The Devil In Emerald City

Lucifer Morningstar walked down the street of the brightly lit suburban Seattle neighborhood, following the sounds of police sirens & the commotion of mortals. He was accompanied by his brother, Amenadiel, who had returned from his investigation in Texas. After the news of their mother returning from Hell, the two had spent months attempting to locate the whereabouts of the celestial being. It was difficult to trace down an entity quite like hers.

Lucifer had called in the help of John Constantine, hoping his expertise in the occult & dark arts would be of some assistance. His attempt to trace down the essence of the spirit led him to travel to Northern California, where they ran into acquaintances of Constantine, Zatanna Zatara, & Rachel Roth. The two had been sent by some organization to investigate a supernatural breach in California, but were working their way down. The group was working together when Lucifer got a call from Amenadiel, informing him that a sudden lead had brought his attention to a suspicious murder in Washington. Lucifer went up to meet his brother there while Lucifer & his colleagues continued to investigate the upperside of California.

Lucifer was just happy to see his brother again, as much as he hated to admit it.

"What's our story, brother?" Amenadiel asked.

Lucifer turned to the angel. "Beg pardon?"

Amenadiel nodded towards the crime scene that they were approaching. Police cars were surrounding a taped off block of the neighborhood. "Well, seeing as we're an odd pair who is clearing not from the area, we need to have a story."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow & let out a soft chuckle. "Why even have a story?"

Amenadiel sighed. "I cannot work with you, Luci."

Lucifer smiled. "Honestly, brother, you overthink things too much. The department here & I have a mutual friend in common! Surely, they'll appreciate our assistance on this extraordinary case."

Amenadiel scoffed. "I haven't even told you what the case was!"

Lucifer nodded. "Yes, that's normally the first thing the Detective would do when she arrived with me. Take note, dear brother. You're making a bad partner of yourself."

Before his brother had a chance to react to his obnoxious wit, Lucifer approached a tall, tan man with a scruffy beard. Lucifer tapped his shoulder, getting the man's attention. Lucifer noted the plastic gloves on his hand, & the laminated badge around his hand. Not a cop, per se. "Hello," Lucifer started, "My name is Lucifer Morningstar, & I was sent by Detective-"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm not a cop," the British Indian man. "I'm only the medical examiner. You should talk to that man," he said, pointing towards a shorter black man who wore a leather jacket. He stood alongside a pale young woman with bleached white hair.

Lucifer frowned. "Dear, God, really?" he grumbled. He glanced up at the Heavens. "Why the Hell did you create a Seattle?" he asked his father sarcastically.

The medical examiner raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?" he asked.

Lucifer shook his head. "Nevermind that. Come along now, brother," he said with an unnatural enthusiasm. Lucifer walked straight underneath the police tape, followed by his annoyed brother, & approached the man that the medical examiner directed him to. Lucifer tapped his shoulder, getting his attention, then introduced himself once more. "Hello, my name is Lucifer Morningstar. I was sent here by Detective Chloe Decker of the Los Angeles Police Department to assist you in this astonishing case."

The short man stared back at Lucifer, then glanced at Amenadiel, then returned his gaze towards Lucifer. "Wait, what?" he asked in a confused tone.

Lucifer smiled. "At which point did I lose you, sir? Was it my name? It's God-given, I'm afraid."

Suddenly, the pale young woman stood up from kneeling over the corpse that was laid out in front of her, then turned around, suddenly interested in the conversation going on. "Oh, hi there! My name is Liv Moore, I'm the assistant medical examiner!" She held out her hand for Lucifer to shake, & just as he was about to grasp her hand, he noticed her hand was gloved with plastic, but a grossly bloody plastic.

Lucifer hesitated, but gave the young woman a faint smile anyway. "Pleasure," he said with the slightest disgust.

Liv smiled. "What did you say your name was again?"

Lucifer sighed. "Lucifer Morningstar, sent by Detective Chloe Decker of the Los Angeles Police Department," he repeated.

Liv gasped. "Lucifer Morningstar! That is, like, SUCH an awesome name, dude. I mean, sir. Is sir alright? I'm not sure whether you're a superior figure over me right now."

The man next to her rolled his eyes. "Liv," he grunted. Liv suddenly looked down at her feet in embarrassment. The man looked up at Lucifer. "I'm Detective Babineaux, Seattle PD. I don't recall having anyone from L.A. sending over a guy."

Lucifer smiled. "Oh, but, we did," he said. He turned to Amenadiel. "Didn't we, dear brother?"

Amenadiel rolled his eyes. Detective Babineaux raised an eyebrow. "And you are?" he asked.

