Shakell Lilyth

Early Years

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Shakell Lilyth, currently known as Darque, was born to a mutant mother and human father. Her father was a Malay scientist who came to Barbados seeking new opportunities—there he met and married Shontelle Lorde. Around the time of her birth, Shakell’s father was playing around with molecular polarity and distortion, which led to the loss of his job and ability to support his wife. Her father’s obsession led him to open a portal to the Negative Zone near Shontelle. Luckily, Shontelle was able to contact an alternate version of herself using her mutant ability; they closed the portal together, but the damage had already been done. Due to Shontelle’s pregnant belly being closest to the portal, Shakell was born prematurely. Soon, Shontelle left her husband, believing he was going down a dark path with his exploration into the Negative Zone.

When Shakell was six years old, she and her mother were involved in a plane crash on their way to America. While trapped in the wreckage, she saw a vision of a glowing white figure with a menacing smile. It stared at her for the hours she was trapped, leaving her with a fear of planes that still afflicts her to this day.

After a year of living a normal American life in Louisiana, Shakell’s latent mutant powers suddenly sprang active. Unable to control the anti-matter, she ended up annihilating her mother’s right arm. This event left Shakell with a horrifying guilt complex and led to the development of her dark sense of personality, a trait common to Shontelle’s family line.

Brotherhood of Evil Mutants

Years later, Shakell accidentally annihilated a large section of the Louisiana bayou, killing a few humans in the process. One of the survivors attempted to alert the government and was swiftly killed when Magneto abducted Shakell. Professor Charles Xavier, located Shakell through this incident with the intent to recruit her to his school, but by then she had already joined the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

At sixteen, Shakell became the youngest member of the Brotherhood. She was known as the supervillain Darkling, and fought the X-Men on several occasions. While a member, she was personally trained by Magneto in how to create the most amount of damage with her powers. Seeing potential in her ability to manipulate the X-Gene, he planned to use her as his Wildcard by having her steal the X-Genes of all mutants who opposed the Brotherhood. The Darkling only ever managed to steal the powers of one mutant, a civilian named Anya Morova who had the ability to assimilate inorganic material to her body.

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In the initial battle with the X-Men in Santo Marco, Shakell helped the Scarlet Witch knock out Angel, but was incapacitated by Professor X who recognized her mental signature from her accident in the bayou. But they were forced to abandon their prisoner and the entire country. For their next scheme, Shakell was instructed to steal the powers of every X-Man except the captive Angel. But unable to recreate the power she displayed with Anya Morova, she was “taught a lesson” by Magneto and imprisoned in her room so he could discuss an alternate plan instead: killing the X-Men. Shakell was injured by the debris created by one of Cyclops’ blasts, revealing her passive ability of internal heat generation, which she was unable to regulate for a time.

At their next conflict with the X-Men, Shakell was captured alongside Quicksilver by Marvel Girl. She was interrogated by Professor X who telepathically nourished a seed of doubt within her mind. Those doubts further grew when she heard that Magneto planned to sacrifice her and Pietro’s lives to gain victory.

When Magneto, Mastermind, and Toad fled from the X-Men's attacks, Shakell stayed behind with Wanda. Namor came to the aid of the Scarlet Witch and attacked Shakell, believing she stood with the X-Men. He had her on the brink of death, but Professor X intervened, revealing Quicksilver was under mind control and Shakell was merely a pawn of Magneto's that had outlasted her usefulness.

As Namor was leaving the scene, Shakell attempted to flee with the twins but was restrained by Marvel Girl and held captive by the X-Men. With nowhere else to go, her days as a member of the Brotherhood came to an abrupt end.

X-Men

Sensing her potential, Professor X recruited Shakell to his School for Gifted Youngsters. Due to the sensitive nature of her powers, she was sent to Moira Kinross on Muir Island for education. Moira helped train her abilities until she was ready to become an X-Man; she came to see Kinross like in a motherly light. As a former villain, the X-Men were wary of her, so Shakell spent most of her time running through simulations alone in the Danger Room. Wanting to impress the others, she used her rudimentary technical skills to upgrade the auditory system for the Danger Room. This would remain the voice of Danger after merging with Shi’ar technology. The X-Men eventually grew to trust her and she formed lasting friendships with Kitty, Kurt, Remy, Rogue, and Ororo. Her friendship with Kitty led to an interest in converting to Judaism. She remained awkward around Piotr until he asked for a spar to clear the air. The fight put both parties out of commission for days, but upon recovery, they became closer with Piotr. The pair often undertook experiments with their mutations that gave Beast stress-induced grey hairs.

After Ororo became team leader, she christened Kitty and Shakell with the code names Sprite and Wildcard, respectively. She took them dancing at Stevie Hunter’s studio. Shakell was so entranced by this experience that she became a repeat customer. When Stevie joined the Institute as dance teacher and physical therapist, Shakell was her best student (though Stevie claims not to have been biassed).

For most of her time with the X-Men, Shakell remained in the background due to her terrorist past. Though this never outwardly bothered her, she often ranted at the Professor during mandated therapy sessions. She underwent personal training with the Professor to finesse her powers. While training her not to use killing intent, Charles attempted to infiltrate the anti-matter shielding around Shakell’s mind. He never succeeded, but in the process, she grew to see him as a role model.

After Professor X’s televised debate with Reverend William Stryker, he, Ororo, Scott, and Shakell were kidnapped by the Purifiers—Shakell was specifically taken to ensure the other three would comply. While in captivity, Ororo, Shakell, and Scott were tortured and hooked up to machines that transferred their pain to the Professor. While Professor X was brainwashed, he fired mental bolts at them, seemingly killing Ororo and Scott. Shakell survived only by the strength of her mental shielding. She attempted to revive them, succeeding in bringing Ororo back when Magneto and the X-Men rescued them. Upon seeing Shakell’s newfound strength and power, Magento tried to speak to her but she hid behind Ororo. When she saw Magneto distract Professor X enough for the X-Men to destroy the machine, she realised that this Magneto was different from the man who’d tortured her and they made up. When Stryker pulled a gun on Kitty, Shakell grabbed Kitty just as Stryker was shot down by a police officer. Later at the mansion, Scott stopped the Professor from accepting Magneto's offer to join, but Shakell countered by arguing that Magneto was right. This argument made Scott doubt her loyalty to the X-Men, the beginning of their rivalry.

