2nd Series 01/3 - One Step At A Time

by Macx

Ace makes a decision concerning Cosmo that alters their future forever

One Step At A Time
by Birgit Staebler

"Are you crazy?!" The exclamation seemed to echo in the large living room. "Are you totally out of your mind? I've heard some wild schemes from you before, but this about beats everything else!"
The owner of the loud voice was a man in his forties, with already white hair, a beard, dressed in gray and brown clothes, a coat covering the rather drab ensemble. Still, drab cloth aside, he was an imposing appearance, broad shouldered, with a square jaw and alert brown eyes that currently fixed the second occupant of the room with a challenging look. His name was Lieutenant Derek Vega of the Electro City PD.
Ace Cooper met the brown gaze levelly. Like Vega, he was a broad-shouldered, tall man, but his hair had less white to it. It was black, topping a sharply cut face with intense gray eyes, and was streaked by three white stripes. Two of them were at the temples and met at the back of his head, the third was a white stripe on top of his head.
"It's the right thing to do," he now said.
Vega shook his head, a frustrated expression on his face. "Ace, you are out of your mind! He's a criminal who broke into your home and tried to steal Angel's files!"
"I agree that he tried to steal from me, but he's not a criminal," Ace contradicted.
"The kid has a rap sheet! He's thirteen and has been in contact with the police too many times already. He was a member of Star's gang. You know what The Underdogs were into! They even killed someone!" Vega sighed. "Ace, please...."
"My decision stands. Cosmo deserves a chance and I will give it to him. Just because he ran with a gang, doesn't make him the killer Star is."
"Crazy," Vega growled. "He'll rob you blind before you know it!"
"No, he won't."
"What makes you so sure of that? And why this kid? Why him?" Vega wanted to know.
"I don't know. It's.... a feeling. I can't explain it, but I just know that there is more to him than just a thief. He's much more."
The cop shook his head and looked at the ceiling of the room, as if the answer lay there. "The same feeling that made you *not* call me when he broke into the Express the first time?" There was criticism in his voice.
Ace smiled. "Exactly."
Another look at the ceiling. "Do you know what you're getting yourself into, Ace?" Vega asked after a second. "He's a kid. Thirteen. He's been on the street, running with a gang."
"And he's the victim of abuse," Ace added quietly, voice serious. His eyes were pools of suppressed anger at the fact that someone had beaten Cosmo up. "He suffers from severe claustrophobia when it comes to small, dark rooms. He was beaten, Vega. He's afraid of punishment whenever he makes a mistake! For crying out loud, he thought I'd hurt him because he spilled syrup! I won't let him go back to that place, nor out onto the streets. He's not into drugs and he hasn't committed a capital crime."
"Yet," Vega agreed and Ace shot him an angry look. "Look, Ace," he went on, "I know you mean well, but this could backfire severely. The kid has a family and they will want him back."
Ace briefly rubbed his beck. "Yes, he has a family, a father, but whenever I touch the topic, he goes into defense. I don't think I can send him back to them."
"Social services won't allow this! Do you have any idea how hard it is to become a foster parent? Ace, you aren't married, you are barely home! And, excuse me for saying that, but you are too young as well!"
Ace rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I already informed myself about social services and whatever comes with foster care. I can convince them to let me help Cosmo. As for age... that's relative." He smiled humorlessly.
"You are crazy!" Vega muttered again.
"Derek, please," Ace said softly. "You gave me a chance many years ago and I know you saw nothing but a criminal in me as well at first. What made you change your mind? What convinced you I was worth the trouble and the risk? Why did you help me?"
Vega opened his mouth, then shut it again. Ace knew that his friend had acted on instinct as well. There had been nothing to go on, no facts except that Ace had been a thief and a damn good one at that, and still..... Vega had helped him.
"That's not the same!" the lieutenant grumbled.
Ace smiled. "Isn't it?"
"Cosmo has a father who will want him back!" Vega snapped.
Ace winced inside, aware that even though Vega had just hit a sore spot, he hadn't meant it. Ace was an orphan, Cosmo probably had a family.
"Yes, he has a father, but he abuses him. Social services can appoint foster care for him if the court agrees."
"Yes, if, Ace. Big if."
"How about you try and find out more about my young friend, and then we'll see?" Ace now offered.
Vega looked at the folder lying on the low coffee table. It contained Cosmo's criminal file. "You know all there is to know."
"From the police records."
"Yes, from the records. It's hard to track down one individual if he doesn't have a criminal career, and Cosmo has one. Ace...."
Ace shook his head moreforcefully now. "No, Vega. I won't give up on him because of his past. I know what it feels like to be judged by something you had no control over. I don't believe Cosmo did this because he enjoyed being on the streets. He was forced into this because of his father, because he had to get out, and I will help him -- whatever it takes."
A deep sigh came over Vega's lips. "You are too stubborn for your own good!"
The magician smiled. "Will you help me with social services and the court?"
Their eyes met and Vega caved in. "Okay, I'll see what I can dig up. I know it won't work the same way as with you and Anna, that's for sure."
Ace nodded. He still didn't really know how Vega had pulled that stunt off nearly a decade ago, but he had. "Thanks."
"Don't thank me yet. This won't be a walk in the park, especially when the parent comes into the thing. He's still O'Connor's charge, his son."
"He was abused!" Ace repeated.
"That's for the court to decide in the end, Ace. For now, be glad social services won't take Cosmo with them. I know this is because of your position, but at some point, even your status in the City won't help you anymore."
Ace accompanied his friend to the door. "I know, but I won't let him return to the streets either. That's where he will end up on if they take him away."
"Ace..... he's a criminal and that won't change. You might want to help him, but in the end, it's not like ten years ago. This is different."
"It's not, Vega." It was a quietly uttered statement.
The cop sighed again. "It's your home he'll rob and your computer he'll hack into. I'll see what I can do to help you, but I wouldn't set my hopes too high. He's a criminal and he will always remain one." With that he left.
Ace let the door swish shut and inhaled deeply, feeling his shoulder muscles cramp. Damn, he hadn't needed this argument! Especially with the one person he had turned to for support. He knew Vega was his usual gruff self, mainly because he wanted to protect Ace from doing something stupid, and that he would soon approach this more calmly. He rubbed his neck and turned when he became aware of someone watching him.
"Cosmo?" he asked, but the boy was already darting back, running toward his room. "Cosmo, wait!"
Cursing, Ace wondered how much he had heard.... and how much of it had been out of context.

