Irene never thought she would find herself back in Canada, especially not in such a small town that was hidden away high in the mountains. She was tempted to go back to the army base and talk to the cargo worker, Jed Eubanks, again but she knew it would be a pointless trip.

Eubanks had already told Irene and Lois everything he knew about the mystery man which really was nothing. All he had was a fake name, Joe Shuster, and it was clear that his purpose for working at Arctic Cargo was to get closer to the army base. Get closer to the ship that he ultimately disappeared in. Though it seemed that he wasn't too far from the base to begin with as a mysterious accident with a truck going though two power lines in a town not far from Ellesmere could point that he was he worked at the town's truck stop.

The run down bar was mostly empty except for a group of four truck drivers getting an early start on their drinking. Ignoring their curious stares Irene headed directly to the bar where a young woman was whipping down the counter. According to moat of the people in town Chrissy Collins was the waitress that was working the night of the incident. Whether she knew anything important was a mystery, but she had worked with Jerry Siegel who Irene was sure was another name that the man went by. He disappeared the night of the mysterious accident and that was all Irene needed to at least investigate what had happened. "Chrissy Collins?"

The young waitress stopped whipping down the bar to meet Irene's eyes with a perfectly practiced smile. She seemed incredibly tired and from the look of the place Irene couldn't blame the young woman for looking miserable through her smile. "How can I help hun?"

"My name is Irene Miranda, I'm from the Daily Planet. I wanted to ask about a past coworker of yours, Jerry Siegel? I understand he worked here a couple of weeks ago and then mysteriously disappeared." Irene said knowing that it was best to immediately get to the point, this was a woman who seemed incredibly forward in the way she spoke. Not to mention that she already had her hands full having to manage the bar on her own even if it was still too early for a rush.

Concern immediately rushed into the woman eyes as she now gave Irene her full attention. "Jerry? He hasn't gotten himself into any trouble has he?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Though I'm more curious about the accident on the night he disappeared. About the truck that was found between two power lines outside the bar. I was hoping you could give me some insight about what happened that night."

"Didn't know a big paper like the Daily Planet covered stories like this." Chrissy Collins questioned suspiciously, because it was true. The Daily Planet would probably pass a story like this, it simply wouldn't be worth sending a reporter all the way to Canada to cover a story that most readers would honestly skip.

Irene smiled and nodded in understanding as she took a seat on one of the stools as an attempt to seem more casual. "It's like my boss always says 'no story is too small' and neither is this one."

That much was at least true. Perry tended to use that line on Irene whenever she argued against another meaningless fluff piece that she was assigned. It was a line that greatly annoyed Irene but at least this time it seemed to cause Collins to relax and open herself up to answering her questions.

"The semi was Ludlow's, one of our regulars, he had one too many beers that night Jerry had to intervene." The waitress began to explain in a slightly bored town making it perfectly clear that she believed that this whole conversation was pointless. Irene felt unsatisfied with both the story and the woman's tone as she expected too much from this conversation. "But Ludlow's a jackass, poured his beer all over Jerry. He's such a sweetheart he didn't do a thing just walked away. But Jerry was gone before the incident happened so I don't see the connection."

Looking around the room and knowing the amount of people that came through here it was easy to understand why the man that saved her life found it an ideal place to hide away. "And there weren't any security cameras that captured the event?"

"Honey, this isn't a big city like Metropolis. We don't have traffic cameras at every corner." The waitress pointed out truly seeming amused by the idea of this small town being anything like a large city. Irene had never really noticed that difference between people from the city and people from a small town but that difference was suddenly very clear. "Though now that I think of it. It is odd that Jerry disappeared after the incident. Though people come and go around here all the time."

"Of course. Thank you for your time." Irene said finding it best to end the conversation here then have her continue to question or make connections. Oddly Irene felt as though she needed to continue to protect the man's identity until she knew more about him. If he had been so careful to use multiple different identities to keep his secret there had to be so much more that she didn't understand about him.

