Trial of a Hawk Lord (character dev)

6 Months ago...

"Please state for the record your name and species categorization." The man speaking was Adam Corsanth, the Prosecuting Attorney that had been carefully selected for this particular trial. Luna Hawk wore her ordinary uniform, including the helmet, with a black arm band around her right arm. She looked quietly at the cameras, cameras from every major news organization in the world. She glanced briefly to where other super heroes, also in uniform, were positioned in the crowd...and some in the jury. Their expressions ranged from sadness to fury, she had already been judged by her own kind. The others in the court room seemed to feel the same way and suddenly the otherwise warm room felt as cold as its white marble floor.

She glanced at her own attorney and wished she could see she was the best money could buy...but she wasn't, Luna Hawk had never been wealthy. Still, the woman was competent, if not deeply concerned about the case she had taken on. Sometimes Luna Hawk wondered if her own attorney thought she was guilty. She closed her eyes for a moment and then focused on the prosecutor again. "My name is Luna Hawk, I am a Hawk Lord."

"Could you state your true identity for the court and explain the concept of a Hawk Lord?" He asked.

"I will not state my true identity." She said firmly. She knew her rights as a hero. "Hawk Lords are a...collection of individual spirits created in ancient times on a variety of planets for the sake of keeping the peace and protecting the innocent."

"Keeping the peace." He said, glancing at the jury. "Protecting the innocent." He added. Luna Hawk suddenly regretted those words. She could feel him twisting them into a knife already. "So, if I understand you correctly, Hawk Lords cannot truly die?" He asked her.

"Correct." She said. "When our body dies, we eventually reincarnate, usually when the world needs another hero the most."

"So...do you even understand death?" He asked.

"Excuse me?" Luna Hawk asked, incredulous.

"When you took this gun," He picked up an evidence bag containing one of her pistols. "and put it to The Monitor's head, did it occur to you that he would not himself come back. Did you even care?"

"Objection!" Her attorney said sharply.

"Sustained." The judge replied.

Luna Hawk's response was barely audible. "I loved him."

"Excuse me?" The prosecutor asked.

She glanced at her attorney, the woman nodded encouragingly.

"I said, I loved him. I would never hurt him, not for any reason in the world. I would have done anything to save him. I tried *Everything* to save him."

"I see." He said. "Wasn't he commonly known to be a relationship with uh...what's her name?" He asked, glancing at the jury. "Oh right, The Red Fury."

"Yes." She said quietly.

"I see." He said. "Were you jealous?" He asked.

Luna Hawk hesitated. She could practically feel the cameras zooming in on her. "I'm sorry...what was the question?" She asked.

"You have the ears of a hawk, I think you heard me." He replied.

"Answer the question." The Judge ordered.

She took a deep breath. "Yes..."

Awesome job

Intrigued to say the least.

You do well with the classical super hero feel, and I like the character.

oc: Thank you everyone =). I have put this bit into her background to make her more interesting as a hero, but also so I have things to draw off of later for potential people that can come after her.

ic:

I'm really beginning to hate that man. Luna Hawk was grateful for the helmet she was wearing, she'd never been good at keeping her emotions off of her face. As she listened to the prosecutor distort everything that had happened that night, she began to realize what had happened. At the time, she had thought it was just a horrible murder, one she would have to track down, but as the evidence was presented, the case began to build in her mind. This trial had been the objective of the murderer from the beginning. Sideline a major hero by framing them for murder of one of their own. The beauty of it, she realized as she glanced at a camera, was that it didn't even require she be found guilty. All that needed to happen was for the prosecutor to be convincing enough that she lost in the court of public opinion...and that had already begun to happen.

"As everyone here today knows, The Monitor had but one weakness, women. More specifically, love." The prosecutor was explaining to the court. He pointed to a graphic photo of The Monitor crumpled on a side walk, half of his head blasted across the pavement beside him. "The Monitor was practically invincible, that's why he was so successful as a hero. Unfortunately, when he was around those he loved, his powers of survival faded. This is the unfortunate reason he once had to rely on other heroes to save his family, because if he had gone, he would have been killed in the fighting. Whatever the romantic relationship between The Monitor and Luna Hawk, Luna Hawk had saved his daughter in the past and such things can lead to their own kind of love. Luna Hawk is an expert detective as well as a fighter, she could easily put together a plan to lower his defenses, earn his trust and then his love and then, when he least suspected it, blow off his head. She's the perfect assassin for the most invulnerable hero we have ever seen, she's alluring, her wings give her an exotic quality and she wears the kind of clothing that makes a man take interest."

