บท 73: Chapter 73
The Fastest Man Alive
Chapter 73
By:BigToFu
Beta:
Emperor Blake
The Emperor Protects.
The masked man silently floated there at the boundaries of my island, yet his mere presence was imposing regardless of our surroundings. The clapping that he was doing before ceased, allowing nothing but the eerie quiet of the moment.
Ignoring all that was happening below and behind me, I held the gaze of the only other human upon this planet that could make me blink. The only other human on this beautiful planet who would have me pause and contemplate the task before me.
That was who Doom was, and that was who stood at my door. This was the man playing chess games, waiting for one of us to break the silence. Only the person that broke the silence would be the one to lose this confrontation of ours.
Instead of glaring or narrowing my eyes, I relaxed in the air as if seated upon a throne of my own. Of course, that was the cue Doom was waiting for as his voice carried across the space between us.
Hands clasped before him, Dr. Doom spoke his opening line, "As one of the only true monarchs upon this beautiful planet that we share, I find it insulting to not have received an invite to the festive and grand event of your people."
For a time, I allowed silence to fall between us once more before speaking, "I would think that the one known as Doom has other things to do with his time than to attend festivals."
My words were neither a slight nor an apology to the man.
Couldn't lie to myself and had to give Doom an earned point. No real monarch would battle such an enemy on his home turf. That would just be asking for the slaughter of his citizens and I knew Doom carried no such compunctions unless I forced an agreement out of him. And even then, the only way to get one was to play to the man's massive ego.
He has a need to be seen as a benevolent force of good. As I pondered over how that could be used to my advantage, Doom raised a hand. My eye snapped to the appendage and I had to raise a hand to keep my Primarch from launching himself towards Doom.
They had just come out from the heart tree's birthing chambers and I didn't want to lose such a powerful general yet.
"Such an intricate magical shield, yet it was not able to keep you from Doom's gaze."
Instead of shrugging, I stared at his raised hand, not speaking until he finished his examination of the magical shield, "That shield wasn't meant to keep us from your gaze. It was meant to protect my people from those outside willing to destroy what is found within."
"Doom also has that in which he protects with his own ferocity."
Silence descended once more, it was such that the tension could be cut with a knife. Honestly, I knew what he wanted, but this was Doom of all people. This was the big bad wolf of Marvel, and fuck, I had to be a gracious host and offer him guest rights as the monarch of these lands.
Sending a mental command to my omni, I checked over the contingencies in place before steeling my nerves. Then once I was prepared, I then snapped my fingers once to open the section before Doom. Rising to a standing position, my attire shimmered onto my form as the air surrounding my body was swiftly transmuted.
The relaxed posture that I put forward allowed those around me to relax, but I still made sure to send mental commands through my omni. This wasn't about to be an easy conquest for Doom not by a long shot.
The primarch behind me made a circular motion with his hands to form a psionic platform of blue construct energy. With perfect synchronization, my flight was cut as the platform made contact with my now-booted feet.
Yet, while all of this went on, Doom made no motion to move or speak. Recognizing it for what it was, I stood tall and firm before speaking clearly so that only he could hear my question.
"Would you prefer Doctor Doom, or Monarch Doom?" My question reached his ear and I made sure that he was able to see my single raised brow.
Doom gave a slight chuckle in his rich deep voice that I was able to pick up before he spoke, "Doom has already stated that there are only two true rulers upon this earth."
Humming slightly, I made Doom wait upon me as I took my time, "Then as one monarch to the next, I extend to you, guest rights. Partake of my Empire's bread and salt, for you shall find no harm done to your person here."
Instead of speaking of my minor slight, Doom gave me one single nod of the head, before his hand came down swiftly upon his throne. That same throne vanished with a flash of light, only to leave Doom standing, waiting. My primarch took this as his signal, bringing us both forward.
