After four weeks of barely any sleep, several all-nighters, nonstop coffee and energy drink consumption, endless paperwork, multiple boxes full of hours and hours of security footage and countless interviews, it was the day of the trial.
According to the local weatherman today was a beautiful day, with only the recommendation of light jackets because of the wind chill.
In Matt's opinion, today was a disaster waiting to happen.
But then again, he always felt like something horrible was going to happen, like a disaster was around the corner. Like he was going to mess everything up.
He had problems.
The most obvious problem right now being the courtroom filled with a chattering audience, muttering jurors, and five very disgruntled Avengers.
The most disgruntled of which was sitting directly next to Matt in handcuffs.
He wondered why they even bothered with them. Surely they knew that if Doctor Banner 'Hulked out' no cuffs would contain him. It was probably an intimidation tactic.
And based on the unnerved expression on the good doctor's face, it was working.
Apart from the skittish superhuman to Matt's left, the table was also occupied by Foggy. Karen sat in the back of the courtroom, however, so there would be no moral support from her.
Twelve jurors sat far to the left. All of them were in their late forties and early fifties. Doctors, Matt would guess. Its policy to get jurors of similar background, age, status, and profession as the defendant. Matt highly doubted any of them had a big green angry alter ego, however.
The same judge from the preliminary trial appeared to be assigned to the main trial, as well. After she settled down the tense courtroom with a wave of her hand, she called the prosecution to speak.
Jack stood, smugly adjusting his tie. "Thank you, your honor," he said, approaching the center of the room. "The prosecution calls one Anthony Edward Stark to the stand."
A few people in the audience muttered to each other as Tony made his way to the front. Matt didn't even need to use his crude echolocation or enhanced hearing to know the billionaire was most likely winking and flirting with everyone he passed. The very strong smell of cologne and hairspray mixed with the smell of grease and oil wafted towards Matt as the superhero strutted past him.
As soon as Stark swore in and settled down in his seat Jack began to bombard him with questions.
"Mr. Stark," Jack said, grinning widely and gesturing towards the jury, "would you please share with the jury how you know the defendant?"
"Oh, Brucie-Bear and I go way back." Stark waved his hand in the air and leaned back in his chair, smiling charmingly. He folded his arms behind his head. "We saved the world together a few years ago. I don't know if you've heard. There were aliens and everything. I mean, I did most of the work, what with the government trying to nuke the city and all. I saved everyone. Almost died, too."
Jack wrinkled his nose. "So… would you say you have a professional relationship with Doctor Banner?" Jack asked.
"Objection. Leading the witness," Foggy said, raising his hand nonchalantly.
"Sustained," the Judge nodded.
Jack nodded and smiled, clapping his hands together. "Mr. Stark, how would you describe your relationship with the defendant?"
"We're science bros," Tony said confidently, shrugging.
Next to Matt, Dr. Banner groaned and buried his face in his hands.
Jack raised an eyebrow. He tapped his chin. "Would you please define 'science bros' for the jury?"
"We blow stuff up in my lab together," Tony said nonchalantly.
Bruce groaned louder.
"Well, I mean, I do most of the blowing things up myself," Tony said quickly, rubbing the back of his neck and sitting up straighter. "Brucie usually stands in the background telling me not to do things, and then I immediately do them. He's the voice of reason. But usually it's me doing reckless stuff, yeah. I mean, why is Bruce even here? You've met the guy, right? He's so cautious and rule abiding it's obnoxious. He doesn't even jaywalk! I mean, what kind of person doesn't jaywalk? I jaywalk! It's New York City, the traffic is so bad the cars don't even move. You can walk anywhere and not get hit. But not Brucie, nope. He follows every single law. It's annoying, yeah, I'll give you that, but-"
"Objection, narrative answer," said Foggy.
"Sustained," said Judge Maden with a small nod of her head.
"Huh?" Tony's brow furrowed together.
"The witness shall refrain from giving narrative answers in the form of rambling," she explained, waving her hand in his direction.
"Oh… uh, sorry," Tony shrugged, grinning again and not sounding in the least bit sorry.
Jack leaned cockily against the evidence stand, turning his attention from the Judge and back to Stark. "During all your time knowing the defendant, has he ever exhibited any violent or destructive behaviors?" questioned Jack.
"Is… is that a trick question?" Tony glanced up at the judge, raising a single eyebrow. "That's a trick question, right?"
"Please answer the question, Mr Stark," she sighed.
"Um… Brucie hasn't. The Hulk has," Tony relied slowly, weighing each word cautiously. Matt sighed. So Stark can think before he speaks. What a surprise.
"Would you please clarify?"
"Well, the Hulk and Bruce are different people. A lot of people don't realize that, but they are. They're as different as you and me, pal. They're just unfortunate enough to share the same body," replied Tony, sounding confident again, his cocky smile resurfacing.
"We got him," Foggy whispered, leaning back in his chair and smirking. Matt frowned.
"Fascinating," Jack remarked. He slowly walked past his stand, sliding a small manilla folder off of it as he passed.
