[2] During the crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths, most of the Multiverse was destroyed, which resulted in the DC Universe being rebooted; moreover Barry died, and Wally West took up the mantle of the Flash.

Here, Piper is portrayed as a former member of the Rogues, who has given up being a vigilante and is dating David Singh, Barry's Director at the Central City Police Department.

Following Infinite Frontier, Wally again became the main Flash—Barry's role being diminished—and Piper was once-more depicted as aware of his friend's secret identity and member of the Flash family.

[5] He became obsessed with sound, and pursued little else in life; experimenting with sonic technology, Rathaway eventually invented a technique of hypnotism through music, and a way to cause deadly vibrations.

Growing bored with his lifestyle, he turned to crime as the Pied Piper and frequently clashed with Barry Allen, the second Flash.

After Allen's death during Crisis on Infinite Earths, Hartley retired from crime to become a socialist champion of the poor and underprivileged.

Unaware of Wally's discovery, Piper broke out of Iron Heights and struck a deal of some sort with former Rogue and FBI agent the Trickster.

During this time, Flash asked the Spectre to erase everyone's memories of his secret identity, due to his wife suffering a miscarriage from an attack by Zoom.

Piper reveals that he has rejoined the Rogues with a plan of infiltrating them, but when Captain Cold, Heat Wave, and Weather Wizard kill Bart Allen,[8] he and Trickster are forced on the run together.

Wally confines the two of them at the wedding of Green Arrow and Black Canary, despite the warnings that Deathstroke is planning an all-out assault at the occasion.

He plays one final time for Brother Eye, a swan song, "The Show Must Go On" by Queen, that destroys Apokolips, with him still trapped inside, apparently left to die.

Piper later steps into the middle of the fight between Inertia, Zoom and the Rogues, using his flute to paralyze the combatants, and taking the opportunity to revenge himself upon Mirror Master through a kick in the face.

[13] A genius of sonic technology, by the age of sixteen Rathaway had crafted a sophisticated flute capable of hypnotizing anyone within range of its sound.

Initially, he employed his mind control techniques almost exclusively on humans (and occasional animals), but during his incarceration in Iron Heights he became infatuated by the prison's ubiquitous rats and incorporated them into his gimmick, adding another similarity to his namesake.