Court of Limbo, Asteroid X150, between Automata and the Penal Planet.

"Plumber's Log�, number 700:  the evil Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa appears to be at it again. . . though why it would surprise me now is beyond my understanding.  He has opened a warp zone linking the Palace of Power and Hawkhaven from 'Silver Hawks.'  Captain N knows that this is part of a devious plan for evil to dominate the galaxy, evil from VideoLand and the Mushroom World and Hyrule, Limbo, third-Earth from 'Thunder Cats,' and Saint Canard and Duckburg from 'Darkwing Duck' and 'Ducktales' to join and rip us apart.  [� - The Plumber's Logs were by Mario.]

            "Fortunately, we transmitted the information to the Thunder Cats by visiting them and having them come to Limbo.  We were also aware that Liquidator and Bushroot from Saint Canard had arrived at Brim*Star.  What we were unaware of, though, was the fact that Liquidator, Bushroot, and the whole Mob were heading to the courthouse."  How true it was that Liquidator, Bushroot, and the whole Mob were heading to the courthouse this minute, and that the N-Team, Silver Hawks, and Thunder Cats were unaware of it.  Simon Belmont was substituting for the official bailiff and Princess Lana for the judge.

            Mason, Burger, Della, Tragg, Anderson, Drumm, Brice, Seymour, the Mario-Team, all the Silver Hawks, most of the Thunder Cats, and all the N-Team (except for a few members who had stayed behind at Hawkhaven to do the work on the warp zones) were waiting at the door to the courtroom.  Tongue-in-cheek, Mason said, "This ought to be an open-and-shut case."

            "Don't count your solar systems before they've formed, Mr. Mason," said Steelheart.  "The Mob can be awfully slippery."  Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa came up.

            "Good day, my friends!  How are you?" greeted the villain.

            "Don't you act that sweet toward us, von Koopa!" ordered Mario.

            "Now. . ."

            "Hang on!" said Kevin.  "What do you know about Liquidator and Bushroot?"

            "Only that they've just recently reached Brim*Star," answered Eggplant Wizard, right behind Ludwig.  "Why?"

            "You idiot!" yelled Ludwig.  "Pea-brain!  Nit-wit!  You are a stupid son of a. . .!"

            "Calm down!" said Kevin.  "We already knew that Liquidator and Bushroot have arrived."

            "So?" asked Ludwig.  "This cursèd idiot is not even supposed to be here!"

            "Your temper sure changes erratically," noted Wilykit.

            "You're damned right, Thunder Kitten!" screamed Ludwig.  "A rock could easily be smarter than this. . . than this. . . oh, never mind!  What I want to call Eggplant Wizard isn't appropriate to say around anyone!"

            "You just cool the hell down!" said Burger.  "If you don't, I'll call you as a witness and have the court term you as a hostile witness."

            "Oh, heck," said Ludwig, cooling down.  "All right.  I mind not if you call me as a regular prosecution witness, but I do mind if you call me as a hostile witness."

            Burger said, "I do intend to call you as a prosecution witness.  I may or may not term you as a hostile witness."

            "I'll truthfully answer all the questions tossed at me," said Ludwig.  He looked out a window and saw the Mob, Liquidator, and Bushroot approaching in space-limos.  "And now, if you will excuse me, I have someone to see."

            "Wait a minute!" said Burger, handing him a sheet of paper.  "In case you don't remember what this is, it's a subpoena."

            "I know perfectly well what it is, Burger," said Ludwig.  "I have just one question, though."

            "What?" asked Burger.

            "Why am I being subpoenaed?" asked Ludwig.

            "Oh, we thought that it would be a good idea to have you listen to the entire case," said Burger.  "It's just a little something Tragg and I cooked up."

            "I'll be there," said Ludwig.  "Come on, Eggplant.  We must go see a new acquaintance."

            "Whatever you say, Your Wickedness.  Tah-tah!" said Eggplant Wizard.

            "Wait a minute!" snapped Kevin.  "What new acquaintance?"

            "Oh, you shall soon see, Kevin," Ludwig said.  "Just sit tight."  Eggplant Wizard and Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa left the area.

            "That dude gives Koopas a bad name!" said Toad.

            "You're darn right," said King Spike Koopa.  "He gives Koopas an extremely bad name."

