A/N: Time for an update. Enjoy.

"Scarecrow escaped from Arkham." Commissioner Gordon knew there was no time or point in beating around the bush. Batman needed to know and he needed to know now. As expected, Batman didn't immediately react outwardly to the news. Scarecrow escaping wasn't necessarily as bad as Joker escaping, but it was still really bad news.

"We'll track him down," Batman replied. "How long has he been gone?"

Gordon cringed. "A week." Batman's lips thinned and Robin crossed his arms and shook his head. "I've had words with the warden-"

"Were they in reference to him no longer having a job?"

"…..No."

"Then they were the wrong ones." Batman turned away and leaped off the rooftop; Robin and Arsenal following close behind. "We'll start searching known warehouses where he's stored his chemicals in the past," Batman said once they were in the Bat-mobile.

"I think the Arkham doctors are getting worse at their jobs," Robin remarked from the backseat.

"That implies they were good at them in the first place." Neither of the boys could rest the urge to smile at that. "Stop smiling you two. We need to find Scarecrow. He's been out long enough that he could've found or developed a new strain of fear toxin."

"At least we know he won't try teaming up with Joker again."

"Why not?" Arsenal asked.

"Scarecrow sprayed him with fear gas. Then Joker beat him with a chair."

"Wow."

"Thankfully, there are only certain labs in town where Crane can find the chemicals he needs," Batman said. "Robin, look for any recent break-ins at labs-"

"There's a chemical manufacturing plant that reported a break-in," Robin reported, his holo-glove allowing him to hack the GCPD's computers.

"Which one?"

"The one on the Gotham River. It's owned by….Lex Corp. At least it's not owned by Queen Industries." Yes, the last thing Batman needed was to deal with on top of Scarecrow was Oliver Queen. Or rather, Roy's fear of him. Especially since fear was Scarecrow's M.O.

"I know Lex Corps facility. It's big and there are two potential labs where he's trying to steal the chemicals from. You and Arsenal will go in through a different entrance. If you find Scarecrow, contact me and keep an eye on him. Don't-"

"Don't engage, we know." The Batmobile had stopped, so Batman was able to glare at him. Robin stared back, completely unfazed. Arenal fidgeted slightly until the stare down finally broke.

"Go." The two boys exited at Batmobile and snuck along the shadows towards the building. There was a fence topped with razor wire at the edge of the facility. A sign on the chain-link material informed them it was also electrified. Robin smiled, running straight at the fence and doing several front flips. Every flip got him higher in the air until he finally cleared the fence.

"Good work," Arsenal whispered. "Just one question….how am I supposed to get over?!"

"Do what I did?"

"…Seriously?" Arsenal looked around, then studied the fence again. The barbed wire at the top was very closely intertwined. Another sick survey told him a box near one of the fence posts was probably one of the sources of electricity. It gave him an idea. He stepped back several feet and carefully selected an arrow from his quiver. He pointed it at the box and shot it. The electroshock arrow related it's own torrent of electricity, disabling the portion of the fence. Moving quickly, Arsenal shot another arrow at the barbed wire. He hit a button on the side of the cylinder arrowhead before shooting it. While it was in the air there was a hiss and the arrowhead expanded into a boxing glove. It hit the barbed wire, getting tangled in it. The momentum was enough to pull the barbed wire down a few inches. It wasn't far, but it was enough. He stowed his bow on his back and started climbing. It was effortless to get himself near the top, then flip over the top. He kicked off the fence, pulling himself the rest of the way with his arms. He skimmed the top where the barbed wire was pulled down and landed carefully on the other side.

"That's one way to do it. Come on." They ran to the closest building, which wasn't far from the fence and press against the outside wall. They edged along it until they reached a door. "Cover me." Arsenal moved away from the wall; grabbing his bow and nocking an arrow to it in on smooth motion. He kept an eye out while Robin picked the lock on the door. There was a physical knock in the nob he had to take care of, and another, heavier lock above it. "Guess Luthor hasn't heard of this thing called technology yet."

