Talia stood stunned as she realized that her and Bob's plan had actually succeeded! She took a moment to collect her breath and swayed a bit as she turned, shaken, to look at the officers that had just stormed into the place. Not even pausing to check over herself for any injuries, the Performer saw that Bob was at least standing and she went over to make sure he was okay. Help was coming for Manny, who needed it most... and Link, whom she hoped would be alright. She then quickly went into assessing the situation and returned her pretty, calming smile and demeanor as she turned to the officers.

"Hello," she said sweetly, if not a little out of breath from the events of the evening. "Yes, all three of us are the new team you've heard about and we are so thankful that you are here."

---

@Leophael @myinneroblivion @ShadowsofNight

---

The police Lieutenant nodded sagely to both of them. "Rest assured, Mr. Jersey Devil, that The Grey Gadgeteer will be under the care of the Downtown General Hospital." Just as he explains to the two of the heroes that Manny would be in good hands, they hear a voice calling to Lt. Brenner from the VIP area. "Lieutenant, We've hit the motherlode! Ten inhalers of Diamond Dust and a whole metric fuckton of other contraband drugs AND a little league villain!" Brenner's expression changed from a semi-lukewarm deadpan to a look of surprise and awe. "Huh. So Man...The Gadgeteer wasn't over exaggerating when he told me you guys were legit. Here I thought that we'd be saving your asses like his old team before they quit, got too injured to continue hero duty, or went rogue." He takes a drag of his cigarette. "Guess being the CHAMP's police contact does pay out once in a while."

He looks to the side as Bucur and Façade are being taken away from the scene for treatment and arrest. "You've made a big mistake, chumps! My friends will find out and you'd wish you hadn't made me an enemy! All four of you will be dead by the end of the MONTH, you hear me!? DEAD!" The Romanian man yelled at Bob and Talia as he made his way past them, bound on a stretcher. Brenner only sneered at the death threats of the soon to be incarcerated club owner. "Yeah yeah and I'm a king of Mars. Save your stories for the judge, scumbag." Brenner takes one final drag of his smoke before tossing it down and stamping out the embers. "So, what you two planning to do now?"

Bob looks around at the scene, his cold glass eyes stopping on Talia for a moment. They had actually done it. He was a homeless kid running from a corrupt science facility. He didn't really have any plans. He turned back to the cop. "I'm going to go bath in a tub of Ice for a couple days... then probably wait for the next job..." it was clear he had no long lasting plans or even ideas. Even him joining was kind of an impulse. But he liked it. He actually felt a hint of purpose, and it felt good.

Thoughts and ideas began mulling over and over in Talia's mind at the question... Not about the threats, she was used to those in her line of work and surrounded each time by guys that were disrespectful and rude and didn't like it whenever she showed the rare backbone by resisting one of them. The threats weren't an issue... it was his question...

'Yeah..where would she go??' she thought to herself. It was a suddenly impossible to answer question... She thought instantly of her family and friends from back home, probably worried, but she didn't want to return there even if just to wait for her next assignment. Getting away from them in the first place by coming here, had been her grand plan after all. She just hoped none of this would make it on the news somehow and cause her parents to see the truth. She didn't want to be the chaste, obedient, demure woman they'd raised her to be! No. She looked briefly over to Bob and smiled as she realized that she'd been a part of a functioning team and that all she wanted was another chance to fight for what was right and to make a difference in this world like they hopefully had just done. Perhaps others would join their team. She hoped so. For now, her answer would have to be vague too...

"Sir, I'll be returning to my apartment to also await the next summons to a job," she told Brenner. "I might continue my performances around the area but aside from that, I have no other plans."

---

@Leophael @myinneroblivion @ShadowsofNight

---

"Understood. I look forward to working with the new CHAMP team." Brenner said with a polite bow of the head and was about to leave the two to their own devices he remembers something. "Oh yeah. The Gadgeteer specified that if there were any media coverage of your jobs, we'd keep the details about you heroes at a bare minimum." The man shrugged. "Guess he learned that hero work and a public identity doesn't go hand in hand. Back entrance is clear if you want to leave before the media annoys you." He pauses again. "One last thing. If you're wondering about the pay, don't worry about it. Once Rent-A-Hero confirms that the job is complete and the client is satisfied, the funds will be delivered incognito to your HQ a couple days later." With his piece finished he excuses himself and heads out of the club to deal with the growing crowd of confused party goers, pedestrians, nosy neighbors, and of course the media.

