Chapter Forty-Two: Haunted.
Shado's research brought her to the quiet little farm town which deceived many people by being quiet. She sensed something in the air, and the past three years, there had been numerous incidents of strange things. Shado planned to discuss the matter with Harry more in depth when he returned, and when the two of them met up, something did not quite seem right.
The woman failed to pinpoint what could be right through. Something stirred the woman up though, and she felt a similar vibe back on Lian Yu. Shado worked through what could be causing it, and there were any number of potential ideas which could be causing trouble. Regardless of the fact, there could be trouble, Shado tried, carefully, to focus on the matter of the hand.
Four medallions claimed, three more out in the wild, their rightful wielders not exactly found just yet. The Merfolk, the Tengu, and the Phoenix, all three of these medallions were very powerful. Shado thought the Spider, the Serpent, the White Canary, and of course the Dragon, being in the right hands, took a burden off of her shoulders, and the shoulders of those who feared what would happen if any of that great power fell into the wrong hands.
Disaster would not even begin to describe it. Shado tried not to let the doomsday scenarios worry about her. The Merfolk amulet lingered, and Shado decided to talk to someone she could trust. This person had gone off the map for a few years, and just recently resurfaced in Smallville, even though she kept a rather low profile.
Shado knew this person could help and walked up the front way to meet them. The house looked very unassuming, almost quaint. The exact house someone stayed in when they wanted to lay low. Shado understood this more than most and understood the reasons why this woman laid low.
'You don't know if she will help you until you meet with her. Providing my research is not fault, and she isn't around.'
Only one way to find out and Shado seized the opportunity to knock on the door. A long couple of minutes passed, and Shado raised a hand and knocked on the door one more time.
Still, no answer and Shado wondered if she could have been wasting some time. A third time to try and Shado planned to regroup.
The door swung open, and a very beautiful redhead woman, dressed in a purple blouse, and a pair of black pants stepped to the front door. Shado noticed the baseball bat slightly visible behind the door, and she would have to guess the woman armed herself in other ways, as well. The two locked eyes for each other.
"Shado?" Tess asked.
"Tess, how are you doing?" Shado asked. "It's been a long time."
"I heard you left home, and you didn't return," Tess said. "Well, I've been gone on a trip of my own for a very long time, as well...Russia, not a very good place to be in. Especially when they think you're a spy. He helped though, liberate those people, and bring them back home."
Shado smiled knowingly. She did not partake in the bond link traffic about as much as many other people did, but she did know Harry had a trip to Russia. And she knew he must have liberated some prisoners there. Tess had been one of them.
"We finally are in the same place after a long time," Shado said. "And I need your help for something."
"After the last time, after you helped me, I couldn't deny you any help," Tess responded. "So, why don't you come in? I was just making a cup of coffee if you want one."
"No thank you," Shado said. "I think you'll agree when I tell you about this, time is of the essence, and we're going to have to locate this item. You recall the seven medallions."
"Seven medallions, belong to the Dragon and several of his top generals," Tess said. "I saw the Dragon found his, have any of the others been located?"
"Yes," Shado informed Tess. "Three of the other medallions have been found. The medallion of the serpent, the medallion of spider, and the White Canary Medallion. Harry's found the rightful owners as well."
Tess took a drink from the cup of coffee on the table and looked very thoughtful. Over half of the medallions located was a good sign. She feared there would be some dangerous people after the medallions. Hell, the remaining three medallions being up for grabs meant there were some very dangerous people who still could be after them. The type of people who Tess was certain had her thrown into some demented Russian prisoner safe house, to rot.
She could not prove it, but Tess had this knack of putting two and two together.
"One of them might be in Smallville," Shado said. "Do you know about the Atlantean outpost in Smallville?"
Tess forced herself to stop drinking the coffee.
"Atlantis had an outpost here in Smallville, I heard the rumors about it," Tess said. "Actually, on one my expeditions with my team, before my unintentional sabbatical, I've heard rumors of the outpost. I've gone to the general area, but it's been built over the top of. And you'll never guess who built over the top of it."
Rhetorical question, Shado figured, which mean there was no real need for her to answer. Especially given Tess would answer it anyway. The smile crossing over the face of this woman obviously pointed out this fact.
"LuthorCorp," Tess said. "One of their many facilities."
"You work for them, though, don't you?" Shado asked.
"I haven't informed them I'm not completely dead," Tess said. "Lex is running things here in Smallville because I think his father exiled him here."
"From what I've heard, Lionel Luthor is in prison," Shado informed Tess.
Tess took a long drink from the coffee now. She took a deep breath and just shook her head. "I can't say I'm surprised. Well, not surprised he committed any crimes which sent him to prison. I'm more surprised he was sloppy enough to get caught. There's just some kind of end game there."
Shado nodded.
"I can give you the few bits of information I've turned up," Tess said. "Although, I'm not sure if there's anything of value there. If the people of Atlantis were upset about the outpost, and someone building over the top of it, they would have come here a long time ago and caused havoc."
Shado agreed with Tess's assessment. She needed to do her duty for the Dragon and hunt down the medallion before it fell into the wrong hands. And there were many wrong hands for it to fall in. HIVE still was out there, and others caused problems.
Laurel enjoyed the night which happened before, both the crime fighting and the aftermath. She learned to be at peace with a lot of what happened, and now she buried the hatchet with both Sara and Olivia, without burying something else into her head. She thought about how much difference a year made, and the training Lady Shiva did. Laurel received a few bumps, a few bruises, and many broken bones, before properly learning discipline, and training herself to be the very best possible.
Harry returned back and gave her the means to contact him, just in case. Laurel did not want to abuse this power, even though it was tempted to call Harry to scratch all of those itches when she had it. Laurel reclined back on the couch and thought about what would happen today. Today was her day off, and fortunately for that because Laurel did not think she could walk straight in this place.
'Sara and Liv will come home soon, and boy, the shit is going to stir with that one,' Laurel thought. 'Moira, Thea, my father, even Merlyn...all of them will be surprised….and coming back to life after being dead, I can only imagine the paperwork.'
