I'm a sucker for vigilante AUs, and thought about how I could incorporate it to these two fandoms. Surprisingly, there's very few of these in both, with Hiccup in a Flash the only one I enjoyed from HTTYD. Hope you find my attempt acceptable.
Elsa was honestly surprised.
Her usual nightly patrol over the streets of Arendelle was gradually turning out to be an uneventful evening. Granted, the night is still young and anything could happen, but she fairly covered a lot of ground in the last three hours since the sun had set. She might even be able to settle in early tonight and catch a good night's sleep for once.
In fact, this entire weekend might actually be the reprieve Elsa desperately needed after the hectic drudgery in the office this past week—perhaps even more so than her 'other job'. She even managed to make it to Anna's meetup on time yesterday, much to her sister's delight. They haven't seen much of each other in over a month, with Anna starting to focus on her new job as a journalist and Elsa overseeing the preparations and design over their client's recently purchased building space here in Arendelle.
Needless to say, Elsa barely suppressed any trace of exasperation she might have felt whenever an argument would arise between the architect and contractors over cost implications and redesigns. Judging by how her co-workers would steer clear of her after she left those lengthy meetings, she may not have been entirely successful at concealing her ire. If her old therapist were there he would've likely suggested that having an outlet to vent her frustrations on is often the simplest way of achieving cathartic release.
Spending her nights beating up criminals and freezing them solid probably wasn't how he meant by that, nor was it a stable sign of her mental health that she found it way more stress relieving than the packets of peppermint tea Anna gave her.
Regardless, Elsa slept like a brick as soon as she reached her flat by Friday night; too out of it to get into costume. Saturday morning found herself devouring a tub of ice cream in bed while watching reruns of Shameless before spending the rest of her day with Anna at the mall and then stopping by Waffle Brothers Bakery for dinner. Sunday arrived with Elsa finally deciding that she'd indulged herself for long enough and got into a bit of yoga and training to keep her muscles from getting stiff after two straight days of minimal activity.
It turns out her preparations were all for naught considering it had to be one of the most peaceful Sunday nights she'd ever come across. Seriously, no one was cutting each other off in traffic, people were politely greeting one another as they passed by each other on the streets, even some of the shady bars where brawls would frequently break out looked relatively empty for the evening...
The most she'd had to exert effort in was catching some kid's balloon as it flew off high into the air.
Elsa's not complaining though. She'd trade an entire month's worth of headache inducing work if it meant more downtime for the city. While it was certainly no Berk, Arendelle does have its own fair share of criminals and petty thugs lurking beneath the city's noise and clutter. Disrupting the repetitive yet familiar backdrop of city life whenever it suits them, uncaring of the damage they cause or the lives they left ruined in their wake with little regard of the consequences.
Not that many cared to notice since Mayor Duke Weselton appeared deadset on turning her into his personal scapegoat for half the city's problems.
Just how exactly was she to blame for global warming anyway?!
Elsa shook her head clear of unpleasant thoughts as she landed on the rooftop of a nearby apartment complex. No sense in ruining her night with any more of Arendelle's divided opinion on their resident Snow Queen. She didn't do it for the fame or recognition anyway, though she can't say she doesn't appreciate her co-worker Olaf's enthusiastic, and often one-sided, discussions with Mari about her vigilante exploits in the news even if she'll never admit that out loud.
She observed the surrounding streets around her. Near empty roads spanned into alleys littered with poor lighting, serving as convenient shortcuts for the lone passerby in a hurry to escape the evening chill of the mid autumn weather.
While the cold didn't bother her—hasn't been able to for quite some time now—she still felt the instinctual need to tighten the lapels of her jacket, the leather creaking slightly with the movement of her arms crossing one another. Elsa took a deep breath and slowly let it out, exhaling a fine mist before dispersing into the air. Tension coiled around her shoulders even as the crisp evening breeze soothed her mind, driving all her worries away, even for just a moment.
Perhaps I should call it a night, Elsa mused idly as she surveyed the enclosed area one more time. Call her pretentious but maybe some higher power actually took pity on her for once and granted her a run-of-the-mill evening as a reward for all her good community service in the past.
She snorted. Yeah, right. That's about as likely as Weselton deciding to cease wearing wigs at public functions in an effort to hide his bald spot.
