Disclaimer: I don't own the franchise itself or the movies and characters. I'm just doing what I love the most. Read and review!
"There he is!" cried a young kid filming an entire scene with his phone where Iceman just saved millions of people inside a burning building by getting them out safely and putting the fire out. The one behind the camera and his friends approached Iceman who was shaking hands with a firefighter, eager for a small interview for his podcast.
"Iceman! Iceman! Can we ask you some questions?"
"It's for our podcast!" A girl encouraged.
"Well, in that case." Iceman shrugged, seeing no reason to refuse.
"How many people that you saved...have you saved." The boy asked, stuttering his words, unable to contain his excitement of seeing the world's greatest hero.
"I-"
"Nevermind!" The boy interrupted, coming up with a better question than that. "Does your thing really stand for hope?"
"Yes, it does." nodded Iceman.
"But it looks like an "I"." confirmed the girl.
"Well, it's meant to. It's meant to go straight down like an icicle." Iceman explained, gingerly caressing the "I" emblem on his suit. "It comes and goes. My fa...A man I knew used to say that hope is like your car keys. Easy to lose, but if you dig around, it usually comes by."
"Did you ever fight a hippo?" A toddler-aged girl asked.
"That's dumb!" The boy scolded.
"But hippos are the most deadly!" She defended.
"What is...what's the best thing about planet Earth?" asked the boy.
Iceman seemed to ponder this question for a moment, but can't really find a suitable answer. In his defense, there wasn't a whole about the world he knew that was the most enjoyable. He was quiet about it for an uncomfortable moment, leaving the kids confused and somewhat embarrassed, wondering if they said something to offend him or something.
Berk City, New Jersey
2017
In the dead of night here in the most crime-ridden and miserable city in the country, Berk City, a man had just committed a robbery and has escaped onto the rooftop of a building where a flock of pigeons where having around while some were kept in a cage. The man had a huge sack with him that was bulged with money that he had stolen. He exhaled with relief that no one was able to stop him as he swung the sack over his shoulder to carry it out of here when he suddenly froze in his tracks that made him drop his sack in shock.
Perched on a gargoyle of a next-door building was the infamous detective himself. The vigilante of Berk City known as Night Fury. The man causally turned around before pulling out his gun to defend himself and fried upon Night Fury, but using his grappling gun, the Caped Crusader avoided the bullet easily. Now on high alert, the man followed where the Night Fury went. Armed with his gun, he was prepared for anything. But then Night Fury dropped into his view in front of him and aimed his weapon at him, but the Dark Knight swiped it away and punched him to the ground.
The thief got back up with his gun to see Night Fury grappling up behind the water tower. He fired at him, but missed, hitting the walls of the water instead, causing water to leak out of the hole and onto the thief. Night Fury hid behind the tower and jumped into the air backwards and onto the thief as he was making his getaway and tied him up with his grappling gun, leaving him dangling off the edge of the building.
"Wait! What are you doing! Wait! No, wait! Wait! Wait!" screamed and begged the thief as sweated from fear for his life. "Please, man! Please!"
Checking the scanning device on his arm, Night Fury could see the red dot approaching the are they were in and he knew instantly that something was coming as intended. For he was using the man as bait to lure it to him.
"What do you want from me?" demanded the thief.
"Fear." answered Night Fury through the voice modulator deepening his voice. "They could smell it."
The man gazed downward towards the earth below him. Then all of the sudden, a humanoid alien creature appeared from the fog. The thing had wings like a insect and red eyes. It flew upwards towards it soon-to-be new victim with a high-pitched ear-piercing screech-like growl. Night Fury yanked the man out of the way of the creature's grasp just in time as he, himself, ran towards it and pounced on it, catching it in a tight hold. The alien flew higher, carrying Night Fury as it hissed and snarled in his face, trying to make him loose his grip. Then suddenly, a weird, beeping ambiance went off, causing the alien to go ballistic, growling with annoyance. It head-butted Night Fury while they both plummeted down back onto the rooftop.
