Part 4 - Resurgence

Chapter 69 - Massacre

Teresa glared at both Miles and Gwen as they entered the council room. She didn't trust either of them; Gwen had her Plate, Miles had a demon. Miguel was last to arrive and he placed an electronic tablet on the table as he sat.

"What have you got there?" Enquired Edward.

"A call for back-up from 6119. After Fakezilla was destroyed, the Empire has been cracking down on even tiniest things. They plan to rebel."

"Those are the guys with the dragons, right?" Asked Miles.

"Yes. What back-up can we give them?"

"The five of us, for a start. We can call in some spider people, maybe the Avengers since they've got nothing else to do." Said Teresa.

"Spider people are of little use. There's nothing to swing on." Gwen replied.

"Then the Avengers will have to do." Concluded Miguel.

"We probably shouldn't delay. The longer we spend preparing, the weaker they become from starvation." Said Edward.

"Agreed. I'll contact the Avengers and we'll leave here at 1200 hours."

Stanley and Lisa contacted Miles at 1100 hours, asking him to come to R&D eight. When he arrived, Lisa was her bouncy self.

"What can I do for you?" Miles asked, unsure whether they wanted his help or to help him.

"You can try on your new suit, for a start."

"Another new suit?"

"We can't have you fighting beside dragons in something flammable. There won't be anything left of you to win the war!"

"I can't argue with that. So, what have you got?"

"Pretty much just a replica of your old one with some bonuses. Peter had a full nano-tech suit which could store kinetic and thermal energy. Yours is programmable matter, just like the old days, but infused with nano-tech to have the same functionality."

Miles grinned at the scientists' handiwork that was mounted on a mannequin. He pressed his hand to the red spider on its chest, creating a ball in his hand. He noted that it felt cooler and looked shinier than the programmable matter suit Helltreader had killed him in. He pressed it to his chest and it morphed around his body just like usual. Double tapping the side of his head, he grinned as the mask disappeared.

"I never know how to thank you two. Talking of 'two', where's Stanley?"

"He's setting up Grim Reaper in 6119. And there's no need to thank us; we're just doing our job, and it's all the more fun when you're doing it for a friend."

"I better be off. Gwen wanted to speak to me before we left."

"Of course. Good luck!"

"Thanks! And to you."

Gwen was staring out the window overlooking the empty hangar from which Miles had once stolen a ship to seek counsel from Lady Galadriel on Middle Earth. Miles stood beside her, sporting his new suit.

"Hey."

Whenever he said 'hey', it made her think of when he had got his hand stuck in her hair ten years ago.

"I'm worried about this. I'll admit the last time I saw them, I cut off the chief's dragon's wing."

"You think they'll do something to you?"

"I don't think they will. They have enough enemies already."

"So, what's worrying you?"

"I just...have a feeling this is gonna go really badly."

"I think you're just nervous. That's the best part about being a spider person is you aren't waiting for the fight, usually; it tends to just happen."

"I can't wait to get rid of this damn Plate."

"When we find a way, if you want we can fulfil what Lucifer discovered I truly desire."

"Do I want to know?"

"It's nothing weird. I just want us to live in peace together, grow old, have kids that aren't murdered by star-eating psychopaths."

"I'd say that's probably mine as well."

Miles took her hand.

"We'll find a way. I promise."

Arriving in 6119, it was clear things were different. Out at sea was an enormous structure, which Miles realised was a Reaper. The village of Berk was bustling with activity as the Vikings prepared for war. Blades were sharpened, the dragons were being saddled. It seemed Fakezilla's death had brought them back. Miles ducked under a dimensional crack as Hiccup waved to the team.

"I'm sorry this is all we could bring." Said Miguel.

"It's fine. Anything will help."

The chief patted Toothless, his dragon. Gwen kept her distance from it, but noticed it had a new wing.

"This is the plan. That thing of theirs is filled with undead soldiers, some of which come to shore every two days to keep us in check. We wait until they leave, then we strike and tear it apart." Said Hiccup.

"I have a better plan." Said Teresa.

"I'm all ears."

"We use Grim Reaper to take the Reaper down. The surviving undead soldiers will swim to shore and we kill them; problem solved."

"I've no idea what Grim Reaper is, but the plan sounds less risky than Hiccup's." Replied Astrid.

Teresa briefly explained what Grim Reaper was; both Hiccup and Astrid agreed to it.

"Grim Reaper is online. Ready to go on somebody's orders." Reported Stanley, glancing at the tablet he was holding.

"Then let's do it. Hit the button." Said Edward, eager to see yet another Reaper turned into scrap.

