Shadow King: Ole Blue Eyes is Back

[x-psylocke.livejournal.com]

The last psi is found in the last place you'd think to look for her.



The snap-click of heels resonated down the halls of Xavier's as one elegant set of legs traveled from the foyer to the edge of the staircase and stopped. Pulling out her compact, she took in her appearance and smiled. Perfect hair and eyes. She couldn't have picked a more respectable outfit even if she had gone through everything in her extensive wardrobe. Unfortunately, most of her clothing proved too aerodynamic for upstanding citizens. A very satisfied sigh escaped her finely outlined pink lips just as the school bell rang out, signaling the start of classes for the day. She closed her compact and said with an allowable amount of excitement. "Perfect."

The hall sprang to life as students erupted from various nooks and made their way to their appropriate classes. Standing in the middle, she simply watched in mute curiosity. Oh, this would not do at all, she tutted to herself. As the melee finally died down, minutes later two straggling students bolted down the staircase with sneakers unlaced, clothes untucked, and with tousled hair. They skidded around the banister but as they reached the base landing, she slipped right in front of the two harried boys.

"I would hope this isn't how you greet every day, gentlemen?" At their stunned silence, she crossed her arms over her chest and rested her hand under her chin. "Do you not understand that by not appearing in your classes on time, you insult the institution set forth here by our wondrous Professor Charles Xavier?"

The two shared a confused look before staring back up at her. She leaned down and smiled overtly eager at them. "I will forgive this transgression as you both appear mute and mentally-stunted. Were you dropped on your head as children, together? No? Well, it's of no consequence because I believe that you will not miss the summoning bell again. Am I right?" She puckered her lips as the thought skirted the outer edges of her mind. "Though, we will have to have Master Cain install one of those lights in your room, you know those rather blinky lights for specially challenged students." Still nothing. "Alright, it's decided then. Move along."

She watched the two scamper off and glowed inwardly at the task at hand. She began toward the direction of the classroom and awaiting students. "A woman's work is never done."

If it hadn't been for the cultured, polished tones of the woman's voice, Terry wouldn't have known that it was her former teacher scolding the two now entirely terrified young men. She checked her watch, gave herself 10 minutes for this and quickened her steps. "Miss Braddock, do you have a moment? I know you're off to class." A class that by the looks of her email this morning she was expected to attend. Terry hated when she couldn't live up to expectations.

"If I remember correctly, a class you should be attending, Miss Cassidy." Betsy continued walking down the hall as she gave a cursory glance in the redhead's direction. "Come on, then. Best not be late, fashionably or not."

"It's Drake, please," Terry corrected and didn't move another inch. She was trying hard not to stare at Betsy's blonde hair and wondering if this had anything to do with the events of the previous night. She really hadn't gotten enough sleep for this. "I actually needed to apologize. I won't be able to go to your class. There's a test in my Organized Crime class today."

"I must say, I feel quite disturbed by your overindulgence, Terry." Betsy said, stopping to turn and face Terry. "I had always considered your familial issues disturbing enough but your recent marriage," she said with a dismissive laugh. "He's always been your, how do you Americans say, big brother? But taking your childhood crush and then taking advantage of the boy's lack of imagination, well it does seem a little sick, doesn't it?" She moved quickly and stopped inches from Terry's face, blue eyes scrutinizing the younger girl. "Such a waste for such a calculating mind. Well, we all know the problem with your class is your lack of foresight. Continue to try your best simply to remain ordinary and when your marriage is brittle and cracking under your finely manicured nails, remember this is the life you've chosen for yourself."

Terry blinked. "Are you wearing contacts, Miss Braddock?" she asked suddenly, mildly like she hadn't heard the umpteenth attack on her marriage in the last year. She gave it another beat then looked down at her nails, clipped close and polished with just a clear coat of paint. "I'm sorry that I'm going to miss your class. It came up without any warning. If I'd known, I'd have made an effort to arrange attendance."

"Don't simper, darling." Betsy said, sympathetically. The conversation over in her mind, she turned around and walked off. The glint of her katana blade exposed as her Houndstooth coat swished open. "It's quite unattractive and being a redhead alone is enough of a burden. Besides, I have a roomful of young impressionable minds to mold and manipulate. Good day!"

