The team returned to base to find Phil all but tearing his hair out.

"How could you do that!?" the manager demanded as soon as the Migrator's door opened. "How could you do that to your fans? How could you do that to ME?"

"Sorry, Phil, but Wraith decided he was going to go shopping at the mall," Wildwing tried to explain, playing interference so his team could escape. "We couldn't let that happen."

"What was he after?" Phil asked, only slightly placated.

"Ruby," Wildwing answered, noticing that the other ducks were still hanging around.

"He was after gems again?" Phil questioned. "Like the time they had that mind wipe ray?"

"No, Ruby is a who, not a what," Wildwing replied. "Wraith was trying to kill her."

"Then who is she?" Phil inquired in exasperation. "Why did Wraith want to kill her? Does this have anything to do with half of the Anaheim Mall being destroyed? Klegghorn came by to see what you guys know about a dragon!"

"Man, I hope Captain Comics didn't get damaged," Nosedive moaned.

"We have a publicity disaster on our hands and you're worried about a comic book shop!?" Phil nearly shrieked.

"Calm down, Phil," Wildwing soothed as he stepped between the human and Nosedive. "It's not that bad."

"Not that bad!?" Phil yelled. "Do you have any idea what I had to go through to get you guys in that parade? Or how much that float cost!? And who is Ruby!?"

"Ruby is the mage who took the mask," Wildwing calmly explained.

"I thought you said a blue beak took the mask," Phil heatedly replied. "Didn't you say that blue beaks are monsters?"

"She's not as bad as we first thought," Wildwing said and Mallory let out a snort. "Turns out blue beak is a derogatory term and she gets pretty upset if you say it to her. It's safer to just call her a mage."

"She took the mask, right?" Phil asked.

"Right."

"Has she given it back?"

"No."

"Is she going to give it back?"

"No."

"Then she's not all that good now is she!?" Phil shot back.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Mallory grumbled as she stepped next to the human, "but Phil is right. Ruby is the enemy. We need to treat her as such."

Wildwing looked around at his team and saw that the rest of them were in agreement with his weapons specialist. He knew they were right, but it rankled. He didn't want Ruby to be the enemy. He gave himself another mental kick. What was wrong with him?

"That's why we hid the tracking beacon in the blanket we gave her," Wildwing reminded the red headed duck. "Frontal attacks aren't going to work with her, so we're going to have to be sneaky about getting the mask back. Once we figure out where she's hiding, then we wait until she's out and go in and get it."

"I guess that's as good a plan as any," Mallory conceded. "I don't do sneaky very well, but sometimes it's the best plan."

"Good thing you've got me along then, isn't it?" Duke asked in amusement.

"Yeah, yeah," Mallory huffed before she started to head off.

"While it's great you have a plan, what about this dragon Klegghorn claims he saw?" Phil questioned.

"Let's go to your office and I'll fill you in on everything that's happened," Wildwing suggested as he turned and headed for the exit. "But I'll warn you now, dragons are only the beginning."

Ruby sat next to the still resting Forest Lord, slowly chewing on a granola bar and frowning at nothing. She wasn't a happy duck. She wasn't angry or sad, but she wasn't happy.

She had woken up a short time ago, finding herself curled up next to the earth Elemental that she was bound to and surrounded by unicorns. She couldn't see the sky very well because of the trees, but she could tell it was nearing sunset by the shadows and the color of the light. She found food and water wrapped in a heavy blanket near where she had been sleeping. The blanket had a few tears caused by sharp teeth and one of the fairies that were hanging around told her that the dragon had left it.

When she unwrapped the bundle, she found food and water. She quickly wrapped the blanket around her lower half and then she had started to frown. Why would Wildwing send her a care package? What did he care if she was ok?

The good looking drake had every reason to hate her, but he kept helping her. Heck, she was starting to lose track of how many times he had saved her life. Did today count as three or four times? More importantly, why was he doing it?

Then there was the whole thing with the Phoenix. Why was he the key to her controlling the fire Elemental? While just seeing him had helped her from losing control to the Phoenix, what would happen when Ruby had no choice but to release Her? What drake in his right mind would stick around when the Phoenix was finally unleashed?

She took careful sips of water as she tried to figure out what Wildwing's motivation was. Despite being extremely hungry and thirsty from being so sick, she knew better than to eat or drink quickly. His thoughtfulness would go to waste if she ended up throwing it all up again and she didn't think the unicorns would appreciate her being sick all over them.

As she put the cap back on the bottle, she finally noticed the feathers on the palm of her hand. She held her hand up to the fading light and saw that the feathers were now pitch black. She balled her hand into a fist and felt like kicking herself.

Her constant need to go to the music store and nowhere else should have clued her in that something was wrong. The wizard must have used one of her feathers to draw her to the shop. She was going to have to take care of that door handle before some human got sick or died from whatever was on there. She didn't want to chance using the Phoenix's power to destroy the handle, but she had no idea where the dragon had gotten off to.

Suddenly, the unicorns that were resting around her like a bunch of sleeping puppies woke up and turned their heads as one. How in the world did they manage not to stab each other? Ruby looked in the direction they were gazing, wondering what had gotten their attention like that. Then She appeared and Ruby gasped.

