uneasy_rider (uneasy_rider) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2010-02-24 08:55:00

Entry tags:

inactive - roxanne, nicholas salem, plot-"from hell with love"

Down and Out in the Big Easy.
Her first thought when she turns face up is that she got rolled somehow. Someth'n ain't stick'n, like where she was last night. Last thing she can recall, the Devil and some big fiery Ghost-thing were talk'n some lawyer stuff over her an' Johnny for what they'd done to save Daddy and that's when the world exploded. She'd like to write that off as a hangover dream, but that big fiery demon thing has a name and its talk'n to her say'n it don't know where they are either. the only thing it knows is the bike's here and this ain't home. Home is gone and now the apir of 'em are stuck in the French Quarter.

"Damn, Roxanne," she murmurs to herself as she flips up the kickstand. "Must'a been some weird highway."

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vicious_cycle
2010-02-24 07:59 am UTC (link)

The musing is broken up by the sound of a motorcycle. Specifically, a serious custom job late-90's Harley. Not necessarily made with all the best of the best in parts, but distinctive enough to say someone who knows Harleys loves this bike.

There's also something else, something at least Zarathos picks up on. Specifically, Zarathos is approaching.

Nick picks up on an oddity as well, trying to place it and not quite sure what the demon is trying to tell him, amidst all the other things Zarathos has been shouting at him ever since hell opened up.

The end result is that he comes to a stop a short way away, removing his helmet, and eyeing Roxanne.

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uneasy_rider
2010-02-24 08:07 am UTC (link)

"What the -" Whether Nick notices the girl or the bike next is a good question, and an academic one. She's riding a customized '65 Panhead HD; all black and chrome. It has been customized for stunt riding. She stops and takes off her helmet, cascading light brown, sun-kissed hair around her shoulder. The woman appears to be a Latina-mix of maybe white and some kind of Indian. It's obvious she knows her way around a bike, and that sledgehammer on the side of her bike also carries a few messages.

It's somebody riding with Big Z, but it sure ain't Johnny.

"Who the Hell are you?" she asks without preamble.

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vicious_cycle
2010-02-24 08:11 am UTC (link)

"I was gonna ask you the same question." he responds simply, eyeing her thoughtfully, then eyeing the bike thoughtfully. She's hot - in that entirely his type of girl kind of way. Its enough that even her bike gets second notice, but just as much look over. Third would be the fact that the demon in his head says its not alone.

"But since you asked first..." he starts, in the sort of accent that only comes from picking up just a little bit of accent from at least two dozen places and not staying anywhere long, "Nicholas Salem. And since apparently you're supposed to know what this means, Nicholas Salem, Ghost Rider. And you?"

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	uneasy_rider 2010-02-24 08:14 am UTC (link)
	"Roxanne." She's streetwise and lacks the sense of badassery Nicholas carries with him naturally so she limits her answer. "And yeah, I'm a Rider. Thought ah was it!" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

vicious_cycle
2010-02-24 08:18 am UTC (link)

"A rider?" he asks, confused for a few moments. Trying to answer his own question, his eyes light with hellfire, even though he doesn't shift forms. When he does, the pentagram scars on both hands also light faintly.
When the fires go out, he's more assured, but still has some hint of confusion.
"I'll be damned, and here I thought I was the only one on the job. You must be the cavalry, given what's happened. You been caught up on the goings on?"

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	uneasy_rider 2010-02-24 08:27 am UTC (link)
	Them scars are worlds of bad news; the kind she would'a run from before she sold her soul. She makes a disbelieving noise. "They don't tell the hick noth'n 'round here, !" she complains. "Just direct me to the jerk that needs to be taken behind the woodshed. That okay by you, Nick?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

vicious_cycle
2010-02-24 08:31 am UTC (link)

"That'd be ok by me, except we have bigger problems." Normally, his trust factor for a chick with no soul and a demon of her own would be 0. But she's a hot chick, and for once, he doesn't feel guilty about his own state in acknowledging that.
"Some idiot has torn open the gates of hell, and no one is seeing fit to close them. We have a rogue escapee in New Orleans somewhere, but that's only the beginning. Eventually, much as I hate the thought of doing Mephisto's work for him, we're going to need to find out who did this. Souls are escaping all over the place, and much as I hate this job, even I acknowledge there's a good reason most of them were there."
Most - he's well aware of the story of Blaze.

Hey, wait a second...

"Wait, Roxanne... Simpson?"

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	uneasy_rider 2010-02-24 08:38 am UTC (link)
	She's younger then most of his memories, but the look she gives completely confirms what his eyes are telling him. "Then what are we stand'n around jaw'n for!" She flips her hair back and settles on her bike. "We'll sort you an' me out over tacos after we kick some evil butt!" He ain't Johnny. But he's not as bad as he looks. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

vicious_cycle
2010-02-24 08:42 am UTC (link)

"We're standing around jawing because you ain't looked like that for 21 years." he sees what Johnny saw in her.
"You're right though, but this is the Big Easy, we sort this out over beer and po' boys, my treat, soon as we take this first son of a bitch down, but Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do." he replies, before his hands catch fire, the pentagrams lighting first as he begins the transformation.

