Ahem. Thank you, your honor. Today I am privileged to be a part of a precedent setting case in many respects. We are dealing with not only the rights of cloned individuals - an area of case law that to date is quite barren - but the rights of persons who are cloned. But as the duly elected prosecutor for this county, I must represent the grave concerns to public safety represented in this case. It will be shown that on February 1st of this year, there was an attack on this city. Lives were lost. This was one-hundred percent preventable. A collection of costumed vigilantes, colorfully calling themselves 'The Adventurers', have repeatedly bucked the law to do their own thing. The county demands high standards of accountability for our protectors. Our protectors - our best protectors - wear uniforms, badges, and can be required to answer for any misdeeds. These costumed rogues do not meet that standard. In my case I will easily point out numerous times when they have flagrantly broke the laws of our ordered society. But let's not lose sight of our true focus here - the fate the defendant. If this person, who is known to have great destructive power, is not required to go to trial, but is left in the stewardship of these vigilantes... God help us all. The county's position is that the matter should go to trial, and let the public know of a potential danger in their midst. Let a duly appointed court, possibly a jury of peers, decide the fate of the monster. That is all.

In the hands of this establishment lies the hands of a woman, a woman made of flesh and blood, thought and emotion. A human being! A human being who was brought into this world with ill intent in mind, but one who can still choose her own path just as any of us has. Yet again we will assert that the circumstances of her birth do not...no.../never/ merit treating her as a so-called monster! Our group is not free from error, I will be the first to admit...but our track record of bettering our own stands for itself. We are here now. We will guide her if that is her wish. I beg you, Your Honor, do not set the precedent that this nation may once again be free to hate and persecute... That is all.

<KRUGER> "Mr. Staniel, what is your occupation?"

<STANIEL> "Well, unless Halloween came early, I'd say I'm a police officer."

<KRUGER> "How long have you served as a police officer?"

<STANIEL> "I might look like I been a cop since before you were born, young man. But it's been about five years of coffee, sweat, blood, and more coffee."

<KRUGER> "All of that here in Millennium City?"

<STANIEL> "I sure ain't crazy enough to do it in California! Eh... yes."

<KRUGER> "Please describe your duties for the court."

<STANIEL> "Oh eh, I'm a beat cop. I patrol the streets with my partner, Jack. Respond to the dispatch and keep the streets safe from your typical lowlifes."

<KRUGER> "Have you had to respond to many meta-human crimes?"

<STANIEL> "Oh, all the time. You'd think they'd send in the MARS boys first. But we get so many supervillain false alarms that people like me gotta check it out first. Kids these days! Y'know?"

<KRUGER> "I want to recall the events of one particular meta-human attack on the city, on July 10, 2014. Do you remember that day clearly?"

<STANIEL> "Ho boy. I sure do. Gives my partner the shivers when he thinks about it."

<KRUGER> "How did you first get alerted to that incident?"

<STANIEL> "Oh yeah, my buddy Jack and I were doin' the beat. Same as always. He's telling me all about this crazy idea he has for a movie script. Somethin' about a blind crimefighter in New York. So I tell him "Blind superhero? Gimme a break." Anyways! We were shootin' the breeze when we got the call. Dispatch says there was a monster out there on the streets. My first thought was that we were bein' punked. I hate that."

<KRUGER> "What happened next?"

<STANIEL> "We responded to the call, that's what. Protect 'n serve. My partner and I was the closest patrol car and boy, I regretted that. Afterwards, I mean."

<KRUGER> "So you saw the source of this attack? The 'suspect' as it were?"

<KRUGER takes a big glossy photo out of a folder, and pushes it across to Staniel> "Is this what you saw?"

<STANIEL> "Wow. You betcha."

<KRUGER> "We'll enter this into evidence. This is a freeze frame from a MCPD dashboard cam, dated July 10, 2014."

<STANIEL> "Looks like it. Even uglier'n I remember. Never was a fan of spiders- Erm..No offense."

<KRUGER> "Let the record show that this is a photo provided by UNTIL dated February 1, 2016. An image of the defendant in an altered state."

