Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

"What exactly do you people want from me?"

Johnny didn’t bother getting back on his feet. He simply remained sprawled across the rubble, letting broken bricks dig into his back.

"I need your help, and you need your soul."

Moru hauled himself upright nearby, one hand pressed against his face. He spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor.

What did I ever do to you?

Evenson blew up your house. Why the hell did you hit me?

"Let’s make a deal," Moru continued. "You know how deals work, Johnny?"

That finally got Johnny moving.

He slowly climbed to his feet and looked at Moru, waiting for the rest.

Moru pulled a photograph from inside his coat and placed it in Johnny’s hand.

"This child is in danger. There are people after him who want more than his death."

He pointed at the photograph.

"Go save him."

Johnny glanced at the picture.

"I don’t save people."

Claire immediately shot him a glare.

Seriously?

Are you trying to get thrown around again?

Johnny’s face twitched.

Easy, lady.

I didn’t say no.

I’m waiting for the offer. You called it a deal, didn’t you? I’m not doing charity work.

Moru spread his arms dramatically and looked around the ruined warehouse.

"Why did you come here, Johnny Blaze?"

He gestured toward the photograph.

"Your home is thousands of miles away. You came to this place, this place where you’ve been forced to confront what you’ve become."

He pointed at the child.

"You came here because of him."

Johnny raised an eyebrow.

"And what makes you think I can find this kid?"

Is this supposed to be fate calling me?

Please.

If you want me to do something, name your price.

Moru finally delivered the part Johnny had been waiting for.

"The Rider’s instincts will lead you to him."

He lowered his voice.

"My master’s church is ancient. We can offer you the one thing in this world you want most."

Moru looked directly into Johnny’s eyes.

"Bring the child to us, and we’ll remove the curse from you."

Evenson had been watching the exchange in silence.

He’d been curious about what kind of offer Moru, or more accurately the church behind him, would make to convince the Ghost Rider.

But the moment Moru promised to remove Johnny’s "curse," Evenson’s eyebrow twitched.

He knew better.

The Ghost Rider’s power wasn’t a curse.

It was the result of a bargain.

Until that bargain was formally concluded, Mephisto couldn’t simply reach through the contract and take the power back.

So what exactly gave this church the confidence to promise something like that?

Were they planning to set up an altar, wave some incense around, and shout, O mighty God, please descend from Heaven and solve our problem for us?

More importantly, the church’s behavior throughout this entire affair was suspicious.

They had somehow learned the location of the Son of the Devil ahead of everyone else.

Now they were promising to remove the Ghost Rider from Johnny Blaze.

Where would the Rider go if it were expelled from Johnny?

Straight back to its master.

Mephisto.

If Johnny fulfilled the contract, the church would accomplish two things at once.

It would stop Locke’s rebellion.

And it would return the Ghost Rider to Mephisto.

That wasn’t merely helping Mephisto.

That was handing him a premium power-up package with free delivery.

So what was really going on?

Had the church simply failed to realize the consequences?

Or was this exactly what they wanted?

Evenson smiled faintly.

Interesting.

Looks like that church was going to require a personal visit after all.

"I accept."

Johnny finally agreed.

It was easy to feel invincible for a moment, to swear that you could shoulder every hardship the world could throw at you.

But suffering wasn’t always one great battle.

Sometimes it was slow.

Constant.

Relentless.

And when the pain kept grinding away at you day after day, you eventually discovered that you weren’t nearly as strong as you’d once believed.

The Ghost Rider’s endless rage and hunger had been tormenting Johnny for some time now.

He’d long since regretted all those bold promises he’d made to Mephisto.

But he wasn’t finished negotiating.

He pointed directly at Evenson.

"One condition."

His expression hardened.

"I’m not fighting alongside that bastard."

He emphasized the last word.

"Not happening."

Evenson put a hand against his chest, looking deeply offended.

"That’s harsh. We worked together perfectly well last time."

"Hmph."

Johnny clearly had no interest in dignifying that statement with a response.

The deal was settled.

Evenson and the others returned to the aircraft.

As they walked, Claire finally gave in to her curiosity.

"What exactly did you do to him last time? He really seems to hate you."

"Nothing."

Evenson looked completely innocent.

"I was carrying out an official assignment in New Mexico when I ran into him. He attacked me without warning."

He shrugged.

"So I absorbed all his flames."

Evenson spread his hands.

"That’s self-defense. Completely justified."

Claire considered that.

"If that’s really all that happened..."

She nodded thoughtfully.

"He’s incredibly petty."

"Exactly."

Evenson nodded enthusiastically.

"Extremely petty."

Melinda emerged from the cockpit just in time to hear that.

Her mouth tightened.

If only you had the guts to tell her what happened afterward.

She hadn’t been there in person, but she’d watched the security footage.

She knew exactly what happened.

"Sir."

Rumlow approached Evenson as soon as he returned.

"What are our next orders?"

"Take off."

Evenson sighed.

"Once night falls, that thing is going to go berserk. If we’re still on the ground when it happens, we’re going to have a problem."

"And after that?"

"We follow him."

Evenson glanced toward the ruins of Johnny’s former home.

"He’ll lead us to the boy."

He paused.

"Switch the surveillance system to thermal imaging. That way we won’t lose him."

"Yes, sir."

Rumlow immediately went to carry out the order.

A moment later, Melinda approached.

"We have a lead on the boy."

"Where?"

Evenson looked at her.

S.H.I.E.L.D. really was frighteningly good at finding people.

They’d barely started looking, and already they had something.

"A small town not far from here."

Melinda pulled out a tablet and brought up a series of surveillance recordings.

"A restaurant camera caught him. Facial comparison puts the match above ninety-five percent."

"That’s him."

The photograph they’d been working from wasn’t exactly recent, after all. There was no telling how many years ago it had been taken, and slight differences in appearance were inevitable.

"Where is he now?"

"They drove west."

Melinda shook her head.

"And then disappeared from the surveillance network."

She sounded disappointed.

"Local police are looking for them too. A businessman claims they stole his wallet and a ring."

Evenson sighed.

"Desperate times."

He sounded almost sympathetic.

Then he reconsidered.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had poured an absurd amount of resources into finding one child, and all they had managed to gather were outdated clues.

In the end, they still had to rely on the Rider to find him.

"Looks like we’re back to letting the Ghost Rider do the tracking."

Evenson frowned.

Was this really fate pulling the strings?

Or was it Mephisto?

Either way, he hated the feeling of being led around by the nose.

Night fell.

Nobody aboard the aircraft went to sleep.

They all knew the real battle was about to begin.

Then Rumlow suddenly raised his voice.

"Sir! The Rider is moving!"

"Follow him."

Evenson immediately moved toward the surveillance monitors.

A bright red dot moved across the screen, its heat signature standing out clearly against the darkness.

Evenson watched it for several seconds.

"Hmm."

He frowned.

"Is it because we’re flying so high?"

The red dot was moving far too slowly.

"Why does it look like he’s barely moving?"

Melinda arrived moments later.

Evenson suddenly slapped a hand against his forehead.

Then he started laughing.

"I think we blew up his motorcycle too."

...

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