Jiaju, China
Hiccup wandered around the field outside the temple for a bit, trying to focus primarily on the setting sun in the distance. Everything seemed so different now. So weird. Christmas had passed without a word of knowledge here, opting for an intense training day instead.
He still recalled the day he left to board the plane. He'd worn a fake beard, a black wig and blue color contacts along with a pair of sunglasses to keep his identity secure. Buying the ticket was annoying enough as he went through the process of forging a whole new identity.
To the Immortals, he was still Henry "Hiccup" Haddock. But to the workers at Dragon's Edge International Airport, he was Jay Baruchel, just a guy trying to get some peace in a disclosed area in China. It's been going well so far. Upon landing, he took a car ride out as far as he could to reach the area- then walked from there.
Eventually he found it, Zhanshi Temple. It was closed off , no pathways for vehicles to enter and trained eyes keeping watch over the skies. The temple was ran by Chaghatai Khan, a descent of Chagatai Khan, the second son of Genghis Khan. This man was heralded as one of the greatest warriors of the modern time, supposedly using ki energy to increase his striking power. Did Hiccup believe it? Yes.
He found it all to be true as he overcame the man's initial challenge- defeating his twelve deadliest students in a group battle. He still remembered the day quite well.
He'd strolled up to the temple's front doors, taking a moment to admire the gold and red color scheme of the place before deciding to knock. The doors opened slowly as a league of men and women, dressed in scarlet gi's with golden sashes over their left shoulders and golden belts and boots greeted him with silent stares.
He was a bit out of it, and awkwardly waved and gave a toothy grin. "I'm uh...here for Chaghatai Khan." He explained, soon finding a laugh echoing through the halls to answer him.
"I am him." Answered a somewhat deep voice, an Asian man with black hair slicked to the back of his neck and a beard approaching and making his way through the crowd of silent warriors. He wore red gi bottoms, and a golden sash across his bare chest- battle scars from the years showing on his body.
Hiccup nodded before bowing before the man, a gesture that Khan returned. "It is nice to see you again Henry." Khan said with a pat of Hiccup's left shoulder as he came back up . Hiccup smiled at the gesture though felt a slight jolting sensation as he withdrew his hand.
"Same to you master. I've come back because...I feel I've lost my way." He explains, his eyes drifting towards the floor momentarily.
Khan could see the sadness behind the younger man's eyes, and felt it best to allow him entry. "You have a home here. But you'll have to earn your spot back." He says with a chuckle before turning towards his group of silent students.
"Shǒuwèi! Fābù!" He shouted in his native dialect. Twelve warriors, wearing black in the place of the scarlet uniforms, stepped forth and stared over at them.
"Welcome young Henry home."
Hiccup eyed each of them carefully. Three of them were females, one standing at just an inch short of his height, the others about the same height- 5'7. Then the males, all a bit over his height.
"Alright guys, lets see what you've got."
They were quick to strike after that- four men leaping at the same time with different areas to attack. He back flipped away and found himself pressed against the door after avoiding these strikes, only to be met with a punch aimed at his face and two to his stomach.
The face punch was blocked easily, the body shots were not. They rocked him slightly, but he quickly recovered and lept upwards, kicking the two back before sweeping the feet of the one who'd punched him. Immediately following that, the other nine made their attacks all at once.
It wasn't a clusterfuck either, it was coordinated. Nine bodies moving at once in perfect harmony against one single opponent. He had no option but to roll out of the way and leap back, driving his elbow into one of their necks to put him out of commission.
One down, eleven left. Hiccup rebounded and sent a sharp kick to another one's chest, driving him towards the two behind him. Hiccup sprung into a somersault and landed on top of all of them, delivering three sharp yet powerful strikes to each of their faces.
Now there were only eight left.
Easy. Or at least he thought it would be. The other eight were quick to rush, Hiccup barely managed to kick away two of them as the other six took his arms. He managed to leap down into a roll to get them off, leaving two still hanging on. That would bode well for him as he used his increased strength to swing his left arm and slam one into the other, causing both of them to release. That left four on the floor now- two still standing strong.
