AAOOOSC! Wheatie Bits!

Later that afternoon, Nolan has returned to the practice facility for the afternoon session of development camp. He is strutting down the hallway lined with office and locker room doors toward the assigned locker room when he hears a familiar voice shouting his name from behind:

“Nolan!”

He knows exactly who is attempting to grab his attention. He continues in his striding, ignoring the goalie.

“Nolan!” With huffs, Carter aligns himself with him. “Tell me, how do you control the glider the way you want it to go?”

“Push down forward until you make an imprint of your face on the ground,” he remarks curtly, keeping his stern eyes ahead of him.

“Uhhh…” Carter maintains his pace with him, but he makes an uncertain look. “I would rather keep what I got for now, thanks.”

“You asked.”

The goalie lets out a huff then speeds up in front of the forward, blocking him from proceeding forward. “Look, I’m still thinking of a way to swap our powers back. I just need a silver mean, since I can only conduct my magic through silver.”

“Use a fork.” Nolan twists his torso perpendicular to him and breezes past him.

Carter watches him swagger away from him with a hopeless expression. A brilliant idea then pops into his mind, causing his face to light up. “Wait!”

He rushes back up to Nolan and grabs his shoulders while skidding in front of him, guiding him to stop once again. “I got it!”

Nolan yanks his shoulders from his grasp. “What?”

He grabs his hand. “Your silver generation.” He holds it up for the owner to see.

Nolan instantly wrenches his hand free from his grasp. “Don’t touch me!”

“No, no, no, no—” He waves his hands frantically in front of him. “—but your silver generation, it can-it can conduct my magic since it’s silver!”

Nolan gawks at him. “I have to HELP you swap our powers back?”

“Yeah, I guess.” He scratches the back of his neck tentatively. “It’s the easiest way, I know my powers’ flow the best.”

Nolan shoots him a glare and states lowly, “You messed it up, you fix it up.” With that, he flicks his head away from him and frisks down his path.

Carter follows him with his eyes in a surprised look. He then shouts at him, “Don’t you want your powers back?”

From feet ahead of him, Nolan halts in his tracks at the question.

“Then you’re gonna have to work with me!” Carter continues on with hope due to the forward’s cooperating action. “Like a team! Since we are on the same team!”

Nolan spins around, giving him an unamused expression. “You’re a goalie. I’m a forward. We don’t have anything to do with each other.”

“So I guess you don’t want your powers back.” Carter gives him a shrug with a fake, sympathetic look.

Nolan holds his hand out to him. “I do!” He strides up with him begrudgingly. “I just don’t want to work with you.” He halts in front of him and continues on lowly: “Even since you step into my sight, you’ve been nothing but trouble. What if you mess up even more? What if you make it permanent, or worse, take away my powers?”

Carter tilts his head with raised, interested eyebrows. “There’s only one way to find out. And I mean, there’s no other way to get your powers back.” He points to himself. “I was the one who did it, I am the one to fix it.”

“Then do it.”

“But I need you.”

Nolan holds his glower at him.

“I really do need you,” Carter goes on genuinely. “Isn’t nice to feel wanted?”

Nolan silently softens his harsh expression, succumbing to his pleading. “It better be quick.”

Carter takes a quick glance at his watch around his wrist. “We got time.” With that, he grabs his arm and briskly guides him down the hallway.

The two enter an unoccupied locker room nearby. Carter lets go of the forward, turns on the light, and closes the door. He then turns around and steps up to Nolan, who is standing in the middle of the room.

“Okay,” Carter starts off quietly, “so this is how it’s gonna go: you gotta conjure a silver ball and keep it in the air. I’ll do the rest.”

Nolan nods his head. “Fine.” He then holds his hands facing each others’ palms in front of him. He focuses on the power surge churning inside of him and mentally commands it to flow to his hands’ surfaces.

Liquefied silver pools out from his hands and spills onto the black rubber floor.

Nolan presses his force harder against the stream of powers within him, attempting to mentally gain control over the dripping silver. Yet the silver continues slipping under his cognitive grasp.

