by Birgit Staebler
"Oh man.....!"
Ace looked up from where he was reading a book and smiled as his friend
and partner walked into the living room, slumping onto the chair. Cosmo
scrubbed a hand over his face, looking a bit worn and tired.
"She's worse than the social service shrinks!" the younger man proclaimed.
"At least they only wanted to know about normal stuff! She... She... this
is not normal!"
Ace had a pretty good idea who 'she' was. He had asked for her help.
Kate Morrigan had come here about a week ago, lugging with her a ton of
books as it seemed, ready for all eventualities, and bursting with questions.
She had immediately set to work on figuring out just what this empathic
and magic bond between Cosmo and Ace really was, and it meant asking a
lot of questions and reading a lot of reference books. Cosmo was Kate's
main target and if Ace was not completely off, they had just spent another
five hours together, Kate asking, Cosmo answering.
"I mean, she wants to know everything! Sometimes I don't even get what
she asks..... It's kinda hard to recall some things. Especially about before."
Ace was suddenly dead serious. He knew what Cosmo meant with 'before'.
'Before' was the time with his parents, with the gang, the time before
he had run into Ace and his life had forever been changed by the magician.
Before meant good memories of his mother, the only person who seemed to
have cared about the boy, the sad memories of her death, and the dark memories
of his father. Ace hated the man for what he had done to the sensitive
child. He had met him only a few times, but that had been too many. Ace
would never forget the hatred and disgust in the man's eyes when he had
picked Cosmo up from the police station or later the greed when Ace had
paid him to save Cosmo from his own parent.
Cosmo's father had never loved him and it had left its marks. Cosmo
wasn't someone to trust easily, though his outgoing and friendly, sometimes
boisterous, attitude masked this quite perfectly. Having to recall all
of this had to be hard on the teen.
"Sometimes I wonder if she ever runs out of questions," Cosmo now muttered,
diffusing the depressed atmosphere with a grin. "She has a whole book full
of them! It's not normal, I tell you!"
Ace laughed softly and it earned him a dark look. Kate was known to
be thorough and whatever she did, she was meticulous when it
came to research. In a field like magic, it was vitally necessary she
was thorough. Small mistakes could mean serious harm for someone, maybe
even more. He knew her from his own studies and even back then, as a fourteen
year old girl, she had buried herself in books for weeks, surfacing with
a ton of notes and writing the most incredible papers. While Ace was a
magician who used spells and actively cast on a regular basis, Kate studied
magic and everything that had to do with it. She was a walking encyclopedia
of knowledge when it came to magic matters.
"She even asked me about what food I eat!" Cosmo now grumbled. "In
detail!"
"Everything is important, Cosmo," Ace told him.
"Huh, right. I want to see you squirming in a chair when she asks you
these questions. Man, she asked about when my first time was!" A slight
blush crept over Cosmo's cheeks. "Thankfully not how it was..."
Ace grinned again.
"Not fair," the teenager mumbled.
"It will help us," Ace reminded him.
"If she can figure out what happened, when it happened and what might
come in the future," Cosmo sighed. "I mean, I can't remember planting this
shard inside you, so how does she want to figure it out?"
"By asking a ton of questions?" Ace replied, smiling.
Cosmo muttered. "Well, she's good asking stuff you had no idea could
be asked questions about. And the things she wants me to do with magic....."
Ace had noticed a considerable discharge of Magic Force, in small dosages,
though repeatedly.
"Uh, Ace?"
"Hm?"
"Kate's a magician, right?"
Ace raised one eyebrow. Cosmo knew the answer to that question.
"Uhm, is it possible that I'm hurting her when I misfire a spell?"
Well, that was a surprise question. "Hurt her?" Ace echoed.
"I noticed her wince away several times when one of my spells went
slightly off. Nothing broke!" Cosmo assured hastily and Ace smiled. "But
she seems to kinda... shield against me then."
"Kate is a nature mage, Cosmo. She uses a different kind of magic and
the Magic Force frictions with it. You are not hurting her. It's more like
tasting something you are not used to or you don't like."
