By: Shirley Ann Burton
Part 1
It was a rainy night in Des
Moines, Iowa. Parked near a train shed was a rather unusual looking
train, one that had just two cars, an engine and a passenger car.
The top of it was white with a glass see-through window on the backside.
The bottom of the train was blue with a yellow line. In the middle of the
line was a large circle with a black letter "M" in the middle.
This was the Magic
Express, home to the greatest magician in the world, Ace Cooper.
He had taken Cosmo, Zina, and Angie to this destination for a performance
promoting the high school baseball teams, which needed money to get some
new equipment.
For Angie, though, there
was a more important reason to be there. She and her aunt Rita Wisland
had become very close since the time Rita came to Electro City to take
her niece away from her friends and try to keep her safe. At first,
it did not seem things would go well, but after learning of Angie's magical
powers and what she would do to help her friends, Rita and her niece made
up for the years of shame and anger. Rita was able to forgive herself
after years of guilt caused by the accidental death of her son Eric.
Angie truly appreciated her aunt's willingness to protect her, but she
helped Rita understand she was an adult capable of taking care of herself,
especially now that she had a "family" who cared for her.
Five months earlier, Angie
learned about Rita getting a boyfriend, a man who seemed to be very nice
and thoughtful. Rita told her niece he was just his age, and he seemed
to be the "Mr. Right" she had sought for a long time to help ease her own
pain. He was always helpful to Rita, and it seemed she would end
up being the happiest she had been since her days with her son.
However, after two months,
the communication suddenly stopped. Angie had tried to reach her
aunt by both telephone and e-mail. For the last three months, she
had heard nothing from her relative, causing her to start worrying.
For his part, Ace could
easily sense the anxiety in her soul. He checked on her by thought
almost every day and would meditate in the mornings to learn how she was
feeling in her heart. Ace knew she had felt very uneasy with talking
about the situation. He knew Rita had not reverted back to her overprotective
self, so he made sure his younger counterpart was doing okay by comforting
her with thoughts while asleep.
This night, however, would
change everything, especially for Angie . . .
A woman was running
in the pouring rain in only her nightgown, robe, and slippers, all soaking
wet in the awful conditions. She kept falling and tripping over rocks
and hurting herself, but she was out to find one certain place.
About 30 minutes later,
she had noticed the Magic Express. "She's here," she whispered softly.
"I know she and her friends can help me."
Inside, the experienced
apprentice Cosmo, a redheaded, blue-eyed teenager with electronic know-how
like almost nobody else had, was watching television with Ace Cooper's
pet black panther Zina. They were laughing at the sights of a classic
television show about people having their embarrassing moments caught on
videotape. Nowadays, people resorted to the web cams and tiny MPEG
cameras to get the funniest things on videodisks.
Just as the show was ending,
a 3-D pointed hologram with shades of pink and purple appeared. "Cosmo,"
said Angel, the supercomputer within the Express itself, "there is a visitor
at the door."
"You mean it ain't Ace and
Angie back yet?" Cosmo asked curiously.
"No. There is only
one woman at the door, but I cannot see her face on my visual."
"Come on, Zina, let's check
it out."
When the two came to the
door, it immediately opened, and Cosmo saw the woman in her night clothing.
"Um, excuse me, Miss. Do you need some help?"
The mysterious woman looked
up and noticed the young man. "Cosmo," she whispered, "is that you?"
"How did you know my na—"
Upon noticing the woman's brown eyes and dark brown hair in the light of
the doorway, and despite the many bruises on her face, he immediately recognized
her. "Oh, man . . . Mrs. Wisland!?"
"Cosmo, where's Angie?"
Rita struggled to say in heavy breath.
"She and Ace are out running
an errand. They'll be back in 15 minutes, but your face looks like—"
He then noticed three large marks resembling a scratch of the left side
of her neck. "Whoa! What happened to your neck? I swear
those marks look large enough for Zina to have done this."
With a light smile she responded,
"No, Cosmo. Zina wouldn't do anything like this on purpose unless
she or any of her friends were being attacked. In my case, it was
a human being who did this, but he's more of an animal than a human being."
"Here, why don't you come
in and get checked out. Our computer room has an analysis system
that can scan your body for other cuts, bruises, and marks on you.
