I braided my hair before sighing. Long hair was too much of a hassle. I'll cut it when I get to…well…wherever this place is. I knew that it was somewhere in Happy Harbor and…disguised as a cave…but that was about it.

I sat on the bed, waiting for Batman to come pick me up. Today was the day I'd be moving in with the superheroes…it was a little nerve wrecking. I didn't know anything.

I smoothed out the sheet beside me, sighing lightly. I had calmed down a lot, but a part of me was still hoping that my dad would just walk through the door and take me home; telling me all of this was just a joke. But I knew he wouldn't.

"I wonder if he's okay right now…" I sat in silence, looking out the window.

"I trust you have healed well." I looked up to see Batman standing in the doorway. I shivered as he approached, seemingly gliding. In the two weeks I had gotten to know him (I mean, as much as you can get to know about Batman), I still hadn't gotten used to that.

"Yeah, I'm doing a lot better." I said, standing up. "My side has almost completely healed now."

I looked at him, waiting for his next words. He turned and started to walk forward. "Let's go then."

I followed him in silence, nervous to ask if we could go to my house. I had asked Batman if someone could check on the house a couple of days after I'd been admitted to their strange hospital (I'm still not sure where I was), and he agreed. Nothing was wrong with the house, he had told me the next day, so I'd been itching to grab the suitcase before Cadmus went to destroy what was left of the house.

"You'll have ten minutes to get everything you need." I looked up at Batman in confusion, his sudden speech breaking my thoughts.

"What?"

"We will go to your house for you to pick up any necessities. You will have ten minutes to get what you need, and I will be waiting in the alleyway behind your neighborhood. Understood?" He looked down at me and I nodded quickly in surprise.

"…Are you sure you can't read minds?" I asked. He grinned as he opened the door for me.

"I get that question a lot."

"Wut're yew thoing 'ere?" A redhead looked at me, his mouth full of chewed hotdog. I stared at him as I stood close to Batman's side, who looked at me but made no motion to move. A dark haired boy with sunglasses peeked his head into the room before giving a grin as he looked at me.

"No way!" He hopped over happily and looked at Batman, "So she's the new girl on the team?"

Batman's eyes narrowed down at him, "I see you hacked into the main frame again, Robin."

He only grinned as I looked at him, the dots connecting. "You're Robin?"

"Yup! The one and only!" He smiled at me, extending his hand. "Nice to meet you properly, Agatha—"

I covered his mouth before realizing what I was doing and nervously backed up to be beside Batman again. "I-it's…Angie."

I hadn't liked being called by my real name before; now I just didn't want to hear it because it reminded me of my father. "That's not what the transporter said!" The green eyed clown said, "I believe it was Agatha—"

I made a jump for his mouth, only to stumble to where he once stood. "Agathangelos!" He shouted from behind me.

I turned, trying to calm down. It didn't work. "You're the jerk face, aren't you? Kid Flash!"

He frowned. "Hey! I'm not a jerk face!"

"Yes you are!" I said, my cheeks already a bright red, "You're the one who made fun of my powers!"

"What are you talking about?" He asked, raising his voice right back. "I did not!

"Yes you did!" I said, stomping my foot. "You…you—"

"You can save team bonding for later." Batman interrupted, irritated at the clear immaturity. I lowered my eyes, my cheeks brightening more than I thought possible. I shot Kid Flash a glare before following Batman into a hall. "The room we were just in is where you will report to when a mission comes in for the team."

I nodded, my arms folded in front of me as I noticed Robin and Kid Flash lingering a couple of feet behind us.

Batman stopped, looking over my head (which caused Robin and Kid to disperse and dispatch) before he looked down at me. "This is your room."

He opened the door to show grey walls. "There is a kitchen back down this hallway and to the left. You will be left on your own to make your own food, unless someone else here is willing to make it for you."

I nodded again, looking up at him. He stepped out of the way, giving me silent permission to enter the room. I gladly obliged and looked around. It was plain, but a lot better than what I had had before. There a desk, a queen sized bed, a separate room (a bathroom I assumed), a nightstand, and a closet. I'd need to do some major renovating to fit my liking, but I wasn't complaining.

I turned to batman, fidgeting nervously. "Um…Batman?"

That was the strangest thing to do: call out to Batman.

"I need to go shopping…" I walked up to him, holding my hands in one another, "Am I allowed to go out? And if so, I swear I'll pay back all of the money I'm going to borrow, when my account is processed, but for now…I could really use some new clothes."

