Author's Note: this one will be medium-length, and have a bit of a twist ending. Enjoy

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

Chapter Five

Some Light Sleuthing

After another half an hour watching TV, the team converged on the Mission Room. Black Canary was waiting for them, slowly wrapping her wrists in tape. When the team walked in, she smiled at them.

"Alright everyone," she said in a commanding voice. "There are six of you, so you'll all need to pair up. You'll rotate partners and every five or ten minutes, I'll pick one of you out to spar with me." M'gann raised her hand. "Yes M'gann?"

"When one of us is sparing with you, what will our partner do?' Canary smiled.

"Good question," she said. "The partner will observe their partner sparing with me, because they will automatically be next to go. Remember who your original partner is, because those are the pairings that I'll use to decide who the second of the two partners is. Now, are there anymore questions?" No one said anything. Black Canary grinned, and clasped her hands together. "Perfect, partner up!" she exclaimed. Artemis and M'gann were immediately together, as were Robin and Kid Flash. Desmond turned to Superboy, and shrugged.

"Looks like we're partners," he said. Superboy grinned.

"Yeah, looks like it," he said. "Don't worry; I'll go easy on you." Desmond smiled at the friendly challenge.

"Less talking, more sparing you two." Shouted Black Canary. Desmond locked eyes with Superboy, and the two nodded simultaneously. Then they were off. Superboy immediately charged at Desmond, who evaded the strike. He went to punch for Superboy's side, but the boy of steel blocked it effortlessly. Superboy punched again, managing to land a hit this time, and sent Desmond flying. He landed on his back, and seized his chance. Shifting his density, he passed through the floor below him, and moved under Superboy. Thrusting upward, Desmond shot up just behind Superboy. He grabbed his ankle as he rose, while shifting his density again. Now that he possessed his super strength, he took Superboy's ankle, and swung him like a baseball bat. He spun his teammate around in circles a few time, and just before he was going to let go, Superboy's other foot collided with Desmond's face. He flew back, releasing his sparring partner in surprise.

"That was dirty!" exclaimed Desmond.

"No one said you can't play dirty!" said Superboy, before he charged again. Desmond had just enough time to stand back up when Superboy was upon him. The two were about to collide, but Desmond shifted once again, and Superboy flew right through him. He crashed on the floor, next to where Robin was sparring with Wally.

"You alright Supes?" asked Wally, in between blocking Robin's kicks. Superboy got up and wiped some sweat from his forehead.

"Peachy," he stated. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a newbie to beat the crap out of." He said it jokingly, of course, but Desmond tensed up nonetheless. Superboy jumped upon Desmond, who quickly jumped out of the way, barely making it away from Superboy's tackle. Desmond hardened himself again, and ran up to Superboy. He crouched, swung out his leg, and toppled the boy of steel. Superboy crashed onto the floor, making a sickening thud.

"Alright, switch," called Black Canary. "I want to see you, Robin. Be ready Wally, you're next. Desmond, grinning, offered a hand to Superboy.

"I did say I was going to go easy," said Superboy, having Desmond help him up to his feet. Desmond rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, you said that," he smirked. "So why weren't you?" Superboy playfully punched him in the arm.

"I'll take M'gann, you take Artemis?" he offered. Desmond caught the hint, and grinned.

"Trying to get more face time with your girlfriend?" he joked. Superboy gave him a glare that, if it was Superman probably been accompanied by laser vision.

"Shove it, Shift-head," he said. Okay, while the insult was clever, Desmond felt that it was unfair, seeing how it was Superboy had given him the name in the first place.

"It's cool, man. Have a good fight," said Desmond. Superboy nodded, and turned to walk towards Miss Martian. Desmond spun on his heel, and waved Artemis over. She jogged to where the boy was standing, and got in a fighting stance.

"Don't think you need to go easy on me because I don't have powers," she assured him. "Lay it on me." Desmond shrugged.

"Alright," he said, and the fight began. Artemis immediately jabbed for Desmond's chest, but he blocked it with his wrist. She thought on her feet, and grabbed the wrist. Kicking at his waist and pulling on his arm simultaneously, she flipped him over, landing him on his back. His eyes widened in surprise. "Damn!" he exclaimed. Artemis grinned smugly.

