Chapter 6:
"What's that on your necklace?" Hiccup pointed at Emma's chest, a piece of clear, glass-like material dangled on her metal necklace.
"This?" Emma unhooked her necklace and put it in her right palm. "Just a piece of glass, quite sharp. My grandpa gave it to my mom when she was a little girl, and my mom gave it to me when I was a little girl."
"Hogan Don VischKwades?" Hiccup looked at the glass, eyelash trembled imperceptibly. "Can I take a closer look at it?"
"Sure, it's not something special. Just a little bit stained."
After receiving the necklace from Emma, he put it under the light on his table. He tilted the glass, trying to get a better view. The glass didn't reflect light.
"What?" Seeing Hiccup's attention so absorbed by her necklace,
"This… is not a piece of some stained glass," Hiccup murmured slowly. He ran his thumb across the smooth surface of the material in his hand. The stains on the glass surface could be observed by eye, but Hiccup couldn't feel them with his finger. "Did Hogan say anything about this… glass?"
"I don't know. He gave it to my mom first. My mom didn't tell me a thing, just told me this is a piece of glass from my grandpa," Emma moved closer to Hiccup. "You found something, Mr. Genius?"
"Too dense," Hiccup stood up, walked to his microscope, and placed the glass under the lens. "Shit, I need the CPM."
"What's that?"
"Computer Powered Microscope. Something like a mix of a microscope and a computer," Hiccup rushed to his drawer like an insane monkey who found a banana tree. From the drawer, he took out a microscope with wires and a displayer. "Fishlegs and I created this. Well, not really created, we just found a way to connect a magnifying scope and a computer together and made a few tweaks. This baby can magnify 5000 times and identify the ingredients. Just a little bit inaccurate."
"O..ok," Emma followed Hiccup to his table.
"Usually, glass is 75% silicon dioxide and some other stuffs like calcium oxide, you know that, right?" Hiccup asked while plugging the wires together. "And glass is amorphous, and it should be able to reflect and refract light."
"Yes, I know that," while listening, Emma removed her green headband and ran her fingers through her hair.
"This one doesn't reflect light," Hiccup flicked the glass.
After Hiccup placed the scope above the glass and adjusted the focus, the displayer lightened up, and little dots showed up on the screen. Little dots showed up on the screen, and the computer automatically labeled them as "unknown molecule". The dots moved together like a wall or phalanx. Air molecules tried to penetrate through this "wall", but the "unknown molecules" pushed them back. Hiccup's eyelashes shook as this took place before his eyes.
"Those are the molecules. Very compact, but also very organized and… active," Hiccup pointed at the dots on the screen. "I have never seen molecules that organized before. They look like one giant molecule instead of millions of tiny ones."
"So, what does that mean?" Emma sat on the other side of the table, resting her arms on the table, looking straight at Hiccup.
"That means this piece of… something is not glass," Hiccup turned "Are you sure Hogan told you this is glass?"
"My mom told me this is glass, and she told me that her dad, my grandpa, told her," Emma shrugged. "I'm not sure if there was any misunderstanding."
"Anyway, this is not our main focus of this project," Hiccup sighed and withdrew the clear material from under the lens and handed back to Emma. "Hold on to your glass, and maybe we can go deep into that after this project."
"You know, you are pretty attractive when you are focusing on something," Emma walked around the table and laid her hand on his shoulder. Hiccup and whispered with a smirk.
"That's off-topic," not even looking at the girl, Hiccup stood up, unplugged his displayer and magnifying scope, and threw them into a drawer.
"Brandt, you remember when two engineers stoled your gears? I was on the second floor laughing at you," a guard smiled as his memory came back to him.
"Shut up, Alex," Brandt hit his friend in the stomach with his P90. "It was all your fault that we are here in the wild."