Afterward, you get some dry clothes and a cup of hot cocoa, okay?"
He then reached out with his right hand.
If Rita had not known about
her niece being good friends with Ace Cooper, she would have refused.
However, she graciously accepted Cosmo's offer of help. "Thank you,
Cosmo. Thank you." Rita then took his hand and entered the
Magic Express.
He immediately took her
to the computer room and made her lie down on a special bed. "Okay,
we're going to run a full body scan on you to see what else someone did
to you."
The process took about 10
minutes, but Rita was asked to turn to the sides, back, and front.
This way, the computer could get a complete scan for broken bones, torn
ligaments, and anything else, like lacerations and bruises.
Soon afterward, she was
given some dry clothing and the cup of hot cocoa and sat in the living
room. "Cosmo, I don't know how to repay you for your kindness.
I still remember when I called you and Mr. Cooper a pair of bad influences
on my niece Angie."
"Aw, don't worry about it;
you were just looking out for her safety, and we understand completely
now.
The thing is, what happened to you to get all these bruises, cuts, and
that large scratch mark?"
"It's a long and very painful
story, and I'm almost afraid to tell it."
Just then, Ace and Angie
came in from the garage area with the groceries for their stay in Des Moines.
"Hi, Cosmo," said Ace happily.
Then, he noticed the visitor. "Oh, we have some company this evening?"
Angie came in with her bag
of food with a smile on her face. "We're back, Cosmo, and we—"
She noticed the guest as well. "Say, who's the person visiting here?"
Rita turned to face her
relative. "Um, hello, Angie."
The younger magician was
shocked to see the bruised and cut face of someone very close to her.
"Oh, my God. Aunt Rita?" She was so horrified she dropped her
bag and ran to her aunt. Hugging her aunt tightly, she said, "What
in heaven's name happened to you? You look like you've been attacked
a number of times."
Rita started to have tears
in her eyes. "You don't know the half of it, Angie. I've been
attacked continuously for the last three months."
"Three months!?"
shouted Ace. "You've been viciously maimed for this long period of
time?"
"Unfortunately, Mr. Cooper,
yes. Until now I've been too afraid to run because of what one man
has done to me and would do to me if I ran."
Angie suddenly spotted the
large scratch marks on Rita's neck. "Did one man cause that large
mark on your neck?"
"That, and all the other
cuts and bruises around me. My life's been a hellish ride for three
months now, and the man I love is responsible for it." She then put
her face down in shame.
Cosmo then stated, "I had
her checked out in the computer room. We should get the results shortly."
"Good work, Cosmo," Ace
said in a whisper. "Why would one man do this to her?"
Angie started to have tears
herself. "Aunt Rita, please tell me what happened to you to get so
beaten up this way."
"Well, you remember about
me starting a relationship with a man about five months ago, right?"
"Yes. You explained
how lonely you had felt, and then you met someone at the D-Lightful Deli."
"Right, Angie. He
and I started out on very good terms. He was so nice, helping me
out with some chores, getting me to places when my car had broken down,
even helping me in getting the bouquet of roses to put at Eric's grave.
I thought for sure he was the right man for me. For the first two
months, I was living in paradise and pure happiness.
"Then, suddenly, there was
a day where I had to get a lot of work done, but I had to go everywhere
in Des Moines. As I was trying to back out of the driveway, he stopped
me with only inches to spare from having an accident. He then got
out of his car and dragged me out of mine and back into the house.
He yelled, 'Your place is here and nowhere else. You
will do exactly as I say, whether you like it or not. You can't call
anyone or e-mail anyone, period. If I find out you've been doing
things behind my back, I'll beat you to a pulp, you . . . you . . .'" She
stopped as tears began to come out of her eyes again.
Angie said, "Say no more,
Aunt Rita. I think I know what that next word is. You've had
to suffer this for three months?"
"Yes. I had tried
so hard to get away, but every time I tried, he would stop me by grabbing
my arm and punching me in the cheek and nose. He made absolutely
certain I would never be allowed to do anything, including putting the
bouquet at the grave. I've missed that one day for the last three
months, and I'm afraid Eric will think I've neglected him."
Comforting her aunt, Angie
added, "You haven't abandoned him. This monster of a man won't let
you live the life you've been used to for so long."
