Work Text:
Part Three: The Defense and The Prosecution
‘In the biggest murder case of the year, the accused, Peter Parker is being brought before a jury in London with representatives from Prague-.’
‘Protestors have rallied a ll across New York in support of their hero and alleged serial killer: Spider-man- .’
‘Matthew Murdock is the lead attorney in charge of Parkers’ case. Rumor has it , he’s collaborating with another lawyer from across-.’
‘According to a representative from Stark Industries, Pepper Potts will have a minor hand in the trial.’
It had all come down to this.
Months of taking statements, travel, forensic investigation, and the like have led up to the trial.
Ma tt had brought Athena on the case , and she had done some investigation on her own. They both felt confident in the case they were building in Peter’s defense.
“Are you ready for this, kid?” Tony asked, hand on Peter's shoulder as they pulled the car up to the courthouse .
“Ready as I’ll ever be, Mr. Stark…”
May pressed a kiss to Peter’s head, “You’ll be fine. Matt and Athena have witnesses, evidence … They’re prepared for everything it seems like. ”
Peter nodded in understanding, “I trust Matt and Athena …”
The car was silent for a bit before Pepper spoke up, “Tony, you realize you’re not getting out of the car , right? ”
He groaned in response, “Yes, Yes, I know watch from somewhere else so I’m not suspicious…”
The car stopped in front of the courth o use , cameras flashing and reporters eager for answers.
“Alrigh t, Tony. Time to make yourself invisible ,”
Tony groaned, “Got it!”
Live streams were up everywhere in New York, life had been put on hold since Peter Parker was one of their own, and several new stations from the states were at the trial.
Peter took in a deep breath and stepped out into the open for the first time in months.
|-|-|
Cardiff Crown Court
December 16th, 11:32am
Courtroom Lobby
Matt pat Peter on the shoulder, “Hey, how’re you doing?”
“I’m doing alright. The glasses you sent Mrs. Pepper are really helping with the bright camera flashes and the lights ,” Peter says with a grin .
He looks over Matt's shoulders, “Where’s your partner?”
Matt sighed, “She’s doing seven laps around t he courtho use to calm her nerves… How she’s doing it, I have no idea, what with all the press outside.”
“R-.”
Peter was cut off by the sound of the entrance doors being flung open and banging against the wall. He covered his ears immediately as the sounds echoed off of every surface.
“Athena,” Matt chastised, “ You know our client has sensitive hearing. You of all people should know how that feels.”
A woman with bright orange hair, a bright yellow blazer and shirt, blue hair tie and ribbon , black tights, and white shoes ran in their direction.
“I know, I know, but …” Athena took a few breaths , bending over with her hands on her knees , “I just had to come to greet our client! I mean, this is one of the biggest murder cases of the year , and not only that, Peter is basically an A-List celebrity!”
“Keep the excitement for after we get Peter a not guilty verdict. ”
“Mrs. Potts told me all about you!” Peter said with a glow of admiration in his eyes, “You’re the lawyer with a Ph.D. at just twenty-years-old!”
“That’s me, nice to see you, Peter!”
They shook hands , and Peter noticed the glowing piece of tech resting on her neck, “What’s th at?”
“Hm? Oh, this? This is my trusty partner, Widget!” Athena grinned as the smiling blue face lit up for Peter to see, “He’s very vital to me being here. We’re gonna get you that not guilty verdict, Peter!”
Matt rubbed his temples, “Miss. Cykes also has enhanced hearing like you and me . She can spot the difference in people’s voices at the drop of a hat.”
“It has helped me get my clients not guilty verdicts and has also assisted in exposing lies in other people’s testimony. So , don’t lie on the witness stand , or else I will know about it!”
Peter nodded, “I don’t plan on it… I just want to go home.”
Matt was now off to the side, reviewing all the facts of the case, which were, of course, in braille.
He had so many files… And so did Athena! It was crazy… Peter hoped that with her help and psychological insight, along with Matt's experience and thoroughness they’d be able to win.
Peter took a breath to steady himself.
It was now or never… This was his last chance to prove his innocence .
“Are you ready, Peter?” Athena asked, “They’re going to call us into court soon.”
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
“Court will now begin! Please head inside!”
Peter looked within , Athena and Matt at his side, and he began to march toward his verdict.
|-|-|
“All rise for the honorable Terrence Hammond!”
“Please be seated.”
Peter felt jittery simply looking at the judge… He looked like he had a grudge against enhanced individuals.
“Court is now in session for the trial of Peter Parker, also known as Spider-man.”
“The Prosecution is ready, your honor.”
