Author's Note: Hey! It's been a while, huh? Well I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving, and is excited to read the latest chapter. This one is sort of a filler, but it's a chapter none the less. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine!

Chapter Eighteen

Boy's Night

It had only been three or four days since the sessions with Black Canary, but the team was already getting back on their feet. Things between Desmond and Artemis were… odd. They both liked each other, that was certain, but neither were all that into "mushy lovey-dovey" stuff. So they kept it low key. Occasionally they'd lock eyes and grin at each other like idiots, but that was about it. Currently it didn't matter, however, as Desmond would be going on a mission without Artemis. Or M'gann, for that matter. This mission just happened to be guys only, giving Artemis and Miss Martian the next few days off. The mission had been going well so far. They had been sent in to get info, do some recon, then take out the perp. This was night three, and the boys were certain they'd be back for Halloween, which was in two days.

"Movement spotted," Robin whispered over their com signals. Without M'gann there, they needed to go back to relying on the little ear pieces once again. "Sector six."

"Uh…" said Wally, confused on where sector six actually was. Robin had divided the area up into "simple" sectors, but he seemed to be the only one that remembered them.

"The dock farthest left," Robin explained. The mission had taken them out of their usual patrols of Gotham and Metropolis into a different city. Blüdhaven, a smaller city neighboring Gotham. If Desmond thought there was a lot of crime in Gotham, he hadn't seen anything yet. Their main area consisted of the harbors near the lake that had Gotham on the other side. There had been several suspicious incidents, and Batman suspected the Falcone Gang was behind it. What they were doing away from their home turf Batman was not sure of yet, but that's what Young Justice planned on finding out.

Shifting his attention to the area Robin had mentioned, Desmond saw that there truly was movement there. A man in a large overcoat was stepping off of the large ship near bye. That ship had been docked in the same spot all day, meaning he had been on the ship since the team had gotten there, and was just now coming off. "Aqualad, check it out," Robin suggested.

"On my way," responded Kaldur. He was already stationed underwater, while the others were on roof tops or in back alleys. They waited for Aqualad to swim up near the dock and eavesdrop on the conversation the man with the overcoat was having with a man who appeared to be a dock hand. The first man, the one who got off the boat, was barely moving, but the dock hand was making large gestures, seeming to be angry and confused. The others didn't need for Aqualad to report back, however, as just then the man in the overcoat pulled a gun on the dock hand and shot him in the head. He slumped to his knees, and the overcoat wearing man used his foot to nudge the body into the water, where it splashed heavily. Suddenly Aqualad radioed in. "I trust you all saw that?"

"Oh yeah," said Shifter. "I'd say that's pretty incriminating, wouldn't you guys?" The others gave "mmhmms" of agreement, but Robin wasn't satisfied.

"Clearly he's a bad man," Robin said. "But we're here on a specific mission. We can't go around stopping street crime when we have a main objective to deal with. But keep an eye on him, for sure." The rest of the boys agreed, and they began watching the man intently. He walked over to the large lighthouse situated at the end of the docks, and entered, blocking the team from seeing him. They waited a moment, and then realized what the man was doing. The light on top of the tower began flashing erratically. "That's a signal," said Robin. "He's calling in more guys. We should—" But he didn't get the chance to continue, for just then a large explosion occurred at the top of the tower, taking out the light, and enveloping the area in darkness.

"What was that?" asked Superboy, sounding ready for action. Kaldur sprang into leader mode.

"Kid Flash, Shifter," he ordered. "Get in there. Find out what happened. Avoid conflict if you can." Des and Wally both nodded (to no one in particular) and jumped into the fray. KF sped to the tower while Desmond jumped from his position atop a building and glided over, his density lowered extremely. The two heroes arrived at the door, and upon pulling it open, discovered something very unexpected. The man in the overcoat was lying on the floor, unconscious, being stood over by another man. Well, a teen, technically. He had red hair, like Wally's, and a red and black suit. His back had a quiver of arrows, and he had a bow pointed at Desmond. But his eyes widened when he noticed Kid Flash, and he dropped the weapon. Desmond was confused by this, but more confused by what happened next.

