The Traitor Game: The Dark Reign of Kulan Gath

[Deadpooligan]

"Hey, there's always a first time for everything, right? Plus, we do kick butt as team."

"Hey, we're Avengers. Kickin' butt is a prerequisite!"

They stand back to back, ready to take on all comers-- but are saved by an old ally!

Suddenly, the group of villains are immobilized! They are bound together by the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak!

In true Avengers fashion, Jen spanks the bound Titania right in the rear.

"Wrapped up all tight there, Skeeter? All you need is a big red bow and Thundra's got a birthday gift!"

"Aiieeee! ...And the name's TITANIA!... I'll break out of this too-- you'll see!!"

She-Hulk's attention is now fully directed towards their immediate rescuer... the Master of the Mystic Arts!

"James. Jennifer. We have more pressing matters at hand. Kulan Gath is behind this mess of a reality shift, correct?" "Yes. How did you---?"

"I had a feeling. But it has become worse. Due to Kulan's dark magic, another powerful force has returned hell bent on maintaining this new reality."

"Stephen, you're a sight for sore eyes! After we'd dealt with these baddies, I wanted to try and find your Sanctum. Figured it might be like a 'bubble'-- immune within Gath's spell."

"I don't know whether I should be surprised or flattered that you sought me out before the Fantastic Four."

"Reed's something else, but a fat lot of good science is gonna do us, Doc. I thought it was your job as Sorcerer Supreme to prevent this stuff from happening. Heck of a time to take the day off...!"

Strange folded his arms, uttering a short sigh before stroking his moustache.

"Unfortunately, the title was being contested when Gath's Master Spell 'graced' our world. Were there not a tentative absence of the Eye of Agamotto in our realm, I feel I still would have been caught unprepared by a mystical cascade of that magnitude..."

"Cascade, huh? You mean just like with Wanda, or that other time with Kulan Gath, or that other time when Morgan Le F--"

Suddenly, a giant hand grabs She-Hulk!

"HAHAHA! MORGAN LE FAY IS REBORN!"

"Morgan Le Fay is what is keeping Kulan Gath's magic alive in this world. If we stop her, the enchantment here will be broken."

Our heroine struggles against the hand, before... well, folding her arms, and glancing at you, reader!

"Sheesh. Me and my big mouth, right?!"

Meanwhile, Morgan Le Fay continues to have a tight hold on She-Hulk.

"Why if it isn't the "Savage She-Hulk". It is going to be most pleasing squeezing the life out of you!"

Gradually... her spirit fades... she turns back into Jennifer Walters before going limp!

"Urrrgh! Grraaagh... N-no... I'm... too weak...! Can't... fight back..."

Le Fay's triumph is soon interrupted by a tip-tap on her shoulder, turning to see... another She-Hulk?!

"Kulan Gath is old as dirt, and you're older than print-- the 'bait-and-switch' is one of the oldest tricks in the BOOK!"



WHONK!

She-Hulk delivers a powerful punch homage to her previous defeat!

"Wanda, now! While she's stunned-- hit her with all that hoodoo that you do!"

"Le Fay, this ends now!"

Jen clutches Morgan in a full nelson while the Scarlet Witch pours on the hex magic to disperse her spirit.

"Neat trick. Where'd you learn that one, Doc?"

"The Images of Ikonn tend to come through in tight squeeze," Strange says as he casts a mesmerizing display to keep the Arthurian sorceress out of focus.

[The Purple Skull]

"The Images of Ikonn tend to come through in tight squeeze," Strange says as he casts a mesmerizing display to keep the Arthurian sorceress out of focus.

"You know, I find it utter bull#@$% that you're still not the Sorcerer Supreme again."



"As I have said before, James, it is not my call. But may the Vishanti help us if Anthony Druid ends up with the Eye of Agamotto."

"Okay, anyway, we got the bad guys on ice...bad pun, I know. And now, with you and the Scarlet Witch."

"I'm sorry, I cannot be apart of this. I still have much to atone to."

"Join the party, sister."

"No...no, you don't understand."

And with that, the Scarlet Witch disappears.

"She-she just left? Just like that?"

"Let her go, James. It's...it's complicated. Come, let us reconvene to the Sanctum Sanctorum."

