Chapter 4 4. The Decision

Just outside the H.E.L.P building, in a bench of a public park. Clyde sits alone with a slouched pose and hanging his head.

He can only imagine what is the worst that is going to happen after the meeting between Bethany and Leon is over. His imagination running wild, teetering back and forth between good ending and bad ending, while wondering how he should react to it.

His train of thought abruptly stops when he saw a huge shadow on the ground closing on him. When he lifts his head up, a squad of C.O.P Elite-Force has surrounded him.

Before he can even ask what is going on, one of the personnel spoke to him.

"Clyde Aliston, you are under arrest for suspicion of cooperating with a villain organization and will be trialled by C.O.P. You may remain silent as we bring you in to be judged. Any form of resistance will cause you to be held in contempt."

Clyde eyes widens, his jaw slackened, and his limbs are trembling. He cannot believe the words that goes to his ears.

A C.O.P Elite-Force is a specialized police division that is designed specifically to handle rogue super humans. Why would he, an honest and earnest super hero would face a C.O.P Elite-Force as their fugitive?

As Clyde trying to figure the situation that unfurls in front of him. A personnel grabs both of his arm and cuffed him. He then brought into one of the armoured vehicles to be taken away into C.O.P Office to be interrogated and trialled.

In the C.O.P Office, Clyde sits in the interrogation room, a dim light flickers from a lamp that only lights the table in front of him. He is accompanied by a burly and well-built cop.

Both of them sits across to each other. The cop is staring at Clyde, his expression is stern, while Clyde's eyes are darting left and right, trying to avoid eye contact.

This farce lasted for quite a while, until finally the cop breaks the silence.

"Clyde Aliston, or should I say BuffHero? You are currently being held because you are cooperating with a terrorist, hindering your team and giving a chance for the terrorist to escape with the loot from a bank robbery. Am I right?"

The cop asks Clyde a question. He profusely refused.

"No! I am not! I would never cooperate with a terrorist, nor I am trying to hinder the mission!"

Clyde can only panic when he is being interrogated by the cop. The cop frowns, and talks back at him with a louder voice.

"Don't lie to me! You and your terrorist goons has been planning this since the start! You think we don't know?" Said the cop while he slams his fist towards the desk.

The loud bang flinches Clyde, he instantly closes his mouth and starts trembling. He never thought that he would experience the aggressiveness of an interrogation at such a young age.

"Now we can help you with this. All you have to do is to tell us where your Terrorist friends is, and where did they hide their loot." The cop tells Clyde with a comparatively relaxed voice from the previous one.

"I really don't know them! I don't even know how am I in suspicion that I am cooperating with the terrorist." Clyde denies the cop request.

Clyde could not think of any answer other than to say he don't know anything, since that is the truth.

"You still deny your wrongdoings even after we has all this proof?" Before the cop could reply to Clyde, suddenly a voice of a woman can be heard.

Both the cop and Clyde looks at the direction of the voice come from. Leaning on the rim of the door, Bethany with a sneer on her lips, holding a folder in her hands.

"Go on, open it" Bethany tosses the folder to the middle of the desk, Clyde reluctantly opens the folder. The folder is filled with information and proof that Clyde is the perpetrator of the failure from the most recent bank robbery case.

Confusion fills Clyde's mind. The information that Clyde reads are nowhere near the truth. It's all fabricated and worded to make it look as if Clyde is the bad guy.

"Wha- What the heck is this?! Nothing on this document is true! It's all fake! You can't just assume that I am working with a terrorist!"

Again, Clyde denies the assumptions made for him. But his resistance is futile in front of the undisputable proof in front of him.

"Resisting until the bitter end, aren't you? These here are not assumptions, these are proof of your wrongdoings!" said Bethany.

"Your desire to become the leader of Fiesty Five has corrupted your mind. Your disobedience towards order made by the leader and your behaviour during the mission is the proof that you are planning to overthrow Leon Burnwill, damaging the reputation of Super Heroes and putting your friends at risk!" Bethany delivers her convict to Clyde.

