Author's note: This is part two of the Scarecrow mission the team was sent on. I really tried to include a lot of team dynamics in this one, and I think it came out well. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own NONE of this (besides Des).

Chapter Thirteen

All there is to Fear…

Once again trying the mental link, and finding it dead again, the four realized that their friends were most likely unconscious, as they had been previously. Once again scanning for an exit, and finding none, Desmond realized he had to get the others out through the walls.

"I'll go and look for another room," he said, laying out a plan. "When I find a safe place, I'll come back. No way I can get all three of you through at once this time, so I'll need to make a few trips. Hold tight until then." With that, he phased through the wall nearest him. Searching for a minute or so, he finally stumbled upon another room. It was large, but filled with giant shipping containers, the kind you find on ships transporting things across oceans. Desmond called out, and when got no response, realized it was a safe location. He returned to friends. "I found a place. Who's first?" They exchanged some looks, and Artemis shrugged and walked to Desmond. She gripped his hand.

"Let's go," she said. Desmond smiled, and stepped through the wall. He could tell Artemis was uncomfortable; the feeling of going through walls could do that to a person. Desmond had years to get used to it, so he didn't feel the effects. He did know what it felt like, though. Imagine being pushed by a gentle current, like in a river. Just like that, but instead of just pushing you, it's moving through you. And it's your entire body, head to toe. People say they want to feel weightless, but actually being weightless is a very unnerving experience. Soon Desmond reached the other room, and dropped Artemis off.

"Be right back," he said, and disappeared through the wall again. Returning to his other friends, he just grabbed the nearest person, which happened to be Zatana. She gripped his hand rather tightly, being even newer than Artemis to the strange feeling. He dropped her off with the archer, and returned for Conner. He stepped through the wall, and held out a hand.

"Dude," Superboy said, looking at Desmond's outstretched hand. "There's no way I'm holding your hand." Desmond rolled his eyes as Conner walked up, and placed a hand on his shoulder. They passed through the wall, meeting with the girls on the other side.

"Alright," said Artemis. "Now, we need to save the others. Crane probably has them in a really secure area." Zatana raised a finger.

"Uh, maybe not so secure," she said. "I mean, we just found it." She pointed to an area further in the room, which no one had seen yet. There they saw the other four members, Kaldur, Wally, M'gann and Robin, tied up in a similar fashion that they had previously been in. The quickly ran over and began rousing their teammates. Superboy seemed to wake up M'gann just by touching him, and Robin roused quickly to the sound of Zatana's voice. Artemis was having trouble waking a drooling Wally, and Desmond was working on Kaldur.

"Aqualad," he coaxed. "Hey, Shifter to Aqualad. Come in Aqualad!" Suddenly, Kaldur's eyes shot open, and he struggled to get out of the bonds.

"Put it out," he exclaimed, acting rather out of character compared to the Atlantian's usual composed state of being. "Put out those flames!" His shouting woke Kid Flash, who began shaking in his chair so fast that it fell over.

"He must still be under the effects of the gas," guessed Zatana. "Let me try something." She spread her fingers wide in front of Aqualad's face. "Hsalps Htiw Retaw!" Water erupted from her palms, dousing Aqualad's face. He gasped, as if coming out of a hypnotist's hold. His eyes were wide, but he seemed to realize what was going on.

"Thank you," he said. Zatana nodded.

"Don't mention it," she said. "Now let's get those ropes off of you." She moved to untie him, but the tattoos on his arms glowed brightly, and the ropes around him were hit with some sort of magical pulse, causing them to fall away. Zatana looked impressed. "Or just do that," she said. The eight teens converged in a circle.

"Crane's probably got more of that fear gas," Robin guessed. "We need to make sure we don't get caught off guard. Make sure you're ready." The others nodded.

"Now, we'll need to focus on finding the Scarecrow," said Kaldur, stepping up to lead. "Splitting up again is out of the question, so we'll need to find him together. As Robin mentioned, there will almost certainly be more gas he will send our way, not to mention any lackeys he may have recruited. Be on your toes. We'll head that way." He signaled to a hallway leading to the right. The team engaged the stealth modes on their uniforms, and went forward. They rounded a corner, followed by a long, narrow hallway. This lead to another room, but this one was not empty. Three men, all armed, stood guard. One monitored a door on the other side of the room, and the other two had posts near a large wooden crate. There were several crates in the room, but this one was by far the largest. The team quickly halted, making sure they hadn't alerted the men.

