Part 2
After Ace and company enjoyed
another one of Angie's culinary masterpieces, Ace and Mona left in the
Magic Racer, they being on their way to the Chrysalis Arena.
The arena had been under
extensive renovation by Lazaro City's preservation society. The building
itself was erected in the 1940s during World War II as a movie theater
where one could pay as little as ten cents per movie. Then, as movie
complexes were coming into their own place in society, the Chrysalis was
soon converted into an arena for concerts, sports, and the like.
However, as most people
were able to see events on television on a regular basis, the Chrysalis
suffered a major decline of visitors, until the city's preservation society
opted to do something about it. Getting donations of $15 million,
including a large donation from Ace Cooper himself (he believed in preserving
pieces of the past himself), the building was completely restored within
a two-year span.
To show their appreciation
to the Magician for his help in the project, the preservation society wanted
him to be the first person to perform on the stage on the night of its
grand re-opening. Ace happily accepted the offer two months earlier,
and tonight, he was definitely ready to show what he could do in front
of 15,000 people in the arena and many millions more watching on television
via Sensa-News.
He needed not worry about
the equipment provided for the evening performance, as that was delivered
to the arena a couple of hours ahead of his arrival.
When Ace and Mona arrived,
the crowd of people standing in line cheered and applauded the appearance
of the Magician on this special night.
Then, Sensa-News reporter
Kendra Rayler (a lot nicer and more ethical than Duke Paparazzo, who was
on assignment covering Electro City's restaurants) kindly walked up to
Ace and asked one question. "Mr. Cooper, how do you feel about being
the first performer at the renovated Chrysalis?"
"I find this to be a true
honor. This building is a part of Lazaro City's history, and I want
to see that it stays around for many more generations to come. In
order to live in the present, we must learn from the past, which in turn
will help us prepare for the future. The Chrysalis is a special place
for everyone to enjoy, and I'm happy to be a part of this night of true
magic."
"In that case, Mr. Cooper,
good luck on your performance tonight." Kendra then shook Ace's hand.
As he and Mona left to enter the backstage area, Kendra looked into the
camera and happily said, "He's right about the 'true magic.' That
comes from the fact this structure was rescued from demolition just a couple
of years ago, and Ace Cooper had a lot to do with it. With the cheering
section behind me, this is Kendra Rayler for Sensa-News."
Standing in a dark alley
not too far away from all the action was Darlena Lowland, determined to
find a way into the arena to get backstage and talk to Ace Cooper.
"I couldn't get a ticket for his performance. They sold out in just
ten minutes. I have to get in there and tell him to get rid of Angela
Jacobs. If he could just hear my side of the story, he'll take me
in and dump her. I'll wait until after the show to sneak in.
The crowd can serve as the camouflage for me."
She eyed the place with
a mean look and thought, "Before long, I will serve as an apprentice to
the greatest magician on the planet, and that older loser will be left
in the dust forever."
On the inside of the arena,
Ace accompanied Mona to the special seat just for her in the first row
of the arena. "Will this seat suit you?"
Mona smiled at her love.
"I think it's perfect, but you better not do anything that'll splash this
dress."
"Look below you."
She noticed the tarp.
"Oh, I see that's been prepared, too. I guess I have nothing to worry
about."
"Mona, you know I don't
want to ruin your new red dress you saved just for this occasion.
I'd be horrified if I did."
"You'd be even more horrified
if I told you if a stain gets in, it'll never come out."
Ace blushed and responded,
"I promise, Mona, I won't cause a problem for your dress. I'll let
you know when it's time to use the tarp, okay?"
"Deal. I know you've
been waiting for this chance for a long time. Good luck." She
then kissed him on the cheek.
The Magician was smitten
by that kiss. "I won't fail you, my love," he said in bliss.
He then went backstage to get himself ready for the act.
Closing the door behind
him, he closed his eyes and communicated with his younger counterpart by
telepathy. "Angie, can you hear me?"
Back at the Magic Express,
where Cosmo, Angie, and Zina had the living room television on ready to
watch Ace's newest performance, Angie could hear his voice of calm and
reason. "Yes, Ace. I'm ready to watch you on TV."
