Project Blackhawk (or The Blackhawk Experiment)

John Tavares led the rescue group toward the building. They saw Pronger storm out of the place with his head held high. John flicked his hand out to the side and prevented anyone from creeping forward more.

“He’s killed them!” Andrew gasped.

“That’s what we want,” John whispered.

“What? Who’s side are you on Tavares?” Brandon Bollig snarled.

John put a finger to his lips and then pointed to the building. “Trust me, I know what I am doing.” He withdrew a small tube of uranium (the radioactive stuff). “Still got your time pad, Bolland?”

Dave pulled his pad out and passed it to the Islander, who slipped it into the center slot spot and then looked at the group. “Okay, so here’s what’s gonna happen, we’re gonna go get Tyler, chances are he’s not dead yet, and then we’re going to get to work saving Chicago’s Dynamic Duo.”

Everyone nodded.

“But how are we going to save Patrick and Jonathan? For one Pronger’s already successfully killed them…” Dave stated.

“Think for a second Bolland, we still have four hours left...Pronger’s done nothing. He’s simply furthered the difficulty of getting them back...which believe it or not, isn’t actually that difficult. If we don’t find them in four hours, then Pronger’s successfully killed them. Luckily, my father left a key and vital piece of information for us. We just have to figure out what time Pronger went back to, to make the kills and then stop him. We capture Pronger or kill him and everything is back to normal.”

“That’s too easy.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be, if I didn’t know it. Also, Pronger would have to be destroyed right at the same time that Jonathan and Patrick would be set to vanish forever.”

“Tavares, you’re one messed up Islander, but thank goodness for ya!” Andrew remarked, putting an arm around John’s shoulders.

“Uh, thanks.”

“You’re so smart, Tavy!” Jamie exclaimed. “But can we get Tyler out of there now, please?”

“Yes, yes, of course.” John turned back to see that the coast was pretty clear.

“Captain Kessy!” Brandon Saad whimpered and ducked behind Ryan Getzlaf. Phil Kessel walked up to the door of the building and swung it open. He vanished inside.

John signaled to the group to follow him and they snuck to the building, keeping eyes out for Pronger or Rinaldo or any of their henchmen. No one came or bothered them and they all slipped into the building. They came into a big room, where there were three empty chairs sitting in a curved look.

They stepped forward and ducked into the hallway at the right side of the room. As soon as they got into the hallway, a scream greeted their ears. Jamie was the first one to gasp and recognize it.

“That’s Tyler!” Jamie exclaimed and darted forward.

“Jamie, no!” John hissed, grabbing his arm and halting him.

“Tavy, let go. That’s Tyler! They’re hurting him!” Jamie cried, pulling at John’s grasp.

Ryan Getzlaf grabbed his other arm. “Not smart Jamie.” He pulled Jamie Benn back. Tyler continued to scream in agony, which drove Jamie into tears. John slapped a hand over Jamie’s mouth and they all slipped into a side room as Tyler’s screaming faded away. Jamie jerked against John and Ryan’s hold, but was held back. John looked to Dave and silently communicated with him.

Ryan clamped his hand over Jamie’s mouth, who was still struggling and fighting to get free to help out Tyler, who’s scream had vanished by now. Dave took over John’s spot. The Islander made his way to the door frame and peered out. He spotted Kessel walking into the big room holding some big ball-like object.

“Alright guys,” John whispered. The door slammed shut to building and John Tavares darted out of hiding. The others followed him. Ryan and Dave still held Jamie, who’d begun to quiet down. Ryan removed his hand. Jamie was exhausted.

“Tyler, my poor Tyler!” Jamie sobbed.

“Jamie, man up, come on,” Ryan growled.

“How would you feel if that was Perry - or rather Kinny - crying out in pain?” Jamie retorted.

“I’d suck it up and then go find him. And Pers and I aren’t that close.”

John led them down the hallway and to the room where another empty dentist-type chair was. Jamie stunned Ryan and Dave and yanked free from the grasps. He darted to the chair and then looked back at everyone. John was leaning against the doorframe looking at his feet. He heaved a sigh and looked at Jamie.

“Where is he? Where is my best friend?” Jamie snapped, running his fingers through his hair with a worried look.

“I’m sorry Jamie,” John said.

“Tyler’s dead?” Jamie questioned.

“No, he can’t be...this, this wasn’t supposed to happen! Tyler’s supposed to still be in here. Dammit!” John spat. “I’m sorry Jamie, I don’t know what happened to Tyler!”

