"Jeez, that's hot."
A sprawling field composed of tall, roaring flames danced as far as the eye could see. Trees, bushes, undergrowth, and anything the fire came into contact with were burned away to ash in its unstoppable wake. The forest fire continued to advance, eager to consume anything that crossed its path; its hunger was insatiable.
Beyond the fire stood a few individuals watching the slowing advance of the flames. A small group composed of Harvey, Pietro, Wanda, Alex, Haley, Luke, and finally, Manny watched from a safe distance as the slowly moving waves of flames steadily gained distance. It wouldn't be long before they reached the wedding venue.
Luke fanned his face and squinted at the bright flames. He began to sweat under his grey suit; his earlier spoken words were agreed upon inside the minds of everyone present.
"So, how are you gonna go about it?" Alex asked as she felt sweat slide down her chest.
"Oh, can you eat the fire?" Manny asked with excitement. "I remember reading a book about a character that could do that."
Harvey chuckled and shook his head, sliding his shirt sleeves above his muscled forearms. "No, no. Nothing like that. Just watch."
Everyone watched as Harvey walked toward the growing sea of fire. It's intense heat seemingly having no effect on him. Manny frowned in nervousness and looked at everyone else. They all had calm and curious expressions as they watched Harvey grow closer to the dancing flames of death.
"I-Is he gonna be alright? I mean, I know he's the Ghost Rider, but he hasn't changed." Manny asked. "Wait, how does he transform?"
"He'll be fine, Manny." Wanda looked over at him with a smile. "Just watch."
With a shaky nod, Manny turned his head and observed. It wasn't until a few months back that he discovered that Harvey, his good friend and teacher, was the vigilante Vengeance and the Ghost Rider—LA's most esteemed hero. Having never seen Harvey in action made it harder to believe he accomplished all those feats he'd read and heard about.
But when Harvey finally reached the wall of flames, Manny's jaw fell in awe. Like Moses and the Red Sea, the flames parted away as Harvey walked deeper and deeper into the fire. His skin was devoid of sweat, and his clothes were unharmed by the intense heat! It was a godly feat if Manny ever saw one. With a final step, Harvey stopped and raised a single arm before him. He opened his hand, and his fingers stretched out, palm exposed.
"…holy shit." Manny breathed out.
As if a silent command was given, the raging forest fire stopped its unstoppable trek across the land. Once tall, roaring flames grew weaker and docile. Immediately, all the surrounding fires dashed towards Harvey's open palm in enormous waves of fire. Long yellow streaks of flame flew through the air in magnificent arcs and swooshes, all collecting into the now bright, concentrated ball of fire the size of a beach ball.
Manny looked out at the freeway where the fire originated from and saw it advancing toward Harvey. It was like a giant tsunami wave made of fire. A never-before-seen act of power was happening before him. Manny would never forget it as long as he lived. Before he realized it, it was over. The once raging forest fire was gone. Nothing but a trail of ash and smoke was left. Proof that there was indeed an enormous fire that tried to eat the land.
Harvey looked at the bright, concentrated sphere of flames floating before him. It radiated heat and power, almost like a tiny sun burned to life. Miles and miles worth of raging flames now floated harmlessly in the air. Smiling, Harvey commanded the ball of fire to disperse. The tiny sun obeyed; after all, Harvey was the one who commanded the most potent primordial flames in existence, Hellfire. Slowly, the sphere shrunk into itself until it was nothing more than a speck of embers.
"There. All done." Harvey dusted his hands and turned to his friends. He arched an eyebrow at their awed and impressed expressions. To him, what he just did was nothing to write home about. But for everyone else, it was as if a divine feat just played before their eyes. "What?"
Later that evening, several news stations would report about how the wild forest fire that had been raging for several hours mysteriously disappeared.
•••
"…to the grooms! Wait a minute, I take that back. To my sons."
Jay finished his speech and motioned to Cameron and Mitchell. Cameron's eyes glazed in tears, and a bright, happy smile grew on his face. They stood up and walked around the table. Cameron hugged Jay while Mitchell stood back and wiped a tear away.
"Okay, so nobody is gonna eat the cake." Alex said as everyone at the table nodded. Towards the end of Jay's speech, she saw her father turn and sneeze at the cake. Followed by him sneezing into a cloth, a cloth that Mitchell used to rub away his tears. "Come on, dad…"
"Damn, I was looking forward to the cake." Pietro groaned and placed a fifth plate on the small towel he'd been building since they had all arrived at the reception venue. Their table held the Miller household, the Dunphy kids, Manny, and Lily. "Now I'm gonna starve."
"We can pick one up on the way home." Wanda suggested as she took a sip of her water. Lily, who was sitting next to her, started saying cake over and over excitedly. "What do you think, Lily?"
"Yay! I want chocolate!" Lily said and pumped her arms happily. Pietro smiled at her and reached for a high five, which Lily gave with a smile.
"I want to dance." Haley said and dragged Pietro off to the dance floor. The silver-haired hero was confused but quickly went along with the sudden act. "Let's go."
Discreetly, Wanda's eyes flew over to Harvey. But then she shifted to look at Alex; she was playing with her hands and looked unsure of herself. Ultimately, Alex sighed, and her shoulders dropped. Wanda blinked and understood the younger girl's inner battle.
"Lily, do you wanna come dance with me?" Wanda asked the young girl. Lily nodded and bounced off her chair to grab her hand.
Harvey waved at Lily and Wanda as they headed to the dance floor. A calm and serene smile rested on his face as he watched everyone in the reception enjoying themselves.
Claire and Gloria were at the bar, drinking wine as they spoke. Phil, Mitchell, and Jay all stood around laughing at whatever was said between them. Luke and Manny were off to the side talking to two girls, daughters of some of Cameron's friends he invited. Wanda, Lily, Pietro, and Haley all danced with broad smiles.