"Just promise you won't
interrupt me with an emergency."
"Can't make that promise,
but I can certainly try. Good luck, friend."
"Thanks, Angie.
And don't forget, we'll talk a little later on, got it?"
"I haven't forgotten.
Well, as the old showbiz saying goes, 'Break a leg!'"
Ace laughed at that thought
as he opened his eyes and smiled. "Now, just a little make up to
put on, and I'm ready to go, since I am going to be seen by millions .
. . again."
About 20 minutes later,
the Magician made a spectacular appearance on the stage in a flash of light.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I am proud to perform here on
such an historic night, the revitalized and renovated Chrysalis Arena is
ready to host many events in the years ahead, and I will have the privilege
of being the first performer on the stage on its night of grand re-opening."
Making four butterflies appear from both hands, he added, "Let this be
a night of real magic for all of us, and not just my act, either."
The audience laughed in
joy at Ace's ad-lib as he was ready to begin his performance with a small
fireball. Making it appear between his hands, he looked into the
audience and said, "Folks, you know in the old days, when people did barbecues
for friends and family, they would have to rely on charcoal briquettes,
lighting fluid, and of course, fire. Nowadays people use propane
gas grills to cook, but I wouldn't let the fire die off that easily.
No, I didn't take this from an old-fashioned barbecue, but just look at
how much magic you can make with one simple fireball." Controlling
the little ball's every movement, Ace made it go from left to right, then
up and down, and finally all around his body. As he started spinning,
the fireball left a trail of flame, which soon had him engulfed.
The crowd grew a little
concerned, especially Mona, but Ace changed the fire around him into more
butterflies, which flew around the entire arena to the delight of the fans
inside and the fans watching the event on television.
He took a bow and said,
"Sorry I had you all worried. You must have thought this could have
been my last performance. Not to fear, my friends. Doing things
like this is a part of my job, and I don't mind it at all."
As two boxes were coming
out onto the stage, the Magician said, "Now, you're probably wondering
why I don't have my two apprentices with me tonight. The reason is
a simple one: They needed the night off after almost four weeks of
nonstop work, so I figured this would be the night to get some rest.
Even the best magicians in the world need some time off to relax, right?"
Mona found herself laughing
at her love's kindhearted joke. "He's right. Cosmo and Angie
have worked really hard to help Ace and practice themselves. They
need a little time to take it easy and just enjoy it. I just hope
Angie's going to be okay, though. She's been sad for almost two days
now because she believes she's causing problems for us, but that's just
not so."
As the two boxes were put
at each end of the stage, Ace stated, "Okay, everyone. For my next
trick, I'm going to go into the box on your left and somehow come out the
box on your right without sneaking around backstage. To prove it,
I would like two people to come up here." He then pointed out an
elderly woman in the fourth row and a male college freshman in the ninth
row on Ace's right.
When the two volunteers
came onto the stage, Ace declared, "Ma'am, I want you to stand behind the
box to the left of the audience, while you, sir, will be behind the one
to its right. Both of you will see if I try to sneak backstage to
get to the other box, but I'll show all of you I won't. Are you ready?"
Everyone cheered as Ace
went into the box on the left side of the stage. Before closing the
door he turned to the woman and added, "Now remember, if you see me trying
to sneak backstage, I want you to grab my arm gently and pull me to the
center of the stage." He then closed the door.
On the inside, Ace pulled
the cape over himself and concentrated with his mind. In a matter
of seconds, he glowed in a bright violet light and completely vanished.
At the left side of the
stage, the elderly woman was waiting patiently to see if he would sneak
out of the box and go backstage.
However, unbeknownst to
everyone, he reemerged inside the right box and was ready to surprise the
crowd. He let out a fun snicker. "They're not going to believe
this one."
The young man at the right
box heard a knock on the door. When he opened it, the Magician stepped
out and smiled. The freshman was totally shocked. "Man, I didn't
even hear any footsteps or see you coming. You did it, Mr. Cooper."
The elderly woman on the
other side was just as amazed. "Fantastic, Mr. Cooper. You
fooled me, too."
The audience applauded loudly
as Ace took a bow at center stage and gave the two volunteers credit for
doing an incredible job.
