Truth To Power Chapter 29

Lois and Clark are inside Agent Johnson's Metropolis condo townhome. "Agent Johnson, what exactly did you want to discuss?" Clark asked impatiently. "Wait! Just a moment!" Johnson said, waving them into silence. The mysterious agent reached into the breast pocket of his tawny brown trench coat and retrieved a small square device about half the size of a common Smart phone.

He pressed his thumb into its center, and immediately Clark winced, as his sensitive ears picked up a sudden stream of loud, squealing, feedback, similar to that of an amped up electronic guitar. Lois heard virtually nothing, save for a slight whistle in her ears.

Alarmed, Lois watched Clark wince in pain. Her complexion went ashen, as she held his arm. "Honey! What's wrong?" She exclaimed, as Clark nearly doubled over. Quickly, he dismissed her concern with a wave. The squealing and piercing noise began to fade out. Clark hadn't heard or felt anything like that since he'd first crossed paths with Black Canary.

"Sorry about all that." Johnson addressed both Lois and Clark. He'd chosen to ignore Clark's obvious discomfort. "This controls an advanced security option to protect my home from any possible electronic listening devices." He waved the gray, square remote control at them. "I guess it's sort of an electronic field dampener. It causes mass interference with bugs that operate within a range of common frequencies." He explained. "This debugger fries any type of electronic surveillance in a given area."

Clark shook his head as the last of the squeals faded out. "I'd offer you a seat…" Johnson gestured towards a comfortable looking black leather couch. "However, I wanted to show you something first." He continued walking over to a wall shelving unit populated with an assortment of books.

Johnson pulled back on a large and dusty book, roughly the size of a volume of 'War and Peace'. Instantly, the shelving unit slid to one side, revealing a small room, roughly equivalent to a walk in closet, or double wide bathroom. He gestured for them to follow him inside.

Clark had previously x-rayed the hidden rooms, and saw nothing harmful. He cautiously took Lois by the hand and led her into the room. The agent pressed a button on the wall, and the room became brightly lit. Lois gasped. The room had no windows, nor any other obvious exits.

The wall farthest from them was covered from floor to ceiling with international newspaper clippings, some yellowing from age, and thin lines of multicolored yarn stretched between the myriad of articles. The near wall held a map of the world with multicolored pushpins indicating specific locations, presumably pointing out one clandestine activity or another.

"Admittedly, this is a low tech way of tracking my activities." Johnson began. "The upside is that the NSA or any other watchdog group can't track me electronically." Lois whistled. "Holy black helicopters, Clark!" She exclaimed, as something suddenly caught her eye along the east wall.

This entire wall showcased articles, redacted statements, and alleged photographs of flying saucers, more commonly known as UFO s. The subject matter varied within the collection of articles.

The reports of mysterious lights in the sky, alleged alien abductions, example drawings of gray, green, or blue space aliens, and unexplained disappearances of witnesses dotted the wall. Below them were early government photos of secret aircraft like the stealth fighters, and the flying wing, coupled with recent American drones, some of which hadn't been revealed to the general populace yet.

"Everyone's got to have a hobby." Clark wisecracked as he glanced at Lois. "I assure you that this is no hobby, Clark." Johnson defended. Just then, Clark scowled as he noted the centerpiece of Johnson's display. It was a photo of Kara's spacecraft! "Time to go, Smallville!" Lois urged.

Lois felt the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. This dude is a total whack a doodle, she thought sourly. This collection rivaled Chloe's Wall of Weird which later evolved into her Web of Weird. "Two hours, Mrs. Lane-Kent!" Johnson reminded them in an accusatory tone.

"Uh, Agent Johnson, what government agency did you say you worked for?" Clark questioned, forcing a calm edge into his voice. "I consider myself a type of independent watchdog contractor." Johnson replied vaguely. "I can oversee any government agency that I can find. The agencies that are most familiar to everyone are the NSA, FBI, CIA, IRS, and such, you know, the usual alphabet soup of government overreach departments."

"There are almost as many agencies out there that no one knows about." Johnson continued. "Most are benign, bureaucratic monoliths that just push paper, and ensnare everyone in red tape. My agency is simply called "Q". It basically stands for question everything. If your mother says she loves you, I say trust but verify. Unfortunately, that's how I crossed paths with Checkmate."

"Checkmate was going rogue, playing their own game." Johnson explained. "They thought themselves to be above the law. I was assigned to infiltrate and destroy them from within. The, what did you call them, Kandorians, had beaten me to the punch. They simply eliminated everyone that they could find."

Clark reddened, as he recalled how Zod and his followers had killed the Checkmate agents outright. "Who do you report to?" Lois grilled, not expecting an answer. "I report only to the President or Vice President. My classified data clearance is the highest level. I often joke that only God himself or herself has a higher clearance." Johnson shamelessly boasted.

Lois fidgeted, as the reality of whom they were dealing with set in. "Okay, Agent Johnson, if that's your real name…" She began. "It isn't." Johnson interrupted. "You can simply call me Jack for the sake of brevity." Lois rolled her eyes at Clark, who was quickly reading every article on the agent's walls.

Clark and Kara had the ability to instantly memorize anything said or written. "Fine! Jack!" Lois began again. "What kind of power does your Q agency wield?" She verbally jumped at him, sounding more like a journalist. "The ultimate power, Mrs. Lane-Kent." Jack hinted. This statement elicited a concerned stare from Clark, who had refocused his attention on Johnson.