The Jersey Devil nods back to the cop, then turns to Talia. There is a long pause from the freak in the mask before he gives a childish fist pump. "Fuck Yeah!! We Did it!!" Then he seems to realize where he is and clears his throat, straightening out his clothes. "Yeah, we should probably get out of here. I'd offer you a ride, or to come over to celebrate... but I don't have either of those..." He scratches the back of his head sheepishly. He turns around heading for the back door but stops, thinking for a moment before he turns back to Talia. "You got some kick ass moves... I don't suppose... I mean.. if it's not like a trade secret or somthing..something... and if you wanted... and if I don't disgust you.. and I mean.... well... could you teach me som of that?" He waves his hands indicating all of her, not really meaning the implications of indicating her body. His mind was slightly blinded by the thoughts of combining her dance moves with his parkour, and not for the superhero business, but for the sheer thrill of sport.

Talia couldn't resist the grin that came across her face as she saw his childlike excitement. She felt it, too, but was not really allowed to be so free to express like that. She wondered what that kind of spontaneity must be like... and now he was hinting at them hanging out for a little bit to celebrate?? Her mind was reeling a bit... no one had ever spent time with her before when they'd had the choice to not. He seemed so eager to learn and she was not anxious to be on her own already because the thrill of their recent adventure had left her fired up. But her place... if she could even call it that... it was temporary and apparently better than anything he could offer for the two of them now.

"Oh, why yes, of course umm you can come to my place. It's just a modest, little apartment but it'll do for a casual in-between and such..." Her words trailed off a little as she realized he wanted to learn from her and excitement flooded her when she thought maybe he would want to teach her something of his skills, too, in return! She didn't have the devices he did, but perhaps he could help her gain some actual freedom and self-confidence. He seemed pretty adept and a natural at both and she hoped she could glean a little as they hung out.

"It's... not a trade secret per say... but it does require some ability to be open-minded... I'll gladly assist how and where I can and gosh, no you don't disgust me!" Her voice rose an octave higher than she intended at the last part of that sentence, but she couldn't help it. He had no idea the kind of repulsive company she'd been forced to keep as a Performer.

"Do you want to... just meet at my apartment? I noticed you didn't arrive here in the car like the rest of us, so if you have your own way of getting there, I can just give you the address." If he did not resist, she would borrow a note from the officer and a pen and scribble down her address for him and then go wait for a ride herself.

For the next couple days. The pair would spend their time together. Talia teaching Bob about the grace and fluidity of dance, while Bob helped Talia with the quick reaction and physics of Parkour. At night, they would crash at Talia's apartment, and during the day they would be among the rooftops, bouncing and leaping, and spinning. Bob would also bring up the idea of the Performer maybe getting a mask to cover her identity, especially if they were going to get the attention of the media, and she was worried about people finding out who she was. Bob would also make an appearance as the Jersey Devil at the abandoned building to deliver some random food and clothes he scrounged up to the homeless that lived there, just to keep his reputation up with them.

---

@Leophael @myinneroblivion @ShadowsofNight

---

The two days blew past without any issue. Talia and Bob trained one another, deepening their sense of camaraderie and friendship. Bob grew in popularity amongst the marginalized folk that squatted in the abandoned building he resided in.

They received good news that Manny only suffered scarring from his stunt, owing his health and continued service to the suit itself for helping cut off the majority of the current. Leaving him only with a sore body, some very mild hearing loss, and a wicked new scar. Sadly, it seemed that Link would be in the psychiatric ward of Downtown General Hospital for a while. His near death leaving him still in a shell-shocked catatonic state. As the second day reached the end, by the dawn of the third day the CHAMPs would receive an email from none other than The Grey Gadgeteer. Manny wanted them to go meet up at their HQ to both discuss the distribution of their hard earned pay as well as a celebration for their first ever successful contract as the new CHAMPs and his early release from the hospital.

