** The events of this story take place in the 90's Ghost Rider series after the Rise of the Midnight Sons but before Carnage at the Carnival **
Every muscle in Daniel Ketch's body was sore. Ghost Rider was nearly invulnerable, but when he changed back into Dan he still felt like he'd fallen off a two story building. That was just one of the many mysteries that came with being the host for the Spirit of Vengeance. Johnny Blaze had helped clear up a few things, but there was still so much he didn't know.
As Dan walked to the kitchen he heard his mother watching the news in the living room.
"The Ghost Rider spotted once again leaving the scene of a grizzly attack. Authorities are still searching for the violent biker in connection to a growing number of murders and other crimes," the well dressed anchor said with a face trained to show no emotion regardless of the subject matter.
"Mom, how can you listen to this?" Dan asked, looking into the room.
"Well it's important to stay current on what's happening in your own neighborhood," she said.
"But you know that the Ghost Rider is doing some good things, don't you?" he asked.
"Yes," she sighed. "He has helped me personally on a few occasions now, but he does seem to be mixed up in a lot of bad things."
Dan shook his head. The Ghost Rider would always be associated with evil. The cost of terrifying the wicked was terrifying the good as well. Dan couldn't let that get to him though.
"In other news," the anchor continued, "another family found brutally murdered in their own home yesterday. That marks the fourth such attack in the last two weeks. Police are still investigating."
Dan poured himself a glass of water and headed to the garage where he kept the heavy bag Blaze had left for him. Sore or not, he had some frustrations that he needed to work out.
He was sweaty and breathing hard after several rounds on the bag when he felt it. The itch that came before the change. That was not a good sign.
He rushed back into the house looking for his mother. He found her still sitting in the living room in front of the tv when they both heard the scream.
"What was that Daniel?" she asked.
"I don't know mom, but you should go to your room and call the police," Dan said through clenched teeth. He couldn't change in front of his mom. He had to fight it until she was safe and he was alone.
She stood and walked towards the stairs, less quickly than Dan would have liked but still at a pace that showed her nervousness. Dan moved to the nearest window to see if there was anything outside. Nothing caught his eye, but he could feel the change coming closer now. Innocent blood had been spilled nearby.
He went out the front door and heard a scream again from the neighbor's house. He ran towards the sound and let the change take him. He was thirty feet from the front door. The itch he had felt earlier was replaced by a heat like a fever that grew unbearably hot in an instant. Twenty feet now. His skin burned, first metaphorically and then literally as he exploded in a flash of hellfire. He was at the base of the neighbor's front steps. His flesh was burned away and replaced by hellfire. Spiked biker's leathers now covered him where his own clothing had just been.
It was not Daniel Ketch who burst through the door, it was the Ghost Rider.
He could smell the blood that had triggered his transformation. It was the smell that had haunted him since his rebirth. It was simultaneously the bane of his existence and the reason for it.
He was at the top of the stairs and on the second floor in a fraction of a second. If Ghost Rider had had a stomach, the scene before him would have turned it. A man, the father of the family that lived there, lay in the hallway covered in blood. His wife lay similarly inside the first room on the right. Further inside the room were two figures in black robes holding a child of no more than eight years of age still while a third held a glass jar below the open wound on the child's wrist to collect the blood pouring from it.
The two robed figures holding the child looked up as Ghost Rider entered the room, filling it with the light from his own flaming visage. Their eyes reflected the flickering flame as they widened in terror. One opened his mouth to speak but didn't have the chance as Ghost Rider was upon them.
He grabbed them both by the front of their robes and lifted them off the floor, away from the child. He smashed them together before throwing them unceremoniously away. They were unconscious now and could be dealt with properly later.
The third figure, the one holding the blood filled jar, had scrambled away and was on his way down the stairs already. Ghost Rider scooped up the child and began his pursuit. It might have been to his advantage that the child was unconscious. He did not want to take the child screaming in fear out to the police who were sure to be arriving soon.
As he exited the house, the child cradled in his arms, the robed man was getting in the back of a black panel van. The man smiled just before he shut the sliding door and the van sped off into the night. Sirens and flashing lights quickly replaced the van on the street in front of Ghost Rider. Officers piled out of their cars and pointed their guns at him.
"Put the child down and put your hands in the air!" the closest officer yelled at him. He was young and the tip of his gun shook slightly with fear.
That had been Ghost Rider's plan the entire time. The child needed medical help quickly and vengeance still needed to be dealt to the man who just got away. He didn't think that the officers would risk shooting at him while he still held the child, but he couldn't risk it. He set the child down on the cool grass and stepped back.