The Gorgerell Transportation Spell
From The Book Of Vishanti
Page 567

And with that, the three head off to the Sanctum Sanctorum.

[Chris Lang]

Batgirl, meanwhile, had returned to Gothame Towne.

She could see no sign of the Master of Bats, or Robin. But she heard the news from the criers and the gossips. The Jester was engaging them in battle at the moment.

Of course, she knew she could not settle for just the Bat family. Against an enemy such as Kulan Gath, they needed all the help they could get.

But how would she contact the Justicar's League, as they were known in this reality? In the modern era which she now remembered, one could use the Batcave's equipment or the Justice League signal device.

As it turned out, she did not have to go far to find one of the reality-warped Justice Leaguers.

For on the street in front of her stood...



Green Lantern the barbarian.

"Who are you who stands in the path of Haljor the Barbarian? Are you associated with the wizard Sinestro?"

"No!" the Damsel of Bats proclaimed. "I have nothing to do with Sinestro. But I know he's one of your greatest enemies. But he's the least of our worries now. I need you for a VERY important mission."

"This had better be good! Princess Caarol expects me to meet with her before sunset."

"Whatever she wants you for, it can't be as important as this mission. Unless she wishes for you to end the Dark Reign of Kulan Gath. That's why I need your help. And the help of the rest of the Justice League."

"Justice League? What are you saying, crimson-haired wench? Surely you mean the Justice League." Haljor the Barbarian replied.

Barbara sighed. "This is a LONG story, and I don't have time to tell it all. But I know that emerald blade you have is a manifestation of a powerful magic. And you can use the emerald magic to probe my mind. Then you will know that I speak the truth."

"There is wisdom in what you say." the emerald barbarian replied. "Very well."

Good, Barbara thought to herself. I hope we can bring the rest of the League in before too long.

And with that, she told her story, and submitted to the mind-scan.

OOC: The Green Lantern comic book referenced here is issue #164 of Green Lantern during the 'exiled from Earth' arc. It's a story where one of Hal Jordan's enemies sends him into a Conan the Barbarian type fantasy world featuring Hyborian age equivalents of his friends and enemies.

[Joe Acro]

OOC: Voting is closed! Update to come soon!

[Joe Acro]

Chapter Ten

An eerie calm glides through the air. With it comes a feeling of uncertainty, a feeling of dread. The three players left standing await their fate.

“It has come to this,” Kulan Gath says to his players.



“It has come to this,” Scáthach says to no one. She lowers her head. Her mind calls out to her agents. Teams, you each must finish your end your battles quickly. You must defeat your designated Shadow Gath.

Maverick blasts a few shots from his gun while dodging a blast of magical energy. “Easier said than done.”

You will be victorious. Believe.



“Terrencios Treiskaideka has the most votes against him. You shall perish with the rest.”

He stretches out his hands. Arms of smoke grab Terrencio's appendages.

“In your latest kill, you dismantled another. So now shall you be dismantled,” the sorcerer explains.

The arms pull on Terrencio's body, tugging until his body can take it no more.



Hercules, Amethyst, Osin! the goddess summons the three who serve her at the gates of Hell. We must make preparations. Spider-Man has the sword. The shadows have almost fallen. Osin and Hercules, I shall send you to the meeting point. Amethyst, you have one stop to make along the way. The final battle is nigh.

Osin is stern and resolute. He hoists a hellsword into the air. “Your will be done, goddess!”

The three vanish.

Elsewhere, Anna, under the guise of Vammatar, battles two giant serpents in her dungeon. One has tightly coiled around her. “C'mon, goddess...”

Just then, her body starts vanishing, as if she were becoming invisible. “About time,” she manages to say just as the exits the room.



Kulan Gath looks at the two men remaining. “You have done well. You have found the last Traitor.”



On Earth-XX, a struggle of a grand nature reaches its climax. A cosmic force in human form fights a mystical force in a hollow shell. “This battle has gone on long enough! I have fought men just as corrupt as your creator. I failed to stop one from almost killing my husband. I will not fail all of existence!”

Jean unleashes a mighty, fiery blast of the Phoenix Force. The shadow Gath is destroyed.



The dark sorcerer suddenly raises his hand to his head and winces in pain. “Ah! What is... No! I am under siege! Five worlds, gone from my domain!”



