Kapow Courthouse

[Lucifer Morningstar]

Inside of the main courtroom, the people are allowed in to the audience area. The lines are clearly divided, with people who believe Jaeger is innocent seated behind the defense, and those who believe he is guilty seated on the side of the prosecution.

The Defense and Prosecution teams are in separate rooms, preparing their case. DA Harvey Dent enters first, carrying a two-toned briefcase. He is stopped before taking his seat by Bailiff Blood Drench Robo Crush, who confiscates his weapon. Two-Face shrugs, while Harvey facepalms.

Tenzil Kem enters next. He sit down, puts his briefcase on the table, and then eats it. An uncomfortable silence falls over the crowd.

Sixteen martinis (extra strong, naturally) escort Jaeger to the Defendant's seat. He is in a terrible state, wearing nothing but prisoner pants and clearly having not been groomed in days. He yanks his chained arms away from the martinis, who clink angrily at his bucking of courtly manners. Finally, his chains are unlocked and he sits back, arms crossed in front of him. He refuses to answer any questions from his counsul.

A soft light appears above the Judge's bench, and Lucifer Morningstar fades into existence. He is wearing a perfectly tailored suit. He motions for one of the guard-tinis to come to him, and gives it a sip. He nods sagely, approving of it's flavor and temperature.

Dent clears his throat.

Dent: Ahem, your Honor, if we could begin-
Two-Face: Stop screwing with the flying booze and let's get this over with!

Lucifer raises an eyebrow.

Dent: Apologies, your Honor.

Lucifer raises a hand, and a mahogany gavel appears in it.

Lucifer: Court is officially called into order. On today's docket, the People versus Jaeger Ayers. The charge is the premeditated murder of Tad Ryerstad. How does the Defendant plead?

Jaeger Ayers stands up.

Jaeger: I plead that this courtroom is a total farce! A prosecution full of supervillains? I'm defended by a guy whose 'super power' is to eat stuff? And the FREAKING DEVIL is the judge?! I plead that-

Tenzil Kem stuffs a drink coaster into Jaeger's mouth.

Tenzil: He pleads 'Not Guilty,' your Honor.

The Judge looks disdainfully at Jaeger.

Lucifer: The Defense will control it's client, Mister Kem. The court will not stand further outbursts. Very well, we shall begin. Is the Prosecution ready?

Dent: Ready, your Honor.

Lucifer: Is the Defense ready?

Tenzil nods.

Tenzil: Ready, your Honor.

Lucifer bangs the gavel.

Lucifer: Very well, let the trial of Jaeger Ayers commence.

*clack!*

The crowd falls silent as Harvey Dent stands up, pacing in front of the people.

Dent: Your Honor, on Sunday, March first, Tad Ryerstad was celebrating his "presidential inauguration." Little did he suspect at the time, that fate was about to end his term-
Two Face: with the business end of a spear! Heh, heh.

Dent: For months, Jaeger Ayers had been exhibiting strange behavior. He threatened other Nexus patrons. Defaced the Injustice International building with a threatening 'prophecy.' And in general confused the entire Nexus populace. Only on March first did his intent become clear-he was giving us all warning ahead of time of his plan to murder Tad Ryerstad!

The crowd murmurs.

Dent: Jaeger Ayers lured Tad Ryerstad down into his lair...the Boiler Room, and with a grudge that he had been nursing for nearly two years, thrust a spear into his heart and rendered him dead. Jaeger Ayers the Sin-Eater killed Tad Ryerstad, the sinner.

Tenzil:

Tenzil jumps to his feet and thrusts a finger towards Dent.

Tenzil: Your honor, this is all speculation! The Defense demands some actual PROOF that this is how the murder took place!

Lucifer sighs.

Lucifer: Mister Kem. I know that you are eager to begin the shouting match that your trials inevitably devolve into, but you WILL take your seat and allow the Prosecution to finish setting up it's case. Mister Dent, please call your first witness.

Harvey nods.

Dent: Very well, your Honor. The Prosecution calls Bigby Wolf to the stand!

The doors blow open, and Bigby stands in the doorway of the court, cigarette smoke trailing above him and his coat trailing below.

Tenzil: NICE entrance!

Bailiff Blood Drench Robo Crush assails Bigby as he approaches the stand.

Crush: FLESHY LUPINIOUS CRETIN! Swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, or so help you God, may your squishy bits be flayed and grilled over a rotisserie of holy judgment!

Bigby: ...I do. I guess...

He looks up at Lucifer, who merely shrugs.

Lucifer: The padre enjoys his job.

Dent: Mister Wolf, please give testimony as to the Sheriff Office's findings at the crime scene.

Bigby nods.

Bigby: As you all know, on March first at roughly 6 pm, Jaeger Ayers exited the boiler room of the Bayou Bistro covered in blood. It was quickly revealed that the body of Tad Ryerstad was in the Bistro, pinned to the back wall with a spear through his heart. Ayers informed everyone at the scene that "you know full well that he ******** deserved it," and then surrendered himself into custody. It's pretty much academic at that point.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: Just because he exited the room Ryerstad was in does not make him the murderer! There were no witnesses!

Bigby: That's true, there were no witnesses to the actual crime. However, we do have security tapes of the Bistro, and as far as we can tell, no one entered the room other then Jaeger Ayers.

Tenzil: "As far as we can tell?" What do you mean by that?

Bigby: I mean that the security cameras don't catch everything that happens in the Bistro. They're not stationary. They're motion activated. They'll show wherever there's motion or noise.

Tenzil looks thoughtful.

Tenzil: So, what you're saying, is that someone could enter the boiler room...and NOT be caught on camera?

Bigby: It's possible, but not very likely.

Tenzil: No, no, hold on a moment. Did the cameras actually catch the moment that Tad Ryerstad entered the boiler room?

Bigby: ...no, they did not. He was last seen heading towards the Kitchen. After that, the next time he reappears on camera is as a corpse.

Tenzil: Hmm.....

Lucifer: Mister Kem, save your musings for when court is not in session. Continue, Mister Wolf.

Bigby: Thank you, your Honor. I'd like to present our first piece of evidence.

Harvey Dent walks over to the evidence table and picks up a large diagram.



Dent: Exhibit A for the Prosecution. A diagram of the murder scene.

Dent reaches into his briefcase. Bailiff Blood Drench Robo Crush prepares to leap into action....but Dent just pulls out a pointer.

Crush: Darn.

Two-Face: Heh, you aren't gonna find the second one, trust me.

Lucifer: Before you go any further, I must interrupt. Where are the autopsy results? I find it highly unusual that they are not your first piece of evidence.

Bigby Wolf growls.

Bigby: They're not done yet. The HAMMER techs told me this afternoon. Osborn employs idiots.

Lucifer: The autopsy results will be here in my hand by the end of this trial, or Osborn will be employing hamsters.

Two-Face: Seriously. The hamster thing? I don't get-
Dent: PLEASE ignore that, your Honor. The Prosecution does not wish to spend the rest of the trial half-hamster.

Tenzil: Darn, that would have made my job so much easier.

Lucifer: Proceed, Mister Wolf.

Bigby takes the pointer from Harvey and points at the large "V" on the diagram.

Bigby: V is for Victim. Tad Ryerstad's body was found here. These boxes are crates that were stacked approximately two feet tall. Tad's body was facing the door and was pinned into the wall by the murder weapon. Impaled through the heart.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: But wait a minute...that doesn't make sense.

Bigby: Oh?

Tenzil: If someone is stabbed through the heart, I would assume that all of the blood that spilled out would be pooled under the body. However, in your diagram, clearly the majority of the blood in the room is a good two feet away from the location of the body!

Bigby: Indeed. However, that's the only way the murder CAN make sense.

Tenzil: And how is that?

Bigby: The Prosecution recreated the murder scene, and we have come to the conclusion that the actual place Tad Ryerstad was murdered was where that pool of blood was. Ryerstad entered the room, turned on the light, and saw -Harvey, could you?

Dent: Certainly. Your Honor, the Prosecution's Exhibit B.



Dent: This is one of Tad Ryerstad's campaign posters. As you can see, it's been defaced, not just by the gaping, bloody hole where the spear wound up pinning Tad to it, but also with the word SINNER.

Bigby: If you're Tad Ryerstad and you enter the Boiler Room and turn on the light, that poster is going to be the first thing you see. And you're going to come forward to get a better look. As you can see, there is a shelf in the way hiding the area near the cot. If Ayers waited there, and then attacked when Ryerstad got close enough-

Two-Face: Splortch! Heh, heh, heh.

Bigby: Then he heaves the guy up, pins him to the wall for some symbolism to match with his crazy doom prophecies, and heads out to show off his handiwork for the crowd. End of story.

Tenzil is visibly sweating. He turns to Jaeger.

Tenzil: That's not how it went down, right?

Ayers: Just like I said when I left the room. ******** deserved it.

Tenzil runs a hand through his hair.

Tenzil: It's a good scenario...BUT...it's not PROOF that Jaeger did it!

Bigby: You want proof of that? Okay. Here's the murder weapon.

Harvey holds up Exhibit C.



Dent: For those of you who don't know, this has been positively identified as the Spear of Destiny. Do you agree, your Honor?

Lucifer regards the spear and nods.

Lucifer: It is indeed that object. Or at least one universe's version of it.

Dent: In fact, it's the spear from Patience the Magadalena's universe. We know this, because she gave the spear to Ayers. He 'borrowed' it from her, in plain view of the public, under the false pretense of using it to open a treasure.
Two-Face: Yeah, then after he got it open, he spilled it all over the front of his shirt. Heh, heh, heh.

Bigby: Simple as that. He owned the murder weapon. He entered the room, he left covered in the victim's blood. It couldn't get any plainer.