“The Defense i s read y , your honor.”
The judge nodded, “Prosecutor Scarlet, would you begin your opening statement?”
“Of course, your honor,” she stood, an unreadable expression on her face, “Five months ago, the defendant and the victim met in Venice. The victim was simply a dimensiona l time traveler looking to save our world from complete and utter devastation. Peter Parker and the victim were meant to be working together, that is, up until the defendant stabbed the victim in the back. ”
Prosecutor Scarlet grabbed a remote to control a small monitor near the defendants’ seat . It showed a picture of the Stark Industries satellite , “The defendant was planning on using stolen Stark technology to become the next great hero , and when the victim discovered his plot, he was silenced. The drone strike on the London Bridge was purely of the defendants’ creation as seen by the video that has been viewed millions of times all over the world. In light of this, I formally indict Peter Parker on several charges of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, felony theft, hacking, and fleeing the country to avoid prosecution.”
She sat down, papers stacked neatly in front of her with an almost triumphant grin on her face , “That is all you honor.”
Peter stared at the desk. From a logical standpoint, anyone would think he was guilty without a doubt.
But there was doubt. And that d o ubt was keeping him alive and not in a maximum-security prison under the sea.
“Thank you, Prosecutor Scarlet . Defense, how do you plead?”
“Not guilty, your honor.”
The judge nodded , “From my understanding, you both have plethoras of evidence proving the defendant's guilt and innocence? ”
“Yes, your honor,” Prosecutor Scarlet stated with a completely straight face.
“I wonder how she schooled her face to look like that…” Athena thought with a slight grimace.
Both sides pulled out statements and files, placing them in a neat arrangement on the table in front of them.
From what Peter knew, which was next to nothing, some of his schoolmates would be testifying in his defense via video call since they couldn’t make the trip all the way across the world. Matt said the trial would be at least two days long due to his suspicion the prosecutor was involved with Mysterio’s plan.
‘She’s stalling,’ Matt had said.
Peter could only hope Matt and Athena’s combined efforts were enough to keep him alive.
He had to trust him.
|-|-|
When Flash and Betty showed up on the screen, he felt grateful . He didn’t expect Flash to testify for him to begin with given their history , but to hear his version of events and his continued support…
It almost made him weep right then and there.
The prosecution picked apart their testimony , which Matt and Athena refuted with their own evidence.
Next, it was time for the prosecution to bring up their witnesses, and Peter already had a horrible feeling.
“Please state your name and occupation for the record.”
“My name is Janice Lincoln. I am currently unemployed on behalf of that man over there!” she pointed to Peter with an accusatory finger and piercing glare.
Peter g rimaced, but he looked at her just a little harder and realized where he knew her from.
She was at the bar Mysterio had taken him to…. She was there when he willingly gave up EDITH.
“Would you mind telling us about the day of the incident, Miss. Lincoln?”
She sighed, “I was in London at the time of the attack, but I was far from where the massacre took place. The fire elemental had just appeared and-and I saw Mysterio fighting him off in a video I saw, but it all turned out to be a lie created by Spider-man! Mysterio fought his best against that terrorist, but eventuall y, he shot Mysterio and left him to die! That man is not a hero, he’s a thief only in pursuit of glory and victory!”
The gallery went into a simultaneous uproar , and it took several slams from the gavel to calm them back down.
“Order! I will have order!”
After they finally quieted down, he turned to Matt and Athena, “Defense, you may begi n your cross-examination. ”
Matt stood and began to shuffle through some papers, “Miss. Lincoln, this may sound like a nitpick, but let me ask you this . You hadn’t spoken to the victim before the attack on London, correct?”
“I hadn’t.”
“So then you wouldn’t mind clearing this interaction up, would you?” Matt cleared his throat, “Ok people no Avengers coming, we’re good to go. William, launch the drones. ” He looks back up at Janice, who seemed to become the same shade of white as her blouse, “And then William replies, ‘ Copy that, brother. Drones are entering the atmosphere, weapons hot.’”
Matt holds up a finger, “This is the part I want you to clarify in particular, where Mysterio says, ‘Excellent, Janice?’ and you reply, ‘I’m still working on the cape.’ This interaction was pulled from what seemed to be a comm system on Mysterio’s suit. W ould you mind explaining?”
Janice’s face dropped. “Quentin… He was always a bit of a drama quee n… He has spare costumes and wanted to be wearing a particular one after the battle.
Matt shook his head , “The timestamps read about 4:32pm, just before the attack. You contradicted your own testimony by saying you hadn’t spoken to him!”
