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.'

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  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."

  The transition from medical lab to garden took longer than necessary. Xavier insisted Betsy needed fresh air and natural light. Something to ground her after the trauma.

  So now they sat in the mansion's garden, surrounded by carefully maintained flowerbeds and ancient oak trees. The afternoon sun was warm on Jay's skin, almost uncomfortable after the cool lab. Birds sang in the branches overhead. The peaceful setting contrasted sharply with the tension around the table.

  Scott had arranged chairs in a loose circle. Storm had brought out tea service, the delicate china looking absurdly formal given the circumstances.

  Tea sat untouched by most. The cups cooling slowly, steam no longer rising.

  Except for Jay, who lifted his cup and took a proper sip. The bergamot was subtle, well-balanced. Earl Grey, if he wasn't mistaken. Good quality too. He'd grown up with chai, thick and sweet and spiced, but he'd learned to appreciate the British approach during his travels. The ritual of it. The way the warmth spread through your chest.

  He took another sip, letting the familiar comfort settle his nerves. This was going to be a long conversation.

  Betsy gripped her cup like a lifeline. Her hands trembled slightly. She took a breath and began her story.

  "We were having breakfast, you know. Just a normal morning. Well, as normal as it can be for my family." She managed a weak smile. "Jamie was being his usual antagonizing self. Pushing Brian's buttons about some political thing. Brian was trying to keep the peace between us like he always does."

  Her expression grew distant and lost in memory.

  "He used to be so sweet, Jamie. Before all this. Before the powers." She paused. "Both Brian and I developed our abilities around the same time. His through magical means, the Amulet of Right. Mine through mutation and an accident, telepathy and telekinesis. Jamie remained normal for years. Powerless while his siblings became extraordinary."

  Xavier made a small sound of understanding. The family dynamics were already clear. He'd seen this pattern before. The resentment that built when one sibling manifested and another didn't. It reminded him of Cain. Of how his stepbrother had looked at him with such hatred.

  "It changed him," Betsy continued. "Jamie became bitter and jealous. After an assassination attempt with Kwanon left my form like this, and him nearly dead, when we used mystic powers to heal him, it pushed him into madness, but finally manifested his own powers; turns out he had the most potential of us all after all his power turned out to be Reality Warping; it was like a dam breaking. All that pent-up inadequacy transformed into something else. He became desperate to prove himself. To show he was just as powerful, just as important as us."

  She looked down at her tea. The reflection of her face stared back, distorted.

  "I think that's why..." She hesitated. "During the Battle of New York. When we saw the footage of the Power Broker using reality warping. Trapping those gods and bringing Heroes across the world to New York, not to mention resurrecting more than a thousand people." She glanced at Jay. "Jamie watched every video. Over and over. He became obsessed. Someone else had his powers. Someone getting all the glory, all the recognition. Everything Jamie's been craving his entire life."

  Jay's cup paused halfway to his lips. He set it down carefully. 'That... that was going to be a problem. An unstable reality warper with a grudge and an inferiority complex. Great!'

  "Miss Braddock," Xavier's voice was gentle but firm. "I understand the context is important, but please. What happened this morning?"

  Betsy blinked. Pulled herself back to the present. "Right. Sorry. I get distracted talking about Jamie. Our relationship is... complicated."

  She set down her teacup. The china clinked against the saucer. Loud in the quiet garden. Her hands clenched on the table.

  "So we were having breakfast, but suddenly the front door exploded without a warning. The sound was deafening. Like thunder indoors. Splinters flew everywhere, some even embedding in the walls. Splinters and smoke filled the entrance hall." Her voice steadied as she fell into the familiar rhythm of mission reporting.

  "A woman walked through the debris. Tall and pale skin that seemed to glow in the dim light. Dark hair falling past her shoulders. She radiated psychic energy so powerful it made my teeth ache just being near her. Like standing next to a reactor. That much raw power just... existing."

  "Brian moved first. He always does. Called forth the Sword of Might from thin air, the blade materializing in a flash of golden light. He channeled his mystical connection to the land itself, the power of Britain flowing through him. He's Captain Britain after all. He's supposed to be invincible on British soil." She laughed bitterly. "She threw him across the room with her mind. Like he was nothing. Like swatting a fly. All his power, all his magic, all that mystical might... it meant absolutely nothing to her."

  Scott leaned forward, visor gleaming. "So you engaged?"

  "Of course, I engaged. He's my brother." Betsy's eyes flashed. "I hit her with everything I had. Telepathic assault, straight at her mental shields. Then telekinetic strikes when that didn't work, throwing furniture, trying to crush her against the walls." Nothing worked. Her mental shields were absolute. Like trying to punch through a mountain."

  Her voice dropped, trembling now.

  "That's when Jamie finally acted. He'd been just standing there, smiling. Enjoying watching us fail. Then something in him snapped. As he used his powers. Properly used them for the first time since he manifested."

  She gestured with her hands, trying to illustrate. "Red strings materialized from nowhere. Reality itself started unraveling at his command. I watched him reach out and touch her psychic barriers, those impenetrable shields, and he just... changed them. Turned them into butterflies."

