abstract
| - The ACES competition was created by Penelope, under the guise of the Black Baron, in the chance of attracting worthy opponents. Participants included teams from various countries, as well as teams led by Muggshot and Penelope herself. Penelope went on to become the undefeated champion of the competition, partly due to the fact that she would have her gunships shoot anyone down who was about to win. To ensure a fair competition among the other participants, Penelope forbade any competitors to leave the hotel after sunset. She also kept the flight roster a secret, so that teams would not know who they would be flying against until the day of a match. In spite of these rules, teams were often the victims of "late night hi-jinks." They would have their airplanes–or themselves–sabotaged the night before a match. After meeting Bentley online, Penelope offered to join his team if they were able to defeat the Black Baron in the most recent ACES competition. During the competition, Penelope, who was masquerading as the Baron's mechanic, helped Bentley protect Team Cooper's bi-plane from Muggshot. Meanwhile, Team Cooper framed Teams Belgium and Iceland for sabotaging the other. By doing so, Sly was able to stand a chance in the semi-finals round and move on to the finals. The final round was a three-way battle between Team Cooper, Team Black Baron, and Team Muggshot. However, Team Muggshot was crippled after their leader was arrested by Carmelita Fox. During the match, Sly nearly destroyed Penelope's airplane. Resorting to her tricks, Penelope called in her gunships, but they were destroyed by Bentley. Both pilots abandoned their planes and battled on the wing of a passenger jet. Sly bested Penelope and revealed her identity as the Black Baron. Before explaining herself, Penelope crowned Team Cooper as the champions of the ACES competition. With Penelope subsequently joining the Cooper Gang and abandoning the Black Baron disguise, the fate of the competition is unknown.
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