43-4 Incautious (Interlude: Assault)
New
- Location
- The House of Moon and Star
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Assault:
Ethan liked Jacqueline Colere. She reminded him of himself.
There were differences, of course. On a physical level they didn't resemble each other at all, except in that they were both relatively normal humans without the sort of major physiological changes some capes experienced. Said powers had little to nothing in common. And while Ethan wouldn't exactly call his past an easy one, it wasn't the conga line of traumatic and just plain depressing events hers was.
Even in their similarities, there were differences. Jacqueline's sense of humor was subtler than Ethan's own, and she was a lot quicker to give up on a joke. Their strong fronts in the face of the enemy were alike, but Jacqueline's wasn't as good and she was far quicker to let it down when it seemed safe to do so. And she certainly cared a lot more about following even the least important rules than Ethan ever had.
But the heart of it, the important things, those were the same.
The stunt she'd pulled with the wet floor sign had been excellent.
The deed itself wasn't anything Ethan couldn't have done. It wasn't even anything Ethan hadn't done, though it had been long enough since he had that he was confident she didn't get the idea from him. But the deed itself wasn't the point. And the real prank hadn't been on Armsmaster at all.
Clockblocker, Dennis, was no easy mark. He wasn't the prankster Ethan was, not yet, but he was very nearly halfway there. For a seventeen year old, that was more than a little impressive. Getting one over him was at least a little tricky at the best of times, let alone when he was fully aware that prankery was afoot. Ethan honestly wasn't entirely sure he could have pulled it off, not reliably.
At fourteen, Jacqueline Colere made it look easy. Even more amazingly, she got Armsy of all people to play along. In a distinctly Armsy fashion, but still. Ethan had no idea how she did it, but he was more than a little impressed. The girl was just full of surprises.
He wanted to see more.
Today's performance was even better. The sheer audacity was the funniest thing Assault had seen in years, and the sheer amount of shade she'd managed to throw at the Nazis in the process was incredible. Ethan was sure Jackson had polished things up some, but something like that simply wasn't in the PR weasel's nature: the heart of it had to have come from Jacqueline.
Ethan had, after all, seen that steel before. This was more tempered, less raw, and the undertone of absolute fury had been replaced with a mix of heartwarming concern and chilling contempt, but that only improved upon the same basic nature.
Ethan knew a great speech when he heard one. This was it. And he wanted more.
It wasn't selfish of him, or at least it wasn't entirely selfish. There was a certain essential combination behind all the good Assault had done: audacity, humor, and the will to make things better. The ability to face what's wrong in the world with a smile and punch it in the face. Metaphorically or otherwise. Jacqueline Colere had it in spades, when she dared show it, and for her own sake and the world's alike it was practically Ethan's duty to encourage her to do so.
So when, almost right afterwards, she seemed to be trying to fade into the background again, he refused to let her. He barely understood what he was saying, and he was fairly certain he was including way more old-person references and age-inappropriate content than was probably advisable, but he couldn't let her hide herself away from the world again just yet, not when the iron was hot.
Then she raised her hand, and Ethan saw the trap coming. He couldn't not see the trap coming. But this wasn't about him, it was about her. This was about giving her the confidence, the will, to jab at adults when they're wrong in that oh-so-wonderful way she was capable of. And if Ethan had to be that adult?
Then Ethan was willing to be that adult.
"Mr Assault?"
"Yes Jack-in-the-box?"
"What's sex?"
…
It was very neatly done, he had to admit. Worse than he expected, and he was pretty sure that was on purpose. Even if Jacqueline really didn't know what she'd just asked, and Ethan had his doubts about that, he was quite certain she at least knew it was something adults really didn't like talking about with children. But Ethan knew how the game was played. He'd give her a glib non-answer, she'd fire something cutting back, maybe there'd be a bit of back and forth and then he'd let her win just enough to boost her confidence.
"Ask your mother," he fired back automatically, like a thousand thousand dads before him, looking away in mostly feigned awkwardness.
It wasn't until he spotted the look of sheer horror on Triumph's face that Ethan realised he'd [functioned] up.
