"I'm not going to sell you my soul," Cat tried to sound authoritative, and not at all like the scared twenty-five year old she actually was, but she knew she wasn't being very successful. After all, when you find some obscure text detailing how to summon the Devil to make a deal, you don't really believe that anything will come of it.
Cat hadn't expected it to work. She wasn't religious, didn't believe in God or the Devil, but she had tried it anyway because she was desperate and she would do anything to avoid going to her mother for help. Which was how she found herself in her current predicament, trying to stare down the vaguely humanoid figure obscured by swilling shadows that had showed up in the living room of her tiny apartment, mere moments after she had finished chanting the summoning incantation.
"You know, you're the first person to ever greet me like that. Everyone else that has ever summoned me practically begs me to take their soul in exchange for some favor or other." Cat was taken aback at the voice that issued fourth from the shadows. She had expected some extreme of either a deep, rumbling growl, or a smooth, silkily seductive voice, but instead the voice itself was androgynous and distant, almost as if it was being played through one of those voice synthesizers. What struck her most, however, was that despite the fact that the voice was clearly disguised, there were still elements of a very real, very recognizable, emotion.
Amusement.
That did not bode well for her, if this creature was amused by the thought that she might not be willing to sell her soul, well then, maybe it was already past the point of negotiation.
"Did you hear me? I said that my soul is not for sale!" She knew there was a hint of panic in her voice now, how had she been so stupid?
In response to her demand, the shadowy figure almost seemed to tilt its head to the side in a questioning manner, and something that sounded very like a human sigh escaped its mouth. Did it have a mouth? It had spoken, yes, but did the creature need a mouth for that? Cat contemplated the question briefly before pushing it aside. Now was not the time to wonder if the Devil had lips.
"Why do you humans always think I want your souls? Honestly, what am I going to do with them?"
And now the emotion had shifted into something else. The creature was still amused, that much was certain, but it was also quite clearly confused by the concept. The Devil was in her living room and was genuinely confused as to why she thought it would want her soul.
It was almost… cute? No, not cute. Annoying, yes, that was it. Because she was Cat Grant, and she did not think things were cute, especially not confused demons. Cat drew herself up to her full height, remembering who she was for the first time since the thing had appeared. The panic and uncertainty that had been plaguing her for the past few minutes faded away in the light of this completely, and unpredictably, non-threatening version of the Devil.
Taking an imposing step forward she was gratified to see the figure actually draw back, "I did not summon you here to discuss your previous interactions with humans," she narrowed her eyes, giving the creature her best glare, "and I certainly did not summon you to answer your inane questions. Do I make myself clear?"
"O-of course, Miss Grant," Cat raised an eyebrow. She supposed it made sense that the creature knew the name of the person who had summoned it, but she hadn't been expecting a stutter, let alone to be called 'Miss' by something much older than herself.
"It's just, it's been a long time since anyone summoned-" seeing her look, the creature broke off, "right, we're here to talk about you, sorry."
Cat paused for a few weighted seconds, just long enough to make it clear to the creature that she was in charge, that she had summoned it, and that it needed to wait for her to start speaking. After the moment passed, however, Cat opened her mouth to press her advantage.
"I want to start my own company, but I need an initial investor to put up the funds. You are going to find me that investor, but it needs to be someone who will stay out of my way, and it needs to be someone who will only put up 25% of the total." Cat had thought about this carefully. She was not about to hand over a controlling percentage of her company to someone else, and the percent was carefully calculated based on the lowest possible amount of money she would need to secure a bank loan for the rest. Sure, she could ask this Devil for more, or even for several investors with lower contributions, but she didn't want this to be easy. This was going to be her company. She was going to build it. All she needed was that first push, that first little break. She would do everything else, and either succeed or fail on her own merits.
"Well? Can you do it?" She demanded, impatient now that she was treating the creature like her lackey, or a personal assistant, rather than the immortal Lord of Hell it actually was.
