A/N All right ladies and jellybeans, the moment you've really been waiting for... SAM'S RETURN! :o)

Crusade – Fortieth Chapter
Sam stared at the map, his heart pounding in his chest. Rain poured down around the Impala and every now and again lightning flashed or thunder crashed.

"And you're absolutely sure –" Dean said for the fiftieth time.

"Dean, I'm absolutely one hundred percent sure," Sam sighed. "Jason is going to be in Smallville, and even if he did run away, he still deserves to know that his father's dead."

Sam didn't have to look at his brother to see the scowl on his face. What he didn't see, though, was the scowl morphing into a smile.

"Are you sure the real reason we're not going to Smallville isn't-"

"No," Sam cut him off sharply. "It's not."

"Denial's not just a river in Egypt, Sammy," Dean said, serious again.

Sam didn't say anything and they drove on in silence.

"It's been almost a year, Dean," Sam said suddenly. "And there was never really anything there in the first place."

Dean just shook his head. Ironically, the moment he took his eyes off the road, a bolt of lightning struck right next to them.

Sam grabbed the steering wheel reflexively, spinning it towards himself. The car spun off the road and crashed through the trees, miraculously not hitting any.

Dean slammed down the brakes, hard, and they finally came to a stop.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit," Dean continued to swear under his breath as he got out of the car to check over his precious baby.

Sam sighed and got out of the car too. If he knew Dean, they'd be here for hours.

He looked around, seeing trees on three sides of him and a clearing on the other.

He walked forward into the clearing and froze on its edge.

The clearing was full of little spot fires. As he watched, orange energy crackled between them, making random patterns before it all fizzed out. He could vaguely see something lying in the middle. But none of that was what froze him to the spot.

This was the same clearing he'd met Rory in.

Sam stared around in shock. It was the same shape and size, a perfect replica. But he hadn't thought they were this close to Smallville.

The bundle in the middle of the clearing stirred. His gaze was drawn back to it as the shape revealed itself to be a person, clearly a woman – and she was naked.

Sam ran back to the car, opening the boot of the car and pulling out a shirt of his and a pair of jeans.

"Sammy! I think I found a scratch!"

"Great, Dean," Sam called back. "Just, just, keep concentrating on the car. Please."

He jogged over to the girl. Now that he was closer, he could see that her hair was long, thick and golden. Almost like Rory's, but much longer.

Sam put a hand on her shoulder, saying, "Hey, here are some-"

The girl turned to face him.

Sam stared at her in shock. The bolt of lightning, seeing the clearing, seeing a naked woman, all of that was nothing compared to seeing her face now.

It was Rory.

But she looked at him as if she didn't know him. Theories whirled through his head – maybe she'd forgotten the dream? Maybe she'd just forgotten him. Maybe she knew who he was but didn't care.

"Rory?" he whispered, reaching for her face. He brushed his fingers over her cheek and she didn't move or flinch or react at all; she only stared at him with unknowing eyes.

Remembering abruptly that she was naked, he flushed and made sure to concentrate on her face as he stammered uncomfortably, "Uh, put these on."

Sam tried to hand her the shirt and jeans, but she stared at them as though she didn't know what they were as well.

Sam sighed and turned her so her back was to him. "Hold your arms up, um, please?" he asked.

She lifted her arms up obediently and he pulled the shirt over her head. He looked at the jeans, then back at her, and said pleadingly, "Please don't make me put these on you too."

Rory looked down at herself and back up at him. Sam chanced a glance down too, and exhaled in relief when he realised his shirt was more like a dress on her.

A very very short dress, but it covered her up.

"Who are you?" she asked in a child-like voice.

"I'm Sam Winchester," Sam answered. "Come with me?"

She slipped her hand into his and smiled a smile that made his stomach do back-flips. "Okay," she said innocently.

Sam led her over to the Impala. "Dean?" he called.

"What, Sammy?" Dean grumbled. "She's got scratches all over here! And I found a dint! A DINT, Sammy, a DINT!"

