Hiccup in a Flash, chap 21
Sorry for the wait, my computer was in repairs for a few days and when I started to correct my chapter I ended doubling the size of it ^^
Anyway I hope you'll like it. About last chapter's mistake I wrote an explanation at the end of the chapter.
I do not own How To Train Your Dragon or its characters, just merely borrowing the character for an adventure of my own.
Please enjoy yourself with this fanfic ^^
- Chapter 21: Global mobilization
Snotlout never liked waking up early in the morning. He could sometimes reluctantly accept to get up quite early in the morning when he really needed to but now was way too early for his standards to already be at work. If Astrid wasn't the one who had call him late last night to ask him to come, he would have refused, even if it was Captain Sven.
With a loud yawn, he entered the detective squad a little before 5am. He expected to found maybe one or two persons but to his surprise the whole squad was already there, bursting with energy as everybody seemed to be running around in a frenzy. He had trouble to open a path for himself to the coffee maker. It looked like every officers was gearing up and were ready to go immediately after a quick brief by Captain Sven and his father.
If he had to judge by the look on everyone's face, the situation must be quite serious. And it wasn't just the detectives. On his way up he saw all the officers in full gear being brief by the different captains. He even noticed that the SWAT's vehicles parked in front the Plaza. The last time he saw so much activity in the Police Plaza was when the president came visiting for a few days three years ago.
He noticed Fishlegs and the twins near him with Tuffnut sitting on his chair.
"What's going on?"
"I don't really know," answered Fishlegs. "Astrid called us without explaining why and Sven didn't want to tell me anything and told us to wait for Astrid's instructions."
While he was a little disappointed that he wasn't the only one she called, he was still curious as to why there was so much activity happening at the BCPD.
"So she called you too." He seemed to realized something. "Do you think Astrid called everybody else too?"
Ruffnut snorted at the question.
"Yeah sure. She doesn't have the authority to call them on official business and she sure as hell she didn't called all of them on a personal favor. Its' not like Astrid knows that many people. She never was much of a social person."
"Totally sis. She's not much of a social person, she is more like a burrito at El Mexican Casa."
Even if Tuffnut was his best friend Snotlout had no idea what he meant. He looked at Fishlegs but he too had no idea what Tuffnut meant either.
"What does she have anything to do with that restaurant?" asked Ruffnut. "It's just terrible and the only thing they served is burrito. And it tastes terrible. It's like the freshest burrito they ever served was at least ten days old."
"Exactly!" Proudly exclaimed Tuffnut. "She's tough on the inside and the outside. Just like the burritos of El Mexican Casa."
"Oh! Nice one Tuff! I totally should have get that. " complimented Ruffnut as she bumped her fist with him.
Fishlegs gave up trying to understand the twins. He never understood Tuffnut and he won't start to make sense now. He decided to ignore them and turned to Snotlout.
"To answer your question: no, Astrid didn't called them however I think she called all of us for the same reason as everyone else. But it is likely we'll do something different. When I called her earlier, after Captain Sven told me to wait for her, she told me that she would explain it later. She said would be here around 5. It should not be too long now."
"So none of you knows what's going on?"
The twins shook their head in negation but Fishlegs fidgeted a bit on his chair. Snotlout knew that look, he definitely knows something.
"Fishlegs?" asked Snotlout with a threatening tone.
"Alright, alright! I know a little but we should wait for Astrid"
Snotlout glared at him and as usual, Fishlegs easily caved in.
"Ok. Astrid didn't tell me anything but I heard a bit from some officers that I know. Apparently they all got called by Stoick's order. I couldn't get much details but apparently Helheim's Gate is preparing for something huge."
"Helheim's Gate?" Snotlout couldn't help but be a bit apprehensive. "Last time we ran into those guys it wasn't pleasant, we almost all died. I sure would hate to face them again."
"Sadly knowing Astrid we might-" but Fishlegs was cut off by his phone as he received a text message from Astrid.
"What's that?"
"It's Astrid. She went us to meet her in the dojo."
"Man! Is it really time for some more training?" complained Snotlout. "Last time I had bruises for weeks."
"I don't think she want us to train." remarked Ruffnut.
"Then why are we meeting her there?" asked Tuffnut.
Fishlegs was also a bit intrigued by the choice of the meeting place but didn't let it bother him.
"Let's go. We'll know soon enough anyway."
So far things went a lot smoother than she expected.