Still, she can't deny the tempting prospect of a warm bed this early in the night especially when she has to deal with work the following morning. And it does seem like the city is giving her a free pass just this once considering how mundane her evening has been going so far.
Elsa bit her lip in thought.
She did pass by a few patrol cars roaming the streets earlier. One of the few upsides from Weselton's slander was forcing the Arendelle Police Department to take a more proactive role in upholding the law while attempting to arrest the meddlesome vigilante doing it for them. So it's not like Elsa was leaving the city completely unprotected for the rest of the night.
Maybe she ought to—
A sudden scream split through the air.
Elsa sighed.
"I jinxed it," she muttered to herself. "Tonight was going so well and I just had to fucking jinx it."
Without a second thought, Elsa jumped off the roof.
A streak of frost burst from the palm of her white-gloved hands, freezing the moisture in the air in front of her into a solid trail of ice. Her feet landed deftly on the frozen surface and slid along the newly formed ramp. Elsa quickly skated between buildings, leaping off a few times before creating a new path, hands facing forward to provide a constant flow of ice towards the direction of the scream.
Eventually she skidded to a stop on top of a three-story building, intently scanning the streets below and straining her ears to listen for any sounds of a struggle. The flickering street lamps did little to help her vision, the faulty lighting across this side of town made it all the more difficult for her to detect the crime in progress.
Elsa cursed herself. Idiot! You should've been more vigilant! Now some helpless person out there was being mugged when she could've stopped it in the first place had she been paying attention. But no, she had to be daydreaming about her beauty sleep of all things. Her fingers clenched tightly, a wisp of frost seeping through the enclosed fist as her anxiety slowly started to crack the carefully constructed mask of the Snow Queen.
Two years have gone by and she was still making mistakes like this? Pathetic. She should've known that she could never get past that weak, naive girl who couldn't save—
Suddenly, the resounding crash of garbage cans being tipped over snapped Elsa out of her self-loathing. Her head veered sharply towards the right. The loud curse that followed afterwards made even more jarring in contrast to the peaceful ambiance moments before. She immediately ran towards that direction, crossing over several buildings until she made it to the edge of a roof overlooking an alleyway.
Below her, a group of men were surrounding a cowered woman and slowly advanced while she leaned protectively over an unconscious man. Elsa's brows furrowed as she quickly took stock of the situation.
Five men. All quite possibly armed. Two blocked one side of the alley while a large bulky figure stood guard at the opposite end. The remaining two circled the couple. She couldn't see much beyond the darkened alleyway save for the two flickering bulbs near the entrances so she can't be sure if there were more hiding in the dark.
"Your boyfriend packs a mean swing, lady. Sadly for him, Ivar here's faced tougher mucks in the ring to be offed with one punch."
"P-Please!" the woman pleaded. "Just take our money, we have nothing else!"
"Tch. 'Fraid it doesn't work that way, lass."
"Yeah, should've just given us your money and walked off when you had the chance."
"Now you've provoked the Sons of Muspelheim—"
Sons of Muspelheim?
"—and we've come to collect our toll."
Alright, that's enough dramatics.
One of the men circling the couple held a crowbar to his side, now raising it with the intent of striking down at the defenseless woman. He let out a cry of shock just as a bolt of frost struck his hand and froze the fingers enclosed around the crowbar. He barely had time to register the lack of sensation around his appendage before getting kicked to chest and sent sailing across the alleyway.
Elsa landed with a flourish, pivoting her body as soon as her feet met the ground and swung her arm in a wide arc towards the surprised thugs. Shards of ice erupted across the floor, forcing the men to backtrack away from the sharpened spikes that now separated them from the couple.
She quickly turned her attention back to the remaining thug when she felt the sudden weight of a large body barreling through her. Elsa grunted as she was shoved backwards onto the ground. Shaking her head, she spared a moment to glance up and widen her eyes at the pair of fists slamming down towards her. She instinctively threw her hands up to block the incoming blow, forming a barrier of ice from her sides just as the thick arms made contact in front of her.
