Infinity War

When Evie came to, she was looking up at the ceiling of the worst motel room she had ever been in. Water stains and a rinky-dink ceiling fan greeted her back. 

“Well shit, for a minute there I was actually startin' to worry.” 

The deep timber of a man’s voice made her nearly jump out of the bed. But the sharp pain in her gut made her immediately reconsider the action. He had a bit of a southern twang in his voice when he spoke. “Whoa there kid, take it easy. I ain’t gonna hurt ya.” She did a quick scan of herself, making sure nothing had occurred while she was out. Seeing her blood and dirt stained clothes still on and holes all self-mended, Evie glared at the older gentleman in the room. He had long salt and pepper hair down to his shoulders. With a matching stubble spreading across his face. 

“And who the fuck might you be? John Wayne?” He chuckled. “You are somethin’ else aren't ya?” Evie stood up on shaky legs still staring daggers at the man across from her. “Listen here asshole, I asked you a question so I think it deserves an answer! It’s the least you can do since you brought me to his flea infested shithole.” He grabbed the bottle sitting on the small table next to him and took a sip. A smile ever present on his lips.

“You sure have a funny way of saying ‘thank you’ to the guy who saved your hide back in that alley.” That ruffled her feathers, her mind said he wasn’t a threat but at the same time she couldn’t help but be apprehensive of the stranger who was previously a pile of bones, set a blaze, dressed in a black leather jacket, and cowboy boots. 

“Thank. You.” She huffed out indignantly, “so what's the Grim Reaper doing out here torching home boys?” 

“The name is Johnny Blaze, I ain’t no grim reaper sweetheart.” Evie arrowed her eyes as she stood her ground. “And you little lady, are none other than Genevieve Stark. The pride n' joy of Tony Stark, heir to Stark Industries, and founding member of the so-called ‘Avengers’. But what I can’t seem to figure out is what’s a superhero doin' down here in Mexico takin' on demons.”

She exhaled sharply, flipping her hair away from her face. Crossing her arms, Evie’s chin jetted out a bit. Almost arrogantly. Refusing to back down from the mysterious man before her. “That’s none of your business-” He got up quick, the chair scraping the linoleum floor as it was pushed back and Evie took a defensive stance, ready to pounce. 

“Oh it's plenty my business. See I don’t think you realize what kind of world you waltzed into here. But if you're just tryin' to get yourself killed, then you're on a mighty fine path of doing so.” 

She stilled, fuck… so that really did slip out?! 

“Oh yeah, I heard you loud n’ clear missy. If you’re dead set on not wantin’ to be on this earth no more, go do it elsewhere. I’ve been tracking down them demons for months now and I ain’t about to have some reckless, stupid girl step all over my work.” 

Evie instantly deflated. 

She had never voiced her suicidal thoughts before knowing it would crush her parents. All that hard work they had put into nursing her back to a stable place just for their daughter to still battle with those intrusive dark notions. Johnny could practically see the gears turning in her head as she turned away in shame.

“That... that wasn’t supposed to come out…” She said apathetically.

“I know... just like I your struggle. We all got shit going on,” he said as he returned to his seat, noticing her calming down. “I don’t think any less of you for thinkin’ that way. For what it’s worth I was in your shoes once myself. It ain't nothin’ easy to move past.” Without taking his eyes off Stark, Johnny took another swig of his beer.

Evie smirked dourly, “what does some cowboy fresh out of hell know about my kind of problems?”

He found himself again amused by her spunk. “The world went down the shitter two years ago. It’s no secret the Avengers did their best to stop it, yet people up in vanished into thin air. It don’t take a rocket scientist to figure out you lost people too. But seeing how your folks made it out okay, my money s’on that it was a lover… someone important like that.” As he spoke, Evie couldn’t hold back the weakness in her bones any longer and against her better judgment, sat back down on the questionable bed. “I know that look of utter loss n’ complete hopelessness. Your real good at hidin’ it, but I see it. Cause once upon a time, that was me. How do you think I am what I am today?”

Evie didn’t comprehend the sudden need to trama dump on the total stranger. All he had done was stop her from getting gutted and tossed in a ditch. He knew nothing about her and she didn’t know him. And technically they didn’t owe each other anything. No explanations, nor amendments of any kind. So why was she speaking without meaning to? Perhaps it was a weird feeling of familiarity, like speaking to an old friend who’d never judge or chastise. Regardless of what the other said. Sort of like Steve, or her dad. The aura the man gave off was a peculiar mix of both. But in the end who knew, cause she sure didn’t. 

