Sorry for the delay again, I'm going to try and make the updates more regular.
5. Getting it Over With
Blossom ignored the stares as she landed just outside the police station. Only a few hours ago she'd been saying goodbye to her children for what she desperately hoped wasn't the last time. Then she'd gone for a breath of fresh air, just to clear her head, and to taste freedom for possibly the last time.
She walked inside and calmly up to the desk. The sergeant sitting there did a double take.
"Err, hello?" he said nervously. Blossom supposed she'd have to get used to people being nervous around her now. She smiled as harmlessly as she could.
"Hi, I believe you want to question me about a murder?"
The sergeant stood up, stumbling slightly. "Err, well… yes Mrs Panner, we do… is that a problem?"
Blossom sighed. "No it isn't. I'm coming quietly." The sergeant nodded quickly.
"Okay err if you just sit over there we'll get someone over to escort you a holding cell for a moment." Blossom nodded and took a seat. It was better this way; she didn't want to subject her children to the site of her being dragged off in chains. She really hoped they'd be okay without her.
In the SSR's science department, things were progressing very quickly. It's a lot easier to find evidence when you have an idea of what you're looking for. Gohan took on last look at the remains of Superman's cloak, and then put it back in isolation. He knew what he had to do. He had to inform the head of department that the evidence pointed towards one conclusion; that the newspaper allegations were true.
But that meant informing someone that their daughter was a murderer. John Utonium had been running all the SSR's scientific research since Sonic had taken over and normally be was enthusiastic and cheerful. Today his shoulders were slumped and he was yet to raise even a small smile. More concerning from Gohan's point of view, he hadn't left his office yet.
Still, Gohan was experienced at giving people bad news. This didn't mean he enjoyed the experience, but it was something that had to be done. Tentatively, he knocked on the door.
"Sir?" he said. There was a pause.
"Come in," came a depressed reply. Gohan half entered. The Professor looked up. "Well?" he said hopefully.
Gohan hesitated. "I'm errr, sorry," he said, "but the evidence it well… err… sort of…" Okay, so being experienced didn't mean he was good at it either.
The Professor had completed the sentence himself though. He thudded his head against the desk. "Oh Blossom," he said quietly, "why didn't you tell us?"
Gohan stood in the doorway for a while, feeling stupid. Eventually he came to a decision. "I'll go inform the others," he said, "would you like me to send the Buttercup and Bubbles down?" The Professor nodded so Gohan left quickly. Then he just realised that he'd volunteered to tell a lot of very strong people that the man they all look up to and their boss were murderers. Just another day, he thought.
Eddy wondered around the house downstairs. It seemed quieter and lonelier already.
That was stupid though, he thought. The house was often empty and silent, and the kids were around; well they were in their rooms. Eddy didn't want MJ going to school today, and Edward was still waiting to start high school, after his indefinite suspension from Elementary. The house was still alive.
"But it's like the souls been sucked out of it," he muttered. Maybe turning on the television would help distract him, as long as he avoided the news channels, all of which had their own "exclusive reports" on the situation. There were some news trucks out side, but Eddy had ignored them for now.
The door bell rang. Eddy assumed it was a journalist, so ignored it. The giveaway was that it was only rung once, (most – but not all – journalists are exceedingly rude people who will do almost anything for a story, so ringing a doorbell multiple times is standard procedure.) Cautiously he approached the door.
"Hello?" he said though the letter box, "who is it?"
"It is Matt Murdock Mr. Panner, I was wondering if I could have a word."
"WHY? So you can splash my kids over the front pages as children of the devil?"
"No, because I'm a lawyer."
Eddy paused, and then opened the door quickly, to drag the man in. He managed to avoid the photographs, but not the potentially embarrassing headline, as Murdock stumbled inside.
"Okay," said Eddy, "can I take your coat, sunglasses, stick and dog for you..." something in his head clicked. Oh shit he thought. Murdock laughed.
"Mr Panner, I'm blind."
"Ah yes so you are," she Eddy hurriedly, he was keen to move past the 'Husband of killer attacks blind man on doorstep' headline that was running through his head. "So, are you here to call me to court or what?"
"No, I'm a friend of Mrs Panner," he paused, "as in I once had my life saved by her."
"Glad someone remembers," Eddy said slightly bitterly.
"Also, I have a friend in the SSR who speaks very highly of her."
"Who?"
"Daredevil."
"You mean the man how can sense everything? You two must make a right pair…" Eddy finally managed to put the brakes on his tongue. Fortunately, Murdock smiled.
"Quite," he said. "Anyway, I would like to repay her by taking up her case."