“I’ll tell you Tavy, he was killed and I listened to his dying screams. I could have saved him, but I was restrained!” Jamie remarked, stomping his foot on the ground in anger and frustration.

“Look, I’m sorry okay. I’m so sorry Jamie. But the best chance for Tyler is to just go ahead and get the Kazer, okay?” John stated. He withdrew the time pad. “We got to find Kaner and Tazer.”

“Tavy’s right,” Brandon Saad agreed. “Find Kaner and Tazer!”

Ryan Getzlaf, Dave Bolland, Brandon Bollig, Andrew Shaw, Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon stood together. Gabriel was staring at Nathan with his head cocked. Nathan was looking between John and Jamie. John dropped the time pad on the ground and then bent over and pushed the button in the center of it.

Suddenly the room around them shook. Jamie darted over to John and the others joined them. They clustered together, while the machine made the room shake. Before long the building that had been around them crumbled into ash and they were soon exposed to Philadelphia. And then the city morphed into that of Jonathan’s Toews’ house. The ground stopped shaking and Nathan MacKinnon was the first to speak up.

“Where are we?” Nathan asked.

“Jonathan’s house! We’re in the Toews’ home!” Andrew exclaimed.

John scrambled over to the crib. He smiled and reached into the crib and picked up a baby. “We beat Pronger!” he replied. He held the baby in his arms, making sure not to awaken it. He walked back to the rest of the group, who’d gotten up. “Landy, would you like to hold baby Jonathan Toews?” he asked.

Gabriel nodded. “Uh, I guess...it’ll be weird holding my future teammate, linemate and captain though.” He held his arms out to receive the child.

Andrew punched Gabriel in the shoulder though. “No!”

“What the hell man? What was that for?” Gabriel hissed.

“Jonny’s not an Avalanche player or your captain! He’s a Blackhawk!” Andrew hissed back. “Try that blond kid over there, that’s your buddy!”

“Nathan?” Gabriel questioned. “But he’s with Anaheim!?”

Andrew hit his palm to his forehead and shook his head. “You’re kidding me right? Nathan MacKinnon’s a Duck?!”

“And what’s wrong with being a Duck?” Ryan Getzlaf growled at him.

“It’s not that--”

“Shawzy, shut up. Landy, take baby Toews. Now we have to get to Patrick quickly,” John Tavares ordered, passing the sleeping child to the blond Colorado player.

“Wait, how did you know to come here?” Dave asked.

John just smiled. “Somethings are better left unexplained, Bolland.”

Andrew watched Gabriel smiling at Jonathan, as he played up a motherly/fatherly type role to him, rocking him and whispering to him. The pest shook his head again, “Unbelievable! That’s so messed up…”

John gestured to them to hurry back to the time pad, just as the ground started shaking. “PRONGER!” the Islander yowled, jamming his finger on the button. “HURRY!! No more wasting time boys, we have to beat Pronger.”

They vanished on the machine, reappearing in Patrick’s house now. The ground had stopped shaking and John darted over to the crib, wasting no time. He grabbed baby Patrick now and scrambled back to the group. He passed the future Blackhawk superstar to...Ryan Getzlaf, who just gave an awkward face.

“Just hold him Getz.” John pushed the button once more on the pad and soon they were off once more.

They zoomed off through space and shot through time.

“If my thoughts are correct, we can make it back, find Tyler and then get to Philly and defeat Pronger in time.”

“And we can do that with babies?” Dave questioned.

“Right.”

“Where could Tyler be though?” Jamie asked. “He wasn’t in the chair and for all we know Kessel killed him!”

“No. I don’t think Pronger would kill Tyler, punish him yes, but not kill him...not yet...if anything, Tyler’s a prisoner!” John responded.

“Are you saying that he’s--” Andrew began.

“A Blackhawk, yes. Unfortunately. The same thing happened to me. However, I fought back and Kessel had me punished and then “injured” or rather almost killed as you know.”

They returned to Philadelphia instead, finding themselves back in the familiar city. They were back in the spot in the middle of where the building had been.

“John Tavares,” a voice snickered.

John gulped. He spotted Chris Pronger standing before them. Therrien, Kessel, Rinaldo, Burish and a few other villainous men, plus all of his Flyer friends stood behind him with fists clenched. “Fuck!” John cussed. “That’s what I didn’t want to happen…”

“TYLER!” Jamie’s scream came.

“Jamie, no!” John tried.