When the X-Men travelled to Japan to attend the wedding of Wolverine, the team battled Viper and Silver Samurai over control of Clan Yoshida. When Yukio influenced Ororo into changing her look to leather and a mohawk, Shakell realised her feelings for the team leader. Noticing her crush, Kitty teased her their entire time in Japan.

The team battled the Morlocks, and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. This encounter at the Lincoln Building brought her face-to-face with Mystique for the first time. The other mutant commented on her interesting abilities, mentioning Anya Morova, a name Shakell hadn't heard in years.

Shaken by Mystique's comment, Shakell became even more terrified to use her X-Gene power when she believed she had stolen Ororo’s abilities, not realising that Henry Gyrich’s gun had hit the team leader before she did. She stuck by as Storm healed, and became obsessed with learning everything she could from Forge in an attempt to ignore her jealousy over his relationship. She was saddened when Ororo quit the X-Men and returned to Africa but the pair kept in constant contact.

When Nightcrawler took over leadership of the X-Men, he often came to Shakell for the same tough love advice she’d given Storm. During this time, they grew closer. Shakell gained feelings for Kurt, but her emotional ineptitude never gave her the courage to confess before Kitty inadvertently opened a doorway into the Well at the Center of Time, transporting Nightcrawler and Lockheed into an alien world. Shakell told Kitty about her crush, bearing the other's laughter and mockery because they were friends. She decided not to confess, even after Kurt returned, and Storm rejoined the team.

Saving Kitty

The X-Men attempted to rescue the Morlocks during the massacre by the Marauders. The Marauder called Harpoon seriously injured Shadowcat as she leaped between him and Rogue. In retaliation, Shakell attacked Harpoon with all she had, gaining a reputation as the tank of the team for partially returning to some of her original "brute force" tactics. Although Kitty survived, the injury affected her abilities so Shakell went with her to Muir Island. There, she reunited with Moira, who was fascinated by the noticeable change in her powers.

Unwilling to watch her die, Magneto and Shakell each separately went to Reed Richards for a device built to save Shadowcat. After first meeting Reed, Shakell immediately disliked him when she realised he was the person credited for discovering the Negative Zone. When the X-Men and Fantastic Four briefly battled, she attacked Mr. Fantastic until Human Torch burned Ororo’s arm. Blinded by anger, Shakell attempted to kill Johnny Storm but was knocked back to reality by Ororo. Luckily, Kitty was cured by the combined efforts of Dr. Doom and Mr. Fantastic after another short battle in Latveria. Upon recovery, Kitty hugged Shakell suddenly, startling Darque as she’d received so few hugs in her life.

Team Gold

When the X-Men were captured by agents of the island nation of Genosha to be slaves, Shakell underwent a mutate transformation. The process allowed Shakell to absorb any genetic abilities alongside the X-Gene, from those of superpowered humans to Inhumans, and even aliens. Out of commission from her procedure, she was sent to heal on Muir Island before returning to the mansion. Moira absolutely reamed her out for getting hurt once again.

Soon after, the X-Men were reformed into two separate strike teams, with Cyclops and Storm as co-leaders. Shakell joined the Gold Team mainly to spite Scott. Her friendship with Forge, the resident technician, bloomed after she became his assistant. He later helped refine her Danger Room modifications. Shakell eventually got over her jealousy of his relationship with Storm. She tried to comfort him after his failed proposal, but Ororo held her back.

For the first time, Shakell was reprimanded by Ororo who believed she was trying to compensate for her terrorist past by meddling in the lives of others while still being emotionally repressed. Their strained relationship sent Shakell into a depressive spiral that lasted until the X-Men were forced to fight Professor X in the form of the Onslaught. When the X-Men defeated and freed the Professor from the evil entity, Shakell begged for forgiveness. To her surprise, Storm apologised for her cruel words and the pair became closer than ever.

Sabre

Encouraged by Stevie to pursue art, Shakell decreased her involvement with the X-Men to attend a local university for photography and dance. On her twenty-first birthday, by the encouragement of Remy, she got absolutely blasted. She drunkenly told him about her feelings for Kurt, which he filed away to use as leverage. After this, she often went out drinking with Gambit and Logan.

She was a member of Storm's X.S.E. When not on missions or studying, Shakell taught biology to students of the reopened Xavier Institute. During her free time, she built up her portfolio by working for an art blog and distributing zines. On her days off, she partied to forget her growing crush on Kurt who was still in love with Amanda Sefton.

At one of these parties, Shakell met Xiulan "Jade" Bei, and they soon started dating. She became so entranced by Jade that she soon began neglecting her duties. Due to her horrific self confidence, she assumed she wouldn't be missed. Jade dragged her into the depths of debauchery, isolating her from the X-Men and restricting use of her powers until Shakell was all alone. A fight broke out one night and Jade injected her with a tranquilliser. When Shakell woke up, she was informed by the Splicer that she was now the property of Sabre, an anti-mutant splinter group of A.I.M. that kidnapped viable subjects for Stryker-like experiments.

For the next few years, Shakell was subject to the torture of the White Room. The White Room was designed to instil Kenophobia, causing Shakell to instinctively fill the blank space with anti-matter in an instinctual attempt to protect herself. Upon reaching critical mass, she was dropped into a sensory deprivation chamber, after which the scientists painfully cut away the expelled anti-matter for examination. Their main goal was to figure out how she manipulated the X-Gene, so as to create weapons that could depower mutants permanently or give select individuals certain abilities. To ensure Shakell would never retain the memories of what happened, Splicer split her into two people, alternating the pair each day before wiping her memory. They named the clone Asha.

