Roxanne stepped into the courtroom two days later. She paused, taking a sudden deep breath and freezing up as she caught sight of the jury, 18 teenagers between her age and Deldja's. She almost stepped right back out again.
Somehow it seemed that all of their cold eyes were turned on her, and she felt she might come to regret doing this.
But that was ridiculous. She wasn't the one on trial. She was on the accusing side. Even if she lost, there couldn't be any consequences.
Still, Roxanne lowered her eyes, bent her head, and walked quickly to where she would sit beside her lawyer, Gilda close behind.
She didn't know any of the teenagers—that was good. They would be from neighboring school districts to insure that there was no bias, around her and Deldja's age so that they would truly be peers. There was only one adult among them, an old woman with sharp yellow eyes and a disapproving frown. She would be the Forewoman.
Isst leaned forward from her seat in the front row and squeezed Roxanne's shoulder reassuringly. Roxanne smiled at her mother, turning just in time to see Mace and his family enter the room through the thick wooden doors that reached to the ceiling and separated them all from the outside world. Her smile widened a little, and the boy waved as he saw her looking in his direction.
She blushed.
"R. Aida Cerebellum," the Forewoman called, standing up from where she sat at the center of the Jury. That was a new way to call on her.
Roxanne rose, and the Forewoman nodded for her to sit down before she went on with role call, her sharp eyes now covered by delicate half-moon spectacles as she scanned the page clasped in her long, wrinkled fingers.
"Deldja Conmesu Cortex."
Deldja stood on the other side of the room. Roxanne felt a spiteful pang of satisfaction when she saw that Deldja had already been cuffed, her perfect body covered in drab gray prison scrubs that made her look rather shapeless—if she could be said to have a shape, it would have to be described as rectangular. She shouldn't be that pleased, but who would blame her? Certainly not Gilda, Mace, Minion, Isst, Loral, Civ, or Rit, who all took the same angry pleasure in seeing her physical appearance displayed the way it should.
The rest of the role was called accordingly, and there was a pause as the Forewoman shuffled through her papers. From the corner of her eye, Roxanne spotted a man in the background who was holding filming gear. It was with a small jolt that she realized this was being Waved.
It was with a jolt nowhere near small that she realized she was making history.
"I am Forewoman Oustken Broca," the Forewoman stated. "I will be presiding over this case. At the end of the trial, the Jury will have their collective say on the subject matter. I will, however, have the final say. The trial will last at most two days. If for any reason the trial is interrupted, it will begin again. Only witness testimony and proof may be permitted in this courtroom. Hearsay will not be allowed, and any use of Hearsay will be used against your side, no exceptions.
"Deldja Cortex," Forewoman Broca went on, "you have been charged with unaggravated assault and two counts of attempted murder, classified as a hate crime. Flooze Cortex, you have been charged with the same. Mr. Somatic, is there anything you would like to add to that?"
"No, Ma'am. Those are the sole charges," Roxanne's lawyer said, standing as he spoke and seating himself again.
"Very good. Ms. Gustatory, how does your client plead?"
"My client pleads neither innocent nor guilty."
"Oh? Please, Ms. Gustatory," Forewoman Broca said with a dry tone and the wave of her hand, "explain to the court how that is."
"Whether or not my client committed the crimes she has been charged with, the fact remains that Aida Cerebellum is not Cerulean." Roxanne cast her eyes down, hair falling in her face. Gilda bit her tongue. Mace sat on his hands, and Loral grabbed Isst to keep her from leaping to her feet. "She therefore has no Cerulean rights, and cannot bring any charges into trial. If her adoptive family would like to bring the case up on grounds of animal cruelty, it would be a different matter, but…"
"My daughter is as much a Cerulean as anyone else, Krint!" Isst shouted, managing to break free of her husband's grasp. "How dare you call her an animal! I will—"
"Mrs. Cerebellum!" The Forewoman's sharp, clipped tone carried well and caused Isst to quiet, if only temporarily. "Sit back down or Law Enforcement will be called! And as for your claims, Ms. Gustatory," Broca went on as Loral forced Isst to sit back down, keeping his hands placed firmly on either shoulder, "they do not carry. I'm sure Mr. Somatic can tell you better than I can why his client can, indeed, charge your client with attempted murder," she added, motioning for Roxanne's lawyer to stand.