The stocky man grunted and backed off, but Elsa was shocked to see cracks forming along the surface of the solid curve of ice. The mere impact of his fists somehow managing to damage her shield, if only slightly. She scrambled away and rolled back on her feet, her arms raised in a defensive crouch as she eyed her opponent warily.
Before they could exchange another blow, the sound of gunshots echoed throughout the back alley, forcing Elsa to drop and take cover along an ice wall that rose behind her. The large man also dropped his stance and hid behind a nearby dumpster just as the bullets whizzed past him.
"Stop firing, you idiots! You'll get Ivar killed. It'll be your heads the boss comes after if his lab rat gets shot by one of us!"
"But—"
"That's an order. Now, give me that you bloody—"
Taking advantage of the gunmen's hesitation, Elsa rushed ahead and gestured with her hands, coating the floor alongside the dumpster in a thin sheet of ice. She then formed a heavy ice block that she propelled with such force that it slammed the dumpster forward. Caught off guard, Ivar slipped along with the heavy dumpster as the ice coated floor smoothly careened them into a pile of garbage cans.
Elsa didn't stick around to watch as the hail of gunfire resumed and made her turn around once more. This time an ice wall already formed in front of her, taking the brunt of the bullets while she slowly willed it forward. She spared a glance behind her and sighed in relief as the woman had the presence of mind to drag her unconscious partner with her and push themselves against the wall to avoid the ongoing conflict. She waved her hand and a small barrier formed around them to protect from further harm.
The woman gave her a look of awe before her eyes widened.
"Look out!"
Elsa snapped her eyes forward just as something shattered against her ice wall and burst it into flames.
She let out a startled cry, the sudden brightness and heat making her reel back from her guarded position behind the wall. Disoriented, she could vaguely make out shapes running towards her, seemingly unbothered by the flames that surrounded them. Elsa barely managed to dodge as the first attacker swung a heavy bat that bounced off against the alley wall.
The crack of a chain whip caught Elsa along the side, causing her to flinch and grit her teeth at the sharp pain that shot through her body. Seeing this, the first attacker swung again, this time connecting with her shoulder and forcing Elsa to take several steps back in retreat.
Elsa gingerly held a hand over her abdomen, wincing slightly at the lingering pain there and attempted to ignore the one on her shoulder.
She glared back at her two attackers, thankful that the scarf managed to hide the grimace across her face.
The flames slowly petered out around them, casting a menacing glow along the narrow alleyway. Elsa could briefly distinguish the shadow of the third man way behind them, tinkering with something in his hand. The constant sparks of a lighter made it very clear to Elsa as to what it was he threw at her. The two in front of her kept a careful distance, their hands never straying too far from their holsters despite being in close quarters.
Quickly, a plan formed in her mind. She took deep breaths and tried to steady herself, quelling whatever pain or uncertainty she might be feeling at the moment. Keeping her powers at bay when she has a pounding headache was challenging enough as it is.
Elsa removed the hand covering the wound and dropped both arms close to her side, fists clenched. Her steady breaths exhaled into puffs of steam, brows furrowed in concentration, as she could feel the temperature along her arms receding. The sleeves of her costume underneath the jacket gradually enveloped by a dense coating of ice, covering both arms from the tips of her fingers to her shoulders like an extra layer of skin.
She counted on the low lighting to hide the change and sprung forward at the two thugs.
As she expected, the one with the bat took another swing at her, no doubt emboldened by his success beforehand. His companion was a bit more cautious, dropping the chain he held in favor of pulling out his gun.
This time, however, Elsa was prepared.
Instead of dodging she met the two-pound solid piece of wood head on, raising one arm up to block the impact. Elsa felt her arm tingle as the bat met solid resistance, and savored the brief look of surprise on his face before she seized hold of his wrist and twisted her body, quickly jabbing her elbow into his chest.
He lurched back, letting out a choked gasp as he clutched his chest for air, but Elsa grabbed him by the shirt, kneed him in the stomach and pulled his dazed form directly in front of the other thug blocking his view of her. Elsa heard him curse loudly, trying to aim his gun at her without shooting his partner.
From the corner of her eye, she could faintly make out a vague shape moving in close and without even looking she shot a bolt of ice towards the third man even as he drew back and prepared to throw the lit bomb at her.
She knew she hit her mark when she heard the man cry out in pain.
