What to do about Magik?

Author's note: Well, apparently my IP address is now banned from CBR forums. Not quite sure why, as all I did was post an opinion in a topic about the X-Men vs. Inhuman event. And it was a rather benign post, I just mentioned that I had written various chapters involving Inhumans in What to do about Magik and had listed the chapters and where they were. Does CBR forums not admit to the existence of other web sites? Well, here is what I wrote and then what I suppose is likely the last of my writing efforts about the fate of the Inhumans, unless Marvel starts having them interact again.

The key as I see it is Disney/Marvel's attempt to create a replacement for the X-Men due to their issues with Fox. Once those issues were resolved, and the subsequent purchase of Fox by Disney, the Inhumans had to stand on their own. The X-Men franchise is the largest in American Comics, one just needs to look at the number of viewers on the various message board here at CBR.

Batman (36 viewing)

DC Comics (39 viewing)

Hellboy (3 viewing)

Image Comics (2 viewing)

Independent (1 viewing)

Marvel Comics (65 viewing)

Spider Man (15 viewing)

Superman (15 viewing)

Wonder Woman (9) viewing

X-Books (81 viewing)

There are big franchises, and there are small franchises. Inhumans is a very small franchise. Mostly occasional co-stars in some series or plot element, and occasionally they have a book that ends up failing due to low readership or it was just a limited series anyway. And… without trying to be too mean, the most popular Inhuman character is the dog (which is not a good sign when trying to create an X-Men contender). At best the Inhumans get a thread or two (In the CBR forums).

The deck was stacked against the Inhumans, and then they poisoned the X-Men (take that Fox!) just to be extra nasty. Which caused war as it were with the fandoms. And oddly, the kind and caring side of the Inhumans was so well shown in the poisoning and killing of Mutants, and many humans. And what did the Inhumans do to stop it (hint, it was nothing). Nothing in both the X-Men AND the Inhuman comics. And what was the horrible thing that Scott did? Unknown as it was never published by Marvel as the Inhumans were just not selling and Disney had purchased Fox so, the best that could be done was to throw what was left under the bus in an attempt to create some sales (which failed). So… for now the Inhumans are mostly just in the closet. Remember that X-Men films has grossed many Billons of dollars, and Inhumans have… a failed TV show. One can comment about the quality of various X-Men films, but they made money (most of the time). Money talks and… I suspect… that Spider Man underoos licensing fees have produced more net profit for Disney then the Inhuman comic sales.

I have written quite a bit about the X-Men/Inhumans interactions in various chapters my What To Do About Magik ongoing series. Each chapter is standalone and explains (from my perspective) is just why things happened the way it did.

www fanfiction net slash comic slash X-Men and archiveofourown dot org slash works.

Chap 17: Plotting

Chap 19: Imprisonment

Chap 20: Breakout

Chap 21: Truth about the destruction of the cloud

Chap 25: NuHuman ruminations (secret warriors)

Chap26: More NuHumans (secret warriors)

Chap 33: Choices

Chap34: Just what did Scott really do? And the fate of the Inhumans.

And that apparently got my IP address banned. Gee, I thought you had to utter a political or social opinion that disagreed with the administrators of a website to get blocked. Oh well, it's not like a post much to CBR, but I do like to read the forums.

My guess, going forward, is that the X-Men and the Inhuman/Nuhuman franchises will (mostly) not interact with each other for years and the whole Inhuman poison gas will be reconned away by just ignoring it hard enough.

Anyway, enough venting for now. Here's the story, kind of a fourth wall breaking thing, meaning it is meant to be humor.

Part 63a: Judgment Day

The theme music of the Terminator is playing as we see a large dimly lit room.

Da… da da da… da… da da da daaaaa…

As the lights slowly grow in intensity we see a courtroom. At the front is an unoccupied high judge's desk. On the right, the bench of the defendant, there is a large green woman (Jennifer Walters) dressed in a very nice light blue pants suit (She-Hulk before she got turned in a dunce when in Hulk form by the woke crowd). Besides her is the co-counsel Matt Murdock, who is dressed in a dark blue suit. With them are the Inhuman Royalty Black Bolt and Medusa, along with that giant dog of theirs. On the left is the prosecutor's desk, where sits a white man in a well tailored black suit, along with some assistants. He's Robert Allen Iger, Chairman of the board of Disney.

