The Watchwomen

Chapter 42 (Act III): Reaching A Verdict

We last read Chapter 41, in which we caught up with the reunited Paragons about a week after the termination of the Diamond Legion. They're currently working on returning all of the cured Legion assassins to their families and loved ones, with The Viper and Dr. Duncan Drevis taking care of the very last one in the latter's apartment complex; though she expresses discomfort and uncertainty about returning to her supposedly "normal" life when she's served the Diamond Legion for as long as she can remember, but The Viper puts her at ease and points out that her retained combat prowess leaves the door open for her to be a freelance assassin-for-hire should her family reject her or have moved on by that point. They then reveal that the Paragons have been summoned to a trial later that afternoon, in which all eight members were ordered to be present as well as a few former Legion assassins. After Duncan discerns the assassin's place of residence, he and The Viper briefly discuss the Diamond Legion investigation before setting off to prepare for the trial.

Meanwhile, in the lobby of the apartment complex, The Crawler and Nightclaw have apparently finished up their work on their batch of cured assassins, though Nightclaw admonishes The Crawler for not doing nearly as much as she did. The Crawler protests by saying that it was a shedding day and that the process takes time, but then the conversation then shifts towards Nightclaw and Duncan's rocky relationship regarding their opposing stances on the governments' charges for the Paragons' activities. The Crawler persuades Nightclaw to get back together with Duncan—stating that he had good reasons for surrendering to the government—and rekindle their relationship, to which Nightclaw smiles and agrees after a few moments of thinking. The chapter then ended similarly to the first half, with them also setting off to get ready for their hearing that afternoon.

This time, Nightclaw and Duncan also share one heart-to-heart before going inside the courthouse, and the ultimate fate of the Paragons as an organization is finally revealed.....

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-Mercury Heights Courthouse, Mercury Heights, New York, United States-

When the heroes arrived at the front steps of the immense building serving as the city's courthouse, six of the eight Paragons—The Viper, The Crawler, Powerhouse, Coldsnap, Voltara, and Herman—promptly went inside and took their seats within the hearing chamber, while Dr. Duncan Drevis and Nightclaw remained outside for a little bit longer.

Their dynamic had been awfully rocky lately, ever since Nightclaw had voiced her great disdain for Duncan choosing to accept the governments' decisions rather than fight them. Now, they were having a shared moment of uncertain, hesitant silence between them, barely looking each other straight in the eyes aside from periodic intervals which barely lasted more than one second.

For Duncan, it was more fear than anything else; he knew that if he said something even remotely wrong or out of line, she could immediately retaliate and there would be nothing he could do about it. He had been used to Nightclaw showing a scary, edgy, and intimidating side, but during the argument they had in the past—before the Diamond Legion investigation had even officially started—she seemed more heartbroken and disappointed than usual, even though her overall tone remained the same. In short, he felt like he had let her down; like he would need the most perfect set of words in the world to successfully win her back.

For Nightclaw, it was a matter of deciding whether or not she should just swallow her pride and arrogance in favor of simply coming clean. She desperately wanted Duncan to be the one pathetically crawling back to her and begging her for forgiveness. She wanted him to admit, straight from his mouth, that he was in the wrong, she was in the right the whole time, and that he was a fool for choosing the opposite side than her and the other Paragons. Nothing would have given her a more satisfying feeling, and it would be the perfect way to rekindle their dom-sub relationship.