Throughout the evening on
the outside, Darlena was looking at the act through the giant screen, provided
for people who could not get in to see the show. She noticed the
tricks Ace had done so far. "He's a real master. I must get
the chance to train under him, and make him realize that girl he has with
him has no business being a part of the act."
Back in the arena, Ace was
about ready to perform his grand finale act, one that would involve a large
tank of water, hence the tarp needed for the first row, where Mona sat.
"It's now time for the grand
finale trick of the evening. What I'm going to do this time is so
dangerous, I don't recommend you try this, period. I am going to
get into a straightjacket and chains and see if I can get out of this before
I run out of breath. If I create a splash, that's the reason for
the tarp. Now, if the young lady with the beautiful red dress in
the front row will come up here and help me get all this gear on, I'll
be ready for it."
Mona stepped onto the stage
to help him get into the special equipment he would need for the trick.
Without making too much noise, she whispered, "Ace, please be careful.
I don't want to lose you in a situation like this."
"Don't worry. I'll
be fine, I promise." After stepping to the top of the ladder, he asked
her to chain his ankles as well, making this trick even more dangerous.
He then looked at the audience
and said, "Everyone, I want to say something now. If I don't come
out of this alive, it was an honor to be a part of this special night."
Mona, as well as everyone
else in the audience, had a grave look of concern on her face when she
got back to her seat and pulled the tarp over her dress.
Ace then took a deep breath
and dived into the tank of water. A couple of years ago, he had broken
a world record for the longest amount of time underwater, but he had practiced
to see if he could add one to two minutes more to his record. It
took a very long time, and even he was not sure he could pull this off.
Fortunately, with words of encouragement from Cosmo and Angie, he decided
to push forward and go for it. After months of rigorous and risky
practices, this was the real moment of truth: Performing such a high-risk
trick in front of the thousands in the arena and the millions more watching
it on television.
At the Magic Express, Angie
watched very nervously as her magical mentor was trying to stay underwater
as long as he could while trying to break free of his bonds. "Be
careful, Ace," she whispered to herself while she held her hands like she
was praying. "It's been a hard road for this trick, but I believe
in you, my friend."
In the tank, Ace could feel
Angie's concern and care. "Thank you, Angie," he thought to
himself. "I believe in myself, too."
As he continued trying to
reach the surface for air, the water started splashing all over the first
row, but all onlookers were prepared with the tarp to prevent them from
getting wet.
After about seven minutes,
Ace had easily shattered his world record, but he was running out of air.
Mona quickly jumped up and
shouted, "Hurry, Ace!"
A few seconds later, using
all his might and his magic, he freed himself and swam to the surface of
the tank.
His love breathed a huge
sigh of relief. She whispered, "Don't scare me like that again, Magician.
You cut that way too close this time."
After swimming to the edge
where the ladder was, Ace stood at the top of the ladder and came down.
Gasping a little bit, he came to the center stage, to the delight and relief
of all the fans who had watched this unbelievable trick occur.
"Whew, that's better.
Now the Chrysalis has something else to celebrate, too. The underwater
immersion record has been crushed by more than two minutes, and you've
all been witnesses to it. Thank you very much."
The audience cheered and
applauded his brilliant performance, seeing the greatest magician in the
world accomplish this incredible feat.
"I thank you all for being
here tonight. Of course, I will return here next week for a special
benefit performance for the new wing of the children's hospital.
Oh, and bring the kids for this one. Angela Jacobs, who's the official
Magic Express chef, will perform one of her famous recipe magic tricks.
This time the recipe will be for homemade apple pie. Until next week,
remember: With magic, there is always a trick."
He then took a bow one last
time and walked offstage as Mona came up and joined him.
Outside, as the crowd dispersed,
Darlena took the chance she had waited for. She quietly went through
the crowd and headed for the backstage area. Noting the two guards
standing there, she took a rock and threw it in the opposite direction
to distract the security.
As soon as they went to
check out the disturbance, she quickly ran to the door, opened it, and
closed it very quietly.
The two guards did not find
anything and went back to their posts.