The man, clad in a long brown cape (that was closer to a cloak, being that it had a hood) and skin-tight Yikberry robe, stood again and cleared his throat.
"In the year 12467.28 S.K.D. an amendment was made to Cerulean law that should a sentient life-form from another planet, people, or sector, particularly an infant, become a part of Cerul through birth, naturalization, trade, conquest, or through being brought or sent, that life-form should, in every legal sense, be considered a full Cerulean. This was made to allow the sentient creature an existence as close to normalcy as possible, prevent any underhand lawyer searching for ways to deny them justice, and also to insure that should they break the law, they could not use the same excuse to get out of punishment."
"Thank you, Mr. Somatic," the Forewoman said as the man sat back down, flashing Roxanne a confident and reassuring smile. He seemed to sense her anxiety, because he next confided,
"don't worry, Kid. We have this case by the ankles." This assuaged her doubt some, but Roxanne still gripped Gilda's furry arm beneath the table for comfort.
Gilda was glad to give it.
"So which will it be, Ms. Gustatory? Innocent or guilty?"
"My client pleads innocent," Gustatory answered, seating herself again. Roxanne watched as she flashed Deldja a crafty smile. She clearly hadn't expected that defense to work anyway.
Roxanne's grip on Gilda tightened.
"Well then," Broca said, looking back to Somatic. "Would you like to make your first move?"
"I would, Your Honor," Somatic agreed, standing yet again and stepping away from the table at which Roxanne and Gilda still sat. "I would like to request to say a few words first."
"The request follows," Broca said with a nod.
"I would like to begin by simply stating that there is no doubt in my mind that the accused cannot be deemed innocent. That being said, I would like to call Aida Cerebellum to the stand on her own behalf, if it should please the court."
"R. Aida Cerebellum," Broca called, "step forward and take your place at the front of the congregation." With some degree of hesitation, Roxanne detached herself from Gilda, stood, took a look around, and made her way to the tall stand at the very front of the room. Taking the steps one at a time up to the seat that overlooked the room, Roxanne tried to stop shaking, taking slow, deep breaths and telling herself everything was fine.
She had seen a few trials on HWP. They were like games of chess (chess being a funny game, not in humor of course, but in that it had developed in both Cerulean and Cryptonian cultures at around the same time, long before space travel had been invented). Every move was careful and calculated, and the story that unfolded was often weaved in an almost beautiful manner, if you stepped back far enough.
Step back any farther than that, and you found that the beauty became robotic and void of Ceranity. That was when a certain degree of terror hit the viewer, and though one might scramble closer in an effort to delve back into the beauty, or even just the tedium of the back-and-forth, what had been seen could not be unseen.
Ever.
"Aida," Somatic said, making sure to cheat, "could you tell those in attendance what it is that happened earlier this week between you, your minion, Deldja, and Flooze?" Roxanne paused a moment to collect herself, closing her eyes before beginning to speak in a voice that belied both her anxiety and personality.
"Gilda and I were headed to First Lunch. We had waited until everyone was out of the halls to make our way there so that we wouldn't be trampled, and because the things in my locker space had been taken out and strewn about the floor by another student, which took some time to clean up and off.
"I believe it was two, maybe three corridors from the lunch room that Deldja and Flooze stopped us. Deldja threw me against one wall and Flooze threw Gilda against the other. Deldja started yelling at me about my choice in company—or, really, my company's choice in company—and she said some very nasty things—"
"Would you mind sharing some of those things with the court?" Somatic asked.
"She called me an animal and told me I was never to get anywhere near any man ever. She threatened that if I ever did anything she had just told me not to, she would find a way to make my life more miserable than it was. I said no, and she subsequently broke my nose. Gilda tried to help, but Flooze shoved her into the wall, and her dome broke open.
"Deldja threw me against the wall again, and I hit my head and fell down. She started kicking me, and Gilda managed to flop over to Deldja and bite her hand. Deldja threw her off and into the wall, and that was when Mace and Minion came running in and saved us."
"Saved you?" Roxanne nodded. "How so?"
"Minion scooped Gilda into his bowl and Mace pinned Deldja down. When she head-butted him, he ran after her and knocked her to the ground, then came back to me and Gilda to make sure we were alright before going for help."
