AN: Sorry for the delay, but I just got a new job, and I'm having some family crisis at the moment, so my schedule is gonna be a little out of whack for the time being! But don't worry I have big plans for this fic, I mean why else would there be so many crossovers! Lol! So delays are gonna be around just till I get settled down, with juggling my job and school work, and my family (lol) and it should all be ok! Oh and there's an amendment. This will be set after season 5 of Charmed, rather than episode 2 season 6!

So anyway on with part 2…

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Part 2: Hitchhikers are not what they seem…

"So Alex how much longer is this drive gonna take? I mean we've been at it for 5 days already, and I didn't think it would take that long to go from Smallville to San Francisco!" River complained to her companion. To be quite frank she hated travel, and it made her feel ill and irritable.

*Which when you think about it is kinda ironic, I mean to get to Earth you must have travelled billions of miles to get here!*

"Oh shut up!"

"Uh River… I didn't say a word." Alex stared at the younger girl. "But hey if you rather I didn't talk, then sure I wont. Gets kinda quite though. Then again I'm not used to the peace, Maria can chat anyone's ear off, and still keep going."

"Sorry I didn't mean you Alex. Its just… my mind is going a mile a minute at the moment. So many possibilities are out there, and I'm going to meet my family, my real family."

"And that isn't with the Kent's then? Having a real family I mean." River risked a quick glance at Alex while she continued to drive.

"Well of course there my family Alex. They brought me up, taught me every thing that I ever needed to know. But in all honesty I felt… second best. Clark was the fasted, the strongest, the one whole could help at home, the one that stood out and noticed without trying. I always felt like I blended into the background. And I hated that." River gave a small shrug. "Doesn't mean I loved Clark any less though. It wasn't really his fault, his heart is so big and caring you can't help but favour him. And throughout it all he protects his family with every breath that he takes. Shame he can't get out of his 'woo is me phase' and just get the girl. He keeps pushing her away."

"Sounds a bit like Max. He was always noticed without wanting to be noticed, always thinking of others, trying to protect those he loves. He also had that phase where he pushed away the girl, but it didn't last long… course the girl had nearly two years of pushing the boy away, but that's a story for another day." Alex gave a slight grin. "I just wish they knew the truth about so much."

"Truth about what Alex?"

"Can't say – sworn to secrecy, but all will be revealed in due time." River nodded slightly. Alex closed his eyes for a moment.

"Tired? Do you get tired? I mean you are technically dead."

"Yes I can get tired, but no I'm sensing something coming towards us. Just can't tell if its friend or foe. Just a hell of a lot of power." Alex raised his hand to signal her to be quiet.

"Shall I pull over?"

"No, drive for another mile then stop. I think whatever it is I can sense will be up in that direction." River followed his instructions. They drove for a few minutes in silence, before in the distance; River could make out a figure.

"Stop now?"

"Yea I would say so… but whoever that is up there has a lot of power, with some strange aura surrounding them." River slowed the car to a stop and rolled down the window. Looking out she could make out that the figure was a boy of about 19 years of age, with floppy brown hair and a medium built. He did, however, have on a pair of sunglasses, blocking the view of his eyes.

"Are you ok?" River called out.

*Yea go asking if he's OK, and then find out he's a sociopath who kills unsuspecting drivers who stop to ask if he's ok!*

'Migod do you ever shut up?' She mentally stuck her tongue out at herself.

"Uh… no. I need to get to L.A. fast, but I just got kicked of the bus for fight some vamp…uh… grannies, and the bus driver wasn't too pleased."

"I would say so too! Were they killing for the seat of something?" River shook her head at the boy. "You must be insane!" Alex called over Rivers shoulders.

"Excuse my friend she's still naïve in the ways of the underworld. So vampires huh? Didn't think you would get them in this neck of the woods… oh bad pun…. get it neck… wood, as in stake…" Both River and the boy just stared at Alex un-amused. "Tough crowd!"

"So your telling me vampires are real now Alex. That is totally ridiculous." River laughed at her companion, expect he wasn't laugh back. The boy interrupted.

"There real, but if that was the worst problem in the world, then it would be a god send. Unfortunately its when you run into hell gods and the old ones that you get a problem."

"Or Alien bitches that use you to unscramble a centuries old code, destroys your brain, kills you, gets knocked up by an alien king, returns home to find that her child isn't the heir, comes back to Earth, hands her child over to the father, and sacrifices herself to save others and redeem herself." Both River and the boy just looked at Alex with their jaws hitting the floor.

"What?"

*****************************************

A few hours later the two of them, plus their "granny beating" hitchhiker, where on the road again towards California. By this time the boy had taken over the driving to allow River to rest.

"So… uh never did tell us your name." River inquired to her new friend. She had learnt that he fought demons and the like, and that his memories had been altered, but bit-by-bit they were returning.

"Connor."

"Got a last name?"

"I… I don't remember." Connor gave a small scowl. "When they changed my memories, they took so much of my life away that I can only remember bits and pieces. When I find the bastard that took away my life… who I was, I'm going to wish they were dead, or something to that effect."

"I wish I could help. I… I never knew my real family, but those who I grew up with were pretty great." River gave a small shrug. "Would be nice to know why I wasn't with my father all this time… in fact it would be nice to know something about my mother too." River turned around and looked at Alex.

"Sorry I don't have any information about your mother… I'm kinda hoping it isn't that gerbil, but if it is, I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"That would help if it wasn't her. I can't believe what she did to you and my family!" River paused for a moment and turned back round in her seat. "So do you remember anything about your mom and dad Connor?"

"I… no not really. I remember a lot of fire… pain… destruction. I know that it sounds crazy that I want to remember all of that, but…" Connor trailed off for a moment.

"You don't want to live a lie do you?" River stated.

"Exactly. I'd rather want to know what I have done, so I can change who I am the right way, rather that let some… magic… dictate who I am. I kinda think I didn't like magic before." River just nodded. Alex decided to interrupt.

"So when… when did you start to remember who you were?"

"A few months ago… I was having dreams, visions, and stuff like that. They were so real that I thought I was going insane. Then one night I was out late with my girlfriend when these things corned us. But unlike Stacey, who ran away, I stayed and fought, and instead of being really crap, I was good. Like the whole fighting this was an inbuilt mechanism within me! I knew then that all the things I thought I had been imagining where real, and in fact the life I was currently living was the lie."

"Wow… and you were ok with that?" River asked, but just by glancing at Connor she could tell that he wasn't.

"No. I got angry with my parents, asked them what they had done to me, why I was there, why my life was a lie. Of course they didn't have a clue about what I was talking about – there memories had been changed just like mine, expect my brain works differently to most humans, which is why, or at least that is why I think, the spell only has a certain effect on me."

"Well we will figure out what happened to you Connor. Coz I think there must be another reason we picked you up. The powers that be are kinda funny like that." Alex leant forwards and told him.

"Yea I find that is true with most of my life." River put in.

"Anyway its getting late so maybe we should pull in somewhere for the night, and I'm starving!"

"Uh… Alex your dead!" River gave him a confused glance.

"Oh I know… but how do I miss food… and I'm sure if I had done it I would miss sex too… oh well!" Alex laughed, and after a moment River joined in. Connor just raised an eyebrow in response, and began to pull over to stop for the night.