A/N: Finally, an honest to goodness Shadow Duel. I've been waiting for this. But first, to my anonymous reviewer Guest: No, the Shadow Thief is not the main baddie, although he is involved as this chapter makes quite clear. The main baddie is another canon character as I've said before and I have hinted at their identity in previous chapters. We'll meet the person soon. I promise.

Distrust, Duels, and Traps

"Diana, welcome back," Batman said to the dark haired Amazon when she arrived back at the Watchtower. "Your gods say anything useful?"

Diana's face was troubled as she pondered a decent response. "Yes and no." She lifted her bright blue eyes. "I spoke to Artemis but I got no definitive response. She left before telling me anything."

"That's something, I suppose," the Dark Knight muttered.

"I am sure of one thing." Diana rested a hand on her hip fingering her Lasso of Truth. "Whatever Kaiba is or worships, my gods are aware them."

"So it's real."

Diana nodded. "Real and..." she hesitated. "Bruce, I'm not sure I'm comfortable knowing one of ours is entangled in this."

"We're all entangled in this," Batman said, turning away to head to the Control Room.

"I was speaking of Arrow," Diana specified, joining Batman. "He was already a vigilante and is known for striking out on his own."

"I share your concerns. I've sent Clark to keep a eye on him."

"Is that wise?" she said, eyes watching her companion closely. "If Kaiba catches him, or Arrow does-"

"I've planned for that."

Diana snorted in a very unladylike manner. "Yes, I bet you have."

"I have." Batman said, stopping to meet Wonder Woman's eyes. "If he gets caught, then I want you to take on Kaiba and his friends."

"Friends?"

Batman nodded. "You've missed quite a bit." He handed the Amazon a flashdrive. "I suggest you watch this and tell me what you think."

Diana took the small storage device hesitantly. "What is it?"

"It's our new 'allies,'" the dark man replied.

"I heard the air quotes in that, Bruce," Diana said, smiling conspiratorially.

"I need a second opinion," Batman continued, ignoring the interruption. "Watch it and tell me if you notice anything strange. I've set up a computer independent of the Watchtower systems to avoid any unwanted eavesdroppers."

Diana nodded, remembering Noa. "And what about Green Lantern?"

"I'm sending him to join you. I'll take over communications for now." Batman paused, glancing around cautiously. "Diana, if you get the chance, I want you to use your lasso."

"So that's what you meant by taking them on," she murmured.

Batman nodded. "Their power may disrupt Hawkgirl's but it may not disrupt yours. And even if it does, the rope part still works."

She nodded. "Will do. Where's this computer of yours?"

"In the lounge. I figured you might need something to drink after watching it." She nodded and turned to go to the lounge, but not before Batman called, "Diana, thanks."

"No problem."

Superman flew high over Starling City; high enough to be out of sight for humans or, if they did see him, he would be mistaken for a bird. But he kept his eyes open, watching for anything unusual. He paused when he flew over a large square filled with people, some milling about and some watching the person on the platform talking from the podium. It was the only thing of its kind going on at the moment so he decided to investigate.

He flew down, keeping close to a building that did not have as many windows as its neighbors and watched the proceedings carefully. He did not recognize any of the people in the crowd until he heard clapping and looked up to the podium curiously only to see Oliver Queen. He quickly dropped to the roof of a nearby building and watched from there in a shadow cast by a huge rooftop air conditioner. He and Arrow did not necessarily get along and he was fairly certain the vigilante would not take the idea of him being in Starling City without permission very well.

Blue eyes observed Queen walk up to the man in the suit standing on the stage and shake hands with him, a friendly smile on his face. The young man laughed and waved at the crowd before taking out a pair of scissors and waiting for things to calm down a bit.

"Hey everyone," he said into the microphone. "I'm glad you're all here today. But enough with long speeches. you guys already sat through one of those already." The crowd laughed with him at the friendly jab at the first speaker. "You guys ready to get some food?"

Food? Superman wondered as the people in the crowd cheered exuberantly.

"Then I hereby declare The Lunar Eclipse," he turned and snipped a bright red ribbon behind him with the scissors, "open for service."

A cloth that had been thrown over the sign on the building behind Queen and the stage was pulled down revealing an illuminated sign reading "The Lunar Eclipse" in an elegant, eye-catching font. A glowing three-quarter moon motif sat snuggly by the words. The building itself was modern chic and had two floors. The wall facing the square on the second floor was lined with windows and had a bar and barstools running along it. A balcony extended from the second floor with several round tables dotting the floor. Tables also dotted the patio beneath the balcony in front of the restaurant.

