Astrid Hofferson, or Deadly Nadder as the people of Dragon's Edge knew her, sat alone on the roof of tall building overlooking the ocean.
This had been their spot.
A year and half ago this whole thing started, fifteen months ago she was on the road to being blissfully in love, and two months ago it all went wrong thanks to one glory hound. And here she was still waiting for a few hours everyday for him to miraculously show back up.
Sometimes she wished she never fell in love with a super villain.
It all started like any other day in the life of a super hero: She did her patrols, stopped a few petty crimes, and rolled her eyes when her self proclaimed nemesis popped up for his weekly beating.
Night Fury was a gadgeteer: an ordinary human that use advanced technology to level the playing field against supers, his favorite toy was his pair of pitch black gloves that conducted a plasma based flame that he used in hand to hand combat. Granted he never managed to seriously hurt Astrid but he got a few good hits and burns over the three years they'd been fighting. He was an anomaly among villains in that his plans always had the potential to cause great harm, but they were always foiled relatively easily; and when she beat him or stopped his plans he was never upset, almost like he was just in it for the fun. A theory that was supported by his inane proficiency at escaping any detainment method she tried on him, she'd restrain him in different ways then turn to check on the civilians that had been in trouble and when she turned back around he'd be gone. The civilians were another example of his oddity as a villain as they were always surprisingly complimentary of him after being held captive, sharing stories of him providing both snacks drinks while they were being held hostage; one time a man was even allowed to call his boss and explain why he wouldn't be in to work that day, and a pregnant woman had been released safely at the hospital when her water broke. What kind of villain did that?
However on this one particular day eighteen months ago he pulled a new stunt, having several civilians held hostage in a building with a repurposed demolition implosion device under their feet. His demands were simple, he and her fight, no powers, one on one and if she had any other supers try to canvas for the bomb he'd set off others that were strategically placed around the district. Needless to say he had her in a bind in terms of finding the bombs so she had agreed, even let him place a stolen dampening cuff on her to suppress her ability to generate and fire spikes from her forearms. The fight lasted much longer than she expected, he agreed to reveal the civilians location if she beat him but she had to agree to do one thing of his choosing(he had a signed and notarized statement that it would be nothing inappropriate ready to show for her). He appeared to have been training, either that or he'd lost all those times to study and memorize her fight patterns, and he was giving as good as he got; for a moment he even had Nadder pinned and could have won but he declared he needed to take a moment and enjoy the feeling of beating her. She used that moment to get free and turn the tables, forcing him back on the defensive while she planned out how she was going to win. Strategy was never her forte, but it was definitely his, she had seen the reports of times he'd teamed with Hunter-mind and worked other heroes to the limits of their capabilities through cunning tricks and traps. She knew he was smart enough to pull any number of tricks, so the young hero hoped her employing more tactical strategy would catch him of guard.
Turned out it did, but he lost on a technicality by tripping over a rock and wound up being pinned down without mercy. The villain pouted but honored his agreement, removing the suppression cuff and giving her a slip of paper with the address and floors where the bomb and hostages were located; of course when she got there the civilians had no clue they were in any danger and had in fact been throwing a birthday party for one of them curtesy of an anonymous benefactor(Deadly Nadder had rolled her eyes, at least he was consistent). After that the only thing left were the other bombs which Night Fury conveniently forgot to disclose the locations of, Astrid face palmed herself when she realized that; so she coordinated with local police and laid out a search grid. She ended up stationed waiting on the roof across the street from the one they did have in case anything went wrong while EOD worked to diffuse it.
While she was doing this a water bottle tapped her shoulder. Smirking to herself she took it without hesitation thinking her former partner Heather, or Razorwhip, was checking up on her; not an uncommon occurrence after they went their separate ways so she could watch over her reformed villain brother. However when Nadder turned around she was mask to mask with Night Fury, he assured her that the water was safe and even provided a receipt for it to assuage her concerns. "I just wanted to talk. Three years of fighting and I have no other motivation to fight you other than you're a hero." He'd told her as he sat beside her and took a long pull from his own bottled water, Astrid narrowed her eyes and kept her guard up expecting a trap; Night Fury didn't entirely disappoint. With a sigh he pulled a small grey device with a single green button on it, "Either we can sit here and talk like two adults, or I can press this and all the bombs go boom." With fists clenched the heroine agreed again to his terms.
