--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Psylocke: Betsy Braddock, sister of Captain Britain, is a fully-fledged ninja. She sacrificed her psionic [Psylocke] powers to keep the Shadow King trapped on the astral plane, but thanks to her association with the Crimson Dawn she now possesses the power to use shadows to teleport. Feron: A teenager with mystical abilities. He was briefly a member of Excalibur, and eventually ended up as leader of the Crazy Gang. When his plot for revenge [Feron] against Excalibur was stopped by Captain Britain during the Captain's bachelor party, Feron remained for the Captain's wedding, and never left Braddock Manor afterwards. Emma Collins: Housekeeper of the Braddock family since Psylocke and Captain Britain were children. She died [Emma Collins] shortly after Psylocke joined the X-Men, but has been resurrected by Jamie Braddock. She has no knowledge of her death, and is relatively unaware of most of the Braddock children's super heroics. Opal Lun-Saturnyne: The Omniversal Mastrex with often [Opal Sat-yr-nine]dubious methods. She has long yearned for Captain Britain's affection, but has never succeeded. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Crucible" by Brendan Crowther edited by Michael Franzoni --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Editor's Note: This limited series takes place after the events in Uncanny X-Men 11 and before the events in Excalibur 7. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elizabeth Braddock stood in a glorious, cavernous chamber in the Starlight Citadel of the Omniversal Guardian, Roma. She wore the blue, white, and red Captain Britain costume that was reminiscent of England's flag. Clawing at her shoulder she tore the front off of her costume - the costume she was almost killed in.* She continued to tear the entire uniform off, revealing her skimpy blue X-Men costume. She hurled the helmet she was wearing across the room - a helmet identical to the one that had been worn by Kaptain Briton, whom had tried to assault her.* *(both incidents were in the Captain Britain TPB -- Brendan) Opal Lun-Saturnyne walked down a crimson-carpeted spiral-staircase from an upper level. She wore a snow-white gown tight as a second skin. A billowing cape, the same shade of white, trailed behind her. A loose-fitting belt wrapped around her waist - clasped together by a scarlet jeweled belt-buckle. A similar, and similarly expensive looking, ruby broach over her breast held her cape to her gown. Honey-blonde hair flowed down both sides of her fair-featured face, a face that was marred by a scowl. Watching Opal descend the staircase, Elizabeth was unimpressed, and her lack of emotion had nothing to do with the emotion-draining effect the Crimson Dawn seemed to be having on her. Saturnyne was supposed to look elegant, and angelic, but Betsy though she looked like a tramp...a tramp with lots of money. "Elizabeth Braddock, Earth 616 needs you to be the protector of its realm," Saturnyne stated for the second time that day. The previous time she had added unnecessary ceremonious 'fluff' to the request and had been flat-out refused.* She wouldn't be refused again. * "Because you are of Otherworld decent. Most of the people on your planet don't even know about the Captain Britain Corps, or the multiverse, and it is widely wished to remain that way. As well, your darling brother, the current Captain Britain, has lost his powers, and has not been living up to the standards of the Corps." "I'd like to help you, really I would," Betsy said, exuding sarcasm, before continuing bluntly, "but I'm tired of having people manipulate my life." Ignoring Elizabeth's manipulation comment, Opal continued her 'sale's pitch', "You wouldn't just be helping Otherworld; you would be helping yourself. Your uniform would augment your strength, and you would have access to an...alternative form of telepathy." "What? How?" Betsy was intrigued by the chance to end her mind-blindness.* *(What? How did you miss X-Men 78? -- Brendan) "Your mother was human, and your father was of Otherworld decent; both heritages gave you telepathy. In your original body you were a much more potent telepath because your twin abilities worked in synch with each other, but in this...new body you only use your mutant power. Elizabeth, you still have the...potential to use your Otherworldly abilities - you just need a mystical/technological 'tweak.' With the additional Otherworld psi-energy, you would still be able to contain the Shadow King while freely using your telepathy." "Now, if you do accept my generous offer we can't have you, Captain Britain, looking like you are now," said Opal pleasantly. "I'm sure people find you attractive in that...slutty Oriental way, but in your old body you looked attractive and