Foggy took in a sharp breath.
"What's wrong?" Matt asked quietly.
"He has a document with the Shield logo on it. Whatever it is, it's not good," Foggy whispered back.
Matt cursed silently.
"As the ladies and gentlemen of the jury can see here, I have with me an official report from the desk of Nick Fury himself. It was recovered during the complete release of all S.H.I.E.L.D. documents a few years back," Jack claimed. Matt could hear the rustle of the paper as he waved it around for all to see.
"Uh, objection! Relevance," Foggy said desperately.
"Overruled," Judge Maden replied.
Matt could practically feel Jack's smirk.
"I shall now read an excerpt from this report. Keep in mind that this was read and approved by Nick Fury, a known associate of the defendant. Ahem," Jack cleared his throat dramatically and pushed up his sunglasses with his free hand. "Paragraph thirteen, page three, sentence four. 'The leftover gamma radiation from the accident involving the failed attempt to recreate the Super Soldier Serum resulted in the creation of what is known as The Hulk; a physical manifestation of all of Doctor Banner's anger and negative emotions.'"
"I remember going over that document," Foggy whispered. Matt's frown deepened.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury," Jack continued, tapping the papers, "as you can clearly see, though it was claimed that defendant and The Hulk are separate—and that very well may be true—there is no doubt that The Hulk was created from emotions and thoughts that the defendant already had. Therefore, the defendant obviously has a degree of control of his alter ego, and is therefore also responsible."
The jury started muttering among themselves. Matt could tell even without seeing them that they were shooting dark looks in their direction. They were losing the jury's support; that was not good… not good at all. Foggy shifted in his seat and began tapping the table in a nervous and irritating rhythm. Matt huffed and bit his lip.
But it's still early in the trial, right? They could still very well turn this around with a few choice words.
No pressure or anything.
"Mr. Stark," Jack said, turning his attention back to the startled billionaire, "you are a man of science, correct?"
"Uh…"
"It's a simple yes or no question," Jack said harshly, crossing his arms.
"Objection, leading the witness," Foggy deadpanned, lifting a finger.
"Sustained," Judge Maden replied curtly. She gestured towards Jack. "The prosecution shall rephrase their statement."
"Of course, your honor." Jack stood straighter and stared at Tony questioningly over his sunglasses. "Mr. Stark, are you adept in the scientific field?"
"If you're asking me if I'm a genius, the answer is yes. Obviously," Stark scoffed, smirking confidently.
"Do you understand the effects of gamma radiation in the case of Dr. Banner?"
"I understand everything, buddy." Tony crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.
"Then you'll be able to answer this question. As a man of science, in your expert opinion, would The Hulk exist today if it were not for Dr. Banners experiments?"
"Um, no…"
"No. And would the Hulk exist if Dr. Banner didn't exist?" Jack asked smugly, tapping his chin slowly.
"Well, no… but-"
"And would The Hulk exist if Dr. Banner didn't originally have feelings of anger and rage for the Hulk to manifest itself in?" Jack asked, rudely cutting Tony off. Tony frowned.
"No, but-"
"No further questions, your honor," Jack said, adjusting his tie smugly as he took his seat. Matt scowled. He could hear Foggy's heart thumping next to him. Dr. Banner's hands were trembling slightly, his watch scraping repetitively against the table.
"Woah, hold the phone! Just hold it!" Stark yelled, jumping up from his seat.
No, no, no, no, no… Matt squeezed his eyes shut. He prayed Stark would shut his always-moving mouth. He was going to make this so much worse...
"Order in the court!" The Judge barked, smacking her gavel against her sound block.
"Hang on just a moment-" Stark objected, waving a finger angerly.
"Mr. Stark, if you do not hold your tongue I will have you removed from my courtroom immediately," said the Judge icily, rubbing her temples and glaring at him.
"But-" Starks voice faltered.
"The defense will now have a chance to cross-examine the witness," the Judge said, snapping her fingers and shooting Tony one last death glare. Tony huffed and sunk back into his seat.
"Thank you, your honor," Matt said, rising to his feet. He grabbed his cane in one hand and rested the other on the nearby railing, pretending to use it to steer himself towards the center of the large room.
"What does that mean?" Matt heard Bruce whisper to Foggy behind him.
"Matt needs to try to prove that their arguments are unreliable," Foggy whispered back.
The only noise in the otherwise silent courtroom was the sound of Matt's cane clicking against the slick marble floor.
"Mr. Stark, would you say that my client is a rather calm individual?" Matt asked. Tony raised an eyebrow and made a half-laughing half-scoffing noise.
"Well, yeah. He kinda has to be, otherwise he gets all big, green and angry and destroys everything," Tony joked. Matt pressed his lips together into a straight line, trying to not get annoyed.
