As he walked to the secure bunker in his headquarters, Lex Luthor was going over through various data and figures on a handheld tablet, even as his aide, Mercy Graves, walked behind him silently.
Soon, he approached the door and after a full biometric scan, the door opened and he went inside with Mercy, and seated himself in front of a bank of monitors which began to whir into life. The monitor in front of him glowed with the letter L-3, before the others came online.
Vandal Savage, Ra's Al-Ghul, Lex Luthor, Prince Orm of Atlantis, Klarion the Witch Boy, Brain in a Jar and Queen Bee. The full leadership of the Light was assembled to discuss a growing problem their operations faced in the South American Continent.
"Let the Council of Light begin," Vandal Savage took the lead as he always did, even as others went with the flow.
"We have been meeting far more often in the last nine months, than in the last three years. This new nuisance is soon going to overtake the Justice League as our main priority, I fear," Ra's spoke out, while others looked at the screen as the images of a golden-suited man flying about was displayed on the common screen.
"That is a bit of an exaggeration, but I do admit that this new nuisance has made himself an irritant," Queen Bee spoke out, while Ra's and Savage glared at her. The actions of this new superhero were significantly cutting into their sources of revenue generation and they were starting to feel it. The others were luckier in the sense that their sources of revenue were far less prone to disruption.
"Mon Ami …," spoke out the Brain, "What do we know of this new hero? Is he an alien? Or a Metahuman? Or does he derive his powers from a more … shall we say exotic source?" the question was a bit loaded, even as Luthor took the queue.
"From what we have observed, his powers seem to be similar to that of the Kryptonian, but in my opinion, we have not yet seen what he is fully capable of. He has shown powers of flight, super strength, super speed, invulnerability to conventional weapons, and the ability to fire energy blasts," Luthor admitted, with a grimace. "The simulations have not been able to predict the upper limits of his abilities, in fact, we are not certain, but think that he has even more abilities that he has not openly displayed. But the nature of his powers and the energy he emits indicates that his abilities may have a solar origin to it, though it is not conclusive yet."
"So, he may not be an alien, but a metahuman then?" Queen Bee asked in curiosity, to which Luthor admitted, "it is a possibility."
"And are we sure that arcane forces are not at play here?" Savage asked with a grunt to which Orm replied back, "As of now, we see no evidence of that," while Klarion curiously remained silent.
"What do we know about this 'Sentry'?" Ra's asked after a moment's silence, as Luthor again looked at his notes.
"He first appeared on scene roughly eleven months ago, when he broke the Medellin Cartel of Colombia," Luthor spoke out as the monitor began to play various news reels and other non-public footage which they had gained from their sources. In it, the blonde superhero could be seen going through an army of cartel gunmen and taking them down, non-lethally but effectively.
"The Colombian government has officially declared him as a superhero of Colombian origin and has formally recognized him as a metahuman operative of the Ministry of the Interior of Colombia, and has declared as such to the UN. Since his arrival on the scene, he has virtually smashed every single drug cartel of note in Colombia," Luthor shook his head reluctantly in amazement, as he was sure that this was something that could not have happened before. Even the Justice League had not been able to do much, though one could claim that their hands were tied by the UN Charter; something that did not apply to this newcomer.
"The Medellin Cartel, The Cali Cartel, Norte del Valley Cartel, and North Coast Cartel have all been permanently disbanded," Luthor pointed out, even as he continued. "All of the leaders of the cartels have been imprisoned, their drug producing refineries have been demolished, and he has even destroyed all the stockpiles of drugs, primarily Cocaine, that has been produced in Colombia. You might recall the burning which was broadcast to the whole world," Luthor spoke out, even as reactions among the audience varied from humor to curiosity to irritation.
Upon the destruction of the cartels, the Sentry had publicly burnt all of the cocaine confiscated from the cartels in a grand ceremony in front of all the major news networks in the world, in the presence of the members of the Colombian Government and the ordinary citizens with great fanfare. LexCorp had barely managed to avoid the crash in the servers they maintained to run the Internet as a result. Barely.
