Six years can change a lot of things; six years ago he thought that he and Jean were destined for forever; six years ago he thought they had won the war after defeating Apocalypse because they had unified with the Acolytes and the Brotherhood.

Five years ago, the Shi'ar came and everything Scott had known was blown straight to hell. It seems Xavier had an intergalactic girlfriend that no one even knew about and now she was going to destroy all of Earth for the sake of containing a being of limitless power who threatened to destroy the entire universe … Jean. Well, more appropriately, the Phoenix which had lain dormant within her . Funny thing is , that when you attack something that's in hiding , it lashes out, and it lashed out hard.

If it hadn't taken place on the Shi'ar home world , Scott had no doubt that North America and maybe even South America would have been ash. Because of Shi'ar arrogance their world was in ruins and their bodies littered their streets. Alongside them were Pietro, Lance, Todd, Fred of the Brotherhood, John, Remy, and Mastermind of the Acolytes, Jamie, Amara, Tabitha and Rogue of the X-Men.

As she lay dying her only request was that Scott be by her side. He listened to her confession of her undying love, how she loved him from the moment she say him and fell more and more in love with him each and every day she saw what kind of man he was. She told him that she had loved the real Scott, not Cyclops, not the front he put up as leader or as the perfect boyfriend, just Scott. She had absorbed his memories and knew the fears and the hopes and the dreams and she loved them all. Her dying breath was spent on making him promise he would live his life and try to be happy. She loved him more than herself , even in death and at that moment , he realized he loved her too.

The world was burning down around them all and hope seemed like a distant memory. It was the sight of a screaming, weeping Scott holding a lifeless Rogue that brought Jean back for an instant. The burning beast was silenced for a second and Jean looked on with horror at the walking death she had become. She saw a smoking , badly burned Logan at her feet and cupped his cheek. He realized that she was Jean again when he looked into her eyes. She weapt as the words only he could hear passed her lips " Kill me Logan, Please kill me . Before it comes back and before I kill you all, just kill me". In that split second , Logan tried to think of any other way , he tried to think of a way he could save her AND them but as he looked into her said sad eyes he knew that was not an option. As his claws cracked their way through her rib cage and out her back his anguish scream brought everything else to a standstill. Jean was losing her life and Logan was loosing a soul and a whole world took a moment of silence. She smiled as if a weight had been lifted off her and she kissed him with her last breath in recognition of his sacrifice.

Logan broke Xavier's nose as soon as they touched back down on earth. Hit him so hard it looked like his face had exploded. No one made a move save Erik , they knew he had alerted the Shi'ar and like Logan blamed him . Logan walked into the wilderness, never to come back. The rest of the mutants walked away from a weeping Xavier as Erik squeezed his shoulder. The next day , Charles was gone and Erik was left in charge. It would take another year before Scott could even think about Xavier, his father , without his stomach churning in disgust.

Four years ago Scott got his teaching credentials and took his official place on Erik's staff. He would learn from the mistakes of his father and aid the next generation with a firm hand and a truthful tongue.

Erik made Scott form a main team for the first time since the incident. Scott fought him at first but realized with time it was the only way for any of them to heal . He chose Kitty, Kurt, Hank and Ororo from the original team, added Laura and Bobby because they were really coming into their own , and Piotr because that man always had your back and was pure tank.

Erik had insisted on Wanda and, after a heated discussion, Scott was inclined to agree.

But Scott didn't have to like it. She was undisciplined and a loose cannon. Scott didn't have to like it one bit.