NOCTURNE: Page 3 of 3

BIOGRAPHY - Page 3

Though not fully remembering it, in the days that followed Nocturne was plagued by nightmares about her experience in the House of M world. She accompanied Nightcrawler, Juggernaut and some of the other X-Men when they traveled to England to check in on Captain Britain, only to learn that he too vaguely remembered her. Before they could make any further sense of it, though, they were roped into a conflict with the Shadow King and his Shadow X-Men from another timeline. This incident prompted Pete Wisdom, formerly of Excalibur and currently with the British intelligence agency MI-13, to propose a resurrection of the Excalibur team to deal with any and all problems arising in England and abroad due to M-Day. Nocturne was one of the first present to sign up and she came to reside with the rest of the team at a specially-prepared lake house on the London docks. [New Excalibur #1-3]

T.J.’s traveling companion, the Juggernaut, also joined the new group, just like former X-Man Dazzler, with whom Talia quickly became good friends, the two of them sharing the same interests. [New Excalibur #4-5] However, the new friendship was put under a strain a few weeks later. T.J. had developed romantic feelings for the Juggernaut, who did not reciprocate, having eyes only for Dazzler, on whom he has had a crush ever since he first heard her sing years ago. Nocturne went so far as accusing Dazzler of toying with Cain’s emotions, as she was addicted to fame and he was the only one still adoring her. Partially, though, her outburst was influenced by a demon Cyttorak, who was boosting Excalibur’s negative emotions to cause some dissention in their ranks. [New Excalibur #13-15]

Not much later, Nocturne suffered a paralyzing stroke that cost her control over the right half her body and damaged portions of her brain pertaining to memory. To an acrobat like Nocturne, losing control of her body like this was a particularly horrible experience. She had to undergo excessive rehab therapies in order to re-learn how to walk, talk, read and write. Her possession powers still functioned, and Sage generously allowed T.J. to use her body in order to get out and "stretch her legs" during her recuperation. [New Excalibur #16-17]

Despite her injured status, Nocturne fought alongside Excalibur when Albion and his Shadow Captains lay siege to the country of England. Albion unleashed the mystical equivalent of an EMP on the land, shutting down all electronic equipment and technology. From the hospital, T.J. ventured out and used her possession power to take over Petrie, one of the Shadow Captains. Using his body and enhancement suit, she infiltrated Albion's forces and fought back against the takeover of England. [New Excalibur #20-24]

When Albion was defeated, Excalibur held a massive jubilee on the docks to celebrate their victory. Some surprise guests soon arrived at the party. Captain Britain's sister Psylocke had been recruited into the Exiles some weeks prior and returned to Earth-616 to reunite with her brother and let him know she was well. To Nocturne's shock and glee, Betsy arrived with another Exile: John Proudstar, fully healed from the injuries he suffered fighting Galactus as Thunderbird. In her absence, Nocturne's former teammates learned the truth about the Timebroker, and took control of the Exiles' operations at an extra-dimensional crystal palace known as the Panoptichron. T.J. had a heartfelt reunion with John, and returned to the Exiles with him. [X-Men: Die by the Sword #1, 5]

After an exhaustive battle for the fate of reality against Merlyn, Mad Jim Jaspers and the Fury, Blink of the Exiles chose to retire as leader, passing on the role to her mentor, Sabretooth. Nocturne was still in recovery therapy for her stroke, and so she, Thunderbird, and Blink decided to leave the Exiles' mission to Sabretooth, Morph and the newer recruits. They relocated to Heather Hudson's Earth in order to keep in touch, and planned for some rest and relaxation for the immediate future. [Exiles (1st series) #100]

Unfortunately, the nature of the Crystal Palace did not so easily give up its recruits. After several months of Sabretooth's Exiles inaction, that group was absorbed into the crystal walls of the Panoptichron, trapped in stasis like the wounded and killed Exiles of the past. Nocturne, Heather Hudson and Blink were recalled to the palace against their will, finding their teammates like flies in crystal amber. Morph, the sole remaining member of the previous team, was equally confused. They used the palace's equipment to summon a new team of Exiles to continue their mission while they worked on freeing their friends. Eventually, a benevolent version of Kang emerged from deep within the Crystal Palace and explained the changing nature of the Crystal Palace to the Exiles. Fully healed by this point, and unable to completely leave her role as an Exile until the multiverse was properly ordered, Nocturne joined the new team of Exiles as their missions continued, while Blink, Heather and Morph prepped the next team for action. T.J. expressed her intent to reconnect with Thunderbird on "shore leave",,but it's unknown if she ever managed to do so. [Exiles (2nd series) #6]

Nocturne and the Exiles continued to defend the multiverse for some time, but the newer team members were lost or moved on, and even Blink eventually took a hiatus. Only Nocturne, Morph and Sabretooth were known to still be active when the Time-Eater began swallowing up entire realities. The multiversal landscape began changing uncontrollably, and T.J. was separated from her teammates by many dimensions in the chaos. Blink returned with a new Tallus and a new team of Exiles in their absence, resolving the crisis. In the aftermath, however, T.J. and Morph were still lost. [Exiles (3rd series) #5-6]

They washed "ashore" on a world resembling the Old West and were enslaved by the psychic power of Pastor Xavier, who rode with Erik Magnus and his gang of outlaws. Blink and her team tracked them down, but Morph was killed by the insane Xavier's telepathic assault in the battle. T.J. and Clarice mourned their oldest friend, and Talia expressed how tired she was by the constant crises and losing friends over and over. She was preparing to retire from the Exiles when a Tribunal of militant Watchers summoned the Exiles to the moon to face judgment for interfering in other timelines. Nocturne's grief left her in no mood to entertain the Watchers' kangaroo court, and the Exiles soon fought free from their bonds. The Tallus reactivated in the midst of the conflict, whisking them away to another reality. [Exiles (3rd series) #7-8]

This strange new world was a literal representation of the tales of One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, with the Exiles and other familiar faces cast into the roles of Shahrazad's many stories. Nocturne took on the role of Shahrazad herself, cast as the new wife of Caliph Doom, tasked to keep him entertained or lose her head the following morning. This Doom had gone mad with the death of his mother, and sought the Ring of Solomon to summon the djinn Mephisto and seize his power.

The Exiles tried to oppose him alongside Hakeem Strange and the Black Cat and her Forty Thieves. The caliph seized the ring and raised Mephisto, but Blink separated him from the ring, allowing Mephisto to strike out at his persecutor. Mephisto offered Caliph Doom the chance to rescue his mother's soul from the djinn's grasp, but only if he faced the consequences of his own crimes a thousand times over. Doom accepted the task, but cared enough for his responsibilities to his kingdom to name his wife Nocturne as khalifa in his absence. Surprisingly, T.J. was willing to accept the responsibility. She was tired of moving from reality to reality every few days, and wanted to settle down in one spot. With Morph's death, distance from people who knew her would also be a benefit, at least for a time. With Clarice's blessing, Nocturne remained behind as the Exiles moved on, hopefully to serve as a more benevolent ruler than Caliph Doom in the past. [Exiles (3rd series) #9-10]