"Flash, I need your help." Liu A'dou went straight to Central City. "And by the way, I'll leave this kid here. If you've got any kind of holding cell, just lock her up in there."
"Why is she so dirty?" Caitlin, being a woman, liked kids.
"Don't let her fool you. This girl is actually a killer and a terrorist. She's only acting weak because she's hungry. Just give her a dark cell, some bread and water, and that's enough."
"No way?" The idea that a little girl could be a murderer shocked everyone.
"Just lock her up. Flash and I will be back before tomorrow." There was no way to explain all this in a few words. "And don't underestimate her. You two scientists together wouldn't last a round against her. So seriously, don't let her out—best if you put her in your high-security prison."
"Alright," Cisco agreed right away, making Caitlin glare at him. She wasn't about to put a kid in jail, mostly because she just couldn't believe a child could be a killer.
Liu A'dou still wasn't at ease. When it was just him and Lin Long, he wasn't afraid if she tried something, but with others around, he had to be careful. So he sent a Ripple through her body to block her internal energy.
Lin Long glared at Kaitou Kid in protest, but Kid ignored her. "Flash, let's go. My airship is waiting outside."
"You've got an airship?" Flash zipped back in a blur. "Cool, that's awesome, let's go." In just a moment he'd already checked out the inside and outside of the Archimedes.
Kid was speechless. Flash really was fast. "Next stop, Washington."
"Aren't we picking up Batman first?" Flash asked once they were inside the airship.
"I'll call him. No need to go in person when there's a phone."
Wonder Woman was still the same as always. She might not like thieves, but as a member of the Justice League, she put justice first.
"Hello, Wonder Woman, I'm Flash."
"Hello."
Seeing how stunning Wonder Woman was, Flash got a little shy—definitely a young guy.
Last was Superman. Wonder Woman teased, "Superman said he doesn't want you back at the Arctic. So how are you going to find him in Metropolis?"
Kid just grinned. Diana was still so direct. "Don't worry, I've got a way to make Superman come to us." As he spoke, Liu A'dou took out a strange-looking microphone.
"What's that?"
"This is an ultrasonic translator." Superman gave Jimmy Olsen an ultrasonic watch, so he could call Superman in an emergency. This microphone uses the same principle, but instead of just making noise, it translates language into ultrasonic waves. It's even more advanced than Superman's watch.
"So Superman can hear ultrasonic waves, but normal people can't. That's smart," Flash said, immediately understanding as the tech geek he was.
Kid nodded. "Let's start." He spoke into the mic, "Superman, this is Kaitou Kid. I'm waiting for you here."
No need for an address. Superman could easily find the source of the sound. In less than a minute, Superman was at the window of the Archimedes, knocking on the glass.
Kid opened the hatch, and Superman came inside. "Looks like you really do know me well."
"Just a bit. Anyway, let's skip the chit-chat. I already told Batman. He's probably in Peru by now."
Even Flash, who'd been giddy meeting Superman, got serious. "So what's actually going on?"
"An evil Terracotta Warrior has come back to life and is raising an army in Peru. He's already turned several thousand people into Terracotta Warriors." Kid laid out the numbers, and even Superman was shocked.
"No way. What happened?"
"Let's just go to Peru. You'll see for yourselves. I'll explain on the way."
So Liu A'dou told them everything he'd learned from Lin Long, even though he wasn't sure if it was all true. Superman and Flash were both smart. Superman even knew about Zhao Gao's place in history. Flash just remembered that the Qin Dynasty was the first to unify China.
Then Wonder Woman asked a question that nearly made them cough up blood: "What's a eunuch?"
Liu A'dou had tried to be vague. The guys all got it, and all winced a bit. So Superman and Flash both thought Zhao Gao was some ancient pervert, but figured Xu Fu, who messed with him, wasn't much better either.
"What exactly is a eunuch?" Diana pressed.
"It's a man who's… incomplete," Flash said.
"I don't get it." Diana had grown up on Themyscira, surrounded by women. She had no idea what a man would be missing that would make him a eunuch.
Liu A'dou quickly saved the moment, "It's kind of like you, but he just doesn't have a chest."
Hearing Liu A'dou's quick answer, Flash and Superman just looked away, speechless.
Diana was still confused, but she saw their expressions and figured this wasn't something they could explain. She decided to ask her mother when she got back to Themyscira.
As soon as Liu A'dou called, Batman started investigating. Even though it wasn't in Gotham City, he didn't hesitate when Kaitou Kid asked for help. And from what he'd heard, the situation sounded bad. Once he saw it for himself, he understood why Liu A'dou was in such a rush.
There were even more Terracotta Warriors now. People from every village and town nearby had all been herded into the ancient ruins.
Batman used his binoculars to watch the Terracotta Warriors building a fortress. Peru was one of the oldest cradles of civilization in the Americas and the birthplace of the Inca Empire. After the Age of Exploration, the Inca Empire was conquered by Spain, and now Peru had plenty of remote areas and a government that couldn't react quickly. That's why even with so many people missing, nobody seemed to notice.
Batman saw those Terracotta Warriors ripping open solid rock with their bare hands. They looked like stone, but were harder than steel. There was no scientific explanation for that, so it had to be magic, sorcery, or some kind of supernatural power.
And that's what it was. After absorbing thousands of souls, Zhao Gao had finally restored his demon core and gotten his magic back. He'd originally been a cultivator, but after Xu Fu tricked and hurt him, he started practicing dark arts—using the flesh and souls of others to strengthen himself. A thousand years ago, he'd supervised the building of the Great Wall, secretly killing countless laborers and burying their bones beneath it, reaching the peak of pre-modern cultivation.
Later, Qin Shi Huang realized Zhao Gao was up to something, but couldn't do anything about him. Before he died, the emperor warned his son about Zhao Gao, but it didn't help. Zhao Gao just got bolder, trying to take the throne and restore his own body. Eventually, he was poisoned by one of Xu Fu's disciples using poison left by Xu Fu, and his body was turned into a Terracotta Warrior and buried underground.
But Xu Fu's poison didn't kill Zhao Gao. It just put him to sleep for two thousand years. Now he was finally awake and wanted to rebuild his body as a man. His first goal was to head to Japan and wipe out everyone there, because he'd learned from the sailors' memories that Xu Fu had taken three thousand boys and girls to Japan. Whether or not it was true, Zhao Gao was determined to get revenge.
That's why the Terracotta Warriors were building a dock. Soon, they would build ships and head out to sea.