[22nd July 2010]
[Santa Prisca Island, Caribbean]
In all honesty Richard could admit that this had been one disaster after another since the moment they'd gotten off of the bio-ship. They'd said they were ready, demanded that they be given missions, and now it'd all blown up in their faces rather spectacularly. What made it worse the two very, very, angry individuals staring each other down and speak in cold professional tones across the holo-screen were the ones who'd been most against this mission and their role in it.
Behind him he could hear the crackling of flames as some ammunition cooked off and exploded at the other end of the runway. He flinched at that, and at the mere glance their technical team leader gave towards the explosion for a moment before turning back to a Bruce's full on Bat-glare and speaking in that creepy modulated tone that should have been on one of the Rogue's Gallery rather than a teammate. The other boy made him uneasy when he'd been introduced, and then again a few days ago in the aftermath of fighting the machine they were calling 'Mr. Twister' for the moment.
"You will not disrespect this team for my decisions in regards salvaging this situation. Respectfully Batman I submitted my concerns to you prior this deployment, and still the League went ahead with it. We had no adequate chain of command in place, no firm rules of engagement, and a less than clear objective. This mission was setup to fail and you Will Not place the blame on anyone but myself for the decisions taken having taken charge. Someone had to take charge of the situation, so I did. Were they good solutions? No. But they were the best I could manage with what was available"
Bruce was having none of it, at least it seemed that way to Richard, though it seemed there was a further quiet discussion occurring behind Bruce right now with others from the Justice League "This was meant to be a simple recon mission. I fail to see how that could result in you taking over a small Caribbean Island regardless of how bad it could have gone"
Again Richard flinched faintly at that both the tone and the truth of it. They had after all managed to screw up a mission so badly they had technically conquered a small island in the process. Further proof that John Fortune probably was a supervillain in training perhaps, but they'd all gone along with it when things had started to go bad. An unhappy boy who seemingly ignored the Bat-glare and threatening Bat-tone as he replied.
"Because this island of criminals was caught in the middle of a battle between its criminal elements, and we blundered into due to lack of organisation and planning. At that stage our cover was completely blown; and we discovered a much more serious problem in the works that needed to be stopped immediately..."
He bit his lip as Fortune coldly stated the events when Kid Flash had blundered into a fire-fight and the rest of them had intervened rather than getting him to withdraw as the angry young man in the evil skeleton getup had snarled at them to do. Instead they'd wanted to be heroes and they'd ended up with several dozen captives from amongst the fighting criminals. Something that was very much a problem when what was occurring on the island was revealed - and then of the team's efforts to proceed with the mission in the aftermath regardless of said fire-fight. Despite angry objections, that he himself hadn't listened too, from the dark clad so-called wizard amongst them.
"That is no defence of your actions. You took sides in what was essentially a gang war, and you gave no consideration to the consequences of your actions!"
"Consequences? Do you have any idea of the consequences for the people living like slaves upon this island if we just come in and busted a few heads, then left changing nothing. This island isn't claimed by anyone, and we let a pissant criminal like Bane or the Cult of Kobra play tin-pot dictator all the while selling very dangerous and very illegal drugs without putting a stop to it. No, I considered the long term consequences of my actions so I decided to fix the problem rather than let it continue the minute we left this place"
"A criminal who you are allowing to go free when you conquered the island, with those illicit gains you seem so unhappy about I might add Mister Fortune"
"And we arrest him for what? Bane was the legal owner, ruler, whatever of this island according your own brief documents. We were the ones illegally accessing the territory of Santa Prisca Batman not the other way around, and you gave me no clear rules of what to do with prisoners. So we had a little...discussion...about a change of leadership here on..."
At that Richard resisted grimacing. Oh that had gone so well after the initial infiltration attempt had failed and Bane had started to make threats and demands upon them. And the revelation that the Cult of Kobra had driven out Bane's gang from the factory and had created an even more dangerous version of the Blockbuster formula by merging it with Venom. Something they could do nothing that arrogant meathead Bane had claimed to them, and they all they could do was help him in regaining his facility. Or that their 'illegal mission' as he put it from their arguing amongst themselves would get spilled...and they had no right to detain them...
--
...suddenly he felt something like a wave of fear spread out from Fortune as stopped trying to argue a point with the rest of them and strode forward a step so he was between all of them and the prisoners tied to the trees. Both Bane's gang members and the red cloaked minions of Kobra seemed to recoil as the black skull masked man glared around at them.