"And I found a naked girl lying in the middle of the clearing," Sam said testily. "And what do you know, it's Rory."

Dean looked up in shock. "What?"

Sam pulled Rory forward to show Dean. Rory stared at him wordlessly and he stared back in surprise.

"This is Rory?" Dean asked.

"Yes, this is Rory," Sam responded.

Dean stood slowly as he looked her up and down. Suddenly, he grinned. "Well, Sammy, I didn't think you had it in ya."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked cautiously.

"And I can also see why you haven't stopped thinking about her for the past year," Dean ignored his comment. "But she's way out of your league, Sammy."

Sam scowled at him and changed the subject. "She doesn't seem to remember me, or anything for that matter. I think she's got amnesia."

"Doesn't she have a brother or something?" Dean pointed out. "If she hasn't got amnesia, she'll remember him, right?"

Sam looked at her. "Do you remember Clark, Rory?"

Rory looked back at him uncomprehendingly.

"I guess not," he sighed. "Amnesia, then."

"I must find Kal-El," Rory said, clear and fast.

Sam and Dean looked at each other. "Who's Kal-El?" Dean asked.

"No idea," Sam said, staring at Rory. "Listen, Dean. I can't remember how to get to her house, so how about we just take her to the hospital?"

"They're gonna ask questions, Sammy," Dean argued. "It's a small town, and they've never seen or heard of you or me before. If we turn up and we know who she is, but she doesn't-"

"All right," Sam sighed. "We'll tell the people that she's got amnesia and we found her. Then they can take her and we'll find a hotel to stay in til Jason arrives."

Dean nodded and, opening his door, got in the car.

Smallville Medical Centre
Sam steered Rory through the corridors of the centre, fighting the urge to punch all the men that looked at her.

"Look," Dean pointed. "A reception... counter... thingy. Let's go."

They went up to the orderly behind the counter.

"Excuse me," Dean got his attention, smiling hugely. "We found this girl, uh, in a clearing in the middle of nowhere, right. And she can't remember who she is. So we thought we'd hand her over to you."

The orderly laughed humourlessly. "Another one, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"Some chick brought in a guy she found in the middle of nowhere just five minutes ago," the orderly told them, smiling at some private joke. "He couldn't remember anything either."

"Great," Dean said, grinning. "You can bunk them together."

The orderly shook his head. "Like I told her, you have to stay with her until we find someone who can ID her. Hospital policy."

Dean looked at Sam with a frustrated expression. Sam shrugged and said to the orderly, "Two things."

The orderly nodded and Sam went on, "First, where is this other guy and the girl who brought him in, and secondly..." he looked at Rory. "Can we get her some clothes?"

"In here," the orderly said in a bored voice. "Have a nice night."

Dean looked inside the room. There were two people inside. One was a beautiful woman with long, light brown hair and a good body. The other was a guy with no expression. He had dark hair and would be tall if he stood up.

The girl turned when he stepped inside. "Who the hell are you?" she asked, before hope lit up her face. "Do you know him?" she pointed to the guy.

"Sorry, no," Dean shook his head. "I'm Dean Winchester."

The man's head snapped up suddenly. Sam steered Rory into the room, Sam not noticing him.

Rory however saw him instantly and her face lit up, becoming absorbed as though she was holding an unheard conversation.

"And who are these two?" the girl asked.

"I'm Sam Winchester," Sam said. "Who are you?"

"Lois Lane," the girl said, nodding at them. "Who's your girlfriend?"

"We don't know," Dean covered quickly. "Amnesia, just like your friend," he nodded at the man.

Sam looked at him and did a double take. "What the-"

"Sam, what?" Dean asked.

"Uh, Lois, I gotta talk to my brother for a sec. Do you mind-?" Sam gestured to Rory and her new friend. They sat next to one another on the bed, their heads bent together as though they were sharing a secret.

"Not at all," Lois replied.

Sam pulled Dean outside and they quickly walked just out of earshot of anyone around them.

