9. And Justice for Lex.

"Tell it to me again, Markus. I want to know where this case went completely off the rails. How many DNA samples are we talking about?"

"Five. There's the DNA found in the blood in the roof…"

"Check."

"…the blood from the remains found in Wayne Manor."

"Check."

"We have Superman's DNA sample from the hair in the Metropolis museum"

"Check."

"The sample logged into the computer banks of Gotham City PD; that's the one that matched the blood found on the roof of the Towers and Wayne Manor."

"Then there's the stuff pulled from the LexVests…"

"Which isn't DNA?"

"Right. It looks like it, on account of the polymer being used is essentially organic, but it's not kryptonian DNA."

"And then there's Batman's sample, which only matches the material from the LexVests." He kneaded his forehead. "You know, it struck me as unusual that Batman would have given Superman's DNA away, just in case there were matches, when Metropolis PD, the FBI and at least 3 more government organizations had it."

"So, what matches what?"

"Blood from the roof and blood from remains in Wayne Manor match the sample GCPD had and those match the hair from the museum. Neither of those match Batman's sample."

"And the LexVests?"

"They match Batman's sample and nothing else."

"Why did Batman give them a sample, then?"

"They said Batman feared the samples were fakes and he had the real deal."

"Figures. What did the egghead from Star Labs say to this?"

"He's apologetic as hell. He was running an older version of the analysis program and it made a mistake while compounding the genetic locus. He updated the software, ran the sample again, comparing it to the hair and it didn't match the LexVests."

"So the material from the LexVests is not Superman's DNA."

"It's an organic compound, highly complicated, with a name as long as your arm, but no, it's not."

AUSA Timmons felt weak at the knees. "Shit." He looked at the junior lawyer. "Here's Wonder Woman, handing me the case of the century, and the only thing I thoroughly checked was her breastplate. Markus, I should have checked the hell out of that evidence. I don't think I could have screwed myself harder if I tried."

"Sir, I have friends in the GCPD and they say Batman would never pull a stunt like that."

"They also look the other way when he showed up with a different Boy Wonder, so what's your point? He just showed up with a DNA sample no one else found anywhere. I'm going to be the one with egg on his face, telling the jury to disregard the cornerstone of my case."

"Sorry, sir."

"This was the big gun and now…we're not even shooting blanks. Dammit, Loring is raising all kinds of reasonable doubt with the witnesses we've scrounged up. It's one thing when Flash testifies after the whole Rogues Gallery laid waste to Central City in full regalia, laughing at the dead while calling out the Flash…but a whole different thing when the bald bastard didn't even jaywalk when Superman disappeared and when he died, he was giving the goddamn keynote speech at CalTech. Every alibi checks, every place has his ugly mug in the security tapes…"

"Maybe that's his mistake."

"EH?"

"When has Lex Luthor been that easy to find?"

"That gets us nowhere. He is a public figure and being in the limelight is not going to suddenly convince the jurors he's guilty. Plus the timestamps have not been altered. That's him in those places at those times. What else we got?"

"We're not convincing the juror with the DNA, we're missing witnesses, the ones we got have recanted...and we're trying tomorrow the Fortress…"

"Oh, yeah, that should score us some points." Markus said.

"We have a bunch of missing persons, but they can't all be traced back to Luthor, because not everyone worked in LexCorp, not everyone was involved with computers and not all of them vanished from Metropolis. Our case was more based on the physical evidence and the witnesses were an added bonus, because you know how flakey their testimony can be. But then the evidence turned to shit."

Timmons loosened his tie. "Dammit, we had a case. We had DNA, witnesses, a digital fingerprint, damning testimony…I thought it and it was airtight and ironclad. Now, it's leaking worse than a sieve."

He closed his eyes and pointed at the phone. "Get some take-out. We're in for another long night."

Early next morning, Timmons saw yet another ironclad witness torpedo his case. Jennifer Adler, Richie's widow, would simply not confirm anything said during the interviews. Loring picked up on this and what little testimony she could offer that would bolster his case, she'd toss it out with an objection.

And then it was her turn to cross.

"Mrs. Adler, first I want to say I'm sorry for the loss of your husband."

"Thank you."

"And I'm sorry for the loss of your child. How old was she?"

"Six."

"Would you mind telling us what happened to her?" Loring said, empathically.

"We lived in a tenth floor apartment and I went to take a shower. She managed to open the balcony window and she…fell." She closed her eyes and sobbed.

"When was this?"

