*Again, great time to play Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Especially the part with the giant crane thing.
Chapter X: Only the Good Die Young! Part 3
1987. Denver, Colorado.
Jimmy Blaze drove his motorcycle away from the circus as fast as he could, tears stinging his eyes. His father's funeral had just ended two hours ago, and he couldn't get away fast enough. Just then, a familiar cold feeling crawled over his skin. His motorcycle stopped abruptly, sending him flying onto the pavement. He looked up to find Necrophisto right in front of him.
"You bastard!" Jimmy got up to strike the Archdemon, but the smartly dressed liar caught his fist. "We had a deal!"
"The deal was that your father wouldn't die of cancer…" Necrophisto smiled as he used his supernatural powers to freeze Jimmy in his place. "Which he didn't. It was the actions of a drunken driver that caused John Blaze to perish. Now… it's time for you to honor our agreement."
Necrophisto extended his index finger, pointing it towards Jimmy's left eye. The fingernail shifted into a demonic claw, and dug into Jimmy's iris. Blaze screamed in agony as the claw circled around his eye. After Necrophisto removed his claw, a green flame spread from the young stuntman's eye and covered his entire body.
"You're mine now, James Blaze…" Necrophisto cackled as his voice shifted from its calm and charming tone, to a more frightening decibel. "You shall serve as an agent of vengeance! Punishing those who have sinned on this Earth! You shall deliver their souls to me, and they will give me strength! Whenever in the presence of sinners you shall become… the Demon Rider!"
Present Day. Vermont.
Blaze struggled against the tight restraints that kept him in place in the junkyard. Not long ago, three young super-beings had interfered with his investigation, and then left him to be taken into custody. While he knew that the young heroes meant well, he was disappointed for having lost his chance to use the Demon Rider for some good.
Suddenly, he could feel his other half struggling to be released. He closed his eyes and saw that the three teens were in danger; strapped to tables and afraid for their lives. The Demon Rider rallied again, trying to force its way out of Jimmy. Blaze decided to use this to his advantage; although he couldn't fully control the Demon Rider, he could point him in the right direction. Summoning enough of the green hellfire, Blaze was finally free of his restraints, but he was also closer to changing. He spotted the last agent of H.I.D.R.A. that he'd managed to capture, and quickly made his way over to him.
"Alright, asshole!" Jimmy picked him up and slammed him against the shed's wall. "Where are those kids going?!"
"Let me go!" the agent squirmed. "I have to get out of here! If my boss finds out that I squealed, I'm a dead man!"
Jimmy laughed hysterically at that comment as he felt the spirit inside him clawing its way out. "Smarten up, dipshit! You're already a dead man! Y'see, you're a baaaaaaad man! And that thing that just killed your friends? He hates bad men! And guess what? That thing is inside me, man! Inside my soul! And… and he's… scraping… at… the door… scraping at the door!" Jimmy jerked his head back and screamed in pain, frightening his captive. "Now, you're already dead, but how fast you die is entirely up to you! Where are those kids going?!"
"Th-th-the quarry!" he stuttered. "The abandoned quarry just a few miles from here!"
Blaze's green eye flickered as it bore into the man's soul. Just as the green flames started to surround him once more, Blaze used them to incinerate the agent. Still trying to contain the Fallen Angel, Blaze staggered over to his motorcycle. Once he gripped the handle bars, the hellfire spread over it, enhancing it with the hellish power. Blaze released the kickstand and set off at a remarkable speed, all the while the Rider was getting closer to the surface.
Twenty Minutes Ago…
Dare, Marvelgirl, and Speedster-Man had just arrived at the makeshift headquarters for H.I.D.R.A. While Marvelgirl and Speedster-Man were keeping an eye on the militia soldiers, Dare was more interested in what the scientists were up to.
"Okay, here's the plan..." Dare whispered. "You guys create a diversion while I sneak down and try to download their files from the main computer. It could be very helpful to S.H.I.E.L.D."
The Boy Wonder quietly sneaked into one of the laboratories and pulled a USB drive out of his utility belt. He was just about to let his fingers trace the keyboard, when the computers turned off. The screens flickered back on, revealing the face of an elderly man.
"My, my…" The voice cackled with static. "It would appear we have an intruder, Dr. Hamilton." Before Tim could do anything, he felt a sharp prick in the side of his neck. The room began to spin and he fell on his back.
Meanwhile, Marvelgirl and Speedster-Man were completely unaware that their ally had been captured, so they went ahead with the plan. Speedster-Man was rushing in and out of caverns, driving everyone out into the open. That made it easy for Marvelgirl to blast them with her plasma-bolts. But what the heroes didn't notice was the militia agent holding a strange rifle. He was dressed in black body armor with a blue skull on his mask and a blue gem in his chest.
Speedster-Man's accelerated vision activated, directing him towards Marvelgirl. She was hit by a blast of red energy, and began to fall to the ground. Although his cable shooters had been damaged, Bart instinctively flicked his wrist to try and catch her. To his surprise, a thin stream of solid light shot from his wrist, latched onto Marvelgirl, and he pulled her over to him.
"Speed force…" Bart breathed in amazement. "You are so crash!" He was so excited that he didn't realize his accelerated vision had activated again. But it was too late; the armored agent pulled a hand-held gun out from its holster and fired a blast of blue beat at Speedster-Man, knocking him unconscious. The other agents, along with a man dressed in an officer's outfit and a monocle had arrived to carry the heroes to the lab.
"Well done, Cobalt. You have served our cause well tonight."
"Thank you Baron Degaton." The agent nodded as he aimed his weapons at the heroes. "Shall I finish them off?"
