Red Death's History
Origin
Candra, who has been referred to as The Benefactress and Candra of the Floating Spires, is part of a rare subspecies of immortal mutants called Externals, representing Guile. Other than Candra’s claim that nearly a millennia ago a mortal gained possession of an External heart and it cost her dearly, dealings with the High Lords and her Heart-Gem, nothing is known of her past before her involvement with Assassins and Thieves Guild of New Orleans, as well the Egyptian Thieves Guild.
High Lords
During the twelfth century C.E., when some of her Externals formed the High Lords, Candra declined to join preferring not to share her power and play the "power broker" alone. Fearing the wrath of the others she formed a plan to extract the life energy of her own immortal heart into a stone. She summoned Selene, Saul, Crule, Nicodemus and En Sabah Nur, her fellow Externals to aid her. While the ritual took place, Nur felt as he sunk the blade into her heart that he could have taken her power, and some that it was theft to place a shared thing into a stone where she could hide it from them, though none moved against her. With the ritual a success Candra now had the means to protect herself but at a cost; as with the gem, Candra has full access to her abilities. Without it, she is weakened and vulnerable.
The Guilds
Generations ago, Candra arrived at the new world where she established a pact with the New Orleans Assassins and Thieves Guilds. She provided the Assassins with great power, enough to protect her should her immortal brethren intend to due her harm. She bestowed the thieves with Elixir of Life to extend their ability to divine and resurrect the Old Kingdom. These would be provided by monetary tribute from each guild every certain number of years through a ritual called “tithing".
Stealing Power
In 1891 London, the Thieves Guild's failure to acquire the Momentary Princess forced Jacques LeBeau and Rouler Marceaux to gather as much monetary tribute. Candra kidnapped their kids Jean-Luc LeBeau and Belize Marceaux. But the Tithe Collector, wanting to restore the way things were, helped Jacques bring her a text of gestation chamber En Sabah Nur. Thanks to Gambit from the future, alone with Courier came back to help his father and the guild be free of Candra made her aware of the man Dr. Nathan Milbury that knew of the location of the gestation chamber.
As Candra went to America she sent the guild to find Nathan Milbury, while Gambit knowing Milbury was really Sinister tried to stop them. With his father Jean-Luc LeBeau, just a kid then and the rest of his guild captured by Sinister, long with his friend Courier he made a deal. If Sinister would free his clan and send them En Sabah Nur for Candra, as well as fix Courier and he’ll give him a piece of his brain in return.
Once the guild made it beneath the pyramids outside of Banī-Mazā in Egypt they were confronted by En Sabah Nur's servant Ozymandias. But unbeknownst to Guild LeBeau Candra had been fallowing them, after she appears she imprisoned Ozymandias with her telekinetic powers and waited for the guild who learned this place dates back to their earliest ancestry to translate the texts within the walls of En Sabah Nur ancient citadel which will give her powers to fold space through her magic as En Sabah Nur does through science. But before the guild could begin Gambit with The Courier and Sinister suddenly appeared using a transport ship Sinister got from En Sabah Nur years back, Gambit quickly attacks Candra catching her of guard. Candra enraged and deciding that she could take En Sabah Nur's power anytime begins to bring the sanctum down but she is stopped when attacked by Sinister who quickly over powers her with his new found metamorphic ability. Defeated she begs for him to stop and as he does Sinister reveals the High Lords who knew of her plans come to stop her for all of them know En Sabah Nor's citadel is not to be touched, his glacier crawl to power is not to be interrupted. For their greater glory awaits the Millennial Dawn and Candra's actions put that at risk.
Wanting a Glimpse of Tomorrow
1943 during WWII in Leipzig, Germany; Candra had teamed up with Wolfgang von Strucker, who saw the Momentary Princess back in 1916 during WWI. The Momentary Princess appears ones every 27-29 years for a few minutes in the same place, and planned to use Strucker to help find it but she had no plans on sharing it.
Jean-Luc LeBeau who also saw it but back in 1917 teamed up with Nick Fury and the Howling Commandos to stop Hitler from getting it. But when Jean found it first he was attacked by Strucker, who he quickly beat when Candra appeared. She tried to get him to give it to her, but the Howling Commandos showed up and attacked her. As they tried to keep her busy Jean-Luc let go of the Momentary Princess and it disappeared, knowing it’ll be another 27-29 years before she’ll get a second chance left.
