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(Background information: In the final arc of X-Treme X-Men, Rachel Summers has been freed from the Elias Bogan, a Hellfire Club ally, who has been using her to attack the X-Men. Rachel had last been seen in Cable, where she had dropped out of life as a superhero to go to college. When Cable distrupted his future, Rachel was thrown into the timestream and ended up at the End of Time, a prison for a tyrant named Gaunt. After escaping with the help of her brother, Cable, she returned to the present day and found that everything in her life had changed. Excalibur had disbanded and Kitty had left the X-Men, Scott was dead, and she had lived another life she barely remembered, where she had created one of the X-Men's greatest foes, Stryfe. Unable to cope with all this information, Rachel went off to college, trying to live a normal life, but was soon captured by Bogan. )
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In Valle Soleada, Storm's team of X-Men's leisure time came to an abrupt end following a news report about the death and destruction caused by Magneto(Xorn)'s attack on New York City. Skyscrapers were twisted into Magneto's vision of utopia. Millions of human citizens were homeless. And Jean Grey-Summers was dead.
Those gathered at Rogue's home began to mobilize, soon joined by their neighbors who had seen the news reports and wanted to join the relief efforts. The mood of shock, horror and disbelieve in the room was beginning to disappear as everyone got to their feet and got to work. Doing something - anything- felt better than helplessly sitting and watching the devastation unfold on television.
But the moment of relief quickly dissipated. The hurried chatter and planning was immediately silenced by Ororo calling out one name, "Rachel!"
They all turned to see Rachel and Kitty, shopping bags in hand, silhouetted in the doorway. Rachel's attention was focused on the television, where a reporter was discussing airport delays on the East Coast with footage of the devastation playing in an upper corner of the screen.
"What happened?" Kitty questioned, looking from all the stunned faces to the television.
Amara, the closest to them, tried to answer, but then turned to Ororo silently pleading for help. "Go into the kitchen, I'll explain," Ororo said, putting an arm around both of them as they passed by her, and following them into the kitchen.
Sam had tried to change the channel, but as he clicked through the stations trying to find one not showing the events in New York , a reporter saying "death of an X-Man" echoed through the house.
Rachel looked back at the television, getting a glimpse of the footage of Scott clutching Jean's body, tears streaming down his face, before Sam could quickly click away.
Ororo guided Rachel and Kitty into the kitchen. Sitting down at the table, she began to explain to them everything that they knew so far - what Magneto had done. Jean's death. Saying it aloud made it all that more real, and the pain of it all felt like a crushing blow to her heart. But, she stayed strong and kept the emotion out of her voice, knowing there was work to be done, and that she needed to be there for the others.
But Rachel's reaction surprised her. There were a few tears. A bit of crying. But Rachel didn't fall apart the way everyone expected when they saw her in the doorway.
Collecting herself, Rachel simply said to Ororo, "Nathan told me Scott was dead. When I got back from the end of time - everyone thought Scott was dead. But he wasn't. Jean isn't-"
Ororo interrupted, trying to be as sympathetic as possible, "That was a different situation. We saw what happened to Jean. We have to accept -"
"No," Rachel said, standing up. "She's not gone. She can't be."
Ororo extended her arm, trying to put a comforting hand on Rachel's shoulder. But Rachel brushed past her, heading to her room, then stopped and asked the room at large, "When are we leaving for New York ?"
Kitty entered the room she was sharing with Rachel, and found Rachel rummaging through the closet.
Rachel asked her, "You seen Rogue? I wonder if she has a uniform I could borrow?"
"Ray…" Kitty began to say, trying to figure out the right words to convince her friend of the truth.
"And I gotta check with Sam if he's found a phone number for Nathan yet." She started out in to the hallway, avoiding Kitty's gaze.
"Listen…" Kitty tried to continue, still searching for something to say.
"No, you listen," Rachel snapped back. "Nathan said no one believed that Scott was alive. Everyone else had given up on him. Written him off as dead. But Nathan and Jean kept up hope and they found him."
Kitty shook her head, and said gently, "There's a body, Ray. This isn't a mystical death. There is a body. There's nothing to find."
Rachel started down the hallway again. "She's the Phoenix. She'll always rise again."
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The relief effort was beginning to get underway when Rachel and Kitty joined them outside Rogue's home, in uniform and ready to go to New York. 'Berto was in his element, coordinating groups and supplies that Lila Cheney was teleporting to New York City.
Seeing Kitty and Rachel approaching the next group being gathered for teleportation, Ororo pulled them aside. "I'd like both of you to go to Westchester and help at the Institute."
Rachel began to argue, thinking that her telekinesis would be of a bigger help in Manhattan repairing building than in the burned out wreckage of the mansion. But Ororo wanted both of them out of the bedlam happening in New York. Both had been out of action for far too long and had already seen enough.
Besides, the other X-Men had not been told that Rachel was alive and Ororo wanted to keep it quiet for a bit longer.
Kitty and Rachel, along with Remy, Sam and Bishop headed to the Xavier Institute to help get things running there again. Kitty was assigned to get the power generators well below ground restored, and Rachel went along with her. At least, that kept Rachel out of sight. Although, the mansion was pretty much deserted.
