The sounds of panted breathes ripped into the night air as the dark clad figure lept over a dumpster and into an alley, keeping the same page he'd kept for the past five minutes. He had slowed himself down and faked his breathing as a means of throwing the pursuers off his trail.
Finally he found himself faced with a new obstacle- he could get over the fence with ease but that would draw suspicion towards his identity. Finally he paused, moving his hands above his head as the two officers made their approach.
"Fr-oh my God." Ruffnut said as she painted heavily, attempting to catch her breath after the pursuit. Finally she regained her composure and looked to her brother who merely shook his head, both of them holding their weapons out towards the leather jacket wearing man.
"Now turn around and tell us why you were at Haddock's apartment!" Tuffnut called out, watching as the man turned to face them. The light from their flashlights hit his face, showing the emerald green eyes that had been splashed across the news channels a mere three weeks before.
"Hic?" Tuff said as he and his sister lowered their weapons.
"Do you believe them?" Hiccup asks plainly, avoiding leaping to another subject. The Twins stirred slightly, looks of hurt arising upon their faces as he asked this.
"Do you believe them!?" He asked again, more intensity poured into his words than previously spoken. "That I did all those things?"
The Twins were hesitant, looking to one another before looking to him once again. Tuffnut's response came in the form of him putting away his gun. Ruffnut followed suit, both of them looking to Hiccup.
"Of course not.." Ruffnut said as she eyed him a bit carefully. "But why did you go back to your apartment?" She asked
Hiccup dropped his guard, feeling safe now. "To make sure they didn't find anything I didn't want them to find." He said, drawing their suspicions.
"Uh...what?" Tuff asked as he heard this.
"It's nothing bad. I didn't kill those people, but I do have something to hide." Hiccup responses now, reaching into his back pocket and noting the fact that neither twin attempted to draw a weapon as he did so.
Finally he pulled out a sleek black phone, tapping its screen a few times to bring up a projection. "This is my apartment." He said, bringing up a holographic display of the building.
"And this-" He said, moving down into the lower levels to display his old headquarters. "Is the Dragon's Den." He said, looking on at their wide eyed expressions.
"The Dragons Den? Sounds a bit edgy for a man cave." Ruffnut said as she crossed her arms, Tuff giving an unimpressed look.
"And quite the strange location for one as well"
Hiccup sighed at this, collapsing the hologram. "You guys can not be serious." He said, watching as they smirked.
"I knew it!!" Tuff shouted then, calming down for a moment "Well I didn't know it but I suspected it!!" He said.
Ruffnut smiled "I sure did know that butt looked familiar even in black spandex."
Tuffnut pointed to her "Yeah! Wait..no! Ew." He commented as Hiccup turned around and looked at the fence, while pinching the bridge of his nose.
He looked to the sky, as though he were talking to the Gods themselves. "Please don't make me regret this."
Transition
The sound of heavy metal doors sliding over brought the Twins out of the trance they'd been put in as they stared over at the large fountain in the courtyard. They watched as Hiccup opened a bomb shelter in the back of the mansion, beneath the kitchen window.
The two walked over, slightly confused at this. Hiccup turned, motioning them towards him as he made his way down into the cellar. The Twins followed, smirking at the eerie feeling that crept up onto them.
As they follows their friend down, the round the bomb shelter to be more than they'd ever expected. They thought to find something normal like shelves of canned food and blankets, or something creepy like alien eggs or a large hive.
Instead they found a vast space, a meeting room of sorts with a large round table in the center. A large computer monitor stood pressed against the wall nearby with a sword and a shield adorning the wall next to the screen.
As Hiccup stepped towards the computer, he began to plot what to do next. {Alright….I've told the Twins, and I know they'd keep this a secret. But I need to convince them.}
He cast a glance over his shoulder at the siblings in thought, who were finding themselves being preoccupied with Snotlout's sword, that he'd left sitting on the meeting table earlier on in the day.
"I wouldn't mess with that if I were you." Hiccup called , drawing looks of suspicion from the Twins. Tuffnut scoffed "And why not?" He asked, watching as the hilt of the sword launched a dart outwards into his shoulder.