As Asha was forced to reach further inside her Negative Zone portal to produce more antimatter, she came into contact with a creature called Celax. It recognized her from the plane crash and latched on. Celax helped Asha strengthen her connection to the Negative Zone; all the while, it waited in the back of her mind for the right time to steal her body.

During the Scarlet Witch’s breakdown, Sabre was destabilised when Wanda's rampage destroyed their Beta facility near the Avengers Mansion. In Sabre’s attempt to move, the Splicer merged Asha and Shakell back into one person. During the transfer, Shakell, now calling herself Ashayel due to Asha's influence, learned of the Splicer's true identity as Jade. Angered, she took the opportunity to escape Sabre. Ashayel killed every scientist she came across, brutally devouring them whole; however, as they weren’t mutants, they couldn’t satisfy Celax's hunger. Jade managed to flee before Ashayel found her.

Lost and alone in a changed world, Ashayel disappeared into the streets. Unable to restore her past memories as Shakell Lorde, Ashayel analysed stolen Sabre files and decided to take on her project name: Black Matter. With this, she went underground to pick off the remains of Sabre and find Jade. Her murders drew the attention of the X-Men when the Hellions Squad captured her during what was supposed to be a simple training mission. Ashayel was taken to the newly reopened Xavier Institute and forced into rehabilitation by headmistress Emma Frost.

The X-Men couldn’t restore Ashayel's memories or personality. She avoided answering any questions about where she had been during her disappearance. Emma telepathically invaded her mind, the first to ever succeed in doing so. What Emma learned broke her cold façade in front of the students. To gain the trust of her fellow X-Men, she became Ashayel’s therapist. Suspicious of Emma, Kitty tried to convince Ashayel to stay away but Ashayel declined. She worked in earnest with Emma during their sessions. They searched for her memories, and developed new abilities such as flight and the ability to open portals to the Negative Zone. Emma theorised about Ashayel's potential capacity to control positrons. Like silk hiding steel, Ashayel learned to use her powers to their fullest damage with the least amount of visible strain. The pair also developed a sexual relationship, an open secret that greatly displeased Cyclops.

House Of M

In the House of M reality, created by the Scarlet Witch to make every hero’s most desired wishes come true, Shakell was married to Kurt Wagner and worked as a teacher at Stevie's studio. Some time later, Wolverine, Emma, and other heroes "awakened" by Layla Miller came to recruit her. The rag-tag army commenced an assault on Magneto’s Genoshan headquarters to find the missing Professor Xavier. While Emma was the only one who sided with Wolverine to kill the Scarlet Witch, Shakell wasn’t opposed to the idea. She didn’t get to voice her thoughts as Wanda got angry at the death of her brother and decided to restore reality, with the exception that 90% of mutants worldwide lost their powers. After M-Day, Ashayel was among the relatively few mutants to retain her powers.

Post-House Of M

After the fallout, Ashayel changed her last name to Lilyth and moved out of New York. Still unable to recall her past as Shakell, she quit heroics and met someone nice. With Nyman Dryeus, she had a son named Kieran. She never married Nyman because they resembled someone she couldn't remember and she constantly felt guilty for using them.

Unable to stay away from the hero's life, Ashayel became a vigilante known as Theta. She began spending more time away from home, leaving her son alone. Her vigilantism caught the attention of Iron Man. Aware of her terrorist past, Tony pressured her into quitting while she was ahead. Her anonymity was the only thing keeping Kieran safe, so she agreed. She soon split up with Nyman due to the strain on their relationship.

Ashayel picked up work as a ballroom dance instructor. When her neighbour, Isaac Dunmore, started prying into her life, she confronted him. To push him away, she revealed that she was a mutant but much to her chagrin, that only encouraged him. When Isaac gained electrosorcery powers after a freak accident with Terrigen Mists, Ashayel helped him recover, which affirmed their friendship.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

Eventually, Ashayel’s misdeeds caught up to her. Emma Frost came knocking for a spot on the Cabal. Then the Avengers tried offering her a position. All the interest brought S.H.I.E.L.D. to her door. They gave her a chance to wipe clean her past, but she had to abandon her normal life. When Ashayel became an agent, she transferred guardianship of her son to Adrienne Brashear. Max Brashear called her a terrible mother before she left.

As a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., Ashayel mainly worked with the science division. She made Negative Zone portals and provided them with antimatter shards. It wasn’t hard to figure out that S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted her mainly as a consenting test subject. They never referred to her as Black Matter, instead defaulting to Agent Lilyth. A few months in, Ashayel was tempted to leave when a mysterious figure gave her access to some encrypted data. In that data, she discovered files confirming Xiulan Bei was hiding in Europe and still experimenting on mutants. Ashayel's confusing feelings mounted upon learning the architect of her destruction was alive, allowing Celax to fully awaken.

The White Demon

Although Ashayel tried to restrain it, Celax overtook her body. In her mind, she and Celax discussed how mutantkind is humanity's appetite, destined to eat itself alive in an attempt to stamp out the inevitable. Celax manipulated Ashayel into believing that together they could cure humanity's hunger for self-destruction by going after mutants directly. In return for killing Jade, she agreed to let Celax possess her and eat as its heart desired. As the White Demon, Ashayel terrorised cities during her lucidity and rested in the Negative Zone when Celax grew dormant. When Celax grew strong enough, it tracked down Jade and consumed her. With their deal fulfilled, Ashayel allowed Celax to fully possess her.

The White Demon grew careless and eventually attracted attention from the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men. Rogue, Kurt, and Kitty tried and failed to appeal to her past. Ororo attempted to talk Ashayel down, but was forced to back down when the White Demon consumed several reserve Avengers.

Celax planned to eat until it had enough strength to physically escape the Negative Zone. When mutants grew scarce, it began seeking out mutates, Inhumans, and aliens. The speed at which she was eating posed a threat to all superpowered beings. Using Negative Zone portals, Ashayel was able to evade capture and teleported to her birthplace in Warrens. There, she created a hive made of anti-matter and the corpses of her victims, that prevented heroes from attacking due to fear of annihilation. The Avengers considered utilising Iron Man’s advanced missile technology to eradicate her but the X-Men opposed this, inciting many tensions present in the Phoenix Five's later attack.

