Mega Man Battle Network: ReInstalled

by HatOnFire

A retelling of Battle Network 1. Lan Hikari is a high school delinquent, but with a strong sense of justice. When a hacking group called World Three plans on destroying Net society, he takes them on with his Net Navi, MegaMan.EXE! However, they might be too much for them to handle alone, and he'll need more than Net Battling skills. Jack in! Mega Man, Execute!

24. Traps and Turnabouts, Part 4

Chapter 24- Traps and Turnabouts, Part 4

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The following is a fan-made work of fiction. Certain original characters made by myself will be claimed under my ownership. However, I do not nor will I ever claim to own Mega Man Battle Network.

Mega Man Battle Network © Capcom

Reddington Bluemann, Phyllis Tina, Ripley Marduk, Myth Man, Bobby and Helena Crosby, Desiree Domin, and Castiel Lex-Ordo © HatOnFire/Me

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'How did this happen to you?' Mrs. Crosby stared at Mayl's still body in the hospital bed, hearing the faint beeping from the machines. She was resting, ignorant to all that's happened so far.

"Thank you for coming, Mrs. Crosby," Roll bowed from her screen, "It means a lot for you to take the time to do so."

"You helped my family and I wish to help you," She murmured, "You heard about the trial, right?"

"Yes," Roll shifted uncomfortably, "It's a WWW trick. They were caught in the act, but Lan's paying for it."

"It's terrible. I saw Dr. Hikari, you know."

"How's he taking this?" Roll asked.

"As well as a parent would when their child is charged," Mrs. Crosby knew how poorly she would react, "Some government agents are keeping him from leaving the hospital."

"Typical," The pink Navi hated what was going on, "At least Lan and Mayl grew up with parents and guardians who were around."

"You speak as though you wish you had that."

"Yeah, my creator was… something," Roll felt crummy inside, "There's so much about myself I don't know…"

"I'm sorry, but what is that?" Mrs. Crosby turned up the volume on the TV, seeing live coverage of an ongoing event.

"We can barely see the figure from here," A girl reporter in a frog-like hat told everyone, sitting in a helicopter with a cameraman. "But there's no question! It's the same kabuki woman that caused chaos in Den Town last week!"

"Kabuki?!" Roll exclaimed, recognizing the details she heard about from her human friends. "It's Madd!"

"Oh no…" Mrs. Crosby gasped, "What is she doing now?!"

"Apparently, this woman is fleeing the sceen with someone in her grasp!" The reporter informed them as they showed viruses flying around Den Town! "Furthermore, this is happening! Viruses are flying through town!"

"It must have something to do with the trial!" Roll guessed, "But what can we do?!"

Unbeknownst to her, there was slight movement from Mayl's hand as she slowly opened her eyes…!

01001101 01001101 01000010 01001110

It was over an hour since court reconvened, and Count Zap's testimony with Prosecutor Ito's logic broke down Lan for a moment. However, Lan achieved his second wind, and is prepared to make a break in the case.

"You need Count Zap to stay?" The judge wondered, "What else can he offer?"

"There's more to his testimony than what he said," Lan replied, "It's the most important part of this case."

"Wow, you hold me in such high esteem!" Count Zap's lights on his suit and overall person shone brightly. It took some self-control on Lan's part to keep himself from socking his dad's attacker.

"Please allow me to do this," He turned his attention to Judge Lex-Ordo, "I believe I can explain the evidence against me."

The gallery whispered with doubt, but Lan's supporters were silent with anticipation.

[BGM: Trance Logic, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney]

'Count Zap had an alibi during the entire event,' The defendant remembered the chain of events Ito presented, 'Right now, that's what he has everyone thinking. But I can shoot his alibi down if I present another possibility.'

"Hey, Lan," Mega Man called him, "Can you look at this?"

"What's up?" Lan checked on him.

"I've been watching Zap's performance from the cameras," He explained, "I'm looking back at them to see what I've missed. Something was strange once I saw him on the stand."

"Define strange," Lan made another small quip, "Remember who we're dealing with?"

"Look, there he is," Mega Man showed his operator the footage of the count strumming his guitar with a grin on his face. He pointed at his handling of the guitar: right hand on the body with the left hand on the neck. "This is how he held it in his show."

"I see," His partner didn't think too much of it at the moment, but something interesting came to mind. "Wait, he's holding it like that? But when he was on the stand…"

"He was holding it left-handed," Mega finished what he was gonna say, "I don't think he's ambidextrous, though."

"Hey, could you bring up something else?" Lan questioned, "There's something about what he's wearing that I'm not sure of…"

"Okay," Mega paused the video to find the inconsistency. "Do you see it?"