"Knowledge." Jack said simply. "The power of truth is the ultimate power in the universe." Lois grinned. "Shouldn't your motto be the 'truth is out there'?" She taunted as Jack sneered.

"That's been done already." Johnson countered, as Clark continued to scowl. "Mrs. Lane-Kent, any other questions?" Johnson fished. "If we're getting so familiar, you can call me Lois." She remarked. "Jack, the Kennedy assassination…how many shooters were there?" Lois challenged him half seriously.

"At least three." Jack stated confidently. "Oswald was a crackpot, but he was a top of the line communist sniper. The fringe group, The Majestic Twelve, had sent back up assassins in case Oswald missed or was captured." Clark sighed. "We're getting off the track." He complained.

"The Chupacabra, does it exist, and what is it?" Lois was relentless in her questioning, as Clark glowered at her. "The Chupacabra, or goat sucker, is a mutated wolf." Jack answered without hesitation. "We suspect that it became hairless, evolving over a generation, due to the radiation present after all of the atomic bomb testing we did out west in the 1950's."

This guy is good, Lois mentally praised. "Area 51 in Nevada, UFOs, how many do we have?" She snapped quickly as Clark rolled his eyes impatiently. "The government has seventeen confirmed UFO craft. We have tried for decades to access or replicate their advanced technology with very little success." Jack responded confidently. "The visitor's craft used materials and advanced propulsion systems that currently do not exist on Earth." Clark smirked. "That actually makes sense." He commented.

A thin smile crossed Lois's lips. "Maybe we should get to the point?" Clark urged. "Agreed." Jack countered. "I have answered your questions, now it is time for you to answer mine." The mysterious agent challenged. "This entire conversation never took place." He added with authority.

"Naturally." Lois scowled as she spoke. "The Loch Ness monster!" She snapped her fingers and seemed to pull these questions out of nowhere. "Lois! Really?" Clark admonished her. "Nessie is actually a Plesiosaur that has the ability to travel inter-dimensionally, and comes to Loch Ness once every five years to spawn, like a salmon." Jack replied instinctively. "Lois! Not helping!" Clark rebuked her.

"What?" Lois flashed him her most innocent smile. "Anyway, what type of questions could we possibly answer?" Clark asked tiredly. Meanwhile, Lois's attention had been drawn towards the photograph of Kara's spaceship. She squinted, hoping to catch some detail that she hadn't noticed before.

"I can't very well ask Superman or Supergirl, as you two so colorfully describe them, any questions that aren't covered by Lois's interviews." Johnson explained. "Such as?" Lois prodded, turning her full focus back to the conversation at hand. "The questions most likely to be asked by the governments of the world would be similar to this: What are your intentions? Are there any more like you? Are you the vanguard of a forthcoming invasion force?" He gestured for them to leave his hidden room.

"I thought that I covered that." Lois defended with irritation. "Hardly." Jack remarked arrogantly. "I mean no offense, Lois, but the puff pieces you released about Superman and Supergirl simply don't fulfil the requirements." He shoved the large book back into place, and the wall panel resealed itself.

"I am offended." Lois growled as she placed her hands on her shapely hips. "Superman and Supergirl will have to face blistering questioning before the world leaders, as well as our Congress and possibly the President of the United States, and a myriad of hearing committees." Jack informed them.

Clark frowned, as he understood the eccentric agent's point. "I'm quite sure that Superman and Supergirl can handle the inquiries." He stated flatly. "Really?" Jack scoffed. "You do realize that Superman and Supergirl will have to appear before an immigration committee as well?"

"Technically, they are in America illegally." Johnson continued as Lois gasped. Clearly, they hadn't thought their 'big reveal' all the way through. "Even if they chose to reside in another country, the procedure would be the same. Do they have a home address?" Jack asked rhetorically.

"I would recommend that Superman and Supergirl stick with the United States, and claim refugee status, albeit an intergalactic refugee status, the first one ever recorded, I assume. Clearly, their home world was destroyed, and they were pursued here by those Kandorians." Jack rubbed his square jaw. "That all sounds like it would fit the definition of refugee status as we know it."

"Thank you, Agent Johnson." Clark suddenly said, startling Lois. "I think that the next time Lois and I speak to them, we'll include your recommendations." Johnson nodded curtly. "That's all I ask." He forced a thin grin onto his common looking face. "Anything else?" Lois urged, taking her cue from Clark.

"I wonder, why do you think that they're here?" Johnson fished. He'd been planning this line of inquiry for a long time. "Honey, do you want to take a crack at this one?" Lois amazingly deferred to Clark. "I think that we have to take Superman and Supergirl at their word." Clark responded diplomatically.

"They were, after all, sent here by their parents, to save them." Clark added thoughtfully. "According to Lois's interviews, the Earth was the best place that they knew of to ensure their children's survival." Johnson nodded. "Well put, Clark." He praised. Lois was starting to warm up to the odd agent.

"What kind of a mission statement would they have?" Johnson probed. "I guess, if they were here, Superman and Supergirl could say that they're here to help, and they believe in truth, justice, and the American way." Clark tried to be philosophical. Lois snickered at how easily he came up with that line.

"That's exactly what Superman and Supergirl should say when they appear before the world leaders, the President, Congress, and the various subcommittees." Johnson criticized.

Part 2 coming soon.