Hiccup in a Flash, chap 36
- Chapter 36: Helping Helheim's Gate
Hiccup turned off Night Fury's scream as he arrived at Berk Hospital, as he did all too often for the past months. The nurses at the hospital were now used to the vigilante suddenly appearing in front of them with injured people, or even transplant organs that one time.
Hiccup carefully put down Astrid from his arms in the lobby of the hospital. She had regained consciousness shortly after he took her out of Double Fold Tree and Co. She coughed up several times at that time and insisted that she was okay. However, Hiccup did not listen to her protests and directly brought her to the hospital before she could say another word.
A nurse promptly approached Astrid to looked at her, but she clearly had only eyes for Night Fury. It was just the second time she met the legendary vigilante of Berk. For the past months, the nurses often fought over who had the night shift, especially the young single nurse with a rogue hero fantasy. Many of them dreamed to one day have the chance to patch up the lone vigilante. And as the nurse would lovingly take care of Night Fury, both would fall in love with each other. They would start to move closer to each other while the BCPD and the infamous Helheim's Gate chased after him. He would only be able to trust her, and finally, after a particularly violent night where Night Fury would come to her gravely injured, he would take off his mask for her and tell that he loved her. That he had loved her since the first time he looked at her.
At least that how it went in the erotic fanfiction the nurse that approached Astrid wrote in her spare time. As she looked closer at Night Fury, she found him skinnier than she pictured him but also taller and more pleasant to the eyes. She was a bit star awed by the vigorous and confident aura he emitted.
Hiccup did not notice her a heated gaze to Night Fury and was solely preoccupied with Astrid's situation. He kept holding her by her arm in fear of her falling and inquired Astrid with a look to know if she was okay. Especially after moving her at top speed without warning.
Even if Hiccup did not notice the looks the nurse gave him, Astrid did. She viciously glared at the nurse before turning her piercing eyes towards Hiccup full of reproach.
"Look, Night Fury. It's nice of you to take me here, but there is really no need. I'm perfectly fine and I-"
However, Hiccup did not let her finish and completely ignored her as he gave a penetrating look at the nurse. He explained to her Astrid's situation in his Night Fury's voice as calmly as he could.
"This is detective Hofferson of the BCPD. I rescued her from a deadly trap three minutes ago. She has been exposed to a massive amount of sulfur hexafluoride gas, and she has passed out from lack of oxygen for an unknown amount of time. She regained consciousness immediately after I took her from the danger zone. Even if she is insistent that she is fine," Hiccup could feel Astrid's burning gaze drilling into his skull, but he did not pay any mind to her anger. "Or very insistent that she is fine, I found it wiser to check her out for any potential repercussion."
The nurse was feeling a bit upset that Night Fury did not pay her any mind, but she was a professional and quickly got over it. She nodded at him with a serious expression to confirm she heard him correctly and went back to her desk to register the information Hiccup just gave her and called a doctor.
Hiccup was satisfied with the nurse quick reaction. He promptly added.
"Thank you. I would truly appreciate it if you could take care of Detective Hofferson fast."
"Of course Night Fury. Just a quick question, should I expect you coming with more people? Or was she the only one exposed to the gas?"
"She was one the only one trapped."
Seeing she did not any more question, Hiccup did not stay for long immediately disappeared under the surprised eyes of the nurse. She still not used to the display of the powers of the legendary Night Fury happening in front of her own eyes.
However, Astrid was a lot more used to seeing Night Fury disappear like that and did not show any surprise. Just a bit a regret. When the nurse came to herself, she let out a resigned a sigh and prepared herself for the medical examinations that will follow.
Even if Astrid tried to leave while the nurse was star struck, she was sure that Hiccup would just take her back to the hospital. His previous expression clearly indicated that he would not listen to any of her opinions before a doctor examined her.
It was somewhat sweet of him.
Hiccup felt the time slowing to a crawl as he waited in front of the hospital after changing into his regular clothes.
Right after he left Astrid at the hospital, and waited a few minutes in front of Berk Hospital to make sure she did not try to run away before he ran back to his apartment and changed back into his regular clothes and rushed to the hospital again.
