Author's Note: Okay, here's the second part of the giant chapter. I knew I'd have it up soon. This'll wrap up the Killer Croc fiasco. Please enjoy, review, and favorite!
Disclaimer: None of these things are mine, excluding Des, of course.
Chapter Eight
"Steve Irwin Would be Proud"
Artemis and Desmond found a path leading down from the room they were in back to a network of sewer tunnels. Artemis suggested they split up, and cover more ground, but Desmond thought otherwise. "What if you get in another situation like back there?" he pointed out. "I might not get there in time." Artemis crossed her arms defiantly.
"I can take care of myself," she said. "Do I need to remind you I've been doing the hero thing longer than you?" Desmond scoffed.
"By a few weeks," he retorted. "And do I need to remind you that I'm the only one here that can phase through walls?" She started to argue, but thought better of it, and the two stuck together as they traversed the dank tunnels. It smelled worse in this room than it had in the other, mixing the smells of sewage and rotting flesh. Desmond really didn't want to find out where the smell was coming from. It didn't help that the two friends were sopping wet, either, their feet squelching with every step. They had deactivated the stealth function in their suits, seeing as Croc already knew they were there. Yeah, he thought they were dead, but he was probably still on guard. Soon the two reached a crossroads, with two tunnels splitting off in completely opposite directions.
"Which one?" asked Artemis. Desmond thought for a moment. Both were dark, and smelled awful. But there was something different about the one on the left. A lack of rust. The one on the right was coated in rust all the way around, but the left one was lacking the brown material around the bottom. Looking closer, Desmond realized it wasn't just one spot missing rust, but the whole bottom section. There were thin lines in the rust that had previously been there, indicating a trail. Desmond pointed down the tunnel on the left.
"This way," he said. He pointed to the trail left by Killer Croc. "Croc drags his feet." She nodded, and the two began their trek through the tunnel. After walking for a while they found themselves in a cavernous room, on the edge of a ledge. Scanning the wide open area, Desmond spotted another ledge opposite them, but much lower down.
"Look," pointed Artemis at the ledge Desmond had noticed. Desmond followed her finger, and saw what she was pointing at. There was a large indent on the other side, vaguely in the shape of two large feet. "Croc?" she asked.
"Croc," Desmond reaffirmed. "Can you shoot a zip line across?" he asked. She nodded, and pulled an arrow out of her quiver. She shot the arrow, and it flew onto the other side. It stuck into a wall above the landing, and three tiny metal claws burrowed themselves into the wall, so the line would hold. Artemis pulled two portable pulleys out of her quiver, and handed one to Desmond.
"Ladies first," she joked, and Desmond rolled his eyes. He attached the pulley to the line, and quickly zipped across to the other side. Artemis followed suit, and then cut the line down. They crossed the landing, finding another metal door. It opened with a squeal, and the two walked in. The room was larger than the previous one, but didn't have any of the rushing sewer water. There was, however, a large pump-like mechanism in the middle of the room, probably purifying the sewage or something.
"Do you think he's in here?" Desmond whispered, getting ready to shift his density. Artemis shrugged, but pulled her bow out none the less.
"Maybe," she whispered back. "But I'm not taking any chances. Be ready." She pulled out an arrow, and cocked it into place on the bow. The two took a few tentative steps forward, and scanned the area. Artemis made a hand signal, telling Desmond to look in the left side of the room while she took the right. Desmond nodded, and the two split up. Desmond walked over to his designated side, keeping his hands balled as fists the whole time. The room was dimly lit by a few large light bulbs above their heads, but the far reaches of the area were covered in the shadows of the pump. Desmond scanned the area, and found nothing of interest, Croc or otherwise. He turned to tell Artemis, when there was a growl from above him. He looked just in time to see Killer Croc jump out from a hidden location, slash the wires holding the lights up, and return to the shadows. The lights fell to the floor, shattered, and the room was enveloped in darkness.
"Artemis?" shouted Desmond, making himself more dense, ready for a fight. There was the sound of an arrow being shot, followed by it hitting against a wall and falling to the floor.
"Yeah, I'm here," she shouted back. "Croc cut the lights. Can you meet me in the middle?" Desmond went to move, but was suddenly knocked in the face by something large and hard. He was taken off guard, and lost his balance. Even with his density and super strength, he was still flung into a wall, falling to the ground after the impact. "Desmond?" said Artemis worriedly. Desmond stood and rubbed the back of his head. There would be a bruise there within the hour.
"I'm okay," he assured her. "Be careful, Croc is around here somewhere. For a big guy, he sure can sneak around when he wants to." Suddenly Artemis released a cry of pain, and there was the sound of her body hitting the floor. "Artemis?" Desmond shouted. No response. He ran to where her cry had come from, but bumped into something. He raised his density, and punched out. There was a metal clang, and Desmond realized he'd run into the pump. Feeling his way around the metal contraption, he moved to where he'd heard Artemis scream.
"I'm… I'm here," she groaned. "He got me good. Smacked me into the pump." Desmond followed the sound of her voice, and found her lying on the floor. He helped her to her feet.
"Wish we could see," Desmond said. There was the sound of Artemis pulling an arrow out of her quiver. "How will you shoot him? You have no idea where he is?"
"It's not for him," Artemis whispered. She shot the arrow, and there was a metal clang as it hit the pump. The noise of the three claws digging into the metal rang out, and then it was silent for a moment. Then the arrow started emitting a faint green glow, which grew larger every second. Desmond saw there was a light bulb on the back of the arrow.
"Clever," he said. "Now, let's find this monster." Suddenly there was a small growl from above, and as the heroes looked up, Croc dropped down right in front of them.