"I can take out the one by himself," offered M'gann. "I can camouflage in and apprehend him. I'll need back up though." Desmond raised a finger to offer his assistance.

"I'll phase through that crate," he said, pointing to the guards, whose backs were turned to said crate. "Take them both at once. Piece of cake." They looked to Aqualad for confirmation, and he nodded. M'gann, through mental link, gave Desmond one last bit of advice.

Get them at the same time, she offered. If one acts before the other, then the target still standing might attack. We don't want that. Desmond nodded, and they moved in. He lowered his density, and passed behind the several crates lining the walls. He could see something inside of them, but it was too dark to make out it was exactly. Upon reaching the crate that the guards were stationed at, he slowly phased just the front of his face out. He watched the guard M'gann was targeting, waiting for a signal.

Ready? He thought to her.

Yep, she responded telepathically. Three… two… one… NOW! M'gann de-camouflaged and dropped to the ground, just as Desmond phased out of the crate entirely. He tapped both thugs on the shoulders. They turned to face him quickly. He waved at them nonchalantly.

"Hi boys," he said. Quickly, Desmond grabbed both their heads, and smashed them together, leaving the two guards lying in an unconscious heap on the floor. M'gann was levitating her guard, upside down. He had dropped him gun. Walking up to the guard, Desmond grabbed the lapel of his jacket. "May I?" he asked M'gann. She smiled, and nodded. Desmond turned the thug to face him. "Where's Crane?" Desmond demanded.

"Like I'd tell you," the thug said, and spat on the floor between Desmond's feet. "The Scarecrow doesn't need any trouble, especially not from a bunch of kids." Desmond gritted his teeth, and delivered a jab to the guard's stomach. He grunted as the wind was knocked out of him.

"Where… is… Crane?" Desmond asked again, trying to sound menacing. This time the guard got the message, as he gestured through the door he had been guarding.

"He's in there!" the guard said, trying to cover his face with his hands. "Now please, just let me go!" Desmond looked to Aqualad, who had walked up to the small interrogation scene. The Atlantian considered it, but shook his head solemnly. Desmond shrugged, and grabbed the thug's jacket with both hands. M'gann released the mental hold on the thug's body, so he was now only being suspended by Desmond.

"Sorry about this," said Desmond, though he really wasn't. He flung the guard across the room, into the crate that the other two guards had been previously stationed. He crashed into it, instantly getting knocked out, and breaking open the wooden crate. A few large, metal barrels of something rolled out of it. Robin quickly walked over, bent down, and opened up the barrel slowly. There was a disgusting smell coming from it, and one whiff was enough to make Robin reel backwards.

"It's fear gas," he told the team. "Barrelfuls of fear gas." Aqualad stroked his chin.

"Superboy, Desmond," he began an order. "Pry open the other crates, check if there's more gas inside." They went to work, and with each crate opened up, the more and more canisters of fear gas they found. Once all the crates were opened, and the gas was collected, there was a pile of around twenty canisters of the stuff.

"We need to trash it," said Artemis. She pulled an arrow out of her quiver, and cocked it. No one moved to stop her, so she pulled back. Suddenly, seconds before letting the arrow fly, Robin grabbed her arm.

"Wait!" he shouted, making everyone jump. She gave him a look like 'are you crazy?' He smiled wickedly. "I just got an idea. We're so going to feel the aster."

XxXxX

The team got into position. The door the thug had pointed to led to a large chamber, with Scarecrow at the very end of it. They had managed to sneak in undetected, despite the several guards Scarecrow had flanking him. Everyone had a specific job, and they had to be done precisely for Robin's plan to go without a hitch.

Is everyone ready? Asked Aqualad telepathically. Everyone confirmed that they were, and he continued. Excellent. Zatana, you are up first. She nodded from her position next to Robin, and silently whispered a spell.

"Etaerc A Htolc!" Suddenly, a two foot, brown cloth appeared in the air just before her. She handed it to Robin, who pocketed it. She wasn't done, however. "Etaerc Thgie Sag Sksam!" A gas mask appeared in the air in front of each member of Young Justice, Zatana included. They all put them on their heads. Aqualad picked up the mental conversation again.

Okay, good, he said. There are six guards in all, and the Scarecrow. Artemis, you are up. She nodded, and cocked an explosive arrow. She didn't aim it at the thugs, or even Scarecrow, but at the ceiling. She let it fly, and it impacted with the ceiling, the explosion setting off the sprinklers on the roof. Just as planned.

