Île de la Cité, Paris.
Inside a massive medieval Catholic Cathedral, a feminine figure calmly stood on the stone altar, bathing under the faint glow of the moonlight that shone through the shattered rose window—her entry point. She stood poised as parts of her glassy black suit reflected the moonlight that complemented her silvery hair. On her face sat a simple black mask that went around her eyes. Jumping down from the altar with a silent leap, she landed on the mosaic floor of the choir with the elegance of a cat. In her right hand, she held the Crown of Thorns.
She paused momentarily, looking at the priceless artifact of the ages with a sense of wonder and satisfaction. A woman's loud cry, followed by an explosion, broke her out of her reverie, and her eyes widened. She placed the crown within the satchel on her waist and bolted toward an exit while moving silently and cautiously behind the carved wooden pews.
Outside the Notre-Dame de Paris, a violent battle raged as explosions and horrific screams continued reaching her ears. She, however, was undaunted as she reached a supporting column and started climbing. Firmly grasping the worn-out stone and the carvings, she climbed up to the scaffolding that lined the north transept. As she pulled herself up on the ledge, she finally caught sight of her destination—the South Tower.
"Thief!" A sudden exclamation made her eyes widen, and she suddenly ducked. A large projectile whipped past her head and struck the stone wall ahead of her. The ensuing explosion sent dust flying everywhere, yet the wall showed no signs of damage.
"Thank fuck, these bitches don't have any more of that empowerment going for them. I would never in a million years have the guts to do this if the hotspot hadn't dried out a few days ago…" The silver-haired woman felt goosebumps rise as she quickly started moving forward, using the temporary smokescreen created by the blast as her cover to grab a beam above her. She swung from it and kicked the witch in the face before any alarms could be raised.
She quickly climbed back up to the ledge and moved to the top, with the Emmanuel Bell looming above her head. Through the arched window, she could see the ensuing conflict underneath her. On one side were the French police, in a desperate struggle against thirty witches. For the time being, neither side looked like they had an advantage, but the officers looked like they were more on the defensive side.
"They're trying to stall while they wait for backup. If this hotspot doesn't start spewing whatever energy it does, these witches are done for. Whatever, not like I have anything to do with them after today," she sounded smug as she turned her gaze a little higher across the Seine and focused on the Palais de Justice.
Pulling out her grappling gun, she took aim and quickly shot it at a gothic spire. The hook shot forward and firmly anchored itself to the tall spire.
As she prepared to leap away, loud exclamations from the witches drew her attention. They were suddenly gaining ground. Their previously multi-colored magic was now predominantly red, and they seemed to be overwhelming the police, to say the least.
"That hotspot… It's active again." Without an ounce of hesitation, she leaped from the Notre-Dame, wanting to get away before anyone caught wind of her heist.
"Stop right there!" One of the witches cried out at her as the bold burglar woman soared through the air. Without needing any chant, the witch brought her hands together and gathered a red mist between her palms.
The woman saw the witch's action in slow motion as she soared through the air, her heart thumping violently. The witch's hands shot forward before she could figure out any way to interrupt or prevent the spell from being cast. She braced herself for impact, tightly closing her eyes as death approached her.
It never came, and instead, the witch was on her knees due to a stray explosive spell that had landed near her, preventing her from completing her spell.
"For once in my life, lucky me, I guess…" What she hadn't noticed was the red glow that appeared all around her when she closed her eyes.
She continued looking at the two forces battling it out as she made her way across the rover and to her destination. Despite the overwhelming disadvantage that they suffered, the police had served to keep the witches occupied just long enough that she was able to land stably on top of the Palais de Justice.
She stowed away the grappling gun and tapped a few times on her watch as a ringing sound came from it.
"What?"
"Heya, KP. Guess who has the Crown of Thorns?"
"You have it. Amazing work, kitten. I'll get you extracted. Where are you right now?"
"Top of the Palais de Justice. Try to get it done quickly. These hotspots are active again. One of those bitches will catch up to me as soon as they deal with the cops."
"Say no more," the man said before disconnecting the call.
It didn't take much longer as the space in front of her started distorting. A light smirk appeared on her face as the distortion started whirling and quickly formed into a portal. She confidently stepped forward and entered the portal.
In the next moment, the silver-haired woman stood in front of a massive man who was easily twice as tall as her. Beside him stood a man wearing a long robe that covered almost all of his body as the hood covered his face under the darkness.
"Black Cat," the man said. "My most valued thief."
"At your service, Kingpin," she said while bowing playfully. "So that's the valued wizard that you were talking about, huh? He's pretty good to be able to teleport me from Paris to New York."
"The crown," Kingpin said, not addressing her inquiry about the robed man beside him. "Show it to me."
"Now, now, what's the hurry?" She asked. "Show me my reward first. I don't know if Notre-Dame was a localized occurrence or not, but if the hotspots are active again, that crown's magical amplification is going to make you a very powerful man. I want my reward first."
"Fine," Kingpin smiled dangerously. "Bring out Black Cat's payment."
She finally noticed that there was another person in the room. A man stepped forward from behind Kingpin with a briefcase in his hand. Her eyes honed in on it as a thought crossed her mind.
'Fat ass…' Kingpin was truly a ginormous man, large enough to easily hide multiple people behind him.
The man stopped in front of Black Cat and opened the briefcase, displaying four cylindrical cases full of diamonds encased within foam protection.
"Damn…" Black Cat whistled as the glistening diamonds glinted in her eyes. Her hand involuntarily shot forward as she grabbed one of the cases to look at its contents.
"The crown now, Cat," Kingpin said with impatience shining in his eyes. "I won't be asking again."
"Ohh, so scary," she rolled her eyes and put the diamond case back into the briefcase before putting her gloved hand into her satchel. When she pulled it out, she held the Crown of Thorns in her hand. "Happy? I do have it."
"That means we can conclude the deal," Kingpin's eyes were filled with greed. "The Diamonds for the Crown."
"Naturally," she said.
The man holding the briefcase stepped forward while extending his hand toward the crown. His eyes were fixated on the artifact, preventing him from noticing the faint red glow that appeared in Black Cat's emerald green eyes.
Suddenly, he tripped, and his grip loosened enough to allow the briefcase to slip from his fingers as he fell to his knees.
"Woah," Black Cat's honed reflexes allowed her to grasp the falling briefcase before it crashed. "You okay, buddy?" She asked, not looking concerned in the slightest. "My unlucky streak is on a roll today…" She mumbled under her breath.
"What sheer incompetence," Kingpin looked infuriated as he looked at Black Cat holding both her reward and the Crown of Thorns. "The Crown, Black Cat. Now."
"I was just giving it to him," she said with a chuckle as the man got up to his feet. "I can't even use this damn thing. It's not like I have any magical powers or knowledge. Even if I keep it, it's going to be nothing more than a glorified paperweight."
Quickly composing himself, the man's hand shot forward, about to grab the Crown of Thorns from Black Cat's hand.
Just as he was about to touch the Crown, red mist exploded out of Black Cat's form and before anyone could react to the sudden occurrence, she disappeared, with both the crown and the diamonds.
"Black Cat!" Kingpin shouted wrathfully as he crushed the armrest of his chair. "You're dead. No matter where you go, I will find you and kill you!"
The woman was too far away from him to have heard his threat right now. What Kingpin didn't notice was that not only Black Cat but the wizard who was standing beside him had also disappeared without anyone realizing it.
***
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