"Yeah," Lan nodded, "But there's one more thing I need to know."

"How he got the Electricity Program out?"

"The sensors would've picked up on that if it got outside the building, so how did he do it?"

"The jamming array in the Copy Bot wouldn't be enough if the program's signature is more detectable than we think. The sabotage in the plant's mainframe also wasn't going to last forever."

"And if the Copy Bot was involved," Lan thought as hard as he could, "Then… Maybe, just maybe, this is how he did it…!"

"I'm not sure if we should bother, honestly," The judge was ready to end things right now, "The case against the defendant is clear. I can't see any misrepresentation in the facts."

"W-Wait," Lan said, "Just wait!"

"Your Honor, allow Mr. Hikari to do this," Prosecutor Ito suddenly requested, "We should hear him out, at least."

"For the sake of reaching a fair verdict, I will," Judge Lex-Ordo granted permission, "But if nothing new comes from this, remember what is waiting for you."

"Thank you, Your Honor," Lan nodded his head in gratitude, "And you, Mr. Ito. Now, if everyone could follow along with me, I want you to visualize the restaurant for a moment. Even you, Count Zap."

"Hmph," Count Zap huffed, forced to play along.

"You see a stage right in front of you in the dark," Lan pressed on, "Gold lights shine from one specific person, so much that you could partially see that person's body. It's Count Zap, right there."

"All that proves is that I was onstage the whole time," Count Zap shrugged, "Nothing strange there."

[BGM: Search - Core 2001, CADENZA -Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney-]

"It wouldn't be, no," Lan moved to the guitar case next to the witness stand, "But it would if there were two of you at the Government Complex that night."

"Are you serious?!" Zap laughed, "You think I had a twin?!"

"More like a body double," The accused smirked, "Or better yet, a Copy Bot that imitated you in every way."

The count kept silent, but he never lost that grin of his.

"There was a theft a month or so ago at SciLab," Lan explained, "Among the things that were taken was a Copy Bot, designed for Navis to interact with humans in the real world."

"Just a minute!" Ito arrived on the same train of thought as Lan did, "Mr. Hikari, you can't claim that's what happened!"

"But it makes sense since the WWW's involved!" Lan countered, "They took it and programmed it and had it take on the count's likeness, giving him a strong alibi for everything!"

The gallery murmured a little bit, causing the judge to drop his gavel once to silence them.

"When I saw you in the office's lobby, you had quite a large guitar bag. That's natural, but it also makes the perfect hiding place for Copy Bot parts."

"That's absurd," Zap crossed his arms, "There's no space to put the whole thing in here."

"You also had your other bag to store pieces of the robot in," Lan pointed out, "The microphone bag. You could assemble it and take it apart when needed to. You are an electrical engineer, after all."

"You give me too much credit," The aging blonde man refuted him, "Just because I'm a member of the SciLab board, that doesn't make me a scientist. Most of the men there are bureaucrats with no real engineering experience."

"You not only had the skills, but also the opportunity," Lan stated, "Being a board member gives you instant access and a chance to steal the Elec Program at a high-class party."

"Oh, come on," Zap rolled his eyes as Lan handled the guitar bag, opening it up and knocking on the padding to indicate a soft noise.

"I don't think the guitar Mr. Zap played just now was the one from two nights ago," Lan put the case down after being done with it, "Both it and the Elec Program must be gone. But you couldn't get rid of this case without drawing attention to yourself. Ingenious, really."

"You have quite the imagination."

"A built-in computer inside a guitar is the norm, and the complex has sensors to detect if the program was removed. The sensors actually run on auxiliary power, so they can't be turned off without shutting down power to the whole building. The program itself also has a special signal it gives off, no matter what."

Lan knocked his knuckles on the case, which rang out a slight clang in it.

"But it can't be found if it's in a bag lined with insulators."

"It's not strange for a gig bag to be made of nylon," The count smiled, "It's a natural material."

"True, but EM signals can be blocked by this stuff," Lan took his PET from the dock on the defense bench, placing it inside the case and zipping it up. "Mr. Ito, can your Navi try to contact Mega Man?"

"Go ahead, Judge Man," Ito obliged him, proceeding with this experiment.

A few sounds came from the prosecutor's PET, but all they were was the sound of a connection trying to be established.

"Mr. Ito, I can't contact that gent," A baritone voice revealed, "T's like he's but an apparition!"

Lan opened the case up, pulling Mega Man out of it.

"You're under oath, Mega Man," He said for the record, "Did you receive a call from Mr. Ito?"

