Phantom Thief Kid!
It couldn't be anyone else!
Gordon's face turned extremely ugly.
Just moments ago, Phantom Thief Kid had strutted into GCPD headquarters, delivered the item to the Commissioner's office, and then strutted right back out.
In the entire precinct, not a single person had noticed!
Even Gordon himself hadn't realized Montoya was an imposter.
Previously, Kid had always appeared as a male. Gordon hadn't expected him to disguise himself as a woman—or perhaps transform into one?
Although he had long suspected Kid might possess shapeshifting abilities, that was just speculation. All of Kid's known disguises had been male, achievable without superpowers. Thus, Gordon hadn't considered the possibility of Kid becoming a woman.
Thinking back now, "Montoya's" tone of voice had been slightly different from usual. If he had paid more attention, he might have caught Kid on the spot.
But regret was useless. Kid was long gone.
Resigned, Gordon returned to his office.
Fortunately, the Goddess's Tear had been recovered—a silver lining in this mess. Since Kid had personally delivered the gem to the station, it likely wasn't a fake.
"But why?"
Gordon couldn't understand Kid's motive for returning the stolen goods.
Did he really want to go straight?
Skeptical, Gordon took the Goddess's Tear out of the box to examine it. Unfortunately, he wasn't a gemologist and couldn't tell if it was real.
"Hm? What's this?"
At that moment, he noticed a white card tucked at the bottom of the box.
Seeing the card, which looked all too familiar, Gordon's heart skipped a beat.
He picked it up, flipped it over, and his expression changed drastically.
"When Skoll and Hati cross paths for the thirteenth time,
The fragile mistletoe shall be stained with blood.
I will step upon the shaking heavenly road,
Ascend to the eternal feast of Valhalla,
And take away the Cursed May Stone.
—Yours truly, Phantom Thief Kid."
Gordon's premonition had come true. This was indeed a heist notice from Phantom Thief Kid!
He hadn't brought the Goddess's Tear here to turn over a new leaf; he brought it to deliver the forecast for his next crime!
The GCPD didn't have any particularly valuable treasures, so Kid clearly had another target. Yet, he had personally delivered the notice to Gordon's hand.
"This is a provocation! He's challenging the GCPD!"
Gordon clenched the card tightly, his face even grimmer than when he discovered Kid had posed as Montoya.
In his twenty-plus years as a cop in Gotham, this was the first time a criminal had come to his headquarters to issue a challenge!
Even mentally unstable super-criminals like the Joker, Two-Face, or Black Mask wouldn't do this. Because while Kid was delivering a letter, they would have just blown up the station!
In short, Gordon felt naked contempt radiating from the notice. It was as if Kid were saying: I'm telling you my next target right now. Try to catch me if you can, though with your abilities, it's impossible.
"Fine. I'll show you. Phantom Thief Kid, you underestimate the Gotham City Police!"
Gordon looked down at the card in his hand.
The priority was to figure out Kid's target.
He focused his gaze on the end of the notice.
"Cursed May Stone... this refers to..."
"Finished checking everything?"
Under the night sky, Tim, dressed in his Robin uniform, sat on the edge of a rooftop. He held a burger in one hand, stuffing his face while listening to Oracle's query through his earpiece.
"I've checked everyone still within Gotham's borders," Tim replied, sounding a bit deflated.
"From your tone, the results aren't good?"
"I think you can burn that suspect list now."
"Alright. Looks like it's a dead end."
Clearly, the brute-force method of elimination hadn't found Kid.
"Ultimately, we know too little about him. He has shapeshifting abilities, or at least master-level disguise skills. He could be anyone, and he can switch disguises at any time. Chasing him aimlessly like this won't yield results."
Tim shook his head helplessly.
"Oracle, are you sure Kid hasn't sold the Goddess's Tear?"
"I borrowed the Batcomputer in the cave. I can guarantee there have been no financial flows matching the value of the Goddess's Tear anywhere in the world in the last few months," Oracle said solemnly from the Clock Tower.
"Unless they used cash off the books, bartered, or used anonymous transfer tech that exceeds the Batcomputer's decryption capabilities, the Goddess's Tear is still in Kid's hands."
Like her father, Oracle was actively tracking the gem. With the help of Bat-tech, she was certain Kid hadn't fenced the item even earlier than the GCPD.
"Interesting. Penguin also said Kid didn't approach him. If it's not for money, Kid's motive becomes very intriguing." Tim looked interested.
"Whoa?" Oracle suddenly let out a surprised sound.
"What is it?"
"Robin, you won't believe this. I just found the Goddess's Tear."
"What? Don't keep me in suspense. Who bought it?" Tim asked urgently.
"No one bought it. About fifty minutes ago, Phantom Thief Kid delivered the Goddess's Tear to the GCPD. He also delivered his next crime notice. By the way, he sent copies of the notice to several newspapers. The news is already spreading."
"Wait, what did you say? Who sent the Goddess's Tear where?"
"You heard me. Phantom Thief Kid took the gem to the police station."
"That... that's impossible! Why would he do that?" Tim asked in disbelief.
"I had the exact same thought just now."
"What about the second notice?"
"I've already uploaded it to your phone."
Hearing this, Tim immediately pulled out his phone.
"This riddle is obviously harder than the last one. But let's not rush to decode the whole thing yet. Let's figure out his next move first."
"Ascend to the eternal feast of Valhalla, and take away the Cursed May Stone."
"The May Stone refers to the emerald, the birthstone of May. The most famous emerald in Gotham right now is..."