Chapter 66: Birth of Ghost Rider
As soon as Mephisto disappeared, the sound of his cane tapping the ground became the fuse that ignited hell.
"Ah—!!!"
Johnny Blaze let out a howl from the depths of his soul. He fell to his knees, his body twitching violently out of control.
With a roar, orange flames erupted from his eyes, nose, mouth, and every single pore!
Johnny became the epicenter of a heatwave that exploded outward in all directions!
"Damn, it's so hot!" Natasha instinctively raised her arm to shield her face, while her other hand firmly pulled Roxanne back. Her specialized combat suit began to curl, emitting a burnt smell.
Dr. Banner also retreated several steps, looking at the asphalt road beneath his feet in shock; the surface was softening from the high temperature and emitting black smoke. "This temperature... it's at least a thousand degrees! Why hasn't his clothing burned off? This is completely unphysical!"
"Enough, Dr. Banner," Lin Huai said with a wave of his hand. "We just finished trash-talking Mephisto. Forget about physics for a moment and start believing in magic!"
In the time it took to say those few words, the flesh on Johnny's body rapidly blackened and carbonized in the flames, then peeled away like burnt paper ash. But beneath the flesh was not white bone, but an obsidian-like skeleton tempered by Hellfire, with eternal orange flames burning within the gaps of the bones.
His leather jacket wasn't destroyed; instead, it twisted and deformed as countless menacing metal spikes pierced through it, transforming it into a cool piece of rock 'n' roll leather armor.
Beside him, the harley motorcycle also emitted a series of grating metal groans.
The chrome plating on the vehicle's surface melted and peeled off like wax, revealing a rugged and heavy black metal frame beneath. The front of the bike extended forward, transforming into a hideous Devil Skull, while the handlebars became curved beast horns. Without anyone touching it, the engine roared to life. The rubber of the two tires was instantly ignited by Hellfire, turning into two spinning firestorms that scorched two black circular marks into the ground.
The heavy iron chains originally wrapped around the handlebars for decoration were now being heated red-hot in the fire, glowing with a dark red light.
In just a dozen seconds, a burning skeleton monster and his hellish ride had completely replaced the former stunt rider.
The new Ghost Rider was born.
As for Johnny's first love, Roxanne Simpson, her worldview built on modern science completely collapsed at this moment. She watched helplessly as her lover turned into a Demon; her brain finally couldn't withstand such extreme terror, and with a final scream, her eyes rolled back and she fainted dead away.
Ghost Rider slowly stood up. His hollow eye sockets, burning with raging Hellfire, scanned the surroundings mechanically. His movements were stiff yet powerful, as if he hadn't quite adapted to this new body yet.
He reached out a flaming skeletal palm and grabbed the red-hot chain on the motorcycle. The chain made a "sizzling" sound in his hand, as if it were an extension of his body. He wrapped one end of the chain several times around his spike-covered chest plate and gripped the other end tightly.
His gaze finally landed on Black Widow Natasha Romanoff.
"Sinful... filthy soul." His burning jawbone opened and closed, emitting a voice like the friction and whispers of countless vengeful spirits.
The spirit of vengeance had already chosen its first target for Judgement! Natasha's blood-stained hands and sins were particularly conspicuous in its eyes!
Ghost Rider suddenly lashed out with his arm, and the flaming chain tore through the air with a shrill whistling sound, shooting straight for Natasha's chest! The chain swept across the ground, leaving a deep, scorched mark of melted and resolidified asphalt on the road!
Natasha's pupils suddenly contracted! She wanted to dodge, but her body felt as if it were filled with lead, and she couldn't even summon the thought of resistance.
At that moment, Lin Huai's figure blocked the way in front of Natasha.
"Dammit! Exactly what I feared would happen!!"
Lin Huai's expression was pained to the extreme as he quickly pulled a folded paper effigy drawn with a Twelve-winged Angel from his breast pocket.
"What a loss!!! This is my life-saving trump card! That Black Brine Egg Fury better pay me extra!!!"
While muttering heart-wrenchingly, he unfolded the paper effigy and, with a "smack," slapped it directly onto Natasha's face!
As soon as the paper effigy touched Natasha, it turned into a soft, mist-like grey-white radiance that enveloped her entire body.
Just as the burning hellish chain was about to hit the white light, it seemed to strike an invisible wall; the flames at the tip faltered, and then, as if it had lost its target, it paused in the air in confusion before dropping weakly to the ground.
"What is that?" Natasha asked in a low voice, feeling the coolness on her face.
"An expensive amulet," Lin Huai answered without looking back. "Be quiet now, he's looking for his next target."
Ghost Rider's hollow eye sockets "looked" at Natasha, who was wrapped in the grey-white mist, seemingly unable to identify any scent of "sin" from her anymore. He tilted his burning Skull, as if he didn't understand what had happened before him.
Having lost its primary target, the spirit of vengeance began to grow restless. It looked up, its hollow eye sockets "gazing" toward the distant horizon.
Ghost Rider hesitated no longer, turning to straddle the roaring hell cycle and giving the throttle a violent twist.
The engine's roar was enough to tear a soul apart as the hell cycle turned into a burning meteor, racing along the interstate highway toward that sinful city.
"Fury, can you hear me?" Watching the flames disappear into the night, Lin Huai immediately shouted into the common channel. "Target codename 'Ghost Rider' is currently uncontrollable and moving along Interstate 10 toward Houston."
"What is he trying to do?" Fury's tense voice came through the communicator.
"Practicing his skills," Lin Huai replied. "His consumables are some heinous villains. I'll give you a chance to purge the ranks; send a few of those identified HYDRA members on your side to 'intercept' him. Consider it putting trash to good use."
"Understood."
"Don't worry," Lin Huai added, "he'll turn back into a human after dawn. Remember to send someone to pick up Johnny Blaze then, and handle his unconscious girlfriend while you're at it."
After finishing these instructions, Lin Huai turned and shouted, "Mage Russell!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a circular portal sparking with embers opened in front of them.
Lin Huai supported the still-shaken Natasha and pulled along the still-contemplating Banner, saying as they walked, "We're going back to New York first. I need to hurry back and prepare some gadgets, otherwise this guy won't be able to distinguish friend from foe at all, and I won't know who he'll try to bring to Judgement the next time we meet. To be honest, given S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current situation, except for that Old Ice Pop Steve, every single one of the rest of you would probably be chased and have your asses burned by Ghost Rider."