Triggering the Mall-Rat Trap {open}

[Kori Ander]

Kori cautiously approached the mall, her green eyes scanning the building carefully. she'd been there when the animals had taken over, had been right alongside Henry when the gorillas had attacked, so Kori knew full well the damage that had been done to the place. It was hardly a surprise to her that the place had been closed for renovation and that suits had patrolled. However, despite being told expressly the contrary, Kori felt it was her duty to patrol the area. She'd been there at the beginning; she had hero training; she should take responsibility. Plus, Kori couldn't help feeling that she'd forgotten or missed something in the mall.

Still, stealth and caution weren't exactly watch-words when it came to Kori Anders. She was much more used to blazing in, hands glowing, punches and star-bolts flying. While her strength might be decidedly above her build, it still wasn't the Tamaranean power Kori was used to, and the hovering she managed did not qualify as flying. Those abilities just proved that eventually Kori would regain some resemblance of her self. It was, however, enough for her to decide that she should act as Starfire yet again.

So Starfire approached the mall carefully, her long purple boots just above the ground. It was easy to move noiselessly when your feet didn't touch the earth, and Kori certainly could manage that, if nothing else. She cautiously approached the building. As soon as she drew near to one of the less-guarded side entrances, however, Kori heard a wooshing noise. She had enough time to react as a bird, likely one of the escaped, dove from a tree, likely seeing Kori as some kind of thread. Kori, reacting, dropped to the ground and skittered backward...

only to feel her boot knock against something. With a muttered curse in Tamarean, Kori tried to jerk forward, but soon found herself trapped in a cage that was just about right for a small dog, which meant that Kori was bent into quite the uncomfortable position. Frustrated, Kori tried to bang against it, doing decent damage to the bars. However, she'd just started when she heard someone approaching, which caused her to freeze. Something told her that getting caught by the suits in a danger zone was not a great move.

[Hinata Hyuga]

Since meeting with Ichiro earlier, Hinata had been thinking about ninjas. They were masters of stealth and invisibility. Most of what she found out in the library pertained to them wearing black clothing. Done up in a simple black t-shirt and black exercise pants, the potential kunoichi decided to test herself at the currently most guarded place she could find. The ruined mall. While she couldn't remember anything of her past self, she felt something in her as she made her way towards the rubble. Her eyes scanned from side to side constantly. Muscle memory keeping her feet falling lightly even at full run. She stopped when ever she could hide her entire body, so she could get a better look at the area.

Something inside her, told her that she should be seeing things better than she was now. Her vision was completely based on the glasses and contacts she wore at the moment. As she made her way towards the entrance, she heard a strange sound. It could have been a word, but she wasn't completely certain. Poking the side of her head around the tree she stationed herself behind she spotted a red haired girl stuck in a cage that was too small for her to fit comfortably. The banging on the bars made it seem that she wanted out quickly. Impressed by the flexibility and power of this girl she caused her foot to slip forward creating the sound of a foot step. And that's when the other girl froze. Hinata gave one last glance around seeing no one else there before running straight to the cage. Her eyes looking over the containment unit for the latch to open it.

[Samuel 'Spike' Sparkle]

Spike had taken in the idea that going to a mall for R&R happened to be a great idea. Relaxation was nice, the workers all seemed to be friendly, and everyone seemed to have a distinct - but overall pleasant - spring in their step. At least, that was how everywhere else seemed....the mall happened to be closed. For renovations, as he noticed, standing a bit away. He stared at the building, raising a brow, pouting -- he'd really hoped he'd be able to gorge himself, and get a 'My Little Hoofbeast: Allegiance is Scientific' t-shirt from one of the stores...but no, something had wrecked all that, and Spike had no idea what, only the knowledge that it was likely dangerous...and it was likely bad. He bit his lip. Well, that crosses one potential resting spot off the list -- for a while, at least. 

As he left, however, that was when he spied a girl in a....predicament. He raised a brow, looking at the ginger-haired tamaranian caught in the mousetrap, then at the blur that he'd saw passing by. Spike mouthed the word 'what' to himself, then....decided to get involved anyway. Taking mind of the fact that it was guarded, Spike slid behind a tree.....and that was when he bumped into a girl. He said nothing, only mouthing the words 'Ah! Sorry!' and stepping...far back. He glanced around -- his newness, coupled with age would likely just get him a warning if caught, but....he still feared the idea, and gripped the tree, trying to hide himself as he found that the girl was potentially dashing off. 

God, I'm such an idiot....why do I let myself get involved in these things when I shouldn't even be?