His face softened and he slumped down to the floor, mouth wide and twitching slightly. "Oh so that's why not." Ruffnut notes as she played with the hilt.
Hiccup walked over to them, helping Tuff to a standing position before sitting him down in Astrid's chair. He snapped his fingers before his eyes, attempting to draw a reaction. "Must've been his special dart." He says as Ruff steps over, sending a sharp smack to the side of Tuffnut's head.
The male twin spun in the chair, but otherwise gave no response. "Huh. That usually works." Ruffnut says with a shrug.
"He better not drool in my chair." Comes w voice, the two turning to see Stormfly walking in with her mask off.
"Astrid!!" Ruffnut shouts as she lunges at her best friend, finding herself being hugged with a grip stronger than an anaconda. Astrid smiles brightly as she did this, then watched as Ruff tried to pull away.
"Sheesh you got strong!" She says, whilst attempting to regain her composure. "But holy shit! You're Stormfly!?!?" She asks, finally realizing what she was wearing.
Astrid merely nodded in response as she walked over to a smiling Hiccup. "Ruff you've known about my powers for years. Honestly it shouldn't have been hard to put together."
Ruffnut once again have a lazy shrug "I honestly never paid much attention to Stormfly." She says, nudging Hiccup's side "I was more focused on Captain Wonderbutt over here."
Astrid moves over to her, grabbing one of her braids and pulling her back . "Move it." She said before letting go, getting a shocked look in return.
"Sheesh, what's with the overprotectiveness? Thought you nearly hated each other." She says as Astrid winced slightly.
"You've missed a lot.. we'll explain."
Hiccup says.
One Long Winded Explanation Later…
"So...you guys went to Canada, fought a giant monster, found out your cousin was alive, nearly died in an explosion and got framed for murder?" Ruffnut asked as Tuff sat next to her, scratching his head at the new information.
This had all taken them by surprise, yet somehow they weren't as surprised as one would expect. They merely shrugged it off and began to annoy them more and more questions.
Hiccup sighed as he brought a palm to his face. "Alright!" He shouted , finally stopping their assault of questions. "Look. I didn't bring you here to spin you a tale. I need your help guys." He says finally, the Twins looking at him in amusement.
"We were waiting for you to say that." Tuff says as Ruff nods "Well not really but we saw it coming." She says with a smirk as Hiccup casts a glance to Astrid , then back to them.
"I can't get into the DEPD building, so I can't know for sure what's going on. But you guys can."
"Well what about Astrid?"
" I was medically discharged…" she explains softly, Hiccup placing a hand onto her shoulder. She smiled as he did so.
"What? Oh come on! Man, and I thought the department was boring before." Ruffnut exclaims with a sharp sigh, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Just tell us what we have to do." She says finally, Tuffnut looking back to the heroes.
"We need you to keep an eye out for the Grimborn case. Everything linked to them...I know who's responsible for this, and I need to track him down. But I can't do that without proper evidence. And that evidence is in the building." He says
"I need you to bring me the files. I could break in, but I'm still working overtime here."
"We'll do it!" The Twins shout collectively, bringing a smile to Hiccup and Astrid's faces.
"Great!"
Warehouse- Downtown Dragon's Edge
The man coughed wildly as he gasped for air through a strained and sore throat. His eyes moved across the dark floor and over to the gasoline bucket that sat in the corner of the room. He could feel the gloves hand gripping at his throat once again, squeezing tightly to restrict his air flow.
He stared at the figure with eyes wide, pleading for his life through rushed blinks and twitches. The man gave a cold stare back as he released his throat and sent a sharp blow to his ribs, breaking yet another one.
The man had been hanging from the ceiling by a set of chains around his ankles, been like this for a mere twenty minutes now. Every few moments, he'd be lowered into the large tub of water below him, set to nearly frozen before being hoisted back up.
The dark haired man that had been torturing him sent a slap to his face before grabbing it. "You failed me Dagur...for the last time I might add." He spoke in a cruel and unforgiving tone.