Last night Stoick agreed to meet her and Hiccup despite the late hour and immediately began to move along her plan. He was a bit skeptical at first but he nonetheless believed her and mobilized nearly all the BCPD's force. She didn't tell him it was in fact Hiccup's plan but Hiccup told her it was better if he thought it was her plan. She doesn't know exactly how is the relationship between Hiccup and his father but it didn't seemed really good. The atmosphere was a bit awkward when they greeted each other. They weren't hostile or tense around each other, it was more like they didn't how to interact with one another. But she didn't dwell on it as there was way more urgent things.
She didn't tell Stoick the whole plan, only the part that the BCPD would have to play. Astrid knew that he'll never agree to parts of that plan and explaining other parts would require to explain her current cooperation with Night Fury. So she lied to Stoick about what she thought was Helheim's Gate's aim. She didn't like to lie to Stoick who has always been good to her but she didn't have a choice. Nonetheless she was grateful to him that he let her be able to act independently of the mobilization of the BCPD's forces and that he let her have full authority over Snotlout and the rest of the gang. It was the point that she feared the most as it was absolutely essential to their plan but surprisingly he agreed without needing a full explanation about why she needed them.
Afterwards she met with Night Fury.
She called him as she left Stoick's house. He didn't answer and she left a voicemail. She hoped it won't be like that time at Cadmus Labs when she called him and he never showed up. She feared that once again he would ignore her. But surprisingly, after she dropped Hiccup at his apartment, she found Night Fury waiting for her at her doorstep. Then followed a rather interesting discussion between them but that's a story for another time.
For the moment she needed to concentrate on her immediate problem: asking for the cooperation of the rest of the gang. Even if Stoick gave her full authority they had the right to perfectly refuse to go along her plan as it sure was something that Stoick didn't approved.
Despite the early hour she found them all present and waiting for her at the dojo. Even Snotlout was there despite the fact that he hated getting up early in the morning.
"Good you're all here."
"As you've asked." answered Fishlegs. "So what exactly are we doing here? I assumed it has something to do with the mobilization of the rest of the BCPD."
But Snotlout interrupted Fishlegs as he issued a complain.
"I hope that it isn't for some more training. Because I'm telling you right away I'm not doing it."
Astrid simply irked an eyebrow at Snotlout's vehement tone. Sensing he was playing with his life right now, he quickly backed away and tried to change his tone.
"Not that I'm not always ready for more training or anything!" Quickly backpedaled Snotlout. "It's just that it wouldn't feel right if something major happened to rest of the BCPD and they need my help and I would be here simply training."
"Simply training? Alright Snotlout, I'll remember that the usual training is too simple for you that you're eager for more. Don't worry I'll make sure that it will be a bit more challenging next time, just for you."
Snotlout gulped in fear as he try to respond. "N-next time? So not right now right?"
He knew he talked too much but if he didn't have to do it right now, Astrid might forgot about it. It sounds unlikely but right now it was all he had.
Astrid observed him shake in his boots, like a predator observes a prey that knew what might be awaiting him. Honestly she really didn't call them for training and they just don't have time for it but seeing how Snotlout was trembling made her seriously thinking about doing at short sparring session to teach Snotlout a thing or two about respect.
Sadly she really doesn't have time for that. Sighing inwardly, she reassured the trembling Snotlout.
"Yes Snotlout, not now right now. I didn't call you for training." With a serious expression she faced Fishlegs. "I suppose you already have an idea of what is going on."
"Y-Yes. From what I gathered Helheim's Gate is about to do something big real soon and Stoick called every men available. However I have no idea what Helheim's Gate is going to do or what is Stoick's counter measure for it. If I were to guess as you're the one who called us here and not Stoick or Sven, I figure you have a different assignment than the rest of the BCPD and need our help. So what are we going to do?"
Astrid nodded at Fishlegs' analysis. As usual he got almost everything right.
"I guess we will be able to do it quick as you already said most of it. Hiccup and I learned that Helheim's Gate is about to unfold a major operation on Berk today and we went to inform Stoick. I'll tell you what I said to Stoick and what we'll be doing, but first…" she quickly checked out her watch. "Sh*t! I'm out of time. I'll explain everything but first you have to promise me that you won't freak out."
It was rare to see Astrid panic like that. Fishlegs had a bad feeling about it but he nonetheless silently nodded as did the twins. Unsurprisingly only Snotlout took it lightly.
"Pfff! Astrid, have you never met me before? This guy right here never freaked out before. I'm like a cold blooded man with nerves of steel."
Snotlout started to do his usual bragging again. Normally Astrid would put him back to his place but he would arrive soon. She needs him to not freak in the next minutes. It would take way too much to burst that big ego of his so she tried for once to play along with him.
