From where Thomas sat, things seemed pretty cut and dry. Dominic had brought forth blood samples from the accused that were found at the scene of the crime, which was a murder inside the home of somebody who was a known enemy of the Lonely Hearts Club. Along with that, there were fingerprints and video footage that showed the victim of the murder violently exploding. Something Pepper Morgan’s Civ was known to be able to cause. But then Pepper’s lawyer began talking about something that neither Thomas nor Dominic had expected. She started making pleas for sympathy. Apparently, Pepper Morgan had some sort of “rough childhood,” as many people’s childhoods are, and they brought forth the argument that this justified her actions against the victim. They didn’t deny that Pepper had killed him—the victim being a detective in charge of investigating them—but relished in it.

Dominic sat dumbfounded in his seat. From where he was sitting, the jury was eating it up like it was theatre popcorn. Many of them were in tears, and most seemed sympathetic. But the rest of them seemed as shocked as Dominic. It was Dominic’s turn again. “Ladies, gentleman, and distinguished Non-Binary members of the jury, this case is one built on facts. It is a fact that the defendant was seen at the scene of the crime. It is a fact that there is ample forensic evidence that confirms not only her presence that night but the signs of a struggle between the defendant and the victim. And it is a fact that they killed the victim, Detective Jonathan Smoke! They admit it themselves.”

Despite the overwhelming evidence against Pepper Morgan, who sat at her table whining with crocodile tears as she laughed internally, the jury was cold and closed off to Dominic’s pleas for them to open their goddamn ears to not just the evidence against Pepper Morgan, but to the actual confession of the defence. This is a Civ, Dominic thought. “JudgeBot, may the prosecution take a ten-minute recess?”

The words “Granted” appeared on the large monitor, and Dominic stood up, walking away from his table with a furious expression on his face before he heard somebody call to him. It was Pepper Morgan, who stood up from her seat. She was handcuffed, although it wasn’t like it would do much. “Tough break, Dominic. I guess they just aren’t big fans,” she taunted. She was incredibly tall—taller even than Thomas and way more muscular. Her strength was easily visible beneath her prison uniform.

“I know you’re doing something, Morgan. I’m not letting you slip through my grasp again,” Dominic said with a scowl.

“That’s not really up to you, is it?”

Dominic stomped back towards Thomas and Aria. “You’re doing great, Dominic. You really are!” Thomas exclaimed, attempting to soothe Dominic’s seething anger.

“That doesn’t really matter now, does it? What matters is if the jury thinks I did a good job, and they’re eating from the palm of her hand.”

“Do you think it’s a Civ?” Aria asked, leaning over the bench to see past Thomas.

“Oh, it’s definitely a Civ. I’ve seen this before, but I don’t know how she’s doing it. And there isn’t anything I can do to stop it . . .” Dominic’s frustration turned to resignation. “Every case I take, I lose. I don’t think I’m bad at my job, but it seems as though I’m just not doing enough.”

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“Why not become a Civ user yourself?” Thomas asked. “Why not fight fire with fire?”

“I’ve thought about it. And if I’m being honest, I’ve come pretty close to getting one a few times.” Dominic fished in the pockets of the inside of his suit. And pulled out a small wooden box with a black computer chip inside.

“Is that?” Aria asked.

“Yup. Dad got it for me a while ago. I keep it on me in case I really need it—like if I’m all alone and somebody corners me and tries to kill me.”

“Wait, you’re telling me that time these guys put razor blades in your stomach and a robot made of glass crawled out of my eye . . . and you had a Civ? That you could use, to like, fight?” Thomas sputtered.

“Well, I don’t know what it does yet. It could suck. And besides, I don’t know if I want to be a Civ user. Since you can’t remove one without dying, it’s a rubicon I can’t turn back from. And I want to prove to the world that there can be justice without Civs. That I can do this without supernatural power. That there’s hope yet for this world.”

Thomas and Aria were silent as Dominic placed the box back in his suit. “Dominic, that’s beautiful,” Thomas answered. And really stupid, he thought. “Should I meet your family someday?” Thomas asked.

Both Aria and Dominic laughed nervously. “Ah, that isn’t necessary. You’ve already met all of them,” Dominic answered, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously.

“I have? When?”

“Oh, uh, I mean Aria’s the only family I have really. The only family of mine worth meeting anyway. How about I meet some of your family?”

“Uh, that’s fine. Same reason, y’know, they’re all just . . . kind of lame. Boring people really. All of them.” Thomas also rubbed his neck as anxiety overtook him as well. A fresh blanket of awkward silence fell over the group as their eyes darted between each other and their shoes. “Sooo . . . do you know who the Civ user is?” Thomas asked.

“Not at all. It could be the lawyer; it could be somebody else here who’s watching the case; it could be multiple people even. Just don’t worry about it. We can’t sink to their level, Thomas. It’s pointless. I’m going to head back to my table. Sulk, maybe. Dissociate, I don’t know,” Dominic said, averting his eyes from his friends as he walked back to the table. His passionate rage had turned into a defeatist misery in the span of only a few seconds. This wasn’t the pain of some quick realization. This was the pain of dozens of repeated failures. It was the pain of a man who had given up and the guilt he felt for doing so. Pepper and her attorney were chuckling at him under their breath.

“You know,” Thomas said, staring ahead at Pepper Morgan and her lawyer. “I really, really hate that woman. I have some very unpleasant things to say about her, but I won’t because I’m at my boyfriend’s job and that wouldn’t be a good look for him. But, boy, do I want to say them. The woman who has been terrorizing my boyfriend is sitting only a few feet away, the person who sent assassins and hitmen, poisoned him, and tried to kill him on numerous other occasions.” Thomas shifted his gaze towards Dominic, and it immediately turned sympathetic. “And it looks like she succeeded.”

“Why don’t we just kill her then? We’re both Civ users, let’s just fucking—” Aria made a very graphic hand motion of strangulation.

“Um . . . that doesn’t seem appropriate for a courtroom.”

“No, shoot her in the head or something. She’s evil. That means we’re allowed to fuck her up! It’s in the Martian Constitution or whatever.”

“I don’t know. Dominic wants to win this legit, right? And he told us to just sit back.”

“And watch him get his spirit crushed? Dominic is one of those people who doesn’t want what’s best for them. He wants to struggle alone because he thinks he deserves it. And he doesn’t, so I’m not going to let him suffer!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Dominic’s behaviour is completely rational, and it happens to line up with my own—wait I’m like that! We have to save Dominic from being like me!” Thomas shouted, standing up, excited by this profound epiphany as he drew harsh stares. “Sorry,” he whispered, before sitting back down.

“Look, we don’t have to go after Pepper so Dominic to win here. But we should go after the Civ user and make this a fair fight.”

“Agreed. But who’s the user? There are like two dozen people in here, not counting the jury.”

“Oh, just leave that to me.”