A/N: As y'all can see, this fic has finally moved to the crossover section. I've decided to wait on upping the rating for another chapter unless otherwise told by y'all. Finally, we get to see more of the Yu-Gi-Oh! world. Btw, Fleet Activities Sasebo is a real United States Navy base in Sasebo, Japan. Enjoy.

The Monarchy's Dilemma

The man may not have been an enemy, but he was not yet a friend either. J'onn stood over the crumbled form of their quarry. When he reached into the stranger's chest and solidified his molecular structure, he made sure not to go too far. He only wanted to stun the man, not kill him. The affect had been instantaneous, however. The shadow man had arched and screamed before collapsing limply on the ground. The darkness that draped over the shadowy humanoid like a shroud began to slowly recede into the rooftop beneath the figure leaving a recognizably human form behind.

"Not that bad looking if I do say so myself," Hawkgirl said, landing lightly beside her comrade. J'onn only nodded faintly. He was studying the human in fascination. For some reason, he had come to believe the presence he had spoken to was from another world much like himself. The presence had felt too old; far older than the minds he so often touched here on Earth. To find out the presence was only a human, a young human at that, was not quite a disappointment; but it was not quite an exciting find either.

The human was male and light skinned. He had chestnut hair cut in a way that framed the angular face handsomely. Stray bangs hung between closed eyes that J'onn remembered to be a cold, glacial blue. However, despite the man's apparent young age, there was not a bit of baby fat visible on his face. His hands were long fingered and spindly, suitable for typing or playing piano perhaps. His body was lean and tall but well-toned. The young man's clothes were dark and tight fitting except for the long purple trench coat. Through the folds, J'onn could make out a thick leather belt looping the narrow waist clasped by a large, rectangular silver bucket with two letters, "KC," embossed on the front of it. A rectangular leather case of some kind was latched to the belt as well as a detachable leather holster holding a handgun equipped with a silencer.

Before J'onn could glean any more information from the prone form, Arrow and Flash arrived. Flash was clapping and smiling. "I admit, the guy's good. Almost had me there. Dude can run like a bat out 'a hell. Who got him?"

Arrow was curiously silent.

"It was a combined effort," Shayera said, propping a fist on her hip and swinging her mace loosely in her free hand. "I distracted him so J'onn here could incapacitate him. He used some sort of magic to repel my mace," she said, glancing at the limp stranger curiously.

"He did?" Flash exclaimed. "I thought your mace was made the fight magic."

"It is," Shayera said irritably, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "But whatever magic he used repelled mine."

"Arrow," J'onn said softly to his silent companion. "Are you alright?"

The vigilante said nothing but knelt down to get a better look at their captive. He pushed aside a stray lock of cropped brown hair to more clearly see the face before rocking back on his heels. "I know him."

"You know him?" Shayera asked, startled. "Is he an enemy of yours?"

"Of a sort," Arrow replied, deep in thought. "Business rivals more like. We only met face-to-face today but I've known of him for years. He's famous in the world of industry and business."

"Like Lex Luthor?" Flash asked, hesitantly.

Arrow shook his head. "On a different scale. Luthor's rich, this guy's richer." Arrow stood and turned to J'onn. "I suggest you take him up to the Watchtower and keep him away from any and all computers or electronic devices."

"Aren't you gonna tell us who he is before you go waltzing back to the Arrow Cave?" Flash demanded in frustration.

"Don't call it that," Arrow snapped. "His name's Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corporations. Put it this way, much of the technology we use in the Watchtower was based on or incorporated from his technology."

"Fascinating," J'onn said simply. He gathered the limp youth in his arms and turned back to Arrow. "When should we expect your arrival and will you be needing the teleporter?"

"Give me an hour to get my affairs in order then I'll call you."

J'onn nodded. "Understood."

Shayera waited until Arrow was out of earshot before commenting, "He seemed…uncomfortable."