"13,789 tons, was it not?" the brain asked, even his mechanical voice could not hide the inflection of humor within.
"Estimated street value at 976 Billion Dollars, out of which 37% was to be handed over to the Light, which is now lost to us. This has led to a decrease in our operational funds by 6% for this year. Not a crisis, but a problem nonetheless. For now, all other cartels, not only in Colombia but the entirety of South America, have stopped producing drugs out of fear of the Sentry targeting their operations. And the only place still producing drugs is the island of Santa Prisca, which also holds our main production facilities for Venom and the Blockbuster formula. And as you all know, Colombia has always laid claim to the island, but had never been in a position to enforce it, but now," Luthor stopped, even as the face of Savage scowled.
"Now, you believe they will move on Santa Prisca," Savage pointed out, to which Luthor nodded.
"I am certain they will. President Uribe will not step when victory against 'The War on Drugs' has been literally handed to him on a silver platter. That is a feather in his cap, that not even the presidents of the United States can boast about. And legally, and historically, they have all the rights to move on Santa Prisca. Our sources indicate that the Colombian Anti-Drug task force, the Search Bloc, is mobilizing in its entirety with assistance from the Colombian Air force and Navies, and the Sentry has been tasked to deal with metahuman interference if any," Luthor finished while Savage scowled.
"And our operatives on the island are certainly not capable of mounting a defense against the Colombian Military, much less, the Sentry," Ra's pointed out. "They are barely able to hold on to the island against the insurgency of its previous owner," he pointed out to the conflict between Kobra and Bane. Although Bane was a freelancer who had worked with the League of Shadows before, he had taken the assault on Santa Prisca as a personal insult, and had waged a high-level insurgency ever since Kobra had taken over the island with the Light's assistance. Compared to the level of forces arraigned against Santa Prisca, the only polite thing one could say about Kobra was that he was a certified loon.
"Then we must cut our losses," came the voice of Queen Bee. "I believe the Blockbuster formula is almost complete, yes?" she asked Luthor, who nodded in agreement.
"What are you proposing?" Orm asked in interest, even as Bee spoke out in a regal manner. "Send our operatives to retrieve the samples of what we have created so far, and we can set up another facility in Bialya. The facilities on the island are no longer tenable, why expend effort to maintain them, when the work can be continued elsewhere? We just need to ensure that our initial investment is not lost," she pointed out to which guarded nods came from others.
"A suitable proposal," Luthor agreed. "We must expedite this operation before the Colombian Government launches its assault on the island," he pointed out to which the others agreed.
"Can international pressure be brought to bear on Colombia to halt its assault? Could we force the Justice League to intervene?" Ra's asked, to which the others paused to consider the point.
"Perhaps," Savage spoke out. "The Justice League is bound by the sickening rules it allowed itself to be shackled with. But the other nations in the world I am certain, would not be pleased at another nation annexing a new territory by force by using Metahuman operatives, even if they do have historic claims to that land. We can play on the fears arising from that course of action," he pointed out to which there were smiles from the others.
"Still, prudence dictates that reinforcements be sent to Santa Prisca, at least until our investment is safeguarded. Sportsmaster can handle all ordinary threats, but against the Sentry, I fear he is outclassed," the demon's head spoke out, while others considered that point.
"Then let us find some expendable metahumans to shore up the island's defenses, and if necessary, we can send in Black Adam and Wotan as a last resort. I am sure they are more than capable of handling the Sentry," Savage replied, to which the other's agreed.
"Very well, for the light," Savage replied and the others followed suit as the conference ended.
5 DAYS LATER,
THE WATCHTOWER, HQ OF THE JUSTICE LEAGUE,
IN ORBIT OF EARTH,
As the members of the league filed in, Batman looked at the data in his hands with a pensive look on his face.