"All right, Sammy, spit it out," Dean prompted him.

"That guy is Clark Kent," Sammy told him.

"So they're the Kent children," Dean realised. "Wow."

"And I think he might also be this Kal-El she's looking for," Sam continued. "Did you see the way her face lit up?"

"Yeah, I did," Dean said. "But-"

Whatever else he'd wanted to say was interrupted by the topics of their conversation walking past them.

"Hey!" Lois called, running after them. "Where do you think you're going?"

"What happened?" Sam asked, falling into step with her.

"They just took off," Lois told him. "I tried to stop them, but damn that guy is strong!"

"He hurt you?"

"No, he lifted me up and moved me out of the way," Lois clarified.

Sam whistled in disbelief. Of course, he was faking. He knew about the twins and their powers, after all.

Sam ran faster, finally managing to put himself in front of them. He was surprised to realise he was taller than Clark – but that was irrelevant right now.

"Whoa," he said, putting his hands out. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Clark, Rory, Clark, Rory!" a voice screamed happily from behind them. "Clark!"

Sam looked over their heads to see a red headed woman running towards them. Martha Kent.

She reached them and spun Rory around to face her. Clark turned when his sister did and Martha hugged Rory tightly, crying, "It is you! Oh god, I thought I'd lost you both forever!"

She hugged Clark and then Rory again, as though she couldn't decide which one she wanted to hug more.

Dean and Lois caught up to them and Dean asked, "Sam?"

"Who are you?" Rory asked Martha robotically.

Martha looked taken aback. "It's me, sweetie. Your Mom."

"Don't take it personally," Lois told her.

"Yeah, they don't even remember their own names," Sam said quickly.

"Lois Lane," Lois said, holding out her hand. Martha took it and they shook quickly. "I found him lying in a field near Route 31."

"Yeah, and we found her just outside town," Dean explained.

"Thank you so much for helping them," Martha smiled gratefully.

"I guess I'm just a sucker for stray dogs and naked guys," Lois smiled back.

The other three just stared at her. Dean tried desperately to hold back his laughter. Clark and Rory completely ignored everybody else.

"Okay, that did not come out right," Lois laughed, embarrassed. "It's been a long night and I am nicotine deprived."

Martha smiled again and looked back at her children. "Come on, guys. I need to get you home."

"We are waiting for the sign," Clark said tonelessly.

"I think you should have a doctor look at them or something," Lois said helpfully.

"Lois? I'm so thankful for your help, but this is a family matter," Martha hinted.

"Okay," Lois backed away a little. "Here's me, backing away."

She walked off, but Sam and Dean remained behind.

"Um, thank you two as well," Martha said to the brothers. "But-"

"Martha Kent," Sam said quickly. "Why doesn't Rory remember me?"

Martha froze in shock. "How- how did you-?"

"If it helps," Sam said hesitantly, "I'm Sam Winchester."

Dean didn't think it was possible for Martha to look more shocked. But now she did.

"This is my brother, Dean Winchester," Sam went on, trying to fill the silence.

"I think you two had better come with us," Martha told them, glancing around nervously. "Come on, Clark, Rory."

They didn't move and Dean said, "Hey, kids. We can help you find the sign. But you gotta come with, okay?" He walked towards the elevator a little and they followed him. "Okay."

Martha stared at Sam, who was rather disconcerted by the intensity of her gaze. "What?" he asked.

"She used to dream about you, you know," Martha said, almost dreamily. "They scared her to death."

Sam flinched and didn't reply, instead following Dean.

The Loft
Sam looked around the loft. Last time he had been here, it had been with a completely different Clark and Rory.

"What happened to Sara?" he asked Martha.

"She recovered," Martha replied. "Moved away using her parents' money. Clark and Rory still talk to her via email sometimes."

Sam nodded and continued to wander around, much like Clark and Rory were.

"What is this place?" Clark asked monotonously.

"Your dad calls it your fortress of solitude," Martha said with a wistful smile. "You come here to think, read and look at the stars."

