Emerging miraculously unscathed from the debris, I quickly shoved the rubble off myself and sprang into action amid the chaotic scene. A cacophony of gunfire filled the air, drowning out the agonized cries of the survivors. The courtroom air grew thick with the scent of sulfur and copper, a harsh testament to the violence still unfolding just meters away inside of the lobby.
As I bear-crawled over to where Mister Pembrose and Miss Durdan lay, I noticed they were unconscious, folded together by the impact of the explosions laying beneath the mostly intact plaintiff's table. The blast scattered small shards of debris across their bodies. The shredded architecture peppered their clothes and their skins. Carefully, I adjusted them just enough to check for any significant injuries. Thankfully, they both appeared to have avoided any serious wounds. However, some of the lacerations did extend deep enough to hemorrhage slowly.
In the midst of the chaos, I caught sight of Nicholas Coleman, an eerie calm about him as a layer of bullets hovered menacingly in front of him. Noticing my movement, he seemed perplexed and annoyed. Nicholas then extended his fingers toward me, directing a hail of lead to pummel my arms and back.
Recoiling from the assault, I braced myself against the relatively intact bench behind the plaintiff's table. Clenching my fists, I hastily checked myself for gunshot wounds. Astonishingly, despite the barrage of rifle ammunition, I only discovered a few bruises along my forearms. The bruises, already purple, began to fade as I observed them. Looking up, I saw Coleman approached by a masked man armed with an assault rifle outfitted with a drum magazine.
"Oh, how I will miss this trial," Coleman declared as he levitated over the witness stand and onto the courtroom floor. "Such a pathetic waste of my time."
The man in the ebon mask handed Coleman a similar mask but adorned with three stars over the cheeks. As he donned it, the gravity in the room intensified dramatically, causing the already compromised walls to buckle and the roof to begin to collapse.
Struggling against the crushing pressure, I slowly commando crawled back to the cover of the table, each movement with a groan-inducing effort.
Coleman, now wielding his enhanced gravity powers, began to levitate each injured witness and trembling juror, turning the courtroom into a terrifying display of his control. He manipulated the shrapnel embedded in their flesh, cruelly dragging the particles downward, exsanguinating everybody under his control.
As more armed assailants flooded into the courtroom, they began methodically checking for signs of life among the limp bodies strewn across the floor. Anyone found still breathing was promptly executed with multiple rounds to the torso.
In a desperate bid to blend in and avoid immediate execution, I quickly smeared some of the blood from Jessica and Pembrose under my suit before the men fired three rounds into my back. The bullets tore through my already tattered suit, revealing the blood-stained skin underneath. The assailants moved swiftly, working to extinguish any remaining life in the court.
Hurriedly, two men carrying a large, oblong package rushed to the front of the courtroom. They placed the bag behind the witness stand and then gutted the duffle. From within the package, out tumbled another Nicholas Coleman?
The floating Coleman, now rising higher into the air, obliterated the judge's bench, then cruelly turned the debris into lethal projectiles, which he hurled at the unfortunate judge presiding over the trial. The judge's body shredded, splattering red against the wall and ground.
The cadre of hitman filed back out into the lobby, spraying bullets outward to cover their withdrawal, Nicholas, now alone, rose higher than the ceiling used to be. He pointed downward like a Michelangelo painting.
"Time to emulsify this horrid place," he decreed.
Dear God.
In a desperate attempt to stop him, I strained my muscles, wishing to tackle him. I ground my teeth and flexed every fiber in my body, but the overwhelming gravitational force rendered me immobile.
Unable to intervene, I remained sprawled, protecting Jessica and Pembrose, doing my best to shield their heads and their chests from the crushing force.
The remaining walls and furniture began to implode inward, collapsing around us with sounds of destruction that echoed violently through the air. The stench of ammonia and bile was overpowering.
Pinned and struggling against the devastating gravity, I focused all my strength and resolve. Coleman obliterated every bit of material in the room. Wood? Pulverized. Metal? Condensed. Stone? Powderized. Flesh? Liquified.
The ground caved in; the gravitational force ceased, and Coleman parted the fabric of the sky, disappearing into nothingness.
As we fell, I heard the sounds of approaching sirens. Somehow, I shifted my weight midair, twisting to hug Pembrose and Jessica. I fell with them in my arms and my back to the ground.
Through the human sized hole above, red light and shouting crept into the darkness. We landed hard on a subway track, luckily not the third rail. I quickly rotated on top of them, blocking with my own body the chunks of foundation and cement that caved in after us.
We survived with nothing but flesh wounds.