Hey guys, and this is the eight chapter of The Last Avenger. Now, this is going to be a court hearing, and when he comes back home, in a few more chapters, he will meet a bunch more people, which, in AO3 at least, will explain why there are so many characters under this one story. Also, I'm going to add Violet Evergarden, both the character and the story, to this story.

Tony was good with his word. Within one month, I was set to have a retrial, something called an appeal, and with the current evidence, both Tony and his lawyer swore to get me out of jail.

After the days of discovery, and having the testimony, the cross examination began.

As I said that I would say only the truth, and nothing but the truth, Emma's words came to mind.

'You can cry. You can feel frustrated. You can be mad. That doesn't make you weak. Giving up makes you weak.'

Those words rang clearly in my head, however, and continued to ring, to the point where I spaced out.

"Now, Mr. Sudhakar, is that your last name?"

I jumped back into reality, and I nodded, not entirely sure what I agreed to.

Then, I nodded again, and the opposing counsel was first.

Which meant the opposing lawyer was first.

"Well, Mr. Sudhakar, did you kill or hurt anyone during that incident?"

"Um, no, I don't think so."

My memory was blurry during that time, but I responded with what I thought was the truth.

"Did you, without a permit, drive to your house in the District of Columbia, from Langley High School?"

My lips formed a thin line, but I answered.

"Um, yes, I did."

"And you did that because your parents messaged you at around 1:36 pm, about how they were proud of you?"

"Um… yeah." As he tore through more and more of my story, I started feeling more guilty of myself.

"Then, did you drive at above the speed limit and break multiple signs and run over the sidewalk to drive to your house in the District of Columbia?"

'Why? If I wasn't so stupid, I wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.'

"Uh… yeah." I said for the second time, but my eyes watered.

'Why was I so stupid? Why couldn't I have waited?'

"So, you broke traffic laws, and illegally drove through the streets of Great Falls, and left the campus of the school, just because your parents said they were proud of you, and wished you the best?"

The last few words nearly broke me.

A few tears leaked from my eyes, but I nodded, not even having to speak.

"No further questions, your honor." I continued tearing up, but the prosecutor didn't care. He just retreated to his seat.

"Now, presenting the Plaintiff side."

"Now, Mr. Sudhakar, uh, can I call you Rahul?"

I looked up, and my lawyer had a very empathetic face. It radiated compassion.

"Um, sure…" I choked up, but I took a deep breath, and tried to stay calm.

I didn't realize that I was holding my breath, but I controlled my breathing.

"Now, you said that, when you were in the gym, for your event, that your adopted sister, Mohini Sudhakar, had disappeared in front of your eyes, correct?"

"Um, yeah." I swallowed again.

"So, you are very close to your adopted sister, correct? It must have been devastating to see her disappear like billions of others have, right?"

"Yeah… it was..." I continued crying, but I still looked them all in the eyes.

"When you went to your house, you didn't find their bodies, only finding their phones shattered across the floor, yes?"

I nodded, not having the strength to speak yet.

He softly said. "Did it hurt, losing your family for the third time? Losing them to another murderer?"

I had told them of my previous story, and my life. They were horrified by what I had gone through, but they convinced me that, regardless of what I did, I would get out of prison.

But the question was, did I deserve to?

I nodded.

This time, I also answered.

"Yeah, it was really… really hard…"

I continued my set of tears, and I looked at the judge. He looked… grimly at me, on his right side.

"No further questions, your honor. I would not want to punish my client any more."

The judge nodded, and he said, "We will have to resume the trial tomorrow."

He banged his gavel, and said,

"Trial adjourned."

I moved myself from the podium, and, with Tony's lawyer, I exited the court.

"Now, I'm sure you will get out of prison by the week. Just… during the week, I'm going to have to ask you about your family. Is that alright?"

I could only look down in embarrassment.

"Why?"

"Huh?"

My voice was choked up, like someone had my neck in a vice.

Except the only pain I felt was in my chest.

"Why do you act so kind to me? Both you and Tony?"

He chuckled as he escorted me back to the police officer's car.

"Well, Tony, when he saw you, he saw a little bit of himself, and you reminded him of what he was like. That's what he told me."

He looked at me. "Me, I was transferred around the foster care system, but Tony's father, he helped me a lot when I was young, and he inspired me. So, when I got my bar in criminal defence, Tony," He chuckled.

"This was when I was getting beers to celebrate passing law school, in 2013, he asked me, if he would ever need my help, would I help him? And of course, I said yes. Then he hung up. I was confused, of course, but I pushed the thought aside."

"He hadn't called me until a month ago, when he brought up the conversation again. Then, he asked me if I could defend someone in court. Not him, but you."

