Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel
This chapter also acts as my one-shots for the story, some of the one shots I intended to write are now cancelled and the key moments of them are put into this and last chapter.
The Hunt
Chapter 25: Trial
I have always been the pawn of great men. My father the Collector, my husband Korvac and now the avenger Cade Hunter, but the question remains:
"Who is Cade Hunter?"
Carina opened her eyes and found herself in the place she wished to be in, amongst those that she needed to see. The void of space was nothing to these beings, who could create an atmosphere around them or even live without it. Though the question of life and its creation was still unanswered, these beings were the closest thing to gods in the universe. They were feared, worshipped and hated across the universe.
Stood on a rainbow bridge was the lord of all Asgard. Odin was known as the all-father, yet he was just a member of a race that had transcended humanity long ago. He impatiently tapped his sword against the bridge, his single eye itching for both an answer and a fight. Across from him floated a magnificent ship as large as any planet. The ship opened its hull and a literal giant floated out of the ship. He wore blue and purple armour and had become the extinction of countless alien races. His name was once Galan, but now he was Galactus, the devourer of worlds.
"And for what reason would his existence require us to gather?"
Someone that rarely required an answer asked the question. For she was the embodiment of death itself and the one that courted a man that hoped to destroy all life as a gift. Death sometimes appeared as a beautiful woman and at other times as a skeletal figure covered by a hood and cloak. The image was iconic if a little stereotypical, but Carina had no worries over such things. Her greatest concern was for Death's lack of an escort, the Titan Thanos whom now no longer accompanied her. Perhaps he had returned from the dead, if so that meant Thanos was now more dangerous than ever.
"It is not merely his existence that should concern us, but the existence of his greatest rival, Sven Reilly!"
The Greek robes and armour of the next two arrivals identified them as Olympians, the mythical gods once worshipped by humans. Zeus and his daughter Athena stood on a great big asteroid, their robes and armour black because of their recent loss.
"I know of Sven Reilly, for once I tried to manipulate him into being my champion, but Reilly's faith in humanity is far stronger than faith of any god or entity, even the one above all of us has not earned his faith," Athena explained.
"Deathblade killed your husband Carina, but to achieve that he also sacrificed my son," Zeus growled.
Carina showed them all the image of her new master slaying her old one. The man in black armour drove his sword through Hercules's back, cutting the energy being known as Michael Korvac, Carina's old husband. She considered Cade's blade their divorce papers, and she hadn't required Michael's signature. Carina was free, for the effectiveness of Cade's blade was absolute. He was the blade of death, and a god killer, she showed the gathered beings the image of Cade releasing his armour, revealing an angelic form of pure energy. The young man had still employed a blade in Mika Boshi, even when the Japanese god took became a being of pure chaos. Deathblade had killed the chaos king, preventing a war that would have shattered the border between life and death. But those borders were already broken, not just by the technorganic virus Cade had stolen from Eli Bard but something else working in the background, something only she, the one above all and the Living Tribunal knew of.
"We are well aware of the power Deathblade wields, and the power that Aeon, Sven Reilly holds back…yet we know almost nothing of their origins or their ends. Enlighten us Mrs Korvac," Mephisto, the deceiver and harvester of souls cackled at his little joke.
"Sven Reilly," Carina whispered.
She showed them the man, a soul now trapped in grey armour and the boy he had once been, a care free red haired boy in a blue coat. They saw a boy living with a single mother and a younger sister, then a family expanded by the presence of a clone, one he treated as a younger brother. Time passed and they saw him, his armour shattering as he protected a silver haired baby. They watched the baby grow into a boy, cared for by Sven. Then the boy grew into a teenager and for unknown reasons stood with only the soul of his adopted father to guide him.
"His son, Siegfried Wallace, the avatar of the spirits of faith was the one who destroyed the Phoenix Force, or at least regressed it to a new state," Carina explained.
