BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
A series of explosions tore through the prison. A figure wreathed in blue flames tore through the facility, leaving a path of destruction behind it. The Ghost Rider's maniacal laughter echoed off walls, and every prison guard who heard it felt their blood run cold. Gordon arrived at the scene looking like he'd just swallowed something deeply unpleasant. His jaw was clenched tight enough to crack teeth.
The media circus had already set up shop. Reporters swarmed him like sharks who'd smelled blood in the water, their cameras and microphones forming a wall.
"Commissioner Gordon, what's your response to Ghost Rider's attack on this facility?"
"Commissioner, there are rumors that Ghost Rider has been working with the GCPD. Some even say he's your secret weapon. Care to comment?"
"How do you plan to handle a supernatural threat like Ghost Rider? Can you protect Gotham's citizens?"
"What about reports that crime rates have dropped significantly since Ghost Rider appeared?"
The questions came rapid-fire. Gordon looked at the flaming figure currently demolishing the prison's interior, then turned back to the cameras.
"Let me be clear. Terrorists like this will be stopped. Even if they're demons from hell itself. And let me address the rumors directly: no one in the Gotham City Police Department has any relationship with this so-called Ghost Rider. We stand against this kind of violence."
He pulled on a bulletproof vest, accepting a submachine gun from one of his officers.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the press, we're moving in. Stay back for your own safety."
He turned to his personal squad.
"Follow my lead. If the target doesn't surrender immediately, put it down."
"Yes, sir!"
Inside the prison, the destruction was terrifying. What had been a functional correctional facility was now a landscape of rubble and twisted metal. Ghost Rider moved through the wreckage like a predator, his chain whipping out to search for targets.
A concrete slab lifted away, revealing a man pinned beneath debris. When he saw the flaming skull, terror flooded his face.
"No... no, please, don't..."
The chain wrapped around him, dragging him from his hiding place. His screams reached a crescendo as Mario's voice emerged from the skull.
"Judgment Day is here."
WHOOSH.
Blue hellfire engulfed the man's entire body. Most of the prisoners in this facility were serving life sentences, multiple life sentences in many cases. But this was Gotham, where the death penalty didn't exist.
Today, they were getting judged anyway.
The flames burn brighter for the worst ones, Mario thought as the fire consumed the screaming prisoner. This bastard's sins must be dark.
He wasn't a good person himself, he knew that. But even by his standards, these men were monsters. One execution was mercy compared to what they deserved. The chain released its burden, and a soulless corpse hit the ground. Mario had prepared for this, lava poured across the prison yard earlier would take care of evidence disposal. One-stop service, bodies to ash in minutes.
Using his mini-map and Ghost Rider's passive ability to sense evil, he tracked down several prisoners trying to hide in the ruins. Just as he was about to reach them, bullets hammered into his body.
Gordon and his squad had breached the perimeter, moving through the destruction.
Shit, is it time already?
Mario had gotten caught up in the performance. He and Gordon had agreed on a specific timeline to make the whole thing look legitimate.
Can't have Gotham PD looking completely useless. Better speed this up.
"The souls steeped in sin will face their judgment! You cannot stop justice!"
The Ghost Rider motorcycle materialized beneath him. Even across the broken landscape, it moved like it was on smooth pavement, weaving through collapsed walls and twisted rebar.
Gordon shouted back. "Even if they're criminals, you have no right to judge them!"
He raised his weapon. "All units, engage! Full firepower, take him down!"
His officers opened up immediately. Their aim was unnaturally good. Even as Mario darted through the ruins, bullets found their mark.
Gordon's got some decent shooters now, he thought as rounds hammered into him. Might have to borrow these guys if I need a tactical team later.
He swung his chain, yanking another prisoner from concealment. Blue flames erupted as the man's screams echoed across the yard.
The chase continued for about fifteen minutes. Then he gunned the motorcycle toward the main gate, where the reporters had the best view. A full squad of soldiers and police officers waited at the entrance, fully armed.
"Get out of the way!" he roared, not slowing down.
They didn't move. The moment he came into range, they opened fire. Bullets struck him and melted instantly, but there were too many to ignore. His forward momentum stalled as sustained fire forced him to a halt.
WHOOSH.
Several rocket-propelled grenades launched from military positions, their trails marking perfect arcs toward the Ghost Rider.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The explosions lit up the sky. Ghost Rider burst from the smoke still moving, but the blue hellfire coating his body had dimmed.
"You're all dead!" he snarled, putting anger into his voice.
Then he turned and fled back the way he'd come, right into Gordon's squad advancing from behind.
"Ghost Rider! Today you answer for your crimes!"
Bullets hammered into Mario from both sides now. He staggered, nearly falling, and the flames around him guttered lower. The soldiers saw weakness and pressed harder. Two improvised helicopters roared overhead, their mounted heavy machine guns adding to the overwhelming firepower.
If this was a normal person, hell, even Captain America, standing exposed like this under sustained fire from multiple angles, they'd need dental records to identify what was left.
The hellfire was almost out. The chain in Mario's hand had been shot to pieces, less than a meter remaining. His skeletal form couldn't take much more. He dropped to one knee.
"Humans... You've won. But if evil rises here again, I will return from hell itself."
