"So what does Green Arrow want to see us about?" Dick asked as he stood watching Bruce add information to the large computer in the Bat Cave.
"He didn't elaborate...simply said he had an issue he was unable to deal with himself...He's requested Dinah be here as well." Bruce replied.
"That's weird..You'd think he would have just said something over the phone about what he wanted." Dick said puzzled.
"No...it's not 'weird' when you think about who we're talking about...Oliver does have a flair for the dramatic..."
"I'll agree with that." Dinah said as she walked over to join the two men..."I hope this doesn't take long, I'm looking after Lian for the weekend."
"Is she up with Alfred?" Dick asked.
"No Barbara's watching her..I promised to take her to a movie this afternoon before Roy comes to pick her up..."
"Well he might be a bit late doing that." Ollie's voice drifted to them as the blonde haired man descended the staircase into the cave and approached them. The archer carried a small boy in his arms who was flopped against his chest, sound asleep.
Dick glanced briefly at the boy, guessing the child to be about three years old..barely more than a toddler. "Who's kid?" he asked.
Ollie stopped in front of them and thought for a moment. "Well it's kind of a long story..But I guess he's kinda mine..well sorta." he replied.
Dick sensed Dinah stiffen nearby and he involuntarily took a step back..he knew the history between Ollie and Dinah..Ollie had repeatedly let Dinah down when it came to his relationships with other women when the two of them had been a couple..they weren't together now, but Dick knew the issue was still a sore point between them.
Dinah finally let out an exasperated sigh.."I don't believe you Oliver Queen..When will you ever grow up, this is getting beyond a joke..."
"Now hold on a minute Pretty Bird..."
"Don't you 'Pretty Bird" me!" Dinah yelled, finally giving in to the anger that surged within her.
The little Boy jolted awake and looked around him..an anxious look crossed his little face as he took in the strange cavernous cave, and the very angry woman that stood in front of him..He wrapped his arms tightly around Ollie's neck and hid his face, beginning to grizzle slightly.
"Now look what you've done...It's okay kiddo, the pretty lady's not going to yell anymore." He said pointedly, giving Dinah a sharp look whilst gently jiggling the boy up and down and patting his back.
Dinah threw her hands up in the air and turned away, placing both hands on her hips. "Who's the mother?" she asked sharply..lowering her voice to prevent upsetting the child any further.
"I don't know her...I never met her." Ollie said.."He's not my kid...well he is but he...Oh for crying out loud it's Roy!." he finally blurted.
Deathly silence descended over the group for a moment before Bruce finally spoke. "I think this is a story we'd all like to hear." he said, arching one eyebrow.
Dick approached the child who had now stopped whimpering and was looking curiously around him..he studied the boy's face carefully. The little boy leaned his cheek against Ollie's chest and watched the dark haired man suspiciously for a moment..then seemingly deeming him safe, he smiled broadly..his green eye's sparkling.
Dick instantly recognized the grin. "Holy shit!" he exclaimed.
"Holy shit" the little boy repeated.
"Ya gotta watch that...the kid repeats everything you say." Ollie said calmly.
Dinah was finally able to close her mouth. "How did this happen!" she asked as she moved closer and reached out to gently run her hand over the childs soft red hair..returning the grin she was rewarded with.
"Kid kind of got screwed in a case we were looking into yesterday...We were following a lead...Some weirdo turned up in my City and stood in the middle of Main street..he almost got plastid by a bus, somehow he managed to send the bus out of the picture..I mean like woosh bang gone..vanished..the whole bus and about thirty people...Anyway, cut to the chase, we had info that this creep had high tailed it to an old wharehouse that hadn't been used for awhile, so we headed over to check it out.." Ollie paused for a moment and lowered the little boy who had begun to struggle in his arms to the ground, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Mia and I checked out a couple of the smaller buildings nearby and Roy and Connor checked the main one..."
"And I'm guessing they found this guy?" Dinah said as she held the little boys hand as he struggled to climb into a nearby chair, smiling at him with affection.
"Yeah..you got that right..They only had the guy cornered for a few minutes..Roy was being his usual smart assed self, and Connor say's the guy said something about acting his age...and...well, I guess he's now acting his age." Ollie finished.
"I'm hungry!" The little boy declared as he stood up on the chair...Then looking at Ollie he grinned broadly. "English Boss man!" he declared proud that he'd remembered to use the correct language and not lapsed back into the Navajo that his guardian Brave bow had liked him to use when they were together.
"Good boy!" Ollie praised enthusiastically, to be rewarded by and even bigger grin.
"You have him calling you boss man?...He's gonna love that when we work out how to get him back to normal." Dick said chuckling.
"I didn't start it, Mia did..toldja, he copies anything you say." Ollie said.
"Do you have any other information on the person that did this?" Bruce asked
Ollie shook his head. "Nope...zip, zilch, absolutely nothing..Never seen or heard of him before..We're pretty sure he used some kinda magic on the boy..but even that's not a certainty."
Bruce frowned as the little boy performed a daredevil leap off the chair towards Ollie..the archer was a little too far away to catch him, forcing Dinah to quickly step forward and snatch his little body out of the air before any harm could befall him.
"I'll need time to follow this up..There's not a lot to go on but perhaps Zatanna might have some knowledge of who could be responsible for this sort of thing. And Dick can inspect the warehouse you found him at for clues." he said frowning again as the boy wriggled out of Dinah's arms and ran towards the computer..He grabbed the little hand that snaked upwards towards the buttons in front of the huge screen..scowling slightly. "Somethings never change." he muttered to himself.
"Oh Bruce..he's just a little kid." Dinah chided playfully.
"A very annoying one at that." Bruce replied as he prevented another attempt by the boy to reach the buttons that fascinated him so much..Picking the child up under the arms, he held him awkwardly out in front of him and handed him to Ollie. "This is not a child's playground...I suggest we retreat upstairs before he damages himself or the equipment." he said gruffly.
"Right you are big guy...C'mon kiddo lets go see if Alfreds got some of those famous chocolate chips cookies I've heard about." Ollie said cheerfully, giving the boy a playful poke and chuckling as the little boy doubled over and squealed in laughter.
end 2