Protective Blindness

by Shirley Ann Burton

Angie's overprotective and controlling aunt comes to Electro City to take her away from her friends for her protection. Please R & R.

1. Part 1

Protective Blindness

by: Shirley Ann Burton

Part 1

Prologue:

In a modest home near Des Moines, Iowa, a woman in her early 40s had just finished washing dishes in the kitchen.

She had some friends over for a little get-together, although she lived basically alone. Although she seemed to be all right on the surface, she was emotionally very bitter.

Something would always make her upset, but no one knew what demons continued to haunt her for such a long time in her life.

She went to the living room and switched on her television set. Surfing channel after channel, she could not find anything interesting to watch, that is until she saw the Sensa-News channel.

There, she noticed a gentleman performing incredible feats of magic while a young lady on stage with him closely observed his act. The gentleman had blue eyes and black hair, with a white streak along the sides and back and a tuft of white on top of his head. The young lady had green eyes and light-brown hair. Although the gentleman was far taller than the young lady, the pair's performance was what mattered to the live audience this evening.

The woman gasped at the sight of the young lady. "No," she said in shock, "it can't be!" She clenched her right hand into a fist and angrily said, "So that's where my niece is now! After avoiding me for over five years, how dare she live in Electro City instead of here where it's safe! I have to get her home where she belongs!"

She quickly ran to her bedroom, grabbed a couple of suitcases, and packed some clothing. She then jumped into her car and took off to find her relative. The woman was determined to find her niece, as she thought the girl was weak and vulnerable.

She had no idea about the surprises she would get when she found her niece in Electro City . . .

Somewhere in the large metropolitan area known as Electro City, someone was levitating a fruit bowl, a bowling ball, and a stack of books in a very unusual home.

Within the training room of the Magic Express, home to the world's greatest magician, he was actually watching someone else moving those objects.

"At a girl," he said happily. "You're doing just fine."

The young lady had her eyes closed and her arms extended outward as she concentrated on keeping the objects floating in the air. "Are you sure I'm doing this right?" she asked.

He simply replied, "Angie, you've got to stop doubting yourself and your abilities. Open your eyes and take a look."

She did so and was wonderfully surprised at her efforts. "Wow!" she exclaimed in awe. "I really am doing this."

The gentleman said, "Ever since I started training you to master your own magical powers, you've been going at it at an incredible pace."

"You know me, Ace," Angie said. "I love to learn something new all the time." She then slowly put the lifted objects back onto the table.

Ace patted her left shoulder and said, "Nice job, my dear. At this rate you'll be a master magician in about 10 years instead of 15 to 20."

Angie looked at him, smiled, and said, "Ace, none of this would have been possible if you didn't help me to understand about my powers. I can't believe I was so scared of what I had."

"The only fear you really had was how other people would react if they found out about you. I'm just glad you overcame your fears, and you're becoming a great magician already."

It had been only two months earlier when Angela Jacobs moved to Electro City in hopes of moving into an apartment. However, circumstances beyond her control led to something even better. Instead of living alone in an apartment, she ended up becoming a permanent resident of the Magic Express.

She had proven herself to both Ace Cooper the Magician and his apprentice Cosmo when she treated Cosmo with a culinary cure for the flu. More importantly, she no longer had to hide her special secret: possessing magical powers of her own.

It took the Magician himself to convince her not to be afraid of her special gift or what others would think. He helped Angie to realize just how special she really was.

When she unleashed her own magic, Angie was able to rescue Ace, stop "Black Jack" Malone from harming him, and help destroy an out-of-control robot.

Both Ace and Angie developed a unique bond because of their magical powers. They were able to communicate with each other by thought, one could tell if something was wrong with the other like identical twins, and they would become nearly invincible when bringing their powers together.

Angie treated both Ace and Cosmo as big brothers while they thought of her as a spunky little sister.

