Speak of The Devil..(Zeronone)

[John Kilroy]

The Phoenix took deep breaths as she meditated feeling the cosmos around her. Since resurrecting the Phoenix had become well for lack of a better term complete. All the parts of her that were scattered throughout time (IE all of the host that looked suspiciously like Jean Grey) had managed to remerge into "The One True Phoenix." as a result she had gained back all of her memories from all of her previous incantations, since then she had dedicated herself to not only acting like a normal person, but also protecting people from threats that were far too big for normal people to handle.

Meditating helped her focus. It helped her see everything without losing herself to it wasn't true omnipotence rather it was like seeing the entire picture from a birds eye view, allowing her to look for threats. As she continued her cosmic scan her senses focused in on something as she got closer mentally she recognized the presence as being a spirt of Vengeance or at least that's what she thought at first until she realized something was off. Something felt foul. Not wanting to risk a potential demon to run amok without fully knowing what this thing was she followed the creature's Physic imprint and investigated the spirit.   

[Zeronone]

"Shut the f**k up, Eli!"

Robbie growled as the Hell Charger swung around a corner, flaming wheels burning the road into slag, the wheels spinning as the car chased towards its target. In front was a white van that was weaving through traffic, smashing cars out of its way to get away with their prize. Robbie switched gears and the car roared like an ancient demon, hell fire pouring from the sides of the engine and the muffler.

He barreled through cars parked on the road, sending them flying out of the way as he got closer. His body melded with the vehicle as he moved through the car and up to the roof. From his arm came a flaming chain, spikes along the entire length ending in a dual sickle that he spun with incredible speed, the chain a blur and looking more like there were three of them. He slashed the flaming chain whip, slashing the tire of the van.

The van buckled as the wheel gave, losing control and smashing into a pole. The front crumpling and the passenger was thrown through the windshield.

The Hell Charger pulled up beside the vehicle and Robbie stepped down. Walking across the pavement, his flaming boots leaving boot prints of hellfire. Walking around, he looked down at the still concise man who had been flung from the van. The whip slashed down and decapitated the guy.

He turned his attention to the driver who managed to get the door open and fell out. He held a nine-millimeter pistol in his hand. As the Rider got closer, the man opened fire. Bullets slammed against Robbie's chest, but he kept walking. The bullets falling to the ground as melted metal. The fear in his eyes was intense as the Rider grabbed him by the throat, without a word he turned and began dragging the man towards his car.

The man lashed out, striking the Ghost Rider with punches and kicks, beating himself against the flaming skeleton. Robbie ignored it all, walking around to the trunk, he opened it. Inside was a swirling portal of hellfire, the sounds of eternal screams echoed out of it, the smell of sulfur and brimstone escaped. The man's eyes widened as he fought harder, trying to pull away.

The Rider looked down, his eyeless sockets burning with fire. "Punished!" With a toss, he threw the man into the trunk. The screams continued for some time as the man fell into the Pitt! The trunk closed with a click.

Robbie walked around to the back of the Van, the flames dying down as he became Robbie Reyes once more. He grabbed the back and ripped it open, breaking the lock. Inside were five kids, tied up and gagged. Robbie stepped inside and untied them, taking the gag out he smiled as they grabbed him into a hug.

"Hey, it's okay. You are all safe. I will call the cops and you will all go home."

He did just that, calling the cops and informing them he had five kids who had been kidnapped. They were safe and where the cops could pick them up, he waited with them till he heard sirens and knew they would be safe. He stepped into his now ordinary charger, waving at them he drove off. Turning a corner he stopped, he felt something coming and fast. His head turned this way and that, stepping out of the car to get a better look.

