Dredd's New Armorby MrAquinoChaptersWhat the Hell?11 Years later.The Ma-Ma Clan and KayTrappedA massacre.Getting things started.Trouble.What the Hell?It was another day at Mega City One: The city blocks were held high in the sky, overlooking all the crime & filth going on in the streets below. Small shops were being robbed by a vast majority of hoodlums, people being raped, narcotics sold nearly every corner, and gang factions battled each other for control over their districts. That is, luckily, street judges are sent to stop this stuff and regain order in the city, and no one is more iconic than the legend himself, Judge Dredd! Dredd followed a bleeding criminal into a warehouse, for he shot him trying to sell some narcotics to some people. Armed with his standard street judge armor and lawgiver pistol with ammo clips ready, he followed the criminal into the warehouse, not even afraid of taking any damage from anyone inside. "YOU DUMBASS!!!" He heard what was probably the Drug Dealer's boss, followed by a pistol being shot. "OH SHIT!!!" Another criminal yelled "It's Dredd!!! IT'S FUCKING DREDD!!!" Dredd held his pistol, ready to fight. "Rapid fire." He simply said. A click was made, as his lawgiver immediately switched to rapid fire, one of the few modes judges use on a daily basis. He kicked the door open and fired everywhere! No remorse was shown, as criminals dropped like flies to the floor. Some of the criminals grabbed a nearby weapon and fired at him! Dredd took cover behind a conveyor belt, waited for them to reload, then got out of cover and fired at them, killing them with blood splatting on the walls from their heads. In a few minutes of actions, all but the boss were dead. Dredd walked to the criminal. "Standard." Dredd simply said, his lawgiver changing to it's single fire self. The boss aimed his gun at Dredd, but shook uncontrollably. Dredd punched the man across the face, making him land on his back. Dredd picked up the man by the collar of his shirt "Mr. Aquino: your crimes are producing & selling narcotics, and the attempt to murder a judge. Your sentence is death. What do you have to say for yourself?" The boss spat at Dredd's face. "Fuck you!!!" He replied. "Noted." Dredd brought his lawgiver onto Aquino's face and pulled the trigger! A clean hole was made in his head, followed with the body falling and blood forming a puddle around the head. He was dead. Dredd turned to walk away, but stopped at the sound of scratching behind a door. "Help!" A little boy's voice yelled in fear "It's dark in here!!!" Trafficking children as well? Dredd thought to himself. He walked to the door. "Get back!!!" Dredd yelled. Some footsteps were heard as something went back. Dredd kicked the door opened, expecting to see a bunch of kids, only to see darkness. "Who are you?" The same voice asked. "Where are you?" "Down here!" Dredd looked down and was surprised at what he saw: it was a white unicorn with a smooth looking a mane & tail of blue & light blue stripes, dark blue hooves that matched that of the now extinct workhorse. Dredd leaned down and picked up the loose neck skin of the colt, bringing him closer to his face. "Is this some sort of joke?" "Joke? What's the joke?" It looked around, not even realizing what it was. Dredd brought the colt closer to his face. "Who are you?" The unicorn's ears perked backwards "I-I'm Sh-shinning Armor." He looked behind Dredd, seeing the dead criminals. "Did you do that!?" Dredd looked behind him. "I did." "Were they bad people?" "More than bad. The worse I hate the most!" "What did they do?" "This city is already in ruin. Imagine everything wrong and multiply that by one hundred." "So... it's worse?" "...Yes." "What do you do?" "I am a street judge: Judge jury and executioner rolled into one. I protect the innocent and uphold the law. Anyone who breaks the law and tries to kill me will learn, right before they die, that they aren't the law: I am the law!" "Wow! That... sounds awesome!" Dredd dropped Shining Armor to the floor and walked away, exiting the warehouse. "Wait!!!" Shining ran and followed Dredd. "Go home. I don't have time to babysit any kid." "But... I don't have a home." Dredd stopped and turned around. "Aren't you from the wastelands?" "Wastelands? No, I actually woke up in that closet." "With no memory?" "Uh huh." Dredd and Shining stared at each other. "Is that horn only for decoration?" "This?" Shining asked "No. Watch!" He turned and concentrated on Dredd's Lawmaster. Not only was Shining Armor's horn covered in a blue aura, but the Lawmaster was also in a blue aura. Soon, the Lawmaster began to float a couple of inches off the ground, causing Dredd to step back a bit. After a few seconds of floating the Lawmaster was lowered to the floor a bit, but dropped, breaking the mirrors. Dredd looked at Shining Armor, who was panting. An Idea came into his head, one that was ridiculous but it just might work: Shining Armor become a street judge himself! While Shining may be small right now, but with his unnatural abilities and training in combat with discipline, he may become a feared judge as Dredd himself, perhaps even more. Dredd placed his hand on his helmet and called the Hall of Justice. "H.Q.?" He asked "Dredd!" The woman on the other line "The drug bust went well?" "Fine. We have ourselves a newcomer here. Get the justice department ready for another street judge in training." "Alright then. Who is it?" "...You're going to laugh at this, but it's a unicorn named 'Shining Armor', and he has special abilities that may make him a threat to every criminal out there." Silence was there. "... Have you been taking narcotics?" "Do I sound like I take narcotics?" Another silence was heard. "...Alright then. We're getting ready for your newcomer. Please, for all that's good, this better work." "I know it will." Dredd turned to the colt, who was hugging his leg. "What are you doing?" Shining Armor looked up to him, turning his head. "You've never been hugged before, Dad?" Shining Armor asked "Dad!?" "Aren't you my father?" "...No." "WHAT!?!?!? But... I thought-" "The world is cruel, and this is your first lesson. That is how I learned and that is how I became the best street judge of all time." He grabbed Shining armor and placed him on the Lawmaster. Dredd sat in his motorcycle and drove ahead, heading towards the Justice department. Shining sniffled to himself along the way, finding himself not only without a home, but the person who saved him says he's not his son at all and doesn't even love him. Dredd looked down at the sniffling Shining Armor, who tried to make him feel bad, but due to Dredd going through hell everyday, his heart was as hard as stone. Dredd stopped at the justice department, seeing a familiar woman in a suit waiting for him. "So you're not lying about the unicorn then." She commented, seeing Dredd with the sniffling unicorn. "Laugh it up." He replied, dropping Shining Armor into her arms. She looked down at the sniffling unicorn, who covered his own face with his hooves. "Your work?" "If he is to become a judge, he needs to be strong both physically and psychically." "You can still be strong without your type of psyche, Dredd." "Tell that to the other newcomers." He turned around and quickly exited on his Lawmaster. She turned to the sniffling Shining Armor, feeling his tears land on her dress. She gently patted his mane. "There There, don't be too sad. Dredd didn't mean what he said. When you get to know him, he's not that bad of a man, he just does his job." She walked inside the Justice department. "Th-thank you." Shining Armor replied with a warm smile. He curled into a ball as she took him inside, placing him near her desk. She scratched behind his ear, hearing him let out a relaxed whinny. "I hope you're right, Dredd. Not for you, but for him." 11 Years later.Ever since Shining Armor was sent into the Justice Department to train as a street Judge himself, he held a large grudge against the one who saved him, ignored him, and dropped him off to train become a judge himself, Dredd. During his training, he was looked down by all the other rookies, making fun of him not being a human at all and, instead, just being an adorable mascot for the justice department as a way to enroll more judges. This pissed him off greatly, as he pushed himself to be a better judge than his peers, and accepting any fight by any of the other rookies, coming out on top. The only rookie he actually liked was a woman named Anderson, mostly because she too is a freak, being a mutant with strange, psychic abilities like him, but wasn't able to lift object like him, nor was great in training. Despite her lack of skills, Shining cared for her, even standing up for her against the other rookies who made fun of her. His protection towards her, almost magically, hot him a weird tattoo on his flank area that was a shield with three stars above it. For Shining Armor getting his suit, there had to be changes on his suit. The one most recognized is that his suit armor had to be remade to have the same effectiveness as any other Judge's armor, but fit around his body. As a result, cybernetics had to be made in the suit to have Shining Armor stand upright & walk around, with the addition of robotic hands placed over his front hooves to hold his lawgiver pistol. With his new robot hands, they're imprinted with their own 'fingerprints' as a way to make sure no one else with a cybernetic hand takes his lawgiver and use it against him, as most criminals too stupid would do. The next thing that had to be altered was a simple hole in the helmet and the pants area that would provide comfort for his horn and tail. As a result, the tail hole and helmet hole are the two weaknesses in Armor's new suit. But, to prove he was truly a judge, there needed to be an experienced Judge that can examine Shining Armor personally and wasn't busy with a crime right now. Only one was finished during a shootout, a hit & run, and handling a hostage situation: Dredd. Shining Armor sat in his seat with his helmet next to him. He sat inside a blank room with only the bench in there, as he looked at his reflection that, as he knew, was a two way mirror. Many years of training, and he was ready. He was still getting used to his new cybernetic legs & hands built in the suit, which made him stand about as tall as a regular man, but it felt weird, since he's been on all fours his entire life. Dredd entered the room in front of Shining Armor's. "I'm training him?" Dredd asked "I find it a bit suitable, actually," the chief replied "you dropped him off here those years ago, he's had a grudge against you, and now you're going to give him the ropes on how to be a street judge while resolving your hatred to each other." "I don't hate him at all. I'm just doing my job." "And so will he." "What are his records?" "Well, we all know what he is and where he came from, but he doesn't have any history behind him. His blood type is normal, no high amounts of radiation inside him. The value testers found him unsuitable, but he was entered the academy under special instructions. In the academy, his records were up there near yours, Dredd. His final academy score was 12.7 points above pass." "...Damn. Really close to mine. What caused him to go low?" "We had to give him cybernetics to do what we do, as you can see. Horses don't have fingers, so we had to make them for him. Plus, that horn he has, he's trained it and has gotten much better than what you saw." "How so?" She walked up and pressed the intercom button. "Shining Armor?" "Sir!" Shining Armor announced, standing and saluting. "How many are on the other side?" Shining armor looked and his horn glowed it's blue aura. His expression went from serious to rage. "Two." "What can you tell me about the other person next to me?" "... Another Street judge... remembers me... destroyed my childhood immediately... left me with you. I... can feel anger... and control." He got up and walked on his new legs and slammed onto the glass mirror, staring at Dredd. "And he's a huge piece of shit who claims that he was only doing his job and believes I can make the greater good." "I would've left you if you hadn't shown me your gifts." Dredd replied, crossing his arms together. "And that's suppose to make me feel batter?" "Thank you, Shining Armor," the chief spoke. "Please, sit down." Shining Armor obeyed and sat down, taking a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down. She turned to Dredd. "He's probably the most strongest thing around here with psychic abilities like that. I have seen him throw old cars to the side like rocks. I will admit, were if not for his abilities and training, I'd send you with Anderson, another psychic, this one a mutant." "And you really think I'm up to this?" "Well... are you?" Dredd looked at Shining Armor, who was opening & closing his hands, getting used to the feeling of hands. "We'll see how he works at the deep end." Both Shining Armor and Dredd walked side by side with each other, both in their helmets. "A rookie Judge session will likely involve combat," Dredd spoke "One in five won't survive the first day. You may be required to do on the spot executions of inflicted felonies." "Yes Sir." Shining Armor replied with a low growl. "Incorrect sentencing is an automatic fail. Disobeying a direct order from any superior officer is an automatic fail. Losing your primary weapon or having it taken from you is an automatic fail." "Yes Sir." "You Ready, rookie?" "...I am." Dredd looked at Shining Armor, who didn't turn to look at him. "Yous assessment starts now." The two exited the Hall of Justice and went to their own Lawmasters. "Twelve serious crimes are reported every minute." Dredd spoke "Seventeen thousand per day. We can respond to about six percent." "Which Six percent?" Shining Armor asked, starting his lawmaster. "It's your show, Rookie. You tell me." Shining looked down at the GPS and looked for one. Great thing about fingers over hooves is that they're small & pointy, not like the fat, rounded hooves he had. He selected on one that appeared under the name 'Peachtrees'. "Peachtrees: Multiple homicide. "Dredd to control: we'll take Peachtrees." "...Copy that." One of the operators responded. Dredd lead the way and Shining Armor followed. The two drove towards Peachtrees. The Ma-Ma Clan and KayBoth Dredd and Shining Armor walked into the City block dubbed "Peach Trees", as people gave Shining Armor a questionable look on both his looks and the fact he was with the infamoud Judge Dredd. "Alright Rookie," Dredd spoke "What do you know about peach trees?" "Sir," Shining Armor answered "Peach trees houses about seventy-five thousand registered citizens. It has the highest crime rate in sector thirteen, unemployment rate is at ninety six percent, and more than half of the residential levels are classed as slums." "Good. You've been doing your homework." Dredd stopped and turned to what was a homeless man sitting near the entrance of Peach Trees, next to a sign that read Homeless junkie. Will debase self for credits. "Rookie." Shining stopped and turned to Dredd. He turned his head and looked at the homeless man. "Judgement." "Vagrancy. Three weeks in an isocube." "Correct." He pointed at the man "Don't be here when we get back." The man nodded. The two judges entered peach trees, hearing a voice of a woman telling people to stand back as a large group of gathered around the crime scene while others bustled around the city block. "What's it like being a