Powerhouse: Legend of the Archwave

Prologue, Part 1: My Destined Successor

-2024-

-Celestial Compound, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-

The Celestial Compound in the capital of Santo Domingo within the Dominican Republic was an expansive, fenced-off campus of buildings---all with tan and beige exteriors---which appeared to be an inconspicuous factory from the outside, but was, in reality, the base of operations for a long-running and clandestine drug distribution operation. The Celestial Syndicate, whose numbers were unknown---but often presumed to be endless---were its operators, and they engaged in the willful production and sale of cannabis in both leaf and brick forms even though the substance was strictly illegal in the Republic.

Its affiliates were many, and joined for a variety of reasons. Some genuinely believed that there was no other way for them to make a sufficient living. Others simply enjoyed the thrills and the rushes of going against the justice system. Others were apparently addicted to the substances themselves, and signed on for the job just so they could be around it for longer periods of time. And even others were coerced. Threatened. Practically roped off the streets by the Syndicate's leader and pressured into towing the line, one might say. For these, the fear of rebelling was too great, so they simply opted to remain obedient.

The campus consisted of a wide and complex factory in the middle of the grounds, shaped roughly like a long rectangle with a domed glass roof overhead that was supported by various beams in cross-shaped formations. The smell of cannabis often wafted both in and around this building; in essence, the proper reagents were funneled in through one end of the production line, and condensed bricks of the substance were rolled out of the other end after compaction and processing. The bricks were then loaded onto a variety of vehicles---from pickup trucks to mopeds and vans---where they would subsequently be shipped off to potential buyers once the Syndicate's leader got wind of anyone potentially interested in enabling their addiction habits. During slow weeks, the surplus cannabis bricks would instead be stored in one of many storehouses around the rest of the fenced-off campus; additionally, there were residence buildings on the lot where the workers rested in their free time.

When an order came in, the bricks of cannabis would be transported---with the use of drivers---to an isolated location where the buyer would typically wait; at the time of the transaction, the buyer would usually already have the required cash on them. If the buyer had the proper amount of money, the cannabis bricks would be delivered to them, and they and the Syndicate's operatives would part ways without further issues. If they didn't have the proper amount of money, however.....the money would still be taken, but it would be highly unlikely that the buyer would ever be heard from again. Additionally, on top of the regular transport vehicles, heavily armed defense vehicles were also occasionally utilized to eradicate any potential threats or authorities along the cartel's typical trade routes.

In all, the lot on which the huge factory, the multiple storehouses, and the residence buildings were on was generally considered to be the "Celestial Compound", and it had maintained its cover with surprising efficiency ever since its establishment many years ago.

However, their operations had recently been ground to a screeching halt for exactly a year due to the galactic titan Galaxara's decimation of almost all sentient life on Earth except for the serpentine superheroine Hailey a.k.a. The Viper. Thankfully, the valiant woman persevered in spite of that---and managed to defeat Galaxara and bring back everybody, albeit while keeping her rescue a secret---and everyone whom Galaxara had decimated was brought back into existence where they had initially been.

Unfortunately, that also meant that the Celestial Syndicate was among them.

And now, they were more determined than ever to make up for lost time.