With Justice For All - part 2: Riot Act!
by Viking

When Last We Left Our Heroes...

"Stars and bars!" proclaimed Minute Man. "This whole courtroom has gone mad!"

"It is worse than that, Minute Man. Look!" Mentor, ducking a wild haymaker from a maddened Patriot City citizen, pointed across the courtroom floor.

Gripping his hammer so tightly as if to break it, Order’s face was contorted with rage. His gaze swept across the courtroom to his most hated enemy, Pinstripe. A sea of brawling men and women was in his way. Order raised his hammer to clear a path, looking down furiously at the first body that he would sweep away.

"Gee whiz," thought Liberty Lad, "This is really going to hurt..."

Order’s hammer descended like a meteor hurtling to Earth. Ordinarily, Liberty Lad would have nimbly jumped out of the way. Unfortunately, the press of the brawling crowd gave him no room to maneuver whatsoever. The hammer slammed into his chest with a horrendous crunch, and Liberty Lad sailed through the air and crashed into the judge’s podium.

"Nick!" cried out Minute Man, so caught up in guilt that he forgot to call him by his hero’s name. Of course, given the chaos in the courtroom, no one seemed to notice. Minute Man vaulted over the balcony to rush to his fallen friend.

Mentor, uncertain of the wisdom of his friend’s charge, nevertheless took advantage of his sudden solitude. Placing his hands to his forehead, he concentrated on the minds of those surrounding him. "By the Moons of Reikshall..." he chanted. Slowly but inexorably, the combatants on the balcony level of the courtroom stopped their fighting, looked around blankly, and began to mill around aimlessly. The battle on the courtroom floor continued unabated, however. Mentor marveled at the extent of the havoc that had been caused by the now Energy X-enhanced Daniel Walker.

Down below, Order showed no sign of stopping. Spinning his hammer around in a massive circle, he effortlessly knocked away those too unfortunate to be within range. His path clear, he advanced on Pinstripe, who was one of the few to have avoided the effects of Daniel’s wave of rage.

Minute Man slowly pushed through the crowd, doing his best to ignore the blows that rained down upon him. "I could clear a path through this crowd almost as easily as Order," he thought, "but I can’t risk injuring these civilians like that!"

Meanwhile, Pinstripe had swatted away the unlucky few that had attacked him in their maddened state. As Order made his own path across the court, Pinstripe pulled a fresh cigar from his pocket, lit it up, and jammed it into the corner of his mouth with savage glee. "Think you’re ready for Round Two with Pinstripe?" he crowed. "You got another thing comin’!"

Meanwhile, in a corner of the courtroom, a thick-necked man in a suit, also apparently untouched by the courtroom confusion, had feverishly opened his briefcase and assembled the contents within. With a desperate heave, he tossed a completed Tommy gun over the heads of civilian combatants. Cupping a hand around his mouth, he hollered, "Boss! Catch!"

Oblivious to the action around him, Order closed the distance to Pinstripe and brought his hammer down with his full, fury-backed strength. Pinstripe simply raised his right hand to catch the blow, and the hammer struck his palm with a meaty smack. Grinning broadly, he said, "Hey, not bad, punk! You pack a pretty good wallop!" Catching the Tommy gun with his left, he narrowed his eyes with the growing anticipation of what would come next. "But that was the last thing that ya wanted to do!" Leveling the barrel of his gun, he proceeded to empty the clip into Order’s chest at point-blank range.

Order tumbled backwards from the force of Pinstripe’s withering barrage. Fortunately, his own exposure to Energy X meant that he could take a hail of bullets that would have torn an ordinary man apart. But the impact of the bullets still hurt, which did nothing to help his temper. Sliding to a halt at the other end of the courtroom, Order stood back up, and prepared to charge Pinstripe once more.

From the wreckage of the judge’s podium, Liberty Lad shook his head to clear the dizziness. On the edge of consciousness, he dimly took in the melee around him, and his friends’ struggle to contain it. "Got... to help... Minute Man," he mumbled. Fumbling in his pouch, he pulled a pair of his stun grenades, pulled the pins, gauged the distance as carefully as he was able, and threw with his remaining strength before collapsing once more.

Tumbling into the front ranks of the enraged citizens of Patriot City, the grenades detonated, with dizzying impact. Fortunately, Minute Man was just on the outskirts of their effect, and was able to make progress through the calmed crowd with greater ease. Pinstripe had finished reloading, and seeing the blue-coated crusader charging towards him, sent an arcing spray of bullets towards him. Whirling his staff expertly, Minute Man caught the bullets and sent them back at their owner. Pinstripe simply soaked up the impact of the bullets without flinching.

