PRESENT DAY:
A convoy of sleek S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicles surged forward, their engines rumbling like distant thunder as they approached the smoldering remnants of the AIM base, now a chaotic tableau following the catastrophic time drive explosion. Fragments of metal and what seemed to be remnants of personnel were scattered across the horizon, flung wildly through the fabric of time and space. The air was thick with dust and the acrid scent of burnt circuitry.
Nick Fury stepped out of a helicopter, the rotor blades whipping the debris around him. His eye, sharp and calculating, swept over the scene before him—agents bustling amidst twisted wreckage, their movements a blend of urgency and confusion as they struggled to piece together the remnants of a disaster that defied logic. Fury's expression hardened as he took in the chaos, mentally preparing for the challenge ahead.
"What have we got?" Fury asks Coulson.
"We are not entirely sure, sir," Coulson proclaimed as he looked over to their agent. "Agent Durand?"
Teresa Parker dashed toward the pair. Having realized her true identity, she chose to retain the name Teresa Durand among her fellow S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, a moniker that had become familiar to her over the years.
"Well, there are no signs of the Avengers, but the parked Quinjet in the woods indicates they were indeed here," Teresa said, showing some scanned readings they got. "And we got readings of Chaos Magic, as well as Mjolnir."
"So, they were here, and what happened next?" Fury asks.
"Well, from what Dr. Banner said, they were on a mission checking on some sort of tech that AIM got. Said he would come to explain things further." Teresa said, turning the computer back to her, and showing another scan. "But my guess is that it has something to do with this. I got a small scan of Tachyon Particles." She then saw the confused look on their faces. "Tachyons? Time travel?"
"You are telling me AIM got access to time travel?" Fury asked in worry.
"Some sort of bubble was formed, the machine wasn't stabilized enough to create a stable portal, so it basically expanded as far as it could go, and sucked everything into it, like a black hole before collapsing in on itself," Teresa explained as simple as she could. "I don't think there is anything else we could really do to help them from this side."
"So, we just have to hope that wherever they landed, they can fix things?" Coulson asks.
"Just pray they didn't land in the past, or at least the close, early past." Teresa shrugged. "They should be able to find their way home and not too much of time to create any lasting damages to everything."
FAR DISTANT PAST:
It was early in the morning and Hiccup was working on trying to sneak out before anyone else noticed him. The sun was just barely rising while Hiccup was trying to get the armor to protect Toothless from the Dragon Root arrows. But Toothless continuously shook it off, letting off a shriek.
"C'mon bud! Work with me here, please!" Hiccup begged.
He was getting nowhere with it and just decided to walk him out of the hangar.
"Shhh! We're almost out of there so... Toothless... just..."
They see Astrid standing outside with Peter walking up. "What's with all the noise?"
"Uh, oh! Astrid! Peter! He, he, hey, hey, guys!" Hiccup said, Toothless just looking around trying not to look suspicious. "So, what brings you here so early in the morning? You just going for a test flight with Stormfly? Yeah, well, same here with Toothless, though, of course, because Stormfly, that will be, you know..."
"Dude, you are not a good liar, are you?" Peter asked sarcastically.
Astrid scoffed. "I don't believe this! You're going for a recon flight, alone! With no support, no cover, we talked about this!"
"I, I know, I just didn't wanna wake anybody, it's no big deal, really!" Hiccup replied, completely lying.
"Yes, it is!" Astrid proclaimed. "It's way too risky! Hiccup, he's not out there! It's been months since the Viggo's..."
"Fiasco?" Hiccup finished.
"I was going to say episode." Astrid muttere. "You have to stop this! You're gonna wear yourself to the ground looking for this guy who doesn't want be found!"
"And not to mention that he might be out there with the guys from AIM," Peter commented.
"I'm fine, really!" Hiccup tells them. "Besides, maybe Viggo isn't out there, but his hunters are! If I can find one to question..."
"They won't tell you a thing!" Astrid stated.
"You don't know that!" Hiccup says.
Astrid sighed as she saw he was going to do it. "Look, if you're going, at least let me and Stormfly go with you."
