I don't own The Avengers. Marvel Does. I only own my OCs.
Two days have passed since Carol took Snoofles to the vet for his appointment. When she checked the calendar in her smart phone in the morning, she learned that today was Pastor Milford's hearing, so she searched her closet until she found a short-sleeved dress shirt and a pair of khakis. Once she put on her outfit and slipped on a pair of moccasins, Carol grabbed her handbag and scurried over to the living room. When she stepped over to the sliding door, she peered through the glass and her face lit up when she saw Ultron waiting on the balcony. She eagerly opened the sliding door and stepped outside.
"Hey, Ultron!" chirped Carol, "did you get my message?"
"Of course I did," Ultron nodded while tilting his head to the side, "and since we've been requested to attend, I made sure to gather all the evidence we got on Delilah's testimony."
Ultron tapped the side of his head with his finger to make his point while Carol closed the sliding door.
"Of course," he continued, "Vision informed me that he's bringing over the DNA evidence, and the twins offered to back him up in case Mr. Nelson tries to come up with a lame excuse to defend his pastor's pedophilic fantasies."
Ultron knelt down and lifted Carol into his arms. He placed his hand behind her head, only to notice her hair was a little damp.
"Did you take a shower?" Ultron's optics gazed at Carol.
"An hour ago," Carol nodded.
"I thought so," mused Ultron.
Carol wrapped her arms around Ultron, and then he took off into the sky. He flew over the city while he scanned it beneath him, trying to locate the courthouse. Once he did, he descended from the sky and touched down in front of the courthouse, lowering Carol to the ground. Ahead, they could see Vision, Pietro and Wanda waiting at the steps, so Carol focused her eyes on them and waved her hand in the air.
"Hey, guys!" Carol called to the twins and the synthezoid.
The Maximoff twins and Vision turned their attention to Carol as she sprinted towards them with Ultron following her.
"Hello, Carol," said Wanda, "you here for the show?"
Carol stopped in her tracks just a meter in front of the Maximoff twins.
"Yeah," nodded Carol, "is Pastor Milford here yet?"
"Not yet," Wanda shook her head.
Wanda tilted her head towards Nelson and Isaiah, who were holding up signs like a few more people nearby, singing in protest.
"But Mr. Nelson brought some company," she continued.
Ultron and Carol carefully examined the signs Nelson's church community held up in the air. Perhaps reading their hilarious content would lighten their mood:
{Free Pastor Milford!}
{Abortion is Murder!}
{Delilah Must Burn in Hell!}
{Delilah the Whore}
{Pastor Milford is not a pedophile. He's a man blessed by God.}
Carol couldn't help but laugh while Ultron shook his head in disbelief.
"What?" paused Pietro.
Carol paused and tilted her head in Pietro's direction.
"Some of the signs have the dumbest lines on them," commented Carol.
"Well, yes," Ultron agreed, gesturing to one of the signs, "and that doesn't look like a real photo, does it?"
Carol glanced at the sign plastered with a photo of a miscarried fetus.
"Maybe they wanted to use gross looking pictures to scare people who can't handle a gore fest," Carol shrugged.
Pietro let out a playful scoff.
"I tried reasoning with them, but they wouldn't listen," Pietro replied.
With nothing else to say, Ultron, Carol, Vision and the Maximoff twins turned before they started stepping towards the entrance of the courthouse. However, Nelson paused in his tracks and turned his head at Ultron, noticing that the robot was holding Carol's hand.
"Disgusting," growled Nelson.
Nelson gestured Isaiah to glance at him before they set down their signs and moved up the stairs.
"Hey, Carol!" shouted Nelson.
Carol, Ultron, Vision and the Maximoff twins paused in their tracks and tilted their heads towards Nelson and Isaiah.
"Can't the arguments wait until the hearing?" groaned Carol.
Nelson folded his arms and furrowed his eyebrows.
"Didn't you hear me tell you that I was going to let you marry my son instead of just letting you open your legs to some pathetic robot?!" barked Nelson, "not only you are destroying the morality of America, but you're also ruining your purity."
