Battle For the Ice: The Great NHL War

Miles down the Chicago River, away from where the shapeshifters were, the water suddenly rose up into the air like a tidal wave. It was only pierced through and dissolved by an unknown energy. The liquid water that had been in the air was now just steam, like walking into a sauna room.

“I’m giving you a chance to join us, Niemi!” a nasally, bratty voice cried.

The river split down the middle and revealed a furious blue-eyed man, holding a trident in his hands. “You dare try to coax me into your wicked ways, Kessel?” He banged the trident down on the pebbled floor of the river, which was exposed. He looked up to spot Phil Kessel floating in the air on a cloud of visible heat, waves of clear hot energy radiated off of him. It reminded Antti of being in a hot desert.

Another blast of water shot up, aimed at Kessel, who punched at it and made the water evaporate into more steam. “I’m too hot to handle Niemi. If you’re going to play this way, I might just burn you up with my heat.”

“Well, you need to cool down, Kessel. Allow me,” Antti swung his trident around in a circular motion and then punched it up into the air and created a whirlpool around him. The water whipped up and grabbed onto Kessel, who attempted to fight the stream’s jet-like pull.

However Kessel was able to build up enough heat that he evaporated the swirling water holding him and recovered to face Antti, who threw his trident out at him and zapped him with a lightning bolt. Kessel was thrown backward and Antti immediately caused the river to close up. Water covered Kessel, who gasped and then vanished under the blue waves.

In the air, the steam from the battle hung low and encompassed the scene in a thinner fog. It clouded out the battle from passersby and limited their visibility by a ton. It was also kind of creepy.

The San Jose Shark goalie powered the water around him and he shot into the clouded sky on an aquatic platform. He looked down at the water, searching for Kessel. It wasn’t like he was in the water, so his vision wasn’t exactly spectacular. It only worked under the water. He held his trident up at ready and he waved his other hand, allowing the water platform to carry him along.

Before he could make it a few paces, Kessel burst from the water, dripping with slick black stuff. He drew his hands around and produced more of the thick liquid and blasted it at Antti, who commanded his staff to draw up a tidal wave, which was meant to block the incoming attack.

Instead the black liquid propelled over the water, cloaking the blue color into a black and then it hit Antti. The goalie tumbled off his platform and fell back into the water.

“Ha! Oleokinesis, old man!” Kessel snarled, landing on the water surface and using his heat and oil manipulation powers to walk on top of the water toward the hydrokinetic player.

Antti growled and scrambled to his feet. His trident had landed to the side of him and he rapidly dove for it, however Kessel flicked his hand and used an oil rope to grab the staff and bring it back to him.

Antti looked at the Maple Leaf with fury. “Give that back, you shouldn’t take things that aren’t yours Kessel!”

Kessel threw oil at Antti and sent him flying backward into one of the Chicago bridges. He was stuck to the side by the slick black stuff. It held him in place like webbing or sticky goo. He attempted to blast it with water, but the water was no match against the thick black goo it. Instead he grunted in frustration and jerked at it madly.

Kessel walked over and pointed the trident at Antti, using it like a pitchfork and trapped the Sharks’ player’s head between the tines. “Look Niemi, your own weapon is being used against you!” Antti mustered his strength - all the strength he could possibly get - and managed to get his arm free. He flung it out before him and blasted Kessel backward with a jet of water from the palm of his hand.

From that, he was finally able to slip free and land on the water, which he quickly whipped up into a rope to snatch the trident back. Kessel roared in fury and charged along a solid oil path straight for Antti, who grabbed his trident back and then struck Kessel again with more lightning.

The sparks from the lightning lit up the oil and then Kessel burst into flames. Antti knew that it wouldn’t matter much; Kessel was heat resistant and he’d be virtually unharmed by the hot temperature. Another surprise that Kessel had had in store for him.

“You can’t win,” Antti grumbled, gritting his teeth and enhancing the lightning bolt.

However, Kessel overpowered the bolt and instead blasted him with more black oil. Then he waved his hands around and produced clear energy and made the thick goo thin and become more liquidy. Antti screamed in pain as steam streamed off of him. He could feel the heat raising his cool temperature and it seemed to immobilize him, keeping him stuck in place.

“Give in Niemi? Surely you don’t want to push me more...right?”

Antti channeled the steam vapors and cooled them down, that in turn reversed the heat on him. He freed himself and was able to jump into the water. Instantly the cool blue liquid flooded over him and healed his seared skin where he’d been burned. Kessel attempted to blast him again, however Antti dove under the surface and remained under the water.

“Hiding, again Niemi? Too scared to face me head on anymore? Pathetic!”

Suddenly a massive wave rose up and knocked the scoffing villain backward, into the water. Kessel flailed about and noticed his internal temperature plunge dangerously low. Antti, underneath the water still, commanded water to wrap around Kessel and keep in the water. The water was easily turned black from the oil. But it was long enough for Antti to swim over and pierce Kessel through the lower abdomen with his trident.

Kessel screamed and tried to leap at Antti, but the Shark kept him in place and stabbed him again. Antti pulled back and flicked his hand out, gesturing for the water to pick Kessel up and fling him onto the shoreline.

Then Antti rose up in his own water platform and stepped onto the dryland, hovering over the beaten villain, who was clutching his stomach and gasping for air.

“I told you, you wouldn’t win.”

“You cheater, Niemi.” Kessel spat on the ground.

Antti leaned over and looked at him, sort of smugly. “Oh no, I didn’t cheat, I used surprise, like you did. There’s a big difference there.”

Kessel groaned. “I fricking hate your guts, Niemi!”

“Well, you can certainly feel that way, but it won’t change the fact that I won and you lost. Go ahead and slink back to your villain posse, we’re done here.”

Kessel moaned again and pushed himself up. He glared at Antti, who pointed his trident at him, threateningly. There was a silent communication between them, before the villain finally staggered to his feet and stumbled off, gripping his injured stomach.

“Good choice Kessel!” Antti called after him.

Kessel vanished around a building and Antti looked around. He jumped back into the water and sped down the river, toward where Patrice and Corey had been. He wasn’t sure where the rest of the heroes were, but he was bound and determined to find them...or run into someone. He wasn’t sure what to do right now anyway.

Notes