[Kori Ander]

Kori had expected the banging and the beating to attract some form of attention, but she'd half expected a suit to appear out of the darkness. They seemed to be more ubiquitous since this whole trouble started, and they were rather likely to be patrolling for loose animals and wanting to check their traps. However, instead of staring at a professional in a suit, Kori found herself looking at a girl that seemed about her own age. Kori paused and stared for several seconds, not quite believing her luck and not quite able to identify the person.

Unfortunately, as already noted, stealth was not among Kori's super powers. "Greetings and help!" she nearly shouted. She didn't need much encouragement to lower her voice, though that only meant going from "shouting" to "speaking loudly": "I seem to be trapped in one of the traps for the animals," she nudged it again before shifting, trying to get her head closer to the door of the cage as opposed to her feet (which had been kicking). At least Kori had enough room to crawl around: the cage being made to handle something roughly tiger sized without giving much in the room of moving.  "I do not know if there are catches or--" and Kori thought she heard something in the distance. She frowned, looking roughly in the direction where someone hid behind a tree. When no one came out, however, Kori simply turned back to Hinata. "Is there something I should be doing? Perhaps if I kick the door hard enough; I am quite strong..."

[Hinata Hyuga]

Hinata found the latch on the cage as the girl inside suggested kicking it. "That will not be necessary." As the door swung open slowly, she looked back at the boy who bumped into her earlier and just motioned with her hands for the two to meet her by the wall just inside the enterance. She grabbed the gril's hand to help her out of the cage and then pull her along. She could already tell that stealth was not the strong suit of either of these two. The girl seemed to be a basher. The type that went in fist first. The boy almost looked like his best cahnce of steath was to hide under the seat that the poeple he was trying to hide from was sitting on.

[Samuel 'Spike' Sparkle]

Spike nodded, and taking a step of mild hesitance, he detached himself from the tree. 

Okay, so I looked like an idiot, but....I didn't want to die! Jeez....I didn't think a trip to the mall would be that dangerous....

Biting his lip, he made a break for the wall, quickly screeching to a halt as he reached it, as to not bash head first into it. He had enough embarrassment for one day, there was no need to add onto it by crashing straight into the wall. Bam. Impacting the wall would just add to injuries, too, and Twilight would be all in arms about that, of course. He smiled a bit, weakly. Phew. At least the other two girls seemed to be getting out fine? And if there was one thing Spike had as an advantage....speed. He took it upon himself to be stronger than expected, and he somehow was. He let out a relaxed sigh, they'd hopefully not be in danger there....

...But I wonder what that girl was doing in so far in in the first place. I mean, it's not like you couldn't tell the place was shut down, but it was....way shut down. So what was she doing? On top of that, who was that other girl? And....I hope I didn't annoy either of 'em. Heh...I'm such a dork, why did I think I could help?

He leaned against the wall, biting his lip, leaving an indent with his sharp teeth as the girls walked over. A bit of blood was visible trickling down from his lip, but it's not like it wasn't experienced before. He knew very well his teeth were sharp....though he didn't know that his skin wasn't as armored as his previous dragon skin was. 

[Kori Ander]

Kori tilted her head as the girl suggested that kicking wouldn't be necessary. The alien wasn't quite sure why that would be so, given that kicking had been the only thing Kori had been able to think of to get out of here prior to the other girl showing up. When Hinata dealt with the latch, however, things clicked into place for Kori. She nearly glided out of the cage, showing a resistance to gravity that was simply not normal. Kori soon spun about, testing everything and making sure that her hero's outfit was all in place. Once that was settled, she nodded at Hinata. For once though, the alien wasn't smiling: sincerity and seriousness instead being the expressions of the moment.

"Thank you very much for your aid--- wait, are you not my roommate? Miss Hinata Hyuga? It is good to see you here!" Kori had, of course, run into her roommate once or twice, but they hadn't exactly had time to exchange more than pleasantries. The dorm was mostly a place that Kori slept at. As she opened her mouth to continue, Kori realized that someone else was approaching. The mouth closed and Kori tensed, whirling on the spot, again showing a unique relation with gravity. Most of Kori's muscles tightened, including a pair of clenched fists, and she only relaxed slightly on seeing the boy.

"You are most young to be out at this time and in this place. Did you not hear about the animals that have done the escaping and are now roaming this area? They have not found all the vicious creatures..." Kori looked at Spike then at Hinata, "we should be doing the leaving and getting you out of here. I shall do the protecting," Kori nodded, taking quite the confidence stance for someone who'd just been found in a cage. She was already moving, her feet not quite touching the ground and her eyes looking extraordinarily green.