"Fine," Hiccup said as Astrid went for Stormfly. He then looked over to Peter. "So..."
"I didn't see anything, I am walking away, I never saw anything," Peter stated as he walked away.
Hiccup saw he wasn't going to try to stop him and looked to Toothless. "Okay bud, it's now or never!"
Hiccup tried to put the armor back on Toothless. But he fought back and made Hiccup drop the armor. Hiccup gave up on it as he knew that Astrid didn't take long to get ready and got on Toothless to fly away.
Peter gazed upwards, watching as Toothless and Hiccup soared gracefully into the sky, a flicker of annoyance crossing his face. How could he possibly stop someone who commanded the fiercest dragons? With a sigh, he trudged through the dense, shadowy jungle, each step bringing the sounds of the wild to life around him. Suddenly, he paused, his ears catching the distinct sound of grunting filtering through the foliage.
Compelled by curiosity, he ventured deeper into the vibrant underbrush, where shafts of sunlight pierced through the leaves. There, in a clearing, he spotted Heather training with fierce determination. With swift precision, she hurled her double-bladed axe through the air, the weapon spinning like a streak of silver before embedding itself perfectly into the target, hitting dead center with a satisfying thud.
She knelt smoothly, her movements fluid and practiced, as she wrenched the axe free with a swift tug. Then, in one seamless motion, she cast it towards a nearby tree, the blade narrowly missing Peter and causing him to instinctively flinch. He couldn't help but marvel at her skill, his breath catching in his throat as she exuded confidence and power amidst the serene chaos of the jungle.
"Oh, hey," Heather said as she finally recognized he was there. "Didn't notice you." She then walked over and yanked the axe out of the tree. "When did you get up?"
"Earlier. Hiccup was trying to sneak off on Toothless." Peter answered.
"Still?" Heather didn't seem surprised. "Wow, he is still at it? Thought he had gotten over that by now."
"He's been doing this a lot?" Peter asks.
Heather shrugged as she placed her axe on her back. "He used to. He kept on jumping at the crack of dawn to hunt down any small hint, rumor, or anything on where Viggo was hiding. That's how we met you guys."
"Huh. Kinda reminds me of a mission we were dealing with just recently." Peter muttered. "Me and the others were looking for this old-time-y enemy of Cap's, the Red Skull."
"Who?" Heather asks.
"Ah, he was this psycho Nazi that Cap had to fight during..." Peter froze when he realized what he just said, looking over to see the confused look on Heather's face. "... his... Golden Years."
Heather looked over his eyesight. "You don't seem convinced at that."
"That's because I am not," Peter proclaimed, clapping his hands and walking. "What do you say we go for a walk? Just the two of us? You could show me the jungle?"
Heather shrugged and decided to drop the subject. "Sure, I guess." She said as she walked next to him and the two began to stroll into the jungle. "Maybe I can introduce you to the Night Terrors."
"What are those, the nighttime version of Terrible Terrors?" Peter asked with a laugh.
Heather gave him a smug grin. "Yeah."
"Wait, seriously?" Peter asked, shocked that he got that right.
"When Astrid finds out that you're not wearing your armor, I am not covering for you!" Hiccup warned him.
Toothless then flew around, showing the maneuverability with the new tailfin Hiccup made.
"Woo-hoo! But, with all that armor on, would we be able to do this?"
Hiccup and Toothless fly in the sky, taking a dive upside down under the water. They reemerged and flew upward and did several air tricks in the process.
"Man, that new tail is awesome!" Hiccup cheered. "I owe you one!"
As they were flying over some clouds, Hiccup saw a dragon hunter ship. It looked like it was just floating there. There was no sign of movement on the deck, getting Hiccup curious.
"Gotcha! Hey bud, let's get in closer!" Hiccup tells his dragon.
Hiccup lands on the deck and sees that the hunters are unconscious. He gets off of Toothless and looks around at the Hunters.
"Look like a dragon might've got the best of 'em." Hiccup said.
Toothless let out a growl, showing how much he didn't approve of the scene.
"Yeah, let's get out of here!" Hiccup said.
