'When May reached its end, we got great news.'

It had finally been decided what to do with Ariel, with permission from Principal Dustin she was now moving to Berk. Hiccup and the rest of the raid team were completely astonished to find her sitting in the teachers' lounge as Ase fixed her hair.

"Ariel is coming to live in Berk," Eret explained.

"I didn't expect to see her so soon," said Hiccup.

"Hey," said Dogsbreath smiling at her.

"Nice to see you," said Ragnar.

"I'm so glad that you're here," said Astrid.

"You look so cute," Heather beamed.

"Thank you so much," said Ariel as she stroked Amber.

"How is that even possible?" Hiccup asked, looking at Eret.

"We can have a stain the hospital forever," he said, and then he gestured for the raid team to meet him outside.

They soon met up with Eret outside along with Marcario and Asmund, but Ase volunteered to stay with Ariel to keep her company.

"From what we can tell Ariel was abandoned by her parents," Eret explained. "We know the head of Dragon Killer is her blood relative, but he's been in a coma for quite a while. She has nowhere else to go."

"That's not all," said Marcario. "Mr Eret may have mentioned this already, but her docs figured out that Ariel's horn is where her power is released from."

"Yeah, he said that it had gotten smaller so it should be fine," said Dogsbreath.

"It had, but it's slowly starting to get bigger again."

"And putting her in a foster home would be risky given her mental state," said Ragnar.

Astrid nodded. "Meaning that in order to keep an eye on her power—"

"Exactly," Eret nodded. "That's why we're going to let her live here instead of putting her into the system. We'll set up a room for her in the teacher's dorm. Hopefully, she will be happy, and we can help to harness her tremendous power. This is only our first step, though. Clearly, it's a long road."

"Sounds like it's going to be a lot of work for you," Heather noted.

"That's where I come in," said Marcario. "I'm on a temp leave from school right now and am friendly with little Ariel. So, I'm helping out. I know you guys are majorly busy, but I'm hoping that you'll stop by and say hi."

"Of course we will," they said in unison.

Asmund then placed a hand on Marcario's shoulder. "If Ariel's power becomes usable and she learned how to control it, then I bet we'll have our invincible man back in no time."

"Man, that would be awesome, right?" he smiled. "Guess we'll see, though."

"Sorry to be asking for help already, but can you get her settled in?" Eret asked.

"Roger, sir. We'll play some board games."

"As for the rest of you go back to the dorms, you have visitors, and there'll be here soon."

Everyone looked at one another wondering who these visitors were.

It was late in the evening, and everyone was relaxing.

"Still can't believe that he fought against Gentle," said Ragnar looking at Hiccup.

"Yeah, that was rather reckless even for you," Astrid agreed.

"Hey, the guy was trying to disrupt the Festival," said Hiccup defensively. I don't need to tell you guys how bad things would have gotten it was cancelled."

"Yeah, we probably would have gotten blamed," Fishlegs agreed.

They then heard a knock at the door.

"Sounds like our guests have arrived," said Speedfist. "Let's welcome them."

They went and opened the door and stepping inside with the Wild Pussycats in civilian clothes.

"Your feline fantasies are here," said Mandalay.

"Allow us to lend a helping paw," said Ragdoll.

"We're champions serving of justice," said Tiger.

"Perfectly cute cat heroes," said Pixie Bomb.

"We're the Wild Pussycats!" they yelled in unison as they posed.

"How unexpected, glad to see you," said Speedfist.

"Seems like little kittens are doing well," said Pixie Bomb.

Tiger looked at Snotlout. "I couldn't protect you back then, I apologise."

"I already forgot about that," said Snotlout quietly.

"We're all doing pretty good, right?" said Ingrid looking at the girls and they all nodded.

"Make yourself at home," said Magnus.

"No," said Mandalay. "Thank you, but we can't stay long."

"We need a visit Class B too," Tiger explained.

Hiccup saw Gustav with them. "Nice to see you're doing well, Gustav. I got your letter."

"Yeah, sure," said Gustav.

Mandalay smiled. "Does issues look familiar?"

Hiccup looked up and saw that Gustav was wearing the same type of shoes as him which embarrassed Gustav.

"Gustav, pick them out himself," said Mandalay. "He specifically asked for that type of shoes."

"It's not what you think!" Gustav yelled as his face turned bright pink.

Hiccup chuckled.

"It's great to see you, but why are you here?" Calder asked as he gave them cups of tea.

"Just to let you know that we're back in business," said Pixie Bomb.

