"Lana!" Zatanna called out, running after her friend as Lana bound back up the stairs of the library. Zatanna sighed to herself as she chased after her deliberating over her options on what to do with Lana Lang now. After all, she'd seen Zatanna stake a vampire and had probably also seen Zatanna use her magick.

None of that was good news.

Zatanna figured she had two ways to go. She could either freeze Lana where ever she was and try to perform a mind wipe, or she could freeze Lana, catch up to her, and tell her the truth. Neither idea sounded appealing to Zatanna, but she had to do one or the other. The obvious choice was the latter idea, of course, because a mind wipe could completely destroy Lana, and that was the last thing Zatanna wanted to do. And so, Zatanna yelled out the spell to make Lana freeze as she bounded up the steps of the library, stopping short just inside the double doors. Lana was there, frozen in midair, just ten feet away. Zatanna rushed over to her and stopped in front of her, and said a spell to reanimate Lana.

Lana ran right into Zatanna and both girls went tumbling around on the floor, knocking into a bookcase, starting a domino reaction. Zatanna, running on pure adrenaline, yelled out, "Sesackoob ezeerf dna esrever!" As the bookcases reversed, Zatanna jumped to her feet and helped Lana up.

Lana, breathing heavily and mind racing, let go of Zatanna's hand as soon as she was up and glared at her. "What the hell are you?!"

"Look, Lana...can we go somewhere else and talk?"

"Wait, what? No. No, we really can't Zatanna. This is too freaky." Lana slid past Zatanna, her chandelier earrings catching the light and momentarily blinding Zatanna.

"Lana, we need to talk over this."

"No, we don't."

"Hey, you said Clark kept secrets from you and you didn't like it. Well, you've just discovered my secret, and you still don't like it. Do you think you could have handled Clark's secrets if you can't handle mine?"

"You have no right!"

"No, no I don't. I don't even know Clark's secret, but the point is that you need to give secrets a chance. Please, Lana." Zatanna begged Lana, who still kept her back turned to the sorceress.

Lana considered Zatanna's plea a moment. It was true; she had to give secrets a chance. In any case, she was keeping one secret from Jason and two from Clark. But...this was just plain weird. Weirder than getting a mysterious tattoo from a crypt. This...this was criminals bursting into dust and people freezing in midair and...well...and just all around weirdness. She shook her head. "I'm sorry Zatanna...I can't deal with this right now. Maybe later...but definitely not right now. Look, I need to go."

"I'm your ride, Lana."

"My Aunt Nell lives here. I can spend the night at her place. Just...I need to go."

"Lana, just one thing? Don't tell anyone...please? Not just yet."

Lana turned and looked Zatanna straight in the eye. She took a deep breath and nodded. Yes, Zatanna had majorly freaked her out back there, but something deep within her told her that Zatanna was safe. "Okay."

"Thank you."

The next few days passed uneventfully. Clark, at the last minute, cancelled his date with Zatanna because of a party the cheerleaders were having for the football team. They had rescheduled for a later, unconfirmed date, which somewhat irked Zatanna but she let it pass. She was actually more worried about Lana and her constant avoiding Zatanna than anything else. At least her secret was still safe and at least she still had her job at the Talon.

Zatanna continued her search for her father, and had even followed a lead in New York City, but it had been nothing that could help her find Zatara.

Though her Zatara problem wasn't resolved by Tuesday of the following week, her Lana problem seemed to be heading that way.

It was closing time at the Talon and Lana had just locked the front door. The only people left inside were Lana, Zatanna, and a girl named Linda whom Lana had recently made assistant manager, mainly so she could spend more time with Jason.

Zatanna was busy wiping the counter while worrying about the run in her fishnets while Lana deliberated whether or not to approach the witch.

God, that word sounded weird. Zatanna was a witch. A witch.

Lana shook her head and slowly approached Zatanna, unsure of how to apologize to her friend. She'd been deliberating over how to talk to Zatanna ever since the day before, when she had finally revealed the secret of her tattoo to Jason. Jason had first looked at her as if she were some kind of freak, and it was then that Lana had started to realize that what she had done to Zatanna was wrong, no matter how freaked out she had been.

As she approached she heard Zatanna whisper something, but she wasn't sure what. A spell? Maybe. For what? Lana had noticed anything different.

"Hey...Zatanna?" Lana asked timidly, seating herself on a bar stool. She picked up a straw and fiddled with it as her eyes met Zatanna's darkly opalescent ones.

"Lana, hi. What's up?" Zatanna put down the rag she was using to clean and leaned casually on the counter, flicking her long, slick ponytail off her shoulder. Her voice was pleasant, warm, and inviting. Lana loosened up immediately.

"About last week, Zatanna I completely overreacted. I just...it was weird, you know? And my life is already full of weirdness, and seeing you do what you did...What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry."

"Lana," Zatanna started, touched and joyful, "it's in the past. I understand your reaction completely, and I don't blame you for it. I mean, come on, how many people have actually come across a blood sucking fiend from beyond the grave? And, okay, a cute brunette in fishnets and heels crying out some words and sending something – anything – flying backwards? I get it, I really do. And thank you, as well, for not telling anyone."

"So...friends then?"

Zatanna nodded. Lana breathed a sigh of relief and leaned over the counter to give Zatanna a quick hug. Lana sat back down then, a mildly guilty look still upon her face. Zatanna took one look at it, gleaned the meaning of it, and then asked, "Alright, lady, so what secret is it you're dying to share?"

Lana gave Zatanna a quizzical look, as if to inquire as to what it was exactly that Zatanna was talking about. Or maybe it was a look to ask how Zatanna knew Lana had a secret to spill. In any case, Zatanna just shrugged and gave Lana a prodding look.

"Promise me you won't freak? No, of course you won't. I mean...I freaked on you, and I'm sure that, you know, you being a witch there's very little that freaks you out."

"I actually prefer sorceress, but please, continue."

"I'm not trying to take advantage of you here, or anything. It's just, well, I figured you'd know about this stuff."

"What stuff? Lana, what's going on?"

Lana proceeded to fill in Zatanna on everything that had transpired, from her trip to Paris to the mysterious crypt to the flash of blinding light followed by Lana's feverish discovery of her new tattoo. Zatanna listened carefully, nodding at the right moments, taking in what Lana was saying. From her experience, it definitely sounded supernatural in origin. What it was, though, and why Lana had the tattoo were things that Zatanna could not yet answer.

Lana showed Zatanna her tattoo.

"Oh, Lana...I don't know..." Zatanna said, running a hand along the tattoo. "It's under your skin, isn't it? Magickal tattoos tend to be. This doesn't look like any rune I've ever come across."

"Can you help me?"

"I can try. Give me a few days, and I'll let you know what I come up with. Are you willing, though, to undergo magickal treatment?"

Lana considered this a moment. She knew nothing of magick, but at this point she was desperate. She wanted the tattoo gone. Taking a deep breath, Lana nodded, "Yeah...whatever it takes."