Disclaimer: The W.I.T.C.H comics are a highly innovative look at an old theme. Needless to say, I am not so innovative and therefore I clearly don't own W.I.T.C.H.

AN: Apparently, Chinese women retain their maiden name after marriage. So it is entirely feasible that Yan Lin is Joan's mother, rather than Chen's. Also, in the comics, Joan tells Hay Lin that Yan Lin used to tell her Chinese legends when she was a little girl every night. It makes more sense if Joan Lin is Yan Lin's daughter.

Joan Lin looked at herself critically. Her doppelganger had to be perfect if she was to get going without her mother or her daughter from guessing that she wasn't there. She turned to her husband Chen.

"What do you think Chen? Do you think it'll pass?" she asked anxiously. Chen walked around her, then he walked around her doppelganger.

"A perfect copy." He pronounced in a serious voice, before cracking a smile. "Whether she'll act like the real thing though…" he cracked up as Joan playfully punched him in the arm.

"I haven't messed up like that since I was sixteen and I had to send my doppelganger to the prom instead of me." she replied.

Flashback

Joan Lin's date had been the football teams star quarterback, arrogant and full of himself. His name had been Jake Rogers, his short blond hair, strong chin and deep blue eyes had made him the boy that over half the girls in school wanted to be with, including Joan herself.

Joan had been over the moon that of all the girls he could have asked, it was her, quiet and introvert Joan Lin that he wanted to date. At the time, Joan would've had difficulty stringing two words together around him. So when an emergency requiring her powers had come up, she had created a doppelganger to take her place, determined that she wouldn't lose her position as his girlfriend.

The problem was that although her doppelganger had been a perfect copy of her physically, mentally she had been different. Well actually she had been her precise opposite. While the real Joan Lin had difficulty saying anything around Jake, the doppelganger Joan talked his ear off. But that wasn't the worst of it. Halfway through the night, her doppelganger decided for no apparent reason, to upend the punch bowl over Jake's head before running away. Needless to say, Joan had never rushed producing her doppelganger again.

End flashback

Both of them smiled at the memory. The incident had become a private joke between them, Chen had been one of Joan's best friends at the time.

"Well, see you later Chen." She said as she waved her husband goodbye.

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Hay Lin watched the tea leaves billow and swirl as she poured the boiling water from the kettle into the teapot. The events of the past few days had been strange to say the least. Taranee stopping and controlling the firework that had almost hit Irma in the face, followed by Taranee forcing back a wall of flame. Then there was Irma's clothes changing colour on their own (when Irma had told Hay Lin and the others, they didn't believe her, but after the events of the party, Hay Lin wasn't so sure.) Finally, there was the dream that they had all shared. Hay Lin was so excited about it, she was practically bouncing off the walls. The other girls however, looked nervous and worried.

"So what do you think the explanation is?" Taranee asked Hay Lin as she filled five cups with fragrant tea.

Hay Lin shrugged. "It's not like there has to be an explanation." She replied lightly.

"No!" Cornelia exclaimed as she anxiously turned a cookie round and round. "There's a reason behind everything, and I want to know what's going on! And by the way, I want you all to know that I don't believe in magic or paranormal phenomena."

Hay Lin rolled her eyes as she turned to put teapot on the counter.

"Mysterious dreams, clothes that change colour, flying objects, premonitions," Taranee said as she ran through the list, her voice getting steadily quieter with each item. "What do you call these?"

"Growing pains?" Irma added, with a grin.

"Maybe that medallion is the answer we're looking for" Will replied with a shrug. Looking at her hand, Hay Lin suddenly remembered something. Charging over to her book bag, she pulled out a sheet of paper.

"Look I've sketched a better copy of the medallion. I hope I didn't forget anything." She said as she put the sketch down on the table. Will raised her eyebrows, clearly impressed by the quality of the picture.

"I'd say it's all there" Irma confirmed as she grabbed herself another cookie.

"Hmmm, yes that looks a lot like it." Will confirmed.

A faint swishing in the doorway made Hay Lin look up. In the doorway was her grandmother with a sly smile on her face. Then she pulled out a necklace out of her pocket with a shockingly familiar charm on it.

"Grandma!" she exclaimed.

"That's it!" Will cried out "The medallion from our dreams. Where did you get it?"

"What matters is that you will be keeping it now. This is the Heart of Candracar." Yan Lin replied in her scratchy, high-pitched voice.

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Joan Lin walked up to the dark skinned woman who was waiting at the bus garage.

"Joan Lin?" the woman asked coldly.

"Yes." Joan replied coldly.

"I am Theresa Cook. I've been assigned to help you with this nest of Fetches." Theresa said as she showed Joan her identity card. Joan raised an eyebrow.

"Why does the company think I need help with something as simple as a nest of Fetches?" Joan asked in an offended voice.

"The company want you to show me the ropes in this town." Theresa replied coldly. Joan sighed to herself. This is going to be a long night, she thought.

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Susan Vandom on the other hand, was experiencing the first quiet night she'd had since she'd arrived. It didn't mean that she could relax though. The events of last nights Halloween party played on her mind. According to Dean, no wait, Mr Collins, she corrected herself, someone there had used their magical powers for the first time. Unfortunately, they didn't know just who it was yet. And it was this that had Susan worried.

When Will had been five years old, a seer had told Susan that Will had a great deal of magical potential and that one day it would activate. Susan was worried that it was Will who'd been activated. When a mages power becomes active for the first time it's largely uncontrolled. But when it does become active, normal life tended to take a backseat role. Susan sighed. She wanted Will to have a normal childhood at least, but if she did have new powers, then Susan would be there for her.

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Under a cloaking spell cast by Joan, Joan and Theresa entered the nest. Walking to its centre, Joan dropped the cloaking spell and they attacked.

Joan hit the lead fetch with a powerful dissolution spell, forcing the creature to drop its human guise. She swiftly followed this with a powerful illusion spell, making it question its existence. This made it curl up on itself, resulting in the creature's self-destruction.

Theresa on the other hand, swung her sword into the other fetch. As her blade made contact, the creature fell apart. Spinning on her heel, Theresa swung her sword through Joan's neck and into another fetch. Joan glared at her, because although the blade had left her neck untouched, no illusionist likes having a Paladins sword go through them. Not least because the two types were entirely opposite magic types.

"I didn't need your help with that one." Joan snarled, before turning round and destroying the two remaining fetches with another illusion, this time of a monster snake that swallowed them. Fetches were formed by a combination of people's imagination and a highly potent carbon monoxide and magic mix and so were extremely susceptible to any kind of illusion, or weapons that destroyed illusions.

"Sorry" Theresa said contritely as they walked out of the bus station. "I guess I've been a little tetchy today, what with being treated like a newbie after FIFTEEN years working for the company and the possibility of my daughters involvement with yesterdays events."

"That's ok." Joan replied with a smile, which suddenly vanished as the second part of Theresa's statement hit her. "WAIT, your daughter is one of the candidates to being a new mage as well?" Joan asked incredulously. "Theresa nodded. "So is mine."

"I guess that means we have something in common then. It's a pleasure to meet you, illusionist Joan Lin." Theresa said as she extended her hand. Joan took it.

"And a pleasure to meet you too, Paladin Theresa Cook." Joan replied, with a smile.

AN: I decided to switch the focus for this chapter, as it's been mostly focused on Susan Vandom. I've had a slight writers block with my existing ideas, as new stories come flooding out of my muse. As for when the two groups meet, I'm expecting that sometime within the next two-three chapters hopefully. But for now, I want to focus on Chaos theory.