Spring Storms
by Birgit Staebler
Vega whistled a little tune as he parked the car next
to Ace's and looked out of the window. Outside, dark clouds were gathering
and the weather forecast couldn't have been more correct when predicting
that Electro City was expecting one heck of a spring storm again. Well,
nothing could be changed about it and he had to make the best of things.
He got out of the car and held on to the labels of his coat as the wind
nipped at them.
Bounding up the stairs of the Ring Theater, Vega fled
into the safety of the large theater hall and shook out his coat. Then
he smoothed his ruffled hair and walked across the foyer to the main stage
area. He nodded at some stage hands who knew him well.
The main stage was currently empty of all props and a
light rig had been lowered to exchange some of the spotlights for new ones.
Cosmo was overlooking the work, talking with one of the stage hands and
nodding. Vega grinned. The kid was a real pro when it came to handling
the extra help, the roadies and the employees of the Ring Theater. Ace
couldn't have a better assistant.
Speaking of Ace.... Vega looked around and discovered
his friend sitting in one of the audience rows, going over what looked
like a program or a plan. The cop walked up to him just as a low rumble
passed through the hall.
"Looks like we'll have one heck of a storm soon," Ace
remarked. "Hello, Vega."
"I can only agree. Coming here was bad enough. I think
the fire department already has its hands full with blown down trees and
such. Won't get better throughout the next hours." Vega sat down next to
Ace and peered at the sheet of paper in the magician's hands. It was just
a list of things still to do. "I guess we can forget about lunch."
Ace shrugged. "They have some great sandwiches here and
the coffee's not too bad either." He smiled. "If you can suffer the idea
of not heading over to Freddo's."
Vega chuckled. "I'll survive."
The two men headed downstairs again and Ace just nodded
at Cosmo as the teenager looked over to check with his partner. Then they
were out of the main hall again and walked down the corridor to the food
place the Ring Theater had. It was a small food court, consisting of one
now closed fast food Italian place, a donut shop, a coffee shop where Ace
now got them two extra large coffees, and a sandwich bar. Balancing the
pile of sandwiches over to their table, Vega sat down. Another thunderous
rumble let him look up.
"Definitely spring storm. Fun."
Ace grinned and bit into his turkey and cheese sandwich.
"That reminds me of another really bad storm not so long
ago,"
the lieutenant went on, stirring his coffee.
Ace raised an eyebrow, then nodded slowly. "Cosmo and
the scaffold."
"That. And how he found out about your magic. I don't
know what he was more scared of: you or what had happened."
The magician chuckled. Yes, those memories were also
still very vivid in his mind.
// It was 7 a.m. in the morning and the Magic Express
was quiet as Ace wandered into the kitchen. He was fully dressed, though
sans his usual jacket, and the white silk shirt did nothing to hide his
broad, tall frame. Cosmo was up already, he discovered, and sat slumped
in one of the chairs.
"Morning, Cosmo," he greeted his partner and assistant.
"Did you already have breakfast?"
"No, thanks. I think I'll pass for now."
Ace raised his eyebrows. "You're turning down breakfast?"
Well, that was something new! Cosmo usually had a ravenous appetite he
excused with 'still growing up'. At nearly fifteen he was still rather
thin and hid that fact beneath bulky clothes. "Okay, what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong." Cosmo stifled a yawn. "It's just that
the gang met at Julienne's place last night and she had decided to cook."
He grimaced. "Man, she's a really nice girl, but her cooking's.... let's
just say I couldn't tell if we were having really well done hamburgers
or really burned chicken. I've been up half the night with indigestion."
Ace gave him a critical look as he poured himself some
coffee. "Did you take anything? "
"Yeah. I think it helped a little." Cosmo rubbed his
sore stomach.
"You think you are up to helping me out at the Ring Theater?"
Ace had planned on rearranging some of the props and
working on the lighting for tonight's show.
