Chapter 6: Guess I'm Dead

While Jack was going to sleep, all hell was breaking loose with the press. Now that they've had time to gather and spread information, the full picture was clear as can be as to what was going on.

A vigilante was going around murdering villains, and rather than arrest him, the heroes actually allowed him to assist in saving civilians, and he even saved those same heroes at a later time, even after they had chased him off.

All those rumors from the prior week were implicitly confirmed true. The press wasn't the only thing exploding, the internet was too. Twitter lit up like a wild fire, and of course it was a war zone of it's own.

"That crazy bastard needs to be thrown into jail. Why haven't the heroes done anything?"

"That crazy bastard just saved tons of people, and if the heroes did anything they'd be dead too."

"^stfu anime profile picture"

None argued that he was a vigilante, but whether or not that was a good or a bad thing, well that was a discussion that could get you punched for. As of right now, this only really concerned the US, but play this the wrong way and the whole world would be paying attention.

Parts of the final discussion was heard by the broadcast too, meaning they knew full well how his Penance Stare worked, which actually alleviated the worries of those who thought him dangerous, and boosted the morale of those who supported him.

Luckily the broadcast didn't catch the part where they figured out what the villains actually were, otherwise that'd be a whole new hellscape to deal with.

Despite a fire being lit under their asses, the police made no public statements regarding the Ghost Rider. Lyn sat in her chair and massaged her temples for what felt like the thousandth time that night.

She was at a crossroads between herself and her job. In all honesty, she wanted to personally thank him for what he did that night, and the fact that she let him go was a clear indication of that.

But as a serious woman, who holds high regard of her job, she just couldn't let his very existence slide. The best she could do is buy him some time for him to figure everything out, and hope he can think of ways to evade her eventual pursuit.

Back at the hospital, Skylar had just finished being patched up by the doctor, and had watched the news the entire time. Ninja Warrior sat with her, back to bouncing around and grinning at the footage of Ghost Rider fighting.

"Gotta say, that quirk is fucking nutty man. Regeneration, super strength, and fire powers that augment things you use? Not to mention the whole Penance Stare? Definitely among the upper tiers, if not the peaks." Ninja Warrior gabbed like it was himself he was bragging about.

Skylar hated 'on paper' reviews of quirks like that, because her own quirk sounds pretty bad if you put it that way, even if it was decently solid. But she had to admit, that guy was strong. And he had the heart to boot, not hesitating to help the police several times that night.

"Honestly it's a shame he's a vigilante. If he were a hero, even if his public image would be a little rough I'd partner with him in a heartbeat." As she said this, Ninja Warrior nodded wholeheartedly, before having an 'aha' moment.

As she heard this plan of his, Skylar grew a smile that was both excited and very, very anxious. This could either be the best or worst move of their entire careers, and she was in.

On the other end of town, the two villains who escaped, reported in to a penthouse, with a shadowy figure resting on a chair. "I swear if you weren't so easy to produce I'd be absolutely pissed you failed to secure the kids. Luckily, I had a plan B."

Another assassin in the same dress as the others entered the room, and handed them a sheet. "You served as the perfect distraction for us to grab this from the quirk registry. I swear, registering quirks and storing them so easily is the stupidest idea the government ever had, but I love it."

"You get me as many on this list as you can. And prioritize this one, above all else." He pointed to a little girl with red hair and green eyes as he said this. Under her name, was the quirk she had. If the henchmen had emotions to show, they'd be terrified by the implications of such a quirk in the wrong hands.

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The next night, Jack patrolled the area as Ghost Rider, no longer looking for two bit thugs but leads towards the mastermind behind all of this. Sadly, he can't track the assassins or kidnapped kids due to no sins, so he had to look for any other partners that shipped him kids.

First he started by heading in the direction the original truck was headed, to see if there were any clues in that direction. As he moved, he heard wings flapping and looked above him to see Skylar flying towards him.

"Well hello again. Oh, I see you brought a friend."

Looking below, Ninja Warrior was running up to him. Jack didn't raise his fists, but his guard was up in case they decided to pick up where they left off last time. Instead, Ninja Warrior reached into his pockets to pull out a phone to hand him.

"Present for you, sir."

Skylar had wanted to give him the phone herself, but her outfit had no pockets to put it in, and unlike some girls she couldn't really put things up top. Damn aerodynamics.

Not that she told him that, and Jack wasn't really thinking in that direction either.

"We've decided to give you this. A burner phone, for us to call you, or you to call us, in case of emergency or finding new important information. We know we can't stop you from investigating, so the least we could do is piggyback a ride from you."

She said this confidently, knowing full well that this was really just their way helping him without patrolling with him and being caught in public with him. Without hesitation, Jack took the phone, and opened it up.