"Oh. Huh, bad, man. I mean, I don't want to make her uncomfortable."
Ace shook his head. "Kate is a shield expert. It's what we trained
relentlessly because otherwise I might have hurt her when I was still training."
"Okay." Cosmo shrugged. "But why isn't she shielding completely against
any of the magic when I do something?"
"Well, she has to look at all angles concerning this unique bond, and
your magic is part of it."
"Huh, right." Cosmo ran a hand through his hair. "Still..." A shrug.
"Kate's a researcher, Cosmo. They are used to having to put up with
uncomfortable situations, and she would honestly tell you if you hurt her.
Trust me."
"Well, I've got the next hours off, she told me, so I'm going to grab
some off time for real." Cosmo slipped into his jacket and checked the
blades stuck in their pockets.
Ace watched him go, then settled back again. He knew better than to
disturb Kate and ask if she wanted some coffee or tea. She was in research
mode and that meant no interferences. He snapped his fingers and music
started. Time to catch up on his reading.
* * *
Vega dropped by the Magic Express late in the afternoon. Walking through
the silent halls, he smiled as Zina moved almost noiselessly past him.
A low rumbled greeting was all the noise she made. When he stepped into
the living room, Vega stopped and blinked. It looked like a bomb had struck.
The couch table was overflowing with books, notepads and paper. More books
had been either hauled out of the shelves or from wherever, and they were
haphazardly piled on the floor. In the middle of this paper chaos sat a
woman Vega knew: Kate Morrigan. Nature mage and someone who could be called
Magic Librarian.
"Hi, Derek," she greeted him, smiling.
Kate hadn't changed much in the last year. Her hair was a tad shorter,
she had acquired a slight tan, but she was still favoring dark turtlenecks.
"Kate," he now answered. "I didn't know you were in Electro City."
"Arrived a few days ago. Ace asked me a favor and I'm trying to help
him."
"The link?" he hazarded a guess.
Kate smiled. "The link," she confirmed.
"I see."
"If you're looking for Ace, he left an hour ago to pick up some props
that arrived a day earlier than expected."
Vega shrugged. "No problem." He cast a look around the paper-littered
room. "I guess asking how you are coming along would be slightly off."
She laughed and unfolded from the pillow on the ground. "Maybe, but
it looks much worse than it is. Can I offer you a coffee?"
"I'm a cop. We are born craving for caffeine," Vega replied, smiling.
Kate chuckled and they went into the small kitchen. There was a pot
still on and she poured two mugs of coffee, adding some milk to hers.
"So, how are you doing?" Vega asked. "Haven't seen you around here
for a while."
He didn't know Kate as well as he did Ace or Cosmo, but she was Ace's
friend and he had met her when visiting Ace at Anna's house. She had grown
from a thin little girl into a beautiful young woman, and he knew she was
researching into magic. It was her life. She spent a lot of time abroad,
trying to find out more about what this power really was and what it meant
for people using it. He also suspected that there had been something cooking
between Ace and her when they had been younger, but it was over. Definitely
over.
"I wasn't around much in the last half year," Kate shrugged. "I went
to Oxford in England for a while, then flew into Edinburgh and also to
Germany to catch up on some of my studies. I had a paper to finish and
very little time left."
"Paper? About magic?"
"Yup. You may now call me Dr. Morrigan. Historian with a focus on myth
and magic." She winked.
Vega blinked. "Wow," he then said. "Congratulations! So, you're a Ph.D.
now. Well, Dr. Morrigan, what's your verdict?"
"The patient will live," she answered in a grave voice, but her eyes
sparkled.
Vega chuckled.
"As for my research, ask me when I'm through with my notes. This is
a lot and might take a while."
"So, you're camping out here?"
"Been trying to convince Ace that I can very well pay a hotel room
or rent a furnished apartment for a while, but he insists in his normal,
charming gentlemen-way that I'm his guest and can stay here for free."
She sighed and shook her head. "He'll never change."
"Wouldn't want him to."
"Neither would I."
They chatted for some time until Vega was rudely interrupted by his
wrist com. He grimaced as he listened to dispatch.
