Nathan Mackinnon arched high over the city of Chicago, putting some extra distance into his swing. He was wearing a royal blue and burgundy outfit on that resembled that of Spiderman’s...and hey, he was in essence very similar to the superhero of the Marvel Universe. The outfit was like a tougher, more durable version of a wet suit like one might wear while scuba diving. He shot out another line from his hand, feeling it go taut as it snagged a building. He had a blaster mechanism in his glove, which allowed him to shoot out web-like material, just like Spiderman could do. He was headed west, toward the Olympic village in Chicago.

"Life is good," he thought, "even if you have the proportionate strength and powers of a Spiderman-like hero...I mean at least I can get around in a clever way. But I wish I...had other powers sometimes...something more."

He decided to hitch a ride on an emergency vehicle headed in the direction of the hospital. He made a perfect three point landing on the roof of the swiftly moving van. He watched the city fly by and occasionally waved to startled motorists and pedestrians. The vehicle pulled up to its spot and he leapt off the roof and swung over to an adjoining building.

He finally landed in front of his destination, the Canada House. He walked in like a normal human being and stood, looking around the place. He knew his match was with a mad man with weird mechanical arms. The curiosity factor alone was enough for him. He continued looking around, keeping his web blaster hand at ready.

“Come on out and play! Or are you too scared that I’ll stick you in my web?!” Nathan called out, bravely.

Suddenly a pair of metal arms reached out for him and hauled him off his feet and wrapped him up in a tight embrace. Nathan smiled and grunted with effort, determined not to show weakness. If he did, the battle would be over. He could escape this! He had too!

For the hockey heroes and Chicago!

"Do you think me some pathetic thug, Nathan Mackinnon. I deserve respect, and if you will not grant it to me. I have the power to take It." The arms raised him above the ground and threw him toward the wall in the lobby area.

“Well you won’t get it!” Nathan snapped. He thrust out his hands and fired a web line that grabbed him in mid air and slowed his progress toward the wall and ground.

Then in a single leap, which allowed him to cover the space between them, he landed on the ground in front of the wicked man, who he now recognized as Kevin Bieksa. The villain had on a brown leather long-coat and dark denim jeans. Nathan could just see where the mechanism was for his arms...it was like a belt or plate and it fit him like a harness under the coat. The maniac caught sight of him and reached for him with the tentacles again.

This time though, Nathan leapt to one side and waggled his finger at the man, "Ah, ah, aaa didn't your mother tell you it's not polite to grab. Ask first."

Bieksa stared at him. "What foolishness is this, what kind of freak are you?"

"Calm down Bieksy, you're freaking out. How about we talk this out?”

"No! I want you dead!"

Nathan took advantage of the man's ranting to bounce closer to him and punch him, sending him flying backwards across the room. The Colorado Avalanche forward realized his “spider sense” was tingling a half second before the metal arms grabbed him and threw him away from the Canuck defenseman. Nathan rolled to his feet.

His foe had also regained his feet and tested his lip where Nathan had drawn first blood. "I have heard of your theatrics Nathan Mackinnon, I assure you I am not one to shy from a fight." As he stood, his tentacles lashed the air menacingly. "You will pay, just like all your friends and I will be victorious! I will destroy you, Nathan Mackinnon. "

"You're not sounding a lot like the guy who ambushed my interview one time."

"Wincing little gimp. You know nothing about me."

Nathan watched in fascination as the defenseman’s arms smacked a nearby wall in frustration as a human fist would. Except that a human could not have cracked the masonry sending chunks flying.

Nathan rushed him again. The metal arms were on him in a heartbeat. They curled around his arms and snagged his legs. The arms began pulling in opposite directions. A groan was forced from the forward's lips as Bieksa looked at him a like a specimen on a slide.

"I am something of a history buff Nathan. Did you know that when men died on the rack, they were frequently almost a foot taller than their height in life. I wonder how you will fair under that kind of stress."

Nathan's spinal column protested to him as he was pulled in two directions. He was just toying with the idea of passing out. “Come on, Bieks, can’t we discuss this in reasonable fashion?"

"I am not a child." The Canuck turned. "Do not patronize me. I will have the respect I deserve."

Nathan looked at the distracted madman, who was infuriated and then around the room, looking for some means of escape. His eyes traveled across the room to a flagpole that twitched in the air condition, flowing through the room. Nathan looked at Bieksa and saw his attention was still on his anger. So the Avalanche player fired a web line at the top of the pole and began dragging it downwards. It silently bent, the angle growing sharper and sharper until the pole was bent double.

Bieksa finally turned back to his captive and saw him struggling with the pole. "What are you doing?"

Nathan secured two of the villain's metal arms to the pole with webbing. "The technical term Bieks would be, crack the whip"

Releasing his hold on the pole, He braced his back against a wall and prayed his ability to cling to objects extended to more than his hands and feet. The pole whipped back into place dragging the crazed villain and his arms with it. In a panic, Bieksa released Nathan who dropped to the floor. It overshot and Bieksa was dragged over to the other side of the room to crash on the surface, right after smacking against the ceiling that was high above them. Then the pole shot back into its original position; Bieksa was pulled from where he had hit the floor into the air once more, crashing into it and knocking it down. He struggled to quiet the spinning in his dazed head.

