"Alright so what have we got?" Gustav asked as he casually leaned back in his chair, feet pressed up against the edge of the table.
"We've got a location for another BEWILDER hideout in Copper Grove." Hiccup responded as he activated the Holomap in the center of the table, bringing things into a clearer visual for his apprentice.
"Woah- Copper Grove? That's a whole city away! Awesome!" Gustav exclaimed, which brought a soft smile to Hiccup's face.
"Yup. So get ready. Cause this is a lot bigger than just a warehouse..may need an extra hand for extra security." Hiccup told him, turning to head upstairs.
"Alright then."
…….
"We've got a problem." The male voice called into the speaker of her phone, Vanessa releasing a sigh as she fumbled with the car key in her hand.
"I figured Sam." She responded with a huff as she pulled open the door to the car, sliding her purse into the passenger's seat before starting it up. Today was meant to be a day off for her- a day away from the CENTRIS technology she'd loved so much.
It was such a simple day- she started off with a regular morning routine- headed to the nearby gym for two hours and then came home for a shower. But just as she was singing the chorus to Face Down, her phone rang and interrupted her peaceful shower. After answering the call, she'd simply rushed to her car after getting dressed and headed towards AHDU Central.
"What's the issue Sam?" She asked as she began the drive towards the building- pulling to a stop at a red light and taking a moment to gather her keycard.
"There was a break in. The CENTRIS is still here, but the serums we've formed from the hive is gone." Dam explained in an exasperated tone. Vanessa sighed as she took off from the light, increasing her driving speed slightly to ensure a quick trip.
She'd finally made it not long after, parking and rushing to the entrance, after a quick ID scan- she was in the elevator and headed up to her lab. As the doors slid open, she was met with chaos. Chairs and tables overturned, some research destroyed, most of it gone. It was honestly disgusting to her.
"Dear Christ…" she muttered as she stepped into the hall, trying to tear her eyes away from the destruction that had befallen the floor. "Sam?" She called as she peaked her head into their lab, finding the man rubbing his temples as he sat at his desk- the lab being in the same condition as the others.
"I don't know who'd do this. Who would even think to steal the Hive Mind Formula?!"
"That's a good question. And I think I might know someone who can help."
…….
"So someone broke in?" Scott asked as he took a look around the lab. He wore a dark brown leather jacket over a blue tee shirt and a pair of dark jeans- some brown loafers completing his look. The only other thing he'd added was a pair of black gloves to keep his arm a secret. One of the cons of having a cybernetic arm- couldn't rock a wife beater in public.
"Yeah I figured that was obvious." Commented a distressed Sam who sat with his head resting in the palms of his hands at his desk. Vanessa cut a glare at the man for a moment before turning to her boyfriend once again.
"We don't have any idea who would've done this, but our Hive mind formula is missing now- and that's definitely not good." She commented, Scott gave a shrug in response.
"Figured anything getting stolen from this place would be bad. But mind control serum? That's just the worst it could get." He said as he moved over to the table that had held the research data previously, taking a mental note of every little thing he saw.
"I'll see if I can find them based on what we have here. If not, then I'll give Night Fury a call." He'd added that last part a bit reluctantly. His cousin was an amazing detective, so much so that it actually made him feel a bit inferior- not that he'd ever admit that of course.
There weren't many words shared after this- with Scott simply collecting small bits of evidence from the scene and taking off towards the Immortal Edge. As his motorcycle rushed down the main road of Dragon's Edge, he found an eerie feeling coming up. That feeling was pushed further by the sound of his motorcycle's external sensor going off.
Once something moving a bit too fast for his liking entered within a 100 foot radius, the vehicle would chime to alert him, giving the man a split second to react. He took that split second to launch the bike onto its front tire and swerve it to a stop- a bullet rushing past and hitting the back window of a car parked nearby.
"Great. A sniper." He muttered as he got off of the bike and reached onto the back of his belt, drawing a handgun and rushing into an alley for cover. It took a moment for anything else to happen, Scott having tuned out the sounds of people rushing about after the initial gunshot to focus on his surroundings. Finally he heard a set of footsteps plant themselves behind him, about 20 feet away.