A Stolen Heart
Some time in the late 20th century Candra's Heart-Stone was stolen from her mansion just beyond the city of Kasime near Cairo. Candra was unable to find any clues for when the thief stole the gem a trap was set off, through lightning the guards were incinerated and the building was obliterated in a white light.
Unbeknownst to Candra, who would not believe a young thief Ororo Munroe and kid of the thieves king of Egypt and the one keeping her from doing to the New Orleans guild to Achemed El-Gibar had stolen from her. It would be more than two decades later before Candra would learn who had taken the Heart-Gem.
To the Pig
In Granada, Spain; Candra was in her Palace doing business with The Pig's men, when a 15 year old Remy LeBeau helping his cousin Etienne Marceaux broke into her home. Attempting to help his cousin with “De Tilling”, a rite of passage for the Thieves Guild by steal an ancient chalice that belong to her. But Candra recognized Remy from when his future self interfered with her in the past, had The Pig's men interrupt their rite of passage and apprehend them.
Liking how The Pig's men handled things Candra decided to purchase his herd, kids that have been enslaved and modified to serve his different clients needs. As for Remy who did not know her Candra gladly gave him and his cousin to The Pig, a mutant crime boss and slaver who dealt in human trafficking and genetic experiments.
Romance with a Foe
At some point despite what a time traveling Gambit had done to Candra, she had a brief thing which ending when he left after their business was done.
The Tithing
As Candra was in her Paris home enjoying a romantic time with the High Lord and fellow External Gideon, which the full extant of their partnership is unknown, the Tithing is underway for the Guilds of New Orleans. But with the dying Bella her brother Julien returned, he planned to use his sisters then husband Gambit to get the Elixir of Life from his clan. Who though Candra was no longer the Thieves Guild benefactress, they still participated in the Tithing every generation. When this plan failed Julien with his assassins and thieves tried to take the elixir from Tithe Collector, but failed as the Collector escaped and went to Paris to warn Candra.
Gideon needing to handle business of his own left, but Candra would rather deal with her own affairs especially knowing Gambit was coming for the elixir. Candra kidnapped Gambit’s father Jean-Luc and when he arrived she was going to make him kill his father for the elixir, but Julien and his mercenaries attacked trying to kill Candra for the elixir. Gambit saved her and after she promised not to kill his father Gambit, using their past romance, stole the elixir from her cleavage while sharing a kiss.
Once she realized the theft, Candra enraged would go after Gambit only to find the elixir destroyed, Julien dead at the hands of his father and head of the Assassins Guild Marius Boudreaux. With Rogue watching over Bella for Gambit, Candra ordered the Guilds to kill Gambit but Jean-Luc as well as Marius refused. With both sides having enough and neither wanting anything more to due with Candra or the elixir broke the packet, and left her with neither the Assassins or Thieves Guild.
The Egyptian Guild of Thieves
Upon learning of a latent mutant named Jamil and the dying thieves king of Egypt Achemed El-Gibar she came to Cairo's Gaza and meets her servant Bond. After she found Jamil who she planed to help develop his powers to its fullest and claim it for her own, convinced him to not only join her but that he should be the next leader after El-Gibar. Candra with Jamil and Bond went to meet El-Gibar, but when Candra confronted El-Gibar's home she was confronted by Gambit, Storm and Jean Grey. After a few words and a brief fight between Bond and Gambit she left with Jamil much to El-Gibar's displeasure, but the X-Men went after them to save Jamil.
After the X-Men extracted the whereabouts of Candra's palatial from some street urchins they are confronted by Jamil and his gang before they could go. Once Jamil's gang is defeated Candra appears with Bond and using her power to collapse the building around them, kidnaps Karima who came to stop Jamil.
