Robin was pacing when the rest of the team walked in. "What is wrong? I do not hear the alarm." Starfire asked. "We've been asked to do a special assignment by the chief of police." Robin grabbed the remote and clicked it to show a huge graph on the TV screen. "Grocery stores have been reporting a rise in shoplifting over the past couple of months. So far all they seem to be targeting are grocery stores and malls." "Dude, don't we usually deal with the REAL bad guys?" Beast Boy whined. "I mean, can't the cops handle this?" "Obviously they can't. That's why they asked us." He clicked the remote again, this time 6 pictures of the same woman appeared on the screen. She looked to be in her early 30's with short brown hair and blue eyes. "This woman, every store that reports stuff missing also says that this woman was there. Cops have been trying to catch her, but so far no luck." "So let me guess, we're gonna steak-out at her next target, and catch her in the act, is that right?" Cyborg yawned. Robin nodded and clicked the remote again. A map of the city appeared. "Basically, yes. The last few places she's been spotted were in the downtown area, and since she's already hit up all of the malls, we assume her next target is gonna be this store here." The map zoomed in on a small store, that looked no bigger than a gas station. "OK, here's the plan. Cyborg and I are gonna hide-out inside, while everyone else waits outside." Cyborg's ears piped up at the sound of his name. "If you guys see her come in, use the mic to tell us. We'll corner her inside while you guys block off the exits, that way if something happens she can't escape." "WOO! Alright! Now things are starting to sound interesting!" Cyborg cheered while everyone else nodded in agreement with the plan. "Alright, everyone get ready. We leave in 5 minutes."
Everyone met up in the garage. Robin wore normal civilian clothes and a hat to cover his mask, while Cyborg was completely covered in a black-hooded trench coat. They all piled in the T-car except Robin, who preferred his bike. They parked about 1/4 of a mile away from the store and walked the rest of the way. They all got into position, checked their mics, and waited...and waited...and waited. Finally, after 2 hours of wandering around the store, something happened. "Raven to Robin. Someone you might want to check out just walked in. Jeans and a hooded jacket." "I'm on it." Robin noticed them immediately, and followed them towards the back of the store. "Cyborg, she's coming your way. Aisle 7." "On it." Robin stayed at the front of the aisle with his back towards the hooded person. "She's picking up a box of Mac-and Cheese. Robin, I-" "Titans, get ready to move." He commanded. "Hey, Robin, wa-" "NOW!" Robin threw off his hat and ran down the aisle. He tackled the person, and stood up over them. "Don't move." He warned as he pulled out hand cuffs. "Robin wait!" Cyborg yelled across the aisle. He froze as Cy walked over and turned the person over. The hood fell off to reveal a frightened boy, who was no older than maybe 13. "I tried to tell you, he put the box back down. I don't think this is our girl." Robin sighed and helped the scared kid up. The rest of the group walked in as he was apologizing to the poor kid. "Great, now our cover is blown." Raven glowered "It's alright, she probably isn't even here yet. We'll just pretend to leave and set up again." They nodded, and all turned towards the entrance, except Robin. He noticed that the kid was missing. He looked around and noticed him trying to sneak towards the back of the store. Robin walked up to him while the others headed outside. The boy glanced around for a minute before finally walking into the back room. Robin followed him inside and watched as he started talking to a box. "You're right, they've got this place covered too." "Thank you." the box replied. Robin knew that this time his gut was right. "Freeze!" He yelled. The boy looked up while someone else took off from behind the box.
