Keystone City Police Department.
The FBI tactical team had brought Pied Piper here.
Detectives Chyre and Morillo, along with Kid Flash, had been waiting at the entrance of the precinct early on.
Standing alongside them was a massive, middle-aged Black man.
The large Black man stared at Pied Piper, whose hands were bound in cuffs, and let out a sinister, mocking smile.
Wally, who shared a close friendship with Pied Piper, immediately ran toward him the moment he saw him.
“Hartley!”
Hearing Wally’s shout, Pied Piper raised his head numbly, looking at his friend.
Wally had never seen Pied Piper look so utterly exhausted and haggard.
He felt a deep sense of injustice over what Pied Piper was going through, and he was extraordinarily furious at the actions of the Network.
However, just as he made a move to step closer, he was blocked by the escorting SWAT officers.
“Apologies, sir.
You cannot go any further.”
“Kid Flash, I…
you shouldn’t come near me.
I’m very dangerous right now,” Pied Piper said with a dejected expression.
“Something has to be wrong!
There’s no way you’re the one who killed your parents!” Wally shouted emotionally, turning to the SWAT officers to vouch for his friend.
“Officers, Pied Piper was framed!
We have to find out the truth!”
Unfortunately, with all the evidence pointing directly at Pied Piper and the fact that he had already confessed to the crime, no one was going to believe he was framed.
Even if the person saying it was Kid Flash.
“They are right, Kid Flash.
Pied Piper is a highly dangerous supervillain.
You’d better stay away from him,” the massive Black man walked over, warning Wally with a mockingly friendly smile.
“Wolfe, what do you want?”
Wally thoroughly disliked this man.
It wasn’t due to any racial prejudice; he simply detested Gregory Wolfe as an individual.
Gregory Wolfe, the warden of Iron Heights Penitentiary, was a cruel and ruthless man who took pleasure in torturing the supervillains imprisoned in his facility.
Quite a few inmates had even been tortured to death under his watch.
To the supervillains of Central City, Iron Heights Penitentiary was practically synonymous with hell.
Though, to be fair, Iron Heights was broken out of just as frequently as Blackgate Penitentiary…
“I don’t quite understand what you mean, Kid Flash.
What do you mean, ‘what do I want’?
I don’t want anything.
I’m just here to pick up my prisoner.
It’s as simple as that.”
Wolfe chuckled.
He absolutely did not believe that criminals could ever truly change for the better.
Even though Pied Piper had worked incredibly hard to fight crime and make amends for his past, it meant nothing in Wolfe’s eyes.
A supervillain would always be a supervillain.
“Pied Piper is innocent.
I believe in him,” Kid Flash said, staring intensely at Wolfe.
The latter’s smile faded, and he replied with an unfriendly glare, “I know you’re friends with Pied Piper, Kid Flash.
Perhaps that affection has blinded you.
The person standing before you is not a reformed masked vigilante.
He is a murderer!”
Not far away, Chyre and Morillo watched the scene unfold with heavy hearts.
Having spent years investigating metahuman crimes, the two detectives could easily spot the suspicious aspects of this case.
But that didn’t change Pied Piper’s fate, because there was absolutely no evidence to prove his innocence.
“If The Flash were back, he wouldn’t like seeing any of this.
We have to do something,” Chyre said, his face dark.
“We don’t have many options in this matter,” Morillo sighed, pulling out a lighter to spark a cigarette.
“Pied Piper is right there in the surveillance footage, and the tech guys couldn’t find any signs of tampering.
That’s ironclad evidence!” Chyre was unwilling to give up, still trying to win his partner’s agreement.
“What about the motive?
Why would he kill his own parents?”
“How long have you been a cop?
Pied Piper’s parents had a net worth of over forty million dollars.
Trust me, when you want to pin a crime on someone, no motive fits better than that.”
Hearing Chyre’s words, Morillo knew his partner was getting too emotionally compromised to think straight, asking such a foolish question.
“Pied Piper was a supervillain, after all, even if he was a reformed member of the Rogues…” Morillo took a deep drag of his cigarette, exhaling the smoke before it reached his lungs, and continued, “But you have to think about it, Chyre.
How many cops in this entire precinct would actually be shocked that Pied Piper was convicted of murder?”
“I’m just as frustrated as you are, but there is truly nothing we can do.”
Chyre clenched his fists.
He knew Morillo was right, but he still couldn’t stand this kind of injustice.
Morillo placed a hand over Chyre’s fist and gently shook his head.
On the other side, the guards Wolfe had brought with him were finishing the handover with the FBI tactical team, preparing to transfer Pied Piper to the specialized transport vehicle designed for metahuman convicts.
Ignoring the guards’ attempts to block him, Wally instantly blurred and reappeared right in front of Pied Piper.
“What do you think you’re doing, Kid Flash?
Step away from Pied Piper immediately, or I will treat you as his accomplice!” Wolfe threatened, flying into a rage.
Wally completely ignored Wolfe’s threat.
He placed both hands on Pied Piper’s shoulders and looked at him with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
“You’re clearly not in your right mind right now, but I know you’re innocent.
Wonder Woman of the Justice League has the Lasso of Truth.
It can help you break through whatever fog is clouding your mind and see the truth.”
I won’t say it a second time!
Get out of the way!” The veins on Wolfe’s forehead bulged as he enunciated every single word.
Wally remained deaf to his demands.
He only wanted Pied Piper to say the words he so desperately needed to hear.
“Hartley, say something.
You have to defend yourself.
Tell me you’re innocent.
If you say you’re innocent, I will take you to see Wonder Woman right now!”
Pied Piper was deeply moved.
He hadn’t expected that the only person left who believed in him would be Kid Flash.
Encouraged by Wally, a spark of hope was rekindled within Pied Piper.
He racked his brain, desperately trying to recall every detail of the past few days.
It was only then that he suddenly realized how many inconsistencies there were in his memory of shooting his parents.
Abruptly, he remembered Captain Cold’s warning: *The Network is systematically eliminating The Flash’s allies.
Sooner or later, it will be your turn…*
*I am innocent!* *I didn’t kill my parents!*
A look of joy and surprise washed over Pied Piper’s face, and he couldn’t wait to tell Wally the truth.
“Kid Flash, I…
argh!”
However, the moment Pied Piper opened his mouth, he let out a sudden, agonizing shriek and collapsed to the ground, convulsing violently.
“Hartley, what’s wrong?” Wally panicked.
“We need to call an ambulance!”
“No, we don’t.”
Wolfe, his face grim, stepped between Wally and Pied Piper, blocking the speedster’s path.
“It’s just a minor muscle spasm.
The symptoms will disappear soon—once Pied Piper is secured inside Iron Heights.”
A wave of fury ignited in Wally’s chest.
He knew this was Wolfe’s doing.
The warden of Iron Heights was a metahuman himself.
And his metahuman ability happened to be the manipulation of other people’s muscle tissue.
“Wolfe, do you have any idea that you might be framing an innocent man!” Wally yelled, pointing angrily at Wolfe.
“Do you have any idea that your actions just now are equivalent to aiding an escape?
I could handcuff you right now.
If you resist, you’ll be placed on the metahuman wanted list!”
“Kid Flash, out of respect for your mentor, I can pretend I didn’t hear you talk about breaking a prisoner out.
But you’d better remember one thing—not just you, but even The Flash himself doesn’t have the right to question my work!”
Having said his piece, Wolfe completely ignored Kid Flash and ordered his guards to lift Pied Piper into the transport vehicle.
Wally’s eyes were practically spitting fire from absolute rage.
He wanted nothing more than to disregard everything and rescue his friend right then and there.
But in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to cross that line…