Note: everything written like *this* is telepathic, the team talking via mental link.
The team (minus Robin and Wally) all seemed to be taking turns watching Abigail. M'gann set up a mental link, not wanting to alert Rob- Dick, or Abigail, to what they were discussing.
*She seems nervous* M'gann noted.
Kaldur chanced a look at her before commenting. *She is new. As I recall, you were a little hesitant when you first joined us, M'gann. And we'd been together for a far shorter amount of time.*
Conner raised an eyebrow. *What's she got to be nervous about? If she's Robin's sister, she should be fine.*
*To be fair, Conner, you guys are a pretty tight knit group. I was a little intimidated when I first joined.* Zatanna defended. *Besides, can't you tell? She's not exactly like Dick. She's quiet.*
Artemis raised her eyebrows. *Instead of talking about her-* The archer walked over to Abigail. "Abigail, I'm curious about something," she said bluntly.
Abigail stared at her with wide eyes, a little startled by the directness. "Um. . Y-Yes?"
"You and your brother said you speak seven languages. I'm curious which ones," she said simply. *Let's try talking to her.* "English, obviously, but what other languages?"
"O-Oh. . Um." Abigail swallowed thickly. "Well, our first language was Romani. We also speak Italian, French, Spanish, German and Russian." The young girl blushed, feeling everyone staring at her, but she did her best to focus on Artemis, pretend it was just them in the room.
The archer raised her eyebrows. "Why do you know so many, anyway?"
"W-Well, D-D-Dick and I, w-we, um. . ." Her blush deepened, as she muttered the answer under her breath. The team stared at her, glancing at each other, wondering if anyone heard what she said. Of course, Conner had, but before he could say anything, Wally had slung an arm around her small shoulders, resting his hand on her head.
The redhead pulled her close with an unusually gentle smile. "C'mon, Abs, it's nothing to be ashamed of," he told her reassuringly.
"I-I know, but. . People react funny when I tell them," Abigail replied quietly as she leaned into Wally's side.
"We grew up in a travelling circus," Dick supplied. "We traveled all over the world, mostly in Europe, so we learned the languages of places we stayed the most. It was actually the circus that we helped save," he explained, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly at the end. "Haly was like a grandfather to us. I couldn't let him go down for that, not when I knew he was innocent, when I knew I could help him. . ."
Artemis was the first to speak up. "That actually explains a lot. Like why you're so good at the flips-"
"-And why you were so good at the trapeze when we were doing the circus act!" M'gann chimed in.
"And why he wanted to help in the first place," Conner deadpanned.
"They were our first family," Abigail piped up. "He had to do something. I wanted to help, too, but Bruce would never have let me. Dick only got to go because he lied with his teeth," she added, throwing a pointed look at her big brother. Dick's only reply was a cheeky grin.
"Through," Wally said.
Everyone (except Dick) stared at the speedster with similar confused looks. "It's 'lie through your teeth' not 'lie with your teeth'," he explained simply.
"That's just silly," Abigail said with a small frown.
"That's English," Artemis said in agreement.
Dick yawned dramatically. "Not that this little English lesson isn't fun, but- It's not fun," he chuckled. "There's plenty of time to get to know my sister, no need to play 20 questions-" He grinned when his sister groaned quietly at the idea of it. "-so let's watch a movie, play a board game, something." The Boy Wonder started bouncing on the balls of his feet in anticipation.
"And I thought Kid Hyperactivity was the antsy one," Artemis muttered, earning a giggled from Abigail.
"We have all those video games in the entertainment center. We could have a tournament or something?" Zatanna suggested. None of them were as into gaming as Wally and Dick, but it'd still be something fun for everyone to participate in. "Abigail, do you ever-?"
"NO!" Dick and Wally said quickly over the end of the magician's question.
Abigail put a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter while the rest of the team looked on in confusion.
Zatanna raised an eyebrow at their reaction to her question. "That was a little. . dramatic."
"Abigail's kinda been banned from video games," Dick said, eyeing his sister warily.
M'gann's eyebrows came together as she looked between Dick, Abigail and Wally, her confusion only growing as Abigail continued to laugh behind her hand. "I- I don't understand. Why not?"
"Because Abigail is sort of-" Dick started.
"How to put it?" Wally asked rhetorically, putting a hand to his chin as he pretended to think
By that point, Abigail had regained enough composure to speak. "It's because they're sore losers," she giggled.
"No, Abs, it's because you cheat," Dick corrected with a small pout.
"All the time," Wally added.
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "It's not cheating just because I'm better than you two." Zatanna and Artemis both laughed out loud.
Artemis pointed between the speedster and the hacker. "That's what this is about? You two won't let her play because she's better than you?"
Both boys crossed their arms over their chests. "No," Dick said.
"It's because she's a little monster when she plays. Seriously, if you think Dick is crazy when we play against each other. . You've no idea." Wally shivered at the thought of the last time Abigail played with them. Wally put his hand on her head, messing up her hair a bit. "See this cute little face? See how innocent she looks? Underneath all of this is the most diabolical mind you will ever come across. She shows no mercy. She leaves only destruction in her path-"
"She's twelve," Conner interrupted, rolling his eyes at Wally and his exaggerations. "How bad could she be?"
"You'd be surprised," Dick replied. "Abigail doesn't get competitive about much, but when she does. . . It's kind of scary."
Abigail giggled again. "Like I said. They're sore losers."
"Okay, now we have to have the tournament," Zatanna stated. She looked around at everyone, seeing if they agreed. "Who votes we see what Wally and Dick are so afraid of?" Everyone but the two boys in question raised their hands. "It's settled. Dick get the computer to put up brackets for this little competition. Abigail, why don't you pick the first game?"