The reason the Black Panthers were called "Black Panthers" was because their leader referred to himself as "Black Panther." The Black Panthers were once elite Marines, but after retiring, they carved out their own business in Gotham City, recruiting fellow retired Marines to form the "Black Panther" team, specializing in violent jobs that ordinary organizations could not handle.
"Are we overdoing it a bit? These weapons are enough for a major case, using them on a thief is such a waste."
"Shut up, Kaitou Kid is no ordinary thief. He's a thief who comes and goes without a trace, just like Batman."
"Hahaha, compared to Batman, that thief doesn't even qualify."
The Black Panther team didn't know much about Kaitou Kid, but they knew he was an arrogant thief who had once escaped right under Commissioner Gordon's nose. "But even if he's like Batman, there's no way he can steal the gem right under our noses."
The Black Panther team was a group that could work on both sides of the law, relying on their strong fighting abilities to carve out their own territory. They often took on "black-on-black" jobs, gaining fame among the city's major criminal organizations. This time, they had been hired by a wealthy man to act as bodyguards. As long as it involved fighting, they were more than capable.
With their guns loaded, the leader of the Black Panthers, the "Black Panther" himself, shouted, "Everyone, get ready. It's time. Kaitou Kid is coming." The Black Panther leader was a Latin man with brown-black skin and a crew-cut, his muscular body making him look like an inverted triangle.
"Alright, let's get to work."
There were twelve members, all heavily armed. Despite their varying body types—tall, short, fat, or thin—they all had a fierce and grim appearance. They may have joined for different reasons, but each of them had the blood of a warrior and a violent nature. They craved battle, ready to fight to the death.
"Alright!" they shouted in unison.
Liu A'dou glanced at the time—it was nearly time. He stood up from the corner and pressed the remote.
Boom, boom, boom...
The crisp explosions echoed through the yard. This was due to the small explosives placed in the cameras ahead of time. "The show's starting," Liu A'dou muttered to himself.
The explosions successfully drew the attention of the Black Panther team, and they rushed to the yard to check. "It's the cameras, all destroyed."
"Everyone, stay alert. Kid's coming. Watch the skies."
A few of them took positions to guard the surroundings, while others took positions to monitor the sky, working seamlessly to ensure that Kid couldn't sneak in.
"There!" someone shouted, pointing. They could already see a white speck getting closer. "Steady, wait until he's in range. Open fire."
"Understood!"
They aimed their guns upwards in the standard military stance, typical of former soldiers. "Steady, steady," they urged.
The white dot grew closer, and they could finally see that it was a glider. "Open fire!"
Rat-a-tat-tat—rat-a-tat-tat—
The sound of rapid gunfire filled the air as bullets rained down on the gliding target, creating a mesh in the sky to trap their enemy.
The glider swayed a few times, passing through the first line of fire. This made the Black Panther leader frown. He was sure that Kid had been hit. Why wasn't he falling?
"Keep firing! Bring him down!"
They intensified their fire, and the scorching bullets drew an abstract pattern across the night sky. The glider couldn't maintain its form any longer and began to falter.
Liu A'dou, controlling the glider and simultaneously using the remote, knew the decoy was about to be useless. Without hesitation, he abandoned the decoy and directed the glider straight toward the Black Panther team.
"Take cover—!"
Without needing to be told, the team quickly scattered.
The decoy fell to the ground, shattered, as the glider broke apart.
"Did you kill him?" the wealthy man asked from his study, speaking through a radio.
Of course, they hadn't. The Black Panther members realized that the bullets they fired had only brought down a decoy. The Black Panther leader knew they'd been tricked. Kaitou Kid was indeed no ordinary thief, cunning and sly. "Quick, check the villa's windows and doors, and the roof. Make sure Kid didn't get inside."
"Yes!"
