Brightest Doom

Chapter 30

By: BigToFu

 

Vincent Von Doom

With a hum, I ignored my security force pushing away the mass of press that tried to push into my seating area as I watched the general actors of this play gathered down below. In one corner were Superman and his very nicely priced lawyer courtesy of the Justice League, in the other corner, bald head shining, was Lex Luther with the most expensive lawyers money could buy if your name wasn't Bruce Wayne.

I stood and watched as if I was a statue while idly probing the minds of those below and what I found frustrated me. Everyone knew about not only telepaths but also mind flayers and controllers yet no one within this court of Justice even had any mental protections. The only ones I couldn't probe were those on the Justice League side and those on Luthor's side. And neither side had even brought their own damn telepaths because, of course not.

With a roll of my eyes, I activated my astral sight as I looked for the Judge that would be presiding over this entire fiasco of a situation. I found him sitting in the back office, on the wall behind the desk were his robes along with a gavel just laying on the side. Finding who I was looking for, I took my seat and closed my eyes before slowly pulling my astral form out of my body.

Hovering through the crowd, I paid them no mind even as I phased through the walls of the courtroom to find the judge gathering his things to start. I took a moment to look at the plaque on the desk and it read Judge Robert Maury. Then I saw the damn genetic testing, this man had the sheer fucking audacity to have had another test done to make sure that it was confirmed that Luthor was the actual father of Superboy.

Damn, now I didn't want to take over the body and watch things unfold from a distance, but that was weak thinking and Doom wasn't weak. With a raised astral hand, I entrapped the mind within the body before replacing the conciseness with myself. With a little shimmy, I felt myself adjust to the new body.

Taking a moment to review the last few thoughts, I found that I agreed with how things would be going. Maury had already done his review of the case and had even gone the extra mile in a few places to get the information that he needed for today's case.

With a light chuckle, I walked over and took the robes that were hanging up and dawned them over my shoulders. With that on, I gave myself one last check before heading for the door, the folder of evidence, and other various things under my folded arm.

"All rise for honorable Judge Robert Maury."

Walking up to the Judges' dais, I stood before my seat and had my eyes rove over the current attendance along with some of the cameras that were doing this live. Taking my time, I stood in front of the judge's chair, placed my items on the desk.

Raising my hand before me, I made a down motion for all, "You may be seated. Bailiff, please read today's court proceedings."

Clasping my hands together and putting a neutral look on my face, I listened intently as the Bailiff read over everything that was on the docket for the day.

[ Today we are here for the proceedings between Child Protective Services and Alexander Joseph Luthor. Today the evidence found during discovery will be brought before the honorable Judge Maury and if god wills, a verdict will be pronounced at the end of all proceedings.]

This went on for a little while longer until the Bailiff spoke long enough that Luthor's lawyers started to look uncomfortable even in their seats.

"Before we begin, due to the nature of this case, this legal body had to conduct its own independent genetic testing with Star Labs while they were kept under observation for tampering, obfuscation, and or communication outside of this legal discourse….." I then shifted the documents forward so the Bailiff could come and pick up the papers. I gave them three hard taps. Then I stared down at the accused, "Alexander Luthor… You….Are….the father."

Ohh the look on Lex's face was not one of happiness and it got even more sour when the result was pushed in front of his face.

"Preposterous!" Luthor snarls as he stands up.

*Bang*

"Order!" I called as I slammed my gavel down hard to bring order to all the sounds to bring to order. Shifting the grip on my gavel, I pointed it at Luthor, "There will be order in this court Luthor," Then I shifted it towards the supers sitting on the other side of the court. "If you haven't noticed the family of El hasn't lost control of themselves, so show the decorum with which you were raised."

The room went silent as Luthor huffed and then seated himself without another complaint.

I gave a sharp nod, "Now, you are hereby charged by the city of Metropolis for backdated child support going back in excess of sixteen years."

"OBJECTION!" Luthor's lawyer called as he stood, "Your Honor, the clone is barely even three years old."

*Bang!*

My gavel came down hard as I glared at the Lawyer, "The child, because that is exactly what he is, doesn't matter how he was brought into this world, Councilor. And you will address him as such or with the Title Superboy or by his civilian name Kon El as you no doubt have been updated with during the discovery phase. And your objection is overruled." I watched as the lawyer settled back down into his seat. "As I was saying."