judge?" "Sir, I haven't done anything yet, but it fills in my type of mind." "And that is?" "I want to protect & serve the city, to make a difference." "Make a difference? In a block like this?" "I don't know anything about these people, but I know I'm not going to drop the nearest orphan at the Justice Department like garbage." Dredd looked at him. With his stern look and no way for his face to be fully seen, it was hard to tell if Dredd was surprised, angered, or annoyed at Shining's comment. "But I know there's good people inside. Good families that are trying to get by." Shining looked back at Dredd, getting a weird feeling in him. "Yes, I believe I can make a difference, even if it is small." Dredd looked away and turned to the path ahead. "Admirable." Dredd and Armor walked into the crime scene, seeing a paramedic looking at one of the three corpses around them "What do we got here?" "Three skinned and some fucked up drug use." The paramedic replied, not even looking away from the corpse near him. Dredd lifted the cover, seeing one of the three people, a male, covered in blood as no skin was on him and the back of his head was splattered with his brains splattered across the floor. The sight almost made Armor puked, but he resisted and swallowed his meal from earlier. "Are you based in Peach trees?" "Med Center. Lever 25." He stopped and stared at Armor. "Um... are you a mutant?" "He isn't." "I may look like one," Armor added "but I am actually a different species altogether. I may have hands & feet, but this is all cybernetics." "I didn't think they accepted dogs as literal dogs of their ranks." The paramedic joked. "Laugh it up all you want. You haven't seen what I'm capable of." "Enough side chat." Dredd interrupted "You I.D'd them?" "Mostly." Paramedic answered "Two of them are registered to this block." "And the other?" "I'll have to run his blood in the DNA profile so I can figure out who's blood is his." Dredd kneeled down to the corpse and lifted it's blanket. The crowd gasped, followed by some women gasping for breath and someone puking. Dredd lifted the corpse's lips up, seeing the teeth are yellow & the abnormal looking. "What do you think of this, rookie?" "... I don't know, sir." Armor replied. Dredd looked up to the open roof and stood right up "It's a side effect from a slow-mo inhaler." "Slow-mo?" The paramedic walked next to Shining. "It only just hit the grid." the paramedic answered "It lets off big waves, making the brain feel as if time is passing by slower than normal speed. I can only guess it felt like a long drop all the way down." Armor got a small vision of what was one of the men falling down to their death, then returned to himself. A small beeping was made on Dredd's personal codex. Three pictures of the men were shown, all identical to the corpses near them. "Small time perps," Dredd listed "junkies, no gang affiliation. What's your analysis?" Shining looked around him. "Skinned," Armor answered "drugged, shown to the public. It must be a punishment killing. Someone's trying to send a message." "Yeah," the medic replied "don't fuck with the Ma-Ma Clan." Both Judges looked at the paramedic with the same, confused look. "Ma-Ma Clan?" They both asked in unison. The three were in the paramedic's office, looking through the files of people in Peach Trees. It stopped at a woman, who's name was "Madeline Madrigal". "We have he oldr record from her whoring days." the paramedic explained on the picture "This is old, but that's her: Madeline Madrigal, A.K.A., Ma-Ma. Ex Hooker from the S-9 pleasure district. Quick working when she got sliced up from her pimp, she got him back. Local people said she feminized him with her own teeth." "Jesus Christ!" Shining commented "Yeah. She took over his business at first, but never looked back. Anyone else here would say I was bullshitting, but not with Ma-Ma: her trademark is violence. Not so long ago, there were three main gangs hustling for control over peach trees: The Pillar Kings, The Red Dragons, and The Judged. Then Ma-Ma arrived. She took over the top floor and started to work her way down. Nine months later, she had control of everything: Levels 1 to 200 were all her's." "How did she get away with it?" Shining Armor asked "Do you know how often we get a judge in peach trees?" "Well you got one now." Dredd replied, touching the computer's screen, revealing a 3-D model of the city block. "The victims are registered to an apartment on level 39. Likely killed over turf issues. So, perps will be in the facility. Rookie?" "...Find out where the clan operates on this level and hit it hard." Armor answered. The paramedic leaned over and showed the room. "That would be here." He simply said. Both Dredd and Armor went to the 39th level and walked down the hallway, both readying their Lawgivers. Dredd stopped and took cover behind a corner, followed by Shining right next to him. "I take it this is your first time in outside combat?" Dredd asked. "Yes sir." Armor replied with some nods. "Wondering why you made a hole in your helmet." "Sir, I need protection, but no helmet has anything for my horn to fit through, otherwise, I'd go helmet less and or walk with a helmet not fitted around my skull. It also allows me to use my abilities." "...better hope no one shoots your horn off." Dredd pulled out one of the varies grenades, a sticky one, and placed it on the door, followed by some beeping in a countdown way. "You ready?" "Yes sir." Dredd turned his head to Armor. "You don't look ready." "Just adrenaline, sir." The two readied themselves, followed by loud beeps and the sticky grenade exploding! Dredd opened fire, killing three men with guns: a balm man with a pistol through his cheeks, a large man with a shotgun through the chest, and a young man with a pistol through his cheeks. The rest of the people raised their arms in surrender, most carrying an inhaler with what was Slow-Mo. Shining stared at the sight, shaking his gun while standing. "Rookie." Dredd spoke, aiming at the criminals in front of him. Shining stared at the corpses around, not sure what to do. "Armor! Judgement!" This snapped Armor out of his trance and aimed at the criminals in front of him "Crime: possession and usage of controlled substances." Armor answered "Sentence: 2 years in iso-cubes." Dredd looked at Armor "Don't tell me, tell control." Armor looked at Dredd, then lifted his left hand with it's communicator. "Armor to control?" "Copy." A man's voice spoke on the other line. "Requesting a meat wagon to peach trees, level 39. We have... four bodies for recite and eight live for iso-cubes." "Copy that. Meat Wagon in bound." "Alright," Dredd spoke "let's get them cuffed. You! Up!" In a few moments, all the criminals were hand cuffed. Armor cuffed one criminal, an African american with a yellow t-shirt and a leather jacket over it,but noticed something different about him: a tattoo on the back of his neck of a valentine heart with twin sword going through it, and the word "Ma-Ma" on it. "Sir," Armor spoke "this one's a gang member. He's-" he stopped as his horn glowed, and a bloody memory appears of the three victims from earlier were getting skinned alive! He returned back to where he was. "Sir... it's him." "Him who?" Dredd mockingly asked "His name's Kay, and he's the man who murdered the people from earlier." Dredd and armor turned their heads to each other. "You sure?" Armor turned the criminal and got a good look at him. "Ninety-Nine percent." "We can't execute someone on 'Ninety-Nine percent'." Dredd walked to the man and stared at him, looking very opposing. "It'd save me a lot of paperwork if you just confessed right now. Kay stayed silent. "We'll take him in... see how he holds up after a few hours in interrogation." Armor turned Kay around and walked him out of the apartment. TrappedDredd, Shining Armor, and Kay all stood in the elevator, heading to exit peach trees. Shining Armor's horn glowed again, as he detected what Kay was up to. "Sir," Armor spoke "he's thinking about making a move for your gun." "Yeah." Dredd replied, unfased at the news. Some silence fell, as Shining's horn glowed again. "Now he's changed his mind." "...Yep." Armor turned to Dredd. "Can you say anything else but 'yeah', and with emotion?" "... I can." Shining took a deep breath and turned his attention to the elevator door. It stopped as the reached the bottom floor. The doors opened and they walked out of the elevator, Dredd leading them with Armor holding the handcuffed Kay. They were near the exit of peach trees, seeing the same homeless sitting in the same spot. "I warned you!" Dredd yelled and pointing at the man "Get up! You're heading to the cubes!" Loud blaring was heard around them. "Stand clear of doors." A woman's voice announced through the intercoms. Large doors slammed down to the floor, crushing & killing the homeless man instantly with only a puddle of blood leaking, as it was seen with red lights filling the darkness of the inside. "All residents, remain calm." It repeated for the next few seconds. Dredd, Armor, and Kay walked back into the main square, seeing the last of what was little of the open sunroof, closing. "What's going on?" Armor asked, trying his best to stay calm. "Lock down complete." the same announcer said. A low hum was heard, and the lights went from the red lighting to their regular lights, making look almost as if the place was open & back to normal. "Something very bad." Armor answered. "...Peach Trees," Another woman's voice spoke through the intercoms, this one not sounding as pleasant as the last & more in an angered tone. "This is Ma-Ma... somewhere in this block are two judges... I want them dead. Until I get what I want, this block is locked down. All clans on every level, hunt the judges down. Everyone else, clean the corridors and stay the fuck out of the way until the shooting stops." At that moment, everyone began to run towards their apartments and locked the doors behind them. "If I hear anyone helping the judges, I'll kill them and the next generation of their family. ...As for the Judges- "We gotta move." Dredd said, walking to an area. Shining followed, dragging Kay with him. "Sit tight. Or run. ... Makes no difference, you're both mine." The place was as silent as silent can be. With the exception of a few footsteps of a few people runnng towards their homes, and the hum of light bulbs, nothing could be heard beside Dredd, Armor, and Kay running up a fleet of stairs. Dredd used his wrist communicator. "Control," Dredd spoke "We have a situation in Peach Trees. Do you copy?" Static. "Control? Copy?" "My communicator is down too." Armor added "The shielding must be blocking all transmissions." He turned to Armor "We'll head for the med center." He stopped as they heard people yelling above & below them, searching for both of them. "Call it!" "Sir?" "You're on assessment, rookie. Call it." Armor looked down, then up. "Multiple armed targets with obstructed lines of sight. Gas grenades?" "Respirators." Both judges pulled out their respirators. Dredd turned to Kay before placing the respirator in his own mouth. "I suggest you hold your breath." Dredd pulled out a gas grenade and chucked it to the stairway below. He pulled out his lawgiver and they all climbed up the stairs. The gas made it's way up quickly, as some of the people began to couch hard at the gas, holding onto the rails and wheezing for air. Dredd came out of the corner and delivered nine bullets to four men, the first taking four, the second with one, the third with two, and the fourth with two. Another fleet of stairs and Dredd took down three, all with clean head shots. They went into the elevator and went to the same level with the paramedic from earlier. The elevator opened and Armor used his abilities to drag the person in, Dredd stomping his face in with one stomp, then delivered a headshot to another nearby. Dredd looked around, then took Kay and made him as his personal shield, and Armor readied his lawgiver. The two took cover behind a wall, Dredd peaking out to see ten people waiting to kill them, as Armor tied Kay to some nearby pipes to make sure he doesn't escape. "We're gonna have to go through them." Dredd stated. "Stun grenade?" Shining asked "Stun grenade. Let;s give them the good news." Dredd leaned down and rolled the stun grenade to their feet. He got up and made his wrist communicator as a megaphone. "Citizens of peach trees. This is the law. Disperse immediately, or we will use lethal force to clear the area." The men chatted with each other on what to do, but turned to where the two were taking cover at. "You have been warned. You now have twenty seconds to comply." "It's you who should do the complying, judge." One of the people spoke, a man with a Scandinavian accent. "There's ten of us and only two of you! Why don't you step out from that doorway or we'll blow the fuck out of you." "Ten Seconds to comply." "Fuck you, judge!" Another yelled "You've got five!" the same one added. "Thanks for the heads up." Dredd replied, not in his megaphone voice anymore. A warping sound was heard, followed by a bright white-blue light. Dredd and Armor got out of cover and shot at the criminals, showing no mercy at all. Dredd reloaded his clip, and Shining watched a lone criminal, a man, struggle to get up. "Please!" he begged weakly. "What are you waiting for, rookie? An apology? His crime was attempted murder of a judge. His sentence is death." "I know, sir." Armor replied. He aimed at the man with only one hand and pulled the trigger, executing him almost as cold as Dredd would. Dredd walked to the med bay door and pressed on the intercom button. "Open up." The paramedic did nothing. "Open. Up." The paramedic pressed his intercom button. "Negative, judge." he replied "You know what's going on out here. We need a place where the people can find a safe house. This is the facility's neutral ground." "Neutral? You're not neutral, you're choosing sides!" "Peach Trees has been sealed by blast doors that can withstand any attack. No one's getting out, no one's getting in. And you're and the client are filling in with your blood. There are no sides here. You're already dead." Shining Armor walked next to Dredd. "That's bullshit!" He yelled "I don't know Ma-Ma that much, but I can already tell one thing: we are going to stop her, and we are going to kill anyone who get in our way! She's going to lose a lot of men, and her petty threats are nothing when we get to her and rip her god damn head from her spine! Peach Trees will be free and open back to the public, other Judges will get here, and when you and I survive, I swear to fucking God that I'm going to put you in the Iso Cubes for you entire fucking life for not helping us, UNDERSTAND!?!?!?" The paramedic and Dredd stared at Armor for a few moments. "You... make a good bargain." he opened the doors. Armor walked away and dragged Kay inside. "Your pushing your limits, rookie." Dredd commented. Armor stopped and turned to Dredd. "Like you haven't done it before." Armor replied. Shing wasn't sure, but, for almost half a second, he swore he could've seen Dredd smile, but then again, Shining Armor couldn't really tell with that helmet and Dredd's usual angry face. A massacre.Dredd and Armor came out of the Med area with some medicine, more clips for their lawgivers (taken from dead Judges in the past), energy snacks, and water. Kay was still silent during all of this. Whatever Ma-Ma did to him to make sure he'd stay loyal, it was effective. "Nice