CHAPTER 7
After listening to Blacksmith's instructions, Axel grinned confidently.
"I already knew you'd have me do this, so I made some preparations beforehand."
Axel spoke with great confidence.
"Is that so?"
Blacksmith raised an eyebrow, showing a hint of expectation. "Well, then I'll be looking forward to it."
Meanwhile, half an hour after the departure of the second-generation Trickster from the Keystone City Police Station...
"Officer Chyre, are you saying that someone stole the first Trickster's uniform and equipment and is now posing as the second Trickster?"
A young hero in a tight-fitting costume, with a yellow upper body, red lower body, and a red lightning bolt embroidered on his chest, asked the police about the situation.
He was talking to a veteran patrol officer in his fifties, Fred Chyre, the oldest active-duty police officer.
"Yes, you heard me right, Kid Flash."
Chyre spoke gravely. "Although we don't know what the thief is planning, whether it's just a copycat crime or something else, he has access to all the equipment used by a super villain, so he's very dangerous right now."
"We'll figure out what this second Trickster is up to, but first we need to find out who he is. Did he leave any surveillance videos or anything? And...I'd prefer it if you called me Flash instead."
The Kid Flash rubbed his chin and then changed the subject.
"I admit that you're great, and you've always been working hard. We all see that. But... your mentor, the Flash, his light shines too brightly."
At that moment, another police officer walked over, wearing a blue suit jacket, in his thirties, with brown skin and a scar on the right side of his chin.
His name is Jared Morillo, a detective, and the partner of Chyre. They are both members of the Keystone Police Department's Metahuman Response Team and, in fact, all of its members.
"Well, I'm not saying I'm good enough to compare myself to the Flash. I know I still have a lot to learn, but I'm just...I'm an adult now, you know? And the name 'Kid Flash' sounds more like something for teenagers."
Kid Flash waved his hand to indicate that he had no intention of taking the Flash's place.
"On another note, why hasn't the Flash shown up yet if the Justice League is already in action?"
Morillo curiously asked as he walked over.
"I wish I knew, but ever since he fought with the Weather Wizard yesterday morning, I haven't seen him. And the Flash never lets me get involved with Justice League affairs--he thinks I'm not ready, so on this matter, I know as much as you do, Detective Morillo."
"Really? I hope he's not in trouble."
Morillo nodded knowingly, then handed Kid Flash a USB drive.
"This is for you."
"What is it?" Kid Flash asked in confusion.
"Didn't you want surveillance footage of thi second coming Trickster? Morillo is giving it to you."
Chyre explained from the side.
"Let me guess, you want me to deliver it to Hunter."
Kid Flash knew that since Morillo had already backed up the video so quickly, it obviously wasn't intended specifically for him. After all, he was Kid Flash, not Zatanna.
"Hunter Zolomon is the best criminal profiler in Keystone City. With his help, we can catch that thief faster."
Morillo confirmed Kid Flash's thoughts. "Originally, we were going to look for him ourselves, but now that you're here, there's no one better for the job than you, especially since you're friends."
"No problem, I'll deliver this to Hunter."
Kid Flash took the USB drive and as soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared.
—-—
The next day, Yuri slept until noon.
Eliminating the fatigue of repeatedly turning into Gray Matter and modifying his old car last night, he also saved on breakfast money, killing two birds with one stone.
Yuri sat up in bed, lost in thought.
He needed to plan for his future.
Having obtained the Omnitrix, that undoubtedly meant Yuri now possessed extraordinary power.
Yuri's future is destined to be extraordinary, and he will not settle for being ordinary now that he possessed this chest of a watch.
'Jim invited me to join his gang to carry out his million-dollar plan and asked me to meet him at eight tonight...'
Should he go or not?
Yuri isn't sure. He doesn't know why Jim knows so much about the movements of all the superheroes in Twin Cities, but it's definitely not something Jim and Terry figured out on their own.
Maybe there's a huge criminal organization behind them, and maybe this criminal organization is planning to destroy Twin Cities, and Jim and Terry are just pawns being used.
It's possible, and the probability is not small.
As for calling 911 to report them? He's not that foolish, do you have any evidence to accuse them? Do you know what their plans are? You don't even know what charges to report them under!
That's why Jim told Yuri the meeting time directly, without fearing he would tell on them.
"If only I had read DC comics, it would be easier to know which villainous organization is hiding in the city and deduce who gave the information to Terry and Jim." Yuri sighed in helplessness.
However, the fact is that he doesn't know anything about DC's storyline, so that's not an option.
"Or maybe I should just forget about it and pretend nothing happened?"
As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Yuri crushed it in its infancy.
Come on, even though Yuri hasn't read DC, in this hell of a world, the plot development isn't that hard to guess.
If Yuri doesn't show up for the appointment, he may become a thorn in the eyes of Jim and Terry, and even the forces behind them may target him.
Even if the plan of the villain organization was to destroy the Twin Cities and it turned out to be successful, and Yuri and the whole Keystone City will be buried together. Until his last second before death, he would not know what happened...
Of course, it may also be his delusion of being murdered. After all, just getting the cheat named Omnitrix, Yuri would feel a little special.
Anyway, Yuri ultimately decides to go and check it out, at least to find out where Jim's information came from.
Get information first, and then either follow to make money or leave in time. The initiative is in Yuri's hands.
Having made up his mind, Yuri prepares to eat. Although skipping breakfast can save a little money, it will inevitably also make him hungry faster.
He opened the storage cabinet and finds three big bags of oatmeal and a bag of stale and hard expired bread.
After confirming that there is no other food storage, Yuri silently closes the cabinet and drives away from the metal house.
After he received some money last night, ah, no, he received some compensation, Yuri now has two thousand dollars of disposable funds.
So he decided to go out for a meal for the first time in a long time.
...
–Hamburger Stand–
"Two beef burgers, one strawberry sundae, one medium Coke, two portions of chicken nuggets...and one order of spicy fries to go."
"Eight dollars and fifty-five cents in total."
Yuri didn't even blink as he took out eight one-dollar coins, two 25-cent coins, and five one-cent coins.
"A1552, your order will be ready later."
The cashier took the coins and handed Yuri a receipt.
Yuri was about to find a place to sit for a while when he almost ran into someone before he even got a good look at the person in front of him.
Before he could see what the person looked like, a woman's voice came over.
"Oh my God, Wally, I told you not to turn around when walking. You almost ran into someone just now!"