"I- yes, I think I can manage that. Are you sure that's all you want, though? Most people-" the creature stopped itself before Cat could cut it off, "right, sorry again, you're clearly not most people. Do you have a business plan ready? Paperwork or a presentation?"
"Of course I do, bring me an investor and I'll take care of the rest."
"No, no, I wasn't asking for the investor. I need to see the plan first, before I find you someone." Cat was sure that if she could see the creature's face, it would be blushing, a thought that was oddly satisfying, and one she chose not to dwell on. "I'm not omnipotent, or infallible, I can't do anything if I don't understand what you want to achieve. I need to see your proposal in order to find the best possible way to help. Will you show me your presentation, please?"
Cat felt her fingers twitch at her side. In the span of a few minutes she had heard the Devil stutter, apologize to her, and say 'please.' It was an oddly satisfying reminder of her own power, and it made her want to reach out for the creature, push back those shadows and see what was underneath. But she held herself in check, distracting herself from those thoughts by moving to set up her presentation for the creature's perusal.
After that it had been easy, and oddly enjoyable. Cat had spent hours going over her business proposal with the Devil, answering questions that were both engaging and intelligent, and by the time she was done, Cat actually felt like she had developed a better grasp on her own project as a result of the probing discussion.
And then, less than 24 hours after the creature had left, it reappeared in her apartment, legal documents in hand. A quick scan was all that it took to let Cat know that the promised investor was indeed perfect. All she had to do was make the deal.
"Take a moment to think this through first, please. There is still time for you to back out without any repercussions. You won't be able to go to this investor on your own, but you won't owe me anything, either. Are you sure this is what you want?" Cat was slightly caught off guard by the actual concern she could hear in the voice, but she wasn't going to back out now.
"We agreed you couldn't have my soul," she silenced the creature with a glare when it giggled, actually giggled in response to the idea that it would want her soul. It was almost offensive, she decided, why wouldn't this thing want her perfectly good soul? She hadn't corrupted it too much, not yet, at least. "What is it that I am agreeing to, then, in exchange for this investor?"
"A small favor at a future date. I don't know what I want yet, but it won't be anything that will cause you, or anyone else, harm, mentally or physically. And it will be something that you would be willing to trade to a human. Is that acceptable?"
Cat didn't like the idea of signing away an unknown favor, but she needed the investor, and, if it was something she would give to a human, it couldn't be that bad.
Plus, she was only twenty-five, she was allowed to be rash and make mistakes.
And so Cat Grant made a deal with the Devil.
/
It was seven years before she saw the creature again. She was thirty-two, her company, CatCo, was a major success, and she had long since paid off her first investor, and the bank loan. In fact, the whole thing might almost have been a dream, if not for the small tattoo, invisible to all but her, that graced the inside of her left wrist.
Brushing her fingers over the mark Cat remembered the feeling of soft fingers gracing her skin. She had agreed to the Devil's terms and the shadow creature had asked her to hold out her wrist. Seeing the creature reach for her had almost caused her to take a step back, but she had remembered who she was, and she had stood firm. The touch had lasted only a second, just a moment to trace an unknown symbol, to seal their pact, and then it had been over and she had been alone in her living room, legal contract for the investor at her side, supernatural contract with the Devil on her arm.
The touch hadn't been unpleasant, in fact, it had been almost nice, soft and warm and caring, even. It had almost been…
"Your company seems to be doing well," Cat shot up at the voice. She was supposed to be alone in her apartment, so who…?
"And your home is much nicer," she knew that voice, and despite her best efforts, she actually felt herself relax, even before she turned and caught sight of the shadowy figure standing in the doorway to her living room.
"You're here," she breathed, but then, a moment later as realization set in, she felt herself tense, "what do you want?"
