The Temporary Solution
The Azure Blend command center hummed with quiet efficiency. The AP-X 1111 project had yielded its first tangible result: a small, specialized pill created by Shiho Miyano, offering Conan a temporary, twenty-four-hour return to his Shinichi Kudo body.
Kaito, the General, saw the pill not as a miracle cure, but as a tactical variable.
"The pill is to be used only under extreme, controlled conditions," Kaito instructed Shiori. "It will be Conan's choice, but we must ensure his transformation is covered by a flawless distraction. The Black Organization cannot know Shinichi Kudo is still active."
The Scene of Confusion
The opportunity arrived at the Beika Museum's annual Gem Exhibition. A high-profile jewel theft was underway, involving a complex set of laser grids and a power failure—a perfect crime. Conan, desperate to use his adult deductive skills, decided to risk the temporary antidote.
Conan had just swallowed the pill when he realized he was trapped in a museum storage room, the transformation agony beginning. He needed a massive, believable distraction outside.
Jackie Chan (The Acrobat), Captain of the Adaptive Security Division, was on covert duty outside the museum, disguised as a cheerful, slightly clumsy food vendor selling street crepes near the police cordon. His mandate was to provide security cover while utilizing his "environment and physical misdirection" as a weapon.
Jackie Chan saw the signal from The Phantom (Ghost's Division): The asset was transforming; a localized, massive distraction was needed now.
The Acrobat's Signature Scene
Jackie Chan decided a police chase was the perfect cover. But instead of chasing him, he decided to chase the police.
He initiated a series of chaotic, comedic events:
The Crepe Catapult: He "accidentally" tripped over a fire hydrant while juggling a stack of crepe plates. The plates flew into the air, landing perfectly over the heads of two patrolling officers, blinding them temporarily with whipped cream and strawberries.
The Barricade Ballet: As the two officers stumbled, they tripped over a discarded broom handle. Jackie Chan, using his unparalleled agility, didn't run away; instead, he grabbed the broom, used it to vault over the police barricade, landing directly in front of the exasperated Inspector Megure.
The Involuntary Arrest: "Aha! I saw him!" Jackie Chan shouted loudly, pointing wildly at a completely innocent museum staff member who was just trying to exit. "He stole my best frying pan! A very valuable piece of stainless steel! Arrest this man!"
The sheer, ridiculous spectacle of the high-energy, acrobatic food vendor demanding the arrest of a random man over a stolen frying pan instantly drew every camera and every officer away from the museum's rear entrance.
Inspector Megure, utterly baffled and enraged by the absurd distraction, ordered the vendor arrested.
Jackie Chan didn't resist; he used the arrest as part of the distraction. As two officers struggled to cuff him, Jackie Chan used their momentum to spin them into an impromptu, high-speed three-person tango, culminating with him accidentally handcuffing the officers to each other using their own cuffs, and then giving them a cheerful thumbs-up.
"Oops! Butterfingers!" Jackie Chan exclaimed, retrieving his frying pan from where it had conveniently landed in a nearby bush.
The Return of Shinichi
In the midst of the escalating, surreal chaos outside, the transformation completed inside the storage room. Shinichi Kudo burst out, fully restored and focused.
He glanced at the security monitors. He saw the unbelievable sight of a dozen police officers chasing a lone, acrobatic food vendor who was now vaulting over a moving squad car using a traffic cone as a launchpad.
What in the world is happening? Shinichi thought, completely bewildered. The police response was uselessly diverted by a high-level, physical comedy routine.
Ignoring the noise, Shinichi Kudo, the genius detective, quickly identified the true murder weapon (a chemically treated micro-dart) and the real culprit, solving the complex locked-room jewel theft in minutes.
Later, as the thief was being led away, Shinichi saw the food vendor—now released and happily serving crepes—bowing to the crowd. He looked directly at Shinichi and gave him a tiny, almost imperceptible nod—a nod that held the authority of a professional.
Shinichi realized the chaos was deliberate. A high-level, acrobatic misdirection designed to give him the space he needed. He was being protected by forces that defied logic.
"This General Tenryuu," Shinichi muttered to Ran, "He doesn't just hire detectives. He hires..."
"Hires what, Shinichi?" Ran asked, still laughing at the footage of the vendor flipping over the barricade.
"Hires the impossible," Shinichi finished. And I have to figure out if that's a good thing or a bad thing.