A/n: couple quick shout outs to some reviewers: Permanent Guest godspeed83. This ones for you kids!

Oh and Permanent Guest, easy on the potential spoilers friend!

Hiccup sighed as he put his soldering iron away. He really should apologize to her.

It wasn't Nadder's fault he was in such a foul mood, no that honor belonged to his absentee father. Nearly twenty years of neglect and suddenly he wants to have a relationship? Hiccup is usually slow to anger, but the call casually inviting him to have dinner this evening as if they had done it every week for years? No amount of mental fortitude could contain the animosity that welled up within him.

Of course only minutes after he had harangued the man and slammed his phone on the table to get himself under control, did his favorite heroine walk in to invite him to lunch. Normally he'd jump at the chance, but today just reminded him of the phone call he'd just had and caused the rage to resurface. It took all he had to keep himself in control to decline, only for Nadder to push more. In the end, slamming his fist down was unintentional; but it had got the message across.

Hiccup made a mental note to apologize as soon as he saw her again.

And then the alarm was set off.

Instantly the doors and vents into his workshop were barred with red lasers that he had modified, effectively caving him in. Distantly he could hear the sounds of weapons fire and super powers being used, it didn't take much to out one and one together. Hiccup quickly grabbed some tools and went over to his security systems control box, ripping it open and beginning to bypass the improvements he'd made.

While he was working he heard the sounds of those using the weapons gain the upper hand on the heroes in the annex, they weren't going to last long.

"Shit."

—————

The image of herself and Night Fury hung in the air, the silence it had imposed was deafening. A part of Astrid could only think thank the gods Nightmare was unconscious so she didn't have to hear him feeling betrayed from his delusions that she was into him.

Hunter-Mind watched the expressions that were surely dancing across her face, she had no idea that there was any evidence of her relationship with the missing villain to be used against her. The picture was authentic, that much she knew; the smear of oil on her right pauldron was from one of Fury's messier excuses to see her; they'd been covered in oil and spent the majority of the evening helping each other clean their costumes and sharing kisses like the one displayed. It was a happy memory, and Hunter-Mind was using it against her.

The Chief, who was hogtied and gagged beside her, was switching between confused and enraged; whether at her or Hunter-Mind was debatable. Astrid knew no matter what happened now that her time as a hero was over, even if the others were convinced that the image was doctored. With increased criticism from certain political powers and hopefuls, heroes couldn't risk a scandal like one of their own becoming romantically involved with a villain, former or otherwise. This image was damming and now that it was exposed to so many active heroes meant she couldn't continue like she had the past few months since Fury vanished.

"Where did you get that image?" She asked

"It was saved in Fury's most heavily encrypted files. It took my shunt program over three months to crack, it also had a back up security measure that was a recorded message from Fury begging me to not look in it and another begging me never to show it to anyone." Hunter-Mind answered, "But I need to find my friend, and you are the only lead I have. I didn't want to do this."

Astrid felt a mix of anger and sympathy, "Well I'm afraid you've disregarded his wishes in vain, I really don't know where he is. If I did then I'd be there with him, but that day he used the giant robot? The day that muttonhead Trapper made his debut?" Everyone ignored Trapper's shout of indignation, "That was the last time I saw him. We were going to have a serious conversation about our future afterwards, but because of that idiot Fury never showed and I've been trying to find any lead myself. Sorry you wasted your time."

Hunter-Mind sighed sadly, it was the most emotive she'd ever seen the villain. He looked genuinely upset that he wasn't any closer to finding Night Fury.

Then the lights cut out and security shutters closed around the windows.

It didn't take long for the emergency lights to kick on, the dark red lights didn't really aide visibility since they were meant for actual emergencies. Even at only five feet apart Hunter-Mind was little more than a silhouette to Astrid, before anyone could ask what was going on the team Hunter-Mind had brought with him flipped the lights on their helmets on.

The speaker system tackled to life and a voice came over it. "Someone give The Chief my apologies, but whatever malfunction happened sorta trapped me in my workshop. Had to cut power to get out, but I'll fix it! Just as soon as I find the problem."

Astrid couldn't believe it, Hiccup was still free! Then she reran his words and realized he had no idea what was happening, the villain gestured to two of his men who promptly went to find the man. If their powers weren't currently neutralized, this would be a prime opportunity to launch a counterattack, however most were either out cold, still powerless, or just too worn down to fight the men surrounding them. Not to mention their weapons were still working just fine, so those still able to fight wouldn't last long anyway. Astrid hates feeling powerless and that exactly what she was now, both literally and metaphorically.

There was a sound of a door opening and shutting, followed by the light footsteps instantly putting everyone(heroes and attackers alike) on high alert. After a quiet moment one of the men screamed and the lights on his helmet where being dragged along the floor before the sound of a punch was heard and they cut out. "It would appear we have a straggler men." Hunter-Mind announced, "Switch to night vision and capture them!"

The lights from all the helmets went out as the men spread out, Hunter-Mind himself approached Astrid and grabbed her arm and kept her still by hold the concussive part of his weapon aimed at her. As durable as she was, a blast at this range would still kill her.