"What's his name?" asked
Ace.
"His name," Rita started
to answer, "is Craig Rutherford. I thought he was Mr. Right, but
now I know he's anything but Mr. Right."
"How did you manage to get
away this time, though?"
"I had listened to the radio
when I discovered you were going to be here, Mr. Cooper. Knowing
you would be in town this week, I decided tonight was the moment to finally
break free from his clutches and get some safe shelter. I also knew
immediately Angie would be here, too, and she would understand why I haven't
contacted her in so long."
"I do understand, Aunt Rita.
I promise you, you're going to be safe here in the Magic, if that's all
right—"
Ace interrupted his counterpart's
words. "Of course it's all right for her to stay here. Rita,
you're more than welcome to take refuge here in the Express. You
can be assured Craig will not harm you while you're here."
Rita stood up and shook
the Magician's hand. "I don't know how to thank you, Mr. Cooper,
but—"
"Please, just call me Ace.
I really don't mind."
"Anyway, Ace, I don't know
how to thank you and your friends for helping me like this."
"Making sure you're safe
is thanks enough right now."
Just then, Angel contacted
Ace via the wristwatch radio. "Ace, I have the results of Rita's
body scan, and you may not like these pictures."
"Put them on the screen
here in the living room, Angel."
"Right away."
Up on the screen came first
the scratch mark, then the cuts and bruises on Rita's face, the broken
ribs and femur bone, and many marks on her back, resembling being hit by
a belt.
Ace was dismayed at the
completed scan. "I can't believe one man would do something this
. . . unspeakable, just because he wants to have everything done his way."
Rita noted, "He thinks a
woman's place is nowhere other than the home, and that her sole purpose
is to serve the man of the house."
"Whatever happened to the
wedding vows?" asked a visibly upset Cosmo. "I mean, like, the 'to
love and to hold, to honor and cherish' part?"
"In honesty, I feel like
I've been through hell and came back to life after learning you would be
here."
Ace noticed it was getting
late. "It's been a long day, and we're not performing for a couple
of days. Let's go on and get some sleep."
"Good idea," Angie agreed.
"I'm tired anyhow." She then walked away and went to her room to
prepare for bed.
Ace then turned to Rita.
"You know where the guest room is. You can sleep in there as long
as you need to."
"Thank you, Ace. I
feel sleep-deprived, especially after three months of the nightmare."
"Rita, I'm going to tell
you something. I've been very worried about Angie during that time.
She's had dreams about blaming herself for what may have been happening
to you, and I think after what you told, she may resort to that."
"Oh, no. I don't want
her to accuse herself. That's the last thing I want her to do."
"I'll see what I can do
to comfort her. In the meantime, are you going to be okay sleeping
somewhere other than your home tonight?"
"With Craig over there,
that isn't my home right now. Thanks, Ace."
Soon, all went to bed as
they tried to make sense of this painful situation.
In the middle of the night,
Angie lay on the right side of her bed as she began to cry. "Why?"
she whispered to herself. "Why did it have to be Aunt Rita?
She deserves to live her life, after everything she's gone through.
I could understand why she was controlling on me before; she just wanted
to make sure I was safe. What's happening to her, though, is . .
. wrong and immoral. I should have known something was wrong.
It's my fault for not being there for her."
Ace, on his bed in his room,
was unable to sleep because he easily sensed his younger counterpart's
anguish. He then closed his eyes and breathed deeply, reaching out
to his "little sister." "Kindred sister," he thought to her.
The younger magician continued
to shed tears until she heard the warm, gentle mental voice of her mentor,
friend, and big brother.
"Kindred sister,"
she heard from Ace, "I can feel the pain and sadness within your heart.
Why are you blaming yourself for what happened to her? It's not your
fault."
Angie tried her best to
respond to him. "I . . . I--"
"Why don't we talk, mind-to-mind?"
"Okay." Angie
took herself into a deeper state of sleep and very softly said, "Mind-to-mind."
She soon found herself
sitting on a park bench near a lighted lamppost amidst dense fog.
She then noticed Ace approaching her. "Hi."
He then sat next to her
and put his arm around her shoulders. "Angie, what's the matter?"
She faced him sadly.
"Ace, I didn't listen to my heart. I should've known something was
wrong with her, but I didn't trust my own instincts this time. I
feel so ashamed."
