GODLING # 12: Seeking Justice

GODLING # 12: Seeking Justice
By Jochem Vandersteen


Walker was leaving the ER. His head bandaged, walking on a crutch.
Death Dog had hurt him pretty badly but nothing that would last
because of Godling intervening.
Man, I owe that guy, he was thinking. I've got to go to the cops and
ask for Quentin Alexander like Godling asked me to. If it's a friend
of him he can count on me.
Then he bumped into a muscular figure at the front door of the
hospital. Death Dog! He'd tracked him down via his scent. Dog growled,
"Now I'm going to finish off what I started."
Walker reacted immediately, slugging Death Dog between the legs with
his crutch. The villain whimpered like a puppy you'd just stepped on.
Walker followed it up by hitting him in the face with the crutch.
Apparently that was not one of his weaker spots, because he answered
that one by hitting Walker back. The black hero went down.
Dog grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up, throwing him against
a parked taxi, shattering its windows.
Death Dog smiled a feral smile. "I'm going to rip your throat out!" He
coiled his leg muscles to jump.
Frantically Walker tried to think up a way to defeat his enemy without
the benefit of his potion. He grabbed for something to help him defend
himself. He ended up with a piece of glass from the taxi window.
Death Dog jumped. Walker caught him in the eye with the shard of
glass. Dog's earlier whimper was now a howl. He covered his eyes with
his hands and went on his knees, full of pain.
Walker told the taxi driver to drive like hell.

*
Detective Darlene King, Officer Janson and Wade Hudson were in the
police cafeteria, at the coffee machine.
"That Alexander guy seems like such a nice guy. Can't believe he's
guilty," Janson said.
"You can never tell. Isn't it always the quiet neighbors who turn out
to be the madmen?" King offered. "You know the guy a little, don't you
Wade? What's your opinion?"
"Alexander is a wuss. But also a lonely wuss. I kind even remember
him being with a woman as long as I know him. In fact, I think he's
got a thing for my girl, Monica. Who knows what those hormones could
do when suppressed too long," Wade said and sipped some coffee.
Then a redheaded officer came in. Walker was walking beside him. The
officer said, "Detective King, Quentin Alexander's lawyer just
arrived."
"Nice to meet you," Walker said and shook King's hand.
"Well, well... That's a change for you, Walker," Wade said. "Don't you
normally help the underdog?"
"Who says professor Alexander isn't?" Walker asked.
"Well you sure look like one. What happened to you? Get hit by a
bus?" Wade asked Walker.
The lawyer smiled. "Actually it was a taxi. Now take me to
Alexander."
*
Death Dog had just bandaged his bad eye. He stood in front of a mirror
in his place. It was an empty warehouse somewhere, filled with dogs.
"You're going to pay for this, Safari," he told himself. "This time
you're going down."
"We're here," a voice said.
Dog turned around. Four armed gangbangers had just come in. The
banger who'd spoken up said, "You really want this guy dead, huh?"
"Yes, I want him dead. Torn apart!" Death Dog growled.

*
Walker was sitting across Quentin in the interrogation room of the New
Troy PD.
"Is Godling a good friend of yours?" Walker asked. "He seemed very
intent on getting you a good lawyer."
"You could say we're almost like blood," Quentin said.
"Must be nice to have a friend like him. He seems like someone you
can count on."
"Most of the time."
"Good, sorry to ask this but I'd like to know, are you innocent?"
"Absolutely. Does that matter?"
"To most lawyers probably not. But I like to be able to look at
myself in the mirror in the morning. But I guess you've got to be
innocent if Godling vouches for you. All right, first thing we've got
to do is get you free on bail. Maybe Godling could vouch for you in
court? That should do the trick after he saved New Troy from that
alien space ship."
"That could be a problem. I believe he's currently... occupied
elsewhere," Quentin said.
"Anyone else you can think of that could do well with the judge?"
"I can think of one person. I just hope he's willing to."
*
"I'm not vouching for him," Wade said. They were having diner in a
fancy restaurant.
"Come on," Monica said. "You have to. He asked you to, how can you
turn him down?"
"What if he's not innocent? That could cost me my good name."
Monica frowned. "It could cost you more if you don't. My respect."
Wade slammed the table with the palm of his hand. "What are you
talking about? What is it with you and that geek anyway? I can
understand him salivating for you, but why do you keep sticking up for
him. Anything I should know about?"
"Don't be a jerk, Wade. You know you're the only one for me. Quentin
is just a good friend."
"Be that as it may... How can you be so sure about his innocence? At
first I thought the guy's usually so mellow he has to be innocent. But
then I started to think. Nobody's that mellow. Maybe he's been keeping
it bottled up for too long. He's been without a woman for so long
maybe he just couldn't control himself anymore..."
Monica put her face in her hands. She'd been having the same thoughts
and felt incredibly guilty because of that. Could she really blame
Wade for having those same thought?