classy. The Otherworld mystics/scientists and I may not know much about your new Crimson Dawn abilities but..." Saturnyne tossed the crumpled blue, white, and red costume from the floor into Betsy's arms. "Shadow-morph that costume on - that costume, which you hate so much - and then see what happens." Opal's bubbling excitement did not spread to Elizabeth. With a raised eyebrow, Betsy scoffed the term, "Shadow-morph?" Brushing the thought away, she and the costume were instantly covered in inky black shadows momentarily, until it faded away revealing the Captain Britain costume on Elizabeth Braddock - in her original British body! Saturnyne ecstatically pointed to a full-body mirror on the wall, but when Betsy saw her reflection - seeing a body she longed to see in the mirror for so long - she pretended to be unimpressed. She couldn't let Opal know that this transformation had effected her. This was the first time she had felt truly happy since her exposure to the Dawn, and yet she didn't want to be in this body as much as she once used to. The price was too high. "I hate to repeat myself, but I won't be manipulated by Otherworld, Merlyn, Roma or you. I have accepted who I am, and what I look like. I will probably continue to be a 'protector of my realm,' but it will not be under your banner!" Opal insisted, "The costume's magical glamour will work for twenty-four hours - you will continue to look as you do now. After that, the enchanted uniform will just be a costume. That should give you enough time to thoroughly think through your decision." Elizabeth took one last glance at herself in the mirror. She recalled her recent usage of a holographic image-inducer to make herself look like she did now, but the scar of the Crimson Dawn had somehow 'burned' through the holo-image. This magic was perfect. "I don't need twenty-four hours to decide. My answer is still no." Saturnyne smiled bitterly, "Regardless, keep the costume." The Omniversal Mastrex calmly clasped her hands behind her back, and pressed a jeweled button on her bracelet. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- A green clad figure stepped from a glowing portal onto Psylocke's Earth, designated 616. He was completely unaware that he had left his home planet; all he knew was that he had to destroy his hated enemies - The Wonder Twins: Captain Britain and Super-Psi. He also knew where he could find them... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ...Braddock Manor Feron soared down the staircase with mystical energies trailing behind him. "Emma! Emma! The arcane wards I set up have been breached. A man with cruel intentions and the means to accomplish them is approaching here now!" "Where's Miss Elizabeth?" Emma asked, her heart starting to beat faster. "I...I don't know," Feron responded with a cringe. He knew that Psylocke had been teleported somewhere, but although Emma had been serving the Braddock family since Captain Britain and Psylocke were children, she was always completely unaware of Brian and Betsy's Otherworld heritage. "I think it would be safest if we hid in Jamie's room. It's reinforced to hold him in, if he ever comes out of his coma, and so it should be more than enough to keep the intruder out." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturnyne suddenly cocked her head as she 'heard' a telepathic message. Like most of the Otherworld upper class, Saturnyne had a form of telepathy that wasn't as intrusive as Psylocke's, but it served as a simple, non-verbal communication. "Oh dear," Opal feigned worry, "it seems a dastardly villain has somehow escaped from his planet, Errthe, to your Earth. And...the reports say..." she paused again as the telepathic report, from a lowly tech named Robert, continued. "He is heading for Braddock Manor, because in his universe you and your brother are his hated enemies. You might know him..." "Who is it?" Psylocke asked through clenched teeth. She didn't need her telepathy to know that Saturnyne had caused this 'accident'. "...Slaymaster." Elizabeth barely stifled a gasp. The Slaymaster had blinded, and nearly beaten her to death during her brief tenure as Captain Britain. She had only been saved by Brian when he fought of the Slaymaster, and slayed the Slaymaster himself.* * (Captain Britain TPB -- Brendan) Betsy quickly composed herself. She remembered defeating an illusion of the Slaymaster during her...hallucination period while she was being programmed by The Hand.* She drew strength from that memory. She also remembered the Emma, Feron and Jamie were defenseless against him in Braddock Manor. *(during Uncanny X-Men 256 -- Brendan) Psylocke ordered, "Send me back to Brad..." Elizabeth was teleported away at Saturnyne's telepathic command. "If she will not be a member of the Captain Britain Corps, she will be a corpse," Saturnyne swore. 