He turned with a swiftness and aimed the handgun at a shadowy figure- the person drawing a sword from their back and rushing at him. He brought up his right arm in defense- the sound of metal colliding with metal being heard before the whole sleeve burned to a crisp, revealing his cybernetic arm to be lit up with orange energy.
The energy also showed the man's helmet, and brought a grimace to Scott's own face. The man drew his sword back from the sudden heat source and drew out a handgun- opening fire with a quick three round burst. Each bullet met the heated up arm and melted on impact.
Scott smirked at the man's apparent surprise and took the lead, turning his robotic palm towards the man. "My turn." He said before unleashing a sonic burst towards the man, sending him flying further into the alley.
The man was quick to recover, rolling onto his back and into a kneeling stance, looking up to Scott. "The arms new. Definitely wasn't in your profile." He said as he stood up. Scott got a good look at the man's suit then. It was mostly navy blue with touches of gray and black- a black Dragon skull on the center of the chest. The helmet was the same as the chest design, but it was a full face helmet that was gray with black eyes.
"So who are you exactly?" Scott asked as he took a defensive stance, keeping his right arm forward rather than his left.
"I go by many names. But you can call me-" the man had begun to speak, then paused as he shot an arm out, throwing three metal balls at Scott. The balls seemingly collapsed in on themselves and released a thick cloud of smoke, taking Scott off guard for a moment. He was expecting the man to approach from the front, but was surprised as he attacked from behind with a kick- launching him forward.
"Singetail." The man finished as he crossed his arms, staring down at Scott.
"How did you-"
"Short range teleportation. Just one of the little toys I picked up in the ADHU labs."
Scott's face hardened at the revelation the man had just given. His fists clenched even tighter as his glare towards the man sharpened. "So you're the one I'm looking for."
"Yes I am...good luck catching me. This was just a small moment to go over some research." Singletail replied as he began to back away, then disappeared once again.
Scott slammed a fist into the ground from anger, watching as the smoke dissipated before his eyes.
Copper Grove
"Everyone in position?" Hiccup asked over his communicator as he peered out from beyond a couple of bushes.
"Ready." Replied Merida as she adjusted the strap that held her quiver in place while sliding out a circular tipped arrow.
"Ready." Came Gustav as he looked from beyond a set of bushes near the gate, staring directly at the two guards that stood up front.
"Good. Let's get it." Hiccup replied as he looked over his holomap on his gauntlet, then slid his fingers over two small circles, causing the lights outside the post to flicker before shutting off. The two guards standing at the gate looked around in surprise, one of them tapping into their earpiece.
"We've got lights out, I repeat we've got lights out. Let's get someone to look at the exterior breaker." He said, taking his finger away from the earpiece just in time to meet a fist to the face. Both men fell into two awaiting pairs of arms, and were dragged off into the darkness. They returned a moment later, taking up their posts once again as though nothing had happened.
It was a moment later when the lights came back on, allowing them to see clearly. "Everything good?" A voice asked over the mic.
"We're all good now." Replied the man who'd called it in. "Heading inside for post change." He said, turning to the gate and pushing it open before walking down the stone path that led to the building's main door.
"Well that was easy." Merida commented from beneath the black helmet she'd wore over her head- the same one that belonged to one of the men they'd just knocked unconscious.
"Too easy. But that was just the beginning." Hiccup responded as the two of them approached the main door, Hiccup sliding an access card he'd taken into the scanner to gain entry. As the door slid open, he smirked beneath his helmet.
"Sup Josh." His eyes widened at the unfamiliar voice, both of them stopping to turn and face the masked man that had greeted him.
"Uh...what's up?" He said, giving a subtle wave. "How ya doing?" He asked, getting a subtle nudge from Merida.
"Eh, I've been better. Wife's been on my ass lately about this job- but ya know. Keeps food on the table so…"
"Oh I know too well man." Hiccup replied, feeling a drop of sweat starting to form at the top of his forehead.
"Yup. Well, I'll see you later man, gate guard." The other man said as he offered a fist, which Hiccup looked at for a moment before bumping.
"Later man." He said, turning to walk away.
