Rio opened her eyes slowly as she regained consciousness. She seemed to be back on the jet. And she was cold. Luckily, someone had provided a jacket for her. She guessed it was Mercy's jacket, since Mercy was now just wearing a tank top.

A little bit at a time, the noises of the jet came to her as well. Her teammates seemed to be arguing. About… her.

"It's a disgrace," she heard Slade say. "A damn disgrace. I want to see a show of hands. How many of you knew that Captain Lightning was a child?"

Staying quiet, Rio watched as the only people to raise their hands were Mercy and Victor.

"You two. Of course. I should have guessed," the soldier scoffed.

"Hey, back off, Wilson," said the Flash. "She did a damn good job out there. She saved Kal twice, and she was one of the only people here who could go toe to toe with Conquest."

"That's completely beside the point! She doesn't have the experience! She could have been killed."

"I don't see how it's any different than what your kids have been through, Slade," said Victor.

"You've got a lot of nerve, Robotboy."

"Am I wrong?"

"You're out of line, is what you are!"

"I happen to agree with Major Wilson," said Magnus. "About the girl, that is. This is real world combat. It's not hometown hero stuff. I mean, she's what… thirteen? Aaaand… she's also awake," Will finally was the one to notice Rio listening to the discussion.

"Lightning, are you alright?" Kal asked, kneeling down to speak to her.

"I guess so."

"Good thing. I never agreed to endangering minors," said Slade. "The sooner we get you home, the better."

"Home?"

"The mission is over," said Victor. "We have Platinum and Magnus. Zero casualties. Time to report in."

"And reexamine our team roster," added Slade. "If we even stay a team, that is."

"Respectfully, Slade, the mission may be over, but the fight isn't. Diana will come after us again," said Kal. "All of us. Now that she knows you're affiliated with me, none of you are safe on your own."

"Regardless, the President will want to know that we have Project: Platinum," said Mercy, calling Luthor. "We're going to catch heat as it is for adding so much extra time and mileage to out trip without checking in."

"Ah yes, Project: Platinum. The new and improved edition," said Slade. "I'm curious, Magnus. Since your lovely scarecrow apparently has herself a brain now, what does she think of all this?"

"She's still learning," said Will. "She's not going to have a fully developed personality out of the blue."

"Learning from what? Us?" asked Barry. "God help her, she's going to turn into a sociopath."

"Mercy?" President Luthor's voice came on the comms. "Good lord, what took so long?"

"We had unforeseen complications, Mister President," explained Mercy. "Turns out our bad guy has quite a history with the Superior Man."

"That's right. We had ourselves a fun little side adventure," said Slade.

"Side adventure? Is this a joke?" Luthor said sternly. "Did you accomplish your mission or not?"

"Affirmative, sir," said Mercy. "Doctor Magnus and Platinum are safe and homebound."

"And then some," Slade commented again, getting an annoyed look from Mercy.

"What is he going on about now?" Luthor asked.

"Well sir, it's… difficult to explain. Stone and Magnus seem to have given Platinum a little… upgrade."

"I'm looking forward to plenty of new tests, Mister President," said Will.

"Tests?" Platinum finally spoke for the first time since leaving the island.

"That's right, C-3PO. You're government property."

"Wilson, that's enough!" Mercy lectured Slade. "Mister President, I promise you will get a very, very detailed report from me. But for now, I think the team has earned some rest."

"Very well. Luthor out."

For a while, there was silence. Each passenger on the cramped jet had a lot on their mind. Interestingly enough, the first to speak was Platinum.

"Mercy Graves," the android said, walking up to the cockpit.

"Yes?"

"I believe this belongs to you," Platinum said, holding out the flight manual Barry had flipped through and tossed away earlier.

"It does," said Mercy. "You can put it in that compartment. Thank you."

Platinum put the manual in it's place, then started back to her seat, but stopped. "Mercy Graves?"

"Yeah?"

"I did internalize some of the pages I saw in your manual."

"Wow, that's interesting," Mercy deadpanned with all the enthusiasm of a tired parent talking to a toddler.

"May I sit with you and watch you fly? I think I would like to learn."

Mercy looked at the android, then back at her twelve. "Sure. What could it hurt?"

Platinum sat down in the co-pilot's chair, and… seemed to smile. Jokes aside, Mercy actually was fascinated by the encounter.

The rest of the team continued sitting in silence. Needless to say, they were exhausted. It was enough that they had woken up at an ungodly hour to fly out of DC. Then they had flown halfway around the world, engaged in multiple fights, nearly crashed, nearly drowned in some cases, and were now on the equally tedious trip back across the globe. And the real kicker? The trip back would take longer, since they were in less of a hurry and needed to conserve the jet's remaining fuel. Mercy was lucky she was an insomniac, otherwise she would have to hand the controls over to the android.

Several hours later, Mercy and the Justice Alliance finally touched down near the Alliance headquarters in Washington. It was nearly midnight in the Eastern time zone, and Lex Luthor stood watching the plane land, eagerly awaiting the mission reports. He watched with quiet composure as the occupants exited one by one and headed toward him. Stone, Kal, Flash, Platinum, Magnus, Wilson… where were Mercy and Lightning?

"Miss Mgomo, sweetheart," Mercy said gently, still on the plane trying to coerce Rio out. "I know there's going to be a lot to talk about, but for now it's time to go back to your room."

"You know, ever since I got that letter in the mail, part of me really wished the cover story could have been true. Essay contest? Spend the week meeting important people and learning about the government?" said Rio. "That would have been fun."

Sighing, Rio stood up and handed Mercy back her jacket, then called out her magic word so she wouldn't be seen walking back inside as her teenage self.

Mercy was obviously upset, but regained her composure and put on the jacket as she stepped out to greet her Commander-in-Chief.

"Mercy, finally," Luthor smiled. "Shall we go address the team?"

"Now may not be a good time, sir," said Mercy, stepping onto the ground and letting the maintenance team take over the jet.

"Understood. When can I expect your report?"

"You'll have it by breakfast time. Sir," Mercy answered, walking past the President without stopping or even so much as making eye contact.

Luthor frowned. "Better be a hell of a report."