"Right Snotlout. How could I forget? You definitely have nerves of steel. But now you have to promise me that you won't start to shoot everywhere blindly no matter what happened."
Why would Snotlout start to shoot everywhere? Fishlegs didn't understand why Astrid would ask that of Fishlegs but his bad feeling kept getting worse.
"Of course! Who do you take me for? Fishlegs? Contrary to him I have nerves of steel and an unshakable mind. I promise you that nothing will freak me out."
"So you won't try to shoot without hearing me out first."
"Of course babe!"
Before Astrid could protest at him calling her babe once again, a deep foreign voice came out from behind them.
"I feel very much reassured. What a manly confidence!"
Hiccup found it difficult to not make his voice betrays his sarcasms as he couldn't resist the opportunity to tease Snotlout.
Surprised, all four of them turned over in the direction of the voice but they couldn't believe what they saw. Standing by the door, leisurely leaning on the wall, not minding the fact that he was standing in the middle of the BCPD HQ was Night Fury.
Like one man, they all reached for their gun. Only Fishlegs didn't grip his gun as he stopped his hand in midair. Ruffnut gripped her gun but didn't take it out as she remembered Astrid's warning. Tuffnut took out his gun but it was more of a reflex than because he felt threaten. Keeping his cool he kept his gun pointed to the floor as started to admire Night Fury's suit. He had to admit it looked wickedly cool. But if it was up to him he would have make it a bit more intimidating, with something like a yellow skull or some blazing flames. However he couldn't choose if he would have put it on the helmet or on the torso. Maybe both.
And finally there was Snotlout who completely forgot his promise to Astrid. He took out his gun and aimed it to Night Fury and frenetically pressed the trigger. But just as he was aiming it at him there was a small blur where Night Fury stood and next thing he knew his gun was no longer in his hand. Dumbfounded he looked stupidly at his hands before checking his holster. His gun was still there. He must have failed to take it out and he must have looked like an idiot. Swearing out loud for his mistake he tried to once again reach for his gun. This time he make sure he gripped his gun correctly only for the same thing to happen as he aimed his gun to Night Fury and once more jerked his finger on empty air. Not understanding what was happening he did the only thing he could and once again tried to reach out for his gun. But this time he was stopped by Astrid who took away his gun and smack his head loudly.
"You moron! What did I just asked you not to do?! I thought you were a man with nerves of steel who never freaks out or was it some mindless bragging again?"
Snotlout was confused at what was happening. He didn't understand why Astrid was mad at him. First Night Fury suddenly appeared before them then some mysterious phenomena made him unable to take out his gun. Why was Astrid now stopping him from arresting Night Fury? Maybe she didn't see Night Fury. Snotlout tried to tell her.
"B-b-but it's him! Him! It's Night Fury! We must arrest him!"
"I know it's Night Fury you idiot! That's why I ask you to not freak out! Is your brain just for show or do you actually used it sometimes?! Don't you remember that we told you that for the moment we are working him? He agreed to help us against Helheim's Gate that's why I asked him to come! And you!" she pointed an accusatory finger to Night Fury. She was mad at him as she saw him silently appearing behind Snotlout and purposefully waited for the right timing to freak him out.
"Couldn't you have waited for me to talk about you coming here before ticking them off?! What would you have done if he managed to shoot and made every cops of the BCPD come here?!"
He merely shrugged. "That's why I stopped him every time. And even if he somehow manage to use his gun I would be gone long before anyone could have make it here."
Astrid let out an exasperated sigh.
Sometimes I really wonder if he exists for the sole purpose of messing with me.
She knew he perfectly capable to do what he said but that didn't stop her from grumbling. Yes no one except them would have saw him but then she would have end up with the awkward task of having to explain to everybody why Snotlout opened fire in the dojo. He would have left all the troubles to her.
"You could have waited that I told them before going in." tried to reply Astrid
"Would you rather have me waiting outside the dojo for everyone to see? I'm sure that a lot of the detectives here would have love for me to just stand there. That would save them the trouble of looking for me."
Night Fury's sounded calm and cold but she clearly see that smug bastard's smile under his mask. For some strange reason, she started picturing the lopsided grin of Hiccup. One would found it funny to imagine the face of the weak, cute and amusing Hiccup on the body of someone radiating such authority and charisma. It would be like picturing the head of Puss in Boots on the body of the Terminator.
