Chapter 10: Black Mask 2/2.

More chapters on P@treon.com/Saintbarbido.

-0-

The Ghost Rider ripped through the night sky like a comet from Hell, chains blazing, burning with blue hellfire.

His target lay across the street- the roof of the Janus Masks building, concealing the heart of Black Mask's lair—an underground palace of depravity hidden beneath.

Within the dark chambers, the vilest of Gotham's elite had gathered for an auction, trading in human lives, unaware of the Reckoning speeding their way.

Boom!

With an earthquaking punch, the Rider tore through the roof of the top floor, and subsequent building's floor one by one, leaving behind merchandise burning in a blaze of heat.

The whole building shuddered, glass shattering from windows- all caused by the Rider slamming onto and plunging through the ground floor.

The fiery chains covering his hands were like drills, spiraling downward and burning away the soil to unearth the underground layer below, separated into sections.

The sections' concrete foundations and metal ceilings faired no better, easily melting into a straight path leading to the deepest sublevel- Black Masks lair.

There was no warning. Only a slight shaking before btoom!

Blue chains burst through the bunker-like-ceiling, heralding the arrival of a Dark God.

The Ghost Rider landed in the center of the auction stage, right in front of everyone.

And above him, a hole straight through the whole building structure, showing the open sky and the moonlight streaming in, which added a mystical touch to the flames licking his skeletal frame.

He looked even more menacing with a presence that silenced the entire room.

"T-the G-Ghost Rider??!"

The one to break that silence was the announcer- interrupted in the middle of advertising his next product- a little Asian girl.

At his words, the crowd—once sneering and cheering at the wretched souls up for sale—stared in shock, their terror palpable.

Everyone had heard of the terror that had hit Gotham these past few weeks. A vengeful spirit that punished the Immoral.

"SO MANY SINNERS."

The Ghost Rider growled in dark excitement, surveying the chamber.

The announcer screamed and tried to run off, only for a Thwack! Sound to ring out, the whip of a chain turning his body into burning ash.

That was the cue for panic. Screaming in Terror, the crowd began to scatter.

"GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."

A creepy laugh escaped the Rider, the sound filling the chamber and inducing madness and pantshitting fear. The crowd shoved and struggled in a frenzy.

More than a few of these High class society Elites found themselves crushed under the stampede of rushing feet.

Only for them to freeze in horror as flames covered the perimeter of the chamber and exits, blocking escape.

The Ghost Rider's laugh cut short, head tilted to regard the little girl on the stage, staring his way with dead eyes and a blank expression.

Silently, blue fire gathered on the Rider's palm, compressing to form a small Eastern Dragon which flew to the girl and coiled itself around her neck, protectively.

The girl's blank expression broke into wide eyed awe as she regarded the small dragon.

"GO. SHE WILL LEAD YOU TO SAFETY."

The Rider stated in an uncharacteristically gentle tone.

The girl bowed at him and run off the stage- the fire parting in her wake, her newly created Hellflame Familiar leading her.

That done, the Rider's hollow eyes locked onto Black Masks' figure, still seated arrogantly at the end of the room.

"ROMAN SIONIS, SAY YOUR LAST PRAYER."

The Rider's voice reverberated through the auction chamber, echoing with unearthly malice.

"FOR JUDGMENT IS UPON YOU."

Surrounded by his security, Black Mask stood, hands tucked behind his back, his face hidden behind his signature ebony skull mask. He exuded a false calm, though his heartbeat betrayed him.

"I was expecting you, Rider."

He sneered.

"After your very recent stunt with my shipment, I figured you'd come sniffing around. You owe me 50 million dollars, by the way."

The crowd shifted uncomfortably, but Black Mask raised a hand, signaling them to stay put.

"Don't worry. This guy's about to be ice cold."

He said with a smirk.

At a snap of his fingers, his men raised their weapons—gleaming ice guns designed specifically for this moment.

"Oh yeah."

Black Mask's eyes practically glinted.

"You can thank Mr. Freeze for these little toys he gathered on short notice."

Mr. Freeze, encased in a high tech armor with a glass helmet and red googles, silently sat behind Black Mask, studying the Rider curiously- though he made sure not to make eye contact.

"Boys? Ice his ass!"

The black faced villain in a white suit gave the order.

Immediately, the auction hall blazed with the blue glow of cryogenic blasts-

"Hahahahaha, who's laughing now bone freak??"

-freezing the Rider in a solid chunk of blue ice wider than the stage. It's top reached the ceiling.

Black Mask strolled forward, dancing in a gloating manner to a silent tune.

The laughter had tapered away, replaced by slow clapping as he approached the frozen Ghost Rider.

"You see, I'm not like the rest of these scared little cowards in Gotham."

He boasted.

"I'm not afraid of you or your so-called judgment. The only one dishing out punishment here is me."

He leaned in close to the ice, his breath fogging the surface.

"Once I figure out who you are," Black Mask continued, his voice dropping into a venomous whisper, "I'll kill your family. Your friends. And I'll make you watch before I sell your bones to some priest who loves this occult crap."

Behind him, a quiet Mr. Freeze stood in cold silence, his eyes narrowing as Black Mask continued his ran.

"Enough!"

Mr. Freeze's voice cut through the auction hall, his frost-bitten words hanging in the air.

"Going after wives and children… that was not part of our deal."

Surprised, Black Mask turned to him, eyes blazing with anger.

"Shut up, Freeze! You're lucky I even brought you into this. No one else in Gotham would touch your mad experiments. Sit quietly, enjoy the show and wait for your check."