Standing firm, I folded my hands behind my back as Doom took a position at my right. Words weren't shared as Douglas, my Primarch, took us on a scenic route around the island. We went through waterfalls, flew over valleys, and soared along the coastal walls. This was a chance to show off my island and I was going to take it.
Ignoring the calm frosted lake feel that I received from Doom, I had Douglas fly us around so that Doom might truly appreciate the grandeur of the island. With the final showing being an underwater city that was inhabited on the eastern coast. I had us flown back upwards and to the festival that was currently still underway.
We came up and around towards the party, yet I noticed that Doom's gaze had lingered on my heart tree for a time before turning away with a dismissal-type gesture. Now, that would be something I would have to make a note of and to make sure to keep an eye on. It wouldn't do to let one such as he into parts of my more important infrastructure.
There were plenty of places that Doom should not go, but the heart tree was true to its name. Not only was it connected to my genetic banks, but it was also the source of my growing troops and population.
My citizens hadn't caught on yet, but the population growth wasn't just only due to couples being able to have kids in a safer environment. No, the population was increasing due to the fact that the heart tree would birth at least one hundred people a day with varying genetic structures. Those born would range from Savage Lander to Atlantan, Vodani to meta-human, and even unpowered citizens. The medical teams would then make sure that they were not only well adjusted but also had the general knowledge of Pandora downloaded into their minds by the island's certified telepaths.
None of that was something I wanted Doom to get his hands on. I knew the type of power that rested within my hands and I refused to turn it towards world conquest at such an early stage in my Empire's rise to the stars. As we drifted downwards towards the party, I made sure to increase the speed of my plans to transplant the island to Mars.
With what was planned, the island would be positioned right outside Avalon, the massive river that would lead into the ocean would break around the island as if it was Manhattan itself. My only major concern would be my presence on Earth and Gaea's reaction to taking the island. Yet, Selene said that she would take care of that for me and I was willing to trust her on the magical front. I was, of course, only a minor dabbler of the mystic arts, while she had been steeped in it her entire adult life.
Douglas brought us around and down as I laid my own personal fears to rest, since I could, of course, solve my problems at a later date. Getting off of the psionic platform, we walked in silence until she tried to strike.
"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"
With a quarter step backward, I snagged Maya by her leg before tossing her up into the air. I paused right as her leg left my grip as I remembered Ororo and Raven getting mad at me about that. Turning to the side, I noticed Doom giving me a look; but I held it and acted as if nothing happened.
Reaching a hand to the right, I caught Maya nonchalantly with some minor application of gravity before placing her on my back. Like the spider monkey that she was, Maya crawled her way up to my neck and took a seat there with her legs dangling down over my shoulders.
Being the bright ray of sunshine that she is, Maya leaned over and kissed me on the temples before asking for a 'giddy up', which I, of course, obliged with a smile.
Doom kept giving me that look, but I ignored that as I turned and kept walking. The silence was short-lived as the little supernova on my shoulder decided to share her exuberance with everyone.
"Ohhh, your armor is so shiny!" Maya squealed excitedly from on top of my shoulders, I really tried not to smirk as I noticed Doom's back straightened, "It must be better than uncle Tony's right?"
Doom scoffed and I could see him rolling his eyes behind the faceplate of his armor. Then he stopped and did a little showcase of his power. Ohh by the grace of Stan Lee, I actually forgot how Doom was with kids. The surface of his armor rippled and his cape started to bellow dramatically behind him, "Doom's armor was handcrafted by his own majestic hands."
"Cool, Uncle Tony's armor could fly, and shoot lasers, and go underwater, and make things go boom," Maya went on and on her mouth moving a mile a minute.
Doom nodded his head once, "Be that as it may, child, Doom is capable of all that and so much more."
I could clearly hear the wide-eyed excitement in Maya's voice, "WOW!"
Doom, of course, preened underneath Maya's attention and her genuine excitement over his armor and technology. I then watched as Doom held out a hand which then projected some fireworks. Of course, it was a technological hologram mixed with a little bit of magic, which Maya loved nonetheless.