"You're allowed to go wherever you want with your free time." He said, stepping out of the doorway and back into the hallway, "Right now, however, since you're still on the watch list for Cadmus, you'll need someone to go with you—"

"I'll go!" Robin volunteered with his grin as wide as before as he jumped from behind the corner. "I mean, I couldn't help but overhear that you need help, Angie. And I can explain the money situation for you, Batman."

I grinned back lightly until I saw Batman's face, which quickly caused me to drop the smile. He seemed irritated with Robin, but by Robin's unwillingness to stop smiling I guessed that it was normal. "Fine. Robin will accompany you, and explain the money issue."

"My last question, I swear," I said after a moment of silence, kicking my leg. "But…do I have to go to school?"

"Yes," He said, his eyes narrowing, "Being a superhero does not exempt you. We have already arranged an excuse for your three week absence at school; you will return Monday."

"Monday?" I questioned, realizing he'd given me a whole week.

Batman turned and began to leave. I followed him until he got to the transporter. "You need this week to adjust and get to know the team. I told the school that you are assisting an investigation with the Justice League, and therefore could not come. They were more than understanding."

I nodded, smiling a crooked grin. I was glad that I didn't have to transfer schools just yet. I looked at Batman's back as he prepared the transporter to leave. He had been cold and direct, but I felt like I had somehow bonded with him over the couple of weeks he had come to visit me (even if it was just to get information). Pretty silly, huh?

He looked at me as the transporter began to spin. "You'll do fine." I blinked as he disappeared. Had he just…comforted me?

"You ready to go, Angie?" I turned to see Robin tying his shoe. He stood up, the same grin in place. You'd think he'd be the Joker's son…

"Uh, yeah, just give me a little time to unpack." I said, walking back towards my room.

Kid Flash leaned on the wall of the hallway, glaring at me as he chewed on beef jerky. I said nothing to him as I passed; only throwing my nose in the air.

"What's your deal?" He asked, turning to follow me, "All I did was say your name!"

"And didn't I say my name was Angie?" I asked, stopping to confront him. "It was rude of you to say it anyway, when I clearly don't want people calling me that!"

Moving somewhere without my father was hard…especially after these four months of little to no communication with anyone other than him. I needed to be away from that name as much as possible, and Wally was not helping by screaming it all over the place.

"Now now children." Robin said, catching up with the two of us as I turned away, "I'm sure we can just forget about this whole thing. Angie, you haven't properly met Wally, right? Let's start over. You can just call him Wally, or KF when the time comes for our team to go on a mission."

"Robin, you can't just assume that that's what I want to be called!" Wally mocked behind my back. I turned to him again, a gasp escaping.

"What—you really are a jerk face!"

"That's all you can come up with? Jerk face?"

My cheeks turned red before I threw my hands up and stomped to my room. "Angie, come on! He didn't mean it!" Robin called. When I heard Wally retort otherwise, I only walked faster.

Sighing, I leaned on the door once it closed behind me. I could still hear Wally and Robin talking, but soon they died away. I left the door and walked over to my suitcase, which was standing by my bed. I glanced over at the suitcase my father had left for me for a moment before going back to mine and beginning to unpack. The first thing I saw when I opened it was the framed picture of my father and I. Tears came to my eyes and I looked up, blinking them away. I calmed down, standing up and placing the picture on my nightstand.

I unpacked the few clothes I managed to salvage from the mess I had used to call my room (Cadmus had even attacked my closet, ruining most of my clothes), putting them where they needed to be. I went to the bathroom to see what it was like. It was nice, to say in the very least. There was a stand up shower, as well as a bathtub. A sink stood across from the toilet on the tile floor. Oh yeah, it was very nice.

Someone knocked on my door and I leaned my head out of the bathroom, eyes narrowed. "Who is it?" I asked bluntly.

"Um!" I blinked at the surprise of a girl's voice, "I'm sorry I hadn't been here to introduce myself earlier! I'm one of your teammates!"

I opened the door quickly and there stood a green girl. I kept my gasp in, but I think my face said it all. She didn't seem to mind. "Hi! I'm M'gann!" She said with a smile.

I smiled back, a little confused, and introduced myself. "H-hi…I'm Angie."'

When we both said nothing, I broke the silence with an awkward question. "Uh…do you mind me asking…why you're green?"

