Hiccup was exiting the door to make his way to his Work-Study, and he was somewhat surprised to find Ragnar and Dogsbreath outside as well.

"Hiccup?" Ragnar blinked. "Morning, are you heading to your Work-Study too, because so are we?"

"Yeah, I finally got called in again," Hiccup nodded. "It feels like it's been forever, but I wonder why they said not to wear our costumes, though?"

"Yeah, we were told the same thing," said Dogsbreath.

They then heard the door open and saw Astrid and Heather making their way outside.

"Oh, morning guys, you got called in today?" Heather asked.

"Yeah," said Hiccup.

"Oh, so will we, that's kind of weird," Astrid frowned.

They began to make their way towards the train station ran into a couple of heroes according to then they too were making their way to the station.

"Hey, us too. Want to walk to the station together?"

"Please, if you don't mind," said Astrid.

"We appreciate it," said Hiccup.

Dogsbreath frowned. "What's with all the heroes?"

When they got the train station, they discovered that they were all making their way to the same station.

"Wait, we're going the same way?" Hiccup frowned and looked at Ragnar and Dogsbreath. "I thought you were working in Atlanta?"

"Usually, yeah, but I'm guessing we're meeting someplace different today," said Ragnar.

"What a coincidence, us too," said Heather.

They then got on the same train, which was even weirder.

"This is kind of weird," said Hiccup looking at them.

Things got even weirder when they got off on the same station and all them in the same direction down the same street. Then they ran into the big three just outside of Nighteye's Agency.

"Yeah, yo," Marcario waved.

'The Big Three are all here?' Hiccup stared. 'What in the world? What is going on?'

They then entered the Agency and found a huge group of heroes waiting inside, including Technora and Eret.

'Mum? And Mr Eret?' Hiccup stared. 'Scarlet Dragon is here too and Fat Gum. There's also Rock Lock and other incredible people from bigshot pros to minor local heroes. Whatever is happening, it must be big.'

Once they entered, everyone began making their way to their mentors to get some idea on what was going on.

Ase rushed over to Scarlet. "Hey, hey, what's going on? Talk to me Scarlet, I know you said there was a meeting, but what about?"

Scarlet merely smiled. "Patients, Ase."

"You too, Mr Eret?" Astrid frowned as she approached Eret.

"I'm confused, why would you here?" Heather asked.

"I was called in last minute for this thing," he said, looking at the two of them. "I think I have a rough idea of what it's about."

"You should to," said Scarlet. "Remember what I told you, girls?"

Astrid and Heather looked at one and remembered what Scarlet had said during their Work-Study about a special case.

'It's about the new case,' they said.

Scarlet then looked at Nighteye. "We're all here Nighteye, let's get started."

"Thanks for the information provided by all of you, our investigation has progressed substantially," said Nighteye. "We have invited you all here for a joint conference to share the intel we have acquired involving the mafia group Dragon Killer what they believe they might be planning."

"Hold on, I feel like I'm missing something really important here," said Dogsbreath. "Dragon Killer, what is that?"

"Hiccup mentioned them, there a criminal organisation I believe," said Ragnar.

"Yeah, and they called a meeting so we can talk it all out," said Fat Gum. "Trust me, you two are very much involved."

Ragnar looked at the bandage on Asmund's arm and had a feeling he knew what this meeting was about.

Everyone made their way to the meeting room and sat around behind a desk as Nighteye and his sidekicks began to explain everything.

"All right, let's begin at the beginning," said Bubble Girl holding a datapad. "For the past couple of weeks, those of us in Nighteye Agency have been conducting an investigation into Dragon Killer, a small but organised group of criminals."

"What prompted this?" a hero asked.

"An accident involving a gang of thieves called the Reservoir Dogs."

"Yeah, I heard about that."

"The police thought the whole thing was an accident, but there were a number of details that didn't add up. So we began tailing them."

Then stepping forward was a man with a centipede for a head, he was Nighteye's other sidekick Centipede. "In my capacity as a Nighteye Agency sidekick, I began following leads to see what I can uncover. I found within the past year the members of Dragon Killer have increased contact with those outside of their organisation, including other groups whose business dealings are less than reputable. Their aim seems to be expanding their organisation and enriching its coffers."