"What's up, Bats? You are brooding more than usual," Flash quipped, even as everyone took their seat. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Flash, Aquaman, Giovanni Zatara, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, the full roster was present.
"We are here to discuss a growing matter of concern," Batman spoke even as he pressed a button on the table and the holographic display lit up to show the figure of a golden-clad figure, The Sentry.
"Ahh … him, what's he up to now? Run out of druggies to beat or more cocaine to burn?" Green Arrow asked, even as Dinah and Diana glared at him in irritation.
The presence of such a powerful superhero in the Southern American continent had caught the league by surprise. That surprise had turned to worry when the new superhero had begun to wage a one-man war against the drug cartels which had literally taken over half of Colombia at the point. With the blessing of the Colombian government, the Sentry had literally demolished every drug cartel in Colombia, something which the world itself had thought to be an impossible task, and the man had accomplished it single-handedly. Then he had burnt a shit ton of drugs in the public and declared an end to drugs in Colombia, which had raised some very uncomfortable questions in the USA, that had been pointed towards the League.
Why did the League not do the same in America? If one single superhero can do it in Colombia, 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 the detractors of the League had made hay of the matter. Which was not helped by the fact that almost all of South America had stopped producing drugs due to the fear of the Sentry. Consequently, it had led to an upsurge of crime in the US. Once the criminal enterprises in America, and the rest of the world had learned that no more drugs would be forthcoming from the South American Continent, their existing stockpiles had become more valuable than all the gold in Fort Knox.
Gang wars had raged frequently and furiously all over in the US, and the rest of the world in attempt to procure more of the limited stocks of drugs available, and the League and the law enforcement services had been run ragged trying to keep the peace. It had gotten so dire at a point, that the rest of the League were afraid to ask Batman how bad the situation was in Gotham. They had trouble enough keeping peace in their own cities, much less the capital of world crime. Even Superman was feeling the strain in Metropolis which was deemed as the safest city in the world. No one had expected that a lack of drugs would lead to this situation.
As one could see, while the League appreciated the result of the actions taken by the Sentry, it had not endeared the man to quite a few members of the League, who blamed him for their extended workload.
"So, what is he up to, Bruce?" Diana asked after a moment, to which Batman brought up the map of South America and pointed to an island near Colombia. Santa Prisca.
"As of now, the final and only place still openly producing drugs is the island of Santa Prisca," he spoke out, even as everyone looked at the map. "It is originally an island belonging to Colombia, but at the height of its civil war, the drug cartels completely took over the island, enslaved its population and declared it an independent nation in its own right, though no one has ever acknowledged it. And now, the Colombian government has declared its intention of bringing its renegade province back under control," Batman pointed out as 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 incomparable. Over the last 5 days, there has been a steady stream of mercenaries, metahuman criminals, and what not arriving at the island, and they are fortifying it against the impending assault. They want to protect their last source of revenue from drug production at all costs, and they are not being shy about it," Batman pointed out, even as various satellite pictures pointed out the criminals building bunkers, pillboxes, machine gun nests and what not.
Flash whistled, "Druggies of the world unite, eh?" he chuckled. "So, when are we moving in against them?" he asked to which Batman looked pained.
"As a matter of fact, I have been asked by the representative of the US State department that we not interfere, and if possible to stop the Sentry and the Colombian government from assaulting Santa Prisca," he finished, even as Hawkgirl growled and stood up in anger as her fist pounded on the table.
"Are they insane?" she roared in indignation, even as Wonder Woman stood up as well.
"Who in their right mind would want to protect criminals like these?" she asked in anger, even as the others made their displeasure known. Even Superman scowled in disgust.
"It is politics, Diana" Bruce spoke out in a tired voice, as they all looked at him.