"No," Mega Man shook his head, "I tried to dial a number while I was in, though. Did Ms. Tina get my call?"

Lan looked to the gallery, silently wanting an answer from the woman with cat-eye glasses at the front.

"A call?" Ms. Tina whispered, having her Navi check her call log. "If you did call, I didn't get it."

For good measure, Mega Man inserted his attempted call into the court record, proving a clear fact for everyone.

"It was just like downstairs in the restaurant," Lan explained, "A connection allows PETs a line to the net. You can't connect with a severed link. Even worse, that whole floor is made of metal, and it's underwater. Cut off from the surface, it's a deathtrap."

He moved back to his desk, crossing his arms and staring down the count, who was sweating a little.

"You were on the SciLab board, so you must've convinced everyone to hold the event there. Who would've guessed?"

"T-This is…" Count Zap covered his left eye with a fearful expression, letting his right eye dart around. "Why are you accusing me? I didn't do anything to you…!"

"Mr. Hikari," Ito jumped to his defense, "Just because you're making decent points, that doesn't give you the right to intimidate the witness."

"Besides, how can you think I wasn't on the stage?" Zap growled.

"Just look at the footage on that night," Lan had his friend bring up the camera's video of the performance, "Watch Zap closely."

Everyone did so, seeing something quite peculiar.

"He's playing with his right hand, but didn't he play with his left hand a while ago?" The judge questioned.

"Count Zap, raise your right wrist," Lan commanded.

"Why?" The count twitched, holding his light bulbs as they glowed.

"Because it's where your watch is," The defendant placed his arms on his chest, "You're left-handed, after all. But in the video…"

"AHH!" Ito cried out on impulse, "The watch! It's on his left wrist!"

Everyone in the room exclaimed in near unison, questioning what it all meant. All Zap did was stand there in a cold sweat.

"I don't think you can explain why your watch is on your dominant wrist," Lan grinned, "Even if you claim you're ambidextrous."

"W-Well…" Zap nervously chuckled, "Y-You see… I felt like being right-handed that night…"

"Then explain the thunderbolt on the lid. It should still look the same, right?"

"Ugh…" The count couldn't hide that expression on his face, realizing he was caught in his lie.

"Look at the two again," Lan went on, "You'll notice the watches are mirrored. In fact, so is the suit he's wearing!"

Zap looked down to avoid seeing all the eyes of the gallery on him.

"Count Zap's mission to steal the Elec Program also called for trapping everyone down there. It would provide him with an alibi if he couldn't keep control, but it's also to watch everyone asphyxiate so there were no witnesses. When that failed, he made use of his tools to attack my father and set me up. He's the one working with WWW; he's the mastermind!"

"W-What… is…?" Zap covered his face, acting all frightened and horrified.

But just then, he grinned maniacally while his visible pupil dilated! He brought his hands down next, twitching his fingers erratically.

Lan grit his teeth, bracing his fist on the bench. He thought he was seeing red electricity shoot from his left eye, with a yellow spark looming in place of his pupil! And then, he heard the laughter of an insane asylum patient.

[BGM: The Truth Revealed, The Great Ace Attorney]

"GAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

"Whoa!" A gasp escaped Lan's lips, feeling a terrible sense of unease. Everyone else in the courtroom made similar sounds, nearly frightened by the change in demeanor.

"How unbelievable is that?!" He yelled, "Me, a WWW agent?! A traitor to my country?! Oh-ho-ho, this is so wild I wanna SCREAM! MY! LUNGS OUT!"

"This is getting a little weird," Mega Man observed from his PET, "But this might be the real Count Zap."

"Hey, kid!" Zap shouted, "You think I'm with WWW? Well, you're wrong! The robot's mine, okay?! Thanks SO MUCH for causing such a huge stink over this! You had it out for me since I got up here, I know it!"

"Q-Quiet down, Mr. Zap," The judge begged instead of commanded, likely out of fear.

"Speak up, sonny!" Zap opened his hand and raised it up to one of his ears, "I can't HEAR YOU!"

"There is no need to shout," Ito calmly made an order of his own, "Whatever you're admitting to, speak now or you'll be held in contempt."

"If I'm in contempt, there goes that vigilante's case," Zap murmured, "It's not a bad idea…"

"Hold it!" Lan bellowed, dropping his hands on his bench. "I need to know why he did it! Let him speak!"

Sensing the desperation in his voice, Ito yielded.

"Eh, why not?" Zap shrugged, smiling like the Cheshire cat. "So, I got a little bit rusty in my guitar playing, see? I was told to do a show, and I wanted to play my guitar. But I was so bad at it! Thanks to the Copy Bot I owned, though, I could look like I was still in my prime!"

