Dimensional Dementia
Part 4: Attempting a
Dangerous Rescue
"Mona, you stay here and wait for us to come
back," Ace Two told her.
The redhead nodded, knowing she would not
be of any help if she followed. She may even hinder the rescuing process.
"All right. But come back safely, all of you." She looked at each of them
in turn, feeling as if they were the only family she had ever known.
Jas hugged her friend. "Don't worry, Mona.
We can take care of ourselves. We always do."
Angie stood off to one side, surveying the
two teams. Both Aces and Cosmos were dressed in their usual attire, which
they were most comfortable in. She herself was in a loose t-shirt and pants,
knowing she would need all the flexibility she could get. Jas was in a
green tank top and camouflage pants, with military style boots made from
light rubber.
The younger girl left Ace Two and Mona alone
for a few minutes and found a space to stretch, doing her splits and flips.
She never knew when they might come in handy. Then, she stopped and looked
inquiringly at Ace. "Do you have a pair of nunchakus?"
"Nunchakus?" Ace echoed.
"You know…two wooden sticks tied at the ends
with sting or chain." Jas scratched her head, wondering how to describe
what she wanted.. "Those things you see in Bruce Lee movies. A weapon,
Ace!"
"Oh, that thing," Ace grinned in apology.
"Sorry, I was never one for weapons."
"It's okay. Do you have that?"
"Uh, actually, no."
"All right then, I'll need your broom," Jas
stated. "And bro, could you find a three-inch chain for me? Thanks. Ace,
I'll buy a new broom for you tomorrow."
Angie fetched the broom and handed it to the
teen, curious as to what she was going to do. Jas's face frowned a little
in concentration as she did some mental calculations. She then raised the
handle high up, and with a shout, brought it down against her raised knee.
The handle broke precisely at the intended point.
With that broken rod of wood, Jas once again
snapped it into half easily, as if she did that sort of thing everyday,
and Angie found herself staring at the demonstration in fascination. "Wow,
Jas, that's…" She found herself at a lost for words, "That's awesome!"
"Thanks." Jas offered her new friend a smile
even as she continued. "Angel, focus short-distance laser beam please.
Just a very thin beam."
The AI shot out a red beam of light, and Jas
held the two short rods up to bore small holes at their ends. Once that
was done, she nodded in satisfaction. "Thanks, Angel." She then fitted
the chain Cosmo brought to her and snapped them into place.
Jas twirled the made-shift weapon around,
transferring it from one hand to another in a complicated pattern. "Not
bad."
"Now that we're done," Ace took charge,
even though he was as awed as the rest of them, "let's go."
***
"Are we ready for them?" Faceless demanded
as she paced around.
Black Jack went through the traps they
had set, confirming that they were in working order. "All of them are working
perfectly. We're ready for them."
Sonny Boy Two snickered. "Let's hope they're
ready for us."
***
Angie and Jas stood at the sidewall of the
Croesus Palace, located conveniently out of any passersby's sight. They
surveyed the smoothly, seeming faultless wall, and looked at each other.
"You're ready to do this?" Jas asked again,
concerned for her friend.
The female magician took a deep breath, and
nodded. "Yes, I'm ready."
Jas glanced at her watch. "All right. Then
we'll wait for their signal."
***
Both Cosmos worked hurriedly at the control
panels, letting them gain access into the Croesus Palace. Within seconds,
the security features were disabled, and the door slid open. The two Magician
teams entered cautiously, well aware that there would be traps.
The two Zinas sniffed the air and growled
their unease. They proceeded carefully to the elevator, and stopped. Only
fools would use the elevator, which was always a death box in their case.
However, the stairs may be rigged with traps as well.
At a silent signal from Ace, both teams split.
Cosmo and Zina waited for their friend while their counterparts took the
stairs. Ace pressed the button to call for the elevator. When it came,
he motioned for Cosmo to wait where he was; he was not going to be gone
very long.
Cosmo and Zina knew what he was going to do,
and waited there in nervousness, at the same time praying and watching
for anyone approaching…
***
Ace, Cosmo and Zina took the stairs; the torch
fixed at the end of Ace's magic staff lighting up the stairway. There were
altogether 35 flights of stairs, and right now, they were only at the 10th.
As soon as they came to a small side window, Cosmo sent a signal to Jas's
wrist-comm. to get them moving.
Zina stopped abruptly, and growled, body tensed.