"Found me," he snarled. He reeled back a punch, but this time Desmond was ready. He caught Croc's fist, and pushed it back. The lizard, taken by surprise at the heroes sudden feat of strength, staggered backwards a few steps. Artemis took her chance, and shot an arrow at Croc. It hit him in the stomach, and a small explosion erupted where it had impacted. Croc fell to the ground, but quickly got back up.
"Come on, Croc," said Desmond tauntingly. "Let's dance." Croc roared, and charged the boy. He punched out, but Desmond ducked and dodged it. He punched out, but it was Croc's turn to grab an assailant's attack. He gripped Desmond's fist, digging his nails into Desmond's wrist. Des released a grunt of pain. He wasn't completely invulnerable, after all, so the nails hurt. Desmond changed his tactic, and lowered his density dramatically. Croc lost his stance, and fell through the boy. Desmond raised his density once more, and delivered a sharp kick to Croc's back. The villain flew forward, slamming face first into a wall. Artemis shot a few arrows into his back, all exploding on impact. Croc groaned, and jumped back from the wall. He landed behind Desmond, and the hero had just enough time to turn around when he was back-handed by Croc. It sent him flying, and he crashed to the ground, leaving an indent in the concrete. Artemis ran up, and jumped on top of Croc's neck. She wailed on his head, knees wrapped around his neck. He grunted as she hit him in the eye, making him squint. Desmond, getting back up, saw his chance. He charge the lizard, Artemis jumping off just in time. Desmond decked the villain with his shoulder, and rammed him into the metal pump in the center of the room.
"GAH!" shouted Croc, his back slamming into the metal. Desmond pulled away slightly, and began pummeling the monster in his stomach and chest. With each hit Desmond's knuckles got bloodier and bloodier, partially from cuts on Croc's stomach, and partially from Desmond's hands hitting the thick scales. Croc released an agonized cry, and slumped down. Desmond quickly stopped beating on the lizard, and threw him away from the metal contraption. Artemis quickly fired an arrow, which, upon impact with Croc's scaly hide, erupted into a thick-woven net that encased the villain. Croc wiggled a little, trying to escape.
"Don't bother, Croc," Artemis said. "They're reinforced with titanium. An elephant couldn't break through those strings." Croc didn't heed her advice, and continued his wiggling. Artemis gave Desmond a look, and he shrugged. Artemis smiled, walked over to the great lizard, and delivered a swift kick to his face. He stopped his wiggling after that.
"I'll contact the others," said Desmond. Artemis nodded, and Desmond accessed the mental link. Is anyone else done with their mission? We bagged Croc. There was a moment of silence, then someone responded.
Little busy right now, Robin grunted telepathically. Joker's brought friends. I think KF, Superboy and Miss Mare done. Mss Martian picked up the conversation from there.
Yeah, we're done, she thought to Desmond. Hush is back at Arkham. We can meet you at your location in fifteen minutes. Desmond sighed in relief.
Great, he said. Bring the police, alright? We've got to get this freak back where he belongs. Megan confirmed that they'd bring the cops, and cut off the mental link. Desmond returned to Artemis, who was keeping a watchful eye on Killer Croc. "Megan, Conner, and Wally will be here in fifteen," he told her. She nodded.
"Good," she said, resting a boot on Croc's chest. "The sooner we get his scaly hide back to Arkham, the better." Desmond nodded in agreement, and they walked over to the metal pump to inspect the damage. The pump had started pumping more erratically, and there was man-shaped dent in the side of it where Desmond had been pummeling Croc.
"Think they'll bill us for this?" he asked Artemis. She giggled, and sat upon the mechanism. Desmond sat with her, and the two waited for their team to show up. Artemis pulled something out of her quiver, and stuck it into her ear. "Is that a different kind of earpiece?" Desmond asked her. She shook her head.
"Nope," she pulled out an iPod from her quiver as well. "I made a playlist last night." Desmond looked at her incredulously.
"You bring your iPod on mission?" he asked. She nodded.
"Everyone does," she said. "Robin has a stakeout mix. It's really good, you should give it a listen some time." Desmond fixed her with a look that said 'are you being serious right now?' She sighed, and offered her second ear bud to Desmond. "It's better than silence, right?" Desmond, after a moment, shrugged and took the ear bud, placing it in his ear.
"You like Matchbox Twenty?" he asked her. She shrugged.
"Don't most people?" He smiled and nodded, the song 3 AM playing in his left ear.
After a while of listening and chatting, the metal door before them swung open. In walked Miss Martian, followed by Superboy and Kid Flash. They took one look at Killer Croc, tied up in a net like a big game animal, and nodded in approval. Wally walked forward, and poked Croc in the back. The lizard wiggled around, making Kid Flash jump.
"I'm caught in a net, not dead you idiot," snarled Croc. Wally backed off slightly, then looked to Desmond and Artemis.
"Dudes, bagging Killer Croc by yourselves," he said with a slight whistle. "Steve Irwin would be proud." The group laughed as Killer Croc growled and thrashed around in vain.
"Let's get him back to Arkham, and head back to the Cave," said Desmond, standing with Artemis. "I could use a nice shower." Kid Flash sniffed the air, and then pinched his nose. He waved a hand in front of his face.
"You guys reek!" he exclaimed. "What, were you swimming in the sewage or something?" Artemis and Desmond exchanged a look, and started laughing. Wally looked really confused.
"Yeah, something like that," said Artemis, as the police arrived to take Killer Croc back to Arkham Asylum.
Alright, so Desmond did pretty well for himself on his first legitimate mission, huh? Croc will be behind bars for a while, but that doesn't mean they won't see him again… But for now, we'll see what the future holds next time. Keep reading please!