"Coming through! Coming through! Make a hole! Move it or lose it, people!"

Much taken aback by the rudeness of it all, Captain Fugimoto watched the lovely dark haired gaijin woman elbow her way to the forefront of the considerable crowd surrounding him. Taking a deep breath, she smoothed her rumpled skirt, then thrust the microphone of a small tape recorder under his nose. A Sony, he noted with approval.

"Lois Dean, Metropolis Star," she identified herself briskly. "What the hell happened out there, Captain Fugimoto? Can we get a statement?"

Fugimoto blinked, then bowed respectfully. "Ah, Miss Dean! Permit me to inquire what it is that brings an award winning investigative reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper like the Daily Star to Japan?"

A charming smile was the seaman's answer. "Why, Captain, Tokyo is hardly the ends of the earth. And Godzilla is always news. That was Godzilla, am I right?"

To the east, firefighters valiantly fought the irradiated blaze left in the wake of the irascible monster. Fugimoto inclined his head slightly in acknowledgment. "And you just happened to be on the scene..." he murmured.

"I'm lucky that way," Lois Dean, covert S.H.I.E.L.D. agent agreed, turning up the candlepower of her smile. Investigative reporter made a dandy cover in her line of work. And right now, that work included discovering the source of all these recent strange maritime sightings and "accidents". Japan, if the truth were known, was far from the only nation whose ships had suffered recent depredations from this mysterious force. Norwegian mienke whale hunting had ground to a virtual halt in the last six months or so. The seas were becoming a downright dangerous place to misbehave. And it was her job to discover why.

With a deep sigh, Hiro Fugimoto marshaled his chaotic thoughts and tried to explain.

The End!