In there, she saw Ace talking
with Mona. "I'll have to wait until he's alone. Then, I'll
tell him what he should be doing."
Mona looked at him and said,
"You had me worried for a little while. I didn't think you'd get
out of that."
"Aw, I'm sorry, Mona.
I didn't mean to scare you like that. Besides, I had a little help
in a way. I'll meet you at the Magic Racer in five minutes, okay?"
"All right, see you at the
car." Mona then left the area to head to the Racer.
Ace proceeded to his dressing
room to dry himself off quickly. "Whew, what a performance."
"You're right, Mr. Cooper,"
said a young female voice.
He snapped, "Who's in here?"
Coming forward was a young
woman with blonde hair and hazel eyes and wearing all black. "You
met me earlier today. I'm Darlena Lowland, remember?"
"How did you get in here?
There were security guards at the door."
"I have ways of doing things,
Mr. Cooper."
"Okay, you made it in here.
Now, what do you want?"
"I want to be a part of
your team."
"Miss Lowland, I already
explained to you I have two good apprentices. I don't have room for
a third."
"I know, which is why I'm
here. I think one of those apprentices needs to go . . . particularly
Angela Jacobs."
Ace had a look of shock
on his face while anger began to grow in his blue eyes. "What did
you just say?"
"Look, Angela is too old
to be just starting out learning magic. I've been doing it for years,
and I think I should be working alongside you, not her."
The Magician's eyes were
brewing further in anger. "You listen here, Darlena. Angela
may be in her 20s and just now starting to really understand magic, but
she is a fast learner. She's also the 'little sister' of the team;
she looks out for us and makes sure we're healthy and safe."
Darlena started to feel
upset herself. "So, you would rather keep that old loser on your
team instead of throwing her out and taking me in?"
"Judging by your apparent
rotten attitude and obvious jealousy towards others, I'm going to be perfectly
honest. You will never have a place on the team as long as
you have this attitude problem. Besides, it's not my team;
it's our team, which has been built on trust and friendship for
a long time. Angie's been with us for just over a year, but she learns
tricks faster than I ever could when I was just starting out. I would
trust both Cosmo and Angie with my life, and vice versa."
"Yeah, then why wasn't she
here tonight?" asked an angry Darlena. "Was it because she wasn't
good enough to be in a show of this caliber?"
"Angie was not here tonight
because I gave her and Cosmo the day off. They had been working very
hard for the last 3½ weeks, and they needed some rest. However,
she will be performing next week at the benefit, making homemade apple
pie with her magic. You see, Angie is in our 'family,' so to speak,
and I don't intend on changing that now or ever. Good evening, Miss
Lowland!" Ace angrily stormed out of the building to join up with
Mona in the Magic Racer.
Left in the dark, Darlena
grew angrier. "How dare you reject me, Cooper! I'm far better
than Angela Jacobs with magic, and I'll make you understand that somehow!
You will take me in, or I'll make sure you'll never get a
chance to take someone else in! I'll see to it you and your friends
never
get back to Electro City alive!" With that angry statement she stormed
out of the arena through the other door.
Back at the Magic,
Angie and Cosmo finished watching the show and were about to turn in for
the night.
Just then, Angie had this
rotten feeling in her heart. "What's going on?"
"Hey, you okay?" asked a
worried Cosmo.
"I don't know. I sense
anger within Ace's heart."
"You don't think he had
a major fallout with Mona, do you?"
"I'm not sure." She
closed her eyes and put her hands to the temples of her head to concentrate.
"Ace, why are you angry?"
As the images became clearer
in her mind, she noticed Ace with a teenage girl and the shouting match.
Upon hearing about being called an old loser by the teenage girl, Angie
became visibly upset. "Oh, no! I may be thrown off the team
forever!" She burst into tears, ran into her room, and locked the
door.
Cosmo became very shocked
at that statement. "Thrown off the team? What . . . what are
you talkin' about?" He ran to the door of her room. "Angie,
open the door, please. Let's talk about this. Ace doesn't want
to throw you out."
Angie, on her bed, held
the photo of her and her parents very close to her sad and broken heart.
"I knew it, I just knew it. I am getting in everyone's
way! I knew I shouldn't have joined up!"