Freeze's face twisted into an unreadable expression behind his helmet.

He needed the money, yes, but he should have known better than to deal with someone like Black Mask. The man had no boundaries he wouldn't cross. The slavery was disturbing enough, but now he knew there was nothing for him here.

Freeze's disgust and weariness were clear as he turned to leave. And that infuriated Black Mask. The Rider momentarily forgotten, Black Mask snapped his fingers and the guards trained their weapons on Mr. Freeze.

"You think you can walk away from me?!"

Black Mask snarled.

"You're nothing without my money. Boys ice him up! Maximum capacity!"

Before the guards could fire, the ground shook violently.

The Rider's chains erupted from the auction Hall's floor, molten and hungry, coiling around Black Mask's men and their cryo-guns like serpents from the Infernal realm.

Before everyone's eyes, One by one, they were dragged screaming into the earth—into Hell itself.

-0-

Meanwhile, amidst the chaos, Catwoman had already moved. The plan had been two fold- while Mich- Ghost Rider crashed the Auction, she would handle the rescue.

'Take a left.'

In the shadows, she stalked through the dimly lit hallways, led by J'onn, now a green colored bird with blue fire wings.

'How do you know which way it is?'

She curiously asked. The lair was built in the old Gotham sewer system, purposefully modified to form a complex labyrinth.

'I can sense their minds. We should hurry- This place won't be standing for long.'

J'onn told her.

A few twusts and turns later, she arrived at the place they were keeping them.

With her whip and expert moves, she quickly disabled the guards surrounding the cages of the trafficked girls.

The noise from the auction hall thankfully masked the sounds of her precise takedowns.

"Shhh."

Catwoman whispered to the girls, unlocking the cages.

"Follow me. Stay low."

The sight of the rooms they passed made bile rise in her throat. Dark, blood-stained chambers designed for torture and worse.

Her green eyes narrowed.

'Roman Sionis is a sick bastard.'

'That we agree on. Soon, He'll be getting a taste of the Master's flames of vengeance.'

J'onn echoed.

'Good. He deserves every ounce of fire the Rider can pull from hell.'

She thought-replied as she led the girls to safety.

-0-

Back in the auction room, following the unexpected loss of his security, Black Mask's heart sank, paling as the ice trapping Ghost Rider cracked—first softly, then in violent bursts.

The mountain of ice crumbled down, hissing as it melted down to water, evaporated into mist and then disappeared altogether.

Mr. Freeze watched the blatant disregard of physics in awe, leaving the Rider standing tall in the middle of the stage, his skull ablaze.

"Impossible."

The scientist Victor Fries, muttered.

"That ice feeds on heat…"

With a tug, the chains speared through the stage retracted, wrapping around the Rider's arms and leather torso. Finally, the hollow eyes fell on Black Mask and he stumbled back, his bravado crumbling.

"I'll pay you!"

He stammered as the Rider jumped off the Stage and started his approach.

"Triple—no, quadruple what they're giving you! Just… spare me."

The Ghost Rider stopped and tilted his head slightly. Within the Rider, Michael's psyche stirred,

'All these villains are reduced to begging when your petty tricks to avoid punishment fail. It would work if I was the forgiving kind. Or the kind to be bought.'

"NO AMOUNT OF MONEY CAN PAY OFF THE DEBT YOUR SOUL OWES."

The Rider told him, grabbing the Villain by the front of his suit.

"No! Please! Wait! We can work something out! I'll be good! I'll stop selling Kids!"

Black Mask pleaded, his eyes mad with fear as the Ghost Rider pulled him closer.

"F-Freeze! Help me and I'll save your wife! You want her to die!!?"

Of the ones watching, no one said a thing or came to his rescue.

Reality sank in for him.

"I- I don't want to die..."

He muttered in a broken voice.

The Rider smiled creepily despite being a skull.

"DEATH IS TOO GOOD FOR YOU. YOUR PUNISHMENT SHALL BE...NON-EXISTENCE."

"Huh?..."

Black Mask was left clueless. Unfortunately for him, he was about to find out what it meant.

The Rider's jaw dropped wide open. And from within a stream of dark blue hellfire erupted, engulfing Black Mask entirely.

The flames were no ordinary fire—they consumed more than flesh. They erased Black Mask's very existence—his soul, his memories, his deeds—all wiped from time itself.

The Man known as Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask was no more. His name wiped from the book of Life itself.

-0-

Across the world, a ripple of unspoken change swept through.

Doctor Fate paused in the Tower of Nabu, his hand twitching as if he had forgotten a thought mid-formation.

Dream of the Endless glanced up from his conversation in a quiet café, his sharp eyes catching the faintest disturbance in the fabric of reality.

The Specter, floating above the Earth, frowned, sensing a shift but unable to recall what it had been.

And in the next moment, it was gone—like dust in the wind.

One Villain's death, unmarked. His Sins forgotten.

But to the few who noticed, it was a subtle warning that reality itself could be rewritten by the Spirit of Vengeance.

-0-

Mr. Freeze stood in the silence that followed, glowing blue flames reflecting in his visor.

He blinked, an odd sensation washing over him—like he had forgotten something important. He rubbed at his helmet, noticing something carved into the glass.

'Next Time.'

He looked around and that's when he noticed he was inside a large hole, with the walls burning.

As he watched, the blue flames finally went out, leaving him under a blanket of night, the only source of light being the moon above.

Police sirens sounded from afar quickly approaching his way, prompting him to climb out of the hole still confused about his whereabouts.

Unknown to him, was the fact, he was the ONLY survivor from the mysterious ordeal.