I have to say, disabling and then storing the Markov devices was the easiest part of today.

Supergirl left me feeling upset, or perhaps frustrated.

Then Emilia returned in the evening exactly the same, and fucked my brains out for a couple of hours.

"How could you?" Emilia asked as she crashed on top of me, rather spent.

"You mean?" I asked tentatively.

"I know I can't compete with a superhero, not to mention Supergirl. She's literally perfect in every way." she sobbed in my chest, then pounded my shoulder with a tiny fist.

"Wait? Are you jealous?" I asked a bit confused.

"I just said that!" she growled, then began to cry.

"Hold on! Firstly, I have no intention of leaving you. As for Supergirl...she is dangerously naive. I mean the DEO is using her like that, and she didn't even notice. I shudder to think what a wicked man would do with her. She's a nuclear bomb on legs, for God's sake! " I explained in a serious voice.

Emilia rose and stared in my eyes looking for something. "Oh? You want me to train her. That's something completely different."

"Exactly! Not only psychology and field work, but seduction too. Control over her emotions as well. She almost blew my head off today." I muttered in a low voice, then slumped on my pillow.

"You don't look scared." she noticed with a wry smile.

"I wouldn't die, just from physical damage. But the point stands. Most humans are very fragile. Supergirl can slap a mountain into orbit, if she loses control." I explained in a disappointed voice.

"Errr. You mean I was worrying about you for nothing? Pef..." she growled at me with hard eyes.

"Not for nothing. It is great that you care. It's just that I am very, very hard to kill by mundane things. As for Gods and demons and multi-planar entities...not so much." I offered with a shrug.

"Gods...like what, Jesus?" she asked with a smile.

"Probably. But I mean Gods like Zeus, Ares, the three Fates. Basically all the ancient pantheons. Wonder Woman. Lucifer. Not going too deep into demonology now." I answered with a snort, then sneaked away to return to my lab.

I had a lot of work to do, reverse-engineering the Markov devices as to provide quake-dampening. And power sources. While the technology wasn't finished, I had enough brains to complete Markov's work.

As I was working, I felt a presence near and raised my head.

A normal-looking man, maybe a bit too handsome for a human. Black hair...

"Yes? Keep going, mortal! You had me at handsome, I admit!" Lucifer Morningstar commented in wry tone.

"I speak your name and you appear? Or you heard about my old whiskey stash?" I asked as I rose to my feet, and gently filled my soul with Light. Only a little though.

"Old magic? Dear Fortuna, right? And yes, the first thing. But the second thing, is even more interesting. Pour me a good drink, and I'll grant you a wish, mortal." the old devil proposed in a friendly tone.

Waving my hand like a magician, I produced a fine table and chairs, along with a bottle of priceless single malt.

"I am not a mortal, but sure. There are things in the multiverse that can kill me anyways. A Hell Key would be useful either way." I said with a light voice, and poured him some whiskey over ice.

"Normally, I would say 'when the hell freezes over' at such a bold demand, but..." he mused thoughtfully and sipped the best single malt in the world (System certified)

I gulped my own glass and poured another. Training Carouse with the Devil. Who knew?

"You are actually trying to balance Light and Dark in your soul! Haha! Grey Wizard. The name fits." Lucifer exclaimed after gulping his own glass.

So I poured him more. This night will get expensive.

"Did I break something, by taking these devices? Some sort of cosmic plan?" I asked a while later, pointing at the disassembled Markov devices in my lab.

Lucifer peeked at me with knowing eyes. "If you have to ask, then you don't need to know."

"Great! This is MY city now. I'm sure there will be more challengers." I allowed in a generous mood, and poured more whiskey.

"Appletown maybe. As for the Starling City...I am not sure, actually. You don't seem that strong, yet you're rather confident, Grey Wizard. Are you sure you don't want a magic book instead?" Lucifer proposed with a curious voice.

"Only if it's a gift. And not trapped. This whiskey is rather priceless too." I asked with a smile, and took out my last bottle.

"I was meaning to ask, but then a Wizard should have his secrets." the Devil commented at my use of the Storage.

I nodded and clenched my fist, producing the 2nd Tier of my Dungeon Creation, filled with tiny but aggressive Butterflies. Still only 10 seconds long, but enough for Lucifer to grab one and snap his neck, possibly testing if it was alive or illusion.

"Even more curious. Creating life isn't something any spell-slinger wizard can do. And yet, you're not old enough like Merlin or Shazam. A riddle wrapped in a mystery. You want something from me, but you're certain I would refuse."

the Devil pondered with red eyes.