And before she knew it the sun had set and she hadn't even noticed. She had actually enjoyed the talk, nothing serious had been disclosed, mostly irritations with other heroes/villains and always subbing their real names with their super monikers; but she had actually laughed for the first time in years. She hadn't even realized how how much of a toll hero work took on her social life until a villain literally trapped her into conversation. As this thought occurred to her, Fury stood and stretched his back, causing it to pop a few times. "Well I'd say that was an effective way to spend some time. Let's do it again sometime... without the need for me to make empty threats." He stated as he tossed the small device to her, she caught it revealing that it was a garage opener... without batteries.
"Wait!" She had shouted as he walked toward the other side of the roof, "What about the other bombs? Where are they?"
Night Fury stopped and scratched the back of his head, "Oh... right... Yeah they don't exist, that was just a bluff to get you to agree to the fight. Sorry about that. Also those EOD guys can pack up and go home, that implosion device is a dud." The man said quickly before leaping off the side of the building. Looking back Astrid couldn't blame him as she was understandably annoyed with the revelation.
That first encounter soon became routine oddly enough. Night Fury would show up with some crazy plan or another that was foiled easier than usual and afterwards they met on the roof of the building Astrid was currently sitting on and talk while enjoying the sunset over the sea. The second time he'd brought ice cream, their chat had veered into childhoods again never using their real names, over the course of the next three months they became close... it was after another fight where he showed up after with a pizza(pepperoni and bacon, her favorite) that she kissed him.
That's when things became complicated... Traditional dating was out of the question, neither knew the other's secret identity and they couldn't well be seen in public as a couple in full costume and masks. So they compromised, Night Fury often picked up something nice that they could eat on what had become their spot and she would bring a blanket and sometimes candles, Night Fury even cooked for her every now and again. Their relationship moved faster than most due to the secrecy required, and it reflected in her civilian life. Heather noticed her newfound happiness and was eager to dig into her best friends love life, taking great pleasure in making up ridiculous scenarios when Astrid said she just wanted to have her boyfriend just to herself for awhile. Even now she found it humorous that Heather probably found it more acceptable for her to be having a torrid love affair with a married man or government official than she would the reality that she was involved with a villain.
After several dinner dates Night Fury came up with a crazy plan that Nadder couldn't help but laugh at yet still go along with, and so they donned trench coats and fedoras to attend a movie they both wanted to see and had their first real date in public, all the while looking like the teenage mutant ninja turtles trying to disguise themselves. It pushed them in a new bolder direction, Night Fury started openly flirting with her during their 'fights' he even admitted after one that they were just his excuse to see her at that point. In one standout situation he was working with Hunter-mind while she was helping Razorwhip and both of the other parties had noticed, Astrid hadn't even realized that she'd been flirting back until afterwards when Heather stated they been acting like a reverse Batman Catwoman and how she was tempted to tell them to just bang already.
Little did her friend know the repercussions that comment would have. They'd been together for nearly five months at that point and more than once had things gotten heated on their little patch of rooftop, naturally only knowing each other's super identity made any kind of coupling a tricky matter; her home in the Village of Heroes wasn't an option and his lair wasn't exactly the most secure place since there were other villains that had free access, so they had to get creative. Fury made special encrypted messaging devices(they were modified beepers) and she rented a very nice hotel room with a balcony that he later climbed in through. Over the next three days Deadly Nadder wasn't seen for her patrols and there was a report of a concerned villain named Treacherous A going around Dragon's Edge asking civilians if they'd seen Night Fury; complete with missing posters. The pair had a good laugh about it, but Astrid could tell that despite the enjoyable new development in their relationship that Night Fury was disappointed that they had kept their masks on for the entirety of their impromptu holiday.
To his credit the man never pushed her to reveal herself to him, he was respectful of anything she wasn't comfortable with, only ever giving her a small prod on things she was on the fence about; usually ending with her giving in. But revealing her identity to a villain? Even if they were in a relationship and had recently become lovers that was a tall order, even more so than the physical aspect as it required absolute trust that he would never use it against her. And sadly she couldn't say that just yet, he was still engaged in villainous behavior, even if it was just to free her up for a date; he was still in close contact with several big players in the villain life. The leader of the Heroes simply known as The Chief, had intel that said Fury had connections to Drago Bludvist; a man he'd been hunting for over two decades after the madman had killed his wife; rumor had it that his dogged pursuit had even destroyed his relationship with his son. So could she as Deadly Nadder take that chance?