  "Butterflies?" Storm spoke for the first time, her voice carrying that slight accent

  "Real living butterflies," Betsy confirmed. "Beautiful ones. Monarchs, I think. They scattered everywhere, flying around the room, and then they just... died. Fell to the floor. And suddenly her defenses were gone."

  "Then the fight really began. She revealed herself as Selene. The Black Queen of the Hellfire Club, she said. Like it was a title we should fear. Said she had use for the Braddock bloodline. That our power would serve her purposes." Betsy's voice trembled. "She's a witch too. Not just a mutant. She used magic alongside her telepathy. Spells in languages I didn't recognize. Latin, maybe or older. Her spells tasted like copper and rot." Jamie fought back, but she was too strong. Too experienced. After a long fight, she opened portals. Ripped reality apart like tearing paper. The sound was horrible. Like the world itself screaming as she sent both my brothers to another dimension."

  Her fist hit the table hard. The teacups jumped as liquid sloshed over the rims. "They were fighting so hard. Brian was channeling every ounce of his mystical might. The Sword of Might was blazing, brighter than I'd ever seen it. Jamie was rewriting her spells as fast as she cast them. I saw him turn a death curse into rose petals. Turn a binding spell into soap bubbles. But she kept going. Kept overwhelming them. And I couldn't help. I couldn't do anything but watch."

  Tears ran down her face now. She didn't bother wiping them away.

  "Before they disappeared completely, Jamie created one last red string. Wrapped it around my finger so tight it hurt. Then the world folded around me as colors bled together. And then I was here. Crashing through your roof. And my brothers are still there. Trapped and helpless. And it's my fault because I wasn't strong enough to stop her."

  The garden was silent except for birdsong.

  The X-Men exchanged glances. Storm's expression was troubled, and her hair swayed unnaturally. Scott's jaw was tight, his hand forming a fist. Xavier's face was grave, his fingers steepled in front of him.

  They'd just heard about a family with each having powers so majestic in all mystic, psychic and reality categories being defeated by Selene. The implications were staggering.

  Domino's heart twisted watching Betsy break down. She pulled the younger woman into another hug. "We'll get them back. I promise. Jay and I will help you."

  Jay's head snapped toward Domino. His expression was complicated and resigned. Because of course, she'd committed them without asking.

  Domino met his eyes over Betsy's shoulder. Her expression was fierce. Challenging him to argue.

  Jay sighed. Long and heavy. "Yeah. Of course we're helping."

  Betsy pulled back from Domino, hope flickering in her eyes. "You will? Truly?"

  "We will," Jay confirmed. "But before we go charging in blind, we need information. Why would Selene attack your family specifically? What does she want with you?"

  Betsy wiped her eyes. Tried to compose herself. "We're royals. The Braddock line has a long history with magic and mysticism. Our family tree goes back centuries, intertwined with every major magical event in Britain's history. Brian is part of the Captain Britain Corps. An interdimensional organization that maintains the multiverse's stability. There are Captain Britains from thousands of realities, all connected through Otherworld, the nexus between dimensions." He was personally selected by Merlyn himself to wield the Amulet of Right and defend the realm."

  She paused. Thinking. "Selene mentioned needing our bloodline. Our power. Maybe she needs access to Otherworld? Or some kind of magical artifact that only a Braddock can touch? The Amulet of Right is one option, or the Sword of Might. Both are artifacts of immense power, connected to the land itself and to Otherworld's magic." I can't be certain. She wasn't exactly forthcoming with her plans while she was trying to kill us."

  Jay stood. His tactical mind was already working. "Well, only one thing we can do then. Go and find out."

  Blue energy rippled around him as Space folded.

  When the energy dissipated with a soft pop of displaced air, Jay stood there holding two gear packs. His and Domino's. Well-worn tactical bags, always kept ready in the Savage Land base for exactly this kind of situation. Learning from their travels, they were always ready for any unexpected trip.

  He tossed Domino's pack to her. She caught it one-handed. "You knew we were doing this."

  "The second you made that promise, yeah." Jay's smile was wry. "You have a savior complex almost as bad as mine."

  "It's one of my more endearing qualities."

  "It's going to get us killed one day."

  "Probably."

  Xavier cleared his throat. "I appreciate your willingness to help, but this is extremely dangerous. Selene is not like other opponents you've faced. She's an External, one of a handful of immortal mutants who have survived for thousands of years by consuming the life force of others. She's seen empires rise and fall. She's forgotten more about magic and mutation than most people will ever learn."

  "Which is why we're going," Jay said simply. "I've been holding back from visiting the UK for a while now. What better opportunity than now?"

  Storm stood. Her voice carried command, the tone of someone who'd ruled a nation. "Then you'll have our support. The X-Men don't abandon those in need."

  "No." Jay's voice was firm. "This is reconnaissance first. Domino and I go in, figure out what Selene wants and locate the brothers. Then you guys come to rescue with everyone. Not to mention you already have other priorities"

  Scott nodded, remembering the Cabal members still out there planning as his tactical mind agreed with the logic. "Sounds reasonable enough. Just try to keep it under control, please."

  "Wouldn't dream of it," Jay said as he held both Domino and Betsy in each hand and teleported.