"You know, guys, this is something I didn't sign up for," Bart said as he surveyed the dead bodies that were littered around him, Zatanna, and Clark Kent.

"I honestly don't think any of us did," Zatanna replied, trying her best to keep from retching. She actually succeeded, something that gave her a tiny happy. "You know, maybe I should have the Indiana Jones quip to myself. I jinxed the whole dead body thing."

Clark shook his head. "Great. We're somewhere in the middle of a country where none of us have been before and we were just attacked by a cast member of 'Birds'. It can't get any -" Bart zipped over and put his hands over Clark's mouth. He would have snapped it shut, except Clark had like jaws of steel.

"Don't complete that sentence, dude, I'm begging you. The last thing we need is the evil dead rising."

"If that happens, we can handle it. I mean, come on, we have an alien with superpowers, a speedster that can bust through things, and me," Zatanna said confidently. "I'm not too worried about battling forces of the undead. I'm more worried about not saving Lana on time."

"She's right," Clark said after he pried Bart's hands off of his mouth. "Better we start walking instead of sitting her dreaming up what kind of nasties and uglies are waiting for us up ahead. It'll make this all the much harder."

"Let's go then," Zatanna said, leading the way. Clark followed right behind her, and Bart stepped behind, just a little reluctant. He was fine facing off mobsters and gangs and the like, but stick him in with anything supernatural, and Bart wanted nothing to do with any of it.

As the trio walked deeper into the dark corridor, Zatanna studied the markings on the walls. The hieroglyphics were old, and told of a myth that Zatanna figured no one even knew about yet. A new Egyptian myth, unrecorded, untold of, undiscovered.

The young witch felt the magic in this place, and it overwhelmed her. Uncomfortably so.

"Do any of these glyphs make any sense to you?" Clark asked softly.

"I'm not sure. I've got some theories, but they're just that. Theories."

"What are they?" Bart asked out from behind Clark.

"The images, they seem to be depicting a transference of power. An ancient power, reawakened somehow, and reborn."

"I don't like the sound of that," Clark said.

"Yeah, coz, sounds a little Satanic to me," Bart added. "Maybe we should turn back?"

Zatanna shook her head firmly. "Not until we get what we need from here. And you aren't going anywhere, Bart. No offense to Clark or anything, but we might need someone who's faster than he is."

They walked in silence for a few more moments, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Zatanna, trapped with her worries about Lana and hoping that they'd be in time to save her. Clark's thoughts were pretty much the same. Bart's mind was racing wildly between ways to ask Zatanna out, wondering if anything of value would be found here that he could get big bucks for, and relishing the idea of him and two other super-powered beings working like a team this way.

Soon enough they came up to a set of double doors made of gilded gold. One door carried the image of Khepri while the other showed an image of Horus.

Zatanna tilted her head and studied the images, intrigued by their beauty. The doors had to have been crafted years ago, but they looked brand spanking new.

"Whoa…can I take one home?" Bart asked.

"They're historical artifacts Bart, I don't think that's the right thing to do." Clark said.

"Honestly, Clark, any archaeologist who finds this place is going to take the doors to some museum anyway. I say we let the kid take one, or at least a chunk of one," Zatanna piped up as she neared the doors. "Hcrot taolf," she then said as she let go of her torch. The torch floated in mid-air on its own, following the young sorceress as she stepped up to the doors and put her hands on them.

"What are you doing?" Clark asked.

"Touching the doors. Trying to see if there's any magic in them." Zatanna stood there for a long moment, her hands on the door, trying to see if there was anything. She felt a slight vibration, but it wasn't from the door. It was from behind the door. "No enchantments on the door. But whatever's behind it is packing one hell of a punch."

"How do we get in?" Bart asked, looking at the doors carefully. Though it was obvious they were two doors, there didn't seem to be even a slight space between them, showing that the doors could part.

"Srood neop!" Zatanna commanded, standing a few feet away. Nothing happened. The doors didn't even budge an inch.

"Open sesame?" Bart asked reluctantly. Zatanna looked at him, eyebrow raised, and then looked back at the door.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this," she said with a sigh. "Nepo emases!"

For a moment nothing happened. Then, as though they were the mechanical doors at a supermarket, the doors swung open.

"How in hell does a fairy tale saying open an ancient Egyptian door?" Zatanna asked incredulously.

"Do you really wanna question a good thing?" Bart asked, looking through the opening. It was a magnificent chamber, from what he could see. The entire room was imbued with light and a gold sheen spilt out into the passage where the trio stood. "Amazing," he said under his breath.

"Typical," Zatanna added. "Come on guys, let's go in here and find our thing." The young woman said, leading the way into the room. Clark and Bart followed her lead, and the three stepped into the stone and gold chamber, all of them awestruck.

"Jeez, with the stuff in this place, I'd never have to steal again," Bart said.

"Help yourself, Bart. Clark, I need your help with finding this artifact that's going to bring Lana back to life." Zatanna said. She indicated the area around her, which seemed to be filled with gold offerings to the gods. Clark nodded as Bart zipped around the room.

