Summus Proelium

The Cuddle Corps Eavesdrop On Avant-Guard

Okay, there was definitely something very weird going on around here. Both in Detroit and this place in particular. Something even more weird than the Cuddle Corps had been expecting when they decided to sneak into this Tech-Touched girl’s shop after hearing that the people from the ultimate supervillain prison, Breakwater, wanted to have her kidnapped to help them figure out how those two Star-Touched had been teleported onto their island. That by itself had meant they thought they were ready for anything that possibly could have popped up. But boy were they ever wrong. They never, no matter how many wild and absurd suggestions Ash threw out (and that wasn’t a short list), could have expected to find out even half of what they had heard in just the past couple hours since they had managed to sneak in here.

Being who and what they were, the Corps were very accustomed to pretending to be inanimate objects. Their stuffed animal bodies made it much easier all by itself to remain perfectly still with no expression, but it was more than that. When they chose not to move, almost no sort of outside influence could get them to. It basically required a deliberate attempt on their part to start moving and reacting again. It was like they shifted something in their brains to become even more like toys, their minds taking a back seat and releasing their active control over the body.

Either way, it was very lucky that they had that ability, or the Corps would have exposed themselves a dozen times already, simply by gasping loudly if nothing else. Especially right now, as none other than Cassidy Evans herself paced back and forth right in front of the shelf where they had hidden amongst an assortment of actual toys, talking about secret after secret.

Not that they knew her by sight, obviously. She was just some rich girl from another state they had barely heard of. Truthfully, if asked for details about her for any particular reason before now, they would have guessed that she was some tall, beautiful and vapid blonde girl who couldn’t stop shopping and would probably end up on a reality TV show. But nothing could be further from the truth, and if they hadn't had the benefit of keeping their reactions frozen, the entire store would have been filled with a quite deafening gasp indeed when all six of them had realized through context clues who was actually talking.

Cassidy Evans, daughter of billionaires, was secretly the young, supposedly male superhero Paintball. They had learned some juicy gossip before, but that had to be the biggest shock. And it didn't stop there. Oh no, they had to find out even more. Not just from Cassidy herself-- but from the rest of her team as well. Like the fact that they had been the ones to take that Breakwater prisoner, because they thought he could help fix the Sleeptalk bioweapon attack that had put half their city’s leaders and Star-Touched out of commission. Because he was some sort of bio-Tech-Touched, someone who worked with literal physical bodies and stuff.

Eventually, Cassidy and the others moved to the far side of the shop to talk and work on something. Once they were all out of the way, Aspen slowly shifted her head to stare that way. She only moved a fraction of an inch, not wanting to draw any attention. Their invisibility only worked on technology, after all. Fortunately, few people tended to notice slight motion going on behind them or at the very corners of their eyes. And if they did turn to look, going completely still tended to make them think they had just imagined it. After all, who would expect a toy to move?

Taking in the sight of that group hard at work, she spoke silently through the connection she had with the rest of the Corps. Uh, you guys heard all that, right? I didn't just imagine the whole thing?

Nope, nope, nope! That was Willow. Definitely didn’t imagine it. These people are in some really deep and rotten caca. But I don't understand why they don't just go to the people in charge and tell them what they know. Wouldn't it be easier to tell all the doctors that this Pittman guy made Sleeptalk so they can watch what he does and have him build the cure in an actual lab instead of that--uhh, was that really a virtual reality machine they were talking about?

It was indeed, Oak confirmed, sounding as thoughtful as ever. They appear to be waiting for it to sync up with their new prisoner’s mind. From the sound of things, we have arrived at the tail end of that particular wait. They sounded quite anxious about it.

Maple turned her own head just a tiny bit, her motions hidden from the people across the room both by the distance and the fact that she was covered by a handful of actual toys. I bet they don’t want to tell the doctors about it because they don’t trust people! Can you blame them? Look at how doctors poked and prodded us for so long.

It’s gotta be more than that, Ash pointed out, his long red tail swishing slightly from his anxiety and annoyance at having to keep still for so long. They talked about that--what’d they call it? Missionaries?

