The black limo pulled up to the palatial home nestled among the suburbs, matching the mansion it sat in front of but otherwise standing out as much as the giant residence did among it's more humble neighbors. A leggy blonde clad all in black strode out of the limo, carrying two suitcases, her face grim and serious. Mercy Graves adjusted her cap, tried to ignore the various sensors sticking to her head and body underneath the black leather and steeled herself as she walked up the sidewalk.
She placed one suitcase down to press a buzzer next to the door of the mansion.
Moments later, a man in a butler's uniform appeared opening the door. He seemed oddly ill-fitting in the outfit, although it seemed to be tailored perfectly. Something in his eyes seemed off.
"Good afternoon, Miss. Who may I say is calling?"
"A representative of one of the richest men on the planet." Mercy said, opening the suitcase she still held, revealing a small fortune in cash. "My name is Mercy and I'm here to talk to Alyssa Anderson."
The butler's face briefly registered a wash of emotions - surprise, relief, confusion - but immediately went back to neutral.
"I shall see if Miss Anderson wishes to speak with you. You may wait here. One moment please."
Mercy walked in, snapping the first suitcase shut as she picked up the second, noting that the wide waiting room and curved sets of stairs seemed oddly too large to fit the house she'd seen on the outside. The house seemed done up in lavish wealth but with a dark sensibility. All the colors were either red or black.
A few minutes later, the butler reappeared.
"Miss Anderson will speak with you. Please follow me out to the pool."
Mercy nodded and followed the man down an improbably long hallway through a set of double doors to an Olympic sized pool area. The Sun shone more brightly here than it had been when she had been outside a few moments ago.
Laying back in a pool chair, wearing a black bikini, was an improbably proportioned teenage girl. She had long black hair, pale skin and the curves of a supermodel. She was at least as tall as Mercy standing up, 5' 10" or more, with an impressive chest and flawless skin. This Alyssa Anderson looked nothing like the pictures they'd found of her in the local yearbooks and her social media - a dumpy, overweight Goth with a serious acne problem.
Two handsome teen boys in black Speedos were massaging the feet at the end of her long legs and didn't look up from their work as Mercy strode up to where the girl lay.
"Miss Anderson?" she asked.
The girl lowered black sunglasses, looking Mercy over with cold blue eyes before shrugging almost imperceptibly.
"That's me. Who the Hell are you?"
"My name is Mercy Graves. I'm here on behalf of someone very powerful who would like to make your acquaintance. Consider this a "Getting to know you" gift."
Mercy popped open the first suitcase, revealing $50,000 in cash.
"Cool. I don't really need that but hey, awesome." Alyssa said with another small shrug. "And I like your outfit, BTW."
Mercy smiled.
"Thank you. If you don't mind, my boss would prefer to have your first meeting be a long-distance one, given your unique abilities."
For the first time, an emotion surfaced on the girl's face beyond a pleased indifference - concern. She didn't say anything out loud, however, just frowned slightly as Mercy opened the second suitcase after placing it on a nearby table.
As it opened, a large flatscreen monitor popped out with a camera and broadcasting antenna above it. In moments, the face of Lex Luthor sitting behind a large desk appeared.
"Alyssa Anderson?" his booming voice rumbled.
"Yeah, that's me. Who are you?" the girl replied cautiously.
"My name is Lex Luthor. I've been monitoring your activities for the past month and I have a proposition for you."
The girl sat upright, shooing away the two boys who simply walked away and sat nearby, glazed looks on their faces.
"Monitoring me? Why?"
"I keep an eye out for anyone with unique abilities and the intelligence to use them wisely . . . although not subtly, in your case."
Alyssa bit her lip.
"I- I don't know what you're talking about."
Lex smiled.
"Don't insult my intelligence. The first reports of an entire cheerleading team going missing and cows being found in their place were noticeable enough. The ripples throughout your small Nebraska town afterwards, however, were what really gained my attention."
Alyssa swallowed nervously but folded her arms over her chest to try and hide her nerves as she sat up.
"Like what?"
"The disappearances of the town's star athletes. Your Stepfather not going to work without any notice only to answer the door dressed as a butler. The size and nature of your suburban home changing to a palatial mansion, of course. And, far more subtly, how everyone we interviewed in your podunk town refused to speak about you in anything but the most glowing terms . . . despite obvious fear in their eyes."
"So?" Alyssa said with a frown. "What are you going to do about it?"
Mercy braced herself for the worst.
"Why, nothing. Nothing at all." Lex said with a smile. "How you use your reality warping abilities to live like a big fish in your small pond mean very little to me. There are those, however, who would take umbrage to your transforming and enslaving the residents of your community. People like the Teen Titans or perhaps even the Justice League."
Alyssa's pale skin went paler.
"What do they care about some town in the middle of nowhere?" she asked, licking her lips nervously.
"They don't . . . yet." Lex said, leaning forward in his chair. "I can keep you out of trouble with the metahuman community, Alyssa. Smooth over the obvious and garish things you've done so as to prevent nationwide attention from the wrong people."
Alyssa let out a breath out she hadn't known she'd been holding.
"OK, sure. But what do you want in return?"
Lex smiled again, wider.
"I want to help you focus and test the limits of your abilities. More specifically, I want to see if we can use them on those who would cause each of us . . . trouble. Subtly, mind you and without any negative repercussions for either of us. Together, we can do great things, Alyssa."
Alyssa nodded, the implicit threat of discovery and being revealed taken seriously.
"What did you have in mind?"
"First, a bit of scientific study. Please change the color of my assistant Mercy's eyes from green to violet."
With another small shrug, she looked at Mercy. Mercy felt nothing but moved in front of the camera to face Lex as well.
Nodding, Lex looked pleased. In the background a technician stood near a computer terminal, analyzing streaming data.
"Very good. Now, a mental change. Please make my assistant bisexual."
Alyssa wrinkled her nose but nodded.
"Wait, Lex, what-" was all she got out before suddenly noticing the beautiful teenager in a way she hadn't before. Her eyes suddenly drank the girl's body in with a hunger that she'd only previously reserved for a handful of men. She shook her head in annoyance briefly before turning to fax Lex with a blush and a nod.
The lab technician in the background whispered something and Lex smiled.
"Excellent. It would seem that your changes are both instant and imperceptible to the best modern technology. Now, a more important test."
Another lab technician walked out with a canary in a bird cage and placed the cage on Lex's wide desk.
"Change this bird into a frog."
Alyssa furrowed her pretty brow. She'd never tried to change anything or anyone that wasn't nearby before. She looked at the yellow bird and thought "frog" with all her might.
In an instant the bird was gone, replaced with a big green frog that fell from the perch immediately.
"Wonderful!" Lex said with a chuckle. "I think we're about to change the world, Alyssa."