#26130
Having joined BADGE nearly a year ago, it felt strange to consider this would be my fifth time competing during a league war challenge. Not nearly as many as Ms. Fae or many other heroes had participated in, but the time since League War: Year of the Tiger went by far faster than I expected. Maybe Father Time was still messing with the world somehow, speeding everything up. What other reason could there be for us fighting league vs league when there were so many other more important things we should be doing?
There was no preamble. No announcement by Director Nova about the reason why we were to venture to the Stellar Arena so soon after our last visit. I expected that finding Judge Alpha and the World Corps would be more of a priority to BADGE, getting justice for Torrin Wolf and the children aboard the shuttle destroyed in Pretoria, but life went on as normal, as if nothing at all had happened in the small African country. Every other league war had felt special to me, but not this one. The time wasn't right for a competition between leagues. Not by a long shot.
Hundreds of other heroes walked around me, either on their way to and from matches, to the food courts, or the new game rooms aboard the space station, but little conversation took place between them. Even the normal buzz of excitement given off by enthusiastic leagues preparing to battle was missing.
"I guess this is what we heroes do now," I said to nobody in particular as I wandered the corridor between matches.
"What was that," Kyrie said from beside me. "Oh, don't worry about it. I'll just replay the footage."
One of her video drones that circled her buzzed ahead of us and projected a hologram of me uttering my last statement, "I guess this is what we heroes do now."
"Do you record everything?" I asked as I stared at my new haircut, trying to decide if I liked it or not.
"That's what a serious podcaster does," she replied as the image disappeared. "Why so glum? We've done great. Won our last two rounds easily."
"I'd rather be dealing with the World Corps than up here entertaining people on their television sets." She and I turned into a small art gallery on the main concourse. Heroes had been invited to submit pieces of art they had made over the spring holiday for a retrospective on how they spent their 'down time'. I'd submitted a landscape I'd made during Easter break from school. "It's like they have dropped off the face of the planet."
"While on patrols I still occasionally find bits of their technology scattered about. They'll be back, we all know that," Kyrie said as she waved at members of the MacGregors! league, our latest opponents during Round 2. "I'm going to go see if I can do an interview with them for tomorrows show. You mind?"
"Nah. I'm going to hang out here for a bit," I said as I studied a painting done by Orion Star. Abstract art wasn't my personal style, but I tried to appreciate it all the same. I think as a shapeshifter, I favored more realistic images. I could turn into a tree, water, grass, and every animal out there in nature. I didn't know how to even approach what it was Orion Star tried to make, but the colors were pretty. I could appreciate that, at least.
"See ya later, then," Kyrie said before skipping over to join my friends in the MacGregors!
I brought out my comms device and reread my latest message from Midgardsormr.
MIDGARDSORMR IS PISSSSED I COME TO SEE YOUR BATTLESS AND YOU AVOID THE TOP TWO IN THE OTHER LEAGUE? HOW DISSSAPOINTING FOR MY PROTEGE THERE WOULD BE NO LOSING THE BATTLE FOR YOUR T3AM IT DIDN'T MATTER YOU TAKE EVERY CHANCE OTHERWISE ESSSPECIALLY WHEN THEY ARE LOWER LEVEL HOW ELSE DO YOU LEARN THERE IS NO MERCY YOU STOMP YOUR ENEMY WHEN THEY ARE DOWN AND YOU STOMP HARD I SSSTEP ON THROATSS SO HARD MY OPPONENTS GRAND CHILDREN WAKE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WITH NIGHTMARES OF THEMSELVES BEING CHOKED......WE BEAT OPPONENTSSS SO BAD THEY TEAM WITH LOW LEVEL TOONSS TO AVOID DIV ONE THEY GIVE UP BEFORE THEY SSSTART . iMPROVE YOURSSSSELF LITTLE ONE . I WILL TEACH YOU MORE IN OUR POSSST LW SSSSPARING AGAIN....NEVER LET ME DOWN ANYMORE
As much as I appreciated all he had done for me, sometimes his love of the fight bothered me. He could go into a rage if his toast came out browned too lightly. I didn't want to fight just for the sake of fighting, I wanted the fight for a purpose. Once I knew that we would win Round 2, I headed out and didn't push myself to fight all of my opponents. Not because I was afraid of losing, but I just didn't want to. I knew I could beat them, so there wasn't much of a challenge in trying.
Midgardsormr probably wouldn't have appreciated Arcane Ace's offer to the MacGregors! to fight some of us while we were ungeared, as a means for them to meet their LW participation quotas. We were supposed to be up here fighting to better ourselves, but some division breaks left a few new heroes seriously outmatched and unable to meet the minimum damage thresholds.
I walked through the exhibit, proud of my submission but sad not to have taken first. I'd worked hard in school to improve my artistic skills. At first, it was just to be able to create new shapes to transform into, but I found painting very relaxing. I was considering taking the advanced levels next year and learning more about sketching people and faces. The second place piece was solid by IboShin gu, but the piece that took first in the popularity vote was little more that a claw-painted mushroom cloud by Skelanimal with stickers.
Using stickers was supposed to be against the rules, but when you're a member of WMD, rules don't seem to matter. Looking at our superhero community, it wasn't hard to see they were the top dogs, not only in League Wars, but pretty much everywhere. There roster also ran multiple businesses. Billiard halls, Pinball arcades, even bowling alleys. They dominated fight clubs and the top divisions of pretty much every competition in the game.
I headed back to the concourse. It was nearly time for Round 3 to begin. More fighting without a cause, and we wouldn't win, anyways. I could hold my own against the Bomb Squad, but the rest of my league wasn't nearly as capable. It would be another silver for us. Yippie!
Maybe next league war, I could skip it. What was the point?
*****
Unseen by Madam Marvelous, a ghostlike figure drifted after her. In fact, from the even the most skilled observer, it was invisible on the HR plane. It looked across the field of heroes and spotted multiple other versions of itself clinging to other heroes like levitating shadows.
Has your target fully succumbed yet? A nearby phantom telepathically whispered to Madam Marvelous's unknown companion.
It shook its head. Not fully, but she is weakening. We've done it to so many other heroes, those who remain will eventually join them in their apathy. As more and more embrace the futility of their existence, our power will grow and leave the planet defenseless to the Legion once more.
Yes, so shall it be. By removing their desire to care and investment in protecting their world with their powers, it will make conquering the Earth much easier. So grows the Discord. The second phantom drifted off as the hero it was connected to walked into the cafeteria.
So grows the Discord. Madam Marvelous continued walking to the Star Force: Junior League locker room, pulling her attached phantom. It brought its hand up to her head and its fingers disappeared into her head like her flesh and skull didn't exist. "The children aboard the BADGE shuttle. They were not much older than you are. Will anyone care if you met the same fate?"
*****
I stepped up to an observation window and watched a match between her Ms. Fae and opponents of the Legacy of Spawn league. She was due to give birth soon. It had been months since Ms. Fae and I met and talked about my probationary membership to BADGE. She was busy with other, more important things, but seeing her fighting in the arena made me miss her more. Being a soon-to-be mom, I expected she would want to do more about the World Corps killing those children aboard the shuttle. Like everyone else, Ms. Fae fought below like the tragedy never happened.
"If I died on a mission, would you even notice?" I asked her figure below through the glass. "It already seems like you've forgotten all about me. What do you care? You have a kid of your own on the way now. Maybe I should ask for a new training officer, if you're too busy for me all the time."
The crowd thinned behind me. I continued my trip to the locker room, my head hanging low. "Maybe I should just give all this up and make it easier? What does it matter, anyways?"
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