AAOOOSC! Wheatie Bits!

E. 7. "Swapping Powers" (2/6)

The locker room in Virtua Center Flyers Skate Zone is lively and cheerful.

Country music fills the air as the prospects and minor players of the team's organization are huddled around a campfire in the middle of the room, bearing ginger, disheveled wavy hair. They are singing along to sheet music while gradually strumming on banjos and humming through harmonicas:

In a slowly, but surely beat, they sing as they learn the song passed down from the actual Flyers:

All these slow Zambonis,
All these old Zambonis,
All these moldy Zambonis keep rollin'...!

Nolan breezes into the room, immediately halting feet away from the campfire roundup. He scowls at the scene and the song in disgust.

The music immediately halts as his other teammates feel his presence enter the room. They turn toward his direction and gaze at him in awe of his rare beauty.

Nolan returns to them a haughty smirk, becoming much comfortable with his new teammates. He then struts to his assigned stall by the entrance and sits on its bench.
The other future Flyers turn back to their bonfire and continue with their song:

Oh, all these slow Zambonis,
All these old Zambonis...!

Nolan begins contently putting on his equipment, ignoring the horrid, twangy music. He then senses another person sitting right next to his stall. He halts his loosening of his skates and flicks his eyes to his right.

Settling next to him is the one and only Carter Hart, coincidentally a prospect of the Flyers as well. Carter peers up from organizing his leg pads and gives him a small smile.

"Hey, Nolan!"

Nolan simply turns away from him and continues tugging at his skates.

Carter furrows his eyebrows at his reaction. "What? You're still scared of me from Halloween?"

He glares at him. "Did you remember me saying that? Neither did I."

The goalie leans back a bit, taken aback by his sharp remark. "Well, I'm glad I can open you up."

Nolan turns back to his skate and slips it over his foot. "I didn't want you to think wrong, although that's how you always think."

Carter shrugs. "Eh, okay, just asking." He then turns back to his equipment.

The two continue gearing up with the country music. As Carter is leaning over to buckle his leg pad, he gazes up at Nolan.

"I'm really happy you're in the Flyers with me!" he exclaims with raised eyebrows.

Nolan glowers at him while slipping on his left elbow pad. "Do I have a choice?"

"Well—" Carter straightens up, pulling away from his leg pad. "—I say you're born a Flyer: you're rough, tough—"

"—and I look like those guys?!" The forward throws his index finger at the others around the campfire, babbling country nonsense with their slovenly, bright hair.

Carter's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Oh, of course not! I don't think I look like them either!" He then leans over to pull his other lying leg pad to the tip of his skate.

Nolan watches him lace the shoelace of his leg pad underneath the shoe of his skate.
"You'd fit rather well," he remarks smoothly.

Carter halts his motions at the insult, holding the long shoelaces in his two hands. He slowly faces the forward and gives him a lour.

Nolan peers down at him in mocking bewilderment. "I'm describing you, not insulting you."

"You don't want me talking to you, do you?" the goalie grumbles at him.

Nolan flashes him his dazzling, massive grin. "Thank you for finally using your brain!"

He rolls his eyes. "Figures." He then returns to lacing his leg pad to his skate.

The two teammates finish changing with the country music in between them.