"I-I know… I'm sorry Viggo, I really am!" Dagur muttered as he struggled to even form the words needed at the time. Viggo's assault still had not ended as he sent a swift punch to his sternum, cracking it slightly.
"I've given you time...chances even.." he remarks to Dagur, who began to cough up blood.
"You sell for me...you gain what little profit I allow you… but to let the Night Fury catch you just for me to have to bail you again...it's become quite irritating.." Viggo says as he turns to look him in the eyes.
"An irritation I no longer will allow." He says, reaching back to draw a sword from the sheath on the back of his black zylon/leather suit.
Dagur's widened even further Ashe saw this, shaking wildly "Please… Viggo please!!" He shouted, blood spewing out and splattering on Viggo. This only serves to anger the man further as he thrust his arm outward, sending the blade into his stomach before withdrawing it.
A swift swipe into the air and the blood from his body was splattered onto the floor. He sheathed the blade and walked over to the gas canister, drawing out a match. "You should be ashamed Dagur.." he says as he lights it, dropping it onto the floor.
It's then revealed that the floor had already been doused with gasoline beforehand. Dagur watched as the flames began to encompass the floor, then spread to the walls of the building. The smoke arose to his face soon after, clouding his lungs. He coughed wildly and struggled to speak "VIGGO! VIGGO PLEASE!!"
As Viggo stepped out of the warehouse, he slid a metallic black mask over his face, nothing showing but his eyes through circular holes.
The door slammed shut behind him, leaving Dagur's cries for help unheard.
Across Town
As Hiccup loaded the trunk of his car with two suitcases, he paused for a moment and looked over the bags to ensure he'd gotten all he needed. As he did this, the sound of mixed footsteps approached him. He slammed the trunk shit and turned to watch as Astrid made her way over.
"Fire across town earlier. Whole warehouse burned down and a body was found inside."
"I suppose I could look into th-"
"It was Dagur." She says, stopping him mid sentence and watching as his eyes widened.
"How the hell did he get out of jail? Any idea who did it?" He asked frantically.
She shook her head at that, arms crossing over her chest. "I haven't told Heather yet….Hiccup I don't know how she's gonna take that."
"Not well. I'll tell her…" he says as he begins to walk towards the steps to the mansion, Astrid following closely behind. "I don't see how anyone could take something like this well. It's her brother Hic."
As they moved through the main foyer, they kept back as a sudden rush of wind Came last. Camicazi zipped to a stop next to them. "Have you guys told her?" She asks with a sad look upon her unmasked face.
They both shook their heads at this. She frowned "Well you'd better do it soon. There's a lot of activity in the city right now."
They nodded at this , then kept moving onwards. The walk to the meeting room was short, but they needed all the time in the world. They found her there at the table, in full Windshear gear. She was sat up sharpening the blade of her whip, giving a soft smile as the couple entered the room.
"What's up guys?" She asked as she continued to sharpen the razor, putting Astrid at a state of unease.
"Heather we need to talk." Hiccup says as he takes the seat next to her, the Typhoon symbol I printed on it.
"Oh. What about." She asks as she sits up, setting her blades weapon aside for the time being.
"It's about Dagur. He uh...he escaped from prison."
"And we have to bring him back in?" She asks, getting a shake of the head in response.
"There was a fire earlier. Warehouse burned to the ground and a body was found inside...I don't know how else to say this….but it was him." He says finally.
He could practically hear her tear ducts opening, watching as the tears began to stream down almost immediately. She pulled her mask off with red eyes, looking at him in disbelief.
"I'm sorry.." he said, eyes softening as he looked at her once again. Seeing the hurt in her eye was easy. Easy to see, but definitely not easy to take in. He couldn't bear to see her like this, not after all they've been through.
Not after her father. After her fathers death and mother's abandonment, she was basically raised by her brother. Learning about his criminal activists that kept them living had broken her when she was younger. Seeing that they'd led to his death was breaking her.
Hiccup let the silence that followed the news wear out. He knew she'd need time, and a good bit of it. "Go home H. Go and take a break. Come back when you're feeling better, or at least up to it." He says calmly, placing a hand over hers as a show of support.