"Because he uses old school locks?"

"On a top-level-security chemical plant! You think he'd have a card reader or keypad or fingerprint scanner or something better!"

"After this, he probably will." Robin got the door unlock and smiled victoriously.

"Come on." The two boys slipped into the building, closing the door behind them. The lights turned on automatically when they walked in. Arsenal did a quick sweep before lowering his arrow.

"No one's here."

"Let's find a room with a computer. I need to find the manufacturing room we're looking for."

"Ok." They moved silently down the hall, Robin testing doors as they came across them. Most of the doors were locked with all of these actually requiring a card be scanned. Thankfully it only took then ten minutes to come across a door labeled 'Security'. Robin froze, holding out his hand to stop Arsenal. The door was cracked open, with a hand sticking out into the hall. They looked at each other for a moment before Arsenal raised his arrow and Robin pulled out his escrima sticks. He kicked the door open and Arsenal did a fast scan, looking for any danger. There was none though. The room had three walls lined with monitors on tables. There were five security guards in the room, all of whom were dead. The two vigilantes did a quick check, searching desperately for any sign life.

"They're dead," Arsenal said quietly, feeling uneasy at the slit throats of the guards. "All of them."

Robin turned away and activated his comm. "Batman, we found five dead guards dead in the South building."

"Four guards are dead in the East Building as well," Batman replied. "Be careful. He could be in either building."

"Right." Robin dropped his hand and turned to Arsenal. "We have to figure out where he is. If we searched these monitors we should find him." They split up and started clicking through various security cam feeds. After several minutes Robin finally found what they were looking for. "There!"

"Where?" Arsenal looked over his shoulder.

"He's in the chemical lab on the second floor."

"Let's go!"

"Go?!" Robin gave him a disbelieving look. "Batman told us not to engage."

"We have to stop him!"

"We will once we tell him where Scarecrow is!"

"Come on Robin, we can take him, There's two of us and one of him. Plus you're always saying I catch people by surprise."

"Yeah but-"

"Come on! We can do it, I know we can! I survived meeting Joker alone and he's the craziest one out there." Robin sighed. He glanced back at the monitor, then at Arsenal. He smiled.

"Let's go get him." The two of them left the security room and made their way up to the second floor. Robin checked the door to see if ti was locked. It wasn't. They slipped through, making sure the door closed silently behind them. The drop they needed was down a different hall, so they started moving toward the corner. The building felt particularly empty for some reason as they tip-toed down the hall. The shadows were so deep they could easily hide the two of them. Arsenal turned the corner with his arrow first, but they didn't meet any resistance. Luckily the lab they were looking for was easily marked. It was also the only door in the hall that was cracked open. They shared a look before Robin pushed it open just enough for the two of them to slip through.

The bright lights were on in the lab. The room was filled with equipment along the walls and work tables in neat rows in the center. Bunsen burners, beakers, and test tubes filled with various liquids were all over them. A man was standing at one of the tables, his back to the door. Without warning or consulting Robin, Arsenal pulled an arrow from his quiver a nocked it. Moving before he could be stopped, he shot the arrow at Scarecrow, knowing the vial out of his hand. Robin dove to the ground and threw a bat-a-rang at the man. The vial shattered and released a gas into their air that Scarecrow was now trying to prevent himself from inhaling.

"Robin," he hissed through the fabric. His eyes found the other young vigilante in the room. The archer who must've broken the vial. His eyes narrowed. Joker had said he wasn't as much "fun" as Robin was. 'This kid needs to be taught a lesson.'

"Give yourself up and you can be back in your cell by breakfast time," Robin said.

"I'm impressed you think you can take me on without the Batman, little bird."

"Arsenal and I-"

"Arsenal?" Crane looked at the archer, who had another arrow pointed at him. "What kind of an arsenal are you? Batman's?" He saw the tremor go through the teen's body at that. "Does that scare you? Are you scared of what your name implies? Why does Batman need an arsenal anyway? Was Robin not enough?"