"Not so fast, DeVoe will dispose of them once he is finished. In the meantime, you and I are needed elsewhere." As Cobalt went to prepare the escape vehicle, Baron Degaton turned to the other agents. "This is a good day, my brothers. Once our deal with Mr. Von Havoc is complete, we shall finally have enough funds to begin phase two of our plan! Hail H.I.D.R.A.!"
"HAIL H.I.D.R.A.!"
Speedster-Man woke up just in time to see Dr. Hamilton extracting a pint of his blood. He looked around to see Dare tied to another table, and Marvelgirl strapped down under a red lamp.
"Don't expect your Radonian friend to help you…" Hamilton smiled. "That lamp is bombarding her with concentrated red sun radiation." Hamilton couldn't help but take pleasure in the girl's suffering. In 1979, the Radonian warlord, Mar-Zod invaded Metropia and destroyed three-quarters of the city. Among those who had been killed in the invasion was Hamilton's family. Since then, he swore to use his intellect to rid the world of aliens and super-beings.
"I've collected the blood samples from the speedster and the Radonian, Prof. DeVoe." He turned his attention to the screen.
"Excellent. You and Dr. Grodd shall meet at the rendezvous point. Shut down the quarry facilities. Destroy all evidence of our presence."
"And what of the children?"
"I said all evidence, Miles…" The screen flickered and shut off, leaving Hamilton smiling, sinisterly to himself. He opened one of the drawers at his desk and unveiled a custom-built radonite gun, and placed the barrel against Marvelgirl's forehead.
But before he could pull the trigger, the entire quarry shook. Hamilton and Grodd rushed out to see what the commotion was all about. The gunmen all looked to the edge of the quarry to see a dust storm with a green glow in the center heading straight for them. The two scientists forgot about the three heroes and rushed to the escape ship while the mercenaries prepared their weapons.
Once the dust cloud gotten close enough, one soldier fire a missile at it; creating a powerful explosion. The men cheered at their apparent success until they saw something stepping out of the smoke. It was a skeleton dressed in a leather jacket, covered in green flames, and holding a length of chain in its hands.
"Hungry…" The Demon Rider looked at its victims and charged as they opened fire on it. Lashing out with its chains, it reduced the soldiers to ashes with each blow. One of the soldiers managed to throw a grenade at its feet, but it was no use; the Demon Rider was completely unfazed by the attack. It stepped out of the smoke and made its way to the soldier who threw it. He was so frightened, he lifted his semi-automatic pistol and fired everything he had into the skeleton's mouth. But the Demon Rider simply coughed up smoke and vomited molten slag onto the soldier.
However, another mercenary took the opportunity to re-load his bazooka, and fired at the monster again. This time, the Demon Rider was knocked off the ground by the force of the projectile and cried out in pain when it detonated.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did that hurt?!" The agent laughed as Demon Rider climbed out of the crater. "It looked like it did!" But Demon Rider saw something that would easily tip the scales in its favor. Getting back on its feet, it made its way to an abandoned miming excavator.
*Once inside the cab, The Spirit of Vengeance let out a powerful screech, and its flames spread throughout the entire frame of the excavator. The soldiers frightfully opened fire on the flaming piece of equipment as it moved towards them at impossible speeds. Demon Rider cackled as it crushed everyone in his way.
Meanwhile, the commotion had caused the red sun lamp to malfunction. This gave Marvelgirl time to break free and help her friends. They rushed outside to see H.I.D.R.A. agents screaming in terror as the excavator was making short work of their facilities. One agent had spotted the three teens, and was about to fire on Dare when something wrapped around his leg. The next thing he knew, he was staring into the fiery face of the Demon Rider.
"Sorry… does that hurt? It looks like it does…" Demon Rider's green iris flickered as it pierced the agent's soul. "Look into my eye… you will be judged…" The man screamed in horror as the green flame surrounded his body and reduced it to ashes.
The Demon Rider gave one last roar in victory and then transformed back into Jimmy Blaze. The three heroes ran over to check on him. Once he assured them that he was alright, he gave a solemn frown. "So, are you still going to arrest me?"
The teens looked at each other before Dare spoke up. "Well… we are supposed to be on vacation. I guess it wouldn't hurt to give you a week's head start."
"Thanks…" Jimmy smiled and walked back to his motorcycle. "Before I leave, take this from the voice of experience; don't ever take your loved ones for granted. You never know when you're gonna lose 'em." With that, Jimmy drove off, leaving the heroes alone in the quarry.
"Uh, before we head back to the motel, is it crash if I make a phone call?" Bart asked.
"That's fine, I need to make one, too." Karen said.
"So do I…" Tim added.
The three teens separated themselves and took out their cell phones.
"Hi, Aunt Joan…"
"Hi, Kal…"
"Hi, mom… yeah, everything's fine, I just… I wanted to let you know that… I love you."
The Next Day.
Jimmy had gathered up the last of his belongings and fastened his motorcycle to the back of his truck. He was going to miss this quiet little town, but he still wanted to try and use the Demon Rider for good. The only problem was; he didn't know how.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a piece of paper stuck under his truck's windshield-wiper. He plucked it off and saw that it was a tarot card used by fortune tellers. It was the card of the Hermit.
"If you truly want help, seek out Madam Wise at St. Augustine's Lighthouse"
"…Why not?" Jimmy said to himself as he started his truck and drove off towards Florida.
To Be Continued!
The Demon Rider will return. But until then, stay tuned for next week(hopefully) when the Flag must put together a team to stop H.I.D.R.A.'s evil plot! But it won't be easy taking on Baron Zero, the Royal Flush Society of Serpents, and this new mysterious Winter Speedster!
Cobalt(Crossbones/Cobalt Blue)
Baron Wolfram Degaton(Baron Strucker/Per Degaton)