Fury didn't flinch under Lucifer's intense gaze.
Didn't hesitate. Didn't shift.
Instead, he simply sat back, his expression cool, unreadable, and changed tactics.
"Let's go back to something you said earlier," Fury said evenly, tilting his head slightly. "Something about another bald leader."
Lucifer arched a brow, intrigued, because Fury's tone was different now. Still probing, still measured, but not wary.
He wasn't afraid of Lucifer and he found that endlessly amusing.
"Oh?" he mused, grinning. "Did the mention of another distinguished, hairless figure pique your curiosity?"
Mazikeen snorted while Matt simply sipped the coffee Lucifer had summoned. There was a glass of wine for himself, while Maze drank her favorite whiskey. Fury, nor Natasha, touched their cups of coffee.
They also ignored the pastries that he snapped into existence.
Rude.
"Who is she?" Fury asked instead.
Lucifer smirked, drumming his fingers lazily against the table.
"Now that is an interesting question," he mused, golden eyes gleaming.
Fury didn't push—just waited.
Lucifer chuckled.
"You know," he continued, voice dripping with amusement, "between the two of you, I must say, she is significantly older. Wiser. More powerful."
Fury's brow twitched, just slightly.
Natasha, however, was paying very close attention now.
Fury didn't let up.
"And she's the one who opened the portal you walked through?"
Lucifer nodded, grinning.
"I was simply too charming for her to resist not inviting to drink some tea."
Mazikeen rolled her eyes, while Fury ignored the dramatics altogether.
"You said she's a leader, right?"
"I didn't ask for the name of her order, wasn't too curious about that. However, one glance at it and I understand it's more important than yours."
Another slight twitch in his eyebrows. "And why did she want to meet you?"
Lucifer waved a hand dismissively.
"Oh, nothing sinister," he said. "She was simply curious."
Fury's eye narrowed slightly.
Lucifer smirked.
"She was quite knowledgeable about many things," he continued, "but when we talked, she mainly asked me about the creation of the multiverse."
That got a more visible reaction.
Fury, for the first time, looked genuinely curious.
Natasha tilted her head slightly.
"What's so curious about that?" she asked.
Lucifer chuckled.
"To humans?" he mused. "Not much. You barely know about the forces above you, let alone care about them."
Fury's eye narrowed slightly.
"But to others?" Lucifer continued, golden eyes glinting with something unreadable. He leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping into something almost conspiratorial.
"For others, it's serious business."
A pause.
Lucifer smiled.
"Only important beings tend to know about it. She asked because she knows there were no complete records of it in this universe."
Fury frowned.
"Why was it unrecorded?"
Lucifer tilted his head, tapping his fingers against the table.
"Because, dear Director," he said smoothly, "someone hid it."
Silence.
Mazikeen just grinned, watching the humans process that.
Matt, however, simply listened, his mind already working through the implications.
Fury's expression remained carefully neutral.
Natasha, however, finally spoke.
"And she wanted to know why?"
Lucifer smirked.
"Not really, she already had her guesses about why it was unrecorded, so it was really curiosity that it lead her to ask, really."
Fury exhaled slowly.
"And do you know why?"
Lucifer's grin widened.
"Who hid it? She told me her guesses. Why, though? That remains a mystery," he purred, golden eyes glowing faintly, "And I like mysteries."
Fury's gaze didn't waver.
"Is she human?"
Lucifer tilted his head, smirking slightly, golden eyes gleaming with amusement.
"Yes," he answered easily. "From what I saw and sensed, she was born an unenhanced human."
Fury stapled his fingers.
"That powerful, and just a human?"
Lucifer chuckled. "Humans can be quite impressive when they put their minds to it, Director."
Fury's expression didn't shift.
"But she did extend her lifespan, so she's more… powerful? No, that's not the word. She's wiser, so she uses her power with more precision." Lucifer continued, waving a hand lazily. "Though how did she extend her lifespan? Well, those reasons are not mine to tell."
Fury narrowed his eye slightly. "How long?"
Lucifer grinned, leaning forward slightly, voice dropping to something almost conspiratorial.