"I think you should stop talking," Arsenal said shakily.

"Should I?" Scarecrow's full attention was focused on the archer now, ignoring Robin completely. "Maybe you should've stayed away." He lunged at the archer catching him off guard. Arsenal's next arrow missed him by a foot, hitting a rock of test tubes. The glass vial all shattered when they hit the ground, causing a small explosion. Robin pulled his cape over his body for protection and backed up, placing him farther away from Arsenal and Scarecrow. The two of them meanwhile, were grappling for control. Scarecrow was surprised by the strength Arsenal had. The teen was starting to gain the upper hand and was close to pinning him to the ground. He smiled and, before Arsenal could react, pulled out a skull and sprayed something on his face. Arsenal coughed and backed up. He tried to take several deep breaths, but that only served to make him start hacking even more. It took a few seconds for him to get his breathing under control, but that did little to help.

Arsenal's vision was blurred and the sounds were muted like he was underwater. He dropped his bow in his hate to try and clear his head. His heart was pounding in his chest that was strangely familiar. He closed his eyes, struggling to maintain control. After a minute he felt a presence standing over him and opened his eyes. Batman was looming over him. "B-Batman…" Arsenal croaked out.

"Up," Batman ordered. He turned away and walked to a spot several feet away. He knelt down briefly, then stood up and turned back around. Arsenal gasped. Robin was lying limply in the Bat's arms.

"Is he ok?!" Batman didn't answer.

Arsenal stood up and looked around. "What- How-" They were back in the Bat Cave! His confusion was momentarily put on hold when he spotted Batman bringing the unconscious Robin to the Batcave's infirmary. He followed quickly behind, trying to get a good look at him. "Is he ok?" Batman laid Robin down on the examination table gently. "Bruce answer me-" Roy stopped suddenly and stumped back when Batman turned around suddenly. He stared the teen down intensely. "Bruce-" He didn't even see the fist coming. Pain exploded on the side of his face and he stumbled to the side. Shock toured through him as he ran a hand over his face. "What-" His voice died instantly when Batman picked him up by the front of his shirt. "Bruce….?"

"You hurt my son," Batman growled. "You disobeyed me."

"I-I just wanted to catch Scarecrow-"

"Don't interrupt me!" Batman threw him on the ground and stomped on his leg. Roy cried out in pain. "You disobeyed me."

"I'm sorry…." Batman grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room. Arsenal stumbled behind him, trying desperately to keep up.

"Get changed." Wanting to avoid getting hit again, Roy quickly changed out of his suit. Once he was he found Bruce by the stairs that led back to the Manor. Bruce had changed out of his Batman clothes so now Roy could see his face. The anger and resentment made his stomach shrivel up. He took a step back, only for Bruce to grab his arm and drag him up the stairs.

"Bruce I-"

"Shut up," Bruce growled. He dragged Roy through the Manor and towards the front door.

"What's going on?" Bruce didn't say anything to him. He opened the front door and Roy's heart stopped. Oliver was standing outside with his arms cross and a confident smirk on his face. "What- What's going on?!" Oliver simply smirked at him, making Roy shrink away from him. Unfortunately, that did little help him since Bruce dragged Roy forward by his arm and handed him off to Oliver. "Wait-"

"Take him," Bruce said to Oliver as the latter took possession of Roy's arm.

"Bruce! Bruce, please!" Roy pulled and pulled, trying desperately to get his arm free. Bruce looked at him.

"You should've listened to me."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry please don't let him take me!"

"I'm not letting him take you, I'm giving you back to him." Bruce's lip curled in disgust. "You really stupid, aren't you?" Roy started crying.

"No, please don't send me back! Please, I'll do anything!"

"You shouldn't have disobeyed me."

"Please, Bruce, please! I'm sorry! I'll behave! I'll listen, I swear!"

"Too late. You're a disobedient, waste of space. You deserve to go back with Oliver."

