Betrayal Game #58: Bloodsport! (GAME)

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PROLOGUE

The sound of the gong brought Jessan Hoan’s attention from her own thoughts
back to the spectacle before her. It had been years since the last Bloodsport
tournament. That was still when her predecessor, the mercenary Viper, ruled the
island of Madripoor. After that tournament had ended disastrously, the
tradition of the Bloodsport had been quietly put away. Even without an
organized exhibition, however, violence continued unabated on the infamous den
of thieves, assassins and outlaws.

The man in the mask stood up to speak the assembled fighters in the banquet
hall. The intricate mask and sorcerer’s robe he wore seemed straight out of a
Chinese opera. “Mr. Han,” the invitation claimed he was called. 

“Greetings, great warriors,” proclaimed Mr. Han. “And welcome to this year’s
Bloodsport tournament!”

A man in a red and black spandex costume leaned into whisper something to her.
“Hey beautiful. Wade Wilson. But they like to call me-“

“Good for you,” she answered abruptly. Truth be told, the tournament itself was
of little interest to her. Her invitation had insinuated that winning could
restore her as ruler of the tiny principality, but she was more interested in
the motives of the mysterious Mr. Han for reviving the Bloodsport.

Her gaze crossed the fighters, who watched Mr. Han’s long speech about the
honor of the tournament and the glory that was to be had with varying degrees
of concern. Her old friend Patch gave her a curt nod, but he wasn’t the one she
was looking for. Three other X-Men had also come to participate: one she
thought was called Psylocke, the ex-criminal Gambit, and a younger girl whose
name escaped her at the moment. There were others too: the man in red and black
who tried to make a pass at her, the Taskmaster, two who appeared to be not of
this planet, the legendary Iron Fist and a larger man standing near him, a
woman in red whose expression seemed perpetually unreadable, an Asian woman, a
larger Caucasian man with bottle-cap lenses on his eyes, and another young
girl.

But where was the man she came to meet?

Mr. Han was wrapping up his introduction. “You have traveled from far and wide
to compete for the honor of becoming the new Bloodsport champion. For now, it
is time to eat, drink, laugh, and enjoy the rest of the night. But tomorrow,
you will face your friends, foes, and strangers alike in lethal combat.”

“Oh, come on!” exclaimed the voice of Wade Wilson. “Lethal? What, are you
afraid the copyright police will come after you?”

The gong sounded again, and lion dancers came into the hall to the sound of
cymbals and drums to mark the beginning of the feast.

Something was wrong. Her SHIELD contact should have been one of the
participants. Jessan quietly excused herself as the rest of the fighters began
to indulge in the exotic foods and drinks before them.

===

“Shang-Chi!” Jessan yelled at the sight of her contact lying slumped over face
down in the moonlit courtyard. “Shang-Chi!”

Her stomach turned as she turned over the now limp body of the proclaimed
Master of Kung Fu. The moonlight reflected off a pool of blood where Shang-Chi
had been lying before, and the martial artist turned espionage agent’s guts
poured out of his insides. The body still appeared to be warm, meaning that the
killer couldn’t be far off. Without any means to get from this island back to
the main island of Madripoor, she would have to rely on the few resources she
had hear. As she turned around to find help, she was startled by another
tournament participant.

“We need to get help, the Bloodsport is a setup,” she told the other fighter
frantically.

“I know,” came the response, the last words heard by the once great Tyger
Tiger.

==

Deadpool was explaining to a disinterested and irritated Wolverine and Psylocke
how their situation was reminiscent of some martial arts film from the 80s when
the gong sounded again, repeatedly, in rapid succession.

Masked guards carried two cots into the room, one carrying what remained of the
dead body of Shang-Chi, and the other carrying that of Tyger Tyger, a bloody
hole gaping through her chest where her heart had once been.

Mr. Han appeared once again, seemingly out of nowhere. “Combatants, as you can
see two of your fellow warriors have been assassinated, violating the rules of
conduct of the Bloodsport. Out of respect for the sanctity of this tournament,
the first round will be postponed indefinitely. I will not allow anyone to
leave this island until this traitorous assassin is found!”

Wolverine turned to his teammates. “Looks like this ain’t gonna be the fun and
good sport we were plannin’ on.”

====

THE DISGRACED:

Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu
Tyger Tiger

THE COMBATANTS:

Taskmaster
Deadpool
Patch
Gambit
Psylocke
The Champion of the Universe
Mantis
The Iron Fist
The Fat Cobra
Elektra
Jubilee
Karnak
Finesse
Strong Guy

48 hour deadline for posts and role actions. 12 votes for reveal.

Edited by Mummudrai - 21-Aug-2012 at 6:16am