He rushed at the two, lept into a corkscrew flying forearm and drove his elbow into one man's chest, his feet hitting the other warrior in the stomach on the way down. As they landed, Hiccup drew to a kneeling stance and looked around as the ones he hadn't knocked out began to get up, preparing for war. Suddenly, a clap of hands caught all of their attention.
Turning towards Khan, the man bore a smile as he watched the display and drew his hands apart. "Excellent work . Welcome home Henry."
"Well that's quite the welcome now isn't it?" Hiccup asks as the master of the temple approached, gently clapping a hand onto Hiccup's right shoulder- a simple action that sent yet another jolt down the young man's spine.
Jiajiu Fields
"Now what's this about you losing your way?" Khan asks as the auburn haired man shoots him a look, Khan immediately reading the disparity behind his eyes.
"I...I made a horrible decision. One that cost one of my best friends her life. And that wasn't even the first horrible decision I've made." He exclaims, running a hand over a tall strand of grass as the two walk along the path.
"What happened?" Chaghatai asked as he looked over at the younger man once again, Hiccup giving a sigh.
"I thought I was smart. I was arrogant. Forced to choose between two lives on a rooftop- I chose a civilian and Heather was dropped. I thought I could save her- but my cape was dismantled before hand. My grapnel too. But I had my secondary grapnel and used that ...and that line was cut almost as soon as it caught onto her." He explained, Khan merely nodded as they continued their walk.
"From there, all I could see was her body colliding with the ground below. I made the worst decision of my life...or at least I was too arrogant to see any other way."
Chaghatai gave a subtle nudge then, looking down to him. "Everyone makes mistakes. It sounds to me as though you were set to fail no matter what."
Hiccup reeled back slightly upon hearing that. "I could've done something!"
"Such as?" Khan asked, leaving Hiccup in silence for the moment. Finally, the two approached a table and stone bench set up near a well in the center of the field, Khan reaching for two glasses beside the well and setting one down. He looked back to Hiccup, who was still silent.
"I thought so...Henry. I am eight hundred and thirty six years old. I've lived through many wars, many struggles and many inhuman moments. I've learned to view life as a battlefield, and cherished the times of peace. Many of my children have died and moved on, some still remain…" Chaghatai began as he took a seat across from Hiccup, pouring a glass of water.
Hiccup's eyes snapped up in confusion as he spoke. {Wait what?}
"I've lived so long, and been so many places that I've spun up enough lies to keep my secret covered for a millennia. People believe I'm a descendant of Chagatai Khan, when in truth I'm the man himself." He takes a long drink from the glass as Hiccup begins to transfer what he'd just been told.
"I-I'm sorry did I hear you correctly?" He asks with a wide eyed expression as Khan chuckles and looks at him.
"You did. I am the son of Ghengus Khan, and I've lived for over eight hundred years. How? Simple- chi energy." He exclaimed as he poured himself another glass of water.
"I've retained the physical form of a 50 year old man who's pushed his body beyond its peak for this long because of that energy. That energy courses through me, it's in my being Henry. It courses through the walls of this temple, through the students, through you even!" He said with a soft chuckle. "Let's not get off track. What I'm trying to say, or at least what I'm getting around to saying is- I've been around and made millions of mistakes. And I've learned that you can't necessarily save everyone, hero or not."
Hiccup seemed to take in the man's words then, reaching to pour himself a glass of water then. "Well...if I can't be a perfect hero...what can I do?" He asks, Khan wiped a bit off water off the corner of his lip before he answered the younger man..
"You can be a damn near perfect man."
Now
That had been about three months ago. It was March now, March 1st to be exact. This was the day he usually celebrated his birthday- as he was born on a leap year on the 29th of February. But as far as birthday celebrations go, he had none planned. Opting instead for an even more intense training day- to celebrate his ascension to the age of 25.
