Outside the [Coco Bongo] Club, Lieutenant Kellaway, who had been staking out the perimeter, heard the gunfire erupt inside and immediately began rallying his men, preparing to storm the building to assess the situation.
However, the shootout inside ended just as quickly as it began.
Just as Kellaway and his detectives were about to kick the doors in, the main entrance of the club swung open on its own.
A giant, humanoid [Bugs Bunny] with massive green ears made a grand, spectacular appearance right in front of the squad of heavily armed detectives.
"AHHH!!!"
Amidst the chaotic chorus of screams, it wasn't just the detectives who were startled out of their minds; the [Bugs Bunny] looked equally terrified, its jaw dropping to the floor.
"Who's up for the Bunny Hop?!"
Recovering from his initial shock, the [Bugs Bunny] Stanley couldn't resist his overwhelming urge to put on a show.
With a miniature whirlwind spin, he swapped his rabbit fur for a garish circus clown outfit, a pair of tambourines materializing in his hands and a long, unfurling party horn blowing from his lips.
As Loki's mind-bewitching power washed over the crowd, the detectives completely "forgot themselves," joyfully busting out their best Bunny Hop moves alongside Stanley.
Meanwhile, back inside the club, Mike had already secured the ability he came for. Now, all that was left was fulfilling his official MIB mission:
Retrieving the magical Mask of Loki.
"Needy, hold the fort here for a bit. I'll come back for you as soon as I wrap this up..."
Before he even finished his sentence, Mike turned into a blur, bolting out of the club in pursuit.
Out front, Stanley, who was currently having the time of his life leading a conga line of dancing detectives, spotted Mike charging after him. He immediately dropped his tambourines and bolted into the dimly lit streets.
"Captain, what are you doing here?"
With the mask's bewitching aura gone, Lieutenant Kellaway instantly snapped out of his trance.
However, judging by the confused look on his face, he didn't seem to have any clear memory of his impromptu dance routine.
"The underboss of the syndicate that robbed the bank is inside. Go arrest him..."
Still on a mission, Mike only had time to drop that single instruction before vanishing from the Lieutenant's sight at a speed far beyond human limits.
Moments later, in the shadowy alleys of Broadway, a green figure and a black figure darted through the night, moving at blinding speeds.
As the chase continued, it was obvious that the black figure behind was rapidly closing the gap on the green figure ahead.
"Hold on a minute, boy~ What exactly do you want from me?"
Realizing he was about to be caught, Stanley abruptly stopped in his tracks.
He instantly transformed his outfit into a slick, tailored black suit, his green face barely visible beneath the wide brim of a fedora.
With a thick cigar clamped between his teeth, he struck what he clearly thought was an incredibly cool pose and purposefully lowered his voice to a gravelly register.
"Cool guy?"
Mike stared in amusement at the [Green-Faced Freak] desperately trying to act tough. "Leave the mask. It's too dangerous for you."
As mentioned before, the Mask of Loki possessed the power to amplify humanity's darkest desires, including the urge to kill.
The only reason Stanley hadn't been completely corrupted into a murderous psychopath yet was likely because, deep down, he genuinely was a good person.
But under the constant, subtle influence of the mask, God only knew how long that inherent goodness would hold out.
"You want the mask? You're gonna have to catch me first~"
The mention of the mask seemed to trigger a wildly emotional response from Stanley.
With another flashy whirlwind spin, he swapped his suit for a track-and-field uniform, complete with an outrageously dramatic red cape billowing behind him.
"I'll count to three, and then we race."
Even while trying to escape, Stanley wearing the mask never missed an opportunity for physical comedy.
Before taking off, a starter pistol materialized in his hand. Looking dead serious, he warned, "Rules are rules. No false starts~"
"Here we go... get ready..."
"Three~!!!"
Leaving a cartoonish blur behind, Stanley vanished from his spot.
Clearly, the referee had blatantly rigged the race and jumped the gun.
...
A few minutes later, believing he had completely shaken Mike, Stanley ducked into a secluded corner of the block and dramatically wiped a non-existent bead of sweat from his forehead.
Then, pressing his back against the brick wall, he cautiously peeked around the corner. Seeing the coast was clear, he flashed an impossibly wide grin and shouted,
"And the crowd goes wild~ Mr. Stanley takes the gold!!!"
