With Justice For All - part 3: Justice is Blindsided
by Viking

When Last We Left Our Heroes...

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."

"You're what?" cried out Minute Man in shock.

"You're what?" echoed the voice of Law with even greater emphasis.

"I know it's not fair to spring this on you like this, but..." Order's voice trailed off as words failed him. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Before anyone could speak, Order retreated inward, and Law was soon standing before the group.

Liberty Lad was the first to break the stunned silence. "Golly, Law, what was that all about?"

Law shook her head slightly. "I cannot say for certain." Her voice, normally severe, was now tinged with a trace of uncertainty. "The recent events shook Order to the core. He always was afraid of hurting the innocent, and when he saw what he had done to you and those officers... It was too much for him to bear, I'm afraid."

"We should return to the Freedom Fortress," suggested Minute Man, his voice touched with concern. "Perhaps we could then talk with Order under calmer circumstances, make him understand..."

"No, Minute Man," interrupted Law. "Order and I need to work this out together by ourselves. Forcing the issue would just make things worse."

"We understand, Law," responded Mentor. "And we will respect your desire for privacy in this matter."

"But we will not say goodbye," said Minute Man, adopting a measure of forced cheer and optimism. "You're still a member of this team... both of you."

"Thank you, Minute Man," replied Law, formally. "Hopefully, our paths will cross again."

Law departed in silence. For the moment, she was glad to be blind. She wasn't certain she'd know how to handle the sight of her friends' sorrowful looks. More than that, though, she was glad that her own eyes couldn't give her own feelings away. For the first time since she had joined with Order, she could no longer feel his presence.

Later that day, Law was walking down the streets of Patriot City's Historic District. Home to some of Patriot City's oldest architecture, it was also the practicing site of choice for Patriot City's most prestigious law firms. It was an area that Sarah Whitney had enjoyed walking through time and again when she was Judge Wilson's assistant. It wasn't that far from the courthouse, the area was tranquil, and Sarah knew every inch of its streets by heart. Though she could no longer look upon its beauty, it held a soothing quality nevertheless.

Law felt Order's consciousness stir within her. "Sarah, where are we?" he questioned.

Law was relieved to feel his presence again. "In the Historic District, Don. I always enjoyed coming here when I had a lot on my mind."

From within, Law could sense that Order was curious. "I never patrolled this area much when I was a police officer," he thought. "Sarah... do you mind if I..."

Sarah felt a flash of hope at the opportunity. "Of course, Don," she answered without waiting for him to finish. A transformation later, and Order found himself standing alone among the stately buildings. He blinked, uncertainly, and then allowed himself a gentle smile. He could see why Law had enjoyed walking the streets of this part of Patriot City.

Order paused by one of the old buildings. A plaque on the outside revealed that it housed one of Patriot City's law firms, and Order spoke the name to himself.

"McCabe, Morrison and Crowley..." he murmured. "Why does that name seem familiar?"

Law winced inwardly, but felt compelled to tell the truth. "They specialize in criminal defense, Don. That's the firm that represents Pinstripe."

"Pinstripe!" Order's mood darkened immediately. "That means that they also employed that crooked attorney of his..."

"I know, Don," interjected Law. "But you can't let that keep bothering you. Just like you can't keep blaming yourself for what happened in that courthouse."

Order stalked across the street, away from the offensive law firm. "Why not?" he growled. "Have you forgotten all the people I injured back there?"

"I haven't forgotten," responded Law. "And I know how much it's hurting you..."

"No, I don't think that you do," retorted Order. His voice was rising, and the few pedestrians on the street were now giving him a wider berth. Order paused to calm himself, and continued with an inner monologue. "Liberty Lad, the police officers, you... I didn't just hurt random innocents - I hurt people I cared about! As a police officer, I swore an oath to serve and protect the public. And I made a mess of it in that courtroom."

Law was quick to respond. "But that wasn't you! Daniel Walker was affected by Energy X, and he was the one that was responsible for what happened in that courtroom. I felt the rage radiating from him. It could just have easily been me that lost control back there."

Order shook his head. "Sarah, it's like I said to Minute Man and the others..."

*BOOM!!!*

The debate was suddenly cut short as a massive explosion detonated across the street, sending a shockwave powerful enough to knock Order to his knees. Pulling himself up, Order turned around and saw the offices of McCabe, Morrison and Crowley crumble to the ground. As the dust settled, Order began to make out the form of a black-robed man carrying a familiar gavel hovering just above the wreckage.

"Heh - it's just like they say! The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers!" The voice came from another man who was taking a more circuitous route around the rubble. Dressed in a sharp grey suit, trenchcoat and fedora, the only thing visibly sinister about the man was the black mask that covered his eyes.

"A delivery worthy of Shakespeare himself," remarked the Judge. "Though I doubt that even you fully appreciate the irony of your comment."

From across the street, Order felt righteous anger give way to fear at the sight of the Judge. "Law, I don't think I can face him," he thought plaintively.

Law didn't argue this time. "That's all right, Order. I wanted to face this villain personally, anyway."

The transformation was immediate, and soon Law was charging across the street to voice a challenge to the villains. "Hold, lawbreakers!" she commanded.

"Ah... the vigilante known as Law," noted the Judge. "I had been hoping to meet you again outside of a courtroom." His associate quickly pulled his pistols from his trenchcoat and aimed at Law, but the Judge forestalled him with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I would have thought, Law, that you and your partner would have appreciated the work that we had done here today."