That was when the Hunters got back up, pretending to be injured. They pulled out some fancy new weapons that they had never seen before and began to attack Hiccup and Toothless.
"What the..." Hiccup ran over and mounted Toothless again. "Sky, Toothless!"
Toothless flew up into the sky, avoiding the normal dragon root arrows. But that was when they pulled out some special new cannon that shot out small bullet projectiles, all laced with Dragon Root. Toothless and Hiccup worked hard to avoid the blasts, but one of the bullets managed to lodge itself into his tail, causing Toothless to begin to become affected and become in a sort of daze.
"Toothless!" Hiccup became concerned when he saw an island not too far from where they were. "C'mon bud, we can make that!"
They crash on an island, stumbling through the treeline and making a not-so-graceful landing. Hiccup groaned as he got up and looked over to see his dragon struggling to stand with the effects of the Dragon Root coursing his veins now.
"I gotcha, Toothless!" Hiccup ran over to the dragon and looked him over. "I'm right here!" He looked down and saw the bullet didn't penetrate Toothless, in fact it only skimmed his tail. But that was enough for the Dragon Root to get into his system. Toothless winced in pain, the Dragon Root having the same effect on dragons like this to make them easier to capture for the Dragon Hunters.
"I know, Dragon Root," Hiccup said as he tried to comfort him. "We just gotta wait it, bud! But who knows how long that's gonna take! C'mon!"
The dragon hunters arrive at the island and go searching for Hiccup and Toothless while they hide in a cave. He brought Toothless in as he was still struggling to stand up. The dragon winced as he fell back over, his energy leaving him the longer the Dragon Root was in his system.
"Oh, I am so sorry, bud, I'm so sorry I got us in this!" Hiccup told his dragon as he screeched in pain. "I know, bud! I know, bud!"
"What's that by the big tree?"
"I can't tell."
Hiccup became even more worried, knowing that help wasn't coming for him. "Oh, why didn't I listen, why didn't I listen, what is wrong with me?"
Toothless screams again out of pain.
"Shh, shh, shhh! Toothless, please!" Hiccup begged his dragon. "Okay, you stay still and keep quiet, I'm gonna buy us some time." He then made his way for the entrance and quickly covered it up with nearby bushes. "I'll be back for you! I promise!"
In the dimly lit hangar at the Edge, the steady hum of machinery and the soft rustling of hay provided an oddly comforting atmosphere. Tony Stark sat surrounded by a labyrinth of blueprints and high-tech gadgets, his brow furrowed in concentration. He was immersed in deciphering AIM's complex technology, determined to find a way to propel himself and his allies back to their rightful place in the timeline. Hours slipped away unnoticed as the amber glow of overhead lights flickered, casting long shadows across the room.
Eventually, fatigue caught up with him, and despite the urgency of his mission, Tony succumbed to sleep, his head resting unceremoniously on a makeshift pillow of hay. The world around him faded, blending into dreams filled with equations and arcane schematics.
Suddenly, a cold rush of water splashed across his face, jolting him from his slumber. Tony shot up in a panic, heart racing as he wiped the water from his eyes.
"Wet!" Tony cried out, whipping his eyes off from the water. "Why am I wet?!"
Standing before him, arms crossed and a devilish smirk on her lips as she tossed the bucket, was Natasha Romanoff. Her playful eyes sparkled with mischief, clearly amused by his disheveled appearance and startled demeanor.
"Wake up, genius," she teased, her voice cutting through the remnants of his dreams like a blade. "You've got work to do."
Tony groaned as he fell back into the hay. "Five more minutes." That was followed with another bucket of water to the face. "Oh, come on!"
Hiccup returned to Toothless after some strange encounters with some Dragon Hunters and rushed to his dragon.
"Hey, how you doing? You think you can stand up, bud?" Hiccup asks, trying to help Toothless stand so they can find a better hiding spot. "C'mon, let's try to get you up! What do you say, huh? C'mon!" Toothless fell over again, struggling to stand. "No, no, it's okay, I got you Toothless. It's okay, bud! Come on! Think, Hiccup, think!"