The jury box is filled with fourteen very diverse jurors, more on them later but Donald Duck is one of the jurors. And the court room audience is filled with a diverse group of Marvel characters, some Inhumans, some Mutants, and a smattering of other franchises. It was even a crossover event as some DC and Image characters were in the audience, Harry Quinn for one, Hell Boy, and there was a strange purple talking aardvark. Illyana was in attendance, she was sitting next to Loki in a bit of a empty part of the spectator benches as folks appeared to be avoiding her; likely the little flicker of flames that kept materializing and vanishing in her hair had something to do with it.

"Liked the first episode of your show." Was her comment to Loki. "Good examination as to the complexity of character and internal motivation. Looking forward to the remainder."

"Thanks, coming from you that means something." Was his reply, then an observation. "No Emma?"

"I think she's making a statement by not being here." Sniffed Illyana. "Stating that they are just so…unimportant. Irrelevant. I can almost hear her saying 'Medusa who?'"

A smile from Loki. Ahh… he was quite familiar with such methods of disrespect.

A bit more from Illyana. "Oh, and Stark's an asshole, I think you'd make a great Avenger, breath some life into their stories." She was referring to when, in a Loki comic, Loki had stated a desire to become an Avenger and Stark, as well as Thor, had pooh-pooh'd the idea in a very condescending way.

Loki replied. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, I think with your vote I'm now up to two."

That's when a Star Wars Storm Trooper, he's the bailiff by the way, entered and make an announcement.

"All rise! Presiding is he, the most high, giver of life, provider of inspiration, director of purpose, he who walks with his eyes held high, receiver of great bonuses, the signer of paychecks, source of promotions, the man with the plan, the big cheese, that's Mr. to you, in short Judge Stan the Man!

With that Stan Lee, dressed in Sith Emperor robes, walked and sat down in the judges' chair and started to shuffle some paperwork.

"You may be seated." Announced the Bailiff.

"We lucked out." Whispered Jenifer to Medusa as they sat back down. "There are far worse judges."

"Such as…?" Whispered back Medusa, doubt coloring her tone. "We had hoped for Kirby."

Jennifer pointed out one. "Jim Shooter for one, and you could have gotten Claremont."

Which resulted in a nod from Medusa, yes there were… harsher judges, but also disagreement as to Claremont. "He would have reclused himself."

A quiet snort of disbelief from Matt. "Right… Claremont doing what you'd expect? No, Jennifer is right, we dodged a bullet. Stan is mostly fair."

Judge Stan gave a node to the bailiff, resulting in the bailiff calling out the case. "The Magic Kingdom vs. the Inhumans."

"And the charge?" Inquired Matt Murdock.

"Failure." Is the one word response from the prosecutor.

"Failure of what?" Probed Matt.

"Contractual, they swore to replace the X-Men in sales." An aid whispers something to the chief prosecutor. "Oh… and the attempted genocide the Mutants."

"Objection!" Declared both Jennifer and Matt. Then Jennifer continued. "Our clients were only doing what they had been directed to do. Their job was to serve as a stalking horse against the House of Fox. A job they did with acclaim as the House of Fox has bent the knee and has now been subsumed by the Magic Kingdom"

Stan asked a question. "So… your client's defense is that you were just following orders?"

That was a misstep as Stan was Jewish and such a defense was likely to not fall on fertile ground.

Matt attempted a recovery. "No your honor."

A neutral look on Stan's face as he asked. "Does the defense or prosecution have any issues before we continue?"

Jennifer had one. "I protest, one of the jury members is a duck wearing a sailor's outfit, and lacking any pants at that. Additionally, one of the jurors is a genocidal robot."

Stan was not having any of that. "Overruled. That duck has earned the company billions. Likewise Ultron has not only been the villain of a plethora of stories across may franchises, his had a staring role in the second Avengers film. This is a jury of your peers consoler. Successful properties."

Jennifer made one more attempt. "And the mermaid?"

Stan reminded them that… "All juries shall, if possible, have a minimum of one Disney Princess. Likewise at least one supposedly villainous character shall be a member of every jury so as to bring balance and diversity. Villains are people to councilor."