The teenager slammed his fist into the legendary M'Krann crystal, resulting in a change that all of the entities knew of.
"He thought he was freeing the Phoenix Force's hosts, but he has only cleared the way for something else entirely," Eternity said.
The being, an expanse of stars and planets silhouetted by the shadow of a robed man reached across time and showed his fellows the mutant messiah, Hope Summers. She lived in a timeline with her protector Cable, and elderly Wolverine and an assortment of heroes facing an evil they thought they understood completely.
"What is this evil that is coming for us?" Zeus asked.
"One that transcends the borders of time, space and reality, one whom can move across the Multiverse and beyond it," Carina explained.
"There is nothing beyond the Multiverse, only emptiness," Odin said.
"That's what you believe," Carina smiled as she raised her arms.
The emptiness of space was replaced by light and in that light came a flood of images that to anyone who was merely mortal could never comprehend.
"I have never seen heroes like that before," Odin narrowed his eye.
"They are merely the possibilities that exist within that universe, a universe that stretches our own to true infinity," Carina waved her hand and the images of the different multiverses beyond hers faded, overcome by blood shed and destruction.
"What can be done?" Eternity asked.
"My existence will end if this universe is destroyed, are you suggesting that we unite?" Galactus asked.
"I will not join with a destroyer of worlds," Odin growled.
"If you do not your vaunted godhood will fade as quickly as Asgard has," Death said.
"Where is the Watcher? Shouldn't he be here?" Zeus asked.
"He is one of the few whom is fulfilling their purpose!"
Carina widened her eyes slightly as the stars across space stopped shining. A portal appeared before the godly beings and a man obscured by dark energy emerged.
"You think you all play some bold purpose to the universes continuing cycle of life, but you are wrong, this is a lie, an illusion you have cast upon thousands of souls for thousands of years in order to maintain the balance of power that makes you worshipped as gods," the being of darkness explained.
"What are you?" Athena asked.
"I am an absolute, a certain being without need of justice or purpose, I exist because I am and will kill because I can. You however have committed a crime in a way, the grand conspiracy of how you all maintain your seemingly infinite existence is something the people of the universe will never forgive, but I will not be the one to punish you, I will leave you either to your guilt over your secrets," he turned to Odin, "Your grief of an empire lost," Zeus squeezed his fist together in anger, "And of course the lie that has been told to allow you to escape the death you deserve again and again," Galactus remained emotionless as the dark being turned.
"Whatever you are, you will be stopped," Odin said.
"But at what price?"
One by one the beings of the cosmos disappeared until only Carina remained. She sighed and closed her eyes; transporting herself to the temporary cell of the one she respected enough to follow. He was chained to the chair he was sitting on, his face covered by a complex mask that bound his arms together. The young man raised his head, his red eyes glowing through the mask.
"Carina," Cade said.
"Cade, this plan of yours, I have seen its potential outcomes, why do you go towards it?" she asked.
"Because it is the only thing that will inspire the world to fully unite, the eradication of all the criminal bloodlines that bought on these disastrous events," Cade explained.
"And you feel you are the only one who can do this?"
"It doesn't matter what I feel, I'm doing it, I'm following through with it, either kill me now to stop me or stay out of my way!"
Carina gripped the sides of Cade's head. His mask disappeared, followed shortly by his chains. He looked into the woman's eyes as the glow in them slowly faded, revealing simple, human brown pupils. Suddenly, Carina pulled Cade's lips to hers. She sat on his lap, the skirt of her dress hung off her legs as she wrapped them around his waist. While Carina closed his eyes, Cade remained still, his eyes still glowing even as the beautiful woman poured her passion into her kisses.
"Enough," he whispered. "You seek happiness, but I can not give you that," he said.
"Not even happiness for yourself?" Carina asked. "I could take you someplace far away, another world where you could have a second chance to spend your days in peace," she smiled as the glow in his eyes faded.