Laurel allowed a smile to crop over her face. Over the years, the smiles had been unfortunately few and far between, which was why Laurel enjoyed these moments of happiness when she could. She stretched out and thought today would be the day where she would just sit around in her underwear.
A light knock on the door caused Laurel to jump up. She moved over to scoop up a robe and put it on over her underwear and make her way to the door.
"Just one second," Laurel said. "Thea?"
The door opened and Thea Queen stood on the other end. Laurel and Thea had their share of ups and downs over the years. Thea had some of the anger issues which Laurel still worked out, and they were worse on the account of Thea being a moody teenager.
"We haven't talked in a long time," Thea said. "But, I really could use your help on something, if you don't mind….."
"Thea, I told you, if you ever wanted someone to talk to, I'm here," Laurel said.
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to talk to me again," Thea said. "I mean, I pretty much blamed you for driving my sister onto that ship, and killing her."
Laurel took a second to compose herself. She wanted to tell Thea more than anything else about Laurel being alive. One big problem and Laurel hated to be the one to admit this, it was not her job to tell Thea anything, it was not her place to tell Thea Liv was alive. Laurel drew in a deep breath.
"You were angry," Laurel said. "I was angry. I blamed my sister, I blamed my mother, I blamed your mother….I blamed a lot of people, and yes, I blamed your sister."
"You, angry?" Thea asked. "You, perfect Laurel, get angry at someone?"
Laurel just looked at Thea, and Thea shifted with pure guilt racking on her face.
"Yeah, sorry about that, no offense made about the Perfect Laurel crack," Thea said.
"Hey, if being called perfect is the worst thing you can call me, then I don't really take much offense," Laurel said. "It's better than some of the names I've been called."
"Yeah, by me, and I'm really sorry about those two," Thea said. "It's just….it's been really hard….I'm messed up…but last night….last night, I was lower than I ever thought I was. I thought about ending it all, you know, so I can see Liv again…and my father."
"You have a mother who would be devastated if something happens to you," Laurel responded sternly.
"Yeah, she's hardly around, and she's meeting with Malcolm Merlyn a lot," Thea said. "That was going on before Dad died, and now it's gotten even more. Why would they be meeting this often, if they weren't screwing each other?"
"Well, maybe there are other reasons," Laurel said.
Laurel once again thought back to the meeting with Liv, and how Liv told her that Thea was not Robert Queen's daughter, rather she was Malcolm Merlyn's. Again, not Laurel's place to tell Thea, this time, she knew for sure she had no place to tell Thea.
"Still, the point is, after last night, I felt really miserable," Thea said. "Suddenly, this flew through the window."
Thea reached into her bag and pulled out an arrow to show to Laurel. Laurel tried not to react.
"An arrow?" Laurel asked.
"A green arrow," Thea said. "Then I clicked on the news tonight, and there are rumors about a mysterious vigilante dressed in green, who shoots arrows at people. They stopped a bunch of big time drug dealers, Toad and Pyg, I think their names were. The point is, they got stopped, by this Green Arrow, as this Lazio Valentin guy, Pyg, was rambling on about."
Thea heard the news as well, about Rochelle, who had been killed when Pyg experimented on her. Thea thought about how it could have been her, on that operating table as well, being kidnapped. The last few minutes of her life would have been in absolute fear.
"The point is, there was a note, and it said I'll see you soon," Thea said. "It was handwriting, Liv's handwriting."
"Are you sure?" Laurel asked.
"Laurel, I know my sister's handwriting anywhere," Thea said. "I noticed a logo on the arrow as well, it reads ARGUS."
"ARGUS?" Laurel asked.
"I figured you might ask Barbara to look into it," Thea said. "Because, if there's anyone who can track down what ARGUS is, it's her."
"Yes," Laurel said. "Thea, I'm really worried about you."
"Don't be, your Dad could use your help though," Thea said. "I saw him the other day, he's a wreck."
"Well, he lost his daughter," Laurel said. "But, he's an adult, I can't make him do anything. And I really can't make you do anything as well. You can be much more, Thea, you don't have to throw your entire life away….just here me out, please."
Thea decided to listen for once. What happened to Rochelle the other night shocked Thea a little bit, and made her consider some of the choices I made.
"I was angry, but I learned some things, to get over my anger," Laurel said. "I can take you to my teacher, and she can offer you the same training. It won't be easy, but it you'll be a much better person for it."
Thea took a moment to consider what Laurel said. Did she want to be a better person? The answer had been a resounding yes, she really wanted to be a better person. A shattered home life, a dead father, a mother who stopped caring, and a sister who might not be as dead, it confused Thea. One of her best friends dying through some sick experiment as well made Thea really question.
"You don't have to say yes, now," Laurel said. "Just think about it."
Thea moved over and wrapped her arms around Laurel, hugging her. The poor girl shook in response, when holding her arms around Laurel, and just barely holding herself up.
"Thank you for being supportive," Thea said. "You…you only…thank you, Laurel."
Thea didn't need to say much more because Laurel understood. She woke up today and realized there was a really big problem. Laurel hoped to help Thea get her life back on track. The hope of her sister being alive did spark something in Thea, and Laurel hoped both Liv and Sara could come home soon for their sakes.
For all of their sakes.
Talia smiled when the door opened up.
"It's been a long time," Talia said.
"Yes, it has," Harry said. He crossed the room and moved towards Talia and smiled. "Sara and Nyssa are enjoying France, although they will return very soon."
Talia smiled and leaned in to respond with a kiss. The kiss resulted in sparks flying between the two of them. Harry rested a hand on Talia's back and pulled her closer in. The two of them matched each other with an intense kiss, the two of them burying their tongues against each other.
"And I'm so glad you've come by for a visit," Talia said. "Our greatest asset is coming over with a report. I'm sure she'll be excited to see her."
Ruve Darhk walked through the opened door a few seconds later. She dropped to a knee before Talia a moment later.
