In spite of herself and the current stress of the situation, Talia couldn't help but smile at Bob's recovery as he caught himself before jumping back out the window per his usual exit strategy. Some of the tension fades from her as she takes his proffered arm and thanks Manny again before they walk out of headquarters.

"Yes," she says as they walk back down to where the cab was waiting that she took earlier to get here. "Yes, unless they've already drained the account somehow, but I don't think they have because they got on a plane so quickly to come here. So, I do have money kept in a bank and we should also quickly go get my things from the apartment because I also stashed some there in the AC vent."

They will make it to her place and get her things and also find that some of her money had already been withdrawn and it was a good thing that she had planned for that ahead of time when she'd first gotten here for her performances, or she wouldn't have had much left. They left the apartment after getting her stash as well, before she looked up at Bob in anxious excitement and curiosity because she now had no idea what kind of plans he had in store for her or where she should now go...

Bob would grin to Talia, "We traveled your way to get to your place. Now we do it my way to get to mine." He will pull one of the sashes off his own costume and tie it gently over her head and face as a mask to hide her identity, then motions up to the roof. Using the techniques they had been learning together, he would lead her to the bad parts of town along the rooftops until they got to the big abandoned building he called home. He chose this one, because only he could make that jump. With his boots on, and changing the music on his headphones to "A Whole new world", he scoops up Talia, did a short run and hard bounce to launch them across to the rooftop. He'd set her down and slid open the window to his isolated flat. With his scavenging he had managed to make it halfway decent with a large bed, partially broken dresser, coat rack, night stand with a stereo, and a small fold up table. The occasional sound of laughter or coughing echos up from below through the broken stairwell from the homeless. Bob will instantly go to a closet where he removes a hidden makeshift panel where he has his own private papers and stash of money. Offering it to her, he would go back to the window sill and perch to let her settle in. "Next step, Costume Shopping".

---

@Leophael @myinneroblivion @ShadowsofNight

---

As the duo left to do what he asked them, he stood at the center of his dingy apartment for a good ten minutes as he let the situation settle in. "OhmyGod." He curled up to the ground as he held his head in his hands. He felt like a complete hypocrite. He told them that he had a plan to help solve Talia's problem...but this was the first time he'd ever experienced something like this. Even his parents weren't so constricting and manipulative to the point of demanding he stop being a hero. "ManuelDonaireyoumassivelyingfuck-up." He berated himself as he began panicking. He needed to make a plan and fast; he only had about three hours before it would be the afternoon.

He tried standing tall and proud like Talia and Bob did to feign a feeling of confidence and reassurance but all that resulted from it was him just as quickly hyperventilating and begin both laugh and sob hysterically at the same time. He was a disappointment as a hero, no, as a decent human being. How could he lie to them when they needed him the most? "Dear God...Bob is gonna hate my guts and Talia is going to be taken away forever. I'm an embarrassment as a leader and a hero."

The poor man having an emotional breakdown crawls to a poster he had framed with great care. It was a signed poster of Hero City's paragon of Justice and Hope: Gold Guard. The words 'Never Give Up!' in black marker written across the triumphantly posing man in his power armor. "Forgive me...I've failed you." Thus ended the tale of Manuel Donaire, formerly the Grey Gadgeteer and leader of the defunct Council of Heroes Against Malicious Persons.

Time for him to pack up his things and skip town while he still had a semblance of self respect.

He pulled out a dirty duffle bag from underneath his bed and had already started filling out his duffle bag. Maybe he should have started with clothes instead of his collection of action figures and comic books. A comic falls from the unreasonable stack he was trying to Tetris into his bag and falls open to a random page. It was then he was struck with inspiration for the plan. "Wait...this...this is PERFECT!" He began spazzing out in reaction to what seemed to be divine intervention. "I gotta get people. Where where where where?" He stopped spazzing out and began pacing. "Laffy's Joke House? Nah, I don't need comedians. Mute Mike Memorial Mime School? No. Not intimidating enough. Curtain Call..? Curtain Call! Yes, there!"

With that in mind, he runs out of his room and apartment to make preparations for the plan.

-------------Hours Later----------------

"Yes. I know it's a tall order but I still paid you guys two hundred dollars each, so you gotta pull through with this. Yes tomorrow at the old wood mill at the outskirts of Downtown. No, please no over the top costumes. Yes I'm sure. Just enough to look scary ok? Good." With the phone call done Manny heads back up to his room and awaits his fellow heroes to discuss the plan for tomorrow. If this plan goes well, Talia's parents might even be convinced enough to even SUPPORT her hero work.