Talia read the email excitedly, wondering what the Grey Gadgeteer wanted to tell them and hoping it was good news for their next test. She was still reveling in all the things she had gotten to learn from her times with Bob and the ease at which they'd been able to hang out and just be casual towards each other. It wasn't weird experiences and awkward like she was used to, nor was it a constant feeling of pressure like she was also used to as a performer. It was... nice. She felt like she might just be able to relax and breathe and perhaps even belong for the first time ever.

She called a taxi and got a ride to the headquarters and walked up the walkway to the door that was familiar to her now. She knocked gently but excitedly and waited.

The Jersey Devil got the notification of the email as he checked in on the homeless, and on his secret stash of stuff at the abandoned building. Maybe another gig? He was worried that their boss, might have overdone it, and would be having to quit. Good things had a tendency not to last around him. (thought from a kid who barely experienced anything long lived regardless). Popping on his music, "I gotta Feeling" by the Black eyed peas, Bob leapt off the building with his spring step and vaulted across the roof tops. he loved the feel of the straps fluttering behind him. Bounce, handspring, flip and twirl as Talia had instructed, land... almost perfectly, roll, and back up to the next ledge. He'd get it eventually. His last spring sent him low, sailing down to *Twack* against the side of the building across the street, claws digging into the ledge of the window, black glass eyes staring in at Manny's appartment.

---

@Leophael @myinneroblivion @ShadowsofNight

---

Talia was discrete with her arrival to CHAMP HQ. She was welcomed by Paul, who looked significantly more tired than before, likely from watching over his injured best friend. He may have been the most mundane member of their team of heroes, but his dedication and loyalty were anything but mundane. "Ah, Ms. Talia right? Manny is in the apartment waiting for you guys. If you don't mind, I'll go catch a few more hours of sleep." The tired man said as he let the woman in as he turned the open sight to a closed sign. It was a slow day for the laundromat-café anyway.

Bob however, the athletic and adventurous man that he was, opted to put what he learned from Talia into practice. Unlike a few days ago where the sight of the masked hero warranted concerned looks and a few calls to the Hero City police, now there were significantly less concerned looks on the faces of the citizens and even some were actively taking pictures and videos of the impromptu acrobatic performance of the hero that would surely be posted online. As he reached the window to Manny's lackluster apartment, the window was already conveniently open. It seemed that Manny anticipated the Jersey Devil's preferred way of entering HQ.

As soon as the two entered the apartment that smelled of a machine shop, they saw Manny standing there with a proud smile on his face and a newspaper in his hands. "I got loads of good news!...^{andsomebadinconvenientnews.}" His rapid-fire stream of words almost made the last part of the sentence incoherent. But before he did anything else, he shows the two the newspaper headline that read that the hero team of the Ele-Men thwarted a bank robbery perpetrated by the Super Villain Hammer Head, showing the element themed hero team atop the stolen money while a colossal shark man laid unconscious beside the money. But that wasn't what Manny was pointing to. Delegated to a side story beside the main headline it read 'Mysterious Heroes thwart Drug Den' with a little and negligible photo of the Nox Nightclub with Bucur and Facade detained at the Downtown General Hospital.

"We made it to the headlines!" He said with no small amount of mirth. "Not only that, the Rent-a-Hero cash came by today." He puts down the newspaper on the coffee table and almost sprints to the sealed envelopes atop the kitchen counter before handing Talia and Bob one each. "The base pay of the job of busting Bucur plus the drug den bust and villain detainment bonus leads to the grand total of..." he drums his hands on the motor oil stained surface of the kitchen counter. "Two thousand dollars. Each." He then proudly extends his hands to his sides before letting them fall to his sides. "And people say that hero work would get you killed, broke, or both. We're proof that those naysayers wrong."

He'd left out the bad news for last hoping that by some stroke of luck he didn't have to say it. But he couldn't lie to his team. "For the bad news...well I kind of fried the Gadgeteer Suit's power source so I'll be off hero work until I fix it or find a replacement." He scratches the back of his head. He really didn't want to tell more bad news but they had to know. "Uhh...also Talia. I received an email from your parents. They're...uhh. They're not happy. Brenner did his best and Paul has kept our records safe but I guess some journalists have seen your performances before and did some thorough digging and connected the dots to the 'mysterious' acrobat that busted the Nox." He begins twiddling his thumbs together. "They said they were taking the next flight here to talk...s-sorry."

