The songs of bayou Jaw Harps and a Didgeridoo filled the air along with hum of dragonfly wings as the Ghost along with the vestiges of John Henry and Lemuel Curtis stood up. They were all seemingly on the deck of an old, beached steamboat.
The splintering wood railing of a once elegant staircase leads them up to the next level of this odd vessel. An eerie, odd tune led them towards a door that had been partly cracked open. An ominous purple hue came from the room along with a soul-piercing sounds of laughter frozen them in fear as a well-dressed vestige emerged from the room. The figure's black stetson hat with a purple ribbon tied onto it, black and purple vest and pants with a revolver on his hip gave them all a powerful first impression.
"Y'all... Y'all ain't from 'round these parts are ya?" Inquired the figure as he pulled out a cigar, lit it and took several long and ponderous draws.
"No sir. We're looking..."
The figure laughed after letting out a ring of smoke that seemed to drift away from the vessel endlessly. "Tell me, y'all play any poker?" The figure's thick, Louisiana Bayou accent was a bit more than the Ghost to keep up with.
Before Curtis or the Ghost could answer, John placed his hands over their mouths. "Watch what you say. That there is some powerful voodoo he's got coursing through those shifty hands of his."
The purple-hued man laughed before facing the trio. "Mighty tragic way you died, aye John? Mister twenty-pound hammer hands must have a keen set of senses to pick up on that." His purple-pupiled eyes pierced the air as if it were a hot knife through butter as his gaze landed on John.
"I take it you two know each other, John?" Said the Ghost, refusing to take his eyes off of the man. John sighed and shook his head but was cut off by the well-dressed man.
"I know of old John Henry, but he doesn't know me." The odd man gave the Ghost a strange, Cheshire-cat like grin.
"Hold on, wait just one riverboating second." Started Lemuel, "I know of him. Ghost, that there is someone you don't want to piss off. That's Stagger Lee, better known as Stagolee the Riverboat Gambler."
Stagolee tipped his hat to them as he walked up to them. However, John stepped in front of the other two. The sky's once purple hue had become a clashing mess of crimson red and voodoo purple as the two were inches apart, eyes locked on each other.
"So hammer hands.... Who's the other two?" The words left Stagolee's mouth like a mist falling to the ground. His smile seemed to carry an emptiness like no other as he awaited his reply.
"The yellow glowing one is Lemuel Curtis. A "Redtail Angel" of the skies or something along those lines. The non-glowing one is Ghost, and he's making use of us so we's not forgotten."
Stagolee pushed past John and stood before the Ghost. Stagolee was only a few inches shorter than the Ghost in stature but that hand pulsing a purple hue had his attention.
"It's a fine pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Ghost. I have, somewhat of an interesting proposition for you, that is... if you're interested." Stagolee's words and soft looking eyes played on the Ghost's better judgment in a flirtatious manner.
Before John or Lemuel could stop him, the Ghost nodded. "What did you have in mind?"
"As it stands, you won't be overcoming that behemoth's power on your own. Just so happens that me and my...." Stagolee paused before saying through a wicked kind of grin, "friends", his eyebrows flared to add emphasis on how he said friends. "Have just the powers you need to win, all encompassed through the power of yours truly."
"Alright, what do you want in return for your power and the powers of your "friends"." Inquired the Ghost.
"It's really simple. Shake my hand."
John couldn't remain silent anymore. "No, no, Ghost, absolutely not."
"Aw come on, JOHN! Let the man make up his own mind."
The Ghost looked at John and Lemuel. "Unless you two have a better plan, this is what we've got."
They sigh and shake their heads no to them having a better plan. The Ghost turns back to Stagolee.
"Before I even move my hand, what is your power?"
"That's easy, it is V-Steam Transfer."
"Let me guess, the V in V-Steam stands for...."
"Voodoo my boy, Black Magic is also a part of our history. Y'all just forgot it exists. So whatdoya say, Ghost? Are you ready to win?"
The Ghost looked at Stagolee's stuck out hand. He hesitated a moment, in which Stagolee seized prime opportunity to use the Ghost's own phrase to better put the skeptical mind of the Ghost at ease.
"It's just like you said Ghost."
"Like I said what?" Asked the Ghost, to which Stagolee replied with a dark smile...
"After all.... If it's not you, then who?"
The Ghost looked up at Stagolee who was grinning. "Go on, shake my hand. Won't you indulge this poor sinner with one lonesome request?" Just before the Ghost could, Stagolee extended both his hands to Lemuel and the Ghost. Seeing John left out, Stagolee whistled to which a third, shadow hand appeared for John to shake.
"All of you now, boys." Said Stagolee.
As the three shook "his" hands, he laughed in jubilation. With the snap of his fingers the Steamboat began to lift into the sky, riding on a vortex of purple and green, illuminated runes. Those same odd runes appeared on the ship, in the sky and on the hands of all four of them. Stagolee threw down some type of powder that resulted in a small explosion. As the dust settled, voodoo dolls and voodoo faces appeared around the ship.
"WE'RE BACK IN BUSINESS BOYS! WE'VE GOT US AN ASSHOLE TO GRILL UP FOR GUMBO!!" Yelled out Stagolee as his left pupil became metallic green and his right pupil became voodoo purple.
"John, what is it?"
"Momma told me stories like this.... This ain't just Stagolee, this is Badman Stagolee, the Gambling Voodoo Riverboat Vigilante."
The Ghost shook his head exasperatedly, "I can work with that. He's an anti-hero of sorts... right?"
"Yeah.... except for the whole, making deals bit." Said Lemuel
"NOT TAKE BACKS NOW!" Yelled Stagolee as he laughed as they re-entered the Ghost's mind.
Time had seemingly stopped while they were gone, however, upon their return, time unfroze and Rothschild looked down. The red and yellow energy of the Ghost was still there, but there was now off about him. The Ghost was upside down, levitating in the air at directly eye-level with Rothschild.
"Are you ready?" Asked Perseverance in Stagolee's voice.
"Ready? Ready for what?" Scoffed Rothschild.
"THE TRUE ENCAPTIVATING FEAR OF DR. V!" Laughed Perseverance as the skies over Greater Ottawa become green and purple. The sounds of voodoo dolls and heads harmonizing with the rising of Perseverance's arms in a grandeur kind of manor before Rothschild was launched further than he'd even been sent into the sky, with only Perseverance's laughter ringing in the Tyrant's ears.
"LET'S HAVE SOME FUN, SHALL WE!..... T-CASE AND DIFF: Ultimate Combo, DR. V'S STEEL-ANGEL ROULETTE!"