"No please! I'll do anything! Please!" Roy tried to get his arm free, but Oliver's grip was like iron. He looked back to discover Bruce was walking away. "Bruce come back! Please! Don't send me back I'll be good!"

Oliver laughed as Bruce disappeared into the darkness. "Looks like he didn't want you." Roy didn't reply, still crying. "Let's go."

"I don't want to go back with you!" Roy tried to dig his heels into the ground, but it was no use.

"Don't-" Oliver jerked his arm downwards, forcing Roy to bend over a little bit. "Talk back to me. You're already going to get the punishment of a lifetime when we get home." Roy forgot how to breathe, which Oliver noticed. "Did you think I would forget your punishment? You run away and betrayed me. You told people what I was doing. I warned you what I would do to you if you ever told anyone."

"Ollie, please…"

"You're coming back to work with me, Speedy." Roy swallowed, shaking his head. Oliver smirked at him. "I hope you like sleeping in that trunk and not eating."

"No, Ollie please!" Oliver started pulling him away from the Manor. "Please, no! I'll be good Ollie! I'll behave and I'll listen!"

"Shut up!" Oliver threw him on the ground and Roy scraped his hands. He stared up at Oliver, who kicked him in the side. Roy tried to roll away, but found he couldn't move! His arms and legs weren't cooperating.

'Why can't I move?!' He thought desperately, thrashing back and forth. "Don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me!" He closed his eyes as he kept trying to get himself free. He opened his eyes and an artificial light almost blinded him. He looked around, but the front of the Manor was gone. He was somewhere with a lot of metallic equipment and beeping. Very erratic, loud beeping. His arms and legs were still trapped though. "Let me go! Let me go please!" Someone was talking to him, but he couldn't hear them over his yelling and the beeping. "Don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me!" Where had Oliver brought him?! A lab?! Was he going to let someone do experiments on him?! There was a hand on his arm, but that only scared him more. "Don't hurt me please!" More hands were on his arm, keeping it pinned down. Something sharp pricked it and then the hands moved. Roy continued to thrash back and forth, begging not to be hurt. After two minutes though, his limbs got heavier. Moving them got harder and harder and his eyes started drooping. Roy tried his head to the side and saw a vague shape standing next to him. He was too tired to make out the details. "Please…..don't hurt me…please…."

Someone put a hand on his head. "No one's going to hurt you…." The words were getting softer and farther away. "It's ok…. No one's going to hurt you…."

— —

The next time Roy woke up everything was a lot clearer. It only took a few seconds to get his bearings and figure out he was in the Batcave's infirmary. There were dried tear tracks on his face. He tried to move his arm to wipe his eyes, only to realize he couldn't move them. He looked down in confusion to see that his wrists and ankles were restrained to the bed with velcro. "What-"

"Try not to move Master Roy," Alfred advised. Roy looked at him, still really confused. The butler slowly undid the restraints. "Sorry about this Master Roy, but we were afraid you would hurt yourself, or someone else."

"What happened?" Roy asked.

"Fear toxin, sir. You were having vivid hallucinations due to its effects."

"Hallucinations?" The whole sequence of Bruce handing him over to Oliver felt so real.

"Yes. You were quite panicked once you were brought out of it and I had to sedate you."

"Oh…" Roy sat up once he was free.

"Your heart rate is normal and I see no visible signs of stress. How do you feel?"

"Ok, I guess…." Bruce walked in and Roy's voice got silent. His eyes found the tense look on Bruce's face. He looked angry.

"Alfred, I need to speak to Roy alone please," Bruce said, not taking his eyes off the teen.

"Of course, sir." Alfred left Roy's side, but stopped briefly next to Bruce to whisper, "Go easy on him."

"Bruce I-" Roy stopped when Bruce put his hand up. There was a tense silence for a moment. "Is Dick ok?"