The lack of information that she got during her return to Canada wasn't going to discourage her, she still had more small town mysteries to investigate and she was sure one of them would lead her to the man that saved her life. Her next story brought her to Alaska which didn't offer much insight on where the mystery man who went by many names could be. But she did know that he was here at some point and all she had to do was follow the bread crumbs no matter how small they were.

The fisherman although they gave some insight about the events it wasn't something that she could ever use in a credible story. They spoke of urban legends and attributed the incident to a story of an Aquaman from the lost city of Atlantis. She would never gain any credibility using children's tales in her story, but the accounts of the oil rig workers that were rescued and the coast guards all she needed as evidence that he was in fact here.

His pattern was unmistakable and to Irene he was doing a terrible job at covering his tracks even if no one else had picked up on the very clear pattern. A pattern that she was able to unravel but seemed to have hit a dead end. Her last hope was in a small town in Kansas called Smallville and if she found nothing the last couple of days had been for nothing.

And Irene really didn't want to accept that failure.

Having lived in the large city her entire life a small town like Smallville felt like a surreal place, like something out of a film. It almost felt like stepping into a bubble and after days of visiting one small town to another Irene deeply missed the frantic lifestyle of Metropolis.

There was something about Smallville that felt comforting through Irene was honestly beginning to doubt if this town was really worth visiting. This was the last of solid lead that she had and it was difficult to believe that someone with such amazing abilities could have been raised in such a forgettable place in the middle of Kansas.

As Irene stopped in front of a recently built IHOP that frankly didn't seem like it belonged in Smallville she tried to gather her thoughts. Her last lead her here to where Pete Ross was currently working as a manager to this IHOP. On a police report his mother Helen Ross reported that her son witnessed a boy from his class pull a school bus out of a river. It was quickly written off as the imagination of a scared young boy but Irene's instinct told her there was more to the story.

Entering the restaurant Irene headed to the podium where a man was giving a teenage waitress instructions, although she couldn't see his name tag the fact that he wasn't in a traditional uniform meant he was the manager. "Hello, are you Pete Ross?"

"Yes ma'am. How can I help you?" The man questioned, offering her a welcoming smile. He was already picking up one of the menus from behind the podium expecting her to be a customer. Possibly someone stopping by for a meal before heading back on the road, Smallville didn't seem like a town that often had many new visitors.

"My name is Irene Miranda," She introduced as she shook the man's hand who already was beginning to look uncomfortable. Whether it was because he suspected her reason for coming here or something else, Irene couldn't be sure. But his initial reaction gave her everything she needed to know about how she should approach questioning him. "I'm from the Daily Planet. Mr. Ross I'd like to talk to you about an accident that occurred when you were younger, a school bus that went in to the river?"

He nervously looked down at the menu in his hands, his grip visibly tightening around it. Ross was more nervous than Irene expected and maybe he was going to be more difficult to crack, but this only encouraged Irene. It meant that he was really hiding something big if it caused him to be so on edge. "That was a very long time ago."

Quickly changing her strategy Irene let herself relax to seem more conversational than interrogatory. "Yes, but if I could only steal a moment of your time I would like to know more about the incident."

Slowly putting the menu down Pete Ross seemed more conflicted and unsure than anyone Irene had every spoken to before. Irene let allowed him a moment to collect his thoughts which truthfully felt like the longest moment of her life until he finally met her eyes again and nodded.

"Karly can you take over?" He asked the young hostess who was cleaning menus in the corner, the girl shyly nodded before Ross motioned her towards the dinning floor. "Follow me."

Leading her to an empty booth in the corner of the restaurant they both took a seat and although Irene was tempted to bring out her notebook she knew it would only make the man more nervous than he already was. Leaning back against the padded booth cushions she offered Pete Ross an encouraging smile as she thought through what her opening question should be.

