All around Ghost Rider, he could feel all the wrongs of the guilty within the audience. It was too much. It overwhelmed him to the core. Where was he supposed to start? How could he wipe out all the injustice with all the people there. The guilty were mixed with the innocent, and he couldn't kill the innocent.

"Flagg isn't dead yet. Go finish him."

Ghost Rider snapped to attention, ignoring the pulsing evil surrounding him. He stomped over to the buses and climbed onto one of them, finding Flagg out cold. His helmet had protected most of his head from any damage. The Rider knelt down and began reaching its hand out to grab Flagg by the neck. He was stopped short when several bullets struck through his back. He whirled around to see several men dressed in business-like suits firing at him with guns that contained blue bullets.

These people weren't just any ordinary men shooting at him. They were trained for situations like this. Situations in which they had to face off against 'special' people. The Rider leaped down off the bus and unwrapped his chain to confront them. The other end of it spiraled straight through the chest of one of the agents and exploded out the back, killing the man instantly. The chain wiggled itself out, leaving the corpse behind.

It then formed itself into a staff, and Ghost Rider twirled it in one hand, deflecting the bullets back at the agents until all of them were down. Before he could turn back to Flagg, he spotted someone in a hood dragging someone away past the booths and out into the night.

Jennifer.

With a snap of his bony fingers, Ghost Rider summoned Hell Cycle to come straight beside him.

At least this is one good thing I can do.**

*Jennifer was shoved into the back of a large truck a safe distance away from the carnival by two hooded thugs. One of them was holding a machine gun with the name Hammer etched into the side of the barrel.

Jennifer didn't say anything, for fear of riling up her captors. She gathered her knees up in her arms and stayed still but her heart was rattling out of control. Where was Flagg? Was he dead?

No. No, don't think like that.

Jennifer hadn't known Flagg for a significantly long time, but she knew enough about him to be convinced that he was a good man. Misguided at times, but still good.

One of the thugs leaned down to gaze at Jennifer. The cigarette between his teeth flared a yellow-white flash from its end.

"What's up, Jennifer?" He asked.

"Tommy. I see you still kiss my brother's boots," Jennifer said.

Tommy grinned and shrugged. "I get good bucks from him. He doesn't want to hurt you, Jen. He's just punishing your boyfriend."

"What did he do?"

"Hey! Stop talking to him," the second thug with the Hammer guin bellowed.

Tommy raised his hand. "Go get in the car, Seth. I've got this."

Seth scowled but reluctantly walked around to get into the driver's side. Tommy leaned in to lower his voice.

"You mean your boyfriend didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Jennifer asked.

"Flagg has been buying energy boosters off your brother and the gang to compete against that Blaze guy. It's old Stark equipment bought off the black market."

Jennifer's eyes widened and her heart rate sped up so high her hand went to her chest. "What?"

A glimmer of sympathy flitted across Tommy's eyes. "I'm sorry, Jen."

"Wait—."

Before Jennifer could say anything more. Tommy shut the truck up, trapping her in the dark.**

*Flagg woke up coughing up blood. The lights from above felt like they were blinding him, trying to wink his vision out entirely.

Where am I?

He strained to look down at his jacket. A large bloodstain coated the shirt beneath it.

Well, that's not good.

Then his memories came firing back through his brain on all cylinders. Riding up the ramp. Feeling something snag onto his motorcycle. The sensation of feeling like all of his insides were falling in a heap to the bottom of his stomach, and then finally—hitting the top of one of the buses.

And now he was lying on one of them in an awkward position. His arm protested in a searing agony that caused him to yelp in pain. He was surprised when he looked around and saw that most of the arena was empty now. Almost everyone had fled, but he could hear a lot of chaos going on outside.

"Are you okay, sir?" Someone shouted from below him. Flagg flinched and looked down to see a tall man in a business suit staring up at him.

"Who are you?" Flagg asked.

"Agent Phil Coulson of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

Flagg smirked. "You guys need a shorter name."

Coulson smiled halfway. "We get that a lot. Are you badly hurt?"

