has become," The Butler informed me with a bright smile as his balance appeared on the screen.


    [Karma: 801,902]


    "Oh?" I spoke out loud, surprised by the amount.


    This Butler must have been someone notable in the DC universe if they reached such a decent number of Karma.


    Then it came to me.


    Was this Butler who I thought it was?


    If so...he chose a bad place to come, especially if any of his Master''s adversaries discovered the public identity of his master and his relationship with him.


    After all, Batman had very few personal connections that could be used against him, and I dare say that Alfred is one of the most vulnerable of his weaknesses, especially with his age, though I did expect him to be older than he was.


    "Well, I think you won''t have any problem with buying most of the shelf items available," I informed the butler who I suspected to be Alfred, Batman''s Butler and best friend.


    Before he could say anything else, I suggested, "Would you like to see all of the food, drinks, and medicine we have to offer?" I asked, gesturing to the fridge in the corner filled to the brim with food from the Games, including some of the new food introduced from Ark Survival Evolved.


    Getting a reluctant nod in return, I smiled before floating down to the ground and walking over to the fridge, where tendrils of energy sprouted from my ''back'' as I grabbed plates and glasses.


    My extra limbs moved in a blur as the food was placed on the counter, drinks poured into the glasses, and medicines placed on the counter.


    "First up is the Deathclaw Egg omelet with brahmin cheese and various wasteland herbs and spices to enhance its flavor," I informed the butler as I slid a plate in front of him.


    Handing him a fork, I waited in anticipation.


    He looked between Logan and me, and hesitantly cut off a piece of the omelet before piercing it with a fork and raising the hope piece of Wasteland cuisine in his mouth.


    Noticing Logan begin to drool, I chuckled and asked, "Would you like a plate, Logan?"


    "Hell yeah!" Logan enthusiastically replied.


    Chuckling, I sent a plate his way, watching them both eat everything on their plates.


    "Ready for the next dish?" I asked, a small smile on my face.

 55 – Expansion and Projects

    As the day quickly passed with Batman''s Butler leaving the cafe with cases of alcohol and fresh exotic wasteland food, and Logan the same, I said goodbye to all of my customers, including a few new ones, before closing up shop.


    With them gone, I briefly glanced at my ''Bank.''


    [US Dollars: 19,240]


    [Karma: 185, 902]


    Turns out, with the sheer amount of Karma some of my customers had, they were quite flamboyant with their spending, such as Kyle using every scrap of his Karma and Credits to purchase ammo, several different weapons, medicine, and a suit of Combat Armor and with me switching the Credit System to a weekly rotation, my various customers have been purchasing whatever they found...appealing.


    Another example was that Volkov used all of his Credits to purchase a Power Fist from the world of Fallout, a device that allowed a man to punch through brick and shatter bone. It would certainly make him a menace to any opponent lacking superior biology, powers, or weapons. Which for Gotham or Hell''s Kitchen made him one of the ''strongest'' outside a very select few individuals.


    I wondered how the Cafe would grow and expand in the future and briefly glanced at the shop before sighing.


    Opening the system store, I made a few purchases.


    The inside of the cafe stretched and shifted, seemingly expanding as if it were a balloon.


    Rows upon rows of computers appeared until they numbered 75 in number.


    Suddenly a waiting area formed at the center of the cafe in front of the counter, with a coffee table, four chairs, and two couches, all forming a square.


    Then, the counter expanded before stopping a good distance from the wall and abruptly swerving to connect to the wall behind the counter


    Beside the counter, two doors appeared, both bathrooms.


    From there, the display shelves extended, and a fully functional kitchen seemed to form behind the counter and the wall behind my floating form.


    The fridge behind the counter disappeared, appearing inside the kitchen along with two more refrigerators.


    On the wall behind the counter, many glass display cases appeared, where I could freely show off food, baked goods, and whatever else I desired.


    Once I felt satisfied with the expansion, I began resupplying my stock of medicines, food, liquor, and more, which was easy enough as with every sale I made a profit of some kind.


    Nodding to myself, I began humming another song in my head as a great many fragments of my mind worked tirelessly on my new set of projects, though one of the fragments was working on something different than the others, a new...App for the Computers.


    The Workshop.


    Otherwise known as, the platform that would allow the players to mod games in the future, the fragment was having some issues, as it was having to create a lot of tools, programs, and settings that could assist the users test out, customize, and create their monds.


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    Such as tools that would allow the players to customize the atmospheric pressure of the games, change the composition of the ground or human anatomy, and more.


    If anything, I feel that scientists and the more...creative customers I get in the future will be using the Workshop more than anything else just to test theories, experiment, and so much more.


    However, I would certainly not make it easy on them as that''s not the Workshop''s intended purpose.


    Sure, I could make it to where they could use the same method I use when creating, but allowing the Customers to freely create whatever they imagine with a single thought would go horribly.


    Imagine what would happen if one of the more...crazy individuals in this world were to happen to gain access to that kind of power? I could already see things going wrong.


    No, the workshop has to be limited, to at least make it much harder for the Customers to do things in the workshop, hence the implementation of countless tools, programs, and settings to make it hell for someone who wants to calibrate and change everything.


    Plus, it would mean that those who want to make ''mods'' would have to make some genuine effort if they wanted to get anywhere, and they''d have to learn the entire system of the Workshop.


    Moving my focus onto the other projects, I appraised their progress, starting with Minecraft, which would be arguably the easiest one to create as all I would need to do is mostly create a procedural generator that would create unique worlds based on a ''Seed,'' much like the Minecraft I was familiar with in my old world.


    The only difference was that I wanted to add more items, biomes, mobs, animals, and more, taking much inspiration from the many mods that have cropped up into existence over the years since Minecraft''s creation, such as Pam''s HarvestCraft, adding plenty of vegetables, fruits, and food items, or Biomes O'' Plenty that added a great many new biomes to the Procedural Generator. Other than those changes, I had also planned on improving the villages to account for possible kingdoms to form, and trade routes to be established between villages, and I planned on improving the AI of the Villages and Mobs to make the game more interesting and not so...predictable.


    I had more plans, but for now, I was in the initial stages of the game''s creation still, working on the world generator and experimenting with it to make sure it works and there are no bugs or loopholes that the Players could exploit, though I feel they''ll still find some whether I like it or not.


    Two of my fragments were working on Minecraft, while another two were working on the Elder Scrolls series, one was working on Elder Scrolls: Arena, while the second was working on Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall.


    Both games were from before my time, so I never had the opportunity to play them, but with the System''s help, I knew the games inside and out after I purchased the series.


    Then I had one fragment working on Resident Evil 0, the one featuring a train. I decided to go in chronological order to provide the Players with a streamlined experience where they could play the games in order without having to worry about being thrown in a game in some other period of time. To explain, the company that created Resident Evil in my old world published Resident Evil 0 as the fifth game in the series, even though it was the first in chronological order, I aimed to fix that.


    Speaking of the three games, I had decided what to add to the Credit Store from the games.


    For Minecraft, there were a few obvious items. Golden Apples, Potions, Enchantment Gear, Elytras, Raw Ore, and lastly, the Totem of Undying.


    For Elder Scrolls, Enchanted Gear, Potions, Alchemical Ingredients, Spell Tomes, Books, and more.


    Lastly, there were the Resident Evil games. Most of the items were rather...mundane, but some of them had some potential. Such as the Refined T-Virus Serum, Research Papers, other viruses and pathogens created by the Umbrella Corporation, and even refined Cadou Parasite and Mold samples were available for sale, though I blocked a lot of the more..cataclysmic options from the Credit Store since they''d only cause me problems if someone was stupid enough to start a zombie apocalypse or something similar. Certainly would not be good for business. Though theoretically, someone could research and learn from the research papers and files available in the games. Though they''d lack the unique plants or mold that allowed Umbrella to make their viruses so...unique in the first place.


    Even then, there were few people in this world with the knowledge to do such a thing in a short amount of time.


    Satisfied with my progress, I reached out to the System Store and made one last purchase.


    A new cafe entrance.

 56 – Metropolis

    Once I confirmed my purchase, a new entrance opened.


    Once again I noticed the shift on the sliding doors.


    Like cracked glass, I could see three different locations now.


    Gotham, Hell''s Kitchen, and somewhere new.


    Whenever this new place was, it was somewhere with a lot of traffic, as I could see some mall and a giant parking lot filled with cars.


    Floating out of my quaint cafe, I was surprised to find that this entrance opened up in what was most likely Metropolis, home to Superman if the statue in front of the mall in the distance was anything to go by. However, that could be a coincidence as Superman was quite the public figure, having saved many people across the world in times of disaster and crisis, not to mention the many he saved every day in the city of Metropolis.


    That''s when I felt something.


    Turning to the side, I looked up and found a man floating in the dark night sky above me, his red cape flapping in the wind and his gaze focused on me.


    "Ah. So it is Metropolis this time, though I don''t like how public my shop is in this area," I spoke to myself, looking away from the ''Man of Steel,'' ignoring him, much to the superhero''s confusion.


    "Tell me, Kal-El, where exactly are you on the timeline? Has your cousin shown up? Have you got that arctic fortress yet? Has Zod peaked ugly mug on this planet yet? I really should do some more research," I casually say towards the end, getting lost in thought.


    "Wha-," The Superhero began only for me to interrupt him, "Forget I said anything. I''ll find out later, in the meantime I''ll  stretch my legs a bit, maybe get some practice while I am at it."


    Without any sudden movements, I suddenly flew further up into the sky.


    Of course, since I decided to go to not suddenly burn up in the atmosphere, I found that Superman was already ahead of me.


    "Wai-" Superman tried, but I simply ignored him, speeding up.


    At first, I was moving just under the speed necessary to break the sound barrier, but after my sudden acceleration, I broke through and sped up to Mach 2, then 3.


    Superman was easily able to keep up and still speed ahead of me, futilely trying to stop to talk to me or something, but I simply sped up faster and faster, wanting to see how fast I could go.


    No doubt Superman and I had been detected by Radar, but as I flew higher and higher, my speed only continued to increase as the atmosphere became thinner.


    By the time I reached the exosphere, I was well into Mach 8, crossing over seven thousand miles every second.


    Yet somehow, Superman continued to keep up with me as we soon left the Earth''s atmosphere completely.


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    That''s when I noticed that Superman was not breathing.


    Strange. I recall that Superman could survive in space in many comics, can this version not? Or does this Superman simply not realize its potential yet? After all, there was a Superman that survived till the end of his Universe.


    Now that I was in space, there was no need to hold back.


    My entire form became more vibrant as I suddenly accelerated as fast as I possibly could, that''s when I found myself slamming into something hard.


    Swiping my hand, the massive dust cloud around me became even worse.


    Annoyed, I simply flew up and out of the cloud.


    That''s when I was met with the surface of Luna, Earth''s moon.


    Well. I may have accidentally given Luna another crater. A rather large one at that.


    ...


    Meanwhile, on Earth in many secret locations across the planet, people, aliens, and mutants were in a panic as satellites, powers, and many more sources of information recorded a small object slamming into the moon with enough force to rival multiple nuclear bombs, creating a new creator that could even be spotted by the naked eye to anyone on Earth that happened to be looking at the moon in the dark sky.


    The crater while noticeable, was nothing compared to the giant dust cloud that washed over Luna''s surface.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in the Inhuman city of Attlain, Black Bolt, the Silent King of the Inhumans paced back and forth before his thrown while Medusa, his wife stood nearby.


    Standing before the silent King was every other member of the royal family as they watched a tsunami of lunar dust rush over the city''s shield bubble, completely blinding them from seeing anything outside of their city.


    They all felt the moon shake and tumble, as their city built of lunar rock and quartz threatened to collapse around them. Yet their shield held strong, hiding them from those watching on Earth and those that pass by frequently in the sky.


    It took an entire hour, but when the dust did finally settle, the Inhumans noticed a faint figure floating just outside of their shield bubble, this figure was far from human.


    It was an entity seemingly made of pure energy visible to the eye, with slates of an unknown material incorporated with its form, acting as armor or ''flesh'' for the entity.


    That''s when the creature reached out and touched the shield.


    Fearing their discovery, the Silent King raised his hand and began issuing out orders through signs, warning everyone to ready themselves for a fight.


    That''s when the creature suddenly disappeared without notice, launching lunar dust into the air, covering the shield once again once the creature disappeared, moving so fast, that not one of the Inhumans could see its speed.


    ...


    Flying away from whatever was hidden on the moon, I decided to fly around the Sol System, visiting the various planets and natural phenomena around the system.


    The sun was...quite warm, and surprisingly rejuvenating, like a warm bath. I was half tempted to fly into the giant ball of combusting gas but ultimately decided against it.


    May end up visiting some nearby stars, and soak in their cosmic flames, but that would be in the far future, I will simply take a short break from the never-ending work.


    Even now most of my mind was still in the cafe, working on the games and fixing up any bugs or unforeseen things that I did not foresee when recreating these games.


    It was mostly lifestyle fixes and changes, simple really, but required me to to focus on the playthroughs of my players.


    As I flew through the asteroid belt, I wondered and dreamed. Dreamed of both my new and old life.


    To think I went from your average college student stressed for time, to something entirely different, not human.


    Yet, I wouldn''t trade this life for anything in the world.


    To be honest, it was kind of freeing. Felt like a new life, literally.


    After a few hours of touring the solar system, swimming in the gasy oceans of Jupiter, strolling across the sandy dunes of Mars, and even visiting the dwarf planet, Pluto.


    Eventually, I had to return to Earth when I knew the store hours were nearing opening.


    It took me only a few moments as I flew at the speed of light toward Earth, stopping just shy of the atmosphere to prevent myself from doing any permanent damage.


    From there I simply flew down to the New York entrance.


    I guess a new day would soon be upon me. I couldn''t wait.

 57 – The Starting of a Cult

    Deep within the swamp outside of Gotham, Swamp Thing looked upon his subjects, who worked hard to build an eco-friendly village. With the help of Poison Ivy, Swamp Thing was able to locate the very few humans in Gotham and the surrounding towns who were tired of the destructive ways of the greater part of humanity and would prefer a life away from the monotonous lives that awaited them in the larger cities.


    While Swamp Thing helped the ''Good'' Huamns in building the village, Poison Ivy helped as well. Hoping that the humans could serve as an eventual ''last resort'' in case their plan fails and Humanity dooms the planet,


    The only reason Swamp Thing even bothered returning to the city was due to the Outsider, the foreigner who did not belong. That...thing did not belong on the Earth. It was a foreign presence, one that the Green Tolerated so long as the creature continued to prove useful.


    The new ''Karma'' point system the creature enabled allowed the Swamp Thing to provide basic food and necessities to his subjects so they could fully focus on constructing their village and dig out the location of a future Vault, as Poison Ivy suggested.


    That was why these humans would be a last resort. In case life fails and goes extinct, hopefully, the Vaults they build will allow life to flourish and return to the planet once it''s safe to do so.


    It was unfortunate that to make such a ''Vault,'' using complex materials was required to maintain the survival of whatever life the vaults protect, but Swamp Thing knew it would be necessary unless Ivy diverted some of her attention to develop some kind of plants that are resistant to Radiation, which was not likely.


    Instead, Swamp Thing would prefer if she focused on the G.E.C.Ks.


    To think Humans would be capable of as much creation as they are for destruction.


    If only he could weed out the undesirables.


    Seeing the encroaching sun, Swamp Thing unrooted itself from the Earth and began its journey towards Gotham, leaving his subjects to their duties. There was much work that needed to be done.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in yet another location, a particular woman with vibrant red hair and a beautiful green dress made of leaves could be seen working in a makeshift lab, utensils and various objects scattered around.


    That''s when a nearby vine crawled from the nearby whiteboards, papers, and journals scattered across the lab, filled with notes, equations, and possible theories, as Ivy tried deciphering the technology of the G.E.C.K.


    The GECK was confusing, as what little technical documents Ivy has managed to find so far, were few and far between and hardly went into the science or details of how the GECKs worked or were made.


    However, from her research and investigations across the ruins of California in Fallout, she found that the original creator of the GECK had his tech stolen by a man named Stanislaus Braun and then was eliminated, which set her back quite a bit.


    If only she could find the research documents and notes of the man who created the GECK, but she has not had much luck, especially after so much time has passed; it was highly unlikely she could find the notes of that man.


    So, she started simple. Finding a GECK in the Fallout Games was easy, especially in Fallout 2, where all she had to do was kill, incapacitate, or chase everyone in Shady Sands away.


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    So, since she couldn''t find an exact method of production, she was forced to learn how to reverse engineer the device, deciding to first start with the compact fusion reactor that powered each GECK.


    She was thankful that she was able to learn much from the ''Skills'' available in the games, though having to learn everything from scratch with the skills still took time.


    For over a week, she learned the principles and theories related to Fusion reactors, making sure to learn everything she could. She could not afford to fail since if the Fusion Reactor were to ever have any problems during operation, it could prove catastrophic, seeing as each GECK Fusion Reactor was essentially a small nuclear bomb.


    That''s what she was doing now, attempting to assemble one such reactor, far from civilization to prevent Bats or any other other local heroes from interfering and risking the reactor.


    The materials required to make the Reactor were expensive, but luckily, she was friends with one of the best thieves in the world, and her friend knew how important this was to her, not that she gave her a discount.


    Feeling one of the vines reaching out to tug her thigh, she looked down before looking up at a nearby clock.


    Thanking the vine, she resumed her project. It seemed she would not be able to visit the cafe today, which was such a shame. Regardless, her project came first. For the survival of life on Earth.


    ...


    Once I reached my Cafe, I found a few of my customers already waiting. Opening up, people began to walk in, most instantly noticing the difference.


    "How..?" Hawkeye began only for me to interrupt him, "Magic."


    I received a few deadpanned stares at my answer, but most didn''t care. I simply entered a line and began paying with Karma or Cash for a few hours.


    Most of my customers no longer played throughout the entire day; most now only played for a few hours, with only the hardcore players playing their respective games all day, such as Kyle, Ivy, and Harley.


    However, I did note a few missing faces.


    Frank, Ivy, Catwoman, Volkov, and his goons.


    I wonder what''s going on with them.


    My focus then shifted to something else: a figure stepping into the cafe from the Metropolis entrance, with a clear frown on his face.


    "Superman, what can I do for ya?" I asked, seeing everyone''s heads instantly turn towards the entrance, seeing the man in red and blue.


    "You...what is this place?" Superman asked, seemingly disoriented.


    "Are...Are you hearing all three of the cities at the same time? That''s got to be hell for your ears and senses," I commented, seeing the Man of Steel grimace.


    "W...What?" Superman asked, trying to focus on my voice.


    Deciding to help the Kryptonian out, I began humming.


    It took him a good minute, but he did hone his senses, still feeling a bit disoriented.


    "To answer your question, Superman, this is my humble and quaint Cafe. A place for people to change their lives and fate and experience something truly out of this world," I explained, gesturing with my hands up in the air towards everything around me.


    "Come, Come, tell me about your adventures on Earth so far," I gestured, floating over the counter and over to the resting area, seating myself on a couch and gesturing to the couch across from me.


    Briefly looking around, I could see the Man of Steel examining each of my customers, clearly recognizing some of them and frowning.


    Spending a few points of Karma, I summoned some fresh tea from Rapture, some top-quality stuff.


    Instantly noticing the smell, the Man of Steel''s head snapped to me at a speed similar to that of a Speedster.


    "Come, let''s drink some tea and share some tales," I gestured for him to come, as he eventually did, calmly walking over to the couch across from me and sitting down.


    I then summoned some food, food that a man of Superman''s upbringing would appreciate: some roasted corn, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, steak, and some veggies.


    "Here, eat, and make yourself comfortable," I suggested, only for him to waive and smile friendly.


    "I''m sorry, but I must decline," He told me.


    "That''s alright. You can save it for that special girl in your life," I told the man, watching his posture tense at my words.


    Ah...It''s so...fun to make them feel on edge.


    "Though I''m betting your parents would also like it, though with their age I''m afraid they may have some difficulty eating it," I continued, watching the Man of Steel tense even further.


    I did make sure not to reveal too much, as I did sport three spies in my quaint Cafe at the moment, all eavesdropping on this conversation.


    "Say, would you like to go for a quick flight?" I asked.

 58 – Arrival and the coming of Zod

    "Say, would you like to go for a quick flight?" I asked the Man of Steel who sat before me.


    Not waiting for an answer, I got up from my seat before abruptly stopping where I stood. Humming in thought, I had a sudden epiphany.


    Before those who were still observing the scene, my form began to split.


    As if my body was undergoing mitosis, I split in half, forming two bodies from one.


    One of my bodies walked over to the counter, while another stepped outside.


    I was both and both were me.


    I was growing.


    With each passing day, I improved and became something...something more, or perhaps, I was becoming what I was supposed to be but was limited by the last embers of my Humanity. Either way, I was improving.


    Stepping outside, I briefly waited for Superman to follow, and follow he did, though with clear reluctance likely after seeing so many ''Criminals'' that were in my store.


    Not waiting even a moment, I took flight, floating into the air above the plaza my Metropolis Entrance was located in, ignoring all of the points and stares from the common citizen.


    I was somewhat surprised the people did not flee, but considering the Man of Steel was now floating behind me. Did they think that with Superman here they were in no danger? If I were a Villain, then all of them would be in great danger as I could simply use them as hostages against the Man of Steel or kill them outright.


    Tempted to scare them, I was torn from my thoughts by a simple cough from the Kryptonian behind me.


    "Right, lead the way Kal-El," I laughed internally upon seeing his face morphing into a frown.


    Just as he was about to ask me something, I shook my head faceplate, turning to the rapidly growing crowd beneath us, all cheering his name.


    He shut his mouth, quickly turning to smile and wave at the people before flying high up into the sky, becoming nothing but a blur.


    Of course, the instant he moved I was already ahead of him. I didn''t really know what we would be talking about, if anything Superman would likely want to know who and what I am, as well as how I knew such private information about him. Personally, It felt great being able to leave the Cafe every once in a while, but I think I still prefer my quaint cafe over whatever lay outside of it.


    Abruptly stopping, I briefly glanced around, noting the particular location he chose for us to speak, a certain News Agency that was quite famous in Metropolis, the very same one that Superman worked at in his civilian identity.


    "Quite the peculiar spot to choose to speak privately, don''t you think?" I asked, sending a knowing glance, not that he could have recognized it with the whole ''not being human'' thing.


    He said nothing, instead examining my form head to toe, or in my case, claw to floating slate.


    "What are you?" He asked, straight to the point.


    "Just your friendly neighborhood Envoy of the Void," I answered cryptically with a sing-along tune.


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    "Envoy of the...what?" He asked, confused.


    Happy to answer him and give the boy scout a good scare, I cast [Gaze of the Void].


    With a wave of my hand, reality beside me tore open and the hungry maws filled with eyes slammed into the barrier separating Earth from the Void.


    Lunging back, Superman focused on the tear in reality, "What the hell are those?!" Superman cursed, causing me to stop.


    "Huh. Never thought I would hear the famous Man of Steel curse," I mocked with a chuckle before continuing, gesturing to the creatures of the void with a claw, "Those are the regular inhabitants of the void, as you can see, they are not exactly friendly."


    "And you said that you are...their envoy?" Superman asked, concerned.


    "Essentially, though I am not as aggressive as them, as you can very well see. I am simply on...vacation, if you will," I told him, telling him a complete lie that would mess with him.


    "And how do you know me?"


    I scoffed, "You don''t even bother putting on a mask. All that separates you from your civilian life is a pair of glasses and a costume."


    He opened his mouth and was going to say something but immediately closed it.


    "That''s...I did not think about that," The Man of Steel admitted with a sheepish expression.


    "Seriously?" I looked at him, baffled before continuing, "Regardless, your private life isn''t as private as you think. Not like you can solve this problem anymore, as there are millions of photos of you circulating on the internet by now so there''s no point for you to get a mask or something," I noted.


    "And what about everything else? You asked me about something...a cousin, an...ice fortress, and someone named...Zid? Zod?" Superman asked.


    "Ah, I''m afraid you must have misremembered my words, I asked no such thing," I avoided, amused by his expression.


    Suddenly he turned his head.


    Far away, further than the human eye could see, a meteor was burning in the Atmosphere, only, it seemed the Meteor was not breaking apart.


    "Huh, you wanna get that?" I asked the Man of Steel as the meteor was going to crash somewhere between here and Gotham.


    Turning to face the Kryptonian, I found that he was already gone.


    "Well, hope he has fun with that, I''m going to head back to the Cafe," I talked to myself.


    ...


    Flying as fast as he could through the air, it took Superman only a few moments to reach the meteor that was hurdling down to the Earth.


    When he reached the meteor he was surprised.


    Whatever it was, it clearly was not a meteor.


    It was made of a strange material and after a few moments of examination, Superman''s eyes widened.


    Engraved on the hull of object, was a bold ''S.'' The Kryptonian Symbol for Hope.


    Reaching out, Superman grabbed onto the object and slowed its descent, until it was stopped completely and under his control.


    With immense strength, he carried the object all the way down to the ground and set it down as gently as possible.


    Once done, he focused his senses on the pod.


    Thump. Thump. Thump.


    A heartbeat...


    In a blur of speed, he gripped the pod, dug his fingers deep into the metal, and pried it open.


    There, lying inside the pod, was a teenage girl with long blond hair wearing a skin-tight suit with the Kryptonian Symbol of Hope.


    Warning signals flashed inside the pod before suddenly alerts and warnings flashed across the pod.


    A Distress Signal was activated.


    ...


    Deep within space around the remains of a long destroyed world, a strange ship floated aimlessly within space. This ship was one that was to be sent into the Phantom Zone, a dimension that acted much like a humane prison that the Council of Krypton used to imprison their criminals, dangerous beasts, and so much more. The dimension prevents those inside from death or age, keeping them trapped in an endless cycle in a barren wasteland of a Dimension.


    This ship, which was dormant for decades, flickered into life, as its power turned back on.


    Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately for those on board, a critical failure in the ship''s systems led to all of the prisoners trapped in stasis on board being released. Released to witness what remained of Krypton.


    And while the prisoners on board gathered themselves and scoured the system for whatever supplies they could find, the ship detected a distress signal weeks after they awoke.


    Thinking that more of their race may still be alive, they retrofitted the ship that was to be their transportation to their eternal prison and made it into one that rivals a battleship.


    Gathering everything they could from the remains of their planet and the few outposts in the system, they set sail for the Signal, in both hope that some of Krypton survived and that they would have a planet in which they could rebuild their once great Empire.

 59 – Frank Castle’s Dilemma

    Days passed since Superman decided to grace my Cafe with his presence, but since that Meteor, I haven''t seen even a single sign of the hero. I would be worried about the hero, but to be frank, I was not. Few things could put that cockroach down, and if any of them were on this planet, I bet I would know by now or at least have seen some news on it. Speaking of news, Logan has been coming by once a week to get a few cases of Siera Madre Martinis, always paying upfront with his Karma.


    On the other hand, Alfred has also been stopping by weekly to get food, drinks, and medicine and informed me that his ''Master'' was back from a trip and quite exhausted, so I recommended he gift them a box of Premium Coffee from Stardew Valley. To my surprise, a lot of the goods from Stardew Valley proved to be a big hit as they were fresh and somehow better quality than anything on Earth, and Alfred gave it his stamp of approval, as he was pretty strict towards the quality of the ingredients he used when cooking.


    If anything, it was clear that Alfred was using my Cafe as a supermarket to get everything he needed to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I enjoyed his company so much that I sometimes helped him load the goods into his car. Other than that, nothing unusual. I still had no idea where Frank and his Assaultron were and that Kyle had somehow managed to recreate an Eyebot that follows him around with scrap he scrounged for in abandoned factories and the dump.


    As for my resident Agents, they were also making progress in their respective games. Clint and Harley, who were in Ark Survival Evolved, have been making progress with the Obelisks and Survivor Notes by using the help of the other players in the server, who all were living in the same region of the Island, the southern beaches. With the help of the other Players and some fantastic high ground, they managed to kill the Spino camping the river by the death of a thousand cuts.


    As it turns out, the Dinosaur was quite challenging. Nothing they had could do any real damage, so Harley suggested simply bleeding it out with stone arrows and spears. Having no better idea, they enacted their plan with the help of three other players. Harley, riding a Raptor, caught the Spino''s attention, luring it into a small valley in land where the other players and Hawkeye waited on the cliffs.


    After over an hour of effort, they managed to take the Spino down at the cost of Beasty, Harley''s Raptor, which sacrificed itself to save its owner after Harley made a mistake. In hindsight, I should have expected it, but it seemed that Harley cared for that Raptor, as she ended up charging the Spino, spear in hand, and died a good dozen times to get revenge for her ''Baby.''


    When it finally did die, all of the Players present leveled up a few times, with some gaining five levels based on their contribution towards the kill, with Harley getting the most, reaching level 20, unlocking the smithy Engram and metal tools.


    From there, the Players, now in a Tribe, traveled to the Red Obelisk and found the console directly beneath the Obelisk on a metal platform in the middle of a raised collum of stone in the middle of a crater where they discovered the boss requirements through the use of their Specimen Implants.


    From there, they began exploring the Island, searching for more Survivor Notes and any hint of where they could find the Artifacts hidden across the Island, and that''s where they were now, scouring the Island for Artifacts as well as exp for levels and engrams.


    Then there was Black Widow, who was now in Fallout 2, having completed Fallout 1 not too long ago. Her journey wasn''t anything special, but something I noticed was she was journaling. At the same time, she traveled the Wastes, writing anything of interest down, likely to report to Fury once her session was over.


    Speaking of Fury, I had a few new customers, totaling six, that just screamed ''Agent,'' the fact that some of them immediately joined Ark to help Hawkeye only further proved it. Though one of them, a young fit man, was assigned to...Stardew Valley and they clearly did not like it very much if their attitude in the game was anything to go by.


    Only after paying attention did I catch his name while he was talking with the Mayor in the game. His name was Grant Ward.


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    At first, I did not recognize him, but the more I observed, the more I felt it to be familiar. It took me half an hour, but eventually, I recognized him. He was featured in Marvel''s Agents of SHIELD, a supposed non-canon show that featured the events after Coulson died in Avengers; only in the show did he not die and was instead revived. It''s been ages, but I remember binge-watching the entire show quite a few years back, though I found the later seasons weird.


    So, if he exists here, does that mean those Inhumans hiding somewhere on Earth also existed? What was it called again...Afterlife? It is such a strange name to call a hidden village.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in a hidden safehouse within Hell''s Kitchen, a man could be seen strapped to a chair. He was bloodied and battered, covered in bruises, and hooked up to multiple machines. His nails and toenails were ripped off, and his body was treated like a fish as someone began to fillet his skin, removing entire sections.


    This man was Frank Castle¡ªthe Punisher.


    Weeks prior, unknown men tracked the man and his robot down in the middle of the night, attacking them both in the middle of the night. The men that attacked him were highly trained and boasted military equipment and technology, nearly instantly decommissioning the Assaultron.


    However, Assaultron managed to deal with some damage to the professionals before its destruction. The assailants first tried using E.M.P., but little did they know, the Assaultron was designed with a metallic shielding inside its frame that would protect it from most of the damage the E.M.P. would have caused. Unluckily for Frank, the E.M.P. did knock out the Assaultron''s Head Laser, leaving it to use only its blades.


    Even then, the Assaultron did not make it far, as the assailants, after noticing that the localized E.M.P. did not work, used some weapon that sent electrical discharge through the Assaulton''s frame, dealing significant damage to its internals as the discharge fried a lot of the Assaultron''s internal wiring and systems.


