Author's Note: Wow, I've taken some time off. There's been a lot going on. Sorry if anyone was disappointed. Something else that'll be (somewhat) disappointing: this chapter isn't super long. Sorry. It also has a cliffhanger. I could have made one jumbo-chapter, but I wanted to publish something, so I figured I'd split it up. Thanks to those who've read so far, and those who checked for updates these past few days!

Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, yadda yadda yadda, only own Desmond, blah blah blah, you get the gist of it.

Chapter Seven

(Killer) Crocodile Tears

After Megan's cheerleading tryouts were a huge success, the three friends returned to Mount Justice. They Zeta-Beamed in, still discussing the day's classes and activities.

"You think Biology is hard?" demanded Miss Martian. "I don't even have human anatomy! You and Conner at least have that advantage." Desmond waved her away.

"Human or not, that class is going to kill me," he exaggerated. "I'm telling you, Biology is my Kryptonite. Uh, no pun intended." Superboy gave him a gentle punch to the shoulder. It was only after their chatter died down that they realized they were being watched. They weren't the only ones in the Mission Room. Standing in line, facing the large holographic computer, were Robin, Kid Flash, Artemis (all in uniform) and Red Tornado. Batman (whose face was projected on the screen) was looking at the three new arrivals, as well.

"Glad you decided to join us," he mumbled. "You were supposed to be out of school an hour ago." Desmond pointed at M'gann accusingly.

"Miss M went to cheerleading tryouts!" he said. She shot him a look, and sheepishly turned to face the team, who were glaring at her accusingly. Then she explained her plans of calling in sick for Young Justice related instances, and after a while of convincing, the team finally let it rest.

"So," said Superboy. "Why exactly are you all gathered here?" The team looked to the holographic image of Batman, and waited for him to explain.

"There's been a breakout," he started. Megan gasped quietly. "Several notorious Arkham inmates have gotten back to Gotham. Normally this would be something Robin and I could handle, but I've decided it would be better to split the teams up. Robin will join me, going after the Joker, followed by the Penguin. I don't feel the rest of you are ready for them yet. Aqualad's off in Taipei, so the other two teams will be uneven." Miss Martian interrupted the Bat.'

"Whys is Aqualad in Taipei?" she questioned.

"He was called in for extra protection at the peace summit, let's leave it at that," Batman said. "Now, as I was saying, Superboy, Miss Martian, and Kid Flash will be going after Hush, and Artemis and Desmond will chase down Killer Croc. I'll send the details to your communicators, so you'll have the locations your respective villains should be in. Subdue them, then call the police. They will escort them back to Arkham. Are we clear?" The team nodded. "Good. Oh, and Desmond," the new hero raised his head to stare more clearly at the screen. "I've taken the liberty of getting you a suit. It's on your bed. Try not to get it destroyed, will you? Batman out." The screen shut off, and six communicators beeped simultaneously, all receiving their respective info. Several team members looked at Desmond expectantly.

"Well…" said Wally at last. "Go try it on!"

Desmond nodded, and walked off to his room. The entire team, aside from Red Tornado, followed him. Just as they reached his living space, Desmond walked in, and shut the door. He was in there for a few minutes, leaving the rest of the team to wait impatiently in the hallway. Then the door slid open, and Desmond revealed his costume. Shifter's new outfit was primarily golden, with purple starting from the armpits, leading to the waist. His pants were also gold, held up with a black and purple utility belt. The outfit had come with a black mask, much like Robin's. He wore combat boots the same shade of deep purple and black fingerless gloves. When he revealed this ensemble to the team, they all nodded their approval, Wally even whistling.

"You guys think it's good?" asked Desmond, met once again with nods. "I think it's a bit, I don't know, flashy. What if we're trying to be stealthy?" Several team members rolled their eyes. Artemis walked forward, and tapped Desmond on the chest. Before his eyes, the costume changed colors. The gold was replaced with a slate gray, and the purple became an even darker shade, nearly black. Desmond's eyes nodded behind his mask. "That was awesome," he said, pressing his chest a few more times to test it out for himself. Just then, Red Tornado floated into the hallway.

"Hello children," his monotone voice said. "Excellent uniform, Desmond. I've just added you to the Zeta-Beam designations. You will be B08." With that, he floated away. There was a moment of silence, and then Robin spoke up.