Janice covered her mouth as the court became alive with chatter. He, Athena, and Peter could hear a soft, “Shit!” leaving her lips.
“And about the drones , since you had clearly spoken to the victim before his death, why was the victim worried about the Avengers showing up? Everyone knows the Avengers have been… Well, in shambles since the blip.”
“The Sokovia Accords, obviously!” Janice stated , a little too quickly for the prosecution's liking judging from how her face switched from unreadable, annoyance, and back to being completely straight-faced in a matter of mere seconds.
Matt quirked up a brow and turned back to Janice, “After the blip, the Accords were made null and void seeing as many of the enhanced individuals had been dusted in mass proportions. The government is still trying to pull itself together post-blip , so the chances are the Accords wouldn’t have been enforced.
“Objection! The defense is badgering my witn ess!”
“Objection overruled. Defense, you may continue.”
“Mysterio said to look out for Avengers dispatch because Nick Fury is the most paranoid man on earth!
From where Peter was sitting, he could see the color drain from the prosecution's face in an instant.
Janice had screwed up, big time.
Matt nodded and turned to the judge, “This wi tness clearly knows more than what she is letting on. I would like her to amend her testimony to reflect this new information.
Judge Hammond nodded, “Yes, I believe that would be most appropriate.”
Peter saw Athen a flick through the holographic screen in front of her, fingers under her chin curiously.
Did she find something?
|-|-|
“Nick Fury had discovered Mysterio when the first elemental, the air one, I believe, attacked . Then he was sent to Venice to defeat the water-based elemental , that is how he and Spider-man met. Nick Fury and Mysterio had bee n completely smitten by his act! Mysterio was a real hero, and Spider-man was threatened by that, so he killed him in cold blood like a coward! He planted carefully crafted lies in Fury’s head like a true manipulator would!”
Athena and Matt talked amongst themselves, Athena motioning toward the holographic screen in front of her multiple times .
She stood, “Your honor! I would like to request a small therapy session for Miss. Lincoln.”
The prosecution immediately interjected, “Therapy? Surely, you must be joking…” she turned back to the judge, “The defense is trying to undermine the psychological wellbeing of my witness!”
The judge shook his head, “I have seen how Miss. Cykes’ extraordinary skill has poked holes in the testimony of others and brought the truth to light on multiple occasions. I believe it would be helpful in this case.
“Thank you, your honor.”
With a few swipes of her fingers, the holographic screen changes, making pictures of what was interpreted to have happened according to Janice’s testimony.
“Got it!”
Athena looked up from her screen, “When you said, ‘Mysterio was a real hero, and Spider-man was threatened by that, so he killed him in cold blood like a coward ,’ you felt joy. Would you mind explaining why?”
“What’s it to you? ! Why do you care if I felt any emotions at all?! ” Janice shot back immediately.
“It’s just that… One of your closest coworkers being tricked like that… Why would it make you happy?”
Janice had completely changed her tune. No longer was her posture one of confidence, and no longer did she attempt to keep her face neutral.
A loud beeping noise emitted from the mood matrix and Athena gasped.
‘She’s scared.’
Janice… Afraid?
Athena swiped through the holographic scree n, “She’s going into emotional overload! We have to find the trigger…”
Janice looked like she was completely on the verge of a meltdown, her eyes constantly darting toward the prosecution.
“… Her fear… The root of your fear is Mysterio?”
The gallery erupted into confused murmurs and the judge used his gavel to silence them once more.
“Miss. Cykes, what is the meaning of this?!”
“According to the matrix and my own observation, something about Mysterio i s setting off red alarms and her heartbeat is going haywire!”
Peter suddenly felt uneasy in the defendant’s chair, a nagging feeling in his mind and a buzzing feeling under his skin telling him he needed to move.
And then he heard it, the sound of something whirring, and the sound of a weapon being loaded up.
Peter moved before he could even recognize he was, tackling Janice to the ground.
“GET DOWN!”
The glass windows shattered, gunshots going off for an estimated minute before stopping.
Screams rang out and the bailiffs ran over to get Peter off the witness. Everyone had ducked under whatever they could find, and t he judge was yelling for order at that point , but it was much too late.
The court had become a madhouse.
|-|-|
The police never found the shooter . All they found was a remote - controlled drone abandoned on the roof of some hotel that matched the ones from the Stark Satellite. They couldn’t trace it back to the user either, so it was essentially useless as proof.
It had been disguised with cloaking tech as well, which in the eyes of the law, only meant one thing.
Someone had been lying in wait, possibly in the gallery, waiting for Janice to screw up in the middle of her testimony . And because of it….