"Don't be. There
was no way of knowing Rita was trapped in this terrible predicament.
You can't be everywhere, and you're in no way responsible for any of this.
She was too frightened to try to escape from that man for a long time but
then summoned her own courage to get away and come to us for help.
What's important right now is that we give her some love and support because
I think she may want to blame herself for being stuck in this situation."
"But . . . she didn't
know about Craig being the monster for the first two months of the relationship."
"That's right, she didn't.
However, she eventually saw him for the fiend he really was, like an illusion."
"In other words, he had
his own magic which in this case has turned very dangerous. I want
to protect Aunt Rita."
"We'll all protect her,
Angie. That's a promise. However, we may have to be on guard
ourselves."
"How come?"
"When Craig wakes up
in the morning and discovers Rita not to be home, he'll be on the rampage
for sure."
"Ah, I understand.
We have to watch out for each other and make sure she doesn't get hurt
again. Thanks, Ace. I'm sorry I had you worried again."
"That's all right.
I can understand why you were so concerned, but I promise, Rita's safe
with us."
"I'll go back to sleep
now. Thanks, kindred brother."
"Anytime, Angie.
If you ever need me, I'm a mere thought away."
As the two hugged each
other, Angie felt reassured she and her friends would keep her relative
safe from harm.
Angie returned to the real
world and slept soundly for the rest of the night.
The next morning, the clouds
had given way to the warmth of the sun as it began to rise over the capital
city of Iowa.
In her bed, Rita awakened
from a very sound sleep for the first time in three months. She felt
very comfortable, knowing she was safe in the home of the world's best
magician and his friends.
She stepped out of her room
and made her way towards Angie's room when she was surprised by the appearance
of a purplish pink pointed hologram. "Huh? Who, or what, are
you?"
The hologram said, "I am
Angel, the computer which keeps the Magic Express in running order.
You must not remember me. You saw me after Angie had transformed
in front of you during your visit to Electro City."
Rita then remembered seeing
her niece's incredible metamorphosis from a young woman into a crimefighting
magician. "Oh, I guess we didn't introduce each other before.
I forgot she asked you to get the Magic Bike ready when she knew Ace and
his friends were in danger that time. I've been so shaken by everything
that memories have been somewhat blurry."
"Right now, though, you
shouldn't disturb Angie. She is in the middle of her morning meditation."
"Of course, it must help
her prepare for the day ahead."
"Yes, and it also helps
her become more adept to the magical powers within herself."
Rita still had a hard time
believing her own niece could tap into such an awesome power as the Magic
Force. "I assume she learned this from Ace?"
"You assume correctly, Mrs.
Wisland."
"How long before she's done
with her meditating?"
"It should be done in about
10 minutes."
"Thanks, Angel. I
won't bother her for now."
As she walked by Cosmo's
room, she failed to hear his door open. "Good morning, Mrs. Wisland."
She accidentally jumped
in fear and breathed heavily. She faced the experienced apprentice
and said, "I'm sorry, Cosmo. I didn't mean to react that way.
I've had enough fear for the slightest sound to make me go nuts."
He did his best to make
her feel better. "Aw, that's okay. After what you've had to
suffer, I can understand why you're being very jumpy. Don't worry,
though. You are safe here in the Magic Express, and
we'll make sure you don't get hurt again."
"Thanks, Cosmo.
I feel a lot better, knowing I'm in safe shelter."
Meanwhile, deep in meditation
on her bed, Angie took herself back in time to talk with her parents about
this troubling situation.
"Mom, Dad, why is it
that sometimes a man believes a woman's place is nowhere but the house
to serve him?"
Her father Robert had
a look of shock on his face. "What!? You mean to tell me Rita's
being treated in this manner? How inhumane!"
"I agree," said Nancy,
Angie's mother. "Rita had her reasons to be controlling on you before,
but this is terrible. She has the right to live her life to the fullest,
and now it's being taken away from her."
"This doesn't make sense,"
Angie noted in confusion. "This is the 21st Century, right?"
"That's right, sweetie,"
Robert replied quickly. "Women have come so far in the last two centuries,
thanks to the brilliant efforts of women such as Harriet Tubman, Florence
Nightengale, Clara Barton, Indira Gandhi, Billie Jean King, and countless
others."