    From there, they quickly captured Frank and what remained of the Assaultron, retreating from Frank''s home where they placed him in a safe house nearby and began torturing the man for information. All to find out one singular question: who made the Assaultron?


    While these Assaliants were unknown, something that Frank did notice, even in his state, was the strange Eagle symbol on their uniforms.


    SHIELD.


    Suddenly hearing the sound of shattering glass, Frank let out a slight twitch, showing that despite his injuries, he was very much still alive.


    Thinking it was an adequate distraction and that his time had come, he began struggling in the binds that held him to his chair before tumbling over onto his side.


    Struggling as hard as he could, he eventually managed to free one arm by dislocating his wrist.


    From there, escaping from the rest of his binds was easy.


    Once on his feet, he rushed towards the door, waiting to ambush whoever would come to his cell. He may not win, but he would be damned if he will die without taking a few with him.


    Hearing screams come from outside the door, he waited. Whatever was coming must have been slaughtering his captors like a scythe to wheat. That''s when an explosion blew the door open, throwing him into a nearby wall.


    Looking up, he was met with a petrifying sight.


    A skeleton on fire, wearing a biker''s jacket, jeans, and boots, wielding chains that looked like molten metal.


    That''s when the skull glanced towards him, its empty eyes making Frank feel as if his blood was boiling, his skin melting, and his heart burning.


    "GUILTY!" The skull seemed to shout as it pointed its skeletal finger at him.


    That''s when something blew up, sending the skeleton flying into a nearby wall, where it sunk deep into the concrete.


    Unscathed, the skeleton began trying to claw its way out.


    That''s when half a dozen men stormed into the room, all unloading their guns into the moving skeleton, pushing it back into the wall.


    Seeing his chance, Frank acted, sneaking up behind one of the men, where he reached towards the waist of one of the men, and in a flash, unholstered their pistol, shoved them into the others, and took aim.


    BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG.


    Unloading the pistol''s magazine, he cursed, throwing the pistol at one of the men who was raising their gun to shoot him before pushing out of the room as the skeleton on fire reached out and grabbed the man about to shoot him.


    "LOOK INTO MY EYES!" The hellish being spoke ominously as Frank fled.


    As Frank ran through the corridor, he noticed a large amount of ash and scattered weapons. Not wasting the opportunity, he grabbed a rifle from the ground as he ran, ignoring the pain that screamed from his beaten body.


    Slamming through a door, he found himself in another corridor that looked to be part of some apartment building.


    Rushing down the hall, he ran for the staircase, rushing down the stairs and out of the burning building behind him, as whatever hellish creature in there finished off whoever was left.


    Not looking back and gritting his teeth, Frank fleed for the only place he could likely find refuge.

 60 – Progress on the new games

    After closing the store and saying goodbye to my customers, I floated off to my ''Workshop,'' leaving my body behind while I focused all my mind on the tasks at hand.


    Finding myself in both a dark expanse and in many games simultaneously, I recombined all of the fragments of my mind back into my central consciousness.


    Feeling whole once more, I decided to focus the power of my entire mind on a single project at a time instead of having only fragments work on multiple projects at a time.


    Starting with Minecraft was honestly the simplest of the bunch, as it was essentially just procedural generation. However, I found a few...problems with that approach.


    For example, creating an Earth-sized world with Procedural Generation without setting forth limits was...disastrous. Imagine this: you are walking through a jungle, and everything seems to be okay until you spot a pillar of rock that sharply rises into the sky, which is only a meter in diameter. These...oddities exist everywhere, making a chaotic landscape where in one patch of land, a pillar of stone and rock could be seen piercing the heavens, while right next to it, a mile of ''Ocean.''


    Sure, some players would enjoy such chaotic landscapes, but the average player would more than likely dislike it.


    So, I was putting into place ''Limits'' towards this procedural generation by making a sort of...template, that the players could choose.


    The following, for example, were the options of generation the players could choose.


    /=======+=======\


    [World Name]


    Game Mode: [Survival] [Creative (Achievements will be disabled)]


    Difficulty: [Easy (0.25x)], [Normal (1x)], [Hard (2x)], [Hardcore (10x)]


    World Type: [Default], [Superflat], [Large Biomes], [Amplified], [Chaos]


    Random Seed: -


    Bonus Chest: [Yes] [No]


    [Data Packs]


    \=======+=======/


    Simple and a lot like the default world creation tab that could be seen in Minecraft. However, there were some differences, such as the point modifier in the difficulty section that would give the players more or fewer points based on the difficulty they were playing on. Other than that, I made very few changes as I wanted to keep the game as close to the original as I could while making it more realistic.


    So, of course, I made two versions just like I had for some of the other games, a Classic and Default mode.


    The classic mode would basically be a realistic-looking Minecraft with the same mechanics that I was used to, which originated from the original game, such as floating trees, etc. While the ''Default'' mode would be more like the modpack, RLCraft, where trees are more realistic and can fall.


    Of course the two game modes really only differed with appearance. Classic Mode had the more blocky look of Minecraft, while the Default had a more realistic appearance. Other than those, there were only a few tweaks to the mechanics, so they were quite similar to each other, and it would only come down to the preferences of the players.


    Making the fixes and adjustments only took me a few minutes, making Minecraft the first of the trio ready to be played.


    Then I moved on to the second closest to being done, Resident Evil.


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    It would have actually been the first one done if Minecraft had taken any longer to complete due to the series featuring relatively small locations compared to everything I have done so far.


    The only reason I have had any trouble with Resident Evil was that I was trying to understand the plot and lore, which can be confusing at best and downright incomprehensible at worst.


    However, I did eventually wrap my head around it, which wasn''t as hard as I expected, in all honesty, especially with the information buying the game actually gave me.


    I think if I actually wanted to, I could physically recreate anything in the games in the real world instead of using the system, but to be frank, that sounds exhausting, plus boring. It''s not like I would even need to, as for every sale I make, I make a profit large enough to buy the item again from the System and have some points left over.


    When the clock hit 3 AM, I was finished with Minecraft, Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil 1, 2, and 3.


    Resident Evil 0, while the fifth release in the series, was actually the first in chronological order. So, it''s the one I created first. Then Resident Evil 1 starred that creepy-ass mansion, 2 with Raccoon City, and 3 also in Raccoon City.


    Some of the items from the games that I introduced into my store from those two games were along the lines of raw materials such as ores, food, or blocks from Minecraft, while I introduced basic firearms from Resident Evil into the store along with ammo.


    However, the rarer or more dangerous items from the two games could only be purchased from the Credit Store, such as Golden Apples or Totems of Undying from Minecraft, or refined T-Viruses and an assortment of modern firearms and equipment from Resident Evil.


    Of course, I had to modify the assortment of viruses that could be available to the customers to a very select few to prevent a biological apocalypse from occurring outside my Cafe. Of the serums and engineered bio-weapons, the only ones that can be purchased are ones that would be low-risk or were ''refined'' and couldn''t be reproduced to the unique materials they were made from. Even then, these specific serums would only enhance or give someone abilities, not turn them into some kind of super-zombie like Wesker.


    Even then, I was wondering if I should remove all of the serums available on the Credit Store as a sort of failsafe to prevent my customers from reverse-engineering the items. Though it''s entirely possible that some may try regardless of whether the items were available in the store or not, such was humanity''s greed.


    Deciding to leave that matter for later, I focused on the last of the Games.


    Elder Scrolls.


    Arguably the hardest of the bunch, not just because of the large worlds and its own unique and comprehensive lore, but also because of the many different races, Et''Ada, Magic, and more. It was a high fantasy world with Dragons, Gods, and so much more.


    And what better than to start with the first game in the series that I played? Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.


    With this series of games, I was attempting to try a new approach; instead of going with the chronological order, what if I went with the most ''refined'' games first?


    Sure, with Bethesda magic, there''s no such thing as a bug-less Elder Scrolls game, but those are...features.


    I was half-tempted to leave such...features of Tod Howard''s Magic, perhaps I would leave them in on Classic Mode. Though that did remind me of something, whatever happened with me telling Batman about Tod? Hopefully, that poor fool doesn''t exist here, or he''s in for a rude awakening.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in Boston, a particular man in a black costume could be seen stalking a man in the middle of the night.


    ...


    Regardless, it should get Batman off my back for a bit until he decides to try and ''contain'' me. I''m betting the man has already started contacting the more...magic of the human population to see if he can glean any information about me. However, that does make me wonder why I have not been confronted by the more Magical population yet. Especially the strong ones, such as Dr. Fate or the Ancient One; they certainly should have noticed my presence on Earth.


    Getting back on topic, Skyrim. Well. I think I made it too difficult.


    You see, Dragons across the games come in a variety of sizes. In ESO, Elder Scrolls Online, Dragons are gigantic behemoths of monsters, while in Skyrim, they rival a truck in size. So, I ended up increasing the size of dragons to be more like the size of a school bus, and after running some simulated battles between a basic dragon and Imperial Soldiers, I found that the Imperial Soldiers were always decimated within seconds by the Dragon''s shouts.


    Which...I guess I was accurate, seeing as Alduin was said to be a literal World Destroyer and that Dragons, at one point in time, ruled over all of Skyrim due to how strong and unbeatable they were.


    After dozens more of simulated battles, I found that the Dragons were seemingly unbeatable by normal men even when limited to tooth and claw, but with access to their Thu''um, a single dragon could take on an army and come out unscathed, truly making you wonder how strong the Ancient Nords of Skyrim were to be able to take down the dragons and take back their home.


    As I continued my testing and tweaking, the morning soon arose.

 61 – Frank and…SHIELD?

    Floating behind the counter, half an hour before I was to open the store, I honed in on the daily news of three separate cities. The three cities to my cafe had an entrance.


    "This just in: the Hell''s Kitchen''s Midnight Killer has returned. Four bodies were found in an alleyway behind Papa Jesus''s Pizzaria on Numan''s street and were identified to be members of the Triad. Eyewitnesses on the scene identified the attacker to be the Midnight Killer along with an unknown companion."


    "Kyle really has a hate boner for the Gangs in Hell''s Kitchen," I commented, noting Kyle''s new nickname, and watched the footage nearby people recorded, showing Kyle gun down several men while an Eyebot floated not far behind him.


    Obviously, several videos quickly appeared on social media platforms, questioning what the Eyebot was, who created it, and what its purpose was. Kyle''s Eyebot would undoubtedly get the attention of some organizations. Hopefully, he wouldn''t do something stupid and get caught, though if he was smart, he could always offer his services to some of the organizations, though he''d likely lose a lot of his freedom in the process. He certainly has the technical skills to be accepted in many institutions as well, though it was clear he had some vendetta against the criminals of Hell''s Kitchen, so it was highly unlikely that he would willingly leave the crime-filled district until he fulfilled his vendetta.


    Moving on, I focused on Gotham''s news.


    "We are at an all-time record low for Homeless. Dozens, if not hundreds, of the homeless have been disappearing from the streets of Gotham and reappearing hours or days later; here''s Ashley Cunningham with one of them now," She motioned over to a nearby screen, which showed another newswoman standing next to a man with an unkempt beard and unkempt clothes.


    "Thank you, Trish; I am here with Ian, a man who has been living on the streets of Gotham for over a decade. Tell me, Ian, do you know what''s going on? Do you know why people are disappearing from the streets at night and reappearing hours later?" The blond woman asked the vagrant, moving the mic closer to their face.


    "Uh...you outa ask the boss," The man deflected.


    "Boss?" The reporter asked.


    Suddenly, a loud bang echoed from the surroundings as a nearby sewer gate was ripped open by a clawed reptilian hand.


    "He''s talking about me," A rough and menacing voice growled out as a figure rose from the sewers.


    "Killer...Croc," The reporter stuttered in fear.


    "Sorry for frightening you. Hey Ian, how''s your section? Are the heaters doing okay? Is the terminal still working? How are you guys doing on food? Blankets?" Waylon, Killer Croc himself questioned, a small smile on his face as he looked at the homeless with a friendly smile.


    "We''re doing fine, Waylon, though Mindy says she still feels cold at night, even with the heaters," Ian fondly replied.


    "I''ll get her a heater blanket," Waylon informed the man, "I''ll get it to her before it gets dark."


    Focusing on the reporter, Waylon spoke, "Apologies. I am aware my form...frightens others, as well as my past history, but I can guarantee your safety; I will not touch a hair on your head, nor will any harm come to you while within my presence," Waylon spoke, showing a surprisingly eloquent and gentlemanly interior underneath his scales.


    "W-Wha-" The reporter started only to interrupt, "What and why, I presume? Many may not know, but I grew into this. I was quite human when I was but a boy. Now? I am only a monster because society deemed fit to make me one. I may not be proud of the things I did in my past, but I am a changed man. Just ask those who sleep in the streets and beg for change so they won''t starve, or are you asking about what Ian and I spoke of?"


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    "Wait...you weren''t always like this?" A different voice asked from behind the camera.


    "Like a monster? Correct. I was born with a rare genetic disorder that has slowly turned me into what you see before your eyes. From my own personal research, everyone else who was born with my condition did not make it past a year in age, making me one of the few or likely the only living human on Earth who has lived as long as I have with this condition," Waylon answered.


    ''Is he smarter? He certainly seems more...intelligent since he first came to my store,'' I thought to myself, confused as I listened to the news.


    The more I thought about it, the quicker I came to a realization.


    ''Well...hot damn. I think he managed to recreate Mentats, a sort of drug that enhances the intelligence of those who consume it. It makes sense, seeing as he was noticeably dumber not that long ago. The question is, would he have to worry about the drawbacks of taking the drug due to his...physique?"


    ''Curious...I wonder what else Waylon will create if he ends up making Mentats of all things. Will he manage to create Stimpaks? Radaway? Psycho? Jet? In Fallout, there are plenty of drugs and medicines that would be a godsend for this Earth, as some were potent painkillers, addiction fixers, and so much more that would change the lives of many on Earth.''


    Meanwhile, on Metropolis News, a male news reporter was reviewing footage of an unidentified hero seen flying with Superman over the city; that figure was feminine in shape, which could only be a few notable figures from my memory.


    Only one such figure fit the criteria for who it could be, especially with Superman''s absence, that strange meteor, and the fact that he hasn''t returned to try and arrest me yet.


    Of course, it could only be Kara Zor-El, Superman''s cousin. However, it was possible to be some other female heroine, though unlikely in my opinion, given how few there were who could fly and would make Superman stop harassing criminals for a week.


    Getting lost in thought, I was suddenly interrupted by the loud sound of knocking as someone pounded on the glass sliding doors.


    Looking over, I was certainly surprised to see a bloodied and beaten Frank leaning against the glass door in Hell''s Kitchen, smearing blood all over it.


    "God damn it, Frank," I sighed, floating down from the air, landing softly on my feet.


    Stepping around the counter, I calmly walked over to the sliding door and opened it with a mental push.


    Once the door slid open, Frank fell to the floor, but with a simple swipe of my hand, purple energy coalesced around his body and forced him into a standing position.


    "Wow, look at you; someone certainly did a number to you. Where''s the Assaultron?" I asked, examining the extensive injuries on him.


    "...Scrapped. Was...jumped by some military-looking guys," Frank forced out, clearly in pain.


    "I see, well. I guess that''s to be suspected. They still have it?" I asked.


    "...Y...Yes," Frank answered.


    "Well...that''s bad. Well, come on, hard to talk to you when you''re in this state," I told the veteran, making him float up into the air as I turned around and began walking over to the counter, his body floating behind me.


    "Cash or Karma?" I asked, gesturing towards the Stimpaks on display.


    Getting only a ragged breath in reply, I cheerfully added, "Karma it is. Let''s make that a Super Stimpak while we''re at it," I floated over the counter, confirming the purchase.


    Seeing the confirm in purchase, I checked the man''s Karma balance.


    [18,983]


    ''He certainly has used up quite a bit of his Karma on medicine and alcohol,'' I noted.


    Grabbing a Super-Stimpak, I calmly floated back over the counter and, with no hesitation, jabbed it into his arm and pumped the syringe''s contents into his body.


    Tossing the used syringe into the trash, I let the man go, letting him fall to his feet, where he stumbled to a nearby chair.


    I watched with fascination as the smaller injuries began to heal at a visible pace while the larger injuries seemed to be having more trouble.


    "Do let me know if you want to buy another," I told him, floating back behind the counter only to hear a loud ''Bang'' slam into the sliding doors.


    Turning around, I was met by men in black suits with small sidearms raised at the door.


    "Are they stupid? Who sees something like me and shoots first? Well, I guess I would, but still, it''s very rude of them."


    Without a care in the world, I cast a simple spell, and behind the two men, a small portal opened, releasing multiple dog-like Eldritch Abominations that tore the three men apart before disappearing back through the portal.


    Shaking my head, I looked over at Frank, "No worries, no harm will come to customers in my store, after hours or not," I informed the man with a shrug, going back to watching the news.

 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.


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    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...

 63 – New Games Part 1

    Sitting in his office, Fury couldn''t help but move restlessly in his chair, almost as if he was ready to fight or flee at any moment. Why was he so tense? Even he did not know, and it was as if his very body was warning him that something terrible was about to happen.


    Tapping his foot on the floor of his office, with one hand holding up a coffee cup and the other resting on a hidden pistol under the desk, he took a long sip of what was clearly whisky in the coffee cup before groaning in annoyance as his personnel communicator vibrated in his pocket.


    Letting out a silent curse, he placed the cup down and reached into his pocket, pushing aside what looked to be a small but highly modified pager before grabbing a small...bead.


    Taking the bead out of his pocket, he reached out to the SHIELD sigil carved into his desk and placed the bead into a small divot where the eye of the eagle was to be.


    Once he placed the bead into the divot, it suddenly glowed a bright blue before a hologram appeared, emitting from the bead to above the desk, where a clearly pale figure of Black Widow could be seen leaning against a wall.


    "Widow? Report," Fury ordered after a few moments of silence.


    Not answering, Black Widow instead focused the camera on something else: a bloody scene of carnage. Corpses and pieces of what could only be several men in military-grade armor could be seen, all lying before a simple sliding door in front of a seemingly ordinary cafe.


    Seeing the SHIELD logo on the uniforms of one of the corpses, Fury couldn''t help but curse, "Motherfucker!"


    Why were the corpses of armed SHIELD agents in front of the Cafe? Who ignored his orders?!


    After activating his computer, he scanned all of the recent missions on file that were labeled as recently active but found nothing about this mission and who assigned it.


    There were only a few options as to who it could be, but it had to be someone of a high rank. Who was stupid enough to try and mess with that damned creature?!


    Sighing, Fury focused on his three agents, who stared at the Cafe as if expecting anything to happen at any moment.


    "I want answers. Romanov..." Fury focused on Black Widow, who couldn''t help but focus her gaze away from the Cafe and to Fury.


    "Take a Diplomatic approach. We do not want to piss this thing off, especially with its capabilities," Fury continued.


    "Yes, sir," Black Widow nodded.


    "Leave me connected. I want to hear everything," With that, the hologram turned off, but Fury was still able to hear everything.


    With grim determination, the three encroached the Cafe, only to hear a whistle from behind.


    Turning around, they were met with Kyle, who was in a full suit of Military-issue combat armor from Fallout and armed with an arsenal of weapons. A combat shotgun was slung over his back, a 10mm pistol was holstered to the right side of his hip, a combat knife was in a sheath on the other side, various grenades and throwing knives adorned his armor and bandolier, and in hand, he had a flaming sword¡ªthe Shishkabab.


    Floating behind him was a floating spherical robot that had a strangely menacing red laser aimed at the trio, ready to shoot.


    Glancing over to the remains of the unknown SHIELD agents, his eyebrow raised as he glanced back over to the agents and asked, "Who pissed Zeref off?"


    Fury, who could see this, noted Kyle''s completely unfazed and desensitized reaction. He had no doubt now that whoever Kyle was before the Cafe was now a cold-blooded killer who wouldn''t bat an eye at having to kill someone...then there was the robot. Kyle had Fury''s attention.


    Someone as pragmatic and resourceful as Nick Fury could see the uses and advantages of having an agent like Kyle, but he could also tell just from looking at their eyes that he would not join, not even for a million dollars and all of the benefits in the world. But...Fury couldn''t help but wonder what the man would be capable of creating if given the proper resources and equipment...given the appearance of the robot made from what looked to be literal trash and scrap metal, surely it would be quite a lot.


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    "We don''t know," Coulson spoke up, answering Kyle''s question.


    "Huh, well, whoever they are, hopefully, they learned their lesson; it''ll be annoying to have to clean my boots every time I come and go from Zeref''s Cafe," Kyle remarked.


    "...Agreed," Coulson awkwardly replied.


    Stepping into the Cafe and over the bodies lying in front of the door, the four stopped to look at someone who was wearing only underwear, sitting on a chair and leaning against a wall, covered in dried blood and old wounds that seemed to be rapidly healing while three empty Stimpak syringes lay on the computer table by them.


    It was Frank.


    "Yo, Frank. Are you good? Looks like someone got you good if you needed to use three stimpaks, that''s for sure," Kyle commented upon examining Frank''s appearance.


    Frank just sent a glare his way, "Want to do a job with me?"


    "Is it revenge for the guys who did that to you?" Kyle questioned.


    "Yes," Frank answered, a cold look in his eyes that all of the Agents noticed.


    "Would it happen to be the guys just outside?" Kyle wondered.


    "Some of them, there''s more," Frank answered.


    "Huh...na, I''m good; thanks for the offer, though," Kyle replied half-handily.


    "No worries. Call me if you ever need help dealing with the trash," Frank replied, not at all offended by Kyle''s refusal.


    "Welcome back, Kyle," An ethereal voice suddenly drifted to everyone from the back of the room.


    "Hey, Zeref, I''ve got a feeling I''ll finally be able to beat Fallout 2. I have a few ideas I want to try out and use against Frank Horrigan," Kyle answered.


    "I wish you luck; however, can I interest you in some of the new items and several new games available in the store?" With those words, everyone focused all of their attention on Zeref.


    Without waiting a second, Zeref waved his hand, and a variety of small objects floated down to the table.


    Some were what looked like herbs, strange golden...carrots, raw ore, and a bunch of food, and then, without a care in the world, Zeref pulled out a small firearm from under the table.


    "Here''s some of the new things that will be sold on the counter. From left to right, we have various herbs with different medicinal effects that can be strengthened or changed depending on how you combine them; then, we have various new foods and ingredients that are available for cheap. Lastly, there is the M1911, a simple handgun that can be purchased via Karma and, along with it, ammunition." Zeref introduced the new items.


    "So I don''t have to worry about buying a pistol from the Credit Store? I can just get this with Karma?" Kyle asked.


    "Sure, though, it can be a bit expensive, so I still suggest you make your purchases through the Credit System if you aren''t in a rush for time," Zeref answered with a shrug.


    "Other than that, it looks like the others are beginning to arrive." With that said, everyone else began streaming into the store, where they, too, were informed of the new items for sale and new games. The villains, Wolverine and Alfred, and everyone else were there.


    "Now that everyone is here let me introduce you to the three new games!" Zeref enthusiastically informed us that a trailer was appearing on all of the computer screens.


    Sitting down in our seats, Zeref started the first trailer.


    Immediately, everyone found themselves in a different location.


    Bum...bum bum. Bum...bum bum.


    The sounds of old drums drummed in the background as everyone was thrust upon a strange carved wall.


    "You should have acted...They are already here."


    The scene changed to that of something flying in the sky, then a man running through a forest.


    "The Elder Scrolls told of their return. Their defeat was merely a delay¡ªto the time after the oblivion opened when the sons of Skyrim would spill their own blood."


    The scene kept changing between that strange carved wall and a man in strange hide armor with a strange horned iron helmet on their head and a strange steel sword and shield in hand.


    As the man found himself at a cliff, they had no choice but to turn and face their problem head-on; turning around with their blade drawn, they were met with a massive beast that landed on the ground before them, shaking the very earth.


    "But no one wanted to believe, believe they even existed, and when the truth finally dawns, it dawns in FIRE!"


    Abruptly, the dragon let loose a torrent of flame from its mouth, bathing the barely armored figure in fire.


    "BUT, there is one thing they fear! In their tongue, he is ''Dovahkiin."


    "DRAGONBORN!"


    Suddenly, the figure took in a deep breath before shouting, "FUS ROH DAH!"


    The scene began to rapidly change as different people, races, and magic appeared through the trailer, showing those gathered just how magical the game would be compared to the others.


    It had everyone''s attention.


    [Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim]


    Then, a new trailer started playing immediately after, showing off a strange forest where a group of soldiers huddled and moved around a forest before a man was brutally attacked by a dog and killed.


    Then, it transitioned to a strange and creepy mansion and a bizarre figure standing in a hall with their backs to the camera.


    Suddenly, with a slow groan, the figure turned around, revealing a pale white face, dead white eyes, a bald head, and a bloody mouth.


    [RESIDENT EVIL]


    [A/N: For the life of me, I could not describe the Resident Evil trailer without making it just a blob of ugly text]


    Then, it took a strange turn when it came to the last trailer.


    It showed a strange, seemingly infinite world to explore, one that you could build or destroy, and one that featured two other dimensions: the Nether and the End.


    [MINECRAFT]

 64 – New Games part 2

    [ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM]


    [RESIDENT EVIL]


    [MINECRAFT]


    Seeing the new trailers, everyone had an interest in one of the games for one reason or another.


    Wolverine was interested in the possibility of fighting literal dragons, Alfred in the adventure and a seemingly remarkable experience, Ivy in how Zombies were even possible, and Harley in wanting to ride a dragon...in both ways.


    Everyone was intrigued by these new games, even Kyle, though his interest quickly returned to Fallout. After all, he already had a plate full of things to do; there was no sense in adding more to the plate if he couldn''t hold it.


    Meanwhile, the three agents and Fury in tow couldn''t help but groan and sigh. Fury because these new games would likely cause even more headaches for him, and the three agents because they knew that Fury would likely have them on this assignment even longer than intended.


    ...


    [Whisky]


    Briefly glancing at his username, Logan let out a small smirk before trying to navigate to the games.


    You would think someone who''s lived as long as him would be able to navigate a computer, but that was far from the truth. Logan was...an old soul, and while his body might not show it, his actions sure did, as he fruitlessly tried using the mouse and keyboard. However, Logan was nothing if not stubborn and eventually managed to navigate to the tab that listed all of the ''games'' in the store. All the while, Zeref was watching this with amusement.


    Finding the game he was searching for, he paid 50 Karma for two hours of gameplay, as that''s all the time he had before he would need to head back to Xavier''s to teach his class world history.


    Confirming the purchase, he glanced at his new Karma balance, 1,188,420 Karma. Still far more than what he knew to do with.


    Abruptly, his surroundings changed as Logan found himself standing in a pitch-black room.


    Bum...Bum bum...


    Suddenly, the sound of men chanting thundered in Logan''s surroundings as the drums and voices picked up pace.


    "DOVAHKIIN, DOVAHKIIN, NAAL OK ZON LOS VAHRIIN, WAH DEIN VOKUL MAHFAERAAK AHS VAAL!"


    As the men continued their song with thundering voices, a strange sigil of a dragon with two wings and silver in color slowly revealed itself from the darkness.


    Pleasantly surprised, Logan let the men sing even though he was met with the main menu.


    [START]


    [LOAD]


    [OPTIONS]


    [EXIT]


    Letting the song on the main menu play out to its full, Logan sighed. This kind of music, while something Logan enjoyed, couldn''t help but make him remember his time in the Wars. Since he was a child, Logan involved himself in almost every major conflict he could: the Civil War, World Wars 1 and 2, Vietnam, and even a bit of Afghanistan.


    Logan has lived a long life, and he has the blood of many on his hands, but with each war, he could see that the amount of carnage and deaths only continued to rise, and he feared that sooner or later, Charles wouldn''t be able to hold back the piranhas of the government, and Mutants would be the next on the chopping block.


    He was a prime example, with Major Striker attempting to turn him into a living weapon that he could use to defeat any enemy, foreign or domestic. What would happen if the Governments of the world set their targets on Mutants? Nowadays, Mutants have become increasingly more common; at this rate, Mutants would probably take up 1-5% of the Human population within a century, and if Governments tried to use Mutants, Logan had no doubt that it would end with a War hitherto undreamt of, one filled with so much blood and hate that rivers would turn red and entire countries would become nothing but desolate battlefields between Mutants and normal Humans.


    Sighing, Logan shook his head, snapping himself out of those depressing thoughts.


    Clicking [New], Logan was met with a screen as his surroundings darkened once more.


    [Choose your Race]


    [Argonian: This reptilian race, well-suited for the treacherous swamps of their Black Marsh homeland, has developed a natural resistance to diseases and the ability to breathe underwater. They can call upon the Histskin to regenerate health very quickly.]


    [Khajiit: Hailing from the province of Elsweyr, they are intelligent, quick, and agile. Due to their natural stealthiness, they make excellent thieves. All Khajiit can see in the dark at will and have unarmed claw attacks.]


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    [Redguard: The most naturally talented warriors in Tamriel, the Redguards of Hammerfell, have a hardy constitution and a natural resistance to poison. They can call upon an Adrenaline Rush in combat.]


    [Nord: Citizens of Skyrim, Nords are tall, fair-haired people. Strong and hardy, Nords are famous for their resistance to cold and their talent as warriors. They can use a Battle Cry to make opponents flee.]


    [Breton: In addition to their quick and perceptive grasp of spellcraft, even the humblest of High Rock''s Bretons can boast a resistance to magic. Bretons can call upon the Dragonskin power to absorb spells.]


    [Imperial: Natives of Cyrodiil, they have proved to be shrewd diplomats and traders. They are skilled in combat and magic. Anywhere gold coins might be found, Imperials always seem to find a few more. They can call upon the Voice of the Emperor to calm an enemy.]


    [Orsmir: The people of the Wrothgarian and Dragontail Mountains, Orcish smiths are prized for their craftsmanship. Orc troops in Heavy Armor are among the finest in the Empire and are fearsome when using their Berserker Rage.]


    [Bosmir: The clanfolk of the Western Valenwood forests, also known as "Bosmer." Wood elves make good scouts and thieves, and there are no finer archers in all of Tamriel. They have a natural resistance to both poisons and diseases. They can Command Animals to fight for them.]


    [Altmer: Also known as "Altmer" in their homeland of Summerset Isle, the high elves are the most strongly gifted in the arcane arts of all races. They can call upon their Highborn power to regenerate Magicka quickly.]


    [Dunmer: Also known as "Dunmer" in their homeland of Morrowind, dark elves are noted for their stealth and magic skills. They are naturally resistant to fire and can call upon their Ancestor''s Wrath to surround themselves in fire.]


    [??? - Requirements have not been met]


    [??? - Requirements have not been met]


    Seeing what looked to be a row of figures standing in pillars of light, Logan grew a bit confused when he saw the last two figures that were shrouded in darkness.


    It wanted him to choose a...race? Most of them looked like humans, if not slightly different, like in the cases of the elves and...lizard and cat people...Not wanting to complicate it, he simply chose Nord, as it said they were ''Citizens of Skyrim'' and Skyrim was part of the name of the game. It also mentioned something about Nords being resistant to cold and were ''natural warriors,'' the more that Logaan thought about it, the more that the Nords seemed like Vikings.


    Confirming his choice, Logan was suddenly assaulted with an awful sense of vertigo as his vision went dark. The feeling instantly disappeared as he felt his body rock and the sound of hoofs clamping on the ground. Opening his eyes, he was met with the eyes of a few men who were in binds, sitting in a wagon alongside him.


