ONN - The Deep End, with Pffthalft

[The Vision]

Continued from "Chapter 7: Dawn of Justice"

A middle-aged white man with purple antennae is sitting in a nice suit at a glass desk. Between his arms resting on the desk is a single, blank sheet of paper, which he occasionally pretends to glance at. A still frame of the "Superhero argues w/ police!!!" video. The caption reads, "Avengers or Anarchists?"

PFFTHALFT:
Welcome back to the Deep End. I'm your host, Pffthalft. A controversial video has gone viral on Omnitube, showing the Avenger known as "the Vision" having an argument with a police officer. It's hit a million views today and has divided the room on subjects such as the effectiveness of our police force and the recent increase in vigilante activity. Joining me tonight are Clark Rogers, political correspondent at the Global Bugle, and Bruce Stark, professor of law at Wayne University and author of "Justice is Blind." Thank you for joining.

Shot of two more people at the table - each have a glass of water that they will never touch. The one of the left is Clark Rogers, who is wearing a blue collared shirt with rolled-up sleeves, a white tie and glasses which, if you look closely, are clearly fake. Then you have Bruce Stark on the right, who is wearing a red shirt and gold tie. He has red-tinted sunglasses and a cane resting on the table - blind. They both smile and nod - Roger's is awkward, but Stark is charming the pants right off of everyone watching. Pffthalft speaks.

PFFTHALFT:
Let's start with you, Clark, since you are an outspoken supporter of the Avengers' activities as of late. What do you think about the video? Have the Avengers gone too far?

Cut to Clark Rogers. Nametag fades in beneath as he speaks.

CLARK:
I think it's unfair to make judgments right now. As it stands, we have very little information about the conflict that happened on 146 Asimov Avenue. There were a lot of civilians that were hurt, and the Avengers themselves seemed exhausted. Yet no weapons were found at the scene. The perpetrator - whoever it was - was clearly a very dangerous woman. I think that people could have been even more hurt if the Avengers had not intervened, maybe even died. Perhaps these aren't the defenders we asked for, but these are the defenders we need.

Cut to shot of all three.

PFFTHALFT:
What do you have to say, Professor?

Cut to Bruce Stark. Nametag fades in as he speaks.

BRUCE:
I agree with Mr. Rogers that the Avengers prevented a disaster on Sunday, but my point still stands - what we saw in this footage was an undermining of the law. This "Vision" distorts the law to resist arrest and even outright disrespects a police officer. This kind of cavalier attitude is exactly what promotes criminal activity. When people take the justice system as a joke, people are encourage to believe that, if you're good-hearted, the law doesn't apply to you, which is just not true.

Cut to Pffthalft as he speaks.

PFFTHALFT:
You mentioned that the Vision "distorted" the laws of Costa del Sol. We do see him telling Officer Barnes the reasoning behind his actions. Could you elaborate on that?

As Bruce speaks, the screen fills with footage, the banner underneath still saying "Avengers or Anarchists?" Captions underneath, partly covered by banner. A small black box in the corner says, "Filmed by Omnitube User cavenglok113". The captions are repeating what the Vision says at the beginning of his legal speech. No audio from the original video is heard.

BRUCE:
Well, what the Vision says is technically correct. The system is set up like that because usually the foreign affairs office has responded before the people in question have passed immigration and left the city. If the Avengers had left the city legally, and the foreign affairs office hadn't responded by then, in that case what they would have done would have been perfectly legal. But they. Didn't. They boarded aircraft that was several meters below the minimum height of large airborne transports, and flew off without so much as flashing a passport. The Avengers routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned with what they leave behind. They still have yet to answer for their part in the Rando Le Terz crisis. That's an arrangement the people of Costa del Sol can no longer tolerate.

CLARK:
Frankly, implying that the Avengers should have gone through our hour-long immigration process on their way to stop an ongoing crisis is absurd.

The screen shows Pffthalft and Rogers.

CLARK:
That's not why they're there. They're not there as a systematic measure, but as an instinctive response to danger. It's like criticizing self-defense.

BRUCE:
That's not what I'm sayi-

CLARK:
Yes, I know, but-

BRUCE:
There needs to be some sort of-

CLARK:
Yes, I agree. I agree! We need to make another arrangement with the Avengers that benefits both parties involved.

Shot of Clark and Bruce arguing.

BRUCE:
Why should we defer to an organization that has repeatedly disrespected our own laws?

CLARK:
Because all they have done is try to help us. And it's true that they leave a mess every time they operate-

BRUCE:
And who cleans it up?

CLARK:
That's why I'm saying we need to cooperate with the Avengers to make sure they are held responsible, not shun them for trying to help.

PFFTHALFT:
Okay, let's move on. Mr. Rogers, you've stated in the past that perhaps the Avengers signify a departure from traditional law. What do you mean by that?

Shot of Clark.

CLARK:
Well, at the time I was doing an interview about a terrorist attack in Cinnabar Island. Things change. Society changes, the law changes, and with that, crime changes. What we are seeing in Cinnabar and now in the Costa del Sol Inner Archipelago is a rise in terrorist activity. The real threat in terrorist attacks is not the attack itself but the speed at which it occurs. They are unpredictable and incredibly fast. The system we have can respond quickly, but it is becoming clearer and clearer that it doesn't respond quickly enough. The Avengers, because they operate outside of the law, are not restricted by the very thing they are trying to protect. According to witnesses, they arrived minutes before the devastating storm at Rando Le Terz, and within the same minute of the disturbance that was heard at Asimov Avenue. They simply are faster than we are.

BRUCE:
But that's the problem. They arrive very promptly, and I agree that's the kind of response time we need. But they leave just as quickly and disregard the consequences of their actions. They need to be held responsible. And if they cannot bring themselves to do that, perhaps we shouldn't welcome them at Costa del Sol.

PFFTHALFT:
Well, I think we can agree on one thing. That cape is a little much, don't you think?

All three laugh.

CLARK:
It is a bit gaudy.

PFFTHALFT:
Alright, Professor Wayne- I'm sorry, Professor Stark, and Mr. Parker, thank you both for joining our panel tonight.

CLARK:
Thank you, Pffthalft.

BRUCE:
It was a pleasure.

The screen centers on Pffthalft.

PFFTHALFT:
Next, the mysterious attacks around the various Verses may prove to be connected, according to a recent report by the Empire. What are these Dark Chips and where have they come from? Stay tuned.

Fanfare. Footage ends.