Chapter 38

I walked over and sat down with the girls, introducing myself. Ellie's friends were named Kelly and Kendra, and they turned out to be sisters. Two lovely blondes with green and blue eyes, their familial resemblance apparent in their features. They welcomed my company with enthusiasm. Like me, the ladies were drinking whiskey—well, except for Ellie. She stuck to a single bottle of beer, sipping it infrequently. When I asked why, she admitted that she wasn't much of a drinker (earning a teasing snort from Kelly, which made Ellie blush). Turns out, tonight was her turn to play the designated driver for "these two alcoholics." That, I gathered, was the real reason behind her near-sobriety.

The girls weren't regulars at this bar either. They had a tradition of exploring out-of-the-way spots, hoping to meet interesting people, make new memories, and expand their "booze map" of New York State.

Conversation flowed easily, with all three radiating positivity and charming smiles. Ellie and Kelly, in particular, unleashed the heavy artillery of their sparkling eyes, directing the full force of their attention at me. My ego, understandably, was preening under the spotlight. Despite knowing I wasn't exactly in top form—buzz-cut hair, barely grown eyebrows, and eyelashes that probably looked odd compared to the world's polished men—it didn't seem to matter. Youth and an athletic build appeared to tip the scales in my favor.

After about half an hour of chatting, Ellie, the most sober of the trio, asked the inevitable question about my age. I didn't flinch and answered truthfully: "I'm finishing school next year." Technically true, since I did plan to graduate. People here usually finished school at eighteen or nineteen, so my answer satisfied her.

"Toby, aren't you a bit young to be drinking?" Kendra, the green-eyed blonde who was sipping the fastest, asked tipsily. "You know the legal age is twenty-one, right?"

"Hey, just don't tell my mom, and we'll be fine," I quipped with a smirk. "And like you waited until your twenty-first birthday to take your first shot! Besides, no cops here, right?"

That got Kelly and Ellie laughing while Kendra playfully threw up her hands in mock defeat. By this point, my attention had shifted squarely to Ellie. Petite girls always caught my eye, and she ticked all the boxes—slender, cute, and shorter than me. Her smaller chest didn't bother me; I was an equal-opportunity admirer of all breasts, as long as they weren't attached to a guy.

With that thought firmly in mind, I scooted my chair closer to Ellie's. She shot me a pleased look, while her sisters exchanged surprised glances.

"What? She's practically not drinking—someone's gotta make up for it," I said with a cheeky grin, earning a light touch on my knee from Ellie. "Besides, she promised to let loose a bit but doesn't seem in a hurry to keep her word." I turned a mock-reproachful gaze on her, and she blushed furiously. So much for the confident flirt who invited me over.

"Oh, so that's how it works…" Kelly mused, staring into her glass. "You endure hardship for your friends, and guys are drawn to your heroic aura! Smart move, Ellie. You'll go far. But tomorrow, I want all the deets!"

"Hey, me too!" Kendra chimed in.

"You've got a fiance, and you guys already get up to plenty, yet you've never shared any stories!" Kelly shot back with mock indignation. Despite the teasing tone, there was a hint of disappointment in her voice. That explained Kendra's relative lack of interest in me—she was just here to drink and relax, while Ellie and Kelly were clearly up for more.

"I did invite you to join us; you know he wouldn't mind," Kendra teased, wiggling her eyebrows, clearly enjoying her sister's grimace. "You'd have no need for stories if you'd just see for yourself."

"I don't like your Zachariah. He's not my type," Kelly retorted, her expression clearly showing what she thought of the guy. "His only remarkable trait is how greedily he sucks money out of you."

Meanwhile, Ellie had slid in closer, her flushed face turning to me with an approving glance as my hand casually rested on her leg. I, on the other hand, was trying to figure out how to bring Kelly into whatever might happen next. Not because I'm some insatiable perv—well, okay, maybe a little tonight. If the stars align, why not go for it?

Ellie leaned in and whispered loudly enough to interrupt her bickering sisters, "You wouldn't mind if we invited Kelly, right?" Her breath was hot against my ear.

"Not at all," I replied just as audibly, pretending to be discreet. "In fact, I'd be all for it." The impromptu performance didn't go unnoticed by the sisters. Kendra burst out laughing and clapped Kelly on the shoulder.

"Guess you'll both have a story to tell me tomorrow," Kendra teased, only to be interrupted by the sudden ring of her phone. All four of us turned to glare at the offending device. Kendra frowned at the screen, muttered an apology, and stepped outside to take the call. Ellie and Kelly watched her leave with a mix of apprehension.