However, he knew that he could not arrive at the hospital and ask for Astrid just minutes after she was admitted. From a rational point of view, it was impossible for him to get to the hospital that fast. So Hiccup waited in front of the hospital that a reasonable amount of time passed before going inside.
Moreover, the doctors would need some time to examine Astrid. Him getting there too soon will just result in him waiting inside the hospital rather than outside.
It was in that fashion that Hiccup stood in the corner of the parking near the hospital while slowly watching time ticking on his phone. He planned to wait there for twenty to thirty minutes before going in.
As he blamed the small numbers on his screen for not moving fast enough, he began to think back to the event of the night and how they just escaped from a deadly trap.
That trap had been extremely dangerous and a lot more well-thought that all the previous ones combined. The only trap that came even close to being that elaborated was the trap at the warehouse with the claymore. And even then, the resources engaged was not even close to tonight's trap. It obviously necessitated a long time to prepare, lots of money and manpower and also a devious mind.
Hiccup did not expect that Helheim's Gate would use gas. That Mr. Tree did not explicitly say that he belonged to Helheim's Gate, but Hiccup had a good idea of who was that Mr. Tree. He definitely was part of Helheim's Gate. This trap had been too ruthless, and if it ended up hurting Astrid in any way, Hiccup will make sure that this Mr. Tree would dearly regret doing it. He was convinced that his and Mr. Tree's path would cross again.
Various dark thoughts trailed into Hiccup's mind, and he already started to plot a few vicious plans in case anything happened to Astrid, when he noticed that he had already waited outside for twenty-seven minutes.
Startled, he immediately chased any sinister plan from his mind and half-ran to the entrance of Berk Hospital. Hiccup presented himself as Astrid's partner to the nurse that had given longing looks to Night Fury. He was relieved to know that the doctors had already examined Astrid, but he was a bit worried to learn that they gave her a room rather than letting her go. He immediately thought the doctors found something. He could not help but think back to all the consequence that prolonged suffocation may present that he read earlier when he asked Terrible Terror to do a quick search.
However, the nurse quickly reassured him, saying that she was fine. They were just keeping her for the night to make sure everything was fine while the rest of the lab tests were analyzed.
When Hiccup entered Astrid's room, he was greeted by the chilling gaze of Astrid as she angrily looked at him.
"What took you so long?"
Hiccup stepped inside and made sure to close the door before answering.
"It would have been strange that I arrived immediately after Night Fury left, so I waited outside for your examination to finish."
Astrid begrudgingly accepted his explanation, but she did not stop glaring at him.
"I assume you already asked the nurse."
Hiccup silently nodded as he moved a chair closer to the bed.
"I told you I was okay. Now, thanks to you, I'm stuck here for the night."
"Even if I knew the result before it, I would still have taken you here."
Even if Hiccup was being attentive, Astrid was still annoyed.
"Now, not only I am stuck here, but Stoick will also know what happened. I'm sure that the hospital already warned the BCPD that I was received at Berk Hospital carried by Night Fury."
Hiccup knew that this would be a real pain later but still did not regret it.
"Still. I'll do the same."
Astrid could see that he valued her well-being above all else and that he simply refused to take any risk. Especially after what she has been through. Afterall she almost died.
Even if she was annoyed at him and was not looking forward to her future discussion with Stoick, she could not help feeling some warmth growing in her chest as her anger towards somewhat lessen.
Knowing that saying more would bring no result, she moved to the next item on her list.
"Should we talk about what just happened? Because we went through some serious Loki worthy shit ."
Hiccup checked once again that the door was really closed before agreeing.
"Alright, let's do it. You go. I assume that if you asked it's because there are a few things you want to get out first."
Hiccup had his usual lopsided smile as he teased her but his heart was not into it. Astrid did not notice as there was too much she wanted to say.
"Sweet Thor! What the hell was that?! Since when does Helheim's Gate use gas? How long did they prepare that trap for us? They must have made it months ago! What were all those trucks? Why did they leave so many Speed Force extractors behind? And who the hell is that one-legged son of a Troll's whore of Mr. Tree?"