Her golden eyes seemed to stare at something or someone phantomlike.
Ace glanced at the panther, instructed Cosmo to stay back, and proceeded
warily up the steps, body tensed for anything.
Until a strong electric current coursed through
him, making him gasp and stepped backward, missing a step and tumbling
down.
"Ace!" Cosmo's freaked out voice brought him
back to reality. "Dude. You okay?"
The Magician shook his head to clear the ache
that was forming, and sat up, groaning. He reached for the staff he had
dropped, and aimed its light at the place of the current. The light revealed
an electric net. "Lucky for me I was going slowly," he breathed. "That
thing carries enough power to knock someone unconscious."
"So how do we get past it?"
"Simple, we use our brains."
***
"Okay," Jas told Angie. "They've given the
signal. Let's go."
Angie levitated herself up slowly while Jas
called on her eagle birthmark to carry her up. Both reached the height
where Ace said the panel was. "Jas, are you sure it's here?" Angie whispered.
Jas nodded. "Yes. I can see the edges. It's
big enough for a grown adult to go through." She steadied herself. "Ready
or not, here we come."
***
"They're in," Black Jack reported as he stared
at the computer screen. Heat sensing devices had informed them exactly
of where the Magician teams were.
"Good," his counterpart smiled, looking at
the mirror that hid the hidden room. "Then Jacobs and Lee should be here
soon. So start dropping the stupid elevator!"
They grinned as a finger reached out to depress
the button…
***
Ace felt the elevator shake violently. It
seems that they are doing exactly what I predicted they would do, Ace
thought, a grim smile on his lips. Suddenly, the floor dropped out from
under him and it felt as if the effects of gravity had been turned off.
"Magic Force, reveal the power within!"
Ace spun in the air to transform his normal attire to his crimefighting
one of gray. He knew that he, and the death box—as he had come to call
it—would crash at the ground level.
Focusing on his magical power, he visualized
himself out of the elevator and standing beside Cosmo and Zina where
he had left them. He felt his whole being transport out of this reality
into a neutral zone, where he could travel to any place he desired.
When he "found" his friends, he once again
concentrated on getting out of the zone, joining them.
"Where did you come from, dude?" Cosmo asked
as a shudder shook the ground they were standing on. Through the seams
of the elevator doors, dust escaped to make them sneeze.
"Seems that they prepared a little surprise
for us in there."
"So, how do we head up now?" The teen queried.
Ace grinned. "We take the elevator."
***
Ace produced a small blade at the end of his staff, which replaced the light. He approached the net, and calling a little on his power to neutralize the electrical energy, he reached out to slash the net in several places, leaving the net in ribbons. Having done that, he turned to his young friend and gave him a lopsided grin. "Let's go."
***
Angie reached out with her power, imagining
them to be huge hands that she slipped into the fine edges of the panel.
Jas, realizing that her friend needed total
concentration to pull out the tightly fitted panel, re-channeled her power
to levitate her, allowing the older girl to use more energy on her task.
"Oh, man," Jas groaned softly as she strained
to give what she did not have. Her power was flight, not telekinesis. It
was taking a lot out of her to change the nature of her power into another.
"Done." Angie had released the panel, and
with gratefulness, Jas took back her power. Holding the panel still in
place, Angie nodded to the younger teen to be prepared, and with shouts,
they ripped the panel away and entered the room.
***
Faceless once again glanced around, noting
the places where the two Sonny Boys and their men had hid themselves. She
tugged on her bonds, assuring herself that they were loose enough to break
out of.
Then, a soft grating noise alerted her to
something going on at the far wall. She smirked. They would be oh-so-dead
when they find out I'm not Brighton. She steadied her breathing and
finally slowed them down, just enough to convince them she was weak but
still alive.
Welcome in, girls.
***
"Ace, you sure this is not straining you?"
Cosmo called up to his friend, listening to his voice ring out hollowly.
"I'll be okay, Cosmo," Ace hissed through
gritted teeth, steadily levitating upward.
The Magician was using the now empty elevator
shaft to travel upward to Black Jack's top office. Knowing that Cosmo couldn't
keep up and Zina certainly couldn't climb the service ladder, he had used
his magic to levitate them up.
"Well, if you say so Ace." The teen's voice
indicated he did not believe his friend. "Just let us know if you want
to take a rest."
As they continued upwards, metallic clanging
forced them to look up. The sound of metal against granite reached their
ears and they could see showers of sparks where the thing scraped the walls.