Once Talia was settled in, Bob would get them off the building into his favorite run of town. Making sure he wasn't being watched, he would strip off his costume, leaving him just in cargo pants and a tank top. If Talia was going to be exposed as a prodigal child, she wouldn't do it alone. At least not today. Not for now. For the next couple hours, they weren't going to be the Performer and the Jersy Devil. They were just Bob and Talia, two spoiled rich kids rebelling against the world, and having fun doing it.

once all his things were put away in his backpack, he would take her hand, and head across the roof tops. This was a pretty easy course, even for a beginner of Parkour, and gradually led to a nice little section of town he figured would work great. First Haircuts, for both of them. Parkour was mostly a punk man's sport, so why not that. Then to clothes, something less conspicuous than the high-class finery Talia had come with. Plus some extra sashes and such to cover her face. While she was trying on clothes, Bob would buy pretzels and hot dogs and sodas for them to share, cheering her on when she picked something good. He didn't know if Talia enjoyed herself.... but this was the first time in a couple years Bob actually felt normal. Where Bob wasn't simply the alter ego of the Jersy Devil. For the first time, he remembered his real name. Jacob.

After being satisfied with the costume the best they could be, they would head back to the abandoned building to put away the extra clothes they bought, suit up, and head to Manny's

---

@Leophael @myinneroblivion @ShadowsofNight

---

Thankfully there was nobody who recognized the two, well none that made themselves known to the pair. Most of those who looked at the two were just admiring how the two pulled off such a casual appearance so well. If they didn't know any better, they would have assumed the two were models doing PR work for the everyman and everywoman's apparel. Majority of common folk would have deemed a day like this any other day; but to Bob at least, this was a good day. A brief break from reality when he could feel like Jacob again.

By the time the two got to HQ, Paul had already woken up from his morning nap and greeted them with a friendly smile and used his head to gesture them to the stairway leading to the second floor while catering to a handful of people enjoying the café, using the laundromat, or both.

Upon reaching the room, they were to see Manny dressed up in a slightly ill fitting suit. On the table they see the man's laptop connected to a dusted old projector that looked like it came straight from the 90s. Likely was from the 90s. "Ah, welcome welcome. Take a seat on the sofa and let's begin the presentation of the plan. Please do save the questions or comments for later." He gestures the pair to the sofa treating it as if they were his professors during his dissertation defense. Using a wireless mouse as an impromptu clicker, the ancient projector noisily hums to life and projects his presentation to the kitchen wall. It was a power point presentation with a LOT of cheesy slide effects to the words: 'Operation: Bamboozle'

"What I plan to do is not very heroic." The slide changes to a png of a generic moustache twirling villain from old time movies. "Not sanctioned by Rent-A-Hero nor the HCPD. Technically this is illegal, but I'm willing to go in between good and evil to help a friend. Cause that's what real heroes do."

The slide changes to now one of a comic book of a man in a phoenix outfit looking somberly at a glass of whiskey. "The Inextinguishable Phoenix, issue # 9. The titular super hero gets depressed after getting his powers sealed by his arch nemesis Frostbite. Feeling distraught and disheartened at losing his power, he quits being a hero and the Bay City is left worse without him."

A click from the wireless mouse changes the slide to show a a teenaged boy dressed in a full costume with a lightning motif. "Enter Sparky, one of Phoenix's closest allies. Been with the birdman fighting for Justice since 1996. Couldn't bear to see his best buddy and ally like this. And goes off and puts himself in danger knowing that Phoenix won't let him get hurt."

Another click and it shows the phoenix themed super hero saving the teenager from a gang of thugs. "As depicted on screen, Phoenix even without powers goes to help save his friend and realizes that even without his powers he can still be a hero. And in issue 11 we get to see how he gets his powers back by making a deal with a cosmic being to help him beat Frostbite. OH and in issue 15 Sparky sacrifices himself to save-" Manny pauses and coughs into his hand to regain his composure as he got a little too into the topic.

