The Hague, the third largest city in the Netherlands, is home to the International Criminal Court. It is here that war criminals, as well as those accused of such grievous acts as those against Humanity itself and even those suspected of aggression, are brought to trial. The oath each judge inside these halls takes is written plainly upon the ICC seal;


This message was last updated by the GM at 01:09, Sat 11 June 2016.

The large room was filled with people from spectators in one half to stern-faced judges seated on the other, but still it felt empty as the accused sat in a line while the robed individuals scrolled over tablets. Finally they lowered these, and turned their attention on to the ITSDA Gaultown team. The justice in the center, a man with Asian features, was the first to speak;

"Probationary Agent Jackson, you and those who followed your command on the night of the incident, stand accused of reckless disregard for the sanctity of human life, as well as treasonous betrayal of the duties assigned to them by the United Nations Security Council. How do you plead?

Frank was sitting in the middle of the table he was at, between Vandal and Peter Vargus. He was dressed in his normal attire, as was the woman save for Black Magic; his costume had been removed, and he was currently clad in a set of gray sweats. In front of all of them were microphones, anchored to the surface before them. The old man leaned in towards his, and responded,

"Not guilty, and unless they've decided otherwise since we've discussed it, I'm speaking for all of us."

"Agent Jackson, due to your past record since joining the ITSDA, your rank has almost consistently stayed at 'probationary'. Yet two months ago, you assumed control of a ITSDA field combat unit. Why?"

"Because their commanding officer had been killed, and I was the agent with the most seniority."

Several heads before the Immortal Soldier nodded in understanding, as the center man spoke again.

"Be that as it may, your team was given clear instructions, but you circumvented them and ordered the Songbird to a different location without authorization."

"I came across information which led me to believe the area we were supposed to move against was in actuality a United States military complex, and sent word of the possibility to the ITSDA. I thought the Namadians were setting us up and found a probable location for their real base, and if they knew we weren't falling for their trap they might evacuate and be gone before we got all the i's dotted and t's crossed."

These words were followed by a bit more head bobbing, then an African Judge spoke;

"Agent Jackson, the battle you and your team instigated by going into a possible hostile situation, without authorization or backup, resulted in much of Gaultown being destroyed. Not to mention your own liberated Songbird, which was made in the first place with taxpayer money. What do you have to say about that?

"Almost all of Gaultown was owned through various shell companies, and ultimately those were linked to Dieter Sievold. As for the Songbird, it was taken down by a United States missile brought to the fight by American soldiers. We held fire on them, and the Agent who opened the back of the transport to allow to munition to hit the controls died immediately after so he's not around to ask about his part in it."

A chubby Middle Eastern woman patted her painfully tight bun of hair, then took her turn to address the old war hero.

"Speaking of Mister Sievold, I didn't notice anywhere in these compiled reports that he was placed under arrest; he was simply beaten on until he was too weak to escape, then trapped and immediately sent to the ITSDA super max prison. Need I remind you Agent Jackson, that you are an officer of the law? It's not only your duty to capture suspects, but to ensure their basic human rights are protected and upheld. You didn't even bother to arrest him, simply blew him up. If that's not an excessive force of violence, I don't know what is."

Frank took in a deep breath, held it, then let it out.

"Dieter Sievold is an internationally wanted criminal, leader of the S.A. who has terrorized the world for years, he was about to kill our healer, and I had to use an explosion because everything else hadn't worked. That includes Dieter fighting another supervillain named Kane, by the way. Oh, and I was caught in the same energy surge."

The woman waved her hand dismissively.

"We have only your word, and the word of who might well be your accomplices, that the situation was as dire as your describe it. You getting caught in the blast means nothing, since it's well known you can't die in any known way, while Mr. Sievold might have well been killed. If he had been, without a trial or a single right upheld, I'd suspect you'd be on trial directly for his murder as well.

"As to Kane Isaiah Armani, it's painfully obvious you haven't taken so much as one single sensitivity class. A reckless teenager is nothing new, but instead of trying to talk him down or help him understand what he does is wrong, you ITSDA thugs just hurt and scare him, make him run all the faster down the wrong path. You're making that poor boy into the very same monster you claim he is! No wonder you're a probationary agent, just look at the sad excuse of a job you do; your team not only pushed him into a corner, but you also almost managed to get a city destroyed in the process. What, was a town not good enough for you? Now Armani will be even harder to rehabilitate, just because cavemen like you think the universal answer to everything is violence!"

"STUFF A CORK IN IT, YOU OLD WINDBAG!!!"

Frank was standing now, his chair laying on it back behind him. His hands had come down on the table with an audible slap, he was staring at the startled faces before him, and he no longer required the microphone to be heard in the room. The judge he'd mouthed off to stared unblinking at him, and gasped;

"I beg your pardon! Just what do you mean with this outburst, Agent Jackson?"

