It was a warm and sunny day in Electro City,
and many of its residents opted to cool off at the beach along the shores
of the bay. Among the beachcombers were a group of special people
who took a much-needed vacation after doing nearly two months of practice
without a break.
Sitting on the sand underneath a beach umbrella
was a gentleman about six feet tall. With blue eyes and black hair,
except for a white streak on the sides and around the back and a small
tuft on top of his head, he breathed in the fresh sea air. "Ah, this
is so comfortable," he whispered to himself. "Angie was right.
I needed to get away from doing so many shows for a long time."
He recalled a conversation he and training
magician Angela Jacobs had a week prior to this holiday.
"Ace, you've been working way too hard,"
she had told him straightly. "If you keep pushing yourself like this
you'll have a nervous breakdown."
"I can't help it," he said with a sigh.
"I mean, I have to keep topping myself with more tricks to entertain the
audiences."
"I know that. However, as long as
I am your kindred sister, I also want to make sure your health is not being
affected. As soon as we get through this last week of performances,
we are all going to take a much needed break and go to the beach to relax.
When we do go, you are not allowed to think anything about magic or any
future shows."
"And if there's a crisis?"
"We'll both know if it's big enough to
warrant action on our part. You need to relax, Ace. I've been
sensing a lot of uneasiness in your soul, and it's the pressure of being
a top—no, the top magician in the world. I can understand
the fact you work hard at your skill, but you've got to take it easy once
in a while. It won't do any good physically or mentally. Remember
what happened to me?"
He smiled at his younger counterpart.
"You're right. I need to quit worrying myself about doing the tricks.
It takes time to get them done, and as long as I have you and Cosmo, I
have the necessary input to see how to improve those tricks. Okay,
after this week, we'll take some days on the beach to relax, since basically,
we've all been working too hard."
Cosmo heard Ace's announcement and exclaimed,
"YES! Vacation time coming at last!"
All three laughed very hard and decided
to take that vacation the day after the last performance of the week.
Ace felt invigorated by the breeze and the
blue sky. "Angie, this was a wonderful idea. A chance to take
that much needed break is exactly what I needed. Thanks, kindred
sister."
Anytime, Ace, she thought to him.
Even
the best in the world needs to take a break, so enjoy the sunshine.
What are you doing now?
I'm parasailing while Cosmo's driving the
boat. The view up here is spectacular.
That's great. Keep having fun for
now. Let's not worry about anything.
Count on it, Ace.
Cosmo was at the controls of Ace's Magic Boat,
a craft which shared the same color scheme as the Racer, Bike, and his
home, the Magic Express. He looked up at a young woman enjoying the
parasailing from the sky. "Yo, Angie, how's it goin' up there?" he
asked into his radio.
"Fantastic, Cosmo! I've never parasailed
before, and I'm having a blast!"
"Never? Didn't you go near the Mississippi
River to do it at all?"
"Nope, it was either too much water or too
little water."
Cosmo laughed happily at that remark.
"Well, hang on, pal, 'cause I'm gonna go a little faster."
"Just watch the traffic."
"No probs!"
Up about 35 feet in the air, Angela Jacobs
was strapped into a harness which connected to a large parachute.
Dressed comfortably in a one piece lavender bathing suit, she was having
the time of her life, since this was a time she did not have to concern
herself with mastering new tricks or using the Magic Force to fight evil
alongside Ace Cooper. "Wow! I never thought the view from here
could be as gorgeous as it is now. It's like I'm closer to Heaven…closer
to Mom and Dad." She looked up into the sky and could see images
of her and her parents spending quality time together. She smiled
in joy, knowing her parents were always looking down with pride and love
on her.
Meanwhile, not too far away, an elderly couple
were about to take their newly purchased yacht into the waters for the
first time.
The gentleman, with graying brown hair and
hazel eyes, looked at the woman and smiled. "This is it, Nadine.
We're going to christen our yacht, the Moonglow. I know you've
been waiting for this day for 3 years now."
"I sure have, Miles," Nadine stated with near
tears of joy in her eyes. "After your surgery I never thought we
would get a yacht at all."
"Ah, the advantages of retirement and investing.
Let's forget the business side, though. Time to just relax and enjoy
the ride."
After checking their equipment, Miles gave
his wife the bottle of champagne. "Here, honey. You will have
the honor of christening the Moonglow, so take it away."