Ayers: That's what I've been saying all along! No need for this stupid trial, just send me up the river or whatever and let's get this over with.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: Wait! Are his fingerprints on the spear?

Bigby: No, there are no prints on the spear. At all.

Tenzil: That doesn't make sense, now does it? As you all said, Jaeger borrowed it from Patience in the Bistro. He plainly grabbed it. Why are there no fingerprints?!

Bigby: So he wiped them off after stabbing the guy into the wall.

Tenzil: Why would he do that if he was just going to leave the room and give himself up? In fact...if we look closely at the spear, we can see that blood has dripped downward towards the handle. If he had wiped off fingerprints, he would have wiped the blood off too, right?

Bigby: Suppose so.

Two-Face: Don't agree with the Defense, you mangy dog! So Ayers wore gloves when he did the deed. That explains the lack of prints without removing the blood.

Tenzil: My client wasn't wearing gloves when he exited the room, though. In fact, I've never seen him wear gloves. And wouldn't your investigation have found the gloves at the scene?

Dent: There were no gloves found...

Tenzil: In fact, I have a piece of evidence of my OWN to submit...





Lucifer: A can of spray paint? Mister Kem, please do not tell me that you intend to spray graffiti in my courtroom.

Tenzil: No, your Honor, this spray can was found at the crime scene. As you can see, the color matches the paint on the poster.

Bigby: There was a circular space on the shelf in the boiler room that didn't have dust on it that matches the size of this can.

Two-Face:

Two-Face: Hey! Whose side are you on anyways, you mangy mutt?!
Dent: Never mind that. Continue, Kem.

Tenzil: We had this can checked out at our own lab. It has NO fingerprints on it. But it DOES have a thumb-sized smudge in the paint drip down the side-meaning the person that spraypainted "SINNER" on the poster WAS wearing gloves!

The crowd starts chattering loudly.

Tenzil: That's right! I'm suggesting...no, I'm STATING OUTRIGHT that Jaeger Ayers and Tad Ryerstad were not the only ones in the boiler room that day!

Lucifer bangs his gavel.

Lucifer: Order! Order in the court.

The crowd all change into hamsters for a brief moment, and the court is full of squeaking instead. Lucifer sighs, and changes everyone back. They slowly fall silent.

Tenzil takes a deep breath.

Tenzil: Your Honor, as the prosecution's diagram shows, there were several paper fragments that were burnt in the boiler that day. My team recovered two of these fragments. And they prove CONCLUSIVELY that...

He looks at Jaeger Ayers.

Tenzil: My client...was BEING BLACKMAILED.

Jaeger looks out the window nonchalantly.

Dent:

Dent: The Prosecution DEMANDS to see these fragments!

Tenzil: I'm sure you do...because I happen to know that YOU have fragments too!

Dent pauses...and then smiles. He breaks into a condescending laugh.

Dent: That's right, kiddo. We do. And, in fact, we came to a very similar conclusion to you, several days ago. Your Honor, the Prosecution agrees with the Defense that Jaeger Ayers had an accomplice in this crime.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: That's NOT what I said!

Harvey shrugs.

Dent: He was being blackmailed, right? There was another person in the room the day of the crime, right? Just because Ayers wasn't a willing murderer, your Honor, does NOT make him less of a murder!

Tenzil: But where did this person go when Jaeger left the room?

Dent: Well, we don't know that, do we? All eyes were on Jaeger for a little bit there. It would have been easy in the chaos for his accomplice to slip out with no one noticing.

Lucifer: Enough of this. The Court demands that these fragments be surrendered into evidence. ALL of them.

Tenzil and Dent: Yes, your Honor.

The Prosecution shows off it's fragments:

Fragment 1:

Quote:

0100 000 110 / 100 000 101 010 / 1101 000 101 / 110 111

0 1 1011 1011 / 01 000 / 000 01 1

1011 000 0101 010 / 0 1111 1 / 0111 000 11 1011 1 101 / 101 000 000 00

Fragment 2:

Quote:

0100 000 110 / 1111 10 1110 1 / 000 01 1 / 100 1 1 010

011 000 / 01 000 0 / 0111 1 / 10 01 001 101 0100

111 000 000 01 / 0100 000 110 / 100 11 1011 1011 / 101 1 0101 1 11 1110 1 / 10 / 101 1 100 10 101 011 / 1011 000 01 001 / 011 1 111 11 101 1 011

-3

Fragment 3:

Quote:

your failure to properly deliver the goods from brainiac five is disappointing

your sloppiness shows you do not take consequences seriously

arrangements are being made

Fragment 4:

Quote:

0 1111 1 / 1001 1011 10 01 111 / 10 101 1 / 111 0 11 1011 1011 / 11 01 / 0 1111 1 / 0111 000 11 1011 1 101 / 101 000 000 00

101 1 0 110 101 01 / 0 1111 1 00

10 1001 000 1011 000 001 11 0011 1

011 000 / 01 000 0 / 1101 1 1 1011 / 0 000 000 / 10 01 001 101 0100

10 / 001 000 000 011 / 0 1111 11 01 001 / 11 111 / 0101 000 00 11 01 001 / 0100 000 110 101 / 100 10 0100

1101 11 101 111 0 / 0100 000 110 / 00 110 111 0 / 1 10 0 / 0 1111 1 / 111 11 01 111 / 000 1101 / 0 1111 1 / 1001 10 111 0

-3

The Defense presents its fragments.


Fragment 1:

Quote:

sloppy work gets someone hurt

remember it is all on your head

-3

Fragment 2:

Quote:

Ayers

0100 000 110 101 / 1101 11 101 111 0 / 10 111 111 11 001 01 00 1 01 0

11 01 1000 110 111 0 11 0101 1 / 11 01 0 1 101 01 10 0 11 000 01 10 1011 / 1101 1 1011 1011

10 01 011 / 11 111 / 01 000 100 / 0111 1 11 01 001 / 101 1 0111 110 11 1011 0

0100 000 110 / 100 11 1011 1011 / 111 0 1 10 1011 / 0 1111 1 / 1001 1011 10 01 111

Lucifer: What is the point of this code?

Dent: Your honor, it appears to be a code based on the one Ayers used last year when he was evading the Phantom.

Lucifer waves a hand and the coded fragments are translated.

Prosecution Fragment 1:

Quote:

You work for us

Tell no one

Lock the boiler room

Prosecution Fragment 2:

Quote:

You have one week

Do not be angry

Soon you will receive a reward long desired

-3

Prosecution Fragment 4:

Quote:

the plans are still in the boiler room

return them

apologize

Do not feel too angry

soon you will receive something you have wanted for a long time

good things are coming your way

first you must eat the sins of your past

-3

Defense Fragment 2:

Quote:

Ayers

Your first assignment

Injustice International fell

And is now being rebuilt

You will steal the plans

Bigby: Oh sure, make it look easy. Warren worked his a** off to translate those.

Tenzil: Salu too.

Lucifer: I don't really care. You wanted to see all of the fragments, here they are. Continue the case.

Dent: Your Honor, at this time the Prosecution wants to call Jaeger Ayers to the stand.

Ayers: ******** off, ugly. I plead the fifth on everything.

Dent: Oh, I think you'll want to testify, Mister Ayers. You see, we need something cleared up. About another little note fragment we found. This one wasn't in the boiler room, though. This was in the puddle of Tad Ryerstad's blood. Your Honor, Prosecution Exhibit...what letter are we up to?

Lucifer: The judge does not care. Just present the evidence.

Dent: Very well, your Honor. Here is the note that was found in the puddle of blood.

Quote:

Ayers-

now you know what your reward will be

only one thing left to do to collect it

destroy the posters advertising the inauguration party

come to the boiler room on the evening of the 1st

you will know then what has to be done

to insure the release

of all that beautiful gold

-3

Tenzil:

Tenzil: Your Honor, I need time to talk to my client-

Lucifer: Overruled, Mister Kem. He is obviously aware of the nature of the note, even if he chose not to confide that fact in you. Mister Ayers, will you testify as to the nature of this note?

Ayers: ...



Fine. I will.

Jaeger walks up and takes the stand. Bailiff Blood Drench Robo Crush drops down from the ceiling and lands, spider-style. His head twists upside down and a hand shoots out of his chest, holding the bible.

Crush: ODIFEROUS FELON! Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, else your bones be stripped of their fleshyness and the marrow sucked out like milk through a cereal straw?!

Ayers: Right. Nothing but the truth. 100%.

The Bailiff retracts back into the rafters. Harvey Dent comes forward and stands across from Jaeger.

Harvey: Mister Ayers, were you being blackmailed?

Ayers: No.

Harvey: Mister Ayers, you are under oath.

Ayers: Blackmail indicates I did things unwillingly. I was more then willing to do what I was told.

Harvey: And who was behind these notes?

Ayers: That's confidential.

Harvey: Do you KNOW who sent these to you?

Ayers: I plead the fifth.

Lucifer: Prosecutor Dent, please move the questioning to be relevant to this murder trial.

Two-Face: Did you enjoy killing Ryerstad, Jaeger? Did it give you a feeling of accomplishment? Finally getting even for that night two years ago when he set you on fire?

Ayers: I believe it's already on record that I said, and I repeat, the ******** deserved what he got.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: Your Honor, this line of questioning is a blatant attempt to get my client to incriminate himself! He has not, and never will admit to this crime!

Lucifer: Sustained. Let's keep the questioning straightforward, Mister Dent.

Lucifer casually grabs one of the extra-strong martinis and sips it as Harvey continues.

Dent: Mister Ayers, do you admit to entering the Boiler Room on the night of the first?

Ayers: Yes.

