Genevieve Teague awoke in her bed with a start. Something didn't feel quite right to her all of a sudden, and she couldn't quite figure out what the matter was. She pushed her bed covers off of her and sat up, running a hand through her long tresses. She reached for the glass of water on her night stand and, removing the cover, took a long gulp of water. She set the glass down, then, and stood up, slipping her feet into her satin slippers.

Genevieve went over to her window and threw it open, staring out into the early morning sky. Yes, something was definitely wrong. The balance of the world had changed just a little bit, and it definitely was not for the better. A she peered out into the sky, looking at the rapidly fading stars, Genevieve realized what had changed.

Lana Lang was, in effect, gone. There was something else that had taken her place. Something that Genevieve was all too familiar with. The older woman cursed as she headed to the bathroom to get dressed. It was time to pay Isobel a visit.

"Are you sure keeping her at your place is the smartest thing to do?" Bart asked Zatanna the next day as they packed up a few of Lana's essential items in her apartment.

Bart, Zatanna, Lana, and Clark had left Dr. Fate's tower soon after Dr. Fate's revelation of the prophecy. The drive home had been – at best – an awkward one. After Dr. Fate had revealed the prophecy and destiny to Zatanna, Bart, and Clark, the three of them had thought it best to quietly leave the tower with Lana and mull over what he had told them.

Though they hadn't discussed what they had learned from Dr. Fate in the car (there was no use in freaking out Lana just yet) there had been a thick layer of tension in the car. Even Bart hadn't been able to crack any particularly funny jokes. Instead, all three of them had had the same thought in their unconnected minds.

What next?

Upon arriving in Smallville, Zatanna had suggested that Lana stay with her for awhile. She had told Lana that she didn't particularly like the idea of Lana staying alone after everything that had happened at the Tower.

Lana, surprisingly, had readily agreed. She had also decided to rest at Zatanna's home while Bart and Zatanna went to pick some of her things. Clark, in the meantime, had thought it best to check in with his parents, and to try to contact Alicia's mother and inform her of what had transpired after Alicia's release from Belle Reve.

"What do you mean?" Zatanna asked as she stuffed Lana's toothpaste and toothbrush into a bag.

"You know how she went all beasty style over in Salem. What if she does it again?"

"I controlled it then, didn't I? I can do it again, Bart?"

"What if she's more powerful this time?"

Zatanna shook her head. "Trust me, she won't be."

"How can you say that?"

"I just can. Bart? Why are you so worried?"

Bart turned to Zatanna, his big brown eyes full of worry. "Isn't it obvious, Z'anna?"

"No…I mean…yeah, it is obvious, Bart, I just mean…you know what? Never mind," the sorceress said, leaning in to kiss him. They parted after a soft sweet kiss that left Bart wanting much more. "Look, I'll be fine. Why don't you go on ahead home to Central City and rest for awhile? Staying with me and Lana right now might not be the smartest idea…"

"Right. Coz, seeing you and me all lovey dovey could cause her to -,"

"Snap."

"Okay," he said, giving Zatanna another quick kiss. "But I'm only a phone call away."

"Go."

Zatanna watched Bart run off, idly wondering exactly how far his powers would go. Maybe she'd help him figure it out after all this stuff with Lana ended.

Hating the silence that prevailed in Lana's tiny apartment, Zatanna said out loud, "Oidar no!" She smiled as Green Day blasted through the speakers, starting to pack Lana's things again. She was tempted to use magic, but decided against it, solely for the reason that she wanted to conserve her energies in case Lana went crazy again. Sure, she'd use it for the smaller things – turning on a radio, opening the lock on a door, but to do something more than just a quick one time deal…not as long as Lana was staying with her.

As Zatanna packed a couple of blouses for Lana, she felt something tugging in her abdomen. She looked up for a moment, wondering briefly what it could be when she fell to the floor on her knees, her arms crossed before her abdomen as she felt sharp, fiery pain shoot up through her body. Her eyes started glowing as the pain increased, and Zatanna instinctively knew what it was that she was feeling.

There was a mortal witch somewhere around her.

The young woman pushed herself off the floor and stood up, dusting off her clothes and willing the pain away. She was grateful for whatever sixth sense it was in her that caused that sort of reaction in her, even though she hated the pain that it tended to bring.

