More Than Just a Walk in the City [Open]

[Inari Beck]

"Okay, so, I'm supposed to take this street from here and turn left..." Inari mumbled as she stared at the little printed map in her hands and tried to navigate her way to a store she had wanted to visit for quite some time. Granted, she had lived here for some time now, but the city as a whole was still relatively unexplored for her. The day was nice, sunny mostly but with some clouds in the sky, and the streets were mildly busy with people, which suited her just fine. She was wearing her usual outfit, her collared shirt partly buttoned up due to the slight breeze and the scarf swaying every now and then.

Actually, she was secretly a little bit excited: she had heard Jump City housed a good deal of heroes in it, maybe she'd catch a glimpse of one today! Of course, her dad was adamant she not get close to any place she spotted a hero in because it usually was a dangerous spot, but... She couldn't help but feel a bit like a fan!

Following the directions, Inari took in some of the surroundings, but her headphones drowned out something very important as she was closing a bank: the sound of the alarm going off. Before she knew it, two men came out wearing black skimasks and waving their guns around, shooting a few shots towards the doors of the bank. Inari was frozen in shock and her heart skipped a beat when they started running towards her.

"Out of the way!" One of them bellowed at her and pushed her hard, causing her to stumble backwards and fall, hand trying to hold on to something, her nails sharpening into claws on instinct. She felt something hitting her palm, and then there was a tearing sound before she hit the ground, painfully, her headphones slipping down and around her neck at the same time. What would've caused them to run that hard, even if time was of the essence?

[Robin]

Robin was already on the move.

The R-Cycle powered across Jump in all of it's glory, easily catching the envious eyes of a multitude of civilians and passerby's. Aboard its steed was the Boy Wonder, eyes cocked dead ahead as hands gripped each of the two rubber handles, turning them in a clockwise motion which caused the high powered vehicle to increase its velocity further, blasting through traffic with incredible ease, his titanium cape flailing about wildly from the boost in speed. Rounding several corners Robin diverted his eyes downward at the bikes embedded supercomputer, mentally calculating the distance between himself and the scene of the crime. It wasn't long now. Stepping on the gas the Boy Wonder sped up even further, despite the increasing traffic garnered by Jump's ever popular shopping district.

The bank. Of course. Being the one of the larger sources of money it was always a prime target for villains and idiots alike. Permitting a grin to grow across his face, Robin easily figured that this would be a simple capture for lower tiered criminals since they graced the shopping district, nine times out of ten. He wouldn't need the other Titans to take down such petty thieves.

Robin's vision became a glare as he neared the bank, turning back on the handle, reducing his speed as he quickly surveyed the situation that filled his features with dread and a small degree of worry. For one, there was an obvious source of criminal activities, but not a single thief in the vicinity. Second, there was a white haired female on the ground, who looked to have been injured. There was no pool of blood around her, and she looked to be conscious, which made her appear to be the the one thing that Robin needed more than anything right now.

An eye witness.

The R-cycle screeched to a halt across from the bank as Robin quickly raised his metallic shoes up and over the bike, hands releasing themselves from the handles as the male hopped off the technologically advanced bike, removing his helmet and placing it in-between said handles. He maintained his glare as he walked across the busy street, ignoring the blaring honking belonging to various vehicles. The sun threatened his vision as its illuminating brightness lingered through the teen's mask but he refused to let such a trivial object hinder his focus and his vision, for such a distraction can easily allow someone of criminal intent to escape into the depths of the city.

Coming to a halt in front of the downed female, Robin lowered himself, knees pressing against the pavement as he looked at the valuable witness. "Hey, you saw where those robbers went?" He asked curtly, making no move to help the other up onto her feet. Not yet, at least. A sea of people looked onward from around the scene, recognizing the Boy Wonder in all of his glory. Fear was discernible from a majority of their gazes, though joy was also abound, for very leader of the Titans was on the job. While he was ready to drop a plethora of questions on this stranger he waited for her response; interrogation could wait for another time.

[Inari Beck]

Inari was staring towards the direction the two robbers went to in stupor. On the other hand, she was terrified because she just witnessed a robbery. On the other hand, she was excited because she just witnessed a robbery! But that would not be the end of her excitement today, it turns out.

