Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics-Chapter 4391 - 3484: Midnight Sons (46)

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The night in the Bronx isn't as noisy as Manhattan, with most streets remaining silent, and passersby moving quickly as if believing a fast pace could evade the lurking dangers of the night.

And this made one group in particular quite fearless. The roar of motorcycle engines erupted like thunder from the sky, slicing through the biting autumn wind as they sped down the street.

The man leading the way wore a heavy black jacket, and when he turned his head, flames flickered in his eyes. He leaned against a lamppost, parked his motorcycle, and lit a cigarette while sitting on its seat.

The second to arrive was a woman with white hair; her whole body was as icy and snow-white as ice crystals—including her pupils and lips. Even coming within a few meters of her would make you feel you're in an ice cave.

Next came an extremely robust man whose arms were much thicker than usual, covered in scales like those of a crocodile. Behind him was a young man with absurdly long legs, standing nearly three meters tall when upright.

"Haven't gathered this much in a while," the tall man said. "Johnny, what the hell have you been up to recently?"

At some point, Johnny had already turned into the Ghost Rider, but the skull's mouth still held a cigarette, puffing.

He exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "Busy working, of course. I recently got a part-time job over by the zoo, mostly transporting animal feed and stuff."

"That suits you; at least you won't see sinful souls in animals," said the white-haired woman with a smile.

"Alright, it's time to get some serious work done," Johnny said. "I'll go say hi to Boss Nail, you guys wait here for me."

"Let's go together," said the man with robust arms. "We haven't seen him in a while either; let's go have a drink tonight."

Johnny didn't refuse, just warned, "We're here for business today, don't drink yourself silly again."

They headed across the street to the bar. The bar was brightly lit and noisy with music, yet their group, with their obviously unusual appearances, hardly drew any attention when they entered.

Because normal people were indeed rare in this bar, even those who looked normal weren't much different from Johnny; you never knew when they'd transform.

The lower-class people had their own survival wisdom. Mutants were indeed often persecuted, but that didn't mean they wouldn't band together. In such a mixed place like the Bronx, there were quite a few gathering spots for mutants.

This bar didn't only cater to mutants; oddballs like Johnny who mutated later in life would occasionally show up. After all, they were all freaks and didn't need to be ranked.

Johnny sidled through the dance floor, reaching the back door. The doorman, who had only one eye in the middle of his face, raised an eyebrow seeing Johnny and said, "You came just in time."

Johnny slightly frowned, sensing something else from the doorman's words. He nodded, drew a roll of US dollars from his pocket, and stuffed it into the doorman's hand. The doorman tossed his cigarette aside and stepped aside.

Johnny ducked through the narrow hallway, reaching the room at the back of the bar. As he entered, he smelled a faint scent of blood, and a somewhat familiar voice drifted from within.

The people following him didn't manage to come in. Johnny glanced back, the ominous feeling in his heart growing stronger.

He walked over and knocked on the door covered in graffiti and posters. When the door opened, Johnny saw the robust figure sitting in the middle of the room. It was a lean, tanned Mexican descendant with nails embedded in a circle around his head.

These were not mere decorations on the skin's surface, but actual nails driven into his skull. This was his mutant ability. Boss Nail could generate nails within his body and launch them at high speed, firing up to a thousand at once, essentially a human fragmentation grenade.

However, producing nails in his body caused him pain, which made him particularly irritable. Overall, though, he was a fairly easy-going mob boss.

Besides him, Johnny also saw someone being held down on the ground. This was the source of the familiar voice; it was his foolish brother, Danny.

One of his hands had been pierced by a long nail, losing a fair amount of blood. But judging by his complexion and expression, he wasn't seriously injured, still baring his teeth at Boss Nail.

"I didn't expect you'd find your way here so quickly," Boss Nail said, leaning his elbows on his knees. "If it weren't for him saying so, I'd never have known you had a brother. Are you two blood siblings?"

Johnny didn't answer him, just looked at Danny and sighed deeply. He could pretty much guess how this guy had been caught.

After the Midnight Sons meeting ended, they'd split up. Johnny had planned to take Danny to find the Motorcycle Gang, to first plan out a specific search route and then proceed with reconnaissance and investigation.

In the end, Danny suspected Johnny of having ulterior motives, thinking he was stalling for time and insisted on investigating on his own. Danny had never even stayed in the Bronx. Charging headfirst into the Mexican descendants' territory, it would be surprising if he didn't get pinned down.

Of course, he had the Ghost Rider's powers, and ordinary gangs wouldn't be a match for him. But the Bronx was full of hidden talents, and even though Johnny was Mephisto's agent, he dared not act recklessly here.

The Spirit of Vengeance in Johnny and Danny had differences. The evil spirit in Johnny was a rage maniac, glaring at whoever he saw, and whoever he glared at would die. If he hadn't made a deal with Mephisto to control it, Johnny would have long been the big boss of New York and a major threat to The Avengers.