Peter was in the hospital recovering from a few nasty bullet wounds. One to the hip, another exiting cleanly through his thigh, and another through his stomach .
Now, it was 2am two days after the first day of the trial, and Athena and Matt were going over the evidence over dinner and slightly pricey Italian wine.
“This is a nightmare…” Matt grumbled , taking another minuscule sip from his glass.
“I think you should go to bed. I’ll take the rest from here!”
Athena attempted to help Matt to bed, but Matt was independent enough to do it on his own. He had only taken a few sips of his wine anyway.
She stayed out in the living room, on call with Apollo. It was at least 6pm over there, so he probably wasn’t doing anything important.
“We need to get Michelle Jones and Happy Hogan on the stand by the time the new trial date is set . According to her, she was the one who first came across Mysterio’s illusion tech and Happy helped Peter after he got hit by a train-.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“He told us Mysterio led him into a trap and directly onto the train tracks where a train was barreling toward him at top speed .”
‘Oh my god…’
“He’s enhanced, so he barely has any evidence to prove that he got hit by a train that day … Also, I need Mrs. Potts on the stan d without any interruptions, but since the trial is als o going far longer than it should be, it’s starting to cut into a lot of witness’ time and some aren’t going to be able to make it!”
‘ But Mrs. Potts is with YOU. ’
“… Oh, you’re right, Apollo! Sometimes I forget that she’s laying low until the new trial date.”
She could hear him roll his eyes through the phone, “Oh shut up, you would have forgotten too! ” she laid back in her seat, “Anyways, like I was saying, she’s the CEO of Stark Industries, people will listen if she says her husband left those glasses to Peter!”
‘A nd you said those glasses were named EDITH?’
“Yeah, wh a t abou t them?”
‘Do you have a file on EDITH?’
“Yeah, right here. For the most part, it's technobabble I can’t understand.”
‘Do you also have a file on the Spider-man suits?’
“Yeah, I got some inside info from Peter and Mr. Stark.
Apollo sounded fully engaged on the phone, ‘I think that since Tony created both items for Peter, there’s bound to be some similarities, right?’
Athena’s eyes went wide, “Apollo, you just might be on to something, hold on!”
Athena spread the documents out on the table, carefully reading through each she et of paper carefully. She had Apollo translate anything she didn’t understand into simpler terms.
“The baby monitor protocol allows anyone with the proper clearance to access any audio and or video the suits AI, “Karen” has take n while it’s active.”
Apollo snappe d his fingers, ‘Now look for something like that to match that description.’
And Athena did. A version of that protocol had been implemented in the glasses, and it was almost always active.
“All videos are backed up to Friday’s servers and safely stored on her cloud . Even if they are deleted from the glasses, FRIDAY will always have a version …”
It was silent as the information sunk in.
‘Holy shit…’
“BINGPOT!” Athena all but screamed, leaping to her feet, “Apollo, you genius!”
‘Glad I could help, Athena. And qu-.’
“Not now, Apollo! I have to tell Matt!”
In the other room, Matt had barely fallen asleep before Athena began her yelling. She burst in, waving around the documents like they were on fire.
‘WE HAVE A NEW LEAD!’
And that’s how he and Athena ended up heading to Pepper and Tony’s suite and 3:48 in the morning.
|-|-|
“Athena you’re going to wake the whole hotel up…”
“No, this absolutely cannot wait!” Athena shouted pausing her pounding to speak before resuming.
Tony eventually came to the door, and Athena forced her way in , shouting something along the lines of, “Just the man I wanted to see!”
“Woah… What’s going on.”
“Sorry for the intrusion, Mr. Stark,” Matt stated, walking into the significantly bigger suite, “She found a lead in the case.”
Pepper walked in next, bouncing Morgan on her hip, “And this couldn’t wait until morning?”
“Sorry, Sorry, but this absolutely can’t wait!”
“Ok, ok, slow down, Charlotte,” Tony said, “What did you find that was so important that you had to wake up my daughter?”
“I had a breakthrough with some help from someone at my home base. He got me to investigate the similarities between the spider suits and EDITH, and I-I found the baby monitor protocol!”
Tony’s eyebrows rose slightly as Athena continued on, slowly beginning to catch her drift .
“And I looked and compared her features to EDITH’s! Mr. Stark, we need access to those files! This is basically going to blow the prosecution's case out of the water! There’s complete, concrete video proof that Peter is innocent on those glasses!”
Tony was sitting up straight now and Pepper’s mouth was agape.
“ Of course, right away… Shit, how did I miss this?”