"Thank you," she said with a smile.
Holding the bottle at the pouring end like a baseball bat, she readied
herself to hit the guard rail. "I've waited a long time to say this,
so here goes. I, Nadine Sawyers, christen thee, the Moonglow!"
She then slammed the bottle into the rail, breaking the bottle instantaneously
and spilling fizzing champagne around the area.
Miles laughed about that. "Good job,
Nadine. Time to get started on our cruise." He then went up
to the controls and started the engine.
The yacht started immediately, and the happy
couple were on their way to enjoying the voyage around the bay area.
Angie and Cosmo soon noticed the yacht themselves
and slowed up to give the couple room to move about.
"Sorry about that, Angie."
"That's okay, Cosmo. You gotta give
'em the right of way. Now, back to parasailing again."
The apprentice/hacker sped up the boat one
more time and allowed Angie to float higher into the sky once more.
"This is real magic," she said to herself.
"The sky is so clear, the sun is out full force, and everyone's feeling
relaxed. I don't think there could be anything that could ruin this
vacation time at all."
Miles and Nadine Sawyers continued to enjoy
their water trip on their yacht.
"Miles, dear, why don't you put some more
speed into it? I think we're going a little too slow for the other
boaters around here."
"Oh, all right." Increasing speed on
the vessel, things seemed to be going fine, until he started to feel the
boat was going a little too fast. "Hmm, that's strange. I want
to go to 20 knots, but the speed's gone way past that. What's going
on here?"
Nadine felt very uncomfortable. "Miles,
I didn't say you should go too fast to keep up with them."
"It's not me. Something's wrong with
the yacht. I-I can't slow it down."
"What should we do?"
"Try not to panic. We have our lifejackets
on, but you need to hold on to the rail for now. Last thing I need
is for you to go over the side."
Nadine grabbed hold of the rail for dear life
as she tried not to be afraid of the developing situation.
Angie continued to enjoy the scenery when
she noticed that yacht from earlier. "That's strange. It's
heading way too far out into the bay." She then noticed a ferry boat
in the distance. "Oh, my God! Those people are in trouble!"
She then talked into her wristwatch radio. "Cosmo, quick, contact
the Coast Guard and the Harbor Patrol. Tell them a yacht and a ferry
boat are on a collision course. I'll see if I can help the people
on the yacht."
"Wait, Angie! How are you going to help
them when you're still strapped in?"
"I'm a magician, remember? Just let
me handle this right now."
Back on the beach, Ace relaxed until he suddenly
felt a surge of anxiety within Angie. He then sent a telepathic message
to her. What's going on?
There are people in trouble on a yacht
and a ferry boat. The yacht's getting into a collision course.
I'm gonna see if I can stop the yacht before it crashes into the ferry.
Do what you can, Angie, but please be careful.
Angie quickly released her hands from the
line and unstrapped herself from the harness.
Before she could fall into the water, though,
she put herself into a spin and glowed in a light blue aura. "Magic
Force, reveal the power within!"
Quickly emerging in her special crimefighting
costume, she stopped about 10 feet above the water. "I've got to
reach that yacht fast." Spinning fast again, she quickly disappeared
from sight.
Miles still had trouble slowing down the yacht
but soon discovered his steering was not functioning, either. "Oh,
no. I can't turn out of this, either! We're doomed!"
Suddenly, a light appeared on the port deck.
Angie suddenly emerged on their boat. "Looks like you need some help."
He smiled in relief to see one of the two
Magicians. "Miss Jacobs, I can't seem to stop the boat, turn it,
or anything, and we're going to crash into the ferry!"
"I'm going to try using magic to stop the
boat. Join your wife and hang on to the rail as hard as you can."
"All right, but be careful, Miss Jacobs."
Miles then went over to the rail and joined Nadine.
Quickly assessing the situation, Angie took
control of the steering wheel and started concentrating as hard as she
could. If I don't stop the yacht now, a lot of people will get
hurt. "Let my heart guide my power!"
Soon the entire ship began glowing in a light
blue aura.
Must concentrate on stopping the engine,
since the brakes have failed as well. Concentrate and focus, Angie,
just like Ace has always taught you. She then closed her eyes
to focus her mental energy on the engine. Got to remove a spark
plug from the engine. That'll stop the yacht for sure.
