Trapped in a world of superheroes? (Ghost Rider X Avengers)

Curious.

A mortal, who is not of their creations, somehow ended up in their Multiverse. They were watching, observing their works, their children, before unexpectedly a crimson portal took shape in the passage between realms and spitted out the said mortal; quite literally. That had their attention.

The mortal is cladding himself in a high-tech armor of sorts—the suit is damaged, occasionally flashing and giving off tiny spurts of blue electricity which illuminate the bloodstained greyed hair and sharp features on the scarred face. Wounded, with labored breaths, clinging to life as the man is closing to Death's door; his blood dripping from his deep injuries with no sign of stopping in hindsight.

Then, seemingly accepting his fate, the man closes his eyes; his face seems peaceful. Whilst he is not their creation, and that they do not really know how he got here, yet, they do feel compelled to not leaving him there. At the very least, they can give a dead man a proper place to rest. And that place is definitely not here, empty and cold.

With a flicker of golden light, they appear before him, brightening and warming their surroundings; their body radiating a soothing warmth. Seeing the motionless body, they extend their and begin to channel their power—

"Oh?" they start, surprised to see the twitch of his finger. There was no heartbeat, they are sure of it. This mortal, this man was... gone.

Observing silently, although the faceless face with only glowing eyes filled with curiosity, they watch this mortal—with no power nor mutation, yet not so normal—return from death. Not long after, they recognise it is the work of several billions of microscopic living machines dwelling deep within him, fixing him. His wound starts absorbing the blood and closing themselves. There are no supernatural powers involved here, merely the wonder of technology.

Intriguing. Looking intently at the man who was supposed to be dead, their eyes glow for a moment, and return normal once more. For a short moment, they stand still, appear deep in thoughts. Then, their face softens.

"You might not have the best start," they remark soothingly, "but you can have a better ending. Very well, child of another universe. I shall relieve you of your burdens, he who walked between the light and the darkness. The willing scapegoat."

They crouch down on one knee and place their glowing hand on the man's forehead. "In exchange, you shall carry my will, your Spirit of Vengeance. Protect the weak and the innocent, and punish the wicked. Use your knowledge and experiences to guide the future heroes, Wilhelm Herrmann. Your dream might be a distant memory, but let these people carry it for you."

As they finish, the warm and soothing golden light envelops the man's body, and he vanishes.

"Hmm. It appears a new identity will not be an issue with his set of skills."

Standing upright, they hum thoughtfully. "To think that my creations and I are simply... fiction in his world. What a fascinating notion." A glance to where he was, before they return their gaze to their creations, resume their observation once more. "Good luck. You will need it. Then again, controlling your 'partner' should be as simple as controlling your inner demon, something you are very used to, child of another universe."

=

"...Fucking red portals."

Not generally what he would say after "narrowly" escaping Death, again, but he needs to do it. Dying is just annoying. It is a part of this line of work, but that does not mean he has to like it. And not to mention the goddamned red portal of all things.

There is a rule of thumb about portal travelling, which was developed during the portal technology's final testing phase. Green means good to go. Yellow is somewhat unstable, usually not recommended and should be subjected to further studying and testing.

And always stay the FUCK away from red. Once you step through it, there is no return.

In his case, Wilhelm is as good as stuck here for the rest of his life. On the bright side, he got himself an early retirement, and it is not like there is any reason left to go back in the first place. Seeking and putting broken soldiers with minds beyond repair out of their misery—almost very single day—is not living; not at all. Sure, it makes good money, but it is blood money and he is growing tired of it.

Then again, somebody needs to dirty their hands and cleans up the mess of a world war which could have been easily prevented. That is where folks like him come in and do the job.

Wait, how did he get here again? Oh, right. Red portal. A contract gone horribly wrong. Cliché, he knows. Inaccurate intel, bloody way off the mark, which he fairly suspects his employer sold him out for whatever reason. Instead of another soldier to be put down, Wilhelm had a whole army waiting, and of course that godforsaken red portal was there also. The rest is simply history.

