Just outside the seaside warehouse, Dan brought the Dragon Blade down on Lucas, who blocked it with his arm blade. He socked Dan in the gut, who stumbled back to catch his breath.

Ben charged at Lucas full-force, slamming into him. The two grappled with each other before Lucas head-butted Ben, causing him to yell in pain and collapse. As he hit the ground, Val rushed up to Dan with both taser devices drawn. He crouched low and readied his shield, making Val leap on top of it. Dan lifted it high, propelling her skyward. She aimed a kick at Lucas, who was moving in on Ben to finish him.

Before Val could connect with her attack, Lucas grabbed her leg and slammed her onto the ground like a ragdoll. Noticing the twins running up, Lucas threw Val right at them with a yell. Gasping, Julie dropped to the ground with the splits, avoiding her teammate. Her brother, however, wasn't as lucky.

"Oof!" he shouted as Val collided with him, sending them both tumbling to the ground. "Get off me!" Val snapped as she fought against unconsciousness.

"No, you get off me!" John retaliated, yelping as one of Val's tasers zapped him in the side. "OW! How powerful are those things? Ten thousand volts?!" Ignoring him, Val hoisted herself up before dashing back into the fray.

Dan was now engaging Lucas, his fire sword connecting with Lucas' arm blade. After a kick sent the Bloody Fist general staggering back, he deployed a second blade from his left arm.

"Oh come on…" Dan muttered as his enemy charged. This time, Dan lifted his shield to block the strikes, trying to counter. He gritted his teeth upon seeing no opening in sight.

Lucas relentlessly pressed the attack, with Dan holding firm. The intensity of the onslaught was almost too much for him…

A bullet pinged off of Lucas' helmet, making him turn to look. Val had both pistols drawn and was opening fire, the shots ricocheting off. Lucas rushed forward and swiped in a decapitating strike, only for Val to slide on her knees to dodge. While she kept the general occupied, Dan rose to his feet as two eye slits on his helmet moved into place, red ocular lenses activating.

Mentally stating how cool he looked, Dan ran forward to reengage just as Val stepped back to dodge another blade that almost sliced her torso. Noticing Dan just in time, Lucas moved his arms into a blocking position, catching the Dragon Blade inches from his face.

"You are nuisances just like your ancestors were." He taunted. "Those warmongers deserved to die, by age or not."

"LIES!" Dan roared, focusing on his strength. "The Riders of Berk were a symbol of hope, justice and order in the Barbaric Archipelago! In a land of constant danger, people looked up to them! Worshipped them! They were treated as heroes, even as gods because no one could bring them down!"

"But they were brought down, weren't they?" Lucas retorted. "How does the saying go… 'Nothing lasts forever?' 'For every uprising, there must be a collapse?'"

Furious, Dan head-butted Lucas to stun him. Taking this opportunity, Val rushed up with a battle cry and jabbed one of her tasers into Lucas' back, making his helmet retract. As the elite operative fought back against the electric currents flowing through him, Dan saw his heads-up display in his helmet bring up a full weapons check on the suit.

DRAGON BLADE HEAT SETTING: MODERATE

SHIELD INTEGRITY: 83%

FLAMETHROWER CAPACITY: 100%

Wait, what? He had flamethrowers? Dan looked at his arms in shock. Looks like those gauntlets weren't for show, then.

Lucas broke free of the taser's effect and rammed his elbow into Val's face. She slumped to the ground, moaning in pain. Turning back, Lucas found Dan pointing a single fist at him. "It will take more than a little punch to bring me down, boy. Haven't you realized that?" he mocked.

"Oh, I think I have." Dan answered, flicking an unseen trigger on his palm. In a single instant, a nozzle appeared on his gauntlet and blasted out a stream of fire, the flames licking at Lucas' face.

"EEEEYYYYYAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" he screamed, batting at his face as he collapsed.

"Holy crap, dude!" Ben shouted as the twins stared in awe.

"That…" John whispered.

"Was…" Julie murmured.

"AWESOME!" The duo finished in unison. "Do we have cool stuff, too?!"

Lucas swatted at the flames until they vanished. The only mark they left was a small burn on his chin and left cheek. His eyes burned with rage as he glared at Dan. "Why you…" He stood, immediately noticing the whole group standing around him in a circle. Not willing to back down, Lucas extended both arm blades, eager to draw blood tonight.

"It doesn't matter that I am outnumbered." He snarled. "I have been trained in tactics no military has ever devised! I am more lethal than any of you! I am…"

A purple explosion sent him flying into the water with a loud splash. Dan whirled around to see Nightwatcher and the rest of the dragon landing. The Night Fury crooned with concern.

"I'm fine, bud." Dan said, patting him on the head. "Thanks for the save." Val relaxed her stance as the others took a moment to recover. "Truth be told, I don't know how much longer we could have lasted. He was just too good."

John raised a hand. "That dude's definitely going to be our archenemy, I just know it." He panted. Ben just gave them a thumbs-up to let them know he was still standing.

"Come on, guys." Dan said, starting to head back to the warehouse. "Let's go see what else we can find in…"

VVRRRRRROOOOOOMM! The sound of a car engine starting up made everyone freeze. Nervously, Dan turned in the direction of distant headlights behind the warehouse, donning his helmet to hide his identity.

A green Dodge Charger drove into view, stopping shortly after revealing itself. Nightwatcher darted into the shadows while the other dragons took cover behind some shipping containers.

It wasn't long before Dan got a good look at the driver. All he could see was that the driver was wearing ski goggles and a bandana over his face. He was looking right at Dan, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly upon examining the flight suit.

The whole group stayed silent, nor did the driver make any words beneath his bandana. After about 30 seconds, the driver shifted into gear. The car's rear tires screeched as it spun around and drove off onto the streets, leaving skid marks behind.

As the red lights faded away, Dan removed his helmet, puzzled. "You guys see that?" he asked as the dragons moved into view. "Yeah." Val whispered. "Who was that guy?"

"He looks like a crook, that's what." Julie added. "Or maybe a vigilante. Did you see the way he looked at you?"

"Creepy." John said. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say he knows you from somewhere."

"I saw it, too." Fred brought up from Dan's earpiece. "From the Order's satellite image. I managed to scan the vehicle and jot down its license plate. I'll show you guys once you get back."

"Thanks, Fred." Dan replied before remembering something. "Oh, speaking of the Order…" he turned to the rest of the group, looking at his arm. "Remind me to thank them for giving this suit one hell of an upgrade."

"Will do. Fred out."

"That flamethrower was totally badass." Val commented with a smirk. The twins nodded in approval, glee written all over their faces.

Back in the warehouse, the team resumed their search for something of use… only to find a corner of the warehouse stripped empty of weapons, blueprints and gear. Only a sticky note remained, which Val picked up.

"You know me, but you don't know me." She read. "Allow me to give you guys a little advice. You want to set things right in the city? You've got to be willing to mess with both sides of the law. -C"

"Who's 'C'?" John asked, only to be swatted upside the head by Ben. "Ow! Dude!"

"The masked guy in the car, obviously! He knows us, for some strange reason."

"P.S." Val read from the note, getting everyone's attention. "Don't bother finding me, because I'll find you. Also, you've got more to worry about than some terrorists."

Dan thought about this, wondering what connection they could possibly have to this masked man. "He'll have to wait." He announced. "And I doubt that's the last we'll see of Lucas. Everyone saddle up and head back to the carrier. We've got some debriefing to do."