"Sorry about that," he apologized to Kate. "Duty calls."
"I'll tell Ace you were here," she promised. "It was nice to see you
again, Derek."
"Likewise. Hope to see you around more often." With that, Vega left.
* * *
Kate had taken her usual position in the lab room, which had been cleared
of all lab equipment, watching Cosmo as he tried to relax on the training
mattresses. He had taken off his jacket, bare arms hanging loosely at his
side, eyes closed, chest heaving in regular intervals.
"Okay, Cosmo," she said, voice calm and almost hypnotizing.
Cosmo wondered if she and Ace had trained this. Ace had an incredibly
calming voice, could penetrate Cosmo's wall of fear and panic within seconds,
and Kate wasn't far behind with her voice.
"What I want to try is testing the link you have. You can sense Ace,
but he has no reception of you at all. I'd like you to concentrate on the
shard and send some magic through it, some power."
His bewilderment must have shown because she smiled slightly.
"It's just a test."
"But... I never touched the shard before!" Cosmo protested.
"You did. Just recently."
"Not consciously."
"But you achieved it. You do it all the time you feel the magic inside
Ace. Your receptiveness to his magic is one talent you have, and it's not
limited to Ace, but your emotional link is. Just try it."
"Does Ace know about this experiment?"
Kate nodded. "He does, don't worry."
Cosmo sighed and went through the same relaxation exercise again. Okay,
no biggie, he thought. He could do it. No biggie at all.
"Relax," Kate said, her voice seeming to drift all around him.
He tried.
Her voice grew into a distant murmur, a haze falling over his audio
perception.
And then he was inside his head, or at least he thought he was, surrounded
by the power of the magic he harbored. It was cool, but also very frightening
to see what was stored inside his own body and mind. Now he turned and
searched for a way to Ace.
He found it, slowly moving toward the faintly discolored spot, and
touched it.
He was flung forward at a sickening speed, yelping as the mad rush
turned into a frightening rollercoaster ride he couldn't control.
Panic rose inside him and Cosmo flailed, feeling the magic escape his
grasp.
No!
And then he ran smack into what seemed to be an impenetrable wall --
which flexed and wavered, then bent and he was sucked through! Through
the wall. Gasping again, he tried to get his bearings, but he was completely
at a loss. Wherever he was, he wasn't inside his own magic anymore. Around
him, something much stronger, much more dangerous and volatile resided,
and he felt fear trickle down his spine. Oh, no..... Magic Force, in its
most powerful form.... raw and barely tamed....
Cosmo backpedaled in fear, looking wildly around for a way out of here.
Briefly he felt something touch him, something warm and familiar, and he
headed for it. The warmth wrapped itself around him, keeping him safe,
and he felt as if enveloped in a blanket. Cosmo fought to get control back
and finally managed to calm his racing panic attack to a simply shuddering.
Okay.
Concentrate.
Relax.
The warmth helped him balance, a gentle and calming presence around
him, so utterly careful as it touched him. And then he was flung out of
the strange environment again. The warmth seemed to stretch, fingers holding
him until he was too far from its center and the fingers had to retreat.
Cosmo's eyes snapped open and he looked into a pair of worried but
warm eyes he knew only too well. Cosmo himself lay on his back on the floor,
staring at the ceiling.
"Ace?" he rasped.
Ace smiled and it was the most reassuring sight there was. For a moment
the warmth seemed to come back, then he was alone in his mind. Ace....?
"That was something I didn't expect," Kate said, now stepping into
his field of vision. She looked a bit rattled. "I'm so sorry, Cosmo."
From what Cosmo had observed earlier, she must have felt the Magic
Force he radiated, and it had hurt her.
"Sorry as well," he mumbled as he sat up, aided by Ace. "Didn't want
it to backfire on you, too."
She smiled. "Hey, no apologies. I know what I'm doing. Usually....."
Cosmo smiled and rubbed his head. "Man, that was something!"
Ace nodded. "I noticed. I felt your presence for a brief moment, then
it was gone. It was like back in the hospital.... just not as intense."