Magickal sparks flickering in her hands; Zatanna did a quick search of Lana's apartment, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

Does that mean there's someone downstairs in the Talon?

The sorceress stalked over to the front door, her strides long and powerful. Whatever evil was down there, Zatanna was going to face it and give it hell. She grabbed the door handle and turned it, pulling the door open, only to find an exquisitely dressed older woman standing there before her.

The woman was dressed in a red Chanel suit and red Christian Louboutin heels. Her outfit was completed by a long, lush fur coat and a few strands of pearls. Zatanna immediately thought of Glenn Close's portrayal of Cruella DeVil as she took the woman in.

"Hello," Zatanna said unsurely. "Can I…help you?"

"Hello," the older woman nodded, speaking in a distinct, upper-class British accent. She gave Zatanna a once-over and smirked, giving Zatanna a contemptuous look as if to imply that Zatanna were her inferior in some way. "I'm here to see Lana Lang. My name is Genevieve Teague."

Isobel Theroux didn't waste any time after Zatanna and Bart had dropped her off at Zatanna's home. The car ride back to Smallville had been hard for her, only because she was trying to stave off her natural impulses and act as much like Lana Lang as she possibly could. The end result had been pretending to sleep in the car for most of the journey back.

Isobel was pleasantly surprised that Zatanna hadn't been able to sense the change in the inhabitant of Lana's body as the sorceress had when Isobel had first taken over, but she wasn't sure why that particular sense of the Homo magus female's wasn't working. Not that it mattered. As long as Isobel went undetected, she would be fine.

As soon as Zatanna and Bart had left, Isobel wasted no time in searching her new housemate's belongings, attempting to find something that related to the crystals. She assumed that Zatanna, being as powerful as she was, and as close to the Kent boy as she was, would have some sort of information regarding the three crystals that Isobel sought, but she found nothing whatsoever.

She searched through all of Zatanna's books, trinkets, and a few of her magical trunks, but found nothing of any import. Well, nothing that could help her with the crystals anyway.

Finally she came to Zatanna's laptop. Isobel studied it for a moment, wondering what it did. She tapped into the memory reserves left by Lana before her disappearance, searching for some sort of clue on how to use the contraption in front of her.

And then she figured out how. And yes, it might help her.

Isobel brought the laptop back from its sleep state and searched through the computers files, trying to find something, anything. She came across Zatanna's computer journal and opened it, wondering if anything there might help her.

The witch read a detailed account of Zatanna's last experience with her, and glowered over the fact that Zatanna had misspelled her name. That was fine, though. Soon, Zatanna would learn to show Isobel the proper respect she deserved. Zatanna had also written down her experiences of going to Egypt to retrieve the scarab that would bring Lana back to life. That part intrigued Isobel a little bit, since it was key in helping bringing her back, as well as her assistant.

Things got more interesting when Zatanna started describing the goddess aspect that was within Lana though. The one that seemed to give her special powers. That last bit made Isobel smile wickedly. So that's why Zatanna couldn't sense her. The goddess aspect must still reside in this physical body, and it was powerful enough to cover up any detection of Isobel's residing in there. That must also be why Isobel's power felt like it had nearly doubled. The goddess aspect must have sensed the witch aspect of Isobel's own personality, and the two powers might unconsciously be tapping in to one another.

With the power of a goddess at her side, melding with her own powers, coupled with the powers of the crystals that she would find soon enough, Isobel would literally be an unstoppable force.

Too good. Too, too good.

Writer's Note: Hey guys, how goes it? Things are good here, for the most part. I think we're getting close to the final arc of this fiction, though there's still quite a ways to go before it ends. Somewhere between a month and three months at any rate. After this one, though, I've got some interesting ideas for other DCU related fics as well…though we'll see how any of them come to fruition. :-D.

I also had a question for you guys. Granted, Zatanna isn't a character I created on my own...but I was wondering...do any of you think that Zatanna in thisficis a Mary Sue figure? Just wanted your feedback on that since I want to stray far, far away from sticking any Mary Sue figures in my work.

Nightcrawler, good point on the fact that Clark can change destiny, as was shown in "Hereafter". I wonder how he'll fare in trying to help change the destiny of a woman whose destiny is apparently prophesied by older beings of magic…)

Lol. Hoosier Daddy. Loving that handle.

SSG and Punkee, thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope you guys continue to enjoy what I put out. :-D.

Until next time, yeah?