Chapter Text
Lucifer stands there, arms spread out wide with a manic grin on his face. The only problem is that the agreement he expected to come from the other three members of the group, does not.
They each just continue to stare at him without a word. Mobius’ untrimmed grey brows knit as he frowns. Loki licks his lips idly as he considers the idea, before opening his mouth as if to say something, but then changes his mind and remains silent.
And Chloe… well, if he didn’t know any better, he’d say she looks concerned, but about what he can’t be sure. What is there to worry about? His plan is perfect! It’s simple and it achieves something that they all want. Those are the best type of plans. Not the over complicated ones that Michael has always been so fond of.
“Can I talk to you?” Chloe asks, placing a hand on his still outstretched forearm as she carefully eyes the other two men in the room. “In private,” she adds, shooting a little glare at Mobius, who seems overly interested in what she has to say.
Lucifer’s grin fades a little but doesn’t disappear completely as he looks down at her. “Of course,” he replies, gesturing towards the bedroom before looking at Mobius and Loki and dryly adding, “If that’s okay with the time police,” with a sweet smile.
He doesn’t need permission, but it was merely an opportunity to have another jab at the ridiculous odd couple that he simply could not pass on.
Mobius presses his lips into a thin line and nods, a small motion filled with hesitation. “Go on,” he says, “just don’t try anything funny. If you run again we will find you.”
Lucifer scoffs a laugh as he leads Chloe up the Italian marble steps and through the arch into his bedroom. “I already told you,” he calls over his shoulder, “I don’t run.”
He hears Mobius huff. “Alright, fly then,” he corrects himself, before muttering, “birdman,” under his breath in a way that he imagines Mobius doesn’t expect him to hear.
Once in the bedroom, they stop around the corner, out of the eyeline of the other two. Chloe turns to face him and takes both his hands in hers. Her bright blue eyes linger on him for a moment that stretches as she chews on her bottom lip a little.
“Is this a good idea?” she finally asks with worry creasing her delicate features.
Lucifer frowns, uncomprehending. “Of course it is,” he replies. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
She gives him a small half-shrug. “We don’t know these people, or their motivations, and we have no idea where they are going to take us or what we can expect when we get there.” She keeps her tone hushed, presumably so that their conversation isn’t overheard in the other room, though by the sounds of it, the two men are having their own discussion.
Lucifer smiles. Is that all she’s worried about? He stands up a little bit straighter and squeezes her hands, pulling his thumb across her skin. “Detective,” he says softly, “Chloe, you needn’t worry.”
A small smile pulls at her lips at his use of her name.
“I’ve got this,” he tells her, confident that it is the absolute truth. “I’m God now.” His grin widens as he pulls his hand free of hers and gestures beyond the window towards the bird that is frozen in mid-flight. “I can stop time.” He pauses for a moment, allowing his point to sink in. As his eyes linger on her, he can see her confidence in him growing, and that makes him smile a little bit wider. “What’s the worst that can happen?” he adds, just for good measure.
She mulls it over for a few seconds and then nods. “You’re probably right,” she says, but despite her increased confidence, he still picks up on a hint of hesitation in her tone. “I’m just a little bit concerned that you haven’t been God for very long and these powers are still new to you.” She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth once more. He can almost see the gears going around in her head as she thinks. “But if you say you’ve got this, then I believe you.”
He just won a war, for crying out loud. Even if he doesn’t know the full extent of his new powers yet; he’s sure he can handle whatever the TVA has in store for them.
“Right!” he exclaims, grinning brightly once more. “That settles it then, we’re going to the TVA.”
Spinning on his heel, he strides back across the bedroom and hops down the stairs. Whatever conversation was happening between Loki and Mobius immediately ceases, and both pairs of eyes snap up to look at him as he re-enters the room.
“What’s the verdict?” Lucifer asks as he stops before them.
“We’ll go along with this plan,” Mobius replies, sparing a glance to Loki, who stands by his side with his hands tucked in his pockets, “but if and when we find the Timekeepers, we all get to ask our questions.”
Lucifer nods. “That’s fair. Now”— he gestures towards Mobius— “are we going to stand around here all day or are we going to get on with this?” He waves his hand flippantly in the air. “Come on, Quantum Leap, let’s see that teleportation device.”
