This is dedicated to my mother, Linda, whose birthday is on Halloween and who is my hero.

Happy Birthday Ma!

"Halloween"

As he parked his bike in the back of Captain Comics, Nosedive Featherburn sighed once more at the elevated heat. Why did Earth have to be so different from Puckworld? First the lack of love for hockey, then the heat? Please, it was only a matter of time before his feathers practically melted off, though Tanya had emphasized that was physically-or was it scientifically?- impossible. Sure…okay…whatever she says… Like he understood half of it.

He unbuckled his helmet and latched it to the handle of his Duckcycle. It wasn’t like the heat was that big of a problem now, anyway. It was “Autumn,” according to the calendar Phil had given the team, and the heat had begun to lessen. It was no way near what it was when he and the team first arrived in July, but it was still hotter than Puckworld ever was. What depressed him even more was what he learned from Tanya their first week here: the heat would never reach the same low temperatures as his planet. He sighed as he thought of his homeworld, and a brief pang of heartache hit him. He missed his native planet, but as he looked around, Earth wasn’t that bad…even with their customs.

Nosedive grabbed his wallet from the Duckcycle’s storage compartment and stuffed it in his back pocket as he headed into the store. With the forthcoming road trip to the East Coast, he wanted to make sure he was current on his books before leaving, and well, he wanted to talk a bit. In the three months he had been on Earth, Nosedive had become friends with the two people in the shop. Thrash and Mookie were a little weird, but then again, he was an alien and in no position to talk. They allowed him to hang at their shop when he wanted to get away from the Pond. The pressures of being an intergalactic crime-fighter/hockey player were definitely stressful at times, and sometimes, he would go to his new friends to talk and just levee the weight of having the whole world’s freedom on his shoulders. Then there were times when the world wasn’t in peril, that he would go to Thrash and Mookie to ask about a part of American culture he just didn’t understand, like today.

"Hey guys," Nosedive said, walking in the door. He leaned against the counter, scoping some new comics. "I've got a question."

Thrash came out from the back room and placed a pile of books down in front of Nosedive. "Shoot."

Nosedive’s looked up and froze. At first, he wasn't sure what to do. Was he hallucinating, or was Thrash really a vampire? Blood dripped from his mouth, where fangs now hung. His friend’s usual brown hair was a raven black, while he wore a tuxedo with a cape, red interior and a black exterior.

"What?" the older man asked, not quite understanding Nosedive’s glare. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, dude.”

Reaction set in, and Dive pulled his puck launcher. After three months, he felt as if something might always happen, so he made a point to always be armed. "Okay, man. What's going on?" Nosedive inquired, his voice unusually harsh. He was totally confused. Were vampires real on Earth? How was he to know with little experience, but if the war taught him anything, it was to always be prepared.

Thrash raised his hands immediately. "Don't shoot me. Oh, please don't shoot me," he spoke as one word.

The second of his friends came out of the room and dropped her box. "DIVE! MAN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Nosedive chanced her a glance and noticed a similar costume upon her. With a black wig, hat, and dress, she looked like the splitting image of the witch from the Wizard of Oz.

"Okay, what's going on?"

"It's Halloween, Dive," she practically screamed. "You know, pumpkins, black cats, skeletons, the whole enchilada." Mookie removed her wig. "See, they're just costumes."

Dive wasn't too reassured, but he lowered his puck launcher. She seemed truthful enough, and he had to admit, the idea of his friends being vampires and witches was a little silly. Though, his planet was taken over by dead lizards. “Enchilada? How about tacos?” he kidded, lessening the tension between he and his friends.

Dropping his hands, Thrash exhaled, "Man, you scared the crap out of me! What freaked you out like that?"

"Well, it's not everyday that my friends are vampires," Nosedive’s replied sharply.

"Haven't you ever heard of Halloween?" Mookie asked, beginning to ring up Nosedive’s pile.

"That's what I came to ask." Nosedive put his gun behind his back and into his jeans. "Halloween. What the heck is that?"

"Promise me you won't do that again, and I'll explain."

"You were in no real danger," Nosedive reassured, patting his concealed weapon. "The safety was still on."

Thrash sent a glowering look, but lowered his voice quickly until it was raspy, his mouth forming a thin smirk. "Halloween is the night the demons take over your body."