Later at Candra's palatial estate on the outskirts of Cairo she ordered Jamil to prove his loyalty by killing Karima, but before he could the X-Men who were saved due to Jean's telekinetic field and Storm breaking them free interrupted. Storm challenges Candra for Jamil, they fight outside in the desert. Storm tries using her powers but cannot get through Candra's telekinetic field which unbeknownst to Storm started to weaken without her Heart-Stone, so resorted to fists Candra slightly weakened was overwhelmed. As Bond tried to step in Gambit attack him, and when Jamil went to due the same Jean stopped him. While Candra appeared beaten she had been secretly charging up a psionic blast to kill Storm, but Karima threw a knife into Candra's hand stopping the attack.
Even with her defeat Candra still claimed Jamil when he chooses to go with her, but unbeknownst to everyone he was just a manifestation of the true mutant Karima. When El-Gibar dead shortly after Storm announced Karima has the new leader of the Egyptian thieves, preventing Jamil from ruling and Candra from becoming benefactress as she did in New Orleans.
United in Hate
When Candra learned of the death of the Assassins Guilds leader Marius Boudreaux and his daughter Bella now in charge came to her at the funeral. Wanting to once again gain control over the guild, Candra used Bella’s anger towards Rogue for having temporarily stealing her memories and Gambit for all he had done to achieve this goal. Once she returned to her former position as benefactress of the guild, Candra manipulated and watched as Bella went after Gambit's current love Rogue through Cody.
Bella had a dying Cody kidnapped and her Assassins attack Rogue in an attempt to lour her to the House of Assassins on the outskirts of New Orleans. On her way through Mississippi Rogue learned that Gambit had followed her went to help thanks to Tante Mattie, Tante who had been watching over Cody for Bella. After helping Gambit with the assassins Rogue wanting to continue alone left Gambit behind, Bella having not of it sent Fifolet to kidnap Gambit.
Once at the house and learning they had Gambit she fought through Fifolet, Gris-Gris and Questa, Candra confronted Rogue revealing that she was the one behind everything. While showing Rogue the imprisoned Cody, Tante Mattie, and Gambit for sport, she temporarily removed their powers, the two enemies fight and even after continuing to fight when Bella stabbed her in the shoulder Rogue ran away trying to recover. Bella realizing Candra was using her had enough of Candra's games and confronts her but Candra threatens Bella by telling her that if she doesn't kill Rogue she will kill her and destroy all the other Guilds. Well Bella goes to deal with Rogue, Gambit frees himself and tries to attack Candra who easily overwhelms him. But lets him go when Rogue arrives with a beaten Bella, she drops him and turns to Cody and throws him through the wall. Rogue tries to get to Cody but her powers are not fully back, Candra despite starting to weaken well holding Cody in midair but plays with Gambit and Rogue.
Taunting Rogue with permanently remove her powers so she can be with Gambit, or let her keep them to save already dead Cody. Rogue suddenly regaining her powers pushes back with all her strength against a weakening Candra's telekinetic shield, caught Candra off guard broke free knocking Cnadra down. With everyone distracted with Rogue saving Cody and Tante giving her their final goodbye, Candra disappeared seemingly with nothing.
Away Out
In the wake of Selene killing their brethren Saul, Gideon, Absalom, and Crule due to the High Lords being weakened when Nicodemus and Burke died cause of the Legacy Virus, not to mention without her Heart-Gem or the Guilds to whom she wasted so much time on was drained and needing to escape.
Due to an event called Black September Candra found a doorway to another world like her own, but without Mutants, Externals and Guilds in the Ultraverse where she can start over. Apprehensive to go it alone, she reached out to one time love and on again off again foe Gambit. As she tried to convince an ignoring Gambit the power to the X-Manson went out, he went to look he was attacked by a dying Night Man who came looking for Wolverine.
As Gambit fought Night Man the Sorceress Rhiannon wanting to save the Night Man by reuniting the Night Men, opened an inter-dimensional rift sending her and an unaware Night Man to the X-Manson. But once there she found Gambit caring for a dying Night Man while her Night Man ended up elsewhere. In New Orleans Candra found a hurt and feral Night Man, knowing who he was and where he was from, she healed him and enhancing his strength followed him to the X-Manson. Back at the X-Manson Night Man tried to feverishly warn Gambit of Rhiannon plan to use his heart to heal him, the feral Night Man in his arrival causing Gambit to go investigate. As feral Night Man and Gambit fought the other Night Man tried to stop it but Rhiannon knocked them out.
