X-Force’s next mission took them to a clandestine auction of rare artifacts in Madripoor, where Pestilence unleashed her plagues in a desperate attempt to seize an opal recovered from one of Apocalypse’s tombs and regain his favor. When X-Force stormed the auction, Psylocke joined her teammates in battle and observed that the Horsemen had begun turning against one another. Pestilence confirmed her suspicions by declaring that neither X-Force nor Famine would stand in her way. Archangel ultimately defeated Pestilence, allowing the team to escape with the opal.
Aboard their jet high above the Pacific, tensions remained high as the hunt for Apocalypse continued. Psylocke stepped forward holding the glowing red gemstone and identified it as the Opal of Ozymandias. She recounted how Ozymandias, once a pharaoh’s son consumed by his pursuit of power, had been overthrown by En Sabah Nur—Apocalypse—and cursed with prophetic vision and eternal servitude as the chronicler of the tyrant’s deeds throughout history.
When Cable impatiently demanded to know whether the artifact retained enough power to locate Apocalypse, Psylocke remained unfazed. Purple butterfly energy bloomed around her face as she activated her psychometric abilities and reached into the memories preserved within the stone. The accumulated anger, pain, and relentless will to survive nearly overwhelmed her. More unexpectedly, she discovered the X-Men themselves woven into Apocalypse’s ancient past, revealing that their histories were far more deeply entangled than she had realized.
With Cable’s assistance, Psylocke pushed deeper into the opal’s memories. They witnessed the newly named Apocalypse vowing vengeance against the remnants of Rama-Tut’s empire while embracing Candra and testing her suitability as his queen. The visions then shifted to Ozymandias discovering Rama-Tut’s hidden technology, only to be ambushed by Apocalypse and transformed into an immortal seer condemned to record his conqueror’s deeds for eternity.
The visions continued as Apocalypse brought a massive boulder down upon the crusader Bennet du Paris to teach him that “survival is not enough.” Psylocke and Cable then witnessed Ozymandias advise Apocalypse to father an heir rather than continue searching for a new vessel. When the face of Famine suddenly emerged within the memories, the psychic connection surged beyond Psylocke’s control and violently hurled both her and Cable backward across the jet.
Archangel rushed to steady the shaken Psylocke as she voiced her fear that Apocalypse’s heir might already have been born and hidden from the world. Cable recovered and immediately relayed the revelation to the rest of X-Force. Their mission had suddenly become far more dangerous: they were no longer simply hunting Apocalypse, but preparing for the possible existence of his secret child.
“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.
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