Night Fury kicked him off him. Enraged, the alien flew right at him, but Night Fury caught him and swung it into a brick wall. The creature kicked him into face in retaliation, but then he pulled out a gadget and fired a net on the aliens, trapping it against the wall. The alien fought and struggled, trying to spring itself free, but to no avail. Suddenly, it began to glow and just like that, it exploded in a mess of glowing, green slime on the wall.
"What the hell?" exclaimed Hiccup's butler, Mason Cunningham, who witnessed the whole thing on the Nightcomputer from the Dragoncave. On the green mess on the wall, there were three squares set in a triangular-based formation. The thief, however, was gobsmacked by what he just saw.
"What was that?" He asked.
"A scout." said Night Fury.
"From space? Like an alien army?" questioned the thief with disbelief.
"Mason, are you seeing this?" asked Night Fury.
"I am. Matches the other sightings." confirmed Mason before pulling up photos of Dagur's notes on one of the other computers which depicted the three squares as well. "And that pattern is all over Dagur's notes."
"Prep the jet. I'm going north tonight." ordered Night Fury.
"Good. It's time, then." Mason replied while four images popped up on the computer of the four familiar metahumans that Hiccup's been searching for to create the team.
Night Fury rushed for the edge of the rooftop about to take his leave when the thief voiced his concerns over the ongoing situation that humanity's about to face.
"It's because they know he's dead, right? Iceman. He's gone. Where does that leave us?"
Night Fury took in the man's words with consideration as he knew he had a point. But that wasn't going to stop him from doing whatever it takes to be prepared for a future alien invasion. Grabbing the sides of his cape, he glided off the building and disappeared, ready to put his plan into fruition.
It's been approximately one year since Iceman's heroic sacrifice against Doomsday, the fall of the world's most needed superhero. Ever since then, humanity has broken down emotionally and society broke down with them. Now living in a world without the godlike Kryptonian around to save and protect them, they had no hope. They built a memorial in his honor to remember him and even put up large black banners around the world with his emblem on them to symbolize the beacon they once had. People occasionally place a bought of flowers by his memorial or even a candle or two.
Anna, on the other hand, was an absolute wreck after the death of Jack. Ever morning in her apartment, she would wake up in her bed and find nobody by her side with her. Every night, she would cry herself to sleep and wonder what could've been. No one there to hug her, to comfort her, to love her, to give her a kiss on the cheek. She was all alone.
As for Jack's adoptive mother, Jill Andersen, was just as equally devastated as Anna. No husband, no son. All alone. She was forced to sell her farmland and house and move somewhere else. Where to, she could never figure out. The farm was now bank property. Yes, dear reader. Times were tough in the world nowadays. Crime was getting difficult to handle what with the fall of a great hero; in a world where Iceman was no longer around to fight criminals and maniacs. For instance, the cops were arresting to men for a felony at a cafe. One of the crooks yanked himself free of the cop's grip and kicked some baskets of fruit into the sidewalk before he and his partner-in-crime when to give the proprietor another tongue-lashing or string of threats before the cops dragged them both away and forced them into cuffs.
Meanwhile, in London, England, a caravan of white vehicles pulled up by the main entrance to the city bank. The leader of the criminals stepped out and knocked on the car door, signaling for his gang to come out as well with their guns ready. When a security guard noticed them with their weapons, he immediately knew what they were here for and pulled out his own gun and aimed it at the gang.
"Drop your guns now!" He ordered, but the leader shots him dead.
The gang marched inside, gunning down security and staff members while the customers all screamed in terror. The leader carried his suitcase through the bank while his cohorts shot at more people while taking others hostage. They lead the hostages into the top room in the bank.
"Line them up against the wall! Keep them quiet!" The boss commanded while he placed his suitcase down to get a look out the window to see that the police have arrived on the scene.