She looked over at him, the usual gleam in her eye died down and replaced with a look of sadness. She merely nodded as she stood up and grabbed her gear, making her way towards the door. Hiccup and Astrid watched as she left, then looked to one another.
Later
Viggo's eyes locked onto the window across the way. The cool breeze that blew by every few seconds only seemed to secure his thoughts. He smirked beneath his cold steel mask, hand grazing the hilt of his sword gently. He'd become used to waiting, used to the patience game.
Finally, his target came into sight. His eyes skimmed slightly as he finally drew his sword and prepared himself. Katana in one hand and grapple launcher in the other, he drew his mode of transport and fired a line clean across the space between the two buildings. Smirking as it latched onto the other roof, he kept off and began to swing across the way.
The window he'd been eying shattered under his weight, and the man behind it stumbled back onto the floor.
"What the bloody ell is wrong with you?!" Came a cry from Eret, who looked on as the strange masked man stared down at him.
"A lot of you ask the right people." Viggo replies while swinging his sword towards the radioactive man. Eret lept to his feet and narrowly avoided having his throat slashed. His eyes lit up with their usual green tint as bursts of energy flew from his hands and towards the man.
"I literally JUST finished arranging things in this apartment. And now I get attached?!" He asks as Viggo swats the energy blasts away with his sword, small burn marks being left on the blade.
"Your architecture is a joke. Fung shui in here is way off." Viggo retorts while drawing a pistol and opening fire on Eret.
Eret's body flared up green as the bullets hit him, falling to the floor in melted pieces.
"Good try mate. I take it you don't know much about me?" He asks as his body glows brighter, entering his bright form.
Viggo chuckles "On the contrary I do. Just wanted to test the bulletproof bit for myself before I did this." He replies while drawing out another gun- a modified Desert Eagle Mk XIX .50 AE. With one swift shot, Eret was hit in the sternum by the weapon.
He smirked at this for a moment, but that grin swiftly left his face as he dropped to his knees. His eyes panned down to the center of his chest where he found a metallic object had stuck there, and was lit up with a red light.
His skin began to lose color, fading back to his original slightly tanned tone. Then it turned pale- leaving a ghastly look upon the man's face as his eyes rolled back and he passed out.
The light on the device then turned green- signaling to Viggo that he was indeed out. The masked man pulled it from his chest and smirked beneath his mask.
"Arrogance- always ones downfall." He comments.
Immortals Mansion
Hiccup's eyes were locked onto the computer screen now, hand constantly running through his hair. He let out a sigh as he went over the evidence from the murder cases he'd been framed for- a news report playing in the background.
"Still no sign of heir to Haddock Industries, Henry Haddock the Third, who's still wanted for several crimes throughout Dragons Edge." The female reporter who had taken Heathers spot in her absence spoke, leaving the Night Fury in a bit of a fit.
He looked over at Toothless, who laid next to his seat. The dog had been there with him since he'd entered the room hours ago and began his research. Now running a hand over the mutts back, he smiled softly.
Toothless looked up, giving a loook that seemingly said "Good Luck." And honestly that was all he needed at the moment.
He turned around as the sound of footsteps approaching drew his attention and found Snotlout standing nearby, suited up save for his helmet.
"This stuffs really working you huh?" He asks with his arms crossed as he looks at the news report
"Yeah...yeah it is." Hiccup replies as he closes out the images he'd pulled open, along with the report. "Whoever did this planned this out too well. Buts if my DNA at the crime scenes, fingerprints of unregistered weapons, I mean...I don't know how I'm going to clear myself here." He says as he stared at the mask resting nearby, the eyes of the Night Fury seemingly staring back at him.
"Just think with your gut on this one." Snotlout replies, causing Hiccup to lift an eyebrow in confusion.
"My gut? What?" He says, finally turning in his chair to face his cousin, who had a light smirk upon his face.
"Yup!! I do it all the time. Don't plan out so much, just go out there and do it. Stuff'll fall into place along the way." He says, causing Hiccup to roll his eyes lightly and smile.
"I'll think about it- honestly at this point I've got no other ideas."
As he said this, the computer screen went dark. Soon a video popped up of a man wearing a dark mask and standing in a warehouse.