"Put your hands in the air!" the officer yelled again.
"It is not me that you want," Ghost Rider replied. His voice was deep and crackled like the fire that engulfed his skeleton body.
"I said put your hands up!" The officer's nervousness was causing his voice to go up in pitch.
Ghost Rider needed to go after the man who stole the child's blood. Luckily, he didn't need to wait much longer to begin his chase. With a deafening roar his motorcycle cut between Ghost Rider and the police officers still aiming at him. The wheels of the mystical cycle were ablaze with hellfire but didn't burn the grass unless he wanted them too. The front of the bike was covered with a solid metal plate he routinely used as a battering ram. The two headlights glowed like monstrous eyes.
As Ghost Rider mounted the hell bike he saw a new car pull up, this one stopping in front of the Ketch's house, and Stacey Dolan stepped out. Good. She would go look after Daniel's mother.
With one last look at the child, Ghost Rider sped off after the van and his vengeance.
The high priest waited impatiently in the warehouse that they had been using as a hideout. They had spent the last two weeks collecting the blood of four children. Tonight they would get the blood of the fifth child and be able to perform the ritual.
He surveyed the ritual area once more. The symbols surrounding the pentagram all looked correct and were cleanly drawn with chalk. The circle around all of it was perfect, not a single wobble in the line encircling the arcane symbology. At four of the five points of the pentagram rested a glass jar filled with the blood of the innocent.
Once the retrieval team returned they would all get what they deserved. The ritual would give them unfathomable power and they could begin to take what was rightfully theirs in this world.
A car horn sounded twice outside and one of the priests opened the garage door. The van entered and pulled up nearly to the ritual area. Only two people exited the vehicle as the garage door closed again.
"Where are the others?" the high priest demanded. He had sent four people to collect the final blood. This was not a good sign.
The priest who had exited the side door of the van held out a jar filled with thick, dark liquid.
"They had a run in with the Ghost Rider, but that doesn't matter now. We have what we need." The man smiled wickedly.
"Ok," the high priest said. "Let us begin."
The overhead lights were turned off as candles and torches were lit. Some were necessary for the ritual, the rest were just for light. The high priest took the jar and moved to the empty point of the pentagram as four other priests moved to the others. The other three priests took up positions slightly further back from the circle.
The high priest opened his jar and began chanting the ancient incantation. The other priests followed in turn around the circle until all five were chanting in unison. The candles in the circle began to grow brighter as the torches outside it dimmed. A small flame ignited in the air above the center of the pentagram. It pulsed like a heartbeat, growing brighter with each beat.
The high priest heard a low rumbling that he wasn't expecting but he didn't let it break his concentration. The priests outside of the circle began to look around as the rumbling grew louder and it became clear that it was coming from outside. The high priest began to chant louder to help bring his group's focus back to the task at hand.
The garage door shattered as a motorcycle with flaming wheels burst into the warehouse.
"Stop what you're doing!" the Ghost Rider screamed, his voice like a roaring fire. "You have taken the blood of the innocent and you must all be punished."
The motorcycle roared towards the circle but the priest who had collected the blood that evening stepped away from his place outside the circle and blocked its path.
"You will not interrupt us, false demon!" he spat. He extended his right hand forward and a beam of green energy shot towards Ghost Rider, striking him in the shoulder.
Ghost Rider twisted with the impact of the blow. He fell backwards off of his bike and it careened off to the side. He stood back up to face the priest. The others continued their chanting, the pulsing flame in the air between them continuing to grow.
The priest threw an energy beam at Ghost Rider again, but this time he was ready for it. Ghost Rider threw his left arm in front of him to take the brunt of the blast as his right hand reached for the chain draped across his chest. With a slight tug it came loose and fell around him.
"None shall stand between me and my quarry," Ghost Rider growled. He flung his arm forward and the chain whipped toward the priest. It magically adjusted to the perfect length and the weight at its end struck the priest in the forehead.
His head snapped back but he did not fall.
"I'm not easily moved, Rider." The man's smile was filled with malice. He stepped forward to blast Ghost Rider again, but before he could he was tossed into the air as Ghost Rider's motorcycle struck him. If it were possible for Ghost Rider to smile, he would have.
He moved forward to stop whatever horrific ritual they were performing, but he was too late. The chanting stopped and the priests turned their jars over, spilling the blood of five innocent children on the points of the pentagram. The fire in the center pulsed one final time and exploded. Fire and dark energy filled the room, flipping the van and throwing even Ghost Rider to the floor.
