By Chaz Hamilton
The final battle round of League Wars: Haunted Heroes for the Star Force was a fight against The Ghost Warriors. Both sides exhausted from the previous day's competition, they fought hard against one another. The Ghost Warriors had several players that outmatched the Star Force combatants. Over the 24 hour round, the Star Force narrowly achieved a win for the first time of the league war.
(And other things happened as well, but those will be spoken of at another time.)
"That could easily have gone the other way," Starmaster advised his league after the final timer went off. "The match could easily have gone in their favor. Part of my has to say that winning was a gift, not something we earned."
"Easy win or hard fought win, doesn't matter." Wyldfyre wiped his forehead dry with a towel as he stepped away from the field. "A win is a win. Who else wants a beer?"
"I want to sleep. I stayed up and watched those two overtime rounds. I'm not only beaten after today's fights, but I am just plain BEAT!" The Infinite Tempest said.
"Me too." Catalyst agreed. "I collected much data for our efforts next season."
"I'm out," El Rey said. Typically, he was one of the quietest and least heard from members of the league. "Thanks for the advice and help."
With that, he walked away from the group, leaving his league badge on the bench where he had been sitting.
Everyone watched with a stunned look on their face as he turned the corner and disappeared.
Chained Angel put her hands on her hips and faced her companions. "That's one way to say goodbye, I guess. At least he finally said something."
The group conversation ended, as did the discussion about going for a drink. Instead, everyone skulked away with half-hearted goodbyes and headed to the transports departing for Earth.
*****
The next day, Starmaster called in the team to meet at the Star Force Observatory, the group's headquarters.
"Did anyone else see what Krystal Fae was wearing during her matches, last night?" Chained Angel asked. "A fancy gown? Is that some new tactic I haven't heard of yet or did she just want to try out for the next season of Dancing with the Stars?"
"Who knows?" The Infinite Tempest said. "It must have been some kind of Fae thing."
Wyldfyre held his tongue, amused at the reaction to her gown.
The empty chair where El Ray once sat caught the attention of each league member as the came into the conference room. Starnaster sat at the lead spot of the round table. The Star Force emblem decorated the surface with the points of the star touching the eight most senior positions.
"What's going on, Starmaster," Prysmatica asked as she yawned. "I planned on soaking for another day before leaving my apartment."
A general murmur of agreement came from the rest of the individuals taking their seats.
"We need to talk about the future of the Star Force," he answered.
"What cha mean by that, Master Star?" Wyldfyre asked with a smirky grin.
"I told you not to call me that." Starmaster bowed his head with regret. "It isn't funny."
"Yeah, yeah. Lots of people tell me lots of things all the time. Nowhere is it written that I have to give a damn."
Starmaster touched the side of his face, near one of his temples, and rubbed in a small circular pattern. "I still have your grandmother's phone number. Don't make me use it."
Wyldfyre's face whitened. "Nana Kamea! You wouldn't dare..."
"Try me." Starmaster tapped some numbers into the datapad near his seat. A holographic display came up with the beginning four digits of a 10-digit phone number being entered.
"Future of the Star Force. Go ahead. We're all listening." Wyldfyre stared studiously at his tablet.
"We can't wait until the last few days before a league war event to begin planning. If we ever intend to make a name for ourselves like the top division players have, we have to think Recruitment, Recruitment, Recruitment every day."
"Why do we need to be like the top division players?" Bloodstar asked. "We're never going to be as good as them, so why try?"
"It's a fair question, boss." Wyldfyre agreed. He leaned back in his chair and swung his legs onto the table. "What's in it for us?"
"I don't want us to be like them." Starmaster began. "Not better than them, but not worse than them either. I want us to be the best we can be. That is the purpose of league wars. We train and train not to win a gold, but to get better. To become more powerful so we can handle the big threats that threaten the world. I think some leagues have lost sight of that. I don't want us to."
He went on. "The Avengers didn't remain in Division One, they hung back for a purpose. But they aren't the only leagues to do so. Several other leagues are remaining small, or their organizers are structuring them to be small, to be competitive for league wars. I'm afraid that if that is the goal of too many, then bad things are going to happen."
"How so?" Chained Angel asked.
"The threats are going to get bigger out there. Legion is going likely come back some day. We may have defeated Jinn and Skelanimal, but as a whole, we failed to recover all the shards spread out across the Tri-State area-"
"The Quest in the Midwest," Silver Paladin interrupted. He studied the faces of his teammates as some started to giggle. "What? It's catchy."
"Anyways," Starmaster went on. "We didn't find all the shards lost. Krampus still has more that BADGE has. The fact is, the villains out there are going to keep getting bigger and badder. If as heroes, we don't keep growing to match them, the world as we know it could change overnight."
"Matching isn't enough," Catalyst added. "Matching means a 50/50 percent equivalency. Equal chance to go either way. We need to be better than them. Exceeding their growth curve is mandatory."
"I don't doubt your math, Catalyst, but do we really need a geometry lesson right now?" Wyldfyre rolled his eyes. "You're such a nerd."
"Knowing things is good." Beneath the table, Catalyst aimed his Catalyst Effect power to the wheels of Wyldfyre's chair, making it take less physical force to make them move.
Wyldfyre slipped to the floor with a crash when his chair slid out from under him. "Muther Trucker!"
"See. I knew you shouldn't be doing that." Catalyst said with a straight face.
Wyldfyre groaned as he came to his feet. "What's my chiropractor's number? My lumbar doesn't feel supported anymore."
Starmaster used his telekinetic powers to return the chair to behind the fallen man, gently guiding it beneath him so Wyldfyre could sit. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah. Only bruised my ego a bit," He leaned back in his seat again, but kept his feet on the floor. "<ouch. darn sciatica>"
"Catalyst is right. Overall, we have to be two steps ahead of whatever the next villainous plan is. We don't know when it is going to happen, so if we aren't constantly vigilant for it, much could be lost. We all know what can happen if you are caught off-guard." Starmaster jutted his chin to Wyldfyre as he squirmed in his chair and tried to get comfortable once again. "The results are we end up on our collective rear end."
"Like last night," Chained Angel said. They all recalled the strange events of League Wars: Haunted Heroes.
"Exactly." Starmaster concluded. "We need to continue to grow and advance or else we will lose far more than a medal."
<If you want to know what happened on the last night of League Wars: Haunted Heroes, be sure to read Dan Peyton's Saturday chapter of Tricking the Trickster.>
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