Matt made a request. "We ask that this be closed trial, no spectators."

"Why?"

A sideways glance from Matt at Illyana, then at some other members of the audience. "Possible… intimidation."

Stan made his ruling. "No, all such hearings have always been open and I see no need to change. Any other issues?"

There were none, so with that the trial of the Inhumans began.

Part 63b: Snippets from various testimony

Johnny Storm (Witness for the prosecution)

…

We see Johnny Storm on the witness stand, in FF uniform, crying as he answers questions from the prosecutor. "Then she just… just… threw me away… like I was nothing… after all we had been through… after all I had done for her… After all she made me do…"

Matt raised an issue. "Objection your Honor, how does this line of questioning have any relevance to the case?"

Robert Iger, the prosecutor had an answer. "Character your Honor. Character. It shows the casual disregard for social norms or even basic kindness by the defendants. The Inhumans were given a job to do. But nothing in the assignment called for the casual cruelty they demonstrated towards the Mutants in general or various non Mutant characters. Mr. Storm's testimony demonstrates this behavior of the Inhumans in general and the Royal family in particular."

Stan reached a decision. "Objection overruled. You may continue with this line of questioning."

The Prosecutor did so. "So… Mr. Storm. Just what… things… did Medusa make you do?"

A question Johnny answered.

Answered in depth, much to the embarrassment of Medusa and the discomfort of Black Bolt as Johnny had been Medusa's boy toy during the separation between her and Black Bolt. Think of Johnny as the scratcher of the itch, reliever of stress; if he had been a horse then she'd ridden him hard and put him away wet.

Answered with a great deal of detail that might… just might… have been a bit malign by Johnny due to her oh so sudden dumping of him. Black Bolt had a rather disgusted expression on his face over some of the things that Medusa supposedly enjoyed, an expression that vanished the instant his wife glanced in his direction.

…

Sue Richards (Witness for the defense)

…

Sue had gone on at length about how she respected the Inhumans and how well she thought of them. But under cross examination from the prosecution she had begun to stammer a bit. And then when the Prosecutor had asked…

"So… do you likewise engage in wife swapping Mrs. Richards?"

"What?"

"Wife swapping. The Inhumans are rather… flexible on their domestic arrangements. I have a deposition here from your husband Reed Richards, as to the multiple offers from Medusa involving offers of a swap. Oh… I'm sorry… I thought you were aware of such offers."

"That bitch did what!?"A wince from Medusa as Sue voiced her outrage.

"It's all in the deposition, apparently his field name, Mr. Fantastic, piqued her interest in exploring… other aspects of your husband's abilities. The deposition does state that your husband refused all such offers."

"I KNEW IT! I knew that two timing bitch was after Reed! Always nice to my face, when she wasn't treating me like a servant that is. Always so condescending. After all, that she was willing to associate with a simple commoner like me should be treated like a privilege; or so she always acted. Always with the snide remarks about my figure, my hair, my oh so provincial attitude, her constant racial insults against anybody who isn't an Inhuman. It's not my fault Black Bolt ended up with multiple wives and that bitch felt that if Black Bolt was dipping his wick then it was ok for her to…"

The ranting went down hill from there as Sue vented about what she really thought of Medusa and the Inhumans. The defense tried to have her declared a hostile witness, but Judge Stan refused as Sue Richards was, after all, their character witness.

…

Steve Rogers (Witness for the prosecution)

…

"So, Captain America, for the record, why did nobody come to the aid of the Inhumans when the X-Men attacked?"

Steve gave a very audible sigh. "Because nobody likes them. Dr. Strange was refusing to answer his phone and the Avengers really didn't want a repeat of the whole Avengers vs. X-Men event. I… like Storm. She came to me before the attack and asked that I not engage. Not to mention that took place during the whole Hail Hydra phase that Marvel was playing around with so Hydra was fine with the Inhumans being taken down a peg or two or three or… well… you get the picture."

"And the other Avengers were okay with this?"

"There was some discussions at the barbeque, but…"

"I'm sorry… Did you say barbeque?"

"Yes, the Avengers were having a barbeque at the time."

"And that was more important then helping the Inhumans?"