Meanwhile, the Mentor had exerted his mind over matter to float gently over the balcony and make his own progress towards the center of the action. Unfortunately, Pinstripe noticed Mentor’s dramatic entrance, and turned his Tommy gun towards the slow-moving target.

"Hey, flag-face! How’s this for a courtroom drama?" Pinstripe chomped down on his cigar as he pulled the trigger, focusing his concentration. Instead of bullets, a flashing purple-white ray beamed out of the gun and struck Mentor squarely in the chest. Mentor’s body suddenly increased in density, and Minute Man could only watch in horror as his friend plummeted towards a part of the floor where the battle still raged.

Mentor let out a cry of pain as he hit the floor and was immediately set upon by a portion of the crowd still afflicted with rage. Standing weakly, he suffered through the pummeling as he concentrated on the berserk Order. "As long as he continues in this state, we cannot prevail," he realized, and turned his thoughts towards returning Order’s mind to a state of balance.

Order stopped in mid-step, and blinked. The voice of Law was in his head instantly. "Order, let me through, now!" she insisted. Order, looking around the courtroom in shock, acquiesced immediately. "Oh my God, Law, what have I done?" he thought in agony. A flash of light later, and Law had taken Order’s place in the courtroom. "Now is not the time, Order," she thought back to him. "Right now we need to help Liberty Lad." Law felt Order cringe inside her like an ashamed puppy as she knelt before the prone teenage hero. Willing herself to shoulder Liberty Lad’s pain that he might rise again, she grimaced and cried out as she felt a portion of Order’s previous blow spread across her rib cage. From within, Order was mute with shock. He hadn’t just hurt Liberty Lad, but Law as well. He kept himself from putting words to his thoughts, as if to keep his feelings hidden. But the effort was futile, and that fact hurt both of them more than any physical blow.

The inner turmoil of Law and Order went unnoticed by the other members of Freedom Force. Mentor, relieved at the apparent success of his attempt to pacify Order, had now erected a shield of mental energy that the hapless citizens now battered harmlessly against. Minute Man continued to twirl his Patriot staff in a complex pattern, concentrating feverishly on deflecting each of Pinstripe’s bullets so that none of them would injure an innocent. Liberty Lad fingered one of his energy grenades uncertainly, knowing that it was the only weapon in his arsenal that could hurt Pinstripe. He held back, however, aware that the blast would likely hurt Minute Man and others as well. Heroes and villain seemed caught in a stalemate.

Still, Pinstripe was unfazed. Chuckling viciously as he reloaded, he revealed his ace in the hole. "I got you punks beat!" he gloated. "This whole place is wired up like a Christmas Tree, and in a few minutes, it’s goin’ down! I know I’ll walk away from the mess, but what about you and your friends, Blue Boy?" He swept his Tommy gun in an arc for emphasis. "Or all these other punks that you do-gooders get so mushy about?"

By now, the citizens of Patriot City were beginning to shake off their assorted states of mental affliction. The sight of Pinstripe, waving his firearm and bragging about the imminent destruction of the courthouse, was enough to send most of them into a panic.

Seeing that they were about to trade one riot for another, Minute Man quickly sprang to the witness stand so as to gain everyone’s attention. "Quickly, team - we’ve got to get these people out of here and save the courthouse!" Raising his Patriot staff so that it gleamed in the light, he called out his signature rallying cry, "FOR FREEDOM!!!"

Liberty Lad, seizing upon Minute Man’s cue, darted past the confused citizens of Patriot City and reached the double doors at the end of the courtroom. Throwing them open, he flashed his most convincing smile to the crowd and said, "Looks like court is adjourned, ladies and gentlemen. All rise, and follow me!"

The sight of Minute Man and Liberty Lad, so confident throughout the chaos, brought sanity back to the disoriented crowd. Trusting in Freedom Force to protect them, they began a hasty, yet orderly, exit from the courtroom as if the emergency were nothing more than a fire drill.

Pinstripe noticed that he was down to his last clip, and saw his own opportunity to retreat. "Well, seein’ how the trial’s over," he remarked, "it seems that there’s no point in me hangin’ around here! Arriverderci, Freedom Fools!" Breaking into a run, he dove through one of the courtroom windows. Outside, an expensive car was waiting for him. Pinstripe yanked open the door, squeezed in, and slammed the door shut. Within moments, the car was speeding away from the courthouse.

"One day, Pinstripe, you’ll have no place left to run," vowed Minute Man. He quickly turned his attention to the thick-necked goon at the back of the courtroom who had tossed Pinstripe the Tommy gun earlier. The thug was trying his best to inconspicuously leave the courtroom with the rest of the crowd.