Nancy put her hand on
her daughter's shoulder. "Unfortunately, some men to this day believe
the only place a woman should be is at home and serving him at every request.
The times may have changed, but attitudes are far harder to adjust.
Fortunately, Robert was never like this."
"I'm glad I wasn't that
kind of man. I respected Nancy with dignity and pride, and if we
didn't agree on something, we would talk about the problem instead of me
saying, 'I'm the man of the house; I'm right.' The way this man's
treating Rita is so . . . so . . ."
"Stupid? My friends
and I agree this is wrong."
"Oh, so you're all doing
your part to help her, right?"
"Of course, Dad.
Aunt Rita's safe here in the Magic right now. However, the moment
Craig Rutherford wakes up, he may go into a fit of rage upon discovering
she's not there to serve him."
"Okay, sweetie.
You and your friends do what you can to ensure she doesn't go back into
his clutches."
"We will, Dad.
I need to wake up now so I can make breakfast for everyone."
Nancy smiled at
Angie. "We understand. You try to have a good day, okay?"
"I will. Bye, Mom
and Dad."
Angie awakened from her
meditative trance and made her way out of her room to the kitchen.
"I think omelettes and French toast will do just fine this morning."
She went to the kitchen
and found her aunt already making breakfast. "Aunt Rita, you don't
have to do this for us."
"It's the least I can do
for the kindness you and your friends have given me. Besides, I still
feel guilty about the way I treated you when I tried to take you away from
them before." Rita then started to cry.
Angie hugged her relative
with pure love. "Aunt Rita, I'm not angry with you. Remember,
I forgave you only if you were able to forgive yourself for Eric's accident.
Ace, Cosmo, Zina, and I are here for you now, and we will keep you safe,
I promise."
"Thank you, Angie.
I'm so lucky to have such a loving person for a niece, and you're the right
type of person to be gifted with magic."
Angie released the hug and
said, "If you can finish those omelettes, I'll do the French toast.
Sound okay to you?"
"It sure does."
Rita then went to finish up her part of breakfast as Angie started her
end.
About ten miles away, at
Rita's house on the suburbs of Des Moines, a gentleman with brown eyes
and graying black hair woke up from a seemingly sound sleep. After
sitting up on the bed and stretching his arms, he yelled, "Rita!
Rita! Get your butt over here! It's time for my breakfast!"
He did not get any response
from her. "Rita!? When I call you, you'd better get your behind
here! Now hurry it up!"
Still no answer came from
her.
He quickly jumped out of
bed and ran to her room. There, he found what he thought was Rita.
"Okay, woman. I said for you to get up and get me breakfast and—"
He pulled the covers from her bed and found only extra pillows. "Damn
it!" he shouted angrily. "How dare she! She took off
on me! I'll teach her to leave me behind my back! Her place
is here and here only to serve me! I'll find her if it's the last
thing I do!"
The angry man quickly changed
clothes and got out to his car. With the engine running full throttle
and tires screeching, he immediately took off to find her. "That
wench will not get away from me, and I think I know how to get her back
to me in no time." He then decided to go to the Des Moines Police
Department.
Back at the Magic, all had
finished breakfast when Ace and Angie decided to begin practice for the
new act they would perform a couple of nights later at Barnstormer Arena,
the city's new sports complex to host various sporting events, including
state championship games for high school football, baseball, and soccer.
Angie asked Rita if she
wanted to watch them practice. Rita was a bit apprehensive, but Angie
assured her there was nothing dangerous about this run through.
In the preparation for the
performance, Angie started her practice by concentrating on five 16-pound
bowling balls. Her body beginning to glow in her light-blue aura,
she slowly extended her arms outward and then to the sides. In a
matter of seconds, all five bowling balls were two feet in the air, and
they all kept getting higher and higher.
Rita was amazed by
her niece's accomplishment. "She's incredible," she thought.
"Angie
has become so skilled with her magical powers since I last saw her.
Her heart is the source of her magic, which saved my life when I almost
got crushed by those beams as Sonny Boy Surge's hideout was collapsing."
She recalled that time back in Electro City when she followed her niece
to the scene of trouble and accidentally got her foot caught in a hole
as she tried to escape from the falling cosmetics plant.
