While some can claim a lineage that goes back centuries or is linked to the greats of old, Elizabeth Braddock was quite literally bred for super-heroism. Her father was 'Sir James Braddock', from 'Otherworld', the same realm as none other than Merlyn and several other magical supernatural entities well known as 'myth' to man. 'Mr.' Braddock came to Earth to father the hero that would become 'Captain Britain', Elizabeth's older brother. Jamie Braddock was raised to become Captain Britain and this was the 'older brother' that Elizabeth, or 'Betsy' and her twin Brian knew.
In her youth, Betsy worked as a charter pilot. She flew clients from point a to point b in relative luxury on planes like Lear Jets and Gulfstreams. Despite a rather posh career, It was from here in Betsy's early twenties that a long and rough road began for her. Her father's supercomputer 'Mastermind' had malfunctioned and ended up murdering her parents - in what looked like a laboratory accident. Later, It seemed like providence that her brother Brian was able to so readily step into the shoes of 'Captain Britain,' as her older brother Jamie was injured in an accident on Braddock Manor.
Brian stepped up to assume the mantle, while Betsy ended up caring for her injured elder brother and flying around the world as both brothers needed. It was during this time when Betsy and Brian had thier first run-ins with Synne and Hydra, and Betsy's latent telepathic powers awoke. They were eventually rescued by an impromtu Captain Britain-America alliance, and Betsy was able to overcome brainwashing with the help of both her brothers.
After a plane crash and her run in with Hydra, Betsy moved on from chartering business jets to more fertile professional ground as a supermodel. It was here that her talents as a telepath really began to develop when she was picked up by Britain's SHIELD-analogue 'STRIKE' and began working on thier PSI-Team as well as working on her modeling career. In her work for STRIKE, Betsy met 'Agent Gabriel', who became her first close friend and her first lover. During this time, STRIKE was nearly ended by Slaymaster's infiltration and Vixen's work to destroy STRIKE's Psi-Team, of which Betsy was a member. With her brother Brian's assistance, they were able to save what was left of the Psi-team, and Betsy once again moved on. A battle for Britain followed, where Betsy lost yet more of her friends and was first taught to harness her experience as a weapon of grief and wrath with her telepathic powers.
After the dissolution of STRIKE, Betsy's brother Brian had a battle with a 'Kaptain Briton' from another dimension and Betsy herself had to take up the mantle of Captain Britain. Here, Captain UK became her mentor as she learned to be a superhero, and fought alongside RCX (STRIKE's replacement) and honed her crimefighting skills.
It was acting independently when Betsy had finally met the X-Men. She'd been kidnapped by Mojo and Spiral, to be used as a for-entertainment team of superheroes - where she acquired her moniker 'Psylocke'. Generally an abused notion, she was rescued by the X-Men and participated in further rescues - saving what was left after a massacre of the morlocks, for example. Psylocke distinguished herself as one of the X-men as a powerful martial artist and an even more powerful telepath. As an X-Man (so to speak), Betsy developed a close relationship with Rogue and Storm, often working with either or both when on missions with the X-Men.
In one of these encounters, Psylocke was kidnapped by Matsuo Tatsuyaba in an attempt to use her body to ressurect his dead lover, Kwannon. Psylocke inherited a slice of Kwannon's essence (and vice versa), acquiring both her muscle memory and skill in the Assassin Arts - making her an ever more comptetent Martial Artist as well as a master of stealth. Between Kwannon's acquired skills and her owns, Psylocke became a sort of psychic ninja. This was the time where Psylocke was briefly the Lady Mandarin, but was able to overcome brainwashing and reclaim her own conscience. Psylocke returned to the X-men, where she is considered one of the senior and experienced members, having been at 'superheroing' through most of her adult life and thusly one of the most experienced X-Men.
Telepathy: A telepath of no small regard, Psylocke is easily classes as one of the best Telepaths among the X-Men and certainly the world over. Though capable of reading surface thoughts and locating people with little effort, her powers include the ability to manipulate thought and memory, including mind control. She can use her power to project her thoughts and presence to other people over long distances (She appears as a butterfly when projecting) and in particular she excels at perceiving threat or hostile thought. Finally, she can user her powers to find and track individuals.
