*drum roll* Here it is folks. The one. The only. SUPERBOY! Du-du-du-duuuuu!
Kudos to everyone who guessed his fairy tale right! (and random shout out to that one person whom I told Superboy was going to be Lilo and the Sphere was going to be Stitch. . . you know I was fooling, haha)
Also, a biiig shout out to Karma Killer 11 for making me some super-special-awesome fanart of M'gann in her Cindy-rella rags! It's absolutely fantastic and you should all go find the link to it on my profile. Right now. You can read the story later. Shoo, shoo!
Disclaimer: Fine DC, you can have it! (I'm lying. You guys can help me you know. Bring me to power, and I promise Robin will be forced to wear a dress or miniskirt at least five times in Young Justice. I'll also bring back his short-pants for one episode. Oh, and on the series finale, Wally will ravage him. Then marry him. Then ravage him some more. . .)
They were lost. Sort of.
"DOES THIS KINGDOM EVER END!" Wally screamed, kicking a tree. A flock of birds wearing tiny red capes flew out of the tree and the surrounding treetops in terror. Artemis hit him upside the head.
"Whether or not it ends, screaming won't solve anything! So shut it, Prince Spazz-case!"
Wally glowered at her, rubbing his head. "Easy for you to say, we wouldn't be in this situation if you had read the map right!"
"Wally, don't blame Artemis. She did nothing wrong," Kaldur said, stepping into what had become his reoccurring role of referee.
"We're not lost, moron. The map says to pass through the Super Kingdom and head north. We're in the Super Kingdom and we're going north, so technically, we're right on course."
"Yeah, you're forgetting the part where we CAN'T GET OUT!" A squirrel wearing a little red cape ran by and he screamed in frustration. "What is up with this place!"
M'gann watched the squirrel run past with a smile. She thought all the little caped critters were cute, personally. "Come on guys, fighting won't help. Let's just keep traveling. We're bound to run into someone eventually, and maybe they can give us directions."
"Or we can just keep traveling north like we have been," Roy suggested, looking up at the sky to gauge the sun's position. "The Super Kingdom is the largest kingdom on Earth, it's going to take a while to travel through it, whether we like it or not."
Wally slumped his shoulders in defeat, but trudged forward nonetheless. "Yeah, I know. It's just, it's already been like, forever since we got here!"
"Wally?"
Wally kicked a stone at his feet. "Yeah, M'gann?"
"Is that smoke?"
He looked up, his face breaking into an ear splitting grin. "Yes! Alright guys! Smoke means fire means people!" He pointed toward the spiraling fumes, "Onward and smokeward!"
The others (Artemis excluded) laughed, glad to see their leader (of sorts) in high spirits again as he raced toward the pillar.
Wally had the endurance of a champion (it came with belonging to the royal family of Flash), so they had to ask him to stop running after a while and they continued on at a slower pace until they found themselves at a small village.
"Come on, let's find a place to eat! My treat!" Wally cried, dashing into the town.
It didn't take them long to find an inn willing to serve them (Wally's wooden credit card was an impressive sign of wealth, after all). The group's colorful and foreign clothing quickly caught the attention of the villagers, who loitered around the inn to watch them. It didn't take the group long to realize that everyone was wearing a red cape. They didn't bother asking.
An elderly man (wearing a frayed, equally elderly cape) finally approached them, watching Wally inhale all the food before him for a few seconds before focusing on the rest of the group.
"Hello there. What brings you young folk to our boring little village?"
M'gann smiled. "Nice to meet you, sir. We're just passing through. We're on a quest, you see."
"There's a tower north of here surrounded by thorns that this guy," Roy pointed his thumb toward Wally, "has business with."
The old man's eyebrow went up. "Thorns, you say? Why, you must mean the enchanted castle!"
Wally stopped eating and turned in his stool to look at the man. "You know where the tower is!"
He nodded. "Yes, yes, I believe so. Just north of this village there's a forest of thorns, at the center of which is an enchanted castle," he lowered his voice and leaned closer to them, "However, there is a beast living in the tower. A horrible, deadly beast."