By the first egg, it was a Mother Unicorn! Ruby had read stories about such creatures, but to see one was even rarer than seeing a grown dragon. They were notoriously shy and extremely powerful. The stories of a Mother Unicorn saving someone from near death had always made Ruby laugh, but the hen had a feeling that the reason she was on this side of the grass was standing in front of her right now.

It is good to see you awake, the Unicorn said in a soft, sweet voice. You slept most of the day away.

"You saved me," Ruby stated, not asked.

Of course, I could hardly do otherwise, the Unicorn replied, mildly amused.

"Why are the feathers on my hand black?" Ruby questioned.

It's from the poison, the Unicorn responded as she moved closer to the duck. I was able to purge most of it from your body. The Phoenix was able to burn the rest out. I'm afraid I can do nothing for the feathers on your hand. They will remain the same for the rest of your life.

"I can live with that," Ruby sighed. "I don't know how to thank you."

Help and teach those whose powers you have awakened, the Unicorn instructed. They will need your assistance to adjust to their new abilities.

"I have no idea where to find them," Ruby pointed out.

They will find you, the Unicorn stated. I must go now. Let your heart guide you and things will work out. Be well, little one.

With that, the Mother Unicorn disappeared into thin air. A few moments later, the unicorns that were surrounding her, laid their heads back down. She looked around and counted more than a dozen of the beasts. She remembered that after she had been cleansed that some of the unicorns had cuddled up to Wildwing and she couldn't help but smile. It was good to know that she wasn't the only one who was unicorn bait.

She shifted around to try and get a little more comfortable. The ground was hard and while the blanket was thick, it wasn't exactly a cushion. As she settled back down, she realized there was something uncomfortable under her tail feathers.

After checking for rocks, she realized that the thing was inside the blanket. It took her several minutes to wiggle the item out one of the holes. She frowned at the small rectangular box. It was a few inches long, about an inch wide and half an inch thick.

She wondered what it could possibly be doing inside the lining of the blanket and then it hit her. Wildwing hadn't sent the care package in an act of kindness. He was planting a device on her so he could track her movements and probably find where she had been staying.

She was about to destroy the thing when she saw a few fairies go fluttering by. A not so nice smirk crossed her beak as a plan formed in her mind.

"Fairies," Ruby called.

Yes? a fairy with yellow butterfly wings responded as she fluttered over the mage.

"Do you know how to play 'keep away'?" she asked while she held up the small, black device.

It's our specialty, the fairy eagerly replied.

"Then please take this into the city and have a ball," the duck instructed as she handed over the gizmo.

Who are we keeping it away from? the small air Elemental questioned as she took the thing.

"Whoever comes looking for it," Ruby answered.

This is going to be fun, the tiny creature giggled before she shot off through the trees with the other fairies in hot pursuit.

Ruby chuckled low in her throat as she went back to eating. She wondered how long the Mighty Ducks would chase the fairies before they gave up or the Elementals got bored and just left the tracking device somewhere. Knowing fairies, they'd probably leave it in the top branches of a very tall tree.

"You've got to give her this," Duke chuckled as he held up the small homing beacon and retracted the line to his grappling hook. "She has a wicked sense of humor."

"I'll give you wicked," Mallory growled while they headed back to the Migrator.

"How did she even find it?" Tanya wondered as the sun started to peak over the horizon.

"How did she get it to the top of the antenna on top of the tallest building in Anaheim?" Nosedive asked.

"She's a mage," Wildwing tiredly reminded them. "I think the question should be 'what can't she do?'"

"I still like to know how she even found the blasted thing," Mallory grumbled.

"Hey, Mal," Duke called as the climbed into the battle van. "What would you do if an enemy gave you a care package?"

"I'd go over it with a fine tooth comb to see what else they had put in it," Mallory heatedly responded and then it dawned on her. "Oh."

"If she's our enemy, we have to assume that she considers us the same," Duke pointed out while he took his seat.

"It was worth a shot," Wildwing said as he started the Migrator. "We'll just have to figure out where she's hidden the mask by some other means."

Wildwing pulled the Migrator up to the curb just outside the fence that had been hastily put up around the Anaheim Mall, or at least the part that was badly damaged. The sun was barely up and only a few people were out and about, mostly people out for a bit of exercise.

"Uh, Wing, even if half the mall didn't look like a war zone, it's not open right now," Nosedive said from his spot next to his brother.

"How did Wraith poison Ruby?" Wildwing asked of nobody as he stared at the door to the music shop that could just be seen through the chain link fence.

"Well, it's, you know, a contact poison," Tanya answered. "He could have gotten it on her anywhere."

"The poison was on the palm of her hand," Wildwing told them. "How did he get it there?"

There was silence from his team.

"Ruby couldn't let go of the handle to the door to the music store," the team captain reminded them. "I had to peel her fingers off of it. I think she dislocated her shoulder trying to get free of it."

