Tales From the Cave-Wally and the Magic Lamp

The Power Within

After a few moments, the boys felt themselves crash onto something.  They scrambled to the window, Conner prying it open with his strength, and climbed out.  Waiting for them outside was a frozen wasteland, snow and hail falling heavy over their heads like rain.  They had crashed near the edge of a jagged cliff.  And worst of all, the Timorian royal palace was nowhere in sight.

Kaldur looked out into the vast lands, unable to see far with the snowfall.  "Its gone...", he murmured.  "Its all gone...Count Vertigo has won."  Wally sat down in a snowdrift, depressed and defeated.  "This is all my fault.  I was in way over my head with this whole 'prince' thing.  Why did I ever think I could pull it off?  I'm no prince.  I'm just...I'm just some redheaded loser without a dime to his name.  Without Wisp...I'm nothing."

"Nothing?"  All heads turned to Roy, whose face, despite it being below zero degrees, was growing red hot with fury.  "That's what you think you are?!  Nothing?!"  "Leave me alone, Roy—"  "NO!"  The boys all reared back.  Roy's voice was so loud, they could feel the air tremble in it's wake.  "No!  No!  No!", he went on, shouting, his lips curled into a sneer.  "I've had it!  I've bit my tongue for way too long!"  He pointed a finger right at Wally as he stormed towards him.  "Now, I am going to talk, and for once, YOU are going to listen!"

Wally was so shocked by his sudden outburst, he let Roy go on.  "The Wally West that I know wouldn't throw in the towel so easily!  He gets knocked down almost everyday, by everything and everyone—"  "Great pep talk."  "But he doesn't give up!  He just keeps fighting until he, and his friends, come out on top!" Wally shook his head. "But now look around! We're in the middle of nowhere, Vertigo's in power, and he's got our girls, too! Without Wisp—"

"Oh, Wisp, Wisp, Wisp!", Roy repeated in a mocking tone. "I'm sorry...was Wisp chosen to fetch the lamp? Did Wisp gain entry into the Cave of Wonders? Is Wisp the diamond in the rough? No! That was you! You got the lamp! You wooed Artemis at the marketplace and on the balcony! You figured out Vertigo's plot before anyone else! You freed the King from his trance! Wisp didn't do any of that! You did! You've taken down Vertigo before, without Wisp, and you can take him down without him again!"

Slowly, Wally stood up, his green eyes flashing with a newfound spark, a spark of determination. It filled Roy with pride beyond words seeing that spark glimmer in Wally's eyes once again. "You know something, Roy?...You're right! I was Kid Flash before I met Wisp, and I'm still Kid Flash now! I've been so busy trying to be Prince William, I forgot that I'm powerful by just being me! Genie or no genie, Vertigo's about to feel the sting of superheroes!"

The guys all cheered at his declaration. Kaldur's smile slowly faded. "But...how do we get out of here? We don't even know the way back to Timoria." "I've got this.", Robin said. All curious eyes were on him as he reached into his utility belt—and pulled out the entire magic carpet out of one pocket alone! "Dude! How did you do that?" "Apparently, Carpet here has experience squeezing into tight spaces.", Robin said with a smirk. He and the animated object shared a high five.

The carpet expanded as Wally and the others boarded him, and flew off into the sky, blurred with snow, pronouncing, "Look out! Here comes Wally West!"
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Meanwhile, Vertigo had done a lot in the small time since he'd banished the boys from Timoria. Overnight, he had transformed the blissful dream of a kingdom into a living nightmare. He sent all working-class citizens to mine in the caves for him. Small children, old people, there were no exceptions. As for the nobility, they had been stripped of all their wealth and privileges, and were reduced to servants under the members of the Light.

The worst was what he did to the King, his daughter and her friends. The blinding white marble walls of their Royal Palace had turned as black as night, and the gleaming tower tops of gold had been replaced with iron, as red and as hot as the fires of hell. The treasures of the kingdom had vanished under Vertigo's spell, in their places, statues bearing his wicked likeness and those of the partners who had assisted him in his coup.