Once ready with the feral Night Man holding Gambit, she was about to kill Gambit when Candra, who had been staying back appeared. Candra declared both feral Night Man and Gambit belong to her, but she would allow Rhiannon to bleed him for a chance to be free on another world. But Gambit fought back to free himself when both Night Men confront each other, Rhiannon realized that it wasn’t Gambit’s flesh they needed but each other. Candra not wanting to lose her Night Man attacked Rhiannon, but having none of it Rhiannon throw her off with wind and dust. Though Gambit could not see through the black storm Candra could and throw Rhiannon’s knife at her, but the dying Night Man jumped in the way taking the hit. As the feral Night Man to Candra’s surprise, grabbed her by the throat, the dying Night Man told Rhiannon to use his sacrifice to send her and the feral one back home. Angry with Candra while unleash an elemental force to open the inter-dimensional rift, was going to destroy them all she stopped allowing them to live as she and the feral Night Man disappeared.
As the doorway began to close Candra let it suck her in, but Gambit grabbed hold of her hand and promising her to help let go of the Guilds and find what she needs. Though Gambit did not know all of her reasoning, Candra was moved by his words and choose to stay and allow the doorway to close forever behind her.
Death of an Immortal
When Candra through Jamil learned that it was Storm who stolen her Heart-Gem, she had the leader of the Egyptian thieves Karima kidnapped. Controlling Cyclops’ mind she sent him to deliver the message, and in brutal fashion attacked Storm. Once Storm beat him Candra spoke to her through Cyclops, telling to bring her Heart-Gem to Manhattan at the Museum of Modern Art in the Temple of Dendar section alone.
Once Storm arrives Candra confronts her and when she threatens to destroy her Heart-Gem, Candra not only revealed a captured Karima but her ward Jamil. Jamil attacked Storms mind making her see herself in Wakanda with T'Challa, Storm thinking she wont be played with attacks them both, forcing them to the ground with powerful winds. But Jamil not only tricked her and took the Heart-Gem but turned on both Candra and Storm revealing himself to be the Shadow King. While the Shadow King announces he had been using Candra and declared victory, she watched as Storm encased him with her Heart in ice and snow. When Storm became distracted with Karima she used the opportunity to hit Storm with a telekinetic bolt and goes to reclaim her Heart-Gem, but as Candra digs for it she is suddenly hit and sent flying by Juggernaut who exploded from the ice where the Shadow King had once been.
When Storm with Karima comes to a hurt but not beat Candra, to confront her about Jamil becoming the Shadow King and then Juggernaut. Candra explains that its an extension of Jamil's powers, that because he wields the extra-worldly energy confined in the heart of an External he may have become to powerful. But to learn the truth Candra choose to go it alone and showing Storm not only will it take more than a powerful blast of wind or a hit from Juggernaut to stop her, but she is more than capable of handling herself without the use of her power attacks Storm. Candra quickly overwhelms Storm giving her a beating, but Storm manages to flip Candra off her and into the temple which collapses on her. Once again Candra showing her physical toughness reemerges blasting the debris away, free she finds Jamil had become Cable with Storm in his arms, before she could act is hit by a telekinetic blast and knocked down hard.
Candra quickly recover and finds Storm after getting Karima clear had returned, she learns from Storm that in her zeal to claim a young mutant of incredible power she didn't see the true mutant was Karima. That Jamil was a created from Karima's desire for companionship and projected Candra's desire to find the gem into Jamil. Candra enraged will have her Heart-Gem, Karima to who she'll add her power to her own and Storms rotting corpse at her feet goes for Storm. But when Storm throws the gem Candra turns for it and as she is about to take hold of it, Cyclops who had been tracking Storm through Cerebro along with Jean Grey and Wolverine appears and blast the Heart-Gem. As he destroys the gem in a blinding release of energy Candra was gone.
The Newer Mutants
Same time later after having her body destroyed Candra came back, she would then return to her home in New Orleans where she’d lay low for a number of years. One stormy night being mysteriously woken she went to investigate, to her shock the intruder was Gideon, though not the Gideon she know, rather one from the future. Gideon had chosen to do what Selene had failed to do and achieve godhood by stealing the essence of his fellow Externals. Choosing Candra to be the first, he attacked her; however, she put up a fight for hours before lost. Gideon killed Candra and took her heart and her essence.