"Mr. Ross in your local paper the event is described as a miracle. They said that the bus miraculously found itself on land after having gone in the river." She explained although she was well aware that he knew every detail of what was written in the papers, her only intention was to slowly ease him into the conversation. It could not be easy for this man to speak of an event like this after so many years, especially if he really witnessed what he claimed. "However, in a report made by your mother she states that you saw a young boy from your class push the bus out of the river. Do you still stand by your claim?"

As expected the man seemed overwhelmed by her words, but something about his body language told Irene that this seemed to be something that Pete Ross needed to lift off his shoulders. In a way she understood how he felt having witnessed a man do something that seemed impossible too, the need to talk about what happened was overwhelming. But that also came with the fear of people not believing your story. That was why she needed to know more and not rely on legends and superstitions.

After a moment he nodded as he looked down at his hands. "Yes. He pushed the bus out of the water. He saved my life."

It was clear that he wasn't going to go into detail, that it was an event that he chose not to speak about by choice. At first Irene thought it was to avoid ridicule or being labeled as the town freak, but as she studied him now it was clear that wasn't the case. Pete Ross chose not to speak of the event to protect the boy who saved his life. "One thing that was missing from the report was his name. You chose to keep his identity a secret. Why?"

"He saved my life." Ross repeated as he finally looked up to meet Irene's eyes with a look of determination that seemed uncharacteristic for the man she had so far known. Irene couldn't help bu feel satisfied that she seemed to be asking all the right questions.

"Who is he? What's his name?" Irene questioned finally asking the question that she had spent the last couple of days trying to answer. There was nothing more she wanted in this moment than the name of the man who had saved her life, only that Pete Ross didn't seem willing to share the secret he had been keeping for over ten years.  It was an act he did out of gratitude, an experience that they both shared. "I understand. He saved my life too."

Irene could practically feel the shift in Pete Ross, the hesitation he felt breaking away. She knew she said the right words to gain his trust and now he was studying her the same way she had been studying him this whole time. He had to see her sincerity as Irene visibly watched a his hesitation melted away. "Clark Kent."

"Clark." Irene said softly mostly to herself as she almost tested his name. She couldn't explain it but she knew that it was him, Clark Kent there was something about the name that simply felt right. "Do you know if he still lives in Smallville?"

Pete Ross shifted uncomfortably in his seat clearly unsure of whether he should continue, but he had to know that it would be pointless to deny her this information now. He had already said too much. "No. I don't think so but his mother, Martha Kent, she still lives down at Kent Farm."

It wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear but it was enough. It was another step closer to getting the answers she longed for and if anyone could tell her more about Clark Kent it was his mother. Even if she didn't get to speak with Clark Kent his mother had a story of her own. Irene's mind was already swimming with questions that she could ask the woman who raised that man with incredible abilities that seemed to have subjected himself to a life of loneliness and being in hiding. "Thank you for your time Mr. Ross."

Shaking the man's hand she stood and headed towards the exit already eager to continue her investigation her veins already buzzing with adrenaline.

"You know I used to bully him. He never fought back, against anybody."  Ross suddenly called out causing Irene to stop and turn back towards the man who she surprisingly understood. Again there was that look of determination in his eyes, but there was also regret. Regret for having bullied the boy who saved his life and it was now more clear than ever why he chose to keep Clark's identity a secret. "And he still saved my life."

To Irene it was difficult to imagine a man like Clark Kent being bullied, with his abilities he should be the bully. The one who caused others to fear him. What wasn't difficult to imagine from all the accounts and stories she had gathered over the last couple of days was his kindness. His ability to help those who hurt him wasn't something that was difficult to imagine.

Irene was now so close. She felt how close she was to finding him and she had never experienced something so exhilarating in her life.

She was going to find Clark Kent and she was sure that it would change her life.

A/N: A bit of a filler chapter but one that serves to showcase Irene's investigative skills. A large part of her character is her career so I felt that it was important to show and not tell that she really is good at her job. Next chapter is a big one and one that I really am excited for. Hope you're all enjoying!