"Yes, he is, no thanks to you." Roy swallowed. "What were you thinking Roy? Actually, scratch that, you weren't! Why would you do something so reckless?! You disobeyed me! You went after Scarecrow after I specifically told you not too! You could've gotten Dick killed! You could've gotten yourself killed! You couldn't possibly be so stupid!" Roy started shaking, but Bruce didn't notice. "You're 15 and you've been doing this for three years! You should be making better decisions than the 10-year-old! I expect better from you! Your amateurish work will not be repeated! Is that understood?!" Roy didn't answer due to his shaking and all of his energy being focused on trying not to freak out. "Is that understood Roy?!" Bruce unconsciously took a step towards Roy, whose whole body flinched back violently.

"Y-Yes, sir…" he stammered quietly. Bruce left and Roy finally lost what little control he had of his brain. Panic engulfed it and he started hyperventilating. He still had electrodes from the heart monitor on his chest, so the beeping was once again loud and erratic. Alfred came running back in, coming to his side immediately.

"Master Roy, you need to calm down. Breathe….In….Out….In…..Out…." It was hard to follow Alfred's voice. There was so little oxygen getting into his lungs that it was all his brain could focus on. Unfortunately, it only made it worse for him as his neck and back muscles trained to breathe; looking reminiscent of an asthma attack. His arms started to go numb, which only served to scare him more. Alfred moved quickly and moved so he was right in Roy's direct line of sight. "You're safe here sir. You're safe, I'm not going to hurt you." Alfred kept up his talking and helping Roy breathe until the panic attack had mostly subsided. "Are you ok sir?"

Roy was still shaking and didn't answer right away. When he did, his voice was quiet and fragile. "I'm sorry…."

"You have no reason to apologize sir."

"I was bad…."

Alfred seemed to consider his next words carefully. "While you did make mistakes while facing Scarecrow, you shouldn't be sorry for having a panic attack." Roy looked away and didn't say anything. "You should get some rest, sir. Lay down." Roy laid back down and Alfred adjusted a wire so that he could be comfortable again.

"Are-Are you going to restrain me again?"

"I see no reason why I should."

"Ok…." Roy still kept his arms and legs close to his body while he was in bed though. It was difficult to lay on his side while he had the wires attached, but he managed it. Alfred didn't say anything, but simply readjusted the wires so he could be comfortable. "Where's Dick?"

"Master Dick is asleep upstairs."

"Ok…" Alfred sat down in a chair next to the bed in Roy's line of sight. "You're staying here?"

"Of course, sir."

"Oh…. Thanks…" Roy didn't go back to sleep, but simply stared out at the wall, wondering why he was such a screw-up.

— —

The next few days were tense ones. Roy rarely came out of his room unless it was to eat or have his lesson with Alfred. He and Dick had been benched for a few days, Roy longer than Dick, as punishment for going off without permission. Which didn't really bother Roy, since he wasn't eager to anger Bruce again with his own incompetence and stupidity. Every time he saw Bruce he thought about getting yelled at and suddenly grew afraid. Would Bruce send him away because of this? Would he give him back to Oliver? Would Bruce beat him for endangering Dick's life? Dick was his son after all. It was really ungrateful of Roy to endanger him after Bruce had done so much for him. So, Roy spent most of the time hiding in his room. He ignored Dick's constant knocking and trying to get him to come out. The boy figured out by the second day Roy wasn't coming out, so he'd changed tactics. He sat outside the door with a book and read to him through the door. He didn't know why Roy was acting so weird, but he was determined to make everything better. He wasn't the only one who noticed the strange behavior.

Alfred grew more worried about Roy as he observed regressive behavior after another. It started with Roy's school work slipping in quality. He struggled with things that he'd been doing fine on before and seemed to have much less confidence than before. He hesitated and stuttered when giving answers and seemed to grow afraid of giving a wrong one. He hadn't acted like this in months, so the sudden behavior change was slightly alarming. It became more alarming when his eating habits changed. Roy didn't stop eating altogether but he would pick at his food rather than eat it. Alfred tried varying the portions, trying to see if more or less food would change this, but it didn't. Roy looked hungry all the time, despite being given are then enough food. On top of all that, he also looked tired. His nightmares, which were still frequent but not as intense, seemed to have taken a sudden, sharp increase in intensity. He'd wake up screaming and shaking, covered in a cold sweat. Dick and Alfred always came running to wake him up and clam him down, but Bruce didn't. Once or twice Alfred caught him hiding in the doorway, but he never tried to intervene and help. Growing more worried about Roy's behavior, Alfred brought it up with Bruce.