A ribbon cutting ceremony then, nothing serious. Or it was, until Clark caught a flash of light on a bald head, a very familiar bald head. He growled deep in his throat when he saw none other than Lex Luthor wind his way through the crowd towards the stage. He wanted nothing more than to land in front of the villain and demand he leave, but this was not his city and Arrow would have his head for doing something like that.

So he was helpless to do anything but watch as Oliver noticed the approaching businessman and attempt to lose him in the crowd of customers, suits, and reporters only to finally be cornered by the man. Since cameras were everywhere and several were focused on the two men, neither did anything to cause suspicion. But the tension between them was obvious even from this distance.

Suddenly, Oliver jolted as if shocked by electricity. Superman almost did fly down to demand what happened when someone else appeared in the camera lights. Clark Kent narrowed his eyes in distaste. Seto Kaiba.

The young CEO was dressed all in black with no trench coat which made him seem less intimidating in a way. The dark clothes contrasting with his pale skin and physique giving him a thin, willowy feel that was dangerously deceptive. He moved with the grace and precision of a seasoned warrior.

Oliver shook Kaiba's hand with a look of obvious relief while Luthor was facing away from the superhero watching the two other CEOs interact. Kaiba also shook Luthor's hand but remained by Oliver's side. The three men conversed politely before Luthor placed a hand on Kaiba's shoulder to the younger man's obvious dislike if the abrupt shake, knocking the hand off was any indication. Despite this, he followed Luthor off to the side, casting a glance over his shoulder at Oliver and shaking his head.

The two did not go far, just to edge of the crowd where fewer cameras and people were. Clark could not make out what was being said due to the distance but he could still read their expressions to an extent. Whatever Luthor was saying Kaiba was not buying It. The Japanese businessman had crossed his arms and was shaking his head despite Luthor's dramatic gestures.

He said something inaudible to the hero, but whatever it was annoyed Luthor. Kaiba walked away, deliberately bumping his shoulder against Luthor's rudely as he went. Despite himself, Superman could not help but be impressed by the confidence the young CEO exuded. Not many people would insult someone as powerful and influential as Lex Luthor like that.

Unfortunately, the calm was not to last. Without warning, someone in the crowd screamed and chaos took hold.

Kaiba's eyes darted towards the origin of the scream and had a brief bout of nausea at the sight. A shadowy phantom had appeared, detaching itself from the shadow cast by newly opened restaurant in the afternoon sun and began moving through the crowd. Whatever it was, Kaiba's Shadows hated it; they hated it more than they hated Superman.

This shadow was not normal by any means. It was a perverted creation that made Kaiba's Shadow senses reel back in revulsion affecting him physically. But he could not just stand in one place like a helpless sheep. No one ever called Kaiba Seto helpless. He was the master of the only three Blue Eyes White Dragons in existence and the only one to ever match the King of Games in a fair duel.

But he could not use Shadow magic openly like this, especially with so many cameras nearby, both professional and consumer. Several stupid people had already paused in their escape to snap photos or videos of the attack. He felt a frantic tug on his Shadow senses and noticed a very ill looking Oliver Queen helping people out of the restaurant. Without thinking, Kaiba raced to his kohai. His first duty was to his own people then others.

"Kohai," he called. Oliver looked at him with determined green eyes in a pasty pale face. "Pull your senses in. You're making yourself sick."

Oliver grimaced between guiding a frantic young man on crutches out of the building doors. "I'd love to, but I'm not sure how."

Kaiba winced. There was no time to teach the novice how to shield himself from something like this. Hell, even Kaiba could barely shield against it. It was just too distorted and perverted for his Shadows to handle. "Then get the people out of here and stay out of my way."

He made to leave when he Oliver yanked him back. "Wait," Oliver coughed out. "I know who that is. He's an enemy of the Justice League. His name's Shadow Thief. He almost beat the cra-" He paused to lean over, fighting the urge to keel over and throw up right there. "Crap out of Hawkgirl and Lantern," he finished breathlessly.

Kaiba turned back to stare at the creature made of shadows that was not... should not exist. So the Shadow Thief was in Starling City. That opened another can of worms Kaiba had been hoping he would not have to deal with. Just his luck. "Stay here," he ordered firmly.