"Alright guys," he started. "We'll all Zeta-Beam to Gotham together. We'll split up from there. I know we're on separate missions, l but stay in touch. M'gann will provide a psychic link. If you need backup, just call." The team exchanged some nods, and started heading to the Zeta-Beams. Desmond quickly started to walk beside Artemis.

"Guess we're partners for this mission, huh?" He said. She smiled slightly, and nodded. "So, once we get to Gotham, where are we headed?" Artemis smirked, and showed Desmond her communicator.

"Underneath the Diamond District," Artemis said disdainfully. "In the sewers."

XxXxX

Once the team had reached the alleyway in Gotham where the Zeta-Beam spit them out, they wished each other luck, and split up. Robin immediately disappeared into the shadows, most likely meeting with the Bat somewhere. KF, Superboy, and Miss Martian headed north, toward the Bowery, and Artemis and Desmond went east, towards the Diamond District. They walked through the shadows, stealth mode engaged, not saying a word. They darted from alley to alley, not daring to be seen by any civilians. Why Batman had sent them out in the middle of the day was beyond Desmond; maybe this matter was too pressing to ignore. Either way, they made do with what they had to. Once they were far enough in the Diamond District, the friends began their search for a manhole. The search didn't last long, Artemis spotting one in less than two minutes. They couldn't pry it open, because of how it was positioned in the ground, so Desmond phased through the ground, and pushed it from within the tunnel. Artemis dropped in, and they were off.

The two tread carefully, avoiding sewage and rat droppings. Artemis always had her bow at the ready. The sewers were cramped, to say the least. At some points the two friends had to literally press together to squeeze through a tight space. Soon, however, they entered a cavernous room. There were several pipes above them, spewing waste into a large pool below them. With a signal from Desmond, Artemis used her communicator to scan for life in the room. They were alone, so they relaxed a bit. The roar of the water above their heads was loud, but they could hear each other if they spoke. It was Desmond who started their conversation.

"So, what're the stats on this Killer Croc guy?" he asked. "I mean, I've seen news reports and stuff, about how he was a sideshow freak turned murderer. But is that for real?" Artemis shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine," she said. "I don't spend a lot of time in Gotham, and even less with Batman's enemies. That's Robin's jurisdiction."

"Right, you're probably in Star City with your uncle most of the time," Desmond thought aloud. "Well, should we be worried? I mean, do you think we can take this guy?" Artemis smirked.

"Of course," she said. "With my brains and your… other stuff…" She smiled cheekily. Desmond crossed his arms good naturedly.

"Well excuse me, little miss know-it-all," he taunted back. "I didn't realize we were arguing here." He fixed her with a hard gaze, which she matched, but they both quickly dissolved into grins. They chuckled to themselves for a second, before regaining their composure. Suddenly there was a loud clanking sound above them. The heroes readied themselves: Artemis drawing her bow, and Desmond hardening himself. There was a sound like bones scraping on metal, and a figure stepped into view. But it was no normal figure, but the form of an eight foot tall crocodile man.

"Killer Croc," Artemis whispered. The villain laughed, which sounded like putting marbles in the garbage disposal.

"So," he said. His voice sounded like a cross between a cry in anguish, and the roar of a crocodile. "I go through all the trouble to break out of that goddamned asylum, and the Bat is a no-show. Who are you anyway?" Desmond was too stunned to speak. This monstrosity was huge, needing to duck his head slightly to stand in the cavern. It didn't help that Desmond had to look up to the platform Croc was standing on. He was covered head to toe with scales, varying in colors, but all some sort of green. When he opened his mouth, he showed rows of razor-sharp teeth. His yellow eyes squinted at the two heroes. It was Artemis who spoke first.

"Artemis," she said, readying her bow. "You know, goddess of the hunt? And I think I'm gonna hunt myself some new lizard skin boots." With that, she released the arrow, and it sailed through the air. Killer Croc dodged it easily, but it exploded behind him, making the monster stagger.