Well that was distinctly odd. Terry checked her watch again and sighed. Time to go find Ms. Munroe and find out what the hell was going on around here today.



**********

Now onwards with the show - Come one, come all and Rejoice!




"...and then Angel was eating the whole burger. It was as big as her head," Yvette finished saying to Laurie, giggling a little. "I do not think Kyle will be making such the bet again."

"Hey." Jane slipped into an empty seat beside Yvette, slinging her bag to the floor. This is weird, she thought for the umpteenth time, somewhat worried. She'd emailed the teacher after receiving the terse request for her presence to find out what was going on, but hadn't heard back from her. Was she in trouble? Did she do something wrong?

Laurie looked over and smiled at Jane, although somewhat bemused as to why they were all meant to be here. She'd received an e-mail from Ms Braddock but she'd assumed it would only be students, not graduates as well. There'd been that evacuation early this morning and something mentioned about a problem with some of the psis. Considering the damage they'd been able to see when they came out, she wasn't so sure that there wasn't something wrong here.

"Hey yourself, did you get an e-mail from Ms Braddock too?" she asked, keeping her tone calm despite her worries.

"I did get the email, yes. Miss Braddock... she is a new teacher? Maybe she is wanting to introduce herself to the students," Yvette suggested. Although why all the students weren't there then was a bit puzzling. Then again, this was a very strange school, as evidenced by the dramas last night.

The door opened with a loud bang.

Betsy Braddock entered the room with a 100-watt smile. She walked to the blackboard and in cursive, she wrote. 'Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.'

Betsy undid the strap of her pink Houndstooth coat with a flourish and removed her katana blade from within the inside flap and placed it on the desk. She slinked out of the jacket and let it fall to the floor. Betsy sat on the desk with her legs crossed, idly fondly the blade. "Do any of you here know the origins of that quote? Or why I have written it on the blackboard?"

"Yeh well ya could," came Jay's voice from outside the hallway. "All ya gotta do is be nice 'bout it, an' not treat me like that." Like what? He wasn't sure what it was like, but he was sure no one got the treatment Jay did. Yvette said Tommy was nice, but he was having a lot of trouble seeing the good side. Especially since he tried to find some sort of closure only to have it thrown back in his face. "An they an't cast offs. Do Ah look like Ah don' want 'em??"

"And how exactly do I treat you? I apologize for not asking about the feather but it was just lying in the hallway and I will admit that I didn't see you." Tommy's voice followed Jay's as he caught that too. He fought back an exasperated sigh. He was going to be late for his classes in the city at this rate, all because he picked up a feather in the hallway. Great.

The air whistled for a split second before a sword sailed between Jay and Tommy and slammed forcefully into the wall. The impact resonated inside the classroom with a sharp bang of metal on metal. A perfectly manicured hand reached around the hilt and wrenched the katana blade free, placing it up along Jay's neck. Betsy looked lovingly at the sword and leaned down and smiled giddily at both them as she indicated to the open door. "Care to join us?"

Laurie had been uncertain before, now she felt positively terrified as she watched Betsy hurl the sword out through the door. She turned to Yvette, wanting to make sure her friend was okay.

The small Albanian girl had started at the sudden flurry activity and now sat, staring wide-eyed at Betsy. "This is not the normal teacher," she said faintly, before turning to Jane and Laurie. "Or is it? I cannot tell here any more."

Jane shifted closer to the two girls, eying Betsy with undisguised alarm. "I don't know if she's your normal teacher, but she is definitely not normal."

Tommy's eyes had gone wide when he saw the blade near Jay's throat and he slowly lifted up his hands in calming gesture. Clearly one of the adults had snapped again. He wondered how he was going to explain this to his professors because somehow, he didn't think he was going to make it to class today. "I think joining you would be an excellent idea." Keeping an eye on Jay, because even thought they didn't like each other for good reason Tommy still didn't want to see the other hurt, so he moved towards the classroom door.

