The voice came from everywhere and nowhere.
Smooth. Cultured. Dripping with theatrical malice that made the air itself feel wrong.
Winky's hand froze mid-snap.
The air twisted. Crimson smoke coalesced ten feet from the group, swirling and condensing into a tall, impeccably dressed figure. Sharp suit, perfectly tailored. Pale face that had never seen honest sunlight. Eyes that burned with infernal light, ancient and hungry.
And a smile of calm, absolute amusement.
Mephisto.
"Well, well," Mephisto said, spreading his arms wide in a gesture of theatrical welcome. "What a delightful evening this has turned out to be."
Ariadne's blood ran cold.
She knew that face. Knew that voice. The Devil who had tried to tempt her, who had preyed on her despair.
"You," she hissed, gripping her blades tighter despite her injuries.
"Me," Mephisto agreed, sketching a mock bow with practiced elegance. "A pleasure to see you again, Miss Anderson. Still playing at being a hero, I see? How wonderfully quaint."
Ariadne wanted to rush him. Wanted to drive her blades into that smiling face. But she knew what stood before her. Rushing him would accomplish nothing except her own death.
Tony didn't have that context.
His repulsors whined as he raised both palms toward the newcomer. "Okay, who's the vampire cosplayer? Because I'm really not in the mood for—"
"Tony, don't." Eileen's voice was sharp with warning. She grabbed his arm, pulling it down. "Don't."
"What? Why? He just—"
"He will kill you." Eileen's eyes never left Mephisto. "Without effort. Without thought. You would be dead before you finished pulling the trigger."
Tony stared at her.
In all the years he'd known the Hayes family, he had never heard that tone from Eileen. Never seen genuine fear in her eyes. Even the two monsters in front of them had not caused this reaction from her.
"Who is he?" Tony asked quietly.
"I only know he's one of Arthur's enemies. One of the most dangerous." Eileen's arms tightened around her unconscious children. "Arthur knows his true nature. I only know what he's capable of."
Mephisto laughed - a rich, warm sound that somehow made everything worse.
"Such lovely introductions! I'm genuinely touched. Though I must say, I'm wounded that Arthur never introduced me properly to his charming family." His burning gaze swept across the assembled heroes, lingering on each face with predatory interest. "But no matter. I'm not here to fight anyone. I never personally make moves, you understand. Far too... direct. Too crude."
"Then why are you here?" Ariadne demanded.
"Originally? I came following the trail of these delightful creatures." He gestured dismissively toward the battered Abominations, who had gone very still. "I thought they might make useful pawns."
His eyes drifted to Tristan's unconscious form, and his smile sharpened.
"But now I've found something far more valuable."
Eileen pulled Tristan closer, her entire body curling protectively around him. "Stay away from my son."
"Or what?" Mephisto took a step closer. "Your husband isn't here, Mrs. Hayes. He's on Asgard, buried in dusty books, blissfully unaware of what's happening to his precious family."
"He'll know. He'll come."
"Will he?" Mephisto's smile widened. "I sealed this area long before the battle began. No information enters or leaves. No prayers. No distress signals. No magical communication of any kind." He spread his hands in mock apology. "Your husband won't know a thing until it's far, far too late."
Eileen's heart sank. If Mephisto had truly blocked their connection to Arthur…
Mephisto took another step forward. His eyes moved to Tristan, still unconscious in Eileen's arms.
The demon took another step forward, his burning eyes fixed on Tristan with naked hunger.
"Such potential," Mephisto murmured, his voice dropping to something almost reverent. "Such raw, magnificent power. I felt it from across the city. Magical talent the likes of which I haven't sensed in centuries. And from a child, no less." His gaze sharpened. "Do you have any idea what I could do with a soul like that? What I could shape him into?"
"Stay away from my son."
"Your son could be so much more than you could ever make him, Mrs. Hayes. Arthur Hayes thinks himself powerful, but he is nothing compared to what this child could become under proper guidance." Mephisto's eyes blazed brighter, visions of possibility dancing in their depths. "I can see it now. Father against son. The desperate battle, the tragic betrayal, the moment when the child surpasses the master and destroys him." He sighed with pleasure. "I do so love those stories. The classics never go out of style."
"You're insane," Tony spat.
Mephisto glanced at him with mild interest. "Was that supposed to be an insult? How charmingly pedestrian."
"You're making a foolish decision," Ariadne said, forcing her voice to remain steady. "Even if you defeat us here, do you think you can hide from Arthur? He can trace you. He knows where you live. He will find you."
"Will he?" Mephisto's smile turned pitying. "I'm afraid not, my dear. You see, the places I can retreat to... Arthur Hayes can never reach them. Other realms far, far beyond his grasp. Other universes entirely." He shrugged with theatrical indifference. "I don't mind sacrificing a few servants in this reality for a diamond like that boy. The exchange rate is quite favorable."