Suddenly there was another cry as one of the men was attacked from above, the men around him turned to their downed comrade only to see a figure disappearing from their field of sight before another was tackled and knocked out. This process repeated, one even being grabbed from behind and being swung around while his concussion cannon was fired three times at the others nearby. The men were falling fast, whoever it was taking them out knew exactly how to use the dark to their advantage; for a spilt second Astrid believed Batman was more than a comic book character.

In a matter of minutes it was just Hunter-Mind left, still using her as a human shield. "Show yourself hero! There's no need for Nadder here to die!" He shouted out, Astrid knew there was no alternative here; he was backed up to the wall, eliminating that possibility of an attack from behind. The sound of footsteps approaches them, stopping just out of their ability to make the person out, just a dark figure with their hands up. "Right then, just stand right there while I make sure your powers won't cause any problems." He said and switch over to the neutralizer function.

Hunter-Mind fires, but he figure leaned to he left and let the bolt of energy harmlessly fly past them. Astrid would have been impressed, but didn't get the chance as immediately afterward the person brought their hands down, a motion that was paired with them igniting in a familiar blue flame.

"Night Fury!?" Hunter-Mind asked surprise.

"Hiccup?" Astrid whispered to herself in shock.

He'd been right beside her the whole time? And he'd never come clean dispute everything she'd told him about the situation? She wanted to mad, wanted to break out of Hunter-Mind's hold and punch him for everything he put her through, but more than anything she just wanted to hug him and never let him go. She hated her girly feelings sometimes.

Hiccup didn't respond to either question, the flames in his hands seemed to condense themselves into balls of plasma right before her put his hands together and the combined ball flew forward and exploded as it connected with the wall just behind them. The pair were separated as the blast sent them reeling forward, Astrid felt a gentle pair of hands catch her and ensure she was balanced before Hiccup raced past her. His hands once more engulfed in flame, he leapt at his fellow villain and began swiping at him; Astrid could tell from her experiences with fighting him that he was just forcing Hunter-Mind back toward the hole he'd made in the wall.

Once more using the blast he'd used to free her, he launched himself at Hunter-Mind and the two flew outside through the hole; Astrid took all of two seconds to follow. She landed and saw the two standing a distance away, the fight was over but they were staring each other down, and Hiccup didn't look happy. Neither had seemed to notice her.

"I told you I was leaving the life Viggo, I don't want anything more to do with that villainy. So why have you been looking for me?" Hiccup spoke clearly.

"For someone wanting nothing to do with the life of supers, it's awfully strange to find you hiding among the heroes." Hunter-Mind responded, "I wanted to respect your choice, but not long after you left, HE returned. He's making his move soon Night Fury, this was the opportunity you've been waiting for; you can't give up now that it's within your grasp! You have allies among us!"

Whose was this 'HE' they were talking about.

"My priorities have changed, as you so kindly displayed for the entire hero community to see. I left for her, my old goals would risk her life and that's something I am no longer willing to gamble. That's why even she was unaware of my location."

He was hiding to protect her? Even from her? Astrid needed answers.

Hunter-Mind sighed, "Very well my friend... should you change your mind, do not hesitate to contact me." The villain turned to leave before remembering something and facing Hiccup once more. "Oh and consider coming back to poker nights at Al's, we all miss your skills on the grill." And with that he left.

Hiccup let out a long breath and turned to leave himself, and immediately locked eyes with Astrid. The pair were both lost in that moment, waiting for the other to act or break the silence first, both keenly award that Hiccup had just outted himself as a former villain in front of the entirety of the hero community in the Berk region. Taking a final breath he broke eye contact and began to move, he was running out of time.

What he didn't expect was for her to spring into action and chase after him. Locking her hand around his wrist, she spun him to face her; once more gazing into green eyes that she now understood why they felt so familiar. He tried to tug his arm from her grip, but she held firm, he wasn't going to be losing her easily. Knowing that the heroes were figuring out who was in condition to take action, Hiccup spoke his mind. "The other heroes are going to be coming any minute, I have to be gone when they get their act together."

The heroine didn't release her hold on him. "You lead, and I'll follow." She stated simply, sliding her hand down to lace her fingers through his own.

"Nadder, there's a chance you can sidestep the backlash against you. Tell them it was a ploy to finally capture me for good, if they think you were playing a long game solution then they could let you off with a slap on the wrist. But me? I'll be declared a wanted man, I'll never be able to really be free; not like I wanted us to be..." He sighed, subconsciously squeezing her hand. "I'd never ask you to give up your dream."

She tugged in his hand hard and pulled him into a kiss. It was quick but didn't lack for passion, and she never let him go during the act. "I'm not going to lie about my relationship with the man I love." She said resolute, causing his jaw to drop. "Besides, the hero dream would have to end someday... The dream of a life with you won't." She told him while they rested their foreheads together

Hiccup worked his jaw several times before he found his voice. "Ast..."

"HICCUP!!!"

Both of their heads shot up and looked toward the hole in second story of the wall. The Chief did not sound please. Hiccup grabbed her hand and the pair took off with great haste. "And that happened..."

It wasn't until this moment that something occurred to Astrid, with his hand in hers. His bare hand. He wasn't wearing the gloves that produced the flame he'd been so favorable towards over their history as herovillain. Playing the events of the last half hour in her mind revealed that he wasn't wearing them at any point during the attack.

Hiccup wasn't a gadgeteer, he was a super.