A/N: Update time! So I had a couple of readers on AO3 who were wondering why the League hasn't turned Oliver over to the authorities yet. So, if there was anyone over here wondering that, this chapter will address it. Also, I'm hoping to post some one-shots today to get them off my laptop. Be on the lookout for those if you want.

Sometimes sitting next to Batman in League meetings wasn't a good idea, or even safe. Sitting next to him when he had to grudgingly admit that Green Arrow had them cornered, that was just plain suicidal.

"I do not understand," Martian Manhunter said. "You have told me what Oliver Queen has done is illegal…."

"It is," Flash assured him. "Very illegal."

"Yet we are not turning him over to the authorities?"

"We're not saying that-" Superman tried to intervene, but Green Lantern cut him off.

"Really?!" he demanded. "It sure sounds like you're saying that."

"Explain exactly what happened," Wonder Woman instructed.

Superman sighed. "Flash, Batman, and I went to Star last night according to the plan…."

— Flashback —

"This place gives me the creeps," Flash muttered, looking down at the dark alley below them. "What if there's a murderer or something down there?"

Batman didn't know if it would be more productive to remind Flash he had super speed, or that they were currently on the top of a building, and anyone in an alley wasn't a threat to them. He decided to go with neither. "Get away from the ledge and focus," he growled.

"When Green Arrow shows up, can I push him off?" That was unusually aggressive, coming from the speedster, but given how the last couple of weeks had been going for them, it was understandable.

"No. We aren't here to fight him, only warn him."

"I don't see why we just don't give the video to the cops. Cut out the middleman! It's all the evidence they need!"

"If we do that, our cities are at risk until they arrest him. Trust me when I say that someone with his money can escape police capture for a long time."

Flash huffed. "Yeah. I know." There was a hint of bitterness to his voice. It was easy to forget he worked within the justice system every day.

Superman landed on the other side of Batman. "I saw him following me, so he should be here soon," he informed them.

"Good. The sooner we can get out of this place, the better," It was Wally's first night home and he didn't want to spend it with an arrow between his shoulder blades.

"Remember," Batman growled. "We don't breathe a word about where Roy is or how he's doing."

"Or kill Green Arrow," Superman reminded them. "We're all aggravated-"

"Understatement," Flash quipped.

"We still need to be the heroes the world knows us to be."

"We'd doing the world a favor by getting rid of him," Batman said quietly.

"I know but-" He stopped and honed in on a sound. "He's coming."

Batman and Flash froze and waited. A minute later Green Arrow pulled himself onto the roof of the building. His eyes narrowed. "What're you goodie-goodies doing here?"

"We're not here to fight. We just want to talk."

"Unless you're here giving me back my kid, I don't care."

"You should," Batman growled. He took a flash drive from his utility belt and tossed it to Green Arrow.

"What's this? A ransom video?"

"That contains photographic and video evidence of your abuse on Roy."

"I didn't-"

"Don't bother trying to lie," Flash said coldly. "The evidence is all there. We know what you did."

"Whatever that little brat told you-" He smirked when Superman and Flash had to grab Batman and drag him back. "Sore spot Bats?"

"Calm down," Superman hissed in Batman's ear. The Dark Knight ignored him, choosing instead to bat glare at Green Arrow.

"One of those videos clearly shows you whipping him with your belt," he growled. "Another shows you beating him senseless, possibly almost killing him." His fists tightened with every word. "The pictures show cuts, welts, scars, and bruises. Lots of bruises. Like the hand shaped ones that cover his neck. Almost like someone had strangled him. Often."

Green Arrow came to a realization, though not the one the League was looking for. "You spied on me?!"

Batman nodded. They'd known he'd figured this out when they presented him with the evidence. "Yes, we did. The pictures were taken in our headquarters the night Roy left."

"You've been watching me."

"We're giving you a choice. Either stop coming into our cities, leave our kids alone, and leave Roy alone, or we'll take this to the police."

"Checkmate," Flash smiled. They had him. Green Arrow was cooked. Which was why he was so confused when Green Arrow started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Superman demanded.

"it's funny that you think this will stop me," he chuckled.

"So you want to get arrested?" Flash asked, feeling like they were missing something really important.

"Go ahead."

"…..What?!"

"Go ahead. Tell the police."

"We'll tell them you're Green Arrow too," Batman said, hiding all the confusion he felt.

"Do it. Get me arrested. Tell them I'm Green Arrow. Then I'll tell them who Speedy is."

Superman was so shocked he momentarily loosened his grip on Batman. "You wouldn't."

"I would. I'll tell them who he is, the Justice League is harboring him, that he was my accomplice in all of this, and he was directly responsible for the murder of at least one person."