            Wilykat shivered. . . and not from cold, because it was warm enough.  "Brr!  A minute or two around that guy," said Wilykat, "and I hate him already!"

            "So do I," said Wilykit in thorough accord.  "Cheetara, don't you think he does it intentionally?"

            "Oh, I'm sure of it," said Cheetara.

            At that moment, Bailiff Simon Belmont called, "Court!"  Spectators and witnesses crowded through the doors in a heavy stream.

            "Damn!" said Tragg.  "Where the hell did Ludwig go?"  Tygra fought objecting to the cursing.

            "How do I know?" asked Kevin.  "Go to look for him."

            "You're going to be my first witness, Tragg," said Burger.  "You're under subpoena.  What. . .?"

            "Call another witness," said Tragg.  He left to look for Ludwig.

            "You will be my first witness, Kevin," said Burger.  "Now. . ."

            "Court . . . counsel!" shouted Simon.

            Mason, Burger, Della Street, and Kevin whirled and strode quickly toward the courtroom.  Everyone followed just as quickly.  Mason burst open the court doors, and they all walked in.  As Mason, Burger, Della Street, and Steelheart strode toward the area reserved for officers of the court and police, all the others stood each in front of a seat at the rear of the courtroom.  Mason, Burger, Della, and Steelheart stood in front of their seats at the table for prosecution counsel.  Drake burst in and ran toward the counsel part of the courtroom.  Mason opened the double-doors in front separating the spectator/witness section and the officer/witness section.  Drake ran right up to Mason and said, "Perry, there is something that you must know."

            "What?" asked Mason.

            Drake said, "As soon as you possibly can get someone out of here, send them to Hawkhaven.  Our plan has backfired right in our faces.  I cannot tell you now.  You'll need a witness to testify to this before it's too late."

            "Okay, Paul," said Mason.  Mason turned around to Steelheart and told her something, and she went back into the witness/spectator section.  She went to Quicksilver and Bluegrass, telling them to follow Drake.

            When she got back into the officer/witness section, she said, "Drake, Quicksilver and Bluegrass will follow you.  Lead them to Hawkhaven and tell them what's up.  Mason will call them when they get back."

            "Okay," said Drake.  "Thanks."  As Drake went to leave the courtroom, the door opened in abruptly.  He jumped back in time to avoid being hit by both the door and Tragg running to the counsel/witness section.  "What the hell's the rush, Lieutenant?"

            "No damn time to tell you, Paul.  I have to tell Perry, first!" said Tragg.  Drake, Quicksilver, and Bluegrass hastily left the court as Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa and Eggplant Wizard calmly entered.  Once at the counsel/witness section, Tragg said, "Call me as soon as Lana gets in here and begins the case, Mason.  I've got to tell you something vitally and extremely important!"

            "Where's the fire, Tragg?" mocked Mason.  "The Lost Forest of Hyrule?"

            Tragg said anxiously, "Hell, Mason, this is damned serious!  I must tell you this, and I must tell you this under oath.  If that does not happen, we could quite literally be up the creek!"

            Simon said, "The court will rise."  Everyone in the courtroom that had taken a seat stood up now in silence.  Simon pressed a buzzer.  Lana opened the doors from the judge's chambers and went to her seat at the judge's bench.

            When she reached her seat, Lana brought down her gavel and said, "Be seated, ladies and gentlemen.  The Case of the People of Limbo versus Mo-Lec-U-Lar, Hardware, Melodia, and Windhammer is in session.  It is a known fact that each of these defendants is a criminal who constantly commits misdemeanours and felonies; however, that is, after this point, not to be spoken of, unless it has something directly to do with the case at hand.  Has the prosecution any opening statement?"

            "No," said Mason.

            "No," said Burger.

            "Has the defence any opening statement?" asked Lana.

            "No," said the 'defence attorney' (really A-Tom-U-Lar).  "Our plea is not guilty."

            Mason stood up and said, "Very well, Your Honour.  The first witness for prosecution will be Lieutenant Arthur Tragg."

            Bailiff Simon said, "Lieutenant Arthur Tragg to the stand, please."  Tragg rose.  He went over to the bailiff and naturally raised his right hand as the bailiff raised his right hand.  "Do you swear that the testimony you now give in the case now being tried in this court to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" asked Bailiff Simon.

            "I do," said Tragg.