I can sense its thoughts, Willow-327 instructs her allies. He is about to fire! Black Knight, move to counter!

I'm on it! Dane Whitman leaps in front of the mystical energy pouring forth from the weakened shadow. The Ebony Blade that the Avenger holds before him spares him from death. It absorbs shadow-Gath's blast.

“I am Groot,” says the alien standing behind Dane.

“You're welcome.”




Adam Elric and Elias Beck are confused. Adam senses the disturbance, but does not understand it. Elias senses nothing, but wonders all the same. A voice tells them, He will call upon your aid. You must refuse. You must flee. Go. Run through the front door. You shall be saved by one outside.

They nod to each other in acknowledgment. They begin their escape.
“Halt!” Kulan Gath cries out. “You are my champions! I shall use you to reclaim my lost lands and conquer more still.”



“Strike together! Now!” Willow commands.

The Black Knight unleashes from his blade the energy it had just absorbed. Arwyn fires a string of explosive arrows from her bow.

Willow and Arwyn simultaneously shout, “Now, Groot!” “Now, Kreeg!”

The tall plant and the wolf-like dog charge the immobilized shadow. It shatters!


Kulan Gath becomes distracted once more. He grips his head and screams an ungodly scream. “Ahhhhh! Another! This... cannot... happen!”

Adam Elric and Elias Beck make their way through the door of the former Avengers mansion. Amethyst awaits them. “Come. We have need of thee.”

She raises her arms. In a flash of light, the three vanish.

At that moment, the mansion explodes!

Kulan Gath rises above the scene, glowing with power, seething with anger. “There can be only one who could act as such against me! Scáthach! Show yourself, you cowardly wretch!”



Rocket Raccoon says with an annoyed grunt, “Act fast, lovebirds. I'm runnin' out of stun grenades!”

Robin shouts, “Quick, Stargirl! With me! We have to hit him while he's distracted!”

“You don't have to tell me twice!” the star-spangled heroine flies toward their foe.

The two teens strike the shadow simultaneously, one with a pole, the other with a star rod. Together, they destroy the evil construct.



Kulan Gath sweeps over the city. He growls as more worlds are lost. “You have to be somewhere close, 'goddess'. To hamper me as you have, to blind me as you have, you must be somewhere close. Where?”



Prodigy observes, “Hey, is it just me, or is it getting weaker?”

“The others must have succeeded!” Starfire exclaims. “We must prevail!”

“Then there's only one thing left to do,” says Masquerade.

Maverick tries to stop her. “You don't have to do this. We don't know what will happen.”

“We also don't have another choice.” She gives him a kiss on the cheek. “Cover me.”

“You heard the lady!” the mercenary shouts. “Plan Masque-ball!”

Prodigy scoops up Masquerade. Maverick shoots. Starfire blasts. Prodigy tosses Masquerade at the shadow. She pulls her mask off her face and, at the last possible moment, sticks it on their enemy.
With her power, she possesses the evil creature. “Such p-power! I... I can see so much!” she awes at the shadow's mystical might. “But no, I mustn't concern myself with it. I must command this shell... to disperse!”

And so it does.


“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Kulan Gath's cry echoes for miles. The world has never heard such pain, and never will again.

Regaining his senses for a moment, he sees a particular house below him with new interest. It is as if he has never encountered this building before.

“What is this I see? A new place appearing before me?” He smiles. “This, this is your hiding place, Scáthach.” He flies toward it.



A man introduces himself. “Hello. My name is Wong. You stand in the Sanctum Sanctorum, the dwelling place of Doctor Strange.”

Before him is a crowd composed of all those who participated in the game Kulan Gath held. All stand as their regular selves, not the versions Gath made them believe themselves to be. Also present are Osin, Spider-Man, Amethyst, Hercules, and Anna, who has finally dropped the guise of Vammatar.

“It is the one place on this Earth that Kulan Gath cannot affect. He holds no power here. I am honored to allow it and myself to serve you.”

Scáthach floats down from above. “This is the final staging area before the fight that will determine the fate of all reality. You have done your duty. You have weakened his control and allow others to defeat his shadows. However, in doing so, all the mystical might he spread across twenty worlds has been consolidated here, to just one. He is at his peak of power. Even the enchantments placed on this building will no longer protect it from his might. But you, you all have been gathered to fight against him. I will guard you from his spell. You may fight not as the constructs he made, but as your true selves. Together, you and those that have already been working for me, may finally defeat him. You fight not for glory. You fight not for pride. You fight for the entirety of all reality.”