Cosmo met his partner's eyes and they told him all the answers he needed.
He had actually touched the shard, ever so briefly, and Ace had saved him
from slipping. He had been incredibly close to losing himself into the
raw potential Ace harbored and it made him shiver to think of it. Man,
he knew Ace was powerful, but that was..... frightening!
Now Kate nodded. "I figured as much. Cosmo, you better get some rest.
That was is a bit more than what I had expected to happen." She looked
apologetic.
Cosmo got to his feet, feeling his head clear in leaps. He was bouncing
back quickly to his old self.
"Hey, I'm okay. Hope you're not expecting me to pull something like
this again."
"No. Not right now anyway." That earned her a dark look and Kate grinned.
Cosmo sighed and shrugged. "Okay, I give up. I *am* the guinea pig
here." There was an amused glint in his eyes.
Kate patted his upper arm. "And you're doing just fine."
He only harrumphed.
As he and Ace left the room, Cosmo shot him a silent look. "It happened,
right?"
Ace nodded. "Yes. I'm not sure what exactly it was, but I felt you.
It was strange...."
"And I nearly lost control. Thanks for hauling my butt out of the fire,
dude."
Ace chuckled, eyes glinting.
Cosmo tried to shove the memories of the energy he had nearly drowned
in out of his mind. His stomach rumbled and broke the silence. He grimaced
at his friend's grin.
"I guess that means we need to feed the guinea pig," the magician joked.
"Don't want you to faint."
Cosmo snorted, but food sounded like the best idea all day. Since Kate
was not exactly inclined to leave, they ordered out.
About forty-five minutes later, the pizza party was in progress.
* * *
"Cosmo's abilities are not unique in every sense of the word, just....
unprecedented, maybe even singularly rare," Kate started, looking at them
both. "Magic comes in all kinds of variations, and they are all derived
off one basic power, so no one is really unique. What makes the difference
is the strength of the Magic Force yielded and its effects on what it touches.
When a person's magical abilities develop, usually around puberty, often
spontaneous acts of random magic occur. It's the result of concentrated
thought, not actions or words. From my studies, Cosmo can access a good
part of the Magic Force, but he cannot yield it with the precision you
for instance can, Ace."
"Story of my life," Cosmo muttered, a smile in his eyes.
Kate smiled as well. "That comes with time and practice," she told
him. "Now... we all know that magician apprentices can be influenced by
the master, consciously or unconsciously. It can happen before the power
breaks through or later throughout training. I believe this is what happened
between the two of you. Cosmo's abilities developed rather late, later
than normal, that is. It's not a bad thing. You just needed a bit of a
shove to take the last few steps."
She smiled at Cosmo, who rolled his eyes. The 'last step' had been
Ace nearly dying.
"As for you, Ace, you showed your abilities way earlier than the normal
mage, and your power index is on the top of the scale. Cosmo's powers are
currently developing in leaps, rather than in a slow linear stream. I believe
this has been true for the time you didn't know your powers as well. From
what I asked the two of you and from the answers I got, you have formed
a close bond before Cosmo was even aware of his magic."
Ace nodded, totally aware of that. Their friendship had started out
as wary trust from Cosmo's side and had later become a tight, unrivaled
friendship that had survived a lot of battering and abuse from outside,
even from inside. And it had only grown.
"Your emotions for each other range from friendship to utter protectiveness,
and I think this is where the whole change started."
Kate's voice was normal, almost clinical. Ace was used to it because
he knew Kate, knew that when she was in 'lecture mode' she was completely
different from the Kate he knew. But Cosmo seemed to be a bit put off by
her level voice and no-nonsense manner.
"I won't delve too deeply into your psyches and I know what I'm saying
is known to you, too, but it's important to reiterate it. Cosmo had his
magic potential since childhood and it didn't break through until two years
ago. Before that, it was nothing more than what people would call talent,
gut-feeling or instinct. When you took him in, Ace, he started to trust
you and form a surface bond of friendship. I believe that something must
have happened later to strengthen that bond slowly but surely with magic,
creating the shard. The events around your kidnapping by your twin didn't
trigger it. It was already there then."
