It took far too long, in Cerion's opinion.
All along his island base, small discs positioned themselves in a pattern, lighting up with a blue aura. Cerion could make out grains of sand floating up as the energy output began to pick up.
A flash of blue light passed through the island, kicking up dust. A shockwave passed through the air, uprooting trees.
Cerion remained rooted to the spot, patiently waiting for the dust to clear. When it finally did, he saw the towering Kree city with seawater spilling into the ground.
A drone floated down to his side from the city.
"Space bridge is successfully executed." said Optima.
Cerion grinned at the success of mimicking the sling ring's power. The Ancient One was not the only one with plans within plans. Her periodic use of the sling ring within his place had allowed him to study teleportation and folding of space utilising some scanners. The ancient sorceress had inadvertently given him a lot of data with her little parlour trick. And now, the fruit of that painful data gathering and research lay before him.
"Good. What about the support structure for Puerto Rico?" he asked as he floated into the air and began looking into the city's structure with his enhanced vision for any defects or structural failures.
"All support structures have been successfully installed. The human settlements will remain safe." said Optima.
"Good. That's one less thing to worry about." he muttered while marking down the areas where he saw some weakness in the city's superstructure.
Cerion began to pick out designated areas where patchwork needed to be done and passed along the details to the drone so that Optima could inspect them.
"Sir, now that the city is safe from human or Kree incursions, what shall you name it?" asked Optima.
"A name, huh?" Cerion frowned as he thought of a name.
He thought of naming the city Atlantis. He had looked for that mythical city but so far nothing turned up on that front. Either Atlantis didn't exist, or they were very good at hiding even from his eyes. Then again, it'd be cheesy to name the city after Atlantis.
"How about Kandor?" he proposed.
"The capital city of Krypton, sir?" Optima asked neutrally, as usual.
"Maybe a bit too much, huh? Not to mention, it will be like an anchor around my neck, tethering me to a past long gone." Cerion mused before a name came to his mind. "Perhaps Koron. Though a moon of Krypton, it was where my plan to escape unravelled. A new beginning and at the same time something to remember the past."
"It's a good name, sir." Optima approved.
"Koron it is then!" he decided before looking at his previous base, where drones were beginning to shift much of the equipment inside the city.
Much of the island remained untouched by the city's arrival. The alien city was far too large to be easily accommodated on the island, so he decided to let a better part of the city remain submerged in the ocean. By doing so, he saved the island's natural habitat. It wouldn't do to disturb the flora and fauna of the island simply because he placed an alien city over the landmass.
A lot of planning and work went into safely transporting the city to the island. Now that he succeeded in doing so without any disturbance, he could focus on other issues.
"I'd appreciate it if I could have more access to you." said Deborah.
"I didn't know I was becoming popular around here," Cerion joked as he walked beside his YouStream Project Manager.
"Your popularity comes from the fact that you are the owner of this firm, and it has been growing at a terrifying pace. When such growth happens, there are concerns, and you have to be physically present to address them." said Deborah.
Cerion opened the door to his office and held it open for his colleague, who entered with a frown. He then shut the glass door and ensured no sound would escape the office.
He went behind the desk, took a seat, and began to arrange all the paperwork in a corner to get a clear view of his colleague.
"Take a seat and present your concerns." Cerion said, leaning back in his chair.
"I don't know where to begin…" Deborah muttered as she rummaged through a file in her hand.
"Take your time."
"Ah…finally! Got it!" Deborah exclaimed as she pulled out a set of paper bound together with a paperclip. She held out the bunch of papers he had taken. "Explain this?"
Cerion flicked through the papers without much surprise as these papers were quite familiar to his eyes.
"These are papers regarding a contract with Telefonica." said Cerion.
"It's more than that, Cerion. Telefonica just handed over their whole market in the US to Vex Corp. How did this happen?" she questioned sharply with a frown.
"Because of the contract, they hand over their US market for a price, and we empower them with revolutionary technology to boost their networks all around the world. It's a win-win, as we also signed a non-compete agreement in Europe with Telefonica," he explained.
"But, that's not how… Just how did you do that?" Deborah asked, flummoxed.
"I just showed them my plans, and there have been several backroom meetings involved." Cerion answered vaguely, not wanting anyone to know that he arm-twisted his SHIELD contacts to get what he wanted.
Besides, he promised better communications and targeting satellites. That made SHIELD work its magic, and suddenly, all the roadblocks were removed as if they had waved a magic wand.
"But I thought I was your go-to contact for Telefonica and IT in general." Deborah spluttered.
"You are one of the contacts. I have other assets in the field." Cerion corrected.
Deborah shook her head in disbelief.
"What?" he asked her curiously. "It's a golden rule in the business world to never put all your eggs in one basket."
"No, I just assumed…" Deborah trailed off
"Assuming is fine so long as you don't operate under the belief that your assumptions are the truth." he advised before handing over the papers back to Deborah. "Anything else?"
Deborah took a deep breath as she rearranged the papers in her hand until she found the right paper.
"Yes. You discussed a plan back in June to have a sort of public relations program in the universities."
"Yes. I remember. What about it?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I noticed you have allocated some two million dollars, which is way more than the initial estimates. Can we afford something like that?" asked Deborah.
"I'll be raising the extra funds personally instead of a fixed profit margin from Vex Corp."
"Are you sure you want to do this? There is the new HQ we are commissioning in Mountain View. Won't we be tight in funds, especially when we are supposed to put out tenders for automation and other expenses for the HQ?" asked Deborah.
