Ethan stood from his seat, buttoning his suit jacket. Then he walked toward the podium calmly.

It felt a bit nostalgic making the walk but when he finally reached the podium, he steadied himself and lifted his gaze to the Court Warden.

"Your Honor," Ethan began. "I stand before you today on behalf of Stark Industries and Miss Lucy Hargreeves, Lead Research and Development Engineer at the company. The injunction we filed is necessary to prevent further harm to a business that has already suffered considerable damage."

He paused, letting that settle.

"Miss Hargreeves is an employee of Stark Industries. She has been working on the development of a mecha using company resources, company facilities, and company tools. This project was undertaken with the full backing and investment of Stark Industries."

"The design she has been working on is based on the intellectual property of her late father, Isaac Hargreeves, a patent which she legally inherited upon his death two years ago."

Ethan reached down and picked up a document from the stack on the podium.

"What Crypco unveiled yesterday was not a product of their own innovation. It was a direct replication of that design. A design that belongs to Miss Hargreeves, and by extension, to Stark Industries. The theft of this work does not only harm Miss Hargreeves personally. It damages the business interests of Stark Industries, which has invested time, money, and resources into this project."

He set the document down and picked up another.

"The injunction is necessary because every day Crypco is allowed to produce and sell that mecha, they are profiting from stolen work.

They are gaining market share that rightfully belongs to Stark Industries. And by the time this case reaches trial, the damage may be irreversible."

Ethan looked up at the Court Warden.

"That is why we are here, Your Honor. To ask this court to preserve the status quo until the matter can be fully adjudicated."

He reached for the next set of documents.

"I would like to submit the following evidence to support our claim."

He lifted the first document and held it up.

"This is the patent filed by Isaac Hargreeves. Your Honor will see the filing date and approval stamp clearly marked on the document. It establishes Isaac Hargreeves as the legal owner of this mecha design."

He handed the document to the clerk, who took it and passed it up to the Court Warden.

"This," Ethan continued, lifting another set of papers, "is the inheritance record showing that upon Isaac Hargreeves’ death, all intellectual property, including this patent, was transferred to his daughter, Lucy Hargreeves. She is the rightful and legal owner."

The clerk took that as well.

"And these," Ethan said, holding up a smaller stack, "are the non-disclosure agreements that Isaac Hargreeves had signed by every individual and organization he pitched this design to."

He set the NDAs down and picked up the final document.

"This is Miss Hargreeves’ employment contract with Stark Industries, along with internal project documentation showing that the mecha she has been developing falls under the company’s R&D operations. Stark Industries."

Ethan handed the last document to the clerk, then returned his hands to the podium.

"Your Honor, the patent laws of Gritnia state is clear on this. A patent grants exclusive rights to the patent holder. Miss Hargreeves holds that patent, not Crypco. They have no legal right to produce, sell, or distribute a product based on that design. By doing so, they are in direct violation of the law."

"That is our position, Your Honor. Thank you."

He turned and walked back toward his table.

As he neared his seat, a static sound entered his mind and his brow furrowed slightly. It was brief, barely a second, but it happened.

A sharp, crackling hiss, like interference on a bad radio signal.

He continued walking, pulling out his chair and sitting down beside Lucy. She glanced at him, searching his face for any sign of how he thought it went. He gave her a small nod, but his attention was elsewhere.

Then the static came again. This time, it was louder. And then, cutting through the interference, was a voice why he said;

[The records now reflect the same]

There wasn’t a visible reaction on his expression, but the second time the static happened where the voice had followed, he was able to detect where it had come from.

Ethan’s gaze moved subtly towards Crypco’s table.

Tyrwin, the company’s advocate, had a small comm earpiece plugged into his ear. It was barely visible, placed just inside the canal, but Ethan had seen it.

And he gave what just occurred to him a thought.

That wasn’t supernatural hearing. His enhanced senses could pick up little sounds, sure, but not from inside a comm device.

That was a transmitted signal, electromagnetic waves carrying audio data from one point to another. And somehow, his brain had intercepted it.

This was part of his Aspect of Charge, which created a constant micro-electric stimulation along his neural pathways.

When electromagnetic waves from the comm headset passed through the area, his brain, altered by his affinity, decoded them like a biological receiver.

He didn’t fully understand the occurrence yet. But he understood the words that transmitted through.

"The records now reflect the same."

Someone had just confirmed something. And it had to do with records.

Ethan’s gaze had already returned to the front of the room as Court Warden Halvern set down the documents Ethan had submitted and looked up.

"Counsel for Crypco," the Court Warden said, "Your response."

The advocate for Crypco rose from his seat and approached the podium.

"Your Honor," Tyrwin began. "I appreciate Mr. Stark’s... passionate presentation. His advocate must have done a good work preparing him to say these things. But I must respectfully submit that this injunction is not only unnecessary, it is frivolous."

He let that word hang in the air for a moment.

"Stark Industries is, as we all know, an airship manufacturer. They produce aircraft and refine its fuel. They dominate the transportation industry and yet, here they are, claiming harm over a mecha."

Tyrwin gestured toward Ethan’s table with a slight, dismissive wave.

"A mecha, Your Honor. A product entirely outside their line of business. They have no established presence in the mecha industry. No prior production nor market share to protect, but they come before this court claiming that Crypco’s unveiling of our mecha somehow damages their business interests."

He shook his head, as if disappointed.

"With respect, Your Honor, this is simply overreaching. Stark Industries is attempting to use this court to stifle legitimate competition in a market they have no claim to."

He paused, then reached down and picked up a document from his own table.

"But let us address the substance of their claim. Mr. Stark has presented a patent filed by Isaac Hargreeves, along with inheritance records showing that Miss Hargreeves inherited her father’s estate."

Tyrwin lifted the document higher.

"What he has failed to mention, however, is this."

He handed the document to the clerk, who passed it to the Court Warden.

"This, Your Honor, is a signed assignment agreement between Isaac Hargreeves and Crypco. It was executed over two years ago, and it transfers full ownership of the patent in question from Mr. Hargreeves to Crypco."