Joel and the bots watched with great intrigue as the three Observers whispered to each other between glares at Mike, who was sitting alone at his desk looking scared and absolutely confused by the whole ordeal. He was beginning to sweat nervously again and as feeling the pressure of the case mounting against not only him, but his future.

On the bench behind Mike, Tom nudged Joel's arm. "Hey Joel," he whispered calmly. "think Mike'll fry?"

"Shh!" Joel put his hand over Tom's mouth. "Don't say things like that."

Tom wrestled his mouth free. "Why not? We're all thinking it."

"No, you're thinking it and I don't want you to." Joel put his hand firmly over Tom's mouth again.

Crow chimed in. "I bet he gets the noose!"

"Hey!" Joel put his other hand over Crow's beak. "Stop."

Mike could hear the whispering taking place around him but he couldn't understand what was being said. He looked around the courtroom, intentionally avoiding the gaze of the Observers and looked over his shoulder at Joel and the robots. When he saw Joel's hands over two of the robots mouths he knew that they were talking about him.

'Just what I need; staggering confidence and unspoken support.' He muttered to himself as he rested his head down on the desk.

The accusing Observer finished his conference with his colleagues and rose from his desk with renewed vigor and arrogance. "Prosecution would like to call the next witness to the stand."

Judge Vengeance nodded his concealed head. "Proceed."

"I call Mr. Crow T. Robot to the stand."

"Crow?" Joel looked down at his gilded companion with surprise.

"Me?" Crow looked up with alarm.

Observer pointed to him. "Yes. You. Take the stand."

"Uh..." He looked up at Joel unsure of what to do.

"Go." Joel responded. "Just be honest and don't exaggerate, at all."

"Okay." Crow climbed down from his seat and walked up the witness stand, carefully eyeballing the three Observers as he approached the bench.

As Crow took his seat on the stand Observer approached the gold robot. "Do you, Crow T. Robot, swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

Crow looked at Joel who nodded and motioned for him to raise his right hand. Raising his right gold claw Crow responded with a simple. "Yup."

Mike face-palmed himself after hearing the apathetic answer. "I'm doomed..."

"Mr. Robot," Observer began his line of questioning while pacing back and forth in front of the witness stand. "how do you know Michael J. Nelson?"

"I don't."

"What is your initial impression of Michael J. Nelson?"

"He has a misshaped head."

Observer paused suddenly, his flow thrown off by the callous response. Meanwhile Joel rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly. "Oh wow..."

Clearing his throat Observer continued. "Aside from potential cranial abnormalities, what is your impression of Michael J. Nelson's overall demeanor?"

Crow looked over at Mike, who flashed the little bot a nervous grin. "Scared."

"No," Observer decided to rephrase his question. "what is your impression of Mike's demeanor outside the courtroom?"

"I don't know. I've never spoken to the guy, I didn't even know he existed until today. But Gypsy's talked with him, maybe you should ask-"

"Objection!" Observer wanted to stop Crow before he began. "This is not about Gypsy, only you."

Judge Vengeance leered down at Observer. "Sustained."

"One last question Mr. Robot." Observer shot a prideful smirk at Mike, confident he had Mike cornered. "As a sentient robot who has encountered numerous and various creatures, aliens and people during your exile; how would you characterize a man who will unquestionably destroy three worlds without provocation?"

"Kind of a dickweed." Crow saw Mike drop his head in defeat. "Wait, does it he destroy the worlds on purpose?"

"Uh..." Observer lost his momentum once again. "In all honesty and fact..." He begrudgingly answered the question. "No. He does not."

"Oh, then he's kind of a clumsy dickweed!"

Observer bowed his head as he returned to his desk. "I have no more questions for this witness Your Honor."

Judge Vengeance looked over at Mike, who still had his head on his desk. "The Defense may now proceed with questioning the witness."

Mike lifted his head from the desk and still dragging the heavy leg iron, slowly made his way toward Crow at the witness stand. "Hi."

"Hello."

"I'm not sure what to ask at this point. We've never met before and yet your supposed to either save me or hang me with your testimony. This sucks."

"I know." Crow agreed with Mike. "It totally sucks!"

Observer addressed the court. "Your Honor, is there a question to be asked?"

"Oh, sorry." Mike apologized. "Um, Mr. Robot..."

"Crow."

"Pardon?"

"Crow. That's my name, so just call me Crow."

"Okay, Crow..."

"Yes?"

"Um, if you know that I'm 'supposedly' going to destroy three worlds, and my accuser admits it was an accident, do you think it's fair I stand trial for an act I didn't even commit? Yet?" He emphasized the 'yet' to keep the Observers quiet.