Visualizing the engine of the boat, she slowly
started removing one of the spark plugs in order to cut off the engine
and bring the yacht to a halt before it would collide with the ferry.
In a matter of moments, the spark plug was
safely out of position, which caused the boat to slow down and eventually
come to a stop less than 1000 meters away from the ferry.
Angie slumped over in exhaustion from her
ordeal.
Angie, are you okay? she heard from
Ace by thought.
Slowly getting back to her feet, she gave
the Magician a positive response. Yeah, I'm all right. Just
a little weak. Never had to stop a boat by magic before.
There's a first time for everything.
I'm on the Coast Guard vessel now and should meet up with you in a minute
or two.
Okay. In the meantime, I'm going
to check on the couple here, make sure they're not seriously hurt.
Good. See you in a minute.
Angie came down to the deck to check on them.
"The boat's stopped now."
The pair released their grip from the guard
rail.
Miles looked at just how close they were to
colliding. "That was too close for comfort."
"No kidding," Angie said in heavy breath.
"Are either of you feeling hurt anywhere?"
"Um, no, I don't feel like I'm injured," replied
Nadine. "I don't know for sure, though."
The young magician looked at the couple.
"Don't worry. Coast Guard and Harbor Patrol should be here shortly.
You two should get checked out as a precautionary measure."
"Good idea, Miss Jacobs," Miles concurred.
Looking around and shaking his head in astonishment, he added, "You are
some magician. Ace Cooper's been training you very well obviously."
Angie blushed with that comment. "He
really is the best magic teacher anybody could have."
Soon, four different vessels from the two
rescue groups arrived. Ace jumped onto the boat and noticed how pale
Angie was. "Hey, you all right?"
"I'm okay, Ace. I'm just glad nobody
got hurt in all this mess."
Captain Howard Friedrichs and Lieutenant Derek
Vega from the Police Department boarded themselves.
"Good work, Angie," said Friedrichs happily.
"You were able to prevent serious damage and injury with your actions."
"Glad I could do it, Captain. You know
I don't like seeing anyone getting hurt."
Vega smiled as well. "Angie, that was
a very brave thing you did, saving this couple and the people on the ferry."
The people on the ferry applauded the female
magician's courageous act and cheered for her.
Ace then looked at her and grinned proudly.
"You should be proud of yourself for doing this. You're a hero."
"No, I'm not. I just like being a helpful
person."
Vega then turned to the couple to get some
information. "Could you tell me what happened?"
Miles explained the problems he had with the
boat. "I don't understand this. We just got this boat last
week."
"I understand. Now, the paramedics are
going to check you both out to see if you need to go to the hospital.
Can I have your names please?"
"Miles and Nadine Sawyers."
"Oh, you owned the Sawyers Linen Company,
right?"
"Yes, I did. I retired four years ago,
but I had to have surgery for lung cancer the year after giving up work.
I gave the ownership to my longtime partner, who said the name will stick
for all time."
"Great. Well, we'll let the medics do
their work, and then if you're both all right, we need to get you down
to headquarters for a statement."
Mr. and Mrs. Sawyers agreed.
Friedrichs then looked around the boat.
"There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the boat, but we can't
leave anything to chance. I want this boat sent to our police dock
for investigation."
Vega then came up to Angie. "Thanks
for keeping the boat intact. This is the first boat we can actually
get clues from."
"You mean it's not the first time this has
happened?"
"I'm afraid not. At least six other
yachts and boats also had problems, but they all blew up before we could
get any type of evidence."
"I see," Angie said in concern.
A few minutes later, as the rescue boats came
into port, Sensa-News reporter Duke Paparazzo put the microphone right
into Angie's face. "Miss Jacobs, you did the rescue by yourself,
without Cooper's assistance. Does this mean there's some kind of
professional tension between you and the Magician?"
"Tension? What are you talking about?
I've got the best teacher in the world, and more importantly, he's my friend.
Why would there be tension?"
"You jumped right into action while Cooper
did nothing, and—"
"Look, Paparazzo!" Angie interrupted angrily.
"Ace wasn't exactly in the best position. I was the closest, so he
let me handle the rescue efforts. The important thing here is that
no one got hurt."
"You want the fame and fortune for yourself,
don't you?"
Her anger fumed further. "Listen, stupid!
If you want the real story, why don't you talk to the two people
who were on the collision course with the ferry instead of me!? I'm
just a person who is willing to help when someone needs it."