He went digging in his suitcase and pulled out… A holo table?
“July 2024… Baby Monitor Protocol.”
Files left and came into view within seconds , leaving a select few from that very month .
“Fury probably has some files as well, but I don’t think they’ll be necessary. That man is more paranoid than me and that’s saying something. Tony stood up, “ I feel like Aunt Hottie would want to see this, so while the Pokémon trainer gets her, I’ll hack into SHIELD just in case .”
Athena had a look of sorts when she realized Tony was talking about her. She retrieved Aunt May from her suite, and that grumpy driver got roped into it as well.
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we a-.”
“Get on with it, Tony,” May snapped , “No one wants to hear the monologuing right now. I’m here to find out what that man really did to my nephew. ”
Tony started the first clip, holding h is hands up in his defense.
It was of the night Mysterio convinced Peter into giving him what he wanted.
They were at the bar, and you can see exactly how much pressure Peter looked to be under that night.
‘He knew every mistake I ever made , ok, so he must have known I wasn’t ready for something like this.’
‘Why would he give it to you?’
‘Because maybe he didn’t trust me to have EDITH, He just trusted m e to pick who should.’
Tony opened his mouth, ready to start talking to Peter like he was really there.
“I left them for him… Why would he-?”
“He was trying to be like you,” Happy spoke up, “I have footage from the plane, but I don’t thi nk it will be of any use in court.”
“What happened on the plane, Happy? ”
He sighed, “The kid was roughed up real bad and somehow ended up in the Netherlands, but after patching his wounds, he seemed to have a breakdown of sorts . I had to tell him that he should stop trying to be the next Iron Ma… Like I said, I’ll show you later.”
They listened to Peter's monologue and watched as Peter handed control of EDITH to Beck.
‘Thank you, it’s an honor.’
Athena practically growled, “I can hear the malicious intent in his voice from here! He had it out for Peter from the beginning!”
‘Mr. Stark woulda really like you.’
Tony steeled his jaw, “Oh, if only he knew …” he thought grimly.
Peter left, and the illusions around the ba r began to fade away.
See? That wasn’t so hard…’
Pepper and May looked just about ready to bring Mysterio back from the dead themselves .
Mysterio and his crew did toasts not only to Tony but also to Mysterio.
“Now that’s just hurtful…”
Tony and Pepper both recognized the former Stark Industries E mployees littered all over the room , and it disgusted them They really did all this just to manipulate some kid…
“Please tell me it doesn’t get any worse than this…” May mumbled as s he watched Mysterio’s ego inflate by the second.
“I don’t know… We’ll just have to hope.”
Tony went to the holo table, and Friday spok e up.
‘Sir, I believe it would be in your best interests to combine the EDITH and the suit footage at this time interval .’
“Would you like to tell me why?”
‘I have taken the liberties of reviewing the footage in the background . If you watch one without the other, some things may not add up.’
Tony nodded, “Alright if you say so, girl.”
The footage started with Fury talking to Peter in what looked to be an official European SHIELD headquarters. Fury was then shot , and the illusions gave way to an abandoned work zone.
W hen Peter was surrounded by drones, May looked away, her breathing heavy . She practically buried herself in Happy’s side.
Beck kept talking Peter, and the illusions chased him relentlessly. Peter was desperately trying to run from things that were not even real …
‘I know this isn’t real!’
‘Do you though?’
Athena had covered her ears, but her enhanced hearing didn’t allow for the sound to be blocked out . At this moment, she almost envied Matt for being blind . A t least he couldn’t see the horrors Mysterio committed!
‘If you were good enough… Maybe Tony would still be alive .”
Tony covered his mouth in horror, watching a corpse version of his suit stalk after Peter.
“Oh god… Kid-.”
“Mysterio” got shot by Nick Fury, but it was just another trap to lure Peter into a false sense of security.
‘It’s easy to fool people when they’re already fooling themselves. But for what it’s worth, Peter… I’m sorry.’
May looked up from Happy’s chest for only a moment, but she was just in time to watch as her nephew was slammed into by an oncoming train.
She jumped up from bed, “No… NO, I-I’m not doing this- .”
May stumbled out, her whole body consumed by vicious tremors. Happy was hot on her heels after a few seconds had passed.
Tony didn’t even get up to change the footage, he was glued in place, his own words echoing in his head.
‘And if you died, I feel like that’s on me I don’t need that on my conscience.’
But Peter almost did die… And it might as well have been his fault.
“I think… I think I’m gonna go too now …” Athena got up, “If that’s ok with you Mr. and Mrs. Stark…”
“Of course, Athena,” Pepper replied, “Matt are you going to take a minute too?”
