Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Ghost Rider, only the following story and the characters of Titanium and Joanne.
Chapter 1
Titanium's POV
The tall lank female hidden in the shadows of a remote corner of hell watched the demons sloth by, her mutual distaste for Mephistopheles increasing substantially. He had absolutely no control over this pit and it sickened her; Blackheart would have been a better ruler. He had always boasted about going to earth and destroying his father by creating the one thing he never could; hell on earth. If she was not mistaken he was there at the moment attempting to accomplish that little goal with those three brainless oafs he had terrorised the school with; the three elementals. She looked down and let the golden locks form a curtain before her icy white/blue eyes, a smile playing on her blood red lips.
"Did you hear? Blackheart got defeated by the Ghost Rider," the simple words caught Titanium's attention immediately and she quickly glanced up at the earth elemental...Gressel?... who was walking with the water elemental...Wallow?...
"Him too, hey?" Wallow snorted, "Stupid Ghost Rider. Stupid Mephistopheles." Her plucked eyebrows shot into her brow as she fully processed the information she had learnt. Blackheart had lost? Impossible. She had to find out for herself because rumours were highly unreliable most of the time, especially in such a place as hell, and it was highly unlikely that he would be defeated by a lesser being such as a silly Ghost Rider. Unless of course Mephistopheles had helped out, that was a completely different story but then that had to mean that Blackheart had been making headway. If Mephistopheles had helped his favourite creation take his son down then he must have viewed Blackheart as an honest threat; the smile played on her lips again as she remembered the matches they'd had when they were younger.
'Let me investigate and find the truth behind this silly rumour, if there is any,' Titanium silently thought as she pushed herself off the wall and made her way down the corridor, her black thigh high boots clicking on the stone floor. Numerous heads turned in her direction as she practically glided to her destination, her skin tight leather one piece hugging her sculpted legs tightly with each long stride.
"Titanium!" the rumbling voice made her cringe inwardly as she came to an unwilling stop, turning to face Mephistopheles.
"Yes?" By rights he had no control over her because she was not one of his brainless minions and that irritated him, that she knew for a fact. She also knew that he would have loved to control her in more than one way but she refused to be manipulated; she was not one to take orders very easily. Most of the time Titanium travelled alone and the only person she had actually every socialised with had been Blackheart, mostly only battling with him. They were rivals but she had always found that she had been attracted to him in more ways than one...Titanium abruptly cut the thought off, not wanting to delve into those memories. That was another thing that irritated Mephistopheles making him dislike his son even more; Titanium willingly socialised with him even if it was only to fight whether physically or verbally.
"I have not seen you around for a while," he commented smoothly as he circled her, his cane tapping on the floor as he moved. Titanium narrowed her long ebony lashed eyes as she followed his each movement; the last time she had shown her face in hell was eight years ago when she had left high school. That had also been the last time she had seen Blackheart...
"I've been busy," she replied shortly, impatiently. Mephistopheles came to a halt in front of her a frown set deeply into his wrinkled face.
"What could a lady like you be up to?" worlds such as those were meant to charm but they only repulsed her even more; the man was completely and utterly sick.
"Private business that does not concern you," Titanium said the words with as much venom as she could. She had no idea why she had returned to hell anyway, she had no business there but something had told her to come back and she figured it had something to do with what she had just heard. Perhaps she had just wanted to see Blackheart. She had an annoying habit of allowing her thoughts to wonder to him, his well-being and what he could possibly be up to. Numerous times she had seen or heard of odd, unexplainable occurrences which she had automatically linked back to him though she could never have been completely sure it was his doing.
"I see," his eyes had narrowed sufficiently and she allowed a smirk to flit briefly onto her face; she enjoyed getting on his nerves.
"And I have important business to see to now, so if you'll excuse me," Titanium tried to walk around him but he immediately stepped in front of her. She could feel her patience running short and she ground her teeth together, fisting her hands by her side.
"My son is currently unavailable," Mephistopheles said pointedly with a warning clear in his voice.