They pressed their lips together, sharing with one another all the positive emotions they had kept inside for years. As Cade bought his lips away from Carina's, the glow in his eyes returned and he brushed her cheek with his fingers.
"Perhaps in another life I could have found happiness with a woman like you, but I am not living that life, I can not turn my back to the injustices and evil that is allowed to flourish and gain power!"
"You never could, not in any timeline, I wanted this one to be different, even when you have found true happiness you can never turn away from what you see as evil!"
Tears fell down her eyes as their surroundings changed. Cade stood off his chair and looked at a newspaper that flew by. The front headline said 'Cyclops declares the mutant revolution!'
"What is this place?" he asked.
"A place that could have been, the life you could have had," Carina pointed to a hilltop.
Cade widened his eyes, seeing himself. But this man was kneeling by four gravestones.
"Talia Hunter, Sven Hunter, James Hunter, Isabel Hunter…those dates, are they?" he turned to Carina and she nodded her head.
Again Cade widened his eyes as Sven walked towards his other self. But this Sven was not trapped in his armoured form; he was the young red haired man Cade always remembered.
"Cade, I am so sorry," he said.
"You don't need to be sorry Sven, you weren't even alive," the other Cade said.
"But if I had been, if I had been alive perhaps I could have done something to stop the X-men and Avengers fighting each other, perhaps I could have prevented this tragedy from occurring," Sven explained.
"Why, this is a good thing isn't it? Mutants are awakening again, they are no longer an 'endangered species', my son…my son was a mutant, and his powers destroyed our house…buried my family, my wife, my daughter, my…my baby son!"
Cade watched his other self-cry, falling to his knees and clawing at the dirt. He watched the man rise, turning to his rival with glowing eyes, eyes that glowed not for justice, but hatred.
"And it wasn't just mine, others have lost because of mutants gaining their powers, and they celebrate this as if it is A GOOD THING!" he yelled hysterically. "I saw who was responsible, Scott Summers, their messiah Hope…they took my family!"
"No Cade you mustn't think like that, vengeance is not the way, you learnt that lesson when you married Talia, don't forget it now," Sven said.
Suddenly, Cade drew a scythe from his waist, slamming it against the gauntlet Sven covered his hand with.
"Stop talking of the past, my family is gone now and those mutants celebrate as if what they wanted didn't have consequences…I never cared about mutants, no one did, I didn't care if the Avengers fought the X-men, if mutant themselves went exintinct or became the true next step in evolution, it didn't matter…my family, my children, WHERE EVERYHING TO ME!"
Energy burst out of Cade's blade, knocking Sven back.
"I came here as a friend Cade, alls I want is to help you, I want to save your soul so that it can go to the same place they have gone to," Sven explained.
"MY FAMILY WAS MY SOUL!" Cade yelled as his armour covered his body. "Scott Summers, Hope, I will kill them…no I WILL MAKE THEM UNDERSTAND MY PAIN! THEN WHEN THEY HAVE FELT THE AGONY I FEEL THEN THEY WILL HAVE MY PERMISSION TO DIE!"
Carina waved her hands and the scene was replaced by a series of images. Cade saw his other self burn what looked like the Xavier Institute, fight seemingly younger, past versions of the X-men and hold a red haired girl by her cloak moments before throwing her into Cyclops.
"In that time you became a greater villain than any on that Earth, one guided by his pain, an unstoppable force, unwavering in your hatred!"
"This isn't that world, it doesn't have to end that way," Cade said.
"No it doesn't, you always have a choice," Carina lowered her head as her eyes glowed yellow again.
Cade raised his head as he sat back onto a chair. He was back in his cell, awaiting his trial. Carina was gone, watching Earth from the moon. She looked to her left and saw Uatu the Watcher. He watched not the planet, but the events themselves taking place across the Earth, all of them connected to the grand battle that was going to happen again.
