ID#26130
League War Aquatic was an experience I would never forget. I appreciated Lothlorien letting me join their league, but while I liked the people (those that were alive at least, as some of them were ghosts), I had bigger goals than they seemed to have. For League War 10, I wanted a league that had more ambition and drive.
I checked the League Recruitment app on my BADGE communicator. Several were looking, but not many seemed to want a newbie like myself. A couple of Scottish Claymore leagues were looking, but I wasn’t really Scottish, so I didn’t think I would fit in. Plus, I heard that their initiation rite was to make the new members eat haggis. Blech!!! Major pass on that.
The league Ms. Fae was in, The Legacy of Spawn, was looking for two to three people, but with far more experience than I had. Maybe in a few seasons I would be able to be considered, but with as powerful as she kept growing, I knew it would be years before I was on the same level as her and her companions.
The 666 Apocolyp$eNow league had a listing looking for recruits, but they were looking for extremely active participants. Being a probationary BADGE agent and still in school, I didn’t know if I had time to commit to their pursuit for League War domination.
A newer league I hadn’t heard of, HellsGate, has a posting, but they were actually seeking less experienced heroes than I.
Searching through all the ads on the League Recruitment page took some time. It sometime seemed that a lot of leagues only had one or two members and worked to try to build up enough membership to enter league war competition, but without a name behind them that people recognized, drawing interest was difficult.
Astra joined the Star Force league, which had been around for over a year. The Star Force seemed like an idealistic, well-intentioned league, not as focused at being recognized as bad asses as they were at helping people to be their personal best. They were open for new membership and offered newer heroes a spot in a training league if they weren’t strong enough for the main league.
Recent events brought me into an encounter with Arcane Ace, leader of their junior league. We worked fairly well together, so I decided to contact him and see what they were looking for in applicants. He responded and invited me to visit with him at the Star Force Observatory, the HQ and training ground for the league the next day.
I arrived after my classes at the Sagan Academy, flying to the league’s HQ as a snowy owl. Their HQ was a refurbished observatory, perched atop a hill on the outskirts of New Amsterdam. Their Sentinel stood in front of the main doors on a concrete pad, but instead of being stoic and all-stand-offish, it waved at people as they drove by and played music from large speakers mounted around it playing classic Halloween songs. Children came up to it and it handed them biodegradable bags with the Star Force logo printed in glow-in-the-dark inks on the side for use during trick or treating.
Shifting into my Madam Marvelous persona once I landed, I headed up to the front doors. Arcane Ace was setting up a table with different colorful scarves and flowers. “Hi.”
He smiled as he waved at me during my approach. He snapped his fingers and a stack of playing cards appeared in his hand, which he fanned out at me as I reached the table. “Greetings, Madam Marvelous. Pick a card, any card.”
I wasn’t really interested in seeing a magic trick, but I humored him and pulled the card from the far-left side of the deck. “Should I look at it?”
“Of course. The trick doesn’t work if you don’t know what card you pulled.” He smiled as he took the other cards and shuffled them.
I flipped the card over, and to my surprise, it was a membership card for the Star Force Junior League with my picture already on it. “Wow. I thought I was coming here for an interview.”
“We’ve seen you on the job already. You’re what we call good people and a welcome addition to the team.” Arcane Ace said. He stepped to the door and opened it wide. “Come on in. Let’s meet the rest of your team for League Wars.”
We went inside and he introduced me to my teammates: Wyldfyre, Obsidian Strike, Geomeaniac, Kyrie E. Laser, the Astonishing AlphaBETA, and the Invincible Ranger. Some of them I knew already through L.U.S.H. (Legion of Unusual Superheroes), and others I knew from other places. Wyldfyre and Astra’s adopted mother, Futurina, went out occasionally and he assisted in the art class I attended. Kyrie E. Laser wasn’t as familiar, but I’d seen her stuff on YouTube.
So, I joined a new league for League War 10: Trick or Treat by simply showing up. I looked forward to the upcoming rounds of battle. I was ready for the fight. My journey up the ladder of League Wars had begun. Hopefully, we would be able to take home a medal. Last league war, the junior league earned the gold in their division, but nothing was guaranteed.
We would all have to do our best and pray for a bit of luck.
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