Once Colonel Hardy had left it seemed that Irene had lost track of time. There was no knowing how long she had been sitting in the cold interrogation room, but she did know that there wasn't much time left until Zod's 24 hours ended.

Irene shifted uncomfortably both from sittin in one place for so long and from the pain of the steel handcuffs beginning to dig deeper into her skin. The fact that she hadn't eaten the entire day seemed like the lesser of her problems at the moment.

When the door to her current prison opened she looked away from what she knew was a two-way glass window, where she was being watched. Some part of her expected it to be Colonel Hardy wanting another attempt to get her to talk, what she didn't expect was a general to enter the room.

"Good afternoon Irene." The man greeted as he approached her taking a seat, and Irene didn't miss his informality by addressing her with her name. This man was clearly going to try a very different approach than Colonel Hardy. "My name is Lieutenant General Calvin Swanwick and I hope they've been treating you fairly."

"Is that why I'm still handcuffed?" Irene questioned as she raised her handcuffed wrists, becoming increasingly irritated with every passing second. All the fear and uncertainty she felt when she first arrived at the base, but maybe that was what they wanted.

"You're right." Swanwick said as he reached into his uniform pocket revealing a set of keys. Without a word Irene held her wrists towards the general as he removed her constraints. "Forgive us."

Irene rubbed her wrist at the sight of the red marks that had been left behind by the handcuffs. She leaned back against the chair that she had been seated in for the last two hours and waited for him to speak.

"Let us not waste any time Irene. You know why you're here and you know what we want." Swanwick declared his words sharp and a slight smirk appeared on Irene's lips at the relief that he was taking a more direct approach. At the moment she was too exhausted to play any mind games, especially when this man knew exactly what he was doing. Her silence caused the general to sigh as he leaned forward. "Irene, this world has been threatened. And at the moment you are the only known person that knows the whereabouts of Kal-El. I'm not sure you understand the seriousness of this situation."

Doing her best to not feel angered by the general's words, she straightened not willing to give the general the satisfaction of seeing her as the child he undoubtedly saw her as. Because although she was young, she was no fool and her anger was what this man wanted. "Maybe you'll want to try another technique General Swanwick. You must know the belittling me will not get you anywhere."

"I admire your loyalty Miss Miranda, but I'm afraid I can't let either you or Mr. Olsen go until you give us the name and location of the alien."

"May I ask under what charges?" Irene questioned as she straightened herself meeting the general's eyes. This whole conversation was utterly pointless as she was sure that the general knew before he came into this room that Irene would not be giving them what they wanted.  "As of right now all I know is that I've been detained without the right of any representation because of the words of some gossip columnist that runs his own blog. You have no proof that I've ever come in contact with who you're looking for or that I know their location."

Swanwick was silent for a moment and although there were no clear signs of his irritation the slightly stiff set of his shoulders was enough. "I'm just trying to do what I can to protect Earth and its people. And finding the location of this Kal-El is essential, especially when we know nothing of this upcoming threat."

"And why doesn't Kal-El deserve your protection General?" Irene asked, feeling her own irritation begin to emerge. "Because he isn't human? Because I can tell you he is much more human than either you or me."

"So you're admitting that you have been in contact with the alien?"

"I've had enough of these games General. We both know I know something. And we both know I'm not going to talk. You knew that before you came into this room." She continued wanting to place all her cards on the table. Refusing to say anything wasn't getting her anywhere, and saying something wasn't an option. Even if she did tell them where Clark was, they would never be able to contain him. In fact, they would only get themselves killed in the attempt. Their only hope was for this to be Clark's choice, and that was the least he deserved.  "Whether I do know something or not you aren't going to let me walk out of this place, but I will tell you that James Olsen doesn't know anything."

Swanwick nodded as he looked in the direction of the two-way mirror before returning his attention back to Irene. "That's your final word?"

"It is."

"You're a smart woman Miss Miranda. I was hoping you would be cooperative, but like Colonel Hardy informed, your connection with the Kryptonian is strong." General Swanwick replied as he stood his expression was one that admitted made Irene feel the slightest bit uncomfortable. There was an intensity in his gaze that was unsettling in a way that she couldn't explain. "If the same is equal on his part he will come to us."

He turned away from her heading towards the door, and although his plan for getting Clark's attention should have been a cause for concern, something else about his words caught her attention.

Zod never mentioned what planet they were coming from or what kind of beings they were. Kryptonian was a term that was new to her too, as Clark had never told her where he was from. And there was no way that Swanwick could know any of this either considering he just claimed that they knew nothing of what was coming this way. 

"Kryptonian?" Irene said causing Swanwick to pause before he even reached for the door. "General for someone who claims to know nothing of this threat you seem to know exactly what you're talking about."

General Swanwick met Irene's eyes for a single moment, a look that gave away absolutely nothing. And that was his mistake.

Whether it was a simple slip on his part he should have shown even the slightest flicker of concern. Now Irene couldn't shake that belief that Swanwick knew more than he was letting on, and she also had the feeling that no one on this base knew what Swanwick knew either.

A sense of desperation was beginning to take its hold on Irene. The fact that she had no idea what was happening outside of the walls she was currently contained in was maddening. Now all she could think about was Angel and Mia, she had promised them that she would be with them today in case anything did happen.

In case Zod kept his word. And she had no doubt that her brother had to be losing his mind knowing that she was detained on a military base a couple of miles away from Smallville and even farther away from Metropolis.

