Okay that's cool and definitely useful for something like this, Talia thought as she watched the man by the window display his claws and bounce abilities. She wondered what his gas mask thing did, but then decided that was probably really obvious and that she'd look stupid for asking about it. Also, she began to wish she had the ability to have some claws that could just pop out of her hands because that just sounded awesome.

However, when it came to The Finger showing his skill to them all, she couldn't help but start slightly and then laugh out loud. Her laugh was soft but audible and trained, just like the rest of her, to be ladylike and gentle and graceful. God, how Talia wished to just be able to talk and sound and act like the rest of humanity. They seemed so free to be themselves. "Sorry," she said to the others, feeling the need to apologize even for that. "It's just... I honestly did not expect that but should be interesting."

She took a breath then turned to Manny and also took one of the earpieces carefully for herself, saying a sweet "thank you" as she did so before turning back to the others. "Well, it so happens I can indeed be the perfect Cinderella," she said with a hint of a semi-forced smile. "But I'm a ribbon dancer and if anyone here does not know what that is, it is a display on stage of a lot of acrobatics and some skill. I cannot reveal very much here, as it is not a lot of space to work in without umm knocking things over," she finished with an actual, amused smile this time.

Then she took off the jacket and placed it onto the arm of a chair and removed the ribbons from her bag. Breathe. Ignore their stares. This was nothing more than another performance, she thought to herself. With that, she began twirling the ribbons about in expert, controlled movements that whipped and whistled above their heads and to sweep the floor as she herself twirled and leapt about, circling the group, making such use of the space that the size of the apartment seemed to be forgotten. It would be clear to the onlookers, that she had control of the entire room similar to how an actual performer could command the stage but also literal control as the ribbons whipped around and energies swirled. It seemed as though she was in control of the forces, bending them to her will, but in fact she worked in tandem with them: a cooperative, enchanted performance.

Afterwards, she stopped and stepped up closer to them all again and showed each the thickness and strength of the sheer fabric, a material that was not fragile at all, and also the razor-tipped metal edges that she had had sewn into the fabric itself to make the whip-like ribbons a weapon, capable of stripping skin and slicing through other materials as well. "I know it doesn't seem like much," she said, her confidence temporarily fueled by the performer she was, "but I have even been able to suspend my entire weight by these so they are not just weapons, but I can send them out and swing from them too. Also, if you take a look around, you'll notice that nothing and no one is damaged even though I whipped them around each of us. I hope that is a satisfactory performance for you all to still consider me."

Bob's expression instantly fell at the mention of inviting his dead friend. Zane would have loved this. He was such a huge fan of the heros and always talked about being one some day. It was Zane that spread the rumors of the Jersey Devil after giving him the mask. Bob just nodded to Manny, and turned with a little more interest at the prospect of knowing what the woman could do.

His brow raided again as the woman took of her jacket, and his mind was racing to produce some smart ass comment, though all thoughts stopped as she started her performance. After seeing the razor tips, and the skill in which she used them, he began reconsidering his call for 'dibs' he was going to call out in jest. He was a fan of having all his limbs attached, and didn't think it smart to upset such an apparently dangerous woman.

After his surprise wore off, he applauded shortly, looking to the others. "Whelp, I'm sold." And he slips his helmet back on to hide any further betraying facial expressions.

Link found himself mesmerized with the calculated, beautiful motions as he watched Talia gracefully do her thing. When it stopped, he found himself impressed and hungered for more, but perhaps the next time he would get to see it would be even more exciting in the heat of the mission.

"Seconded," he finally said, agreeing with Bob that she made a surprisingly excellent part of the team.

"So this is it, eh? This is us. We are the CHAMPs." A crooked grin grew upon his face. "I mean, if we survive this thing, of course. And why wouldn't we? With the technical might of Manny, the graceful precision of Talia, the agile savagery of Bob and of course the unparalleled superiority of these guys..." he said, flipping up both birds. "...we've got this in the bag."