A burst of energy destroys the front door. Kulan Gath stands in the dust. “There you are.”

“Army of Light, now it is time for you to fight the darkness!”

[Joe Acro]

OOC: Now you get to fight Kulan Gath! Remember, your character has reverted to normal, so use them appropriately.

Make your initial strikes now, and make them count! Something worse this way comes! (Probably Wednesday.)

[Jeremi]

A burst of energy destroys the front door. Kulan Gath stands in the dust. “There you are.”

“Army of Light, now it is time for you to fight the darkness!”

"Let darkness swallow darkness." Holocaust shoved anyone in front of him out of the way as he clenched his fist and leaped towards the sorcerer. "I will enjoy boiling you from the inside out wizard!"

[Akibahara]

A burst of energy destroys the front door. Kulan Gath stands in the dust. “There you are.”

“Army of Light, now it is time for you to fight the darkness!”

A grin.

”Pucker up, asshole.”

‘Pumf’!

A 40mm high explosive, high velocity grenade launched from the stock attachment of her M4 Carbine leg soared at Kulan Gath.

She stood up, and revealed someone quite… different. Skimpy clothing, a machine gun leg, wild hair, clean skin – a fair adjustment from pirate captain, yes?

[OverMaster]

Elsewhere, Amethyst and Osin have sent Michelangelo to Earth-XVII to assist his friend Casey, J'onn J'onnz to Earth-IV and Midnighter to Earth-XIV to break whomever they can from Gath's spell. As Osin explains the situation to the confused Batgirl, the newly eliminated arrive.

“I must act quickly,” he says. “You all have limited time.”

For a string of long moments, she remained quiet and silent, before saying, in a tone very unlike her prior one, informal and tired rather than noble and confident, "I had started remembering, you know. That's what kept me stunned and mute all that time, because I didn't know what to believe or do then. Must've been my anti-magic finally fighting against whatever Gath did to my mind, but... yeah, I'm fine now. As fine as you can be after learning you've lived a whole lie and being gutted out by your own sword."

"But yeah, I remember now. I'm an orphan, I neverhad the parents I thought I had, I'm a simple schoolgirl who happens to have these... convenient but freaky powers. Okay." She sighed sadly. "It was... nice while it lasted, I guess." She rubbed the corners of her mismatched eyes. "A family, a title, servants, all of that... Mainly the family. But yeah, you can't have them all all the time. So," she looked up, "We have limited time for what, pal?"

OOC: Health problems, sorry.

[Anodyne]

The arms pull on Terrencio's body, tugging until his body can take it no more.

At Osin's cave, Terrencios ... Terrence ... Thirteen needs a moment to pull himself together. Looking around, he's relieved to see Marie running toward him. "Are you all right?" they ask each other simultaneously. "I am now," the Ghost-Breaker assures his wife, "but what a dream! It still feels real."

"I know, Terry," Marie replies; "I saw it all."

"You saw it?!" Terrence exclaims in astonishment. "Then I wasn't dreaming? But how--?" He struggles with the realization that at least part of his impossible experiences had actually happened. "I remember killing people," he whispers in horror, "and I remember being killed, but I'm alive now; does that mean they're alive too?"

"We must have been in some kind of hypnotic trance," she says, "and the hypnotist--Kulan Gath--is still out there."

"Yes! Gath's illusion has been broken, but he's still real. And dangerous. We have to join the others and stop him. We can worry later about what's reality and what's illusion." Hand in hand, husband and wife head toward the chaotic sounds of battle not far off.

"What can we do?" Marie wonders; "it's not like we have super-powers."

"We have our own minds," Terry smiles grimly. "Let's hope that's all we'll need." They reach the staging area just in time to hear the end of Scáthach's speech:

“You fight not for glory. You fight not for pride. You fight for the entirety of all reality.”

“Army of Light, now it is time for you to fight the darkness!”

They pause at the edge of the gathering, amazed at the variety of beings, some human-like, others ... not. "Some scientists theorize about multiple realities," Terrence remarks. It looks like we're seeing the evidence for ourselves." He gives a sigh of relief upon seeing that the people he remembers killing are evidently alive and well.

