Arrow Hawk: Birth of the Hockey Avengers

Meanwhile, in Dallas, Texas, in the Dallas Stars Locker Room at the American Airlines Center (or AAC)...

“What you doing in here?” Val asks as he spots Anze Kopitar up to no good. The Los Angeles King forward is messing around with Tyler Seguin’s equipment in the Dallas locker room. But he is smirking and cackling to himself...

At the sound of the young Russian forward’s voice, his head snaps up. He glares at him and stops fiddling with the equipment. “Hello, Valeri.”

Val halts in place. The tone is dry and there is something eerily wrong about it. His conscious screams at him to turn around and run for it and his heart begins to pound in his chest. But hockey players didn’t flee, they confronted danger head on. Val stands his ground, wearing his Dallas uniform, complete with his padding on. But he doesn’t have his gloves on. And he doesn’t have his stick or helmet. He is completely helpless and he realizes this as Anze faces him, wearing a clever smirk on his face. The Los Angeles forward raises his hand up and grayish-white cosmic dust arises from the palm of his hand.

Without so much as a thought or hesitation, he throws his hand out and shoots the energy at Val, who dodges it just barely. Anze steps toward him, chuckling. “What’s the matter Russian? Scared of a little white light?”

As the King and Star both circle each other, Val watches Kopitar closely. Luckily superpowers aren’t new to Val, so he isn’t at all shocked by the sight of them, but the fact that one of the Los Angeles Kings’ players has superpowers...that is shocking...and a little nerve-wracking. What had he done to Tyler’s equipment? “What you do to Tyler’s stuff?”

“What’s it gonna matter to you? I’m just doing what’s necessary for my team to get a win here in Dallas.”

“So you cheat and hurt Tyler?”

“I wish you’d learn to SPEAK better English, Russian. You’re much more choppier than Geno.” Kopitar builds up a ball of energy in his hand and then throws it at Val, who jumps up and dives at the King. He is able to take him unaware and they crash to the ground.

“Why you try hurt me?” Val asks, pinning the rival player to the floor.

“Because you saw what I did! I can’t have you warn your little Starry Stars now! Especially Tyler,” Kopitar sneers as he shoves Val off of him and blasts him with the lunar energy, sending Val flying backward into the wall of the locker room.

Val slams into the whiteboard on the wall and falls to the ground. He shakes his head and scrambles to his feet. “You really should no hurt me.”

Kopitar laughs as he steps forward and then grabs Val by the collar of his jersey. “Really? Why’s that?”

Val bites his lip and shakes his head. Don’t scream yet! Try to handle this yourself! You can’t always have Zvezda come and save you! You can do this Val! “I no tell you. Let me go and get out! I tell Tyler and then Jamie make you pay on ice.”

“Oh really? You think I’ll let that happen?”

Suddenly Val shoves Kopitar back, mustering all of his strength and he tears himself free from his hold. He scampers out of the locker room and down the tunnel, heading for the ice. Kopitar roars with anger and charges after him. Kopitar lunges for Val and tackles him, sending them both flying onto the ice rink.

“I’m not gonna let you tell your friends, Valeri Nichushkin! Nosy Russian scum!” Kopitar snarls as he pins Val to the ice.

“You no hurt Tyler or the Stars!” Val kicks up and knees him off of him. The Dallas winger rolls to the side and gets to his feet, raising his fists up.

Kopitar joins him, cackling wickedly. “You’re gonna pick a fight? Oh Russian...you really gotta “pick on someone your own size”!”

“I am. You basically my size.” Val swings a fist at Kopitar, but he isn’t a fighter and instead Kopitar spots his move and reacts quickly. He grabs Val’s arm and spins him around, wrenching his arm behind his back, slamming him hard into the boards. They are to the side of the bench area and tunnel, where they’d come onto the ice from.

Val can feel his arm muscles searing with the pain of being pushed to an uncomfortable angle. He bites his lip and squeezes his eyes shut. So much for doing this himself...Kopitar snickers and then a new kind of pain fills the young Dallas forward. He snaps his eyes open and can see the glow of the grayish-white energy reflecting in the glass of the boards. It feels like an icy hot feeling on his lower arms and it begins to hurt.

Finally he screams out, “ZVEZDA!!!!!!!!!!! POMOGI MNE!!”

At once a thunderous crashing sound erupts overhead. There is a sudden chill in the air and the familiar soothing sound of the flapping of wings reaches his ears. Then a thudding as something lands on the ice behind them. “BACK AWAY FROM HIM!”

