Chapter Text
Lena leaned back and stretched in her chair. She closed her laptop and looked around her office. She was done with work-related activities for the day. Now, she had to handle personal stuff which she was a little skeptical about. Lena was startled out of her thoughts by a knock at the door.
Lena looked up and said, “Come in.”
Lena smiled as she saw Kara come through the door carrying three cups of coffee and a box of donuts.
“Hello darling,” purred Lena.
Kara smiled and said, “Hello, my love. Hope I made it in time.”
Lena looked down at her watch and mused, “We still have five minutes before our guest arrives.”
Kara breathed a sigh of relief as she sat down and put the food and drink on Lena’s desk.
“I was afraid I wasn’t going to make it. It took me a little bit to wrangle the girls to get them ready.”
Lena looked around curiously and asked, “Speaking of the girls….”
Kara smiled and said, “They are with Jess. She offered to take them to the conference room to get cake and hot chocolate.”
Lena breathed a sigh of relief and said, “I am glad that she was able to distract them. I thought about having them in for this conversation…but…”
Kara raised an eyebrow and asked, “You want to vet her first?”
Lena smiled warily and said, “Well, we don’t know that much about her. Plus, Batman just arranged this meeting. There is no guarantee that she will take on the girls as pupils. I don’t want to get the girls’ hopes up of meeting the woman and she just turns us down.”
Kara nodded and said, “That is very sound logic…” Kara looked up at Lena with a smirk and said, “…but that is your politically correct answer. What is the real reason that you want to vet her?”
Lena looked down with a slight pout and said, “I know Batman heavily vouches for this woman since they date, but his dating history from what you told me is…how do I put this nicely….”
Kara smirked and said, “Less than desirable.”
Lena sighed and said, “Well, yeah. You don’t think so?”
Kara looked up thoughtfully and said, “I know he hasn’t had the best track record, but this girl seems nice and Clark likes her even though he hates magic with a passion.”
Lena raised an eyebrow and asked, “Really? Are you really not concerned considering the last several people he dated? Catwoman is a kleptomaniac, Talia is a cult leader, Poison Ivy is an eco-terrorist….”
Suddenly a young woman’s voice said, “I know I tend to be secretive, but I believe that I have enough morals not to be grouped with the likes of those maniacs.”
Kara and Lena yelped as they turned to the right and saw a young woman who appeared to be in her mid-20s. She had tan skin, brown eyes, and long black hair. She was wearing a black top hat, black jacket, white button-down shirt, a black bowtie, black skirt, black six-inch high heels, and fishnet stockings.
The woman took off her top hat, bowed, and said, “The amazing Zatanna at your service.”
Lena took a couple of moments to catch her breath and frowned.
“I do have a door for a reason.”
Zatanna smirked as she went to sit next to Kara and asked, “What is the fun in that?”
Lena rubbed her head and muttered, “I am already regretting this choice.”
Zatanna chuckled and said, “I am sorry for the theatrics. I thought that Batman would have explained my…flair for the dramatics considering my background.”
Kara nodded and said, “He did mention that you are a world-renowned magician that tours worldwide. I heard that your tour made over a billion dollars last year.”
Zatanna smiled and said, “I have become quite popular.”
Lena leaned back in her chair while eyeing Zatanna carefully and said, “Which begs to question, why would you be willing to take on three students during the middle of your tour?”
Zatanna eyed Lena coyly and said, “Well, it is not every day that you get told that an evil being is going to just pluck up our world out of existence in so many years. I know I may come across as silly to you, but I do take something like that quite seriously. I think more heroes should honestly be training our children to be ready for what is to come. Zatanna leaned back, narrowed her eyes, and asked, “One thing I am curious about though. Considering your background, why don’t you just teach the children magic?”
Lena looked at her startled while Kara chuckled and said, “Lena doesn’t have magical powers.”
Zatanna looked back and forth between Kara and Lena frowning and said, “I don’t understand.”
Lena looked at her baffled and said, “I think you are confused. I have never used magic once in my life.”
