Even so, watching that pile of bones suddenly revive and ignite still left Skye and Wanda shaken. They had seen Lucas shoot Ghost Rider's skull apart—shattered it completely—yet the thing had grown a new one right before their eyes.
It was straight out of a horror movie.
Just then, Lucas's phone rang. It was Tony.
"Yo—what's up, Tony?"
"I've got news about vibranium."
Lucas instantly perked up.
"What news? Tell me."
Tony was busy tinkering with a new suit—one designed for extreme heat environments. After the incident with Vanko, inspiration had struck again, and he'd already completed several new armor variants.
"There's a guy named Ulysses Klaue. He's got a small amount of vibranium for sale."
Lucas immediately remembered him. That guy—smuggler of Wakandan vibranium, a walking black-market vendor.
"That's the one. How do we reach him?"
Lucas asked quickly. Skye had broken the bones in both hands twice already. If she weren't an Inhuman with strong regenerative abilities, she'd be like Strange—permanently crippled.
"I've already made contact. We arranged a meeting at sea in three days. I'll call you when it's time."
Tony was just as interested in vibranium. He'd seen notes and footage his father left behind regarding Captain America's shield—an incredibly resilient metal that became nearly indestructible when alloyed with other high-strength materials.
"Got it. I'll wait for your call."
After hanging up, Lucas looked at Skye.
"Skye, we've got a lead on vibranium. Soon you'll be able to use your powers freely without worrying about backlash."
"Really?!"
Skye's face lit up. She was absolutely done with the helplessness of having unusable hands. Needing assistance for every basic task at her age felt like living as a half-paralyzed pensioner.
Lucas nodded.
"Tony found the smuggler. Three days."
Skye's mood improved instantly. Even with both hands wrapped in bandages, she couldn't help waving them around excitedly.
Just then, a wind chime at the door jingled—
someone had entered.
Lucas immediately tensed.
The visitor was none other than the daytime form of Ghost Rider—Johnny Blaze.
"Excuse me—"
Johnny, wearing a leather jacket and jeans with a helmet tucked under one arm, looked exactly like a stereotypical biker delinquent.
"Hello, do you have a job request?"
Skye asked instinctively. As Lucas's assistant, taking commissions was her job.
"No. I'm looking for the one who killed that skeleton last night."
Johnny said it calmly, though both Skye and Wanda stiffened immediately.
"How do you know about that?"
"Because I was that skeleton."
Johnny spoke flatly—but to Skye and Wanda, it sounded like a thunderclap.
Scarlet energy surged through the office.
Johnny suddenly struggled to breathe, as if invisible hands were crushing his throat.
He thrashed, but it was useless—
his entire body was bound in place.
"Enough, Wanda. Let's hear what he has to say."
Lucas glanced at the Moogle lounging comfortably in Skye's lap.
It hadn't moved at all—which meant Johnny posed no danger.
If he had, the Moogle wouldn't have let him inside.
"I know you killed it once last night… and I want you to kill it for good. It's murdered several people already. I don't want to keep killing every night."
Johnny pleaded desperately.
He was tired of transforming into a monster and taking lives.
"Do you know where it comes from?" Lucas asked.
Johnny shook his head.
"No. And I don't want to. I just want it gone."
His voice trembled.
His eyes were bloodshot.
He looked utterly exhausted.
"Calm down. Do you remember making a contract with an old man?"
Johnny was stunned.
He had, as a kid, made a contract with Mephisto.
At Lucas's words, Johnny suddenly clutched his head—
writhing on the floor in agony.
Lucas frowned.
This Johnny wasn't like the one from the movies in his previous life.
That Johnny remembered everything—
and used his immortality for reckless stuntwork.
This one?
It looked like his memories had been sealed.
"Wanda. Calm him down."
Wanda raised her hand.
Scarlet energy flowed into Johnny's mind, and he immediately settled, the pain vanishing.
"T-Thank you…"
Johnny struggled to his feet.
Lucas helped him to the couch and handed him a hot mug of milk.
"Does that happen often? The sudden headaches?"
Johnny shook his head.
"No. Only when I try to remember things from my past. It's like…"
"Like someone doesn't want you to remember them?" Lucas finished.
Johnny froze—
and the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
He couldn't even remember how his father died…
or what his father even looked like.
"Have you seen anyone unusual recently?"
"Unusual? Like what?"
"People hiding in shadows. Someone dressed in outdated clothes. Someone who just looks… wrong."
Lucas listed traits that matched Mephisto's typical disguises.
Johnny thought hard, then shook his head.
"No. And I'm usually too busy performing to pay attention to that kind of thing."
Lucas was now certain:
Mephisto had sealed Johnny's memories.
But why?
Mephisto wanted Johnny's soul—
and a representative on Earth to collect more souls and locate the Contract of San Venganza.
That's why he made Johnny the Ghost Rider.
"You want those memories back? We can help you."
Lucas needed to confirm whether Johnny wanted the truth—
about Mephisto, Ghost Rider, and his father's death.
"I do."
Johnny didn't even hesitate.
He desperately wanted to remember—
anything about his father at all.
"Wanda, see if you can remove the seal."
Wanda nodded.
Chaos magic wrapped Johnny's head and began probing the seal.
Then she froze.
"That's strange. The energy sealing his memory feels… similar to mine."
The chaotic power restraining Johnny's mind felt like her own—
but mixed with something else.
"This power is related to your chaos energy. In fact, you could say your chaos energy is the ancestor of this power."
Wanda blinked.
"Ancestor? I'm not even that old…"
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