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—
Atlantis
The aftermath of Orm's coup required cleanup, which the Justice League had volunteered for. Soldiers had been taken to dungeons, awaiting trial, while the masterminds behind the coup, Prince Orm and General Brak, had been brought before the King of Atlantis so justice could be rendered.
"Prince Orm, General Brak, you have betrayed your vows, your king, and all of Atlantis by staging a coup, targeting me, my wife, and child, and almost doomed the whole world because of your foolish ambition. How do you plead?" Aquaman asked, his deep voice booming across the throne room.
"I only did what had to be done for the safety of Atlantis, which you have been too weak to do." Orm spat out, unapologetic for his actions.
"Your Grace, Prince Orm forced us to do this! We are loyal to you; please, show mercy." General Brak cried out for his life, jumping ship the moment his life was in danger.
"Yet, when I returned, you did not stand down as I had ordered and took arms against me." Arthur glared at the general, who shrunk in on himself.
"I…" Brak stumbled, his excuse as weak as his lacking courage, and hung his head.
There was nothing he could say to avoid punishment.
Aquaman conferred with his advisors and his wife before tapping his trident on the ground to silence the murmuring crowd.
"The guilty shall be sentenced to death, for the severity of their crimes demands nothing less." The King of Atlantis decreed, to the shock of the many, who thought the General and the Prince would be imprisoned at worst.
Arthur, on the other hand, wasn't going to let the people who wanted to kill his son walk away with their lives.
"For trying to save Atlantis from the surface dwellers? You are a coward, one who will doom us all!" Orm shouted, struggling against the chains held by the soldiers.
Murmurs rose from the crowd, and while it was hard to pick up, Miles did not like how some of the crowd seemed to be agreeing with Orm.
"Once, there was a village. They decided to eradicate the snakes, believing them to be dangerous. But instead of the safety they were seeking, the villagers found something much worse: a rat infestation. The vermin ate the crops, spread disease, and made life miserable for humans, all because they wanted to be safe from the snakes." Miles said to the crowd, who were confused as to why the human was saying this.
"Now, I will explain it in terms so even an imbecile like you can understand. If you had succeeded, you would destroy the surface, yes, but Atlantis would soon follow. Why? Simple, human nations possess hundreds of nuclear warheads—a number far from its height due to the Imperium—and power plants. When you melt the polar caps and drown the continents, all those reactors will most likely go critical, releasing enough radiation to poison the world, including the very waters you live in. Now, you may have what you desire, but you will consign Atlantis to a very slow and agonizing death" Miles explained, his tone not wavering even for a second.
Just like most other villains, Orm did not think about the long-term effects of his actions, only caring for the immediate gains he could have.
The crowd stopped murmuring as the realization came crashing down, and all those agreeing with Orm suddenly changed their minds, realizing how close they had come to danger themselves.
"And I can say with sincerity, the transparentness of your desire to take the throne due to your inferiority complex is hilarious, and it is only matched by your pathetic attempt to act as if the safety of Atlantis was your priority all along." Miles finished his tirade, further galvanizing the crowd against the soon-to-be-dead Prince of Atlantis.
Orm gnashed his teeth, fury bubbling up inside like a volcano, and with a show of strength threw the soldiers off, running at Miles, screaming his hatred out. The whole room tensed, ready to stop the prince. Soldiers ran after Orm, and the Justice League got ready to protect Miles.
The human in question did not even bother to move, as a pillar of fire blasted the treacherous Prince away, sending him flying towards the soldiers.
"He can't even handle the truth, yet wanted to be the king. I swear, some people are just irredeemable." Miles shook his head, moving back to stand with the Justice League.
"Was that necessary?" Superman asked, leaning over to whisper to Miles.
"Some amongst the crowd looked sympathetic to Orm; I thought it would be best to nip it in the bud" Miles whispered back.
Superman nodded in understatement, watching as the soldiers took the Prince and the General away. He wanted to protest the punishment, but his friends thought it wasn't a good idea to try and influence the outcome of a trial in a foreign nation.
"As for the Justice League, they have proven to be allies, assisting me in taking my treacherous brother down, as well as saving my wife and son from grave harm. To that end, we will be initiating diplomatic relations with the surface world to air out our grievances regarding the water pollution." King Arthur declared, making the gathered Atlanteans wonder if the surface dwellers would even listen, much less do something about it.
"We are grateful to hear that, Your Highness, and it is my pleasure to inform you that as a sign of our personal commitment to ensuring warm relations between both sides, I will launch a project to clear the pollution in the oceans, though it will be a while before it comes to fruition." The Atlanteans gazed at Miles as the human stepped forward again. They had no reason to trust the surface dweller, but their king did, and they would follow him regardless of their doubts.
"That is good news indeed, Miles Beckett." Arthur nodded. He too had his doubts, not that he would let his people see it, but Miles did not appear to be a liar.
"How are you going to do that?" Man of Steel asked, as it was no easy task to clean the different types of waste that polluted the oceans.
"I am starting up my own company to address environmental issues." Miles revealed his plan, though only a small part of it.
"Where?"