Jay was equally startled. He was so shocked at the katana sailing through them that he stood there for a moment to process it. The cool blade kissed his neck and his back stiffened, mouthing a long, silently extended 'Okay'. For once, Tommy and Jay agreed on something and he started to follow, bending a wing down and trying to duck out of the blade touching his skin. Jay's eyes locked with Tommy's and shifted to the door, reminding himself not to stop and tie his shoe next time.

Ushering the two into the classroom and into their respective desks, Betsy moved over to the desk and reclaimed her seat. "For those of you who were kind enough to respond to my request. You have done well. For those who have chosen to ignore it," Betsy paused, bringing the heel of her palm to her temple. "I will deal with them. Personally. And the ones who were kind enough to join us, you are most welcomed. I should warn you that if you dare raise your voice in my presence again. My aim will have to get better. For the sake of our newcomers, let me introduce myself. My name is Lady Elisabeth Braddock and welcome to Etiquette and Manners for the Young Adult. Now, class." She motioned towards the blackboard, using the katana as a pointer. "Tell me. Why would I have placed this quote on the board?"

While Laurie had never been particularly great in her English classes, the help from Kyle with Shakespeare was obviously about to pay off. She raised her hand, not wanting to just blurt out an answer in case their teacher decided to take such a thing as an insult, that sword really did look very sharp, after all.

Julio looked from side to side. There was a crazy woman in the classroom. A hot crazy woman. But a crazy woman nonetheless. Therefore, he decided to do what any normal seventeen year old in his position would do. Mess with her.

"Ah? Something stinks?" he said before anyone else could answer.

Betsy motioned for Laurie to bring her hand down.

"Senor Richter, is it?" She didn't wait for a response, stood and made her way to Julio's desk. "I'm surprised that you can manage such riveting commentary. After all, I've heard quite a bit about you and your parentage and while you aren't the sole reason for this emergency session. I suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself. DO NOT INTERRUPT ME AGAIN! And if there is an inch of you that thinks otherwise, hold fast. You will not manage a quiver before your body hits the floor." Her fist slammed on his desk, fury emanating from every pore in her body. She said sweetly. "Comprende?"


The boy blinked rapidly. "C-comprende," he said.


"The quote refers to how the ghost of Hamlet's father, as seen by Marcellus and Horatio, is a dark omen for Denmark as a state due to the immoral legitimacy of the ruler caused by Claudius' crime of murdering Hamlet's father and marrying his mother to become king." Tommy answered in a slightly louder voice then was necessary so as to draw her attention away from Julio. He was annoyed with the other young man sure, but Tommy did not want to see everyone killed by some crazy teacher because some idiot decided to mouth off. And maybe if they could distract her by playing along, they could figure a way out.

"Excellent, Mr. Jones." Betsy said as she turned towards Tommy. "As a reminder to you all, I suggest you wait to be called upon before interjecting so rudely. But we have an answer. FINALLY, an answer. Honestly, I was about to lose hope for the collective intelligence of you lot. But now, we need the reason. Yes, but considering the slow response. I shall - no, I must share this with you all."

Betsy walked the aisles, gently caressing each table as she passed them. "This school has allowed great deficiencies in your education. While you are given a plethora of information to learn how to handle and control your abilities, you have yet to learn how to survive in polite society. A skill you will all need in the future as your very lives may depend on it."

Yvette raised a trembling hand. "Please," she said, voice wavering a little. "Can you explain how to be polite is to save the lives?" She paused, and added, for safety's sake: "Please?" Another one couldn't hurt.

Jay tucked his hands under his arm pits, wings pulled back slightly, slouched in his seat with his legs spread apart beneath the table. He glanced momentarily at Tommy, then Julio and finally Yvette before keeping his eyes on the ground. Mindlessly, he shuffled a scuff next to his foot, thinking about everything but the topic she droned on about. Except for Plethora. What the hell was a plethora? A buttload?

Julio, on the other hand, was contemplating the distance time ratio in order to best escape out the window. The woman had a very large sword, and he wasn't entirely sure that it would not be used against him were he try to flee and dive out the window. Therefore, distraction would be needed. But what kind? He shifted in his seat and tried not to show his unease, instead watching the extremely hot, and extremely loco woman, carefully.

