Disclaimer: In case there was any doubt, I don't own DC/MK or any of their characters.

Good Samaritan

Summary: When a fire threatened the lives of his taskforce, KID moved heaven, earth, and some very portly police officers all in the name of keeping them safe. Shouldn't that have earned him a get out of cuffs free card?

For the 5th, no 6th time in the last hour, Kaito questioned if there was anything else he could have done. There wasn't of course. He had known that the moment he saw the smoke. But now that he was sitting in an interrogation room, stripped down to his boxers and handcuffed to a table, he was starting to wonder.

At first he thought he had over loaded the circuity of the older building, causing a small electrical fire during his heist. But as more unplanned smoke filtered into the room he'd gotten concerned enough to investigate the source. After all, no one gets hurt at Kaitou KID heists. He prided himself on providing a family friendly show.

He really hadn't expected anyone to use his heist as a distraction and break into the office two stories below. He especially hadn't expected anyone to set said office on fire, effectively trapping all of his heist attendees in a flaming building. Luckily, only the KID taskforce was inside. Still, it had exhausted all of Kaito's resources to get 23 taskforce members safely out of the building. If Tantei-kun hadn't been there it probably would have ended badly. The pint sized detective had gotten 13 other people out of the building by repurposing several of Kaito's traps.

They had shared a moment of sorts as the ceiling started to fall in on them. The building supports sagged as their eyes met for a matter of seconds. "Thirteen!" Tantei-kun had yelled.

"Twenty two!" Kaito had yelled back, his voice nearly lost in the crackling of the fire.

"Thirty eight!" Tantei-kun screamed in response. Kaito had frozen for a heartbeat as he decoded the detectives answer. Thirty eight. There had been thirty eight people in the building. Counting all of the people Tantei-kun had saved, they had only evacuated thirty five people. Himself and the detective made thirty seven, meaning there was one more person trapped in the building.

The thirty eighth person was the reason Kaito was currently in police custody.

Takahashi was the newest member of KID's taskforce, which might have explained why he was the last one to figure out that KID wasn't the one who set the building on fire. But to his credit, the new guy was very dedicated to the cause. Not more than 5 seconds after Kaito had landed his glider on the roof of a nearby building, he was surprised to find handcuffs wrapping around his wrists.

In hind sight it was probably a good thing that Takahashi was rescued last. If he had pulled the same stunt with people still trapped in the flaming building… Well there would have been no guarantee that everyone would have gotten out in safely. Tantei-kun would have done his best to keep everyone safe, but there are limits to what can be expected of a seven year old. To be honest, Kaito had no idea how the mini detective had gotten so many people out on his own. Not that Kaito was ungrateful for the help, if anyone had actually been injured, let alone killed, he would never forgive himself.

Still by the time he had rescued Takahashi, Kaito was literally out of materials. And as good of a magician as Kaito was, he couldn't pick the lock on the handcuffs with the tattered remains of his KID costume. So for once, the handcuffs stayed on as Kaito watched small flames crawl their way up his hang glider. He released the safety clasp at the last moment, dropping the smoldering remains.

Then with a grin that only KID could produce while panic coursed through his veins, Kaito had asked the new officer politely to let him go. After all, he had not in fact stolen the giant diamond known as the Perfect Kaleidoscope. It was still somewhere in the flames as far as he knew. And, good samaritan that he was, KID had rescued everyone. That should earn him a two minute head start to escape, right? Takahashi didn't agree, instead producing a second pair of cuffs and chaining Kaito's feet together.

Not long after that Inspector Nakamori had shown up and dragged a stumbling Kaitou KID down 5 flights of stairs and out the front door to the waiting police car. That was just over two hours ago and Kaito had been doubting his actions ever since. It wasn't exactly how he wanted to end the illustrious career of the internationally known phantom thief.

Of course, there was a small silver lining. Despite having him in custody, the police still had no idea who he was. It seemed that the heat of the fire had baked KID's mask onto his face. Not that Kaito thought he was wearing a mask during the heist… But if the police wanted to think that KID was disguising himself as Kuroba Kaito… well he wasn't the going to complain. Though he did wonder who had put the idea in Inspector Nakamori's head.

"Please!" Came a high pitched child's voice from just outside the door. "Ran-neesan!"

Of course Tantei-kun was still around. Kaito wasn't sure why he had assumed he wouldn't be. Probably because of all the paramedics zeroing in on the only child on the scene and all but dragging him into an ambulance kicking and screaming. He had probably just gotten back from getting checked out at the hospital... On second thought, the paramedics probably had gotten him into the ambulance and he had somehow slipped out before the doors closed. It just seemed more like Tantei-kun's style.

"No, Conan. We need to stay out of the way."

"But Ran-neesan!"

