Sorry for the lack of action. there will be action, but i have to establish stuff. *sigh* Please enjoy, and tell me what you think. constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. :)

L.L.A.P

~Laces

Chpt.6

Athena looked up at Batman and Nightwing. Batman kept his serious face when she entered the room, but Nightwing gave her a warm smile, making her feel more welcomed.

"I have a name now." Athena informed with excitement, looking up at the two men.

"We know Athena, Wonder Woman told us." Nightwing grinned as he ruffled the girl's black hair, making her giggle.

"Athena, where is everyone else?" Batman inquired, and the girl looked behind her, puzzled.

"They were… right… behind me." she whispered, but La'gaan and Gar slowly entered the room. Gar was frowning, slightly, making Athena tilt her head in confusion.

"Gar, are you… alright?" she inquired. For the few hours she had known him, the boy had hardly looked that… well Athena didn't know how to exactly describe the look on his face, but it did not look good.

"He's fine." La'gaan stated sharply. "Now, what's going on that the little minnow needs to be here too?" he inquired, giving Athena a pointed look. The look made Athena shrink a bit, but Nightwing gently placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Where's Superboy?" he inquired, ignoring La'gaan's question.

"Conner went to see a… an explosion… in town." Athena informed, feeling a bit proud of herself for using the word town correctly.

"And I'm back." Conner stated, stepping into the room. Athena quickly ran towards him giving him a hug. "It was just a bank robbery. No casualties, and everyone's okay." He informed calmly, and he smiled slightly at the girl. Just then M'gann floated into the room.

"Sorry I'm late." She apologized, landing next to La'gaan.

"It's alright, we're still waiting for everyone else to get here." Nightwing informed, and in a gust of wind, a boy appeared next to Nightwing.

"Miss me? I know you did. It's only natural. So, what's the deal? What's going on? Is it a big mission? Something really important? I could help! I'd totally crash whatever mode is going on!" a fast voice exclaimed.

"Who are you?" Athena inquired, tilting her head to the side.

"I'm Impulse!" the boy exclaimed happily.

"And why exactly are you here? You're not officially part of the team." Nightwing stated, and Bart shrugged.

"I heard the league talking about the meeting over their COM links." He informed.

"That's impossible. You don't have a COM link, and they're frequency is impossible to crack into." Nightwing said, shooting the boy a pointed look.

"Ha. Frequencies are something kids crack into all the time. It's what we do for fun. It's totally crash." Impulse laughed.

"I am… confused… what is crash and mode?" Athena inquired. Conner opened his mouth to say something, but Impulse was faster to speak.

"Mode is bad, crash is good." he informed, as Mal and Bumblebee walked into the room, followed closely by Wondergirl, Batgirl, and Robin.

"Great, the speedster's here." Robin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, foreseeing a headache.

Blue Beetle quickly flew into the room.

"I'm not late, and I was not going to kill that guy just because he was driving to slow, just let it go! Ay dios mio!" he grunted in frustration, earning him odd looks from everyone in the room.

"Hey guys." He waved sheepishly, noticing the eyes staring at him. Batman then cleared his throat.

"Now that everyone's here, the meeting can begin." Batman stated.

"What about Impulse?" Nightwing questioned, looking at the boy who currently had a random freeze pop in his hands.

"It doesn't matter." Batman sighed. "I don't think we can make him leave, anyhow."

"Correct." Impulse smiled.

"This meeting is about Athena." Batman said in a stone cold voice, and everyone looked at the girl, making her want to disappear. "Cadmus isn't thrilled that we took her. We have been advised by Cadmus leaders to either return her, or destroy her, for the good of the human population."

Athena's eyes widened and she took a small step back.

Conner wrapped an arm around Athena in a small light hug, then looked at Batman.

"What do they mean by the good of the human population?" he questioned, his tone hinting at his anger.

