After having sex together, and actually liking each other, Cain Marko, a.k.a. former criminal turned X-Man the Juggernaut, and Jennifer Walters, the attorney better known as the green-skinned Avenger She-Hulk’s peaceful scene is shattered by the arrival of someone who smashes through the hotel room – someone wearing Juggernaut armor! As Cain and Jennifer gather themselves, Cain asks the intruder what he thinks he is doing in his armor. The second Juggernaut narrows his eyes and simply informs Cain that ‘Cyttorak sends his regards’. She-Hulk asks Cain if because he ‘kicked Cyttorak’s butt’ he has given someone else the Juggernaut powers. Cain replies that it seems that way, before rushing head-first towards the new Juggernaut with She-Hulk in tow declaring that just because this new Juggernaut has his powers, it doesn’t make him his equal.
However, the new Juggernaut bats Cain away like a fly, and even the She-Hulk finds her fist somewhat sore after punching the new Juggernaut, to no avail. On the floor, Cain reaches for his successors leg and grabbing it, he pulls himself off the floor and swings the new Juggernaut across the room, slamming him into the floor. Holding him down, Cain tells the impostor that while he has all his powers, he does not have his experience. The new Juggernaut replies that he doesn’t need the experience, that all he needs is to be stronger! With that he starts to stand up, and to Cain’s surprise he digs his fingers at Cain’s chest, before smiling and proclaiming that he is going to pull Cain’s ribs right out of his chest, then stomp on his heart.
As Cain cries out in pain, She-Hulk comes to his rescue – by driving a car through the side of the room and into the fighting Juggernauts, who are separated in the process. As the new Juggernaut remains temporarily pinned to the wall, Jennifer helps Cain up, suggesting they get out while they can, to which Cain proudly states that he never runs from a fight. Jennifer jokes that he may be the Juggernaut and that she is the She-Hulk, but this new Juggernaut is tougher than they are and they need to get away and get help. Cain shouts again that he doesn’t run from a fight. Frustrated, Jennifer informs Cain that she is not suggesting they run, and reminds Cain that he no longer has the power anymore. What she is saying is that they need to give themselves some time to get help and think of another strategy. Cain shoots back that he doesn’t need help and already has a strategy – to simply ‘kick his butt from here to Westchester!’ The new Juggernaut is free from his restraint, and tells Cain that he is ready when he is.
Meanwhile, the Juggernaut’s stepbrother and founder of the X-Men, Professor Charles Xavier and his lawyer, Jack White, are in a meeting with Miss Ishikawa, who is representing Canada for the trial of the Juggernaut. Miss Ishikawa declares to Xavier and Jack White that Juggernaut is hardly a model citizen, adding that Cain’s long and violent record speaks for itself. She states that even if they could prove that Cain was acting in some misguided effort to protect Samuel Pare from his father – Jack White cuts the stern woman off, asking her to leave that aside for now, and look at the situation from the point of view that Cain is trying to rehabilitate himself.
White admits that Cain is not doing the best job before Miss Ishikawa begins to read off her report. ‘Four broken ribs, one fractured radius, one fractured ulna. Four hundred and twenty eight million dollars in Canadian property damage…’ Jack says that he knows the extent of the damages in Vancouver. His point is that if they can prove Cain was acting to defend someone he cared for, that he was trying to make a change for himself, would she consider reducing his sentence to the minimum allowable and allow extradition to the United States?
Miss Ishikawa clasps her hands together and stares bluntly at Jack, saying that she will not, for this was a high profile case, one in which the Juggernaut, a dangerous criminal was brought down by Canadian citizens when American crime fighters failed. She believes that this brings a lot of prestige and shows the Canada is a force to be reckoned with. Ishikawa adds that the case shows Canada does everything in its power to protect its citizens from vicious repeat criminals. Charles frowns when Ishikawa proclaims that there will be no plea bargain in this situation, adding that she does not think that Cain Marko will ever be anything more than the violent and savage brute he has always shown himself to be. She believes that Cain is beyond redemption, and it is her personal opinion, that Cain is locked up forever before he can hurt another living person.
A huge billboard sign advertising tropical deserts comes smashing down on the replacement Juggernaut’s head, splintering all around. She-Hulk rushes through the neighborhood, which has been torn up by the fighting Juggernauts, wondering where the Avengers are when you really need them. As Cain prepares to smash the new Juggernaut with a lamppost, Jennifer calls out to him, asking him to stop and reminding him she is his attorney. Cain doesn’t listen, and knocks the new Juggernaut away as if he was a ball to his lamppost bat. The second Juggernaut crashes through another building. Jennifer rushes up beside Cain and tells him to look around at what he is doing.
Cain tells She-Hulk that he knows what he is doing, that even though he has half of this new guy’s power he is still beating him. Jennifer ignores that macho remark and tells Cain to look at the lives of the people around them, and she calls him a ‘moron’. Cain looks twisted as he asks Jennifer if she just called him a ‘moron’, and the Avenger snaps back that that was exactly what she called him, before admitting she is not sure who the bigger idiot is - him or her! Jen is mad at herself for buying into Cain’s puppy dog charm and saving the guard from the Rhino, then telling her he wanted to change and be a better person. Motioning to the destruction around them, She-Hulk cant believe that Cain could just turn around and do it to the lives and homes of innocent people.