Looking it over for any tracking, he noticed not only was there none, but the GPS was removed entirely.

"Part of me is happy you're smart enough to check that, and sad that you felt the need to check that." Ninja Warrior's shoulders drooped as he said that. Jack patted him on the shoulder in consolation.

"If it makes you feel any better, even if you guys do try to capture me, I'll only do non-permanent damage."

"After last night, honestly it actually does. You're scary man." He fake shivered as he said this, remembering last night's hijinks.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is behind the whole killing thing? You seem like a decent enough guy. Heck scratch that, you're a great guy. So why stoop to that level?" Skylar couldn't help but be curious about the cause behind all this.

To say she respected him after what he did last night would be a severe understatement. Stupidity or not, the fact that he protected her without considering whether or not he'd even survive was something that left a permanent impression on her.

And honestly, Jack never really thought too hard about it.

"Well, it kinda comes hand in hand with my quirk for one. It basically guides me to doing all this, by making it so easy. Combine that with some sad backstory stuff I don't feel like getting into, and the fact that I don't think I'll just magically pop off the rails and murder innocent people just cause I drop a few scumbags, and you get this."

"Wait so you do have a sad backstory? Man I always hated that I never had a good backstory as a hero. Really makes me feel inferior to our fictional counterparts." Some might interpret this as insensitive, Skylar certainly did as she jabbed Ninja Warrior in the ribs.

But Jack actually laughed a little. "Just a minor one. Honestly you could probably guess it on your own given enough time. But enough of that, we got kids to find. Let's say we get hunting, boys and girls. May the best badass win."

Ninja Warrior pouts and huffs. "Might as well just say 'May I win' at that point then, Mr Flaming Motorcycle."

"Wait that reminds me, lemme try something." Putting his fingers at the edge of his mouth, Jack blew and whistled.

After waiting a bit, a roaring engine could be heard as the Hell Cycle pulled up below the building they were at.

"Okay, ignoring the fact that it transformed back before. Ignoring the fact that it responds to a whistle. HOW DID YOU WHISTLE?! NO LIPS!!" As his world was imploding, Ninja Warrior fell to his knees in awe.

Jack almost moved to leave, but then stopped and turned back. "Shit, you distracted me. I almost forgot to ask, are you okay Skylar? You did kinda eat an explosion point blank yesterday, wing block or not."

"Yeah I'm fine, thanks for askin- wait when did you learn my name? I never told you it." She never really realized that she didn't tell him before, and honestly kinda regretted that but oh well.

"Hm? Oh yeah, I was actually a fan of yours before this whole thing. You always were one of the better heroes, moral wise at least." This wasn't a bluff to get points or anything, Jack genuinely respected her. That's why he was able to coordinate with her well during the truck fight.

(AN: Did you guys notice names were never mentioned till the MC knew them? And yet Skylar's was introduced right away? That was kinda a hint towards this.)

Conveniently ignoring the implication that she wasn't one of the better heroes ability wise, Skylar blushed a little at the praise, before coughing and turning her hands into wings. "Well, we better go and get this show on the road. See you around, Ghost Rider."

She and Ninja Warrior left to the east, so Jack decided to go hunt west, to see if he could find anything of importance. A couple thugs here and there, but he couldn't find anything of actual worth.

Apparently there was no base to meet at, they just met up halfway in random spots and exchanged the kids there. So instead, he just checked a dozens of abandoned places to see if he could find the trace of any deals.

Finally, in one of them he found tire tracks that led out of the building, that were left by a different truck than the one the other guys used. Hoping to at least get a general direction of where it went, he went to leave the building only to look up.

One of the assassins from yesterday dropped down onto him and smacked his head before running back.

"Hey get back here assho-oh no." With that, Jack's skull exploded into a dozen pieces, and his body fell over while the assassin watched for a bit. After nothing happened for a couple seconds, the assassin left to report his deed.

About twenty seconds later, the fragments of his skull reformed, and Jack shot up. "I have seen the other side, and I wish to wait a good couple decades before seeing it again."

Rubbing his boney chin though, Jack had a good idea. 'Wandering blindly was never really going to get me anywhere. Even these tracks would be a needle in a haystack. So now that they think I'm dead, maybe I should keep it that way.'

And with that, as recently as he had gotten started, Ghost Rider took a small vacation while he waited out his enemy to make the next move, after having seemingly cleared their biggest obstacle.

Of course, Jack wasn't idle. He was still gonna move around and investigate, but this time as himself, and with a different approach. Instead of looking for where they are, look for where they will be.

And for that, he needed to contact an old friend. Well, he hoped they were still his friend at least.