"Seriously?" said Speedfist, shocked.

"Congratulations, that wonderful!" Astrid beamed.

"Are you back at work to Ragdoll?" Hiccup frowned. "I knew you took time off when your metapower got stolen so—"

"Still powerless," she said, but she sounded very chipper. "I'll be working behind the scenes to support the other three in the field. Call me the Office Cat."

"We received a report from Helheim Prison recently," said Pixie Bomb.

Drago was in his maximum-security cell being watched 24/7, and everything you said was being recorded.

"I feel simply terrible about taking her abilities," said Drago to know one particular. "When I see an interesting metapower, I can't help but desire it. Quite a bad habit, yes? I would love to return it to the girl, but you would have to let me use my power. If that is acceptable to you, then I would happily help out."

It was hard to tell what was going on inside his mind as he remained so calm and collective; no one could tell whether he was sincere or not.

"The thing is they still don't know how many powers he has," Pixie Bomb explained. "He could be hiding some dangerous powers, which means. Unfortunately, the smartest way to contain him is not a lettings use any abilities."

"So why choose this moment to go back into action?" Astrid asked.

"This will be announced later, but it's spot on the American Hero Billboard Chart," Mandalay explained. "You see we're ranked four levels up this term."

Everyone knew about the American Hero Billboard Chart as it was the event that displays the hero ranks based upon the total incidents resolved, contributing to society and approve rating from civilians. The event was only held twice a year one at the beginning of June and at the beginning of December.

"Last time you guys came in by number 32," said Hiccup.

"So is because your rank went down, that makes sense," said Dogsbreath.

"No, silly," said Ragdoll. "Isn't it weird that we're still in the triple digits even though we haven't done any hero work?"

Everyone looked at one another, confused.

"It's because of our approval rating," Tiger explained. "That number gave us a big boost."

"There are people waiting for us to return," said Pixie Bomb.

"No way we can just stay on the sidelines," said Ragdoll.

"So you're doing it for the public?" said Dogsbreath and he actually cried. "You're so manly Wild Pussycats."

"Dude, cool it," said Clueless.

"I kinda forgot they haven't announced the results for this year yet," said Ruffnut.

"And so much has happened," Ragnar added.

Sven nodded. "A chart without Skullcrusher, that's so strange. I can't imagine what it will even look like."

The next morning at DC, everyone was waiting in anticipation for the charts to be released.

"It's the first chart since DC when Skullcrusher, the Symbol of Peace, was forced into early retirement," said the reporter. "You can feel the excitement folks, this is an important moment in the history of heroes. In the past pros did not show up on stage during the announcements, but today we see something new."

The stadium was packed with heroes and special guests as they waited in anticipation for the start of the charts. Then the lights went down, and the lights on the stage lit up.

"Here we go," said the reporter.

"Number 10, dropping down from rank for the last charts is Scarlet Dragon!" said the announcer.

"Honestly, I don't think I deserve to place this highly," she said as she stepped onstage.

"Number 9 has also slicked down in rank, but he won't be defeated, Samurai!"

Stepping onto the stage was a man wearing a samurai outfit. "Outside the top three numbers are meaningless, they are simply the tide of the times."

"Number 8, a man who is calm, cool and collective it Iceberg!"

Iceberg then started to make his way on stage. "I am honoured to be."

"Number 7, in a huge leap from the charts, is Stormcutter!"

Stormcutter waved as he made his way on stage. "I am honoured."

Several reporters made their way over to Mt Lady. "Any words for Stormcutter?"

"As one of his teammates I couldn't be any more thrilled for his fast-growing success," she said.

"And the reports that you two are dating?"

"I have no comment." When reporters left, she then turned towards Armstrong. "We're on the same team why are they the only ones onstage!"

"You did rank badly, you know," Armstrong pointed out.

That was true as she was ranked 23 in the charts.

"Number 6, comes a regular upon the top 10 Crest!"

A muscular man wielding a shield on his right arm made his way onstage. "I wish I could have seen more of Skullcrusher in action. Such a shame."

"Number 5, this bunny spirit is infectious, Cottontail!"

Onstage was a beautiful blonde-haired woman wearing a rabbit costume. "I heard that you formed a team, talk about weak."

"Number 4, check out the huge increase in this mysterious ninja is resolved cases, Edgeshot!"

Edgeshot was onstage and was looking at Cottontail coldly while maintaining his composure. "Compose yourself, we are in public."

