“Sabrebow, look out!” Valeri “Val” Nichushkin (AKA: Arrow Hawk) screeched.

Nikita Zadorov (AKA: Sabrebow) spun around to see a lamp post fly at him. He gasped and ducked it, barely escaping. He flicked his long-sleeved purple and black coat out of the way of his legs. The post flew past him and stuck into a building like one of his arrows. Speaking of which, he grabbed another arrow and inserted it into his bow and pointed it at the person who’d thrown the object.

It was David Backes.

The St. Louis Blues’ captain was standing in the center of the messed up road like the Phoenix in X-Men: The Last Stand. He wore a long navy blue trench coat, over black pants and boots. On his chest was a Blues symbol.

Arrow Hawk was standing on a pile of car parts and debris. One foot was on the hood of a crunched vehicle. He was standing there in his Jeremy Renner-style archer outfit, (a sleeve-less black vest with black pants and black boots) letting arrows fly off one after another. (Unlike Hawkeye, his arrows don’t run out...) Sabrebow scampered over to him, ducking more flying particles thrown his way.

“Arrow Hawk, we can no take him alone. We get pulverized. I mean, we already getting asses kicked.”

Arrow Hawk shook his head. “We no give up. Not Russian custom. Keep shooting Sabrebow.” He turned his head to face his younger partner, while still shooting arrows at the villain.

“Why we no get help? We call Zvezda or Scorpion...someone!” Sabrebow insisted.

“Cause we took Chaos and Zvezda no let me handle things on own. I want do this. No ruin it for me.” Arrow Hawk turned back to the villain and grabbed one of his special arrows. “Enough niceness...I shoot explosive arrow now.” He pulled back the string and let the new arrow fly out.

Backes caught it in his hand. He grinned facing the archer. “Really?”

“Yeah.” The arrow exploded and sent Backes stumbling backward. Arrow Hawk shook his head. “Come on Sabrebow, we get him. We won. Without Avengers. See?”

Sabrebow wasn’t so sure. As he watched his partner dart forward, readying another arrow in his bow, he spotted Chaos signaling to him. The Tampa Bay forward was wearing a sleeveless royal blue vest with a large Lightning bolt etched into his chest and black pants. He was pointing at the top of the building behind the Sabre defenseman. Sabrebow turned and looked and spotted a black hooded figure standing there.

“Arrow Hawk…!” Sabrebow started, just as the Dallas Star winger reached the Blues’ captain. He flicked his eyes between the figure and Arrow Hawk.

Arrow Hawk grabbed Backes by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up off the ground. “Why you try to kill us?” he demanded. Backes snickered and smirked. “Why? Why you try to kill us?”

Sabrebow saw the figure leap from the roof and land on the ground, smoothly. Who was he? He withdrew four mallets from his cloak...Marimba mallets. The man rose up, gripping the mallets in a bizarre fashion. He had two of them between his pointer fingers and thumbs and the other two were between his ring fingers and middle fingers on each hand.

He raised them up and removed his hood to reveal a brunette man with shimmering blue eyes and a distinct rat tail. He stepped toward Arrow Hawk and Backes.

“ARROW HAWK!!” Sabrebow screamed, thinking the worst. He darted forward, signaling to Chaos.

Arrow Hawk turned at the last minute, but the Marimbist dude swooped low and brought the mallets into Backes’ legs, causing him to fall backward. He did a rapid turn and brought all the mallets over the back of the villain’s head.

Chaos and Sabrebow skidded to a halt.

Arrow Hawk was shocked and he stepped backward, allowing Backes to scramble to his feet and face the new attacker. The Marimbist blocked his face with the mallets, crossing them in front like Wolverine’s claws. Backes drew up some dark blue plasma and shot it at him. The Marimbist shredded it though with his “claws.”

He then spun around and let his mallets fly through the air, as he swung them at the villain. Backes managed to dodge the swinging mallets this time. He tried to use his telekinesis to throw something at the malleteer. But this man was smart and he knew what he was doing and what he was dealing with.

