The lights of the quinjet pierced through the smoke, casting a cold, golden sheen over this graveyard of steel. The piercing explosions and metallic groans had finally ceased.
In the midst of the ruins, the Hellish Magma Armor on Johnny's body resembled cooled volcanic rock, its obsidian luster slowly fading. The menacing barbs and runes dimmed, and the two Hellfire whips reverted to cold metal. With a sharp 'crack,' the entire suit fell off him in pieces, returning to the original form of the Whiplash Armor.
The burning flames all retracted into his body, and the Hellrider transformed back into Johnny Blaze in his leather jacket. He shook his head wearily, feeling as if he had just woken from a long, deep dream.
Tony, Steve, and Banner, who had just transformed back, watched him from a distance with complicated expressions.
"Hey," Tony retracted his helmet and walked over, kicking the armor. "That jacket suits you... has a retro heavy metal vibe. Come by Malibu sometime. I'll make you a custom upgrade for free, guaranteed to be better than anything Hammer's guys could cobble together."
Johnny looked up, his restored eyes scanning everyone present before settling. His voice was hoarse, but his words were clear.
"That old devil's contract... can't be broken." He exhaled a sulfurous breath. "But I can hunt down every single contingency he left, one by one. Since he's so keen on having a rebellious knight, I'll give him rebellion. I'll make him miserable. The debt for my crew needs to be paid, and he's responsible for what his son did. If you need to reach me, contact Stark Industries. They can find people." He paused, his gaze steady. "And thank you, Lin. You and Carter... you made me see I can't just give up. I still have things I need to do."
With that, he turned and walked towards his motorcycle.
"Wait."
Lin Huai spoke. Johnny stopped.
Lin Huai walked forward, a look of sincere piety on his face. He carefully drew a blank silver card from his robes, its surface shimmering.
"A parting gift," he said softly, his voice barely a whisper. "A blessing from the Fool."
No one seemed surprised anymore. They just watched as light and shadow flowed across the blank card, and a new image slowly formed:
A skeletal knight riding a white warhorse, holding a black Banner adorned with a complex rose. Behind him, the Sun rose between two Stark peaks.
[XIII. Death]
Lin Huai closed his eyes, chanting in the ancient, resonant Hermetic tongue:
"The father's contract is a shackle of iron,"
"The armor of hatred, a journey's end."
"When the knight ends the farce of flame,"
"The Judgement's gaze finds its true path."
As the last syllable faded, the light on the [Death] card vanished completely.
"...From this end, a new beginning."
Johnny didn't speak. He reached out and took the card, its cool surface a Stark contrast to the lingering heat in the air. He looked at Lin Huai, memorizing the face of this ever-calm strategist.
Without a word, he tucked the card away, kicked his bike to life, and roared into the distance, a lone rider swallowed by the horizon.
"I have to say, today's battle," Tony mused, watching the spot where Johnny disappeared. "That guy... he's cooler than me. Ouch... damn, I'm still hurt!"
Before he could finish, several more quinjets arrived overhead. Nick Fury descended, his single eye taking in the vast field of wreckage, the dismembered metal behemoth. A flicker of something—calculation, perhaps—passed through his gaze.
"Stark," Fury's voice was deceptively calm. "Every time you make headlines, you give my R&D department a new thesis. Standard procedure: you get first pick of the salvage. I'll handle the cleanup."
He then turned, his focus shifting entirely to Lin Huai. His tone was direct, unyielding.
"HYDRA is thoroughly provoked. The reason they deployed this machine so recklessly appears to be directly linked to our 'Knight' here. Johnny decimated a whole elite unit sent to capture him in... wherever he was. That has made the rats in the walls desperate."
As Fury spoke, Lin Huai gave him a subtle, meaningful look.
Fury understood instantly. He had Coulson oversee the cleanup and then followed Stark back to... the Malibu cliffside mansion.
In the underground lab, the atmosphere was more relaxed. Lin Huai and Fury stood by the window, silent, watching the sea.
"What was that look about?" Nick Fury finally asked, cutting straight to the point.
"That laser from the machine," Lin Huai said, his gaze still on the ocean, his voice flat. "It contained the power of the Tesseract."
Fury's silence was deafening.
"How long has it been since we retrieved the Tesseract data from that 70-year-old plane?" Lin Huai's tone held a hint of mockery. "And HYDRA is already using it. Nick, your house is full of termites. Instead of trying to catch them one by one, it's better to tear it down and rebuild. Most of what you just recovered is essentially feeding HYDRA."
Having said his piece, Lin Huai turned and left without another word, heading to the quiet room Stark had prepared for him.
He carefully reviewed the battle that had just taken place. Johnny's World-ending fusion with the Whiplash Armor, Steve's heroic stand against the laser, even the Hulk's pure, raw destructive force.
Then he looked at himself. Relying on agility above average to perform comical dodges, using paper throwing knives to target joints... these [Fool] abilities were good for surprising common thugs, but in a fight of that magnitude, they could only harass and distract. When that giant machine rose, the best he could do was jump around at its feet like a frantic acrobat, trying not to get crushed.
If not for Steve and Johnny holding the front line, he wouldn't have even had the chance to cause trouble.
"My combat effectiveness is still too weak..." Lin Huai murmured, looking at the [Root of the Gray Fog Tree] from Ancient One in his palm, sensing its spiritual power.
"Looks like I need to advance as soon as possible."
He clenched his fist. He still needed one more ingredient for the Sequence 7 [Magician] advancement: [Complete Essence of the Obsidian Panther]. He had to find it quickly, or he'd become a liability to the team.
"Fool who does not belong to this era, mysterious ruler Above the Gray Fog..."