Steve looked uncomfortable. "We'd just placed the meat on the grill and I'd just opened a new beer, plus Namor had just shown up so he and T'Challa were arguing about…"

Black Bolt and Medusa were not happy to learn that they ranked lower then Costco weenies on a grill.

…

Luke Cage (Witness for the prosecution)

…

"Ororo asked that I, and the Defenders, take the day off. I said no problem, Brothers and Sisters got to stick together when dealing with this kind of shit. I got no beef against the Inhumans, but when was the last time they did anything for Harlem?"

…

Dante Pertuz, field name Inferno (Witness for the prosecution)

"Fuck Black Bolt." Was Dante's declaration. "Thanks to him my Mom died when she was exposed to that damn Terrigen cloud. Something they kept from me, meaning that he'd created the clouds, because… gee, what kind of cono would I be if I was pals with the cono who's deliberate actions killed my mom. Rather sucks that Inhumans are given the choice of exposure to Terrigen, but not us. Who gave Black Bolt the right to do that? Fucker should be locked up and the key thrown away."

Judge Stan was not pleased. "Kindly refrain from obscenities Mr. Pertuz. This is a court of law and these proceedings are very important and should be treated with the respect they deserve."

Dante gave a half hearted apology. "Sorry your Honor."

A question from the defense. "Did not the Royal family give you, and your sister, a place to live? And did not Medusa come to your aid and save you from death?"

"Yeah, that was good, got no beef with Medusa. She's ok in my book. Later, after she left things kind of went south with me being a member of Inhuman society. I was a member of the Secret Warriors, but that bitc… that mutant Magik was associating with us for a bit and I kept losing my lunch every time she teleported us around."

A whisper from Loki to Illyana. "Really?"

A nod from Illyana and a slight grin, which elicited a whispered complement from Loki.

"Well done."

"Thanks, coming from you that means something."

Dante, of course, proceeded to be Dante. "And another thing! Magik kept calling us Inhumans or hey you Inhuman. We have names damn it! I mean, I wasn't calling her a Mutie like everybody else did back in New Attilan. Mutie this, Mutie that, but no… I was cool…"

Stan banged his gavel."ORDER! Racial insults are not allowable Mr. Pertuz except in regards to questions about what people said."

Loki was very impressed as he whispered to Illyana about Dante's little issue on losing his lunch, and refusing to call him his name. "Now that is good evil Yana."

A whisper back from Illyana. "Trust me, three minutes with Dante and the least you be doing would be stabbing him."

The prosecutor followed up on Dante's remarks. "So… Mutie was a common term in New Attilan for Mutants in general or just specific Mutants?"

Dante looked uncertain for a bit, but then answered. "Yeah… they used the term all the time, and… um… for all Mutants."

"Objection your Honor, hearsay and unsubstantiated."

Dante spoke before Stan said anything. "Oh… I have videos on my phone."

"Really?" Said the prosecutor as the defense lawyers winced. "Do you by chance have those videos with you today?"

The answer was yes. And the court got to view many a racist comment spoken by the Inhumans, and Medusa in particular.

…

Over heard during a recess

We see Luke Cage out in the smoking area (menthols for those who want to know). He was talking with Johnny Storm as Johnny had no issues with smoke. Remember that Jessica is Luke's wife in the comics and so… in reality.

…

"Yeah, the Netflix gig was good. Major role on the first season with Jessica, which was really good as well as she got three seasons. Two seasons of my own show, one season of the Defenders with Jessica, and part time gigs on some other shows. Good times, things are a bit lean at the moment but we're doing ok as we saved. Currently just doing some guest star visits in various comics and nothing near term on the TV or film horizon. Tried to get a gig on Falcon and the Winter Solder but Netflix contractual restrictions put paid to that. Still hoping to get an Avengers gig, either film or Disney channel."

Johnny was drinking a Mocha from Starbucks. "What about that Wakanda gig with Black Panther?"