"Are you deaf too, or just so stupid it effects your hearing? You spent all that time in law school, and don't even know when someone's telling you to shut up? My, your parents must be proud..."

Another woman, this one round to the point of looking almost like a ball with a head on it, tried to cut Jackson off without much success;

"Agent Jackson, please remember who you're addressing!"

Frank barked out a laugh in response.

"Oh, I know full well who I'm addressing lady, a bunch of stiffs who think the ability to wear bathrobes and sit on their asses for hours a day is some kind of great accomplishment; if it is, then you've lived a very sad, pathetic life.

"Chicago was almost a complete loss, because we didn't have the resources needed to protect it. The Namadians didn't have any issue, just drove right up and helped themselves to whatever they wanted. The world wanted heroes, the ITSDA was formed, but I feel like we've been two laps behind this entire race. We finally get a chance to catch up, and the ref calls a foul.

"The public is pissed at us for not doing our job in Chicago, and pissed at us for doing our job in Gaultown. Now you want to show sympathy for a sociopath who would cut all your throats if it played into some plan he had, and coddle a nutcase who has managed to kill off enough people to populate a small country! You stay cooped up in this building, your heads in the sand, then have the fucking audacity to tell people who are actually out there trying to make a difference, what was the right and wrong call to make. You know what they call that? Monday morning quarterbacking. Just a quick show of hands, who here wearing black has ever faced a blood crazed, soul stealing psychopath before? Come on, don't be shy. Anyone?"

The man in the center cleared his throat, and tried to regain control of the trial.

"Agent Jackson, there's no need for that. You captured two very dangerous men, exposed an enemy base, and did not fire on American troops. We aren't here to decide if good came out of what you did, but if you handled matters in the best way. You weren't in command of this unit, you deviated from orders, used non-agents in a fight that began simply because you were where you weren't supposed to be, and many people are dead because of your decisions including a Gifted member of the ITSDA.

"The badge you carry is called a shield, because it's supposed to shield the innocent from the wicked; not you from justice. You can't just keep saying you were doing your job, when according all evidence that job is what you decided it should be as it suited you."

Frank's lips turned into a small smile, his head tilted down and shaking back and forth before he looked up at the assembled justices again. One hand reached into his jacket pocket, and pulled out a wallet which he tossed to the floor in front of him; the cover filled open to reveal a badge.

"There, now you can hide behind that and give the sand a break if you like.

"Let's stop this mock trial right now; I freely admit that I, Frank Jackson, took control of ITSDA forces while in Gaultown. I ordered the detonation that led to the capture of Dieter Sievold, and beat Kane into submission before having him taken to the super max prison. Vandal was following my orders because I pulled Seniority on her, I conscripted Black Magic to help, and as far as they knew they were following official directions.

"There, now you have your scape goat yet again, and I'm resigning so that takes care of that. You're not going to do anything else to me though, because I still did reveal an enemy base hidden on allied land and capture two high profile targets alive. So, I'm going to leave now;

"Oh, before I forget, I'm taking Black Magic and Vandal with me. You'd never catch one to lock her up, and the other would never stay locked up. So, I'm just getting a couple of problems out of your hair before they start. If I'm wrong about you just wanting someone to publicly flog and actually meant to give us a fair trial, just stop me before we get outside..."

No one moved, and the trio emerged into sunlight without issue. Frank took a cigarette out of his pack, struck a match on a 'NO SMOKING' sign, and lit up as his phone rang. As he put it to his ear, he watched as Vandal tossed her ITSDA badge into a garbage can;

"Hello?

"You mean Meta the bight bulb?

"How's everything with you?

"I'm doing good myself, just got done with my court hearing as did Black Magic and Vandal. Yeah I'll say hi to him for you.

"You know, it's a good thing you brought that up, since Vandal and myself are unemployed right now. You do have room for her too, right? We all went through hell together, and I'd hate to break up such a fine team anymore than it has to be."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:49, Sun 12 June 2016.

As the trial of the century went on upstairs, a woman wesring an armani powersuit and large dark sunglasses walked into the offices. She set her legal briefcase down on a counter and tried to get the attention of anyone who could help. Finally, she was lead to a small meeting room and an attorney from the Hague met her there. She smiled and opened her briefcase then took out and placed a document on the table. It was a contract of retainer with a large, powerful, and notorious law firm in Berlin. "I am Ingrid Schwartz of Schwartz, Stone, and Gieble: we are the legally retained attorneys of Heir Dieter Sievold. We wish for immediate and direct access to our client as well as a list of formal charges he is being charged with."

She smiled and waited.