"This is not our Fortress," Rory announced. "Our Fortress will be beautiful, and much more like home."

"This is your home," Martha said firmly.

"What's she talking about?" Dean asked Sam.

"I don't know," he whispered. Raising his voice, he addressed Martha, "Mrs. Kent, what did Rory tell you about me?"

"She said you were a good person," Martha replied, watching her children with worried eyes. "She said you were a good friend."

"Then why did she have nightmares about me?" he asked, feeling guilty.

"Because it wasn't really you," Martha said with a small smile. "Rory told me that the worst part was always that she met you in a dream, and it was as if her subconsciousness was trying to contact you, only it was always just a 2D facsimile."

This only raised more questions for Sam, but he knew it would be best if he got the answers from Rory herself.

"Who are these people?" Rory asked, holding a photograph.

Sam came over to her and saw three girls, laughing together. One was Rory, one he vaguely recognised as Chloe, and the other...

The other, he had seen in his vision of Jason in Smallville. He'd recognised her then, but couldn't remember who she was or where he had seen her.

Of course, at that point in the dream, he'd been concentrating all of his attention on Rory.

"They are people who love you," Martha said softly, standing on Rory's other side.

Rory put it down dispassionately and picked up another photo. It showed Jonathan Kent, her father.

"We remember this man," she said emotionlessly.

"Good," Martha smiled. "That's your father. You must be starting to remember."

"He is not our father," Clark said darkly from just behind them. "He tried to prevent us being reborn."

"No, Clark," Martha said, upset. "He loves you both very much. He tried to save you from Jor-El."

A sudden wind flared up, blowing through the loft. Rory stared at Martha threateningly.

"Either way, he's dead," she said, anger running deep in her voice.

She dropped the picture and walked out, Clark falling into step with her.

Sam followed instinctively before stopping at the stairs. Pain stabbed at his temples and he groaned.

"Sa-?" he dimly heard Dean ask before pictures obscured his vision.

Rory stood in a dark place that looked like a cemetery. Blue energy crackled from her and then the vision changed. She and Clark were flying through the skies, cold purpose masking their faces.

Now Chloe was lying in deep snow, shivering. Lois fell down a hill. Jason held a rifle to the Kents. Dean stood in a crystal place, light fixing him to the spot.

Lana and Jason kissed passionately. Caves with paintings on them whirled over his head as Rory and Clark stood nearby. Martha held a black rock out at them.

And over it all, a deep voice repeated darkly, "The day has come, Eight, when you must meet your destiny head-on."

Then he saw the Colt, right in front of him. He grabbed at it, and blue energy exploded all around him, destroying it.

And then the visions were gone.

"-mmy?" Dean finished. Apparently, no more than a second had passed.

Sam didn't reply, piecing the visions together. He got the feeling that the only one that was coming any time soon was Clark and Rory flying.

"We have to stop them," he said quickly, running down the stairs. He ran out of the barn, yelling, "Rory! Clark!"

Martha and Dean followed him. Sam had almost reached them when suddenly the twins reached for their ears and fell to their knees on the ground.

"Rory!" Sam fell to his knees next to her. "Rory, are you okay?"

Rory took her hands away from her ears and looked over at Clark. He smiled cruelly, his face full of a malicious determination.

Rory rose to her feet slowly and Sam stood with her, keeping a grip on her arm.

Rory looked back to him and said, a similar smile on her face, "I am Kara of Krypton."

"And I am Kal-El of Krypton," Clark said malevolently.

"It is time to fulfil our destiny," they said in unison.

"Rory, that's not you talking," Sam said calmly. "It's somebody else."

She looked deep into his eyes and said dismissively, "You have not realised your true self, Sam Winchester."

Turning flirty, she said with a grin, "But when you do, give me a call."

She bent her knees and pushed off the ground. Sam barely registered that Clark was doing the same thing as Rory flew into the sky at an unbelievable speed.

"Rory!" Martha screamed.

"What the hell?" Dean shouted. "Sammy, what the hell was that?"