At the arena, Mona noticed
a visibly upset Ace approaching the car. "Ace, are you all right?
What happened?"
Ace took a few deep breaths
to try to cool himself down. "That visitor I had earlier today.
She was able to sneak backstage after the show tonight and persisted in
wanting to become an apprentice under me. I had explained the situation
when I learned what she really wanted."
"And what may I ask was
that?"
"She wants to . . . to replace
Angie on the team."
"That girl wants to do what!?"
"That's right. Darlena Lowland
wants to replace Angie as an apprentice to me."
"How cruel! Why does
she want Angie out?"
"She thinks Angie's too
old to begin to learn magic. Only problem is Angie really started
learning when she was seven years old."
"Right, but she didn't practice
on a regular basis because she was scared of her gift and the reactions
of others."
"Darlena is just 16 years
old and is skilled in magic, but she only thinks about herself."
Just then, Cosmo appeared
on the miniature video screen in the car. "Ace, dude! We've
got a big problem!"
"What's wrong, Cosmo?"
"Angie's locked herself
in her room, and I can't get her to open the door."
Ace closed his eyes to concentrate
on his younger counterpart. "Oh, no. Angie must have read my
mind and thought I was going to throw her out." He then looked at
Cosmo. "Mona and I will be there on the double. Stay outside
her room for now."
The two jumped into the
Magic Racer and raced away to see if they could help the distraught young
magician at the Express.
On the other side, Darlena,
still fuming from the Magician's rejection of her to join the team, saw
the Racer zooming by. When it was out of sight, she angrily whispered,
"Do what you want tonight, Cooper, because it'll be the last night you'll
be seen alive by anyone!" She walked away, her mind set on killing
Ace Cooper and his friends for being rejected.
Within 15 minutes, Ace and
Mona parked the Racer in the hangar bay of the Magic Express and ran inside
to reach Angie's room.
"Any change, Cosmo?" Ace
asked frantically.
"No, dude. She still
won't open the door, and I know she's crying hard in there."
Ace then stepped to the
door and knocked on it. "Angie, it's me, Ace. Please open the
door."
Inside, she faced the door
and said, "Why should I? I know you're going to throw me out for
good."
"Angie, that's not true.
You read the thought the wrong way. It was that girl who said you
were an old loser. You are a part of this team—no, family, and I
would rather have you here than her. She's selfish and conceited;
you're not."
"It doesn't matter, Ace.
She's better at magic than I am anyway, so maybe you should go ahead and
be rid of me."
Ace could feel the painful
wound deep in Angie's heart. He closed his eyes to communicate with
her mind-to-mind. "Angie, please open the door. We're your
friends, and we do love you like a little sister. Please,
let us come in and help you."
No matter how upset she
was, Angie always found Ace's mental voice warm, calm, and soothing.
She believed he truly wanted to help her, so she looked at the door and
said, "Angel, go ahead and unlock the door."
The second the door opened,
Ace ran up to Angie and hugged her tightly.
Angie cried, "I'm sorry,
Ace. I didn't mean to do this, but I sensed anger in your heart,
so I wanted to check. I guess I didn't do that right at all, did
I?"
"It's okay, Angie.
You thought something was wrong with me, and you read my mind to see what
was going on. Unfortunately, you saw the part where Darlena called
you an old loser for starting out at a much older age than average."
"Darlena?"
"Yes, that's her name.
Darlena Lowland. Angel?"
As the 3-D pointed hologram
appeared in the room, the AI said, "Yes, Ace?"
"I want you to add Darlena
Lowland to the security risks list. She's become a dangerous individual
who may resort to drastic measures because I did reject her."
"I assume that was the visitor
from earlier today?"
"That's right."
"I shall do so immediately."
After but a few seconds, Angel said, "Already done, Ace."
"Thanks, Angel." He
then made a handkerchief appear in his left hand and gave it to Angie.
"Here."
She accepted the small gift
and cleaned her eyes and nose with it. "My crying spells aren't doing
much for me, are they?"
"Angie, listen to me.
I know for a fact since you joined up with us more than a year ago, you've
emerged from your shy, quiet shell and blossomed into a beautiful—" He
then made something else appear from his right hand. "—butterfly."