Then suddenly appearing on the screen behind them with an image of Grimmel talking to Twice. Shortly after our investigation began, they made contact with a member of the League of Villains. Gruffnut Thorston, a name Twice."

Hiccup looked at the other members of his class, they wondered if Gruffnut was a relation to the twins.

"They were wary of being tailed, so I was unable to follow them," Centipede continued, and then an image of a wrecked warehouse appeared on the screen. "But with the help of the police, I confirm that an altercation had occurred between the two groups."

"That was about when they decided to reach out to Alvin and me," said Technora. "Figured we would be able to assist due to the Leagues involvement."

"Where is Alvin?" the hero next to him asked.

"For last with some other eyewitnesses, you know cop stuff." She then looked at Hiccup sympathetically. "Sorry, Hiccup. I didn't see something like this coming. I've got a bad feeling that things are about to get ugly."

"I don't care if they do, I want to help," said Hiccup.

Dogsbreath looked at Technora. 'So that's Hiccup's mum, things must be serious if they bring her in.'

"Go on, Bubble Girl," said Nighteye.

She knowing quickly looked down at her datapad. "So after all that went down we posted a notice on the HN in requesting assistance—"

"I think we can skip that part," said Centipede.

"Sorry."

"What's the HN?" Astrid frowned.

"It stands for Hero Network, it an online server that can only be accessed by pros," Ase explained. "You can see what all heroes in the country are up to and you can for help with people whose powers might come in handy."

"Does anyone mind telling me why a bunch of high school kids win by to this conference?" Rock Lock asked. "I don't care if they are from Berk, if we have to keep stopping to explain this we will never get the actual."

He was sitting right next to Hiccup, so he was able to get a good look at him. He was African-American, and he had padlocks of earrings. Hiccup knew him by reputation, he was very much against having students for Work Studies, especially if they were first years.

"Don't say that," said Fat Gum as he rose to his feet and then gestured to Ragnar, Dogsbreath and Asmund. "These three have very important information to pass along."

"Uh, we do?" Dogsbreath frowned.

"I want to go home," Asmund sighed.

"You guys aren't really help his case," said Ragnar wrapping his forehead.

"Anyway, we have some new faces let me introduce myself," Fat Gum smiled. "Nice to meet you, I'm Fat Gum."

"He's so cute and squishy," said Astrid and Heather.

Fat Gum merely laughed and pulled out a fistful of candy. "Who wants candy?"

"Dragon Killer's movements are hard to trace," Nighteye admitted. "That we suspect one of their main sources of income is illegal drugs sales. So I requested help from heroes who had expertise in that area."

Dogsbreath looked at Fat Gum. 'Oh yeah, he said something about catching smugglers.'

"Yep, I brought in my fair share of drug dealers back in the day and in Sprite, and Red Riot debuts fight they proved they could to. Asmund was shot, and the bullet contains some kind of drug I've never heard of before." He then crushed the candy in his hand. "One that eliminates metahumans."

Everyone's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

"'Eliminates metahumans?'"

"What?" said Marcario as he rose to his feet and looked directly at Asmund. "Asmund, you are okay right?"

"Yeah, this stuff wore off when I slept," he said and then raised his hand which transformed into a hoof. "Look I've got this cow hoof and everything."

"Yes, we know what you had for breakfast," said Marcario looking relieved.

"I'm glad to know the effect on a permanent at least," said Rock Lock. "So this stuff doesn't zap metapowers for good."

"No, but Trapster has further insight," said Nighteye looking at Eret.

"It doesn't seem to function like my power does," said Eret. "Since I'm not actually attacking the power directly. What we call metapowers comes from the metagenes located within our DNA. I'm able to shield those genes and temporarily block their expression, but I don't actually damage them."

"But after Asmund here was shot, we brought into the hospital, and they found that is metagenes had sustained damage," said Fat Gum. "Fortunately they seem to have healed on their own, and he's back to normal now."

"What do we know other substance that he was shot with?" Nighteye asked.