This went on for a bit before I turned things over to the lawyers as the state's lawyer brought forward his evidence.

"Alexander Luthor, this court finds that with due consideration to your time in jail, even though most if not all charges were dropped, we can not afford you custody of the child; but you shall be awarded supervised visits." I spoke as I held out papers before me and allowed the bailiff to take them to both sides.

"Objection, your honor!" Luthor's lawyer called as he shot upwards.

I peered at him long and hard, "What is your objection, Council?"

"My client is a man of upstanding esteem within the community and not remanding the child to his care would be a massive disservice to his health and well-being." The lawyer states.

With a sigh, I removed my glasses and pinched the bridge of my brow, "You do understand that this child came about from illegal genetic experimentation by your client. That alone tells me he isn't fit for full custody and can only see the child under supervised visits in case it devolves into experiments." Before I could continue, I stopped myself cold, then sighed. " Council, the reason why we are here is unimportant, what is important is how we go forward with taking care of the child. Objection overruled."

"Your honor,"

"Yes, Council Murphy, you may have the floor," I stated as my attention shifted to the other Lawyer that was representing the super-family.

The Lawyer straightened the paperwork before him as he stood and started to speak while holding out a copy for the bailiff. "Thank you, your Honor, there is just the little matter of child support that we would like to broach due to the nature of my client's situation."

"Ahh, yes, I believe due to the nature of the cloning, Kon El is a little under a year old but was artificially aged to seventeen so he would be viable for combat." I replied while reading over the paperwork that was placed in front of me. "Hmm, this is one of those situations I forwarded to child protection services for review after I have handled it here."

"Thank you, your honor," Lawyer Murphy replied with a small nod.

"No, onto the particular issue of Kon El, his father will have to pay the backlog of seventeen years, including housing," I said and I could already see Luthor's lawyer springing up, but I had my hand up stopping him in place. "The caveat being Kon El will have to not only visit a psychologist, but also be able to pass a basic social aptitude test."

Murphy raised a hand, "May I ask why your honor?"

"Simple, Kon El wasn't raised in the general sense and as such he will need to be evaluated as stable. And with there not being any reputable telepaths in the employ of the state or with a degree in Kryptonian/Human physiology, the best we can go is with what we know."

"I can ask Martian Manhunter to check Kon El's mind," Superman spoke but went silent as my head snapped in his direction.

"Mr El, this body will state that we did not hear such a thing." I spoke with a raised brow then acted as if I didn't see the blush of embarrassment that washed across his face. "Now, Mr Luthor for you, monthly child support for a super powered teenager comes to roughly $58,345. This is for room and board along with advanced dietary needs. This will scale depending on if Kon El needs any developmental aids during his day to day. I'm very aware of the possibility of broken objects due to super strength. Now, we will take the 58,345 and multiply that by 12 months which gets us. $700,140, now we take that and also multiply it over the 17 years of rapid growth for Kon El and we get $11,902,380 dollars. Now, due to the nature of the child's birth and the clear absolute trauma the child had to go through along with the upheaval of the lives of his guardian, $100 million will also be placed aside as transitional funding."

"OBJECTION! Your honor is that not just a little excessive," Luthors Lawyer called out and I could see the sweat on his brow.

"Sir, just being within this courtroom alone and not at Lex Corp, Mr Luthor has already made well over $200 million, im very cognizant of Mr Luthor's company being worth trillions alongside Wayne tech, Cord Industries and Queen Consolidated so no, I do not think that is to much. If I am being honest I feel that might not be enough because as I understand it, we do not even have any schools that house superhuman facilities for their students. Matter of fact, thank you for bringing that up." I looked down at my papers and started to write and I didn't need to look up to see the glare Luthor was shooting his Lawyer. "An addendum will need to be added, Mister Luthor given the nature of this case, a little bit more responsibility will be placed upon your shoulders. I'm aware that within your file you are sponsor and chairman to one of Metropolis's premier schools, well the responsibilities of preparing the school for a super powered teenager will also be a part of this ruling alongside other facility needs that he may or may not necessarily need. And yes, child protection services will be there to investigate with a Justice League oversight to make sure Kon El can get the proper exercises that a growing Krytonian human hybrid might need."

Both sides of the court went silent as I finished my proclamation. Then I shifted my attention to Superman and his lawyering team.

"Kal El, just like defendant Alexander Luthor, due to the nature of your situation, you will be given the time of six months to get your affairs in order. I do understand that you started your heroics in America, this very city of Metropolis correct?" I asked as I shifted the papers so I could look at his face.