"I owe you so much for what you've done for me," the young female magician said. "You welcomed me into your home, you've been so kind, and you and your friends helped me realize I didn't have to deal with anything by myself."

At the door of the training room, a teenage male voice said, "That's the great part about friendship. You're never alone."

Ace and Angie both smiled at the young man.

"Cosmo," Ace said happily, "what brings you in here?"

"Nothing, dude. Just couldn't help overhearing you two talking."

Angie laughed and said, "Cosmo, you are such a delight to be around. Full of energy, easily excitable, and just a pleasure to have you as a friend."

The young apprentice's face turned cherry red. "Aw, cut it out."

"No, I mean it. I'm so fortunate I do have some great friends here in Electro City." Angie looked at her watch and said, "I have to get to the grocery store. We're beginning to run a little low on food."

"That's my fault," said Cosmo. "I ate way too much in the last few days."

"Don't worry about it. Besides, as long as you eat too much of the right foods, you'll grow up and not out."

After a quick laugh, Ace drove the Magic Racer, dropped Angie off at the store, and promised to return in an hour.

While in the store, Angie checked on the condition of some broccoli when a little boy came up to her and asked, "Can I have your autograph?"

She was very surprised at that request. She looked down at the little gentleman, holding a pen and a piece of paper, and simply smiled. "You're the first person who's asking for my autograph."

The little boy's mother came up and said, "Honey, that's not polite. She's trying to shop for groceries."

"But Mommy, she's famous. She could eat out as much as she wants to."

Angie kneeled down to the boy and said, "You're right, I could eat out a lot, but I don't because I grew up on homemade cooking. Besides, I'm the official cook and chef of the Magic Express."

"Now I see why you're so choosy about food," the mother said. "Not too many people can do homemade cooking in this day and age."

"Exactly. Mom gave me the know-how needed to create some cooking magic." Angie then looked at the boy and said, "You understand what I'm saying now, right?"

"Yeah," he replied. "You'd rather be famous on stage and be yourself everywhere else. That's cool!"

"It is cool, especially when friendship can keep the fame, fortune, and popularity from going to your head." She took the boy's pen and signed the piece of paper. After giving back the pen and paper, she told, "Keep that, since you are the first person with my autograph."

"Thanks!" he exclaimed. "I can't wait to tell my friends."

The mother happily shook Angie's hand and said, "Even though you're becoming a celebrity, you're just a down-to-earth person with a friendly personality."

Angie thanked the mother and returned to her grocery shopping.

Over in the dairy aisle, an older woman with dark brown hair and brown eyes checked on the cream cheese. "I may have to stay in a hotel room," she said to herself, "but I'll stay here as long as I have to in order to get my niece home where she'll be safe."

Angie came to the dairy aisle to look for skim milk. She looked carefully at the dates to ensure enough time. "Cosmo has a love of skim milk, so I better get four half-gallon bottles."

She placed the milk into the shopping cart and passed the woman near the cream cheese.

When the woman turned around, she thought she had noticed something familiar. "No, it's not her," she said to herself. "My niece wouldn't be out grocery shopping on my watch."

Thirty minutes later, Angie had already finished and checked out, so she notified Ace that she would take a taxi back to the Express.

When a cab arrived, the driver turned out to be Angie's favorite cabbie, Sally. "Hey, Angie. Need to get the groceries home?"

"You know it. You wouldn't mind helping me out here, would you?"

"Nah, let's get 'em loaded."

While they loaded the groceries into the trunk of the cab, the older woman came out of the store.

Just as Angie started to pick up the last bag, she saw the older woman's face and went into shock. After a long gasp, she said, "Oh, my God! What is she doing here?"

The woman then saw Angie's face. "Angie?" she whispered. Realizing it was her, she yelled, "Angie!"

Angie threw the last bag into the trunk and said, "Let's go, Sally, and fast!"

As they quickly got into the cab, the woman ran up and yelled, "Angela Jacobs, you come back here this instant!"