Dent: And do you admit that when you left, Tad Ryerstad was dead?

Ayers: You're a regular Sherlock.

Dent: Did you kill Tad Ryerstad?

Ayers: Sure looks like it, doesn't it?

Two-Facel: Listen, you little s**t, if you don't stop dodging the question, I swear I'll-

Dent reaches into his suit coat, but stops himself.

Dent: Ahem. Apologies, your Honor. I would like to try a different vein of questioning, if I may.

Lucifer: Please do. This is starting to get boring.

Half of the audience suddenly become meercats.

Dent: Jaeger, where is Zinda Blake?

Jaeger: Damn, how many times do I have to answer this? I don't know. I'm not her stalker. I don't keep tabs on her 24 hours a day.

Dent: But you were seeing quite a lot of her, until about halfway through February. She indicate to several people that you were keeping quite close to her.

Jaeger: She's a good looking woman. Who wouldn't want to get close to that? Yeah, I kept close. Tried to get really close.

Dent: Which brings us to these blackmail notes.

Jaeger: I told you, I wasn't being blackmailed.

Dent: But you WERE being threatened. "Remember, it is all on your head?" Zinda Blake was mugged the week before Valentine's Day. When did you receive this note? Before, or after?

Jaeger: I don't remember.

Dent: Was harm being threatened to Zinda Blake in exchange for your compliance?

Jaeger: I don't know. I'm stupid, you know. Dumbass backwards Sin-Eater, can't even go into a room without a corpse showing up.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: What is the point of this line of questioning?

Dent: Just trying to get to the bottom of this last note, the one we found in the puddle of Tad Ryerstad's blood. You know the one Jaeger, right? It says:

Quote:

you will know then what has to be done

to insure the release

of all that beautiful gold

-3

Ayes lets out a long sigh. He crosses one arm in front of him and rubs his temple with the other hand.

Ayers: I could really go for a smoke right about now.

Tenzil: Your Honor, I request a recess-

Lucifer: Denied, Mister Kem. I have no interest in prolonging this any more then it needs to be.

Dent: Come on, Ayers. Tell us about this note.

Ayers: ...okay, fine. Here's the truth.

He looks out into the audience, scanning the heroes and villains of the Nexus that have gathered to see the trial. He looks at Snow White, who brought him food. Natalia Romanova, Victor Creed, Janet Van Dyne, Reed Richards and others. He looks at the closed doors of the prosecution and defense prep rooms.

Ayers: I was being paid to do some tasks in the Nexus. A lot of gold. "All that beautiful gold." I thought being a rich guy would impress Zinda. I thought taking out "President" Tad would get her attention, but she hasn't even bothered to show up at the trial. That's what crazy, stupid people like me do, right? Attack prominent political figures to get the attention of pretty girls?

Tenzil:

Tenzil: Your Honor, this testimony COMPLETELY contradicts everything we've established so far in this trial!

Dent: Are you kidding? This is a confession! The Prosecution accepts it as such.

Lucifer: Mister Kem, do you wish to cross-examine the Defendant?

Tenzil wipes his brow and sits down.

Tenzil: ...No, your Honor.

Lucifer: Does the Defense wish to change its plea?

Tenzil:

Tenzil: I said no such thing, your Honor! In fact, I would like to call a completely different kind of witness!

Lucifer: Brainiac 5.

Tenzil: A witness...who may turn this entire case around!

Lucifer: Brainiac 5.

Tenzil: A witness whose testimony may be so ground-shattering, that the very internet itself will BREAK IN HAL-okay, fine, yes, it's Brainiac 5.

Lucifer lowers his hamster-transmogrifying finger. The doors open again and Querl Dox steps in. Bailiff Blood Drench Robo Crush walks up, bible in one hand and schematics for his laser-guided atomic launch system in the other.

Crush: FLESHY BRILLIANT INVENTOR! You will swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth! ...And then, perhaps, if you have a little spare time, we can talk about an upgrade?

Lucifer: Dont' mix work and pleasure, Bailiff Crush. There is a time and a place.

Crush: Sorry, oh heretical overload of the law!

Dox: I swear. Let's get this over with. I have more important things to do.

Brainiac 5 takes the stand. Tenzil stands up and approaches.

Tenzil: Mister Dox, you are here today to provide expert testimony regarding the manner of which Tad Ryerstad was killed. Unfortunately, we don't have the actual autopsy results...

Dent:

Dent: Bigby, are those results ready yet?

Bigby: I'll head up to the Helicarrier and bring them down myself, personally.

Bigby grits his teeth as he heads out of the courtroom.

Dent: Continue with your questioning, Mister Kem. The autopsy results are the only thing that really matters, any way.

Tenzil crosses his arms and cocks his head.

Tenzil: Well we'll just see about that, Mister Prosecutor. Querl. It's accepted at this time that Tad Ryerstad died via spear stab to the chest. Do you agree with the prosecution's reconstruction of the crime? That Tad was assaulted BEFORE climbing the boxes and then pinned into place after he was attacked?

Dox: Yes. The amount of blood on the floor indicates that he bled out enough to expire before his body was moved.

Tenzil: That would take a pretty strong guy, to pick up a dead body and heave it up two rather rickety crates. That's, pardon the pun, a lot of dead weight.

Dox: To hold the body in place WHILE creating enough driving force to impale the spear into Ryerstad's body AND into the brick wall behind it would take more then a 'pretty strong guy.'

Tenzil: Such as?

Dox: It would take two people.

Dent:

Two-Face: We've already established that Ayers has an accomplice!

Lucifer: Sustained, but only barely. Mister Kem, where are you going with this?

Tenzil: I just want to repeat to the court two facts that we already know. One, that there were no fingerprints found on the spear. And two, that there must have been two people participating in Tad's murder.

Tenzil starts to pace, his arms behind him as he talks.

Tenzil: Querl recently had a chance, as our team's forensic expert, to examine the statue that you have outside of the Hall here, your Honor.

Lucifer: Yes, the statue that Ayers defaced. I was rather enjoying the ironic statement of impaling the heart of Justice and decided to leave it that way until your teammate and future hamster girlfriend Salu decided to break it's perfect marble breasts off.

Tenzil: Er, yes, well, *coughs* that's a bit besides the point here. And, uh, she has promised to pay for that...

Dox: Get to the point, Tenzil.

Tenzil: Yes! The point! Exactly my point! My point IS the point! The point of the spear, to be precise! Querl, what were your findings about the spear tip that we recovered?!

Dox: It was made of an iron ore. Hand forged. Quenched in waters with a high salt content. Attached to the spear with a leather thong. Striation marks on the spear indicate that it was sunk into the statue at a 30-degree angle, facing downward.



Tenzil: Facing downwards.

Dox: Yes. The statue is six feet tall and stands on a two-foot pedestal. The 30 degree angle accounts for Jaeger Ayers height when he plunged the spear into the statue's chest.

Tenzil: And yet...when Tad Ryerstad was discovered, his body was impaled with a spear at an upward angle.

Dox: Yes.

Tenzil: Which means?

Dox: That the person who plunged the spear through Tad's body and into the brick wall was either very tall or flying/hovering at the time. They were able to thrust with enough force to penetrate his heart, the lung, possibly the ribcage behind the heart and into the wall with enough force to keep the body in place.

Tenzil: So there are two people in that room, and one of them has the power to do that. And the other one, we can presume, has the ability to kill a man with a single spear blow. Otherwise, why send two people to do the job of one? Mister Dox, was Jaeger Ayers the man who pinned Tad Ryerstad to the wall?

Dox: In the opinion of SCIENCE? No. It would be impossible for him to do it himself. And he lacks the strength to have been the one who did the pinning from that angle, even if he were in the room at the time.

Tenzil.: And, as we have previously established, Jaeger Ayers' fingerprints were not on the spray paint can or the spear. Which means?

Dox: He was not the murderer.

Tenzil: HE WAS NOT THE MURDERER.

The crowd starts to explode! Natalia Romanova, Janet Van Dyne, Reed Richards and others jabber loudly, debating the Defense's conclusion.

Lucifer: Order! There will be order in this court!

He bangs his gavel, and the martinis fly into the audience, forcing themselves into people's hands to silence them with heavy drinking.

Dent:

Dent: That's all well and good, Mister Kem, but it's jumping to a pretty heavy conclusion. There are plenty of ways that people in the Nexus could arrange the spear placement without absolving Ayers, who has admitted so much on the stand today. As soon as we receive the-

Crush: BITONAL PROSECUTOR FLESHBAG! THERE IS A NOTE FOR YOU!

The Bailiff hands Dent a note.

Dent: Who is this from?

Crush: I can't keep most of you fleshbags straight. Someone from your puny prosecution team of fleshy fleshbags.

The Padre jumps back into the rafters as Dent unfolds the note and reads it. He looks up at Tenzil and then at Dox. He looks down at the note again, and then puts it into his pocket.

Dent: Your Honor, Prosecution requests to cross-examine this witness.

Tenzil: Fine, there's nothing you can say that will change the facts we've just presented.

Two-Face smiles.

Tenzil: Er. Don't do that, please...it's very disconcerting.

Dent approaches the stand.

Dent: Brainiac 5. Last year, you were the Phantom that terrorized the Nexus, were you not?

Dox: What is the relevance of this line of questioning?

Dent: Just answer the question, please. Yes or no.

Dox: Yes.

Dent: You attempted to court every single young blonde woman in the Nexus while simultaneously tormenting and then murdering all others? Beautiful women like Miss Zinda Blake?

Dox: Yes. Conditionally.

Dox stares coldly at Dent.

Dent: Yes, yes, we all know about the story of you being 'mind controlled' and a magical ring, and everyone being shrunk and sent to Paris. Who do you blame for that entire incident, Mister Dox?

