"Welcome aboard Air France A380 from Washington to Gotham City. I'm your captain today. It's a pleasure to serve you. We'll begin our descent in 20 minutes."
High above the clouds, the Airbus cruised smoothly with 500 passengers on board. Another uneventful flight.
"Control tower, the weather's great today. Visibility looks good. We're almost there—get the coffee ready."
"Airbus A380, coffee's ready and waiting. Weather's perfect for landing today."
It was just about time. As they neared the airport, the captain said, "Co-pilot, begin descent. Switch to manual."
"Got it." Click. Nothing happened.
Maybe the button didn't register. Try again. Click. Still no response. A cold sweat broke across the co-pilot's back. Click, click! No good. "Captain?"
"What is it?"
"The switch doesn't seem to be responding." The captain glanced over—the autopilot light was still on. But they were already entering descent range. "Try again."
It was useless. Control had already been hijacked by Neo. He was now piloting a multi-hundred-million-dollar aircraft through a game controller.
"What's going on with A380? Why's it veering off course?" The control tower noticed the shift on radar.
"Control, we've lost all control of the aircraft," the captain replied. "We're checking the systems. Can you confirm our current position?"
"You've veered off course and are now crossing into another aircraft's flight path."
Cold sweat drenched the flight crew's backs. This wasn't a joke—if the plane went down, it'd cost hundreds of lives.
But there was no error they could find—only that they'd lost control.
"Master, a commercial airliner is circling above Gotham," Alfred reported to Batman.
Batman looked up. It was already close to 6:30 AM. The sun was rising. Through his binoculars, he quickly confirmed the aircraft's situation—currently circling, no signs of descent.
He tapped into the airport's signal and found out the pilots had lost control. Judging by its path, it looked more like a hijack than a malfunction. Neo. Batman immediately thought of the hacker who was after Kaitou Kid.
No one knew anything about Neo—not his gender, age, or face—but he was the most wanted hacker by the FBI, sitting at the top of the cybercrime world.
When Batman saw how Kaitou Kid had shouted earlier, he could tell Kid had no clue why Neo was targeting him, or where Neo was hiding now.
"Alfred, inform Fox. Use all of Wayne Enterprises' resources. We must find him."
This wasn't just about helping Kid—it was about protecting Gotham. Whatever Neo's reason, if he wanted to pick a fight with Kid in Gotham, then he had no one to blame for Batman stepping in. He had to be found before irreversible damage happened.
Batman wasn't going to sit on his hands either. As a superhuman with over 20 different specialties, Batman's hacking skills were also top-tier. Kid could handle things here—he was heading back to the Batcave.
"Boss, that's Kaitou Kid, right?" Lieutenant Hans hadn't seen the show in person, but he'd watched tons of videos and fan discussions. The image he had of Kid was of a magician thief. But this? This looked like Superman. Like Superman in a tuxedo. But the truth was, Superman couldn't even fit into Kid's little suit. Though, a lot of Kid's powers now really did look just like Superman's.
Iselin stayed silent. Kaitou Kid had become too unfamiliar. The fans were speechless too, staring blankly at Kid floating in the sky. No one knew how to describe what they were feeling—it was just... complicated.
At that moment, Kid also noticed the abnormal aircraft in the sky. But was this related to Neo?
The passengers, reassured by the flight attendants, were still managing to stay calm—for now. But nervousness was inevitable. The plane kept flying and flying… and what if it ran out of fuel? Half the passengers were thinking about that. They knew it was bad luck to even consider it, but couldn't help it. The more they thought about it, the faster their hearts beat. Cold sweat trickled down their faces and foreheads.
The crew was the same. Only their professionalism kept them from panicking. But as time passed, even the crew started to despair.
"Almost there," Neo muttered. He figured the fuel was just about right. Time to crash the plane.
Woooooo—
"Hey, hey, what's that?" The rooftop doors were still locked. They couldn't go down. They were the first to spot a black speck in the sky.
"Looks like a plane."
"But it's falling."
That's right. The plane was falling—more precisely, being crashed on purpose. Neo was certain Kid would stop it. "Go!"
The clouds scattered as the plane plunged.
Screams rang out across the rooftop. The plane was coming straight for them.
It was Neo again. Kid was sure now—everything today had been a trap. Neo was using Kid's fans to threaten him, forcing him to use his powers, revealing step by step who he really was.
From today on, the Kaitou Kid fan club was probably going to shrink. It'd be lucky if even one or two die-hard fans stuck around. But Kid wasn't discouraged. Whether or not he had superpowers, Kaitou Kid was still Kaitou Kid. Liu A'dou was still Liu A'dou. He remained the legendary figure who used human hands to accomplish the impossible. Phantom thief or hero—it made no difference.
With a deep breath, Kid slowly raised both hands, facing the aircraft head-on.
The crowd couldn't believe their eyes. Was Kid really about to do what Superman does? Sure, Kid had some abilities, but that didn't mean he was as strong as Superman. An 80-ton Airbus A380 was practically a meteor.
The lightning earlier was too abstract. All fans had seen was a flash of light. Though the ozone created by the discharge had actually made the air cleaner, and the burst water tank downstairs had been quickly stopped by Kid—with only a bit of a drop in temperature. The first two traps were clever and powerful, but their visual impact didn't compare to a falling aircraft.
So right now, the fans honestly doubted if Kid could stop something so massive.
Kid smiled. 'Neo really pulled out all the stops, huh?' Both hands surged with the Force.
Boom! The Airbus A380 began to slow midair, and kept slowing. The passengers and crew inside could feel it. They didn't know what had happened—but they were alive.
Hans held up the camera, legs feeling like they were set in cement. He couldn't move. This was more shocking than the last two times. That massive 80-ton aircraft was right above them, and Kid was holding it in the air. This wasn't magic. It was more than magic. It was more real and more awe-inspiring than any illusion.
This was Kid, in this world. If before he was a perfectionist artist always one step ahead of every detective, now he was a pioneer and a light ahead of all humanity. Kid had never been left behind—and never would be.