"Spread out and get moving," Liu A'dou muttered. This was exactly what he needed them to do. He didn't immediately infiltrate the mansion but instead hid, preparing to teach these criminals a lesson for threatening his life. Taking a small device out of his pocket, Liu A'dou grinned mischievously.
"We haven't found Kid, the windows are intact," one of the Black Panther members reported. Just as the words left his mouth, Liu A'dou felt a sharp pain in his neck, and the light from the window seemed to twist into a ribbon before everything went black and he collapsed.
"Dr. Agasa's special tranquilizer dart—you deserve it," Liu A'dou chuckled, grabbing the walkie-talkie and mimicking the voice of the fallen henchman. "I'm moving to the next window, keep the channel open." He tossed the walkie-talkie aside, a tactic to buy some time.
The unlucky man's comrades didn't realize that the voice on the other end was no longer their own.
Liu A'dou attached a specially-made tranquilizer dart magazine to his magic card gun. This small magazine could fire fifty tranquilizer darts. The magazine was a six-sided column, with a small opening for firing and a larger one to connect to the gun. It was roughly the size of a lighter, making it easy to carry.
The Black Panther team moved cautiously, afraid of being ambushed, but they were completely unprepared for an attack from Kid. The tranquilizer darts were enough to put an elephant to sleep, so bringing down a human was nothing.
Liu A'dou took down four of the team members in quick succession. It wasn't until he had finished that they realized something was wrong. Although Liu A'dou would always change his voice to report after each strike, the mansion was small enough that they quickly discovered the unconscious bodies.
"Boss, we've been attacked, four of us are down... Ah—"
Five of them were down.
"Everyone gather up," the Black Panther leader ordered. It was obviously not wise to remain scattered. The remaining seven gathered, guns at the ready. Who was this thief that managed to take down five of their teammates? This wasn't simple.
"Be careful, this thief is no ordinary one," the leader said. No one had ever managed to silently defeat such an elite team of soldiers, but Kid had done it.
Liu A'dou noted the quick reaction of the Black Panthers and thought to himself that they weren't ordinary armed criminals but more like military personnel. By now, he had climbed onto the roof, deciding whether to continue playing with them or simply steal what he came for.
Of course, he chose to keep playing. With a wicked grin, he pulled out a flashbang grenade and tossed it right by their feet.
"Flashbang!"
Boom—
The light exploded in the yard, causing the remaining members of the Black Panther team to scatter.
Some were unable to tolerate the disorientation and dropped to their knees in pain. In that moment, Liu A'dou, using the voice of the leader, shouted, "He's on the right, fire!"
The Black Panthers were startled. The voice sounded eerily familiar, then they heard the gunshots. The leader quickly yelled, "Don't shoot, don't shoot! That's not my order, don't shoot, you idiots!"
The gunfire died down.
Liu A'dou smirked. It was almost time. He had his real mission to attend to. He aimed his tranquilizer gun at the remaining armed members, each one getting a dart.
"Ah—" Short gasps rang out as all seven remaining members fell to the ground, unconscious.
With all the Black Panthers taken care of, Liu A'dou quickly entered the second floor through the skylight. Now, his only obstacle was the electronic lock requiring both fingerprint and voice recognition. He had already gathered the fingerprint from the mansion's computer mouse in the wealthy man's study. As for the voice recognition, that would depend on his ventriloquism skills.
Prepared, Liu A'dou applied the fingerprint and passed. Next came the voice recognition: "Open sesame, open sesame!" The door clicked open.
Inside the collection room, the green-glowing "Angel's Wing" was waiting for him. Without hesitation, Liu A'dou gracefully approached the display, using his white gloves to move the gem from the pedestal into his pocket, leaving behind a card:
"The Angel's Wing are taken by me—Kaitou Kid."
The wealthy man didn't dare show himself. With the powerful Black Panther team taken out, appearing would only bring trouble, so he stayed hidden and tried to forget about the gem. At least this way, he felt a bit better. This Kaitou Kid was truly a monster.