Tales From the Cave-Wally and the Magic Lamp

Only the Beginning

Artemis sat at her vanity desk, humming a tune as she brushed her extra-long blond hair. She stared at herself in her crystal glass mirror, lost in her own fantasies. To be so dopey and romantic was nothing like her, but tonight was an exception as she felt her heart soar high above the clouds and among the stars in the sky.

She was brought out of her joyful daze by the sound of her father's voice. "Artemis?" She turned around to see her father standing in the doorway of her bedroom. "Oh, Papa!", she cried, rising to her feet and walking over, spinning and sighing in delight. "You will never believe what happened to me! I've never felt so happy before!" "You should feel happy!", Kamobye told her. Something in his tone brought Artemis down from cloud nine.

His voice was in a monotone, no feeling, no emotion. His face was completely stoic, and there was something different in his eyes that made her joy quickly turn to concern.  "Father?  Are you okay?"  "Of course I am.", he replied.  "As a matter of fact, I have good news for you."  Her smile returned.  "Really?  I have great news for you, too!"

"I have finally chosen a husband for you.", Kamobye told her.  Her smile disappeared once more.  "Wh-What?  Who?"  "You will marry Vertigo."  Artemis gasped in horror as said villainous vizier entered on cue.  She was still and silent as he smiled at her and he took her hand.  "I see that Your Highness is speechless.  A perfect quality for a wife."  Regaining her senses, she pushed him away, snapping at him, "I'd rather be married to the devil!"

She ran to her father, grabbing him by the shoulders.  "Father, I've already chosen for myself!", she pleaded to him.  "I want to marry Prince William!"  Vertigo pulled her away, gripping her by the wrists so tightly, her skin began to bruise.  "Your Highness, I regret to inform that Prince William has gone...absent without leave."  "No!", Artemis cried.  "He wouldn't do that!  He wouldn't leave me!"

Vertigo grinned wickedly from ear to ear.  "Oh, but he has."  "Then why am I still here?"  All heads turned to see Prince William standing right outside the balcony, his friends right behind him.  "William!"  Now it was Vertigo's turn to be speechless.  "But-But how—"  Artemis ran to the prince.  "I knew you wouldn't leave me!"  "Not by my will!", he said, pointing directly at Vertigo.  "He made me leave—by throwing me off a cliff!"

Vertigo turned to the King.  "Preposterous!  This boy is a liar!  You ought to have him arrested, Your Majesty..."  And that's when Wally saw it.  The sudden color change in Vertigo's eyes, the way fiery red swirled in Kamobye's pupils, the brainwashed tone in Kamobye's voice.  "Lying...arrest..."

"Father!  What is wrong with you?!", Artemis cried as she shook Kamobye by his arms.  Wally pointed right at the former count.  "Its Vertigo!  He's hypnotizing the King!"  Wally looked at Zatanna.  "Zee, you know what to do!"  She pointed her hands at the wicked vizier.  "Kaerb sih dloh no eht Gnik!"  At once, the red-hot flames in Vertigo's eyes evaporated, and thus, so did those in Kamobye's.

He shook his head, dazed and confused, as if he had just awoken from a dream.  "Wha...What happened?"  "Its Vertigo, Your Majesty!", Wally told him.  "He was controlling your mind!"  "Controlling my...what for?"  "Vertigo!", Artemis cried, coming yo realization.  "He tried to make you force me to marry him!"

That woke the king right up.  "What?!"  He growled right at his formerly most-trusted advisor, who was starting to sweat bullets.  "You-Your Majesty, I can explain—"  Kamobye stormed towards him.  "You traitor!", he roared.  "You can mess with me!  You can mess with my kingdom!  But never, and I mean NEVER, mess with my family!"

Count Vertigo backed up as everyone cornered him.  "Now, now, I'm sure we can sort this out nice and calm—"  GUARDS!  Arrest him!"  At the King's orders, the two soldiers that guarded the Princess's bedroom swooped in and grabbed Vertigo, his struggles useless in their steel grips.  "Vermin Vertigo,", Kamobye boomed in his low voice.  "As King of Timoria, I hereby find you guilty of high treason against the crown!  As punishment, you are stripped of your titles and sentenced to death!"