"Uh, ya think?" Flash said sarcastically.

J'onn stared down at the human, Seto Kaiba, in his arms thoughtfully. This was the source of the presence he had felt and spoken to. He seemed so much smaller like this. The presence he felt had been large, powerful, and wild. This young man could not be older than twenty-four, and yet…

J'onn noticed a stray tendril of darkness slink across the young man's hand, slithering up the dangling arm like a dark ethereal snake. Closed eyes fluttered and J'onn worried the boy would wake.

"Shayera," he called. "Remove that," he said, indicating the slithering shadow with his chin.

Hawkgirl stared at the living shadow in disgust before swiping her hand through it viciously, breaking it up and causing it to dissipate. Flash watched the proceedings with open curiosity. J'onn, however, studied the closed eyes which ceased their movements with the disappearance of the shadow.

"Perhaps it would be best if we left now," he said.

"I agree," Shayera said, reaching for her communicator. "Watchtower, this is Hawkgirl."

"Read you Hawkgirl, this is Batman."

"Four to-"

"Wait-wait-wait! Can I? Let me! Let me!" Flash interrupted excitedly.

Shayera stared at the human incredulously but shrugged. "Go ahead."

Flash cleared his throat. "Kirk to Enterprise. Four to beam up."

"I will kill you," came the disgruntled reply.

"Beam us up Scotty," Flash said with a brilliant, shit-eating grin.

No one noticed the quick flash of light as four people vanished into the night, lost amongst the twinkling lights of the Starling City nightscape.

Yuugi had been in the midst of joking with Jounouchi over the phone when he first felt it. His friend had been regaling him with his plans to visit Mai in America and pop the question when the first surge of Shadows brushed the King's senses. Another Shadow Game was starting. The feeling was faint due to the vast distance but distinct nonetheless. Yami stirred in Yuugi's mind adding his senses to his partner's and together they followed the sensation to almost the limit of their reach and felt their Regent's Shadow signature.

Kaiba's Shadows raged in a brilliant mass of power as he dispelled the first Game and instigated the second. The distance made it too difficult to track the individual goings on but they could get impressions. Yami agreed the Shadows did feel faintly familiar but he was not sure why. It reminded him of their time as Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt which was a surprise.

Then the foreign Shadows were gone and Kaiba was moving swiftly. The pattern of their Regent's Shadow traveling was indistinct but it was obvious he was being chased by at least one thing if not more. Yuugi was reminded of Kaiba's offhand remark of his dislike of telepaths and wondered if the telepath Kaiba had encountered had somehow tracked him down. Was the Justice League attacking his Regent?

He flinched as a phantom pain lanced through his chest and Kaiba's Shadows faded away. Yuugi panicked and frantically extended his Shadow senses in search of his friend. He could still feel Kaiba's signature although it was significantly reduced. Also, the balance of light and dark had not been disturbed which would have been the first thing to make itself known had Kaiba died.

Yuugi felt blindly for his friend managing only a single, slender strand of Shadow to touch Kaiba's skin taking note of the heartbeat in relief. He pushed the Shadow up what he assumed to be Kaiba's arm in the hopes of reaching his chest or head for easier access to the soul. He had to check to be sure Kaiba's soul was not damaged or, heaven forbid, had been forcefully taken from him. He never got the chance. Someone, perhaps whoever had defeated his Regent, lashed out and dismissed his Shadow causing him to wince and blink back to reality.

"Yug! Come on man, talk t' me. Yuugi. Yuugi Motou you ans'a me right this instant!"

Yuugi smiled at his best friend's voice. Jounouchi was so worried, he had switched to his native English. That's what you got when a soldier from Brooklyn stationed in Fleet Activities Sasebo in Sasebo, Japan, met a young Japanese woman and fell in love. Yuugi took pity on his friend and answered, a faint smile on face.

"I'm fine, Jounouchi-kun. Something happened to Kaiba," he said. "I'm not sure what but it involved a Shadow Game."