"Capital question, Yvette!" Betsy exclaimed. "Brilliant actually. Which at times like these always forces me to focus on the impotencies of the other sex." She moved off towards the front of the class. "Though Tommy's response makes one hold onto that tiny spec of hope that not all is lost, hmmm? Now, time for a little fun! Julio and Jay, it's time to prove you're not all beyond managing a few synaptic connections." Reclaiming her sword, Betsy tapped it on the board. "Front of the class, now!"

"Huh?" Jay lifted his head at his name being called. Oh no. He hesitated, unsure of what she had said or what he thought she had said. He had been too busy toying with the word plethora that sounded like all kinds of feminine parts he didn't want to be thinking about. "S-Sorry, Ah.. uh.. pardon?"

Julio threw another futile look at the window. She wouldn't really skewer him, would she? Sighing heavily, Julio pushed himself to his feet and made his way down the rows of desks ti the front of the classroom.

Betsy waited until both young men were at the front of the classroom, then pulled another sword out. "Riddle me this," she said, reaching for within her bra and retrieving her compact. "What's the best way to remove blood from clothing?" she said, smiling tightly at the remaining students in the room.

Oh great. Another sword. And Tommy doubted Julio or Jay would say what she was looking for. He took a deep breath, considering his possibilities, before asking again in his slightly louder then normal voice that he had used before, so she would turn her attention away from them. "Lady Braddock? What exactly does removing blood from clothing have to do with living in polite society?"

Betsy smirked. The glint from the compact, catching the light as two fingers motioned towards Tommy like a nervous tick. "That you shouldn't bleed around your elders." A dark rivulet of blood hanging off of Tommy's earlobe and a flying star embedded in the wall behind him. "Now, quit being a rude little monkey and go clean-up."

It took a moment for what just happened to set in. When it did, Tommy swore loudly with a "SHIT!" before a hand went up to his ear. He fully expected to be missing an ear from how much it hurt but in fact he couldn't feel any damage...just saw blood starting to cover his glove. Still, he couldn't help looking between her and the star in the wall behind him with wide eyes before he stood up slowly. "Yes ma'am." He said as respectfully as he could be heading out the door.

His ear hurt like a bitch. But he had to find an adult first.

Thankfully, he didn't need to go far. Or out of the room at all, as a matter of fact. There were some benefits to having a full security system; it included extra sets of 'eyes' on the classrooms. The door opened with perhaps a little more force than was strictly necessary, and Scott strode into the classroom, moving so fast that he was between Betsy and the bulk of the seated students before anyone could do more than begin to react. "Julio, Jay, go. Actually, all of you, out."

"Class is not dismissed." Betsy said, admiring her make-up in the compact. "Haven't we learned anything today? Teacher says to stay seated and all will do as stated. Now, Mr. Summers." She closed her compact with a click and placed it on the desk. "You above all need some schooling. Take your seat next to Ms. Collins and we'll begin again. Uninterrupted."

"Um, no. Out, guys," he reiterated to the students, wondering just how close to Betsy he dared get. If this turned into hand-to-hand, he was either in trouble or was going to have to blast her - neither of which was a palatable end to this situation. Charles, I swear if you weren't catatonic I'd slap you silly for not telling me she was in on things last night... "Elisabeth," he said, more placatingly, "you're in psionic shock. I mean, you just threw a throwing star at a student. Would you mind please coming with me to see Moira?"

He owed it to the audience not to go right for the fist to the jaw. At least a couple of them had absolutely no faith in the school as it was.

"Scott," Betsy said, smiling sweetly at him. "You do not want to match wits with me. You'll just be left feeling ill-equipped, a familiar feeling, I'm sure. But we wouldn't want the young ones to know the affairs of adults without some exposition and I already have a headache."

"Of course you have a headache. Something turned your brain inside out. As demonstrated by the katana-use around the students." He didn't know why he was still trying to reason with her. The chances of shaking something loose in her currently addled head were slim to none, if judged by the state the others had been in. "And I'm not proposing to match wits with you. Let me put this more bluntly - you can come with me to see Moira, or you can be taken to see Moira. And that would be very, very undignified. In front of the students."