Flagg attempted moving most of his muscles, surprised how flexible he felt given the circumstances.

"I'm bleeding. I'm probably gonna need some bandages but I think I'll be alright."

"Then come down, you need to come with me."

Flagg frowned. "Why? What's wrong? Where did everybody go?"

"My agents are dealing with that problem. Right now, you need to tell me everything you know about Johnny Blaze."**

*Frank McGee blew a long, exasperated sigh. He already knew that this was going to be a long night, and things just kept piling up. He had received a call that there was a large, black truck riding over the speed limit and endangering other drivers. He wondered if there was a connection between the drivers of that truck and the incident that took place in the carnival.

Whatever it meant didn't matter to him right now. His target was a safe distance ahead of him. Ghost Rider. He was intent on finally learning the truth about the mysterious being and its motives tonight, and if it came down to a fight, then he would at least have some powers of his own to use against it.

"Frank, I've got Flagg. Where are you?" Coulson asked over his radio. Frank took the radio and brought to his mouth.

"I've got my sights on the Ghost Rider. He can't go anywhere without me seeing him."

"Keep your distance. I don't want you to lose your life tonight."

"If I do, at least it will be while I'm fighting."**

*The black truck with Jennifer trapped in the back pulled over to the side of the road where Martin and Hag stood waiting.

"Get in the passenger's seat with Seth," Martin ordered Hag.

"You're not coming with me?" Hag asked.

"No. Not yet. I want to face the Ghost Rider myself, and I have a feeling that he won't chase you beyond the city limits if you hurry."

Hag touched Martin's shoulder. "But that would mean leaving you behind."

"Yes, it's sad and heartbreaking. Now go."

Martin pulled himself away from Hag's touch, then opened the back of the truck to get one look at Jennifer.

"Hello, sister."

"Martin, why do you want me?" Jennifer asked.

"Sorry, sis. It's not you, it's your boyfriend. You need to choose your men more wisely."

"Flagg is a good man," Jennifer insisted.

"Are you sure? He agreed to give you away if he didn't win the match with Mr. Blaze," Martin pointed out.

Jennifer's jaw dropped and she gripped her knees. "You're wrong."

Martin chuckled. "I'm so sorry, my dear."

He closed the back doors. "Alright. Take this baby away," he hollered to Hag. Tommy hopped out of the passenger's side and let Hag replace him. As soon as the truck started moving down the street, loud noises erupted from across the road. Martin twirled his cane to prepare for whatever was coming. The noises were of people crying out in pain as something was hitting them all. But it didn't sound like anything the Ghost Rider would unleash. No. It sounded like a plasma gun.

Under the lights outside from a bakery, Martin spotted an Asian woman dressed in a S.H.I.E.L.D agent's uniform. Her eyes squinted when she spotted Martin's gaze on her.

"Go. Get out of here," Martin said to Tommy. Without questioning him, Tommy ran off. The agent started walking briskly towards Martin with her arm outstretched aiming her plasma gun at him. She fired off several rounds without stopping in her tracks, all of which Martin deflected away by spinning his cane. Finally, she got up close to him and spun a kick at his neck, which Martin narrowly avoided by jerking his head back. To get back at his opponent, he clung onto his cane with both hands and let both of his feet fly against May's chest while sailing in a circle around the cane.

While she's still stunned, Martin seized the opportunity to strike her across several areas of her body and then trip her onto the concrete. With the bottom end of the cane hovering above her, Martin stabbed downward to impale her, but May rolled to the side just in time. Martin's cane struck the road with a loud booming sound. With a animal-like snarl, Martin attempted to impale May a couple more times, but May managed to avoid every stab just in time. Using both her legs, May kicked up against Martin's stomach, finally gaining the upper hand to get back up and reengage. She then proceeded to flip back up without using her hands.