Dox: Tad Ryerstad was the impetus for the entire Phantom incident.

Dent: And who constantly defied you, dropped clues for the others and attempted to stop the Phantom?

Dox: Several people attempted, but you are clearly trying to implicate Jaeger Ayers.

Dent: Jaeger Ayers. Tad Ryerstad. Querl Dox. Three people. Tied together one year ago-

Tenzil:

Tenzil: Your Honor, my expert witness is not the one on trial here!

Dent:

Dent: Isn't he? You've said that there needed to be another person in the room when the murder took place, Mister Dox! You said that he needed to be able to fly, Mister Dox! Just like someone with a flight ring, Mister Dox! You claim that Jaeger Ayers was being blackmailed! You claim that this was all an elaborate set-up! Who in this courtroom has the mental acumen to do such a thing? WHO, I ASK?!

Dent dramatically points his finger at Brainiac 5's face.

Dent: The Prosecution is pointing the finger at YOU, Mister Dox!

Dox sneers.

Dox: Prove it.

Dent: Oh we will...just as soon as Bigby returns with the autopsy results...a result that will show things like the EXACT angle of the death blow and the depth. Things that you can't ascertain just by eyeballing the scene briefly as the defense did. Things that will prove that a man of Jaeger Ayers' height killed Tad Ryerstad, and perhaps even enough future nanite technology rubbed off on Tad's body when you hoisted him up to pin him to the wall to prove-CONCLUSIVELY- that you are, in fact, the one behind this ENTIRE ordeal, Mister Dox!

In fact, Bigby should be-

*KA-BOOM!*

Two-Face: What the HELL was that?!

The entire court is rocked to it's foundations by a massive concussive blast from outside! The doors fly open from the tremor, and everyone is able to look outside.

In the skies of the Nexus, the Helicarrier is exploding! Flames fly out of every orifice of the massive skyship, and smoke darkens the skies above it.

Dent: My God...

The smoke, almost impossibly, is pouring out so precisely, as if every explosion was planned, so that the noxious gray clouds form three perfect circles, two of them rising higher then the middle one as the Helicarrier crumples in the middle and starts to fold up like an accordion.

Dent spins around in the courtroom. He points at Brainiac 5.

Dent: Arrest that man!

The Prosecution team flood out of their room, grabbing Dox, and forcing him to the ground. Above everyone's heads, outside, the three-circle sigil of the Brainiac family floats up in the air.

Jaeger: Hm.

Dent: Someone get out there! Make sure Bigby and the HAMMER agents were properly evacuated! And as for you-

He grabs Dox by the neck.

Two-Face: Admit it, you little punk. You played us. You played us all. This was all your doing, wasn't it?! Where the Hell is Zinda Blake?

Dox looks at the scene around him impassively, and speaks once his throat is released.

Dox: And finally the trap snaps shut. Very well. Take me in.

Lucifer: ENOUGH!

The doors slam shut.

Lucifer: Due to explosion, this trial is officially granted a week-long extension. Mister Dox, you are now implicated in this conspiracy. You are officially under arrest. In one weeks' time, we will reconvene, and by then the Defense and the Prosecution had better be ready to present to me the truth.

Everyone vanishes out of the main courtroom. Dox and Ayers reappear in the jail cells of the Sheriff's office.  

[Lucifer Morningstar]

Once again, the denizens of the Nexus gather in Lucifer's courtroom to see what drama will unfold. Sue and Reed Richards are seated together. Victor Creed sits alone in a back row. Shift and Indigo are seated on the Defense's side.

A glowing mist of sparkles start to coalesce into the form of Lucifer Morningstar, but quickly stop, mid-sparkle.

Lucifer: No, no...Let's reserve the overindulgent sparkling for the vampires.

The sparkling immediately disperses, and instead tendrils of black smoke climb up from the Judge's bench, until they take the form of Lucifer Morningstar. He opens his hand and his gavel appears.

Lucifer: Once again, we are convening to continue the trial of Jaeger Ayers. The charges have been refiled, and now the murder charge also stands against Querl Dox.

Lucifer beckons with a single finger, and a steaming hot toddy with wings drifts over to him. He takes a long drink and nods.

Lucifer: The martinis took the opportunity of not being disturbed in the Bistro to experiment with creating other, equally winged drinks. So far, I approve. I will indulge this trial further.

The doors in the back of the courtroom fly open and Harvey Dent steps in. He takes his seat, looking around warily for Bailiff Blood Drench Robo Crush. When the padre does not pop up, he pulls open his briefcase and starts pulling out papers.

Dent: The Prosecution is ready, your Honor.

The doors open again, and Tenzil Kem steps inside. He takes off his sunglasses...puts another pair on...and has a seat.

Tenzil: The Defense is ready, your Honor.

Bailiff Blood Drench Robo Crush leads in Querl Dox and Jaeger Ayers. Both of them have their hands handcuffed.

Crush: And perhaps just a teeny tiny plutonium ray? Out of the pinkie finger? I would be ever so grate-

Lucifer: BAILIFF.

Crush: Sorry, your eternal damnationship.

The defendants are seated next to Tenzil.

Lucifer: Very well. Let the trial commence.

He bangs his gavel.

*clack!*

Dent stands up.

Dent: Your Honor, the Prosecution has not changed it's stance since last week. Jaeger Ayers received several notes from a mysterious source-a source we now identify as Querl Dox- and, in accordance with those notes borrowed the murder weapon from Patience the Magdalena. He then joined Dox in the boiler room on the night of March first and the two of them murdered Tad Ryerstad. Dox left the room unannounced, and Ayers then emerged to take full credit for the slaying of his adversary.
Two Face: Open and shut. Let's get the gallows working here, your devilness.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: Your Honor, since last week a LOT of new evidence has come to light AND several events have taken place that completely turn this case around. I submit to you that the defendents are NOT the murderers...but in fact the victims, just as much as Tad Ryerstad was!

The crowd starts to rumble. A sidecar, a Tom Collins and two margaritas settle into the crowd to silence them.

Lucifer: Mister Kem, you know how I run this courtroom. If your clients are innocent, you must provide palpable evidence of it.

Tenzil: I know your Honor, I know. But first I would like to build my case. And it starts last week with the explosion of the Helicarrier. Your Honor, Defense calls Bigby Wolf to the stand!

The doors open and Bigby steps in. Bailiff Blood Drench Robo Crush detatches himself from the back of Brainiac Five's chair and heads up to the Witness stand.

Crush: TOBACCANOUS CANINE! Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth lest your filthy animal soul be washed away by the tides of HELL?!

Bigby: ...What the Hell is wrong with you?

Crush: I'm just trying to make things more interesting.

Bigby: What's wrong with just the standard oath? It doesn't have to be interesting. It just has to be there. I swear to tell the truth, okay? You don't need to attach the blasphemous threats.

Crush: FATHER BLOOD DRENCH ROBO CRUSH DOES NOT BLASPHEME, FLESHY FABLETHING! He merely elaborates on things in intricate detail to help drive home a point.

Lucifer: I'm going to consider this witness sworn in before this devolves any further. Mister Kem, the witness is yours.

Tenzil stands up, takes off his sunglasses and puts on another pair. He approaches the Witness Stand.

Tenzil: Mister Wolf, you were on board the Helicarrier at the time it exploded.

Bigby: When it exploded, after it exploded, after it landed, and then some, yeah.

Tenzil: Please describe your experience to the court.

Bigby: On Friday night during the trial, I was couriered up to the Helicarrier by two HAMMER agents. They escorted me to a lab where the autopsy of Tad Ryerstad was still in-progress. The hold-up was an attempt to use some fancy-a** ray beams to 'type' the killer by some sort of technology I didn't understand.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: Could you expand on this a bit?

Bigby: Not a lot, I didn't understand the process, but it's what was holding up the autopsy so much. As far as I could tell, they were trying to use it to determine what universe the last people to touch Ryerstad were from. Not easy for a few reasons, main ones being that he wasn't from their universe initially and that the doof had just spent two days hobnobbing with everyone from the Nexus.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: So you didn't get to see the final results of the autopsy before the accident occurred?

Bigby: It wasn't an accident. But no, the autopsy was never completed. I knew time was of the essence as the trial continued underneath our feet. I....persuaded them to hurry up, and that's when the first explosion rocked the ship. I ran out into the corridor, and saw flames blasting out from what used to be Tony Stark's office. The fire traveled up into the vents, and must have reached the fuel line at that point as the ship was rocked by a second explosion from the engine room in the very back of the ship. The last thing to go was the control room in a fireball. We were cut off from entering there to try to navigate the ship to a safe landing.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: The explosion definitely started in Tony Stark's former office?

Bigby: Absolutely. I've inspected the blueprints of the Helicarrier since and both that and the black box information corroborate my story. Tony Stark's office is where the explosion originated from.

Tenzil: What else did the Black Box reveal about the explosion?

Bigby: Like I said, it started in Tony's office. It was set up with expert precision. The ship, it appears, had a design flaw. An explosion originating from that exact spot was able to travel through the fuel lines of the ship to take out the two most important parts of the ship - the control room and the engine room.

Tenzil: Which were on opposite sides of the ship.

Bigby: Yes, with Stark's office almost exactly in the middle.

Tenzil: So, if someone knew about this design flaw, and had a way to bring an explosive on board, they could arrange to blow the ship, knowing that it would result in a smoke pattern that resembles the Brainiac family sigil?

Dent:

Dent: Prosecution fails to see the point of this line of questioning, your Honor. It is purely speculative.

Tenzil: Your Honor, I ask the court's indulgence. I am attempting to build credibility for a theory.