But when Harvey blinked, images of blood, violence, murder, rape, kidnapping, and several acts of evil flashed through his mind. Screams of pain and wails of anguish assaulted his ears as sinister smiles and laughs of the wicked assaulted his senses.
"HELP ME!" "PLEASE STOP!" "MOMMY" "LET ME GO!" "IT HURTS!" "STOP IT!" "NO MORE!"
'Enough, Harvey.' Zarathos said, shocking him out of his trance-like state. 'You'll go mad if you continue listening.'
"GAH!" Harvey grunted and stood up, his chair skidding far back and crashing into the wall behind his table. His breathing was quick and uncontrollable. He looked down and saw his hands had transformed; his naked bones danced with fire.
"Harvey!" Alex said in surprise. Quickly, she grabbed Pietro's suit jacket and covered his flaming hands. Thankfully, due to the loud music of the venue, his short shout was drowned out and went unnoticed. "What's wrong?!"
Harvey quickly regained control of his breathing and looked at Alex. She looked up and flinched at his eyes. They were glowing a deep red. Off on the dance floor, Wanda looked up from Lily and saw Harvey's panicked state and red eyes.
"Lily, sweetie. Can you go dance with Haley and Pietro?" Wanda asked. Lily nodded and ran off to join the dancing duo.
Moving as fast as she could in her heels, Wanda reached Harvey and Alex. Harvey looked away from Alex and shut his red eyes. Wanda saw Pietro's jacket begin to burn from over Harvey's hands.
"What's wrong?" Wanda asked as she grabbed Harvey's arms. "Talk to me! Alex, what happened?"
"I-I don't know! He was fine a second ago, but then he shot up, and his hands were on fire." Alex explained and finished in a whisper.
"I was- unconsciously, listening… I need to focus." Harvey's said quickly and incoherently. He backed away from both women and started walking out of the venue. Wanda and Alex looked at each other and followed after him.
Slamming the door open, Harvey stepped outside and breathed the cool night air. Making sure to control his breathing, he focused his senses and brought it back under control. He was unconsciously using his new, more powerful hybrid sensing ability, and it had flooded his mind far above what he could have handled. But that confused him. How could that have happened? Hadn't he mastered it?
It was then that he remembered that when he was watching everyone in the reception. All those happy and carefree faces set him off. How could he have just sat around and enjoyed himself when thousands of people were in need? When thousands of evil sinners needed to be put down. Put down like the rabid dogs they were. If it weren't for Zarathos, then Harvey might have transformed immediately.
"Harvey!" Wanda yelled as she and Alex stepped outside and saw Harvey holding his face with his now normal hand. "What happened back there?"
"Sorry." Harvey said and took a deep, calming breath. "I… I lost focus for a second. It won't happen again. We should head back inside. Hopefully, this wasn't too expensive." Harvey then raised Pietro's ruined suit jacket.
"Harvey. Aren't you pushing yourself too hard?" Wanda asked as she and Alex walked closer to him. "You were gone for seven days straight a while ago. Were you… were you working that entire time?"
Harvey pressed his lips and looked away from her. Alex frowned and stepped forward. She reached out and grabbed his hand with slight hesitation.
"It's okay to rest and relax, Harvey. For as strong and as fast you are… you can't always be there. You have to give yourself time to breathe and relax… otherwise, you'll burn yourself out." Alex said as she brushed his scarred knuckles. Wanda nodded, grabbed his other hand, and held it gently.
"She's right. You need to make time for yourself… time for us. Because you're more than just Vengeance or the Ghost Rider. You're also Harvey Miller. Our precious friend." Wanda said with a loving smile. Harvey looked back and forth between them and thought deeply about their words.
'They're right, partner.' Zarathos said. 'If you spend all your time in the darkness, you'll eventually become part of it. You must balance your personal life and your life as the spirit of vengeance. If you don't, you'll become a shadow of your former self.'
Harvey nodded and breathed deeply. Since Amy died, he began training to master his new powers. He couldn't remember the last time he gave himself a real break. His focus was on being the Ghost Rider or Vengeance. He only allowed himself a small moment of respite here and then, but it wasn't enough. He needed to be Harvey as well.
Pulling both women in for a hug, Harvey held them tightly against him. Wanda and Alex squeaked cutely in surprise but melted into the hug. He couldn't help but wonder where he would be without Wanda and Alex being there for him. Or if he never met any of his friends.
But deep down inside, he knew. He would have given up his humanity, given in to his inner hatred, and embraced his role as the spirit of vengeance. He would have become a Demon in human skin—a Demon who tracked the evil and wicked like a mad dog. Harvey's time in Hell gave him a glimpse of his inner self. And that version of himself scared him.
"Here, I can destroy everything, kill everything. Without needing to keep myself in check."
"Let me tell you something, it feels amazing. I feel… free."
"But you all are weak… this isn't enough. I want a real fight."
Harvey closed his eyes and forced those memories away. Balance. He needed balance. His friends were that balance, his light. If he had them, then everything would be alright.
"I love you two." Harvey said without thinking. His words were laced with sincerity. Wanda and Alex's faces grew hotter than the forest fire from earlier today. "Thank you… for everything."
Wanda nodded and buried her face into Harvey's neck. Alex closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. She nodded as well. After several more minutes, they let each other go. All three of their faces were flushed red, and they stood in a comfortable silence.
"We should head back inside." Harvey said in a low voice. Both girls nodded, and they all began heading inside the venue.
Harvey walked in front of them and missed the looks both girls exchanged as they realized something that would impact the rest of their lives. They loved the same man, and neither would give him up. Unknown to them, they shared the same thoughts as they entered the building.
'What are we going to do?'