She did her best to express these thoughts to her boyfriend when he inquired about the possibility a few months later, it ended with him leaving rather upset and her choking back some tears as he did. After that he didn't show up for several weeks, and on her patrols Deadly Nadder was less lenient with the petty criminals, many being found by the police pinned by their clothes upside down with a broken bone or two. When he did finally show up again it was mostly like before their romance had begun, he was quiet during the fight and didn't respond to her attempts at flirting; and when he was beaten he simply vanished before she could quietly plead him to meet with her at their spot. She took the chance and went there regardless and when she saw his tall lanky frame in the setting sun she swore that breath had never felt better in her lungs than in that moment.
Despite the relief of him being there the issue was not resolved, that much was clear when she stood beside him and he continued to stare out over the bit of ocean they'd claimed as their own when they met here. Astrid knew this had the potential to tear them apart and the very thought was more painful then any blow she'd received from supervillain's over her tenure as a hero, she had to make it right. "Close your eyes for me." Night Fury said suddenly, causing her to jump a bit, she gave him an odd look which he cocked an eyebrow at; she closed her eyes. "Now give me your hands for a second." He spoke again after a brief pause, this request she had no qualms with as she slid her smaller hands into his.
He gently held them palm up in his hand as he lifted them up, before she could ask what he was doing she felt his cheeks in her hands. He guided them further up and she was surprised to feel nothing but skin, his mask covered everything above his nose so when she felt his closed eyes her mind was of two voices arguing over the opening of her eyes. Of her own accord she moved her hands higher, feeling strands of hair that she only caught glimpses of during their trysts in hotel rooms; she took full advantage of running her hands through it. Alas all good things come to an end as she felt him tug the mask back into place, her arms dropping back to her sides and eyes opening moments later when he let her know his mask was back in place.
"Why did you do that?" She asked, after last time when he'd left in anger she was actually afraid he might end things, especially with how he'd been acting during the 'business fight' they'd just had.
"Because I want you to know who I am. And I understand that you have your reservations, the very rumor of you and me could get you tossed out of the hero community; but I think what we have is worth that risk, and even sacrifice if it comes to it..." Night Fury turned back to the ocean again as the sun finished setting. "I'm not going to attack again for a month. That time will be for you, think over all this..." he indicated the space between the two of them, "If you feel the same way then I'll be waiting here, with my mask off. And if you can trust me with who you really are under yours then I'll leave the entire super life behind, my only connection to it being you. If not... well then I'll know what's most important to you." Both looked at the gravel roof under their feet at the implication. "I'm in love you Nadder, and I want to share more than just a part of my life with you for a few hours either here or in some soulless hotel room, I'm not asking you to leave the hero life and I never will, but I can't go on with just this small portion of your life. I'm willing to give you mine if you'll do the same." He'd taken her hands again at some point, she couldn't have guessed when she'd been too absorbed in his emerald green eyes during the declaration of love. "Take your time and think about it, I promise I'll respect whatever decision you make; and either way my time as your villain will be over." With that he placed a lingering kiss on her cheek and left silently.
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The next day she spilled everything to Heather. Her friend took it well all things considered, she was only frozen in shock for fifteen minutes before her brain jump started and her surprised shout of "WHAAAAAA!!!!" only drew the attention of everyone in the bakery they were in. Astrid decided it was best they get their pastries to go.
Upon returning to Heather's apartment in Berserk, Astrid took her time and explained the process of her relationship with Night Fury and how they'd kept it secret for over a year. Her bestie of course didn't need to be told where Astrid was those three days she had gone missing, or why she was taking it easy in her workouts for a couple days afterwards; always trust her best friend to focus on the fact she was getting laid.
Finally the blonde reached their 'argument' and the choice she'd been given. "Well Ast, I cant tell you what to do here; you either love this guy enough or you don't." Heather said in an uncharacteristic display serious thought. "But if you want my two cents I'd say go for it. You've been so much happier this past year and while I'm not thrilled you've been secretly banging a villain for at least half of it; if he makes you genuinely happy then nothing else really matters. Being a hero is great and all, but honestly I don't think I'd still be doing it if I didn't have Dagur to come home to at the end of the day. He's a former villain and may be an idiot a lot of the time, but he's my brother and that makes everything I do out there worth it because I can always come to him when it get to be too much. And he sometimes has a perspective I lack; so that's always handy. Anyway, it's your decision, and I've got your back no matter what." Her friend gave her a thumbs up before her reformed brother let out a loud snore from the couch where he was napping before flipping over and landing face first on the carpet. He never woke and just kept snoring away as his sister rolled her eyes affectionately.