Kopitar stops cackling and spins to see who is there and what has happened. Val can hear him as he starts to say something, before… SMACK! Val feels the hurt fade away and he finds he is able to spin around. He lifts one of his hands up and touches his head. He rubs his arm with the other hand.

Zvezda is standing, steaming with fury on the ice. Kopitar is lying on his side, cringing and clutching at his face. There is a pool of crimson under his head. The heroine snorts and shakes her head. “Leave him alone Kopitar!” she snarls.

“What the hell?” Kopitar growls. “You got the fist of a man!”

“Yeah, and there’s plenty more where that came from if you keep messing with the Dallas Stars. I suggest you pick your pretty little self up and get off the rink and scamper back to your buddies. Otherwise, I’ll give you hell.”

Kopitar sits up and spits out blood to the side. Then he wipes his face and glares at her. “Never. It's cute that you’re all strong and can fly, but...I have Lunakinesis!”

Zvezda looks at Val, giving him a, ‘this guy’s really gonna try me’ look. She cracks her neck and knuckles and allows Kopitar to get to his feet. The King throws his hands to his sides and causes them to turn a bright grayish-white. He then raises them up and flicks energy at the heroine, who rolls her eyes and throws her hands up before her. She produces her cosmic dust, which is a purplish-pink color. She overpowers his grayish-white energy, consuming it with her purple, with little energy used by her.

“Asterokinesis. The Power of the Stars. Your Lunakinesis is cute though and I commend you for trying.”

Kopitar growls but continues to shoot energy at her. She consumes and overpowers it with her powers and goes to her belt and flings a few “star darts” at him. They hit the ice at his feet and explode.

Kopitar flees, heading down the tunnel. “Let’s take this outside!”

Zvezda grabs Val and they give chase, launching down the tunnel. “Stay with me and don’t go looking for trouble!”

“What about Tyler?” Val inquiries as they pass through the locker room.

“Not now!”

“I tell Tyler, you go fight Kopitar!”

As they head back into the hallway, behind the locker room, Zvezda snaps her head to look at him, fire in her green eyes, “I’m not leaving you alone. You are coming with me, Nichy!”

Before Val can protest further, they follow the King through the American Airlines Center and burst outside into the player’s parking lot. It is nighttime and overhead the stars twinkle and the full moon suddenly changes to a ‘new moon.’ Kopitar sends clouds of dust back at them. It doesn’t bother Zvezda, who passes through the dirt and dust unphased, however Val screams in pain and shields his eyes.

“Kopitar, stop running and fight!” Zvezda growls. “You wanted this!”

Kopitar halts a few feet away and spins around and raises his arms up. He glowers at them. “I’m gonna show you just how “cute” my powers REALLY are!” He throws his hands out before him and Zvezda whirls around to see Val in the air, Earthly soil surrounding him. He tries to speak, but is stifled by the soil.

Zvezda spins back, her wings flapping angrily behind her. “Put him down now!” she demands, stamping her foot on the ground. “Or else!”

Kopitar shakes his head and causes other objects around him in the lot to lift into the air, including a few cars and a trash can. Zvezda and Kopitar also lift into the air. The heroine shoots off towards the villain and wraps the King player up in a hug. Then they are sent slowly shooting backward due to the gravitational imbalance.

Val fights the Earth soil around him, trying to get it off of him. But instead it circles around him and seems to bind around his arms. Zvezda takes aim and blasts Kopitar with her stellar dust. She is able to then control the gravitational distortion in the atmosphere; and returns everything back to normal.

“Kopitar, I’m not cleaning up your mess! You’d best stop this nonsense NOW!” she snaps as Val brushes the dirt off of him and remains to the side, unsure what to do. He really should go tell Tyler...or at least warn him…Val turns around and prepares to leave, starting to sneak back to the American Airlines Center entrance.

“NEVER!!” Kopitar shouts and causes the moon to cycle through its phases rapidly behind him, before it shines brightly, and the Kings’ player is able to pull Val toward him. He throws Val to the side into a car and then holds him hostage there with his grayish-white lunar energy. The energy glows a brighter white color, pushing against Val and keeping him firmly pressed against the car.

Zvezda cracks her neck and smiles. “So I’m gonna have to destroy you? Okay. Go ahead and continue to feed my anger, Kopitar!”