*
The courtroom was filled pretty well. Monica and Wade were there, even
Officer Janson, which made Quentin feel a little better. He'd taken on
some pretty dangerous situations since he started his Godling-gig but
this was different. He felt like he wasn't in any way in control. That
bothered him a lot. The assistant DA, Linda Cooper was a good-looking
blonde in a pantsuit. Her steely gray eyes were hidden behind big,
round glasses that seemed to be worn to counter the hot blonde looks,
make the judge take her seriously. Quentin took her seriously pretty
fast.
"This man abused his power as a professor by coming on to a student.
A student he had power over, knowing fully well he could be the person
holding her back from a college degree. This woman showed courage and
backbone however, denying him her body," Cooper said an pointed at
Amanda. Amande looked down, blushing.
"Objection, your honor," Walker piped up. My client is still just
suspected of those misdeeds. Miss Cooper makes it sound like he's
already been convicted."
"Sustained," the judge said. "Please pay attention to your phrasing,
Miss Cooper."
"I was just trying to make clear how earnest the accusations are."
The judge frowned. "Nobody doubts how earnest the accusations are."
"All right. I will pay attention, your honor. I want to make clear
that I think the defendant should not be free on bail."
"What? That's ridiculous!" Walker said. "Professor Alexander has no
record of any kind and is known as a very respectable man. There is no
flight risk involved in any way."
Cooper produced a photograph from a folder. She showed it to Quentin.
"Do you know this man, professor?"
Quentin took a look and nodded. "Yes. Yes, I do. That's my brother
Jake."
"And where is your brother right now?"
Quentin felt his mouth go dry. He swallowed. He had a bad feeling
about where this was going. "He is currently incarcerated in a New
York Correctional Facility."
Cooper looked triumphant when she said, "Yes, your brother is a
convicted criminal isn't he? Seems violent behavior runs in the
family, doesn't it? Your honor, with a family like that do you still
think he should be let out on bail?"
Walker stood. "Objection, your honor! Ob..."
Then the back wall of the courtroom exploded, revealing Death Dog and
his four armed thugs. "Yeah, objection," he said. He sniffed. He'd
managed to follow Safari's scent over to the courtroom. Now where was
he?
Everyone in the courtroom panicked. Security went for their guns but
shot down by the thugs. Quentin started to run, Walker as well. They
needed the confusion to turn into their superhero alter ego's. Wade
and Darlene King ran to the shot security men. Monica screamed loudly
as did Amanda Reese.
"Safari! I want Safari!" Death Dog yelled. "I want Safari or I'll
kill off every last one of you!" To make sure they got his threat he
grabbed a jury member by the neck and shook him like a rag doll until
he wasn't moving anymore.
Walker ran out the door, the thugs firing their guns at him but
without hitting him. Quentin was behind the judge's bench. The judge
was trying to run out the door as well, but a thug grabbed him,
telling him to stay there. Using the cover of the bench Quentin
changed into Godling and rose from it.
"This was a very bad idea," he told Death Dog.
Walker walked in the courtroom again, dressed as Safari. "A very very
bad one."
"We'll see about that," Death Dog said and charged. Safari dropped on
his back, catching Dog on his feet and kicking him back, righ into
Godling's fist. KA-RUNCH!
"Seems like we make a pretty good team," Godling told Safari.
"Yeah, good to see you here again," Safari said and gave Dog a
roundhouse kick in the face. "You take care of the thugs, I'll take
care of this psycho."
"Got it," Godling said and walked into the thugs' range of fire.
Channeling the invulnerability of Achilles he had no trouble catching
their bullets on his broad chest. When he was close enough he snatched
a thug's machine gun right out of his hands and smacked him on the
head with it.
Wade and King had managed to grab hold of the security's handguns and
warned the thugs to drop their weapons. The thugs now turned towards
them. Before they managed to fire any rounds however, Godling picked
up the thug he'd just knocked down and used him as a club, channeling
Hercules' strength to knock them out as well.
Standing over their unconscious bodies he smiled. "Guns dropped."
Meanwhile, Safari didn't seem to be faring that good. Death Dog had
his hands around his throat, his anger giving him incredible strength.
Safari tried to get loose, punching him in the gut, the liver, the
chest but the supervillain just wouldn't let go. Safari however, then
used the strength of a rhino to head-butt his enemy. CRACK! Death Dog
saw stars and went down. Immediately King and Wade cuffed the villain,
keeping their guns aimed at him.
"Seems like we solved this particular disturbance," Godling said.
"I propose court is adjourned however," the judge decided.
"My job's done here," Safari said and jumped out of the window.
Godling used his Hermes speed to leave the room and come back so fast
no one saw him return. During his return he changed back to Quentin
Alexander, appearing from behind the bench. "Are we safe?"
Wade sighed. "God, what a wuss, what a wuss... Judge, maybe you COULD
trust this guy to be released on bail."



NEXT ISSUE: OTHER-DIMENSIONAL DANGER