"Fuuuuuck, I just hope they don't call us back" Ellie groaned under her breath, slumping slightly. Kelly nodded, her face clouded, while I glanced between them, puzzled.

"What's going on?" I finally asked, channeling my best Yuriko-trained inquisitiveness.

"We don't know yet," Kelly sighed. "It's a work call. They don't usually bother us on our night off unless it's important."

"But you've been drinking! What kind of work lets you show up buzzed?" I asked, frustrated at the interruption. Ellie, who had been soft and pliable just moments ago, suddenly seemed tense and deflated. Kelly just shrugged, her expression saying anything could happen.

A few tense and silent minutes passed as we waited for Kendra to return. My mind wandered to a similar moment from my past life when I'd been pulled out of a restaurant dinner with my wife because of work. That earned me days of silent treatment and, most tragically, a ban on her homemade borscht. A karmic loop, it seemed—universal justice catching up with me in a new life. Finally, the bar door swung open, and Kendra stomped over with a furious expression.

"Alright, girls, I think we need to head back," she said, her voice tight. "There was a superhuman brawl in the city. Two of ours are dead, three more, and Lieutenant Elizabeth, are being held hostage—along with a couple dozen civilians. Not that we'd be much help, but I can't sit here and drink after hearing that. Captain Stacy's ordering everyone to check in, so they called us, too. Tobias, we can drop you off in New York if you want." Her gaze sharpened. "Tobias?"

I felt like someone had hit me in the head with a sledgehammer. Captain Stacy… Lieutenant Elizabeth… That's my mom, Betty!

"Yes," I said quickly, barely stringing words together. "Yes, please."

We settled the bill—well, they did, refusing to let me chip in, and for once, I didn't insist. Normally, I'd make a point of being self-sufficient, but this wasn't the time for that. My brain was stuck in a loop, calculating how long it had taken Yuriko and me to get here. Hours. Hours while my mom was in danger. I tried to extract more details as we left, and Kendra, seeing no harm, filled me in.

Apparently, Captain Stacy had uncovered something about the human traffickers. When they checked out a few addresses, it led to a shootout involving criminals, police, and supervillains on the bad guys' side. Reinforcements had arrived, but the situation turned into a barricade standoff when the traffickers grabbed hostages, including the captives they'd been holding. The police had the building surrounded, but with civilians inside, they couldn't act decisively. To make things worse, the supervillains—Kendra didn't know their identities—were throwing a wrench into everything.

As we stepped out of the bar, I spotted someone I'd definitely not been excited to see earlier—the biker woman. But now, her bike screamed speed, the kind of speed I desperately needed.

Without a second thought, I rushed toward her, leaving the girls behind with confused looks. She was just dismounting her bike, irritation clear on her face.

"Good evening, ma'am!" I called, nearly breathless.

"Evening…" She raised an eyebrow, clearly annoyed. "What do you want, kid? I'm not exactly in the mood for company." She rubbed her temples, then looked at me more closely. "Wait… We met earlier tonight at that diner, didn't we?"

"Yes, ma'am," I confirmed, nodding rapidly. "I need your help. I need to get to New York—fast. My mom's in serious danger."

Her irritation softened, but only slightly. "Kid, just have your friends drive you," she said, jerking her head toward the car where Kelly and Kendra stood. Ellie was already behind the wheel, warming up the engine. "They're right there. You'll get there eventually."

"I need to get there very fast," I insisted, trying to convey the urgency. "And I know you can do it. Please! I know you're not an ordinary person."

That got her attention. Her brows furrowed as suspicion crept into her expression. "How do you know that, kid? And who the hell are you?"

"Tobias," I said quickly. "I'm a mutant. Please, ma'am, I'm begging you. I don't have much to offer, but I'll repay you someday, no matter what. I'm still growing stronger, and I promise I'll be useful to you in the future!"

She crossed her arms, studying me with a mix of interest and irritation. "You've got guts, Tobias. I'll give you that. But do you even know what you're asking? My bike's fast—too fast. You wouldn't survive the heat or the G-forces. And even if you got there, what could you do to help your mom?"

"I can handle it!" I shot back, practically shouting now. "My power absorbs all energy except kinetic, and that gets dispersed. Bullets don't scare me. I'm strong in close combat, I've got energy vision, I can hit with electricity, blind people, and generate heat that melts almost anything except adamantium!" At this point, I'd have offered my soul if it helped. I silently prayed my abilities could handle Hellfire if it came to that.

Her eyes narrowed as she tilted her head. "Heat, huh? You're sure about that?" There was doubt in her voice, but I didn't care.

"Positive," I said.

She sighed, then motioned to the bike. "Alright, but if you sit behind me, you'll get blown off. Hop on the front. I'm Joan Blaze, by the way. Where are we headed?"