"Whatever it was did not harm the best of his body, nothing but is metapowers were hurt in any way. The guy that shot him calmed up, he won't say a word, and the round that was used on Asmund was totally spent." He then smiled. "However, Red Riot bravely defended Asmund from a bullet which bounced off his own body, and she now provided with a viable sample."

"Whoa, I did? Really? That's crazy." Dogsbreath blinked. 'I have no idea what's going on.'

"Nice job, Dogsbreath," said Astrid nodding approvingly.

"That's so cool," said Heather.

"Oh yeah, his power allows him to harden his skin, right?" said Ase.

"And when we analyse the substance from the bullet, we discovered something that made me sick to my stomach," Fat Gum growled. "It contains human blood cells."

Hiccup's eyes widened upon hearing this. 'Human blood?'

Astrid just sat there totally speechless.

"Sounds like something from a horror movie," said Heather.

"This is horrific," said Ragnar.

"In other words, that effect came from a person, from someone's power," Scarlet concluded. "A metapower that can destroy other metapowers."

"I'm not connecting the dots here," said a hero next to her. "How is all this related to Dragon Killer?"

"The man that shot Asmund used an illegal drug to boost his power during his fight with Dogsbreath and Ragnar," Fat Gum explained. "The distribution channels for stuff like that are complex, although things have slunk since the old days. Drugs still pass through various people and organisations before they finally reached the end-user. There is no concrete evidence that Dragon Killer handled the drug, but we know for a fact they interacted with one of the middlemen responsible for moving it."

"That's all?"

"The other day Scarlet's team broke up a fight between two villain groups," said Nighteye. "One of those groups was controlled by one of the intermediary organisation that Fat Gum just mentioned."

"One of the two giants had been given an inferior drug that didn't last long," said Scarlet.

"There has been a rash of gang-related crimes recently, and most could be related to Dragon Killer, if you look hard enough."

"Which seems like what you're doing. Trying to make them look guilty. Do you have anything that implicates them more clearly?"

Then appearing on the screen was a photo of Grimmel.

"Their young head, Grimmel, his power allows him to disassemble things and reassemble them," said Nighteye. "A power that allows him to break down matter and a bullet that can break down metapowers."

Hiccup and Marcario's eyes widened as therefore immediately turned to Ariel and they quickly put two and two together.

"Grimmel has a daughter named Ariel," Nighteye continued. "There are no records or details about her birth, but when Marcario and Hiccup encountered her, they noticed that they were bandages wrapped her arms and legs."

"Could you really do something so horrific?" said Scarlet looking disgusted.

"Unfortunately, yes," said Technora gravely. "In a world of superhumans if you can dream it you can do it."

Dogsbreath was completely lost and looked at Fat Gum. "Hang on, what are they talking about?"

Rock Lock sighed. "Once again, why do we have children in this meeting? I'll say this one time, we're wondering if this Grimmel bastard is turning his daughter's body into bullets and selling them on the black market."

"No," Dogsbreath stared horrified.

"How despicable," said Ragnar

"Don't tell me," said Astrid stunned and looked at Hiccup.

"To be clear were not certain whether he's actually selling the bullets," said Nighteye. "At this point, his efficacy seems to be questionable. It is possible that they're still in the testing phase and he's giving them out as samples to rally more people to his cause. We have no hard evidence, but we do know that he is gathering allies and funds across the nation. If the completed drug allows him to annihilate someone's metapowers entirely imagine the devastation he could cause."

"Just talking about it is enough to make my blood boil," Fat Gum spat. "Let's go and get this monster!"

"Would have saved us a lot of trouble if these two amateurs got the girl away from him," Rock Lock scoffed as he looked at Hiccup and Marcario.

"I take full responsibility, the blame should not fall on them," said Nighteye. "Even without knowing the whole story, they acted to save the child in each of their own way. Hiccup was willing to bear the risk of taking her there and then. While Marcario chose to wait for another opportunity when success would be more likely."

Hiccup clenched his fist in frustration. 'World's greatest hero, not even close.'

Marcario was equally as frustrated. 'Save a million people, I couldn't even save her.'

"I assure you that no one in this room is more frustrated than they are," said Nighteye.

Then as if on cue, both Hiccup and Marcario rose to their feet.

