Yeah, I know it's been forever since I posted a chapter! Man, Day of Reckoning was GREAT, wasn't it?! (Okay, so I'm happy they finally got Gambit in there, even if he was an Acolyte) All right, well, Part 8 comes shortly after Day of Reckoning. Everything that comes after what I've written here is pure speculation, but, hey, isn't that what fanfics are for? ;)

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PART 8
"Aftermath"
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Betsy Braddock halted at the door to the manor that she had been staying at for the past several months, an idea formulating in her mind. She walked up to the door and knocked. The door opened and she was greeted by a young servant girl who bowed slightly and gestured for Betsy to enter. She nodded her thanks and walked down the large, open halls decorated with many expensive-looking Japanese artifacts. Matsu'o apparently had a fascination with the katana, as many of them of various sizes were arranged on the walls. Betsy paused at the door to the cell she had been locked in for what seemed like forever and smiled, glad that she had finally been able to escape. She continued down the hall and stopped at a large red door at the end. The two guards standing at the door stepped aside as she moved towards them, averting their eyes from her face. From the memories she had received from Kwannon, she recognized it as Matsu'o's office. She brought a hand up and knocked softly.

"Enter," was the response she heard, although it took her a moment to access Kwannon's memories to translate from Japanese. She opened the door and stepped inside, trying to feign Kwannon's confidence.

"Lord Matsu'o," she said, bowing deeply, taking in the sights of the room. More katanas lined the wall and two suits of samurai armor were positioned in the doorway that she had entered through. Behind Matsu'o's wooden desk was a large window, providing a rather breathtaking view of the city. "Miss Braddock was killed during the assassination attempt, I barely escaped with my life." She spoke in her most apologetic tone, trying not to sound shaken.

Matsu'o stood from his desk, moving slowly over towards the person who appeared to be his best assassin. He gently touched a hand to her cheek, frowning, "Are you hurt, my dear?"

"Not badly," she replied, "I seek to redeem myself. Let me return to America and retry the assassination of Charles Xavier."

Matsu'o removed his hand from her cheek, stepping back to study Betsy's dark orbs. She tried to keep her eyes fixed on his, but succeeded in doing everything but. "You wish to attempt again what you failed so miserably at the first time?" His words were cold, almost angry. Betsy found herself trembling at his icy tone. "Very well, you will leave this evening." He drew closer to her again, placing his arms around her waist. "But first," he said, his voice lowering into a softer tone now, as if he was trying to comfort her, "I want to make sure you are all right."

"I am fine, Lord," she said, fighting her instincts to wrestle away from him. She tried to express that she was not in the mood for this, but he quickly kissed her anyway, then moved back behind his desk. As soon as his back was turned, Betsy let out a repressed shudder of disgust.

"You may go, I wish you good fortune on your mission." He nodded, gesturing for the door. Betsy bowed and made for the exit, glad that this was finally all over.

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Betsy sighed, walking through the airport, hugging herself. She was glad to be home again, she thought, although trying to convince the others that she was Betsy and not some psycho assassin would not be easy. She smiled, thinking to herself how nice it would be to see Scott again. She glanced in the window of a shop in the airport, making sure her hair was straight. She'd dyed it purple before she'd left Matsu'o's house, she loved the way it looked. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something familiar in the newspaper. Betsy gave it a better look and tried to repress a look of sheer horror.

The Daily Bugle's headline was, "The Mutant Menace," and on the front she saw her team mates battling a gigantic robot. She scanned it, frowning, then saw yet another article. The Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters had exploded, no bodies had been found, it seemed to have occurred around the same time as the battle with the Sentinel. Psylocke could only hope and pray that her friends were all okay. She did her best to control herself and not cry, but there was definitely a look of extreme worry on her face as she walked outside.

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Her walk turned into a run when she had come about half a mile from the airport. It wasn't that much further to the X-Mansion, or its remains. She finally allowed herself to cry as she stopped at the front gates, or rather, what was left of them. A huge crater filled with various debris sat where the mansion had been. A team of firemen and policemen were going through the wreckage, looking for survivors... or bodies. Betsy slowly made her way towards the site before being stopped by a large fireman. He was in his thirties, with dark black hair and an enormously muscular build. Betsy looked up into his dark, brown eyes with her own tear-filled orbs.

"I'm sorry, miss, you're going to have to turn back. It's not safe to come any closer." He said.

"But... but my friends," she sobbed, "they... they were in there."

"We haven't found anyone yet," he said, trying to comfort her as much as he could, "they probably got out before it happened, though we haven't heard from anyone who lived here."

Betsy nodded and walked off, tears streaming down her face. She wandered into the nearby woods and climbed up a tree, watching the firemen working from a distance. Until she figured out a way to find her supposedly surviving friends, Psylocke was alone in the world.

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To Be Continued
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