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To the attention of the readers who enjoy reading an intelligent main character like Miles will definitely like my original story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.
—
Gotham
Sportsmaster was left in a mental asylum. With his consciousness locked deep in his mind, he was no different from a lobotomized individual.
He had been found drooling in the street by a kind lady who had called the emergency services. Seeing his burnt-out state, they tried to reach out to family. Upon realizing the individual was a criminal and that the family wanted nothing to do with him, his fate was set now.
Miles knew the League of Assassins would be on the lookout for Sportsmaster. The fate of an agent, whether dead or gone rogue, could not be left uninvestigated.
He had given Artemis and her mother emergency transponders. Should the League of Assassins target them, he would send reinforcements.
He was about to leave for Metropolis. A purse snatcher, however, had a different idea. He had stolen from an old lady. Amazo was just about to interfere when a fist extended from behind them.
It knocked the would-be snatcher out cold.
He chuckled at the sight of Eel O'Brian, a.k.a. Plastic Man. The hero had stretched his legs up, waving at the crowd for the photos.
He should talk to the man soon.
—
Metropolis
There was a theft attempt on the Clean Energy Research Center by Captain Cold. The cryo tech developed must have impressed Snart for him to come to Metropolis. His cryotic armaments might work against Flash, but Superman was a different matter.
The security was recently switched to the latest iteration of Morrow's androids. Snart was caught before he could even enter the lower levels. It was a pity that his code made him unwilling to work under someone. His talents could have been useful.
"O Captain, my captain, trying to steal from me?" he asked.
"Just call the cops and get this over with," Snart replied.
Miles wagered the villain's costume would be awfully hot if they removed all the cryotech.
"How cold."
He looked down at the petty criminal. "The law enforcement is on the way. Don't let me see you around my property again, Leonard."
The human element of the security had already called the police, and they were minutes away. If the thief had disappeared, there would be too many questions.
It had paid off to have such an advanced security system.
—
"I don't know where you even found Thomas Morrow, but it is a good thing that you did. A theft would have been a blow to our prestige," Mary said.
He was visiting her office to discuss official business once Captain Cold was taken away. Meanwhile, Claire and Baraka were sweeping the building for bugs.
Amazo had left to consider the meaning of life on the moon.
"It would have been," he agreed.
"Your new friend is?" she asked, looking at the short, black-haired female dressed in a suit.
"This is Helix Aegis, your new bodyguard," he introduced. The android transformed her arm into a plasma cannon and back in demonstration.
"Do you think I need one?" She could do with hired security too. An Android seemed a bit overkill.
"Captain Cold's attempt was a sign that we have become important enough to draw the eyes of less than desirable people. Better safe than sorry."
Leonard Snart was the first, but by no means would he be the last.
"True."
"Ma'am." Aegis moved to stand at the corner of the room, waiting.
"She is an extremely advanced android. Coupled with the teleporter, you have nothing to worry about." The staff most likely to be targeted had emergency transponders to be teleported out of danger.
"Nice to have such a caring boss."
Once her security detail was updated, the matter turned to the company. The profit margin was off the charts. The advanced technology and the metahuman recruitment drive cut down on labor, energy, and material costs. Even with the above-market-rate salaries, the company had profited two billion dollars in just six months since the start of operations.
An incredible feat.
When it became evident just how much profit there was in having the metahumans work for you, just about every other company on Earth started the same. However, a simple advertisement campaign made the EnviroCorps the primary choice.
We don't recruit for profit; we recruit because we are against discriminating.
It had forced everyone else to offer far more than EnviroCorps.
The meteoric rise had the company and the competitors on edge. Especially when every inquiry and inspection came clean.
Now, the next part of the company's plans could begin. A fusion reactor for cheap, clean, and virtually limitless energy. Building the reactor in the United States was not possible due to the political climate.
The myriad of lobbies would never let such a revolution happen without having their share of the pie.
Which is why the first reactor would be built in Europe. A single reactor could power the electric grid of an entire nation, though several smaller ones would be better for redundancy. The danger of a nuclear accident did not exist as well. Mary suggested Germany as the location.
Europe as a whole was big on clean energy. A fusion reactor would be irresistible for them. Germany had the industrial base and a coastline for deuterium extraction from the sea.