            "Please state your full name and occupation," said the bailiff.

            Tragg stated, "I am Arthur Tragg, Lieutenant of the Homicide Division of the VideoLand Police Squad."

            "Be seated," said the bailiff.  Tragg situated himself comfortably on the witness stand, waiting for Mason's questions.

            "Lieutenant Tragg," said Mason, "what happened early yesterday?"

            "Several things," said Tragg.  "First, I woke up."  There was a titter in the courtroom, which Lana, smiling, promptly silenced by softly tapping the eraser of her pencil on her desk.  "Okay, to relevant events.  The first major event of the day was when you called me.  You stated to me that there was a warp zone about a mile away from the Palace of Power."

            "Tragg," Mason said, "could you please clear up something for several people in this court?"

            "Such as?"

            "Such as what the Palace of Power is exactly.  I'm sure that there are at least a few people in here do not know what it is."

            "The Palace of Power is the ruling place of all of VideoLand.  Its laws are very similar to those of the U.S., of England, and of this area, the Limbo Galaxy."

            "Exactly what is VideoLand?"

            "VideoLand is the land where everything in Nintendo games exists in reality.  If one went there, one would see much that is in Nintendo games.  In short, it converges all of the worlds in the Nintendo games into one large kingdom that occupies nearly a third of the galaxy."

            "Now, Lieutenant, let's get back to the case at hand.  What did the defendants do to you?  Did they assault you in any way?"

            "They most certainly did!  I mean, yes.  They fired their weapons at me and my colleagues."

            Mason opened a notebook, removed a picture, got up, went to Tragg, and asked, "Were they in this vehicle?"

            After examining the picture, Tragg answered, "Yes."

            "Now, before court began, I asked you to follow a felon - oh, excuse me, a person - by the name of Prince Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa."  The whole courtroom suddenly made a gasp of fear as to the possible presence of the being in this court.  "What did you find out?"

            "I found out that he was meeting Liquidator, Bushroot, and the entire Mob, save the defendants."  The courtroom suddenly made an even more intense gasp of fear as they now knew that some of the most evil beings in the galaxy were present.

            A-Tom-U-Lar arose and calmly said, "I object, Your Honour.  This counsel is using people that do not even exist, save the whole Mob."

            "I must overrule your objection," ruled Lana.

            "But, Your Honour," plead A-Tom-U-Lar, "he is trying to stir up fear in the courtroom deliberately.  It is well known that Perry Mason is a side-show lawyer.  I do not want any of his circus tactics used in the courtroom."

            Burger arose and said, "Your Honour, this defence attorney knows nothing about how successful Mason's tactics are to getting at the truth.  Furthermore, Mr. Mason is speaking of people who do exist.  I therefore ask that you overrule the objection."

            "I already did," said Lana.  "Let me make one thing clear to you, Mr. Defence Attorney.  In my court, you are not to deny the existence of VideoLand, the Mushroom World, Darkwing Duck's Earth, or third-Earth or of any beings residing therein.  The Court assumes all these entities to exist in fact.  Please continue your examination, Prosecution."

            Mason took a seat and said, "It's your turn, Burger.  Finish direct."

            "I have no questions at this time," said Burger, "but I reserve the right to recall this witness for further direct examination."

            "So ruled," said Lana.

            Burger said, "Your witness."  He then sat down beside Mason.

            A-Tom-U-Lar rose.  "Can you show this courtroom positively the existence of these characters?"

            "Sure," said Tragg.  "I'm sure that the Prince Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa is in court with Eggplant Wizard."

            Bailiff Simon said, "Will the Prince Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa of the Kingdom of the Evil Koopas and of the Brain-Team arise with his assistant, Eggplant Wizard, please?"

            Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa and Eggplant Wizard arose from their seats.  Everyone gasped in shock.  "Thank you," said the defence attorney.  "No further questions."

            "Your next witness," asked Lana.

            "At this time, Your Honour," said Mason, arising, Tragg situating in a seat behind him, "I wish to call the Prince Ludwig von(Bowser)Koopa to the stand."  Ludwig took the oath and comfortably situated himself on the witness stand.  "Prince Ludwig, you've taken an oath to tell nothing but the truth.  Can you uphold it?"

            "I shall try to," said Ludwig.  "No, I'll put it a better way.  I most certainly shall tell only the truth."

