AAOOOSC! #10

In Ottawa, Ontario, the three hockey players, Sidney, Toews, and John are filing into a secret elevator from the back of the NHL Headquarters.

The elevator doors slide close and since the elevator works on its own terms, they must wait for it to begin functioning.

“So, when are you able to have that time machine available, John?” Sidney asks from behind Toews and John. Since he is so short, only the top of his hair is visible between the two taller skaters.

John turns around to face Sidney. “Right after this visitation, we can utilize it.”

“Oh, goodie!” He claps his hands happily. “Finally, those Gulls can go back to the future!”

John sighs as he turns away from him. “I should desist from working with time-related apparatuses,” he mutters to himself.

Suddenly, the elevator’s lights snap off and the edges, floors, and ceiling glow a neon blue right before it makes a daring plummet downward.

Meanwhile on the floor the elevator is rushing toward, the found of the NHL, Thomas Gorman, or Tommy for short, is at his computer. He is lounging on his swivel chair, immersed in an intense game of outdoor lacrosse.

The reporter is just as enthusiastic as Tommy’s facial expression: “running down the fielding, looking to pass to someone...!”

DING!

The hologram-like man spins around in his chair to face the elevator as its doors are sliding open; John, Toews, and Sidney stumble out of it.

“You necessitate putting to rights that elevator,” John points out as him and the others near him.

“I’ve tried to so many times,” Tommy replies, “yet it keeps acting up. So I decided, ‘Fine, act up.’ Why fix it if it’s not broke?”

“Because it just might break me,” Toews mumbles, rubbing his head.

Tommy leans forward and pats Toews’s head. “Oh, don’t worry, my right-hand ruler. You’re durable.”

Sidney throws his arms out from his sides. “Tommy!”

Tommy reverts his attention to the small captain. “Ah, Sidney! Oh!” His eyes light up. “I have great news! Galchenyuk and Zadorov are back to normal! They have no memory of them having powers and anything that has to do with that.” He dusts his hands against each other with a smirk.

“Oh, thanks, Gorman,” Toews replies with a huff of relief.

“Lesson of that:” Tommy raises his index finger in the air, “do not attempt to teleport the Stanley Cup. One might just get in the way.”

The three gaze at him with confused expressions.

“I was attempting to teleport the Cup. The two Slavics just got in the way and the whole powers situation thing happened to them.”

“Oh!” They then nod their heads with understanding.

“So, with that to say: What brings you men here?” His attention is now fully on them, despite the fact that the lacrosse game is still showing from behind him.

John and Sidney eye Toews.

Toews turns to look at both of them from each side. “Uh…” He faces Tommy. “I just want to let you know that we got rid of the EHP and the League Leaders.”

Tommy’s eyes grow wide with surprise; his jaw drops. “You really did?”

“Yeah!” He blurts out with more confidence. “John and I, we put them all in some portal…”
“Some portal?” Tommy seems skeptical with that expression of his.

Toews nods his head while fiddling with his fingers against his chest. “Yeah, I have no idea what the portal led to, I mean, I did see what was on the other side, but I had no idea what world or whatever that was was.”

“How did it look like?”

“Yeah,” Sidney pipes in, “how did it look like?”

“Well…” Toews eyes John, like as if asking him for help through his facial expression. “...it looked the same, except way different.”

Sidney looks ahead with a puzzled look. “That doesn’t make any sense at all!”

“Ugh, it’s so hard to explain.” Toews buries his head in his hands.

“I think I know what you’re talking about…” Tommy then swings back to face his computer. He drags the lacrosse game over to the coroner of the screen and with a few clicks, he brings up a picture.

The three gape at the image.

It is a black and white photograph portrait of a middle-aged man. Yet the texture and features in the face are different than what they are used to: the features are more smaller, the texture is more sharp and rough, it seemed more…

“Reality,” Tommy replies. “This is from the real world.”

The three do not move a muscle; they have blank looks on their face and dropped jaws.

“The...real...world?” Sidney squeaks out.

“Yes.” Tommy swivels back around to face them. He jabs his index finger to the portrait. “This is my real self from the real world. We all have a real self in that universe.”

Toews gasps. “No wonder I saw that tall skater that looked like John…!”

John snaps his eyes at Toews, looking at him like as if he is crazy. “You saw my real self?”

“Yeah!” Toews turns to him. “And we saw my real self, too! Remember?”