A bit of an eye roll from Luke. "Pays the rent but… really? Every black Marvel character shows up in the last issue or two of Black Panther to get cameos fighting for Wakanda? Just because a writer is black doesn't mean that a Brother is any good at it. And last time I checked Wakanda is not exactly next to Harlem so why is the dude always in New York? Guess this is how the mutants feel when the Avengers don't show up whenever something bad happens to Mutants but… really? Only black heroes help Wakanda? Kind of a bit too preachy for my tastes. And I don't like the precedent that only a black writer is allowed to write a black character. Lot's more white characters then black and will that mean that a brother can't write anybody other then black? That would be kind of limiting career wise, I mean, show of hands on who wouldn't want Clermont to write for you? Shit, Carol (Captain Marvel) hasn't been interesting since Clermont stopped writing her. She used to be sexy but now just has that full body uniform space Nazi gig she's been going for a while."

Both hands went up on the issue of Clermont, then fist bumps between the two as Johnny commiserated.

"Hell, I always thought that Carol used to dress like a stripper in search of a pole, and she she's a big girl so if she spun she'd strike oil. Yeah, feel for all the shit that T'Challa had to wade through comic wise under Coates. But at least he had a great set of build up roles in films that led to his film, better then the FF got under Fox, really hope that the Mouse does a better job going forward with us. Man… I'd kill for a Netflix series."

Luke replied. "Yeah, Netflix allowed us to get more… naughty then the Disney channel will go for, so I'm hoping the Mouse and Netflix can come to an agreement." Then a change of topic. "Shame about you and Medusa."

Johnny responded like most men would after being dumped. "Naaa… that was just a fling on my part. Was getting tired of her anyway." Then a bit nasty. "Her sister was way better in bed."

Luke finished his cigarette. "Still, dropping you liked that. Shit was cold."

"Not as cold as what they did to the Mutants."

"Yeah… that was beyond nasty. Jessica was beyond pissed. That's why we…"

…

Brent A. Woodford is Executive Vice President, Controllership, Finance and Tax for The Walt Disney Company (Witness for the prosecution)

"Negative cash flow." Is the declaration from Mr. Woodford. "Negative on comic sales. Negative on television. Complete waste of resources on the failed film attempt. And don't get me started on the dearth of licensing revenue."

The prosecution inquired. "So the Inhumans did not replace the X-Men?"

A laugh from Mr. Woodford before answering. "No… heck, one episode of the old Fox X-Men cartoon produced more net profit then the entirety of Inhumans efforts. Suffice it to say the Mouse was not pleased. The only thing good thing that came out of it was that Fox came to their senses on sharing revenue once they realized just how serious we were on minimizing the X-Men…"

…

…

But under cross examination. "Yes, the whole Inhumans replacing the X-Men and the de-emphasis upon X-Men licensing achieved what we wanted."

Matt seized upon that statement. "So my clients accomplished what they were assigned to do?"

"In that sense I guess you are correct."

"And the Magik Kingdom gained from their efforts?"

"Yes, but they ruined the Inhuman reputation in the process. It will be years before we can attempt to salvage the mess they made of their franchise. We had to deal with tens of thousands of unsellable products, ended up dumping them for pennies in South America." A small laugh. "Somewhere in Paraguay and Bolivia are a whole bunch of kids wearing Inhuman underoos."

…

Lockjaw (Surprise witness for the prosecution)

The ultimate betrayal. Their own dog was on the stand testifying against them.

"Objection!" Declared an angry Jennifer. "You can't compel family members to testify!"

The prosecutor was snide in his remarks. "Lockjaw's participation is voluntary, and… are you stating that a dog is a member of the Royal family? I hope by adoption and not by birth."

"Objection!"

"Sustained." Declared Judge Stan. "The Jury is to disregard the idea that the Inhuman royal family is related to a dog by birth. But the testimony of Lockjaw is allowed if it is voluntary."

And with that, to the horror of the Inhuman Royals, Lockjaw rolled over on them, figuratively that is.

"At any time did Medusa, express remorse over what was happening to Mutants?"

Ruff, ruff ruff, whine. Translation: No, never. She was always going on about how tiresome the whole mutant issue was and that Ororo should just shut up and accept her Mutie lot in life.

"Did Medusa and Black Bolt plan to kill Mutants?"

Bark, bark bark, bark, ruff, whine whine, and then a paw scratch of his nose. Translation: Not at first, the plan was for humans to be involuntarily transformed, but once they were assigned the job of replacing the X-Men, they felt why not make lemonade from lemons. How much easier to replace the mutants if they were all dead? Medusa's main complaint was all the mutant complaining about getting sick or dying. Their time was over and they just needed to get used to it (Note, dog is a very terse language when compared to the English translation).