The screeching of tires brought the girl out of her stupor and she whipped her head around with a squeak when a large object slid into a stop in the corner of her eye, and someone climbed off it. The figure, a male she quickly realized, removed his helmet and started a walk towards her position where she was still sitting on her bum. She blanked out for a moment when she realized who the approaching figure was. Oh holy smokes, it was Robin?! Good thing she was blanked out, otherwise she might've squee'd as a rather inappropriate response.

She drew her legs towards her a bit in surprise when he kneeled down to her level and asked a question. She blinked, quite stupid of her to do she noted, and then at long last her brain rebooted and started working.

"Uh, y-yes! I did! Two men, medium height and build, I think, they went that way-" She pointed with her right hand towards where she had originally come, and then noticed a shred of fabric held in her palm. "Oh! I think this came from one of their coats when they passed me, I must've-" Wait, wait. She had a piece of coat from one of the robbers? Her mind started working come much needed overtime as she stared at the piece. The trail was going cold, so what he'd need now is a... Dog... Oh. Oh my.

"... I think I can help you track them." She mumbled, just enough for him to hear and with a very astonished voice. She actually and honest to goodness could help someone! A hero no less!

[Robin]

Despite the girls recoil Robin maintained the inquisitive gleam in his masked eyes. She seemed clueless which usually resulted with uncertainty. That wasn't going to help him. Still he gave her the benefit of the doubt, for at this point anything was better than nothing. Going back to the Tower to run a full scale analysis would only hand the criminals an excessive amount of time to make a proper getaway. Even idiots would use that time wisely.

When her lips parted to speak Robin built an approximate picture of said bad guys in his head based on the females description. The Boy Wonder eyed the torn cloth in the females hand, taking special note of the color. She seemed surprised that she even had the fabric in her grip! Was nervousness dictating the way she act, or was she really as clueless as he originally thought? Regardless, right now one thing was for certain, the one clue that determined the easiest way to pinpoint said thieves was in her head, along with her light description of both males in question.

Her last sentence caught the male off guard, eyes widening for a second before narrowing themselves in a light glare, his domino mask thinning out as his serious demeanor came back into fruition. Unless she had a portable computer that rivaled the technology at Titans tower, there was no way she can actually help track them, unless Robin decided to berate himself and play the guessing game with this female. "And just how can you help track them," he asked with a hint of curiosity. Extending his gloved hand out, he impatiently waited for her complying grip so he could pull her off the sand-board pavement and continue their little chat. No matter what, he needed to hit the road, and soon if he had any chance of catching these guys. Titans be damned if Robin lost to low class criminals, for failure wasn't in this teen's vocabulary.

[Inari Beck]

"It's, uh... Um." Inari took the offered hand and stood up, quite unsure how to tell it. Sure, the Teen Titans had an alien, a cyborg and an animal shapeshifter in it for good measure, so surely this fellow would understand what she could do, and not... Point and laugh or call her a freak, but it still wasn't a point she liked to discuss in public. A public street, no less!

"It's... Easier to show, not tell, I believe." She mumbled, one hand quickly switching off her player and the other hand bringing the scrap of fabric near her nose. It was... Kind of weird to start smelling something that used to belong to a bad guy, but she said she would help, and help she would to the best of her abilities!

With that in mind, she concentrated on an image of a dog. She was careful not to overdo it, but all the same, her senses started to sharpen a bit, especially her sense of smell. She had practiced this a couple of times before, so she had a pretty okay idea what to expect. And there it was, the slight trail of smell!

"This way!" She announced before breaking into a run, after the two robbers, her heart pounding with excitement as she trusted the more experienced pro to follow, and most likely match her pace with ease. The scent continued forth for a while, before it veered sharply and into an alley. It looked like there was a fence separating two alleyways, but the scent definetly went into the alley.

"In here!" The bad guys had probably moved further than just the alleyway, but they had gone through here, she was certain!

[Robin]

Robin stared, eyes widening to nearly astronomical proportions when the female brought the fabric near her nose. Did she have a dog's instinct, or was she just playing games? The questions wrapped the Boy Wonder's mind in a state of confusion but for the sake of the mission he went along with it, whilst taking two steps back away from her.

Her sudden announcement carried with it enough certainty to convince the teen to actually follow her when she took off, leg's pushing off the ground as Robin barreled through throngs of people, tracking her quickly and carefully, eventually catching up to the female easily. If everything went as planned, then the robbers would be caught off guard allowing the founding Titan to swiftly curb stomp them and leave them tied up for police.

