I do not own Small Soldiers or any of its character
Standing behind the cash register of his father's hobby shop, Alan Abernathy leaned on the counter watching the outside world. "Come on, come on." He mumbled tracking passing cars with his eyes , waiting for a particular one. Looking at a nearby clock, he sighed and pushed off the counter. "What's taking so long, the place is just outside of town." the boy exhaled stating at the ceiling, referring to heartland toys storing building on the outskirt out of town.
Suddenly the sound of a familiar vehicle grew nearer. Catching the sound of the brakes slowing down, Alan brought his eyes back to the front windows. Right outside was parked a white truck that read, "Heartland Play Systems". "Okay, time to make some cash." Alan chuckled to himself and exiting the cashier's area.
Stepping out of the store, Alan had to wait a few seconds before the driver came into his vision from behind the other side of the truck.
"Hey, Alan, hows the world treating you?" the older man greeted the teen on the other side of the vehicle. Approaching the truck Alan said, "You, Joe, are the highlight of my day." "Jeez, tough break kid," Joe replied while opening one of the doors to the back of the truck. Giving a shake of his head, Alan just skipped to a new topic, "New truck?" he asked, pointing out the new locking mechanism for the doors. "Naw." the truck driver answered, before opening the second door.
"New owners. See?" he continued, by showing off a new logo upon his back, and another on the boxes inside the truck. Most reading "Globotech". "Soon everything will be owned by one giant corporation." Joe paused his remark to climb into the back of the vehicle, "Then, it's good-bye microbreweries."
Separating a stack of Globotech boxes, Joe finally asks the question that Alan was dreading during his wait for the delivery to be made, "As much as I like talking to you kid, I'm still on the job. So, where's your dad? I got his order right here" Taking a calming inhale, Alan answered, "Actually...it's my order. My dad is off at a seminar out of town and put me in charge, and let me order a few boxes to sell on my own"
The elderly man was a bit taken aback by what his younger friend said. "Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are." Alan chuckled as he helped Joe get the boxes out the truck.
Putting the last of the boxes on a dolly, Alan asked the old man if he wanted to see what he ordered, to which Joe replied, "Naw, still got to get orders across town. Just fill me in next time." he said, closing the back of the truck. "Alright, see'ya Joe" Alan waved off the older driver before wheeling, his stack of boxes inside the shop. Navigating through the store's pathway to the back of the store, Alan couldn't stop smiling down on his boxes of toys, each was filled with Heartland's new line of action figures, the Commando Elite.
Placing the first of the stack of boxes on the table, but as he gripped the cardboard, the boy noticed the shipping order sticker on the box.
It contained his Father's name, Stuart Abernathy, and the store's name, "The Inner Child". Alan's eyes rolled over all the information, absorbing each piece passively. Yet in a search for the words "Commando", or "Elite", all excitement drained from his body. There was no hint of the first, but the second came after a familiar word.
"Th-The Gwendy Elite?" the sole person in the toy store questioned the box. Still, in shock of his discovery, Alan grabbed the box -cutter from his pocket and sliced at the tape holding the box closed. But instead seeing of gritted yellow teeth, there were two rows of differing pageant style smiles and blonde and brunette human-like hair. "No, no, no.," he said staring at the rows of dolls that filled the cardboard box. "Dammit! The phone operator must have misheard me."
"And we won't be able to get another until the next of the month," he grunted with his head in his hands. Sighing, he grabbed one of the doll boxes, a blonde with her sides shaved off, in all black and a camouflage jacket. In the doll's packaging was a size appropriate knife, walkie talky, and a handgun.
"That's a weird hai-," the boy stopped mid-sentence, feeling a card tacked on the bottom of the box. "Okay, this is new," Alan said examining the paper. "Action Calls," he read off the card, "Voice activated commands for when you want your toys to play back."
"Okay, let's try a few of these out," Alan said, ready to open the doll's box, reading the calls in his head all the while. Nearing the end of the list of phases the toy would react to, he stopped picking at the box. He placed it on the table and began to chuckle, "They can't be serious. A doll can really do all of these." Taking some steps back, the stack of Globotech box took Alan's gaze from the single doll box. Thinking of the card in his hand, he thought, "Wonder if they would work with all of the 'Elite'."
And so Alan reached in the box and grabbed another doll, this one a redhead in a green jumpsuit that showed cleavage, and bits yellow underneath. She came with a toolbox to match her size, as well as a submachine gun. But the boy cared not for the box's contains, he was more interested in what an identical card on the packaging's bottom said. Growing a grin, he placed the toy's box in his hand on the table and reached in the cardboard box for another one.
Alan pulled out one more doll to test his experiment. The box he pulled out contained a Gwendy doll with a stereotypical beautiful symmetrical face, perfect smile, and gorgeous long blonde hair. The doll was wearing camo booty shorts and a matching camo bra showing a shapely midriff and a long luscious pair of legs as well as a busty top. Alan looked at the doll and read her name at the bottom of the box "Cadet Kinky?" He read wondering why they had such a sexual name for a kids toy. The doll's description read for reconnaissance and a abduction for high-value enemy targets. In her package contained a miniature walkie-talkie, a seemingly sharp miniature sword or knife a miniature whip to dominate her prisoners of war.
Alan stood her up next to the other two Gwendy Elites and with a puffed out his chest ordered a simple word in the doll's direction, "Ten-Hut".
The blonde spoke first, barking her name and rank, "Major Gwendy Luger reporting for duty, sir" performing a salute, before putting her arms behind her back.
"Nikki Sparks," a southern accent called out next, coming from the red-haired doll's direction, "communications and technical support. Awaiting orders sir!".