    "Hey, you. You¡¯re finally awake. You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there," A man wearing blue dyed fur armor with long blond hair spoke up, staring right at Logan.


    Behind the scenes, a certain entity couldn''t help but laugh evilly at how many poor souls would have this phrase stuck in their heads for the rest of their lives.


    Meanwhile, Logan began trying to struggle out of his binds while the men around him continued talking.


    "Damn you, Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn¡¯t been looking for you, I could¡¯ve stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell. You there. You and me ¡ª we should be here. It¡¯s these Stormcloaks the Empire wants," the man beside the man in blue spoke up.


    "We¡¯re all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief," The man in blue replied, loud enough for the wagon driver to hear.


    "Shut up back there!" The soldier driving the wagon shouted, annoyed.


    Glancing at them, the man beside him looked beside Logan the man in menacing fur armor with his hands and mouth completely bound up with leather.


    "And what¡¯s wrong with him?" The man asked insultingly.


    "Watch your tongue! You¡¯re speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King!" The man in blue sternly told the elf.


    "Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? You¡¯re the leader of the rebellion. But if they captured you¡­ Oh gods, where are they taking us?" The man panicked.


    "I don¡¯t know where we¡¯re going, but Sovngarde awaits," The man in blue replied somberly.


    "No, this can¡¯t be happening. T-This isn¡¯t happening; this can''t be happening!" The man stuttered.


    "Hey, what village are you from, horse thief?" The man in blue asked, breaking the elf from his stupor.


    "Why do you care?" The man asked.


    "A Nord¡¯s last thoughts should be of home," The man in blue replied.


    "Rorikstead. I¡¯m¡­I¡¯m from Rorikstead," The man replied.


    As they approached what looked to be a fort, a soldier up ahead shouted, "General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting!"


    As they passed through the gate and into the town, Logan was able to pick up what the supposed General said, "Good. Let¡¯s get this over with."


    "Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh. Divines, please help me," The man pleaded, hoping he could be saved.


    "Look at him, General Tullius, the Military Governor. And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves. I bet they had something to do with this. This is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here. I wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in. Funny¡­when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe..."


    As a boy was called into a house by his father, the wagon came to a stop.


    "Get these prisoners out of the carts. Move it!" What looked to be a captain, based on their armor, ordered the nearby soldiers.


    "Why are we stopping?" The man asked.


    "Why do you think? End of the line. Let''s go. Shouldn''t keep the gods waiting for us," The man in blue replied, getting up from his seat.


    "No! Wait! We''re not rebels!" The man became hysterical.


    "Face your death with some courage, thief," The man in blue replied, stepping off the wagon.


    "You''ve got to tell them! We weren''t with you! This is a mistake!" The man shouted.


    "I doubt they''d believe us," Logan finally spoke up before stepping off the wagon as well.


    "Step towards the block when we call your name. One at a time," The captain ordered.


    "Empire loves their damn lists," The man in blue spat.


    The man in fancy armor stepped forward first, the Jarl or whatever he was called.


    "Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl of Windhelm."


    "It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric!" The man in blue shouted as the ''Jarl'' was pushed forward.


    "Ralof of Riverwood. Lokir of Rorikstead," The soldier continued writing on his clipboard.


    "No, I''m not a rebel. You can''t do this!" Seeing that the man was about to run, Logan acted swiftly, tripping them before they could run and get themselves killed.


    "You idiot, you got a death wish or something?" Logan spoke harshly at the man''s stupidity as he glanced at the many soldiers around them.


    "I-I," The man tried to reply, "Don''t worry, we will get out of this," Logan spoke, helping the man up even with the binds that held his arms closed.


    "You there, who are you?" The soldier asked.

 65 – New Games part 3

    As Logan kneeled and was forcefully pushed down onto the bloody pedestal, the Headsman slowly raised his axe. As it reached its peak, an earth-shattering roar echoed down the valley as a behemoth of a beast covered in abyssal black scales, countless sharp and pointy spikes, and featuring blood-red eyes flew towards Helgen far faster than such a creature should have been capable of, before slamming its body into the watchtower at the center of the fort, sending the top half of the watchtower tumbling down to the ground, where it promptly crushed a good number of the ''Stormcloak'' soldiers that were still in their binds as well as the Priest and many Imperial Soldiers as well.


    From there, it rose and spread out its wings as it rose its maw to face the sky and, with a deep breath, let out another earth-shaking shout towards the sky, one that had a visible effect as a force shot out from its mouth and into the sky.


    The sky darkened as clouds appeared from thin air and created a vortex high in the sky above the dragon. That''s when the rain and meteors started coming down.


    Logan, knowing that this was his opportunity to escape, quickly rushed over to the headsman, who fell in the commission and struck his head on the pedestal, falling unconscious.


    With the Headman passed out, Logan wasted no time using the Headman''s axe to cut through his binds, so he grabbed the Headman''s axe as a weapon. He had already tried to use his claws, but for some reason, he couldn''t get them to come out, let alone feel them anymore. That''s why he needed a different weapon.


    The surrounding area was in chaos as Meteors fell to the ground, Stormcloaks and Imperial Soldiers fought, and Archers pelted the menacing dragon with arrows that merely bounced off its scales, serving only to piss it off.


    "Mey joor! Zu''u fent naak hi!" The Dragon spoke as it flew through the sky before diving down to grab someone on the other side of the fort who was throwing balls of fire at it.


    Not wasting a moment or the opportunity, Logan helped the ''Stormcloaks'' around him, using the axe to rid them of their binds so they could fight. Once he freed who he could, he and those still alive retreated to a nearby intact watchtower to escape the meteors and Imperial Soldiers.


    "What was that?! Can the legends be true?!" Ralof, the name of the Stormcloak who was in the wagon with Logan, shouted while asking.


    "Legends don''t burn down villages," Ulfric replied, tearing the gag over his mouth.


    "We need to do something! We can''t stay here!" Lokir, the man Logan saved before he could do something foolish, panicked.


    Logan decided he had enough, "Listen up, we can''t stay here. Even if those men outside take care of the Dragon, we will be sitting ducks. We need a way out of here."


    "W-What about the main gate? Surely, we could escape through there?" Lokir suggested, pacing back and forth.


    "Aye, it sounds like a good idea to me," one of the stormcloaks said.


    "We could, but for that, we would not only need to make it past all of the Imperial Soldiers that will likely be in our way from here to the gate but also somehow avoid that Dragon; otherwise, we won''t even make it to the gate," Logan said.


    ...


    Huh...I did not expect that...As I watched Logan rally the stormcloaks and watched the group storm out of the watchtower and rush for the gate, I realized that I had no idea how the AI and Aludin would react.


    This was supposed to be a scripted prologue, but as was being proved before my eyes, players always try to find unintended methods to break the game.


    At least I had the foresight to make it to where everything could run itself, though the NPCs would try to follow their ''paths'' unless interrupted by the player.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    While part of my mind watched Logan, other fragments watched the other players as they caused chaos in the games they chose.


    Focusing on Harley...I was met with something that I honestly was not expecting.


    Harley, who was quite bound, could be seen dashing across the battlefield, chasing after Alduin, who seemed to be...avoiding her?


    Checking her stats, I found that this was already her fourth run. She has died three times already...how?!


    Rolling back, I started with where she started off.


    ...


    Slowly opening her eyes, Harley, who also chose to be a Nord, familiarized herself with her surroundings before snapping her wrist and pulling her hands out of her Bindings. She let out a giggle, and she did not even wait for a moment before she lunged at the wagon driver, putting them into a chokehold.


    None of the Imperials even reacted as Harley, without thinking, choked the wagon driver''s unconsciousness before stealing their sword and dagger. Excited and giggling, she tossed the sword to one of the men who were in binds in the cart with her, who just gawked at the events that happened before their eyes.


    She didn''t wait as she jumped off of the wagon, leaving the men behind as they hastily began to cut their bindings.


    Rushing for the wagon ahead, she moved far faster than the slow pace the Wagons traveled, allowing her to jump onto the wagon, surprising the Stormcloak soldiers on board, and making them gasp.


    "SHUT UP BACK THERE!" The Imperial Soldier driving the wagon shouted, turning around only to be met with a dagger that pierced through his eye and deep into his brain.


    "Where''s the dragons?!" Harley questioned, only to get an arrow to the throat as one of the sentries witnessed her actions.


    As she choked on her own blood, she witnessed the Stormcloacks around her get up and flee, allowing Ulfric, Tolfdir, Lokir, and the four stormcloaks on the wagon to live another day.


    Then, she immediately woke back up on the wagon.


    The second time she died, she got crushed by Alduin.


    The third time, she literally chased Alduin across all of Helgen before eventually getting smashed into the form of a pancake from a stray meteor.


    Now, she was literally chasing the Eater of Worlds with inhuman agility as she chose to become a Khajiit this run, giving her a boost to her nimbleness and agility.


    "Dir Joor!" Alduin shouted, sending an unrelenting shout that tore through multiple houses and the wall of the fort, crushing and breaking everything in its way; unfortunately for Alduin, Harley managed to dodge out of the way and continued chasing him.


    "Come to mommy, my handsome boy!" Harley shouted with glee, disgusting Alduin, who snarled in response and sent a wave of fire at her, burning her to ash.


    In her fifth run, she continued to harass the World Eater to the point where she was becoming a big enough distraction to allow most of the Stormcloaks and Imperials to escape the fort relatively unscathed.


    In her sixth run, her determination was still at an all-time high when it came to chasing Alduin, so much to the point where she was actually learning all of Alduin''s tactics and shouts, though the Meteor shower got her once again in this life.


    By her seventh run, she actually managed to get Alduin annoyed enough to land and try to tear her apart with his teeth, where she promptly wasted no time in mounting the dragon and screaming, "I win!"


    "RAH! Arragont mortal!" Alduin finally spoke the mortal tongue, flapping his wings as he forced himself to crash into a nearby building, throwing Harley off and burying her under the rubble.


    When Harley opened her eyes again, she had a goofy and triumphant smile on her face.


    ...


    Observing everything that happened before my eyes, I honestly couldn''t help but think that Harley would be a great stress tester for any games I make because I was definitely not expecting someone to attempt riding Alduin at the start of the game and actually manage to learn enough of his tactics and shouts to repeatedly dodge and escape from his attacks for a few minutes.


    Alduin was to be the ''Last boss,'' so I certainly did not consider a player learning Alduin''s ''patterns'' so early on. Then there were the...erotic noises Harley made while she was chasing down Alduin. I swear to god, if Zeus existed here, Harley would undoubtedly be a great follower, as I honestly believed that she was a believer in ''Every hole is a goal,'' or in this case, ''Every cock is a goal,'' even if said monsters and DRAGONS, were not designed for that purpose in mind, and therefore, had no such... extremities. A prime example of why I believe that? She slept with King Shark, of all people, a mutant who stands at ten feet tall and is a large muscular creature of a man who has a mutation that makes him into, can you guess? A shark.


    Now that I think about it...maybe it''s not people she''s interested in, as is how strong they are. Shaking my head, I knew that letting my mind wander any further would likely be a risk to my sanity, as understanding crazy is just not possible nor healthy for anyone''s mind.


    Pulling my focus away from the crazy clown trying to dominate a Dragon, Alduin of all dragons at that, I instead moved on to my other customers, curious as to what kind of progress they had made.

 66 – Skyrocket in Popularity

    Floating within his mental world, Zeref was testing a new...approach to spectating his customers. Surrounding him like shattered glass were viewing screens that showed an amazing view of the player and their surroundings.


    Logan was fighting tooth and nail by himself, using nothing but an iron sword and shield against a great many Draugr while he delved deeper into Bleak Falls Barrow in search of the Dragonstone.


    Kyle made his way through the wasteland; eyes focused on one thing and one thing alone: a distant Oil Rig.


    Harley ran around Riverwood, attempting to act as a matchmaker between Faendal and Sven for Camilla, helping the girl choose who she wanted to be with while definitely not sleeping with both the Elf and the Nord behind Camilla''s back, accidentally getting their attention focused on her instead of Camilla.


    Alfred roamed a desert in Minecraft, desperate to find some water and escape from the heat.


    Natasha Romanov was fighting the undead in Resident Evil, easily making it through the levels due to her expertise and training. However, she thought the puzzles were confusing at times.


    Coulson was forced to play Skyrim and was on his way to meet with the Jarl of Whiterun, Jarl Balgruuf.


    Swamp Thing was wandering the wasteland without a care in the world, doing whatever it wanted as it witnessed all of the destruction of a world it once knew. It''s mind pondering how the world may have looked before the destruction done by mankind. How beautiful it must have been...but completely destroyed within the span of a single day.


    Mr. Freeze was roaming the floating city of Columbia, continuing his journey in understanding and reverse engineering the tonics and medical serums that could miraculously edit and change the DNA of those injected, giving them specific powers and abilities that most would consider...superhuman.


    Waylon moved on from Fallout to Infamous, experiencing the ups and downs of Cole McGrath''s life through both Infamous 1 and 2.


    Due to the way Zeref was now spectating his customers, he would only need to use a single fragment of his mind, while the other fragments could focus on other things, focusing manpower, so to speak.


    Focusing outside of his mental realm and the players, he realized that there was a growing crowd outside his store that was staring at him and those inside.


    ''Right...I forgot about the new entrance and the fact that my store is now in the middle of a fucking plaza, of all things.''


    Seeing the people cluelessly stand outside the store, keeping the door open and taking pictures, Zeref sighed, knowing he would have to do something about this; otherwise, they would start bothering him...customers and some of his customers can be quite cranky, and will possibly kill when aggravated.


    Floating up from behind the counter, Zeref slowly made my way towards the door.


    Before he knew it, the crowd screamed and ran away, leaving me confused.


    ''I didn''t even do anything, though? Why''d they run away?! I am not that scary, am I?''


    Floating back to the counter, he resumed stalk-...observing the players when he heard the door slide open again, revealing a seemingly average girl who stopped in their tracks upon seeing Zeref''s form.


    It turns out that even though most would be apprehensive upon seeing Zeref''s form or flee, some were willing to see what Zeref and his cafe were about after Zeref showed no signs of hostility.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Selling the girl a simple Sunset Sasparilla, Zeref waved the girl away, not at all aware that the girl would cause him quite a bit of headache, along with stress, as he failed to notice the phone hidden in the girl''s pocket that recorded everything.


    ...


    Not long after the girl left the store, a new video appeared on several social media websites under a single profile and username.


    If one were to watch the video, they would be met with a recording from some kind of camera that was recording a rather large crowd gathered around a small store with the sign ''New World''s Cafe'' above two sliding doors. Rather suddenly, the crowd before the camera began to move away before suddenly running away, screaming. The recorder also ran, but not far, seemingly deciding to take cover from something behind a nearby car.


    Seeing and hearing nothing, the labored breathing of the recorder could be heard before they seemed to calm down and take deep breaths.


    To the viewer''s surprise, the recorder began moving, creeping back towards the supposed cafe to get a closer look at whatever made the others run away, pushing aside whatever danger could be there. A foolish action that far too many have made that caused their deaths.


    When the recorder reached the sliding doors, she looked inside, only to find a surprisingly dark room that she couldn''t really see the inside of due to the darkness.


    Doing something stupid, the recorder stepped forward, causing the sliding doors to open. The next scene caused many to jump. A horrifying monster made of vibrant energy and covered with floating rock suddenly snapped its head toward the direction of the camera and the recorder.


    Those who were watching this video across various websites began commenting, but the creature continued to stare.


    "Well? Are you just going to stare? Come, come," The creature beckoned the recorder closer.


    After what felt like an eternity for both the viewers and the recorder, the recorder stepped forward, showing surprising bravery.


    "What can I do for ya?" The creature asked, seemingly friendly, boosting the confidence of the recorder, who stuttered, "W-What are you?"


    "Just a humble Cafe owner, what would you like? I have quite a range of goods and services that you may like," The creature quickly went on a tangent as it showed off various and seemingly random goods that ranged from stuff like raw ore, food, and drink to even a gun!


    Having no idea what to choose and not wanting to insult the monster, the recorder, which was a girl based on the pitch of their voice, purchased a soda using something called...Karma and what the Creature explained only made the recorder and whoever was watching think the monster was crazy. The way it explained that a person could use the Karma they have gained over their life to purchase goods and services? Insane. However, such a thing did intrigue quite a few viewers. What qualifies as a Karmic action? How was it calculated? How would the monster even know about such things? Then there was the thing that it could be good or bad actions, so long as it affected the world in some way, shape, or form.


    The girl who foolishly showed her Karma balance revealed it only to have a few hundred points, a far cry from the balance of the other customers.


    With her Karma, the girl purchased a ''Sunset Sasparilla,'' a cold beverage that she and none of the people watching the video had ever heard of or knew existed. In fact, after some research, people found that most of the goods in the store were not available anywhere else. They were unique to that Cafe.


    As the video spread across social media, some thought it was a hoax, a quick way to fame. Others thought it could be legit and searched for the store themselves, most discovering that the store did, in fact, exist in the Mall''s plaza in Metropolis.


    More people traveled across the city, wanting to see the Cafe, to the point where the Cafe''s popularity skyrocketed from relatively unknown to known by millions of souls across the world.


    When Zeref received his 100th customer, something changed.


    ...


    Floating in the air of an entirely pitch-black realm, Zeref, who still looked oddly similar to the Dark Star, Xerath, Zeref seemed to be undergoing a... metamorphosis as his form evolved, for lack of a better word.


    The slate and rock of his form began to refine and become harder, forming some kind of dark purplish alloy that formed a sort of suit of armor around the pulsating cosmic energy that acted as his flesh. At the center of his chest, a black hole tore itself into reality while the crest on his ''head'' took upon a golden shine, almost divine in nature.


    His size grew and grew in the dark void as the energy of his body pulsed with cosmic energies. Stars and celestial bodies around him, floating aimlessly in the void, began to crumble and twist apart, harvested and transformed into more energy that flowed into Zeref''s body; within moments, his body grew to staggering heights. His size rivaled celestials in sheer mass and size, and with a flick of his hand, entire solar systems tore apart while their stars went supernova as the very dimension around them began to seize and crack.


    ...


    Meanwhile, outside the mental realm, his change wasn''t so...flashy, other than the sudden black hole that grew at the center of his chest.

 67 – Tutorial…?

    As I suddenly found myself back in my Cafe, with a confused and pale line of customers before me, I couldn''t help but grimace.


    ''What the hell was that?! Why did it feel so...real?!'' I questioned, still in a bit of shock as I felt the tidal wave of power that rushed my body with a mere tug at the stars and celestial bodies around me.


    [Congratulations on passing the Tutorial!]


    [Limiters unlocked]


    [Multiversal Store completely unlocked]


    [You can now hire staff]


    [More options added to store expansion]


    [Entrance limiters have been removed]


    Tutorial...what?!


    [Karma Balance: 46,420]


    [US Dollar Balance: $8,750]


    [Due to exceeding expectations and making a profit, the system has granted you your first staff summons for free; each following summons will increase in cost. The Multiversal Trading System Conglomorate wishes you a successful and profitable life and many profitable deals!]


    [Commencing Summoning Now]


    What?


    In a moment, a blinding golden light came into existence at the center of the cafe, stunning everyone in line and even me due to just how sudden and blinding the light was.


    Walking out from the light was a man wrapped in bandages, a bulletproof vest strapped over his collared white shirt that had its sleeves rolled up where his arms could be seen, also wrapped up in bandages while the man wore dark pants and walked out of the light with the clunk of old boots.


    In his right hand was a seemingly modified .45 pistol, one that had words etched into both sides.


    "¦Ê¦Á? ¦Ó? ¦Õ?? ?¦Í ¦Ó? ¦Ò¦Ê¦Ï¦Ó?? ¦Õ¦Á?¦Í¦Å¦É" was etched to the right side of the small firearm, while "¦Ê¦Á? ? ¦Ò¦Ê¦Ï¦Ó?¦Á ¦Á?¦Ó? ¦Ï? ¦Ê¦Á¦Ó?¦Ë¦Á¦Â¦Å¦Í" was etched into the other side.


    ''And the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not''


    "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost," A deep and soothing voice came from the man wrapped in bandages as he looked upon the room with indifference.


    I recognized the man nearly instantly: Joshua Graham, the burned man. He was the former right-hand man and general to Caeser of Caeser''s Legion in Fallout. He was a new Canaanite, a man of God, one who strayed from his path under Caeser''s command and committed countless atrocities and acts of violence, a member of a tribe that taught all of its members in the use and maintenance of the Browning M1911 pistol. In a wasteland where countless things could and would kill you, this rite of passage made Joshua''s tribe far more suited for the wasteland than most. They became traders, guarded caravans, and killed raiders and bandits. Cleared out pests and dangerous groups of creatures and mutants that thought about moving into their territory.


    After Joshua''s failure to take Hoover Damn from the NCR, New Californian Republic, Caeser had to make an example of the man. So, he covered Joshua in pitch, set him on fire, and kicked him into the Grand Canyon, where he was to die. However, Joshua''s will was unlike any other. He dragged himself back to his home and family, where they welcomed the prodigal son back home as if nothing had ever happened.


    While Joshua set forth to repent his wrongdoings and change his ways, his repentance was cut short by the White Legs, a tribe that wanted to please Ceaser, and so burned the home of the New Canaanites to the ground, killing many of the tribe, but not all. Joshua Graham was one of the few survivors of his tribe, and he found himself in Zion, a natural temple to God. A temple that was once again under threat by the White Legs.


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    With the help of the local tribes, a fellow New Canaanites, and the Courier, Joshua would either chase the White Legs down and slaughter them all or assist the tribes in fleeing so that they may keep their innocence in a world that dearly wanted to tear it away. The question is, what version of the ''Burned Man'' am I dealing with? The bloodthirsty shadow of a once tyrannical general under a man who deserved to be placed in the deepest parts of hell or a man of God who merely sought to protect the innocent from those who wished them harm?


    Seeing everyone gawking at the man of god wrapped in copious amounts of bandages to cover the burns covering every inch of his body, I beckoned the man over, summoning a chair at the side of the counter.


    "Joshua? Come, come, sit. Can I get you anything?" I respectfully asked the man who could be best described as Fallout''s version of a man too angry to die.


    Holstering his pistol but keeping an eye on everything around him, the man stoically walked over and took a seat.


    Not getting an answer, I merely purchased a Sunset Sasparilla and Brahman steak with freshly fried fries from Stardew Valley.


    "I know you may have questions, and I am willing to answer them, Joshua, but I do need to conduct some business first before I can talk with you if you do not mind?" I asked after informing him, ignoring the many stares that we were getting along with the flashing of pictures and likely customers who were recording the whole event.


    Staying silent, he gave me a simple nod before examining the food on his plate.


    "Taking a hesitant bite of the french fry, I noticed a brief hint of surprise in his eyes before they returned to warily watching everything in the room.


    ''What is the system doing here? I don''t need a bodyguard, though someone like Joshua would certainly be pleasant company. What does it expect me to do with him? Did it kidnap him from his universe? Because he is gone, does that mean the White Legs in his world would kill the Dead Horses and the Sorrows? Shit...if that''s the case, can I return him?''


    Shaking my head, I focused my mind back on my growing line of customers.


    ...


    Sitting in rocking chairs, two old men could be seen watching over a small, growing town hidden from the greater world. This town was filled with pure and innocent souls untainted by the flaws of the so-called ''Civilized Man'' in the lands of the NCR and Mr. House''s New Vegas. Both men were none other than Joshua and Nathaniel, two old New Canaanites who sought to protect the new tribe that came about from the intermixing of the Sarrows and the Dead Horses.


    "Do you think what we did was right?" Nathaniel asked, eyes looking up to the sky, thinking back to that day.


    "I do not know," Joshua answered, eyes not leaving the happy faces of the tribesmen and women dancing not far from them.


    "Should...Should we have stood our ground? Taught them how to defend themselves and their home?" Nathaniel continued.


    "Why do you ask?" Joshua asked, tearing his eyes away to look at his old friend.


    "I just...I wish those who were lost that day could have lived to see this day," Nathaniel answered solemnly.


    "Ah...I see. Do not forget, my dear friend, that they are up there, watching over us and their family. They are with God, and they are at peace."


    "I know...but I am old, and I worry," Nathaniel joked with a sad smile.


    Joshua returned the smile, "I do, too, but do not fret. We taught them all we could. When we pass, they shall live on, and if harm shall ever come to them, they shall be able to defend themself."


    It was true that while Nathaniel taught them the intricacies of Agriculture, Art, and science, Joshua taught them of the art of violence; the only thing he knew, for that, was who Joshua was: a Warrior of God. He taught the tribe what he knew and learned, whether it be marksmanship, trapping, hunting, or fishing to close-quarters combat and how to make gunpowder. When the day would come, and the two shall pass, this tribe would live on under the all-seeing eyes of God, where they would be protected.


    It wouldn''t have been possible without the help of that lone Courier who stumbled upon the valley. The Courier shouldered the burden and fought off the White Legs before eradicating and destroying as many of their camps as possible. Joshua could see why the Courier pushed him back that day and sided with Nathaniel. Back then, he cared for one thing: vengeance. One that would have him become the monster he once was when under the command of Caeser.


    Joshua does not know what happened to that Courier, but he heard rumors that the White Legs never stepped foot within Zion ever again for fear of angering a ''Demon.'' Joshua could only pray that wherever this Courier may be, he lived a loving and fulfilling life and that He, Nathaniel, and all of the tribespeople were thankful for the burden he shouldered in order to allow them to escape.


    Joshua was fully content on atoning for his sins, but on the fateful night of his death, he was met with the visage of an Angel of the Lord. This Angel promised him salvation and repentance and said that once he completed his task, he would be welcomed through the Gates of Heaven. Joshua thanked this Angel and God for this chance to repent and right his wrong, though he felt he was undeserving of such a chance due to the blood on his hands.


    So, imagine his surprise when he found himself stepping into the light and finding himself standing in a strange place and time after having regained his youth.

 68 – Catching the attention of the mighty

    Immediately after the strange man appeared in the Cafe, visible waves of power began to flow off of Zeref''s form, giving him quite the sinister aura that made it appear as if the blackhole that appeared in his chest continuously pulsed and throbbed with invisible power while the cosmic energy around it became more vibrant and dense.


    Those who quickly recovered from the surprise began recording the scene that happened, with those who were already recording gaining millions of views overnight as more and more people learned about the bizarre Cafe and its strange owner.


    ...


    The various pantheons that have called Earth home since Humanity first crawled out of their caves and explored the wider world, while not as active in recent years, were still very much involved in the affairs of Earth. However, because of the growth of humanity over the last few thousand years, the Gods have become more reclusive. Not willingly, of course; they are gods, after all. No, instead, they were forced into their seclusion by a combination of the work of the Sorcerer Supreme and Dr. Fate, as well as the various magicians and mages across the world that called Earth home. With Earth being a nexus point in the universe, magic was surprisingly strong here, not to mention its abundant energies constantly drawing the attention of Outer Gods, Foreign Gods, Demons, Interdimensional Beings, and so much more.


    It was because of Earth''s status as a Nexus Point that the Mages and more supernaturally gifted of Earth were able to rise up and force the Gods to agree to a treaty. The gods could not openly interfere with the world or descend with their mortal forms, not since the great war against Darkseid and his attempt to conquer Earth.


    While the Gods were not able to openly interfere, that did not mean that they could not appoint champions to do so in their steed. Wonder Woman, Shazam, Walt Disney, Hitler, and so many more influential figures across history have either been blessed by the Gods or direct champions of said Gods that called Earth home.


    Countless beings called Earth home, so when they all felt the arrival of a new player that shook their divine realms and threatened to tear the Earth asunder, that got their attention, and they weren''t the only ones who noticed. Every being who was a part of the hidden Supernatural world and who was of sufficient strength could feel the tides of sheer power that rolled across the surface of the planet and burst out from the Earth and out of the Solar System.


    And when the Gods sought out the fateseers, they discovered a horrifying truth. The seers of Fate''s great tapestry could no longer see past the current threads. Fate seers, known for their ability to see the past, present, and future, were now blind to both the past and future and forced to see only what is.


    Even the primordial beings of unimaginable might begin to stir from their slumber, which lasted for countless millennia, causing them to awaken to this new world that''s changed since they last walked the Earth.


    Across the planet, gods who hadn''t interfered for centuries began to select their champions across the world. The Moon Knight, Shazam, and all across the world, new champions were arising, with even more obtaining blessings from the gods, while supernatural communities across the globe became more active as well. Vampires rose from their crypts, and werewolf packs began expanding their packs and preparing for conflict. Mages and Sorcerers sought more power, and the Kamar-taj began repelling an unforeseen large amount of attacks as they tried to keep demons, interdimensional beings, and outer gods from reaching Earth, but with their Sorcerer Supreme losing her most useful ability, the ability to see the future, these entities began to slip through the veil and this was all happening because of the gods felt an unbelievably strong presence appear on Earth, one that they could not find as it''s presence covered the entire planet.


    ...


    Somewhere in France, a beautiful woman working on various historical art pieces within a museum could be seen, carefully examining ancient artifacts centuries old, if not over a millennium in a few cases. Such was the daily work of Diana Pierce, otherwise known as Wonder Woman, a Demi-God of the Greek Pantheon and living champion of the Greek Gods.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Suddenly, a phone lying on a nearby table began to ring. Groaning in annoyance, Diana carefully placed the object she held in her hands into a box before taking off the gloves she was wearing.


    Walking over to the desk, she read the caller''s ID.


    ''Bruce W.''


    Accepting the call, she put the phone up to her ear.


    "Bruce?" She asked.


    "Diana. I need your help," Came the gruff voice of the man who stalked through the night and acted like a playboy during the day.


    "Why? What''s wrong?" Diana asked, concerned.


    "I am out of leads. No one knows what that creature is, let alone how to stop it, and I am out of leads. I found the ''Todd Howard,'' just a regular civilian," Bruce quickly answered, getting straight to the point.


    "Has he made any moves?" Diana asked, growing increasingly concerned. It was bad if even the most paranoid man in the world was out of leads.


    "Yes. He''s trending online; I need you to look at the news now."


    Hearing the gravity of his voice, she walked over to the corner of her office and turned on the TV.


    "Now what?" She asked.


    "Channel 83."


    Doing what he said, she was met with an incredibly strange scene.


    A news reporter showed off what appeared to be a short video recorded and posted online by dozens of witnesses.


    When she saw the creature, she nearly freaked out.


    "It''s already gone public?!" Diana questioned.


    "Correct. As we speak, people flock to its store, though most haven''t realized that the cafe is also accessible in other cities, much to our luck. What I need your help with is either making sure that the creature is harmless or containing it if necessary," Bruce explained.


    "Contain it how?" Diana asked.


    "I do not know. Our best bet is a powerful magician. Do you know of any?" Bruce answered before asking.


    "I...I know a few. However, I doubt they would help us," Diana answered.


    "They will have to. Whatever that this is and whatever it''s doing, can not possibly be any good, especially with what we saw..." Batman answered, sounding like he was drifting off in thought.


    That''s when a blinding golden light manifested in the cafe on screen, catching both heroes'' attention as a man stepped out of the golden light.


    Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost," the unknown man spoke, his voice charismatic and rough.


    "We need to hurry," Bruce spoke after a few moments, knowing that each moment people discovered the creature, more would be drawn into its grasp and trap.


    ...


    Meanwhile, said creature was looking upon Joshua, wondering and pondering what he could do.


    Joshua, as mentioned before, was a Warrior of God. His missionary works in life mostly taught tribals how to survive better than they had before, whether that be how to properly use and maintain a firearm or how to defend themselves against aggressive tribals or raiders.