"If the poison was on that door handle, humans would be, you know, dying left and right," Tanya stated. "It was probably sheer dumb luck that she couldn't let go of the handle."

"When magic's involved, nothing is 'sheer dumb luck'," Wildwing mumbled, remembering Ruby's words from the other morning.

"What do you want to do?" Mallory asked after several seconds of silence.

"I want to take a closer look at that door handle," Wildwing finally answered.

"The problem with that, bro, is that the humans don't want anyone in there," Nosedive reminded him.

"It could be just coincidence that she couldn't let go of the door," Mallory said, hoping that if she said it, it would sink into their captain's head. "There's no way there's poison on that door. Merlenic poison is slow and it would take days for someone to die from it."

"Maybe it's the lack of sleep, but I really think that handle is important," Wildwing insisted while he glared through the windshield at the offending object.

"Fine," Duke grumbled as he got up and headed for the door. "I'll meet you back at the Pond."

"Duke, I didn't mean…" Wildwing started.

"Listen, if we all go in there, we might as well bring in a marching band and set off fireworks," Duke interrupted as he opened the hatch. "I can get in and out before anyone realizes something's up. See you back at base."

With that, the former thief exited the vehicle and walked down the street in the opposite direction that the Migrator was facing. Grin closed the door and silence reigned in the Migrator. With a sigh, Wildwing started up the vehicle and pulled out into the lane of traffic.

"Tanya…" Wildwing began.

"I'll get my machines, like, warmed up for when Duke gets back," Tanya finished for him.

"Yeah, thanks," Wildwing replied as they drove home.

"What have you got for me, Tanya?" Wildwing asked as he stepped into the tech's lab.

Duke had returned not long after the others did and handed the handle over to the scientist before heading for bed. That had been several hours ago and only a few minutes ago Tanya finally called Wildwing down to her lab. The captain wasn't sure what he was expecting, but he was hoping for a few answers.

"Well, I decided to run the handle through the same tests that I did on those pieces of hunter drone scrap you gave me," Tanya started as she tapped away at her computer keyboard.

"What did you find?" he inquired.

"This thing, like, nearly glows with the Wraith's energy signature," she told him as she brought up an image of the handle. "Even though the energy is there, I couldn't, you know, see anything out of the ordinary. Then I started scanning it under different wave lengths."

The normal looking image changed colors a couple times until it got to one where the handle was black, but a strange spot was a bright red.

"This image is from the back of the handle, the part you would, like, pull on," she informed her captain. "When I enlarged the red spot, I found this."

The image quickly got bigger until the small, red dot took over most of the screen.

"That looks like part of a feather," Wildwing stated as he frowned at the view in front of him.

"That's because it is," she confirmed. "I analyzed it further and discovered that Wraith's energy was masking the energy of the feather."

"The energy of the feather?" he questioned as he looked at the blond hen. "How can a feather have energy?"

"This feather came from Ruby," she answered. "Just like the drones, I think Wraith was, you know, using this feather to draw Ruby to the music store."

"But why?" he nearly demanded.

"It took some doing, but I was able to get the feather off of the door handle," she told him as she turned to face her captain. "It wasn't easy since I couldn't see it."

"What did you find?" he asked.

"The poison was under the feather," she stated while she picked up a small, covered glass dish. "I think Wraith, like, used the feather to draw Ruby to it and every time she touched it, she got a little more poison on her."

"So, why weren't the humans getting sick and dying?" Wildwing mused as he looked at the dark red feather in the container.

"There's no scientific reason why they weren't," Tanya said as she turned to him. "All I can assume is that Wraith set it so only Ruby got the poison."

"You're sure that this is Ruby's feather?" he confirmed while he handed the dish back.

"It has the same energy readings as her," she replied as she put it away. "Unless there's, you know, another mage on the planet with dark red feathers that we don't know about, it has to be hers."

"First Wraith used one of Ruby's feathers to send hunter drones after her and then he used a feather to poison her," he grumbled. "It isn't a full feather, so is this part of the same feather? Does he have any more? How did he even get it? And if he does have more, what can he do with them?"

"I don't know," Tanya responded, a bit disheartened that the handle had given them more questions than answers. "The only person who can tell you that is playing the best game of hide and seek, like, ever."

"Thanks, Tanya," Wildwing said as he turned to leave. "Get some rest. Maybe something miraculous will happen and Ruby will just show up on our doorstep."

"It could happen," she told him. "Wraith's energy is still on the door handle. It could have been luck that she kept going to the same shop and almost nowhere else."

"Or he could have used the feather to draw her to the shop," he finished for her. "Well, if she does show up, we're not going to be able to do anything unless we're on our game. Go to bed. You've earned it."

"Sounds like a good idea," she agreed just before she stretched and yawned.

Wildwing headed back to the rooms with her and waved at her as she disappeared into her room. As soon as her door was shut, he let the anger he was holding in surface. He headed for the workout room to let off some steam.

How did Wraith get hold of Ruby's feather? Did he have more? How could she be so careless to let the wizard get it?

Most importantly, why did the thought of Wraith being able to hurt, or worse, kill Ruby terrify the drake to the point of nearly irrational anger?