"Everything is taken care of. In fact, I was about to hand over these files to you." said Cerion before opening a drawer, pulling out two files, and handing them over to Deborah.
"What are these?"
"The red file contains the offers I received from contractors through backroom channels. I want you to study them and weed them out. The green file contains information about several small manufacturing firms that we can possibly buy out without triggering the Sherman Act. I want you to look them over and build a report based on onsite inspection." he explained, looking intently at Deborah. "Can you oversee these two jobs?"
"Cerion, I think we are moving too fast." Deborah said with a look of concern as she ran her eyes through the files she received.
"On the contrary, not fast enough." he muttered, looking out of the glass wall of his office with a thoughtful frown.
Deborah now looked at him as if he'd grown another head.
"You are not appreciating the speed by which the company is moving Cerion. A few months back, we were in the software market, and we had phenomenal success. As of last month, we broke into manufacturing with the V-pods, which is once again proving to be a success. You also intend to expand into manufacturing much more aggressively by this time next year."
"I know all of that. Your point being?" Cerion raised an eyebrow.
"People are noticing. The sheer amount of investment flowing into the company is remarkable. While I'm no expert in the stock market, I know enough to know that the investments we are receiving far exceed the stock value we are projecting."
"Is there a question?" he asked, looking at Deborah sharply.
"I…" Deborah hesitated, but he nodded and encouraged her. "I want to know whether these investors are legitimate. There's nothing going on that I have to be concerned about, right?"
"Well, my initial investments have propped up a better part of the company. Since my initial investment influx, I've periodically increased my capital spending, not to mention the loans I attracted. You already know I laid off some shares to raise more capital three months back. Outside of all of these, I do have some investors, and trust me, they are legitimate. They are acquaintances from my old job."
"An old job you can't talk about." Deborah needled him.
"I was working with NASA. Anything more, I can't say." Cerion said noncommittally.
"I won't pry too much, as I get the feeling the government is involved. But people are taking notice of you and the company. You are an enigma, and people love the mysterious types. This is California, and nothing stays buried in California." said Deborah with a pointed look.
"Hmm… we certainly don't need any bad press, and with the Prometheus program to be launched soon…" he trailed off in thought.
"I suggest you play your cards soon."
"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.
"You need public exposure. Your story has to be out in the public before others make stories of you." Deborah suggested.
Cerion let out a sigh as he leaned back in his seat.
"I'll think about it."
His recent talk with Deborah led him to realise the need for more voluntary exposure to the public. It was not a good idea to remain detached from public scrutiny when he was leading a company. With his plans in motion, cultivating public goodwill remained a priority for him.
The Prometheus program was the first step in his social outreach plans. Under the program, he aimed to provide financial support for students with exemplary academic performance. The program recognised young talent from high school and supported them financially to give them easy access to higher education.
He planned to expand the scope of the Prometheus program. But those plans were in the future.
With Vex Corp stepping into manufacturing, it was only a matter of time before he'd flood the market with advanced technology.
As Cerion planned, he managed to buy into the communications sector. If the digital revolution were to take root, telecommunications would have to be strengthened. Unfortunately, the present communication networks were heavily constrained. With access to Telefonica and his influence with SHIELD, he'd be able to strengthen network signals and coverage.
While this was going on, he'd bombard the market with new gadgets that enhanced human connectivity.
To achieve this two-pronged plan, Cerion needed two things: capital and infrastructure.
Capital was easily available, while infrastructure remained an issue. He needed a lot of infrastructure, such as sophisticated automation, advanced tools, machinery, skilled labour, a gigantic building to house all of this, and sufficient land to hold all of the above.
The red tape involved in buying a plot of land in Mountain View was enormous, even with his connections in SHIELD. The next challenge was constructing the building, which turned out to be far more complex than he thought. It would also be a time-consuming project and delicate matter, as endless regulations and building codes had to be followed.
The only silver lining was that the delivery of automation would take time. So, having a fully furnished building was not going to make much of a difference.
On the other hand, Cerion had the presence of mind to not depend on the US contractors to fulfil all his projects. Taiwan, it turned out, was far more friendly for foreign investments. Even the corporate tax was far lower in the island state compared to the US with far cheaper supply chain expenditure and labour force. The federal corporate tax in the US amounted to 40% while even Europe lagged behind a 5-10% difference from the US in this fiscal year. It was not exactly a good environment for growing businesses in the US at the moment.
Taiwan offered far more lucrative opportunities than the US. If everything went according to plan, Vex Corp. would start production in Taipei City before May 2002.
"Sir"
"Yes." he stared questioningly at the drone Optima was using to project a map.
"Dr Banner has been spotted." said Optima, projecting a video feed that showed Bruce Banner aka the Hulk.
Ever since the incident in the deserts of New Mexico, Bruce Banner was on the run. Cerion had been keeping an eye on the man but it was difficult to track the guy. He had to give it to Dr Banner. Bruce Banner knew how to hide if it wasn't for how predictable the man was going to be.
Dr Banner wanted to see his girlfriend who was now cooped up in West Virginia. It was only natural the good doctor sought out his girlfriend or even one of his old colleagues. So far, it'd seem Dr Banner had not decided to escape the US.
Not so smart, in Cerion's opinion.
General Ross had been scouring the countryside for his big green weapon with a vengeance.
"So, he is in Louisiana huh? It'd seem Dr Banner might require some help."