    It''s not like Joshua would be a good cashier, especially since Zeref was already able to do that role a dozen times over if he so wished.


    Wait...maybe there was a way to use Joshua''s talents.


    Opening the System store, Zeref examined the cafe''s expansions, soon finding his two targets.


    [Firing Range Level 1: An expansion to the store that will allow for the practice of long-range and throwing weapons. This Range is highly customizable and includes durable and maneuverable mannequins. It could be used to create a large host of situations in which to train or test the customers. Cost: 25,000 Karma or $100,000]


    [Professional Gym Level 1: An expansion to the store that allows for the training and conditioning of a customer''s health and or physique. Includes a wide range of equipment suited for all sorts of customers. Cost: 7,500 Karma, or $50,000]


    [Simulator Level 1: A simple expansion to the store that allows for the simulation of environments and hazards. Cost: 50,000 Karma or $250,000]


    The options on the list seemed endless, though most were very specific or just strange.


    For example, [Sharknado Simulator: A simple simulator that allows the customer to experience what it is like to deal with a sharknado, a hurricane that is strong enough to carry many sharks within its currents]


    Not even hesitating, I grabbed [Profesional Gym Level 1] and [Firing Range Level 1]


    The two immediately had upgrade options take their place, which gave the two expansions more features and bonuses to customers, but that''s for later once the investment begins making money for itself.


    I guess I just have to run the idea by Joshua; who knows, he may take a liking to being a personal trainer.

 69 – A Man of God

    Sitting next to the counter, many of the Customers couldn''t help but look or glance at the man wrapped in bandages, seemingly covered in horrible burns, while they wore an old and tattered Riot Vest and read from a bible. The people just couldn''t help it; Joshua was...while not unique compared to Zeref or some of the...other customers, he still attracted attention with his silent and calm demeanor as he read from his bible, one that seemed to be quite old, if its tattered pages and worn leather was any indication.


    While Joshua was reading the Bible, that did not mean he was not paying attention and was not ready to fight if the moment called for it, as he paid attention to every single movement around him. To expect anything less would be foolish. Joshua did not know how these people could be so calm and relaxed. It was almost as if none of these people had ever fought a Raider before, let alone a Wild Mongrel or Radroach.


    Not only were their attitudes strange to Joshua, but so were their clothing and skin. They were too...clean. Not to mention that they were far too... happy. Joshua has only ever seen a few tribes that acted as happy or excited as these people, but at least those tribes were not this... careless. It was concerning, and it was why Joshua was ready to fight in an instant.


    Then he looked over at his...host. Joshua has lived a...long time, regardless of how young he currently looks, and he has seen all manner of crazy things roaming the wasteland. Nothing that even remotely matched that of the...creature that floated nonchalantly behind the counter, its voice cheery yet ethereal in sound as it talked with customer after customer like some sort of Caravaner.


    He''s seen talking deathclaws, intelligent Geckos, the Tunneler Hives of the Divide, and even a cult of machines that worshiped Atom. Yet he has never seen anything like the being that called itself ''Zeref.''


    It''s been hours since he found himself here, and Joshua couldn''t help but feel anxious. This all felt...wrong. These people felt fake, completely foreign to how anyone who called the wasteland should have grown up, and Joshua should know. He worked as a Missionary for years before meeting...


    Shaking his head to stop him from traveling down that road of memories, he was surprised to find the creature, ''Zeref,'' silently floating before him, just a meter away. Due to reflex, he''s hoed over his long life; within a moment, he had his hand on his gun and unholstered it, ready to shoot at the first sign of hostilities.


    "Hey Joshua, just checking on you. How are you feeling? Do you need anything to eat? Drink? Do you need to use the restroom?"


    Stoically looking at the creature that somehow snuck up on him, Joshua couldn''t help but contemplate why the Lord had seen fit to send him here.  What was his purpose here? Was he to serve this...creature? Slay it? Or was he to observe and watch?


    "Joshua?" The creature asked, breaking him from his stupor.


    "I am fine," Joshua answered, letting go of his holstered pistol.


    "I''m Glad to hear it but do let me know if you get hungry or thirsty. You are my employee, which means you get free food and drinks while you work... Speaking of work, I was wondering if you might be interested in training?" Zeref asked.


    "Training?" Joshua asked.


    "Well. I guess I need to give you a few explanations first. Where do you think we are?" Zeref genuinely asked.


    "I do not know. Some place that must have been left relatively untouched by the Great War or the shortcomings of man," Joshua spoke, looking around the room and noting how clean and well-maintained everything was, "If not that, then some city of the NCR, if the...cleanliness of all of these people is anything to go by, and the strange mutants that are allowed in the store," Joshua answered, looking over to where Killer Croc, Swamp Thing, and Mr. Freeze and some of the other villains were sitting.


    "Close, but wrong. We are on Earth, yes. Just not your Earth," Zeref said, making Joshua freeze.


    "What do you mean, not my Earth?" Joshua asked, a glint in his eyes. He put his hand back on his gun, making Zeref chuckle.


    "Here, let me show you." Abruptly, Zeref seemed to split apart, leaving two Zerefs in his place. One floated over the counter, much to the amazement of the line of customers, while the other motioned back over to the customer at the front of the line.


    "Come, let me show you," Zeref beckoned Joshua.


    Not showing any hesitance, Joshua got up from his chair.


    Calmly, the two walked outside, taking the Metropolis exit, and found themselves surrounded by a literal mob of people wanting to come into the store.


    A tide of flashes washed over the two before Zeref waved his hand, and a wall of darkness blocked them from view.


    "Come," Zeref spoke, bringing forth a disc of pure black that he stepped upon.


    Only showing a moment of hesitance, Joshua stepped aboard the disc.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    With a gesture, the wall that was blocking them from view collapsed, and the disc began to float into the air, allowing them to rise into the air.


    The first thing Joshua noticed was the surprisingly clean blue sky and white clouds. The sky that Joshua was used to was brown and blue, as frequent dust and ash storms blew across the wastelands. Not to mention the radiated clouds; Joshua can''t even remember a time he had seen such... pure-looking clouds.


    "What...What is this?" Joshua asked as they rose higher and higher into the sky, revealing even more of the beautiful city and sky.


    "A world that has never seen a war on the scale yours has seen. In this world, there was no ''Great War'' between China and The United States of America. At the same time, this world also chose a different path. It never developed widely available fusion and fission power, power armor,  laser weapons, and so much more," Zeref explained.


    "So these people are...like the ancestors?" Joshua asked, much to Zeref''s confusion.


    "Ancestors? If you mean like the people from before the Great War, then yes. Food and clean water are widely available, and so are basic necessities, such as clothes, medicine, homes, and so much more. However, there are still wars; it''s just that most of the powerful countries hardly see war anymore, not like the wars you''ve seen. The people here? They are...innocent and naive compared to the people of the Wasteland. They don''t know the luxury they have compared to the poor or desperate. They can''t fathom it, as this is all they know," Zeref explained, gesturing towards the clean streets, intact buildings, and lack of crime on the streets.


    "But...this world, if it is not ready, is not far from ending up in a similar situation to yours. There are wars of unimaginable scale coming for this world and the people? They are not ready for it. All that stands between this planet and total and complete destruction or domination are a very select few people that call this planet home; most call themselves ''Heroes,'' some call themselves Killers, and others vigilantes; it does not matter. They are too few in number for what is to come...and the people are not ready. I''ll cut to the chase. I want...no, I need your help."


    "Why me?" Joshua asked.


    "Why not you? You are a grizzled veteran who has fought countless horrors that roam the wasteland. You are one of the most skilled men in all of the wasteland, one who was able to drag himself dozens, if not hundreds of miles, after being burned alive with nothing but grit and determination. You are a survivor, a man of God. The people of this world need to be prepared. They need a guiding hand to prepare them for what''s to come, and fate has chosen you to be that hand. That''s what I ask of you, and I know it will be hard, but every little bit will help. I know you have a very particular set of skills, but those skills will prove invaluable for what''s to come."


    Listening to Zeref, Joshua couldn''t help but imagine another Great War happening here, seeing countless die from not only the nukes but also from radiation, starvation, and other people over the weeks that followed till only a small fraction of the people were left alive from the aftermath of the war and the Vaults.


    "What am I preparing them for?" Joshua asked.


    "Everything. You will be a sort of trainer, and I want you to teach whoever chooses to undergo your training everything you can: how to forage and scavenge, how to fight, how to maintain and use weapons, the need to think first before delving headfirst into conflict, how to survive. The things that will be coming for the people of this world will be both domestic and foreign, from the very earth to the stars themselves. I hope to get other figures such as yourself soon to teach and prepare those who are willing," Zeref admitted.


    Joshua couldn''t help but wonder: Was this his purpose? Was this why God brought him back? To help save this world? Or...were these all the words of the snake?


    Joshua looked over at the creature with suspicion.


    "How do I know you speak the truth? How can I be certain that I won''t be teaching demons in disguise? Men like Caeser or Lanius? Men and women like so many others in the Legion?" Joshua asked.


    Zeref laughed, "You don''t, and you can''t. Trust is a...fragile thing, easily broken and leaving those involved hurt. People like Caeser and Lanius will always exist so long as Humanity does, just as people like Nathaniel, the Courier, and Follows-Chalk will as well. Humanity is...complex...even in a peaceful world such as this. Countless people in this world wear masks to hide their true selves from the rest of the world. That''s why I offer you the ability to choose. I will not decide who you get to teach. Only you do. The people of this world? They can be just as cruel or selfless as the people of the Wasteland...but that''s the beauty of humanity, don''t you think? If everyone were good and selfless, humanity would become stagnant and unable to develop and die out, and the same could be said about it the other way around," Noticing that he was getting lost in thought, Zeref turned toward Joshua and apologized, a small smile forming from the cosmic energy of its body underneath the metal that shaped its head.


    "Nor will I keep you prisoner. You are free to leave at any time and explore this beautiful world yourself...but I will warn you, due to your....uniqueness in this world, may seek you out, hoping to learn your secrets and about your own world, by force if necessary...so know, if you need help, my doors are always open, if that is the choice you make," Zeref spoke, focusing on the city before them.


    Not long after, Zeref, with Joshua, returned to the Cafe, where Joshua was left to his thoughts. However, he noticed a strange new door on the left side of the cafe from the front door. The glass sliding door showed off a rather large gym, and another glass sliding door showed off a pitch-black room.


    Of course, he also noticed that the cafe was seemingly larger than when he left it, with over two dozen new computers now available and a larger reception area. There was also what looked to be a...cafeteria on the other side from the gym and a strange room, with yet another...clone of Zeref serving food while customers sat at their seats, eating while they either waited for a computer to become vacant or something else.


    However, he also noticed that Zeref, who was behind the main counter, seemed to be getting interviewed by a woman and a man holding the camera, a man with a slouch-back yet muscular body that Joshua felt strangely drawn to, his honed instincts from years of war and fighting warning him that the man holding the camera was dangerous.


    That''s when they noticed Joshua and the woman rushed up to him.


    "Excuse me, do you mind if we interview you with...Zeref over there?" The lady asked, getting far too close for comfort as she gestured to one of the Zerefs, not before noticing the one that came in behind Joshua.


    It took a lot of effort to not instantly throw the woman to the ground and draw his weapon, but he stopped himself. The people of this world did not know war and death as he did.


    "What is an interview?" Joshua asked after taking a breath, much to the bafflement of the woman who focused back on him.

 70 – An interview with Lois Lane Part 1

    [A/N: I wanted to use this chapter as an introduction to Superman''s civilian life and his crush, Lois Lane, who has...an eccentric personality, to say the least; all of the next chapter will be the majority of the interview. Enjoy]


    Watching as part of myself left to talk with Joshua, I couldn''t help but wonder why I didn''t split myself more with the rampant increase of customers visiting my Cafe sooner, but now that I had a reason, I did, splitting myself once again as I decided to purchase yet another expansion to the cafe while installing the gym and simulator.  The expansion I chose was one that was obvious in hindsight, with just how much of my counter-goods were consumable. That expansion was a cafeteria, one that was now manned by a third clone. As soon as it separated from me, I began floating all of the goods over to the fridges and display counters of the cafeteria.


    My Karma balance was skyrocketing with how much I was selling. It was baffling how much the store''s popularity rose overnight and just how many seemed interested in my Cafe and goods. With the number of photos and videos people were taking in my cafe, I was beginning to consider banning photography and recording in my Cafe, as it would only bother my real customers if they continued at this.


    Of course, while my third clone began stocking the cafeteria, getting to work, and selling a rather large amount of food, with yet another line queuing at the counter, I also decided to expand the Cafe even more, as my growth seemed to be growing exponentially. I added more computers, settling at a nice 120 in number, expanded the entire interior of the cafe, and added a little dining area where people could eat. I also expanded the reception area for those who wanted to wait for a computer to become available by adding couches, chairs, and more.


    Speaking of which, I may have to implement a time limit for the VR Games. If some of the richer Karma customers got to a computer first, they would be able to use it until I closed if they felt like it. Besides, I''m starting to think it was going to be necessary with how...quickly some of my newer customers were changing, with some even developing PTSD from the games.


    However, that did not bother me, as I warned my customers of the dangers of playing my games, especially the time dilation; as I expected, few heeded my warnings. Because of this, while I was getting quite some fame, it was also rivaled by infamy, as many accused me of being a Villain that intended to turn everyone who played the games into mindless slaves and, even funnier, accused me of being a demon that sold all of this false gold for a price too terrible for anyone to pay, their soul.


    So, because of this, I had no doubt some protestors would find themselves on my doorstep sometime soon, or at least, that''s what I guessed would happen soon. Speaking of which, I wonder why I have not been harassed by the police or by someone from the government yet. Was Fury intervening? Speaking of Fury, those SHIELD agents who brutalized Frank a few days ago, according to Black Widow, were not following Fury''s orders and apologized. Of course, I accepted their apologies...at a price.


    That very price would be paid in a few days as compensation. However, it took very little effort from me to take out those SHIELD Agents, or more accurately, Hydra agents, knowing how suicidal they were, attacking me when I was clearly not human and not afraid of their pathetic guns.


    But enough about that, I had some customers to attend to!


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    ...


    Slam!


    Closing the van''s door, Clark looked over to his co-worker and friend, Lois Lane, a news reporter for the Daily Planet.


    "You excited?!" Lois asked, hyper as ever, as she visibly vibrated in her seat, ready for the day that lay in wait ahead of her.


    "No...why?" Clark asked, confused, having no clue about why his coworker was so...excited.


    "You don''t know? Move out of the way! I''m driving!" the hyper girl said, jumping out of her seat and pushing the man out of his seat, much to the man''s protests.


    "Wha-Why?!" Clark asked as Lois climbed over his body and shoved him out of his seat.


    "It''ll be a surprise!" Lois said with an irritating smile. She did not even wait for Clark to sit down before starting the engine and taking off.


    "W-Wait!" The man said, scrambling to his seat and putting on his seat belt.


    As Lois drove, she switched topics. "By the way, when will I get to see this oh-so-mysterious new cousin of yours?" she asked, a glint in her eyes.


    "I already told you, Lois, Kara is at home with my family on their farm; she''s been through some tough things and needs a bit to orient herself," Clark explained.


    "I still want to meet her!" Lois yelled into Clark''s ear while she poked him in the side, making him awkwardly smile and laugh at his crush''s behavior.


    "And you will! But she needs some time," Clark replied, which only made Lois poke him even harder in annoyance as she huffed.


    "Where are we going anyway?" Clark asked, glancing out the window to look upon Metropolis.


    "S-e-c-r-e-t," Lois spelled out, causing Clark to sigh.


    So, he watched and listened, commenting on whatever Lois would say as he pondered and thought about


    Finding themselves passing by the mall, Clark noticed that there was an unusually large number of people, vendors, and street-side performers wandering around.


    "What''s going on?" Clark asked, baffled.


    Sure, the Museum and Mall was popular, but not this popular.


    "You''ll see," Lois replied, avoiding the question.


    As they got closer and closer, Clark began having suspicions about where they were going.


    "Is this about that...cafe I have been hearing about?" Clark hesitantly asked.


    "It is!" Lois replied, a happy smile on her face, while Clark was left worrying in his seat.


    "Oh..." Clark replied.


    Soon enough, they reached the cafe, where an entire mob of people were outside, and a line stretched off into the horizon.


    "Are you...sure about this?" Clark asked before continuing, "For all we know, they really could be a villain...and you know your track record with them."


    "Please! That was only one time!" Lois scoffed.


    "Fourteen," Clark deadpanned.


    "Tomato, tomato," Lois waved her hand, brushing it aside before she parked the van and climbed out.


    Sighing, Clark followed, grabbing the camera.


    "I guess we...wait?" Clark asked, seeing the long line coming out from the cafe.


    Not answering, Lois grabbed Clark''s hand, making him blush, before pulling him along as they skipped the line and stepped into the cafe, much to the resignation of many of the people who were waiting in the line.


    As soon as they crossed the front doors, Clark already had the camera rolling, as they had no idea what kind of situation they would be walking into.


    That''s when they saw something...magical. When they walked past the sliding odors, they were met with a strange scene as two frankly terrifying beings floated around the cafe, one behind the counter while another moved food, drinks, and other items to what looked to be a cafeteria. But that was not all that they noticed. What was supposed to be a small building appeared vastly larger inside than what was shown outside.


    Immediately after, things just seemed to...change as invisible power rippled out from the two creatures across the building. The room seemed to....stretch outwards, making the interior even larger before rows and rows of computers flickered into existence before a dining area came into existence right after in front of the Cafeteria.


    The creatures didn''t seem like they were done; however, as the small reception area expanded, more sofas and couches were created, along with coffee tables and recliners.


    All of this...magical transformation, captured in 4k.

 71 – An interview with Lois Lane part 2

    Gawking at the scene, Lois was the first to recover as she rushed over to the counter, where the strange alien creature floated calmly behind it. Clark, who saw this, couldn''t help but imagine seeing a puppy chasing after a frisbee and let out a small chuckle. He quickly coughed to hide his chuckle before focusing on the creature, suspicious and ready for anything that may happen.


    "Excuse me, would you mind if we do an interview with you?" Lois asked, getting the creature''s attention.


    "And who might you be?" The creature asked before tilting its head past her to look at Clark, "And your...companion?"


    Not even noticing the creature''s lingering gaze on Clark, not that Zeref had eyes, Lois introduced herself. "I''m Lois Lane, and this is Clark Kent; we are with the Daily Planet news, and we were wondering if we could do an interview?" She stated again after introducing herself and Clark, showing a surprising amount of courage or...insanity with how cordial she was talking to the creature.


    "I see...Sure," Zeref replied nonchalantly before waving his hand and summoning a...chair for Lois to sit down in.


    "Take a seat, and you," Zeref pointed at Clark, "Get ready; if you need anything, just ask; for this interview, I will foot the bill."


    "What do you mean?" Lois asked, confused.


    "Exactly what I said. If you find yourselves hungry, thirsty, or in need of medical attention, all you need to do is ask. For this interview, I shall allow you to sample my products and goods and voice your opinions to the whole world," Zeref answered, only for Clark to raise his hand, getting both Lois and Zeref''s attention. "You sure do sound...confident. Why is that?"


    Zeref chuckled, giving those within earshot and listening in goosebumps. "Why wouldn''t I be? I have nothing to hide or be afraid of. Even if you two were to be corrupt and lie about everything, there are plenty of other witnesses around you at this very moment to prove you wrong," Zeref answered, the cosmic energy in its body flaring while the black hole seemed to...vibrate while it laughed.


    Looking around, they were met with flashes of cameras and phones recording the entire scene.


    Waving to them, Lois turned to Clark and said, "Let''s get this ball rolling. Are you ready, Clark?"


    Nodding, Clark pointed the camera towards the two.


    "Can you tell us about yourself...mister?" Lois fished for a name.


    Zeref gestured to himself, his cosmic energy and the blackhole flaring ominously in his chest. "You can call me Zeref, as for who or rather what I am," Zeref started before pausing and leaving his audience in silence.  "I don''t have any words to explain what I could possibly be...but why use words if I can simply show you?" Zeref ominously spoke out before waving its hand, enveloping the three in a black bubble and instantly making both Clark and Lois panic.


    "Calm yourselves. You are in no danger," Zeref spoke out from the darkness, amusement clear in his ethereal voice.


    Before they could ask any questions,  Zeref continued, "Welcome to my mind, quite empty, isn''t it?"


    "Your...mind?" Lois asked, confused while looking around with wide eyes.


    "Yes, my mind. I figured that if I could explain to you what I am with words, why not just show you instead?"


    Suddenly, the darkness that surrounded them began to change as small specks of light appeared around them, slowly expanding to a star-filled expanse that surrounded them.


    "Wha-..." Lois exclaimed as a literal universe formed around them.


    Little did they know, what they were seeing was merely an illusion, one without any real...substance.


    Before their eyes, a simple solar system with a massive star came into being. This system had several planets and celestial objects orbiting around the star.


    "What...Where is this?" Clark asked.


    "Somewhere far, far away," Zeref chuckled as if he remembered something when he said that.


    That''s when an ominous dark star flew through the system, draining the system of all light and life before it seemed to orbit around the supergiant start, latching onto it with countless dark appendages that seemed to grasp the star.


    Before their eyes and recorded by the camera, the star began to shift and change, becoming a dark star.


    In the star''s place, a creature began to form, one of gigantic proportions, shocking the two.


    Before the two''s eyes, the surrounding celestial objects began to break apart, transforming into cosmic energy that flooded into the creature, fueling its growth.


    "That...is you?" Clark asked, much calmer than the horrified Lois.


    "Perhaps, perhaps not. It both is and isn''t," Zeref cryptically replied as the three watched the solar system collapse into dust, leaving nothing but Dark Star Xerath.


    They watched as the being reborn as one of madness and hatred looked up to see the stars around it while the Dark Star that transformed it moved on.


    The scene shifted; the three now floated above Earth.


    "This is Earth, my Earth, not yours," Zeref explained.


    "Your....Earth?" Lois asked, confused and still reeling from all of the information and scenery that Zeref was throwing at them.


    "Have you ever heard about the Multiverse Theory? That there are countless versions of the same world that you cannot see and that are beyond your grasp? It''s real. I was born on this Earth; it''s much like yours, but only a lot more vanilla," Zeref began to explain, only to be interrupted by Clark, "Vanilla?"


    "Yes. To our knowledge, there are no aliens, gods, mutants, superhumans, or anything else. Just base-line humans¡ªah, that means humans who are completely normal and have no kind of modifications, gifts, powers, etc," Zeref explained.


    "What about you?" Lois asked, confused by Zeref''s statement.


    "Ah, the same goes for me. I was once Human."


    That got both of their attention.


    "What do you mean? You were human? How? What?" Lois uttered, confused with wide eyes, looking at the eldritch cosmic creature that floated before them.


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    ''How could he go from human to something like this? Especially if he said that everyone was normal?''  Lois thought to herself.


    Zeref chuckled, ¡°I lived on Earth as but a man for nearly two and a half decades,¡± Zeref started, waving his hand, bringing the three down to Texas in the United States.


    ¡°I was born to a simple family as a single child,¡± Zeref continued, showing three figures covered in darkness.


    ¡°I was your average human. There was nothing special or interesting about me other than my fascination with media, such as games, movies, TV Shows, and countless other things. I completely withdrew myself from my reality and dived down into the world of stories, but that all changed come my 25th birthday. My parents died, and I died not long after.¡± As Zeref delved into his memories, the space around them began to shift and change.


    Countless things began to appear and disappear like a flickering light in the darkness, as did whispers of madness and the long dead and forgotten. A Golden Tree, a planet¡¯s surface bathed in fire from an orbiting ship, three separate hive-like insectoid monsters that consumed all in their path, and three separate forms of humanity had to fight these insectoid hive minds.


    One version featured countless billions of guardsmen and footmen, with a few men in hulking suits of armor that stood multiple times taller than even the tallest guardsman. In another world, small groups of men in armor dropped onto the planet from orbit and treated the area like a black-ops mission, taking down objectives, hives, and bugs.


    The last featured both humans and some strange aliens in incredibly ornate armor with strange glowing blue blades flowing out from their gauntlets fighting against an unending swarm of bugs and aliens, ranging from large canine-like creatures with small wings to massive beasts with tusks and even flying organic ships that launched flying spaghetti meatballs onto human and alien fortifications.


    The scenes shifted and changed so fast that Lois couldn¡¯t even react to a vision before it changed to something else, but Clark saw it all from behind the camera. He saw countless worlds filled with conflict, war, and chaos. He saw everything within the few moments that passed, and yet he could not make sense of anything he saw, as what he saw just did not make any sense. How could he? The things he saw were beyond comprehension as countless scenes shifted and changed dozens of times in mere moments, far faster than the human eye could see.


    Then, it abruptly changed back to the three in the cafe, with Zeref floating calmly in front of the two.


    ¡°Sorry about that¡­I have quite the¡­vivid imagination,¡± Zeref apologized before waving his hand, bringing forth two¡­strange golden-looking apples.


    ¡°Here, take these gifts as an apology,¡± Zeref floated the apples over to the two.


    The two stared off into space, shock and a mixture of awe clear in their expressions as they fruitlessly tried to absorb all of the things they saw within Zeref''s mind.


    When the three appeared back in the  Cafe, the people observing gasped and began talking to each other, something the three could easily hear as they apparently did not know the meaning of whispering.


    "Did they teleport?"


    "They''re back! Where did they go?!"


    Focusing back on the two reporters, Zeref gave them some time to think. Clark appeared anxious and even more wary of Zeref, while Lois appeared pale and somewhat afraid. Despite that, she swallowed and asked, "What...are these?" before grabbing one of the Golden Apples.


    "As their appearance may suggest, they are Golden Apples, a Minecraftian product known to be a life-savior in dangerous situations. Hmm. Here are two samples. Why not try them out?" Zeref suggested, effortlessly floating two more apples to the two.


    "Go on, give it a try. I promise that you''ll enjoy it," Zeref promised, not that Clark trusted Zeref''s word, but unfortunately, he wasn''t able to stop Lois before she took a bite and let out an obvious...moan that made her blush in embarrassment and made Zeref laugh.


    A visible golden shine seemed to cover her body as old scars disappeared, cuts healed, pain and exhaustion cleared away, and even her skin became healthier and smoother as invigorating energy seeped into her body.


    "W-What?" Lois stuttered, shaking as the energy flowed into her.


    "What you have just eaten is a golden apple, a fruit from one of the games currently offered in the store, Minecraft, to be specific," Zeref explained.


    "Minecraft?" Clark asked, concerned.


    "That''s right. Like I said earlier, it''s a Minecraftian product, and I can guarantee that it is completely natural and in no way harmful to either of you," Zeref said, emphasizing ''Either'' as it looked toward Clark.


    "It''s also one of the games available in the store. Perhaps I will show you in a bit. For now, I believe you have some questions," Zeref waved his hand, gesturing towards Lois to begin asking.


    Seeing that Lois was distracted by the changes  happening to her body, Clark nervously looked over her before asking  Zeref, "How old are you?"


    "Decades? Centuries? Millineia? I cannot remember," Zeref replied with a half-truth. After he died, he had no way to tell time as he drifted in that dark void for who knows how long, though he felt as if he had forgotten something while he was trapped in the ''In-between,'' in the Void.


    "Why here? Why have you come to our...Earth?" Lois asked with grit teeth and a blush on her face, trying to gain control over herself.


    "Hmm...because it''s interesting. This universe is chaotic, to say the least. There''s so much going on with this small planet and even the galaxy around it that, to be frank, I doubt I would run out of things to do for a few centuries, at least," Zeref explained.


    "So...you are planning on staying on Earth for the next few...centuries?" Clark asked, baffled and worried.


    "Sure, why not? Humanity is interesting, and I''d love to see how you guys fare against the wider universe come the next couple of decades," Zeref nonchalantly replied.


    "Against the wider universe? Does that mean aliens exist?" Lois suddenly jumped in her seat, excited and curious.


    "Of course. The likelihood of a dead universe is far lower than that of a universe housing life, and I can also guarantee that aliens do, in fact, live in this universe, some even calling Earth home. What did you think Superman was? He''s certainly not a mutant, metahuman, or inhuman," Zeref commented off-handedly.


    "Superman is an alien?! What are...Inhumans?" Lois asked, concerned.


    "Yes, Superman is indeed an  Alien, a Kryptonian, in fact, one of the few of his species left, though a few are still out there roaming the stars or living out their lives in one of the galactic communities," Zeref answered.


    "As for Inhumans, think of them as another branch of Humanity, much like the discriminated branches that have been given derogatory names such as ''Mutant.'' I''ll have you know that the term ''mutant'' will only hurt the human race. Personally, I believe all you guys are doing with your discrimination against the Mutants and metahumans of Earth will only end with the conflict," Zeref spoke, clearly stating his annoyance with the matter.


    "You believe it would end up in...war?" Lois asked, concerned and pale, imagining the kind of war that would be, one that would make World War 2 look like a Picnic if it were ever to happen.


    "Correct; you remember your history, right? Magneto''s attack on the White House? That''s because back then, Mutants would have gone extinct if Trask Industries''s robots were put into service, which, just some advice, would have eventually led to the extinction of the human race as well," Zeref stated as if it was nothing.


    "W-What?" Lois asked with wide eyes, shocked.


    "Right, I guess I need to give you some history in basic genetics. Unlike what governments and countries would like you to believe, every child born is capable of having what I will now call an active ''Gifted'' gene that grants them powers. Which means that no matter who or where you are, eventually, down the tree, someone, somewhere, will give birth to a gifted child," Zeref explained.


    "And those robots would have...realized that?" Clark asked, shocked.


    "Right on the money, the Artificial Intelligence in Trask''s Killer Robots would have realized that eventually, even a normal human couple would give birth to a quote on quote ''Mutant,'' which means, if they logically wanted to make the ''Mutant Threat'' go extinct, humanity would have to go extinct with it, a full-blown terminator situation is what we would have on our hands if that happened," Zeref explained before gesturing towards the pale Lois to ask another question.


    "If...Aliens exist...what about other things? Like Gods? Or Magic?" Lois asked another absurd question that no one had a real answer to, no one but Zeref and the supernatural community.


    "They sure do. I know for a fact that the Greek Pantheon exists, and so does the Biblical Pantheon, with big G, God, his angels, and demons as well. So, if you think someone has rapidly undergone changes near you and is possessed, please call an Exorcist. While most are hoaxes, the ones from the Vatican are the real deal," Zeref recommended with a serious tone.


    "...Demons are real?" Lois asked.


    "Sure are; other than that, Magic also exists; do with that what you will," Zeref explained, not going further into the details about Magic.


    "Is...Is there anything else you think we should know?" Lois hesitantly asked.


    "Ah, not all aliens are friendly, so I highly suggest NATO and other countries come together to either start expanding into space or, at the very least, begin the creation of planet-side defenses that will allow for the Earth to protect itself from any threat that comes from space," Zeref recommended.


    "Other than that, I feel like I should give you guys a quick tour and some first-hand experiences as to what my Cafe can offer. Are you up for it? I promise to answer any more questions you come up with," Zeref asked, looking upon the two humans before it.

 72 – An Interview with Lois Lane Part 3

    "I feel like I should give you guys a quick tour and some first-hand experiences of what my Cafe can offer. Are you up for it? I promise to answer any more questions you come up with," Zeref said, looking at the two humans before him as if trying to convince them to accept his offer.


    "There''s...there''s more?" Lois hesitantly asked, as pale as ever.


    ''Given her pale appearance, one might begin to think she may secretly be a vampire,'' Zeref thought to himself.