Cosmo ran into his room, the door sliding shut behind him, and he locked it. His eyes flew around the room that had been his new home for the past days, a home he had grown so much used to that it hurt. He had almost desperately latched onto this feeling of security that permeated him inside these walls. He had needed it....
The room was a guest room, slightly impersonal but still warm, and it had more than the teen had ever dared to dream off. His own room back home had been a rat hole, dark, old furniture, a carpet with holes, and walls in dire need of paint of wallpaper. It had been hell since his mother had died, but it had been the only place he could think of. Then he had met Flash. A boy from the streets, someone who also hung around the gaming arcades, begging for money to play the games, and he had told him of this cool gang. So Cosmo had tried to join. Anything to get away from home. Still, even among the gang he hadn't felt better. His room had been another rat hole, one he had shared with Flash, and the hunger he had felt at home had followed him onto the streets.
Now he had a home. A new home. With his own, clean room.
What was it that made him feel so good around a total stranger? Why had he come to him of all persons when he had needed a confidant? When he had needed help.... when he had finally admitted he needed someone else....
Ace Cooper was an adult, no different from all the other adults, but still.... a small voice inside Cosmo told him that wasn't so. Cooper was different. He was someone he could trust.
Trust.
No way!
Cosmo grabbed his old, battered backpack and started stuffing items inside. He had arrived with barely a thing and the short time at the Express hadn't changed much, except for an over-sized sleep shirt, which now automatically went into the backpack.
He had to leave.
Cosmo had listened in to the conversation between the cop, Vega, who seemed to be a friend of Cooper, and the magician. He hadn't been there when Vega had arrived, but the few snippets he had heard had been enough. Vega had tried to convince Ace that Cosmo belonged into a juvenile home or maybe even prison, that he was a criminal with a record who would never change. That he would steal from Ace. Cosmo felt tears well up in his eyes. Yes, he was a criminal, but he wouldn't..... he wouldn't steal from Cooper again! Since Vega was Ace's friend, Ace would surely listen to him and all of Cosmo's hopes that things had changed for the better at last had been destroyed.
More tears threatened to fall.
Cosmo swallowed several times, then closed the backpack.
A knock startled him and he whirled around, eyes wide. Cooper!
"Cosmo?" The gentle voice of the older man drifted through the closed door, muffled.
Cosmo felt panic inside of him rise to the surface and looked frantically around. There was no other exit and the port hole window was too small to squeeze through, or was it? He eyed it, then decided he could only win. He opened it quickly, threw the backpack outside, and started to squeeze through. His shoulders scraped along the metal frame and he bit his lower lip, wriggling more. He was very skinny for his age, and though he had grown quite a bit lately, he was still slender.
"Cosmo? Please open the door."
Panic turned into fear and Cosmo pushed through the port hole, feeling the skin on his bony shoulders burn as it was scraped off. With an immense effort he finally managed to get through, then pushed and pulled more. His hips were the last obstacle and gravity aided him. He pitched over as he was more than half through and since there was nothing to hold onto, he fell straight onto the concrete below.
Bruised, battered, hurting everywhere, he stumbled to his feet and searched for his backpack. He grabbed it, then started to run.