Mobius sighs and rolls his eyes as he reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls the little rectangular device out. He mutters under his breath, shaking his head as he taps a few buttons on the display, and, sure enough, the orange portal appears in the middle of the penthouse, right by the piano.
Lucifer glances at the Detective, who eyes the magical doorway nervously. “So, we just… step through?” she asks.
“That is how doors tend to work, yes,” Loki answers a little smugly, giving them both a slick grin as he casually steps towards the orange portal before stepping into it and disappearing.
Mobius, on the other hand, looks more sympathetic. “It’s safe,” he tells her, “I promise.”
She throws another wary glance towards Lucifer, and he reaches out to take her hand in his, giving it one final squeeze before they step through the doorway together.
-
Chloe Decker wishes that the strangest thing to happen to her today was stepping through an orange glowing space portal into an unknown place, but alas, it is not.
This barely ranks in the top five, coming close after fighting a celestial war, dying, being resurrected, and almost murdering Michael in a fit of rage fuelled by the grief of losing Lucifer and a celestial blade that compels humans to kill.
So, when she does step through the portal that magically appeared in the middle of the penthouse, she isn’t really that surprised to instantaneously find herself in a small room that looks much like any ordinary apartment.
Well… any very small and very sparsely decorated ordinary apartment, that is.
It’s one room with a single neatly made bed at one side, a small sitting area with a couch and coffee table, and a door off to the right which she presumes must be the bathroom.
The décor is minimal and lacking much in the way of personal touches. The carpet and walls are both beige and the furniture is plain oak wood, square and standard, without any real personality. A sad little houseplant sits in the corner of the room, bringing a splash of colour to the otherwise sterile place.
It’s not unwelcoming, but she gets the impression that whoever lives here doesn’t spend much time here. The only thing that indicates the owner finds any enjoyment in living here is the nice crystal decanter and matching tumbler that sits on the wooden coffee table. It seems out of place among the rest of the bland furniture.
“Is this where you live?” Loki asks incredulously, stalking around the small room and stopping to inspect the tomes that line the bookshelf. “Why, I didn’t think it was possible for anything to be more depressing than your cubicle, but you have outdone yourself here.”
Mobius sighs wearily, briefly scrubbing a hand over his face as he walks across the room and slides open a door embedded in the wall by the bed. “It’s standard for all analysts,” he replies. “I don’t spend much time here anyway.”
The door he opens is a wardrobe lined with the multiples of the same jacket, shirt, and slacks that he’s already wearing. There isn’t anything in there that indicates the man has a personal life.
He pulls out a jacket and tie before closing the wardrobe once again and coming back to the group.
“Put these on,” Mobius tells Lucifer as he holds out the brown jacket and matching tie.
Lucifer’s face drops and he literally recoils as he eyes the items of clothing which have very obviously offended his refined fashion sense. His gaze lingers for a moment before he looks back at Mobius in horror. “Absolutely bloody not.” He scoffs as his finger goes to adjust his cufflinks in what seems to be an unconscious tic. “You may not understand this, what with your clear aversion to anything remotely interesting, as is evident by the amount of beige in the room, but this”— he waves his hands, gesturing to his person— “is what you call style, and I shall not sully it with this monstrosity that you dare to call clothing.”
Loki leans towards Chloe, his dark eyebrows arched as he continues to study Lucifer. “Is he always this dramatic?”
Chloe sighs, suppressing the urge to press the palm of her hand to her face. “Unfortunately, yes.” She loves Lucifer, of course, but he can be a bit… over the top sometimes.
“Look,” Mobius retorts in a no-nonsense tone, “If you go out there dressed like that”— he waves his hand at Lucifer’s probably very expensive suit— “you’re gonna stand out.” He pauses a moment, and the two men exchange intense eye contact before Mobius seems to soften. “Just trust me, alright? I know this place better than anyone. If you want this plan to actually work, you have to listen to me.”
Lucifer looks uneasy as he stands there shifting his weight from foot to foot and fiddling with the space where his ring used to sit on his finger. He glances towards Chloe and Loki, and there’s a question swirling in his dark eyes. Unfortunately, it isn’t one Chloe can answer.