"Is that all for this round?" Broca asked.
"Yes, Your Honor. That will be all for this round."
"Ms. Gustatory, would you like to counter-interrogate?"
"Yes, Your Honor, I believe I would," Gustatory agreed, standing. She looked very young. As in, 'just out of law school' young. This was probably one of her first cases. "Ms. Cerebellum," she began, but Roxanne cut her off.
"Ms. Gustatory," Roxanne stated, "I would like to warn you that nothing you could ask me would help your case at all. Deldja has never said a kind word to me, nor has she ever refrained from being violent. This is not the first time I have suffered pain with Deldja as the direct cause, and I'm sure it won't be the last. If she and Flooze hadn't tried to kill Gilda, this would have become just one more notch on her doorframe. You may ask me as many questions as you like, but you would do better asking a common field rodent to say a kind word about the predatory bird that has devoured it."
There were some small smiles among the jury and those attending to support one side or the other, and Gustatory floundered. Roxanne gave a closed-mouth smile that was nigh on a smirk and radiated a firm confidence she simply did not posses, her eyes solemn as she waited for the woman to catch herself.
"What was it you said to Deldja before she 'attacked' you?" Gustatory finally asked, bringing herself back around and making air quotes.
"Before the initial verbal attack, I said nothing."
"And after?"
"I said no. The basics of what I said are 'no, you do not control me.'"
"Are you sure that's all you said?"
"I am not one to instigate conflict, Ms. Gustatory. In the twelve years I have been in school, I have found that to be completely ignored is much better than to be noticed, especially when being noticed calls for negative consequences. I would have agreed to every single one of Deldja's terms had she not demanded that I give up any chances of finding companionship, the only positive attention I had ever known outside of my home, and what could very well be the only chance I ever have at procuring some credentials within the occupation I wish to pursue." Roxanne cast her gaze to Forewoman Broca.
"May I, in light of Ms. Gustatory's clear incompetence in defending her client, remove myself from the witness stand?"
Forewoman Broca nodded, her sharp eyes somewhat dulled as she tried very hard not to smile.
Even still, the corners of her mouth were turned upward ever-so-slightly.
"The motion follows," Broca agreed, motioning for Roxanne to go. Roxanne stood, bowed to Broca, and made her way down the steps.
The moment she sat down, Roxanne let out a huge breath and leaned against Gilda. Gilda wrapped an arm protectively around her Mistress, and Roxanne turned back only briefly to smile wanly at her parents, then extending her smile to Mace when he flashed her a discreet thumbs-up. Then she turned back around and closed her eyes.
Roxanne was suddenly exhausted.
"Would you like to call a witness of your own to the stand?"
"I would like to call forth Deldja Cortex in her own defense. Does this please the court?"
"It does. Deldja Conmesu Cortex, please rise and make your way to the stand." Deldja was quick to comply, shooting Roxanne a glare of death as she made her way past.
Roxanne returned the gaze with one that was totally without emotion. She then dipped her head and smiled as Deldja took the stand, knowing without looking that the recording equipment had caught the glare.
It wouldn't look good on HWP.
"Deldja, would you please give your version of the events that transpired three days previously?"
"Yes, thank you. I was walking down the hall, completely content to talk with Flooze while we made our way to lunch. Then, out of nowhere, Aida comes bulleting down the hall with her minion in tow, and shoved me against the wall. She started shouting at me about leaving Mace Mind alone and staying away from her brother, and when I tried to ask her what she was talking about, she punched me in the face.
"Of course, Flooze tried to pry her off of me, but Gilda wouldn't let her, so Flooze fought back. Aida managed to get me on the ground and started kicking me in the sides, so Flooze tossed Gilda up against a wall and tried to tear Aida off me, hitting her in the head, the sides, kicking her in the legs—and she tried to be really careful about it, too, so she wouldn't hurt her too much.
"Flooze managed to get her on the ground, and I tried to keep Gilda away from Flooze, but Gilda leaped out of her tank and bit my hand. I threw her off, and that was when Mace and Minion came rushing down the hall with flowers that I'm almost certain were meant for me, but Aida turned around and used her mind-control powers to force Minion to break Gilda's dome and make them think it had happened differently before they rushed off to get her and Gilda help."