Amenadiel sighed. He held his hand out towards the detective & shook it. "I'm Mr. Morningstar's...assistant. It's true, what he's saying. Mr. Morningstar works alongside Detective Decker in Los Angeles as a consultant in some of the city's various cases."

Babineaux nodded. "Alright, well, that's great, but I honestly think we've got this one covered."

Liv looked back at the detective. "Actually, Detective, we could use their help," she chimed in. "This one is a real mess."

The Detective glanced from Liv to Lucifer, then rolled his eyes. "I'm, uh, gonna make some calls," he said, before stomping away.

Lucifer smiled & kneeled down beside Liv Moore. "So, what sort of case is this?"

Amenadiel cleared his throat. "Well, from what I gathered, it seemed-"

"I was talking to the professional, brother," Lucifer interrupted.

Amenadiel stared down at Lucifer in genuine shock. His face was burning red with annoyance, then he turned & walked back underneath the yellow tape.

Lucifer smiled. He turned back to Liv. "I apologize for him. He sometimes gets ahead of himself. Brothers, you know."

Liv nodded. "Yeah, I know how that goes. I have a little brother too."

Lucifer looked up at Liv. "Hmm, fascinating. Are you two close?"

Liv bit her lip. "Not as much as I'd like us to be," she said with a tone of regret. She turned to Lucifer. "But I don't know if I'd like to work with him either."

Lucifer laughed. "Oh, yes, it's QUITE a pain. I'd rather rip his throat out than have him attempt to stall me any longer."

Liv let out an awkward laugh. "Whoa!" she gasped. "I guess, I mean, I don't know about all THAT."

Lucifer stared at Liv. She was incredibly pretty. Her eyes her bright green, which lit up her abnormally bright pale skin. She must have been albino. Lucifer's father had spent so much time on the creation of man, there was bound to be a batch that was removed from over the furnace too soon. Her round face & innocent smile made up for that, however.

"So," Lucifer said, clearing his throat, "do bring me up to speed, here."

Liv nodded. "Right. Well…" her voice trailed off. She stood up & glanced around the dead corpse. She moved around the body & gestured towards it as she explained. "The victim was a male, mid-thirties, named Nelson Phillips. He was a resident of a home not far from the scene. His injuries include strangulation around his neck, indicating a struggle. There are deep cuts in the skin around his neck, indicating a sort of piercing from the grasp. Perhaps the killer was a female with long nails. But...things get weird."

Suddenly, Lucifer's interests were peaked. Perhaps his brother was onto something when he picked the case. "Pray tell."

Liv shrugged. "Well...alright, so, the chest cavity here, as you can clearly see, was ripped open. There is a clear, giant, gaping hole in this man's chest. His rib cage was shattered, & his...well, his heart was ripped out."

Lucifer leaned over to get a clear look at the wound. It was true. The chest cavity was completely ripped apart. Inside were the essential organs of the human anatomy that his father had designed, but, the most crucial piece of the puzzle that was man was gone. "The heart," Lucifer gasped.

Liv nodded. "Just...gone. We're considering the possibility that this involves a black market dealer that's harvesting human organs."

"No need, Detective," Lucifer sighed, standing up. "It's not an organ harvester."

"Um, M.E.," Liv stammered. "But...what makes you say that?"

Lucifer let out a deep breathe. "This attack was committed by my mother."

"Your mother?" Liv cried.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "Yes, but dear old mum must have just gotten a bit hungry. I doubt she'd have any reason to attack this poor man."

Liv's eyes sparked, as though she had suddenly made a connection of something. "Hungry?"

Lucifer nodded. "Yes, celestial beings can be extremely hungry after a millennia in Hell, so they require a truly ravishing dish." Lucifer then glanced down at the corpse & made a face of disgust. "Even if it is as unsanitary as a complete stranger in the humidity of the Emerald City."

Liv opened her mouth to speak, then shut it again. She stared at Lucifer, then finally sighed. "Okay, first off, I don't think anyone even calls Seattle the Emerald City anymore." She shook her head. "And...I don't know what to make of this."

"Make of what?" Lucifer asked.

"You're incriminating your mother as though she's an animal, consuming the heart of a man."

Lucifer let out a snicker. "Well, perhaps it's merely a metaphor, but not any less true. She truly is a monster, & she's here on Earth now, searching for me."

"On Earth?" Liv asked. "What, are you & her aliens?"

"No, I'm the Devil!" Lucifer groaned. "Oh, my word, it was SO much easier to work when Chloe was around."

"What?" Liv asked.

Lucifer waved her off. "Nothing." He sighed, glancing down at the corpse. "Are there any suspects?"