The Dallas Star ran toward the curve of chairs, where Jonathan, Patrick and Jonathan were bound and gagged once more. He was snatched by two Flyers and held still to the side. Jamie struggled, not wanting to give in to them. Tyler appeared to hang his head lower. The Islander motioned Ryan and Gabriel behind him. They still held two sleeping babies in their arms. Dave and Brandon Bollig joined John. Andrew joined Gabriel with Brandon Saad and Nathan MacKinnon took to the other Anaheim player.

“Jamie Benn, Gabriel Landeskog, Brandon Saad, Nathan MacKinnon, and the three troublesome time travelers who must be the ex-Blackhawks Dave Bolland, Brandon Bollig and Andrew Shaw, welcome. And Tavares, it’s a shock to see you still alive, luckily for you, Kessel is willing to finish you off.”

“Never!”

“You’re going to make this hard?”

“No. You won’t win and you’ll never kill Patrick and Jonathan!” John stepped forward as did Pronger, until they were face to face.

“Very well, Tavares.”

Pronger stepped back and raised his head up high and proud. John held his spot, clenching his fist. They just had to stall 15 more minutes.

“Perhaps it is time I make a deal with you…?” The wicked man turned and motioned to Kessel and Rinaldo, who instantly dashed over to the chairs and cut Tyler from his chair. His arms were still bound together behind his back, but he was removed from the chair and led away from a hysterical Jamie Benn and the scared Jonathan and Patrick.

John bit his lip. “What are you thinking Pronger?”

“Oh, I don’t know, say you hand over the babies...or...I kill Tyler Seguin right now. In front of you and them and him!” Pronger sneered, nodding to John and then Jonathan and Patrick and then to Jamie, who was fighting like mad still.

John watched as Rinaldo slew-footed Tyler and sent him down to his knees. Kessel withdrew a shiny, sharp sword and placed it to Tyler’s neck. Rinaldo grabbed Tyler’s hair and wrenched his head back.

“Cut him a little bit, to let Tavy here know I’m not bluffing.”

John’s lips parted and he took a step forward as Kessel pressed the blade against Tyler’s neck and made a nice small slit on his neck. The Islander could see a little bit of blood gush out. He glanced at the big clock that was up against the Wells Fargo Center. Five minutes left. John closed his eyes as Pronger said, “So what will it be? Your dear friend Tyler or the Blackhawk babies?”

John reopened his eyes and spun to the group. He looked at the Duck and Avalanche player. “Give him the babies!”

“Tavy are you nuts!?” Ryan gasped.

John winked to him and Ryan acted like John had just given him a death glare of some kind. He walked forward with Patrick in his arms. Gabriel followed him. Just then the clock struck 12 and John spun back around waving off Ryan and Gabriel. He reached into his outfit and whipped out a small dagger. “Good enough!”

Pronger had his out too. “Looks like we both came prepared to kill, eh Tavares?”

John swung at Pronger and they tangled up, before pulling back apart and then “sword fighting”. Therrien raced forward and jumped Ryan, who was busy watching Pronger. The evil coach snatched the baby Patrick and bolted off.

“PATRICK!!” Ryan screamed. “After that coach!” He ran after the man with Nathan and Dave on his heels. Brandon Saad, Bollig, Andrew and Gabriel remained to guard Jonathan as Burish came forward, smirking.

Meanwhile, John continued to fight with Pronger, managing to use his skills he’d learned to actually gain the upperhand on the villain. He tripped Pronger up and then pinned him on the ground. But he was soon helped by Tyler, who’d somehow thwarted Kessel and Rinaldo. John quickly flicked his arm up and sliced the ropes off of him. Tyler removed the tape from his mouth and helped his friend to keep Pronger down.

But Rinaldo and Kessel recovered and they grabbed Tyler’s arms, dragging him backward. But it was enough as John furiously kept the blade in position to Pronger’s neck. He wasn’t one to kill, but this was do or die. Luckily he wasn’t going to resort to beheading or slitting anyone’s throat, even Pronger’s. Instead he whipped out a spray bottle and dumped the bottle over Pronger’s eyes. The villain screamed, while John scrambled off of him.

“My eyes!” Pronger yowled.

“I’m not like you Pronger! I won’t kill you, but you will remain blinded, oh and your hockey career is definitely over.” John exclaimed.

“Great, now help me out please Tavy!” Tyler snapped.

John had dropped his dagger, so he just wound of his fist and knocked Rinaldo out first and then Kessel. Tyler spun around, kneeing them both in the lower stomach with one move and then the two raced over and freed Jonathan and Patrick. The two Flyers realized they were being defeated and let Jamie Benn go free.