"But overall, you'd say he's pretty mild mannered?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Tony shrugged, tilting his head and squinting his eyes, as if he was deep in thought,
"You've known my client for quite some time," Matt remarked, nodding slowly. "And you've been through a lot with him. You've probably seen each other in all sorts of scenarios. From happy situations, to even potential life-threatening ones. Being a superhero ensures a lot of stress on an everyday basis. You have to be on call at all times, 24/7, not knowing what you're going to face the next day or even if you'll live until the next day at all. Not knowing whether or not you'll see your loved ones again."
Matt knew that better than most.
"Objection. Relevance," called Jack, sounding thoroughly annoyed.
"There's a point to this, your honor, I swear," Matt said quickly, raising his hands calmly.
"Overruled. Hurry and get to your point, Mr Murdock," Maden said, sounding exhausted and waving her hand at Matt.
Matt nodded. "Of course, your honor," Matt turned back to Stark, looking at the area right next to his head. "Mr. Stark, in all your time knowing my client, through everything you've been through together, how would you describe my client overall? As in Bruce Banner, not the Hulk."
"How would I describe him?" Tony repeated.
Matt nodded.
"Well." Stark crossed his arms and leaned back slightly. He tilted his head back and pursed his lips, thinking. "Bruce… he's always the first one to make sure everyones okay after a battle. Ironically, considering the whole 'angry green rage monster' thing, he's the most level headed out of all of us. Always keeping his temper in check. He's difficult to annoy, I'll give him that. And trust me, I've tried."
"And why do you think that is?" Matt tilted his head to the side.
"I'd say it's because he doesn't want to Hulk out, but he's always been like that;" Tony said as he fiddled with his tie, seemingly bored out of his mind. "I met him on a few occasions before the incident with the Gamma radiation, and even then he was a really chill dude. And, I mean, everyone gets angry sometimes. That's just a part of being human, and all that jazz."
"I see," Matt nodded. He turned and waved his hand in Bruce's direction. "Calm. Level headed. Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, when the prosecution claimed that Doctor Banner is responsible for The Hulk's actions because he allowed for him to be created in the first place, he is actually claiming that my client is guilty solely because he feels anger just like the rest of us.
"And as for this piece of evidence," Matt said, sliding the document off of the evidence stand, "I'd like for my associate Mr. Nelson to read the same phrase that Mr. White read. I'd read it myself, but I left my reading glasses at home."
A few wry chuckles drifted through the courtroom. Even the judge was hiding a small smile. Matt could feel Jack's scowl from across the room.
"This is no place for jokes, Mr. Murdock," Judge Maden scolded.
"Of course, my apologies." Matt smiled, handing Foggy the document. "Paragraph thirteen, page three, sentence four, if you don't mind, Mr. Nelson."
"But of course, Mr. Murdock." Foggy flipped through the papers. "'The leftover gamma radiation from the accident involving the failed attempt to recreate the Super Soldier Serum resulted in the creation of what is known as The Hulk; a physical manifestation of all of Doctor Banners anger and negative emotions.'"
"Thank you, Mr. Nelson," Matt said, turning back to the jury with a smile on his face. "Unlike the prosecution, I'd like to focus on the important part of the paragraph; what happened in the lab was an accident. A failed attempt to create something else resulted in the creation of The Hulk. Accidents happen. My client was at the wrong place at the wrong time. But here's the real question. Mr. Nelson, will you now read the first sentence on page three of the report?"
"Sure thing," said Foggy. He found the page and read, "Though past attempts in recreating the Super Soldier Serum proved unsuccessful, the US Military, being adamant in getting their hands on the serum, hired a team of scientists to recreate it, including Doctor Banner; this later resulted in both the creation of The Hulk, and much later, The Abomination."
"Wow," Matt said dryly, raising an eyebrow. "The very same government pressing charges on my client is responsible for creating the conditions for the Hulk to be created in the first place."
The room went dead silent as his words sunk in.
Smirking, Matt turned his head and focused on listening.
Through the various noises decorating the courtroom, such as the sound of Foggy rustling papers, the barely audible squeaking of Banner anxiously rubbing his fingers together, the quiet tapping of a juror typing on their phone, the humming of air coming through an air vent and the almost silent sound of a beetle scurrying around on the floor, Matt could hear Jack's heartbeat.
It was rapid. He was scared.
Good.
Matt grinned again..
"There will be no further… further..." Matts voice faltered. He frowned. His brow furrowed.
Did he hear one of the jurors using a phone?
In high profile cases such as this, jurors were completely cut off from the outside world until the end of the trial. That meant they were provided with monitored hotel close to the courtroom and away from others, they had no access to the news or the internet, and definitely didn't have their phones. All cell phones were taken before the trial started; before the opening statements.
If it was found out that a juror had access to the outside world, such as a computer or phone, then the entire trial would be thrown out and started over from scratch. They would get new lawyers, new jurors, and the entire trial wouldn't be rescheduled for months, if not years. Anything to keep someone from leaking information about the case to the public.
There's no way one of the jurors had a phone, right?
But Matt could have sworn that he heard-
"Mr. Murdock, are you alright?"
Matt's head whipped up, suddenly remembering where he was. "Yes, yes, my apologies, your honor. I lost my train of thought.
"No further questions."
