Sidney is now strolling on the edge of the countryside, heading toward the heart of New York City. He continues his way down the hills when he spots Connor walking in the same direction, a few yards away from him; he is holding a tin lunchpail.

The Penguin gasps, ready to greet the Oiler, but before a single word could come out from his mouth, John’s voice echoes in his head: “...stay away from McDavid…”

But why? Sidney's thoughts echo. Why does John want me to stay away from him? Maybe it’s because he doesn’t want him to tell me more about the future! But I’m not going to tell anyone in 2014 about the future! What is so bad about talking to him? I’m Sidney Crosby, captain of the Penguins and Canada! I can do what I want! I have good judgement!

With a closed, sweet smile on his face, Sidney marches over to Connor.

Connor gazes down at him once he senses someone approaching him. “Oh, hey, Sid,” he says with a slight smile.

“Hiya, Connor!” The Penguins waves to him. “Where’re you going?”

The Oiler gazes out at the slowly nearing skyline of the city. “I’m going to my hotel.”

“Are you here because of a game?”

“Yeah. No worries, Oilers did not move to New York. They’re still in their rightful spot: Edmonton!”

“Ah, okay…” Sidney gazes down at the grass he is passing by, then back up at the captain.
“Can I join you?”

Connor shrugs. “Sure, I guess. I’d be cool to have Sidney Crosby, one of the best, with me…!”

A prideful smile grows on his face as he adjusts the collar of his shirt. “Ohhh, yes! The best!”
So they continue strolling toward the city in silence.

Connor supposedly getstired of the silence because he begins singing a catchy tune under his breath: “Nugent-Hopkin's Hoppin' Nuggets, Nugent-Hopkin's Hoppin' Nuggets, Nugent-Hopkin's Hoppin' Nuggets, Nugent-Hopkin's Hoppin' Nuggets..."

"What are you singing?" Sidney asks while peering up at him, breaking his humming.

"That annoying song that plays in that nugget commercial in every hockey game," the Oiler mutters with a miffed expression.

"And what song is that?"

"Nugent-Hopkin's Hoppin' Nuggets." He rolls his eyes.

"Like in 'Ryan Nugent-Hopkins?'" Sidney’s eyes light up with amazement.

"Yup, like that guy, my teammate." Connor slowly nods his head.

"Wait, what's with all the' Hoppin' Nuggets' though?" The Penguin makes circular motions with his arms, motioning the Oiler to tell more.

He lets out an annoyed huff. "Ryan decided to open up a restaurant that sells nuggets and he promotes them everywhere from those annoying commercials to talking about them in his interviews."

"Like...?" Sidney raises his eyebrows with an opened mouth.

"Like this--" Connor pulls out his transparent phone from his pocket with his free and navigates to a video using his mind. He then hands the phone over to Sidney, who eagerly takes it.
“Whoa, this phone is so light!” The Penguin raises the phone up and down, testing out its weight.

“It’s the iPhone 21s. Newest phone out on the market!” The Oiler smirks while darting his eyes down at his phone.

“Wow, I just have the iPhone 5! I’m so behind!” Sidney chuckles a bit then gazes down at the screen.

The full screen is showing a post-game interview on the benches with an unfamiliar interviewer and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

“What would have the Oilers done in order to win?” the interviewer asks him. She then holds the microphone out toward the tired hockey player.

The camera zooms into Ryan’s face, who has his eyes casted down. "We could've won if we ate at Nugent-Hopkin's Hoppin' Nugents…” He snaps his eyes back up at the camera as it zooms out. “Eat at Nugent-Hopkin's Hoppin' Nuggets!" He points to the camera with his stick, flashing a grin.

"What a funny name!” Sidney exclaims as the video ends. He then begins laughing his usual laugh: “Uh-huh-huh-huh-huh-huh!” He looks up at Connor and hands his phone back to him. “Can we go there?"

Connor takes his phone and slips it into his pocket. "Well, the place actually has great chicken nuggets, and out-beats Chick-fil-A and Kentucky Fried Chicken, so yeah, we can go and discuss some things."

The Penguin narrows his eyes with suspicion. “What...things?”

The Oiler nods his head with a smirk. “You’ll see.”

---

The two hockey players are now sitting at a two-seater table by a window at Nugent-Hopkin’s Hoppin’ Nuggets, which looks like a fast food restaurant. Sidney is eating a box filled with steaming chicken nuggets, dipping them into BBQ sauce. Connor is drinking cold water he got from the soda fountain.

“You sure you don’t want some?” Sidney asks with his mouth full as he spins the box of chicken nuggets around to his friend.

“Nah, no thank you.” He extends his palm out toward him. “I just ate.”

“Oh yeah!” The Penguin turns the box back around and swallows. “I forgot!” He dips a chicken nugget into the BBQ sauce packet and pops it into his wide mouth.

Connor is sitting diagonally on the chair with his left arm slung on top of the chair and his right hand holding the cup of water. He slurps on his water then swallows it. “So, can I ask you a question?”

Sidney swallows a chicken nugget. “Sure! What is it?”

“You have powers...don’t you?”

