AAOOOSC! #10

Later on in the GHP Headquarters, the GHP are continuing the search for the location of Patrick and Toews. Antti is once again typing on his massive computer with many windows popping up on the enormous screen, but leading him to nowhere. Ari is floating next to him, advising him to the best of its ability.

At the table, Sidney, Jonathan, and Pekka are sitting next to each other, looking at the tablet Sidney is holding. The device is showing a livestream of this time Nathan and Jonas out in a different area of Chicago.

“Thanks for going out a second time, taking my place,” Jonathan tells Jonas.

Nathan and Jonas are walking in the early evening in a mellow, residential part of Chicago.

“Yup-a-doo-da!” Jonas stuffs some chips into his mouth.

“Is Tatu doing fine?” Pekka asks with some worry.

Nathan chuckles. “No worries, your little robot’s doing alright. Right, Tutu?”

“Tatu,” Pekka corrects flatly.

Some squeaking sounds is heard from the other side of the connection.

“Okay, at least he’s fine.” Pekka leans back in his black leather-covered chair with ease.

“Any signs of Patrick and Jonathan yet?” Sidney asks, peering down at the screen.

The two in Chicago scan their surroundings for a few moments, then turn back to face the three in Ottawa.

“Nope,” Jonas says with a shrug. He eats more chips.

“Nothing yet-- They’re hiding good!”

“They sure are!” Sidney agrees to Nathan’s comment.

“And they better stop it,” Jonny adds in with a roll of his eyes.

Suddenly, the harsh sounds of the front doors opening is heard, being followed by rushed footsteps.

“I got Kane!” a familiar voice booms from the hallway the entrance is concealed by. “I got him!”

Pekka immediately stands up, gaping at the hallway. “Carter?”

Carter sprints into view, emerging from the hallway, then halts; he pants, looking out of breath. In his arms is Patrick, who does not look any better than before.

“Patrick!” Sidney drops the tablet onto the table, jumps out from the chair, and runs toward Patrick.
Antti spins around in his chair, spotting Patrick. “Oh, Patrick, there you are!”

“Guys…,” Patrick says weakly as the four men crowd around him.

Antti gazes down at him with wide, concerned eyes. “Oh my, what happened to you? You don’t look well--” He turns to Jonny. “Jonathan, carry him to the hospital wing, please.”

Jonathan stuffs his arms underneath Patrick, lifts him up, and exits the room with him.

Ari flies up to Antti and projects on its screen: Aion tarkistaa ylös Patrick nähdä, jos hän on kunnossa. (I’ll check up on Patrick to see if he is okay.)

Antti nods his head. “Erittäin hyvin-- Mennä.” (Very well-- Go.)

Ari buzzes off, exiting the room.

Now it’s the GHP and the ninja.

“Um…” Carter undoes his mouth covering, letting the cloth slip down his neck. “It’s me,” he tells them with an embarrassed tone.

“You look awfully familiar,” Antti starts off. “Who are you, exactly?”

“I’m Carter...Hutton, I’m the backup goalie of the Preds--”

“And my goalie partner,” Pekka cuts off with a frown and crossed arms. “What are you doing here?”

Carter blinks a few moments, trying to adjust to Pekka’s harsh tone. “I was saving Kane, what else?” He swings his arms out toward the direction Patrick was ushered into.

“How on earth did you find him?” Sidney asks him, gazing up at him with wide eyes.

“You would never believe it…” Carter invites himself into the room, passing by the others to sit down in one of the chairs by the table. He pushes the tablet aside, which is emitting questions from Jonas and Nathan. “He got kidnapped by these hockey players, NHLers, who have superpowers and want to take over the NHL, who call themselves the EHP!” He laughs wheezily. “And it’s more crazier that they actually do have superpowers, unless they were fake, but I saw it! Can’t you believe it?” He chortles some more with a huge smile.

The others are staring down at him with serious expressions.

Carter’s laughing dwindles away as he sees their expressions. “You guys don’t believe me, do you?”

“Oh no, we do certainly believe you!” Antti tells him. “We just don’t really appreciate the joking spirit when discussing about the EHP.”

Carter’s face drops into a frown and furrowed eyebrows. “You actually...know about them?”
Flat expressions answers his questions.

“Wait, let me guess: You guys are part of the GHP, like the same thing Kane is in, right?” Carter adds on.

“Yes.” Antti nods his head. “We’re all part of the GHP. In fact, we are the GHP.”

Sidney grabs for the iPad and lifts it into view. “Including these guys!”

