The tall steel door clicked and lazily swung open, hitting the plain grey wall behind it. His scuffed, black leather boots dragged against the old wooden floor, and his leather armor creaked when he turned to shut the door. The weary man made his way through the sparse living area and let himself fall into a plain black recliner. Judge Dredds heavy head fell back against its headrest. The blinds had been left closed, so the little sun that peaked through cast faint shadows on the wall.
He pulled his helmet off and let it drop to the floor, a dull thud reverberated in the room and it went unnoticed. The Judge peeled his armor off, piece by piece, and they all in turn clattered to the floor. His head swam with images of Peach Trees and the past days events, when all he wanted was a hot shower and some shut eye. His tired eyes scanned the rooms in his simple apartment, and he was a bit relieved when his annoying servo-robot was nowhere to be found.
Looking down at his black undershirt, he lifted the worn fabric and he examined his wound from a few hours prior. He certainly had been lucky. He winced as he moved wrong and the stitches pulled, causing fresh blood to ooze down his torso. He sighed in aggravation and let his shirt fall back down. He made a mental note to tell Walter to pick him up some more uniform shirts later.
Dredd slowly stood up from the recliner and made his way to the bathroom, carefully peeling off his shirt somewhere along the way, and opened his cabinet which held an impressive amount of medical supplies. A street judge was a tough life, but he couldn't think of anything else he would rather do. He was the law, and because of it, he had received numerous amounts of scars. They littered his body, but it was a price he accepted a long time ago.
Grabbing some nano thread and placing it in an applicator, he pressed it firmly against the angry wound and the machine hissed, closing the wound with expert precision. The stitches tight and set. He leaned against the bathroom counter and applied the applicator to the entrance wound in his lower back and it too hissed, and immediately tightened the stitches, leaving its pristine work. He clenched his jaw and placed the applicator back inside the cabinet. Dredd stared at the mirror, and rubbed his 5 o'clock shadow.
He started thinking about Peach Trees. The mega block that held Ma Ma's Slo-Mo operations. How many citizens did the Ma Ma clan murder, just to save their drug ring? How many Judges did she have in her pocket? Four that he knew, and all four were rightfully dead. But, how many more Judges were crooked? He guessed this is why the Chief Judge wanted that rookie Anderson. She could weed out all of the crooked Judges., making her a great ally, but that would also make her an extremely big target if any Judges found out she was a psychic. He would have to keep an eye out for her if she lasted long.
"Oh Judge Dwedd! You're back! Walter was so wowwied! Synthi-soup should make Judge Dwedd well again!" His annoying, yet bearable servo-robot exclaimed and stiffly waddled away.
Dredd let out another irritating sigh and frowned, slamming the door shut and locking it, so Walter wouldn't annoy him any further. Why on earth he kept him was beyond him, but he wouldn't admit that the wittle wobot grew on him. A little. Rolling his eyes, his sore muscles screamed at him, demanding a hot shower, and quickly obliged.
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Walter ran up to Dredd as he walked out of the steaming room, clothed in a pair of comfortable black sweatpants, and a grey muscle shirt, that conveniently stated his name in bold black letters. Dredd frowned and looked down at the front of his shirt, then over to Walter with an irritated look, "Walter, why do you insist on putting my name on all of my clothes?"
"Because, Master! When Walter does laundry, all the wobots will know that Judge Dwedd is my Master! And Judge Dwedd is the best Judge in the whole wide world!" He stated proudly, as oil started leaking in excitement.
Dredd curled his lip in disgust and glared at him, "You get oil on my floor, and you'll be on your way to an auction."
"Sowwy, Master, Walter got excited."
"Yeeah." Dredd said, disapprovingly. If I ever lose my memory, I sure won't forget my name.
The weary Judge was given a bowl of soup, by his faithful robot, and he drank it on his way to the kitchen, quickly downing it, so he could sleep. Blissful sleep was the only thing on his mind. He set the bowl in the sink and looked over at the door, as he heard a hesitant knock.