Magneto tried speaking to the hive, reminding Ashayel that she is not what Sabre made her and that it was he who taught her the importance of mutanthood. Instead, Ashayel attempted to eat him but was stopped by Wanda and the Avengers. The Scarlet Witch was able to send Celax into temporary slumber; but, being unable to touch Ashayel, this was all she could do. Celax was only a demon in name and Wanda's powers had limited range in the material world. As a last resort, the Avengers contacted Blue Marvel, the top expert on anti-matter.

Adam Brashear travelled to his step-sister's first Barbadian home. There, he discovered the corpse of Ashayel's father curled around the remnants of his experiments. Nearby was a neutrite drive that was never activated. Adam was able to fix the drive and generate a substantial amount of neutronium, which weakened him as well. Blue Marvel returned to Ashayel’s hive just in time to stop Tony from deploying his missiles. Using the neutrite drive, he cancelled out the ionic field created by Ashayel’s anti-matter. With her powers nullified, Adam absorbed the excess antimatter before it destabilised. In her depowered state, Ashayel was weak enough for the Scarlet Witch to completely banish Celax. In doing so, Wanda discovered and preserved Ashayel's immortal soul, ensuring the inevitably of her reincarnation.

With Celax gone, she regained her memories and, with positrons lingering on her fingertips, told the X-Men that her name was Shakell Lilyth.

Avengers vs. X-Men

Despite protests from the Avengers, Shakell was taken back to the Jean Grey School to recover.

As a result of Celax's possession, the portal within Shakell had expanded. She began experiencing effects of the Rapture, a substance released from the Negative Zone through her skin. The Rapture took away painful memories and induced an intoxicated state that made victims addicted to positivity; however, those painful memories spread out like a wave to others who in turn sought out the Rapture. Due to her presence, the students and other X-Men fell into brain dead states, and those who were immune began acting out due to the negative emotions. Rogue put strain on her long distance relationship with Magneto by coming to aid her fellow X-Men. She attempted to absorb the Rapture from Shakell but only ended up amplifying its effects. After a student was injured, Wolverine put his foot down. Shakell was sent to the Scarlet Witch who magically bottled the Rapture to keep in her curio cabinet. While with the Avengers, Shakell helped defeat both M.O.D.O.K and A.I.M. Despite this heroic act, the Avengers warned her that they were keeping an eye on her.

Upon returning to the school, Shakell was urged by fellow mutants to join the fight. Worn out by heroics, she told Logan not to involve her in any future missions, and focused on healing. But when She-Hulk, Falcon, and Moon Knight came to monitor the school, Shakell took every opportunity to antagonise them. After She-Hulk injured some kids, Shakell and Rogue attacked them. The Avengers were defeated and Shakell realised she owed nothing to the human heroes, so she and several other members of the school staff joined the battle.

After the Phoenix Five began fixing the world, Shakell assisted them, using her powers to destroy any mortal obstacles in their path. She was asked by Rogue to stop Ms. Marvel who attempted to speak with them. Ms. Marvel was captured by Magik and brought to a prison built in a volcano where Shakell found herself unmoved by the mental torment of the trapped Avengers. When Rogue attempted to free Carol, Shakell was caught in Magik's crossfire and sent into the Negative Zone.

While in the Negative Zone, Shakell met Celax for the first time. Though the demon was weak, she ran away and attracted the attention of other denizens in the foreign dimension. She passed the Crossroads of Infinity, glimpsing a vision into other universes, including one she would soon visit. Unable to properly navigate, she found herself on Tarsuu. She met the K'choqtoc and learned about their struggle against Blastaar’s empire. One day passed in the normal world, but Shakell spent eleven months rebuilding the planet and interacting with the K'choqtoc. The aliens named her Mistress of the Negative Zone before she returned to the normal universe.

Finally back on Earth, Shakell learned that Cyclops had become the sole wielder of the Phoenix Force. She and the X-Men fought to stop Cyclops from losing control but Scott killed Professor X and became the new Dark Phoenix. Shakell fought through her terror and attempted to take his X-Gene, but Cyclops would have killed her if Magneto hadn’t arrived to temporarily hold him off. Magneto reprimanded her for the foolish plan. Together with Rogue, the trio saved civilians injured by the attacks. After the rescue mission, Shakell cheered when Rogue turned down Magneto's proposal, much to his visible displeasure.

Once everything settled, Shakell declined an offer from Kitty Pryde to join the Jean Grey School's staff.

Corporate X-Factor

During Charles Xavier’s funeral, Shakell encountered Dame Fate, the personification of chance. To toy with her, Dame Fate placed Shakell into the body of her alternate universe counterpart on Earth-6612. There, she found herself in the midst of Madame Mutant Eater’s peak villainy. Celax had stolen her body and gained the ability to consume all forms of energy and matter after absorbing the X-Genes of Anya Morova and Rogue. Shakell began assimilating into the mind of the Madame until the Avengers of this dimension defeated her. They trapped her with a chain created by Doctor Strange. Before Strange could throw her into the Darkforce Dimension, Shakell broke free of the mind game. She confronted Dame Fate and was sent back to her original universe in return for living a more interesting life.

Shakell stepped away from the X-Men to become a photojournalist in order to support her son from afar. The job didn’t pay very well, forcing her to live on Isaac’s couch, but it satisfied her distaste for corporations. When confronted by Wolverine about her duties, she reminded him that she was technically an unregistered superhero according to the Civil War.

While photographing some graffiti, Shakell experienced a wave of memories from her time as Ashayel that caused her to fall. She was saved by Polaris, who offered her a spot in the new X-Factor team she was leading at Serval Industries. Despite her opinions on corporations, Serval’s CEO, Harrison Snow, was able to coerce her to join the team with the offer of money. Her only solace remained in the fact that Gambit was just as unhappy as she was. She also found companionship in Quicksilver who equally agreed to ignore their history as mutant terrorists.