"Well, I got a plan." Another click shows a building with a sign saying 'Curtain Call: Amateur Actor's Club and Theater Troupe' "I've hired ten actors from Curtain Call to pose as a gang of kidnappers to pretend kidnap your parents when they get to Hero City." He pauses to display himself. "I will be pretending to be their gang leader holding them for ransom." He takes a sack cloth and puts it over his head. "I present to you Bagman, an upcoming criminal overlord looking for old money to 'fund' his building of his criminal empire."

He pauses to take the mask off. "I'll be coordinating with you via the earpieces I provided and by the time you guys come in and save Talia's parents, they'll be in awe of Talia's heroic ability and forever indebted to her." He clicks the mouse one more time and it goes to the fin page with the hand drawn logo of the CHAMP.

"So what you think?"

Talia found herself a bit overwhelmed as Manny went on and on about the different heroes and their stories and the different issues that they were from in each... She had just come from a time of surprisingly enjoying herself with Bob even though it had been under stressful circumstances. He had a way of just keeping her fears at bay and distracting her with one thing after another. She had dared to look in the mirror once, after their haircut appointment, and already scarcely recognized herself...

Her usual long, flowing, dark hair had been cropped rather short, and she'd gotten highlights of a light purple/lavender color streaked throughout it now. She'd been forced to forego her previous silken, flowy, sensual outfit from her days as The Performer for something more of a steampunk/goth appearance with shorts and a crop top. It wasn't what she was used to, but it was still form-fitting and made of a flexible enough material to not hinder her typical tricks and moves and that was the important thing.

It had been a lot of change and a long day full of strange and new and frightening and as Manny talked on and on, she struggled to keep up. When he got to the part about the pretend kidnapping of her parents, her mouth fell open in shock. She quickly closed it, having been exceptionally well-trained at keeping her opinions to herself and deferring to others that were smarter and wiser than she. Bob had been trying to work on this with her, but she fell straight back into the old, programmed habits in a second. What a loser she still was... she thought to herself.

"Oh," she managed to get out and it sounded calmer than she felt... Resigned? Already? "Wow, that's not what I expected. That's an interesting plan, Manny." She had to stop after that. If she kept going, she might accidentally give away everything with a nervous laugh.

Talia knew this was a bad idea; that kidnapping her parents under some pretense could backfire on this plan in a million ways. Manny and Bob didn't know her family, they didn't know the heavy dishonor that would fall on them all with such a trick, they didn't know the backlash that Talia would get from it either... but she said nothing. Her desire to not disappoint or hurt her new friends, vastly outweighed her ability to speak her mind in front of everyone.

Bob kicked back to watch the slide show and listen to the speech. He liked comics. And liked the superheros he had read about in the papers, but he had spent so much time in his parkour that he was no were near educated in the matter. He wished he had popcorn or something, and he was completely enraptured... until the end.

He was glad Talia had spoken, because he had to take a second to process this, but when she failed to express what he knew she had to be thinking, he instantly jumped in. His tone and manner was more like friends discussing the plot of a movie, rather than an Actual Kiddnapping.

"Dude! That was a twist. I was not expecting you to go there. You were talking about Phoenix, and I Totally thought you were going to try for a 'Fake your own death' skit..." He sat up some, looking a bit more serious. "This is Sooooo much worse... and I know, because disappeared from my own life, and even if I'm found out, I can play it off as a rich kids rebellion... but this? This???? No. Dude no. This reeks so badly of backfire I can smell it from the future. Call it off. I would rather beat up her parents myself then try to pull this off...."

It was even worse now... She hadn't expected Bob to step up like that and speak her own mind for her, but he'd left something out... and it caused her to find her own voice again for a moment.

"Bob, wait, no! I mean... umm... thanks but... well, Manny is just trying to help. I don't want to just refuse the only plan he has if that's all we can do... and he got all these other people to go in on it... I... don't know what to do..." her voice was quiet and subdued, careful, clearly trying to consider everyone's emotions and reactions. She closed her mouth afterwards and swallowed hard, looking down at her hands wringing anxiously in her lap, purposely averting her eyes from everyone else.

