Supergirl ~ Not Kansas ~ Part Three

***

"Any leads on tracking the gun owner?" James asked as he, Lucy, and Max walked into the D.E.O.

"Listen, we were only able to identify, like, ten percent of the people that actually purchased the Heel-14, and that is with state-of-the-art tracking," Winn sighed.

"Better some than none," Lucy mumbled.

"So, what's the next move?" James asked.

"Old-fashioned police line-up," J'onn answered. "We need you to look at some photos, James, see if you recognize the guy who bought the gun." James nodded in agreement, straightening up. "Winn, let's start with the guys that purchased more than one weapon."

"OK," Winn nodded, pulling the images up on the main screens.

James surveyed them all, then walked around the console and pointed. "That's him," he said. "Bottom right corner, Arthur Willis."

"OK, Arthur Willis," Winn pulled up his file, then blinked. "Are you sure? 'Cause this says that he passed his instant background check at the gun show. He has no history of mental health issues. I mean, he doesn't seem like a threat."

"I don't forget a face," James shook his head.

"Never make assumptions," Slade narrowed his eye.

"Because assumption is the mother of all failures," Alex finished for him, and when Slade looked at her in surprise, she blushed. "It's good advice!" she defended herself. "I like it!"

Max eyed the two of them before clearing his throat. "How many guns did he buy?"

"Uh, let's see," Winn checked, drawing Slade and Alex's attention back to him. "Four that I can see."

"Get a strike team together," J'onn ordered Alex.

Before James could utter a word, it was Slade who frowned. "You want to pit these exact guns against this man?"

"What do you want me to do, Slade?" J'onn asked in exasperation.

"The only thing that's going to happen if you take men out there with these weapons, it's going to turn into a war zone," he answered. "This isn't an alien, J'onn, this is a human being. Bringing these guns to a fight like this is going to be as bad for you as it is for him."

"I need my guys to be armed to defend themselves, and protect the public," J'onn argued.

Slade raised an eyebrow. "The armor I use as Deathstroke protects me just fine, which allows me to use only a sidearm for a gun," he pointed out. "This is J'onn. We're not going to fight World War III here. I'm not saying don't bring weapons, but don't bring weapons out there. All that gunfire, and if you miss? That's a hell of a lot of damage that can't be blamed on Willis. That's on and your men."

J'onn frowned, considering, then Winn cleared his throat. "Uh, I'm so sorry to interrupt, but I have just been perusing Arthur's social media and he just posted what looks like a manifesto."

He projected it on the main screen, and J'onn squinted, reading. "'To whom it concerns, so you understand why. For those who ruined my life, for the partners of Vang and Morales who spit on me when they fired me.'"

"Vang and Morales," Lucy narrowed her eyes. "I know that name, it's a law firm."

James's eyes widened. "It's in the same business plaza as the bank where the cops spotted him. He wasn't robbing the bank."

"He's going back to his office," J'onn nodded. When Slade gave him a look, J'onn sighed. "Pull Mon-El from sweeping the city," he called to Alex, who looked up from where she was tapping on a tablet. "It's him, you, me, Guardian, and Deathstroke going out there. Lane, take a squad with you to talk to the lawyers. Let's find him."

***

"He threatened to file a lawsuit for wrongful termination, but he had outburst after outburst," the woman Lucy interviewed explained.

"Did the firm offer mental health counseling?" Lucy asked.

"Of course," she nodded. "But he refused."

"We're gonna find him," Lucy promised.

"All the entrances are secure," J'onn said as he walked in.

"Did you check the cellar?" the woman asked. "There's a back way into the loading dock, but there's no cameras on that door."

"Where is it?" Lucy asked.

"South side of the building."

"I'm on it," J'onn nodded.

***

When J'onn reached that side of the building, Mon-El was already there. "He's inside," he reported.

"Has he done anything yet?" J'onn asked.

"Other than load that thing? No," Mon-El shook his head.

"Let me talk to him first," J'onn said, hearing Slade and Alex's bikes rumble up outside.

"You're the boss," Mon-El nodded, stepping back for J'onn to head in.

J'onn slowly walked inside, seeing Arthur looking down at one of the rifles with a strange look on his face. "Arthur?" he asked.

He spun around and aimed the rifle, stopping J'onn in his tracks. "Don't move!"

"I'm unarmed," J'onn held up his hands.

"Who are you?" Arthur narrowed his eyes.

"Just someone who wants to talk," J'onn promised.

Arthur scoffed. "Yeah, well, it's too late for that now. No one wanted to listen to me before, but they are gonna listen to me now. This is the only way for me to be heard."

"Arthur, if you pull that trigger, no one's gonna listen to a thing you have to say," J'onn told him.

"They took from me!" Arthur snarled. "My wife left me because I was always working, then they just kept passing me over for my partner. They lied to me!"

J'onn took a deep breath. "Look, I know you feel like they took everything from you, like you got nothing left," he said, seeing Slade's mask and the metallic piping of Alex's suit out the window. "Trust me, I know how it feels to lose everything."

"They never respected me," Arthur hissed.

"You think that gun gives you respect?" J'onn frowned. "It has no power. It's just a tool for spreading fear, and fear is respect." He walked further into the room, and Arthur backed up, still aiming at him. "Look, Arthur, I know you've been bullied, but that doesn't give you the right to bully back. You got something loud and ugly there. You think that's gonna make people hear you?"

"I shot at a cop!" Arthur barked. "My life is over no matter what!"

"Your live doesn't have to end like this," J'onn said. "You can go on, you can change, you can . . . you can begin something new if you just put down that gun."