Death of Wolverine

After Logan’s death, Shakell grew frustrated that she kept losing the people she cared about. She, Remy, and Laura had a day out to mourn their friend where they did all the things Logan loved. Shakell quit X-Factor and returned to the Jean Grey School to accept Kitty’s offer as a teacher.

Jean Grey School

Wolverine’s death sobered Shakell. She told her coworkers and students that she was trying to settle in after Serval Industries—but that wasn’t the truth. In reality, she did not want to stray too far from her beloved teammates. During this time, she was one of the instructors brainwashed into performing in the Murder Circus where she served as a french-themed vaudeville ballerina. The teachers were eventually saved by their students.

The Terrigen Crisis

Shakell forced herself onto a mission from the New Charles Xavier School when their X-Men received a distress call from Muir Island. On the island, they discovered that the Terrigen Mists released by Black Bolt were toxic to mutants. The clouds caused mutants to develop a disease known as M-Pox. Her antimatter annihilated most of the mists following this discovery, but Shakell was too late to save Scott. Due to being psi-null, she also bore witness to Emma Frost turning Cyclops into a martyr with a mental projection.

Soon, the entirety of the Jean Grey School was moved to the realm of Limbo, in a territory known as X-Haven where all mutants were safe from the Terrigen Mists. When Shakell had a paranoid breakdown, she asked Ororo for leave to see her son and mother. Visiting Adrienne, she learned that Kieran was isolated from the Mists, but Nyman had died during a failed Inhuman transformation. In Louisiana, Shakell learned of Shontelle’s death from M-Pox. She spent almost a week mourning her mother before eventually burning her childhood home down and leaving.

After the X-Men discovered the Terrigen Mists were close to becoming fully saturated into the atmosphere, Shakell joined in a war against the Inhumans as a distraction to keep them occupied until the cloud could be destroyed. The mists were destroyed by Medusa, putting an end to the crisis. When Emma attempted to use sentinels to target the Inhumans, Shakell did not join either faction against her. Following the event, Kitty Pryde became the leader of the X-Men.

A Man Called X

When Psylocke sent out a psychic call for help that pierced her mental shielding, Shakell came to the rescue alongside Bishop, Angel, Rogue, Gambit, Fantomex, Old Man Logan, and Mystique. These X-Men freed Psylocke from a trap set by the Shadow King. Psylocke sent them to the astral plane to destroy the Shadow King before he could complete his psychic incursion. Unaffected by the mental attacks, Shakell easily traversed the plane to gather her lost teammates. The team found Charles Xavier trapped, and seemingly killed the Shadow King. Back in the real world, Charles returned to life in Fantomex’s body, calling himself X and shocking Shakell to tears.

The Shadow King’s infection did not simply vanish when he died, so X and the X-Men joined forces to stop Proteus. Upon seeing Warren's Archangel persona, Shakell froze as it reminded her of the Dark Phoenix. Rogue brought her back before she could have an anxiety attack. As the X-Men tried to stop Proteus from bringing the astral plane to the physical world, Psylocke and X telepathically destroyed him. However, the Shadow King had hidden himself inside X’s mind, so Psylocke led the X-Men into battle again. After Psylocke repaired the astral plane, X forced the X-Men to forget about his existence. He gave each of them gifts; for Shakell, he unlocked her full powers—including total control over Celax.

X-Men: Gold

Shakell was (more) enthusiastic (than usual) when Kitty visited the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning in Limbo and became the new leader. She disagreed with Kitty’s decision to bring the school to Central Park. While serving as a biology teacher and "role model" for the next generation of mutants, her feelings for Kurt grew over their intimate, often argumentative, discussions about theatre and art. She endured Kitty's teasing but began to doubt her ability to actually maintain a relationship.

Reminded of her journey to the K'choqtoc homeworld of Tarsuu, Shakell went to Isaac with the idea of teleportation via the Negative Zone. Since her powers were the strongest they'd ever been, she was able to open and maintain several stable portals. They built many versions of a positional tracker and Rapture monitor, as well as figuring out how to map Earth to the Negative Zone. After a successful first run, he kissed her but she reaffirmed that her heart belonged to Kurt. To make it up to Shakell, Isaac designed a new suit with a built-in positional tracker that would protect her if she ever got lost in the Negative Zone.

When Kitty left Piotr at the altar, Shakell was furious. She went to confront Kitty but was held back by Kurt. During the would-be reception, Remy proposed to Rogue in the dumbest way possible. Shakell was nearly at her limit with her friends that day. At the reception, Anna Marie insinuated to a half-drunk Shakell that Kurt might return her feelings. But unwilling to potentially ruin her treasured friendship, she left early.

Age of X-Man

In the pocket reality created by Nathaniel Grey's Life Seed, everyone on Earth was a mutant but intimate or interpersonal relationships were strongly discouraged. Darque was a member of that reality’s X-Men team. She lived in the same housing development as the others, routinely eating lunch with Magneto and leading a repetitive life while longing for something more. The constant stress of active duty took a toll on Darque’s mental health, which she kept private from Nate.

The team came into conflict with Murshid En Sabah Nur and his X-Tracts, revolutionaries who endorsed love and community over the state-endorsed autonomous harmony. Secretly their ideals appealed to Darque. Although kept her feelings to herself, Kitty Pryde took note of her interest during a peaceful rally in Central Park and tried speaking to her. The X-Men tried to quell the riled crowd, with Magneto, Darque, Storm, and X-23 experiencing memory flashes. The shame of Darque's desires made her retreat to her home for an emotional breakdown while the others discussed rebelling against Nate.

The X-Men assembled later with Psylocke to investigate the murder scene of Moneta. Magneto told the group to keep their discovery an internal matter, and took their findings to Jean’s house. Shakell volunteered her mind to scan, but due to the anti-matter shielding, Jean was unable to get a reading. Jean managed to get a read on Storm who convinced the X-Men to confront Nate at headquarters.

In the final confrontation, Darque expressed her beliefs about this fractured-false reality and her desire for a connection. Shakell was eventually allowed to return to the real world when Nate realised the error of his ways.