"That was awkward." Merida whispered as they walked throughout the brightly lit foyer- it looked similar to an office building here.
"Yeah, and I get the feeling it's only gonna get more awkward the further we go." He explained as they carried onwards to the elevator.
"What floor are we heading to?" She asked, Hiccup crossing his arms over his chest whilst ignoring the subtle budging the firearm he'd taken from the man on his back. He hated guns, with a passion.
"Top floor. That's where they keep all the computers, also where we'll find the big man himself."
"The big man? Interesting". Merida said as the elevator began its ascension, stopping momentarily on another floor to allow three more men to enter. They remained calm at this, ignoring the men for the most part. That was until one of them spoke.
"So did you guys think you could get away with it?" He asked, Hiccup lifting an eyebrow in confusion beneath his helmet. The three men said nothing then as the elevator stopped once more to allow three more to enter.
It kept moving, until one of them reached out and pressed the emergency stop button. Now, it was silent.
"We found two of our guys unconscious outside...strange isn't it?" Another man asked, causing Merida's breath to momentarily hitch.
"That is strange." Hiccup said as he eyed the man carefully. The man scoffed as he reached down to draw a weapon, then turned to face him.
"Not too strange though."
Shit, Hiccup thought as he gave a sigh and lashed out, punching the man against the doors.
The others in the elevator moved then, with Merida ripping the helmet off of her head and slamming into the side of someone else's head. That left one of them down with five to go.
Hiccup ducked beneath an oncoming punch, smirking as the man's fist hit another in the throat. He rushed up and struck out with his left foot, breaking that same man's ankle with ease. As the man collapsed in pain, he grabbed the same ankle and swung him at the other man.
Merida sucked beneath and oncoming punch and rushed up just in time to slam the man's arm into the wall beside them, following the notion with a swift knee to the stomach and then to the visor of his helmet- shattering the glass covering. He rammed her gloved fist through the newly made hole and finally knocked him out.
As Merida disposed of that one, Hiccup drew back his right fist and energized it. The same chi energy he'd been studying was surrounding it in a small aura. That same fist plunged towards the armored chest of an oncoming attacker, then forced the man back into the door with a huge dent left behind.
He watched as his previous target- the man he'd swing another guy into- got back up, only to be smacked headfirst into the door by Merida. They both turned to the last two men who lunged at them, only to be forced back in a wave of blue energy. The power of the Night Fury roared about for a moment before disappearing almost as fast as it had come.
"Alright, cover blown." Hiccup admitted as he reactivated the elevator, despite the small groan of protest that came from one of the downed men as he stepped upon the small of his back.
"Well let's make this quick then." Merida replied as she reached for the gun she'd taken earlier, looking into the chamber.
Hiccup gave a slight groan of protest. He never used guns, but Merida was different. She used them- but never to kill. Even still, he disliked their presence. It was ultimately the same with Snotlout, as the Immortals had managed to convert him from a full blown killer since the Viggo incident.
"Gustav, we're compromised. Get ready." He said without a second thought as he tapped onto his earpiece. He turned and gave a nod to Merida then.
"Get ready."
Dragon's Edge
Scott gave a huff as he pulled into the Immortal Edge's garage- which arose from the ground in a large field on the outskirts of the city.
As he parked his motorcycle and dismounted it, Cami and Eret turned to face him.
"You seem particularly upset." Cami commented as she crossed her arms over her chest. Eret huffed slightly as he removed a small part from the Immortal X-Wing's engine.
"Just got my ass kicked, so I'm not too peachy right now." Scott responded while walking over to them, a hand resting on his metallic arm.
"By who?" Eret asked as he wiped off his hands with a rag he'd had laying on a bench nearby.
"Some guy calling himself Singetail. Broke into AHDU HQ and stole Vanessa's research. He didn't take her Weird bee suit though." Scott remarked as he pulled up a holographic visual on the palm of his ionic arm- showing footage that his arm had pulled from the security cameras of the building. "I hadn't even reviewed this footage before the dude attacked me."
"Well let's see if we can find him somehow." Eret said as he looked over the footage, a ghost of a smirk coming across his face as they began to leave the hangar to head upstairs. Once in the computer room, Scott uploaded the footage into the main computer and uploaded something else.