'Ugh, who writes her cheesy dialogue?' Robert, the tech who had reported to Opal about the Slaymaster situation, accidentally thought a bit too loud. Saturnyne had him immediately executed. "Everyone's a critic." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In a soft glow of light, Betsy appeared in the telephone booth that Saturnyne had taken her from.* *(last issue - Brendan) "..dock Manor," she completed the sentence she had been saying. "Braddock Manor," she repeated, and she slipped into a shadow. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roma, the Guardian of the Omniverse, kneeled on the sandy ground beneath the hot Australian sun. Using an ability similar to telekinesis, she gathered golden and crimson dust that had been scattered scant years ago. The dust clumped together into shards - shards that she swept into a purple velvet bag. As she was completing her task, she received a telepathic message from Opal Lun-Saturnyne. The meeting with Elizabeth Braddock had not gone well. Opal requested that Roma return, and so, she did. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Emma and Feron sat huddled together at the foot of Jamie's bad. The stared into the scrying pool of Feron's creation at the Slaymaster as he knocked down the manor's front doors... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Psylocke shot out of a shadow, and struck Slaymaster with a flying kick. "Ah, Captain Britain. I was beginning to wonder when you would show your..." Slaymaster spun around to face his opponent, and was surprised to see the fair Elizabeth Braddock wearing a variation of the Captain Britain costume. "...Face?" Standing ready to fight, Psylocke asked, "What do you want here?" "Honestly, Super-Psi, your telepathy must be slipping, and besides, even your dim-witted brother could guess my motive. I want to kill you." Slaymaster attacked - moving with a flurry of punches and kicks - but Psylocke fought back. As she realized that she would have to avoid damaging the manor - fighting super-villains did tend to cause property damage - she shadow-slipped herself and Slaymaster to the roof. Nothing and no one would be damaged...except for the Slaymaster. As the fight continued, Psylocke found herself moving sloppily. She wasn't accustomed to the greater strength given to her by her costume. Instead of an advantage, it was a hindrance. The Slaymaster caught on quickly, realizing that she was attacking physically instead of psychically...and he knew that was weakness he could exploit. With a punch to her face, Slaymaster psi-blasted Psylocke - knocking her back. 'He's a telepath?!" Betsy thought, 'He wasn't a blasted telepath on this Earth!' The confidence she once had quickly melted away. The Slaymaster she had defeated had just been an illusion - this one was like the one who had almost killed her. Psylocke dropped to the ground, and tried with all her might to hold onto consciousness as Slaymaster pummeled her senseless. She wasn't used to using the strength-giving costume, and so could not use it properly. She couldn't risk using her telepathy, but as he beat the life out of her, small cracks formed in her psionic cage holding the Shadow King - cracks unnoticed by Psylocke, but not unnoticed by her captive. Even the Crimson Dawn abilities that she was currently aware of, which she hated so much, didn't seem to work. He seemed to slip out of her shadow's grasp, and when she tried to shadow-port away, he was able to telepathically suppress her mental commands to the shadows microseconds before she made them. She wouldn't give up! But she couldn't even lift her arm. Elizabeth wished she could muster enough energy for a psychic knife, and she'd shove the focussed totality of her telepathic powers right up his... All of her conscious thoughts stopped, as Slaymaster's assault stopped, with his one swift kick to her head. This was his greatest triumph ever! He had defeated one of the Wonder Twins; it would only be a matter of time until Captain Britain falls. Slaymaster lifted the battered body of Psylocke up in his arms, hurled her off the room of the manor, and watched her plummet to the ground. "Triumph!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Psylocke: Family Duty 3: The only way Psylocke can survive Saturnyne's manipulations, and Slaymaster's brutal beatings is to finally accept the Crimson Dawn! But to save her life, will she have to lose her soul to the shadows? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tell me what you think! simply send an e-mail to morn@idirect.com. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Story © 1999 Brendan Crowther and Marvel-X, and may not be reproduced without permission. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------