Clyde eyes widen. He can't believe that this is the reason he is currently being held and considered a rogue hero. Rage fills Clyde, he snaps at Bethany and stood up.

"WHAT?! NO, I NEVER PLANNED ANYTHING LIKE THAT! I WOULD NEVER HARM MY FRIENDS OR TRYING TO OVERTHROW LEON! HOW CAN YOU EVEN ASSUME THAT?!"

Clyde cherishes his team members. Even though sometimes they have collision between them, Clyde never thought of harming his own teammates, much less trying to overtook Leon position as leader of Fiesty Five.

The cop immediately responded with aggression from Clyde and pulls a gun from the holster in his belt and points it towards Clyde's head.

"Hey! Watch your mouth kid! If you don't behave then I will put you down myself!" Said the cop with his finger ready to put a bullet in between Clyde's eyes.

Clyde abruptly put his hands in the air, and slowly sits back to his previous position. Bethany gives the signal for the cop to put down his weapon.

After the cop puts back his gun, Bethany then closes in on Clyde.

"Listen Clyde. Usually, a disobedience and trying to harm your own teammate are mild-level offence by the standards of H.E.L.P. You would just end up with a notice and a disciplinary action. But cooperating with a villain or terrorists, as a super-hero is a more serious offence. We cannot just let this slide by."

With a dejected face, Clyde turns to look Bethany in the eye.

"Ma'am, I swear to God that I am not cooperating with the terrorist, nor I am planning anything. I just want to be a super hero, along with my friends. Protecting the world peace, nothing else."

Bethany then points the document back at Clyde. "Then how would you explain this?"

"I-"

Clyde stops even before he can finish a sentence. The proof is there, a verdict has been delivered. The purpose of this interrogation is just to squeeze out information from Clyde. There is no way for Clyde to prove that he is innocent.

While Clyde still dumbfounded on to find a proper answer, Bethany then pulls out a paper, and shows it to Clyde.

"Here is a petition made by your fellow teammates from Fiesty Five that agrees with you being uncooperative and problematic in the last mission and from past experience. Thereby banished you from Fiesty Five group." Said Bethany.

Clyde snatches the paper from Bethany and reads it carefully. It is indeed just like what Bethany says. His own teammates are actually pinning the blame on him and trying to get rid of him.

"You can deny all you like, but the trial has already been decided. I just wish that this would change your ways in the future. Farewell." Said Bethany to Clyde while she walked out from the room.

Unfortunately, Clyde cannot even fathom what Bethany says. His world just turned upside down in front of him. He was an earnest and inspiring super hero, but now he is a convict and now is kicked out by the teammates that he trusts.

At the date of the trial, Clyde stands to be trialled and to be judged. The media has swarmed the whole place, ready to record to progression of the trial.

The jury asks Clyde about the connection between him and the terrorist. Clyde can only respond with the same answer he told during interrogation.

"Sir, I have no connection with the terrorists in any form or any time whatsoever"

When the jury asks the opposition about the proof if Clyde did have any connection with the terrorist. The lawyers failed to show any concrete proof. Thus, nulling the verdict of him being connected with a terrorist or villain organization, saving him from being prisoned in a juvie.

Although there is no solid proof that Clyde has connections with the terrorists or villain organization, it doesn't save Clyde from the suspicion that he might be cooperating with them since there is a proof that Clyde purposely disobeying orders from Leon and giving the terrorist a chance to escape.

And so based on provided proof and petition made by his teammates of Fiesty Five, the jury finally delivers his judgement.

"I hereby declare Clyde Aliston, the BuffHero, is responsible towards the failure of the recent bank robbery and suspicion of cooperating with a villain organization as a super hero which will be punished accordingly. Clyde Aliston would also be banished from super hero group Fiesty Five effective immediately and to forfeit all possession connected to the group and to return it to their respective owner of the group." Said the jury before hammering down his judgment.

As the hammer falls, tears slowly emerge from Clyde's eyes. It felt like he is experiencing a really bad nightmare. He just hopes that eventually he woke up. But alas, the harsh reality has already stood in front of him.