"What's that?" Can I asked in reference to the new window that popped up- a small drop box with a strange meter across the center.
"An energy meter. My news arm's got a lot of attachments- including an energy absorption method. It picked up on some of the residual energy left behind with that jackass teleported away, so I'm gonna try to piece together a tracker using it." He explained with a smirk. See? Hiccup isn't the only one who smarts good.
"That's badass mate...I may have to lose a limb soon." Eret said with a clap upon Scott's shoulder. Scott's eyes travelled across the floor and found themselves landing on a foreign object.
"That's the Asgardian chick's Axe. Why's it in here?" He asked as he began to walk towards it, Cami giving a shrug.
"She was using the computer to try and find traces of that Grimmel guy." She explained , watching with an amused look as Scott wrapped his hands around the base of the axe.
"After she couldn't find anything she went to the gym to lift our heaviest weights- didn't really seem like a hassle for her." Eret said.
Scott gave a huff as he pulled on the handle, watching it move ever so slightly before fully lifting from the ground. The axe glowed a bright yellow tone for a moment, but then it ceased. It wasn't even a second layer before Scott found the axe dropping from his grip.
"What in the-"
"Asgardian enchantment…" came a voice, everyone turning to watch as Atali entered the room. "My weapon cannot be wielded by anyone without the blessing of Freyja." She explained as the axe rushed back into her awaiting palm.
Scott scoffed at her explanation. "So how does one get her blessing?" He asked, becoming more interested with the magical weapon.
"Simple- you go through the trials of Frigg. Have the proper determination, strength, combat prowess and knowledge. But above all else, you must have a pure heart- lest the weapon sink from your grip like a stone in the sea." She said, much to Scott's disgust.
"Doesn't sound very fair." He said as he crossed his arms.
"It's not meant to be fair. It's meant to bless only the purest and best of warriors with the power of a god." Atali explained as she crossed her arms and stared down at the man, standing a good few inches over him.
"Whatever. You'd just better be up and at em with that thing when the time comes. Cause no one else is gonna be able to lift it." He exclaimed as he turned back towards the computer. "How's that tracker goin?"
Cami and Eret, who'd been entranced by the man's talk with the Asgardian warrior, snapped back to attention. "Yeah, it's locked onto a location near Copper Grove." Eret said
"Then Copper Grove, here we come."
Copper Grove
"That was a horrible plan!" Merida commented as she released three arrows, watching as each one delivered a controlled shock to one single man.
"It would've been an amazing plan had our cover not been blown." Hiccup responded as he spun around to deliver a blue glowing punch to an oncoming man- sending him flying straight at another one in a blur.
"Yeah right. Oi Gustav, is everything ready?" Merida asked as she tapped into her communicator while ducking under another man's fist. They'd moved to the top floor- control room and instantly been attacked as they exited the elevator. Not a good thing.
"Good to go! Now get that information and run!" Was the response, Hiccup nodding before throwing out a few smoke pellets. The thick smoke filled the room and he moved throughout the fog and wave of bodies, delivering blow after blow to reach the main computer. It took no time for him to slam a flash drive into the USB port and begin downloading all of their information.
"This shouldn't take too long." He said, turning on his heel and throwing out a punch as he sensed another attacker.
The man caught his fist and twisted his wrist, pushing his arm behind his back. "Trust me, you won't live long enough to get it." The man said. This man wore different armor than any of the others- and it was kinda cool.
"And who are you? Their boss?" Hiccup asked with malice behind his words, the other man pushing him away before drawing a sword.
"I'm an enforcer….you can call me Singetail." He said as he launched himself at the hero, Hiccup quickly blocking the sword slash with two energy lit fists to the blade. This successfully stopped the blow but didn't stop the man from sending a knee to his stomach and following it up with a roundhouse kick to the jaw.
Hiccup hit the computer with a thud and spun out of the way of another well aimed punch- this one landing Singetail's fist through part of one of the smaller computers.
"Metahuman?" Hiccup asked as he lashed out with his own attack, sending one of his chi charged fists into the man's rib cage- causing him to go flying with a burst of blue energy against his side.
