10219/Doomed to Hell

Doomed to Hell
Date of Scene:	28 November 2019
Location:	Club Lux, Melville
Synopsis:	Knowing Lucifer's nature, Jason has some serious questions.
Cast of Characters:	Red Hood, Lucifer
Tinyplot:	Coventry Murders

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Red Hood has posed:
It was really Stephanie's fault Jason was here, their talk did not go well and while a whole lot had been stirred up and not the least of which was that Lucifer was dangerous and they needed to deal with him in groups going forward. Okay it was a little bit Dick's fault too, he'd said much the same thing by text.

So the day after where was Jason? Club Lux of course, as his choice of outfits go, he was barely trying to maintain the superhero routine this time. He's wearing chinos and a button down he left in Kate's spare room a few weeks ago and a leather jacket he 'borrowed' off a guy who he let try and mug him just outside Theatre Row. The mugger was going to have a hard time wearing it anyway when he got fitted for his cast.

Anyhow, Jason was at the club in that outfit plus a domino mask he wore mostly for the sake of the other Bats, if his secret identity was his own he wouldn't have bothered, but figure out one Bat and it's not hard to work out the others.

So he goes through the line like the other patrons, pays the cover, explains the domino mask as shades and makes his way to the bar, "Whiskey" he orders. "And let Lucifer know Red is here to see him, he'll know what that means."

Lucifer has posed:
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather just keep your arrival between us? I'm off in twenty minutes," flirts the barkeep, with a brush of her red hair back through her fingers, winking at him as she brings him his drink. She purses her lips, though, and sends word through one of the members of security, who nods and uses his phone to send along the alert.

A few minutes later, a familiar face comes down the stairs, headed right for Red. Noralzeen. She's dressed in a tight black halter, straps criss-crossing over her dark skin and middle, her hair fully braided. Her face is uncovered, but her expression is a chilly mask. She waits for Red to see her, and then crooks a finger, turning, and going back upstairs. There's no sexy sashay to her walk: she's more military: simply fetching Red.

Noralzeen will lead directly down to the room on the end and wait by that door, looking entirely overworked and uninterested, hand dropping down to the pommel of her sword. Her eyes clearly check Jason over: maybe for weapons?- but even if there are some, she doesn't actually care or take issue.

Red Hood has posed:
Jason offers the barkeep a smile, sliding over a card with his burner phone number on it, "Text me when you're off, if I am not done by then I'll catch up," he says. He lifts his drink and has a sip.

When Nora arrives, Jason finishes his drink, waves goodbye to the bartender and then follows Nora up the stairs and follow her to the end of the hall, once he's there, he takes the once over without argument, he is armed, but only lightly, three throwing knives and a small caliber piece at the small of his back. Just general armament none of it expected to scratch Lucifer.

"Want me to surrender my stuff, or are we good?" he asks the demon. "And thanks for helping the other night."

Lucifer has posed:
"No," Noralzeen says simply, entirely unimpressed and uninterested. She doesn't express anything as he thanks her, just turns her cold, light gray eyes over him slowly and then heads off down the hallway, deserving Jason there without much of a thought, it appears.

Suddenly, Lucifer is RIGHT there. He's in the doorway, and blinks once, then immediately smiles. It's entirely welcoming, that smile, charming, as if he were opening his doors to the guests of a grand gala. "Red! Welcome. I wasn't sure if you'd be coming by anytime soon; glad to see you," Lucifer responds, cheerfully. He steps aside and back in the doorway, giving Jason plenty of space to come into the room. It's not empty: there are two brunettes inside. "Tasha, Julia, give us the room, please," Lucifer asks them. The girls file out, with curious but obedient looks, one of them passing Lucifer close to pass her hand over his upper chest before she leaves.

"Sit if you like." There's something overly polite about Lucifer: he's trying just a little bit too hard to be low key and pleasant.

Because he knows.

Red Hood has posed:
Jason's brow arches under his mask reflected on his face by a slight furrow of his brow, but he smiles at Nora's response, or lack there of, calling after her: "Good talk."