    "Of course, my quaint little Cafe is constantly improving and expanding, far more than what it appears on the outside. I assure you," Zeref informed them, noticing that they realized one of his cafe''s quirks.


    "Is that why it''s so...big on the inside?" Clark asked.


    "That''s right, think of the Cafe as somewhat like the Tardis from Doctor Who," Zeref tried to explain.


    "...What?" Lois asked, after a few moments, confused.


    "The Tardis? Seriously? How come this place has some of the Media I encounter, but when I reference it, most of the time, it doesn''t even exist here?" Zeref complained, annoyed.


    "Alright, think of the Cafe as a box; now, when you look at the box, it looks completely normal; however, when you open it up, you find that it is more easily on the inside than the outside. Does that make sense?" Zeref asked after explaining.


    "How is that even possible?" Lois asked in disbelief.


    "Magic," Zeref deadpanned, or at least appeared with how the cosmic energy seemed to freeze for a moment before resuming its strange flowing patterns as it orbited the metallic slates and the black hole in Zeref''s chest.


    "..." The two reporters stared at the creature, obviously not liking Zeref''s answer.


    "Moving on," Zeref spoke, breaking the silence.


    He floated over the counter and to the two reporters, "Come, let me give you a tour of the facilities available in my Cafe," he continued.


    Not giving them much of an option, he waved his hand. A purplish-black cosmic energy enveloped his hand before suddenly appearing around Lois and Clark and the camera they were using. With a wave of his hand, Lois and Clark were lifted to their feet, and the camera began floating in the air right where it could record the three from a good angle.


    Gesturing for them to follow, Zeref began floating away. Having no choice, they two followed Zeref to the Cafeteria where another...Zeref could be seen serving food, drinks, and...medicine.


    "As its appearance may suggest, this is the Cafeteria, a new addition to my cafe that is manned by none other than myself. Here, the average customer could buy exotic or rare culinary ingredients, medicine, alcohol, and unique beverages," Reaching out, Zeref caught a strange glass bottle with a blue liquid that seemed to sparkle as if it had glitter in it.


    "Starfruit wine, my gift to you both. I hope you enjoy it," Zeref said, handing the bottle over to Clark.


    "And before you think of trying to give it back, that bottle alone costs $1,000 or 250, Karma," Zeref mentioned, shocking the two.


    "Wha-Why?!" Lois asked, baffled and awed at receiving such an expensive...gift.


    "Because this bottle you see before you is the result of the culmination of decades of fermentation of top-quality Starfruit and has within it dozens of spices and herbs to make the wine completely natural with its flavoring and ingredients while also giving those that drink it a wide host of medical benefits," Zeref explained.


    "And this...Starfruit? What is it? I don''t believe I have ever heard of that particular...fruit?" Clark asked, concerned.


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    "It is a unique and exotic fruit found only in Stardew Valley, and it is the second-most valuable crop in the Valley," Zeref explained as if that would help.


    "Where is this Stardew Valley? I don''t believe I have heard of it either," Clark asked, seemingly growing more concerned with every minute he was in the Cafe with Lois by his side and the unknown Alien creature in front of them.


    "Ah, nowhere here. I assure you, in actuality, Stardew Valley is one of the many worlds available in the VR Computers," Zeref explained.


    "You are saying that these...goods come from Virtual Worlds...?" Lois asked, confused.


    "Perhaps, perhaps not," Zeref cryptically answered before continuing, "Moving on."


    Zeref floated away from the Cafeteria and to the other side of the store, between the two reporters, past the counter, where he stopped before a door that led to a completely dark, mysterious room.


    The two were once again forced to follow or be left behind as the camera followed Zeref''s figure.


    "Meet the new Simulator, yet another expansion to my cafe that allows for the creation of precise and realistic simulations for a customer to train, relax, or fight to their heart''s content, come, let me show you," Zeref gestured for them to follow, floating into the room as the door slid open before him.


    Forced to follow, the two reporters found themselves standing within an entirely white void that seemed to stretch out to infinity. They were met with the same, with the only stark difference being the door, which suddenly disappeared.


    Seeing the two shocked, Zeref chuckled, "Don''t worry, if you ever want to leave the simulation, all you need to do is think or verbally speak ''Terminate Simulation,''" Zeref explained, only for the door to reaper where it once was.


    "Now, let''s give you guys a good introduction to the abilities of the Simulator. Unfortunately, the simulator is quite basic at the moment. It can only simulate a certain amount of entities, land, environments, and situations custom to the user," Zeref explained before waving his hand, causing what looked to be a holographic screen to appear floating before it.


    "Alright, let''s see here, let''s choose Raccoon City as the stage, and let''s set the scenario to Warzone. Now, onto the factions involved; let''s go with Umbrella, the United States Government, and, of course, the Umbrella Zombies, making this a three-way fight between three factions. Objective? Let''s set it to survive for five minutes; as for the environment, let''s go with the classic midnight and foggy atmosphere," Zeref listed out what he was filling out on the screen. The two reporters and the camera recorded a rapid shift in change as the white void around them changed.


    "What the hell?!" Lois screamed as a city was on fire in the middle of the night. A bright full moon hanging above the sky formed around them as the three stood on the streets. Within moments, it quickly turned worse as the sound of distance firing, screams, and the movement of cars and helicopters buzzed through the air.


    "As you can see, the Simulator can simulate quite a realistic experience, including artificial yet quite painful injuries that may occur in the simulation. It is not possible for you to die in the simulation. Still, it is completely possible to suffer simulated yet realistic emotional and logical problems, such as PTSD, desensitization, fainting, stroke, or anything else that may affect your mind. Do keep in note, however, that while these can and likely will occur based on the Simulation, the Simulation has many safety features that will force the termination or removal of a participant if it detects any customer that nears the line unless those settings are disabled beforehand, understand?" Zeref sternly asked, warning the two and whoever watched the recording about the proper dangers and risks of the Simulator in the future.


    That''s when the ground began to shake as explosions rocked the skies, and the flaming and abandoned cars around them on the street where they stood began to beep and honk as their alarms went on, scaring the two reporters and stunning Clark.


    "What the hell is going on?!" Lois asked, scared.


    "Like I said, a three-faction battle scenario in Raccoon City," Zeref explained before being interrupted before he could say anything more by growls, snarls, and high-pitched screams.


    "Ah, looks like the alarms drew the Zombies from their hiding places," Zeref committed nonchalantly as what could only be described as a scene straight out of a movie as a literal horde of people covered in burns, wounds, and so much worse rushed out of allies, sewers, and nearby buildings.


    "So, do either of you want to take them on? Or would you rather stay back and let me get a workout?" Zeref casually asked, as if not a horde of the undead was rushing towards them. Getting no answers from either of the two, Zeref shrugged and stepped forward.


    "This will be fun!" Zeref flew into the air, high above the horde, before gathering up an insane amount of energy that flowed out from the black hole in his chest.


    Within seconds, Zeref was a new star in the sky, one so blindingly bright that both Lois and Clark had to shield their eyes. That''s when the energy seemed to wash over all of the zombies, turning them into dust along with everything else on the street.


    "Oh? That''s interesting," Zeref commented, looking off to the distance before an explosion suddenly slammed into Zeref''s form.


    Screaming, Lois froze as Clark wasted no time grabbing her and taking her to cover. Multiple explosions slammed into Zeref before disappearing as Zeref absorbed the explosions.


    "Wow, that''s rude!" Zeref shouted out towards the distance, where a tank could be seen coming around the corner of a building, leveling its main gun at Zeref.

 73 – An Interview with Lois Lane Part 4

    Running through the streets, Clark could be seen carrying a terrified Lois Lane as explosions boomed out around them. Clark was in full-blown panic as he fought to protect Lois and keep his secret identity hidden from the camera, recording everything above.


    That¡¯s when an object came flying through the air, slamming into a red Malibu next to the fleeing Clark, completely crushing it, sending glass shards and metal flying around. Luckily, before the duo could be pelted by the fragments, shredding them apart, the metal and glass froze in the air as a purplish energy surrounded the fragmented debris, stopping it in its tracks.


    Climbing out of the wreckage of what was once a Car, Zeref stretched as if he was tired as he rubbed the back of his head.


    ¡°This is not nearly as fun as I thought it would be; all they do is shoot and try to blow me up. You¡¯d think they¡¯d realize by now that is not going to work,¡± Zeref complained out loud, clearly annoyed as bullets continued to pelt his form.


    To think barely three minutes had passed, and already, Clark felt an eternity had passed as bullets flew overhead, ricocheted, and struck everything around Clark and Lois.


    It was a miracle that neither of them had been struck yet, though Clark¡¯s superhuman reflexes made avoiding the hail of bullets much easier. If this battle continued, Clark realized that he would have no choice but to reveal himself if he wanted to protect Lois, who was in shock and frozen in fear.


    That''s when everything suddenly froze as a monotone voice called out across the world.


    "Simulation complete. Continue?" The voice asked.


    Seeing the bullets frozen in the air before him, Zeref let out a remorseful sigh as if saddened by the fact that it couldn''t have been more fun.


    "Terminate Simulation," Zeref spoke, turning the world white.


    "So, what do you guys think?" Zeref asked, looking at the two horrified reporters.


    "Lois, Lois!" Clark yelled, trying to get Lois''s attention.


    "Wha-," Lois began, clearly experiencing shell shock.


    Clark checked over Lois, making sure she was okay and that there were no injuries other than scrapes and bruises. Not that he found anything, seeing as soon as the Simulation ended, those who participated in it had their bodies restored.


    Seemingly ignoring Clark''s concern, Zeref continued his presentation as if what they had just experienced was nothing significant or terrifying: "What do you guys think? The simulator is perfect for training or getting crucial experience you may need outside of the Virtual Reality Computers. However, combat training is far from the only thing that the Simulator can be used for. Personally, I think the Simulator would be perfect for training other things that are hard to learn outside, such as Medicine and First-Aid Skills."


    Seeing the two distracted and seemingly ignoring him, Zeref waved his hand, causing a brief flash of light that flooded over the two reporters, calming them down and giving them a sense of serenity.


    "What...what did you just do?" Clark asked, concerned at the sudden shift in his emotions.


    "Gave you both a bit of a pick-me-up. Come, come, try out the Simulator," Zeref motioned for the two to come closer; Lois did, leaving Clark behind, reeling from the emotional changes he was undergoing. Clark, who was freaking out yet simultaneously feeling a strange sense of peace and calm, knew that it was wrong. His emotions and mind were tampered with, and he struggled as hard as he could; there was nothing he could do before the emotions flooding his senses abruptly stopped, as Zeref must have realized what he did.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    "Sorry about that. I just wanted you both to calm down a bit, and knowing that we did not have much time, I calmed you both down forcefully," Zeref apologized for his previous actions before going quiet, seemingly lost in thought.


    Meanwhile, Lois was left tampering with the Simulation, which showed as the white void underwent rapid changes, turning into strange and almost cartoony appearances. In contrast, Clark and Zeref were left watching the rapidly shifting scene of rainbows and flowers before their eyes as Lois seemed to change the landscape around them constantly.


    Looking at the sickeningly vibrant and colorful world around them, which was quickly becoming more like a child''s dream or drawing than any sort of realistic world like that of the simulated world they were in a few minutes ago, Zeref could be seen blanching and looking upon the world with disgust.


    "All right...that''s enough," Zeref spoke out, trying to hide his disgust in the Simulated World Lois was somehow able to create.


    With a wave of his hand, Zeref seemed to turn off and reset the Simulator, making Lois frown and glare at Zeref, clearly annoyed at having her ''toy'' taken away, not that Zeref cared after seeing the terrible simulated world she was bringing into existence.


    Leaving the Simulator, the three, led by Zeref, were beginning to make their way to the final facility and yet another addition to the Cafe when Lois noticed the ''mystery man'' in bandages enter the cafe with another Zeref clone behind them. Either to get away from ''Prime'' Zeref or to question the unknown man who appeared with a flash of blinding light, Lois rushed towards the man in bandages like a raging bull, stopping just before them with a surprisingly scary expression on her face.


    "Excuse me, do you mind if we interview you with...Zeref over there?" Lois asked, getting far too close for comfort as she gestured to the ''Prime'' Zeref, not before noticing yet another clone of Zeref.


    "What is an interview?" The unknown man asked after taking a breath, much to the bafflement of the woman who focused back on him.


    "Are...Are you serious?" Lois asked, baffled.


    In response, the man continued to stare blankly at Lois, showing that he was quite serious about his question.


    Wordlessly, the Zeref clone behind Joshua stepped forward and gestured to the unknown man, "Sorry, I''m afraid Joshua here is not from around here, so he is not well acquainted with many things most modern people would know."


    "I...I see...well, an Interview is a formal discussion where I would ask you some questions before an audience," Lois attempted to explain.


    "I see...then I do not mind you ''Interviewing'' me," Joshua replied calmly with a hint of understanding.


    Walking over to the counter, where Prime Zeref could be seen working with the Customers, the clone with Joshua directed the three humans to the last addition to the cafe: the Gym.


    When they stepped inside, they were met with a quaint but seemingly normal gym boasting a wide variety of equipment, punching bags, and even a sparring ring. Joshua meticulously observed and noted everything as he deduced what the devices and equipment were capable of and what their uses would be.


    "Welcome to the Gym," Zeref waved at the room. This is where I plan to have Joshua and any future instructors teach potential students of their choosing," Zeref continued, gesturing towards Joshua.


    "He''s a...fitness instructor?" Clark asked, confused.


    "More than that, a lot more," Zeref replied, chuckling before continuing, "Feel free to introduce yourself, Joshua, and tell your life story. It''s best that whoever comes seeking to learn from you in the future know what to expect from your lessons."


    Guessing that was permission, Lois cleared her throat before beginning her interview with Joshua.


    "Are you ready for the interview, Mr. Joshua?" Lois asked, getting a simple nod from the burned man.


    "Who are you?" Lois asked.


    "Joshua Graham. I am known by many other names as well: the Burned Man, the First General of Caeser''s Legion, War Chief of the Dead Horses, and Missionary of God," Joshua introduced himself, his list of titles confusing the two reporters.


    "Burned Man? Are you a burn victim? Why have you not sought medical attention?" Lois asked, concerned, looking over Joshua''s bandages that covered his entire body other than his eyes.


    "To explain all of that, it is best that Joshua should also mention his home and early life," Zeref explained, seeing Joshua not knowing how to answer that question.


    "I am not from this world," Joshua answered simply, "I am from an Earth much like this one. Only mine underwent a baptism of nuclear fire."

 74 – Reactions (Part 1)

    Standing in an office with paper, pens, and many other objects on the floor, a one-eyed man in a black duster glared at a nearby TV displaying footage of an interview with two relatively unknown reporters and none other than the creature that¡¯s been causing many problems for SHIELD lately.


    ¡°I want it down now!¡± Fury shouted over the phone, ¡°The longer it stays on air, the more people will see it!¡±


    ¡°We already did! But someone leaked it! It¡¯s all over social media!¡± The agent on the other end of the line panicked.


    ¡°Motherfucker!¡± Fury cursed, slamming his fist on his desk, angry.


    While the footage from the interview was invaluable to Fury, the fact that it was posted on live TV and now social media as a whole means Fury and SHIELD would no longer be able to keep any sort of control over the cafe. If the entity known as ¡®Zeref¡¯ was able to easily shrug off multiple tank shells and even several missiles, if the Simulator was to be believed, there was nothing that Fury had that would be able to stop that entity unless he were to pull out some of his ¡®secret weapons¡¯ and Projects SHIELD has confiscated and developed over the years since its foundation.


    With what ¡®Zeref¡¯ revealed in the footage in the interview, the value of his cafe has, without a doubt, skyrocketed. The simulator especially caught Fury¡¯s attention. Imagine being able to train a group of people to that of seasoned military veterans within hours and train said men to become highly-skilled Killers with actual combat experience.


    Being able to churn out soldiers on par with Special Forces would greatly increase a country''s power within weeks, not to mention the other things that Zeref offered in his cafe.


    Fury knew that he couldn¡¯t keep the information out of foreign hands, not anymore, at least now that the footage was released to the public. Zeref would undoubtedly soon begin catching the attention of foreign nations and organizations, and Fury could already feel a headache beginning to form.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Fury once again cursed, realizing he would have even more paperwork than he needed to do after today when the mess started.


    As he sat on his desk, watching the rest of the footage, Fury frowned. If Zeref was telling the truth...Fury learned far more than what he could have hoped to imagine...Then there was Zeref''s new...employee. Someone that the female Reporter, Lois, Fury thought her name was, managed to grill off as much information as possible, something Fury definitely appreciated, though he would have to confirm through one of his agents through a more...private interview.


    To think that not only was Zeref capable of bringing forth items from other realities...but people as well...


    Without a single doubt, Fury believed that''s how Zeref got most of his goods, and Fury believed it might also be the reason why all of the goods available in the store were shown off throughout the games. Why else would Zeref show off these...worlds like a collector showing off their collection?


    Fury was worried. What were Zeref''s motives? He highly doubted that this really was just a ''vacation'' for the God-like entity. Was it an ''Uplift'' scenario? It made sense. Some of his more...paranoid scientists were convinced that some kind of alien...organization was trying to uplift humanity. They believed that these Aliens were helping Hdyra back in World War 2, that they believed that''s how Red Skull and Hydra managed to obtain such advanced weaponry and technology that allowed them to stomp on the Allies and the USSR before being stopped only because their own technology was used against them, they were outnumbered, and because we had a Supersoldier on our side.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Now that Fury thought about it, it started making sense. How else did they get their hands on whatever energy source allowed them to power their technology? Said technology got lost somewhere in the Arctic before being found not too long ago by SHIELD along with the still-living Steve Rogers, Captain America.


    Even then, it was hard to believe, but...Fury was starting to believe that must have been Zeref''s goal, the uplifting of humanity, but why? Was he the one helping Hydra out in WW2? No...he said he was new to this Earth.


    I''ll have to look into that as well...but why was Zeref trying to uplift us? Was there a reason, or was he doing it for fun?


    Grimacing, Fury felt his headache worsen.


    Then he felt his office phone ring.


    Feeling his head throb, he reached down and picked it up.


    Immediately, a voice shouted from the other end, "SIR! Rogers is up! He''s escaping into Manhattan!"


    His headache throbbed even worse.


    ...


    Meanwhile, across the world, in an ancient monastery hidden from the world by magic, both old and new, a bald-headed woman in orange robes could be seen sitting at the center of a rather large open room at a small table, sipping tea.


    While she didn''t show any outward signs of emotion, across all of the monastery, portals were constantly opening and closing as robed men and women constantly left and returned to the monastery, many seeming to have minor injuries across their bodies.


    Stepping into the room, a man with a strange sword and boots sat down before the woman, silently waiting for the opportunity to speak.


    Opening her eyes after taking another sip, she gave a small nod.


    "Ancient One...what do you want us to do? There''s no way we will be able to keep them out if this continues. Even with the ward over the planet, there are still too many getting through for us to take them all on," the man voiced his concerns.


    "I know," the woman answered simply, but that wasn''t enough for the man. You know? Yet you sit here, doing nothing while so many of us die fighting against the Earth''s enemies alone!" the man accused, angry and sad.


    She put down her cup of tea.


    "I know you are concerned, and I know you feel loss from those who have died, but do not worry. Help will soon arrive," The woman answered.


    "Help?" The man asked, confused.


    "You realize we are not the only practitioners on this planet, do you not? I have...contacted some old friends. They''ll help us, as this is their home too," The woman informed the man, noting that the man began calming down, regaining their composure.


    "What about the Eye?" the man asked, still concerned. "Have you found out why it is not working?"


    The woman shook her head, "No. I have used a wide variety of divination spells, yet I still cannot find the source that prevents me from peering into time."


    That only seemed to concern the man more, "Do we truly not have a way to find the source that is blocking the Eye?"


    "I have one lead that may lead us to the source, but that lead is reclusive, indifferent to mankind, and it will not easily agree to help," the woman informed the man.


    Before the two could discuss the topic further, an Asian man stormed the room, "Ancient One!"


    "Yes? Wong? What is it wrong?" The Ancient One asked, seeing the fearful expression on the man''s face.


    "One got loose!" Wong spoke, taking quick breaths.


    "What do you mean? What got loose?" The other man sitting across from the Ancient One asked, concerned upon seeing his friend''s fear.


    "Look!" the man said, raising his phone to show what looked to be an Eldrich Creature fighting the US Army in a burning city.


    "Where is this?!" The man sitting across from the Ancient One asked, jumping to his feet.


    "Metropolis!"


    Getting their answer, the Ancient One immediately cast a divination spell to get a good look at the situation, only to find that the city was perfectly...fine?


    Shaking her head, the Ancient One focused the Divination Spell to find the creature. After failing the first few times, it eventually got through, and she was surprised to find that while she looked upon it, the creature seemed to look back at her.


    Frowning, she wasted no time in opening a portal herself, getting up from her feet. It was time to confront whatever this creature was and discern its intentions. She had never seen this creature before through the Eye, and it was an enigma; she would deal with this engima herself.

 75 – Reactions (Part 2)

    Across the world, various organizations, countries, criminal organizations, and powers came to the attention of the so-called ''Alien'' calling Metropolis, Hell''s Kitchen, and Gotham home.


    Spies, Criminals, Agents, and villains flocked to these three cities to confirm for themselves whether this ''Alien'' truly did have such...supernatural goods for sale, goods that could be paid through multiple methods, one of which really caught the attention of these organizations. After all, paying with one''s Karma, regardless of whether it be good or bad, interested quite a few of the leaders of these organizations.


    How is Karma calculated? How did this Alien know whether people did good or bad?


    Was it really an Alien, or just some mutant bullshitting for attention?


    So many questions, yet there was only one way to get them.


    Then, there was the fact that the creature illuminated some topics that most had no clue about.


    There were different types of mutants? Or metahumans, in Zeref''s words.


    Who were these Inhumans? Where were these aliens? If Superman was an alien, does that mean that other aliens would be Human as well? How many aliens called Earth home? Then, there was the creature''s talk about magic, making people and organizations worry that the defenses they had in place would be pointless against something as unusual as magic.


    Many countries were already, to some degree, aware of magic, but countless more were not. The United Kingdom was one of the few countries aware of the supernatural community and one of the few that actively employed them. London itself was a safe haven for the supernatural, with the city housing the largest supernatural community in the world, hidden from the mundane world through magic. Despite that, the Supernatural community was still greatly entwined with the mundane world.


    When they discovered someone¡ªno, something¡ªtrying to reveal the supernatural side of the world to the public, many in the supernatural community believed that the creature needed to be silenced. In contrast, many others saw this as a chance for them to reveal themselves to the world finally. After all, why would they be any more shocking compared to the events that happened yearly in the mundane world? Not to mention, they already had a member of the supernatural side of Earth representing them as heroes, Wonder Woman, the Demi-God of the Greek Pantheon.


    Various people in the supernatural community began making plans. Some booked flights to see this creature themselves, some decided to reveal themselves to their closest mundane friends and family, and others began seeking out Wonder Woman, hoping that she would be able to help them or stop the creature from revealing them to the mundane world.


    ...


    BANG, BANG, BANG!


    In quick succession, three shots rang out from a small caliber pistol in the middle of Hell''s Kitchen, taking down three men in suits.


    Creeping up into the alley was a man seeking vengeance, a man who held a grudge and wasn''t willing to look past it.


    That man was none other than the Punisher, who was kidnapped not too long ago by SHIELD and tortured for days while his friend was disassembled and turned to scrap.


    Frank was out for revenge, and he was making progress.


    Dropping down to the bodies, he began examining them, stealing their phones, guns, and anything else noteworthy before retreating from the alley.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Since his escape, Frank has been chased day in and day out by these SHIELD agents in Hell''s Kitchen, and so far, Frank has found that he is only managing to keep ahead of them due to his training and knowledge of the local terrain.


    Now, he just needed to crack the phones and get a bead on more hideouts for these SHIELD and Hydra agents.


    Frank was fully convinced that Hydra had completely taken over SHIELD. He had made it his mission to take SHIELD down, whether he died trying or not, and has already cleared out multiple of these hideouts, but it seems that SHIELD has started making their mission to take him down, as they now shot at him on sight and actively searched for him.


    He wasted no time in returning to his safehouse, taking the long route to avoid being tailed and making sure he was not being followed.


    When he was sure that nothing and no one was following him, he entered an abandoned factory. There, he was met by a man in a brown patchy duster wearing strange riot armor. They worked on an assualtron on a workbench.


    "How is she doing? Making any progress?" Frank asked, looking down at the Assaultron on the workbench.


    "I''ll be done with her soon. Luckily for you, her memory core is intact. However, I did notice that some of her weaponry and a great many internal systems were ripped straight out. I''m afraid she will not be combat-ready for quite some time until either I manage to get her up into shape or get her into a different body," Kyle gave his diagnosis, stepping away from the ripped-apart Assaultron.


    "Keep me notified, and Kyle?" Frank asked before saying, "Thanks."


    "No worries. Just don''t involve me in your mess, and we will be fine," Kyle said, moving to a different workbench while multiple eyebots floated around the factory, working on Kyle''s pet project, the creation of a sentry bot.


    "You check out the news?" Kyle asked nonchalantly.


    "No, what about it?" Frank asked, placing down the stolen phones, ripping them apart, and disabling any trackers that were on them, knowing full well, with the jammer Kyle had in place, that the two would not have been tracked.


    "The boss got interviewed; he''s become famous; it''s a good time to start hitting the Cafe again if you''re worried about being stopped by those agents if you want to pick up supplies and weapons," Kyle informed Frank.


    "Really? Good for him. You made any progress with Fallout?" Frank wondered.


    "I have. I''m onto Fallout New Vegas, which is quite an interesting place, though the heat is...annoying," Kyle commented half-mindedly.


    "It''s worse than California?" Frank asked.


    "Without a doubt, it feels cramped compared to the other games, and It seems limited to the area around Vegas, or New Vegas in this case, and it is chock-full of animals, abominations, raiders, and other bullshit, not to mention the heat is a fucking killer, I died from heatstroke twice now," Kyle complained, showing his clear annoyance with the Mojave Wasteland.


    "Seriously? Have you tried, I don''t know, drinking water?" Frank sarcastically replied, only to meet a deadpan expression from Kyle, making Frank crack a smile in his friend''s annoyance.


    "Anyway," Frank said, moving on, "How are you doing with Fallout''s tech? I know you said you''re trying to learn and master everything possible; how close are you?" Frank asked, curious.


    "Not even. There is just too much to learn across Fallout, and I seem to run into new things to learn or study constantly. For example, somehow, the Mojave Wasteland has its own population of supermutants. I wonder if there''s a source of FEV hidden somewhere or if the supermutants instead migrated to the area," Kyle answered before rambling about the things he was learning and found strange about the Mojave Wasteland and New Vegas in general compared to the first two Fallout games and wastelands that Kyle personally roamed for years.


    Shaking his head and letting his friend continue to talk, Frank got to work on cracking the phones, soon easily doing so after having done the same dozens of times before. He scoured the phones of all contacts, map destinations, calls, voicemails, their search history, and whatever else he could get his hands on.


    Letting out a savage smile, Frank realized he had found his next target when he looked at the map data in their phones, finding several points across the city that the agents searched for and used the map app on their phones to find.


    ...


    Meanwhile, roaming hell''s kitchen, a flaming skeleton in a motorcycle leather jacket, blue jeans, and cowboy boots, a horrifying devilish creature roamed the streets at night, leaving dozens of piles of ash behind as criminals, soldiers, and countless other sinners swarmed the crime-ridden area.


    The city''s crime rate was undergoing constant changes, rising and falling daily. Some days, no crimes happened at all, and others, there was a spree of crime.


    The Spirit of Vengence continued his hunt.

 76 – The Ancient One

    [A/N: When you''ve been writing for so long, you can''t even remember what you''ve written anymore. XD]


    As I watched the edited footage of the interview Lois and Clark recorded, I couldn''t help but crack a smile. My plan proved to be a resounding success! Sure, revealing the fact that I was once human could end poorly, but I felt it would act more as a boon than a curse. If they knew I was once human, then they''d know I can be reasoned with and am not just your average Eldritch Horror from the Stars.


    It would also serve as a way to attract more customers; after all, one of the Humanities'' most known traits was their curiosity, which bordered on suicide in many cases. I was betting that my store would attract Thrill seekers and people who wanted to experience a different life, something that many in my old world wished for, and I was betting that many would also want to experience the same thing here. That''s why I showed not only the Simulator but also why I showed off Joshua. If they believed that someone like Joshua really came from another world, perhaps that would give humanity the push it needed to get off this small planet in an incredibly large universe. They''d also come to talk and meet with Joshua as well, bringing me in more business that way.


    Speaking of Joshua, as he was my employee, I felt it was only fitting to give him his own quarters, wage, and benefits. He was commission-based, so he would earn around 25% of the training fee when he started getting students. He also received three meals a day, free healthcare, and other necessities and amenities to make his new life more comforting.


    However, he did say that all of the ''luxurious'' items I was offering were too valuable for him to use, something I proved him wrong about as I proceeded to fill his bathroom with dozens of rolls of toilet paper. Man...if the people who hoarded toilet paper during COVID could only see their bathroom now...ah, those idiots and it only cost me 3 Karma.


    [A/N: If you feel called out by the joke above...you should -_-]


    I also purchased a wide range of equipment for Joshua, who wanted to add them to his curriculum, specifically medical supplies, and several different guns and types of weapons, ranging from Primal to advanced energy weapons such as Gauss Rifles. How he even knew what they were, I had no idea. I doubt he ran into any of them while working for Ceaser, a man who was stupid enough to think using guns was a sign of weakness in a post-apocalypse where there existed quite a few things that you would want nowhere near you, such as Deathclaw, it would not be pretty.


    He was taking his role as a teacher quite seriously, designing multiple courses for different types of people¡ªhis words, not mine. For example, he seemed to be designing a course specifically for Guerrilla Tactics, while another was based on leadership skills. I certainly did not expect Joshua to be such a competent man with such a wide variety of skills, but hey, it just means he will do a good job. Even if he doesn''t, there''s bound to be some that take to his teachings, though I doubt that would be the case, as he was in charge of teaching a bunch of tribals how to fight and was a general in an army.


    Of course, I let him know that I was available if he ever needed help and that he could freely use the Simulator during his training sessions. I let him try out for a few hours, where he really pushed the limits of the Simulator and his own skills. Specifically, he chose to fight against insurmountable odds, where he would, without a doubt, eventually lose.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I let him be, but with the Simulator not having any sort of time acceleration, he could only use it for a few hours before I forcefully terminated the Simulation and told him to go to bed.


    Of course, a few hours had passed since he went to bed, and it was already nearing the opening of the Cafe, but I decided to let him rest; after all, this was the first ever modern bed he''d slept in, not to mention a peaceful rest.


    Speaking of my store''s hours, I realized that with my expansions, with me planning on another door expansion soon, I would not be able to open at the same time at all of the locations due to the different time zones. I had a few choices on how to go about my store''s hours in the future.


    First, I could simply choose to be open 24 hours a day, which would mean I wouldn''t have to worry about time zones as I open my store up to other parts of the world.  Another option was to say, fuck it, and keep my hours, regardless of the problems it''ll cause when the time zones are greatly different in other countries and states. The last option was to try and make a specific schedule that would cater to specific regions, such as being open in one area for a few days before closing and moving onto another area, sort of like a wandering caravan.


    Checking the time, I waved my hand, and a literal tsunami of customers flooded into the store¡ªfar more than I was expecting.