She knew her tone was harsh, and she almost felt bad when she saw the creature flinch, but she pushed that emotion down. It had been seven years, but now the Devil was here to collect. That voice had relaxed her, but she couldn't give into that, it was time to pay up.
Or was it?
"I, I just wanted to stop by and…" the thing appeared to be looking around, "congratulate you on all of this," it finished lamely, offering a non-committal wave of its hand.
"You expect me to believe that you showed up here, just to compliment me on my choice of decor?" Cat raised an eyebrow, working to force down her amusement, the same amusement she had felt when she had first met the creature all those years ago. She had spent those seven years trying to convince herself that the Devil was absolutely not adorable, and here she was, less than a minute into their second meeting, and already she was fighting back a smile.
"This was a bad idea," the creature shuffled uncomfortably, "I haven't come to collect on our deal, I just… I'll go now, I'm sorry."
"No, wait!" Cat called out even as the shadows began to disappear, glad that a moment later they solidified again, as much as shadows could solidify, at least.
She inwardly cursed herself, she shouldn't have stopped the thing from leaving, but she hadn't been able to help it. Because, just like the first time they had met, when Cat had been able to hear the creature's emotions in its voice, this time too she had heard something.
"You're lonely, aren't you?" She asked softly. She shouldn't have cared, she didn't care, not really.
Except that she did, because she was lonely too.
"Aren't there tons of little lost souls in Hell to amuse you?" She had wondered about that, ever since the Devil had made it so clear that it did not want her soul.
"That's really what you humans think about me, isn't it? That I'm a monster? That I spend all my time dragging people away to Hell, making them suffer for all of eternity?" And where before, when the creature had heard Cat's misconception about wanting her soul, it had seemed amused, now… now it just seemed sad.
"Isn't it? That's how the story goes. You led an army against God, you created pain, and sin, and evil. You are the first Fallen Angel."
"I'm the only Fallen Angel." It was so soft, Cat almost didn't hear the words. "There was no army, no war, just me. But you're right about the rest, I did create those things, I created the darkness."
It was looking away from her now. Cat didn't know how she knew that, but she did.
"Why?" Cat's voice was strong, reassuring, almost. She should be trying to run away, to hide, she knew, almost anyone else would, but somehow, somehow she felt that there was more to the story. It didn't matter what anyone else would do, because she wasn't anyone else, and she wanted to know.
"Why?" She asked again, when the creature remained silent, "tell me," and now her words took on the note of the confident command that she had grown used to employing over the past years. Her voice told the creature that, Devil or no, it was going to obey her.
"Because it was what I was made to do, my purpose was to fall, my purpose was to serve humans, my purpose is still to serve humans."
"I don't understand," Cat took a step closer, noticing for the first time that the movements of the shadows around the figure were strangely peaceful, beautiful, even.
"Did you know that I was called the 'Light Bringer,' once?" Cat nodded, of course, everyone knew that.
"But did you know I was given that name in the time before light existed?"
"But God is light, isn't he?" Cat asked, taking another step forward.
"No, God is God. Before I fell there was no light, no darkness. Everything just was, because you can't have light without the darkness. I was created to bring texture to that existence, to give humans the ability to feel." The creature stopped, but this time Cat didn't interrupt, she only moved another step closer as she silently waited for the Devil to continue.
"I was given the name 'Light Bringer' because I was supposed to fall. My nature made me want to question and feel more than Angels, in their perfectly content, monotone existence, are allowed to, more than humans were allowed to, in that time before it all happened. Can you imagine what it's like? When you can't feel sad? If you can't feel sad, then you don't know what it is to be happy. If you can't feel pain, then you can't comprehend joy, at least, not with any remote level of complexity. And so I fell because I wanted more than that, and I wanted humans to have more than that. I did create the darkness, and for that, most will never forgive me, sometimes even I think that I shouldn't be forgiven for that action. But I also created the light, Miss Grant. When I gave humans the ability to be evil, I also gave them the ability to be good."