"Errm, right." Eddy paused. "Shall I put the kettle on?" Murdock nodded and followed him in to the kitchen, where Eddy continued. "You see, I haven't got a lawyer yet, but I've also never actually been approached by one before who wasn't asking if I had had an accident in the last three years that wasn't my fault. I'd quite like to see some credentials, if you don't mind."
"Certainly," Murdock opened his brief case and held them out. Eddy directed the man into a seat before looking at them.
"Harvard ahey?" he said. "I don't know if I can afford you."
Murdock laughed. "Consider it a favour then," he said. It took Eddy a few minutes to get back off the floor.
Back on the spaceship the Kryptonite king was tired again. So the Prince had a chance to discuss strategy with his chief civil servant.
"What do you think Hump-RE?" he asked. "How are the reports?"
Hump-RE smiled. "Well sire, the reports say that planet is known to the locals as Earth, and Lord Kar-EL was known as 'Superman' while he was there. We understand he was quiet popular. The air on the planet is breathable, and its population is mostly far weaker than use. Even a child could beat the strongest normal 'human' – as they call themselves. There are a few strong mutants that might prove a small hiccup, but other than that…"
"Great!" the Prince rose to his feet. "We can go a head with our invasion plan then! Make them our salves, and rise Krypton to the fore front of the universe once more, with a new home! On a new planet!"
"But sire!" Hump-RE interrupted nervously, "the intergalactic republic won't stand for that."
"Oh, so you want us to wonder the galaxy for ever do you!" the Prince shouted. Hump-RE smiled calmly.
"No sire, I just think that we need to be slightly more cunning then randomly surging on to a planet and enslaving its population. We need a pretext."
"That's easy," said the prince, "they are defending the killer of one of our citizens!"
"Actually," Hump-RE said, "the prisoner suggest that they will not only try this Blossom they may also execute her."
The Prince was surprised. "That's crazy; they'll surely stand behind their strongest warrior! They can't put her to death!"
"Yes, I know most planets are run by the strongest person, but this planet has some democracies."
"Some?"
"Yes, there are actually some one hundred and ninety two separate states on this planet, all with different governments."
The Prince had heard enough. "That's rubbish!" he shouted. "No planet can function like that!"
"I never said that it functioned," Hump-RE replied, "that's just how it is."
"Are you sure you were using 'persuasive' enough techniques of interrogation?" the Prince asked.
"Yes," replied Hump-RE, "We gave him plenty of volts and a full dose of truth serum. He had smoke rising from his spikes and still he told us that."
"We need to improve our techniques," the Prince scowled, "that Hedgehog is too difficult to crack. How long until we reach this Earth?"
"Four days."
"Then we have that long to come up with a plan to make sure they get behind Blossom. Then we'll be able to explain our actions to the Senate."
"I'll get right too it sire," said Hump-RE.
Murdock chewed his pen. Eddy waited patiently. "Well?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," said Murdock. "I can defiantly work with what Blossom told you, and I do have a plan. What you must do now is not say anything to anyone. Okay?" He got up. Eddy did too.
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
"I'm going to talk to Blossom, and make sure she says nothing. Then I'm going to find out where the Bugle got their story from. If it came from Sonic the Hedgehog, I can get it thrown out before it even reaches court."
"How?" Eddy asked. Murdock smiled.
"Where in the constitution does it say that a hedgehog can give evidence in a murder trial?" With that he left. Eddy paused for a moment. That was perfect! If Boomer and Butch could keep there mouths shut, and the evidence was ignored (like it was initially) then they could cover it all up! Brilliant!
As long as Blossom's conscious allowed it. This worried him. What if she decided to get it all of her chest and tell them? What if she wanted to be with Brick now?
That thought depressed him, so he suppressed it. "EDWARD, MJ," he called upstairs, "THANKS FOR BEING SO GOOD THIS MORNING, LET'S MAKE SOME LUNCH!"
Presently, Edward arrived downstairs.
"Where's your sister?" asked Eddy.
"She went to school," said Edward bluntly. Eddy jumped.
"WHAT! I TOLD HER NOT TO!"
"You did?"
It then stuck Eddy hard in the face. He hadn't. He'd been worrying so much about Blossom that he only thought he had told his daughter to stay at home!
"Shit!" he screamed, and sprinted out the house and past the crowd of journalists. He needed to get MJ home before someone pushed her too far…
Okay, thanks for reading. I'm sorry this story is developing so slowly, but it is going somewhere I promise. It will probably be longer than mine normally are too. I'll try and get it going faster next chapter, but for now please review. Thanks.