Ace felt a shadowy horror creep up on him at the memory of Mitch Wisnewsky,
but he swallowed it. No time.... no time to ponder the past. Cosmo had
felt the little twitch, though, and there was a brief expression of confusion
flitting over his features.
"I asked you a lot of questions, Cosmo, and from your answers, I think
the trust you started to put into Ace, and all the little adventures you
had, created the shard. It wasn't planted at one time, but as time passed.
Whenever you put yourself into danger, Ace," she looked at the magician,
"Cosmo subconsciously put himself with you. Neither of you felt it until
Cosmo's abilities bloomed completely."
She riffled through her papers.
"I've never read about anything just like this and maybe some of what
I theorize will turn out to be utter garbage in the future, but this is
what it looks to me right now. There are people who are empathic, or even
telepathic, in this world, but neither show the same pattern you two do.
I'll continue researching, though. This is magic and magic does what it
wants. In your case, it created a tight bond between two minds. It's a
bit one-sided where the reception is concerned, but it is strong."
"Inseparable?" Ace asked, drawing a look from Cosmo that relayed dread
and pleading.
Kate was silent for a while. "Nothing is inseparable, Ace," she finally
said. "But sometimes, when separating something, you might destroy one
or both participating parts." Her gray-blue eyes were dead serious. "You
had this experience twice before. First, when Wisnewsky apparently had
killed you and Cosmo was not yet aware of his abilities. Second, just recently.
When you really did die for a short time. Both times, the results were
severe and would have been catastrophic later on. Your connection is by
no means inseparable, but it will destroy a lot if attempted to be cut."
Ace nodded slowly. "I was afraid of that."
Another sharp look from Cosmo, but Ace's answer, wordless as well,
told him 'later'.
Kate gazed at them. "This is just a preliminary of what I got from
you. I'll keep working on it, but whatever is on your minds, I hope it
isn't separation."
"No," answered softly. "Thanks, Kate."
She shrugged. "I'm taking a break now. I need some fresh air." She
smiled and gathered her papers, getting up.
Ace suspected that she just wanted to give them the time to talk. He
looked at his partner and Cosmo's face clearly showed his dismay.
"I'm not going to ask for a separation," Ace told him gently, firmly.
Cosmo swallowed and nodded. They had talked about it before. "Thanks,
man," he muttered.
Ace studied the younger man. "You know my feelings, Cosmo, in more
ways than one. I can't change my worrying about you, I can't stop caring,
but I won't force a separation."
"As long as I'm not hurting you....."
"You never hurt me, Cosmo. Never!" Ace insisted, seeking the pale gray
eyes and holding them. "What Kate found out was not to push a separation,
it was to understand the bond better."
Cosmo drew a shaky breath. This had rattled him a bit. Having to recall
all past events, good or bad, had left marks. Ace rose from his sitting
position and walked over to his friend.
"Cosmo?"
"I'm okay," the younger man muttered.
Imploring eyes searched his face and Cosmo winced as he discovered
that Ace saw right through him. The older man clasped his shoulders, squeezing
them.
"Cosmo?"
He refused to meet his eyes.
"Cosmo, nothing will change," Ace repeated softly. "Nothing at all."
"I hope so," Cosmo replied softly. "I like it the way it is. It's part
of me... always was."
Always was, yes. Ace smiled as he recalled what Kate had said. Years
back, a young boy had started to trust him, and this trust had given birth
to a shard of Cosmo's self implanting itself in Ace's mind. It was something
wonderful and mysterious, but it also had massive drawbacks. Like death....
Ace shied away from the thought.
His career choice was dangerous, yes, but his 'hobby' as a crime fighter
was even more so. It didn't help that the father of the woman he loved
was his enemy.
Ace sighed and smiled at Cosmo's inquiring look. He locked an arm around
the shoulders and hugged him briefly.
"How about we leave these halls and get something to eat?" he tried
to steer the topic away from what had been revealed.
"Sounds good. You pay."
Ace only laughed.