work, Rookie." Dredd Commented "Thank you, sir." Armor replied, not sounding as angry as he did. "But we have to keep going. Switch weapons to silence mode. We now have to go covert: conserve ammunition, don't shoot unless you're aiming for their head." "Yes sir." Armor switched his lawgiver to silence mode. "And what of our special guest?" "Explain." "If it all goes to it, do you think we should execute him right now?" "...Only if he tries to kill you or me. Unless, you want to execute him now." "...No sir." Dredd aimed his lawgiver and walked away. Shining grabbed their suspect and walked behind Dredd. They entered another hallway with doors leading to other apartments on both sides. Dredd stopped at a corner. "Hold up." He said. Shining Armor followed his orders. Dredd peeked out of the corner, then signaled them to follow. They walked down the hall for a few moments, then heard some men talking to each other. Dredd grabbed their suspect and pushed him into the wall, using the near apartment door's wall for cover. The men were getting closer. Armor's horn glowed again. "Sir," Armor whispered "Is it alright if I do something?" "If it's getting us out alive, then I have no problem with it." "It's a bit risky, but we're goth going to need to get out cover." Dredd turned to Armor "Are you crazy?" "No sir." "You can get yourself killed if you want." Shining took a deep breath and holstered his lawgiver. He raised his hand in a surrendering way and walked out of cover. The men shouted at the sight of him. "It's one of those fucking judges!!!" One of them yelled "Let's cap this bitch!" "I am offering you this," Shining Armor responded "lower your weapons and walk away with a warning, or you'll be executed." "You and what army!?" "Ain't no way I'm going to get killed by a mutant horse!" "Let's have horse meat for dinner!" "I warned you." Armor said, lowering his arms down. The men aimed their guns at Armor, but an aura around Armor's horn and their guns & hands prevented them to shoot! They were pulled right from the criminals, then turned around to their owners. They backed up a bit, cowering in fear. One of them tried to run away, only to fall down when Armor pulled his weapons trigger on his right leg, blasting it away! Armor then pulled the trigger on all the weapons, executing all the criminals with their own guns, including the deeply wounded one! Armor dropped their guns to the floor and cracked his neck. Dredd peeked out of the corner, seeing Armor standing perfectly fine with no damage to himself. "Holy shit!" Kay finally spoke "You used their weapons against them?" Dredd asked "Yes, sir." Armor replied. "Hm... that's a nice way of saving ammo." "It is." His horned glowed again. A small card was taken out of the one of the deceased criminals pockets, and landed in Armor's robot hands. "What does it say?" "...There's an elevator that says it's out of service, but it works as longs as you don't press a button above 75." "Looks like we're getting a ride." The three stood in the elevator going up to level 75. As soon as it stopped, they walked up a fleet of stair, going to Level 76. They stopped as they heard loud clanging around them. Metal bars came down, trapping them inside! "That's not good." Dredd simply said. "I think I have a plan." Armor said. Dredd turned to the camera watching them "Give me a moment." Dredd aimed his lawgiver at the camera and pulled the trigger, destroying it. He walked to the metal bar and touched it. "These bars are too thick to cut through." "I beg to differ. Besides, if they know where we are, why aren't coming after us?" "...That's what worries me." Dredd turned around from the door. "Take him back to the main lobby. Hold position behind the elevator shaft. It's a good place to defend." He began to walk away "Where are you going?" Dredd stopped "... If I don't come back, and you get cornered, you may not want to get taken alive." They stared at each other for a bit. "Your call." "...Sir." Dredd turned around and walked away. Armor grabbed Kay "Come on!" Kay and Shining Armor were in the main lobby of the level they were on. Kay was on his knees and Armor was taking cover on a wall. "He's right, you know." Kay spoke "About not wanting to be taken alive. Stuck in a clan with a pretty thing like you? I can tell you this: it's nasty!" Shining armor ignored him. Yeah, I know, Armor thought to himself I've seen a couple of guys stare at my ass before during our training. Just glad the tail blocks most of it. Kay took a deep sigh and relaxed himself on the wall. "I had a girl one time," Kay spoke again "About your age and... well... anyway, I'm just saying, save the last bullet for yourself." "Yeah," Armor replied "And I'm saving the second to last bullet for your fucking head!" "...Sure... so... you're a mutant or a real horse? If you're a mutant, you should be glad: Most of you fuckers have three stumpy arms or no arms. But... I guess you lucked out, right?" "I assure you, I am neither." "Then what the fuck are you? Are you really a fucking unicorn from happy-go-lucky-retard-land? Either way, you and Dredd fit together... like father and son." "He is not my father! I hate him so much!" "Whatever... psychic. Really fucked up. I heard about those kind of people. Hard to believe it's real. Like... like what am I thinking about right now?" Armor's horn glowed and what he was was simply him raping a naked woman. "... a picture of violence and sexual force of you and a woman. Pointless attempt to shock me." "...you're good. But I wasn't trying to shock you. If I was trying to shock you, then it'd be-" Before Kay could think of it, Armor punched him across the face, knocking a single tooth out of it's place! "What are you think about now? Huh!?" Kay winced in pain as he spat out another tooth. "That's what I thought!" Armor's horn glowed again, as he heard people screaming and bullets crashing through the walls, utterly destroying everything almost nonstop. Dredd ran around the corner! "GET DOWN!!!" Dredd ordered. Armor followed, knocking Kay down. Armor's horn glowed again, and this time, a large bubble shiled surrounded the three! The bullets bounced off of the surface of the shield, not leaving a dent on the shield! One of the bullets went through the wall, allowing sunlight to enter. Dredd saw the hole. "ARMOR!!!" "I SEE IT!!!" Armor yelled. He pulled his lawgiver and made a small hole in his shield. "HIGH EX!!!" The gun clicked and Armor pulled the trigger, destroying the wall! "MOVE!!!" The three ran out of the hole in the wall and jumped out, landing on what was an outdoor skate ramp. Dredd and Armor aimed around them, but stopped as they realized that they were surrounded by teenagers who were locked outside, most likely busy skateboarding before Peach Trees was sealed. Dredd and Armor's wrist communicator finally beeped with intercoms of people talking. "The intercoms are back on." Dredd said, lifting his arm communicator up. "Control? Do you copy?" Armor ignored Dredd's conversation and looked to the city, then turned to Dredd. Dredd looked up to the hole. "We gotta get back in." Armor said, realizing hope won't come for a long time. Dredd and Armor, Dragging Kay, walked into peach trees, readying themselves for combat! They saw the bodies of killed men, women, and children all around them, with an occasional survivor begging for help. Dredd turned to Armor, seeing tears coming down his face. "What's wrong?" Dredd asked. "...These criminals," Armor answered "they just... slaughtered all these innocents! Not just men & women, but children as well!" "Yeah. They do that." "And yet, you don't show emotion at this! You act like a robot more than a human! Tell me, why the hell are you like this!? Who did this to you? Why the fuck did you become a-" Dredd Pushed Armor into the wall and held him by his neck with his shoulder! "Listen! I have seen this multiple times, nearly everyday! I was like you! I had no family, no friends, and no one to talk to! I enrolled as a judge because I was the best! I didn't ask for anything in life, I just did it! You can cry all you want or grow some fucking balls!" "FUCK YOU, DREDD!!! Is that why you sent me to the Department of Justice to become a judge!? Because I was like you!? I'd fucking kill you!!!" "Go on! Kill me! Become a criminal like these! I'm a necessary evil in this world, and so are you! Without me, more people will be dead!!!" "Without you, they'd be alive!" Armor levitated his lawgiver and placed it on Dredd's head! "You're pushing yourself, Armor! Stand down, or you will executed!" "I'm done with your bullshit on justice! I am so pissed off!!!" "Don't be pissed off at me! Be pissed off at these scums here!" "There they are!" A criminal yelled! "FOR FUCK'S SAKE!!!" Armor aimed his pistol and fired at the criminal that spotted them! Dredd lowered him and Armor ran into a group of criminals, firing at them!!! Armor had an empty clip at one of the criminals, but holstered his lawgiver and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and belt area of his pants! He walked through the smoke and tossed the man to the broken walkway, making him fall down to his death!!! He looked up and saw Ma-Ma herself: she was cut up, had a shorter hairstyle, tattoos over her body, and wearing a purple tank top. Armor and Ma-Ma stared at each other for a few minutes, as Armor felt a burning rage in him as he stared at her, and Ma-Ma began to sweat at his presence. "YOU'RE NEXT!!!" Armor yelled before turning around and disappearing into the smoke! Getting things started.Kay screamed as Dredd and Armor threw him into a room that acted as classroom. He toppled over a desk and fell to his side. "Your gang locks down the entire block," Armor said while slamming the door behind them "massacres an entire quadrant of men, women, & children, just to take out two judges! TWO!!! Is someone trying to kill you?" Kay didn't respond. Armor's horn glowed and he was tossed to the wall! Armor then grabbed Kay and slammed him into the wall, followed by a quick punch to his chest, with the sound a rib snapping. Another punch, and Kay groaned in pain. "I'll tell you what I think: I think if we had just executed you, Ma-Ma would've let us walk out of here!" Another punch and groan from Kay. "What she doesn't want, is you being taken back to the sector house! She doesn't want you interrogated! She's afraid of what you might say! And that's got me curios." He headbutted Kay, nearly stabbing him with his horn. "TELL ME YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!" Kay looked at Armor, bleeding from the mouth. "...Fuck you!" he answered. Armor grabbed onto Kay's throat and began to choke him. Dredd touched him by his shoulder. "Armor." He said "WHAT!?!?!?" Armor replied "We can't get anything out of him if he's dead. I say you should use your psychic abilities on him, read his mind." "And you just thought of this!?" "Had it in mind. Didn't think you'd be able to do it until I saw your performance." "...FINE!!!" Armor released Kay, allowing him to take deep breaths. Armor took a deep breath to calm himself down, and his horn glowed again as he was going to enter Kay's mind. "What... are you doing... bitch?" Kay gasped out. Armor and Kay found themselves in a dark void. "Welcome to the inside of your head." Armor spoke, looking around. "It's kind of... empty in here. Let's liven the place up a bit." The empty space slowly became a room. "I don't know what type of mutant shit this is!" Kay exclaimed, looking around in fear. "But if my hands aren't cuffed-" "They aren't cuffed, that if, if you don't want to be." Kay brought his hands forward, seeing that they weren't cuffed at all, but free! He got up and laughed to himself. "Hey! In my head, do I do what I like?" "...sure." Kay pulled a gun out of nowhere and pulled the trigger, firing at Shining Armor at point blank range. Shining Armor stood there, unharmed. He smiled. "Thinking about hurting me isn't actually going to hurt me." "Yeah... points to you. Except... there is that thing-" "That image you said would freak me out?" "...yeah. If you're talking about my fucked up head," Armor looked down at himself and saw he was out of uniform, with only the cybernetic hand & feet on him. "Vs. your fucked up head... your fucked up head is going to lose." He grabbed Armor's head and tried to make him give Kay a blowjob. "That oughta shut you up." Armor appeared next to him. "Really? I can play mind games better than you, Kay." Kay screamed in pain as Ma-Ma appeared in Armor's place, with blood around her face, smiling as she finished feminizing Kay. "YOU FUCKING BITCH!!! YOU SICK... FUCKING BITCH!!!" "But we haven't even started." In a series of flashes, Armor saw the various people Kay has killed, but also saw the production line of people making the Slow-Mo drug. Kay himself screamed in pain and fear as he was placed in his victim's situation. Armor stood while Kay sat on his knees, still handcuffed, and with a puddle of piss surrounding him. Armor turned to Dredd, who stood next to him. "Peach Trees is the manufacturer base for all of the Slow-Mo in Mega City 1." Armor spoke "Ma-Ma's controlling the productions and distributions across the city." "...Interesting." Dredd replied. They both reloaded their lawgivers. "Your new intel about Ma-Ma managed to get a 10-24 to control. Perimeter's have shifted. What are the options, Armor?" "...Keep moving and attempt to avoid further detection or find a place to defend. Same as before, but now we know that there's backup." Dredd gave Armor a stern stare. "You're giving us two options: Defend or hide. What about attack? Head straight for Ma-ma?" "Well... she's guilty, we're judges, and I'm itching to kill someone that's worse than you." "Is that a yes?" "Hell yeah!" Again, Armor could've sworn he saw Dredd smirk for half a second. "Let's take him with us then. He can be a good shield." "Yes, sir!" Armor walked and picked up the injured & shaking Kay. The two walked out of the elevator, being careful not to bump into any unwanted people, and ascended up another flight of stairs. The two walked and saw an elevator near them. "A control terminal." Dredd pointed out "Let's check the schematics." Dredd walked to the control schematics. Armor pushed Kay into a wall nearby, then stood next to Dredd. They both checked at the schematics to get a better view of Peach Tree's interior. "FREEZE!!!" A voice yelled from behind. Dredd and Armor turned, seeing two teenage boys, one African-American and the other Caucasian, both holding pistols at them. Kay used this moment to free himself from his cuffs "Why?" Dredd simply asked. "Why what!?" The first asked "Why should I freeze?" "...Because otherwise... I'll shoot you!" "With the safety on?" He looked at his pistol. "It isn't." Dredd and Armor aimed at them with their lawgivers and the others at them. "How do you want it, kids? Body bags or Juve Jubes? Makes no difference to me." Kay jumped Shining Armor, making the unicorn pull the trigger of his lawgiver! Dredd jumped out of the way as the two kids fired at him. "STUN!!!" He yelled. His lawgiver clicked and Dredd pulled the trigger on both of them, making both of the kids fall to the floor, twitching with electricity. Kay had Armor in a choke hold and dragged the struggling stallion into the elevator! Dredd aimed at Kay, but due to Armor being in the way, it was difficult. The elevator closed on Kay and Armor, sealing them away & then going up. Armor stood as Kay had Armor, aiming the gun at his head. "...You