"How nice for him," she replied smoothly with a fake smile plastered on her face; there was no way she would let Mephistopheles come between her and her visit with Blackheart. She would see him whether he was unavailable or not. The thought suddenly came to him that Mephistopheles might actually have destroyed him completely; it made her heart quake in fear and she suddenly felt desperate to find him.
"I must go," this time Titanium pressed passed him and practically shot down the corridor. She tried to look only as if she were in a rush and not eager to get to her destination, she wanted him to know nothing of her current "business". Titanium slowed down as she approached Blackheart's room; her heart springing into her throat as butterflies broke free in her stomach. She was uncertain of what to do next, it had been a while since she had spoken to or seen him and she did not know if she could simply just enter as she always had. Deciding that it would add an edge yet also some familiarity to their reunion, she quietly slipped into the dark interior.
Blackheart's POV
Blackheart paced around his room in utter frustration wondering how and where he had messed up. How had he let the Ghost Rider defeat and embarrass him so badly? Now his father had an even bigger ego to him and on top of that he, Blackheart, was without a single power; another one of his many punishments for his supposed "disobedience". The thought enraged him and he found that he needed a way to reclaim his former glory and the only way to do so was to defeat his father and that ridiculous, pathetic Ghost Rider of his. As a form of comfort, his father had not been left without embarrassment either because apparently his favourite creation had snubbed him. A smirk played on Blackheart's lips at the thought of his father being snubbed.
"You're unnaturally restless," the satin soft yet seductive voice sent a shiver down his spine; how had he not heard her enter? Apparently she was just as quiet as she had been before and just as sneaky.
"It's unwise to sneak-up on me," Blackheart did not bother turning, he was aware of her presence and if she tried anything he would have more than enough time to counter. It suddenly hit him that he had not seen Titanium in eight years; why had she suddenly returned to hell after she swore never to come back? In truth he was a bit relieved that she had come back; she had been one of the few he could actually converse constructively with even if it was through the verbal tiffs they use to have.
"I always have," he could almost hear the smirk in Titanium's voice. Blackheart turned slowly to face her and wondered how much she had heard from the demons about his defeat; if she had heard anything at all.
"Touché," Blackheart allowed himself to smirk as he took her in fully; she had not changed much from their last meeting. Perhaps she had a little more make-up on but her attitude and physique was still almost identical.
"I heard how Ghost Rider crushed your dreams of world domination," Titanium's smirk only grew as she spoke the words and Blackheart flinched inwardly, "I didn't know how true the rumours were so I decided to follow them up."
"Most of what you heard is probably true," Blackheart spoke with bitterness as he turned his back to her again; she would know about his powerless state then. He had secretly hoped that he would have been able to redeem himself before Titanium heard of his defeat but obviously fate had other plans.
"You were defeated by such a lesser being? How could you? That's not the Blackheart I knew and used to battle," Titanium's words were meant to taunt him and he was barely able to hold his temper back, "what happened to your natural competitiveness? You don't let people run over you."
"I made a few unwise decisions," Blackheart replied shortly without turning to face her again; he could not, would not, let her see how embarrassed and ashamed that flaming skull had left him. He needed to get revenge but that was impossible in his current state; yes he would have had the element of surprise but he could do little else without any of his former abilities.
"In other words, you became too egotistical? Over eager?" Blackheart flinched at how well she read him; her knowledge was probably from past experience. If there was anyone that knew him and his tendencies it was Titanium and the same could be said vice versa. Yes, they were rivals but they were closer than either of them wanted to admit. Both knew that they enjoyed the other's competitive company and interesting little fights but they would be un-damned if they were to admit it.