"I am taking charge of this cluster-fuck of a mission right this minute. Now Senor Bane, you seem to think you have some sort of leverage in this situation after you violent took over this island a few years ago and everyone let you abuse the poor folks who lived here. Now you got driven off by someone stronger you think that we'll help you reclaim your dominion. I...have a different solution to that, and to our problem of witnesses to our presence on this island..." he reached into his coat/cloak thing that seemed to drip of shadows and fear all of a sudden and pulled out a pistol "...or to be more accurate your problem of being witnesses to our presence here. So I suggest a change in leadership of your little gang and this island in general"
"Heh...and you'll do that you little chicka with your...ahhh...ahhh...ackkk..." Bane stared to sneer back before Fortune clicked the fingers of his free hand at the massively built villain causing Bane to start to gasp as if being choked. Aqualad and himself started to protest but were quietened as Fortune glanced at them and motioned with his hand to trust him a moment. Robin had known it was wrong but he'd just stayed quiet like the others in a sort of horrified confusion as their teammate motioned at the nearest of Bane's gang members. A rather terrified looking man looking from Bane, to them, and then up at the supervillain pointing a gun at his head and talking to him.
"I suggest an election. Yes? Great I put myself forward as a candidate. Do you have any objections to that my fine constituent?" Frantic head shaking in the negative from the bound man "No. Very Good. Does anyone else object amongst the former minions of the weakling choking over there?"
The gun began to wave in a lazy arc through the air and silence followed along with a few frantic shakes of the head in the negative "Isn't that Great! I now declare myself El Presidente of this island and your new Boss. Serve me well and I shall treat you fairly. Betray me and my colleagues and their shall be consequences you shan't enjoy! Oh..."
He motioned at the desperately struggling form of Bane as the struggles became weaker "...for the moment I shall need you. Aid us this night and you get to leave my new lands with all your ill gotten gains. I'm feeling generous let's say, and makes the paperwork transfer easier I expect. For the rest of you welcome to being my minions for the night"
"WE SHALL NEVER SERVE YOU! BLESSED BE KOBRA!" one of the Red Cloaked cultists managed to shout out, though it sound as much terrified as defiant. Robin's Teammate seemed to consider this a moment before nodding and motioning with his empty hand again.
"Sure you say that now but...D&*%"(F*Z" then waved his hand in an arc at the red cloaked men and women tied to the trees. Eveyone, bar a desperately gasping Bane, stood their in stunned silence once again as Robin watched his team leader sheath his pistol and speak again "And now who you serve?"
"You El Presidente! Command us Master!"
"Just what I thought you'd say..." Fortune turned to Robin and the rest of the team "...now untie them and let's save the people of this island and stop a major criminal drug deal while we're at it! Go Team!"
And that's just what they did...
--
...and now they stood in the aftermath of their 'conquest' of Santa Prisca with dozens, almost a hundred, Kobra Cultists and their leader all bound up around the building remains of the burning helicopter that had been filled with the damned drugs. The only failure in regards capturing someone had been the masked Sportmaster who'd managed to slip away after Fortune had come help him fight that bare chested freak who thought himself a God to the idiots in red. A rather angry fight in fact as Fortune relentless mocked the so-called divinity of the 'Snake God' alongside Robin. That part at least wasn't too bad he thought.
"...so, now that Bane has officially signed the place and all therein over to me I, as official leader and legal owner of Santa Prisca island...which I am now renaming Tropico by the way...officially request the aid of the Justice League and United Nations in dealing the criminal elements that have caused terrible damage and terror to my fair island. I'll just note I've already requested aid from the Irish government in this matter. We can have a full debrief once we've put out the fires, so I must go to my new minions and ensure they don't try and escape before I can put them to work putting out the fires. Minister of Foreign Affairs Robin here will coordinate with you while I go talk to newly promoted General Superboy and Admiral Aqualad about the making sure the drug factory doesn't blow up and kill us all. Goodbye, we shall talk later on this matter"
'Holy Crap he walked away from Bruce' Richard noted mentally before the true horror sunk in as he now faced and unhappy mentor on the holo-screen and had to coordinate with him and for the next few hours. Oh...this wasn't going to be a good night at all. Suddenly he wished he could go back and smack himself of several hours ago for being such an idiot as wanting to be here...
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