            "Thank you," said Mason.  "Do you remember making such a promise to Hamilton Burger outside this court earlier?"

            "Yes, sir," said Ludwig.

            Mason said, "Now, before the defence attorney starts tossing technical objections at me, I'll get down to the matter at hand.  Is it true that you left conference with me after Hamilton Burger subpoenaed you to meet the Mob, Liquidator, and Bushroot?"

            "That statement is most veracious," Ludwig said with the utmost confidence, as shown by every single one of his features.

            "Why did you not get nervous when I asked the question?"

            "I told Captain N that his suspicions about my wanting to join the Brain-Team, Mob, Plundarrians, and F.O.W.L. together were correct, Mr. Mason.  I think that that should suffice.  I also noticed that your private investigator, who is Paul Drake, ran out with Quicksilver and Bluegrass to Hawkhaven.  Now, I might probably tell you what that is about."

            "I want Quicksilver to testify to that, Prince von(Bowser)Koopa.  I must remind you that you are under oath."

            "Well, I can tell you what I think they left about."

            "Okay," Mason said, knowing full well that an objection was coming.  "What?"

            'Defence attorney' A-Tom-U-Lar sprang up and shouted, "Objection!  The witness is not an expert!  He should not be allowed to give an opinion!"

            Burger got up from his chair and said, "I do not agree with the defence attorney, Your Honour.  If I may be allowed to ask a question or two before a ruling is made on this objection, I think you'll see that this witness is indeed qualified to answer the question."

            "Go ahead," said Lana.

            "I seem to recall that, some time in the past, you almost defeated the N-Team with telekinesis," said Burger.  Cheetara in the back shuddered, her eyes widening.  She knew instantly that Ludwig was extremely dangerous.  "Is it true that you have ESP?"

            "Well," said Ludwig, "I know I have telekinesis.  That is a form of ESP.  Which particular power do you want to know about?"

            "I wish for you to tell the court whether or not you have both telepathy and precognition."

            "I do," said Ludwig.

            "Can you prove it?"

            "I shall.  Hang on a minute.  I must have complete silence for this to work at all.  I'll first prove that I have telepathy."  He closed his eyes for a few moments.  A very small but noticeable strain was put on Steelheart and Steelwill.

            "Ah!" said Steelheart.  She whispered, "Cut it out, Will!"

            "Me?" Steelwill whispered back.  "I thought you were the one doing this!"  Suddenly, a more powerful and noticeable strain fell upon Cheetara.

            "Yaaah!" screamed Cheetara.  It felt to her as though her brain were burning to cinders in Hell!  And she could not tell at all whether she was correct or incorrect!  "Please stop it, Prince Ludwig!  My mind can't stand this strain!"

            Ludwig opened his eyes.  The strain on the Steeltwins and Cheetara was gone.  "That's proof," said Ludwig, "that I have telepathy.  One of the properties of the power is the ability to yank on the energies of others that have the power."

            "I had no idea that my telepathy was strong enough to resist a strain like that," said Steelheart.

            "You'd better step aside, officer," said Ludwig.  "Quicksilver and Bluegrass are about to burst through that door."  The officer next to the back door shrugged and got out of the doorway.  Instantly after he did this, the door burst open.  Quicksilver and Bluegrass ran in toward Mason.

            Lana pounded her gavel.  "The objection is overruled."

            "Time-out, please, Your Honour, whilst I address my colleagues," called Steelheart.

            "Granted," Lana said.

            Steelheart sprang up and said, "Now, wait just a minute, Colonel Quicksilver!  Why did you so disrupt the proceeding of this court?  It had better be important!"

            "Yes, we have urgent news from Paul Drake!" said Quicksilver.

            "I'll bet it's about Liquidator's and Bushroot's kidnapping of Darkwing Duck," said Ludwig.  "True?"

            "How did you know?" asked Bluegrass.

            "Call it a lucky guess," said Ludwig.

            "Well.  Please return to your seats," Steelheart told the two Silver Hawks.  She then called, "Your Honour, time-in."

            "Continue," Lana said.

            Ludwig said, "The kidnapping of Darkwing Duck by Bushroot and Liquidator happened.  I believe that that is the answer to your question, Mr. Mason."

            "Right," said Mason, Burger sitting down.  "Now, did you open that warp that is equidistant from Hawkhaven and Bedlama toward the Artificial Sun?"