Ace had followed Cosmo to his room and had stopped at the corner of the corridor. He didn't know what to do. The boy had listened in and he had heard something, but what? He walked up to the door. It didn't open because the automatic mechanism had been shut off. He had done that to insure the boy's privacy. Cosmo needed it and he didn't want him to think he would just walk in on him. So he knocked.
No answer.
"Cosmo?"
Still no answer.
Ace chewed his lower lip, then placed one hand at the opening mechanism, pushing slightly. The door remained closed. Cosmo had locked it. Okay, so he wanted to be left alone, but Ace couldn't let him think that anyone would be able to just take him away, or that Ace would send him to a juvenile home.
"Cosmo? Please open the door."
Still no answer. He sighed. Okay, so now he would breach the privacy he had wanted to give.
"Angel? Unlock the door to Cosmo's room and open it."
"Affirmative," the AI answered and the door slid open.
Ace stepped into the room, prepared for almost everything.... almost. He wasn't prepared for the open window and a missing Cosmo. Cursing, also wondering how the boy had been able to squeeze through the narrow port hole, he whirled around and ran down the corridor to the exit.
"Zina!" he called and the large black panther followed him. He'd need her nose to find the boy.
The moment Ace was out of the Express, Zina took the lead, heading straight for the old docking tunnels. One was where Ace stored spares and things for the Express, the other two were abandoned. Instead of entering a tunnel, Zina led him through the gap between them, then stopped, sniffing. Around here, a maze of aqueducts and a forest of trees and hanging bushes offered hiding places. Zina rumbled and then suddenly darted into the dry aqueduct left of them. Ace heard a muffled gasp and a protesting yell, then a low rumbling of triumph. She had found Cosmo.
Following his panther into the dry water canal, he discovered her not far away. Zina had pinned Cosmo down underneath her and only now backed off, rubbing her head against Ace's hip, purring.
"Well done, Zina," he lauded and scratched the broad back.
Ace turned his attention on the red-headed teen who now pushed himself away from the taller man. He could see that Cosmo had cried and it tore at his heart. Again he wondered just why he felt so strongly when it came to Cosmo, but as always, there was no ready answer. He crouched down.
"Cosmo...... why did you run away?" he now asked softly.
Cosmo wiped at his tear-brimming eyes. "It's better than a home," he managed.
"Why do you think I'd send you anywhere?" Ace wanted to know.
"I heard you say it! The cop said it!" Cosmo pushed himself up, eyeing him nervously. "It's better on the streets than in a home!" He clutched the backpack to his chest, trembling.
"What you heard isn't what you think is happening, Cosmo," Ace assured him. "Vega voiced his doubts, yes, but I won't let them take you to a juvenile home if I can help it." He held the teary eyes. "And I won't let them send you back to your parents."
Cosmo flinched violently, moving away.
"Cosmo, please..... Come back home?" Ace's voice was very serious, with just a hint of pleading. "I won't send you anywhere. You have a room at the Express, a place to stay...."
"And the cop?" Cosmo whispered.
"Vega is my friend and he will help me as best as he can. He won't try to arrest you." Ace gave the teen a light smile. "You didn't commit a crime."
"I.... I broke into your computer," Cosmo reminded him shakily.
"I didn't file a complaint. I know you have a record, but they can't arrest you for that."
Cosmo chewed on his lower lip, still close to tears.
"I'm trying to get custody for you, Cosmo," Ace went on. "I want to take over guardianship."
Now the teen looked up, eyes even wider. "Why?" he stammered.
Yes, why? Ace had no logical explanation for it, just his gut feeling and his instinct.
"Because I feel it's the right thing," the magician answered carefully.
Cosmo hugged the backpack to himself again.
"How about we go back to the Express?" Ace now offered, holding out one hand.
Cosmo eyed it warily, then walked closer, one step after another. He was trembling badly and Ace took off his cape, draping it over the thin shoulders. Then he placed one hand lightly on Cosmo's back. Cosmo winced, but he let him. They walked back in silence, Zina following.

