Retribution

Chapter II

The Rider Reborn

Ulrich stood face-to-face with a mirror image of his newly-formed self. "Shit…" started the one which wasn't Ulrich. "I was too late to stop it." "Stop what? Am I stuck like this forever? How will I continue life?" Ulrich's barrage of questions was put to a halt when the other dude spoke. "Shut yer trap and lemme explain. Name's Johnny. Johnny Blaze. Most refer to me as Ghost Rider when I look like this, though. You?"

"Ulrich."

"Good. At least you trust me."

"So what's going on?"

"When so much demonic strength fuses with a mortal,

they become a spirit of vengeance, a Ghost Rider if ya

feel like sayin' that."

"So those were demons that attacked me?"

"Or somethin' like 'em. Anyway, you now have some new

moves, kid. The bike and chain come and go on

command. You could be flyin' through the air, only to

land on the bike. When dealing with scumbags, Hellfire

will make 'em feel like the people they screwed up.

Focus your eyes and emotions for that one. See ya later,

Spirit of Retribution!"

"Wait!" It was too late. The Ghost Rider was gone. Ulrich remembered him saying that they only called him Ghost Rider in that form. He focused his will on his old self, and transformed back into his human form. He transformed back and forth to test his abilities, and practiced summoning the motorcycle and chain as well. Then, he returned to his dorm for some shut-eye…

He woke up to find Jeremy, Yumi, Odd, and Aelita standing over him. "What are you doing in here?" said a very groggy Ulrich. "Odd told us what happened. You O.K.?" (Jeremy said that) "I feel fine. Except for the fact that I saw Odd in pink bunny pyjamas!" Everyone but Odd had a good laugh at that. "I wike my bunny-wunny P.J.'s!" Odd screamed as he ran out of Ulrich's room. Tons of laughter poured out from the halls. That's when Jeremy got serious. "There's no telling what X.A.N.A.'s monsters could have done to you, Ulrich. Were going to have to take you to the Factory for analysis." I already know what happened because of X.A.N.A.'s monsters. I shall show you the result when we get to the Factory, 'cause I don't wish to panic the public. After school?" Ulrich, of course. Jeremy replied with "Yeah, after school. But you get scanned first. Agreed?" "Agreed."

Classes went by differently for Ulrich that day. The first two periods were uneventful, as usual. Lunch is when things got away from the realm of normality. Sissy was being a jerk. After pouring ice water down Odd's pants and tripping Aelita, she laughed airily and walked away with her two lunk-headed goons (Herb and Nicholas). An unholy light passed through Ulrich's eyes. Spirit of Retribution, huh? Heheheheh… someone shall be receiving retribution in the near future. Jeremy didn't like the evil look in Ulrich's eyes. It only seemed to feed his suspicions. Then phys. ed. came along. Thoughts of vengeance danced through Ulrich's head, and through Odd's as well, though on a far lesser scale. Jeremy was getting nervous. Was Ulrich, the strongest warrior in the fight against X.A.N.A., going to switch sides on account of brainwashing? The time neared when he would know…

School was over and everyone was at the Factory. Ulrich was hooked up to various wires and things on a metal table. "Alright, I'm turning on the bio-scan device. You ready Ulrich?" asked Jeremy. Ulrich gave a thumbs up. A whirring noise started as the device was building up energy. After thirty seconds or so, the machine exploded. Jeremy spoke after he wiped soot from his face and glasses. "Before it went haywire, the bio-scanner picked up no sign of X.A.N.A.'s data or any other virus. However, I believe Ulrich has something to show us that is relevant to this topic. Ulrich?" "Thanks, Jeremy. As Odd ran past me, I turned around, expecting to see Yumi with a baseball bat or something. (Yumi stifled a giggle) Instead, I got hit by those creatures and somehow fused with their powers and such. Not the creatures themselves, but their energies. That allows me to do this!" Ulrich's face melted to the skull and burst into flame once more. Bikerwear replaced regular clothing and hands turned to bone again. Odd screamed like a little girl and jumped into Yumi's arms Scooby-Doo style. Ulrich summoned the motorcycle and the chain to help prove his point. "Then this guy who looked exactly like this drove up and explained these powers, who he was, and how it happened." After pulling his jaw off the floor, Jeremy said, "No wonder the scanner went haywire! But what was with the looks you gave Sissy and the coach?" Ulrich then said, "When Johnny Blaze was explaining my new abilities, he also mentioned my demonic role. I am a Spirit of Vengeance, the virtual embodiment of retribution, etc." "So, you a demon?" asked Odd, still in Yumi's arms. Ulrich, seeing the chance to make everybody laugh, lit his eye sockets with Hellfire and said in a Mephistopheles tone "DAMN STRAIGHT, MORTAL!" Odd then fainted, drooped out of Yumi's arms, and wet himself. Then Ulrich nearly wet himself laughing. He then returned to human form and said, "Wasn't that the funniest thing you've ever seen Odd do?" Jeremy, Yumi, and Aelita weren't laughing, however. In fact, they were trembling in fear. "Guys?" questioned Ulrich, taking a step closer. Everyone else (except Odd, who was unconscious) stepped back, not knowing what to think of this development. Ulrich shed a tear, transforming halfway and turning the tear into a puff of steam. Ulrich flew away on the enchanted motorcycle, head bent in sorrow…

A/N: hoped you liked this chapter! KnightX and other readers please feel free to give suggestions! Stay tuned for Chapter III!