6231/Zootopia

Zootopia
Date of Scene:	15 May 2021
Location:	Central Park Zoo
Synopsis:	Doing publicity at the Central Park Zoo, Beast Boy and Vorpal respond to a big cat breakout and figure out what caused it.
Cast of Characters:	Gar Logan, Terry O'Neil

---

Gar Logan has posed:
Central Park Zoo, on a Saturday. Lots of people. lots of families out and about.

Also there: Beast Boy and Vorpal of the Titans, in costume for a meet and greet, autographs, photo ops, things of that nature. A covered booth was even set up for them so they wouldn't have to be in the sun all day long!

"..and this is why it's important to learn about these animals and treat them with respect, because the more we invade the places they live, the more we push them toward other places /we/ live, and it can get dangerous that way. It's a lot safer seeing them like this," he explains to a group of children there with some of their classmates, and once they've got their signed photos and all that, he sits back down and says as an aside to Vorpal, "Not that I /like/ animals being kept in captivity in zoos, but I guess most of the ones here were either unable to be returned home or were already born here."

It's kind of a conflict for him.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"It's a thorny issue," Vorpal answers, taking a sip of his boba tea. Now that the weather has started to warmp up, being covered in fur from head to toe can get pretty uncomfortable. Heat exhaustion is a very real thing for those metas who have to have an obligatory fur coat, after all. "At least most zoos have transitioned towards an ethical treatment platform and stewardship. Some zoos and habitats are the only refuge for some endangered species, unfortunately."

Watching the children on their way, the Cheshire cat smirks and glances over at Gar, one eyebrow raised high, "I still can't get used to people wanting their pictures taken with me. It's so weird- how on earth did you ever get used to it?" he turns his glance to the rest of the zoo and hms, "I guess that comes with the territory when you do movies and television?"

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan does not have the same problem Vorpal does with all that fur, but there is a bit in his natural state. Maybe it's just that he's grown used to it, or it's minimal enough so as to not be the same as a full coat of the stuff. "There are some sanctuaries out there, too. I know about one in Colorado, near Denver. And there are others. At least it's more humane."

He goes for a big container of juice, kept in a cooler along with some ice in it. "One, you're with me so you get to be in the pictures. Two, how many kids have asked if they can pet you? I lost count. Three, I'm a natural in public. Everyone loves me."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Five," Vorpal responds with a roll of his eyes, "I'm just not used to the attention. Reporters are supposed to be the highlighters of the story, not the story." He leans over and nudges Gar with an elbow, resting his chin on the green teen's shoulder, "But... you're helping me get used to it." He leans back to take a sip of his tea, "It's good to be back. Those were two crazy weeks... a year ago if you had told me I'd be helping my mother in one of her cases because I could tear holes in space... and that in the end it turned out to be an impostor from another planet..."

"It's scary that this is a new normal for me. I was more startled by the fact I was helping mom than by the outcome."

Gar Logan has posed:
"Yeah, but you became part of the story the moment you were made. You just didn't know it for a while," Gar explains, tucking the jug back in the cooler once he's had a sip. "And now you're one of us."

One of us.

One of us.

He asks, "Is that what it was all about? Another one of those annoying dupes?"

Before much more can come of the question, there are a few shouts from the direction of the big cat area. "They're loose! Run for your lives!"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Yeah, turns out they had a Doppelganger over at Channel s-" where exactly the Doppelganger was, Gar might never know, as the Cheshire cat suddenly springs to his feet at the first shout, refexes and acute hearing causing him to go on the alert almost immediately, his boba tea falling to the ground, quickly forgotten.

"Come on, break time's over!" He leaps out of the booth, heading in the direction of the shouts with celerity.

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan sits bolt upright, then scrambles out of the chair as he, too, hops over the table and says to the pair of handlers there to keep the crowd orderly, "This isn't part of the show. We'll handle this. Make sure they get to a safe spot just in case!"

Then he's in the air as a hawk, putting him above the others below in order to get a better look at things. "I can see a few tigers and leopards, and lions too! People are running and they're chasing after them! I'll try to go blend in and talk to them!" Because that's totally something he can do in an animal form. Communicate, not blend in. Because he's totally green, after all.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Crap! Okay, do your thing, Tarzan- I'm going to go in and try to sweep people out into safe spots!" because that's something you can do when you have your own Looney Tunes-style portable hole with you, right?