Ministry, Willow corrected. Didn’t you hear that Evans girl talking about wanting to wake up her parents so they could get it under control? So they’re in charge of it.

They all absorbed that thought for a moment before Cherry piped up. Not girl! I heard that boy with the blond hair and his friend--

Roald and Murphy! That was Ash, delighted to have something to contribute. That’s their names, they said their names before! I heard them, I definitely heard them say that! Murphy’s a fun name, do you think it’s really her name, or a nickname? Who would name a girl Murphy? Is her last name Sarah? Murphy Sarah! I think--

Ahem! Cherry pointedly interrupted, giving the dragon a slight poke with her webbed foot. Like I was saying! Not Evans girl. Those two were talking about that when they tossed me around in the alley a few minutes ago. Cassidy Evans is--you know, like Bernard back home. No-barnary.

Aspen corrected, Non-binary. And whatever they are, they’re also Cassidy Evans, like, super-super rich. Their parents could buy our whole old house and put it in their garage for fun.

So this Ministry, the way they were talking about it, their parents run it and they like… they’re supervillains? Maple sounded a little uncertain about the whole situation.

Willow’s little penguin head shook just a bit. I don’t think so. I mean, the way they talked about the Ministry having police and doctors and maybe the mayor and stuff, it’s like they’re secretly in charge of things. They control both the good guys and the bad guys. Which sounds like cheating.

Definitely cheating, Oak agreed. But it does explain how they’re so rich. Or maybe them being rich explains how they can control everything? He paused to consider. Perhaps it’s both. Either way, it’s rather clear that Cassidy Evans does not share her--pardon, their parents’ proclivities. Nor are their parents aware of their dual identity as Paintball.

I guess that explains why they’re trying to handle all this themselves, Aspen allowed thoughtfully. If this Ministry controls everything, they must be allowing crime to happen! You know, just to get rich off it. Even richer than they already are.

That prompted a short debate between all of them about whether it would even be possible for any group, even one as apparently well-connected and resourceful as this ‘Ministry,’ to stop all crime entirely, and what that would entail. Some of them thought it was the duty of such a group to do just that, while others thought it would be giving them too much power. They’d have to jail so many people for even thinking about committing crimes. Which would include the Cuddles themselves, and they didn’t want to be jailed! Not that it would be easy to do so, but it was the principle of the thing.

Before they could actually come to a decision on how they felt about the whole situation, the group realized they were alone down here. Apparently whatever Cassidy Evans and the others had been waiting for with that Pittman guy was done. They had all gone back upstairs to make him create the Sleeptalk cure.

Okay, so what’re we gonna do? Aspen asked, straightening up fully to look at the others. They still didn’t speak out loud, not wanting to attract any attention in case someone upstairs had really good hearing. But she did move enough to face the rest of her family. The whole plan was just to sneak in, see what was going on here, and maybe warn these guys that those prison people wanna kidnap this girl. But now we know they have Pittman and there’s the whole Ministry thing and Cassidy Evans is Paintball and--and--and so much. We can’t just leave, right?

They took a vote on that, but there was no real question and no debate. Though they each had their own reasoning, everyone agreed that they couldn’t leave. They had to stick around and find out more, at the very least. There was no way they could leave it like this.

Besides, if they had already found out so many interesting things, who knew what would come up the next time Avant-Guard came back down those stairs to start talking again?

************

(NON-CANON) What If Cassidy Didn’t Hear Simon That First Night

She had Touched – she Touched! In the midst of this horrific nightmare, after seeing a literal execution in the middle of an old building, with men shouting and even shooting at her, Cassidy Evans had touched. Somehow, she had hit the men who were pursuing her through the alley (as well as large portions of the alley itself ) with a spray of various colors of paint. The red paint that was all over the men yanked them together, making them collapse into a tangled pile. And just as she was thinking about hiding under that dumpster nearby, the girl had noticed blue paint under her feet. With an instinctive thought, she activated it, and was propelled screaming into the air and over the nearby fence. Coming down hard on the other side, she heard people coming toward that alley, shouting their own curses. So, without wasting another second, Cassidy scrambled to her feet and began to run once more. Before the people back there could pick themselves up, or be joined by their companions, she was already disappearing across the far street and heading through the next alley. As far as she was concerned, she wouldn't ever stop running.