            "I did," answered Ludwig.  "I wanted the warp to be at Brim*Star, but my assistant who figuratively possesses the brains of a peanut put in the co-ordinates incorrectly on my computer.  I also wanted to warp to third-Earth and bring the Plundarrians here.  You see, sir, the Mob meeting with F.O.W.L. and my meeting with them was to my benefit.  However, your adjoining the N-Team, Silver Hawks, and Thunder Cats was slightly contrary to my idea."

            "You've been a most co-operative witness.  No more questions," said Mason.

            "If the court please," said Burger, "the questions I asked earlier were preliminary.  I now intend to pose him more questions."

            "No objection," said A-Tom-U-Lar.

            "You may proceed," said Lana.

            "Prince von(Bowser)Koopa, what do you believe will happen in the recent future?" asked Burger.

            "A flood," answered the witness, as planned.

            Burger demanded, "A flood?"

            "Here, yes."

            "How could a flood occur on this asteroid?  The outer floors slope downward.  Please strike the question and answer from the record.  I'm through with the witness."

            "Do you wish to cross-examine?" asked the judge.

            "Are you biased in favour of the prosecution?" asked A-Tom-U-Lar.

            "Like the place opposite that of heaven!" answered Ludwig forcibly.  "I might have been termed as a hostile witness by the prosecution, but I do not show quite enough prejudice to be termed as one.  I would love for the four defendants to go free."

            "Thank you," said the defence attorney.  "No questions."

            "We have no questions on re-direct, Your Honour," said Mason.

            "The witness," said Lana, "may step down.  Call your next witness, Prosecution."

            Mason said, as if calling his star witness, "Your Honour, I wish to call Seymour, a taxi-cab driver in Limbo and a victim, to the stand."

            Bailiff Simon said, "Seymour will come forth and be sworn."

            Seymour arose, went to Simon, was sworn, and took the stand.  Mason asked, "Seymour, who are the perpetrators of the crime?"

            "The perpetrators are Mo-Lec-U-Lar, Hardware, Melodia, and Windhammer, the defendants in this case," answered Seymour.

            Mason went over to the table for prosecution counsel.  He took his briefcase, opened it, took out a piece of paper, examined it, and said, "The back seat is too short for all four of the defendants but just right for Melodia, Hardware, and Windhammer, isn't it?"

            "True," answered Seymour.  "Mo-Lec-U-Lar and his tin buzzard, Volt-Ure, were hiding in the hatchback of the cab."

            "How do you know for sure?" asked Mason.

            "When Windhammer and Hardware tossed Zeek and me out of the cab, they went to the hatchback and let Mo-Lec-U-Lar and Volt-Ure out.  Mo-Lec-U-Lar and Volt-Ure entered my cab and transformed into Zeek and me."

            "Have you anyone to back up your testimony?"

            "Yeah, Zeek.  He came with me."

            "The defendants are also accused of assaulting the Police Department of VideoLand.  Is this possible with your cab?"

            "Certainly."

            "Who rescued you?"

            "You, Commander Steelheart, and Captain N."

            "No further questions."  Mason situated himself in his seat at the prosecution counsel table.  He winked at Della, who nodded, then got up and left the courtroom.

            Burger said, "No questions."

            "No questions," snapped A-Tom-U-Lar.

            Lana said, "The witness is excused."  Seymour got up, stepped down, and took his seat.  "Call your next witness."

            Mason said, "I call Captain N to the stand."  Captain N got up, was sworn, and was seated.  "For the record, please state your name and occupation to this court."

            "My actual name," said Captain N, "is Kevin Keene, my common identity Captain N.  My occupation is Head of the VideoLand Royal Military Force, the First Officer of Her Highness's Court."

            "Thank you very much," said Mason.  "Please summarise the events that happened yesterday."

            "Simple enough," said Kevin.  "During the course of the morning, I sort of 'stumbled' across a warp zone a few kilometres away from the Palace of Power.  I was with you, Mr. Mason, who called the police.  They entered the warp, which led to Hawkhaven.  Mr. Hamilton Burger joined us.  We went to meet the Silver Hawks when we discovered that we had arrived in Limbo.

