Author's Note: I'm back! So, I don't want to keep you waiting. This one will take the team out of the action somewhat, but still have enough risky business (there's not a joke there) to keep you entertained. Here you go!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Young Justice

Chapter Twenty Four

Absence

Desmond had been on edge for the past week or so. But with Thanksgiving fast approaching, and no signs of danger present, his guard lowered steadily. Things had been pretty routine for a while, with very small missions here or there. School had been going fine, and for the time being, Desmond began to relax.

The team was sitting in the living room, as usual when there were no missions to do. Conner and Megan took up one couch, she resting her head on his shoulder. Des and Artemis claimed the other, and he had his arm draped over her shoulder, but on the back of the couch. Zatana and Robin took the two chairs the closest together, Wally had the third chair, and Aqualad leaned against a wall. Some boring TV show was on, but no one (aside from Wally) was really paying attention. Which was good, because just then the PA system beeped, and got the team's attention.

"Attention Young Justice," came Batman's voice. "Suit up, and meet in the Mission room in five." The teens exchanged quizzical looks, but then gave a collective shrug, and got up to change into their outfits.

Once Desmond was dressed in his classic purple, gold and black attire, he converged on the Mission room. Everyone else was there (besides Wally, who quickly zipped in behind Des) and crowded around the Dark Knight.

"What is it, Batman?" asked Robin, sounding rather eager. Des thought he saw the flicker of a smile cross Batman's face at his young ward's excitement, but it was probably a trick of the light.

"I've called you here for something rather special," he said. The team immediately perked up. "The League if fully aware of your excellent ability to work as a team. But we need to test your ability to think on your feat. In the absence of one or more team members." The Zeta-tube suddenly flashed, and Martian Manhunter walked in. M'gann waved.

"We ourselves have been in very similar situations," said the Martian, picking up exactly where Batman had left off. "In such cases, you need to be able to adapt. So I have volunteered to engineer mental exercises and situations that will put you in such conditions."

"Exercises?" asked Desmond. "Don't you remember what happened last time?" He couldn't help it, but he glanced to Artemis. Batman held up a calming hand.

"Not to worry," he said. "We've taken every precaution we can to assure nothing of the like happens. In fact…" Then the Zeta-tube flashed again, and in came three more heroes. Aquaman, Green Arrow, and the Flash. "These three, along with Martian Manhunter, will be chaperoning each scenario."

"What do you mean?" asked Wally. "How's this going to work?" Martian Manhunter stepped up.

"You will be split into teams of two," he said. "The teams will change with each activity. You will be thrust into a scenario in which you will need a specific set of skills that one of neither of the two have, but another member of your whole team do. You'll need to find a way out of this situation using your own skills. In each scenario, one of the four heroes will join you; either Green Arrow, Captain Marvel, Aquaman, or myself. Once all the teams have finished their activity, four new scenarios will be developed, and new teams will be assigned. Then the cycle continues. Do you understand?" The eight teens looked at each other, and then back to the heroes, giving a unanimous nod.

"Good," said Batman. "I have other business to attend to. Good luck." With that, he left through the Zeta-tube. Martian Manhunter walked up, and spread his arms wide.

"Relax," he said softly. "Let me enter your mind. You will lose consciousness for a moment, but then…" Whatever he was about to say, Desmond didn't hear it. He blacked out.

XxXxX

Desmond slowly opened his eyes, and found himself in a large and empty room. He slowly sat up, and noticed a figure to his left. It was Superboy, still unconscious. He shook the Kryptonian.

"Superboy, wake up," he called, rousing the sleeping alien. He slowly opened his eyes, and sat up as well.

"Des?" he asked. Then he looked around, and noticed the surroundings. "So we're a team? What d'you think they'll throw at us?" Des shrugged.

"Dude, who cares?" he asked. "We're the two powerhouses of Young Justice. I think we can handle it." Just then, both teens heard chuckling, and turned to find Green Arrow looking down at them.

"Don't get too cocky, there, Shifter," he said, stroking his thin blonde beard. "This one's a doozy. Care for an explanation?" Desmond smiled. He'd always liked Green Arrow. He was suave, funny, and chill. Plus, he was one of the few Leaguers who knew about Desmond and Artemis, so… yeah.

The two teens nodded, and the archer continued. "Alright, so you see this room? It's underground. And we're all stuck in here, unless you two can figure out how to push two buttons."
"That's it?" asked Conner, sounding slightly irritated. "We need to push buttons?" GA held up a hand.