are so fucked." Kay simply said. "I beg to differ." Armor replied, his horn glowing "What do you-AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Kay's fingers began to bend backwards until the fingers were dangling back with nothing but flesh holding it, and there was nothing but bones & blood showing! He fell to his knees, holding his bad hand with his good hand, seeing the bones sticking out and blood gushing. Armor holstered his lawgiver. "You got the jump on me, but I've always wanted to do this for a long time!!!" Armor then grabbed Kay and slammed his head into the elevator controls, stopping the elevator and opening it's doors! Armor then floated a piece of metal outside the door, sharpened it to be like a knife, and sliced Kay in his stomach, allowing all of his intestines to flop out! Kay fell, but Armor grabbed him from behind. His glowed again, went into Kay by the back of his head, and, in a few screams by Kay himself, Kay's face all the way to the back of his head exploded, leaving a gory hole in his head! Kay was dead. "Dumbass!" Trouble.Armor exited the elevator and proceeded to make his way up to the 200th and top level of Peach Trees. He looked at the sings and saw he was on the 190th level, just ten below his target. She's probably above us all and looking down at us. Armor thought to himself. He power walked his way, but stopped as the intercoms were turned on. He walked and saw Dredd right near a control panel with the corpse of a criminal just recently killed, That was quick. "Inhabitants of Peach Trees," Dredd's voice boomed in the speakers "this is Judge Dredd. ... In case you people have forgotten, this block operates under the same rules as the rest of the city. Ma-Ma is not the law. I AM the law. Ma-Ma's a common criminal: Guilty of murder, guilty of the manufacturing and distribution of a narcotic called 'Slow-Mo', and as of now, under sentence of death, any who struck me in carrying my duty will be treated an an accessory to her crimes. You have been warned. And as for you, Ma-Ma-" Armor walked and took Dredd's spot. "YOU'RE MINE!!!" Armor added. He punched the panel and destroyed it! "Good to see you unharmed, Armor." "Thank you, sir." "What happened to our V.I.P? As soon as he took you, his sentence was now death." "Don't worry about that. You can say he was... a head case." "Hm... brutal. We should head up quickly, don't want to die and allow my speech be for nothing." "Yes sir." The two ran up the fleet of stairs as they heard some other people running to their area. Gunshots were heard and the criminals spoke to each other about how Dredd isn't dead. Both Dredd and Armor looked across & down the opposite side up a level, seeing the criminals investigating their area. They looked to each other, nodded, and aimed their lawgivers at the criminals. "Incendiary." They simply said in unison. A click was made in their lawgiver, and they both pulled the trigger. A 'Thump' was heard, as an incendiary bullet was fired from both guns, then erupted into bursts of flames. The criminals below didn't react quickly and were caught on fire. Dredd and Armor watched in satisfaction, as the criminals screamed & ran all over the area, burning with their flesh coming off while others fell from the balcony to the floor below. "That should piss her off." Armor commented. "Yeah... but not as bad as when she faces justice." Dredd replied. "Come, she's not going to come down here for us." He walked to the nearest fleet of stairs. "Yes, sir." Armor followed Dredd. Both Dredd walked up a few levels, walking out to a hallway. Dredd quickly aimed at a direction and fired at a criminal running across the corner. Armor followed by shooting another criminal that was entering a doorway. They both reloaded and proceeded their way to Ma-Ma. They stopped as they heard a banging sound in the distance. The two took cover behind their own walls, as another person ran & took cover behind a wall at the other end of the hallway. "Don't say anything." Dredd whispered "You there! Identify yourself!" "Chan: Section 9." He replied. "Dredd: Section 13" "We responded to your 10-24." Dredd got out of cover and aimed at the other man, but saw that he was another Judge. "Good to see you, Dredd." "Likewise. You alone?" "Negative. Three man squad closing in on my vector right now. So relax, the cavalry's here." "...Two." "...Two?" "Two of us called a 10-24. Wonder why you didn't ask about the other one." Chan stood for a minute, then quickly rose his arm up. "LEX!!! MOVIE IT!!!" Armor got out of cover, seeing Dredd and Chan were fighting each other. Chan pushed Dredd on the wall and began to choke him! "Choke on it, Dredd!" Armor grabbed Chan off of Dredd, who used his lawgiver and shot Chan's feet! Armor then slammed Chan's head on the rail, making Chan dizzy, then, with his robot hand in a flat position, slammed it into Chan's throat, making his Adam's apple go in his throat! Chan struggled with his breathing. "Choke on that." Armor said. "That's what I was going to say." Dredd replied. Armor pushed Chan out of the way, as the corrupted judge fell to the floor, dead, and they both ran ahead to find another fleet of stairs. Dredd and Armor stopped at a metal door that looked as if it could hold anything dangerous behind it. Without a word, Dredd opened the door, Armor walked in, and they both took cover behind a wall. They saw that they were in a product line as people were manufacturing Slow-Mo. Two guards stood near the people, each ready to fire at the people who may steal or try to use Slow-Mo while it's being developed. Bith Armor & Dredd nodded to each other and fired a single bullet at the guard in front of them. The people saw what they did, screamed, and ran away. Dredd and Armor investigated the line, as many small breathalyzers were ready to sell to the public. Armor picked one of them up. "I hope you don't on getting high right now." Dread said. "Nah," Armor replied "If Ma-Ma's up there, I want to give her a peace of her medicine." "...Really dark right there." "Think of it as poetic justice in a way." Footsteps were heard right behind them. Dredd and Armor quickly took cover, seeing two other Judges take cover behind a wall. "What's the price of a judge these days?" "...A million." One of the judges answered. Dredd turned to Armor and signaled him to go into the other room. Armor nodded and quickly while being quiet, took cover & walked to the other room. "Split four ways." Armor made his way out of the room, but heard the conversation that continued. "...Three ways now." "Suits me!" "Doesn't sound like much. To betray the law? To Betray the city?" "Save that shit for the rookies! For Twenty years, I've been on the streets. You know what Mega City 1 is, Dredd? It's a fucking meat grinder. People go in one end... meat comes out the other. All we do is turn the handle." Gunfire was heard as Armor exited. He turned around and felt that he needed to go and fight with Dredd, but felt a hand on his right shoulder. He turned around, only to be meet with a punch to his face! His vision became a bit blurry, but he saw that it was the third Judge after them, and this one was a woman. "This is for Chan you son of a bitch!" She yelled. She delivered another punch to Armor's face, making him back up a bit. She attempted to do another punch, but Shining Armor grabbed her fist with his robot hands. She was caught off guard and Armor delivered his punches to her face! Unlike her punches, which were fast &, though painful, his was slow & it showed damage. Armor grabbed her by the neck and, with his hand on her throat, he snapped it! With his free hand, his horn glowed, casting an aura around his hand, to which he punched through the already Dead judge's face, leaving a hole where most of her face & brain should be. He turned and saw Dredd on the floor, bleeding through the left side of his waist area, with one the other Judges aiming at him. "High Ex." Armor simply said. His lawgiver clicked and he silently walked behind the judge trying to execute Dredd. Dredd saw Armor, then turned to the judge. "Wait." Dredd said weakly. The other judge lowered his lawgiver and chuckled. "'Wait'?" He asked, having the same that spoke with Dredd earlier. "Are you kidding me? Did you just say 'Wait'?" He began to chuckle to himself. "Judge Dredd. THE Judge Dredd. Finally gets on the wrong end of a gun, and he says is 'Wait'. You know what? I expected more from you! I mean, wait for what? Wait for me to change my mind? Wait for another two secondsof your life 'cause you're so fucking weak!? You just can't stand to see it end." "...No." Armor pulled the trigger and the Judge's head exploded! The body fell to the floor. "Wait for him to shoot you." Armor walked to Dredd and extended his blood covered, robot hand. "Come on," Armor spoke. "Get up! Let's keep going!" Dredd accepted his hand and got up. Dredd pulled out some medicine and placed the stuff on his shot area, successfully healing it and sealing it up. Armor gave Dredd some other clips, to which he accepted and reloaded his lawgiver. "Ready?" "Yeah. "...You look ready." "Let's just deal with this bitch and get the fuck out of here." "Lead the way." Armor lead the way as they traveled in the 200th level, the top to find Ma-Ma. The duo stopped at a door with a metal door with a heart can-sprayed on the door and a regular metal door next to it. "Security must be close." Dredd said. "Probably next door." Armor replied. He kicked the regular metal door down. They entered and saw many computers around, most likely the main security room or a hacker's room. Some whimpering was heard inside, right between some wire covered shelves. Armor's horn glowed and a man screamed for help as he was dragged out of his hiding spot! Dredd grabbed him and slammed him against the wall, holding his lawgiver on the man's head! "PLEASE!!!" He screamed "Don't shoot! Don't shoot me! I'm not helping her! I'm not! I-I can help you!" "How!?" Dredd asked "Ma-Ma's in her private quarters, but it's behind ten inches of steel! So you can't go in there without the keypad combination! I-I-I can give that to you." Dredd turned the man to Armor. "We don't need your cooperation to get the key-pad number." Armor simply said before his horn glowed. He went inside the man's head, finding the combination easily, but also something disturbing: this man was held captive by Ma-Ma after he tried to tell the Justice Department what she was doing, but failed, and Ma-Ma had his eyes removes & replaced with cybernetics, forcing him to join the Ma-Ma clan, becoming the one who overthrew the system but with a gun to his head. They stared at each other for a few minutes, as he sniffled to himself. "Go. Get out of here." He hesitated, then sprinted away. "THANK YOU, JUDGE!!!" he screamed as he ran away, a burst of laughing and crying happening at the same time. Dredd turned to Armor. "Care to explain yourself, Rookie?" Dredd asked in his firm voice. "Letting a felon go is not just a fail, but it's an offense, a crime." "I can't really blame you for not noticing all the things like I do, Sir. He's a victim: Until this is done, I am still a judge and it's my job to dispense justice, which I did by letting him go. Anyways, the code to Ma-Ma's chambers are 4-9-3-6. Let's finish this." Dredd and Armor went to the door nearby and typed in the code. A buzz went off and the door opened. Dredd and Armor entered and shot at the criminals, showing no remorse to them whatsoever! They walked up a fleet of stairs, seeing Ma-Ma in her room, right in front of what looked liked a trophy case. Her left arm had a strange device that was beeping & had a blue color to it. Armor's horn glowed again. "Next to us!" He yelled. The two judges turned and fired at two criminals, each aiming for one of them! They fell down, dead upon impact. Ma-Ma stared at them, showing great anger to them. "You're both pieces of work, Judges." She said, sustaining her rage. "And so am I. I didn't know I'd get busted someday in my territory. This entire level is rigged with enough explosives to take out the top fifty stories. If they go, the rest will go too. It's like jewelry." They stared at the device locked into her skin. "It's a transmitter sent from my heartbeat. If my heart stops beating, the building blows. Everyone in it... ash." Armor gritted his teeth at this. "You've got no out, judges. Put your guns down." They both looked at each other, then back to Ma-Ma. "Do you know how many people live in this block?" "...This isn't a negotiation." Armor spoke. "Your sentence is death." "You both can't afford to take the risk." Dredd shot her in the right side of her waist. She fell & landed onto her bed. They both walked to Ma-Ma and aimed their lawgivers at her, but then holstered their weapon. "Do you still have that Slow-Mo?" Dredd asked. Armor pulled it out. "Right here and ready." Armor replied. "You know... we're a kilometer above ground. What do you think the range is on that thing?" "Hm... perhaps only halfway through." "Couldn't kept that working through levels of concrete. 200 feet, maybe?" "Let's find out." "She's all yours." Armor grabbed Ma-Ma by her hair. Ma-Ma screamed and struggled to get out of Armor's grip! Armor slammed her head on the back of the window, perhaps her way to feel powerful by looking down at everyone below. Armor pulled the Slow-Mo Inhaler and placed it in her mouth. "Citizen 'Ma-Ma'," Armor pressed on the inhaler, making the Slow-Mo go inside Ma-Ma's systems. "Your crimes are multiple homicide, and the manufacturing & distribution of Narcotics. How do you plead?" Ma-Ma didn't answer, but inhaled the smoke. They didn;t know how long it took for the Slow-Mo to start, but it must work quickly. "Defense noted." Shining Armor then lifted Ma-Ma in the air and threw her out of the window! Both Armor and Dredd stood next to each other, watching Ma-Ma fall down without screaming. She fell down fast, but to her, it must have been forever. They watched as she went from her whole self to being nothing more than a puddle of blood & guts on the floor. A good minute passed, and nothing happened. "Well," Armor spoke. "Looks like we're right." "Yeah." Dredd replied. "Let's get out of here." Dredd and Armor walked out of Ma-Ma's room, then saw, at the very end, an operational elevator. Dredd took a step, then winced as he felt the pain on his side. "You alright?" "Fine! Just... need help." Armor placed Dredd's shoulder over his body, then walked with Dredd into the elevator. They stood in the elevator for a couple of minutes, watching the lights go by as they went their way down. "...I'm sorry." Dredd spoke. "What?" Armor asked "I'm sorry for what I did to you those years ago." "...Well... better late than never." Dredd took Armor's helmet off. Armor leaned away from Dredd a bit, but Dredd touched Armor's mane and patted it. "You did well, son." "Thank you, Sir, I had to-WAIT!?!?!? Did... you call me... Son?" Armor's eyes gleamed and tears developed. "...I did." Armor looked away for a moment, then began to sniffle. Dredd reached over and hugged Armor, being almost like a father. At this point, Armor eyes burst with tears, and he cried, hugging back Dredd. "THANK YOU!!! That's all I wanted!!! A father!!! I'm sorry for what I've been saying!!! I really do!!!" "Don't be. You have all the rights to say that." "But why!? Why weren't you there for me!?!?!" "...I was." Armor looked up to Dredd, wiping a tear from his face. "W-what?" "I was with you. You never noticed me. All those years."