"That Klint," Isst hissed, just barely audible from Roxanne's position. "How dare she—"
"Shh," Loral said in hushed tones. "Settle down. Law Enforcement isn't kind to those who cause complications in a trial, and we don't want have to go through this twice." Isst sighed and physically forced herself to calm down.
"All right," she relented. "All right, I'm calm. I'm settled."
"Mind control?" Gustatory asked. "Please explain."
"Aida's brother told me she had mind control powers and was using them on Mace and Minion Mind."
"Objection!" Somatic cried, standing straight up.
"Miss Cortex, have you any solid evidence that Miss Cerebellum has powers of mind control?"
"…No, Your Honor." Broca nodded.
"I thought not. Let the Jury and all those assembled take conscious note that Miss Cortex has used Hearsay not only as part of the trial, but as the sole basis of the truth of her statements. Have you anything else, Ms. Gustatory?"
"Yes, Your Honor. Deldja, has this happened before?"
"Oh yes," Deldja lied, nodding vigorously. "Aida is always instigating. She's always making trouble and picking fights for no reason. I think she has a personality disorder."
"Objection!" All eyes turned to Mace, who stood on his seat, looking outraged. "No one can be said to have developed a personality disorder until the age of seventeen, and furthermore—"
"Mr. Mind," Forewoman Broca snapped (his reputation preceded him), her eyes hard and sharp again. "Sit down this instant! One more outburst from either you or Mrs. Cerebellum and Law Enforcement will be called!" Mace bowed his head and sat back down.
"My apologies," he extended, and Broca nodded somewhat dismissively.
"In spite of the untimely nature of his outburst, Mr. Mind does, however, have a point," Broca stated. "Miss Cortex, I very much doubt that you have a degree in psychology, and he is correct in stating that a personality disorder cannot be had until the age of seventeen at the least. I would suggest you pay better attention in your classes. Please consider rephrasing your statement."
"Well, she clearly has something wrong with her!" Deldja snapped, clearly irritated at having been both corrected and interrupted. "She always says everyone is picking on her, but no one has ever so much as said a single mean word to her."
"Please," Reptung huffed, and was quickly silenced as Loral's elbow met his rib.
"You have no place to say anything on that front, young man," Loral growled sternly. "You will recall yourself that your punishment is still valid, and will be repeated tonight just as it has been the past few days."
Reptung growled and mumbled under his breath.
"Have you anything else to ask, Ms. Gustatory?"
"No, Your Honor. I'd like to end my round, thank you."
"Mr. Somatic, would you like to counter-interrogate the witness?"
"No, Your Honor," Mr. Somatic said with an easy smile. "I don't think, at this point, anything else Miss Cortex could say could help our case any more than it already has."
"Miss Cortex, you may seat yourself," Broca bade.
Deldja left the stand without so much as a nod toward the Forewoman.
Somatic's smile widened.
Roxanne shook her head with a smile of her own.
Gustatory facepalmed.
***Break***
Gilda was the next to be called to the stand, and then Flooze. Both of them testified in the same fashion as their Mistresses, and no new information was shared.
Next called were Roxanne and Gilda's respective doctors, who showed pictures and X-rays of their wounds, as well as shared the medical files in which Gilda's surgery and Roxanne's injuries were carefully documented, each step recorded by an onlooker—Cerulean medical files were always very detailed and extensive.
Deldja's parents were called to the stand, but having seen nothing but the bruises on their daughter's face and sides, none of which were particularly bad, they were not much help with the case. Even Minion was called to the stand on Roxanne's behalf.
Finally, it was Mace's turn to take the stand, and he did so with an aura of growing irritation, repressed energy, and forced calm.
"What impression do you have of the defendant?" Somatic asked the young man.
"The only good thing that can be said about Deldja Cortex is that she is, by traditional standards, attractive and has enough intelligence to get by."
"Oh? And what comes to mind when you think of—"
"Objection!" Gustatory exclaimed. "Your Honor, this trial is not a test of my client's character, but rather a trial to determine guilt."
"I retract the question," Somatic said before Broca could order it. "What about Miss Cerebellum? Does she seem the violent type?"
"Not at all."
"And how long have you known the two of them?"
"I have known Deldja since Second Year. In technicality, I have known Aida from the time she literally landed in my backyard. I have known her in a more accurate sense for a matter of weeks."
