Green Arrow

"Who?" Moira and the others looked confused.

"Nothing." The girl clearly didn't want to say much to her parents. She simply reached out with interest. "I'm Thea. Nice to meet you." Aeo's looks in this life were truly something else. Even standing there casually, he looked like a handsome, striking statue. So, in a country as open-minded as America, the boy had become prime eye candy to Thea and quite a few others.

Looking at the petite foreign girl with brown-gold hair and lake-green eyes, Aeo sighed inwardly, though his face didn't betray a thing.

"Nice to meet you, beautiful." They shook hands.

Oliver's eyes narrowed dangerously. Without making it obvious, he blocked his sister's eager, curious gaze, then stepped in front of Aeo. "May I ask why Mr. Wayne and Mr. Zod have come to Star City? This probably isn't the best time of year to visit."

He looked at Bruce.

"My investment adviser told me Unidac Industries was a promising investment." Batman wore the air of a wealthy man who'd come only to discuss business. "It went bankrupt because of certain circumstances and poor management, but after reorganizing, it still has some potential, so..."

"Also, I heard your son returned safely after being missing for five years. I'm very happy for you, Mrs. Moira." Bruce smoothly turned the conversation toward Oliver.

Green Arrow's smile stiffened.

"Thank you." Moira Queen was delighted, as any mother would be. Clearly, nothing mattered more to her than her son's safe return.

Walter Steele, however, took Bruce at his word and believed he'd come for Unidac Industries. Caught off guard, he managed a strained, "I didn't know Wayne Enterprises would be interested in a small business like Unidac Industries. I always thought Wayne Enterprises was more interested in investing in research and transportation..."

"Wayne Enterprises does business all over the world. I do occasionally take care of actual business." Bruce's explanation was both polite and confident, leaving Walter at a loss for words.

"I see. Well, I hope you get what you came for tonight, Mr. Wayne." He forced a smile.

"Oh." Bruce suddenly seemed to remember something. "I heard Queen Consolidated is also very interested in tonight's auction. Perhaps we'll be working together in the future?"

Watching Bruce put his stepfather in an awkward spot, Oliver was a little displeased. But tonight, he was more worried about...

"Sorry, if you don't mind, could I speak with my family in private?" Green Arrow brusquely asked them to leave.

"Oliver."

Moira gave her son a mildly displeased look. Although Bruce Wayne and the boy seemed to have interests that overlapped with her family's, Wayne Enterprises' power was beyond question. Even if they couldn't become allies, few people wanted to make an enemy of such a massive conglomerate. She chided him, "Mr. Wayne is..."

"Mother, I insist." Oliver's gaze was stubborn and firm. Moira had no choice but to say, "Sorry. Since he came back, he's been a little withdrawn and doesn't like talking to people..."

She nodded apologetically to Bruce and the boy.

"It's fine. You're free to do as you like." Bruce exchanged a glance with Aeo, then politely took his leave.

Thea was reluctant to see them go and asked, "Will I get to see you again, Aeo?"

"Whenever you like." Aeo put on a gentlemanly, faintly insincere smile, imitating the old man.

Thea smiled, satisfied.

Only after the two "dangerous" men had left did Oliver anxiously urge his family, unsure how to convince them. "Mother, I want you and Thea to go home first. Walter and I can handle things here!"

Moira and Thea gave him puzzled looks. "Why? We just got here, and the auction hasn't even started..."

Oliver anxiously watched as more plainclothes officers filled the hall. He couldn't help lowering his voice. "Listen, I heard from Detective Lance that a criminal is planning to commit a crime at the auction tonight. For your safety, I strongly urge you and Thea to leave now!"

"What?!"

While the Queen family stood stunned, Aeo's eyes narrowed. With Super-hearing, he quietly said to Bruce, "Bruce."

"What?"

"I heard something troubling. Green Arrow may show up tonight! A crime is about to take place here!" The boy gave a knowing look toward several plainclothes officers who were covering their ears as they communicated, apparently thinking nobody had noticed. "There are a lot of police here. Looks like they knew about it ahead of time..."

Batman followed his gaze.

"...We have to stop this! There are too many people here. We can't let a crime happen in this place, or too many innocent people will get caught up in it... Aeo!" He gave the boy a solemn look.

"Are you sure Oliver Queen is Star City's Vigilante?"

"Don't you think he's the prime suspect, too?" Aeo shrugged. "He was stranded on a deserted island for five years, and the Vigilante appeared after he came back. Things don't just line up that neatly!"

"Besides..." He glanced at Green Arrow, who was anxiously trying to persuade his family. Through his X-ray vision, he could see that Oliver's muscles and reflexes were far stronger than Bruce expected—almost on par with his own. "He's Green Arrow!"

"Green... Arrow?"

"No, nothing." Realizing he'd let the name slip, Aeo explained, "Based on the information we've gathered, Green Arrow seems more fitting for a Vigilante who wears a green hood..."

"..."

"Forget that!" Keeping a calm face while using Super-hearing, Super-vision, and X-ray vision to search the area, the Son of Krypton finally spotted something suspicious.

"I think I've found the criminal."

Meanwhile, Oliver looked helplessly at his mother, sister, and stepfather, who insisted on staying.

"It's not that I don't believe you, Oliver," his stepfather said. "But as you said, Detective Lance and the others are here. Surely the criminal won't dare come back?"

Walter looked grave. "Queen Consolidated put a lot of effort into this auction. I can't just abandon our plans..."

Moira, meanwhile, said she was willing to face danger alongside the man she loved. "Thea, go home with Oliver. I'll stay here... If Walter insists on staying, then I'll stay too... Listen, don't worry. With Detective Lance and the others here, I think..."

"Don't look at me!" Thea Queen glared at her stepfather, mother, and brother, whom she hadn't seen in ages and had only recently reunited with.

"If the whole family isn't going home, what does it say if I go by myself?"