A Woman Scorned: Amethyst
Many prefer the more gaudy ruby or emerald, but those of discriminating taste appreciate the subtleties of the amethyst...
I died.
I was fighting for their dream, their goals....
It was always about them.
I lost my very self for them, my identity.
And on more than one occasion, I lost my life.
For them.
Dallas. Australia. The Astral Plane over Africa.
And finally in Valencia, Spain.
Never again!
Long have I asked: What about me?
I didn't feel like I had any choice.
Until I met Vargas.
He offered me the first choice I'd had in a decade.
He offered me freedom. He gave me respect.
He gave me the proverbial 'second chance' that I'd been so long denied.
And I accepted.
---------------------------
I have always lived for others.
I became a SHIELD agent for my country.
I became Captain Britain for my brother.
I lost my sight for daring to be a hero.
I lost my free will to Mojo and was forced to become his slave.
I regained my sight, but at a price.
I became an X-man becuase I believed I was a mutant.
I died in Dallas for Roma, and Otherworld--my heritage.
I was reborn, yet I remained with the X-men becuase I had no place to go.
I died again, for my friends...
And again I was reborn--and was remade in another's vision.
The Mandarin and the Hand.
I fought my former friends for him.
I killed for him.
I wore the rings.
He made the choices.
And I loved him.
I was drawn into Logan's psychosis and fought my love for Mandarin.
I betrayed my beloved.
I returned to the X-men, because I had no place else to go.
Who would believe that the Eurasian face I saw in the mirror was
really Elisabeth Braddock, SHIELD agent, aristocrat and ex-supermodel?
Again, I fought for for their dreams.
Not my own.
And I couldn't remember my own.
I fought Sabretooth for the third time...
But he was immune to my telepathy and I couldn't hurt him.
And he nearly killed me.
And thanks to Warren's selfish needs, I was remade yet again.
In the vision of the Crimson Dawn and made a creature of the shadows.
More than mortal, yet less than human.
Damn him to hell!
Kuragari.
Damn him too...
He made me desire him, made me love him, made me fight for him.
Almost wish I could have stayed with him.
I wish Warren had let me go then... but it was all about him.
And how the poor little rich boy couldn't live without the trophy galpal.
Oh, I persevered and made the best of what I had been given, including
the affinity for the shadows...
So I tried to fit in again...but I eventually tried to go my own way.
Until Africa.
I took Storm to Kenya.
I found myself battling the Shadow King...
And to save someone I thought was my friend, I died again.
And again, I died.
Again I was ressurected and remade.
A shade on the Astral Plane.
And I tried to confine the bastard--but even that was easier said than done.
I retained my shadow powers, until Jean insisted on interfering.
And I wound up headblinde, with her telekinesis and my shadows and ESP.
And so I learn to use these unwanted powers at their insistance.
I was able to get away from that bitch who stole my powers.
So, after Warren reaslised my telepathy really was gone, he dumped me,
because I wasn't useful any more.
Not useful to his business dealings, not one wanting to settle down and
be a 'good girl' like Jean and have his bloody brats.
Selfish, egotistacal bastard.
At least Neal appreciated the fact that I have a brain between my ears...
and we have both read the Kama Sutra..Not a bad shag.
So, Storm talked me into going walk about...
I may not be a telepath any more, but can you really imagine what a
precog and clairvoyant can do with TK and shadows? They never knew
about my ESP.
I don't think Tessa had any idea what I was really capable of...
And then we were captured in Valencia...and I met Vargas.
He's read several of the Libris Veritas--including the one about my
future...
He offered me a chance to regain control of my own destiny.
And so I died again...and was reborn as myself again.
This way I was finally free of the hell of my previous, involuntary
makeovers and what passed for my life.
Vargas is my salvation, though he doesn't wish me to live for him...
Now I live for myself.
Psylocke is dead.
They said Elisabeth Braddock would rest in peace.
Fat chance.
The wronged and scorned make for restless "dead".
They thirst for vengeance.
They thirst for justice,
And I will be avenged!
Long Live Dona Isabella Porfira Mondragon de Vargas!
The Black Queen has plans, and Storm with her little entourage.
will serve her quite well....especially since she knows them
better than they know themselves.