@Leophael @myinneroblivion @ShadowsofNight

---

Manny was almost vibrating with excitement. There they were, the newly re-formed Council of Heroes Against Malicious Persons, ready to dish up some well deserving Justice to those who escaped the clutches of the long arm of the law. But he had to keep his excitement in check, they were professionals after all. Posing himself up in the most heroic way a nerdy man could while he puts both his hands to his waist triumphantly and clears his throat before speaking. "Well then CHAMPs, lets get it done." Manny then abruptly rushes outside of the cramped room for a good few moments before the overly zealous man sheepishly coming back. "Forgot that nightclubs aren't open during the day. Uhh...I guess I'll see you guys here by 8 pm?"

Link nodded as he pulled himself to his feet. "Hey, yeah, great meeting you all," he said as he began grabbing at the donuts. He lifted one up and help it in his available hand. "I really think this mission is going to go well..." he grabbed another and started cradling it in his elbow. "I mean, how can it not..." and another. "We are skilled as hell..." And another. After nabbing about four, he seemed relatively satisfied.

"Welp! I gotta shit," he declared, his go-to phrase for graciously exiting a potentially awkward situation. "See you all in a few hours." With that, he pushed his way out the door before stuffing one of the donuts into his mouth. As he walked down the hallway there seemed to be a little pep in his step. Maybe it was just eagerness. Or could it have been happiness?

---

Location: Blame The Beans Gas Station (roughly 1 mile from HQ)

Link parked his old black muscle car by pump six and left the engine running while he made his way inside to make a quick gas purchase. He found himself at the back of an already established line with a wrinkled tenner clasped in his fist.

"And can I get three of the number nines and, let's see... umm... what else," mused the older gentleman at the front of the queue wearing an old navy blue baseball cap and pointing at a numbered roll of scratch off lottery tickets. There were two other additional people waiting patiently in line ahead of Link ready to finalize their purchases.

"Oh god, this is going to take forever," announced the heavy set man who appeared directly behind him. The man then shot Link glance and rolled his eyes dramatically, telegraphing his annoyance. Link gave a small, almost non-existent nod of acknowledgement. He didn't say a word, though. Link hated lines enough as it was. There was no need to add sass and negativity on top.

"No, no, not number two. I said I wanted two tickets of number ten," the skinny grandad-looking dude explained to the cashier, his shiny eyeglasses nearly touching the bill of his cap. Link looked him up and down and found himself a little amused. The old fella was wearing a plain white t-shirt with a set of blue suspenders to hold up his jean shorts. Tightly fastened around his waist was a belt that served the same purpose. One way or another, this geezer was not about to let these shorts hit the ground under any circumstances.

"C'mon, Gramps! We ain't got all day!" The rude oily-haired fat ass, whose dingy wardrobe looked like it came from a garage sale, bellowed from behind. The old guy either ignored him or never heard him as he continued calling out his lotto shopping list to the attendant. "Dammit, they gotta stop letting people outside on their own after they turn 70," Fatty Scalesbane ranted through his greasy goatee, seemingly addressing Link. The latter refused to engage. He simply kept waiting patiently. "They're so slow, the whole lot of them. And don't get me started on their driving, you know what I mean, man?" This time he gave Link's shoulder a tap, demanding the man's attention. Link's level of agitation was rising.

"Sure." The simple response was all he was willing to offer. Finally the older man concluded his sale and shuffled to the store's exit with a healthy stack of lottery tickets shoved into the back pocket of the unpantsable jean shorts. With that, the line moved up a body. Only one person left before Link was at the counter.

"Look at him go," wheezed the chunky jackass as he watched the elder shuffle away. "I bet that snail doesn't even make it to his car before I make it to mine." Again, Link's shoulder was met with an infuriating tap. "You know what I'm sayin', guy? Ha! I wouldn't even have to run!"

"Iseriouslydoubtyoucouldrun," Link whispered under his breath.

"What did you say?" balked the jackass.

"Nothing. Great joke. You're real witty." The customer in front of Link stepped away from the counter, finally clearing the way for him to approach the cashier.