What the Hell?It was another day at Mega City One: The city blocks were held high in the sky, overlooking all the crime & filth going on in the streets below. Small shops were being robbed by a vast majority of hoodlums, people being raped, narcotics sold nearly every corner, and gang factions battled each other for control over their districts. That is, luckily, street judges are sent to stop this stuff and regain order in the city, and no one is more iconic than the legend himself, Judge Dredd! Dredd followed a bleeding criminal into a warehouse, for he shot him trying to sell some narcotics to some people. Armed with his standard street judge armor and lawgiver pistol with ammo clips ready, he followed the criminal into the warehouse, not even afraid of taking any damage from anyone inside. "YOU DUMBASS!!!" He heard what was probably the Drug Dealer's boss, followed by a pistol being shot. "OH SHIT!!!" Another criminal yelled "It's Dredd!!! IT'S FUCKING DREDD!!!" Dredd held his pistol, ready to fight. "Rapid fire." He simply said. A click was made, as his lawgiver immediately switched to rapid fire, one of the few modes judges use on a daily basis. He kicked the door open and fired everywhere! No remorse was shown, as criminals dropped like flies to the floor. Some of the criminals grabbed a nearby weapon and fired at him! Dredd took cover behind a conveyor belt, waited for them to reload, then got out of cover and fired at them, killing them with blood splatting on the walls from their heads. In a few minutes of actions, all but the boss were dead. Dredd walked to the criminal. "Standard." Dredd simply said, his lawgiver changing to it's single fire self. The boss aimed his gun at Dredd, but shook uncontrollably. Dredd punched the man across the face, making him land on his back. Dredd picked up the man by the collar of his shirt "Mr. Aquino: your crimes are producing & selling narcotics, and the attempt to murder a judge. Your sentence is death. What do you have to say for yourself?" The boss spat at Dredd's face. "Fuck you!!!" He replied. "Noted." Dredd brought his lawgiver onto Aquino's face and pulled the trigger! A clean hole was made in his head, followed with the body falling and blood forming a puddle around the head. He was dead. Dredd turned to walk away, but stopped at the sound of scratching behind a door. "Help!" A little boy's voice yelled in fear "It's dark in here!!!" Trafficking children as well? Dredd thought to himself. He walked to the door. "Get back!!!" Dredd yelled. Some footsteps were heard as something went back. Dredd kicked the door opened, expecting to see a bunch of kids, only to see darkness. "Who are you?" The same voice asked. "Where are you?" "Down here!" Dredd looked down and was surprised at what he saw: it was a white unicorn with a smooth looking a mane & tail of blue & light blue stripes, dark blue hooves that matched that of the now extinct workhorse. Dredd leaned down and picked up the loose neck skin of the colt, bringing him closer to his face. "Is this some sort of joke?" "Joke? What's the joke?" It looked around, not even realizing what it was. Dredd brought the colt closer to his face. "Who are you?" The unicorn's ears perked backwards "I-I'm Sh-shinning Armor." He looked behind Dredd, seeing the dead criminals. "Did you do that!?" Dredd looked behind him. "I did." "Were they bad people?" "More than bad. The worse I hate the most!" "What did they do?" "This city is already in ruin. Imagine everything wrong and multiply that by one hundred." "So... it's worse?" "...Yes." "What do you do?" "I am a street judge: Judge jury and executioner rolled into one. I protect the innocent and uphold the law. Anyone who breaks the law and tries to kill me will learn, right before they die, that they aren't the law: I am the law!" "Wow! That... sounds awesome!" Dredd dropped Shining Armor to the floor and walked away, exiting the warehouse. "Wait!!!" Shining ran and followed Dredd. "Go home. I don't have time to babysit any kid." "But... I don't have a home." Dredd stopped and turned around. "Aren't you from the wastelands?" "Wastelands? No, I actually woke up in that closet." "With no memory?" "Uh huh." Dredd and Shining stared at each other. "Is that horn only for decoration?" "This?" Shining asked "No. Watch!" He turned and concentrated on Dredd's Lawmaster. Not only was Shining Armor's horn covered in a blue aura, but the Lawmaster was also in a blue aura. Soon, the Lawmaster began to float a couple of inches off the ground, causing Dredd to step back a bit. After a few seconds of floating the Lawmaster was lowered to the floor a bit, but dropped, breaking the mirrors. Dredd looked at Shining Armor, who was panting. An Idea came into his head, one that was ridiculous but it just might work: Shining Armor become a street judge himself! While Shining may be small right now, but with his unnatural abilities and training in combat with discipline, he may become a feared judge as Dredd himself, perhaps even more. Dredd placed his hand on his helmet and called the Hall of Justice. "H.Q.?" He asked "Dredd!" The woman on the other line "The drug bust went well?" "Fine. We have ourselves a newcomer here. Get the justice department ready for another street judge in training." "Alright then. Who is it?" "...You're going to laugh at this, but it's a unicorn named 'Shining Armor', and he has special abilities that may make him a threat to every criminal out there." Silence was there. "... Have you been taking narcotics?" "Do I sound like I take narcotics?" Another silence was heard. "...Alright then. We're getting ready for your newcomer. Please, for all that's good, this better work." "I know it will." Dredd turned to the colt, who was hugging his leg. "What are you doing?" Shining Armor looked up to him, turning his head. "You've never been hugged before, Dad?" Shining Armor asked "Dad!?" "Aren't you my father?" "...No." "WHAT!?!?!? But... I thought-" "The world is cruel, and this is your first lesson. That is how I learned and that is how I became the best street judge of all time." He grabbed Shining armor and placed him on the Lawmaster. Dredd sat in his motorcycle and drove ahead, heading towards the Justice department. Shining sniffled to himself along the way, finding himself not only without a home, but the person who saved him says he's not his son at all and doesn't even love him. Dredd looked down at the sniffling Shining Armor, who tried to make him feel bad, but due to Dredd going through hell everyday, his heart was as hard as stone. Dredd stopped at the justice department, seeing a familiar woman in a suit waiting for him. "So you're not lying about the unicorn then." She commented, seeing Dredd with the sniffling unicorn. "Laugh it up." He replied, dropping Shining Armor into her arms. She looked down at the sniffling unicorn, who covered his own face with his hooves. "Your work?" "If he is to become a judge, he needs to be strong both physically and psychically." "You can still be strong without your type of psyche, Dredd." "Tell that to the other newcomers." He turned around and quickly exited on his Lawmaster. She turned to the sniffling Shining Armor, feeling his tears land on her dress. She gently patted his mane. "There There, don't be too sad. Dredd didn't mean what he said. When you get to know him, he's not that bad of a man, he just does his job." She walked inside the Justice department. "Th-thank you." Shining Armor replied with a warm smile. He curled into a ball as she took him inside, placing him near her desk. She scratched behind his ear, hearing him let out a relaxed whinny. "I hope you're right, Dredd. Not for you, but for him."
11 Years later.Ever since Shining Armor was sent into the Justice Department to train as a street Judge himself, he held a large grudge against the one who saved him, ignored him, and dropped him off to train become a judge himself, Dredd. During his training, he was looked down by all the other rookies, making fun of him not being a human at all and, instead, just being an adorable mascot for the justice department as a way to enroll more judges. This pissed him off greatly, as he pushed himself to be a better judge than his peers, and accepting any fight by any of the other rookies, coming out on top. The only rookie he actually liked was a woman named Anderson, mostly because she too is a freak, being a mutant with strange, psychic abilities like him, but wasn't able to lift object like him, nor was great in training. Despite her lack of skills, Shining cared for her, even standing up for her against the other rookies who made fun of her. His protection towards her, almost magically, hot him a weird tattoo on his flank area that was a shield with three stars above it. For Shining Armor getting his suit, there had to be changes on his suit. The one most recognized is that his suit armor had to be remade to have the same effectiveness as any other Judge's armor, but fit around his body. As a result, cybernetics had to be made in the suit to have Shining Armor stand upright & walk around, with the addition of robotic hands placed over his front hooves to hold his lawgiver pistol. With his new robot hands, they're imprinted with their own 'fingerprints' as a way to make sure no one else with a cybernetic hand takes his lawgiver and use it against him, as most criminals too stupid would do. The next thing that had to be altered was a simple hole in the helmet and the pants area that would provide comfort for his horn and tail. As a result, the tail hole and helmet hole are the two weaknesses in Armor's new suit. But, to prove he was truly a judge, there needed to be an experienced Judge that can examine Shining Armor personally and wasn't busy with a crime right now. Only one was finished during a shootout, a hit & run, and handling a hostage situation: Dredd. Shining Armor sat in his seat with his helmet next to him. He sat inside a blank room with only the bench in there, as he looked at his reflection that, as he knew, was a two way mirror. Many years of training, and he was ready. He was still getting used to his new cybernetic legs & hands built in the suit, which made him stand about as tall as a regular man, but it felt weird, since he's been on all fours his entire life. Dredd entered the room in front of Shining Armor's. "I'm training him?" Dredd asked "I find it a bit suitable, actually," the chief replied "you dropped him off here those years ago, he's had a grudge against you, and now you're going to give him the ropes on how to be a street judge while resolving your hatred to each other." "I don't hate him at all. I'm just doing my job." "And so will he." "What are his records?" "Well, we all know what he is and where he came from, but he doesn't have any history behind him. His blood type is normal, no high amounts of radiation inside him. The value testers found him unsuitable, but he was entered the academy under special instructions. In the academy, his records were up there near yours, Dredd. His final academy score was 12.7 points above pass." "...Damn. Really close to mine. What caused him to go low?" "We had to give him cybernetics to do what we do, as you can see. Horses don't have fingers, so we had to make them for him. Plus, that horn he has, he's trained it and has gotten much better than what you saw." "How so?" She walked up and pressed the intercom button. "Shining Armor?" "Sir!" Shining Armor announced, standing and saluting. "How many are on the other side?" Shining armor looked and his horn glowed it's blue aura. His expression went from serious to rage. "Two." "What can you tell me about the other person next to me?" "... Another Street judge... remembers me... destroyed my childhood immediately... left me with you. I... can feel anger... and control." He got up and walked on his new legs and slammed onto the glass mirror, staring at Dredd. "And he's a huge piece of shit who claims that he was only doing his job and believes I can make the greater good." "I would've left you if you hadn't shown me your gifts." Dredd replied, crossing his arms together. "And that's suppose to make me feel batter?" "Thank you, Shining Armor," the chief spoke. "Please, sit down." Shining Armor obeyed and sat down, taking a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down. She turned to Dredd. "He's probably the most strongest thing around here with psychic abilities like that. I have seen him throw old cars to the side like rocks. I will admit, were if not for his abilities and training, I'd send you with Anderson, another psychic, this one a mutant." "And you really think I'm up to this?" "Well... are you?" Dredd looked at Shining Armor, who was opening & closing his hands, getting used to the feeling of hands. "We'll see how he works at the deep end." Both Shining Armor and Dredd walked side by side with each other, both in their helmets. "A rookie Judge session will likely involve combat," Dredd spoke "One in five won't survive the first day. You may be required to do on the spot executions of inflicted felonies." "Yes Sir." Shining Armor replied with a low growl. "Incorrect sentencing is an automatic fail. Disobeying a direct order from any superior officer is an automatic fail. Losing your primary weapon or having it taken from you is an automatic fail." "Yes Sir." "You Ready, rookie?" "...I am." Dredd looked at Shining Armor, who didn't turn to look at him. "Yous assessment starts now." The two exited the Hall of Justice and went to their own Lawmasters. "Twelve serious crimes are reported every minute." Dredd spoke "Seventeen thousand per day. We can respond to about six percent." "Which Six percent?" Shining Armor asked, starting his lawmaster. "It's your show, Rookie. You tell me." Shining looked down at the GPS and looked for one. Great thing about fingers over hooves is that they're small & pointy, not like the fat, rounded hooves he had. He selected on one that appeared under the name 'Peachtrees'. "Peachtrees: Multiple homicide. "Dredd to control: we'll take Peachtrees." "...Copy that." One of the operators responded. Dredd lead the way and Shining Armor followed. The two drove towards Peachtrees.