"Robin to Ti-" he reached for his mic only to realize that it wasn't there. It had gotten caught on his hat when he threw it off. "Guess I'm on my own." He smiled to himself, and started to chase the woman. She led him outside and across the street into several back alleys until she finally hit a dead end. "You lost." Robin pulled out his handcuffs again, but the woman smiled at him. "You haven't caught me yet." She turned and jumped on a trash can and over the wall. Robin growled and followed after, but when he got to the other side, she was gone. "Aw da-" a noise interrupted him. He looked up to see the woman climbing the fire escape up the building. Robin jumped up and started chasing her again, but she reached the top before he did. By the time Robin made it to the roof, all he saw was the woman leaping off of the edge. He gasped for a moment, and rushed over, expecting to see a life-less form on the street below. Rather, he saw the woman on the next building over. She smiled and waved to him. "Hu..." He nodded to himself and took a few steps back to leap across the chasm below. The woman stood there staring at him for a moment. "You know, you're a lot better than the cops are." "So are you, it's too bad you're a criminal." The woman glared at Robin and growled, "I am not a criminal." She turned around to run, but Robin leaped in front of her and blocked her path. "Then tell me, why would an innocent person run?" The woman pulled out a small metal rod. She pushed a button on the side of the rod and charged for Robin, who had just enough time to pull out his staff and block the now fully grown staff. "I am not a Criminal!" The look in her eyes frightened Robin for a moment. He jumped back away from her. "Criminals are selfish. They only do things for themselves." She jumped back and ran in the opposite direction. Robin followed he to the next roof, where she jumped and slid down the angled wall. When she hit the ground, Robin leaped off the wall in front of her and kicked her hard in the chest before she had time to react. The blow sent her flying back into the wall, and she lost the grip on her staff. The woman had no weapon, and Robin had her cornered. She frowned, and lowered her head. "Ok...You caught me." "No he hasn't" Before Robin could turn to see who it was, he felt a cold metal being held against his neck.
The woman looked up at the new person, and her eyes widened. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay put?" "I'm saving you, what does it look like I'm doing?" Robin reached for his belt, but the knife dug deeper into his skin, telling him not to move. "Drop your weapon." The voice commanded. Reluctantly, he obeyed. "Let go of him Rebecca, he caught me. It's done now." "No it isn't." The person behind Robin kicked his staff away from him. "Look, he's defenseless. You can run, and I'll stay here to hold him back." The woman tried to stand up, but she fell back down clutching her stomach. "What did you do to her?" The knife dug deeper, causing a very small cut in the center of Robin's neck. "It looks like her ribs are broken from when I kicked her, and her ankle is twisted from sliding down that wall. Even if you helped her run, she wouldn't get far..." "Rebecca!" The woman yelled at the person before she could do anything...rash. "Put the knife down and help me up." They obeyed, and Robin was momentarily freed. He watched the girl, Rebecca, walk over and help the woman up. She couldn't have been any older than he is. They both looked very similar, except the girl had long hair and green eyes. "Rebecca, I want you to head back. I will give you a call as soon as i get a chance." Robin watched the girl shake her head vigorously. "Rebecca, you remember what I told you." The girl was quiet, until sirens appeared out of nowhere. In a few seconds, they were surrounded by cars. The woman stood on her own for a moment. "Don't go...please." the girl looked at her with eyes that would make anyone cry. "I'll be back in no time. I promise." she told the girl as the cops slapped some cuffs on her, an led her to the a car. Robin stepped forward towards the car. The woman looked at him and smiled. "Criminals steal for themselves. I stole for my daughter. Please look after her for me." Robin stared blankly at the woman, and watched them drive off. He then turned towards Rebecca, who was standing there motionless. "What was it that she told you?" Rebecca frowned, but took a deep breath. "She told me that no matter what happens, she'd never become a criminal. And if someone ever caught her, she'd gladly pay for what she's taken. She only took that stuff to protect me." "Robin!" he turned around to see Starfire flying towards them" Thank goodness I found you!" She ran up and gave him a big hug. "Thanks...Star." The others quickly joined them. "When you didn't reply on your mic, we thought you found the criminal, so-" "She is not a criminal..." Everyone looked at Rebecca, who didn't even lift her head to acknowledge the comment made. "Yea...anyway, we sent the cops to your locator's signal. Guess they got her already." "Yeah. They came her alright." Robin turned around and saw Rebecca walking off. "Hey, where are you going?" She didn't answer, or even turn around. She just kept walking. They watched her leave until no one could see her anymore. "Dude, who was that?" "Her name is Rebecca. And we just put her mom in prison."