"Loss of strategy was always your weakness, Blackheart," it seemed as though she was approaching him and he turned to face her; she still moved as fluidly as she used to. Titanium would be able to put any demon to shame, competing with him on his level of strength. That was the only reason hell had accepted her in the first place. Naturally, Titanium was a metal-controller from another planet in some other far off galaxy who had accidentally arrived on earth approximately fifteen years ago. Blackheart had come across her and challenged her to battle sensing strange abilities; after a drawn out match he came to the conclusion that she would be a useful add-on to hell's ranks. Mephistopheles had easily given in when he heard about her abilities and had been trying to manipulate her ever since, never actually succeeding.
'She would have been a useful sidekick for my little earth expedition,' Blackheart thought, where she made-up for his loss of strategy he made-up for her lack of physical strength. If only he had been able to track her down but she had literally vanished from existence; hadn't he known better he would have thought she had never existed yet here she was now, standing before him and taunting him once more.
"Perhaps so," Blackheart would not fully admit how correct she was, what was left of his ego would not allow it.
"Where is this Ghost Rider?" Titanium abruptly changed the subject but Blackheart saw nothing odd about it, he was to absorbed by bitterness to realise anything.
"I don't know," he could not care less about the whereabouts of the object of his misery. For all he cared the Ghost Rider could have migrated to the moon and been run over by metal controllers like Titanium.
"Where last did you see him?" Titanium sounded as if she was getting impatient and he frowned; a fight would not be wise at the moment. He could do nothing if she attacked and this annoyed him further; he was completely at her mercy.
"San Van Ganza," Blackheart replied truthfully, it had been the last place he had encountered the Rider, place of his defeat, "Why?" he was still completely uninterested.
"I'd like to see who your defeater was," Titanium cocked her head to one side, the smirk still plastered on her full red lips. Blackheart did not question her motives and did not for a moment consider the fact that she might have ulterior reasons for going after the Rider. Why would she? She probably enjoyed seeing him suffer from the embarrassment of his defeat.
"Suit yourself," Blackheart merely shrugged and silence filled the room once more. After several moments he turned to face her but found the room was empty, the door slightly ajar. He felt a frown pull at the sides of his mouth; he was hoping she would have stayed a little while longer. Blackheart did not know when and if he would see Titanium again; the chances were scarce because she had a mind of her own and probably wanted to find a way to get home.
"Home," Blackheart murmured as an odd sense of disappointment surrounded him, "millions of light-years from here." If she went home then he would never see her again, never fight with her again. Blackheart tried to shrug the feeling off; it was her choice if she wanted to go home plus he could not care less about her decisions. At least, that's what he kept telling himself...
Titanium's POV
Though his information had been practically useless, Titanium flapped her powerful black wings as hard and as fast as she could. She needed to reach San Van Ganza as quickly as she could where she would attempt to track the Rider down; she wanted to pay him a visit. The sky was an inky black with remnants of the sunset evident on the red splattered horizon, night time was perfect for her to track him down because he would probably be active in his Rider "duties". On her way out of hell she had heard one of the demons name the Rider: Johnny Blaze he had said. The name and his last known location was all she had to track him down; no physical description, no address, nothing that was absolutely solid.
"Finding the Rider might be difficult," she murmured but she would do it, she was determined enough, angry enough, to achieve it. Titanium hated the fact that Mephistopheles had used the Rider to take his own son down; only SHE, Titanium, was allowed to do that. He had always been a push-over dad toward Blackheart, completely controlling and she had always been utterly sick of his antics but this definitely took the cake. What Mephistopheles had done was the last straw and now it was up to Titanium to bring it all to end; she would start with the Rider and then she would move on to the devil himself. Blackheart would achieve his goal even if it was through her If only she had been present when he had first attempted his goal, then he would have succeeded.
"I'll make up for it," Titanium hissed through clenched teeth. Of course, Blackheart would know nothing of her plans until he could take over from his father and she could quietly disappear; if she had it her way Blackheart would never know it was her in the first place. That was how she preferred it... though she knew she cared for him more than she should she could not help it; he had saved her from being homeless and had never left her alone even if it was just for the "friendly" battles they shared. Letting him know though was dangerous, Titanium knew just how manipulative Blackheart could be if he found something to his advantage. She had to let him think that he had no control over her, that she was not doing him any favours...the result of him finding out could be disastrous. Though it hurt to do so she knew it was a necessity; he would never return the feeling. Never.