Nearest them is a young girl with a pair of long red pony-tails. "Asuna," he murmers as the name pops up from his memory. She is saying something about

"...my anti-magic finally fighting against whatever Gath did to my mind...."

"'Anti-magic'?" echoes the Ghost-Breaker; "I've been told I have a little of that. Somebody once wrote a story about a 'Sword of Unbelief'; shall we see what our unbelief can do against that ugly old fellow?" He turns to the self-called 'sorcerer.' "Beings like you get your 'powers' by persuading people to believe; you feed on our credulity. Well, guess what, Kulan Gath: We. Don't. Believe. In. You! You're nothing to us but a cruel, selfish, evil old man who's done far too much harm and hurt far too many people." Terrence offers an inviting hand to Asuna as he and Marie advance steadily toward the raging Kulan Gath.

[Joe Acro]

"We have limited time for what, pal?"

"To save everything," Osin replied. It was his final statement before sending her and Fran not to their home Earths, but to the Sanctum Sanctorum.

"Beings like you get your 'powers' by persuading people to believe; you feed on our credulity. Well, guess what, Kulan Gath: We. Don't. Believe. In. You! You're nothing to us but a selfish, evil old man who's done far too much harm and hurt far too many people."

In the midst of such a fight, in such a stage of anger, Gath doesn't respond to such a comment, but the words do hit their mark.

"Let darkness swallow darkness." Holocaust shoved anyone in front of him out of the way as he clenched his fist and leaped towards the sorcerer. "I will enjoy boiling you from the inside out wizard!"

Kulan Gath dodges Holocaust's charge.

“I will enjoy destroying you all.”

A 40mm high explosive, high velocity grenade launched from the stock attachment of her M4 Carbine leg soared at Kulan Gath.

The missile strikes him, forcing him to reel backward.

[wolvie616]

Michelangelo popped out from the sewers, having managed to reclaim his brothers from the grasp of Kulan Gath! He and Casey managed to track them down, and along with master splinter, spiritually cleansed them from Gath's power.

Now, the Brothers were reunited, and ready to kick some shell!
"Hey, look who's back?! It's the Maverick! And I brought my bro's to help me kick your butt! Dude, you are SO going down!"

Michelangelo and Donatello rushed Kulan, going for body shots, while Leonardo and Raphael went for more lethal routes.

[Deadpooligan]

Before Wong is a crowd composed of all those who participated in the game Kulan Gath held. All stand as their regular selves, not the versions Gath made them believe themselves to be. Also present are Osin, Spider-Man, Amethyst, Hercules, and Anna, who has finally dropped the guise of Vammatar.

“It is the one place on this Earth that Kulan Gath cannot affect. He holds no power here. I am honored to allow it and myself to serve you.”

A burst of energy destroys the front door. Kulan Gath stands in the dust. “There you are.”

“Army of Light, now it is time for you to fight the darkness!”

"Thanks for the tea, Wong! Nothin' beats a little relaxation before a big dust-up!"

The Avenger charges into battle right behind the life-siphoning Horseman of Apocalypse. Big threats like these make for the strangest team-ups!

"Let darkness swallow darkness." Holocaust shoved anyone in front of him out of the way as he clenched his fist and leaped towards the sorcerer. "I will enjoy boiling you from the inside out wizard!"

She-Hulk picks up hefty chunks of concrete along the Sanctum's edge, hurling it at Gath! Between throws, she quips with Holocaust imitating his voice.

"What, no, 'I'm going to hollow you out', 'Caust? You can do better than that!"

Kulan Gath dodges Holocaust's charge. “I will enjoy destroying you all.”

This sensational opportunity is used to get the drop on Gath, by leaping in from behind him!



"If you're going to destroy things, Kuley, you gotta do it with a little--"

With wide arcing arms, she makes a thunderclap with her hands!

"--SHOCK AND AWE!!"

A sonic shockwave vibration cuts and booms through the air at the sorcerer! She-Hulk calls out to her fellow funnybook hero.

"Spider-Man, let's get some web action over here! You gotta yoink that amulet off!"

[Jeremi]

“I will enjoy destroying you all.”