"Gah! You'll pay for that, you cold-hearted bitch!"
Elsa nearly rolled her eyes. Like she's never heard that before.
Stomping her right foot forward, she summoned another ice wall right in front her. Then, grunting with considerable effort, she carried and threw the thug she held at the wall, shattering it completely as he crashed right through and collided hard against the other thug knocking them both on the ground.
With that done, Elsa turned her attention on the third man.
Even without the faint moonlight providing her visibility, she could make out two figures slowly retreating back towards the mouth of the alleyway. One of them positioned to face her and struggling in the other's arms but unable to break through the tight headlock.
A brief glance to the side revealed that the woman was no longer next to her unconscious partner.
Streaks of frost gathered around her clenched fists even as anger coursed through her veins. The nerve of that thug to think that taking advantage of a helpless victim would shield him from her wrath. She took a step forward, ready to turn him into a popsicle.
The two shuffled underneath the wall lamp close to the edge of the alleyway, the flickering glow providing glimpses of the terrified woman's face, tears falling and fingers grasping desperately at the arm wrapped around her neck. The thug did his best to block Elsa's view of him behind the woman, hissing at his hostage and tugging her forcefully as he took another step back. His arm was raised behind him, gripping something in between his fingers.
It was a round-shaped object, and she almost mistook it for a baseball when the light flickered, revealing the blue lever and pin ring at each side.
A grenade.
Elsa froze.
"That's right, Ice Queen. No further or we both get it."
His thumb crested through the ring, thumbing it warningly.
She immediately tensed, raising both hands forward.
Just as she moved, the grenade was quickly hidden from her view.
The thug clucked his tongue. "Not so fast, missy. You're going to have to get through our little friend first if you want to reach me." He paused, before shrugging carelessly. "Or freeze us both, whichever. I'm dying to see if this'll cook even under such freezing temperatures."
Elsa cursed under her breath, arms still raised threateningly but not daring to cast even an icicle. This is bad.
She couldn't throw a clear shot at him without the possibility of the hostage taking the hit. Any attempt on her part to close the distance between them would only force the thug to pull the pin and start the countdown. She could try the same trick earlier and freeze the floor they were standing on to catch him off guard, but she doubted it would fool him this time judging by how focused he was on her movements and cautious with keeping the grenade out of her sight.
Her eyes flitted around the alleyway, hoping to use the environment to her advantage.
"How about you, lass?" he asked, suddenly tightening his hold on the woman and nearly choking her. "Do you think Snowflake here is fast enough to save your pretty little self? Or are we about to become sharpnel sponge?" He pressed his lips close to her ear. "Mind you, I wouldn't mind being glazed in ice when I have you for company, sweetheart."
She merely whimpered, forcing her eyes shut.
Fuck. Despite the mid autumn breeze, Elsa could feel sweat pouring down her forehead. She's had little to no experience in handling grenades. Most of the goons she encounters normally switch to guns or makeshift clubs whenever they dealt with her. Not even the police resorted to such drastic measures in their efforts to secure her arrest. She needed to come to a decision now.
But not knowing how long she has to act once he pulls that pin off is making her increasingly agitated and reluctant.
"Let her go," Elsa said calmly, hoping to conceal the unease in her voice. "Or this will end even worse for you."
"Can't see any scenario that would end nicely for me either, I'm afraid." he shrugged, unapologetic. "Unless you're willing to let me and my boys go without a hitch and we can all just forget this unfortunate little incident ever happened."
"Not a chance," she said flatly.
"Then it appears we have reached an impasse, Your Majesty."
They were right at the end of the alleyway now, street lamps now covering the pavement that led to the open road, buildings and other alleys. Many of which he could use to thwart her off and hide if he were to escape. Elsa followed closely behind, but made no sudden attempts that would incite him to remove the safety pin.
"Come now, Snow Queen!" he taunted, using her actual name for once. "Choose. I don't have all night here! Where's all that resolve and tenacity I've heard about? Every lowlife crook in Arendelle thinks you're a big deal. That you're someone to be avoided and feared. But from what I can see, you're just as entitled and indecisive as our dear mayor. Unwilling to choose for yourself and live with the consequences."
Elsa flinched at the harsh remark.
"Oh, did I hit a nerve?"