"Where did they get another elevator?" Cosmo
screamed.
"I don't know! Just hold on!" Ace yelled back,
pulling out his Magic Staff, watching the dim bottom of the box speed closer…
***
They were in the corridors now. It looked eerily
empty, devoid of any form of life. Cosmo started to press forward but failed
to notice the thin sensor beam at ankle height. He activated it and smoke
spewed out of the walls.
"Ace!" He choked, covering his nose and mouth
with his jacket.
The Magician was not so lucky though. He had
already breathed in a sizeable amount of the gas and was now staring at
them with wide eyes, filled with fear. Cosmo took a few steps towards his
friend, hands reached out to offer help.
Instead of accepting them, Ace slapped those
hands away. "Get away from me, Black Jack! I didn't cause your handicap!"
He desperately scrambled backwards, trying to get away from Cosmo, whom
he thought was the crime-lord.
"Ace, it's me." The teen entreated, moving
forwards, voice soft. "It's me, not Black Jack."
"Cosmo?" For a moment, Ace's body relaxed,
then tensed up again. "No! You're not Cosmo! Stop using him to threaten
me, Jack! Get away!" His face was wet with perspiration.
Cosmo stopped, afraid that his approached
may cause his friend to become even more hysterical. "Okay, okay. I'm not
coming any closer, Ace." He stood there scratching his head, wondering
what to do. It must be that gas, he concluded. Ace is most afraid
of the guilt of causing Malone his legs. It's fear gas!
Keeping one eye on his friend, he picked up
Ace's Magic Staff and depressed a button for a small flame. He reached
the staff up and held it beneath some water sprinklers fixed on the ceilings.
Sensing fire, the sprinklers came on, flooding the area, and thoroughly
drenching Ace.
He shook the water out of his eyes and stared
at Cosmo, but it was not with fear this time. "Cosmo? What did I do?"
Cosmo ran a hand through his gravity-defying
red hair, wondering how to answer his friend. "Remember the fear gas we
stopped Black Jack from supplying Sonny Boy with?" He asked, indicating
the previous fight they had with the crime-lords. Ace nodded. "Well, Jack
used that."
Ace's blue eyes were hard. "We have to get
to Angie and Jas. I have a feeling it's a trap."
Cosmo helped the older man up and they ran
through the flooded corridor, hoping to reach their friends in time.
***
Angie and Jas floated into the room to see
Faceless tied up to a post in the middle of the room.
The female magician looked at her arch-enemy
with some concern. "Mrs. Brighton…are you all right?"
Faceless looked up at her and made her voice
sound hoarse. "Oh, Angela. I'm so glad to see you. I'm
so tired and thirsty."
Angie tried to stay as calm as possible.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Brighton, we'll get you out of there."
However, as she came up closer to the thief,
she saw one of her ninja-styled stars on the floor. Upon picking
it up, her recently discovered power of telemetry kicked in once more.
"Wait…I see Black Jack and Sonny Boy…taking out this star."
"You'll get yours, traitor!" she heard
in her mind as Sonny Boy considered slashing her with the star.
Angie, feeling convinced of the truth, started
to rush up to the ex-criminal and free her.
Something, though, warned Jas of danger. The
teen had learned to trust her honed instincts long ago, and her eyes scanned
the room carefully.
Then it hit her. Why would Faceless be
wearing her suit and mask if she has changed and want to expose Black Jack
and Sonny Boy? She should be Mrs. Brighton, not Faceless! "Angie,
stop!"
It was a little too late as Faceless's ropes
came apart and she grabbed the girl around her throat. "You fell right
for my trap, Jacobs. Brighton never contacted Black Jack or Sonny Boy."
Before Jas could move to help, both Sonny
Boys and their men burst out from their hiding places to surround the two
girls; blasters and weapons held at the ready.
"Ah, ah, ah," Sonny Boy wagged a finger at
Jas, seeing her about to move. "Don't make us shoot."
Jas stopped, and glared at them. Her eyes
sought out Angie's, and she could see the older girl's disappointment at
herself. Sending a silent message to her not to feel guilty, Jas grinned.
"Come and take me."
Angie gave an almost imperceptible nod as
she realized what Jas was planning. As three men advanced on Jas, she watched
the girl's foot tap once, twice…three times. "Ahhhh!!!" With
all her strength, Angie broke out of Faceless's chokehold and distanced
herself, instantly taking care of the men.