"Oh, a few centuries at least. Give or take."
Natasha didn't react, but Lucifer caught the way her shoulders tensed slightly.
Fury, for his part, simply nodded. Filing the information away.
"And the others in her order?" he asked.
Lucifer leaned back, exhaling dramatically.
"Oh, them?" he mused. "They're mundane. Or at least…"
He smiled—sharp, knowing.
"As mundane as people wielding the universe's energies can be."
Fury exhaled slowly.
"So, not that mundane."
Lucifer chuckled. "Ah, now you're catching on."
Mazikeen snorted.
Matt, still quiet, simply listened, his fingers idly tracing the edge of his coffee cup.
Fury was taking it in—all of it—processing, filing things away, adjusting his understanding of the world bit by bit.
Lucifer could see it.
And he enjoyed it.
"You see, Director," he purred, stretching slightly, "the world is far stranger than you realize. Even with your little agency pulling at its threads."
Fury's expression remained unreadable.
"And you?" he asked. "Are you here to pull at its threads?"
Lucifer smirked.
"Oh, Director," he murmured. "I don't pull at the threads."
He grinned, wicked and indulgent.
"I unravel them."
Silence.
Natasha finally picked the mug of coffee in front of her and took a sip.
Fury exhaled slowly.
"Alright," he said. "Would you tell me about what you told her?"
Lucifer arched a brow, unimpressed. "Director, if you're hoping for a classified report, I'm afraid you'll find my recount too… unbelievable for your mundane sensibilities."
"Try me. Wouldn't be the first unbelievable thing I've heard."
Lucifer groaned theatrically, rolling his eyes.
"Without context, it would be also hard for you to understand," he muttered.
Fury leaned forward slightly. "I'm a fast learner."
Lucifer's golden eyes narrowed slightly. The game had been fun so far, but Fury was pressing now and Lucifer didn't like being pressed.
His fingers twitched, irritation just barely creeping into his usually carefree demeanor.
But before he could snap—
Matt, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.
"I'm now also curious about it. Though if you don't want to repeat yourself, I would understand, Lucifer."
Lucifer's gaze flicked to him.
Matt wasn't pushing, wasn't challenging—just asking.
And that…That made Lucifer pause.
For a long moment, he simply looked at Matt—his friend—golden eyes unreadable.
Then, he sighed, rolling his shoulders, letting his irritation slip away.
"Fine," he muttered. "But you're getting the abridged version. I'm not wasting my breath on every little divine footnote."
Matt smirked slightly. "Wouldn't dream of it, beautiful."
"You're lucky you're fun to be around." Lucifer sighed dramatically as he leaned back, eyes flickering with something older, deeper, and began.
"Before existence, there was the Great Darkness," Lucifer murmured, his voice taking on a different cadence now— something rhythmic, eternal.
"And then, from the void, a single, burning Light was born."
Fury's fingers stilled against the table.
Natasha's breathing was steady, but her focus sharpened.
Lucifer continued.
"As the Light grew, the Darkness screamed," he said, golden eyes glinting. "And in that moment, the cosmos was born."
He lazily traced a pattern against the table's surface, voice smooth as silk.
"The Light, known as the Voice, spoke existence into being. The first great truth, the first great power—the very fabric of reality itself."
He glanced up, smirking.
"And thus, the Omniverse came into existence."
Fury said nothing, but Lucifer could see the way he was absorbing every word. He tapped his fingers tapped lightly against the table—once, twice.
Matt, to his credit, simply listened, his face unreadable, though Lucifer could feel the thoughts forming behind those sharp eyes.
Lucifer went on, voice almost indulgent now.
"In the process of creation," he mused, "the Voice, my Father, wrote its divine name into all things, embedding itself at the very core of existence."
He smiled slightly.
"It is present in all things."
Fury finally spoke.
"Meaning?"
Lucifer chuckled.
"Meaning, Director," he purred, "whether you realize it or not… you've been living inside His design this entire time."
Silence.
The air felt heavier now.
Lucifer leaned back, smirking, clearly enjoying the weight of his words settling over them.