The Ma-Ma Clan and KayBoth Dredd and Shining Armor walked into the City block dubbed "Peach Trees", as people gave Shining Armor a questionable look on both his looks and the fact he was with the infamoud Judge Dredd. "Alright Rookie," Dredd spoke "What do you know about peach trees?" "Sir," Shining Armor answered "Peach trees houses about seventy-five thousand registered citizens. It has the highest crime rate in sector thirteen, unemployment rate is at ninety six percent, and more than half of the residential levels are classed as slums." "Good. You've been doing your homework." Dredd stopped and turned to what was a homeless man sitting near the entrance of Peach Trees, next to a sign that read Homeless junkie. Will debase self for credits. "Rookie." Shining stopped and turned to Dredd. He turned his head and looked at the homeless man. "Judgement." "Vagrancy. Three weeks in an isocube." "Correct." He pointed at the man "Don't be here when we get back." The man nodded. The two judges entered peach trees, hearing a voice of a woman telling people to stand back as a large group of gathered around the crime scene while others bustled around the city block. "What's it like being a judge?" "Sir, I haven't done anything yet, but it fills in my type of mind." "And that is?" "I want to protect & serve the city, to make a difference." "Make a difference? In a block like this?" "I don't know anything about these people, but I know I'm not going to drop the nearest orphan at the Justice Department like garbage." Dredd looked at him. With his stern look and no way for his face to be fully seen, it was hard to tell if Dredd was surprised, angered, or annoyed at Shining's comment. "But I know there's good people inside. Good families that are trying to get by." Shining looked back at Dredd, getting a weird feeling in him. "Yes, I believe I can make a difference, even if it is small." Dredd looked away and turned to the path ahead. "Admirable." Dredd and Armor walked into the crime scene, seeing a paramedic looking at one of the three corpses around them "What do we got here?" "Three skinned and some fucked up drug use." The paramedic replied, not even looking away from the corpse near him. Dredd lifted the cover, seeing one of the three people, a male, covered in blood as no skin was on him and the back of his head was splattered with his brains splattered across the floor. The sight almost made Armor puked, but he resisted and swallowed his meal from earlier. "Are you based in Peach trees?" "Med Center. Lever 25." He stopped and stared at Armor. "Um... are you a mutant?" "He isn't." "I may look like one," Armor added "but I am actually a different species altogether. I may have hands & feet, but this is all cybernetics." "I didn't think they accepted dogs as literal dogs of their ranks." The paramedic joked. "Laugh it up all you want. You haven't seen what I'm capable of." "Enough side chat." Dredd interrupted "You I.D'd them?" "Mostly." Paramedic answered "Two of them are registered to this block." "And the other?" "I'll have to run his blood in the DNA profile so I can figure out who's blood is his." Dredd kneeled down to the corpse and lifted it's blanket. The crowd gasped, followed by some women gasping for breath and someone puking. Dredd lifted the corpse's lips up, seeing the teeth are yellow & the abnormal looking. "What do you think of this, rookie?" "... I don't know, sir." Armor replied. Dredd looked up to the open roof and stood right up "It's a side effect from a slow-mo inhaler." "Slow-mo?" The paramedic walked next to Shining. "It only just hit the grid." the paramedic answered "It lets off big waves, making the brain feel as if time is passing by slower than normal speed. I can only guess it felt like a long drop all the way down." Armor got a small vision of what was one of the men falling down to their death, then returned to himself. A small beeping was made on Dredd's personal codex. Three pictures of the men were shown, all identical to the corpses near them. "Small time perps," Dredd listed "junkies, no gang affiliation. What's your analysis?" Shining looked around him. "Skinned," Armor answered "drugged, shown to the public. It must be a punishment killing. Someone's trying to send a message." "Yeah," the medic replied "don't fuck with the Ma-Ma Clan." Both Judges looked at the paramedic with the same, confused look. "Ma-Ma Clan?" They both asked in unison. The three were in the paramedic's office, looking through the files of people in Peach Trees. It stopped at a woman, who's name was "Madeline Madrigal". "We have he oldr record from her whoring days." the paramedic explained on the picture "This is old, but that's her: Madeline Madrigal, A.K.A., Ma-Ma. Ex Hooker from the S-9 pleasure district. Quick working when she got sliced up from her pimp, she got him back. Local people said she feminized him with her own teeth." "Jesus Christ!" Shining commented "Yeah. She took over his business at first, but never looked back. Anyone else here would say I was bullshitting, but not with Ma-Ma: her trademark is violence. Not so long ago, there were three main gangs hustling for control over peach trees: The Pillar Kings, The Red Dragons, and The Judged. Then Ma-Ma arrived. She took over the top floor and started to work her way down. Nine months later, she had control of everything: Levels 1 to 200 were all her's." "How did she get away with it?" Shining Armor asked "Do you know how often we get a judge in peach trees?" "Well you got one now." Dredd replied, touching the computer's screen, revealing a 3-D model of the city block. "The victims are registered to an apartment on level 39. Likely killed over turf issues. So, perps will be in the facility. Rookie?" "...Find out where the clan operates on this level and hit it hard." Armor answered. The paramedic leaned over and showed the room. "That would be here." He simply said. Both Dredd and Armor went to the 39th level and walked down the hallway, both readying their Lawgivers. Dredd stopped and took cover behind a corner, followed by Shining right next to him. "I take it this is your first time in outside combat?" Dredd asked. "Yes sir." Armor replied with some nods. "Wondering why you made a hole in your helmet." "Sir, I need protection, but no helmet has anything for my horn to fit through, otherwise, I'd go helmet less and or walk with a helmet not fitted around my skull. It also allows me to use my abilities." "...better hope no one shoots your horn off." Dredd pulled out one of the varies grenades, a sticky one, and placed it on the door, followed by some beeping in a countdown way. "You ready?" "Yes sir." Dredd turned his head to Armor. "You don't look ready." "Just adrenaline, sir." The two readied themselves, followed by loud beeps and the sticky grenade exploding! Dredd opened fire, killing three men with guns: a balm man with a pistol through his cheeks, a large man with a shotgun through the chest, and a young man with a pistol through his cheeks. The rest of the people raised their arms in surrender, most carrying an inhaler with what was Slow-Mo. Shining stared at the sight, shaking his gun while standing. "Rookie." Dredd spoke, aiming at the criminals in front of him. Shining stared at the corpses around, not sure what to do. "Armor! Judgement!" This snapped Armor out of his trance and aimed at the criminals in front of him "Crime: possession and usage of controlled substances." Armor answered "Sentence: 2 years in iso-cubes." Dredd looked at Armor "Don't tell me, tell control." Armor looked at Dredd, then lifted his left hand with it's communicator. "Armor to control?" "Copy." A man's voice spoke on the other line. "Requesting a meat wagon to peach trees, level 39. We have... four bodies for recite and eight live for iso-cubes." "Copy that. Meat Wagon in bound." "Alright," Dredd spoke "let's get them cuffed. You! Up!" In a few moments, all the criminals were hand cuffed. Armor cuffed one criminal, an African american with a yellow t-shirt and a leather jacket over it,but noticed something different about him: a tattoo on the back of his neck of a valentine heart with twin sword going through it, and the word "Ma-Ma" on it. "Sir," Armor spoke "this one's a gang member. He's-" he stopped as his horn glowed, and a bloody memory appears of the three victims from earlier were getting skinned alive! He returned back to where he was. "Sir... it's him." "Him who?" Dredd mockingly asked "His name's Kay, and he's the man who murdered the people from earlier." Dredd and armor turned their heads to each other. "You sure?" Armor turned the criminal and got a good look at him. "Ninety-Nine percent." "We can't execute someone on 'Ninety-Nine percent'." Dredd walked to the man and stared at him, looking very opposing. "It'd save me a lot of paperwork if you just confessed right now. Kay stayed silent. "We'll take him in... see how he holds up after a few hours in interrogation." Armor turned Kay around and walked him out of the apartment.
TrappedDredd, Shining Armor, and Kay all stood in the elevator, heading to exit peach trees. Shining Armor's horn glowed again, as he detected what Kay was up to. "Sir," Armor spoke "he's thinking about making a move for your gun." "Yeah." Dredd replied, unfased at the news. Some silence fell, as Shining's horn glowed again. "Now he's changed his mind." "...Yep." Armor turned to Dredd. "Can you say anything else but 'yeah', and with emotion?" "... I can." Shining took a deep breath and turned his attention to the elevator door. It stopped as the reached the bottom floor. The doors opened and they walked out of the elevator, Dredd leading them with Armor holding the handcuffed Kay. They were near the exit of peach trees, seeing the same homeless sitting in the same spot. "I warned you!" Dredd yelled and pointing at the man "Get up! You're heading to the cubes!" Loud blaring was heard around them. "Stand clear of doors." A woman's voice announced through the intercoms. Large doors slammed down to the floor, crushing & killing the homeless man instantly with only a puddle of blood leaking, as it was seen with red lights filling the darkness of the inside. "All residents, remain calm." It repeated for the next few seconds. Dredd, Armor, and Kay walked back into the main square, seeing the last of what was little of the open sunroof, closing. "What's going on?" Armor asked, trying his best to stay calm. "Lock down complete." the same announcer said. A low hum was heard, and the lights went from the red lighting to their regular lights, making look almost as if the place was open & back to normal. "Something very bad." Armor answered. "...Peach Trees," Another woman's voice spoke through the intercoms, this one not sounding as pleasant as the last & more in an angered tone. "This is Ma-Ma... somewhere in this block are two judges... I want them dead. Until I get what I want, this block is locked down. All clans on every level, hunt the judges down. Everyone else, clean the corridors and stay the fuck out of the way until the shooting stops." At that moment, everyone began to run towards their apartments and locked the doors behind them. "If I hear anyone helping the judges, I'll kill them and the next generation of their family. ...As for the Judges- "We gotta move." Dredd said, walking to an area. Shining followed, dragging Kay with him. "Sit tight. Or run. ... Makes no difference, you're both mine." The place was as silent as silent can be. With the exception of a few footsteps of a few people runnng towards their homes, and the hum of light bulbs, nothing could be heard beside Dredd, Armor, and Kay running up a fleet of stairs. Dredd used his wrist communicator. "Control," Dredd spoke "We have a situation in Peach Trees. Do you copy?" Static. "Control? Copy?" "My communicator is down too." Armor added "The shielding must be blocking all transmissions." He turned to Armor "We'll head for the med center." He stopped as they heard people yelling above & below them, searching for both of them. "Call it!" "Sir?" "You're on assessment, rookie. Call it." Armor looked down, then up. "Multiple armed targets with obstructed lines of sight. Gas grenades?" "Respirators." Both judges pulled out their respirators. Dredd turned to Kay before placing the respirator in his own mouth. "I suggest you hold your breath." Dredd pulled out a gas grenade and chucked it to the stairway below. He pulled out his lawgiver and they all climbed up the stairs. The gas made it's way up quickly, as some of the people began to couch hard at the gas, holding onto the rails and wheezing for air. Dredd came out of the corner and delivered nine bullets to four men, the first taking four, the second with one, the third with two, and the fourth with two. Another fleet of stairs and Dredd took down three, all with clean head shots. They went into the elevator and went to the same level with the paramedic from earlier. The elevator opened and Armor used his abilities to drag the person in, Dredd stomping his face in with one stomp, then delivered a headshot to another nearby. Dredd looked around, then took Kay and made him as his personal shield, and Armor readied his lawgiver. The two took cover behind a wall, Dredd peaking out to see ten people waiting to kill them, as Armor tied Kay to some nearby pipes to make sure he doesn't escape. "We're gonna have to go through them." Dredd stated. "Stun grenade?" Shining asked "Stun grenade. Let;s give them the good news." Dredd leaned down and rolled the stun grenade to their feet. He got up and made his wrist communicator as a megaphone. "Citizens of peach trees. This is the law. Disperse immediately, or we will use lethal force to clear the area." The men chatted with each other on what to do, but turned to where the two were taking cover at. "You have been warned. You now have twenty seconds to comply." "It's you who should do the complying, judge." One of the people spoke, a man with a Scandinavian accent. "There's ten of us and only two of you! Why don't you step out from that doorway or we'll blow the fuck out of you." "Ten Seconds to comply." "Fuck you, judge!" Another yelled "You've got five!" the same one added. "Thanks for the heads up." Dredd replied, not in his megaphone voice anymore. A warping sound was heard, followed by a bright white-blue light. Dredd and Armor got out of cover and shot at the criminals, showing no mercy at all. Dredd reloaded his clip, and Shining watched a lone criminal, a man, struggle to get up. "Please!" he begged weakly. "What are you waiting for, rookie? An apology? His crime was attempted murder of a judge. His sentence is death." "I know, sir." Armor replied. He aimed at the man with only one hand and pulled the trigger, executing him almost as cold as Dredd would. Dredd walked to the med bay door and pressed on the intercom button. "Open up." The paramedic did nothing. "Open. Up." The paramedic pressed his intercom button. "Negative, judge." he replied "You know what's going on out here. We need a place where the people can find a safe house. This is the facility's neutral ground." "Neutral? You're not neutral, you're choosing sides!" "Peach Trees has been sealed by blast doors that can withstand any attack. No one's getting out, no one's getting in. And you're and the client are filling in with your blood. There are no sides here. You're already dead." Shining Armor walked next to Dredd. "That's bullshit!" He yelled "I don't know Ma-Ma that much, but I can already tell one thing: we are going to stop her, and we are going to kill anyone who get in our way! She's going to lose a lot of men, and her petty threats are nothing when we get to her and rip her god damn head from her spine! Peach Trees will be free and open back to the public, other Judges will get here, and when you and I survive, I swear to fucking God that I'm going to put you in the Iso Cubes for you entire fucking life for not helping us, UNDERSTAND!?!?!?" The paramedic and Dredd stared at Armor for a few moments. "You... make a good bargain." he opened the doors. Armor walked away and dragged Kay inside. "Your pushing your limits, rookie." Dredd commented. Armor stopped and turned to Dredd. "Like you haven't done it before." Armor replied. Shing wasn't sure, but, for almost half a second, he swore he could've seen Dredd smile, but then again, Shining Armor couldn't really tell with that helmet and Dredd's usual angry face.