"Let's ride."

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	nextgen_baddie 2010-02-24 08:55 am UTC (link)
	New Orleans was a den of sin. Everywhere he looked there was sin and Demogoblin reveled in wiping it out. Bourbon St was the jackpot. He flew up and down the street, tossing pumpkin bomb after pumpkin bomb on the sinners. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	vicious_cycle 2010-02-24 08:57 am UTC (link)
	Nicholas guns down the street, heading for the Demogoblin, riding across the fronts of buildings to get up to the glider's level, launching a burst of hellfire at the soulless thing. "You're going back." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	uneasy_rider 2010-02-24 09:00 am UTC (link)
	"Oh, great!" She hisses as she swerves away from a blast. "We git the guy who thinks it's Halloween!" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_baddie 2010-02-24 09:11 am UTC (link)
	Demogoblin laughed manically and threw pumpkin bombs at the two motorcycle riders. "Sinners!" he yelled as the pumpkin bombs sailed through the air. "Devil-spawn!" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	vicious_cycle 2010-02-24 09:13 am UTC (link)
	Nick manages to evade the bomb itself, but the shockwave knocks him away from the building he was riding up, sending him sprawling on the ground, bike spinning to a halt nearby. Despite who is hunting who here, he finds it somewhat hard to argue the demogoblin's accusations. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	uneasy_rider 2010-02-24 09:37 am UTC (link)
	"You say -" "The nicest things!" The change happens in an instant, but Nick can feel the shift. This Zarathos is loose from Mephisto while still welded to Roxanne. It doesn't make it more powerful, just...different. With a flick of the wrist, the sledgehammer is in her hands. "C'mer!" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_baddie 2010-02-24 09:42 am UTC (link)
	Demogoblin laughed and moved his glider out of range of her hammer. "The sinners must be punished! Sent to the fiery pits of Hell!" He threw more pumpkin bombs at the two. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

vicious_cycle
2010-02-24 09:45 am UTC (link)

The sledgehammer gives him an idea.
He'd like to think its the demon in him, experienced in dealing with all sorts of situations and battles, and baptized in the fires of hell. But deep down, Nick knows the ideas are still his, and Zarathos enjoys it. Somewhere in attending the school of hard knocks Nick earned his PhD in vicious, as he's proving time and again the more often he does the Ghost Rider thing.

He doesn't need to win here. She can do that, he just needs to bring the baby seal to the club.
He gestures with both hands at the goblin, and a pair of spiked chains fire from his jacket sleeves, hooked ends flying through the air, not at the goblin, but at his glider. Sure, his hands are now basically trapped, but should even one of the hooks catch, he begins playing tug of war with the glider, pretending like he's trying to bring it to him - when really, he's just trying to get it into line with the jumping capabilities of that beautiful stunt bike, and the rider's hammer.

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uneasy_rider
2010-02-24 09:59 am UTC (link)

She has an uncanny sense for what he has in mind, and as much as she may feel bad later, right now she likes it. She likes it a lot and this is just one more son of a bitch to be put back in his right spot.

The engine revs and she leaps with the bike amid a shower of flame. The hammer comes at his head with all the finesse of the Sledge-o-matic at a Gallagher show.

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	nextgen_baddie 2010-02-24 10:03 am UTC (link)
	He didn't realize what was happening until the hammer was coming at his head. He had been trying to get his glider free of the chains when the attack came. There was a yell right before the hammer buried into his skull. The yell turned into a gurgle and then nothing. Glider and now dead once again goblin fell to the ground. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	vicious_cycle 2010-02-24 10:05 am UTC (link)
	Even in skeletal form, the pentagrams appear as marks carved bone deep, the hellfire there brighter than the rest, with a greenish sheen. Now, those marks flare to life, even as the chains dissipate. Hellfire washes out from his hands, and he begins absorbing the raw hellfire the glider was made of, then redirects it to incinerate the goblin. "Back to hell." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	uneasy_rider 2010-02-24 10:25 am UTC (link)
	It's not pretty, but it is awe-inspiring. She swings the hammer over her shoulder. "Who's next?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	vicious_cycle 2010-02-24 10:34 am UTC (link)
	"He's it for now, we're not the only ones hunting." he has no idea how he knows that. Only that he does. "There'll be others, and there's still tracking down who did this, but for the moment, there's a little rest for the wicked. Coffee?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	uneasy_rider 2010-02-24 11:05 am UTC (link)
	He senses the Rider voluntarily recede from her. "Sure, ah guess. We can start figuring this shit out. You're town. Your place." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	vicious_cycle 2010-02-24 11:11 am UTC (link)
	She can sense that he and Zarathos aren't quite as at ease. While the receding is voluntary, Zarathos doesn't really want to give up the form, but then even when he's the rider, there's a lot of Nick inside the skull too. "Follow me then. What's your poison, coffee, or prefer something a little stronger?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	uneasy_rider 2010-02-24 11:25 am UTC (link)
	"Seen' how me gett'n carded is a problem, let's go for something with refills." Driving without a license is something she's been doing since she was 12. Drinking is another matter entirely, especially with this guy, cute as he is. "Ah ain't had a ID worth mentioning is about 3 years." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	vicious_cycle 2010-02-24 07:19 pm UTC (link)
	"I can get that dealt with for you, but not fast. And sure, coffee is good. I got about a thousand questions, most of them surrounding how are you possible." he replies, before kicking his bike into gear and heading for a coffee shop where he knows they can get some privacy. (Reply to this)(Parent)

uneasy_rider
2010-02-26 04:08 am UTC (link)

The coffee at Nick's place isn't much, but the waitress keeps the cups full, which most places don't. The booths are private, too.