Kaldur nodded. "I can't say I'm surprised. Deadly obstacles are usually involved in these kinds of exploits, aren't they?"
"Yeah, when I first met Arty I had mistaken her tower for mine, and I actually thought she was a witch guarding-Ow! What? What did you expect me to-Ow! Cut it out!" he snapped. Artemis crossed her arms with a huff and looked pointedly away.
"Anyway," he continued, glaring at Artemis before returning his attention to the old man, "as I was saying, I'm prepared to take on this beast. Where is this tower, old man?"
This time M'gann hit him. "He meant 'Where is this tower, sir?', sir."
Wally rubbed his head, pouting. Artemis was a bad influence on sweet little M'gann.
"About two miles north. You won't have to travel far before you see the thorns."
"Awesome, thanks old-I mean, thanks sir!" He glanced around at his comrades. "This is it guys!" His voice got quieter, as if he was speaking to himself, and he stared down at his lap. "This is really it. I'll finally see my princess. . ." he looked up again, "You guys. . . are you sure you want to do this? This beast is probably dangerous. You've already been through a lot with me. I'll understand if you want to go home now."
Roy hit him, continuing the new trend. "Don't be stupid, stupid. I'm not going to follow you around this long and not see the conclusion."
"You'd die without us anyway," Artemis added with a smirk.
"I'm seeing this through to the end, no matter what that end may be," Kaldur promised, placing a hand on Wally's shoulder.
M'gann nodded. "Me too Wally. What kind of friends would we be if we abandoned you now, when you needed us most?"
Wally smiled, looking at them all in turn. "Thanks guys, that means a lot. You're all really, really great friends." He stood up. "Come on, I'll rent us some rooms for the night so we can get a decent night's sleep before we head out, alright?"
"Sounds great, thanks Wally!" M'gann chimed.
Wally paid for two rooms, one for the girls and one for the boys, and they all started up the stairs. Passing him, Kaldur hit him on the back of the head.
"Ow! What was that for?"
Kaldur grinned. "What can I say? I didn't want to be left out." He laughed and Wally couldn't help the smile that graced his lips as he rubbed the back of his head. His friends were such dorks.
The group woke up bright and early and headed out as soon as they finished breakfast. Well rested and well feed, they made excellent timing and it wasn't long before they found themselves confronted with a thicket of thorns.
"Man that's a lot of thorns," Wally sighed, glancing at his sword hilt. Hopefully old reliable would be able to handle it.
"Quite whining, Prince Flasher. We'll be fine."
Wally nonchalantly stepped on Roy's foot (it would have been awesome if Roy hadn't responded by punching in the back and making him stumble forward). Now mere inches from the closest thorn branch, Wally took a deep breath and unsheathed his sword. "Alright you guys, let's hope this forest isn't as thick as it is tall," he turned to face them all, "Stick together. If anyone gets stuck, give a shout right away, don't try to get yourself free then shout when the rest of us are already way ahead. I'll take the front and try to clear a path, Arty, you'll be right behind with your dagger, to help me out. Roy, you're next, then M'gann and Kaldur. Everyone understand?"
They nodded and Wally turned back around and took his first swing at the thorns, watching as a few branches fell away.
"Keep your eyes open for the beast you guys. He probably won't be in the forest, since thorns kind of hurt, but you never know. Stay sharp."
They silently agreed, following after Wally as he hacked his way through. It took about seven hours to get through with only the two blades (they also had to stop when Artemis' hair got caught in the thorns, they spend a while trying to free her until Wally finally hacked the majority of it off) , and they all collapsed to the ground the moment they reached a clearing.
Sweat pouring from his brow, Wally lifted his head from the soothingly cold dirt below him to scan his surroundings. No beast in sight, but there was a large black castle about half a mile in front of them.
"There it is," he said between breaths, "Let's rest a minute, then we'll keep going, okay?"
The others made noises of agreement, too tired for words.
While in the forest, the group had eaten the food Wally had packed in the burlap sack he kept from when he bought M'gann's gown. It wasn't exactly practical, but they felt safer eating while protected by the thorns than out in the open, and they needed to keep their strength up. After a minute of two of rest, they got to their feet and continued their trek.