A salt-and-pepper haired man with thick glasses and a thicker mustache pored over the document, intermittently calling over his young assistant to whisper details about it to him.

"Please allow me to say that I'm flattered you prestigious young wolves would honor this old man with your presence," said the genial, middle-aged man as he pressed his hand to his heart and smiled at Mrs. Schwartz. "I only wish it were under better circumstances."

"Gerald, Document 3 please." The lawyer's assistant ran over to a nearby table and quickly scanned the table for one particular packet. As he did so, the laywer over Mrs. Schwartz a cigarette.

"Ah, here we are," said the lawyer as a huge packet was placed on his desk. "Thank you, Gerald."

"Your client is on the hook for quite a bit. The formal charges arising from the Gaultown incident include 210 counts of weapons smuggling, 455 counts of fraud regarding the town's actual contents, umm... various conspiracy charges, high treason..." the lawyer flipped through the packets, running his eyes back and forth across the pages as he skimmed each page. "Ha! They listed a fire code violation. And murder, of course. The Court feels as though Dieter's response to his alleged attackers was not limited to self-defense, as you've suggested previously. As for your other request... we were on the phone with the ITSDA earlier today. You will be allowed to consul him via video conference in due time... but an actual visit appears to be off the table."

The lawyer finally stared forward at Ingrid and carefully adjusted his glasses.

"Please excuse me. Now, is there anything else I can help you with?"

She chuckled at his modesty and civility. Like one got such a position at the Hague without considerable skill? Still, the repartee had begun and it was part of the process she enjoyed. Most lawyers form her firm were hired for their love of the process and the intrigue rather than any trumped up sense of morality or ethics.

"Herr, sir, please, you do not think that we would accept these terms! The documents and charges, of course. We will want hard copies of the originals provided to our local office as soon as feasible. We will prepare a defense for Herr Sievold accordingly. I don't doubt the defense will be considerable and effective."

She smiled at him. They knew that any trial here was going to be a circus of them trying to prove Dieter had any actual hand in any of the so called acts. Cases such as this were common enough at the Hague but they were never simple. There was, as always, a staggering lack of proof of any ACTUAL complicity on Dieter's part. Some of the charges might stick, but that was hardly a problem.

"Sir, we cannot in good conscience accede to such a meeting arrangement and no process in the world could be accepted by our experts of any video conference being able to maintain client-attorney privilege. The circus that we would both be put through to vet any such plan would be detrimental to my client's rights to due process as well. Let's just cut the chit-chat and arrange the meeting, shall we? We are fully prepared to come to the prison and accede to any reasonable search and security to do so, but we will meet with our client in a manner that assures his rights."

As much as she made it sound absolute, she knew the negotiations had just begun in earnest and she relished it. The look on her face was stony and cold even as her blood heated.

In reply to Frank Jackson (msg # 2): PHONE CALL CONVERSATION CONT.

"Of course! I wouldn't dream of letting her get away," Brian said wryly through his interface, "I have a job for the three of you. The Gaultown Foundation is something I've just started setting up here in Seattle, and I have a serious need for a team that can get stuff done, namely you three. My building has condos in it, so you shouldn't have to hunt for a place to stay, for as long as you choose to have a job with us, it'll be in the contract as well as an above average payout if you're willing to do some PR work? Interested?"

The gentlemanly lawyer pursed his lips and shot Mrs. Schwartz a firm, yet sympathetic look. "Quite true, a video conference may not be ideal. But our hands are, to some extent, tied. Per the '33 Resolution on Anti Gifted Terrorism Operations, the ITSDA is allowed certain... special privileges in their detainment of high-level prisoners. And in spite of what the sites might say, they haven't been stripped of those just yet.

As if reaching for some distant thought lost out in space, the lawyer drummed his fingers on the table and held his hand up to his chin. "I'll tell you what - we'll do what all we can to get you your personal meeting, but the definition of 'reasonable' security measures 's gotta be set by them. You know how these things are, I'm sure--- your client's been through this a number of times..."

A private half-chuckle escaped the lawyer's lips as he stared at his legal opponent. Perhaps he was hoping to share a moment with what he might consider a colleague; perhaps he was just sweeping his contempt for "clean-cut businessmen" like Dieter under a mask of congeniality...

In reply to Meta (msg # 6):

"Hold on a sec."

Frank hit the mute button, then turned to look at the other two.

"It's Meta, he's started something called the Gaultown Foundation in Seattle and says he wants to hire the three of us. He's offering free condos and good pay, if we're interested and will do a little PR work for him. Aside from kicking bad guy butt for the rest of eternity I've got nothing planned, but I didn't want to assume to speak for either one of you. What do you think?"

Peter grinned happily.