BOOM.
The Ghost Rider exploded in a blast of blue fire, carving out a crater over a meter deep and seven meters wide. Flames shot twenty feet into the air. When the smoke cleared, nothing remained except a white, blocky skull.
That night, Gotham's sky was unusually clear.
---
At Wayne Manor, Alfred led a small group through the entrance. Mario walked at the front.
"Master Wayne has been expecting you, gentlemen. Right this way."
"Thanks, Alfred."
The banquet hall doors opened to reveal Bruce wearing jeans and a comfortable shirt instead of his usual formal wear. That was a statement in itself. He only dressed down for people he considered... well, not enemies. When he heard them enter, he turned and forced something approximating a smile. It looked painful, but the effort was genuine.
"You made it. Dinner's ready."
He gestured at the spread. "Today seems like a day worth 'celebrating.'"
Gordon stood beside Mario, still in his work clothes. Barbara held his arm, and the smile on Gordon's face couldn't be suppressed.
"Today is definitely worth celebrating," he agreed, gently detaching Barbara's hand. "The Ghost Rider has been eliminated, and we didn't lose a single officer or soldier in the process."
Bruce's forced smile finally gave up and died.
Right. Zero casualties on our side because every single prisoner died instead.
He didn't know if what Mario and Gordon had done was right or wrong. But he knew Gotham's crime rate was plummeting. Less than two months, and they'd accomplished what he hadn't managed in over a decade of being Batman. Sometimes he wondered if he'd been wrong all along. But in the end, he always came back to his principles.
Even if they don't work as well as murder.
Then he noticed Mario had already sat down and started eating without waiting for anyone else, completely at home.
"Gordon, Barbara, please sit."
Everyone took their seats around the table. Bruce's eyes found Mario immediately.
"How's the Joker? Is he still alive?"
Mario looked up.
"I figured you'd ask about Clark first. Or maybe General Zod and the Kryptonian situation."
He made a clicking sound with his tongue. "But no. The Joker. Your true love."
"He's eating mushrooms right now and having a great time. Don't worry, he's not dying anytime soon."
Bruce had already learned not to react to Mario's bullshit. "I knew about your return the moment it happened. And I've already seen Clark."
Mario nodded, taking a sip of wine. That made sense. Bruce not keeping tabs on him and Superman would be the weird thing. It was hardwired into the man's paranoid brain.
"You interested in physical enhancement? The injections I gave Gordon's people?"
Bruce was definitely interested. But he couldn't fully trust Mario's methods.
Mario saw the hesitation. "You can go to my biological lab and synthesize it yourself. That way there's definitely no tampering."
This time Bruce nodded. "There's nothing in this world that's one hundred percent trustworthy. Not even yourself."
He even guards against himself. More paranoid than Fury ever was.
That's exactly why Mario didn't mind Bruce's suspicion.
"I've been having a dream lately..."
Mario's eyebrow shot up. "Don't tell me you dreamed about Clark?"
"How did you know?"
"Clark turning evil? Becoming a tyrant who kills anyone who resists his orders?"
Batman fell silent. He'd seriously considered whether Mario had telepathy. When Professor Xavier had visited, he'd been very clear about his abilities.
"You don't think evil Clark would be kind of badass?"
Bruce said nothing.
"That wasn't just a dream, was it?"
Mario smiled and admitted it freely. "You should know by now there isn't just one universe. Every universe has corresponding parallel worlds. What you dreamed about happens in one of those worlds. In that universe, Clark's lover, Lois, was killed by enemies. He went into hiding. But other superhumans started a civil war. Wonder Woman found the reclusive Clark and convinced him to lead the Justice League to stop the fighting. Without kind-hearted Lois to temper him, though, he completely lost it. To rebuild order among superhumans, he used extremely brutal methods. He forced everyone to choose sides, and anyone who refused was treated as an enemy."
Bruce narrowed his eyes. "Sounds like you're telling me a story."
"That's exactly what I'm doing. Just a story."
Mario's smile was faint. "I checked last time, there's no 'Marvel' company in your world. Otherwise you'd know other people's stories too."
In DC comics, there is a Marvel company, and likewise, in Marvel comics, there is a DC company. But in all his travels across universes, he had never found either company existing.
Maybe I should draw some comics or make movies. Give these people a heads-up about what's coming.
"This is just something from a parallel universe. Yet our universe also has Clark and Lois."
Mario shrugged. "And this universe also has me."
Bruce didn't respond, but internally he was screaming.
You're more dangerous than Clark could ever be.
Then he relaxed. When you're drowning in problems, one more doesn't matter.
This universe already had Mario and Clark. As long as he could handle those two, any other superhumans who showed up could be dealt with.
Seeing Bruce's eyes become filled with purpose, Mario felt confused.
What the hell just motivated him?
"Don't worry about parallel world problems. If there's really an issue, another version of you will find a way to get help. Maybe one day another Bruce Wayne shows up through a portal asking for your assistance."
Bruce stood on the side of justice, but he wasn't so righteous that he'd try to fix problems in other universes just because of a dream. Right now, all he wanted was to help Gordon maintain Gotham's current situation. He'd already forgotten how long it had been since he'd had a peaceful night's sleep.