Angie buckled up in the back seat and yelped, "Head for the Express; hurry!"

Sally zoomed off as quickly as possible, but the woman quickly ran to her car and took off after them.

The woman had a look of rage in her face. "She will not get away from me!"

Sally drove as fast as the speed limit allowed, but she was curious about one thing. "Angie, what was that all about? Why are you trying to get away from her?"

"She's the last person I want to see in my lifetime." Angie turned around and noticed a white car coming up behind them. "Oh, no! She's catching up!"

"Don't worry, Angie," said Sally. "You're about to find out why I'm Electro City's craziest cab driver!" With that, she put the pedal to the metal and started turning left and right with high-speed accuracy.

Although the woman kept up turn for turn, she lost the cab after Sally made the important left turn into the tunnel leading to the Magic Express. When the woman's car came out, she could not find the cab. "The cabbie must have doubled back! Blast, I lost her!" She clenched her teeth and yelled, "I will find my niece and get her away from this dangerous place!"

Minutes later, the cab pulled up at the front door of the Magic Express.

Both Sally and Angie got out of the cab and asked the computer, Angel, to open the door.

Ace and Cosmo helped the ladies in unloading the groceries.

Ace placed the frozen foods and milk into the refrigerator/freezer when he developed a strange feeling in his mind. "Something's wrong," Ace thought as he closed his eyes. "Angie seems to be highly anxious. What happened to her?"

When Sally came in with another bag, Ace asked, "Did something cause Angie to become scared?"

In a whisper she replied, "Yeah. This woman recognized Angie and started coming after her. Angie must've known who that woman was because when I asked why she wanted to escape, all she said was that woman was the last person she wanted to see."

"Hmm. Okay, thanks, Sally."

When all the groceries were in, Angie thanked Sally for saving her and paid her in full with a huge tip.

After Sally left, Angie sat down at the kitchen table and breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Thank goodness I lost her."

"Lost who?" asked Cosmo."

"Just someone I don't want to see."

Ace was very concerned for her. "Angie, who is this woman you're trying to avoid?"

She put her face down and tried to respond. "She's--well . . . she's--"

"Come on, Angie," said Ace, trying to comfort her. "Please, tell us who she is so we can help you."

Her eyes filling with tears, she said, "Her name is Rita Wisland, and she's my aunt."

Cosmo was taken by surprise. "I don't get it. You don't want to see your aunt?"

"No, I don't."

"Why not?"

She looked at him and said, "That's easy, Cosmo. She's an overprotective control freak. She obviously still thinks I'm very weak and vulnerable."

"How did she know you were here?"

"I can answer that," Ace said. "She probably saw us on television three nights ago."

"It's the only possible explanation," Angie concluded. "To complicate the matter, if Aunt Rita learns about my powers," she started as she used her right hand to levitate a set of silverware on the dish rack, "she may try to lock me away for good." She then started pacing nervously.

Ace then said, "It can't be all that bad, can it?"

Angie stopped and replied, "Ace, I can't describe this horror in words." She came up and took hold of his hand. Closing her eyes, she added, "See for yourself."

Ace closed his eyes to focus on Angie's thoughts. As the image became clearer in his mind, he could see a ten-year-old Angie being dropped off by her parents.

Her parents were going on a well-deserved second honeymoon, and Angie did not want to interfere with their plans, so they let her stay with her aunt, Rita.

The couple took off in their car, but as soon as they were out of sight, things suddenly changed.

Just as Angie was about to have some outdoor fun, Aunt Rita grabbed her arm and dragged her into the house.

"What are you doing?" Angie asked fearfully. "I wanna go outside and play!"

Aunt Rita grabbed the other arm and angrily said, "You will do nothing of the sort, young lady. It's far too dangerous for you to go outside, and I'm not going to let you get hurt! Now go to your room!"

Angie cried as she ran upstairs to her guest room. When she closed the door, she saw a telephone. "Maybe I can call Ashley from here." She picked up the receiver and dialed her friend's number.

