im getting great feedback :) apparently, everyone loves Astrid's power! Glad you all enjoy it! So, imagine the traing arena like the dragon arena in httyd lol

"Is this really necessary?"

"Yes, Hiccup! Now focus!"

Hiccup looked back at his opponent, barely dodging a shot of ice. When Snotlout suggested they do some more training in prep for the trip to France, this is not what Hiccup had in mind.

The training arena had been transformed into a maze, with tall wooden walls and chains overhead. The rest of the group stood on the outer edge above it all, peering down as Jack and Hiccup "battled."

Jack was quick, sliding around corners and shooting through the air with ease, but Hiccup's reflexes were faster. His goal was to try and eradicate Jack without having to phase. He was supposed to be making his human body stronger, but instead he was just doing a lot of dodging and running.

"C'mon lizard boy!" Ruff yelled from the railing. "Show him what you're made of!"

"Kick his ass Jack!"

"Not the goal here, Tuff."

Hiccup heard Jack skate behind him and managed to use a loose board to block the ice. He threw the frozen board, slipping behind a corner as it knocked Jack in the head.

"Your senses Hiccup!" The shrill yell belonged to Astrid somewhere above, but Hiccup couldn't see her. "Use your head!"

Sense. Okay, he could do that. Hiccup closed his eyes and tried to focus. His ears fought past the sounds of twins bickering, Punzie's humming, his own heart beat racing…there it was; The quiet cracking of freezing ice growing on cement around the corner on his left, a hand raising, cutting through the air, there was a soft shuffle of fabric against the wall. Jack was leaning against the wall, his right hand raised, ready to fire.

Hiccup's eyes snapped open after only listening for hardly a second. He smirked to himself. This whole super thing was still pretty amazing.

Faster than any normal human could, he darted from his hiding spot, rolling onto Jack's left. The shot of ice missed his shoulder by a millimeter as he jumped at his friend, pinning him to the ground.

"Yes!" Hiccup yelled, throwing up his arms and hoping off of Jack's middle. Jack shook his head, but grinned, slapping Hiccup on the back as they made their way out of the arena.

"I totally had you."

"Says the loser."

"If Astrid hadn't opened her big mouth, we'd be dragging your body in front of a fire right now."

"I heard that!"

Both boys laughed at Astrid's narrowed eyes, but she was smiling. Hiccup joined her and gazed down into the arena he had just left to watch Ruffnut and Snotlout.

"C'mon Ruff!" Astrid cheered. "Zap him!"

The lights flickered when the pair headed into the maze. Snotlout had brute force on his side, but Ruff was much quicker. The surges of electricity burned scorch marks into the wood and even blasted holes in a few of them.

"Um, could she accidentally kill him?" Hiccup muttered to the blonde beside him as Snotlout dodged a headshot.

"I doubt it would be an accident," Astrid whispered back. "But his strength lets him handle a lot more than us. She won't do him any serious harm."

A few minutes later, Snotlout was nursing a large burn on his back. Punzie was too busy running through the maze now with Tuffnut to heal him right away. They spent all afternoon doing this. Hiccup watched fascinated at each match; Tuffnut tackled Punzie, completely evolved to handle her piecing screams and Jack froze Astrid's shooting arm, but she still managed to knock him with the hunk of ice. Hiccup found himself unable to escape Ruffnut's electricity however, and ended up on his back with a burnt arm as she cackled.

"She's good," he muttered, tenderly stretching his arm. Astrid rolled her eyes, knowing Punzie would be able to fix it. Hiccup had yet to see the young girl work her hair magic and was eagerly awaiting to witness it.

"Yeah, Ruff is a tough one, but you need the practice. If we're in France and trying to sneak through a hallway, you can't take people out by turning into a giant dragon. It's too conspicuous for sneaking around."

"You're the master assassin, not me."

Things had been easy between Hiccup and Astrid since her apology a few days prior. They shared friendly conversation and she occasionally stopped by his mechanic station he took claim over in one of the tool-filled rooms. He definitely liked this small friendship they shared versus they brooding, angry assassin she'd been previous this week.

"Here everyone," Punzie called out. They turned, watching as she undid the cord on her braid. Hiccup's mouth dropped when the full length of it was revealed. The mass of hair dropped, pooling in a pile behind her legs. It was no wonder she kept in it in the thick, long braid.

Jack took the end of it and passed it on, holding up a piece to his head where Astrid smashed her iced fist against him. Snotlout laid across his back and passed it to Hiccup and Astrid. She laid a hunk across Hiccup's arm, then wrapped the end piece around her bruised hand. Hiccup tried not to look to eager as Punzie slowly bowed her head and began to sing.

"Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine."

The roots glowed bright yellow, shimmering down the length of her hair like liquid gold.

"Heal what has been hurt. Change the fates' design. Save what had been lost. Bring back what once was mine."

The glow reached Hiccup. It travelled to his arm and suddenly a warmth spread to the burn. The skin tingled with sensitivity and he gasped.

"What once was mine…"

The glow disappeared as quickly as it had come. The hair slipped off of Hiccup arm and he looked impressively at his cleared skin.

"Thanks, kid." Snotlout patted her back before leaving down the hallway.

Hiccup glanced up at Astrid, beaming, but his smile dropped. She was looking past his shoulder, a small frown and worried eyes on her face. He turned and saw Punzie, slowly pulling her hair into her arms. Hiccup didn't remember ever seeing Punzie look so…dejected. His chest heaved at the idea of such a joyous person feeling sadness. Jack noticed as well and nodded for Astrid, Hiccup, and the twins to walk away.