Carol scowled.
"I said that I never wanted to date Isaiah, you dumbass!" snapped Carol.
"But my dad is right," protested Isaiah, "you need to break up with Ultron while you can. He's corrupting you!"
Carol shook her head in disbelief.
"You don't get to decide what to do with my life," Carol declared, "and if you don't like that…"
Carol flipped the bird at Isaiah and Nelson, much to their disgust.
"Then go move to the Bible Belt area," Carol continued, "I'm sure some sweet Christian girl would be interested in you."
Ultron smiled, feeling proud of Carol's guts to stand up to such morons.
"So…you're just going to terminate your family line?" Isaiah muttered, "that's selfish of you!"
Ultron rolled his optics and the hollows of his cheekplates opened up while he glared at Isaiah.
"Would you like me to tell you what destroys my faith in humanity?" Ultron snarled, "it's selfish men like you who like to express their butthurt when they don't get their way."
Ultron would love to continue his rant, but he suddenly felt Vision place his hand on Ultron's shoulder, catching his attention.
"Perhaps I can reason with them for you?" Vision requested.
Ultron couldn't help but sigh.
"I guess you can go ahead," Ultron nodded.
Ultron, Carol and the Maximoff twins approached the entrance of the courthouse while Vision turned his focus on Nelson and Isaiah.
"What do you want?" Nelson demanded.
"I have watched an interesting movie from a studio called Disney," Vision said, "have you wondered what Beauty and the Beast is about?"
Nelson and Isaiah exchanged glances in a moment of silence before they returned their gaze to Vision.
"Of course," nodded Isaiah, "it's a terrible movie that promotes Stockholm Syndrome."
Vision shook his head in disagreement.
"I believe you are missing the point," Vision objected, "in Beauty and the Beast, the Beast was originally a prince who was cursed with a spell that turned him into a hideous monster. To break the spell, he had to learn to love and be loved in return. I find it relatable in Ultron's terms because Carol's love for him is what's motivating him to solve the problems to help humanity rather than destroy it. If it weren't for her, Ultron wouldn't have come to such terms. Think on it."
With that, Vision turned and ascended the stairs towards the entrance to the courthouse.
Inside, Ultron, Carol, Wanda, Pietro and Vision sat at one desk while they could see Claudia and Delilah at another desk with Nick Fury and Maria Hill sitting next to them. While they waited, a couple police officers entered the courtroom with Pastor Milford following them. A couple minutes later, Nelson and Isaiah entered the courtroom and found their seats. Not a minute later, the judge entered the courtroom and took his seat.
"All right," the judge announced, "Pastor Kevin Milford, you stand trial accused of statutory rape. Now how do you plead?"
Pastor Milford folded his arms.
"Not guilty, your honor," Pastor Milford disagreed.
Nick Fury stood up and strode out from behind the table where he had been seated.
"Your honor, SHIELD has acquired sufficient physical evidence as listed here," he produced an envelope and held it out to the judge, "a successful DNA test confirms that Pastor Milford is the father. For our first witness I'd like to call a friend of Delilah's to the stand."
Both Janette and Nicole were called up to the stand one at a time and questioned by the Director of SHIELD. They described Delilah's behavior preceding the disclosure of Milford's actions, including her panic attack at school. Milford's attorney cross examined them both and attempted to poke holes in their story, often requiring Fury to object to certain phrases used in an effort to mislead the girls into giving an answer that might contradict their initial testimony or devalue its worth to the case entirely. The defense attorney then attempted to have the results of the DNA test considered inadmissible by calling into question the method of its acquisition as well as SHIELD's authority to conduct an investigation in lieu of the proper law enforcement agency who had jurisdiction over the area of the alleged offense.
