Chapter 68: Light Meets Dark

["...its officially been twelve hours since the nuclear explosion that was expected to detonate in the center of the city of Los Angeles has safely gone off over the Pacific Ocean. Officials say that the bomb released no nuclear radiation, easing the worries of the inhabitants of the entire west coast. Now, we will play the video taken by our news choppers in the area at the time of the explosion. Be warned, the following images could be disturbing to some viewers."]

The brown-haired news reporter looked to her left, where a video was paused briefly only to play in the next second. The video expanded to cover the entire screen. A shot of West Hollywood was being filmed from high in the air; the loud sounds of the helicopter's blades played over a harrowing sight of an entire city block being reduced to ashes. Smoke and ash could be seen floating in the air as the camera zoomed in to show a man with a flaming skull standing a few feet away from a disheveled man kneeling next to a charred body that pulsed white repeatedly.

Shortly, the man picked up the charred body and carried it into the back seat of a flaming blue truck. Once he placed the body inside of the truck, the man entered the vehicle and closed the door. The camera then shifted to the man with the flaming skull, who turned to look up at the camera.

[ "Holy *beep*." ] A man from within the chopper said.

The man with the flaming skull entered the driver's seat and closed the door. Without warning, the truck shot forward at speeds that made formula-one cars. The truck moved so fast that it drove across Santa Monica Blvd at unbelievable speeds, leaving behind fire trails that spanned the entire street. The truck reached Santa Monica State Beach and continued moving forward, somehow even driving over the blue ocean.

["Are you seeing this?! T-That's not possible!"] A different voice spoke in the video.

The camera zoomed in on the truck even as it continued forward and vanished out of sight. In a few moments, a blinding white light filled the screen, and when the light disappeared, a humongous ball of orange light shot up into the sky, shooting up megatons of water into the air and using tsunami-sized waves for miles. Suddenly, a loud boom could be heard through the camera's microphone. The camera started shaking as the crew aboard the chopper began screaming. The video showed the helicopter spinning out of control until it suddenly stopped.

["Dude, it's Iron Man!"]

The camera shifted over to the left and showed the red and gold armor of the multi-billionaire Tony Stark. The man in the armor nodded at the pilot and then flew away. The video finally ended, cutting back to the news reporter.

["As you all just watched, the man with the flaming skull, most popularly known as the Ghost Rider. Seemingly drove away with what is now to be revealed as the nuclear bomb that was an enhanced individual. While said individual's identity is unknown, the man next to him has been announced as Eric Williams—Son of Sanford and Martha Williams, the CEOs of the successful munitions factory Williams Innovations. While the nature of his involvement is still unknown, rest assured the FBI, LAPD, and several other organizations are heading a full investigation. This case is of the utmost importance due to the sheer scale of the possible loss of life it could have caused."]

An image of a pixelated picture of the Ghost Rider was then shown next to the reporter.

["It's thanks to that video that we know now that the individual who saved the city from its inevitable destruction was the Ghost Rider, who was previously seen performing heroic acts in New York during the attack at the Stark Expo and a few months ago in Los Angeles during an attack at The Grove, another shopping center. While it is unknown if the flaming rider survived the explosion, this city and its inhabitants owe him great gratitude. If you can hear this, Mr. Ghost Rider, the hero of Los Angeles, we sincerely thank you and hope you are safe and sound. This has been Colleen Williams on NBC4 news, signing off."]

•••

"How long has she been out there?"

Pietro turned his head to see Tony Stark walk up beside him on the beach. Pietro rubbed his eyes and looked down the beach, where Wanda stood still. Simply watching the ocean waves come in and out, the sunset sky illuminating the waves in its hues of yellow and orange.

"She's been here for the last seven hours." Pietro answered and looked on sadly. "I've run down and up the whole west coast dozens of times, and I haven't seen him."

Stark nodded and joined him. The two stood together in silence. "I have Jarvis scanning the whole Pacific Ocean for any signs of Harvey. We'll find him."

Pietro nodded and watched as Wanda used her sleeve to rub her eyes; the shakes in her chest made his heartache. "Whenever he comes back, I'm gonna punch him across the face."

"...right." Stark nodded in confusion and patted him on the back. "You should take her home. Get some rest. There's not much more we can do now. We just have to wait for Harvey to swim his way back to shore."

"... You're right. I'll see you around, Stark." Pietro held his hand out. Stark smiled slightly and shook it.

"See you around, kid."

The silver speedster watched as the older man walked off Santa Monica Beach and into the parking lot. Turning to his sister, Pietro wondered what he would say to get his sister to leave the beach. "...hurry up already, Harvey. You told me to trust you, so you better not be dead."

With that, Pietro started walking towards his little sister.

•••

"..."

Inside the Dunphy residence, not a sound was made. The entire family sat in the family room with forlorn expressions. In the background, the television was muted while playing the news. Nothing but the events of yesterday were being played and talked about. Haley and Alex sat together while they rested on one another. The two sisters hugged each other and remained silent. 