He stopped right before the stairs that led down to the parking lot, and the police officer's car.

I stopped on the second to last stairstep, and no longer did I look down meekly.

I turned around to face "my" lawyer.

"So, that's how I ended up defending you."

He gave off a comfortable vibe, and I couldn't help but feel more at ease with him.

He… was calming.

"What's your name?" I asked him, looking up.

"Me? I'm Bert Hindel. Everyone calls me Ber thought so you can call me that too."

A smile formed on my eyes and mouth.

He made me smile.

Something very few people could do.

"Okay, Ber, thank you. And also, can you thank Tony for me?"

"Of course!"

He left me, and I felt… better.

The fear had left me.

So had the anger.

And so had the pain.

'Thank you, Ber.'

It wasn't a very long drive to the prison from where I was. It took only half an hour.

However, that state of bliss didn't last very long.

When I re-entered the jail, I saw… the same three men who nearly raped me, now looking more pissed off than ever.

My smile dropped, and fear started to invade me again.

The guard, right before tossing me in, said, "If you want to stay in here… I'll get someone to get some food to

you."

I was scared, but I wasn't about to let my fear conquer me.

'I will… come out of here alive. I will… become strong everyone!'

"No. If they want to hurt me, let them do it. They won't be able to."

He chuckled. "Well, maybe."

He tossed me into my cage, and I went back to exercise before dinner.

However, he stopped, and looked at me.

I looked up while doing my pushups, so I could see the… uncertainty in his eyes.

Suddenly, he opened the cage.

"Kid, mind if I can talk to you?"

I stopped doing my pushups, and I was only at nine pushups.

I stood up, and shrugged.

"Sure."

I sat on my bed, and he sat with his legs behind him.

He looked up at me.

"How did you, a kid, get into a prison like this?"

"What do you mean?"

He looked down.

"This prison is for people who have murdered and raped people. These are for people who have done evil… evil things…"

"Don't you guys have a file on me or something?"

He looked up again, this time, annoyance spiking his expression.

"This isn't like some of your movies, kid. I'm a guard, not a high ranking officer, where I can just look at your file and know what's your rap sheet."

'He… called me kid again. Not… brat...'

He looked like he was going to go on a rant, but I raised my hand, and he stopped.

"I… drove illegally to my house, being the idiot I was, after my sister… disappeared in front of me…"

Tears, for some reason, didn't come out of my eyes. Maybe it was because I was heavily dehydrated. Maybe because I ran out of tears.

Maybe it was because I didn't feel the pain anymore.

"My mom and Dad were… telling me that they hoped I would be well, and they wished the best for me. I… rushed home, taking my sister's car, and I drove really fast back home. The streets were filled with… cars, some of them crashed, others not, but everyone was… sad. I… couldn't see it at the time."

I remembered the faces of adults and children that were alive crying, screaming.

I looked down.

"Now… I can hear them all clearly."

A dream of mine came back to me, about Levi.

What he felt during his friend's death.

"Why? That's what they all asked. Why their family, or friends, instead of… them? Why couldn't it have taken-"

"Kid."

His voice was hoarse.

I looked at him again, and a few tears came down his face.

He rubbed them away, and sighed, trying to keep all the tears in.

"You've… gone through shit."

That made me chuckle.

"Yeah. I guess I have."

"What makes you keep going?"

He looked like he was asking for himself.

"I… remember their voices. My sister, telling me I am free, my mom, telling me I can do it, and my dad, forcing me to stand up, despite the pain."

I took a deep breath.

"They all tell me… to keep moving forward. To live, to be free, and to… avenge them."

His eyes widened as I spoke.

"They… do?"

I nodded.

"My sister, in particular, keeps telling me to stop being such a crybaby."

I sadly chuckled.

He chuckled alongside me.

Then, he stood up.

Pressing his hands against the wall of the cell, he pushed himself up.

"Anyways, kid…"

His mind looked like he had blanked out.

"What is your name, anyways?"

I stood up, nearly the same height as the guard.

"My name… is Rahul, and I will… avenge my family, along with all the families that have lost their loved ones, when I get out of here."

He seemed shocked by my assertion, but then put a smile on his face.

"Good luck with that… Rahul."

He left me in my cage, where I prepared for hell once again.

"I will… avenge you all."

I slipped a small razer blade into my fist.

"No matter what it takes."

And that's the eight chapter. Now, thanks for the people who have read up to this point. If you want to see what will become important to the series going forward, try reading the previous one shots that are linked to the series, like The Cost Of Freedom, Looking Towards You All, and Keep Moving Forward. Those are all stories that will become important as time goes on. Anyways, thanks for supporting me, subscribe/follow if you want to keep being reminded of it, and suggest what I should do to improve the story.