Arrow Hawk: Birth of the Hockey Avengers

Meanwhile,

In Boston, Massachusetts,

As soon as Evelyn O’Reilly has heard the distress-filled scream of Valeri Nichushkin and powers up into her superheroine “Zvezda” getup, Kelly Mackinnon watches her zoom off into the air.

“Go save him girl!” Kelly cheers. And then she turns to see Brad Hawkley standing there. He is smiling. “Hawkley?”

“Kelly, I would love to have you run through an obstacle course. We need to strengthen your powers some more, especially that Resurrection.”

Kelly nods. “Understandable, Hawkley. And how exactly will that happen?”

“Follow me.” Hawkley turns and gestures to the young brunette to follow him into the headquarters and into the training room, which is down the hall from Hawkley’s main room with the supercomputer.

This room is a large, spacious area that is similar to a black box theatre, given that it can be arranged to fit any number of training grounds. Zvezda’s training sets, both for her new form and for her old form (Black Hawk) are in the room. One of the plasters has a dozen star shapes in it. There is also an archery target and a target for gun shooters like the kind in police stations. It just so happens though that her targets and training materials are already in place.

Kelly and Hawkley round the other targets and then Hawkley faces Kelly. “Alright, ready...I’m thinking we can work on your telepathy and magic.”

“Alright!” Kelly goes for her wand but Hawkley snatches it away. “Hey! Hawkley, I need that!”

“No anymore! Today you shall become more than the wand. The wand will trick opponents but I’m going to teach you how your powers can work without the use of the wand. It’s time to take the training wheels off!”

“Oh! Okay! I’m ready Hawkley! Can I get a cool codename like Evelyn?”

Hawkley puts the wand on a table to the side and nods at her. “That would be wonderful, anything in mind?”

“I’m thinking maybe Magica!” Kelly crosses her hands and sways back and forth.

“Magica, eh? Sounds good!” Hawkley remarks.

“Yay! So how do I not rely on my wand?”

“It’s all in your mind. It’s what I told Evelyn when she first started out with her training. But she was a little too ambitious, so it took some time to get through to her.” Hawkley states. He moves a target into her path. This target is a fireproof human dummy. “You know how I tell you to focus.”

“Everyone does.”

“It’s true. When you are completely focused, that is when your powers are at the highest peak. That’s when you are strongest.”

“Okay. So how do I learn how to focus?” Kelly asks.

“We’re gonna start off by working on that first of all. When you can gain precise focus on the task or person, you will then be able to accomplish the next stages of training.”

“Okay, so how’s this gonna work?” She folds her arms over her chest.

Hawkley faces her. “I want you to concentrate on the target. I’m going to attempt to distract you. When you are distracted, you’ll get punished with a small shock.”

“Alright! I’m ready. I got this.” Kelly unfolds her arms and faces the target, a focused look on her face.

“We shall see.” Hawkley withdraws a button and presses it with his thumb. Instantly a door opens at the back of the room and different animals flood in: a butterfly, a small white fluffy cat, and two birds.

At once, Kelly breaks concentration and she looks up at the butterfly that flies past her vision. “Ooh, pretty!” The cat struts up and rubs against her. She spins from the small butterfly and drops down to pet the cat, which meows at her. “Kitty!”

“Kelly,” Hawkley remarks, shaking his head. He presses the button device and this time it activates a shock to her.

The cat bolts off from her and Kelly scrambles to her feet and then faces him, pouting. “Okay, okay...I’m not ready. I get distracted too easily.”

“Which is why, I’m gonna help you out.”

Kelly nods. She faces the target again and after a good three hours and plenty more harmless, yet startling electric shocks, Kelly Mackinnon is officially ready for anything. She is focused and ready. The animals leave as the big boss man guides them back out. Hawkley returns to her and he is smiling?! It is something he rarely is caught doing. Hawkley smiling is rarer than Jonathan Toews smiling.

Kelly isn’t smiling though. She is serious about learning and something clicks inside of her. As she goes through the training, she matures. Instead of goofing off and giggling, she is serious and ready to learn.

Hawkley eventually guides her back to face the target. Then she gets in a “ready” stance. As soon as she does, Hawkley steps back and commands her, “Alright Kelly, create your fire streamer. Do just as you would with the wand, saying the incantation and then focus.”

Kelly nods to him. She shouts the incantation for creating the fire and instantly flames shoot from her own hands. They extend out at the target and Kelly gradually lifts her hands up and down, causing the flames to lash at the target and the ground. Then she builds up her confidence and flicks her hand forward with a sharp motion and lassoes the top of the target around the ‘neck.’ Normally she’d turn and break her concentration...but she doesn’t. She remains focused on the target. With her other hand she whips that at the target and lassoes the bottom part as though subduing a power villain.

