In The Heat
An X-men: Evolution fanfic by Lavender Gaia
Editing and Assistance by Laine
Chapter Fourteen: Aftershock
Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evolution, any of its characters or Rachel Summers. They are all property of Marvel.
When Rachel Summers woke up the next morning she sat for a minute, trying to remember when she had gone to bed. Slowly glancing around her room, her gaze fell on her mirror. Or rather, what was in her mirror.
Pictures of her mother sat there, smiling happily and last night came crashing down around her. "My mom is dead," she whispered. Her body quivered with the realization.
Hands clutching the bedspread desperately, she pulled her knees up to her chest, forehead resting on them. Salty tears dripped down into the fabric. The pain gripped her chest, forcing out sobs of desperation.
She didn't realize that she wasn't alone until strong arms wrapped around her shaking shoulders. "C'mere, kid," Logan's rough voice pulled her closer. He stroked her hair as she cried against his chest.
"Oh, Uncle Logan. It hurts so much…" she clung to him, using his muscular body as a wall to reality. "Mom…"
"I know," he whispered. "I know." He held her like that for more than an hour, until the tears ran dry. "Feeling better?"
Rachel pulled away slowly and gave him a look. "Uncle Logan, my mom just died."
He nodded in understanding, then moved to her closet, tossing her a t-shirt and pair of jean shorts. "Alright then. Get up, get dressed, meet me downstairs. Your grandparents are going to be here soon; don't wanna make a bad impression, do you?"
"My grandparents?" The redhead blinked in surprise before realizing that they were probably here to plan the funeral. Even in her mind, the word left a whole in the pit of her stomach.
Wolverine patted her head before leaving, closing the door behind him. Rachel forced herself out of bed, pulling on the clothes Logan had pulled out for her. It felt wrong to wear a bright green shirt but she didn't have the energy to find something else. Lethargically running a brush through her hair, the mirror image of depression stared back at her.
There was a knock on her door. "Ready, kid?"
"One second," she replied, taking the sheet off her bed and tossing it over the mirror before opening the door. "I feel like crap."
He nodded, then led her downstairs to the kitchen. There were very few people there late in the morning but the quiet was unsettling, especially since it went silent as soon as she walked into the room. "Morning," she told everyone softly.
There was a variety of equally soft greetings, followed by a hug from Ororo. "Come sit, dear. I saved you some French toast."
Rachel sat down, staring at the unappetizing food. "Thanks."
"Eat," Logan ordered, handing her a fork and knife. She glared at him, but set to work cutting the bread anyway. Under his steady gaze she ate small pieces smothered in syrup, drowning them with milk.
She couldn't help but smile when Kitty walked through the wall absentmindedly. "Hey, Pryde, it's called a door."
"Huh?" The brunette blinked. "Oh, sorry." She plopped down on the chair next to Rachel's, resting her head on the redhead's shoulder. "This is going to sound stupid, but how are you doing?"
"I'm still here, aren't I?" Rachel rested her head on top of Kitty's as the older girl rubbed her hand soothingly.
Hank McCoy stuck his head into the kitchen. "Ah, there you are. Rachel, Professor Xavier wishes to see you in his office."
She nodded, standing up. Kitty grabbed her dishes, "I got these. You go do what you have to do." Rachel smiled her thanks, and followed the doctor out into the hallway, Wolverine right behind her.
"Are you going to follow me around all day?" She asked him.
"If I have to."
Rachel rolled her eyes. The trio entered Xavier's office where he was sitting behind the desk, talking to her father and an older woman and gentleman who she supposed were her grandparents.
"Ah, Rachel, excellent. Elaine, John, may I introduce you to Rachel Summers, your granddaughter," the professor announced. The two had obviously been prepared for this moment, but she knew that they were shocked at how much she looked like their daughter.
Mrs. Grey hugged her slowly and Rachel relaxed into the familiarity. "It's good to see you, dear," her grandmother phrased carefully, moving so that her husband could have his turn.
After he hugged his granddaughter, Jonathan Grey said, "Well, Scott, you're welcome to come with us to pick out a coffin." It was hard for him to say the words, and it didn't help when Rachel stared at them in horror, shouting, "No!"
"Rachel…" Her father began.
"That's not what she wants…wanted. She wanted to be cremated."
The Grey's exchanged a look. Elaine nodded. "I…If you're sure. I suppose we could do that."
"The name of the store I gave you also sells urns," Xavier explained, trying to be helpful.
"Of course. Well, we should get going. Scott, are you coming?" Mr. Grey put an arm around his wife.
Scott looked at his daughter, then shook his head. "No, but allow me to walk you out. Excuse me a moment, Professor." He left with the Greys and Rachel settled on one of the couches, knowing that he'd want to talk to her.
Indeed he did. "Dear, how did you know that Jean wanted to be cremated?"
"It was in her will," she shrugged.
The teachers exchanged a look before Hank said slowly, "But Jean didn't write a will."
"Oh, well, maybe not in this reality, but where I'm from she had a will. And that will said that she didn't want her body stuck in the ground," she pulled her legs up to her chest. "I figured it would be the same here."