"We will get Ariel away from him next time," Hiccup vowed.

"And we'll be attached," the two of them said together in unison.

"Indeed, that is precisely what we come here to discuss," said Nighteye.

'We will save her,' Hiccup vowed.

'We won't let her down,' Marcario vowed.

Rock Lock scoffed. "You kids want to talk big, that's fine. But if what Nighteye is saying is true this little girl is at the centre of Dragon Killer's entire underground drug operation. She might have managed to get away from Grimmel for a few minutes, but she got herself seen by a couple of heroes. You think that he still going to keep her at home after that? Hell, I know for sure that I wouldn't, and if we go busting into their headquarters and she's not there, they're going to know we're onto them. We've got to be sure where he is hiding."

"He has a point," said Scarlet and looked at Nighteye. "You have a plan for that Nighteye?"

"That's our conundrum since we don't currently know how far they've taken their plans the success of our initial strike is crucial," said Nighteye. Then appearing on the board behind him was a map of the US and in different states and showed highlights of hideouts and warehouses. "To that end, we made a thorough list of groups with connections to Dragon Killer as well as property owned by the organisation. This is our starting point, I would like you all to investigate each cornered on this map, it is the most logical way to narrow down our targets."

"So that's why you asked minor heroes like us to join you."

"What do you mean?"

"Go on, look. The heroes in this room all operating one of those locales, we know the areas better than most."

Fat Gum looked at Nighteye. "Didn't expect someone who worked with Skullcrusher for so long to be such a careful plan. Let's just go and bring them down! While we're taking our sweet time that abuse girl is out there crying somewhere!"

"We can't do this like Skullcrusher would," said Nighteye firmly. "That is why we must be meticulous about our strategies and predictions on the outset, so we have the highest chance of saving her."

"He's right, we shouldn't rush," said Technora. "If we show our hand and then don't end up rescuing her then we'll just be throwing gas on a fire. Like how Flightmare's capture was a beacon that led criminals to seek out and join the League. In fact, I will be surprised they handed metapower destroying weapons to those hoodlums in order to increase their recruitment."

"You're thinking too damn much!" Fat Gum spat. "If we keep sitting here yapping about it we are not going to get anything done."

"Excuse me," said Eret raising his hand. "I've got a question, I don't know the specifics of your power Nighteye, feel free to correct, but from what I've heard of it your power allows you to seed future. So why not use it on us, that's logical right?"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot," said Nighteye regretfully. "My power has some limitations, I need a full 24 hours between activations. That means I get one person and I'm spent for the rest of the day. Additionally, the future is played in my mind like a flashback. Think of it like viewing the film strip, for one hour I have the power to watch a person's life as a movie. The issue is everything I see, type perspective on the person in question, this severely limits my capacity in order to interpret context."

"That should still provide more than enough information to be useful, don't you think? And it doesn't explain why you can't do it."

"What if I saw an imminent death in your near future or worse if it was cruel, merciless demise?" said Nighteye with a dark expression.

Hiccup just sat there and looked at him. 'This… this is what happened with my father.'

"My power should only be employed when we confirm the highest likelihood of success, then it can help ensure our victory. It shouldn't be allied upon when there are still too many uncertainties."

"Whoa, whoa, hold up," said Rock Lock. "Death is still information, if we know it's coming, then we can figure out how to survive."

"You don't understand, it's impossible for what I see to be avoidable."

"Bro, that's the only excuse you have for real? Hell, no! Just use it on me now, I can show you that I can be death!"

"I can't!" Nighteye snapped.

Everyone just looked him in silent, it was clear that he was quite adamant.

Rock Lock could tell back down. "Yeah, all right."

Scarlet sighed. "We should get started as a child in trouble. That is what is important here."

Nighteye then sat up. "We must confirm the girl's location and take her into our protection as quickly as possible, using the most accurate data. I'm counting on your help, all of you."

After the meeting Hiccup and the rest of the Berk students sat down at the table. Once they're both Hiccup and Marcario told them everything that happened.

"If only I had rescued her then, even if I have to use force, at least she would be safe," said Hiccup.