Angie smiled at the sight
of such a stunning creature of nature. "Ace, I didn't mean to cause
all this trouble on you."
"Don't blame yourself for
what happened here. Darlena just doesn't understand no one is too
old or too young to do anything anymore. You've been gifted with
something very special, but you were too scared to use it while growing
up because of how other people would think of you. Nowadays, you're
not afraid to use your powers, but you only use them when you really need
to, not anytime you desire. You'll never use your magic to cook,
clean, or shop for groceries. You prefer doing that yourself."
"I like doing things like
that, when I don't have to use my powers for purposes such
as those. I find it more rewarding when I cook with my two hands,
not with magical powers. I would rather use my powers to practice,
perform, and defend others. To me, having magical powers is like
owning a pet. It takes work and responsibility, and I'm not about
to misuse my powers for personal gain."
"Your parents raised you
very well. You are a responsible adult who knows when and where to
use magic properly. Darlena's never going to make here because she's
filled with jealousy, greed, hatred, and selfishness. I wouldn't
dare take in someone who's so callous and coldhearted. Are you going
to be all right now?"
"I think so, Ace.
I'm sorry I made all of you upset."
Mona sat next to Angie and
said, "Don't worry about it. After all, you were just concerned about
Ace's feelings, and you just wanted to be sure of what was going on.
Just remember, though, we are your friends. If you ever need to talk
with someone, don't be afraid to come to any of us, okay?"
"Okay, Mona. So, we're
going home tomorrow, right?"
"You got it, dudette," answered
Cosmo. "We'll be back next week, though, and, like, I can't wait
for you to do that apple pie recipe in the act."
"I can't either. It's
one thing to cook the dish at home. It's quite another when you have
to try to mix all the ingredients by magic."
Everyone laughed at Angie's
joke, but they were right.
She had practiced for a
few weeks to master the cooking magic, as it was the first time since her
chocolate-chip caramel cake act in the performance a few months earlier.
Angie herself felt much
better. "I'll be okay now. Thanks for cheering me up, gang."
"Aw," Cosmo answered while
blushing. "That's what real friends do. When one of us is feeling
down, the rest of us will gang up to cheer that person up."
"Well, everyone," started
Ace, "time to hit the sack. We've got a long road trip tomorrow,
and I'd like us to get a good start in the morning."
"Good night, all," said
Angie as she put herself under the covers and quickly went to sleep.
The others also changed
into their sleep clothing and went to bed themselves.
Meanwhile, in another part
of town, Darlena went looking for someone to help her with her twisted
plan. "Great, I need to find a good hacker, and I don't know where
to start."
Suddenly, a male voice smoothly
said, "Need a computer hacker, huh?"
"Yes, I do," she said, "but
who are you?"
A teenage gentleman with
black hair stepped forward. He wore dark lenses in his sunglasses,
as well as a black leather jacket, a red T-shirt, blue jeans, and black
boots. "The name's Tracer. If you need me to hack a computer,
I can do it, and no one can trace anything back to me."
"Well, Tracer, maybe you
can help me with this little problem I have. I'm Darlena Lowland."
After the two teenagers
shook hands, Tracer then asked, "So, what kind of problem do you have?"
"I wanted to join up with
Ace Cooper, the Magician, but he rejected me, claiming he would rather
have that loser Angela Jacobs on his team. She's just too old to
be a training magician, but he said she wasn't. That's the worst
bunch of baloney I've ever heard."
"Okay, so what is it you
want to do, Darlena?"
"I want to teach him a lesson,
that I am not going to tolerate being rejected. I know I'm better
than Angela Jacobs, but if he won't accept it, I want to make sure he doesn't
get the opportunity to take another loser into his ranks. This is
where you come in, Tracer. I want you to plant a powerful computer
virus into his system at his home, the Magic Express. Make sure this
is one so powerful, absolutely nothing can be done to stop
it."
"I may have one that could
work for you. I remember reading the article where Bill Peach implanted
a computer virus, but Cooper and his teen hacker partner were able to reboot
their system's hard drive. I did learn from what he had done, and
I have a virus so powerful, rebooting the system will be impossible.
