A Chance of Talenny

Wait what?!

"Talon?"

"Huh?"

"Talon, you need to wake up right now!"

Talon was barely awake as he sat up and felt around wildly in the darkness. The cell was dim, the only light was from the end of the corridor outside. Talon didn't have a good night's sleep, so his back hurt. Yet another nightmare.

"Talon!"

Wait, what?! Am I still dreaming? Talon was certain he heard someone calling his name. He got to his feet and felt for the wall to steady himself.

"Are you still asleep?!"

"Penny?"

"Duh, who else?"

Talon was aware he looked like some sort of freak who escaped from the asylum thanks to the number of horrible sleepless nights he had had and no hair gel. He wanted to sink back into the shadows and ignore Penny, but he was drawn to her voice. Penny was suited up in her black hoodie that seemed to blend in with the shadows. Talon finally spoke up after an awkward moment of mutual silence.

"What are you even doing here?! What time is it?"

"I'm here to..." Penny forced herself to cough up the word. "...rescue you. By the way it's 6 minutes past midnight."

"Hah! Not falling for whatever stupid plan you have," Talon huffed. "Going back to sleep."

There was a slide and click, and in a mere matter of seconds the cell door was unlocked. Penny stood smugly in the doorway, tucking away her CodeX.

"But ho-" Before Talon could finish, Penny shushed him and pulled him out into the dim hallway. "What about these stupid cuffs?"

"Guess you'll just have to live with them," Penny shrugged nonchalantly.

"WHA-" Penny slapped a hand over his mouth and pulled him sharply into an alcove. Another HQ agent walked past.

"Why are you so afraid of cuffs? And do you want to let the whole of HQ know I'm defying orders?!" Penny asked.

"What about the cameras, aren't there cameras, like, everywhere?" Talon eyed a security camera in the corner.

"Nah, disabling them was a piece of cake," Penny replied. "We should get out of here, and please don't ask anymore questions."

Penny slipped a familiar purple object into Talon's pocket. "My gum gun!" Talon was glad to be reunited with his weapon. Penny sighed and fetched Talon's pair of rocket boots from her locker. "So...no questions? Not even why you even care?"

"Nope." Penny scanned the corridors before they proceeded. After what seemed like hours of careful tiptoeing, they came to the main lobby. "Look, this is the most heavily guarded exit or entrance in the HQ building, it's going to take me a while." She fiddled with her CodeX while Talon kept watch for any guards.

"There!" Penny said with a satisfied grin. Just when the doors slid open, beams of light cut sharply through the darkness. There were shouts and footsteps. Penny grabbed Talon by the arm and pulled him onto her rocket scooter. She drove off into the night before the guards could take a good look at who she was. Talon almost lost his balance but he clung onto Penny's waist before his face could meet the asphalt. If they weren't in such a dire situation, he would have been jumping for joy.

There was the sound of engines behind them, and the guards were still giving chase. Penny picked up speed and skilfully manoeuvred through narrow alleyways and down streets where she could lose them. Almost there...

With a sharp swerve, they ducked into an alley barely wider than the scooter while the guards zoomed by in the patrol vehicles. Penny sighed in relief and turned to check on Talon.

"Talon? Talon!"

There was no response from Talon who lay motionless on the ground. He seemed to have took quite a hit to the head on a nearby fire hydrant. Penny bent down and helped him up, feeling his shallow breaths on her shoulder. Luckily, her house was only a few houses down the street.

"We're almost there."