"He didn't kill that man!" Batman spat. Superman and Flash grabbed him and dragged him back again.

"Tell that to the police. If you turn me in that is." He dropped the flash drive on the ground and crushed it under his foot. "He's my partner. If I go down, I'll take him with me."

Superman felt a sudden tug at his hands and he momentarily forgot he had super strength. Unfortunately, Flash didn't have any super strength, so the arm he was holding managed to make it a few feet forward. "No!" Superman hissed.

Green Arrow smiled. "Unless you're going to the police, get out of my city."

"This isn't over," Flash warned him.

"No," Green Arrow agreed. "It's not." He watched as Superman more or less dragged Batman away. "That's a cute kid you got there Batman. Better be careful. He's so small, you might lose him."

"No!" Superman hissed as Batman tried to jerk out of his grip again. They needed to get the Dark Knight away from Green Arrow before he killed him…..

— End Flashback —

No one in the Justice League said a word. They all needed a minute to process that a vigilante, a grown man, had admitted he was willing to take down a child with him.

"Is there a chance he's bluffing?" Green Lantern asked hopefully.

"When has he ever been bluffing?!" Flash demanded.

"Let's think about this logically. If Green Arrow does reveal Speedy's identity to the police, would they pursue charges?"

"Yes," Batman and Flash answered almost immediately.

"How do you know?" Wonder Woman asked.

Flash sighed. "They would have to arrest him because he broke the law."

"Do you think he'd go to jail?"

Again, Flash sighed, mind running ahead to figure out how to explain this. "The Star City police would probably want to charge him. You have to see this from their perspective. This is Green Arrow. He's a dangerous vigilante who's been terrorizing their city for years, unchecked. I don't know if they think Speedy's his accomplice or not, but some of them might."

"Roy's only 14-"

"Doesn't matter. If anything that makes it worse. 14 is old enough to be charged as an adult in California."

"What does that mean?" Aquaman asked, sensing this wasn't good.

"Thankfully, it means they can't sentence him to death, unlike Oliver, because he's still under-aged. It does mean that they can sentence him to life without the possibility of parole." Silence.

"Life?" Green Lantern asked quietly. "Life- He's 14!"

"I know."

"Oliver was manipulating and abusing him," Superman interjected. "Wouldn't that be enough to convince the court he wasn't participating willingly?"

"Maybe. It doesn't help that Roy became a vigilante willingly."

"He didn't kill anyone though."

"It's Oliver's word against his. It doesn't help that the Star City Police are desperate. They want Green Arrow off the streets and to prove that they're running the show and not the madman with the bow. If that means one kid who helped, no matter how willingly, goes to prison, they'd do what they had to to get convictions and punishment. Plus, Green Arrow is very unpopular with the people in Star."

"So?" Wonder Woman asked.

"What do you think a jury would do? I mean…technically, they'd have to find jurors who wouldn't be biased, but considering how many people Green Arrow has killed over the years….that'd be very hard to do. Plus, in my experience, juries are unpredictable. You never know what they'll do."

"That's your final opinion?"

"…..yes. If the police find out Roy is Speedy that poor kid's going to prison for it."

"So, if we do turn Green Arrow over to the authorities, we're sentencing Roy to being a fugitive for the rest of his life?" Aquaman asked.

Flash nodded. "Yes, but prison wouldn't be much better. He's a 14-year-old vigilante. Maybe he could go to juvie for 4 years but after that... He'd last 6 months in prison, at most; unless they put him solitary confinement for the rest of his life."

"Roy's identity being known also brings more risks than prison," Superman said. "Think of how many people probably want revenge on Green Arrow because he killed their loved ones. It would never be safe for Roy to show his face in public again. Even if we could protect him from the police, his life would be in constant danger, even more than it is now, if people find out he's Speedy."

"Don't forget the pressure we'd be getting from the government for harboring a known fugitive," Wonder Woman added.

"Those are our options?" Martian Manhunter asked. No one wanted to believe they were being backed into this corner. "We let Green Arrow get away with his crimes, or condemn Roy to be punished for something he has not done?"

"Yes."

"Then we let Green Arrow go," Batman said quietly. Everyone slowly turned to look at him. They all stared in confusion. Had Batman, the Batman, just advocated for letting a criminal go free?

"You want to let him go?" Green Lantern asked carefully.

"Yes."

Aquaman gave him a suspicious look. "Really?"

Batman glared at him. "Are you telling me the rest of you would honestly vote to make Roy a fugitive?" No one said anything. "Didn't think so." He stood up. "We'll find another way to get Queen." He left the room, leaving his teammates quiet and confused behind him.

