[ "…crimes rates have been reduced by a record-breaking forty-two percent! Some attribute this to the actions of the city's infamous vigilante, Vengeance…" ]
[ "…sightings of the Ghost Rider have been reported to have spanned all the way to North Carolina. This has caused many to speculate that there is more than just one flaming rider…" ]
[ "…friend or foe? Questions regarding the Ghost Rider's true goals have been asked since his first appearance in July in Los Angeles. Some have called him a hero, while others seem to think he's a out of control government experiment…" ]
With a click, Phil turned off the television. Standing, he stretched his back and walked to the kitchen to grab a water bottle. No matter what news channel, there seems to always be a mention of Harvey in some way or another. Of course, he was; he was the hottest topic after Iron Man himself.
Twisting the bottle cap, Phil took a sip of the water and smiled. A part of him was highly proud of Harvey and his accomplishments, but the other part couldn't help but be worried for the boy. Memories of the Stark expo flashed through his mind, causing him to frown. The danger from the out-of-control drones was very real. Phil winced from the scolding he got from his wife, Claire. But as soon as she was done, she hugged him so tight he felt his bones creak.
"Luke!" Phil saw his only son walk into the kitchen; he was dressed in workout gear. "Time for training?"
"Yeah, Manny and I are gonna go run seven miles today." Luke grabbed two water bottles and a banana. "I'll see you later, dad."
Phil told his son to be careful as he left the house. Luke has changed over the year; he's matured and become more responsible. The training he began with Harvey and Manny has changed his mind and body. Phil couldn't be more proud.
"Hey, Dad." Phil turned to look at Alex as she walked into the kitchen with her laptop. "Can you take me to the hardware store later today? I've run out of twelve gauge wire and some other needed parts."
"Sure thing, honey!"
Alex nodded and left the room; whatever she was working on must be pretty big. Phil doesn't remember the last time he's seen his daughter so engrossed in a project like this. He peaked at her work in her room; she was building some mechanical gloves and boots. It was awe-inspiring work.
Hearing the sing-song notification of the drier being done, Phil went down to the basement to grab the clean clothes. Holding the clothes hamper, Phil bent down and started filling the hamper with warm clothes.
"Yes! I can do two thirty this Tuesday!" Phil heard Haley say through the crack of the bedroom door. "Ah! I can't believe I'll be able to work with the Galvin Sinclair!"
Phil smiled widely at that. These past few days, he's noticed a change in his eldest child. Haley seemed to have gained a strong drive out of nowhere; this confused him and Claire, but otherwise, they were happy that Haley appeared to gain a passion in life. They were worried they'd have to talk to her about her previous lackadaisical attitude, but now it seemed they didn't have to.
Walking up the stairs, Phil couldn't help but smile in joy that all his children were so busy and determined to accomplish their goals. It also saddened him slightly. His kids were growing up. Soon enough, they wouldn't need their old man anymore like before. Setting the hamper on the bed, Phil started folding the clothes into a neat pile. Once done, he pulled out his phone and dialed his wife's number.
"Phil? Everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything is fine. I just wanted to hear your voice…"
•••
"I'll have the waffles and bacon."
"And I'll have the blueberry pancakes."
The server smiled and nodded after she wrote down their orders. Handing the server her menu, Wanda looked over to her date- her friend. Harvey was dressed casually, in a simple shirt and jeans outfit. Wanda herself was in a red sundress. Looking around, Wanda found the restaurant to be charming and inviting.
"How's the studying going?"
Wanda was broken out of her musings due to Harvey's question. "It's going well. I should be done with my current lesson plan within another week.
Harvey nodded and took a drink of his coffee. "Impressive. I would have thought you would have taken longer than that. It took me a whole month to get all that done."
"I had a great teacher." Smiling, Wanda chuckled as Harvey rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
After Wanda told her new little family she wanted to continue her education, she received nothing but support. Harvey volunteered to help her catch up in her subjects until she was caught up with him, so every day after their training, he stayed with her for an hour to tutor her. Amy was able to offer a good amount of help on her studies, especially the history aspects.
"Amy is good with history but pretty abysmal in anything else." Harvey smiled and leaned on his hand as he looked at her.