"This time those heroes involved in the DC Incident have all seen their approval ratings go up," said the report as she looked at the charts. "Which brings us to number three."

"He is currently on hiatus, but he still ranks highly," said the announcer as an image of Best Jeanist appeared on the screen. "With the number one approval rating this round it is Best Jeanist. We are all hoping for him to return as soon as possible."

Everyone cheered and clapped with enthusiasm.

"Number 2, he does things his own way which is how he reached the charts with lightning speed, Hawks!"

There was a young man dressed like a fighter pilot with a pair of red wings on his back. "I don't know about all that."

"Finally," said the announcer and the light on the stage turned off. "He has been the temporary number one, but today he will officially inherit that sacred spot! After all this time, Hellfire!"

The lights suddenly came back on, and marching onto the stage was Hellfire.

Once everyone was lined up, President Rose made her way on the podium and faced the audience.

"We decided to make the Charts more of an event today because we feel that this time is a critical juncture for heroes. It has been about three months since Skullcrusher's retirement, and I know that there are some of you feel that we are still lacking an icon. But the heroes that will guide us into the future are standing before you, let us put our faith in them."

"So how does it feel to finally be at the top?" Hawks whispered to Hellfire.

Hellfire just narrowed his eyes at him, and Hawks got the message and ran his fingers over his mouth telling him that he will zip it.

"Let's get a few words from everyone," said the announcer, and she quickly approached Scarlet.

"Thank you very much," she said. "However, if it had been within my power, I would have refused this honour. Lately, we have lost too many people, there are those that I should have been able to save but did not. I will strive to do better."

"Oh, Scarlet," said Fat Gum within the crowd.

"The world has changed, but our objectives have not," said Samurai.

"I do believe that the road is hard ahead, but I am confident that the future is in safe hands with the next generation," said Iceberg.

"I would like to honour every hero that has come before me," said Stormcutter. "That is why I am humbled that Edgeshot has invited me onto his team."

"I understand your concerns and the anguish within your heart," said Crest. "Let us stand tall together and see through this dark time."

"If anyone out there is scheming right now, you best be prepared to send you flying," said Cottontail.

"And you Edgeshot?" said the announcer. "You were third in the approval ratings."

"I am not concerned with such numbers, I am grateful for the support I have received I do not do this for the notoriety I believe that is my duty to bring about peace," said Edgeshot.

"Come on guys who wants to hear this kind of can crap," said Hawks. "Flightmare maybe?"

Everyone looked at him, not sure what to make of that statement.

"I like this guy, he's fun," said Cottontail.

"As always you enjoy causing a commotion," said Edgeshot narrowing his eyes.

"I just have a problem holding back sometimes," he said and snatched the microphone from the announcer. "Okay, so for talking about popularity Best Jeanist is ranked at the top thanks to the boot that he got for being in hiatus." He then began flapping his wings and flew up into the air. "I'm the runner-up, Edgeshot is third, and Hellfire sits in at fourth. I'll skip the rest.

"To be honest with you I think that the approval rating is the most important number right now. Isn't it about time that the Charts were overhauled? Don't you think that we need to change how we do things? Our great symbol is no more, at this critical juncture, why does it seem that everyone is playing it so safe? Enough of these rehash PR lines. Maybe we should stop pretending and start saying what on our minds, huh?"

"This kid was on his eyes earlier, and now this?" Rock Lock ground.

"I seriously have no idea what he's trying to achieve with this speech," said Fat Gum.

Hawks was probably the fastest achieving hero in history. He was only 18 when he started his own agency and halfway through that year he was in the top 10. He was the first pro in history to crack before the age of 20. Some people believe that he was moving too fast, but there was no denying that he got the job done.

"Is this his way of doing things or what?" said Fat Gum.

"Arrogance," Rock Lock muttered.

"Well, that's all I've got to say," said Hawks as he flew back down towards the stage. He then handed the microphone over to Hellfire. "Now let's hand over to number one, who has a low approval rating than I do."

Hellfire glared at him and snatched the microphone.

"I'm betting a lot of people can get behind what he just laid down."

"Right, how do you follow that? I don't envy Hellfire."

Hellfire then placed the microphone to his lips. "Since this child decided to fan the flames, I won't say much. So instead, just watch what I do."

The audience just sits there in silence, not sure what to make of his small speech. Only one person was clapping, and that was Hawks, and no one could tell whether he was mocking Hellfire or praising him.

At the end of the Charts Hellfire had a few strong words to say to Hawks.