"Keep looking!" Hiccup looked out and saw the Dragon Hunters were right outside. "The Night Fury went down somewhere around here!"
Toothless screams)
" No, no, no! Toothless! No, you gotta be quiet!" Hiccup tried to quiet him.
"Hey, over there!"
Seems they found where he was hiding.
Hiccup grabs a rock as he didn't bring any of his weapons along. "If they want you Toothless, they're gonna have to go through me!"
What happened next sent a jolt of shock through Hiccup, causing him to stand utterly still. Before him stood a figure he had thought he would never encounter again: Dagur. The very sight of Heather's older brother took him by surprise, especially considering that just a few weeks earlier, Dagur had been fighting alongside the Dragon Hunters. Hiccup's heartbeat quickened as he tried to make sense of this unexpected reunion, his mind racing with questions and the weight of the past hanging heavily in the air.
"Dagur?" Hiccup asks in shock.
After a few more buckets of frigid water splashed across his face, Tony returned to his relentless pursuit of unraveling AIM's time portal. Determined and somewhat soaked, he delved into his work, surrounded by the earthy scents of iron and coal wafting from Hiccup's blacksmith workshop.
The clang of metal resonated in the air as he expertly pieced together an array of makeshift devices, crafted from Hiccup's sturdy tools and an assortment of other odds and ends he had scavenged for his experiments. Each component was a testament to his ingenuity, reflecting his unwavering commitment to the challenge ahead.
"Well, I have some good news and some bad news," Tony tells Natasha and Steve, who joined recently. "Who wants to hear which?"
"I'll take the good news," Steve stated.
"I can get us back home with this tech," Tony promises.
"And the bad news?" Natasha asks.
Tony was sorry to admit the problem. "I... can't get us home without the rest, or at least the majority of the portal." He said, showing them the fragments of the portal. "Seems they were thorough in the design, each of these fragments acting as if they were parts of a puzzle," He dumbed down his explanation for the two of them. "Imagine each fragment represents a different form of time travel. One piece to go back in time, one for the present, and one to get to the future."
"And which piece do we have?" Steve asks.
"I have no idea, it is a metaphor, not literal," Tony informed Steve. "The rundown is I cannot get us home without the other two major fragments of the machine. I can maybe make up the differences between, but until then, this is just a really large paperweight."
"And we found this piece by mere coincidence," Natasha commented.
"In the hands of a dragon that had a thing for iron," Tony added. "I have a feeling that the other two pieces will not be as easy to find."
"Especially if AIM already knows this," Steve stated. "They will likely already have agents out searching for it.
"Easy, Hiccup," Dagur says as Hiccup goes in to hit him, but he quickly dodges the strike. "Hiccup, I'm not here to hurt you." He assures him and drags him out of the cave where Hiccup sees he knocked out the hunters.
"You did that?" Hiccup asks in shock.
"Plenty of time to answer all of your Hiccupy questions later," Dagur promises. "Right now, we need to move your dragon before these guys wake up. Or you can handle them yourself, hmm?"
The two of them are moving Toothless and the dragon doesn't trust Dagur as much as Hiccup does.
"Oh, come on. If I was gonna hurt you, don't you think I would've done it by now?" Dagur asks them.
"I don't know. You're pretty crafty." Hiccup states.
"Crafty. Thank you, Hiccup. I appreciate the kind words." Dagur says. "They were kind, right?" He wonders.
"You see so weird." Hiccup says when Dagur throws a knife over Hiccup's shoulder and he looks to see a dragon trap he sprang. "Thanks?"
"You're welcome," Dagur replies with a smile as they keep moving Toothless. "Dragons are heavier than they look."
They keep moving Toothless and they reach a waterfall with a long drop.
"I knew it! What was I thinking?" Hiccup asks himself.
"Hiccup, it's not a trap. Look." Dagur assures him and Hiccup looks and sees a cave hidden behind the waterfall and now sees Dagur's plan.
They kept dragging Toothless into the cave and had a close call with the ledge where Dagur saved him.
"Sorry about that. I should've warned you about that." Dagur sees and gets back up.