"Two things, one easy, the other...very hard." I said after drinking my glass.

"You will die, if you drink one more." Lucifer noted as I kept pouring drinks.

I smiled and shook my head. "You can hit me as strong as you can, and I won't die. But then, I get to hit you back. Fair?" I proposed with a knowing smile.

A bet with the devil. The table filled with empty bottles. The ice ran out. And I wanted to return to my work.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"As strong as I can...." Lucifer mused to himself, almost feeling the trap.

But he couldn't see it. I would die from the next sip of whiskey. Still a mortal, if a decently clever wizard.

"Cross my heart and hope to die!" I confirmed in a solemn voice.

The universe vanished around us, filled with only darkness. A pair of red eyes started malevolently at me from within, and then a giant claw burst through my chest, disintegrating my body and my soul.

My limit break came on automatically, and I returned the strike with my Nth metal tonfa, moving at lightspeed.

I could shatter planets with such a force, and a durable enough fulcrum.

Lucifer's chin flew to the side, and he spat a bit of blood. "Whoa! You hit like an Angel! And move just as fast." he realized with amazement.

I smacked my palm with the Nth metal tonfa, but didn't feel a thing. Absolutely indestructible, for the next 2.99999 secs.

"I wasn't finished, Lucifer Morningstar. A bet is a bet." I said in a mild voice, then smacked the Devil on the other cheek, splitting his black skin.

Then again, and again. A million times. When my time was nearly up, I coughed a little and stored the tonfa away. "God damn it! I am still too weak to beat you up properly. Let's go back and finish the bottle."

Lucifer reformed from his mangled state, looking a bit worse for wear. Might have drained like 1 percent of his power. Maybe less.

"I could use a drink right now. Why are you so angry?" he asked as we sat down in our chairs, back where we started.

"This planet...everything I try to fix, turns in my hands. Criminals get sent to asylums, they escape and kill more. Politicians...aliens, demons, ghosts...I almost feel like killing everyone. Start over." I grumbled and gulped my whiskey.

Lucifer sipped his drink more carefully, nursing a split lip. That almost looked painful.

"Yeah, don't do that. It wouldn't solve anything." the Devil muttered with a wary tone.

"But then, I also have a pair of women I love. My employees, my fellow heroes. Life doesn't suck all the time. You should come back, tomorrow night. It was really cathartic, letting loose on your thick hide." I proposed in a generous voice.

"...I think I'll pass, Grey Wizard. Your book and the Hell Key. Doing them a favor, if I think about it. You could rule Hell easily. In fact..." Lucifer said just I took out my tonfa.

"Don't try to give me your job, pretty boy. See you around." I growled and pointed the metal stick at him.

Although I looked frail and weak like a human, Lucifer learned his lesson. He held his palms out in surrender and vanished, leaving my hard-earned loot on the table.

*Ding

You have faced the Devil and lived. Sort of. +1 Wis

*You have endured a full soulstrike from a class 1 entity and lived. Sort of. +1 End.

*You have dealt incalculable damage to a class 1 entity. +2 Str.

*You have amused the Heavenly Host immensely. +2 Mag.

*You have intimidated a class 1 entity. +10 Intimidation.

*You have caroused with a class 1 entity for a whole night, and lived (barely). +10 Carouse.

*You have saved Star City from the Undertaking. +1 free attribute.

*You have obtained a Devil Grimoire. It is not trapped. (amazing, I know)

*You have obtained a Hell Key. Enter the Hell dimension at will. Exit not available.

I stared at the last part, and wished I beat up Lucifer a hundred times worse. He dared to cheat me?

-----

"Kara, my office!" Director Danvers demanded on her ear pod. Apple brand, for free.

Lord Wizard did make lots of useful tech, even if...

"I just got the full report from the Star City Director, about the Undertaking event. Certainly an Extranormal Operation, correct? Artificial earthquake devices, a bunch of assassins killing the entire staff at Unidac industries, and Deathstroke escaped, while the Dark Archer didn't." her sister read out from her screen. Also an Apple laptop, they made the best stuff...

"Pretty much, yes. I only arrived later, to find the blue things before they sank the city or whatever they do." Supergirl answered in a cheerful voice.

"And yet, I have here a mention, you almost blew up Grey Wizard's head. Changed target in the last second towards the ground. Is this true?" Alex Danvers asked in a worried voice.

Kara froze for a second. She almost did it, but she never fired on Wizard. "I didn't shoot him, Alex. Even if he was annoying..."