Cade Hunter is not evil, he simply is, likewise Sven Reilly is not good either, he simply is. The two of them coexist as part of a never-ending cycle, a cycle that has started since they first gained their powers.
They were young again, new to their roles, yet their rivalry was already as strong as it would be in the future. Two young men clashed on the streets of New York. They clashed with their fists and their ideals, with weapons and their abilities, with the very environment they fought on. Deathblade swung his scythes at Aeon, slashing off his shoulder pads. Aeon returned the gesture in kind, punching off Deathblade's helmet. Both men yelled as energy coursed around their bodies. One swung his fist, the other swung his scythes and the resulting explosion shook the city.
I won and I guess Cade took it personally. He didn't understand at first how someone like me who had only had to struggle once in his life could beat him. In the end it came down to him hating me for not avenging our friend's death. I couldn't do a thing to stop him from rushing down a path of bloodshed.
Time and time again they fought, sometimes without even fully understanding why. In the end it was believed they came to understand one another.
Sven fell to the ground, his armour shattered, blood leaking from a wound on his abdomen. He looked up to see a portal in the sky closing, then he looked across the ruined plains of the battlefield and saw his rival rushing towards him. Cade knelt by Sven's side, pressing his wound with his bare hands.
"Sieg…is he…safe?" Sven asked.
"He's safe, but save your strength," Cade said.
"The others are they…"
"You saved everyone Sven, you saved them!"
"Good, your going to be…okay…I want you to understand…why I couldn't kill you…back then!"
"Because…because you are my friend," tears fell down Cade's eyes.
"Live…on…Cade, Sieg…live on!"
Like any hero I couldn't stay dead, I keep wondering whether its destiny, whether he's destined to always be my opposition, whether the only thing I can do to put Cade on the right path is to die.
"The Answer's no James," Sven said to James via his communicator.
"But Cade's trial is going to be starting soon, don't you want to prevent him from getting sent to the public prisons?" James asked.
"What can I do, lie and say that Cade is completely insane? We both know that isn't true, he doesn't deserve to be locked up in an asylum."
"Quite frankly I don't think it will matter, most of the insane ones like Arcade are just locked up in the same revolving door prison," Wolverine said.
"You're only saying that cause you hope that whatever plan Deathblade has in mind he'll succeed," Wonder Man said.
"And you only say that because you're afraid of your dear brother dying," Quicksilver retorted.
"Of course I am, and you should be worried too, Deathblade might go after Wanda!"
"He won't!"
"What makes you so certain of that Sven?" James asked.
"He already had a chance, that and Wanda did what she did when she was mentally disturbed…"
"Subtle way of putting it Sven," Carol muttered.
"Cade knows what its like to be out of control, he knows the guilt and he sees it as a greater punishment than death itself…that's why he didn't kill me when I gave in to my dark side and became Onyx," Sven explained.
"And yet you believe he wants to get into the prison, you're confident he wont be ripped apart in there, you know he has a plan and you're not going to do anything about it…you ask me you've still got a bit of Onyx's corruption inside you," James said.
"I don't need to justify manipulation to you!" Sven snapped.
"What does he mean Crowner?" Wolverine asked.
"James had one of his psychics influence Sieg's memories, making him believe I was capable of changing into human form and hugging my nephew and niece!"
"You did what?" Carol and Wanda glared at James's holographic form.
"I didn't know what to do about Sieg's depression, Sven was spending so much time getting back in touch with his real relatives but he wasn't interacting with them, I needed to do something to give Sieg a little hope," James explained.
"False hope you mean," Quicksilver said bitterly.
"You heard what Zack said, our reality isn't the only thing under threat here, everything that happens is connected, so everything I do no matter how cruel it may be is for the greater good, that includes any kind of manipulation but allowing somebody like Cade to have his way…"
"And what kind of person is Cade James? While you were building your company off of the graves of your uncle and cousin, Cade and I struggled to protect the world in our own way from threats that made you hide under the bed, we both sacrificed tooth and nail, I even lost limbs because of it…"
"And whose company gave you synthetic replacements?"