Carter stares at the silent struggle worriedly with disappointment. “Come on, Nolan,” he whispers.

“I’m trying,” Nolan hisses, keeping his concentration on the leaking silver.

Nolan’s hands become tense as he tries to tighten his control of the silver. Droplets of silver bob from the stream, yet immediately fall onto the floor.

He stares at him with bewilderment. “Don’t you know how to manipulate?!”

“I said I’m trying!”

“But didn’t your other powers—” Carter halts his exclamation as a realization comes into his mind. He eyes him with shock. “You don’t know how to manipulate.”

Nolan eyes him sharply. “I’m trying.”

“Okay—” Carter holds his hands out at him in understanding. “—do your claws. It’s a bit risky, but do it.”

“I’ll try to do the ball.” Nolan continues in his failing, messy attempt to create a silver ball.

The goalie takes another look at his watch. “The way you’re doing this, we’re gonna miss the whole session.”

In frustration, Nolan drops his hands and snaps his head up to face him. “So do tell me how to do it!” He jabs a silver-coated finger at him. “You know manipulation, you had these powers!”

“Okay,” Carter starts off, not reacting harshly to his explosion of impatience, “hold your hands out like this.” He holds his hands by his chest with his palms facing each other, as if he is holding a small basketball.

The forward mimics his position.

“Focus on your surge.”

With a deep breath, Nolan closes his eyes and focuses in on his surging flow of power swirling inside of him.

“And imagine a silver ball forming between your palms,” he hears Carter tell him gently, yet firmly. “Feel the course of your powers, depict every single motion that goes into creating the ball…”

Nolan drives every ounce of his focus toward the flow. He creates a mental image of a smooth, silver ball, just like the one Carter made back at the haunted house.

Between his hands, smooth ribbons of liquified silver materialize and begin rotating themselves around while nearing each other, merging together and forming a rippling ball of silver.

Carter stares at the undulating ball in approval. “Beautiful.” He holds his palms out at him. “Now hold it. Keep that mental picture. And don’t move.”

Nolan nods slowly with a long inhale. He pushes his focus toward the ball, becoming tenser.

Carter positions his hands closer to the ball, relaxing his outstretched hands. Gradually, a soft glow of green energy begins building in each of his palms, shining down on the ball.

The silver ball absorbs the energy, radiating the energy around its outline. The vivid green energy eats away at the silver smoothness of the ball, converting it into a ball of wispy, raging, radiant energy.

Suddenly, the ball of energy expands and unravels into a spiral of energy. The spiral whirls around the two rapidly, burning into a blinding white colour while expanding and creating wind. The teammates stand still and tense as their clothes and hair flutter in the energy’s breeze.

The energy instantly blanks the two out, engulfing the room a flash of pure white. It then fades away, returning the room back into its normal lighting.

Nolan and Carter maintain their positions, yet now there is just air between their palms. Nolan flutters his eyes open to the sensation of his power surge pacifying, spotting the disappearance of the silver ball. He lowers his hands.

Carter does the same, dimming the green energy that is softly drifting from his palms. He peers at him. “So?”

The forward flicks his wrist in the air, immediately whipping out an orange-tinted throwing star. He gazes at it while turning it sharply, having it glint in the fluorescent lights.

“Looks good.” Nolan lowers it and reverts his gaze at him. “I never knew we would work like this.”

Carter shrugs with a small smile. “If we have a common goal and want it badly, we gotta do what it takes.”

He retracts his star. “Now you know not to strap me down and force me to drink something.” With that, Nolan breezes past him and toward the exit.

Carter turns his head to follow him with his eyes. A frown forms on his face. “You’re welcome!”

Nolan swings the door open and turns around to look at him. He shoots him a large, dazzling, yet taunting smile while holding onto the doorknob. “Enjoy your bear powers.” He then spins around and struts into the hallway.

Carter keeps his gaze on him, his mind lost in his thoughts. “There’s still time,” he mutters under his breath.

Notes

E.7 "Swapped Powers"
Part 5/6
Episode 7/10