Author's Note: I'm really sorry that this was so late, and even sorrier that it's so short. I wanted to put a chapter in between another one that was based around an episode, and this was what came out. It's really a filler, but I hope you enjoy it none the less.

Disclaimer: I only own Des, nothing more.

Chapter Twenty One

A New Student

Zatana had moved into Mount Justice a few days ago. Des, Conner and Megan had tried to be good neighbors to her, and invited her out all the time. She almost always declined, however, wanting to just stay in her room. It was next to M'gann's, and furthest from Desmond's in the hallway. School arrived again, and on Monday, Zatana accompanied them to Happy Harbor. Batman had to pull a few strings to get her in, and have the same schedules as the other three, but it worked. Zatana (or as she would now be known, Joan Marigold) was the new student from Star City. At least that's her cover story. She would be posing as Desmond's cousin, so the two of them had to get their stories straight. On the walk to the high school, they reviewed what they would tell others.

"So you just moved here," Desmond said. "We didn't keep in touch a lot before, but now we see each other all the time."

"Right," said Zatana. "When I came with you to the Halloween party: that was a way for me to meet some new people before I started the school year." Desmond nodded.

"Good, we've got it covered," he assured his 'cousin.' "Just try to stay under the radar. That's what we do." He gestured to himself, Conner, and Megan. They arrived at the high school, and weren't two feet inside when Marvin skate boarded up to them.

"Hey guys," he said, then eyed Zatana. "Hey, aren't you the girl from the Halloween party? What're you still doing here?"

"She just moved here," Desmond explained. "This is my cousin, Joan." 'Joan' held out a hand, and Marvin shook it gently. They began walking to their first class when Marvin nudged Desmond in the shoulder. He leaned in and whispered.

"Dude, your cousin's a babe!" he said. "Does she have a boyfriend back home, or can Marvin work his magic?" Desmond winced slightly. Magic was a touchy subject with Zatana right now. Then Desmond thought about Robin, and his obvious crush on the young magician.

"Sorry, dude," Desmond whispered back. "She's already taken." Marvin's face fell, but he shrugged, and they continued walking. Then Desmond pulled his over again.

"Yeah?" asked Marvin hopefully. Desmond gave him a soft punch in the gut, getting a "Oof!" from Marvin.

"Don't call my cousin a babe!" Desmond said jokingly, and the two friends laughed it off as they entered the class room.

XxXxX

English, history and gym had come and gone, and now the four heroes were headed to lunch. Conner and Desmond walked out of the locker room together, deep in conversation.

"Black Canary is way hotter than Wonder Woman!" exclaimed Desmond. Superboy shook his head.

"No way, man," he said. "Wonder Woman is seriously stunning. I swear, if I wasn't with M'gann—" Speak of the devil. M'gann and Zatana walked up, and Conner quickly shut up.

"Hey cuz," Desmond said to Zatana, who smiled. She was wringing her hair out. "How was gym?" She pulled an unsatisfied face.

"Terrible," she said. "That pool's got to be below twenty degrees!" Desmond chuckled, and they made their way to the lunch room. The entered through the large double doors, and were hit with the smell of cafeteria food. Normally, Des, Conner and Megan would have found their friends (Wendy and Marvin, and occasionally Mal) and sit with them. But today they just found their own table, so it could just be the four of them. The dropped their stuff off, and Desmond made a beeline for the cafe.

"Anyone coming with?" he called over his shoulder. Zatana quickly caught up to him. Megan had offered to make everyone lunches, but only Conner took her up on that offer. She made lunches for herself and the Kryptonian every day, and Desmond always got food from the school. Zatana and he thought alike, as it turned out. The two teens walked into the food selling area, and moved around from different choices.

"I like this place," said Zatana at last. "I never really went to high school, you know. MY dad…" She sniffled, and needed to take a moment regain her composure. "My dad taught me everything I needed to know. But I'm glad I'm here now." Desmond smiled, and draped an arm around Zatana's shoulder.

"We're glad you're here too, Z," he had taken to calling her that. "It'll be nice to have some more team members around during our downtime. It gets pretty boring around here sometimes. Hey, maybe you should join Megan on the cheer squad." Zatana shrugged Desmond's arm off, and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, totally," she said jokingly. "Can't you just picture me in those yellow skirts?" Desmond shrugged.

"Well, it'd be a nice change from the pantsuit you normally wear," he suggested. She nudged him in the ribs, and the two of them laughed as they picked out what they wanted to eat. They paid for their food and walked back to their table, where they found Megan and Conner already eating and chatting away. They sat down, and Desmond took a bite of his hamburger, sending ketchup running down the side of his arm.

"You're a pig!" Megan joked, as Desmond wiped the condiment off his sleeve. He got a sinister glint in his eye, and flicked the ketchup at M'gann. It flew through the air, then suddenly stopped mid air, and slid downwards slowly as if it had been flung at a window.

"Hey," Desmond whispered. "Force field. No fair!" The four friends laughed as they ate, and talked about the day so far, and what was to come.

XxXxX

The four teens finished their day at school, and were still chatting about the day when they Zeta-beamed in. Robin and Aqualad were there, sparring. Artemis watched from the side, and gave her friends a wave as they entered. Wally could be heard snacking away in the kitchen. Artemis walked up to Zatana.

"How was your first day?" she asked. "Did having Des as a cousin tarnish your fake family name?"

"Rude," noted Desmond, but Artemis ignored it.

"Nah, it was fine," Zatana shrugged. "There were a few cute guys, too." Robin, seeming to hear this comment, lost his footing and fell to the ground. The computer announced that Aqualad had won the match. Artemis quickly ran up.

"My turn!" she said, ending the conversation with Zatana. The four high school kids decided to get something to eat with Wally. Robin quickly walked up to Desmond. He made sure Zatana couldn't hear, and leaned in to Robin's ear.

"Don't worry, dude," he assured his younger friend. "It's my goal to make Zatana un-dateable by anyone at school." Robin turned red.

"Uh…" he said. "What're you talking about?" Desmond gave him a look like 'really?'

"Dude, it's cool," he said. "I know you've got a crush on Zatana." Robin crossed his arms over his chest.

"Why don't you just go kissy-kissy with Artemis?" Robin mocked him. Desmond shot the boy wonder a glance, but they both grinned after a moment. They entered the kitchen, and found Wally had pretty much cleared out the fridge.

"Dude, what's with the feast?" asked Desmond. "Thanksgiving isn't for weeks." Wally threw an apple at Des, who caught it and took a bite.

"Very funny," the speedster said. "No, I've been working out all day. Trying to get my speed to higher limits. I've been trying the molecule vibration that Flash does, to phase through walls, like you Des."

"And?" asked Robin anxiously. Wally sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and looked away. Then he pointed to a nearby wall. The others looked, and could barely hold in there laughter when they saw a Wally shaped dent in the wall.

"Just leave the wall phasing to me, alright Kid Spaz?" Wally punched Des in the arm, and he dropped his apple. "Ow!" he shouted. Wally flashed him a triumphant look. "Just because your birthday's tomorrow doesn't mean you can act all rude."

"You guys remembered my birthday?" Wally asked. The others all rolled their eyes.

"It's not like you've been dropping hints all week or anything," said Robin.

"Well, I don't want a party or anything," Wally insisted. The others all nodded, but at the same time they knew that was exactly what he wanted. Tomorrow should be a good day.

That was damn SHORT! I'm sorry about that, but really appreciate those who've kept waiting for an update. Sorry if it disappointed anyone. I've been working on several projects and a paper, not to mention writing something not-fanfic related. Anyway, I'll try and get another one up soon. Thanks all!