"Look child, I doubt your Uncle Tony can do this, Doom has no equal that may stand at his caliber when it comes to Armor."
Shaking my head at the two of them, I kept my face neutral even as we walked back towards the party-goers. Then, of course, Uncle Tony of all people decided he wanted to turn around and make himself be known and heard.
Tony held his spatula up over his eye to shade from the sun. Behind him, the red and gold grill sizzled away with whatever he was cooking, "Viktor, is that you?"
Ohh sweet baby Stan Lee, why?
"Stark," Doom's voice rumbled from his armor and again the tension was shattered.
"Uncle Tony, look, he has a cape and his armor is so shiny! Why isn't your armor so shiny?" Maya asked with all the authority of a child demanding a toy. Doom radiated pure smugness and Tony looked as if he suffered utter betrayal.
"Come on, kid, it's hot-rod-red like a sports car, how could you not like my hot rod red?" Tony asks while placing a hand over his chest as if she had shot him in the heart.
"Well, where is the cape?" Maya shot at Tony while Doom preened at the side.
"Hmm, I do believe that this is yours, young one," Doom said as he flicked a wrist. Then with a burst of light, a cape-like his own appeared. The damn thing even had the fur lining around the neck, gold disk emplacements with a large Latin L on the back for Latveria.
Maya stiffed on my shoulders for half a second and I readied myself for the squeal of excitement that actually never came. Maya jumped off my shoulders and took the cape from Doom in a flash. My daughter looked the cape over with such a critical eye that I almost thought she was going to give it back for half a second. Then we all watched as Maya flourished it over her shoulders, and I could feel Doom radiate approval of her actions. Ohh by the grace of Stan Lee, she got herself another one somehow.
"Thanks, Uncle Doom," Maya said with a smile so wide I felt sorry for the poor man. Doom was about to learn what weaponized cuteness was as Maya turned on the charm. A critical hit is always delivered and there was no hardening one's heart to their skills or escaping.
Before Doom could reply, he caught himself as Maya rotated her hand to the side causing a large circle to appear. Yeah, my baby girl knew some magic, even if she didn't use it often, and Doom was learning not to underestimate her at all. The portal opened up into Maya's closet and on the other side were all the capes she had collected so far.
Maya ran into her closet and came out with two other capes. I could already tell that one would be for Illiana and the other I wasn't too sure about. That was alright since her little band of friends was expanding and kids like her needed friends. It also helped that kids her age didn't really worry about political power or anything. It also helped that Ororo ran the school system. Then again, it might also be the fact that I made sure to threaten a few individuals that might take advantage of the situation with a painful lesson. I knew that I was a bastard, sure, but even I wasn't about to bring kids into power struggles. So fuck them for thinking they even had a chance to pull one over on me.
"Thanks, Uncle Doom, love you, daddy," Maya yelled as she dashed out of the portal with a cape in hand, "Gonna show off my new cape, bye."
And with that, Maya arced upwards and came down by the tennis courts. Doom took a look at me and I finally couldn't hold it back anymore, so I just shrugged at the man. Doom nodded as he looked at Maya in the distance showing off the new cape she had gotten out of him with ease.
"Well played, child, well played," Viktor said with a nod of the head, "Doom finds this acceptable."
At the side, Tony muttered something about them both being played by Maya, but the glare that I shot at him shut the man up. Tony turned to give Doom a smirk with a dash of snark, but he didn't get the chance as a few interesting individuals made themselves known.
My eyes were on the ladies approaching, never noticing how Doom had stopped at my side. Agatha walked over with Ebony in front and Wanda in tow. Beside her was the Ancient One, Selene on the left, and Marcus walking behind her. The three magical myths stopped an arms reach from us. That was when I noticed that they were giving Doom their undivided attention.