"June 2012, two...no, three weeks before he was hired by LexCorp."

"I have the notes from the police officer on the day in question. Your husband kept saying 'he should have saved her. He's supposed to be our savior. Where was he?' Mrs. Adler, whom is your husband speaking of?"

She didn't answer.

"Is it Superman?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"When he was around, Superman dealt with an average of 27 crimes, 9 accidental falls and 4 suicides a day…" She held up her list, with the stationary of Metropolis Police Department. "It's well within the realm of possibility that, had he been around, he would have saved your daughter."

"Did this event have any change in your husband's behavior?"

Jennifer snapped. "You try losing a child and tell me if it doesn't change your behavior."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Adler. I'll rephrase…how did your husband feel about Superman?"

"Like every other Metropolitan: he loved him."

"Did he ever talk about him?"

"Yes, like I said, we're from Metropolis and even seeing him fly by just brightened your day. Once he saw him while he was running through Bessolo Boulevard. He caught a malfunctioning crane that would have flattened an MTA bus. He said it thrilled him to see how they got to live the rest of their lives because he was there."

"In your circle of friends and family, how many people have been directly or indirectly saved by Superman?"

"Oh, dear…I have to say quite a few. I'd have to say five…no, six of my friends –the Hell's Gate bridge collapse- and he rushed one of my uncles to the ER when a truck sideswiped his bike…the Metallo Rampage, the Terra Man Round-up…"

"So, Superman was there for them; for a lot of Metropolitans?"

"Yes."

"For your family and friends?"

"Right."

"But when it really counted for you and your husband, he didn't show up."

"Yes."

"Now, is it possible that your husband resented Superman for not being there for Sybil?"

Jennifer hesitated.

"Isn't it possible, Mrs. Adler, that he felt that Superman had let him down? That Superman failed him and his daughter?"

She shook her head.

"I can't begin to fathom the stress of losing a child, but isn't it possible that he drove himself into work, in a mental state that let him believe that somehow LexCorp was involved in this? Isn't it possible that, by blaming LexCorp, your husband was absolving Superman? Justifying his absence?"

"No…" her voice was but a whisper, barely picked up by the microphone.

"Mrs. Adler, what did your husband really say about Superman? What did he say to you, in the days after the accident?"

"I don't know. I don't remember."

"Didn't he say '"He should have been there. He should have saved her'?'"

Jennifer Adler's face broke into a rictus of pain as tears flowed from her eyes. "Yes." She covered her eyes with her hand and looked down, sobbing incoherently.

Jean moved closer, carrying a box of tissues. She asked in a mellow voice "Mrs. Adler, isn't it possible that, in his grief, your husband simply latched on to Mr. Luthor, his boss and at the time, the most powerful man he personally knew? In the place where he spent most of his waking hours? When the Metropolis Marvel failed him, isn't it possible that he just transferred his feelings to the other constant presence in Metropolis?

"Objection, Mrs. Adler is not a psychologist and she cannot have an opinion on Mr. Adler's mental state."

"Your Honor, it was her husband. Who is better than her, to know about his moods?"

"She may answer the question."

Jennifer dried her tears and tried to regain her composure, but failed. She sobbed. "Yes, it's possible."

"Mrs. Adler, one more thing…was your husband ever approached by Bruce Wayne?"

"Objection, relevance."

"Grounds for the defense, your honor."

"You have some latitude, miss Loring, but not that much."

"Mrs. Adler, was he ever approached by Bruce Wayne?"

"Yes, he was."

"When?"

"July. He invited us out for dinner at Dynasty."

"What did they talk about?"

"Mostly about tech. I didn't understand any of it."

"Did he offer your husband a job?"

"Yes. He said that, for all its work, LexCorp wasn't the best place to be. He offered to match his salary and give him a job at WayneTech."

"Interesting. Before working for LexCorp, did he apply to other places?"

"Yes. Kord, Queen, Star Labs."

"Did he apply to WayneTech?"

"Yes."

"And they only tendered an offer after he was employed by LexCorp. Mrs. Adler, I'm sure your husband was a very gifted, talented man, but why do you think Bruce Wayne himself came to talk to him?"

"Objection. Mrs. Adler is not an expert nor is she qualified to talk about Bruce Wayne's behavior."

"Sustained."

"Mrs. Adler, what else do you remember Bruce Wayne said in that dinner?"

"He said that things could get messy in LexCorp, and if he wanted out, he'd have a cushy new job at WayneTech. That LexCorp didn't deserve his brains."