Hiccup moved away from the tall grass in the field and rested at the same table he'd spoken with Chaghatai at only months before, running a hand through his auburn hair- which stopped just above his shoulders. He had a bit of stubble riddling his chin and lip now. He'd lost care for maintaining his hair, allowing it to grow freely in his self imposed exile from the Immortals- and the title of Night Fury.
He had enjoyed it there- enjoyed the calm surroundings and lack of crime. And yet his mind was still riddled with his mistakes- his failures and the potential people that could be in danger with his absence. But he cast those thoughts aside, feeling it best to let his friends handle it. They'd be fine without him, he knew they would.
He cast aside his thoughts to focus once again. For the past few months he'd been taking his mother's words to heart- and after training with Chaghatai again, he'd found it.
His left hand seemed to shake slightly, small sparks of energy teeming around his fingertips like little lights. And then, they ignited. Blue flames of energy surrounded his hand right up to his wrist, and Hiccup smirked before turning and sending a punch to the floor, creating a decent sized crater and shaking the foundation of the area ever so slightly.
Dragon's Edge
"I'm circling around now." Cami's voice shrieked into her communicator as she chased down a rocket that had been fired down a street in the city, changing its course to direct it towards the waters surrounding the pier to minimize any potential damage. With a BOOM and a large burst of water, the weapon was dealt with. Now she sped back towards the other Immortals, who were preoccupied with a man in a large suit of armor, built similar to a Colossus Javelin, save for the silver color scheme and the hammerhead shark like helmet.
"What's this guys deal anyways?" Eret asked as he sidestepped to avoid an oncoming laser burst before returning the favor with a burst of radioactive energy at the man's left arm, cutting through the outer shell and showcasing some of its wiring.
"Names Magnus Fink, a small time inventor who wants into the big leagues." Astrid explains as her eyes go white, a large bundle of lightning bolts surging down and striking Magnus' suit from top to bottom. A moment or so after this strike, the man fell to his knees in the large suit, it's head popping off to allow the short man to crawl free from the now de-powered shell.
"Sadly, his inventions never work well." She said while walking over to him with Eret and Cami at her side. The small, brown haired man looked up with a goofy grin and chuckled softly.
"Er…I surrender?" He said, the three Immortals smiling as Eret says "Good choice."
Immortals Manor
"This is annoying." Astrid exclaimed with a sigh as she tossed her mask onto the conference room table and took to the computer, bringing up a list of super criminals. "We still have 25 criminals free- including Viggo's gang, who has been SILENT since Hiccup left!" She shouted, her anger obviously boiling up.
Eret stirred a spoon into a cup of coffee and sighed softly as he listened to their blonde leader's complaints, before he cast a look over to Cami.
The speedster was currently unrolling a ball of yarn while ignoring Astrid for the most part, chiming in eventually with "Not like we haven't tried searching for em." Eret gave an abrupt nod towards her and added his own input.
"Yeah, and all of our leads were dead ends. Blackout's and Hotstreak's energy signatures basically disappeared off our radars bec-"
"Because we can't work the radars like Hiccup, Heather or Snotlout could." Astrid concluded, drawing a palm to her face. Just then the computer sounded with a series of beeps- Fanghook's personalized icon appearing on the screen. She moved over and tapped the 'Enter' key to answer the call.
"Astrid, I found something. It's kinda cool honestly. But uh, seems more important." The teenager explained as The three listened in.
"We're on our way. Drop your location and stay there." She replied .
"Got it!" Was the young hero's response as he ended the transmission. The group of three took off from the panel and the room- Eret leaving his coffee cup resting on a table inside as he entered his light form and took flight through the front doors of the manor- Cami raced out behind him but soon passed him up with Astrid tailing the two as she shot off into the sky.
A rustling in the bushes outside the manor occurred as the heroes took off, a dark figure watching their exit before moving from the shrouded area and headed towards the backyard.
