X-Men - Target Frost Part 7

Psylocke was surrounded by the mists of the astral plane. She was lit by the glowing light of her psychic katana. A purple hue reflected off her body making her look supernatural, perhaps even divine. She stood in an infinite darkness awaiting her opponent's move. She was silent but ready. The astral plane was an odd place to be. There were no senses. Anything Psylocke heard or saw or smelled were constructions created by the mind.

"I must admit I'm surprised, Psylocke." Madelyne's voice echoed through Psylocke's psyche. "Our ideal self is projected on the astral plane and yet yours remains the Japanese body that you were switched into. I would think you would revert back to your original body. You're either incredibly comfortable in the body you were given or you're so mixed up that you have no idea who you truly are."

"I was under the impression that we were to do battle, Madelyne, not discuss the philosophies concerning identity. If it's alright with you, I'd prefer we skip the banter and go straight to the part where I run my blade through your astral arse."

"Oh but what would be the fun in that, my dear?" Madelyne cackled. "I intend to have plenty of fun with you."

Dust kicked up around Psylocke and she was forced to bring her arms up in front of her face to shield herself from it. The small particles licked her skin. Once it stopped, Psylocke turned her attention to her surroundings. She was in the middle of a feudal Japanese village. Her feet sunk softly onto the dusty roads that led to various houses. The buildings were peaked with pointed roofs and their walls were dull and grey. To her left, she spotted red arches that undoubtedly led to a shrine while in front of her was a giant structure. It was taller than all the others in town and its roof flatted at the top. The sides sloped down and its front was punctuated by tall openings. Psylocke could make out the forest that marked the outskirts of the village. Though it was small, this town could prove to be treacherous as an attack could come from any number of directions. Psylocke steadied her katana ahead of her and conjured up a suit of armour appropriate for the situation. She transformed herself into a samurai. Her cuirass was sculpted into a series of detailed scales that stretched across her breasts. Her fauld, spaulders and cuisse were spiked serving as protection for her shoulders, legs and hips. Her greaves and vambrace, which covered her shins and forearms, were etched with a design not unlike the Union Jack. The criss-crossing lines were dull but patriotic nonetheless. Her helmet featured an ornate butterfly design that stretched out towards the sky. The armour itself was all tinted purple and seemed to sparkle under the sunlight that shined down onto her. Psylocke slowly began to step forward.

Just then, a rumbling caught Psylocke's attention. The doors to the large building ahead of her slid open and three figures stepped out. She recognized them as X-Men, or rather, imitations of the X-Men. At the centre was Colossus. His hulking frame filled the doorway and his body shimmered in its armoured form. At his sides were Rogue and Gambit. Gambit's body was hidden beneath his trenchcoat while his hands were shuffling through a deck of cards. His rugged visage was twisted into a smirk and a cigarette hung low in his mouth. Rogue was clothed in a green hooded costume that featured a white trim that ran up the torso and went around the hood. Her hair was cropped short and her white streaks were swept back from her temples.

"For a group of heroes," Madelyne's voice returned, "the X-Men sure have a lot of former psychopaths and bad guys filling out their ranks. Colossus became an Acolyte of Magneto's, Rogue was a murderous terrorist and Gambit was a thief whose affiliation with the Marauders tied him to the massacre of the Morlocks. We also can't forget your beau Warren Worthington... or should I say Archangel?"

A screaming noise filled Psylocke's mind as Archangel tore through the sky above her. His pale blue face was tightened into a snarl and his lithe body was poured into a skintight blue and pink costume. He dove down towards Psylocke, prompting her to roll backwards in order to dodge his attack. His large metallic wings stabbed the ground and when they were pulled free from the earth dirt was kicked up all around them.

Gambit and Rogue sprang into action. Gambit charged his cards and sent them flying towards his opponent. The pink energy streaked through the air with a hiss. Psylocke twisted her body and sprang upwards off her feet. She successfully avoided Gambit's assault but was quickly picked up by Rogue. The skunk-haired mutant held Psylocke close to her and flew up into the sky. Rogue's grip was unbearably tight and it was threatening to cut off Psylocke's circulation. The telepath reached out and sent volts of psychic energy filtering into Rogue's astral shadow. The figure shook and soon it dissipated, dropping Psylocke down onto the ground. At that point, Colossus came barreling forward. He was remarkably fast for a man of his size and the impact would undoubtedly be deadly. However, Psylocke pulled her arms back and balanced the katana in her hand as if it were a spear. She sent it flying forward and it tore through Colossus, causing him to disappear.