Selene sent me a wink and a smile before she schooled her face as the tone of the meeting shifted. Doom did a bow as he accepted the Ancient One's hand and kissed it upon the back. Next Agatha gained his attention as Doom knelt to scratch Ebony behind the ear before bowing for Selene. No attention was given to neither Wanda nor Marcus, but I did notice the look he gave Wanda as he shifted his attention to Selene.
Then things went full circle as Doom's attention shifted back to the Ancient One in the middle, I noticed how the man had even folded his arms behind his back. He gave another curt slight bow before speaking clearly and concisely for all to hear, "Sensei."
The Ancient One raised a brow of her own before then performing a curt nod of approval, "Ohh, Viktor, you have done me a great honor in accepting the invitation I have extended to you."
Okay, that would explain how he was able to locate the island even with the shields up protecting the place. Ignoring them, I turned and pulled Sue into a hug, her back to my chest as I gave the side of her head a kiss. Doom did a half turn to look, before freezing and then performing a full body turn.
"Susan?" Doom asked stiffly and I could notice his eyes firmly on where my right hand was located protectively over her lower abdomen, "You are with child?"
The clear question was in his voice and I could see the clear smile on Sue's face as she answered him.
"I am, Viktor, isn't it wonderful?" Was Sue's reply while placing her hand over my own. For a time, Doom was silent as he watched us both, and I could already see the wheels running inside of that big brain of his.
Doom finally got over whatever he was thinking as he finally spoke up, "I believe congratulations are in order. And I do applaud you for trading up from Richard's, he has always been a duplicitous sort."
Sue tightened her grip on my hand and I really couldn't blame her. She had been the one to look over reports from the investigation of their accident. Funny enough, I didn't even have to forge anything. All I had to do was pay for it all and then just let her hire and direct people. The results were something that I had already figured would be found, but I didn't think that Reed would be so blatant with it.
The man had created a subtle feedback loop with the Chrono shielding and the isolation field of the portal device when they interacted. It was one of those small things that would cause a resonance that would then collapse the whole thing.
To give her some comfort, I squeezed Sue lightly in return and almost stumbled with what Doom said next.
"Doom feels that he is the only one capable of being the Godfather to Susan's children," Stated Doom with his back straight.
"Excuse me?" Sue asked, confused like the rest of us.
Then I chipped in alongside her, "Yeah, what my pregnant lady just said."
"Doom feels that he is the only proper candidate for such a position," Was the Egotistical maniac's reply, then he followed it up with something that I was not expecting, "The same for the spirit of flame that has been touched by Gaea."
Of course he could have figured that out with only one meeting. But it really wasn't going to be that easy, and since he was already here, I might as well push my own agenda. I already knew that he came with his own agenda, even if he had decided to accept the invite from the Ancient One, that just wasn't how Doom operated. Even if I was using the comic version to understand the man before me, I would rather err on the side of caution instead of being caught with my pants down.
Getting a reaming without some lube was never the way to go. Then again, I always like to stay on top of things now that I was living in the Marvel-verse.
"I believe that can be taken under advisement. There are other family members that are looking to gain such a title, after all. But then again, such a thing could be easily solved with an alliance of nations," I replied as I picked up Sue and placed her on my lap as I started to float. My woman was pregnant and I wasn't about to just let her stand here on her feet all the livelong day.
That seemed to be the signal as the others conjured their own form of seating arrangements. Sue looked at me with a raised brow as the others got settled and I only shrugged at her. If Doom wanted something so important then he would have to equally put something else up of value.
And if I was being honest with myself, an alliance for the influence over my kids was a very minor price he would be paying with the plans I had for expansion of the empire.
Doom sat nonchalantly within his seat, hands resting relaxed, "Why?"
"A minor price to have influence over them," I returned with a shrug.
Sue scoffed, "No one is going to have influence over our kids."
