[ WP ] Earth receives a message from space : “ You have been challenged to a match of Galactic Deathball . Assemble a team of 20 humans . If you lose , the planet will be destroyed . ”

Bruce heard the footsteps when they first began twenty paces behind. Then, they accelerated… fifteen, ten, five, then just two paces away. 
 
 He ducked, his core folding in, right leg already outstretched and braced for impact. Bruce felt the sweeping attack pass harmlessly over his back, but chills raced across the nape of his neck. The whipping crack of the air, as it made way for the precision strike, made it clear that he had only barely dodged the assault. 
 
 Bruce built on his momentum and rolled forward, pushing with his palms against the ground to spin around to face his attacker. His fists were already clenched, ready to visit merciless revenge. 
 
 He expected one of the enforcers from the gangs, sent to remind him not to stand up to them in public. Or perhaps a pugilist, hired by one of the rival schools to throw a wrench in his expanding fame. 
 
 He did not expect a girl, barely twenty, back ramrod straight, casting a sideways glance at him. Her poise was equal to none. 
 
 Bruce ’ s mind raced as he too straightened to meet this threat. His breaths, coming in short measured pulses, helped him focus and watch for micro-movements in his opponent, which he had long learned could easily betray hidden lines of attack. 
 
 Even then, Bruce only narrowly sidestepped the frontal assault. As if she was leaping off a springboard, the girl pounced, feet a blur as her staccato steps delivered her to Bruce like an enraged python. Three strikes from her took a full eight deflections from him, as Bruce fought to maintain ground. 
 
 Then, a misstep. An old ankle injury threw him off balance for a split second, which was a world of opportunity for the girl. Emitting a short, sharp battlecry, her feet found purchase behind his, and she tapped him on the chest, sending him crashing to the ground. 
 
 Instinct, his old friend, forced him to tuck his head to the side, and not a moment too soon. His enemy, having misjudged Bruce ’ s recovery position, planted a fist into the wall next to his head, sending chips of concrete sailing through the air. 
 
 A lesser fighter would have seized the opening and sought to snap her arm at the joints where it was weakest. But Bruce was a top-notch martial artist, at the zenith of his skill, and he knew when he had to retreat. He pushed away, rolling like a loosened yo-yo. His breaths, ragged and deep, burned his lungs. 
 
 “ Very good. You are certainly what we need. Get ready to depart, we have to leave soon. ” 
 
 “ Leave? Are you crazy? You just tried to kill me! ” 
 
 “ There is no time. I ’ ve got another 4 positions to fill, and we need to leave before my portal closes. It ’ s a lot harder finding you people than you would think. ” 
 
 Bruce shook his head glumly. “ I don ’ t know which school you trained at. You ’ re good, but your head… you ’ ve probably hit it too many times. ” 
 
 “ Bruce, let me put it this way, ” she said, dusting off the front of her jacket. “ In the near future, silicone-based lifeforms will metastasize into our immediate solar system, and they will demand trial by combat in the form of a brutal and bloody melee disguised as a sport. Defeat will indicate that we are ripe for the picking, and we will lose our stake on this world. ” 
 
 “ Yes, ” Bruce said, “ definitely trained too hard. ” 
 
 The girl sighed. “ I ’ ll rephrase. Aliens will come to earth. If we don ’ t beat them at their version of football, they will destroy the earth. ” 
 
 “ Oh. Why didn ’ t you say that, then. So what does this have to do with me? ” 
 
 “ Humanity needs a team of 20 players. It ’ s clear that we would never find 20 talented people in a single time-era, so I ’ ve been sent to recruit the best of the best across time. You ’ re going to be our goalkeeper, there ’ s no one else better suited. ” 
 
 “ What? I can ’ t go! I ’ ve got a family here! ” 
 
 “ And they will all die if you don ’ t step up now. It is your choice. I can not force you. ” 
 
 Bruce ’ s shoulders sagged. If he were years younger, he would have resisted, and wasted precious minutes arguing. But if there was one thing life taught him, it was when to recognize duty calling. 
 
 “ Listen, Bruce. If you come with me, we ’ ll make it look like you died here. Only your family will know the truth. And you won ’ t be separated long, we ’ ll eventually have to skip forward a couple of decades to recruit your son, too. ” 
 
 “ Say I agree. What next? Where do we go? ” 
 
 The girl walked calmly over to Bruce, and laid a hand on his shoulder. Petite as her appendage was, Bruce felt the raw power coursing through it, and knew there were many hidden depths to this operative. 
 
 “ Today, we still have to recruit a master strategist who will be in charge of developing our playbook. He ’ s even more famous than you are, so his fake death is going to be a bitch to setup. I think nothing less than a public assassination during a parade will do it. So time ’ s a wasting, are you in or out? ” 
 
 Bruce thought for a moment. 
 
 Then he took her outstretched hand. 
 
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 /r/rarelyfunny 