"I'm sure he's fine Alfred," Bruce said, not even looking up from his work.

"Master Bruce, he's acting in ways he hasn't for many months."

"How so?"

"He's hiding in his bedroom."

"So he wants his space."

"He's not eating."

"He always has weird eating habits."

"His nightmares-"

"He always has those Alfred."

"Master Bruce, this is serious."

"It's not serious! Roy is fine. If anything, he's probably shaken from the disastrous fight with Scarecrow."

Alfred's mouth tightened. He wanted to keep pressing the issue but knew it owed get him nowhere with Bruce. "I sincerely hope you're right."

Bruce didn't think too much about Roy's strange behavior. He wrote it off as Roy's normal, abnormal behavior and went on with life. That is until, a week and a half after the Scarecrow incident, he overheard Roy talking to Dick in the library.

"-so then Bruce only had enough antidote for one of us and he gave it to me because he wasn't thinking," Dick explained.

"That's why you were better so much faster?" Roy asked.

"Yes." There was a brief moment of silence.

"So, Bruce chose not to give me the antidote?" The tone of defeat in Roy's voice was actually pretty concerning.

"I guess…." Dick sounded confused about what Roy had said.

"He probably did it because he wanted to punish me." Bruce blinked.

"What?! No, Roy, Bruce would never do something like that! He didn't have enough antidote with him is all."

"Are you sure he didn't have enough on purpose? He's Batman, why wouldn't have enough for us both unless he didn't want to give me any?"

"Well…" Dick struggled to find an answer. "I mean…."

"See? He was trying to punish me."

"I'm sure there's an explanation. Bruce would never do that to you, Roy." Bruce walked into the room and cleared his throat. The boys were sitting on the ground playing cards. They looked at him and it wasn't hard to see the fear in Roy's eyes. "What's up?" Bruce looked away, suddenly uncomfortable with the gaze.

"Dick, I need to talk to Roy alone," he said.

"Ok." Dick gave Roy an encouraging look before he left. There was a tense silence as Bruce stood there, unsure of what to do. As much as he hated to admit it, he hadn't really paid that much attention to Roy in the last week. He looked so tired and scared. Bruce honestly hadn't seen Roy so stressed in a long time. Roy kept his eyes down as he sat on the ground. Look closely, he could see a tremor running through Roy's spine.

'Why is he so scared?' It'd been months since Roy had been that scared.

"If you're going to do something just do it," Roy said quietly.

"What're you talking about?"

Roy flinched. "Just get it over with already, please?"

"Get what over with?"

"….HItting me…"

Bruce sighed, not seeing how it made Roy tense up even more. "You know I'm not going to hit you, Roy."

"No, I don't."

"Why don't you know that?"

"I almost got Dick killed." Roy bowed his head even more and curled up into a ball. The quiet sounds of sobbing reached him.

"Roy, stop crying." The abrupt stop only made Bruce more concerned.

"Sorry…."

Bruce took a step back. There was something he was missing and he needed to figure it out. "Roy, why do you think I'll hit you?"

"Dick almost died. Why wouldn't you beat me for that?"

"Because it would be wrong." He'd thought he'd been getting through to Roy in the last couple of months, where was this coming from?!

"No! Dick almost died and it's all my fault! You should punish me! You should beat me, or lock me in a closet, or-or-"

"Roy. Roy, stop it!" Bruce knelt down and held Roy's shoulders firmly. His shout made the teen flinch. "Dick is fine. He's fine-"

"No thanks to me!" Roy pulled his legs closer to his chest if that was even possible. "I'm stupid and incompetent."

"Why would you think that?"

"You said so."