"You're most likely correct," Xavier nodded. "So you've seen your parents wills?"
"Well, that's generally what happens after people die, isn't it?" she snapped, then realized what she had said. "Oh, shit."
Logan walked over, tilting her chin up so she had to look at him. "Little Red, are you trying to tell me that your parents are dead?"
Beast sighed. "But when you came, you told us that you missed them…Though now that I think of it, I suppose it makes sense that you'd miss them if they weren't alive anymore."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Wolverine asked angrily, arms crossed over his chest.
"It's not exactly an open topic for conversation is it! I can't just come out and say, 'Oh, by the way, my parents are dead.' And it's not exactly like I wanted to talk about it, anyway. But I don't really have a choice now, do I?" Rachel looked over at the Professor, who just sat at his desk staring back. She sighed. "Fine. Ok, well, my parents were X-men. And let me just tell you that from where I'm sitting, mutants here are treated a lot better than they were back home.
"The government had set up mutant concentration camps. Sentinels were everywhere and just being born a mutant was an open death wish. Mom and Dad worked really hard to fight for mutant rights. We lived in a house in Westchester, so whenever they had to go off on a mission, Uncle Alex stayed with me.
"One day, I came home from school and I knew they were supposed to be there and no one answered when I called out. So I went upstairs to their room and there they were. On the floor. Shot to death. There was blood everywhere. I…I don't really know what was going through my mind at that moment. The only thing I could think of doing was to clean up. I just got on my hands and knees with a bucket of bleach and just scrubbed it until my hands were bleeding. It was only then that I realized that my parents were dead."
She didn't need to look up at the men in the room to know that they were staring at her in shock. "We later found out by viewing the security cameras in the house that the government had ordered my parents death because they thought they were a threat to national security. They didn't even try to defend themselves with their powers. The assassins didn't give them a chance before shooting them until they were sure they were dead. I mean…how does someone get over the knowledge that the government killed my parents? Mercilessly slew them, leaving their only daughter an orphan? I just…I…"
Rachel began to cry again, the memories from that day overwhelming her. Scott, who had returned, sat next to her and pulled his daughter into his lap. "You still have me, Honey…"
Nodding, she snuggled closer to her father. They were all they had left anymore, and they'd have to take care of each other.
The funeral went as well as funerals tended to go. Scott and Rachel sat in the front row with Mr. and Mrs. Grey, along with Jean's sister Sara. Although she was sure that everyone said nice things about her mother, she honestly wasn't paying attention.
The Greys had paid for a hall to hold the reception at afterwards, giving everyone a chance to get together and talk about Jean without taking over the mansion. Within fifteen minutes of everyone arriving, she'd found a secluded window seat in the back of the room.
That was where her father found her. "Hey, sweetie, what are you doing back here?"
"Five people thought I was cousin Cindy. Three people think I'm 'Karen's nice daughter, oh what was her name again?' Someone even thought my name was Madelyne. And if they don't think I'm some obscure family member, then they stare at me like I'm Mom's corpse that just left the ground," she explained, scowling. "I think I'm ok right where I am."
He sighed. "I'm sorry. But that doesn't mean you have to sit back here."
"I don't know what to say to these people, Dad. It's not like I can come out and tell them that I'm Jean's daughter from another dimension."
Scott nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Well, do you want me to sit here with you?"
"We've got that covered," Kitty said from behind him, followed by Rogue, Amara and Tabitha. "Move your feet," she ordered Rachel, handing her a can of soda and a plate of food before sitting where her feet had been on the window seat.
The rest of the girls settled on the carpeted floor. "We'll take care of her," Amara promised, reaching up and patting her leg.
"Yeah, especially since once everyone finds out you're Jean's boyfriend they're going to want to talk to you," Rogue pointed out. "Might as well get it over with."
He nodded and leaned over to kiss Rachel's forehead. "Alright. I'll see you girls later."
For the next two hours, the girls talked about everything except Jean. It was a painful subject and they could tell that Rachel was hurting enough without them talking about it. Two of her family members were going out to the parking lot behind them and did a double take at the other redhead, before whispering together and leaving quickly. "I wish people would stop doing that," she muttered.
"That must be annoying." Tabitha wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Tell me about it. Everyone's been staring at me. Especially that guy over there," she pointed to a teenage boy over on the other side of the room.
Kitty's jaw dropped. "Like, oh my god. That's Duncan and Taryn. Jean's ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend."
"Wow." Rogue blinked. "It looks like they cared more than we thought."
"Why are you so surprised?" Rachel wondered softly. "Everyone loved my mother."
Amara didn't like that speaking in past tense was getting easy. "We do love Jean. We always will."
Later that night, Rachel was lying on the roof, letting the breeze flow over her body. It was a clear night, the almost full moon shining in the sky above. "Hey," Kitty smiled as she phased through the roof, before sitting next to her. "Penny for your thoughts?"