"I don't need to listen to you, you didn't even know Laura so you cant possibly understand what we both lost!"
"Boohoo Sven, you think just because Cade lost the girl he loved it gives him justification to commit murder?"
"I thought you were trying to help Cade!"
"I need to help the world first Sven, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
"ENOUGH!" Carol yelled.
Sven and James grimaced as the military woman stepped between them.
"We're facing a crisis and the two of you are fighting like dogs over a toy, Cade is a threat and we need to deal with him, but with him in Hammer custody there isn't a lot we can do to override Gyrich's authority and he's saying he's got to go to prison," she explained.
"I don't intend to let Cade go through with whatever he's planning, I'm going to stop him, but I'm not going to sacrifice everything we have to stand for to do it,"
"Really, Cade made sacrifices, I just got word from my contacts in the Inhumans, he attacked them Sven, he cut Black Bolt's throat and…he killed innocents Sven."
Sven widened his eyes slightly, whilst Quicksilver grit his teeth together, angered by Deathblade attacking the place his child called home.
It's true, Cade did attack the inhumans, and he went through Galactic Guardians, Galactic Avengers to get to what he wanted.
"YOU CHOOSE HIM! HE TRIED TO KILL YOU!"
Deathblade threw Gorgon's soldiers off his shoulder, slashing two Kree soldiers he knew had smuggled weapons to the Shiar. He pushed, kicked, struck people with the flat end of his scythe, even poked eyes to get to his target. Kai-Vell watched Deathblade savagely cut his way through a whole squad of soldiers. He looked to the skies, watching Mar-Vell pound Ronan around like he was nothing. Crystal manipulated the Earth, creating an opening she intended to trap Deathblade in. She struck him with fire and wind, creating a vortex to heat his armour. Then she created a wave, intending to freeze him in place. But Deathblade's armour changed, turning him into a Wolf like beast. He leapt over the water and slashed Crystal across the side.
"LADY CRYSTAL!" Kai-Vell yelled.
A blast suddenly hit Deathblade in the chest, throwing him off of Crystal. Kai-Vell looked to the skies and saw the arrival of the Guardians of the Galaxy. But they weren't alone, they were with Avengers. Phyla-Vell drew her sword, flying alongside her predecessor Quasar. Wendell punched Genis across the face, whilst Phyla slammed her sword into her father's bands.
"Father," she whispered, unable to look the enslaved hero in the eyes.
"Bastard," Darkhark growled, landing in front of Deathblade with Gamora and Star Lord beside him.
Gamora slammed her shield into the shield on Deathblade's arm. He swung back with his claws, roaring at the fighters. Sersi landed beside Crystal, with Moon Dragon and Black Knight.
"Nathan," Crystal muttered weakly.
Kai's legs shook as he watched the titans battle one another. He looked to the castle doors and saw the children, Luna and Black Bolt's son. They looked at their mother and father respectively, both kids worried about their parents. The Kree cadet looked up at Mar-Vell and saw the tears in both his and his daughter's eyes. Squeezing his hands into fists, Kai-Vell drew his pistol and started firing at Deathblade.
"JUST GO AWAY!" he yelled.
Deathblade slashed Gamora in the arm before turning to Kai-Vell. He changed back into his armour warrior form and swung his scythe upwards, cutting the barrel off of Kai-Vell's pistol and knocking off his helmet. The blonde haired, blue eyed and pink skinned Kree fell to the floor and he looked up as Phyla ran her father through with her sword. He blasted her in the chest, throwing her into Darkhawk. Deathblade kicked Star Lord in the chest, then locked his blade with Black Knight's.
"You'll pay for what you did to her," Nathan growled.
"They shouldn't have stopped me!"
"Maximus is not here Deathblade, this violence and death is for nothing, we will stop you here monster," Moon Dragon said as she put her hands on her head.