While one of men stood guard outside the lobby with his gun loaded and ready, a glowing, yellow lasso wrapped around his arms and middle section and lifted him upwards, dropping his gun in the process. It was none other than the beautiful and strong María Posada, the princess of the Amazons on Themyscira who fights crime as the superheroine, Wonder Woman.
"Who are you?" demanded Wonder Woman, firm and no-nonsense. "The lasso of Hestia compels you to reveal the truth. Now, who are you?"
"We're a small group of reactionary terrorists." confessed the thug by force of the lasso's power. "We know that sinners brought on this plague of-"
"Why the hostages?" She interrupted, impatiently desperate to rescue the innocent people.
"You're too late." The thug laughed mockingly at her. "The countdown's already begun. In a few minutes, four city blocks..." He made an explosion sound for dramatic effect. "While the world watches."
The leader opened up the suitcase to reveal it to be an atomic football, while the hostages screamed and coward upon seeing it. The men aimed their guns at them to silence them.
"This is man's best hope." exclaimed the leader. "Down with the modern world. Back to the Dark Ages and the safety of holy fear."
He then activates the bomb, beginning it's countdown and took a step back. However, none of expected what happened next. For Wonder Woman made her presence known by smashing through the glass doors into the room with the speed of a cougar, causing the thugs to jump back and fall to the ground. A crook fired at her, but she dodges the bullet easily. With 13 seconds before everything goes up in smoke, she had to act fast. She see pummels the gang using her strength and speed. Another bashes her on the head with the butt of his gun, which did nothing, considering her invulnerability.
After punching him away, she rushes for the bomb and flew up into the attic of the building and made a mighty swing that would make Jackie Robinson jealous, throwing the bomb upward high into the sky before it detonated. With his plan thwarted, the angered leader grabbed his gun and cocked it.
"This would've been over quickly, but..." He aimed his weapon at the hostages to take their lives one by one now that his plan to blow them all up himself. Everyone screamed and pleaded for their lives to be sparred, but before he can pull the trigger, Wonder Woman arrived in the nick of time and deflected the bullet with her bulletproof gauntlet. The boss opened fire on the rest of the hostages, but Wonder Woman raced down to shield them all from the bullets, using her gauntlets to keep them away.
Now out of bullets, the leader gazed at her with eyes of shock and mouth agape, speechless and breathless at her extraordinary abilities.
"I don't believe it. What are you?" He asked.
"A believer." Wonder Woman remarked before clashing her gauntlets together, creating a sonic blast.
In the mountainous region of Iceland, Hiccup was riding a horse through the snowy expanses in search of the one they call "Aquaman", the man who is a part of a race of Atlanteans deep below the ocean and has the ability to remain underwater without air and communicate with marine life. They say he provides the people with fish when needed. In his thick parka, Hiccup stood on the edge of a high rocky cliff, looking down upon a small seaside village. He entered a local pub to ask for the man's whereabouts.
"I'm asking for your help." He replied to the people, including the large, muscular man with tan skin and long black locks named Ne'igalomeatiga Multiauaopele, but nicknamed "Maui" for short. His father was a lighthouse keeper who raised him when his mother, the queen of Atlantis, left him with him.
"I believe there is a stranger, comes to this village from the sea. He comes in the winter when the people are hungry and brings fish. He comes on the king tide. That was last night."
An elder gentleman he was speaking with spoke his response in Iceland.
"Icebergs in the harbor. Four months since the last ship got through." translated Maui.
"Well, this stranger...doesn't come by ship." disagreed Hiccup.
Maui eyed him with a spicy glare as he was not willing to trust this man who was poking his nose in where it shouldn't belong. But Hiccup was persistent as he was anxious.
"There are enemies coming from far away. I need warriors." concluded Hiccup. "I'm building an alliance to defend ourselves. Look, I'll give you $25,000 to talk to this man right now. Outside."