No, not the Terminator. He's way larger than Night Fury. No, it would be more the head of Puss in Boots on Tom Cruise's body. Yes, that's about the same amount of weirdness.
But the weirdest part was that Hiccup's head on Night Fury muscular shoulders didn't seemed that strange. It looked almost natural.
She quickly shook her head to chase that thought.
I must really be tired if I start imagining such insane stuff.
"No, you're right it was better for you to enter but I would have prefer that you keep your mouth shut while I was prepping them. And there was no need to make fun of Snotlout. You provoked him purposely. And don't say you didn't."
Night Fury kept silent, acting as if he didn't know what she was talking about but she won't be fooled. She noticed that for some reason Night Fury seemed to enjoy making fun of Snotlout. She first saw it when they were trying to ambush him with Stoick. Every time they tried to charge him and Snotlout made a bragging claim beforehand as per his habit, Night Fury would always go out of his way to taunt him, as if to purposefully disprove his claim.
Does they have some history? Is he someone Snotlout knows? Or is he someone Snotlout knew? Maybe in high school or college.
But she kept that thought for later. She promised to Hiccup that she won't investigate Night Fury anymore. At least until they solved that mess with Helheim's Gate. But after this was done she sure would investigate it.
"Let's forget it for now, we won't get anywhere like that. I'll make the introductions. Everybody, I believe you noticed but this is Night Fury. Night Fury this is Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut and Fishlegs." When each of their name was called they salute him in various way. Snotlout glared at him, Tuffnut greeted enthusiastically, Ruffnut smiled at him with a dangerous light in her eyes while Fishlegs nodded with a bit of shaky legs.
Hiccup found it weird to be introduced to people that he basically knew his whole life.
"Finally there is my partner Hiccup that isn't here for the moment but he should join us later."
Astrid finished the introduction of her team to Night Fury. Hearing Hiccup's name reminded something to Fishlegs.
"Where is Hiccup exactly? I found it strange that he wasn't here while you called the rest of us." asked Fishlegs. He thought he was with Astrid but apparently he's not.
"Pfff… Who cares about my nerd cousin? I bet he just doing some nerd stuff somewhere."
Astrid completely ignored Snotlout's remark as she answered Fishlegs.
"He's busy prepping the material we'll need later for our joint operation with Night Fury."
"Joint operation?!" asked Snotlout in a strangled voice. "We'll be directly working with him?"
"That's so cool!" yelled Tuffnut. "What will we be doing then? Blow up some stuff that belongs Helheim's Gate?"
"Are we doing pairs? Because I wouldn't mind pairing with hot stuff over there." said Ruffnut looking at Night Fury. Hiccup had a hard time to suppress the chill that went down his spine.
"Why would we blow up stuff? And no Ruffnut, no pairing. And Snotlout, yes we will be directly working with Night Fury; that's what a joint operation means. Now if you would all calm down I'll start explaining the mission to you. But first Snotlout, will you stop glaring to Night Fury already? And Ruffnut stop trying to flirt with Night Fury."
Ever since Astrid made the introduction, Ruffnut has been moving dangerously closer to Night Fury, her hands trying to reach and caress his arms. At Astrid's cold warning she clicked her tongue and moved back near her brother, very much to Hiccup's relief. She pouted a bit but send another suggestive look at Night Fury. This time he didn't suppress the cold chill.
Sensing that she better hurry before Ruffnut tried to kidnap Night Fury, she started to explain the current situation to the rest of the team.
"Here's the situation: last night I got contacted by one of my informant who told me that Helheim's Gate managed to unify most of the criminals in Berk but as a result they are a bit low in funds and needs to make some quick cash fast. As a result they urging every criminals in Berk to take part to their large scale operation: all criminals in Berk are to do whatever crime they could today at the same time. Criminals activities has been on the decline recently thanks to the BCPD and, even if we don't like it, thanks to Night Fury." her reluctance to admit it was very clear on her face. " His ability to be present a few seconds after a distress call made most of the criminal in Berk unable to successfully carry out their activities. So to make up for it Helheim's Gate plans to go with quantity over quality. They are forcing every criminal in Berk to do what they do best today to try and overwhelm Night Fury and the BCPD. A lot of them would be arrested but in the end they would a better chance of success than how they usually did. And to be sure that it will work they tested Night Fury's reactions yesterday in a series of incident they manufactured. Or at least that's what my informant told me."
"So it was all because of him?"
"Wow! Today gonna be so fun!"
Fishlegs let out a small groan while Snotlout and Tuffnut shouted at the same time.
Ruffnut noticed Night Fury and Astrid exchange a look. There was more to it.
