Dubai, Saudi Arabia, 48 hours ago:
A man wearing a western suit, as well as a typical Arabian headdress, steps out of the elevator into his apartment to be greeted by a sight of horror: his wife in the hands of several Hand assassins, one of whom holds a blade to her throat. “Fahd Alireza,” the assassin addresses him, “Matsu’o Tsurabaya sends his regards.” He cuts the woman’s throat.
Fahd Alireza’s eyes begin to glow and he burst into flame which blaze out, destroying everything in the apartment and killing the ninja. He calls the flames back. Matsu’o! he states, his eyes ablaze.
Flashback:
Psylocke recalls how she tried to save the X-Men by forcing them to walk through the Siege Perilous. She paid the price. Still in her original, Caucasian body, she washed ashore in Japan, amnesiac, and was found by the Hand who brought her before Matsu’o Tsurabaya. Their lives have been intertwined ever since.
Matsu’o used a combination of technology and Hand black magic and her own powers to transform her. He was trying to bring his lover back to life. He couldn’t. Kwannon’s mind was gone, so he remade Kwannon out of Betsy. What he did was evil, but he did it for love. They even were lovers at some point. It was Wolverine who brought her back. She saw herself in his mind and it restored her, his memories told her who she was.
But her original body was gone, it seemed. She has Kwannon’s body and, as it turned out, Kwannon had Betsy’s. And then, in her body, Kwannon died. Matsu’o grieved his love. And he and Psylocke parted way. Until he had her body burnt to ashes right in front of her. Until he burned away her last connection to her former life.
present
And now Psylocke fights her way through a Japanese building, her thoughts consumed by Matsu’o Tsurabaya. Where is he? she demands. One man attacks her with a knife. She telepathically learns that he knows. She kicks the weapon out of his hands and makes him talk, then pulls the information from his mind to verify it. Matsu’o is holed up in the countryside. He’s expecting trouble. The thug nods. That’s the understatement of the year.
The Kabukicho district, Tokyo:
A frightened barkeeper keeps serving Wolverine drinks, begging him not to hurt him. He wants to live through this? Wolverine asks. Then keep them coming. A heap of beaten, unconscious men lies next to him.
Betsy steps through a bamboo forest. Feeling as though she is haunted. Haunted by a life-long dead. She recalls being a child at Braddock Manor, running through the spacious gardens…
A life taken from her by one man.
She recalls being in love, in Matsu’o’s arms.
An old style Japanese castle is in front of her. Tonight she lays her ghosts to rest.
She sneaks inside and takes out the first guard. The second guard tells Matsu’o someone is here before she stabs a psychic knife into his head. She speaks into the comm-unit, telling Matsu’o they had made their peace. For all that he had done to her she had forgiven him. She will not forgive him this. He would expect nothing else, he replies. She of all people should know where to find him.
Suddenly, she senses thoughts too fast too catch. A sense of excitement. Of thrill! The next moment, she is kicked in the face, by the Ronin Yukio. Yukio is startled when she recognizes Betsy. This is awkward, she states by way of apology. Had she known Psylocke was alive she wouldn’t have kicked her in the face. Is she here to help?
Twelve hours ago:
A journalist reports about a small private jet from Tokyo having crashed with no sign of survivors when suddenly someone emerges from the wreckage. They don’t understand… the man seems to be burning! Understanding comes too late, as the flames engulf them. Fahd Alireza aka Jinn has arrived…
Now:
Yukio asks if it truly is Psylocke. With the X-Men, it is sometimes hard to tell. Reserved, Betsy asks what Yukio is doing here. No small talk? the other woman shoots back. Is she working for Matsu’o Tsuarabaya? Betsy continues. No, Yukio replies, she’s here as a favor. She thought Psylocke was here for the same reason. She’s starting to think she’s wrong. Look at her, on edge… claws out. All that rage. Maybe the better question is what is she doing here. She’s come for Matsu’o Tsurabaya, is the reply. To say ‘hi?’ Yukio inquires. To catch up a bit? She’s come to cut his heart out! Betsy reveals.
Well then, that changes everything, Yukio replies. What is she doing here? Betsy repeats. Stopping her from killing Matsu’o. Enough games, Betsy decides. Her butterfly effect flares up as she begins to read the other woman’s mind. That’s cheating! Yukio scolds her but her mind is an open book. The first thing Betsy sees is Wolverine attacking Matsu’o. For a moment, she is confused. Long enough for Yukio to strew dust into her eyes.
Meanwhile, at the ancestral home of Clan Yashida, Logan respectfully stands in front of a grave adorned by fresh flowers…
Psylocke, in the meantime, dodges Yukio’s thrown blades, figuring it’s all a game to the other woman. She may play for the trill but certainly plays for keeps! She kicks Yukio in the stomach. In turn, the other woman hits back hard. Yukio doesn’t give Betsy a moment to think because if she does, the fight is over, Betsy figures.
Betsy tries to manifest a psychic dagger. What did she say about cheating? Yukio scolds. Unamused, Betsy head butts her. She asked what she was doing here? She reminds Yukio, but in all honesty she doesn’t care. Yukio chose the wrong bloody day to screw with her! Any friendships she may have with Wolverine or Storm, today Psylocke just doesn’t care. Now get up! she orders.
Yukio does so with a kick, while at the same time imploring Betsy that isn’t her. Betsy just hits her until she stays down. Yukio has no idea who she is, she announces.
She opens the sliding doors, calling for Matsu’o. She chided one of the X-Men students for showing mercy to a foe, she muses aloud. She did not tell her that she made that mistake once. She grabs her katana. With him.
She sees a shadowy man standing in the adjacent room. He took her body and soul, she shouts, and still she forgave him. Despite everything he did she let him live! Now she realizes her mistake. Now she corrects it! Face me! she orders.
She knows him, the man who is not Matsu’o states. Where is Matsu’o Tsurabaya? Jinn demands. Excuse me? Betsy asks confused. Jinn’s eyes glow with flames and a moment later the entire house is ablaze.