[John Kilroy]

The trunk of the charger began to rattle...and then it began to shake....then it began to quake before blasting off in a firey explosion that engulfed the area with a blinding light. (No  civilians were around) The Phoenix's silhouette shined against the light giving her an angelic-like appearance as she held the man she had rescued from The Pitt. Cosmic teleportation had its advantages. The man she rescued was practically a blubbering mess, he experienced a one-way trip to Hell only to be rescued by something he could only describe as an angel, it caused some emotional and psychological whiplash to say the least. The man came from a family of devout Catholic Latin American Immigrants, and before turning to a life of crime he was raised as such. At this moment, however, one would be forgiven for thinking he was a mix of Catholic, Pentecostal and who knows what else as he began to babble in sheer shock. Between the pure incoherence she was able to decipher the following phrase.

"O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ! Amen! Hallelujah! Amen!"

Jean could not help but rolled her eyes. reading into his mind he was a scumbag with a wrap sheet of unconviced felonies a mile long. It seemd like the only life he knew was being a thug. For a brief moment, she questioned if she should not have just left him in that pit. 

"Oh knock it off." she muttered as she tossed him aside like a sack of wheat.

she then watched as he crawled on his hands and knees like a dog before weakly getting on his feet he almost looked like a newborn deer the way he fumbled around and as much as she hated to admit it, she found the display of patheticness amusing as surly not long ago he was threatening the kids about how he was a member of "Los Diablos" and how he shouldn't be messed with. "How is it said? I believe it's something along the lines go back to the God of your fathers and turn back from your criminal ways. I highly suggest you take that piece of advice. if you go back to your criminal ways and you end up in this situation again, I may not be so willing to save you a second time."

The man started to do the sign of the cross. "I will! I will! I don't know who you are, but I swear on my grandmother's grave, that I'll be a good catholic again from now on!"


Again, Jean rolled her eyes before casting a pilar of Phoenix fire granting him a barrier between himself and the demon. "Just go before I change my mind and deliver you back into his hands."

When the man left her eyes turned to the boy and she did not have to use telepathy to feel the foul presence of whatever spirit had anchored itself to him, and she saw right through its deception.

"I know the Spirits of Vengence well. When man was young I fought along side one and considered him  a friend and a brother in arms. But you...You look like a Spirit of Vengeance, perhaps you even have the trappings of one...No. No, your presence is foul, I may not know just what sort of spirt you are, but whoever you are or whatever you are...You are No Spirit of Vengeance!."

she then raised her hand pointing her fingers toward him. Her eyes glowed with Phoenix fire as she gave of an unshaking glare. She spoke in a booming voice of authority that could only come from a cosmic goddess of her power.

"Depart from this boy and flee far away from this place Demon! Flee from our presence before I forcefully pull you into the astral plane and drag you back into whatever Pitt you spawned from!"


In truth she did not know if she could outright kill a spirit of vengeance as all her spars with Ghost ended in a dead even draw, Considering that she was one of the first beings in existence save for the Shadowbird and of course the One Above All it was certainly possible that her powers were mystical and given the fact she represented life, along with its preservation and rebirth she'd certainly fit the holy archetype in most religions...but there was also a possibility that her powers while powerful may not have been magical even if she was capable of pulling off similar feats to a spirit of vengeance and she couldn't look at past experiences to give a definitive answer. Still, even if she proved to be unable to kill this demon,  She knew what the spirits of Vengeance were capable of and any feat he performed with whatever force he drew from she could do herself by drawing from her own power. Maybe she could kill him maybe she could not but in any case...she could certainly make him hurt. 

[Zeronone]

Robbie stared as his trunk began shaking, his head tilting. In his... months as the Rider he had never seen that happen before. He stepped back as his drunk blasted open, the invulnerability of the car the only thing keeping the trunk hood from blasting off its hinges. The light that appeared caused Robbie to shield his eyes, peeking through he saw a figure emerge. That was something incredibly new, he was pretty sure the trunk led to Hell but here was this woman. Was she a demon? No, she wasn't a demon but nor was she an angel. He took a step back, giving himself distance and room to maneuver if he had too. One thing that he did recognize and pissed him off a little was she was holding that kidnapping scum bag in her arms, like the filth deserved to be saved at all. Who knows what that monsters' plans was for those kids, he belonged in Hell!