"But that's not all isn't it?"
Astrid nodded with a grave expression.
"Unfortunately yes. I told to Stoick exactly what my informant told me but after discussing with Hiccup and Night Fury last night we agreed that Helheim's Gate definitely got another goal."
"So you think they aren't just after the money?" asked Fishlegs
After silently listening up to that point, Night Fury began to speak up.
"If they really were trying to test me yesterday to see if they could overwhelm me they would have proceed differently. Rather than creating incidents one after the other, they would have made them happening all at the same time. It make no sense for them to do them consecutively. Last night Astrid shared with me her analysis of the events and I agree with her. Helheim's Gate was trying to test my speed limit and response time to those different events. They wanted to know which incidents made me react and how fast I could get there and how long it take for me to solve them. It is very likely they did those tests so that they can lure me somewhere when they are going after their real target."
"Real target?" asked Snotlout.
This time it was Astrid who answered.
"Our hypothesis is that they need some specific materials and equipment to use the Speed Force they got from Night Fury and they will try to take it today. It is likely that it is something unique or rare that they can't get the regular market. We can't let them take it. If they succeed on getting their hands on it and start to exploit the Speed Force there is no telling how bad things will get."
"Indeed, we better avoid that scenario." agreed Fishlegs. "But isn't it a bit risky for them to do it so openly even if they can lure Night Fury somewhere? If it is something they really need, isn't there be a better way to get it? With such a large scale operation they'll definitely attract attention on them and they can't completely erase the risk of the BCPD or Night Fury finding them."
"It's a good question Fishlegs. Our guess is that it is likely that there is a safer and more discreet way for them to get it but it would take too long for them. They probably want to be able to exploit the Speed Force as soon as possible and decided to try a faster method. Of course they're taking some precautions."
"What kind of precautions?"
Astrid was surprised that Tuffnut was still listening to her but nonetheless answered.
"With the tests we talked earlier, they measured precisely the limit of the ability of Night Fury and the pattern of his actions. They want to be able to predict his every move and make sure he won't be anywhere near them when they are going after what they want. With the chaos they provoked everywhere in town there would be no one to stop them."
Fishlegs could guess where that discussion was going.
"I suppose it is where the joint operation with Night Fury came in. You want to throw off their predictions."
"Exactly. Today it is more than likely that at every incident they generated there would be several spotters from Helheim's Gate who would be there to report when Night Fury arrived and when he is leaving. Helheim's Gate will use those reports to sync their actions with Night Fury's movement. As long as we managed to mess up the timing of their previsions of Night Fury's movements we should be able to stop from getting what they want."
Ruffnut didn't seemed convinced that it will manage to stop Helheim's Gate.
"Are you sure it would be enough? If they can't predict Night Fury's movement they might just all well try their luck even if they aren't sure that Night Fury can't stop them."
This time Night Fury answered Ruffnut.
"Yes it will be enough. If they are doing such a bold operation it's because whatever they need will be really important for them. They can't risk it if they aren't 100% sure to get it."
"Why? If it is that important to them they might get desperate and just try to take it no matter what."
"I can't guarantee it at 100% but I strongly think that they still won't risk it. Even if that delays them a bit, they are ought to do another try another time rather than forcing their luck. Because worse than being delayed, it would terrible for them if I stopped them and learned exactly what they are looking for. As things stands right now they have no way to stop me, they can only try to divert my attention from what they are doing. If I was to know exactly what they wanted and started to actively guard it, it would be hundreds times more difficult for them to get their hands on it. And if it is something unique they might be screwed for a very long time. That's why I think they won't risk ticking me off and act only if they are sure that I can't stop them."
"Makes sense," replied Ruffnut. "But in the end all of this is just suppositions. We can't be sure that they're going to act as you think they would."
"True," agreed Fishlegs. "We don't have any proof that can comfort your hypothesis. Are we sure that you aren't overthinking this and they just want the cash as said your informant?"
Astrid answered Fishlegs' question this time.
"No, we aren't sure of any of that but it is our best guess. We might read them wrong but I'm sure that they aren't just looking for a quick cash. Moreover even if we are wrong, our plan won't get in the way of what was originally planned. It'll just have some more precautions than originally intended."
"Alright, works for me." said Ruffnut. "So what are we doing? We try to look for Helheim's Gate spotters and arrest them?"
"No we can't. We can't arrest them just because they happened to be near a crime. They probably won't interact with the people involved in the crime so we can't prove that they are connected to the crime. Moreover they might use people that does not belong to Helheim's Gate or are not criminals, making them harder for us to spot them."
