[Watch Tower: 29/07/2010]
09:20AM
Orbiting the Earth was a huge base built on an asteroid, this was the Watch Tower, the main QG of the organization that acts in the name of peace and justice, known as the Justice League, a collection of the greatest and most powerful heroes on Earth.
Inside the base there was a meeting area, where a man dressed in a bat-themed tactical suit, with two ears on his hood that looked like antennas, with black gloves and boots, with a dark gray body.
This was the elected leader of the League and the greatest detective in the world, the protector of Gotham known as Batman, he had been the first to arrive and was waiting for his other companions.
After a few minutes everyone was present, from the founding members to the newly recruited.
As the Leaguers entered, Batman looked down at the dice in his hands with a thoughtful look on his face.
"What's up, Bats? You're thinking more than usual." joked Flash, even when everyone sat down.
Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Flash, Aquaman, Giovanni Zatara, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, the Green Lanterns, Captain Marvel, Captain Atom, Red Tornado.
"We are here to discuss a matter of growing concern," Batman spoke as he pressed a button on the table and the holographic screen lit up to show the image of a figure dressed in gold and black, Sunspot.
"Ahh... him, what is he doing now? Running out of drug dealers to beat or no more cocaine to burn?" Green Arrow asked, as Dinah and Diana looked at him, they remember the meeting Oliver had with the hero.
The presence of such a powerful superhero on the South American continent took the League by surprise. That surprise turned to concern when the new superhero began waging a one-man war against the drug cartels that literally dominated half of South America at that time.
With the blessing of the Brazilian government, Sunspot literally demolished every drug cartel in South America, something the world itself considered an impossible task, and one man accomplished it alone.
So he burned a ton of drugs in public and declared the end of drugs in Latin lands, which raised some very uncomfortable questions in the US, which were pointed out to the League.
Why didn't the League do the same in America? If a single superhero can do it in South America, the birthplace of drugs no less, then why can't Superman, the greatest superhero of them all, do the same in the United States? The press and League detractors had made fun of the matter.
Which wasn't helped by the fact that nearly all of South America had stopped producing drugs due to the Sunspot scare. Consequently, this has led to an increase in crime in the United States.
Once criminal enterprises in America and the rest of the world learned that there would be no more drugs from the South American continent, their existing stockpiles became more valuable than all the gold in Fort Knox.
Gang wars raged frequently and furiously across the United States and the rest of the world in an attempt to obtain more of the limited stocks of drugs available, and the League and law enforcement services were run erratically trying to keep the peace.
At one point, it got so dire that the rest of the League was afraid to ask Batman how bad the situation was in Gotham. They had enough problems keeping the peace in their own cities, let alone the crime capital of the world. Even Superman was feeling the tension in Metropolis, considered the safest city in the world. Nobody expected that the lack of drugs would lead to this situation.
As you can see, while the League appreciated the outcome of the actions taken by Sunspot, it had not gone down well with some League members, who lightly blamed him for his extensive workload.
"So what is he doing, Bruce?" Diana asked after a moment, whereupon Batman brought out the map of South America and pointed to an island near Brazil, Santa Prisca.
"So far, the last and only place that still openly produces drugs is Santa Prisca Island," he said, even as everyone looked at the map.
"It is originally an island belonging to Brazil, but at the height of its civil war against the military dictatorship, the drug cartels completely took control of the island, enslaved its population and declared it an independent nation in its own right, although no one has ever recognized this. And now, the Brazilian government has declared its intention to bring its renegade province back under control." Batman pointed out while others took a deep breath.
"As you well know, with Santa Prisca being the only source still willing to manufacture drugs, its importance to all criminal organizations around the world is unparalleled. Over the past three days, there has been a steady stream of mercenaries, metahuman criminals arriving on the island , and they are fortifying it against the impending attack. They want to protect their last source of revenue from drug production at all costs and they are not being shy about it." Pointed Batman, even as several satellite images pointed criminals building bunkers, pillboxes, machine gun nests and everything else.
Flash hissed "Junkies of the world, unite, huh?" he laughed.
"So when are we going to move against them?" he asked to which Batman looked pained.
"In fact, the representative of the US State Department asked me not to interfere and, if possible, prevent Sunspot and the Brazilian government from assaulting Santa Prisca." he concluded, even as Hawkgirl snarled and rose angrily as her fist slammed into the table.
"They are crazy?" She roared in outrage, the same as Wonder Woman got to her feet as well.
"Who in their right mind would want to protect criminals like that?" She asked angrily, while the others showed their displeasure, even Superman grimaced in disgust at the request made.
"It's politics, Diana." Bruce spoke in a tired voice as everyone looked at him.