Work on opening the EnviroCorps Germany branch had already begun. Once the fusion reactor that would power his holdings in Metropolis was online, it would be all the proof necessary for the world.
—
Pamela had cleaned the pollution in the Crime Alley in record time. Her breed of fungi was being sold to countries suffering from the same kind of environmental issues. All the profit was hers to do as she wished.
He, too, was buying her fungi to clean all the land he had bought for cheap.
Now, she had started her work on developing resistant crops for the famine-stricken parts of Africa. He would work on stabilizing the continent. Ending all armed conflict was the beginning.
Starting with Zambezi.
It was a country that did not exist on his Earth. Yet, the conflicts remained the same. Richard Jiwe, a reverend and peace activist, had been elected as the president. His half-brother, Mustapha Maksai, had staged a coup and executed the man.
Richard's daughter, Mari Jiwe, had escaped to the United States. Under the name Mari McCabe, she was a businesswoman and model who fought crime as the heroine Vixen.
She yearned for revenge but had yet to take it.
—
New York City
Vixen operated at night. The Tantu Totem allowed her to tap into the morphogenetic field of Earth, otherwise known as the Red. It made tracking her difficult.
She was currently chasing a drug dealer. The teleporter had landed him, Claire, and Baraka right on the path of the man.
Claire cracked her knuckles. The criminal was looking back for Vixen. When he saw something at the edge of his vision, it was too late. Her punch had slammed him to the ground.
The orange-costumed heroine came to a stop. Her brown eyes examined the trio before her.
"Thanks for the help," Vixen said. Her stance looked relaxed at first glance. He knew better.
"I abhor the thought of meddling in a hero's pursuit, but I wanted to speak to you. Miles Beckett, at your service." He took his hat off.
"Is this about the Tantu Totem?" she asked.
He knew those that practiced mystical arts would be on the hunt for the totem. Her suspicion was natural.
"While it is an interesting artifact, no. This is about taking down your uncle, Mustapha Maksai."
Vixen's wry smile vanished at the mention of the man who had killed her father.
"Why? What did he do to you?"
Maksai did not have a reason to send assassins after her. Either this person had a beef with her uncle or something to get out of removing him.
"Me? Nothing," he admitted. A common cause would have helped in earning Vixen's trust. "I have never even seen him in person. But his acts have reached my ears. I want him gone as a step towards putting an end to all the armed conflict in the continent."
She squinted her eyes slightly at the grand and altruistic-sounding plan.
"Why don't we speak somewhere else?" This was too important to speak about in a stinking alley.
—
Once the drug dealer was tied up for the cops, they found an empty park to sit down and talk.
"What do you get out of stabilizing the continent?" she asked. No one would try to stabilize an entire continent without earning something in return.
It was just a matter of knowing what Miles Beckett wanted.
"Ever heard of Darkseid?" he asked.
"No. Some new villain?" If so, the individual was either an edgelord or actually dangerous.
Miles smiled and played the recording of the battle between Darkseid and the Justice League. Amazo was kind enough to give these to him.
"He is the God of Evil from the planet Apokolips. He wants the entire universe under his tyrannical boot," he explained as the video progressed.
A small "oh" was all she could utter at the sight of a monster fighting the Justice League. Not only was this Darkseid holding his own, but he was also actually pushing the League back.
Even through the recording, her instincts screamed danger.
"Do you remember the incident at Jump City?"
"How can I not?" Over a thousand people dead due to the appearance of Satan was not something one could forget.
"The creature responsible for it was a mere avatar of the real deal," he said, showing Vixen the recording of Superman striking the four-eyed demon to no avail.
Her instincts were screaming again.
Vixen's exuberance was gone. These monsters were far out of her level. Which made them extremely deadly to the ordinary people.
"Is there some sort of secret power in Africa that can defeat them?" she asked with a creased brow. Otherwise, there was no sense in this man's desire to intervene in Africa.
"In a sense. The power of a unified Earth has the greatest chance to protect humanity from these extinction-level threats."
At least, that is what he believed. Taking the Anti-Life equation to wipe out evils such as Darkseid and Trigon.
"You want to unify the planet? Good luck with that," she scoffed. The politicians and dictators like Maksai would sooner bend over for Darkseid than unify to save the Earth.