"The American government does not want the Colombians to succeed where they have failed. It is a humiliation to them and their decision-makers. For years, the American government has spent billions of dollars, and it is now nearing half a trillion in cumulative total, and for all that, they have nothing to show for it. And now, if the Colombians succeed where they have failed, it makes them look like idiots," he spoke out, to which Green Arrow interjected crudely, "Which they are!"
"Agreed," Batman spoke out, "But you know how politicians can be, Oliver. The one thing that scares a politician the most is being proven wrong in the eye of the public. And furthermore, if a third-world nation can succeed where the most powerful nation in the world cannot, well, you can assume the level of vitriol and criticism they will be subjected to! And besides, there is an aspect of geopolitics at play as well. Colombia is one of the most resource rich countries in the region. All these years, the country has not developed because of the infighting between the government, the drug cartels and the revolutionaries. Now, the cartels are gone, and the revolutionaries have approached the government for peace talks, because they know the Sentry will be deployed against them next. The American government does not wish to see that happen; it suits their geopolitical interests to have those countries be dependent upon American aid."
"And to achieve their political aims, they are willing to let another nation state suffer?" asked an appalled Shayera, to which Flash growled. "That is geopolitics in a nutshell, Hawkwoman."
"The more I learn about the politics about Man's world, the more it disgusts me!" Diana spat out, while Superman scowled.
"Anyways, I told him it was out of the question. The Justice League cannot interfere in the individual affairs of nation states. That was clearly enunciated in our charter with the UN. However, they raised the point that Colombia was annexing another territory by force through metahuman soldiers, to which I replied that there is no law against individual nations hiring metahumans in their military forces and that Santa Prisca originally was part of Colombia. He was not pleased," Batman replied, while others nodded in agreement, with a look of grim satisfaction.
"If it had come to it, I would have publicly said that the American government should help Colombia and not hinder it due to jealousy, but that is a nuclear option. My opinions somehow seem to be taken far more seriously than they should," Superman spoke out, as others considered that fact.
Superman was the face of heroism. The man who had saved the world more times than any other. If he countered a politician's opinion with his own criticism, then it was a guaranteed death sentence to that politician's career. The US government knew that just a few words from Superman could topple their government, and that was the main reason why they did not push the league too far.
"However, the situation in Santa Prisca is too volatile, and we need to keep an eye on the island. Since it is too unstable, our presence would only aggravate matters. I propose we send in the team as scouts and observers," Batman spoke out to which there were protests.
"You want to send them to a potential warzone? Are you out of your mind?" Flash asked incredulously, even as Green Arrow and Black Canary agreed.
"That is what they were created for, and they are trained, and if anything, truly goes wrong, we can step in. This is a good way to introduce them to the stakes in real world situations. I agree," Aquaman spoke out, and Hawkman and Hawkwoman agreed as well.
"I agree, children cannot be sheltered forever, they must learn to step out on their own," the Martian Manhunter spoke out for the first time. "And I will go as an invisible and silent chaperone as well, in case the Sentry detects them. Though I believe he is a reasonable man, I think I can act as a safety net for the team, if the Colombian government takes offense at their presence."
Suddenly, their monitors blared an alarm as Bruce immediately stood up and marched towards the main screen on the side of the wall.
"Somebody is transmitting a message to the worldwide frequencies, it is going out everywhere," he spoke out as the screen came alive, and they were surprised to see that it was coming from Santa Prisca. Soon, a deranged looking man with white hair and body armor, foaming at the mouth with overuse of drugs came on screen.
"And who is this good-looking fellow?" Dinah asked with a look of distaste on her face.
Batman brought up the records, "He is a metahuman criminal and drug lord known as Snowflame. His known powers on record are flight, extreme pyrokinesis, enhanced strength, enhanced speed and immunity to pain. The level of his powers is proportional to the quantity of drugs he ingests, specifically Cocaine," Batman finished as everyone looked at him incredulously.
"You are shitting me," Green Arrow whispered, even as he looked dumbstruck.
"Is that even possible?" asked Flash, who seemed genuinely curious.
