(Aden's P.O.V)

The first thing I did after cleaning up was order a meal. A medium rare steak that I devoured in seconds down at the restaurant. I took a second to just observe the whole establishment. Lucifer had had it changed from the Sunset Boulevard to simply Lux.

I honestly had no idea how I was going to handle a hotel on top of the billion other things on my plate. The staff seemed to know who I was as well and treated me with respect. A young pretty waitress even going as far as calling me, Mr.Strong. They must have endlessly wondered how I seemed to just randomly appear in the hotel without exiting or using the entrance like a normal person. Oh my god, maybe they thought I was a shut in! I snorted at the thought and made to get up when I felt someone sit on the chair opposite to me.

Long black hair, a handsome face with piercing blue eyes. The third of the big three.

"Well, to what do I owe the pleasure, Gabriel."

I asked with a small upturn of my lips. Of course I knew why he was here. Infact I had been expecting him ever since I'd gotten back.

The youngest of the demiurgic trio coughed lightly.

"Don't act the fool." His tone was cold and formal, making me frown a little.

"Or else I might start to think of you as one."

He added with an easy smile,the tension draining out.

I laughed in disbelief.

"As far as jokes go, great first attempt."

He snorted a little as I waved the pretty waitress over to our table.

"What are you having?"

I asked him while sipping from the tall glass of orange juice before me. Yes I love Oj, sue me.

"I do not require sustenance."

Gabriel responded staring at the menu I was handing him with my left hand, strangely. The waitress patiently stood in place, waiting for the angelic being before me who looked for all intents like a handsome lawyer meeting a client, to make a choice.

"He'll huh...have a salad."

The waitress eyed me with a blush before quickly walking off, unfortunately she didn't see where she was going and knocked over a server carrying a plate of food. I used the air to fix his footing and balance the plate in his hands before he could make a mess.

The Waitress apologized and scurried off but not without giving me a weird look. Mmmh...strange.

"You seem to have a different variety of abilities. More than most human practitioners of magic or...meta-humans?"

Gabriel asked, sounding unsure.

"I am still learning a lot about today's world. Blink and you humans have already come up with a thousand more ways to harm one another."

He explained.

"It's like clockwork, isn't it?"

I questioned with a smile.

"Almost a century ago we had one of the worst wars ever seen in history. And now, such destruction has been relegated to the norm. Do you know how many people die on a monthly basis due to superhero and Villain fights?"

I questioned.

"Over 10,000." And yeah I'd been shocked as well.

"The number fluctuates based on the villain's latest schemes or how long they stick to the prisons the Justice League put them in."

"Yet, they are hailed as humanity's protectors. The situation would be drastically worse without their presence, would it not?"

Gabriel asked in curiousity. An argument I'd heard before.

I leaned back.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Maybe you're right. But the problem is that none of them are seeking to change the status quo. It's an endless cycle of capture, escape, death then capture."

He raised his eyebrows.

"Some would say they are trying to preserve their morals and values. The same thing that gives them that altruistic nature to do good."

At this point, I knew he was testing me.

"Are you sure? Let's get real. I don't believe in altruism. You would have to be broken to put yourself in constant pain and danger, saving someone and expecting nothing back. Looking at the League's line up, some were brought to this life through vengeance, guilt, duty and how they were raised. Even an innocent child, someone untainted by the reality that is living, puts itself first. It is not true altruism if you feel good about helping someone."

Gabriel cocked his head to the side.

I raised a hand to cut off his next words.

"But that's besides the point. What I mean is, that sooner or later, treating the symptoms will just not work anymore. There needs to be change."

"And you aim...to bring about this change? Even going against those on the side of good?"

Tsk. He's trying to box me in.

"Heres the thing." I narrowed my eyes.

"You angels are not the benevolent beings, with a hard on for all that is holy and pure like you would have everyone believe." Gabriel's face was carefully blank.

I smiled at the cute waitress as she placed the plate of green before Gabriel.

"If you were, you wouldn't have a place to call home. You've destroyed more than your share of beings, Gabriel, so I know you understand what I mean. There is no right or wrong. Not in the ways that truly matter. It's all about the power to enforce the values you want onto society. And. That's. The. Problem!"