But she did stop, eventually, of course. Whatever these new powers were, they didn't include endless stamina. Which was too bad, because that sounded pretty damn useful. But then again, so did some sort of magic paper bag she could scream into without terrifying everyone around her until the image of that execution finally stopped bouncing around through her head. Which might take a few years. Or decades.

Some part of the girl knew she should go to the police immediately and tell them everything she had seen. But she was terrified of everything that had happened, and about what might happen to her if she went to the police by herself. Wait, she didn't have to go by herself. Her parents, she could tell her parents! Oh God, oh yes, they could help. They could find out how to report the--

Simon! Oh God, oh no, no no! How could she forget about Simon?! In her terror and panic, Cassidy had forgotten that Simon was back there somewhere. What if they found him and thought he was the one who had seen what happened? What if he was being chased by them right now?! No, no, no, she couldn't let that happen. She had to get some help right now!

First, she used the anonymous Doephone app to report what she had seen back in that building, giving as many details as she could on the form before submitting it. Then she summoned a ride and paid the man a substantial extra tip to get back to her house as quickly as possible. The whole way, the only thing Cassidy could think about was what might have happened to Simon. She tried texting and even calling him a couple times, the latter of which should have told her brother just how extraordinary the situation was, yet he never responded to any of it. Had he been shot already? Was he hiding like she had been? Was he still running away? Or did he even know what was going on? Maybe he didn't. Maybe he was okay. Maybe he was completely fine.

Or maybe he was dead. Maybe he was lying in a gutter somewhere with a bunch of terrifying armed men standing over him and laughing at how helpless he was. Maybe they were holding a gun to his head while his mother and father both lay dead next to the nearby swimming pool and the rest of the staff were all scattered around laying in their own blood, and the man with the gun-

Wait, where did that come from? That didn't make any sense at all. Their parents were completely fine, and this didn't take place near a swimming pool. It was in that old building and the alley. Where the hell had the idea of him being shot in some backyard while their parents were already dead come from? The images were so vivid in her head. She had no idea what that was about, or why she couldn't stop shaking so much when she pictured them.

Wait, no, she did know why she couldn't stop shaking. It was because she had just seen an execution, had just been chased by men with guns, men who would have killed her too, who probably still wanted to kill her if she’d given them half a chance. And now her brother was back there. Was he in trouble or was he fine? Did they know anything about him? Were they chasing him, or hurting him, or was he just hanging out with one of his stupid friends and smoking pot or something? Why wouldn’t he fucking respond to one of her goddamn messages already?!

Somehow, the ride back to her house was simultaneously agonizingly long and incredibly short. It seemed to take forever, every second lasting hours as the car practically crawled forward. Yet at the same time, she found herself startled when the driver announced they were there. Normally when she snuck out to go skating or any number of things her parents wouldn't approve of, Cassidy had the driver drop her off well away from the actual front of the house. But this time, she had told him to go right up to the gate. There was no time for anything else, and she wasn't even going to try to hide the fact that she had been out when she shouldn't be.

After throwing a wad of cash at the man, Cassidy jumped out and ran up to the gate. The guard there had just started to come out to tell the rideshare driver he couldn't stop there and that he had the wrong place when he abruptly recognized just who had just emerged from the vehicle.

“What th--Miss Evans?” He rocked backward on his heels, clearly confused as his eyes darted toward the gate, then the driver (who was already starting to pull back out of the driveway to head down the street), then to the distant house before finally moving back to the girl in question.