"You stole a Copy Bot from SciLab!" Lan argued, "It's government property!"

"I received the Copy Bot as a gift from the Board a few years ago when it came out!" Zap sneered, "Therefore, it's mine!"

"Mr. Hikari," Ito whispered, "Copy Bot serial numbers are present on the back of the chest. But it's scraped off here."

"You see?!" Zap yelled, "That little brat is setting me up! He knows he can't prove someone else did it because he's the one!"

"But the serial number is scraped off!" Lan fired back, "That just makes you more suspicious!"

"I never did anything to that assembly line number! You're the one setting me up!"

"How do you explain the metal in your bag?!" Lan yelled, "You put that there because you were worried the nylon wouldn't be enough to block the program's signal!"

"Alright, force a man to point out his problems, why don't you?! My guitar's computer has been malfunctioning, see? This happened before the night started! It's been emitting signals and sounds from it, so I got my insulated bag. I tuned it in the car so my guitar wouldn't do anything bad."

"What an excuse," Lan shook his head, "You knew about those sensors before the heist!"

"I know because I helped build them!" The count argued, "It was a few years ago! Helping out like that contributed to me getting my Copy Bot!"

"Speaking of which, why was it in the trash chute?"

"You know why!" Zap roared, "You hijacked it so Mega Man could take the program, after all!"

"What?!" Lan reeled back in shock, still being accused.

"Both of you," The judge dropped his gavel on the sound block to restore order, "Behave or face removal."

"Humph," Zap crossed his arms in a huff, directing a sneer to Lan.

"The Blue Avenger was right there," Lan continued, giving himself a new moniker. "His saving my father is what caused everyone to suspect me and Mega Man!"

"Blue Avenger?" One of Ito's eyebrows rose up, "Why call Mega Man that?"

"It's not Mega Man!" Lan told the truth somewhat, "It's some other guy in blue! People saw him a week ago when WWW attacked Den Town!"

Lots of people spoke aloud, but this time, they were beginning to side with Lan.

"That's true!" Ms. Mari spoke up, "I saw him myself!"

"Wasn't there something similar that happened a month ago, too?" One man questioned.

"My sister saw a huge thing try to destroy the restaurant she and her friends were in!" A young woman exclaimed, "But a man in blue stopped it!"

"What are you all saying?!" The count bellowed, shutting up everyone in the courtroom. "He's talking out his butt, just like every snot-nosed punk from his generation! Lazy, manipulative, entitled punks, every one of them!"

'If only I had a mirror to show him when he said that,' Lan thought to himself, increasingly ticked off.

"The police were attempting to clear the audio of when they met this Blue Avenger," Ito told, "With a recording of Mega Man's voice patterns, we attempted settling the matter. But the audio is too scrambled for a voice analysis."

"H-He's with WWW!" Zap stammered, "He took over my Copy Bot and used it to get the heat off him!"

"Then testify about that," Judge Lex-Ordo murmured, "And it better be the truth. You're looking at perjury."

"Alright," Zap sneered, continuing to have that wicked spark over his left eye. "Truthfully, I used my Copy Bot to create another me. I had it bring my PET with my other stuff to perform that night. Lights go out, come back on, and we all go upstairs. I realize I left my PET behind on accident, so my robot goes back. That's when I lost contact with it. I'm sure I was hacked by that kid!"

'What am I going to do?' Lan pondered his next move, 'The only way to dispel all doubt is to prove Zap's in WWW.'

"On the surface, it makes sense," His Honor observed what he heard, "The defendant has a history of committing offenses on top of being an unlicensed Net Battler. It would be easy to end the trial here, but there's too many questions. Now, two scenarios are present."

"The witness claims his Copy Bot was hacked by the defendant to cover his escape once he was caught assaulting his father," The prosecutor said one of those scenarios before looking to Lan, "Your counterargument?"

"Count Zap tore his Copy Bot apart to hide his using it," Lan spoke, "He grabbed his guitar case with the Elec Program inside it, sneaking out."

"Interesting theory," Ito thought.

"Can I leave?" Count Zap murmured with a frown, snuffing that spark out. "I'm tired of being up here, judged by all of you."

"Take it on the chin if you're a man," Lan crossed his arms, putting his plan into action. "We're almost done."

"There were pieces of broken circuit boards in the robot," Mega Man chimed in, "But Lan, there's something strange in them."

"What?" The juvenile teen looked at his PET, seeing the display show a picture of some individual pieces. "Hey… what's that doing there?"

"He must've hoped the furnace would burn it…" Mega Man guessed with a whisper.