"Hey, man, you got a problem?" Hefty Henry was clearly starting to get riled up. In a fight, Link had no doubt he would dominate the guy, but who wants to have to deal with that? Instead, linked moved up and tossed his ten dollar bill to the attendant.

"Can I just get that on pump six, please?" He requested. The cashier nodded and began to ring him up. Having no need for a receipt, Link started toward the exit. However, he found himself abruptly stopped as an open hand planted firmly into his chest.

"Yo, I'm talking to you! Don't you walk away from me. The fuck did you just say a second ago?" He was nearly yelling at this point. Everyone else in the little store looked on as if they were watching a movie play out in real life. There were two ways to go about this. Match the aggression, stoke the fire, turn this into an all-out brawl, become a criminal, get arrested, get a court date, pay money you don't have or get locked up for some time you can't spare. Or... acknowledge that you'll probably never meet this poor excuse for a person ever again and diffuse the situation as quickly as possible.

"You're right, bud," Link finally conceded. "Slow, inconsiderate, idiotic humans should definitely be systematically killed off so they won't bother the rest of us anymore. I don't think we need to wait until 70 though. Seems a little too long for those types. We can come up with a better number. Hey, how old are you? Doesn't matter, I guess. Welp! I've gotta shit."

Link pushed the human bowling ball's hand off of his chest and made his exit toward the parking lot. As he walked over to gas pump number 6, he slowed his pace down to a complete halt.

His car was gone.

As he looked around frantically, he heard an engine rev and then the sound of screeching tires. He knew that engine intimately. That was his car. As he tried to find the source, the black 90s coup shot passed him. Hanging out the driver's side window was an arm waving around a navy blue baseball cap like a flag. Connected to that arm was the spectacled old man squealing with glee as he sent the gas pedal to the floor. In seconds, the car was out of the lot and then out of sight altogether. Link just stood there in utter disbelief. His brain could not compute. Finally, he just burst out, "FUCKING OLD PEOPLE!"

Talia returned back to her shy and more reserved self once the confidence from her performance had worn off again. She couldn't believe she'd been accepted and that it had been that easy. Smiling a little, she watched as The Finger made his hasty and rather awkward disappearance with the donuts and raised an eyebrow at his uncouth ways of speech. This was so different than where she came from, but then again, everything everywhere was different than where she had been raised. She'd already come to expect and appreciate that. Out here, she was... dare she say it... free. Dipping her head politely to The Jersey Devil and to Manny, she said her goodbyes and agreed to be back there later that evening. Then she left the room and went outside to call for another ride in order to return to her hotel room.

Once there, she sank to the floor in obvious relief and exhaustion from the many emotions that had vied for her attention during the events of the day. It was time to find herself something to eat, take some breaths and meditate for a little while as she readied herself (in mind, body and spirit) for the upcoming challenge and adventure and time where she could finally participate in something she had dreamed of for so many years of her life. Thoughts of the danger that she and her new teammates could be in, was still pretty far from her mind. She wasn't ignorant of there being serious threat, but she seemed unable to dwell on it for even a second before the illusions of grandeur overtook her mind as she began to feel what this type of freedom could mean. She could finally show what she, an Asian female that had been built to be nothing but poise and elegance and quiet, demure beauty, was able to do. She would remain here, readying and preparing herself for the inevitable events of the evening until it was time to return to the headquarters with her new team.

Bob watched the others go silently. He was homeless, and while he wasn't broke, he couldn't just go blowing money until he got an income. He wasn't sure what to do with himself until 8. Then his lifeless eyes fell on the remaining donuts. Might as well head home for a bit, then maybe do some recon.

Scooping up the donuts. The Jersey Devil went to the window, opened it, and with a small hop and bounce was out and gone. He kept the flips and major twirls to a minimum, trying not to jostle the donuts too much as he went from rooftop to rooftop, casting his eery shadow down on the allies and streets below. He navigated the city until he got to his adopted home, the rooftop of an abandoned building on the outskirts of the industrial district. The stairs up to the top couple floors were completely demolished, so none of the homeless that used the building ever ventured to the roof, and Bob had nailed the door shut and braced it shut for good measure. He had nailed up boards around the bottom of the water tower that was there, and had run an extention cord from the powerlines nearby, and had made a nice little shelter for himself. He had also established quite the reputation from the homeless below.

