You can find Part 1 and Part 2 if you missed them.

* * *

Vanguard Hospital was a massive, privately owned facility in the southeast corner of New Port Arthur. Though their doors were open to the public, their specialty was in treating powered individuals and people with unusual physiologies. There were closer facilities, but the staff at those would have become more fixated on the fact that Xiv was bleeding blue. At Vanguard, a reassurance that, “The blue is normal,” was accepted phlegmatically and the laceration got stitched promptly. The exam room was rather boring and utilitarian in decor, mostly consisting of cabinets for basic supplies, and a wall mounted sharps disposal bin. Xiv sat on the exam table, poking at the bandages about his foot until Travis swatted his hand away from it.

“Don’t poke at it if you want it to heal.”

Xiv frowned, but did not resume prodding. A short while later, the door opened and Ixahau joined them. Her hero suit was mostly white, with black spans simulating gloves and boots. A mesoamerican glyph for ‘Ixahau’ sat over her heart in the middle of a starburst pattern. Her mask was ancient, crafted of white jade with the same glyph in its forehead. At some point in the past, it had broken horizontally near the level of the nose and the lower half lost. Her straight black hair fell down to the line of her jaw. The exposed skin of her lower face was almost as pale as Xiv’s. Travis cast his gaze over the girl.

“You forgot your sash,” he said.

“And you said you were taking Xiv to Vanguard.”

“I did,” Travis said, gesturing at the youth. Ixa scowled and punched Travis in the arm. “What was that for?”

“The way you phrased it made me think he’d been mauled.”

“Don’t be mad,” Xiv said. “Could you please help us figure out what happened to my wings, why my tail disappeared, where my horns went and why I have a nose?”

“You have ears too,” Travis said.

“The nose is more annoying,” Xiv said. “No matter where I look, there it is, distracting me.” His eyes crossed as he looked down at the tip of his nose. “How do you guys put up with it?”

“It’s just always been there, you learn to not pay attention to it.”

“Okay,” Ixa said. “So not a severe injury, but some sort of magical mishap.”

Xiv nodded, uncrossing his eyes to look at Ixa.

“All right, tell me what happened.”

“I was in this girl’s bedroom…”

Though most of her face was hidden, Ixa’s change in expression was still noticeable.

“That may have been a poor way of phrasing it,” Travis said.

“Earlier, we’d been checking out across the street, and I thought she might have seen something,” Xiv said. “So I went to talk to her.”

“Alone?” Ixa asked.

Xiv sheepishly looked at the floor. “I didn’t tell Shadowdemon I was going.” He glanced up, then back down again. “I know I’m not supposed to.”

“We’ll deal with that later,” Travis said. “Just tell us what happened.”

“Well… she was asking me questions.”

“I thought you went there to ask her questions,” Ixa said.

“People I meet either freak out or ask a lot of questions,” Xiv said. “I was trying to get to asking her about what she might have seen. Before I did, I got dizzy then…” he gestured to himself.

“Did she do anything else besides asking questions?” Ixa asked.

“She did start taking notes.”

“Did you see what she was writing?”

“No.”

“When did she start writing?”

A moment of epiphany struck Xiv. “Just before the change.”

“What was she writing on?”

“Uh… A school notebook. One with wire.”

“What was she writing with?”

“A funny pen.”

“What do you mean by funny?” Ixa asked.

“It had a weird tip. Not a normal one.”

Ixa took out her phone and tapped away for a bit. “Anything like these?” She turned the screen towards Xiv.

“Yeah.”

“A fountain pen. Anything else odd about it?”

Xiv closed his eyes, trying to picture the pen. “It was made of wood.” He thought some more. “With birds and dogs carved in it.”

“Anything else?”

Xiv shook his head.

“All right.”

“What are you thinking?” Travis asked.

“I don’t know yet. I have to do some research and get back to you.”

“But you have and idea.”

“Maybe,” Ixa said. “Let me run it down.”

* * *

Carol told herself that moping wouldn’t do her any good. Xiv’s freak-out had stung, but the more she thought about it, the more she told herself that he was just shocked. She could let him calm down and come back. How long would that take? She pursed her lips. Watching David and Erin lingering on the porch across the street, she frowned. Her vague yarn was playing out, and the two were going to be quite happy together. Their contentment only highlighted her own poor mood. She was poised to start writing when the phone rang. Part of her wanted to ignore it, but she hurried and answered it.

“Hello?”

“Hey little one.”

“Hey daddy.”

“How’s everything at home?”

“Quiet. Boring.”