"Well, I just got a good idea. I hope it works."

"Good luck, Lan," Mega Man flashed him a thumbs up.

"You admit to having your Copy Bot create an image of you," Lan wanted clarification, "What went wrong?"

[BGM: Cross Examination - Allegro 2007, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney]

"Technical bugs," Zap replied, "The blasted thing relied on several programs to mimic my guitar style, but I made some rookie mistakes. I repaired its circuit boards, but that affected that holographic thingamajig."

"Don't call it that," Lan shook his head with a quirked mouth, "You know what a holographic generator is. Anyway, how'd you operate it?"

"It followed preprogramed inputs, responding to people while in character," Zap sneered. "Its ground-penetrating array helped me see what went on. And I admit, I made a call to the police when I saw panic."

"After it came upstairs," The accused hypothesized, "You knew you had to dispose of it to complete the frame-up."

"Go through all that trouble to destroy what I owned?" The count crossed his arms with a foul look, "Sounds like something you'd do."

"Hacking into a SciLab robot would be difficult," Lan ignored him, "You must've tried making it more hackproof."

"It's a SciLab product. It's supposed to be hackproof. But considering their track record…"

"Where were you when you were operating the Copy Bot?"

"In my car, operating it," Zap was feeling miffed, "Duh."

"So you don't really have an alibi."

"Neither do you! Or do you need to go back to the video of you pulling the switch?!"

"That footage was a trick meant to confuse everyone," Lan tried justifying it, "And that WWW message supposedly in my PET was staged."

"And everyone's just gonna believe that? You're on trial for attacking your dad and almost killing everybody!"

"And I'm continuing to say it wasn't me. I didn't even have the items to use the Copy Bot's jamming signal."

"Oh, yes you did!" Zap impatiently shouted, "You had the floor plans, WWW's support, and even the decoding tool they used to hack the systems!"

"Huh?" Lan blinked, feigning ignorance. "No, I didn't."

"Yes, he does," The judge agreed with Zap, "I can confirm that it's in the Court Record."

"See?!" Zap stuck his arm out, gesturing to Lan, "He used that malicious decoder to hack my Copy Bot! He did it, case closed! Game over, yeah!"

As the count cackled with glee, oblivious to a key fact, Lan smiled and shouted…

"Objection!"

Zap's world stopped on him, seeing everyone around him staring, either lost or surprised.

[BGM: Investigation/Pursuit - Cornered, CADENZA -Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney-]

'I got you now, Count Zap,' Lan thought, 'Time to face the light.'

"Go for it, Lan," Mega Man grinned.

"You claimed I'm with WWW because of the malicious code breaker in my PET," He voiced what he just said, "It's lined with WWW's signature programming."

"Yes…?" The count wasn't entirely sure why everyone was silent, but he put it together immediately, sweating and turning white as a sheet. "Ah…!"

"Here's the thing," Lan nodded, "Mr. Ito, His Honor, the police, and I knew that. That fact was never mentioned, despite being in the Court Record."

Zap gulped as Lan slammed a hand on the desk.

"But you knew too, Count Zap," He pointed the finger at him, "You knew this whole time!"

"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" Zap squeezed his bulbs so hard, the electricity started shocking him in turn!

"Order, order, order!" Judge Lex-Ordo banged his gavel when people started clamoring among themselves.

"To ensure my arrest," Lan was arriving to the end the conclusion, "You had your Navi sneak in my PET to plant that decoder along with some incriminating stuff. It could only have been when I was in the Power Room, fighting with you."

"W-What are you talking about?!" Zap denied everything with all his might, "I was never down there!"

"I got locked in a room during our scuffle, but Chaud and my Dad were on the same floor," Lan pushed on, "You got them to split up, sneaking up on my Dad and knocking him out. You fled once I got out, and Chaud suspected me. You couldn't have scripted a better fall guy."

"Hold on one minute!" Zap slammed his fist on the stand, "You say I fled the scene of the crime?! But I couldn't have gone to the stairs or elevator! Cops were coming down!"

"But you did escape," Lan smiled, "Thanks to the trash chute!"

"HRRKKK!" The count felt something rise in his throat.

"It's a convenient passage, really. With a certain tool, you could climb down or up when needed, without being seen!"

"You must be joking!"

"Objection," Ito doubted him, "There's no evidence to support something illogical."

"But you have the proof," Lan walked over to Ito's bench with confidence, "It's in the Copy Bot circuit board pieces."

"Show me," The prosecutor allowed him leeway, curious of what he's thinking.

"Mega Man noticed something off among this pile," Lan stated, examining the pieces with a photo. "It ties into how Count Zap got out. I saw it once before when I had snuck in the Waterworks."

