Spoilers: In Madripoor’s Lowtown, Matsu’o Tsurayaba meets Police Chief Tai to negotiate the retrieval of Jubilee and learns she is already in custody under Deputy Chief Lo; Tai authorizes Matsu’o to eliminate Lo and her loyal officers, leading the Hand to attack the Madripoor Novelty Company yard, where they kill the guards and confront Lo; Matsu’o speaks with her directly, states that Tai has abandoned her, and then kills her quickly.
Meanwhile, Psylocke and Elektra clash in Hightown, with Elektra attacking relentlessly and in full control while Betsy struggles to keep up, still feeling disconnected from her body; their psychic link exposes fragments of their shared past, but Betsy remains distracted by Jubilee’s danger, and as the fight escalates, she senses through telepathy that Jubilee is being tortured and is in immediate peril; refocusing, Betsy reasserts herself as Psylocke and uses her powers to briefly shift the fight before Elektra disengages, after which Betsy immediately follows Jubilee’s psychic trail.
While Jubilee is held captive by Aardwolf, Betsy follows her psychic signature into a crowded Madripoor nightclub, where the overwhelming thoughts of the crowd disrupt her focus; she is led into a VIP lounge and confronted by illusions of Dazzler, Havok, and Colossus, who initially welcome her before accusing her of manipulating and abandoning them, forcing her to relive her actions and destabilizing her emotionally; Elektra then reveals herself as the source of the illusion and, taking advantage of Betsy’s distraction, closes in and stabs her with a sai.
Jubilee is held and interrogated by Aardwolf, then escapes by kicking him off a balcony and fleeing into the crowd; outside, she runs into Matsu’o, Lord Daito, and the Hand, who surround her as she calls out for Psylocke.
After Elektra seemingly kills Psylocke, Betsy traps her in a psychic illusion involving Matt Murdock, forcing Elektra to confront her actions and revealing that both have been influencing each other’s perceptions and that killing her brought no relief; as the illusion ends and the fight resumes in the nightclub, they continue their confrontation while acknowledging their shared bond, until Betsy gains the advantage and stops, offering Elektra a truce and asking for her help to save Jubilee and escape the Hand, leaving the conflict unresolved.
“For so long, my life has been out of control. Chaos and serendipity, wrapped in insanity. I have suffered, I have lost. Not just my life, but my very soul, my self. But no more. Now I know who I am.” – Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Braddock, daughter of Otherworld, mutant, telepath, telekinetic, defender of the realm and, above all, X-Man.
