Chapter 32: The Big Apple

New York 

"Yup, we just landed an hour ago."

Harvey said to his phone as he looked around the hustling Borough of Queens. He and the Dunphy family arrived at the JFK airport not too long ago and were now making their way to the hotel they would be staying in during their week here to explore the Stark Expo.

"I'm sure you'll love the city! When you get a chance, you should visit Delmar's Bodega!" Amy said on the other end. "The best sandwiches you'll ever find!"

"I'll be sure to grab one then." Harvey replied as he heard Claire call his name. "I have to go now, Amy. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay! Bye-Bye!"

With a tap, Harvey ended the call and approached the family; he fell a little behind while looking around. Reaching them, he saw all the Dunphy siblings looking around in curiosity. 

"Harvey, make sure to stay close by! This is a bustling city, and I don't want any of us to get separated." Claire exclaimed. "Now, where is that hotel?"

"This isn't even the main city yet, but there's so much going on!" Luke said as he watched an argument erupt over a pizza a couple of feet away. "So cool."

"Our Hotel should be in Long Island City." Alex spoke. "We should grab a taxi; it'll be a thirty-minute drive from here."

"Phil, see if you can wave over a taxi." Claire said as she also looked for a taxi. "We're gonna have to separate and take two."

"I'll ride with Harvey!" All the Dunphy siblings said. They then looked at each other oddly.

"No fighting! We just got here, and I don't want the start of our stay here to be with a fight." Claire told her kids as she saw Phil successfully call over a taxi.

"Look alive, kids, your father is a natural." Phil proudly said as the taxi came to a stop. The driver asked Phil where they were going, and Phil then told him the address. "Hop in!"

"Okay. Alex, Luke. You two will be riding with your father. Haley, Harvey, and I will take the next cab." It seemed like they were about to argue, but a glare from Claire stopped them.

The three then placed their luggage into the back of the taxi and then sat inside. Harvey waved at them as they drove off; Alex looked disappointed. Harvey shook his head. In the end, they would all be in the same place. There wasn't really a reason to argue over a taxi. Speaking of taxis, Claire whistled one over.

"I didn't know mom could do that." Haley said from beside him.

"She's a natural." Harvey nodded.

Harvey looked over to Haley and stared at her face. He quickly looked away and shook his head. He's been having trouble looking at her ever since she kissed him on the cheek. His mind sometimes wondered what that kiss meant. Was it her form of thanking him for his advice, or did it mean something more? Harvey had never before looked at Haley through the lens of a romantic interest. She was gorgeous, and any sane person would love to go out with her.

So what was going on with him? Harvey knew he was also a young adult with hormones, so the thought of being in a relationship should be very appealing. Was something not right in his head? Or could all his time as Vengeance and the Ghost Rider have muddled his priorities? After all, he was no longer a human. So, did that mean he no longer had human needs and desires? This was all very confusing.

"Alright, kids, put your luggage in the back, and let's get inside." Claire broke him out of his thoughts. "We don't want to fall too far behind the others."

Nodding, Harvey and Haley placed their luggage in the trunk and made their way inside. Harvey sat on the right side with Claire on the left, leaving Haley between them. Harvey saw Haley eye him from the corner of his vision. She then looked down at his hand and started moving her own. She was stopped when Claire began speaking.

"This Stark Expo, it's impressive they can run it for a year straight. The sheer amount of resources for it must be tremendous." Claire spoke as she looked at an article on her phone. "A week should be enough time for Alex to look at everything she could want. She deserves this. Hopefully, it helps her relax and get her mind off school."

Haley seemed to freeze when Claire mentioned Alex. Slowly, she brought her hands into her lap and looked down. Harvey was confused by that; what was she thinking? Deciding to think about Haley's action later, Harvey looked out the window at the sights. Queens was a lively place; he could see the appeal of it and the city in the distance.

'If only my senses would stop clawing at me.' Harvey thought. 

'This city is bathed in sin. There are several strong presences of evil throughout.' Zarathos spoke. 'It's hard to funnel them away from your mind.'

Harvey nodded and focused his senses. If he didn't, he would've instinctively transformed into the Ghost Rider and hunted these people down. Since this city was so large and compact, it meant there were more targets in close proximity. Making it easy pickings for the spirit of vengeance to hunt. No wonder Amy said she spent more time in this city than elsewhere. She must have had her hands full here.

Looking up at the sky, Harvey saw a few birds fly across the clouds. Amy was currently in Africa; there was something there that she needed to check in on. Otherwise, she said she would have come along and given him a tour of the Big Apple.

"Kids, we're here!" Claire said, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Getting out of the taxi and retrieving their luggage, the three saw Phil, Alex, and Luke waiting for them in front of the Hyatt Place hotel. Phil noticed them and waved them over. Alex looked at him and smiled. Harvey smiled back and walked over to her and Luke. Once everyone was together, they made their way inside.

•••

"What is this world coming to? There was an attack in Harlem a while back," Phil said as he read a newspaper. "It was between two giant green monsters."

"Two monsters?" Luke said as he looked over at Harvey. 

Harvey shook his head; he had no idea what they were. Walking over to Phil, Harvey looked down and saw the image of the two monsters. They were giant and were covered in muscles. There was a difference in color between them. One was a more vibrant green, while the other was a sandy greenish-yellow color. 

"The Hulk?" Harvey read out.

"I think that's what they're calling one of them." Phil said as he handed him the newspaper.

They were currently inside their hotel room. It was decided that Alex, Haley, and Claire would share one room while Luke, Phil, and Harvey would share the other. While it seemed like the sisters wanted to say something, they ultimately stayed silent and went to their respective rooms. 

"More are popping up." Luke whispered to him.

