Daria: Back to Highland. A Daria/Worm Crossover. Chapter Twelve: Reprecussions

DISCLAIMER: Daria is the creation of Glen Eichler. Beavis and Butthead is the creation of Mike Judge. Both are the property of MTV Viacom. Worm is the creation of John "Wildbow" McCrae. I don't own that franchise either. This work of fiction is written for my own amusement, not for financial remuneration.

This work is rated T for salty language. We are talking about a work of fiction featuring Beavis and Butthead.

Daria: Return to Highland*Daria: Return to Highland*Daria: Return to Highland

She knew he was dead. She'd not only shattered his jaw bone when she punched him but she heard his neck vertebrae snap with the impact.

"Vixen, could you get me my PRT phone?" said Daria. Despite her shock, Brittany walked over to the motorcycle, and dug out Daria's phone from the saddlebag.

The threat of violence ended, the bystanders began to move again. A middle-aged woman walked over to where Butthead was lying on the grass. She squatted down, checked Butthead's pulse, then carefully felt around the boy's neck.

"What are you doing?" squeaked Vixen.

"I'm a nurse with the Veteran's Administration hospital here in Highland," said the nurse. "I was just checking the boy's condition."

Vixen could tell that Daria wasn't really in any sort of shape to make those questions just now. "How is he?" she said.

"His jaw's shattered, his neck's broken, and he doesn't have a pulse," said the nurse. "I think he's as good as dead."

She turned her attention to Daria. "Jesus wept, honey, how hard did you hit him?"

Daria recovered from her shock just enough to answer "Too hard."

"Who are you girls?" said the nurse.

"We're part of the Parahuman Response Team sent here to deal with the two guys," said Vixen.

"Well, he's dealt," said nurse. "Was it just the two boys or are there any more of them?"

Daria came out of her shock just enough to say "Just those two," then said "Vixen, can I have my phone?"

Brittany handed Daria her PRT phone. Daria realized that she couldn't just stand there; she needed to start responding. Daria called her mother's law office in Lawndale. Marianne, her mother's assistant, picked up on the third ring.

"Hi, Marianne, this is Daria," said Daria.

"Hello, Daria," said Marianne. She talked like it was a nice, normal ordinary day in Lawndale, which it probably was.

"Could I speak to Mom, please?" said Daria. "This is an emergency."

Marianne, knowing the temperament of both Morgendorffer daughters and efficient as always, put her through to Helen.

"Hello, Sweetie," said Helen. "What's going on?"

"My situation here in Highland just went south," said Daria.

"I saw the stuff that was going on in Highland," said Helen. "Were you involved?"

"Not with the first boy but with the second one," said Daria.

"Not the blonde one?" said Helen.

"That other boy, the brunette," Daria replied. "The one who had braces. I was trying to talk him into giving up quietly." She looked around and saw that the cops were closing in. She wouldn't have much more time.

"Could you get a lawyer and send him to the county jail?" said Daria. "I think I need one real bad."

"Are you in trouble, Daria?" said Helen. Daria could hear the tone of parental concern in her voice. Thank G*d she's not blowing this off, she thought.

Now that Butthead was down, the police realized that they could move in. A Sheriff's Deputy walked over to Daria, his hand extended. "Miss, you're going to have to end that call now." he said.

"Real bad, county jail, lawyer," said Daria while the deputy fumbled for what was the "End Call" button on what was an unfamiliar cell phone.

-(((O-O)))-

"All rise," said the Bailiff. Daria rose with the rest of the people in the court as the presiding judge walked up to the bench and then sat down.

Daria had been taken down to the Howard County jail and was booked and photographed. Her mother got a lawyer for her and sent him to the police station, where she was being questioned by local and federal agents. Video footage showing Daria slugging Butthead wasn't yet on the air but was by nightfall.

Despite knowing that she could probably tear both the police and federal agents questioning her apart, Daria chose to be as docile and cooperative as she knew how.

She did answer some of her interrogators' questions: mostly the ones about where she went to confront Butthead and what her intentions were when she went to confront him. After that she said that she wasn't going to answer any further questions until the attorney sent by her mother arrived.

The federal agent questioning her tried to dissuade her from using one.

"Miss Cynic, you don't really need a lawyer," he said.

"Sir, my mother is an attorney. She insisted that I have one," Daria replied. "I'm going to act as if Mother knows best."

The police and federal agents had reluctantly allowed the lawyer into the interrogation room and the questioning resumed. At the end of it, one of the Highland policemen took his life in his hands and put his arm on her shoulder.

"Girl, I was in a similar situation," he said. "Sometimes you're in a life-or-death situation and you have to make a split-second decision as to whether it's going to be you or the other guy."

"Thank you," said Daria. She frowned. "But I could take care of myself. I was more worried that even if I could evade Butthead's fireballs, the gawkers either wouldn't or couldn't know how to duck. They didn't deserve to fry."

The policeman said nothing, then nodded. "I think you did as well as you could under the circumstances, but that's for the grand jury to decide."

At the end of her interrogation, she'd had to spend a night in solitary confinement a cell in the women's wing of the Howard County Jail. Released on bail the next morning, Daria had stayed at the home of one of her mother's old Highland work friends. Unlike she did at home, Daria minded her P's and Q's and stayed on her best behavior. She also had to wear an ankle monitor and was effectively under house arrest.