Krakoa

Four months before the revelation of Krakoa, Moira visited Shakell. She assisted Professor X in accomplishing Moira's plan, and was one of the few people who knew Moira was a mutant. She and several other X-Men planted Krakoan flowers all across the world. The flowers grew into gateways and habitats that were all part of the interconnected consciousness of Krakoa. Shakell's flower in Louisiana became the Dark Habitat.

On Krakoa, Shakell was part of the team tasked with destroying the Mother Mold to prevent the creation of Nimrod. The team was spotted, and blown up by the Orchis Forge. The survivors continued on, with Darque staying behind to protect Monet and Marvel Girl as they mentally connected the team. When the ship was invaded by Orchis soldiers, Monet and Darque were both killed.

Thanks to the Resurrection Protocols, the team was resurrected by the Five. The resurrected heroes were proclaimed heroes by Storm as she heralded their return with a test question. Each authentication was met with a positive cry from the assembled crowd. During the late night inaugural celebration of Krakoa as a sovereign nation, Shakell met Akihiro. She asked if he was up to following the third law of "make more mutants," much to Logan's irritation as he expressly forbade her from fraternising with his son.

The Marauders

After the construction of the Dark Tower in the heart of Krakoa's forests, Shakell went to meet Kate. She and Logan were stunned when Kate was unable to pass through the gateways. Confused that Kate couldn't enter the island, Shakell confronted Emma Frost who reassured her that Krakoa was a new nation so there were bound to be problems. Together they came up with the idea of using a ship to liberate mutants trapped in hostile countries and brought the offer to Kate. In a mission to free a group of captive mutants from Russian rogues, Shakell joined Iceman, Storm, Emma, and Pyro on Captain Pryde's new team: the Marauders.

A New Dawn

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Reign Before The Fall

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Sins of Sinister

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Post-Sins of Sinister

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Fall Of X

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Shakell is an intensely loyal ambivert. Her troubling fear of failure causes her to shy away from decision making. She's really not great at thinking on her feet, and prefers to have an idea beforehand, which also ties into her subconscious need for routine. She detests punishments but has learned to be able to face the consequences of her actions, good and bad. Darkly sarcastic in ways that make others uncomfortable. She tends to say things that she wouldn't normally out of surprise or panic. She has bad anger management skills, often simmering over at the drop of a hat. When she feels her dark mood may bring others down, she turns on the false enthusiasm. Very pushy when she wants to know things, constantly bombarding Forge with questions; he calls her 'the cat curiosity killed'. She gets jumpy when anxious. Emotionally constipated despite being hung up on a certain furry blue elf. After being spliced into Ashayel, she gained a flightiness that became more prominent when she was merged back together, unable to remain stationary for long.

She's good as a teacher due to desire to gain and share knowledge. Generally takes a neutral stance on issues within the superhero community, but has started trying to be more involved in the 'petty politics' as she can not afford to be neutral. Great at keeping secrets. She has developed a tactical mind cobbled from mechanical and observational skills. As a result, she has a low tolerance for things such as idiocy and lying.

Shakell is easily corrupted, demonstrated by how she was pressured to join the Brotherhood and, later, Harrison Snow's X-factor. Shakell has intense trauma from being a subject at Sabre. She also has anxiety, paranoia, and kenophobia. Her kenophobia is triggered by large, white rooms. Her PTSD manifests as jumpiness regarding suspicious happenings as well as bursts of apathetic anger. When she’s in a mood, her dark personality grows ten times worse. One of the ways she’s trying to get over the fear of decision making is by actively choosing to be a hero.

Quirks

Fascinated by the Shi’ar and studied them incessantly. Prone to unintentional routine when her mind hasn’t fully woken up or caught up to her actions, which often results in the funniest situations. Prone to tinkering with little objects in her hand or idly creating unstable antimatter contraptions to fiddle with. Can exhale superheated antimatter smoke like a dragon, which she uses to amuse kids. Never makes eye contact when talking directly to people.

Hobbies

Baking and cooking, tinkering with weapons and tools, photography, dancing, yoga, exploring the Negative Zone, planning the downfall of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Likes

Kisses, the smell of blood, mint ice cream, the beach, drinking, baking, classical music, dancing, making records for the gramophone Charles gifted her, reality tv, bad movies following the rules, bladed weapons, teaching, photography, reading (particularly instruction manuals), fancy clothes, bubble baths, adrenaline rushes, being in the company of those she loves.

Dislikes

Large white (empty) spaces, spicy food, all conversion therapy, demons, recklessness, petty politics, handcuffs or being restrained, boring villains, power inhibitors, Reed Richards and Tony Stark, humans, corporations, governments, people eating her food, uninteresting people, french people, hypocrites, Deadpool, people not using turn signals, wasting food, runny eyeliner.

Relationships

Shontelle Lorde

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Mother (deceased)

Step-sister to Adam. A mutant with the ability of para-dimensional omnicognition, allowing her to see different dimensions simultaneously and communicate with all the different versions of herself.

??? Lorde

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Father (deceased)

A terrible man. Malay-born scientist who moved to Barbados before meeting Shontelle. He experimented with anti-matter and activated Shakell's mutant gene at birth, tying her to the Negative Zone.

Adam Brashear

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Uncle

He and Shakell are distant due to opposing beliefs, but their relationship is slowly mending after Shontelle's funeral. She is closer with his daughter, Adrienne.

Kurt Wagner

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best friend in want of something more

One of Shakell's first friends. Due to his kindness and empathy, she is still as in love with him as she was when they were younger. She has replaced him as a member of the Quiet Council, but mourns his loss.

Xiulan "Jade" Bei

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Ex-girlfriend (deceased)

aka SPLICER, a human mutate. Shakell's ex and abuser. Founder of Sabre and often interacted with the Avengers before her death.

Isaac Dunmore

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Partner in chaos

A former fan of Darkling turned friend when they lived as neighbours during Shakell's time as Ashayel. She guided him when his Inhuman abilities emerged and he's always on her speed dial.