She doesn’t know Mobius any better than Lucifer does, but her gut instinct tells her he’s a good guy, despite his prickly personality.
“He is right,” Loki chimes in, deciding to be helpful it seems. “The people here don’t hesitate to use force against those who don’t belong. So, if you do want to avoid being savagely pruned, it’s best to blend in.”
It’s safe to say that her gut feeling on Loki is mixed. He seems perfectly charming, but maybe it’s a little too convincing. She saw the way his eyes lit up when he thought Lucifer was one of these… timekeepers. It’s clear he has his own agenda. The question is whether they can trust him.
Either way, they need to be careful. This is not a normal situation. They don’t know where they are or what to expect from this place. It’s best just to listen and learn for now, until they have a better idea of what they are dealing with exactly.
“Fine,” Lucifer answers after a long moment of consideration. He snatches the jacket and tie from Mobius with little grace, making a face not dissimilar to one Trixie makes when she’s asked to do chores.
“What about me?” Chloe asks, suddenly feeling very aware of the blood that stains the front of her white shirt and the camel jacket that does little to hide it.
Mobius looks at her, his bright blue eyes trailing over her before a knowing smile pulls at his lips. “Don’t worry, I’ve got an idea.” He heads towards the door that she presumes leads to the rest of the TVA. “Stay here, I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he calls over his shoulder.
An awkward silence lingers between the trio after he leaves. Lucifer mills around the room, occasionally picking up a trinket or a book before putting it down again, as he often does at crime scenes. And Loki… well, he just stands there, holding his hands behind his back, watching Lucifer as he examines a leaflet that says “So you’re a variant” on the front. When he notices her watching him, he simply smiles tightly. It doesn’t reach his eyes.
They hold each other’s gaze for a tense moment. His smile grows slightly at the attention, though it isn’t happy, more… cunning. Like he thinks this is some kind of challenge.
And then the door swings open once more and he looks away, the spark of whatever she’d seen in those eyes fading as Mobius re-enters the room.
Mobius is holding a stack of black clothing under one arm and a helmet in the other. She can’t help but frown at the sight. Does he expect her to wear that?
“This is the best I could do,” he tells her as he offers her the clothing. “Hope it fits.”
Now that they are in front of her, she can see that the outfit is some kind of tactical armour, not dissimilar to the sort that the LAPD’s swat teams wear. The black undershirt is still smart, with an orange tie to match the TVA logo emblazoned on the arm and the corners of the shirt’s collar. There are also hard armoured parts that seem to be for her shoulders, chest, forearms, and legs. She can’t help but wonder what gear like this is necessary for.
She’d been sceptical when Mobius told them that he’s something like the time police, but now… now she thinks there’s a good possibility that it’s true.
“What is this?” she asks as she runs her fingers over the straps of the chest piece, or more precisely, the number that is embroidered into it in white. C53.
“Uh,” Mobius replies distractedly as he searches the room for something, “It’s one of hunter-C53’s uniforms. She’s out on missions so she won’t miss it.” He picks up a small card from the pile of books and magazines that are stacked on the coffee table and looks back to her. “You have a similar build so I doubt anyone will give you a second look in it, especially with the helmet on.”
Hunter. That doesn’t sound friendly. “And if they do?”
Mobius tilts his head, pressing his lips together. “We’ll cross that bridge if and when we get to it.”
She nods hesitantly. That’s not exactly reassuring, but at least Lucifer is here and he’s confident that he can handle anything this place has to throw at them.
“You can change in there if you want.” He points towards the bathroom, to which she nods a little more eagerly this time.
“Alright,” Lucifer says loudly, clapping his hands together, “so where are these timekeepers then? How do we get to them?”
“It’s going to be tricky. We can’t just walk in there. Luckily, I have a plan.” Mobius smiles, looking at both Lucifer and Loki. “How do you two feel about creating a distraction?”
Lucifer just grins in response.
-
The plan is relatively simple. Lucifer and Loki create a distraction to get Mobius’ boss— Renslayer, weird name but okay— out of her office, while she and Mobius sneak inside and look for the access code to reach the timekeepers. And if they find anything else that will give them information while they’re there, that’s just a bonus.