The pride that had swelled Talia's heart to almost bursting when she had heard the good news, plummeted below her feet into the floors below as Manny shared the bad news... The blood drained from her face and her knees threatened to give way... She was finished, utterly destroyed if they were on their way here... She wished she could have thought earlier about using a mask or different colored silks or something, anything to hide her identity, but she'd been so blinded by her own desperation to gain freedom and purpose, that she'd failed her team. Her parents heading here meant only one thing: she had to hide or be taken back with them and never trusted again. What could she do? Where could she even go? She would have to change her entire look now to avoid this happening again... It was too much... Talia was strong and determined but not this strong... She stumbled and fell to her knees on the floor, uttering only a soft cry of "no!" as she looked down at the ground, not registering anything else for the moment. Let her teammates see now that she was weak and has always been weak, let them see how incapable she really was and how easily afraid... now it didn't matter anymore. Besides, now she might even need their help, which she'd never been able to ask for before or trust another person to give.
As she forced herself to take some normal breaths, she turned to Bob and tried to make her face give a smile and half-laugh as she said, "Guess I should have disguised my identity like you did huh?"

Bob was preparing cocky comments and comebacks, as well as a string of compliments to Talia..... then he saw her pale face, and things started making sense in his head. Parents weren't really a subject of talk between them yet. It seemed like a topic that they both wanted to avoid to keep the fun going. But he had seen that kind of look on the face of some of his friends when parents were called, and he figured he knew where this might be heading. There always seemed to be two kinds of rich parents... the ones that didn't care about their kids, and just threw money at them so the parents could continue their work, or play, or drugs, or whatever else they did. That's how his parents were. Then there were the ones that dominated their kids. Molding and training them, often abusively, into what the parents wanted them to be. It's those parents that usually brought on the look Talia wore.

When Talia dropped to her knees, Bob went to her, taking off his mask and dropping it to the floor, placing and arm protectively over her shoulders. "Hey, it's alright. We can get you decked out. I know some stores we can get a good deal on costumes and stuff. And you don't have to see your parents if you don't want to..." He turned to Manny with look that said *isn't that right, Boss*

---

@Leophael @myinneroblivion @ShadowsofNight

---

The man could only look at his own feet and twiddle his thumbs together as the usually composed Talia let the weight of the news fall upon her. It seemed that it was something beyond the usual parent and child conflict when becoming a hero. From what he could assume, Talia's parents had more pull to the woman's life than he could have imagined to be healthy. Manny quickly glanced at the woman and heard her attempt in salvaging the situation with a little humor. He was rather glad that Bob was there to comfort her. He really didn't know what to do when someone was overwhelmed by grief and disbelief.

Bob then looked over to him with that look. A look pleading for reassurance that they'd do whatever they could to help Talia keep her distance from her overly manipulative parents. "O-of course. If you don't want to meet up with them I can probably hatch up a plan before they arrive tomorrow." The Latino man felt a little more confident now. He stopped twiddling his thumbs and stood tall. He didn't know Talia's situation with her parents much but if he could become a hero despite his parents' very vocal protests then Talia could too if she damn well wanted. "Who knows? Maybe your parents will just give up once they can't find you; come to their senses and realize that you're a grown woman now and they can't do squat if you want to keep being a hero." He took a knee in front of both Talia and Bob. "We're not the losers that we were a week ago. We've faced overwhelming opposition and come out on top! Defenders of the innocent and of Justice!"

Manny extends his hand towards the two in an offer to perform a team hand stack. "We're the goddamn CHAMPs and we don't give up!"

'They cared?' Talia was shocked when her two teammates reached down to be on her level and console her with words and even an arm around her shoulder. She couldn't believe that they actually wanted to help her!

'Maybe, just maybe... she wouldn't have to return to the life her parents had tried for so long to imprison her in... their own personal, stifling and suffocating destiny for her... No, she couldn't do that to them.' She dropped her head and looked away from Bob and Manny. 'She couldn't just disappear and change her appearance so that she couldn't be tracked. Besides, people would pick up on her moves as being from The Performer no matter what she tried to don as her outward appearance. She also couldn't hurt her new friends though. She cared for them, too, and would have defended them if the positions were reversed.'