"A permanent gig as Black Magic? I do believe I would enjoy that, my good man."

They both looked to Vandal, who jumped up and down while clapping her hands.

"You mean we get to go to Seattle, the rain and mud capital of the US? Wheee! All my little girl dreams have come true!

The speedster stopped her actions, and grinned.

"For as smart as he is, Meta couldn't set us in Hawaii or something? Still, a free room and a steady paycheck isn't anything to sneeze at, unless I catch a cold in all that damp weather of course."

"You could go back to the ITSDA, the UN has it's pound of flesh now and you're a good agent."

<rose>"I ripped my muscles off of my bones to save a major city, and the UN's way of saying thank you is to have me brought up on charges. Meta was with us out there, he knows what we're really facing, and now thanks to him it sounds like the ITSDA isn't the only game in town anymore. Besides, I'm kind of stuck; with my skill set, I either fight villains, or deliver pizzas..."

The woman gave a wry grin, and the two men with her chuckled. Jackson clicked the mute function off his phone, and resumed speaking.

"OK Meta, all three of us are on board. First we need to get packed..."

Vandal vanished and was back several seconds later, three bags packed on the curb complete with passports laying on top of each.

"Sorry that took so long, I guess Vandal's starting to show her age...OW! Sheesh, some women can't take a joke. Anyway, we'll get a flight over to Seattle, then catch a ride to this foundation of yours. Talk to you then."

Frank hung up, and gave the female Gifted an expectant look. She looked back at him, blinked, and said;

"What?"

"Nothing, I just figured you were going to run and meet us there."

Vandal gave a disinterested shrug.

"I thought I'd go the slow way this one time, see how the other half lives you know? But I have a question, is Meta springing for tickets? Cause otherwise, getting to might be kind of hard for to ex-cops and a stage magicians."

The Immortal Soldier grinned and chuckled.

"You don't have to worry about that, the ITSDA gave me enough to live off of and paid for my equipment while I was getting a pension from the NYPD and have been for years now. That's not counting other money I had saved up before they retired me, which has been gaining interest for quite some time now. I'll take care of the tickets and hiring taxies."

Frank was as good as his word, and got the trio first class tickets to Seattle, Washington. Vandal didn't mind the pampered means of travel, although oddly she kept ending up sitting next to Frank the whole trip.

In reply to Scripts (msg # 7):

The young woman laughed in a good-natured way and then shook her head, "Certainly. That will do."

She knew most of the goody-two-shoes lawyers hated her type and the people they represented. If they hadn't wanted it this way, they should have come up with a better system of civil rights. She couldn't say what that was, she was a diagnosed high-functioning sociopath. She couldn't give two shits about society unless it forwarded her own desires and manipulating the laws was one of the things she enjoyed.

"We had tried to fight that law when it was being pushed through. People will panic unreasonably and compromise their own pompous morality at the drop of a hat really. Yes, we will await a resolution on the matter of a meeting in person. We recognize that ITSDA, a fine organization, will probably put severe security measures on such a meeting. We aren't, of course, going to prematurely agree to blanket measures. We will want advance notice of them, so that our own privacy and civil rights are assured."

She grinned again. When operating in politics and legal theaters, being a good lawyer was like having a super-power.

Lieutenant Irvine, there's no real need for this. You are not being tried for anything. You were unconscious during the main incident!"

"On top of that, Jackson and his ilk admitted their guilt. There's no need for grandstanding. This is a court of law, not a soapbox, and it will be respected as such."

A soft, solemn smile appeared on Jill's lips as she made eye contact with each of the judges. Though her eyes were hidden behind her thick "Boomblocker" sunglasses and her body was hidden within an expensive suit, everyone watching the trial unfold could see that she was a tough-as-nails, well-built woman whose glasses only served to hide a certain, determined ferocity.

I understand that, your honor. But I'm not here to defend my colleagues; I'm here to clarify the facts of the case.

The African judge's left eye narrowed as he raised his right eyebrow. "Is that so? What facts do you wish to discuss, Miss Irvine?

"Firstly, the ad-hoc recruitment of then-Agents Meta and Black Magic was neither illegal nor irresponsible. The UN bylaw regarding emergency deputization is clear; if necessary, the ITSDA is allowed to deputize Gifted so that they can legally provide temporary support in times of crisis.

The head judge locked eyes with Jill and began to subtly point at her as he leaned down into his microphone.

"Lieutenant, I was on the committee that ratified that bylaw. Don't hide behind it; that's not what it's for. Jill scoffed under her breath and snarled a bit at being called out on her rhetorical trick. "A crisis situation, in that case, would refer to a supervillain attack or a major natural disaster. Anything that required the immediate support of any and all nearby Gifted in order to save lives. It was never meant to refer to conscripting Gifted soldiers into some secret assault team!