"Now that's entertainment." Nathan could barely conceal his amusement. He moved toward the man on the ground. When one of the metal arms lashed at him again. His spider-sense flared a warning and the Colorado forward jumped aside with ease. Kevin Bieksa rose from the floor and looked right at him.

With a cry, his arms lashed out smashing tables chairs, mirrors and wall plating. Everything he could reach. Then his arms smashed through a wall. He paused; Nathan looked at the three pincers that surmounted each of the steel arms.

“I’m too quick for you, Bieksa!” Nathan shouted, dodging the pinchers as the arms came at him over and over again. He began to jump up and down and it looked like he was skipping rope in the school yard.

Nathan jumped into the air and shoot a stream of his web at the ceiling of the house, swinging over the Canuck’s head. He landed on the ground and whipped around smoothly on his heels, before sending blast after blast of thick white webbing at the flustered villain.

Bieksa was soon covered in web and couldn’t move. His arms seemed to almost “shut down”. Nathan danced around him in a circle, continuing to coat him in the web.

“Give up yet, Bieks?”

“Never!!” Bieksa snarled as he was pulled back toward the wall by Nathan.

“You sure? I’m giving you a chance here man. You should take it.”

“Piss off spider boy.”

Nathan slammed Bieksa against the wall, but the villain had managed to figure out how to escape the webbing and he was soon able to tear the stuff from him with help from his pincher hands as well as with his regular hands. Then he thrust one of the arms out and grabbed Nathan.

The Avalanche forward wasn’t ready for it as the pinch held him tightly in place, pinning his arms to his sides and making him squirm with utter helplessness. Now Nathan was slammed against the wall, making his head collide with the hard surface, leaving him dazed and confused temporarily.

Bieksa then stormed back into the center of the room and flung Nathan into the floor. He commanded another of his robotic tentacle arms to grab Nathan’s legs and soon all the hero could do was wriggle around, grunting from the effort.

“I’m not sure who’s more arrogant, you or Vladdy? But I’d vote you, Nathan Mackinnon.” Bieksa leaned down toward him, smirking devilishly. “Canucks don’t find Avalanche players to be very nice...or forthcoming.”

The villain looked at him struggle and seemed to chuckle with amusement. Nathan tried to lift his hand up to blast Bieksa, but the evil man figured it out and another of his arms plucked his handy glove off and lifted it into the air.

“You won’t need this anymore. It won’t matter once I destroy you!” He let his pincher flick the glove to the side before it opened back up and hovered over Nathan’s face.

“Screw you Bieksa!” Nathan shouted.

Bieksa snickered wickedly and let the arm plunge down at Nathan, who screamed. But before it made contact with his head, a steady stream of crystal ice froze it in place and it halted barely an inch from the forward’s head. Nathan saw Bieksa turn his head and gasp, before his head was frozen solid.

The Avalanche player snapped his head to see where the ice was coming from. “LANDY!!”

Gabriel Landeskog and Nikita Nesterov entered the Canada House. Gabriel threw his hand out and produced more ice from his hands, blasting Bieksa with it. Then Nesty charged forward, his arm changing into the worn-down blue steel armor look and he brought his fist into Bieksa’s side and send him flying backward into the wall. The force was enough to tear Nathan from the pinchers’ grasps and free him. Luckily it seemed the he still had the colossal strength in him and it didn’t hurt him.

He jumped to his feet instantly and joined Nesty, who lowered his arm and made it turn back into a normal arm. The Russian looked at the Colorado player and smiled.

“You okay?”

Nathan nodded, brushing himself off. “I will be.”

Gabriel darted forward, keeping an eye on the dazed and iced villain, slumped against the wall.

Nathan faced the newcomers, relieved. “Man, am I glad to see you. Thank God you two arrived when you did, Bieksa was gonna make me a spider sandwich!”

“No problem Kinny. I got your back, even if I’m Swedish and you’re Canadian…” Gabriel remarked, wearing a smile. “You’re my best friend and I’ll never let anyone hurt you.”

Nathan snatched his web blasting glove up and then winked at Gabriel. “Thanks, Gabe. I appreciate it.”

“I know you do. You’d better.” Gabriel laughed and wrapped an arm around his Colorado teammate.

Nesty stood there grinning, looking at them, puzzled about what to do. “What we do, Gabriel?”

“I told you to call me Landy or Gabe, Nikita.”

“And you call me Nesty.” The Russian smiled and chuckled at his own humor.

They walked out of the house, seeing that Bieksa was out cold and they had time. Gabriel turned to them outside, “Nesty and I have been trying to find the others, we luckily heard your scream but we still aren’t sure where the others are.”

“USA house have noise,” Nesty stated, pointing in the direction of the USA house. “I hear chaos...lots of banging and hitting.”

“Good work Russian! Let’s investigate!” Nathan remarked, raising his head up.

They walked toward the house and, sure enough, were greeted by the sounds of a battle.

Notes

Nathan Mackinnon, not a moose...yet.
Kinny can totally be Spiderman though! ;) I think so.