Matt shook his head, “No… I think I’ll stay just to listen to how this all plays out.”
“Are you sure? I might need to take a breather myself if we’re being honest .”
“Take your time, Mrs. Potts.”
Pepper took that as her cue to leave, and then it was only Matt and Tony.
“So, was it anything like you expected?” Matt asked.
“I expected something, but all of my expectations have been completely blown out of the water.”
Matt turned to him, the soft blue light from the holo table illuminating their faces, “He’s tough. I’m actually grateful it was h im that was hit by that train.”
“Why?”
“If it were anyone else, they would have died immediately upon impact. It just goes to show how much of a fighter he is. You nor I would have survived that hit , but he did... It’s a miracle he can still smile the way he does…”
Tony looked back at the screen, “Yeah… I guess you’re right.”
Slowly, they all trickled back into the room, First Pepper, Athena next, and finally Happy and May.
They were going to ride this out until the very end.
A day and a half later, Peter was fully healed from the bullet wound he took to the stomach. After some evaluation from government officials, a new court date was decided.
Athena looked at Peter when they visited him, her and Matt having the same goal in mind.
Peter would be proven innocent at this next trial, and that was final.
The new date was December 20 th , 2024.
|-|-|
Cardiff Crown Court
December 20th, 2024 9:42am
Courtroom Lobby
There were fewer medi a today. They were probably all scar e d off by the attack at the first trial.
Peter was taken in by a nurse from the hospital, just as a safety precaution in case he needed on-sight medical attention.
He looked sickly, but Athena doubted it was from the fact he got shot and survived.
“Hello, Peter,” Matt said, turning to the boy, “How do you feel?”
“I feel alright. The bullets were a real surprise, but otherwise, I’m good to go.”
Matt nodded, “That’s good to head. Athena and I both have acquired decisive proof of your innocent. You’re going to go home today, Peter.”
Peter felt arms wrap around his waist and the smell of pomegranate shampoo.
“Hey, MJ,” Peter said.
“Hey, dork,” she replied with her usual amount of fondness.
“You’re testifying today, right?” Peter asked.
“I am. According to Murdock , I’m testifying first, and then Ned’ll-.”
“Ned’s testifying?! Where is he?!”
“Bathroom. He’s either panicking or he’s overjoyed,” MJ tilted her head slightly to the left, “How’s the bullet wounds?
“Never the better! I can barely feel them anymore!”
MJ grimaced, “You sound so happy about it…”
“Oh, I’m not! I’m just full of energy because I was cooped up on painkillers for the 3 days… They had me on so much anesthesia like you wouldn’t believe- .”
MJ waved her hands, “Ok, ok, calm down, loser.”
“The trial will now begin! Please head into the courtroom!”
MJ gave Peter a hug, “I’ll wait here for Ned,” she lightly punched Peter in his uninjured shoulder , “Go get ‘em, tiger.”
Peter blushed, “Yeah… I will.”
|-|-|
“All rise for the honorable Terrence Hammond.”
“Please be seated ,” he said, sitting at the judge's chair, “Are the prosecution and the defense ready?”
“Of course, your honor.”
“The defense is ready, your honor.”
The judge looked over at Miss. Scarlet, “How is Miss. Lincoln?”
“We believe sh e is trying to flee the country after the shooting. Interpol is searching for her as we speak.”
He nods and turns to Peter, “And you, Mr. Parker? I understand you took quite a few nasty bullets…”
Peter gave a forced smile, “Oh, yeah, super healing and all that! It was a horrible time because my body kept trying to heal around the wounds, so I had doctors all over my case trying to make sure I didn’t have a bullet lodged in me for the rest of my life!”
The j udge didn’t even bat an eye, “Why do you sound so happy about it?
“Oh, I’m not! I was cooped up in the hospital for hour s and was hopped up on way too much anesthesia and pain killers until Mrs. Potts came along with my medicine.”
“Wait, you have you-specific medicine?”
“Yeah, my metabolism goes through regular pain killers way too fast… I had to have some medicine made specifically for me so I wouldn’t give the doctors any trouble.”
The Judge looked slightly grossed out, but he said nothing, “On the matter of the shooting, Mr. Parker, how did you know there was a bullet heading for M iss. Lincoln?”
Peter went red, “It’s kind of like super anxiety? People online call it my “Spidey-sense ” and it basically warns me of incoming danger mere seconds before it happens. I couldn’t really tell if the danger was for me or her, so I just took a leap of faith and got shot.”