The man ran up a car and flipped over Backes’ head. He landed, spun around and then crossed his mallets in front of the Blues’ players’ face before the man could do anything. Backes was stunned, but not ready to give up. Though he was stuck in a sort of headlock and the Marimba player wasn’t about to back down.

“Who are you?” Backes snarled.

“The Marimbist. A friend of Zvezda’s! You’re gonna leave them alone and leave here, or I can maybe let my mallets teach you how deadly I can be!”

Backes growled but shoved the mallets back, away from his face. “Fine.” The villain gave them all a dirty look, before storming off, vanishing down the road.

The Marimbist turned to look at Chaos, Sabrebow and Arrow Hawk. He cracked his neck and smiled as they walked toward him. He gathered all four mallets into one of his hands and brushed the hard yarn tips off. Then he put them back under his cloak into a kind of belt and holster for them: two on either side of his hips.

Before any of the NHL Russian hockey players could speak, the man spoke. He extended his hand out in warm greeting, wearing a kindred smile on his face. “The real name’s Jaydrien Grimm. I play hockey for the Orlando Sun Bears...or rather now for the Texas Stars in the AHL I guess. Just transferred last week.”

“You’re a hockey player...and...a…” Chaos began to say.

Jaydrien cut him off with a quick response. “Marimbist...Malleteer...any one of those work. And yes, before I got into playing hockey, I did Marimba in the band. I guess I was so good at it, that is kind of stuck with me. But, where’s Zvezda at? Evelyn O’Reilly.”

Arrow Hawk eyed him as he said, “She no here. We come on own to beat villain. She never let me - or any of us Russians - go alone to fight. But we handle things good. Right?”

“Right!” Sabrebow exclaimed.

“Well, kind Russian would you take me to where she is?” Jaydrien asked.

Arrow Hawk folded his arms and frowned. Chaos and Sabrebow stepped before him, just in case.

“We love to,” Sabrebow stated. “How you know Zvezda?”

“Oh...we used to have a thing together...and she was my right hand Marimbist. Man, she could handle mallets like no other woman.” Jaydrien sighed at the memory. “But she cared more for film and the arts and hockey then the Marimba…”

Arrow Hawk narrowed his eyes now. “Marimba игроки сосать. (Marimba players suck.)” He rolled his eyes with annoyance.

Jaydrien looked at Arrow Hawk with a stern mein. “You know I can understand you right? Я говорю России тоже. (I speak Russian too.)”

The Dallas Star gasped and apologized at once.

“It’s okay man. What’s the matter? You hate me?” Jaydrien asked, cocking his head and eyeing the Russian winger with a hard gaze. It wasn’t exactly icy or mad...just curious. “What have I done to make you upset at me?”

Arrow Hawk “I like Zvezda. I’m Arrow Hawk or Val Nichushkin, her boyfriend. I just jealous I guess.”

“Don’t be. I understand you. And nothing to worry about, I’m not taking her back, I got someone else trust me, but I do need her help with something. In fact I could use all of the “Hockey Avengers” help!”

To be continued…

Notes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOoUS6p6_sQ - Marimba “fight” choreo visual
I always have and always will love the musical instrument known as the Marimba. The deep Junglish, calming sound...just so pretty and sexy.
Anyway, this is 90% likely to be incorporated into an actual story...either in Arrow Hawk or in the Arrow Hawk series....I'm unsure. For now the villain is Backes, however it may change. ;)
I'm working on a Jaydrien-Marimbist look, but for now just think of Matt Bomer + Jim Hawkins + hockey + Marimba. Okay?
The best Marimba solo song I can think of is "Dance of the Hippolollipops" by Earl Hatch - Youtube it, I dare you to. It's so fun and awesome!! :P
I used to be in band, playing the Marimba and it was so much fun, but then I went off to college. I tried to continue it, but alas that didn't happen. But it remains in my heart and I love it. :P