"Come on, Punz," he said quietly to her. "I'll help you braid it back up."

Hiccup didn't witness anything else between the two. He left, walking between Astrid and the twins.

"Don't get me wrong, the kid gets annoying," Tuff grumbled when they rounded the corner. "But if I ever find that bitch, I'll make her pay."

"We'll be right there beside you," Astrid hissed while Ruff nodded eagerly.

"Um, what? Hiccup asked, looking nervously between the two.

Astrid didn't say anything until they were in the front room. The twins plopped down a couch, switching on the TV, but Astrid sat on the far one. Only when Hiccup joined her, did she talk.

"Being super starts with a price, Hiccup," she whispered. "You know that. We all do. We all experienced traumatizing events to activate our genes. We go through things the average person only reads about in papers and says 'wow, sure glad that wasn't me.' Punzie's story is something else. It goes beyond traumatizing."

Astrid took a deep breath, before continuing quietly.

"When Punzie was a baby, she was kidnapped. We don't know the reason behind it or even who her real parents are, but this women took her to the middle of the woods in Alaska and raised her in this secluded cabin. Punzie, or rather, Rapunzel, was raised on lies Hiccup. This woman, Gothel, told her horror stories of corrupt people and how men would hurt or kill her. She had some kind of obsession with Rapunzel. A mental disease of some sorts, but she got away with it. Rapunzel never left that cabin and they were hidden far enough in the woods that no one ever found them."

"She grew up like that?" It was hard to believe the go lucky, miniature sunshine the Guardians shared had such a dark past. "Until she became super?"

Astrid nodded. "That's not the end of it though. When she was fourteen, Gothel left for a couple days to hunt down some food and a handsome explorer wandered onto the property. No one knows the details, but he apparently caught on pretty quick to what was happening to Punzie. He knew if he brought in the police, Gothel might harm Rapunzel out of sick desperation or something like that, so he spent the next several weeks trying to convince her to leave with him."

"Weeks?"

"He was an expert hiker and adventurer. The boy, Flynn, was eighteen and alone in the world, but good. He loved the wilderness and planned a grand expedition as soon as he graduated, but instead, he camped a mile or so away from the cabin and came to see her every night. He told her about the world and explained what it was really like out there. Flynn told her stories and taught her songs. He taught her the one she sang tonight. Rapunzel fell for him, hard. He actually had her convinced. Rapunzel wanted to leave with him."

Astrid paused then and Hiccup realized there were tears brimming in her eyes. She swallowed thickly and looked somewhere behind him while she spoke, her voice cracking painfully.

"Gothel found them that last night. Somehow, she knew. She snuck up on them and stabbed Flynn in the back. Rapunzel was tied to the wall and was forced to watch as Gothel mutilated Flynn in front of her. That's when her genes activated. She screamed so loud the cabin collapsed around them. When the suits showed up, Gothel's body wasn't found in the wreckage."

Astrid wiped furiously at a stray tear and bit firmly on her bottom lip.

"Punzie is the most pure, kind hearted person I've ever met and she had to watch the boy she fell in love with be ripped apart by her sadistic kidnapper. It's his song she has to sing to heal wounds. Punzie has to rip open her heart to heal others."

Hiccup said nothing. What did one say to something like this? He concentrated on pushing away the heat that travelled up his spine and focused on Astrid again.

"We've made a pact," Astrid continued, the cracking in her voice gone. Her daunting, assassin face was back. "If we ever find Gothel, we'll kill her."

"Does she ever bring it up?"

"No, she has nightmares sometimes, but we all have that."

Hiccup knew that all too well.

"It's funny," Astrid laughed darkly. "They want us to save the world, but first they have to turn us into monsters."

Monsters. Is that what the meaning a being a super entailed?

"Punzie screamed when Flynn died," Hiccup began, his voice hoarse. "And her power is sonic sound. Does everyone's power have to do with the situation they were in when they turned?"

"Somewhat," Astrid answered. "Let me guess, you were so angry you wanted to explode? You wanted to cause some damage? Make mayhem?"

Hiccup nodded slowly. "Do you know why I turned?"

"Wiz taught me to hack onto the computer system." That was a yes. "I'm not nearly as good as him, but I know the basics of how to do it."

"So, why did you turn? What gave you assassin powers?"

Astrid suddenly stood up and Hiccup quickly realized he'd gone too far, but she didn't leave right away. She leaned over to reach Hiccup's eye-level. Hiccup glanced nervously at the twins, who were absorbed in their show. His eyes went back to Astrid and his breath caught in his throat at how close her blue eyes were. Directly in his face, she hissed.

"I could kill you and everyone in this building less than three minutes. I know exactly where to cut you to make you bleed out the quickest and every bullet I fire hits its target. I can walk by crowds of people without them even knowing I'm there. I'm the world's perfect killer Hiccup. I'm a weapon." Before he could argue, she leaned in closer. If he was a normal human, he wouldn't have been able to hear her soft whisper. "You don't want to know what I was doing to give me the power to kill like that."

She left him like that. Astrid sauntered out of the room, braid swinging, as Hiccup watched her retreating figure, completely helpless.

dun dun dun...so whats Astrid's past? what made Hiccup so angry? only time will tell! please review!