[A/N]: A last-second clutch and the second goal is cleared! Enjoy your first bonus chapter đNext target: 250 Power Stones next week to unlock two more bonus chapters!
The last thing Jay remembered was a British girl crashing through the mansion's roof, bleeding and barely conscious. That had been an hour ago.
Now they were in one of the mansion's medical labs. All Sterile white walls with the hum of monitoring equipment.
Beast worked methodically over Betsy's unconscious form. His hands moved with delicacy, checking vitals, adjusting monitors, running scans on equipment that beeped and whirred. Checking vitals, monitoring brain activity and running scans that would take time to process. His medical expertise was beyond question, but his methods were thorough, careful and slow.
Jay watched from across the room, arms crossed. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead. Each beep from the heart monitor felt like it took an eternity. His foot tapped against the floor.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
"Screw this," he muttered.
He moved toward the medical bed. Hank's head jerked up, ears twitching. "Jay, I must insist you let me complete my examination before..."
Jay's hands already glowed green, cutting off the protest. Tommy's healing aura washed over Betsy in a wave that filled the room with the scent of spring rain and fresh grass. Pure vitality made tangible.
The effect was immediate and dramatic.
Color returned to her pale skin. Her breathing, which had been shallow and ragged, deepened. The cuts covering her arms sealed themselves with the sound of tissue knitting back together, a soft whisper like pages turning. The bruises that covered her body faded from purple to yellow to nothing. Internal bleeding stopped, and fractured bones knit together. The monitors started beeping faster, more insistently, as her vitals skyrocketed back to healthy levels. The psychic trauma that had been evident in her erratic brain patterns smoothed out.
Within minutes, she looked healthy. Her face, which had been twisted in pain even unconscious, relaxed.
Beast stared. "That's... remarkable. The cellular regeneration rate is unprecedented. I've never seen trauma of this magnitude reversed so completely in such a short timeframe. The bone density readings alone are... No matter how many times I see this, it still amazes me."
"Yeah, yeah." Jay stepped back, the green glow fading from his hands. "Walking medical miracle here. Can we move on?"
Domino laughed from her position by the wall. "In all this chaos, I nearly forgot you're primarily a doctor." Her grin was wide. "The Power Broker, Miracle Worker, Light Bringer, and also just a really good physician."
"Don't forget devilishly handsome," Jay added.
"I was trying to be modest for you."
"Modesty is overrated."
"So is your ego, apparently."
Just then Betsy's eyes snapped open.
She moved on pure instinct and training.
Her hand came up fast, already glowing with purple psychic energy that crackled like electricity. A blade materialized from nothing, crystallized thought given lethal form. Sharp enough to cut through steel. The butterfly psylock mark blazed across her face, wings spreading from her left eye across her cheek. She swept the room with predatory awareness, cataloging every person, every exit and every potential threat.
"Where am I? Who are you people?" Her British accent was crisp, proper, despite the panic underneath. Each word clipped and precise. "What have you done?"
Beast raised his hands, palms out. His voice dropped to that soothing tone he used with frightened students. "Easy now, young lady. You're safe. You came crashing through our roof seeking help. We've been treating your injuries."
Betsy's blade didn't waver. The psychic energy hummed, casting purple shadows across her face.
She took a quick step toward Beast. The blade moved toward his throat, close enough that he could feel the heat radiating from the psychic construct.
"I said, where am I?" Her voice cracked slightly. "Tell me NOW or I'll..."
To prevent any more misunderstanding, Jay activated his null field.
Betsy's psychic blade vanished like someone had flipped a switch. The butterfly mark on her forehead flickered, struggling to maintain coherence against the nullification effect.
She stumbled forward, nearly falling. Her hands came up, grasping at empty air. Confusion replaced combat readiness. Her hand moved through the air where her blade had been. She tried to summon it again. Nothing. Tried reaching out telepathically. Nothing.
No energy responded. Her powers were simply... gone.
"What..." Her voice cracked. "What did you do? My powers, I can't feel them. I can't..." She pressed her hands to her temples. "There's nothing there. Just silence. Empty silence."
She looked around at the strange faces. 'These people. These strangers. Where were her brothers?' She reached out mentally, searching for Jamie's chaotic presence and Brian's steady warmth. Her brothers weren't here. She couldn't sense them. Couldn't defend herself. Her powers, the one thing that had kept her alive through whatever hell she'd escaped, were gone.
"Please." The word came out broken. "Please, I just need to find them. I need to..."
Her knees buckled. She caught herself against the medical bed. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, spilling over before she could stop them.
"Please, I just need..." She couldn't finish the sentence. Couldn't hold back the fear and exhaustion anymore.
Domino moved before Jay could react. She was at Betsy's side immediately, arms wrapping around the younger woman's shoulders. "Hey, hey. You're okay. You're safe. Nobody's going to hurt you."
Betsy flinched at the contact. Her whole body went rigid. Then slowly, like ice melting, she relaxed into it. The human warmth. The gentle voice. After what she'd been through, kindness felt foreign.
Domino shot Jay a look over Betsy's shoulder. The expression was clear: 'really? You're bullying a helpless girl?'
Jay made a face back. 'What? How is this my fault?'
Domino mouthed: 'null field, jackass.'
Jay rolled his eyes but deactivated the power nullification. The field collapsed with a sensation like pressure releasing. Immediately, Betsy's psychic signature flared back to life. The butterfly mark reappeared on her forehead, though it stayed dim and controlled.
She pulled back from Domino slightly. Wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... you were helping me and I nearly..."
"Don't apologize for having survival instincts," Domino said firmly. "You've clearly been through hell. Fight-or-flight is normal."
Beast had already moved to the door. "I'll inform Charles. He'll want to speak with Miss Braddock personally."
Minutes crawled by. Betsy sat on the edge of the medical bed, Domino beside her. Jay leaned against the wall, watching. The silence felt heavy and uncomfortable.
Finally, Xavier wheeled into the room. Storm and Scott flanked him. Scott's visor gleamed red in the fluorescent light, and Storm's white hair seemed to move in a breeze that wasn't there. Their expressions were serious but not hostile.
Betsy's entire body relaxed at the sight of the Professor. Recognition and relief flooding through her. "Professor Xavier." Her voice cracked again. "Thank God. I landed at the right place. You have to help me. Please. The Black Queen, she has my brothers. I tried to fight her but I couldn't... you have to help me."
The room went very quiet.
Jay's expression shifted. His jaw tightened. In remembrance of that name.
Storm's eyes flickered white for just a moment before returning to normal. Even Beast, still by the monitors, went still.
Xavier's mental voice touched each person in the room simultaneously. 'Everyone remain calm. Let her speak. We'll discuss the implications after.'
Out loud, Xavier said, "Miss Braddock. Elizabeth, if I'm not mistaken? I looked into your mind to research your background after your... dramatic arrival. Part of the British royal family, connected to the Braddock estate. Your brothers are James and Brian Braddock. Yes?"
Betsy nodded frantically. The words tumbled out. "Yes, yes that's right. Jamie and Brian. She took them. Selene took them."
"Selene." Xavier's voice dropped. He'd faced her before. Knew exactly what she was capable of. "The External. The Black Queen of the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle." "One of the oldest mutants alive. Millennia old, if the reports are accurate." Why don't you calm down, catch your breath, and we can discuss this properly after you've rested."
"No!" Betsy stood abruptly. The medical bed scraped against the floor. "There's no time for rest. Every second I waste here is another second they're in her hands. Please, Professor. I need your help. Now."
Xavier studied her. His telepathy probed gently, respectfully, confirming the truth of her desperation. Then he nodded.
"Very well. Let's talk."
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