He watched as she let him go, listening to his babbling and panic caused a smoldering pit of his own to form in Robbie's stomach. Whoever this person was had horrible taste in people! Robbie reached back for the gun he now carried after dealing with the Hood, but a pillar of fire blocked them. He growled as his gaze turned back to the woman.

She spouted crap about Eli, a spirit of vengeance. What the hell was that?

It seemed that whatever it was his uncle didn't fit the bill for it, which Robbie was already fully aware that Eli was a piece of scum. But he gave Robbie a way to fight back, to be more, to give Gabe the life he deserved. And no way was some flaming chick in a leotard was going to take that away.

"Lady, I don't know who the hell you are, but you got no right butting into stuff you know nothing about. You have any idea who the hell you just saved? That filth will be back to his crap in a week! And who the f**k are you to tell anyone anything? Go back to where you came from before this gets bad."

Robbie rarely ever spoke on Eli's behalf but while his uncle was a massive POS he had his uses and they had a deal.

The hissing voice echoed from his mind. "Oh, dear Robbie thank you. As for who she is, no idea never seen her before. But beware, something about her feels dangerous."

[John Kilroy]

Note: (Player bought into a mind read so long as Robbie is not in ghost rider form.

The phoenix could not help but smile just a little as she heard Robbie talk. There was just a little bit of an oddity she found adorable in a childish sort of way.

"So you have no problem dropping an F-Bomb, you have no issue invoking the presence of Hell in vain...but you use crap as opposed to the actual word." She began to giggle.

"I'm Sorry I'm sorry I don't know why I got so hyper focused on that, I just find it cute. Believe me I'll be keeping a very close eye on Jose (The name of the Thug) and if he backslides, I shall deliver him back to the pit."

This boy was clearly a youth, and with him came all of the trials and quirks of being young including a lack of wisdom. She wasn't going to hold that against him. Wisdom was something that was gained though experience As it was, if her own episodes of going Dark Phoenix were anything to go by, age did not automatically equal wisdom either. Phoenix proceeded to explain her origins to the young boy and explained the different forms (The main Phoenix hosts) she had taken over the course of the history of the universe, morphing into them as she did so.  

"As for who I am, I've gone by many names since time began. in the beginning I was known as The Big Bang, the Light, When I first took on a human form I was a prehistoric warrior known as Firehair..."

"...in  what you now refer to as The Age of the Vikings I took on the form of a Scandinavian Witch known as Theodosia Szardos..."

"...In the 15th century, I was the K'un Lunian warrior known as Fongji Wu..."

"...In present times, for the rest of time, and after the End of All and into the Dawn of Eternity. I go by Jean Grey. Chances are if you've heard of me at all, it's most likely because of my work with Professor Charles Xavier. Mock my outfit all you like but do not be so foolish as to underestimate me. you'll find I'm much more than just a mere superhuman. I guess you can say I'm the manifestation of the universe and the very concept of life itself made flesh. I am The Phoenix."

"You are new to me young one but no need to say anything." She quickly scanned the young man's mind getting information on him. She didn't get everything on him as she wanted to get in and out before the demon inside him reacted and forced her out. But she was able to get who he was...and the pain he had gone through. Her look turned to that of sorrow and pity. 


"Robbie...*sigh* I won't say I know the pain you're going through, and I know how you feel because ultimately I'm not you. But please believe me when I say this demon will not give you what you truly seek. The pact you made with him is not worth keeping. It'll only cost you everything. Your Soul...Gabe's Soul..." in her mind, Jean knew that Robbie probably wasn't thinking about the Metaphysical consequences of his actions. The boy was a teenager. why would he? No the offer was probably as straightforward as any deal could be.  The demon would give Robbie the power to enact revenge against those who wronged him and all Robbie had to do was "feed him" Most likely the demon didn't mention the fact that the Soul of Robbie and everyone he loved was probably on the menu as well.

