Worst Case Scenario

Chapter 73: Fold

"I could get used to this" Zatanna said to herself, voice slightly distorted. Tala and Nabu were still inside of her. She could feel their presence, but they seemed submerged under her own consciousness. Perhaps this is what they felt like when possessing a mortal body. Occasionally, bits of their thoughts would bubble up. Nabu was indignant that his power was being hijacked like this, but relatively okay with Zatanna blasting Klarion, even if she used the wrong type of magic (i.e. chaos) in the process. Tala was harder to understand. She wasn't happy, obviously, but she seemed to be combining "you should attack the Justice League and join the Light and be evil and stuff" with "watch out, don't die, I can't afford to get another host, it'll take forever" and "if you have to be an Order stooge, at least make Klarion suffer, okay?" Really weird.

Even weirder was the feeling of the immense power flowing through her. It was exhilarating, but also kind of disturbing. The magic in her veins kept... rubbing up against itself, resisting itself, trying to separate out into distinct parts, like oil and water trapped inside the same pipe. She felt bloated, like she was going to explode, and knowing magic, that wasn't necessarily a metaphor. Best to get rid of some of the stuff, and what better way than by single-handedly saving the day?

Zatanna stuck her hands out in front of her and launched an ankh like a missile, chaos fire propelling it like a rocket. The combo hit Klarion in the stomach, sending him staggering.

"Order AND chaos?" Klarion asked. "T-that's totally unfair! You have to use one or the other! That's how it works!"

"What's the matter, Klarion?" Zatanna taunted, sending another pair of fireballs towards him. "Mad to have your own powers used against you?"

Klarion growled, obliterating Zatanna's fireballs with a wave of his hand. A third one, however, caught him off guard and smacked him in the face.

That did it.

"You... you... you think you can use chaos against ME?" Klarion shrieked, his voice gaining two octaves. "You think you know chaos? YOU KNOW NOTHING!"

Zatanna was preparing to toss another fireball his way when Klarion roared, a massive column of flame billowing from his mouth. Zatanna's instinctive ankh shield was able to block it, but the fire continued. Zatanna began to sweat, both from the heat and the strain. Cracks appeared in her shield, never a good sign.

"Ha, ha, HA HA HAAAA!" Klarion shrieked, his body twisting, becoming more and more demonic. "What's the matter, little girl? In over your head? Can't handle TRUE chaos? You know what they say: If you can't take the heat... DIE A HORRIBLE SCREAMING DEATH OF BURNING!"

Zatanna would have pointed out how stupid that last outburst sounded, but her shield continued to crack and buckle. She wasn't going to be able to hold this off much longer, and unlike Klarion, behind the magic she was very, very mortal. If one of his attacks connected she was toast. Literally.

Klarion ceased his fire-breath attack, twirled his hands and unleashed a wave of fire, shattering Zatanna's ankh. The strain of trying to hold it up sent Zatanna to her knees, breathing heavily.

The Witch-Boy seemed to have regained his composure. "Na, uh, uh" he said, confident as ever. "You can't beat me, Zatanna, even with both Tala and Nabu's magic. I'm a Lord of Chaos. I'm basically a god. And no matter how much power you think you have, at the end of the day, you're still just a stupid little mortal witch."

"Hey, Your Lordship" said Red Arrow, standing behind Klarion, bowstring drawn. "Why don't you try talking to some 'mortal' who gives a damn?"

The archer fired, sending a taser arrow straight into Klarion's back. The arrow's electricity was strong enough to knock out an elephant, which meant that even Klarion had to stumble. As soon as he let his guard down, Hawkman swooped down out of the night and landed a good hit with his own Nth metal mace. Klarion crumpled, landing face down in the mud.