Psylocke broke into a sprint as she dodged the bladed feathers that were raining down onto her from Archangel. She grabbed onto her katana, which had gotten stuck in one of the buildings, and ducked down under a set of stairs. She quietly snuck into the small house and prepared herself for the next attack. Gambit crashed through one of the papered windows, twirling his long staff in his hand. He lunged at Psylocke and successfully tackled her to the ground. She pulled her head up and smashed it against his forehead with her helmet. Gambit staggered back giving Psylocke the opportunity to rise to her feet. She wasted no time coming at her opponent. Her katana struck Gambit's staff causing magenta hued sparks to fly. Gambit met each of Psylocke's blows with incredible agility but the Cajun failed to realize that this was merely a distraction. She balanced her sword in one hand then used the other to conjure a small knife and plunged it deep into Gambit's stomach. Gambit faded away just as Rogue and Colossus had before him.

Archangel was waiting for Psylocke outside of the building. He stood silently with his wings spread out to each side. They were disturbingly beautiful in their opulence. If there was one person Psylocke knew better than herself it was Archangel. She'd been inside his mind and she knew every move he could possibly make. She stepped down from the protuding ledge of the building and met him on the dusty road. Their eyes were locked onto each other. Psylocke was still. This was a showdown and it was one Psylocke intended to win. And she did. Moments passed but eventually Archangel disappeared into nothingness.

"Why are you stalling Madelyne? Are you afraid to face me?" Psylocke called out.

"Very well..."

The sound of soft footsteps came from behind Psylocke. When she turned around, Psylocke's stomach dropped. She was faced with an image of herself. This Psylocke was covered in heavy blue armour. Over one shoulder, a long, flowing cape hung down onto the ground while on the other was a shoulder plate that curved upwards. She wore an unusual headpiece that created a sharp "M" that stretched out from her face. Her long purple hair twirled around, as if it were flirting with the air around it. Psylocke recognized the armour. This was how she was clothed when she'd been brainwashed into being a personal assassin for the evil organization known as the Hand. This was when she was known as Lady Mandarin.

When Lady Mandarin opened her mouth, it was not Psylocke's distinctive British accent that poured out but was Madelyne's honey sweet voice. "At one point, even you were a villain. Now that I think about it, you never quite fit in with the X-Men did you? Even though you pretended to be a proper English rose we all knew you were just as bloodthirsty as Wolverine. A telepathic X-Man is supposed to uphold some kind of moral code but you never did. You were always a little too eager to mind rape your opponents and whenever someone proved inconvenient you always suggested they be killed. You're a bully Betsy Braddock."

A shriek of rage came from Psylocke's mouth as she dashed forward, brandishing her katana. She swung furiously at her opponent but missed by mere inches causing her to stumble. Madelyne pressed her advantage by knocking Psylocke in the back with her elbow. The force caused Psylocke to take a tumble, face first, onto the ground. Madelyne stepped forward and stomped onto Psylocke's back. Psylocke gasped for breath. Madelyne then kicked Psylocke in the side forcing her to roll around. Psylocke got back onto her feet. She came at Madelyne once more with her sword. She slashed away but continued to miss her opponent. Madelyne formed her own sword and the pair clashed with their blades. It didn't matter what move Psylocke made because Madelyne seemed to predict each one. Every thrust and every cut was met with Madelyne's intuitive blocks. When Madelyne noticed Psylocke falter from frustration, she brought her sword in close then slashed at Psylocke's stomach. The blow was superficial at best but hurt nonetheless. Abandoning her sword, Psylocke ducked her body down and tackled Madelyne to the ground. The moment Madelyne was down, Psylocke brought her head down onto Madelyne's. She followed this with unending blows to Madelyne's face. Punch after punch came down hard onto her. Despite the assault, Madelyne's face remained unchanged. In fact, each attack seemed to please her more and more. Psylocke brought her forearm down onto Madelyne's neck. The attempt to strangle Madelyne proved futile but this move gave Psylocke to opportunity to conjure a psychic knife. The knife danced like a flame as its purple energy sparked around her fist. . She slammed the knife down into Madelyne's forehead. Madelyne's disguise as Lady Mandarin flickered on and off like television static. Madelyne screamed and the two women were pulled apart by some kind of psychic explosion. The village disappeared and Psylocke's samurai armour faded.