"Let me finish there, sport," he said, and Conner crossed his arms. "You need to push the buttons at the exact same time. Only problem is, they're across the room from each other, through a seven foot tunnel in the wall. Now, before you interrupt me again, I'll explain why conventional methods won't work. Desmond may be able to phase through the wall, sure, but both of you need to press the buttons simultaneously. And there's a special security measure for Superboy. One foot past the walls, into the ground, is a layer of Kryptonite." Conner's eyes widened.

"So we'll need to find another way…" Desmond mused. The two teens thought for a while, but couldn't come up with anything. Green Arrow decided to lend a hand.

"The first step is to figure out who you're missing," he suggested. "Which member of the team has the skills you need." Conner and Des locked eyes, and both had the same realization.

"Robin and Artemis," said Des. "Robin would toss one of his discs, and Artemis would fire an arrow at the same time." Green Arrow smiled.

"Bingo," he said. "So, what are you going to do with that info?" Desmond shrugged, and sat on the floor. When he moved his foot, it kicked up some dirt. Since they were underground, the floor was entirely dirt and stone. He scuffed his foot a few more times, out of boredom. But then it led to an answer, and he jumped up.

"It's the ground!" he said. Conner gave him a quizzical look, but the archer smiled, showing Desmond that he had guessed right. "We need to, I guess, compact the dirt into balls that will fit through the tubes. Then we toss them in at the same time, they hit the buttons, and we win!" Conner smiled, and bent to get some dirt.

The two teens worked the earth in their hands, their fingers getting progressively filthier. They compared the sizes of their dirt clumps, and once they got balls about the same size, they moved to their respective holes in the wall.

"One…" called Conner. "Two," Desmond joined with him. "Three!" The two boys tossed their dirt clumps through the hole, and in a moment heard a bell ding somewhere. Green Arrow clapped his hands together.

"Nice job, boys," he said. "Now, if you just wait a minute, J'onn will get you a…" But again the next part of the sentence was cut short as Des and Conner blacked out.

XxXxX

This time, Desmond woke up much quicker, and found his new partner was already waiting for him. Robin sat, cross legged, waiting for Des to awaken.

"What's up, sleeping beauty?" he joked. "You ready for the next test?" Desmond sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "So, who were you with, and who did you need?"

"Me and Conner," Desmond said. "And we actually needed you and Artemis." Robin's eyes widened behind his mask.

"That's funny," he said. "Cuz me and Artemis needed your and Conner's super strength. Maybe that's how this works out."

"So you think Conner's with Artemis now?" Desmond asked. Robin shrugged, then pointed behind Desmond. Des turned, and found he was looking up at Aquaman.

"Hello, boys," he said. The King of Atlantis had a commanding voice, but there was definitely kindness in it. Des could see why Aqualad respected this man so much. "Are you ready for your newest trial?" The teens stood up, and Desmond looked at Robin.

"I'm guessing we're going to need Aqualad for this one," he said. Aquaman smiled, and snapped his fingers. Three sections of the floor pulled away, and out of each rose a thin human form; an android of sorts.

"Prepare yourselves, gentlemen," said Aqualad. Then he snapped again, and all three androids lit on fire, and started converging on Rob and Des. Their eyes widened, and they both jumped out of the way. The robots adjusted their course, and started looking for the heroes.

"No Aqualad, no water," called Desmond. Aquaman nodded.

"These robots, thin as they are, cannot be destroyed," called the King of Atlantis. "The only way for you to win this little game is to extinguish the flames." Des and Robin made eye contact, then converged towards the center of the room. They stood, backs against each other, moving in a tight circle.

"How d'you think we do this?" asked Desmond. "There has to be a way, right?" Robin thought for a minute, then looked to the ground. Desmond followed his gaze. Once again, the ground was made of dirt. Just then, Robin got an idea, and pulled three exploding discs out of his utility belt. He flung them at the ground, just before the robots feet. They detonated, and soil flew up into the flames. They went out for a moment, but then reignited. It was enough, though, and Desmond knew what Robin was going to say before he said it. They jumped away from the robots, then Robin turned to Des.

"Cover them with dirt," he called. "It'll deprive the flames of oxygen. No oxygen, no fire." Desmond nodded, and quickly picked which of the robots he'd be going after. He quickly lowered his density, and grabbed the robot by the wrist. Even in an impossibly low density, the fire still hurt, so Desmond was quick about pulling the flaming machine under the ground completely. He watched it struggle for a while, and then the flames went out completely. He popped up out of the ground.