Lucifer: Granted, but you're walking a tight rope, Mister Kem.

Tenzil looks down at the floor.

Tenzil: Er, not to argue with your Honor, but-

Lucifer: Proverbial tight rope, Mister Kem.

Tenzil: Ah. Okay. Sorry, your Honor. Mister Wolf. Back to my original question. If a person had the foreknowledge of the Helicarrier's structure. could they have arranged this explosion?

Bigby: Yes, but...

Tenzil: But?

Bigby: There'd have to be an explosive in the room. And the last owner of the Helicarrier, Norman Osborn can attest that the room was checked for such a thing.

Tenzil: Your Honor, Defense calls Norman Osborn to the stand. Mister Wolf, you are dismissed for now.

The door opens and Norman, decked out in a nice purple suit, glides in slowly on his formal goblin glider. Bailiff Blood Drench Robo Crush swears him in.

Crush: AUTHORITATIVE FLESHY THING! Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, lest your bones be ground to make my bread?

Osborn: Yes. For this trial, at least.

Osborn steps off of his glider and sits at the Witness Stand.

Tenzil: Mister Osborn, you are familiar with the findings in the Helicarrier's black box?

Osborn: I was the first one to examine them, of course. It was MY Helicarrier. And that green little punk is going to be persecuted to the fullest extent of the law for defiling it.

Tenzil: And you agree that the explosion originated from Stark's office.

Osborn: I can see where you're going with this, and it's not going to work. Yes, the explosion came from Stark's office. No, there was no explosive in the office when it was inspected when the Helicarrier was returned to me. But it's a moot point.

Tenzil: Moot? How?

Osborn: Because your little green friend there gave everyone the explanation for how he did it in jail this last week.

The crowd starts to buzz.

Osborn: Oh, what? No one else here pays attention to what's said in the actual jail? I'm not surprised. You've all been running around like chickens with your heads cut off looking for former vice presidential candidates and girls named Courtney. I've been paying attention to what's important.

Tenzil looks over at Querl Dox, whose focus remains ahead of him at all times.

Tenzil: Enlighten us, Norman.

Osborn: I thought you'd never ask. Listen to this. It is audio from the prison:

He pulls out a small replay device.

Quote:

Dox: The programmable nanoprobes are doing their work. Otherwise I am operating at optimal efficiency. I am surprised and dismayed none of you have pressed on the big contradiction yet, though

Osborn rewinds the device.

Quote:

Dox: The programmable nanoprobes are doing their work.

He rewinds it again.

Quote:

Dox: The programmable

He pauses it.

Quote:

Dox: nanoprobes

He pauses it again.

Quote:

Dox: are doing their work.

Osborn sets the device down.

Osborn: Is it obvious yet? Or should I play it a few dozen more times?

Tenzil:

Tenzil: This quote is out of context! My client's nose had been broken by Bullseye, and he was describing his recovery to one of my associates. Everyone in the thirty-first century has medical nanoprobes in their blood.

Osborn: Are they all capable of reprogramming them? To, perhaps, lie inert in a room until directed to attack the fuel line of the Helicarrier?

Tenzil:

Tenzil: That's preposterous!

Osborn: Is it, Dox? That's right, I"m asking you, you smug little b*****d. Is it so preposterous?

Brainiac 5 takes his gaze from straight ahead and stares into Norman's eyes.

Dox: It is feasible.

Osborn: I rest my case.

Two-Face: Shut the hell up, Normie, it's not your case to rest.
Dent: Your Honor, none of this information was discussed with our office before the beginning of the trial today. As much as it appears to help our case, we cannot attest as to its accuracy.

Osborn shrugs.

Osborn: Fine. Ignore my findings. I'm the only one doing anything right, but do I mind? I'm only here to build my eventual case against Dox for the destruction of my Helicarrier anyways.

Tenzil: Defense requests a recess, your Honor.

Lucifer: Very well, granted 10 minutes.

Lucifer motions for an Irish Coffee to fly over and he sips it as the Defense retire to their ready room along with the Defendants.

*************************10 Minute Break*************************

 

[Lucifer Morningstar]

After the break, the Defense files back into the courtroom.

Lucifer: I trust that you've ironed out your issues?

Tenzil: Yes, your Honor. We'd like to call Norman Osborn back up to the stand.

Norman puts aside the martini he's been drinking and returns to the witness stand.

Osborn: Make this quick, I'm a busy man.

Tenzil: Mister Osborn, the black box in the Helicarrier indicates that the explosion started AT Stark's office, correct?

Osborn: Do we have to go through this again? Yes, yes it does.

Tenzil: And what remained of Tony Stark's in his office after you reclaimed the carrier?

Osborn: Absolutely nothing. There was a picture over his desk, the desk itself, and a mini-fridge that were all destroyed.

Lucifer: What was the picture of?

Osborn: Like I remember? It was in front of the White House, I think.

Lucifer: Was it of some cows?

Osborn: ...what? What does that have to do with anything? I think it was of Stark's "Avengers" team.

Lucifer: But were they turned into cows? Or perhaps it was a version of them from a bovine-oriented universe?

Dent: Your Honor, Prosecution questions the relevance of this cow-oriented line of questioning.

Lucifer waves a hand, and Harvey becomes a two-toned cow.

Dent: ...Prosecution removes it's questioning of the Court's interests.
Two-Face: WHAT THE HELL?! MOOO. DAMN IT!

Tenzil: Um. Getting back to the line of questioning...Everything in Stark's office was removed, right?

Osborn slowly turns away from the cow Two-Face to look back at Tenzil.

Osborn: Yes. I was going to retrofit it into a broom closet.

Tenzil: Your Honor, my client, Querl Dox has informed me that nanoprobes, which as you all know are microscopic machines, would have to be anchored to something to remain in place. If they were just dispersed into the air, they would have been inhaled or circulated and eventually vented out of the ship with the rest of the air. This means that my client, in his only visit ever to the Helicarrier, would have had to have transferred them to something that he touched-and the only thing he touched in Tony Stark's office was that very picture.

Dent:

Lucifer: Yes, Mister Dent? What is your objection?

Dent: Your Honor, I'm still a cow.

Lucifer: And does this affect your job performance somehow?

Two-Face: I'M A FREAKING COW.

Lucifer: ...and?

Dent: Your Honor, my...other half will no doubt continue disrupting the proceedings until this is rectified.

Lucifer sighs, and waves a hand. Dent is restored to his human half and half persona.

Lucifer: Continue, Mister Kem.

Tenzil: ...I'm not sure I remember where I was.

Lucifer starts to point a finger at him. Tenzil flinches.

Tenzil: I REMEMBER! I REMEMBER! Okay, the only thing Brainy touched in Stark's office was the picture. And the picture was removed. Meaning that there is no way the nanoprobes could have been used as an incindiary device in the way Osborn is indicating. The Defenses stance on this issue is that even if the explosion started AT Stark's office, that doesn't mean that it started IN his office.

Lucifer: Very well. Does the Prosecution have anything to add?

Two-Face: Hell no.

Lucifer: Mister Osborn, you are dismissed.

Osborn: Finally. Very entertaining circus you're running here, your Honor.

Norman steps off the stand and returns to the Prosecution's room. Harvey stands up.

Dent: Your Honor, while this has been an...interesting-
Two-Face: Annoying-

Dent: -distraction from the bulk of the case, the Prosecution would like to point out that the Defense STILL hasn't proven that Dox and Ayers were not the murderers.

Tenzil: Defense acknowledges this. We have one more point we'd like to discuss, but currently yield the floor to the Prosecution.

Lucifer: It's your game, Dent.

Dent: Very well. The Proseuction calls Hellboy to the stand.

The doors in the back open again, and Hellboy walks in, looking very uncomfortable. He has a seat in the witness chair.

Hellboy: Hey pop.

Lucifer: Why do I keep seeing you in this situation, son?

Hellboy: I'm not the one in trouble this time, I swear!

Crush: FLESHY DEMONSPAWN!

The Bailiff leaps from the rafters on top of the witness stand and thrusts the bible into Hellboy's face.

Crush: DO YOU SWEAR TO TELL THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH LEST THE PURE WORD OF GOD SMITE YOUR SULLEN DEMON FLESH FROM YOUR GUTS, RENDERING YOU A HERETICAL PILE OF SMOOSHY BITS?!

Hellboy: What the-

Lucifer: Just say you do, Son.

Hellboy: Okay. Yeah. I do.

Dent: Hellboy, you've had past experiences with the Defendants, have you not?

Hellboy: Yeah, I used to have beers with Ayers and Zinda all the time. And Dox and I have...well, we had issues in the past but we've mostly worked through them.

Dent: What were those issues?

Hellboy: Well, he...tricked me into thinking that I had some of those nano-thingies in me, which I didn't appreciate to the point of sort of...punching him into a wall. But it was one of those future kid mindscrews, so no harm no foul, I guess.

Dent: No harm, no foul? You certainly didn't think so at the time. In fact, there are many people in the Nexus who would not agree that Brainiac 5 is worthy of a 'No harm no foul' sort of attitude. He is in fact regarded as a dislikeable liar by many people in the Nexus.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: My client's slightly abrasive personality is not relevant, your Honor!

Dent: I disagree, Kem. In fact, Brainiac's character is at the very CORE of this trial. He is the mastermind behind this entire situation. One that has been going on for months. While he was blatantly manipulating Hellboy in the foreground, in the background he was manipulating everyone else!

Tenzil:

Tenzil: Just like you said before, Dent. Let's see some proof!

Dent: Easy enough to do. Mister Hellboy, let me take you back to over a year ago, during a time in the Nexus when it was plagued with a particularly troublesome pest. A pest known as the 'lantern ring.' Do you know what I refer to?