"I'll be sure to let her know that." Wanda laughed as Harvey looked slightly panicked.
"Please don't. I don't want her actually to try to burn my food."
Wanda chuckled at the memory of the angel's horrible cooking skills. No matter how much she tried to help her blonde friend learn how to cook correctly, Wanda couldn't stop her from burning anything she made.
Looking down at Harvey's scarred arms, Wanda's mirth left her. Their mission in Sokovia was still fresh in her mind. Especially the battle between Harvey and the monster known as the Abomination. When she finally reached them both, she felt her heart hurt when she saw him buried deep in the ground from his fall.
"Wanda?"
Wanda jumped in surprise as she saw Harvey grab her hand. Looking up at his eyes, she saw him smile softly at her. "I'm fine."
Nodding to his words, Wanda smiled back at him. It was true; after he transformed back into his normal state, all his injuries were healed. It also meant his body was covered in several new scars as well. Wanda couldn't help but worry about him. Harvey may be the strongest person she knows, but that doesn't mean he is invulnerable. If something happened to him… Wanda didn't know what she would do if he were taken from her, too.
"Trust me. It's going to take a lot more than some roided-out monster to take me out." Harvey joked and looked to the side. "Ah, here's our food."
Wanda turned to their server and saw them place down their plates. Looking over her food, the chaos magic user felt her stomach growl. Hearing a chuckle, Wanda looked up in embarrassment as Harvey looked at her in amusement. Blushing slightly, she narrowed her eyes at him, causing him to jump and apologize. Shaking her head, Wanda smiled.
"Let's eat."
•••
"How's it going?"
Pietro heard Amy say as they watched his sister and Harvey eat their food. They seemed to be having a good time if all their smiles and laughing were any indication. Pietro smiled and turned back to his blonde friend. Like him, she was disguised in a black hat and sunglasses. They were in a coffee shop across from them.
"So far so good." Pietro looked down at his sandwich bagel and took a bite.
"Good, good." Amy nodded and smiled at him as she took another bite of her sandwich and craned her head. "Your sister has it bad for him."
"Ew… don't say it like that." Pietro mumbled as he glared at her. "She's still my sister."
"Humans, so prudish." Amy told him as she looked back down. "Operation: Get Harvey to fall for Wanda. Is off to a good start."
Pietro nodded and felt a sliver of guilt. Alex was a nice girl, but he couldn't place her over his sister's happiness. After all, the two weren't precisely with each other as girlfriend and boyfriend. Harvey told him they were just dating to get a feel for their relationship. In Amy's words, 'All is fair in love and war'.
"Looks like they're done eating." Amy told him, Pietro turned his head and saw his sister and Harvey start walking away. "Time to move, quicksilver."
"I told you we don't need nicknames for this." Pietro groaned as they placed down some money and got up to follow.
"Of course we do. This is an important mission." Amy turned to look at him like e he was stupid. "Codenames only!"
Pietro sighed and decided it was best to just go along with her wants.
"Fine, let's move… gold leader."
"Atta boy."
•••
Later...
"Hm?"
Luke turned to Harvey as he stopped walking. His friend had a look of confusion on his face.
"Harvey? Something wrong?" Luke asked as he watched Harvey shake his head.
"I'm fine. Just had a shiver run down my spine." Harvey continued walking as he carried a large tray filled with snacks.
Luke nodded and continued walking as well. In his hands were several cups of drinks. Walking into Harvey's living room, Luke saw his sisters, Wanda and Amy, discussing something on the couch. Turning his head, he saw Pietro and Manny setting up the Wii. They were trying to get all eight controllers set up.
"Alright, everyone! Snacks are prepared, Pietro. Please be mindful of our company." Harvey spoke to everyone as he placed the tray on a table he had set up in the room.
"Just gonna come after me like that, huh?" Pietro looked at Harvey with a deadpan look.
"He's got a point." Haley spoke as she walked up to Pietro. "You ate all the snacks last time we were here."
Luke and everyone else nodded as they remembered how the silver-haired young man devoured the assortment of snacks the last time they were here for their weekly Mario Kart tournament.