"Get over it," she snapped harshly as she shook her head. She flapped her wings even harder than before forcing herself to her extreme; it was a nice relief from the slight heartache she was starting to develop. A dangerous weakness that she could not afford. It would be better if she accomplished her plans and then disappeared to her home planet forever; eventually she would forget and move on. Eventually.
"Destroy it with anger," Titanium ordered and tried to fill herself with as much rage as possible. She had to stamp it out. It suddenly came to her attention that she was flying along a highway and just below her was a blue bus with a trailer; it was one of those private tour busses the earthly superstars usually owned. Out of curiosity she swooped down toward it and gently landed on the roof with a light clang. Titanium pressed her ear against the roof of the bus and heard numerous men chattering, probably under the influence of alcohol, as they played a game of poker. She could hear a television set rambling some sort of nonsense while two other people conversed, it was this conversation that she tuned in on.
"I'm telling you, Johnny, you're even more popular than before! They love it!" the voice belonged to an excited female.
"I'm a monster but they love it?" a male replied incredulously, "What is it with people on earth?"
"They're saying that's why you're such a good stunt rider," The female replied and Titanium noticed she had stiffened, with good reason too; the male's name was Johnny and he was a professional stunt rider.
"Lemme guess, they want me to change my name from Blaze to The Ghost Rider?" Johnny sounded bored and did not seem to actually like the idea. Titanium did not bother listening to the conversation any further; she had found her target without any amount of difficulty. That had to a be a sign; fate was definitely on her side if the Rider had been handed to her without her even starting her search.
"It is time to start," Titanium shot off the bus's roof, catapulting herself a little way ahead of it before she landed in its path on the road. She watched the driver's eyes stretch as he hurriedly pressed down on the brakes causing the bus to skid, turning sideways before it came to a screeching halt before her.
"Are you mad?" the driver screamed out the window before he turned to the back, "Sorry guys, crazy chick in the road." Titanium narrowed her eyes as she stepped toward the bus with determination; no man had the right to call her crazy, never mind a "chick". She flexed her fingers as her nails turned to diamond; she was one of the lucky few who could control a gemstone as well as a metal. With as much power as she could, Titanium stabbed her nails into the driver's door ripping it off its hinges.
"What the hell? Are you INSANE?" he tried desperately to get out the other side but she ripped him from the interior and hurled him into the road. Without a single word, Titanium summoned her metal to wrap around him, pressing him tightly against the side of the bus. The commotion was enough to catch the Rider's attention because he and his mates came tumbling out of the bus, pausing to take in the situation before them.
"What the-," the only female between them muttered, her hazel eyes stretching. This must have been the female the demons had been speaking of, the Rider's accomplice.
"Which of you is the Rider?" Titanium turned to them, a dangerously calm look plastered on her face.
"That would be me. Who the hell are you?" a male probably in his late thirties stepped forward and Titanium could only stare; how had he defeated Blackheart? Burning rage enveloped her once more as she came to the conclusion that he had probably had extra help, unfair help.
"Titanium," she replied coldly as she flexed her muscles, it was time to bring an end to this pathetic living being, "how dare you? How dare you come between him and his goal? How could you help his disgusting father prolong his unworthy reign?"
"What are you talking about?" the Rider looked honestly confused as he stepped a little forward; he looked ready for a fight and Titanium allowed herself to smile briefly; he knew what was coming.
"Blackheart," as the name rolled between her lips she watched both the Rider and his female accomplice stiffen visibly. He glanced behind him and they shared a similar look of horror.
"He sent you to get revenge on me?" the Rider looked at her once more.
"He sent me to do nothing," Titanium snapped, "he and I are rivals."
"Then why are you here to get revenge for him?" his female accomplice stepped forward and for a moment Titanium was dumbstruck; how could she reply to such a question? There was no way she could tell them the truth behind her motives but what else could she tell them?