“Oh yes…” John’s eyebrows furrow with deep thought as he rubs his chin. “I do recall that…”

“So I have a real self?” Sidney puts his hands on his chest.

Tommy nods his head. “Yes, you do. Everyone does.”

Toews is gawking ahead as he is trying to comprehend all that is being laid out in front of him. “So that means that...we’re not alone. We’re not a lonely universe. I opened up the passageway to a whole new world--no--universe!”

“And you trapped the EHP and League Leaders in there?” Tommy asks.

“Yeah.” Toews nods his head. “I had to. I was scrambling so much with my powers.”

Tommy sighs. “I must advise you guys, it is not smart to mix our universe with the real universe. It’s just like the dangers to time travelling, like time could be lost when one time travels too much, the same way the universe can be lost when one crosses the universe too much.”

Toews gazes up at Tommy with a pleading look. “So that means I have to lug them back over here and put them in the NHL jail?!”

“No, for now, keep them there. Let them suffer as a punishment.” He chuckles. “But for future warning, don't go back there. It’s highly dangerous. Also, there are aspects here we find as reality while the same thing is considered fictional in the real universe. Don’t ruin their reality.”

“Like what?” Sidney asks with interest.

“Like supernatural powers.”

Sidney’s eyes and mouth grow wide. “No way!”

“Yes way.”

Sidney turns to Toews. “No way!”

“Yes way,” Toews replies.

Sidney turns to John. “No way!”

“Yes, now be hushed.”

Sidney turns back to face front. “No way,” he whispers to himself.

“Question:” Tommy pipes in as he scratches his head, “how on earth did you get the League Leaders in the real universe with the EHP?”

“Because they were there.” Toews shrugs. “At John’s house. That’s where I opened up the portal.”

“And why were they at John’s house?...” Tommy’s eyes slide over warily to John.

John dips his head with guilt. “Because I collaborated with them to eliminate all the power players.” He then lifts his eyes to see the founder. “But not any longer. I squandered so much being with them: my supernatural abilities, and most importantly, my companions.”

Tommy nods his head in understanding. “I’m glad you were finally able to think straight again!” He swings back around to face the computer. “And I did notice that you no longer have your powers.” His hands begin flying across the keyboard.

“That is unerring,” John replies.

With a few more clicks, Tommy pulls up the power players’ profiles of the NHL. In the New York Islanders’ spot, there is no profile, just an negative, space-shaped square.

The founder turns back around to face the skaters. “As you can see, the system automatically threw you out once it detected that you lost your powers.”

John sighs, casting his eyes down again. “I merit it. I merit no supernatural abilities.”

“Shall we do a vote?” Tommy asks, gazing at the other two captains.

John perks up. “What?”

“Who here says that John shouldn’t have his powers?” Tommy announces.

No one says a word or puts a hand up.

“Okay… Who here says that John should have his powers?”

Sidney and Toews raise their hands.

John’s eyes fly open. “Sid? Kid?”

Toews smiles back at him. “With the League Leaders gone, I know you’ll never ever go back to your plan.”

A sweet smile grows on John’s face.

“It is a sweep!” Tommy proclaims. “John gets his powers back!”

After facing the computer once more and with a few clicks, Tommy brings up John’s profile and inserts in in the missing square.

Suddenly to the right side of the computer, where the Stanley Cup is perched on its own podium, the Cup itself begins to glow an Islander blue.

John raises his hands to his eye level as he witnesses them pulsing with the same blue glow as well. Once the glow around the Cup fades off, so does the glow around his hands.

“So?” Tommy starts off, “are you going to try them out again?”

John flicks his right hand in the air. Immediately, a flow of water leaps out from it and floats around his hand as he manipulates it. He chortles with joy. “It’s functioning! It’s functioning! My supernatural abilities! They have returned!” He transfers the ribbon of water to his other hand; right on contact, it morphs into a tangled stream of yellow lightning. “Thank you so much, Mr. Gorman. How could I ever repay you for bestowing this?”

“Simple: treat your fellow power players nicely!” Tommy wags his finger at him.

John faces Toews and Sidney. “Unequivocally will.”

“I feel like a hug is coming up!” Sidney exclaims with rosy cheeks. “Hug!” He then clobbers John and Toews into a hug.

With a chuckle, Tommy gets up from his chair and joins them in their hug. “Oh, you guys are something else…”

“We hug because everything is finally over!” Sidney tells them sweetly.

John’s eyes immediately snap open with some sudden realization. “Not quite.”

Notes