Kid Flash, we must move, said Aqualad. The two got up from their spots as the guards began spinning around, looking for the cause of the explosion. KF sped up to the nearest one, grabbed his gun, and sped off. Aqualad willed the water from the sprinklers to attack the guard nearest him. M'gann floated away from her hiding spot.

My turn, she thought. Here goes.

Be careful, Superboy urged her. She smiled, nodded, and was off. She flew over to a large shelf, covered in more crates, which were presumably full of fear gas. She mentally lifted one of the boxes, and placed it down, separating KF and Aqualad from the goons. She did this with several other boxes, creating a makeshift wall that spanned a large portion of the room, so there was no way the thugs could get to the team. Now there were only four guards to worry about, along with Scarecrow. Desmond turned to Superboy.

We're up, he said. Let's hit it. Superboy nodded, and they ran up towards the crates. The new that Crane would never permit the goons to fire their guns through the crates to try and reach the heroes, because that would mean risking his precious fear gas. The wall of crates was nearly at the ceiling of the cavernous room, at least twenty feet in the air. Desmond and Superboy exchanged a quick glance, then made their moves. Superboy jumped to the top of the wall, as Desmond passed through the crate nearest him. Getting to the other side, he quickly hardened himself. Superboy jumped off the boxes, landing behind them. Scarecrow turned from what he was working on to face them. His face was covered in what looked like a burlap sack with poorly stitched eye holes and a mouth. His body was covered in a flannel shirt and pants, really giving off the vibe of a real scarecrow one would find in cornfields.

"Get them," he shouted to his lackeys. "They cannot interfere!" The remaining four guards open fired, disregarding their previous orders to not shoot near the fear gas. Bullets bounced off of Desmond and his Kryptonian partner like they were made of titanium. They split up the work, each taking two guards. Desmond grabbed the first, and threw him into a wall. He was unconscious almost immediately. For the second, he lowered his density and sunk through the floor. He moved under the guard, and yanked him under the floor entirely. He moved to one of the smaller rooms on the ground floor of the warehouse (they were on the second floor) and dropped him. He hit the ground with a thud, and groaned, unable to move. Desmond smiled and returned to the battle ensuing above him. Upon return, he saw Superboy had taken care of his guards.

"Get Robin!" he shouted. "I'll grab Scarecrow." Desmond nodded, and quickly phased back through the crates. He ran up to the boy wonder, who was still waiting with Zatana.

"You're up, bird boy," Desmond said, grabbing Robins hand and yanking him towards the crates. He phased the two of them through, and quickly returned into the crate. He grabbed a canister of fear gas, and brought it back out with him. Holding out a hand, Robin gave him the piece of cloth Zatana had previously conjured. He phased his arm into the canister, cloth in hand, drenching it with fear gas. He pulled it out, and handed it to Robin, who ran up to Scarecrow. As Superboy held him down, Robin pulled the villain's mask off, revealing the pale face of ex-psychologist Jonathan Crane.

"Let's see what you're scared of, Doctor Crane," said Robin tauntingly. With that, he covered Crane's nose and mouth with the cloth. He shook his entire body, trying to break free of the boy of steel's grip. Suddenly he stopped moving, his eyes wide. Robin removed the cloth. And then the villain shrieked.

"Get them away!" he shouted, seeing something no one else could. "Make the birds go away! Make them stop!" The rest of the team converged on the gassed Crane, all sharing looks of confusion as the villain shrieked and pleaded for safety.

"The Scarecrow's scared of birds?" asked Artemis, hands on her hips. "That's… ironic…" Robin quickly cuffed the screaming doctor. Superboy lifted him over his shoulder.

"Who would've thought," he said. "Now come on, let's radio Batman to get this guy back to the Asylum. I've had enough fear for one day." They walked out of the door, and Aqualad began calling Batman with his com-link. Desmond, while chatting with Wally about how well the mission had gone, heard a snippet of conversation between Zatana and Robin from behind him.

"That plan was genius!' she said. "I definitely felt the aster." Desmond smiled, practically feeling the grin that this must have brought to the thirteen-year-old's face as they left the warehouse.

So Robin is already impressing Zatana, and she's not even on the team yet! Dude's a ladies' man! Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this one. I mean, I hope you enjoy all of the chapters, but you know what I mean. Also, thank you to the people who've recently reviewed, favorite, and added to their alerts. I really appreciate it! Keep reading for more Desmond, and more Young Justice.