He ran back into the square, dodging people as he went. His fingers brushed his Deck holster as he visualized the card he needed. Blue Eyes would solve this nuisance in an instant but she would draw too much attention which was not what was needed here. Reluctantly, he summoned his favored dark monster. It was weak on attack but had a decent defense and was known for its odd defense tactics.

"Saggi, the Dark Clown," he said in hieratic.

A demented creature resembling a clown with an elongated mask, a star over one eye and a lopsided grin, if the toothed mouth could be called that, appeared crouching in front of the phantom. It waved, wriggling its body in a sickening way drawing the phantom's attention. The phantom attacked only to find the clown gone, now balancing on the top of a nearby lamppost cackling insanely.

"Well, well, what a fascinating character you are," the phantom said, examining the teasing clown.

This was not an ideal situation. Kaiba could challenge the Shadow Thief to a Shadow Game but that would be dangerous with so many potential outside distractions. Not to mention, it could endanger the Shadow Court's existence. They existed in shadow for a reason. The kind of power they wielded was not to be taken lightly.

But Saggi could only distract the Shadow Thief for so long before the phantom grew tired of it and either destroyed the monster or went back to attacking the populace or both unless Kaiba took control of the phantom. But the idea of controlling another living, sentient creature rubbed him the wrong way. Holographic monsters in a game were one thing, but reality was different. Controlling real monsters, Shadow monsters or non-Shadow monsters made him uneasy. However, he thought, placing a hand on his Deck and feeling his desired Spell card, sometimes such things were imperative.

He did not have much more time to consider his options before the Shadow Thief moved to attack a civilian too slow to get out of the way, forcing Kaiba's hand.

"Attack Guidance Barrier," he said in hieratic, struggling to keep his voice down to not drawn attention to himself.

The Shadow Thief's attack bounced off a prismatic barrier that formed between it and the civilian and rebounded for Saggi, huddled in a defensive position. Saggi burst into colored sparks draining a bit of Ba from Kaiba. It was nowhere near enough to be significant, but the drain was still noticeable. And since he had revealed his hand, the phantom now knew he was dealing with a mage of some sort.

Shadowy black eyes scanned the now mostly abandoned square for the mage responsible for halting its attack. Kaiba ducked behind a sign, not wanting to be seen. Unfortunately, this was turning out to not be his day. He felt his stomach rebel as the shadow cast by the sign he hid behind elongated and stretched out to reveal the phantom. Kaiba bit back the sour taste of bile. Just looking at it made him want to dry heave.

"You must be the wizard," it said. "Clever little spell back there."

Kaiba fought back the nausea and smirked, getting to his feet. "Glad you liked it. I've got more where that came from if you want to take this somewhere we can actually fight."

The phantom laughed. "I'm not particularly interested in fighting. I just enjoy causing a bit of mayhem now and then."

"Is that what you consider tomb robbing, then? Mayhem?"

The phantom stilled in surprise before laughing. "So you're one of them. I heard you were in town but I didn't think you were so young."

Kaiba grinned toothily. "Appearances can be deceiving."

"I bet they can." A gray fist looped up from the ground catching Kaiba by surprise and sending him flying back onto the cobblestone square. He landed hard on his back, knocking the air out of him. His stomach heaved in revulsion. Whatever power this Shadow Thief was using was making him almost debilitatingly sick.

A tendril of Shadow touched him, and Kaiba grabbed it with his own Shadows. It was Yuugi and filled with apprehension. So the King had felt the battle start and wanted to come help, not surprising. Kaiba refused the offer, one monarch was enough of a target as it was. He kept a hold of the tendril to keep his fellow monarch aware of the situation however, just in case.

"Nice power you have," the Regent said, getting to his feet.

"I could say the same for you," the phantom said rising from Kaiba's shadow, causing him to whirl in surprise. "But then, you did catch some air."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes and murmured in hieratic.

"I'm sorry. I didn't catch that," the phantom mocked. Not a moment later, it screamed and writhed, retreating back into Kaiba's shadow leaving a cackling Peten of the Dark Clown standing where the Shadow Thief had been and toying with a now bloodied daggger.

"You'll regret that, wizard," the phantom's voice hissed.

"We'll see about that," Kaiba said, grinning as Peten executed an exaggerated bow.