"Mistress, I'm glad to be of service as always," Ruve said.
Talia just smiled and motioned for Ruve to rise to a standing position. Ruve nodded and held the documents in her hands, before dropping them on the desk.
"We have a visitor," Talia said.
"Great Dragon, the honor is all mine," Ruve said.
Ruve obediently dropped to her knees before Harry, and Harry had a feeling if he ordered her to do so, Ruve gladly would do so much more from this particular position. Harry smiled and looked down at her. Talia trained the woman properly, but she had Ruve under her tender loving care for several months. The wife of Damien Darhk showed obedience to the Daughter of Ra's al Ghul.
"Please rise, and face us both," Harry said.
Ruve did a second later. She stood while Talia and Harry remained seated. They sat on a chair, with Talia sitting down upon Harry's lap, to remind Ruve of the position as one of the chosen acolytes of the Dragon. Not quite a general, but still a pretty good position to be in.
Harry wrapped an arm around Talia's waist and steadied the woman, as she remained firmly perched in this particular position.
"HIVE continues their movements towards former Atlantean outposts," Ruve said. "They believe the Merfolk Medallion is somewhere in the Midwestern United States."
'They aren't the only ones,' Harry thought to Talia. 'Shado arrived a few days ago, and told me, she thought the medallion might be somewhere in Smallville. Or at least a clue to where it is.'
'Excellent,' Talia thought. 'We will have to locate it as soon as possible.'
Talia took a deep breath and smiled when moving against Harry's lap. Harry held Talia firmly on his lap, making sure she positioned herself.
"There have also been rumors about my husband being sighted by some HIVE agents, although they have been unverified," Ruve said. "I swear, I will do everything in my power to ensure I know whether or not he lives."
Damien Darhk had not been seen in a long time. ARGUS finally verified Darhk had not been among the debris hardened, although how he escaped remained a mystery to Harry.
"Speaking of family members, have you seen your daughter?" Talia asked.
"Yes, and she says her father has not been there to visit her," Ruve said.
"How is she doing?" Harry asked.
"Quite, well, she's the top of the class at her school," Ruve said. "The moment she's old enough, she'll learn of your greatness, as well."
Harry smiled and motioned for Talia to get off of his lap. Talia did and slipped onto the floor. Harry rose up and looked Ruve dead on in the eye. She could tell Harry stared into her very soul, which would detect deception, even among those who trained their bodies and their minds to not betray their actions.
"The moment your husband comes around, you are to inform me, should he make contact with you, or your daughter," Harry said. "Is that understood, Ruve?"
"Yes, great one, I understand you, perfectly," she said.
"You've done well, with HIVEs resources being cut in half, and telling us all of the trusted people to take in, once the organization has taken over," Talia said. "I believe you have earned a reward. A taste, to encourage you to perform better behavior. You've never got kissed by a real man, only your husband?"
Ruve nodded like an obedient servant. Talia answered with a smile and pointed towards Ruve. Harry stepped towards Ruve and wrapped an arm around her.
The kiss occurred in less than a minute, and Harry pulled away. Each one of those seconds, Ruve craved, and it made her want even more. Harry pushed deep into the depths of Ruve's mouth and mapped out a path inside which sent electricity coursing through every inch.
Harry dragged her to the point of near climax, before pulling away from her. Ruve had been left at the edge and then denied the full power. Harry didn't need to penetrate her body to cause her near sexual thrill, to tease Ruve, to the point of where she screamed, choked for him.
"Please," Ruve said.
"Continue your work, and the rewards will be more advanced," Harry said.
"I agree," Talia said. "Beloved, if you will please join me in my quarters, where we will discuss certain matters. And pet, assume the position."
Ruve dropped to the ground and Talia tied her hands behind the back of her head.
"Don't move until I give the signal," Talia said.
Talia and Harry stepped into the next room to leave Ruve peering through the window where she could see everything which would go on to the other side of the room. Another constant reminder of what would happen if Ruve remained loyal. She would be continued to be rewarded.
Any lack of faith resulted in punishment, and Ruve knew what punishment from the Daughter of the Demon and her Elite Guard ended up like. Excitement and fear spread through the eyes of the woman, as she watched clothes start flying when Harry pleasured Talia's body.
Her eyes remained fixated on the actions inside when watching Harry push his way into Talia, and her screams for more. Ruve settled herself in for a long watch, unable to move, leg cramps and all. No relief at all, given she could not move her tied hands.
The submissive pet watched her mistress and her master reminded her why her loyalties should lie firmly in the camp of the Dragon.
Sara laid out on a massage table, and Nyssa laid out on another massage table. Gabrielle kneeled down and worked out the kinks in the back of Sara's neck and moved down to caress the back of the woman's legs as well. Gabrielle's lithe fingers worked their magic, in more ways than one. Sara could feel them teasing the inside of her thighs, and bringing her up close.
Fleur worked Nyssa as well and caused moans to come.
"Make us feel good, and we'll put a good word in with the Dragon, "Nyssa said.
Nyssa might have thought they took advantage of the devotion both women held towards the dragon. The erotic sensations spreading through Nyssa's body made it really good. Fleur's allure poured into the massage.
"That's cheating," Gabrielle said.
"You're just jealous that my allure is stronger than your allure," Fleur said.
"Only because you're older, sister," Gabrielle said. "I bet I can get the Dragon before you do."
"I bet you can't," Fleur said. "He already has marked me and left me in a puddle of my own juices."
"Well, he would have fucked me, had he been there," Gabrielle argued.
Gabrielle poured some of the most intense feelings, trying to one up her sister, by making Sara cum through the sheerest touches.
'So, who wins this battle?' Sara asked, her body coming down.
'We do, beloved,' Nyssa thought, feeling the tingles spread through her body. Fleur's able fingers skinned Nyssa's thighs and made her feel beyond great.
Sara could think Nyssa hit the nail right on the head. The hands of the barely legal Gabrielle working Sara to pleasure caused warm feelings to spread through Sara's thighs. The feeling of those hands, working her over, made Sara want so much more.
