"Come on…" Thierry jumped, spinning around and doing a kickflip before landing back on his skateboard and grinding down the railing. He pushed off just before reaching the end of the railing and almost missed the landing as his foot shifted on the board. The ground rose up to meet him, but he managed to keep his center of gravity over the board and land with the skateboard straight and his knees bent, racing down the final slope and braking hard on reaching the others, only seconds behind Hùng.

"Yes!" Hùng whooped, pumping his fist in the air as he rolled around the group at the finish line to a leisurely stop and hopped off his skateboard. "That's three in a row!"

"Dangit, Truffaut," groaned Laurent, shaking his head and pulling out a few euros. "You told me you had this."

Michel grinned, taking the money and sticking it into his pocket. "What can I say? I guess Thierry met his match today!"

Thierry let out a breath, wiped his brow, and grimaced, picking up his skateboard and holding it under his arm. "Sorry; I thought I could take him this time." Unfortunately, he hadn't accounted for just how much King Monkey had sparred with him last night – it had been after midnight when they finished training, and almost two by the time Thierry was able to fall asleep. This morning, no matter how much coffee he had drunk, he hadn't been able to keep his eyes open until after lunchtime, when the others had called him to hang out.

But he couldn't exactly tell them that was why he wasn't reacting as quickly today.

Hùng scoffed. "Better luck next time, T," he told him, holding out a fist. Reluctantly, Thierry bumped Hùng's fist, giving him a rueful nod. Hùng laughed. "Maybe fourth time's the charm!"

"You still did pretty well there," Sacha pointed out, raising an eyebrow at Thierry. "Definitely better than I could do."

Laurent hummed. "You're not wrong there," he agreed, nodding. "Still, not your best showing."

"I know." Thierry sighed heavily, grimacing. "I messed up the landing – that's where I lost time." He grinned. "Next time, you're going down, though," he told Hùng.

"Yeah?" Hùng smirked. "Bring it. I'm ready to go, any time you are."

"Maybe tomorrow I'll take you up on that," Thierry replied, suppressing a yawn.

"What's the matter? Scared?" Hùng taunted him with a grin. "Worried you can't handle it?"

Thierry raised an eyebrow. "You know I can handle it," he retorted. "I'm just worried you might be getting worn out!"

Hùng scoffed. "Any time, any place, Truffaut."

Thierry nodded slowly. "Tomorrow, then. At the Champ de Mars."

"I'll be waiting," Hùng answered, smirking. "Waiting to beat you again!"

"We'll see about that…"

Dropping his skateboard to the ground, Jacques hopped on it and rolled his eyes, gliding around the park a few times. "You up for another race?" he asked Hùng, raising an eyebrow. "I bet I can do it in half the time."

"Alright," Hùng agreed, giving him an evaluating look. "Same route, ending with the stairs and that hill," he told him, pointing around the park. "Deal?"

Jacques grinned. "Try to keep up," he called, racing away.

"Hey!" shouted Hùng, pushing off and chasing after Jacques, banking sharply toward the first obstacle. Reaching it less than a minute after Jacques passed it, Hùng took the turn as close as he could, only barely missing scraping the side of his skateboard on the curb.

Sacha glanced over at Thierry. "Why didn't you want to try it again? I thought skateboarding was your thing."

Thierry shrugged. "Just a bit of a long night," he replied, giving Sacha a meaningful look. Sacha's eyes widened in realization, and Thierry nodded. "Although I did almost have him at the end…"

Laurent gave him a curious look, though without commenting. Instead, he looked at Sacha, giving him an evaluating look. "So, tell us a little more about yourself," he asked Sacha. "I don't think we've ever met before."

"Haven't you?" asked Thierry, furrowing his brows.

"No, I don't think so," Michel replied, shaking his head. "Although there is something familiar about you…"

Sacha's eyes widened nervously. "I, um–"

"It's probably from the Paris Plages the other day," Thierry interjected, elbowing Sacha, who nodded a little too eagerly. "We were walking by there, and I noticed you guys on the beach."

"Oh?" Laurent started. "Why didn't you come down and say 'hi'?"

"Wait…" interjected Michel, giving Thierry a suspicious look. "That was the same day that that care almost fell off the bridge, wasn't it?"

Thierry grimaced. "Yeah…"

Michel shook his head. "That was absolutely wild!" he observed. "Victoria was watching – she thought those people were goners for sure."

Laurent nodded in understanding. "Same," he agreed. "I didn't think there was any way that car wouldn't come down on top of them. But… it didn't."

"Did you see what happened?" Michel asked, glancing back and forth between Thierry and Sacha.

Thierry's jaw clenched. "I'm not sure why the guy didn't stop," he began, "but I don't have any explanation for what stopped him and pulled him back away from the edge. He was hanging off… and then he wasn't." His eyes drifted to Sacha. "It's a good thing there are so many heroes in Paris."

"You think it was one of them?" Laurent mused, raising an eyebrow. "Did you see one of them?"

"No…"

"Ladybug?" suggested Michel. "She could have caught it with her yo-yo and no one would have to be the wiser."

Laurent shook his head. "You would notice the yo-yo, wouldn't you?"

"Probably," Thierry began, but Laurent cut him off.

"Wasn't there one of the New Heroes of Paris who can manipulate rocks?' he asked. "Maybe she caught the car's front wheels and pushed it back, and then she reset everything.