She blinked before smiling again, "Oh! I'm a Martian. I'm the Martian Man Hunter's niece!"

"Oh, the Martian Man Hunter!" I said, pointing at her, "He took me to the hospital the other day!"

I felt a lot more comfortable with her in that spit second. Her uncle had a great way with people; he was very calming for a green man. She must have been proud, because her smile widened.

"My Uncle John is a very kind Martian." She pulled me into a hug. "I hope we can become very good friends!"

"Y-yeah…" I said, pulling myself out of her grip. "I'd like that."

She stepped back, her arms crossed behind her back. "So I heard that you're going shopping with Robin!"

I backed away from the door and smiled lightly, inviting her in. "Yeah, we're going shopping once I finish unpacking…"

Her face was bright. "…Would you like to come?"

"I would love to! I've never been shopping on Earth before! I always saw girls on TV doing it; I can't wait…" I smiled nervously wondering exactly what I had gotten myself into.

An immature speedster, a grinning hack-master and a green Earth-tourist. What an interesting team.

"Do you think I should invite Superboy?" She asked, her hand on her chin. I turned to her.

"By Superboy…do you mean Supey?" I questioned. She looked at me, staring in confusion, until she realized that I hadn't really met him. Before I knew it she was pulling me down the hallway, across the mission station and into a lobby area with a TV set up. I stopped abruptly behind her as she began to walk closer to the couch where the dark haired boy sat. He turned and looked at me, his eyes ice daggers.

"Superboy, this is Angie! She'll be our new teammate." M'gann said with a smile.

I looked at him silently before waving. "Hey…you saved me before…"

Superboy stood up, looked at me for a moment, and then lifted his hand, palm facing us. "Hey."

He lowered his hand and walked away in silence. I stared after him, shaking my head. Major lack in communication skills there. M'gann looked at me with a small grin and laughed a little. "Well…that was Superboy…"

"I see," I said before turning to return to my room, "Well, I'm going to go finish unpacking."

She followed me, brightening the atmosphere with her random thoughts on Earth cultures, and I honestly didn't mind. Having someone that liked talking was nice. It kept my mind off of my father.

She helped me unpack and we finished in ten minutes. I slid my father's suitcase under my bed, agreeing mentally that I'd look into it after shopping. She stopped by my picture, picking it up. "Is this your father, Angie?"

I turned to see her holding the picture and sighed a little as I smiled. So much for avoiding that topic. "Y-yeah…"

"You look so cute, fighting his hug in this picture! Where is he now?" She asked with a bright smile. I looked away, shuffling the few things left in my suitcase.

"O-oh…he…uh…is missing right now…" When she didn't say anything, I looked up with a nervous smile, the ends twitching. "B-but it's okay, because he knows what he's doing…or at least, I hope he knows what he's doing…I mean, he left on his own, so it's okay."

She placed the picture down and bent down to my side. "Angie…are you alright?"

I covered my mouth and nodded, holding out my index finger. "I'm sorry…give me a…a second."

She nodded, rubbing my back as I calmed down. It was hard talking about him. My emotions were delayed; it had all happened so fast that now that people were screaming my real name and asking about my dad, I couldn't control my reactions very well.

"Do I have time to change?" I asked her, standing up and looking at my closet. "Or maybe even shower? I haven't had a long shower in a couple of weeks…and I really would like one…do you think Robin will mind?"

She shook her head, standing up as well. "Last time I saw him, he was playing video games with Wally."

I smiled at her and then looked walked towards the bathroom. "Then I'll be out in fifteen minutes…can you go let Robin know, and I'll meet you in that lobby room?"

She nodded and left the room. I stripped off my clothes and carefully took of the bandage on my side. I stroked the scarring, which looked like a sparky star with its tips stretched around my stomach area. I stepped into the shower and washed it first; it was still blistering. The hospital shower had creeped me out, so I didn't take long showers. I usually just washed myself quickly and hopped back out; I felt like I was being watched all the time.

I sighed as the hot water hit my skin. I pulled my hair over my shoulder and glowered at it. I hated long hair; it was too much of a mess. After I finished my lovely shower, I stepped out and changed into a pair of black shorts and a tube top. I looked at my hair in the fogging mirror as I returned to the bathroom with a pair of scissors.

The ends of my hair twisted and twirled, as if having a life of its own from the water from the shower. "This is why I don't keep you long! You always get so fidgety." I lectured my hair. As I wiped down the mirror with my towel, I saw my grin.

