Brad handed the device containing the soul to Ahmed and told him to return to X Academy first.
He stayed behind to have a thorough discussion with the Hell Lord.
In the end, Brad offered Mephisto a proposal that both of them could reasonably accept.
They would exchange benefits as business partners, with Brad receiving the lion's share. That way, he would be reluctant to cut Hell off.
After giving it some thought, the Hell Lord actually decided that this was a good proposal.
A "new energy" battery from Hell, called the Demon Core, was installed in Brad's chest. Whenever he needed it, he could draw on demons' life force for power.
In return, Brad gave Mephisto command of an army of Terminators.
When either side needed it, they could also cooperate on a deeper level.
For instance, Brad could supply the Hell Lord's forces with superweapons controlled by simple artificial intelligence.
Mephisto could provide Brad with the soul of a brilliant scientist of Brad's choosing who had died within the past century.
One who had been magically enslaved and would obey every command without question, at that.
It wasn't that Brad didn't want more, but Mephisto felt somewhat uneasy about repeatedly deceiving the Death Goddess.
Brad wasn't willing to provoke a deity of that caliber at present either, so he let the matter drop.
Brad couldn't have been more satisfied with their current deal.
Inside the soul container in his arm, Dr. Dain, Dr. Pym's father-in-law, slumbered peacefully.
Of course, that wasn't the entirety of their exchange, only a very small part of it.
Brad's ties with Hell were now exceptionally close.
As for Ghost Rider Carter, she certainly lived up to her reputation as a shrewd opportunist.
When Brad and Mephisto finalized a deal that filled over a