With a press, Grim Reaper launched into action. The drones rose into the air and raced towards the Reaper, coming to its top and slowly descending leaving nothing behind. Within a minute, the Reaper was gone and a large amount of splashing showed where the undead were swimming. Gwen took-off before the dragons could, streaking ahead at twice the speed of sound. Iron Man and War Machine kept up to begin with but were soon left behind. She slowed and butchered a number of the undead with a magenta beam. A few seconds later, a missile exploded on the water in the middle of a cluster. As Gwen was about to do another pass, something happened she did not expect. There was a familiar sound, an immense rush of air and a bright display of colours reflected on the water. She turned, her eyes widening in horror. Two Reapers had just burst from temporal warp. One opened the doors to its main weapon and fired at Grim Reaper, completely wiping out the array, before turning its attention to the village along with its counterpart. She made to fly in front a beam, unsure if she could take it or whether it was just a futile attempt equal to suicide. But as she made to do so, she found herself stuck in mid-air. The dragons tore past, letting loose streams and balls of fires at the Reapers in a vain attempt to save the village. Gwen couldn't see what was holding her, but she got her answer a moment later as Lucifer himself drifted into view.

"Hello Gwendolyn. What a pleasure to see you again."

"Fus ro dah!"

Toothless swooped past carrying Hiccup who let out the shout. The resulting blue shockwave did little more than make the devil flinch. A black and red blur planted its feet in his chest, setting Gwen free. She caught Miles' web and spun him round to hit Lucifer again. Lucifer caught Miles by the throat.

"I see you got rid of my friend."

Gwen made to barrel into him, but was caught as well. Both struggled hopelessly to free themselves.

"You know, I think we might have a little fun before I kill you both. Gwendolyn, why don't you tell Miles what you truly desire?"

She tried to fight it, but even with a Plate she couldn't defend her mind from the power of the devil.

"I want...to get free...of everything between me and Miles."

"Ooh. I might take that a little personally. Maybe if I move you round here, you'll think of something different?"

Lucifer moved his arms so they were stretched out in front of him instead of either side.

"Anything else?"

She stared defiantly; he was about to keep talking when a ball of super-heated plasma exploded on his back. He sneered, turning to find his assailant. His eyes fell on Toothless and Hiccup speeding towards him like an oversized bullet.

"You can finish the job now, Gwendolyn."

The devil hurled her at the dragon, scoring a direct and sending the three spiralling towards the depths below.

"Hiccup!"

Astrid and Stormfly dived; Miles was next to be turned into a human projectile, crashing into Stormfly and knocking Astrid clear. He prayed Gwen might be able to catch them, but she was completely stunned. When she came to her senses, it was too late to save Hiccup and Toothless; they struck the water hard. Gwen spread her wings but they were shattered into a thousand magenta splinters as she hit too. Stormfly just managed to get control as Miles fired a web and caught Astrid. He fired another at the dragon, stopping them from falling. Astrid stared down at the water, as did Miles, both powerless to help the people they loved. Lucifer drifted down.

"Scared of the fishes, Morales?"

The web, holding him and the chieftess to Stormfly snapped and they plummeted into the water. Miles expected water to soak him, but his suit kept it out. He began to swim down, but stopped as something enormous shifted in the dark. His eyes widened as an immense beast rose up, but suddenly realised it was on his side as he spotted it carrying Gwen, Hiccup and Toothless. He returned to the surface just in time to see Lucifer drawing the Scarlet Crucible and slice it down Stormfly's belly as it dived to help Astrid. The dragon splashed down just as lifeless as Peter had been. The beast from the depths rose up, but one of the Reapers tore a hole straight through its skull. Whatever it had been, it returned to the deep from where it had come leaving the three it had saved on the surface. Miles swam over; Gwen was coughing, bringing up some sea water. She turned to him to say something, but looked past and spread her wings, drawing a sword and rocketing towards Lucifer just in time to block a strike that would have killed Astrid. She was knocked into the water again, and the devil picked Astrid up with telekinesis before drawing the great blade across her stomach and dropping her lifeless form. A few more dragons fell before Lucifer turned back to his prime target: Gwen. He lifted her just the same as Astrid.

"Gwen!" Miles yelled helplessly.

"I'm going to enjoy..."

The devil was cut off by a much deeper, raspier and altogether more powerful voice.

"The Scarlet King's reign is eternal."

He dropped Gwen, his eyes widening in terror.

"No!" He yelled in disbelief before disappearing into a hole.

The Scarlet King walked on the water, striding to one of the Reapers that fired at him pointlessly. The machine was pulled apart, followed shortly after by its counterpart. Iron Man flew down and plucked Miles and Gwen from the ocean. As they flew back towards Berk, the extent of the casualties became clear from the littered bodies of dragons: it had been a massacre.

Two coffins were lowered into a Viking long ship.

"Farewell, Chief Hiccup and Chieftess Astrid. May the halls of Valhalla sing of your victories for centuries to come."

The ship was cast off. As it sailed further from the ships that had been moored together to create a temporary village, a small volley of flaming arrows arced into the sky, landing square on the deck and setting it ablaze. Miles didn't watch as the burning ship began to sink to join the countless others. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, reflecting on the battle. They had learnt one thing: Lucifer was afraid of the Scarlet King.

Crossovers in this Chapter

- Avengers
- Lucifer
- How to Train Your Dragon