She eventually thinks about the fire disappearing and it does. Then she exclaims another spell and sharp jagged lightning shoots out of her palms. She is shocked and smirks before she narrows her eyes and brings her hand back and pitches another bolt right at the target and obliterates it. It may be fireproof...but it wasn’t lightning proof.

Hawkley remains to the side, nodding and clapping.

“This is so awesome, Hawkley! Now I can throw villains off! Haha!”

“Yes, you can. The wand is now more for show and just a clever ‘trick’...and if you lose your wand...it’s okay, cause you know what to do now. But...there is one thing that takes more concentration.”

“And what’s that?” Kelly asks as she touches Hawkley and smirks. A thought has crossed her mind and she wants to test it out.

Hawkley gasps and disappears in a poof of smoke changing into a duck. The duck quacks and then folds its wings in front, as though a human would do with their arms. Hawkley the duck is not amused.

“Heehee, Hawkley I turned you into a ducky, cause I thought it up! This is so awesome!”

Hawkley quacks at her again and she finally bends over and touches him again. He changes back into his human form, still not amused. “Don’t do that again. But yes.”

“Okay, so what’s the thing you were gonna say?”

“Your Resurrection powers. I wanted to also strengthen those. The boys and Zvezda may need those. But it might not be as easy as it was in Russia with Val and Patrick. No, I’m going to teach you about how you can strengthen your Resurrection powers and use them to bring back someone who is completely dead.”

“Is that possible? Can I do that?”

“You can. But it requires something more than complete and total focus. Sure with your limited Resurrection, if you wanted to, you could bring someone back who is barely alive. But that’s nothing if someone actually dies. No what you need is something that comes from your telepathy, which is shockingly strong. Your telepathy needs no strengthening!”

“Well that’s good, right?” Kelly inquires, raising an eyebrow at her boss.

“It is. It’s very good, which is why you should be able to easily strengthen your Resurrection powers. And now that you can focus, you are ready to put them to the test.”

“And how are you going to accomplish this training session?”

“I have total faith in you, and luckily an antidote just in case, but...we’re going to go completely real on this training part, as it is the only way to strengthen the Resurrection powers.” He picks up her wand and gives it back to her.

She pockets it immediately and then snaps her head up to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“He agreed to do this.” Hawkley pinches the bridge of his nose, looking at her. “I made sure to ask first, but he was all in to help out.”

“Who?” Kelly demands, stomping her foot down on the ground.

Hawkley lets out a sigh. “Your crush of course. Vlad kindly accepted wanting to help out before his big game tomorrow against the Boston Bruins. And well since he is in town...I thought...”

“You asked Vladimir Tarasenko to ‘play dead’ and help me out. Hawkley, that’s sick. I swear if he actually dies.” She clenches her fist at her side. It glows red.

Hawkley raises his hands up in a ‘cool it’ motion and she relaxes, the red glow vanishes. “Which is why this is going to be an excellent test of strengthening the powers. Now, you’ll need to tap into your telepathy right away. What you will do is start up the Resurrection powers on him, then focus and tap into the telepathy. Focus on ‘telling him’... ‘persuading’ him to return to you and to be alive. The more persuasion you have with him, the better.”

“And if I don’t…?”

“I’ll quickly give him the antidote, I promise, he’ll be fine either way and like I said, I have total faith in you, Kelly. Now, let’s go to the lab room. It’ll be best in there.”

“Okay. I trust you, Hawkley. And I got this. I can save my Vladdy!” She claps her hands, whirls around and shoots another jet of fire at the spot where the target used to be. It hits the ground, but vanishes. The floor, walls and the room in general is made specifically for superpower training, so it is naturally resistant to her fire and lightning and any of the super powers.

They walk out of the room and meet up with Vlad, who is waiting for them in the lab room. He is wearing a red, white and blue Russia team jacket on over a white shirt with a pair of dark blue denim jeans. His hair is still damp and it looks like he threw something on fast and came from a practice.

Kelly blushes at the sight of him and tucks a strand of her long curly white hair behind her ear. “Oh, hi, Tara.” She avoids eye contact with him.

“Hello Kelly,” he responds in a thick Russian accent, “I heard you have a crush on me.”

Oh God, his voice was just so...sexy! Kelly thinks to herself. “Uh, I do. I like you a lot.”

“That’s okay. There’s no need to be nervous. Nervousness is for the ice and playing in the Stanley Cup Final.”

Kelly blushes deeper and looks at Hawkley, who is filling up a syringe. There is another on the table before him. This must be the “antidote.”