Jill's fists quaked under the table as she took a deep breath and shut her eyes for less than a second.

"My team is, in actuality, The ITSDA First Response Team. We are, legally, the first line of defense against the Namidian Wave."

"Please, ma'am. Get to the point."

"My point is that it wasn't a 'Weekend War' to us, to my squadron. The Namidians had launched three major attacks over the course of two days. And they had every reason to believe that they would be launching another in the immediate future! Judging by the forces obviously being built up in Gaultown, they were right," Jill slapped her hand down on the table. "And that was our emergency situation. Strike now with everything we had, or lose thousands of lives simply because we didn't act."

"That's no excuse to force innocents into a suicide mission."

"Yes. Clearly, Meta and Magic's recent behavior demonstrates our need to force them into battle."

"I will hold you in contempt!"

The African judge slammed his gavel down as the crowd's murmur became a mixture of cheers, jeers, and shouts. The head judge cried out in his firm, practiced legal voice.

"Order! Or-der!"

The judges shifted in their seats while Jill stood firmly and in complete silence.

"We must have order. And we must not stray from the topic at hand. Now that we have fully absorbed your team's motives (debatable as they are) are there any other matters of fact you need to discuss, Lieutenant?"

"Just one, sir," said Jill. "And that is that I demand to take full responsibility for my team's actions. In the event I was killed in action or otherwise indisposed, I had given them license to enact justice on their terms. And since I did so, it is reasonable for me to be punished for the consequences of their actions I ordered them to take. Further, the ITSDA must be held accountable for the disasters it has caused. I won't allow the world to dismiss us as cowboys. I won't allow you to publicly dismantle the world's only unified front against Gifted terrorism." 

The African judge chuckled to himself while the judge from the Middle East crossed her arms. The Asian judge sat forward.

"A brave speech," he said. "But we will not send you off to your own organization's prison just so you can obtain good PR. Rather, the UN Security Council will assert our right to reclaim the ITSDA's agents. Lieutenant Irvine, in light of you and your team's special skills, the intensity of the conflict in which we are embroiled, and your proven inability to lead, this tribunal hereby sentences your team to serve as a member of the United Nation's Planetary Guard. Failure to accede to this demand will result in imprisonment."

Jill finally removed her Boomblocker sunglasses and spat out her most venomous words yet.

"Very well."

Less than an hour later, Jill Irvine and the attending members of her First Response Team were marched out of The Hague by their newfound comrades, the United Nation's Planetary Guard. Amidst the crowd swarming around them and bombarding Jill with questions, a member of the Guard launched a stream of fire up into the air.

"Please! No questions at this time."

Glitch gritted his teeth as he glared at the hyper-aggressive lunatic who would now act as his boss. Jill simply sighed and stared down at the ground...

-------------------------------------------------

Elsewhere, the gentlemanly lawyer slid his chair back and stood up out of it. Reaching to shake Mrs. Schwartz's hand, he offered her a simple goodbye.

"That sounds reasonable. We'll deliver you all the neccessary paperwork within the hour. And the ITSDA will be contacted about your meeting before the workday ends. So now that we've reached an agreement, I suggest you celebrate. There are a great many things to see in The Netherlands, and not just Amsterdam. You wouldn't want to miss out on all of that simply because you're here on business. Take it from someone who's made that mistake before... take it from someone with experience burning out. If you've no time for yourself, all that money you make as a lawyer is completely and utterly worthless."
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:59, Mon 13 June 2016.

The woman stood and took the offered hand, "I assure you; I am doing exactly what entertains me. However, I have several reservations at various establishments around town to fill my day before I take the train home."

With that she left and returned to the local branch of her offices and waited until the documents arrived then secured them in a private room only she had access to before going out on the town.

There was much work to be done on the case... as well as a meet to negotiate.

It had been several days since news of the activity in New York and since the smartly dressed lawyer had come about Dieter's case. Her firm had been in constant negotiations about having a sit down meet with her client and it had finally come to these terms. Dieter was meant to be securely held at a secondary location and she could meet him there. She smiled as she considered the set up and shook her head. Her firm was meant to believe that to save the security of their prison they were going to transport one of the world's most dangerous and violent criminals to a secondary location for a meeting.

She wondered what they were going to do and how they were going to pull it off. She moved along a hallways briskly to the legal documents office first and dropped off a literal book of motions regarding the various accusations leveled at Dieter. Conservatively, of the hundreds of charges being brought, only a handful of them were going to run the gauntlet her firm had in place and make it to the final trial. A lucky few. That was not the real reason to be here today though.

She then moved to another area where she was to meet a contact and be transported to the secret, secondary location to meet her client. She had in tow, two assistants. She strode into a small, back-corner office and announced herself to the secretary then took her seat and waited.