Eileen's heart sank further, but she kept her face composed. Showed nothing.
"Winky." Her voice was calm. Controlled. "Get us out of here."
Winky grabbed Eileen's arm. The elf's face scrunched in concentration.
Nothing happened.
She tried again. And again. Her face twisted with frustration.
"Don't waste your energy, little elf," Mephisto said, amused. "I've locked the space here quite thoroughly. No teleportation. No convenient escapes." He tilted his head. "No one leaves until I get what I came for."
He vanished.
There was no sound. No smoke. He simply ceased to exist in one location—
And reappeared directly in front of Eileen, his hand already reaching for Tristan's sleeping form.
"Mine."
Eileen screamed, twisting her body to shield her son.
But before Mephisto's hand could touch the boy, a brilliant flare of red light erupted from Tristan's chest. A perfect, crimson sphere expanded outward, knocking Mephisto's hand back with a hiss of burning flesh.
At the same moment, two more domes flickered into existence. One around Elena. One around Eileen herself.
Three spheres of red light, pulsing with power that felt achingly familiar.
Arthur's protections.
Ancient wards, layered deep, woven into the very souls of his family. Dormant until needed. Triggered by hostile intent.
Mephisto snatched his hand back, snarling. "Clever wizard."
Before he could try again, a blast of concussive magic slammed into his side.
Winky stood there, her hand extended, her eyes burning with fury.
"Step away from my family!"
Mephisto tumbled back a few feet, dusting off his suit. He looked at the elf with genuine annoyance.
"The help has spirit. How refreshing." He straightened his tie. "Very well. If I cannot claim the boy immediately, I'll simply break his protectors first." His gaze swept across Ariadne, Melina, and Tony - battered, exhausted, barely standing. "I can use your suffering to persuade dear Mrs. Hayes. Pain is such a wonderful motivator."
He raised a hand wreathed in hellfire.
Winky moved.
She didn't just step; she blurred. She placed herself squarely between the Hell Lord and the injured heroes.
The glamour that disguised her melted away.
The human woman vanished. In her place stood something else entirely.
She was nearly six feet tall now, her form elongated and elegant. Her skin had taken on a faint silver sheen that caught the firelight like moonlight on water. Her features had sharpened into something that belonged in ancient legends: high cheekbones, pointed ears, eyes that burned with ageless wisdom and terrible power.
This was not a house-elf.
This was not the small, hunched creature that wizards had enslaved for centuries.
This was what house-elves had been, once, before millennia of servitude had diminished them. Before generations of bondage had shrunk their forms and broken their spirits. Before they had forgotten what they truly were.
This was an elf of the old tales. A being of magic and majesty, reduced by time and cruelty, now restored through a bond with someone who saw her true worth. Who treated her as family rather than property. Who shared his power freely and asked nothing in return but loyalty.
Tony's jaw dropped. "What the—"
"Later," Ariadne said sharply, though her own eyes were wide with shock. Even she had never seen Winky's new true form.
She's beautiful, Ariadne thought distantly. She's terrifying.
Winky raised her hands, and a staff materialized in her grip, silver metal etched with runes that glowed with inner fire. Arthur had forged it for her himself.
"You think you can stop me, creature?" Mephisto sneered. "You are a servant. A slave."
"Winky is no slave." Her voice had changed too - deeper, resonating with power that made the air tremble. "Winky is family."
She slammed her staff into the ground.
A shockwave of pure white magic exploded outward, shattering the pavement in expanding rings, forcing Mephisto to shield his eyes against the brilliance.
"And Winky," she continued, raising the staff again, "is angry."
Mephisto roared and unleashed a torrent of hellfire.
Winky didn't dodge.
She spun her staff, creating a vortex that caught the flames and redirected them back at the demon.
BOOM.
Mephisto was engulfed in his own fire. He emerged from the smoke, looking scorched and furious. "You dare!"
He summoned a whip of shadow and lashed out.
Winky leaped, moving with acrobatic grace, and cracked him across the jaw with her staff. The impact sent the Hell Lord flying through the air, crashing into a pile of rubble.
Everyone stared.
Tony. Ariadne. Melina. Even the battered Abominations, who had been forgotten in the chaos.
Winky had just sent the terrifying being flying.
Mephisto climbed out of the debris slowly.
His suit was torn. His face was bleeding black ichor. And he was no longer smiling.
"Serious, then," he growled, his form growing larger. "Let's see how you handle this."
Winky set her stance, staff raised, silver light blazing around her.
The street exploded into chaos as the new elf and the Lord of Hell collided.