“Greg!” Blurting the man's name, Cassidy couldn't help but throw herself that way, practically falling in the process while her arms went around him. It wasn't really the sort of relationship they had, not in the least. But he was a familiar face in the sea of terror that had engulfed and threatened to drown her over these past minutes. Wait, minutes? Yes, it hadn't even been an hour yet, even though it felt like days had passed. Those last few moments before she had seen… what she saw felt like a lifetime ago, like she had been a completely different person. Thinking about those moments was like she was sitting in a movie theater, shouting at herself on the screen to turn back, to not go in there, to go back to the car.

But she hadn’t. She had gone into that building. She’d seen what--what she’d seen. And now she had to deal with that, had to deal with the fact that Simon might be--oh fuck, Simon!

Poor Greg the security guard was still trying to understand why his youngest charge was somehow just getting home in a rideshare car, clearly terrified and panicked to the point that she had thrown herself over to hug him so tightly he could barely breathe through it. He kept trying to ask her what was wrong, using one arm to hold her to him while scanning the surrounding area as though there might be a threat coming. At the same time, his other hand grabbed the radio at his belt, hitting the button to call out that he had some sort of situation at the front and that they needed to contact Mrs. Evans back in the house because her daughter was outside right now.

Hearing that, and realizing that her mother would be on her way, was enough to make Cassidy snap out of the daze she had been in ever since she had found herself finally in front of a familiar face. Stumbling back, she stared up at the taller man in a panic. “We have to call Simon, we have to tell Simon--have to make sure he’s okay, he’s not okay, he’s out there. We have to make sure he got out and that they’re not after him. I tried to call him but he’s not answering and he never responded to my messages and I don’t know what he’s doing, but if he’s smoking pot or something I’m gonna kill him because he’s not responding and I know he’s gotta be okay but if he’s not and they found him I won’t be able to tell him I’m sorry and I’m not supposed to be out but I liked the car and I was just trying to pretend I was driving it and I didn’t know what he--”

“Principessa?” In the midst of her utterly chaotic and basically indecipherable rush of words, Cassidy was interrupted by the voice of her mother, standing right there by the gate. She was staring in confusion at her daughter, clearly just as unable to piece together what she was actually saying as Greg the security guard was. “What happened? Are you alright?” There was a slight pause before she added in a slow, uncertain tone, “Where is your shoe?” Even as she asked that, the woman took a step through the gate and opened her arms for the young girl.

Cassidy didn’t hesitate for an instant. Just like that, she threw herself into her mother’s arms and clung tightly to her. The tears threatened to come pouring out, but she held them back. Now wasn’t the time to cry. It wasn’t the time to completely break down. Simon, he was still out there. Maybe he was in trouble and maybe he was fine, but she couldn’t just let herself fall apart until she knew for sure. She had to be certain he was okay, and the only way to do that was to actually coherently explain everything in a way her mother could understand so she’d know what was going on.

So, with a bit of effort, Cassidy took a deep breath to calm herself as much as possible. She started to tell her mother what had happened, how she had ended up out near that building and what happened when she did. She had only gotten a few words into it before her mom thanked Greg and walked her back through the gate to have some privacy. They walked together through the nearby garden, allowing the wonderful scents to do their part in somewhat calming her down so she could get through her entire story. And she really did go through the entire thing. She told her mother everything she had seen and heard back in that place, including everything that happened with the Orb. She told her about the paint that she could create, and even showed it to her quickly just to prove she wasn't making anything up. Not that that was necessary. Her mother believed every word she said, and had already produced her phone. With one arm wrapped protectively around her terrified and confused daughter, she made her own call to Simon.

In that case, the boy answered almost immediately. Hearing his faint voice through the phone, she couldn't make out his actual words from that distance, Cassity immediately felt a rush of relief mixed with annoyance. He answered their mother immediately, which meant he had been ignoring her messages even though she had made it clear how panicked she was. Did he not even look at them? Did he not understand how terrified she had to have been to keep messaging him like that? What the hell was wrong with him?! Now that she knew he was alive, and from what she could pick out about his tone of voice, not being chased or tortured, Cassidy was definitely annoyed. The panic and fear that had taken over for so long had been replaced by a confusing mix of relief and anger. She wanted her brother to be here right now so she could punch him and then hug him. Then probably kick him a few times before hugging him again. It was a lot.