"Oh you will. I happen to know a wizard much like you."

"Is that so?" Kaiba demanded, standing in a ready crouch. His Shadow senses extended around him, feeling for the disgusting twist that denoted this creature's presence. "This wizard have a name?"

The phantom chuckled. "I would assume so."

Kaiba laughed, ironically easing the nausea and tingling nerves. "You don't know their name. How pathetic. Take it from me, partnerships like that usually end with a knife in the back. Oh, wait. It already has."

Peten of the Dark Clown cackled madly, amused by his master's mood. Kaiba grinned and brushed his Deck once more. Blue Eyes rumbled in his head, ready to appear and defend him whether she was summoned or not if she deemed it necessary. He smiled as her loyalty and care for him flooded his senses and reached for a particular Trap card tingling under his fingertips.

The phantom's furious hiss was the only warning the Regent had before he bent over in a dry heave. The Trap roared into his mind just he controlled himself and whirled around, hand raised to cast and yelled in hieratic, "Ring of Destruction!"

The Trap was cast and there was no taking it back, but the intended target was no longer visible. In its place was a presence that blinded Kaiba's extended Shadow senses, forcing him to yank his Shadows back into his body. His normal sight and human senses returned to him immediately. He blinked and had just long enough to curse his thrice damned luck colorfully before the Trap binding the red and blue suited hero who had taken the place of the intended target activated.

"Ring of Defense!" he yelled, crouching behind the spinning ring of shields as the Spell card took the damage that would have been inflicted on him in his stead. What the Ra blasted hell was Superman doing here? Kaiba distinctly remembered telling the moronic superhero to stay away. Blue Eyes, ever attentive to his mindset through his Deck, roared in fury at both the blundered Trap and at her master for putting himself in harm's way, nudging his consciousness insistantly.

When the smoke and debris cleared, the Spell card vanished. Hesitantly, Kaiba stood, scanning the area for Superman or the Shadow Thief. Seeing neither, he reluctantly extended his Shadow senses and was relieved to find he could see. The Trap must have blown Superman out of the immediate area. Kaiba snorted, immediately regretting it as his stomach convulsed, forcing him to cough emphatically and gag on the taste of bile.

Slowly, the nausea retreated indicating the Shadow Thief's departure. Kaiba straightened slowly, aware of the lingering dizziness and pulled out his phone, tapping a quick message into it. Noa would get the news and check for any video evidence of his involvement in the attack. Considering the number of independent filmmakers there were out there, it would not be easy but it would get done eventually. If anything ended up on Youtube, it could be debunked as some good indy filmmaking, but that was after he survived the resulting media frenzy if the video went viral. Ra forbid that happened.

Finished, Kaiba took a steadying breath as his dark blue eyes scanned the square for his kohai. He found Oliver kneeling on all fours on the ground by the newly opened, now closed and damaged, restaurant heaving his guts out. The lack of ability to shield had clearly taken its toll on the vigilante. Kaiba made his way across the deserted square carefully, stepping over the trash and litter until he reached the sandy haired man. The man was still heaving even though it was plainly obvious he had nothing left in his stomach to throw up.

Brow furrowed, Kaiba brushed his Deck feeling the Trap card he wanted touch his senses. "Gift of the Mystical Elf," he muttered in hieratic.

Peten bent over in a manner that would have made doctors wince to observe Kaiba's kohai. Its simple, elongated white mask framed by a cloud of dark blonde hair and a large brimmed hat with an obnoxiously huge and fluffy feather poking out of it. Due to the Shadow monster's presence, the Trap activated, sending a boost of energy into Oliver's abused and weakened Ba.

The vigilante's heaving eased until it finally stopped, leaving Oliver shaking from exertion. He made to stand up when Kaiba gripped the man's shirt sleeve firmly, holding him down. "Unless you want to get a severe case of vertigo, then take it slow kohai."

The vigilante sat heavily on his butt, head hanging between his bent legs. When he felt well enough to lift his head, he did so slowly, exhausted green eyes meeting Kaiba's. "What the hell was that?"

"That was your Shadows reacting negatively to that perverted mass of distorted magic," the Regent said. "It was worse for you because your power is new and unshielded."

Oliver nodded, groaning when the movement made him dizzy. "And that?" he said, pointing to the insanely flexible clown hovering over Kaiba's shoulder.

