Chapter 71 - 19
Chapter 19: Welcome to the Family Business (I Think)
From the Memoirs of Danny "Definitely Not a Mafia Boss" Fenton
By the time the sun had fully risen and the sleepy little town had collectively dragged itself out of bed, the Ghost Rider incident was already everywhere. On the news. In the newspapers. On social media. In between grumbles about the weather and complaints about rising gas prices, people were buzzing about the mysterious figure who had torn through the city streets on a bike wreathed in fire like something out of a supernatural Fast & Furious sequel.
Theories ranged from "he's clearly a government experiment gone rogue" to "nope, definitely Satan's intern doing donuts downtown." Some folks swore the rider had vanished into thin air, others insisted he leapt over a moving semi like Evel Knievel's undead cousin. Whatever the case, it was cool. Freaky. And very possibly illegal.
Danny Fenton, however, had been blissfully unaware of the flaming-ghost-motorcycle-mayhem until he dragged himself down for breakfast, bleary-eyed and vaguely wishing he could go back to bed for another three hours.
Unfortunately, there was no escaping that conversation.
"You see, Danny—isn't your father cool?" Jack Fenton boomed, practically slamming a copy of the local paper onto the breakfast table like it was a treasure map. The bold headline blared in all caps:
MYSTERIOUS GHOST RIDER ROAMS STREETS: SUPERHERO, DEMON, OR DAREDEVIL?
A big, grainy photo sat beneath it—blurry, but still catching the glow of burning wheels and a figure wrapped in shadows. It looked equal parts epic and terrifying. Like something you'd see right before realizing you left the stove on... and also the entire house was on fire.
Jack puffed up like a balloon full of dad pride. "The mayor personally asked me to investigate! Me! Jack Fenton! Paranormal Expert Extraordinaire!"
Danny poked at his eggs, half-listening, half-hoping no one noticed he was staring a little too hard at the headline. Something about the image tickled his brain, like déjà vu wearing leather and sunglasses.