Prologue [Story Thread: Blackheart & Lucifer only]

[Blackheart]

The Netherworld, a world where demons of many sorts live and die, ruled under the oppressive hand of its tyrannical king... a king of pitch black with a heart that matched it. Blackheart sat at his throne legs spread within the confines of the furnishings, with one arm propped on the arm of the chair and his other propping up his tilted head. The Black King was in a stasis of boredom and frustration, his red glowing eyes narrowed as he stared straight ahead... the Ghost Rider was far more difficult to entice, to corrupt, than he had initially figured--it was becoming far more tedious than he had suspected.

There were others left in the world to corrupt and make his own, this was true, the human world was filled with countless anomalies in what would be considered "normal", creating "super" beings with many tempting abilities after all. Ghost Rider was only one piece of a much larger picture.. there were many beings yet to be discovered by the majority of the "mutant" population. It would be more simple to just go for ensnaring the much weaker or inexperienced ones to distract Ghost Rider, then attack him while his guard was down, but it would require far more time and patience than he would rather care to display. There had to be a more efficient way to take him, although if not him... then...

That had to be it....

"My Lord?" the feminine form of a beige creature came up before her king, wide green eyes glancing up at the Hell-lord, who's own red eyes snapped open abruptly at the interruption of his thoughts, "You have a guest-"

"I was not expecting anyone today, send whoever it is away.. I've no time for such petty annoyances." he replied, his tone reflecting his annoyance toward his subject. His two consorts Pao Fu and Black Rose both casting a passing glance toward Skritch as their master spoke, before looking back up at him as he glared toward her.

"...Yes, I'm aware of that... Although, he insisted that he sees you." she replied softly, quite used to her king's behavior.

"Who?"

"One of your fellow Hell-lords.. Lucifer, of the Inferno."

"Lucifer?" Blackheart paused for a moment, one widened eye narrowing somewhat as he thought it over. Why was he here? Surely he had his own things to do rather than merely coming here for a social visit, that deceiver.. what would he possibly want from him. "...Fine, let him in Skritch."

"Yes, my lord." she replied and turned to walk out of the throne room, leaving her master in silence.

"Pao Fu, Black Rose.. leave my side for the moment, I believe I may need to meet with him in private.." he ordered the two demons to leave him, to which they silently obeyed, leaving him alone to deal with the coming Fallen Angel alone.

[Blackheart]

Dark ethereal smoke snaked itself into the chamber, twisting about and solidifying itself to reveal the nude, seemingly genderless form of a ashen colored male humanoid figure. His legs disappearing into the cloud of smoke and ash that billowed around his calves. His eyes glanced up at the seated black form before him, and his lips formed into a smirk, "Blackheart, my friend." he began as he stepped closer to the other male, "..How long has it been?"

"What is this.." Blackheart spoke with a tone of confusion and disgust, this was not.. in his eyes.. the Lucifer that he knew of, what sort of treachery was this possible impostor meaning, by posing under the name, "...You claim to be him, although you do not appear as he does. Who are you, impostor."

"You should know more than anyone," replied the ethereal form, his voice filled with an almost seductive sort of pretense to it, "I'm not one to keep my form the same all the time, things get stale... boring.. if you do."

Even the voice did not seem familiar to him, what sort of trickery was the Fallen Angel up to by appearing before him like this, and his voice.. it made the Black King wary, tensing slightly as he appeared to come closer. His eyes narrowed, hands gripping the arms of his throne slightly tighter defensively by the tone of the other male's voice.

"I know not of what you are intending by visiting me, but I suggest you keep your distance, Fallen Angel.."

"By all means, I merely wish to seek an audience with you.. I offer a proposal, friend." his form collapsed into the smoke, trailing around behind the throne and reforming his appearance over Blackheart's shoulder, placing an ashen hand on the demon's shoulder, "A proposition, if you will, that will most certainly benefit all three of us.."

"Three...?" Blackheart replied with some understandable confusion, "..Who else are you intending for us to confide in?"

"A young creature with the soul of one of our own." Lucifer replied as he hovered around the front of the demon, trailing his hand along the other male's sculpted ink-black chest, "..You remember Hades, or rather, Pluto as he is known around our circles, don't you?"

"How can I not..." Blackheart replied with an annoyed tone to his voice, becoming a little irritated from the other male's treatment, "...Although.. a young creature? He does not have his human form any longer?"