"Sure, why not? A little upset stomach won't stop me."
Cosmo grinned.
Ace gave him another critical look, then decided to leave
it at that.
*
A real bad storm had hit Electro City and since the early
morning hours, wind and torrential rain was making life hard for everyone
who had to be outside. Inside the Ring Theater, few had a real idea what
was going on outside, except those watching the news on the small pocket
TV sets. Thunderous rumbles could be heard now and then, but the brunt
of the storm passed over the large theater building without disrupting
work inside.
"Okay, lessee what we can do about you," Cosmo muttered
and looked up the towering pillar of metal that was his way up into the
unknown depths of the Ring Theater's light rig maze.
The light rigs were all hidden right under the ceiling,
several dozen feet above the ground, and accessible by elevator, stairs
or rungs leading up the support pillars. The specific one where Cosmo needed
to get to had the rungs. He wasn't afraid of heights and it shouldn't be
a problem to get up there and fix whatever was jinxing the spots. It wasn't
a computer error at the main station and there was just something wrong
with the rotators of the rig's ten spots. Child's play to fix. He grumbled
a bit about the manager of the Ring Theater not installing one of those
new systems that allowed to lower even the really heavy rigs all the way
to the ground, but well....
He started to climb.
Ace was on the ground and talking to some of the stage
hands. He had to set up the coordination of the show and since Cosmo had
told him he would take care of the lights, the magician could go on with
the rest. Looking down now, he only saw Ace who was watching him.
And then it hit him.
Quick and unexpected, and he gasped. There was a quick,
sharp pain in his belly and he almost missed his footing, which caused
him to jam his hand between two supports.
"Cosmo?"
Ace's voice echoed in the earpiece of the microphone
headset he was wearing, and he blinked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. My hand just slipped."
"Cosmo, it might be better if we let one of the stage
hands handle this."
The teenager felt hurt pride and stubbornness settle
in, chasing away the pain. "I can do it, Ace. I told you. Did it a thousand
times before!"
A sigh came through the earpiece. "Okay. Just be careful."
"Yes, mom," Cosmo muttered and could just imagine the
grimace on the magician's face.
He went on and finally reached the catwalk leading over
to the scaffold of the rig. He reached the small box that housed the computer
controls in no time. Pulling out a handheld diagnostics device, Cosmo set
to work. As he squatted down, another jab went through his stomach and
sank to his knees. He took a steadying breath, telling himself that this
was not the time or place for this.
Cosmo opened the front panel and began running a quick
self-diagnostic of the small computer. Almost immediately the problem came
up. A faulty wiring.
"I knew it!" he cheered.
And then he felt a searing hot pain in his belly, as
if someone had placed a white-hot poker there. He screamed in pain, doubling
over, gasping for air.
"Cosmo?!"
Ace's voice reached him like through a layer of really
thick wool.
"Cosmo, can you hear me? What's wrong?"
Cosmo tried to walk back over the catwalk, but suddenly
he only reached into nothingness. For a brief moment panic overrode even
the pain, then the agony in his stomach was back and he couldn't even scream
as he fell forward.
"Cosmo!"
*
The world seemed to stand still as Cosmo fell off the
rig and Ace felt something inside of him scream in terror. There was no
time to think, only to react, and he unleashed the Magic Force in a violent
display of power. No time for finesse, no time for subtlety. The cape billowed
back behind him and he flung up his arms, concentrating to channel the
power inside him. It struck toward the falling body, enveloped it, cushioned
the fall until Cosmo was gently lowered to the ground. Ace felt the strain
of working such furiously released magic, but he didn't care. Only Cosmo's
safety counted.
"Cosmo!" he called when the teenager lay motionlessly
on the ground.
He was conscious, but his eyes were wide and there was
something akin to fear in it. Ace felt his friend's forehead, could tell
he was running a high fever.
"What... what happened?" Cosmo whispered. "I fell. I
know I...."