Carter scans all the hockey players that are in front of him. “Wait… So does that mean you guys have...superpowers?”

“Yup-a-doo-da!” Jonas calls from the other side of the screen.

Carter lands his eyes on Pekka. “Is this why you’ve been getting outta practice early?”

Pekka transfers all his weight onto one leg with crossed arms; he scoffs. “I have to.”
“What, this is more important than actual hockey--?”

“Yes,” Pekka answers sternly. “Yes, it is. Because this is what keeps the NHL the way it’s suppose to be: We keep guys, like the EHP, from getting hold of the controls of the NHL. Without us, the NHL would be very different now.”

Carter sits there in silence, trying to process all what he just heard.

“How did you find Patrick though?” Antti asks, switching the subject.

Carter snaps his eyes up at Antti. “Oh, I was driving somewhere in the middle of the nowhere where there were cows--”

Antti waves his hands in front of him, signalling him to stop speaking. “Where did you find Patrick?”

“Oh! It was in Detroit in some run-down building. Found him in chains, all beaten up, poor dude.”

“Detroit!” Sidney exclaims. “Jimmy!” He points to Carter. “Was Jimmy there?”

“Oh, Howard? Yeah, he was there with Galchenyuk and Zadorov.”

“Galchenyuk and Zadorov?!” Antti exclaims with shock. “What on earth are they doing with him?” He rubs his stubble-covered chin. “They’re not power players!”

“Well, they have superpowers that’s for sure,” Carter points out flatly.

“What type?”

“Pssshhhh, I have no idea: They just, I don’t know, Galchenyuk went into Zadorov and he started blasting me with some sort of dark blue energy--”

“One went into the other?” Pekka asks with raised eyebrows.

“Yeah.” Carter gawks at him. “I’m not kidding.”

“Does Jimmy have any powers?” Antti asks.

“He didn’t do anything, he was like the one in charge, told the other two what to do.” He shrugs.

“Was Jonathan there?” Sidney inquiries, going on his tippy-toes.

“Toews?” Carter raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, he was there; I actually tried to save him--”

“And…?” Pekka cut off.

Carter turned to Pekka with a flat look. “I didn’t. Because of Galchenyuk-in-Zadorov trying to zap me!”

“So Jonathan is held hostage there?” Nathan asks from the tablet.

Carter looks up at the tablet. “Yeah.”

“So why couldn’t he save himself, since he has nigh-omnipotence?” Nathan concluded.

“Well, he was attached to this machine thing; looked pretty menacing.”

“Machine?” Antti furrowed his eyebrows. “Jimmy never uses machines; he can’t make one himself.”

Jonas points his bag of chips toward the camera. “Maybe the Slavs made it for him.”

“Maybe…” Antti scratches his head.

Carter continues on: “It looked pretty durable and I noticed that Toews didn’t use any of his superpowers at all, since you said he has superpowers, right…?”

The three exchange looks of concern; they turn back to Carter.

“I think I might know who had supplied the machine,” Antti mutters.

“Who?” Carter asks. “The Slavs?”

“No.” Antti shakes his head with crossed arms. “It explains everything--” He swishes around and begins making his way back to his computer. “--the excuses, the absences, the detachment...” He types his few things on his keyboard. “It’s Tavares.” He then pulls up the profile of John Tavares, showing his smirking headshot.

From behind Antti, everyone is gaping at the screen, except for Carter.

“Wait,” Carter calls out in confusion, “Tavares has powers as well?”

Antti twirls around to face Carter. “Yes, he does.” He then strolls up to him and places his hand on the desk’s surface, facing him. “But thank you for saving Patrick. You don’t know how grateful we are to have you bring him here.”

A smile grows on Carter’s face. “Yeah, no worries…!” He slips the cloth over his face. “It’s what ninjas like me do.”

“A ninja, eh?” Sidney’s eyes are widen with fascination.

Carter spreads his arms out from his sides. “Well, I don’t go out like this everyday.”

“Well, he saved Patrick, so that proves that he is a very good ninja,” Antti points out. "With the state I saw Patrick in, I am afraid he can't fight with us at the moment. With that, I have made a decision--” He swings his head to look at the screen still showing John’s profile behind him; he then turns back to face Carter. “Carter Hutton--” He holds out his hand toward him. “--welcome to the GHP.”

Carter gasps with wide, excited eyes. He stands up and shakes his hand feverishly. “Oh wow geez, thank you so much! I’m in the superpower group now!” He gazes at the others happily.

Sidney smiles at him with his tablet.

Pekka has a gawk that says, “What. Just. Happened?”

Notes