"What?! When did I…" Bruce's voice died when he realized he had said that. When Roy had woken up from the effects of the fear toxin. His hand jumped off Roy's shoulders like they'd been burned. "No, no Roy I didn't mean it like that-"

"Yes, you did. I'm stupid, I can't do anything right. I've been a vigilante for 3 years and I couldn't even protect Dick! I'm worthless just like Oliver always said."

"You're not worthless." It was slowly dawning on Bruce how bad his choice of words had been. "You made a mistake-"

"A mistake that almost got Dick killed-"

"And you! You made a mistake, you both almost died, but that doesn't mean you're stupid."

"But you said-"

"I shouldn't have said it. I should never have called you stupid."

"I disobeyed you." The fact that Roy said it like it was an irrefutable fact broke Bruce's heart.

"That doesn't mean I have the right to tell you that you're stupid or incompetent." Roy very clearly didn't believe him. Bruce sighed quietly as quilt gnawed at his stomach. He hadn't meant to make Roy feel like this. When he'd yelled at Roy he'd been angry and scared. Angry that Roy and Dick had almost died and scared because of how severe Roy's reaction to the fear toxin had been. He swallowed as he remembered the teen crying out in pain, despite no on hurting him, and sobbing while pulling at anyone who touched him. That didn't matter though. Bruce had yelled at Roy and made him feel worthless. He suddenly remembered Alfred coming to him a few days before. The guilt suddenly got twice as bad. Not eating, the increased nightmares, the fear….he'd caused that. There was no blaming it on Oliver this time. No one to blame but himself. He'd treated Roy the same way Oliver always did. "I'm sorry…" It came quiet and kind of hoarse, but Roy still heard him. He slowly looked up, removing his face from his legs.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. I never meant to make you feel like this. I had no right to say those things."

"You're….apologizing?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because what I did was wrong. I-I did what Oliver used to do. I yelled at you and made you feel like you were worthless, which you're not. You're not. Do you understand, Roy? What I did was wrong."

Roy looked down. "I shouldn't have gone after Scarecrow. You should be mad at me."

"Yes, I should be, but that doesn't excuse me calling you stupid and incompetent. Nothing does." Roy still didn't look convinced. "I just want you to know that I would never hurt you. No matter what, I will never beat you." He reached out, but Roy pulled away. Bruce let his hand drop.

"Will you get rid of me?" Roy asked quietly after a minute.

"What do you mean 'get rid of you'?"

"Will you send me back to Ollie? Like you did-" He stopped suddenly, peaking Bruce's confusion even more.

"Like I did when?" Roy looked away. "Did that happen in a nightmare?"

"Not exactly…"

"When did it happen then?" Roy didn't answer right away. "I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong." If he could help. He just didn't want to make it worse. Again. Roy seemed to think about it for a minute before he answered.

"When I was….hallucinating."

"The fear toxin?" Roy nodded.

"You-You were mad at me for endangering Dick and you…you handed me over to Ollie. You just….gave me back to him without a second thought." Bruce had honestly thought it wasn't possible to feel any more guilty or ashamed of himself, but he was wrong. Roy had gone through a vivid break from reality where Bruce was angry at him and handed him over to Oliver, only to wake up and find Bruce angry at him. Roy had probably been walking around the past week waiting for Oliver to show up and take him away. "Roy, it was just a hallucination. That's all it was."

"You were mad though because I endangered Dick."

"I know I was, but I would never send you back to him. Never, do you understand me? Oliver will never come near you again as long as I'm here. I promise."

"You'll get sick of me. He did."

"I'm not Oliver. I won't get sick of you, I promise. I swear it, Roy, I will never beat you and I will never hand you over to Oliver." Roy buried his face back in his legs again. "Are you scared right now?" Roy nodded. "Are you scared of me?" Another nod. What Bruce figured. As much as he wanted to sit there and try to reassure Roy he wouldn't hurt him, he decided it would be cruel to make Roy stay near him. "You can go. Just…." He didn't know what he wanted Roy to do. Eat. Sleep. Be happy. "Just rest. Ok?"