"Roy!" exclaimed Kid Flash, completely letting his guard down and moving over to the teen. He wrapped his arms around the taller boy's body, and the archer did the same. "I haven't seen you in months!" The other boy smiled as the two pulled away.

"It's been too long, Wally," he agreed. Then his gaze shifted to Desmond, who was still in an attacking stance. "Who's your friend?" Wally smiled, and pulled Desmond over, putting an arm around his shoulder.

"Where are my manners?" he asked. "Roy, this is Desmond. He also goes by Shifter. Des, this is Roy, aka Red Arrow, aka Speedy. But he doesn't like that one anymore." He said. Roy/Red Arrow held out a hand to Desmond.

"Nice to meet you, Desmond," he said. Desmond sensed conflicting emotions in his voice. It sounded like he was trying to convey to different messages to Des and Wally; trying to please one and threaten the other. Desmond had a feeling he knew which was which. But he shook the hand anyway, as KF radioed the others.

"Guys," he said excitedly. "You'll never guess who just showed up!" The other members showed up, and Robin and Kaldur reacted pretty much like Wally had. Superboy, however, was not as ecstatic.

"So what's this guy's story?" Desmond asked his Kryptonian friend, in a whisper of course. Conner answered, his voice barely audible.

"The four of them used to be sidekicks," he explained. "They were sort of best friends back then." Well Desmond knew Kaldur, Robin and Wally had been sidekicks, but he'd never heard of Red Arrow. Then he remembered that Wally had also called him Speedy, and he remembered that Speedy used to be Green Arrow's sidekick.

"He was with GA before Artemis?" Desmond asked, confirming his thought. Superboy nodded. "Then why isn't he on the team?" Desmond must have not been talking quiet enough, because Red Arrow intercepted the question.

"It's a long and private story," he said coldly. Desmond could already tell he and Roy would not be getting along easily. "Now let's get down to business."

"What do you mean?" asked Aqualad.

"I've been tracking these guy's movements for longer than you have," he explained. "If you're all here, we might as well work together, so I'll fill you in on what I know. The Falcone gang have struck up a deal with someone. They give him large amounts of cash and weapons, and he gives them power."

"Power?" asked Wally. "Because the city shut off their electricity?" Red Arrow was not amused at the joke.

"All they said," he continued talking, as if Wally hadn't said anything. "Is that 'the stuff' will give one member of their gang the strength of ten men. And with their gang steadily gaining more and more members, we could be looking at a plan to take over Gotham."

"Bats won't like that…" Robin mused.

"Do you know when this transaction will take place?" Aqualad asked. "Perhaps we can stage an ambush, and take them by surprise. Perhaps this power could be beneficial to the team or the League." Red Arrow nodded curtly.

"Tonight," he said, making the other's eyes widen. "Half past midnight. I was planning an ambush myself, but I could definitely use your skills." Desmond did not like his attitude.

"Damn right you could," he mumbled to himself. Roy didn't hear (or acted like he didn't) and moved on.

"We have an hour and a half," he said, glancing at his watch. "If we set up positions we can be sure there are no entrances or exits to the harbor. Once they come in, we'll apprehend their boss, and hopefully take out the supplier of this power."

"Sounds easy enough," said Superboy. Roy shook his head.

"I wish," he said glumly. "Only one problem. This guy," he gestured to the unconscious man on the ground, who was mumbling something about pancakes at this point. "Was supposed to signal the others to show up. The signal got through, but he was also supposed to meet their leader when he got on the dock. I didn't knock him unconscious; he fell from the top and landed on his head down here. With him out of capacity, I don't know how we'll get the others onto the docks." No one said anything for a moment, deep in thought. Then Desmond held up his hand.