"Time for a haircut."

"Sorry it took me a while, you guys." M'gann, Wally and Robin looked at me in silence. "What?"

"What happened to your long hair?" M'gann asked, walking up to me and running her hand through my now chin leveled and bobbed hair. I smiled lightly, running my own hand through it.

"I don't really like my hair long, so I cut it," I fiddled with my bangs, "Although I'm not too sure about my bangs. The straight edge doesn't really work for me, so I went with a choppy look…what do you think?"

"I like it!" M'gann said, almost screaming. "It's super cute!"

I thanked her with a grin. "So, are you ready to go?"

Wally stood up, turned off the TV and began to walk out with his hands crossed behind his head.

"Oh no you don't!" Robin said suddenly, grabbing his shirt. "You're coming with us!"

Wally looked down at him with an irritated face. "You're funny." All that was left in Robin's hand was Wally's over shirt minus the Wally. We turned to see him digging in the refrigerator before coming up with a snack. I shook my head at his appetite while M'gann looked at him sadly.

"You don't want to come shopping with us, Wally?"

I blinked in surprise as Wally stepped back, as if taking a hit to his heart. I grinned as I looked away. Someone liked M'gann.

He looked at me and I turned farther away so that he couldn't see me snickering, and then he looked to M'gann before sighing. "Fine…"

M'gann smiled widely. "I'll go get Superboy! I'm sure he'd want to go too!" She flew off to find him, and the three of us awkwardly stood, waiting for her return. I couldn't help but open my mouth. Maybe some jokes would make me feel better and help our already declining relationship.

"So…Wally," I said, leaning on the counter, "Is your favorite color by chance…oh, I don't know…green?"

He began to choke and I laughed. "Oh this is great. You do like her!"

"Shut up!" He said as he properly swallowed, "You don't know that!"

"You're not denying it!" Robin sang, joining me in the delicious fun of teasing Wally.

"Robin, who's side are you on?"

"Is everything okay?" M'gann asked, returning with a grumpy Superboy behind her. She looked between Wally and me, who were nose to nose in the argument. We stood away from each other, each smiling at M'gann.

"Everything's just peachy!" I said before grinning towards Wally, "Well, except for Wally's favorite color, anyway…"

Robin covered his snickering as I grinned over at him, and Wally turned pink. M'gann blinked, looking over at Wally. "Oh? What is your favorite color, Wally?"

Robin and I tried to control our laughter as Wally turned from pink to red. He stumbled over his words before the transporter announced Aqualad's arrival to the cave. "Oh thank g—I mean, look! Aqualad is here!" He zoomed from behind the kitchen counter and back towards the mission area.

"Come on!" Robin said, rubbing his tears away underneath his glasses, "You haven't properly introduced yourself to Aqualad yet."

We went together to the transporters and saw Wally vividly waving his hands as he talked to Aqualad, who just looked at him in confusion. We walked up and Wally turned with his arms crossed as Aqualad perplexedly greeted us.

"Uh…hello?"

Robin waved his hand as if to wave away all of Wally's anger. "Ignore Wally. He's just upset that we know what his favorite color is." We chuckled as Aqualad raised his eyebrow, and Wally growled before pointing to Robin and me.

"See? They're ganging up on me!"

"Hey that rhymed!"

Wally growled at Robin again before Aqualad stepped in. "Wally, calm down. I am sure they meant no harm…in knowing your favorite color?"

It was clear that he was desperately confused. It was like trying to fix a rubix cube with a side missing.

"Oh no," Wally said, glaring at me as he pursed his lips, "They meant it."

I rolled my eyes before I glanced over to Aqualad again. He was looking at me, which meant he had caught my eye roll. I grinned nervously, my cheeks pink. Busted.

"Well," He said, "Did you mean it?"

"…Maybe." I rubbed the back of my head before pointing to Wally. "But he started it!"

"What?" Wally said, pushing past Aqualad and growling down to my face. I disliked being short right now. "How did I start it? You're the one that made a fuss about your name!"

"Her name?" M'gann repeated, "Angie?"

"Oh no," Wally said with a grin, "Her real name."

"Wally I swear," I said, my cheeks burning, "If you say it, I will hurt you."

"If you can catch me!" He said with a laugh as he began to run around us. "I'll give you guys a hint: it's not Angie!"