"Yes, sir." Roy got up and quickly left the room. Bruce sighed again, taking a moment to lament the fact that Roy had stopped using his name again.

'What've I done?' he thought miserably. 'I keep making this worse. I cause him to have panic attacks and I do things I know I shouldn't do. I treated him like Oliver used to.' He was honestly disgusted with himself for this. 'Roy deserves better. So much better.' That thought was the only thing in Bruce's mind as he got to his feet and left the manor's library. He went to his study and shut the door to make sure that he wouldn't be disturbed. Still focused on this one thought, he sat down at his desk and took out his phone.

"Hello?" Barry asked, sounding slightly confused.

"Barry." Bruce took a breath. He could hear Kid Flash talking in the background. "I think Roy should come live with you." There was a moment of silence on the other side.

"I'm sorry…. Did you just say you wanted Roy to come live with me?" The noise in the background suddenly got quieter and Bruce could only assume he'd moved into another room.

"Not that I wanted him to. I think he should."

Barry took a very audibly deep breath. "May I ask why?" Very briefly, Bruce explained the situation, beginning with the fight with Scarecrow and ending with his conversation with Roy only minutes before. There was another moment of silence before Barry let out a low whistle. "That's…..not good."

"I made him feel worthless, Barry!"

"Yeah, I got that."

"Which is why Roy should live with you. I'm not- I can't do this. I'm not the kind of person he needs."

"Bruce-"

"I can take care of all the arrangements and give you and Iris any financial support you need-"

"Bruce!" Barry didn't usually feel emboldened to yell at Batman, but he rarely heard Batman this vulnerable. It was really unnerving. "Stop and think about what you're saying. Really think about it. You're talking about sending Roy to Central City. Away from Dick, who he trusts and is close to."

"He trusts Wally too."

"I'm just going to say it, this is a terrible idea. It's awful. You can't do it."

"Why not?"

"You said that you made him feel worthless, right? He's already got self-esteem issues, what do you think it'll do to him if you send him away? It certainly won't make him feel better about himself. Besides, didn't you just tell him like 10 minutes ago that you'd never get rid of him? You really wanna go breaking the promise in less than 24 hours?"

"What should I do then? I keep making things worse."

"Then you deal with it. You keep trying to make things better."

"I've been trying-"

"Then keep trying! Bruce, if you send him here, he'll never learn to trust people. You don't want that do you?"

"No, of course not."

"I know this is hard. It's just one of those things where it'll get worse before it gets better. You have to have faith in yourself though. You care about Roy right?"

"Yes."

"You want him to be safe and happy?"

"Of course."

"You want what's best for him?"

"Obviously."

"Then you'll be fine. You messed up but that doesn't mean you can't fix it."

"How can he trust me after this?"

"Because believe it or not, not everyone is super paranoid like you. Roy will get past this and he will trust you again. Believe it or not, I wasn't perfect at this parenting thing when Iris and I took Wally in either. You'll make mistakes, but you still have his best interests at heart and that's what's important."

"I don't know…"

"Look, if you're dead set on it, then we'd be happy to take him. If you want my advice though, don't do it. If you really care about Roy then don't send him away. Stay by his side and help him. Show him that you're different from Oliver. Keep showing him that he's wanted and that you think he's smart and valuable."

"I just don't want to make it worse."

"The worst thing you can do is give up on him."

Bruce sighed. Never in his life had he been so grateful for Barry Allen as a friend. Not that he'd say it of course. "Alright. I'll keep trying."

"Good. I knew you'd make the right decision. You're doing a good job, Bruce. Don't let one set back keep you down."

"I'll try."

"I have to go. Wally and I are going to the movies and if I don't leave soon, I think he'll explode. Good luck." Barry hung up and Bruce sat back in his seat.

'I'm unqualified and Roy deserves better,' he decided with a sigh. 'Not matter what it takes, I want to help him.' He just hoped his own desire to help would be enough.