"Sorry if I throw you for a loop, man," said Hawks as Hellfire grabbed the helm of his jacket.

"What the hell were you thinking, boy?" Hellfire growled.

"Everyone was just spouting out the same old boring stuff, you know. I felt as if someone you make an impact."

Hellfire then placed him down. "You were trying to test me."

"Of course not, if anything I was helping you. It turned out well for you. Look I'm not a Skullcrusher super fan or anything, I never wanted to become like him. But still, I was completely shocked by his retirement, I'm not suggesting that we need another shining icon like him. It goes without saying though that we can definitely use a new leader right about now and I thought you nailed it. You sounded cool but there."

'Is he being serious or mocking me,' Hellfire wondered. "And you don't want to be this new leader yourself?"

"Are you kidding me, do I really come off as a leader? I would have more freedom down in the lower ranks somewhere in the 20s."

"People who think that this is a game infuriated me. We're done, you owe the others an apology!"

"Hold up, I've got one more thing for ya."

Hellfire then turned his back on him. "I said that we're done!"

"I want to team up with you, one case that's all. There have been some troubling eyewitness accounts in my home town. You remember those Red Death things, right?"

Elsewhere Diablo had entered an abandoned warehouse where a Red Death was hiding.

"The others before doing really understand, but I don't think you'll disappoint," he said.

At Atlanta, everyone was going about their business, and a man in a trench coat just stood there looking up at an office building.

'It's over,' he said. 'I worked at this company for three years, and today I will bring it down. Ever since I can remember, I've always put other people first. Oh, it was suffocating, but that was the old me. I've put him in the ground.'

He then looked directly at the office building. "Cursing the idiots that I worked with isn't enough. Liberate me! Liberate me! This is it! Metahuman Liberation!"

He then opened up his trench coat, revealing that he was wearing nothing underneath. The reason for this was rather simple; his metapower was rather unusual as he grew stronger the more he was embarrassed.

"Metahuman Lib—"

He didn't take more than just a few steps when Hawk struck in the back with his feathers knocking him out cold.

"I'm a little peckish so why don't we talk over some food?" Hawk suggested as he and Hellfire what casually down the street. "There's a great restaurant not too far away from here, does that sound good?"

It was that moment that a dog jumped in front of the road just as a lorry was coming. Hawks launched another one of his feathers and grabbed the dog pulling it to safety and dropping it off back at its owner.

As they walked Hellfire notice that everyone was staring at them or more precisely at Hawks. This was rather strange to him as he never really walked down the street so casually and only when out in public when he was doing hero work.

"It's Hawks!"

"You hardly ever see him out on the streets!"

"Hey-oh!" Hawks waved. He then noticed an old lady struggling with her bag as she was trying to climb some steps. "Please let me help you out with that."

He launched several of his feathers which went underneath the bag and lifted off the ground.

"Thanks so much," she smiled.

By now Hawks had a huge crowd surrounding him.

"Congrats on making second, man."

"I watched it live, if you don't cool it, you'll start making enemies."

"Is that so?" he smiled.

A young woman then quickly rushed over to him holding her phone. "Hey, Hawks selfy?"

"Say cheese," Bob smiled as he posed.

"Excuse me, but can my son get an autograph?" a woman asked.

"Hey, that looks like a nice backpack," said Hawk as he can get from the boy. "You sure that I can write on it?"

The boy merely nodded excitedly.

"What's your name?"

"Erik."

"Okay, Erik. Have a good one."

"Thanks, you're so awesome!"

"You made his day," said his mother. "Thank you."

Hellfire just stood there watching, and he noted that he had gained quite a crowd.

"It's Hellfire."

"He looked scary up close, right?"

"He's just so intimidating."

"Perfect chance to grab an autograph, right?"

"No way."

"I thought you said that you liked him."

"Yeah, but I couldn't talk to him."

Hellfire heard the conversation started to make his way towards them.

"Oh crap, he's coming our way what do we do?"

"What? This is nuts! His new costume is so cool!"

Hellfire then extended his hand to the boy. "There's no reason for you to be frightened."

The boy just looked at him, terrified. "Oh man, Hellfire doesn't do fan service. Being mean is what makes him so cool."

His friends just looked at him. "Whoa, you're a hard-core fan, huh?"

"This is terrible! You've changed!" the boy yelled as he ran off. "Where is the old Hellfire!"

Hellfire just stood there dumbfounded. 'That wasn't right? But I headed off fine with that kit from Meathead.'