"I bet you anything that I can get with him first," Gabrielle said.
"Anything?" Fleur asked. "Loser becomes the winner's slave for a month?"
"You're on, "Gabrielle said. "I'm going to get his cock first."
"Yeah, right, you wouldn't even know what to do with it, if you had it," Fleur said.
Sara smiled in amusement but figured she should really get involved before the fireballs started flowing. "Ladies, please, I'm sure you both have a chance. Maybe one of you has slightly better of a chance."
"See, the White Canary likes me more and thinks I have more of a chance," Gabrielle said.
"In your wet dreams," Fleur said.
"No, those are when I win this bet, dressing you up as a slutty French Maid, and pounding your ass until you can't sit down."
The massage ended, and both Nyssa and Sara stepped up. Gabrielle and Fleur moved over to get the clothes of the White Canary and one of her consorts. They handed them over, and Nyssa and Sara both got dressed.
"We're going to be returning home soon," Sara said. "It's been great, but I need to meet with my parents, to let them know I'm still alive, and….."
"I can come with you, watch you over, be your bodyguard," Fleur said, bubbling over with excitement. "I've always wanted to see America, just once."
"Hey, you're not going to leave me here," Gabrielle said. "I'm coming with you."
"Both of you can come," Sara said. "And both of you will come."
Sara winked and both of the Delacour sisters just responded with a smile, and they tried to move their way into greater prominence.
'So, are you enjoying this as much as I am?' Sara asked.
'Yes, I'm sure we'll have plenty of fun with them,' Harry responded. 'Do you see any problems with bringing them back?'
'No, they're skilled fighters, they've proven themselves to be pretty good at handling themselves,' Sara thought. 'Helps they can throw fireballs at people, but there's more than that, they are pretty good at what they do. And the fact they are a pair of very hot French blondes doesn't help.'
"I do enjoy Gabrielle's French Maid outfit idea,' Harry responded.
'Trust me, you're not the only one,' Nyssa agreed.
'All three of us enjoyed that idea,' Sara thought. 'You know something, two kinky little French maids are better than one.'
'Mia informed me, in case something goes wrong, Liv will be returning home soon,' Harry thought. 'No more than a few days.'
Sara could not help and think of some kind of feeling of incoming dread. She could not put her finger on it, but it was most certainly there. She hoped everything could go well.
Lana Lang found herself pulled towards the Kawatchee Caves. She always exhibited some amount of curiosity towards them, but not as obsessive about them as Hailey, Claire, or even Chloe was, but she still found herself very curious about the caves and what was in there.
She woke up with a feeling of something, else. It almost as if some mysterious force drove Lana. She needed to take a closer look at the caves.
Lana made her way up to the caves very early in the morning. The sun had not come up just yet. Lana stepped to the top and found nothing. She held a flashlight in hand and shined it into the cave. A few seconds passed, and the flashlight went out. The battery was weakened.
"Damn it," Lana swore.
A glow came from Lana's hands and illuminated the entire cave so brightly, Lana stepped back in very obvious astonishment. She did not know this would happen, and now she found a deeper curiosity from the cave around her. Lana looked to one side and looked to the other side.
Something fired from her hand and lit up the entire cave. Lana felt different after the trip to France, and now she exhibited something.
'Am I a meteor mutant, or am I something else?' Lana thought.
Lana's eyes shifted over, and she stepped towards the cave. She slipped into the back of her mind as something else, or rather someone else took the driver's seat. Lana essentially fell asleep and allowed the mysterious force sharing her body to look around the cave.
"It has to be around here somewhere," she whispered. "He had to have hidden it in here….this is the perfect place for it. I need to bait it, for a trap."
Lana's fingers ran over the walls of the cave and sent a spark of energy from the other side. She pulled back in surprise. Lana reached into a bag and pulled out the dusty tome.
"It's been a long time," Lana said. "It's like visiting an old friend."
She flipped through the book, trying to find the right locating spells. It was hell trying to find this thing, but thankfully, a wonderful modern invention known as the Internet put the power and the book back into the witch's hands.
"Reveal yourself."
Lana held her hand out and focused on the spell. She channeled all of the energy of nature, and a strange set of numbers appeared. Lana looked at the numbers, frowning deeply. They all flashed upon the cave and lit them up.
"Runic properties have been manipulated by advanced mundane means," Lana said. "This is very fascinating."
Someone came from the cave, and Lana turned around. Someone walked into the cave and stopped. The entity combed through Lana's memories and recognized who the party was immediate.
"Hailey?" Lana asked.
"Lana?" Hailey asked. "What are you doing here?"
"I just needed a place to think," Lana said. "Chloe's cousin is coming into town, and you know how she is. I figured I would take a closer look at everything here."
Hailey blinked and noticed the numbers flashing in the air. She looked down and noticed a dusty looking tome which flashed on the ground. Hailey looked from Lana to the tome.
"You're not Lana," Hailey said.
"Clever, clever, little witch."
The witch who possessed Lana bombarded Hailey with a bolt of energy. Hailey just barely put up a shield spell to block the constant barrage of attack. Hailey dropped to her knees, weakened from the attack.
"I'm looking for the stones," Lana said. "I need them to get my revenge on her."
Hailey pushed out of the attack and almost staggered back a few feet. She collapsed down onto the ground and looked at Lana. Her body slowly had been assimilating to this new power for a number of weeks.
"The fact this vessel resembles my former body will make it easier to adapt," Lana said. "And you should kneel before me."
Hailey whipped her hand back and sent a bolt of energy towards Lana. Lana fired back and the two bolts of energy crossed in mid-air with each other. Both Lana and Hailey flew back into the air and landed down onto the ground.
She rolled over a few seconds later and tried to rise up. Lana caused a dagger to drag across Hailey's throat."
"You know more about these caves than anyone else, according to Lana," Lana said. "Tell me about them, tell me about them now."
Hailey struggled, the magical dagger proved to be inches away from cutting her throat if she was not careful.
"Okay, don't hurt Lana, and I'll help you."