Then he's there. No preamble, no warning, boom, face to face with the devil. Jason's heart speeds up and he feels a little sick to his stomach as he rememebers what he saw. For all that defiance allowed him to put on a brave face to this point that's gone now and he takes a breath as the two brunettes pass, he doesn't give them a second look.

Jason nods absently and sinks down into one of the chairs without much thought and he sits a moment before he looks over to Lucifer to ask: "You know why I'm here right?"

Lucifer has posed:
"I am actually not, in fact, all-knowing," Lucifer answers flippantly, with a softened laugh, as he lets the door close. He stands there a moment, hands relaxed against his pockets, before he crosses comfortably to the couch across from Jason. Lucifer reclines on it, stretching one arm over the back, and crosses one leg at ankle across one knee. His free hand moves as his thumb rotates a ring around one of his other fingers.

There's an appraisal now of Jason, and the robust smile diminishes. Lucifer is capable of kindness, and his eyes show it now, as well as some other emotion akin to avoidance. This isn't something he finds fun.

"However, I would say yes, I probably do. How are you holding together?" the Devil asks, still amiable, but there's no excess of pleasant happiness.

Red Hood has posed:
There is a 'heh' from Jason at that, "That's a shame, I'd have a lot of questions for you if you were," he says with wryly without his cocky smile, which is an answer to Lucifer's question in its own way, how is he holding up.

"Not great," Jason answers honestly. "I was really holding onto doubt until I saw, but now, I know you're who you say you are, and that is messing with my head. I thought I had it figured out, knew what's real, what's good, what's bad, all of it, but now I figure I know about jack shit."

He exhales a breath through his nose. "Not really sure what to do with it, y'know?"

Lucifer has posed:
"Well, I always encourage everyone to ask questions," replies the fallen angel who asked far too many questions. "Though the answers to some of them aren't going to be comfortable. That, I can say, I am an expert on." Lucifer grins now, rubbing his fingers along his jawline, and rolling his eyes a little bit.

"It's never just quick and easy for humans, some types of truth. But not /everything/ about me is accurate, I hope you realize. There will be no bargains for souls. There will be no making you do anything." Lucifer watches Jason, but without being harsh about it. He's trying to give the young man space. Even the aura is tuned way back, and Lucifer hasn't made any attempt to catch Jason's eye.

"Although whether you /believe/ me or not, I suppose is going to be up to you, and whatever your faith is." Lucifer shrugs one shoulder. "Anyway. You don't have to /do/ anything with it, really. At least, from my perspective."

Red Hood has posed:
Jason takes in all of Lucifer's answers and seems to turn them over in his head. After a few moments he nods and even though he said he knew it was true, hearing it more or less confirmed so blithely was like a shock of cold water, jolting his system.

"Then what do you do then if not barter for souls and tell people what to do? According to what most people say about you," the actual devil, that was /still/ a bit of a mind fuck, "That's like most of what you're supposed to do if you believe TV and movies."

Jason doesn't believe TV and movies, but Luficer's comment begs the question. Though that question is just the appetizer to a much meatier one, a question that had plagued him since he first heard about Batman and his deal.

"Am I going to hell?" he asks out of the blue as if he was afraid if he didn't say it now he might not ever find the courage to ask it later.

Which was exactly what happened.

Lucifer has posed:
"Well, those that win the wars write the history. All of the blame gets shoveled my way. Personal enormous peeve? Anytime anyone says 'the devil made me do it'. I was not involved. People make their own choices," Lucifer comments, exhasperated by the peeve that annoys him.

"What do I do? You mean, in hell? Punish those that require punishing, mostly. A lot of delegation, directing demons. Ugh, I feel like I'm giving you a resume. I didn't come here to talk about work, much rather leave that pile of shit where it belongs: out of sight and mind," Lucifer says, brightening towards the end, as he does, indeed, not really feel like talking about Hell.

"Do you think you're going to hell?" Lucifer parries neatly, with a tilt of head. Now he goes to catch Jason's eye: in his reassuring, comfortable gaze. "Is this about Batman?"

Red Hood has posed:
Oddly, Jason finds it easy to believe a lot of Lucifer's bad press was just heaven's smear campaign, but then seeing the worst in the people others look up to was sort of his thing.