"Then what are we doing? It's not like we're going to disguise ourselves as Night Fury to confuse them."
"It might actually not be a bad idea Tuffnut." said Night Fury "But no we can't do that because it might work at the start, but pretty soon they would easily know which one are fakes as none of you can run like me. Moreover it would be create some big troubles if the other officers tried to arrest you."
"What then?" angrily asked Snotlout.
"We are going to do the arrests instead of Night Fury. That way they won't be able to track his movements."
"How?" asked Fishlegs. "The reason why Night Fury is a threat to Helheim's Gate is how fast he is able to move somewhere before they can do anything. We can't exactly do that. How are we going to go around it? Do you want to put detectives and officers everywhere in Berk? Is that why you went to Stoick and everybody was called today?"
"It's part of it. But even if every officers and detective of the BCPD are out on the street we can't cover all of Berk. Helheim's Gate knows that and probably already took their precautions against it. With such a large mobilisation of Berk's criminality the information was ought to fall into the ears of the BCPD's informants. Asking Stoick to deploy the maximum of people will limit Helheim's Gate actions but it will not stop them."
It was as Astrid said. Even if all the cops in Berk are out in the field looking for Helheim's Gate they won't be able to stop them. In the first place the plan was design to overwhelm the police force of Berk with a massive amount of criminals.
"It's true that we can't respond to distress calls as fast as Night Fury. That's why Helheim's Gate is confident in its plan. But even if we can't go as fast as him, he can get us there." Astrid pointed to Night Fury who didn't say anything, waiting for her to finish explaining to them. "This is what the joint operation is: we arrest criminals instead of Night Fury and Night Fury helps us moving from place to place."
"Huh?" As one, all of them looked at her as if she had lost her mind. Fishlegs was the first to be able to speak again.
"W-What do you mean by "Night Fury helps us moving from place to place"? He's gonna take us all around Berk?"
"Pretty much yeah."
Then Fishlegs calmly asked her, not seeing any other explanation for Astrid's idea. "Are you insane?"
"Listen to me first. Here's the plan: Stoick deploys every detectives and officers everywhere in Berk in order to maximize the surveillance zone and minimize the area in which Helheim's Gate will be able to operate. I asked Stoick to especially watch out for the areas with research labs and equipment factories as they are more likely to be Helheim's Gate's targets. But he can't cover everything and the coverage of areas will fluctuate all day as the patrols will be called to reinforce other patrols who encountered criminal activities. Whenever an area will be cleared of patrols, Helheim's Gate will surely engineered an incident to which Night Fury will be sure to respond. At that time Night Fury will carry one of us near the place that needs help so that we solved the situation for him or that at least we manage to take care of it until some reinforcement arrived. Of course they would be incidents that could only be solved by him like the jumpers from yesterday or the ambulance carrying an organ transplant. Then he would have no choice but to do it himself. But by minimizing the number of scene where Night Fury actually appeared, we might be able to throw off Helheim's Gate's previsions and prevent them to sync their operations with Night Fury's movements. There'll also be times where Night Fury will take us somewhere and would have no choice but solved it. At that time we'll have to take care of the aftermath so that he get leave the scene as soon as possible to keep his movements as unpredictable as possible. It will be a win for both of us and if Helheim's Gate is really just after some quick cash, it'll work just the same except that the BCPD will be the one to take credits for the arrests."
For a long moment nobody said a thing as they all tried to process the crazy plan she just proposed. Obviously some managed to process it faster than others. Unsurprisingly Fishlegs was the first to understood, it wasn't such a crazy plan after all. Just one thing was worrying him.
"That's crazy. Utterly crazy. But it might just work. It's just that-" started to say Fishlegs. His words woke up Snotlout from his stupor
"What do you mean it might work? There is no way it would work! It's just crazy!" exclaimed Snotlout.
Ruffnut had to agree with him.
"I hate to say that but he's right. It's just plain crazy."
"That's what make it so amazing! When are we doing it?"
Only Tuffnut was willing to go with that plan.
Astrid can't blame them. When Hiccup first proposed it to her she also thought that he went crazy.
Fishlegs tried to say what he wanted to say before he was rudely interrupt by Snotlout.
"It is true that we might mess up Helheim's Gate's plan with your plan but there is a lot of things that could go wrong. Moreover many things are still unknown right now. And this plan will put all of us in great danger as we would have to deal with a lot of dangerous situation without any backup all day long. We can't dodge bullets like Night Fury and we will be exposed to situations designed to slow him down. There is telling what we might encounter."
