Her origins unknown even to herself, young Topaz was found and adopted in an Indian prison camp by the sorcerer Taboo, who used her powers to escape and made her his familiar. Years later, Taboo forced Topaz to control the Jack Russell werewolf in search of the magical Darkhold tome. Cast out by Taboo for refusing to kill Russell, Topaz helped Jack control his werewolf self and became his lover, assisting him in learning his family history and opposing Dracula; however, she was exploited by the likes of Doctor Glitternight, who stole a portion of her soul, and Jack's grandmother, Maria Russoff, who used Topaz's power to raise a zombie army for a mad revenge scheme. Her sanity restored by Topaz, Maria sacrificed herself to save Jack from the zombies. Topaz's power also helped save Jack's sister, Lissa, from the werewolf curse, and she helped defeat Belaric Marcosa, Glitternight, and others.

When Topaz temporarily destroyed the demon lord Mephisto, his demons trapped her in his realm with a spell that would remove another soul fragment and her empathic powers if she left. Freed when Franklin Richards destroyed the re-formed Mephisto, Topaz was restored by Doctor Strange and the alien sorcerer Urthona, who had captured her soul fragment after it had been released from Hell. Now twenty-one, she achieved her full potential, healing Strange's fatally wounded servant Wong. When Strange turned to black magic to oppose the demon Shuma-Gorath, Topaz left him to study under the Sisters of Glastonbury Tor. Returning to help Strange against Dormammu, she was soon possessed by Mephisto's daughter, Mephista, who was in turn used as a pawn by rival Hell lord, Satannish. Strange ultimately exorcised the demons from Topaz.

After briefly running the Voodoo Lounge Bar, Topaz was enslaved by Dormammu's agent, New Age guru Jonathon White, and sent to attack Strange. Fitted with a magical implant that enhanced her power but would be fatal in 24 hours, Topaz was freed from their control by Strange, who neutralized the implant. Becoming Strange's disciple, Topaz adopted an Indian appearance and joined Satana and Jennifer Kale in destroying the serial killer Hellphyr. She left Strange to continue working alongside her new allies.