Cat could hear the pain in the voice, but she could also her the truth. "You don't take human souls into Hell, do you?"
"Why would I want to do that? I just wanted to free humans, to give them the opportunity to be more. I could never do that to them, condemn even a single one to an eternity in Hell. Souls either go to Heaven, or they get reborn, get another chance."
"So you're all alone?" Cat's heart twisted. One was not supposed to feel sorry for the Devil, but how could she not? How when she knew what it was like to be alone, but when she at least was surrounded by other people, even if she didn't let them get close. But this creature, this creature, if it was telling the truth, had sacrificed everything, cast itself away from its own kind, just to bring light to the mortal humans.
"I-, I come here, sometimes, when someone calls me, but I can't stay unless I am in contact with someone specific. Once a contract is formed, however, I can revisit that person whenever I want."
"Someone like me," Cat volunteered, suddenly understanding.
"Yes, like you, but not, because," the creature paused, looking for the right words, "I've never formed a contract with someone like you before. Most of the people who summon me aren't… well, they're people who are going to get reborn, people who aren't ready to move on, and the kind of help they want…" there was a distinct shiver that ran through the body, evident even through the masking shadows.
Cat moved again and the creature looked up, a startled gasp leaving its mouth. And now Cat was sure that it did have a mouth, that it had a face, had lips, even if she couldn't see them. The Devil had been looking away during the conversation, and so it hadn't noticed Cat's silent movement, and when it had look up, it had been surprised at how close she had come. Because yes, Cat Grant had managed to catch the Devil off guard.
Cat was only a step away now, close enough that if she reached out, she knew she would be able to touch it, to feel the body that was hidden by those shadows. But she didn't, because she had a feeling that the creature would move away if she tried. And for now this was enough, her close proximity showing the creature that she was not afraid.
"If you're going to come visit me, I'm going to need a name for you," she spoke, her voice soft, "is there something you like to be called? And none of that Lucifer, or Devil crap, I expect a real name."
"Lucifer is a real name," the voice protested, but there was a smile in the tone now, "but you can call me Kara, if you want. I've always liked that name."
It was a feminine name, not what Cat had been expecting, but somehow it seemed to fit.
"Alright than, Kiera," she stressed the name, getting it wrong on purpose. Just because she was letting this creature get to her, did not mean that she had to completely roll over and go soft.
"That's not-" Kara broke off, "Kiera is nice too," she finished after a moment.
"Well then, Kiera, you can come visit me if you want, when you get lonely. But when you come, I expect you to work. I don't tolerate free loaders."
"Of course, Miss Grant," and now the voice was clearly amused again, but it was also relaxed, and Cat found that she enjoyed listening to it. "I have to go now, but next time I'll be at your service."
The creature, no, Kara, Cat corrected herself, began to withdraw again, but it paused while seemingly only half-manifest.
"You know, I could be lying about all of this, I am the Devil, after all," Kara spoke, sounding unsure.
Cat almost grinned at that, but she held herself in check, preferring to tilt her head up and stare at the demon in an unconvinced manner. "Oh please, you may be the Devil, but I am Cat Grant. No one messes with me with impunity, not even you. You'd best remember that, Kiera."
"Yes, Miss Grant, I will," and now Cat knew there was a faint laugh behind the words. Good, that was the effect she had been hoping for, even as she had meant the not-so-subtle warning in her words.
"Until next time, then," the voice faded away with the body.
"Until next time, Kara," Cat answered, speaking the correct name only after she was sure the being was gone.
/
She hadn't had to leave, not really, but Kara had told the human that she did anyway. Kara had told the human that because she had never met anyone like Cat Grant before, because she hadn't meant to show up for no reason, and because she didn't entirely understand her own reaction to the woman.
Showing up in Cat's apartment after seven years, she hadn't thought it though. Time worked differently here, in the realm just to the side of reality where both Heaven and Hell existed. Seven years had passed on Earth, but to Kara, it had been both mere seconds, and a millennium.