Now, he needs to know where he ended up exactly. What is the exact deal with the headache? And the ear ringing? Good Lord, it must be some sort of side-effect from portal travelling.

'Get out... Must... get out... Evil is nearby...!'

"...Yeah, I am not bloody dealing with this right now."

Yeah, he can already feel the headaches coming in. Drawing up his eyelids, Wilhelm casts a glance at his surrounding. A dark alley—how cliché—surrounded by tall brick walls, mostly covered in moss; its footpath is cold and damp, littered with potholes, with the moonlight as its only source of light. And is that the smell of smoke and... blood? This familiar, unwelcomed scent. The ground is shaking, vibrating violently under his hand, as his hearing sense gradually returns.

To his side, from the corner of his eyes, people are running for their lives. The screams and clamour of vicious battle—no, struggle, and the piercing gunshots growing ever louder. With a grunt, Wilhelm pulls himself up with his back leaning against the wall, before long feeling something is missing. His armored suit is nowhere to be found.

'Great. I feel naked,' Wilhelm muses, taking a deep breath. 'Although, they still respond to me, so that is something. Right, need to see what is going on asap.'

Rolling his neck, Wilhelm begins making haste towards the source of the noises. Soon, the sights of flames consuming the densely packed buildings, shops and the like, along cars scattering across both the road and the sidewalk, all broken and smashed with great force, come into view. A person pushes past him, which he remains unfazed, unmoved. Fear is evident on their face. Several who are either brave or stupid enough—Wilhelm leans towards the former—to stay behind and help many others in the wreckage. Police are also helping with the evacuation. And the military too?

First day in Earth 2.0 and he is already in the middle of some sort of a disaster. Nice.

At the same time, Wilhelm spots a car is flying towards him, with a screaming family inside it.

"...Fuck."

Without hesitation, Wilhelm hardens his muscles. A dark layer of alloy wraps and armours both his arms, prompting him to catch the vehicle, breaking the fall. The strength behind the throw manages to push him back, making him skid on the road for a good few meters, hitting a police car before he finally stops. He raises a brow, searching the one who launched the vehicle—

—only to find a giant green-skin man brawling with some sort of abomination.

'Must... punish evil...!'

That voice again. This time it directs its anger towards the abomination with an unrestrained fury. A sudden heat aggressively courses through his body, filling him with rage. However, he soon dismisses the odd sensation and turns the terrified family with a soothing smile.

"You all right, ma'am?" The woman, the mother of two children, nods numbly. Wilhelm gently puts the car down, which the mother immediately gets out first and pulls her children out. At this instant, some soldiers take note of his presence and make way to him, helping the family. "Oh, another thing. Would you mind if I borrow your car?"

The mother shakes her head. Upon the answer, Wilhelm tightens his gip on the vehicle.

"S-So freaking cool~! Look, mom! He's lifting it up!"

The woman, and the soldiers helping her and her family drop their jaws. Ignoring the reactions, he flings the one-and-half ton sedan towards the brawl, aiming squarely at none other than the hideous-looking abomination, with everything he got.

A direct hit, which makes the monstrosity stumbles in the surprise of the green man, as he soon uses the chance to deliver an explosive blow to his opponent's chin.

"Take these people to safety!" Wilhelm requests, which seems more like of an order that the soldiers are used to, and turns his gaze to the abomination. "I am helping the big guy."

With a dash in an inhuman speed, Wilhelm quickly finds himself behind the abomination. The green man, stunned for a brief moment, nods as soon as his eyes meet Wilhelm's. A mutual understanding of sort between two men who know what needs to be done. The said abomination recovers quickly, giving off an enraged thunderous roar, only to be cut short as Wilhelm strikes behind its knee before leaping back. The appreciative grin from the big guy tells him all he needs to know.