"I'll talk to him," Superman said standing. He left the meeting room and went looking for Batman. Due in part to x-ray vision, it didn't take that long. He found the Dark Knight in one of the monitoring rooms. "You're taking this we have to let a criminal get away with his crimes thing well."

"Do you need something?"

"I would've thought you'd be going back to Gotham."

"I had to check on something."

"Sure." Superman quietly closed and locked the door. Batman spun around, glaring at him.

"What're you doing Clark? Open the door."

"I just did that so we can talk freely."

"We have nothing to discuss." Superman stopped him from trying to leave. "You're lucky I don't have kryptonite."

"Bruce." Batman continued to glare. "You gave up back there awfully easy."

"What do you want Clark?!"

Superman took a step back. "Just tell me why you gave up easily."

"What did you want me to do? Say we should send Roy to prison? Should I condemn an innocent boy to spend the rest of his life behind bars?! He'd die Clark! He eats so little as it is… He's scared and alone! He doesn't deserve to go to jail!" Batman stopped for a moment, suddenly very confused. "Why're you smiling?"

"You like him," Superman grinned. "You said no so quickly because you care about him."

"Don't be ridiculous Clark, I've known him for three weeks."

"Bruce, there's nothing wrong with caring for him. God knows he could use it."

"You're being ridiculous."

"Fine."

Batman turned away. "You shouldn't have stopped me yesterday."

"What?"

"You stopped me from ending him."

"You don't mean that."

"I do."

"We have to maintain our self-control, even when-"

"Damn it Clark!" Batman banged his fists of a console. "Don't lecture me on self-control!"

"Bruce-"

"When you have to see a teenage boy with handprints on his neck every day, you can lecture me! When you have to deal with someone who is afraid to even be touched, you can lecture me! When you can only stand by and do nothing to help an innocent child who has done nothing but suffer, you can lecture me!"

"I won't let you kill him, Bruce!"

"I don't need your permission, Clark!"

"No! I won't allow this! You took an oath! I won't let you break it over that piece of sub-human scum!"

Bruce huffed. "I'm more than capable of handling myself."

"This case is getting to you. It's understandable."

"Stop being stupid Clark. Now move before I hide kryptonite somewhere on the tower again."

Superman sighed and stepped aside. "Fine." Batman unlocked the door and left.

'Stupid Boy Scout,' he thought as he headed for the zeta tube. 'Sticking his nose where it doesn't belong.' Batman arrived at the zeta at the same time as Flash. A thought occurred to him. No. No, he was not stooping that low. 'Do it for Roy,' he reminded himself he walked towards Flash. 'Do it for Roy.' He groaned internally. "Flash!" he shouted just as the Speedster was about to leave.

Flash froze. 'Oh no!' He turned around slowly. "Hey Bats!" he smiled uneasily. "What's up?"

"You're familiar with how to help victims of abuse?"

"Um….I have a little bit of experience in that area, yes."

"I thought it would be good for Roy to talk to Wally."

The sudden change in subject gave even Flash's mind whiplash. "Why- oh. Not a bad idea."

"Come to the Manor tomorrow." That sounded like an order if Flash had ever heard one.

"Ok but-"

"While Wally and Roy talk you can tell me about your experience in this area." Again, sounded a lot like an order.

"Um…..ok." Batman nodded and brushed past the puzzled speedster.

"Batman, 02."

Flash blinked and looked back at the zeta. "Did-did Batman just ask me for help?"

— —

Words couldn't describe the terror that went through Roy when he woke up in his bed. In his old bedroom. In Star City. He looked around in confusion, kicking the blankets away. "What- what am I doing here?" He scrambled out of the bed. "How did I get here?" Everything looked the same. Like he'd never left. The door opened and he spun around.

"Roy," Oliver said, taking a few steps in. "You finally awake?"

"Y-yes."

"Let's go then."

"Go?"

"Yes go. Get dressed!" Oliver gestured to something folded up on Roy's desk before he left. Roy walked over to the desk cautiously. It was a pile of neatly folded clothes. White, button-down dress shirt, black pants, and a green and black striped tie. He put them on since Oliver had told him to, and Roy didn't want to upset him. He found a pair of shoes next to his desk that he assumed went with his outfit. The last thing the put on was the green blazer that was hanging off his desk chair. He put it on and did the buttons. There was a crest on the breast pocket. A shield shape with a cursive 'S' and 'A'. He ran into his bathroom and looked in the mirror. There were no bruises. Even the fading ones were now gone. His arm wasn't in a sling and he looked….normal. Like he had before he'd met Oliver. "Roy!"

"C-coming!" Roy left his bedroom and went downstairs. He found Oliver in the kitchen, making breakfast. He sat down cautiously. He wanted to ask about the clothes, but he didn't for fear of Oliver thinking he was questioning him. "What're we doing today?"

