Some time earlier, at the FBI Central City Field Office.
Inside the director’s office, three people were talking.
One of them wore a yellow-and-red suit and had short blond hair—Kid Flash.
Sitting in the director’s seat was a middle-aged man nearing forty, dressed in a sharp suit with a stern expression.
A nameplate on the desk identified him: Director James Jesse.
As for the last one, he was a man with a limp who leaned on a cane.
He had short brown hair and striking red eyes, a few years older than Kid Flash.
“Are you saying someone stole my old costume and props last night, intending to take over as The Trickster?”
In the United States, local police departments and federal agencies didn’t always have the best relationship, operating independently of each other.
So even as an FBI field office director, James was unaware of what had happened at the Keystone City Police Department the night before.
“His name is Axel Walker.
He comes from an upper-class Central City family and grew up in high-end comfort.
But after his parents divorced recently, the kid started causing trouble everywhere—drugs, brawls, vandalism…
right up until he became the second Trickster,” the brown-haired man on the cane explained calmly.
Hearing this, James was somewhat surprised and praised, “The crime happened just last night, yet you already traced his background so quickly.
As expected of the FBI’s youngest criminal profiler.”
Saying this, James suddenly sighed, looking at Hunter with deep regret.
“If not for what happened last year, this director seat in the Central City office would have been yours, Hunter.
Losing you was a massive blow to the FBI.”
As it turned out, this young man with the limp was Hunter Zolomon.
He was the very person Keystone City Detective Morillo had asked Kid Flash to bring in to assist the investigation last night.
Back at the FBI training academy, Hunter Zolomon had displayed extraordinary talent and achievements, leaving his peers far behind in criminal profiling.
A genius like Hunter was granted a special promotion right after graduation, and he proved worthy of it.
Over several years on the job, his analytical profiling had never been wrong, earning him distinguished achievements.
That was until a case a year ago, when Hunter’s profiling failed for the first time.
That single error resulted in a gunshot to his left leg, leaving him permanently disabled.
Yet that was not the worst of it.
Hunter’s wife divorced him over the tragedy, and the FBI was forced to let go of the promising prodigy.
In an instant, Hunter went from a star profiler to a penniless private investigator struggling to buy meals, occasionally doing freelance work for the Keystone City Police Department.
“They were right to fire me.
I was too arrogant back then—arrogant enough to believe I knew everything.
And in the end, it cost so many people their lives.” Hunter looked despondent; it was the single greatest failure of his life.
“It wasn’t entirely your fault.
You only did your job, and no profiler can guarantee being right every single time,” James said calmly.
“Hey, guys!
I hate to interrupt, but now isn’t the time to dwell on the past.
We need to hurry and hunt down this new Trickster.” Kid Flash chimed in, breaking their exchange.
“Kid Flash is right.
Axel stole The Trickster’s gear, and we suspect he might have some connection to you—resentment or idolization, for instance.
No offense, James, but after all, you used to be…” Hunter snapped back from his memory, adopting a strictly professional tone.
“Don’t worry about it.
Even now, plenty of people in the bureau still keep an eye on me.
But I’m not who I used to be.” James waved off Hunter’s concern before continuing, “I’ve never met Axel Walker, nor do I know anyone named Walker, so I doubt the kid holds a grudge against me.”
“Then it’s very likely a copycat crime.
Axel might be a fanatical admirer of the original Trickster.
Since the original retired, he took it upon himself to create a new one,” Hunter analyzed.
“His parents just divorced, which might have had a negative impact on him, triggering his psychological descent into crime…
We have too little information right now.
Until his next move, this is as much as we can deduce.”
James nodded in agreement.
His thoughts lined up exactly with Hunter’s.
*Ring ring ring!*
Suddenly, the telephone on James’s desk rang.
“Excuse me, this is an official line.”
James picked up the receiver.
A few seconds later, his face fell. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“Hunter, we need to revise our profile…”
Hanging up the phone, James looked at Kid Flash and Hunter with a grim expression.
“A few minutes ago, Axel Walker broke into the evidence room at the Keystone City FBI Field Office and stole files on the Network.
He’s working for Blacksmith!”
“What?!” Hunter’s face paled.
No one knew better than he did what the Network files meant—because Hunter was the one who had spearheaded the investigation into the Network back then, and even now, he hadn’t given up on it.
“I’ll head over first!
Catch up as fast as you can!” Though Kid Flash didn’t know the exact status of the FBI’s investigation into the Network, the expressions on James and Hunter’s faces made the severity crystal clear.
A flash of yellow lightning streaked through the room, and Kid Flash vanished.
Without wasting a moment, James changed into tactical gear, assembled a team of agents, and boarded a helicopter to fly out.
As for Hunter, his limp slowed him down too much to make James’s helicopter, so he had to take a secondary flight.
Meanwhile, Yuri drifted out of Busk’s body, having lightly altered Patch and Tangrui’s memories.
At this point, the gang of four hoodlums had completely forgotten how they arrived here, as well as Yuri’s presence among them.
Guards at the Keystone City FBI Field Office handcuffed Tangrui and the others and locked them in an interrogation room, including Jem, who had been knocked out beforehand—even if the guards were baffled as to why these thugs had suddenly fallen unconscious.
Just as Yuri prepared to leave, a streak of lightning flashed into the room.
“Hey guys!
What’s the situation?
Anyone know where The Trickster went?”
Kid Flash materialized out of the lightning.
*That voice sounds familiar…*
Floating in midair, Yuri felt a spark of realization.
While an Ectonurite’s brain might not equal a Galvan’s in pure intellect, their mental faculties were immensely powerful, allowing them to recall every detail in their memories with crystal clarity.
So Yuri quickly remembered where he had heard Kid Flash’s voice before.
The burger joint!
Wally West!
He was Kid Flash!