It's been awhile since i wrote for Ra's. Please tell me if there is anything wrong. Constructive criticism is appreciated :)

I hope you enjoy! :)

L.L.A.P

~Laces

Chpt.13

"This is… strange." Nightwing muttered when the random attack on Gotham city seemed to come to a halt. They were people of the shadows who just came out and started harming civilians. Not just in Gotham, but in Central City, Star City, Metropolis, Hub City, and other various places.

After about a half hour of the fighting, the men in the shadows just vanished. It was eerie, to say the least.

"Uh… what just happened?" Gar inquired, looking over at M'gann. They were in Hub City.

"They seemed to have… retreated." She answered.

"But why?" Conner questioned, and M'gann's attention turned to one of the men she had knocked out.

"I know I can find out." She stated, staring at the man. Conner made a low grunt of disapproval, but that didn't stop M'gann from getting the information.

"He is part of the league of Shadows. His master is Ra's Al Ghul. All he was told was to cause mass hysteria in cities, then, once given a signal, to hide in the shadows and retreat." M'gann informed.

"So… this was a distraction?" Gar questioned, and Conner nodded.

"Seems like it."

"But why?" Gar inquired, and before anyone could answer, Nightwing's voice sounded in their mental link.

"Team. Head back to Mt. Justice. There's nothing more we can do."

~*~*~*~*~At Mt. Justice~*~*~*~*~

"Has anyone seen Athena?" Conner questioned after looking around the Mountain.

"The little minnow is probably hiding." La'gaan shrugged, and then turned back to M'gann, who he was kissing.

However, she seemed more interested in what Conner was saying than making out.

"I checked her usually hiding places, and she hasn't hid from us in weeks. I thought she was just starting to get comfortable." Conner explained.

"I'm not sensing her anywhere." M'gann informed as she did a mental sweep of the Mountain simultaneously moving away from La'gaan.

"Do you think she went outside?" Gar questioned, and the three quickly sprinted to the door, leaving La'gaan behind, since he had no real care for the girl.

Conner's eyes widened when he saw Ralph in the sand. Athena wouldn't simply leave Ralph behind for anything, and if she did, she always made sure he was safe in her room.

Conner picked up the Teddy bear and looked at M'gann and Gar.

"This is bad." Gar whispered. Athena was kidnapped right when they were all away from her.

The three sprinted inside to Nightwing. The former Robin's heart sunk the moment he saw their worried faces, and Conner holding Athena's teddy bear.

"Athena's been taken."

~*~*~*~*~Elsewhere~*~*~*~*~

Once she was done sobbing, instead of going to the room she woke up in, she ran around the building looking for some sort of way out. Unfortunately, all the windows she came to on the ground floor were locked and when she looked out of the higher windows, she realized that the building was surrounded by the ocean.

Sure, She was now not afraid to stick her feet into the water, but she was far from being able to swim in it without help.

Feeling helpless and scared, she did the thing she often did her first week at Mt. Justice.

Athena walked around the large building, looking for a place to hide. Her eyes settled on a wardrobe and she quietly stepped inside.

She mentally thought of The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe, and had a faint hope that maybe the back of the wardrobe would lead her to a magical land, or better yet, home.

But no. It was only filled with old jackets and clothing. She pushed herself to the very back , hiding behind the cloths and soaking in the darkness. To be honest, she missed the sun.

She heard steady footsteps and held her breath, holding as still as she could.

She felt scared. Almost just as scared as she was when she lived at Cadmus, except there she had Ralph. In the dark wardrobe, she had absolutely no one.

She could hear the footsteps getting closer to the wardrobe, the heals making a soft click on the ground.

Athena squeezed her eyes shut as she heard the steps getting closer and closer. And then she heard the wardrobe door open. She remained still with her eyes squeezed as tightly as she could get them. She hoped that maybe if she stayed still and didn't see who opened the wardrobe, they wouldn't see her.

Unfortunately a pair of hands pulled her out of the closet, and she slowly opened her eyes to see Ra's Al Ghul.

"Young Goddess, you will not always be able to hide." He informed, placing her on the ground next to him, then closed the wardrobe. "And, you cannot easily hide from me." he added.

"I don't want to be here." Athena stated, and Ra's smiled at her.

"Poor Athena. You are confused." He knelt in front of her. "You do want to be here. It's safe and loving here." He stated calmly.

"No…"

"Yes, Athena." Ra's Al Ghul kissed the top of her head and held out his hand to her. His gaze settled on her, waiting for her to take his hand.

"No." she whispered, taking a step away from him. She held her own hand tightly, drawling into herself.

Ra's calmly, but firmly grasped her arm and pulled her into the room she woke up in.

"Tomorrow we will work on your powers." Ra's stated with finality, shutting the door close. Athena sat on the bed, and looked up at the ceiling.

He keeps saying powers, plural, but all I can do is float. And I don't want to work on floating! I want to go home! She wanted to cry again, but an idea popped into her mind.

"Conner, Superboy, I miss you. Please help me. It's me, Athena. Conner, Superboy, I miss you. Please help me. It's me, Athena. Conner, Superboy, I miss you. Please help me. It's me, Athena. Conner…"

She kept repeating the sentence like a prayer. Maybe if Conner was listening he could hear her. Maybe.

