Rachel's POV
Lets review.
My plan this entire time has been to keep my true identity from Jean Grey and Scott Summers, AKA my parents. I've gone to extreme measures like keeping my mind very diligently closed to her. I've also gotten very minimum sleep to keep from projecting nightmares.
So I am sleep deprived and mentally tired from keeping this up. And now I will be sharing telepathic powers with my mother, focusing a majority of it on Vulcan to get rid of him, while still keeping my mind closed off to her.
Three... I telepathically count to brace my mother.
I am not at my best going into this battle, but I need to keep it up. When Vulcan is gone and I'm back with the rebels or my grandfather, then I can let my guard down. But right now, that is not an option.
Two...
"Wait, why would I-" Vulcan looks very confused when I said part of our bargain would be that I got his cat. I mean, I cannot help that I've always loved that cat and been very jealous of Vulcan.
One...
Before he got the answer, I grind my teeth and let the Phoenix loose. I basically throw the being towards my mother. If this was one of those feel-good sports movies and the Phoenix was a football, she would have miraculously caught it and our combined telepathy along with it would fry Vulcan.
This isn't one of those movies.
The Phoenix fire spirals out of control. The energy ricochets off the metal walls of the chamber and its piercing cry echoes. beside me I hear her grunting quietly, then she gasps. It only took a few seconds but it feels like minutes when extruding so much energy, but finally, she gets ahold of the power and our minds are practically one.
I have a large portion of my mind blocked from her still. The energy it is taking to do both things is straining. I have never been the best at multitasking and now this is like multitasking to the max. It is like I'm running a marathon with a ton of bricks on my back, and also the ground is made of hot lava and cacti and I'm barefoot. My mind and body are both yelling at me to stop. I tremble, my knees feeling my jelly. I just need to keep this up for a little longer.
Vulcan is powerful, and his healing properties from the regeneration chamber they put him in makes him not want to disintegrate. I knew going into this it would be a challenge, which was why the Phoenix is being split up between both of us, but I still didn't expect it to be this hard.
If I can just find a little more strength and power in me, then that would finish him off. He is already screaming in agony, although the pounding heartbeat in my ears is deafening so I can hardly hear him.
Something warm and wet is dripping down from my nose. It smells metallic and tastes the same way as it drips onto my lip. I swallow thickly and sputter at the blood running down my throat.
Keep pushing through, Rachel. Only a little more energy!
I am somewhat aware of my body dropping to the floor. I don't know if it is my body's way of trying to provide more energy or its way of telling me "Oh my gosh stop! I can't take anymore!"
It must be the latter because then the worse possible thing happens.
I lose control of the blockade in my mind.
All the memories I have are up for grabs now, exploding out of the holds like a speeding river through a busted dam. It floods her mind and I know she knows.
"No!" I shout in panic. I yank all the power back to myself. My mother collapses to the floor beside me. The damage is done, but the good news is that the bonus energy that came when the dam broke was enough to
With one final screech, Vulcan turns to a billion tiny pieces of dust. They float in the air around the chamber, being sucked into vents and settling over the floor.
Vulcan is dead. Permanently. But at what cost?
My forehead falls to the cool floor below me. I know I need to get us out of the palace so Lilandra can reclaim the throne. Then we would be on the way to earth.
"Are you okay?" my father asks. He is at my mother's side, scooping her unconscious body into his strong arms.
I nod and shakily get to my feet. "Just a little woozy. We should get back to the ship."
Then with my remaining energy, I teleport us back to the small vessel outside the city. I start the ship, put us on autopilot to the mothership, and then recline back in the pilot seat. "She will be okay," I inform my father when he set my mother another chair. He strapped her in. "That just drained her energy. She just needs a good nap and some food when she wakes up."
He nodded. "What about you?"
"I'm alive, aren't I?"
I avoid eye contact with him by shutting my eyes. Surely he doesn't know yet but the whole ordeal has my tummy in tight knots. I won't know the extent of what my mother knows until she wakes up.
Maybe she didn't pay any attention to my memories and I am now anxious for nothing. She is a very powerful telepath but that doesn't mean she had any power to spare to pay attention to my thoughts and memories, right?
But what if she did? My mind was a free-for-all back there!
What would this mean for me now? Maybe I can just run away before she wakes up. Lilandra wants me to be with my family so I can't go back with the Shi'ar, but maybe my grandfather will let me stay with the Starjammers. I do have him wrapped around my finger, as the saying goes. Plus there is nothing a band of pirates couldn't get away with when an entity like the Phoenix is on their team. He would be a fool not to comply with that.
That was the plan anyway until I was whisked away by Vulcan anyway. So I will just make sure he doesn't go back on it.
As soon as the vessel docks to the mother ship, the X-Men and Starjammers rush into the loading deck. My grandfather his arms and I willing fall into them, fatigue weighing my body down.
When Ororo follows my dad out with my mom, I step away from the embrace.
"I think she knows," I say, pacing the room. "I slipped up and lost the block in my mind. There's a slim chance she didn't see anything but I don't know. This is a disaster!"
"Does your father know?" Professor x asks.
I shake my head. "Not that I can tell. My mom passed out a little after and I can't see something like transferring over the psychic rapport."
"Perhaps I can block those from her mind," he muses.
"Absolutely not!" my grandfather exclaimed. "Rachel is a child, and just because you want to keep my son and his girlfriend solely as your precious X-Men does not mean they don't have other responsibilities."
Well so much for going with him to run from my parents.
"Mr. Summers, I assure you that those are not my reasons behind my actions. Rachel has said herself that she does not wish to reveal her true self to them."
"She is hardly at the age to decide rather or not she needs parents. I love her, but I am nowhere near enough to parent her, especially when she has perfectly good parents right there," he pointed to the shut doors for emphasis.
"Instead of arguing, why don't y'all just ask Little Red what she wants to do?" Logan interrupts. I think maybe he's also on my side until; "Do you really not want to be with them or are you just scared of losing them again?"
"Well, I..." Fuck you, Logan!
I am scared of losing them again, and it took the gruff mountain man to put it into words. Their dead bodies still haunt my nightmares, and that trauma doesn't really allow me to get close to anyone else. I don't want to get close to them and then watch them die all over again.
Slowly, I nod, my shoulders sinking. "Yeah. Fine, I'm scared."
The three men exchange looks. Sighing, Professor x wheeled over to me, taking my hand in his weathered one. "My child, a Chinese philosopher by the name of Laozi once said that there is no illusion greater than fear. I cannot guarantee that your life will be any easier if you come with us and tell your parents who you are. But if you don't, then won't you always regret not taking the second chance?"
I swallow. "What happened to my parents not being ready for a life-changing thing like having a kid?" I ask. My voice sounds weak in my own ears. What's worse is that my words crack. My throat burns with suppressed tears that I try very hard to keep my tears at bay. Then the Professor is wiping away a tear from my cheek with his thumb. My face gets hot.
"I guess I'm joining you guys then. As Rachel Summers."
To Be Continued...
Author Notes: Ahh! Get ready for the big reveal next chapter!