He's familiar with the layout of the zoo, so it only takes him a jump of the Rabbit Hole to get to the area where the big cats are doing their stray cat strut. He knows better than to engage the felines directly while there are lives at risk. The Rabbit Hole opens once again and it moves with great speed, interposing itself between felines and would-be-prey, safely deopisiting the zoo-goers in the visitor center with nary a scratch.

"I think a few of them are confused at seeing a feline on two legs. Either that, or what I think is confusion is just their 'you look delicious' face. Please advice!" he says.

He is garnering the attention of the felines over the civilians for one very specific reason... Cats have discerning palates, and sometimes catnip just isn't enough. Sometimes, only the best will do. For big cats such as tigers, it's Calvin Klein's 'Obsession' fragrance. It's like an upscale catnip to the giant felines. It's only because of his infinite love for all sorts of knowledge, trivial and important likewise, that Terry knows that Staff at the Bronx Zoo discovered that Calvin Klein's 'Obsession' scent works particularly well with tigers and several families of large cats. Terry remembers the scent of that very well, as his mother as wont to wear that a lot in the early days and it is almost singed into his olfactory memory at this point.

And the fact that his powers of illusion not only allow him to project images and sounds, but scents as well, plays a great deal into the inordinate amount of attention he's getting from the felines as he continues to try to get the area vacated of harmless bystanders by way of his Rabbit Hole.

Gar Logan has posed:
"On it!" the hawk answers, getting a look from above at Vorpal helping get people in danger to safer places. That's one reason he's useful.

Meanwhile, the raptor angles lower and lands as a tiger, giving a roar to call attention to himself. There are a few different species of big cat roaming about. "Heeeere, kitty kitty kitties! Follow me!" he says in a normal voice, then he essentially repeats it in the form of more tiger vocalizations.

That gets their attention, the snarling, agitated beasts turning his way..only for all of them to ping on the scent Vorpal is causing to infiltrate the area. They start in his direction now.

This includes the green tiger. "Dude, you're smelling goooood today." And yes, this particular big cat is grinning.

Like a Cheshire.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Okay... so I was successful in the distraction area, but I didn't quite think this one all the way through!" Still, it meant that the big cats were focused on /him/ instead of the public. This allowed people a chance to escape while the person who had more training in facing life-or-death situations took over.

That was the idea, at least. "I smell good, eh? I bet you I taste even better!" and then he jumps /towards/ the agglomeration of big cats!

Except that he never touches the floor. His feet land on a hovering purple platform that hangs in the air just long enough for him to jump off it... and onto another one that materializes as the other one faded. "Come on, you lazy bums, work for your dinner!"

The idea was to jump his way across the grounds and back towards the big cat enclosure. He is a cat, and he knows cats can't resist the chase- it's hard-wired into their instincts. This is why he decides to stay just out of reach, but within sight and smell- to taunt the hunters, tempt them into chasing him.

He only hopes he doesn't slip...

Gar Logan has posed:
Tigar shakes his head in an effort to clear his thoughts. "Careful what you ask for," he retorts, beginning to 'chase' at partial speed relative to the others who are moving more on instinct.

Questions remain about how they got out of their enclosures, but first things first: getting them back where they belong. Gar focuses on his non-feline side in order to keep from simply falling in line with the others, but he ends up leading the 'chase' because it means the rest will follow more willingly. "That's right! After me! You want to go back to your safe homes..well, your prisons, but let's be honest. It's safer for you in there. No poachers to hunt you down, they feed you regularly, you can have a bath any time you want, go sun yourselves on a nice day..."

A revelation. "Dude, I could retire to a place like this and just get pampered."

As they get closer, he decides to risk things a little and returns to his normal form, costume reappearing. He may look tasty but what he's doing is getting some nice, fresh meat from a place it's kept in, using it as a better lure. "Loooook at this! What is it? Is it food?"

Good chance he's got Vorpal's attention the same way more than once.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Little need be said about the ways Gar gets Vorpal's attention- he certainly has his attention now, though! "Gar, what /are/ you doing, they're going to shish-ka-bob you!" the Cheshire cat leaps across to another construct, looking back to see if all the felines have been gathered therein. It wouldn't do to leave stragglers to get a at passersby. Once the last one of them passes the threshold, the Cheshire Cat leaps across a Rabbit Hole that lands him on the other side, where he can work the doors closed. "Gar, get out of there!"