"Good to know," Jason says about the choices, and under better circumstances he would have /definitely/ ribbed Lucifer about the devil made me do it thing. Not tonight though.

Jason nods to the description of the job, lightening a little at the end, "So, you're really on vacation then?" he asks, Zatanna had said something to that effect earlier but Jason wasn't sure if he was being fucked with or not.

Then it was time for the heavy question and all that came with it, "No," Jason says, "It's about me." he says at first. "Actually, I guess it's about both, I mean..." he pauses looking to Lucifer. "Do you know me and everything I've done?" he asks him. "If not, then the short version is Batman's a saint compared to me and if he's going to hell, then I am too, just wanting... confirmation I guess, so I know what I'm in for."

The other question, the critical question, if /he/ thought he should go to hell is missed entirely, dismissed as joking word play.

Lucifer has posed:
"I /am/ on vacation, yes. Which has a number of issues, some entities aren't a /fan/ of it, but it's what is happening," Lucifer says, spreading his hands open, his grin heavy, sarcastic. He smiles a little, aims both hands loosely at the ceiling to flip it off, and then looks back to Jason again. His eyes flare wide, that intensity there, playful but also with extreme wattage that Lucifer sometimes gets. It's just shy of being unnatural: because it is. And knowing what Lucifer is, now, probably explains a great deal of that emotional impact. He's not human.

"Sorry. About you." Lucifer focuses, the kind smile returning. "I don't like engaging in long explanations about how souls end up where they do. But in essence, if you /deserve/ to be punished, you will be, when your time is done here. Now: I should not have meddled with Batman's death, /probably/. Demons and all that came out of it, but I mentioned that I do like to delegate? Well. I delegated him to do a bit more punishing here on earth. Send a few more people on their way down."

Lucifer then focuses more solidly on Jason. "I have a sense of who you are. But it's going to depend on /your/ choices in your life. Do you do horrible things, or do you change that path. Honestly I'm not rooting for either way: only that you have the agency to /choose/."

Red Hood has posed:
The skyward aimed 'birds' actually gets a smile out of Jason, and what the hell, he flips off god as well. Though when that gaze is leveled at him Jason does smile but another part of him shifts back into his seat remebering what was behind the good looks and intense gaze.

"Got ripped off," Jason says about sending Batman back up so he could send people back down. "Batman doesn't kill, so I doubt he's going to be sending too many down to you unless they happen to get shived in the shower after they get locked up."

Though the rest isn't lost on him, and it shows in his expression as it dims again, clearly he is a man who thinks he deserves Hell. "So really my choices are live a better life or go to hell?" he says he rubs his hands over his face. "And if I can't if everything that's happened to me has made it impossible for me to do that, can a deal be made or something?" he asks. "I think that's what's messing me up, I thought death was the end, I thought I could live with what I go through knowing sooner or later someone would take me out and I could rest." Maybe. It didn't stick last time and he wasn't sure if it would the next time either. "Just seems unfair to have to go through all that Hell shit with life sucking as hard as it does."

He frowns and looks skyward again, "So, yeah, nice fucking system you designed asshole," he shouts up at the sky, flipping off god again.

Lucifer has posed:
"Oh, let me clarify for you. I didn't send him to //murder// anyone! That's not something I'd assign. In fact, I punish murderers very often. So. Our Batman, he does punish, and pushes others to make different choices. It's all very /interesting/. The dark go darker, but some change. Maybe some punishment on earth might change up where they're headed. If it doesn't, well. I'll see them later." Lucifer shrugs some. "As for the Bat himself. Maybe I won't see him on his way to hell a second time. And that's interesting. I like that. In theory I shouldn't give any warning shots, but I don't believe in dumb /rules/. I think on another day when he wasn't fighting Superman, I might not have seen him at all. Why judge eternity on one day?"

"Oh, I entirely understand your life is shitty here," Lucifer says, openly and with empathy. "I like it here, but it's not for everyone. Humans are dumpster fires so often," Lucifer says affectionately. "You might even say that I knew that when I sent Batman back here. He lives in his own personal mental hell, you know, punishing himself. Maybe you do that too," Lucifer wonders, perceptively, but adjusts the topic.