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When Astrid returned home she did exactly as Night Fury asked her, she thought. Getting Gronckle to cover her patrols for a few days freed her to sit in her small abode in the Village of Heroes and go over every faucet of her relationship with the man, what she found didn't surprise her at all: she was in love with him too. The very thought of ending there relationship was like stabbing her brain and heart simultaneously with a knife. Then she thought about what Fury had said about spending his life with her, and not just behind the mask; it sent a thrill of excitement that she'd only ever felt with every step forward taken in their relationship surged through her and she had her answer, she was ready to commit everything to him, no more secrets. After all there were other heroes like Heather who lived outside the Village of Heroes usually with their spouses or other family members, no reason Astrid couldn't be like them. She could even get more room to decorate... she really hoped Night Fury liked having an axe hanging on the wall.
Once her decision was made the only thing left to was wait for him to show up again, she still had a couple of weeks left and suddenly wished they had kept those modified beepers for more than just the hotel weekends. She spent her time working out, and returning to her patrols; something that always had her keeping an eye out for him just in case. She found herself having a difficult time focusing on anything that wasn't physical activity; her mind was constantly counting the days until he made his reappearance.
Turns out Astrid wasn't the only one who missed her MIA boyfriend, there was a new special on his extended absence and whether or not he'd been defeated once and for all. She couldn't help but smile when people who'd be a 'hostage' were interviewed, because they all treated him as if he was their best friend who got him out of work for a day, even the pregnant woman made an appearance holding her son. She hoped someone put it online so she could watch it privately.
Finally a week and a half after the special he made his grand re-entrance. Piloting a large robot that was obviously just for show. The best part of the entire ordeal was the civilian's reaction, instead of running in fear they all cheered as if a local celebrity had come back home to visit. Deadly Nadder swooped on scene with an unstoppable grin on her face as they engaged in fisticuffs on the robot's head. It was all for show as well as he acted grievously wounded from a playful jab, her smiled broadened and she played along, even placing her foot on his side like a hunter after taking down a particularly large buck.
And then it all came crashing down around her.
Suddenly two large steel beams flew from the nearby construction site, slamming Fury who was still laying down pretending to be prone and curved around him and piercing the robot head to trap him like a restraining harness. Before she could ask what happened a muscular man in a hero costume landed beside her and struck a horribly smug pose for the cameras; Astrid vaguely remembered him as a recently accepted hero, she hadn't paid much attention to his super name or his powers. "Worry not luv, Trapper is on the scene to make sure this ne'er do well is properly handed off to the authorities this time!" He proclaimed loudly in his British accent before he swept Astrid in his arms and planted his lips on hers.
Time froze in that moment but not because it felt good, in fact the kiss was so sloppy she actually thought he might be trying to devour her face, but because she had to focused in order to not reflexively shoot spikes from the entirety of her arms. Unfortunately that meant Trapper had a few seconds where he was free to try and pry her mouth open with his tongue. When she finally reigned in control she shoved the larger man off her and followed up with a quick punch to the jaw. "What the hell are you doing!? You call yourself a hero then sexually assault me like that? What the hell!?" The crowd didn't seem to appreciate his antics either as they started booing and several cups and popcorn buckets(both bearing chibi versions of Deadly Nadder and Night Fury fighting) were hurled at the man and he was soon covered in soda and soggy popcorn. Astrid quickly turned around to apologize to Night Fury but it was too late, the bars had been melted in the middle and he was gone. She'd gone to their spot and waited until midnight.
He never showed.
And now everyday for the last two months she's come here to what was their rooftop and waited for an hour after sunset, but he's never shown up. Trapper, had been harangued by The Chief and the other senior heroes and made to give a public apology as well as a good faith tour around the city. Heroes having an HR department really saved his hide, almost as much as Forge-arm warning the Brit to give her a wide berth for his own safety.