He had been called many things from the vagrants. A demon, a ghost, an alien, and eldritch horror, and also rumors of being a super hero or villain who used the roof as a way to get to my secret hideout. If only they knew. He had calmed some of the fears by leaving food and money and random things for the homeless when he didn't need them himself, and had even kept the area relatively safe from thugs, in turn keeping the homeless safe, but he did it all in secret. Just like now. The Jersey Devil hopped down the side of the building one window at a time until he got to his usual drop off, leaving the box of donuts. One of the kids that lived here always watched the window for him, and she was there today. Her eyes wide seeing the creature, but her mouth silent. Bob nodded to the girl, lifting a clawed finger to his muzzled mouth, and with a single bounce, launched himself to the roof.

He settled into his shelter, turning up his music and started doing his stretches, going over everything that was talked about at the meeting. A real gig, people have died, and they might kill people... he hadn't really considered that part. He hadn't killed anyone before. Well... that he knew of. He was more a hit and run kinda guy, and didn't stick around for the aftermath... what if he had cut someone up so bad they died.... harrowing thought. Did he Care though, was the question. He would have, before the Lab incident. But something had changed since then. He probably wouldn't go in Trying to kill anyone, but probably wouldn't be too squeamish if it happened.

After an hour or so of relaxing, the Jersey Devil was off again, faster this time. Run, hop, flip, roll, pounce, bounce, and run some more. He stopped at the building next to the club they were supposed to go to that night, and took a small look around. He tried to get a feel for the situation, guards, cameras, traps, windows ventilation shafts, and escape routes. It reminded him of the old days when he used to do this with his friends. They would sneak into all kinds of places, from mansions to factories. Now he was going to do it again with a group... hopefully with better results. CHAMPs for the win... he settled into a dark corner, getting comfortable enough to waste the rest of the free time watching the place before heading back out to their meeting.

@Leophael @myinneroblivion @ShadowsofNight

---

Only a few moments had passed since the last of the new CHAMPs left Manny's cramped apartment. With no-one to see him he finally let his excitement out. "Yes! YES! The CHAMPs are back in the hero game, baby!" The man exclaimed for the world, or more likely his neighbors, to hear while hopping from one section of the apartment to another in abject glee. Not only had they managed to recruit three new heroes, but all of them had amazing abilities. Not that Manny looked down on the original CHAMPs, but the current roster of heroes were clearly better. Just as Manny went to the tray of untouched coffee for a celebratory caffeine refilling, Paul entered the room.

"Manny, what did we agree upon jumping around the second floor? The customers don't like bits of asbestos on their laundry. Or their coffee and snacks for that matter." Paul gently chided his best friend as he leaned on the door frame, arms folded in front of his chest.

"Yes, yes. Health inspector said that if we get one more complaint, he'd shut the laundromat-café until we fix it." Manny sighs dejectedly before taking a long drink from the coffee.

"I know you're excited for the CHAMP to be back, but does your first job have to be this dangerous?"

Manny nearly does a spit-take at the knowledge that Paul knew that he and the others were going to fight a nightclub full of potentially dusted up thugs. "Wait...how did you-"

Paul silences any further confusion by simply showing a black ear stud like device attached to his right ear. "You really ought to remember that despite me being only sidekick in name, I still have to keep track of what dumbass shit you're up to."

"I'm assuming that you don't want me to go?"

"Yep. Kind of obvious that I don't want you to die. You're my best friend and, honestly, the closest thing to a brother." It was now Paul who sighed. "But I know this means a great deal to you so. Here." The Asian man tosses something to Manny. Catching it he realizes it was a set of keys.

"Pau, are these...are these the keys for the delivery car? Oh my God, are you serious?" Manny asked almost in disbelief. He'd never been allowed to use the delivery car for hero use ever since it nearly got totaled during a car chase last year.