Luna Hawk looked down at her clothes briefly. So, not a bag?

Unfortunately, the Prosecutor was still talking.

"Over the next several weeks, I will show you how this woman..." he said, pointing directly at Luna Hawk. "became jealous of The Red Fury's relationship with The Monitor and tried to seduce him away from her. When that plan failed, she was driven into a violent rage, as we've often seen happen before, and killed him. In no uncertain terms, Luna Hawk took one of our most beloved heroes from us, not because he wronged her, not because he was a villain or committing a serious crime...but because he dared to love another woman." He smiled a little at the camera and then at the jury and Luna Hawk realized what she had done. She was furious with him, furious with being called a murderer and reduced to nothing but a slut filled with jealous rage. She had slammed her fist on the table and cracked it in a spider web pattern around her hand. She had done exactly what he wanted her to do, she had reminded his audience of her temper.

Luna Hawk glanced around the room, at her fellow heroes. Some of them glared at her, others gave disappointed or disapproving looks. She shifted her gaze to The Red Fury, a beautiful woman who had always been a close friend and had really helped her into the hero business when she had first remembered what she was. The woman met her gaze straight on and hatred burned in her eyes. Luna Hawk slumped down in her chair and closed her eyes. Her attorney put a hand on her shoulder gently and whispered into her ear. "I'm sorry. He doesn't have a case, I can get you out of jail." She said very quietly. "But you need a PR guy."

She shook her head. "No." She said quietly. "It doesn't matter anymore. I'll pay you and..."

Her attorney interrupted her gently. "Your former organization froze your assets, you don't have anything to pay me with. You couldn't buy lunch if you wanted to. I'm doing this for free."

"But...why?" She asked softly, her heart sinking further as she realized she now had nothing.

"Because." She said softly. "I've always been a fan." She leaned in closer, whispering into her ear. "I believe in you."

Something about that was refueling, it brought back her fighting edge and her anger. Then she remembered what it was. Those were the last words The Monitor had said. Such was his durability that even with most of his head blasted off, he had still been able to speak and think coherently for a few seconds before dying.

"Kendra Saunders Hol, I believe in you." That meant The Monitor, at least, hadn't believed she was his killer. It was comforting to think about. She shifted back into an upright position and looked over at the Prosecutor.

The rest of the day in court was a blur. Her attorney paid her bail and a tracking bracelet was placed around Luna Hawk's right ankle. With no money and her house seized for evidence purposes, her attorney allowed her to stay at her house.

"Why don't you take a shower and I'll set up a room for you?" The woman asked once they arrived. Her name was Amanda Cains and she was a young attorney on only her second case. It had been all the generally un-wealthy to begin with Luna Hawk could afford. Now of course, she could afford nothing.

Luna Hawk nodded and found the bathroom. She put her bag down and closed the door. Kendra stripped out of her clothing and got the shower running, stepping into the warm water and sighing a bit as some of her stress seemed washed away. Being that she was in a stranger's house though, she had kept two things on for the shower, her identity concealing helmet and a small knife strapped to the small of her back. She leaned back against the shower wall and relaxed as best she could, listening to the sound of the water plunking off of her metal helmet. True, it wouldn't do anything to help wash her hair, but mostly she just needed to try and relax. Not long after though, there was another sound, one she wouldn't have heard if she didn't have super human hearing. She shifted her head slightly in the direction of the door and opened her eyes, able to see a silhouette through the frosted glass doors of the shower. It was her lawyer, the fan and she was trying to hide and watch. A bit creepy. She thought. She'd interacted with fans before though, it sort of came with the territory. It was a combination of physical attraction and hero worship and frankly, it was nice to have someone on her side, even if they were being a bit voyeuristic.