The door to the interrogation room opened once again, but this time Irene felt her eyes widen at the sight of Clark Kent stepping inside. He was handcuffed and wearing a red and blue suit with a large symbol on his chest.

Seeing him takes her breath away a little.

And like before she almost seems to lose the ability to speak as she stops herself before his name falls from her lips. They were being closely watched and there was no room for mistakes. Instead Irene waited silently as he approached her from across the room.

"Irene," He said before she could speak first. There was a sadness in his eyes as he took a seat across from her placing his cuffed hands on top of the table. But in that sadness there was also a determination that was unmistakable. "I'm sorry for having placed you in this situation."

For a moment Irene felt utterly speechless, but the knowledge that they were being watched was in the back of her mind snapping her back to reality. Quickly regaining her composure Irene shook her head in response. "I think we both know my being here is entirely my fault."

A slight smile touched Clark's lips as he seemed to take a moment to study her. "I have to say this isn't exactly how I imagined seeing you again."

"What are you doing here?" Irene found herself saying not able to think of anything else now. She had to admit that a part of her wished that he would have decided to remain silent, even though he was their only hope. "Why are you surrendering to Zod?"

"I'm surrendering to mankind, there's a difference."

Irene bit her lip considering his words and finding no comfort in them. She wondered if mankind was worth saving considering how cruel people tended to be to one another. But he was doing the right thing just like she knew he would. He had to be admired for that.

"You let them handcuff you?"

"Wouldn't be much of a surrender if I resisted. And if it makes them feel more secure, then... then all the better for it."

Irene finally took a moment to take in the red and blue suit that Clark was in. There was something about it that caused a small smile to tug at her lips because of how well the suit seemed to fit him. Not physically, but in the way that it made him resemble a hero from a Saturday morning cartoon. "What does the 'S' stand for?"

Clark returned her smile as he looked down at the symbol on his chest before locking his blue eyes with hers. "It's not an 'S'. On my world it means hope."

"Well, here it's an 'S'." Irene replied, finding an irony in the meaning of the symbol. In many ways Clark Kent did represent hope, because at the moment he was the only one who could prevent Zod's threat.

"Irene..."

At that moment he interrupted by the sound of a microphone being turned on, a sound that caused Clark and Irene to look towards the two-way mirror.

"Uh, sir. Hi." A nervous voice suddenly came through the speakers above their heads. "Uh, my name is Dr..."

"Emil Hamilton, I know." Clark stated in a serious tone, very different from the one he was using with Irene only a few moments ago. His voice didn't have the same warmth as before, now it seemed that he was about to complete some kind of business deal. "I can see your ID tag in your breast pocket, along with a half eaten roll of Wint-O-Green Life Savers. I can also see the squad of soldiers in the next room, preparing that tranquillizing agent of yours. You won't need it."

Although Irene couldn't see through the two-way mirror in the way that Clark could, she could imagine the picture that he was describing. Of course they would be prepared to neutralize Clark if they had to, they believed him to be an enemy too.

"Sir, you...you can't expect us to not take precautions." Dr. Hamilton replied, his voice still shaky, undoubtedly intimidated by Clark. "You could be carrying some kind of alien pathogen."

"I've been here for thirty years, doctor, haven't infected anyone yet."

"That you know of." Swanwick's voice replaced the doctor's in a very forward way. Unlike Dr. Hamilton, he didn't sound intimidated by the mystery and strength that Clark represented and Irene wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that he knew more than her was letting on. "We have legitimate security concerns. Now, you've revealed your identity to Miss Miranda over there. Why don't you do the same with us?"

A sigh escaped Clark's lips as he looked at Irene with almost an apologetic look before he turned his attention back to the men who were observing them. "Let's put our cards on the table, General."

Clark rose, easily breaking his handcuffs as he pulled his hands apart, the metal falling on the concrete floor loudly. Although Irene was sure he wouldn't hurt anybody there was something intimidating about the way he approached the two-way mirror. That intimidation only stemmed from the fact that he was incredibly powerful and could destroy this whole base and it's people with little effort.

There was still so much that Irene didn't know about the abilities that Clark Kent possessed, and considering the fact that the others knew nothing meant that they had to be much more intimidated than she was.

"You're scared of me because you can't control me." Clark stated firmly as he stopped a foot away from the mirror. "You don't, and you never will, but that doesn't mean I'm your enemy."

"Then who is? Zod?" Swanwick questioned, his voice skeptical. And Irene had a feeling that no matter what Clark did he would never be able to gain the General's trust.

"That's what I'm worried about."

"Be that as it may, I've been given orders to hand you over to him."

Clark was silent for a single moment that felt like an eternity. "Do what you have to do, General."

It was the answer that Irene expected, but that didn't mean that it felt wrong. It felt like Clark Kent deserved so much more than an unknown fate at the hands of Zod, whose intentions were entirely unknown. He claimed that he came from the same planet as Clark, but there was a cruelty in his voice and in his words that suggested that his intentions were not good.

Whether Clark surrendered or not it still felt like they were still in danger.

A/N: Did you all miss Clark? I know I definitely have. These two have hardly spoken and I already love them together so much. Act one is almost coming to an end, but there is so much upcoming action in these last couple of chapters that I am very excited. My hope is that you have all gotten to know Irene pretty well these last couple of chapters and that you love her as much as I do. I really want Irene to feel like a very relatable and real character which is why I went with this very slow burn. More coming soon.