"Shhhh.... It's okay. Cosmo, what happened up there?"
"My stomach, it's... burning. Pain ..." Cosmo tried to
talk more, but Ace hushed him.
One of the stage hands had appeared and now stared at
the scene in front of him.
"Get an ambulance!" Ace ordered.
The man nodded briskly and ran off.
"Take it slow, try to breathe. Just breathe!"
Slowly, fighting pain and nausea, Cosmo relaxed, his
breathing coming in short, quick gasps. He was pale and shivering, semi-conscious.
Ace took one limp hand and Cosmo squeezed it. He held on even as the paramedics
arrived and started to examine him, asking questions.
"I don't know what happened," Ace answered truthfully.
"Cosmo has been complaining about an upset stomach and suddenly he was
in great pain."
"Pulse is 110, respiration is 40 and shallow," the male
paramedic said. Like his woman partner he was wet from the rain storm outside
and rivulets of water ran down his face.
"Complains of acute lower abdominal pain," the woman
added. She reached for the radio unit that connected them to a doctor.
"Dr. Bauer wants to know where the pain is located,"
she then told her partner.
The paramedic pressed his fingers gently into Cosmo's
belly, eliciting a painful moan when he came to the lower right. "Tell
him the lower right quadrant."
Cosmo looked up at Ace with feverish eyes. "So maybe
it wasn't the burned chicken after all."
"Bauer advises it may be appendicitis and he thinks it
might already have ruptured. He wants an IV and transport as soon as possible."
Ace felt something inside him clench painfully again.
Burst appendix?
The paramedic grabbed the drugbox and started setting
up the IV.
"We are taking him to the Community General," the woman
said. "Is that okay?"
Ace nodded, still holding Cosmo's hand. He squeezed it
once more. "I'll be right behind you."
"Ace?" Cosmo asked weakly as Ace let go of his hand.
"Everything's going to be all right," the magician promised.
Then the stretcher was shoved into the waiting ambulance
and Ace quickly followed it in the Magic Racer.
The storm had quieted down slightly, but still, driving
was made harder by the gusts of wind and the broken off branches and assorted
other stuff flying around. An umbrella hit the windscreen and Ace flinched
slightly, the car swerving. He focused on the flashing lights of the ambulance
and just raced after it.
* * *
Ace sat in the waiting room, drinking his third cup of
coffee when Dr. Orvell, the doctor who had performed the surgery on Cosmo,
walked in.
"How is he?" Ace asked immediately.
Orvell crossed his arms and looked at the floor for a
moment before answering. "He had a burst appendix. We removed it and did
whatever cleanup was necessary, but he definitely has peritonitis. But,
with strong antibiotics and a lot of rest he should recover fully."
Ace drew a relieved breath.
"He can go home in a few days if all checks out okay."
"Can I see him?"
Orvell nodded. "He'll be a bit groggy, but he should
be okay. He's a strong young man." The doctor smiled.
Ace's relief was written all over his features as he
left and followed a nurse Orvell had appointed to Cosmo's room.
* * *
Ace walked into the hospital room and briefly winced at
the sight of his young charge, dressed in a hospital gown, an IV attached
to one hand, and looking so still. It was a private room, one Ace was paying
for, and the silence only punctuated the stillness of the patient in the
bed. Ace just studied the teenager, smiling as he saw that the nurses had
removed the trademark glasses. His hair had flopped forward and someone,
probably a nurse, had tried to comb the thick locks back out of his face
-- with mediocre success. He looked so small, so fragile, and Ace was once
again reminded that the boisterous and so self-confident Cosmo was only
a facade for a rather self-conscious and shy teenager who wasn't really
sure about his place in society. Whatever Ace had done to help him, though
it had been accepted, it had not changed all that much. A harsh word or
a reprimand could destroy the confidence the young man had.
Now he became aware of slightly blurry gray eyes watching
him.
"Hey, Cosmo," he said warmly. "How do you feel?"