Giving her an indulgent smile, I gave Sue a little squeeze, "Dear, I can assure you that they would like to have either lab time or adventure time with Uncle Doom. I can already hear Maya asking why we don't have dinner with her Uncle more often."
"Interesting path you have decided to tread upon."
I shrugged in return, "You clearly did not come with hostile intentions. A battle between us would surely be legendary, but I would like to not put reality at risk over something so small as ego," I allowed the silence to stretch before following that up with a question, "Would you have liked to battle until we tore reality asunder or would you have liked assistance with what you arrived here for?"
Doom stiffened for half a second before I noticed the tension leave his armored shoulders, "I had arrived as per my Sensei's request, but I still have not seen anything remotely proving that you are capable of rendering aid to my endeavors."
My return was to shrug, "I am no one's puppet to dance when commanded to. If I was vouched for them, either take their word for it or doubt their judgment."
Yeah, two could play that game, and since he wanted to be a dick. I had no compunctions about trapping him before the Ancient one. The look she was shooting at him with the side-eye as she drank her tea spoke volumes. The look was so fast that anyone could have missed it, but my speed was unlike anything in existence. So that meant I had gotten to see the look of irritation, then exasperation about the situation.
Funny enough, I was going to offer the use of an infinity stone, but I don't think that I will. Doom can go fuck himself for all I care, and if I had my way, he was going to be next on my chopping block, since I knew for a fact that if he could kill me, he would. With no hesitation.
We all sat and waited for Doom to make up his mind as he tapped a finger upon his straight-back chair. Then as nearly twenty minutes passed, Doom decided to pull out a device as he spoke over it, "Mephesto has trapped a soul and it is very important that we get this soul back."
Fuck! The mere utterance of that name caused the astral undercurrent of my island to shift, and I could tell that we had the attention of the big man. Double, triple hell! All the fucking fucks about this shit! My glare alone burned a hole in Doom's faceplate. The fucking bastard knew what he had done saying that fucking name out loud. This wasn't Harry fucking Potter where there was a jinx on that damn name Voldemort. No, this was fucking Marvel where omniscience beings could find your soul out of the multiverse with just their name passing your fucking lips.
And this fucking dick had just said Mephesto of all things in the middle of not only a celebration but my fucking island.
With a growl, I turned to Marcus and started giving commands, "Marcus, pop those recently improved demon wards. And get someone to check the astral plane, right now! Take some of the Primarchs with you, their load-outs are blessed."
Sue didn't know what had transpired but she understood that something was clearly wrong, not only from my reaction but also the frowns upon those I took magical advice from. That asshole had checkmated me with one fucking utterance while beneath my island's shields.
Pending alliance or not, I would have to put things in place to render him from existence, along with his mother. I already knew for a fact any alliances would have to be magical in nature to ensure the both of us followed the stipulations laid out. Yet, the moment he spoke that name, Doom's death had become inevitable.
My anger blazed like a million exploding suns. For a time, my anger thrashed as I forced myself not to lash out at the man before me. Honestly, I couldn't lie and say that it wouldn't please me to see him destroyed. It was the hand that rested upon my shoulder that finally forced my anger to abate. The calm and serenity that washed over me gave me a chance to glance around. Ororo was standing at my back while Sue had a death grip on my face, both of her hands on either side of my head.
The look she gave me was one of concern until I realized how much power I had been putting out with my anger. The more I calmed down, the more I noticed my surroundings and frowned as the music from the party was pumping, but no one was jumping. They had just gotten a glimpse of not only their Emperor's might but also the depths that his anger could run. I really didn't blame them for being afraid of me. The only people that weren't were my women. And the fuck me look that Selene had on spoke volumes as I ignored the drool at the corner of her lips.
I leaned in and gave Sue a kiss before putting a hand on my shoulder and pulling Ororo around to sit on my free leg. The only response I got from Agatha was a raised brow and pinched lips while the Ancient One gave me a look of understanding. Letting out a sigh, I decided that it was time that I took my leave. I was certain that Ororo and Selene would catch me up, but with how things were shaping up, it was time.
