The subterranean vault erupted into complete bedlam.
Heavy wooden chairs flew backward, glass champagne flutes shattered against the stone floor, and masked mobsters scrambled for the narrow exit doors like rats escaping a flooded sewer.
On the iron catwalks above, six armed mercenaries in black tactical gear racked their submachine guns, aiming down at the velvet booth. "OPEN FIRE! KILL THE CLOWN!"
"Not on my watch, boys!" Jack screech-screamed.
He took a deep, theatrical breath, his chest expanding under his tailored charcoal tuxedo jacket, his bloodshot eyes glowing with an electric, unholy light as [30.0% SYNCHRONIZATION] flooded his lungs.
Then he opened his crimson mouth wide and unleashed it.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The [Crowd Control Cackle] tore through the enclosed concrete bunker like an acoustic shockwave. It wasn't just noise; it was a high-frequency, ear-splitting sonic assault laced with pure psychological decay. The sound bounced off the reinforced walls, vibrating violently through the air.
BZZZZZZ-CRACK!
Overhead, the heavy crystal chandeliers shattered, raining sparkling glass down on the velvet seats. The tactical HUDs on the mercenaries' helmets glitched out into blinding static, and all six guards on the catwalk instantly dropped their weapons, clutching their ears and groaning in sheer, agonizing vertigo.
"AARGH! MY EARS! MY BRAIN IS VIBRATING!" a guard shrieked, staggering into a metal railing and tumbling twenty feet down onto a velvet sofa.
Even the Maggia bosses fell to their knees, vomiting from the sudden loss of equilibrium.
"Now, girls!" Jack rasped, his voice dropping into a breathless, manic wheeze as he wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. "Clean 'em out! Everything must go! Clearance sale!"
Natasha didn't hesitate. While the rest of the room was paralyzed by Jack’s sonic madness, her military-grade discipline kept her focused. She vaulted over the front row of seats with lethal, fluid grace, her crimson dress sweeping behind her like a blur of blood.
Two disoriented guards tried to draw their sidearms near the stage, but Natasha was already on them. She swept the first guard's legs out, caught his falling pistol mid-air, and used his body as a springboard to leap straight onto the bulletproof glass display!
THWACK-BANG!
She fired two armor-piercing rounds directly into the glass casing's mechanical latch, shattering the lock mechanism. With a swift movement, she snatched the glowing, blue Chitauri energy core and tucked it smoothly into her leather shoulder bag.
"Got the core!" Natasha called out over the ringing in her ears, shooting a quick, dangerous smirk over her shoulder at Jack.
Meanwhile, Felicia was having the time of her life.
Taking full advantage of the disoriented billionaires, the Black Cat darted through the front row like a phantom, casually pulling five-carat diamond rings off frozen fingers, snatching thick stacks of bearer bonds from open briefcases, and pocketing a pair of antique golden revolvers off a Maggia boss’s belt.
"Ooh, don't mind if I do! Thanks for the tip, boys!" Felicia giggled, stuffing her silk purse till the seams were bursting.
[SYSTEM QUEST COMPLETED: "THE INFLATION SQUEEZE"]
Drive the auction price above $50M and bankrupt the venue: COMPLETED!
[QUEST REWARD GRANTED!]
Synchronization Level: 30.0% → 35.0%
New Active Skill Unlocked: [Joker’s Anarchy Ledger] – Allows instant hacking and high-speed drain of electronic financial transactions/digital assets within line of sight.
A fresh wave of electric euphoria rushed through Jack's nervous system, his [35.0% SYNCHRONIZATION] lighting up his vision with neon-crimson notifications!
"THIRTY-FIVE PERCENT!" Jack roared into the smoke, his white-painted face gleaming under the strobe lights of the vault's emergency alarms. "I CAN SMELL THE MONEY MOVING THROUGH THE WIRES! IT TASTES LIKE COPPER AND GREED!"
He pointed his gloved hand at the auctioneer's digital payment tablet on the main stage.
BZZZZT-CLICK!
Using [Joker’s Anarchy Ledger], Jack instantly routed thirty million dollars from the auctioneer’s offshore accounts directly into an untraceable offshore charity fund registered under The Aunt May Youth Center of Queens!
"TRANSACTION COMPLETE! THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUS DONATION TO THE QUEENS COMMUNITY!" Jack cackled, pulling two smoke bombs from his tuxedo coat and slamming them onto the floor!
BOOM-PFFFT!
Thick, yellow-and-violet carnival fog filled the underground vault.
"Retreat!" Natasha commanded, grabbing Jack by the collar of his charcoal jacket while Felicia sprinted right behind them toward the subterranean freight elevator.
Five minutes later, the stolen laundry van tore out of an alleyway in the Meatpacking District, spraying rainwater onto the cobblestones as it sped away into the Manhattan night, leaving behind a ruined vault, fifty bankrupted mobsters, and a very confused auctioneer.
Comments (0)