            "After I had told Commander Steelheart what had happened, she, you, and I left at once to investigate the cloud when it stopped.  We went toward Brim*Star, which, incidentally, was where the police were headed.  The next thing I noticed while flying across the galaxy was an asteroid on which the victims of the first crime, Seymour and Zeek, were sending signals for help.  We did help them.  When they entered the automobile that I was driving, they gave us the names of the perpetrators.  We then found out that we had to go right away to Brim*Star, or else.  So, we went out there, and Steelheart single-handedly defeated the Mob.

            "After all that, most of the Silver Hawks and I went out to third-Earth to tell the Thunder Cats, with whom the Silver Hawks had previously met, what was happening.  Is that all you need to know, other than the fact that the Thunder Cats joined us?"

            "That's more than adequate," said Mason.  "That is all."

            "No questions," said Burger.

            "No questions," growled A-Tom-U-Lar.

            "Call Zeek to the stand, please," said Mason.

            "Zeek the Beak to the stand," ordered Simon.  Zeek trotted toward Simon, was sworn, got through with the preliminaries, and sat down.

            "Zeek, to which part of Seymour's testimony do you comply?" asked Mason.

            "All of it," answered Zeek.

            "No further questions," said Mason, leaving an audience mumbling about what was going on.

            "May I have it a little quieter in here, please?" asked Lana politely, but with the slight bit of sarcasm in her voice.  The audience responded by creating total silence.  "Thank you."

            "No questions," said Burger.

            "No questions," grunted A-Tom-U-Lar.

            "That concludes my part of the case, Your Honour," said Mason.  "You may proceed as you wish, Mr. Burger."

            "That concludes to a 'T' what I would have brought on, Your Honour," said Burger.  "I have no witnesses."

            Mason said, "In that case, I move that the defendants all be bound over for jury trial in a superior court with the charges of robbery and assault of about five hundred police officers."

            "Does counsel wish to put on a defence at this time?" asked Lana.

            "Well," said A-Tom-U-Lar, "I. . ."

            "Pardon me!  Hold it!" said Condor, quickly coming forth to the double-doors separating the spectator/witness area and the officer/witness area with a picture in his hand.  "This guy's a phoney!"

            As the courtroom got into a big babble, Lana pounded her gavel and shouted, "Order in the court!  Order in the court!"  Everyone hushed up.  "I understand the cause of this, but any more such outbursts from the spectators, and I'll have to clear the court of everyone but witnesses.  Now, state your business, Condor."

            "I have some facts which may clear up one scam in this case," said Condor.  "If you'll call me, Mr. Burger, and let me state certain truths before this court, I can show what this defence attorney is made of."  The court got into small, low-toned babble, which Lana, who was surprised, made no effort to silence.

            "If you can prove that this defence attorney is dishonest," said Burger, "I'll most definitely call you to the stand."

            The 'defence attorney' got up and said, "I object.  The prosecution has already closed its case."

            Burger demanded, "Have you never heard of rebuttal?"

            "You cannot rebut something which defence has not brought out!" shouted the 'defence attorney.'

            Lana banged for order.  "Gentlemen, please!" said Lana.  "Counsel, approach the bench."  All three lawyers approached the bench.

            "I protest against this, Your Honour," said the 'defence attorney.'  "Prosecution has stated that its case is closed.  I have yet to establish anything resembling a case."

            "Your Honour," said Burger, "Condor of the Silver Hawks claims to have important information which may prove to show the possible illegal actions of this lawyer."

            "Your Honour, I agree with my distinguished colleague, Mr. Burger," said Mason.  "If this defence attorney is indeed dishonest, we must prove it here and now."

            "All right," said Lana.  "Objection overruled.  The reporter will strike the statement that the prosecution's case is closed.  Condor will be sworn and take the stand as a prosecution witness."  Condor raised his right hand while facing Simon, took the oath, and situated himself on the witness stand.  Mason and Burger approached the stand while the 'defence attorney' fell in his seat as though he had a ton of bricks in his pants.

            Burger asked, "Condor, tell this court what you wish to tell it."

            "I have reason to believe that he is not the actual defence attorney assigned to this case," said Condor.