There's no way Cooper or his hacker friend can stop this one. Why
don't you come up to my apartment, and I'll show you my systems."
"You seem like the right
guy for the job. Do you want anything in return for your services?"
"For now, no. I'll
tell you what I want if and when we get the job done. Fair enough?"
"It's a deal, Tracer.
Let's see what you've got."
A few minutes later, Darlena
entered Tracer's apartment on the fourth floor.
"Wow!" she said in awe.
"Your entire apartment is filled with computers?"
"That's right. There
are at least 15 computers in this place, including the ultra-ancient Commodore
64 from the 1980s. Thanks to a little souping up, this thing's as
powerful as the rest of the systems I have."
"The only question is, how
do you keep this from getting traced back to you?"
"I use at least ten different
modems and at least 25 different telephone numbers to redirect everything.
I've even hacked into government computers, but they've never been able
to track it back to me. Trust me, we can pull this off. It's
late for you, so why don't you get some sleep? I'll be here all night
trying to hack into the Magic Express computer system."
"You sure you don't mind?"
"Not at all, Darlena."
"I don't understand something.
Why don't you call me 'baby' or 'honey' like most boys do?"
"That's demeaning to a female,
and I don't believe in it. Besides, what would you do if someone
called you 'baby'?"
"I'd levitate him into the
air and scare him into leaving me alone."
"If anyone tried to hit
on you, you'd make 'em learn. Anyway, there's an extra blanket in
the closet. My sofa is a futon. You can convert it into a bed
in a few seconds. I'll let you know when I've got the virus ready
to go."
"Thanks, Tracer. At
least someone here has respect for me."
Darlena grabbed the blanket
out of the closet and converted the futon sofa into a comfortable bed.
She then went to sleep on it, all the while hoping she would wake up in
time to see the end of Ace Cooper.
In the middle of the
night, within her warped mind, she could see herself battling the Magician
himself. "You're gonna get yours, Cooper! I'll teach you to
reject me in favor of that old loser!" She then created an array
of poisonous snakes to attack Ace Cooper!
The Magician looked at
the ground with enormous fright. "No, stop, please! Get them
away from me!"
"I will call them off
if and only if you get rid of Angela Jacobs and put me in as an apprentice!
Otherwise, these snakes will produce enough venom to kill you in a matter
of minutes. It's your choice, Magician."
Ace concentrated with
all his might to make the snakes disappear, but the spitting cobra splashed
venom into his eyes while a cottonmouth and a diamondback bit him on each
of his legs.
As he screamed in total
agony, Darlena just laughed very hard. "I told you, Cooper.
When I don't get what I want, I don't get mad; I get even. Now you
will suffer a slow and painful death, which is something I love to watch
happen to the so-called greatest magician in the world. My time has
come to take your place, you has-been! You were the best, but soon
that title will belong to me and only me!"
As the sun shone into the
apartment, she softly said, "I can't wait to watch the death of Ace Cooper."
Then, Tracer gently shook
the futon bed. "Darlena. Darlena, time to wake up. You're
gonna get your wish in the next few minutes."
She suddenly jumped out
of bed. "What? You've done it? You've created the powerful
virus?"
"That's right. All
I need to do is press one button, and the virus will be on its way into
the Magic Express computer system, and as I said before, rebooting the
system this time will be absolutely impossible."
"Then, what are we waiting
for? Go ahead, press the button, and send Ace Cooper and his friends
to their doom."
"You got it, Darlena."
Tracer then sat down at his computer and put his right index finger over
the "Enter" button on the keyboard. "Okay, here we go." He
then pressed the button.
On the screen were the words,
"Virus being uploaded now."
Tracer then added, "It'll
take a couple of minutes for the virus to completely take over the control
system, but soon it'll be on its way to total destruction."
"Excellent, my friend.
Why don't you tell me what you want as a reward, seeing this will work
without any sign of failure?"
"Well, all I really want
is to get out of this city and establish a network of true hackers.
I know there are those equal or even better than me. I want to be
able to be a part of a group which can hack any system in the world, even
increase our bank accounts."