The high priest shakily got back to his feet and looked at the ritual area. Sitting in the center of the ritual circle was a huddled mass of flesh and hair. Curled in on itself as it was it was already the size of a small car.
"I..I...I don't understand," the high priest stammered. "This wasn't supposed to be a summoning ritual, it was supposed to grant us power."
The creature began to uncurl itself as the other priests rose and came forward. It was the stuff of nightmares. It was nearly ten feet high at the top of its head and had a long body, like an insect made of flesh. It had six spikey legs and two arms that each ended in a gigantic pincer. Its face looked like a clown got stuck part way through a werewolf transformation and it had a thick tail that was covered in wicked looking spikes.
The nearest priest didn't even have time to scream. The creature reached down with one claw and cut the man cleanly in half at the waist. The next nearest priest lived only a few seconds longer as the other claw swiped at him, sending him flying into the far wall. He struck the wall with a wet sickening slap before falling to the floor. The rest turned to flee for their lives.
The abomination let out a roar before launching itself forward after the fleeing priests. Ghost Rider got to his feet and began to size up the creature. The priests it had killed did not deserve his vengeance, but the creature itself is born of innocent blood. Its very existence was an insult to Ghost Rider and for that alone it must be destroyed. The creature's movements were jerky and erratic, like a movie robot that was short circuiting. The unnaturalness of the movements in no way slowed the creature down.
It quickly caught up to another of the evil priests, but this time the creature spun in place and lashed out with its spiked tail. The priest was impaled by five spikes, each over a foot long, and stuck to the tail. The creature whipped its tail back and forth, eventually flinging the dead priest away.
Ghost Rider pulled his chain free once more and began to spin it above his flaming head. Once it had enough speed he threw it forward, wrapping it around the wicked tail just below the bloody spikes. Ghost Rider pulled the chain tight and flicked his wrist to try to flip the creature over. The chain refused to move. Ghost Rider wasn't even sure that the creature registered his attempts.
The creature spun to look at Ghost Rider, but the motion pulled Ghost Rider off his feet and threw him across the room. He slammed into the already overturned van, pushing it into the wall behind it. Ghost Rider kicked open the back door of the van and stepped out. The force of puncturing the underside of the van may not have actually hurt Ghost Rider, but it did piss him off.
He swung his chain horizontally in front of him. As it arched before him the links separated and transformed into throwing stars wreathed in hellfire, hurtling towards the vile creature. Several struck home and the monster roared as the chain reformed in Ghost Rider's hand. It surged forward and reached toward Ghost Rider with one of its massive, crab-like claws.
Ghost Rider caught each side of the pincer before it closed on him. He strained against the creature's strength. His arms shook as he held the claw open around him. Ghost Rider dropped to the ground and rolled backwards, the claw snapping closed inches above him. He ran past the creature's claws and leapt into the air. As he came level with the demonic face, he punched it directly on its vaguely lupine snout.
The head rocked backwards, but the body didn't budge. Ghost Rider landed and punched again, this time to the elongated body. This hit was even less effective than the first.
Ghost Rider was not going to be able to win this fight with strength.
One of the gigantic, insect-like legs stabbed at Ghost Rider. He attempted to twist out of the way but was too slow. The point of the leg struck through Ghost Rider's left shoulder, sticking out the back.
Ghost Rider was in pain, which was rare for him to experience, but he also had a good grip on the monster. He grabbed the leg in both hands to keep it stuck in his own shoulder and twisted abruptly. With a wet snapping of ligaments and a crunch of bones the leg separated at the first joint.
Ghost Rider then pulled the severed limb from his shoulder, hellfire visible in the tears of his leather jacket. He leapt again, this time onto the creature's back. It writhed beneath him, bucking like a humongous twisted bronco. He lifted the leg above his head in both hands and brought it down, piercing the creature's hide with its own limb.
He jumped to the ground as the monster roared in pain and tried to reach around with its head to pull the limb free. While the creature was distracted, Ghost Rider quickly attached his chain to its back leg and summoned his motorcycle to him. He leapt on the bike as it passed him, not needing it to stop, and began to encircle the creature.
Ghost Rider became vaguely aware that Daniel had seen a film where large four-legged robots were brought down with similar tactics, but Ghost Rider couldn't be distracted by exploring that thought right now.
The beast whipped its head back and forth trying to track Ghost Rider as he circled it. As he did so, Ghost Rider made sure that the ground he drove over caught flame on all sides of the creature except for one. After several passes, Ghost Rider drove straight away from the creature, leading it out through the opening in the flaming circle.