Hellboy runs a hand through his hair.

Hellboy: Oh, Hell, I was hoping this wouldn't come up...

Dent: I'm sorry to ask you to relive those dark times, Mister Hellboy, but is it not true that you were a recipient of one of those Lantern Rings?

Hellboy: Yes. A red one.

Dent: And what did that ring give you the enticement to do?

Hellboy: ...

Dent: We implore you to answer, Hellboy. You are not on trial here.

Hellboy: It gave me the power to summon the apocalypse here in the Nexus.

Dent: Luckily, that incident was mitigated. But the fact is, that ring had an INCREDIBLE amount of power. Is it not also true, Mister Hellboy, that Querl Dox acquired one of those rings?

Hellboy: Yeah. He got a purple one. And before you ask, yeah, yeah, it gave him tremendous power. It turned him into the Phantom of the Nexus, and he sort of tortured everyone and zapped us all into turn-of-the-century Paris, France.

Dent: Mister Hellboy, Querl Dox's laboratory was broken into this week. You were the first man on the scene. What did you find there?

Hellboy: A huge ******** my language-a huge flippin' mess, that's what I found. Place torn apart. Fires, chemical spills, the works.

Dent: You found something else of interest there, did you not?

Hellboy: ...yeah...

Dent: Your Honor, Prosecution submits into evidence this black case that Hellboy recovered at the scene of Brainiac 5's lab.

The case is unveiled on the evidence table. It is small, and partially melted on the top. Dent picks up a pencil and opens the lid of the case.

Dent: As you can see, your Honor, this box has four slightly raised cylindrical nubs inside. Even in the 31st century, it is no doubt what this box was intended for. It was for holding rings.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: If the Prosecution is insinuating what I think it is-

Dent:

Dent: That is EXACTLY what I am insinuating, Mister Kem! All this time, Brainiac 5 has been consolidating power in his lab-for what? We do not know! This is a psychotic megalomaniac who sees people as pawns!
Two-Face: And trust us, we know our psychotic megalomaniacs!

Dent: He blamed Tad Ryerstad for infecting him with the purple ring in the first place, and Jaeger Ayers for helping to defeat him when he was the Phantom. He orchestrated Tad's murder and paid off Jaeger Ayers to take the fall. And when it seemed like the Prosecution was getting too close to the truth, he blew up the Helicarrier and Tad Ryerstad's body along with it!

Tenzil:

Tenzil: This is ALL speculation, your Honor! It's ridiculous-

Dent: The next piece of evidence that the Prosecution would like to present, your Honor! This note fragment discovered in the heat vents of the Bistro this last week!

Quote:

eat injustice has been done

it is now your job to rebalance the scales

go to the courthouse

use your spear

impale the statue of justice near the door through the heart

though it cost you a spear you will come closer to gaining your future reward

you thought last year was a game dropping hints and playing hide and seek

you gambled with pe

Dent: This note specifically references last year's "Dox Incident."

Tenzil: It's still all just circumstantial! There were a LOT of people last year during the "Dox Incident" who came and went. ANY of them could have sent that note. It's not even complete!

Dent: But none of them have as strong of a motive as Dox, and none of them had a box full of magical killer rings in their lab.

Tenzil: That box is EMPTY! He could have had four Legion rings in there for all we know!

Dent: Then put him on the stand. Let's see what he has to say.

Lucifer: Mister Dox? It sounds like you're up again.

Querl Dox takes the stand. Bailiff Blood Drench Robo Crush meekly swears him in, and wiggles his pinky poutingly as he does so.

Dent: Querl Dox. Did you have lantern power rings in your laboratory?

Dox: Yes.

Dent: Where are they now?

Dox: I do not know.

Dent: Who broke into your lab?

Dox: I do not know.

Dent: What DO you know, Mister Dox? Anything useful at all? That 12th level intelligence whirring in your head?

Dox: I fail to see the point of this line of questioning.

Dent: The POINT, Mister Dox, is that you thought you could outthink us all, and instead, you're rotting in jail and all of your little plans are coming crashing down around your head. DON'T bother raising an objection, Mister Kem, the statement is retracted. Facts are facts, Dox. We have a lot of evidence - circumstantial, sure. Incidental, yes. But the fact is that EVERYTHING points back to you.

Dox: Except one thing.

Dent: And what is that?

Tenzil:

Tenzil: Harvey...if my client was the mastermind behind all of this...why did he instruct Jaeger to STEAL from himself?

Dent: ...what?

Tenzil: Aha...the Defense has a piece of evidence that your Prosecution team seems to have forgotten about. A massive contradiction to your theory.

Quote:

your failure to properly deliver the goods from brainiac five is disappointing

your sloppiness shows you do not take consequences seriously

arrangements are being made

Tenzil: Jaeger Ayers attempted to steal something from Brainiac 5's lab-it was the impetus for him to install his new security system. Rather then succeed, though, Brainy broke down the door of the Boiler Room and stole back what was taken. Why would he bother doing that?

Dent: As a double blind! A way to move suspicion away from himself.
Two-Face: Yeah, I do it all the time.

Tenzil: Really? Even if the item in question was a valueless drink coaster? It makes no sense. I'll tell you what DOES make sense. Querl Dox receives what appears to be a drink coaster from the future. The conspirators...oh, let's say that there are three of them, see him get the coaster, and decide that they need to find out exactly what it says on there. So they contact their boy Jaeger to do it for them. But Brainy's got eyes everywhere and he sees who stole from him. So he takes it back. And then...

Quote:

do not fail again

or someone else pays the price

enjoy your holiday

-3

Tenzil: You didn't know about this fragment. It's one that we found the same day you found your last one in the Bistro. It says "enjoy your holiday" referring to Christmas. Which is, of course right after he failed to steal the coaster from Brainiac 5. Facts are facts, right Dent? And the fact is that although it's true Jaeger Ayers received threatening messages, they were not from Brainiac 5. And that means that Brainy wasn't an accomplice in Ryerstad's murder. A murder that Jaeger could not do on his own.

The crowd starts buzzing again at the new information. Lucifer clacks his gavel.

Lucifer: I have heard enough. I am of the opinion that this trial cannot continue. There is strong evidence pointing towards the defendants, to be true, but there is nothing conclusive. Therefore, I have no choice but to declare the defendants-

All eyes in the courtroom turn to Jaeger Ayers, who is on his feet.

Lucifer: Mister Ayers? You have been very quiet tonight. What are you objecting to now?

Ayers: I'm objecting to...to this entire trial! To everything!

Tenzil: Jaeger, sit down, he's about to acquit!

Ayers: You're fired, Tenzil.

Tenzil: WHAT?! Are you insane?

Ayers: The Hell I am. This. Trial. IS. NOT. DONE. Your Honor, I officially elect to self-represent for the remainder of the trial.

Lucifer raises an eyebrow.

Lucifer: You wish to be your own lawyer?

Ayers: That's right. Dox can stick with Kem if he wants, but I don't feel that he's best representing my interests. I'm done with him.

Lucifer: You realize Ayers that this means the trial will have to reopen so that you can present your own defense.

Ayers: I realize that.

Lucifer: And that you will remain incarcerated while you work on your case.

Ayers: I understand.

Lucifer: And if you fail in your defense, I will rule summarily against you separate from Querl Dox.

Ayers: I understand that to. But the fact is that this isn't the end.

Tenzil: Jaeger, what the hell is wrong with you?!

Jaeger turns to Tenzil and Querl.

Ayers: You haven't done your job right, Tenz. There is still a loose end to be tied up.

Tenzil sits down, flabberghasted. Querl Dox stands up.

Dox: I choose to retain Mister Kem as my lawyer. However, I request that a stay of judgment be granted to my sentence until I can hear Mister Ayers' defense.

Lucifer: That will require you to remain imprisoned as well. And I will not reopen my courtroom for another week.

Dox: It is understood.

Lucifer shrugs.

Lucifer: Very well. Court recognizes Ayers' right to defend himself. The Court also recognizes that judgment against Querl Dox will be reserved until judgment against Ayers is reached. Prosecution, you have a one-week extension to work on your case. The same goes for you, Defense.

He bangs his gavel again.

Lucifer: Court is adjourned.  

[Lucifer Morningstar]

Once again, Lucifer Morningstar descends from his higher plane of existence into the courtroom of the Nexus. This time there are three tables set up. At one sits Harvey Dent, the door to the Prosecution ready room on his left side. In the middle is a table where Jaeger Ayers is seated. On the other side sit Tenzil Kem and Querl Dox, the door to the Defense ready room on his right.

Lucifer stands and addresses the crowd of Nexus citizens who are taking their seats in the audience area.

Lucifer: Tonight will be the final night of this trial for the murder of Tad Ryerstad. Once I have levied judgment against Jaeger Ayers and Querl Dox, my duties as the Nexus’s deity will have been fulfilled. I will not intervene one way or another after the outcome. There are simply fare more interesting uses of my time; I may observe Sigma Alpha going supernova or attend a confectioners convention in Paris. It will all depend on my mood.

Therefore, lawyers, and Ayers, choose your words and actions wisely. I will not suffer to fix any mess you create for yourselves.

Two-Face: Enough with the flowery speech already. Let’s get down to business.

Tenzil: For once, I agree, your Honor.

Ayers: Really? I don’t. What’s the rush? This is pretty much my show at this point, with due respect to the judge. You’ve all been entertained for months by my actions, spinning your little theories and playing the home game version of “What the ******** is Jaeger on?” And frankly, I don’t see any point in going through this thing at any pace other then my own.

Jaeger stands up from his table and paces in front of the Prosecution’s table.

Ayers: Wouldn’t you agree, Harvey? That I should be given the floor here?