"You know. I /do/ like it when there's a few of you that believe me, and 'know'. It's so much more fun for me, to not need to tiptoe around breaking your minds. I appreciate that you're not broken, though if you need more time to think about the existential crisis, I understand. Human faith is fragile," Lucifer says, settling back.

Red Hood has posed:
Jason nods, "So basically Batman's like the cue ball then, sending him back here is like breaking the rack, watching who he bounces off of and what direction his form of punishment sends them?" he asks getting some glimmer of Lucifer's meaning. Though he frowns at the bit about Superman. "Why does the day matter? Or were the Catholics right and you have to confess your sins not to get dragged down?"

Then he flinches, "I know you don't like discussing the mechanics all day, I know, just curious."

Jason did indeed live in his own mental hell, though one so finely crafted he couldn't recognize it for what it was, it was all dressed up in 'the way things are meant to be'.

"Might need a bit more time, yeah, dealing with some other stuff as well, things I did to myself, it's been a rough...year maybe, it's a blurring," he says before he realizes he's rambling and get himself together. "You want to know what's weird though, is that this sort of helped. I mean my brain is still very broken right now but, I dunno, I trust you more knowing the truth, things make more sense that way at least, just taking me a bit to grasp the whole afterlife thing. Like I said, was really counting on the big black nothing at the end of this ride."

Lucifer has posed:
"I respect Batman's privacy, so you really should talk to him. How he felt at the time is important. Kind of a black moment I'd imagine? Just a guess. It's not about confession. But that's all I want to say about him." Lucifer senses he said too much already.

"Now, I understand you're having a great deal of difficulty coming to terms with whether you're doomed to go to Hell," Lucifer says, shifting forwards on the couch, which reduces the distance between them, but also shows Lucifer's engagement here. "Only one person in this room is truly doomed with that fate." His smile was large, but it fades away now, and his brows lower a little bit. Lucifer listened to himself there, and it shows in his expression. The fallen angel has troubles of his own, and his eternity of servitude in hell, broken up by small rebellious vacations....

"But your past doesn't decide where you're going. You're not so deep that you have no choice." Lucifer rises to his feet.

With a sudden rush, there's a pulse in the room, a flux of speed and wind. Lucifer has manifested and flung his wings open. They're pure white feathers, ethereal as they come into presence in the room: a light source in each long feather, a glow within it, that has a soft heartbeat. They're not just wings: there's angel-presence here. It makes Lucifer's identity, perhaps, suddenly all the more confusing, with the purity of it.

"I'm deciding what /I/ am. If I can? Come on now. Your cards aren't even fully dealt, 'Red'."

Red Hood has posed:
Jason doesn't argue, "Sure," he says about Batman, not quite sure how he was going to broach that discussion, 'so Bruce how'd it feel to kill your best friend'. Anyhow the point is made.

It hadn't clicked before, that Lucifer's time here was a vacation, it was a very specific word vacation and one that spoke of only a temporary arrangement.

"Shit," Jason says when it all clicks. "Your dad not the budging sort either?" he asks about Lucifer's situation finding himself living that old Rolling Stones track and having sympathy for the Devil.

But was the devil if not a fallen angel, it's easy to forget sometimes and Jason certainly had until he was very effectively reminded by the pulsing glowing wings that suddenly appear.

Jason is struck with actual awe, he finds himself unable to do much more than sit there and stare until the gears in his head find a way to turn again and when they do he actually smiles.

"I was about to ask which was the real you, what I saw at Greenwood's or this, but they both are aren't they? Which I might add, is not helping me not break my brain," though that admonishment is said with a touch of a laugh.

More than that, the display, while meant to provide answers to his dilemma about Hell push the question from his mind, for now, allowing him a few moments to enjoy the splendor of the wings unmarred by his own selfish doubts.

Lucifer has posed:
"Ehhh, I show off that other side so often, felt like a chance of pace," Lucifer jokes. He folds the wings back, although he doesn't make them disappear: they're still there, neatly folded against the back of his sleek black suit. It causes him to be a little backlit: the ambiance is what it is, certainly. But his aura remains the same as ever: coaxing, relaxing, suggestive of following desires: both 'good' and 'bad'.