Singetail rolled onto the floor and leapt back to his feet, keeping his sword steady. "What do you think?" He asked, watching as Hiccup pulled the flash drive.
"I think I'm done here. And I'd advise you to get out of this building." He said, Singetail looking on with a confused expression beneath his helmet.
He was soon knocked back to the floor by a ball tipped arrow, Merida waving over before taking off through the door, Hiccup following behind.
Singetail got up with a small groan and looked at his men, a few beginning to rise. "Follow them!!" He shouted, then looked around as the building's fire alarm began to go off. The sprinklers followed soon after, dousing all of them in water.
He gave a sharp sigh. "And get these idiots out of here...I got a bad feeling about what comes next." He said. If they pulled the alarm, it definitely wasn't to embarrass them with a bit of water. They were trying to evacuate the building.
Why? He didn't know, but he would make sure to escape.
"Alright Gustav, get rea-" Hiccup began as they rushed from the building, but found himself being kicked across the ground by a sudden flash of light. He looked up to find Singetail standing overhead.
"A teleporter too? Neat." He said as he moved back to his feet. The two took their own respective stances and began to stare each other down, Singetail moving to circle Hiccup.
"You must be the Night Fury Huh?" He asked him, Hiccup nod responding. "Heard about your little Grimborn takedown, gotta admit that's good work. I couldn't even topple Viggo on my best day." He said.
"You knew him?" Hiccup asked, watching as Singetail shrugged.
"He used to be my boss, til I upgraded." He responded much to Hiccup's detest. The two were about ready to square off, spending the next few moments going blow for blow until it happened.
The sounds of the X-Wing's engine rippled over the sky, every head down below lifting upwards as it approached. Out from the hatch jumped Nightmare, being carried by Nightlight, and Typhoon. The three heroes landed a few feet from the gate and looked around in confusion.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Nightlight asked as he sent a burst of green energy barreling towards two oncoming men.
"We could ask you the same." Was Hiccup's response as he rushed over to them, turning to nod at Gustav and Merida. "Is the building all clear?" He asked then, Gustav giving a thumbs up in response.
"Alright, let's kick it." He said then, confusing the newcomers and the opposers. That confusion was soon replaced by a large BOOM, everyone turning around as the building blew apart from the bottom and up.
"What the fuck?!?" Came the shout from Singetail as he rushed towards the Immortals, finding himself being flung back by a burst of orange energy courtesy of Nightmare.
"Singey! I've been looking for you!" Nightmare called out as the man recovered.
"Damn….not now." Singetail began, taking a moment to look around. "Scatter you idiots!! We are not done." He said at first to his men- then directed the last line towards Nightmare. Before the other man could react, Singetail disappeared in another flash- teleporting away from the scene.
"Dammit!" Nightmare cursed into the air, the rest of the Immortals moved to gather up the leftover men. Which was relatively easy with Typhoon wrapping them all before they could blink.
"Let's get these guys into custody- someone alert the Grove Police Department." Gustav said to the rest of the group as he walked past the others to board the X-Wing. He stopped for a second, allowing his eyes to go wide. "H-Hiccup!! You need to see this!!" He shouted before tapping away at his gauntlet.
"See what?" Hiccup responded as he approached, but stopped mid-run as he received the information. He pulled it up in an instant and stared at it with wide eyes.
"Holy shit…" he said, all eyes turning to him then.
"What's wrong?" Eret asked, shifting slightly in his place. Hiccup turned to them with breath hitched.
"BEWILDER has been supplying weapons off-world. They've been running a black market to goddamn aliens...and those aliens are on their way here…"
"So...so you're basically saying." Scott had replied as he took in the information. Hiccup nodded in response.
"There's an alien invasion coming to Earth...ETA, two weeks."
Dun dun DUUNNN!!! And I have returned after a brief hiatus (sorry I was gone for so long but I've trying to deal with some shit personally- all is good now) I hope you enjoy this chapter and just know I'm gonna try to push out some more soon. Currently stuck on a deployment so shits been kinda tough- but when I touch back down in the US, this story Finna be lit!!!
Until next time readers, stay cool!