"More or less what we do every day. Unless you're talking about tonight, in which case we're going to Gotham."

Roy paled a little. "Gotham? Why-why would we go there?"

Oliver gave him a puzzled look. "We're helping Batman with a case. Didn't I go over this yesterday?" What was going on here?! They were going to help Batman with a case? Since when?! Oliver hated Batman! He hated the whole Justice League! A feeling Roy was pretty sure was 100% mutual. Maybe he could ask Dick about it that night. "Are you ok Roy?"

Roy jumped as he was snapped out of his thoughts. "Y-yeah. Of course."

"You sure? You look a little pale and you've been acting kind of weird."

Roy's confusion only increased. Did Oliver sound….concerned about him? No. No that wasn't right. Oliver hardly ever showed actual concern for his well-being. If Roy got hurt on patrol or during training he was irritated, like patching him up was inconvenient. When he was the one hurting Roy, he never seemed concerned about it. "I'm fine Ollie. Really."

"Do you have a test or something today?"

Roy's stomach twisted. "T-test?"

"Yes, test. Those things teachers give you to see if you learned anything." He smiled at Roy. "Don't worry if it is a big test. I was never a great student in school, and I turned out fine." He turned away laughing.

'School?' Roy looked down at his clothes. Now that he thought about it, these did look like they could be a uniform. 'But….Oliver never sent me to school. He said it was too dangerous.' He could clearly remember Oliver explaining this, and once again apologizing that Roy had to spend so much time hidden from the public to stay safe. Oliver set a plate of eggs in front of him and Roy blinked.

'Don't even dare!' a voice in his head hissed.

"Roy?" Roy looked up at Oliver. "Eat. Aren't you hungry?"

"Uh…yeah! S-sorry. Thank you."

Oliver gave him another weird look. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Absolutely." If being "ok" constituted feeling scared and confused, then yes. He was perfectly fine.

"Oh, you left this in the arsenal. Again." Oliver put a cell phone down next to Roy's plate. "If you lose it again….well I mean taking it might defeat the purpose of punishing you for not having it…" He took a sip of his coffee. "I will think of something though. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Sir? Roy that's weak sarcasm, especially from you." He frowned again. "You sure you're ok?"

Roy honestly wasn't sure. Nothing made sense. He didn't have a cell phone. It wasn't like he'd needed one. He didn't go to school. Oliver didn't make him eggs and they certainly didn't help Batman with cases in Gotham! 'What's going on here?!' A hand suddenly settled on his shoulder and he flinched.

"You're acting really weird. Did you hurt yourself last night?"

"N-no."

"You sure? I can check you out before we leave."

More and more confusion. "I'm good Ollie. Really."

"Ok." Oliver's phone rang and he stepped out to answer it. Roy watched him go apprehensively. He looked down at his plate of barely touched food.

"It's not real," he whispered. "It's not real. This isn't real." There was no way it could be real. He slipped out of his chair and crept towards the doorway. He glanced up and down the hall, looking for Oliver.

"Roy?" He jumped and turned around. He pressed his back against the wall.

"Sorry!"

"For what?" Oliver asked, clearly confused.

That was a good question. He wasn't sure. "I-I-"

"Roy if something's wrong you can tell me."

Roy shook his head. "No. No, just tell me what I did wrong."

Oliver just seemed to get more confused. "What're you talking about?"

"Whatever I did, just tell me, I won't do it again I swear!"

"Roy-" Oliver reached out, but Roy ducked under his arm. Roy backed up slowly, still shaking his head.

"Please Ollie, just tell me what I did." Roy hadn't felt this confused since the time Oliver had given him the silent treatment for a week. He kept backing away. Oliver followed him, still looking as confused as Roy felt.

"Roy I have no idea what you're talking about." Roy turned and ran, even though he knew running from Oliver just made him angrier. He couldn't help it. Nothing made sense. He ran up the stairs, hoping to hide in his room. Just as he made it to the top of the stairs though, Oliver came around the corner. Roy stopped so fast he lost his balance and fell backward-

"Ah!" Roy shot up and quickly turned the light off. He looked around. He was in his room at Wayne Manor. In Gotham. Not Star. 'What- what was that?' That dream was so bizarre he didn't even know what to do with it. 'I don't understand…' His door opened, making his head snap up.

"Roy?" Dick asked sleepily. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Just a…..bad dream."

Dick nodded and came farther into the room, shutting the door behind him, He crawled up into Roy's bed, snuggling against him. Roy didn't say anything, merely turning off the light and laying down. He stared at the dark ceiling for a little while longer before he fell back to sleep though. The bizarre dream kept re-playing in his head until Roy finally passed out with images of a different Ollie and a different life he wished he could've had.