"You think someone hurt him?" Jounouchi replied in Japanese. "The idiot'll be fine." He did not sound convinced. "Need me to call up Mai or do you want to head there yerself?"

Yuugi smiled at the butchered Japanese in fond amusement but shook his head, answering vocally when he remembered Jounouchi could not see him. "I told him I'd go there myself if things went bad."

"Not alone yer not," Jounouchi reprimanded. "I'm goin' with. Can't get outta this one, bud. Honda would come but, uh…"

"Still fighting Otogi for Serenity, is he?" Yami said, materializing beside Yuugi and poking the speaker button so he could listen in on the conversation and respond. His hands began squeezing his partner's shoulders rhythmically, working the tension out of them.

Jounouchi snorted. "As long as they keep arguin' over her, neither o' them can propose so I'm fine wi' dat."

Yami chuckled. "As long as you're sure."

"Sure I'm sure, ya idiot Pharaoh," Jounouchi snapped fondly. "Hey, as much as I hate to admit it, I think-"

"Jou, wait, I've got another call." Yuugi pulled the phone away from his ear and checked the screen to see an unfamiliar number but with the familiar "KC" letters in the caller ID area. "It could be Kaiba. I'll call you back."

"Fine. Good luck, buddy."

Yuugi smiled again and answered the phone in Japanese. "Mushi mu-"

"This is Isono. I'm one of Kaiba-sama's bodyguards," a voice man's voice interrupted curtly.

"Is Kaiba alright?" Yami demanded.

"I…unfortunately don't know, sirs," the man on the other end replied with a distinctly uncomfortable voice. "He told me not to call you unless he hadn't contacted me in four hours. It's only been a little over an hour since he left, but… I felt it-"

"You were right to contact me, Isono-san," Yuugi answered, easing the man's concern. "I am aware something has happened to Kaiba. Can you give me any details?"

"He woke up suddenly around 2:09 in the morning local time and left. He had his Deck and his back-up gun with him last I saw."

Yuugi considered a moment. "Did he mention any trouble?"

"No sir. But he has been watching a certain man and his family for a while. Also, the Justice League has been poking their noses around."

"I see," Yuugi replied. "Which ones, can you remember?"

"I believe I saw The Flash but I did not recognize the other one. Arrow has been in contact with Kaiba-sama through his civilian cover, Queen Oliver. That Luthor man has also been following Kaiba-sama around as well," the bodyguard ground out in annoyance. "He even showed up at the press conference yesterday uninvited."

Yuugi groaned. "So we can't rule him out either. Alright, thank you Isono-san. If there is anything else you can think of to tell me, let me know immediately."

"Understood, Motou-sama."

Yuugi winced at the honorific but said his goodbyes and hung up. He was in the midst of dialing Jounouchi back when Yami tapped his shoulder. He glanced up at his partner and followed the crimson gaze to the far wall which rippled in a disturbingly familiar way.

"Everyone's calling today, aren't they?" Yuugi said sardonically as Shaadi appeared. Honestly, how the man managed such a feat, Yuugi would probably never know. No matter how long or how hard he and Yami practiced, they could never replicate the teleport. Yuugi sat up and nodded grimly to the Adviser.

"I assume you have heard the news by now, my King," Shaadi said simply, nodding in respect. "My Pharaoh," he said, nodding to Yami.

"I have," Yuugi answered, eyes calm. "Is there something you wish to add?"

The Egyptian nodded. "Are you aware that Kaiba started a Shadow Game of his own?"

"I am," Yuugi replied carefully.

"It was a Judgement Game that resulted in a Penalty Game."

Yuugi's eyes grew round. "You mean, he caught the person behind the Shadow Games?"

Shaadi shook his head. "That particular individual is still free, I am afraid. I was able to watch the Regent's Game when he summoned the Millennium Scales."