As always Hiccup could not help the smile he made every time Astrid used one of her infamous Nordic insults. It made him feel a bit better after the gloomy wait outside the hospital and that shitty night. He did not resist teasing her a bit with a fake injured expression.
"Ouch! One-legged son of a Troll's whore? I feel it for that poor guy." He knocked on his prosthetic leg as he made his point. "Except of course for the son of a Troll's whore. But again, I do not know much about my mother. So maybe…"
Astrid rolled her eyes despite feeling a bit amused. She then glared at him with a severe face.
"So not funny."
But Hiccup noticed the corner of her lips twitching and she had difficulty keeping her brows frowned. Despite herself, Astrid realized how much she missed his sarcastic humor for the past days.
After a short staring contest, Hiccup raised his arms in surrender.
"Alright, alright. Let's try figuring out who that fellow one-legged son of a Troll's whore is then. I'll also answer all your other questions as best as I can."
Hiccup noticed that Astrid wanted to say something more.
"What? You still got more questions?"
With a lightly red face, Astrid reluctantly gave him a small nod before saying the others questions she had all at once.
"You were saying something about the real purpose of Crime Day when that Mr. Tree interrupted us. What was it? Also, how did you manage to get us out? Was there any men from Helheim's Gate outside?"
"Anything else? You got a reduction if you ask it all at once."
Astrid once more rolled her eyes at that annoyingly charming smirk of is. She could feel her inside warming up again, along with her face.
"No, smart guy. I'm finished. Now answer me before I have to beat you up to get it."
Hiccup embarrassingly scratch the back of his neck with a cheeky smile.
"Well, I'm not sure if I can give you all the answers you want, but I'll do my best. First, the easy one: What the hell was that? I think the answer you're looking for was a trap."
Hiccup then turned serious as he started answering the next questions.
"In the order you asked, if I remember it correctly, I would say that your guess for since when Helheim's Gate uses gas is as good as mine. I think they started to use gas when they first prepared that trap. I estimate it to one to two months ago when they renovate the building. They must have hidden the installation of the gas from the former employees. Or the accountant."
Astrid nodded. It was also her guess. She was more interested in the next question.
"What about the trucks and the Speed Force extractors? It should not be easy to make them. They must be quite important to Helheim's Gate. Why did they leave them behind?" said Astrid.
"I think that the trap was not ready yet."
"Not ready?! We almost died!"
"Remember what that Mr. Tree told us when he started to speak. He was not expected us so soon. They must have planned to move the trucks and the Speed Force extractors away, but we arrived before they did. It must also be why there was no one from Helheim's Gate there. They were not ready for us yet. It is also why all the GPS were still in the trucks."
Astrid suddenly shuddered as a terrifying thought struck her.
"I think you're right. I don't want to imagine what would have happened to us if they had sent more of those freaks with Speed Force who almost kill us during Crime Day."
That idea also went through his mind before and terrified him as much as it did Astrid. But it should not be easy for Helheim's Gate to produce more of those kinds of super-powered killers.
Or maybe not if I am to believe all those Speed Force extractors…
The fight against Helheim's Gate suddenly seemed several times harder. The future looked quite bleak in Hiccup's mind right now.
Astrid also noticed it.
"Hiccup? What's wrong?"
However, Hiccup quickly chased those dark thoughts away as he forced himself to answer with a smile.
"Nothing. I'm just also glad we did not encounter those men."
"I guess we were lucky. But that does not explain what those trucks were doing there and why there were so much Speed Force extractors in it."
"It's the answer to another of your question: I think that Helheim's Gate used this place to stock the trucks they used during Crime Day."
Now that she could think more calmly, Astrid rapidly put the pieces together and deduced the implication behind all those Speed Force extractors.
"Then if Helheim's Gate made that attack on Berk it was for…"
"Yes, that was what I wanted to say earlier in the loading zone. I was completely wrong about Helheim's Gate's purpose for Crime Day. They were not trying to steal some money or pieces of scientific equipment. They attacked Berk for the sole purpose of making me run in the streets of Berk and extract Speed Force from me. Our plan was a complete failure. We did not manage to do anything to stop them. If anything, I just did precisely what they wanted me to do and even went above and beyond for them."