Phil and Claire looked down at their untouched glasses of wine as they stared at the slowly moving red liquid. Claire occasionally looked up at the news to see if there were any new updates. Even Phil, Who usually tried to keep a positive outlook on life, couldn't bring himself to say anything positive. The older man looked over at his daughters and frowned. Just what could he say?

"You all need to stop."

Everyone turned to Luke, who just turned off the television. The young boy stood in front of the screen with the remote in hand, a deep, angry frown on his face.

"Stop acting like Harvey is dead! You all really think that's going to stop him?" Luke held his arms to his sides and looked at everyone in the eyes. "That he won't come back? Well, you're wrong! Harvey is the strongest person I know; I'm sure he'll step through that door anytime now. He's just taking his time. So don't give up on him. Because I won't."

Everyone looked at Luke with wide eyes. Alex stood up with a smile and nodded. "You're right, Luke. I can't lose hope. That would mean I never had any faith in Harvey."

"Y-Yeah." Haley stood up and wiped her eyes. "He'll be back before we know it. He's just swimming really slowly this way. So it's going to take a while."

"Haley's right." Phil smiled and stood up as well. "We can't mop around and feel sorry for ourselves. I'm sure Harvey would say the same thing."

"That's right." Claire wiped her red eyes, got up with her family, and smiled widely. "We just have to be patient. That boy is tough as Hell. We have to be patient."

Luke smiled as he watched his family snap out of their depressed states. Looking down, a frown appeared briefly on his face. For all his tough talk, a part of him couldn't help but fear that his older brother figure was truly gone. If that ended up being the truth, then he didn't know what he would do.

Just yesterday, they were all playing soccer and having fun. Now… it felt like the world turned upside down.

Unbeknownst to the Dunphy family, two grotesque creatures stood on the roof of the family's home. The same was the case with the Pritchetts and the Tuckers; each had two demons waiting patiently. One could even be seen smiling malevolently as it licked its extremely sharp teeth.

•••

"HARVEY!"

Amy yelled as she flew across the surface of the ocean waters. "Come on, Harvey. Don't do this… you're supposed to be the spirit of vengeance! This much should be nothing!"

Pulling upwards, Amy stopped midair when she was over five hundred feet in the air. Spinning around, the angel looked across the Pacific Sea desperately searching for her dear friend. A heavy feeling grew in her heart. "Please… Harvey."

Amy couldn't help but curse to herself. How could she not have been here when her friends needed her most? If it weren't for the fact she was flying across the world, saying goodbye to all the people she's come to know, then she would have been right here. If she were here… then maybe Harvey wouldn't be-

"You know, that little explosion couldn't possibly have scratched Zarathos."

Amy's eyes widened, and immediately, she spun around to see a man floating a hundred feet away. The man had deathly pale white skin and short, spiky black hair while dressed entirely in black clothing.

"But that's not completely Zarathos, now is it? It's a lesser version of him, one fused with mortal flesh." The man smiled at her; his glowing red eyes stared into her soul. Amy felt her entire body shake in anticipation; why? Because right in front of her was a demon, a very powerful demon.

"…which one are you?" Amy asked as she glared at the demon.

"Ah, yes. My apologies." The demon chuckled. "This appearance of mine must be confusing. I used it to try and see what was so appealing about the human body. But I only shifted my form to resemble one of those lesser life forms. Oh well."

The demon's human appearance then started contorting and shifting around until a tall, muscled creature with black, grainy skin remained. A long black tail swayed behind it dangerously as his hands and feet were made up of razor-sharp claws. On his head was a multitude of long, thick spikes that reached down his thighs; two large red glowing eyes stared right at her; somehow, Amy could tell the demon was smiling even with its lack of mouth.

"Recognize me now?" 

Amy felt her heart freeze as she looked on the form of one of Hell's most dangerous demons—the son of Mephistopheles himself.

"…Blackheart."

"Indeed I am, God's little minion." Blackheart chuckled. "As for you, Chamuel. It is in your best interest to follow me."

"And why would I do that?" Amy glared at Blackheart as the two circled around each other. 

"I think it would be in your best interest, after all. It would be a shame if some of my servants suddenly captured all those humans you and Harvey Miller care so much about. Who knows what would happen to them? They could be eaten alive, or perhaps the women would be used as however they saw fit." Blackheart said casually as if he was describing the weather. "So? What will it be?"

Amy's face shifted into a rage. She then raised her hands in front of her face and made the bird hand seal. 

"Heavenly Restriction: Release."

Immediately, her body was surrounded by a golden glow. A long and intricate white dress replaced her original clothes; the dress reached down to her knees and left her shoulders bare, but at her forearms, a pair of silver and gold knight gloves materialized over her hands. Silver knight greaves then shimmered over her legs as a silver piece of chest armor shined into existence.

When the light vanished, Amy could now be seen flying in the air in her heavenly armor and dress. Her once ethereal gold wings were replaced with large, solid, white dove-like wings that flapped behind her. Amy's hair was now pulled into a ponytail instead of her usual loose style. 

Holding her arms to her sides, two beautiful silver and golden broad swords shimmered into existence in her hands. Swinging her right arm forward, Amy pointed the now glowing broad sword towards Blackheart.

"I think you just made the worst mistake of your miserable life."