Zatanna leaned back in her chair and tapped her fingers together.
“Very curious indeed,” mused Zatanna. She got up and circled around Lena and said, “You have a huge magical aura that surrounds you.”
Lena chuckled nervously and said, “That can’t be right. I think that I would have realized if I had magical powers.”
Zatanna cocked her head at Lena and then shouted, “Laever Egaenil.”
Suddenly, Lena’s forehead glowed yellow before revealing an owl with a crown symbol on her forehead.”
Zatanna looked at Lena surprised and muttered, “Okay, I wasn’t expecting that.”
Lena quickly took her makeup case out of her desk to check out her forehead and gasped.
“What the fuck did you do?”
Kara leered at Zatanna and growled, “Take that off her now!”
Zatanna waved her hand which caused the symbol to disappear from Lena’s forehead.
Zatanna stared at Lena curiously and said, “Don’t get your panties in a twist. I just did a spell to reveal what type of magical being she is associated with.”
Lena looked up at her startled and asked, “So I really do have magic?”
Zatanna nodded and said, “Not only do you have magic, but you are from a ruling house of witches.”
“What?” asked Lena baffled.
Zatanna sat back down and leaned back into her chair with a smile on her face.
“I have never met magical royalty before.”
Lena rubbed her forehead and muttered, “This can’t be happening.”
Zatanna chuckled and said, “Oh, it’s happening. The question is why you didn’t know about any of this sooner. One of your parents would have to be from a royal house.”
Lena quickly shook her head and said, “Nope, it isn’t possible.”
Zatanna tapped her chin for a moment and said, “Well, let’s try this another way. Did any family members ever talk about magic? Even if it was just in the general sense?”
Lena shook her head and said, “No….” However, she stopped and frowned.
Lena rubbed the back of her head and said, “When I was around four or five, I asked my father to read me a fairy tale, Cinderella. He threw the book in the fire and told me that nothing good came from magic and that any mention of magic was forbidden in the household.”
Zatanna raised an eyebrow and said, “It sounds like someone protested too much.”
Kara nodded and said, “I agree.” Kara turned to Lena, grabbed her hand softly, and said, “I know this is a sensitive subject for you, but did Lillian ever mention anything about magic?”
Lena looked up thoughtfully for a moment. Lena scratched her head frowning and said, “No, but….”
Lena shook her head while leaning back in the chair.
Kara frowned and asked, “What?”
Lena looked up at Kara hesitantly and said, “It is probably nothing….”
Kara gave a soft smile and said, “It could be something. Even if it is not, you don’t have to be embarrassed about it. You know I always love to hear your thoughts no matter how mundane.”
Lena looked up a Kara curiously for a couple of moments and sighed.
“Honestly, I haven’t thought about this in years….but my biological mother had this old book she used to read often. It is one of the few things I brought with me when my dad came to collect me from Ireland. I remember Lillian lit a match and tried to burn it. However, it wouldn’t burn. Frustrated, Lillian threw the book away, but it somehow made it back onto my bed several days later. I always assumed that Lex got it out of the trash for me since we were closer back then, but now I wonder.”
Zatanna looked at Lena curiously and asked, “Do you know what was inside the book?”
Lena sighed while leaning back and said, “I remember the front part having a list of names. After that, it was filled with a bunch of weird symbols that I didn’t understand.”
Zatanna looked a Lena thoughtfully for a moment and said, “It sounds like a grimoire.”
Kara looked at Zatanna quizzically and asked, “What is that?”
Zatanna said, “It is a book of spells.” Zatanna looked a Lena curiously and said, “It is interesting that the book didn’t call out to you or anything.”
Lena stared at Zatanna perplexed and asked, “A book can do that?”
Zatanna nodded and said, “Yeah, it is similar to a living, breathing organism since it is imbued with the magic of the ancestors before you. It’s weird that none of them didn’t call you forth to inherit their wisdom. Are you sure that you haven’t had anything out of the ordinary happen to you over the years?”
