Sisters Reunited (The Conclusion!)

Sisters Reunited

The Conclusion!

At the Express, Cosmo noticed the time on his watch. "That's odd. Angie said they'd be gone for just 15 minutes. It's been almost two hours now." He then spoke into his radio watch. "Angie? Angie, are you there?" All he heard was static.
Growing worried, he decided to go to Ace's room to wake him.
Entering the room, he noticed Ace still wearing his dress shirt and pants while he slept. "Dude?"
The Magician looked up and saw the concerned look on his apprentice's face. "What's wrong, Cosmo?"
"It's Angie and Ashley. They've been gone way too long."
"Really?" Ace started to show concern.
"Yeah. I've tried the radio but got zilch."
"I'd better try by thought, then." Ace closed his eyes and tried to establish telepathic communication with his younger counterpart. "Angie, where are you? Can you hear my thoughts?" Within his mind, all he could see were psychadelic swirls, but he also heard a woman's wicked laughter. "It's Faceless!" he exclaimed. "I'd know that nasty laugh anywhere!"
"You mean that thief's behind all this?" questioned Cosmo, starting to feel upset.
"Yes. Now I understand why Angie was concerned about Ashley's recent behavior. Apparently the Ashley who's been with us for the last few hours was really Faceless disguised as Ashley. In addition, Angie's been drugged, which means she can't concentrate to use her magic. Both friends are in grave danger." Grabbing the sport coat, he signaled, "Come on. We've got to find them, and fast."
As they quickly ran into the living room, Mona entered the Express and noticed the worried look on both men's faces. "Ace, what's going on? Is something wrong?"
"I'm afraid so. Angie and Ashley are both in trouble, and Faceless is responsible for this mess."
"That creep!?" Mona said angrily. "If she's done anything to them, I'll--"
Ace tried to calm her down. "Mona, I feel the same way you do right now, but we have to concentrate our efforts on finding them. The problem right now is I can't contact Angie telepathically. She's been drugged."
"Oh, no. How are we going to find them?"
"I may not be able to track Angie by thought, but maybe I can find her by feeling her heart. Find her and we'll find Ashley, too. Let's go!"
In moments, Ace, Cosmo, and Zina were in the Magic Racer while Mona followed closely in her car.
With Cosmo driving the Racer, Ace sat in the back with Zina.
The Magician closed his eyes and quickly went into a meditative trance. He began to concentrate and feel with his heart, hoping to find the younger female magician. "May the love and kindness in her heart guide me to her," he thought calmly. He could feel the bond between himself and Angie growing much stronger. "She is the little sister in this 'family,' and I will not let her be hurt by anyone, especially Faceless!" His body began to glow in violet light, as he was able to feel the other magician's heartbeat.
Behind the Magic Racer, Mona, driving her car, could understand Ace's concerned feelings for Angie. "I know the love between Ace and Angie is more of a 'friendship love' than what Ace and I have. They care about each other as though they really were brother and sister. I don't have any jealousy about it, since I love Angie like a little sister, too. I just pray to God both she and Ashley are all right."
With Angie's heart to guide him, Ace told Cosmo which directions to take, and before too long, both cars came to a stop at an old apartment building in a rather bad part of town.
"They're both in there," Ace noted slowly. "I can sense Angie's presence somewhere within the building."
"What're we waiting for?" shouted Cosmo. "We've gotta rescue the two now!"
Ace wasted no time in getting into the proper outfit against the clever female archrival. "Magic Force, reveal the power within!"
On the inside, Faceless was almost complete with her trap intended for Ace. "Now, I'll just call Cooper, and with a voice like Ashley, he'll easily fall into my clutches."
Suddenly, she heard a whooshing sound as the door crashed to the ground. Ace had used his magic to literally blast through the door.
When Ace, Cosmo, Zina, and Mona all entered the building, Cosmo yelled out, "Give it up, Faceless! You can't hide from us this time!"
The master thief found herself in complete shock. "How in the world did they find me without a ransom note, riddle, or anything? I haven't even finished the trap yet!"
Mona saw Faceless's shadow. "All right, you witch!" she angrily said in a loud tone of voice. "What have you done with Angie and Ashley?"
"Don't you dare come closer to me!" the thief responded. "If you do, you can say good-bye to your two goodie-goodie friends!"