When they step outside the door of Mobius’s apartment into the bustling body of the place he calls the TVA though, she finds herself frozen in place.
The sight that meets her is not one she expected. The corridor is relatively normal, with linoleum flooring in a colour that would fit into any office space, but the landscape beyond the window is what catches her off guard.
It’s not like anything she’s ever seen before.
A sprawling cityscape spreads out, filling every available space, not just horizontally, but vertically too. Great white towers rise high into the sky, taller than should be structurally possible. And that’s not even the strangest thing. Between the towers and buildings, among the thousands of lights that illuminate the darkness, there are things that are moving. She can’t make out much detail from here— they may as well be bugs from this distance— but the moving pod-shaped things float freely in the air, with no roads nor rails to support them. They’re just… suspended by nothing. At least nothing that she can see, anyway.
She can’t help but think of that old cheesy sci-fi movie Lucifer had made her watch once where the main guy drives a hover cab.
Without thought, she finds herself drawn towards the window, craning her neck to look upwards and get a better view.
It doesn’t seem to end. The buildings continue to rise beyond the point that she can see, but stranger still is that there doesn’t appear to be a sky, or stars, or anything. It’s just… blank. Darkness illuminated only by the sea of pinprick lights of the city.
“What is this place?” She asks the question involuntarily in a single hushed breath, not blinking as her eyes attempt to take in every detail of the surreal setting that she’s found herself in. “Where are we?”
“Welcome to the TVA,” Mobius answers, not stopping to look, but continuing down the hallway without her. “Come on,” he calls after her. “Keep up.”
Pulling her attention back to the present task at hand, she quickens her pace to keep up with the three men, coming up beside Lucifer. She wants to take his hand for some comfort, but they aren’t the only ones here anymore. Various other TVA agents and hunters pass them as they make their way down the long corridor.
As Mobius had guessed, no one gives them a second look, even when she pulls at the strap that secures the helmet to her head, where it digs uncomfortably into the skin of her neck. She thinks that holding Lucifer’s hand may be something that raises a few eyebrow, so she refrains for now, and instead lightly bumps her shoulder against him to capture his attention.
He looks at her softly with those dark brown eyes and smiles, playfully bumping her back as they walk. Up front, Mobius and Loki seem to be having some rather pressing conversation that she can’t quite hear but can see it involves a lot of gesticulating. They don’t seem to have much interest in what the two of them are doing, which is reassuring in a way.
It shows that they trust them not to try anything funny or run. If running is even an option. She glances back out at the otherworldly landscape beyond the window once more.
“Where do you think we are?” she quietly asks Lucifer, keeping her eyes forward and trying not to draw attention as a woman with the same type of uniform as Mobius passes them.
Lucifer smiles tightly at her and waits until she’s out of earshot before answering. “Well… I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”
It’s obvious he’s trying to disguise his answer with humour, but it doesn’t help to cushion the blow. He doesn’t know. The thought makes her stomach sink.
“You can get us out if things go sideways though, yeah?” she asks, sounding a little desperate as she’s hit by the sudden realisation that coming here might not have been the best idea.
He hesitates. That only worsens the unsettled feeling that is churning in her stomach. “I’m God,” he replies, sounding a little less confident than he’d done when he told her the very same thing in the penthouse. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
It doesn’t exactly answer her question, which is a bit of a worry, but she does trust him when he tells her that he will protect her. He’s saved her— saved them more times than she can count. Not to trust him now would be foolish, no matter what her gut is telling her.
“I love you,” she tells him quietly, feeling the need to say the words, to make sure he knows.
A small, gentle smile pulls at his lips, his eyes twinkling in the artificial electric lights that shine down from overhead. “And I… I love you too,” he replies softly with the vulnerable little admission.
It’s the first time he’s said it since everything that happened, and it makes her heart flutter wildly in her chest. She wants to kiss him, to hold him, or something, to show him how much he means to her, but now isn’t the time or the place. The most she can allow herself is to let the back of her hand brush against his, letting it linger for a second to feel the heat he radiates.
