Responsible

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

Fifteen minutes later, Joe arrived at the surgical ward, his face filled with anxiety.

He looked sorrowfully at Barry lying in the bed. Barry had been awake for less than a month, and now he was back in a hospital bed again.

This time, it hurt him even more deeply.

At the time, he and Eddie had followed the clues to investigate the bank robbery suspect. The trail led to a farm on the outskirts. On their way there, he encountered Clyde Mardon committing a crime. Joe could not understand it. Clyde Mardon had clearly died in a plane explosion right before his eyes, leaving no body behind. How had he come back to life?

Joe had not immediately arrested Clyde Mardon. Instead, he chose to follow him. Coming back from the dead was far too strange; he needed to get to the bottom of it.

When they tracked him to Jordmay Street, Mardon accidentally discovered them. Joe watched helplessly as Clyde Mardon summoned a thick fog, then casually blasted Eddie unconscious with an air burst. After that, he had a rather unfriendly conversation with Joe. That conversation happened to draw Barry to Jordmay Street. Barry overheard them and rescued Joe and Eddie.

Joe loosened his tie, wiped his tear-filled eyes, and said through gritted teeth.

"Damn Mardon..."

Joe blamed himself. Barry had ended up like this because he had saved him, and the feeling tormented him.

"Joe, Barry isn't in any danger. The most important thing now is finding the person who hurt Barry."

Lin Li patted Joe on the shoulder, signaling for him to follow.

Joe and Lin Li arrived in the control room hall. They needed to discuss the Weather Wizard.

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

"How is Barry?"

Dr. Wells asked. Barry was extremely valuable to him; nothing could happen to him.

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

"Cisco told me about the situation. An evil metahuman who controls the weather. The accelerator explosion must have given him the ability to manipulate atmospheric molecules."

Dr. Wells removed his glasses and spoke to the others.

"We created him—an evil Weather Wizard. A very unfriendly Weather Wizard."

Caitlin took over. "What should we do? This metahuman isn't friendly. He controls the weather, and he poses too great a threat to Central City."

Wells rested his chin on his left hand, nodding thoughtfully. "We need to take back his powers and capture him."

He put his glasses back on, concealing the flash of conspiracy in his eyes.

"Catching him is the police's responsibility. I'll bring him in."

Joe said coldly and turned to leave.

Wells stopped Joe. "Detective, wait... I've never doubted the abilities of the Central City Police Department, but an metahuman who controls the weather is beyond ordinary people. You'll only cause more casualties this way."

Joe had seen Mardon's abilities. Ordinary people truly had no way of dealing with them; he understood that much. But even so, a police officer's duty still weighed on his mind.

Even if I have to sacrifice myself, I must protect the citizens of Central City.

Joe thought of nothing but capturing Mardon. For Barry, and for Central City's safety.

"I don't need your help. Catching criminals is police business. You shouldn't get involved."

Joe snapped, anger simmering inside him.

If the Particle Accelerator had not exploded, Barry would not have been in a coma for nine months, Lin Li would not have crossed over from another world, and there would be no metahumans. He believed Wells had caused all of this. Joe did not think highly of him. Without Wells, perhaps Central City would not have suffered so many incidents.

"All of this was caused by your Particle Accelerator explosion. You need to take responsibility. The best way to do that is to stay quietly at STAR Labs and stop causing more trouble."

Joe said bluntly. Barry's injury had pushed him close to the edge. Whether as a father or a police officer, his failure to protect his child filled him with grief. After speaking, he went around Dr. Wells and walked out of the control room hall.

Damn it, can't we just work together and find Mardon?

Lin Li cursed inwardly. He gestured to Wells and the others, then ran out after Joe. He needed to use both the police department's resources and STAR Labs' technology to find Mardon. Ideally, everyone would cooperate. If they could not, Lin Li still had to know promptly what each side knew about Mardon's location. He wanted Mardon dead. He would never allow Mardon to hurt Barry again.

Wells watched helplessly as the two left the control room hall one after the other.

Cisco asked in confusion, "Weren't we supposed to plan cooperation with the police? What do we do now?"

Wells's expression showed his helplessness toward Joe, then he said gravely, "Joe is right. I need to take responsibility for the Particle Accelerator explosion. I caused this, and that metahuman must be caught."

Caitlin said, "Joe isn't willing to cooperate with us. If the Weather Wizard appears again, he could cause enormous destruction."

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

If Joe had been willing to cooperate with STAR Labs to find Mardon and deal with him, things would have gone much more smoothly. Joe represented the power of the Central City Police Department. Having him there made a huge difference.

What happened when you were not a police officer but carried out police operations? It was against the law. Ever since the Particle Accelerator explosion, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency had designated the area a Level Four danger zone, STAR Labs had been in quite a bit of "trouble."

If they had a police officer with them, they could say they were assisting the police with operations. It would be reasonable both legally and morally, and there would be no problem.

That was why Dr. Wells had actually wanted to work with Joe.

But it did not matter if Joe was absent. His focus had always been Barry, and the other obstacle to that focus was Lin Li. This metahuman's appearance would allow him to keep Lin Li occupied, while Barry would receive excellent growth.

At the corner, Lin Li caught up with Joe and stopped him.

"Joe, calm down, okay? Just listen to me for a moment, okay?"

Joe's face darkened. "Lin Li, you were also a victim of the Particle Accelerator explosion. You can't even return home. If you're here to speak for Wells, then don't bother."

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

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

"Do you think ordinary people can handle someone with superpowers like that?"

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

"Do you think ordinary people will be able to walk away unharmed?"

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

"My lightning powers counter him. As long as we know where he is, he'll have nowhere to run."

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