Edit: Moved to the correct thread.

A sickly, rail-thin main in dark glasses and a too-large business-suit emerged from a door behind the secretary's desk. A pair of tall, black-clad ITSDA Agents, fully decked out with tasers, assault rifles, and flak jackets, accompanied him to the meeting with Irene and her flunkies. A blue swirl of light peeked out from behind the door.

"Pleasurably, a sound location was found in a dimension nearby," said the strange ITSDA specialist, his voice and tone wavering as if he was barely managing to force himself to focus on this conversation.

"Also, it's been made comfortable enough for a brief period of habitation, so difficulties should be negligible at best. "

The guards stood beside the lead agent silently as he weakly gestured toward the lawyer. Silently, these towering sentinels held their eyes on the lawyers and miniature tasers at the ready. For any normal lawyers, they would have seemed quite the intimidating sight. Alongside their wiry, ailing leader, they may have even been horrifying...

The woman was visibly shaken. Her pupils dilated, her skin clammy, her knees shaking. For all her high-powered firm, her professional manner, and her icy exterior, the woman was not used to dealing with a certain level of psychopathy. That given, she kept her form straight, took a deep breath, and nodded, "Yes, We were informed that a situation had been found. We are eager to meet with our client."

She smiled and looked around to see which way to proceed.

"Please understand that your destination is this way," said the man, pointing his subtly clawed hand to the doorway which his creepy visage had crawled out of.

Completely disregarding the visitors he was inviting into his hidden chamber, the ITSDA's Special Prison warden gripped his hands together behind his back and confidentially strode toward it. While one guard fell back behind him and motioned for the lawyers to follow, the other ran forward and held the door open for his elderly commanding officer.

The blue portal was not your "typical" swirling gateway to another dimension; rather, it was a trio of co-centric force fields. The two inner fields gradually expanded, collided with the outer field, and deflated back to their original size.

"Stability retention is pleasurably, but not unexpectedly, high," said the warden. He casually slid the ends of his fingertips down the outer force field and the fields opened for him. He meandered his way inside the innermost field, turned around, and disappeared as that field encased him. The instant the lawyers stood, the guard nearest them moved behind them to guard the rear while the guard by the door blocked the portal. The ITSDA was leaving nothing to chance here.

Beyond the dark portal, though Dieter's associates didn't know it yet, the warden appeared atop an impossibly tall steel bridge. Below the bridge, whose rails were lined with Gatling guns, there was only thousands of feet of empty sky that eventually gave way to a boiling ocean. At the bridge's end stood a mighty tower of bulletproof glass and shining metal; the sun that hung above it gave off blinding light and searing heat.

The warden calmly, slowly proceeded across the bridge, stopping only to grasp a single gatling gun in his hand and force it to dissipate into nothingness.

"Renovations may be needed," said the man to no one in particular.

Entering the otherworldly tower through the automatic door, the strange man took a seat beside the singular, giant cement cell in which "Dieter" stood. The cell, with its carpeted floor, comfortable looking furniture, small television, and refrigerator, looked more like a hotel room than an interrogation center. The secured plexiglass wall, speaker, and lack of exit were the sole things that indicated the true nature of Dieter's cage.

"The visitation has begun," said the warden, pressing down on a button hidden under his suit and sending a signal to the guard's radios. The ITSDA's illusory simulacrum of Dieter awakened from his slumber on the cell's couch and stretched out his arms. "As must this performance..."

Back in the room where the lawyers still stood, a sharp, mechanical screech brought the guards to attention. They nodded to each other and began to lead their guests into the portal...

She was not a fan of any of this; why did Gifted people need to be so damned strange? Still, if there was one overriding control on her life it was doing her work. All she had to do was envision her father's disappointed face to spur her through the and onto the massive walkway. She frowned but took notes. No one was supposed to know where the actual prison was, but this secondary location looked exceptionally fortified and... unearthly.

She turned her gaze from the weapons and deep drop to where he client sat motionless. That was in character as far as she knew of him. She had never met Mr. Sievold nor had most of the partners at her firm. He was their biggest and most secretive client. She straightened her waistband and moved toward him flanked by her attaches. She Moved through the automatic door and noted the creature comforts in the cell and sighed.

She then moved to a small desk and sat down. She didn't even look at her client as she opened the brief and took out a stack of papers. "Hallo, Herr Sievold . Es scheint, sie Sie mit Respekt und Achtung hier behandeln. Ich bin froh, dass Sie in so guter Gesundheit zu finden.*" She paused for a second to shuffle some documents. "Ausgezeichnet, sind dann hier die Dokumente, die meine Partner wollten für Sie zu übersehen und zu genehmigen. Hier finden Sie eine umfassende Liste der Gebühren, Zusammenfassungen aller eingereichten Anträge bis heute sowie unsere Rechnung für die Kosten so weit zu finden. Lassen Sie mich wissen, ob alles zufriedenstellend ist." She folded her hands and patiently waited for the man to overlook the information.