"I have officially stepped into an alternate archipelago." Hiccup states, trying to see what Dagur is trying to do.
Dagur leads them into the cave and lights a fire for them and Hiccup sees this is where Dagur has been these past few months.
"Yeah, I tend to have a lot of time on my hands these days," Dagur says as he heads to Toothless and starts helping the dragon. "Yes, answers. I did tell you those were en route. Well, after I came to the unfortunate realization that I was completely expendable while part of the Dragon hunters and under the command of Viggo Grimborn...oh, I would have lived to have seen the look on his face as I drove a..." he then interrupts himself and calms down. "Have you ever tried that? It's cathartic. I used to think the only deep breaths were the last ones." He says before laughing. "How's Heather?"
Hiccup knows he can easily say she's okay, but that could encourage Dagur to return to the Edge as he knows where it is. But he could lie and give him some time to see how Heather would feel about meeting him again, considering the last time she almost died in his hand and the other time was when they almost killed him and they learned she was his brother. Then the time before that, he attacked her home and killed her family.
"Yeah, you know, she's okay." Hiccup says, knowing that'll assure him.
"Good. And her dragon? What was it, Windshower?" Dagur asks.
"Windshear." He corrects.
"Right. Anyway, after that learning experience, I drifted at sea for quite some time, then came across here. Been alone on this island for months. It's amazing what a near-death experience and hours upon hours, upon hours of alone time will do to the mind, body, and soul, Hiccup. I mean, you should try it sometime." He says and Hiccup chuckles. "What's so funny?"
"You. This. I mean, I knew you were crazy, but this takes the cake." Hiccup tells him.
"I AM NOT...crazy." Dagur starts shouting but calms himself down. "But I understand your skepticism."
"Dagur, why in the name of Thor should I believe a word you say?" Hiccup asks him.
"You shouldn't. I don't deserve the benefit of the doubt." Dagur says as he throws more logs into the fire and looks at Toothless. "He doesn't look so good."
"He's never been hit with one of these." Hiccup said as he comforted his dragon. "And they seemed to have changed up their game. I don't know, maybe...maybe Night Furies react differently?"
"I never liked those Dragon Root arrows. Seemed like cheating to me. And I hate cheaters." Dagur states in anger. "There's an antidote for this, though. I saw Ryker and his men make it. I can give you the ingredients and together make the antidote to save your glorious Night Fury. Unless you want to take the chance of him surviving this on his own?" He asks and Hiccup looks at Toothless and knows he needs to help when Dagur passes him a sword. "You might need that. They're still out there."
"So, how about boats?" Heather was curious about the future and Peter knew better to give too much information, but he figured that small information wouldn't kill space and time. "How have they changed?"
"Well, overall design mostly the same." Peter shrugged. "Except we don't need to always rely on the wind to guide them anymore."
"What guides them?" Heather wonders.
"Motors. Electrical designed machines that push the boat along." Peter answered.
Heather then got to a question she meant to ask. "And... what about the dragons?"
Peter knew that question was inevitable. "We... don't really have dragons. I mean, there are a few. Fin Fang Foom, but he is mostly an alien. We don't have dragons like you do."
"Really?" Heather asked in shock. "How could that be?"
Peter shrugged. "I really don't know." He walked over to the ledge and looked out to the vast dragons in this small portion of the island alone. "It could have been a disease. They could be hunted to extinction. But... no, this is too much. It is as if they... vanished. No bone, no proof of their existence."
Heather was shocked to hear that. "Or, maybe you aren't looking in the right place." She tried to come up with a theory. "I wish I could see your world."
"Trust me, my world has nothing on your world," Peter said as he looked out to the vastness.
"Still, you got to see ours, maybe we could pop by and see yours?" Heather wonders.
Peter was sorry to explain this to her. "Heather, when that portal is working, we are going to the future, and if it goes according to plan, the machine will destroy itself when we go back."
Heather was shocked to hear that. "What?"
"We are already interfering with the events of time as it is," Peter explained to her. "When this is all over... when we go back that is it."