Ace could feel Angie's heartbeat strongly, meaning she was very close. "She's somewhere above me." Looking up, he noticed the two friends tied up more than 50 feet high! "Oh, no! Angie's helpless with that drug in her system."
When Faceless finally stepped forward, he looked straight at her and said, "You've got some nerve, using two lifelong friends to get to me. This is a new low, even for you."
"I'll do whatever it takes to get rid of you, Magician! You've interfered with my plans for the last time!"
"How can one person be so cruel and coldhearted? Even Black Jack and Sonny Boy have more heart than you ever will."
"Ha! That pair of weaklings? The heart is what makes a person weak and wimpy!"
Ace then started walking toward the master thief. "It's no use, Faceless. You're outnumbered and outmatched this time."
"Don't be too sure of that, Cooper!" She then extended her claws and cut the rope, sending Angie and Ashley toward certain doom!
Ace felt helpless. "I can't help Angie without being able to contact her!"
Although Angie's mind was being seriously affected by the drug, in her heart she valued the life of her best friend more than her own. "Ashley is my sister in heart and spirit. I will not let her die!"
Her power growing stronger, she let her heart take over completely, and by instinct she yelled, "Let my heart guide my power!"
That action resulted in both her and Ashley glowing in a light-blue aura and slowing down in the descent!
Faceless was completely shocked at what had just happened. "That's impossible! I made sure she couldn't use her powers! Why is she able to use her magic?"
Ace realized what was happening. "Of course! Angie's magic comes from her heart, not her mind like my magic does."
When the two friends landed safely on the ground, Angie used her hands to untie the rope and free themselves. She then looked at her best friend. "Ashley, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks to you, but what about that poison in your system?"
"I don't know what happened, but I'm going to take advantage of this chance while I can."
"We didn't have to deal with this in Colorado, did we?"
"Nope. The fall was similar, but that was you falling 300 feet off a mountain." Turning to Faceless, Angie added, "Ashley, get over there with Ace and the others. This is going to be between Faceless and me, and I don't want you to get hurt."
"Okay, but be careful."
"Aren't I always?" The young magician joked as her best friend went over to where Ace and company were standing.
Groaning in anger, Faceless stated, "You were just lucky, Jacobs! Being able to use your magic even after I drugged you. You think your friends are so important to you!"
Staring at the master thief straight in her red eyes and with her body glowing even brighter, Angie angrily said, "How dare you try to harm my friends! First using my lifelong friend to get to me, and then using both of us to try to get to Ace! I'll never let you hurt my best friends!"
"Ha! You can have only one best friend in life. You can't have more; it's just not the way it works."
"That's where you're wrong, Faceless!" Ashley shouted. "Angie's a sister to me while Mr. Cooper, Mona, and Cosmo are brothers and sisters to her. In her heart, she definitely has room for more than one best friend!"
All the while, Ace had a feeling of warmth within himself. "It's her love. I can feel Angie's love for all of us. We're all family in her heart, and her concern for us has made her power stronger than ever before, strong enough to fight off that poison."
"I will stop you, Faceless!" Angie screamed with compassion. "You're going to pay for the pain you've caused me and my friends!" She then went into a crazy spin yelling, "Magic Force, reveal the power within!" She then emerged in her special costume.
"You'll never stop me, you Magician-wannabe!" The master thief extended her claws outward and charged toward Angie.
The young magician, however, magically changed the metallic claws into paper. She then stepped to the right and put her right foot out, causing Faceless to trip and fall on her face. "Don't you know you shouldn't attack someone who knows self-defense, especially when she got an 'A' in the course at Iowa State?"
Faceless got up and tried again to attack Angie. "You're gonna get yours, Jacobs! You never deserved to be with Ashley in the first place! You were never in the same position of wealth and power to belong with her!"
Ashley could not understand the thief's words. "What's she talking about? How does she know about our enduring friendship?"
"I'm not sure," answered Mona, confused in the same manner, "but right now I'm more concerned about Angie."
Ace stated, "Mona, let Angie handle this on her own."
"But--"
"Don't worry. Her heart is giving her the stronger power. I think she's more than capable of handling Faceless."
When the thief tried to attack Angie again, Angie fell backwards and grabbed Faceless. She then tossed her into a stack of wooden crates. Quickly getting to her feet, Angie jokingly said, "When are you ever going to learn? I know how to beat you, and I don't have to use all my magic to do it, either!"