"Nokkuð viss um að hann muni gefa mér það samt." Maui remarked to the people jokingly in Icelandic, making them all laugh. Hiccup looked around at them, feeling humiliated before he noticed to his left, a mural on the wall. One of a man resembling Maui arising from the water, carrying a cod. But that wasn't the only thing that caught him off guard. There were the three squares once again in the same position as before. Two of them on top where inside castle towers and guarded while the third one below was in the water and guarded as well. Hiccup knew the man in that mural had to be one we was speaking with now and those three boxes added up to the ones he saw on the slimy mess in Berk City after his confrontation with the alien.
"Tell me what those three boxes are and I'll make it $30.000." Hiccup offered, needing information on the three boxes. But Maui was not one to be bought so easily, even if there was money involved. He wasn't going to trust Hiccup with any information as he approached him and stared down at him dangerously.
"You should get out." He snarled.
"Can you at least point me to Atlantis?" requested Hiccup.
By now, Maui was fed up with Hiccup's persistence and beyond annoyed that he fiercely grabbed his shoulders and lifted him up off the ground and slammed him against the wall. Hiccup knew at that moment that Maui was the person he was looking for.
"Maui." Hiccup grunted from the pain in his back against the hard wall. Maui seemed to calm down as he lowered Hiccup. "Also known as the protector of the oceans. The Aquaman. I hear you can take to fish."
So Maui and Hiccup walked out along the shores of the ship yard to speak about Hiccup's plan. He had already discussed his own superhero persona as the Night Fury.
"So let me get this straight. You do it dressed as a black dragon? Like an actual dragon?" asked Maui.
"I've worked for 20 years in Berk." Hiccup explained.
"Oh, that shithole." Maui remarked snidely.
"When the fight comes, we'll need you." said Hiccup.
"Don't count on it, Night Fury." refused the burly man from underwater.
"Why not?" demanded Hiccup.
"Because I don't like you coming around here digging into my business and getting into my life." Maui answered stiffly. "People from Atlantis tell me, "Do this". Now you say, "Do that". I want to be left alone."
"That why you help these people out here in the middle of nowhere?" asked Hiccup. "Because you can just leave?"
"I help them because no one else does." Maui said as he removed his jacket while he approached the water.
"You want to protect them, you have to work with me." Hiccup told him with a firm grasp of strictness in his voice as Maui neared the lake.
"'The strong man is strongest alone'. You ever heard that?" Maui remarked, reciting an old verse backward and removing his sweater to leave him topless, revealing an onslaught of tattoos all over his body.
"That's not a saying. That's the opposite of what the saying is." corrected Hiccup.
"Yep. Doesn't mean I'm wrong." Maui tossed his sweater away next to his sweater while he walked into the water.
"You ever hear of Iceman? He died fighting next to me." Hiccup confessed, though hated of being reminded of the time he tried to kill Jack in anger.
"My point exactly."
"What's in the three boxes?"
"It's ancient history." answered Maui as he walked deeper into the water until it was by his hips.
"Mankind's melting the polar ice caps, destroying the ecosystem, they got it coming?" Hiccup went on further, trying to sway him of his refusal, hoping to reason with him.
"Hey, I don't mind if the oceans rise." Maui shrugged.
"How about if they boil?" asked Hiccup, undeterred.
"Dressed like a dragon. You're out of your mind, Hiccup Haddock." Maui reminded him before he disappeared into the water and rocketed away like an submarine missile.
"Doesn't mean I'm wrong." muttered Hiccup.
There goes the first chapter of the story. If I'm doing the DC Extended Universe using animated characters, I would have started from the beginning in Man of Steel. But I didn't feel like it. Justice League was my favorite movie, even thought no one else enjoyed it as much as I did. So I've used Hiccup as Batman, Maui from Moana as Aquaman, the aviator from the 2015 The Little Prince movie as Alfred and Jack as Superman.
"Nokkuð viss um að hann muni gefa mér það samt."- "Pretty sure he'll give it to me anyway."
See you guys in the next chapters!