Doom and I would come to blows and I was not about to ruin all of my hard work in building my nation. Picking Sue up, I then placed her and Ororo down onto a large love sofa that I conjured. Sue blushed as Ororo gave her a kiss before having Sue turn sideways so that she may lay upon Ororo's lap.
Turning away from the group, I heard Sue asking Doom if he had any DNA to form his mother's body. Before I could get far though, Ororo held my wrist.
"I asked Nat to look into it, but I had invited Xaiver, and he hasn't shown up," Ororo spoke with one hand running through Sue's hair while the other held my hand. Honestly, I was kinda glad she couldn't see the cringed facial expression that I was wearing.
With a sigh, I patted her hand, "Hun, I did attempt to warn you about his need for absolute control. I have already seen the reports on him limiting the kids from visiting," I bent over and placed a kiss on the back of her hand. Dipped Ororo back and kissed her on the lips and then leaned forward some more and gave Sue the same lip-lock action, "Let me worry about his propensity to act like a cult master, I'll make sure to get Fury on it before I make a move, just in case."
Ororo sighed before letting me go, "Benji, I only want the kids to be safe, please don't do anything too crazy."
I gave Ororo's hand one last pat on the hand before walking off to cool my temper. Doom was going to get his. it might not be today and it might not be tomorrow, but as sure as Death, he was going to get his. And the day that it happened, I wanted front-row seats.
For now, I was going to secure my cards, then deal with the intergalactic banking clans.
]O[
After finding a nice spot away from Doom and all of his corresponding bullshit, I watched as El Macho chopped up the massive leviathan-type monster that I had just tossed aside. Banner was there in his Hulk form, and so was Thor with Jane hanging off one arm. In her other hand was a scanner that she had pointed at the creature.
Looking over to where my grill was located, I found that Peter was watching it once more. Letting that be, I checked my Omni and found that they had already processed Sterns and were currently in the middle of probing the man's mind. Since he could have made his escape without pulling an attack on the populace of my Empire, I had already handed down my verdict to the judges to throw the book at the man. They assured me that justice would be served, especially if anyone had died from the ordeal. But I knew them, they were going to hold to the letter of the law, since that was how I had created them. Even if I was to interfere, their job was to ignore any bias, even from myself, and do the one thing they were here for; justice.
Accepting that everyone had something to keep them busy, I decided to just have some alone time. So, instead of finding Gwen or Felica to cuddle up with, I found a nice spot in the trees off to the side. With one hand in front and the other at my side, I rotated the hand in front counterclockwise as I channeled the warding spell. For a time, I was allowed to relax as the sun shifted from noon and then past it. Even though I had wanted to relax, I was still in constant communication with everyone of importance to me.
Unfortunately, all of that came to an end as I couldn't help that my attention was drawn to my girls as they spoke to someone with an atrocious hairstyle. The boy had the audacity to wear a pink Mohawk. I had nothing against the color nor the style, but right now, I totally had something against it. I don't know why the little punk was playing dress-up, but the way it clashed with his clothes offended all of my sensibilities.
All of that changed when I finally realized who it was. Turns out it was that damn kid, Quintavius Quire. The kid never went to Xavier's school and has been a pain in the ass ever since his arrival. It also didn't help that he was also one of the few with an omega classification.
That alone had upped the kid's ego, then he joined the school and found out how everyone else was ranked. I also wasn't biased because Peter hated the punk, nor was I upset with him for trying to put the moves on my girls. The kid was a ball of ego and I couldn't wait for finals when I would be able to join in and kick his as- I mean, help him learn some common sense. There wasn't anything in the rule book saying that I could not All Might him as I Texas Smashed the kid into outer space, going Plus Ultra in retaliation for him trying to put the moves on my girls.