Brandt and Alex, two security guards of Muspelheim, were assigned to patrol the Road that linked Asgard with the outside world. This paved road was the only way getting to Asgard. The only other choice was to go through the uncharted, miserable, and dangerous forest of the Appalachian Mountains. Even though "patrolling the Road/" sounds simple, usually this work was a punishment for guards who violated a rule or multiple rules, the Road extended for more than two miles, surrounded by the trees of Appalachian Mountains, completely isolated from the world. The dense tree branches and leaves totally blocked the sky, only a few light beams could reach the ground. People who walked on this Road would feel like they were on another planet, disconnected from society.
"Who told you to leave the arsenal's key at the main entrance?" Brandt bellowed.
"An engineer," Alex replied. "She told me that she had orders from Helga."
"You idiot, that was a trick! I know you are new here, but you know that they do this all the time, right? Just ignore them or throw a few punches."
"I know, but if that was really Helga's order, we won't just be patrolling the road right now. She'll beat us up. You should know that, right? You've been a guard here for more than five years," Alex reminded his friend.
"That's kind of true," Brandt adjusted the sling of his weapon, trying to find a more comfortable position.
Even though the duo trash talked as they patrolled the Road, their eyes still searched through the trees and bushes, trying to find potential threats.
"But… fuck this," Alex complained. "Now I know why all the guards told me to get away from patrolling the Road."
"Why?"
"Too lonely. What can you encounter in the wild? Just miles and miles of fucking forest," Alex yelled. "I want to be a lumberjack."
"Now you are regretting your choice?" Brandt laughed, punched his friend on the elbow. "Get used to this. You'll be doing this very often. Helga has an iron fist, or she rules her division with an iron fist, literally an iron fist."
"So, is she very strict?"
"No, not strict," Brandt whispered by Alex's ear as if Helga was listening. "Tyranny, you know."
"How?"
"Because you are new here, so she gave you the lightest punishment of leaving the key outside," Brandt patted his friend. "Another unlucky boy called Roos, a six-feet-one, over-muscular man, and Helga literally beat the shit out of him because he refused to follow her order."
"No way! That's a joke. There are similar stories in the place that I came from."
"Well, that's a fact in Muspelheim," Brandt unbuckled the radio on his belt and pressed a button. "Roos, this is Brandt."
"Come in," the radio crackled.
"Tell our new man Alex about how badly Helga beat you up," Brandt said.
"Shut up, don't tell that to Alex," Roos yelled. "That's a scar that I'll never be able to forget. That woman is like Atalanta herself."
"Atalanta? I thought Hippomenes fixed her problem. Weren't you bragging that you are Hippomenes before she beat you up, Mr. Professional boxer?" Brandt laughed. "By the way, Alex is right beside me."
"Fuck you, Brandt."
Then the radio silenced.
"You know, Roos is a former professional boxer, but Helga can still win him easily," Brandt shrugged.
The duo kept walking down the Road, still trash-talking and "Helga cursing". When they reached a turn, a person wearing a black trench coat entered their vision.
"Watching out, incoming," Alex whispered as he loaded his SRM 1216 shotgun.
The person was a female with blond hair and sky blue eyes wearing a pair of black tactical boots. Her footsteps were loud and clear, filled with confidence. Her eyes stared at the front, hands in her pockets. Brandt and Alex looked at each other, both confused. She doesn't look like an invader nor a tourist who wandered into this place. She looked more like an executioner.
"Hey, gal, this is a private property," Brandt warned loudly the female as he chambered his P90. "Now turn around and get out of here."
Astrid didn't stop nor turn around, yet she continued walking toward Asgard, totally ignoring Brandt.
"Did you hear me? I told you to turn the fuck around and get your ass out of here," Brandt yelled as he blocked her path. "Or you will be shot."
"Helga, we got problems here," as Brandt yelled, Alex reported to Helga through his radio.
Astrid sighed like taking care of two naughty children. She took out her badge of DPA and raised it before Brandt's eyes. "Now get out of my way."
"Screw you," Brandt didn't retreat, and his P90 raised up. "That shit doesn't work here."
"I don't want to hurt anyone, so can you two gentlemen step out of my way?" Astrid asked politely.