"You have wrought nothing other than death and destruction, Daniel Walker," retorted Law.

"I am no more Daniel Walker than you are Sarah Whitney!" shouted the Judge imperiously. "I am the Judge, and I have sentenced those who pretended to be practitioners of law."

"You are an effrontery to the practice of law!" retorted Law. "The people in that building did not merit that kind of punishment!"

"Didn't they?" replied the Judge in a calm voice. He slowly floated the ground in front of Law as he continued his argument. "They sought to sacrifice Daniel Walker while continuing their wholesale practice of twisting the practice of law in the pursuit of worldly goods, hoping Daniel would continue to turn a blind eye. Now they know the meaning of sacrifice. And justice... is no longer blind."

"What a load of malarkey!" thought Order.

Law was quick to echo Order's sentiments. "You know nothing of justice!"

"Oh really?" the Judge was quick to respond. "Can you truly say that there is no part of you that wishes you could have done exactly what I have? For someone that professes as much of a love of the law as you, I should think that you would have found their existence... intolerable." His speech became more focused, more hypnotic. "Our pursuits are not so different. Why should we work at cross-purposes? Surely you must find it grating when someone that you bring to justice goes free to wreak havoc once more. Join me... and our judgments will be final."

Law could feel the Judge's words poisoning her will, which weakened by the second. Order could feel it as well. "Sarah, no! You've got to fight this guy! He doesn't mean what he says!"

Buttressed by Order's will backing her own, Law shook off the Judge's attempt at mind control. "We have nothing in common," she declared, "and our paths will never be the same." To emphasize her point, she sliced viciously at the Judge with her sword.

Surprised, the Judge was only barely able to parry the blow with his gavel. He quickly regained his composure, however, and levitated out of Law's reach. "Very well, Law and Order!" he cried. "If you will not accept the hand of friendship of the Judge, you will meet your doom at the hands of the Jury!"

Law suddenly became aware that she had become surrounded by multiple assailants. The Jury, who had since adapted to his newly-discovered ability, had quickly surrounded Law with a ring of duplicates. A flurry of pistols simultaneously aimed at Law.

"I leave you to your fate!" announced the Judge. "My docket is already crowded, and I have sentences to pronounce!" Gaining altitude, he quickly disappeared over the adjacent buildings and was gone.

"Well, well," remarked one of the Jurymen, "since you didn't care for the Judge, let's see how like facing twelve angry men!"

Order realized that Law was in trouble. With backup, she could handle herself in a fight, but being surrounded meant that things could get ugly in short order. Realizing he couldn't abandon her in this fight, he communicated his thoughts to Law. "You want me to handle these creeps?"

Law smiled resolutely. "I thought you'd never ask."

The tell-tale flash forced the Jurymen to shield their eyes, but they didn't hesitate to train their pistols on Order once the light dissipated.

Order looked around, noticing that any pedestrians had long since fled the scene. He nodded grimly and addressed the Jury. "Boys, you don't know the first thing about being angry." Order's eyes flashed knowingly as he gripped his hammer and raised it high. "But you're about to learn!"

As one, the Jurymen opened fire on the juggernaut of justice. Order took the hits as if they were mosquito bites, this time welcoming the crescendo of rage that he felt welling up inside. He welcomed the warm rush of righteous fury, and brought his mighty hammer down upon the ground.

The resulting shockwave sent the twelve members of the Jury flying through the air. Following up on his advantage, Order charged at a pair of Jurymen and knocked them senseless with two mighty sweeps of his hammer. The scattered Jurymen rallied, and resumed their relentless assault.

Despite his rugged endurance, Order was beginning to feel the sting from the continuing spray of bullets from all directions. Looking towards the sky, Order let forth a primal roar that echoed against the buildings. The sound of raw fury given voice was enough to shake a man to his soul, and its effect on the Jurymen was no different. Rattled with fear, the majority of the Jurymen broke ranks and scattered. Advancing on the few that remained, Order swatted aside one duplicate, and then another. When but one Juryman realized that he stood alone, he turned to run. Order grabbed the back of his trenchcoat and hoisted him into the air.

"All right, Jury," Order thundered, his rage having dropped to a low simmer, "give me one good reason why I shouldn't give you a pounding!"

Though apparently at Order's mercy, the Juryman managed a cocky smile. "Just one, tough guy? How about a dozen? Explosives, if you hafta know. Set up to go off in less than half an hour in every major restaurant in downtown Patriot City! If you're gonna keep kickin' me around, Patriot City will suffer from the biggest case of heartburn since Fat Sal changed his chilli recipe!"

Stunned by the revelation, Order's grip loosened enough for the Juryman to twist out of his grasp and scurry down an alley. This was way beyond what either he or Law could handle. Much as he hated to admit it, he needed to work with Freedom Force to protect Patriot City.

Ordinarily, either Law or Order could have contacted the Mentor with a thought and thus alerted the rest of Freedom Force as to the impending disaster. But the Mentor, fully respecting the right of Law and Order to work things out without a hint of mental intrusion, had cut off his telepathic link to them.

Law and Order stood dumbfounded by the former offices of McCabe, Morrison and Crowley, each silently contemplating a twelve-fold re-enactment of the devastation before them.

To be continued...