"So that's what happened on that day," said Ragnar looking at him sympathetically. He knew that something terrible had happened on his first Work Study day, but he didn't imagine this.

"So frustrating," said Dogsbreath.

"We know that you try, Hiccup," said Astrid as he placed a hand over his.

Asmund looked at Marcario. 'I've never seen Marcario look so down before.'

'Poor Ariel,' said Marcario.

The elevator door then opened and exiting it was Eret. "This is a funeral or something?"

"Mr Eret?" said Heather.

"Call me Trapster outside of school," said Eret and then looked at them all. "You know, it's just my luck. Before you got involved in this, I was going to recommend that you Work Studies should be suspended."

Everyone stared at him.

"What?" said Dogsbreath. "Why would you do that?"

"You were listening when he said that the League of Villains is involved, right?" Eret asked. "That changes things."

Hiccup looked as if he wanted to say something, but he kept quiet.

Eret caught this and remembered what Hiccup that said in the meeting. "Here's the deal, Hiccup you still haven't proven that I can trust you again. Unfortunately, I'm positive I try to stop you now you would do something reckless and attempt to take things into your own hands. So I'll watch you if you're going to see this through you have to do it the right way." He then placed his fist directly over his heart. "Use your head, you hear me?"

Hiccup nodded.

Asmund looked at Marcario. "Marcario, will you please smile."

"Hey, hey, I know what will help you," said Ase. "Just remember regretting something and getting frowny doesn't change things. You know it?"

"Yeah," said Marcario wiping his nose.

"I'll only say this once, in case it gives you a little piece of my," said Eret. "Just because you didn't hold onto her this time, doesn't mean you didn't give Ariel hope. So keep looking forward."

"Right," Hiccup nodded.

"And we'll be right behind you," said Astrid.

"No way we can back down after hearing all this," said Ragnar.

"We'll be with you every step of the way," said Dogsbreath.

"And will rescue Ariel," Heather promised.

Asmund looked at Marcario. "Marcario…"

"Yeah, I know," he said as he rose to his feet and then looked at Hiccup. "Hey, Hiccup… next time we will definitely save her."

"Right, no matter what," Hiccup nodded.

Elsewhere the Agency, both Nighteye and Technora were looking out of a large window.

"Now I understand," said Nighteye looking at her. "Of course, you sent Hiccup to me in the hopes that he would help mend my relation with Skullcrusher."

"I thought it would give you the excuse to talk to him at least," she chuckled. "My husband is too stubborn for his own good. So, what are your honest thoughts about my son?"

"He definitely takes after you when it comes to the brain, but he has his father's heart," said Nighteye. "He can't sit still, especially when someone is in trouble. He feels as if it's his responsibility to make things right. He has a little you both inside of him."

Meanwhile, at Dragon Killer headquarters, Ariel was in her room trying to get some sleep when the door opened. She quickly sat up and saw a long blond-haired man enter.

"Hey, Ariel," he said cheerfully. "Relax it's just me. I'm just checking in to make sure you're doing okay in here."

As he entered the room, he noticed that several girls toys remained unopened or played with.

"What? You haven't touched any of your toys," he said as he approached the bed. "After I bought them special for you. Wouldn't hurt to let your guard down a little, you know."

Ariel just stared at him with a terrified expression. 'Look happy, or I might be the one who gets killed next time you brat.'

He then patted her head. "See, I'm not scary. Is there anything you want me to bring you?" Ariel just didn't answer, she didn't even look at him. "No worries, if I'm in the way I'll leave you alone."

He then started to make his way down the corridor and remembered what Grimmel had told him.

'You're going to be her new caretaker, make sure she doesn't want to run away. Use the carrot, not the stick. Be someone she trusts and feels comfortable with.'

So far, he hadn't succeeded with getting a trust him or feel comfortable around him. 'I'm a dead man. Like I have any idea what kids like. Maybe grab her one of those magical girl dolls.'

Ariel just sat in her bed, and her thoughts were focused on Hiccup when he grabbed her. The way he touched who was nothing compared to the way Grimmel and his underlings touched her.

'So strange, so completely different,' she said. 'My entire life, no one has ever reached out to me like that before. He felt so kind, so warm.'