The silence that followed Arthur's arrival was deafening.
Even the sirens in the distance seemed to go quiet. The fires burning across Harlem dimmed. Reality itself seemed to hold its breath, waiting to see what would happen next.
Mephisto's smile, that permanent mask of smug superiority, had frozen solid on his face.
"Hayes," he said. The name came out like he was chewing on something bitter. "How... how did you..."
But Arthur ignored him completely.
He turned his back on the Lord of Hell, an insult so casual it was almost breathtaking, and walked toward his wife.
"Hey, dear," he said, his voice light and casual. Like they'd bumped into each other at the park. "You look a bit stressed. Don't stress so much. I knew you'd be fine the whole time."
Eileen stared at him. She was still holding their two unconscious children, and her expression could have flash-frozen lava.
"Your children are unconscious, Arthur. Your friends are bleeding all over the street. Winky is hurt." Each word dropped like an ice cube. "Exactly how long were you standing around watching?"
Arthur winced. "Ah. Well. It's a bad habit, I'll admit. I just wanted to see how everyone's skills have developed." He put his hands up in surrender. "Purely for research purposes, I promise. Definitely not because I wanted to watch the action unfold and then swoop in at the last second like some kind of dramatic hero."
Ariadne limped over to join them. She had one hand pressed against her ribs, and dried blood was caked on her forehead. She let out a snort.
"Liar. I remember this happening before. Do you do this all the time? Wait for the dramatic last second to play the knight in shining armor?"
"Hey, don't create trouble," Arthur said, raising a placating hand. "In your case, I come last because otherwise you would be mad I stole your opponent. Or your challenge. Or your fun."
Ariadne opened her mouth to argue.
Then she closed it.
Damn. He wasn't wrong.
"Fine," she muttered. "So how long were you actually here?"
"A while."
Eileen's calm exterior cracked just a little. "So you saw what Elena and Tristan did."
Arthur's whole face lit up with pride. "Every second of it. I'm going to have to step up my training, they might pass me sooner than I thought." He laughed softly. "I didn't hit that level of raw magical power until I was ten years old. And here they are, pulling it off on pure instinct."
"Good," Eileen said, her voice flat. "I'm going to make sure they surpass you. And then I'm going to have them beat you up for making me worry like this."
Arthur smiled softly. "I look forward to it." He reached out, gently brushing a smudge of dirt from Tristan's cheek. "Dear, I had a reason for hanging back. I felt Mephisto show up the second he arrived. I needed to see what he was planning. What game he was trying to play."
"Then why didn't you step in when he attacked?" Eileen demanded. "Why did Winky have to get hurt?"
Arthur glanced over at Winky. The elf was standing nearby, very carefully looking at anything except the people talking about her.
"Because Winky asked me not to," Arthur said quietly.
Dead silence.
Eileen slowly turned to face the elf. "You knew he was watching?"
Winky's silver cheeks somehow managed to turn pink with embarrassment. "Winky is sorry, Mistress. Winky could sense Master was there. Winky asked him to stay back." She lifted her chin slightly, a spark of defiance in her eyes. "Winky wanted to test herself. To find out how strong Winky has become."
"And you just went along with it?" Eileen asked Arthur.
"She made a good argument."
Eileen pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "This is your fault. All of it. Your terrible habits have rubbed off on her. Always looking for a fight. Always taking stupid risks to 'test your limits.' Always getting hurt when you don't have to—"
"Hey, that's not fair," Arthur protested. "I'm not like that. If anything, she picked up that reckless attitude from Ariadne."
Ariadne opened her mouth to object, then stopped. She thought back to her early days. All those impossible fights.
Okay, fair point.
Arthur took a moment to survey the destruction around them.
In the distance, the Hulk was still going at it with both Abominations. He was clearly winning, tossing them around like they weighed nothing, but it was getting messy.
"Ariadne," Arthur said, shaking his head. "I have to say, I'm a little disappointed. I thought you could take those monsters without this much trouble."
"Take them?" Ariadne waved at her beat-up body, her exhausted face, her blades that had gone dull from hitting monster skin. "How was I supposed to do that? Their hides are like tank armor. I couldn't cut through them without chi. I couldn't do any real damage."
"Easy fix."
Arthur held out his hand. The air shimmered, and a sword appeared in his grip.
It was gorgeous. Deadly gorgeous.