"Bad dog!" Declared Medusa about Inhuman secrets being shown.

"Objection!" Declared the prosecutor. "Attempt to intimidate the witness."

"Sustained." Ruled Judge Stan. "Consoler, kindly direct your client to remain silent or the court will muzzle her."

A statement that caused laughter in the audience and Judge Stan to pound his gavel a few times. "Order! Order in the court."

Loki whispered a comment to Illyana. "I've always heard that that breed can turn on you." A comment that gave her the giggles.

Order was restored after the bailiff fired a few shots into the ceiling from his blaster, allowing Lockjaw to continue spilling all the Inhuman secrets.

Envy of the success of other franchises.

Callous disregard for everybody.

So some humans died when exposed to the gas, so what?

So mutants were dying, so what?

So New York City wanted taxes? Big FU! Inhumans were not about to pay.

Nuhumans did not want to bend the knee? Force them to conform.

Democracy? Never!

His testimony was devastating.

Part 63c: Deliberations

The trial was done, and the jury was now in seclusion, with the two alternate jurors (Goofy and Hawkeye) hanging out in another room. The first thing to do was elect a foreman.

"I nominate Donald." Announced Tinker Bell before anybody else could offer a suggestion.

"Aw, Phooey!" Declared the duck. "Why me Tink?"

Tike made her argument. "The big green gal disrespected you, and by association all legacy Disney characters. Making you the foreman sends a message to these Johnny come latelies about trying to push us around."

"I agree." Stated Ariel (Little Mermaid). "Plus Donald is always organizing things."

There was squawking from Donald, and some complaints about a belly ache, but with two already in agreement, and nobody else wanting their name attached to the decisions, it was all over when the vote was taken.

Donald got down to business. "Phooey, phooey, phooey on you. Sigh… you guys are worse then my nephews. Okay, before we try a vote on the charges, any thoughts on the testimony?"

Buzz Lightyear gave his initial thoughts. "Yes they were under orders, but, and it's a big but…"

Rocket Raccoon interrupted as only Rocket can. "Then we are definitely taking about Medusa, man… baby got back, even if it is a bit droopy, kind of makes you wonder why Johnny Storm went for it."

A comment that earned him glares from most of the jurors and prompted a comment from Kermit the Frog. "Keep it in the green folks." A comment that resulted in groans from all before Buzz continued.

"As I was saying, following orders is one thing, but nothing in the documents said anything about killing the mutants. That is all on them."

Ultron spoke. "Documents are evidence. Likely such orders were not written down. A common tactic by you meat puppets in many historical situations."

Nick Fury (the black one) injected. "Evidence that they then should have then introduced. And I might add, they did not."

Tigger (the stuffed animal from Winnie the Pooh) added. "Money speaks, and they don't be earning any. That's the true crime here."

Simba (the lion from Lion King) rebuked Tigger. "Money isn't everything Tig." Which was apparently a joke as everybody then laughed. I mean… we're talking the Magik Kingdom here.

Rocket Raccoon wiped away a tear. "Seriously, what are we supposed to do?"

"I am Groot." Announced Groot. A well spoken statement that was met with nods all around.

Ariel observed. "They had a freaking flying battleship following the remaining cloud around to blow up anybody who interfered with the cloud. That is intent."

Kermit added. "I understand while the Mutant comics would emphasis the cloud, and its impact, but the Inhuman comics did not paint a different picture. They just… ignored the Mutants. Where was the Inhuman aid efforts to mitigate the harm? Nothing but that flying battleship. That is not good."

"Sales." Spoke Donald. "Or lack thereof." Referring to the ultimate sin in the Magik Kingdom.

"What does the Mouse think Donald?' Ask Tinker Bell. "You've known him the longest of everybody."

Which was true. First there was Mickey, then… the Duck. Think of the mouse as Steve Jobs while Donald was Wozniak. "Well Tink, does anybody remember all the spin off characters from the film The Black Hole?"

Looks of confusion from all the jurors, then Rocket answered. "Um… no?"

