As Beast Boy sweltered under the spotlight – literally and metaphorically – he wished that he had stood his ground against Robin and not conceded to wearing a suit. It was uncomfortable, the sleeves felt slightly too long, and the tie he had struggled to put on (before Cyborg just did it for him) was just getting in the way. He was still fidgeting, playing with his hands or softly tapping his feet, despite Robin having coached him not to do so. He looked and felt like a child playing dress-up with his parents' wardrobe.

When he had half-heard someone telling the court to 'all rise' as the Judge entered, he almost forgot that this included him, until Robin loudly coughed and he snapped out of his daze, standing up so quickly that he almost tripped over. The Judge's expression had remained unreadable throughout, although Beast Boy supposed that part of his job was to remain impartial. He shuddered; the idea that someone was treating the disgusting – but unproven – abuse at the hands of his uncle as 'impartial' made him even more uncomfortable than his ill-fitting suit.

Galtry's lawyer was the first to make an opening statement. Beast Boy tried to drown it out; there was something so despicable and unsettling about hearing this man try to make the case that Galtry was just a concerned relative, who had spent years searching for his lost nephew, when this couldn't be further from the truth. There was no legal paper trail showing that Galtry had sold Garfield to a medical testing centre, as was expected, but that didn't make the pack of lies any less nauseating. On the brighter side of things, Beast Boy noted that no less than three times, this lawyer used the phrase "While there is no established legal precedent…" Matt had softly nudged him the third time it happened, confident grin back on his face. In a courtroom, admitting that something had no legal precedent had about the same effect as asking the Judge 'pretty-pretty-please'.

Mr Murdock's opening statement was a sight to behold. In just ten seconds, he introduced himself, summarized the case, and made a small joke about this being his first time in Jump City. He never came across as arrogant or overconfident, just someone who was overwhelmingly certain that this trial could only end in his client's favour, and he had the research, the facts, and the arguments to back it up. Beast Boy was tempted to look at the opposing bench to see if the other lawyer was sweating, but he didn't want to risk catching sight of… him.

To the surprise of no-one, Beast Boy was the first witness called for cross-examination; the entire case, after all, depended on his allegations of abuse. Robin had tried not to sound too melodramatic while also preparing him with the honest truth of the stressful experience he was about to endure, and how best to do so. Always think before you speak, but don't take too long to answer. Stay as calm as you can, under the circumstances. Try not to look at the Judge too much, but don't go out of your way to avoid looking at them either. And always tell the truth, but don't voluntarily divulge information that you weren't asked about. These contradictory commands flooded Beast Boy's head with anxiety as the prosecutor stepped forward for questioning.

"Mr Logan," he began, "I understand that you do not wish to return to your uncle's custody. Is this correct?"

Beast Boy fought the urge to glance at his team for guidance; Robin had warned him that the prosecutor could try to trap him using his own words. "Yes… that is correct."

"I believe that you feel very strongly about this, in fact. Would it be accurate to say that you are determined, in fact, not to return to your uncle's custody?"

"… Yes."

"How determined?"

Beast Boy froze, unsure how to answer, or what exactly was being asked of him.

"Apologies," continued the prosecutor, "I believe a better question would be; what would you do to avoid returning to your uncle's custody? How far would you be willing to go?"

Beast Boy already hated this. Recognizing that there was no possible good answer, he spent a little too long thinking of his response. "I wouldn't break the law, but other than that, I would do anything to-"

"Anything?" The prosecutor repeated back to him, and he already felt as if he had made a mistake. "Never mind that," Galtry's attorney continued, "I know you may feel pressured, being in a court of law after all, but surely if the crime was something small, like jaywalking, you would feel comfortable doing that if it secured a future free from your uncle?"

"… No?" Beast Boy replied, obviously unsure of himself.

"No? You claim that your uncle abused you severely over the course of more than a year, and yet you are such a model citizen that you wouldn't jaywalk to avoid him? That sounds implausible."

Beast Boy began to panic. "… I don't know," he replied honestly.

"I'll tell you what I believe," the prosecutor began harshly, "I believe that you would commit a crime to avoid returning to your uncle's custody, whether that crime was something small and harmless like jaywalking, or potentially more dramatic, such as perjury, or making a false allegation of-"

"Objection!" interrupted Mr Murdock with a hint of contempt, as if he was embarrassed on the prosecutor's behalf at this amateur line of questioning. "The prosecution is obviously trying to trick my client into incriminating himself one way or another; accusing him of being willing to break the law is meaningless unless you have evidence to suggest that he actually has."

Beast Boy breathed a huge sigh of relief. His initial impression of Mr Murdock had been good, but it was still reassuring to see that his confidence was well-founded.