"I fail to see how when I am going to destroy you first." Holocaust was about to attack again when...

"What, no, 'I'm going to hollow you out', 'Caust? You can do better than that!"

"Ugh, you are starting to remind me of someone I really despise."

"Spider-Man, let's get some web action over here! You gotta yoink that amulet off!"[/SIZE][/CENTER]

"Why?" Holocaust aimed his cannon at the necklace. "When one can remove him altogether?." And with that he fired a blast towards Kulan Gath.

[Chris Lang]

"Strike together! Now!" Willow commands.

The Black Knight unleashes from his blade the energy it had just absorbed. Arwyn fires a string of explosive arrows from her bow.

Willow and Arwyn simultaneously shout, "Now, Groot!" "Now, Kreeg!"

The tall plant and the wolf-like dog charge the immobilized shadow. It shatters!

Elsewhere, on another world, the group of heroes gathered by the Elder Cologne struck their final blows against their world's shadow of Kulan Gath. Ukyo, Warrior Maiden with a Spatula, readied her magically-upgraded miniature throwing spatulas, while Ranma Saotome and Ryoga Hibiki prepared their respective ki attacks.

"Now!" Cologne called out from the sidelines, where she tended to the injured Shampoo and Mousse.

Ranma called out "Mouka Takabisha!"

Simultaneously, Ryoga shouted "Shi shi Hokodan!"

The blasts of ki energy emerged from Ranma and Ryoga and struck the shadow Gath just as six magically-upgraded throwing spatulas hit their mark as well. The shadow Gath, already weakened thanks to the actions of Amethyt's allies in other worlds, shattered.

And that particular Earth then returned to ... what passed for 'normal' in that world. In other words, the usual sort of weirdness.

----

Batgirl, meanwhile, was facing off against her world's Kulan Gath, with the assistance of every Justice League member she and Haljor the Barbarian could find. In the end, she could only stand back and watch as Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Zatanna dealt the final blows to the shadow Gath.

As that world's shadow Gath disappeared, the world around Batgirl faded and she found herself elsewhere...

A man introduces himself. "Hello. My name is Wong. You stand in the Sanctum Sanctorum, the dwelling place of Doctor Strange."

Before him is a crowd composed of all those who participated in the game Kulan Gath held. All stand as their regular selves, not the versions Gath made them believe themselves to be. Also present are Osin, Spider-Man, Amethyst, Hercules, and Anna, who has finally dropped the guise of Vammatar.

"It is the one place on this Earth that Kulan Gath cannot affect. He holds no power here. I am honored to allow it and myself to serve you."

Scathach floats down from above. "This is the final staging area before the fight that will determine the fate of all reality. You have done your duty. You have weakened his control and allow others to defeat his shadows. However, in doing so, all the mystical might he spread across twenty worlds has been consolidated here, to just one. He is at his peak of power. Even the enchantments placed on this building will no longer protect it from his might. But you, you all have been gathered to fight against him. I will guard you from his spell. You may fight not as the constructs he made, but as your true selves. Together, you and those that have already been working for me, may finally defeat him. You fight not for glory. You fight not for pride. You fight for the entirety of all reality."

A burst of energy destroys the front door. Kulan Gath stands in the dust. "There you are."

"Army of Light, now it is time for you to fight the darkness!"

Batgirl understood the situation right away. "I want to help as much as I can. But what can I do? I have no special abilities of my own, and my Batarangs and such are no match for Kulan Gath's magic. In my world, I had to summon the rest of the Justice League for help."

Many of the others, however, went right to work.

"If you're going to destroy things, Kuley, you gotta do it with a little--"

With wide arcing arms, she makes a thunderclap with her hands!

"--SHOCK AND AWE!!"

A sonic shockwave vibration cuts and booms through the air at the sorcerer! She-Hulk calls out to her fellow funnybook hero.

"Spider-Man, let's get some web action over here! You gotta yoink that amulet off!"[/SIZE][/CENTER]

"That's it!" Batgirl replied. She had guessed that the amulet was the source of Kulan Gath's power. But now she knew for certain that guess was correct. Spider-Man could easily snag the amulet ... as long as the others sufficiently distracted Kulan Gath.

Batgirl tossed a Batarang and a few smoke pellets in Kulan Gath's direction.