Telepathic Combatant: While all telepaths can attack and defend with their telepathy, Psylocke possesses a particular talent for using her telepathy in stealth and deception. She can use her telepathy to mask her presence and even the presence of others, including other telepaths. She can often sense intent and thought briefly before action, reading her opponents moves. This serves as both an offensive and defensive power, making it seem like she can 'dodge bullets' or giving her a nigh-impregnable defense and dodging ability in combat. Lastly, as many telepaths who often fight can, she can use her telepathy to attack the minds of those she fights.
Psi-knife: Psylocke can channel her psychic energy and telepathic power into a focused psychic weapon. This 'psi-knife' is capable of 'slicing' solid objects or driving through them as if they were not there. Piercing armor and clothing, the knife attacks a victim's mind with an intensity of Psylocke's choosing from violent enough to knock them out or destroying their mind (killing) entirely.
Psi-Bow: As Psylocke develops more mastery of her combat telepathy, she is able to manifest new forms of her Psi-Knife. The most recent manifestation of these powers is a Psi-Katana or a Psi-Bow, allowing her to use her focused Psychic Energy to make a psychic bow and arrow, projecting that channeled power over a distance in a contained weapon. This is more effective and more powerful than using her Telepathy alone.
Telekinesis: This entry is included in order to inform the reader that this version of Psylocke is pre-Crimson Dawn and does not possess telekinetic powers.
Healing: This entry is included to inform the reader that this version of Psylocke is pre-Crimson Dawn and does not possess healing, resurrection abilities, or the Siege Perilous.
Shadow-Leap: Though in-character for Psylocke, her ability to leap or teleport literally from shadow to shadow was given by the Crimson Dawn. See entry above for 'Telepathic Combat', as Psylocke possesses similar abilities owing to her preternatural grace and stealth ability and skill as well as her ability to mask her presence or generate mental illusions to make it appear as though she can leap from shadow-to-shadow. Any robotic or artificial intelligence that does not possess a 'mind' that can be manipulated by Psylocke's telepathic abilities is immune to her Psychic Masking, though they still have to find her to see her. Please see 'Stealth' in Skills.
Martial Combat: Psylocke has an incredible breadth of Martial Experience. As Betsy Braddock in her original body, she was a well practiced and well trained combatant. Having grown up training to be a peer to her older brother and her twin, Betsy furthered her martial experience in her tenure as 'Captain Briton.' She also trained with the British STRIKE and proved her tactical acumen in a number of battles. Her martial experience was enhanced by trading bodies with Kwannon, as she was able to attain a greater level of physical mastery by mentally 'inheriting' Kwannon's own martial mastery as a Ninja Assassin. In summary, Pyslocke's fighting prowess with or without weapons is in an unparalled class within this realm and any other and there are few that could stand toe-to-toe with her.
Physical Dexterity: Through years of physical training, actual combat and the inheritance of the Ninja Assassin Kwannon's own physical mastery, Psylocke possesses an incredibly dexterity and physical mastery. Having been both a Supermodel and a Ninja, Psylocke has a preternatural grace that is defined by a mastery of her own body. This can be described as a physical confidence and an intimate knowledge of her own physical capabilities enhanced by an incredible superhuman fitness. She can run faster, jump higher and leap farther than most and has the ability to use, bend, contort and move her body in ways that most people would find impossible.
Fitness: Psylocke is best described as extremely fit and physically confident. As strong as one would expect of a woman of her fitness level, Psylocke does NOT have superhuman strength or endurance. Her strength and endurance however is well above the physical human average because of her fitness, experience and physical training. Not nearly as strong as Rogue, she has the physical strength that you would expect of a woman who has spent her years fighting alongside entities like STRIKE, SHIELD, and the X-Men.
Stealth: The X-Men's own 'Psychic Ninja', Psylocke's own dexterity and preternatural grace grant her a stealth capability rivalled by few. Psylocke has long served with entities that required stealth of her, to include STRIKE, SHIELD, and the X-Men. Her body-swap with Kwannon granted her a greater physical mastery and understanding of the stealth arts given Kwannon's own experience as a Ninja Assassin. She has little trouble making her footsteps silent, hiding, blending into shadows and dissapearing into the night under observation from all but the most perceptive of foes.
Pilot: What X-Man doesn't know how to fly the X-Jet? Though she stopped flying as a charter pilot long ago, Psylocke is actually an experienced pilot and the existence of the X-Jet and other professional conveyances allows her to maintain her currency and proficiency. She is legally checked out in a number of aircraft to include the Gulfstream 'G' Series (like a G-6!) and Lear Jets, is Multi-Engine, Turbine and Jet-rated by the FAA and ICAO.
