A gentle but clear voice rang out through the loudspeakers, interrupting the judge.
At Hill's signal, Phil Coulson straightened his suit collar and strode up to the witness stand.
Facing tens of thousands of scrutinizing and hostile gazes, Coulson stood before the microphone, his usually smiling face utterly serious.
"I am Phil Coulson, a Level 8 Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."
Coulson took a deep breath. He did not use his superpower, relying only on his naturally trustworthy, good-natured demeanor as he spoke earnestly:
"I am not here to whitewash Director Fury's failings. His unauthorized research into the Tesseract did bring disaster upon us, but not a single cent of the money he diverted went into his own pocket. All of it went toward secret weapons research and development to address supernatural crises."
Coulson pulled up a classified S.H.I.E.L.D. log and projected it onto the side screen.
"Over the past five years, S.H.I.E.L.D. quietly dealt with four hundred and sixty-one dangerous alien artifacts and extreme experiments worldwide. In New Mexico, when the Destroyer Armor and Mjolnir fell from the sky, it was the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. who formed a defensive line in that small town with their own flesh and blood, preventing casualties on an even greater scale."
Coulson looked toward the citizens below, a hint of pleading in his voice. "He is guilty of grave dereliction of duty, but he is not a traitor to humanity. He is simply a madman who thought he could single-handedly catch everyone at the edge of a cliff. He is guilty, but his original intentions were not bad. His crimes do not warrant death."
As his words fell, the clamor below gradually subsided.
Many of those who had been shouting for him to hang looked at the field reports on the big screen, showing S.H.I.E.L.D.