The Judge seemed to agree. "Sustained. Please move on, counsel."

Beast Boy was hoping that the prosecution would look frustrated, as if their main line of questioning had been struck down. Unfortunately, this was just one of several angles they were willing to try.

"My apologies, your honour," began the prosecutor, who Beast Boy noticed was not apologizing to him. "Moving on; I understand that you have been a superhero for several years, Mr Logan."

Once again, Beast Boy paused for a little too long. "That is correct."

"In fact, you were in the Doom Patrol before joining the Teen Titans."

"… Yes."

"How many years of service have you spent as a superhero?"

Beast Boy was never great at doing maths, but he was even worse under pressure. He joined the Doom Patrol when he was nine, but he didn't go on any missions until he was ten, and he was currently nearly sixteen.

"… Five. And a few months, two or three."

"Five!" the prosecutor repeated in feigned admiration. "Five years as a superhero. That's very admirable, Mr Logan." He paused, as if waiting for Beast Boy to say 'thank you', which he never did. "How often in your line of work would you say your life is placed under threat?"

That was another large question that Beast Boy wasn't equipped to answer. "I… I don't know, it's hard to say-"

"Understandable, let me rephrase. Would it be fair to say that you undergo at least one mission every day? On average?"

The real number was undeniably larger, but Beast Boy didn't feel like correcting him. "… Sure, on average."

"And on these missions, whether they're against supervillains or regular criminals, your life is in danger on a regular basis, correct?"

"… Correct."

The prosecutor stopped and stroked his chin. "So… you're a minor – under the age of eighteen – and since the age of ten, without any guardian, your life has been endangered more than… one and a half thousand times at this point. That sounds a little… unsafe."

Beast Boy shot a panicked glance back at his teammates for help. After all, this argument could be used against any of them. It was just that at this moment in time, it was only being applied to him. If they were giving him any signals, he couldn't read them. Raven didn't even look up from her book.

"Well… yes, in this line of work-"

Cutting him off, the prosecutor asked "If these super-teams had contacted your uncle and asked for his permission for your life to be placed into jeopardy, do you think that he would have consented."

For once, Beast Boy had an answer. He knew that Galtry would have refused, but he also remembered several very illegal things that Galtry had forced him to do for money.

"Not unless there was money in it for him."

The prosecutor frowned. "A simple 'no' would have sufficed, Mr Logan. It was a yes or no question."

"It didn't have a yes or no answer," replied Beast Boy.

The prosecutor looked at the Judge, as if expecting them to admonish the changeling, but to his visible displeasure, the Judge seemed to have no objection to his answer. Even Mr Murdock had a hint of a smile on his face.

"Moving on," hurried the prosecutor, "but remaining on the topic of your heroism, you've been living as a superhero for… five years, you said. Correct?"

"Yes."

"That is, sincerely, admirable. As a resident of Jump City, I thank you for your service." The prosecutor paused again. Beast Boy once again did not take the opportunity to say 'you're welcome'. "I imagine you must have a very strong sense of justice."

Beast Boy didn't know where this was going, and that made him more nervous that if he had known it was a trap. "Yes."

"Just as an example, if you happened to look out of the window and see a mugging, would you intervene?"

"… I would let the court know first, but yes; I would try to intervene."

"Commendable, truly. And even if this mugger was armed, you would act?"

"Yes, I have enough experience to know how to handle that situation, and I don't believe I would be putting myself in unnecessary danger."

"Oh, no, no," responded the prosecutor, "Forget about the danger. I just mean that if you witnessed a wrong, you would take action. That is truly a selfless and wholly respectable trait; I mean that."

The faux-sincerity was making the hairs stand up on the back of Beast Boy's neck.

"It's just…" the prosecutor placed a hand on his desk, in front of Galtry, who Beast Boy had still succeeded in avoiding looking at for the duration of the trial so far, "For an individual with such a strong sense of justice, and morality, and knowing right from wrong, I can't help but notice an inconsistency that doesn't add up." He waited for Beast Boy to ask what the inconsistency was, which he didn't. "It's just that… your primary argument – only argument, really – against returning into the care of Nicholas Galtry, is that you allege that he behaved abusively towards you. Extremely abusively, I might add."

"… Yes," Beast Boy confirmed, not liking where this was going.

"You say that this man – who has never been accused before of committing a crime of the nature you suggest – behaved in an almost torturously unbearable manner, reprehensibly sadistic and with no regard to your wellbeing, and yet…" A shiver ran down Beast Boy's spine as he realised the argument against him. "By your own admission, you are a noble and heroic individual, willing to step in to ensure that justice is done. So why, then, did you spend five years on two separate superhero teams, and not once seek legal retribution against this man?"