Vespa City, North Carolina
A one bedroom apartment in a rundown area was currently all he had left to his name. The walls were tainted with stains from previous inhabitants- blood, food and other unruly substances littered the otherwise white wallpaper. As he stood in the kitchen, wearing nothing but a white wifebeater and a pair of black jogging pants, his eyes wandered from the eggs cooking on the stove to the television playing across the room.
"And in other news today, another successful drug bust thanks to some help from the mysterious figure that's been watching over our city since December. No one has seen a face or really anything to determine who this person is, but he's been busting up drug rings, gun running operations and even human trafficking circles since his debut. And so, we're once again thankful for the aid of the mysterious vigilante- labeled "Unknown" by the media." The reporter said with a smile as he flipped the television off- looking back to his food and dumping it onto a plate.
The man moved from the kitchen after shutting off the fire and over to the couch, scrambling around the 6 eggs on his plate before setting them next to a bottle of beer. He sat down then, looking back at the dark screen of the television for a moment. He seemed to be drawn into the screen, or rather what it reflected. Off the screen was a dark haired figure- his hair looking rough and gritty as it draped down near the back of his neck. The stubble that had previously plagued his face had grown into and inch long hairs upon his face. His own blue eyes seemed devoid of light, of life in general.
He finally noticed the various food stains on his shirt and pants, and the slight increase of weight in his gut area. His abs were there, in the form of a six pack that had been expanded by beer and lack of exercise.
He was a wreck- physically and mentally. His own arms, which previously had allowed him to lift up to 790 lbs, were much weaker- a bit flabby even. The only thing keeping him looking somewhat in shape was his meta human genes- even though he was only half meta.
Scott stared at his reflection for what felt like forever, eventually growing tired of it. Enraged even. His plate was sent flying at the screen, shattering the China onto the floor. He painted slightly as he rolled onto his back to lay down, eyes staring up at the ceiling.
He could only imagine what it felt like. Falling with no hope, no chance of survival. Hitting the ground and being taken out of this world. His head swiveled downwards, spying the desert eagle he kept on the coffee table and the three rounds that lay beside it.
No hesitation was given as he reached out and pulled it towards himself, tears threatening to break free from his eyes with every thought he had. He missed her. Even though they'd been apart for years- even though he'd died first. He still missed their bond.
Heather was his rock, the person that kept him sane, kept him from losing it. And she's gone. And Hiccup, he was a genius in his own right. But his arrogance led him to be a fool.
He moved slowly, pressing the barrel against his temple. Allowing his tears to finally fall free, he simply stared up at the ceiling with the gun on his forehead. What to do?
What it be worth it? Carrying on without her? Carrying on hating him for his decision? If he was being honest, he needed a hero of his own right about now. His breath hitches for a moment- and everything went dead silent as the trigger pulled.
Nothing.
Not a single sound but a metallic click resounded through the area. He left the safety on….again.
Cursing his cowardice, he threw the weapon back down onto the table and sat up with a start, looking over at something else.
A needle and a rubber tie lay next to the weapon. He grabbed that without a second thought, the tie going around his bicep and being squeezed tight until a vein showed it self.
Drawing up the needle, he plunged it in and shot up once again, soon dropping it onto the table and releasing the tie. This felt better. This felt like sanity.
Dragon's Edge- Outskirts
"What...the fuck?" She said as everyone simply stated with wide eyes. What lay before them was just plain weird. It was some sort of pod- definitely not from Earth.
Gustav had called them all there to investigate- before the media swarmed the area. And when they arrived, they honestly hadn't known what to expect. But this was beyond anything they could imagine.
It was matte black in color, with green oval shaped windows and metal indentions similar to veins- lying in the middle of a field. The path of tussled and burnt dirt it left behind was a hit haunting, as was the small crater it lay in.
"Uh...is that an alien ship?" Eret asked as his body returned to its normal color and he approached it. His hand hovered over the hull of the pod, but he reeled back in pain and dropped to his knees.