"I said get your ass out of here!" Brandt's P90 pointed at Astrid's forehead, the red dot of the paper pointer on the P90 landed on Astrid's forhead. Alex, standing behind Brandt, also loaded his SRM 1216.
"Well, if you are putting things this way…" Astrid said.
She suddenly disappeared. Well, not literally disappeared, Brandt and Alex just couldn't capture her movement. After years of training, Astrid could reach a speed of 80km/h and maintain that speed for a few seconds. A few seconds were long enough for her to take care of Brandt and Alex.
Astrid threw a punch on Brandt's chest, causing Brandt to fly into the air and land face down on the paved road. Brandt curled up his body before he landed, trying to reduce the impact, but he still felt like being hit directly by a battle ram, broke at least two of his ribs.
Alex aimed his target and squeezed the trigger of his SRM 1216, but Astrid had already moved aside. The shrapnel flew into the forest and pierced through a tree branch. Birds flew scarred into the air. He took a step back, prepared to fire again.
But the shotgun slipped away from his hand. Astrid grabbed the barrel and seized the gun. She held the gun like a baseball bat, and hit Alex on the head, knocking him out.
Brandt and Alex were both former military, might receive some of the most elite training, but they still couldn't face a DPA agent.
"Hey, hey, hey! We are not here for hitting and punching!" a girl showed up behind a tree trunk. She ran to the two guards on the ground, checking their vital signs.
"Heather? I thought you are with the team," Astrid didn't expect companions. She remembered Valka and Team Foxtrot were on their way hunting for Heimdall.
"That was Valka's original plan, but she wanted someone to make sure you don't just go straight in and kill everyone, like what you have just done, so she sent me to keep an eye on you," Heather stood up, pointed at Astrid.
Heather wore a blue Yankee's baseball hat backwards and also a trench coat, but she put on a pair of slippers instead of boots.
"Why are you wearing slippers?" Astrid pointed at Heather's exposed toes. "Those are not good for hiking in the woods."
"Because when Valka assigned me this job, I was sleeping, so I didn't get the chance to fully change," Heather replied. "Anyway, I got the name from Valka. It's 'Hiccup', right? Your boy's name is Hiccup? How do you know that this so-called Hiccup will just go with you?"
"Oh, that's not a problem," Astrid laughed. "If he does not want to come with me, I'll just beat him up and throw him into a van, and drive to someplace and pretend to fuck him. I remember he would give in to anything if I use my secret trick."
"So what if he says 'yes'? " Heather asked.
"Very simple," Astrid snapped her fingers. "I'll just… you should know the answer."
"Now I know why you were shouting 'Hiccup!' in midnights," Heather smirked. "Yeah, of course, I know the answer to a so-called spitfire."
"Hey, that's not true!"
"Oh, that's not true? You got yourself another boyfriend named Hiccup?" Heather's eyes widened. "Wow, Astrid! Look at that progress!"
"That's also not true. I'm a faithful adult."
"Sure, 'faithful' is not very accurate, and you are barely an adult," Heather crossed her arms.
"Ok, enough jokes, so what do we do now?"
"I don't know. You screwed up before you even step into Asgard," Heather complained as she dragged the unconscious Alex away from the Road and hid him behind a tree.
Brandt, on the other hand, reached his shivering hand for the radio on his belt. Astrid's assault broke his ribs but didn't knock him out.
"The Road… invaders…" as he spoke, blood dripped down his mouth. His broken ribs pierced into his lungs, causing blood to burst out from his inner organs.
"Shut up," before Brandt could finish his sentence, Astrid's right instep kicked the radio away. It rolled down the Road and landed among the trees.
"Make your way back to Asgard and report this," Astrid said to Brandt as her right foot landed heavily on his knees, perhaps breaking them as well.
"Astrid! This is your last warning!" Heather tried to stop Astrid, but it didn't work.
Just one mile away, in Sam's office, Hiccup and Emma stood before the president of Muspelheim.
"I'm sorry, Hiccup, for assigning Fishlegs to England, but we don't have a choice," Sam said to Hiccup.