"Hello Immortals." He spoke calmly, a voice sending a shiver down Snotlout's spine.
"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but you're currently down a member." He says, the camera panning to a sight behind him.
There in the middle of the floor sat an unconscious Eret, chained down to a wooden chair.
"If you'd like your Nightlight back, come to my coordinates. We have much to discuss."
The video ended there- screen returning to black and leaving the two heroes in a confused state.
"And now this is happening" Hiccup says softly.
Warehouse- East District
"Sure picked a creepy enough location." Snotlout exclaims and he, Hiccup, Astrid, and Cami walked towards the building.
"Agreed" exclaimed Cami as she looked to Hiccup, who pulled up a holographic amp of the building.
"Astrid you take to the skies, recon from there. Don't know what this guy has planned or what he could be working with." He says, getting a nod in response from the weather bender, who took flight beside Cami.
"The three of us are gonna go ahead in, Cami when I give the signal you vibrate Eret from those chains and bring him out here to the jet." He said, motioning towards the Aircraft that they'd landed in a field nearby.
"Got it." She replied.
With their plan laid out, the three heroes ventured into the warehouse, keeping their guard up with every step they took. Footsteps began to approach, and a single light was flicked on in the middle of the warehouse, showing Eret to still be in his unconscious and restricted state.
The same man from the video walked up next to him, placing a hand upon the unconscious man's shoulder. "It took you all long enough. Though it seems you're short a few members." He comments, getting a glare thrown his way from Night Fury
"Let's just say some of us have personal things to tend to." He says, getting a chuckle in response
"Of course. Please send Heather my condolences. Dagur was a good runt." He replies, throwing the heroes off guard
{How the hell does he know who Heather is?} Hiccup wonders as he heard this, noting that Snotlout was reaching for one of his handguns.
"How do you know Heather?" Snotlout asks, slowly going to draw the weapon.
"I know all of you Scott." The masked man says, looking to Typhoon now "Camicazi." He then looks to Night Fury.
"Hiccup.." He says slowly, before reaching behind his back and drawing a sword.
"I'll keep this simple. You have something, or rather someone, of mine locked away in a prison that even I can't breach. Their security is far superior to the one I spring Dagur from and while I could do it, I quite frankly have other things to tend to. That's where you come in… free Ryker Grimborn And you get Eret back." He says, as though it were a casual deal being made.
"Are you insane?!" Night Fury asks as he draws out his collapsible staff. "I've got a better idea.." he says, watching as Viggo pops his neck and rolls his shoulders in preparation.
"I figured that soundly go over well." He says as Hiccup steps forward
"Damn right. IMMORTALS ATTACK!" He shouts, rushing across the floor with Snotlout in tow.
He swung his staff at the man's head and watched as he blocked it with his sword, then pushed him away- Snotlout firing a round aimed for his head afterwards.
The bullet his his mask, barely even leaving a smudge behind as it fell to the floor.
"Neat gun. But I like mine better." He says as he draws his own handgun and fired it towards Snotlout who begins to backflip away and weave through his gunfire
As this battle went on, Cami's perception of the world slowed down dramatically as she entered her speed state, moving around 120,000 steps per second- she rushed over to a Eret and began to vibrate him through the chains before rushing him outside.
From there she watched as a bolt of lightning from Astrid rushed through the roof of the building- hitting the center floor where Viggo stood and throwing the man off balance.
Using this as an opportunity to strike, Hiccup lunges at him and soon found the man's fist being planted into his stomach, causing him to double over.
At that point, Viggo brought his knee up in a swift and unforgiving movement to crash into Hiccup's jaw, then thrusted his hand back into the man's face to send him to the floor. As Hiccup hit the floor, he noted that Viggo had exceptional strength- enough to match even his.
That wasn't good because he also had skill to match.
"Give it a rest boy." Viggo spoke as he snatched Snotlout's arm and jerked it behind his back, lifting him overhead just in time for another one of Astrid's lightning strikes to hit him- using Snotlout as a shield before throwing him across the floor at Hiccup.