Gar Logan has posed:
"Noooo, dude. We had a little cat chat. These guys wanted some attention." Gar holds up one of the chunks of meat as a tiger approaches him. "Trust me, Vorp. I got this."

As he waves the meat around and tosses it in the air a few feet, the tiger leaps up for it and clamps down on the morsel with his powerful jaws, and Gar moves in for a good scruffing of the predator's cheeks and ears. A rumbling sound commences from it.

"See? Told you. I'm like the Cat Whisperer or something." Of course, when the big beast reaches out to paw at him, it leaves a few cuts in the fabric of his costume. "Hey now..easy on the threads. Keep those claws sheathed, Tigger. Rajah, Shere Khan! Over here! Chow time!" He tosses more of the meat into the enclosure.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Vorpal watches anxiously as Gar handles the tigers, ready to pull him out at a moment's notice. "Cat Whisperer my tail- you can't even get me to do the dishes!" This is not true. Vorpal is usually the one who does the dishes. His eyes go wide as the uniform tears, and he calls out "Watch it! Another one of those and it could be your arm!" He hesitates for a moment, and then he steps through a Rabbit Hole and back into the enclosure. No longer smelling of Obsession, he is at least not an immediate draw. But he still is a strange thing- a fellow cat on two legs, so something probably worthy of attention...

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan checks himself. No blood. Just a surface scratch. "That's because most cats would just as soon knock the plates off, and who wants cat hair all over them anyway?"

In the next moment, a lion approaches Gar and seems very interested in the raw meat smells coming from nearby, such that he gets up on his hind legs and 'hugs' the green Titan, lapping at his face with that rough tongue of his. "Whoa, Simba! Easy! I've got scritches and lunch for you, too! Eat your heart out, Carole Baskin!"

He pauses before adding, "Actually, more like tigers ate her husband's heart and other parts, too. Allegedly." As the lion gets back down - heavy beast! - it also leaves a couple larger tears in the back of his costume. "Aw, man..I shouldn't have picked my good one."

At least, the others are taking a greater interest in the two-legged cat thing.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Vorpal gulps and looks at the other felines, feeling like he's certainly getting his lion's share of the attention. "Garfield Mark Logan, you get out of there before you're in your underwear. We still need to find out who let the cats out, they might free some of the other wild life!"

As the other cats approach him, he conjures the illusion of a hare, darting away from him and towards the farthest corner of the enclosure. It's the animal equivalent of the bright red dot.

Gar Logan has posed:
With the sighting of the hare, those tigers don't act like the tortoise. No, they act more like the cheetah. Must catch and eat! What a tease Vorpal is.

"As if you'd complain. But you're right. I haven't seen anyone around here responsible for it, and we'd better get the rest of these guys and gals back where they belong before any more wardrobe malfunctions happen."

Gar does his part by lobbing more tasty, meaty morsels into other enclosures, herding the felines by species as he can. "Just another hare-raising adventure for us!"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Vorpal gives Gar a /look/, which says a lot, but he decides to add the verbal component to the commentary. "That /was/ your Christmas present, you know," he says, as he opens a Rabbit Hole to exit the enclosure with Gar, so the pair can get to the detective part of this adventure and solve the Whodunnit before they do it again.

He glances at Gar's outfit and the state thereof, and he says "It's intact enough that you won't be indecent while we sleuth, but we are going to have to stop by and pick up the spare I ordered after this." He purses his lips, and then smiles slightly, "I should've known you'd wreck anything weaker than vibranium sooner or later. Heck, I'm not even sure Vibranium would be able to survive you."

Gar Logan has posed:
"So we'll get a better, stronger one! We have the design, and.." Gar trails off as they exit the immediate area once closing everything back off, averting the crisis.

He squints. "You never told me you had a spare made, but see? All good!" Double thumbs-up!

Turns out, there was no ne'er-do-well involved in letting the big cats out. It was simply a malfunction in the automatic safeguards, and by the time they've had a conversation with zoo management and security, getting the skinny on the situation, it's clear this was an accident that was fortunate to end with no casualties one way or another.

Except Beast Boy's best costume.