Aftermath: Healing Process
It had almost been 5 years since Sophia's devastating death. Her case is close to being dropped there are no leads, not even a clue to who could have done this, according to police. The entire Commers family has almost been completely terminated in the United States. The only members left in the family are Janine, Delilah Preston and Kate. No one else.
During those six years, Hank had to fathom the concept of death very carefully. It is a fact that he has killed things in his life, especially in the war against Magneto and the Brotherhood. But he carefully handled this death; someone who he truly loved; his other half; someone that gave him his beautiful daughter Janine, who is almost six years of age. He often thought of how things would be if Sophia would be here with him and Janine, how it would be if Janine would have met her mother, would have been able to say her first words with her; what it had been like if she were to witness Janine's first Christmas or Thanksgiving.
" I just want to give Janine everything that I didn't have which is everything. I just want to give her the love and compassion I never got from my mother." -Sophia
Those words constantly ran through his mind, keeping him awake every night for weeks. He would walk pass Janine's room and see his beloved Sophia living through his daughter, it almost made him somewhat believe that she was still with him in spirit. The words that hurt him the most during his recuperation were the words that came from Janine's mouth:
" Daddy, what happened to the blue woman when I was an infant?"
Janine had vaguely remembered her mother from her highly intelligent observations as a baby considering that she is a mutant. What was he supposed to tell her? That she died in a horrible explosion? That she was her mother? He wanted her to know the truth, but not also break her heart. She was a child: his child. He would do anything to protect her and he would be damned to fail at protecting her like he did Sophia. Hank sometimes blamed himself for what happened to Sophia. He should have listened to her. But he didn't. He always wished he had another chance; to undo the mistake that he had done before.
Hank hadn't visited the rubble of the explosion for five years. He did not want to relive the horror. The Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters has been relocated and all the children and staff are safe. Storm and Logan would call and check up on him from time to time. They would also check up on Janine, how she was handling school and all.
As a substitute as a mother figure, Hank hired a nanny, named Antoinette or Toni, to nurture and care for her. They have a bond, but not like a mother and daughter; the memories of her birth mother blocked those kinds of feelings being exchanged between them. Janine would still crawl into Daddy's big bed and snuggle up to him in her pink pajamas when she was afraid in her room.
Did Hank ever try to date other women? No, he was afraid of getting hurt again. He would think to himself," No... not again."