A massacre.Dredd and Armor came out of the Med area with some medicine, more clips for their lawgivers (taken from dead Judges in the past), energy snacks, and water. Kay was still silent during all of this. Whatever Ma-Ma did to him to make sure he'd stay loyal, it was effective. "Nice work, Rookie." Dredd Commented "Thank you, sir." Armor replied, not sounding as angry as he did. "But we have to keep going. Switch weapons to silence mode. We now have to go covert: conserve ammunition, don't shoot unless you're aiming for their head." "Yes sir." Armor switched his lawgiver to silence mode. "And what of our special guest?" "Explain." "If it all goes to it, do you think we should execute him right now?" "...Only if he tries to kill you or me. Unless, you want to execute him now." "...No sir." Dredd aimed his lawgiver and walked away. Shining grabbed their suspect and walked behind Dredd. They entered another hallway with doors leading to other apartments on both sides. Dredd stopped at a corner. "Hold up." He said. Shining Armor followed his orders. Dredd peeked out of the corner, then signaled them to follow. They walked down the hall for a few moments, then heard some men talking to each other. Dredd grabbed their suspect and pushed him into the wall, using the near apartment door's wall for cover. The men were getting closer. Armor's horn glowed again. "Sir," Armor whispered "Is it alright if I do something?" "If it's getting us out alive, then I have no problem with it." "It's a bit risky, but we're goth going to need to get out cover." Dredd turned to Armor "Are you crazy?" "No sir." "You can get yourself killed if you want." Shining took a deep breath and holstered his lawgiver. He raised his hand in a surrendering way and walked out of cover. The men shouted at the sight of him. "It's one of those fucking judges!!!" One of them yelled "Let's cap this bitch!" "I am offering you this," Shining Armor responded "lower your weapons and walk away with a warning, or you'll be executed." "You and what army!?" "Ain't no way I'm going to get killed by a mutant horse!" "Let's have horse meat for dinner!" "I warned you." Armor said, lowering his arms down. The men aimed their guns at Armor, but an aura around Armor's horn and their guns & hands prevented them to shoot! They were pulled right from the criminals, then turned around to their owners. They backed up a bit, cowering in fear. One of them tried to run away, only to fall down when Armor pulled his weapons trigger on his right leg, blasting it away! Armor then pulled the trigger on all the weapons, executing all the criminals with their own guns, including the deeply wounded one! Armor dropped their guns to the floor and cracked his neck. Dredd peeked out of the corner, seeing Armor standing perfectly fine with no damage to himself. "Holy shit!" Kay finally spoke "You used their weapons against them?" Dredd asked "Yes, sir." Armor replied. "Hm... that's a nice way of saving ammo." "It is." His horned glowed again. A small card was taken out of the one of the deceased criminals pockets, and landed in Armor's robot hands. "What does it say?" "...There's an elevator that says it's out of service, but it works as longs as you don't press a button above 75." "Looks like we're getting a ride." The three stood in the elevator going up to level 75. As soon as it stopped, they walked up a fleet of stair, going to Level 76. They stopped as they heard loud clanging around them. Metal bars came down, trapping them inside! "That's not good." Dredd simply said. "I think I have a plan." Armor said. Dredd turned to the camera watching them "Give me a moment." Dredd aimed his lawgiver at the camera and pulled the trigger, destroying it. He walked to the metal bar and touched it. "These bars are too thick to cut through." "I beg to differ. Besides, if they know where we are, why aren't coming after us?" "...That's what worries me." Dredd turned around from the door. "Take him back to the main lobby. Hold position behind the elevator shaft. It's a good place to defend." He began to walk away "Where are you going?" Dredd stopped "... If I don't come back, and you get cornered, you may not want to get taken alive." They stared at each other for a bit. "Your call." "...Sir." Dredd turned around and walked away. Armor grabbed Kay "Come on!" Kay and Shining Armor were in the main lobby of the level they were on. Kay was on his knees and Armor was taking cover on a wall. "He's right, you know." Kay spoke "About not wanting to be taken alive. Stuck in a clan with a pretty thing like you? I can tell you this: it's nasty!" Shining armor ignored him. Yeah, I know, Armor thought to himself I've seen a couple of guys stare at my ass before during our training. Just glad the tail blocks most of it. Kay took a deep sigh and relaxed himself on the wall. "I had a girl one time," Kay spoke again "About your age and... well... anyway, I'm just saying, save the last bullet for yourself." "Yeah," Armor replied "And I'm saving the second to last bullet for your fucking head!" "...Sure... so... you're a mutant or a real horse? If you're a mutant, you should be glad: Most of you fuckers have three stumpy arms or no arms. But... I guess you lucked out, right?" "I assure you, I am neither." "Then what the fuck are you? Are you really a fucking unicorn from happy-go-lucky-retard-land? Either way, you and Dredd fit together... like father and son." "He is not my father! I hate him so much!" "Whatever... psychic. Really fucked up. I heard about those kind of people. Hard to believe it's real. Like... like what am I thinking about right now?" Armor's horn glowed and what he was was simply him raping a naked woman. "... a picture of violence and sexual force of you and a woman. Pointless attempt to shock me." "...you're good. But I wasn't trying to shock you. If I was trying to shock you, then it'd be-" Before Kay could think of it, Armor punched him across the face, knocking a single tooth out of it's place! "What are you think about now? Huh!?" Kay winced in pain as he spat out another tooth. "That's what I thought!" Armor's horn glowed again, as he heard people screaming and bullets crashing through the walls, utterly destroying everything almost nonstop. Dredd ran around the corner! "GET DOWN!!!" Dredd ordered. Armor followed, knocking Kay down. Armor's horn glowed again, and this time, a large bubble shiled surrounded the three! The bullets bounced off of the surface of the shield, not leaving a dent on the shield! One of the bullets went through the wall, allowing sunlight to enter. Dredd saw the hole. "ARMOR!!!" "I SEE IT!!!" Armor yelled. He pulled his lawgiver and made a small hole in his shield. "HIGH EX!!!" The gun clicked and Armor pulled the trigger, destroying the wall! "MOVE!!!" The three ran out of the hole in the wall and jumped out, landing on what was an outdoor skate ramp. Dredd and Armor aimed around them, but stopped as they realized that they were surrounded by teenagers who were locked outside, most likely busy skateboarding before Peach Trees was sealed. Dredd and Armor's wrist communicator finally beeped with intercoms of people talking. "The intercoms are back on." Dredd said, lifting his arm communicator up. "Control? Do you copy?" Armor ignored Dredd's conversation and looked to the city, then turned to Dredd. Dredd looked up to the hole. "We gotta get back in." Armor said, realizing hope won't come for a long time. Dredd and Armor, Dragging Kay, walked into peach trees, readying themselves for combat! They saw the bodies of killed men, women, and children all around them, with an occasional survivor begging for help. Dredd turned to Armor, seeing tears coming down his face. "What's wrong?" Dredd asked. "...These criminals," Armor answered "they just... slaughtered all these innocents! Not just men & women, but children as well!" "Yeah. They do that." "And yet, you don't show emotion at this! You act like a robot more than a human! Tell me, why the hell are you like this!? Who did this to you? Why the fuck did you become a-" Dredd Pushed Armor into the wall and held him by his neck with his shoulder! "Listen! I have seen this multiple times, nearly everyday! I was like you! I had no family, no friends, and no one to talk to! I enrolled as a judge because I was the best! I didn't ask for anything in life, I just did it! You can cry all you want or grow some fucking balls!" "FUCK YOU, DREDD!!! Is that why you sent me to the Department of Justice to become a judge!? Because I was like you!? I'd fucking kill you!!!" "Go on! Kill me! Become a criminal like these! I'm a necessary evil in this world, and so are you! Without me, more people will be dead!!!" "Without you, they'd be alive!" Armor levitated his lawgiver and placed it on Dredd's head! "You're pushing yourself, Armor! Stand down, or you will executed!" "I'm done with your bullshit on justice! I am so pissed off!!!" "Don't be pissed off at me! Be pissed off at these scums here!" "There they are!" A criminal yelled! "FOR FUCK'S SAKE!!!" Armor aimed his pistol and fired at the criminal that spotted them! Dredd lowered him and Armor ran into a group of criminals, firing at them!!! Armor had an empty clip at one of the criminals, but holstered his lawgiver and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and belt area of his pants! He walked through the smoke and tossed the man to the broken walkway, making him fall down to his death!!! He looked up and saw Ma-Ma herself: she was cut up, had a shorter hairstyle, tattoos over her body, and wearing a purple tank top. Armor and Ma-Ma stared at each other for a few minutes, as Armor felt a burning rage in him as he stared at her, and Ma-Ma began to sweat at his presence. "YOU'RE NEXT!!!" Armor yelled before turning around and disappearing into the smoke!
Getting things started.Kay screamed as Dredd and Armor threw him into a room that acted as classroom. He toppled over a desk and fell to his side. "Your gang locks down the entire block," Armor said while slamming the door behind them "massacres an entire quadrant of men, women, & children, just to take out two judges! TWO!!! Is someone trying to kill you?" Kay didn't respond. Armor's horn glowed and he was tossed to the wall! Armor then grabbed Kay and slammed him into the wall, followed by a quick punch to his chest, with the sound a rib snapping. Another punch, and Kay groaned in pain. "I'll tell you what I think: I think if we had just executed you, Ma-Ma would've let us walk out of here!" Another punch and groan from Kay. "What she doesn't want, is you being taken back to the sector house! She doesn't want you interrogated! She's afraid of what you might say! And that's got me curios." He headbutted Kay, nearly stabbing him with his horn. "TELL ME YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!" Kay looked at Armor, bleeding from the mouth. "...Fuck you!" he answered. Armor grabbed onto Kay's throat and began to choke him. Dredd touched him by his shoulder. "Armor." He said "WHAT!?!?!?" Armor replied "We can't get anything out of him if he's dead. I say you should use your psychic abilities on him, read his mind." "And you just thought of this!?" "Had it in mind. Didn't think you'd be able to do it until I saw your performance." "...FINE!!!" Armor released Kay, allowing him to take deep breaths. Armor took a deep breath to calm himself down, and his horn glowed again as he was going to enter Kay's mind. "What... are you doing... bitch?" Kay gasped out. Armor and Kay found themselves in a dark void. "Welcome to the inside of your head." Armor spoke, looking around. "It's kind of... empty in here. Let's liven the place up a bit." The empty space slowly became a room. "I don't know what type of mutant shit this is!" Kay exclaimed, looking around in fear. "But if my hands aren't cuffed-" "They aren't cuffed, that if, if you don't want to be." Kay brought his hands forward, seeing that they weren't cuffed at all, but free! He got up and laughed to himself. "Hey! In my head, do I do what I like?" "...sure." Kay pulled a gun out of nowhere and pulled the trigger, firing at Shining Armor at point blank range. Shining Armor stood there, unharmed. He smiled. "Thinking about hurting me isn't actually going to hurt me." "Yeah... points to you. Except... there is that thing-" "That image you said would freak me out?" "...yeah. If you're talking about my fucked up head," Armor looked down at himself and saw he was out of uniform, with only the cybernetic hand & feet on him. "Vs. your fucked up head... your fucked up head is going to lose." He grabbed Armor's head and tried to make him give Kay a blowjob. "That oughta shut you up." Armor appeared next to him. "Really? I can play mind games better than you, Kay." Kay screamed in pain as Ma-Ma appeared in Armor's place, with blood around her face, smiling as she finished feminizing Kay. "YOU FUCKING BITCH!!! YOU SICK... FUCKING BITCH!!!" "But we haven't even started." In a series of flashes, Armor saw the various people Kay has killed, but also saw the production line of people making the Slow-Mo drug. Kay himself screamed in pain and fear as he was placed in his victim's situation. Armor stood while Kay sat on his knees, still handcuffed, and with a puddle of piss surrounding him. Armor turned to Dredd, who stood next to him. "Peach Trees is the manufacturer base for all of the Slow-Mo in Mega City 1." Armor spoke "Ma-Ma's controlling the productions and distributions across the city." "...Interesting." Dredd replied. They both reloaded their lawgivers. "Your new intel about Ma-Ma managed to get a 10-24 to control. Perimeter's have shifted. What are the options, Armor?" "...Keep moving and attempt to avoid further detection or find a place to defend. Same as before, but now we know that there's backup." Dredd gave Armor a stern stare. "You're giving us two options: Defend or hide. What about attack? Head straight for Ma-ma?" "Well... she's guilty, we're judges, and I'm itching to kill someone that's worse than you." "Is that a yes?" "Hell yeah!" Again, Armor could've sworn he saw Dredd smirk for half a second. "Let's take him with us then. He can be a good shield." "Yes, sir!" Armor walked and picked up the injured & shaking Kay. The two walked out of the elevator, being careful not to bump into any unwanted people, and ascended up another flight of stairs. The two walked and saw an elevator near them. "A control terminal." Dredd pointed out "Let's check the schematics." Dredd walked to the control schematics. Armor pushed Kay into a wall nearby, then stood next to Dredd. They both checked at the schematics to get a better view of Peach Tree's interior. "FREEZE!!!" A voice yelled from behind. Dredd and Armor turned, seeing two teenage boys, one African-American and the other Caucasian, both holding pistols at them. Kay used this moment to free himself from his cuffs "Why?" Dredd simply asked. "Why what!?" The first asked "Why should I freeze?" "...Because otherwise... I'll shoot you!" "With the safety on?" He looked at his pistol. "It isn't." Dredd and Armor aimed at them with their lawgivers and the others at them. "How do you want it, kids? Body bags or Juve Jubes? Makes no difference to me." Kay jumped Shining Armor, making the unicorn pull the trigger of his lawgiver! Dredd jumped out of the way as the two kids fired at him. "STUN!!!" He yelled. His lawgiver clicked and Dredd pulled the trigger on both of them, making both of the kids fall to the floor, twitching with electricity. Kay had Armor in a choke hold and dragged the struggling stallion into the elevator! Dredd aimed at Kay, but due to Armor being in the way, it was difficult. The elevator closed on Kay and Armor, sealing them away & then going up. Armor stood as Kay had Armor, aiming the gun at his head. "...You are so fucked." Kay simply said. "I beg to differ." Armor replied, his horn glowing "What do you-AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Kay's fingers began to bend backwards until the fingers were dangling back with nothing but flesh holding it, and there was nothing but bones & blood showing! He fell to his knees, holding his bad hand with his good hand, seeing the bones sticking out and blood gushing. Armor holstered his lawgiver. "You got the jump on me, but I've always wanted to do this for a long time!!!" Armor then grabbed Kay and slammed his head into the elevator controls, stopping the elevator and opening it's doors! Armor then floated a piece of metal outside the door, sharpened it to be like a knife, and sliced Kay in his stomach, allowing all of his intestines to flop out! Kay fell, but Armor grabbed him from behind. His glowed again, went into Kay by the back of his head, and, in a few screams by Kay himself, Kay's face all the way to the back of his head exploded, leaving a gory hole in his head! Kay was dead. "Dumbass!"