"Now," he sighed, stretching, "do you see why I said you wouldn't believe me?"
Fury exhaled slowly, processing.
Natasha's gaze remained unreadable.
Matt, however, was still watching Lucifer carefully.
Not doubting.
Not dismissing.
Just thinking.
Lucifer, noticing, tilted his head slightly.
But before he could comment—
Fury leaned forward again.
"You told Romanoff that our decision and mistakes are ours to make, was it a lie?"
"Oh, Director," he purred around with a smirk. "You have been paying attention. However, I did not lie. All mortals have got Free Will. That doesn't mean that you don't fall under his jurisdiction when you die."
Fury didn't let the weight of Lucifer's words settle for long.
Instead, he leaned forward slightly, tapping his fingers against the table once before asking, calm, steady, direct—
"And what's your part in all of this?"
Lucifer's entire face lit up.
"Oh!" he exclaimed, suddenly delighted. "You do want the full story!"
Mazikeen rolled her eyes. "Oh, great. Now you've done it."
Matt merely sighed, resigned, taking a slow sip of his coffee.
Fury, ever patient, waited.
Lucifer, grinning, leaned forward slightly, golden eyes gleaming with mischief and something deeper.
"Well, Director," he purred, smoothing his cuffs, "since you asked so nicely… You gotta know that Demiurgic Archangels were the first of His great ideas," he said smoothly, tapping his fingers against the table. "The first beings to be created with true, divine purpose."
Lucifer then sighed as he waved his hand dismissively. "Amenadiel is the oldest, the one with the stick up his ass, given the power over Time to set things into motion. Next, was Michael, my twin, who was given the power to create dull matter, and myself, of course, who gave life to what was made. Finally, we've got Gabriel, that dick, who set the laws for everything to function."
Fury narrowed his eye slightly, listening carefully.
Natasha's frown was visible. The first real shown in emotion so far.
Matt remained still, absorbing every word.
"So, yes," he mused, smiling indulgently, "that means I'm only slightly younger than Time itself, which is managed by my elder brother and great pain in my ass—Amenadiel."
Mazikeen grinned. "And oh, he hates it when Luci reminds him of that."
Lucifer chuckled. "Oh, he detests it, truly. He has no sense of humor."
Fury cut through the dramatics. "And after that?"
Lucifer tilted his head, considering.
Then, casually waving a hand, he said, "Oh, then my Father created other things. But explaining them to you without enough context would be… difficult. And boring. Mostly boring."
Fury's fingers tapped against the table. "Maybe I can convince you."
Lucifer grinned.
"A deal? Oh, now you're just tempting me, Director," he purred.
Fury didn't take the bait. He simply waited.
Lucifer sighed, rolling his eyes as he huffed.
"Let's just say," he mused, "that He created each universe, with each of them having a set of constants—the same cosmic pieces, the same checks and balances."
His fingers danced through the air, idly listing them off.
"The Infinity Stones. The Living Tribunal. The Celestials. Etcetera, etcetera."
Fury took that in, absorbing every word.
Lucifer, however, paused, his golden eyes flickering with something momentarily thoughtful.
"But this universe…"
His voice dipped slightly, not playful now, but genuinely curious.
"This universe is drenched in the divine," he murmured. "Yet, there are no true divine presences here."
Fury didn't move.
Lucifer smirked, but there was something speculative behind it now.
"And that," he mused, "is peculiar."
A pause.
Lucifer's fingers tapped against the table once, twice.
"It makes me wonder…"
He leaned forward slightly, golden eyes gleaming.
"Where is all of that divinity going?"
Silence.
For once, Fury didn't have a quick answer.
Natasha didn't speak, but her fingers tensed slightly against the table.
Matt remained still, his brow furrowing just slightly.
Lucifer, satisfied with the reaction, leaned back.
"Oh, don't look so grim," he teased. "It's just a little mystery."
Fury exhaled slowly.
Then he shifted tactics.
"That's quite the mystery, true," he said evenly, watching Lucifer carefully.
Lucifer's grin widened.
"Oh, it is, isn't it?" he purred.
Fury didn't take the bait.
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