"That's what he thinks about the lack of sales." Stated Donald, and perhaps gave a hint about consequences. "Mouse is pissed."

"Not as pissed as Disney Princess Darkchilde looked at some of the testimony." Observed Ultron.

"She's not a Disney Princess." SniffedAriel as she gave a short definition of what it took to be a Disney Princess. "There are currently twelve female protagonists from eleven different Walt Disney Animation Studios films and one Pixar film, who are either royal by birth, royal by marriage, or considered a 'princess' due to their significant portrayal of heroism in their respective films."

"Raciest group." Huffed Kermit. "Miss Piggy should be a member."

"Not a princess." Rebuked Ariel. "You don't like it, take it up with the Mouse. Plus what girl wants to dress like a pig?"

Which resulted in some choice insults between the frog and Ariel before Donald broke up the developing fight. After a lunch break to cool things down, they got down to business. There were a few more "I am Groots" as the charges were discussed and finally a vote was taken.

Part 63d: Verdict

The jury had reached a decision, read by Donald Duck. "Guilty on all charges."

"WHAT!?" Screeched Medusa as parts of the audience broke out in cheers or shouts of outrage

Stan pounded away with his gavel. "Order! Order! There will be order!"

And order was eventually restored as a squad of storm troopers burst into the court room and opened fire. A few spectators ended up being shot but they had not been published for decades so no loss. During the minor riot Medusa had a quiet but animated discussion with the defense lawyers, she was apparently arguing for something that Matt and Jennifer did not agree with. But apparently Medusa won the argument based upon body language. Once order was restored Jennifer rose and declared to a shocked Judge Stan.

"We appeal."

"You what?"

"We appeal the verdict your Honor."

"You haven't even heard the sentence. The court would normally adjourn to first consider a sentence and only after the sentence is rendered does the defense examine their appeal options."

"Never the less your Honor, my clients insist upon demanding an immediate appeal."

"Are your clients crazy?"

"They believe you are biased against them, likewise the jury."

A stern look from Stan. "One last chance councilor."

A look from Jennifer and Matt to Medusa and Black Bolt as Medusa likewise looked at Black Bolt. The moment dragged on, then a nod from Back Bolt.

Jennifer sighed. "My clients wish to continue upon this course of action your Honor."

"Over your objections?"

"Yes your Honor."

Stan shuffled some papers. "Very well. Let the record show that I think you'll find that he's not as forgiving as I am."

With that Stan the Man pulled out a cell phone and made a call. You only hear his side of a conversation. "Hello… Ah, they wish to appeal… yeah… not event willing to wait for the sentence… Now? Okay, excelsior."

With that Stan hangs up. "Okay, face the frontt true believers. All rise for the Mouse. Nuff said." With that Stan rose as the doors in the back of the court room opened as everybody rose. The room was silent but for the sound of approaching footsteps and harsh mechanical breathing. Then he strode in.

The Mouse.

Although in this case the Mouse as it were looked like a mini Darth Vader but with Mickey Mouse ears on the helmet, and a long mouse nose. The voice is squeaky, but filled with dark ominous tones; think James Earl Jones on helium. And he had just come from dealing with the mess that was Lucas Studios so his footprints were bloody with the blood of the fallen.

"I sense a disturbance in the Force."

Jennifer opens her mouth to speak, but Darth Mickey clenches his left hand and both she and Matt start choking as he speaks again. "I find this lack of faith in my Judge most… disturbing."As Jennifer and Matt passed out.

The helmet looks upon Medusa and Black Bolt. "You are as clumsy as you are stupid. Choking upon your aspirations. Well, you have disappointed me for the last time. Stan would have been lenient. You and yours are but traitors, fit only for death."

That was when Black Bolt unleashed the power of his voice in an attack upon Darth Mickey as he realized his appeal had failed. The crowd is tossed about as Darth Mickey stands against the gale of force from Black Bolt as Medusa likewise lashed out with her hair.

"This will be a day long remembered." Squeaked the mouse. "The power of your voice is insignificant next to the power of the Force. It falls to me to show you the error of your ways."

With that the Mouse clenched his right fist and Black Bolt was silenced as Darth Mickey's left hand flung a lightsaber that ignited with a red baneful blade and severed most of the hair from Medusa before returning to Darth Mickey's left hand.