"Not so fast, villain!" commanded Minute Man. Detaching the eagle standard from the head of his Patriot staff, Minute Man hurled it across the courtroom. A resounding crack and a low groan indicated that the Minute Missile had hit its mark, and the thug leaned against the wall in a dazed stupor.

Law instinctively willed herself to become Order, but to her shock, nothing happened. "Order? Are you there?" she thought nervously. "What’s wrong?"

"I... I can’t do this, Sarah," responded Order. "I can’t risk losing control and... hurting people again."

Law was stunned. Neither she nor Order had ever resisted a transformation before. "Order, come on!" she insisted in desperation. "Some of these people are unconscious. I’m not strong enough to get them all out of here by myself. I need you!"

Order said nothing, but Law felt the resistance stop. With a shower of light, Order stood in the courtroom once more. He quickly started scanning the courtroom for people that he could carry out.

He didn’t need to look far. A few steps away lay four policemen that Order had brought down in the first few moments of the courtroom chaos. He froze for a moment, and hung his head in shame. With resigned determination, Order proceeded to pick them up and rest them on his massive shoulders before trudging to the window that Pinstripe had broken through.

Liberty Lad, who had been seeing to the well-being of the people leaving the courthouse, spotted Order at the window and ran over to help get the unconscious policemen outside. He flashed a warm smile and was about to speak words of encouragement to him, but stopped short when he saw Order’s tear-streaked face. Taken aback, he helped Order in getting the fallen officers out of the courthouse in silence.

Meanwhile, back inside the courthouse, Minute Man and the Mentor had quickly subdued Pinstripe’s lackey. "Where are the explosives?" demanded Minute Man.

The thug squirmed feebly in Minute Man’s grip. "What, you think I know?" he protested. "The only word I got from Pinstripe was to help make sure that the trial went on ‘till noon. Then, he said, ‘It’s lights out for Freedom Force!’"

"Rings of Reznor!" exclaimed the Mentor. "Pinstripe was no doubt referring to the lights in this very room!"

"We don’t have a moment to waste, friend," noted Minute Man. "Those bombs will detonate in just a few minutes!"

A quick inspection of the closest interior lamps proved Mentor’s hypothesis correct. The base of each wall-mounted light was bulky, ornate, and sufficiently hollow to hold the bomb that lingered within. Mentor and Minute Man set to their delicate work on opposite sides of the courtroom, and after several agonizingly tense minutes, had carefully arranged four bundles of explosives near the window that Pinstripe had smashed. Order, who had stepped out with the last of the unconscious observers, looked back in to see if he had missed anyone.

Minute Man caught his attention. "Order, quickly! We haven’t the time to defuse the bombs. We need you to hurl them to where they’ll do the least damage!"

Order hesitated, still torn with self-doubt. Law was instantly prodding him on. "Order, you’re the only one on the team strong enough to do this. If you don’t hurry..." Without waiting for Law to finish, Order nodded silently and held out his hands. One by one, Minute Man and Mentor passed the explosives to Order, who hurled each of them upwards with all of his strength. Seconds later, the sky lit up with an angry red glare from four simultaneous explosions. Clouds of smoke hung in the air above the courthouse for several seconds before dispersing.

An hour later, after the injured had been tended to and the crowd was safely on its way, Minute Man was quick to praise his fellows. "Good work, team!" he congratulated. He paused, however, as he noticed Order silently looking into the courtroom

Minute Man approached his brooding friend. "What’s the matter, chum? You saved this courthouse - and the people within!"

Order turned slowly to Minute Man. "Did I?" he questioned in a weary voice. "It looks to me like I nearly destroyed it. Starting with Liberty Lad and those policemen."

Law reprimanded him from inside. "Don, that’s not fair. It wasn’t your fault!"

Order shook his head insistently, speaking both to Law and the other members of Freedom Force. "I can’t control my temper! And with my strength, that makes me a menace... a liability."

Liberty Lad was quick to interject. "Jeepers, Order, I don’t believe that for a second! I don’t hold what happened against you - we all saw what happened to that crowd when that lawyer went crazy!"

Order smiled, sadly. "It’s nice of you to say that, kid, but justice doesn’t come from laying the blame on others. I might not have wanted to do what I did back there, but it still happened, just the same. I can’t risk letting it happen again... not to you, your friends, or anyone else in Patriot City."

"What are you saying, friend?" asked a disturbed Minute Man. Beside him, Mentor bowed his head, dreading the response he knew would follow.

"I’m not cut out for this anymore, Minute Man," replied Order. "I’m quitting Freedom Force."

Meanwhile, in one of the seedier sections of Patriot City, a lone figure skirted through the alleyways. Checking over his shoulder to see that he wasn’t being followed, he hastily ducked inside a dilapidated old apartment building. Inside, he chuckled to himself. "The work I do, and I shack up in a building that shoulda’ come down years ago. That’s irony for ya."