Chapter Forty-Three: Revenge From Beyond.
Harry popped into Smallville before anyone knew he left. The business in Starling City wrapped up, Harry sat down Liv and Laurel to talk, he caught up with Talia and did a couple of other minor things. He returned to Smallville, and instantly, Harry felt something off, something strange in the air.
At first, Harry discounted it as some weird quirk of Smallville. Certain towns leaned to some very strange and very peculiar magical auras, and why would Smallville be any exception to this rule. The more Harry thought about it though, the more he realized something had been very wrong. Harry took a couple of steps into the town and appeared outside of the Potter House, and walked all the way to the Kent Farm, and nothing had been out of the ordinary, at least at first. Harry leaned back and took the magic in.
'Where could it be?'
Harry blinked a few seconds later in response and drew in a very prominent breath. He leaned in and looked towards the Kawatchee Caves which blinked in the air. Some kind of strange magic energy flowed from the cave. Harry stepped closer towards the caves and ascended up the caves. Numbers, some of which did not make any sense to Harry, flashed about the area of the cave. The numbers flashed in the cave and sent some kind of message which Harry figured, would have to be decoded.
Magical binary, Harry could not have thought of a better way to describe it. Harry stepped and heard a sound of a struggle inside of the cave. Harry stepped inside of the cave and noticed something which gave him a moment of pause.
Lana pressed a magical knife to Hailey's throat. Hailey did not give her much satisfaction of staying still for too soon, and yet, at the same time, she stood still just enough to make sure Lana did not lash out and start slashing away at Hailey's throat.
"You're going to tell me where they are," Lana said. "You're going to tell me where it is, or I'm going to spill your magical blood all over the cave."
"You're going to have to tell me exactly what you're looking for because I'm not a mind reader," Hailey gasped.
Harry positioned himself through the shadows. He noticed a spell around the cave which told the caster of anyone who stepped into the cave. Harry negated the spell and stepped deeper inside of the caves, waiting to pull Lana away. The closer Harry stepped towards Lana, the more Harry figured something had been off from her.
The aura seemed very familiar, and Harry realized the aura matched the feeling he had when in the crypt in France when he met Lana. Something possessed Lana. Not quite a Horcrux, not quite a ghost, Harry didn't know how to describe it.
"The stones of power, I need them," Lana breathed in Hailey's ear. "I know they're here, and you're going to give them to me. She has one of them, you know."
Lana pressed the knife to Hailey's neck to show the younger brunette how much business the possessed witch meant.
"Okay, don't hurt anyone…don't hurt her," Hailey said. "What do the stones look like?"
"You'll know them when you've seen them," Lana said a few seconds later.
Hailey's knees knocked together in response. Harry looked from Hailey to Lana and suddenly reacted. He blasted Lana and caused the knife to turn into a harmless feather. Lana looked up in surprise. Hailey grabbed Lana around the arm and flipped her down.
Harry noticed the difference between the two sisters in an instant. Hermione, by her own admission, pretty much was not a good practical fighter, and field work had not been her thing. Hailey, on the other hand, proved to be very adept at the time hand to hand, and spell to spell things. Harry saw a lot of raw potential in the girl, and a scary amount of power which had not been untapped.
The two of them bombarded each other with spells which clashed together in mid-air. Lana flew back and knocked Hailey back. Hailey blocked and the shield sliced to ribbons when her face had not.
"I don't know how anyone entered the cave without me knowing it."
Lana threw knives at Hailey. Hailey deflected some of them back and blasted some of them into smithereens without a moment's notice. Hailey reared back as hard as she could and sent an intense blast with the wand, destroying some of the knives in a blink of an eye.
Suddenly, Lana flashed in front of Hailey and nailed her in the back of the leg. The attack forced Hailey to drop down to a knee. Lana wrapped an arm around Hailey's neck.
A flash of light erupted, and Lana just barely was able to block the spell attack coming from Harry. Her wrist shattered from the impact of holding her hand up to block it.
"Let, Lana, go," Harry warned her.
"You...I didn't want you to be involved," Lana said. "You don't understand."
The entity using Lana's body flashed away and left Harry to scramble over to the downed Hailey. He reached over and held a hand for Hailey to take and be pulled up to a standing position. Hailey wrapped her arms around Harry's waist, to prevent from falling over.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Hailey said. "I would have been a lot worse if you hadn't shown up. Guess, I owe you big time, and….we'll worry about that later when we protect Lana from whatever is possessing her. What's possessing her, anyway?"
"That's a pretty good question," Harry said. "I think our answers have to go with a crypt in France, and Lana must have absorbed something, dormant magic, or something along those lines."
"So, an imprint of a long-dead ancestor of hers, in other words?" Hailey asked. "Lana mentioned this vessel resembled her last body, so it was easy to put two and two together. Or do you think there might be some kind of resurrection at play?"
Harry figured resurrection would be a pretty good call, to be perfectly honest. He did not know where to go next, only he knew resurrection would have been a pretty good call. Harry would have to figure out what the hell went wrong.
The throbbing through Lana's head increased and every single nerve ending of her body lit on fire. Lana screamed when fire spread through her very being and she struggled to hold herself up to a standing position. Lana wondered what the hell happened, how the hell did she get here? Several answers, Lana suspected, and not that many questions.
The last thing Lana remembered, she had been going to head off to sleep. She took some aspirin for a killer headache, and then suddenly, boom, Lana found herself laying out in the middle of nowhere, without the slightest clue of how she got here.
Lana's mind flashed, and she recalled, for a brief moment, she had been in a cave. Then something attacked her, something from the darkness lashed out. Lana knew Hailey was there as well, or maybe Lana's troubled mind tried to piece together the most logical explanation. Lana could not even begin to figure out what the hell had gone on.
'What happened to me?'
Smallville had been known as the capital of the strange and the weird, and for a good reason. Ever since the meteor shower, many problems defying explanation hit. Lana found herself in the middle of those problems, at least once a week, and built up a tolerance for the weird.