Faceless got back up. "In a blue moon, loser!" she angrily responded. "You're absolutely nothing without your magic!"
"Wrong, creepface! As long as I have confidence and faith in myself, I know I can do plenty without using magic! My greatest magic is my own heart!"
"Yaaaahhh!" yelled the thief as she thrusted toward the younger magician again.
With her green eyes totally focused, Angie waited until she saw the red of Faceless's eyes. She then clenched her right hand into a fist and directed a right hook punch . . . right into the thief's left cheek!
Faceless fell to the side and crashed into a series of boxes. The master thief was out cold.
Ace and the others could not believe what Angie had just accomplished.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Cosmo. "Did you put any magic into that?"
"No way, pal. I did it out of anger, for the pain she caused all of us. I don't like to resort to violence, but she left me no choice this time." With her face going down she noted, "I'm sorry I had to do that."
Ace came up to her and gave her a comforting hug. "It's okay, Angie. I know you never want to use violence against anyone, but sometimes you don't have any alternative. At least you took your anger out on the villain and not on us."
"Believe me, Ace. I would never be angry at the people who are a family to me."
Just then, Captain Friedrichs and Lieutenant Vega came in, along with at least ten police officers.
"We got a call about some noise here," Friedrichs said. "What happened here, and who's that over there?"
Vega went over to where the unconscious person was. "I don't believe it! That's Faceless!"
Friedrichs was surprised when he noticed the woman with no face. "You mean there really is a woman named Faceless? I thought it was just something you and Cooper made up. I have to admit it this time: I was completely wrong about this. Oh, well, at least we--I mean, you--finally captured one of the most clever master thieves in the world."
"Yes, she is," noted Mona, "and Angie took care of that jerk all by herself with one punch."
"My word," said an appalled Friedrichs. "Miss Jacobs, I didn't know you had it in you to do something like this. You're usually so cool and calm."
"I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't want to do it, but after what she tried to do to me and my friends, I couldn't think of any other option. I just hope I didn't hurt her too badly."
The female thief finally awakened, only to find herself being handcuffed by Vega. "Wha--what is this? I've been captured!?"
"Yes, you have, my dear," the lieutenant responded. "Angie was the one person who finally took you down." He then turned to the others and simply asked, "Does anyone here want to know who she really is?"
Everyone screamed, "YES!!"
Friedrichs took out a special glove. "Who would like the honor of unmasking Faceless?"
"Sir," started Ace, "I think Ashley Brighton here should be the one. After all, she was the primary victim in this mess."
"Would you like to, Miss Brighton?"
With a smirk on her face she replied, "I'd be delighted."
She took the glove and placed it on her right hand. She knew she did not want to get her own fingerprints on the mask, as it was a crucial piece of evidence.
Faceless tried to move her head to avoid the situation. "No! Get away from me! I won't allow you to know who I am!"
"After all the trouble you caused me and my new friends, I have a right to know, so off with it!"
It took a few seconds, but Ashley finally succeeded in removing the mask.
A woman with a mix of blond and brown hair and blue eyes was seen for the first time.
Both Angie and Ashley gasped in shock.
"Oh, my God," Angie whispered. "I know that woman."
Cosmo was surprised by this turn of events. "You do?"
"Yes. That woman is Carlita Brighton . . . Ashley's mother!"
"What!?" Ace exclaimed in disbelief. "You mean the most clever thief in the world is--"
"My own mother!?" interrupted a very upset Ashley. "How could you do this to me? You had everything, the wealth, the power. Why this life of crime?"
Carlita looked straight at her daughter and in rage answered, "I did it because that fortune you inherited from your grandparents should have been mine! They had no business giving you the inheritance or the mansion. You and your stupid generosity; you were supposed to be one of us in our family, but no, you'd rather go out and help other people. Angie totally blinded you, and she's still a loser in my book!"
"How dare you call her a loser!" Ashley shouted while backhanding a slap across her mother's face. "Angie's been a sister to me since the first grade, and I'd give anything to have had her parents as my own because they were so kind and caring, unlike you and Dad, selfish and greedy. You almost always tore up the invitations I had for her for parties, but I'm glad she stuck by me. I now know I don't have to be a millionaire to feel like one, especially as a first-grade teacher." Turning away, she said, "Captain, could you please get her out of my sight? Looking at her is too painful for me."
"I understand, Miss Brighton. Take her away, men."
