Washington, DC
Rio was anxious to finally be in the nation's capitol, partly because of what she expected the next few days to be like, but mostly because she had just been on an airplane for five hours.
It wasn't all bad, of course. She had been put in first class, there was a movie, and she had gotten a free lunch, but it killed her to be sitting on a plane instead of just flying here herself. She knew, though, that that would have been a bad idea. Number one, she wasn't sure she would have known how to get here, number two, it would have taken her that much longer assuming she did, and number three, she couldn't risk the exposure.
The letter Rio had received from the White House had said something about her winning an essay contest and getting to spend the whole week in DC learning about things like the nation's history and how the government works. The problem was that there was no essay contest that Rio knew of. When her mother looked it up online though, there was an official government website with an article all about how Rio was the big winner. She had played along for her parents' sake, but she knew that whatever this was, it was likely that it had something to do with her magical powers.
After retrieving her luggage, Rio looked for signs of where she was supposed to go. The Presidential Seal, a sign with her name on it, anything. Instead, she was surprised by a woman's voice.
"Rio Mgomo?" the voice came from behind her, causing her to jump.
She turned around to see a very beautiful Japanese woman wearing a black dress and sunglasses.
"That's me," Rio answered quietly.
"Come with me please," the woman said sharply, turning on her heel and swiftly walking away. Rio almost had to run to keep up.
"Where are we going?" Rio had the nerve to ask once they were outside.
The woman didn't answer. She led Rio to where a limousine was waiting for them.
"Luggage," the woman said. The driver popped the trunk, and Rio put her bags in.
"Get in," came the woman's next command. Rio opened the backseat door and sat inside as she was told, and the woman got in behind her.
"Now can you tell me what's going on?" Rio asked hesitantly.
"My name is Mercy Graves," the woman answered. "You're going to meet some very important people, Miss Mgomo. And with your, ahem, talents, I'm sure they'll all be excited to meet you as well."
Mercy was quiet for the remainder of the ride. Rio thought it best that she remain quiet as well.
When they finally arrived at their destination, Rio had no idea where they were. The building looked official, but it wasn't the White House or the Capitol Building or any of the important ones she had learned about in school.
"Welcome to the currently unnamed headquarters of the Justice Alliance, Miss Mgomo," Mercy said. "You may want to change before we go inside."
"All of my clothes are in the trunk," Rio said.
"I think you know that's not what I meant."
Rio frowned. This woman obviously knew her secret. But she still figured that her safest bet was to go along with it for now.
"SHAZAM!"
"Impressive," Mercy marveled at the now adult woman sitting across from her.
The two women then got out of the limo and headed into the building. Upon entering, Rio was greeted with a pleasant surprise. The famous Superior Man, of all people, was standing in the lobby, seemingly expecting them. "Excellent!" he said, smiling. He nodded to acknowledge Mercy before coming to shake Rio's hand. "I get to meet another of Lex's recruits. Please call me Kal. All of my friends do. And your name is?"
"Uh, Captain Lightning," Rio blurted out. Great, she thought. There was no going back now. All that time spent trying to come up with the perfect name, and now she was stuck with Captain Lightning.
"Wonderful!" exclaimed Kal.
Still a little starstruck, Rio managed to ask, "What was that about recruits?"
"That, 'Captain'," came another voice from across the room, "is precisely why you are here." Rio turned to see none other than President Luthor himself coming to greet her. "Has everyone been introduced?"
"Yes sir." Mercy answered him.
"Kal, where did the Flash go?" Luthor asked.
"I'm back," another man said, seeming to appear out of nowhere. He was dressed in a bright red and yellow costume and mask, adorned with little wings on his head and a lightning bolt on his chest, smaller and styled differently than the bolt Rio sported. "Had to use the restroom. Who's this?"
"Flash, this is Captain Lightning," Kal said.
Rio cringed upon hearing the name again, but she managed to wave and let out a meager, "Hi there."
"If you will all follow me to the meeting room," Luthor instructed, leading the way down one of the corridors.
Upon turning a corner, the group found themselves in a very spacious area with a large table in the center and an even larger television screen on the wall. Standing at the head of the table were two men. One, clearly the older of the two, sported grey hair and a goatee, and an eye patch on his right eye. He was dressed in a very casual wife beater and jeans, and he stood with his hands behind his back. The other man, much younger, Rio noted was African-American. Refreshing, as she wasn't used to being around so many grown white men at a time. What was odd about the younger man, though, was that half of his body appeared to be robotic. To see the two standing next to each other, one without his left eye and the other without his right, was interesting.
"I'd like to introduce you all to Slade Wilson and Victor Stone. They'll be in charge here," said Luthor. "Gentlemen, you've met Mercy. This is the Superior Man, the Flash, and Captain Lightning. There was one more person I was hoping to have join us today, but I'm afraid she was unable to make it. Please, everyone find a seat."
Luthor and Kal sat on one side of the table. Rio and the Flash sat on the other. Mercy, Slade, and Victor remained standing.
"Gentlemen. Ladies," said Slade, "Welcome to the first official gathering of what our esteemed President has dubbed the 'Justice Alliance'. In case any of you are still in the dark, we've all been gathered here because we have special talents. The President believes that we are capable of truly great things, including but not limited to finding and defeating a new threat."
"What kind of new threat?" asked the Flash.
"The kind that I would prefer the general public not know about," said Luthor. "Now seems like as good a time as any to tell you all that this group and its actions should remain a secret to the people. In time, we will reveal you publicly, but for now, we don't want to risk our enemy finding out."
"Said enemy," continued Slade, "has already attacked a secret government facility and stolen something dangerous."
An image appeared on the screen above Slade and Victor. It was a picture of a woman, but she appeared to be made of metal.
"This is Project: Platinum," said Victor. "Aside from some of us in this room, she's the most dangerous weapon the United States has at its disposal. Unlike any of us, the problem that comes with her being in enemy hands is that she's programmable. The lead scientist on the project, Doctor William Magnus, was also taken."
Another picture popped up, this time of a brown-haired man with an old fashioned pipe in his mouth.
"In the event that our enemy tortures or otherwise convinces Magnus into turning Platinum against us," said Slade, "we're screwed."
"And that's where we come in," assumed Kal. "What you want us to do, Mister President, is find the kidnapper, stop the robot, and return Doctor Magnus alive. Correct?"
"Correct," said Luthor. "And if we could try to keep Project: Platinum from being damaged beyond repair, that would be nice too."
"Okay, but how do we find them?" asked Rio.
"I never lost them," said Victor. "There's a homing chip in Platinum so that Doctor Magnus would be able to keep track of her on missions. I picked up the signal as soon as the facility was attacked."
"Is that one of your robo-powers?" asked the Flash.
"Yes," Victor answered, frowning.
"Cool. So where is she?"
"Italy. An old, isolated house south of a town called Vicari."
"Alright," said Luthor, standing up. "I think that covers everything. I'm sorry I couldn't stay with you longer, but I have responsibilities. Mercy, show them all to their rooms please. Try to get some rest, folks. You fly out first thing in the morning."
