Chapter 4
M'gann was off the city bus and walking down the sidewalk. Brainy was a little way behind her to make it look like he wasn't with her. The two made their way down toward the coordinates that Nyssa had given them. It was a run-down neighborhood and the Martian made the note in her head that it was a perfect place to not be noticed.
"You see any cameras in the area?" J'onn asked over the comms.
"No," M'gann responded. Another check mark for a perfect hideout. The Martian continued to move until she reached her destination. The building was boarded up so not immediately something that said, "being used".
She ducked down the side alleyway that was closer to the building down the street. Brainy moved down the alleyway closer to the bus stop. M'gann noted that there were no homeless people down here – she actually hadn't seen anyone since she got off the bus. That was a little odd given the kind of neighborhood they'd been dropped off in. The bus driver had not been interested in hanging around but she had hardly seen a soul except for the others that got off the bus.
"Oddly empty around here," the Martian told the others.
"Agreed," Brainy chimed in. The alleyways did not meet behind the building as it was only a couple of feet from the building that backed up to it on the other street up the block.
"For a building that is boarded up, it's using an awful lot of electricity," Brainy spoke up a few seconds later.
"Which means someone is paying the bill. I'll get working on that. Get anything else you can and get out," J'onn told them. M'gann heaved a sigh and phased through one of the doors that had been boarded up. Luckily, it was dark where she was but she noted that it was the one-time business's back room where products would have been stored. She heard voices and hid behind a counter that had been bolted to the floor.
Two men walked by her using flashlights to find their way and headed to the front of the old store front. They were talking about weapons and how they would be getting them. No direct mention of Enigma though so right now this was just a spot to send NCPD to bust things up. Moving stealthily from behind the counter, she headed toward the lights.
"I'm not sure I wanna do this," a young woman said from a chair near one of the construction site type lights.
"Look, this will make you more courageous. You know, help you keep the fear at bay," an older woman said to her. M'gann knew she needed to see what was going on and quickly shapeshifted into a rat. Figuring that no one here would blink an eye at seeing a rodent, she moved into the room. Almost immediately, she recognized what was going on.
Suddenly, there was banging on one of the makeshift doors that had been created by having plywood over the opening. The people went running for the noise, three of them were carrying handguns. M'gann took her opportunity to head for a wall and phase through it.
"They have Snakebite but no sign of Enigma," she reported once she had regained her human form.
"NCPD is responding to your location. Make sure you greet them," J'onn told her.
"Will do Papa Bear," she promised. Quickly, she transformed into Miss Martian, hearing the sirens not so far away from her position.
"Brainy, where are you?" M'gann asked.
"Inside, come join me," he said. Horrified, the Martian phased through the wall and was met by Brainy keeping the three with guns at bay. She quickly joined into the fray and dropped the man nearest to her by punching him in the back of the head.
"Shit!" His buddy shouted but before he could react, M'gann dropped him too.
"I suggest you give up," Brainy said to the woman. She looked like she was still thinking about it so Brainy made sure that she went down as well. The sirens of the NCPD were now at their loudest and M'gann went looking for the other woman. She found her cowering in the corner of the room, the unused Snakebite on the chair.
"I'm not going to hurt you. We can get you out of here and get you some help," M'gann told her as the NCPD rushed into the building. Brainy directed them to take the others into custody and the rest of the building was starting to be searched.
"You don't know what you've done," the young woman said.
"Sure, I do. I stopped you before you used that stuff. It's not something you want in your body," M'gann said.
"Not that! She'll be so pissed!" The young woman told her. It was beginning to sound like this woman was afraid of someone.
"Enigma?" M'gann asked. The young woman's eyes went wide.
"Come with me and I'll get you somewhere safe. You won't have to worry about her," the Martian said. Finally, the young woman came over to her and M'gann gave her a smile.
"I'm going to need a transport. This young lady knows something and I want to make sure she's safe," M'gann spoke over the comms.
"ARGUS will be there in two minutes," J'onn told her.
To Be Continued…