The tension in the room was palpable, like the way the air seems to cling onto a person on a humid day.
Matt tapped his pointer finger against his cane, trying to keep his thoughts clear. Foggy was flipping through papers next to him, muttering what sounded like nonsense to Matt. Karen was standing off to Matt's left, talking kindly to a very flustered Bruce Banner.
Jack White was leaning casually in his seat across the room, sipping on a coffee and acting as if he didn't have a care in the world. Acting as if a man's livelihood wasn't at stake.
"All rise for Judge Maden."
The lawyers stood, and Matt nudged for the confused doctor to do the same. Bruce shot to his feet. Karen took her seat behind them.
The judge—a short lady in sweeping robes—walked past.
Foggy leaned across the table, gaining the attention of Bruce.
"All you have to do is plead 'not guilty'. We'll take care of the rest," he whispered.
Bruce nodded quickly. His eyes were slightly unfocused and his lips were pressed together in a taut line.
"You may be seated," the judge said, taking her seat.
"We are gathered here today for the preliminary trial of Doctor Bruce Robert Banner," Judge Madsen said, rifling through a stack of papers on her desk. "The defendant is being charged with assault, involuntary and voluntary manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, first degree murder, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, destruction of property—including government property—resisting arrest, illegal imagration to another country, and unauthorized removal of classified documents. The trial shall now commence. How does the defendant plead?"
"Holy cow, that's a lot," Foggy breathed. He spoke so quietly only Matt could hear him.
Matt agreed. The list seemed excessive, to say the least.
"Not… Not guilty, your honor," Bruce stammered. The judge nodded, hitting her gavel against the wooden pounding block. Matt could hear Jack scoff. He grit his teeth together.
"The prosecution shall now make its case."
"Thank you, your honor," Jack said, grinning widely. He slowly stood. "Permission to approach your bench?"
"Permission granted."
He slid a manila folder of the table and sauntered over to the bench, tossing a few photos at Foggy as he did. Jack then handed the folder to the Judge.
"Your honor, as you can see, these pictures depict the various sites at which The Hulk— Doctor Banner's alter ego—wreaked havoc. New York City and Harlem, to name a few. Both these areas are vastly occupied by civilians. Many of whom lost their lives directly because of the Hulks actions. The Hulk is also responsible for millions—that's right, millions—of dollars worth of property damage. These are undeniable claims.
"Doctor Banner must be held responsible for his actions. If anybody else committed murders and property damages to this scale they would have been held accountable. They would have been punished. But Doctor Banner has been let off scot free. Why, you might ask?
"Because he has a billionaire friend willing to pay for anything he breaks. Willing to cover up all his horrendous actions and sell a story—a lie—to the public claiming that he's a hero, meanwhile sweeping all his crimes under the rug."
Jack pushed his glasses up his nose and smirked, pulling more papers from the pile.
"And those are just a few of the crimes the defendant has committed as the Hulk. It may shock you, your honor, but Doctor Banner has committed just as many felonies as himself." Jack handed the papers to the Judge.
"These are official shield documents. As you can see here, not only did the defendant illegally immigrate to Brazil after becoming the Hulk, he also unlawfully avoided arrest twice and attempted to a third time. Each time resulted in deaths of members of the US military.
"You will also see official documentation describing the battle of Harlem—where Doctor Banner fought Emil Blonsky, also known as the Abomination—and you will also see documentation describing the creation of the Abomination; It could not have been done without Doctor Banner's assistance, whether he assisted voluntary or not.
"Doctor Banner is also responsible for illegally destroying his research concerning the super soldier serum, which was not his choice to make as someone else had privately hired him, and therefore it was never technically his research to begin with," Jack claimed. He collected his papers and looked at Bruce. "Yet still, the defendant it always let off the hook without any consequences whatsoever. Without so much as an apology for his actions. Not a care in the world for all the lives he's ruined."
Jack pushed his sunglasses up again, smiling smugly. "The prosecution rests, your honor."
He took his seat.
The courtroom went silent.
"That… that's was actually a really good case. Not going to lie," Foggy muttered.
"But you guys can do better, right?" Bruce whispered.
"Yes…" Matt said slowly.
"That was a very hesitant sounding yes," said Bruce.
"Relax, Matt's the best. He knows what he's doing," Foggy said.
"Well, I-"
"The defense may now make its arguments," Judge Madden said, banging her gavel.
"Go get them, Murdock." Foggy grinned.
Matt sighed and grabbed his cane, making his way to the center of the room.
"Your honor." Matt nodded respectfully. He looked in her general direction. "I believe one of the very important things the prosecution forgot to mention is that my client can not be held accountable for his actions. Or at least, he should not be. Allow me to explain.
"The Hulk and my client are two very different beings. They both exist separately. They have a different consciousness. My client has no control over the Hulk's actions, just like the Hulk has no control over Doctor Banner's actions. He is innocent.
"And as for his 'illegal imagration' to another country; My client believed his life to be in danger, which it was. He was being threatened and afraid. This is not a case of resisting arrest in the sense that a police officer was going to arrest him and put him in a holding cell. No, in this case he was being hunted by the entire US military to be wrongly and unlawfully imprisoned forever without trial, or killed."
"Those are some serious accusations. Do you have any evidence to support your claims?" Judge Maden asked.
"Uh, well, no. No, I don't, your honor." Matt cleared his throat and tossed his cane to the other hand. "My partner and I were just recently assigned to this case a few days ago and didn't have sufficient time to-"
"And what of the prosecution's claims that your client aided in the creation of the Abomination?"
Matt rubbed the back of his head and shrugged one of his shoulders. He smiled meekly. "I was… unable to discuss that certain topic with my client due to time restrictions. But I assure you, your honor, my client had nothing to do with the Abominations origins."
"I'm afraid your word is not enough, Mr. Murdock. You may continue or you may rest if you have finished."
Matt pressed his lips together. "The defense rests, your honor."
He took his seat.
"That could have gone better," Foggy whispered quietly.
"Oh really?"
"Due to lack of defensive evidence, I have no choice but to have this case continue unto trial," Judge Madden said, hitting her gavel against the sound block again. "Jurors will begin to be selected on the 3rd of November. The court date is set for the 24th of November. The defendant and the prosecutor are to appear in federal court on that date."
"Your honor, our client makes a request for bail," Foggy said.
"Bail denied."
Note: A bit of a shorter chapter here, sorry! The next one is longer, I promise! I'll get it up as soon as I can :)
- Identical Snowflakes