A look of shock is plastered across its face, as it leans forward. Its leg feeling numb all of a sudden, making it a perfect opportunity for the green man to bring his arms and clasp both hands, with them come crashing down onto its head. The blow produces a shockwave strong enough to shatter every window nearby, and the abomination is buried deep within the crater in the middle of the road.

Wilhelm lands next to the green man, breathing a sigh. The big man suddenly roars, as if letting out his pent-up anger, repeated striking his chest in a Tarzan-like manner.

"Great blow, big guy," Wilhelm remarks with an amused grin, earning him the green man's attention. "The name is Wilhelm, but do call me Will. What is yours?"

"Hulk!" The big green man, now known as Hulk, answers, smirking ear to ear. "Hulk likes to thank the small friend!"

Hulk? The name sounds oddly familiar. That said, Wilhelm rolls his eyes. "I too am a big guy myself, big guy. You are an exception. Either way—" he looks to the crater "—think you got him?"

Hulk shakes his head, growling. "No! Needs more smashing—!"

All of a sudden, Hulk is sent soaring through the air, crashing through an apartment, with the speed no normal human could keep track of. Mere moments later, Wilhelm puts his arms up, which does not help much as he too is flying, skidding through rows of vehicles, creating a trench along the way before he finally slows down and stops. A cough finds its way out of his throat, as he groans.

"Yeah... Just another Tuesday." Wilhelm rises to his feet almost instantly, rolling his shoulders, with his eyes narrowing at the roaring abomination. He then notices a nearby commotion. A teenage girl is helping someone stuck under a wreckage. "Damn it. Get out of here! It is too dangerous!"

"I-I can't leave him behind!" she exclaims, trying to put a brave front, but he knows better. He knows she is scared, and he can practically smell her fright. Brave, yet stupid. Yet brave.

The abomination takes notice of the teen, and grows a sinister smirk.

"...Do not fucking dare, you hideous piece of shit. Leave them out of this."

The abomination roars with its might and charges.

Quickly, he dashes towards the two and lifts the wreckage up. Swiftly, Wilhelm throws both the teen and the unconscious man to a side, and finally turns his attention to the abomination...

...only to find a street light pole piercing through his heart.

"You have got to be shitting me—! Gaaaarrrrggggghhhhh!"

"NO!!!"

The abomination jumps on Wilhelm, pins him to the ground with both its feet crushing his abdomen. It grabs the pole, twisting and taking its time to push the pole through his chest, deeper into the earth with a sickening smirk. Simultaneously he grips the pole, grinding his teeth, veins pulsing in his neck, attempting to stop the pole from going any further. Yet the blood proves too slippery.

The soldiers unleash barrages of bullets onto the abomination. However, they all harmlessly bounce off the abomination's skin, slightly irritating it. Nonetheless, the pleasure of witnessing Wilhelm's life slowly fading from his eyes, plus the man's helpless struggle seem worth the hassle.

"Weak. Pathetic worm," the abomination taunts smugly. "You're not worthy."

"We shall see about that, ugly motherfucker—Argh!"

Watching in horror at the blatant execution, anger and disgust at the monster, along with fear for the man's life, boil up within the teenage girl who stayed behind to help a man—which she is well-aware it is the reason why the man who saved her is in such situation. She cannot stand this any longer; but before she can do anything, a soldier holds her back as he notices what she is going to do.

"L-Let go of me!" she pleads, jerking in the soldier's firm grip. "He's going to die, because of me! I-I need to help him, please! He's dying!"

"We need to get back now! Those things're gonna kill us if we stay here any longer!"

As the two continue to struggle, Wilhelm let go of the pole. The girl stops in her track, her wide eyes staring at the motionless man and his now-empty eyes. He no longer moves nor stirs. He is—

"—dead..." she whispers, instantly losing her strength to fight back, as though the world came crashing down on her. "No, no, no. I... I didn't mean to... I... It's all my fault..."

Tears slowly form around her eyes. The soldier finally manages to pull her back.

"Move, people! Move! The cavalry is here!"