Ethan liked Jacqueline Colere. She reminded him of himself.
There were differences, of course. On a physical level they didn't resemble each other at all, except in that they were both relatively normal humans without the sort of major physiological changes some capes experienced. Said powers had little to nothing in common. And while Ethan wouldn't exactly call his past an easy one, it wasn't the conga line of traumatic and just plain depressing events hers was.
Even in their similarities, there were differences. Jacqueline's sense of humor was subtler than Ethan's own, and she was a lot quicker to give up on a joke. Their strong fronts in the face of the enemy were alike, but Jacqueline's wasn't as good and she was far quicker to let it down when it seemed safe to do so. And she certainly cared a lot more about following even the least important rules than Ethan ever had.
But the heart of it, the important things, those were the same.
The stunt she'd pulled with the wet floor sign had been excellent.
The deed itself wasn't anything Ethan couldn't have done. It wasn't even anything Ethan hadn't done, though it had been long enough since he had that he was confident she didn't get the idea from him. But the deed itself wasn't the point. And the real prank hadn't been on Armsmaster at all.
Clockblocker, Dennis, was no easy mark. He wasn't the prankster Ethan was, not yet, but he was very nearly halfway there. For a seventeen year old, that was more than a little impressive. Getting one over him was at least a little tricky at the best of times, let alone when he was fully aware that prankery was afoot. Ethan honestly wasn't entirely sure he could have pulled it off, not reliably.
At fourteen, Jacqueline Colere made it look easy. Even more amazingly, she got Armsy of all people to play along. In a distinctly Armsy fashion, but still. Ethan had no idea how she did it, but he was more than a little impressed. The girl was just full of surprises.
He wanted to see more.
Today's performance was even better. The sheer audacity was the funniest thing Assault had seen in years, and the sheer amount of shade she'd managed to throw at the Nazis in the process was incredible. Ethan was sure Jackson had polished things up some, but something like that simply wasn't in the PR weasel's nature: the heart of it had to have come from Jacqueline.
Ethan had, after all, seen that steel before. This was more tempered, less raw, and the undertone of absolute fury had been replaced with a mix of heartwarming concern and chilling contempt, but that only improved upon the same basic nature.
Ethan knew a great speech when he heard one. This was it. And he wanted more.
It wasn't selfish of him, or at least it wasn't entirely selfish. There was a certain essential combination behind all the good Assault had done: audacity, humor, and the will to make things better. The ability to face what's wrong in the world with a smile and punch it in the face. Metaphorically or otherwise. Jacqueline Colere had it in spades, when she dared show it, and for her own sake and the world's alike it was practically Ethan's duty to encourage her to do so.
So when, almost right afterwards, she seemed to be trying to fade into the background again, he refused to let her. He barely understood what he was saying, and he was fairly certain he was including way more old-person references and age-inappropriate content than was probably advisable, but he couldn't let her hide herself away from the world again just yet, not when the iron was hot.
Then she raised her hand, and Ethan saw the trap coming. He couldn't not see the trap coming. But this wasn't about him, it was about her. This was about giving her the confidence, the will, to jab at adults when they're wrong in that oh-so-wonderful way she was capable of. And if Ethan had to be that adult?
Then Ethan was willing to be that adult.
"Mr Assault?"
"Yes Jack-in-the-box?"
"What's sex?"
…
It was very neatly done, he had to admit. Worse than he expected, and he was pretty sure that was on purpose. Even if Jacqueline really didn't know what she'd just asked, and Ethan had his doubts about that, he was quite certain she at least knew it was something adults really didn't like talking about with children. But Ethan knew how the game was played. He'd give her a glib non-answer, she'd fire something cutting back, maybe there'd be a bit of back and forth and then he'd let her win just enough to boost her confidence.
"Ask your mother," he fired back automatically, like a thousand thousand dads before him, looking away in mostly feigned awkwardness.
It wasn't until he spotted the look of sheer horror on Triumph's face that Ethan realised he'd [functioned] up.