"NO DON'T!" Cade yelled.
Moon Dragon suddenly screamed as red energy surrounded her head. Phyla got off of Darkhawk and looked to her lover as blood ran from her nose and eyes. Moon Dragon's eyes rolled into the back of her head before she fell to the floor, crumbling into a mess, the left side of her body hanging like a stroke victim.
"I told her not to read my mind, she shouldn't have even touched my mind," Deathblade said as he pushed Black Knight aside.
Phyla ran to Moon Dragon's side and felt her neck for a pulse. Her eyes grew wide in horror and the other heroes around her lowered their heads. All grew silent as Phyla touched her sword.
"GET HIM" Gorgon yelled.
He slammed his hooves into the ground, creating tremors that forced Cade to fly up. Darkhawk turned into his artillery form and fired several blasts into Cade's back. Star Lord fired his blaster, hitting Cade's kneecaps. Medusa grabbed Cade's legs with her hair and began pulling him to the ground. He swung his scythe, cutting her strands of hair like butter. Quasar slammed into Cade from the top, bashing him against the floor. Cade slammed his elbow against Quasar's cheek, then threw Quasar by his hair into the castle wall.
"BASTARD!" Phyla screamed, slashing at Cade with her sword.
He easily deflected her strikes before cutting her arm. Cade then tripped Phyla to the floor and raised his blade over his head.
"NO!" Kai-Vell yelled.
He dived at Cade, tackling him to the ground. Cade flipped Kai over, slamming him against the floor.
"You all…should not…have gotten…IN MY WAY!" he yelled as he raised his scythe.
"PLEASE STOP!"
Deathblade froze as he turned. He widened his eyes and the glow in them faded. Luna stood with her cousin, crying in the midst of the destruction he had caused.
"My uncle isn't here, he's not here," she said. "Please leave us alone…please just go!"
Deathblade looked at the wounded and dying around him and then at his blood soaked scythe. He narrowed his eyes before the glow returned. But instead of continuing the fight he flew into the sky, followed by his enslaved servants.
Cade made his choices, but they were the wrong ones. What kind of future can be created by blood stained hands? But beyond that future is my friend, a good man capable of achieving wonders. I still believe in that man, Cade Hunter, the bearer of the spirit of Justice.
Cade Hunter walked down the corridors of the Hammer base, guided by armoured agents and Moonstone. Karla kept her mask off as she walked beside the chained man. He didn't seem at all bothered that he would potentially be locked away for the rest of his life. She had turned over her evaluation of his mental health to Agent Chang, all that was left to do was stand Cade in front of a jury on a televised trial.
"Murder trial of Cade Michael Hunter will now begin, all jury members stand for the honourable judge Henry Cousland," the court barrister declared the judge's arrival.
Karla looked amongst the jury and guessed that her patient was judging them even now. They all had that general uneasy look, they knew he could detect their sin and that if his chains were loose he would kill them.
"Cade Hunter, I understand you will be defending yourself," Cousland said.
He was a near overweight man, religious judging from the cross hanging on his neck and Karla guessed the man had his own demons, though he was at least an honest and clean law abiding man. Cade stood and looked at the jury, causing at least one to cower.
"Yes, and I would like to clarify the charges if you don't mind, you believe I have killed forty people, this is incorrect, I have killed approximately three hundred people. I deny the charges of treason, I attacked Hammer agents as a man seeking revenge for the crimes they committed, I have no bank account or ties with any other foreign power…I deny the charges of theft, I have never taken a cent from even criminals, I plead guilty to the charges of destruction of public property, I am guilty of murder, but I am not guilty of obstruction of justice, what I was doing was a crime in itself, but morally I would say it is justice, Doctor Sofen will speak for my mental state of mind!"
Karla cleared her throat before standing up and addressing the judge.