"Snuck?!" The judge cried, "Then, you're confessing to trespassing on complex grounds!"

"A-Anyway…" Lan felt he was going to kick himself for that later… "Here!"

Lan lifted the small bag up, revealing a certain chip in the courtroom!

"A Synchro Chip!" Dr. Froid couldn't help that outburst, clearly not expecting that, of all things, to be found in a Copy Bot.

People in the gallery started to get confused by all this, and who can blame them?

'What…?' Commissioner Keifer sweated a little, 'Why is that in the robot?'

"You, sir!" The judge boomed his voice, "You're out of order!"

"Objection!" Lan retorted, "Please, Your Honor! He knows exactly what this chip is! He's used it before!"

"Is this true?" Ito questioned while the count shot daggers at the Waterworks director.

"Y-Yes, it is," Dr. Froid admitted, "The WWW gave me that chip to sabotage the Waterworks in exchange for my family. Lan Hikari saw it with me."

"What does it do?" The judge wondered.

"Excuse me, but I must stop the proceedings right here," Commissioner Keifer stood up to interrupt him, "This is a matter of national security."

"This whole trial is a matter of national security," Ito fired back, "And to ensure Lan Hikari's guilt or innocence takes precedence."

"I don't care what else the government has to hide," Lan scowled at the commissioner, "I need answers."

"You can't use this chip," Keifer uttered, "Not as evidence."

"The Synchro Chip lets a human takes on the powers of a Navi!" Dr. Froid quickly yelled with no regrets, shocking everyone in the courthouse.

"You fool…" Keifer slunk down to his seat in defeat.

"What?!" The judge exclaimed, "How fictitious!"

"It's real, believe me," Lan nodded with a smile, "If it's okay with the court, I'd like Dr. Froid to demonstrate as a cooperative witness."

"G-Gimme a break!" Zap scoffed, "It's just a chip in the robot! I put it in there myself!"

"You'll forgive me for being dubious," Prosecutor Ito shot his claims down, "Your Honor, let's entertain this notion."

"He has the court's attention!" The judge announced as the director came up to the center, watching Lan carefully insert the Synchro Chip in the PET, using the bag to avoid getting his fingerprints on it.

"Ice Man, enter Autopilot Mode!" Froid shouted, watching his device glow until he was completely covered by it, transforming before everyone's eyes!

"S-Seiji…" Mr. Crosby whispered as the teachers next to him were in as much awe as he was. Before they all knew it, Froid had assumed the identity of C. F. Ice Man.

Everyone gasped in amazement, chattering about the elephant in the room.

"W-What is this?!" Zap grit his teeth, "I-I can't… even…!"

"Your Honor," C. F. Ice Man began, "You have my sincerest apologies for freezing the Waterworks and for not speaking out about this chip. And as Lan says, there is a Blue Avenger out there."

"T-Thank you…" The judge got a handkerchief for his sweating face, "What's this… power called?"

"Cross Fusion," The director responded, "I will unfuse now, so to speak."

"This should clear me of the assault of my father," Lan jumped back on topic, "This should also prove the stun gun was planted since my father was electrocuted by Count Zap in Cross Fusion! He even said his prints were on it!"

"Cross Fusion, Schmoss Fusion!" Zap looked like he was at his wit's end, "Many chips look alike! If you say I did it, then how could I have gotten the Elec Program out?!"

"Eh?" Lan almost forgot he needed to have an argument for that…

"As a performer, you take risks!" Mega Man proclaimed, shocking everyone with another bombshell. "The program's been with you all along!"

"HRRRRRRR!" Zap tightened his grip on his bulbs as more electricity shot out around him.

"All along?!" Ito was stumped until he figured out what the Navi was saying, "Wait!"

"Lan overthought it at the time!" Mega Man deduced, "He thought you switched guitars after putting the program in its computer! But if the cops were coming, you couldn't take the guitar bag from the restaurant floor. So you left it there as you took the robot through the trash chute and cut it up!"

"W-What?" Zap queried in sweat.

"Of course!" Lan dropped his fist in an open palm, having guided his eyes back to that guitar. "That blue guy left the scene, right? And you didn't want to leave a mess that would contradict your alibi! All of your efforts had to throw off suspicion!"

"The Elec Program's signal should've went off by now," Ito added, "But this is a courtroom."

"And they are closed off from all outside interference," Lan beamed again, "That's why its signal can't be detected, even in here!"

For a change, Count Zap was speechless.