I am free--and in control--for the first time since I was in SHIELD.
I am still a telekinetic, and my telepathy has returned in full force,
and though my shadow powers have ebbed, the power to power to teleport,
regenerate and revive after injury remains--and now I am nearly as
invulnerable as Rogue, and I can cast illusions that would confound
Mastermind.
And when I look in the mirror, I see a beautiful Spaniard/Otherworlder
hybrid with my former features, violet-black hair and violet eyes. I do
not know exactly what happened to me, but the magick of the Dawn and my
Otherworldly heritage have left me more than I was, and I revel in it.
I am Black Queen to Vargas's Red King, and my new friend, Candra, the
Red Queen, tutors me in the finesse in TK, and understands my plans for
Storm and the others.
I have already ruined Worthington--and am quite satisfied at seeing
him peniless. His company is now bankrupt and completely worthless...
his fortune serving purposes I deem more worthy...
And best of all, he nightmares of the shade I was haunting him at every
turn...The Dawn takes care of it's own...and the debt is now his to carry.
I do hope it makes him pay, with interest!
Ah, Emma, I still find it difficult to believe that you are one of Xavier's
toadies...or are you?
The very idea of you and One-Eye is quite amusing....
Seems "poor Jean" isn't quite the telepath she's cracked up to be...or
she's just plain oblivious.
Ah well, watching Xavier's golden-girl deal with her life disintigrating
around her ears will be an utter delight!
She made her bed. Let her lie in it... I just hope Emma comes out on top.
And my dear sister, Tessa...my wish for you to be free...they say that
the truth will set one free, and what are the Libras Veritas but the
truth?
And what of my plans for Storm, you say?
I intend to "use" them to lead Vargas and myself to the remaining Libras
Veritas, as well as those I have recovered from the Xavier Institute.
How little do they realise that Gambit is working for me or that the
Astral-shade of Psylocke is not really a ghost at all...let them believe
that the shade of their "friend" advises them from beyond the grave!
They trust "Betsy" and tell her things they won't even tell each other..
they will be their own doom, after all...
It is sublime and elegant...
...Like moi.
Many prefer the more gaudy ruby or emerald, but those of discriminating taste appreciate the subtleties of the amethyst...
I died.
I was fighting for their dream, their goals....
It was always about them.
I lost my very self for them, my identity.
And on more than one occasion, I lost my life.
For them.
Dallas. Australia. The Astral Plane over Africa.
And finally in Valencia, Spain.
Never again!
Long have I asked: What about me?
I didn't feel like I had any choice.
Until I met Vargas.
He offered me the first choice I'd had in a decade.
He offered me freedom. He gave me respect.
He gave me the proverbial 'second chance' that I'd been so long denied.
And I accepted.
---------------------------
I have always lived for others.
I became a SHIELD agent for my country.
I became Captain Britain for my brother.
I lost my sight for daring to be a hero.
I lost my free will to Mojo and was forced to become his slave.
I regained my sight, but at a price.
I became an X-man becuase I believed I was a mutant.
I died in Dallas for Roma, and Otherworld--my heritage.
I was reborn, yet I remained with the X-men becuase I had no place to go.
I died again, for my friends...
And again I was reborn--and was remade in another's vision.
The Mandarin and the Hand.
I fought my former friends for him.
I killed for him.
I wore the rings.
He made the choices.
And I loved him.
I was drawn into Logan's psychosis and fought my love for Mandarin.
I betrayed my beloved.
I returned to the X-men, because I had no place else to go.
Who would believe that the Eurasian face I saw in the mirror was
really Elisabeth Braddock, SHIELD agent, aristocrat and ex-supermodel?
Again, I fought for for their dreams.
Not my own.
And I couldn't remember my own.
I fought Sabretooth for the third time...
But he was immune to my telepathy and I couldn't hurt him.
And he nearly killed me.
And thanks to Warren's selfish needs, I was remade yet again.
In the vision of the Crimson Dawn and made a creature of the shadows.
More than mortal, yet less than human.
Damn him to hell!
Kuragari.
Damn him too...
He made me desire him, made me love him, made me fight for him.
Almost wish I could have stayed with him.