"Wally—" Robin began to call out to him but I cut him off.

"You really are a jerk!" I called out to him, my voice cracking. I had just been trying to have some fun with him and he took it too far.

"Aaaaa—" He said teasingly in reply, "Aaaagggaaaatthhhaaa—"

He suddenly fell over flat on his face. "What the what?" He looked down at his feet to see black hair surrounding his ankle. He followed it up to me.

"Oh crap."

"Oh crap is right, you idiot!" I yelled, my hair wrapping up his leg, "You say it's my fault, but it was you who made fun of me! What kind of superhero are you? You're just a jerky jerk superhero!"

"Jerky jerk?" He still had some fight in him, "Is jerk the top of your vocabulary or something?"

"Dude she totally got you!" Robin said, laughing. His laughter slowly died when he noticed that I wasn't laughing with him this time. "Whoa, Angie calm down. He was just messing around."

"No, he wasn't!" I snapped, staring down Wally, "He was serious, and he was being really mean!"

"Angie…" M'gann said lightly.

Tears welled up in my eyes and everyone went silent. "No one calls me by that name except for my dad! Don't go screaming it around when I told you not to!"

Aqualad squeezed my shoulder and pulled me back. I let my hair unravel from Wally's leg as he turned me to look at him. "We understand that you are upset, but you cannot harm someone because you are distressed."

I blinked back my tears before looking around. Everyone was staring at me and I hated it. I hated being the center of attention now; I felt like a joke. I bit my lip before running back to my room. Why did I get so angry? What was wrong with me?

I sat on my bed and grabbed the scissors, I cutting my hair chunks at a time. "I hate these powers! I wish I had never been born with them! I wouldn't have had to move, and I would still be happy, and Dad would still be here and…and…" The tears began to flow as I threw the scissors across the room. I covered my face, trying to keep the yelps from being too loud.

Dad…why did you leave me? I feel so alone now that you're gone…

There was a knock at my door. "Just leave me alone!" I said, lowering my face to my knees.

"Angie, come on, we know you didn't mean it." M'gann said gently from outside the door, "You were upset; no one blames you. I explained it to them, and Wally is really sorry."

I didn't reply, and instead got up and picked up the scissors to finish cutting my hair. I wasn't as upset at Wally as I was at myself. I hated that I had let his little jokes get the best of me. I hated that I had used my powers in such a stupid fight. And I especially hated that I looked like a complete idiot in front of the people I'd be living with for who knows how long.

I went to the mirror to see I had cut my hair a little too short on the right side; it sat awkwardly right above my chin. I cut the other side so that it was level and sighed again. I watched my hair slowly grow until it hit my chin. I shook it, checking to make sure it was even all around, and then stepped out of the bathroom.

"Angie, come on, let's talk it out!" I could hear Robin calling, knocking on the door. "Things got out of hand, but it's okay! Let's all apologize and move on. We still gotta go shopping!"

I sighed, knowing that it had to be done. I hated confrontations after an argument…I don't know what it was, but I just hated it. Maybe it was the awkward dance before you apologized? Maybe. All I knew was that I hated that I had to do it. "I wonder how this is going to go…"

I opened the door to see M'gann and Robin standing at the door. They gave me a smile, each patting my back. M'gann squeezed my shoulder and I looked up to see them smiling. "It's okay, Angie. We all have been in situations like this…we all understand you. Let's go talk to Wally, and then we'll all go shopping!"

"…okay."

We walked over to the lobby area and saw Aqualad, Wally and Superboy standing in a triangle fashion. Wally turned to see me and looked down. I did the same. "H-hey…"

"Hi…"

We both stood there with our heads down until Aqualad nudged Wally forward. "You have something to say to her, do you not?"

He looked at the blonde before looking at me. I peeked up before looking back down. "I…uh, I'm sorry that I said your name, even though you told me not to…and I'm sorry if I ever insulted your powers. If I said anything about your flying, it was probably out of surprise, I'm sure…a-and your hair is really cool! I just never expected that to happen, is all!"

I shook my head, "No, it's okay. I'm sorry that I tripped you, and called you a jerk so much. I recently was separated from my father, who was the only one who ever called me by my real name, so every time I hear it, I think of him and get upset. But I shouldn't have taken it out on you; I was wrong."

Wally stepped forward, reaching over the couch to extend his hand, "So…we're good?"

I smiled lightly, "Yeah, we're good."