Two-Face: The floor, then the chair, heh.
Dent: We’d love to hear what you have to say, Ayers.

Ayers: What about you, Tenz?

Tenzil is looking at the door to the Defense ready room. He turns and nods at Jaeger.

Tenzil: Just signal me when the cage match is supposed to start.

Jaeger raises an eyebrow, but decides to let it go.

Jaeger: All right, then I call my first witness to the stand. Querl Dox, come on down!

Querl Dox stands up. Bailiff Blood Drench Robo Crush presents the bible.

Crush: VEGETABLE-HUED ANIMAL! DO YOU SWEAR TO TELL THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, LEST YOU BE PELTED TO DEATH WITH MINERALS?!

Dox: Yes.

Ayers: Querl, give everyone here a review of the “Dox Incident” from last year.

Querl sighs.

Dox: Again?

Ayers: Yeah, again. I love hearing how heroic I was.

Dox: Very well. In the month of February of last year, Rex Mason reentered the Nexus wielding a violet colored “power ring.” At roughly the same time, several other rings with energy-projection powers and of different colors also came to other hosts. This culminated in an event where Hellboy, under the influence of a red ring, and Mason came to blows. Hellboy’s natural predisposition towards heralding the apocalypse was exasperated by the rage-inducing powers of his ring, and he attempted to bring Hell-in the literal sense-to the Nexus. Myself and a few others intervened, and the rings were stripped from the hands of those whom had received them and entrusted to me.

Ayers: And then?

Dox: And then I brought them back to my lab to be destroyed. However, unknown to me, I was tailed by Tad Ryerstad, who desired the rings, no doubt because they were shiny. He jumped me from behind, but failed to get the rings, because the purple one…infected me. It took over my subconscious and created a separate entity that called itself the Phantom of Kapow.

Ayers: Describe the harcore lovin’ of the ladies you tried to perpetrate.

Querl stares at Jaeger.

Ayers: Come on. I want everyone to hear about my heroic escapade.

Dox: Unknown to myself, I was the Phantom. The Phantom heaped torment on people, making Daredevil deaf, making Powell stupid…er…and in the worst cases, outright vaporizing people who dared to cross it. And at the same time, the Phantom attempted to ingratiate itself with the female contingent of the Nexus.

Ayers: Oh come on, Brainy, be more specific then that.

Dox: It attempted to woo all of the blondes at once.

Ayers: That’s better. Tell everyone about my heroism.

Dox: Heroism? What heroism? You were in my lab, no doubt setting up part of your little scavenger hunt “Finder’s Quest” when Ryerstad attacked me, and rather then help, you watched as the ring took control of me. Fearing that if I knew the truth, you went on the run, leaving clues for the other hapless citizens of the Nexus in the guise of your Finder’s Quest in an attempt to keep the Phantom at bay. Bigby Wolf was murdered with a silver bullet through a portal. Nearly two dozen Nexus denizens were vaporized as they tried to complete your quest AND stay away from the Phantom’s wrath.

Ayers: Damn. It seemed so much more heroic at the time. But it turns out that you didn’t engage in mass murder, did you?

Dox: As I said, it was my subconscious that was overtaken. But I am a twelfth level intelligence. The ring’s hold on me was not complete. Although I believed every person the Phantom targeted was dead, in fact they were simply shrunk and transported to early 20th century Paris, France. Which I happened to have in a jar in my lab at the time.

Ayers: Yeah, what the hell was up with that, anyways?

Dent:

Dent: Relevance, your Honor.

Lucifer: Sustained. We don’t care why Brainiac 5 happened to have Paris at the height of it’s cultural greatness sitting in his lab, so long as it was eventually returned to it’s proper place and time.

Ayers: Okay, okay. Sorry, you know I’m new at this lawyerin’ thing. So. Brainy. You weren’t killing people. You were just humiliating the hell out of them and then stuffing them in a bottle.

Dox: Yes.

Ayers: And then I revived Bigby and we all kicked your a** and got the ring off. We took everyone out of the bottle. So, my next question. Was anyone pissed?

Dox: I was pissed about having to endure the ordeal overall. My subconscious saw fit to detonate a bomb in my face.

Ayers: And yes, that would annoy me too. But I mean the people that you tormented and then stuck in Paris. Any of them knee you in the groin for that?

Dox: Not as such, no. Most of them well understood that I was not in control of myself.

Ayers: Okay, okay, true. We’ve got some decent folks here in the Nexus. A few of ‘em, at any rate. So. What happened to all those rings? The ones that you originally took from Hellboy and the others, and the purple one Bigby took off you?

Dox: They were both dangerous and contradictory in nature. I regathered the ones that I had lost and put them under lockdown in my lab for further study.

Ayers: And didn’t tell anyone.

Dox: I calculated that the reaction from the general populace of my owning four of the power rings would not be favorable.

Ayers: Damn right it wouldn’t be favorable. Not only were you the guy who once tried to use just ONE of them to kill everyone, but some of those rings BELONGED to other people.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: Your Honor, Querl isn’t on trial here for what happened last year! And this line of questioning about the rings has nothing to do with the trial at hand either!

Lucifer: Ayers? Can you prove that the incident last year has something to do with this trial?

Ayers: Wouldn’t have brought it up if I couldn’t. You see...starting in November of last year, I started receiving messages from someone anonymous. These messages…compelled me to do perform actions I wouldn’t normally do. You’ve seen some of these messages during the trial. I’d like to point you to one in particular…

Quote:

you thought last year was a game dropping hints and playing hide and seek

you gambled with peoples lives and livelihoods

Ayers: My mystery buddy here overstepped his hand a little bit. It’s pretty obvious that Notewriter is bitter about how things went down last year. In fact, if you look at this entire murder, it has everything to do with what happened last year, from the murder victim, to Dox…to me.

Dent:

Two-Face: Don’t try pulling that “I’m a victim too” crap here, Ayers-

Ayers:

Ayers: Did I ever say that I was a victim? Hell no! I’ve been guilty, all right-guilty of letting those notes push me around, doing whatever they say.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: Because you were being blackmailed, right? They were holding something over your head more important then your reputation in the Nexus.

Ayers nods and taps his nose a couple times. He looks at the Defense ready room door and then at the Prosecution ready room door. He turns and faces the audience, taking a deep breath.

Ayers: I’ll gamble with my own life any time, but if someone I care about gets involved, I don’t care what happens to me. I had to keep her safe.

Dent: s**t. That note that had a picture of Zinda Blake attached to it…

Tenzil: You were afraid that this blackmailer would do something to her.

Dent: We suspected this from the start. Where is she?

Ayers: Hang on. I’m not there yet. Actually, I think this is where Tenzil can pick up on things, right Tenzil?

Tenzil looks away from the Defense door and nods.

Tenzil: Querl Dox's defense would like to call another witness to the stand, your Honor.

Lucifer: Dueling Defenses. At least this is more interesting then the last trial...very well, call your witness.

Tenzil: The Defense calls...Lex Luthor to the stand, your Honor.

Harvey looks confused but doesn't raise an objection as the Bailiff opens the Prosecution door and Lex Luthor steps out. He strolls over to the witness stand and raises his hand.

Luthor: Don't even bother, robot. I don't need to hear your pedantic threats. I swear to tell the truth.

Crush: :-<

Tenzil: Lex Luthor, you've been working hard for the Prosecution ever since the murder took place, correct?

Luthor: That is correct.

Tenzil: And as such, you've wound up embroiled in some controversies surrounding the trial.

Luthor: Is this in reference to your team breaking into my office and stealing the Injustice International plans? Because I would say that was something that YOU were more 'embroiled' in then I.

Tenzil: Interesting thing about those plans...you know, the ones that we got from your office and that were originally stolen by Jaeger Ayers at the behest of his blackmailer...you see, they weren't.

Luthor: Weren't stolen?

Tenzil: They weren't the plans for Injustice International. At least, you see, not the actual building that was built.

Luthor: You're batty. Of course they were the II plans! They were in my office, weren't they?

Tenzil: And had your fingerprints on them. And Jaeger's. And Bullseye's. However, one of the associates on my team is a civil engineer-that means he's an architect. Once we stopped looking at the plans as evidence and as actual building plans, it became evident to him that they didn't match the actual building.

Ayers:

Ayers: Now that's interesting, isn't it? I took those plans, held them in my hands and put them into the boiler room. Then I was told to take them out and return them. But if the actual building they made was different then the original plans...

Dent: Then...the plans you returned must have been doctored somehow.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: Exactly! There were two sets of plans. The originals and a second, doctored set that were actually used in the construction of the building. However, this begs two questions, doesn't it? It begs the question of how Luthor got the original plans back, and-

Two-Face: And what the Hell was changed to the building! You son of a b***h, Luthor, I'll cut out your liver-

Lucifer: Prosecution will NOT be flaying witnesses during this trial, Counselor. I am not fond of blood spatters on my furniture. Do not force me to re-cow you, Dent.

Luthor: This is all heresay. IF there was a change to the plans for Injustice International, it was done without my permission-just like your theft of the plans, Kem.

Luthor turns to Harvey Dent.

Luthor: As for you, Dent, you're a disgrace to Prosecutors everywhere. You're letting the Defense get away with dressing down one of your own team for things that aren't even relevant to Ryerstad's murder.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: Oh, this testimony is VERY relevant, Luthor. In fact, it's the most relevant testimony presented so far in the case.

Luthor: Oh?

Tenzil: Remember when Jaeger handed the defense over to me? He was in the middle of talking about someone he didn't want to see hurt. That person...was Zinda Blake.

The crowd in the courtroom starts to buzz.