"Understandable," Hiccup replied, even though he was silently yelling 'go and fuck yourself'.
"Let's talk about your project," Sam leaned forward. "I'm not worried about your abilities, techniques, and knowledge of engineering. I just have a few things to remind you."
"First," Sam said. "Your research is very advanced, and not a lot of people had done that before, and Hogan Don VischKwades' team was one of them. They left their documents and manuscripts for incoming engineers who try to continue their research. Those things are locked up in a safe. I know those manuscripts are very valuable for you, but you can't use them."
"Why is that?" Emma asked. "If we have them, we don't need to start from scratch."
"Don't ask me why. Just remember that you can not use their documents and manuscripts."
"Ok, what's the next thing to remind us?"
"That's it, off you go. Good luck," Sam waved his hand.
"Uhh, I don't get it," as the duo traveled toward their lab, Emma scratched her scalp.
"Well, I guess we are on our own…" Hiccup replied carelessly. Then he paused.
Two girls wearing trench coats stood at the end of the corridor, about twenty feet in front of them, a blonde and a brunette. Trench coats were excellent tools for hiding weapons. According to the training that Asgard's guards received, Hiccup believed that those strangers should be taken out when they stepped into this building.
But the only problem was that the blonde looked familiar to Hiccup.
"As…Astrid?" Hiccup said huskily.
"That's me," Astrid replied. Her voice was low but projected clearly across the long corridor and into Hiccup's ears.
Hiccup had already realized that Astrid showed up again in his life, but listening to her sweet voice still shivered Hiccup's body. His face remained expressionless, but a drop of tear rolled down his cheek.
Emma looked at Hiccup, confused. She didn't know much about Hiccup's life, so she didn't understand Hiccup's emotion right now. If Fishlegs was watching, he would probably take out a video camera and record down this reunion.
"Come here, I know you better than anyone," Astrid said. She didn't cry nor scream like most people would do when they met with their long lost lover. Astrid just stood there.
As Hiccup advanced toward Astrid, he could see the nine-year-old Astrid standing in front of him, just like how they spent their childhood at the beach of Charleston. He had been waiting for this moment since he was nine. Almost every night he dreamed about pulling Astrid in for a hug and never let go.
Astrid stepped forward, surrounded Hiccup's neck with her arms and hugged him tightly. Before she came here, Astrid thought she could remain calm for at least a minute, but she soon realized that after seeing how much Hiccup had changed, "remain calm" was impossible.
Hiccup pulled Astrid into him, just like what he had been waiting for years. He could smell the familiar fragrant from Astrid's hair, the scent that would never fade away. He put some force to his arms, like straining Astrid with two chains, but she didn't object. When they were nine, they had the same height, but over the years, Hiccup grew at least four more inches than Astrid, so her head could barely reach his nose.
"I thought…I thought we would never meet each other again," Hiccup whispered as he sobbed. His tears wetted her trench coat.
"I'm sorry, my dear, I really am," Astrid ran her fingers through his hair, massaging her scalp. Even though she hadn't been using this skill for more than nine years, the technique that would calm Hiccup down came back to her instantly.
Under Astrid's gentle touch, the tense Hiccup slowly calmed down. His breath slowed, no longer weeping, yet he didn't let the girl go. Astrid put her left palm on Hiccup's chest, through his lab coat, she could feel his strong and dense heartbeat. Hiccup withdrew his arms from Astrid and trailed his finger along the edge of Astrid's cheek. Astrid stared at Hiccup, her eyes filled with warmth and careness. She held onto Hiccup's neck and pressed her lips on his forcefully and almost violently.
Heather had been a friend of Astrid for more than five years. They had shared secrets, fought shoulder-to-shoulder, shared the bed with each other, and saved each other's life for multiple times, so Heather believed that she knew everything about Astrid. In those five years, Astrid's eyes had been shooting daggers at almost everyone and she had always been a cold-blood killer and spitfire who was awed by everyone. But in this corridor of Asgard, Astrid first time revealed her coy and tender side. Now, witnessing how Astrid almost melted in front of Hiccup, Heather finally realized that she still didn't know Astrid well enough.
