[center][img]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/nowhereman716/SupesBanner_zpsxfsx29il.png[/img][/center] [Color=BlueViolet]"Calm down, Smallville, I'm going to be okay,"[/color] Lois says as she folds another pair of slacks into her suitcase. [color=BlueViolet]"I already checked to make sure I'm safe to fly; Doctor Jurgens says it won't be any danger to the baby until I'm 28 weeks in. There's nothing to worry about, honey."[/color] I lean against the doorway to our bedroom, arms folded, shaking my head. [Color=RoyalBlue]"I thought you said you were going to take it easy while you're expecting, Lo,"[/color] I say to her, which she casually waves away with her hand. [Color=BlueViolet]"I [i]am[/i] taking it easy,"[/color] she responds. [color=BlueViolet]"It's not like I'm digging up dirt on LexCorp or going undercover to expose Intergang again. I'm just flying out to cover a conference where a bunch of dignitaries bluster at each other, get a couple of man-on-the-street interviews, and then I'll be home by next Tuesday."[/color] I nod, conceding her point. She's flying out to cover an international conference regarding a string of mysterious radiation leaks in the Pacific. Ambassadors from the US, China, Russia, Japan, North and South Korea, Madripoor, Singapore, and Australia have all been up in arms, claiming everything from irresponsible dumping of nuclear waste to secret undersea weapons testing. There are rumors that Atlantean officials may arrive as well, but nothing's been confirmed. I'll need to speak to Arthur about the situation and see what he makes of it. [color=RoyalBlue]"I still don't like the idea of you traveling alone in your state,"[/color] I say, meekly. [color=BlueViolet]"Clark, seriously,"[/color] she says, her patience running a bit thin. [color=BlueViolet]"It's Tokyo. Not Gotham City. And I'm not going alone. Jimmy's coming along, too; said he needs to stock up on his manga collection."[/color] She rolls her eyes at that a bit; Jimmy's a great guy and one of the best photographers in the business, but he's drawn to pop-culture and collectibles like flies to-- [color=BlueViolet]"I've handled mobsters, terrorist leaders, corrupt CEOs, and invaders from other planets before,"[/color] she says as she sorts through her travel bag to make sure everything is in its place. [color=BlueViolet]"Seriously, why are you so nervous about me covering a meeting?"[/color] [color=RoyalBlue]"Because I know my wife,"[/color] I answer, [color=RoyalBlue]"And I know Lois Lane wouldn't fly halfway around the world to sit in on this kind of meeting unless there was something else going on."[/color] There's a long pause as she considers her response. Lois is the one person on Earth who never ceases to surprise me, but there are some things about her that I can read like a book. The way she purses her lips and shifts her weight to one leg tells me her first instinct is to go on the offensive, maybe accuse me of being paranoid or not trusting her. But she then looks down and away, very slightly shaking her head to dismiss the move. For a few seconds she closes her eyes and furrows her eyebrows, running through a dozen other responses, before she finally shrugs. [color=BlueViolet]"Okay,"[/color] she says, [color=BlueViolet]"No sense in being secretive about it. I've been doing some digging into the radiation leaks, and I think there's a lot more to it than people are letting on. In the past three weeks? Six commercial fishing boats and cargo ships have gone missing in the area. It hasn't hit the major outlets yet, but some of my sources told me a Russian nuclear sub has gone missing, too, which is why they're suddenly calling this meeting. It's not just the water being polluted, Clark; I think people are [i]dying[/i], and there's an effort being made to cover it up."[/color] [color=RoyalBlue]"This is still you taking it easy?"[/color] I say with a raised eyebrow. She gives me a sour look, which shuts me up. [color=BlueViolet]"There's more to it. I've been studying the guest list for this conference, and you know whose name I found on it? General Yuri Malenko. JSDF Minister Rei Yanada. And our old friend Secretary Calvin Swanwick. If this is supposed to be an environmental issue, what the hell is the Secretary of Defense doing there with the Russian and Japanese Defense Ministers?"[/color] [color=RoyalBlue]"You think there might be something to that weapons-testing theory, then?"[/color] Lo shakes her head. [color=BlueViolet]"I think it's something else,"[/color] she says. [color=BlueViolet]"I started probing the deep end of the web for any and all communications regarding the missing vessels in the area. While there aren't any official stories, I turned up a good bit of anonymous encoded chatter that was intercepted around the time of the radiation leaks. I'm not even going to pretend I can crack the codes that these messages use, but at least one guy out there managed to decipher a key word, being used over and over in these messages: MONARCH."[/color] [color=RoyalBlue]"Monarch...."[/color] I repeat, mulling over the word. That's not a lot to go on, but it definitely suggests either actual royalty or someone of extremely high stature. Then again, a codename could just be misdirecting gibberish. [color=RoyalBlue]"Lois, if this is as serious as you're implying, [i]please[/i] don't stir up trouble. For the baby's sake, at least?"[/color] [color=BlueViolet]"I'm not going to go start a world war or get myself shot over a story, Smallville,"[/color] she says, putting a reassuring hand on my cheek. [color=BlueViolet]"Not to mention, I know that at the first sign of trouble, you'll be there in about two seconds. Baby or not, I've still got a job to do just as much as you do. And hey, maybe this whole conspiracy-theory thing turns out to be nothing. That'd actually be a nice change of pace for us, wouldn't it?"[/color] [color=RoyalBlue]"And if it isn't?"[/color] [color=BlueViolet]"Then we do what we always do,"[/color] she says with a grin. [color=BlueViolet]"I set 'em up, and you knock 'em down. Truth and Justice and all that good stuff."[/color] She gives me a quick kiss, just long enough to leave me wanting more, before pulling away and checking her phone. [color=BlueViolet]"My ride to the airport just pulled up,"[/color] Lois says as she closes her suitcase. [color=BlueViolet]"And you've still got to finish that story on the Boardwalk remodeling this afternoon. Don't worry, Clark; we'll be fine. A few days in Tokyo and an international powderkeg isn't anything I can't handle. Now be good, don't run off with any bug-eyed monsters while I'm gone, and I'll bring you back a souvenir."[/color] [color=RoyalBlue]"Okay,"[/color] I say, giving her one last kiss before she heads for the door. [color=RoyalBlue]"Just not another postcard of me lifting up Mount Fuji, okay?"[/color] She laughs, and steps out the door, pulling her suitcase behind her. As soon as she's gone, my smile drops. Lois is one of the most capable people I've ever met, and I know she knows well enough not to get herself and Jimmy in any serious trouble. But I can't help but be worried. I hate getting involved in politics and international affairs; it's so easy to get swept up by powers that you can't confront by just lifting heavy things or shooting lasers out of your eyes. And while Tokyo is still just a few seconds away if I really open up the throttle, it's still far enough away that seeing and hearing things there is going to be murky at best. And I don't like the sound of these encoded 'Monarch' messages. Paranoia is usually something people associate with Batman, but given how many powerful and influential people have come after me in the past, you learn not to brush things off too lightly. I might want to talk to Bruce about it and see if he thinks it's worth pursuing. But like Lois said, I still have my own story to finish writing today. And, barring any unforeseen catastrophes, I might just enjoy a relatively quiet day. These days, that would be a heck of a gift in and of itself.