Jas flipped out of the commotion and used
her momentum to launch herself into the air. A man ducked to avoid her
kick, and Faceless saw it coming a little too late…
***Jas's world***
Vega hung down the phone, defeated. Where
did Mona go? I told her to stay at home. He sank into the chair in
his office, as his secretary Ms. LeSage entered with yet another mug of
steaming black coffee with just a touch of milk, just the way he liked
it.
"Any word from Ms. Malone?" She asked.
"Actually, no." Vega ran a hand through his
graying hair in an attempt to tidy it.
"Have you tried the Magic Express?" Ms. LeSage
suggested. "She may have gone there."
Vega sat up. Maybe Mona did go there to find
Ace herself, with the help of Angel. He jumped out of his chair. "Thanks,
Ms. LeSage. You're a genius."
***
"Angel, did Mona come here?" Vega asked the
AI, strolling into the Magic Express as if it was his own home. In a way,
it was.
"Yes, Derek," Angel answered. "But she disappeared
in the living hall."
"Disappeared?" Vega echoed. "How?"
"I do not know."
The Lieutenant entered the living hall cautiously,
on the alert for any intruders. As he was about to search for clues, the
world around him started to spin. "Whoa!" He managed before he slumped
to the floor, unconscious.
***Angie's world***
Mona was enjoying a cup of tea on the couch
when a groan surprised her. She quickly set her mug down and stood up,
ready to fend off any intruders. She then saw gray on the floor behind
the couch. "Vega!" She half-lifted, half-dragged the man onto the couch,
and got a wet towel to wake him up.
The older man's eyelids fluttered open, but
it took a few seconds for him to see clearly. "Mona?" He was clearly surprised
as he sat up, rubbing the back of his neck. "I came to find you and Angel
said you disappeared."
The singer grinned as she related her story
to him. When she finished, Vega rubbed his head slowly, wondering whether
to believe Mona, and decided on it. She was a close friend he could trust.
"So where are they now?" He demanded.
"In the Croesus, trying to save Faceless.
I'm waiting for any word from them."
Vega got out of the couch. "I'm going to help
them."
"Help them," Mona echoed. "How? Friedrichs
won't believe you."
The cop turned away, heading to the hangar.
"I'll find a friend who would." He grinned.
***
Ace concentrated partly on still levitating
them, and activated the weapon in the Magic Staff. As the bottom of the
elevator dropped down, he shot a small missile that struck the elevator.
Shock waves bounced them about in the energy bubble that Ace created to
protect them from the falling pieces of debris.
When the last of the large pieces fell past
them, Cosmo tugged on Ace's cape to get his friend's attention. "I'm climbing
up. You take Zina. You need to conserve energy for more things." With that,
he reached out to grab hold of the service ladder and started climbing.
The Magician smiled at his friend's concern,
and feeling better from levitating one less, he made his way up, keeping
pace with Cosmo.
***
"I think we killed them," Black Jack Two gloated
to his counterpart. "The camera doesn't show anything. No one could have
survived that thing dropping down on them."
"Don't be too sure. I won't be surprised if
Cooper survived that blast."
Deciding to not be put off by his counterpart's
grimness, Black Jack turned to see how Faceless and the two Sonny Boys
were doing.
***
"Damn!" Faceless managed to curse before Jas's
leg connected with her chest and she went down, feeling winded. But she
was still alive, and would not go down without a fight. Using her momentum,
she rolled up and was on her feet all in a few seconds, facing the teen
she hated.
Jas gave a small smile. "I don't think you
expected that, did you?"
"No," the thief admitted, "but you'll never
expect this!" Her gloved hands hurled four ninja stars at the teen; the
polished metals glinting in the bright fluorescent lights.
Jas produced the pair of nunchakus
from seemingly nowhere and batted the weapons out of the air in a few quick
strikes, leaving Faceless no choice but to confess that the girl was good.
But that would not get her anywhere, because Faceless was better.
Even as the teen was occupied with the ninja
stars, Faceless was already moving forward, leg extended in a roundhouse
kick that landed solidly on Jas's midsection, causing her to release all
the air she had been holding. But, to her credit as a martial artist, Jas
held her breath for a few seconds to let the effect of the kick diminish,
before drawing another intake of air.
"Got me there." She sounded as if she was
making conversation, but had something in mind. Using a move she learned
from the TV series Mortal Kombat: Conquest, Jas moved close to Faceless
and in one smooth motion, back-flipped. Her boots caught the criminal in
the chin, and snapped her face upwards, sending her flying backwards and
landing hard.