The massive monstrosity began to give chase, but the flaming chain pulled tight against its insect-like limbs. It shrieked as it came crashing down.
Ghost Rider turned as soon as he heard the thud of the creature's body hitting the cement floor of the warehouse. He gunned the engine of his mystical motorcycle, aiming for the oddly colored face now resting on the floor. Even though the creature was on ground it still towered over Ghost Rider. Just before the hellcycle made contact with the demonic snout, Ghost Rider leapt into the air, back flipping off the bike to let it impact the monster on its own.
The force of the impact caused the bike to flip end over end. Ghost Rider had anticipated that. With each rotation the flaming wheels made contact with the creature's massive body. The stink of burning flesh filled the open building.
Ghost Rider was about to charge the creature himself when he was struck from behind. He stumbled forwards and turned to see what had hit him. The priest who had previously shot him with wicked energy now stood with one hand outstretched at him. Blood poured down the man's face and his other arm hung limply at his side, but his face showed no sign of the pain he must have felt.
"What are you?" Ghost Rider questioned him.
"A simple servant of a greater power. One which will see you destroyed!" Green energy encased the man's extended hand and began to flow up his arm. It continued to move up and over his body until the man was completely covered in glowing green light.
"Die Rider!" he shouted before leaping towards Ghost Rider. The man covered the distance between them too quickly for a normal human, but this was obviously no normal human. He immediately launched a series of punches and kicks at Ghost Rider, each one a blur of green light. Ghost Rider was able to block the strikes, but the force of the blows drove him backwards.
Ghost Rider slipped inside a punch aimed for his face and grabbed the man's wrist and elbow. The energy covering the priest hurt to touch, but Ghost Rider endured. He pivoted and pulled with both arms, keeping the man moving past where he had intended to, and threw him towards the monster that had been at Ghost Rider's back.
The creature had stood up and was ready to receive the rolling green priest. The huge jaws opened wide and the man landed squarely on the long tongue. The cavernous mouth snapped closed, leaving just the man's left hand sticking out.
Man and beast howled in simultaneous pain. The man was crushed inside the beast as the creature was burned by the priest's wicked energy. The creature turned and spat the man out, saliva covering him where the green energy once had. He wasn't moving.
The creature howled again and turned towards Ghost Rider. Its face was bleeding and burned where his motorcycle had hit it, and one eye was swollen shut. Ghost Rider rolled to his side as a massive claw crashed down at him. He had to dodge again as the other claw attempted to crush him. Over and over again the monster tried to flatten Ghost Rider and over and over again Ghost Rider dodged and rolled to safety.
A claw came in sideways, catching Ghost Rider by surprise. He sprawled onto the ground in front of the creature and a claw pinned him down. He stared up into its unearthly eyes. All he saw in them was evil. It was difficult to say if there was even an animal level of intelligence behind those eyes. All they were was unbridled malice. Chaos made flesh and unleashed upon the world. Drool dripped from its snarling lips and sizzled as it hit Ghost Rider's flames.
It raised its head slightly and opened its jaws wide, readying itself to eat him piece by piece. Before it could bring its head down it exploded. Flame engulfed the top half of the monster's head. A second later the flame was gone, and so was the creature's face. Only the bottom jaw jutted out from the smoking ruin of its long neck.
"You just can't help yourself, can you, bonehead?" came a deep voice with a soft southern drawl.
Ghost Rider twisted out from under the claw to see Johnny Blaze standing in the hole that Ghost Rider had made in the wall earlier. The hellfire infused shotgun rested on his shoulder, smoke gently wafting from its barrel.
"I had everything under control, Blaze," Ghost Rider growled.
"Sure you did," Johnny said with a smirk.
Ghost Rider ignored the remark. "You begin preparing to dispose of this monstrosity," Ghost Rider said, gesturing to the creature, "There are a few priests in the area in need of my penance stare." He turned to where the creature had spat the glowing priest. All he saw was a pile of drool and a few wet footprints leading towards a door.
Vengeance would have to wait.
"Damnit!" Mephisto shouted as he watched through the viewing portal.
He was so close to destroying the Ghost Rider but Blaze continued to be a thorn in his side. The priests had done exactly as he had hoped. They were so blinded by their desire for power that they didn't even question the ritual's purpose. Mephisto had even chosen the final child to be from near the Ketch household so that Ghost Rider would be sure to find them, but still he lives.
Mephisto would need a new agent in the fight against Ghost Rider and Blaze.
He watched as the police entered the now empty warehouse, led by detective Michael Badalino. Mephisto smiled.
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