The affinity in the corridor started to attract engineers and guards. They stopped what they were doing and watched. Some of the older generations smiled and whispered to one another as if they recalled the time when they kissed their lover in front of a crowd.
"Let's get out of here and we'll talk, okay?" Astrid whispered as she realized that people started to congregate. Her eyes searched through the crowd, not reacting to the merriment atmosphere around her.
Heather notified that the way Astrid looked at the crowd differed from the way she looked at Hiccup. In front of Hiccup, she acted like a teenage girl who first met with her crush. But when other people showed up, she remained vigilant like a tiger patrolling her territory.
"I need to ask Gobber…I mean the Main Engineer for approval of absence," Hiccup replied, still hugging Astrid.
"You are excused, sir, because you are way too easy to be distracted by your girl, and if I use my authority to force you to go back to work, I believe you'll be thinking about how to lay her instead of engineering," Gobber jumped out from Thor-knows-where and cried. " Get out of here, you knuckleheads who dares to PDA in front of every best engineer in this world."
Astrid gripped Hiccup's right wrist and ran through the crowd and towards the door. Hiccup limped behind her, trying to break himself free, but her hand held on firmly like a handcuff, even disturbing his blood circulation. Hiccup had no choice. Even though his mental power and knowledge might be the top on this planet, he didn't seriously develop his physical strength.
"One dares to come and one dares to follow!" Gobber cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, followed by his loud laughter. The crowd teased the escaping duo, especially the guards. They whistle and one of them even shouted: "Don't over-exercise yourself, Hiccup!"
After entertaining the crowd and himself, Gobber calmed down and straightened his shirt. Then he unbuckled the radio on his belt and raised it before his mouth. "Helga, anyone patrolling the Road today?"
"Yeah, Brandt and Alex," after some short interferences, Helga answered. "Why?"
"Send two men to bring them back. The two girls probably knocked them out."
"How do you know that?"
"Astrid…well, you don't know their names anyway… the blond girl doesn't look like a lenient and motherly one. Her warrior sole is very conspicuous," Gobber said, staring down the corridor. "Your guards' mission is to stop any unidentified personal, so that's a conflict with her characteristic."
"Maybe, but you haven't answer my question: how do you know that? You are not from the military or anything related to that, and that means you don't have the experience to interpret it, Gobber," Helga sneered.
"You should've met her. One hundred percent pure spitfire. Anyone can feel it."
A few feet away from Gobber, Heather walked next to Emma, who stared blankly at the direction which Hiccup and Astrid left.
"Hey, you are his…helper, I suppose?" Heather asked, also looking in the same direction.
"Yeah, Assistant Engineer Emma VischKwades, recently serving Lead Engineer Hiccup Haddock," Emma replied.
"Serving?"
"Or assisting, doesn't matter which word you use. We prefer the word 'serving'."
"I see…" Heather paused. "You two didn't…"
"Oh, no, no, no," Emma laughed at the question. "I just came here a few days ago."
"Good for you, because if you two fucked, doesn't matter who wanted it first, Astrid is going to skin you herself," Heather said emotionlessly, her arms crossed on chest.
Emma glared at the brunette aside her, perplexed by Heather's apathetic admonition. Emma saw the "DPA" badge on Heather's coat, but she didn't know what was it.
"Good luck," Heather snapped her fingers as she walked towards the exit. "And do me a favor, don't get in the way of their relationship, for your own sake."
To be continued
This chapter got way out of hand. I didn't picture writing near 4,000 words when I began. You guys enjoyed reading a long chapter?
CajunBear73 - Just want you to know that I really appreciate you supporting my story. Astrid is going to have a big challenge in the future, and you'll just going to wait and see what Axl and his team are planing.
Actually, I appreciate everyone who reads my story, no matter you like it or not. ^_^
This story is going to get pretty long, and I don't really know how long it'll take me to finish it.
Updates will still be slower than usual, sorry about that.