The blade was black as midnight but seemed to glow from within. The edge was so sharp it looked like it could slice through the air itself. The handle was wrapped in simple black leather, nothing fancy but the balance was absolutely perfect.
He offered it to Ariadne.
She took it carefully. Tested the weight. Swung it experimentally.
The blade made a sound like tearing silk as it cut through the air.
"This is..." She stared at the sword. "This is amazing. What's it made of?"
"Adamantium," Tony answered. He'd managed to limp over to join them. His helmet was off, and his face was a mess of bruises and dried blood. "That's adamantium. Rarest metal on the planet. Once it hardens, it's supposed to be impossible to work with." He gave Arthur a look that was equal parts exhausted and annoyed. "And you just happen to have an adamantium sword sitting around?"
"I like to collect things."
"Of course you do." Tony let out a laugh that sounded a little unhinged. "Why wouldn't you? Demon battles. Magic fights. Elves that can shapeshift. Kids with telekinesis. Friendly giant monsters..." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I thought I had a handle on weird after the whole Iron Man thing. After Extremis. I thought 'okay, this is as crazy as life gets.' I was such an idiot."
"Sounds like you've had quite a night," Arthur said mildly.
"Wonderful. Let's go with wonderful." Tony's eyes locked onto Arthur's. "Your secrets are something else, Hayes. No wonder I never found anything when I went digging. I was looking for super-soldier programs. Secret government experiments. Captain America knockoffs." He gestured at the chaos surrounding them. "Not... whatever this is."
"You were looking in the wrong places." Arthur got a thoughtful look on his face. "When you get home, have JARVIS dig through SHIELD's classified files. Search for 'wizarding world.' You might find some interesting stuff."
Tony blinked. "Wizarding world? There's a whole world?"
"More like a hidden society. It's actually pretty big. They've been running parallel to regular human society for hundreds of years."
"Hundreds of years." Tony's voice went flat. "There's been a secret magical civilization for hundreds of years, and nobody bothered to tell me."
"They take their secrets very seriously. And honestly? You probably ran across evidence before and just dismissed it."
"I..." Tony seemed at a loss. "I need to sit down." He didn't sit down. He just kept staring at Arthur like he was seeing him for the first time. "What else is out there that I don't know about? Are werewolves real? Vampires? Is the Loch Ness Monster actually—"
"ENOUGH!"
Mephisto's roar sliced through the conversation.
The demon had been standing there the whole time. Ignored. Forgotten. While these insignificant mortals chatted among themselves like he was invisible.
The Lord of Hell was not used to being treated like he didn't matter.
"You dare," Mephisto snarled. His form flickered with barely contained fury, hellfire dancing around his fists. "You DARE turn your backs on me? I am MEPHISTO! I am the Lord of—"
"Oh, you're still here?" Arthur turned to face him with a look of mild surprise. "I figured you would have run away by now. That's usually what you do, isn't it?"
Something twitched near Mephisto's eye. "You think I'm afraid of you, wizard?"
"I think you ran pretty fast last time we met." Arthur's tone stayed light. Friendly, even. "I remember it being quite the sprint."
"That was a tactical retreat—"
"You screamed."
"I did not—"
"There was definitely screaming involved. Ariadne, you were there. Was there screaming?"
"Oh, definitely," Ariadne confirmed. A vicious grin spread across her face despite her injuries. "Lots of it. Very loud."
Mephisto's form grew larger. Hellfire wrapped around his hands. "Pathetic tricks. Childish attempts to make me angry." His burning eyes fixed on Arthur. "But tell me something, Hayes. How did you even know what was happening here? My barriers were flawless. Nothing should have been able to get through—"
"Remember the clone?" Arthur cut him off. "The one I used to rescue Ariadne from you last time?"
Mephisto's expression flickered.
"While I was off studying on Asgard, the clone stayed here. Watching. Keeping an eye on things." Arthur's smile thinned. "I saw everything that happened tonight. Every single moment. Every threat you made." His voice went cold. "Every time you looked at my children."
"The clone..." Understanding dawned in Mephisto's eyes. "You actually perfected the technique. You figured out how to make it work."
"I've had plenty of time to practice."
"Impressive." Mephisto's composure slid back into place. His smile returned like a mask being put on. "You got lucky this time, Hayes. But luck runs out. Next time—"
"There won't be a next time."