Trouble.Armor exited the elevator and proceeded to make his way up to the 200th and top level of Peach Trees. He looked at the sings and saw he was on the 190th level, just ten below his target. She's probably above us all and looking down at us. Armor thought to himself. He power walked his way, but stopped as the intercoms were turned on. He walked and saw Dredd right near a control panel with the corpse of a criminal just recently killed, That was quick. "Inhabitants of Peach Trees," Dredd's voice boomed in the speakers "this is Judge Dredd. ... In case you people have forgotten, this block operates under the same rules as the rest of the city. Ma-Ma is not the law. I AM the law. Ma-Ma's a common criminal: Guilty of murder, guilty of the manufacturing and distribution of a narcotic called 'Slow-Mo', and as of now, under sentence of death, any who struck me in carrying my duty will be treated an an accessory to her crimes. You have been warned. And as for you, Ma-Ma-" Armor walked and took Dredd's spot. "YOU'RE MINE!!!" Armor added. He punched the panel and destroyed it! "Good to see you unharmed, Armor." "Thank you, sir." "What happened to our V.I.P? As soon as he took you, his sentence was now death." "Don't worry about that. You can say he was... a head case." "Hm... brutal. We should head up quickly, don't want to die and allow my speech be for nothing." "Yes sir." The two ran up the fleet of stairs as they heard some other people running to their area. Gunshots were heard and the criminals spoke to each other about how Dredd isn't dead. Both Dredd and Armor looked across & down the opposite side up a level, seeing the criminals investigating their area. They looked to each other, nodded, and aimed their lawgivers at the criminals. "Incendiary." They simply said in unison. A click was made in their lawgiver, and they both pulled the trigger. A 'Thump' was heard, as an incendiary bullet was fired from both guns, then erupted into bursts of flames. The criminals below didn't react quickly and were caught on fire. Dredd and Armor watched in satisfaction, as the criminals screamed & ran all over the area, burning with their flesh coming off while others fell from the balcony to the floor below. "That should piss her off." Armor commented. "Yeah... but not as bad as when she faces justice." Dredd replied. "Come, she's not going to come down here for us." He walked to the nearest fleet of stairs. "Yes, sir." Armor followed Dredd. Both Dredd walked up a few levels, walking out to a hallway. Dredd quickly aimed at a direction and fired at a criminal running across the corner. Armor followed by shooting another criminal that was entering a doorway. They both reloaded and proceeded their way to Ma-Ma. They stopped as they heard a banging sound in the distance. The two took cover behind their own walls, as another person ran & took cover behind a wall at the other end of the hallway. "Don't say anything." Dredd whispered "You there! Identify yourself!" "Chan: Section 9." He replied. "Dredd: Section 13" "We responded to your 10-24." Dredd got out of cover and aimed at the other man, but saw that he was another Judge. "Good to see you, Dredd." "Likewise. You alone?" "Negative. Three man squad closing in on my vector right now. So relax, the cavalry's here." "...Two." "...Two?" "Two of us called a 10-24. Wonder why you didn't ask about the other one." Chan stood for a minute, then quickly rose his arm up. "LEX!!! MOVIE IT!!!" Armor got out of cover, seeing Dredd and Chan were fighting each other. Chan pushed Dredd on the wall and began to choke him! "Choke on it, Dredd!" Armor grabbed Chan off of Dredd, who used his lawgiver and shot Chan's feet! Armor then slammed Chan's head on the rail, making Chan dizzy, then, with his robot hand in a flat position, slammed it into Chan's throat, making his Adam's apple go in his throat! Chan struggled with his breathing. "Choke on that." Armor said. "That's what I was going to say." Dredd replied. Armor pushed Chan out of the way, as the corrupted judge fell to the floor, dead, and they both ran ahead to find another fleet of stairs. Dredd and Armor stopped at a metal door that looked as if it could hold anything dangerous behind it. Without a word, Dredd opened the door, Armor walked in, and they both took cover behind a wall. They saw that they were in a product line as people were manufacturing Slow-Mo. Two guards stood near the people, each ready to fire at the people who may steal or try to use Slow-Mo while it's being developed. Bith Armor & Dredd nodded to each other and fired a single bullet at the guard in front of them. The people saw what they did, screamed, and ran away. Dredd and Armor investigated the line, as many small breathalyzers were ready to sell to the public. Armor picked one of them up. "I hope you don't on getting high right now." Dread said. "Nah," Armor replied "If Ma-Ma's up there, I want to give her a peace of her medicine." "...Really dark right there." "Think of it as poetic justice in a way." Footsteps were heard right behind them. Dredd and Armor quickly took cover, seeing two other Judges take cover behind a wall. "What's the price of a judge these days?" "...A million." One of the judges answered. Dredd turned to Armor and signaled him to go into the other room. Armor nodded and quickly while being quiet, took cover & walked to the other room. "Split four ways." Armor made his way out of the room, but heard the conversation that continued. "...Three ways now." "Suits me!" "Doesn't sound like much. To betray the law? To Betray the city?" "Save that shit for the rookies! For Twenty years, I've been on the streets. You know what Mega City 1 is, Dredd? It's a fucking meat grinder. People go in one end... meat comes out the other. All we do is turn the handle." Gunfire was heard as Armor exited. He turned around and felt that he needed to go and fight with Dredd, but felt a hand on his right shoulder. He turned around, only to be meet with a punch to his face! His vision became a bit blurry, but he saw that it was the third Judge after them, and this one was a woman. "This is for Chan you son of a bitch!" She yelled. She delivered another punch to Armor's face, making him back up a bit. She attempted to do another punch, but Shining Armor grabbed her fist with his robot hands. She was caught off guard and Armor delivered his punches to her face! Unlike her punches, which were fast &, though painful, his was slow & it showed damage. Armor grabbed her by the neck and, with his hand on her throat, he snapped it! With his free hand, his horn glowed, casting an aura around his hand, to which he punched through the already Dead judge's face, leaving a hole where most of her face & brain should be. He turned and saw Dredd on the floor, bleeding through the left side of his waist area, with one the other Judges aiming at him. "High Ex." Armor simply said. His lawgiver clicked and he silently walked behind the judge trying to execute Dredd. Dredd saw Armor, then turned to the judge. "Wait." Dredd said weakly. The other judge lowered his lawgiver and chuckled. "'Wait'?" He asked, having the same that spoke with Dredd earlier. "Are you kidding me? Did you just say 'Wait'?" He began to chuckle to himself. "Judge Dredd. THE Judge Dredd. Finally gets on the wrong end of a gun, and he says is 'Wait'. You know what? I expected more from you! I mean, wait for what? Wait for me to change my mind? Wait for another two secondsof your life 'cause you're so fucking weak!? You just can't stand to see it end." "...No." Armor pulled the trigger and the Judge's head exploded! The body fell to the floor. "Wait for him to shoot you." Armor walked to Dredd and extended his blood covered, robot hand. "Come on," Armor spoke. "Get up! Let's keep going!" Dredd accepted his hand and got up. Dredd pulled out some medicine and placed the stuff on his shot area, successfully healing it and sealing it up. Armor gave Dredd some other clips, to which he accepted and reloaded his lawgiver. "Ready?" "Yeah. "...You look ready." "Let's just deal with this bitch and get the fuck out of here." "Lead the way." Armor lead the way as they traveled in the 200th level, the top to find Ma-Ma. The duo stopped at a door with a metal door with a heart can-sprayed on the door and a regular metal door next to it. "Security must be close." Dredd said. "Probably next door." Armor replied. He kicked the regular metal door down. They entered and saw many computers around, most likely the main security room or a hacker's room. Some whimpering was heard inside, right between some wire covered shelves. Armor's horn glowed and a man screamed for help as he was dragged out of his hiding spot! Dredd grabbed him and slammed him against the wall, holding his lawgiver on the man's head! "PLEASE!!!" He screamed "Don't shoot! Don't shoot me! I'm not helping her! I'm not! I-I can help you!" "How!?" Dredd asked "Ma-Ma's in her private quarters, but it's behind ten inches of steel! So you can't go in there without the keypad combination! I-I-I can give that to you." Dredd turned the man to Armor. "We don't need your cooperation to get the key-pad number." Armor simply said before his horn glowed. He went inside the man's head, finding the combination easily, but also something disturbing: this man was held captive by Ma-Ma after he tried to tell the Justice Department what she was doing, but failed, and Ma-Ma had his eyes removes & replaced with cybernetics, forcing him to join the Ma-Ma clan, becoming the one who overthrew the system but with a gun to his head. They stared at each other for a few minutes, as he sniffled to himself. "Go. Get out of here." He hesitated, then sprinted away. "THANK YOU, JUDGE!!!" he screamed as he ran away, a burst of laughing and crying happening at the same time. Dredd turned to Armor. "Care to explain yourself, Rookie?" Dredd asked in his firm voice. "Letting a felon go is not just a fail, but it's an offense, a crime." "I can't really blame you for not noticing all the things like I do, Sir. He's a victim: Until this is done, I am still a judge and it's my job to dispense justice, which I did by letting him go. Anyways, the code to Ma-Ma's chambers are 4-9-3-6. Let's finish this." Dredd and Armor went to the door nearby and typed in the code. A buzz went off and the door opened. Dredd and Armor entered and shot at the criminals, showing no remorse to them whatsoever! They walked up a fleet of stairs, seeing Ma-Ma in her room, right in front of what looked liked a trophy case. Her left arm had a strange device that was beeping & had a blue color to it. Armor's horn glowed again. "Next to us!" He yelled. The two judges turned and fired at two criminals, each aiming for one of them! They fell down, dead upon impact. Ma-Ma stared at them, showing great anger to them. "You're both pieces of work, Judges." She said, sustaining her rage. "And so am I. I didn't know I'd get busted someday in my territory. This entire level is rigged with enough explosives to take out the top fifty stories. If they go, the rest will go too. It's like jewelry." They stared at the device locked into her skin. "It's a transmitter sent from my heartbeat. If my heart stops beating, the building blows. Everyone in it... ash." Armor gritted his teeth at this. "You've got no out, judges. Put your guns down." They both looked at each other, then back to Ma-Ma. "Do you know how many people live in this block?" "...This isn't a negotiation." Armor spoke. "Your sentence is death." "You both can't afford to take the risk." Dredd shot her in the right side of her waist. She fell & landed onto her bed. They both walked to Ma-Ma and aimed their lawgivers at her, but then holstered their weapon. "Do you still have that Slow-Mo?" Dredd asked. Armor pulled it out. "Right here and ready." Armor replied. "You know... we're a kilometer above ground. What do you think the range is on that thing?" "Hm... perhaps only halfway through." "Couldn't kept that working through levels of concrete. 200 feet, maybe?" "Let's find out." "She's all yours." Armor grabbed Ma-Ma by her hair. Ma-Ma screamed and struggled to get out of Armor's grip! Armor slammed her head on the back of the window, perhaps her way to feel powerful by looking down at everyone below. Armor pulled the Slow-Mo Inhaler and placed it in her mouth. "Citizen 'Ma-Ma'," Armor pressed on the inhaler, making the Slow-Mo go inside Ma-Ma's systems. "Your crimes are multiple homicide, and the manufacturing & distribution of Narcotics. How do you plead?" Ma-Ma didn't answer, but inhaled the smoke. They didn;t know how long it took for the Slow-Mo to start, but it must work quickly. "Defense noted." Shining Armor then lifted Ma-Ma in the air and threw her out of the window! Both Armor and Dredd stood next to each other, watching Ma-Ma fall down without screaming. She fell down fast, but to her, it must have been forever. They watched as she went from her whole self to being nothing more than a puddle of blood & guts on the floor. A good minute passed, and nothing happened. "Well," Armor spoke. "Looks like we're right." "Yeah." Dredd replied. "Let's get out of here." Dredd and Armor walked out of Ma-Ma's room, then saw, at the very end, an operational elevator. Dredd took a step, then winced as he felt the pain on his side. "You alright?" "Fine! Just... need help." Armor placed Dredd's shoulder over his body, then walked with Dredd into the elevator. They stood in the elevator for a couple of minutes, watching the lights go by as they went their way down. "...I'm sorry." Dredd spoke. "What?" Armor asked "I'm sorry for what I did to you those years ago." "...Well... better late than never." Dredd took Armor's helmet off. Armor leaned away from Dredd a bit, but Dredd touched Armor's mane and patted it. "You did well, son." "Thank you, Sir, I had to-WAIT!?!?!? Did... you call me... Son?" Armor's eyes gleamed and tears developed. "...I did." Armor looked away for a moment, then began to sniffle. Dredd reached over and hugged Armor, being almost like a father. At this point, Armor eyes burst with tears, and he cried, hugging back Dredd. "THANK YOU!!! That's all I wanted!!! A father!!! I'm sorry for what I've been saying!!! I really do!!!" "Don't be. You have all the rights to say that." "But why!? Why weren't you there for me!?!?!" "...I was." Armor looked up to Dredd, wiping a tear from his face. "W-what?" "I was with you. You never noticed me. All those years."
