104: The Emperor is a Devil!
Gwen and Tony weathered the storm while Andrew shielded the police behind him. At the epicenter, the extreme heat and cold negated each other, sizzling like a hot iron in ice water.
The resulting steam cloud blinded Gwen. "Did you win?" she asked hopefully.
Tony doubted it would be so simple. Just then, Green Goblin roared in disbelief from within the fog. "Impossible...the master's power is supreme! I don't believe it!"
Following the voice, they looked up to see Green Goblin emerge, melted in places with his Flight Device badly damaged, both regenerating rapidly.
Regaining his arrogance as his wounds healed, Green Goblin laughed manically. "You can't kill me, I'm immortal!"
Squeezing a dozen pumpkin bombs together, he formed a massive orb. "My master will relish your deaths!" he yelled, hurling it down.
"If that detonates..." Tony paled, calculating the blast range. "Emperor, it will freeze everything here!"
JARVIS and the Red Queen reached the same conclusion - if it exploded, the NYPD would become an ice statue exhibit.
Gwen worriedly looked toward the station, where George and Anna were. Tony's eyes hardened with resolve, "JARVIS, divert all power." He quickly formulated a plan to intercept the bomb.
But before Tony could move, Andrew rocketed into the sky, leaving an afterimage. "Protect the others, leave this to me!"
Gwen and Tony froze as Andrew ascended toward the bomb. Cackling, Green Goblin taunted, "Useless, even in midair the explosion will freeze them below!"
Andrew caught the bomb and Green Goblin crowed, "Boom!" It erupted, immolating him in green flames. "Haha, die!" Green Goblin celebrated, certain the blast had finished Andrew.
"No!" Gwen cried out while George and the police watched in horror. Tony grabbed Gwen from rushing into the conflagration. But strangely, the explosion began shrinking rapidly.
"What?! How?!" Green Goblin gaped as Tony and Gwen also stared, dumbfounded. It was as if the blast was being forcibly compressed.
"Is it him again?!" Green Goblin shuddered, fear rising anew. He desperately hurled bombs into the flames to no effect.
The fire shrank down until Andrew reappeared, containing it in his palm before crushing the raging inferno into nothingness.
The audible pop left Green Goblin momentarily paralyzed. Andrew stated evenly, "You misunderstand immortality for invincibility."
Before Green Goblin could respond, Andrew appeared before him and bisected him and his Flight Device in one swift motion. Andrew kicked the pieces down into a crater.
"Cough...cough..." Green Goblin crawled out, regenerating rapidly. But meeting Andrew's gaze, his pupils shrank - "You...!" Andrew mercilessly dissected him again, kicking the parts into the pit.
Over and over, no matter where Green Goblin tried to flee, Andrew's sword severed him, smashing the regenerating goblin back into the crater. Green Goblin's enraged screams echoed out each time.
Observing silently, Gwen and Tony swallowed hard. At S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury and Hill watched the horrific scene, eyes wide.
"Director...do we still try recruiting him?" Hill asked faintly. The once arrogant Green Goblin was now a plaything. Fury sweated, grateful he hadn't provoked Andrew.
Inside the crater, all arrogance and madness were gone from Green Goblin, leaving only abject panic. For the first time, death seemed a blessing compared to this Sisyphean torture.
"I won't run..." he surrendered as Andrew's blade descended, bisecting him again. Lying in pieces, Green Goblin screamed, "Devil, he's the devil!" One hand stretched skyward, "Master, save me!"
In Hell,
Mephisto's white eyes stared at the red rune mark on Ancient One's forehead - the source of the power that had dispelled his Hellfire summons.
In the hallway of skeletons, only Ancient One's robes fluttered calmly. "Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, drawing from the dark dimension - are you truly its guardian?" Mephisto questioned in disbelief.
Dismissing her magic, Ancient One stated, "That's not your concern. As an Earth visitor, I simply ask your purpose here."
Mephisto bristled at her audacity, but the mark changed things. Ancient One was not so easily dealt with now. He could win, but risks remained with his history with Galactus. Wounded from her, Mephisto would be vulnerable.
Despite his fury at her impudence, Mephisto relented, "I sensed a deliciously obsessed soul and came to contract it, nothing more."
Ancient One's ring glowed as she retorted, "The Lord of Hell, so interested in one mortal soul? There must be more."
"You know Odin notices your presence. You come for...stones." Ancient One scrutinized Mephisto's reaction to confirm her suspicion.
Mephisto laughed loudly, "What need have I for trinkets with my power?"
He added, "But I won't disrupt Odin's old toys on Earth before his relics are gone. That old bastard still scares me when enraged."
"An evil soul?" Ancient One clarified. Considering, she guessed, "Norman Osborn?"
Mephisto nodded resentfully, "A previous contract used my gift for good! Called himself Ghost Rider! I'll repay that humiliation, but not until Odin's watchdog leaves."
The mark faded as Ancient One deduced, "You want Norman Osborn as your weapon against Ghost Rider."
Mephisto grinned, "With his Green Goblin persona, he's perfect to make Ghost Rider beg for mercy!" He rose excitedly, Hellfire flaring around him - the millennia of simmering vengeance pleasantly anticipated.
"I didn't instruct him against Ghost Rider yet, just playing for now. With his new power, absent you, he's unstoppable on Earth!" Mephisto bragged confidently. After all, only one Sorcerer Supreme existed, and she stood before him.
"You're sure?" Ancient One regarded the arrogant demon with amusement. Why did she feel he was being...adorably stupid?
"Absolutely, soon he'll be a loyal servant, sacrificing souls in my name!" Mephisto proclaimed.
Just then, Green Goblin's voice pierced the space - "Master save me!"
Mephisto paused before roaring furiously, "Yes, scream for me! 'Master save me!'"
Ancient One struggled to contain her laughter. This was the legendary ruthless Mephisto?
Hearing not praise, but pleas for help, Mephisto glared at Ancient One, certain she had undermined Green Goblin's power.
Ancient One just smiled and shrugged, "I've done nothing, you merely underestimate Earth."
"Earth?" Mephisto raged, flames surging at Ancient One again. Her ring shielded her as the mark returned. The golden barrier dissipated the Hellfire.
The Sorcerer Supreme manifested a broken mirror that advanced, pushing back Mephisto. "Mirror dimension!" he recognized. Resisting the mirrored world, Mephisto accused her of luring him here so her disciples could target Green Goblin.
Ancient One sighed at his stubbornness. "It is you who underestimates Earth," she maintained.
Mephisto rejected this - eons ago Earth was among the universe's weakest. "You say it now has multiple powers akin to you? Don't treat me as a fool!"
His hands slammed the mirror dimension, Hellfire erupting...
To be continued...