"Metropolis, since it is the city of progress." Miles wasn't entirely sure of it at first, as Superman's villains were known for their destructive capabilities, and it wouldn't do to have his holdings or employees face the heat.
But compared to other possible cities, Metropolis offered significantly more advantages in the forms of a highly educated workforce, a logistical heaven, ease of setting up a company and operating it, and it was a tax-friendly city, making it the ideal place.
"There aren't many people willing to spend money for that." Superman, of all people, knew that rich people would do what filled their pockets, not what is good for the people and the environment.
Lex Luthor was proof of that, as the rich businessman would rather use his considerable wealth to bring Superman down than do something helpful to the public with it.
"I have a substantial family fortune that I intend to put to good use." Miles continued his cover story with a straight face.
—
As Orm and Brak were taken away, Superman and Green Lantern spoke to Aquaman in the name of the surface world, agreeing to relay his desire to establish proper diplomatic channels to the appropriate authorities.
After that, it was time for the Justice League to leave while Arthur set his kingdom straight, though not before seeing them off.
"Once again you have my thanks for your assistance."
"We are glad to be of help." Superman said, giving his brightest boy scout smile, glad that this particular crisis ended without much trouble.
"Go well, and should the Justice League need my help, I will be there."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
—
Back on the underwater craft, the Martian Manhunter was taking Miles and Claire to the surface, while Green Lantern, Superman, and Wonder Woman retrieved the submarine and the plutonium.
Miles wanted to talk to the Amazonian about Felix Faust, but it would have to wait.
Shores of Metropolis and the sunlight were a welcome sight, and the duo were off so Miles could buy a residence, as the interviews were going to happen in two days at the Metropolis Grand Hotel, and Miles wanted to get it out of the way.
A nice, two-story modern manor with a large backyard later, Miles headed to the hotel, as it was the only address he could give in the advertisement. He didn't even have the chance to read the CVs of the applicants and was going in blind.
—
Two Days Later
"Next." Miles said bluntly to the man smiling like he was the only reason the sun rose each day.
The man's smile fell as he got up and headed to the door.
Some of the applicants were good, some were not, and some were rats who thought themselves lions.
The final applicant entered the room while Miles checked her CV.
Mary-Anne Lorein, born in Metropolis, has a bachelor's degree in management and a master's degree in business development; her grades were excellent, if all he cared about was the result of some exams.
She had two recommendation letters from mid-level administrative positions with glowing reviews, a promising candidate so far.
With black hair tied to a ponytail, electric blue eyes, and a heart-shaped face, she was dressed in a knee-length black skirt, a cream blouse, a black jacket, and black heels.
From her face and stance, Miles could tell Mary-Anne was a serious individual.
"Miss Lorein, please take a seat." Miles gestured to the chair in front of him, while Claire yawned in the back, bored out of her mind.
"Thank you." She said with a calm and confident voice, sitting down on the chair and establishing direct eye contact.
Good.
"Excellent grades from excellent colleges; your academics are impressive, your work experience less so." Miles turned the pages of her CV, scanning through the important sections.
"Some people can't handle a woman doing their jobs better than them." She said, and, well, this was 2003, so Miles wasn't that surprised about it.
"Must have been frustrating." He commented, checking the rest of the CV.
"It wasn't anything I couldn't handle." Whether she was frustrated or not, Mary-Anne did not let it creep into her voice.
"The job will be demanding, Miss Lorein, as everything will have to be built from the ground, and I have other commitments, meaning I won't be able to oversee everything. I will give you objectives and resources, and I expect you to carry them out." Miles explained that he still had to negotiate with Thanagar and find Professor Ivo, who hopefully was working at Luthor Corp and could be convinced to work for Miles.
"Which field will we be entering first, provided I am hired?" Mary-Anne asked after considering the pros and cons before deciding it was well within her capabilities.
"Clean, cheap, renewable energy and environmental pollution issues at the beginning, and then branch out from there." Miles explained, putting down her file and giving Miss Lorein his undivided attention.
"There isn't much, if any, profit to be made from cleaning the environment." She noted that even the clean energy sector was relatively new, with coal, oil, and other fossil fuels dominating the market.
"Wealth is not an issue, Miss Lorein, and I am after something else." Miles wanted to let Mary-Anne reach her own conclusion, so he didn't give out much.
"Well, then what you most likely want is public recognition. The man that addressed the problems no one else would." She said, pondering on what the man could be aiming for.
"Sharp, I like it." Miles nodded; he always appreciated people with sharp instincts and minds, and Miss Lorein was proving the latter, and time would tell whether she had the former.
"How much is your capital?"
"For now, five billion dollars." Miles wanted to keep half the money for his own expenditures, and he could always exchange more gold later on.
"That is impressive, especially for someone so young." She wondered how the man acquired a fortune like that but didn't want to risk anything by asking directly.
"Family wealth that I wish to use for the benefit of this world, rather than letting it collect interest in a bank or investing it somewhere just for the profit."
The interview continued for a while on matters such as the state of the clean energy sector, how to break into it, problems they would face, and each minute it was more likely Miss Lorein would be hired.
Half an hour later, the deal was sealed, and the new CEO of EnviroCorps would begin to set the company up from tomorrow on.