"Told you that you didn't need to go easy on me," she taunted. Desmond grinned. He liked her attitude. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to try and kick her butt. Sweeping his leg around, he tried to trip up the archer. She jumped out of the way, putting enough distance between the two of them for Desmond to get up safely. He ran at her, and she readied a strike. Thinking fast, Desmond lowered his density, and passed right through the girl. He spun around, returned to normal, and jabbed at her back. She fell to her knees, but kicked out behind her, hitting Desmond in the knee. He cried out, as he felt his knee dislodge slightly. Quickly popping it back in place, he got back into a fighting stance. Artemis was on her feet, ready to strike. "You think you can keep going?" she asked, mockingly. In response, Desmond charged at the girl. She wasn't expecting it, so he was able to topple her. She fell to the floor, and he landed on top of her. For a brief moment, they looked into each other's eyes, not moving. Then, almost simultaneously, they shook their heads to knock themselves out of it. They were about to return to their battle, when Black Canary called out.

"Desmond, get over here!" Des looked over to his teacher. Apparently she had already sparred with Wally (who was nursing a sore shoulder) and had moved on to her and Superboy. Desmond got up, and held out a hand to Artemis. She took it, and he helped her to her feet.

"Uh, thanks," she said, trying to avoid eye contact. Desmond as well couldn't shake the feeling he'd had a moment ago, but he walked over to Black Canary. Superboy was waiting for him as well.

"Alright, let's do this," he said, getting into a fighting stance. Black Canary, however, shook her head. Desmond put a quizzical look on his face. Black Canary gestured to the hall leading to their rooms.

"Batman just showed up," she explained to him. "Says he wants to speak with you. Alone. He's in your room." Desmond exchanged a confused look with Superboy, who just shrugged, obviously as confused as he was. Desmond turned to Black Canary, nodded, and went off to his room to speak with the Dark Knight.

XxXxX

Upon reaching his room, Desmond was shocked to find something he didn't expect. His closet and dresser were both open, and filled to the brim with new clothes. Standing next to the dresser was Batman, his dark cowl covering his face.

"You, um, wanted to see me, sir?" asked Desmond. He wasn't sure why, but he felt like kneeling in front of the caped crusader. Batman stared at Desmond with a blank expression.

"Yes," he said at last. "As you can see, the league went to the trouble of getting you an all new wardrobe." Desmond was going to thank him, but Batman held up a hand. "No thanks are necessary," he said solemnly. "It's only correct you have more than one outfit for when you start school." Desmond's eyebrows arched, confused.

"School?" asked Desmond.

"You, Miss Martian, and Superboy will all be attending Happy Harbor High school starting this Monday," the vigilante explained. "Of course, they will need to chose new names, to go with their civilian identities. I'm sure you've had a similar problem, picking a new heroic identity." Desmond piped up.

"Actually, I've—" he started, but Batman cut him off again.

"You've taken the name Shifter, I know," he said. "It's fitting. Superboy has a knack for these things." Desmond was surprised, but felt like he shouldn't be. Batman was the world's greatest detective, after all. This wasn't even a secret for him, so why shouldn't he have already figured it out. "We'll get you an outfit to go along soon." The Bat assured him.

"That's what Robin said, too," said Desmond. Batman nodded; perhaps he knew that, too. He moved away from the dresser, and went to walk out the door. Before he did so, however, he stopped in front of Desmond. This close Desmond realized, for the first time, that Batman had a scent that combined blood and gun smoke.

"Desmond," he said, in a voice barely above a whisper. Desmond had to lean in slightly to hear what the Dark Knight had to say. "I've done some light sleuthing. I know about your father." Desmond's eyes went wide, and he jumped back from Batman.

"You can't tell the others!" he shouted, not considering who might hear. Batman held out his hands to calm the young hero down.

"I wasn't planning on it," Batman said, keeping his voice low. "I just wanted you to know that your family doesn't make you who you are. You are what makes you who you are." With that, Batman strode out of Desmond's room without another word, leaving him to his thoughts.

So there you go. Desmond has a secret. What is it, you ask? Well, I guess you'll need to wait for updates to find out the truth.