"You waited for the police to relinquish your bags to you once we were arrested," Mega Man spoke as his partner went back to behind his bench, "But as a witness, you couldn't deliver the Elec Program to WWW yet. So you held it close."

"How fitting for you to be the mastermind of this case, Count Jack Zap!" Lan extended his arm, pointing at the count.

"Kuk-kuh-kuh-kuh-kuh-kuh-kuh-kuh-kuh…!" Zap broke down as red lightning erupted from his eyes, covering part of his face like a mask. He simultaneously shattered his bulbs on the stand and jerked his arms up with bent fingers, laughing like a madman. "KAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

"I thought this would be satisfying…" Mega Man shivered, "But it's not…"

"You want satisfaction?!" Zap spread his arms out cackling, "Fine! I did it all! I smacked the daylights out of Dr. Hikari, framed his son, stole the Elec Program, and tried draining the vents of oxygen! And as a WWW member, I'd do it again! KAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

Everybody in the courtroom started yelling at Zap, calling him names and chanting for his arrest.

"Cease this at once, all of you!" Judge Lex-Ordo slammed his gavel down multiple times, successfully quieting the room.

"The best part about this trial is the learning experience!" Zap laughed, "You now know that your government covered up the fact that they gift-wrapped a glorious power to WWW! Just look at what Keifer failed to do today!"

The commissioner only glowered at the man on the stand.

"They never cared about Black Sheep Lan's life, even after years of his family serving them!" The agent added, "It makes sense, considering if you go against your overlords, your family name is poisoned for centuries!"

"Why frame me?" Lan growled, "Why hurt my father? Why?!"

"You were the perfect scapegoat," Zap replied with a monstrous smile, "A crazy kid obsessed with justice, surrounded by peers scared more of you than superstition. No one would second-guess if you snapped from what happened to Hub."

"Never say his name again!" Lan approached him with a snarl.

"Lan, don't!" Mega Man yelled, but it was too late.

Zap sucker punched Lan in the face, and swiped the Synchro Chip from Dr. Froid, who still had it in his hand.

"For the record," He said as he put it in his device's slot, "This too, was a gamble!"

"Bailiffs!" Ito commanded, "Stop him!"

But C. F. Elec Man had just transformed in an instant, shocking the guards when they tried running for him!

"I feel the program surging within me," Zap flew above the humans, taking Lan up by one of his legs. "This is power!"

"Let him go!" Ms. Mari cried, "Please!"

"WWW won't forget your defiance, Froid!" Zap declared, breaking the doors open with a lightning bolt. "Or yours, Ms. Yuri!"

"Lan!" Mega Man yelled, watching his brother get taken away. "LAN!"

"Stop, Zap!" Lan demanded, "Put me down!"

"In a sec!" Zap flew through the lobby and out of the courthouse, startling everyone who happened to see them.

"What the?!" Yai blurted out, having been in the lobby since she was removed from court. "Lan!"

With electricity trailing on the walls, Zap flew all the way up to the top of the courthouse, getting a decent look at the city. He even saw a swarm of viruses fly over to them.

"Oh…" He whispered, watching as they were getting deleted by my fists and horn and Chaud's sword arm. He also noticed Higsby's van, driving frantically. "Your mother and friends are here!"

"N-No…!" Lan wasn't hiding his fear, but he was trying to hide how stressed he was, and by extension, how much his chest was hurting.

"Chaud, look!" I pointed at the scene in front of me.

"Oh no…" Chaud murmured, speeding ahead of me on his Fishy 3. "Get the rest of the viruses!"

"Alright!" I did my best, crushing a Cloudy virus in my hands, hoping to get more of them.

C. F. Elec Man took aim and singed the virus Chaud rode on, bringing it to the point of deletion!

"GAH!" Chaud felt his glider descend until it dematerialized, forcing him to the ground. "It was powerful enough to delete that virus?"

"I could feel the energy as well," Proto Man informed, "The Elec Program must be boosting his C. F. form!"

"Well, you had a good run, kid," Zap mumbled, hanging Lan over the ledge. "Nothing personal."

"Zap?!" Lan was suddenly let go, falling from a decent height! "AAAHHHH!"

"LAN?!" His mother screamed, "NO!"

Higsby gasped, completely helpless in the driver's seat.

I swooped down, stretching my arms to catch him, but the Satellas opened fire on me, nearly piercing my armor and helmet. Worse still, it slowed the WWW decoder I was trying to use on the viruses! I couldn't focus on saving Lan like this!

But in a blur, Lan disappeared in thin air! He would reappear held in the arms of a pink figure with a blonde ponytail and maroon spade at the end, spinning and levitating in midair.