"Forget about that!" shouted Snotlout. "It is not why this plan is nuts! You want that guy," he rudely pointed to Night Fury, "to carry us around town all day long?! There is no way that he can do that! Have you seen the size of his arms? My wrist is thicker than his biceps and you want him to run around Berk carrying us on his back. Never mind me, there is no way that he could lift Fishlegs. He just doesn't have the strength for it!"
Fishlegs and Ruffnut had to agree with Snotlout. Even if Night Fury looked quite fit with some muscles clearly visible under his suit, he just wasn't strong enough. There is no comparing him and Fishlegs or even Snotlout. Even if Ruffnut would be more than willing to jump his tight abs, she might trust him for carrying her or Astrid but she doesn't think he could carry his brother and Snotlout. Let's not talk about the massive Fishlegs.
Hiccup knew that it was a key point of their plan and he had to convince them of it or it will never work. Honestly he can't blame them. If he were in their shoes he was pretty sure that he would have the same reaction. Actually until yesterday, he would have completely agree with them. Even if the Speed Force gave him more muscle and upper arm strength so that he could lift Fishlegs, he didn't think he'll be able to get far with as he would be left completely exhausted after only a mile. But that was before his discovery after yesterday's incident.
Astrid also understood their reaction and she almost said the same thing when Hiccup exposed his plan. But she stopped herself and waited for Hiccup to explain himself. Because if there was one thing she learned ever since Night Fury entered their lives: things aren't always what they seem.
"You should know better Snotlout. You can't apply common sense to Night Fury's power. When you saw him did you also think that he can't run so fast because of the size of his legs? His physical appearance doesn't match the power he possess. Last night I asked him if he could carry us and he told me that he could. That's good enough for me."
Hiccup was touched by the trust she had in him. Both as Hiccup and as Night Fury. Yesterday when he first exposed his idea he expected her to laugh at his face and dismiss him as crazy but she patiently waited for him to explain himself. And later when she asked him as Night Fury, she only asked him once and completely believed his answer. She didn't think that he was just bragging. But even if Astrid trusted him and took him at his words, that didn't mean it was enough for the others.
"And you trusted him?! How do you know that he wasn't just bragging? Personally I think he just a liar that just happen to run a little fast. No way he's that strong. If he were then he wouldn't just spend his time running around criminals all the time."
Hiccup was at loss at Snotlout's mindless reaction. Does his cousin ever thought before he speaks? Does he not realize that Night Fury, the powerful vigilante that can outrun bullets and who ridiculed him at more than one occasion is standing just right next to him?
He can't be that stupid right?
Just listening to his cousin was giving him a headache. But what Snotlout didn't know is that yesterday Hiccup discovered something about his powers. Previously when he carried someone to save them from some danger he noticed that he was often left exhausted but he was more exhausted when he carried someone on a short distance than when he carried them on a longer distance. He couldn't understood why and yesterday when he ran up the wall of that building to save that guy who jumped from the rooftop he noticed that after he carry that large guy on a short distance he wasn't tired at all, in fact he barely felt a thing.
At first he didn't realized it because of the exhilaration of running up a wall.
(Because let's be honest, just how cool is it to be able to run up walls? Super cool that's what! Hem-hem sorry I got carried away. )
But the thing is that later on when he was thinking on the events of the day after Johann told them about Helheim's Gate's tests he realized that his powers acted differently than before. Sensing it might be important to whatever he could plan against Helheim's Gate he began to think at what was different from before.
At first he couldn't find anything different. It was unlikely that his powers suddenly evolved as he didn't feel any different. Then he began to think that maybe he was wrong with his initial thinking. Maybe it wasn't the distance that impacted his strength but his speed. As he runs shorter distance he doesn't have time to build up any speed nor does he need to try to. Just running a bit fast was enough to escape from most situation. But when he was running on longer distance he was actually going faster and faster. Now the question was different when he's running faster that when he's not.
Then it struck him like lightning. It was so obvious he didn't know how he missed it before. It was what he showed the other with the footage of him meeting Astrid for the first time as Night Fury: the faster he goes the more concentrated the Speed Force in his body is. As he goes faster he draw more Speed Force into him. It not only strengthen his leg muscles but it also strengthen everything else in his body. His kinetic vision improves, he can process informations faster, it speeds up his regenerative capacity so it is only logical to think that it also improved the global strength of his body. Later that night, after he discussed with Astrid, met his dad with Astrid and met Astrid again as Night Fury, he stayed up all night conducted tests, carrying large bags of cement around Berk at different speed. The results was that the more Speed Force is draw into him, the stronger he get. When he runs at his top speed his physical strength increased up to five time his normal strength. And if he pushed himself past his limits, like he did when he caught the guy who tried to kill himself, his strength increases to 8 times his normal strength. It is not enough to be called an herculean strength but it should more than enough to carry Fishlegs and the rest of the team around Berk.