"Just thinking about my mom. You know, I've always wanted to be like her." She smiled lightly. "I mean, Mom was always so beautiful and smart and she knew how to stand up for what she believed in. If there was ever anything close to perfect, it was her."
"You keep saying was…I mean, I know Jean here died, but…"
Rachel stared off at the horizon. "My parents back home are dead too." Taking a deep breath, she bitterly relayed the story to Kitty.
"Oh, Ray, that's horrible," she hugged her friend tightly. "I can't believe anyone could do something like that."
"I know," she whispered, snuggling closer to Kitty. "I feel kind of lost without her."
"Understandably so." Kitty rubbed the younger girl's back.
They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, just listening to the wind and the birds around them. "If I tell you something, do you promise not to get freaked out?" Rachel asked quietly.
The brunette sat for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, go ahead."
"I have this strange feeling about something. Ever since that day after she…you know. I keep thinking that she's not really dead," she bit her bottom lip uncertainly.
"Ray…We saw her die. She was cremated."
A few stray tears leaked out as she squeezed her eyes shut. "I know, Pryde. But I also know the feeling of not having my mom anymore and this isn't it. She's gone, but not forever."
Before Kitty could say anything, they heard a car door slam. The girls peeked over the edge of the roof. "Is that your grandparents?"
"I don't think my grandparents drive a Mercedes convertible." They squinted as someone got out of the drivers seat and walked inside, but neither of them could see the driver. "Oh, well, we'll see who it is tomorrow." They leaned back on the roof again.
About ten minutes later, Kitty sat up. "Oh, man, the Professor's calling. I'll see you later, Ray." Waving goodbye, she slid back in through the roof heading inside.
Rachel began drifting the sleep after a while and figured that she'd probably better go inside before her father started getting worried. She flew down to her bedroom and the first thing she noticed was that someone had removed the sheet that had been over her mirror for the past few days. There was a post it note on the surface that read, "Don't even think about it, kid. –L"
She was forced to face herself in the reflection and now she understood everyone's shock at looking at her. The resemblance to her late mother was enough to turn her own stomach. Eyeing a pair of scissors on her dresser, she announced, "Screw it," and took them to the bathroom.
After soaking her hair in the shower, she stood in front of the bathroom mirror and began hacking off her red locks. When she'd finished, the end result was enjoyable. It hung to about her chin in razored layers. She shook her head, sending pieces of hair all over the bathroom. "If I'm gonna be tough about this, I've gotta have a tough haircut to go with it."
"Rachel, you in there?" Rogue knocked on the bathroom door.
She opened it slowly, watching both Rogue and Kitty's eyes widen at the new look. "You don't like it?"
"I think it looks cool," the southerner said with an approving smile.
Kitty nodded, scrutinizing the cut. "It's nice. A little uneven here and there. And you missed a spot…"
Rachel rolled her eyes and handed over the scissors. "Fix it."
"Oh, thank god!" She grabbed Rachel's wrist and dragged her over to the shower, starting the water again. "Rogue, go get me my special bag. We have work to do."
For the next hour, Kitty worked on her hair, fixing the length and adding enough mousse and gel to make it hard as a rock, though somehow it wasn't. For the first time in days she was enjoying herself. They should have known it wouldn't last.
A/N: I'm so sorry that it took me so long to get this out. My computer died the day after I posted chapter 13, and I had to wait to buy a new computer and update everything else on my list before I could get to this. On top of that I've had PSATs, midterms and other school related stuff to deal with.
This chapter wasn't as long as I wanted it to be, but it is more of a transitional chapter. Plus, I had a fever when I was writing it, so please keep that in mind.
Who is the mysterious stranger? What is the Professor planning? Why does Rachel feel so uneasy? You'll probably find out next chapter.
Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.
Review Responses:
DOJ: Yes, I hate having to write the depressing stuff. Well, actually, it was kind of fun finally getting to it, but at least you thought it was fantastic. Thanks.
Jott4ever: Well, your question was pretty much answered in this chapter. Sorry.
Whylime: No, this is certainly not the end! I'm not evil enough to end it there. There'll be plenty more.
Wen1: I'm glad you liked it, sorry for the slow update.
Sweetmidnight: Oh, yes…and this is just the beginning.
Amazing redd phoenix: I'm very happy that you liked the Phoenix scene. It's something I've had planned for a long time and I'm glad that people enjoyed it.
Slickboy444: I'm sorry that the last few chapters had been confusing; it's obviously easier for me to understand it since I'm the one writing it, but I've been doing my best to make this as original as possible and not a direct copy from the Phoenix Saga.
Strayphoenix: Should I take that as you like it? Or that it made you horribly sad. If so, I'm sorry. :hugs:
Rogue14: Yes, well, I guess it is an evil cliffhanger. I hope you enjoyed it anyway.
Lamarquise: Thank you very much.
Diaz F.: Sorry, wasn't my idea. Blame the 70s editor of Uncanny X-men.
Reddfire: That's not the end, I promise. Here's the next chapter.
Telepathic Angel: Thank you so much. Sorry for the wait of the chapter, but it's done!
