Disguises--

"Guys! My team, how ya doing, been feeling good?" Phil rushed into the room with a familar gleam in his eye, using his best schmoozing voice.

"Whatever it is Phil, you can forget it," Wildwing stated flatly, not even bothering to look up from the newspaper.

"Come on, bubies, this'll be fun! Hardly even work!" Phil pleaded.

"Gee, you know Phil," Duke said, coming up and putting a hand on the large man's shoulder with a pained expression. "Somehow, I just don't quite believe you." He folded his arms and looked accusingly at his manager.

"Duke! You seem like a guy who likes a party!"

"Party?!" Dive barrelled into the room at his normal hyperactive speed. "What kind of party?"

"A Halloween party," Phil responded immediately, eager to take advantage of the younger man's enthusiasm. "A costume ball with some of the biggest names in sports and advertising! It's a great chance to make some deals!"

"Cooella!" Dive grinned. "When do we leave?"

"Wait just a minute," Wildwing cut in. "We don't have time for that kind of thing, Phil."

"Aw, come on bro," Dive whined. "We can't be working ALL the time."

"Kid, you know with Phil there's gotta be a catch," Duke pointed out drily.

"No catch!" Phil spread his hands innocently. "No catch at all, buby, you go, you schmooz, I make some deals, you have a good time, we go home and the offers come rolling in! The press'll be there, it's free publicity! Come on, would I lie to you?"

Three icy stares answered him.

"Aw, guys, I'm hurt!"

"Let's do it, Wildwing," Dive pleaded again.

"It might be fun," was Duke's only answer to Wildwing's glance.

"Tell you what," Wildwing sighed. "If you can convince the girls to go, we'll do it."

***

"How does he do it?" Wildwing sighed. "I thought for sure there'd be no way he could convince the three of them. I can't believe Jen Lai agreed to this."

"I was pretty surprised at that myself," Duke answered as he sorted through the costumes on the rack. "But she likes Dive, I think. She's doing this because it's important to him. Not that you'll ever get her to admit that. And you know he can charm the scales off a snake if he trys hard enough, that would have been enough to get Tanya to go. He probably dared Mallory or something. Say what you will, the kid has a way with people."

"Yeah," Wildwing tried not to smile, and Duke grinned to himself at the hint of pride in the single word.

Duke pulled a costume off the rack and studied it, then looked at Wildwing and grinned.

"It's you," Wildwing chuckled. "Let's go find the girls."

Mallary and Tanya were, surprisingly enough, already finished and paying for their purchases.

"Woah, Mal, this must be a record," Duke teased as he handed his choice to the cashier. "Only three stores? And you only spent what, a half an hour in each?"

"Watch it L'Orange," Mallary growled, but their was no real malice in her glare.

Duke glanced at Jen Lai, who was the only one not holding a bag. "Didn't find anything?" She shrugged, her expression, as usual, closed.

***

"Enter."

"Ta-da!" Nosedive cried as he walked in. "What do you think!"

Jen Lai folded her arms and cocked an eyebrow. "Does your brother know you're going like that?" she asked pointedly.

"He will," Dive said defensively. His bangs had been died purple, the rest of his hair streaked violet as well, and his clothes were a rag-tag combination of multi-colored ripped, raveled, and worn cloth, leather, and chains.

"Dare I ask what you're supposed to be?" Jen Lai looked him over.

"I'm a heavy-metal rock star!!" Nosedive said, striking a pose with an imaginary guitar.

"I see," she commented drily, "May I say, then, I believe you have accomplished your objective. You look every bit as rediculus as the rest of them."

"Thanks!" Dive said cheerily. "Can I see your costume?"

"I have--not chosen one yet," she told him. His face fell.

"Why not? You have to have a costume, Jenny-girl, Halloween's no fun if you don't dress up."

Jen Lai sighed. "Perhaps it is because I have spent too long pretending to be something I am not to take joy in hiding behind masks."

"So be yourself," Nosedive shrugged. "You're so mysterious anyway," he wiggled his fingers at her as if he were casting a spell, "nobody would know."

"I--" Jen Lai stopped, rare surprise on her face.

"Whoops, I gotta go, I'll talk to ya later Jen!" Dive darted out into the hallway, and before the door closed, Jen Lai heard someone yell.

"Dive, what did you do to your HAIR??"

***

Dive tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the others in the rec room. He was already dressed, and his streaked hair was now spiked with more mousse than Mallory used in a year.

His brother was the first to join him.

"You're sure that dye'll wash out?" was the first thing he asked.

"Relax, bro, I know what I'm doing." He grinned. "Definately not your usual image bro."