Sidney’s eyes immediately flies open. “P-powers…? How-how-how--?” He turns his head around vigorously in multiple directions, scanning around the empty restaurant with wild eyes. He then reverts his gaze at Connor, leans across the table toward him and whispers harshly: “We’re not suppose to talk about powers in public..!”

It is Connor’s turn to gaze around the restaurant. He turns back to Sidney once he is sure that there is no one nearby listening, since it is empty. “No one’s here. And besides, if someone was, they wouldn’t be listening.” He extends his hand to the right, toward the empty restaurant. “Now tell me: do you have powers?”

The Penguin sits in his sit, motionless. His eyes shift uncomfortably while he is mulling over whether to tell the Oiler the truth or not. It is a rule in the GHP to not discuss about powers in public, which is the reason why he is so hesitant about answering the question. “Ummm…” His eyes glide back to him; they narrow as he gets a clever idea. “Do you have powers?”

Connor smirks. “In fact, I do!” He pridefully places his hand on his chest with a sophisticated look.

“You have the Oilers’ powers?” Sidney cries out his assumption. “I heard those are awful! They’re all oily and slippery and do no good!”

“You think I have the Oilers’ powers?” The Oiler scoffs with a roll of his eyes. “Think again, Sid.” He crosses his arms, waiting for him to speak.

“But if you’re in the Oilers and you have powers, then you must have the Oilers’ powers!” he protests, placing his elbow on the table to uphold his extended hand.

“What if I have...the ruler of the NHL’s...powers?” Connor raises his eyebrows.

Sidney’s eyes gradually widen with surprise. “You...you...are the ruler of the NHL?” he squeaks.
A closed grin grows on his face. “That’s right.”

“You have...Jonathan’s powers…” He blinks for a moment, snapping out of his awe-moment. “Wait, if you have Jonathan’s powers, what happened to Jonathan?!”

“Nothing bad, he's just retired. Once a power player is retired, his powers no longer count in the supernatural side of the NHL’s system. So someone currently in the NHL had to take his place, and that’s me! I had the powers all my life, so it’s a perfect fit.” He shrugs and takes another slurp of water.

Sidney is now slack-jawed. “Jonathan...lost his...powers?” He slaps his hands on his cheeks and throws his head back. “OH NO!”

“It’s alright though, the NHL’s got a ruler, a better one to be exact.” He tugs on the collar of his shirt a couple of time in a haughty fashion.

The Penguin slumps in his chair with a frown with wide, saddening eyes. “Oh, poor Jonathan…” Then, an idea filled with hope crossed his mind. He immediately rises back up into a straight position on his chair with an eager expression. “You have all of Jonathan’s powers, right?”

“If he had all the powers of the ruler of the NHL, then yeah,” Connor replies matter-of-factly, swinging his cup around with his wrist.

“So-so, you can time-travel! Time travel other people! Remote time travelling!” Sidney points out.

“Yeah…” He nods his head, wondering where he’s taking this to.

“So can you take me back to the past?” The Penguin extends his arms out away from his sides. “I really need to get back. Please?”

Connor shifts himself in his seat, getting into the correct sitting position. He has narrowed eyes piercing at him, becoming tense, while he is in deep thought. “No.” He then relaxes and drinks some more water with the scraping, airy, sucking sound emitting from the cup.

Sidney’s jaw drops. “But-but why? I thought we were friends!”

He pulls the cup away from his mouth. “More the reason to keep you here!” He slams his empty cup on the table. “Friends don’t go leaving friends behind.”

“But in the future, at the correct time, I’ll meet up with you and be friends with you!” He stretches his hands toward him. “Just not right now...it’s really dangerous for me to be here.”

“Who says?” He nods toward him with his fist holding up his jaw.

“John says. He told me that if I stay here, the whole universe would go BOOM-KA!” He mimics an explosion with his hands.

“Bah!” Connor whips his hand in front of him. “That old man’s tryin’ to scare you! No blowing up the universe is going to happen just because you’re here! Take it from the current ruler of the NHL.” He clicks his tongue while pointing at himself with two thumbs.

Sidney stares blankly at the ruler of the NHL. “Are you sure?”

He nods his head with a smirk. “One hundred and one percent sure.”

“Okay…” The Penguin’s eyes drift away toward the brown-coloured, tile flooring.

“So now that you’re staying here, you can stay with me. How’s that? You’ve already gained a friend!” Connor throws his hands in the air with enthusiasm.

Sidney gasps and looks back at him. “Yay!!!” He claps his hands excitedly. “And at your house, you don’t have any Polish or Greek food, right?”

“That’s right, I have food that you can actually pronounce!” He directs his pointer finger at the opened, unfinished box of chicken nuggets. “Like “Hoppin’ Nuggets!”

“Yay!!!” He continues clapping happily. “Thank you, Connor, for taking me in! But would you take me back to the past soon?”

“Yeah, yeah, soon,” Connor gazes to a side and waves his hand aimlessly. He then faces him. “Wanna go to my hotel room, now?”

“Sure! I’ll take this to-go!” Sidney closes the box and hops off his seat. He then exits with restaurant with Connor right next to him.

Notes