The judge nodded once more, “Ok, Mr. Parker. No more questions ,” he turned back to the defense and prosecution , “I hear you both have acquired new evidence?”
“I have, your honor.”
“We have ! And we would like to call Michelle Jones to the stand!”
|-|-|
“Miss. Jones, please state you r name and occupation for the record.”
“My name is Michelle Jones, and I’m a high school stude nt.”
Prosecutor Scarlet stood up , “Miss Jones, would you mind testifying to the court the nature of your relationship with Mr. Parker and how you came to know of his vigilante identity?”
MJ crossed her arms and leaned back a bit, If we’re being honest, I’m surprised it took him getting falsely accused of murder for people to figure it out . I mean, he undresses in alleyways, his backpacks are webbed to walls, and Ned can’t keep a secret to save his life!”
Peter went red, “Sheesh… Just air out all my dirty laundry…” Peter thought.
“We met in Academic Decathalon and we have a couple of classes together,” Michelle continued, “He liked to say he told me he was Spider-man, but I figured it out.
“And when did he tell you he was Spider-man?”
“On the bridge in Berlin. He was actually planning on telling me about his big, dorky crush on me and I exposed him.”
Some of the court cooed and Peter's face only became redder.
“On that same bridge, I showed him a piece of a drone I fond when I followed him to one of the elemental fights. That’s how we found out Mysterio was up to no good. I think Peter was heading to somewhere near the Netherlands, because after he got hit by that train-.”
The gallery gasped in horror, and MJ had a look of unadulterated fury on her face, “Yeah, a TRAIN.”
“O k, I believe that’s enough testimony. Defense, your cross -.”
“ No need for a cross-examination , Your Honor. For I have evidence proving Miss. Jones was simply an accomplice to the defendant’s crime!”
The court was overtaken by shock, whispers filling the room, and doubt being cast upon Michelle’s testimony.
Peter made the move to cover his ears when he saw the judge raise his gavel. He felt a sensory overload coming on…
“Order! Order in the court! Prosecutor Scarlet, what is the meaning of this?! ”
“I can debunk any claim the defense may make with a single essential piece of evidence,” she carefully handled a bag of glasses, a smug smirk plastered on her face, “The stolen EDITH glasses were found on Mysterio’s person. They have a recording feature that will prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a doubt!”
“OBJECTION! … What the hell?!” Athena stood up, “But if you have EDITH then-then what are these?! ”
“Mysterio knew the reason Mr. Parker was after hi m was due to the glasses in his position. So , he made some fakes he handed off to Mr . Parker and kept the real ones.”
“ Objection!” Matt stood, “I have a statement from the CEO of Stark Industries herself stating her late husband left those glasses to Peter!”
The judge banged his gavel a few more times, trying to stop a full-on argument from breaking out.
“In all my years of being in the courtroom , I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“Your honor, if I may…” Matt started.
“You may.”
Matt stood, “EDITH is equipped with a biometric scanning system. If we use that , I believe we can find which ones are the fakes.”
The judge nodded, “That does sound like the best way to solve this.”
Peter tried on both glasses, but they both recognized his biometrics. Matt steeled his ja w in frustration and Athena watched as Prosecutor Scarlet continued to hide a victorious smirk. Her vague hints of a smirk vanished once she went to face the judge though.
“Sir, I believe this is taking too much of our time trying to determine what’s fact and what’s fiction. I believe this evidence should be struck from the record.”
“Yes, I-.”
“Hold it!”
The court was completely silen t and heads slowly turned toward the courtroom door entrance.
‘No way… ’
‘Are you seeing this ? You’re seeing this right, Sharon?’
‘Holy shit-.’
Standing there, in all his glory, was Tony Stark: the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist himself.
“Hello, Miss. Jackson, haven’t seen you in four years,” Tony said, turning to Prosecutor Scarlet , who in turn looked like she was going to have a heart attack.
“Mr. Stark? W-What’s the meaning of this?! You’re supposed to be-.”
“Dead? Yeah, I know, my wife te lls me every day ,” Tony simply strolled through the court as though he owned it . “Now, your honor, I overhea rd you were getting ready to strike EDITH from the record because someone here is holding fakes?”
“Yes, b-.”
“W ell, I have a simple solution. A biometric scan.”
“Mr. Stark , we’ve already tried biometri cs for Mr. Parker ,” Prosecutor Scarlet said, trying to regain her composure.
“I mean a sca n of my biometrics. If one pair doesn’t reply to my biometrics, then we’ll know exactly which pair is fake .”
Matt turned to the judge , “Y our ho n or, I request we do a biometric scan for Tony Stark.”