Lena shook her head and said, “Well, the book thing was a little odd but nothing to get me to think anything weird was going on. Other than that, I haven’t had any other incidents pertaining to magic.”
Zatanna tapped her chin while staring up thoughtfully and muttered, “Very curious.”
Kara frowned and said, “I take it that this isn’t the norm when it comes to certain witches.”
Zatanna looked at Kara and Lena hesitantly for a moment and said, “Not normally. Magic doesn’t like to be forgotten. Especially being from a royal house, someone in that line would want her to carry it on.”
Lena frowned and said, “You think that someone is purposely blocking me from learning about my powers.”
Zatanna nodded and said, “Yes. Whether it is your typical magical bs remains to be seen though.”
Kara frowned and asked, “What is that supposed to mean?”
Zatanna sighed and said, “The easiest explanation would be if someone in her family on her mother's side is blocking her. They may fear Lena’s potential for power or don’t want her to inherit anything from previous ancestries.”
Lena raised an eyebrow and asked, “So greed maybe a driving force?”
Zatanna nodded and said, “Possibly. Or it could be something more unsettling.”
Lena stared at Zatanna warily and asked, “Which would be what?”
Zatanna stared at Lena hesitantly for a second and said, “Your ancestors might think you are an unfit vessel.”
Lena stared at her shocked and asked, “What is that supposed to mean?”
Zatanna scratched her head and said, “It could be an assortment of things. It could be they think you are not powerful enough to handle spells, that may abuse spells, or it could even be it has concerns about you using the book with no one physically able to train you. We wouldn’t know until we check the book out.”
Lena looked at Zatanna hesitantly and asked, “Would you be willing to take this mystery and the girls on as well.”
Zatanna smirked and said, “Of course. I do love a challenge especially one as interesting as this.”
Zatanna looked down at her watch, sighed, and said, “I’m running late for my next appointment.” She looked up at Lena and asked, “Would you like to get started tomorrow? I could analyze the girls’ skill level and then research the grimoire you have.”
Lena nodded and said, “That would be fine.”
Zatanna smiled and said, “Perfect!” Zatanna got up, smiled, and said, “Sorry to rush off. Look forward to seeing you guys tomorrow!”
Zatanna snapped her fingers and was instantly surrounded by pink smoke. Once, the smoke dissipated after a couple of seconds, it revealed that Zatanna was long gone.
Lena raised an eyebrow and muttered, “Woman definitely knows how to make an entrance and exit.”
Kara chuckled and said, “She is a character, but I do believe that she will be helpful in the long run especially considering this newfound knowledge about your family.”
Lena leaned back while rubbing her neck and said, “It is crazy to think that I come from magical royalty.”
They sat quietly for a moment before Kara looked at Lena hesitantly and said, “I hate to mention this….”
Lena sighed and said sarcastically, “Then don’t.”
Kara pouted which caused Lena to wince and look away.
Lean sighed and said, “I’m sorry for snapping. It’s just….I really don’t want to ask Lillian or Lex anything about my biological mother.”
Kara nodded and said, “I understand not asking Lex. He is too much of a sociopath to be trusted. However, Lillian is a different story…”
Lena raised an eyebrow and asked, “How so?”
Kara sighed and said, “She cares about you to a certain degree. I know she has been hypercritical of you through the years and you have had numerous fights throughout the years. However, she has saved you from being killed by Lex several times which is something. We can wait to see if Zatanna turns up anything, but if she doesn’t…”
Lena groaned while scratching her head and said, “It means that I will have to talk to her. I know. Let’s not worry about that until we have to.”
Kara nodded and said, “I understand.”
Lena turned to Kara, smiled, and said, “Well, I know I am not going to be able to get any additional work done here after finding out all that information. How about we go grab the girls and head to the park.”
Kara smirked and said, “I love the idea even though I know you just want to leave early so you can analyze the grimoire before we see Zatanna come back tomorrow.”
Lena chuckled and said, “I’m glad you know me so well.”
Kara chuckled and said, “Me too.”
Kara got up, gently grabbed Lena’s hand, and led her out of the office to enjoy the rest of the day.