They stuck close to one another, keeping watch for the beast until they reached the castle. The moment they reached the drawbridge, which was down, it started to rain, as if on cue.
"Stereotypical thunder and lightening. . ." A flash of lightening lit the area, followed by a loud clap of thunder, "Check." Wally said, glancing around. "Should we go inside?"
"Might as well," Artemis said, shouldering past him and walking across the drawbridge, ringing out her hair as she did (Wally had cut it at her shoulders in the forest, but by the time they got out it was already nearly to her lower back). The others followed.
The inside of the castle was just as doom and gloom as the outside, the only light coming from a few crackling torches on the wall. M'gann crossed her arms over her chest, shivering. "What a dreary place to live. . ."
"Yeah," Wally breathed, glancing around. This castle was nothing like Uncle Barry's. The Flash castle was bright and cheery. It could even be called homey, for a castle.
Something glass shattered to their left and they all spun to face the sound. Standing in one of the dark corridors was a young man with black hair wearing dark blue slacks and a black tailcoat over a red dress shirt. Around his neck was what appeared to be a black metal collar with some sort of red gem embedded in the center. Scattered around his heavy black boots were the glittering remains of what seemed to be a glass of water. He looked kind of angry.
"What are you doing here?" he seethed, clenching his fists.
Okay, definitely angry.
"Umm. . ." Wally began, but was cut off before he could think of an intelligent reply.
"You shouldn't be here!" he bellowed, charging toward them. They all yelled and dodged out of the way, leaving the stranger to punch the wall that was behind them. The stone began to crumble.
Wally held up his sword in a defensive stance. "Hey buddy, calm down. We didn't mean to intrude." Actually they did, but whatever. They didn't know he was there. He should have had a mailbox or something.
"Get out! You don't belong here!" He charged again and the rest of them scattered while Wally stood his ground, swinging his sword. The man stopped and turned aside, trying to dodge, so Wally only grazed his arm. He let out a roar of rage and Wally dove to the side just in time to miss the punch aimed his way.
"Wally, over here!"
Looking up, Wally found Roy and ran toward him. The enraged man chased after him.
"Duck!"
Wally hit the floor at light speed (excellent ducking skills were another Flash family specialty) and four arrows zoomed overhead. He glanced behind him to see the man pinned to the wall by his coat. He growled threateningly and pulled forward, the seams of his coat ripping.
"Chill out, will you!" Artemis screamed, stomping to the head of the group, "What's your problem? We didn't do anything to you!"
"This is MY castle! Get out!"
"Well, maybe if you didn't leave the drawbridge wide open, we wouldn't be in here! Ever stop to think we just wanted to ask for directions! Huh? Stop being such a dick!"
He tried to lunged forward again. A sleeve ripped off.
"Please don't be angry! We didn't mean any harm, I promise!" M'gann cried, coming forward to stand by Artemis. The man stopped struggling.
"I'm. . . angry?"
They all shared a look. "Um. . . yes?" She said uncertainly, glancing at Artemis for support. Artemis shrugged.
The man's head dropped, the fight seeming to leave his body. "I'm sorry. . . I didn't realize."
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "You didn't know you were angry?"
The man sighed. "It's difficult to explain."
Roy crossed his arms. "We have time."
A pained (or was that annoyed?) expression crossed his face. He sighed. "Fine. My name is Superboy, I'm the prince of the Super Kingdom." He reached up and ripped the remaining arrows from his coat, freeing himself. They all put their guard up.
"You are the prince of the largest kingdom in the world!" Kaldur exclaimed, surprise taking over his features. "What are you doing in a place like this?"
Superboy turned his gaze to the floor. "My father, King Clark, banished me here."
"Why would he do that?" M'gann asked, immediately sympathetic, as was her nature.
"My father and I lived comfortably together for a long time. But one night, years ago, a woman who introduced herself as Dinah stopped by the castle in the middle of the night. When I answered the door, she handed me a cage with a black canary in it. It was raining out and I didn't want to stay at the door, so I thanked her and shut the door."
