The ravaged street.
Under George and the others' gazes, a blaze erupted from underground, and a Harley cloaked in hellfire roared onto the street.
"It's him!"
"That's the guy!"
George and the officers' faces filled with fear. As the flaming Harley charged forward, they dared not block it, scrambling to the roadside.
Then, an electric arc flickered past them.
"It's Spider-Man!"
"And the Avengers—they're in pursuit."
Next, a mass of metal formed a flying object bursting from the ground.
"That way."
Charles pointed at the trail of flames left on the street, toward the Brooklyn Bridge.
"Got it."
Erik started to move but froze.
"Wait, why are we chasing?" he asked Charles.
Charles blinked. "Aren't you curious?"
"Nope, not at all."
With that, he took Charles and flew in the opposite direction.
"The Brotherhood of Mutants got wrecked by that guy. We need to recruit more mutants."
"Erik, the mutants you recruit are too wild. They're criminals."
"So what? It's just a mission."
The metal flyer vanished from the battlefield. Gwen swung down on her web, landing in front of George.
"I didn't run into any danger this time, so, Mr. George, looks like your emotional scene's getting cut by the director," she said with a grin, spreading her hands.
George scratched his head awkwardly. "Not what I expected."
"No difference."
Suddenly, a wolfish howl came from the battlefield ruins. Sergei, in a lion-head vest, slowly downed a mysterious potion.
"Found you, Spider-Man, my prey."
The symbiote's Spider-Sense screamed warnings, and Gwen's face grew serious.
"Kraven the Hunter."
In the symbiote's memories, that name had surfaced.
…
Rat-tat-tat~
Meanwhile, between skyscrapers, Carter and her team in a helicopter locked onto the blazing motorcycle speeding through the streets.
Pedestrians screamed and fled as an electric arc quickly caught up.
Swish~
Webs shot out, targeting the fire figure, but they burned to ash instantly.
Johnny Blaze caught this in his rearview mirror and veered away from the city.
Boom~
On a suburban highway, the flaming Harley roared past, the electric arc matching its speed.
"Hey, ever heard of Spider-Man's story?" Charlie called out mid-run, greeting the rider.
Johnny Blaze glanced at Charlie, then focused back on driving.
"I've got a license. Chasing me is pointless," he said.
Charlie caught his breath. "Can we stop and chat? I'm curious who turned you into this, Skull Knight."
"I think Ghost Rider sounds cooler."
"Does it? Alright, Phantom Knight."
"Spider-Man, stop chasing. I don't want to kill you."
"Then stop running."
"You chase, I run."
"You run, I chase."
"Fine, let me guess. Some weird guy made you sign a weird contract, turned you into a weird knight, you did weird stuff, and now a weird Spider-Man's chasing you."
"Weird Spider-Man, you talk too much."
Johnny Blaze shook his head, the flames on his skull flickering in the wind.
Boom!
He pulled a slick drift, the flaming wheels leaving a circular burn on the ground.
Charlie was ready, leaping to dodge the wheel's attack, then landing behind Johnny Blaze.
"Whoa, that's hot!"
The moment he touched Johnny's shoulder, Charlie rubbed his hands like a fly, his electric spider scrambling onto his hand.
Chomp~
The spider's fangs bit down, magical energy spreading through him.
Buzz~
As the spider totem glowed, a layer of magical energy shielded him from the hellfire.
It worked!
Relieved, Charlie sat behind Johnny Blaze, wrapping his arms around him.
"Interested in being Spider-Man's friend?"
"No thanks. Get off. I've got work."
Annoyed, Johnny Blaze gunned the throttle, the bike rearing up, but he couldn't shake Charlie.
High above, Barton had his arrow trained on the flaming bike.
"Hold off. They're talking," Carter said, stopping him.
Barton frowned. "But this guy killed a lot of people."
Carter's face was calm. "Those mutants, if they didn't die, would've spent life in prison. Nothing to discuss."
Natasha frowned beside her. "Nick Fury wouldn't talk like that."
"So what?"
Carter glanced at Natasha. "You want me to act like him? Sorry, our job is to protect good people. Don't define me with those endlessly revised rules.
Under me, it's simple."
She turned to the team. "I'm done. Who's against? Who's for?"
Harry and the others raised their hands.
"I'm for!"
"Me too."
"Captain, we're on your side."
In the corner, Alexei shivered. "I-I'm a good guy now."
On the suburban road, the flaming Harley sped by, incinerating a roadside lizard into bones.
"Lizards are so cute, how could you!" Charlie accused.
"Shit, you're annoying!!"
Flames flared in Johnny Blaze's eye sockets. With a sharp brake, Charlie tumbled forward from inertia.
Clank clank clank~
Johnny yanked off his chain, hellfire spreading along it.
Bang!!
The chain whipped out, but Charlie spun mid-air to dodge. The flaming chain slammed the ground, carving a fiery trench dozens of meters long.
Charlie shot a spatial web, swinging into the air, thinking fast.
The Ghost Rider's power came from the hell-lord Mephisto.
How strong a Ghost Rider was depended on how much power Mephisto granted.
From that display, Mephisto had given this guy plenty, no wonder he overpowered the Avengers and mutants.
After showing his strength, Johnny Blaze looked at Charlie, his tone a warning.
"Leave me alone, or I'll burn your soul without mercy."
"Soul…"
Charlie's eyes narrowed, but he ignored the warning, landing behind Johnny.
"Do me a favor."
"Scram!"
"I'll pay."
"Hm?"
Johnny Blaze, about to strike, paused. "What's the deal?" he asked, turning his head.