"Harsh, but true." Pietro relented as Manny patted his back.
"Okay, I have the Wii set up!" Manny said as he stood up and stretched. "Is everyone ready for a nice and friendly tournament?"
"Prepared to be destroyed, Manny." Amy said, grabbing her yellow steering wheel as she sat on the large couch.
"Alright, everyone, take your seats." Harvey walked over, grabbed his orange remote, and sat down on the pillow on the ground.
Luke and everyone else grabbed their custom-colored remotes and steering wheels. This was a recent weekly occurrence for them all, a night they all just hung out and played games while Harvey provided snacks. It was honestly a fun time that everyone enjoyed.
"Victory is mine this time, you chumps." Alex pushed her glasses up as she sat behind Harvey on the couch.
"Take it easy, Alex." Wanda sat beside Harvey on the floor with her pillow under her. "It'll make coming in last place again more bearable."
Luke chuckled at the memory of Alex coming last place even after keeping a first-place lease for most of the laps. Alex turned to him and glared at him; Luke quickly stopped laughing.
"I call peach!" Haley spoke up as she sat on Harvey's other side. "I'm talking to you, Amy!"
"Psh!" Amy leaned back and stuck her tongue out. "Who needs princess mushrooms anyway? Daisy is my girl."
"Metal Mario." Pietro plopped down on the Lazy boy chair and got comfortable. "Remember that name as the victor of tonight's tournament."
"Dream on, old man." Luke said as he sat beside Amy and Manny on the couch.
"How many times do I have to tell you all? Just because my hair is silver doesn't mean I'm old!"
Everyone started chuckling at that; Harvey then scrolled through the game start-up screen and set up the dual TV screen set up so everyone could race together. Once he had the character selection screen ready, everyone started choosing their characters and vehicles.
"Everyone ready?" Harvey asked as he looked at everyone. When everyone nodded, Harvey smiled and hit the start button.
Luke smiled and saw the countdown screen. These were the nights he looked forward to the most, a night where he could relax and have fun with his friends and family.
"Go!"
•••
"…master. I've returned successful."
Blackheart stared out into the inferno hellscape that made up all of Hell.
The skies were a bloody red with swirling dark purple clouds that moved unnaturally, almost as if they were alive. Along the ground were various deformed structures made up of old skeletons varying in different sizes. Thousands of Hells residents lined below the structures, composed of demons, monsters, ghouls, and the damned. Lastly, hot burning fire spanned the entire underworld, illuminating the lands in endless reds and oranges.
Blackheart turned slowly to see his most loyal servant, The Dweller of Darkness. The Dweller was a ghoulish figure; his body was composed of dark, misty energy that gave him the appearance of a solid body. Two glowing yellow orbs sat where his eyes were, giving him an intimidating appearance.
The Dweller kneeled on the ground with his arms held above him. In his dark hands sat a beautiful glowing spear. Walking up to the Dweller, Blackheart noticed his servant's body badly damaged and how it radiated a fraction of his past power.
"The Lance of Longinus." Blackheart grabbed the spear and lifted it over his head. "The very spear that pierced the side of Jesus Christ as he hung on the cross during his crucifixion."
"Yes, master." Dweller spoke. "The very same."
Blackheart hummed in satisfaction as he gazed at the powerful weapon. With this weapon, his goals were one step closer to being accomplished.
"Master… I regret to inform you that a large number of your most loyal servants have fallen in the quest for the spear. Its guardians, two of god's angels, proved themselves most powerful." The Dweller spoke as he struggled to maintain his composure. "At least three-quarters of our men have been lost. Two of your elite generals have also fallen."
Blackheart nodded and walked back over to his throne. Taking his place on his chair, the son of Satan looked at his servant with disinterested eyes.
"A great honor to have served me until the very end." Blackheart then held the spear up and looked at it in glee. "Dismissed."
"…as you wish, master."
The Dweller vanished into wisps of smoke, leaving the Black King alone. Closing his red eyes, Blackheart released a low chuckle.
"Soon, Zarathos. Soon, you will be reduced to nothing, and I will stand as the one true king of all nine circles of Hell."