"No, my father is full of stubborn shit," Lucifer agrees. He seats himself again, more on the edge of the couch, with only a slight adjustment through the wings to make that easier: they're fairly big.

"Yes, I'm both things at once. Myself, and the job," Lucifer smirks ruefully. "Which bleed together."

Red Hood has posed:
There is an actual chuckle for the joke and where Jason had drawn back before he settles back now, properly lounging.

The back lighting effect of the wings gets a bit of a smile, though his mask's optics does it's best to cut down the glare, he rubs at his mask a moment tempted to take it off.

Though before that thought is fully formed he is grinning in support of Lucifer's statement, "Mine too, biological and otherwise," he says about his fathers. "My bio dad's probably down at your work," he says seeming not to regret that. "My mom definitely should be too." Again no regret there, just a fiece satisfaction at the idea of their punishment.

Jason frowns at that last statement, not a expression of displeasure, or frustration, just thought. "Yeah, know what you mean about the two halves bleeding together. Ever find trying to keep the balance is too much work? Like you'd rather just pick one and live with it rather than trying to be both?"

Lucifer has posed:
"Yes. Sometimes I'm just the Devil," Lucifer says, without any problem or hesitation. "But not right now. I'm still that, obviously. But I won't wear the full shackles all the time. And besides, the other half isn't killed, even when you lean one way. It's still there." Lucifer rolls his left shoulderblade, then the right. One wing closes back, then the other, following the movements of shoulderblades, and they disappear with an ethereal pressure. Lucifer did react bodily, adjusting his torso, and then relaxes into the couch, without the wings visible. The room feels (and is) darker for the loss of the angelic presence.

"At any rate, I'm trying /not/ to do my bloody job while I'm on vacation. I /do/ rather like punishing the guilty, though, so I'm quite willing to pitch in on things around here. When I choose to. And that's rather the difference between work and play: choice." Lucifer and his freedom.

"I really didn't mean for the demonic mess to happen. I do want to make up for it. The part of it that /is/ my fault, at any rate. Sadly, I am not perfect. I'll leave that to Him," Lucifer says scornfully, with an up-nod at the ceiling.

Red Hood has posed:
The vanishing of the wings is met with a slight frown of disapointment as if to say 'aww' but it doesn't last long, replaced with a more thoughtful expression a few seconds later, "Yeah, I guess you're right leaning into one doesn't destroy the other, I guess the only differece is I chose to wear the mask, you didn't choose Hell, so I can get why you wouldn't want to be stuck doing that forever or being the Devil all the time."

Ugh, it makes his skin crawl, putting himself in Lucifer's shoes imagining Bruce setting him to some hated task for all time... skin crawl and blood boil... actually.

"Noted," Jason says about the job. "I think that can be arranged, at least I'd be willing to work with you, sounds like you and I see eye to eye about punishment at least."

As for the demons, he nods, "It sounds like they're gone, so that's something, though if you want to throw a little money at the victims of all this we can probably move it through a charitable foundation or two, so people don't wonder what your stake in all this is."

That last bit, earns a smirk, that's practically something Jason would say about Bruce, or well Dick too, but anyhow it's familiar. "Family, huh?" he says with a mixture of humour and sympathy.

Lucifer has posed:
"Money? Sure. Happy to assist there," Lucifer says, as if it had not even occurred to him. "I can do cash, actually. Do you enjoy duffel bags of money?" Lucifer asks, temptingly, amused. He can't help himself sometimes. Temptations are FUN.

"On the subject of masks. Mind if we get a few things quickly out of the way, now that we're dedicated to breaking your mind?" Lucifer asks, orienting on Jason. He moves a hand to indicate the mask. "I don't specifically know your alter-ego. Mostly because I haven't researched it. I don't say it to threaten you: but to say that I'm not going to unveil any of your group, even if I know, say, Batman. I say it to be up front about it."