Languages & Education: Betsy has picked up throughout her travels and adventures, English, Chinese (She WAS Lady Mandarin), Japanese, and Spanish. Betsy also has traditional education, possessing a University degree in Aeronautics, which also grants her the tenant knowledge associated with formal education (Cursory history, mathematics, sociology, her Spanish knowledge, and a musical discipline – Violin)
Independently Wealthy: Betsy belongs to the Braddock family, and while her father came from 'Otherworld,' they are nevertheless a family of wealth and influence. Having lived in a family of wealth sufficient to own race cars, supercomputers and private jets, Betsy is one of two siblings that are heirs to this fortune. She has sufficient wealth on her own to be regarded as independently wealthy and does not need the resources of the Xavier Institute to provide for herself.
It follows that her wardrobe continues to consist of Designer clothing that cannot be bought off-the-shelf, and dresses that aren't even in her size. While not the millionare playboy (girl?) that Stark or others might be, she can hold her own in High Society and knows how those circles work.
Family: While her bigger brother has passed, her sibling Brian remains a superhero of some regard. It isn't unheard of Brian to 'come to the rescue' when his sister needs him - though the reverse is equally true. Betsy also shares strong bonds with Rogue and Storm and is most likely to listen to (or be listened to) by either of those she regards as her sisters and sisters in arms.
Katana: It slices, it dices, is even makes Julienne Sentinel! Psylocke’s Katana is her signature weapon. Given to her as a gift, it’s name is Shurayuki and it is a thousand-year old Katana of excellent craftsmanship. It is able to slice through Steel and is a weapon Psylocke wields with great proficiency.
Psylocke easily has one of the most complicated histories in the X-Men. In order to allow Psylocke to better fit into the MOO's theme, I've tried to make her bio and her character a little more focused. For clarification, Psylocke is in her Asian body (Kwannon's body) and has been an 'X-Man' for a number of years. This is how I define Betsy Braddock: She was raised in a family of superheroes, and was one from an early age herself. Her early years and those leading up to our Psylocke 'now' are defined years of hard-fighting, of justice and victory - often at the price of those close to her and even her own body. She knows all too well the price of being a crimefighter and a superhero. This has created a woman not unlike Wolverine or Sabertooth, but there is a difference.
As a telepath, Psylocke has learned to use her rage, loss and grief as a finely tuned and honed weapon - Psylocke is Channeled Wrath Incarnate. In a way all her own she is an 'unstoppable' force, with a grace and physical mastery that defines her finesse and describes her as a superhero and a combatant, but does not control her. She is one of the few X-Men, alongside Wolverine, with a willingness to kill - and even enjoys the thrill and challenge of combat. An incredible ally to fight beside and indomitable foe to fight against, she is nevertheless a person also defined by strong bonds of friendship and loyalty with a wisdom beyond her years granted by an exceptional amount of experience for one of her age.
Wrath: Elsewhere described as 'Channeled Wrath Incarnate, Psylocke actually enjoys the challenge and thrill of combat. In the heat of combat, it is not uncommon for her to give her all or even intentionally push her own limits. Psylocke is the confident, capable mutant you send on missions that require finesse, combat prowess and stealth. She's not your diplomat, and is possessed of a pragmatic nature that is much less likely to grant mercy when wrath will do. Dead enemies cannot stab you in the back. You've seen the hero that walks way and doesn't look back at the explosions…that's our girl.
Danger is my middle name: Elsewhere described as 'Adrenaline Junkie,' that term doesn't quite fit Psylocke, but is a good start. Though she has mostly come to grips with a dark and trying past rife with loss, she nevertheless finds a release in placing herself in danger and going on dangerous missions. While it is often required of the X-Men to go on dangerous missions and go to dangerous places, and she's not nearly blood-thirsty, it might be said that there are few who actually enjoy going on those missions and being placed in danger. She doesn't 'live' for the challenge, but she may spend more time away from the Manor than most when opportunities provide themselves.
Currently a Senior Instructor at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, Elizabeth teaches the following subjects:
History
Martial Arts, Meditation
Yoga
Languages (Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese)
Her Teaching Assistant and probationary protégé is Vincent.
Currently Assigned Homework:
History: A Paper, APA Essay Format on Waterloo - What 'Waterloo' means to you. Any other watershed moments that are well described by 'Waterloo' as a descriptive term.
As always: Title Page and References will not count for your word total.