Beast Boy froze. This was exactly the kind of question he knew he shouldn't take too long to answer. "I… I was trying to forget about him. I didn't want to think about him at all."

"I find it very unlikely," continued the prosecutor without acknowledging Beast Boy's answer, "That a hero such as yourself, with such a strong moral compass, would conveniently forget about years of abuse, right up until the moment this man re-enters your life."

"I didn't 'forget' – you – you can't forget something like that, I just didn't want to think about him ever again-"

"Five years. Five years to tell your friends that this man had abused you. Five years to protect other people from his hypothetical abusive behaviour. Did you know that Nicholas Galtry regularly babysits for his neighbours? A pillar of the local community. I suppose according to you, those children were in danger? And you let them remain in danger without acting?"

"I didn't… I'm not," Beast Boy was getting flustered, tears slowly beginning to appear in his eyes. He looked at his team for guidance, but they-

"Excuse me, your Honour, I've noticed that the defendant frequently looks to his associates when asked to provide an answer to a straightforward question. I believe they may be providing him with non-verbal signals, coaching him to give answers that undermine my client."

"What? No, no- I just…"

Mr Murdock got to his feet. "Objection your Honour, to this entire line of – frankly, morally reprehensible – questioning. It is not even remotely unusual for a victim of abuse to not want to revisit their experiences, not even to bring justice to their abuser. This is a-"

"Excuse me your Honour, nothing about this case could be considered 'usual', we are talking about a superhero, an individual with a strong sense of justice, inexplicably-"

"-A superhero who you have repeatedly pointed out is a minor, making it all the more understandable-"

"-all the more reason why the appointment of a guardian is of utmost importance, wouldn't you agree?"

The Judge was banging his gavel, shouting something to the defence and the prosecution, and possibly Beast Boy too. He could barely hear a word over the shouting, the confusion, the back-and-forth between the two sides arguing whether or not he would be returned to his abuser. Just barely over the white noise, he heard "He hasn't even looked in my client's direction, plain as day, an obvious attempt to influence the outcome of-" and out of panic or pettiness, he finally glanced towards his uncle.

Galtry.

Nicholas Galtry had aged a few years and cleaned himself up well for the trial – his suit fit much better than Beast Boy's did – and he was almost unrecognizable without some kind of cane or strap in his hands, and a cruel grin on his face, but it was still him. The greasy black hair. The permanent frown and the smug half-smile. The utter insincerity around everything that he did. Those cold, dead eyes. For a moment, they met his, and for just a second, he risked a smirk. And just for one second, Beast Boy was back in that cage in the basement, surrounded by the stench of rot and waste, starving and unsure if he was even going to be fed that week.

A smirk that said "I haven't forgotten. You're mine."

"No!" Beast Boy exclaimed, backing away in his seat as the tears that had been brimming in his eyes began to spill. "No, no no no no no no no no no no no no-" he muttered repeatedly, directing his gaze to the floor and breathing heavily. He appeared to be having a panic attack. The lawyers were still shouting and he wanted to cover his ears. He wanted to run. He wanted to know that he would never see that horrible man again. He wanted, he wanted, he wanted, but he couldn't act, and it made him feel just as small and helpless as-

A huge gust of wind seemed to blow through the court, sending papers flying in every direction. The Judge tried in vain to regain control of the situation, but it was too late. Starfire, unaware of the customs of the trial – not that it would have stopped her – had flown out of her seat and onto the witness stand, where she buried Beast Boy's head in her shoulder and held him gently, whispering soothing thoughts to him. The prosecutor was screaming something about witness-tampering, the Judge was shouting orders to whoever could hear them, and even Robin had joined the fray, having to advise the Judge that while he didn't wish to overstep his boundaries, any attempt to remove Starfire from the witness stand would go extremely poorly.

"Please…" Beast Boy whispered above all of the chaos, "Please don't let him take me."

"We would never," assured Starfire. "No matter what."

With court well and truly disrupted, the Judge admitted defeat and loudly declared a fifteen-minute recess for the defence and the prosecution to each compose their witnesses. Starfire remained at the witness stand, holding Beast Boy tightly until she was sure that his tears had stopped, and then helped him back to where their friends were seated. Her expression never changed from one of utmost dedication and support, except for a brief frown when she noticed that Raven was still reading her book.

She gently lowered herself and Beast Boy until his feet were touching the floor. In the presence of his trusted friends, his tears were slowing, but at the cost of feeling embarrassed to have lost his composure, as if he had let them down, not that any of them were thinking that. "Sorry," he stammered, frantically wiping his eyes with the sleeves of his suit jacket. "I'm sorry, I know I messed up, I know I didn't-"

His self-criticism was stopped by another tight squeeze from Starfire, and a reassuring hand on his shoulder from Robin, who had stood to comfort his friend. "Hey, hey, it's fine. You did great. You didn't fall into any of their traps, and… you showed them how serious this is to you. It's – it might not seem like it, but it's going well, really." Robin tried to sound assertive and confident, but with all of the chaos of the trial, there was a hint of worry and doubt in his expression that was extremely unusual for him.