"Groggy," was the reply. Cosmo looked around the room.
"Hospital, huh?"
Ace nodded. "Your appendix burst. They had to perform
emergency surgery on you."
"Oh. Well, so much for the indigestion theory." He grimaced
slightly.
Ace grinned. "Dr. Orvell said you'll be out of here the
moment all checks turn out positive."
"Not too soon." Suddenly Cosmo's eyes narrowed. "What
happened...."
Ace hesitated. Cosmo had no idea about his true capabilities,
that he could work magic, and the magician had yet to decide when to tell
him. Cosmo knew a good part of his tricks, mainly because he helped set
them up, but a few things still astounded him. Ace had simply told him
that he would learn those tricks in time as well.
"I was up on the rig, right? And then the pain started.
And I fell....." Cosmo swallowed and looked at Ace. "I fell, right?"
Ace nodded.
"But... no broken bones. All I have is a little cut from
the appendix." The frown deepened. "I.... I remember flying."
Ace was still silently, letting Cosmo remember on his
own.
"There was this tingly feeling and I floated... You were
there and you...." Cosmo swallowed. "What happened?"
The magician rubbed his forehead, glad this was a single
room. "I wish I could give you a satisfactory explanation, but... there
is none. I can only say that it was magic."
Cosmo stared at him, still not really awake from the
anesthetics. Then he chuckled, wincing immediately. "Ow, dumb idea," he
muttered. Then, "Magic?"
Ace nodded slowly.
"You must be kidding!"
"I'm not."
"Ace, man... there is no such thing as real magic! You
are pulling my leg! It's smoke and mirrors, that's it, right? Right?" Cosmo
added again, this time a bit hesitant when Ace didn't answer.
"We'll talk about this when you had time to recover,"
the older man now said. "Sleep, Cosmo. You need rest."
"But...." Cosmo was confused, but he was also still suffering
from the drugs.
Ace shook his head. "Later."
Then he left, mind awhirl with what he should tell Cosmo,
how to explain.
* * *
Ace knocked on the hospital room door before he stuck
his head in. "Hey, partner, do you want some company?"
Cosmo smiled broadly and set aside the magazine he had
been reading. "Yeah, come in."
"How are you?" Ace wanted to know.
Cosmo winced as he sat himself up higher in the bed.
"Well I'm still sore, but they say the infection is clearing up fine. I'm
just getting stir crazy. It's like serving a prison sentence. They better
release me before I tunnel out."
Ace grinned and nodded to some containers by Cosmo's
bed. "Looks like you've had some company already today."
Cosmo's face fell. "Yeah. Ulene and the other dropped
by. And Julienne. She had decided to whip me up something so I wouldn't
have to eat hospital food. I almost regret that they have me back on solid
food."
"You gonna eat it?"
Cosmo looked at Ace, flabbergasted. "Ace, I'm trying
to get out of the hospital, not become a permanent resident. Hey, how was
the show yesterday?"
"It went well. Nothing spectacular."
Cosmo nodded. "Not as spectacular as magic?" he asked
quietly.
Ace was suddenly very serious. "Yes."
"You were serious about this stuff? Real magic? That
you stopped my fall?"
He nodded.
"But... that's fairy tales!" Cosmo exclaimed, almost
desperate. "There is no such thing."
Ace sighed softly. "I know it sounds impossible, but
there are people in this world who can use what is called magic. Magic
is nothing but energy, but not everyone can access it. The few who can
don't realize it until something happens that involves magic. Some never
find out that they can use magic at all."
Cosmo shook his head. "Magic..... this is... you are
kidding, right?" Now he sounded really desperate, his voice rising.
Ace made a little gesture with his right hand and suddenly
the boxes started to float, then circled over Cosmo's bed and settled down
again.
Cosmo's eyes threatened to fall out of his head and he
tried to say something, but only a weak croak came out of his mouth. Ace
didn't say anything, just sat there, face neutral.
