The Art of Magic
by Birgit Staebler
Vega walked into the small kitchen of the Magic Express, working his
aching shoulders, wondering what had done them in this time. Desk work?
Chasing after a young criminal and leaping over walls? His new mattress?
Probably all of it together. The last two months had been such a pain.
Friedrichs seemed to be even more intent on making his life hell than usual.
His desk was overflowing with case files. Ms. LeSage did overtime just
to handle the usual load. Most of the overflow came from the sudden epidemic
outbreak of the three-day-flu, which paralyzed the bureaucracy like nothing
else. Vega had fled into the street patrol duty for a while, but it hadn't
really helped lighten him up. Now his shoulders were cramped and the muscles
hardened, and he was getting headaches from pinched nerves.
Ace had taken pity on him, inviting him for a hockey game over to the
Express. The National Hockey League was in the final rounds and the big
game was on tonight. Vega would have preferred going there in person, but
he wouldn't have lasted a minute. Ace, who had had tickets for them both,
had agreed that maybe it would be better just to stay home and watch it
from the plush confines of the couch. The tickets had gone to someone else,
but Ace had just waved off his friend's protests that he should have gone
with Cosmo or whoever else.
Well, Ace had not wanted to hear another word and insisted he come
to watch the game here. There were snacks and a lot of unhealthy food,
as well as sodas and beer, so Vega had finally given in. Now he was scavenging
around the kitchen for all the goodies to take them to the living room
where the TV was already on. As he piled up bags of chips, pretzels and
more, he suddenly caught sight of something new.
He blinked.
Okay..... that looked ... strange. It hadn't been here the last time
he had set foot in the kitchen.
Vega walked over to the kitchen wall and studied it. Three knives
and a fork were deeply embedded in it, one knife looking very bent, one
had a partially molten look and the fork was sticking out of the wall with
the handle buried in it. Vega tilted his head in thought. Interesting.
"Found everything?"
He turned and discovered Ace walking in. The magician was actually
a strange sight as well. His hair was still damp from the shower he had
taken after the short jog along the river he had had before Vega had arrived.
The dark strands were intermixing with the white, sticking out in all directions.
He was still drying his ears, a towel around his neck. He was wearing a
white T-shirt and blue jeans, a very unusual look for him. Vega had seen
him in 'civvies' before, but it astounded him again and again. Ace looked
so .... normal! And young. Very young. The formal wear made him look older
than he was, giving him his mysterious, gentlemen-like air. It was all
intentional and so the transformation into the other Ace Cooper was like
magic all on its own.
"Uh, yeah," he now said, looking at the knives and fork again. "Kitchen
art?" he asked, pointing at the cutlery.
Ace stopped toweling and a hard to interpret expression flitted over
his face. "Not really, no. Kitchen accident is more like it."
Vega frowned. "Don't tell me your dishwasher exploded."
The younger man grinned. "Wish it were the truth."
"Attack of the angry cutlery?"
Ace laughed.
"Cosmo?" Vega hazarded a third guess.
Ace's shrug told him enough.
"Cosmo!?" he then exclaimed. "The kid did this?"
"In a way. He experimented with his magic and it got a bit out of control."
"A bit?" Vega felt like parrot. "He could easily have hurt someone!
Ace, he drove those knives in deep enough that you need a cutting torch
to get them out!"
"Not really." Ace reached for one of the knives and magic played around
his fingers. Vega felt a shiver run down his spine. He knew Ace for such
a long time now and it still amazed and slightly frightened him to see
his friend wield this power. Thinking of Cosmo and magic simply gave him
the willies.
Now Ace took the knife's handle and pulled. There was a creaking sound,
then he held the misformed and damaged eating utensil in his hand.
"Easy," he declared with a grin.
"This could easily have ended up inside a living being. Like yourself."
"It didn't. It was an accident, Derek. Cosmo got an ear full from me
already because he was outside the training room."
Vega sighed explosively. "You take this way too easy, Ace. Cosmo's
magic is dangerous! He can't control it and you aren't always there to
help him! Look at the wall!"
Ace carefully placed the knife on the kitchen table. "Cosmo is a responsible
young man," he said slowly. "He takes magic seriously. What happened here
was an accident. He doesn't try out such spells outside the Express." Gray
eyes met brown ones. "He doesn't fool around, Vega."
"I never said that," Vega sighed. "It's just... the boy can wreak havoc
with those powers and looking at this.... I'm afraid what could happen."
"That's why I'm teaching him." Ace smiled slightly. "He's good, very
good. He learns more every day, but there are backlashes. You should have
seen what I did to Anna's house throughout my time there. I was a loose
canon as well."
Vega laughed. "I remember the chaos I met when I came to visit. All
the windows were taken out."
Ace had the good manners to blush.
"So, did you stick cutlery in the wall as well?" the older man teased.
"No, not exactly. Not knives and forks anyway."
Vega raised an eyebrow.
"A bowling ball, a few billiard balls and a bronze statue." Ace cleared
his throat. "It was an old heritage piece of Anna's. We had a really bad
time getting that one out of the wall." He rubbed his damp hair, a bit
embarrassed. "Killed her display case and a few potted plants in the process
because I wanted to help and used magic to pull out the statue." He cleared
his throat. "Ended up with a black eye from a low flying ivy pot and Anna
had to redecorate a bit."
Vega started laughing and shook his head. "Now I know where he gets
it from."
That got him a glare. "We are not related," Ace grumbled.
"Thank god. Must be the magic then. Was Kate just as reckless?"
Ace grinned. "Believe it or not, yes. She just flattened landscapes
when calling on the forces of nature. Tore into the cliff further down
once..... Left her totally drained and Anna in a state of shock. Kate's
powerful."
Another head shaking. "Magicians."
Ace floated the knife and Vega rolled his eyes. "We all start out as
students, and even later on we keep on learning," the magician said. "Cosmo
will have better control over his powers in time. That's what he needs.
Time. He works all his spells inside the training room, but sometimes accidents
happen."
Vega gazed at the remaining three pieces of eating utensils in the
wall. "Maybe you should re-enforce the walls," he mused.
"Oh, cut it out," Ace grumbled and walked over to the table where all
the snacks were stacked. He balanced several bags on his arm and grabbed
a six pack of beer.
Vega snickered as he watched the younger man balance the food and took
pity on him, grabbing the topmost pretzels bag and walking into the living
room.
Ace glared at him. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome," Vega laughed, juggling with the bag.
Both men settled down, Vega kicking his feet up on the table. Ace shot
him an annoyed look, but Vega just grinned.
The game started fifteen minutes later and Vega let the knives in the
wall be knives in the wall. Cosmo would hopefully grow out of it, like
Ace had. He glanced at the younger man, right now not the magician but
a typical human man, enjoying something very mundane and normal. He smiled
fondly. Looking at what stunts Ace pulled now, though.... he groaned silently.
It could really only get better!