As Mrs. Brighton was being read her rights, Angie came up to the captain and asked an important favor. "Is there any way you can keep the media from knowing about this? I mean, something like this could destroy Ashley's reputation as a good citizen."
"I agree with you. We can keep this a secret, right, Vega?"
"Sure, no problem. Right now, though, I think Ashley needs a friend."
Angie noticed her friend sitting alone near the dock, but as she walked up, she suddenly became dizzy. "I don't . . . feel very good." She then began to collapse to the ground!
Ashley turned around and gasped in horror. "Angie!" she screamed as she quickly caught her friend.
Ace, Cosmo, Mona, and Zina all heard the commotion and quickly joined the two best friends.
"What happened?" asked a frantic Cosmo.
Ace held Angie's left hand and concentrated on her. "It's the drug Faceless injected. It's kicking back in and spreading rapidly."
"We've got to get Angie back to the Express, fast!" Mona said in total concern. "If she doesn't get help from Angel, she'll die!"
"No!" Ashley screamed in fear. "Not my sister! I can't let her die!"
Ace carried Angie in his arms to the Magic Racer. "Meet me at the Express as soon as possible!"
He quickly took off while Mona and the others quickly got to her car.
Taking the Racer into high speeds, he was determined to save his younger counterpart. "Hang on, Angie. We'll get you back to normal. Just hang in there."
In Mona's car, Ashley had grave worry in her eyes. "Oh, please, God, save my best friend. She doesn't deserve to die."
Cosmo tried to comfort her. "If anyone can save Angie, Ace is the one. Don't give up hope."

Minutes later, Ace, Cosmo, Mona, and Zina were in the main computer room with Angie lying on a special bed. Ashley was too frightened to see her closest friend in the present condition, so she waited outside.
"Hurry, Angel," ordered Ace. "Make the antidote for Angie before it's too late!"
Angel isolated the components of the poison and fired a laser beam of green light. "Commencing antidote now."
After a few seconds, Angie woke up. "Oh," she said with a yawn. "What happened to me?"
Ace smiled and gave her a hug of relief. "You were almost lost to us, thanks to Faceless's poison."
Ashley waited nervously when Mona came out of the room. "Mona, is Angie--"
The singer took Ashley's hand and said, "She's going to be all right."
Ashley quickly ran into the computer room and hugged her best friend very tightly. "Oh, Angie. I thought I had lost you forever."
"Another few minutes and you would have."
Ashley then began to cry in total anguish.
"What's the matter?"
"It's everything's that's happened here," she replied tearfully. "First, Faceless tries to kill you, and then I find out she's my own mother! I knew she didn't want us to be friends, but for her to go to the point of attempted murder to try to end it all was completely stupid! Now I'm beginning to wonder if she got her wealth honestly or by robbery. I thought she had it all, but apparently it wasn't enough for her. Angie, what am I going to do? I can never live a normal life again, knowing what my mother has done. I don't even know if you would ever want to be friends with me anymore."
"Ashley, please don't say that. We've been friends for too long to let anything come between us, including your mother. Remember in our poem, 'Through good and bad, thick and thin; It's our friendship that will always win.' You helped me deal with the loss of my parents, and I swear I'll do everything I can to help you get through this."
"You would stick by me, even though my mother is a thief and attempted murderer?"
"Ashley," said Mona coming up from behind, "I know exactly what you're going through. It's never been easy for me, since my father is one of Electro City's most powerful crime bosses. The difference is I've known about my father's work for years, but you found out about your mother being a master thief just a couple of hours ago. It's not fair to you, and I want to help out just as much."
"Me, too," agreed Cosmo.
"As do I," added Ace. "Ashley, you've been close to Angie for most of your life. We want you to be a part of our family now, so you won't have to deal with this alone."
"Mr. Cooper, I--"
"Please, Ashley. Just Ace will do."
"Ace, I don't know what to say to you and your friends, staying with me like this and--"
Angel appeared and interrupted Ashley's words. "Ace, Vega is calling."
When the lieutenant appeared on the screen, they immediately saw his worried face.
"Something up, Vega?" Cosmo questioned.
"I'm afraid so. Not too long after we had captured Mrs. Brighton, she managed to slip out of her handcuffs and get away. She did leave a note. Have Angel print it out and you'll see." He then said he would keep an eye out for her and disappeared from the screen.