May lashed out at Martin with a feral cry and caught her enemy off guard by accomplishing two fearsome strikes across his face with her fists, each strike coming from a different hand. She grabbed Martin's head and pulled it down to slam it against the back of a parked car, then shoved his whole body away. Blood was streaming from Martin's nose now and a vicious light tore through his eyes with a vengeance. When he lashed out at her to get her with his cane again, May removed something from under her belt, which turned out to be a long staff with both of its ends glowing a blinding sapphire. She silently smirked before striking out at Martin with it.

The two dueled their way onto the sidewalk, swinging in every direction they could possibly try to harm the other. One end of May's staff finally found its mark square in Martin's chest which sent electric currents exploding across his body. To even May's surprise, something exploded behind Martin's eyes and soaked May's face in blood and gore. Martin's eyes were nonexistent now and it was a gore-spattered mess where they used to be.

Martin sank to his knees, too shocked to speak. The sensation he had felt in his head as the chips that allowed him to hypnotize people had been fried and had exploded. His vision was completely wiped and he saw nothing but endless black. He could feel massive amounts of blood coursing down his cheeks as they poured from his sockets.

"You're—you're not going to kill me," he choked. "That's not how S.H.I.E.L.D works."

"No, but you're worthless to S.H.I.E.L.D. You're going to a hospital, and then you're going to be in prison, for a very long time," May replied. As the Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze had the ability to use the memories of his encounters with guilty people in the past and trace the whereabouts of those guilty people and find out their locations. Hag was no exception.

"That police car is still behind us," Zarathos pointed out.

It's not our concern right now.

"It is if you want to keep your identity secret."

I don't think it is a secret anymore.

The black truck that Hag was in now was dead ahead. It was trying to speed up to outrun the Ghost Rider, but the Rider was faster. Hell Cycle was going at an unnatural speed now. All Blaze could see surrounding him was fire, and the truck was within the dead center of his vision.

He couldn't use his chain to flip the truck over. Jennifer might not survive the fall. But what was his goal exactly? To save Jennifer, or kill the ones who kidnapped her in the first place?

As the Ghost Rider, did Blaze have the ability to achieve both goals?

"I know what you're thinking. How do you suppose you'll achieve both things?"

You ask me. You're the one who gives me all this power.

"And I am very tempted to take it all away."

Like you're actually capable of that. You're nothing without this power but a mindless voice demanding that someone else do all the work for you.

There was a moment where Zarathos didn't respond, then:

"You're actually not wrong. Well then, let's do what I can do."

The Ghost Rider unleashed its chain at the truck and one end wrapped itself around the handle that pulled the back of the truck open. Wrenching upwards, the Rider managed to yank the back open, revealing Jennifer curled up inside. She screamed at the sight of Ghost Rider of course, with eyes almost as big as unhatched eggs.

"Aaah, I love the sound of people screaming."

Quiet.

The Ghost Rider pointed a bony finger at Jennifer. "Innocent," it bellowed.

An urgent frowned ruffled Jennifer's expression and her hands parted from her face as she struggled to make sense of what was going on.

Come on, try to walk on the chain.

"Come," the Rider said.

Jennifer, trembling along with the truck, struggled to her feet and started to slowly make her way towards the chain that was waiting to be her bridge to Hell Cycle.

"The chain. It will keep you up," the Rider explained.

Jennifer looked down and stepped forward onto the chain. She raised her arms to stay steady while putting one foot in front of the other. As she walked across the chain like it was a tightrope in a circus.**

*Behind Ghost Rider, Frank was watching the whole rescue unfold.

This is unbelievable.

He spoke through his radio again. "Coulson, there's something you should know."

"What's going on out there, Frank?" Coulson asked.

"It's the Ghost Rider. He's—saving a woman from the back of a truck."

There's a brief pause and for a moment, Frank wondered if the connection had somehow been lost.

Then: "You mind running me by that again?"**

*"This isn't what you wanted, Johnny. You wanted vengeance, not the power to save people."

What's the point of this power if I can't choose how to use it?

"You were never granted that freedom."

Everyone has the freedom to choose.

Blaze could feel something rising in him that he rarely ever felt anymore. Hope. Hope that he finally had the upper hand over his inner demon and he would finally be able to actually save someone, not just kill the people who wronged the people that needed saving.