After that the voices were gone and the only thing Kaito could hear was the general hustle and bustle of the police station. Either they were letting him stew in hopes of getting a confession or the fire had caused enough chaos that KID wasn't their top concern. It wasn't like he was actually dangerous anyways.

Kaito dropped his head to the desk. He was exhausted and quite frankly disheartened. His poker face felt like it was starting to crack after only a few hours of captivity. If it had even been that long. It probably hadn't been that long. The stillness of the interrogation room was just getting to him.

It hadn't made a lot of sense at first that Kaito had been thrown into an interrogation room instead of cell, but the longer he sat there, the more logical it seemed. Of course he wasn't in the holding cells with the other criminals. That would have given him access to whatever was in their pockets to stage an escape with. It was probably Tantei-kun's doing. Although, maybe Inspector Nakamori had come up with that one himself. He had been the one to insist they cut the rest of KID's clothes off. It would have been too risky to remove the cuffs apparently.

Kaito didn't even bother to raise his head as the door opened. If the person in the doorway had something to say to him they'd get around to saying it eventually.

"I didn't think it was actually possible KID, but you look tired."

Kaito was suddenly at attention. The last time he had heard that voice he had been using it as part of a disguise.

Kudo Shinichi. The great detective of the east. And Kaito's favorite critic.

Kaito had only crossed paths with him once, but once had been enough. Kaito's almost twin was by far his most dangerous opponent, even including Tantei-kun. Although… they were technically the same person.

Somehow or another Kudo had gotten himself de-aged into Edogawa Conan, aka. Tantei-kun. He was still a certifiable genius, but that only went so far when none of the police would listen to your orders. Suggestions, sure, but not orders. On the other hand, the only person that had complained about the full grown Kudo taking control had been Inspector Nakamori. And the other officers had looked at him strangely for weeks after that.

It was part of what made Kudo the perfect disguise. Kaito didn't even need to wear a mask. The only person who seemed to be able to tell when KID was dressed up as Kudo was Tantei-kun. Because… Well because he was Tantei-kun. Not that Kaito knew that when he had first decided to play dress-up as the detective of the east.

Seeing Kudo all grown up after facing off against a seven year old only a few hours ago, was… Disquieting. But Kaito was sure stranger things had happened. He just couldn't think of any at the moment.

"Meitantei~! I was beginning to think you had retired. I haven't seen you in ages!" Kaito exclaimed as he put his poker face back on. "You're not going to shoot at me this time are you?"

"And waste the bullets?" Kudo questioned as a smirk settled on his face.

"You wound me Meitantei. But I'll give you a chance to make it up to me~. Just take off these handcuffs and all is forgiven."

The detective raised an eyebrow in question. "I suppose you want me to escort you out of the building too?"

"No need. I can see myself out." Kaito answered as he tried to casually lean back in his chair. It was harder than it looked considering his hands were connected to the table.

"I'm sure you can." The detective replied with amusement in his voice. He sat opposite Kaito at the table with an expression that made Kaito want to turn his hair purple. No, green, with neon pink highlights. The man just looked way too smug about seeing KID in custody. "I'm certain you've been in and out of this police station nearly as many times as me. I bet you've even worn my face."

Kudo's words gave Kaito pause. There seemed to be some kind of message in that statement. Still, he was a detective... "Why would I want to wear your face when there are so many other options to choose from?"

"Well you like Kuroba Kaito's face just fine. He and I could practically be twins." Kudo's voice was dry as the Sahara Desert.

Only years of practice kept Kaito's poker face in place. The detective was definitely trying to tell him something. He just cocked his head to the side and smiled enigmatically. In Kaito's experience, it was the best way to annoy, annoying detectives.

Kudo sighed and placed a thin manila folder on the table. He propped up his head with his right hand and flipped the folder open with his left. "On this the night of April 20th , I…"Kudo's eyes shifted from the contents of the folder to Kaito's face. "This is the part where you'll write in your name."

Kaito's smile got a quarter Watt brighter. It was very daring of Tantei-kun, but if Kaito was picking up on the detective hints, he was giving Kaito a way to escape. Though he did have to wonder why.

Kudo seemed to take the small change as a signal of understanding. His eyes moved back to the paper and he continued to read. "Admit to being International Thief 1412, also known as Kaitou KID." With that said the detective spun the folder around and pushed it within reach of Kaito's chained hands.

"Don't I need a pen, Meitantei?"

"You think we'd trust you with a pen?"

"Then what am I supposed to sign with?"

"Blood?" The detective suggested with a casual shrug. Kaito could feel himself paling. "Though I suppose you're less likely to pick your handcuffs with a pen than needle." Kudo pulled an expensive looking pen from his pocket and started to disassemble it. A moment later he placed the ink cartridge in front of Kaito.