"I agree," added Starfire, with an open hint of anger. "You have done nothing wrong today. The unpleasant man asking those questions of you… his behaviour is most despicable. I would be only too happy to intervene if he upsets you again." Her eyes never left Beast Boy, but it was clear that she was speaking to Robin as well. Whether she was asking for permission or warning him of what she was going to do regardless was anyone's guess.

Unfortunately, at that moment a very nervous and underprepared bailiff cleared his throat behind the group, signalling his presence. As the teens turned to look at the man in court uniform, he immediately wilted under Starfire's righteously irritated gaze and stuttered out his brief message in a high-pitched squeal.

"Um… Judge Carroll has requested that the-the-the team member who disrupted proceedings by approaching the witness stand without being summoned, should, should remain outside of the courtroom for the remainder of the trial."

Despite the stammering, Starfire seemed to understand the request, and raised an inquisitive and intimidating eyebrow. "I see. And how is the Judge planning on enforcing this… cowardly request, that he could not deliver in person?" she asked, glaring daggers at the terrified bailiff.

Before the bailiff could faint in terror, Robin loudly pretended to cough and asked Starfire to speak to him outside for a moment. Cyborg got out of his seat too, explaining that he had skipped breakfast that morning and was hoping to quickly find a cafeteria, or failing that, a vending machine.

"Hey, B," Cy asked in concern. "You coming? It might be nice to get out of here for a few minutes."

Beast Boy would have immediately agreed, but he quickly glanced back towards the prosecutor's bench. Galtry was no longer there. That meant to Galtry was somewhere else in the courthouse, and bumping into him was currently his greatest fear for a whole litany of reasons; he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't flee, he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't attack his uncle, he couldn't guarantee that he would be in any condition to continue the trial. If Galtry wasn't in the courtroom right now, then the courtroom was where he wanted to stay.

"No thanks, I… I think I'd rather stay here," he replied quietly.

His reasoning was obvious, and Cyborg seemed understandably uncomfortable to leave him with only Raven for company. The alleged empath was still reading her book. "You know what? I'm not that hungry."

With some effort, Beast Boy forced a genuine-looking smile onto his face. "Nah dude, go get a sandwich or something, I know you must be starving by now."

Cyborg opened his mouth to disagree, but was cut off by a loud, angry grumbling noise from his lower torso. It was either a very large stomach rumble, or a very minor earthquake. Beast Boy laughed – a small one, but a real laugh, for the first time that day – and Cyborg reluctantly agreed to find something to eat and return as quickly as possible.

"Nah, I'll be fine," Beast Boy assured him. "I've got Raven to keep an eye on me." At the mention of her name, Raven's eyes briefly darted from her book to him, but then returned immediately with no comment. Even Robin and Cyborg were beginning to feel displeased with her completely apathetic presence, but they knew better than to challenge her on it; at least, at this time and place. Promising Beast Boy that they would return as soon as they could, the three left the courtroom, uneasy over their friend's wellbeing.

Beast Boy cautiously sat down in the empty seat next to Raven. She didn't acknowledge his presence. He glanced at her nervously a few times, but with no response. He felt as if he should say something, but to his surprise, she spoke first.

"I know that this is hard for you, but trust me, it will all be over soon. Just take some deep breaths, and try to hang in there. I know you can do this." She sounded completely sincere, but the way that she didn't even look at him made her attempt at comfort slightly less reassuring.

Beast Boy sighed. "I know, I know… thank you though. I just… I don't-"

"I know that this is hard for you," she interrupted, "but trust me, it will all be over soon. Just take some deep breaths, and try to hang in there."

Beast Boy was now worried for a slightly different reason. She still sounded genuine, but it was almost robotic, the way she had just repeated herself with the same tone and inflection.

"Raven?" he asked, gently touching her arm as if to confirm that she was still there. She finally looked up from her book and glanced in his direction in a distant, non-committal sort of way; as if she was looking at him, but not actually seeing him.

"I know that this is hard for you-"

"Okay, okay…" Beast Boy interrupted, retreating back into his seat. Whatever was going on with Raven, he could ask her about it later; if he felt the need to query it at all. It wasn't exactly unusual for her to be acting strangely around him in an unfamiliar situation like this. Trying and failing to calm himself, he decided to take her advice, took a few deep breaths, and tried his best to keep his composure until his friends returned.