More irritation spiked as he sidled over to the girls and tried to chat them up. It didn't help that they were also omega class and he made a point of saying how they are worth his time as they aren't scrubs. Fuck it, the kids gonna die today. I told myself this as I got up from my spot lounging in the tree, energy bleeding off of my frame as I formed a lightning bolt.
I didn't get the chance to strike as Soph wrapped an arm around Quire's right, then started to lead him away. Oh, fuck no, this is not about to happen today, not on my watch. Jumping down from the tree, I dispelled my wards before following behind the kids.
Following behind silently, I noticed how he was trying to steer the girls away from the party. Something about all of this didn't sit right with me, of course, and I was only waiting to strike. He had struck while the girls were relaxing alone and now they were arriving near the edge of the party, away from proper sightlines.
Scowling and with my anger rising, I made my way over towards them only to jump behind a tree as Celeste put her hands in Quire's back pocket and pulled out his wallet on the sly. Shit, she really was picking up skills from Nat and Felicia. I watched as Celeste handed the wallet off to her sister Phoebe on the other side as Quire was confused by Soph.
Damn, the girls were running a number on the jackwagon as they kept him confused while they rotated position. Quire was out of luck today as they had copied Emma in their attire, wearing matching sets of clothing instead of their usual colors. As I watched, I could only shake my head as a pistol appeared and was shoved into his kidney.
Omega level powerhouse my ass. He was led around like a fool, and now the girls had the drop on him. For a time, I thought about helping him, but they were my girls and the kid wasn't liked by more than sixty percent of the student body.
Okay, this might be a nice chance for him to learn a lesson. I finally decided as his pink mohawk quivered and he shook in his boots. He never saw it coming as Celeste pulled a baseball bat out of her utility belt. There goes the wind-up, and damn, she delivered the bonk of no horny to the back of Quire's head. I could only nod and shake my head in both approval and disapproval. Lucky for the jackass, I noticed the hologram flash right before connection, which means he got hit with a stunner, not actual metal.
The girls shared a look before the three looked around, found no witnesses, then moved his body into the tree line. Again, I could only shake my head as they were really starting to pick up some bad habits from their mothers. Then again, the Quire's mohawk didn't even deflate from the wack on the head the girls gave him, so I guess he earned points for the products used to keep his mohawk from being a moflop.
Finally seeing enough, I watched as the girls shared a smile before heading back to the party as they rummaged through the wallet in hand. Of course, this was my cue to step out from behind the tree. The girls looked up at the last second and froze in their spot. I myself took a look around, and not seeing their mothers, I gave double thumbs-up,
"That's my girls," I whispered to them as I turned around, "Just don't tell your mothers."
The three shared a look before shifting into smiles. Letting out a rough breath, I waved them over before bringing my Omni tool up and dispatching a medical officer to make sure the Quire didn't have a cracked skull. Lucky for him, the little shit wasn't like his comic counterpart. But unfortunately for him, Quire was an easy mark that was trying to get my three girls alone, and they had shown the dunderhead how easy of a mark his so-called Omega-level ass was. Just because you tested at the power level didn't mean you were a true powerhouse.
Snorting at the memory of his ass getting the no-horny bonk, I walked my girls back over to everyone. They struck me with critical hits, but daddy had to go to work. As a father, I had to protect my kids, always. So I, of course, left after having some ice on someone else's dime. Yes, everything was free, but that didn't mean one should not leave a tip, that would be rude.
My Omni rang and there was no hiding the surprise on my face from the reply. Okay, now I had somewhere to be. There was no way in hell I was going to walk into his damn plane of existence without bringing massive firepower with me. Ain't no such thing as overkill, because FUCK MEPHISTO!
]O[
If I was going to be honest, I was not expecting him to actually get back to me so soon. Hell, I wasn't even expecting an invite out here to his home either, but here I was happening to get a ride on the highway to hell. Since of course there was no way that I was ever going to open such a fucking portal in my Empire.