"Do you want to free Zambesia, or not?" he asked. Vixen's belief in his plans was not necessary. Only her help in taking down the dictator of Zambesia.
"Why should I trust you?"
The assistance of someone who could acquire these recordings would be great.
If she could trust him.
"Hey there," a voice came from the sky. "Hope I am not interrupting."
"Superman?!" Vixen exclaimed, her voice rising in pitch. "What are you doing here?"
The Man of Tomorrow landed next to the bench, fist bumping with Miles.
"My friend here told me that a fellow hero might need an assurance," he explained. The conversation regarding Miles' plan to save a country from a dictator had not escaped his hearing. He still wasn't sure about interfering in a country like this, but Mustapha Maksai was a murderous despot.
If he could be brought to justice, then he was all for it.
"I, well," she stumbled. "I suppose you can't ask for a better reason to trust someone."
"Thank you, Superman, I appreciate this," Miles said.
Superman beamed. "Happy to help. Now if you excuse me, I have work tomorrow."
As quickly as he had arrived, Clark left New York City.
"What did you have in mind for Mustapha?"
The plan was simple. Zambesia was a poor nation. So were its armed forces. If Maksai and his generals were to be taken into custody, he could be forced to order his men to stand down.
However, there was a small issue.
There was no digital infrastructure for Zalika to hack to know Maksai's plans. This mission required an infiltrator to pull off a feat similar to the one at the Herrera family's estate.
He just had the opportunity to see one of the best infiltrators in the world in action.
—
Gotham
Vixen was putting her work on hold in preparation for her trip to Zambesia. Meanwhile, he would recruit the specialist.
It was relatively simple to get O'Brian's attention. If a person in need screamed in Gotham, rarely anyone except a hero would respond.
The second Plastic Man heard a maiden in despair, he came swinging, ready to fight. All he saw in the alley were three people waiting for him.
"Plastic Man."
"Is this my first ambush by villains?" O'Brian slapped his hands to his cheeks very deliberately, mouth open in a circle. "Man, I am getting more famous than I thought."
The clown act was just that, an act.
"I would have called, but Batman keeps an eye on you."
"Not an ambush? That's disappointing." Now the hero turned his head away, pouting.
Just as fast, he was back to smiling. "So, what do you guys want? An autograph? You didn't need to draw me here for that. I am always ready for my adoring fans," he said, pulling out a marker.
"I want your help in infiltrating the residence of a dictator and arresting him," Miles said.
Plastic Man sputtered. "Come again?"
Once O'Brian understood that the situation was serious, he dropped the act. As a former crook who had turned over a new leaf, helping arrest a dictator sounded cool.
He explained the situation in Zambesia. Starting with how Maksai had executed his half-brother, the late President Richard Jiwe, in a bloody coup. Followed by how the people suffered under his rule.
If Plastic Man helped, they could free the nation without spilling any further blood.
"Gee, man, I don't know. Who are you anyway? How do you know Batman?" Plastic Man's neck extended, and he looked down at Miles.
"We are friends. I would call him, but you know how he is about people, even if they are friends, moving around in Gotham."
"Yeah, you're right," he admitted, shrinking his neck back.
"What say you we take this to the Crime Alley? I want to see how the rebuilding efforts are going," Miles said. The Crime Alley, which would need a new name soon, was close to their location.
"Interested in Gotham, eh?" he asked.
For someone who had grown poor as he had, it was great to see that some things in this city actually change.
"I should be. I am funding half of the project."
O'Brian's eyes literally burst out of their sockets before going back. He knew that would interest the superhero. Once he saw the work in person, he would not need the assurance of Batman to join him.
In truth, he could handle the whole matter of Zambesia without Plastic Man. However, he was one of his favorites.
A goofball with the versatility to be one of the most troublesome superpowered individuals on the planet.
He wanted to be friends.
—
In the next chapter:
Once he was back home, Miles took everyone out for dinner. The sun was slowly setting down, and they deserved a treat after Zambesia.
It was going great. The place was fancy, the food was delicious, and the waiter was unnaturally beautiful. In itself, he would only question why she was working here rather than try her hand at modeling. If he was in a particularly relaxed mood, that is.
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