Tales From the Cave-Wally and the Magic Lamp

Out in the World

"Okay, team.  Go!", Kaldur whispered to the others.  Conner and M'gann approached one of the fruits stands, hand-in-hand.  The seller held up a fresh, juicy watermelon.  "Try this!", he exclaimed to the people passing by.  "Your tastebuds will tingle!"  The alien couple looked at him.  He gave them a warm, friendly smile.  "Ah!  And how can I serve such a lovely pair of lovers?"

As they talked to one another, him negotiating, them procrastinating, Robin did the ninja thing, making no sounds as he swiped a dozen of the largest, juiciest watermelons that the seller had to offer, passing them over to the rest of the Team, who were crouched over in the shadows.  Finally, he gave Superboy and Miss Martian the thumbs up sign and disappeared.

"Y'know what?  I think we'll pass on a melon today.  Let's go, Conner."  As they walked away, the fruit seller turned around to see that half of his wares had up and vanished.  "Wha—?!"  He looked around, but there was no trace of the person—or people—who had stolen his fruit.

Conner and M'gann regrouped with the others atop the tallest tent, so high, they were out of sight from the guards or the merchants.  Wally took out his swiss army knife and began to cut the stolen watermelons into juicy slices.  "C'mon, you guys!  These bad boys aren't going to make it to the needy families by themselves!"
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It had been twelve hours since Artemis had escaped over the palace wall onto freedom.  Yet, she loved the outside already.  She had never truly seen Timoria anywhere outside the walls.  Her mother and father had carried her to the palace while she was unconscious, and after she woke up, she was never allowed to set one foot beyond the palace territory.

But that was then, and this was now. The streets were paved with wonders that Artemis had never before beheld. Children surrounded street performers, who swallowed swords, breathed fire, and twisted their bodies into knots. Lining the streets were all sorts of booths, stands and kiosks, selling everything from ripe fruit to expensive jewelry.

As she walked past the merchants, they extended whatever treasures they were selling towards her.  "Lovely lady, buy a pot!  No better pot in bronze, brass or silver!"  "Sugared dates!  Sugared dates and figs to fill your belly!  Sugared dates and pistachios!"  "Would the young lady like a ruby necklace?  A pretty necklace for the pretty lady!"

As Artemis politely turned him down, she stumbled backwards into a street performer, who had just put a lit match into his mouth.  He coughed and coughed.  "Omigosh!  I am so—"  He let loose a loud burp that caused a great blast of red-hot flame to erupt from his mouth.  "...Sorry."  He smiled at her, his teeth covered in black soot.  "Oh, its quite alright.  Comes with the job."

Wally sat atop the tent, slicing the melons and minding his own business, when a hot burst of fire reached near the top, warming parts of him directed towards it, accompanied by a great gurgling sound.  "What the—?!"  He dropped what he was doing and leaned over the side of the tent to see what was going on.  What he saw next knocked the wind right out of him.

It was her.  Standing there, next to one of the fire-breathers, dressed in shapeless brown cloth, but smiling that lovely smile of hers all the same, was Artemis.  She looked a little older, with a touch of makeup here and there on her face, but even from ten feet off the ground, Wally could tell in an instant that it was Artemis.  His Artemis.  When Batman assigned the Team to Timoria to help the poor, Wally was a little bummed to be going to a place with no technology.  But now, as he watched her smile and walk down the streets, he felt like kissing Batman on the cheek for sending them here.

"Wally?"  Everyone looked at Wally, whose attention was directed who-knows-where and not on helping them cut the food they had obtained for the needy people living on the streets.  "Wally?"  Robin leaned towards his best buddy.  "KF?!", he shouted, catching him by surprise and almost making him stumble over the edge of the tent.  He turned around to glare at the Boy Wonder.  "Dude!"  "What are you staring at?"

Wally pointed downwards, towards Artemis, who was walking up to a stand showing off the reddest, most delicious-looking apples she'd ever seen.  Standing by was a ragged little boy.  He was very skinny, and he had large, sad puppy-dog eyes that looked at the apples with longing.  The look on his face broke her heart.  "Oooohh...are you hungry?"  The boy stared up at her with glassy eyes and nodded.

She took one of the apples and passed it to him.  "Here you are."  The boy thanked her with a smile and a kiss on the cheek before skipping off to enjoy his snack.  The apple merchant stepped behind her.  "You're going to have to pay for that, madam."  Artemis turned around to face him.  "Pay?"  She had become so accustomed to royal life, she had forgotten that normal people couldn't get things for free.

She found herself at a loss for words as she pulled her hood tighter over her head.  "I-I'm sorry, sir, I-I don't have any money."  "How DARE you!", the merchant roared as he snatched her hand, his face turning purple with rage.  "NO ONE steals from my cart!  NO ONE!"  Artemis struggled to pry her wrist loose from his grip.  "Look, if you just give me a while, I can get some money from the king!"

"LIAR!", he shouted, his yellow teeth bared in a cruel sneer.  He slammed her hand down against the table hard, hokding it in place as she struggled to break free.  "Do you know what the penalty is for stealing?!"  He drew his sword and brought it over his head.  Artemis gasped in horror.  "No!  Please!" 

Right before he could bring the sword down to strike, a hand held his arm up.  "Oh!  Thank you, kind sir! I'm SO glad you found her!" Artemis had shut her eyes in terror, too afraid to witness her fate. But when she felt the merchant's hand release hers, she took a leap of courage and opened one eye. She was shocked to see just who had come to her rescue. "Wally?!"

Wally looked at her from over her shoulder, his freckled cheeks bursting from the grin on his face, his green eyes lit up as he threw her a wink. "Young lady, where have you been? I've been looking all over this place for you!" "What are you doing?", she whispered. "Just play along!", he told her underneath his breath.

The merchant caught his attention. "You know this little thief?" Wally gave him one of his sly grins that he usually wore while he was picking up girls. "She's my sister." He leaned in. "She's a little crazy.", he whispered. "She said she knows the king.", the merchant growled. Wally laughed. "She thinks that guy is the king.", he said, pointing to Robin.

Robin blinked twice behind his dark glasses. "Me?" Artemis got the hint. "Oh, Your Majesty!", she exclaimed, falling to her knees and bowing before him. "I am humbled to be in your presence." Robin chuckled his signature laugh. "Yes, so, if you'll excuse me, kind sir, ", Wally said as he pulled Artemis to her feet. "We'll be going now." He pulled her away. "C'mon, sis, time to see the doctor." She stopped in front of a camel. "Hello, doctor." "No, no, no, no, no, not that doctor."

When he was certain they were out if sight, Wally looked her right in the eye. "I can't believe it! Its really you!"