*Hello, Mr. Sievold. It seems they are treating you with due respect and deference here. I am glad to find you in such good health.
**Excellent, then here are the documents that my partners wished for you to overlook and approve. You'll find a comprehensive list of the charges, summaries of all submitted motions to date, as well as our bill for costs so far. Let me know if everything is satisfactory.

"Danke, Frau Schwartz," said the Dieter clone as the warden simply stuck his hand through the glass and handed him the folder. The man calmly and quickly skimmed the papers, muttering to himself intermittently. His smile grew wider in almost undetectable increments as he read on... until he reached the third-to-last page. Suddenly, he could only stare at the file. His face reddened with rage; however, after noting that the guards were carefully examining his reactions, he simply shut his eyes tightly and returned the file. He beckoned for his lawyer closer to the glass.

"Frau Schwartz, gehörte diese Gebühren unerwarteten. Ich habe keine Kenntnis von einer 'nächsten Generation Computer Netzwerk verwendet, um eine detailgenaue Simulation des begabten Weltphänomen betreiben.'"

* "Mrs. Schwartz, one of these charges was unexpected. I have no knowledge of any 'next generation computer network used to operate a meticulously detailed simulation of the worldwide Gifted phenomenon.'" *

An evil smirked flashed across one of the guard's faces. They got him; he wasn't prepared for them to find out about that! The warden, meanwhile, reached his hand out toward the sky, psychically "pushing" away gale-force winds. Just then, a tidal wave nearly swallowed the bridge whole, but the warden's scooping motion hurled it entirely over the bridge. Not a single drop of water touched the walls of this otherworldly prison. Though many would have been petrified, Dieter did not react at all to the barely-averted disaster.

"Bitte schauen Sie in die Beweise für diese Verschwörung-Gebühr. Zweifellos, rufen seine offensichtlich fabrizierte Natur die anderen Anschuldigungen in Frage." 

* "Please look into the evidence for this conspiracy charge. Doubtlessly, its obviously fabricated nature will call the other accusations into question. " *

A sinister smile returned to the criminal mastermind's face as quickly as it had left.

She took the documents back through the elaborate process and eyed the charge in question. It was a strange thing as far as things went. Not an actual criminal accusation but a line from several charges really. She raised her eyes to the client and stared lond and hard into his eyes before shrugging like it did not matter to her.

In truth, client instructions rarely mattered to her. They would be followed and an investigation into this claim would be conducted if the client thought it strange. She tamped the sheaf of papers against the desk and jogged them with her hands to get them perfectly flush again before putting them back in their place within her attache. She then took out a notepad and made a few notes about his request.

"Gab es irgendetwas anderes, das Sie von unserer Firma benötigt , Herr Sievold?"

Was there anything else that you needed from our firm, Herr Sievold?

She actually assumed there was nothing and began to arrange her things to leave, but waited at the last second for anything else or a dismissal.

" Ja. Während die Gesamt Reaktion auf die unberechtigte  Betreten verboten ist ITSDA korrekt war, gab es viele ... "

* "Yes. While the overall response to the ITSDA's unwarranted trespassing was correct, there were many..." *

The ersatz Dieter eyed the warden with suspicion. When the doddering old man took a few too many seconds to weakly pretend he wasn't listening, Dieter shot him a heart-stopping glare. The guards gripped their rifles tightly in a rehearsed response to nearly any increase in "diplomatic tensions."

" ... Personen unter meinen Diensten, die Unternehmen Protokoll in Bezug auf Konflikt Deeskalation und der taktischen Einsatz von tödlichen Waffen nicht gehorchte . Ich bitte Sie, alles zu tun, um ihre verwerfliche Handlungen von denen meiner loyaler Mitarbeiter zu distanzieren. " *

* "...Individuals under my employ who disobeyed company protocol regarding conflict deescalation and the tactical usage of lethal weaponry. I ask you to do everything you can to distance their reprehensible actions from those of my more loyal associates." *

Twin bolts of lightning nearly struck the extra-dimensional compound simultaneously, but the warden spun his hands around each other. In response, the mighty streams of energy harmlessly twisted themselves around the building before disappearing entirely. Even the normally stoic ITSDA elites shrunk in fear at this impossible sight.

"This dimension's stability cannot yet be called into question, though that phenomena was not predicted..