[Hinata Hyuga]

Hinata moved quickly following spike. Despite the rubble on the ground, she wasn't making much oise with ehr run. Training never really seemed to go away. Though her body did have a slightly different balance than she was used to. Guess it was one of the perks of not having any memory, you didn't have the memories of how you used to do things burned into you for comparison. As the black clad kunoichi moved through the door way, she ducked to the side and found a place the three could gather relativly out of view of others. Standing with her back against the massive pillar she stopped and began to think.

She did see Kori a few times and they even shared a hug when they were first introduced, But she never saw her in this type of get up or floating as she did now. Definitly never in a cage. By the way she stood and acted, she almost seemed like one of those characters on comic books. The girl just stood there silently. Stealth was her thing after all.

[Samuel 'Spike' Sparkle]

"Ah...sorry, miss. Heh. I just got here a few days ago, and thought I should check out the place...." Spike rubbed the back of his head nervously. "But, if it's dangerous....I'll trust you at your word....though it might be a bit dangerous for everyone here, including both of you..." He mentally debated with himself. Wasn't it supposed to be a manly thing to protect women? That's what Rarity had taught him with etiquette. Protect women at any cost, even if that cost is your life -- that's chivalry, Spike. And on top of that, the green-eyed girl had been found inside a rat trap. "...So maybe I should take the lead? I don't know. Whatever's best, heh." He didn't, however, want to be too imposing. Being imposing was also a no-no. Do not annoy the girls you are trying to impress. Ugh, etiquette was confusing, and he almost regretted having Rarity teach it to him. Almost. But hanging around with Rarity at any cost, and learning new ways to impress her? 
Definitely worth it. He stood bravely -- almost far too bravely, at the ready to dash if need be. "So yeah, let's all try to get home, and handle introductions in a more...safe place?"

Though he wasn't quite sure if anywhere in this place was truly -safe-, so to speak.

[Kori Ander]

{ack, I might be confused here, what with moving and talking and all. I think this gets us where we want to be and where everyone was pretty well heading}

Kori made certain to follow the movements of the ninja girl, though she also was more than willing to help the younger, confused boy keep up. They needed to get out of here, and the sooner they managed that, the better. Kori's roommate (Hinata, hopefully) was being almost eerily silent, which Kori supposed made sense. The alien superhero guessed by the way Hinata moved that the other girl was a ninja. The other guy, well, he reminded Kori of Henry, which was endearing, but not altogether helpful.

"this place is most dangerous," Kori explained as they kept moving. She kept her eyes on Hinata, who seemed to know where she was going. From Kori's knowledge, they were heading to a fairly well cleared out area. "There were animals that were released in this mall only a few days ago. They did much rampaging and were quite insisent on the taking over of the mall. It was only thanks to a pink haired girl who was most convincing and a few of the suits that we were able to handle things," Kori had, of course, been on point for that. She'd also dealt with a gorilla, "distracting" him, not to mention kicking or handling various other creatures. And she hadn't even had as much of her abilities as she had now. In fact, it seemed that she'd gotten a boost from participating in the weirdness.

"But do not be worrying: I am a superhero! The great Starfire," Kori flashed a smile and actually managed to hover a few feet off the ground. When she lowered, she nodded, "you can count on me to do the protecting."

And that was Kori's intent as she followed Hinata. Soon enough, they'd all be nestled in a nook near the edge of the mall. Kori knew from experience that the suits didn't check the nooks unless they were purposefully trying to root out animals. The particular one they'd settled in (which Kori had helped indicate) had been cleared of all animal activity a day or so ago; Kori had actually watched it happen. It was, in short, one of the few places in the mall that they could probably rest and catch their breath. Sure, they were still deep within a territory controlled by suits and all, but they were okay for the time being.

[Hinata Hyuga]

Hinata leaned back on the wall and took in a deep breath after Kori, aka Starfire, explained things. A superhero and a Ninja as roommates. Theirs was most likely the safest in the dormatory building, unless you intend on sneaking into it. As she looked down the nook and moved a bit further in, she looked back to the two of them. "I'm here with the explicit reason to evade the suits and test my skills. Why are you two here?" In her mission mode she seemed a little more confident in herself and even had a different sort of stance when she talked. She didn't shy into herself the same way she did when the two girls first met. Tracing a hand on the wall, she used her free hand to adjust her glasses. She could still see some signs of animal population in here. The type it would be best not to step into.