Steeling herself, she looked back up at them again and forced the words to exit her mouth with a semblance of confidence and assurance she didn't yet feel inside.
"Yes, we are the CHAMPS and I don't want to give up... I won't!" Her face screwed up with determination and focus. "Whatever ideas you both have for me to try or wear or whatever, I am all ears. I don't ever want to go back to them or that life... ever again." Her voice faltered a little at the end, but she still had finished her statement. She'd spoken it out loud. She was never going back to them, not if she could help it.

Bob stood, giving his best confident and assured pose. "You don't have to go back. People are scared to do what it takes to get away from situations because they might lose everything and become homeless. But look at me!" He strikes a 'I am awesome" pose. "I make this lifestyle look Gooood." He laughs at himself a litte, but then his smile goes back to being reassuring. "But seriously, I got your back. Even if we have to fight the whole world, you have the Jersy Devil at your side. Plus you got a Job, and friends now. And you can always crash at my place."

---

@Leophael @myinneroblivion @ShadowsofNight

---

This was the stuff of legends. Staunch companions coming together to overcome a great obstacle to help a friend in need, and Talia was definitely a friend in need. "Awesome. Well first things first, we gotta enjoy the highs of our last success." He holds his envelope of righteously earned dollar bills. "We'll meet back up here later this afternoon so we can go into the nitty gritty of things for the plan. In the mean time, lets go enjoy ourselves." Manny knew where he would go first. To Hero City's Industrial Recycling Plant. The best place to get premium scrap and spare parts he'd need to fix and even keep building his Gadgeteer suit. He may even have enough extra bills to pay the plant the extra couple hundred bucks or so to have the privilege of scavenging the parts before they dismantle them into raw material to be re-sold to corporations and such.

To Manny, this was akin to a kid visiting a toy store with a huge wad of cash on hand. He could have anything he could find.

Talia smiled a little at Bob's fun and jest and Manny's enthusiasm. She tried to imagine what life could be like having true friends that had her back and were at her side... She tried to imagine how much different that life could be and that she could actually feel safe instead of always watching her back or keeping her parents caught up with stories. It had worked for a while, because she hadn't done anything really, truly freeing... Now she had and she loved it! But she didn't even feel safe in her own apartment, and it was no one's fault but hers.

'Enjoy the highs of their successes,' Manny had told them. She didn't even know how to at this point. 'Maybe she could drop back off at home and grab the majority of the things that mattered to her and stow them away at some place where not even her parents would think to look for her,' she thought to herself.

Bob had offered to her that it was okay for her to even stay wherever he stayed. She was already accustomed to heights due to her own performances but thankfully the couple days she'd spent on rooftops with him had made her more comfortable with the building heights too. "Bob, is there some kind of nook or overhang or something you know of where I could stash some of my belongings for a while? I don't want my parents knowing where I am and so I'm going to have to find somewhere else to stay. Also, I'm going to definitely take you up on that offer of finding a new look." The thought of hiding away from them, of running, was almost too much for her to allow... it was better not to think too far ahead, or she might crumble and not be strong enough to do this after all.

Regaining herself she turned to The Gadgeteer, "Thank you, Manny, for your help and your care. It means more than you'll ever know. I'm sorry if you end up having to deal with my parents. Hopefully, they are more pleasant to you if I'm not around. I will see you again this afternoon." She will leave with Bob when he is finished in the room, though attempt to persuade him to maybe not exit straight out the window...

"Heck Yeah!" Bob exclaimed, already getting excited before clearing his throat and trying to compose himself better. He snags the money envelopes and tosses Talia's to her while pocketing his own. "Yeah, I got the perfect place. No worries. Hey... when I ran away from home, I had a chance to empty my bank account of my allowance... do you have something like that that you can do... or need to pick up your stuff? We should probably do that first, if there's still time."

He turns to Manny, Showing his excitement and childish glee in his eyes before he slips the mask back on over his head. "See you soon! We'll get this all worked out." Bob would head for the window, then pause. Reaching down, he turns off the boots, and then extends his elbow in a formal gesture to Talia to take her arm, prepared to take the stairs like a normal person. "Sorry, the boots make the stairs and exorcise in patience... which isn't my strong suite."