"Really?" Did Heather feel...heartbroken? Really? Over this guy? She only knew him for a short while, but... he was something that she had never experienced before. She felt something she only once felt for Fishlegs. "I... I... I just assumed you would want to visit."
"I would love to," Peter said as he looked to her in sorrow. "You guys are a fun group, don't get me wrong. But it is not like I can stay. I have people who need me, people who rely on me back home. And I can't risk time staying here and accidentally wiping myself from existence."
Heather saw that was a reasonable issue and didn't really know how to counter that. "I... I understand." She then backed off, confusing Peter. "Sorry, I just remembered I had a few things to do. I'll see you around."
Peter saw she was hurt and decided to let her go. "Yeah, sure."
Heather turned away, her footsteps crunching softly on the fallen leaves as she left Peter standing at the edge of the sprawling forest. He gazed into the expansive greenery, where the outlines of dragons danced against the backdrop of towering trees, their scales glinting in the slivers of sunlight that broke through the canopy. A deep ache settled in his chest as he reflected on the hurt he had caused Heather; regret washed over him like a tide. Yet, the pull of his home was undeniable.
His family awaited him, anchored in a reality that was all too fragile. The thought of his city, vibrant and teeming with life, filled him with a sense of duty. He could feel the weight of countless expectations resting on his shoulders—too many loved ones who depended on him for support and guidance. The idea of tearing the fabric of time and space to remain in this enchanting but perilous past was a risk he could not afford to take.
Lost in his thoughts, Peter barely noticed Clint Barton stepping out from his shadowy perch against the gnarled tree trunk. The archer approached him with a steady gait, having witnessed the emotional exchange unfold. Clint's keen instincts told him that Peter needed to talk, and as he drew nearer, the weight of the moment hung in the air, ripe with unspoken words and lingering tension.
"Well, you did it again," Clint said, getting Peter to turn and see him standing there. "What charm do you have on women? Is it a spider thing? Because I know spiders produce pheromones to attract mates, but I never thought you had it."
"What are you talking about?" Peter asked with a light chuckle.
"Dude, that Heather girl clearly has a thing for you," Clint stated.
Peter froze and looked off to where Heather was and looked back to Clint. "What? No." He laughed at the assumption. "No, she... she is just a friend."
"If I had a nickel..." Clint joked. "Come on, kid, did you not see how upset she was?"
"Clint, we are friends. We don't know each other enough to be like that." Peter informed him.
"Seriously?" Clint asks. "Are you kidding? This is the time period where if you gave the parents a goose and a cow, they would give your blessing."
Peter scoffed when he heard that. "Well, she doesn't exactly have parents to bribe." He reminded Clint, getting him to flinch a little. "No, Heather is a free spirit. She deserves someone great. No doubt time has plans for her as it is."
"Kid... I think that if time had any plans for them, we would know them," Clint was sorry to say. "Whatever actions they cause, they are forgotten about by our time."
Peter nodded and sighed as he knew that was true. "I know. But... there is nothing we can do about that."
"Okay, now we need the branch of a Fire Fern. It's the long, red plant underneath the big Elm tree." Dagur explains and Hiccup finds it. "Just make sure you don't..." he was gonna warn but was too late as Hiccup screamed, "...touch it with your bare hands." He finishes and picks it up with his sword.
"Thanks for the early warning." Hiccup mocks.
"I gotta work on that," Dagur says as he drags Hiccup to the lake and puts his hand in the water. "Keep it in the water. Hey! Next ingredient... fresh water." He says as he takes some water in a mug. "So, you wanna tell me why you're out here on your own?"
"Not really. Let's just say you aren't the only one who changed after Viggo Grimborn." Hiccup tells him.
"That stuff can kill you from the inside, Hiccup. Revenge. Anger. Obsession. Trust me, I know. It can make you do things you never thought you were capable of. Causes you to take chances, and make mistakes. If that doesn't end you, it'll sway away at you slowly." Dagur warns him and he takes his hand out of the water.
The last ingredient is purple oleander. This confuses Hiccup since the blue stuff is poisonous to dragons.