Vladimir comes up to Kelly. “Kelly, if you can save me...bring me back from the dead, I’ll gladly go out with you on a date. Would you like that?” He slips his hand into her’s.

“Sure!” Kelly blurts out as Hawkley pumps the syringe in his hand to test it. Some of the foreign liquid squirts out.

“Alright, Vlad, ready?” Hawkley asks.

“I’m ready. As a hockey player, I’m always ready...and I can do this.”

“I’ll save you, Tara!” Kelly exclaims. “I promise. I can do this too!”

Hawkley pulls Vladimir back from her and their hands slowly pull apart. Kelly turns her head to the side and squeezes her eyes shut. She doesn’t want to see him die, even if it is temporary and under perfectly safe medical practices.

There is a sudden scream from Vladimir and then horrible choking noises before he crashes to the ground with a loud, echoing thud. Kelly snaps her head back and opens her eyes to see the poor blond hockey player for the Blues lying unconscious on the ground. She gasps and throws her hands to her mouth in shock and horror.

Hawkley sets the empty syringe down and snatches up the other one, preparing to move in just in case. “You have five minutes and then I’ll have to quickly shoot him with this antidote if you can’t do it. Also, as soon as I shoot him with it or you awaken him, I will have to erase his memories of your powers. But he’ll know about asking you on a date.”

Kelly nods. She moves in on her dead love interest. It takes all her courage not to kiss him like a fairy tale. But she takes a deep breath, calming herself and remembers Hawkley’s instructions. She has to first tap into her Resurrection powers and then focus and then tap into her telepathy. So she slowly leans over Vladimir, cradling his head in her hands. His hair is all dry now...to which she slightly envies him for having hair that dries super quick.

Hawkley stands at ready, as she drops her head lower to the forward’s. She steadies her quivering eyelids. Then she mutters an incantation and then focuses. Her hands glow with a dark blue color and she gradually blows on his face with a steady stream of the same blue color energy.

Vladimir, she calls in her head. Vladimir, it’s Kelly. I need you to wake up. The St. Louis Blues need you as does Team Russia. And you kind of promised me a date a little while ago.

She opens her eyes and lifts up. He doesn’t stir. She panics and looks at Hawkley. “Hawkley!”

Hawkley calmly looks at her. “Focus and persuade him harder. You got this Kelly. I know you can resurrect and save Vladimir Tarasenko.”

Kelly nods and calms her racing heart once again. She closes her eyes and grips Vladimir tighter in her hands and blows on his face with more energy. She taps into her subconscious again.

Vladimir, wake up now! she demands with a harder, more firmative tone. Vladdy wake up! You want to see me and all your hockey friends again! I know you do! WAKE UP!

She snaps her eyes open and draws back. Sparkles surround the man on the ground and Hawkley sets the syringe on the table, knowingly. She has done it! She has succeeded in her mission! Vladimir blinks awake and gasps for air at once. He sits up and spins to her, smiling. She smiles back.

“I knew you could do it!” He throws his arms around Kelly and plants a kiss on her cheek.

“I love you too much Vladdy!”

Hawkley claps his hands. “Well done Miss Mackinnon, you’re training is finished. I have nothing else to teach you. As you use your powers, they will continue to grow and strengthen and the more you practice and use them, the less energy it will take from you and the more comfortable you shall get with them.”

“Thanks Hawkley!” Kelly exclaims. “You’re a wonderful teacher!”

“You’re a decent student Kelly….er Magica. Now, Vlad, may I see you. Per the agreement, as you know.”

“Of course. I’ll see you in a few Kelly.” Vladimir nods and smiles to Kelly. He scrambles to his feet and helps Kelly up like a gentlemen. He kisses the back of her hand, sweetly. Then he follows Hawkley to the corner of the room. He faces Kelly, waving at her.

She blushes and waves back, mouthing, “I love you.”

Hawkley puts his hand on Vladimir’s head and it glows a marvelous silvery color. Kelly tilts her head to the side as a blinding white light follows, before the room instantly returns to its color once more. Kelly turns back and sees Hawkley and Vladimir walking back to her, conversing. They rejoin her. Vladimir is still smiling at her and knows her and who see is, but doesn’t remember the resurrection or any of the powers.

“Go have fun you two. You deserve it, Kelly. And I couldn’t be prouder of your choice in a man. Vlad is a wonderful Russian,” Hawkley says. He mouths, “And shockingly very calm and willing around people with powers.” Kelly nods at him and they leave the lab room behind. Hawkley smiles yet again. "Zvezda did good in picking her as a friend."

Notes

Yay Kelly!! :)
Kelly and Tara!! :P They really do make a really cute couple actually. ;)


Next up: Well...Val's tired of getting saved all the damn time and who can blame him?