Owner	Pose
Cheetah	"Lex Luthor, you self-satisfied son of a bitch." The words are quick, stentorian, and spoken with an Albion flair. Barbara-Ann Minerva is lounging - sprawled, really - on the expensive Spanish loveseat to your right as you enter the office. Your office. She's early. Will wonders never cease? She's wearing a vibrant, red dress with a neat slit running up the side. You know this because she's propped her feet up on your coffee table. The tasteful books and other bric-a-brac of interior design have been unceremoniously shoved to one side to make room for her. Barbara's heels are gathered in a heap next to the loveseat. Her feet are bare (and immaculately pedicured). The left strap of her dress has given up the ghost, and slid down the round slope of her shoulder. Her scarlet hair is an angry storm on the back of the loveseat and she is staring at you as you enter. She reads as angry but, to the practiced eye, she's clearly not. Not really. Perhaps this is how sociopaths flirt.
Lex Luthor	When security had informed him of Barbara coming into the Tower, surprise had been one emotion, then curiosity. Barbara had been out of the city for a long time... did she miss him that much? Sure, the sendoff was amicable, but he had had the impression of wanderlust of a sort, and didn't expect to see her again for a long time. Upon entering his office, Lex gave a look to the Team Luthor guards; an unspoken order to leave, even as Mercy and Hope both walk in behind him, and they close the doors as security leave. The two bodyguards replace their positions as Lex brings his hands behind his back and he glances back over to Barbara. "Hello again, Barbara." He glances to the books. Then to her legs, then to the strap... then to her face. "While I'm pleasantly surprised to see you again, I didn't expect to see you in the US for years... let alone in my office. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Lex is clearly keeping his distance for now. A bit of paranoia, perhaps?
Cheetah	Oh, were you saying something? Barbara picks up where she left off, "You don't write, you don't call..." The shuffling around of the 'help' doesn't appear to register. She slowly raises her right hand; it is holding a white cue card tastefully appointed and adorned with an embossed font. "...you don't RSVP. My 'welcome back' soiree is in less than a week." This would be the soiree that she, herself, has organized. Naturally. There is an icy venom in her voice, whether feigned or not, it's suddenly difficult to tell. Her eyes fix on you with renewed vigor.
Lex Luthor	There's an almost imperceptible narrowing of Lex's eyes as he watches Barbara. The utter ignore of his question and just going into her own monologue gets silence from Lex for a moment. "Am I supposed to reply to that?" Lex inquires after a few moments more.
Cheetah	The leather of the loveseat lets out a muted groan as Barbara leans toward Lex, "Everybody is supposed to reply to it." Her dark, red lips practically spit out the word 'everybody,' as her hair snakes away from the backrest to coil around her bare back. For a brief moment supreme arrogance and ultimate narcissism hold each other in perfect suspense. The corners of Barbara's mouth startto draw back; the makings of a lethal sneer, but - slowly at first and then quite suddenly - the 'sneer' gives way to something else.     Barbara-Ann had been sprawled on the couch and, then, she wasn't. Was she always that spry? "Lexi, darling!" She is smiling warmly and her voice has a familiar sing-song quality, "I can never stay mad at you." She moves lightly toward you, her arms extended gracefully.
Lex Luthor	She could be unstable at times, which was one of the reasons they went their ways. Still, Barbara was interesting while it lasted. "Good to see you're as -interesting- as ever, dear." Lex notes as Barbara sits up and extends her arms. He steps into them and gives her an embrace. "I thought I heard rumors about that, but I dismissed them since you hadn't talked to me first." Lex offers in explanation. "Will you be staying long?"
Cheetah	Barbara holds Lex daintily so as not to smudge her (perfect) make-up. A finger quickly corrals a lock of unruly hair behind an ear while green eyes dart quickly to the floor before returning to Lex, "Yes, as it turns out. I'm rather hoping to move back permanently."     'Hoping'? An odd choice of words for a woman firmly in control of her own destiny. She locks eyes with Lex for a moment before glancing subtly at the door and the...company.
Lex Luthor	It's when Barbara says 'hoping' that Lex pulls back and glances at Barbara. There's a clearly neutral face there... but Lex didn't become the Kingpin of Metropolis by being stupid or not realizing implications of words. Something about the way that's said and her past has him on edge. There's no outstanding bounty on her, to his knowledge. There's no outward signs of illness, and she's clearly not panicked... "there's a new unknown factor. You wouldn't be having a welcome back party if someone in the city was after you, so it's someone outside the city... or there's a new biological issue." Lex reasons out. Barbara has seen that look before. He just ruled out dozens of scenarios based on the information at hand. With perfect recall in his memory, it's safe to say a lot of thought went into that.
Cheetah	Barbara has always found Lex's intellect magnetic and annoying in equal measure. "Something like that." Her voice is firm and flat but there is silent wrath in her eyes. There is something off-putting about having one's circumstances reduced to a mere data point. Barbara starts to fish around her handbag, which was sitting largely forgotten next to her on the loveseat. "It's really quite trivial." She sniffs, pulling out a make-up compact. She's clearly trying to busy herself - for her benefit or for yours.     Barbara starts to open the lid of the compact but, as her reflection falls within the arc of the mirror built into the lid, she quickly snaps it shut as though stung. There is a pause after the deed. She can't deflect you nor can she recover seamlessly, ergo she doesn't even try, "But it's really not something I wish to discuss publically."
Lex Luthor	Lex nods, disengaging from her proximity and heading for his desk. Mercy and Hope silently take this as their cue to move into the room and position themselves at both sides of the desk, in their standard guard positions. Lex himself moves behind the desk, the automatic seat pulling back to allow him in, and he sits down just as it slides back into place, timed precisely, and he leans back into it. "Tell me. LexTech is state of the art. I can have the problem isolated in an hour."
Cheetah	"I've never known you to get anything important done in under an hour, Lex, dear." Barbara retrieves her handbag, rises from the loveseat, and bends over (rather pointedly -- trusting Lex to do the math) to gather up her shoes. This takes longer than it should.     "My assistant will contact your office to schedule something at my penthouse." She says, standing erect again. Odd, is she slightly taller than before? A man with an eye for detail might notice that sort of thing. "You can bring your...whatever." An absent-minded gesture is made in the general direction of Hope and Mercy. "But I expect you'll have the good manners to leave them at the door." Barbara turns, then, handbag slung over her back, and slinks -- there is no better word for it -- toward the door. This takes longer than it should, too.
Lex Luthor	As Barbara leaves, Lex is silent, though he does watch her with an appreciative interest. Then, his face is neutral again as Barbara gets on the elevator. "Harmony, bring up the scan." Barbara, of course, doesn't know Lex was scanning her, but a map of her bio-functions pops up from top to bottom as the scanners built into the elevator activate and take a look over Barbara. There's a frown. "She /is/ taller." Genetic manipulation? A look is given to Mercy, "have the satellite team track her. I want to know where she's going, and when." Lex turns back to the desk, and moves behind it again to go into further details over the scan, "I have work to do."