Hiccup was knocked over by the sudden attack, and soon rolled over to his hands and knees.
He looked up and watched as Viggo approached, drawing another handgun and pointing it upwards. He pulled the trigger without even looking where he was shooting, but the sound of a feminine grunt and Astrid falling through the hole she'd made and onto the floor confirmed Hiccup's suspicions.
Viggo smirked beneath his mask, before bringing his foot down in a show of strength onto Hiccup's left hand- smiling as he heard a loud CRUNCH.
Hiccup grunted in pain as he withdrew his now broken hand from near the man and moved to saint his other hand at him, Viggo merely catching him by the wrist and wrenching it in the other direction. With that sudden thrust, he managed to dislocate that arm.
Finally, Viggo put his hands on both sides of Hiccups mask and stared him in the eyes. "Such a shame...The names Viggo Grimborn by the way. But most people call me Cage." He says, causing Hiccup's eyes to widen.
This was him? The bastard he'd been chasing since he first came to The Edge? He underestimated him greatly, thinking him to be some normal drug kingpin or just another thug. But this man was a tactical genius.
And for once in his life, Hiccup felt some fear arising within.
"Goodnight Hiccup." Viggo says as he lifts his fist to deliver another blow, only to find himself being flung across the warehouse floor by a sudden force.
Cami smirked at her work then moved to help Hiccup to his feet, rushing him out to the jet and returning for Astrid and Snotlout.
Viggo got up just as the sound of the jets rotors starting up hit the air, smirking to himself.
"Now I know what you all can truly do….and I can't wait for our next meeting." He says, drawing out a device from his belt with a red button attached to it.
Aboard the Jet
Snotlout's fist slammed into the terminal in front of him. "He made us look like clowns out there!!" He shots angrily, getting a pat on the back from Cami who merely nodded.
"That dude meant serious business." She exclaims as she and Astrid both look to Hiccup who was bandaging up his hand.
"You're telling me. And why'd he only break my bones?!" He asks somewhat angrily, while also trying to laugh off what had just happened.
Suddenly they found themselves being drawn to an alert from the jet. "We've got incoming!" Snotlout calls as Cami straps herself in and Astrid brings up a holographic hud.
"Unknown projectiles. Could be anything." She says, ignoring Hiccup as he says "Guys."
"Better be ready for everything then!" Snotlout says as he brings up the weapons system
"Guys.."
"I'll put up a rear visual and scout the outside." Said Cami as she moved to open up the security system menu.
"GUYS!" Hiccup finally shouted, drawing all of their attention his way.
"It's just fireworks." He says, pointing out the window at the various colored works that began to illuminate the sky.
Date: July 4th, 2019. 10:25 PM
"Oh…" Snotlout said with a shy grin. "Haven't seen those in a while." He exclaims with a smile as he begins to watch them.
"Yeah me either." Comes an accented voice, everyone turning to watch as Eret finally wakes up, shaking his head.
"Feels like I was beaten with a crowbar and blown up by a clown." He says, getting an odd look from Hiccup.
"So you're Jason Todd now? Thought that was Snotlout's descripti-" He was cut off by a louder alarm, and the jet rumbling slightly.
"Bring up the camera!!" He shouted, watching as Cami did just that. A video played on the window, showing a building below now on fire with several people running from it.
"That's the same warehouse we just left." Snotlout exclaims as he attempts to pull up another camera angle.
"Bastard must be covering his tracks." Astrid says angrily. "Unless…"
Hiccup shakes his head "No...he's alive… and I know for a fact that's not the last we're gonna see of Viggo Grimborn."
A silence loomed in the air after he said that. No one moved to speak but merely thought on his words. Until Eret spoke up. "Who the hell is that?" .
AAAAAND The Immortals are BACK! I like to call this Arc 2 : The Cage. Hehehehe. I hope you all will forgive the wait and please leave me some good reviews
Also- like I said spin offs are happening. The First one- Titled : Elsa. Is up and ready to be read...or atleas the first chapter of that one is ready to be read. So please go check that out to find out more about our resident Ice Queen.
As always, thanks and I love you all!! See ya next chapter!!!