Lana found herself face down in the middle of a field and struggled to get up. The stabbing pain shooting through Lana's wrist made it very difficult to get up from a standing position. Lana collapsed almost down to the ground and took a deep breath.
'Someone attacked me. But why, why would they….ooh this hurts like hell?'
Lana's body went through the ringer. Her head throbbed even harder the moment she held up. Lana looked at the bruise all over her right arm, and the swelling.
Something from the distance jolted Lana up, and she looked up just in time to see Claire drop down onto the ground. For some reason, Lana preferred Claire be the one to pick her up, and no one else.
"Claire, be careful!" Lana yelled. "There's someone attacking people out here in Smallville."
"Lana, it's fine, I'm here," Claire said.
Claire sensed the obvious distress coming from Lana and wanted to do anything possible to try and alleviate the distress. Claire leaned down and pulled Lana up to a standing position. Lana wrapped her arms around Claire and looked barely able to stand.
"I was in bed, and then I woke up here," Lana said. "I don't know what happened, between now and then."
Lana thought about mentioning the weird flashes about the cave and decided not to. There were more to this than meets the eye.
Claire's concern grew and rightfully so. Someone attacked Lana, and she could not remember who. Clothes ripped and left in a field, which rose some alarm bells in Claire's mind. The girl took a deep breath and scooped Lana up in her arms. Lana hung up and almost flopped down onto the ground.
"Just hang onto me, everything is going to be fine," Claire told Lana.
Lana hoped everything was going to be fine. The thoughts going through her head pointed to the fact of everything going less than fine.
"Maybe I should take you to a hospital," Claire said.
"No, please, don't, I only feel safe with you!" Lana yelled.
It had been a long time since Claire saw Lana have an episode like this. Something must have really spooked her tonight. One look in Lana's terrified eyes made Claire wonder what the hell Lana felt and why she did not tell her. Claire leaned in and wrapped Lana into a hug. Lana rested her head on Claire's upper chest, almost buried into the cleavage of her nightdress.
"I'll take you back to the farmhouse," Claire said. "Good thing, Ma, taught me about first aide, I think I can patch you up. That wrist looks pretty nasty."
Lana pulled away from Claire enough to get a look at the bruised wrist. The bone looked almost like it stuck out from the wrist. Lana tried to remember how the wrist got like that. The only thing Lana remembered was a blast of light.
"Just lean on me, and everything will be okay," Claire responded.
"Yes, everything will be fine, now that I'm with you."
The voice in the middle of Lana's psyche could not have been more thrilled. Lana may have woken up and reestablished dominance, but still, Isabel manipulated Lana deep in her mind. The Traveler would lead her to the stones.
"Just hold on, we shouldn't be there in more than a few minutes," Claire said.
"Just, get me there, and lock the door behind you," Lana said. "I don't want anything to happen."
Harry brought Hailey back to the Potter House. Hailey had a few bumps and bruises, and Harry looked her over.
"So, are you going to strip me down to my underwear and give me a thorough examination?" Hailey asked with a very cheeky grin, only to receive one of those looks from Harry. The grin faded from Hailey's face. "Yeah, I know, it's not the time or the place to ask for something like that, but you can't blame a girl for trying, can you?"
Hailey leaned back on the couch. To be perfectly honest, Hailey did not feel that hurt, just fatigued. Something laid a beating on Hailey.
"I'm more worried about Lana," Hailey said. "She wasn't herself…..have you ever dealt with someone who has been possessed before?"
"Once," Harry said. "A long time ago, it feels like another lifetime."
Hailey answered with a nod, understanding one hundred percent what Harry meant. The Dragon had many lifetimes, and Hailey suspected he lived some very interesting ones over the years. Harry finished the scan and left Hailey.
"Sit down, rest, and drink plenty of fluids, and you'll be fine."
Harry gave a glass of water to Hailey, and Hailey took it, drinking it. She waited for something to happen.
"She'll be coming for this, I think," Harry said.
He dropped the dusty tome Lana brought to the cave on the bed. The first glance told Harry everything he needed to know, some kind of old-time spell book. Dating back several centuries, not that many of the spellbooks from his world were much more in date, as Harry knew any revisions of spells had been taken them away, and not adding any new ones. The spells the Ministry of Magic deemed problematic and thus dark, were taken out of rotation in the spell book.
They wondered why no one even bothered to advance over the last few years, and why each passing generation of magic users became less able to achieve what the previous generation had, in the past. Harry found that fact neither here, nor there to be perfectly honest.
"That?" Hailey asked.
Hailey watched Harry lift the spellbook up without touching it. The smartest thing anyone could do, due to the fact the book could have many automated defenses, which could come back and bite Harry in the worst possible way. Hailey watched the energy fly off of the pages of the book.
"Yes, the spell book, some of these spells have been lost for a time," Harry said. "Lost magic, old magic, magic which she could use to achieve her goals, whatever her end game is."
"She said she wanted these stones of power," Hailey said.
"Yes, I'm not sure if she wants them for her own use, but to bait a trap for someone else," Harry said.
The medallions, the stones, likely several other problems out there, and Harry needed to figure out how to tackle them one at a time. Harry had one of those vibes, a feeling of a calm before the storm. He could not shake it off, no matter how much Harry wanted to.
"Who do you think it might be?" Hailey asked.
Harry took a moment to consider it. Good question from Hailey and Harry really wished he had some good answers to. Unfortunately, those answers did not come as often as Harry would have liked. Harry looked towards the book and flipped through the pages. Some of the text in the book vanished the second Harry came across it.
"Was it just me, or did the words on the paper disappear?" Hailey asked.
"No, it wasn't just you," Harry answered, deeply frowning when looking over the pieces of paper.
This stuck out as a red flag something was very wrong with this particular book. Harry heard something thump on the outside of the door. A knock on the door resulted in Harry making haste towards the door. A peering through the window caused Harry to relax when seeing who had been on the other side of the window.
"Hey, I'm here," Kara said.