"I think I can be of some service," he said, and moved towards the unconscious man. "Give me some space." The others took a few steps back, and Roy raised an eyebrow. Desmond took a deep breath and lowered his density to a point where he would be lighter than water. Then he laid his body down on top of the unconscious man, and there was a flash of white before his eyes. He suddenly felt very dizzy, but it was subsiding quickly. Slowly he propped himself up and looked at his hands to make sure his plan worked. He saw the gloved fingers of the previously unconscious man.

"Desmond?" asked Wally incredulously. No one else knew of the recent 'development' Desmond had learned about. He had told them about the flight, but not this. Desmond nodded the man's head.

"Yep," he said, his voice coming out low and gruff. "Listen, it's a really long story. Batman had a theory about my powers and, well, ta-da." The others exchanged some looks and nodded with each other. Red Arrow rubbed his chin.

"Alright," he mused. "Yeah. This could work. You'll need to do some improvising until we can capture them, but I think this might actually work out." Desmond gave a thumbs up to the archer.

"Everyone take a position," Aqualad advised, and the team dispersed. Red Arrow hung back while they filed out, and as Desmond was about to exit, he came up behind him. It was just the two of them left, so he didn't need to whisper.

"Listen closely," he said, in a threatening tone. "I don't trust you, and I don't trust that Cadmus clone. I also don't trust your Martian friend, or Green Arrow's new lackey. I'll be keeping an eye on you. All of you." Desmond spun around.

"You've got a lot of nerve," he said, trying to sound threatening. "You're not even on the team! Who are you to say who is trustworthy or not? And when the others find out—" Red Arrow grabbed Desmond by the man he was inside of's jacket.

"Breathe a word of this to anyone, and it'll be the last thing you do," he whispered, his mouth next to Desmond's ear. "I have it on good authority there's a mole on the team, and you four are my main suspects. Don't let this interfere with the mission, and we won't have a problem, understand?" He pushed Desmond away. Desmond swore that if he weren't in this body and still had his powers he would drag this archer so far underground he'd find dinosaur bones. But instead of that he just snarled and walked outside, waiting for the other members of the Falcone gang to arrive.

XxXxX

Desmond stood on the edge of the dock, watching a large ship slowly roll into the harbor. Upon searching the unconscious man's body, Desmond learned he was inside a man named Larry Styles. So Desmond, or Larry, waited patiently. The earpiece the team used to communicate seemed to still be functioning, even from inside Larry.

"You ready, Des?" asked Wally apprehensively. Desmond let out a long breath.

"I think so," he said. Red Arrow interrupted.

"Well you'd better know so," he demanded harshly. Larry scowled as Roy continued. "If you blow this, you will need to report back to Batman that you failed the mission."

"Cut him some slack!" said Superboy. Desmond had to smile; it was good to know that the Kryptonian had his back. "This plan is a long shot, but at least it's a plan at all. If Des didn't help you'd be stuck with an unconscious contact, and a ship full of angry gang members to worry about."

"Red Arrow, Superboy, shush," commanded Aqualad coolly. "They have arrived." Desmond watched as the ship came to a stop, and a man in a suit stepped out. He wore sunglasses, despite the darkness of the night. He walked up to Desmond, and Aqualad reassured him. "Desmond, just keep him talking for a minute or so. Enough time for you to get some information, and so I can get onto that ship." Desmond nodded, though he knew Aqualad couldn't see it. Just then the man in the suit got to where Desmond was standing, and held up a hand for him to shake.

"Styles," he said smoothly. His voice sounded soft yet commanding, and like it was hiding a large amount of malice and anger. Larry Styles shook the man's hand.

"Uh… boss," Styles tried. The man said nothing to correct him, so he assumed this man was in fact their boss. "So, uh, where's the other guy?" Desmond hoped the others on his team were getting this. His earpiece should be picking it up, but things could always go wrong. The boss chuckled.