"Got one!" he called to Robin, who had already taken care of his initial target, and was moving to the final robot. Desmond ran over, and held out a hand. "I have an idea. Give me some of those disks." Robin raised an eyebrow, but didn't argue. He handed Des four discs, and activated them all. Quickly, Des went back underground, and moved directly under the robot. He set the explosives just under the bot's feet, then moved away just before they detonated. Earth sprayed everywhere, and when the cloud of dust cleared, the robot was just a hunk of metal on the ground. Desmond and Robin exchanged a high five, and Aqualad walked over. He placed a hand on both boy's shoulders.

"Fantastic, boys," he said. "That was some quick thinking, you two. Now… onto your next task, yes?" And once again, Desmond blacked out.

XxXxX

When Des woke up, he realized two things immediately. First, he wasn't in a room, like the previous trials. Second, he was alone; no partner, no mentor, nothing. Just then, a voice resonated in his skull.

"Hello, children," came the voice of J'onn J'onzz. "Desmond, Artemis, welcome to your final trial." So he was with Artemis. So he didn't need her skills, or Aqualad's. Martian Manhunter continued. "For this trial, I have placed you at random places within this recreation of the island of Santa Prisca. You two only need to find each other. But you have no communicators, and cannot make use of Miss Martian's mental link. I wish you luck." He shut it off, and all was silent, aside from a few birds or crickets chirping. Desmond wondered how he was going to do this one, but at that very moment, he heard something above his head. He looked up to see a small explosion, illuminating the night sky.

"Artemis!" he said under his breath. She would signal to him with arrows. But how could he signal back? He looked around, but was surrounded primarily by thick trunked trees, reaching high into the sky. Then it hit him. He ran to the nearest tree, and hardened himself. Using his super strength, he grasped the tree around the middle, and began to shake it vigorously. He watched happily as the top of the tree shook, prompting Artemis to fire another exploding arrow. It was closer this time.

Desmond ran through the thick jungle, shaking trees and watching for arrows. This is easy, he thought. We'll be done in— but he stopped short, because just then he reached a cliff. Now, this normally wouldn't be a problem, since he could just float over it. But he was worried for Artemis. During the crossing of the gap, Des couldn't shake trees. What if she got off course? And furthermore, if she did alter her course, Des couldn't adjust his flight path too well yet. But he took a deep breath, and leapt off the side of the cliff. He watched Artemis fire an arrow, not being able to respond with a tree-shake. He hoped she would just keep going in that direction; they were almost at each other. Just as he touched down on the ground, he saw Artemis break out of the Jungle in the distance. He got up, and ran to her. They reached each other, and high fived, not really knowing what else to do.

"We're done, Martian Manhunter!" she called. Just then, from out of the ground, rose the alien hero. He smiled gently.

"Excellent, children," he praised. "I see now that you can all work well as a team, even when a valuable team member is absent. I'm proud of you…" Just then, there was a ripple in the air around Desmond and Artemis, and all their other teammates appeared around them, looking confused. "Proud of all of you." Said Manhunter. And then, for the final time, Desmond and the others blacked out.

XxXxX

Desmond woke up in the mission room, along with the rest of the team. He looked around. The only two still not awake were Zatana and Wally. He went to wake them, but a hand rested on his shoulder.

"Let them rest," said Batman. "We're just about to leave, anyway." He moved away from Desmond to stand with the other Leaguers. Well, except Flash, who zipped over to Wally's sleeping form.

"Does anyone have a bucket of warm water?" he asked. The teens all smiled, as did Green Arrow, but Batman gave Flash a death glare, and he returned to the other heroes.

"Your work today was impressive," said Batman, making the team look to each other with admiration. "I'm happy to say that you passed all the tests put in your way, with flying colors no less."

"Does that mean we'll be taking on more tasking missions in the future?" Aqualad asked the question on everyone's mind. The five Leaguers exchanged glances.

"Possibly," said Batman, and left it at that. He turned to leave, and just as the Zeta-tube was lighting up to phase him out, he called behind him. "Have a good Thanksgiving."

So I hope you enjoyed. In case that little bit at the end didn't inform you, next chapter will be Thanksgiving-based… near Christmas… My planning was off for this one. Speaking of Christmas, I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. Anyway, please rate, review, favorite, all that stuff. See you next time, unless the world ends today…