Anything that dealt with hell was something to be avoided at all costs. Unless you had a really powerful individual willing to be on your side without any soul-stealing agreements. My mother knew one such person, which meant that I also knew one such person, since that was how family connections worked.
It was times like these that made me want to sit down with my mother and learn what in the hell she had been up to before they decided to have me. It was clear that she was a big fucking name and people feared her, but it was also some of her connections that really tripped me up, to be honest. Yet, all of that could wait for later as I finally arrived at the cemetery.
My bike rumbled between my legs as I tried to keep the noise down, but that kinda defeated the purpose since this was one of my special engines. The bike which I had modeled after your classic Harley carried an all-electric motor with a hyper-advanced battery and electric motor.
The motor in question was a nasty piece of work that was capable of launching someone at breakneck speeds. Hell, the zero to sixty was at two point one if I wasn't mistaken. But then again, speeds like those were not a bother to me. Now, what made the engine unique wasn't that it was electric, but in how it processed that electricity.
Since I still wanted that motor to roar, I had to reconfigure the entire engine so now it had a plasma chamber that processed the electricity which then spun the motor. The roar came from the plasma and that gave the bike some bite where all the other electric bikes whined.
Coming to a slow crawl at the end of his driveway, I cast a smooth glance around and found nothing but the tombstones of the dearly departed. Nodding my head, I drop the kickstand before swinging a leg off the bike and approaching the garage door.
There were clear signs that someone had been working outside not so long ago, that was good.
Knocking on the guy's garage door, I wasn't too surprised when he had finally shown up, but I was not expecting him to look the way he did. The last time that I was here he had brunette hair but now the guy was as blonde as a beach bum. There was no hiding the chuckle, but all he did was scowl at the sight of me.
He didn't give an answer over the phone, so I was here to see if he would join us. If we pulled this off then the rewards would be tremendous and he would gain a throne I wanted to keep out of Doom's hands, but if we failed, well... I really didn't want to think about what would happen if we failed.
Honestly, the real takeaway from all of this was that I did not want Doom on hell's throne. The repercussions that could happen when you allowed a man such as Doom to take the throne of hell were far too vast for me to even consider.
So, I did what I had to do as I walked over to the bike with a tarp on top of it.
He said nothing as I inspected the bike underneath the tarp then yanked off the offending article of decoration. What was revealed was a bike all comic fans knew and loved, an old-school Harley Davidson with the original caps and flame painted on the side. The license plate on the back only had one word and that was BLAZE in all capital letters.
Looking the rider in the eye, I smirked at him, "Am gonna have to call in that favor you owe me. The good news is that it's gonna be the ride of your lifetime," I spoke, running my hand slowly upwards from the fuel tank to the throttle, "You lose, we all die, of course, but if you win, the bastard who did that to you will lose more than his crown."
"So you plan to ride with me on that," He asked, pointing towards my custom bike. He snorted before turning around to his tool chest.
I shrugged even if he couldn't see, "Don't knock it till you try it. True, there is something for old school appreciation, but my baby can outrun space ships."
"Yeah, yeah, tried that, done that, got the t-shirt," That was the only reply that I received.
He paused what he was doing before pulling out a massive chain, then started to wrap it from his waist to his shoulders. Knowing what was going to happen next, I took three steps back from the bike. He smirked at me but said nothing as pushed the bike out of the garage.
"You had me at kicking him off of his throne," He said before the bike roared to life, covered in flames. I watched transfixed as his skin melted away to bones, his face morphed into a skull, eyes burning with an inferno unlike anything known to man. The chuckle he let out was terror-inducing but thrummed with power at rivaling my own, yet hiding so much more.
Johnny Blaze looked at me in his Ghost Rider glory and said something that sent shivers down my spine.
"LET'S RIDE!"
Authors Notes:
Guess who is back from vacation!
So who in the hell is excited about Ghost Rider, I know that I am.
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