Seconds because nothing ever happened, there was no one to interact with, no events to unfold, here alone in her palace made of ice and glass, and a millennium because her thoughts had been racing, trying to comprehend the woman who had summoned her, who had demanded, rather than asked, for a favor.
It was all so confusing, and it made her so very uncomfortable. Because she had gotten used to it, this existence, this solitude. She had gotten used to being the only one of her kind. And she hadn't minded it, she hadn't cared that she was alone, because she was fine with it, with carrying this burden as long as no one else had to.
Because at least she knew that she had been able to help humanity surpass the Angels in beauty and in complexity. She was the only Angel, the only original Angel at least, that could truly feel. Humans, when they died, when they made the transition, they still retained that complexity. They didn't remember who they were, or what it had been like to be mortal, but they could remember their emotions. It was engrained into their souls now, and so even after death they could still understand, still comprehend beauty and light, without having to fall like her.
But the original Angels, they didn't have that ability. They weren't unhappy, no, they were all perfectly content, but they were all so simple. They couldn't comprehend why they would want to feel more, none of them had ever understood why she had fallen, understood what they could gain by falling.
Not that she would ever want any of them to. She had been made differently, given her name to show a glimpse of what could be, and so, even when she had been like the other Angels, she had still been different, still had a glimmer, however faint, a desire for something more.
And that glimmer had grown until she hadn't been able to resist its pull any longer, and she had fallen.
But as much as she didn't regret her actions, she still wouldn't want other Angels to go through that, to feel the loss of Heaven, to be torn from their home. Even if it would mean she wasn't alone, even then, she knew that she was the oldest Angel, and that it was her duty to protect her siblings from feeling this pain.
No other original Angel would ever fall, and no new Angel, no Angel that had started out as human would need to. They wouldn't because she had made sure that those new Angels could still feel, and, with that ability, there was no way for them not to be truly, and blissfully happy in Heaven. The original Angels were content, but the new Angels, they were blessed.
She was the only one that needed to suffer.
And so, despite her loneliness she had been fine, had accepted her fate. Except… except that then Cat Grant had summoned her and messed with her carefully constructed equilibrium of acceptance.
Cat Grant had been commanding, enthralling, engaging.
And Cat Grant hadn't been afraid of her, at least, not after the shock of seeing the Devil actually show up had worn off.
It had made Kara realize that, despite being able to feel, she hadn't really been using it. She had curled up inside of herself, feeling happy with her accomplishments, yes, but she had been forcing herself to focus only on certain emotions. She had been amused when Cat had greeted her so oddly, but that amusement had shifted into sadness during those seven years, as Kara had contemplated it.
After that first meeting with Cat, Kara had realized that she had been doing what she could to push back her pain, and as a result, she had started to lose the very thing she had fought so hard to gain.
And so she had returned, slipping back into the mortal realm, needing to see Cat again, to understand what was happening to her. And Cat had asked her questions, and Kara had felt her own grief, more sharply than she had in a long time, in the unknowable span of her existence. And afterwards, afterwards she had still been able to laugh, and her joy at Cat's actions towards her, at Cat's words, had felt so much lighter and real than her earlier amusement during their first meeting.
Still, she had told Cat that she had to leave because it was overwhelming, and she needed to figure it out.
"Kiera," she spoke the name to herself, liking the way it sounded, even if it wasn't the name she had picked.
Her father had named her Lucifer, named her the Light Bringer, and set her on the path to becoming the lost, Fallen Angel.
She had named herself Kara, giving herself a title she liked, but with little meaning, something that meant nothing to those that would call on her. It was a name that defined her existence here as the only member of her kind.
And Cat Grant had named her Kiera, and she had to wonder what would happen to her now. If she went back, if she allowed herself to go back and visit the woman, how would this new name shape her? How would this new name remake the Devil?