"I'm glad you are," Harry said. "I really could use your help about now…or more than likely, to keep an eye on Hailey."
Kara looked over at Hailey who sat on the couch. The look of annoyance crossing over the young girl's face could be matched with some of the looks of annoyance Kara felt constantly over the years. Her frowning deepened and she turned to Harry.
"What happened?" Kara asked.
"I was heading up to the cave, to check something out," Hailey said. "Claire did tell you about the cave?"
"Yes, and….she did," Kara said.
Harry noticed something flickering through Kara's eyes. Something she held back, and something Harry would have to talk to her about.
"I was attacked by Lana, only it really wasn't Lana," Hailey continued. "Someone possessed her body….."
"Maybe there had been a tear in the fabric and something escaped the Phantom Zone?" Kara asked. Hailey and Harry both looked at Kara for a long moment. Kara realized they might not have been in the know and took a labored breath to try and explain everything. "The Phantom Zone is a prison dimension, where there are some of the worst criminals in the universe. Some of them have been stripped of their bodies, and they roam the Phantom Zone, to rip apart the prisons who have been sent there. They bring despair to anyone who had the misfortune of being sent there."
Harry found himself strongly reminded by Dementors. Something told Harry it was not that. Kara took a step forward and looked at the spellbook.
"Some of the symbols on here are Kryptonian," Kara said.
"Yes, I can see it," Harry said. "So, whoever created this spellbook knew different alien languages, didn't they?"
Kara eagerly responded with a nod and popped her lips apart. She looked directly at the book which flashed underneath her line of sight. Something about the book made Kara on edge, and very anxious. Just a wild hunch Kara had, she might have been wrong, to be honest. Kara did not really know.
"Don't touch it, whatever you do," Harry said.
"Right, there's some kind of defense the book," Kara said. "Do you think you can disable it?"
"Disable it, yes," Harry said. "There's not a lot of time though, we need to find Lana. She might not be aware of the danger she's in."
"If Lana's even part of this anymore," Hailey said. "If something possessed her, there's a chance that they took over Lana's body, and is now using her basically as a puppet. There's really no way out of it now."
Harry appreciated Hailey's sentiment, but he had some ideas where to go from here. He put a hand on Hailey's hand and offered it a brief squeeze, before smiling.
"I know Lana's still inside," Harry said.
'I'm just coming through, to tell you I'm here,' Sara thought. 'Well, we're here, Gabrielle, Fleur, and I. Nyssa needs to take care of a couple of things, but she'll be with us, as soon as she can.'
'Good, I'm glad you're here,' Harry thought. 'I could really use your help, something has come up. I'm not sure what's going to happen, but something has come up.'
'Hey, you know, I'm happy to help,' Sara thought. 'Vacation was getting a little boring anyway. I'm ready to stretch my legs and get ready for some action.'
The cell phone at the house rang, and Harry reached over to answer it.
"Hello?" Harry asked.
"Harry?" Claire asked.
"Yeah, it's me," Harry said. "Listen, there's something, you need to know. It's….."
"I know about it already," Claire said. "There's someone out there, something dangerous. I don't know what they did to Lana, but she was pretty beaten up. Her wrist had been broken, and she is in agony. I patched her up the best she could."
The possession likely weakened Lana, as her body had not gotten quiet used to the magic. The broken wrist part , well Harry hated to admit it was all on his own.
"Some didn't attack Lana physically," Harry said. "I'll be over there as soon as possible, to explain it to you. Just don't let Lana out of your sight, whatever you do."
"Okay, trust me, I won't let her out of my sight," Claire said.
"Hailey, stay here, make sure she doesn't come back here for the book," Harry said. "Kara, stay with her, to make sure Hailey doesn't get hurt."
"I can handle myself," Hailey protested.
"Normally, yes, with your fatigue, I'm not sure," Harry said. "She held back last time because she underestimated you….."
"If Claire's in danger….just make sure she's fine, okay?" Kara asked.
"I don't think Lana will do anything to Claire, but just in case….."
Harry summoned the Sword of Godric Gryffindor into his hand. It had been the last resort should something have gone very wrong. Harry hoped nothing would go wrong, but hopes and reality often did not align up. He wanted to see how well the sword worked for possession.
'Only one way to find out, I believe,' Harry thought.
The moment Sara and her two bodyguards dropped down, Fleur tensed up. She resembled someone who had been spooked by something.
"She can feel it in the air," Gabrielle said. "I can as well, although it's not as strong."
"I'm fine," Fleur said. "Just give me a couple of minutes to breath, that's it, just let me breathe, in and out, as much as possible."
Fleur drew in a very obvious breath and allowed another breath to come out in response. She took a moment to steady her nerves, keeping as calm as humanly possible, even though the calmness could fade in a blink of an eye. Sara reached in and cupped the top of Fleur's hand. Fleur let out a very prominent breath, allowing her chest to rise and fall.
"There's old magic here," Fleur said. "Someone is searching for something, something very powerful."
"Harry mentioned there would be trouble," Sara said.
Fleur and Gabrielle both nodded. They found themselves glad to be at service, and also very nervous as well. Their mother threatened to punish them, and not in the fun way if anything happened to Sara. The devotion their moth held to the White Canary would be very immense, and Fleur and Gabrielle both shared it, beyond all reason, well beyond most reason anyway. Both girls allowed deep breaths to come from their bodies.
"If there's trouble, we can handle it," Fleur answered.
"Yeah, that's what we were born to do," Gabrielle said. "That's what we have to do."
Both of the girls understood what had been at stake. Both of them understood, and both would do what had to be done to stand alongside Sara.
Another figure moved in the shadows. Sara shifted the blade out and held it at the chest of the attacker. She only relaxed a little bit, when revealing the person in the shadows to be Shado.
"Reflexes have not dulled since you left for vacation," Shado commented very lightly. "I'm glad to see you still keep yourself as sharp as possible."
"I have to be sharp," Sara replied to Shado. "If I'm not, trouble is going to follow."