Wildwing grinned underneath the white, molded half-mask Tanya had made for him. "Who wants to be the soldier of light all the time?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders under his cape. "I like the idea of being something dark and sinister for once."

Dive chuckled. "Look out, Christine, there's a new Phantom in town!"

"I'm surprised you're even cultured enough to recognize it," Duke snorted as he stepped through the door.

"Hey!" Nosedive protested. "I saw it on TV." He studied Duke's attire. "Givin' up your saber for a bow and arrows, 'ey, buddy-boy?"

"Robin Hood, at your service," Duke grinned, whisking off his feathered hat and delivering a sweeping bow. "Eh, robbing from the rich, stealing from the poor," he replaced the hat with a roguish grin. "All in a day's work." He looked down at himself. "Although I must say I prefer red to green any day, forest or no forest."

Nosedive sniggered and turned as Mallory and Tanya walked in. Mallory wore a wide pirate's hat and eyepatch, a wide-sleeved black blouse and loose black trousers with brown leather boots. Her red hair and green stood out nicely against all the black, and a fake sword hung on the wide sash around her waist.

"Woah, rule-enforcer Mallory as a pirate," Duke chuckled. She glared at him. "Hey, no offense meant," he grinned and swept his hat off for another bow. "Us thieves have to stick together, you know," he said mischieviously as he came up. Mallory rolled her eyes at him and folded her arms.

Tanya giggled, swishing her pom-poms. Wildwing shook his head. "Tanya as a valley girl, now there's a concept."

"Like, fer sure," she grinned. Somehow she'd managed to get her hair into pigtails, and she'd found a cheerleading outfit at the costume shop, complete with red pompoms.

"Where's Jen Lai?" Phil demanded as he rushed in. "You guys have got to get going!"

"I'll go check on her," Tanya said, turning for the door.

"Hey, what's she going as anyway?" Mallory wondered. "I never saw her costume, she didn't get one when we went shopping."

"I hope she got one," Dive frowned. "I went to show her mine yesterday, and she still hadn't decided. She said she didn't really like the idea of pretending to be something she's not, she says she's done that for to long. I told go as herself, but I was just kidding, I hope she didn't think I meant that she shouldn't dress at all."

"She says she's coming," Tanya said, reappearing. "Apparently she lost a necklace or something that she needs."

"So she did decide to dress up," Mallory commented.

"You're going to be late!" Phil moaned, wringing his hands.

"Calm yourself, Phil, I am here," Jen Lai said, stepping through the door.

"Finally," he griped, looking over her critically. "A princess, huh? Well it'll have to do, we're in a hurry."

Jen Lai wore a silk, high-collared, midnight blue dress with silver lining that fell slightly below her ankles over her silver sandals. It was slit to just above her knee on one side. A wide silver necklace with her house crest rested on the blue silk at her collarbone. Her hair was up in a complicated style, woven with thin strings of pearls, and a silver woven belt worn loosely around her waist held her shield dagger in a jeweled sheath. A silver tiara rested on her head, with the crest of Ranshael in the center, a small starstone embedded in the emblem.

"I'll be right back, guys, I forgot something," Duke waved them toward the door. "Go on and get in the cars, I'll catch up in a second."

The others trekked out to the waiting limos, and by the time the argument over who would sit where was resolved, Duke had reappeared. He slipped into the second car beside Jen Lai, and the limos pulled out.

Nosedive sighed and leaned back. "Man it's nice to be famous sometimes." Duke smirked, thinking of the mob of reporters and autograph hounds that would be waiting the moment they stepped out of the car. Dive caught the look. "Hey!" he defended, "I said *sometimes,* didn't I?"

Duke just shook his head and turned to Jen Lai. "Ah, listen, Jen, I kinda have something I need to return to you."

Jen Lai raised an eyebrow at him. "I should have given this to you sooner," he continued, pulling a small box out of his pocket, "but I just never came up with the right way to tell you before. I think you need this now, though." He opened the box and pulled out a ring. Jen Lai froze.

It was silver, ornamental, with the crest of Ranshael etched into the top of a flat, perfectly cut oval starstone.

"So it was you," Jen Lai said flatly, her lack of tone carrying her anger as well as any shouted word. Duke winced.

"Yes," he confessed, "I took it. On a dare. Which is probably why I never sold it--and I think even then I knew how important it was. Jen Lai, if I could change it, I would, but all I can do is swear to you how sorry I am. And return to you what is yours by birthright." He picked up her left hand and slid the ring onto her first finger.

Jen Lai stared at it for a moment, then folded her hands in her lap and looked out the window. Her knuckles were white. Duke looked away, eyes distant.