“Well, I got mine after a nut job decided I was perfect for his science experiments. I was twelve. Held captive for months before my dad was able to rescue me. But that damage had been done. I got a lifetime of nightmares and severe PTSD from it. Then aliens invaded New York and the rest if history. Ever since then I’ve been going from one fight to another. Battle after battle. Here, in space, at home…” Looking down at her hands, she hung her head. “My own mind…” She signed deeply. “I always felt like an outcast due to the nature of my abilities. People never really trust the ones they don’t understand. And that was me. Everyone that day was labeled a hero, but I was slapped with all the negative connotations. Finally after years of disappointments and accidentally traversing the universe I found someone who I really connected with. Loki… None other than the god of mischief, himself." Finally after what felt like a life time she had said his name outloud. "It took a few years but finally after more wars and more losses, we were able to be together. Mind you, we hit some bumps at first, since we were stranded on a totally different planet with no way home." A small chuckle escaped her, "but we got one year together. One year of pure bliss to just be with each other. No wars to fight, no world ending situations... just us living almost peacefully." Sucking in a shuttered breath it took a short puase for her to continue. "Soon after the greatest news I’d ever gotten came when we found out we were having a baby…” 

As her voice trailed off, Evie expected to feel warm water running down her face, but there wasn’t. Like many times before when she thought about her little family, all she felt was a profound sense of emptiness. A deep hollow that was cold and lonely. No emotions, just a void. “We found a way home and even took out another villain in the process. We thought we had it made. Loki and I even got married in the vastness of space with all of Asgard to witness…” She smiled at the memory before taking a deep breath. “And then Thanos came along… We fought. God, we fought so damn hard… I used my powers to stash the people in a shadow pocket. Just as we were about to send everyone in one hit to earth for safety, he struck. Most of the Asgardians made it out, but not nearly enough. Thor, Loki, myself, and a few others did everything to fend him off. But he was inevitable .” She paused, those damn words haunted her day and night. Thanos’ choise phrase to refer to himself, ‘I am inevitable.’ It always managed to rattle around in her brain impertinently. 

“I watched him break my husband's neck right after he told me we were expecting a boy. I wanted it to be a surprise since he already knew… Anyways, I got dragged to earth after his lifeless body hit the floor. And then Thanos followed right after. Kicked the shit out of every one of us who stood our ground and well the rest you already know…” 

There was a long stretch of silence before either of them spoke, Johnny going first. He pushed his hair back before releasing a long sigh. Evie remained still, just staring ahead at the dingy wall. “My mother left when I was just a kid, so my father raised me in a carnival to be a stuntman like him. He taught me everything I know about riding. We loved motorcycles. Life was simple, perfect. Till one day he gets diagnosed with cancer, got told he only had a few months to live. He was stubborn as a mule, my old man. Didn’t wanna quit the show just so he could keep riding. But it didn't take long for him to get real bad. Some days he couldn’t even get out of bed, muchless feed himself.” 

He shifted in his seat before he continued his tale.

“I was just a lad, barely eighteen years old when it all happened. I was desperate, willing to do anything to save my old man. And apparently somebody knew just how reckless I was willing to be and made me the perfect offer. My soul in exchange for my dad’s health. I was guaranteed that by sunrise the next day, Barton Blaze would be as, 'healthy as a horse.' The man pulled out a scroll and before I knew it a drop of my blood was used as my signature. And wouldn’t ya’ know it. By morning my dad was damn near in tears, telling me his x-rays had come back clear. He was, per his own words, ‘healthy as a horse,’ and ready to get the show on the road. I’d never seen ‘em so excited to perform. He put on his best suit, laced his boots up nice and tight, and went to the base of the ramp. Starring down that ring of fire, it was a jump he’s done thousands of times...” 

Evie knew where this was going, but she let the man speak. After all he’d let her vent without interruptions.

“Next thing I know, all the carnival folk were running around trying to put out the flames. He’d crashed right into the steel rings. Everything got consumed by the fire. By the time I was able to pull him out it was too late. My old man was gone. The demon came later that night to claim his prize. But what I didn’t know was that my girlfriend had overheard and knew all about my dumbass bargain. Roxanne jumped in at the last minute after the gypsy who toured on the circuit with us told her how to cast a love based spell to drive him away. What the two didn’t know was that it wasn’t just any demon from hell. He called himself, Masfisto. Archrival to the devil himself. The spell did its job and prevented him from taking me, but in retaliation he killed Roxanne and binded me to Zarathos, the spirit of vengeance. Leaving me to wander the earth, seeking out justice at night wherever evil may roam. Fighting fire with fire, in hopes that one day I take back my life and break this curse.” 

