"What's your name?"
"Maggie."
"Our lucky guest today is Maggie. Where are you from?"
"I'm from Gotham City." Maggie was a guy in his early twenties and a die-hard fan of Kaitou Kid. He had come just to watch these guys make a fool of themselves. No way anyone could outdo Kaitou Kid, he thought.
"Gotham City, huh? Then have you ever seen Kaitou Kid in person?" Daniel asked.
"I have. It was an honor. I personally saw Kid steal a nuclear bomb." Maggie's eyes lit up with excitement just thinking about it. Even though the trick had been explained later, Kid's performance and presence that day were unforgettable. It changed Maggie's life.
Maggie was also the admin of the Kaitou Kid fan site—a hardcore supporter. That's why The Four Horsemen had targeted him. If they could win over all of Kid's fans, that would be the real victory.
"After today, you'll witness a magic act even more daring and stunning. Now, please stand right here," Jack said.
Maggie played along. He was curious to see what these so-called The Four Horsemen could really do.
Once Maggie was in position, Daniel suddenly grinned. "Oops, almost forgot the most important thing—the teleportation helmet."
...What?
Maggie watched as the magician placed a spider-like LED helmet on his head. "What is this?"
"This is a teleportation helmet. Together with the portal, it will send you straight into the vault of the National Credit Union in New York City. We're even going to let you bring something back." Daniel pulled out a three of clubs, signed it, and slipped it into Maggie's pocket. "So, are you ready?"
"Ready," Maggie nodded.
"Good. Let's bend space and send our brave warrior on his way!"
Boom—
As the portal closed, Maggie vanished.
"Maggie, can you hear us?" A live video feed appeared on the big screen. The camera was built into the helmet.
"Loud and clear," Maggie answered. He looked around and realized he was really inside a vault. Piles of US dollars stacked higher than his waist. He had no idea how much money that was. "Oh my God." They actually sent him into the vault at the National Credit Union in New York?
"Okay, Maggie. Now place the signed playing card and your ticket between those stacks of cash. We need to move fast—I think everyone's dying to see that money."
What did he mean? The audience froze. Wait... they weren't seriously planning to steal the money and hand it out to everyone, were they?
Maggie slipped the card and ticket into a gap between the stacks of bills.
"Perfect."
Perfect... Maggie was still stunned when he suddenly froze in place, standing stiff as a board.
Inside the vault, the ventilation fans kicked on. Bills fluttered into the vents and were sucked away—only to come flying out all over the performance hall.
Money—tons of it—started raining down from the ceiling.
The crowd looked up in shock. No one expected actual money to fall on them. But when they grabbed it and looked closely—it was real. Genuine US currency fluttered through the air like butterflies. There was so much of it.
They were all too stunned by the money to even notice when Maggie had reappeared on stage.
"We are The Four Horsemen," the four magicians announced as they made their exit.
The crowd went wild. That was real cash. The rich might not care, but there were plenty of poor folks in the audience. This money had been stolen for them—it belonged to them.
This was the real deal. Robbing the rich to give to the poor. And it felt amazing.
The next day, the FBI was in a frenzy. This was interstate bank robbery—local police had no jurisdiction. Only the FBI could take over.
In the US, city police departments hire their own officers, and they only have authority in their respective cities. But the FBI reports directly to the federal government and can enforce the law across all states.
The Four Horsemen were nothing like Kid. They actually stole ten million US dollars.
At the time of the heist, the Justice League was busy hunting Zhao Gao. Liu A'dou didn't even hear about it until the next day.
Honestly, Liu A'dou didn't care if someone tried to challenge his status or steal his spotlight. But The Four Horsemen were clearly targeting him directly. That annoyed him. Still, it was just that—annoyance. If they wanted to jump around for attention, let them. Kid didn't care.
What The Four Horsemen did was something Kid would never do. If a rich person was truly evil, Kid would gather evidence and hand it over to the police. He would never go around robbing the rich to give to the poor. And to be fair, there were just too many corrupt businessmen out there—he couldn't deal with them all even if he wanted to.
Back on the film set, Liu A'dou overheard some staff talking about the whole thing. He just let it go and focused on filming. The special effects were already done—this was the first time post-production finished faster than live shooting. But the scenes in the studio were almost wrapped up too.
Kailan and Ben were excited to see Liu A'dou again. They still needed guidance with their Force training.
These two aliens were working hard. They had basically mastered the Jedi sword style. The nerdy producers and directors were fascinated with the Force and Jedi lore, which inspired all sorts of ideas. It helped the two actors improve a lot. Their Jedi skills were becoming sharp thanks to the filming process.
Now it was time to start formal training in the Force.
"No passion, only peace. No ignorance, only knowledge. No chaos, only serenity. No death, only the Force."
Anyone obsessed with the power of the Force could fall to the dark side. So Force users needed strict self-discipline. Actually, this didn't apply only to the Force—it was the same for all forms of power. Superman and Batman were both very self-restrained.
Without that control, you became a villain.
Luckily, the Green Elves were naturally calm. Even though both of them had deep personal grudges, they weren't the type to shout and fight all day. Liu A'dou was satisfied with them.
"Damn that Kaitou Kid!" Commissioner Stonberg slammed the table and growled.
"But sir, it was The Four Horsemen who robbed the bank. What does Kid have to do with it?" One officer didn't understand.
"If not for Kid, would a high-profile criminal group like this even exist? It's because of Kid that society got twisted. Now these guys really think they're Robin Hoods or something! It's infuriating." The commissioner was fed up and started ranting. "And the damn FBI—they knew it was The Four Horsemen, but still did nothing! They arrested all four, then released them saying 'not enough evidence.' Just because the stolen money reappeared in Las Vegas and they had an alibi? That's reason enough to let them go?"
"Sir, do you think maybe The Four Horsemen are mutants? Like, with teleportation powers?"
"No way. The FBI already tested them. All four are just regular people. If they were mutants, they'd be in custody already." The commissioner was furious. "Things were already a mess, and now this gang shows up to make it worse. Total headache."
"Then how the hell did they move money from New York to Vegas?"
"No idea. The FBI doesn't know either." The commissioner was livid. The FBI was useless—they couldn't even figure out the thieves' methods. What were they getting paid for? Compared to them, even the NYPD looked competent. At least when Kid stole something, New York cops could explain how it was done. But these guys? Still completely clueless. He had nothing but contempt for them.
"I wonder what would happen if Kaitou Kid ever ran into The Four Horsemen?" a young officer mused aloud.
He wasn't the only one. A lot of people were waiting for Kid to respond to The Four Horsemen' challenge. Everyone wanted to see who was the true master of the art of theft.