“How’s David doing?”

Carol glanced out the window.

“He’s fine.”

“You sound a little down.”

“I’ll be all right.”

“Well, your mother and I might not be back for a while.”

“Anything wrong?” Carol asked, though she knew the answer.

“No. We drove a bit further than we thought we would. Just wanted to be sure you and your brother would be okay.”

“It’s all quiet here.”

“All right, little one, have a good night.”

“Night, daddy.” She hung up and glanced out the window again. Carol almost gaped as Erin pulled David inside her house, closing the door behind them. Scowling, she picked up the notebook and pen. Her first impulse was spiteful, but she shook the thought from her mind. There was a better answer. Taking away the happiness she’d given them was not the answer. It was within her power to make herself happy too. Sitting down, she found the first clear spot in the notebook.

“After his initial distress, Xavier calmed down and realized he had not been transformed by an outside force. A little focus allowed him to control how human or dragon he was. Relieved of the distress, his mind went back to the girl he’d been speaking to. Xiv realized he was hopelessly infatuated with Carol and had to see her again.” Folding the notebook closed, Carol wandered upstairs to wait.

* * *

There were a lot of little annoyances built into the design of the standard hero suit. The biggest annoyance for Travis was the lengths he had to go through just to use the bathroom. Since entry was gained through the neck, it was the only egress as well. Fortunately, Vanguard had a good number of individual bathrooms that could be locked from the inside. Having finally finished washing up and climbing back into his suit, Travis unlocked the bathroom and stepped out. The open door to the patient room and the absence of anyone else immediately prickled his suspicions. Looking for Xiv, he peered into the hallway. The door at the end was slowly closing, the self-closing mechanism stuttering a few times before getting the door properly seated. On the white door the words “Stairs”, “Emergency Exit”, and “Roof Access” were plainly stenciled in black letters.

Travis hurried over and opened the door again. He heard the echo of another door closing, and it had been most distinctly above him. Being near the top of the building already, there weren’t too many possibilities. He decided to check the roof first. A search inside the building could call on hospital security. Outside, he would be alone, and getting a handle on what was going on mattered. His decision was rewarded as he spied a white chevron gliding away. Travis frowned, furrowing his brow as he did so. Getting out his phone, he dialed.

“I know I’m a miracle worker, but this strikes me as a bit impatient,” Ixa said.

“What? Oh, no I was calling because Xiv’s taken off.”

“How long ago?”

“Just now, I’m watching him fly north. He looks to be back to his old self. What concerns me is that he snuck out while I was in the bathroom.”

“That’s not like him at all.”

“I think he’s headed back to Wellerby.”

“What’s in Wellerby?” Ixa asked.

“The house where he transformed. It’s on Oaken Acres Lane, or something like that.”

“Something like that?”

“Ask Shiva for the address I was investigating earlier, it’s across the street.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to follow him,” Travis said.

“On foot?”

“The sun set, I’m going to fly.”

“You hate flying.”

“Not so much that I’d let Xiv get himself in trouble to avoid it.”

“Do you want me to head up there?”

“No, what you’re doing will be more useful in the long run. I just wanted to make sure you knew what was going on.”

“Right, so you’re standing there chatting instead of chasing?”

“I fly a lot faster than Xiv does.”

“Well, get moving then. And I’ll get back to my research.” Ixa hung up. Travis put his phone away and wrapped himself in shadows. In an umbral swirl, he went from an oddly dressed, but otherwise normal-looking person to living darkness. Shade roiled off of him in coiling wisps. The only light coming out of his form were the star-like glow of his eyes. His right eye gleamed blue, his left, red. Hurtling into the sky, he raced after Xiv. A couple of times, he debated trying to simply overtake and tackle the dragon boy. Travis decided that was a bad idea. He wasn’t that well practiced at flying, and his two speeds were ‘hover’ and ‘way too fast’. It would be too easy to misjudge the speed and potentially put Xiv in the hospital with serious injuries, instead of a minor laceration. So, Travis tailed Xiv in sprints. Part of him knew the dragon boy was flying flat out, but it felt like Xiv was lazily drifting on the thermals.

Travis’ guess about Xiv’s destination was proven correct as they flew into Wellerby. Xiv landed gently on the sun room roof. Carol’s smile beamed as he appeared in the window. After he climbed inside, she threw her arms about his long neck and hugged him. “You came back!” After a moment, she whispered in a bubbly tone, “Your halfway form is cute, but I think your human form is cuter.” A protracted pause of cluelessness passed before the realization clicked in Xiv’s head, and he shifted form, taking on a fully human aspect. Looking over Xiv’s shoulder, Carol’s joy ebbed at the sight of the shadow descending on the roof.