"Yes. As much as I loathe the idea of you going, this is the new CHAMPs debut job and the media can't see you roll up in a bus. Plus it'll be free advertisement when you do." Paul said nonchalantly shrugging the generosity off, getting caught off guard when the Latino man go in for a bear hug and dashing off to get the personal shield generators from the storage place a quarter mile away from HQ. Getting ready for the job later that evening.

---

---

The walk to the nearest bus stop was extra embarrassing for Link when Fatty McGreasington rode past the man in a shitty convertible that barely held the girth of the man and giving him a double middle fingered salute as he drove past. But lady luck was smiling at Link and made the walk a little more bearable when the asshole excuse of a land whale promptly lost control of his vehicle and crashed it into a literal dumpster fire.

Talia found her zen state while meditating in her hotel room. While not the best hotel in Hero City, that honor goes to the Royal Orchid Hotel in Uptown, she managed to relieve herself from the anxiety and began to fully grasp that she was now truly her own woman and a genuine heroine of the city...despite keeping the truth away from her parents.

Bob's pre-emptive scouting would pay off. Even as evening rolled in and the nightclub just began readying itself for their customers, the number of wannabe party goers piled up more and more by the passing hour; allowing the Jersey Devil to keep observing with impunity. From his spot he discovered that the roof was relatively unguarded, while the entrance and back entrance had at least two thugs keeping an eye on it and the visitors. The roof also had a couple of large air vents as well as a pair of industrial grade air conditioning units. But for the interior of the building, Bob had no clue due to the lack of windows and opaque glass for the VIP section. It was also to be noted that the thugs seemed to be lightly armed, at least for the ones outside, with only a few armed with a tonfa each and maybe one pistol toting one.

But soon everyone would convene back to the CHAMP HQ to gear up and get ready to take Volk Bucur out.

The Jersey Devil would arrive the same way, there being an audible *Thud* as he landed against the wall at the window, his claws holding onto the windowframe. Knowing the right window meant he could simply jump from the nearby building and land with confidence that he would peak in on someone he shouldn't. The lifeless eyes of the gas mask peered into the room to see if anyone was about. He wasn't sure how helpful his information would be, but he at least knew how he was getting in to the club. He should probably take some martial arts training if he was actually going to be a super hero. Maybe kick boxing. What kind of effect would his boots have with a kick.... things that make you go hhmmmm.

After some time, Link found himself staring at a familiar door. The feeling of déjà vu crept up his spine as he gave it two hard knocks. He probably could have just walked in - familiarity had already been established - but he hesitated to assume.

Talia had set up the taxi driver to come get her and arrive back at headquarters several minutes early. She did not know what the night would bring, but she had her large overcoat with her once more, with the ribbons in her bag, and was ready for whatever happened... as ready as she could be. She hoped her parents would forgive her for what she was about to do and especially, for the fact that she hadn't even told them about it.

Readying herself, she made her way confidently to the door of the headquarters once more only to find that she wasn't alone waiting at the door. The guy so ironically and fittingly named "The Finger" was also outside. She greeted him in a more friendly manner this time as she hoped that they could begin to establish a more relaxed rapport, since apparently the plan was for her to walk in with him in order to get into their first assignment. She still didn't know how she felt about that plan yet, but she had nothing better to offer and even if she had, she wouldn't dare have assumed that her suggestions would be of equal importance.

"Chatty," he said as she saw Talia come into view. "Why didn't you lead with your asskickery!" he loudly quipped as she approached. Link couldn't help but reserve some admiration for the femme fatale. Being shy was natural. Being apprehensive in a life or death situation, however, could be bad for their health. Progress needed to be made. He knew he was on a timer, seconds away from the door opening.

"Alright, quick," He hurriedly insisted. "Give me a deep dark, stat," he instructed as his eyes darted from her to the door nervously. Quid pro quo. He knew he had to offer something. "Platypi creep me out. Part duck, part beaver, poisonous as hell. It freaks me out. Hopefully this mission won't involve taking out any duck billed mammals. What's something under your shell?"