"Taken?" Betsy said, as she fondled the hilt of her sword laying by her right hand. "You couldn't take me if I was deaf, dumb, and blind. Even without a little push into your neuroses, I can still take you. And I think I've made enough of a point today for them," she motioned towards the students. "To trust my ability to take you down and your inability to perform under pressure."

Scott paused and gave her his best cheerful smile. "You've made your point, of course you're right. So that means you will come with me to see Moira?" I'm sure we'd all really, really appreciate it...

"Touche," Betsy responded. Her hand closing around her sword and dragging it off the desk. The second sword nowhere to be found. "Class, even with Mr. Summer's unorthodox approach, I cannot reject the nature of his request. Please assist Mr. Jones. I would not wish him to stain the furniture as I'm sure the Professor would not approve." She looked to Scott and smiled oh-so-deviously. "Yes, let's see Moira. It's been too long."

And hopefully she and Amelia will be ready to tranq you as soon as you walk through the door. He had intercommed the infirmary with a quick heads-up. "Yes, let's."

They stepped into the hall and Betsy watched as Scott directed her towards Medlab. "Oh, I think not." She closed the door behind herself and smiled. "You didn't expect me to go silently, did you? Honestly, Scott, this is quite embarrassing. I expected more of you. Besides, it's been a while since we've sparred especially since Red has decided to stick. Is she around today? I hear the others are quite looney ala nuts. Does she think herself a frog? Perhaps, a newt? Changelings are so much fun!"

... well, it was worth a try. "Betts," Scott said with another bright smile, "don't make me blast you in the head." He was already calculating the angles.

"This angle, that angle." Betsy said with a tilt of her head. "I pass geometry too. Have at it, then."

Scott's gaze was steady. "I'm not hitting you first, Elisabeth."

"Ah, they did say the memory is the first to go." She moved up towards him. "You either attack first or you'll take the chance of me taking you down and then leave me to my own devices with the rest of them." She grinned at him. "They seem like such an unruly bunch. It'll take quiet a bit of practice but I'm sure they'll pick up on it fairly soon."

Scott shook his head. "Not hitting you first," he said calmly. He had to keep trying. "You want to turn this into something we're both going to regret when we're sane again, go right ahead. But I am not starting it."

Betsy clucked like a chicken, flapping her arms. "I'd say, chicken. You'd say, good for the team. If you won't attack me then I'll simply be on my way. Good day." Betsy shook her head as she laughed then walked away from Scott. "I'm sure you'll be there when I decide to fillet a first-year."

Ah, hell. Scott let off the blast before she'd finished speaking. It caught her squarely between the shoulder blades - low-powered enough to not do any permanent damage, but more than enough to put her down. He hadn't really wanted to give her a concussion.

She remained motionless on the ground for a minute.

Betsy's shoulders shook as she laughed maniacally and rose slowly from the floor, turning towards Scott. A sai landed next to Scott's face just inches away from his eye socket. "About time. Playtime is over."

What, did she have body armor on underneath her clothes? I wouldn't put it past her. Better than a Boy Scout. "Would you quit throwing edged weapons at me?" he snapped, backing off a step - just to get the angles for a second shot. "Having to knock out Nathan was bad enough."

"Not all psis are the same." Betsy stood shakily and leaned against the wall. "Or haven't you learned?" She brought her hand up and waved her sword at him. "Come and get me."

"I'm sorry," Scott muttered, and blasted her again - in the chest, this time. Force levels still carefully measured, although slightly higher than the last time, to compensate for the body armor. Go down, please...

Betsy fell down to her knees, her weapon dropping to the floor beside her. Blond hair falling over her face as her face connected with the ground. And if you looked closely enough, you could almost see her smile.

After waiting a few minutes in the classroom, Tommy couldn't wait any longer. He suck his head out the door and looked around. When he spotted Scott and he fallen Betsy he asked, "Got her under control yet? I'd like to go to the med lab at some point if you don't mind."