But before he could celebrate his victory, Mike's calm voice suddenly drifted into his ear from right behind him:
"Are you looking for me?"
Standing just on the other side of the wall, Mike was leaning casually in the shadows, his arms crossed.
"HOLY MOTHER OF—!"
With a shrieking yelp, Stanley grabbed his red cape and bolted in the opposite direction.
But between the two of them—both possessing the same reality-bending powers—Mike's base constitution was vastly superior, and he had the utterly broken [Bullet Time] ability on top of it.
Under these circumstances, he effortlessly caught right back up to the frantically fleeing Stanley in seconds.
And judging by how relaxed he looked, Mike wasn't even breaking a sweat.
On the other hand, Stanley, having exhausted every trick in his playbook, finally gave up the idea of outrunning him.
"You forced my hand!!!"
Cornered in an empty lot, Stanley materialized a pair of massive, oversized boxing gloves onto his hands.
Instantly, a full-sized boxing ring sprang up from the concrete around them, trapping both him and Mike inside the ropes.
"Let's go, champ~"
Stanley aggressively pounded his boxing gloves together twice, bouncing lightly on his feet as he threw a few textbook jabs and weaves.
Loki's mask amplified negative emotions, and right now, it made Stanley look completely unhinged and manic.
But just as he closed the distance and threw a probing jab at Mike, he watched in horror as a vibranium-alloy shield materialized in his opponent's left hand—and an absolutely massive, absurdly heavy hammer appeared in his right.
"You're cheating~"
That was the very last thought that crossed Stanley's mind before the hammer swiftly knocked him out cold.
A few minutes later, having removed the mask and stripped Stanley of his magical powers, Mike quietly carried him back to his apartment and tucked him into bed.
"Sweet dreams~"
But before leaving, Mike didn't forget to take the hundred million dollars in "dirty money" Stanley had snatched from the bank robbers.
Using the [Power of Transformation], the entire closet full of cash was instantly compressed into a single "cashier's check" of equivalent value.
...
Afterward, traveling light, Mike stepped out onto the roof, materialized a jetpack onto his back, and enjoyed a thrilling, high-speed flight back to the club.
By the time he returned to the [Coco Bongo], Underboss Dorian and the rest of the surviving gang members had already been loaded into police cruisers by the detectives.
Inside the massive, mostly empty nightclub, the only people left were Needy, the John Wick trio, Lieutenant Kellaway, and Tina.
"Captain, perfect timing. This woman claims she's a friend of yours. Is that true?"
Seeing Mike return, Lieutenant Kellaway immediately rushed over.
Although he had successfully apprehended the gang members who robbed the bank tonight, the massive sum of stolen cash was still completely missing.
Therefore, the Lieutenant had absolutely zero time to waste interrogating Tina, who was a suspected accomplice of Dorian's.
But the woman adamantly insisted that she was a personal friend of Mike's.
Standing in the club, faced with Tina's pleading expression, Mike easily read her "hidden motives" and told Kellaway,
"I can vouch for her. She's definitely not running with Dorian's crew."
"Excellent. Then she's in your custody."
Desperate to pass off the headache that was Tina, Kellaway quickly completed the handover and rushed out of the club.
His three-day deadline was rapidly approaching; he couldn't afford to waste another second here.
It's just a shame that his desperate "crusade" to recover the missing bank funds was ultimately doomed to fail.
Of course, having successfully arrested Dorian and his crew of hardened criminals, even if he didn't recover the cash, Lieutenant Kellaway's job was definitely safe.
After all, cracking the case and bringing the "masterminds" behind the violent bank robbery to justice during an emergency operation was already a massive career achievement.
Back inside the [Coco Bongo] Club, having just scored an absolute fortune, Mike generously handed the John Wick trio a hefty "hazard pay" bonus before sending them home for the night.
"Alright, let's hear it. How do you plan on fixing your mess?"
Once only Tina was left, Mike crossed his arms and asked.
Having listened to her inner thoughts, Mike could confirm that the woman harbored no malicious intent toward him.
But business is business. The crimes she had committed in the past couldn't just be wiped away with a simple vouch.