[Val Verde]

[February 3, 2022]

—

The paperwork was light.

Val Verde had a dedicated council of ministers. They took on the bulk of the paperwork, and I only saw the most important items.

For the first time since my first months of becoming Supreme Leader… everything was nice and calm.

“Nooooo! Friend Kara! He. Did. Not!” Kori gasped as Kara told her story.

I hid a smirk.

Kara had hit the wall known as Superman.

Her desires to help out as a hero was not enough for her 'baby' cousin. Kara's intentions got overshadowed by Clark’s concerns.

The super man had lived over ten years as a hero. He knew of the dangers and the tough choices a hero had to face.

Kara was still young. New to the hero business, not to mention her poor control over her own powers.

Which meant that Kara visited often. To vent, or to practice.

I felt my stomach drop at the word.

To cheer me up, and to get rid of that belly fat, Kori was training me.

Or if I were honest. She was bullying me.

I learned to relate to Anakin Skywalker.

‘I don't like sand. It's coarse, and rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere.’

Wise words to those who trained on a beach.

In full combat gear.

With low power reserves in power armor.

Against a superhuman sweetheart.

I didn’t know what was worse. Her concerns over my defeats. Or how effortless she made it look.

The fact that Candice laughed, and took pictures did not help.

I would spank the girl, but I knew she liked that.

With a smile, I tackled the last of my paperwork. Though my arm did complain as I moved a little too quick.

Kori was strong enough to flip a armored man with one arm. It was tragic that she was using my one arm.

—

“Tea, Supreme Leader.” Clara half announced, half ordered.

She was a dear, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

I could fire her, or have her shot.

I was half certain she would show up on time the next day. To deliver whatever it was. She knew best, and thus I was a foolish child.

“Thank you Clara.” I smiled at the woman. She smiled back.

I took a sip from the ornate tea cup, and she nodded. She then moved away and placed down the other cups and pastries on the coffee table.

The girls would be happy to talk and eat.

“Rico! We got issues!”

I spat out my papers as Candice leaped into the room. Doom’s tablet in hand.

While it was a lovely device, I didn’t trust its security. Not that it was leaking information, but rather it would be dumb to trust Doom’s hand crafted device.

I would be surprised if Doom did put anything malicious on it, but you should never take the chance.

So we did what any sane person would do.

We used it to google things, and watch youtube.

Life without Internet was crap.

Which resulted in my decision to improve life for everyone on the island.

The second wave improvements, via 3D printer factories, was consumer goods. Cell phones. Tablets. Etc.

Candice’s yell had immediately brought in Kori and Kara. Clara immediately left the room as she knew her place.

She had once lectured me on why she always left in a hurry during these moments. A uninformed maid could never leak private information.

Thus, even with torture, she could never betray her Supreme Leader.

That woman scared me.

With the girls beside me, Candice set the tablet on the table and pressed play.

“The voter’s turnout has been higher this year…” the man spoke in Spanish.

I frowned as his accent was throwing me off. It had been a little while… I should brush up on it.

Luckily there was subtitles and I found myself reading more then I once needed to.

“President Luis Gonzalez called for a early election this year... resulting in a surprise upset…” the man droned on.

I wanted to ask Candice what the punchline was

“In a shocking turnout, there has been more voters this year then any other. This sets the record at an all time high of 128.56% of the country. This shows that there is currently a influenced miscount…”

I frowned. Wow 128.56% huh?

“With 52.01% voting for ‘Val Verde’ as our new leader! This means that someone, or a group is interfering with the election! With majority votes for either Val Verde, or President Gonzalez we are uncertain who has won.”

The man continued to talk. The anchorwoman began to debate.

I did not hear them.

I looked to my left. Kori and Kara were staring at me.

I looked to my right. Candice was grim faced.

I looked up, and I saw figures coming down.

At least they didn’t break the window again.

—

Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Batman.

They sat on the nice furniture, and were currently drinking margaritas.

Say what you will about Clara and her maids. She was a force of nature.

“To reiterate, you didn’t interfere?” Batman asked as he took a drink.

“Not with the election. All I did was send food.” I answered as I rubbed my forehead.

I already had too much paperwork as the streamlined leader of a small island nation.

I did not need what was a chaotic government on a foreign mainland.

I did not need to lead a bunch of ‘free’ people.

I leaned back and pondered.

If I tried to shoot these heroes, could they kill me before this fallout got worse?

The other three were talking about the results.

“You should take the position. Temporarily that is.”

The room stopped talking as we all turned to Batman.

“What?” I looked at the man as if he had finally lost his marbles.

“Venezuela has had issues much like Val Verde. A collapsing economy, civil unrest, and food shortages.” Batman began as he placed a small disk onto the table. It projected images.

Charts. Newspaper clippings. Internet articles.

I saw Lois Lane’s name more then once.

“I believe that they were also to be approached by the Reach. Turmoil has continued to escalate despite the Reach’s exist from Earth.” Batman kept flipping through images.

I nodded along.

“We need to get someone… trustworthy to enter the country and make some waves. Smoke out the culprits if you will.” Batman finished as he stared at me.

I stared at him as if he said he was currently holding a handful of marbles. He had no marbles.

I gathered my mental discipline. A lifetime of hard work. Memories of a lifetime and some fraction.

“Why?” I huffed out. I was probably going to do this. Batman was no fool. He would only suggest this if there was a good chance of success.

“You are reliable as a leader, and you do not wish to look after another country. Your ambitions have always been nationalistic, and thus a good agent to see what is going on.” Superman said as he finished off his second scone.

“We owe you a favor for breaking your glass ceiling, and with this work… we will help you with your moon base.” Batman said in that unbreakable monotone of his.

I stared at Batman. At the other three.

The world’s greatest detective didn’t talk down to me. He treated me as he would with any other person.

Despite his dull tone, he was treating me with respect. Which left out how he already knew how to blow up said moon base.

I leaned back and stared at the skies.

That was enough for me.

Project Lua was not going to solve itself. It involved crazy ideas like two separate space station tethered together. All to circumvent the League’s zetashield.

“Okay. I will do it.” I sighed as I needed that space help. It would turn the four project into one or less.

Which in turn would rush all my other projects.

If we got lucky and could begin the mining operations, our plans could speed up by a thousand folds.

“Good. Now we need to discuss plans, and what this job entails.” Batman stood up, and tapped at his computer again.

The screen changed I was looking at their charter. The rules that they worked by on a global scale.

Rules they have only broken during terrifying emergencies.

I nodded along as the rules were simple.

No outright violence. No perpetual leadership. I wouldn’t scam the nation. Or do other bad things.

All fine.

They also trusted me enough to do things with my own discretion. Things were going to be rough.

"Here is my proposal..." Batman began as he pulled up a new document. There was a dozen talking points.

This was going to take a while.

—

It was with a bitter smile I watched as they left.

“Orders?” Candice asked as Kori massaged my shoulders.

“Activate the reserves. Have Sue pause the consumer stuff and rush out the new type 42 armor. This is going to be a rough year.”

Candice smiled at the news.

Though I didn’t know the full extent of it, Candice and the others did.

The military arm of Val Verde has been fidgety. A military nation with no military was unnerving to them.

Like a man stricken of his routine, they itched. A routine that had lasted seventy years.

They were biting at the bit to rejoin active service.

This was the perfect excuse to get that gear moving once more.

With my orders, that war machine once again began to hum.

————

Chapter 25: 128.56%