Danger

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Self-titled protector

Treats Shakell like something between a pet and child. Constantly attached to her and disapproving of her choice of romantic partners. Lives in Shakell's phone.

Ororo Munroe

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Best Friend and role model

One of Shakell's closest friends and confidants. Her first role model due to the impact in her life, stemming from that first codename she was given. Shakell used to have a massive crush on her.

Katherine Pryde

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Best friend

Leader of her team, the Marauders. One of Shakell's first friends. A loving pain in the ass and breath of fresh air that lowkey scares her.

Cecilia Reyes

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Estranged best friend

One of Kell's closest friends from the Academy, though they have fallen out of contact recently due to Krakoa.

Remy LeBeau

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Playful frenemies

They can't stand each other, they're texting live updates to the drama in real time. She's the only one who can match his flirtiness and they did sleep together on several occasions at Serval Industries (still just friends).

Anna Marie LeBeau

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Close friend

Shakell was immediately drawn to her as a friend, thinking their powers could be compatible. Loves working with her but hates hates being teased for her persistent crush on Anna's brother.

Emma Frost

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therapist with benefits

Very good at instilling confident but they are insane together. Shakell is wary of her prying ways as Emma once managed to read her mind through brute force—it led to some fantastic sex. Their palaces are on opposite ends of Krakoa

Akihiro

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Frenemy with benefits

Hadn't properly met until Krakaoa. They sometimes hooked up, and that was about it until he started getting serious about Auorora so most often they chat about her.

Piotr Rasputin

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Good friend

A close companion when Shakell was a provisional X-Man. They often trained together and performed dangerous tests that nearly gave Hank heartattacks. Despite sharing seats on the Quiet Council, they aren't as close as they used to be.

Robert Drake

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Good friend

Self-appointed mentor during Shakell's time as a provisional X-Man, like an annoying older brother, something she appeared annoyed by but later grew to appreciate. She clocked his queerness but assumed he kept it secret for a reason.

Jubilation Lee

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Good friend

A good friend who she rarely gets to see. Shakell helped during her time as a vampire, but thinks she has a horrible sense of style. Their kids often hang out.

Lucas Bishop

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Friend and role model

Cool teammate whom Kell admires because of his proficiency in weapons and stories from an alternate future. He removed the mutant "M" tattooed by Sabre at her request.

Charles Xavier

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Former headmaster

A beloved professor, mentor, and role model. He gifted Shakell her record player. She still has trouble reconciling him as the man she knew versus one of the rulers of Krakoa

Scott Summers

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Beloathed teammate

Tried to get along with until he fucked over Krakoa. Never agreed with him and almost always antagonised the decisions he made. Can't stand his attitude but (barely) begrudginly respects his conviction.

Jean Grey

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Beloathed teammate

Dislikes her due to association with the Dark Phoenix and painful death of Charles. Shakell doesn't hate her as much since the Marvel Girl change but is averse to her touch.

Moira MacTaggert

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Once an admired instructor

A terrible woman. A surrogate mother-like figure. Trained Shakell into the mutant she is now, but after her turn to villainy, Shakell isn't sure what to be believe.

Max Eisenhardt

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Estranged ally (deceased)

The man who saved her. He took her trust and broke it, forcing her to fight against the Brotherhood as an X-Men. Their mending relationship was cut short by his death, which Shakell is greatly shaken by.

Raven Darkholme

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Estranged ally

Enemy turned hesitant ally. Doesn't quite approve of Shakell's feelings for her son, likewise Shakell doesn't trust her on the Quiet Council.

Elizabeth Braddock

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Friendly ally

A friend from back when Shakell first joined the X-Men. Not as close anymore due to shedding the Psylocke identity but Shakell is in her debt.

Laura Kinney

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Goddaughter

Shakell's goddaughter. Watched over the kid with Remy and Logan while Laura was finding herself, and the relationship just never faded.

James Howlett

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Ally and older brother figure

Initially jealous at his relationship with Ororo until meeting and watching over Laura. Shakell mourned his death and can't seem to understand why he's pulling away (it's Akihiro).

Pietro Maximoff

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Former teammate

Disappointed in him for lying about the Terrigen Crystals, but understands his reasoning more than most. Occassionally send gifts for his daughter since she knows he can't afford shit.

Lorna Dane

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Lunch date and shopping partner

Former team leader from Serval Industries. They occassionally get lunch, shop, and snark about the x-Men together. Shakell had crashed on her couch once or twice.

Wanda Maximoff

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ally on thin ice

Conflicted feelings. Thankful for her guiding Isaac to Agatha to refine his powers. Remains confused that she's not actually a mutant. Weirdly touched about the preservation of her immortal soul.

Warren Worthington III

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Ally

Estranged until helping Psylocke resurrect Charles, but still rarely see each other. Gets weird vibes from him due to Archangel's aura.

Tony Stark

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Estranged bane of existence

He tried to nuke her—she can't stand him. The reason she will always stand with mutantkind. Only social mores and restraint keeps her from attacking him on sight.

Powers

Darque is an Alpha Level Mutant with two mutant abilities. She has been considered to have Omega Level Potential by Emma Frost, Max Eisenhardt, and Tony Stark.

Anti-Matter Manipulation: Darque's primary mutation is anti-matter generation via a portal to the Negative Zone that is housed within her body. The portal allows her to expel anti-matter in various forms. If her constructs are cut, she feels the pain as if she were physically hurt. When she touches matter with her unstabilized anti-matter, both are annihilated due to the polarity difference. She can open portals into the Negative Zone at will from anywhere without having to pass through the Distortion Area.