Unlike her wish not to have seen what she did, the one for Simon to be there actually paid off quickly. Almost before their mother’s conversation with him had even ended, the main gate was opening as Royal Thunder came pulling right in. Normally it would’ve gone all the way to the garage, but Simon parked halfway up and stepped out next to the entrance into the front garden, turning toward them while clicking off the phone. “See, Booster? I’m all good, just had--oof.” That last bit came as Cassidy hurtled directly into him. She’d satisfied both her urge to hug and hurt her brother by bodily throwing herself against his chest and stomach. He staggered backward a step or two before awkwardly returning the hug. Cassidy felt the boy and their mother exchange a long glance as some sort of silent communication passed between them, but didn’t care. She wasn’t even thinking about that. All that mattered was that her brother was okay. He was safe. He was here and those guys hadn’t found him, hadn’t gone after him or--or worse. He was fine.

Over the next couple of minutes, with some much calmer help from their mother, Cassidy once more explained everything she had seen. She saw the way Simon and their mom kept looking at one another, but couldn't focus on it too much. She just had to get through her entire story. About halfway through, Simon started looking physically ill. He grabbed a nearby tree and had to lean against it, his eyes locked on her. A couple times, he almost said something, but a simple look from their mother silenced him. Somehow she knew that Cassidy just had to get through it again. Hard as it was, as sick as it made the girl to talk once again about everything she had seen and what had almost happened to her, she had to get through it all. Telling the whole story for the second time in such short order was easier than the first time had been, especially now that she wasn’t terrified of what could have been happening to her brother. He was there, he was okay. Things weren’t good, they weren’t anywhere near that. Not with two people still dead back in that motel. Two people who had been tied to chairs, completely helpless while someone--one of those people-- executed them in cold blood. Their bodies were there, their bodies were back in that building. Unless they were gone already. She’d contacted the police through the Doephone, but who knew how long they would take to respond to that! The bad guys might’ve cleaned up already. What if the cops showed up and couldn’t find anything? What if they dismissed her message as a prank or a joke or--oh god, what if they never actually investigated? What if those people, whoever they were, were just killed and no one ever found out why or how it happened?

The thought made a rush of panic shoot through the girl, and she immediately started babbling to her mother and brother about how they had to call the police directly, had to tell them to get over there right now and find those bodies before it was too late and the bad guys had a chance to hide everything. They had to explain the whole situation so the authorities would take them seriously and actually investigate properly. Whoever those people were, they deserved justice, they deserved to have whoever had shot--whoever had killed them go to prison.

Once again, Simon and their mother exchanged silent looks, before the latter stepped over and took her hands. “We will call them, Principessa, I promise. We'll take care of it. But come, you have been through a lot. Too much for one girl in such a short time. You need to lie down. We will take care of the rest. Come along, and catch your breath. We will tell the police everything you said. After you have rested, we will take you in to give your statement properly.”

Cassidy wanted to argue with that, wanted to insist that she talk to the police right then and tell them everything in person. But the truth was, she really was exhausted, both emotionally and physically. It was all she could do to stagger inside the house alongside her mother, with Simon trailing behind. Instead of taking her upstairs to her room, her mom led the girl to the nearest couch and helped her lie down there. Even as Cassidy felt her eyes start to droop in that comfortable position, her mother cupped her face gently and smiled down at her. “I promise, my brave and beautiful girl, everything is going to be okay. You are safe here. You are protected. We’ll figure out what else to do in the morning. You have nothing to worry about. Everything is perfectly fine.” As she said that, her fingers gently stroked through Cassidy’s hair, until the girl felt herself gradually drift off.

Maybe everything really would be okay. Maybe the cops would find whoever killed those people. And either way, Cassidy could help. Not just those people, but everyone. She could help other people now. She had--oh yeah, powers. She had powers. Her mind was fading quickly, but one thought stuck out in those last few seconds before she completely drifted off into unconsciousness.

She could join the Minority now.