She-Hulk tells Cain that he is still a selfish and angry man who doesn’t care about the damage he is doing to the people around him. She-Hulk is mad at herself for getting Cain out of jail – just so he can do it al over again, to the innocent people. She-Hulk realizes that she knows who the bigger moron is now – its herself, and that Cain is just a bully who cant control his temper, or perhaps worse – a bully who likes losing his temper. Angrily, Jen tells Cain that the best thing for everyone is if Cain were to be locked away forever – away from her and Sammy and everyone else. She tells Cain that he needs help, except that she knows he will always be too macho and proud to ask for it.
The new Juggernaut gathers himself up, and calls menacingly to Cain, who informs Jennifer that he is going to rip off the helmet of this new Juggernaut. Jen shouts back at Cain telling him to spare the macho exposition, for she doesn’t care what he does to him anymore. Cain tells Jen that when he rips the helmet off – Jen cuts Cain off and tells him that she cannot stop either of them and that all she can do is stop people from dying. Cain puts his hand over Jennifer’s mouth and tells her to shut up as he is asking for her help!
Back in Miss Ishikawa’s office, she tells Jack White not to take it so hard, for he should have realized that it was a case he could not have won. Jack snaps back that it doesn’t mean it wasn’t a case he didn’t want to win. ‘Male pride. So pointless. Shall we conclude the paperwork?’ Miss Ishikawa says.
Back at the residential battleground, the new Juggernaut rushes towards Cain, telling him he is going to take him down. ‘Yeah, yeah, whatever’ Cain replies before grabbing the impostor Juggernaut’s helmet. Cain rips the helmet off, and the man wearing the armor cries out, which is when Cain tells Jennifer to hit him in the face. The impostor puts his hands up to shield his face, and cries ‘Not in the face, not without the helmet!’ Cain and Jen watch as the man suddenly shrinks in size – to the boy that he actually is. The boy begs them not to hit him without the helmet on, when Cain realizes who the child actually is. He informs She-Hulk that the boy lived next door to Xavier and was killing some animals in Xavier’s yard, and that he had a jerk for a father….’He’s just a kid, an angry kid in a muscle suit’ says Cain.
In Miss Ishikawa’s office, a security officer opens the door and informs her that two of the witnesses insisted on seeing her. Seeing that the witnesses are none other than Samuel “Squidboy” Pare and his mother, Miss Ishikawa tells Jack White that she hopes this is not some last minute attempt at playing to the courts sympathy with an impassioned plea from Sammy. ‘Because frankly, neither they, nor I, will stand for it’. Jack White tells her that it is not a plea from the boy, and Miss Ishikawa looks surprised when Sammy’s mother reveals it is an impassioned plea from her.
In a separate room, Sammy’s mother sits across the table from Miss Ishikawa and informs her that she reported her husband numerous times for violence against both her and Sammy, but that nothing ever happened and they were told to “work it out”. She states that the last time it happened, the police officer even told her she needed to honor her husband and help him get help. She asked the officer “what about help for me?”, to which she says that he simply said “honor your husband” and left. With papers in front of her, Miss Ishikawa states that she sees the previous reports in the records, but reminds Mrs. Pare that laws against domestic violence are quite clear, and that if she had pressed charges, then you are supposed to be protected.
Sammy’s mother replies that neither she nor Sammy were protected, that no one was on their side until ‘that Juggernaut man’ came and stopped her husband. She tells Miss Ishikawa that before she asks, she was afraid of Juggernaut when he destroyed their house, but that his feelings for Sammy are evident. She says that despite her own fear of Juggernaut – she is more afraid that he will be locked away and she and Sammy will be sent back to her husband with no one to protect them. Miss Ishikawa looks at Mrs. Pare, her expression nothing less than that of horror.
Later, Jack White walks out on to the balcony where Miss Ishikawa stands, arms folded, starring out across the city. Jack stands beside her and tells her that Vancouver is a pretty city before asking if she likes living here. Miss Ishikawa replies that she used to, but that when you find out you live in a place that is advanced and forward-thinking, and then you suddenly learn that someone whose job it was to do good and protect the citizens, took it upon themselves to ignore the law, for whatever their personal reasons, so that some poor woman and her son continued to suffer, might still be suffering if not for the intervention of one of the worst criminals on the planet.
Jack White says ‘Welcome to the gray areas of the law’ before asking Miss Ishikawa if this is the beginning of a crisis of faith in her legal system. Miss Ishikawa narrows her eyes and says nothing, until she turns and walks back into her office, stating as she goes that she will agree to the reduction and commuting of sentence and extradition with –‘I don’t know, like a billion hours of public service’. This is providing that the personal and public damages are paid for, and provided Jack’s client agrees to court monitored therapy sessions for anger management and his own personal child abuse issues. ‘With that we can consider the trial of the Juggernaut over’. Admiring the sunrise, Jack White believes that Cain Marko’s trial is just beginning.