His voice was bitter and full of self-derision as he said that last sentence.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't you remember? I carried you all with me all over Berk to hinder Helheim's Gate's plan, but the only thing it accomplished is making me leave behind a lot more Speed Force residues than usual. I'm sure that Helheim's Gate must have been ecstatic when they saw this."
It really was ironic. The plan Hiccup devised to fight Helheim's Gate only served to help them accomplish their goals. Hiccup suffered a huge hit before when he realized his mistake in the loading zone. But the sudden trap and his worry for Astrid later on temporarily pushed it away. However, now that he knew that Astrid was fine and they no longer were in danger, the realization of the terrible mistake he made hit him even harder.
Hiccup's voice became even more bitter.
"And I'm sure they also used those trucks in the past couple of day when I was more active as Night Fury. They must have been thrilled to see me more often in the streets."
He now realized that Helheim's Gate must have not seen him as an enemy for the very beginning. They solely saw him as a Speed Force generator that voluntarily gave them the Speed Force they so much desired. Did they ever take him seriously, even once?
Astrid could see that Hiccup was feeling depressed to discover that his every effort only served to help Helheim's Gate. However, she did not know what to say to comfort him. She tried to distract him and asked the rest of her questions.
"How did you get us out? And who is that Mr. Tree that owned Double Fold Tree and Co?"
"I can't really explain how I get us out because I don't know exactly how. I somehow managed to use my powers to create a hole large enough for the both of us into the shutters. I need to do some more tests before I can correctly explain it to you. However, for that Mr. Tree, I think I know who it is."
"Really?! Who?"
"Eret."
Astrid was surprised to say the least. She did not think it could be him.
"Eret? From Cadmus Labs?"
"Yes. Mr. Tree is just an anagram for Mr. Eret. As for the name of the company, Double Fold is just another way to say Twice. So Double Fold Tree and Co translates directly into Eret Twice and Co."
Astrid was furious as she realized the real meaning of the company's name.
"That half-eaten rotten rat! If I ever get my hands on him, I swear to Odin I will make him feel sorry for himself for the next three generations. He dared try to kill me with some gas?! The galls of that guy! I'll kick his rotten balls so hard that he'll wish that he was born a girl. And then..."
As Hiccup watched Astrid cursing Eret in horrifying terms, a good part of his gloominess he felt was washed over. Hiccup realized that he could no longer stop himself falling deeper in love with her. He loved every part of her.
With a weak smile on lips that had a hint of self-derision, he interrupted her violent cursing.
"I had no idea that the son of a Troll's whore was a rotten rat. I thought she would have given birth to a smaller troll. Or at least a goblin. Maybe a dwarf."
Astrid furiously glared at him for his attempt at humor. Astrid noisily snorted before letting out a small laugh despite herself. The images were just too ridiculous.
Hiccup also started to laugh in concert. They both tried to suppress their fit of laughter, but very soon they exploded together in laughter for several minutes.
Part of it was just nervous, to get rid of the tension of the day and the deadly trap they narrowly escaped. But quickly it kept going for no other reason than enjoying the company of each other and that rare moment of happiness.
Hiccup enjoyed very much seeing that rare side of Astrid and lost himself in her sparkling sky blue eyes as he did so many time before. Astrid could see the raw feeling shining in Hiccup's green forest eyes and blushed hard. She was relieved that their recent fit of laughter covered her red face.
After some time, they both calm down and each of them felt a lot better.
"Thank you, Hiccup. I think I needed it."
The sincere tone of Astrid's voice awaked a strange sense of pride in Hiccup. He smiled at her with his trademark crooked smile.
"Your welcome. And thank you to you too. I also needed it."
Feeling a bit hot from the redness of her face, Astrid tried to change the subject.
"What do we do now?"
Hiccup did not say anything for a long time. They did not have many cards left to play.
"There is not much we can do. We don't have many leads to chase. We should try to look for Eret, but it will be difficult. Especially now, we don't know if we can trust Trader Johann's info anymore.