Yuugi nodded. Although the Millennium Items had been banished into the abyss, their mythological counterparts still existed in the Shadow Realm within reach of their true bearers. Shaadi had been a temporary holder of the Millennium Scales and while he may not have been their true bearer, he still felt a connection to them much like Yuugi could still access the Millennium Puzzle's powers or Kaiba could access the Millennium's Rod's powers. Those powers were as much a part of the Shadow Court as the Shadows themselves.

Shaadi continued. "He judged the person who started this particular Shadow Game but did not find her guilty of the other Games."

"So she was merely a puppet," Yami said thoughtfully.

Shaadi nodded. "I believe so, my Pharaoh. Unfortunately, after the sentencing, the Regent dismissed the Scales so I cannot tell you more."

"No, thank you Shaadi, that was most insightful," Yami replied, bowing gratefully.

"If I may be so bold," Shaadi said hesitantly to Yuugi. He waited until soft violet eyes met his own eerie orange before continuing. "May I suggest you do something about the Thief Bakura."

"Bakura-kun?" Yuugi exclaimed at the same time Yami growled, "Why him?"

Shaadi remained unmoved. "I do not possess the precognitive abilities granted to Ishizu, however I am not blind to events. There is a member of the Justice League in Cairo who is," Shaadi hesitated, obviously trying to find a polite word to describe what he wanted to say, "digging where he should not," he settled on.

Yami chuckled. "I'll bet he is. It is a he, correct?"

"Yes. He calls himself Green Lantern and while I am impressed by his powers, his clothes leave much to be desired." This was said with a sardonic lifting of a thin, black eyebrow. Such an outward show of emotion was unique for Shaadi and thus worthy of notice.

"Spandex?" Yuugi asked, holding back giggles. Shaadi merely cleared his throat and Yami snorted. "I'll see what I can do," Yuugi agreed.

Shaadi bowed. "Many thanks, my King. Would you like me to relay any messages to Ishizu or the others?""

Yami looked at Yuugi for a moment before they both shook their heads together. "Just tell Ryou-kun to lay low for a while if he can."

The stoic Egyptian nodded. "Will you be flying?"

Yuugi nodded. "I don't think Mokuba-kun will mind lending us a KaibaCorp jet."

"No, I suppose not," Shaadi agreed.

"If I may ask," Yami said, gaining Shaadi attention. "How far do you think you could transport multiple people to a given place through your teleportation abilities?"

Shaadi considered a moment. "I am not sure. The trip from Egypt to Japan is tiring alone. However, if I brought people with me, I would most likely have to find a place to stop half way."

"What about the west coast of the United States?"

Shaadi winced minutely. "I could probably do it but…I would have to make several stops along the way. I am sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for Shaadi," Yami said, waving the words away. "I was merely curious. "Do you think you could bring Bakura-kun here then? That would likely get him out from under the Green Lantern-" he raised an eyebrow in question and received a nod in confirmation, "-the Green Lantern's eyes. Would that work?"

"It should. However, I am needed in Egypt and cannot guarantee the Thief will be watched here."

This time Yuugi chuckled. "I think Otogi-kun and Honda-kun will keep him busy. If not, I'll handle it."

"As you say," Shaadi said, bowing. "Good day."

"And to you," Yuugi replied.

"Oh, one last thing Shaadi," Yami called before the Egyptian could vanish. "Keep your eyes and ears open for any news of Kaiba."

"You need not ask, my Pharaoh." And Shaadi was gone leaving the two halves of Pharaoh Atem's soul alone in the Kame Game shop living room.

"So," Yuugi said breaking the silence. "Let's get packing. I'll call Jounouchi-kun back and fill him in."

Yami nodded and stood. "I'll contact Mokuba-kun and ask for the plane. Let's try to arrive in Starling City by early tomorrow morning."

"Our time or their time?" Yuugi asked, half teasing.

Yami halted then rolled his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "I hate time zones."