"Blue Oleander can kill a dragon. How is purple any different?" Hiccup asks.
"Well, for one thing-"
"Please don't say, it's purple." Hiccup begged.
"I was going to say nature. It's always a great mystery, Hiccup." Dagur tells him. "Take Heather and I. We're brother and sister, and yet we're very different."
"I must be out of my mind to go along with any of this." Hiccup says and climbs up the rock pile as a Dragon Hunter comes and starts attacking Dagur and he fights him off.
Hiccup grabs the flower and is shocked to see him fight the Dragon Hunters and let them live as he knocks them unconscious.
"I told you, I've changed," Dagur says when they hear a crossbow and Dagur moves Hiccup as he gets shot. "Huh. Stuck right in there, look at the way it's..." he falls unconscious as the archer charges at them.
Hiccup quickly grabs the mace and attacks the Dragon Hunter in the chest, knocking him unconscious. Shocking Hiccup just exactly what he did.
Wanda settled herself in a serene clearing, the soft glow of flickering candles illuminating her surroundings. With a deep, thoughtful sigh, she positioned herself at the heart of the candlelit circle, the warm light dancing around her as she closed her eyes. In this tranquil space, she sought clarity, hoping to glimpse into the future and uncover the remaining fragments of the AIM time portal.
Taking a deep, grounding breath, she attempted to quiet her mind and enter a meditative state. However, her peace was abruptly shattered by the boisterous entrance of Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who stumbled upon her unexpected gathering, their laughter and chaos breaking the silence of the clearing.
"What are you doing?" Ruffnut asked, scaring Wanda, sending a shockwave of Chaos Magik as a response.
Wanda groaned as she stood up and dusted herself. "I was trying to meditate in peace. I am attempting to see if I can see what lies ahead."
"You can see the future?" Tuffnut asks. "But aren't you from the future?"
"I don't know what is about to happen," Wanda defended. "I am trying to see if I can predict a catastrophe before it happens..."
"Well, in that case..." Ruffnut gave it a second before an explosion could be heard. "Could you predict that?"
Wanda groaned and smacked herself in the face. "Sorry, Steve."
Wanda raised her hands gracefully, invoking her powerful Chaos Magik, as vibrant energy crackled around her fingers. The air shimmered as she focused her intent, gently nudging the twins into a tranquil mental state, guiding them to step away and find their own paths for the moment. With the children moving out of her immediate space, she felt a wave of relief wash over her; now she could cultivate a sanctuary of silence.
She settled back onto the soft, intricately woven rug beneath her, the flickering candles around her flickered back to life, responding to her presence. Their warm glow filled the room with a dance of light and shadow, creating an atmosphere ripe for introspection. As she closed her eyes, she began to breathe deeply, drawing in the fragrant scent of sandalwood that lingered in the air. Memories of Stephen Strange's teachings floated through her mind, each lesson grounding her as she delved deeper into her meditative state.
With each breath, she sank further into stillness, her thoughts quieting like ripples in a pond until all that remained was the darkness behind her eyelids. Wanda concentrated on the swirling energies of the universe, seeking glimpses of the future, striving to uncover what lay ahead in the tapestry of destiny woven before her.
That was when Wanda saw the future. She saw Aim shooting at something on the deck of a Dragon Hunter ship. She saw Spider-Man getting shot in the leg by an arrow, crying in pain. She saw Hiccup holding a flaming sword, facing off against some figure in the shadows. Then she saw something terrifying. She saw a massive snake with eyes glowing as blue as the sea. That was where she saw the Avengers defeated over the like of the AIM agents, and all of their villains that followed. Wanda gasped out of her vision and tried to collect herself after what she saw.
"Hey," Astrid called, getting Wanda to look up and see her. "Are you okay?"
Wanda stood up and nodded, dusting herself off. "Yeah. I'm fine."
Wanda felt a heavy weight settle in her chest as she contemplated the visions that had begun to plague her thoughts. Each fleeting image flickered like a candle's flame, hinting at possible futures that waited in the shadows. She knew she had to delve deeper into their meanings, to unravel their mysteries, before taking any decisive action.