At least she...Luna Hawk narrowed her eyes. Oh Kendra, you've allowed them to blind you with this trial. It's perfect. Set me up with a lawyer that worships the ground I walk on, use her to do just enough to keep me out of jail...and in the public eye, where I'll be constantly hounded and tormented by heroes and the media. Pieces of the puzzle were coming together, but she needed more. She needed to turn an obvious spy into an asset. That much at least, would be easy.

"The shower would be warmer if you joined me instead of staying out there." She said quietly. Whoever you are that organized this. One day I'm going to find you, and I'm going to make you wish you were never born. Amanda opened the shower door and slipped into the shower with her. She had the expression of someone who couldn't quite believe this was happening. The problem with some fans, is they blind themselves to reality, they live in a fantasy world half the time where you're their lover, or their friend, or both. It makes them easy targets for bad guys wanting to manipulate them...just make them think their fantasy might happen. Luna Hawk hid a frown. That's what she was doing wasn't it? Yes, but at least I'm using her to achieve justice. She'll be ok, maybe I can keep her on as an actual friend. Luna Hawk wasn't really sure she bought that self argument, but she needed the information and the help. She pulled Amanda close and kissed her. And she knew what he had said. She thought while they kissed. I don't think her saying the exact same thing was a coincidence.

This is excellent, Nice work!

oc: Thank you =) Not sure when I'll have more up yet, but hopefully soon.

damn good job

Luna Hawk was on the stand again, this time as a witness for her own defense. An audio recording was playing, taken directly from the archives of the Champions of Justice. The voice currently speaking belonged to that of a man, a hero identified earlier in the recording as Defender.

"Could you repeat that last Luna Hawk, your signal was breaking up." He asked, just a hint of anxiety in his voice.

"I said..." *static* "Man down."

There was a long silence before Defender spoke again. "I'll send a medical team."

Another pause, followed by static..."He's dead."

A longer silence than before. This time Defender's voice was full of sadness. "Confirm...please."

"The Monitor is dead." The female voice replied.

Luna Hawk's attorney motioned for the archive to be turned off for the moment. "Could you please identify for the jury who's voice that was responding to Defender?" She asked Luna Hawk.

"It was my voice, I was on the other end of that call." Luna Hawk said.

The attorney nodded and produced a document, showing it to the court. "This document was passed out earlier, it shows clearly that no less than seven expert voice analysts have identified the female voice in this recording as belonging to Luna Hawk." She put the document back on her table and turned forward again.

"Where are you going with this?" The judge asked.

"Why would Luna Hawk call in the death, if she herself had just killed The Monitor? The time line does not make sense." She told the court.

She then brought up the next witness, Defender himself. He was a huge, hulking man no less than seven feet tall that looked absurd in a relatively small witness stand that now looked more than tiny. His eyes locked on Luna Hawk, who did not break off contact.

"Please state your name for the record." Her attorney said.

"I am Defender." he said in a deep, gravely voice.

"At the time Luna Hawk made the call, did you suspect she was guilty of the crime?" She asked.

"No." He confirmed.

"Right, and might I ask, why not?" She wondered.

"At the time I trusted her." He said.

"I see." She replied. "What changed that?"

"I saw the video for myself, the same video the prosecutor played earlier. My own eyes do not deceive me, the person who you can clearly see shooting The Monitor in the head is Luna Hawk. I watched the video a thousand times, same height, same build, same exact mannerisms and everything." He said.

"Yes, and we even had a number of experts paraded in here to tell us how authentic the video is." The attorney said. "But." She added with a smile. "I wish to draw the court's attention to The Duplication Incident, where three members of the Champions of Justice were cloned. After the incident, the villain was locked away and his machine placed into secure storage. Tell us Defender, where is that machine now?"

He hesitated. "Missing."

"I see." She replied with a smile.

"But that doesn't mean anything." Defender added quickly. "It has been missing for more than two years, the timing doesn't make any sense. Besides that, a cloning machine can't duplicate mannerisms and behavior."

That's been missing for two years?! Luna Hawk was stunned, she had no idea it wasn't right where it belonged. What else have they concealed from me?

"So you are unwilling to believe that your comrade in arms could have been cloned and that her clone was trained over the course of say...two years...to behave as she does? Why?" The attorney asked.