The best part was that he wasn't getting exhausted running at top speed as the Speed Force also increase his stamina and his physical recovery. However it would be pretty taxing mentally as he would have to keep running at top speed all day long if he wanted to keep carrying the others all over Berk.
But it wasn't the only consequence. As he draw more Speed Force in him, he also leaks out more Speed Force when he's running. When he's running at his top speed a visible purple lightning bolt was following his every steps. It would dissipate quickly but it meant it would be easier for Helheim's Gate to follow his movements. But it was a risk he was willing to take as he could just ran slower when he isn't carrying anyone. And lastly he had to mind something else. If he strike criminals at his top speed he has to be careful of his strength. Even if the enhancement of his strength wasn't enough to be called the super strength of comics' heroes it was still something to not take lightly. If he wasn't cautious it could give serious injuries to criminals. Or even worse. That would be pretty scary.
He knew that he needed more time to explore the full potential of his abilities and learn to control his powers properly but there was no time. It would be swim or sink.
He would have to make the plan works. Fishlegs was right as there was a lot of unknown parameters and many things that could go wrong. He was making Astrid and the others take a huge risk. To mess up Helheim's Gate's timing he could have ran around disguise as an officer so that Helheim's Gate doesn't recognize him but it would have been difficult for him to solve the incident without showing his abilities and he couldn't just delay the criminals until other officers arrived. It would take too much time and he couldn't afford to waste time with all the incident that will require his help. He could also let the BCPD take care of all the incident and only preoccupy himself with those that concerned labs or equipment facilities the likely targets of Helheim's Gate. But he couldn't just let things like that happened around him when he knew he could have helped. It was why he started to help in the first place. Moreover there is also the possibility that he read Helheim's Gate wrong and that aren't after lab equipments or rare materials.
All those thoughts started to make him doubt his plans.
What if Snotlout was right and he can't carry them all day and collapsed in exhaustion, not only risking that Helheim's Gate got what they want but that someone found out who he was as he collapsed onto the ground? What if he's completely wrong and just managed to exhaust himself to no avail? What if he let the others respond the distress calls in his stead only to get them killed?
No! He couldn't afford to have such doubts at that point. Helheim's Gate is definitely up to more than just some petty cash and he would have to do his utmost best to stop them. Astrid and the others are detectives and professionals. They are stopping criminals everyday for a living, they won't be so easily hurt by Berk's criminals.
But if my cousin is doubtful about me, why not use him to rest both my own fears and his with a small test?
With a small wicked smile hidden under his masks, he turned to his cousin. He kept his voice as calm as possible as he asked his cousin:
"I said that I can carry all of you and I will. If you don't believe me, how about a small test?"
Snotlout looked at Night Fury with suspicion. Something told him that Night Fury was up to no good.
"What kind of test? It better not be something crazy that would involve me."
Night Fury just ignored him as he asked.
"Do you have a phone?"
Instinctively his hand reached for his pocket where his phone was but didn't take it out as his wariness kept increasing. He didn't trust anything about this guy.
"Why are you asking?"
Immediately after he said it a purple lightning bolt move to Snotlout and both him and Night Fury disappeared.
A few seconds later Night Fury reappeared alone and he leaned back on the wall where he was standing moments before.
Then as if nothing happened, he nonchalantly asked.
"So where were we? I think we were discussing the feasibility of Astrid and Hiccup's plan right?"
That's it for this chapter. I hoped you enjoyed it.
As many of you mentioned to me before I indeed made a mistake in the last chapter when Hiccup started to use I instead of Night Fury. But I don't plan to correct it, instead I'll use it for something I already planned ^^
Some might that if it was the case, it would be normal that now that Astrid is rested that she realized Hiccup's mistake and figure out that he is Night Fury. To that I argue that she still didn't realized as she was pretty tired when Hiccup said it and a lot of stuff happened and will happen before she can get a proper rest. But don't worry what you are all waiting is not long down the way. Let's just say that Hiccup's day as Night Fury is numbered.
Sorry if it bothered you last chapter and I hope that you still enjoyed the story so far.