She then turned her attention to Angie and
the men. "Hang on, Angie. I'm coming in!"
***
Vega was in his bed, sleeping soundly and having
sweet dreams of living in a cottage off in a far away, remote island of
the Pacific. The coconut leaves swayed gently to the rhythm of the winds,
and they slapped softly against his face…
Until he felt that the slapping was not from
his dreams, and awoke sharply, his tired eyes barely seeing the dim
silhouette in front of him. "Wha—?" He managed as a hand shot out to muffle
his already formed shout.
"Oh, shut up, Vega." It was a suspiciously
familiar voice. "Listen. Ace and the others are in trouble. Now are you
going to help willingly or am I having to have to drag you out of bed?"
When Vega nodded, indicating that he was going
to help, the person threw him his clothes. "Move your butt, slowpoke!"
***
Angie and Jas continued having their hands
full with two sets of Sonny Boy and his men along with Faceless.
Angie focused her magic on trying to stop
the two sets of Sonny Boy's henchmen. Her hands glowing brightly,
she threw some fireballs at them. "You're not going to get away from
me that easily!"
Jas ran as fast as she could to get to her
friend but not before she tripped a wire, triggering the release of the
fear gas. Jas tried to cover herself up as quickly with the nunchakus,
yet she did take in enough of the gas to make her hallucinate.
She soon started seeing Sonny Boy One…as her
father, Jason Brend! "Dad? Is that you?"
"You've let me down, Jas. You are
not
worthy of being a martial artist. You cannot do any of the moves
I taught you perfectly. I shouldn't have let you be my daughter."
Jas looked in shock. "No, Dad.
I'm doing the best I can. I'm only human."
"No! You are supposed to continue
my legacy, but you can't even do the kata exactly like I taught you!"
The young lady held her head in confusion.
"NO! I know I can be like you, Dad! I'm trying
as hard as I can!" She then fell to her knees and started screaming
in agony.
Angie understood what was happening to her.
I was able to make psychic contact with Jas before, so maybe I can
do it here and now. She needs help. Angie focused her mental
energy on trying to help Jas. Listen to me, Jas. You're
not letting your father down. You're being affected by fear gas.
You mustn't listen to these hallucinations. Look into your heart
and seek the truth.
Jas heard her friend's mental voice and felt
herself getting calmer.
Angie then conjured a small rainstorm to wash
away the effects of the fear gas. "This should put that fear gas
out of you, Jas!"
A few seconds later, Jas shook her head to
clear it. "Whew, thanks, Angie."
Faceless then took a remote control device
out from her wrist and pressed a small button. "You may have helped
her, Jacobs, but how will you help yourself?"
Suddenly, a huge glass barrier fell on top
of the female magician and quickly started emitting the fear gas.
Angie struggled desperately to use her powers
to escape, but she had difficulty breathing because of the gas.
Sonny Boy Two shouted, "This part of the trap
was intended solely for you, Jacobs! With you takin' in more fear
gas than the rest of your group, you'll be the most frightened of all!"
"Yeah, and you'll die by your own worst fears!"
Faceless added with an evil grin.
***
Ace was still levitating himself and Zina up
the elevator shaft when a feeling of danger developed within him.
"Angie," he whispered. He stopped one floor short and opened the
door to the elevator.
Cosmo came along afterward and grew worried.
"What is it, dude?"
"I sense my kindred sister in grave danger,"
he said slowly. Closing his eyes to concentrate, he soon saw what
was happening to her. "Angie's in trouble! We've got to reach
the special room, fast! Notify the other team of the situation!"
Cosmo sent a message to the other Magician
team. "How fast can you guys get up here? Angie and Jas are
both in trouble."
"On our way!" Ace Two shouted. "Come
on, guys, we've got to move!"
The second Magician used his Magic Staff to
blast away any other traps and blew away the fear gas, allowing it to disintegrate
and clear the air.
Upon reaching the top floor office, though,
they ran into the two sets of Black Jack, Spade, and Diamond.
"If you think you're going to help your friends,"
started Black Jack Two, "you'll have to get past all of us first!"
Soon, Ace and his team joined up with Ace
Two and the others.
"Now this is what I call an equal situation,"
said Ace. "Two identical sets with the odds all even."