<STANIEL> "Oh.."

<KRUGER> "Officer Staniel, would you say that the July 10th 2014 photo and the February 1st, 2016 photos show the same creature?"

<STANIEL> "Whuh? Uhm, well..I mean, I ain't really qualified to make that kinda judgement. But boy, if they don't look similar."

<KRUGER> "Your Honor, I'd like to refer to an agreed statement of facts that the defendant, a clone of code-name Red Spider, is thought to have matured within just the last few months."

<KRUGER> "Officer Staniel, I want to move ahead now in the incident. How was the creature subdued?"

<STANIEL> "Should of been a giant flyswatter if ya ask me. Eh heh..Heh..Uhm. Well y'see, those costumed heroes captured it."

<KRUGER> "Upon capturing it, did they turn it over to the MCPD?"

<STANIEL> "Well, no. N'fact that particular uhm, "discussion" didn't go so great."

<KRUGER> "What do you mean?"

<STANIEL> "Hoo boy. Uhm, see I was just with my partner while the EMT's were patchin' him up. But I heard from the boys on the radio that we had shots fired and not at the spider."

<KRUGER has a tape played, dashboard footage from an MCPD squad car, showing Adventurers Mark of Power, Lady Justice, and Illusion escaping into the sewers, and police opening fire>

<STANIEL> "Whoops. I guess the boys kinda exaggerated a-"

<KRUGER> "Officer Staniel, even in cases of duly registered costumed 'heroes', to your knowledge, the MCPD should have taken custody of the creature after the incident, correct?"

<STANIEL> "Huh? Well, that's how it usually goes. Yeah. They cook em, we book em."

<STANIEL> "Thank you officer Staniel. Your Honor, I have no further questions."

<The judge indicates that Lady Justice may now cross-examine if she wishes>

<LADY JUSTICE> "Officer Staniel, may I ask you what exactly the MCPD would have typically done in a situation such as that? How would you have contained the woman in question?"

<STANIEL> "In the absence of fabulously costumed crimefighters like yourself. I would call in the MARS squad before the EMTs need a spatula to scrape me off the sidewalk."

<LADY JUSTICE> "Do you believe the Adventurers team acted with intent to save MCPD lives that day then?"

<STANIEL> "Well..Maybe not specifically officers. But I'd hate to be the poor squad leader who would have had to go head-to-head with that-..Uhm, woman."

<LADY JUSTICE> "Given your best guess, who was better equipped to stop her in the moment?"

<STANIEL> "Well, you got powers. But the MARS boys get all the anti-meta gear. Real sci-fi stuff that makes you feel like a badass when you carry it. But eh, considering you actually knew the lady... Best guess? You. Personally, I like my blood where it is. Better you than me, huh?"

<LADY JUSTICE> "Do you know why the MCPD used lethal force against the Adventurers?"

<STANIEL> "The uhm, 'suspect' is supposed to be handed over to the proper authorities. I mean, let's be honest, costumed heroics're skirting the edge of what's legal. And unlawful imprisonment is y'know, unlawful."

<LADY JUSTICE> "I see. Let's skip ahead to after the MCPD opened fire as the team fled. Were there any further incidents regarding this assailant? I will remind you that the defendant and Red Spider are two distinct individuals."

<STANIEL> "Eh, seeing as they're not the same person. I guess that was the last we saw of em."

<LADY JUSTICE> "Have you ever heard of Red Spider appearing again?"

<STANIEL> "You're talkin' about the real deal, right? In non-monster form?"

<LADY JUSTICE> "That's correct."

<STANIEL> "Well, if I hadn't, I have now. She's sittin' right there. <points at Red Spider> But eh, yeah. I heard she's been busy doing the hero thing."

<LADY JUSTICE> "So, after the team recovered her, there have been no incidents involving her and she has been helping keep order in the city?"

<STANIEL> "Looks that way t'me."

<LADY JUSTICE> "I have nothing further ask. Thank you for your time, Officer."