A few hours later, Kitty returned to the sub-basement power station room where she and Rachel had been working, carrying two sandwiches. "Remy and Lucas fixed the kitchen," Kitty told her, handing a plate with a sandwich over to Rachel.
Hesitantly, Kitty added, "And Remy said Jean's body is being transported to Salem Center for burial. They think she'll be laid to rest here, not in Annandale-on-Hudson."
Rachel just nodded and kept eating her sandwich.
Kitty didn't want to force the issue, so she changed the subject. "Scott's going to be here tonight," Kitty continued. "Do you want to see him?"
"Yeah," Rachel replied softly.
"He's not going to be mad at you - for what you did as Bogan's puppet," Kitty told her. "That wasn't your fault."
Rachel shook her head. "It doesn't feel like it."
"Ray…"
But Rachel kept arguing. "I was the one who was stupid enough to be out in the open, at college, not using my powers. I was a sitting duck for someone like Bogan."
"C'mon," Kitty replied, "I quit too. I left the X-Men and went to college. I get it. Sometimes you need to get away from all of his, and find yourself…. You can't be an X-Man all the time. Some times you want to be normal… like everyone else."
"But we aren't like everyone else, Kitty," Rachel sighed. "We can't pretend we can live normal lives. Look at what Bogan made me do because I was selfish and thought I could go off and be 'normal'".
"We all deserve time off," Kitty tried to tell her.
Shaking her head, Rachel sighed, "We don't have time." She paused, continuing to eat her sandwich, then said, finally getting something off her chest that had been bothering her all day, "I didn't want Jean to know I was back because she was so upset about Scott's death. I didn't want to burden her with something else so soon… But if I had told her, if I had come back… Maybe things would have been different."
"You don't know that," Kitty replied.
Tears began to build in Rachel's eyes. "But at least I would have had some time with Jean before she…" Rachel's voice trailed off. She couldn't say the word.
Kitty hugged her and said, "I'm still pissed at Cable for not telling anyone you were missing."
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Later that evening, Scott returned with a handful of his team - Hank, .Logan, Emma and the Stepford Cuckoos, to what was left of the complex under the Xavier Institute. They found Ororo and some of her team - Remy, Rogue, Dani and Sam - gathered in a makeshift living room with a few chairs and a television.
Scott and his team looked the worse for wear, tired and exhausted and in desperate need of showers.
Those from California gave Scott their condolences. Embraced him. Tried to extend some sort of comfort. But he was beyond their help. He seemed completely numb inside. Nearly frozen. It was as if when the life left Jean, it left him as well.
Kitty came into the room, asking, "Sam, do you know where an arc welder is?" She stopped, seeing Scott and the others had finally gotten back.
"I didn't expect to see you here," Scott told her.
Kitty hugged him. "I'm so sorry. If there's anything I can do…"
"You back for good, kid?" Logan asked from across the room.
"No," Kitty replied, with a sideward glance to Ororo. "Just after everything that happened, I thought I was needed here." Kitty sat down on a folding chair next to Ororo, uncertain if she should remain.
No one knew what to say. There were a few failed attempts to start conversations - to get everyone's minds off of what was happening - which didn't work until Hank turned to the usual topic - X-Business.
Hank said to Ororo, "Sage told me that you had figured out who the telepath Elias Bogan was using to attack us?"
All eyes turned to Ororo. Speculation had been that the telepath was Psylocke - that she was somehow alive or Bogan had resurrected her. So who the telepath was that had such an intimate knowledge of the X-Men was of the utmost interest.
"Yes," Ororo responded calmly. "Bogan has been stopped and the telepath freed."
"The telepath?" Hank prompted.
Ororo replied, "We can discuss that matter at a better time."
Kitty glanced over to Ororo, then back over to Scott. While Ororo might have wanted to avoid Scott meeting Rachel while Rachel was still in denial over Jean's death, Kitty would have preferred to get the reunion out of the way. Rachel always had waited for a better time when dealing with Jean and Scott - and never was able to find it. They might as well have gotten it over with.
The topic of conversation changed to Jean's funeral. Ororo offered to help with the planning, and to meet with Jean's parents, who had taken the news of Jean's death badly. John Grey had hung up the phone on Scott, and Elaine Grey had later told them that they didn't want to talk to him. Scott stayed silent, sitting off to the side, seeming to barely be aware of what was happening around him.
Dani started gathering the list of those that needed to be informed of the funeral arrangements, and Kitty had her opportunity to ask about Nathan for Rachel.
"What about Cable? Anyone called him? Does he even know?"
"Cable dropped off the map a while ago," Hank replied.
"Ah called Irene Merryweather," Sam added, "She thinks he's okay, but doesn't know how to contact him."
"What the heck is he doing that's so important?" Kitty asked, venting her frustration.
"That's just Cable for ya," Rogue replied, trying to cover the awkwardness of Kitty's concern about Nathan.
Hank continued on with the previous discussion, asking out loud if the students should be invited to the funeral, or if they wanted to keep it small and just the X-Men and close family.
Out of nowhere, Scott questioned, "Where is she, Kitty?"