"Indeed, Mr. Fontaine. You have a greater appreciation for it than most in your line of work," noted a stern voice from the shadows. Johnny Fontaine, hearing his name called, froze instantly. He cautiously inched his hands to the two heavy pistols he had concealed under his trenchcoat.

"Hold, Mr. Fontaine, and be respectful!" commanded the voice. Despite his wishes, Johnny found that he could neither grab his pistols nor run. Uncomfortably, he addressed the darkness. "Uh... do I know you?" he asked hesitantly.

A mirthless laugh echoed through the room. "It would seem so, Mr. Fontaine. By a legal fiction, no less. I apparently contracted with you to blow up the Patriot City Courthouse today."

Johnny ventured a nervous laugh. "Daniel Walker? The defense attorney? Hey, why didn’t ya say so? Pinstripe told me about you..."

"SILENCE!" interjected the voice. "Do not address me by that name or title, Mr. Fontaine. You may address me only as Your Honor... or Judge."

Daniel Walker slowly stepped out of the gloom. Dressed in severe black robes, his face was obscured by a featureless black mask and judge’s wig. He held the oversized gavel from the courtroom in a gloved hand. Johnny squinted at the gavel in puzzlement.

"I see that you recognize my symbol of office," said the Judge. "Which, in your boundless sense of irony, you chose as a receptacle for one of your bombs. What was the nature of the explosive that you used this time, Mr. Fontaine?"

Johnny shrugged. "For that? I got a friend that works down at Delta Labs. I pay him off to get ‘samples’ of some of the stuff they work on. He calls me one day to say that they got their hands on something that’s off the charts, so naturally I’m interested." He eyed the gavel critically. "Looks like I got gypped, though. Paid through the nose for two dinky containers of the stuff, and not even a scorch mark." Realizing that his last comment might be taken with ill grace, he flashed an obsequious smile. "Uh... no offense, your Honor."

"None taken," remarked the Judge in a cool voice. "A proper judge never allows prejudice to sway him... even when pronouncing a sentence."

Johnny felt a chill run down his spine. He didn’t like the sound of that. His mind worked furiously for some wheedling comment that might calm the ominous figure before him, when he noticed that the Judge had pulled a familiar small silver canister from his robes. Fear turned to outrage. "That don’t belong to you!" he blurted out, then winced. "Dang it, Ma always said I needed to learn when to keep my trap shut," he thought.

"I never said that it did," replied the Judge. "I was simply looking for confirmation of my suspicions, which you have so readily provided. Since you have identified this as your property, you may, of course, have it back..." With those words, the Judge lightly tossed the canister, which spun lazily towards Johnny.

Johnny found himself able to move again, and instinctively reached out to grab the canister. Unbeknownst to him, however, Daniel had broken the seal on the canister so that it only barely contained the Energy X within.

Johnny shrieked in pain as the Energy X burst forth from the canister and flowed into his body. The Judge watched impassively.

As Johnny’s vision slowly cleared, he sensed two other people directly in front of him. He quickly pulled his pistols and leveled them at the strangers. They did the same, but did not fire. Shaking his head to dispel the fuzziness, Johnny looked curiously at the newcomers, and was stunned to see that they looked exactly like him. Johnny and his two look-alikes kept their guns trained on each other in a bizarre Mexican standoff.

"Wha... What did you do to me?" Johnny whispered hoarsely. He thought he heard an echo, and then realized that the duplicates were repeating his every word in exact time with him.

"I have carried out your sentence, Mr. Fontaine," answered the Judge. "In the greatest tradition of justice, with the punishment fitting the crime. Though I think you will find that I have been most lenient with you."

Johnny lowered his guns in wonder. His twins did the same, though their moves were slowly departing from their previous rigid mirroring of his movements. He looked uncertainly at the duplicates, and then back at the faceless visage of the Judge.

"Mr. Fontaine, I have given you power, but I can offer you so much more." The Judge’s voice was quietly insistent. "No longer will you need to hide from the arm of the law, looking over your shoulder and around every corner. Together, we shall be the ones to pronounce judgment on Patriot City."

The words worked their way insidiously into Johnny Fontaine’s head, and he found them intoxicating. Still, a slight part of his mind questioned the Judge’s hypnotic voice.

"Wait a minute. I help Pinstripe frame you, nearly blow you to kingdom come, and you want to offer me a job?"

"More than a job, Mr. Fontaine. A partnership. After all, what is a Judge... without a Jury?" To emphasize the point, Daniel Walker extended a white-gloved hand.

A slow grin crept across Johnny’s face. Holstering his pistols, he crossed the room to meet the Judge.

And shook his hand.

To be continued...