Liv shook her head slowly. "No. I have to bring this back to the morgue in order to extract a DNA sample."

Lucifer nodded. "Fantastic. Well, let me know when you do, my dear. I'll be in touch." With that, Lucifer walked away from the corpse, away from the crime scene, & was soon followed by Amenadiel. Lucifer turned to Amenadiel. "This may or may not pan out. We must return tonight to the police department & find out what evidence they have gathered."

Amenadiel shook his head. "Lucifer, the Detective isn't buying your story."

Lucifer groaned. "What story?"

"The story about Detective Decker sending us. He called her & she excused us, confirming that we were her associates, but she did not seem to convince Detective Babineaux that we are here for a case."

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "So what? We ARE on a case." Lucifer glanced at Amenadiel, who glared back at his brother in annoyance. "Lighten up, bro. Let's go play 'police'."

Liv Moore sat on the couch in the M.E.'s office, eating from her tupperware container. Today for lunch, she decided to make one of her favorite dishes: grocery store sushi with a side of homicide victim brain chunks & hot sauce. Liv chewed on the meat, drenched in the flaming sauce. The burn completely overwhelmed the taste of the chunk of raw brain. The sushi was hardly there, underneath all of the flavor. Liv sighed. This was her daily meal, now.

Liv had gotten used to the burden of being a zombie. She learned to cope with the traits that came with the territory of being a zombie, along with the traits that came along with the brains she ate. Most recently, she had the brain of a dead local DJ. She had a weird EDM rave phase that wore off quickly. As of now, Liv struggled to recall the victim. She didn't remember Ravi or Babineaux having any leads on who Nelson Phillips was. She would just have to wait & see what they uncovered in the meantime.

A thought suddenly struck in Liv's head. While she was at it, she may as well try to dig up some information on this Lucifer Morningstar character from earlier on at the crime scene. He was an odd fellow, & as much as she hated to admit it, Liv found him quite charming. But...she knew something was off about him.

Liv took her tupperware with her out of the office, & walked to the computer set outside in the morgue. Liv took a seat at the desk & set the tupperware down. She opened up the internet browser & did a Google search on "Lucifer Morningstar". As she went through the search results, revealing nothing except information about a Los Angeles nightclub, she heard footsteps approaching her from behind. Liv spun around to see Clive enter the morgue. "Oh, hey, Clive," Liv chimed.

Clive simply nodded at her, then glanced around the morgue, avoiding eye contact with Liv. "I did what you asked. I checked out Phillips' house for any clues on what sort of guy this was. Came up with squat. There's no clues or evidence in his house that could help point us in a direction on the murderer either. So...I don't know what kind of personality you're gonna get."

Liv turned to look at the tupperware on the desk, then looked back up at Clive. "It's okay. I'm not too worried, to be honest. Thank you for checking, though. I'd like to start being more prepared for these personality shifts now, you know?"

Clive simply nodded. "Yep," he grunted.

Liv bit her lip & eyed the Detective. She thought back to the night at the Max Rager massacre, & how that whole night changed her relationship with Clive. He knew what she was now, & he knew the existence of the others. But...they never really had a chance to talk about it. "You know," Liv started, "I never really thanked you for being so understanding about...my circumstances."

"Understanding?" Clive spat. "About what? The fact that you're a zombie?" Clive let out a scoff, then looked away from Liv. He let out a deep sigh & crossed his arms, then looked back at her. "I always knew something was off about you, Liv. It was a pain to deal with, but I did. And I never pried too much. Not really. But now...I don't know what to do, Liv. I can't sleep. I can't think straight. Liv, I can't even look at you right now without wondering if you're looking at me or your next meal."

"Clive-"

"Look, Liv...I'm trying. I really am. But...I don't understand. I just don't. I...I need some time, okay?"

Before Liv could respond, Detective Babineaux turned & walked out of the morgue. Liv did her best to hold in her emotions, but she felt her eyes fill up with water slightly. She really did make things tougher on Clive. She had gone through this with enough people. Ravi took it with ease. Peyton, it took a toll on her. Major had it the worst, she believes. From becoming a zombie to a zombie detector, then back to a zombie. At SOME point, Liv actually lost track. But Clive...Clive was the last bit of Liv's life that was connected to her old life as a human. Now that he became aware & is now coping...things will change. Liv wasn't sure she was ready for that again.

"Um, excuse me?" called a familiar British voice from the entrance of the morgue. "I just saw the Detective storming off. Is our friend alright?"

Liv looked up at the devilishly handsome man walk into the morgue in his suit, looking sharp as ever. "Lucifer," she breathed.

Lucifer smiled. "Hello again, Ms. Moore. What have you got for me tonight?"