That wasn't what Kaito had been expecting. He looked sullenly at the ink cartridge before he finally picked it up. Maybe Kudo wasn't helping him and was just taunting him instead. He pulled the folder closer, a small movement catching his eye. There, in the crease of the folder, sat a needle just the right width and length to be used as a lock pick.

"Well?" Kudo asked impatiently. "Are you going to write in your name and sign the paper or are you going to wait for us to unmask you ourselves?"

Judging by the single finger Kudo held up against his cheek, Kaito was supposed to pick the first option. He scribbled his name in messy lines with his… uh… writing implement, palming the needle as he pushed the closed folder back towards Kudo.

The detective looked unimpressed as he reassembled his pen and stuck it back in his pocket. He flipped the folder back open and scowled openly. "Really?" He questioned in a flat tone. "You filled in 'Kaitou KID' and signed with your signature doodle?"

"Of course! I'm Kaitou KID. And that is my signature." Kaito answered with enthusiasm as he picked the locks on his handcuffs. In the camera it would look like his hands were barely moving.

"I'm leaving."

"But Meitantei~. Don't you want to stick around for my daring escape?"

"What?" Kudo asked a second before smoke erupted from underneath the table.

Kaito was on his way to the door when Kudo grabbed his arm and whispered in his ear. "No. We need to trade places."

"Meitantei?"

"Just do it before I change my mind." Kudo growled. For some reason he just didn't seem all that excited about the idea of having Kaito take all his clothes off. Though he did cooperate.

When the smoke cleared Kaito had his back pressed to the door as if trying to prevent KID's escape. Kudo however, was sitting in same hard backed chair Kaito had just vacated. He was wearing a slightly embarrassed grin and looking at his handcuffs.

"I take it that didn't quite go the way you planed?" Kaito asked 'KID' with a fair amount of derision in his voice.

Kudo's smile grew into something so KID like that it was almost creepy. Kaito only categorized the smile as almost creepy, because hearing his voice coming out of Kudo's throat was what really freaked him out. "This particular magic trick isn't finished quite yet. Meitantei~."

There was a brief moment of silence as the two just stared at each other before Kaito was dragged bodily out of the room by Inspector Nakamori. After having his cheek pinched for good measure he was pulled into the little observation room off to the side for a discussion on what had just transpired. Through the one way glass he could see Kudo lounging comfortably, looking far too at ease given the circumstances.

What are you planning Tantei-kun?

Some hours later Kaito was leaning against the wall in a small waiting area near the front of the police station. The need to laugh hysterically was causing him to shake ever so slightly as he tried desperately to keep his mirth hidden. True to his word Tantei-kun had performed a marvelous magic trick.

'KID' hadn't been very talkative, only making a few brazen comments here and there as different members of the taskforce took their turns interacting with him. Although, and this delighted Kaito to no end, 'KID' flirted shamelessly with one particularly annoying blonde detective. For a change Kaito felt no need to turn Hakuba Sugaru's hair funny colors, his face was already a stunning red.

That wasn't the real trick though. No the real trick started when a second smoke bomb went off inside the interrogation room, originating of all places, from the bottom of Inspector Nakamori's shoes. Curses were shouted, the sounds of chairs overturning were heard, and when the smoke cleared the only people in the room were the inspector and an utterly baffled looking Edogawa Conan. He looked to be at a total loss without his glasses, one hand cuffed to the table and the other balled in a pair of oversized boxers he was trying keep on his tiny form. Kaito took a picture while everyone else stood in total shock. "Tantei-kun is never going to live this down." He had muttered to himself before all hell broke loose.

"Shinichi-oniisan!"

Conan's now familiar voice pulled Kaito back the present. He stepped away from the wall with a practiced ease. "Ready to go home, Conan-kun?"

"Yes!" The mini detective chirped, taking Kaito's hand. It probably said something about how much trouble the kid got in, that the detectives from division one had a spare set of clothes for him stashed in the back of the locker room.

As they walked, they talked about mundane things, all the while watching the police station fade into the distance. It had just disappeared from sight when Conan got right to his point. "You know this was a onetime thing, right KID?"

"Just when I thought we'd moved to a first name basis Conan-kun. So disappointing. I thought we were going to be friends." Kaito replied in a hurt tone.

Conan snorted, the corners of his mouth turning up just a bit before he answered in a mocking tone. "Maybe when I'm older, Kaito-oniisan~." He paused. "If you aren't still a thief."

"And if I am?" Kaito questioned.

"Then I suppose I'll just have to catch you in the act won't I KID?" Conan's smile was predatory, but Kaito didn't mind. He'd expect nothing less from his favorite critic and unwitting apprentice. Who else would Tantei-kun have learned magic from?

The End

(of this story at least)