This event brought Cable thirteen years into the past to investigate what he believed was anomaly in regards to when the Externals should die off. With Longshot in tow he went to the New Orleans Forensic Center where Candra’s body was taken, there using Longshot's psychometric insight on Candra, he hoped to discovering what happened, but learning nothing more than she was woken and put up hours of a fight, Cable was forced to continue the investigation by confronting Selene.
In the end Gideon would fail, and some time later Candra was reborn as was often the case with the Externals.
Return of an External
According to Candra, the X-Men only destroyed her body but not her psyche. Candra managed to "take strength from death... enough to augment her remaining power and slowly pull back the pieces of her body back together", a process which was hastened by tributes from the Assassins Guild. Still a zombie-like figure, Candra, calling herself the "Red Death", tried to get the essences of Scarlet Spider and Wolverine to finally return entirely, but was stopped by the duo with the help of some rogue members of the Guild. After a ferocious battle against Wolverine, she was killed by Scarlet Spider, who stung her in the head. Belladonna announced that she would still find a way to return.
Guilds United
Candra returned following the fight with the Scarlet Spider, though this time she was still a child when she sought to regaining control of the Thieves Guild, she made a deal with Belladonna to unify both of their guilds in order to improve their strength. This resulted in Candra, along with Bella's help, luring Gambit back to New Orleans in an elaborate plan. He was captured by the guilds after he broke in, where Candra explained about his duty to the guilds and how his adventures with the X-Men and his honeymoon in space were more important to him than his job as leader.
After some small talk, Gambit was shot by a plasma blast from his ex-wife Belladonna and then wrapped in chains to be brought to one of their cells. An unexpected appearance by Rogue almost hindered Candra's plan, but she was able to knock Rogue out with a telekinetic blast. As Gambit awoke from being shocked by an electrical surge when he tried to touch Rogue, he was brought before Candra and Bella as they tied Rogue to an X-shaped cross in ordered to be sacrificed.
External Gate
Choosing to answer a summons through their shared psychic-link from Apocalypse she went to the Eternal Caldera of Krakoa, and there joined by Selene, Saul, Crule, Nicodemus, Gideon, and Absolam waited for Apocalypse. When Apocalypse arrived not wanting to play his games they learned of his plans for them, with Canadra and Nicodemus speaking out against him, they refused to go along with his belief of what their purpose should be nor willing to sacrifice themselves for his goals. Apocalypse would force Candra and the others to be sacrificed by playing his trump card in a newly enhanced Rictor. Rictor erupted from the ground in a blast of lava killing Crule. After an enraged Nicodemus attacked, forcing Apocalypse to call out for Selene, Gideon and Rictor to his side Absalom disrupted their chat by firing a number of his bone spikes at them. Rictor turned to face Candra, Absalom, Nicodemus, and Saul. Even as Saul turned into a great dragon Rictor blasted them with a wave of lava unintentionally killing Candra along with Nicodemus and Saul. Absalom though weakened and hurt survived, Apocalypse needing four living Externals for the ritual let him live, only to find that Candra's life force was never there.
Prior to Apocalypse's summons Candra learned he was after ancient mutant bones, and it was only a matter of time he'd come for his fellow Externals. So Candra using her ritual placed her life force into a gem and hide it in Avalon's Starlight Citadel. Thanks to Gambit who had been sent to Avalon with the rest of Excalibur by Apocalypse happened to find the gem. In astral form Candra would talk to Gambit in hope of convincing him to protect her from Apocalypses and return the gem to her. When Apocalypse opening a gateway Rictor was able to telepathically warn Betsy who knew of Candra, she told Gambit to throw the gem through the gate. Despite Candra and Saturnyne's protests Gambit did and with the gem finding its mark the ritual was done.
With the ancient bones of Candra, Saul, Crule, and Nicodemus, thus their life energy, turned into the stones that powers the External Gate, trapping them, and allowing the whole of Krakoa to enter Otherworld as Apocalypse planned.