Astrid agreed. It was a sore point for her because Trader Johann was her informant with whom she worked with for years. She did not want to think that he might have betrayed them but the fact remained tonight was indeed a trap. At the very least, even if it did not prove that he was a traitor, it showed they could no longer completely trust his information.
Hiccup looked at Astrid's pensive face and knew he had to make a decision. He knew that now was not the time to be indecisive. If the situation stayed like that, it would only make Helheim's Gate stronger.
And it would only put Astrid in more danger.
Hiccup's face turned solemn, and he finally decided on his next action.
"There is something else we must do."
Astrid looked at him curiously. Hiccup took a long breath to gather his resolve before firmly facing her.
"I need to stop being Night Fury."
Hiccup's unexpected decision exploded like a bomb in Astrid's mind, not understanding where this was coming from. She almost jumped out of her bed as she yelled.
"WHAT?! Why?!"
Hiccup felt somewhat amused by her intense reaction. But he did not have the heart to appreciate it. He quickly went back to his determined state of mind as he explained himself.
"Me acting and running as Night Fury, using the Speed Force in the street of Berks is what Helheim's Gate want. It gives them some Speed Force and makes my father focus solely on me rather than Helheim's Gate. Each time I run, I end up helping Helheim's Gate. It does not matter how many people I save; it only gives Helheim's Gate the tools to hurt hundreds more. It needs to stop. I can no longer use the Speed Force in the streets of Berk. I do not want to be Helheim's Gate biggest helper."
Astrid could not believe what she was hearing.
"So what?! You just give up?! You will just let Helheim's Gate do whatever they want in Berk, in your city, your home?"
Hiccup shook his head.
"No. I'll still fight Helheim's Gate but only as the regular forensic scientist, Hiccup Haddock. I will not let them have Berk. It is my city and my duty. I'll protect them in any way I can: a forensic scientist, a detective or a regular citizen. But I can no longer help as Night Fury."
"But you already do that. Even when you use your powers, we can barely fight off Helheim's Gate. What can we do if you decide to throw away your powers?"
Astrid could feel some panic rising in her voice, but she did not bother trying to fight it. The matter was too important.
Hiccup once again shook his head.
"I'm not throwing away my powers. I just decide that I will no longer use and be Night Fury as long as I do not master them. I'll go outside of Berk and train myself to learn and control my powers."
The events of tonight made Hiccup realized what he knew for quite some time. He still did not understand his powers and the Speed Force. He needed to perfectly control his abilities before he could even start to think about helping Berk again. It was because of he did not know his powers well enough that he messed up so many times before. It was also the reason that Astrid almost died tonight.
"I'll return to Berk as Night Fury when I'll perfectly control my powers. When I no longer emit any Speed Force residues as I run, it would be time for me to come back. Until then, I refuse to help Helheim's Gate in any way, shape or form. Especially after tonight."
He knew that Astrid might want to protest more him and dissuade him from doing it, but his decision was taken. He resolutely stood up and walked away.
There were many things that Astrid wanted to say. But when she saw the resolve in his straight back as he walked to the door, she knew that he would not change his decision. She also noticed the gloomy aura leaking from Hiccup's lean body.
At the moment she realized how much it hurt him to know that acting as Night Fury only helped Helheim's Gate getting stronger during all this time. Hiccup was someone who, from the moment he received immense powers beyond one's imagination and well before that, immediately decided to use all his abilities to help others, to do good. That, in itself, told a lot about his character.
How disheartened must he feel now?
Before Hiccup left the room, Astrid wanted to cheer him up when an idea hit her.
"Hiccup! Maybe you are wrong about you helping Helheim's Gate."
Astrid saw the dubious look that Hiccup was given her and try to explain herself.
"Otherwise why would they have tried to kill you? Several times at that."
Hiccup stopped with his hand on the handle of the door as he thought about it. He opened the door but did not move for several long seconds. He then stepped outside and said to Astrid as the door closed behind him.
"Maybe they do not need me alive to get the Speed Force."
End of the chapter
Yep, that just happened ^^ I hope you enjoy it