M'gann and Robin clapped, hanging on both Wally and me with smiles. "Yay! It's only been one day since we've all been together, and we've already climbed a mountain!" Robin proclaimed.

"But," Aqualad said, stepping up, "I still have not been properly introduced to you, Angie."

I turned to him, smiling. "That's right, we never got around to it did we? I'm Angie, Angie Males. It's nice to meet you, Aqualad."

"Please, call me Kaldur." He said, his hand on his chest. "That is what my friends…call me?"

I was staring intensely at his hand, which I had noticed was webbed. They all said nothing until I realized what I was doing myself, and turned pink. "S-sorry! I…uh…like your webbed…hand?" Oh, that was awkward.

He raised his eyebrow. "Thank…you?"

"I like to swim!" I said, attempting to explain why I was complimenting his aquatic features, "And I was just thinking…you must be able to swim really fast!"

"Well," Wally said with a grin, "He is Aqualad."

I felt my face darken from pink to red, "I-I know—"

"Then perhaps, sometime, we can go swimming together." Aqualad said with an awkward chuckle, "And you can see how fast I can swim. Besides, it would be nice to have a swimming partner."

"Well, awesome!" Robin said, clapping his hands together and stalling the awkward conversation to a close (thank god), "So now we all know each other, and we're all good, right?"

I looked at Wally and smiled lightly, receiving one in return. "Right."

"Then let's go shopping for Angie! And groceries!" M'gann said happily, heading towards the transporter. I began to walk as well when Kaldur gently pulled me back. I looked at him in confusion.

"If you wish it, we can always change the transporter to say Angie instead."

I blinked before smiling. "No, it's okay. I was thinking that maybe I should keep it as it is so that I can hear it more often and I won't be as hurt by someone calling me Agathangelos."

"Is that your true name? Agathangelos?" He asked, blinking, "It means good messenger, does it not?"

I nodded and turned, making the motion to join the rest of the group. "Yeah, it does. I'm surprised you knew that. It's not exactly common knowledge."

"In Atlantis, Latin is very much a common knowledge." He smiled as we neared the group. "I find it to be a fitting name for a rising superhero. Maybe you'll send a message out to the world."

I stared at him for a moment before chuckling with a grin. "Yeah, maybe."

"Alright, everybody ready?" Robin called, "Let's go!"

"So basically you have this card for whatever you need." Robin said, handing me a credit card, "Just don't go crazy with it and you'll be fine."

I nodded, taking the card with a smile.

"Uh oh, look at her face," Wally said, running behind me to pull my cheeks, "She's going to max out the card!"

"I-I am not!" I said, my face brightening. He had read my mind. It wasn't like I was actually going to, but the thought was there…

The group laughed at me, except for Superboy who stood with his arms crossed beside Kaldur. I stared at him until he looked at me so that I could give him a smile, but he walked away. "Let's go do something while they go shopping."

I frowned as the boys walked away, talking about arcades and other simple pleasures. "Superboy isn't really a people person, is he?" I muttered to M'gann, looking at her. It was a little strange talking to a non-green M'gann…her human form somehow transformed her whole look.

She nodded, sighing. "No, I suppose he isn't. I'm sure he means well, but he's just frustrated, is all."

"About what?" I asked, looking at a pair of pants on a stall outside of a store, "I mean, no offense to him, but wasn't he just technically 'born?' What's there to be angry about?"

"I think that the rage we see is more from his previous programming from Cadmus," She explained, "But he's really touchy about Superman, who is technically his father. I heard from Robin that they had an…unfortunate first meeting."

"Oh. Well in that case, I totally understand." I said, nodding before changing the conversation. "Hey, wanna try some clothes on?"

"Do you think the boys will mind if we spend our time like this? We never decided on a time to meet up again…and we still have to get groceries…"

"I'm sure they're fine. They're probably going to play at the arcade for a couple of hours. Besides, this is what we came to do: shop!" I said with a grin as I pulled M'gann inside the store. "And hey, rule number one: make the boys come to you!"

She giggled behind me, quickly walking to be beside me. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"How much stuff did you buy?" Robin's mouth opened as M'gann and I turned, bags hanging off every inch of our arms. I grinned.

"Well, this is mostly food for everyone." I said, M'gann lifting the bags to show that hers consisted of nothing but food, "Besides, I kind of had to buy more clothes since I lost a lot of mine before coming here."

