Gangstas and Ghost Riders

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"Ey, Yuri."

I take a deep breath in, closing my eyes. "That's not how you pronounce my name," I say, taking my eyes off the TV and meeting her gaze.

"Fancy spellings and pronunciations are bullshit." She answers, folding her arms to her chest.

I poke my tongue against my cheek.

"I'm going to ignore you now." I turn my attention back to the screen.

She lets out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, Urie."

"Oh, so you do know how to pronounce my name, but you mispronounce it on purpose." I turn back to her.

"To be fair, it's amusing seeing you mad and annoyed when you're not brooding over Tiffany." She tells me.

I roll my eyes until I take in her appearance. Her red lace corset strapped top is tucked inside her black ripped jeans along with a pair of black sandaled high heels, completing her outfit. The eyeshadow blended perfectly with her sun-kissed skin and gave it a glistering gold effect. Her thin lips are painted a nude shade of pink. Her magenta locks are styled into loose wavy curls. She definitely put a lot of effort into her look for the occasion.

"Anyway, can you take me to the club where the welcome party is being held?" She asks.

"Why can't Hermes take you?" I ask back, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Hell no! I spent hours doing my hair. I ain't letting that hyperactive crackhead frizzle my hair." She objects.

"Okay, how about an Uber?"

"Fuck no! Ain't no way I'm riding those. The drivers give me the creeps."

"How would you know? You've never ridden an Uber since you got here."

"Human, what part of 'Olympus, Oceanus and the Underworld advanced and modernised along with the Mortal Realm' don't you understand? Of course, we have Ubers where I'm from. The last time I rode one, the driver kept eye fucking me halfway through the trip and I had to walk before I even reached my destination. And he was a Satyr to make matters worse. Those mother fuckers are always horny and erect 24/7."

"Okay, I did not need to know that last detail." I twist my face in disgust.

"Point is, Ubers are a no-no for me. So can you please give me a ride?"

"Oh no, sweetness. I just got comfortable and I ain't moving a muscle. So, it's either you call an Uber or get Hermes to take you."

She rolls her eyes and starts approaching me. I know what she's planning to do but this time, I'm prepared.

"Don't even think about it, heifer." I pull out my squirt bottle. "One more step and this water is going straight to your face. If there is one thing I know about women, it's that they absolutely hate it when their makeup is ruined."

"You wouldn't dare." She deadpans, slitting her eyes.

"I diddly, darn, double dare you, bitch. I'm pretty sure you don't want to have a long conversation with your boss about why you murdered your client."

I can already tell that I won the argument judging from the way she runs her tongue around her mouth. "Cheeky bastard." She snorts.

"You ain't the only one gangsta up in here," I smirk victoriously.

"Oh, honey! Don't start a competition you can't win." She warns with a tight smile. "I didn't choose the gangsta life – the gangsta life chose me."

"Uber or Hermes. Take your pick."

♡

"When Helen died, I lost everything. Until that dog arrived on my doorstep. A final gift from my wife. In that moment, I received some semblance of hope. An opportunity to grieve unalone. And your son took that from me! Stole that from me! Killed that from me! People keep asking if I'm back. And I haven't really had an answer. But now, yeah, I'm thinkin' I'm back! So you can either hand over your son... or you can die screaming alongside him!"

"This is why you don't fuck around with Jonathan Jardani Jovonovich Wick, home boy. He's the living embodiment of 'fuck around and find out' packed with black airforce energy!" I exclaim, munching on my popcorn.

As I'm watching the rest of the film, the subtle ring and vibration from my phone caught my attention. I reach for it from the coffee table, checking the caller's ID displayed on the screen – it's Feenyx.

"Whatever it is, it can wait. Right now, I'm watching John Wick avenge his dog." I toss the mobile device back on the table and let it ring until it goes silent.

My phone starts ringing again about five minutes later. I groan, picking it up. "What?"

"Hey, can you come get me?"

I knit my eyebrows, checking the time on my phone. It's only been thirty minutes since she left.

"Why?" I ask.

"I may have done something to the Uber driver."

Dread hit me like a hurricane. "What did you do?"

♡

"Before you start – " Feenyx speaks.

"Jesus Christ!" I exclaim through my hands that are covering my mouth.

"Okay! Before. You. Start."

"HOLY SHIT!" I shriek, pulling my hair back.

"Will you let me explain?"

"Why yes, Feenyx. Please explain to me why the Uber driver looks like Eren Jaeger when he witnessed his mother getting eaten by a titan?!" I exclaim incredulously, pointing at the driver, who's seated in his seat, hugging his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth, whimpering incoherent words with a petrified look on his face.

"But the titans are still locked up in Tartarus – "

"IT'S AN ANIME REFERENCE!"

"Why are you yelling in the middle of the street?"

"UBER DRIVER! TRAUMATISED! EXPLAIN NOW!"

"Alright already. Sheesh!" she retorts. "It's a long story but here's the abridged version; he decided to play 'fuck around and find out' when he decided to put his hands on me after I told him not to."

"Still doesn't explain why he looks traumatised." I point out.

"That would be because I induced him with madness manipulation."

I look at her perplexed. "Explain."

"You know how Ghost Rider uses his Penance stare to induce self-mortification into his victims and makes the feel every negative and sinful act they've inflicted on the people around them? That's basically what I did to him." She explains. "A gifted given to most of the nymphs in the Underworld by Hecate."

"Oh, God!" I exclaim mortified.

"Though to be honest, Ghost Rider is kinda like an Amazon Prime male version of an Underworld nymph."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"He'll be fine. The effects only last for an hour or two. Had he done worse in his lifetime, it would have lasted longer, or he could have ended up brain dead."

"So, what now? Do we leave him here?"

"I already called Hermes to bring Hypnos. He should be here any moment."

On cue, Hermes appears with a dark-haired man. "I brought Hypnos." He announces.

So that's Hypnos, I think as I stare at him amazed.

Hypnos looks different from how he's usually portrayed in the myths. He still has his white wings on either side of his head, but he looks different. His physique is slightly lean and he's slightly shorter compared to Hermes. His skin is terribly pale. The dark circles under his eyes do not go unnoticed along with the tired and stoic expression on his face.

He basically looks like an insomniac – very fitting for someone who's the God of Sleep.

"Hypnos! What's good?" Feenyx greets him with a grin.

He narrows his eyes at her. "Care to explain why Hermes dragged me here against my will in the middle of my shift?" He demands in a hoarse but slurred voice.

"I kinda got into a situation." She gestures towards the driver.

Hypnos moves to the car and examines the driver before turning back to Feenyx. "You do know that using madness manipulation on a living being is forbidden, right?"

"It was self-defence. That mother fucker had his hands on me, and it was so not sexy." She retorts.

He sighs before placing his hands on either side of the driver's face. His eyes glow white until the driver's petrified expression slowly relaxes and is knocked out unconscious.

"That should do it. All that he's seeing and experiencing will be nothing more than a bad dream when he wakes up." He removes his hand after his eyes return to normal.

I flinch the moment his eyes move to me. "What about him?" he asks.

"He's with me. He's one of Eros' cupid clients that I have to take care of in his absence." She informs him.

"Hmph!" he responds nonchalantly. "Well, my work here is done. Hermes! If you may?"

"You got it. See you around, Feenyx." Hermes salutes before disappearing with Hypnos in a flash, leaving me and Feenyx alone.

"So," she breaks the silence, turning to me. "does that mean you're going to take me to my welcome party?"

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