The blaring sound of formidable spinning blades of the Apache helicopter take everyone's attention, including the abomination, follows by a bright beam light shining directly on the monster. Then, the combat helicopter fires its chain gun, unleashing thousands of bullets. The bullets simply ricochet off its skin, but serve their purpose to get its attention.

The abomination let out a roar, before deciding to jump and land on top of a building in one move. The Apache is immediately in hot pursuit, unleashing more bullets, all before the abomination grins and launches itself towards the helicopter.

Yet, none of it matters in her eyes. She has already tuned out other noises, now only focusing on the motionless man. Dead, brutally executed, and it is all her fault.

Something awakes inside her. Yet again, none matters at this very moment.

For she killed a person. His blood is on her hands.

And nothing will ever change that fact.

=

'Wake up, Wilhelm Herrmann... Evil must be punished...!'

That voice again.

Wilhelm opens his eyes upon the deep and cold voice. He looks around, finding himself standing in this middle of pure pitch-black space with a hole on where his heart is supposed to be—with no one else but himself. So empty. So quiet, that even the sound of his pulsing veins resounding throughout this place with an eerie echo, putting him on edge for good reasons.

"Does not seem like a lucid dream," Wilhelm murmurs under his breath, sighing. "Time to address the elephant in the room. What are you, mysterious voice? Because I made sure the other guy is no longer here to bloody mess with my mind."

'Vengeance... and so are you.'

A shadowy figure takes shape in front of him, before their entire body is on fire and unveils a charred skull head boring the hollow eye sockets into his piercing steel-blue.

"...No rest for the wicked, I suppose," he remarks having an idea or two what this is about.

'You do not seem startled, or surprise...'

"Trust me. There are things stranger than a ghost on fire, my friend."

'As I have seen from your memories, Willing Scapegoat... Your old life was indeed odd...'

"You have no idea. In any case," he remarks, ignoring the nickname, and the fact this ghost read his mind without his consent, "since I am stuck with you, for whatever reasons that I am too tired to give a bloody damn, what is going to exactly happen from now? What will happen to me?"

'Protect the weak and the innocent... Punish the wicked and the evil... Rise, Wilhelm Herrmann, and let the sinners know God's Vengeance is coming for them...!'

"God's Vengeance?" Wilhelm tastes the word in his mouth. "It does sound... intimidating."

'As it should be... I believe this shall be the beginning of a special partnership... partner...'

Wilhelm has a feeling he is going to regret those words in the near future. For now, however, he has to wake up and settle the score with a certain abomination.

And his Spirit of Vengeance is more than willing to help.

For evil must be punished—

"Hold it for a moment. God's Vengeance, yes? Does that mean God is real here?"

'Yes...'

"Huh. Oh well. Do excuse me, but holy fuck—"

'Language...'

=

At a wrecked part of the neighborhood, damaged from the earlier fight between the two giants, Hulk is having troubles taking down the one that is called the Abomination, as the big man both needs to contest against the might of his opponent and protect the love of his life, Betty Ross, and her... father, the general, and somebody wishes to capture both him and the Abomination; both of whom are safe within what is remain of the Apache that tried to chase the monstrosity.

As much as he hates to admit, he is slowly losing the fight. Unlike the Abomination, he chooses not to unleash his full power, fearing it would harm the civilians and his love. He is not a monster. Unlike this monster he is fighting.

The Abomination holds Hulk's throat with one hand, the other pushes him against the wall. Bruised and bleeding, Hulk growls as he grabs the forearm choking him. The two giants engage in one fierce battle for strength dominance. Seeing the evident worry on Betty as she stares at him, Hulk releases a booming roar, with a newfound strength to push the Abomination back.

At the same time, out of nowhere a street light pole bashes squarely at the Abomination's face. The force of the strike leaves the abomination dazed and bends the pole, before it snaps in half. At once Hulk headbutts the abomination, then a punch to the chest, sending it through a ruined wall.