Cosmo entered the Magic Express, head reeling. Guardianship.... Ace really wanted to take over guardianship. It was like a dream. Could it be real? The truth? And if it was... could it happen? He still had his father and..... Cosmo shivered.... he didn't want to go back there. Never again!
Ace led him into the living room and Cosmo settled down onto the couch, cape still around his shoulders. He looked at Ace from beneath the heavy, long locks falling a bit into his face. He wanted to ask if it was true, really, really true, but he was scared. And after the little stunt he had just pulled..... He hugged himself and stifled a sob. A boy his age shouldn't cry.
The couch dented as Ace sat down next to him, far enough away not to crowd, but close enough to reach out.
"Are you hurt?" he now wanted to know.
Cosmo mutely shook his head. The few scrapes were nothing compared to the wounds inside him.
They sat in silence, Cosmo wondering what Ace wanted.
"Cosmo?" the magician finally asked, voice as gentle as always.
He looked up, daring a quick eye contact, then looked away again.
"Why did you think I'd turn you over to the police?"
Cosmo trembled. "Because that's what people do," he mumbled.
"It's not what I do. I offered you this place and I was serious about it."
He swallowed. "I...." No one had ever done this for him.
"But it will be difficult to assume guardianship of you if we don't talk to the court, the social service.... and your father."
Cosmo felt panic rise inside him. Images of his father rose unbidden to his mind's eye and he started to tremble violently. No! He couldn't face him again! No! A hand touched his shoulder, careful, gentle, requesting.
"Cosmo? I need your help as well if you want me to help you out of this endless circle," Ace said. "I promise nothing you want me to keep secret will leave this room, but I have to know about your past to be able to stand my ground in court."
Cosmo felt his chest tighten. Revealing his past was like laying his life open for everyone to look at. But if he didn't, then Ace might not be able to take over the care of him. And he really, really wanted that. His heart was torn between joy and deep, deep dread. It was a difficult decision and one he had to make on a week of experience with the man. Good experience... but what if it changed the moment Ace knew all? What if all was just a lie? Panic spread inside him like wildfire and he clenched his hands into fists.
"Cosmo?"
He jumped, eyes wide, staring at Ace. The other man's face was filled with warmth and compassion, nothing but openness and the need to know.
He could be acting. He could be lying..
Cosmo cried softly inside. The need to trust Ace was so overpowering, but he couldn't let himself fall for it. He couldn't be so vulnerable!
And he ran.
Cosmo jumped off the couch and ran for his room. He lay on the bed, tears falling hotly from his eyes. He was unaware of the fact that he was still clutching the cape, wrapped up in it, only the pain inside his chest and the lump in his throat. He was shaken by the painful sobs, his mind awhirl. After a while he became aware of something large and warm next to him, heard the soft, rumbling purr of the black panther, and Zina gently licked over his tear-stained face. Cosmo buried his head in her flanks, still trembling, and the cat curled herself around him.
Safe.
All he wanted was to be safe.
'Trust Ace,' a little voice inside him whispered. 'Then you'll be safe.'
More tears came as Cosmo was battling instinctive distrust and wariness, and also instinctive need to have a friend, to trust.
It was a battle neither would win today.

Ace didn't follow Cosmo this time. He hung his head, sighing deeply, and briefly closed his eyes. Okay, this had gone not too well..... Cosmo's past must be even worse than he had initially thought. The boy was scared silly of something connected with his family and he refused to reveal his past. They would be able to discover who he was in detail sooner or later, but Ace would prefer Cosmo telling him to digging around in files.
He rubbed over his eyes.
Damn!
But the whole thing made him now even more determined to help. Cosmo needed him and something about the boy triggered a protective streak inside Ace. He would help Cosmo, he would become his guardian, whatever it took.