"Sure, at the right price."
Angie had heard enough. "Shut
up!" She then pushed him off the dock and into the waters.
"When it comes to good news reporting, you will never fit into that
category. Why don't you try being a serious reporter instead of being
a goofbrain excuse! I wish Kendra were here instead of you!"
Ace and Vega looked at her in shock.
Angie put her face down in shame and said,
"I'm sorry, but he made me mad when he said things that weren't true."
Miles came up and comforted the young magician.
"It's okay. That guy has a bad reputation of trying to make shame
of truly goodhearted individuals like yourself. He did it to me,
too, once."
"Really?"
"Yes," Nadine answered sadly. "Just
before Miles retired from his business, a terrible fire destroyed one of
our linen factories. Miles and I knew of people who had worked for
us for at least 25 years in that plant and that job was their only source
of income. When he agreed to pay the employees full-time pay and
benefits until the plant was rebuilt a year later, Paparazzo wanted to
know where the money was coming from."
"He thought I was getting the money from crime
bosses or some drug cartel or whatever. He was so determined to get
to the truth. The truth is, I had made the fortune all on my own,
and I paid them with my own money. It was the least I could do for
their loyalty and dedication to their jobs."
"In other words," Angie said, "you not only
made sure their jobs were secure when they returned, but you also made
sure they could get through the hard times with their families. You
are a good person, Mr. Sawyers."
"So are you, Miss Jacobs. Believe me,
if you didn't do it, I'd have pushed Paparazzo in."
She felt better, knowing she was not alone
when it came to having to put up with the very unethical reporter.
"Thank you."
After Mr. and Mrs. Sawyers left, Angie faced
her kindred brother. "Ace, I'm so sorry. I blew my top."
"I know," he said in hugging her, "but he
said a bunch of lies. You were justified to get angry with him.
He had no right to say any of that garbage about you. I wish I had
pushed him in."
"That goes for me and about 95% of the other
people who've had to deal with him," Vega concurred. "The only other
person who's had the gall to push him into the water is director Oliver
Rock."
Angie had heard of the gentleman. "I
remember the story. Jackie Monroe was that cursed movie he
directed. When something went wrong with one of the scenes, Paparazzo
was going for the exclusive scoop when Mr. Rock pushed him into the water.
I saw it all take place on TV."
All three laughed heartily at that crazy time.
"See, Angie," Ace said in looking at her,
"a lot of people don't like Paparazzo at all."
"I can see why, too. Thanks for helping
me feel better. Now, is it safe to say we can get back to the vacation?"
"Yes. I say we return to vacationing
and enjoy the rest of the day."
With that, Angie quickly went into a spin
and reverted back into her bathing suit. "Hope it's not too late
to parasail again."
Cosmo quickly came up in the boat and said,
"We'll have to go back and get the parachute again, but at least it's safe
to do it."
Angie jumped into the boat. "Be careful.
I pushed Paparazzo into the water, and that weasel may still be somewhere
in it."
"You pushed him? Man,
he must've made you angry."
"When it comes to troublemakers, I feel like
I have to rank Duke Paparazzo up there with Sonny Boy and Black Jack.
For now, though, let's forget about it and get on with the va-ca!"
"Yahoo!" Cosmo exclaimed happily.
Ace then joined them. "I'm getting worried
about Zina."
Through his watch radio, his AI partner Angel
reassured him. "Zina's doing just fine, Ace. She's keeping
herself busy with those floating balls you did for her this morning.
When should I expect all of you back?"
"About two more hours, and we'll be home for
dinner. Besides, I can't wait to eat the grilled pork chops Angie's
going to cook up."
The three close friends then took the boat
back to the starting point to pick up the parachute and parasail again.
A few minutes later, Paparazzo finally pulled
himself out of the water and stood up on the dock. Completely soaked
after his experience, he stared angrily at the water. "Angela Jacobs,
you're gonna pay for this! Nobody, and I mean nobody, does this to
Duke Paparazzo and gets away with it! I am the star reporter for
Sensa-News, and I will not allow her to get off that easily. I am
a star, and I will make her suffer!" He then walked away to find
a nearby taxi. "I'm going to put a stop to her once and for all,"
he muttered angrily as he took the cab back to the Sensa-News Studio.
Upon his arrival at the studio, the doorman
asked, "What happened to you? Get caught in a sudden flash flood
or something?"
