11702/A Cheetah's Ire.

A Cheetah's Ire.
Date of Scene:	30 June 2020
Location:	Lex Luthor's Office - LexCorp Tower
Synopsis:	Lex and Cheetah have a conversation.
Cast of Characters:	Lex Luthor, Cheetah

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Lex Luthor has posed:
It's been weeks now since Lex and Barbara have spoken. Weeks since Cheetah had her buttons and abilities pushed. Sure, he had done it for all the 'right' reasons, but he still intentionally drove her into a corner and stoked her rage.

Of course, he knew Barbara well. She would eventually talk to him again, since he had meant well enough and did it to help her, even if it wasn't quite what she wanted.

Lex himself had been busy with running his Empire. There was a lot of work involved in placating the US government over the Peacekeeper matter, and in making sure it resolved in a way that was satisfactory for him.

Of course, he was also expecting Barbara to drop in sometime this week... probably trying to do so without warning, so he had given Team Luthor orders to not even try to bother with stopping Barbara from coming up.

He just knew her that well.

Cheetah has posed:
Barbara-Ann had stewed for weeks. Weeks! The unmitigated gall of >THAT< man. He had the good sense to be 'otherwise engaged' when she had come to on the floor of his testing facility. In fact, most of his senior staff had been suddenly 'called away' leaving the less seasoned personnel to handle her. There had been an odd uptick in claims to the LexCorp group employee health insurance plan that day but nothing that couldn't be glossed over.

The day after the test, dozens of blood-red roses and a box of expensive Latverian chocolate had been delivered to Cheetah's suite. Lex's name had been on the card but it was almost certainly Mercy who managed the particulars - threat amelioration was her /job/ after all.

Cheetah had studiously ignored any and all e-mails, telephone calls, or texts emanating from Camp Luthor. But today was the day. He'd never see it coming! She was as inscrutable as the sphinx.

She had arrived by car and stalked through the bustling lobby; up the many, many flights of stairs (stairs!); past the security checkpoint in a huff; and past the receptionist who, as per Lex's orders, made no attempt to stop her or even make eye contact. Barbara-Ann swung open the magisterial door leading to Lex's office and slammed it behind her. Then she stood wordlessly, fists on her hips, glaring at Lex. Just. Glaring.

Lex Luthor has posed:
"Hello again, dear." Lex offers by way of greeting as he watches Metropolis from the window. He doesn't need to turn around to 'see' Barbara's glare, "it's been a while."

In his right hand (both hands are behind his back) he presses a button, and a holographic readout of the result of the testing show up, "The results, in a format you can understand. I had this report specially made for it to make sense to you."

Indeed, there are even relative comparisons for upper tier superpowers that Lex knows about, including Superman himself... of course, the fact that Lex has such DETAIL on the extent of Supermans powers....

Cheetah has posed:
"Don't you 'dear' me!" Barbara-Ann snarls as she marches purposefully toward Lex. She likely doesn't have a precise plan in mind; however, attempting to throw Lex out that blasted window is probably near the top of a still-forming mental list.

Before she gets anywhere near Luthor a small glass bowl full of the same Latverian chocolate that was delivered to her after the testing debacle catches her eye. She pauses by the end table to snatch one. In short order she flays the foil skin away from the mouth-watering candy and tosses it into the back of her thro---AND GOD, THAT'S GOOD CHOCOLATE!

Barbara's meta-human condition has done wonders for her sense of taste. For the moment, this is more than enough to derail whatever hare-brained scheme her feverish brain was cooking up. Lex really DOES know her that well.

Thus distracted, Minerva's eyes wander over to Lex's holographic read-out. For a moment Barbara-Ann considers getting angry at Luthor's earlier, ' ...in a format you can understand' crack but, actually, yes, this format is really much better.

"Are these mine?" Barbara-Ann wanders over and squints. Her right cheek is inflated from within by the wad of chocolate marinating in her mouth.

Lex Luthor has posed:
"Yes." Lex states simply, his hand on the remote tossing it over to Barbara. "Have a look for yourself."

Cheetah has posed:
Minerva catches the remote gingerly -- mindful of her immaculate nails. The chocolate is ground to bits and the unladylike deformation of her face recedes. She peers at the hologram muttering something along the lines of, "Why can't you use paper like a regular person."

Barbara-Ann absorbs the gist of the data in short order, "Surely, this can't be right." She turns to Lex.

Lex Luthor has posed:
"Barbara, why in the world would I lie about your capabilities? You went up against the LexKnight suit and actually put some pressure on it's reserve power. I have no interest in stroking your ego over this. This is your new normal." Lex confirms for her with a neutral expression, before he clicks the remote, and a holographic video of the test from start to finish begins to play. "Take a look for yourself. The relevant speed parts are slowed down, but you can ask them to be sped up so you can see I'm not lying."

Cheetah has posed:
Minerva unconsciously bristles at the term 'normal.' This (whatever >this< is) can't be the new normal. 'Normal' is sipping martinis with Kate Moss on a yacht off the coast of Malta. Waking up in her suite to find everything she owns clawed to ruin, and discovering she looks a bestial nightmare CANNOT be the new status quo.

Barbara-Ann folds her arms across her chest reflexively. "There's nothing you can do, then? Is that right?" A weaker woman might have collapsed into an abyss of self-pity. Minerva, instead, moves back to the bowl of chocolate. For a moment, her back is to Luthor. Clearly, she trusts him more than most.

Lex Luthor has posed:
"This isn't my area of expertise, as said before. Victor studies these matters a lot more than I do. I prefer more grounded theory." Lex admits, the remote clicking to show the video and report both. "Victor has been quite busy for a while, but I have no doubt he's working on this. These test results will likely help as well with that."

Cheetah has posed:
"Well, that's just peachy." Another Latverian chocolate is sentenced to death. Minerva scoops up the bowl containing the rest of the sweets and wanders over to Lex's sofas where she flops down, kicks off her heels, and props her bare feet on the nearest coffee table in a pose not too unlike how Lex found her on the occasion of their 'reunion' some weeks ago. She's getting drunk later. Or attempting to. Lex's in-office bar is conveniently in view. Ominously, Barbara-Ann doesn't appear to have anywhere pressing to go to.

Lex Luthor has posed:
Lex watches her impassively. He simply... stares. "You don't want to discuss the results at all?" Lex asks, almost cautiously.

Cheetah has posed:
Minerva turns her face toward Luthor. Already half the chocolates have 'vanished' and her cheek has deformed in a confection-powered bulge. "What's to talk about, Lex?" The cocoa holocaust continues and gradually renders Barbara-Ann's speech indecipherable, "I'm a mrrfughng'ing freak." She's taking things remarkably well. On the surface. Lex likely knows Minerva well enough to recognize the calm before the tantrum. Perhaps a distraction is in order?