Soon the duo wound up in an alleyway, one half bordered by a tall fence. Robin took the initiative and ran forward, leaping halfway onto the fence and within seconds he reached its apex and threw his body over, landing on the ground in a kneel, cape surrounding and covering his athletic frame. He stood to his feet and turned around to face the girl, whose name he didn't know, though such trivial things didn't matter when there's criminals on the loose.

"Come on," he urged her, the impatience evident in his voice. Surely she had the ability to scale this fence. Would such a petty obstacle stop her dead in her tracks? Robin sure hoped not.

[Inari Beck]

Ah, she forgot he was fairly light on his feet according to the stories. Not a problem, so was she! Building up a running start, Inari jumped onto a large garbage bin, managed to take a few steps along the wall before pushing off and placing her hand on the fence, easily swinging the rest of her body over it and landing on her feet in a crouched position. Stung a bit, but she'd felt worse. Feeling that she was now far enough from the usual prying eyes, she decided to use a little more of her power.

Her ears tranformed into pointed, cream-coloured dog ears, going along the side of her head and pointin up rather than to the sides, and a fluffy cream-coloured tail popped out from the top of her pants (thank you powers that be that it didn't get snagged anywhere for once). The scent seemed stronger now, and her ears twitched with excitement. She sniffed the air again, to confirm the route, and grinned at the young man.

"This way!" She pointed and ran again, the idea that the sudden emergence of fluffy ears would be a bit of a shock to the Boy Wonder. But then, maybe he had come to expect something like that, surely he had seen stranger?

"The scent is getting stronger, I don't think they got terribly far after all." She informed him as she darted across a road, oddly empty for the time of day, and ducked into another alleyway. Perhaps they had regrouped or... Thought no one would look this close to the bank?

[Robin]

Robin watched her as she scaled the wall with ease, thankful that she wasn't a helpless damsel in distress. The sixteen year old would have complimented her for but now wasn't the time for petty remarks. While Robin waited impatiently for her to start moving, he tapped his feet on the dirty ground, the only sound distinguishable in the surrounding area.

What his eyes laid on next, was rather surprising.

The girl's ears...transformed into ears fit for dogs? Robin had to blink twice to make sure he wasn't seeing an disfigured copy of Beast Boy. Despite his rapid blinking, what he saw was the real deal; he couldn't mistake that creamy tail that drooped downward, those twitching ears, and that grin that grew on her face. She had powers - not too surprising when considering the amount of super-powered teenagers who lived in the city - but her?

Of course despite the small degree of shock Robin was easily able to discern the use of her ability; it would strengthen the scent making her tracking easier and more accurate. Robin gave the other a nod of approval, not bothering to say anything else to give her the time to trail the guys once more.

When she was on the move, he was, of course. Admittedly her random appearance was most fortunate since it made everything so much easier. Sure, she was a little clumsy but most definitely helpful. Emerging out of the alleyway the two ran across a road, and before he knew it, wound up in another alleyway. The two were fleeing, that was for sure.

"So we're close, huh?" Robin asked, tensing his body, getting ready for a showdown. If there were two of them, then provided the girl joins in it would be a two on two fight. If there were more of them...then he would fight anyway. Criminals were usually slack when it came to combat, and the Boy Wonder breathes combat.

It was now or never. He waited for her to lead the way once more.

[Inari Beck]

Inari ran a while longer into the alley before she suddenly stopped and ducked behind a large garbage container, motioning Robin to do the same. Sounds of two males could be heard, slightly faint but nonetheless discernible from behind another corner.

"Can you hear anything?"
"No, no sirens or nuthin'!" Came the reply as the rustle of cloth could be heard. The two men were changing clothes from the back of an older car, and in a way, this was a good idea: the police would be looking for two masked men on foot, not two ordinary-looking men in a car. Too bad it just... Wasn't their day today.

Inari's ears twitched again, pointed towards the direction of the voices. She frowned, pulse picking up once more as she started to speak in a hushed voice.

"Ah, okay, um. One of them had a pistol, kinda like the ones the police carry but not quite. I think the other one is armed too." She tried to remember back to her brief encounter. Granted, she hadn't seen much, but one of the perks of having a police for a father was that he tended to teach how to observe things, since he didn't know what else to do with a teenaged daughter really.