"No one but me is allowed to take him on," she finally decided on the answer enforcing it with venom and utter rage, "he may have made a few mistakes but you will not have that luck with me." She allowed them to say nothing more as she summoned two of her diamond swords and lunged at the Rider. He immediately flamed up and sprung out of the way, ordering his crew to move to safety. They hurtled into the bus making her smirk; that was the biggest mistake they could have made. Titanium extended her hand and closed her fist watching the bus begin to close in on itself; the metal bending as if a force was being exerted on it from every angle. The piercing scream of his female accomplice rang through the air and the Rider reacted immediately, he pulled the chain from the trailer and swung it toward her. Titanium sprung into the air swinging her leg toward the chain so it wrapped tightly around; immediately she recognised the look of triumphant the Rider got.
'He does not know my strategies,' she thought as she landed, 'let me inform him.' With speed that would alarm even the fastest athlete, she spun on her heels ripping the chain from the Rider's hands as it wrapped around her. With similar speed, she began to spin in the opposite direction sending the chain flying right back at him and he was barely able to miss the blurred missile. Using the distraction to her advantage, Titanium sprung at him with a diamond sword poised before her. As if luck was on his side, the Rider turned just in time and his arm deflected the attack as it collided with her sword. She was sent flying, rolling across the dirt and for a moment was forced to stay still out of shock. The Rider immediately launched himself at the bus which was still being crushed and started to rip at the metal; one by one his crew climbed from the death trap.
"You-," Titanium hissed as she sprung up, swords clasped tightly in her hands. The games were over and it was time to get down to serious business. Once more she lunged herself at the Rider who still had his back to her.
"Johnny! Watch out!" the female squealed as Titanium closed in on him. The Rider swung around as all hell broke loose. Almost literally too.
Blackheart's POV
Blackheart was busy pacing around his room when Abigor, Gressel and Wallow suddenly burst in with looks of shock and surprise on their faces.
"No offense, master, but are you utterly off your head?" Gressel asked incredulously as they came to a screeching halt before him. He took all three of them in with utter contempt; they had absolutely no curtsy, manners or sense of respect.
"Yeah, why the hell did you send Titanium to earth? Mephistopheles is going off his head!" Abigor added, "he's on his way here now!" the words sent shockwaves through Blackheart as he processed the information; Titanium had gone to earth? Why? Their previous conversation returned to him like a punch in the gut and he suddenly realised why she had been so curious about the Rider's position; she had gone to earth to confront him. Why else would she want to find him?
"I did not send her to earth. For whatever reason she is there, it is her own," he replied swiftly. His mind was trying to figure out why she would take revenge on the Rider if he, Blackheart, was her rival and enemy. His three mindless goons had no time to reply because Mephistopheles appeared in the middle of the room in a puff of black smoke; his face was twisted in utter rage.
"Before you say anything; I did not send her to earth," Blackheart said flatly; he had no patience for his father's fights at the moment.
"Then why is she there?" Mephistopheles demanded angrily as he slammed his cane into the floor.
"Why don't you ask her?" Blackheart replied venomously, "I don't control the girl and even less so do I know what goes on in her head. I haven't even seen her in eight years!"
"She was here before she went to earth," it was not a question but Blackheart still treated it as one, nodding curtly as an answer, "you have something to do with this! Your disobedience is pathetic! Can you not accept that you will not win?"
"Think about it; why would my enemy do me such a favour as to wipe your ridiculous creation out of existence?" Blackheart asked logically as he crossed his arms. That very question had him completely confused with no means of finding an answer unless, of course, he had to confront her.
"You will go to earth and drag her back down here for interrogation. You have a week. And to make sure you do not do other things you will work with the Rider," Mephistopheles said firmly, he knew that Blackheart was the only one who could possibly successfully drag her back to hell. He got the feeling that she was much easier to manipulate if it was Blackheart who was doing it because she definitely wanted to be more than just rivals with him. The thought sickened Mephistopheles so before he could voice it he disappeared in a cloud of black smoke, leaving the four demons dumbfounded.