• Anti-Matter Transmutation: Darque can transform her entire body into Anti-Matter. She also has the potential to turn anything she touches into Anti-Matter, currently only under specific circumstances such as an increased power boost via a telepath.
  • Concussive Force Bolts: Can release anti-matter from her hands in the form of hardened plasmids.
  • Construct Creation: Can create anti-matter constructs, turning the substance into workable limbs, weapons, and other objects with varying permanence.
  • Flight: Has the ability to fly by manipulating the polarity between the anti-matter inside her and the matter outside.
  • Teleportation: Can transport herself through the Negative Zone using a positioning system and suit created by Isaac Dunmore. It is not a perfect method of teleportation, as she is likely to get trapped if she can't open a portal. This method of travel is so far only available to her.
  • Psi-Null: The Negative Zone clots her mind like static and prevents it from being read, rendering her void to most telepaths. This passive mental shielding can only be overcome through sheer force by an Omega-Level telepath.
• Anti-Matter Stabilisation: Darque has the ability to stabilize anti-matter. Subconsciously she must always do this to prevent the annihilation of both herself and the world around her. When she enters a Negative Zone portal she passively stabilizes her positive particles in order to automatically bypass the Distortion Area. She can deactivate this power, but it would turn her into a walking anti-matter bomb.
• Internal Heat Generation: Due to the Negative Zone portal in her body, her internal temperature reaches superheated levels. Additionally, she absorbs kinetic energy, minimizing damage by increasing her temperature. As a result, the anti-matter she secretes is a molten liquid that can harden to shards upon exiting. The anti-matter shards have their polarity reversed once outside her body. They can only be broken by those with strength equal to, or higher, than hers. While useless to her, scientists and inventors have found some use for the shards.
• Positron Manipulation: Theoretically, according to Emma Frost, Darque may also be able to manipulate positrons at the fullest extent of her powers. Since positrons are anti-matter particles found outside the Negative Zone, it is possible that she could access them to control gravitational and electromagnetic fields, allowing her imitate the powers of mutants like Magneto and Storm. If applied correctly, she could manipulate, charge, and enhance her own positrons to deflect all attacks by matter or particle weapons that have not have their polarity reversed. Occasionally her body emits positrons, but she is unable to control when, where, and how they appear. This is an Omega-Level power that, in this universe, Darque has not gained.

Celax: An alien creature from the Negative Zone, incorrectly referred to as a demon, that is currently trapped in the Negative Zone confined to the portal within Darque. It eats powerful beings and absorbs energized matter from other dimensions. As X, Charles Xavier unlocked her powers, granting full control over Celax and its associated abilities. Due to Celax's influence, she has an “appetite” for eating powerful beings, mainly mutants. Darque cannot speak to it mentally, only able to receive its messages and communicate back verbally.

X-Gene Manipulation: As a secondary mutation, Darque can absorb the X-Gene of other mutants. She is also able to absorb other genetic abilities to a lesser extent. When active, this power allows her to 'scramble' mutant abilities by temporarily disabling them within a radius of influence. She absorbs X-Genes when she eats mutants, a result of Celax’s possession. To eat someone she must consume them with the anti-matter appendage in her mouth. It is speculated that she can turn humans to mutants, but she has never given a human an X-Gene and has no idea if it could work, much less what power they would receive.

Abilities

Master Combatant: She is a self-taught gymnast and knows various types martial arts. Expert in the art of killing, a residual combat skill she retained from Ashayel.

Weapon Proficiency Combatant: She is an excellent marksman, skilled in the use of various firearms as well as futuristic weapons (courtesy of Bishop). She also has some training with bladed and melee weapons as well.

Multilingual: Darque is fluent in various languages. She was a member of the X-Men when Professor Xavier telepathically taught the team Russian and Japanese. She also speaks French and German as well as her native Bajan Creole. Was telepathically taught Krakoan along with the other inhabitants of the island nation.

Fighting Style: Consists of overwhelming the opponent with a brute force flood of anti-matter to get the fight over with as fast as possible. She is far from the best fighter among the X-Men, but can take a beating incredibly well.

Dance Training: Darque is trained in ballet, ballroom, and modern dance. She trained under Stevie Hunter and is highly agile. Additionally, she is a top ranked professional ballroom dancer, and could be considered a prima ballerina.

Weaknesses

Cannot control antimatter from outside sources she has not created. Powers are volatile when being suppressed, which can lead to a violent antimatter explosion once released. Vulnerable to poor control, lack of focus, and an incorrect amount of matter to offset the anti-matter she expels. If her constructs are cut, she feels the pain as if she were physically hurt.

• Anti-Matter Stabilisation: Everything inside her body, from the bones to organs, is coated with anti-matter; therefore, nullification would annihilate her. Constructs must also be stabilised, meaning the more things created the wider her attention is spread out.
• Internal Heat Generation: Due to her internal body temperature, she is prone to overheating and falling unconscious after prolonged use of her powers such as after rigorous battle or forced use for an extended period of time. Strong emotions and the presence of individuals with temperature related powers can also throw her heat regulation out of whack, thus she tries to remain as calm as possible and manage her emotions.

Neutronium: A unique substance from the Neutral Zone that is powerful enough to hurt both her and Blue Marvel.

Thick brows over half-lidded blue eyes with epicanthic folds. Grey-blue stained lips. Shoulder length curly hair dyed cherry coke red by Jubilee and streaked white from Marie Antoinette Syndrome. A grey bandana made from a scrap of a Sabre hospital gown.

Distinguishing Features: White barcode-style tattoo on the left side of her body starting under the left eye, down the neck and side of arm before ending at an arrow on the inner wrist.

Characteristic Gestures: Flicking out her tongue. Tugging at her bandana when her "appetite" flares as a form of control. Sticking her fingers in her mouth and drawing blood. Thick accent when incensed or speaking French.

Former Suits and Equipment

[Show]

Former Suit

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• Trying to convice Adrienne to let her bring Kieran to Krakoa.
  • Also searching for Cecilia, whom she hasn't heard from since the Roberto's Avengers team split up.
• Still dealing with the fallout of her brutal massacre of Sabre, which Magneto held over her. But after his death, she learned he expunged and erased all records of what she did, touching her deeply.
• Currently in a fling with Emma Frost.
• Learning magic from the Scarlet Witch and Isaac Dunmore following the discovery of where her immortal soul originates—it's not going very well.