As they climbed, Violet whispered to Quigley, "You can cut through metal without hurting living flesh. Could you cut the collars off of our parents and Macroburst?"
"Yes," said Quigley, "If they let me close enough. The strength of the beam weakens with distance. I can cut wood and cloth from a distance, but not metal."
"We should just start fighting," said Dash.
"Mom and Dad might get killed," Violet said. "Let's try talking first."
They finally got to the top and pulled the toboggan with Esmé onto level ground.
"Who goes there?" Syndrome demanded.
The children looked around and saw the villain standing next to his plane, beside two people with an aura of menace who were wearing suits with large padded shoulders.
"We were expecting you to come back by the path," said the man with a beard but no hair. "I see you found three Snow Scouts and recruited them as your slaves already."
"No, no, no," Esmé said quickly. "These aren't Snow Scouts. They're volunteers I found in the headquarters."
"Volunteers?" said the woman with hair but no beard. "Second-generation supers," she whispered to the others. "Who knows what powers they might have?"
Count Buddy gave them a confused frown, half scared and half scornful. The hook-handed man, the white-faced women, and the three "ex-carnival-freaks" came up to see what was going on, but not close enough for Quigley to use his cutting beam.
"We captured your girlfriend, Syndrome," Violet said. "But we didn't want to become a monster like you, so we're not holding her hostage."
Esmé looked annoyed, but she didn't contradict them.
"We're here for Jack-Jack Parr," Dash said, "And we're not leaving without him."
Syndrome smirked. "And what makes you so sure I'll let him go?"
Violet had a sudden insight. Jack-Jack had told them last night that the villains were looking for a sugar bowl and hadn't found it. Later, they had deciphered a message about it in the refrigerator...
"You will give us Jack-Jack," she said, "Because we know where the sugar bowl is."
Syndrome glared at the three companions. "Where is the sugar bowl?" he hissed. "Give it to me!"
Quigley shook his head. "Not until you give us Jack-Jack."
"Never!" said Count Buddy. "That baby has caused me too much grief. I must have my revenge!"
"Give it up," said the woman with hair and no beard, "The sugar bowl is more important than your revenge."
"No it's not!" said Buddy defiantly.
"Yes it is," said the man with a beard and no hair, glaring at Buddy with an aura of menace.
"Oh, all right," muttered Syndrome. "I can always try to capture him again later."
The woman with hair and no beard picked up a covered casserole dish.
"The baby is napping in here," she said. "Once you tell us where the sugar bowl is you can leave and take your baby friend with you."
Violet didn't think they would be satisfied with the answer, "The sugar bowl was thrown into the stream and floated away who-knows-where!" How could she play out the bluff?
"How do we know we can trust you?" Violet asked.
"You don't," said the man with a beard and no hair.
"Here's the deal, then," Violet says. "We escort one of your thugs to where the sugar bowl is hidden. He or she can hold onto the baby as a hostage. We get the sugar bowl, we make the exchange for the baby, and we leave."
"You could probably overpower one," said the woman with hair and no beard. "I say all of them should go with you."
"Agreed," said Violet, since that was exactly what she had been hoping for. She was secretly planning that when the "thugs," including their parents, were down the hill then Quigley could cut the three supers free of the collars that were blocking their memories and the tables would be turned. Alas, it was not to be.
Just then, the troop of Snow Scouts came marching into view. They had taken off their masks because the snow gnats had all been driven away by the smoke of the HQ fire. In the lead were Uncle Bruce and Kari Melita Spats.
"Our business will have to wait a few minutes," Syndrome said. "We have recruiting to do."
"Here, take the baby," said the woman with hair and no beard to the white-faced female guards who had gone by the names Toncuny and Budd. The woman pulled out a whistle which was on a chain around her neck.
Violet remembered what the man with a beard but no hair had said to Esme. "Recruiting" mean "enslaving."
"Stay away!" she shouted to the scouts. "It's a trap! These people mean to kidnap you!"