They walk in silence for a few more minutes after that. She idly wonders how big this place is as they pass intersections that lead to other stretching expanses of corridor. They’ve left the area where the apartments were, where nothing but the same boring grey doors marked with a number lined the walls, and have entered a section that looks more like a workplace. A few of the rooms they pass are bigger and more open like conference rooms, though the sign on the outside identifies them as “viewing rooms”, whatever that means. They pass a small locker area where people wearing the same uniform that she has on are getting ready for something as they retrieve items from their lockers and secure their armour.
Eventually, they all come to a stop at an intersection that looks a bit less plain than the areas she’s seen so far. The walls are wooden and intricately carved with what looks like an hourglass pattern, repeating over and over. Above them, what must be a hundred lights hang side by side, illuminating the area to an unnecessary degree. And, at the end of the short corridor, there is an elevator.
Mobius strides over and presses the call button, prompting the doors to slide open. He turns back to look at the three of them. “Ready?”
Loki shoots him a sharkish smile, striding towards the elevator. “You can count on it.”
-
Lucifer is a bit more hesitant to leave Chloe with Mobius than he lets any of them see, but he goes along with the plan anyway. He just has to keep telling himself that he is God now. Anything he wants he can have in an instant. All it takes is a single thought.
Freezing time was proof of that.
No matter what happens he will protect them.
“Right,” Lucifer says as he follows Loki down another set of corridors, “What’s the plan then?”
Loki stops and spins on his heel to face him. He raises his index finger and opens his mouth like he’s going to say something, but then he doesn’t. Pressing his lips together, he curls his index finger back into his fist and looks up at the ceiling.
Lucifer raises his eyebrows, impatiently tapping his fingers against his side as he waits for a response.
“See, here’s the thing,” Loki finally answers, “I don’t have one.” He briefly bites his bottom lip, somehow looking rather amused despite the situation. Or perhaps that’s just his face. Whoever this chap is, he’s rather difficult to get a read on.
He tilts his head to one side then, his piercing blue eyes flickering over Lucifer again. “Well…” he continues, “not exactly anyway.”
Lucifer huffs. “Well, that’s a load of bloody good isn’t it?” His expression sours. How is the plan supposed to work if they don’t have a distraction, and how is he supposed to create one without Loki’s help?
He makes to walk away, intending to head back to where they’d left Chloe and Mobius, but Loki’s hand reaches out, grabbing his forearm.
“Hang on!” Loki calls out, briefly catching the attention of a passing agent who looks at the pair for a moment before seemingly deciding that whatever is going on here isn’t any of their business and moves on. “I have an idea, I’m just not sure you’ll be able to handle it.” He pulls a critical eye over Lucifer, analysing him in a way that makes him feel completely naked.
Not that he’d mind that, of course.
Lucifer sniffs indignantly, fingers going to adjust his cufflinks. “I assure you, I’m capable of handling quite a lot.” He glares at Loki. He’s a couple of inches shorter than Lucifer and his wiry thin frame doesn’t give the impression that he’s much of a fighter. “Probably a lot more than you, in fact.”
The smile that crosses Loki’s face then has a slightly conniving edge to it, as though he’s just been issued some kind of challenge. “Excellent,” he says. “Follow me then.”
Loki leads him down yet another set of corridors. They are almost identical to the ones he’s already seen in décor, only the signage, which displays nonsensical jumbles of letters and numbers, tells him they are different. It reminds him of Hell in a way, though he may actually go as far to say this place is worse than Hell.
It has that distinct brand of misery hanging in the air that only offices with cubicles seem able to achieve.
Eventually they reach a communal area. It’s plainly decorated, with grey linoleum flooring and unpainted concrete walls between stretches of window. The view here is much the same as it appears to be everywhere else in this place, the strange city that looks like something straight out of a retro comic book stretching as far as his celestial vision allows him to see.
Small round tables with pale green chairs that could be freshly plucked from IKEA fill the room. People sit and eat, some alone, some in twos or threes, most wearing the same style of uniform that he’s currently slighting fashion with.
So, this is some kind of cafeteria then. That explains why Mobius’ apartment had no kitchen at least.
It’s as good a place as any to cause a distraction. Plenty of people around, plenty of commotion to be had. And it’ll probably be easy enough for them to slip away unnoticed in the aftermath.