"Come on now, Styles," he said, smiling cockily. "You know he ain't just gonna walk out here like that. But I'll bet'cha he's near. We've just gotta call him out." With that the man in the suit turned to the ship, and called upwards. "Alright boys! Light it up!" Suddenly someone on the ship wheeled three large floodlights to the ship's bow (aka the front, for those who aren't boat savvy) and light them up. They illuminated the previously darkened dock yard, and Desmond held his breath in fear his friends—and Red Arrow—would be discovered. The lights went off quickly, however, and then flashed several more times, then shut off for good.

"Now what?" asked Larry. The boss man held up a finger, and then pointed skyward as the sound of helicopter overhead could now be heard. Desmond watched as the helicopter lowered further towards the ground, but before it touched down someone jumped out. Actually, something jumped out. It landed on the ground, causing a gigantic crater to form. Through the dim light Desmond saw it was not a human by any means. The figure was at least eight feet tall, and a scaly looking blue, with streaks of red that appeared to be opening in its flesh.

"That's Blockbuster!" exclaimed Robin quietly. "An ex-Cadmus scientist. He used to go by Dr. Desmond." Larry's eyes widened at the name, and he hoped the Falcone mobster wouldn't notice.

"Some coincidence, huh?" Red Arrow said, sounding like he thought it was anything but. Desmond gritted his teeth as he watched the helicopter lower even further, and a man in a lab coat stepping out of it. He carried a large metal case at his side, and Desmond realized this must be the 'power' Red Arrow had mentioned. The Falcone boss led Larry to the two new arrivals. The lad coated man held out his hand, and the Falcone member shook.

"Carmine Falcone," said the man in the lab coat, giving Desmond the name of his 'boss.' "Pleasure to meet you in person, at long last."

"I assume you're the one I spoke with," Falcone said, still shaking hands. "Roland Desmond, correct?" The man with the coat nodded, and Desmond confirmed yet another identity.

"And this beautiful creature," he said, gesturing to Blockbuster. "Is not only my brother, Mark, but a sample of the power your gang stands to gain." With that, Roland Desmond lifted the large metal case, and opened it up. Inside were twenty or so phials of a blue serum. From his earpiece Desmond heard a gasp.

"That's Blockbuster Formula!" Robin exclaimed quietly. "That must be what the 'power' is." Kid Flash picked up the conversation.

"Seems like doing business with Bane wasn't enough," he reasoned. "Cadmus moved on to bigger and better clients."

"If the Falcone gang gains such power," Aqualad mused. "The advantage over the police and the League would be enormous. We need to stop this, now!" Superboy didn't need to hear more than that, and he sprang from his hiding spot, shouting as he did so. Carmine Falcone's eyes widened, and he turned to Larry.

"Come on, Styles!" he shouted. "Pull out that semi-automatic and go to town!" Larry smiled and shook his head, and Desmond seized his chance. He phased out of the body, letting the gang member fall into his boss's arms. As he was caught off guard, Falcone stumbled backwards. Desmond grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket, and hardened himself. He flung the mobster across the dock, where he crashed into a large crate full of buoys, and he slumped to the ground. Roland Desmond had shut the case and was rushing back to his helicopter, when two batarangs flung by Robin tripped him up. Superboy was dealing with Blockbuster, and Robin was tying up Roland, so that left Shifter, Red Arrow, KF and Aqualad to deal with the rest of Falcone's backup.

"Shifter," called Aqualad, having summoned some water up out of the lake. "Maneuver twelve!" Desmond nodded, lowered his density, and jumped atop the small geyser Aqualad was creating. He was pushed straight up, and once he was level with the ship, he jumped off the water and onto the boat. Touching down, he immediately hardened himself once more. Just in time, too, as three mobsters open fired on him with machine guns. Bullets bounced off of Desmond's skin as he made his way to his enemies. He picked up the first of the men, and flung him off the boat into the lake. The next went flying to the back of the ship, where he hit his head, and lost conscious ness. The third, realizing what was coming, stopped firing and held up his hands. Desmond grinned, and lowered his density.

