ID#14716
League War Aquatic. Round Three.
So far, Starmaster's time with Penguins Inc. had gone very well. During the first round, the Penguins Inc. league faced the Scottish Claymores - Stewarts!! and done very well against them. Better than very well. They scored 94 wins vs the S.C.'s four. The opposing league fought valiantly and did honor in the name of their ancestors. They were certainly to be commended on their efforts.
The second round put us in competition with 5th Precinct: Kung Fu Hustle. They too came out with 4 points against our 87. Starmaster's disdain for the leader of the 5th Precinct (Soloman, the Closer, whatever he wanted to call himself) color his admiration for the efforts of Kung Fu Hustle. They were not bad combatants. Their efforts were to be commended. Just as Starmaster wanted to compete, these individuals did as well, and they did it with gusto.
As the days went on, he came to a realization. His league wasn't perfect, but it was strong. The support the Avengers51 showed one another was genuine. They laughed, had fun, and worked hard. These were good people, often sharp-tongued and boisterous, but also generous and passionate.
The question of the last day was how would Round 3 go? Division 4 put two Avengers teams against one another. Starmaster would combat his new friends and teammates in The Avengers51:EAD. They had some very powerful members. Slayer B.A.S., a familiar face in the KOTM battles. Blue Dragon and Moonrider had kept Starmaster out of many top finishes during event competitions. Going up against them in league war was not going to be the cakewalk the previous two rounds were. This was going to be a fight.
Neither side asked for quarter. There were no back-room bargains or manipulations to place one league over the other, as Starmaster often feared happened when the myriad leagues of the 5th Precinct repeated ended up in rounds vs their own family. It didn't take a genius to see how certain individuals and league leaders within large organization might take advantage of building teams to benefit some few (or themselves only) at the cost of others. Every discussion had between the Avengers51 was the same. "We fight. May the best come out on top."
Before the final round started, all the Avenger51 associates came together and shook hands with one another, wishing each other good matches and best of luck.
Slayer B.A.S. stepped over to Starmaster. "Good luck, newbie. If you hit me during our match, you better buy me a drink afterwards."
"Same goes for you," Starmaster said as he offered her his hand to shake. "I still can't believe we're fighting against one another. I joined so I didn't HAVE to fight against you anymore. I still have bruises"
"We're heroes. We're always going to have bruises," Slayer B.A.S. said. She rolled up her skirt a bit and showed off a big black-and-blue welt on her thigh. I was sparring for practice earlier with Jiggs and I pivoted when I should have blocked. I wish Giles were still around to help me with my training."
Several people commented on how this would be a legendary fight. Avenger51 team vs Avenger 51. Zen's Penguins vs Moonrider's Avengers. It was almost like a civil war. Starmaster hoped there wouldn't be any hard feelings afterward.
In less than a day, he would know if he would earn his first Gold from league war participation after a year or another silver. While he hoped for the Gold, he wouldn't be disappointed if he didn't earn it this time around. The challenge was the true fun and rewarding on its own.
But it would look nice in his trophy case...
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