[BGM: Proof of Courage, Mega Man Battle Network 2]

"Seems like I'm always saving you, Lan," The girl whispered, and in the feed, I instantly recognized her voice.

"Mayl…!" Lan was relieved and happy at her arrival, dispelling the flaring pain in his chest. "You're here!"

"YEAH!" With gusto, I decked as many viruses as I could, finally getting the decoder to scramble the viruses and force them to overload.

"I'll be right back," Mayl let Lan down, floating up to the courthouse's roof with Chaud using Area Grab to follow her.

"You've lost," Chaud drew his sword on Zap once he got up there, "Lan's innocence is proven."

"Still got the Elec Program," The electric man shrugged before trying to shoot lightning at them, "And everyone knows Cross Fusion exists!"

"Good work," Mayl sarcastically congratulated, shooting a Roll Arrow at his top right arrester. "You're still going down."

"Step Cross!" Chaud successfully left a crossing mark on Zap's armor, forcing him to the air.

"I consider this a draw!" He announced, flying above the streets. "But here's a parting gift!"

"Get down!" Lan shouted, seeing Zap summon storm clouds above the news reporters and pedestrians!

"Lightning Blaze!" Bolts came down in flashes, striking the roads and nearly blasting the civilians, but I came in to take the full brunt of it!

"AAAAHHHHH!" It was painful, but nothing would've compared to the alternative if I didn't do it.

"I'll see your blue hero soon, Den City!" C. F. Elec Man waved goodbye and took off.

"Come back here!" Chaud attempted to pursue him, to no avail.

"Dex, can you still move?" Ripley asked through my ear, "I need you to take care of the D.A.G."

"I can," I responded, "But is everyone safe?"

"Lan!" Mrs. Hikari ran up to him, pulling him in a hug. "Oh, Lan!"

"I-I'm alright, Mom!" Lan returned the hug, partly embarrassed but glad that she was safe. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, thanks to Dex," She replied, "But I was told Yuichiro was going to come. And who are they?"

"W-Well," Lan didn't want to lie, but he didn't want her to accidentally reveal our identities.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Hikari," Mayl spoke up with her voice slightly modulated, descending from above. "We're part of a team that battles WWW. We apologize for how long it took to ensure you were safe."

"Is Dex alright?" Mrs. Hikari fearfully asked, "He told me to run, and I… we left him."

"As I said, Dex can take care of himself," Mr. Higsby came up to them, knowingly watching me try to keep my virus flying.

"I got him out of there!" I shouted referred to myself in first and third person, moving on. Hopefully, she didn't catch on. "Don't worry!"

"You're safe!" Prosecutor Ito showed up with some bailiffs and some people from the gallery, "Who are they?"

"I'll explain everything, Mr. Ito," Lan told him, "Let's go back in and end the trial."

It didn't take long for everyone in the proceedings to go back into the courtroom, though considering what just happened, the judge decided to keep the doors open for everyone who had just witnessed the scene outside…

I got into court once I dealt with that generator, which was hidden close to Den Dome. Mayl was in her street clothes and had a bandage wrapped around her forehead, standing close to Lan's mother. Chaud explained that WWW kidnapped Mrs. Hikari to pressure Lan into confessing. Since Lan connected Zap to the crimes, nothing else was needed.

"Lan Hikari and Mega Man," Judge Lex-Ordo referred to both, "On behalf of the judicial system and all of law enforcement, I want to apologize for what happened. I also want to thank you for exposing the criminal for all to see, and for your efforts in the Waterworks incident."

Lan and Mega Man said nothing.

"I don't know what will happen to our society with the reveal of a great secret," The judge continued, "But this reminds us to question what we perceive. For if we were more observant, you wouldn't have had to fight for your lives today."

Chaud and Ito nodded knowingly.

"The verdict is only a formality at this point, but regardless…" The monitors next to the judge flashed to reveal two words no one typically hears…

[BGM: Winner!, Mega Man Battle Network]

"You are not guilty!"

With the bang of the gavel, everybody, myself included, erupted in whistles and cheers. The feeling was like we saw our favorite team win a championship, only this was more cathartic.

"Court is adjourned, now clear out!" Judge Lex-Ordo's face showed was pleased with the ruling.

"Great work, Lan!" Mega Man hollered.

"You, too!" Lan laughed with joy while Ito smiled in satisfaction.

We couldn't help but crowd him as we congratulated him. Mayl and Lan's mother put him in such a tight hug, he had trouble breathing as much as we did trying to shake his hands. It was a tough yet rewarding day.

We were going to celebrate his acquittal. Hopefully, nothing would come up to break the reprieve we earned…

CHAPTER 24 END