"You didn't invite her in. . .?" Artemis asked, her voice laced with incredulity.
Superboy looked up to regard her, confused. "Should I have?"
"Yes!" she exclaimed, "It was raining! People don't just stop by and give away fancy canaries without wanting something in return! Didn't you think it was odd that she was giving you a present!"
Super frowned. "I never thought about it like that. . ."
Artemis grumbled something about men, but otherwise kept silent, mindful enough of triggering his strange temperament.
"What happened next, Superboy?" M'gann prompted.
"She broke down the door. She was really upset. She told me she was an enchantress and she was going to curse me, as punishment for my actions. She cast a spell and this collar," he gestured to the metal band around his neck, "appeared. She said the gem was something called red kryptonite and if I couldn't find a way to get it off during the canary's lifetime, I would die. I had never heard of red kryptonite, but my father had. He seemed upset and watched me carefully for the next few days. The longer I wore the collar, the worse my temper became. The smallest things would make me angry. Father tried to get the collar off, but it wouldn't budge. Eventually he gave up and banished me to this castle. I've been here alone ever since," he hung his head, "I've tried everything to break the spell, but. . ." He sighed. "The canary isn't doing so well either. It's sick, but no matter what I do, it doesn't seem to get better. I'm running out of time. . ."
"You poor thing. I can't believe King Clark would banish his own son," M'gann said. She turned to face the others. "Do you think there's anything we can do to help?"
"You have no idea how to break the spell?" Roy asked, placing a hand to his chin.
Superboy shook his head. "She didn't say. I've done all I could think of. You don't have to bother. It's a hopeless case."
M'gann stepped closer and put a hand on his arm. "Don't say that Superboy, nothing is ever hopeless. Come on, why don't you show us this canary and I can fix your coat?"
Superboy nodded, leading them through the castle. Now that he was calm, they all took the opportunity to observe their surroundings.
"Man, everything's so bleak. How do you stand living here?" Wally asked, staring at the barren stone walls.
Superboy shrugged. "I don't really mind," a pause, "Why are you all here anyway? Are you really lost?"
Wally sighed. "Kind of? We're looking for a tower surrounded by thorns in the Kingdom of Bats, and we thought this castle might have been it. Cause of the thorns and all. The princess there has been cursed with an enchanted slumber and I'm on a quest to save her. My friends are helping me."
Superboy glanced over his shoulder at him quickly, almost shyly. "The Kingdom of Bats? I remember when that happened. I was really young though. The whole kingdom is basically in ruins now. No one goes there anymore."
Wally perked up. "So, you know where it is?"
"The kingdom? Yes. I could show you to the tower too," he frowned, "If I could leave, that is. Traveling with me wouldn't be safe."
They reached a dark room (then again, all the rooms looked like they were dark), the only light coming from a large bay window. Next to the window was a table with an ornate gold cage sitting atop it. Inside was a lone black canary who chirped pitifully upon seeing him. Superboy gave it a small smile and opened the cage door, softly stroking its head. It gave another feeble cheep, but didn't move. They made a sad sight, the two of them.
They stayed for a while, even after M'gann finished mending his coat, to keep him company while they waited out the storm. He freaked out two or three times (Artemis dodged the table when he flipped it over, Kaldur ducked just in time when a candelabra was thrown his way, and Wally got hit in the head when he failed to realize a clock was being chucked at him), but he would always calm down fairly easily once they pointed out to him that he was being unreasonably angry. Once the sun began to set, they announced their departure, hoping to get back to the village before it was too dark. The journey back would be much quicker now that the path through the thorns had been made.
"Wally?"
They all stopped on the drawbridge and looked back at Superboy. "Yeah man?"
"If you want to come back tomorrow. . . I'll try to make a map to the tower tonight. . . if you want."
Wally smiled. "Yeah, thanks Supey, that sounds great. See you tomorrow, okay?"
Superboy nodded hesitantly. "Yeah. See you."
They were all exhausted from their trying day in the thorn forest, so by the time they got back to the inn they were ready to pass out from exhaustion. They didn't speak to anyone when they came in, trudging straight to their rooms and going to bed. When they finally managed to rouse themselves, it was nearly noon.
