Lucifer ignored Tony's sputtering questions about Luce and quickly activated his Tier 8 Force Field again, placing it around them both.
He didn't have time for S.H.I.E.L.D. or personal history.
"We need to go,"
Lucifer stated, grabbing Tony by the arm.
"Now."
As they were preparing to jump off the building, a final, chilling sound echoed up from the green haze below—the Joker's voice, amplified once more, ringing with lunatic certainty.
"I know where you live now, Luce! We're family! And family always comes home! I'll come pick you up! We'll show the world how beautiful chaos can be!"
The statement, echoing the dark, symbiotic survival of their past, hit Lucifer hard.
He remembered the desperate, cold nights, the quick, brutal decisions he made to keep himself alive on the streets of Gotham—actions that morphed a kind man into the maniac now known as the Joker.
Lucifer shook his head, pushing the memories down into the deepest recesses of his mind.
He hated that naive, desperate past.
He was Lucifer Morningstar, the efficient delivery boy. He had moved on. He had a mission.
"He's your family?"
Tony choked out, coughing from the gas.
"He's nothing,"
Lucifer corrected, dragging Tony to the edge of the roof.
Lucifer scanned the battlefield below.
The Suicide Squad—seeing their leader incapacitated and the core sonic trap destroyed—were rapidly retreating under the cover of the thinning green gas.
Raven, still near the base of the Tower, was the calm epicenter of the chaos.
She had successfully maintained her psychic lock on Killer Croc and Deadshot, rendering them helpless without harming them.
The Titans were securing the remaining low-level henchmen.
Lucifer didn't risk the exposed street.
He used the Force Field to cushion their jump from the rooftop, landing them safely in the alley where he had left the scooter.
He immediately went to Raven, who had already sensed his presence and the shift in his emotional state.
Her Empathy was picking up on the layers of Suppressed Trauma and Cold Fury beneath his calm exterior.
"Lucifer, you mind is injured,"
Raven observed, seeing the strain around his eyes, which had nothing to do with the fight.
"Just a little memory jog,"
Lucifer dismissed, forcing himself to smile.
"The Clown retreated. You did well. You kept the engagement non-lethal."
"The engagement was a distraction,"
Raven analyzed.
"The objective was to test the Iron Man and secure intel. The Clown is highly dangerous, Lucifer. His chaos is contagious."
"Then we'll isolate it,"
Lucifer decided. He helped Tony onto the back of the scooter, the Teen Titans still coughing but functional.
"We're done here. Let's go home."
Raven, though worried, didn't argue.
She knew he needed to escape the scene immediately. She took her place behind Lucifer, wrapping her arms around his waist.
They sped away, leaving the stunned and recovering Teen Titans and the arriving S.H.I.E.L.D. cleanup teams—led by a furious Natasha and Agent Coulson—to deal with the collateral damage.
Back at the Manhattan apartment, Tony was quickly examined and patched up by a remote medical drone.
"Joker knew you,"
Tony said, staring at Lucifer, his voice devoid of his usual snark.
"He called you Luce. What is that?"
"Past tense,"
Lucifer stated, calmly stripping off his delivery gear.
"A long time ago, when I was a kid on the streets of Gotham, I was naive. He was… kind but something changed him into a psychopath, but he was all the family I had. We survived together. I made choices to survive that I regret and I left that life behind. That kid is dead."
He looked at Tony, his eyes hard.
"My name is Lucifer Morningstar. I'm your logistics consultant. I just saved your life and the technology you were protecting. That's all that matters."
Tony looked at the sheer force of will in Lucifer's refusal to acknowledge his past. He understood.
Lucifer was defining himself by his new goal.
"Alright, Kid,"
Tony conceded.
"No more questions about the name. But the Joker knows who you are, and he knows you work for me. He's targeting you, which means he's targeting my company."
Tony activated a secure feed.
"I'm dedicating a significant portion of my defense budget to your security. This isn't just a delivery job anymore."
Lucifer nodded. He was ready. He had the neutronium shield, and his unpredictable girlfriend.
"Good,"
Lucifer said, turning to his computer.
"I need to check the Gold Rank job board. The faster I move, the less time the Clown has to find me."
Raven stood beside him, her hand resting lightly on his shoulder, a silent promise of protection.