But the Spirit of Vengeance in Danny was a legitimate Spirit of Vengeance, and moreover, was an ancestor of the Cage family—a righteous man recognized by angels. He was wise and rational, wouldn't kill indiscriminately, and would adjust his judgment method based on the current situation.

Now, Danny being pinned down without the Spirit of Vengeance making any move proved it didn't agree with what Danny did and had no intention of helping him defeat these gang members.

"I'm sorry I didn't keep an eye on him," Johnny decided to downplay the situation. He reckoned he still had some face in this area, "Whatever he broke, I can compensate for. Let me take him away, consider it a favor owed."

Boss Nail snorted coldly and said, "If it were anyone else, I wouldn't make things difficult for you, but he dared to disrespect Rebbie, thinking nothing of me at all!"

"I didn't disrespect her!!!" Danny shouted, "I grabbed her arm because there was something wrong with her!!"

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Before Boss Nail could make a move, Johnny stepped in and kicked Danny, then told Boss Nail, "My brother's a blockhead, but he's not that kind of guy. There must be some misunderstanding here."

"What misunderstanding could there be? Rebbie and her ladies were strolling around just fine, and this guy suddenly jumped out, spouting all sorts of nonsense and didn't let them leave. Daring to mess with me, if he hadn't said he had a brother named Johnny, I would've shot him dead by now!"

"Cut the crap. Either he leaves two fingers, or the two of you together spar with me here and now..."

Johnny deeply furrowed his brows. He took a deep breath and said, "It might sound hard to believe, but I didn't come here just to bail him out. I came to you on serious business."

Boss Nail stared at him for a while, then slowly put down his cigarette and tossed it aside, finally asking, "What business?"

"Iron Man has established an organization aimed at improving the Bronx's security, called the Midnight Sons. You'd better have your men keep a low profile lately; if that guy sets his hands on you, there's no fighting back."

Boss Nail squinted, asking, "Iron Man? What the hell is he doing here?"

"I'm not very clear either, I just heard someone plans to pull a big one in the Bronx, potentially threatening all of New York. Not only the Midnight Sons but The Avengers, the New Warriors, and even the New York Temple are keeping an eye on this place recently."

"You damned bastard!" Danny glared at him with rage, cursing at Johnny, "You traitor in cahoots with the mob! You indeed are bewitched by that devil, Mephisto!"

Johnny acted as if he heard nothing. Boss Nail tapped his fingers on the couch armrest. Johnny moved to sit on the couch on his side, using the flame on his skull to light a cigarette, then extinguished it, revealing his true face as he said:

"We're old acquaintances, so I won't beat around the bush. Is there anything you know about someone making moves in the Bronx?"

"Of course not." Boss Nail said, "If I knew someone would bring that bunch of troublesome guys around, would I let them off easily?!"

"I figured as much," Johnny nodded, "If you're sure you have nothing to do with it, then have some people keep watch. Contact me once you find anything unusual; they can capture the people sooner, get their work done, and leave sooner."

Boss Nail twisted his cigarette with his fingers as if thinking while Johnny turned to Danny, asking, "You said Boss's lover had a problem, what did you find out?"

Danny glared silently at him. Johnny grew a bit impatient, walked over, and pulled out the nail from Danny's hand. Danny cried out in pain, shaking his hand vigorously, "They're fans of that Dario Ag, claiming the Roxsen Energy Industry Building was blown up by Iron Man..."

Boss Nail's attention was captured too. Squinting his eyes studying Danny, "Dario Ag? That damn energy company's boss?"

"Exactly! I heard them telling others it was Iron Man's jealousy that led him to blow up Dario Ag's building!"

"What the hell is this?" Johnny's facial muscles scrunched up, while Boss Nail seemed to remember something.

He reflected but didn't dwell on it long before waving his hand, "For your brother's sake, I'll let it slide this time. Don't let him show up on my turf again!"

Johnny stood, pulling Danny up too, pushing him toward the door. After shoving him out, he turned back to Boss Nail, "Do you know about the Roxsen company's airborne factory plan? How long until the referendum?"

The statement seemed vague, but Johnny didn't elaborate, instead, he opened the door and walked out. After his departure, Boss Nail frowned deeply, turning to the henchman behind him, "Go bring that woman, I need to ask her what's going on."

Pushed along by Johnny out of the bar, Danny remained defiant. Johnny turned, signaling with his eyes for the people following him to move away. They wisely drifted back to the bar entrance, while Johnny clasped Danny's neck, hauling him into a nearby alley.

The moment the Flaming Skull appeared, Johnny landed a punch on Danny's face, sending him crashing to the ground with a "bang".

Danny picked himself up, trying to strike back, but for some reason, the usually readily summoning Spirit of Vengeance didn't stir at all. No matter how anxious he got, the flames wouldn't ignite.

Johnny gripped Danny's throat, lifting him as if passing judgment. Only then did Danny feel fear, kicking and struggling desperately like a fish just hooked out of the water.

Before he passed out from suffocation, Johnny released him, lighting another cigarette, and looking down at Danny sprawled on the ground, said, "Do you really think you're smart?"

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