Dredd's eyes locked onto his door and he quickly made his way to the living room, where he had dumped his holster. Normally, it would always be somewhere with him for quick access, but his weariness made him complacent. All sleepiness gone, his pupils dilated, and his heart rate quickened as he felt the adrenaline kicking in. Gripping his Lawgiver in his hand, he stood against the wall next to the door, his weapon ready.
"Who is it?" He shouted sternly. He rarely had visitors at his apartment, and most of them were not friendly.
"I-It's me, Sir. Anderson."
Huffing indignantly, he growled, "What do you want?"
He heard a muffled reply and he frowned. He set his Lawgiver down next to the door on the kitchen's bar. In arm's reach if necessary. He swung the door open and glared at her.
He noticed she stood at his doorway, put-off, but determined to talk from the way she glared back. She still wore her uniform, though as usual, her helmet remained missing. No surprise, he had dark circles under her eyes, which wasn't unexpected after the day and a half they had. She seemed nervous, and looked back down the hallway, then back at her former assessment officer. He arched one eyebrow and looked at her expectantly.
The new Judge glared back at him. She was a bit taken back at seeing Judge Dredd's face, a rather nice one at that, and quite the build. Is his name on his shirt? Anderson mentally shook her head. Focus. She had some questions, and a potential problem at hand. The young Judge looked back down the hallway, making sure no one was following her and looked back at him.
"I request to speak with you, Sir." She quickly said, fidgeting with her sling.
"Request Denied." He growled, starting to close the door.
"Official Judge business, Sir." She curtly spoke, and raised her chin up, not budging.
Dredd clenched his jaw and opened his door, letting her in, and slammed it shut behind her.
"Oh Judge Dwedd has a guest! Another Judge at that! Oh, boy, can Walter offer you a hot cup of synthi-caff?" Walter questioned with glee, not waiting for an answer. A steaming cup of coffee was produced, and he handed it to the nice, young Judge.
"Thank you." Anderson smiled, warmly. The hot cup in her gloved hand was quite welcomed.
Walter danced and started whistling a little tune, as he started going on about how great his master was.
Dredd glared and cut his overly enthusiastic robot off, "Beat it."
Walter continued whistling the song and waddled away, finishing up gathering all of Dredd's items he had deposited on the floor earlier that evening.
Anderson looked around his apartment and noticed the lack of personal things. It's walls were gray, and there were windows spread intermittently thorough the apartment. Wooden floors and sparse furniture. It seems her assessor used this place to sleep, nothing more. The more personal touches seemed to come from Walter, a plant here or there, that he seemed to have assigned names. She stared at the robot who walked over to a plant named "Woger" and watered it happily. She smiled.
Cassandra Anderson sensed his rising irritation and turned back toward him, still standing near the front door. She didn't want to intrude too far into his territory, so she leaned on one leg and sipped her coffee before she began.
"I wanted to know why you passed me. I sensed from the start you disapproved of their decision giving me one last chance, but earlier today you gave me back my badge." She said, looking down at her placard on her chest. She seemed to ponder for a few seconds, and then continued. "What changed your mind, Sir?"
He was silent, so she spoke again, "I lost my primary weapon, and I was taken hostage. Already that's an automatic fail." Anderson sighed, "I'm not so sure I'm cut out to be a Judge."
"Judge Anderson, you lost your primary weapon. That is an automatic fail. But you proved to be quite capable, and you were able to reclaim it back without my aid. You dispensed justice appropriately, and aided in taking down an entire drug ring." He paused, then continued, "The most important thing about being a Judge, Anderson, is knowing nothing is more important than the law. Not friends, not family, not even yourself…"
Dredd glanced over at his happy robot and growled, "Not even annoying robots that keep leaking oil on my floor!"
Walter heard Dredd annunciate the last part of his sentence and leaked even more oil as he became nervous, "Oh my! Walter will wipe that up wight away, Master!" The robot produced an old cleaning rag an began backtracking and cleaning up the thick black blobs.