A few people turned to study us and I realized the frame of the chair was twisted in my palm.

"They have the power to change things for the better yet none of them does. So yes, I have taken it upon myself to truly help people. When two bulls fight, the grass is ultimately the loser. But I'm working my way up on having something to say about that."

The horn appeared before us from my hammerspace, hidden by my new invisible skill to everyone's eyes but Gabriel. I then got up.

"Thanks for your help Gabriel. Enjoy your salad."

I walked towards the elevator feeling more than a little worried. That outburst had felt out of character for me.

I pressed the button for my floor and stared at my hands in question. What the fuck is going on? I thought I was done with this. With blowing up. I thought I was learning! I thought I was getting better!

Bam!

My fist dug on to the metallic chassis of the elevator, making it shake and grind to a halt with a screeching sound.

Fuck. I need to get in control of whatever this is. First of, I hurried towards the security room and used telepathy to make the guards monitoring the cameras forget. Then I deleted the footage of me going ballistic on the elevator before portalling to my room.

Once there I settled into a meditative pose and tried to calm my spirit. Body refining was activated without much urging, the heat running across my veins and body, soothing it and clearing my thoughts somewhat, though not as much as I wanted. 30 minutes in, I stopped and rubbed my eyes. That was probably the best I was going to get out of it now. I had a lot on my mind and that was messing with everything.

The next portal that opened up, did so in a lavish garden, manifested into reality by Maze. I stepped through and started walking towards the large castle peeking through the trees. Without enough context, you wouldn't think that this garden was actually just a projection. I picked a rose on the way and admired it, breathing in deeply.

A portal swallowed me on my next step, taking me to the balcony I'd seen Lucifer on, looking down at the challenges I had ultimately won. Good times.

The change was immediate though not as pronounced when compared to the outside. Negative feelings slammed into me like a freight train. The smell of sulphur hang over us like a noxious invisible cloud.

"Aden...glad you could make it."

Lucifer said, commenting from a red couch that looked plush and comfortable.

Maze was seated on the arm of the couch, one hand slung over the top of the seat, watching me with an intense gaze. The whole set up was weird, another couch this one gray on the side, with a huge tv screen opposite them, a bag of popcorn on the table between the couch and tv. The screen was playing a scene from the movie Face/off only in this world, it didn't star Travolta or Cage but some other actors. One of whom looked almost identical to Richard Gere. I'd watched it and while it didn't have the same zany appeal of the one I knew, the special effects were much better. This world's tech was just more advanced.

"First of all, I only have one question...last I remember, this castle was still back in my dimension, attached to the stadium..."

I trailed off suspiciously.

"Oh that...that was just a replica. A copy."

Lucifer waved off my concerns. For a second there, I'd been worried that he could just access my dimension without my say so. Who knew what level of BS power he was working with?

I sent my awareness to my dimension using the ever present link I had and confirmed that yes, the castle and almost destroyed stadium were still where I'd left them.

I stepped up closer to them, doing my best to not keep staring at Maze's body for too long and handed her the rose in my hands. She turned it around in her fingers before opening her lips in a little shock. She recognized it. She could touch and feel it, something that wad supposed to be impossible. But with my air bending, it was easy to give it form underneath the illusion plastered above it.

"How?"

I shrugged before answering.

"I have my ways."

I told her before propping my ass on the second empty couch beside the table.

"What is this, movie night?"

"Yes. It's a... thing we picked up on earth." Lucifer snorted.

"And funnily enough a very good way to understand humans and what passes for social concepts without having them scream while torturing them."

Oh right, I'm friends with the devil.

The tv screen went dark as he fully turned to me.

"But that's not what you're here for, now is it?"

I sat up straighter.

"Yeah. Got it in one."

"Soooo, ask. I can feel the burning question just on the tip of your tongue."

Maze looked between us in confusion.

"What do you want in exchange for John Constantine's freedom?"

The smile on Lucifer's face threatened to split it into two.

"Like I said...this is the fun part."