"He expressly declined wanting to sleep with you, unless his girlfriend agreed first. I have audio recordings too." Alex said in a disappointed voice.

Kara was not stupid, but recalling the conversation, it did happen exactly like that. So why was she so angry? For being refused? But she didn't ask...

"Director Harcourt has proposed you be transferred in her custody for a year, and inducted into CIA-style training. While Grey Wizard was being a bit playful, he was still professional enough to delay such discussions until after the city was saved. Either him being flirty, or him rejecting you, neither is a reason for you to blast a hero to bits. Thus you need more training." her sister decided in a harsh voice.

"But...Alex! I still didn't! Nothing happened." Kara argued in a weak voice.

"He says he felt you, aiming for his head. Grey Wizard from the Justice League, who fought against two alien invasions. Do you deny it? Just say so, and I'll throw this report away. I don't care about his tech or black money. My sister is more important. Do you deny it?" Alex asked again, in colder tone.

"...For a moment. He said I wasn't ugly." Kara muttered in a low voice.

"Errr? If I say you're not ugly, will you blow me up? Because you're really not ugly." Alex asked in a confused voice.

Kara slumped in her chair. "I thought he liked me. But then, he says something like that..."

"You know his identity!" Alex realized after a moment.

Kara blinked at his sister, recalling she learned about Wizard from her. But now, she forgot?

After the broken mug incident, when Wizard was right here. Did he erase her memory about his identity? Most likely. Wizards had mysterious ways.

"Hero stuff, unrelated to this problem." Kara admitted with a shy voice.

"He trusted you enough to let you inside. Showed you his real face! And you wanted to kill him?" Alex growled in a horrified voice.

"But I didn't! Plus, I'm not certain he would die. Superman himself is not sure he can take him. Damn crazy wizards!" Kara answered with a meek voice.

"Look, all I know is that a hero trusted you with his identity, with his life. Not only his own life, but his family as well. You can't ever target his head with your eyes beams! And for what, teasing you a little? What if a villain teases you? Maybe the Joker points out you have a pimple. Oh my! Gotham will burn now!" Alex exclaimed in a louder voice.

Kara sobbed inward. It wasn't fair! She didn't do anything.

"Mental hardening is called, this kind of training. Plus seduction courses. Not that you will get rejected often, but just in case it happens again. We don't want a city exploding from your tantrums." Alex concluded in a final voice.

"You think I'll get rejected again?" Kara asked with a wary voice.

"If your eyes glow red and you look like blowing someone to bits, probably. Or if you break their hands." Director Danvers said with a hand in the air.

Kara could still see the fracture lines, from when they were young. And she was too strong.

"But a whole year?" she asked instead.

"Well, sister. With the seduction courses, no man will ever refuse you again. Not even your dear Grey Wizard." Alex said with a knowing smile.

Kara felt like crying. So she did.

Alex hugged her, but held her distance a little. "Training. You can lift mountains, surely you can read a few books and act a little, right?"

Kara nodded. "I'm going to blow their minds."

"Kara!" Alex yelled in fake outrage.

"Not literally. Haha!" Supergirl laughed a bit relieved.

"Go now. I can't cry yet. Still on duty." Director Danvers came back, voice cold again.

"Yes, M'aam." Kara saluted then activated her bracelet and vanished.

Director Harcourt rose her eyes from her screen, and pressed a button, turning off the silent alarm. Not as silent as her kryptonian senses couldn't hear it.

"Supergirl. You're a mess. Go fix your makeup. For a woman, the makeup is her first armor." she demanded while holding out a makeup kit.

Damn it! Already blew up the first day of training.

"It's okay, you will cry many more times today." Director Harcourt yelled from her desk, while she was busy repairing the makeup.

Kara's eyes hardened in the mirror. She will not cry.

But she did. She failed every task, and every scripted encounter. Dropped the roses. Ripped the handkerchief while blowing her nose.

Squashed the chocolate box.

A hundred tasks, and she failed them all. And this was something a normal woman could do?

As the day ended, Emilia made her hot cocoa and they rested on the sofa.

"You know, he rejected me too. At least twice. Probably trice. Made fun of my seduction skills. But in the end, I still won. Never give up." she offered in a kind voice.

"But you're really pretty!" Kara exclaimed in outrage.

"And so are you. But so what? Looks aren't everything. You'll see. Tomorrow there is my old infiltration trainer coming. She's like 80 years old. Men would jump into fire for her. A lot of men did." Emilia said with a wry voice.

"No way!" Kara exclaimed in disbelief.