Dredd exhaled and looked back at Anderson, "We are to always uphold the law, walking that thin line between justice and your own personal vendetta. Those four judges in Peach Trees were bought, to bend the law to their will. They were corrupt."
Judge Anderson soaked up everything he had just said, and nodded slowly. "So if I'm to be a Judge, I'm to become permanently cold, and unfeeling? Sir, I can't do that. My abilities require me to think emotionally. To feel people's emotions. Their memories."
Dredd's eyes darkened, and he crossed his arms over his chest, "Every Judge is different, Anderson. Yet, we all adapt to our circumstances. And in this case, its knowing that family and friends are a luxury we cannot have. If your to become a Judge, and stay a true Judge, cut off any ties you have. You'll be better off."
She nodded and looked around again. His apartment made more sense. Functional. Impersonal. Alone. She exhaled heavily. Perhaps that's why everyone thought he was a robot. He portrayed no emotions, no attachments, no personality. Anderson, of course, knew that to be false. He did feel something. Anger, control, and even self-hatred. But, she never delved any deeper than what was hidden away at the surface.
"Keep your abilities to yourself."
Anderson snapped out of her thoughts and her face reddened, she hadn't thought she was trying to read him. "S-sorry, Sir. I wasn't-"
"From the other Judges. Those four weren't the only crooked ones. It's a quick way to make yourself a target. I'm assuming the Chief Judge will want you to investigate all Judges, that is if you choose to embrace this life. It's up to you, Rookie." He said, uncrossing his arms and walking to the door, ending the conversation. Judge Anderson nodded and followed him, stepping out of the apartment. She stopped and turned, facing him.
"I believe I can make a difference, Sir. I just have to hold on to that." She said, in a lower tone.
Judge Dredd stared at her for a few minutes, frowning, then curtly nodded, closing the door.
Anderson heard the door lock and she walked down the dark hallway. The hall turned right toward the elevator, but she stopped in front of a large window and stared up at the sky. Mega City had voted on a cloudy night tonight, and the dark clouds trailed across the sky like long devious fingers, giving the young Judge an ill feeling.
She tipped her head down and stared at the unforgiving city below. Mega City-1, a diseased city, a merciless city. It was rotting from the inside out. Lawbreakers owned the city…temporarily. Her brown eyes hardened, yes, things will be different.
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Judge Dredd shuffled over to his bedroom in the back of his dreary apartment, his Lawgiver in hand. He entered the dark room and unceremoniously dropped on the side of the bed, staring up at the ceiling. The white fan stood still, collecting dust. He closed his eyes and slipped his weapon under his pillow.
Silence. Dredd opened his eyes. He hated the silence. No humming of electronics, no buzzing outside his window from the traffic outside; just plain, and utter silence. He turned on his left side, his uninjured side, and squeezed his eyes closed. His body was exhausted, and his mind was weary, but sleep seemed to come with much difficulty.
He remembered that he had decided to finish the rest of the paperwork tomorrow morning, on the Peach trees incident to get some rest, but that was over an hour and a half ago, and he sighed. His eyes cracked open once more, and he sat up, rubbing his face.
"I just have to hold on to that."
The young Judge was still fresh, an enthusiastic mind, and believed that good would always triumph. Judge Dredd new better. With good, must come bad. It was a never ending fight. A healthy balance between two necessary forces. Without it, would come chaos. So, what did he have to hold on to?
He had the law. He had Mega-city 1. As long as he had both, he was satisfied. Reaching over to his atomic alarm he set it and laid back down, this time, blissful unconsciousness was quick and welcomed.
That's a wrap, first Dredd fic. Of course i own nothing! I've read some of the 2000ad comics, and I've seen the new Dredd movie. So, if there's mistakes, I apologize in advance and kindly correct them. I wanted a healthy balance between futuristic technology and our "primitive" lifestyles. Lol Thanks for reading, reviews are always welcomed. Chapter 2, coming up!