The sound of a pair of boots hitting the gravel had Astrid spinning so fast any normal person would have gotten whiplash, she tried to hide her disappointment when she found the silver suit of Razorwhip instead of the pitch black and brown armor of Night Fury. "He still hasn't showed or tried to contact you at all?" Her friend asked in a sympathetic tone that would get her punched if it had involved any other subject, as the blonde merely shook her head but didn't move, she had another hour to wait today. "Maybe it's time that you stop waiting? I know this might sound a bit heartless, but you're hurting yourself more everyday he doesn't show. Maybe only come once a week for awhile? Then a month? You know ease yourself out of it?" Astrid wrestled with her temper, Heather's words came from a place of care and were well intentioned.
"I just can't let him go yet Heather... I was gonna do it... show him who I am, tell him I love him, maybe even talk about our future together. I've never been great with expressing my emotions, but he brought it out of me...". Astrid gave a humorless chuckle at the thought that just occurred to her, "A villain made me a better version of myself, maybe the best version of myself. And now I may never get the chance to truly show him that version all because that muttonheaded Trapper thought he could boost his popularity by trying to make it seem like I was infatuated with him. Gods what an ass...
"So is that all that brings you out here? You know you could just as easily conveyed that over the phone." Astrid asked the dark haired girl who had kept herself safely out of arm reach up to this point.
"Actually, no. The Chief wants everyone to report to headquarters, something about these new comm bracelets they handed out a few weeks ago. Yours has been off, so I figured you were here waiting for your bad guy." Heather explained, the hero Deadly Nadder looked at the bracelet that blended in with her sky blue costume, it had greatly improved how the heroes relayed information to one another with how it tapped into and secured their comm channels and even had holographic display; calling it just a comm bracelet felt a bit like an insult to its creator.
"And the him being The Chief he won't start until everyone is accounted for." It wasn't a question but Razorwhip nodded regardless. "Ugh, fine. Don't think he's showing up tonight anyway. I just wish I could find a way to tell him that it was all a stunt by Trapper, but he doesn't watch the news! He thinks it's all puff pieces and doomsday stories, which granted it usually is in Dragon's Edge, but still." The pair leapt to the neighboring rooftop as began the journey to the base of every hero in a thirty mile radius.
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"Ah finally we're all gathered!" The Chief boomed as they walked into the main atrium of Headquarters, a large open area with a fountain depicting a man and dragon making peace, meant to be a symbol of the goal all heroes strive to make a reality. All the local heroes were present and giving their leader the attention his sonic voice powers commanded, Deadly Nadder spotted Gronckle with the Zippleback Twins and Monstrous Nightmare not to far away. "I know you all have been speculating why I called you in so suddenly. Well my friends it is all to do with your nifty new communication bracelets that we've been field testing the last few weeks." The Chief ignored the numerous chuckles at his outdated use of the word 'nifty' including from those at the top of the stair case that lead to the headquarters proper behind him. Clearing his throat, he continued at a slightly power enhanced level; "These devices were actually built right here in house; an acquaintance of myself and Forge-arm came and built them as an audition of sorts. And as a result of using them we've noticed a 5% increase in efficiency the last two weeks, so as of today I'm am welcoming him into our base as our new co-quartermaster, please join me in welcoming the newest member of our team: Hiccup Haddock." The Chief announces with a flourish of his arm toward a svelte young man in his early twenties, probably around Astrid's age, with messy auburn hair and green eyes.
For someone who just scored a dream job of building tech for heroes the young man didn't look overly enthused, in fact his expression didn't change much except for when he nodded at Forge-arm and politely waved to the applauding crowd. It wasn't until he walked past The Chief that Astrid noticed the hero seemed uncomfortable with the situation as he awkwardly tried to pat the younger man's shoulder but stopped before his hand made contact. Their leader watched their new tech hand disappear through the door towards Forge-arm's work area before he turned back to the crowd of supers, "Well alright then, starting tomorrow Hiccup will be available for consultations on upgrading your gear and costumes. He isn't enhanced himself so he can only work so fast, please try not to overwork him or expect miracles of him; the lad is extremely talented but only human. That's all for today, so unless you have need of me you're all free to go about your business." Finishing his address the large man turned to his close friend Forge-arm and the two left while talking quite animatedly to one another, but Astrid was looking at the other door that Hiccup had vanished through.
a thought occurred to her that sparked a small fire of hope: If he was smart enough to build their new comm system then maybe, just maybe he was good enough to find a way to track Night Fury's tech.