Unfortunately, as she continued to do so, a voice in her head that sounded like Ra's kept whispering that Conner didn't care.

~*~*~*~*~At Mt. Justice~*~*~*~*~

While Dick, Robin (Tim), and Mal worked on the computers, trying to pick up a trace of Athena, Conner had his eyes closed, trying to shift through the voices billions of people, looking for one single voice. He had been at it for four hours.

He was bent on looking for Athena's voice.

Due to that, everyone was quiet in Mt. Justice, and they talked telepathically.

"sssw fie oower wine dinu gwdic fhefr Conner eifwer iwebhf Athena efhflf Superboy qdlflo help dgflgjnfr miss efbiergf me rilghg Conner, Superboy diflfv ewlb sohf iwbjbd lhdjnf help me defi aikhf dkjhrfi linfg djeo it's me ejfkrg kjhrie dsgjrton wsoenf Conner, Superboy, I miss you. Rieb riugh eikiltfr iebhjf Please help me. fohrlbh eifhnf woefr it's me, Athena. Elghbfjr fiffdf Conner, Superboy. I miss you. Please help me. It's me, Athena."

"I hear her." Conner whispered, and everyone looked at him.

"What is she saying?" Cassie questioned.

"She's saying, Conner, Superboy. I miss you. Please help me. It's me, Athena." He stated, then shook his head. "God, she sounds so scared."

"Can you hear anything about her surroundings?" Dick questioned, and Conner grunted. Being able to hold her voice wasn't easy, but he was thankful that at least she was still alive.

"I can try." He closed his eyes and focused on her voice, then tried to listen to her surroundings.

"I hear… waves… and a man's voice is close to her. It's deep… he has a bit of an accent…"

" sdfjf the girl sdfwfj difficult efibjkcel disfcbikv fciv dofnjnls I will efkh Cadmus werfnefil hbj." Conner took in a deep breath and tried to focus on the man's voice. "I will convince her that she is mentally unstable, Ubu. I want you to go in and ask her if she wants anything to eat? Wait ten minutes then go in and ask her again. If she says that she already told you, tell her that you never set foot into the room before. Plant it in her head that she has problems. Start out with subtle things and it will drive her into my guidance. Soon the league of Shadows will have an unstable weapon."

"As you wish, Master."

"Conner, Superboy, I miss you. Please help me. It's me, Athena."

Conner looked up at Dick.

"The man wants to make Athena think she's crazy. He was talking to a guy called Ubu, and he mentioned the league of shadows…"

"Ra's Al Ghul." Dick stated. "Then the attack makes sense. Ra's used the league of Shadows as a distraction while he kidnapped her." Dick then hit a button on the computer, connecting it to Batman. "Batman, Ra's has her. He's near water, but that's all we know so far."

"Keep me informed." Batman's voice stated, then signed out. The attack made sense to Dick, but at the same time, he wondered why Ra's would go through all that trouble in order to get to Athena. Unless he had some connections to Cadmus.

Gar looked over at Conner with concern.

"Are you okay?" he questioned.

"She keeps repeating the same sentence over and over saying she misses me and she wants help. She sounds so scared. I just want to comfort her, somehow." He informed in a whisper.

"We'll find her, Conner." Gar said gently.

"I don't like waiting." Conner stated. "I want to find her as soon as possible. She's scared and the Ra's guy wants to use her as a weapon. I don't like it."

~*~*~*~*~Elsewhere~*~*~*~*~

"Conner, Superboy, I miss you. Please help me. It's me, Athe-"

"Would you like something to eat?" Ubu inquired, peaking his head into the room.

"No, thank you." Athena whispered, and Ubu closed the door. She then continued to whisper, "Conner, Superboy, I miss you. Please help me. It's me, Athena." She just hoped that he could hear her somehow.

Several minutes passed and Ubu peaked his head into the room once again.

"Would you like something to eat?" he inquired.

"Once again, no thank you." Athena stated with a hint of irritation in her voice. She was tired from chanting over and over again, but she didn't want to give up. Ubu raised an eyebrow, looking at her puzzled.

"I am afraid I do not understand what you mean by saying, 'Once again.'" he informed, and Athena tilted her head to the side.

"You asked me what I wanted a few minutes ago." She said in a small voice, and Ubu shook his head.

"I have not stepped foot into the room until now, young one." he informed seriously. Athena's eyes widened.

"Don't lie to me." she stated sternly, trying to sound intimidating, but ended up sounding more scared.

"I am not lying. I did not say anything to you prior to this moment." Ubu stated, his voice never wavering. He then closed the door leaving Athena by herself once again.

I imagined him? Did I imagine her? I couldn't have. It was so… real. But… he seemed so sure. Athena shook her head, trying to shake her fears out of her head. She did not want to believe that she was mentally unstable.

"Conner, Superboy, I miss you. Please help me. It's me, Athena. Conner…" As Athena continued to chant, her brain was going through the possibilities of her imagining things, including her stay at Mt. Justice.