Dawn had thought she'd prepared herself enough after Ace had announced that a body had been discovered.  She'd thought that easing her breathing and bracing herself for the worst would help.  But after running down every hallway for where this crime scene could possibly be, she finally stumbled across the Chem Lab.  And inside was a sight that, no matter how much preparation she'd done, shook her to the bone.

Strung up to the ceiling fan by nothing but a camera, head dripping with blood and bobbing limply, was Stratus.  The Ultimate Scientist.  The tallest, smartest, and quite possibly strongest.  He just hung there like a ragdoll before her very eyes.  She hadn't even taken a look around the room yet- her gaze was unable to stray from the body.  Who in the right mind would have done something so blatantly cruel and monstrous?  And more importantly, who had made the move to take out the best detective of the group?  Finally, she managed to pry her gaze away.

Off to the side, Evan and Jax were hugging each other tightly.  Jax was sobbing, and Evan was hyperventilating.  A plate of food was broken on the floor near them.  Behind them, several tables were overturned, and glass from a few cabinet doors littered the ground.  Stratus's glasses, also broken, were discarded several feet away, near a table spattered with blood.  The blood-stained table had a spilled test tube and a bottle labeled with some element on it.

"Guys?  I heard the announcement, and-" Tommie cut herself off as she entered before letting out a bloodcurdling scream, falling to her knees and sobbing.

Dawn practically dove onto the floor to help console her.

"T-that's my camera..." she was whimpering. "He's being h-hung with my camera..."

Dawn rubbed her shoulders soothingly. "I know.  I know.  We'll figure this out."

"It wasn't me, I swear!"

"I know.  I know."

If she was being honest, Dawn had no idea what to think.  Could it have been Tommie?  No, she wasn't so sure.  In fact, how could anyone manage to get Stratus up there?  Were any of them that strong?

"...Do you want your camera?" she asked Tommie quietly.

The blonde didn't respond.

"Let's take a walk." She gently tugged on Tommie's arm to get her to stand, and carefully escorted her out of the room and down the hallway. 

"W-where are we going?" Tommie stammered, wiping at her eyes in attempt to staunch the rapid waterfalling of tears.

"I'm going to make you tea.  What kind do you like?" Dawn asked.

"...green tea."

"Green tea it is."

By the time said tea had been brewed and they were sitting in the cafeteria together, Tommie was slightly more composed, but not by much.  Dawn had to hold her hand to keep her from shaking her mug too much whenever she tried to drink from it.  A few minutes later, Evan and Jax arrived, seeming to have had the same idea.  Dawn immediately got up to make them tea as well.  And once the three were sitting at the table sipping tea together, she felt better about leaving to finally go analyze the crime scene better.

She didn't want to do it, that was for sure.  But she knew for a fact that if she didn't do it, then there was a big chance that nobody would.  Fighting back her increasing anxiety, she managed to drag herself up the seemingly endless stairs, up onto the fourth floor, and into the Chem Lab.  It was exactly the same as how she'd left it.

Dawn first started with the body itself, just to get it over with.  She carefully approached, taking note of the bloodstains on Stratus's flannel as she reached up and gently lifted his chin to get a better look at his face.  There was a massive gash hidden beneath his thick, dirty-blonde hair that dripped all the way down this face- most likely the reason behind the stains on his shirt.  Her best guess, between that and the blood spatter on the edge of the table, was that he had hit his head.  But how?

The next thing she didn't understand was the ropes tied around his wrists and ankles.  Where had they come from, and how did his attacker get their hands on them?  She figured that she could get that answered later as she turned her attention to the small bottle sitting on the blood-spattered table.  She picked it up and squinted to make out the symbol written on the label.  Pb.  One glance at the periodic table on the wall confirmed that it was, in fact, lead.  Hastily running to grab a pair of safety goggles, she slid them over her eyes and then carefully opened the bottle.

Inside of the bottle of lead were small bits and pieces of the gray substance.  She glanced over at the spilled vial and the silvery-gray liquid that had formed a puddle on the floor from the amount of spillage.  Thinking back to her experience with chemistry for a moment, she approached the sink and peered inside.  Just visible in the drain were tiny pieces of the same gray substance.  Hm.

Dawn finally took a look over at the cabinets where the glass had been smashed.  As far as she could tell, there was no blood.  She looked closely at the contents of the cabinet.  There was nothing special about the elements stored inside, but the cabinet to the right of it was the opposite.  Nearly every bottle inside was labeled with a skull.  Arsenic was the first one she saw.

A buzzing in her pocket startled her out of her thoughts, and she removed her digital handbook to see that a new report had popped up.

Case Report

Name of Victim: Stratus Everfell

Talent: Ultimate Scientist

Time of Death: 8:30 PM

Cause of Death: Unknown

Dawn looked back up at the body in front of her.  Now that she thought about it, she was unsure if he would have died from the blood loss, a broken skull, or the hanging.  And as far as she knew, there was no way to know for sure.

"Everyone, you have ten minutes to report to the courtroom!  Seeing as only one person is analyzing the crime scene, I assume that it means the rest of you are ready for the trial!" Ace announced as the school-wide speakers crackled to life.

Dawn froze, processing the words for a moment before deciding to head back down.  As she passed by the music hall, however, something odd caught her eye.  She diverted from her path to step inside.  As she jumped onto the stage, she knew for sure that her suspicions were correct.  For the rope used to open and close the curtains had been cut, and she had a strong lead on where the missing amount had gone.  Glad that she had trusted her instincts, she left the room and decided to finally continue her journey back down to the fourth floor.

The hallways were all deserted as she approached the elevator.  As she stepped inside, she let out a deep sigh.

"What happened to you?" she asked the air.

No response.  Although if she had gotten a response, that would have been a bit creepy.

She took one last deep breath as the elevator door slid open, and she joined her classmates at the podiums for the next class trial.

***

(1208 words)

Aight y'all know the drill, who do you think did it?