Kopitar smirks. Suddenly a thunderous and familiar grunt echoes toward them. Zvezda spins around to see a red-eyed, ghostly, glowing Tyler Seguin marching toward her. He appears to be under control by Kopitar. He swings a fist at the heroine, who dodges it and lifts up into the air. Tyler stomps his foot on the ground and it pulls her back down to Earth.

“Tyler?! This isn’t you!” Zvezda shouts, catching herself and then grabbing his arm as he swings again at her. But the Dallas Star centerman ignores her and kicks at her. She yanks Tyler’s arm though and flings him away, sending him flying into a car. “May Lindy and Jamie forgive me if I injure their star player!”

Tyler recovers and charges back at her. She zooms upward into the air and swoops around in a circle and snatches Tyler by the arms, lifting him into the air. He flails about, but Zvezda manages to keep a tight hold on him.

“Tyler, stop! TYLER! Dammit, I’m trying to help you--”

Tyler finally jerks himself free and plummets toward the ground. Before Zvezda can get him, he slams into the ground hard and is knocked out cold. He stops glowing and lays limp. “Sorry, Tyler.” She turns to spot Kopitar dealing with Val. The Russian looks hungover and then he gradually goes limp.

Kopitar lets him go and Val crumples to the ground. Zvezda darts over and slams into Kopitar. The King laughs. “Still think my powers are cute?”

The heroine turns to him and waves her hands around. Then she throws them out and a black hole forms to the side of the centerman. Kopitar isn’t prepared for her sudden move and he yelps as the gravitational pull sucks him into the event horizon and makes him vanish from sight. Zvezda sharply jerks her hand to get rid of it, but ends up just pushing the black hole away and it starts to suck everything into it. Cars fly toward it and then it locks on the unconscious Russian.

“VALERI!!!” she screams and dashes forward, snatching his arms by the wrists as he is pulled toward it. She is luckily unphased by the pull and able to withstand it and she jerks Val free and flies him to safety, putting him with Tyler.

Then she faces the monstrous creation she’s made and, much calmer now, waves her hand in a sideways “d” motion. The black hole vanishes and she breaths a sigh of relief. She turns to Val and Tyler, who are still unconscious. She walks over and kneels on the ground. She takes Val’s head in her hands and kisses him on the lips. Little golden stars spark around their mouths and twinkle.

She jerks back and watches as Val instantly blinks awake and smiles. “Zvezda!”

Zvezda smiles back and hugs him, stroking his hair. “You’re okay, baby.”

Tyler groans. “What the hell? Val? Zvezda? What’s going on? Ow, my head.”

Val and Zvezda turn to him. The centerman is rubbing his head and glaring at them. His eyes are normal, back to the dark puppy-dog amber color.

“Kopitar had you under a spell, Tyler. He was controlling you through lunar energy. You attacked me, just be lucky that I didn’t do some serious damage to that pretty little boyish face of yours.”

Val laughs. “Да, Звезда сказала, Тайлер! Слабак. (Yeah, Zvezda told you, Tyler! Weakling.)”

“Валерий, брось. (Valeri, knock it off.)”

Tyler rolls his eyes. “Don’t provoke me, Zvezda.”

Zvezda leans toward Tyler and stares at him. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Pretty Boy.”

Tyler stares at her but blinks and turns away. “Whatever, Zvezda. Let’s get back into the arena, we got a game tonight and I need to score a goal! I haven’t been able to get one in four games! I need one...badly!”

“Must be hard, Tyler. I’m sorry about that but I’m sure you’ll get one.”

“Thanks Zvezda! I’ll score one for you, baby!” Tyler blurts out. He instantly gasps and chuckles. “Sorry.”

Zvezda laughs. “It’s okay, just watch it. I’m not your girlfriend, just the protector of the Dallas Stars and the savior of the beloved Baby Russian here.”

Val grins. “Yeah, me hero!”

Tyler gets to his feet and gently slaps Val’s arm. “Watch it Val.”

Zvezda and Val get to their feet now and walk after Tyler. They re-enter the building and head down the hall. They enter the locker room and there Jamie instantly runs over to his best friend and hugs him. Zvezda bids Tyler and Val and the other Stars farewell.

And after one final kiss, Zvezda winks at Val and then twinkles away like a star and disappears.

Notes

@divergent_spn Here's where having the visual of Tyler come's in handy. Crazy, creepy red-eyed Tyler Seguin the party hound Star.
Haha Kopitar with Lunakinesis! There will be an edit coming of that on my Tumblr account! ;)


Next up: Kelly's Training Problem and A Special Russian Guest :P