Lucifer relaxes, and directly attempts to catch Jason's gaze, now. Catch, and hold, with a pressure of his power exerted. It's subtle, though: and if it's not necessary, Lucifer prefers not to use it. This is accidental, to a degree: it leaks out whenever Lucifer is trying to coax information. The abilities just get used lightly. It's like trying to deliberately write badly: it's harder than it seems like it should be.

"Is there anything else you need to hear from me?" The question is a deeper probe. Jason may not even consciously realize what he may need to make this wild ride with the devil more palatable.

Red Hood has posed:
Jason is indeed tempted by the idea of bags of cash but not for the reasons most would be, it's not about greed but causing trouble and stirring the pot. "Actually bags of cash would be great, if just to see how the folks at the charities deal with it and how quickly they call..."

That dovetails nicely into what Lucifer brings up, identities... "Bruce," Jason finishes and then takes off the mask with a bit of a sigh of relief. "This does make these visits a little easier," he says. "I'm Jason by the way, you can call me Red still if you prefer."

Without the mask it's all the easier to catch Jason's eye, easier to orient on where he's looking and just be there. With that pressure exerted Jason answers honestly.

"That I'm not inherently bad, I've died before and come back and I need to know I didn't come back wrong, that like you said my cards haven't been dealt yet, that it's stil worthwhile to try."

Lucifer has posed:
"Jason it is, or Red in other situations. I'll remember. I'm still Lucifer. No lie then, and no lie now," Lucifer says, smiling, though there's no substancial change in Lucifer's manner. "I also don't film in here," he adds, with a gesture around at the room in general. "At least, not without the full consent of everyone involved in the making of the video." Because videos of activities do happen.

"Inherently bad. Hmmm." Lucifer taps his fingers slowly on the edge of the couch back, deciding about his answer as if he were considering a fine wine's taste.

"I can't speak to what brought you back to life, or the impact of it, since I didn't do it personally," Lucifer begins. Because yes, Lucifer revives the dead on occasion. Casual conversation topics.

"Some people come back as squeezed or corrupted versions of what they were. I have seen those. I have never gotten that vibe from you. I'd say.... it would be /easier/ for you than some people to fall," Lucifer begins. "But I also don't think you're all about what's easy. So I'd say... might be a little uphill at first, but I guess you'll find out if you have it in you to climb, or just sit at the bottom."

Lucifer watches Jason now, thoughtful, the intensity gone from his dark eyes. "Hopeless? Not at all."

Lucifer smirks a little. "But that's enough heavy topics. I'm going to suggest you go downstairs, enjoy Katie's company, dance, and have some drinks on me. And come back later this week, and I'll let you roll around in the cash on a bed before we pack it in duffels," teases Lucifer.

Red Hood has posed:
"Good to hear," Jason says about the video thing, he probably should have checked that before taking off the mask, "And yeah, when I've got my gear on, Red, otherwise Jason, but I'm sure you've got that already."

He was in that dazed state that came after a bunch of stress had passed so his brain wasn't back to firing on all cylinders yet. Though he does manage to focus as he's considered by Lucifer, weighed and measured.

The news that it was easier to fall is met with a nod, almost glad there was some confirmation there, that what he was and what he did, wasn't entirely on him, even if it meant a harder struggle to climb that hill. It was enough though, he nods and when an end to heavy topics is called he rises, smiling.

"Thanks," he says and means it. "Seriously," then he smiles. "That... actually sounds like a pretty great plan.," he says. "I'll be back in a few days then, in the meantime though, don't let your Dad," he looks up. "Get you down and enjoy the hell out of your vacation... not that you need me to tell you by the look of things."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer laughs. It's a joyous sound. Long ago Lucifer's angelic laugh was always full of joy. It ends with a grin that leans sarcastic. "Fuck him," Lucifer answers, with a wink, getting to his feet. "I think my pretty great plan can apply to us both." He gestures to the door, though he won't touch Jason: he knows there's some limits to what people can take. Awareness of the devil touching a shoulder or arm might push things past where they've comfortably landed.

"Although mine will be with Julia and Tasha.. and probably a Courtney or two," Lucifer teases, before opening the door to bring them back to the proper pleasures of Lux. The music and pour of the club outside is, perhaps, a quite welcome break to the experience inside. Even if it's just a distraction, it's a welcome one.