"Didn't deserve his brains. What did your husband said about this offer? Did he think about it?"

"No, my husband was a very loyal man. He bristled when Wayne said he should keep his eyes and ears open. We talked about it and he liked what he had in LexCorp, what he could do there if given a chance."

"Mrs. Adler, how do you feel about Lex Luthor?"

"Mr. Luthor is a kind, wonderful man. After Richie died, he sent us the check for his life insurance and his stock options, along with a wonderful letter of encouragement. We lost Richie, but me and my daughters are set for life. When other companies pinch the pennies out of your hand, LexCorp has been generous and understanding to a fault."

"Thank you, Mrs. Adler. No further questions."

Lex smiled and nodded as Jennifer Adler left.

Benedict Timmons called his final witness.

"Dr. Edward Tyler, head of research for LexCorp."

"Dr. Tyler, how long have you been head of research at LexCorp?"

"Since June 16th, 2012."

"And why were you promoted?"

"After the rather tragic death of Dr. Markinson and his team, when the sabotaged generator exploded."

"Dr. Tyler, could you tell me the location of your laboratory?"

"Yes. It's in Site One, on the North Pole's research station currently under LexCorp control."

"That's right. Tell me, Dr. Tyler, what kind of work do you do at Site One?"

"We do highly advanced medical and energy source research. We're finding practical applications almost every day."

"Judging by the number of patents and medical trial permits LexCorp has filled in the past three months, I can see that. Now, what is it about Site One that has allowed your department to make such breakthroughs?"

"Are you kidding? It's a researcher's dream! It's packed to the gills with technology so advanced, it makes everything we've done as obsolete as cuneiform writing."

"What kind of technology is there?"

"Energy beams, energy projectors, advanced computers, crystal storage systems, plant life not native to our planet, gravity chambers, stasis pods…"

"Good, good. Now tell me, do you know who owns all those wonderful toys?"

"They're hardly toys, Mr. Timmons. We've had to be very careful handling everything."

"Just answer the question, Dr. Tyler. Who owns all of those items?"

"LexCorp does."

"Did you know that Site One was really Superman's Fortress of Solitude?"

"No, I didn't."

"So you didn't know you were in his Fortress, his sanctum sanctorum, his retreat from the world, ransacking his treasures?"

"Wait a minute; I didn't know it was Superman's place. I mean, who knew he had a place where he could kick back and hang his cape? I sure didn't."

"Dr. Tyler…"

"Did you know Superman had a Fortress?"

He glanced a second in Wonder Woman's direction before snapping back to Tyler. "That's hardly…"

"You didn't know either." He looked at the judge. "No one knew, and with good reason; I mean, the top of the Everest has 3G so you can tweet when you reach the summit. If people knew where Superman's home was, there would be a line from there to Tierra del Fuego. But no, we were not ransacking his treasures because we had permission to be there, only we knew it as an alien artifact repository."

"Alien artifact repository?"

"Yes. Sort of like a real life Area 51: stuff confiscated by the government from wannabe invaders, intergalactic troublemakers and paraphernalia taken from your garden variety mad scientists. Superman never figured into the equation."

"How did you find out about the place? Who told you?"

"We were taken there by Bruce Wayne, on behalf of the Wayne Foundation, well before we worked for LexCorp. Mr. Wayne told us he owned everything in Site One and he told us how to get in and out."

Timmons felt dizzy for a second and had to lean on the desk to keep from falling. "Can you prove any of that?"

"Yes. I kept copies of every document that passed through my hands." He patted his pocket and produced a flash drive.

"When did you find out it was Superman's Fortress?"

"When your people contacted me; if it hadn't been for that, I'd still think it was just a fancy warehouse."

"How did you end up working for Bruce Wayne?"

"We knocked on their door. I headed a private group called Cortes Research. We were a small group with big ideas and almost no cash. We approached the Wayne Foundation with a proposal they liked and they gave us a grant to do the research. Our results pleased Mr. Wayne very much, because no more than a year after that, we got a meeting with Mr. Wayne himself, telling us we had done a great job and that he was moving us to his special projects brand. He said he wanted our group to be working with LexCorp before 2012."

"Why?"

"I don't know what his end-game was, but Mr. Wayne felt an intense dislike for LexCorp. I'm sorry to say, but I just took the money and got lost in the science. At first, I passed the results to Wayne and LexCorp, but as time went on, I ditched Wayne. I'm sorry for that, Mr. Luthor."