Huffing, Hulk looks to his helper. Standing before him, a person with his head nowhere in sight, but instead replaced with a charred skull that is covered in red flames; this mysterious man is looking at him intently while dropping the broken pole, most of the surface is covered in blood. Hulk does not know who this is. But Hulk senses something familiar from the man before him.

Before long, Hulk blinks. "Small friend?"

If the skull has eyes, Hulk can imagine he is rolling his eyes. "As I said, I am not small. You are just too big, Hulk." His voice has taken a deeper and colder edge, but it does not matter to Hulk.

"Small friend is alive!" Hulk exclaims delightedly. "Hulk thought small friend was gone!"

"I am not easy to kill. Still—" Wilhelm directs his gaze to where the Abomination was sent flying "—we should probably take care of our friend here first, before he inflicts too much damages. You with me, big guy?"

"Always!"

As though on cue, the Abomination let out an enraged roar and bursts through the ruined wall, eyes filled with fury, and charges at Wilhelm and Hulk. Wilhelm heads in first, sliding to avoid a haymaker and heel kicking the ankle, then a punch to the side. Hulk follows up with a flying knee kick right to the solar plexus when the Abomination momentarily loses its balance. Nanomachines-covered arm finds its way to its face, throwing a hook that should break the jaw.

Which the Abomination delivers a feral backhand and slaps Wilhelm to a building—which destroys and brings down the entire structure. Howling, Hulk throws punches to the Abomination. Soon, his opponent counters with a cross to Hulk's cheek, rendering the big guy disoriented.

Before it can deliver another cross, a bell-shaped mace-like piece of concrete is flung into its face and pushes the monstrosity back. Emerging from the wreckage, Wilhelm swings the huge chain which is attached to the concrete piece while in air, and launches the mace-like attachment into the monster, creating a sizable crater.

Snarling, the Abomination gets up, directing its furious holler at Wilhelm. Then, as though the chain comes to life, it suddenly wraps around its neck, tightening. Its grip the chain, tries to loosen the grip. Hulk smashes his fist into its head with a superman punch, then using the said chain to wrap around the Abomination's neck one more time, and getting behind it, intending to choke the Abomination into submission—and possibly killing it at the same time.

Yet, the Abomination struggles, elbowing the Hulk. Regardless, Hulk holds strong, his hands never letting go of the chain. Noticing Wilhelm closing to them, Hulk kicks the Abomination's knee joint, forcing it on its knees. Wilhelm rushes in with a flying knee to the chin, then a straight blow right at the solar plexus. Then, grinning if he could, Wilhelm sends a shin kick straight at its groin.

The Abomination let out a painful wheeze, its hands instantly clutching its now-likely wrecked jewels with an unreadable expression. Although, both Wilhelm and Hulk can tell he is hurt; very so. As for the big man, he involuntarily winces and casts a weary gander at Wilhelm.

"Small friend is too ruthless!" Hulk comments. And is that a hint of fear in his voice?

"Why, thank you. You are flattering."

Wilhelm immediately grabs the side of the Abomination's face, boring his hollow eye sockets into it, the blazes covering his skill intensifying. His voice taking a more sinister edge.

Time to finish this, once and for all.

"Your soul is stained with the blood of the innocents!" Wilhelm judges, open his jaws in an inhuman fashion while staring at the Abomination in its very soul. "Feel every suffering you have caused! Feel their pains, sinner!"

Then, Wilhelm unlooses an unholy screech, mixed with the petrified scream of the Abomination as its eyes suddenly emit smoke. The screech and the scream are so deafening that even Hulk is showing some sort of discomfort; and the entire neighborhood has to cover their ears in response.

For a moment, it feels as though the sky is crying. Then the next moment, everything goes quiet. No one dares to move, or breathe.

Taking a step back, Wilhelm watches the Abomination limps. Its eyes are now replaced with a sort of burning ball-like pieces of charcoal, a by-product of the stare, which Wilhelm is learned it is called the Penance Stare. A fitting name, as the Abomination is now broken, physically and mentally.

