She-Hulk (Vol. 2) #29
Dark Art, Part 2
At the Cleveland mansion of Arthur Moore, the wealthy man tells his bodyguard Bran Murphy that his services will no longer be needed now that the She-Hulk has been arrested for making threats. While at the local jail, She-Hulk continues to fester in her cell with a woman named Monique. She tells Monique that there is nothing she can do about the drug dealer that Monique beat up for selling drugs to her daughter. This makes Monique question the justice system since it serves to protect criminals and not people like her. Recalling that Jennifer was once a lawyer, Monique asks her how she got disbarred. Jennifer tells her that the story begins with a man named Arthur Moore...
A few months ago at the offices of Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzburg, and Book, Mallory Book assigned Jennifer Walters to represent Moore in court as a favor to her. Walters wonder why Book is being so nice to her, and she explains that her psychiatrist told her that she is threatened by stronger women and decided to prove him wrong by befriending Jen. Soon she is in a one-on-one meeting with Arthur Moore, aka the mystic known as Dark Art. As she discusses the charges laid against him, including bank robbery and animal cruelty, Moore finds it amusing that while she fights villains as She-Hulk she must defend them in her capacity as a lawyer. He also expresses a desire to battle the She-Hulk simply because she exists. When she asks if he wants a different lawyer, he declines deciding to leave his fate in her hand.
A week later the trial begins and the prosecution discusses the evidence that they found in Dark Art's home that show that he was involved in the robbery and possible animal cruelty. When Jennifer cross-examines the police officer who raided Moore's home and gets him to admit that they never witnessed the crimes being committed by the accused. When she asks about how they got the warrant to search Dark Art's home, the officer explains that he was pulled over for busted tail light and they decided to search his car because of his attitude and found a supply of heroin in the trunk of his car. Jen calls a sidebar with the prosecution and the judge. She then motions to have the evidence found in Moore's home because he was searched without probable cause. The prosecution lawyer protests this because this evidence is the lynchpin of his defense saying that he suspects that Dark Art is also responsible for the children that have gone missing in his neighborhood. However, with nothing else outside of that the judge agrees to Walter's motions and since there is insufficient evidence dismisses the trial.
After getting past the press, Mallory, Jennifer and Dark Art go into an office where the villain's mystical artifacts are being returned to him. After confirming that anything he can tell them now will be protected under attorney/client privilege and decides to tell them the truth. With a mystical gem on his brow, he shows both Jen and Mallory that he was responsible for the missing children. In fact, he murdered them to the dark gods that he worships. In order to get away with murdering the kids, he used his mystical powers to transform them into dogs. Growing furious at this revelation, Jennifer transforms into the Savage She-Hulk for the first time in a long time. She then knocked Dark Art out into the street and began trying to pound through his mystical shields. He crashes through it, the mystic surrenders and She-Hulk grabs his mystical wand and snaps it in half. Suddenly there is a red flare of energy unleashing something that screams as it escapes. By this point, the reporters have swarmed the scene demanding to know what happened. Mallory Book arrives and tries to pull She-Hulk out of there, telling them that they have no comment. However, She-Hulk cannot bring herself to stay silent about it and reveals the truth to the press.
Because of the scene she has made, GLK&B ended up facing a lawsuit from Dark Art, a restraining order was put on Jen, and she was fired from the firm and disbarred from practicing law. When asked why she did it, Jennifer tells Mallory Book that she couldn't stand back and let Dark Art gloat over the horrific crimes he committed and got away with. Mallory tells her that as a lawyer that is not their job, and that she threw away her career. When Jennifer says she doesn't owe Mallory any explanations and walks out of the office, Book wonders if Walters has explanations to give to herself....
... Concluding her story, She-Hulk explains that the missing children were found alive in Upstate New York and that the images she saw were only an illusion. She wonders aloud why she did it and ruined her career and thinks it might have been to punish herself for being part of a system that doesn't work the way it should. While back at his home, Moore explains to Bran that he didn't ruin She-Hulk for his own amusement, in fact, the entire ordeal was orchestrated by an unknown employer who wanted to see She-Hulk punish herself. No sooner has Dark Art explained this he suddenly discovers that his drink has been poisoned and he collapses dead on the floor. The poison was planted by Bran, who offers a toast to his dead employer.
Recurring Characters
She-Hulk, Mallory Book, Two-Gun Kid, Augustus Pugliese, Mr. Bobo, Bran Murphy, Dark Art
Continuity Notes
It is stated in this story that Dark Art robbed a bank in the year 2006. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. Likewise is the election bumper sticker for Stephen Colbert.