"What?"
"Is she okay?" When no one responded and Kitty just sat there with a shocked look on her face, he continued, "Jean thought she felt Rachel was back. She said Nathan was hiding something."
"I'll go get her."
Returning to the dank sub-basement where Rachel was still working on getting the main generator online, Kitty tentatively entered and called, "Rachel? Everyone's upstairs. Maybe you should-"
"Did you find the arc welder?"
Kitty sighed, "C'mon, Scott knows you're here. No arguments - just come, alright?" Rachel merely nodded, and Kitty took her arm and phased her upstairs.
Kitty walked back into the makeshift living room practically unnoticed since, in her short absence, more of the X-Men had returned- including Bobby, Warren, Alex, and Lorna. The room was now crowded and noisy, with several loud disagreements underway about Magneto and Xorn and Bobby trying to shout above the din about ordering pizza.
Rachel hesitantly stood in the hallway looking into the room, not sure what to do in all the commotion. She was barely recognizable from her former self, extremely thin and nearly emaciated with her red hair shaved almost completely to her scalp. But Scott immediately spotted her, and quietly made his way over to the doorway.
"Hey," he said softly, seeing the apprehension on her face. "You okay?"
She nodded faintly, but words failed her. It was almost unbelievable for her seeing Scott alive. Through the haze during her imprisonment by Bogan she had seen him, but that had seemed like a dream. But now with Jean gone, any joy was replaced with emptiness and grief. There was nothing she could say that could express the hurt and pain.
"Yeah... I know," Scott replied, wrapping his arm around her. He might not have had telepathic abilities, but there was an understanding between them. "It's good to have you back."
Scott and Rachel walked into the living room. While arguments continued across the room about Magneto and Xorn, there was a quiet muttering of those who had been part of Rachel's rescue from Bogan filling in the others as to what had happened.
Rachel sat down next to Scott, immediately noticing Emma staring directly towards her.
"What's Emma Frost doing here?" she quietly questioned Scott.
"She's an X-Man," Scott told her, and wanting to avoid any hostilities, added, "She's reformed. She's one of us now."
Rachel wanted to argue, since Emma's glare seemed anything but friendly, but Logan came over to her, gave her a hug and asked how she was doing.
Over the next hour, everyone began to go their separate ways. Logan, Alex, Bobby and Remy went out to find a bar that was still open. Others decided to turn in for the night, and headed for the makeshift sleeping quarters, including Rachel who was still weak from her months of imprisonment.
Remaining in the living room were Scott, Emma, Hank and Ororo. Scott knew Emma had something on her mind, and as soon as Kitty and Rachel left to go to bed, Emma started on Rachel.
"Do we know if she is free from Bogan's control?" Emma questioned.
Ororo nodded. "Rachel has shown no signs of still being under Bogan's influence, and all signs indicate he is dead."
"Never underestimate Elias Bogan and his ability to survive," Emma replied. "And Rachel seems far too susceptible to mind control. That was one of the reasons the Hellfire Club has targeted her so often. Based on what Rogue told me - now she has been captured and used against her will twice in the course of a year. The girl is dangerous, and her reappearance at this time seems suspicious."
"Is that true, Ororo?" Hank questioned. "A mutant with Rachel's abilities and an impaired mental state…?"
She shook her head. "You can evaluate Rachel yourself, but all signs indicate her captivity in the previous year was due to unforeseeable events, and perhaps some naivety on her part that she could go unnoticed by her enemies once she did return."
"I suppose we should look at what other consequences our actions have to the future," Hank added. "I never would have thought that when Cable defeated Apocalypse, that would have impacted Rachel thousands of years in the future."
"So, does that mean none of that happen?" Scott asked. "The nearly a hundred years she spent in the Askani future? The ten years Rachel spent with Jean, Nathan and me?"
Ororo replied, "With timelines and time travel, it is complicated. But she did say she has some memories of her time in the future, but of what I do not know."
Scott was lost in thought, and muttered, "We were a family… Rachel brought us together… Without what she did there - then - Nathan would have died."
Emma interrupted Scott's rambling, "Considering the damage Rachel was able to do while controlled by Bogan, she needs to be-"
"No." Scott stated.
"You're not thinking this through rationally," Emma argued.
Scott shook his head. "This is her second chance. After everything she's been through, she's earned this."
"Rachel should not be trusted," Emma continue to argue, raising her voice to a level that could be heard from the adjacent temporary sleeping quarters.
Scott turned away, ignoring her, and saying to the others, "It's late." The others agreed, and Ororo and Hank stood, and walked out into the hallway to go to bed.
Rachel unable to sleep and hearing her name, arose from bed and cracked open the door so she could peer into the living room across the hallway where Scott and Emma remained.
She watched as Emma approached Scott, placed her hands on his chest, and leaned in to say something softly to him that Rachel couldn't hear.
"I know you mean well," Scott replied.
Emma slowly caressed his face with a long finger. "Jean's death, now this. There is only so much one can handle, my dear."
Rachel quickly ducked into the room as Scott and Emma came out into the hallway together. She slowly collapsed onto the floor as what she saw between them began to sink in.