I own nothing and no one

Got out of work early and figured it was a sign

Chapter Twenty-six

Robin wheezed, retreating a few steps as one hand came up to cover his ribs. This was what he got for being cocky he supposed. Dick hadn't been looking for trouble when he had headed out that evening. However, he hadn't been able just to walk away from a woman in danger either.

Unfortunately, it seemed more had been going on than a run of the mill mugging. Certainly this man wasn't your average thug, even one from the mean streets of Gotham. He was far too highly trained for that. Perhaps even a professional assassin. The only good thing, so far as Robin was concerned, was that his original victim had gotten away.

Dick made a mental note to track down the young lady and get some answers later. Assuming of course that he survived this encounter. Right now, things weren't looking very good. In fact, this would be an excellent time for Batman to show up. Too bad his guardian was at a company function.

The man had a far different view of the matter than his young opponent. A cold smirk crossed his face. "Well well," he taunted. "It seems my trip to this god forsaken city wasn't such a waste after all." He wiped a bit of blood of his split lip (Robin had got him right in the mouth with a high flying kick).

In his opinion, tracking down a runaway girlfriend was a colossal waste of his talents. The broad didn't even know anything. But, the money was good, and the boss had said so. So, the assassin, for that was what he was, had come. This though, this was much more interesting.

The pair exchanged another flurry of blows before separating again, circling warily. Both fighters were unaware of another pair of eyes watching the action. The assassin's smirk broadened. "Not bad kid," he praised. "A few more years and you could have taken me."

Behind his mask, a pair of bright blue eyes narrowed, but Robin said nothing. He didn't have the breath for that. Instead he charged, only to find himself flying towards an extremely solid looking brick wall. He hit it with a loud thud before dropping to the floor. Groaning, Dick tried to regain his feet.

At this point, the unseen watcher made his decision. He knew he couldn't take Robin's attacker in a fair fight. That would just result in both of them getting killed, and he couldn't simply walk away either. Doing that would be as bad as pulling the trigger himself. Fortunately, there was a third option.

A smirk crossed Kai's face and he glanced down at the small canister in his hand. What kind of fool fought fair anyways? There were far easier ways to deal with opponents than fighting them hand to hand.

Silently, the magician thief sent orders to his familiar, who immediately shot across the ally, distracting the assassin from his prey. At almost the same time, he threw the container of sleeping gas at the man's feet.

"What the hell?!" the guy choked as the pink gas erupted. He tried to hold his breath, though in all honesty it was a wasted effort. He needn't have bothered as the fast acting drug was already in his system. The man dropped like a stone, bashing his head against the cement.

After a moment more, to ensure the assassin really was down and not just faking it. Kai emerged from the shadows, making his way to the downed vigilante. "Hey," he asked with concern. "You okay?" He crouched down to get a better look at Robin's injuries.

Somewhat painfully, the other teen turned his head, blurry eyes focusing on his rescuer. "Catspaw?" he coughed.

"Yeah," the thief extended a hand towards the vigilante. "Anything broken?"

Carefully, Dick accepted the hand, pulling himself to his feet. "I don't think so," he said. Bruised definitely, maybe even sprained, but not broken.

Kai let out a sigh of relief, slipping one arm around the other. "Good, now let's get you out of here." Selina would know what to do about this.

Relations between the two teenagers improved a great deal after that. Unsurprising, considering Kai had most certainly saved Robin's life. This did not slow the prank war by any means, but the tone of the competition was different now. It had become a friendly rivalry, each trying to get the better of the other.

Something which quite frankly, caused the others to give sighs of relief. Things had been getting a little tense. Catwoman had been starting to think one of the boys would snap, and that wouldn't have been good at all. So yes, they were grateful that the atmosphere had calmed.

The last week passed quickly, and soon enough it was time for Kai and Huyu to go home. Robin clasped the magician's hand in a warrior's handshake, leaning in for a brief hug before quickly letting go. "Stay safe," he told the other. "And keep in touch."

Kai saluted the vigilante. "Of course," he promised. "You too." They had exchanged email addresses, deeming it the easiest way to talk without endangering their true identities. So long as they accessed the account from a public place, such as an internet café, it was a simple matter to keep their anonymity. The magician sometimes wrote Saguru the same way.

Then the magician turned to Batman. The Dark Knight almost smiled before his face morphed into a scowl. He took a step forward, getting right in the younger man's face. "Just stay out of my city," he warned. You could almost hear the unspoken or else on the end of that sentence.

Kai merely smiled, not looking intimidated in the least. Batman would get the exact same warning everyone else did, a heist note. And maybe, he admitted to himself, just maybe a phone call, professional courtesy and all that. He had been brought up to respect his teachers.

That didn't change the facts though. Batman was a crime fighter, while Kai was a phantom thief. At least, he would be one day. Truly, the vigilante should have known better than to try and warn him off. There was a reason his familiar was of a feline nature, like Psyche, no one told the magician what to do.

PTPTPTPTPT

Another chapter done

And it is only a day late, as oppose to a week

Cheers!

Anyway, this is the end of the Batman portion

Which is a little sad

Next we will have Viper from Jackie Chan adventures though

Which is cool, and you'll get to see just what other tricks Psyche has up her metaphysical sleeves. I can't wait.