Tales From the Cave-Wally and the Magic Lamp

One More Trick Up My Sleeve

Vertigo growled as he saw Wally reach for the lamp. "YOU!" How are you still alive?! What must I do to get rid of you?!" He thrust his hands out towards Wally, a blast of red lightning shooting from his fingertips. Before the ray could make contact with Wally, a blur of red and black threw itself in front of him. "No!"

It hit the blur instead of Wally, collapsing as it was covered in dark magic electricity. It was then that everyone could see what it was. "Roy!" Red Arrow pushed himself upwards weakly to look at Wally. "Forget about me! Get the lamp back!" Vertigo charged at Kid Flash, using his superpowers to weaken him. Falling on his knees, he looked at Artemis. "Artemis...get...the lamp..."

With her agile legs, she sprinted towards the lamp, sitting on the throne armrest. Vertigo caught her from out of the corner if his eye. "Oh, no, you don't!" He shot her with one hand. "Your time is up, Princess!" The next thing Artemis knew, she was sealed within the bottom half of a gigantic hourglass. Heaps of sand poured from the upper half through the bottleneck and piled at her feet. Soon, it would fill completely—with her inside.

She banged on the glass with both fists, crying for help. "Let me out! Let me out!" Wally was horrified. "Artemis!" Conner broke M'gann's chains, and they ran to get the lamp. "Don't toy around with me!" With a blast of red light, they were transformed into Barbie-and-Ken-like dolls. Kaldur and Raquel rushed to get it. "You're in for a dry spell!" A small sun appeared over their heads, weakening them with it's intense heat.

Robin led Zatanna towards the lamp. "Things are starting to unravel fast for you!" A rope animated itself and wrapped itself tightly around the two. With Vertigo distracted, Wally ran over to grab the lamp. "Do you get my point?" He was only a foot away when a dozen jagged swords rained down and punctured the ground around the lamp, guarding it like the bars of a prison.

Wally slipped his arms through and stretched out his arm towards the lamp, only to Vertigo snatch it out of his reach. "I'm just getting warmed up!" He snapped his fingers, and a ring of fire formed around Wally. "Ready to admit defeat, boy?" He looked around at all his friends—Roy struggling with red electrics, dolly Megan and Conner, tied-up Dick and Zatanna, heated Kaldur and Zatanna. He looked at Artemis, still trapped inside the hourglass, now up to her armpits in sand. "Wally!"

"Artemis! Hang on!" "You foolish boy!", Vertigo said, grinning maniacally at him. "Did you really think you could outwit me?! Me, Vertigo, the most powerful man on the planet?! You thought you could make me slip up now, when the power of the Genie's lamp is now mine and not yours to command?! You're just a poorly-dressed common pest!" He stepped closer, his face shadowed by the flames surrounding Kid Flash. "Face it, boy. Without the Genie, you are nothing."

All of the sudden, a lightbulb went off in Wally's head. The Genie... He looked over at Wisp, wanting so desperately to help, but held back by the rules of the lamp. The Genie...that's it! He looked back at his foe with a cocky grin. "No, Vertigo! Without the Genie, YOU'RE nothing!" "What?!", Vertigo growled.

"Wisp has more power than you'll ever have!", Wally pronounced. "She gave you your power! She can take it all away!" "Dude!", Robin whispered fiercely. "What do you think you're doing?!" Wally pretended not to hear him. "Face it, jerkface!", he spat in Vertigo's face. "No matter what, you'll always be second best!"

Vertigo's gray eyes grew wide with realization. "He's right. The Genie's power does exceed my own..." His sinister snake-like grin returned. "...but not for long." He turned to Wisp, cowering behind a marble column. "Slave! I am ready to make my third and final wish!" All time stood still as Vertigo exclaimed with wicked glee. "I wish to become an all-powerful genie!" Wisp gulped. "As you wish!" She clapped her hands together.

At once, Vertigo was engulfed in a great bright light. Wally looked away just in time to see Artemis's raised overhead hands disappear into the sand. He sped through the open flames, barely escaping the fire, grabbed a mallet, and smashed in the glass. The sand spilled out of the opening, and with it, Artemis, breathless and gasping.

Vertigo grew to humongous size, taking on a completely new form, his skin turning sickly pale green, his eyes glowing solid red, his teeth and nails becoming long and pointed. "AT LAST!", he called out, his voice so loud, the earth trembled when he spoke. "THE POWER! THE UNLIMITED POWER! THE EARTH, THE STARS, THE PLANETS, THE GALAXIES—ALL NOW MINE TO COMMAND!"

Artemis looked in fear and terror at the transformed Vertigo. She turned to Wally and slapped him across the face. "You dunderhead! Do you have any idea what you've done?!" Wally noticed a little black oil lamp form itself underneath Vertigo. "Oh, trust me! I know exactly what I've done!"

"NOTHING CAN STOP ME NOW! NOTHING!" "Not so fast, Vertigo!" He looked down to see that measly little nobody Kid Flash standing beneath him. "You're forgetting something! You wanna be a genie, you got it!" He held up the black oil lamp like a first place trophy. "And everything that goes with it!"

Vertigo was horrified to see black armband shackles appear on his wrists. Suddenly, he found himself screaming bloody murder as his own genie form started swirling like a tornado, towards the narrow opening of the black lamp. The Light and the Shadows were all there, watching in horror. "Let's get out of here!", Sportsmaster said. Vertigo saw his "friends" running from him for their lives. "NO! I'm not going alone!"

He reached out his hands, using the last of his strength to pull the members of the Light in with him. "Hey! What are ya doing?!", Klarion cried. "You wanted to be the genie! You go in!" Their pleas fell deaf ears as they were sucked inside the lamp with Vertigo. Wally grinned as all of his enemies vanished through the sprout of the lamp. "Ultimate cosmic power—" The dust settled, and Wally smirked. "Itty bitty living space."

At once, all of Vertigo's spells, charms and transformations were broken. The suns over Kaldur and Raquel's heads disappeared. Conner and M'gann returned to human form. Sultan turned back into a big strong ferocious tiger. Kamobye's jester outfit was replaced with his royal robes, and his belled hat with his golden king's crown. Even Artemis's skimpy slave girl outfit was formed into her lavender silk gown, her hair adorned with flowers and ribbons.

Robin and Zatanna were freed as the rope unraveled itself. He ran over to his best friend with the biggest grin on his face. "Wally, you are a genius!" He stopped and held up one finger. "Wow. Never thought I'd say that." Without a word, Kamobye plucked the lamp from Wally's hands and held it out. "Guards!" The newly released palace guards appeared at once, ready to resume serving their true King.

"Throw this into the dungeon, and make sure it never can be found again!" The head guard took the lamp and led the others to hide it, and hide it well. And hide it well they did. The lamp would be lost in the desert sands, never to be found again. Vertigo and his partners had lost their long battle, and were now lost in time forever.