"Quiet, let's listen," Diana spoke out as they all began to listen to the diatribe of the deranged drug addict.
"To all of you who are watching this, you may not know about the island of Santa Prisca! You may not even know it exists! To many it is a hellhole, a haven for criminals and riff-raff. But to us, it is home. It is sacred ground to us, and to the God of Cocaine!" he rambled and foamed, while the Justice League watched in horrified amusement.
"To the Sentry, the maldito hijo de puto, who drove us out of Colombia, know this, the God of Cocaine has decreed that Colombia is his home, and we the cartels are his apostles! We shall return stronger than ever, and no one will be able to stop us from spreading the love and mercy of Cocaine to all! You have driven us out of the promised land, but this is where it stops. We will not be stopped. We will remain on this island, and if you want us off it, you will have to come and drive us off!" he roared to cheers from his men surrounding him, as one of them to the astonishment of the watching eyes of the world, actually hoisted a flag bearing the symbol of a bale of cocaine.
"What the f…," Superman blurted out before controlling himself even as Flash and Diana snickered at the loss of control shown by the man of steel of all people.
"He is insane! The Colombian government will bomb the shit out of that island! They will sink it to the bedrock and kill them all! He has lost his mind!" Dinah spoke out, to which Oliver snarked, "As if he ever had it in the first place!"
"Did that guy just call out the Colombian government and the Sentry out over a drug manufacturing holdout? I knew drug addicts were crazy but this takes the cake!" Superman spoke out, even as he began to pace around the hall trying to visualize the fall out of this broadcast. Because there was no doubt, as soon as the broadcast ended, Santa Prisca became the most important place in the world at the moment.
"The Broadcast has gone viral, in every nation in the world. The Colombian government has no choice but to respond," Batman spoke gravely as he looked at the monitors which showed a sever spike in the web and news channels worldwide and accelerating without pause.
"The US government will not be happy," Diana pointed out, to which Batman grunted. "That drug-addled fool made it a matter of pride for the Colombian government. They will respond, damn the consequences," he replied even as his mind furiously analyzed the situation and potential fallout.
"Yeah, the druggies just started a live stream of their efforts to fortify the island," Flash pointed out with an unbelieving tone, as the monitor brought up visuals from Santa Prisca which showed drug addicts, mercenaries and other what nots fortifying their hold out.
"You should see this," Diana spoke out a moment later from her terminal. "The Colombian government has just posted a message stating that the island of Santa Prisca will return to its lawful ownership under Colombia within 24 hours. And they will not tolerate interference from any nation or organization, regardless of consequences. They are warning the rest of the world to stay out of it," she concluded grimly as the severity of the situation set in everywhere.
"No shit! They have also started live streaming their own preparations for the assault! And our golden friend is floating in the air over the base, watching at the tower clock running down the countdown," Green Arrow spoke out as he projected the view from his terminal on the main screen. It showed an entire division of the Colombian army gearing up for what looked like World War 3. And the Sentry stood hovering over the base like a silent guardian angel.
"So, we have got a bunch of druggies, mercs, metas and others …," Flash pointed out, "getting ready to re-enact the Alamo in open world view no less, while Santa-anna's forces will now be represented by the Colombian army and the Sentry, who are also livestreaming their efforts? Have both sides lost their minds?" he asked in frustration even as he threw his hands up in the air.
"It is now a battle of propaganda," Batman pointed out. "The Colombian's know that they are going to roll over the criminals, and at the same time they will claim total victory over the war on drugs, which will give them enough prestige on the geopolitical scale to become a true regional power. There is no stopping this battle now," Batman finished with a somber tone while the Justice League watched the developments with growing concern.
Something, somewhere, had gone very wrong and they all wanted to know how this had occurred.
Unknown to them, at the same time, the same question was running furiously through the minds of all the leaders of the Light as well, who were also not pleased at this deviation in the script.