BIOGRAPHY - Page 1
Many people throughout history have spent a great deal of time and money to find out what the future holds for them in the hopes they could discover the best outcome. For Irene Adler, this ability was her birth-right. However, for her, it was a blessing and a curse all twisted into one. Born in Salzberg, Austria in the late 19th Century, Irene was an ordinary girl, oblivious to the existence of mutants and the fact she was one herself. That was until she turned thirteen years old, and her ability to see the future developed.
Suddenly, her mind was flooded with images more amazing and horrifying than she could ever imagine. She saw places that had not been built yet, people that hadn’t been born and historic world events that were yet to come. Knowing that the things she was seeing were futures that might possibly happen, Irene began to write down everything she saw in a series of diaries. Many people would have buckled under the shear onslaught of knowledge, but Irene remained strong and logged everything she could.
Her new mutant gift didn’t come without a price though. As her mind’s eye opened up to the future, her physical eyes started to become blind to the present. By the time she had finished her diaries, Irene was completely blind to the world around her, but her life had found a new purpose. Irene could see many possible futures and she set out to steer the world to the one she deemed the most favorable. As a blind woman in the early 20th century, daily life was an uphill struggle 
and she realized she needed help. Hiring a detective consultant named Raven Darkholme, the two set about to change the world, though it proved a lot more difficult than either imagined. Working from the shadows, Irene took on the name Destiny, whilst the shapeshifting Raven would become Mystique. Over time, the two women grew close and began a romantic relationship. However, due to social limitations of the time, they could not openly declare their love. Irene and Raven kept their love hidden, going to extreme lengths to remove anyone who might threaten their secret. [X-Treme X-Men (1st series) #1, Marvel's Voices: Pride (1st series) #1]
[Note: In X-Treme X-Men (1st series) #1 and Chaos War: X-Men #1 it is said that Irene became blind after her mutant powers kicked in. However, in Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #254 and Sabretooth and Mystique #2 it is stated that she was blind from birth]
Over the decades that followed, Destiny and Mystique worked with varying levels of success to manipulate events to how they wanted them. Much of their lives during this time period is shrouded in mystery but the two parted a few times to seek their own fates. Mystique would go on to have numerous romantic relationships over the years and enter the public eye on more than one occasion. Irene on the other hand preferred to lay low and her presence across the history of the 20th century was more subtle.
One of her known associates, for better or worse, was Nathanial Essex, who would go on to be known as the villainous Mister Sinister. The geneticist was fascinated with mutants and had experimented on himself to give him an extended lifespan, as well as many other abilities. Irene knew Essex would be a key figure in the fate of the mutant race for many years to come and she 
would have many dealings with him over the 20th century. Irene studied genetics herself and in 1946 she ended up working with Essex, Frances Xavier and Kurt Marko, amongst others. Working on Project: Black Womb, the group was trying to figure out the mysteries to unlock immortality. What Irene's role was in the project is unknown, but it was ultimately sabotaged by Essex for his own ends. Destiny would ensure she kept tabs on Essex for years to come as his presence in mutant affairs would have consequences, both good and bad. [Immortal X-Men #1, 8, X-Men Legacy (1st series) #211-214]
During this time period, it has also been implied that Irene had some kind of relationship with a man that resulted in the birth of a daughter, Justine. Understandably, Irene kept Justine’s existence a secret, allowing the girl to live a relatively normal life. Justine would go on to marry a man named Cole Chase and produce a son named Trevor. Irene apparently let Raven know about her secret family, with the shapeshifter vowing to protect them as if they were her own family. [X-Factor (1st series) #132-137]
[Note: Whilst Irene’s name is not specifically spoken with reference to Justine and Trevor, the issues involved heavily implied that she was Trevor’s grandmother. Justine and Trevor haven’t been seen since their initial debut arc in X-Factor.]
Operating out of Jerusalem for a while, Irene acted as an undercover contact for Sabretooth, who was working for the CIA at the time. On one mission, Irene was captured and tortured by a sadistic man named Catalyst. She was saved thanks to the intervention of Mystique and Sabretooth, as well as Catalyst’s own arrogance. [Sabretooth and Mystique #1-3] Realizing that there were many people who would seek to abuse her powers, Irene retreated from the world and joined a travelling carnival as a fortune teller. Here she met a young Warpath and read him his fortune; although she omitted the part where she saw his brother die. [X-Force (1st series) #minus1]
In the years that passed, Irene and Raven reconnected and even adopted a runaway mutant girl named Anna-Marie. With the uncontrollable power to drain another person’s life force and retain their memories and superpowers, the girl took on the name Rogue. Irene and Raven became Rogue’s de-facto parents and taught her all they knew. Looking into Rogue’s future, Destiny could see the young girl losing her soul, and perhaps even dying, due to an altercation with Carol Danvers aka Ms. Marvel. When Mystique 
was warned of this possible future, she became fixated on destroying Carol before anything bad could befall Rogue. In a self-fulfilling prophecy, Rogue overheard Destiny and Mystique planning on killing Ms. Marvel and she decided to do the deed herself. Rogue confronted Carol and the two fought, with Rogue eventually absorbing the woman’s entire psyche and powerset, leaving the superhero in a coma. Had Irene kept her vision to herself, then Rogue may have never crossed paths with Carol. [X-Men: Unlimited (1st series) #4, Marvel Super-Heroes (2nd series) #11]
By the latter half of the 20th century, the mutant race became public knowledge and the numbers of mutants were beginning to grow. A number of mutant teams such as the X-Men and Brotherhood of Mutants sprung up and started gaining headlines. Many of the events that Destiny had seen in her mind as a child were beginning to happen, and so she knew that it was time to take a more direct role in shaping the future. Groups like the X-Men tried to hide their mutant status and were content to blend in with human society. Disagreeing with this approach, Destiny and Mystique set up their own Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and gathered a group of like-minded mutants who would fight for mutant rights, violently if necessary.
Anti-mutant politicians such as Senator Robert Kelly were starting to make their voices heard and so Destiny decided he needed eliminating to show the world that the mutant race wouldn’t be so easily subjugated. The Brotherhood came up with a plan to attack Kelly at a Senate hearing. 
However, just beforehand, Irene sensed something had changed in the timeline but she couldn’t be sure as to what. Unbeknownst to her, the future consciousness of the X-Men’s newest member, Kitty Pryde, had taken over the young girl’s body and warned the X-Men of the dire consequences of Senator Kelly being killed. When Destiny and the Brotherhood attacked Kelly at his Senate hearing, they found the X-Men ready and waiting to stop them. Unable to determine the cause of her prophetic blindness, Destiny continued with her plan of murdering Kelly. Brandishing a crossbow, she cornered the man and pulled the trigger. As she did so, Kitty used her mutant powers and phased through Destiny’s body, knocking the crossbow bolt enough for it to miss Kelly. Destiny was knocked out and was none-the-wiser of the horrific future she could have caused. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #141-142]
[Note: Had Destiny’s crossbow bolt hit true, then she would have been responsible for the timeline known as Days of Future Past. How her prophetic visions missed out on the terrible events that would happen in this timeline is unknown. If you want to find out more on this terrible future for mutant-kind then follow the link DAYS OF FUTURE PAST ]