"Would you tell us what happened on the date in question?"
"With pleasure. I was late to school for a number of reasons which I'll not go into now. As Minion and I came from our lockers, we stopped and watched as Deldja kicked repeatedly at Aida's legs, ribs, chest, head and stomach—" Most of the women in the audience winced, and a few clutched at their own stomachs.
One of those women was Deldja's own mother.
"—and then Gilda leaped up and bit into Deldja's hand in an attempt to stop her while Flooze attempted to catch her—I assume to hold her off, though knowing Deldja, she may have wanted to crush her herself. Deldja stopped kicking Roxanne long enough to throw Gilda into a wall, and Minion and I reacted as quickly as we could. I pinned Deldja to the ground, and she tried to throw me off by hitting me between the eyes with her head. I ran after her, punched her in the cheek, and kicked her several times to keep her down while I left Minion to tend to Aida and Gilda and went for help. When we returned, Law Enforcement led Deldja and Flooze away, and Minion and I helped Gilda and Aida into the Emergency Vehicle."
"And what, may I ask, is your take on Miss Cortex's theory that you and your minion were brainwashed?"
"I'd like to refer to Alshzheck's blade, Sir; the simplest possible answer is the most likely to be correct until proven otherwise. Which is more likely—that Deldja is lying, or that Aida Cerebellum has an ability to control minds so powerful that she can force Minion and me to misremember the events that occurred and make everyone think she's the victim in a situation where she is, according to Deldja, an antagonist, and yet Deldja, a C student, and her minion, are the only ones who can see past it?"
Somatic smiled and held his hands out, looking to the Jury. "Ladies and gentlemen," he proclaimed, "I rest my case."
Without fear of repercussions, Roxanne did not cross her fingers as she waited for the Jury to return. But she did hope against all hope that the Jury was comprised of students more alike in mind to Mace than any other and that she would see justice done as it should be.
Maybe if Deldja got her Just Deserves, Roxanne could find a way to live happily ever after? She would go to the dance with Mace, without Deldja to lead them, the throng would become slowly more accepting of the alien creature who was akin in body to a Cryptonian and in mind to a Cerulean, but wholly unique in persona, she would go on air with the 16th Wave in a few weeks, be promised a full-time position when she was through with school, and…
Roxanne shook herself to avoid drifting off into fantasy. That was a ridiculous premise, but the basis remained the same—Deldja was without contest in her place as Supreme Overlord of Causing Aida Physical and Emotional Pain, and the saying held true—cut off the head and the rest will die. Even if, like poultry, the body continued to jerk spasmodically and even continue on in patterns that pretended to be the result of conscious effort, it would eventually lie still.
When the Forewoman filed back in, the Jury coming in behind and standing around the back entrance, the room tensed.
Broca made her way to the stand and cleared her throat.
"It is with regret that I state that the Jury was evenly divided," she announced with lips pursed. "But regardless of the Jury's station, it was I from the beginning who would make the final decision. Deldja Conmesu Cortex, you have been found guilty on all counts."
There were a (very) few gasps, and Deldja's confident exterior seemed to suddenly melt away. The reality of doing hard time must have finally hit her, because she looked devastated.
"Unfortunately," Broca went on, "the law protects minors to an extensive degree. Being that you have not actually committed a murder, you will not be serving time."
Deldja's confident smirk returned tenfold, and Roxanne closed her eyes and rested her head in her hands. It was stupid of her to so much as imagine a world without Deldja, but for just a second it had been so close…
"You will be punished to the full extent of the law even still. Deldja Cortex, you will be placed on full probation for a period of six years." Hope flared, but Roxanne had yet to raise her head. "During this time, an officer of the law will be checking on you every other week. You may not drink alcoholic substances, and if another crime of any variety is committed on your part, you will be brought back and tried again, this time as both a repeat offender and an adult." Maybe if I can just get her to hit me again…
"If you are reported to have been in another skirmish, one or two-sided, with R. Aida Cerebellum and her Minion, you will be sent to the stocks, and a trial will take place without your testimony. If you are found guilty, you will, without doubt, be entered into the prison system." It might be worth it…
"And in the here and now, you will do one hundred hours of Community Service with a charity of your choosing. Enjoy the work, Dear."
