The Multiversal Road-Trip: Book Five

20

Mephisto was just how Stephen remembered him.

Just way, way, way more afraid of them since the last time.

As soon as Stephen stuck his head through the tiny window in the door of his jail cell, and Mephisto's scarlet eyes met his blue ones, he jumped back and whacked his head on the wall behind him in the sudden shock and need to get as far away as possible. "You! It's you!"

"It's me," Stephen said, and Wanda came to peer through the window with him.

Mephisto's eyes turned to hers, and the fear on his face deepened. Gulping, he stuttered, "A-and y-you! You're the one that did this to me!"

"I am," Wanda said, nodding.

Loki squished his face in between theirs and grinned at Mephisto. "Hey, jackass," he greeted cheerfully.

The devil actually tried to press himself into the wall at this point, his face going stark white. White. To say his skin was red, this was a significant colour change. "No, no, no, not you, not you. I have to be dreaming. I have to be dreaming." The guy grabbed his hair and shook his head as though they were just a nightmare.

Then Scott came and totally flipped him over the edge.

"Ah!" Mephisto squeaked, his voice suddenly high-pitched. Then he bowed to him, shuddering with fright. "Have mercy, please, Almighty Ant Lord!"

Stephen heard Loki snicker, but he himself just stood back slightly because it was getting crowded at the window and looked at Scott. "He still calls you that?"

"Yeah," Scott sighed. "Every time I come he does this. I'd have thought he'd be more scared of you guys. But no. I'm still the guy with the scary giant ant friends."

"Sounds like severe myrmecophobia," Stephen nodded, to which Scott muttered something about show-offs, then returned his attention to the devil. "Right then, Mephisto. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"What do you want, Stephen?" Mephisto asked, trying to look as casual and un-terrified as he could (doing a good job considering the way he'd just bowed to Scott). "And why me? I'm sure you could ask anyone else whatever it is. So why have you come to me?"

"You already know, right?" Stephen asked, remembering a fact he'd forgotten about Mephisto. "You're a telepath, aren't you?"

"The cell's magic-proof," Wanda said, vacantly, she and Loki also standing back from the window, as Mephisto opened his mouth. "He can't mind-read from in there."

"Yes, that's right. Not one of my personal enchantments, however," Mephisto said, and his gaze returned to Loki, who shrugged but grinned.

"No cheating for you this time," Loki winked.

"I thought you were the one who cheated last time..." Scott said, and Loki rolled his eyes.

"I know that. You're ruining my ironic movie plot lines," Loki sighed. "What am I paying you for?"

"Oh," Scott said, grinning apologetically. "Sorry."

Stephen cleared his throat. "Anyway. We're not here for a catch-up."

"Oh, but Stephen," Mephisto started, and that initial fear was clearly starting to ebb away quite rapidly, "we haven't had a catch-up in forever. I want to know what you've been up to since you stripped my lord of hell privileges and locked me in a cell."

"OK, but technically that wasn't me," Stephen frowned, but as soon as he sensed Wanda's mood drop as she tensed up, he added, "It was your own fault for being an idiot and abusing your lord of hell privileges in the first place."