Charlie grinned. "I invested in a movie effects company. Your riding skills are top-notch. Wanna be a big star?"
Johnny's skull flames dimmed slightly, clearly tempted.
Seeing this, Charlie confirmed one thing.
This was a broke-ass Ghost Rider!
Perfect!
"How much can I make?" Johnny asked.
"How much do you want?"
"Enough to cure cancer."
"You sick?"
"No, it's… a friend," Johnny said, not wanting to reveal too much.
Charlie shrugged. "You made a deal with a demon. You know you don't need to worry about that stuff."
"I know, but I also know demons can't be trusted."
Flames flickered in Johnny's eyes, memories flashing.
A down-on-his-luck stunt rider, his father sick with cancer.
Each day, he watched his father grow weaker.
The disease tormented his father, and he could only watch helplessly.
Until one day, a strange guy approached him.
The guy could cure his father's cancer—if he signed a weird demonic contract.
He had nothing left to lose, so he signed.
The next day, his father's cancer was gone, but something felt off.
Demons are greedy.
One soul wouldn't satisfy them.
Sure enough, the weird guy came back, ordering him to take out mutants and collect their souls.
Otherwise, his father's cancer would return.
He had no choice.
But something was wrong with the power the demon gave him.
His Eye of Judgment could only kill the guilty, not good people.
He knew it wasn't the demon's doing.
Lost in thought, Johnny Blaze rode into a desolate wasteland.
Under the night sky, his wheel's fiery trail blazed brightly.
"I really have to get to work."
He asked, "What do you need help with?"
"Find a soul," Charlie said.
Johnny shook his head. "Sorry, can't do that."
"You can."
Charlie whispered, "Just mention Iron Man to your contract's master. He'll react."
Tony's delayed resurrection made Charlie suspect his soul was snatched.
Mephisto was a prime suspect.
Johnny thought it over. "Tony Stark doesn't seem dead."
"Do as I say, and I'll get you S.H.I.E.L.D. funding."
"Funding?"
"Yup. You saw—Captain Carter's got a crush on me. She'll grant any request."
Johnny Blaze: "."
"Spider-Man, wake up. Women don't like talkative guys like you."
"Her tastes are unique."
"Fine, I'll try."
"Deal."
Charlie leaped off, vanishing into magical sparks.
Watching him go, Carter, who'd been tailing, looked thoughtful.
"Pull back," she said.
Barton was stunned. "What about the fire guy?"
"Ignore him. Trust me."
"Got it."
The helicopter left. Johnny parked his bike at an intersection.
"This is so far from work. I'm gonna be late."
He doused his flames, flesh regrowing on his face.
"Magic Spider-Man, you should've taken me with you," he muttered, scanning the desolate surroundings.
…
The next day, a plaza's big screen.
"Hey, friends of all kinds, we meet again! Remember J. Jonah Jameson from the Daily Bugle?"
Onscreen, Jonah, cigar in mouth, animatedly recounted Spider-Man's recent exploits.
Once unemployed when Spider-Man faded, he was back on TV.
Thanks to the authorities' incompetence.
New energy weapons could handle regular super-criminals but not stronger mutant ones.
With villains now wielding energy weapons too, the world slid back into chaos.
No, with energy weapons flooding the streets, local chaos was worse than before.
So, people turned back to the old-school superhero—Spider-Man!
Sure, in the mutant era, more Avengers had emerged.
But to Jonah, Spider-Man was the hot topic, bringing him more attention.
On the screen, at the mutant base ruins, Betty interviewed George, head wrapped in bandages.
A flyer zipped past skyscrapers. Gwen glanced at her dad, still working late, and shook her head.
She turned to Charlie in the back. "Can I really become an Avenger?"
Charlie eyed the bandages on Gwen's arm, smiling. "Of course. You took down Kraven the Hunter. That proves you're stronger than most Avengers. That record's enough."
Gwen's smile was bitter. "I got lucky. Abby ate his mystery potion, or I might not have survived."
"Eating's a blessing."
"But I heard becoming an Avenger requires strict tests."
"Don't worry, I'm the examiner. I'll go easy on you."
Gwen: "."
"Is that okay?"
"No problem."
Charlie crossed his arms. "Every Spider-Man's friend knows connections are key."
Gwen steered with one hand, dodging an oncoming Stark flyer bike.
"Stark's flyer bikes are out. Want one?"
"I'm broke."
"I'll get you one."
"Thanks. Can I have the priciest model?"
"Sure, but I'm curious—you seem used to asking women for gifts."
"What can I do? I'm broke but want nice things. Only women's money keeps me afloat. Guys like that are pretty cute, right?"
"Uh… no comment. We're at S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Cool, I know you secretly admire me."
The flyer landed on the floating island. They hopped out.
Gwen felt uneasy under the curious stares of agents.
"Honestly, I don't want to be an Avenger. It'll mess up my normal life," she whispered.
Charlie glanced at Carter's office. "But as an Avenger, your dad gets S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top protection."
He looked at Gwen. "A random crook, a seeming coincidence—those can take a Spider-Man's loved ones. You know what I mean."
Gwen fell silent.
The symbiote's memories confirmed it.
She wanted to say something, but Charlie's phone rang.
"It's me, Phantom—ugh, Ghost Rider."
Hearing the familiar voice, Charlie grinned. "No need to whisper. It's goofy."
Johnny Blaze's cheek twitched, then he cleared his throat.
"Fine, I got the info you wanted.
When I mentioned Iron Man, the guy laughed. He was thrilled, like he got a new toy."
Charlie's heart sank.
As expected, Mephisto had snatched Tony's soul.
Even the invincible Spider-Man couldn't save Tony's soul from him.