There was an eruption of noise as everyone stood at once, some voicing relief, others outrage, and still others unsatisfied contentment.
After shaking hands with her lawyer and offering him her thanks, Roxanne made her way over to where Forewoman Broca was standing.
Roxanne bowed deeply and smiled shyly at the woman.
"I express my deepest gratitude for your lack of bias and adherence to the law," she said with absolute sincerity. Broca gave a tight-lipped smile.
"I do my job, Miss Cerebellum. I expect no thanks, nor do I ask for it. Nevertheless, you are most welcome. You would do well to return to your family, who I am sure wish to congratulate you on an excellent acting performance."
Roxanne blushed again, bowed once more, and returned to where her loved ones were gathered to hug each and every one of them.
It would seem that there was some semblance of justice in the world after all.
Author Comments:
It's 4:38 AM and I have to get to wake up at 7. LOOK MA, PROCRASTINATION! -.-
I almost forgot! *facepalm* In chapter twenty-three, there was a reference to Carrie, the Stephen King novel. Phenixia spotted it. Pop-ped corn to you, Phenixia! *Gives pop-ped corn*
I had a random "Stop—wait—what is this?" moment in class the other day. I realized—how is it a Jury of my peers if they're all so much older than I am? (I'm not on trial, but some kids my age ARE.) So when I started writing this chapter I decide JHDFNSL;;GSRJHGBDSFVN CERUL IS GOING TO BE BETTER ABOUT IT.
So. Yeah. XDXD, I'm crazy. :F
The Forewoman is like the Judge, only more…Omnipotent.
R. Aida Cerebellum. The simplest way to avoid the inevitable "Ro—Roe—Ros—Rock—Ra—" XDXD
The trials are very short, because they're found to be far too complex and difficult when drawn out for long periods. Evidence decays, memories become faded, testimony changes and becomes distant in the minds of the Jury, and a long trial doesn't adhere to the natural-born right of a speedy trial.
Also I want to get on with the plot. :F XDXD
Yes, Gray. Gray because I can. Gray because I said so. GRAY BECAUSE IT IS! Also gray because I like the contrast between Megamind-blue and jumpsuit orange. I don't want Deldja looking pretty. She must look drab as possible. You know why? *Whispers* Because I can. XDXD
I found a loophole a while back. Murder is "the unlawful killing of one human by another." Even if Megs had been human, Metro Man wasn't, so attempted murder, being that murder is murder only against a human, was not something our blue hero would be charged with.
Unless, you know, the law was changed. ;)
Has no one noticed the pattern with naming, or are you all just being willfully silent? Because if you are knowing, I would gladly give to you pop-ped corn...
Chess: Because Logic is a universal language.
In acting, cheating is when you angle yourself toward the audience, or at least the greater portion of it, so that it may appear that you're actively talking to another person on stage, but not showing said audience your rear-end. You can pretend you're talking to the other character all you want, but everyone knows you're really talking to the people who paid to see you talk. ;)
Gustatory was doomed from the start. XDXD
On Earth you have to be at least eighteen to be diagnosed with a personality disorder, but the Cerulean age is seventeen because that's the age at which they become legal adults.
Imagine you're a man and you've just been told about someone being kicked repeatedly in the groin.
THAT'S why those women are wincing.
Occam's Razor, Krints. Look it up! XDXD
Deldja should hate Mace now. But will she? DUN DUN DUN DUUNNNN!
Poetic contradictions: They are an art form. AN ARTFORM, I SAY!
It's 5:20 now. HDLKSNHGD;LVDLHFGNDSJHFSFSDU UGH. I must sleep. I will post this after I get home from work tomorrow. GOODNIGHT, FAIR CITIZENS! MAY MEGAMIND BE WITH YOU!
GJNDGOSD;JLNDBFGV NUUUUUUUUU! DDDD: ** Does anyone know to view reviews after you've deleted them from your E-mail? Because I know you can view reviews on other people's work at any time, but I can't seem to find the button to see my own reviews, and I really wanted to go back through and check and *Facewallstud*
Anyway, thank you all again for all your wonderful reviews! I love them all, and they often make my day! I try to take everything you say into account, and answer as best I can as often as possible! *Hugs for everyone*
And a tip of the hat to Elthfrae, who keeps me on my toes! ;)