Talia couldn't help but laugh again as she listened to him share his deep, dark thing. "Wait... a platypus?" she asked him, confused but smiling and amused. When she felt his attempt to put her under some pressure to have a response immediately, she went with the only thing that completely clouded her mind... though she wished she was just afraid of a platypus too... "Umm... I'm supposed to just be on a stage doing performances while here and no one knows I've changed the plans." She had blurted out the words fast so that she couldn't stop to take them back. But it felt a relief to actually tell someone. She smiled up at him again, thankful that he was encouraging and reciprocating her attempt to be a little more talkative. She was probably not very good at this when not on some kind of stage, she mused. But then she returned to his first question... "I would have shown what I could do but it wasn't my turn yet. I wanted to see what the guys could do. Are you scared tonight or just excited?" she asked him, voicing what she had wanted to ask each of them since earlier that day.

"Mmm," He grunted in acknowledgment. "Making your own destiny. I dig it." The corner of his mouth rose into a crooked grin just before she asked her next question. Then the smile quickly faded.

"If I'm being honest, I'm scared shitless," he admitted, his face holding a solemn expression. "My luck hasn't been great, my life has been a bit of a joke, and I'm in the deep end of the pool, hoping to survive with a dog paddle." Why am I saying this, he thought. Not his most motivating speech and certainly counterproductive from his original intention. "But, while my solo act has been a little disappointing, I believe in us. We're going to be stronger together. I've got your back. It's like Musketeers. All for one, One for all." His grin return as he reflected on what he just said. Slowly, however, confusion began to set back in. "Did the Musketeers even have fuggin muskets? Seems like they just sworded shit. Swordeteers. Sworders. The Three Sword Dudes. Whatever." He shot out one of his middle fingers and willed it to grow out three and a half feet while uttering a snikt sound from his mouth. "We're gonna sword the fuck outta these drugged out douches."

“Aww..” Talia couldn’t help but say as she felt his fear and felt her own compassion for him and what lay deeper behind his words. She had suspected as much from people like him… she’d seen them and met them often in her times in performances. A lot of types of people were drawn to those, whether for enjoyment or distraction or to get laid with one of the dancers afterwards. Yeah, she was no stranger to understanding how that went. “Hey,” she added quickly to change the mood and also keep things lighter. “I’ve got your back, too, alright? Each one of us should do that for each other honestly. Even the kid with the claws and gas mask surely wouldn’t object to that. We’ve got this.” She’d smile encouragingly to him.

@myinneroblivion@Leophael@ShadowsofNight

---

Manny had just finished calibrating and adjusting the power output of the last jury rigged personal shield generators when he decided to finish off the last of the coffees. Seemed like the current CHAMPs liked donuts but not so much coffee. But he took no offence to it, rather he was grateful they'd forgone the drinks. His most productive state would be his caffeinated state. As he chugged the drink down he turned to face the kitchen window only to see the Jersey Devil's face-errm-mask. One spit take and another wall stain to clean up in a few months later, he lets the hero in. "Bob, we really need to talk about the window thing. You know that we have a door leading up to the second floor beside the laundromat café, right?"

Just then, he heard the knocking on his apartment door. "Just a moment." He excused himself to go open the door but took an extra moment or two to throw away the scattered coffee cups on the sofa. Once the sofa had been sufficiently cleared, he goes to open the door to see Link and Talia. "Welcome back to HQ. Come on in, Bob just arrived a little while ago." Manny left the door open for the duo to enter while he presented the shield generators. They were roughly the size of a portable CD player, if only a little thicker. "As promised, here are the shields. I know they're way bigger than the pocket watch sized ones the President and other officials use, but believe me that these things will save you from getting shot a few times...^{atleastfrompistolgradebullets}." He places his on his belt and activated the small-ish device, a semi transparent barrier appeared encompassing him for a split second before disappearing. "Just like that I'm safe...ish. Go feel free to try yours on before we leave."

Link awkwardly fumbled with the shield generator, nearly dropping it at first, but he managed to make a full recovery. He opened up his jacket and let us snugly drop into his inside pocket along with the other devices. As the barrier activated, he could feel a tinge of electricity in the air that soon normalized.