The fearless leader of Germany's own Schwartze Augen chuckled privately at the warden's attempts to save face. Immediately, he then subtly pointed at and locked eyes with his lawyer.

" Das ist alles, was ich von Ihnen im Moment brauchen , aber ich versichere Ihnen , dass es mehr Veranstaltungen wie diese in der Zukunft sein. Als ich meine unmittelbarste Mitarbeiter sagen, auch erfordern die besten Strategien kontinuierlich Anpassung. " *

* "That is all I need from you at the moment, but I assure you that there will be more meetings like this in the future. As I tell my most immediate associates, even the best strategies require continuous adaptation. " *

The guards nodded twice at the warden, who nodded once in response. One of them began opening the door to the bridge the lawyers had crossed minutes earlier...

The lawyer stood and made a small motion of acknowledgment toward the warden and Dieter. She then gathered her papers, spun on her heal and walked out of the meeting area. She did not look back and as she approached him, the guard saw her face was blank and calm. She had looked nervous and afraid when she entered; she looked determined and resigned now.

She did, however, hesitate a second again as she passed through the dimensional rift. That was a sensation she would not soon get used to, but she recorded what her senses could of the event.

On the other side, she found herself in the international criminal court's building again. She stood still and looked around slowly. What came next was going to be quite a trial for her. She squared her shoulders and her subordinates fell in behind her. She moved briskly along the hallways, then out the doors and down the massive steps before she moved to a large waiting limo with pitch black windows.

An assistant opened the door for her before heading for another vehicle following. They were not senior enough employees to warrant this meeting. Inside, Miss Schwartz situated herself then looked up into very familiar eyes; eyes she had just been staring down minutes ago. Dieter's smile crawled slowly across his face but he said nothing. "Ich bin froh, dass Sie in so guter Gesundheit zu finden. Lassen Sie mich wissen, ob alles zufriedenstellend ist."

Ich bin froh, dass Sie in so guter Gesundheit zu finden. Let me know if everything is satisfactory.

"Meine Gesundheit ist nicht wichtig , Fräulein. Befriedigend ist eine unbefriedigende Status."

My health is not important. Satisfactory is an unsatisfactory status.

The lawyer nodded and then spoke, "You're double did not give the correct responses though. It was not you. I cannot say what I met with, but it knew none of the correct passphrases you provided to the firm, Herr Sievold. The meeting was fraudulent. Our firm..."

Dieter shook his head and smiled, "We assumed it would be fraudulent. ITSDA is a bit too predictable. This though... was disappointing. I pay a lot of money each year to have my copy of the ITSDA's file on me updated constantly. Among many descriptors they have attributed to me is 'extreme paranoia.'" Dieter's smile at that term was tense and thin. He shook his head. They also recently added 'actively seeks to undermine public confidence in ITSDA protocol and mission. "They should... well, I would have seen this coming. HAH!"

He folded his massive hands and then shrugged. What was done, was done. He reflected on his paranoia and sighed heavily as he accepted that term. AS for the other accusation, they were the ones making it necessary and.. easy. He had needed the warden out of the facility for Operation: Atlantis as well as providing him yet more ammunition to attack ITSDA's mandate. "I have already provided a statement to your firm. They will release it soon."

"Ahh.. and me?"

He eyed her for a bit and then smiled, "Maintain your cover at the firm, my dear. The position you hold is quite useful to Schwartz Augen." The real Ingrid Schwartz had died a few years prior and been replaced by a Sidhe agent. It had all been by Dieter's paranoid design to have his own agent legally representing him as his lawyer. He chuckled darkly then waved a hand and the limo began to move. He reclined back and closed his eyes to meditate on what move to make next.

---

Schwartz, Stone, and Gieble press release:

It has come to the attention of this firm that the human rights of one of our clients are being systematically and intentionally violated by ITSDA agents. Dieter Sievold is a man who has been accused of many dastardly and despicable crimes; the least of which was the recent violence in Gaultown. He is accused of being a bad man, but he still has rights. These rights are guaranteed by the International Government that has given ITSDA its mandate. The right to consul and to confront your accusers are inalienable. One's identity is meant to be inviolable.

During a meeting that was meant to be between Herr Sievold and his lawyer, Miss Schwartz, the person presented was not able to verify his identity to us satisfactorily. While the government is certainly allowed to impersonate individuals for certain situations, a meeting between an accused and his legal representation is not such a case. The individual then inquired about his confidential defense information and gave orders to our firm to direct his defense. To say the least, a fraudulent individual attempting to direct and manipulate resources outside his purview is also criminal, but this is tantamount to tampering with due process.

We protest this behavior and call for the International Courts to reassess once again the ITSDA mandate to fight the Gifted villains of the world. We also demand that our client be made available to us to meeting.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:04, Wed 26 July 2017.