“So,” Lucifer says to Loki, who has stopped briefly to quickly scan the large room, “what’s the plan exactly?”
All he receives in return is a mischievous smile and a vague, “Just be ready,” before he strides straight into the middle of the room and smoothly hops up onto a chair and then onto the table beside it.
Lucifer arches his eyebrow as he watches, half wondering whether Loki is crazy or reckless or both.
Holding his arms out to his sides in a way that looks like he might be expecting people to bow to him, he winks at Lucifer before turning his attention to the people who haven’t yet noticed that anything is amiss. They all seem too focused on their sad little salads to pay any heed to anything going on around them. Poor buggers, probably beaten down by soul-crushing desk jobs.
Maybe this place really is worse than Hell.
“People of the TVA!” Loki bellows before pausing dramatically as every pair of eyes in the room snaps to him. “Your lives are a lie.”
Well… that’s one way to get their attention. Most just look confused, but it’s a start at least.
“The timekeepers have stolen your lives from you and are manipulating you into doing their bidding.”
He looks around, his arms sagging just a little bit as his words garner no response from the worn-down TVA employees.
Loki’s smile fades. “Don’t you see?” he tries again with a huff. “None of you belong here!”
Lucifer looks around at the people who have their gazes fixed on the God of Asgard. Not a single one has a spark of life in their eyes. It’s no wonder they don’t seem to care about what Loki is trying to tell them.
“If this is a joke,” one man, whose head looks to be particularly empty of any intelligent thought, says, “I don’t get it.” He sits on his own with an almost empty bowl and a crushed carton of apple juice in front of him.
Loki bites down on his bottom lip as irritation brews in his features. “This isn’t a joke,” he snaps at the man, who blinks blankly back at him.
“So… is it a play, or—”
“It’s the truth!” Loki’s face reddens a bit. The veins at his temple bulging just enough to be noticeable against his alabaster skin.
“Oh…” The other man gapes, nodding gormlessly, his eyes widening a fraction. “Okay.” And then he returns to eating his lunch.
Loki’s the one to gape this time, blinking slowly with disbelief. He easily hops down from the table and strides towards the man. “Is that all you have to say?” Loki asks rather sharply, tilting his head to one side. “I’ve just informed you that your life is a lie and all you have to say is ‘Okay’?”
The man swallows thickly, inching back in his chair to put as much distance between himself and Loki as is possible. “I don’t know, man,” he replies with an awkward, stiff shrug, scrunching his round face up a little. “I just wanna eat my lunch.”
A few murmurs of agreement resonate within the room.
Loki lifts his hand to his face, briefly massaging his temples before dropping it and looking around the room. “Have none of you any care?” he asks, his tone a little more genuine and a little less condescending than it had been before. “Are you not angry that the timekeepers have you here against your will? That they have taken your lives from you?”
A moment of silence stretches. A few people glance warily at one another.
“Why should we even trust a variant?” One woman with a bushy mane of curly ginger hair speaks up.
The man beside her nods in agreement. “And even if you’re telling the truth, what are we supposed to do about it?”
“You know it’s true.” Loki slowly looks around, making eye contact with each one. He’s trying to fool them into thinking he really cares about them. The hint of sadness that shines in his eyes that really sells it. “Each one of you knows that there is something missing from your life, even if you can’t quite put your finger on it. You know deep down that it’s true.”
The silence that falls over the room then is heavier somehow. Lucifer can see that his words are getting through to these people.
“You need to take your lives back,” Loki says with the confidence of a leader. “You need to rise up! Go!” he shouts, pointing towards the doorway. “Storm the judge’s chambers and take back your lives!”
One person cheers, rising from his chair, prompting others to do the same and soon others are following. Rowdy cheers and chanting soon fills the room, accompanied by the scrape of chair legs as people rise, abandoning their lunches to rally together.
“Variant.” A stern, scary sounding voice booms across the room, causing silence to fall immediately, crushing the budding rebellion in an instant.
Both Lucifer and Loki spin to see a sturdy, mean looking woman standing there, glaring at them. She wears the same uniform that Mobius had given Chloe. The uniform of a hunter.