Robin wiped his head, "Oh good…I thought you'd gone crazy."

"Ha ha believe me, we were tempted." I said, exchanging a smile with M'gann who giggled in agreement.

"I'm kind of glad we divided in the end…" Wally said, eyeing the bags as he approached with Kaldur and Superboy, "So that we didn't have to carry all of that stuff!"

My eyes glinted and I lifted my arms. "Oh my…I'm suddenly not feeling too well…gentlemen, could you help me with my bags?"

Wally rolled his eyes while Supey and Robin crossed their arms, but Kaldur actually offered his assistance. He took the bags off and I looked up at him with a blink. "…I was joking, you know…"

He smiled, "I am aware, but I am sure that soon enough you would have asked for real assistance."

I looked at everyone before looking back at him. "Oh…well, thanks!" I wasn't going to argue it, because I had no muscle, and he did. Carrying the bags was no sweat.

Wally immediately went over to M'gann and offered his arms for her bags. "My lady!"

She handed them over to him with thanks, but his arms fell pathetically. I hid my laughter by hiding my head behind Kaldur's back. "O-oh man…I know I shouldn't laugh, but…"

"It would be wise to not do so." Kaldur agreed before whispering to me, "but it is amusing."

We shared a grin before turning to see Wally struggling more.

"What do you have in these bags?" Wally asked, yanking them up only to have them pull him to the ground. He looked like a crouched gorilla. "It weighs like a ton!"

"It's all of the food," M'gann explained, "Wally, it's okay if you can't carry it all—"

"No no!" He said, dragging the bags forward, "I've got it. A guy has to be a gentleman."

Superboy, who shook his head in irritation, walked behind Wally before taking the bags off of one of his arms and slinging them over his shoulder.

"H-hey!" Wally called in protest before leaning over to Supey, "Dude, you're crampin my style in front of the ladies!"

Superboy didn't seem to care. "You were damaging the food…and I'm hungry."

We all chuckled until Wally turned with an extended lower chin. "Don't laugh at me!"

We returned to the cave (walking back this time so that I could familiarize myself with the area), food and clothes in hand. I smiled happily, pausing outside of the retracting cave door that Robin had opened. The harbor was full of lights, the sky shining with stars and a crescent moon. Robin pulled my hand, dragging me inside, and I turned to see everyone waiting. I smiled and walked faster to catch up with Robin's pull and we went inside.

Robin and Wally went home (since apparently they didn't stay at the cave) and everyone that did stay at the cave went to their room. I was in mine, staring at my father's suitcase. I was a little nervous to open it; just what was so important that my dad had to give me?

I took a deep breath and opened the case. A cool white fog seeped out and I let go of the top immediately. It opened itself up and I covered my mouth to contain my scream as I scooted away. As the fog cleared, a gray metal box stood, slowly rising to reveal a camera. It adjusted itself and looked around the room until it stopped at me.

Human, recognized. The suitcase lifted, revealing wheels. Identify yourself.

I stared at it, stuttering my name. "A-Agathangelos Melas."

Agathangelos Melas, It paused, Access granted.

The camera ducked into the metal box and came back up holding a thumb drive. I slowly reached out and took it, and the camera began to speak. Instructions from your father, play. My father's voice came from the box:

"Agathangelos, if you're getting this message, it is because I had to go away for a while. Cadmus believes that I have this creation with me…I left it with you since they do not know that you are my daughter. This is what I worked on while at Cadmus…they wanted me to make something out of your mothers' DNA…"

The large box suddenly began to open, splitting in half and seeping out more fog. I crawled forward, looking at it closely to see what was inside. My eyes widened.

"Teach and protect her. She is a mix between canine and your mother's DNA. She is still growing, and will not wake up for a while, but when she does I expect you to take care of her. She is part of our family. Meet Laelaps, or Lae for short."

It was a blue dog. That's what my father had been working on, what Cadmus had chased after and destroyed our house for. A blue dog. She had short fur, although on her legs and neck, you could see scales. She even had gills around her neck. I leaned in, checking her out all around and looked up at the camera.

"How am I supposed to take care of her?" I asked in confusion, "I mean is she going to be wild and blood thirsty when she wakes up? And what does she eat? Does she need to be in water? Those are gills right?"

I cannot process all of your questions at once. The camera replied, One question at a time.

I sighed. It was going to be a long night. "Dad, what did you get me into?"