22 CHAPTER 22

The Keystone City Police Department.

The FBI special task force brought the Pied Piper here.

Chyre, Morillo, and Kid Flash were waiting outside the police station, along with a large middle-aged black man.

The middle-aged black man looked at the Pied Piper, whose hands were handcuffed, with a malicious smile.

Wally and the Pied Piper were good friends, and Wally ran over to him as soon as he saw him.

"Hartley!"

The Pied Piper heard Wally's shout and looked up awkwardly at his friend.

Wally had never seen the Pied Piper look so haggard, and he felt indignant about his friend's plight and angry about the actions of the network.

However, as soon as he made a move to get closer, he was stopped by the special police escorting the Pied Piper.

"Sorry, sir, you can't go any further."

"Kid Flash, you... you can't come over, I'm a danger now."

The Pied Piper said despondently.

"Something must be wrong. The killer of your parents couldn't have been you!"

Wally shouted indignantly, vouching for the Pied Piper to the special police.

"Officer, the Pied Piper has been framed, we must find out the truth!"

Unfortunately, in a situation where all the evidence pointed to the Pied Piper, and he had already confessed, no one would believe that he had been framed.

Even if the person saying it was Kid Flash, a super hero.

"They're right, Kid Flash. The Pied Piper is a very dangerous super criminal, you'd better stay away from him."

At this point, the large middle-aged black man walked over, smilingly reminding Wally.

"Wolfe, what do you want?"

Wally didn't like this person, of course not because he's racist or something, but simply because he disliked Wolf as a person.

Gregory Wolfe, the warden of Iron Heights Penitentiary, is a ruthless and cruel person who takes pleasure in torturing the super-powered criminals imprisoned in the penitentiary. Many inmates have even been tortured to death.

In a different(anime) analogy, Wolfe can be considered the DC version of Akainu from One Piece, and it's unclear what he has experienced in the past.

For the super-powered criminals in Central City, Iron Heights Penitentiary is practically synonymous with hell.

Although Iron Heights Penitentiary has been breached numerous times, not any less than Belle Reve...

"I don't quite understand what you mean, Kid Flash. What do you mean by 'what I want'? I don't want anything. I'm just here to take my prisoner, plain and simple."

Wolfe smirked as he chuckled, unlike others, he scoffed at the idea of wayward villains finding redemption. He firmly believed that criminals would never change.

"Pied Piper is innocent, and I believe in him."

The Flash looked at Wolfe with a serious look.

The latter suppressed his laughter and responded with a sharp gaze as his voice became serious "I know you're friends with this guy. Maybe this emotional connection has blinded you, Kid Flash. The person in front of you is not a reformed masked vigilante; he is a murderer!"

Not far away, Chyre and Morillo watched everything that unfolded before them, feeling equally heavy-hearted.

Over the years, they had investigated numerous cases of superhuman crimes, and it was not difficult for them to spot the inconsistencies in this particular incident.

However, this couldn't change Pied Piper's fate because there was no evidence to prove his innocence.

"If the Flash were here, he wouldn't be happy to see this. We have to do something." Chyre quietly said with a grim expression at Morillo.

"In this matter, we don't have many choices."

Morillo sighed as he reached and took out a lighter, then lit a cigarette, puffing out a smoke. "The Pied Piper is captured on surveillance footage, and the technicians haven't found any signs of tampering. That's a pretty solid evidence."

But Chyre wasn't ready to give up. He still wanted to earn his partner's approval.

"What about the motive? Why would he kill his own parents?"

"How did you become a police officer? The net worth of Pied Piper's parents exceeds forty million dollars. Believe me, when you want to pin a crime on someone, there's no motive stronger than that." Upon hearing Chyre's words, Morillo understood that his partner had reached a state of agitation where even such idiotic questions were being asked.

"Pied Piper used to be a super-powered criminal after all, even if he has reformed as a member of the Rogues..."

Morillo took a deep drag of his cigarette, exhaled before it reached his lungs, and continued, "But think about it, Chyre. How many police officers in the entire department would be shocked by the conviction of 'Pied Pier for murder'?"

"I'm just as frustrated as you, but there's nothing we can do."

Chyre clenched his fist. He knew Morillo was right, but he couldn't bear the injustice.

Morillo placed his hand on Chayel's fist and shook his head gently. (A/N: ಠ_ಠ)

—-—

Meanwhile, the prison guards brought by Wolfe completed the handover with the FBI's special operations team and transferred Pied Piper to the prison transport vehicle designed for transporting superhuman criminals to Iron Heights Penitentiary.

""Hey Hey!""

*Swoosh!*

Ignoring the protests of the prison guards, Wally West appeared in an instant before the Pied Piper .

"What are you doing, Kid Flash! Get away from Pied Piper, or I'll consider you his accomplice!"

Wolfe threatened Wally angrily.

Wally paid no heed to Wolfe's threat as he placed his hands on Pied Piper's shoulders and looked at him with hopeful eyes.

"Clearly, you're not in your right mind now, but I believe in your innocence. Wonder Woman of the Justice League has what she called Lasso of Truth that can help you break through the illusions and see the truth."

"Kid Flash! I won't say it a second time! Step away!" Wolfe's veins bulged on his forehead as he spoke forcefully.

Wally ignored him and simply hoped to hear the words he longed for from Pied Piper.

"Hartley, say something! You have to defend yourself, tell me you're innocent. If you just say you're innocent, I'll take you to seek help from Wonder Woman!"

Hartley Rathaway was taken aback. He didn't expect the only person who would believe in him to be Kid Flash.

Inspired by Wally's encouragement, Pied Piper regained hope. He racked his brain to remember every little detail from the past few days.

Suddenly, he realized that there were many inconsistencies in his memories of shooting his parents with a gun.

Abruptly, he remembered how Captain Cold had once warned him that the Network was systematically eliminating the allies of the Flash, and it was only a matter of time before it came for him...

'I am innocent! I didn't kill my parents!'

A look of surprise appeared on Hartley's face, and he couldn't wait to tell Wally that he was innocent.

"Kid Flash, I... Ah!"

However, just as Hartley was about to speak, he let out a scream and fell to the ground, convulsing uncontrollably.

"Hartley, what's happening to you?"

Wally was filled with shock. "We need to call an ambulance!"

"No, we don't."

Wolfe, with a stern expression, stood between Wally and Magician and coldly said, "It's just a minor muscle spasm. The symptoms will disappear soon... once Pied Piper arrives at the Penitentiary."

Wally's anger flared up inside him. He knew this was Wolfe's doing because this warden of Iron Heights Penitentiary himself was also a metahuman.

And his superpower happened to be the manipulation of others' muscle tissue.

"Wolfe, do you realize that you might be falsely accusing an innocent person?"

Wally angrily pointed at Wolfe.

"Do you realize that your words just now are tantamount to kidnapping? I can handcuff you right now, and if you resist arrest, you'll be wanted for crimes."

"Kid Flash, I'll pretend you didn't say you were going to kidnap a prisoner, but remember this: not only you, even the Flash has no authority to question my work."

After speaking, Wolfe completely ignored Kid Flash and ordered the prison guards to lift Pied Piper onto the transport vehicle.

Wally was so furious that he felt like he was gaining another power as he felt like his eyes were going to shoot flames. He really wanted to disregard everything and rescue his friend, but he couldn't take that step...

*****

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