"The US government doesn't want Brazilians to succeed where they failed. It's a humiliation for them and their decision makers. For years, the US government has spent billions of dollars and now it's reaching half a trillion in total, and for all that, they have nothing to show for it. And now, if Brazilians succeed where they failed, it makes them look like idiots." He said.
"What are they !!" Green Arrow said gruffly.
"The US government does not want this to happen, it suits their geopolitical interests for these countries to depend on US aid." Red Tornado explained.
"And to achieve their political goals, are they willing to let another nation-state suffer?" Shayera asked in shock.
"That's Earth geopolitics for you Hawkgirl." Flash said frowning.
"The more I learn about the politics of the man's world, the more it disgusts me!" Diana spat, while Superman grimaced.
"Anyway, I told him that was out of the question. The Justice League cannot interfere in the individual affairs of nation-states. This was clearly spelled out in our letter with the UN. However, they raised the point that Brazil was forcibly annexing another territory through metahuman soldiers, to which I replied that there is no law against individual nations hiring metahumans into their military forces and that Santa Prisca was originally part of Brazil, he didn't like it." Batman replied, while others nodded in agreement, with a look of grim satisfaction.
"If it had come to that, I would have said publicly that the US government should help Brazil and not hinder it out of jealousy, but that is a nuclear option. My views somehow seem to be taken much more seriously than they should be. " Superman spoke meekly, while others considered this fact.
Superman was the epitome of heroism, the man who saved the world more times than anyone else. If he contradicted a politician's opinion with his own criticism, then it was a guaranteed death sentence for that politician's career. The US government knew that just a few words from Superman could overthrow their government, and that was the main reason they didn't take the League too far.
"However, the situation on Santa Prisca is very volatile and we need to keep an eye on the island. As it is very unstable, our presence would only make matters worse. I propose that we send the Team as scouts and observers." Batman spoke to which there were protests.
"Are you out of your mind!!, they're kids Bruce!!" Dinah said slamming her fists on the table.
"You want to send them into a potential war zone? Are you crazy?" Flash asked in disbelief, even Green Arrow and Wonder Woman agreed.
"That's what they're bred for, and they're trained, and if anything really goes wrong we can step in, this is a good way to introduce them to stakes in real world situations, I agree." spoke Aquaman, and Hawkman and Hawkgirl also agreed.
"I agree, children cannot be protected forever, they must learn to get out on their own." The Martian Manhunter spoke for the first time.
"And I will go as an invisible, silent chaperone too, should Sunspot detect them, although I believe he is a reasonable man, I think I can act as a safety net for the team, should the Brazilian government take offense at their presence." The Martian suggested , to which he got nods of agreement.
All of a sudden, their monitors blared an alarm as Bruce immediately got up and marched towards the main screen beside the wall.
"Someone is broadcasting a message to the world's frequencies, it's going out everywhere." He spoke as the screen came to life, and they were surprised to see it was coming from Santa Prisca.
Soon, a disturbed-looking man with white hair and red bodysuit with white trim, foaming at the mouth from excessive drug use, appeared on the screen.
"And who is this handsome fellow?" Dinah asked with a disgusted look on her face.
"He is a metahuman criminal and drug dealer known as Snowflame, his registered known powers are flight, extreme pyrokinesis, enhanced strength, enhanced speed, and immunity to pain. The level of his powers is proportional to the amount of drugs he ingests, specifically cocaine. " Batman finished as everyone looked at him in disbelief.
"You can only be kidding." She whispered the stupefied Green Arrow.
"When you think you've seen it all." John Stewart said with a raised eyebrow.
"How bizarre." Captain Marvel said quietly.
"Is it even possible?" Flash asked genuinely curious.
"Hush, let's listen." Diana spoke in a motherly way, everyone began to listen to the drug addict's crazed speech.
"For all of you watching this, you may not know about the island of Santa Prisca! You may not even know it exists! For many it's hell, a paradise for criminals and riffraff, but for us, it's our home , it's holy ground for us and the god of cocaine!" He rambled and foamed as the Justice League watched in horrified amusement.
"To Sunspot, the damn hijo de puta, who kicked us out of Colombia, know this, the God of Cocaine has decreed that Colombia is your home, and we, the cartels, are your apostles! We will come back stronger than ever, and we won't! will anyone be able to stop us from spreading cocaine love and mercy to everyone! You and Brazil kicked us out of the promised land, but this is where it stops, we will not be stopped, and we will remain on this island and, if you want us out of that, you'll have to come and kick us out!" He roared to applause from his men around him, when one of them, to the astonishment of the watchful eyes of the world, actually hoisted a flag bearing the symbol of a bale of cocaine.
"What the f…" Superman it started.