After dressing, they headed downstairs to an empty room.
"That's odd," Kaldur remarked, glancing around, "Yesterday it was fairly busy."
"Yeah. Wonder where everyone is?" Wally thought aloud, heading to the door. The others followed and they went outside. The whole town looked deserted. A tumbleweed rolled by.
Artemis' eyebrows went up. "That's weird."
"Well, I'm surprised to see you young travelers still milling about here. I thought you would have gone with the villagers to the castle."
They turned to see the old man from before walking toward them, cane in hand. Wally's brow furrowed.
"The castle? Why would they go there?"
"Hmm? You mean you didn't hear? A young boy went missing yesterday. The whole town searched all day and night, but he was no where to be found. It's obvious he was taken by the beast!"
"The beast? You can't mean Superboy?" M'gann asked, glancing nervously toward the direction of the forest.
"Superboy? The crown prince? Oh no, young lady. King Clark announced his death years and years ago. It was a very sad day for the Super Kingdom, oh yes."
Wally felt his blood boiling. "But Superboy isn't dead! The king knows that!"
"Superboy couldn't have taken that child, sir! We were with him almost the entire day yesterday, he wouldn't have had the opportunity!" M'gann cried.
"Well I don't have a clue what you youngsters are going on about, no, no," he shook his head, "But the rest of the town has gone to exterminate the beast. They could probably use your help!"
"Come on," Wally shouted, running toward the forest, the others close behind.
They arrived at the castle quickly to find it surrounded by a mob of caped villagers.
"Where's Superboy!" M'gann asked, just as a man's body went sailing through the air past them. They all turned in the direction he came from and saw Superboy fending off a horde of people. A man jumped on his back and Superboy issued forth a roar of rage, throwing the man off and sending him flying into another. While his back was turned, a man ran toward him from behind, a knife in hand. Wally dashed forward and tacked the man, wrestling the knife from his hands.
"Superboy!"
Superboy glanced at them, eyes ablaze. "I didn't do anything!" he screamed, turning to punch out another attacker. "Go away!"
Artemis kicked a man in the chest, sending him reeling, "We know! We're on your side!"
"Everyone, please stop fighting!" M'gann yelled, trying desperately to gain the attention of the angry mob. "Superboy was with us! He didn't do anything wrong!"
Nobody was listening to her. A group of villagers appeared from within the castle and came out onto the drawbridge.
"The boy's not inside! This is all we found!" The leader of the group held up the gold cage, the weary black canary flittering around inside in a nervous panic.
"Let her go! Don't touch her! You're scaring her, stop it! Stop it!" Superboy screamed, barreling down everyone in his path as he charged toward the drawbridge. The man standing next to the one with the canary lifted his gun and took aim.
"Stay back, beast!"
Superboy wasn't listening. A large man came from behind him and hit him with a shovel, sending him crashing to the ground several feet from the gunman.
"Superboy! Please, leave him alone!" M'gann was at his side in a matter of seconds, throwing her body over his while tears streamed down her face. "He didn't do anything! Please, stop this!"
The man sneered. "You helped him, didn't you? We never had any problems until you all showed up! It's your fault my son is missing!" He trained the gun on them and placed his finger on the trigger. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, an arrow shot through the air, knocking the gun from his hands.
"Does it make you feel strong, pointing a gun at a girl and an innocent man?" Roy asked, threading his bow with another arrow. The man glared and opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off when Wally punched him in the face, sending him to the ground.
"You should pay more attention in a fight," he said, unsheathing his sword and pointing it at the man's neck. The crowd, once focused on Superboy, halted.
"Superboy didn't do anything wrong! I want all of you to go home, right now! The missing child is probably lost in the woods, and none of you are helping him by running around here like a bunch of lunatics." No one moved, so Wally bellowed, "Do you realize who we are! These two are princesses! I am the Prince of Flash! Unless you want to explain to your king why the second largest kingdom in the world, as well as the Martian and Arrow Kingdoms, have declared war, I highly suggest you leave!"