Arthur waved his hand.
Mephisto vanished.
"Go," Arthur said to Ariadne, nodding toward where the Hulk was fighting. "Help the big guy wrap things up. I need to have a talk with Mephisto. Our last one."
Before anyone could respond, Arthur stepped sideways and vanished into the Mirror Dimension.
—
The Mirror Dimension
The moment Arthur appeared in the fractured reality, he felt the attack coming.
Mephisto hadn't wasted those few seconds. He'd been busy setting a trap. A massive wave of hellfire came screaming toward Arthur. Flames hot enough to burn a soul right out of existence.
Arthur didn't freeze up. He just moved.
Not apparition. Mephisto had locked down the space, just like Arthur had expected. So instead, Arthur relied on pure speed. His enhanced reflexes carried him out of the fire's path with barely an inch to spare.
The flames carved a glowing trench through the mirror-street behind him.
Mephisto stepped out of the fractured shadows. His human disguise was gone now. He was bigger. More monstrous. Horns curled from his forehead. His skin had turned the color of old blood. His eyes blazed with the fires of his domain.
"Today you die, wizard." His voice bounced off every surface, coming from everywhere at once. "I know every trick you have. I've planned for all of them. I've been getting ready for this for years."
Arthur didn't say a word.
He was done with words.
Mephisto had threatened his children. Had tried to take his son. Had hurt Winky, had hurt people Arthur loved.
There wasn't going to be any clever back-and-forth. No dramatic speeches. No games.
Arthur was going to finish this.
He began layering enhancements.
First came the Mystic Arts. He drew on ancient spells designed to reinforce the body beyond human limits. Golden light traced patterns across his skin, sinking into muscle and bone.
Second came chi. He made a fist. The golden fire of the Iron Fist blazed around his hand, burning bright as a star.
Third came eldritch power. Orange geometric shapes formed around his knuckles, complex patterns that hummed with cutting force.
But that wasn't enough.
Not for this all out fight.
On his wrist, the bracelet shimmered. Nanites shifted, revealing a crystal that pulsed with terrifying, violet light.
The Power Stone crystal.
Arthur drew on its energy. Wrapped it around his fist. The air itself seemed to scream. The Mirror Dimension started cracking from the sheer weight of power concentrated in one spot.
Mephisto's confident expression shattered. He could sense it, that cosmic force, that fundamental piece of reality itself, flowing into the wizard's hand.
"The Power Stone?" Mephisto whispered, his eyes widening in genuine horror. "How do you possess—"
Arthur didn't let him finish.
He launched himself forward.
The space lock was still in place, Arthur couldn't teleport. But with his enhanced body and chi propulsion, Arthur didn't need it. He crossed the distance in a blur of motion.
Mephisto dissolved into smoke and tried to escape.
But his own lock worked against him. The space was sealed. He couldn't get out of the dimension.
He was trapped in here with Arthur Hayes.
And Arthur could sense him perfectly.
Every flicker of demonic energy. Every displacement of air. Every panicked heartbeat of a being who had suddenly realized he had made a terrible mistake.
Arthur found him hiding in a fold of twisted space, trying to prepare another attack.
He didn't give Mephisto the chance to finish it.
The punch connected.
The impact didn't make a sound. It was too loud for sound. It was a shockwave of pure force that tore through the dimension.
Mephisto didn't even have time to scream.
The Chi shattered his magical defenses. The Eldritch magic cut through his demonic form. And the Power Stone...
The Power Stone obliterated him.
Mephisto's physical avatar exploded into nothingness. The shockwave continued, tearing through the Mirror Dimension, shattering the kaleidoscopic buildings for miles in every direction.
Arthur stood in the center of the destruction, his fist smoking, the violet light slowly fading.
He breathed out, feeling the adrenaline recede.
The space lock shattered along with Mephisto.
Arthur knew the truth, of course. Mephisto wasn't actually dead. Hell Lords were bound to their realms at the deepest level. Destroying their avatar on Earth just sent them screaming back to Hell, where they'd pull themselves back together.
"Not good enough," Arthur muttered, staring at the empty space where the demon had stood.
Banishment wasn't going to cut it. Mephisto had crossed a line tonight. Had looked at Arthur's children with hunger in his eyes.
He was going to end this enmity tonight. He wasn't going to let that demon look at his family ever again.