Responsibility

"Joe, it's Lin Li, Barry's at STAR Labs…"

Fifteen minutes later, Joe arrived at the surgery ward, his expression anxious.

He looked with grief at Barry, lying on the bed. Barry, who had only woken up less than a month ago, was now back in a hospital bed.

This time, it was even more devastating for him.

He and Eddie had followed clues to investigate the bank robbery suspects, and the leads pointed to a farm on the outskirts. On the way to the farm, he encountered the suspect, Clyde Mardon, committing a crime. Joe couldn't understand how Clyde Mardon, who had been right in front of him, had died in a plane explosion with no remains, could be alive again.

Joe didn't immediately apprehend Clyde Mardon. Instead, he chose to follow him. The resurrection was too bizarre; he needed to figure it out.

While tracking him on Jordmay Street, they were accidentally discovered by Madden. Joe watched helplessly as Clyde Mardon summoned a thick fog, then casually blew Eddie away with a concussive blast, knocking him unconscious. Madden then spoke to Joe in a less-than-friendly manner. It was during this conversation that Barry happened to arrive on Jordmay Street, overheard their talk, and rescued Joe and Eddie.

Joe loosened his bowtie and wiped his tear-filled eyes, gritting his teeth and saying fiercely, "Damn Madden…"

Joe blamed himself. Barry's current condition was a result of saving him, a feeling that tormented him.

"Joe, Barry isn't in any danger. The most important thing now is to find the culprit who hurt him."

Lin Li patted Joe's shoulder, gesturing for him to follow.

Joe and Lin Li went to the control room lobby. They needed to discuss the Weather Wizard.

Dr. Wells, Cisco, and Caitlin were all gathered there.

"How is Barry?"

Dr. Wells asked. Barry was precious to him, and he couldn't afford to lose him.

Lin Li nodded, looked at Dr. Wells, and said, "Barry is fine. With his recovery speed, he should wake up in a couple of days."

"Cisco has filled me in on the situation. An evil meta-human controlling the weather. It's likely the accelerator explosion gave him the ability to manipulate atmospheric molecules," Dr. Wells said, taking off his glasses and addressing the group.

"We created him. An evil Weather Wizard, an unfriendly Weather Wizard."

Caitlin chimed in, "What should we do? This meta-human isn't friendly. Controlling the weather poses too great a threat to Central City."

Dr. Wells rested his chin in his hand, thinking, and nodded. "We need to retrieve his abilities and capture him."

He put his glasses back on, concealing a fleeting glint of conspiracy.

"Capturing him is the police's responsibility. I'll bring him to justice," Joe said coldly, turning to leave.

Wells stopped Joe. "Detective, wait… I'm not doubting the Central City Police Department's capabilities, but a meta-human who controls the weather is something ordinary people can't handle. It will only lead to more casualties."

He had witnessed Madden's abilities and knew for a fact that ordinary people couldn't cope. He understood this point clearly. However, even so, the mission of the police still occupied his mind.

He would protect Central City's citizens, even at the cost of his own life.

Joe thought this, never ceasing to want to capture Madden, for Barry and for Central City's safety.

"I don't need your help. Catching criminals is the police's job. You shouldn't get involved," Joe said sternly, his heart filled with anger.

If not for the particle accelerator explosion, Barry wouldn't have been in a coma for nine months, Lin Li wouldn't have traveled from another world, and meta-humans wouldn't exist. He believed it was all Wells's fault. Joe had a very bad impression of him; without Wells, perhaps Central City wouldn't have experienced so many incidents.

"These events were caused by your particle accelerator explosion. You need to take responsibility. The best way to take responsibility is to stay quietly in STAR Labs and not cause any more trouble," Joe said impolitely. Barry's injury had pushed him to his limit. As both a father and a police officer who failed to protect his child, it filled him with grief. After speaking, he walked around Dr. Wells and left the control room lobby.

Damn it. Can't we just cooperate and find Madden?

Lin Li cursed inwardly and gestured to Wells and the others before running out to chase Joe. He needed to utilize the police force's mechanisms and STAR Labs' technological power to find Madden. Ideally, they would cooperate. If not, Lin Li still needed to know the progress of both parties in locating Madden. He harbored murderous intent towards Madden and would not allow Madden to harm Barry again.

Wells watched helplessly as the two left the control room lobby one after another.

Cisco, not understanding the situation, asked, "Aren't we supposed to plan to cooperate with the police? What do we do now?"

Wells's expression showed his helplessness towards Joe, then he said deeply, "Joe is right. I need to take responsibility for the particle accelerator explosion. I caused this, and that meta-human must be caught."

Caitlin said, "Joe is unwilling to cooperate with us. If the Weather Wizard appears again, he could cause significant damage."

A slight smile appeared on Wells's face. "I have an idea."

It would be much better if Joe were willing to cooperate with STAR Labs to find and eliminate Madden. Joe represented the influence of the Central City Police Department. His presence or absence made a significant difference.

It's like if you, not being a police officer, were to carry out police actions, what would happen? That would be illegal. You see, ever since the particle accelerator explosion, after being designated a Level 4 Hazardous Area by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, STAR Labs has been quite 'troublesome.'

If there was a police officer present, they could claim it was assisting the police in carrying out their duties, which would be reasonable and lawful. Everything would be fine.

This was also why Dr. Wells was actually quite keen on cooperating with Joe.

However, it didn't matter if Joe wasn't there. His focus remained on Barry, and the other was Lin Li, who was hindering his main objective. The appearance of this meta-human would allow him to effectively keep Lin Li occupied, and Barry would achieve significant growth.

Around the corner, Lin Li caught up to Joe and stopped him.

"Joe, calm down, OK? Hear me out for a second, OK?"

Joe said with a grim expression, "Lin Li, you are also a victim of the particle accelerator explosion, unable to return home. If you're speaking on behalf of Wells, then you don't need to say anything."

"I don't represent anyone. I represent myself."

"You've seen the Weather Wizard's power."

"You think ordinary people can deal with this kind of super-powered individual?"

"Even Barry's super-speed couldn't do anything against him."

"You think ordinary people will just be fine?"

"Barry is my good friend. He hurt Barry, and he has to pay the price."

"My lightning ability counters him. As long as I know his location, he'll have nowhere to run."

"Joe, don't be so naive. Don't sacrifice ordinary people's lives just to catch Madden."