    Knowing my little store would not be able to cater to this many customers, I used a decent chunk of my Karma and Cash from the past few days to expand the cafe once again, adding quite a few new computers and more seats in the cafeteria area. I also split myself once again, allowing three of me to work at the main counter and two at the Cafeteria.


    I have roughly 250 Computers now, and their prices have increased linearly, going up 25,000 cash and 10,000 Karma after every purchase when it came to purchasing the VR Computers in bulk.


    As customers formed lines and rushed to get their breakfast or a computer, all of my clones froze in their steps. I heard the sound of glass breaking in a small corner of the cafe.


    At once, all of my heads turned toward the source of the noise. I was met with a bald-headed woman in an orange robe who caught my attention, yet no one besides me noticed her presence.


    She acted completely normal until I decided to try something different. You see, I was curious about something, and so I tried it.


    One of my clones split once again; this cloned body walked up to an empty area, and with a purple miasma covering the clone''s hand, I reached out into the air and grabbed it.


    With a pull, I tore open space, imagining where I wanted to go, and with a mere thought, I stepped through, finding myself in a strangely similar version of my cafe, one completely empty.


    Ah...the mirror dimension, good to know that I can do that now.


    A moment later, I heard the sound of glass shattering and found the Ancient One standing before me. Yet I also saw everything on the other side, as my customers freaked out from my actions but quickly calmed down.


    "The Ancient One, I presume?" I asked, simply.


    "You guess correctly, and who do I have the luxury of meeting?" Baldie asked.


    "Ah, you may call me Zeref, your local Cosmic Horror," I introduced myself, showing off a brief glance at the void to the baldie, using [Gaze of the Void], opening that tear where the eldritch horrors squirmed and freaked out on the other side before.


    "I see...and what are your intentions on this planet?" The Ancient One asked rather directly.


    "To the point, aren''t you? The answer is simple, for fun and a bit of enlightenment," I answered her question. I had no doubt that the Sorcerer Supreme wouldn''t believe my answer of ''I just showed up here,'' so why not give her an answer that may satisfy her and could be clearly seen with my activities so far on this Earth?


    "Enlightenment?" She questioned, face stoic but clearly concerned despite the lack of reactions.


    "Quite, Humanity, as you should know, has quite the predicament for its future, quite a few things that even your successor will find impossible to stop. My goal, so far, is to uplift humanity to a stage where it can protect itself while giving it a peak at what''s possible across the Multiverse," I explained, and if her frown was anything to go by, she clearly did not like that answer.

 77 – Conflict with the Supreme Sorcerer

    [Joshua Graham''s POV]


    Throughout the night, I found myself unable to sleep. It was too quiet, and the bed was too comfortable. I ended up sleeping on the floor.


    How do the Ancestors sleep like this? In a world as peaceful as this?


    How...how could they throw it all away? Was it god''s punishment for Humanity''s transgression and sins?


    Shaking my head, I focused. I was sitting in the bed of my quarters, slowly removing old bandages and replacing them with sterilized new ones.


    Every inch of my body was wrapped in bandages, other than the small area around my eyes. It seemed as if God saw fit to let my burns remain. As a reminder? Perhaps. God indeed works in mysterious ways, after all, and who am I to question God''s decision?


    Shaking my head, I dressed and exited my quarters, finding the small hallway outside. Three more doors lined the hallway next to mine, with one door at the end leading to behind the counter of the Cafe, where Zeref was likely already doing God''s work to improve Humanity''s chance of survival against this harsh world. My duty was to help in whatever way I could prepare humanity''s warriors against the threats that would seek to destroy them and bring them to ruin or die trying.


    ...


    [Zeref''s POV]


    As she frowned at me, I knew I screwed up, especially as she seemed to get into a combat stance and, without a moment of hesitation, proceeded to throw multiple orange balls at me that impacted me harmlessly before dissipating.


    ¡°Surely there has to be some kind of joke for this, right?¡± I asked with a bit of humor at the frowning stoic face of Earth¡¯s Sorcerer Supreme.


    ¡°Humanity is not your plaything, creature! Leave this plane!¡± She ¡®commanded,¡¯ as if expecting me to listen to her orders as more spells futilely collided with my clone¡¯s body, doing nothing to them.


    Ignoring her attacks, even as they continued to hit me, I walked over to the reception area and sat down on the couch.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we discuss this over some tea?¡± I suggested, summoning some tea from the System store, only for her to seemingly ignore me as she continued throwing more complex spells. At one point, I swear a golden Iron Maiden surrounded me and the couch before suddenly shattering.


    I patiently waited for her to calm down or give up and sipped on tea. In my unusual case, it was more like dumping the tea into my body''s energy, where it was torn apart at the subatomic level. Strangely, I still tasted the tea, which was nice.


    It took a few hours, and the once quaint cafe that was once the spitting image of my cafe on Earth was now in ruins as broken desks, obliterated furniture, and even a few fires burning around me. Did the Ancient One finally feel like trying to take the diplomatic approach?


    ¡°You extradimensional entities are all the same. You see Humanity as nothing but a toy to play with, to entertain yourself. You all seek to corrupt and twist humanity, and your presence does nothing but cause chaos to this realm''s inhabitants, bringing forth destruction, ruin, and death," The Ancient One spoke, seemingly pulling an entire speech out of her ass.


    Looking at her incredulously, I realized my mistake.


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    There was no way she wouldn''t attack me after my answer, especially if she regularly fought with Demons, Dormammu, the Lords of Chaos, and whatever else this hodgepodge of a world threw at her. More than likely, the statement and introduction earlier did not confirm her suspicions of my character; my mistake was not to realize that I was not dealing with someone unfamiliar with the supernatural nature of this world and the wider universe.


    Deciding to be straight with her concerns, I said, "You do not believe my intentions to be true, do you? I admit that I find humanity fascinating and that I have a few mischievous intentions regarding Humanity as a whole. Still, something I can promise you is that I will not do Humanity any harm, physical or spiritual. I would promise mentally, but as you should well know, I cannot stop humanity from making ill-advised actions that are monumentally stupid. I know you are the Sorcerer Supreme, and it''s your job and life mission to stop beings like me from corrupting, manipulating, or destroying humanity. Still, I can promise I am not like most of the...denizens of the multiverse for the past couple of centuries."


    Before I could continue, she waved her hand, and the area around me shifted and changed, becoming larger and larger until we were in a giant open space.


    "Silence! You will not twist or influence me with your words, vile creature!" She shouted, rather dramatically at that.


    "If you do not believe-" Before I could continue my sentence, I felt hundreds of chains latch onto my body and begin to pull.


    Looking around, I was met with countless summoned rope-like energy projections fueled by the  Ancient One attempting to rip me apart. It was surprising, as they appeared near instantly with only a twist of her hand. Unluckily for her, it was energy and, therefore, mine for the taking.


    The black hole in my chest hummed and vibrated before dead silence took over the area, as sound itself began being sucked into the black hole.


    The energy around latched on me followed not long after, then matter, then light.


    Within mere moments, the once bright Mirror Dimension was now shrouded in darkness, with the only source of light being the blindingly bright event horizon that surrounded the Black Hole in my chest.


    Yet, in the darkness, I could see just fine. Strangely, I felt at home in the darkness, devoid of everything, with one notable exception: The Ancient One and myself.


    With a thought, I let the light out, momentarily bringing the both of us but returning the dimension to one where we can both see the aftermath of an action that was, for me, as simple as breathing.


    After seeing the scene before us, I knew for certain that the Ancient One''s threat rating of me rose exponentially.


    "Now, if I meant you or Humanity any harm, don''t you think I''d have done something by now? I''ve been on Earth for months," I explained with a casual shrug as I looked upon the empty expanse that expanded far further than one would have expected, to the point where it looked like I had absorbed hundreds of miles of land and matter within seconds.


    To be fair, I should have expected it, especially if I could absorb literal stars.


    I wonder, since I could release the light I had absorbed, what about the matter? If so, what would the matter look like? Just a super condensed orb of material? I''d have to test that later, preferably without the Ancient One harassing me every step of the way.


    "Hopefully, I didn''t harm anyone in this Dimension while I was here, did I?" I asked, showing a bit of concern.


    After a few moments, she eventually replied, "...No, no one but us was on Earth in the Mirror Dimension. I made sure of that."


    "It takes that worry off my mind; thanks for letting me know," I thanked her with a bow, clearly surprising her, though not enough to change her outward expression or opinion of me. I noticed her heartbeat change and tempo fluctuate, so she clearly heard me.


    "Tell you what, you have the Time stone, yes? Review all of my time spent here on Earth since my arrival. Suppose I am as bad as you think. In that case, I am willing to offer proof of my... good intentions towards Humanity and introduce some of my customers who have been shopping at my store since the beginning, though I admit some of them have...well, criminal records," I said. Before I knew it, an orange portal tore open space behind her as she turned around and walked through it, clearly to Karamar-Taj.


    She turned back to look at me.


    "I will be seeing you again soon. If you prove to be a threat to mankind, we will banish you from this realm," she told me with conviction. She really believed they could banish me from the Earth if they tried. How amusing.


    Left with the mirror dimension, I left my clone inside to explore while my other bodies continued their work.

 78 – Selection

    [Joshua Graham POV]


    Opening the door, I stepped out into the Cafe and was immediately met with a deafening amount of noise. With laughter, yelling, and talking, hundreds of people moved around the cafe at once. I saw even more clones of Zeref standing behind the counter before me, in the cafeteria, and wandering around the store helping customers.


    One of the Zerefs standing behind the counter seemed to sense my presence, turning around to greet me with a small nod.


    "You are up," Zeref stated the obvious.


    "Yes. I am ready. How do I get started?" I asked.


    "Hmm. I''ll send a...offer to those who have registered an account on one of the VR Computers. I already saw the liberty to make an account for you. If anyone is interested and signs up for training, you''ll get a notification on your computer. It''s up to you how you train them, however. You could train one at a time, do group sessions, or do pairs of two or three. Here," Zeref waved his hand, summoning another computer into existence, yet another feat that furthered my belief that he was an Agent of the Lord, for only God could make something out of nothing, "This will be your personal computer, with your wage, you can purchase time in the VR Games, purchase things from the credit store, or simply browse the internet, your choice," Zeref spoke.


    Gesturing to follow, the Zeref seemed to split and form another clone that began showing me how to use this world''s version of Terminals. How many times could Zeref split like this? By now, there has to be over a dozen of him spread out around the cafe. He showed me how to use the computer, informing me that while this world was behind Fallout in certain areas of technology, it was far ahead in other areas. Such as computers, aerial vehicles, and more. Something that was a rarity in the wasteland, as few had any use for terminals, and the only groups with airships in the wasteland were the Enclave and the Brotherhood of Steel. The first of which was a remnant of what it once was.


    As soon as I sat down at the computer, I was met with constant small dings, notifying me of something Zeref called¡ªan email, if I remember correctly. Opening my ''email.'' I was met with a list of applications. I did not know what to do, so I called one of the Zerefs for help.


    "Ah, I see what the problem is. Certainly was not expecting so many applications," Zeref commented, scrolling through the dozens of applications that appeared within a minute.


    "Well, what do you seek? Do you want to train those without foundations, completely new to struggle and hardships, allowing you to mold them into whatever you desire, or do you want to train those who already have a solid enough foundation and instead hone their skills to the breaking point?" Zeref asked, turning away from the computer to look at me.


    "I don''t know," I answered.


    "Well, you are in no rush for time. Examine the accounts of the applicants, and you''ll see their ''stats,'' if you will, allowing you to see how much they struggle in the VR Games. Ah, right. Think of the VR Games as a realistic illusion or hallucination that is unbelievably realistic. In these games, people can train and learn to the point of rivaling the greatest minds and strongest foes of your world. In fact, one of the VR Games we have is based on Fallout, what we call your world," the Zeref clone explained as if what he said was not baffling at all.


    I nodded, trying to twist my mind around such a concept. Virtual Worlds? How was that even possible? Was it a gift from god to help us with our task?


    I filtered the searches to those who have played Fallout. I was met with two dozen applications. I filtered it further to those who have played the game for over a year. That dropped it down to eight individuals, at the top of which was a user named Tyke.


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    This individual has, by far, the most time spent in Fallout, with a mind-numbing 129 years. The user has spent more time in Fallout than I had been alive.


    "Oh, that''s Kyle. One of my first customers, he''s completely obsessed with Fallout, which is the main game he''s played since he first came here. I''m afraid if you choose him, he''ll wipe the floor with you," Zeref warned.


    "How so?" I asked, curious.


    "He''s managed to take on the entirety of the Enclave on their home turf by himself with nothing but his smarts, skills, and a bit of equipment. He also has seen more combat than you," Zeref explained, much to my surprise, before sighing, "Sigh. Honestly? I think he doesn''t need any training. The experience and skills he has honed over the century of his life he spent inside Fallout have made him one of the most dangerous men on this planet, especially now that he has begun arming himself."


    "I see. What about this person?" I asked, pointing at a user by the name of Lucky.


    "Ah, she will be difficult to train, but I recommend taking her in. She will be crucial for the battles ahead, despite her... frailty compared to her peers," Zeref suggested.


    Humming, I accepted her as a student before moving on to another, then another, then another.


    By the end, I had four potential students. Users by the name of Lucky, Bloody Fist, Jami, and HeyApple. The first two were more recommendations from Zeref, while the last two caught my eye. While I originally based my choices on experience and familiarity with Fallout, the name Zeref chose for my world, I eventually looked beyond it, as Zeref informed me that were other games that could be just as dangerous if not more so based on the game.


    I checked out these games, finding that each had its own dangers and experiences. For example, the ''Ark Survival Evolved'' game gives the player much experience in survival, hunting, and trapping while they have to fight off the local monsters called ''Dinosaurs. '' The game series ''Resident Evil'' gives the player much experience in fighting near-immortal foes and having to manage their resources to progress.


    My first choice, the user by the name of ''Lucky,'' I chose because not only did Zeref say that they had an important future ahead, but also because Zeref informed me that they were near useless against what would come unless given more training and more options when it came to dealing with situations and scenarios.


    The second, ''Bloody Fist,'' showed promise in their determination but lacked any real skill. Zeref didn''t inform me much about the user other than "You''ll have your work cut out for you," which was not much to go on.


    The last two were chosen for their complete lack of skills. According to Zeref, they were ''new'' customers with only a few sessions under their belts, perfect examples of what I should expect of the average man and woman on this Earth.


    "So these are your final choices for your first students?" Zeref asked, curious, clawed hand resting on the slate of its ''head.''


    "Yes," I answered.


    "Alright, would you like to meet them now and get started, or would you rather start tomorrow?" Zeref asked.


    "Now. I would like to get a read on them. Once I examine them and their skills, I should be able to prepare regimens and lessons for them," I explained.


    "Alright, then I''ll notify them to meet you in the gym. I wish you luck. If you need anything, just give me a holler," the Zeref clone waved goodbye before floating away.


    Stepping away from the computer, I turned around, walked out from behind the counter, and slowly started walking to the gym.


    When I reached the gym, I wasted no time in examining what I had access to, being met with...confusion. What were all of these machines? What were their purposes? Walking up to one of them, I began walking around it, examining it inch by inch trying to decipher its purpose, before noticing a poster attached to the machine explaining its role and what I needed to do using it, even showing precisely how to do it with diagrams. It seems I will have to examine and try out this equipment sometime. These machines will make it far easier to train my potential students, that''s for sure.


    Walking over to a boxing ring, I took off my old riot police vest and began laying my weapons on a nearby bench.


    Once I was done and ready, I turned around, and I was met with my future students standing not far from me.


    A red-headed woman, a tall, thuggish bald man, a thin, scrawny boy, and an incredibly shot woman with long brown hair.


    [A/N: No need to guess, first two are previous characters shown in the novel, the last two are OCs]

 79 – Training commences

    Looking upon the four before him, Joshua examined each of them individually, his lifetime of constant strife and struggles in the Wasteland guiding his threat ratings of the four before him.


    ¡°You, what is your name?¡± Joshua asked, pointing to the man with the username ¡®Bloody Fist.¡¯


    ¡°You can call me Volkov,¡± the large man with visible scars said in a monotone tone and with a stoic expression.


    ¡°Go into the locker room and change clothes¡ªthat goes for all of you. Once you are done, meet back here,¡± Joshua ordered, his grave voice pleasant but threatening to their ears.


    Volkov grunted but conceded, turning and walking towards the visible male locker room from the sparring area. The others did the same, and Joshua observed them all.


    Joshua noticed that Volkov was unusually calm, showing he was not surprised by Joshua¡¯s words; the redhead was the same. Those two were clearly in some way accustomed to fighting, how much, Joshua did not know.


    The last two were clearly nervous and looked lost. If they were anything like the Frumintari, then they could be skilled assassins, however unlucky they were in this peaceful world. However, if any of them felt like a Frumentari, it had to be the woman with red hair. She walked with purpose, and while her clothes hid much of her features, it was clear that she was fit and battle-ready.


    Joshua reevaluated his future students when they returned in their gym clothes, a loose shirt, and pants. The man who called himself Volkov was covered in scars and was fit enough to rival the Centurians of Caeser¡¯s army. The Red-haired woman was the same; though her scars were few, she still showed signs of being physically fit. The last two, however, are frail and pale, clearly having faced little struggle with life and its hardships. Joshua realized he¡¯d have much work ahead if he wanted to make the frail two competent in battle and ready for what lay ahead.


    Gesturing for Volkov to come up to the ring, the others gathered around to watch.


    "I want you to go all out. Strike with the intent to kill, or you will not be moving much for the rest of the day," Joshua warned as Volkov climbed to the stage.


    As the two stood across from one another, Joshua gestured for Volkov to attack, and he did, lunging forward and sending a punch directly toward Joshua''s face.


    Only tilting his head to the right, Joshua stepped forward, and with a simple push, as he put his leg behind his, Volkov was sent to the ground beneath him.


    "Again," Joshua stated, stepping back.


    Joshua repeatedly sent Volkov to the floor. Each time, Volkov''s anger grew, and eventually, he tried to play a dirty trick, using brass knuckles; unluckily for him, of course, it did not work, as to effectively use it, he''d have to be able to touch Joshua in the first place. Putting Volkov into a restrictive armlock, Volkov fruitlessly squirmed against Joshua''s surprisingly greater strength and, without being able to resist, lost consciousness.


    "What were his mistakes?" Joshua asked, rolling Volkov over and off of himself and climbing to his feet.


    Of the three that were left, only one answered, the red-haired woman.


    "He was too aggressive and left far too many openings that you could exploit," The woman explained.


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    "Correct. In battle, being aggressive will only prove to be a hindrance if you do not have the skills to back your aggressive approach, especially when fighting someone with more experience," Joshua explained easily, climbing off the sparing stage before walking over to a bag and grabbing a stimpack. Climbing back up to Volkov, he injected the stimpack''s contents right into Volkov''s chest.


    "He''ll walk in a few minutes," Joshua stated before kicking Volkov''s body off the stage without any care, causing the man to land with a loud ''thunk.''


    "You, you''re next," Joshua pointed to the woman who climbed up to the sparring stage without hesitation.


    Joshua noted her confident stride. She was not afraid.


    She was definitely skilled. How skilled he did not know. Either way, she was definitely more dangerous than the man who acted more like a raider than a soldier or mercenary he fought earlier. Gesturing for her to attack, he was briefly surprised when she wasted no time in lunging for him from ten feet away. He was surprised by how fast she was, and when she reached him, he immediately tried sweeping her feet from under her, but she quite literally leaped onto him, grappling his body as she tried to put him into a hold.


    As she wrapped herself around his arm, attempting to incapacitate him, Joshua raised his arm high, then, with all his strength, slammed his arm and the woman onto the ground, briefly knocking the air out of her. From there, he was able to pry her off, and she quickly backed away before Joshua could get his hands on her.


    ¡°Good. Next, you two,¡± Joshua commented before pointing to the last two, who showed a few signs of fear.


    The last two proved incapable and complete novices, those two Joshua would need to focus on and test to see if they''d make it through his training. The first two, ''Lucky'' and ''Bloody Fist,'' may need only a bit of training and some practical experience, and Joshua believes they''d be ready. However, there was still more to teach both of them, especially Bloody Fist. Lucky was already nearing Joshua''s close combat skills, but he still needed to test her marksmanship and many other skills. There was always something that someone as trained as Lucky that they had little experience or talent with. Joshua''s weakness was close-quarters combat; he was much better with a gun than with any melee weapon that most of the others in Caeser''s Legion used.


    Once they were all up and moving again, Joshua led the group into the simulator, passing through the Cafe, where one of the Zeref clones gave a thumbs-up in support as the group stepped into the simulator.


    "Alright. Welcome to the simulator. I will be acting as a spectator during this simulation; your assignment is merely to survive and work together against your enemy. You are free to use any means necessary to survive." Not giving the others any time to react, Joshua finished the settings on the simulation and started the simulation.


    [Simulation Location: New Vegas and Freeside]


    [Simulation Type: Wave-based Survival]


    [Simulation Attackers: Caeser''s Legion, New Californian Republic, Brotherhood of Steel, Enclave Remnants, Powder Gangers, and Mojave Wasteland Creatures]


    [Simulation Starter Gear: 4x .45 1911s, twnety twenty-round magazines, and four stimpacks]


    "Welcome to New Vegas, the shining beacon in the Wastes," Joshua stated before disappearing with a flash, finding himself high in the air as the group was left alone in the barren streets of New Vegas.


    [Wave 1: Feral Ghouls x15]


    Immediately, the small group of Ghousl appeared within the sewers of Freeside and rushed, sprinting unordinary fast for irradiated humans driven mad from their brains rotting, essentially making them irradiated zombies, which the appearance of their bodies supported, as skin hung tightly to bones as they looked starved.


    Despite their sickly appearance, Joshua has seen many a man be taken down by their vicious attacks as they ripped apart their victims with teeth, nails, and their bare hands. They literally ripped apart everything and everyone that came near them, everyone but normal Ghouls. Not all Ghouls become feral after being severely irradiated.


    Joshua has met many Ghouls, Feral and not, some of whom have lived even before the Great War hundreds of years ago, as becoming a Ghoul not only made them resistant to radiation, greatly enhancing their chances of survival after the Great War, but also increased their life span. They were lucky there was no Glowing One that assisted the horde, as Glowing Ones were filled with so much radiation that they could endlessly revive deceased Feral Ghouls around them with blasts of radiation. It made them terrifying to fight, especially to those unprepared.


    Unluckily for them, there was a decent horde coming towards them, and only one of them was reliable enough to take them, according to Joshua''s examinations, as if the large raider man tried to fight them with his fists as he tried with Joshua, he would be torn apart.

 80 – Survive or die

    [HeyApple''s POV]


    "Is...Is he serious?" I asked, scared as our supposed teacher ditched us in an abandoned city he called New Vegas.


    "Yes," answered the red-haired woman as she expertly took the pistol in her hand apart and stated, "It seems we all got a pistol, five magazines, and a stimpack."


    "And?" The large man asked.


    "And that means it''s all we have. Once we run out of ammo or get hurt, we are dead," the red-haired woman bluntly explained.


    That''s when we heard it: snarls, growls, and inhuman screeches that roared from behind the wall surrounding this small city.


    "Ghouls," The red-haired woman scoffed.


    "What are ghouls?" The three of us asked.


    "You are about to find out," the woman answered as horrifying monstrosities came rushing through an open gate on the other side of the street.


    These zombie-lookalikes had decayed flesh that hung off the bones, skin that hung tightly to the bone, and various grievous injuries that were seemingly ignored as they sprinted far faster than a human had any right to.


    Taking aim, the woman began firing, taking out one of these ''Ghouls'' with each shot. None of us moved as she continued firing without effort, quickly making a row of bodies.


    [Wave 1 completed]


    [Wave 1 Reward: 4x Magazines of ammo]


    [Wave 2: 30x Ghouls - 5x Powder Gangers]


    [5:00]


    [4:59]


    "Do you guys see that?" I asked, pointing at the full.


    Seeing it, the woman cursed.


    "Come on, let''s set up a checkpoint at the gate; we''ve got fight minutes, so let''s work together and do whatever we can to set up some cover," The woman took charge, suddenly rushing towards something called ''Lucky 38.''


    The large brute didn''t waste time and followed her. Not even thirty seconds later, they both came rushing out with a rather large round table that they had set on the ground before rushing back inside.


    ...


    [Joshua''s POV]


    Floating above the group of four, Joshua noted their reactions. Lucky immediately took charge, showing signs of being a leader, even if her tactics left little to be desired.


    Joshua believed it would have been a better idea to fortify the nearby Lucky 38 casino and make the entrance into a death trap for whatever came through. While the Powder Gangers may have been a bit of trouble with their love of dynamite, they were far from skilled, meaning they could be shot before igniting the dynamite.


    Instead, Lucky, for some reason, decided to waste time and bring out various pieces of furniture that they could use as cover while also giving them the distance to fire at the Feral Ghousl and Powder Gangers that would rush through the gate into New Vegas. However, this tactic will not last forever as more enemies emerge. Perhaps she was planning to plant traps around the gate to make it harder for enemies to pass through; however, that, too, would eventually no longer work as the larger factions would try other routes to get into New Vegas, whether it be the sewers, the monorail system, or breach through the scrap metal wall that surrounded the city.


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    Her tactic would have been better if her group was larger, but with only the four of them, for the first dozen rounds or so, they would have had a better time just fortifying the Lucky 38, in Joshua''s opinion. However, he still wanted to see the results of her plan, and whether it would work or not.


    The first wave of the second round was the thirty Feral Ghouls, who once again rushed through the gate and ended up gunned down by Lucky and Bloody Fist, while the other two players hit only a few of their shots. After them, five powder gangers crept through the gate a few minutes later and were gunned down.


    Joshua was a bit surprised to see Lucky and Bloody Fist be so ruthless, especially considering the state of their world.  They gunned the men down without any hesitation; the other two, on the other hand, froze.


    According to their game records, HeyApple and Jami played Resident Evil. In it, they had to fight against mutated humans who acted similarly to Ghouls, only slower, weaker, and contagious. The Ghouls in his world were not contangious by any means, instead only coming about due to radiation. The ''Zombies'' in Resident Evil were caused by a virus or contagion that reanimated corpses that would aggressively attack anything nearby. Joshua figured that HeyApple and Jami wouldn''t hesitate when fighting a living human instead of a reanimated corpse, but he was proved wrong.


    Continuing his observations, Joshua watched as Lucky looted the bodies of their low-caliber pistols and caravan shotguns before grabbing some of their dynamite and assembling some sort of trip-wire-based trap that would set off the dynamite. To Joshua''s surprise, she set up the trap in Lucky 38, specifically at its entrance and another at the gate of New Vegas. What was she planning?


    [Wave 3: x20 Powder Gangers and x15 Fiends]


    Noting that they would fight thirty-five enemies, Joshua realized they would face their first notable obstacle: a full-frontal assault by a group larger than them. If they made a single mistake, they''d all die. Joshua knows that even he would face troubles against such a large group by himself if he were not prepared or well-equipped.


    The first group to appear was the Powder Gangers. Powder Gangers, from what he heard, were a bunch of NCR prisoners who escaped a prison where the NCR forced them to do hard labor and, for some reason that still baffled him, supplied the prisoners with dynamite to do their job. Why they''d give known criminals, raiders, and who knows what else explosives was beyond Joshua, but he already knew that the NCR was a corrupt and cutthroat government that proclaimed that they were the successors of Pre-War America''s values, such as democracy, personal liberty, and rule of law, something that didn''t last very long as Brahmin Barons rose to power and amassed influence. In the end, the NCR became another form of the old world''s corruption.


    As for the Fiends, they were a scourge to the Mojave Wasteland and proved to be a constant threat to anyone traveling west of New Vegas, as that''s where they claimed their territory. Fiends were much like Raiders, the scum of humanity who killed, pillaged, and raped to their heart''s content, only the Fiends took it to the next level, becoming incredibly obsessed with various chems and drugs that were common across the wasteland, such as Med-X, Psycho, Buffout, Jet, Hydra, Day Tripper, Steady, Turbo and who knows what else, driving a lot of them crazy and mad from their addictions.


    The Powder Gangers were the first to rush into New Vegas, only for one of them to push the tripwire and ignite the dynamite hidden around the gate. A good half of the Powder Gangers died, with those caught in the blast having their own dynamite ignited, resulting in a chain explosion that completely blasted open the gate, forming a rather large hole and crater in the concrete.


    That''s when the Fiends charged through the smoke, screaming and yelling as Lucky and Volkov began pelting them with bullets. However, with all of the chems running through the Fiends'' systems, they shrugged off the bullets if it wasn''t a fatal hit, meaning a few of them quickly reached the team of four who hid behind their small amount of cover.


    Lucky leaped back as one of the Fiends swung their pole cue at her. She raised her gun, and with a single shot, a bullet went through the fiend''s head.


    Another with a machete lunged at her, and she dropped to her feet, sweeping the Fiend''s legs from under them, making them fall before a bullet went into their head, too.


    Much to Joshua''s surprise, his students were more skilled than he expected; well, two of them were. The last two once again proved useless against the Fiends that attacked them and were in the midst of getting their asses kicked.


    When the finally finished off the last Fiend, yet another notification appeared in the sky.


    [5:00]


    [4:59]


    [Wave 3: x30 Fiends - 15x Khans]

 81 – Unprecedented Growth

    While I left Joshua to the poor bastards who decided to take his lessons, I greeted every new and old customer who visited the Cafe. I even saw Poison Ivy return, apparently successful with whatever she was doing.


    "So, you plan on making a backup plan for the planet and all of the Flora and Fauna that call it home?" I asked Ivy, curious.


    "Yes, Swamp Thing and I have spent the last week focused on gathering as many samples and seeds as possible. However, I''ve run into a few issues," Ivy began.


    "Like?" I asked.


    "The main issue is supplies. If we want to guarantee or significantly raise our chances, we will need to build dozens of these Vaults, but just making a Geck is...expensive," She answered, making me chuckle. "I bet I never would have guessed you would have managed to reverse-engineer the technology so quickly, but this Earth is nowhere near the level of Nuclear Technology that Fallout was at. My suggestion? Ask the League for help. Sure, you might have a bad history with them, but if you explain and show off what you are doing and explain why, they''d likely actually help you," I suggested.


    "And let them ruin everything? No," She spoke seriously, making me shrug.


    "Understandable, they certainly are not good at keeping secrets," I spoke humorously.


    "I''m guessing you are going to dive back into Fallout and continue your research?" I asked, getting a nod. Then, I suggest you look into more vaults across the Fallout Games. There are many vaults that ran interesting experiments that would help your cause, and there are many Pre-War companies and groups that were researching and developing technology that would no doubt be useful to you," I suggested.


    "Any hints?" She asked.


    "Hmm," I  taped my pointed claw on the tip of my head plate.


    "Fallout 3, New Vegas, and 76 will have some of the technology you will need," I suggested, thinking back to when I finally put in Fallout 76, which has been running only for a week now and had some players venturing through the Appalachian Wastes.


    "Thank you for the advice," Ivy thanked me before walking away to get in her hours for the day.


    I suggested those games because of the Think Tank, Garry Vault, Spore Plant Vault, Autonomous Miners, and so much more that were scattered across the three games. If she could research the cloning machines in the Garry Vault, she could easily use them to greatly decrease the size of the storage warehouse she and Swamp Thing would have to build, as the Cloning Machine would only need a bit of DNA or some plant matter to clone Flora or Fauna at the cost of great energy. I honestly thought her idea was good, and with the  Green helping her, they''d have a good chance of guaranteeing the survival of not only the human race but every plant and creature that called Earth home as well. If she worked with Victor as well, they could even make some of these Vaults of theirs capable of lasting millennia, maybe even Eons if they are lucky.