I wish Warren had let me go then... but it was all about him.
And how the poor little rich boy couldn't live without the trophy galpal.
Oh, I persevered and made the best of what I had been given, including
the affinity for the shadows...
So I tried to fit in again...but I eventually tried to go my own way.
Until Africa.
I took Storm to Kenya.
I found myself battling the Shadow King...
And to save someone I thought was my friend, I died again.
And again, I died.
Again I was ressurected and remade.
A shade on the Astral Plane.
And I tried to confine the bastard--but even that was easier said than done.
I retained my shadow powers, until Jean insisted on interfering.
And I wound up headblinde, with her telekinesis and my shadows and ESP.
And so I learn to use these unwanted powers at their insistance.
I was able to get away from that bitch who stole my powers.
So, after Warren reaslised my telepathy really was gone, he dumped me,
because I wasn't useful any more.
Not useful to his business dealings, not one wanting to settle down and
be a 'good girl' like Jean and have his bloody brats.
Selfish, egotistacal bastard.
At least Neal appreciated the fact that I have a brain between my ears...
and we have both read the Kama Sutra..Not a bad shag.
So, Storm talked me into going walk about...
I may not be a telepath any more, but can you really imagine what a
precog and clairvoyant can do with TK and shadows? They never knew
about my ESP.
I don't think Tessa had any idea what I was really capable of...
And then we were captured in Valencia...and I met Vargas.
He's read several of the Libris Veritas--including the one about my
future...
He offered me a chance to regain control of my own destiny.
And so I died again...and was reborn as myself again.
This way I was finally free of the hell of my previous, involuntary
makeovers and what passed for my life.
Vargas is my salvation, though he doesn't wish me to live for him...
Now I live for myself.
Psylocke is dead.
They said Elisabeth Braddock would rest in peace.
Fat chance.
The wronged and scorned make for restless "dead".
They thirst for vengeance.
They thirst for justice,
And I will be avenged!
Long Live Dona Isabella Porfira Mondragon de Vargas!
The Black Queen has plans, and Storm with her little entourage.
will serve her quite well....especially since she knows them
better than they know themselves.
I am free--and in control--for the first time since I was in SHIELD.
I am still a telekinetic, and my telepathy has returned in full force,
and though my shadow powers have ebbed, the power to power to teleport,
regenerate and revive after injury remains--and now I am nearly as
invulnerable as Rogue, and I can cast illusions that would confound
Mastermind.
And when I look in the mirror, I see a beautiful Spaniard/Otherworlder
hybrid with my former features, violet-black hair and violet eyes. I do
not know exactly what happened to me, but the magick of the Dawn and my
Otherworldly heritage have left me more than I was, and I revel in it.
I am Black Queen to Vargas's Red King, and my new friend, Candra, the
Red Queen, tutors me in the finesse in TK, and understands my plans for
Storm and the others.
I have already ruined Worthington--and am quite satisfied at seeing
him peniless. His company is now bankrupt and completely worthless...
his fortune serving purposes I deem more worthy...
And best of all, he nightmares of the shade I was haunting him at every
turn...The Dawn takes care of it's own...and the debt is now his to carry.
I do hope it makes him pay, with interest!
Ah, Emma, I still find it difficult to believe that you are one of Xavier's
toadies...or are you?
The very idea of you and One-Eye is quite amusing....
Seems "poor Jean" isn't quite the telepath she's cracked up to be...or
she's just plain oblivious.
Ah well, watching Xavier's golden-girl deal with her life disintigrating
around her ears will be an utter delight!
She made her bed. Let her lie in it... I just hope Emma comes out on top.
And my dear sister, Tessa...my wish for you to be free...they say that
the truth will set one free, and what are the Libras Veritas but the
truth?
And what of my plans for Storm, you say?
I intend to "use" them to lead Vargas and myself to the remaining Libras
Veritas, as well as those I have recovered from the Xavier Institute.
How little do they realise that Gambit is working for me or that the
Astral-shade of Psylocke is not really a ghost at all...let them believe
that the shade of their "friend" advises them from beyond the grave!
They trust "Betsy" and tell her things they won't even tell each other..
they will be their own doom, after all...
It is sublime and elegant...
...Like moi.