"If that's what you want,
that's exactly what you'll get, especially with a little magic from me."
Darlena then made a $100 electro dollar bill appear. "How's this
for a start?"
"It's definitely a good
starting point for me. Thanks for being a real friend, Darlena."
"Same to you, Tracer.
You've given me the respect I wanted—no, deserved—for so long. Now,
if you don't mind, I'd like to be able to see the destruction of the Magic
Express and the deaths of Ace Cooper and his friends."
"There's a series of valleys
about 75 miles west of here. Go there and you'll easily get the best
view in the world."
"I'll be there in no time.
Oh, is there any vehicle I could use?"
"A police car is sitting
a block away."
"That'll do. Thanks."
Darlena ran down the stairs
and watched the cop inside his car. Conjuring up an illusion of a
robber, she was able to make the cop run out of his car and try to catch
the thief.
She then jumped into the
car, started it, and took off.
When the officer realized
the robber was not real, he ran back to discover his vehicle missing.
Darlena looked in the rear-view
mirror and saw the policeman throw his hat on the ground in anger.
"He-he-he. Sorry, buddy, but I need this car more than you do.
I'm going to witness first-hand the end of the Magician forever!"
Back at the Magic Express,
Angie sat up on her bed as she did her daily meditation in the morning.
"I don't know why I've been worrying myself so much lately. I
do have friends who care about me, but somehow a part of me will not believe
that. Maybe I can get some help."
Deep within her heart, she
went back to the past to talk to her parents.
"Mom, Dad, I don't understand
why some part of me won't accept the friends I have now."
Mrs. Jacobs took a hold
of her daughter's right hand. "When you grew up, you didn't have
too many friends. All you could really rely on were either us or
your best friend Ashley. The root of the problem is a simple one:
You're afraid of having too many friends, now that you are a celebrity."
"Your mother's right,
sweetie," said her father Robert. "With the celebrity status you've
attained now, you fear you will lose the true friends you have, gain false
friends, and become selfish. Never believe that because you are always
true to your heart. You're having a little trouble opening your heart
to more true friends because you were so shy and quiet growing up."
"Maybe you're right,
Dad. I'm almost certain that's what I've been afraid of. This
gift was the source of my fears as I grew up. I was too afraid to
accept anyone as a true friend because I couldn't tell about my magical
powers."
"There's something else
you should know," said Nancy, her mother. "You have always done so
much for other people, but you almost never think about yourself.
I can still remember those popular sneakers you wanted so badly not because
of the popularity factor, but more importantly because you really liked
the shoes themselves."
"Oh, yeah," said Angie,
"those $80 sneakers I ended up getting for my birthday. People at
school picked on me because I wore the shoes, but when I explained why
I wanted them, they understood me. Also—"
She had to stop her spiritual
conversation because she suddenly shook from left to right on her bed.
"Hey, what's going on? We're not supposed to leave for another two
hours yet."
"Sweetie," said Robert,
"is something wrong?"
"I'm not sure, Dad.
I think the Express is moving already. I'm sorry I have to end this
conversation so soon, but—"
Nancy interrupted her
daughter. "Don't worry about us. We'll always be in your heart.
Now, see what's wrong here."
"Thanks, Mom."
Angie jumped off her bed
and went to the door to try to open it. "Hmm, that's odd. What's
wrong with the door?"
She then called out, "Angel?"
When the hologram appeared,
the pointed dodecahedron appeared to be all black instead of its normal
pinkish-purple tinge. "What do you want?" it asked in a sarcastic
tone.
"I just need you to open
the door, that's all. I'd like to see what's happening."
"Listen, little girl.
I don't intend on opening the door for you or anyone else for that matter."
"Angel, why are you acting
like this? Why is the Magic Express moving already? Is anyone
at the controls?"
"You know, for someone who's
living here, you sure ask a lot of stupid questions. I don't know
why it's moving, I don't know if anyone's running this thing, and basically,
I
don't care." The hologram abruptly disappeared.
Angie then decided to try
using her magic to open the door. Concentrating with all her heart,
she realized she could not do so as easily as she may have thought.
After putting her arms back down, she suddenly became very nervous.
"I have a really bad feeling about this."