She turned to look at him muttering, “guess we’re both a couple lost causes then, huh?” 

“I guess so… What...” He glanced at the floor then back at her, “what happened to your baby?” Evie stretched out her limbs, the healing finally making the last of the aching go away. Getting up she went to grab her jacket off the foot of the bed. “I’m starving. Let's get some food, my treat.” He looked up at her with a face that said, really ? She kicked his boots before making her way towards the door. “Come on. Let’s get some tacos and go over how we're both somehow working the same case.” He chuckled, “you really are somethin’ else aren't ya, kid?”

Evie hummed, a grin creeping across her face, “oh you have no idea, bonehead.” 

It took a case of cold beers and a few plates of good homemade food from a street vendor for the two to become more comfortable around each other. Sure Evie could sense the overwhelming power within him. Afterall he did house a dark entity hellbend on delivering good old fashioned justice to evil-doers. Yet she felt completely at ease with the man known to the underground world as the Ghost Rider. Evie was also impressed with his set of wheels, a vintage Harley Davidson panhead chopper. Custom built of course. It was Mr. Blaze’s pride and joy. It made her miss her own bike. They talked about bikes, then shared some of their war stories before moving on to actual business. 

Combining through each other’s collective knowledge they came to the conclusion that whoever was at the tippy top of the Transigen pyramid was not just some wack job scientist. This person was making some pretty big deals with demons. As whatever they were offering up was enough to bring in both organized crime syndicates and the nastiest of hell’s local residents. It was what had brought Johnny down from the Texas panhandle. He’d caught wind of some major players escaping their purgatory and roaming the streets of the Mexican capital. He didn’t even suspect about the genetics lab, muchless know about their use of children for test bunnies. 

“Kid, if you're serious about chasin’ this down, you’re gonna need to get better at dealing with the supernatural. This ain’t some fist fight with thugs. These are real deal demons from the pits of hell…” Evie polished off her beer and wiped her face with the back of her sleeve. “Yeah well, I don’t really have anyone to call for backup so… Guess it's a ‘learn as we go’ kinda deal.” 

He shook his head, “nah see you got it wrong. This you can't do alone if you aren’t fully prepared. And I’m not fixin’ to pause and give some rookie pointers or save your bacon everytime you wanna act reckless.” She knew exactly what he was implying without actually being an ass about it, or trying to give her a sermon. Evie found herself appreciating it even if she would never voice it. Johnny went digging into his back pocket for his wallet. Once he had it he flipped through the bi-fold and fished out an old tattered business card. 

“Here, I met this fella a while back. He’s from your neck of the woods and he’s also in our line of work. I think he might be worth giving a call, but don’t put too much faith into him. He’s more about the business part than actually saving people. Especially if you put dollar signs in front of him.” Evie took it, noticing the taxi logo printed on one side and contact details on the other. “And how exactly did you meet this ‘Lockley’ guy?” Johnny laughed when she tilted her head suspiciously at him. “Like I said, same kinda work. I ran into him when we crossed lines of fire chasing the same creature. A demon with a taste for blondies.” 

“Okay, gross… so what? You’re gonna follow the trail on your end and I stick to mine?” He chucked their trash into a bin and she followed him to his bike. “Yep. I can track the demons. You focus on gettin’ them babies outta Dr. Frankenstiens’ lab. Whatever they’re groomin’ these kids for ain’t good. And if you really get inna pinch. Call me, but otherwise we can meet up whenever we got somethin’ the other can use. Sound like plan?” Evie smirked as she give him a mock salute, “yessir!” Her faux southern accent made the older gentleman burst into laughter before getting his engine to roar to life.

“Can I give the lil' lady a ride to her place?” 

She shook her head, “no I’m good thanks. You're a bit of a cruiser. I like my bikes to ride like the wind. Fast with no brakes.” He was in disbelief as his own grin stayed plastered on. 

“You gonna be alright, kid?” Evie knew the depth of his question, their little friendship making the first threads of a bond to form between them.

“Yeah… I’m peachy. You got my number in case you get in a bind too. Guess I’ll see you around then, torchy.” 

“Guess so. Hasta la vista , Stark.”

As the sound of his engine grew faint Evie began her plans to return to NYC. She had a to do list and shit needed to get checked off. First on the list was visiting Wong and getting the crash course for dummies on how to vanquish demons and other supernatural beings.