"They said that she might have malfunctions since she is a failed project." Batman informed, making Athena flinch. "They also said that it would put her out of her misery."

Athena was shaking, her eyes welling up with tears, and she hugged Conner's leg tightly.

"I-I'm fine… I don't hurt… I'm not in… misery…" she whispered.

"Wait, you're suggesting that we kill the girl?" Mal questioned in disbelief. Mal didn't even know who she was, but that was something he was not okay with.

"No." Batman stated. "I told Cadmus that killing her was not an option, which made them very unhappy. We have to be careful where Athena goes. People from Cadmus will be looking for her, and they will shoot to kill."

"So why did we all need to know this?" La'gaan questioned, crossing his arms.

"Because she will be living here for the time being, and all of you need to be careful if you take her anywhere." Batman explained. "There is a target on her back, and if Cadmus gets a chance to kill her, they'll take it."

Athena looked around at all the people in the cave, then at Batman.

"You… won't kill me?" she questioned, her voice shaking.

"We do not kill." Batman stated sternly, and Nightwing walked over to her and quickly scooped the girl up into his arms.

"Stay whelmed, Athena. We'll never hurt you." He grinned. "Now, meet the team."

Conner watched as Athena met the remaining members of the team, but looked over at La'gaan and noticed the unhappy look on his face.

"What's up with you?" he questioned.

"She's going to be nothing but a problem. And what if she does malfunction? We're all going to wish we killed her when we had the chance." La'gaan explained.

"Don't say things like that." Conner growled in a low voice. "She's just a little girl."

"A little girl who could malfunction at any moment." La'gaan stated. "She's a ticking time bomb."

"You make her sound like a robot." Conner growled, crossing his arms.

"Well, she is a lab experiment. The only difference between her and a robot is that she's biological." La'gaan shrugged.

Conner had to restrain himself from punching the Atlantian.

"Oh, that's right. You're a lab experiment too." La'gaan smirked. "Maybe you suffered a malfunction when you decided to break up with my Angel Fish."

And back to the girlfriend thing. La'gaan just loved shoving Conner's breakup in his face.

Conner's jaw clenched, and he was having trouble restraining himself from throwing La'gaan through the cave wall.

"La'gaan, weren't you going to take me to the movies?" M'gann inquired, walking up to the two.

"Of course, Angel Fish." He smiled, leaning in, giving M'gann a long kiss. Conner walked away in disgust, but smiled when he saw Athena talking to some of the team. Specifically Wondergirl, and Bumblebee.

La'gaan had his own reasons for hating her, and Conner wasn't going to try to change the guy's mind. He could care less for what La'gaan thought. At least he would tell himself that so he wouldn't punch him. He was still a kid with anger issues deep down.

Conner turned to look at Batman.

"Cadmus really wants to kill her just because she failed?" he inquired skeptically.

"There is most likely, another reason." Batman stated. "Keep an eye on her."

"You think she'll malfunction?" Conner inquired, raising an eyebrow, and Batman kept his stoic face.

"I don't know what to think. She is definitely different from most children. She speaks as if she is unsure of the language, yet the words she chooses makes her sound much more like an adult." Batman informed, and Conner nodded.

"I don't know what she uses a larger vocabulary, but she is relatively new to the English language. She told me that she grew up around several different languages that she picked up on her own." Batman nodded.

"I also fear for her mentality. She is, in every sense of the term, an abused child. I am just… unsure about her. And I'm not the only one." Batman let out a sigh, which was the most emotion Conner had ever seen from the hero.

"Keep an eye on her. Keep her safe, and if something happens, report directly to me." Conner nodded, then looked back over at Athena.

As she talked to the other members, she was clutching onto her Teddy bear, and Dick tightly. She was smiling, but she still looked at the people nervously, flinching at any sudden movements they made.

She was going to need a lot of socializing, and help. Conner was going to make sure what happened to Athena at Cadmus was not going to impact negatively on the rest of her life.