The crowd seemed hesitant but ever so slowly they began to retreat. Once they were all gone, Wally lifted his sword and lightly kicked the cowering man on the ground. "Get out of here and find your son."
The man complied, but not before shooting a nasty glare Superboy's way. Once they were gone Wally sheathed his sword with a large sigh.
"You were bluffing?" Artemis asked dryly.
"Like I've never bluffed before. Man am I glad they didn't call me on it. Uncle Barry would never declare war on the Super Kingdom!" Artemis shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Superboy, are you okay?"
They all turned their attention to the two on the ground.
Superboy had several cuts on his body and his shirt was pretty torn up. His coat was missing. "Why did you do that?"
M'gann sniffled, rubbing at her eyes. "Do what?"
"Throw yourself over me. You could have been shot! That was stupid of you!"
M'gann smiled lightly, ignoring his outburst. "Because you're my friend Superboy. That's what friends do."
Superboy was quiet for a long time. Finally he spoke, much quieter than usual. "We're. . . friends?"
M'gann nodded and leaned forward, rubbing the dripping blood from a cut on his cheek. "Of course. You're a good person, Superboy."
Superboy leaned forward, pushing himself up with his elbows, and a dull thud sounded. They all gaped.
"Superboy, your. . . your collar!" M'gann exclaimed, climbing off him and reaching for the broken metal ring lying in his shadow. Superboy sat up all the way and took it from her, examining it closely.
"I don't understand. . ."
"I think. . . I think I might," M'gann said with a gentle smile. Superboy hesitantly smiled back.
"Perhaps the enchantress Dinah was not so evil after all," Kaldur observed, coming forward to help M'gann up. Roy followed him, lending Superboy a hand.
Once standing, Superboy scanned the area. "Where's the canary?"
A flood of guilt washing over him, Wally looked to his left where the battered cage lay discarded on the ground. Gingerly, he picked it up.
"I'm sorry, Superboy. I didn't notice. It must have gotten thrown, in all the chaos. . ." Eyes downcast, Wally handed the cage to Superboy, who accepted it as if it were the most fragile thing on Earth.
Opening the cage door and scooping the small creature out, he cradled the tiny body to his chest. The canary let out a pitiful chirp and nipped lightly at his finger before going still. "She's dead. She was my only friend, for so many years. . ."
M'gann put a hand on his arm. "I'm so sorry Superboy."
"We didn't mean for this to happen. Our condolences," Kaldur said, bowing his head respectfully.
"Can we bury her?" he asked, as if he needed their permission.
With a sad smile, Roy clapped him on the shoulder. "Sure thing, buddy. Whatever you want."
They buried the canary in the back of the castle. With no other distinguishable markers nearby, Roy plunged one of his arrows into the Earth where the body lay.
"It's not the best grave," he said as way of apology. Superboy shook his head.
"No, it's fine. I'm sure she appreciates it."
"What will you do now, Superboy?" M'gann asked. Superboy looked away from the grave to look at her, then the rest of the group.
"If you don't mind, I think I want to go with you. My map making skills aren't that great. It would be easier if I showed you where the enchanted tower in the Kingdom of Bats is myself."
"What! Dude, that would be awesome, but. . . don't you want to go home? See your," He paused, unable to bring himself to say "father." That man was no father. "See King Clark?"
Superboy shook his head. "Not yet. I will eventually, but right now. . . I'm not sure if I'm ready to see him."
Offering him a lazy grin, Wally threw an arm around his shoulders. "Alrighty then, sounds good to me. Welcome to the team, Superboy."
Hell hath no fury like a Black Canary scorned. (He doesn't mean to be rube Dinah, it just happens. . .)
So now Prince Wally has his whole team, which can mean only one thing! Time to go get that princess!
Next chapter is the last. Thanks for sticking with me so far guys. Unless everyone hates this chapter (and refuses to share their hate with me), I do believe Sleeping Beauty will reach 100 reviews. =) I never anticipated my story getting this much love (especially considering it's a Dick/Wally story in which Dick hardly ever appears, haha), so thank you all so much! Your support really means the world to me.