As both Zatanna and Clark checked out the artifacts in the room, Zatanna checking each artifact against her knowledge of Egyptian knowledge and Clark looking for anything that had even the slightest resemblance to a Kryptonian symbol on it, Clark suddenly asked Zatanna, "So, what's going on between you and Bart?"

"Excuse me?" Zatanna asked, setting down an amulet inlaid with lapis lazuli that gave her no magical buzz whatsoever.

"I asked what was going on between you and Bart."

"Oh…nothing. Why?"

"Well, he seemed to like you, and you don't seem to not mind him."

"He's a nice guy Clark. I haven't known him for more than a couple of hours, so it's a little early to really pass judgment on him. Why?"

"Just asking."

"You're jealous aren't you?" Zatanna asked, smiling coquettishly.

"What?!" Clark scoffed. "No, not at all. I was just, you know, curious. He has a way with the girls."

"Yeah…that he does. And okay, I was flirting with him a little bit? But…face it, Clark. You're in love with Lana Lang. Plus you have the hots for Lois Lane. Where do I fit into this whole picture anyway? I'm not in Smallville for that long a time. Besides, I don't get why you're still even interested in me, I mean, hello, I killed the girl you love." Zatanna said. She realized very well that it was her spell that clouded his emotions, but she couldn't let him know that. She made a mental note to lift the spell as soon as Lana was alive again. After all, the spell was of no use to her anymore. Clark's powers wouldn't aid her in finding her father.

Clark opened his mouth to reply but he was cut short by a scream from the other side of the room along with the sound of electric buzzing. Clark and Zatanna both whipped around to see Bart standing in front of a stone statue, his hair standing even more on end than usual. He looked a little miffed, and quite fried.

"I'm thinking he found it," Zatanna said.

"Looks like," Clark added as the duo headed over to their comrade. Clark helped Bart take a seat while the young sorceress studied the statue. It was the statue of an Egyptian pharaoh, probably of whomever it was that sanctioned the building of this temple, and he seemed to be holding an image of Khepri. It was a golden scarab, Zatanna noticed.

The sorceress felt like whacking herself on her head. Of course! In Egyptian myth, the scarab was associated with rebirth, renewal, and resurrection. How could have she been so blind? "This is it, guys," she said, reaching for it. The scarab came off in Zatanna's hand easily, and Bart stared at the sorceress in bewilderment. "How did you do that?"

Zatanna shrugged. "I'm guessing only a person of pure magic can touch it," she replied, studying the scarab. There were markings on it that she didn't understand, markings that she hoped Madame Xanadu could help her decipher. She knew that they were nothing like what were on the cave walls in Smallville, so Clark definitely couldn't help her out here. "Look, we should get out of here before anything god-like decides to wake up. I'm sure somewhere some mystical power has been alerted to ours getting this thing." Zatanna said, starting to move towards the exit of the chamber. Bart, who was nearly completely recovered now, followed with Clark close at his heels. Zatanna noted that Bart had taken some small treasures in him but didn't mind. She wouldn't do anything like that herself, but it wasn't like Bart was already filthy rich and was doing it for more money.

The trio headed out of the chamber and quickly walked out into the narrow passageway, heading towards the exit as soon as possible while trying to avoid all of the dead bodies and bones that were littered around.

"Think bird-boy's still out there?" Bart asked as they approached the stairs.

"Only one way to find out," Zatanna replied. "Ksilebo evom morf tixe!"

The obelisk slowly moved away and sunlight spilt into the corridor. They waited a moment or two and, when their eyesight had adjusted, the trio stepped out of the obelisk.

"Anything?"

"Not a thing," Clark replied, surveying the area. There was no sign of the bird.

"Great. Let's get headed back to Smallville then," Zatanna said, securing the scarab.

As Zatanna, Clark, and Bart prepared for the race back to Smallville, they failed to notice the falcon that had attacked them earlier perch itself in the shadow of a pyramid close by. The falcon had been protecting this scarab for centuries, waiting for the one person who would come and use the scarab for the very purpose for which it had been made in the first place.

Horus' emissary watched them leave with pleasure.

Prophecies of old were finally coming true.

Soon the liberator of the gods would be born.

Writer's Note:

So, okay, a few explanations here today. :-D Firstly, I didn't have Zatanna enchant anything to fly there because she wasn't certain as to how long she could keep any spell to last. As seen with the spell that attracted men of power to her, she had to recharge the spell every once in awhile. Plus, there's the fact that Bart would be faster than anything she could enchant since she can't magically channel the speed force (not my version of Zee anyway. :-D) That and I really liked Smallville's characterization of Bart.

I like the idea of Madame Xanadu, except I imagined Xan as a college aged student…someone maybe a bit younger. And for Zatanna, for some reason (I honestly don't know why) but I've always personally imagined her as Rachel Bilson, even though the only thing I've seen her in was in that one episode of Buffy from season 7. I'm weird that way.

Keep on R&R-ing, and I hope you guys like the direction I'm going to take with this fic!!!

(PS. Since the fic's also headed in a new direction, it might be headed for a title change, but I'll keep you posted on that!)

Me