Then, the fire cradling the chain winked out and the chain went limp, dumping Jennifer onto the street.

Then Hell Cycle ran over her body.

NO!

The only sound Blaze could hear within his eardrums was the wild, unhinged sound of Zarathos laughing.**

"Oh—oh my go—," Frank stuttered. He slammed his foot on the brakes and barged out of his car. He ran towards the broken body of the woman on the street with his phone already in his hands to call for an ambulance. By the time he got to the woman's side, he could see that the woman would very likely die before an ambulance would even get there.

Why did he do that? Why did Ghost Rider do that?**

*The inside of Blaze's mind felt like it was tearing at the seams so fast Blaze could barely keep up. He found himself laughing alongside Zarathos, until it was all he could hear. Two insane demons laughing in the pit of night. His chain was resurrected back to life by fire sprouting up and embracing it like a long-lost lover. Everything that had been plaguing Blaze's mind all night was all replaced with one singular focus. The goal to kill Hag and whoever else was with her in the truck.

The motorcycle increased its speed on its own even more until it was riding right alongside Hag and her companion. The Rider looked in at the guilty passenger who stared back at him with eyes that stank of fear.

Good.

The man hoisted up a large machine gun and emptied an entire clip at the Rider. None of the bullets affected the Rider or Hell Cycle in any way. As soon as the firing stopped, the Rider jerked to the left and rammed Hell Cycle into the side of the truck. The impact was so intense that Hag lost control and swerved left and right. She fought to regain control, but the Rider slammed into the truck's side again, this time with the intention of completely running it off the road. This time it did end up off the road, and at this point, all of them were beyond the city limits now in the middle of nowhere. The truck slowed to a stop, the side where Ghost Rider had rammed into it was on fire. The Rider parked its motorcycle on the side of the road and began striding towards the truck.

I'm going to end this.

It got to the passenger's side and snapped the door clean off. Blaze reached in and yanked Seth out. Ignoring the man's pleas for mercy, he grabbed him by the head with both hands and ripped him down the middle in half. Hag stumbled out of the truck, looking on at the scene in horror. Her mouth spewed vomit all over her feet.

"Please! Please don't kill me!" She pleaded.

Ghost Rider walked up to her, towering over her and brightening her face with the light from the fire dancing over his head.

"Guilty," the Rider said.

Then, just as it grabbed Hag, something made Blaze stop.

Something like a faint, small heartbeat could be heard. There was something else. Or someone else.

If Blaze wasn't in the form of Ghost Rider, his jaw would have dropped. He realized that Hag was pregnant. There was the beginning of an innocent soul growing within the body of a guilty one.

What was he supposed to do?

"What are you waiting for?"

You know why.

"She's guilty!"

Not the child.

"The child isn't whole yet. It won't feel any pain."

Its soul is already there. You can feel it.

"Kill her! Forget the child! It won't feel any pain!"

Hag stared up at Ghost Rider with fear and grief lingering in her eyes but also confusion at why the Rider hadn't done anything up to this point. As a last-ditch effort, she summoned a purple ball of energy from her palm and used it to blast Ghost Rider out of her grip. The Rider landed on its back, acting stunned. Hag ran while she still had the chance. The Rider stayed where it was unmoving, staring up through its empty eye sockets at the stars in the sky.

There was silence at first. Then, the sound of an unsettling chuckle which turned into an uncontrollable giggle and then passed into uncontrollable laughter. Ghost Rider's whole form began shifting and reshaping until Johnny Blaze had his body back. Blaze was still laughing, and tears of relief streamed down his eyes.

I can beat you. I can actually make my own decisions.

Blaze's relief was cut too short however, when Flagg's car pulled up alongside the road. Flagg himself stepped out and trotted down to meet up with Blaze. Blaze didn't move. There was no point to.

Flagg's face was scarlet and his eyes gave away the fact that he had been crying a storm out.

"Hey, asshole. We need to talk," he said.

Blaze let loose a thin breath, blowing the long strands of hair in front of his eyes away.