"Magic?" the teenager finally squeaked.
Ace nodded.
"But.... but....." Cosmo's hand clenched into the blanket.
"I can't believe this," he whispered.
Ace sighed deeply. "I know. Cosmo, I'm sorry I had to
tell you like this."
"Why?" the teenager now demanded. "Why didn't you tell
me sooner?"
"I didn't know how," the older man confessed.
Imploring gray eyes met pale gray ones. "So you waited
for me to fall off a light rig?"
Ace winced. "No. It's not easy to share this secret.
Hardly anyone knows about it."
Cosmo still clutched the blanket and stared at it like
it held all the answers.
"Cosmo?" Ace asked carefully.
"Wow," the teenager said. "Real magic.... freaky!"
Ace's expression was neutral, but he waited tensely.
"It's cool, though," he added and grinned slightly, then
the grin widened. "Really cool. Magic."
Ace smiled as he felt and saw the shift in his young
friend.
"I mean, can you do more than just float stuff? Shoot
lightning bolts and things?"
The magician laughed. "There are a lot of levels to magic,
Cosmo, and yes, I can do more than just float things. But this is a secret.
No one is to know of this."
"Hey, I can keep a secret!" Cosmo's eyes lit up with
the prospect of sharing the secret.
"I'm sure you can. Dr. Orvell told me you'll be released
after tomorrow's examination. I'll pick you up."
The teen grinned. "Thanks, Ace."
The dark-haired magician smiled again and rose.
"And, Ace?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks for telling me."
He chuckled. "Couldn't hide it forever."//
"You should have seen him when I used the Magic Force
the first time," Ace said, voice full of amusement. "I thought his eyes
would pop out."
Vega grinned. "Hey, I know the feeling. I went through
the same shock. Couldn't believe my eyes when you suddenly did this magic
thingy." He made a little gesture with his hands. "I know that the first
time you accessed your magic, you nearly wrecked Anna's house."
Ace chuckled. "Oh, yeah, that episode. And I was scared
as hell."
Vega nodded, remembering quite clearly. He had been scared
for Ace, maybe even more scared than Ace himself.
"So, how's Cosmo doing?"
Ace drank the rest of his coffee and smiled over the
rim of his empty cup. He knew what exactly Vega was asking about. Cosmo's
magic.
"He's getting better. Some stuff still backfires now
and then, but he's getting the hang of it."
"Hope so. His random casting is making me nervous," the
older man muttered into his coffee. "Cosmo and magic. The combination boggles
the mind."
Ace chuckled. A distant rumble passed over them and both
men looked to the ceiling.
"Sounds like it's over. I'm almost afraid to look outside
and see what's it like out there." Vega grimaced.
Ace shrugged. "Wet. Very wet."
"Ha-ha. Very funny." Vega stretched and leaned back.
"Don't you have work to do?"
Ace pointed a finger at a piece of balled-up wrapping
paper and floated it over to the garbage can. Vega rolled his eyes.
"Show-off," he muttered and finally pushed away from
the table. "Well, okay, off to work. Let's see what kind of damage the
storm did this time."
Ace rose as well and smiled. "How about tomorrow at Freddo's?"
"Sounds good. You are paying."
"Aren't I always?"
Vega tossed a napkin at him. "Oh, shut up."
Ace laughed and both men walked toward the exit. Vega
said good-bye and went out into the now rain-drenched city, a light drizzle
still coming down, while Ace went back to the main stage area. Cosmo was
still busy with the stage hands and he watched his partner surely organizing
everything, notepad in hand. He had grown up from the young, insecure boy
Ace had taken into his home. The magician was proud of him, as an assistant,
later a partner, finally a friend and now an apprentice.
Suddenly Cosmo looked up and Ace grinned slightly. Emotional
echoes, he thought. For sure. Cosmo grinned as well and went back to work.
And so did Ace. They had a lot to do still.