Shado responded by nodding in confirmation, she understood one hundred percent and had been glad. She dressed for battle, wearing a green hood, and a bow and arrow, with a full quiver. Not the same green hood her father wore, she passed that on to Sara, who in turn, gave it to Liv as a gesture of friendship. Still, the tribute had been very obvious.
"I was here on important business," Shado said.
"These are my companions, Fleur and Gabrielle," Sara said. "This is….."
"Another one of the Dragon's faithful, we know," Gabrielle said. "And a very skilled warrior by the looks of things, and an archer as well….I've practiced it...Fleur is more of a knife girl, she doesn't have the patience for the subtly of archery."
Fleur's sour look increased, at a reminder of something she failed at, which Gabi succeeded at. Still, Fleur thought her fireball precision beat her sister's.
"It does require discipline," Shado agreed. "And my name is Shado."
Everyone stood and waited for Harry to show up. They only needed to blink, when Harry popped out in front of them.
"How can we be of service?" Fleur asked.
"I need extra eyes and ears around the Farm House, in case something happens," Harry told them. "I want you to make sure things don't get too bad. There's something holding back the person in Lana's head, but I don't know if it's some good."
"She's the one, isn't she?" Sara asked. "The witch who worked alongside the White Canary? It was her tome which Lana was in, wasn't it?"
These questions sounded very rhetorical in nature. Harry turned around to the four girls, all of them who had been ready. Harry tried to mentally work on a way to fix this problem. He had been very curious about what the witch was.
"Isabel, she won't be happy with me," Sara said. "She thinks I was the one who left her to get burned at the stake, but I had been busy dealing with the White Bumblebee's forces."
So they had been doing this for a very long time, and Shado tensed up very obviously at the mention of his name.
"He still lives," Shado said.
"Or at the very least, has been resurrected like Sara, Kara, Gwen, myself, and the other three medallion holders, whoever they are," Harry said.
Claire had Lana inside, and Harry worried just a little bit about Claire. They would have to play this one very carefully, and by the numbers.
"Hailey and Kara are guarding the book," Harry whispered. "She thinks it's still in the cave."
"Why do I think they're guarding the book, but there are a few surprises in the book," Sara said.
Harry did not confirm nor deny anything. He just looked on at Sara with a very evident smile. She appreciated this smile, somehow, it reassured her, more than most other things could, at least at this point in time.
"Let's head on," Harry said.
"Yes, I agree," Shado replied.
Lana took a moment to try and figure out what was going on. Something caused her mind to slip. Claire made sure she laid on the couch, being patched up.
"Thanks for not taking me to the hospital," Lana said. "I can't explain it, but I think going to the hospital would be a very bad thing right now, a very, very, very bad thing."
Funnily enough, Lana could not explain why heading to the hospital would be a bad thing, only it would be a bad thing. Every single event tonight frustrated Lana. She closed her eyes, trying to remember.
Claire put a hand on Lana's shoulder and leaned in.
"Just take a deep breath, relax, and try to come to terms," Claire said. "It's what my mother tells me to do."
Claire thought her mother would be returning from her trip any day now, and she missed some insanity. Martha Kent taped the number to the fridge which Claire can reach her. Another day, Claire would see her mother again, and boy things had changed.
"Relax."
Claire told Lana these words, a word she could not do herself, considering the fact the three stones were out there. She declined to tell Lana Harry would be coming over soon. No need to stress her out, deal with it when Harry arrived. Claire looked over at the clock.
"I'm going to check something," Claire said. "Call me if you need anything."
Lana relaxed, and her mind slipped into a state of sleep. The entity Margaret Isabel Thoreaux slipped into Lana's mind and took over.
'Finally, that purity act was getting very boring,' she thought. 'Oh, I don't know Claire, I don't know what happened. Some mean monster attacked me.'
The possessed girl slowly rose up from the couch and took a look around. She took in several deep breaths and the energy flowed from the fingertips of Isabel's ancestor. She took in a deep breath and took out another breath, searching for what she needed to find.
"Where is it?" she hissed. "It has to be here. She would have had to keep it here somewhere. Now where, where would she hide my stone? Where would she hide my precious stone?"
Claire showed up and saw Lana standing with her arms spread out. The room glowed around them, and Claire looked towards Lana.
"Lana?" Claire asked. "What's going on?"
"I need the stone, Clara Jor-El," Lana said. "I need it to accomplish my goals, and to gain revenge on those who burned me at the stake."
Claire knew Lana had been possessed and moved over to grab Lana. Lana discharged Claire and caused her to smash into a cabinet. Glass and wood flew everywhere, when Claire slumped against the wall, breathing in and breathing out heavily from hitting the ground.
"I'm not fooling around Clara, where is it?" Lana asked.
"Where's Lana?" Claire demanded.
"She's locked in mind, the weak, pathetic child," Lana said. She responded in a mocking manner. "Oh, my parents are dead, oh woe is my life, oh woe is me….give it up, child, she's just pathetic. And you're pathetic as well…you were the one who allowed your father to die."
Claire popped up and tried to knock Lana back over with super breath. Lana blocked the attack, with her hand and blasted a bolt of energy through the air.
The energy never reached Claire. At the last possible second, Harry manifested in front of Claire in a ball of fire. The spell connected with the fire and knocked Lana back a few seconds.
"The Dragon," Lana said.
"Isabel," Harry commented a few seconds later. "You're still after the same obsessions all these years later."
"She's back, I can feel her," Lana said. "And he still lives. I can use the stones to destroy them."
"And how many lives are you going to destroy in the process?" Harry asked. "I can help you."
Lana lashed out and attacked Harry. Harry effortlessly blocked another attack. Two more blasts of magic came with Harry repelling them instantly. Harry whipped his hand out and connected, sending a violent blast of red light directly at Lana's chest. Lana lifted up off of the ground and came crashing down with a vicious sounding impact.
"What did you do?" Claire asked.
Fleur, Gabrielle, and Sara stepped inside.
"I stunned her," Harry said. "Sara, I need your help for this part."
They were going to find out why Isabel could not be at peace.