"Mr Hunter is aware of the consequences of his actions, he does not display any of the signs typically associated with schizophrenia, his actions are not in dedication to any deity or authority figure and while his abilities have left a strain on his body they have not affected his mental state. Cade Hunter is not insane, you will find there to be patterns to his killings and a manner of truth to his accusations, indicating that he does indeed kill those whom he deems to be sinners," she explained.
"Very good Dr Sofen, I understand there are no witnesses to Mr Hunter's character present, if so then I will defer to the prosecution, Mr Coals!"
Aiden Coals was a levelheaded prosecution lawyer. He was part of a long line of lawmen and women and was respected, but Cade saw sin within him. Prior to his graduation he had forced himself on a younger girl. Cade squeezed his hands into fists but remained outright calm, he wouldn't allow an outburst to obstruct his plans. Coals stepped up to the jury, looking between them and the cameras.
"I have a question for Dr Sofen, is it true Dr Sofen that you acted as Mr Hunter's psychologist for a time prior to your current…predicament?" he asked.
"It is true, I was Mr Hunter's psychoanalyst, though that was during a time when both our records were relatively clean," Karla said.
"Yes, yes, well is it true that you two had grown close during this time? Forgive me if this is inaccurate but I believe your secretary accused you of being inappropriate…"
"She accused me of sleeping with Mr Hunter," Karla corrected the man.
"Was she correct?"
"No she wasn't, Mr Hunter and I never slept together," Karla said.
"But excuse me for presuming, this may be a question better suited for Mr Hunter but do you believe he formed an affection for you?"
"The only affection for me he has is the possibility of killing me quite painfully Mr Coals," Karla smirked as the security guards laughed.
"I see, then I turn the question to you Mr Hunter, do you find Dr Sofen attractive?"
"Not as attractive as you found that fifteen year old girl you raped when you were nineteen," Cade said.
Coals widened his eyes slightly and again the guards laughed.
"Mr Hunter, if you make an outburst like that again I will have you held in contempt of court, Mr Coals if you have a point to make then make it," Cousland said firmly.
"Yes your honour, the point I was trying to make was that Dr Sofen's analysis of Mr Hunter may be biased as the two already have a history, I was trying to determine the nature of this history," Coals explained.
"The nature of it was three hours of me boring Doctor Sofen with details of how my parents regularly beat me and everything I found disgusting about society in general," Cade explained.
"Oh, in that case I would like to get to the manner of your abilities, you say you can see any sin, is this true?"
"Do you really have to ask that question after what I said earlier Mr Coals?" Cade asked.
"What you said earlier is a lie," Coals retorted.
"Try saying that with a straight face!"
"Your honour I am not the one on trial here," Coals looked to the judge.
"Everyone seems to be on trial, if you're finished with your questioning Mr Coals make your closing statement!"
"Very well, jury, people watching at home, I know it is easy to agree with what Mr Hunter has been doing, lord knows there have been miscarriages of justice throughout the history of humanity…"
I don't really care what the prosecution said. There was a moment when I thought I should go to be Cade's character witness, but things just got in the way. If I had been there I would have said this…Cade Hunter is one of the greatest men I've ever known. He never compromised, he remained firm in his beliefs and he never wavered in fulfilling the view of justice we all should have had. But somewhere along the line he lost track of the difference between us and them, he lost track of mercy, of understanding. I can personally say that there's no one who cares more for human life than Cade Hunter. But that doesn't excuse what he did.
"We find the defendant…guilty!"
"Mr Hunter, I am sentencing you to life imprisonment without chance of parole, you will be held at the maximum security wing of H.A.M.M.E.R's prison complex, god help you Cade Hunter, because you've now put yourself on the worst place on Earth to be a superhero!"
'That's where I was hoping to go,' Cade thought as his guards led him away.
Next Chapter 26: Warpath
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next time heroes and villains alike unite against those whom threaten their existence. Deathblade is trapped but not helpless and Muramasa engages those intending to save the GLA, whilst Zack finally discovers his heritage