The conversation was going fine for about five minutes, but then a fuming Aunt Rita burst into the room.

She tore the telephone line out of the wall and yelled at her niece. "You are not to talk to anyone on the phone!"

"But it's my best friend Ashley. I just wanted to talk to her because she's the only friend I have."

"Nonsense! That snob is just using you. She is not a real friend!"

Angie's heart sunk with that stinging comment. "How can you say that about my best friend? You barely know her, and you have the nerve to call her a snob?" Growing teary-eyed, she angrily said, "I hate you, Aunt Rita! Making me a prisoner just because I'm a child!?"

"I am trying to protect you from getting hurt!"

"No, you're not! You're controlling my every move like I was fragile and weak! Just go away and leave me alone!"

"Fine! You'll get your dinner when you apologize for yelling at me!" Walking out of the room, Aunt Rita then slammed the door behind her.

Angie broke down into tears and fell to her knees. Her heart felt like it broke into a thousand pieces.

Ace opened his eyes as he felt upset. "Angie, you had a horrible experience."

"It was a nightmare being at her house. She wouldn't let me out of my room, call Ashley, or do anything without her keeping an eye on me."

"That's terrible," Cosmo stated, "denying a child the chance to go out and play?"

"There's a reason behind this," said Angie. "I had a younger cousin, Aunt Rita's five-year-old son. One day, he was out playing, and she took her eyes off him for only ten seconds. She never saw him run into the street, where he got struck by a car."

Ace remembered, "It's almost an eerie reminder of when you saved that little boy a couple of months ago."

"Right. My cousin died from his injuries a couple of days later. I never got the chance to meet him, but I felt really sad. As for Aunt Rita, she was so angry at herself for taking her eyes off him, she would never allow any of the family children to leave her house, if any of us stayed there."

"That explains her behavior," Cosmo said. "Did you tell your parents about it?"

"Oh, you bet I told them. When they came to pick me up, they saw me shaking in fear. I told them what she had done, and they were angry at her. They confronted her about the situation a couple of weeks later, but she denied everything, claiming she was only trying to protect me. Mom and Dad knew better, though, because Aunt Rita did the same thing to some other cousins. As a result, they agreed to let Ashley stay with me at our house from that point on."

"And your aunt's reaction?"

"Anger. She couldn't believe they would trust whom she thought was a snob over her. She thought they had made a stupid mistake and wanted them to see her as a stuck-up person who was only using me."

"So," Ace said, "just like Ashley's parents, your aunt tried to destroy your friendship."

"In every possible way. Fortunately, my heart was just a little too strong to believe her lies, and my friendship with Ashley got even stronger."

"It must have been at this point you two started becoming sisters."

Angie nodded happily. "When my parents were killed in the accident, she was the first person I called, and she stayed with me every day through the entire ordeal. In fact, I didn't know Mom and Dad named Ashley my legal guardian in their will."

"Your aunt probably tried to challenge that, right?"

"Mm-hmm, but the judge went by the will, and--"

Angie was interrupted by the appearance of a 3-D floating hologram. "Ace, someone is screaming at the door."

Ace, Angie, and Cosmo went into the living room, where Ace snapped his fingers to turn on the video screen.

On the outside, the woman pounded on the door. "I know you're in there, Angela! You better let me in!"

Angie had no way out of this problem. "Oh, this is wonderful. My aunt's found me."

Putting both hands on her shoulders, Ace said, "Don't forget, Angie, you're not alone. If you need help, we'll be more than happy to assist."

Along came a beautiful black panther, purring softly as its fur touched Angie's legs.

"Looks like it's unanimous," said Angie, petting the panther. "Even Zina's supporting me on this."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ace asked.

She looked at him and replied, "Ace, you helped me to face my powers. Now it's my turn to face my aunt." She turned to the hologram and ordered, "Angel, go ahead and open the door."

Outside, the woman kept pounding until the door finally opened up.

