Author's note: So this one will be a bit shorter, but I'm really starting to pump out these chapters! I'll try and get a new one up soon.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the DC characters, only Desmond.

Chapter Four

New Identity

"Black Canary," said Robin, taking a tentative step backwards. "I thought you wouldn't be getting here for at least an hour." She crossed her arms and strode towards the two young heroes. Desmond wasn't sure how the others had gotten past their instructor, but he envied them. They were probably watching from somewhere safe, away from Canary's death glare.

"I wasn't going to be here until later," she explained. "But Green Arrow called me. Said he tried to reach Artemis, but couldn't reach her. I volunteered to see if anything was going on, since I was going later anyway. Now, talk." Desmond and Robin exchanged a look, and Desmond nodded. Robin turned his attention back to Black Canary, and Desmond assumed he was going to explain.

"Have you met Desmond? He's new," he said, instead of what Desmond had predicted. He slapped Robin in the back.

"Dude?" he asked. "Why are we talking about this now?" But Black Canary, instead of demanding to hear where her apprentices had been, uncrossed her arms and strode over. Desmond's entire body stiffened at the sight of this beautiful yet angry woman. He'd heard stories of Black Canary deafening her enemies with her "Canary Screams." It was only his first day, and he didn't want it to be his last as well. But instead of shouting the new hero to the ground, the young woman stuck her hand out.

"No, I haven't met him," she said, with a faint smile. "Nice to meet you, Desmond. I'm sure you already know, but I'm Black Canary." Desmond and Robin shared a look of shock, before Desmond dumbly held out his hand, shook hers, and said;

"Uh… I, uh…" After that, he sort of gave up taking. How a person could go from fuming to friendly in a minute was beyond him. Black Canary chuckled as she released Desmond's hand.

"Don't worry, my bark's much worse than my bite," she said. "Pun intended. Come on you two, we'll talk in the living room." Desmond and Robin, still dumbfounded by what was going on, followed Black Canary silently down the hallway leading towards the living room. When they arrived, Desmond was shocked to see the rest of Young Justice sitting on the couch, seemingly deep in discussion. As soon as the three new arrivals walked in, however, they became silent. Superboy, Wally and Artemis all got up to leave. "Sit," commanded Black Canary. The team members did so, and Black Canary followed suit in her own chair. She looked at Desmond and Robin, and motioned them towards the couch. They sat, and Black Canary scanned the eyes of all the team members. "Somebody start talking, now." She said coldly. No one said anything at first, but after a while, Artemis spoke up.

"Have you met Desmond yet?" she asked innocently. Black Canary smirked.

"We tried that already," said Robin glumly. Artemis sighed, and slumped down in her cushiony green chair.

"This is what happened," said Superboy suddenly. He explained all that had happened, including filling her in on Desmond's powers, and how they helped take down Ambush Bug. When he finished, the whole room was silent for a moment. Then Black Canary's eyes locked with Desmond's. They were piercing.

"So," she mused. "You took out a villain on your first day on the team, eh? Not bad. Of course, Ambush Bug is hardly a threat to most people, but he is a villain none the less. Good job." With that, she stood up and went to walk out of the room.

"Wait," called Desmond. "That's all? I mean, we're not in trouble?" Black Canary turned to the new hero and smiled.

"I can give you all a punishment, if you really want," the team collectively shook their heads. She grinned. "That's what I thought," Black Canary said, glancing at her watch. "Meet me for training in the Mission Room in 45. Until then, you all have fun." With that, she walked away. Desmond turned to look at the rest of the team, who shared his confused expression.

"So…" he started. "Now what do we do?" There were a few shrugs, and Wally zipped over to the couch, and clicked on the large TV. He began flipping through channels. After a while Superboy got up and joined him. M'gann, Artemis, Robin and Desmond sat in their chairs.

"Hey," said Artemis suddenly, directing it at Desmond. "Have you thought of a name yet?" At this Wally and Superboy both looked over from the TV show they were watching, and raised their eyebrows. Desmond shook his head.

"Not really," he said. "I mean, I know it's really important, but I think it'll feel kind of weird going by a different name, you know." Artemis got up, walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bag of chips, and walked back into the living room.

"Shame you don't have a name like mine," she said, sitting back in her chair and plopping a chip into her mouth. "Artemis is, like, the perfect name for an archer. But 'Desmond' doesn't really have anything to do with your powers. Pringle?" She offered the can to Desmond, who nodded. She tossed the tube to him, and he too shoved a handful in his mouth. KF walked over and sat Next to Desmond and Robin, making the couch a bit crowded.

"Plus, you don't have another hero that you can base your name off of," he said, grabbing a few chips from out of Desmond's hand. "I mean, Kid Flash, Superboy, Aqualad, and Miss Martian. Those names practically write themselves." Desmond nodded.

"Give it time," said M'gann. "The right name will come to you after a while." Desmond took a few more chips, and tossed the tube back to Artemis, who had been gesturing to it for some time.

"But I don't have time," explained Desmond. "What if we go out on a mission? I can't go out there as Desmond. I need to have another identity." Superboy finally stood up.

"Shifter," he said.

"What?" asked Desmond.

"Call yourself Shifter," said Superboy again. "Because you can shift from two extreme levels of density, really high or really low." The room was silent for a while as they all pondered it.

"Shifter," said Desmond at last, testing how it sounded coming out of his own mouth. "Yeah… yeah I like that. Shifter… You guys think it works?" he asked, addressing the rest of the team. They shared a few looks, and their nods signified a unanimous yes. "Alright, Shifter it is. Thanks man." He said to Superboy. The boy of steel smiled.

"Don't mention it De— I mean, Shifter," he said with a grin. Desmond chuckled.

"Shifter," he said, once again, to himself. "That's going to take some getting used to…" Just then Wally stood up and put an arm around Desmond.

"Come on, Shift-Man," he said. "Let's see what's on TV."

So, there's Desmond's new identity. How do you like it? Soon he'll get an outfit to go with it, but I'm not sure when that'll be. I'm hoping to explore Happy Harbor some more, because I really wanted to know more about Superboy and Miss Martian's civilian lives. So look out for that, too.