All six criminals started shooting at the
two Magician teams with their guns, forcing the heroes to split away and
hide behind some tables.
Cosmo Two was with Ace. "Um, dude, what
should we do at this point?"
"Maybe an illusion will drive them away."
Closing his eyes to concentrate, he began to visualize a monstrous snake,
and with a simple hand gesture brought his visualization to life.
"See if you can handle this, Jack!"
As the snake got closer to them, both Spades
became very nervous.
"I hate snakes!" they both yelled simultaneously.
They took off running like the typical cowards they were.
"Fools!" yelled Black Jack. "It's only
one of Cooper's illusions!"
Ace Two decided to help his equal by enhancing
the realism of the illusion. With both Magicians working together,
the hologram became so realistic that it scared both Diamonds away.
"It may be an illusion," said Black Jack Two,
"but I'm not going to stay here to find that out!"
As he took off, Black Jack shouted, "Hey,
wait for me!"
The hologram abruptly disappeared, and soon
all came out from where they were hiding.
"Whew," said Cosmo Two in relief. "At
least we got out of that okay."
Cosmo then realized, "Wait a minute!
What about Jas and Angie?"
Ace, help me! Angie shouted in thought.
I can't fight the fear gas!
"We've got to get in there, fast!" said Ace
in extreme concern.
Ace Two blasted away the panel to the hidden
room, and all quickly entered the area to a horrible sight.
Jas was on the ground, a little wobbly, but
fine. "Hurry, guys! Angie's taken in too much of the fear gas!"
Inside the glass barrier, Angie was barely
able to stay conscious, but she concentrated with all her might to break
that glass.
As soon as the glass broke, though, the fear
gas tried to spread around, but both Magicians used their capes to contain
the gas, and in seconds it turned into harmless confetti.
Angie stayed knelt to the ground and struggled
to breathe.
Ace quickly came up to his younger counterpart.
"Angie," he said calmly, "are you all right?"
The second she opened her eyes, she pushed
her friend away. "Stay away from me, you monster!" she screamed as
she got to her feet quickly. She saw her friends as ugly monsters
waiting to pounce on her and quickly ran to another side of the room.
Faceless smiled with evil. "This could
not be any better than we planned it."
Ace looked at the master thief with anger.
"What the hell have you done to my kindred sister!?"
"Simple, Magician. Knowing how emotional
she tends to be, we decided to make her take in the brunt
of the fear gas. Her worst fears will become real, and there's nothing
you can do about it! You'll be killed by your own friend!"
"I guess," started Sonny Boy Two, "this is
goodbye, Magician…and Magician!" Adding a nasty snicker, he, Sonny
Boy, Faceless, and the henchmen to both Sonny Boys ran out of the special
room.
Jas tried to reason with the female magician.
"Angie, it's us, your friends. We want to help you."
"NO! You're trying to confuse
me! I won't let you get near me!"
Cosmo tried to approach Angie cautiously.
"Angie, it's okay. We care about you; we love you."
"I said stay away from me!"
She then used her powers to create a giant fireball and thrusted it towards
Cosmo!
Cosmo Two was able to get his equal out of
the way just before the fireball blasted into the wall of the room.
The force of the explosion caused everyone
to fall to the ground.
The group had no idea what to do in terms
of trying to calm Angie down.
"I didn't know she could pack a punch," said
Ace Two.
"With her emotional state, the fear gas, and
the planetary alignment," said Jas, "Angie's powers will continue to spiral
out of control. We've got to do something to help her without harming
her, but how?"
Ace stood up and calmly said, "I've got to
try to reach her telepathically."
Placing his hands to the temples of his head,
he closed his eyes and attempted to contact her mind-to-mind. Hear
my thoughts, kindred sister.
Angie became more frightened and confused.
"What are you doing in my head!?" She fell to her knees and held
her head. "Why are you in my head!?"
Angie, I am your kindred brother.
We share the power of the Magic Force together. Your mind is being
affected by the fear gas, which in turn is affecting your emotional state
and causing your powers to become uncontrollable. We're here to help
you, not harm you.
The female magician tried her best to understand,
considering she always found Ace's mental voice so warm and calm.
"You…want to help me?"
Yes. Please, don't be afraid of us.
We are your friends, your family. Your heart has so much pain and
agony still; you have feelings bottled up deep inside your heart, feelings
you do not want to bring to the surface because you fear it will interfere
with us. You know you do not have to deal with your pain all
alone. You can talk with us, open your heart. I know how you
feel, Angie. Remember, you cannot love others unless you are able
to love who you are.