After Angel made the printout, Ace took the note and read it aloud. "You may have defeated me this time, Magician, but I will get my revenge on you and your friends and especially my former daughter Ashley. Her inheritance will be mine, and I will kill her for it. She is no longer related to me, so she'd better watch her back!"
Ashley became very embittered by the note. "If my mother thinks she's going to scare me just because she didn't get that inheritance, she's completely lost her mind!"
"I'm afraid she lost her mind years ago," Ace said in trying to comfort Ashley. "She let greed completely blind her judgment, which, I'm sorry to say, has resulted in her taking on this criminal lifestyle and becoming the master thief known as Faceless."
"I don't know what'll happen if people learn about this. I wouldn't be surprised if my teacher's certification is stripped as a result of being related to Faceless."
"That's not true," Angie quickly said. "You've always been different from your mother, and everyone back home knows it. They'll stick behind you like glue, and I'll bet even your first-grade class sticks with you, too."
"Yeah," agreed Cosmo. "Just because you're related to Faceless doesn't mean you're anything like Faceless."
"You see," Ace noted, "as long as you have support behind you, they'll see you for who you are. Besides, somewhere in your heart you still love your mother, when she wasn't wealthy or greedy."
"You're right. She meant so much to me before she became power-hungry, but will there ever be a chance between Mom and me again?"
"That's up to both you and her. I know you would want to try, but right now your mother is only thinking about getting you and the inheritance."
"I'm not worried about the inheritance, and I'm certainly not going to run scared because of my mother's threats. I'm going to continue teaching so I can get those kids ready for a bright future instead of acquiring riches through robbery."
"Now that's some positivity!" shouted Cosmo happily.
As they all returned to the living room, Ace read Angie's mind concerning a suggestion. "Are you thinking about putting Ashley into our show Thursday night?"
"Yeah. Ashley, I know this really wouldn't help the situation right now, but would you like to be a volunteer for our show?"
"To get my mother out of my mind for a little while, I'd love to do it. What kind of trick are you going to involve me in?"
"Well," started Ace, "it's a trick we've both been working on for the last few weeks, and you'd be perfect for it. Of course, you'd have to keep it a secret."
"Don't worry, Ace. Even I know the first rule of all magicians: Never reveal any secrets."
"Good. We'll start fresh Monday morning. I think you need tomorrow to recover from all this."
"Thanks for your help, Ace, and all of you. I'm glad Angie has at least five best friends in her life." Changing the subject, she asked, "Will this show be on TV?"
"Yeah," answered Cosmo, "why?"
"I wonder what my students will think when they see me on TV with the Magician himself. I'll bet that's the first thing we'll talk about when school resumes next Monday."
Mona then asked, "How will you go about conducting class that day?"
"I'll just wait for their reactions when I walk into the room, and them I'll show them what I did, without revealing Ace's secrets, of course."
Everyone laughed at her joke, knowing that once again, all was peaceful in Electro City.

On the Monday after Spring Break, Ashley, back in Mason City after a great holiday, walked into her classroom and saw all the smiling faces of her first-grade class. "Well, you seem to be excited about something."
"And why not?" asked Danny. "We all saw you on TV with the Magician on Thursday night. What was it like?"
"It was a great experience. Of course, I had to watch the show on the video disk to see exactly what I went through when Angie levitated me."
"Can you tell us how she did it, Miss Brighton?"
Ashley shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, Danny, but there's a certain rule to follow: A magician cannot reveal his or her secrets, which means I can't tell you, either."
The class groaned about the matter but understood because the teacher had been exactly right.
She then showed her class the video of what she went through on her trip to Electro City. Needless to say, the class was very excited about her staying in Ace Cooper's home and getting to know him and his friends very well. "Believe me, class. I had the time of my life, and I'll never forget all the fun I had. Ace Cooper is the greatest magician in the world, and my best friend Angie will be just like him some day."

As for Carlita Brighton, who was now an outlaw on the run from the police, she was on a bus heading for anywhere away from both Electro City and Mason City. "Now I can't show my face anywhere! My stupid daughter has messed everything up for me! She'll pay for what she's done to me, and I'll never give up in my quest to get rid of that Magician and all his friends forever!"
Mrs. Brighton still had anger and hatred in her heart, and it was fumed further because her own daughter would not be the same as her, and Ashley would forever be friends with Angie Jacobs and Ace Cooper, the Magician.


THE END