Relief flooded through me as I climbed onto the bike. I quickly explained where we needed to go and mentioned stopping to grab my suit. She muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like a curse but helped adjust my position, showing me where to place my feet.

As the bike roared to life, I glanced back at the girls, waving goodbye and shouting, "My aunt's giving me a ride home!" before Joan gunned the throttle, leaving their bewildered expressions behind in a cloud of dust.

Once we hit the road, I called Yuriko to explain the situation and let her know I'd be meeting up with her soon. She responded with a curt, "Understood," before hanging up. Classic Yuriko.

The speedometer maxed out, and the bike roared as it accelerated beyond anything I'd ever experienced. The wind whipped against my face, but my power dampened it to a tolerable level. Heat radiated from the bike and Joan, but I felt it flow into me, absorbed without issue. Still…

"Ma'am!" I yelled over the wind. "Can we go faster?"

The bike launched forward like a rocket, slamming me into the woman's chest. The heat cranked up significantly, and I noticed my clothes starting to smolder. I managed to control the heat around my head, boots, and the phone tucked under me—it wasn't time to go bald again—but I let the rest of my outfit burn. After all, I'd be putting on my suit soon anyway, and anything outside the narrow temperature-controlled zone would be toast in seconds. With a mental shrug—'if the barn's on fire, let the house burn too'—I decided to set the rest of my clothes ablaze myself, sparing them the suspense. 

At her muffled curse behind me, I shouted, "It's fine, ma'am! Burn as much as you want—I don't care about the heat!"

The bike roared as it transformed into its demonic form. The engine's howl shifted into a demonic growl, and suddenly I wasn't pressed against soft curves under a leather jacket anymore but hard ribs. The speed... I could barely register what was flying past us. It was terrifying—heart-racing, gut-clenching terrifying—but I wanted to scream with exhilaration. The insane velocity hurtling us toward New York filled me with equal parts fear and thrill.

Breathing was another matter. The wind slammed into me so forcefully that it felt like my lungs were being ripped open. If not for the energy I was absorbing from the Hellfire, I probably would've ended up splattered across the highway in artistic little bits. Thankfully, the energy was pouring in so fast I filled my internal reserves and still had enough to radiate heat outward, matching the temperature of the Ghost Rider herself.

The bike was… mesmerizing. With one hand gripping the handlebars, I ran the other cautiously over the flaming metal. The tactile sensation was indescribable. It felt like the Spirit of Vengeance itself was enjoying the ride—metal trembling like a purring cat, its roar echoing pure excitement.

Within minutes, our speed dropped as we approached the car where Yuriko was waiting, leaning casually against the trunk and smoking a cigarette. My partially opened case lay beside her.

I jumped off the bike, immediately dampening the heat radiating from me. To my surprise, I noticed I wasn't just glowing with heat—I was literally on fire. Somehow, I hadn't even realized it in the midst of all the flames. Curious, but something to think about later. Barefoot, with ash flaking off me, I grabbed my phone, bolted to the case, and quickly suited up. With my boots secured and mask clipped in place, I nodded at Yuriko. She flicked her cigarette away, returning the nod without a word, and I dashed back toward the blazing skeleton on the bike. On the way, I took control of the area around the suit to make sure I didn't burn it too.

Sliding into position on the bike, I heard the haunting voice behind me.

"Nice suit, kid. Hold on tight."

We shot forward, faster this time. Joan didn't hold back, or maybe she was testing me. The acceleration didn't just slam me into her ribs—it embedded me there. It took me ten full seconds to catch my breath and at least thirty to stabilize myself. Once I had, I restarted the energy absorption cycle, noticing how the flames spreading over me made me look like a living elemental. The fire felt strange, not normal heat. Could I be radiating Hellfire? Her Hellfire? Another mystery to add to the pile for McCoy to test later.

Behind me, her voice broke through the roar of the wind and flames, casual as if we weren't tearing across the world at insane speeds.

"When you've handled your business, Tobias, I've got a few questions for you. Like why some psycho ended up with his brain fried, or why I keep dreaming about some creepy, drawn-looking dude showing me visions of a faceless, naked boy who's packing a dead ringer for your equipment, roasting heads. You clear that up, and maybe we'll call it even."

Despite the heat, a chill ran down my spine. I nodded, not trusting my voice, and immediately began strategizing how much to tell her—and how to spin it so I wouldn't end up on the receiving end of her flaming chain. Or worse. What had seemed like a clever idea—pinning Cletus's death on the Penance Stare—was suddenly looking a lot less brilliant. And… Hey! What's she staring at my dick for?!