“What?” Carol asked, backing away from the window. Xiv turned to see Travis finally stumble off the air and onto the asphalt shingles.

“How did you find me?” Xiv asked.

“Why did you sneak out of the hospital?” The question was all but forgotten as Travis’ attention snapped to where Carol was scribbling in a spiral bound notebook. “What are-” Travis trailed off as a loud, woody groan filled the air. He hadn’t paid much heed to the gnarled old tree in the back yard. The bent and ragged old oak had fewer leaves than a plant of its size should, and a knot-riddled bole where its branches came together at the top of the trunk. Two of those knots glowed cold green as it turned towards Travis. Claw-like boughs snatched the young man from the roof and threw him down the block. Travis only managed to arrest his flight after hitting pavement and sliding into the gutter. With a squeal of brakes, a tan sedan stopped short of running over his legs. Travis scrambled to his feet and got out of the road.

“Move your car,” Travis shouted.

“What?” the driver asked. The crash of a toppling fence caused the man to look away from the talking shadow and spot the ambling tree. Shambling along on its roots, the oak blundered through the fences, unable to climb them and too single-minded to go around. Not asking any more questions, the driver sped off. Forming the shadowstuff on his fingers into claws, Travis launched himself at the tree. His flight was arrested as it caught him by the ankle and swung him into the pavement.

“Oof.”

The tree stepped on him and leaned. The pavement cracked under the pressure. The tree looked confused as to why Travis wasn’t flattening. There was an impasse as the two pairs of glowing eyes stared at each other. That moment was shattered as Travis’ phone rang. Caller ID flashed on Travis’ artificial eye. Looking up at the tree trying to crush him into the pavement, he contemplated for a second, then tapped his earpiece.

“Hi Ixa.”

“You sound a little strained. Should I call back?”

“Unless this tree gets a little smarter, I should be okay to talk.”

“Tree? Nevermind, I’m sure it makes sense in context.”

“I’m not convinced of that, but you called about something.” The tree swatted at Travis’ head, causing him to cover his face with his arms. It repeated the action a couple of times with similar effect.

“There’s an awful lot of background noise,” Ixa said.

“Yes, I know, you called about something?” Travis said, his voice strained.

“Are you losing to a tree?”

“Ixa,” Travis said, his voice closer to pleading than chastising.

“All right, I’ll pick on you later. Short version – get the pen away from the girl.”

“Really? That’s all you got?”

“I think I’ve identified the pen. But you you really have time for me to give you a long story?”

The tree grabbed Travis by the forearms and yanked him into the air. Pulling him out from under its own roots unbalanced the tree and it teetered dangerously.

“Probably not, but this tree is pretty dense.” Travis yelped as the tree regained its balance by swinging him down into the street, cracking the asphalt.

“All right, last bullet point. It can alter reality to a limited extent based on what it writes.”

“Thanks, Ixa.” Travis felt that he should have figured that out himself, despite the paucity of information. The call ended with a beep. Green glowing eyes peered down at Travis. “Look, Mister Oak, you’re not going to be able to hurt me. Perhaps you can put an end to this little waste of time.” The tree did not respond, swinging Travis up to slam him against the road again. The branch was arrested in mid-swing. The limb creaked as it strained against the arms wrapped around it. A figure in white and red grinned happily.

“Hey there,” Skyline said. Hovering around canopy level, her short cape fluttered slightly in an anemic breeze.

“Hey,” Travis said.

“Were you going to wait until the tree got tired?”

“The tree’s a distraction.”

“And you’re letting it distract you?”

“I was working on that.”

Skyline released the arm, letting Travis swing into the road. She punched the tree in the bole, right between the glowing knots. It staggered backwards, releasing its grip on Travis. She got in two more punches before the tree swatted her into the ground next to him.

“How about you distract the distraction, and I’ll go deal with the problem,” Travis said.

“Gladly,” Skyline said, ire in her voice. Launching herself back at the tree, she sent it teetering. Travis hopped to his feet and ran down the line of devastation through the backyards. Hopping the crater left when the tree uprooted itself, he approached the back of the Hardtop house. Looking between the door and the second story window, Travis weighed the options. Sneaking in quietly seemed more prudent than leaping back in the window. While it provided a lot of advantages, Travis’ shadow form messed with his senses, especially touch and sight. He shed it in preparation for picking the lock. The door opened at the first test of the knob. No one had even bothered to lock it. Mindful of how noisy wooden stairs in old houses tended to be, Travis eased his way up to the second floor.