Cami and Gustav rushed to his side and found that his hand was showing signs of burn damage.
"That thing...is highly, highly radioactive. And it is NOT radiation found on earth." He said with a loss of breath.
"You alright?" Astrid asked as she approached him, still keeping a keen eye on the pod.
"Yeah. Nothing but a bit of space radiation poisoning. I'll get over it soon." He replied while coming back to his feet. Much to his chagrin, his energy levels were not shooting back to normal as he'd expected. The space radiation coming from the pod was acting as a form of deterrent to his personal healing capabilities, and his own radiation production.
"Shit…" he muttered lowly, making sure no one else could hear. If they knew just how weak he'd felt, he'd most likely be benched again like he was months ago- and he hated being benched. As Eret made a slow personal recovery, Astrid's alarm went off on her communicator. She brought up a holographic map on the minicomputer she borrowed from Hiccup's items and found a red blip giving off a high energy signature in the middle of the city.
"Looks like we've got a hit on Blackout. Center of the city- high solar energy levels." She said while turning to face the others, "We'll come back to investigate this some more later- for now let's move out."
The group shared a look, Cami being the one to speak up. "Will it be safe here? What if civilians find it or worse?" She asks as Astrid gives a glance to the pod and then back to her.
"Then we'll just post up guard here- you and Fanghook hang back and keep an eye on it until me and Nightlight return. I'll be sending Barf and Belch to assist you in case anything pops off." She said, her tone sounding a bit rough.
"Changewing is en route to the city now." Fanghook said from behind Typhoon, looking over his own holomap. "ETA 56 seconds."
"Good, we'll rendezvous with him." Was her next word, tapping into her communicator to send a message.
"Changewing, this is Stormfly. Don't engage yet- we're on our way."
"Too late!"
Central Dragon's Edge
Today had the same start as every other day. Throk woke up and showered, brushed his teeth and combed his hair before getting dressed for school. He will be graduating soon, and he was thankful for that. He had no plans for college- and yet was in talks to signing with several colleges for football.
He was actually enjoying the dual identity situation- enjoying the life he'd been set up with as a Haddock. And yet , something felt wrong. He had a car, he had a girlfriend now, and he was one of the best football players in his school. But why did he feel so off?
Could it be his humanity, or lack thereof? The fact that he wasn't simply born like everyone else? That he was instead a genetic experiment that escaped the clutches of a madman? What exactly could he did to deter these feelings?
He wondered about that a lot, even as he slid on the green helmet he'd gotten so accustomed to wearing when he went out as Changewing. He always wore the suit beneath his regular clothes, never once feeling hot or sweaty due to his genetic coding.
He found himself now flying over the city at Mach speed- making his way towards a disturbance. He couldn't help but smile as he found out just who it was. Blackout was always an issue for heroes on his own- having originally given trouble to Windshear years ago before she called Hiccup for Tech support to take him down.
Now she's gone, and he's running rampant with a whole slew of villains- but The Immortals aren't gonna fold that easily.
"Changewing, this is Stormfly. Do not engage yet, we're on our way." He had him right in his sights.
"Too late!" He called back to his new leader just as he tackled the solar powered man out of the sky and onto a rooftop, sending a sharp punch to the center of his helmet.
"Ah, the heroes arrive."
"Afraid not all of us yet- you get me for now." Is Changewing's response as he is sent flying back from a punch. Blackout arises and unleashes a beam of black energy straight from his chest, Changewing shifting his arms into an X over his body to block the blast.
He skidded back from the force of impact- the energy actually leaving subtle burn marks on the forearms of his suit. He shrugged it off as Blackout ceased this attack and gave a smirk.
His auburn eyebrows knitted together as he saw the man smirk, bringing his arms down before igniting them in flame, two straight forward bursts of heat launching out at the opposer.