Jamie helped Tyler and John out with the two Blackhawks. The blond and brunette jumped up at once but Jonathan had to hold Patrick up. Patrick was weak and it probably had to do with his life still hanging on by a thread.

John spun around to survey the scene. Andrew had Burish in a tight headlock and was chirping him good. Brandon Saad was jumping up and down clapping his hands and chuckling. Gabriel was still holding baby Jonathan and rocking him sweetly, safe to the side. Therrien, baby Patrick, Ryan Getzlaf, Dave Bolland and Nathan MacKinnon were nowhere to be seen. Pronger was rolling on the ground in agony still, pawing at his eyes. Rinaldo and Kessel were shaking their heads and slowly getting to their feet.

Jamie and Tyler darted over and took care of Rinaldo and Kessel. John remained with Jonathan and Patrick, who were hugging each other. What to do? What to do? They had to make sure that baby Patrick was safe. And then they had to get things back to normal, including returning the babies back home.

But Pronger was defeated and it was only a matter of time. They were almost there. Almost to their win and return to normalcy.

Then Patrick screamed in agony and crumbled in Jonathan’s hold. “PEEKS! PEEKS, NO!!” Jonathan’s horrified scream sounded. The brunette centerman clutched onto Patrick as tight as he could. The blond flickered a few times. It wasn’t good. “Patrick, please, I’m not losing you again! We’re in this together! Stay with me!”

John spotted Therrien running back toward them, still holding onto baby Patrick. Ryan Getzlaf was hard on his tail, closing in on him, but somehow the wicked Montreal coach kept a distance. He looked behind him, snickering as he headed in the direction where John, Jonathan and the weakened Patrick were.

“You want the baby, go and get him then!” Therrien snapped and tossed the baby into the air.

Patrick cried out and fell to the ground, out of Jonathan’s hold. John gasped and scrambled back, channeling a football receiver.

In a fury, Jonathan Toews threw his arm out and whacked the coach right in the face. Therrien stumbled backward and was grabbed with Nathan, Ryan and Dave, who finally caught up to him. “Bastard!” Jonathan snarled and then helped Patrick back up to his feet. He clutched tightly to the blond.

As soon as Patrick was once more, safely in Jonathan’s arms, John remarkably caught baby Patrick, diving to the ground. Safe!

“Oh thank God!” John sighed and carefully got up. He breathed in relief.

Rinaldo and Kessel were eventually overpowered and grabbed by Tyler and Jamie, with the help of Brandon Bollig and Andrew Shaw. Gabriel and Brandon Saad remained to care for baby Jonathan and John had baby Patrick safely in his arms. He was smiling and laughing in relief.

Patrick instantly felt his strength return to him and he threw his arms around Jonathan. “Jonny!”

“Peeks!” Jonathan embraced him back.

“Nice move there, buddy.”

“Hey, no one throws you like that. And you know I’d do anything for you,” Jonathan remarked, running his hand through Patrick’s blond curls. “I’m so glad you are okay and I promise, I’ll never hit you or hurt you ever again. I almost lost you and I’m so sorry.”

Patrick blinked and cocked his head giving his friend a sweet smile, “I’d never be mad at you Jonny, I love you.”

“I know.”

They enjoyed the moment and then shared a kiss. It was the spark that was needed. Ripples of light shot from them and the city rapidly changed around them. Prongerville was no more. It was plain old normal Philadelphia. All of the “wanted” posters of Jonathan Toews vanished and the statue of Pronger disappeared. The sky overhead returned to a regular blue and the sun cast a ray of light directly on the pair, who broke apart, grinning happily.

Pronger’s timeline had been destroyed.

Notes

Wow long chapter alert.
Okay, so uh, this is a lot...eh?
But this is wrapping up fast now. You know how Pronger had to retire cause of his eye thing...well, yeah. ;) This is the truth behind that, eh? I'm kidding, but I thought it'd be clever to tie that in.
Also, KAZER KISS!!!! Yay!! Kazer's kisses are magical!! :)
Two chapters left!! So one more update day for this story...sad, right? I'm considering a sequel for this, because I enjoyed it and to be honest, this is the only story that vastly differed from the original outline...and the second half of this is totally made up with no planning. But I think it flowed well...at least I hope so. But yeah, I might do a sequel with this one. And I'm thinking it'll center around Tyler Seguin. ;)


Next up: Returning to "Normal"