Words normally came easy to Lex Luthor, but at that instant, looking at Chloe and her wings, he was hard pressed for an opening line, and so, for once, he opted for silence.
"Wow, this is an awkward silence," observed Chloe, her face looking down towards the floor. She was afraid to look at Lex's face, afraid of seeing his reaction to her newly-acquired plumage.
"I'm sorry, Chloe. It's just that I'm comfortable with silence. Guess that what becomes of being a semi-recluse half of my life," replied Lex. "If it helps I can go through all of the unsuitable opening lines that I've come up with, although I'm suspecting this is one of those cases where words just aren't sufficient."
Chloe lifted her head and nodded. Lex could tell from her face that she'd been crying, whereas Lex's face revealed nothing to Chloe.
"You've got wings!" exclaimed Lex, raising his hands in the air in a melodramatic gesture, and then added "But I guess that's kind of stating the obvious."
Chloe smiled, which encouraged Lex to go through some of his other abandoned openings:
"Heaven must be missing an angel - way too cheesy. Do they tickle? - which sounds totally uncaring but I must admit I'm kind of curious. Wow, that'll make a great story - another uncaring one. Come to think of it, all the rest of my opening lines are totally flippant and uncaring - you're a writer, what should I say?"
Chloe got up from the floor, walked over to Lex and put a hand on his shoulder. "You did fine, Lex, although I have to say this is one story I'll keep to myself."
"But surely the public has a right to know," responded Lex teasingly. "What about your journalistic ethics?"
"First rule of flight club - don't talk about flight club," countered Chloe, although deep down inside she knew Lex was right. What sort of self-respecting reporter would hide the fact they could fly? Especially if, like the Gotham freaks Vicki Vale wrote about, there was a chance she might turn evil. Surely those close to her deserved to know the truth, if only for their own safety.
"So, what happened?" asked Lex, interrupting Chloe's train of thought.
"As far as I can tell a meteor rock's caused me to mutate. I've got wings. I can fly. Otherwise I'm the same as ever. How about you?"
"Things have changed," he said, and then, after a brief pause, continued. "First there was the visit to the Kents..."
"What happened?" asked Chloe, concerned about Lex's change in tone.
"I can't say. I gave them my word," was the only response Lex was willing to give. "I'm sorry."
"So, how have things changed?" demanded Chloe.
"Well, after I got back from the Kents, there was a message on my answering machine. My associates had tracked down 1989's scarecrow, one Jeremy Creek, the only eyewitness to Edward's attack on me. He was working as an electrician just outside Metropolis. Anyway, I'd always remembered Edward attacking me with his scissors, but, according to Mr Creek, Edward was trying as hard as he could just to cut the hair, and no other part, of that small panicking boy I once was - I guess the fact that I survived the incident with only minor cuts ties in more with Mr Creek's memories than mine. Anyway, I've been giving it some thought, even dreaming about it, and now I've reached a decision. My vendetta with Edward ... It's over. He's your story now - not mine."
Chloe looked at Lex stunned. She felt betrayed. Where was the Lex who'd wanted to destroy Edward Kent?
"But, Lex, you can't ..."
"No, Chloe, I'm afraid I can."
Chloe and Lex stared silently at each other for a long while, and then Chloe turned and walked away from him.
"Chloe," Lex said, just as she was about to leave. Chloe turned her head towards him.
"Close the window on your way out."
Hold me
Those were the two words that Chloe had wanted to say to Lex tonight more than any others, but, for some unknown reason, she couldn't. Maybe she was afraid that Lex would reject her (her mother's walking out on her all those years ago had left her with a strong fear of rejection) or maybe she didn't want to get too close to Lex just in case she did turn evil.
Still, whilst these thoughts occupied Chloe on her flight home, once she was indoors all thoughts of Lex were forgotten. To tell the truth, she hadn't actually visited the Luthor ancestral home to visit Lex, it was just that he'd happened to wake up on her way out. What she'd actually been there for was to look for Lex's Luthorcorp password so that she could search for any further information on the mysterious Edward Kent. Admittedly, Edward was so besotted with her that he'd tell her everything about himself anyway, but where was the fun in that.
Chloe sat in front of her laptop and typed in the password that she'd found. Minutes later she'd acquired the highest security clearance and was searching through the files for any references to Edward Kent or Scissor Hands. It was all too easy.
As she read through the various files that she found, Chloe couldn't believe what she was reading. Edward Kent, who turned out to be an android no less, was merely the tip of the iceberg. According to these files the lost city of Atlantis actually existed and one of Lionel Luthor's scientists had transported a Martian to Earth. Suddenly Chloe's unerring journalistic instincts took over - there was no way what she was reading could be true. The information in the files was obviously completely fabricated, designed to keep any infiltrator's attention long enough for them to be traced.
Chloe frantically powered down her laptop before anybody could track back her hacking attempts. However the minute she did this her phone started ringing.
Nervously she picked up the receiver.
"Hello, Miss Sullivan. This is Lionel Luthor. It appears from your searches that we have a common interest. I take it that this Edward Kent you searched for has scissors for hands."
"And you want to destroy him for what he did to Lex?"
Chloe heard laughter come from the other end of the phone line.
"No, quite the contrary. Why would I want Edward destroyed? After all, I own him."