DC LUCIFER IN MCU

Lucifer's superhuman speed brought his hand seconds away from closing on the Ancient One's throat in a choke hold, but just a fraction of a millisecond before he did, there was nothing. His hand closed into a fist as he grabbed empty air. Instantly, he turned to see the woman standing between him and the Time Stone, both her hands still behind her back, her emotionless eyes piercing him.

"I dare you to say that name again?" he hissed, his voice low and dangerous.

 "Names have power. Yours is a reminder of who you were—who you have always been." she answered unfazed.

Lucifer took a step closer, his gaze locked onto the Time Stone behind her. He noted that he was beginning to lose touch; rather than acting, he was now reacting precisely to what the Ancient One intended.

"Spare me the lecture. I'm not one of your little monks. Step away, and we can both avoid unnecessary conflict."

The sorcerer supreme shook her head slowly, a hint of sadness in her eyes. "You misunderstand the consequences of what you're asking. The Time Stone cannot be wielded by those lured by power. It is intertwined with the very essence of our reality."

Lucifer's patience began to wear off.

"You think I don't know that? I have no desire to wield it. I simply need to keep it out of the hands of someone far more dangerous."

The Ancient One tilted her head slightly, studying him. "And you believe you are the lesser evil. Have you not fallen for power once?"

A bitter laugh escaped Lucifer's lips. "You have been reading my father's tales, I see," he smirked, feeling his grip on calm slipping through his hold. He chose to give tact one last try.

"Believe what you wish, woman, but trust me, compared to the Titan, I'm practically a saint."

Even though she tried to remain unreadable, Lucifer easily saw past that facade. She was worried, but she would not show it.

"Many have sought the Eye to quench their greed. Neither you nor the Titan will be the last."

He could see the hardened resolve in the Sorcerer Supreme's eyes. He realized that, at this point, reason could simply not win it. Now he had a choice: either walk away and believe that this stubborn woman would indeed stand her ground against the Titan... Heck, a part of him almost believed she could.

That option, however, came with a lot of threats. What if the Titan, using both the Tesseract and the Power Stone, managed to beat her? That would mean the Titan would now have three stones... and worse, one of those would be the Time Stone. He would be on the path to unstoppable. He simply could not avoid it.

Now it appeared the only other option was a clash between him and the Ancient One. Truthfully, he did not fancy violence, more so because the woman, though misguided, was still on a noble cause. But... wait. Lucifer stayed as unreadable as possible as he contemplated his last option. He would need speed and instant reflexes. He was going to just teleport with the damn thing right out of Kamar-Taj. For her sake, he hoped she would not chase. She was already a headache as it was.

It was an instant spin, and within just a second, Lucifer would have had the stone in his hand were it not for the fact that at that moment, time chose to freeze.

He was aware of still spinning toward the Time Stone, but still, his eyes were locked to those of the Ancient One.

Lucifer felt himself being enveloped in a swirling ring of light and shadow, his form pulled and twisted by the raw force of her magic. Her hands danced in complex twists and turns as she performed what was clearly a portal spell.

Suddenly, a golden ring emerged midair, and Lucifer, despite his restraint, flew right through it.

That is when when felt it.

 Bit by bit, he began to piece the information together. Ever since he had started looking into this woman—the so-called Sorcerer Supreme—his senses had been alerting him to something beyond mortal capabilities. True, magic was within the human scope, but that wasn't it.

 Although he hadn't given it much thought, the moment he had breached the mystic barriers of the Kamar-Taj, he had felt it again—more powerful, more pronounced.

Now, replaying these incidents in his mind, he remembered having a similar premonition when he was in the Ancient One's library. That feeling had intensified when the woman reappeared in the library as well. It was a feeling he had long denied—yes, he, the Devil; he, the one who had ruled Hell for eons. He knew that feeling. That magic aura was all too familiar to him, and he abhorred it.

It was during the early days of his descent and proclamation as the ruler of Hell. During this time, his father would occasionally come to help him acquaint himself with his new domain.

 Not that they had been on speaking terms, but the dude was the frigging God. When he was around, everyone showed up and listened. Lucifer had begrudgingly brought Hell under control. It was not what he loved, but as a son of God, neither was he used to failing. Soon, all the demons in the damn place had no choice but to fall in line.

It was during one of those visits that his father revealed what made Lucifer hate him even further. All this while, he had preached that Lucifer was the origin of sin, that it was he who had always misled humans. So you can imagine his anger when he learned that evil had always existed, and so had Hell.

In fact, he had not been the first to try and oust his father. Within this vast domain that he was made to lord over lay chained the first entity to do so.

The Underworld was a vast place, and Lucifer had only managed to traverse the boundaries of Hell. This time, however, he noticed that they had penetrated way deeper.

All the gloomy mood of hell suddenly appeared to be merry compared to what he felt here. It was a place of gloom, so dark that the darkness formed a tangible barrier that only dissipated due to his old man's radiance.

It was from this depth that Lucifer first had a glimpse of the first evil. It was here that he first met Dormammu.

Suddenly, all his shortcomings became a dull joke compared to the corruption that Lucifer sensed in this being. He had been glad that it hadn't been a courtesy call. His father had wished to introduce the new ruler to the entity, to make it clear that it was to obey his orders as he was now the sole ruler of the entire Underworld. The entity merely shrugged and resumed its endless slumber. Since then, Lucifer had been more than happy to stay away from that side of the Underworld.

His father had revamped his powers, much to Lucifer's disgust. Now he knew that he had not fallen; he had not been chased out of Heaven because of his disobedience. It was because God needed a new ruler in Hell, and seeing that none of his siblings would agree, Lucifer became the sacrificial lamb. So imagine his surprise when he finally placed the Ancient One's aura.

She had masked it well, blended it with mortal magic, but it could not be hidden from him. He had spent eons suppressing it, so with crystal clarity, Lucifer knew that his guess was absolutely right. The Ancient One was channeling her life force from the Dark Dimension.

"That double-sided witch" Lucifer cursed, the realization igniting a fresh wave of fury within him.

patreon.com/realmsinus  to read chapters earlier and ahead