Hospitality

A darker, edgier, gorier, never before seen, Punisher-MAX esque take on Johnny Blaze as Ghost Rider. Warning. There will be graphic descriptions of violence and extremely explicit language.

Johnny knew that if there was any property that the Laughtons didn't care about, it would be his dad's old tool shed. Barton Blaze had a very specific set of taste and loyalties with his brands and tools, he was a blue collar American who believed in reliability and having to get your hands dirty at the end of the day. Meanwhile the Laughtons didn't care about their tastes, they just cared about what looked slick and new, as that's all the Laughtons ever cared about. Having everything look legit and having all the newest toys for their shops, their businesses, so everything looked all neat and tidy on the surface so they could act like they were better than everyone else in town, all the while underneath they had all the shady dealings, the threats, the racketeering, and the bribery. He also knew that the the power of owning an entire town would get to their heads, and that they wouldn't care about the small details...

Johnny's thoughts, almost on autopilot, were cut short as he arrived at the old tool shed. It wasn't on the same property as the main cut of Barton's old shop, it was on it's own property near a bunch of old, dilapidated houses in another part of town, Barton had inherited the property from his grandfathers. The shed itself was stained with rust, a few metal panels jagged and starting to fall off from a lack of maintenance and exposure to the elements. Johnny took a good look out of weariness, but as he predicted, the coast was clear. After a good few minutes of ruffling through through rusty nails, tools, and scrap metal, Johnny had found the plate that Barton had printed out as a demonstration of his work to Johnny when Blaze was just a little boy - 041 976 B. Blaze, having found what he came here for, drove off on his mission the next township over. But first, Blaze decided to take a detour and visit the local pub.

While Blaze knew it was a bad idea, he wanted to see if he could possibly catch Roxanne's dad, the owner of that pub, working the afternoon, as he often would around that time.

Arriving at the pub, Blaze immediately knew he had screwed up when he walked in.

"Ay, Johnny! Hey look everybody, the fuckwit is back in town!" Johnny heard, right before getting sucker punched in the cheek. Toni Laughton, the esteemed son of Jerry Laughton, held Johnny by the shoulders and pushed him into a nearby booth while he was still reeling from the punch, and sat down next to him. "Hey man. You aren't welcome in this town. You should get the f**k outta here, man, I mean what the f**k are you even doing here? You know there's no good reason to come back here. Y'know, not all of our boys are as hospitable as I am, Blaze. But you know, for old times sake, it's on me tonight." Toni says, right before he leaves the booth for a moment and comes back with a lager and continues.

"Y'know Blaze, remember when we used to be friends back in high school? Well, before Roxanne's dad said he didn't want his daughter dating someone that hangs around people like me... so I feel like I owe you some sort of welcome man."

"What the hell, Toni. Was that horseshit really necessary..." Blaze said, still rubbing his cheek.

"C'mon Blaze. It's about who you know around here. I shouldn't have to tell you that. I don't know hate you, there's no hard feeling, but I still have the stand on buisness sometimes y'know? Anybody else in the family saw you here today and you'd be dead. Capishe?"

"Yeah" Johnny said blankly, in an almost disinterested tone.

"C'mon Blaze." Toni continued. "Don't give me the cold shoulder man! I'm just curious. Where and how the hell ya been? You found a wife yet or are you still stuck on good ol Roxanne? And what the f**k was going through your head when ya killed your own father?"

Johnny instantly was struck with rage. "You dirty, rotten, SON OF A GOOD FOR NOTHING F*****G W***E B***H, LAUGHTON!" he yelled, and then punched Laughton hard enough for him to fall on the floor outside of the booth.

Toni got up yelling. "Oh Johnny. You are FUCKED Johnny. When the cops and family hear about this... I thought I was gonna be nice and give you a chance to leave peacefully and tell your story to an old friend... But now boy, you are fucked. It's business from here on out." Toni got up and walked to Johnny slowly and said "Get the F**K out of my town"

"Now you listen to me; you damn well f*****g know none of that s**t is true, your daddy has been smearing my name for years and I'm not gonna stand-" Johnny was interrupted mid sentence by Toni
"Oh, my daddy? My daddy wasn't the one who was going around town asking for f****n handouts! Why the f**k would I trust your story, Johnny boy? You just upped and left, didn't even show any loyalty to the people that saved your family's sorry a*s... Next time I see you it's on sight. Not another word, get the f**k OUT" Toni yelled, and shoved Johnny towards the door. As Johnny left and closed the door, he took a look back and clenched his fist while gritting his teeth, and suddenly he felt a sudden burst of heat and flame and looked down at his fist, seeing embers of otherworldly flame emit. "Not here. Not now. That's the last thing I need" Johnny muttered to himself under his breath, and then after that, he was on the road again.