            Lana slapped her hand over her mouth, fainted, and fell out of her chair.  Bailiff Simon thought, What in God's name!?  He announced, "The court will take a fifteen-minute recess!"  As he banged a gavel, everyone stood.  He went up to behind the bench and took Lana into Chambers.  Kevin immediately followed.  So did all three attorneys.  After a hasty command from Lion-O, the Thunder Kittens entered, also.  In Chambers, Simon said, "She's definitely out cold.  What shall we do?"

            "Hamilton Burger, get Lt. Larry (Spike)Koopa in here and have him take the princess to the VideoLand emergency hospital," ordered Kevin.

            "Yes, sir," said Burger.  As Burger left, Lt. Drumm came in.

            "Hello, Steve," said Mason.

            "Hello, Perry," said Drumm.  "You shouldn't have let Condor answer that way so abruptly.  You sure scared the damn life out of the princess.  Now what'll we do?"

            "There is only one thing to do," answered Kevin.  "I legally can and shall get out there in order to replace Lana.  I've been listening to the whole case."  Kevin directed the next statement to the defence attorney:  "Your case isn't worth a blasted cent or pence or whatever you consider the lowest piece of currency, buster.  As soon as I get out there and Condor finishes his testimony, I'm going to bound those evil defendants over for jury trial in a superior court."

            "You cannot do that!" said the 'defence attorney.'

            "I can," says Kevin, "and I shall.  One thing is for certain:  if you're not properly qualified for this, I'm going to have Burger hold you for practising without a licence.  I'll also have the Bar Association on you like the fires of Satan's home.  Do you get my drift?"

            "I can live with it," said the 'defence attorney,' now unconcerned.  "I hardly see, though, how an eighteen-year-old can do a good job of being a judge."

            Kevin half-shouted, "If you don't shut your big mouth up, I'm going to start cursing, and you definitely don't want to hear some of the words I know!"

            The 'defence attorney' began, "Now see here, incompetent minor,. . ."

            Kevin shouted, "I AM NO MINOR!!!  I AM ALMOST NINETEEN YEARS OLD!!!  AND I'M NOT INCOMPETENT, EITHER!!!  I HAVE REPLACED LANA AS JUDGE SEVERAL TIMES!!!"

            Wilykit said, "Ah, guys,. . ."

            "You must have fouled up all of those cases, juvenile dimwit!" remarked the 'defence attorney.'

            "Mr. Mason!" Wilykat said.

            Kevin began, "WHY, YOU SON OF A. . ."

            "PLEASE!!!" shouted Wilykit just before Kevin said, 'OF.'

            "THIS HAS GONE FAR ENOUGH!!!" interrupted Mason, slapping his hand over Kevin's mouth, responding unconsciously to Wilykit.  "KEVIN IS COMPETENT ENOUGH TO BE THE JUDGE OF ANY TRIAL!!!  I JUST WANT YOU TO SHUT UP, MR. 'DEFENCE ATTORNEY'!!!"

            "Well, pardon me!" said the 'defence attorney,' as Larry (Spike)Koopa, Lieutenant of the Vice Squad of VideoLand, came in with Burger and a few police officers and had his subordinates take Lana away to the hospital.

            "Thank you, Mr. Mason," said Wilykat.

            "I still don't understand how that happened," said Larry just as Condor entered.

            "That's because," Condor said, "I didn't have a chance to give you the whole story."

            "And just what, pray tell, is the whole story?" demanded Kevin.

            Condor showed the picture he had examined to Kevin and said, "I've been examining a photograph of the man who was supposed to be the defence lawyer in this case appointed to the defendants.  I know the guy well.  If you will notice, Captain N, the photograph of his face is a mirror image of the guy in here.  That means that the guy in here is not the genuine article."

            "Now see here!" shouted the 'defence attorney.'  "That is a lie!"

            "It sure as hell is not a lie!" said Burger, snatching the picture before the 'defence attorney' could.  "That large freckle is reversed!"

            "We'll prove it after court reconvenes," said Mason.

            "Yes, won't we though!" spat Kevin in the face of the 'defence attorney.'  "Whoever you are, I'm sure you're no lawyer."

            The Thunder Kittens sneaked a peek at the picture.  They went to a corner and conversed quietly under the others.  " 'Kit," said Wilykat, "that phoney defence attorney is A-Tom-U-Lar!  Remember?  We were here when the Hawks first encountered them!"

            "I remember," she said.  "We've got to tell the other Thunder Cats."  They nodded to each other and left Chambers.