Chapter Two

Katina Braddock-Worthington had grown up without a care in the world. Money was taken care of by Warren Worthington III, a businessman as well as her father. He had hit it big even though he was the proclaimed mutant Angel and used to run with the X-Men, but he had long since retired from the team. That's where he met her mother, Elisabeth Braddock. Codenamed Psylocke, she was a mutant as well, but the two of them had raised Kat like a normal child. Betsy, a telepath, had felt a psychic bond with her daughter ever since she was born, knowing full well that she would grow up to be a mutant as well. However, that didn't prepare her for the aspect of Warren's abilities in her daughter's ensemble of powers. Warren had the ability of flight provided by the soft, feathery wings on his back.

Kat was at the tender age of thirteen, a true teenager now that her birthday had passed, but that didn't stop her from developing a spoiled child's attitude towards life. Whatever she wanted, her Daddy could always get it for her. But the defining attribute in the young woman hadn't been her rotten personality. It was her strive for power. Ever since she was a child, Kat had always achieved the highest of anything. She was a genius in terms of IQ, a black belt in the Martial Arts, Ninjitsu being her specialty, and she had even snuck a few tapes of her mother and father in their superhero days and watched them, always left in awe of their experiences together.

Kat wanted to be an adventurer. The only problem was that her telepathy wasn't even as strong as her mother's, and even that wouldn't help her in combat. Now, standing on the cemented personal balcony that was built outside of her room, her bright blue eyes looked to the several stars anointing the sky with their presence. Her once-blonde hair was dyed purple because she wanted to look like her mother, but it was her father who she really admired. Her full lips came to a pout as she was thinking, yelling out into the night like a half-crazed woman. "You better give me powers, or else I'll join the X-Men anyways and get beat up!" Her immaturity was apparent, but obviously it had worked.

The next morning, her back was aching. She grumbled the entire time at breakfast, leaving her hair a mess and coming downstairs in her bathrobe, greeting her parents with a rather disgruntled hello. Betsy's violet eyes shifted to look at her husband, whose baby blues stared right back at her. We need to have a talk with her, Warren. Using telepathy, Betsy sipped her tea, turning back to watch her daughter shovel breakfast into her mouth. Shaking her head, she excused herself from the table and went into the family room, touching Warren on the shoulder before departing. Bring her in the family room when she's done. The blue-skinned Warren nodded lightly, clouding his thoughts as Betsy had taught him to when he felt his daughter's presence in his mind.

"What are you guys talking about? Are you talking about me?" Her smooth, curt voice demanded, strongly accented with an English tone. Kat grew up in the Worthington Estate in England as per her mother's instructions, seeing as she didn't want her anywhere near the X-Men. And they had lived in peace since they left. Warren simply shook his head, standing and waiting for her. When she finally finished, he motioned for her to follow him, receiving a frustrated groan afterwards. "What?"

As they walked into the family room, Warren sat next to Betsy on the couch, putting an arm around her, while Kat took a seat in the chair next to it. Psylocke cleared her throat, implying that she would rather not be interrupted in the middle of what she was about to say. "Kat, you're thirteen now. I'd like you to make a choice. You know you have telepathy that still needs some work. What I'm asking is this: Would you like to attend Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in Westchester?" Betsy looked to Angel for reassurance, meeting his pale blue eyes and suddenly feeling a lot more comfortable.

"Like to? Hell, yeah! I'd love to!" Kat jumped at the opportunity, sitting on her knees now in the chair.

"Language." Warren warned Kat, knowing that it was in Betsy's mind as well.

"Sorry. When do I start?" She was excited about the entire prospect. "Do I get to go on missions? Do I get a uniform too? What should my codename be? Are the kids cool?"

"Slow down, Katina. We're talking about attending the school, not becoming part of the X-Men." Betsy was scanning her mind telepathically, detecting some unusual activity in one part of the brain, but unable to decipher exactly what it was. "This means you won't be able to go on missions or get a uniform. And the kids there are fine, upstanding young people like yourself."

"Mom!" It was a loud whine, making both Warren and Betsy cringe, but Betsy was stubborn on the subject. "I won't get hurt; I can take care of myself!"

"Kat, I'm uncomfortable about you getting yourself into trouble." Psylocke's voice was stern.

"Well, Betts, maybe we should consider it..."

"Warren?"

"Well, Brian..."

"This isn't about my brother."

"But still. Maybe we should send her there first, see how she does, and then she'll be able to decide for herself whether or not to be an X-Man."

"Woman. And I don't think it's a good idea."

"Come on, Betts. We were young once." Warren took her chin in his index and middle fingers, placing a small kiss on her lips.

"Warren..." His hand lay on the other side of her neck, his lips going down to softly kiss the sensitive areas there. "Alright. We'll see how she does. One detention, young lady, and you're coming straight home." Kat jumped in excitement, leaping off the chair and hugging both parents.

"You owe me one, Kat." Warren smiled a bit, shooing her away with one hand.

"Yeah, yeah." She exited the room, going upstairs almost squealing. "I'm going to be an X-Woman!" Suddenly, violet pins shot out in front of her, melting holes in the floor. "What the--" She found that the ache in her back was gone, shrugging lightly and covering up the holes with a rug, entering her room. She screamed as she looked in the mirror, a pair of butterfly wings made of psychic energy decorating her back. Warren and Betsy rushed upstairs, both gasping as they saw her newly-gained mutation. Kat found that she had control of them and fluttered them, her eyes on her parents. "Uhh, Mom?"

"You're going."