"Are you actually going to listen to him?" Abigor turned to Blackheart after a moment of uncomfortable silence. Already an idea was forming in his head and he smirked inwardly; he would get the perfect revenge on the Rider and his father. And it was all thanks to Titanium that he could get his plan started. Her antics, with reasons unknown to him, had forced his father to return his abilities.
"For now," Blackheart replied mysteriously as he felt the familiar surge of power.
"What's the plan, boss?" Gressel got a familiar glint in his eyes as he took a step toward Blackheart.
"Follow his orders for now," Blackheart smirked as he started to disappear into the cloud of darkness that was surrounding him. When he dragged Titanium back to hell he would have to remind himself to thank her for allowing his new plan to become possible. Perhaps he would set her free after the interrogation as a thank you gift; after that he could not care less what happened to her. He would have the hell and earth to run then and would have no time for their petty fights. Maybe he would enslave her... such thoughts would only be continued at a later stage and he instead concentrated on getting the first part of his plan rolling. An all too familiar scene suddenly appeared before him and he took a moment to absorb the fresh night air; if he was not mistaken this was the road that led to San Van Ganza.
"Johnny! Watch out!" Roxanne's all too familiar voice made Blackheart turn to see, just in time, as Titanium launched herself at him, diamond sword poised before her. He sped forward and grabbed her from mid-flight; wrapping his arms around her waist as he pulled her tightly against his chest. Time froze after that moment as Titanium suddenly became completely rigid in his arms, her eyes blanking over. The world around her suddenly became black as snippets of memories overwhelmed her shocked mind. His embrace felt all too familiar, his chest a hard yet comfortable force against her back and she was transported back to the night of her graduation. Desire mixed with rage filled her already confused mind as images of caresses, skin against skin, and satin embraces harassed her senses. Heated, violent kisses spurred the passion of the memory and she remembered a brief pressure deep within her most secret core before the world around her had shattered in utter ecstasy as love competed with hate, passion with anger and desire with pain. The memory faded into insignificance leaving her feeling weak, breathless and overrun with emotions she would rather have forgotten along with that night so many years ago.
'I must compose myself,' was her first rational thought after a long moment but doing so would be increasingly difficult. Somewhere deep within she was able to find enough strength to swing her swords around so the hilts were firmly in her hands. With as much force as she could muster, she drove them into Blackheart's upper core; the battle would change drastically now because he knew most of her moves. How had he found out? Why had he come? He let go of her briefly and she attempted to grab a hold of his arm but he was one step ahead, grabbing hers instead. With all his physical strength, Blackheart hurled her over his back and into a broken down stone wall in the distance. Titanium hit it with such force that it broke further and she was left motionless on the floor; this worried him slightly. She did not normally fumble and make such silly mistakes; something must have affected her negatively and was still distracting her. Putting the thought aside, Blackheart moved toward her and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded as emotionlessly as he could.
"Screw you," Titanium spluttered as she drove the short metal dagger into his forearm. He had barely let go of her when she summoned her wings and shot into the darkness of the night sky disappearing from his sight.
"Titanium!" Blackheart bellowed after her but he got no reply. Apparently it was going to be a lot harder to capture her than he had originally planned. That, unfortunately, meant that he would have to spend more time around the Rider because, if her idea had been revenge, she would return for him. That thought confused him though, if she had come to take the Rider on because of his defeat over Blackheart, why had she reacted negatively toward him? Treated him like the enemy?
'She may ask you why you stopped her,' Blackheart considered this for a moment; obviously she would expect him to sort of be on her side when it came to defeating the Rider. His interference in her attack might have startled her enough to scramble her thought and forced her to consider him the enemy which he was to her anyway. As he turned to the shocked Rider and his crew he came to a single conclusion; Titanium confused him and he did not like it one bit.