The secrecy of her experience was paramount; in the past, she'd learned that sharing her visions with anyone only seemed to seal their fates. The outcomes were malleable, not predestined, like a river that could change its course with a mere turn of the tide. It was essential for her to tip the scales of possibility in the right direction, to ensure they could evade the looming threat and thwart AIM's destructive plans before it was too late.
Hiccup brings Dagur back to the cave and mixes the ingredients after bandaging up Dagur and he later wakes up.
"Whoo those were some crazy dreams," Dagur says and sees what Hiccup did. "You...did this? For me? I don't know what to say. I mean, nobody has ever..."
"Dagur, it was the least I could do. Think of it as payback for everything." Hiccup states as the ingredients start fizzing. "I was just about to give it to him."
Dagur walks up and sees it's not complete. "Needs more purple. Definitely." He says and adds more of the flower and it goes purple.
Hiccup takes it and moves it to Toothless and gives him some hoping he was right to trust Dagur.
Suddenly, Toothless states freaking out and roaring uncontrollably.
"Toothless? You okay?" Hiccup asks and Toothless drops unconscious again. "What did you do?" He asks Dagur.
"I didn't know, you have to believe me," Dagur tells him and Hiccup charges at him and the two of them fall out of The cave and into the water.
They crawl out and run into the Dragon Hunters where they're captured
"We're going to find that dragon. It's only a matter of time." Their leader tells them. "Why don't you make it easier on everyone?"
The two of them aren't talking obviously.
"Maybe this will burn a hole in your memory." The leader says and pulls Hiccup towards a fire with a marked brand inside.
"Now you'll be part of the Dragon Hunters forever." One of them says and moves it close to Hiccup's face.
"Okay! Enough! I'll take you to the Night Fury." Dagur promises.
"No, Dagur!" Hiccup tells him as they drop the maker.
"Take a few more men just in case." Their leader tells them as Dagur runs to the fire uses it to burn the ropes and takes the men down.
"Come on, hurry!" Hiccup tells him and Dagur sees more men approaching.
"Sorry, brother. You'd just slow me down." Dagur says and runs off and Hiccup can't believe he did that. Just when he was learning to trust him.
"We'll come back for Dagur later, put an end to his miserable life. This one will lead us to the Night Fury." Their leader promises and takes Hiccup to their ship.
"Last chance. Do you want to help that dragon? Help yourself?" Their leader asks Hiccup.
"I'll die before I talk." Hiccup promises.
"Then die you shall. Viggo will see to that." He promises when Toothless comes flying in and blasts the guards and Hiccup sees Dagur is on him.
"What?" Hiccup asks seeing Dagur and he's terrified as Toothless does most of the work and Dagur stops him from getting hit again.
"Easy, Dragon!" Dagur tells Toothless, not used to flying as Toothless makes quick work of the hunters and meets back up with Hiccup.
"It's good to see you, too, bud." Hiccup says as Dagur releases him from his restraints.
"I have no idea how you stomach that," Dagur tells him.
"It's good to have you back, bud. Now, what do you say we show him how it's done?" Hiccup asks Toothless as they fly off to their ship and run everyone off of it.
They lead them away and into their jungle and their leader runs into the Changewing from earlier.
By the time they return, they see Dagur is gone.
"Where'd he go?" Hiccup wonders but knows he isn't a threat. He took a quick flight around and saw no sign of him. "We seriously owe him one." They then turned to head back to the Edge, wondering if he should tell the others about what happened. Maybe another day. "Maybe he'll get to Viggo before we do."
Unknowingly, Dagur snuck onto the Dragon Hunter's boat and confiscated it. The ship came out of the clouds and Dagur approached the
"Hiccup! Tell Heather I'm coming for her!" Dagur calls out wanting to reunite with his sister, but Hiccup is too far gone to hear him. That was when Dagur bent down and picked up one of the strange weapons. "Huh... wonder what this does." Curiosity getting the best of him, Dagur shot it, revealing it was a laser-blaster that left a gaping hole in the railing of the ship. "Ohh, where have you been all my life?"