The judge barely hesitated before nodding, “Ok, but if this scan bears no fruit, I will have no choice but to strike both pieces of evidence from the record.”
Matt nodded , and Prosecutor Scarlet had no choice but to comply.
The glasses were tried on, the court watching in anticipation.
‘Bio metric recognition scan complete: Hello, Tony Stark.’
It was at this moment Matt knew that they had won.
“Mr. Stark, this is quite sudden, but I have some questions for you.”
“Shoot.”
The judge cleared his throat and looked as though he didn’t know where to start, “Well… Can you address the accusations of the EDITH glasses being stolen?”
“’s all bullshit, and frankly that’s on me. I left those glasses for the next Iron Man when frankly there will never be another me . I’m sorry for that , kid, I really am,” he tur ned to Peter, “And while I never had a long wil l, I knew exactly what to leave and who to leave them to. I may have second-guessed a lot of things, but I never second-guessed leaving the glasses to you kid.”
The judge nodded, “ Mr. Murdock, you said the glasses help decisive evidence of Peter’s innocence. Please present the evidence to the court at once.
He nodded, “Mr. Stark, would you like to do the honors?
Tony pulled out his portable holo table , doing the same thing he had done a few nights prior.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the court, ma y I welcome you to the premiere showing of the Truth of Peter Parker.
Peter rolled his eyes at the dr amatics, his eyes adjusting to the dimming of the lights so everyone could see the videos .
“Objection!” a female voice… The prosecution, “Y-Your honor, this is absurd! We’re just supposed to take his word without any sort of question?!”
The judge gave the visibly distressed prosecutor a pointed look, “Prosecutor Scarlet, you have presented falsified evidence to this court, which is punishable by law if you’ve forgotten! I’d suggest you keep your mouth shut!”
“But your honor-.”
“One more outburst and you will be held in contempt.”
Now, she had no choice but t o let those videos seal her fate.
“Now, without further do-.”
|-|-|
Everything had been going fine until Peter had a panic attack.
They were at the video where Mysterio was going to fool him and shoot him without a second thought.
He saw the gun before it fired, and he felt like he couldn’t breathe.
He inhaled and exhaled, trying to keep his breathing as low and steady as possible, but he was failing. To his left, someone kept clicking their pen, to his right someone was whispering and he could hear every word-
‘Kid!’
‘-attack-‘
‘Escort him out!’
Peter was forced back into reality when he felt heavy material slide over his head… And then it was silent.
He slowly opened his eyes, but it was far too bright, even if the lights were dimmed.
He kept his eyes closed and felt everything slip away. The last thing he knew was someone escorting him out of the courtroom.
|-|-|
“Is Mr. Parker alright?”
“He will be… Panic Attacks are a symptom of PTSD, and with his heightened senses, I think it may have turned into a sensory overload. ”
The judge gave an affirming nod, “That’s good to hear.”
He banged his gavel once, “While I review everything I know, the court will take a f i ve-minute in court recess. ”
Athena looked over at Prosecutor Scarlet, who of which looked like she was ready to bolt any second, even with all the cameras on her, “I’m glad we didn’t bring up the possibility of her being involved in the hit on Janie or being a part of Mysterio’s crew .”
Matt sighed, “So do I. It would have been foolish.”
The truth had come to light, now all they needed was a verdict.
“I’m going to check on the kid,” Tony said, heading to the courtroom lobby without even waiting for a reply.
Five minutes felt like five hours because before anyone even knew it, P eter was back in the defendants’ chair, Tony by his side just in case something happened. The judge had returned from his quarters, ready to announce his final verdict.
“After so many twists and turns, starts and stops, I thought we would never get to a verdict. And while certain things are still unclear to me, I have faith that they will be cleared up in the near future.
A pause.
“In the case of Peter Benjamin Parker, I find him not guilty on all charges.”
Peter could barely believe his ears. Even with all the evidence, he couldn’t believe that the judge would really proclaim him not guilty.
The tears blurred his vision much too fast for him to react properly. His shoulders shook, and he was completely hunched over, not able to hear anything over the sound of his own sobs.
‘Thank you… Thank you so much.’
|-|-|
Of everyone who celebrated the acquittal of Spider-man , no one partied harder than the city of Queens.
People went around singing Spider-man related Christmas songs, and others watched the moment of the final verdict over and over again until it was burned into their retinas.
Time no longer felt real, because to all over them, over the course of over half a year , they had grown to love and respect not only Spider-man but the man under the mask known as Peter Parker as well over the course of the journey.
He was coming home, where he belonged.