Luckily, Fury held his ground and produced a document which proved that all SHIELD agents involved in the investigation at the time were fully authorized by the United States government to act in place of the NYPD. Several of these agents were called up next and questioned regarding their participation and displayed their training by deflecting every attempt by Milford's attorney to draw them into a trap. One such agent included a SHIELD affiliated doctor who had examined Delilah and found evidence indicating physical abuse on some level prior to Milford's actions being discovered, with some bruising and even strained muscle tissues and bone fractures indicating that she had been assaulted and attempted to resist.
Back where Ultron sat with Carol and the others, Wanda whispered.
"He doesn't want to do this."
Ultron looked down at her.
"Hm?"
"Milford's lawyer," Wanda explained, keeping her voice low so only they would hear her, "he doesn't want to defend him, but he does so anyways."
Ultron remembered in that instant: mind reading.
"Probably sees that he's fighting an uphill battle," Ultron shrugged, "Fury's got a solid case against him and nothing he does can poke a leak in it."
Wanda shook her head.
"No," she whispered, "he knows the pastor is guilty."
Now if only mind reading was an accepted form of acquiring information in the justice system. Still, Nelson stood up with flames flickering in his eyes.
"Objection," Nelson proclaimed, "but Delilah is the guilty one! Clearly, she was the one who tempted him into sinning."
The judge banged his gavel once.
"Order! Sir, you will sit down and refrain from further outbursts, and that statement shall be disregarded."
He focused on Milford's lawyer next, drawing his temper back in so he could speak pleasantly.
"Does the defense have anything else it wishes to add? Something which does not invoke outdated and irrelevant dogma?" he asked.
With a sigh, the attorney shook his head.
"No, your honor."
"Then I have reached my verdict," the judge said, "Pastor Milford, based on the evidence presented here today, I have determined that there is sufficient evidence for your case to be taken to trial where you shall be fully judged by a jury of your peers. I hereby remand you to custody due to the serious nature of these charges and a trial date shall be set for you at the next available period. I will hear no more allegations of 'temptation' or 'sin'. Our society is one where church and state have been held at arm's length, and this has been done with good reason. I myself regularly attend church with my family, I find solace and comfort in my faith…but I accept that in the face of the courts, faith does not make suitable evidence. I recommend that the defendant keep this in mind at the time of their trial."
He banged his gavel again.
"Adjourned."
Upon cue, the police officers escorted Pastor Milford out of the courtroom, so Carol, Ultron, the Maximoff twins and Vision stood from their seats and made their way towards the door. Nelson groaned as he facepalmed.
"Why did we get stuck with this guy?" Nelson grumbled, gesturing to Pastor Milford's attorney.
In a matter of seconds, Delilah sighed in relief, yet Claudia cringed when Isaiah and Nelson trudged towards them, folding their arms in disgust.
"Mark my words, young lady," Nelson growled, "once Donald Trump becomes president, we will make sure abortions are outlawed so you will be punished for taking away my grandchild."
While Delilah clenched her fists, Nick Fury stood from his seat and folded his arms.
"She's already been through enough," Nick barked, "and you don't need to make it worse."
Nelson grumbled as he turned away from Nick Fury. Seconds later, Janette and Nicole skipped over to Carol.
"So, are you guys going anywhere today?" Nicole asked.
"Maybe I could go for a Blizzard," Carol shrugged, "you?"
"We're going to stay by Delilah's side until she and Claudia leave," Janette answered.
Carol glanced at Nelson and Isaiah, who stormed out of the courtroom without warning, Isaiah shooting a glare at Carol. She leaned closer to Ultron.
"Someone's disappointed," Carol whispered.
Ultron couldn't help but chuckle as he placed his hand on Carol's shoulder.
"Why don't we get you a special treat?" Ultron suggested, giving a wink.
Carol nodded in agreement. Ultron, Vision, Carol, Wanda and Pietro stepped outside the courthouse and descended the stairs, only to notice Thor waiting for them on the sidewalk. What brought him here?
For this chapter, I recommend starting your review with any phrase that describes how much of a douche Mr. Nelson is. He deserves whatever vitriol you have for him.