Two days now since leaving this strange dimension, Lucifer found himself once more standing at the heart of another street. This time, it was not crowded with people staring at him as if he had sprouted horns. Well, naturally, that was how humans depicted him but still...
a lot of things however were different from the first time he had arrived here. This time around, he had not been pulled without notice. No, it was his decision to return after he had settled his affairs in his normal dimension—the Lux dimension, the Decker dimension. Yes, that one.
After days of battling the desire to tell the detective the truth, he had decided it was of no use. She would grow more worried and troubled for no reason. Besides, having learned that the passage of time was incredibly slow between the two worlds, their absence, even for weeks, would not be noticed.
Yes, their absence!
Beside him stood two women who, up to now, had not stopped exciting his curiosity. Mazikeen was dressed in tight black leather pants with a matching black leather half-coat. In her hand, she clasped a similar leather case that Lucifer knew stored most of her demon weapons. Next to her stood Gamora.
Since her escape at the moment they had arrived in Lux, Lucifer had not really bothered to look for her. I mean, where on Earth (literally) could Gamora go?
Lucifer was more than certain that it was just a matter of hours before the green woman figured out that he was her only friend. Nobody would take her seriously, and being new and confused in LA, it was only a matter of hours before some curious cop took an interest in her and asked for ID. But even if they took her seriously, that too would likely end up with a similar result: she had no way of surviving on Earth with her identity as an alien.
He had moved on with the preparations that had brought him back, and true enough, by the end of the day, he had not been surprised to see Gamora's face among the crowd of patrons in the electric atmosphere of Lux.
She seemed to have made up her mind about the bargain they had made when he freed her from potentially being the Avengers' lab rat.
Speaking of the Avengers, the city they had landed in was not New York. He had specifically avoided that place because of the skirmish that had transpired between him and his barely day-old friend. He was certain that the Avengers would spare no efforts or resources to look for the alien woman and him as well. Having been around them, even if for a short while, he knew they had a lot of backup from the government.
He hated to think that he was now in open rebellion against a human government. That was not the reason he had left his throne in Hell. But still, plans change, and his certainly had.
For once, he would put an end to his father's control in his life. For once here, he would chart a path, an untrodden path, where nothing would be thrown in it for the 'greater good'.
The town they were now in was the MCU version of Los Angeles, and in almost everything, the two places resembled each other, just like New York. Gamora's face looked stern as always, and her eyes scanned the almost deserted place with suspicion, as if she expected those curious glares she was so used to receiving from humans.
The thing was that even the few passersby present did not spare her any glance. The makeup Mazikeen had applied on her brought a more natural look to her face that made them almost a reflections of each other. Lucifer had requested her to do it, of course. Gamora's color would be the first description that the Avengers and all their allies would use to trace her. The change would go a long way in evading them. Of course, he was aware that they would be found anyway, but time—time was what they needed most, time to plan ahead.
It was almost a relief for Lucifer that the two women had turned around their cold meeting and, over the two days, had developed a kind of friendly relationship. They were not quite friends yet, but once Mazikeen had learned about Gamora's situation, she had become less hostile. Now that, at least, was a good start.
"I thought you said we are traveling to another world," Mazikeen asked with an astounded look on her face.
"I might have exaggerated it. Teleporting would have been more appropriate."
Standing there, they suddenly saw almost everyone heading toward the center of the town with panic on their faces. Lucifer had a bad feeling about this, and after the three of them followed, they were shocked by what they saw where people were gathered. Displayed in big red fonts were the words "BREAKING NEWS: NEW YORK UNDER ATTACK FROM ALIENS." Gamora froze as she stared at the footage playing on the wall screen; her eyes, however, were on the purple guy standing among what had, a short while ago, been her family. Seeing the look on Thanos' face, Gamora knew somehow that her father knew about her secret, which only meant that her sister was in trouble.
"He knows," she suddenly said with a defeated voice. Both Lucifer and Maze turned to their companion with questioning glances.
"Knows what?" Lucifer inquired. But even before Gamora had answered, he had a feeling he knew what she was talking about. Gamora had disclosed to him that Thanos had tasked her with finding the location of yet another stone she called the Soul Stone. According to Gamora, so far, only she knew the whereabouts of it.
"You don't mean the stone, do you? You said only you knew where it is?" Gamora's teary eyes were, however, scanning the wall screen as if searching for someone.
"No, not the stone... only Nebula knows that I found out the place the Soul Stone is. I think that is why he hasn't used the Power Stone yet."
And when Lucifer considered everything he knew thus far about the power of the stone as well as the madness of the Titan, he knew that if the Titan had not used them so far, it was because he was looking for something else, and Lucifer could almost certainly bet what it was.
Gamora had explained how her adopted father had wiped away half of a planet called Xandar just with the power of one stone. And now, as he watched the raging battle between the figures he knew to be Avengers backed by those of the SHIELD agents, he knew what it was.
The Titan was scared that his adopted daughter would likely end up as one of those who would be erased from existence. And with the kind of information Gamora had, it was a risk he was not about to take.
In that moment, Lucifer felt a thrill of excitement burn through him as a plan formed in his head. He too had an interest in the stone, but not an interest similar to that of the Titan. No, it was an interest that, if it worked, would end with the stone disappearing from existence, leaving this place as it should be.
He, for one, was not interested in some mad dude erasing him from a place he had just thought he was far from his father's grasp. The Titan was here to collect the stones, but by doing so, he had gathered most of them in one place. So what would prevent him from being robbed?
"Looks like it's time for a heist," Lucifer said with a sly smile. "And who better to steal from a mad Titan than the Devil himself?"
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