"A summon." The Regent, waving a hand to dismiss the Shadow monster back to his Deck. Peten waved, cackling maniacally, before vanishing in a whirl of colors and Shadows.

Oliver moaned at the burst of color, closing his eyes and bowing his head again. "So, who won?"

"It was a draw," Kaiba snarled. "That bastard alien I explicitly told to stay away intervened and very nearly cost us both a whole lot more than the duel."

"Wha...J'onn?" Oliver asked, his head still not working straight.

"No, Superman."

Arrow sighed in intense frustration, muttering to himself. Kaiba felt Yuugi's Shadow tendril, still clinging to him, loosen and slither up his bent leg to brush his hand resting on his knee. Naturally, that was when Arrow looked up and saw the writhing Shadow.

"What is... Do I want to know?" he asked pointing a shaking finger at the snake-like Shadow before changing the question mid-speech.

Kaiba snorted. "It's Yuugi. He was watching the battle. If you want," he said reluctantly, "I can call him. He has a summon that can heal you faster than my spells."

It irked the Regent to admit it, but that was the truth and he was not going to lose a kohai simply because of his pride. His duty as Regent would not allow it. So when Arrow gestured a weary affirmative, he tugged the tendril with his own Shadows and felt Yuugi's responding nudge until the King himself appeared beside him. Upon seeing Arrow curled up pathetically on the ground, Yuugi reached into his Deck and pulled out a Monster card.

"Mystical Elf," he whispered in hieratic.

A lovely woman with skin the color of a clear sky in Autumn and hair like spun gold tumbling long and straight down her back almost to her feet appeared. A simple dress of soft, leaf green fabric draped over her body in rippling folds. She opened her otherworldly eyes and beheld the situation. The moment she saw Oliver sitting on the ground staring up at her in hazy shock, she gasped and knelt clasping his head between her slender blue hands and began chanting. Her voice was soft and lyrical and reminded the vigilante of a brook deep in a mountainside forest babbling an eternal song on its endless journey to the sea.

Oliver felt his eyes drift closed without realizing it. His head stopped spinning, his stomach stopped roiling, and slowly his body returned to normal; better than normal even. He felt like he had just woken up from a great night's sleep refreshed and ready for the day. He blinked in surprise and met the elfin woman's eyes in surprise. She smiled and ran a hand through his close cropped hair in a motherly fashion before leaning back and gazing at her King expectantly.

"Thank you, Mystical Elf," Yuugi said in grateful Japanese. "Now you," he said, turning to his Regent.

"I'm fine," Kaiba said.

"Say that to be in hieratic and I'll believe you."

Kaiba frowned and looked away in defeat. Yuugi knelt by his friend and rival and stared at him with pleading eyes. "Kaiba, please."

Eventually, Kaiba huffed and gave in. He would later blame it on Blue Eyes' grumbling agreement with Yuugi and not the fact that he did indeed feel horrible. He twitched when the she-elf touched his shoulder and began chanting, not comfortable with the physical contact. It was worth it in the end, though. Not only did his body feel fully recovered from the Shadow Thief's perverted influence, but he felt rested and his Ba was fully restored. He nodded to the summon in silent thanks. She smiled and allowed herself to be dismissed back to her master's Deck.

"Better?" Yuugi asked, a gentle smile on his face.

"Dweeb."

Yuugi laughed heartily. "I'll take that as a yes." He turned to the vigilante and asked in English, "You feel better?"

"Uh, yeah." Green eyes stared at the short King in renewed respect, earning him a jealous glare from Kaiba. He shrugged sheepishly and started to ask what that woman was and what she had done to him when the Regent cut him off with a rather colorful curse.

"Cops!"

"Got it," Yuugi said, eyes hard. He grabbed his companions' shoulders and summoned the Shadows. "I'd rather not go back to the hotel in case the Thief can track us. You have somewhere else we can go, Oliver?"

"I can think of a few places, yeah."

"Good. Picture one clearly in your head and whatever you do, do not get distracted."

Oliver's eyes cleared and his face hardened. Focusing was something he was good at. He covered Yuugi's hand with his own and pictured the workout area of his hideout under the Verdant in his mind. He heard a voice call out and then the red glow of sunlight shining through his eyelids vanished, replaced by a dimmer, manmade light. He opened his eyes and was relieved to see his workout area. That is until he saw the gun trained at his head.