Last came was the cadet, who somehow cracked her mini whip. "Cadet Carly Kinkinsky." "Cadet Kinky it is," the boy thought to himself. "Reconnaissance and extraction," she continued, returning her arms at her sides "Ready for a full frontal when you are." finishing with a wink to Alan.
"Save it for the enemy Cadet," Luger ordered stepping out of the ranks in an authority. "Enemy?" Alan's thought slipped out barely a whisper. "I'm sure the commander knows they are, or else he wouldn't have brought us out." she continued looking towards the teen...
"But why are we the only ones here? Where's Cassy, Thorn, and Bright Eyes?" the southern toy asked forgetting her rank as well. "I said shut it ladies, or would you prefer the higher-ups to hear all this whining." The major ordered leering at her subordinates.
Watching the dolls converse among themselves, Alan was left to think of something. "I only ordered the Commandos. There was hardly a mention of another force to oppose them. Hell, there wasn't even talk of a Gwendies deal, but yet here they are.
"Maybe I should go back and read up some more on them." Alan planned to go home and find the heartland toys site he found the "Commandos" on.
"Listen up troop, while yes I have intel on the enemy, I forgot a package for your debriefing at another base. I'll be tu-I mean dismissing you before I leave to retrieve it." The teen explained through a lie. "So return to your stations until ordered."
"What, but we just got out," Kinky whined. "Can't we just get leave or something?"
"Cadet!" Lugar shouted, quieting the cadet again before performing a salute, to which her squad followed and headed back to their packaging. Stopping, the toy leader looked at Alan and quipped, "Commands are like clothes and makeup. Put them in the wrong order and a disaster can happen"
Alan saw it as a small threat to was little control he had over the toys. "Should probably get this over with." he thought as he skipped to the pass command on the card. Looking up briefly, he saw that the three were in their boxes, and was ready for the final phase.
"Dis-missed" he called out to the lifeless room. After confirming that the toys weren't moving, Alan collected them all and returned them to the Globotech box. Sighing, He leaned back against the door, and tried to remember heartland name change. "Maybe I can just go through Globotech and see if that is faster?" he muttered to himself as he took out the keys to lock the door to the back room.
Checking a list his dad had given to lock up the shop correctly, the front door's bell rang. "I wanted to go to Toyland." a young boy whined to his sister as they walked into the store. "Yea, well life is full of disappointments. Now go look around," she replied noticing Alan and started for him.
"His birthday's next week and our mom said I had to take him shopping," she explained. Ready to make back some of the money lost on the Gwendy Elite, he went straight into salesman mode. "Great, so what does he like?" Alan asked walking her closer to some of the higher priced model sets.
"Dinosaurs, Mutants. Really anything that maims, kills or destroys." She answered scanning the room for anything that peeked her interest as well. "I was actually," but Alan couldn't continue his patch as the teen talked over him, "Your Alan Abernathy isn't you?" knowing his name seemed to quiet him up really fast. "You moved in the house behind mines. But I've heard about you before that." she pointed out.
"Oh, your dad is the one that kept having cable trunks over right?" the boy asked remembering an argument his father got into with his neighbor this morning. "Yup, Christy Fimple." reaching her hand out to Alan. Meeting with another outstretched hand, "So why haven't I seen you at school or anything?" the girl fell back into the rhythm of questions and answers the two had gotten into in the quest to learn more about the about the other.
On the other side of the shop, the younger sibling, Timmy didn't find anything of interest. Sure there were legos and card games, A stack of comic book trades with half-naked men and woman battling over a swore. There were even movie and show based model sets he could build, but it barely did anything for his imagination. Nearing the end of the store, he found the keys still in the door to the back room. Making sure he wasn't being followed, sneaked into the back.
"Report Cadet." a firm female voice ordered. "The Commander seems to be in chats with someone else madam" the blonde doll with asked saluting the short haired one. "Alright. How are our weapons Sparks coming along?" Luger asked the technician. "At the moment, not good," Nikki replied. Grabbing her model gun, she gripped the handle and barrel and twisted. "Our guns are spring powered, and our walking-talkies are just a chunk of plastic with a LED inside." pulling a metallic coon from her earlier broken talkie.
"You think he did this?" the Cadet asked in shock. But all froze as Timmy couldn't hold his interest in the dolls in anymore as he softly said, "Cool." figuring they were outed, the Cadet threw her nonfunctional radio at his head. Feeling as it was nothing more than a flick, Timmy giggled it off and went back to his sister and Alan.
"I know what I want! I want Gwendy dolls," he exclaimed his desired toy. "Yea, that's not happening, you know mom and dad won't buy you those things," Christy said annoyed for some reason. "Not like those stupid ones you got. These were walking and talking. And even threw stuff at me." he continued. "Do you know what his is talking about?" Christy asked giving up her brother.
Biting the inside of his cheek, he said, "Yea, I do. But they were shipped here on accident. I was planning on shipping them back, but if I can't I'll sell you guys one," Think for a second Christy agreed, "Alright, I'll swing by to pick it up tomorrow."
"Alright, bye guys," Alan said waving off the Fimples. Exhaling, Alan walked back into the back to check on the Gwendies. In the Globotech box, the three were still laying on top of the others and was still off. "Most have just seen the read the box," he said picking up a Cadet Kinky doll. But as he studied the inactive toy, he did not see the three emptied flipped boxes was just below the ones piled up.
With silent hand signals, Major Luger instructed her Cadet into Alan's book bag. Whether or not she liked it, Alan lost her trust as a commander. First, there was the number he pulled up, clearly not enough for a full operation. Then, there were their weapons, clearing everything was changed to a non-lethal option. And Now he was taping off the last hope, reinforcements to fill out more of the squad.
Before sealing her in the bag, Major Luger signaled three commands for her lowest ranked member, "Find any intel on the enemy find possible weapons and search and find evidence that the commander has turned traitor."