He leaned against the wall, taking a long drag on his cigarette. Silver and red bangs fell in his face, and he let out a small sigh. It seemed that his client was taking longer than usual. That made him uneasy. To add to his unease, he had a blind right eye, something that he had been born and cursed with. Smirking, He finally noticed his client, walking towards him. He strode forward, and grinned as the man stopped, before recognizing his face.

"Lucifer Tanis!" He gasped. "Here… take the damned money. He looked back towards the safety of the street light.

"I do hope you are not forgetting anything…." Lucifer's cold voice cut through the chill, and the other turned.

"Everything is there! I swear it! You're a hard man to reach, you know that?"

"Of course," The black eyed man chuckled, and the other man flinched. "It's my job to do so." He turned, and walked away, black coat whipping his legs as he walked. Tossing the old cigarette to the side, he opened his car door and tossed the case in. Starting the engine, Lucifer smiled. Pulling out a button, he grinned. "Burn…"

Morning came to quickly for the silver and red haired man, who groaned and rolled over onto the edge of his bed. He buried his face in his pillow, smacking the alarm with one hand. "It's too early…" He mumbled, before sitting up. He walked over to the mirror, looking at his messy hair. It would never work for him, and he noted the need for a hair cut. Of course, that would come in due time, for now he had to worry about tonight's assignment. He had long since loathed his father, the great king Apocalypse, for abandoning him when his younger brother was born. And this assignment came from one of the ambassadors for his father.

All he had to do was kill the X-Men leader, Jean Gray. It seemed simple, if not for the fact she was a level five telepath. He did have mental shields, curtosy of his mother, but it didn't protect him from what else she could do. He grumbled a few choice words, before getting into the shower. It was going to be a long day….

Lucifer trailed his fingers along a large scar along his chest. Smirking, he pulled on a red military style shirt, and leather black pants. Looking at the clock, he noted the time. "Too damned early… " He sighed. It was only 6 in the morning, and most of the time he would sleep until 7 at night. He sat on the edge of his bed, and grabbed a game controller. "Might as well…"

--

A few hours later, he streached and wandered over to the window. Down below, he could see the guards walking along the streets. Mother and child heading to a store. He gave a troubled look. There were no humans, and most of the mutants wandering the streets had been hand picked by the king to survive. He had heard tales of another rebellious group, known to have a mix of humans and mutants. He had no idea who the leader was, but he had a feeling it would be something short of a powerful mutant.

He turned away from the window, and grabbed the plans his client had given him. He, himself, was not going to follow them.

--

Stepping into the darkness, Lucifer made his way to where the hideout was supposed to be. He had tracked it down, making himself seem as though he wanted refuge from what was going on. Smirking, he found the tunnel, and made his descent into the headquarters.

"Hello." Turning, he found himself face to face with a man wearing a ruby colored visor. "May I help you?"

Lucifer looked at him, before looking back down the tunnel. "Just looking for the X-Men. ..want some… help with my powers." The man nodded.

"I'm Scott Summers. And you are?"

"Lucifer Tanis."

"That name sounds familiar…. But, welcome!"

Lucifer smirked. This was going to be too easy. He followed Scott, making a mental note of where any and all exits were. He had a feeling he wanted to finish the job tonight. If Apocalypse knew that Jean was alive, more than likely, he would have someone following him and would have an army of mutants ready to attack by dawn.

"Scott?"

"Huh? What's up?"

Lucifer slammed his fist into the man's gut, watching him collapse. "No hard feelings" He strode forward, giving himself a carefree gait, as if nothing had happened. He found his way into the danger room and watched as Rouge and Jean fought against some unknown monster. His main target was stronger than what was mentioned. More than likely, she had the learned to control t he Pheniox.

As soon as the training was over, he wandered over to her. "Hello."

She looked at him. "Hi! I'm Jean Gray."

"I know…" He looked at her, before realizing what had just happened. She had thrown him against the wall.

"Your Lucifer Tanis. The man who is supposed to kill me." He blinked back stars and glared at her. "Although, Apocalypse is hoping I kill you." His eyes widened. He had no doubt they had captured the informant, and gotten information from him.

"So… do it then." He gave a sadistic grin watching her. "You can't, can you? You have morals as an X-Men, I have none…" He felt the psychic powers weaken, and he took the chance to get free, before lashing out with a kick. She blocked, and they began to fight. Dark flaming energy surrounded his hands, and he smirked, throwing punches while struggling to dodge any psychic blasts. He felt himself thrown against the wall. "Not bad…" He wipped some blood away, his eyes widening from the excitement of the fight. "But I'm better!"
He lashed out with his darkness, watching as she had to shield herself from the intensity. A stronger glow took her over and he mumbled a few choice curses. He looked up, finding himself face to face with the Phenoix. "Aww…fuck!!" He felt the searing heat of the flames and cried out, he could barely hold his own against her.
He slammed hard against the wall, blood smearing as he slid down it.
Summoning the last of his energy, he shot a sharp spear of light into her. He watched as the Phenoix screech and he smiled, struggling to stand, watching as it fell. He had finished the mission. Collapsing again, he heard the door open and voices yell for Jean. He lay on the ground. Strong hands grabbed him, and he shut his eyes from the sharp pain. Slowly, his vision turned to black and he passed out.