"NO!", Vertigo screamed as the guards took him away.  "No!  You can't do this to me!"  Wally smirked at his foe.  "Its over, Vertigo!  You lose!"  Just then, Vertgio caught a glimpse of a copper glimmer on the prince.  He looked down to see a copper oil lamp attached to his belt. That was when all the little pieces came together, and Vertigo realized the truth.

Feeling his confidence return, he released an evil cackle. "You oblivious fools!", he said. "You think this is the end?!" A tiny blue ball appeared between his fingers. "On the contrary! This is only the beginning!" And with those words spoken, he dropped the ball at his feet. The moment it made contact with the floor, him and the guards were engulfed in a cloud of deep blue smog. When it cleared, Vertigo had vanished, the guards empty-handed.

Kamobye was outraged.  "Find him!  Find Vertigo!  Hunt him down!"  The guards saluted their king and hurried off to begin their search.  Artemis ran to his side.  "Father!  Are you alright?"  His bulky hands flew to his temples and rubbed deep into them.  "I can't believe it.  After your mother died, Vertigo was the one I trusted most.  My best counselor...stabs me in the back!"

"Oh, and how will I bear the weight of my responsiblities now without him? What with you refusing to chose a husband and all..." "But I have chosen, Father! I choose Prince William!" "Oh, its going to be so—" He stopped to stare at his daughter. "You've chosen?" She nodded happily.

Kamobye grinned from ear to ear, the brightness of his smile rivaling that of a thousand suns. "Oh! Oh, happy day! Thank the Gods!"  He clapped his hands in delight as Artemis and her chosen spouse wrapped their arms around one another. "We must get started at once on the wedding preparations! We will announce the engagement tomorrow! You will be wed as soon as possible, and you'll both live long and prosperous, and then, one day, you will be King and Queen of this great land!"

Wally looked up at Kamobye. "Wait...King?" "Of course!", Kamobye exclaimed. "A fine upstanding young man of your wisdom and character, is exactly what this kingdom needs!" Artemis happily lay her head on Wally's shoulder, not noticing the uncertain expression on his face.
---------------
Vertigo whisked into the Light Headquarters, where Vandal Savage was holding his head in his hands and Klaricon was pacing back and forth, while rambling. "Its over! We're done! All our plotting and planning and hard work, down the drain! We might as well dig our own graves right now, 'cause that's where gonna end—"

He was cut off by Vertigo he became hysterical with laughter. He screeched and shrieked and banged on the door. Everyone watched him. "Oy...", Sportsmaster groaned, running his hands over his face. "It finally happened. He's cracked under the pressure." He grabbed Vertigo by the arms and shook him violently. "You! Get! A! Grip!"

Vertigo let out one last malicious chuckled. "How did I not see it before? I should've recognized him from day one!" "Recognized who?" "Prince William!", Vertigo cried. "He's a fake! He's really that worthless red-haired urchin, Kid Flash in disguise! He's been trying to pass himself off as a prince in order to win the Princess!" Vandal Savage's face twisted in anger. "Why, that miserable little—how dare he meddle with our plans!"

"But I don't get it!", Sportsmaster said.  "How did the twerp survive the Cave?"  "He has the Genie's lamp!", Vertigo said.  "That's how he got out of the Cave, and how he survived the oceans!  He's been using the power of the Genie to grant him riches to impress the King and his daughter!"  "Well, that explains a lot!", Ra's Al Ghul said.  "But what can we do about it?"

"Are you joking?", Vertigo said, smiling evilly.  "This is perfect!  The supreme opportunity has fallen right on our laps!  With that street rat in the palace, the key to our plans is right in our reach!  All we have to do is somehow sneak that lamp away from him, and everything else will fall into place."  The HQ was filled the sounds of maniacal laughter.