"Wouldn't someone have spotted an extra bit of earth jutting out, though?" Michel pointed out. "No, I'm thinking it's someone entirely new…"

Sacha tensed.

"What, someone invisible?" Thierry joked.

"Huh." Michel's eyes widened. "That would make sense, you know. Can't one of the heroes already turn invisible? Geber, maybe?"

Thierry furrowed his brows. "Geber? He doesn't turn invisible."

"I think it's Bengalia," Laurent supplied, rolling his eyes. "Maybe it was her who saved that car."

"Then why stay invisible?" Michel argued, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Maybe she didn't want the attention?"

At that moment, Jacques raced up and around the hill, hit the railing down, and jumped off, accelerating with every meter. Close behind him, Hùng rocketed down the hill to reach the other four at almost the same moment that Jacques did. Thierry started to cheer, but he froze seeing the look on Hùng's face.

"Seriously, dude?" Hùng demanded, jumping off the skateboard and kicking it up into his hand. "That really wasn't cool."

"What are you talking about?" Jacques asked him, his brows furrowed. Eyeing him carefully, Thierry could see a twitch in the corner of his mouth.

"I'm talking about you," Hùng retorted heatedly. "You cut the half-pipe short."

"Did I?" Jacques quirked an eyebrow at him. "There really wasn't much space left for another jump."

Hùng frowned. "You still could have done it. Thierry and I both did at least four."

Jacques shrugged. "Either way, we still finished at the same time."

Hùng folded his arms.

"Sorry we weren't watching," Michel apologized, grinning sheepishly. "We got into a discussion about the Heroes of Paris."

Jacques rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Thierry thinks there might be a new invisible hero," Sacha supplied, looking visibly relieved.

"I just think it's a possibility," Thierry protested. "I didn't say there was."

"That would be pretty cool, though," Hùng agreed, humming.

Jacques smirked. "That's definitely the superpower I would want…" Thierry arched an eyebrow at him, suppressing a shudder that went down his spine. Sighing, Jacques glanced over at Hùng. "Do you want to try for a rematch?"

Hùng's mouth set in a thin line. "Fine."

Laurent glanced down at his watch. "Shoot. I gotta go." Thierry arched an eyebrow at him. "I'm meeting Marie for a late lunch, then we're going down to the beach along the Seine."

Jacques snorted. "Someone's whipped."

Laurent arched an eyebrow at him. "Someone's girlfriend just got a new bikini. And she wants my opinion on it."

Jacques held his hands up. "Okay, okay," he conceded, wagging his eyebrows. "You get a pass this time."

Michel grinned. "I hope lunch isn't too expensive," he told Laurent, getting to his feet. "I know that Victoria and I are going to be going somewhere nice tonight!"

Laurent shook his head in annoyance. "I hope your girl appreciates eating on my euro."

"Oh, she will."

"So where do you guys take your girlfriends?" Hùng asked, leaning forward curiously, his brows knit together pensively.

Laurent shrugged. "Marie likes the café halfway between her apartment and the collège, so we go there a lot – that's where we're meeting today, since we can eat outside. Though a couple weeks ago I took her to that nice Italian place in the 14th Arrondissement. That place was good. Pricy, though. Why?"

Hùng's cheeks took on a pinkish tinge, and he looked away.

Michel smirked. "He's got a crush."

Thierry arched an eyebrow. "Oh? Who?"

Hùng looked away and murmured something under his breath. Michel leaned forward, grinning, and elbowed Hùng in the ribs. Hùng coughed. "Sophie – I think I want to ask… Sophie… out."

Laurent raised an eyebrow in surprise, glancing at Thierry. Looking away, Thierry let out a breath, feeling blood rushing to his ears.

"Hey, didn't you…?" Jacques began, glancing at Thierry meaningfully.

Waving his hand dismissively, Thierry shrugged. "That was a few years ago," he pointed out. "And nothing ever happened – I don't think she ever knew."

"Oh." Hùng cocked his head, looking at Thierry in surprise. "You…?"

He shook his head. "No – not anymore. I'd rather just be friends."

"Coward," Jacques muttered under his breath.

Hùng relaxed. "So you don't mind if I…"

Thierry held a hand out. "Go for it, dude. And good luck!"

Jacques smirked. "You've got good taste," he told Hùng. "Although she isn't exactly hot – but if she tried a little more, maybe showed a little more skin… She's got the bone structure, but her clothes really don't do anything for her."

Thierry furrowed his brows. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Yeah…" Hùng began, giving Jacques a confused look and taking a step back away from him. "What are you talking about?"

"You remember what she wore that time at the beach?" asked Jacques, arching an eyebrow.

"No." Thierry gave him a deadpan look. "No, I don't make it a habit of memorizing what every girl around me wears on a daily basis."

Jacques rolled his eyes. "It really didn't flatter her figure. Especially the bust. But her legs are nice… when she shows them."

Michel frowned, folding his arms. "That's enough, dude. Now cut it out."

"Do you have to objectify every girl you see?" Laurent demanded.

Jacques shrugged noncommittally.

"Is this… normal for your friends?" muttered Sacha, leaning closer to Thierry.

He grimaced. "It's normal for Jacques," he answered slowly. Letting his voice raise a little, he added, "I'm not sure why we keep him around."

Jacques quirked an eyebrow at Thierry. "Object all you want, Truffaut," he retorted. "But I know that you look, too."

Thierry frowned. "There's a difference between looking and leering. And this is not okay."