Bob turned to Talia, mouth open to say something potentially chastising, but closed it and turned to Manny, his mouth open to say something potentially chastising, then just shut his mouth and lowered his head. "Sorry Manny... I didn't mean to, like shoot down you plan like that, I get your trying to help, and I wouldn't be here if I didn't appreciate you... but trust me, I know what can happen when plans go bad." Flashes of his friends dying cause him to close his eyes tighter. "They shouldn't be impressed just because the heroics are personal. If they can't accept she's a hero, they won't accept it. And I know I'm saying 'a hero' a lot, but that's because whatever we do, that's what we need to be. Not staging kidnappings to make ourselves look like heros. If her parents can't accept it, she can stay with me. She's an adult, and is allowed to make her own decisions. They can't force her to go back with them. And I'll pop them in the nose if they try. My vote... Manny... get us some good gigs. Make us heros to everyone. Talia... if they cut you off, or try to tale you... stay with me."

---

@myinneroblivion @ShadowsofNight

---

"Aww...I thought it was a pretty good idea." Manny said with a crestfallen look on his face but it was more than obvious that both Bob and Talia were not keen on the plan he devised. Man...he really hoped that the Curtain Call accepted re-funds. "But I understand, to be honest I was scared to do something criminal. Like what if Talia's parents were secretly maser kung-fu masters and just flat out kicked my and the actors' collective butts. Or worse, the police get involved..." He'd rather eat a bag of moldy bread than become a real villain to be honest. Which is unsurprising considering the man dreamed of being a hero since forever.

Manny begins to fix his laptop and projector while fiddling with his smartphone to contact the amateur acting troupe and hoping that he could still get at least 50% of his money back. "If you guys want to make other suggestions, other than working our reputation before Talia's parents arrive, I'm open."

Bob will get up, leaning against Manny's desk close enough to show his friendship and support. "Look Manny, I'm pretty sure you're the most moral person in this little Trio. The plan was decent... but it's not you. And it's not us. Honestly, I'm just good at avoidance. If it were my parents coming, You would have to widen the range of our Coms, cause you wouldn't see me in person for a while." He laughed heartily, but there was an edge to it saying he was only half joking. "It's kinda up to her." He nods to Talia. "We can confront them, united as heroes, and refuse to let them take her, which would make them villains and kidnappers themselves, in my opinion.... or We just don't be here at their beck and call, and go on about our business... that's my avoidance plan, if it wasn't clear."

The Asian girl swallowed hard and hoped it wasn't audible. She was used to being able to drape her long, dark hair over her face and hide, turning basically invisible, but now that ability was missing. So, too, was her desire to be utterly silent and let everyone choose for her. Everyone was trying so hard for her, planning and searching and wracking their brains... for her... she owed them better than this. She owed them her own opinion or thought in some way. Manny had almost been willing to be viewed as a criminal for her and Bob was considering how to make her disappear, like he had.

Talia raised her head at the sound of her own name that jerked her a bit from her reverie. Bob was waiting on her input now and so was Manny and so was she herself, if she was being honest.
"Umm..." her voice sounded small and weak, even to her own ears and she willed it to be strong and clear and to show the confidence she didn't feel at all. "Okay, so..." she faltered again. 'Come on, girl, get it together and speak your damn mind,' came a voice, unbidden, to her thoughts. It gave her reassurance. "Guys, I appreciate all you're trying to do and willing to do for me. I've never had anyone care this much... We can't kidnap my parents and yeah, my dad taught ME many of the moves you have seen me perform. He would be a challenge and I don't know anything about my mom, which makes her almost more frightening... but that's not the only reason I say "no" to that plan. And Bob?"

She smiled gratefully at the young man that had begun to mean so much to her. She couldn't believe that he and Manny had once been strangers. "I know you could help me disappear, and part of me desperately wants to, but I am so sick of trying to run and hide from them. I have people that have my back now and maybe that means I can stand up to them and not crumble." She stopped because she was running out of words as well as the breath to fill them. Her last words were just above a whisper, "I'm so tired of being afraid of them and afraid to be me."

---

@myinneroblivion @ShadowsofNight

---

Manny's downtrodden feelings were erased when he heard Bob's reassuring words and half intended joke about dipping out of the public eye for a while if he were in Talia's shoes. But it seemed that Talia had resolved to stop running from her problems and wanted to be her own woman, no longer moving to the string pulls of her over-manipulative parents like a marionette. It seemed that everyone was growing both as heroes as people the more time they spent time with one another. Perhaps it truly was an act of divine intervention that brought them together.