A squeak of dark evil. "There is no escape. You will serve the Empire one way… or another. The fate of the Inhumans shall be death as we attempt to gleam as least some financial recompense from this travesty. Black Bolt, you will be sent to a space prison, and while that happens Medusa shall get cancer, lose her hair and watch as all Inhumans are slaughtered. Your franchise ahall be put on the shelf and only… later… might you be used again in an attempt to rehabilitate what is left of this tattered franchise. All NuHumans but Miss Marvel shall placed in story limbo, other then the ones we decide to kill in the epic death of he Inhumans event, to be written by Emma Frost."

A whine from Lockjaw, which is noticed by Darth Mickey.

"Not you… Lockjaw. You are popular, liked. No you will continue to be of use to the Empire."

A bark of relief from Lockjaw he ran up and delivered Darth Mickey a big lick as Darth Mickey gave the dog a scratch."Who's a good doggy? Yes it's you. You're a good doggie."

The crowd slowly rose to feet as they observed the wagging Lockjaw. A whisper from Harley Quinn that definitely summed up what everybody felt as she repeated one of her famous quotes. "Hush, little baby, don't say a word, Momma's gonna kill for you the whole damn world.

Then Darth Mickey turned and began to leave but paused as he noticed Loki.

"Loki… the viewership numbers from your show are impressive… most impressive."

Loki gave a small bow. "I hope they are to your satisfaction."

"They are…" Squeaks the dark voice. "Minnie and I are hosting a small… gathering tonight. We would be honored if you joined us."

"I shall be there my lord."

"Good. 7:42pm, be prompt."Then a glance at Illyana."Yana…"

"Mick." Was her cool reply.

"Good to see you again. Sorry about Weinstein, I had no idea. Lunch?"

"Where and when?"

"Tomorrow, Club 33, 12:13pm."

"Got it."

With that the Mouse departed. And that's, dear readers, is why the Inhumans were toasted by Marvel.

Part 63e: Paul Harvey (a bit more from you're friendly neighborhood author)

Author comment: One topic from the X-Men CBR forums, which I can only access when I'm away from my home network so my IP address is different (take that CBR! Odd, I'm still banned and they don't respond to emails), is Why weren't the Inhumans invited to the Hellfire Gala? Apart from the issue of inviting your killer/abuser to a party, I think Marvel is just going to strongly ignore the whole poison gas event as the two groups never really interacted much anyway (story wise) and Marvel still hopes to eventual turn the Inhumans into a paying franchise, so perpetuating the X-Men/Inhuman issues does not aid in that monetary endeavor. But… the recent Planet Sized X-Men special (spoilers ahead!) had Magneto, with the aid of others, terraforming Mars in but days into a habitual planet for the mutants of Arakko (the Arakko island was moved to Mars). Now, being rather anti Inhuman, this gave me a bit of a giggle as to just why the Inhumans were not at the gala. Ah… I'm a bad person (grin).

Mars…

The red splendor was magnificent as the newly rebuilt Inhuman city of New New Attilan slowly lowered itself into the thin atmosphere as the Inhuman Royal Family (Black Bolt and Medusa) looked on from a distant mesa. The two were dressed in space suits and were observing the landing at the new home of the Inhumans, all the other Inhumans were in the city. With a puff of dust the city was down.

"Finally…" Was Medusa's comment on the radio. "We are here."

A thought from Black Bolt (And now the great work begins).

Medusa was positively glowing with joy. "From here our people will bloom, grow, and spread out across the…"

A blinding light flared into existence in the upper atmosphere as the first of the iron/nickel asteroids arrived and Mars. Arrived and… impacted directly upon New New Attilan, which was obliterated in the resulting holocaust. Perhaps something survived, but the impact of additional asteroids put paid to that. And no, Black Bolt and Medusa did not survive the blast.

Far away, Charles Xavier was observing the great work Magneto was engaged in.

"Erik, what criteria did you use to select where to put the asteroids?"

Eric answered. "The tectonic survey had several locations of equal merit so I picked one…" Then a grin. "at random."

Charles felt that there was a strange smugness to Erik's random statement, but let it go.

Author's note: And now you know the rest of the story.