"Don't ask," the reporter stated in a mean
tone. He then proceeded into the studio.
Upon passing through the halls, he heard the
voice of the new owner of the Sensa-News Network, Kelly Wilders.
"Duke, get in here, now!"
Paparazzo shrugged in total nervousness as
he stepped into the owner's office. "Y-yes, sir?"
"I can't believe you would do something as
deplorable as claim professional tension between magicians Ace Cooper and
Angela Jacobs. You know damn well those two have done more than their
share of protecting the people here in Electro City and beyond. After
all, they saved her aunt in Des Moines, and saved thousands of people at
the Party Carnival outside of Lazaro City. Just because Angie saved
that couple by herself doesn't automatically mean she's trying to grab
all the attention for herself. As she clearly stated she was in the
best position to perform the rescue, so she did. I was hoping Kendra
Rayler would have been out there instead of you."
Rubbing his right hand through his brown hair,
he shook his head. "Ever since Rutger Shoendorf was thrown in prison
for his part in the attempted murders of at least three people, I took
ownership to make sure we cleaned up the trash. Apparently, not all
the trash has been picked up properly."
"But…I was just trying to get the story, that's
all. That's my job."
"Oh, really? I saw the whole thing go
down. You were making things up about Angie, claiming she was after
the fame and fortune all for herself, willing to help people at the
right price. I'm going to tell you right now, if you want to
maintain your star reporter status, you'd better do one thing: clean
up your act! I will not have the reputation of this network
compromised by someone who pushes reporting to the point of being purely
unethical! Now, get out of here; you're soaking the floor."
Paparazzo walked out of Wilders's office angrier
than ever. Okay, Mr. Wilders, you want me to do something, I'll
do something all right. I'm going to destroy Angela Jacobs's
life once and for all!
He went into the archives room to gather information
about Angela Jacobs herself. Looking through video disk after video
disk, he became embittered. "Damn! All I seem to find on Angela
Jacobs are the good deeds she's done for this city." He then saw
the report done by fellow employee Kendra Rayler in the Party Carnival
incident. "That should have been me doing that report, not that loser
Kendra. If only Wilders didn't put me to do health department scores
for restaurants…forget it."
He then came up with a rather wicked idea.
"If I can't get the juicy stuff I want about Little Miss Jacobs, then I'll
do the next best thing, fabricate it."
He then started typing up a fake report about
her. "Growing up in the tough streets of Boston, a juvenile delinquent
all the time, in trouble with the law constantly. A judge gave her
one chance to turn her whole life around, so they made her go to school
and just barely graduated. Yeah, this is gonna be really juicy."
He continued his nasty plan of shattering Angie's reputation forever.
Meanwhile, Wilders called for Kendra Rayler
to come into his office.
"You wanted to see me?"
"Yes. Kendra, I want you to cover the
story about the yacht. It's the seventh one in the last three months
to have had problems, and that's too much to be a coincidence."
"Thanks to Angie, the Sawyers' boat is the
first solid piece of evidence the police has. Anything you want me
to do, story wise?"
"Yeah. Just check with the police on
what they have so far. They'll probably look into the boating incident
tomorrow as they break the boat down into individual parts. Whatever
happens, I do not want Paparazzo to do this story, especially after what
he tried to do to Angela Jacobs. I'm personally glad she pushed him
into the bay."
"So am I," Kendra concurred. "I'll get
on the story and stay with it, but only get the necessary information and
facts, not make an editorial about it."
"Good. Get on it, Kendra."
When she left the room, Wilders could not
believe he had one of the best and one of the worst in the same building.
"If Paparazzo doesn't get his act straight, I'll make Kendra Rayler into
the new star reporter."
The next day, in the confines of the Magic
Express, everyone felt somewhat relaxed in the living room, no magic practices,
no update needed on the computer, or anything of importance…except for
the yacht.
"So," Ace noted, "Vega finally has an intact
boat he can use to see if there is any pattern of sabotage."
Cosmo agreed with the Magician. "How
long do will it be before we get any additional info?"
"Hard to say." He then noticed Angie being
surprisingly silent. "Angie, what's the matter? I can sense
something making you uneasy."
She could not help but feeling bad about what
she did to Duke Paparazzo. "I didn't mean to push him into the water,"
she said sadly.
Cosmo patted her shoulder. "Angie, any
of us would itch for the chance to push him into the water. He's
just a sleazoid of a reporter."