So...if The Phoenix wished to separate Robbie from this demon, she would have to give an offer that was just as good if not better as what this demon could give with fewer strings attached. Fortunately, she had the power to not only make such a deal but to make good on it. 

"Look, if it's power to protect your brother and to avenge yourself that you desire, I can grant that to you. Whatever abilities this foul spirit grants you with his demonic power I can grant to you by imbuing you with a piece of myself. I can even heal your brother so that he can walk. I do not wish for your soul, your body or to be fed, All I would ask of you is that you use my gifts to protect and not to harm." 

[Zeronone]

Robbie just stared at the woman in front of him... maybe she was insane. There were stories of beings with powers being driven crazy by them. The Big Bang, the essence of Life itself. One was scientific fact and the other a concept that each person discovered while they walked through their own story. She rattled off names he knew nothing about. Then came the ultimate ick of all. She went into his head, his memories, the place every person considered their sacred haven and this woman delved into them like it was an open pool party.

Eli snapped down, blocking the deeper memories of Robbie's mind and forcing the woman out of it. Robbie's hand turned into a fist as he glared at her. "Hey, you don't delve into people's minds without their permission! I don't give a damn who or what you are, you don't get to take information not given freely to you!"

She spouted off crap she took from his head, his memories, his experiences all without his permission and acted like she understood why he did the things he did.

"Eli may be a filthy psychopath but we made a deal and nothing else I will hold my end. I am fully aware of what Eli can and can't do and taking my soul is one of those. He exists because our deal allows him too. Without me he goes to the pit for good and he knows it. As for Gabe, you don't seem to know what you are doing. I had him healed already, and I don't need some flaming lunatics powers held over my head like a damn sword of Damocles!"

He had enough talking, hell fire flicked over his form. His skin melted away as fire consumed him, his clothes became ashy and dark, his head bursting into Hell fire as he became the Ghost Driver.

"As for your past associates, I am not them. I am not the Ghost Rider; I am Robbie Reyes the Ghost Driver!"

He whipped the gun up, it changed into a longer version with chains wrapping it. Pulling the trigger, he fired a super speeding hellfire bullet at the woman.

[John Kilroy]

Jean would concede about the whole my reading thing. "My apologies." though she couldn't help but smile a little when he declared himself "The Ghost Driver." "I don't think that name comes out the same way aloud as it does in your head."

When Ghost Rider fired his shot, she sidestepped the attack stopping the bullets with her telekinesis. Upon touching them she imbued the hellfire bullets with the Phoenix Force purifying them and turning them into Phoenix Fire bullets. She then sent them right back at him at an equal speed. 

"We are of similar cloth Reyes our powers just derive from differnt sources. I'm still confused as to how Eli as you call him is able to copy the abilities of a spirit of Vengence so well. He'd have to be a powerful demon but I know no demon called Eli..."

She had her suspicions but didn't say anything aloud as she didn't want eli to clam up. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a couple of stray dogs approached the alley. She quickly touched them and imbued them with the Phoenix force. The dogs quickly transformed into massive  and unearthly white wolves the size of Dire Wolves with large beautiful Phoniex wings. In truth, she did not know what they'd do but she wanted to make sure to get to them before the Driver could corrupt them. (she didn't know if he could imbue living things with his demonic powers the same way he could convert nonliving objects but she did not want to chance it.

The wolves gained intelligence matching that of humans and after sniffing, they must have immediately caught the scent of Eli, because they let out an earth-shaking howl and lunged toward Robbie with teeth bared circling him creating a ring of fire. Things were going to get ugly if they were not careful. If both wanted to go all out without anyone getting hurt, then Jean would need to take things to the White Room, but Jean would need an opening to teleport them. While the Phoenix Wolves were providing support, Phoenix herself barraged Robbie with psionic energy and phoenix fire blast.