"Nice try, girly," he said. He turned and walked to near where the arrow had landed. "Now it's my turn!" There was the sound of rusty metal grinding, and all of the sudden the water flowing out of the pipes began coming out faster and faster. In a matter of seconds it was up to Desmond and Artemis' knees. Killer Croc walked back into view. "Have a nice swim!" He cackled to himself, and turned to walk away, leaving the heroes to fend for themselves in water now up to their chests.

"We'll be fine," Desmond assured her, though he wasn't sounding too confident. "When the water gets high enough, we'll swim to where he left from. He wouldn't let everywhere flood, or else he wouldn't get away." Just then there was a small explosion from where Killer Croc had previously been, and the sound of the tunnel collapsing. Artemis shot Desmond a look, starting to need to tread water.

"You just HAD to say something, didn't you?" she snarled. Desmond did an underwater shrug, and the two swam close together. "We've got to find a way out of here," Artemis said, stating the obvious. They scanned the room, looking for an opening, but found none. The water had risen well past the ground now, and the heroes were on level with the platform Killer Croc had been standing on. Desmond peered past the rubble from the collapse he had caused, and saw that Croc had left through a metal door. It looked sturdy, but was blocked off completely by the rubble. Just as he was formulating a plan, Artemis shouted, "Deep breath!" and they were submerged. The water stung in Desmond's eyes, and he tried not to think about what exactly he was swimming in. Artemis started pounding the ceiling in vain. Desmond quickly glanced again at the blocked off door, and then an idea struck.

Follow me, he thought to Artemis, making use of M'gann's mental link. I've got an idea. He motioned to the blocked off door. Artemis furrowed her brow, but Desmond motioned again. They were quickly running out of air, so Artemis didn't argue. They swam over to the rubble, and Desmond beckoned her closer. She swam directly next to him, and he wrapped an arm around her waist. She made a gurgling sound in confusion.

What're you— She thought, but then it was cut off. Desmond took a quick glance that bubbles were slowly rolling out of her nose.

Artemis! He shouted in his head. Kicking hard, and paddling with one hand, he swam straight for the rubble. At this point, Desmond was more than a little light headed, and his vision was starting to blur. He reached the rubble, and quickly lowered his density. He passed through, and, much to his relief, so did Artemis. He quickly passed through the locked door, and collapsed on the dry floor. Taking a few heaving breaths, he regained his normal breathing, then went to attend to Artemis. "Okay, how does this work again?" he muttered to himself, trying to remember the short class he'd taken once on CPR. He tilted her head back, and checked to see if she was breathing. Barely. He put his hands on her chest, and began the compressions. "One, two, three…" he started the countdown. "…thirteen, fourteen, fifteen." He said, reaching the conclusion. Tilting his teammate's head back again, he put his lips to hers. Pinching her nose shut, he breathed air into her lungs slowly. Once, twice, and then checked if she was breathing again. Better than before, but still not good. He did the compressions again. Upon reaching fifteen, he put his mouth to hers, and blew. Checked once more: almost there. He started the compressions again. "One, two three, fo—" Just then, Artemis sputtered, expelling water from her mouth, a bit splashing on Desmond's face. Desmond quickly made sure she was okay. "Take it slow, deep breaths." He instructed. She slowly started breathing normally, and Desmond, upon listening to her heartbeat, realized that was regular as well.

"Th-thanks," she panted. "You saved me." She smiled, and then coughed up a little more water. Desmond clapped her on the back gently, trying to help get the water out.

"Don't mention it," he said. "You would've done the same for me." She nodded, and looked to the door that Desmond had phased them through. There was a small window on it, through which she could see a room flooded with brown water.

"How did you know it would work?" she asked. "Phasing us through the door like that. How'd you know that you could bring me through too?" Desmond looked at the door as well, and chuckled.

"Lucky guess," he said. "I figured either you would come with me, or get stuck in the middle of the rubble." She punched him in the arm.

"You prick!" she exclaimed, scowling at him. But after a moment, her stern look dissolved to a smile. "But thanks again." He waved a hand, signifying it was no big deal.

"Worry about thanking me later," he said. "For now, we need to get Killer Croc."

Alright, some action. I tried to come back with something good. You can expect the follow up to this one pretty soon (tomorrow, perhaps?) I've already written some of it, but, as I said, decided to split up the jumbo-chapter. Thank you for reading, reviewing, and following!