Ayers: She's my best friend in the entire Nexus. When I started getting threatening notes about her, I decided to try to smoke people out by putting up fake prophecies everywhere. Tried to see if my irrational behavior would cause whoever was stalking her to give me some indication as to who they were.

Dent: So all of the spraypainted prophecies and fire-reading and all of that
Two-Face: -utter bullshit-

Ayers: Was nothing but me trying to gauge the reactions of the Nexus people to find out who was threatening her. You have your methods of deduction, Dent, and I have mine.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: So while you were doing the things the notes instructed you to do, you were investigating on your own.

Ayers: Right, but I didn't turn anything useful up. And when I failed, Zinda paid the price.

Tenzil: Zinda's mugging.

Ayers: I forgot to lock the door to the Bistro once, and John Corben got inside. Luckily he was too stupid to notice anything like the notes I had laying out on my desk. He just noticed that I'd patched up the peephole to the girl's bathroom. Then I got a note saying I was being sloppy, and that other people would pay the price. And then...

Dent: And then Zinda Blake complained of being mugged shortly afterward.

Ayers: Exactly.

Luthor: Why am I still here? Can I step down?

He sighs boredly. Lucifer shakes his head.

Lucifer: You have not been dismissed, Luthor. You will remain where you are or you shall roll away as a hamster in a small plastic ball.

Luthor narrows his eyes at the judge, but remains seated.

Ayers: And then there was this auction thing Zinda was holding, and then she just vanished. I searched everywhere. I didn't want to say anything outright because I feared the worst. I searched Injustice International, the Bistro, the bookstore, the Helicarrier...every nook and cranny of the Nexus. But I couldn't find her. And that's when I received the final note.

Dent: The one we found in the blood pool, right? The one that said;

Quote:

Ayers-

now you know what your reward will be

only one thing left to do to collect it

destroy the posters advertising the inauguration party

come to the boiler room on the evening of the 1st

you will know then what has to be done

to insure the release

of all that beautiful gold

-3

Ayers: That's right. And when I went into that room, I knew exactly what I had been set up for. But there's one thing you didn't recover...and that is the beautiful gold that was included with the note!

Jaeger reaches into his waistband of his pants and pulls out something that he places on the table.

Two-Face: Ah, so finally it all makes sense. You were playing a game of Double Jeopardy...your freedom for her life.

Ayers: Exactly. And now that I've confessed in front of the public, Zinda Blake could be a dead woman.

Dent: Then...why confess?
Two-Face: So you're just as two-faced as us, huh? Heh.

Tenzil:

Tenzil: No, he's not. He's confessing...because Zinda Blake is safe!

Dent: What?!

Luthor: WHAT?!

Tenzil stands up and throws open the doors of the Defense ready room. The room...


...


Is Empty!

Luthor: Where the HELL is your team, Kem?! What are you trying to pull?

Tenzil: We aren't trying to pull anything, Luthor! The plans for Injustice International don't add up, but they do so in a very unusual way! The V3 Hangout, My Alibi, the Ballroom-they're all the same as the original plans. The only thing that doesn't match up is Luthor's Corner Office. And right now, my team is there, extracting Zinda Blake from where she has been hidden for a month!

Luthor growls, his hands gripping the edge of the witness stand. Then, suddenly, he relaxes, and sits back.

Luthor: Oh well. You win some, you lose some.

Dent: So you're confessing?!

Luthor: Why not? It appears that the "heroes" have figured out stage one of my plan. Care to try for stage two?

Tenzil leans over to Jaeger.

Tenzil: I don't like this. We have him caught dead to rights. He should be sweating bullets!

Ayers: Careful....

Suddenly, Querl Dox stands up.

Dox: Phase two was the robbery of my laboratory. You and your co-conspirators needed me out of the way to do so, and so staged having me implicated in the murder so that I would be arrested.

Luthor smiles

Luthor: Very good, you insufferable little know-it-all. Not only did you and Ayers humiliate my constituents and myself last year with your little phantom dog-and-pony show, but you took something very important to me, and I wanted it back.

Tenzil: The rings. One of those rings was yours!

Luthor: Exactly! The orange power ring belonged rightfully to me! And the other rings? You squandered them, keeping them in a box in your lab. What a waste of true power!

Ayers: And so you got your revenge on the three people who humiliated you last year. You murdered Tad Ryerstad, the guy who caused the entire Phantom fiasco, you framed me for his murder, and you got Brainy arrested and tried as an accomplice to get your rings back. Does that about cover "Stage 2" of your little plan?

Luthor: Oh...mostly, I suppose. You don't really have the brains to appreciate the subtlety of the entire plan. None of you do, not even greenie over there.

Luthor gestures a thumb in Brainiac 5's direction.

Dox: And as for your accomplices....

Luthor: They were handsomely rewarded, not only with revenge of their own, but a little extra on the side. Nobody liked Tad Ryerstad. They were glad to take care of him and pin it all on you.

Tenzil: So that means....the person who expertly impaled Tad Ryerstad....and the one who pinned him to the wall...neither of them were you?

Luthor: Of course not. Why would I dirty my hands with something so distasteful?

Tenzil: SO...that is why you needed...Bullseye on your team, eh?!

Dent: What?! But he's on your team!

The audience looks at Tenzil, shocked.

Lucifer: Don't point the finger unless you have proof, Mister Kem.

Tenzil: But I do, your Honor! I refer everyone again to the Injustice International Plans. They have three sets of fingerprints on them. Lex Luthor, Jaeger Ayers...and Benjamin Poindexter!

Luthor: That idiot....

Tenzil: A man who made it clear that he never took his gloves off when he stole the plans from Luthor's office! How else could his fingerprints have gotten on the plans, the ones that were put in the boiler room by Jaeger Ayers, and then replaced with another set, unless he was the one who replaced them!

Luthor applauds slowly, sarcastically.
Luthor: I told you I respected Bullseye. When you pay him enough, he gets the job done. I am, however, disappointed in this small sloppiness from him. Everything else went so perfectly.

Ayers: And I bet I know who the third guy was, too. The guy who's been aching for some revenge ever since the Phantom showed him getting beaten up by a bunch of girl scouts.

Tenzil: ...the only guy who could have left those huge, razor-like slash marks on the walls in Dox's lab....

Dox: And still be tall enough to impale Ayers with the spear at the 30-degree angle.

Tenzil: LUTHOR! Your third accomplice...the third member of the Negative Three was-

IT WAS ME!!!!

Benches in the audience go flying as people scatter out of the way. Creed smiles a large, toothy sick smile as he lumbers forward.

Creed: Heh. You all never would have suspected someone not involved in the trial, would you?! But I've been here the whole time...on the sidelines...laughing my a** off at all of you little grubs. You've been puppets dancing on Luthor's strings the whole time!

Dox scowls.

Dox: Or so you think.

Luthor: Or so I know. Lucifer, the exposition part of this trial is done. Make your ruling and be off with you. I have business to attend to.

Lucifer: As agreed. After reviewing these confessions, I now declare the defendants, Jaeger Ayers and Querl Dox....NOT GUILTY.

Lucifer lowers his gavel-

*clack!*

-And as he does so, he shimmers and vanishes into nothingness.

The trial is over. Zinda Blake is safe. Jaeger Ayers and Querl Dox are free men. But one thing remains...

Bigby Wolf steps out from the Prosecutor's room and points at Luthor and Creed.

Bigby: So the trial's over. That's fine with me. Luthor, Creed, you're both under arrest for the murder of Tad Ryerst-*guh*

Before he can say another word, Bigby keels over, an arrow sticking out of his shoulder. The tips protrudes, shiny silver.

Poindexter: No. I don't think we'll be doing that.

Creed stands behind Bullseye as Luthor rises from the witness stand.

Luthor: Oh, I'm sorry. No all-powerful deity to turn people into animals anymore to protect you all.

An orange light emanates from Luthor's eyes. The doors to the Courthouse are suddenly ripped off of their hinges, as three Sentinel Robots enter the room.

Luthor: Really, we need a few more words of explanation. It’s easy to assume that I named these Sentinels I purchased and refurbished from Osborn the "LX model" as a matter of vanity. Indeed, that’s the preferred notion. But the truth is...LX stands for . . .

With a focus of thought, an orange glow forces the Sentinels’ chests open, and Lex very gently, very carefully removes the kryptonite engines with the orange tendrils. He holds up a hand, holding three more power rings, red, purple and blue.

Luthor: It stands for “Lantern Cross-polarization.”

With another thought, he calls up the Lantern that recharges each ring, and oversize hands carry and place one battery into each Sentinel. After a few moments, each robot’s color alters to that of the battery inside.

Luthor: Sabretooth. You, sir, have a lot of rage in you.

He holds up the red ring that once belonged to Hellboy.

Luthor: I can’t think of anyone better to wield the Red Ring of Rage. Bullseye . . . Or do you prefer Hawkeye now? Either way. You asked me for a way to destroy your enemies?

He holds up the battered purple ring that once belonged to Rex Mason and Querl Dox.

Luthor: Take the purple LX, and see if you can’t kill them with their own ring. If that doesn't work, nothing will.

The two conspirators take their rings, Creed growling and Bullseye laughing the entire time as the other people in the court scramble to evacuate.

Luthor: A few words before you go? The Sentinels have been programmed. They will not attack me. Under any circumstances. They won’t even make an attack that has a better than 25% probability of hitting me. You’ll also find it difficult to order them to do ANYTHING that is at cross-purposes with my own plans.

All of that being said? Well, all I can add left is . . . It's time for a little payback.

Luthor flies up onto the shoulder of the orange-powered sentinel.

Luthor: As of right now...the Nexus is now ruled...by the Negative Three.

And his laughter echoes as the three Sentinels power up...and destroy the courthouse completely.