Later that afternoon both Hellfire and Hawks were at the restaurant and Hawks insisted on ordering.

Hawks chuckled. "Oh yeah, what did you expect? It's not exactly your vibe." He then looked down at his plate, which is barely touched. "Hey, are you don't because I'm totally the rest?"

"Eat whatever you want, you glutton," Hellfire huffed.

"I know, I'm awful, right?" he said as he took Hellfire's plate. "But like I said I have no self-control. Did you know that I scattered your son after the Thawfest Festival? I mean, I admit that I had ulterior motives. Having the son of the number two hero at my agency would look pretty good. I also made the same offer with Skullcrusher's son, but he turned me down. Though it's probably for the best since your son failed his Provisional Licensing Exam, that is a pretty big mark against his brand."

Hellfire glared at him. "You know a lot for someone who didn't go to Berk."

"I stay well informed."

"Just get to the point, I didn't come all the way to Atlanta to talk about this nonsense. Tell me why I am here."

"It's like I mentioned rumours."

"I remodelled Red Death, yes?" Hellfire assumed. "Those grotesque puppets the League of Villains sends out."

"When Drago Bludvist was captured in DC they found a few dozen of those suckers too. The League has been plenty busy since then, but suspiciously no more the creatures have appeared. We might have snacked them all, or maybe Drago was hiding the rest somewhere else which could mean that the League is looking."

"Since you asked me to team up with you, I assume that you have some definitive proof and not just speculation?"

"Nope, I sure don't. Only what I'm hearing."

Hellfire looks furious and rose to his feet. "Bring me the cheque now, we're done here!"

"Sit back down, man," said Hawks calmly. "There's more to it than that, this is not the only place where Red Death have been spotted." Hellfire was about to leave, but then he suddenly stopped and looked intrigued. "But that's news for ya. There have been reported sightings across the country. Not so much that the media hasn't picked up on them quite yet, but there has been plenty of neighbourhood gossip about monsters. That kind of stuff gets filtered down to students and spreads fast."

Hellfire looked at him. "What is it, you know?"

"The first time I heard about one, I was on a trip talking to some locals. I looked through the case with help from the police, a quiet investigation. We couldn't find anything, though, we came up dry. But it may be a little curious, so I flew around the country, did some digging on my own."

"That so."

"Some details were different, but similar rumours were popping up areas were completely unconnected with each other. Still, there was no proof only talk. Now, this is just my opinion, but after the incidents at Berk, New York and DC everyone knows how creepy these genetically engineered beasts are and they're getting worried. I think some idiot is telling scary stories to stir up the public, drumming up panic and trying their best to spread it across the country.

"You heard that flasher, he yelled about Metahuman Liberation. That ring a bell? It's from the villain biography that was recently republished, pretty popular right now. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what influenced him, actually. Those kinds of books are always going to sell better once society is ill at ease. Fear is good for business."

"Cut the crap," Hellfire snapped. "I am tired of you dancing around the point. What is it that you want?"

"For you to become a dependable leader, now that your number one," said Hawks simply. "I want you to figure out if there's any truth to these rumours and if not stand proud and tell everyone there's nothing to worry about. I going to keep doing my thing, I don't know if you got this from my Chart speech, but basically, I see myself as your producer."

"Moron," Hellfire growled.

"I just wanna take it easy and have some fun, I like to go on leisurely patrols and complain that nothing exciting happened and tucked myself into bed at night. Doesn't that sound like the perfect life? My goal is to make this world where heroes have too much time on their hands."

Hellfire then looked out the window and saw something heading towards them at incredible speed.

Hawks noticed it as well. "Well, that's not good."

The waitress then took that moment to enter with a tray of drinks. "Excuse me, here your drinks—"

"No, don't come any closer!" Hawks yelled.

Then something smashed right into the window and Hawks quickly shielded the waitress with his wings to prevent the glass from hitting her. Staring directly at them was a Red Death, and it was looking at them viciously.

"Which of you is strongest?" it asked.

"Go Hawks, evacuate them!" Hellfire yelled.

"All over it, but what about you?" Hawks asked.

"It looks like they were rumours, this is turning out to be my lucky day," said Hellfire as flames covered his fists. "After all, I want to know more about these things, right?"

He then swung his fist at the Red Death on launch a concentrated burst of flames that sent the Red Death flying. He then jumped outside and began floating in midair thanks to the flames beneath his feet to provide with another thrust to get airborne.

"Come on, I'll show you who is strongest here," said Hellfire.