Wilhelm breathes a sigh of relief as everything is over. Yet, Hulk does not seem to let go of the chain. On the contrary, he keeps tightening the grip on the Abomination's neck.

"Big guy, stop! It is not going to hurt anyone anymore!"

Hulk ignores Wilhelm, grinding his teeth. At the same time, military forces begin to surround them, aiming the weapons squarely at the three, mostly at him and Hulk. Wilhelm glances at them, feeling the nervousness and the apparent fear. And those eyes. He knows those eyes very well.

The eyes looking at a monster. Or in this case, monsters.

"Hulk, stop. Everything is over," Wilhelm continues, his voice softer this time. "You are no monster, Hulk. I know you are not. But these people, they are different. Show them that you are not mindless monster, Hulk. Prove them wrong."

Concurrently, the flames surrounding his skull fade. His flesh and skin return, now with a tenderized look on Wilhelm's face, as he approaches Hulk and places a hand on his massive hand.

"You are better than this, big guy. I know you are not a monster."

For a moment, Hulk seemingly stares at Wilhelm. He then stares at Betty, who has a proud look on her face and nods encouragingly.

"You're not a monster, Bruce," Betty says, smiling gently.

Hearing those words, Hulk loosens his grip on the chain, prompting the Abomination to drop to the ground. Hulk looks to his foe, conflicted. Then, he roars, seemingly frustrated, and proceeds to jump away, taking to the roof and running off.

Wilhelm heaves a sigh, looking at where Hulk is last seen. Then another sigh.

"At least my first day here is somewhat eventful. That was something."

"Don't move, freak! Hands in the air where we can see them! No sudden movement!"

Wilhelm rolls his eyes. Cliché, he knows. Ignoring the order—along several gazes from the civilians—Wilhelm reaches his hand to his belt. Then someone fires at his face. His head arches backward.

"Stand down, soldier!" General Ross, now recovered from the crash, orders. "Don't shoot!"

However, instead of falling down, Wilhelm stands still. As everyone cautious watches his moves, he leans his head forward again, with the 5.56x45mm caught between his teeth. A deadpanned stare on his face, looking directly at the one who tried to shoot him down.

Wilhelm spits the bullet, unamused. "That was not nice."

Wilhelm takes out a round steel pellet and drops it to the ground. Soon the ground surrounding him is buried in a screen of black smoke. Everyone is tensed, unsure what would happen next since they might have pissed off the man who brought down the Abomination.

Much to their relief, Wilhelm is nowhere to be found. General Ross would like to have a word with that soldier. For now, he needs to secure the Abomination, check the civilians and causalities; tonight is going to be a long night.

"Order to pursue the suspect, sir?" an officer asks.

"...No. Call off the pursuit team," he orders, breathing a sigh. "He's not our enemy; yet. And I hope it stays that way, for our sakes."

"And Dr. Bruce Banner, sir?"

"Proceed as usual."

=

Wilhelm, now within a good distant from the military force, walks leisurely through the dark alleys, although his mood is slightly dampened as his favourite shirt now has a hole on it.

"Now I need to decide the next course of action—"

Without warning, a wave of exhaustion hits him, rendering Wilhelm stumble as he has to lean against the wall for support. His eyes growing heavy, as he struggles to keep them open, but to no avail.

Before Wilhelm even realizes it, he is already lying on the ground, staring aimlessly at the full-moon in the dark sky, unable to move. He is passing out soon. His eyelids slowly shutting. And before they fully do so, a certain armored suit moves into his sight, with the glowing blue eyes of the helmet look at him.

"Sir? Sir!" That slightly robotic voice. That... Impossible. Wilhelm is sure he is— "I got you, sir!"

"A-Adam...? Is that really you?" Wilhelm asks weakly.

"Yes, sir. It's me, Adam. Don't worry, I got you now. Please rest and let me handle the rest."

Wilhelm smiles genuinely, assured by the voice, before he allows himself to pass out.

First day in Earth 2.0, and it is eventful indeed.

=