Her attorney, who was improbably named Perry Mason, had briefed her as to what she'd be facing when she went to court. "The assistant district attorney will state the charges against you and present evidence to the grand jurors to support those charges. The grand jurors decide whether or not there is enough evidence to support those charges and move your case to trial.

The grand jury proceedings being secret and no cameras or sketch-artists being allowed in the courtroom, Daria was in civilian clothing. Following her mother's advice, she chose to wear a modest two-piece suit, her hair styled and her face wearing minimal make-up.

Daria had worked on her own defense in jail and after her release pending a grand jury. She'd prepared charts for the grand jurors showing who was standing where, using both what she and Brittany remembered, as well as the testimony and videotapes of the bystanders.

The assistant district attorney's questions went through from her adolescence in Highland, her acquaintance with the two idiots, and her knowledge of their mindsets. She was then questioned about her intentions when she set out to confront them and what influenced her decision to attack Butthead.

"I believed that he was about to use his power to throw fireballs to burn me and possibly incinerate any bystanders who couldn't or wouldn't duck in time," she said.

More questions followed. "Why did you hit him so hard?" asked the assistant district attorney.

"I think I panicked," said Daria, taking a deep breath. "I reverted to the fifteen year-old girl who was facing a stronger, tougher boy and that if I didn't hit him hard enough, I wouldn't be able to stop him from burning down the neighborhood."

"And everybody in it," she added.

"Do you regret hitting him so hard?" asked the assistant district attorney.

"Of course I do," Daria replied. "I regret hurting him. I regret killing him. We'd known each other for years. I didn't like him that much, but I didn't hate him."

"Did you mean to kill him?" asked the assistant district attorney.

"NO," Daria replied, incredulity and outrage in her voice.

"No further questions," said the assistant district attorney.

The grand jury retired to deliberate and Daria was moved to a waiting area.

-(((O-O)))—

The grand jury finished their deliberations about an hour later. Daria was led back into the courtroom.

"All rise," said the Bailiff. Daria rose from her seat.

The judge looked at the grand juror. "Mr. Foreman, what say you?"

"Your Honor," said the Foreman, "We of the grand jury do not see sufficient evidence for Miss Morgendorffer to face criminal charges."

"Thank you, Mr. Foreman," said the judge. He turned his gaze to the table where Daria sat with her lawyer. Despite the fact that the grand jury seemed to feel that there was no reason to prosecute her, Daria was still afraid.

"Miss Morgendorffer, please rise," he said. Daria rose.

"There being no charges, and thus no case, you are free to go," he finished.

The judge used his gavel. "This court is adjourned."

The grand jury left, the assistant district attorney walked over to shake Mr. Mason's hand. "Good job," he said.

"Miss Morgendorffer, can I ask you what your future plans are?" he asked.

"I plan to go back to Maryland," Daria replied. "My family is there."

The assistant district attorney left, leaving Daria alone with Mr. Mason.

"I have something of yours," he said, pulling out a ski-mask. "You'd better put it on."

She did.

Daria and Mr. Mason remained in the courtroom. Daria and Mr. Mason still had a moment or two of privacy before she had to face spectators and the press.

"I was impressed by how much you co-operated with me on this case," said Mr. Mason.

"Well, I didn't want to go to jail," said Daria.

"You did very well on the stand," said Mr. Mason. "You answered the assistant DA's questions honestly and succinctly, and you didn't stray off topic.

"I was expecting them to be a lot tougher," said Daria.

"You know they were softballing you, Miss M," Mr. Mason said afterwards.

"What?" Daria said incredulously.

"The District Attorney didn't want your case to go to trial," Mr. Mason replied.

"It might have been arguable that you might have committed manslaughter when you hit Mr. Headly, the fact is that the DA really didn't want to prosecute."

He paused, letting the idea sink into Daria's brain.

"Like it or not, you're a hero," he said.

Yes, she was a hero, yes, she was free to go, but she knew she'd be carrying around her guilt for years if not for the rest of her life.

-(((O-O)))—

Great Basin PRT Headquarters. Las Vegas, Nevada

March 9th, 2012

"So did you sustain any injuries from your Texas mission?" asked one of the younger capes.

"No," said Daria, "Not so much as a scrape. But that mission was a turning-point in my life. I realized that I couldn't do it alone and that I needed the resources of the Protectorate behind me. That was when I decided to enroll as a Ward in Baltimore's Parahuman Response Team."

"Do you still think about those two guys?" asked another cape, a male with SLUGGER embroidered on his costume.

"Sometimes," she said. She glanced at two empty seats in the rear of the small conference room and for a moment she could see two dimwitted, ill-behaved teenaged boys cutting up on the back row.

-The End-

Author's note:

Some of my non-US readers might wonder what a "grand jury" is. Well, in Texas and other US states, a grand jury is a legal proceeding where a group of citizens empaneled as grand jurors view the evidence brought by prosecutors to determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence as to whether a crime has been committed. Grand Jury proceedings almost always precede an actual criminal trial.

Grand jury proceedings are not always fair or unbiased. Once in a while their decisions as to whether the accused go on to trial are affected by actions of the prosecutors, the defendants, and sometimes by their own prejudices.

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