Part 5

It became rapidly obvious to Ollie that little boy's full of Zesti and chocolate topping were a force to be reckoned with..as for the eighth time in less than five minutes he had to pull the child from off the bookshelf he seemed intent on climbing. The boy laughed and squirmed in the archers arms as he tried to wriggle away..the laughter turning into an anguished squeal when he realized escape was impossible.

The squeal forced Ollie to reconsider holding the boy and he released him momentarily...only to whip out a hand and grab the child by the arm as the little boy darted back towards the bookshelf..For what seemed like the hundredth time in a few short minutes Ollie found himself wishing Dinah would hurry up and get out of the shower and come and rescue him from the kid. "Bat's had better have some answers for us today." he grumbled as he hoisted the struggling child back into his arms and headed out of the room.

"No wonder you bitch about it when I feed Lian full of lollies. " he muttered as he headed down the hall with the squirming boy..he would never, ever ply the little girl with sweets again...frowning over the obvious torture he must have put his ex ward through every time he'd given the little girl the treats before she and her father left to go home after their occasional visits.

He headed down to the basement area where the training equipment they used was housed..he knew he'd need to keep a close eye on the boy here..but he figured he might be able to distract the kid by throwing him on the treadmill or the mini tramp Mia used for some of her exercises...Anything that would keep the boy occupied until Dinah was able to save him.

He plonked the boy down on the tramp. "There ya go kiddo..bounce away." he said..smiling happily as the little boy giggled at the springyness under his feet.

Ollie watched as the little boy gingerly bounced on the tramp testing it out..before delightedly beginning to engage in the activity with more and more exuberance by the minute. "Ya like that huh?" Ollie said to himself..pleased he'd found something to keep the boy occupied that apparently delighted him so much.

Hearing his cell phone ring Ollie pulled it out of his pants pocket..checking the number and on recognizing it, eagerly flipped it open..walking a short distance away from the laughing child and turning his back so he could concentrate on the call.

"Bats...what have ya got for me?" he asked anxiously.

"Not a lot that's of benefit I'm afraid." a deep voice replied.

Ollie frowned. "Why do I feel like I really don't want to hear this?" he asked.

"The information I have is really no information at all." Batman replied a little cryptically.

"Just give it to me straight will ya..when's this nightmare going to end?..'Cause I gotta tell ya I can't take much more of this"

"For the moment it's not...Dick found absolutely nothing at the wharehouse that was of any benefit to the investigation..and my contact with Zatanna revealed that she has little idea of anyone who would be likely to be able to cause the issues we're facing...She also said it would be very unlikely to be able to undo what's been done without knowing the spell that was used..at least not without some risk to the boy's welfare... She is however investigating all possibilities in order to find alternative solutions."

"Damn!..I knew I wouldn't want to hear that..You've got know idea what I'm facing here Bat's...no idea at all..this kid..he's chaos and mayhem combined..I've faced super villians that were easier to keep under control, I swear he's somehow related to Bart Allen..he doesn't stay still for two sec..." a load clang and a scream stopped the discussion instantly..Ollie spun around suddenly aware that he hadn't heard the boy for a few moments..that situation had just changed as the little boy sat crying loudly on the floor holding his foot tightly...Ollie dropped the cell phone and sprinted towards the wailing child..realizing the boy had somehow managed to lift one of the smaller weights that sat on the floor near the weight bench..dropping it on his foot in the process.

He knelt beside the little boy and attempted to inspect his little foot whilst drawing him into his arms comfortingly at the some time..already a vivid blue black welt had begun to form across the top of thechild's foot..the little boy's cries eased a little and he looked up at Ollie with big tear filled eye's "Hurts Boss man.' he said sadly..before beginning to cry softy again.

Ollie scooped him up.."I know buddy..I know it does." the Archer muttered..feeling a strange sensation of emotion form in his throat at the sound of the little boy's whimpers.

Ollie rapidly headed out of the basement heading quickly towards the kitchen to grab an ice pack from out of the freezer..Calling for Dinah as he went...feeling like the lowest form of life on earth for allowing the boy to get hurt under his watch.

Batman who had been listening on the other end of the phone, scowled at the sounds that reached his ears..it seemed that whenever he spoke to Oliver on the phone the boy was crying….no wonder the child had grown into such a messed up teenager..it was a wonder the boy had even survived a childhood with the Emerald Archer he thought, as he hung up the phone deciding he would call back later to find out if the child had recovered from whatever disaster had befallen him this time, and wondering briefly where Dinah was.

end 5