"Yes, your honor," Superman replied.

"Good, then I would suggest getting yourself over to immigration so you can get your paperwork processed," I stated while compiling the papers before me. "The next time I see you Mr. El, I want tohear about you having a home for both you and the child Super-Boy, along with a W2 from the Justice League."

"Excuse me your honor, but I don't receive any payment from the Justice League." Superman replied with a half raised hand.

Now, it was my turn to give him a hard are you stupid look, "Mr. El, please don't insult my intelligence. I'm very much aware that teleportation isn't free, medical checks for members after large battles aren't free along with the cost of that satellite in orbit and the other little things that are used to support the heroes of our world. I would recommend you getting into contact with a finance provider and sort this out or I will be contacting the Legal Board to have them contact the President so we may look into this egregious breach of ethics. As much as heroes would like to be altruistic there are no free rides in this world and even heroes have to pay their bills."

The look on his face was one of stunned disbelief, but I didn't care as I pushed forward with closing out everything. The look on Luthor's face was one of pure consternation, too bad for him.

BANG!

With the sound of the gavel, I stood up and walked out of the courtroom and back into the judges' quarters. After filing away all of the appropriate paperwork, I then made some final modifications to the judges' mind before pulling my astral form out of the body. With a chuckle, I floated through the walls and back into my own body.

With a fake yawn, I stood and stretched, did a little wave at Clark as his eyes widened from suddenly noticing me and my crew, turned and then left. No point in staying for small talk, he was Bruce's problem now.

 

{ Columbia }

Sitting at a table across from Bane, I took up the shot glass of vodka and downed it, then shifted the mini cup forward for a refill. Accepting the refill, I downed it again with a satisfying sound before looking at my drinking partner.

"You know, things really didn't have to descend into chaos like that," I stated while taking another shot.

My drinking partner knocked back a shot also before slamming the cup down on the table, "As if we could work together, only one gato can rule the jungle."

The shot glass paused by my lips as I looked at Bane with a raised brow, then I raised the shot glass towards him as a sign of confirmation. "Fair enough," I said before downing my drink.

"Although… I do wonder why you didn't kill me?" Bane questioned with a shot glass half raised towards his mouth.

Stopping, I looked at him for a moment, then put my shot glass down and looked at him, Bane still wore the mask and even though he wasn't on the juice. Bane was still a terrifyingly massive man to really be in the presence of. Leaning back in my seat, I made a hand motion toward his mask.

"That mask you wear, is it for show or do you believe in the spirit of the luchador?" I questioned with a hand motion at the mask he wore.

Before he answered, Bane's gaze turned sharp as he glared at me for daring to besmirch the mask he wore.

"One does not just put on the mask of a Luchador," Bane replied with all seriousness.

Leaning forward, I gave the table two taps, "Good, because I have plans for you and that mask. They wouldn't be viable if you were a false luchador."

Bane snorted, "I refuse to run around the ring like some fancy-footed fool."

Now it was my turn to snort at him and down two more shots. "That's not even close to why I have asked."

With squeaky sounds, Bane placed the cork back into the bottle before putting it back on the table and with a quick shove of the fingers, the bottle slid to the middle of the table. "So why did you come all the way out here then and ask about my mask?"

"Ohh, that's simple really." I replied while putting my own empty shot glass down. "I can bet you good money that you can't even name a Spanish hero."

Bane was silent for a second before his shoulders started to shake. "Hahahaha! Me a hero? HAHAHAHA!"

"No!" The way my words cut was so sharp, Bane stopped abruptly in his laughter. Leaning forward, I placed both hands on the table as I stared him down. "You're going to get a pardon and with that pardon. You are going to terrorize the criminals of South America all the way through Mexico. You're not a hero, but a beacon to draw the upcoming heroes to fight the good fight."

"So that's the play, I'm bait," Bane replied with a grunt.

I snorted at him, "You might as well pay back for your drain on society, just be happy that I'm strongly suggesting instead of forcing."

Bane grunted and shifted his body weight in the chair, "And if I don't?"

Raising a brow at him, I placed the stopper in the bottle, "We both know what happens if you don't"

"No hold barred I take it?" He questioned.

"No holds barred," I replied with a nod, getting up, I turned to leave because it was finally time I had a chat with mister El Presidente.