"Yeah, it seems that director wasn't lying." 

"Oh, Claire just texted me. We should get ready to go into the city to look around before the Expos opening ceremony tonight." Phil told them as he smiled. "What do you boys say? Ready to explore the Big Apple?!"

"I'm ready!" Luke said as he turned away from the paper. He had a shaky smile. "Let's go look at Times Square!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Phil said as he walked into the bathroom.

"It's okay, Luke." Harvey said as he grabbed his friend's shoulder. "I'll make sure nothing happens to anyone."

•••

For the next few hours, the small group of six explored around and were amazed at what the city had to offer. Due to the few hours before the opening ceremony, they couldn't get to everything they wanted to see, but they had five more days to explore. Of course, they went to see Times Square. It is one of the world's busiest pedestrian areas, the hub of the Broadway Theater District, and a significant center of the world's entertainment industry.

The family took several pictures of each other and the sights. They even pulled Harvey in for many of the photos. He was grateful they wanted to include him in the photographs. After a while, they got tired and hungry and stopped by a coffee shop to get something to eat. Once there, they got in line to order; Harvey wasn't very hungry, so he stood outside and waited for them.

"This city is charming." Harvey said to himself. "I can get used to it."

Turning his head, he saw people walk on by quickly. They ranged from business people, joggers, schoolchildren, teenagers, older people, and several other different individuals. The traffic was unbearable in parts, but it wasn't like the movies depicted.

'Sense that?' Zarathos asked.

Harvey got off the metallic railing he was leaning on and focused his senses. Due to minimizing his radius so he doesn't become overwhelmed, his senses are much weaker, and it was harder to pinpoint individuals. But right now, he sensed three particularly sinful souls. They were currently leading a relatively good soul away from the main streets.

"Let's go." 

Due to not bringing his Vigilante outfit, Harvey will have to do it without a disguise. He'll need to be careful and not show off his abilities. Moving fast, he followed the four souls to an alley; it was well out of sight. The noises created by the people on the streets and the nearby traffic would hide whatever could happen.

Coming to a stop, he peered around the corner and looked at the four individuals he followed. They stood in front of a young woman who seemed to be a year older than him. Her back was to a fence, and she was carrying a couple of books in her arms. 

Looking closely at her, Harvey noticed she had beautiful auburn hair that came down to her shoulders. Her narrowed eyes were a bluish-green. She was wearing a red leather jacket over a black shirt. Her long black skirt led down to black socks and boots.

"This isn't the library. You all lied to me."

Harvey heard her say in an accent. From the world languages lessons Alex went over with him, He could swear it was a Sokovian accent. That explains why she was tricked so easily. She was a foreigner. And these guys must have realized she was easy prey.

"Listen, sweetheart, we'll show you over the library after we have some fun." The man with the black hoodie said.

"Easy, red. Just a couple minutes, and you'll be on your way." The man wearing a blue denim jacket said smugly. The last man in a dirty white shirt just laughed behind him.

"Move." The young woman said as she tried to walk away. Only to be stopped by the three men; she was boxed in.

"After we're done."

"Okay, that's enough!"

Harvey yelled as he walked up to the group. They all turned to him and glared. The girl widened her eyes but quickly narrowed them. Harvey could have sworn they glowed red for a second.

"Get lost, kid." The man in the black hoodie walked up to him and snarled down at him. He was pretty tall compared to Harvey.

As the man was about to put a hand on Harvey's shoulder, his wrist was grabbed and twisted at lightning speed. He was then pulled down and elbowed across the face. From there, Harvey pulled his head down and delivered a nose breaking knee strike. The man swiftly fell onto a dirty puddle, face first.

"What the!"

The other two men looked at him in surprise as he walked towards them. One of the men, the one with the denim jacket, shook his head and ran towards Harvey. The man swung a sloppy punch at Harvey's face, but it was easily dodged. Harvey kicked forward and landed a sharp spartan kick, followed by a spinning roundhouse to the head. He dropped like a sack of potatoes.

"Huh?" 

Harvey said as he saw the last man slide down the brick wall to his left. Waves of red energy soon dissipated from his body; the man was out cold. Turning his head to the young woman, he saw her face scrunched up in exhaustion; her right arm was held up as slow-moving red energy surrounded her hand.

'An enhanced?' Harvey thought.

"Stay right there!" The woman said. "Any closer, and you'll end up like him!"

'She's bluffing. She's on her last legs. Whatever she did exhausted all her energy.' Zarathos said. 'It's been a long time since I've encountered Chaos magic.' 

"It's okay!" Harvey said as he raised his arms. "I'm not here to hurt you! I'm here to help!"

The woman's eyes continued to look at him suspiciously, and the sweat covering her face started dripping down. Her body was now shaking slightly. It appeared like she was about to say something, but she collapsed forward. Before she could fall, Harvey caught her in his arms.

"Whatever you did must have been real draining." Harvey said as he looked at her serene expression. "You're… really beautiful."

Shaking his head, Harvey looked surprised at his words. What was he doing? He was holding an unconscious woman in a dirty alley with three knocked-out men who were flat on the filthy ground. Sighing disappointedly, Harvey noticed a phone pocking out of her jacket pocket.

Picking it up, Harvey unlocked it and went to her call history. Seeing a caller ID called around ten minutes ago, Harvey assumed it should be a friend of hers. Dialing the number, Harvey waited, Unsure what to say to whoever picked up.

"Hello? Sis?"

"Um, not exactly. Is this Pietro?"

"…WHO ARE YOU?! What have you done with my sister!" Harvey had to pull the phone away due to how loud Pietro was.

"That's kind of a long story. Can you meet us off West forty-fourth Street?" Harvey said.

"I'll be there in a flash."