She rushed in and ran into the living room, where she saw Angie surrounded by Ace, Cosmo, and Zina. "All right," she said angrily, "I want all of you to get away from my niece immediately! She's coming home with me!"

As she approached, Zina growled at her, making her step back.

"Call off that monster or I'll kill it!" She grabbed the small statue from the table and tried to throw it at Zina!

Ace put out his right hand and stopped the statue in mid-air. He then placed the statue back on the table.

Angie gave her relative a mean look and said, "You better listen clearly, Aunt Rita. You are not in your house this time. If you're going to be here, you'll have to play by Ace Cooper's rules, since this is his home."

"You don't give me the orders, young lady!" Mrs. Wisland said angrily. "I am taking you home, even if I have to drag you out of here!"

Ace held Angie tightly and said, "Mrs. Wisland, this is Angie's home now, and she likes it here. She's very happy, and more importantly, she has friends now."

"As long as she does have friends," Cosmo added, "we'll stand at her side and make sure she's all right."

"Then, I'll get the police to settle this," the upset aunt said. She went to the phone and called the police.

Ten minutes later, Captain Friedrichs showed up with six other police cars. However, when Mrs. Wisland told him what was happening, he became very upset with her. "You dragged me out here to arrest them for no reason!?" He told her Angie really was living in the Magic Express by her own choice. He then warned Mrs. Wisland she would be charged with false arrest if she tried this again.

Ace and Angie both apologized to Friedrichs for the inconvenience. The captain also apologized because for a change, they were not giving him any trouble. Although Friedrichs and Ace were normally not on the same level, they both agreed Mrs. Wisland had a problem at being overprotective.

After the captain and his officers left, Ace and Angie went back to the living room, where they found Mrs. Wisland very angry.

Walking around the room, she shouted, "How can the police be so stupid!?" She turned to Angie and said, "Why did you lie to them?"

"Aunt Rita, I did not lie to the police. I do live here in the Magic Express, and Ace, Cosmo, and Zina are my friends."

Mrs. Wisland gave her a mean stare and said, "Angie, this place is far too dangerous for you. It's not safe here."

"Oh, and you think I'd be better off with you? You lock me up, don't let me communicate with anyone, and have to keep an eye on me 24-7. Sorry, Aunt Rita, but being here in the Express is much safer than your house."

"You better take that back!"

"Why, because I'm telling the truth?"

"You're going to regret saying that!" She thrusted forward and tried to get to Angie's throat when she found herself going up. "What's going on? Put me down!"

Ace levitated Mrs. Wisland into the air and in a mad tone said, "As long as you are here in my home, I will not allow you to lay a hand on Angie!"

"I don't have to agree to this!"

"Oh, really?" Angie said as she turned to Ace. "How long can you keep someone up there?"

Ace gave the question a thought and then replied, "The longest time I've ever kept a person levitated is about . . . four hours."

Angie's aunt gasped. "Four hours!?"

"Ace, could you do that again?"

"Considering how light she is, I should be able to keep her up there at least five hours."

"Five!?" the aunt screamed.

Angie looked up and said, "It's your choice, Aunt Rita. You can stay up there for five hours, or you agree to play under Ace's rules while you're here."

"And you better believe me," the Magician added, "if you try to harm her, I will know about it!"

Mrs. Wisland realized she had no alternative. "You win!" she shouted. "Now put me down!"

Ace gently placed her on the sofa.

He then turned to Angie and said, "Cosmo's waiting for us in the training room. We need to work on the lighting sequence for the new act."

"Yeah, I agree. We've got to make sure the timing's dead on when we make the intro."

Ace and Angie left the room while discussing their plans for the latest show.

Mrs. Wisland growled at what, in her mind, was Angie's defiance. "I don't know why she's doing this to me. I have a right to keep her safe, yet she would rather stay here in this dangerous place. This is not her decision to make, and I swear she will come home with me within 48 hours!"