    I announced this morning that I''d implement a six-hour gaming policy for the cafe. While I received some negative comments about it, I received far more positive ones. Before, those with a lot of karma or cash spent the entire day in the store on the computers, essentially locking half of my computers to those customers for the day. This made the line of people waiting for a turn unusually long and sometimes even stagnant, as only a few people would get off after a few hours.


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    Now that customers only had six hours to play on the VR Computers daily, rotations were much more frequent, meaning more customers went out instead of staying inside, waiting, and taking up space. It was a vicious cycle, and after yesterday, I realized that it was the best course of action, as otherwise, I would be dealing with a packed Cafe. That does not mean I haven''t expanded my cafe, again, because I did. Now had close to five hundred computers, a larger cafeteria area, and now had people using the Cafe''s Gym.


    At this rate, the Cafe would resemble more a mall than any sort of Cafe. Luckily, I have gotten even better at splitting my mind. I have over a dozen clones now, both working on games and helping me manage the cafe. Speaking of which, I was nearly finished with the games I had, finishing off Elder Scrolls, with only ESO, Elder Scrolls Online, and final details remaining.


    At this point, I had many games available in the Cafe, such as Resident Evil, Minecraft, Elder Scrolls, Bioshock, Ark Survival Evolved, Stardew Valley, Fallout, Project Zomboid, and Infamous.


    I had various items and goods for sale in both the Credit Store and the Cafe''s general goods.


    Examples include the herbs and modern guns from Resident Evil, the foods and exotic goods of Minecraft, and the spell scrolls, tomes, and artifacts of Elder Scrolls. I already knew that some...unscrupulous figures were buying my general goods in bulk. Mostly, the medicinal goods, such as Stimpaks, Herbs, Sierra Madre Martinis, Battle Tartares, Broths of Enlightenment, Medical Brews, and so much more.


    Based on the way some of these figures moved, talked, or reacted, I figured that I had the League of Assasins'', led by Ra''s Al Ghul, attention now. If I had their attention, I probably had the Triads, Hydras, and the other evil organizations'' attention as well. I had no doubt that their use of my products would cause me problems later on, but it''s not like I''d stop them from purchasing the goods. For example, while Lex Luthor was a villain and had a serious hate boner for Superman, his best interests still lay with humanity.


    That does make me wonder why I haven''t been approached by any of them. The only one who had was Fury, though he had not approached me himself yet and instead used two of his agents, Hawkeye and Black Widow. I also noticed that the number of his operatives visiting my cafe every day was increasing. By my count, around a dozen SHIELD agents were visiting my cafe daily.


    However, I wonder how Fury will react to the new games coming to the store.


    Those games? Subnautica, Gears of War, and Diablo.


    The first Subanautica game features one Ryley Robinson. Ryley is the sole survivor of a spaceship crash on an Aquatic alien planet with very little landmass above the water. This means most of the playthrough involves the player exploring an aquatic environment. It would certainly be a unique experience for the players, though that would mean quite a few players will likely get thalassophobia and fear of the ocean due to the creatures calling the ocean home. Meanwhile, Subantuica Below Zero, features another character finding themselves on the same planet two years later. I had three clones already working on the two games, and I planned to expand them and refine them to a realistic detail.


    The second set of games was none other than a series of games that I played throughout my childhood and teenage years, Gears of War. An Earth-like planet named Sera was filled with unusually strong and muscular people who were nearly exact in appearance to Humanity. These Serans were hardened by war and violence, and with their planet''s higher gravity, many of their warriors resembled bodybuilders than normal people.


    Other than that, the planet had another intelligent race of mutated humans hidden below the surface called the Locast Hoard. These humans were mutated by the planet''s unique power source, Imulsion, and foreign DNA. In the first game, the players watch as D-Day occurs, and the Locusts invade the surface for seemingly no known reason. There are plenty of secrets and lore of the world that the players will find as they play, but due to the linear path of the story, I did not have to worry much about the world outside the story. However, I still wanted to create an entire world outside of the campaign for those who beat the game on the hardest difficulty as an added bonus.


    The last game series, is one I had never played before, but I knew to be loved by many people in my old world. As far as I knew, Diablo was your typical roguelike action RPG game though one with a story.


    I had a bit of work ahead of me, but it should prove to be an interesting experience.

 82 – A Concerned Telepath

    High atop a mountain sat a monastery hidden by a fierce blizzard. It was built many years ago yet has become home to the last masters of the Voice, the Thu''um. The masters were none other than the Greybeards, all Nords who spent their lives studying and learning the Voice, mastering it. Most of the Greybeards could no longer utter or whisper a word without making the air rubble and the very ground shake.


    Wandering blindly through the blizzard and attempting to climb the ten thousand steps, the name of the passageway up the mountain said to have ten thousand steps that led all the way to High Hrothgan, a man wearing a thick cloak and fur over steel armor. They were armed with a Skyforged steel and a steel shield.


    A distant roar echoed across the mountain from behind as they stumbled through the blizzard.


    Turning around, the man was met with nothing, but when he returned to resume his journey, he was met with a wide-open maw that swallowed him whole.


    ...


    Launching himself up from his bed with a gasp, his claws ready, the clearly panicked man scanned his surroundings.


    "Logan, are you alright?" A voice spoke into the man''s mind.


    Taking deep breaths, Logan retracted his claws and fell back onto his bed. He sat up and showed he was clearly exhausted.


    Rising from the bed, Logan walked over to a minifridge and opened it, revealing quite a few bottles and flasks filled with alcohol, specifically, alcohol of a specific brand, found in only one place.


    That brand? Sirrea Madre Martini.


    Taking one of the chilled flasks, Logan took a sip and sighed. Over the course of Logan''s long life, he has drunk much, ranging from moonshine to cheap, expensive, or exotic liquor, but none of them come close to the buzz Sierra Madre Marines have given him. Not only did the liquor actually give him a buzz, but he had never felt more alive after taking a swig of the liquor. According to the alien that ran the store, the liquor had many health benefits, which Logan greatly appreciated, even if his mutation made it quite hard to kill him, not including the adamantium that coated his bones, making him even harder to kill.


    It made him feel healthier and more energetic. Charles and Hank were starting to get worried about Logan''s...drinking. Worried enough that Beast had breached Logan''s privacy and taken one of the ''bottles'' for close examination. While Hank tried to figure out what exactly the alcohol was, Charles watched Logan as he got dressed and then headed to class, where he taught U.S. History, which, due to his age, made him one of the most suited for teaching the subject.


    Charles has been deep-diving through Logan''s recent memories, something he has hardly done in years. What he was met with was of great concern. Logan''s mind was now older than his body; he had months of memories added to his mind. Charles''s first thought was that these were implanted memories, something any experienced and powerful telepath would be capable of. Still, examining the memories, Charles found no signs of tampering or implantation. These memories formed naturally. Charle''s next hypothesis was that Logan was placed in an illusion or hypnosis state.


    The more Charles examined Logan''s memories, the more concerned Charles got. It all started a few weeks ago, with Logan taking a trip out to Hell''s Kitchen, of all places, and finding a store in an area that seemed to be abandoned by the gangs that called Hell''s Kitchen home. In that store were multiple notorious figures that caused Charles to pale. Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, and even more notorious Villains, yet Logan showed no fear and approached the creature that ran the store.


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    Charles continued watching Logan''s memories, seeing him continue to return to the store every day to purchase the same alcohol he''d become addicted to. Then it got worse, and now Logan is constantly drinking the stuff, and even from his office, Charles could feel the confusion of Hank as he tried to figure out what the alcohol Logan was drinking actually was. So far, Hank was left confused, as the drink seemed to be a concoction of an unknown substance and...random junk food. Cake, donuts, Potato Crips, and more. It was a concoction that made no sense, but after discreetly getting a blood sample, Hank was surprised to find...Logan really was healthier, at least healthier than usual.


    Comparing a sample of Logan''s blood from before and after, Hank finally saw what was wrong.


    "Charles?" Hank thought aloud, getting the Professor''s attention.


    "Yes, Hank?" Charles answered from his office.


    "You need to come see this," Hank told Charles.


    Making his way out of his office, Charles, in his chair, strolled down the hall to a hidden elevator and selected the basement levels of the mansion, soon exiting the elevator and rolling to Hank''s lab.


    "You called?" Charles asked.


    "Charles, come, look at this," Hank spoke, motioning to the microscope on the table.


    Moving over to it, Charles peaked through it and asked, "What am I looking at?"


    "That is the blood sample from Logan this morning; now this...is from a few months ago. Notice a difference?" Hank asked as Charles looked over the older sample.


    "It...is Logan dying?" Charles asked, concerned as he noticed the decaying cells.


    "It''s metal poisoning, at this rate...he''ll have two or three decades at the most before his healing is unable to keep up," Hank spoke sombrely.


    "How did we not notice this before?" Charles asked.


    "It was his healing factor. I think that drink, whatever it is, boosts his healing factor for a few hours, allowing his healing factor to heal all of the damage the metal was doing to his body. Slowly but surely, Logan''s health is returning to its prime...however, I don''t know how long it''ll last before his body is unable to keep up even with that drink," Hank explained.


    "What should we do?" Charles asked.


    "Logan has multiple options. We could either try to remove the adamantium from his bones, stopping the metal poisoning entirely, but risk his life entirely due to just how dangerous the operation would be and how ingrained the metal is to his bones. Another option...is to allow him to continue drinking that concoction until his body, with the aid of concoction, is no longer able to keep up again," Hank started to explain, only to be interrupted by Charles, who asked, "Couldnt we make a more potent version of the drink if its effects start weakening?"


    "Until I find out what the other mysterious substance that makes up the drink is, that will not be a possible option," Hank explained.


    "What about another mutant? One with a gift for healing?" Charles asked.


    Hank shook his head, "It could work, but it also might not."


    "Charles, should we tell him about this...?" Hank hesitantly asked.


    Charles shook his head, eyes looking away from Hank. "No. If we tell him, he may start drinking that stuff even more, and we have no idea what it is or about the place he has been getting those things from. No...it''s best we keep it on a need-to-know basis."


    While not saying anything, Charles knew that Hank disagreed with him but refused to voice his opinion. Hank believed that Charles knew what he was doing, so he''d refrain from saying anything for now.


    "For now, Hank, I want you to try and figure out what that mysterious substance is. In the meantime, I will investigate the store Logan has been visiting," Charles spoke before looking Hank in the eyes, "I mean it. Need-to-know basis only: if Logan finds out, he could start over drinking, which will affect his behavior in class. Understood?"


    Getting a nod from Hank, Charles soon left the lab, returning to his office.


    Hank leaned into the table and sighed.

 83 – A mind best left alone

    Rolling back to the elevator and soon returning to his office, Charles was left with a troubled mind after what Hank revealed to him. Charles knew that Logan was not as strong as he was in his prime, but he figured that was because of age, not metal poisoning. Hank and Charles theorized that Logan''s mutation gave him an enhanced lifespan, a healing factor, and the claws he was famous for. Logan was born in the early 1880s, for goodness sake, and he fought in the Civil War, World War 1 and 2, and Vietnam.


    Logan was a veteran with PTSD, so Charles and Hank thought it was just age that was catching up with Logan, but if it really was just metal poisoning that weakened Logan, slowly killing him, how long would Logan have lived without the metal poisoning him? Logan''s mutation only really started coming into effect after he became an adult, halting his aging completely. Even now, Logan still looks like an adult in his thirties, though back when he stopped aging, he looked more like a teenager to those around him, as life expectancy wasn''t what it is nowadays.


    Charles wondered if extracting the adamantium that coated Logan''s bones would even be possible. The special metal had such a high heating point that extracting it from Loan would only serve to burn the man inside and out. Even then, they had no idea just how much adamantium covered Logan''s bones, nor how exactly Major Striker and the government even managed to coat Logan''s bones in the first place without killing them. Striker was hidden from Charles''s mind, and for all he knew, Major Striker could be dead after all of these years. Everyone related to the project was dead, and Logan''s memories of the time were...indecipherable.


    Soon reaching his office, Charles wondered how to approach the subject. Should they tell Logan, giving him what very well could be false hope? No. Charles couldn''t risk letting Logan know. There was nothing they could possibly do about it. If they told Logan, he''d certainly do something monumentally stupid or suicidal...or he may very accept his fate, knowing how tired Logan was of his seemingly immortal life.


    Charles shook his head; they couldn''t afford to lose Logan; his gifts were too important to protecting mutant-kind, and losing the adamantium may permanently put him out of commission even if it were to succeed.


    Rolling behind his desk, Charles extended his senses, his mind touching all of the minds within and around the mansion. Checking on each of his students, his mind went past his students'' surface thoughts, starting with Jean Gray, whose mind responded to his touch, letting him in.


    "Jean...how are you doing?" Charles asked.


    "I am alright, Professor. Just have a headache," Jean answered from her room.


    Nodding, Charles said, "If you need anything, all you have to do is ask."


    "Thank you, Professor," Jean answered. At the same time, Charles worked over the entirety of her mind, something she did not detect due to her minimal experience with other telepaths, and examined the seals he placed on her mind so long ago. The seals he placed so long ago struggled to hold her power down. Charles''s seals were unique and one of a kind. Ever since he created those seals on Jean were created, Charles managed to never make any like it again, and because of that, he could only do his best to do patchwork fixes on the seals on Jean, but as she grew up, the more repairs Charles had to make.


    Sighing, Charles moved on, scanning and examining the minds of each of his students, glancing over the dozens of students who called the manor home before finally moving on once he was done.


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    Following Logan''s memories, Charles soon found the so-called ''Cafe'' that Logan frequented so much, much to his surprise, he couldn''t see anything. Frowning, he retreated his senses back to the mansion and rolled back out of his office. Soon reaching the shining achievement of Charles''s, Hank''s, and the CIA''s work, the Cerbro. A machine capable of enhancing Charles''s telepathic abilities to a planetary level, allowing him to sense every mutant and human in the world with ease, all at the same time.


    Of course, after the machine was constructed, Charles obtained it and removed or altered the memories of everyone involved with its creation before having it moved to under his mansion. He had, too. If the CIA had kept the machine, he had no doubt in his mind that the Government would have used it to discover hidden mutants within the States and the wider world.


    Rolling down the bridge into the center of the spherical and hollow machine, Charles stopped before a console. Reaching out to grab a helmet connected to many cables, he slid it on, pressed a few buttons, flipped a few switches, and Cerebro began to power up in a few moments.


    The many panels around the spherical chamber lit up, forming a strange 3d version of Earth where countless white and red silhouettes floated around in space. Each silhouette was a person, with white representing normal humans and red mutants. Taking a few minutes to focus his mind on the cafe, he was met with hundreds of silhouettes surrounding the store, both inside and out. That''s when he noticed it: around the entire store, there were a dozen voids in space, complete blanks that the Cerebro could not even detect or see into.


    Then there was the second abnormality, a strange golden...silhouette.


    Reaching out to this... abnormality, Charles''s mind froze at what assaulted his mind.


    ...


    Charles found himself looking through someone else''s eyes as memories flashed before him.


    He was shown a world without order, a world thrown into chaos and destroyed by those who had before, a world baptized by nuclear fire.


    He watched as a boy grew to be a man, and his experiences as a missionary quickly turned into a General. Charles watched as this man caused countless deaths and the loss of so much, only for this man to be baptized by fire and crawl back to his home. For hours, Charles watched every moment of this man''s life, a man by the name of Joshua, a man of extreme faith and unwavering willpower. A man who... by all rights, should have been stopped but turned a new leaf, becoming better. This man was much like Magneto...Max, if even a man such as Joshua, with his hands causing entire rivers of blood to flow, then even someone like Max, so steeped in his hatred towards Humanity, could change for the better. He just had to keep trying, even if Magneto proved unwilling.


    As Charles continued viewing the memories of this man by the name of Joshua, he began feeling something. It felt as if the mind was closing in on him, yet the mind of this unknown man couldn''t feel Charles''s probing. The longer Charles watched, the more he felt like something was wrong, almost like he was being watched.


    Then he noticed it. Deep within Joshua''s mind, something strange was like an all-consuming void of nothingness at the center of his mind. That''s when the void-like center began to churn and shift before splitting open. Much to Charles''s horror, an eye looked back at him.


    Charles felt his form peeled away by the eye as it saw through his body, mind, and soul.


    Charles felt trapped, and he began actively struggling to escape from the man''s mind, away from the Eldritch eye before him. That''s when it started; he felt incomprehensible and maddening whispers begin speaking from the back of his mind, growing stronger and stronger with each passing moment until the whispers transformed into shouting, then yelling, then full-blown screaming.


    Charles screamed in horrific agony as blood began to leak from his eyes, and his mind began to collapse.


    "Charles!" A distant voice different from the others yelled inside his mind.


    "Charles! Snap out it!" The voice shouted, growing louder over the other voices.


    "Shit! Logan, help me get him out of it!" The voice shouted as Charles''s mind began to grow foggy.


    ...


    Shaking the slumped body of the Professor in his wheelchair, Hank looked worriedly over Xavier''s bloody tears that leaked from his eyes and his vacant stare as the Cerebro went on a full-blown malfunction as what appeared to be black tentacles flowed across the screens, blackening them till nothing but an eye could be seen across the screen panels around the chamber.

 84 – Life outside the Cafe

    Swamp Thing stood, rooted within the lower levels of a Green Vault, hidden underground beneath Gotham itself. This vault was constructed from the combined effort of Ivy, Swamp Thing, and the Green. It was a gigantic series of chambers constructed out of specialized roots that would block out radiation. It was one of dozens Ivy and Swamp Thing had planned for construction and would act as underground ecosystems where they¡¯d gather many species of animals to evolve and live naturally, unbothered by humanity and its tampering with the natural order.


    Placed at the center of each chamber were Ivy¡¯s GECKs. They were not as efficient or cost-effective, but they worked and did not need to be fixed. However, the subterranean ecosystem was a...testing ground of sorts. To work out the bugs and negative aspects of Ivy''s GECKs and see whether they''d work as intended or not. That is why Swamp Thing was connected to the roots that made the walls and ceiling of the subterranean expanse. Through the roots, Swamp Thing was able to observe all of the Flora and Fauna they brought down here with the help of the Green and monitor the Green Vault''s atmospheric composition. Ivy wanted to know everything, so Swamp Thing watched and observed.


    At first, everything seemed to go fine. The GECK got to work on filling the expanse with all of the gases found normally in the atmosphere and necessary for the survival of a wide range of life. From there, it began seeding the expanse''s sky with clouds to bring forth water, raise humanity, and lower its surprisingly hot temperature.


    Then, the GECK used the clouds to seed grass and other Flowers across the expanse. From there, it formed a lake of clean water around itself and began revitalizing and enriching the soil. Swamp Thing couldn''t make heads or tails about how Ivy''s machine worked other than its purpose was terraforming. So far, it seemed to work perfectly, despite a few issues with it over-enriching the soil and adding too much water to the air and ground.


    For now, Swamp Thing would continue to watch over this Green Vault that would house generations of life, hidden unimpeded from the surface world.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in the sewers below Gotham, life has changed dramatically for those who had no home and found themselves on the streets. Countless small and large communities found themselves built over the course of several weeks as more homeless vagrants from across the states were sent by their cities to Gotham. Because of that, Gotham had the largest number of homeless walking in their streets than any other city in the United States.


    These cities were built through the combined effort of Waylon and the homeless, who considered him a friend. Buying everything he needed from the Cafe, Waylon turned these communities into true underground cities beneath Gotham in the sewers, and despite what most would think, the sewer smelled perfectly fine due to Waylon''s effort and the placement of cities. There were hundreds living beneath Gotham, living in completely self-sufficient cities with power, water, heating, food, and even a few sparse doctors. For those living in these underground cities, life was even better than some that lived above ground and it was a purely barter-based economy as many of them lacked jobs. Due to Waylon''s continuous efforts, he has obtained a massive amount of Karma to help expand and improve the cities even more, as he planned on adding autonomous defenses, lead outlined walls, and vault doors to stop the seeping of radiation if a Nuclear War were to happen.


    Waylon has seen the horrors of the wasteland, seen both the best and worst of humanity and realized that he is not invincible. So, he has done everything possible to improve himself and better protect the people under his charge. He was now the supposed king of the sewers, and now that he no longer acted like the monster he used to be due to the years he spent in Fallout, he was much more respected and amicable, though he still had his gruff demeanor.


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    ...


    Meanwhile, a particular man sat in a cave on a hill outside of Gotham. This man was, of course, Bruce Wayne. At the moment, his eyes were focused on the cameras overlooking Waylon''s sewer cities and the project of whatever Ivy and Swamp Thing were cooking even deeper beneath Gotham. The only reason Bruce managed to detect what Swamp Thing and Ivy were doing was because of Bruce''s paranoia and placing over two dozen Ground Penetrating Radars to keep watch of Gotham''s underside. How did he know it was Ivy and Swamp Thing? The answer was simple: cameras.


    Unless Ivy was visiting Waylon, there was no reason for her to travel down into the Sewers, seemingly never coming out from any visible entrances and exits. Whatever they were doing down below Gotham had Bruce concerned, as it was massive in size, rivaling half the city in size in width. Even then, Bruce''s GPRs couldn''t pierce whatever it was down there, so he had no idea what they were doing.


    "Sir?" A voice spoke up from behind.


    "Yes, Alfred?" Bruce answered.


    "You have only been home for a few days. You need a bit more rest before you get back to what you are doing," Alfdred warned.


    "I can''t. I was gone for over a week, and the crime rate has skyrocketed. I need to get back out there and stomp this in the bud before it gets out of control," Bruce explained before climbing out of his chair.


    "Well, then, at least before you go, you should at least eat your dinner," Alfred ''suggested'' with a hard stare, not accepting no as an answer.


    Sighing but cracking a smile, Bruce agreed, and Alfred led Bruce upstairs into the mansion and to the dining room.


    "I found a better source of new ingredients of great quality, so the meal is even more excellent, sir," Alfred proudly stated.


    Sitting down in his seat, Alfdred retrieved a nearby platter and placed it before Bruce, his eyebrow raised from Alfred''s statement. Alfred had been a master chef ever since he became a butler for the Wayne family all those years ago. Bruce grew attached to Alfred''s cooking, as he had yet to find anyone capable of reaching Alfred''s level.


    Due to his talent, Bruce supplied him with the best ingredients in the world. There shouldn''t be anything better.


    "Where did you get these ingredients?" Bruce asked as Alfred lifted the lid that covered the platter. The lid revealed a beautiful display of food and a tantalizing smell that made Bruce pause.


    "Oh, I got them from your friend at the New World Cafe, Zeref. I believe his name was," Alfred said, thinking, which made Bruce pause mid-reach of the nearby silverware.


    "Can you repeat that?" Bruce asked.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in the basement of an abandoned factory, Kyle was tampering with the panel of a Protectron. Protectrons were bipedal clunky robots commonly found across the Fallout Wasteland. Protectrons served as all manner of things, ranging from EMTs, Police Officers, Firefighters, and Construction workers to even things like bartenders, waiters, park staff, and so much more. Protectrons, while clunky and slow, meaning that they had enough space inside their torsos and cone-shaped heads to allow for thicker plating and shielding. Of course, the Protectrons built by Kyle were not so advanced yet, but they were functional enough to help Kyle with his various projects.


    The factory that Kyle called home was fully operational but lacked one crucial component: materials. If Kyle had the materials, he could have started mass-producing and selling robots for high dollars, earning enough to make a loop with some profit to pursue other projects.


    Kyle has started running low on karma and cash, so he is currently working on something cheap to produce that could be sold for a decent amount of money. That item? Something that Kyle had no doubt that the US government or some other organization would pay top dollar for, a Laser Rifle. In this world where ballistic weapons were the main weapon used by every power in the world, but a Laser Rifle? That would massively increase the power of any power interested in it.


    At the moment, Kyle had a dozen of these rifles placed in a crate, ready to be sold immediately if he so wished. Just had to find a good buyer. Maybe Zeref might know someone in need of some good weapons? Perhaps someone would even be willing to contract Kyle to make more.

 85 – A mind experiment

    Amid my day, I was certainly not expecting a love tap on the protections I put in place on Joshua''s mind and soul, nor was I expecting that love tap to suddenly become a wrecking ball that plowed through my warding with little effort. By the time I could force the intruder out, they had already gotten what they wanted and a peak under Joshua''s hood, so to speak. Whoever or whatever it was managed to scan most of Joshua''s memories before I kicked them out, that means they know what Joshua is capable of, what he has done, the blood on his hands, and the lives he has saved.


    I thought the wards and barriers I put up were sufficient against whatever could be thrown at it, but that was proved wrong by whoever or whatever did this. I could improve the barriers even more, but that would take a few hours, and Joshua would need to be completely unconscious for me to set them up.


    Splitting myself to form another clone, I walked over to the simulator, where I found Joshua throwing his new ''students'' at an unbeatable challenge, especially for their levels. Despite that, they were making quite the progress, as I could see them scouring through a war-torn battlefield within the streets of New Vegas in front of the Lucky 13 Casino; they set up traps using mines and explosives, and one of them even made a Bouncy Betty, an explosive they hid under rock and dirt, that would activate from pressure, that would send a grenade up into the air.


    "How are they doing?" I asked Joshua, who looked no worse for wear despite the mind-probing, not that he noticed it.


    "Decent. The large thug is less skilled than Caesar''s Centurions. He has no skill with a blade, and his marksmanship and strength are the only thing passable about his skills. The redhead is by far the most skilled of all of them. She has taken the lead and shows the others in between the waves how to make traps to thin out the enemy''s numbers. The last two, however, are complete novices; they have already made several mistakes that should have been fatal if not for the thug and redhead that saved them," Joshua explained, his eyes not leaving the scene below us.


    "What are they fighting?" I asked, curious.


    "At the moment, they are fighting the wasteland filth, Raiders, Fiends, Jackals, Great Khan, Powder Gangers, Ghouls, and the lesser of the NCR''s army," Joshua informed with displeasure.


    "And they are struggling? What''s in the next wave?" I asked, baffled, looking down at the four.


    Swiping his hand, the wave manager appeared before me while Joshua explained his thought process.


    "I am sending in waves of enemies, five total per round. In between each round is a five-minute grace period to stock up on equipment, assemble traps, and rest. They are on the fourth wave of this round. This wave will consist of multiple waves, the first of which will be around thirty fiends armed with various small caliber and melee weaponry. The second wave will be a wave of twenty Jackals, and the last will be fifteen Great Khans," Joshua explained.


    The first wave would be completely unorganized drug, drug-addicted raiders and would be easy to dispatch by anyone with a gun and some ammo. On the other hand, the second wave was more organized and would feature some units with some actual armor, with a ''Boss'' of the gang who would be wearing a full suit of metal armor, something that any sufficiently powerful rifle or pistol could pierce through. The last wave would be the toughest, as the Great Khan is an old clan of chem producers and raiders living in huts and RVs across the wasteland. Their armor was not the best, but they were all equipped with hunting rifles, 10mm pistols, and shotguns, and the ''Chief'' of this group would even have a grenade launcher.


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    "I see; this will be a decent test of their skill, but you do realize that  giving them a five-minute grace period between rounds is being a bit...generous, right?" I asked, getting a nod from Joshua.


    "Yes, I know, but this is merely a test, a practical exam where I can see their skills and experiences. They are not meant to win, and I will not test their endurance just yet. They''ll eventually lose regardless," Joshua explained his reasoning.


    "That''s fair. Just keep in mind that the simulator is only a few times faster than the outside world, so do try not to keep them in here past closing," I asked.


    Getting a nod, I threw on a simple barrier that should last until tonight and exited the simulation with this clone. Already fifteen minutes had passed outside despite the few minutes inside talking with Joshua. It was a good thing that while none of the injuries Joshua''s students would receive in the simulation would be automatically healed outside of the simulation, they''d keep the gains they got from the simulator; it was the perfect exercise and training room for all manner of practical subjects.


    They were lucky to have Joshua as a teacher; the man of God was quite the teacher if his memories were anything to go by...speaking of his memories, I still was not expecting to have an older Joshua Graham under my service. This Joshua had lived past the game''s events and lived in a village founded with the help of Nathaniel and the two tribes under their care. It was beautiful, and the things they taught the unified tribe would ensure their survival against whatever the wasteland threw at them.


    Joshua was even more qualified for the role of teacher and trainer than I originally envisioned, so I was betting whatever he was going to put his students through, they''d come out all the better for it, as I doubted Joshua would accept ''quits'' due to his life in the Wasteland. Ah, just imagine the hell they would go through. It brought a sadistic smile to my clone''s form.


    That''s when I heard the sound of rushing footsteps from the entrance. Looking over with one of my clones, I was met with a sweating Logan, who seemed to be panicking for the front desk. Before  he could reach the front  desk, one of my clones intervened, "Logan, what''s the rush?"


    Taking quick breaths, it was clear that the man needed some exercise to get back into tip-top shape. I waited patiently for him to speak.


    "What did you do?" he asked hastily.


    "What did I do?" I parroted, confused, tilting my head slate to show it.


    "Charles," Logan emphasized. "What did you do to Charles?" he asked again, clearly concerned for the mind-rapist many of the X-Men community despised despite his ''good'' deeds towards mutant kind.


    "Ah, so that''s who attempted to attack my employee," I spoke with realization.


    "Attack?" Logan questioned, confused.


    "Yes? Did you not know?" I asked, curious.


    "Charles? He''d never do something like that!" Wolverine aggressively defended the ''Professor'' of the mutant institution.


    "He''s really got his hooks dug deep, doesn''t he?" I wondered aloud, what would happen if I ripped out Charles''s mental hooks on Wolverine? Would Logan still want to save the beloved Professor, or would he try and finish the deed himself?


    Without so much as a continued response, I instead reached out, a void of energy capping around my clawed hand as I gripped Logan''s skull tightly. My magic seeped into his head, sifting through his ancient, compared to humans, mind, and began to pluck every string of Charles''s influence on the old mutant''s mind.


    I had no doubt that this would cause a bit of chaos, especially once Logan begins to think and see clearly. There was certainly quite a bit of tampering done to Logan''s mind, from blocked memories to influenced feelings and attitudes toward certain individuals such as Magneto and even Charles himself.

 86 – The Wolverine

    Startled awake, Wolverine jumped up from the couch he was placed on as he looked around in a panic. Surrounding him was the bustling cafe filled to the brim with people playing games, talking, eating, and so much more.


    Suddenly grasping his head, his mind flooded with memories forgotten, blocked. Scenes flashed before his eyes: nights when Charles used Logan as an assassin to eliminate politicians hostile to mutant kind. Multiple times, when Charles forced Logan to kill a mutant child, it was too dangerous to those around them. Every thought that Charles found to be too troublesome was ripped away, blocked, or replaced with something else so that Charles could keep his loyal immortal soldier.


    A searing anger took hold of Wolverine''s mind as he thought of everything Charles had made him do or forget over the years! Before he could rush out of the store and chase down Charles to get some answers, a clawed hand grabbed his shoulder.


    "Good evening, Logan. How are you feeling?" Zeref asked.


    "Furious," Wolverine seethed, making Zeref laugh.


    "Yeah, I guess you know why I told you I''d kill Charles on sight if I ever saw him," Zeref waved his hand as it took on a dark purple hue.


    "How long?" Logan questioned.


    "How long?" Zeref parroted, "How long what?"


    "How long has Charles done this?" He gestured to himself and around.