When Angie put the five
bowling balls back into place, Rita then asked a question. "Um, I
know I shouldn't be interrupting, but what happened to that guy who helped
me out, um, Shackles, wasn't it?"
Ace remembered, "Oh, yes,
Shackles. He was given a medal of courage by Captain Friedrichs,
and Vega convinced the judge to take one year off his sentence. In
fact, he's been on such good behavior, he'll be out on parole in about
a month or so."
"That's wonderful news.
I guess it's true for people being able to change. I did it, and
apparently so has Shackles."
"And so did I," added Ace.
"I used to be a juvenile delinquent myself, but I got help from Vega."
Cosmo then entered the room.
"I was also a delinquent, until Ace took me in."
Rita was surprised.
"Both of you were troublemakers yourselves?"
Both gentlemen nodded.
"It takes all types."
Rita then smiled. "It's nice to know both of you were willing to
turn your lives around and become better people."
Angie grinned at her relative.
"You've become better, too, Aunt Rita. Don't leave yourself out of
this group. I'm just happy to be surrounded by good people."
"Now, shall we get back
to practice?" Ace asked happily.
"Sure thing, Ace."
The two magicians returned
to their preparation run, with Rita and Cosmo both watching intently.
The gentleman who sought
to find Rita went into the downtown police station. "Excuse me, but
I need some help."
The working officer wanted
to get some information. "Okay, what's your name?"
"Craig Rutherford.
I'd like to report a person kidnapped."
"Okay, Mr. Rutherford.
Can you tell me what happened?"
"All right. My girlfriend,
Rita Wisland, was taken from her bed last night at her house. When
I went to her room to check on her, she was gone."
"Very well, Mr. Rutherford.
We'll see what we can do at our end. I'll get Lieutenant Daria Weinke
to help you on this case. She's the best when it comes to missing
and kidnapped people."
Craig could not believe
he would have to get help from a woman. "No! I want a man to
help me on this case, not a stupid woman! All she's going to do is
hide Rita even further from me. I guess I'll have to make due."
He soon entered Lt. Weinke's
office and saw a fairly young woman, about early 30s and with red hair
and brown eyes. "Daria Weinke?"
"Yes. Please come
in."
Shaking hands, Craig eventually
took a seat in front of the lieutenant. "Um, Lieutenant, I need your
help. My girlfriend Rita Wisland was kidnapped last night, and I'm
very worried about her."
Daria was looking at him
carefully. I can tell he's lying already. The way he's
sounding, he wants me to think he's a victim in this mess. I also
notice he doesn't like the fact I'm taking this case just because I'm a
woman. How rude. I'll just play along with him for now.>
She smiled at him with an
innocent face. "Okay, Mr. Rutherford, I'll help you to locate Rita."
"No, first things first.
I want to do a press conference to let people know what's going on."
"Are you sure you want to
do this?"
"Yes, I do, please."
"Very well. We'll
do the press conference at 11 a.m. Fair enough?"
"Sure thing, Lieutenant.
That'll work for me. I want to find her badly."
I can't do anything
as long as you're not caught in the act. Rest assured, though, I
think Rita's safer somewhere else right now.>
At exactly 11 a.m., the
press conference was under way, with Craig standing at the podium.
"I do not want the people of this city to panic, but Rita Wisland is in
the hands of someone dangerous, and please, if you see her in any way,
contact the police immediately. She has to be found, and I care about
her with all my heart."
At the Magic Express, Ace,
Rita, Cosmo, Angie, and Zina all watched the press conference, which left
Rita in complete anger.
"I don't believe that jerk!
He's trying to make everyone believe something's happened to him, when
I'm
the victim of this matter. Ace, where's the phone? I'd like
to contact Daria Weinke herself."
"Who's she?" asked a curious
Cosmo.
"She's the lieutenant of
the Des Moines Police Department and a specialist in terms of finding missing
people. Some people say she has this little gift of her own.
I don't know about you, but I'm not about to let that creep of a man control
my life anymore!"
"In that case," said Angie
as she levitated the phone to her hand. "Here, use this, Aunt Rita."
Rita took the phone and
immediately contacted the police. "Hello? Yes, I'd like to
speak directly with Lieutenant Daria Weinke please."