(Sequel to my Ghost Rider OC story)
After the Avengers' victory over Thanos, Jake Castle left New York, jaded and heartbroken with the loss of his beloved wife. After giving up his Spirit of Vengeance, and with only his and Wanda's puppy as a source...
Not too far from the city, a large mansion stood in the forest as the BMW pulled into the driveway.
Rosalie Carbone figured her father would get a good laugh at what happened at the gas station, something Johnny Towers did not share with her. He stormed away as she walked into the large mansion, where a gray haired man in a well kept two-piece suit waited for him.
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Accompanying him was a bald, tall European man with fair skin and a stocky build wearing a black and white suit.
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"Is it true, daughter?" He asked. "Some nobody's dog barked at him, unafraid of his bullshit?"
Rosalie snickered a little. "Yes, Papa."
Julius Carbone couldn't help but laugh, just as his daughter predicted.
"To this day, I don't know what you see in that man." He said as they walked up the stairs together.
"He's certainly loyal to our family, Papa, as bull-headed as he is."
"That's what I'm afraid of..." Julius sighed.
As he watched his fiancée and her father share a laugh at his own expense, Johnny's face crunched into a furious scowl. He wasn't having any of it as he turned away and moved for the car once again, the two other men who were with him and Rosalie following.
Later that night,...
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Jake returned home late that night with Sparky, his Pontiac parked outside as the little dog ran into the small house the instant the door swung open. Jake put his cap on the nearby hat rack as he took off his jacket and crashed onto the sofa.
He stayed on the sofa for ten minutes until he noticed Sparky looking at him expectantly, wagging his tail while sitting.
Managing a smile, Jake got up and reached for Sparky's bowl, sitting just next to the refrigerator, where he grabbed a jug of milk.
As he watched Sparky eat some dog food, Jake ate some cereal with milk in a small bowl he carried around. He managed to finish as the little dog took his sweet time in eating, almost as if he was savoring every last piece. With a chuckle, the ex-Avenger finished his cereal and put it in the sink before crouching down to pat Sparky as he finished his food.
Then, he heard footsteps. Sparky stopped eating as Jake stood up, taking small steps towards the door, where the noise came from.
Some harrowing seconds later, the footsteps stopped.
Then something slammed into Jake from behind, knocking him down. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground, beaten senseless.
"You fucking bastard!" A familiar voice rang in his ear, but Jake didn't have time to process it and he was too groggy and tired from work to fight back.
Eventually, he heard Sparky bark at the mystery assailants.
"That's it, you mutt!" The familiar voice said again as he saw a figure move towards Sparky. When he tried to reach out to the puppy, Jake's arm was slammed back to the ground by a stomp from one of the assailants.
"...No..." Jake gasped out before he was punched in the face again.
As the beating continued, as he began to spit out blood, Jake saw as one of the men violently grabbed Sparky, lifting him up as he began to thrash against his grip.
"You ain't barking at me ever again!" The man said before swinging Sparky against the counter, head first with a resounding thud.
Jake wanted to scream, but the wind was knocked out of him.
"Hold him!" The man who attacked Sparky ordered as the beating stopped, but a dazed and bloody Jake noticed he was now pinned to the floor by the other two men as the other one looked down on him. Jake looked up and saw him.
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It was the man in the gas station who Sparky barked at.
"I dare you to try and sic the cops on us, you fucking nobody." He sneered. "They ain't gonna believe you. You can't do shit, now the next time you meet us, I promise you, you're the one who's gonna get hurt."
And with that, Johnny Towers kicked him in the face, knocking him down and out.
Some time passed since the bloody attack. Jake woke up to see that he and Sparky weren't the only ones that took damage. Much of the small house was ransacked, with furniture turned over, glass shards everywhere, among other things. Even his phone wasn't spared as its chunks were scattered all over the floor and the keys to his Pontiac were gone.
The first thing Jake looked at was Sparky, who laid on the floor, unmoving, blood pooling around him. As tears welled up in his eyes, Jake crawled over to Sparky. Eventually, he managed to sit up and take the little canine in his arms.
Still, Sparky did not move as Jake felt the already large hole in his heart widen.
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He teared up and wept, as unmoving as the body of the dog in his arms.
