Tales From the Cave-Wally and the Magic Lamp

Worthless

"Make way, peasants! Make way for your future king!" The Team pushed through the crowds to see what all the fuss was about. Riding down the path to the palace gates was a handsome young man, with brown skin the color of milk chocolate, and a sleek black mustache. He was mounted on a white horse decorated with multicolored jewels in it's mane and tail, with a bridle and reins made of gold that shimmered in the hot African sun.

The man himself was dressed to impress. He wore a loose fitting frock made of the finest, richest silks and satins, lined with gold and silver. He had rings on his fingers and on his toes, set with diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires. On the top of his head was a large turban, sporting more precious stones and even a few ostrich feathers. He held his head up high, confidence radiating off of him.

All of the villagers oohed and aahed over how grand he looked. Even M'gann was in awe. "Wow! He sure knows how to make an impression." Conner cocked his head to the side. "Who is that?" "That is Prince Jupenando!", a middle-aged man whispered to him. "He has traveled far to our kingdom to win the hand of our fair Princess!" A younger man, probably his son, poked him in the ribs with his elbow. "Hey, fifty pieces of silver say this guy lasts only about an hour!"

"What are you talking about?", Kaldur asked. The father sucked his lips in. "Our Princess is fair of face and fair of heart, but she is opposed to the ancient laws of matrimony. She wishes to marry for love, not for power or riches or glory, like previous princesses have thus far." His son snickered. "So far, she's sent over a dozen different suitors packing!"

Robin adjusted his sunglasses.  "Well, I think its great that she knows what marriage is really for."  He and the rest of the Team watched as Prince Jupenando pranced proudly through the streets, snapping at passerby's to get out of his way.  All of the sudden, the two hungry children ran out into his path, chasing the loaf of bread that had tumbled away from them.  The horse neighed and lifted his two front hooves high.

Prince Jupenando was furious.  "You filthy, homeless rats!  How dare you stand in the path of your soon-to-be ruler!"  As he shouted, he pulled out a whip and flung it out behind him, ready to strike.  Everyone gasped in horror as the children huddled together and waited for the first blow.  At the last minute, Wally dove in between them and the prince, letting the whip strike his arm and leave a mark.

He ignored the burning pain and glared up at Prince Jupenando.  "Hey!  Lay off the kids!  If I was as rich as you, I'd go off and buy myself some manners!"  The crowds laughed a bit at his joke.  "Its funny, 'cause its true!"  The prince grew red in his brown face.  "You DARE to insult me?!  Soon, I will be king above all of you!"

Wally cocked his head and quirked an eyebrow.  "Well, at least you don't have any self-esteem issues.  What makes you so sure the Princess will marry you when she's already turned down so many other proposals?"  Prince Jupenando thrust his head high into the air.  "You'll see!  I'll succeed where others have failed!  That Princess would have to be crazy to reject me!"  "She'd have to be crazy not to reject you!", Wally snickered.

Prince Jupenando sneered at him. "Well, look who is talking!", he boomed, swinging his arm at him. Wally fell backwards, into a dark mud puddle on his rear end.  "You're nothing but a filthy commoner!"  He rode his horse through the palace gates.  "You were born a dirty peasant, and you will die a dirty peasant!  Good luck finding a girl yourself!"  And with that, the great gold and ivory gates shut behind the prince, leaving Wally alone, sitting in the mud, while everybody laughed at him.

Robin and Zatanna flew to his side and pulled him to his feet.  "Are you okay?", she asked.  "Anything broken or bruised?"  Wally stared at his muddy hands.  "Just my ego."
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That night, he and the rest of the Team took shelter in an abandoned building, in a room at the top, left in shambles.  It wasn't much to look at, but it was all they could find.  All the inns were full, and no one had room for strangers in their homes.  Wally watched as Conner gave up his blanket for M'gann to sleep with, and felt a twinge of envy.

It had been two years since he had dissed Artemis in front of the entire Team after finding out that she sabotaged their mission.  After that night, she couldn't be in the same room with the others without receiving stares and looks of disgust.  No one would start a conversation with her.  No one trusted her anymore.

A few days afterwards, when on a deep covert mission, some of them found out the truth about her family.  They had all felt so bad, especially Wally.  They understood now why she had strived so hard to hide her true origins.  As soon as the mission was over, Wally zoomed over to her apartment to apologize.  But it was empty.  The neighbors and police told him that Paula Crock had passed away.  After her death, her daughter had disappeared without a trace.

Wally blamed himself for losing Artemis, and so did everyone else.  But even though Wally had been the one to diss her, Roy was getting most of the brunt.  After all, he was the one who threw Artemis under the bus and cast suspicion on her.  Overnight, Roy took her place as the outcast of the Team.  Whenever he entered a room, he was met with death glares.  Then he was given the cold shoulder.  No one would talk to him, no one would trust him.  Especially not Wally.  Green Arrow even withdrew Roy's invitation for Justice League membership after hearing how he'd bullied Artemis to leave the Team.

Wally sat on the open window, taking in the sights before him.  Even though the room was in poor condition, it contained the most breathtaking view of the royal palace.  The palace was constructed of snowy white marble, and it had a dozen towers, with the largest one in the middle. Each tower was topped with a solid gold dome that gleamed in the setting sun, nearly blinding anyone who looked. The main tower had a door carved from the greenest, most beautiful Chinese jade.

You could see the gardens surrounding the palace from behind the ivory gates, full of lush greenery, rare flowers, and tall palms trees dipping in the breezes, and even from miles away, you could see hear the exotic animals, the squawks of the peacocks, the trumpets of the elephants, even the roars of the lionesses. The entire view of the palace was, in a single word, stunning.

Wally leaned on the end of the window and sighed as his mind drifted off to a certain blonde archer. Robin sat down next to him, and one look at Wally's face told him who he was thinking about. "Yeah...I miss Artemis, too. But, hey...all we can do is hope that she's doing good now." Wally stared off at the magnificent structure one last time and thought aloud, "Wherever she is, I hope she's living in a place half as nice as those digs.  Loved and taken care of, without any troubles at all."