Angie started to comprehend her kindred brother's
calm thoughts. "I…I don't know what to do."
Ace opened his eyes and started to approach
his younger counterpart. "Angie," he said calmly, "let us help you.
We're here for you, and we always will be."
Angie started to shed tears as Ace came closer
to her. However, her mind started to succumb to the effects of the
fear gas again. "NO!! You stay away from me,
and you stay out of my head!" She sent a psychic "shock"
right at Ace!
Ace screamed in agony as he held his head
in pain.
"Dude!" shouted Cosmo. "You okay?"
"Yes," he breathed, "but I can't get close
enough to do something to help her. She's losing control of all her
emotions."
Within her fear-gas-filled mind, she saw
Ace, angry at her. "You are nothing but trouble! You have no
place here! While most of us grew up with dysfunctional lives, you
had to grow up in a regular home!"
"You're a real disappointment," said her
father. "Why didn't you tell us the truth about your magical powers?"
Her mother then came along and in anger
said, "Some career you got. We wanted you to be a doctor or an engineer,
but instead you're a miserable excuse of a magician! You're not worthy
of being our daughter!"
"You're not worthy of being my best friend!"
yelled Ashley. "You think you're better than I am now, but you're
nothing!"
"Where were you when I needed help?" cried
Rita in a mad tone. "You let me suffer!"
Jas then shouted, "You're a selfish, self-centered
nobody! No wonder you never picked up on karate!"
"Yeah, loser!" added a mean-spirited Cosmo.
"You'll never be anything more than a loser!"
"NO, never!" she screamed angrily
in reality. Standing up, with her light-blue aura shimmering and
her eyes glowing, she shouted, "I am NOT a loser!"
Her powers started to create the same problem
which occurred in the Magic Express earlier. Everyone and everything
in the room started to levitate everywhere.
One of the crates in the room nearly hit Zina
Two, but she skillfully dodged out of the way in time.
Angie's powers growing further unrestrained,
she looked at her friends and angrily screeched, "You monsters will leave
me alone! If push comes to shove, I will destroy you!"
Over all the commotion, Jas shouted, "We've
got to stop her before she does something she'll regret for the rest of
her life!"
Ace looked to her and yelled, "Can you neutralize
her powers again, like you did before back at the Express?"
"Don't know. It left me weak last time.
With her powers so wild right now, I'm not even sure I can do anything."
"There's only one thing we can do at this
point," stated Ace Two loudly. "Jas, Ace, we'll have to combine our
mental strengths and psychically attack Angie. I know this isn't
going to be easy for you, Ace, but I can't think of any other options."
The second Magician was right, for Ace had
a very sad look on his face. With a regretful sigh he said, "You're
right. There's no way we can help Angie if we don't help ourselves
first."
Both Aces and Jas floated to the middle of
the room and held hands.
"Jas," said Ace Two, "we'll channel our powers
through you. It should give you the mental strength you need to stop
Angie's powers." He then shouted, "Magic Force, reveal the
power within!"
Soon, both Aces in their crimefighting costumes
glowed in bright violet.
"Just do your best, Jas," Ace Two stated in
concentration. "Believe in what you can do. For Angie's sake,
go for it!"
As she had done before, she allowed her mental
being to dive deeply into her powers. With the additional powers
of the two Magicians, she felt her powers growing stronger. "Angie,
you will stop…now!"
The combined powers of both Magicians and
Jas sent a surge of mental energy towards the female magician.
Angie continued to lose control until she
felt something powerful striking her mind. "AAAAAHHHHH!"
she screamed in complete agony and pain.
She then felt her body breaking down and quickly
collapsed backwards to the ground. She lay on the floor, her body
spread like the outline of a murder victim at a crime scene.
The threesome slowly lowered all objects and
people back onto the ground safely.
Ace quickly ran up to his kindred sister.
"Angie, I'm sorry!" he yelled in anguish. He took hold of her left
hand with his right. "Angie, can you hear me?" When he got
no response, he tried by telepathy. Kindred sister, please answer
me. I am here. He then felt for her heart. "I don't
understand. All I am able to see within her is darkness…complete
darkness."
Jas ran up to them and took Angie's right
hand. "Angie, wake up. Please, wake up! We need you right
now!"
Angie was barely conscious and completely
unresponsive to the sounds of her friends' voices.