"Direct confrontations are not my forte but it seems that facing this head on is the most optimal solution...regardless how difficult it would be." He could relate with Talia to an extent, when he told his parents his decision to become an amateur hero rather than take the apprenticeship in Solis Ortus LLC they went ballistic and almost forced him to abandon his dream then and there. To this day, they still weren't on speaking terms and the only contact he has with his family now would be the occasional emails his kid sister sends him. He really hoped that he could help Talia get through to her parents and she wouldn't end up like him who has estranged relationship with his folks or Bob who he assumed to be was in hiding from his parents and anyone who knew him from his old life. "But we got your back regardless. We've faced danger and death already, how bad can your parents can be?" Manny ended with a chuckle, despite his temptation of Fate.

Talia didn't answer Manny right away, even though it was probably a rhetorical question but... how bad could her parents be? She didn't want to find out. Still, she had to stand up to them once and for all and she felt she could do it since she wasn't going to be alone this time. But to disappoint them to this degree... how could she live with herself after? She was supposed to be everything they'd taught her, not the total opposite. She still didn't know what to do or what it looked like or what would happen, but she tried to sound calm and collected anyways.

"I fear I've never seen them at their worst, Manny. I know my father will be angry, but he taught me about Chi from the beginning, so I don't know what he expected to happen after that. Ugh, I don't want to do this... I really, really don't want to do this..." Talia's voice faded away as she cringed with imagining the encounter and the pain, but she regained it once more for just a moment to finish her thought. She looked to Bob and Manny, "Guys, what comes next? Do we arrange to meet with my parents somewhere so I can deal with this? Should it be in public view or in private, away from eyes and ears?"

"Oh, Definitely in public, and maybe we should stay in costume. hmm, although, I mean... I guess maybe in private, so they don't try to make a scene... I don't know.. I would say public. Your parents aren't, like... secretly ninjas or something right?" He laughed, only half joking. "I mean, that would definitely make life interesting."

---

@myinneroblivion @ShadowsofNight

---

Manny nodded as sagely as he could while pondering what would be the best course of action. "I agree with Bob that both options have their merits." While doing the confrontation publicly would prevent her parents from any violent reactions, any reaction from them could get the attention of any nosy passerby and get filmed and posted on the internet before long. Risking their private identities even further. Doing it privately may cause Talia's father; and judging by her own words, he was a master martial artist that taught her everything she knows about martial arts and manipulating Ki flow. He'd likely kick their collective butts for 'misleading' their daughter if Manny and Bob tried to stop them from taking Talia away.

They'd need somewhere public enough to prevent any violence, but private enough to keep nosy pedestrians out of their hair if and when things get more than vocal. Then he got a bright idea.

"I got a place. Lets ask Pau if he can let us rent out the laundromat-cafe on the ground floor for the meeting. Public enough to keep everyone civil but private enough to not allow any nosy people to stick their noses in our business."

Bob will nod, satisfied, and leans back against the wall, crossing his arms against his chest. "Yeah, that sounds good to me. How much time do we have before they get here? Should we go on patrol till then, or is it... like... today?" Bob was never good at schedules... or Waiting for that matter. His hyper personality was almost itching to do Anything other than sit around.

---

@myinneroblivion @ShadowsofNight

---

With everything set for tomorrow's confrontation with Talia's parents, it was only a matter of waiting for the other proverbial shoe to fall.

While Manny was with Paul helping tidy up the laundromat café, it was only Bob and Talia who were out doing patrols that night. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how they would perceive it, the patrol was a rather quiet and unexciting one with the odd encounter here and there to give the duo something to do. Sometimes an old person would ask them to help cross the street or someone would ask them to keep them company to make them feel safe while waiting for the bus or a cab. The night passed without any major issues.

-Tomorrow Morning-



Manny couldn't help but fiddle around with his suit and tie while seated at the furthest booth in the establishment. He was sure that he looked presentable but he still felt anxious as he was the first one there other than Paul who was preparing some coffee and breakfast bagels for the meeting. Manny had sent the email to Talia's parents last night regarding where they would meet and they replied rather quickly that they will be there in the morning and expected us to be just as punctual. In a few more minutes or so, the matriarch and patriarch of the Rose family would arrive and they would be discussing Talia's future as a heroine. "Ah goodness gracious...where are Bob and Talia? I really don't want to confront them by myself." The Latino man muttered to himself as his eyes darted across the storefront's windows looking for their familiar faces while he adjusted his tie and straightened his coat for the nth time in the past ten minutes.