    "Use his powers on others? I assume ever since he''s gotten them. He''s a master manipulator who invades the privacy of every mind he meets. How do you think Mutants have lasted as long as they have without entire governments chasing after them instead of the small agencies they use now?" Zeref asked before continuing, "Charles is controlling; he controls politicians, military leaders, and everyone who proves a threat to his school, though he never seems to cross the line unless they go past his."


    Wolverine grit his teeth, "What do I do?! He''s the one currently keeping the government off our backs!"


    "Do whatever you feel is right. Eventually, Charles will die regardless of your or my input; that''s just the way of the world, and Charles has quite a few enemies," Zerref suggested with a hand motion.


    "Just keep in mind, if he notices your unshackled mind, he''ll likely try to mind rape you again," Zerref spoke again before leaving, slowly walking away.


    Luckily for Logan, Charles was currently in a coma.


    As Logan left the cafe, dozens of eyes watched him leave; all said eyes belonged to one Zerref, who was feeling gleeful.


    ...


    When Logan reached the mansion, his eyes looked hollow as he stared at the mansion. He shed so much innocent and guilty blood to protect those within the mansion''s walls. While he would have willingly done it to protect those under his charge, he was far from willing, as Charles used him as a puppet to take out well over a dozen men and women, some of which did not deserve to die.


    Logan''s dilemma concerns what he should do. On one hand, he wants payback against Charles and everything he''s done. On the other, he realizes that if something happens to Charles and he does not wake up, the school and everyone inside it will be chased down to the ends of the Earth by those wanting to turn their gifts into weapons or experiment on them to see if their powers can be replicated.


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    Taking a deep breath and clenching his fists, Logan stepped into the Mansion, a place he considered home...but was that even his real belief? Or was it another manipulation done by Charles? The more he thought about Charles, the more furious Wolverine became.


    As he walked through the halls and was greeted by his students and the younger children who treated the mansion as a safe haven, Logan sported a stiff and fake smile as he waved and greeted each one. He was a soldier. He had a duty to protect the children and his students, regardless of Charles''s machinations.


    Reaching the elevator, he traveled to the mansion''s sublevels, soon reaching Hank''s lab, his face stern and grim as he entered.


    Hearing the door of his lab open, Hank turned to see Logan, only to freeze, "Logan?" Hank asked, worried.


    Logan did his best to contain his anger, but even then, it was clear that Logan was furious. His hands were clenched, ready to release his claws; his posture was tense, as if ready for a fight, and his eyes were cold, unnerving to everything that looked upon them.


    "Did you know?" Logan asked, trying to contain his anger and betrayal.


    "Know? Know what? Wait, what about Charles?! Did you go to that Cafe and see if that...that thing was responsible?!" Hank tried changing the topic.


    Growling, Logan answered, "It was because Charles was playing with something he shouldn''t have. Now answer the damn question. Did you know?!"


    "Know what?!" Hank tried again, exasperated.


    "That Charles was manipulating us, ALL of us!" Logan yelled.


    "Manipu...What?" Hank asked, confused.


    "He was messing with my mind! He made me do so many horrible things, and he made me into his puppet! He is actively using his damn powers to make us all pawns to use against Magneto and his mutants!" Logan shouted, walking back and forth in place.


    "What? What are you talking about, Logan?" Hank asked, baffled by Logan''s outburst.


    "Logan, what are you talking about?" Hank asked again, raising his hands, trying to calm Logan down.


    "Charles! He used his damn powers to control me!" Logan explained, aggravated.


    "Why? For what purpose?"


    "He messed with my mind! He made me forget things I did not want to forget. He made me forget about my brother and my wife! He forced me to kill innocent men, women, and children!" Logan continued to explain.


    "What?" Hank asked, aghast by Logan''s accusation; with his hands raised and his eyes glancing around the room, Logan knew what would happen next.


    Hank leaped forward towards a nearby desk but was tackled by Logan onto the ground, where the two began to wrestle for control, unluckily for Logan, Hank''s gift, while leaving him with an unusual appearance that got him the nickname ''The Beast,'' it also gifted him with inhuman strength, agility, and reflexes.


    In moments, Logan was pushed off, and Hank managed to grab something from the drawer he reached for, pulling out a syringe filled with something. Still on the ground, Logan grabbed onto Hank''s legs and pulled with all of his strength, sending Hank to the ground and knocking the syringe out of his hand.


    Getting Hank into a choke hold, Logan tried to snap Hank out of his senses, "Get a hold of yourself, Hank! I know this is not you. Resist Charles!"


    Hank struggled fiercely, slowly but surely peeling Logan off of him, forcing Logan to reach for the syringe and inject Hank with it, hoping it would stop him.


    For a second, Hank was stronger but quickly started becoming weaker the longer Logan choked the air out of him until Hank fell unconscious, and Logan let him go. Grimacing, Logan realized that Charles must also have controlled Hank, and if Hank had been controlled, everyone else would likely have been as well.


    Tying Hank to his chair with a copious amount of duct tape, Logan contemplated what he should do. If everyone had been mind-controlled by Charles, then...the best thing to do would be to remove Charles. Shaking his head, Logan realized there had to be something else he could do. If Charles died, then everyone in the mansion would be doomed. Who else could he go to? Magneto? Surely, Magneto knew of Charles''s habits, and that''s why he always wore that helmet.


    Or...what if he brought Charles to Zerref? While he would likely kill Charles on sight, if there were a chance he could erase and prevent everyone in the Mansion from being influenced by Charles, then it would surely be a risk Logan was willing to take. Charles was a danger to the students; if Logan couldn''t find a way to stop Charles, then it was better to make sure Charles never harmed the kids or any of Logan''s friends again. If Charles used him to kill his political rivals and dangerous mutant children and adults, then who knows what he did to the kids of the Mansion as well as Logan''s own friends.

 87 – Don’t be suspicious, don’t don’t be suspicious

    With Hank unconscious and the Professor in a Coma, Logan had to decide. At the moment, the Professor was lying in a bed in Hank¡¯s lab, just in the corner; Hank, while a scientist, was also the school¡¯s doctor, so Logan knew he had to make a decision fast before someone came down looking for Hank whether it be for a simple scrape or burn or something else.


    Silently cursing, he rolled Hank to the corner of the room where it would be hard to see him and taped him and his chair onto the wall. This added an extra layer of protection against Hank while also making it hard for anyone to find him, as his voice would be muffled, and he would be out of sight.


    From there, he turned off the room''s lights before moving over to the Professor, pushing him out of the room, and closing the door behind him. Looking down both sides of the hallway, he rushed to the helipad, where the Blacbird would be. With it and his experience in flying with Hank to their missions with his fellow X-men, Logan knew he''d be able to escape so long as he managed to get to the ship with Charles.


    That''s when the worst-case scenario came to being, as both Storm and Cyclops came walking through down the hall, right before Logan as he pushed Charles''s bed.


    The two X-men looked at Charles and Logan in confusion.


    "Logan? What are you doing with the professor?" Ororo asked, looking between the two men with confusion.


    "Hank asked me to move him to his room," Logan lied with a straight face. His body was tense and ready to fight immediately, but even he knew he''d lose to his two friends before him.


    Orroro, aka Storm, was a mutant able to control the weather; with her will alone, she could darken the skies above, bring forth terrifyingly destructive lightning bolts, and even enhance herself with these lightning bolts while she flew in the air.


    On the other hand, Scott had to wear a special helmet to control his power, or he would burn everything in his path to ash because of how powerful and hot his lasers were. These two were heavy hitters, and if they both attacked Logan, he knew that he would very well lose if luck were not on his side, so his only hope was that Charles''s manipulations wouldn''t work if they thought he was still under Charles''s control.


    "I thought Hank wanted to keep him in his lab? To prevent a panic?" Scott interjected, confused.


    "He feels it would be better if Charles had a familiar environment to rest and recover, and with everyone in the class, he felt that this was a good time to sneak Charles to his room." Logan tried to persuade the two, and luckily for him, it worked.


    "Alright, just let us know if you need any help," Orroro smiled, walking past Logan and the professor with Scott.


    Knowing they were heading for the lab or the Danger Room, Logan began to rush toward the Hangar, where he boarded the Blackbird with Charles in toe. Tying Charles down, Logan closed the hatch and climbed to the pilot''s seat, where he rapidly flipped switches, pushed buttons, and switched levers, causing numerous lights across the ship''s console to light up and flicker on with myriad colors.


    As the engines came to life, he signaled for the roof to open, revealing the empty basketball court that acted as the hidden entrance into the hangar, and he activated the hangar''s elevator, bringing the Blackbird up.


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    Knowing that he was running out of time before Orroro and Scott found Hank, Logan cursed and wished the elevator was faster.


    When it finally reached the top, and the Blackbird began to move, he heard a distance rumbling from outside the ship and saw that the clouds above began to darken. Knowing he didn''t have long, he began to take off, and once he was in the air, a series of lightning bolts struck the plane.


    "Damn it," Logan cursed, pulling up and trying to pierce through the clouds. He knew he had to get up past the clouds before Scott could force the plane to land, and luckily for him, just as the Blackbird pierced into the storm cloud created by Orroro, the Blackbird''s sensors began to flash, alerting him of Scott''s attack.


    Weaving as he flew into the cloud,  he just barely managed to dodge the beam of energy that pierced the clouds right where the plane had previously been. Once he was hidden by the clouds, his altitude skyrocketed as he flew as high as he could to stop Storm from reaching him and the plane before he took off in a different direction than where he intended to throw off Storm and the others. He needed as much time as he could with Zerref, which meant he needed to set his friends on a wild goose chase before they could find him; he''d also need to ditch the plane, as no doubt, the plane had a tracker somewhere being monitored by Hank. He needed to find somewhere to set the plane down, get a car, and change clothes.


    Making a plan, he changed direction, heading north to northwest, which was close but still away from his main destination, where he''d ditch the plane and get some wheels before heading towards Hell''s Kitchen; he just had to hope that Charles would remain unconscious.


    ...


    Watching as his students were overrun by NCR Soldiers and Heavy Troops, Joshua mentally noted each student''s strengths and weaknesses.


    The red-haired woman was flexible and strong but relied too much on small-caliber weapons and close-quarters combat. The thug, on the other hand, was reckless and lacked skill in anything other than pistols, which was a weakness as most pistols would be unable to stop or dispatch the greater threats of the wasteland. He needed a lot more training, but still not as near as much as the two other students of his.


    When the simulation finally ended, the group fell to the ground of the simulator, completely exhausted, with only the red-haired woman showing a bit more endurance than the others. They would all need extensive survival training, physical conditioning, practical lessons, and training in various fields. Tactics, leadership, logistics, everything to make them Generals for the future battles to come. It would also mean that Joshua would need to push them to their limits and break them until they became better. Better than him.


    Joshua needed to grasp this world. He needed to know everything: its population, its civil and military infrastructure, and more. Zerref already informed Joshua of this civilization''s weaknesses but little of its strengths; it was a world much like the Pre-War World before the Great War, but he didn''t know exactly what this world had over his own.


    Letting his students leave and informing them to return tomorrow, Joshua walked over to the desk where his ''personal'' Computer was and opened the thing called ''Internet.'' An action Joshua would come to both regret and be thankful for. He has seen the worst of humanity personally, but the fact that the corruption was just as bad in some places across this...large network was worrying. He also saw things he couldn''t explain. A strange woman in strange metal armor stronger, faster, and more durable than any man could possibly be, he saw a ''Man of Steel,'' an alien like those in the comics, only this one looked human yet was anything but, as they could fly, crush cars with their bare fists, and even use lasers more powerful than anything Joshua has ever seen.


    The more Joshua saw, the more concerned he grew. What sort of threats would come to be to threaten these...monsters in human flesh? Nothing in the Legion or any other group across the Wasteland could probably stop even one of these beings short of a Fat Man or Pre-War nuke. Perhaps Zerref would know; that way, Joshua could train the students in what they needed and make them the best they could be for whatever would come.

 88 – Confrontation with Earth’s superpower

    As the night passed and the next day arose, Zerref wondered how Logan was doing after the revelation. Sure, Charles could do some good, but that does not mean everything he has done can be condoned. For Christ''s sake, he was the strongest telepath on the planet outside of Jean Gray or the Martians, but what has he used his power for? He had many chances to stop or influence his old friend Magento, but he did not. The same goes for many other situations; he has so much power and influence, yet while that power has corrupted him, he never used it to its full potential, so whether Logan killed Charles or not, Zerref did not care, so long as he never attacked of his employees again.


    Shaking his many heads, Zerref looked upon the fractured dimensional door of his Cafe, which showed the outside world of his multiple entrances; the only difference was a new ''window'' could be seen, showing off a brand new location, one that was quite...bizarre. Beyond the door was a strange futuristic city filled with dozens of Skyscrapers, flying cars, some kind of magnetic railroad, and so much green along with a clear starry sky while most of the city basked in light from the moon, making a beautiful scene before Zerref.


    However, what gave away where this new entrance was happened to be the small army of men with spears, energy shields, flying ships, and so much more stood before the entrance, waiting for a possible attack.


    At the front of said army? A figure in a decorative costume modeled after a particular animal, that anima? The Black Panther. Zerref''s store has opened in one of the most isolationist countries and the most technologically advanced on Earth, Wakanda.


    Deciding to open the entrance, Zerref waited for Black Panther or one of the Wakandian soldiers to step inside. The store would open in an hour, but it was the dead of night for Wakanda. If they were to become Customers, Zerref knew that he''d have to change the store hours. Perhaps it was finally time to go 24 hours?


    Interrupted by the sound of the doors sliding open, Zerref and his many clones stopped and looked at the new customer, one Black Panther who stalked into the store, ready for a fight.


    "Welcome, Black Panther," all of Zerref greeted at once, making the man clearly pause in place.


    One of the Zerref clones stepped forward, "Welcome to my humble shop, Black Panther."


    "Who are you?" Black Panther asked in accented English, concerned and cautious in his tone and posture as he gazed upon Zerref and his multiple clones.


    "You may call me Zerref. While I would love to continue this conversation, I am afraid I will have to ask you to leave. The store has not opened yet, and we are not welcoming any guests," I informed the Prince or King before waving my hand, forcing them out of the store with a wave of energy before relocking the doors. While Black Panther climbed from the ground he was thrown onto, his army advanced forward, their spears and shields creating a barrier between the store and the Black Panther.


    ...


    A bit later, Zerref opened the Cafe for business, unlocking all of the entrances and allowing a flood of customers to enter. They went about their business, buying food and drinks and buying the general goods available for cash and karma. A majority of the customers, however, hoped on a Computer and began their daily gaming session where they could experience another life in one of the games. Elder Scrolls was a rising star of the games, as a few thousand players played the games nearly daily.


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    Luckily, with the time limit imposed on the Computers, none of the newer customers could grind away endlessly for Credits; however, some of the customers who had been here longer than the store''s rise in popularity had already begun purchasing some of the items on the credit store, one of which purchased the Conduit Serum that granted them powers. That customer? Catwoman. The power she received was certainly strange for her character. Her ability? The ability to manipulate light.


    Strangely, Wakanda still hasn''t interfered or entered the store since a few hours ago. Upon inspection, Zerref noticed that they had placed some kind of energy barrier around the entrance, patrolled by a larger army.


    What were they expecting? An invasion? Shaking his head, Zerref was interrupted by the sight of Logan walking into the store, a figure hoisted on their shoulder as Logan carried them into the cafe.


    "Logan?" One of the clones stepped forward, looking directly over Logan and the figure on his shoulder.


    "I need your help," Logan asked, straight to the point.


    "With?" Zerref asked, though already having a hint of what Logan wanted help with if the figure on his shoulder was anything to go by.


    "I need help with Charles," Logan answered, gesturing towards the professor unconscious over his shoulder.


    "And you brought him here?" Zerref asked with a tilt of his head.


    "I had no other options," Logan said pointedly.


    "Hmm, I can''t do much about him unless you just want me to kill him. Oh, I do know one person who might be able to help. She''s pretty old, but you didn''t hear that from me," Zerref openly mocked, not even reacting to the orange circular portal that opened behind him that no one noticed besides Logan himself.


    "It is quite rude to mention a woman''s age, Zerref," A bald-headed woman spoke from behind the Zerref as she walked through the portal that led to some monetary-looking place.


    "You heard?" Zerref stated, not really asking.


    "I have, but what do you expect me to do about the man?" The woman asked, curious.


    "You''ve been on this planet for how long? If you don''t know what to do to limit or cripple Charles''s powers, then very few others will, and I''d rather not consort with demons if I have the chance; thank you very much," Zerref pointed out a bit dismissively.


    She threw Zerref a look but focused on Charles.


    "Come with me," She waved her hand, beckoning Logan to follow her.


    Watching as the three left through the portal, Zerref shook his head. Either way, Charles should at least be taken care of by the Ancient One or Logan before he becomes more of a threat.


    Moments later, a bald-headed African woman in ornate red robes and a hidden weapon on her body stepped into the Cafe.


    Instantly noticing the new arrival, Zeref couldn''t help but sigh. This would be a long day.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in Karmar-Taj, the Ancient One led Logan to her chamber.


    "Set him on the ground," She gestured to the mat at the center of the room.


    Logan was filled with questions as he looked upon the strange woman and everything that he had witnessed since he had stepped through the portal in the air. He had been teaching mutant children for over a decade, yet what he had witnessed so far was already reaching the border of his understanding.


    Was the woman a mutant?


    Placing Charles on the ground as the woman asked, Logan stepped back as the woman kneeled down next to Charles''s head.


    "Who...are you?" Logan finally asked.


    "You may call me the Ancient One, and I am a master here of this Monastery," The Ancient One introduced herself to Logan, not even looking in his direction before multiple orange sigils appeared before her palms as she brought them down to Charles''s head.


    Before Logan could ask, the Ancient One spoke as if she knew what he would say, "I am not a mutant, no. I am a practitioner of the mystic arts."

 89 – A Mad God for a Mad Clown

    Deep within a foggy and creepy forest, a long table covered in cheese, delicious food, and beautiful treats could be seen, while a middle-aged man in a strangely colorful outfit reminiscing what a jester would wear. Laughing like a madman, the crazy, colorful man shouted, "I haven''t had so much fun with a mortal like yourself since dear old Pelagius!"


    The creepy thing about it was that his fingers tapped on a pristine human skull while stating that.


    The woman sitting across from the madman laughed, "Haha! I like you too, old man!" before taking a rather large bite of exotic cheese.


    "Since you''ve been such a wonderful lass, I felt like you deserve a reward! I originally planned on ripping out your eyes and eating them, but since you''ve been such a good sport, I felt that you deserved a better reward! Feel free to keep the Wabbajack. As a symbol of my... Oh, just take the damn thing. You take care of yourself now. And if you ever find yourself in New Sheoth, look me up. We can share a strawberry torte." The Madman stated with a smile, glossing over the fact that he very well intended to harm her originally.


    Clapping his hands, the Madman stood out from his chair, "Well, I suppose it''s back to the Shivering Isles. The trouble Haskill can get into while I''m gone simply boggles the mind... Let''s make sure I''m not forgetting anything. Clothes? Check. Beard? Check! Luggage? Luggage! Now, where did I leave my luggage?"


    That''s when a man stepped through a portal to the Madman''s side.


    "Master! You''ve taken me back! Does this mean we''re going home? Oh, happy times! I can''t wait to-" The old man hastily spoke before the  Madman interrupted him.


    "Yes, yes, that''s quite enough celebration. Let''s send you ahead, shall we?" The Madman waved his hand, making the man disappear with a portal.


    "Now, before I forget, one final reward for being such a good sport," The Madman waved his hand, causing a strange glow to cover the woman.


    "Take my blessing! Now, ta ta!" With his final worlds, the world collapsed in on itself, throwing the woman back into a dusty old room that clearly hadn''t seen use in over two decades.


    In that woman''s hands was the legendary Wabbajak, the Deadric Artifact of the Mad God himself, Sheogorath. Said Artifact was capable of great and terrible things, as it was as chaotic as the God that created it. Using the magic staff on an object can do any number of things: it could turn them into a chicken, it could turn them into a different race, it could give them a deadly disease, it could outright kill them, and yet, while it had its reputation for its negative effects, it was also able to cure incurable diseases, resurrect those no longer living, gift someone with skills and experiences of ancient warriors and mages.


    And the woman who obtained the artifact? One Harley Frances Quinn, otherwise known as the Clown, a title previously held by her ex, Joker, who has not been seen in over a year.


    Harley was loving the experience of Skyrim. While there were plenty of things she didn''t understand, there was a lot more she did. She could kill people for money? Fight Dragons? There was so much she could do that Harley became...content after she left. She still caused plenty of trouble as she traveled around Gotham, but there was a notable decrease in crimes related to her and her... ''friends'' who also played the games.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Dusting off her armor, that being the trusty heavy steel plate, she walked out from the abandoned wing of Solitude''s Blue Palace and was met with her three companions.


    Lydia, the thane she received for becoming the Thane of Whiterun.


    Feandal of Riverwood, a loverbo-elf, who was competing with an imperial man for the hand of a local woman. Faendal ended up joining her after Helgen when she revealed the woman''s behavior and that she was playing them both.


    The last companion of hers was a brute of a woman named Uthegard the Unbroken, a woman who decided to follow Harley after she got her ass handed to her by the clown, losing 250 Septims from a bet in the process.


    "I hope you are well, my thane," Lydia greeted, as annoyingly stiff as ever.


    "Ha, as if anything in there could hope to be a match for her!" Uthgard commented boisterously.


    "Does it matter?" Feandal asked, clearly not comfortable with his surroundings.


    "Yeah, yeah, I''m fine," Harley waved them off.


    That''s when they noticed the staff in her hands.


    "What is that?" Uthgard asked in disgust; not much of a fan of magic in general.


    "It''s a staff," Harley replied smugly, getting a glare from Uthgard.


    Shaking her hand, she handed it  to Lydia, "Hold onto it for me, I got to go talk to the Bitch upstairs."


    Not even bothering to see if any of them replied, she headed upstairs to the small throne room where a woman could be seen sitting down in a seat, soldiers, guards, and advisors around her.


    "Hey, got rid of your ghost problem. That''ll be 500 Septims," Harley demanded without a care in the world.


    "Truly?" One of the advisors asked, baffled.


    "You take me for a liar? See for yourself. It''s just a regular dusty couple of rooms now," Harley spoke dismissively.


    The woman on the throne gestured to one of the advisors, who ordered a few Guards to follow him, disappearing down the stairs moments later.


    "If your words are true, you have done us a great service, Dragonborn," The woman started, only to be interrupted by the annoyed Harley, "Keep your fancy sh-stuff, to yourself, your ''highness,'' I am only interested in gold or something else of value."


    Perhaps noticing but not commenting on Harley''s near insult to the current ''High King'' of Skyrim, one of the Advisors brought out a rather large pouch twinkling with the sound of Gold upon seeing the previous Advisor return and giving a nod.


    Grabbing the pouch of Gold, Harley left before the politicians could say anymore.


    Counting the gold she had in her head, Harley realized she should have enough now to fully furnish her home in Winterhold. It was surprisingly cheap, all things considered. It only took a dozen or so bounties, and she could afford to buy a house in Whiterun and a good portion of the furniture.


    Meeting her companions, she said, "Alright, let''s get a move on. What''s next on the agenda?"


    "We need to retrieve the Horn of Jarl Windcaller for the greybeards," Lydia ''helpfully'' informed Harley, making Harley groan.


    "I can''t believe those old froggies need me to grab a dusty old horn to prove myself, fucking stupid," Harley cursed in annoyance.


    "It is tradition," Uthegar spoke up, making Harley wave her off, "Tradition? Who cares. You''d think the Old Men would do their damn jobs instead of throwing such useless tests at me; there are already dozens of Dragons flying across Skyrim; why not wait for a dozen more to show up?" Harley sarcastically asked.


    "The traditions must be maintained," Uthegard stubbornly answered.


    "Fine!" Harley gave up, "Let''s go get that stupid horn."


    Behind Harley, her exasperated followers couldn''t help but shake their heads in exhaustion at their leader and the supposed ''savior'' of Skyrim.


    While Harley knew that this was a game, sometimes, it felt too real to be fake, and now she couldn''t imagine her life without these ''games.''


    Little did she know, these games were about to become much more real, but for now, she headed east with her little band of followers to the Nordic tomb that held a dusty old useless horn filled with Mages, Draugr, and worse of all, Skeevers.

 90 – Delphine, the bitch

    As Harley and her compatriots fought through the ancient Nordic tomb, Ustengrav crawled with mages and Draugr, and the walking undead corpses of Ancient Nordic warriors were entombed within, but despite all of the dangers of the Nordic Tomb, including Draugr capable of using the Thu''um and mages capable of potent or annoying forms of magic. However, the worst by far still ended with it being Skeevers, rather large rat-like creatures that carry all sorts of nasty diseases that always ended with Harley having to visit a temple and paying a hundred septims just to get said diseases cured.


    By the end, they made it through scores of Draugr and Mages, even finding a Word Wall at the bottom of a rather large chamber patrolled by skeletons and a few Draugr.


    From there, Harley had to solve an annoying puzzle in which she needed to use the ''Unrelenting Force'' shout to speed past a set of iron gates that would close within seconds of activating a set of triggers.


    However, when she finally got to the horn, it was rather...stale.


    "That''s...it? Seriously?" Harley complained, looking at the strange monoliths that arose from the water as they walked down a pathway, only to see what was clearly not a horn on a pedestal in the shape of a stone hand.


    Stepping closer revealed the object to be a...letter.


    "Are you fucking kidding me?!" Harley cursed, exasperated.


    Reaching out to grab the piece of paper, Lydia began to read off the message while Harley paced back and forth, annoyed.


    "Dragonborn--


    I need to speak to you. Urgently.


    Rent the attic room at the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood, and I''ll meet you.


    --A friend"


    Harley let out a slew of profanity at how annoyed she was by whoever took the horn and prevented her from learning more ''shouting magic'' from the ''old geezers'' of ''ugly castle'' atop ''fuck-off mountain.''


    Annoyed, yet not wanting to give up the chance to learn more ''shouting magic,'' Harley and her ragtag group of companions made their way south, past Morthal then Whiterun, before eventually making it to Riverwood, a multiple-day journey on foot, something else that made Harley grumble in annoyance at the time she lost because of this diversion.


    Making their way into the Inn, Faendal frowned upon seeing his old crush while Uthegard paid for a drink. In the meantime, Harley approached the barmaid.


    "Hey, I need to rent a room for the attic," Harley demanded.


    The barmaid looked at Harley briefly before responding, "I see. Well, we don''t have an attic, so the best I can give you is one of the free rooms. That''ll be ten septims, please."


    Grumbling, she reached into her pocket and paid the price for the room the woman led her into before closing the door behind her, which immediately made Harley go on guard.


    "So you are the Dragonborn," the Barmaid spoke, revealing herself to be the one that stole the Horn from the tomb.


    "And you''re the bitch wasting my time," Harley remarked with a glare.


    Not answering Harley''s comment, the woman pulled out the horn from...somewhere and tossed it to Harley, who caught it.


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    "I believe that is what you were searching for, and now that you have it, would you hear me out?" The barmaid requested.


    Looking at the barmaid with a sneer, Harley asked, "And you couldn''t just hire a courier or something? All you did was piss me off."


    "If I sent a courier, there was a chance that you''d never receive the message. Taking the horn was a...guarantee that you''d have to meet with me. As for wasting your time, I may have wasted only a few hours, but Riverwood is one of the routes you could take on your way to High Hrothgar," the barmaid explained her reasoning.


    "Just hear me out. That is all I ask," The barmaid requested.


    "Fine, but it''ll cost you. 100 Septims for my time," Harley demanded with a cruel smile, getting a look of disgust and disbelief from the barmaid.


    Sighing, the barmaid tossed a pouch of Septims to Harley and stepped out of the room.


    Smiling, Harley pocketed the pouch and followed the women, subtly gesturing to her companions to be on guard and ready for action as she followed the barmaid into a rather large bedroom on the opposite side of the Inn before demanding that Harley close the door.


    Raising an eyebrow towards the barmaid''s intentions, Harley closed the door yet left it unlocked while the barmaid stepped up to the...wardrobe and opened it.


    Before Harley could make any sort of remark, the barmaid pressed the back of the wardrobe, revealing a hidden door that slid open, revealing a set of stairs.


    "Uh, I may be a bit of a crazy girl, but in no way am I interested in heavy BDSM," Harley commented as she looked upon what would clearly be a dungeon. The barmaid looked upon Harley in confusion, having no semblance of understanding what ''BDSM'' was.


    After several moments of silence, the barmaid moved on, "Now, we can talk."


    <div>


    Following the barmaid down the stairs, she was met by a small cellar. Several weapon racks, chests, and other furniture adorn the walls of the small room, which also has a small table covered in an old tattered map.


    "The Greybeards seem to think you''re the Dragonborn. I hope they''re right."


    "Hope?" Harley caught, annoyed by the wench''s words.


    "I hope so. But you''ll forgive me if I don''t assume that something''s true just because the Greybeards say so. I just handed you the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller. Does that make me Dragonborn, too?" the barmaid replied dismissively and annoyedly.


    "Are you stupid?" Harley suddenly asked.


    "Excuse me?" The barmaid asked, offended.


    "I asked if you were stupid," Harley pointedly asked again.


    Seeing the barmaid''s annoyance, Harley smirked, "There''s an easy way to know if I am a Dragonborn or not," Harley began, only to be rudely interrupted by the barmaid, "You must slay a dragon."


    "Are you serious?" Harley asked, annoyed, before continuing, "No. You can just ask the Guards at Whiterun who witnessed my battle with the dragon, or you could have a taste of a shout to the face. Your choice," Harley shrugged, a mocking smile on her face.


    "No. I need to see it for myself. Dragons aren''t just coming back; they''re coming back to life. They weren''t gone somewhere for all these years. They were dead, killed off centuries ago by my predecessors. Now, something''s happening to bring them back to life. And I need you to help me stop it."


    <dl>


    <dd></dd>


    </dl>


    "More than likely, it was Alduin," Harley spoke nonchalantly, leaning against the wall.


    "The World Eater?!" the barmaid shouted, getting a deadpan stare from Harley.


    "You''re bothering me, and you couldn''t even do a bit of research? The thing has been roaming Skyrim and was personally responsible for the destruction of Helgen. Hell, that old crazy lady personally saw it after it fled from Helgen," Harley mocked her while also giving her some sources of information she could check with to confirm Harley''s words.


    "Then, there is even more reason for me to confirm that you are truly a Dragonborn. All across Skyrim, there are burial mounds filled with dragon skeletons. I''ve looked at which ones are now empty. The pattern is pretty clear. It seems to be spreading from the southeast down to the Jeralls near Riften. The one at Kynesgrove is next if the pattern holds," the barmaid pointed at the map.


    "If we hurry, we can make it in time to catch whoever or whatever is bringing back the Dragons," the barmaid spoke with conviction.


    "Are you stupid?" Harley suddenly interrupted the barmaid''s train of thought.


    "What makes you think I''ll go with you? I''m busy enough as is, and you want me to rush to what could be nothing, distracting me from learning more from those old lizards?" Harley retorted, annoyed by the woman''s demands from Harley. After all, Harley was already struggling to fight the giant lizards, so why in the hell would she want to do some other shit instead of learning more cool shit from the old hermits up the mountain and using those newfound shouts to kick some more dragon ass?


    Besides, Harley could tell from just talking with the woman that she had a stick so far up her ass that Harley would honestly be tempted to kill them if they kept talking.