"And... I should warn you now that I'm not a very good fighter." This time, the ears drooped. All this way and she couldn't help much in the end... "But I... Could intimidate? Because I can transform into a bear. Well, partly into a bear. Like, claws and strength and roar?" Inari tried hesitantly. He could probably beat both with a smoke bomb and one arm behind his back, but if she could help, she'd try her best!

[Robin]

The Boy Wonder matched the girls pace, though he trailed purposely behind her, giving the female necessary room to track down the thieves in question. His cape fluttered behind him as he ran. Minutes later, following the dog-girls cue he lowered his body towards the dirty ground, curled and performed a simple roll behind another trash can.

His own ears, were able to pick up on a pair of voices coming from an adjacent corner, though he couldn't distinguish the drifting words due to lack of dog exclusive ears. He turned to the white haired female near him, waiting for her input.

As she spoke Robin took all of the information into account, nodding his head as he registered her useful information, now having a better picture of what he was up against - of course, when it came to criminals as petty as these, it didn't matter as much in comparison to the more tactical villains such as Brother Blood.

Gloved hands fell onto his utility belt, depressing a button on its side and quickly, almost at the speed of light withdrew a grey staff, in its dormant form. Within that same time frame he pulled out three metal discs, metal in color, slipping them in-between his fingers. It was then that he heard her words, eyes watching as her ears drooped in sadness. While it was unfortunate, there was no mistaking that she was extremely helpful thus far, even if she was clumsy to an certain extent.

"Just leave it to me, I don't want you to get hurt. You did enough." Robin didn't wait for her reply as he stood on his feet and rushed forward, his steps falling loudly against the concrete. Rounding the corner he fell witness to the two males whose initial shock obviously alerted the titan that these were the guys they were looking for. Gripping the Bo staff tightly in hand he charged forward, pressing a button that doubled the staff's length. His other occupied hand quickly tossed the compact disk grenades; two falling on the ground in front of each jail bound perpetrator, while one fell on the car. Not even seconds passed before they each detonated, one exploding and setting the car on fire, the other two producing a large cloud of smoke, its billowing clouds filled both of their lungs causing them to involuntarily cough. Adrenaline filled his body and he swung his staff targeting the midsection of one of the criminals.

Inwardly, he hoped that the girl wouldn't decide to rush into the thick of things.

[Inari Beck]

The young hero was off like a shot, and soon sounds of small explosions and scuffle were the most prominent ones. Inari was curious, and lightly, carefully, peeked around the corner to witness a real hero doing what he does best. The whole scene was mostly obscured with smoke, but from what she could see, Robin was very fluid in his movements, and Inari squealed in her head.

Soon, however, she noticed and heard one of the perpetrators starting to run away, heading towards her position. Inari flinched, she really didn't want to fight, she'd lose! Most likely! Maybe! She'd at the very least get hurt!

Inari didn't have too many options in that case. With that in mind, she darted back behind the large garbage container and in a surprisingly fluid move, both launched at the shorter side of it and quickly switched from the dog and to the aforementioned bear. The ears became smaller, rounder and brown, the tail vanished into a small nub (which one probably couldn't see as it was hidden under her jacket) and her nails became rather vicious-looking claws. Just before she hit the container, her muscles started looking more defined and she seemed to gain a small increase in her mass.

When her shoulder hit the container, she bit her lip accidentally with her newly-grown fangs and the container sailed forwards, hitting the wall of the alleyway. Still disorientated from the sudden attack, the coughing robber didn't react in time and ran right into the new obstacle.

He stumbled back with a groan and fell, though it seemed like he was back on his feet fairly fast. Hopefully, not fast enough for the hero to miss him.

[Robin]

"Ooof!"

The blunt tip of the staff easily connected, pounding on the thief's abdomen, causing him to exhale all of the stored air packed in his lungs in one hefty burst. Grasping his stomach region he knelt down to the ground clearly in pain but Robin wasn't done yet. In the same swing he gyrated the pole allowing for another attack to press against the small of the man's back, knocking him face-first to the floor. The smoke was starting to clear and Robin quickly grabbed another set of the useful explosives when he suddenly noticed that the other guy was gone.

Eyes focused on the only path that the soon to be convicted thief could have ran through: the shape shifting girls path. A loud yell came from Robin's mouth as he immediately took off, daring to catch the perp before he could indiscriminately shoot the girl. The death of a super human was something that the teen did not want on his conscience. Rounding the corner he came face to face with that girl who definitely looked different in appearance, as well as a thrown garbage container, but more importantly, his eyes quickly darted to a clambering robber struggling to get away.