He looked at Bob and fought the urge to ask his teammate to shoot him. As an ear-to-ear grin formed on his face, he found it quite difficult to contain his excitement. Slowly, he started doing karate moves with terrible form and even worse technique.

Bob shrugged at Manny's comment about using the stairs. "You should try going up and down stairs with any kind of grace with these boots. I can bounce and tumble through allies and roof tops, but I'll friggin pinball my way up a set of stairs if I don't concentrate the whole way." He'd take his seat on the windowsill again, being more comfortable being perched on the rather than lounging on furniture. He'd take the Shield generator when it was given, taking a moment to look over himself for a good place to put it, settling on a nice pocked opposite his one portable radio that was jacked into his helmet. Not bad. Even doubled as a counter balance to his player. Normally he would have to put a roll of quarters or something in his other pocket when he did shows so that his jacket flared out the same way on both sides. He stopped a moment, and smirked, as the dancer came in, not that anyone could see the smirk. Where was She going to put such a device. He quickly started thinking over ideas to make a rig on her. Bob wasn't good with technical stuff, but he was good with ideas. Maybe a special shoe that could be activated with the right kind of tap of the heal or something. Eh Whatever.

He looked back in time to see the Finger looking at him, showing the same kind of eagerness he felt, before he started his "moves". He had to admit he was a little scared, but not for himself. Bob had long before lost his fear of death. Hard to have such compulsions when you backflip across 50 story apartment buildings. He was scared for his new companions. They seemed like pretty cool guys, and didn't want a repeat of losing his friends so long ago. He took a long slow breath. This was not then. They were not a bunch of punk kids thinking they couldn't be hurt. They were superheros going Knowingly into danger. They would be okay.

Talia watched as The Finger went inside first and then she took the shield piece from Manny with a little hesitation. She greeted Jersey Devil at the window, instantly looking for him there with her quick eyesight and finding she was correct as to guessing his location. She tried to be friendly and welcoming to him and Manny, as she had to The Finger. Then she noticed a problem.

As she watched The Finger and Jersey Devil place their shield on, she realized she had quite forgotten to think of how she would attach her own. She chided herself for a moment for forgetting to plan for such an important piece; she was not used to accommodating for anything extra than her own outfit and the sashes. She considered for a moment, wondering if it could be placed on her shoes, which were more like the typical, flat dance shoes (though with some extra ankle and foot support than those akin to ballet shoes) and decided against it. There was the possibility of tying an extra piece of sash material (she did like to keep those around just in case) around her waist and then hooking the shield piece to it that way... She decided to try that and as she opened her coat up to place the other piece of sash snugly about her waist and the shield pinned or buckled into it securely, she looked up to see if the others protested or looked uncertain about her choice. If they did, she'd sigh and ask them if they had any better suggestions. She rolled her eyes inwardly as she prepared and braced herself for their no doubt lewd comments if she had to do that.

@Leophael @myinneroblivion @ShadowsofNight

---

All the anxieties and worries that he felt were washed away when all three heroes wore their respective shield generators and were rather pleased with the gadgets he'd produced. Really made him feel like they could take on the world, but only time would tell if they were going to fare any better than the previous hero groups that tried to take Bucur down. "I guess we're all ready. I know that I said that we would be taking public transportation to our jobs until we could afford a company vehicle...but thanks to my best bro in the world, we going into our fists mission in style." Manny brings out a keyring with a tacky keychain burger from Hot Bunzᵀᴹ and a set of car keys. Manny promptly runs outside of the apartment room and only a few moments later the three heroes he left behind in the dingy apartment room hear a couple of beeps of a car horn from outside the kitchen window. If the choose to look outside, they would see Manny in his Grey Gadgeteer suit driving a...rather plain looking car. With a childlike glee, he contacts his fellow heroes through the ultra sub-compact earpiece. "Come on, CHAMPs. Justice needs to be delivered!"

Operation: Breaking Bucur

START