Before Nosedive could react, Mookie hit her friend across the back of the head. "What is wrong with you? He's from another planet. Do you want him to get the wrong idea?" She abandoned her work for the moment. "It all started hundreds of years ago when demons walked the Earth. They came out the night before All Saints' Day, All Hallow’s Eve."

"Us humans would dress up to fool the demons." Thrash’s voice was still cryptic. "Ya see, these demons....they would take over people's bodies."

"Make 'em zombies?" Nosedive asked, getting into the story. His eyes were wide with excitement.

"Either that or just take over."

Mookie slapped him on the shoulder. "But that was hundreds of years ago. Now, the holiday is just for fun. People dress up," she motioned to herself and Thrash. "Kids go door to door for candy."

"But I'd check the candy over if I were you," Thrash finished the ringing up. "I don't know about Puckworld, but you can't trust everyone here."

"Cool."

Nosedive nodded and took his books. Glancing at his watch, he was surprised by the time. He had to get back before four. Why Wildwing scheduled a practice at four-thirty was beyond Nosedive. Usually his brother was a morning person. He shook his head. Duke had probably complained.

"Well, I got to get back, guys. See ya."

Thrash stopped him by the door. "Aren't you coming tonight?"

Dive gave him a confused look. "What's tonight? You wanna grab a movie or something?"

"No, Trick or Treating. You coming or what?"

Nosedive still didn't understand. "What's that?"

"Dude, it's like the best thing. Remember how we said all the kids go out, and get candy? Well, we're still young enough to get away with it. Mookie and I always go out to the 'burbs. They have the best and most candy!"

"Yeah, Dive," Mookie chimed in. "You'll have a blast!"

"I don't know..." Nosedive hesitated. “Going door to door for candy? Why wouldn’t someone just buy a bag?”

Mookie smiled as she put her wig back on. "Where’s the fun in that? Trust me, will you? The fun is getting the candy and surviving the ghosts and globins that try to rob us of it.” She shrugged as she walked around the counter. “You’ll have to get you costume, but it'll be worth it."

"I think if he wears his combat gear," Thrash rubbed his chin, "we can pass him off as an alien from another planet here to fight the dead lizards who took over his native world."

Nosedive sent him an exasperated glare. "You forgot another dimension."

"Sorry 'bout that."

"So, how do I go about getting a costume?" Nosedive asked, turning back to the two.

Mookie jumped, excited. "Oh, you'll come? That's great! You can be a vampire duck."

He raised an eyebrow. "Uh, no thanks."

"Pumpkin?" Thrash offered.

"A joker?" Mookie asked.

"A penguin?"

"Doctor?"

"Crazed maniac killer?"

"A hockey player?"

Nosedive scoffed, "Sure, what I do for a living doesn't already constitute me as a hockey player?"

"Well," Mookie lifted a Superman comic, "some people dress as their heroes."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. You can be Superman."

Nosedive opened the door. "Nah, I have someone better. Call me later with the details."

!!!

"Where are you going tonight, kid?"

Nosedive unfolded his pillowcase, throwing in shaving cream. A light stick glowed around his neck while he chucked a bottle of water into the sack. "Trick or Treating, Duke. Thrash and Mookie said I would have a blast." He finished off his kit by putting some loose pucks into the bag.

"Getting into the spirit of human holidays?" Duke sipped his coffee. "What's this one?"

"Halloween. Candy's free tonight. We're heading for the suburbs."

"Does your brother know?" A new voice made itself known in the conversation. Nosedive turned to see Wildwing standing in the doorway, even though he already knew who it was.

"Do I have to clear everything through you?" Nosedive whined as he headed toward the door.

"No, but I am curious as to why you're wearing my jersey." Wildwing walked across the room and ruffled his little brother’s hair as he passed, grabbing a can of a soda from the refrigerator. "What's up?"

Nosedive flipped the bag over his shoulder. "Mook said sometimes people dress as their heroes for Halloween, so I dressed like mine." He palmed open the kitchen door. "Is that okay?"

"Sure, just as long as you're home by midnight."

Nosedive smiled. "Next year, I think I'll wear Duke's jersey." He ducked out the door just in time to miss the can aimed at him.

The End