Her breathing became labored as she tried to contain the swirl of emotions that swelled in that moment. Rage, fear, shame, losing that control would only send her powers fluctuating. She would be forced to release all that potent, unstable energy outwards and without her direction. The last time it happened, it looked as if a blizzard had suddenly barged in and wrecked the entire area into a tundra.
"I won't repeat myself," she gritted out. "Let. Her. Go."
The thug scoffed. "You think I'm bluffing, aren't you? That I couldn't possibly go through with my threat." He raised the grenade once more. "Well, it doesn't matter what you think. The Sons of Muspelheim won't forget about this. They will count your meddling as retaliation against them. You'll soon bear the brunt of their force and I shall be the one to herald their call."
"I... don't even know who you people are."
"Ha! You will soon face the wrath of our leader, Sur—"
The man let out a sudden cry of pain that startled Elsa from her concentrated restraint. She blinked as the man, who moments ago held the entire situation in his favor with a confident air, dropped his hold over the woman and instead clutched his now wounded hand with a look of agonized pain in his face.
His now empty wounded hand.
Elsa immediately ran forward, panicked eyes desperately searching for the grenade at the same moment she heard it bounce off the wall where the man threw it reflexively after getting wounded. She raised her hand in the direction she thought she saw it land and loosed multiple ice bolts towards that surrounding area hoping that some of them struck true and froze it solid.
The thug tightly gripped the sharp object that pierced his bleeding hand and gasped when he managed to pull it out, dropping it hastily on the floor. Blood started to flow from the wound. His eyes slammed shut as the pain shot through, groaning as he covered the wound with the palm of his other hand to try and stop the blood from pouring out.
What the hell was that? And where did it come from?
His thoughts were put to a halt when the temperature suddenly dropped around him. He shivered. A trickle of dread pooled in his stomach. Did he dare even look at her in the eye?
Curiosity eventually won over cowardice and he reluctantly opened his eyes to greet his fate.
The last thing he remembered seeing was a pair of glowing blue eyes before his world faded to black.
Elsa spared one scornful glance at the now unconscious thug before letting her shoulders sag in relief.
That was too much of a close call.
If the man hadn't been distracted for a second then she would've been forced to either let him go or risk the hostage getting caught in the explosion if she retaliated.
Elsa barely had a moment to breath when the sobbing woman collided with her, shaking arms wrapping around her, fingers grasping at her jacket as she laid her head on the front of her costume.
"Thank you! Thank you so much! I thought I was going to die!" she cried, holding on to Elsa very tightly.
"It's going to be alright, miss." Elsa patted her back awkwardly, not entirely used to comforting the people she saved in such a manner.
"I-I don't care what they say in the news! You really are a hero!" she sobbed.
Elsa sighed, but let out a tired smile on her face even if no one else could see it.
She raised her hands reluctantly and gently rubbed the woman's trembling shoulders before shifting her head to the side, curious at what caught the goon's attention long enough that gave her the chance to act.
"Y-You know, I have online blog where I write and post a lot of stuff," the woman sniffed. "It's not too popular b-but I have a lot of followers. I could put a good word out for you and let people know you're doing good around here... even if it's not much."
But Elsa wasn't paying attention anymore. Her breath hitched. She stared at the dark object that the thug threw away in haste when it pierced his hand.
It looked like a black metal boomerang with purple bladed edges at each side. The center was a small circular disc that had joints connecting the two arms together and contained a familiar design etched onto the disc's surface.
The symbol of Night Fury.
For anyone wondering, Elsa's costume is like a mix between Frozone (The Incredibles) and Silk (Marvel) with a Black Canary (DC) style jacket. Hiccup will be talked about next chapter. I don't think I need to explain whose persona I based him on. The fury fang, his version of the batarang, is reminiscent of the ones from the 2004 Batman animated show. The Batman of my childhood.
Also, I played with the idea of giving Norse mythology inspired villains due to her Scandinavian background. It sounded interesting to me. What do you think?
I was supposed to include the second part and just leave it as a one-shot, but halfway into writing it I realized the chapter was getting too long and felt a bit disjointed attaching it with the first half. So I decided instead to turn it into a two-shot. Next chapter will come out in a few days.