Liv stared at the the man in awe. She felt so aroused just by seeing him. Something about his jet black hair & his chiseled chin that was slightly covered with the subtlest stubble of a beard. His accent was incredibly sexy, but...his eyes. His eyes were dark & mysterious, & they made Liv wanna dive straight into him.

When Lucifer's eyes focused on Liv, she broke from her trance & blinked. "What?" she asked.

Lucifer let out a soft laugh. "You're adorable," he said. "You mortals are so easy."

"Mortals?" Liv asked.

Lucifer nodded. "Yes, my charms have almost never failed me. They truly impact most women on Earth. All but one, I'm afraid."

Liv arched her eyebrow & stared at Lucifer. "Why do you talk like that?"

Lucifer tilted his head in confusion. "Like what?"

"Like you're not human."

Lucifer smiled. "Sweety, I'm the Devil. Haven't you figured that much out?"

Liv continued to eye Lucifer. She glanced between him & the computer where she was researching him, then back at Lucifer. She slowly made her way to the computer & began reading the information that came up on Lucifer Morningstar again. She felt Lucifer approach her from behind. "You own a nightclub," she said softly. "It doesn't say anything about working with the police department."

"Oh, no, that part was true," Lucifer admitted. "I assist the department off the records."

Liv turned & looked at Lucifer, still trying to understand him. "So...why ARE you here?"

"Well, to find the person responsible for murdering that poor man, of course!"

"But you said it was...your mother?"

Lucifer nodded. "I am confident that my mother is responsible for that gruesome murder."

Liv sighed. She glanced back at the corpse on the table, then back at Lucifer. The brain visions hadn't kicked in yet. If they did, she would see exactly what happened. Or at least...get a good idea of how they came to his death. "I don't see how this could be the work of a little old lady like your mom."

Lucifer groaned. "She's not a little old lady, she's a bloody monster!" Lucifer cried.

Liv sat back in her seat, keeping her distance away from Lucifer. She was suddenly afraid of the man.

Lucifer clenched his fists & shut his eyes tightly. He opened them slowly &, for a split second, it almost looked as though his eyes were glowing red.

Suddenly, Liv wasn't in the morgue anymore. She was now standing, late at night, in a nice suburban neighborhood. Before her stood a very pretty woman with bright brown, almost auburn colored, but...she was snarling at Liv. She bore her teeth, & suddenly, her eyes were glowing red. She plunged her fist into Liv's chest, & as she got close to Liv, she suddenly recognized the woman. It was Vivian Stoll.

Then Liv was back in the morgue, with Lucifer standing before her. He sighed & was looking down at his feet awkwardly.

The woman she saw in the brain vision was the private military contractor who bought the Max Rager company months ago & attempted to recruit Liv in the new age of civilization, one where Seattle would be the international headquarters of zombies. She ran a private army of zombies, & wanted to dominate all of Seattle.

And she was a zombie as well.

Liv hadn't heard from Stoll in a really long time. Part of her was afraid to give her an answer to her offer. Part of her was also afraid what her answer might be.

Liv glanced back up at Lucifer. His eyes had just shone red. Was he...was he like Liv? Was he a zombie? No, there's no way. Right?

"Lucifer," Liv said softly. "Do you...believe in-"

Before she could finish her question, Ravi came rushing into the morgue, holding a folder with files crammed into the folding. "Tests came back!" Before he made it all the way into the morgue, he stopped before Lucifer & Liv. "Oh, dear. I'm sorry, Liv, I didn't know you had company. Welcome back."

Lucifer turned to Ravi & walked over to shake his hand. "Lucifer Morningstar," he said, introducing himself.

Ravi raised his own to shake his hand. "Lucifer...right, you were there at the crime scene this morning."

Lucifer arched his eyebrow. "Did I meet you?"

Ravi shrugged. "Briefly. I was preoccupied when you tried to introduce yourself earlier. I apologize for my rudeness before."

Lucifer waved Ravi off. "No need. If I don't recall, then it must've not been that big of a deal."

Ravi raised an eyebrow to Lucifer. "Right."

Liv cleared her throat. "The DNA results?"

"Right, of course," Ravi said. He approached Liv with the documents. "Alright, so, as of now, what we have are DNA samples taken from fingernails that were found within the gaping hole of our victim. According to this, our suspect is one Vivian Stoll."

Liv's face suddenly grew paler than it already was. She bit her lip, then looked away from Ravi, straight at Lucifer. Ravi stepped towards Liv, eying her. He could tell he had suddenly upset her. He glanced down at the folder. "Well, I best go & inform Clive, then." Ravi turned to Lucifer & nodded. "Nice seeing you again," & with that, he left the morgue.