The only light was spilling out around the slightly open door of a back bedroom. If he’d been unaware of the context, the scene inside would have seemed sweet. The two lay atop the covers, looking in each other’s eyes and speaking softly. Though Travis couldn’t make out the words, Carol’s tone was bubbly and excited. The pen and notebook sat near the foot of the bed, out of the direct line of sight of either of them. Travis eased the door open. The old hinges betrayed him as they squeaked. Carol’s gaze snapped around to the noise. Travis lunged for the notebook, and she did a half moment later. He his head start was only enough to reach the notebook at the same moment. The top page ripped, leaving half a crumpled page in Travis’ hand. The pen bounced off the baseboard. Shrieking, Carol swatted Travis across the head with the notebook. Surprise crossed her face as he dropped to the floor. Travis reached under the bed, his hand returning with the pen.

“That’s mine!” Carol yelled, leaping on Travis’ back.

“Please, stop fighting,” Xiv pleaded.

Travis curled up in a ball as Carol clawed for the pen. One of her hands got pinned by Travis’ elbow to his side, but her other snaked past his shoulder. Emerging triumphant with the pen, Carol scrambled to the door. Scooping up the notebook, she started scribbling. The expression faded from her face as she tried again. Distress replaced shock as the pen still did not lay any ink upon the page. Travis stood, shaking the fragment of paper. Two lines of text were scrawled in red in.

“Xiv’s mind was his own again, freed of any compulsion – and the pen ran out of ink.”

Carol sagged against the wall. Travis lifted the notebook and pen from her fingers as she slumped to the floor. She looked longingly at Xiv as he changed back to his normal self and followed Travis out.

* * *

Ixahau’s handiwork was apparent in the glowing white vines wrapped about the tree, binding it in a neat bundle on the road. The green eye knots were the only lights of that hue in the area. Police cruisers contributed flashing blue and white. Skyline was enthusiastically telling the tale of the fight to an officer. He was responding by trying to encourage her to fill out the BHA forms. Ixa, by contrast, had already completed her paperwork. She had also managed to find her red sash, which was now in its proper place across her waist. Travis handed Ixa the notebook and pen. She read the torn scrap first. A frown came to her face.

“You disabled the pen,” she said.

“Yes.”

“You realize this means we’re stuck with everything else as it stands? There’s no way to make adjustments to anything this girl wrote.”

“Like?” Travis asked.

Ixa gestured at the tree. “Like this tree as a nature spirit.”

“I…” A frown crossed his features. “Well, crap.”

Xiv looked back over his shoulder in the direction they’d come. Travis followed his gaze, but saw nothing.

“What is it?” Travis asked.

“I feel bad just leaving Carol like that.”

Travis’ raised eyebrow was hidden by his mask. Ixa skimmed through the red-inked pages of the notebook.

“You removed the compulsion but not the feelings,” she said.

“I’m going to see if she’s all right,” Xiv said, taking wing. Travis briefly debated stopping Xiv, but decided to let him go.

“Why do I get the feeling he’s going to end up broken-hearted?” Travis mused.

“It happens to everybody sooner or later.”

“So, about the pen…”

“Seeing it in person, I know my guess was correct. It’s the ‘Trickster’s Treaty’.”

“Okay…”

“There are a couple of different stories about where it came from. One says it was filled with the blood of a Trickster god. Another says the Trickster created it to help fight against magic treaties. And another said the Trickster was tricked into putting his power into it before it was used to write him into myth.”

“Which one is true?”

“Beats me.” Ixa bit her lip as she continued to read. “Did Skyline even exist before this was written?”

“I can’t be sure. Her history popped into the records with backdated information. And she couldn’t remember anything about her parents.”

“Then we may have to leave the rest of this alone.”

“What do you mean?”

“If we try to put our own compulsion to undo the compulsion that she love David, we’d simply be substituting our will for Carol’s. If we try to undo the entire effect, we’d end up erasing her from existence.”

“Crap.”

“The safest approach would be to leave well enough alone.”

“I’m wondering how we’re going to tell her she was literally born yesterday.”

“First, we should bring this to the board and the BHA. That way we can give her some idea of what happens next.”

“I think what happens next is that I end up filling out paperwork.”

“You were on the scene before any of us,” Ixa said.

“Can you check on Xiv? Make sure he’s all right?”

“Other end of this trail of destruction, right?”

* * *

End