“Ah,” Loki says, taking a sly step back that Lucifer doesn’t miss, “B15. Lovely you see you again.”
“What are you doing?” she snaps. Clearly she isn’t here to mess around. “Where’s Mobius?”
Loki laughs nervously, clapping his hands together. “He’s in the men’s room.” He presses his lips together, analysing eyes carefully watching the hunter’s reaction. “Bad salad,” he explains.
B15 rolls her jaw. Her hand hovers near her tactical belt and her posture tells Lucifer that she isn’t buying his story.
“He left you unattended?”
Loki looks at Lucifer. This is where he should probably say something. “He’s with me, actually,” Lucifer tells her with a smile as he steps forwards.
Her eyes narrow. “I don’t recognise you. What’s your assignment?”
Lucifer opens his mouth to speak but finds himself unable to say anything. If he tells her he’s an analyst like Mobius, that would be a lie, but if he says nothing then he has a feeling they will both be royally screwed.
“He’s new,” Loki interjects, thankfully saving him from having to squirm for any longer.
B15 looks between the two of them, slowly, scrutinizing them. “I don’t buy it.”
Suddenly more hunters appear, entering the mess hall to surround them.
“You’re both coming with me,” she says as she unsheathes the baton-like weapon that hangs at her side.
Loki laughs nervously again as he looks over his shoulder at the soldiers that now stand behind them, weapons at the ready. The other TVA employees in the room are quietly slinking away while the hunters’ attention is elsewhere, probably hoping that they don’t get in trouble for their little outburst too. “This seems a tad unnecessary,” he says. “Surely we can work this out without the need for violence.”
B15 simply tilts her head to one side. “Come quietly and there won’t be any need for violence.” She thinks for a moment, before adding, “On second thought, resist. I would love an excuse to prune you.”
Lucifer feels his heart skip a beat at the word ‘prune’. It doesn’t feel like they have much choice in the matter. If he goes with them there’s no telling where they will take him. He’s going to have to fight if he’s got any chance of getting back to Chloe.
“I thought you said this was a good idea?!” he hisses at Loki through gritted teeth, balling his fists at his side.
“I said it was an idea,” Loki snaps back, never taking his eyes off the guards that surround them for a second. “I never said it was a good one.”
Bloody hell.
This isn’t going to end well.
He tenses, quickly tallying up their opposition. He counts twelve hunters, all armed.
There’s nothing he can use as a weapon that he can see in the immediate vicinity but being unarmed isn’t much of a disadvantage when you’re a literal God.
That’s it! He’s God! He can just will them out of this sticky situation, all he needs to do is concentrate and flex his Godly powers.
“Hold on,” he tells Loki, who looks ready to pounce. “I’ve got this.”
He’ll just freeze time like he did before. Easy peasy.
Smiling, he raises one hand and swipes it through the air, falling back to the familiar gesture that he used so often to manipulate hell loops as he concentrates on his new powers.
“What are you doing?” B15 asks.
He tries again, more desperately this time.
Nothing happens.
“I don’t understand.” He strains, trying to feel his powers, trying to command them to do as he did before. Only… he doesn’t feel anything.
“Ah,” Loki says, leaning into him. “That’s right I forgot to tell you, your magic won’t work here.”
Lucifer’s jaw drops. “What?” he snaps, suddenly feeling rather like he might be at a disadvantage after all. “Why wouldn’t you tell me that?”
Loki shrugs innocently. “Must’ve slipped my mind.”
How is that even possible? Who or what could be strong enough to be able to suppress his powers like this?
He eyes the hunter in front of them. She’s growing more impatient by the second.
He doesn’t have his powers; does that mean he's not invulnerable either? He feels his heart pound hard in his chest as a surge of adrenaline suddenly courses through his veins. He doesn’t have time to dwell on the loss of his powers right now. No matter what the situation with his powers is, he can still fight.
That’s a skill he’s been honing since the dawn of time.
“Enough,” B15 shouts, flicking her baton out to the side, causing it to open to its full length and power on. The end flickers to life with electricity that buzzes and crackles. The sound bounces off the walls of the sparsely decorated room, sending a shiver down his spine. That does not look like it tickles. “You’re both coming with us.”