"Yes, in the course of this world's history, the demi-god Heracles had defeated him, casting him into the abyss of the River Styx... a rather unfortunate turn of events -- to have lost one of our own to a mere man."

"This world? You know of something, a discordance in the fabric of space & time, don't you.."

"Oh come now.. the reality of humans is quite a fragile thing, I'm not surprised that blending of histories and its inhabitants has not been more widely documented in our own records." Lucifer now had himself positioned next to the throne, his hand brushing along the length of Blackheart's thigh as he walked forward.

"...Go on. What is this proposal of yours?" the demon asked, becoming physically relaxed as the other male's touch was no longer felt.

[Blackheart]

"Simply this: the time for the Netherworld, Underworld, as well as the Inferno to rise and claim Earth as our own. Surely you realize that this cannot be done successfully by one single person?" the ethereal being inquired with a slight turn toward the larger demonic entity, arms crossed, "If it were, I'm sure that at least one of us would have succeeded by now.... what is it that stops you, some mere mortal possessed by a Spirit of Vengeance?"

"It is you that faces such opposition as well, Lucifer. I am aware of your own failures against the Ghost Rider." Blackheart's eyes narrowed as he spoke, then seemed to close as he paused in thought, "....My trust in you wanes, as much as it does toward any others in the circle, your story is wrought with deceit and treachery." The black demon's eyes opened, setting his pupil-less gaze over the other male, "While those would be fine qualities, how can one be sure that there would not be a conflict of interest?"

"Come now, friend..." Lucifer turned completely toward Blackheart now with a smirk and single raised brow, "...Didn't Mephisto teach you the value of mutual interests? As Hell-Lords we are all mutually untrustworthy, however.. together we may stand to dominate those who would oppose us with such a minimal chance of our own failure."

"Each of us have our own realms with many willing denizens to set this plan in motion." Blackheart leaned back as he spoke, keeping his gaze on the approaching Lucifer once more, that defensive feeling coming back again although he ignored the sensation as he rose to stand, "The world shall be bathed in Hell's Rain, humans living in fear and oppression as they should have long ago, and with us at the helm of a new Hell Order!"

The ethereal male had stopped as the demon stood to make his proclamation, dissipating and reforming once more over his shoulder. Placing his hand on the finely muscled black skin, speaking huskily to him, "As it should have been, a long time ago.."

[Blackheart]

"As it should have been..." Blackheart repeated Lucifer's words, his head tilting down to set his gaze on the floor in thought, the feeling of the other male's touch on his skin once more giving an uncharacteristic uncertainty about his companion's motives, "Is merely forming a partnership all you have come for?"

"What is the matter? Do not question why I am here again, friend.. do you not want to gain control of all mortal souls? That is all I am here for, for you.. you have faced failures in your pursuit of the Spirit of Vengeance, you have nothing to show for it." Lucifer replied as he circled around the black demon to his front side, a single arm over the creature's shoulder, "I am here to offer you a chance to grasp those dreams, to live the rest of your days content knowing that you have tasted success."

"And you have not asked for anything in return for offering this." Blackheart's eyes narrowed as he glared back up to the other male, "I am not so foolish as to--"

"--Believe a word I say for I am liable to deceive you?" he leaned close to the featureless face as his other hand rested on his chest, "Do not worry.. this has been a long time coming, friend. The result of this will benefit all of us so there will be nothing to offer up..." his hand traveled further down to feel the finely sculpted chest and abdominal muscles of the black demon, "The partnership we shall all share would be more than enough to satisfy me."

Blackheart's own hands rose up to seize and remove Lucifer's from his body, he grew weary of the other male's advancements toward him, it was almost as if he were trying to either seduce him or distract him in order to prevent him thinking too deeply on this, "If you are trying to distract me, you are sorely mistaken."

"Is that so.." his form faded back into smoke and ash, reforming to stand before the demon, who folded his arms across his chest, "..Do we have an agreement?"

"I cannot speak for Hades.. we will have to inform him of this before, he is the third part to this, is he not?"

"So direct.. yes, we must see him in the Underworld, to see him.. and for you to see him as he is now."

"I see no reason to care for what he has become, he is one of us.. a Hell-Lord." he carried no tone of pride or admiration for the third spoken of male, nothing past a matter-of-fact sort of tone. His form began to dissipate as he sent his body through the boundaries of the realm, his voice remaining to speak with Lucifer once more, "Let us go to him."

With a smirk, the ethereal figure too vanished into the smoke-like substance that his body seemed to be made of, vanishing to meet with the Hell-Lord of Greece.