"I agree," Ace added. "He said statements
that were truly deceiving to the public, and more importantly, your heart.
Of course, he doesn't really have a lot of information on you."
"True. He probably doesn't know I grew
up in a regular home in Iowa." She then looked at her watch.
"Oops, time to cook up some sesame chicken and veggies. I'm heading
into the kitchen."
"Sure thing."
After the younger magician left to start cooking,
Ace concentrated on Angie's heart. "She's still feeling a little
bad, but she's not feeling extremely guilty. In fact, I can sense
a bit of justification for her actions. Duke Paparazzo has gotten
himself into trouble a number of times."
"Yeah, dude, like remember when you rescued
him from the Sensa-News studios when it caught fire? You had saved
his life, and he knew you were innocent, but—"
"I remember all too well. Friedrichs
thought I attacked Paparazzo on purpose. There was also the time
when Paparazzo got into deep trouble for that story he was trying to do.
Then, I had to stop him from exposing my magic on national TV by switching
the tapes."
"Doesn't he ever learn?"
"The day he learns his lesson will be the
day I give up doing magic."
Cosmo then grabbed the remote control and
turned on the television set.
Oddly, Duke Paparazzo was on the screen.
"Whoa!" exclaimed the apprentice/hacker.
"He's not supposed to be on this early in the day. What gives?"
"Ladies and gentlemen," the reporter started,
"today I am going to expose the truth about someone who 'claims' to be
a protector of Electro City but is after fame, fortune, and attention."
"Hmm, an exposé?" Ace questioned curiously.
"I wonder who it's on anyway?"
Paparazzo then started his report. "I
think you'll find my exposé on Angela Jacobs very insightful."
Both gentlemen went into shock. "Angela
Jacobs!?"
"She grew up on the mean streets of Boston,
Massachusetts, with no family to love, and her only means of survival was
as a juvenile delinquent, constantly robbing stores and businesses.
Her police record was a long list, from grand theft auto to shoplifting."
On the screen showed a surveillance video of Angie supposedly stealing
expensive clothing from a department store. "She constantly got away
with all her crimes, until the police finally caught up with her."
"That can't be right!" Cosmo shouted.
"She's from Mason City, Iowa, not Boston! Also, the only thing she
ever did was accidentally walk out of a convenient store with a TV Guide.
Her parents set her straight afterward!"
"A judge then gave her two choices:
Spend the rest of her life in prison or straighten up and go to school.
She chose the latter and just barely passed out of high school. Opting
not to go to college, she spent those years wandering around, with no job,
no place to live, or whatever. Then, she arrived here in Electro
City two years ago, where she was so desperate to find work, she literally
begged Ace Cooper to let her stay with him in the Magic Express."
Ace became disillusioned. "Those are
all lies! Angie never got into trouble with the law, and she was
a co-valedictorian with Ashley Brighton at her high school in Mason City,
Iowa!"
"Yeah!" Cosmo agreed angrily. "She also
went to college at Iowa State and wandered for only one year. Angie
did come to Electro City two years ago, but she ran into me by accident."
"And she didn't beg me to stay here.
I wanted her to stay, so I could help her open her heart and develop her
powers. How dare he say that!"
Outside, Angie continued to cook her sesame
chicken on the grill when she suddenly felt something rotten in Ace's heart.
He's become angry about something. I wonder what it is.
She closed the lid on the grill to let the
chicken pieces continue simmering. Just before she entered the living
room, however, she came to notice Paparazzo on the screen, talking about
her.
"Miss Jacobs is only after the fame, fortune,
and attention. In fact, she was probably paid off to perform that
rescue she had done yesterday. Don't be surprised if she's
directly responsible for sabotaging the boat."
Angie's eyes widened in total shock and disbelief.
"No," she whispered fearfully.
Ace heard the sound and turned to the door
to see her shocked face. "Angie," he gasped.
With tears starting to fall, she held her
hands to her face in shame and started sobbing uncontrollably. "NO!"
she screamed. "How could he do this to me!?" She then ran to
her room and locked her door.
Ace and Cosmo quickly followed her and tried
to get into the room themselves but to no avail.
"Angie," Ace said calmly, "open up.
That whole thing is a lie."
The female magician, though, could not hear
his words, for a single thought clouded her mind. I can never
show my face in public ever again.