"No." Crow looked over at Joel. "That'd be like Joel putting me in time-out for 'hypothetically' filling his cabin with pudding, just because I'm 'hypothetically' cable of doing it."

Observer protested the answer. "Objection! Crow T. Robot isn't on trial, Michael J. Nelson is. There is no reason to-"

"Overruled." Judge Vengeance replied with authority.

Observer sat down in a huff, almost pouting like a small child.

Mike didn't know what else to ask Crow. "Um, no more questions." He returned to his desk, the heavy leg iron scrapping a deep groove into the floor as he walked.

Judge Vengeance looked down at Crow. "The witness may step down."

"Cool." Crow happily hopped down from the witness stand and made his way back toward Joel at the bench. He looked at the three Observers over his shoulder as he passed them by. "Maybe you guys need to move out of your parents' basement and get some sun!"

Joel patted Crow's shoulder as he sat back down next to him. "Good job Crow."

"Really?"

"Yes, you answered honestly, calmly and I'm proud of you."

"So, can we get that ice cream?"

"I told you before, we'll see."

Crow sighed and dropped his head disappointedly again. "That always means 'no'!"

Observer rose to his feet once more. "The Prosecution calls Thomas Neville Servo to the stand."

Tom looked up at Joel. "My middle name is 'Neville'?"

"I, uh, I guess so. I never thought of a good middle name for you, but that seems to fit."

"Well I like it! Hey, maybe he really is from the future!"

Judge Vengeance banged his gavel. "The witness will take the stand."

Tom quickly hovered off the bench and to the witness stand. He looked up at Judge Vengeance, not intimidated in the least. "Hey, how ya' doing?"

Observer approached the bench and stared at the red gumball machine robot. "Do you, Thomas Neville Servo, swear to the tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"Um, I would if I could lift my hand." Observer quickly turned Tom's right arm so his hand was in the air. "Thank you. Now I do."

"Mr. Servo," Observer stood tall and with his back to Tom. "how do you know Michael J. Nelson?"

"From this trial."

"How would you describe Mr. Nelson's demeanor?"

He looked over at Mike, who was slouched behind the desk. "Petrified, confused, bored, probably a little hungry-"

"Thank you Mr. Servo," Observer cut him off. "that's quite enough. You, just as your colleague Crow T. Robot, as a sentient robot have encountered numerous and various life forms throughout your solitude in space, have you not?"

"Obviously." Tom quipped.

"In your various encounters with extensive forms of life, how would you feel about a man who is destined to commit multiple acts of genocide?"

"Isn't that a leading question?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, your assuming that despite you admittingly traveling back in time, which as we all know will and already has altered the natural flow and time and thus the outcomes of events that follow, that Mike will still, and by your own admission, accidentally, destroy three worlds! Where's the evidence?"

"Objection! He's-"

"Overruled." Judge Vengeance stared at Observer.

Mike looked up at Tom with absolute amazement after hearing the little bots intelligence, logic and reasoning, while Joel and Crow didn't seem surprised at all.

"Very well," Observer didn't dare challenge His Honor's ruling. "no more questions."

"Defense may now question the witness."

Mike, feeling slightly more confident after hearing Tom's testimony, approached the witness stand. This time he hefted his leg iron up and over his shoulder to keep it from dragging on the floor. "Hello."

"Hi."

"Mr. Servo..."

"Tom. You called everyone else by their first name, so call me by mine."

"Okay, Tom." Mike felt a little more at ease with Tom's calm personality radiating throughout the courtroom. "Um, you said that it's impossible for the Observers to judge me for a crime, that I haven't yet committed. How do you know this?"

"First of all, it's not impossible for the Observers to judge a man for a crime that has yet to happen, it's improbable." He corrected. "Second, without any substantial evidence from the original timeline or this new, current timeline, as far as we know they're simply trying to use you as a scapegoat to cover up one of their own mistakes."

"Objection!" Observer rose to his feet, the other two Observer's following suit. "Speculative!"

"Sustained."

Mike quickly lost his train of thought. "Um, I don't really know where to go... from here." He shrugged his shoulders, careful not to drop the heavy leg iron. "No more questions." As Mike returned to his seat, he felt the glares burning holes into him from the three upset Observers.

Judge Vengeance looked down at Tom. "The witness may step down."

Tom hovered out of the witness stand and back toward Joel. "Morons! Apparently they've never seen 'Back to the Future'."

"Yeah!" Crow sided with Tom.

Judge Vengeance scanned the courtroom. "Will Prosecution call the next witness?"

Observer froze momentarily, feeling his colleagues mentally reprimanding his every action. "Yes, of course..." He was desperate to keep the trial from falling apart. As he mentally scanned the courtroom he remembered the other two robots in the room. "Prosecution now calls Miss Gypsy!"

...to be continued...