Lucifer turned to Liv. "Vivian Stoll? Who is Vivian Stoll?"

"Nobody," Liv mumbled.

Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so this is someone you know? Well, perhaps this is it! My mother must have possessed the body of Vivian Stoll, whoever that is, & her soul is inhabiting her physical form!"

"No, it's not."

Lucifer eyed Liv. "What makes you say that?"

"She's not your mother, Lucifer. I know."

"How?"

"She's a zombie!" Liv cried. She covered her mouth with her hands, keeping quiet. Liv felt so embarrassed that she blurted out something that, to Lucifer, must have sounded ridiculous.

Lucifer stared at Liv. "Come again?"

Liv sighed. She took a seat on the chair by the desk & rubbed her face. She looked up at Lucifer. "A zombie. Like...a zombie virus from 28 Days Later."

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "I never let myself watch such a horrid film like that."

"Do zombies scare you?" Liv asked.

"No, zombies are just dumb." Lucifer crossed his arms as he began to explain himself. "Zombies are an insult to the name of all that is unholy on Earth. Why in God's name would anyone resurrect an eternally damned soul, but only to the extent that they are mindless & only want to feast on brains?"

Liv shook her head. "You missed the part where I said 'virus'."

Lucifer scoffed. "Okay, what's really going on, Doctor?"

Just as Liv was about to speak, a familiar black man entered the morgue & hurried to Lucifer's side. "Lucifer, there's an issue," he said.

"Not now, Amenadiel," Lucifer groaned.

"I may have figured out where Mom might be," Amenadiel announced.

Lucifer turned & eyed Amenadiel, then glanced back at Liv. He turned to the man & sighed. "Go on."

"If a spirit were to come back from Hell, where would it go first?" Amenadiel asked.

"Well, if I knew that, I wouldn't have this problem now, would I, little brother?"

Amenadiel let out a deep breath. "Luci, she would need a vessel to possess. But inhabiting one that already contains a spirit wouldn't work. She couldn't have possessed anyone who's alive."

Lucifer nodded slowly. "Alive…"

"Yes, brother. So that means-"

"She would possess the body of a dead person." Lucifer finished, cutting Amenadiel off.

"Like a zombie?" Liv chimed in.

Both Lucifer & Amenadiel turned & glared at Liv. Liv suddenly felt her face blush in embarrassment. "What?" Amenadiel asked.

Lucifer waved at Liv. "Ignore her. She's pushing this whole 'living dead' concept too far." He turned to Amenadiel. "So we should start looking incidents involving previously deceased people, correct?"

"That's the most logical strategy," Amenadiel answered.

Lucifer clapped his hands. "Terrific! Hunting down walking dead people. This shall be fun!"

Liv stared at the two & watched them as they began discussing strategies & tactics on how they would pursue their mother. Each mentioned spells & ancient artifacts, then brought up the names of several individuals. John Constantine? Zatanna Zatara? Rachel Roth? These were people Liv had never heard of. Amenadiel then brought up someone named Maze, & Lucifer groaned in annoyance. Amenadiel felt the tension in her name, & quickly asked about a Detective Decker, & Lucifer's face changed from angry to a certain soft pain, but, almost as though he longed for the detective. Liv felt Lucifer's pain, & all she wanted to do was just give him a big hug.

Lucifer turned & smiled at Liv. "Well, it seems as though our work here is done."

Liv gestured to the corpse. "So, what, you're done with our case?"

"Sweety, this was never OUR case," Lucifer admitted. "I THOUGHT this was our KILLER, but, as it turns out, it's not. It's a zombie, according to you. So, you best get on that."

Liv turned to the computer & pulled up the site on Lucifer's nightclub. "Wait, I have questions-"

As she turned to show Lucifer the computer screen, he & Amenadiel were suddenly gone.

Liv gasped. Where did the two men go? Did they leave really fast? How could they have disappeared? Liv was looking away for two seconds. How could they have just vanished like that?

Liv slumped back against the desk chair & furrowed her brows. Was she hallucinating them? Maybe the victim's brain she was eating was that of a drug addict who suffered chronic hallucinations. She's experienced that before.

But...Ravi & Clive met Lucifer too.

Okay. So he wasn't a figment of her imagination. But did she imagine his eyes glowing red? He wasn't a zombie, because he wouldn't have been so against the idea of zombies. Right?

Or maybe he was ashamed of who he was.

But he kept referring to people as mortals. Who does that?

Liv rubbed her temples & sighed. She spun the chair around & lifted up her container of sushi & brain bits & began eating it away. Liv was tired. She just needed a break, maybe.