It was now Sunday morning, the day after the raid on the secret headquarters of Max Midas.

 

Even though it was already 10:30 and Love had already gotten more than enough sleep, she still didn’t want to get out of bed.

 

It’s not like she was actually asleep or anything like that. She was just kind of lying there, staring up at the ceiling.

 

Suddenly there was a knock at her door.

 

She slowly got up and checked who it was through the peephole.

 

All five of her friends were crowding around the door to check if she was okay.

 

Even though a lot of them had physical injuries that were a lot worse, Love had absolutely gone through the most mental stress the previous day.

 

She took a deep breath and opened the door.

 

Maka, Violet, Candi, Ash, and Takeru were all standing outside. They were also a lot quieter than they usually were.

 

“...Hey, Love…” Violet gave a small wave. “...Mind if we come in…”

 

“...N…not at all…” She steps to the side to let her friends into her dorm room.

 

She immediately went back to her bed and grabbed her shark plush to give herself some extra comfort.

 

“...So…” Maka sat next to Love on her bed. “...You like sharks?”

 

Love gave a small nod.

 

“...Interesting…” Maka blushed slightly. “...I’ll keep that in mind…”

 

“...Why…why are you guys all so quiet?” Love questioned the group.

 

“...Before we got here…” Violet sat on the other side of Love. “...I told everyone to be on their best behavior so that you wouldn’t have anything else to stress about…”

 

Love gave another small nod.

 

“...So…if you want to…you know…talk about anything…we are here for that, but if you’re okay to just sit in silence that’s fine too.”

 

“...Okay…”

 

Violet leaned her head against Love’s shoulder.

 

“...No pressure, but I just want to let you know that you can tell us anything…”

 

“...I think that I am okay for now…” Love responds. “...But sitting here in silence is kinda letting my mind wander, you know…I think…I want something to distract myself…just for a bit at least…”

 

“...I’ve got just the thing.” Ash grabbed the remote to Love’s TV and put on her favorite animated musical.

 

“...Is that better?” Ash asks his friend.

 

“...Yeah…a little…” A small, but noticeable smile appears on Love’s face.

 

They gather more places to sit around Love’s bed. Of course, Maka and Violet were sitting on either side of Love, but Candi also decided to sit right next to her on the bed. Ash and Takeru were sharing a bean bag chair that was a little bit off to the side.

 

The friends just spent the entire day together watching movies, eating snacks, and talking about whatever. By the end of the day, not just Love, but all of the friends felt a lot better.

 

The next couple of days went by normally, but on Friday of the next week Love and the others were called into court as witnesses for the case of Maximillian Midas.

 

They all were able to get out of classes that day because of it and a special chauffeur was sent to the school to pick all of the young heroes up.

 

One interesting thing about this case though was the fact that it wasn't public knowledge yet.

 

Apparently, the city council wants to decide whether or not they want to release the information about the case depending on what the outcome ends up being.

 

Even though Maximillian Midas is absolutely guilty, his vast wealth and resources might be able to somehow find him a loophole and absolve him of the crimes that he committed.

 

The city did announce that Andrew Adams (AKA: The American Dream) and Andy McKennedy (AKA: US Andy) were dead though. Since various members of The Shadow Union were present at the hideout it seems like the city is trying to pin this entire thing on Grimm King and The Shadow Union to take attention away from Max Midas on purpose. A funeral for the both of them will be held the following weekend.

 

After a long and awkward drive the kids eventually did make it to the court where Midas was to be tried.

 

They arrived a bit early so not everyone was there yet, but slowly and surely people did start filing into the courtroom as the case drew closer.

 

Among them were Spyke Imperialis, Rick McMann, Alexandria Aleric, and Isabella Quentin who all sat in the same area as the students.

 

Another thing to note is that the court in Central City doesn’t operate like a normal court in our world. In this city, the city council basically has absolute power over everything, but they try to balance this out with the fact that there were five of them and that all had differing interests in opinions.

 

The first to arrive was Isaac Quentin, the dean of students at SUPER.

 

When he saw some of his students all he did was tip his hat then make it over to his seat, which was placed next to four other seats for the other members of the city council.

 

After that was Eiss McHail, the chief of the Central City Police Department.

 

He just gave a small nod as he passed the students and took his seat.

 

Next up was a muscular yet chubby man with shaggy dark red hair, a thick beard, a hat with a star on it, and a beige shirt with a badge on it that read ‘Warden Aleric’.

 

When he walked past the kids he just glared at them with a stern expression on his face.

 

“Aleric.” Isaac says with a small nod.

 

“Quentin.”

 

“Warden.” Eiss says without nodding.

 

“McHail.”

 

With pleasantries out of the way, Alvin Aleric (AKA: the hero Iron Ball), the warden of the Iron Cage prison, takes his seat.

 

After that was a Hispanic woman with dark brown hair tied back into a ponytail, sunglasses, and a black suit. She also had the number 1 seemingly tattooed on her forehead.

 

“Long time no see Isaac!” She runs up to meet her former boss.

 

“Hello there Juanita.” Isaac tips his hat. “How have you been?”

 

“I have been wonderful!”

 

“That is great to hear my dear. How is the CHS doing?”

 

“Honestly, I think it is even better than when you were in charge.”

 

“What a bold claim, but since it is you who is saying it I’ll take your word.”

 

Juanita De La Primera (AKA: the hero Countesa), the current president of the Central Hero Society, takes her seat.

 

Finally, the last of the council of five to arrive was a older balding man who had one strand of gray hair down the middle of his forehead, had plenty of birthmarks all over his body, and was wearing a black sweater vest, a white undershirt, a bolo tie, and black slacks. He was also surrounded by half a dozen secret service people.

 

He had a small smile on his face and gave the students a small wave as he walked by.

 

The other four members of the council all bowed their heads as the mayor of Central City, Rusty R. Roseybelt, took his seat.

 

“Hello Mayor. How are you doing today?” Juanita asks.

 

“I am doing splendidly darlin’, thanks for askin’.” He takes a rag out of his pocket to dab some sweat off of his forehead. “Now, I say, when are we gettin’ this case started because I have a rather packed schedule today.”

 

A woman who was among the mayor’s secret service walks up to answer his question.

 

“It should be starting just about now, sir.”

 

“Well ain’t that wonderful.”

 

A moment later Maximillian Midas is escorted into the room by two police officers with handcuffs around his wrists. They also gave him special gloves that he couldn’t take off so that he couldn’t turn anyone to gold.

 

A woman with sunglasses, a black suit top, and a black skirt stands near the front of the court.

 

“All rise for the honorable judge Eustache DuVall.”

 

Eustache DuVall was an incredibly tall and lanky man. He was probably about eight and a half feet tall. He was wearing a black robe and a powdered wig which weren’t too out of the ordinary for a judge to be wearing, but he also had an iron mask on his face.

 

Judge “Iron Mask” Eustache DuVall took his seat at his desk at the front of the courtroom.

 

“The case of Maximillian Midas is now in session.” He says with a booming voice as he slams his gavel down.