"Luna Hawk has always been a killer." He said, Luna Hawk's heart skipped a beat and she felt like someone had just driven a knife into her back. "The only reason she was allowed into the Champions of Justice was because The Monitor insisted that she deserved the chance. She has killed on missions before, against the wishes of the Champions of Justice. She has always been willing to take things too far."

Luna Hawk was reeling. They never wanted me? It felt as if her heart had been torn out casually and thrown on the ground.

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@mryashimora@gentlemansfists@the_akkadian@honor_avenger@arquitenens@pyrokitten

oc: drew your attention here because I have to edit to keep posting, if I post two in a row it won't let me post again.

ic:

After the trial that day Luna Hawk was both heart broken and furious. With her attorney Amanda busy dealing with another matter, Luna Hawk strode from the court room and right to where some of the Champions of Justice had gathered. Later, she would realize this was one of those moments where not saying anything was better than talking at all, even if it felt good at the time. The Champions Fell quiet when she approached and reporters gathered almost immediately, Luna Hawk ignored them.

"You are not one of us." An Android named Captain Amazing said in a monotone voice.

"Apparently, I never was." Luna Hawk said bitterly.

"You know we do not kill, you have always known we do not kill, yet in the past you killed some of the villains we tried to arrest." He replied calmly. The others remained silent for now, but Luna Hawk could feel the rage building in The Red Fury.

"Oh no, I don't have to justify myself to you, you're a bunch of lying assholes!" Luna Hawk put a finger in the middle of Defender's expansive chest. "Two faced jack offs. Remember all the times you acted like my best friends? Where I come from, if you have a problem with someone, you damn well tell them about it. You don't act like their best friend and treat them like shit behind their back."

"Where do you come from, exactly?" The Red Fury asked. It was a rhetorical question, a cold, heartless one. They all knew Luna Hawk didn't know her origins, only what she was...or rather, what she thought she was. Each incarnation of Luna Hawk had tried to find where the first had come from, but each had failed. "You're a lost little viscous puppy we should have thrown in the pound years ago. When this trial is over, if you haven't been thrown in Jail, we'll make sure you remember what the Champions of Justice stand for."

Luna Hawk raised a fist...but thought better of it. "No...The Monitor wouldn't want this." She said and turned to leave. That's when Red Fury struck, driving her fist into Luna Hawk's back between her wings and sending her across the room into the marble wall. Her helmet slammed into the rock and cracked it, but the Nineth Metal held up easily enough. Luna Hawk slowly turned around to face them.

"That...may have been a mistake." Captain Amazing remarked.

"Oh...it was." Luna Hawk said. Defender stepped between her and The Red Fury.

Hawk Lords were never truly unarmed. She tightened her right hand into a fist and the mace connected to her spirit appeared in her hand. She charged the Defender, electrical energy snapping and arcing off her mace. "Hyyaaa!" She screamed and brought the mace in an upward arc that crunched up into The Defender's massive chest with devastating effect. The huge man was lifted off of his feet and thrown into the air where he slammed into the building's ceiling and dropped back down, unconscious. She stepped over his body to the Red Fury, who's anger was suddenly gone, replaced by fear. The Red Fury could land crushing hits and move at incredible speed, but she was no more durable than a human without her armor.

Captain Amazing attempted to intervene, being the next closest to the two, but Luna Hawk brought her mace into the side of his head, sending him flying and slamming into the floor, not unconscious, but too far away to react fast enough to what happened next. Luna Hawk grabbed The Red Fury with her free hand before she could use her speed and lifted her off of her feet. The Red Fury's eyes widened in fear.

"I could kill you, right here." Luna Hawk said. "It would be easy." She dismissed her mace though and slowly set Red Fury back on her feet and back handed the woman instead. "But you were his lover and though you're angry and have caused me emotional pain...you're not a villain." She said. "You're just not worth killing." She turned her back then and walked from the room, several of the reporters followed after her to try and ask questions, but an over the shoulder glare forced them to back off. Police officers arrived a moment later, several of them approached Luna Hawk, but someone shouted from the crowd. "She didn't start it!" The officers looked at Luna Hawk, visibly worried about trying to restrain her. She offered her hands for cuffs instead. "It's ok." She told them. "Do your job, the cameras will speak for me."