Yuri was incredibly excited.
He felt like he had just eavesdropped on an incredible secret.
As a resident of Keystone City, even if he hadn’t necessarily seen the Rogues up close, he had definitely been caught in the crossfire of their battles with the Flash.
Over the years, the people of the Twin Cities had long grown tired of the storms whipped up by the Weather Wizard alone.
Many people might think that battles on such a massive scale would inevitably cause heavy civilian casualties, much like in Metropolis, Boston, or Gotham.
But this was the city of the Fastest Man Alive.
No matter how much destruction the Rogues caused, the Flash could relocate all the residents to safety in the blink of an eye.
This was the biggest difference between the Flash and other heroes.
Thanks to the Speed Force, whenever the Flash faced a powerful foe, his first instinct wasn’t to fight, but to evacuate the public.
Moreover, everyone knew that the Rogues’ number-one rule was “no killing unless absolutely necessary.”
Whether they were robbing banks or stealing treasures, the locals knew exactly what to do whenever the Rogues made their move.
As long as you didn’t provoke them, they wouldn’t hurt anyone.
Besides, they would always end up defeated by the Flash, and the stolen money or treasures would always find their way back anyway…
Sometimes, when other villains in Central City broke the unspoken rules by causing senseless massacres, or when someone threatened to destroy the city, the Rogues would even step up to fight alongside the Flash.
This was a rare sight in other superhero cities.
Pretty unbelievable, right?
But that was the Rogues for you.
Honor among thieves.
So when the Rogues stopped their criminal activities and began turning over new leaves, most people found it incredibly hard to believe.
People were highly curious about the reason behind the Rogues’ disbandment.
There had been endless rumors and speculation over the past year and a half, but no concrete answers.
Now, Yuri finally knew a part of the reason.
The fracture of the Rogues seemed closely tied to Captain Cold, Leonard Snart.
He had clearly done something that severely hurt the members of the Rogues, to the point where even the usually soft-tempered Pied Piper held a deep grudge against him.
“It looks like Captain Cold still cares about his old teammates to some extent, or maybe he’s just guilt-ridden.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to warn Pied Piper about the Network.”
Yuri returned to the Rustbucket, watching the Pied Piper scale the rooftop as he pondered.
He started the engine and followed in the direction Pied Piper had gone.
The Network was bound to target Pied Piper sooner or later. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Following him meant finding the Network.
Yuri carefully controlled his speed, making sure not to get too close to Pied Piper while not falling too far behind either.
Of course, Yuri wasn’t actually tailing Pied Piper.
The man was a highly experienced supervillain, after all.
While he might not have the twisted genius of Gotham’s rogues, he certainly possessed basic anti-tracking skills.
During his boring stakeout outside the bar, Yuri hadn’t just stood there doing nothing.
He had transformed into Grey Matter to construct a crude signal transmitter with a range of one hundred meters.
Just as Pied Piper stepped out of the bar, Yuri had discreetly attached the transmitter to the back of his hood.
One hundred meters wasn’t a huge distance.
Since Pied Piper was moving across rooftops, any obvious tailing by Yuri would be spotted immediately.
“Tailing people is really an art.
I honestly don’t know how Batman manages to follow mobsters back to their secret hideouts every single time.”
Yuri couldn’t help but think of the frequent news reports from Gotham about how Batman’s stealth infiltration tactics had succeeded once again in capturing so-and-so.
If it were up to Yuri, he probably could only pull it off by transforming into Ghostfreak and disabling its safety protocols.
Perhaps it was because Pied Piper had a lot on his mind after talking to Captain Cold, or perhaps because Yuri had managed his speed so well, but Pied Piper never noticed him all the way back to his home.
After committing Pied Piper’s address to memory, Yuri drove the Rustbucket away and parked it in a free parking lot some distance away.
Illegal parking fines were no joke, and Yuri would rather walk a bit further.
Now that the target was locked down, he just needed to keep watch here every day.
Pied Piper lived in a very ordinary apartment building where every unit had windows.
Right across from his building was another apartment complex, allowing residents to peer into each other’s windows.
However, monitoring Pied Piper through the window was impossible; as long as he was in his right mind, he wouldn’t expose himself in front of the windows.
But not being able to watch inside didn’t matter.
Yuri wasn’t interested in Pied Piper’s private life.
He just needed to wait for the Network to make their move.
What happened inside the apartment didn’t matter.
The moment any suspicious characters showed up outside, they would be the prey he was waiting for.
Just like that, Yuri spent his days watching the apartment building and his nights trailing far behind Pied Piper on his patrols.
Whenever Pied Piper spotted a crime, he would swoop in and beat the culprit.
Serious offenders were handed over to the police, while minor ones were left with a thorough beating. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Sometimes, when they encountered particularly vile scum—like scumbags attempting to assault young girls—Yuri would secretly help from the shadows, using Ghostfreak to shatter their minds…
These days, Pied Piper rarely blew his famous flute.
He preferred to use his fists and feet, only resorting to the flute when he was outnumbered.
And then, everyone would be laid out flat.
Whenever Pied Piper returned to his apartment, Yuri would transform into Ghostfreak to retrieve the transmitter, only sticking it back on when the vigilante left the building.
This was to prevent Pied Piper from finding the device if he suddenly decided to do laundry.
The first day, the second day, the third day…
Three days passed, and nothing happened to Pied Piper.
The anticipated attack had yet to materialize.
On the other hand, Axel had pulled off another major heist.
On the second day of Yuri’s stakeout, Axel, the new Trickster, had broken into Hunter Zolomon’s home, wiping all the information on Hunter’s private computer.
Word had it that Kid Flash was present at the scene but not only failed to capture Axel, but was also outsmarted by him, left trapped and immobile inside a hardened candy shell.
Axel had then completed his mission and made a clean getaway.
Yuri was still watching Pied Piper’s apartment at the time and had no idea.
By the time the news of the new Trickster breaking into a private home broke, it was already too late.
On the fourth night, Yuri continued his surveillance of the apartment building.
“10:30 PM.
Patrol time again.”
Yuri checked his watch, ready to activate the Omnitrix and transform into Ghostfreak.
This was the time Pied Piper usually headed out for his nightly run.
However, not only did Pied Piper not leave, but someone broke into his home instead!
Four bulletproof FBI SUVs pulled up in front of the apartment.
Over a dozen heavily armed elite agents rushed into the building and kicked Pied Piper’s door open.
“Pied Piper—Hartley Rathaway, you are under arrest for the murder of your parents!”
Sitting in front of his mirror, Pied Piper turned around.
Tears streamed down his face as he faced the FBI agents, his voice trembling.
“I…
I plead guilty!”