Like that was gonna happen.

The grenade left the Boy Wonder's hands, landed three paces in front of the fleeing thief and within seconds detonated in a orange explosion that surprised the poor soul, causing him to fall back onto the ground with shock ridden on this face. Soft steps echoed through the alley toward the stunned male, who was quickly searched and disarmed by Batman's former apprentice. Robin produced a thick rope from his utility belt and the rest was the history. Both were disarmed and tied up and soon, the police would be on the premises to take 'em away. Mission accomplished.

Sirens can be heard blaring in the distance, becoming increasingly louder with each and every minute that passed. Robin stepped up to the bear like girl, offering her a smile and a hand open for a handshake. "You made my day a lot easier, thanks, uhh," he paused, not knowing the strangers name. While she was clueless initially, Robin had his doubts but when she became more resolute in a short time frame, adapting her powers to the situation at hand, she quickly became a relatively reliable asset. That was why it was no surprise when the Boy Wonder withdrew a palm sized yellow disk, with a symbolic 'T' on its front-side.

[Inari Beck]

Inari grinned and pumped her fist in victory when Robin finished wrapping the bad guys up for the police. She felt accomplished and proud, even if she had done next to nothing in comparison. But then, it wasn't like she was specifically trained to take on armed bad guys, right? She should work on that. In secret, of course, she had a feeling her father might not approve, especially not at a stage this early.

The Boy Wonder approached her with a smile and offered his hand for a handshake. Inari went to grab his hand but stopped: she was still sporting some mean-looking claws. She shook her hand in the air, pleased to see it return to normal and then shook the hero's hand with an apologetic smile. It would not have been cool to scratch him on accident after he just single-handedly apprehended a pair of bank robbers.

"Oh! It's Inari!" She paused for a bit. Or, should she say...? "O-or Menagerie, I guess." Because technically she was sort of a superhero now? Except greener than bamboo and not very super or hero, but technically speaking, you know?

"It's no problem, I'm sorry I couldn't do more! I'm really new at this. Well, new at everything, really. Including the country..." She mumbled the last part a bit. Granted, concidering she spoke with a very distinct accent hinging towards Recieved Pronounciation more than anything, he had probably figured that one out ages ago.

[Robin]

Robin nodded his head, a soft smile illuminating his face as he shook Inari's hand, maintaining his professionalism. "Menagerie, it's nice to meet you," he said, pulling back his hand to let it fall back down at his side. The sunlight penetrated the dark and moist alleyway, casting shadows that traveled the width of each of the large buildings positioned to their left and right. Casually he rotated the held communicator in his hand, ready to hand her the well deserved item, but her next words brought a series of question marks to the forefront of the Boy Wonder's mind.

Gently, he placed his unoccupied hand on the other's left shoulder. A show of comfort. "You didn't need to do anything else," he said, maintaining his easing smile, "It'd take me longer to track them down without you. New to the country? Heh, there's plenty of others here who are pretty new, too. Well, welcome to Jump City," he said removing his hand to reach down and take her palm. Atop of said palm, he placed a disc shaped object inside of it.

"If you ever need help, you know who to call." With that said, the sixteen year old turned and started to walk out of the alleyway when one heel suddenly whipped around, his entire being facing her once more. His head tilted slightly off to the side, an eyebrow raised underneath that mysterious mask of his, "Were you heading somewhere? I can give you a lift if you want."

[Inari Beck]

Inari smiled a bit at the Boy Wonder's reassurance that she had done enough. It was a nice thing to say, even if it didn't completely reassure her that she had done enough. She should really find time to get better at this...

"Thanks, great to be here." She nodded, and then watched the hero give her something. She examined the round thing a bit, and realized it was a communicator. Sweet! If she were alone she would've done a dorky dance our of glee, but since she wasn't she'd hold back. Until she was alone, anyway.

"Hm?" She blinked as she pocketed the communicator, easily slipping it out of immediate view. "Ah, um, there's this gamestore I wanted to check out, it should've been close to the bank. If you're in a rush, though, I can get there on my own just fine!" She grinned and waved her hand before pausing. The sirens still wailed in the distance. "A-actually, I need to hurry because I think my father's on patrol today and he doesn't... I haven't really told him?" She chattered nervously as her eyes darted around, almost expecting him to round a corner and catch them both here.