Psylocke was in immense pain. Her body ached and her head was throbbing. She attempted to get back onto her feet but every nerve cried out telling her to give up. Her eyes peered out into the distance and saw Madelyne coming towards her. The red-haired villainess was limping but was undoubtedly in better shape than Psylocke.

"That," Madelyne said, "was not fun!"

"Why won't you die?!" Psylocke demanded.

"I don't know!!" Madelyne yelled back. "Do you think I want to live? After everything I've been through, do you think it's easy? Do you?! I just want to be at rest but I am denied that! I can't die!"

"What?"

"I figure it must have something to do with the Phoenix... and since I can't die, I'm going to make sure I at least destroy the lives of all of those who were responsible for the destruction of mine."

"But... why can't you just start over? It's not too late."

"Oh that's rich. Just a moment ago you were trying to kill me and now you're going all Wonder Woman on me. I'm sorry but you're full of it Psylocke. I'm going to rip your mind to pieces and leave your body nothing but a rotting vegetable."

Psylocke was weak. There was very little left that she could do to stop Madelyne. She hated this. Her teammates were depending on her and she had failed them. But she wouldn't give up. Psylocke mustered whatever strength she had left and stood, her body shaking as she did so. Her entire body was screaming and every step she made threatened to lead her back towards the ground. She fixed her eyes on Madelyne and approached her slowly. Madelyne smiled and brought her hands up. She twisted her hands into claws and her nails grew sharp and long. She swung her arms and in that moment Psylocke winced. She shut her eyes for a second but when they were opened Madelyne was gone. "Oh bloody hell... if you're going to kill me, do it now!"

Nothing.

"Madelyne?"

Nothing.

Psylocke sighed and fell onto the ground. She closed her eyes and brought herself back onto the physical plane. Everything came flooding back to Psylocke -- sound, taste, touch, smell, and lastly, sight. She was once more surrounded by the ruins of the house where the X-Men had done battle with the Sisterhood. Though she was no longer on the astral plane, she was still in incredible pain. She groaned as she crawled forward. Her heart sank when she realized her teammates were nowhere to be found. She feared the worst. Psylocke fell back and felt the beginnings of tears form at the side of her eyes.

"Oh don't go blubbering now." The familiar sound of Emma Frost's voice filled Psylocke's ears. "They're fine. They've all been teleported back to HQ."

Emma presented herself to Psylocke. She towered over the purple-haired mutant. Emma was in her diamond form so everything filtered through her -- the house, the light. There was something ironic about the fact that Emma, the woman who was arguably the most brutally honest of the X-Men, could turn herself into such a transparent form. Emma strutted over to Psylocke and reached down. She fixed her grip around Psylocke's back and legs then picked her up, taking her teammate into her arms. Emma looked down and flashed Psylocke an uncharacteristic smile. "It's all over."

"What happened to Madelyne?"

"I theorized that she's some kind of psychic entity now so while the two of you were duking it out on the astral plane, I took it upon myself to pull Madelyne's non-corporeal essence into my psyche then I turned myself into this form so she couldn't get out. It was a brilliant move I must say."

"She's only trapped in there so long as you're in diamond form."

"Oh don't spoil the moment darling. I'm sure Henry will come up with some kind of device that will scatter Madelyne across the universe. If not we can always just break out the Ouija board, summon Jean Grey and have the clone and the cow go at it."

Psylocke chuckled then relaxed into Emma's arms. That's when she noticed what Emma was wearing. She furrowed her brows and took in the details of the white and blue costume. She pointed her finger at the 4-shaped cleavage window and asked, "Emma... what are you wearing?"

"The only stylish costume Susan Storm ever wore."

"And what did you do to her in order to get it?"

"Nothing special."

"I don't think that's what she'll say. You don't want to piss off the Invisible Woman."

Emma groaned. "I'll just say that a Skrull did it."