The other guards follow suit, each arming their vicious looking weapons in a wave of smooth, practiced motion.
Loki and Lucifer share a wary glance
Shit.
They really are screwed.
After that everything erupts in chaos. B15 lunges forwards, taking a swing at Loki, who deftly dodges under the baton with ease.
Another two hunters, their armour identifying them as B56 and D23, step slowly towards Lucifer, backing him against a wall. They both share a vicious smile like they are looking forward to what is about to happen. Unfortunately for them, what they don’t know is that even without his powers, he’s still probably the strongest one here. Dad might have messed up with a lot of things, but he did build angels with more than enough power to handle themselves in most any situation.
But they are vastly outnumbered, and Loki is already busy with B15 alone. Hopefully these ‘hunters’ aren’t as good at handling themselves as they look.
D23 starts with a similar move to B15, swinging his baton with force towards Lucifer’s head. It’s easy to dodge with a sidestep and Lucifer finds himself grinning. Maybe this will be easier than he had thought. Maybe he was just worried for nothing.
B56 goes this time, jabbing for him as her partner recovers from his heavy-handed swing. Lucifer’s ready for it and he reaches out to grab the baton, careful to avoid the nasty looking electric bit at the end, and yanks it from her grasp. Her face drops as he tosses her weapon to the side, leaving her defenceless.
Her partner quickly takes another swipe at him, angrier and clumsier this time as he swoops in to defend his partner.
A feral grin spreads across his face as he identifies the weakness in his opponent’s form and steps towards him, feeling fire flicker in his eyes. His powers may be gone, but he is still the Devil, and these mall cops are about to get a taste of Hell.
In the periphery of his vision, he sees Loki dodging the attacks of three hunters now, including B15. He isn’t getting many punches in, but he’s doing well to last. Maybe he’s more capable of handling himself than Lucifer initially thought.
Turning his attention back to his own fight, he reaches out, quick as lightning, to grab D23 by the front of his armour and toss him to the side like he’s nothing. The man collides with an empty table, sending the lamp that sits there clattering to the floor with a smash.
Three more hunters peel off from their waiting pack, coming for him with their weapons. He bares his teeth at them, but they don’t falter in their advance. Two swing at him in unison, causing him to have to duck to avoid taking a blow. The third steps forward and kicks him in the chest with enough power to send him flying backwards into the hard concrete wall. Pain radiates through his head as it connects with the hard surface, causing a wave of dizziness to wash over him.
Okay, so that’s a no on the invulnerability then.
He ducks again as another swing is directed at him and narrowly misses, hitting the wall mere inches from his face instead. The weapon leaves a black charred mark on the concrete that smokes for a second. He gulps as the thought of that being his face briefly crosses his mind, before it is quickly pushed to the side as he avoids another swing from one of the many hunters that now surround him.
He pants, feeling a little out of breath, but the hunters don’t give him a chance to recover. Their attacks are unyielding, and worse yet, D23 and B56 have recovered and re-joined the fight.
So, it’s five against one.
He doesn’t like those odds, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to give up. He’s been in far worse situations than this and come out unscathed.
With renewed vigour, he delivers a swift, powerful punch directly to the armoured chest of one of the hunters, knocking them down and hopefully keeping them that way.
Four against one.
He can do this.
Take them out one by one. Don’t get hit. Focus and—
He hears a thud and a cry and snaps his attention to see Loki being knocked down by B15 only to be pounced on by two others, who hold his arms and legs down, pinning him to the floor.
The sight distracts him. He should help, but he doesn’t have time and he can’t afford to let his focus waver. If he wants to get back to Chloe, he has to concentrate on getting himself out of this. Loki will just have to manage until—
A sharp pain pierces through the back of his head causing his vision to blur and making him stumble forward. Damn. He lost his focus for one second and now— A second powerful blow hits him directly in the chest before he can see where it comes from. All the air is forced from his lungs by it and he falls to his knees, hitting the floor hard.
He can get up. He has to get up.
That’s what he tells himself as he attempts to scramble to his feet.
He has to get back to Chloe
That’s the thought that consumes his mind as another baton hits him square in the face, plunging his world into darkness.