She explains it the best she can. Crash...Johnny...Books her grandmother had had that Roxanne wasn't supposed to know about, much less read...The whole demon bonding to her, only to be simultaneously promised to Johnny by the Devil, everyone being ready to spit and -

"Noth'n," she replies, full of misery. "Ah know ah collected scars, more strength and that hammer somewhere. Big Z and I have had time to work things out." She fiddles with one of the tabs on her now patch-less jacket. "Ah know ah used it. Ah know where ah was wasn't home, and that wasn't the worst of it." She drinks down to the dregs and rolls the oily grounds in her mouth slightly. "It's just all gone now. Ah woke up in an alley here an' that's all ah got."

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vicious_cycle
2010-02-26 04:17 am UTC (link)

He knows a lot of the story, and fills in enough to demonstrate that he knows enough that what he says next doesn't sound totally insane.
"See, what's the weird thing. In this world, as far as Johnny knew when he was Ghost Rider, which he was, followed by his half brother, Danny Ketch, you're dead, and even then, about forty five. Zarathos remembers it all. So I'm just trying to figure out why you're here, and why you're my age."

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uneasy_rider
2010-02-26 04:29 am UTC (link)

"Johnny's got ah brother! That's astound'n. Mom or Dad?"

She shrugs at the death bit. She never expected to live until a ripe old age and be someone's nana. "Maybe ah from some point before that where things went all crazy and different. You know, parallel dimensions and Star Trek shit. Yer say'n I was never the Rider here anyhow, so someth'n not the same."

She frowns. "So what's your Zee, tell'n ya?"

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vicious_cycle
2010-02-26 04:34 am UTC (link)

"No, you were never the rider here. Your story almost meshes, but here, you drove Mephisto off before he took Johnny's soul, but he got the demon. But they had the same father, but didn't know it for quite a while, Johnny thought of Crash more as his dad anyway. As for what Zarathos is telling me... he doesn't know why you're here, but he's itching to get some of the escapees back into hell. Me, I'm thinking you got to be here for some reason, trying to put a finger on it."

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	uneasy_rider 2010-02-26 04:44 am UTC (link)
	"Lord still works in mysterious ways, Nick." "Big Z wants to go out to, but he wants to know who's he out with. Can't say ah blame 'em." He nods once. "What's with the hands?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

vicious_cycle
2010-02-26 04:57 am UTC (link)

He extends his hand to let her have a closer look. "Its how I became the rider. My birth parents only had me to sacrifice an innocent to Mephisto... devil worshippers. They had a special ritual so I'd be born on Halloween and everything. They got as far as carving these into my hands before some heroes or other broke in and stopped them. I grew up in foster care... the scars just kind of grew with me. A few months ago, Mephisto came calling. I didn't need to make a deal, my soul was already sold."

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	uneasy_rider 2010-02-26 05:06 am UTC (link)
	She takes both of those hands unto hers and traces the signs in his palms with her thumbs. She scared to ask, but it's not because of anything Nicholas has done. "Ah, gotta know for m'self," she asks nervously. "Still believe any?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	vicious_cycle 2010-02-26 05:10 am UTC (link)
	"The truth? There's absolutely nothing in this world like being eye to eye with the devil to make me absolutely sure that somewhere out there, there's a god. I'll never meet him, I know where my soul is at, but being able to see sin... also comes with being able to see its lack. Makes me optimistic that there's somewhere the people I don't get pulled towards go." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	uneasy_rider 2010-02-26 05:14 am UTC (link)
	She lets go of his hands. She can feel the lack of soul, but - "Never say die." She grimaces. "If you got Johnny rattl'n around in there, you know that." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	vicious_cycle 2010-02-26 05:19 am UTC (link)
	He doesn't know how to tell her this. "Johnny Blaze is in hell, Roxanne. He has been for almost two decades." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	uneasy_rider 2010-02-26 05:22 am UTC (link)
	It takes her only a moment to do the mental math. "Gate's open, right?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	vicious_cycle 2010-02-26 05:29 am UTC (link)
	He's not quite sure what it is, but same way she was instantly on his page earlier, he flips right to where she's at. "Who knows for how long? We'll have to ride fast." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	uneasy_rider 2010-02-26 05:31 am UTC (link)
	She's already moving, zipping herself up and throwing her hammer over her shoulder. "Saddle up, Nick. We're headed to kick the devil's ass or die try'n." (Reply to this)(Parent)

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