Shadow Justice

7: News and Awkward Situations

J'onn Jonzz followed Flash through  the back door to the club and down the stairs to the Green Arrow's  hideout. For such a secretive member of the Justice League, Green  Arrow's hideout was cleverly concealed in an obvious place. Perhaps that  was the reason for this location; the more obvious, the less likely for  authorities and enemies to look for the very reason that no one in  their right mind would hide in plain sight. Psychology truly was a  unique field of study.

J'onn did not know what he was expecting  when they arrived in the Arrow Cave, but he supposed he should not have  been surprised by what he saw. There were no windows due to the location  being underground but there were several workout stations near the  stairs, a small kitchenette with a coffeemaker currently brewing fresh  coffee, and a series of computers set up on a desk on the far side of  the room.

That was where he saw the room's sole occupant hunched  over the keyboard, typing away and staring fixedly at the screen. After a  moment, the woman sat back and rolled her neck before grabbing her  obviously empty mug and getting up to refill it. She jumped and squawked  in surprise to find the two newcomers standing behind her. She reached  out, patting the desk behind her, obviously looking for something.

"Hey,  woah, woah, calm down sweetheart," Flash said, raising his hands in a  pacifying gesture. "We're friends. Don't worry. I'm Flash and this is  J'onn. J'onn say hi to the nice lady."

"Hello," J'onn said simply.

"Uh, hi," the woman said.

She  was pretty by human standards. She had long blonde hair tied up in a  ponytail and large glasses over her eyes. She did not move from her  defensive position until she heard more footsteps come down the stairs  behind the two Justice League members. J'onn did not have to turn around  to know Green Arrow had joined them.

"It's okay Felicity," Oliver  said, stepping out from the stairwell and slipping between J'onn and  Flash, John Diggle on his tail. "Whatcha got?"

The woman  –Felicity- groaned and moved to the beeping coffee maker. "Not much more  than before. I swear, whatever security KaibaCorp uses is alive. It's  like the darn thing's playing with me."

"That good?" Diggle said in interest.

"Oh  yeah," Felicity replied returning to her usual seat at the keyboard  with a fresh cup of steaming coffee. She poured a couple bags of sugar  into the creamy coffee and stirred. "I can say just about every  government in existence would probably pay billions if not more for  whatever security program he uses."

J'onn felt faint amusement as he followed Flash up to join the others. He looked up when Oliver spoke to him specifically.

"You said you found something at the crime scene," Green Arrow said. "What was it exactly?"

J'onn  tilted his head in acknowledgement. "I did. However, before you ask, I  must tell you that I am not currently sure if what I found is  responsible for these crimes or not. I will simply tell you what I found  and let you decide how to proceed from there."

Oliver nodded and  crossed his arms, leaning back on the desk. Diggle stood by him and  Felicity had turned her spinning office chair around as well. "Go on,"  the vigilante encouraged.

"I found remnants of something I cannot describe. A darkness much like that residing in the survivors' minds." Curiosity. "This...darkness is sentient but not like you or I. It is more reminiscent of an animal, if that." Dissent. "There was also a...presence."

"A presence?" Oliver repeated.

J'onn  nodded. "I have never felt something so unique or...powerful. I do not  believe it meant any harm or was even aware of my presence until I  touched it."