"Sorry about this," he lied. Phasing through the ship, he moved under the gang member and yanked him down halfway through, so his legs dangled out of the bottom while his arms and head were stuck up top. Desmond returned to the top in time to see four more mobsters running at him. There was a blur of black before his eyes, and two of the gang members were on the floor. Kid Flash zipped around again, and stood next to Des. Just then two arrows came out of nowhere, exploding into foam at the gang member's feet. Red Arrow stepped out of the shadows, and nodded to Desmond and Wally.

"How're things going down there?" he radioed to Robin, but the entire team could hear. There was no response, just a few grunts. Then there was a roar. The teens on the ship rushed to the edge in time to see Robin go flying across the shipyard. Blockbuster had flung him away from the helicopter. Wait… no… Superboy was still fighting Blockbuster. But there he was, standing where Robin had just been trying to tie up…

"It's Roland!" said Desmond suddenly, realizing what was going on. "Roland must've taken some of the Blockbuster serum to fight his way out of it!"

"Let's get in there!" shouted Wally, zipping down the side of the ship. Desmond looked to Red Arrow, and shrugged, jumping off the side of the ship. He landed on the dock, causing some of the wood to splinter, and took off at a dead sprint at Blockbuster 2. Wally was spinning in circles around him, and Roy zip-lined over to where Robin was lying down. Shifter jumped over Wally, still running in circles, and landed a punch on Blockbuster 2's face. The blue monstrosity fell to the ground with a roar, but quickly got back up. Wally ran at him and smashed his shoulder into the monster's stomach, but it didn't seem to do much. Blockbuster 2 grabbed Kid Flash by the waist and flung him into Shifter. The two tumbled over each other towards the docks. Aqualad emerged from the lake, a giant spinning whirlpool following behind him. He commanded to the water to lift up Blockbuster 2, and it flung him at his brother. Both Dr. Desmonds roared as the fell over each other. Superboy continued to pound away at them both, and Shifter quickly joined the fray. The two heroes pummeled the ex-scientists until they eventually stopped struggling. Aqualad quickly made a call to the League that they captured both Blockbusters, and they needed to get the two monsters to a holding facility. Red Arrow and Robin walked over.

"Where's Carmine Falcone?" asked Robin, rubbing his head. All eyes landed on Desmond, who had been the only one that got close enough to him to capture him. Desmond immediately realized his mistake, and avoided eye contact with the others.

"He must've gotten away…" he said sheepishly. The others exchanged looks, and Wally placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No biggie, Des," he said reassuringly. "So you made a mistake, big deal! At least we got these two deadbeats." He kicked at one of the now unconscious Blockbusters. Desmond smiled as the team moved to leave. They said their goodbyes to Red Arrow (all except Superboy, that is) and Desmond felt he should try and make amends. He was the last person to get to the Bio-Ship (which M'gann had let them borrow) and was the only one around Red Arrow at the time. He held out his hand to shake, but Red Arrow leaned in close to Desmond's ear again.

"I'm not so sure you accidently let Falcone go," he whispered fiercely. "You're not who you say you are, and neither is my replacement, Artemis. You've both got secrets, and I won't rest until I know what they are." He gently shoved Desmond back, and pulled out a zip-line launcher. He fired it off, and was gone into the darkened rooftops of Blüdhaven. He H

So Red Arrow and Desmond do NOT get along well. But can you really blame them? Red Arrow's a paranoid recluse, and Desmond has a secret to hide. Well, maybe they'll get over it one day. Or maybe not… Who knows? All that I know is that they don't see eye to eye… on anything. Anyway, thank you for reading. Please review and favorite, and I'll try to update more often!