Sam turned to face them. Martha now looked absolutely horrified, while Dean just looked confused.

"Please, you can't tell anybody about this," she said shakily. "Please."

"Mrs. Kent," Sam said gently. "I already know."

Martha went from horror to horror and shock. "What?" she whispered.

Sam looked miserable. "Rory and I, we felt kind of... drawn to each other. So she told me her secret, because we promised we'd never meet again, or see each other – that we'd just pretend that the other didn't exist."

"Why didn't she tell us?" Martha asked in disbelief.

"Because there was no way you could find out, and she knew you'd be angry," Sam tried to explain. "It's not her fault."

"You haven't told anyone, though," Martha murmured.

"No, he hasn't," Dean said testily. "Now, let me repeat myself: What the HELL is going on here?!"

"You didn't tell your own brother?" Martha asked, awed.

Sam shook his head. "Rory trusted me with her secret, and I – I trusted her with mine."

"You told her?" Dean asked angrily. "Sammy-"

"Look, there isn't time!" Sam shouted. "Get mad at me later, Dean, we have to find them!"

"Is that what you saw?"

"It's part of it, yes."

"What you saw?" Martha questioned, confused.

"I have visions of the future," Sam said straight-out. "Rory and Clark are going to be in these caves with paintings sometime soon. Mrs. Kent, you have to stay here and get a black rock, I don't know where from."

"Black?" Martha asked. "Are you sure it wasn't green?"

"No, it wasn't kryptonite," Sam muttered impatiently. "At least, not the green kind."

"You think it was black kryptonite?" Martha almost laughed.

"Sammy, you've got about five seconds before I explode," Dean interrupted.

"Do you mind-" Sam asked.

Martha sighed and said, "Well, he's seen them flying. He might as well know."

Sam explained to Dean, as concisely as possible, about Krypton and the twins. He told him about the powers he knew of and the two varieties of kryptonite.

"Hang on," Martha stopped him. "They've each got a new power now. Rory's is element control and Clark's is superhearing."

"Wow," Dean nodded, impressed. "And now they can fly?"

"I really don't know," Martha sighed.

"Well, listen. How about Dean and I go and take a look around for them, and you stay here and wait for the black rock?" Sam suggested.

Martha nodded in agreement. "Thank you, so much," she smiled. "I can see why Rory liked you so much."

Sam ducked his head in embarrassment, quickly going to the car and getting in.

Kawatche Caves
Kara watched the small cavern close behind her and smirked.

"The first part is over," she said to Kal-El.

"Yes," he agreed. "Now there are only two pieces left to find."

They turned to leave and saw Martha Kent, their would-be mother, standing before them. She held a small box in her hands, but that was irrelevant.

"You should not have come here, Martha Kent," Kara threatened darkly.

They walked forward. Without a word, Martha opened the box and held out a black rock.

Kara felt alarm spread over her face. The rock began to glow a shimmery purple-blue colour.

She stumbled back awkwardly, bathed in the light emanating from the rock. In that moment, everything ceased to exist except one fact;

Aurora Kent was still inside her, and she wanted control back.

Another torso burst from hers, a furious expression on its face. She snarled back, punching forward. Aurora grabbed her fist in one hand and punched her with the other.

Aurora began to pummel her hard with her fists. Kara began to feel her consciousness being overridden by the stronger girl's will.

Everything snapped back into focus for a split second. Two men stood near the entrance to the cave. Martha Kent stood several paces in front of them, terrified. Her brother had fallen to the floor, defeated by Clark Kent.

A fate she now shared as she collapsed on the ground.

A/N Gasp! Cliffhanger! Not that any of you know what actually happens, of course. *twitchy eyes* So, anyways, as of now, I'm stepping up all clues to the identities of 'The Eight Kryptonians'. Cause I'm awesome like that.

First person to guess correctly who all eight are (I want full names, too, cause that's cool) gets a cameo! Or a dedication. Whichever you prefer.

At least, if they can guess before I start spelling out who they are. :o)