"But why, why, why oh why would Wayne get involved in this?"

"Mr. Wayne was a man of many secrets, Mr. Timmons. Do you know what the subject of the first study we did for him was about?"

"No."

"It was about negating the Flash's frictionless aura using chemical means. Mr. Wayne was very big on finding ways to deal with everyone in the superhero community."

At this point, even Wonder Woman looked aghast. "Everyone?"

"Pretty much, yeah. We didn't lack resources or research material."

Timmons was clearly thrown out of balance, but he tried to regroup. "We're off-topic, Dr. Tyler. Please concentrate on the area we are talking about, which is LexCorp and the Fortress."

"It's all connected, Mr. Timmons." He pointed at the flash drive. "In here are all the memos, emails and studies we conducted on behalf of Mr. Wayne. There's the list of items contained in the Fortress, an interview with Superman stating quite clearly that the place and all its contents were to be used by Mr. Wayne in any way that he saw fit. I found that video when we finally got the mainframe from Wayne Enterprises, after the merger. I'm including the authorizations granted by the International Arctic Science Committee to conduct research near the Fortress."

Timmons saw another argument evaporate before his eyes. "Yes, that's because LexCorp had no permission to work in the Arctic Circle."

"That's right; Wayne Enterprises got them for Cortes Research. All the official papers were in our name, in order to keep Mr. Luthor in the dark. Mr. Wayne was very interested in putting LexCorp and Superman's Fortress together using our research group, for what purpose, I don't know. We approached LexCorp with the lure of the alien artifact repository and we requested funding. At first LexCorp wasn't convinced, but after the death of Dr. Markinson, their head of research, we were the ideal candidates. I'm sorry I couldn't say anything, but I had a very binding confidentiality contract with Mr. Wayne. I'm pretty sure my chances of working again in the scientific community are slim to none now, but I don't care. I'm not going to railroad Lex Luthor for some crooked scheme of Bruce Wayne's."

"No further questions, Your Honor." Timmons walked back to his seat.

"Dr. Tyler," Jean walked to the witness stand. "Was Superman part of the research ordered by Bruce Wayne?"

"Objection, your honor. We haven't had the chance to evaluate the evidence."

"Overruled, he was a witness for the prosecution. Dr. Tyler, answer the question."

"Yes. He came up with the idea of a beam that, in conjunction with kryptonite, would store kinetic energy in Superman's bones. The pressure would build past his breaking point and he'd explode within minutes of being dosed. Mr. Wayne wanted us to check the numbers and see if the project was feasible?"

"And was it feasible?"

"Yes, but it would have taken an obscene amount of money to make it real."

"What happened to that project?"

"He kept the blueprints and the prototype."

"How many projects like those did your team prepare?"

Tyler shifted in his seat, under Wonder Woman's withering gaze. "Well, this is kind of embarrassing…."

"How many?"

"At least two for each Justice Leaguer and one for every second and third stringer."

"And what did you do with them?"

"Wayne kept everything. He mentioned something about a warehouse in Gotham."

"How could you do that, how could you even conceive the idea of putting together those projects, when superheroes have saved the world many times over?"

"He said we needed to know how to stop them, in the event they went rogue. But let me tell you that we did not build death rays or killing beams. We worked the science behind them and we had small scale prototypes that couldn't possibly be used to inconvenience, let alone kill a cape."

"Non-lethal?"

"Yes."

"But could they be modified to be lethal?"

"With the sufficient know-how? Yes."

"No further questions."

"Mr. Timmons?"

Timmons and Markus were arguing in furious whispers.

"Mr. Timmons, are you ready to proceed?"

"and I'll be damned if this hero bullshit is going to tank me…"

"MR. TIMMONS."

Red faced, Timmons stood up from his chair. "I'm sorry, Your Honor; the prosecution rests."

"Miss Loring, are you ready to proceed?"

"Yes, your honor. Over the course of this trial, we've heard from the prosecution that man behind Superman's death is a man of wealth, of vast worldly connections; a man of science and a man of business, with a clear agenda regarding superheroes. The prosecution has tried to paint Mr. Luthor as that man, but we've unearthed enough evidence to discover who fits this profile to a T."

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the one man behind the death of Superman, and the cover-up, involving scientists, poached employees, backroom deals and secret facilities, the one who'd benefit the most from pinning the blame on Lex Luthor is none other than Bruce Wayne."

"Or, as the criminal world has known him for years: Batman."