Blackout met him head on with a counter blast- the two forms of concentrated energy colliding in the air before
BOOM
The collision sent both of them flying into the streets, shattered the windows of the three buildings nearest them, and sent even more civilians running away from the site.
As the glass collided with the ground below, the two men did as well, almost in sync with every tattered shard. Changewing recovered much quicker, and bound his feet before launching himself at his opponent with a jet stream motion.
He tackled Blackout into a brick wall, causing that section to cave in slightly. Changewing was sparing no expense here- capturing Blackout would prove to be a good thing for the Immortals later on.
"Where's the rest of your crew?" The clone asked as he brought up a fist and delivered a punch to the man's face- hearing a small crack upon impact.
Blackout still gave a smirk as he asked this. "They're right there." He said, causing Changewing to look back.
No one was there, but a thick cloud of blue gas made its way towards him. "Oh shit…" he muttered as he accidentally inhaled the gas and soon dropped to his knees.
"Your biology is unique." A voice called before a kick was sent to Changewing's side, knocking him off his knees and onto the streets.
"Usually takes less of a dosage to take down metas with my gas. You're holding out a bit longer though." The voice said , Changewing looking up finally to meet the eyes of Gaslight.
"Glad to know our trap worked though." He said finally, watching as Changewing's eyes drooped and ultimately closed.
"Let's get home back- Viggo's gonna have a field day with this one." Blackout said.
Six minutes later
Stormfly and Nightlight finally arrived with the others still on call. And they arrived to nothing, nothing but the damage left from a small battle. Stormfly was quick to act, immediately asking a police officer nearby if they'd seen anything.
"I saw Changewing fighting that Blackout guy. Then some weird gas hit the area and he went down." The Officer said, much to Stormfly's dismay. She gave a look to Nightlight then back to the officer.
"And then?" She asked, her tone a bit hopeful.
"And then they took him."
And with that, her face dropped into a scowl. She took off into the skies with a small stream of lightning behind her, Nightlight following suit.
"This is getting even more out of hand. We've already lost one Immortal- I refuse to lo-" Stormfly had began, her words being cut off by the sound of a loud explosion resonating through the area. Stormfly and Nightlight turned mid flight and hovered overhead as they watched the scene.
"Oh God…" Nightlight muttered as a large cloud of green gas seeped through the streets from one of the buildings.
"No…." Stormfly was at a loss for words. Dragon's Edge had never had an attack like this on it before- and with this being a chemical weapon majority of the city would be under quarantine.
"This is it… the beginning of the end." She said, Nightlight tapping into his comm to alert the others.
As he did this, Stormfly moved to contact someone else. She prayed silently that the transmission would go through- that he'd answer.
And when it didn't, her heart dropped. But she was still determined.
"Stormfly to Night Fury. There's been a major chemical attack on Dragon's Edge...we need your help Hiccup." She said.
…..
"we need your help Hiccup."
Her voice came through clear as day on his communication device. He'd kept it with him for months now, never being able to bring himself to dispose of it. He had been speaking with Khan about his path in life when the message came through, and he really didn't want to go.
But this was it- this was what he needed. That push to return and be who he knew he was. A hero.
His mind was made up then and there- he knew what he had to do. Sharing a look with Chaghatai, the man said no words and merely gave a nod to Hiccup. Hiccup turned then, heading towards his quarters. Not even a full twenty minutes later, he was walking through the field outside the temple and tapping away at his phone, dialing a familiar number and sending the call through.
"Gobber? It's me. I'm gonna need you to make something for me. I'll pick it up in a couple of days." He said, the two soon beginning to converse as Hiccup made his way out of the Jiajiu field and towards the lone road that brought him here originally. It was time to take back Dragon's Edge, and time for the Night Fury to be reborn.
——
Alright so, the whole alien pod thing isn't just some random filler. It's a set up for Arc 3- and trust me, it will be BIG. This arc ends in two more chapters, and I'm thankful for those of you who have stuck around this long, if you stay for Arc 3, I promise to pull out all the stops for it.
Until next time-