083. The Clown

Thor had withdrawn into himself, refusing to respond to any questions. Coulson, for all his attempts—gentle persuasion, tough tactics, everything in between—couldn't get Thor to say a word, and in the end had no choice but to give up.

"Sir, do you want us to try something a bit more... entertaining?" One of his men suggested. As agents, they had plenty of ways to make someone talk, it was just a matter of whether they wanted to use them.

Coulson shook his head. "Not for now. We'll find another way. By the way, check his travel records—see if he's been anywhere besides Los Angeles, and who he's been in contact with."

"Understood, sir." The subordinate left, and just then, another agent approached.

"Reporting, sir. There’s been a bank robbery in District 19. Shots fired. Do you need us to assist?"

If Coulson had a worse temper, he would have slapped him right then. "We're S.H.I.E.L.D., not the police. Bank robberies are not our business. Besides, do you think we have the manpower to deal with every little incident?"

The agent shook his head. "I understand, sir. It's just that this robbery seems unusual, so I thought I should report it to you."

"Tell me," Coulson rubbed his brow.

The agent spoke in a low voice, "There were six robbers, all wearing masks. In the end, only one escaped with the money."

"Six came, five died. Which bank? The security must be pretty strong, almost on par with S.H.I.E.L.D." Coulson remarked loyally.

But the agent’s expression was odd, "No, the security was quite ordinary and was essentially neutralized at the start. The robbers died by killing each other…"

Coulson’s brow furrowed. "Explain."

"Yes, sir."

Meanwhile, Gwen was browsing trending news online and complaining to Su Ye.

"The news says the robbers all wore clown masks and slaughtered each other during the robbery. In the end, only one was left, took the money, and escaped in a school bus."

On the computer screen before Gwen, there was a face painted with heavy clown makeup. The red greasepaint at the corners of the mouth concealed vicious scars that nearly reached the ears.

"A lot of money was stolen, and so many people died. Dad will be busy!" Gwen sighed.

The robbery had happened in District 19, right in the jurisdiction of Gwen’s father, Chief George.

Su Ye glanced at the screen, his brows knitting. The sudden appearance of this clown, who killed all his accomplices and calmly escaped with the money, didn’t surprise him much.

Catwoman’s girlfriend card had been drawn days ago, his Batman gear had been upgraded several times, so the appearance of Batman’s arch-nemesis, the Joker, was inevitable. It would have been strange if he hadn’t shown up.

What puzzled Su Ye was the school bus used in the robbery. It had suddenly reversed out of a dense convoy of buses, crashed into the bank, and then, after the job was done, the Joker drove the bus out and seamlessly merged back into the convoy, passing by police cars in perfect formation.

Were all those buses driven by robots? Unmanned? Or were all the drivers Joker’s people?

The movie never explained, but Su Ye thought that if Chief George wanted to track the Joker, starting with the bus drivers or the bus company might be the quickest route.

As for himself, he had no intention of meddling with the Joker.

The Joker—how to describe him? In Su Ye’s view, he was a twisted, deranged, chaotic pervert. Besides his fiery and seductive girlfriend, who hated the heat and wore little, and provided some epic costume scenes, there was nothing commendable about him.

A consummate villain, intent on infecting the world with his evil, overturning order, sowing chaos. The fact that so many people idolized the Joker, flooding comment sections with his name, was something Su Ye truly couldn’t comprehend.

Praising the actor's performance was fair—the deceased deserve respect, and the acting was superb—but blindly idolizing the Joker, calling him “Lord Joker,” was unnecessary.

If this were in the Dragon Kingdom, such a character wouldn’t survive two episodes.

But this was America, where the Joker was an inevitable product of the social environment. Su Ye could only wish him well.

The Joker and the Green Goblin were both negative side effects of Su Ye drawing girlfriend cards. By rights, he should take responsibility, as he did with the Green Goblin at first.

But people change.

Besides, the Joker’s madness stemmed from dissatisfaction with society, with the government and its institutions, seeking to destroy the system for true freedom and equality—a true anarchist.

In some ways, Su Ye actually agreed with the Joker’s actions. Of course, only in his heart—he’d never admit it aloud.

"Ye, let’s help Dad, okay? Catch this villain and protect New York’s peace!" Gwen looked at Su Ye, utterly serious.

"No problem. Upholding justice is our duty," Su Ye nodded quickly. After all, women must be humored.

Then his tone shifted. "But this Joker may act erratically and boldly, but he’s no fool. So we—especially you—must not act rashly. If you discover anything, tell me first!"

"More than Chief George or the city’s safety, I care about your well-being. Do you understand?"

"Mm-hmm," Gwen nodded, moved, and leaned in for a kiss. And then...

Two hours later...

Exhausted, Gwen had fallen into a deep sleep. Su Ye tucked her in, then slipped out the window.

It was already late at night. Though he too was somewhat worn out, there was an urgent issue to address.

In the underground Batcave, Dr. Fox was waiting for Su Ye’s arrival after receiving his call. The old butler, Alfred, was also present.

"Master, coming here so late—do you have an urgent matter?" Alfred asked.

Su Ye tugged at his collar to cover the mechanical bruise on his neck and nodded, "Yes, there’s something I need to discuss..."

Upon hearing that Su Ye and the newly appeared female Spider-Man were drawn to each other due to a certain trait, and had inevitably ended up together, both old men couldn’t help but look intrigued.

Clearly, men are always SPs at heart—the desire for details is universal.

"So, I hope you can help me find a way to conceal this trait," Su Ye concluded.

Dr. Fox was immediately puzzled, "Why would you want to hide this trait? If you need, I can recommend a few medications—very effective, no side effects."

At this, Dr. Fox grinned proudly, "I’m over seventy, and with these pills, I could sow my seed across the world, produce a hundred or so children in three years, no problem."

Su Ye couldn’t help but cover his face—what are these old guys thinking? He didn’t need pills, and as a scientist, Fox should have some decorum—don’t act like that old rogue, Mitsuhiro Shiro!