Appearing in "Ghosts"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- The Morlocks
- Callisto
- Unnamed members
Antagonists:
- The Hellfire Club
- Black Queen (Selene)
- Black Rook (Friedrich von Roehm)
- Black Queen (Jean Grey) (Only in flashback)
- Jason Wyngarde (Only in flashback)
- Black King (Sebastian Shaw) (Only in flashback)
- White Bishop (Donald Pierce) (Only in flashback)
- Black Bishop (Harry Leland) (Only in flashback)
Other Characters:
- Cyclops (Scott Summers) (Photo)
- Nick Damiano (Only in flashback)
- Various unnamed Morlocks
- Unnamed maid and butler to Friedrich von Roehm
Locations:
- New York
- New York City
- Manhattan
- The Alley
- Hellfire Club Mansion
- Spring St subway
- Monarch Towers
- Manhattan
- New York City
Synopsis for "Ghosts"
Rachel is in the ruins of New York City being attacked by Wolverine who seems to be out to kill her. As she flees from him she comes across a reflective surface and is shocked to see that her Phoenix costume has been replaced with her own Hound costume that she was forced to wear when the government of her future forced her to hunt for other mutants. Running across a poster listing the fate of many of the X-Men, Rachel recounts the nightmare world she came from and how she escaped to the past to try and find a happier life after the people of her future time destroyed everything. She now wonders if the whole thing was just a dream when Wolverine catches her and lands a fatal blow. Rachel wakes up screaming and realizes it was all a dream and that she is safe in a temporary bed in the Morlock tunnels.
When she looks in the mirror she sees that her telekinetic masking of her Hound scars has dropped and she lashes out, smashing the mirror with her mind. This brings Shadowcat and Colossus rushing into Rachel's room to see if she's okay. When they determine that it was an accident, Kitty warns Rachel to have more control over her powers in the future. Left alone, Rachel realizes that Kitty is right and attempts to use her abilities to fix the broken mirror but find that she can't.
Elsewhere in the Morlock tunnels, Wolverine, still recovering from recent injuries[1] wakes up and wonders why Rachel has been pulling him into her dreams. When he attempts to get out of bed he collapses on the floor and passes out. Rogue and Nightcrawler rush in to check on him and he sends Rogue to seek out Storm and Callisto so that they and see if the Healer can help Wolverine. After reporting to Storm, Rogue comes across Rachel and commends her for her Morlock-esque attire. When Rachel attempts to talk to Storm, she gets the cold shoulder. When she calls her on it, Rogue points out that the X-Men are still cross with her for taking their life forces to battle the Beyonder, some without their permission[2].
That night when Rachel is asleep again, she finds that she has pulled Wolverine into her dreams once more, this one about Japan. Wolverine, furious with her for stealing his life force while he slept explains that this linked the two of them together. Wolverine tracks her down and she begs him not to strike, reminding him that they are friends. Wolverine tells her that friends do not betray each others trust and strikes. Rachel wakes up in an alley, and begins to walk the streets noting how complacent people are and how ignorant they are to the fact of just how many times the X-Men have saved their lives. She fells asleep again and has another dream where she is once more in her Hound costume. This time she tears it off and when she is attacked by Wolverine she strikes him with what she thinks is a lethal psi-blast. She is woken up on the subway by a police officer. After she explains to him that she isn't on drugs and can look after herself, he offers to help her find a place to crash for the night and she flees instead. She comes out of the subway on Spring Street, where the ruins of the home owned by Nicholas Damiano was destroyed. The first night that she met the X-Men. She recalls how Damiano was killed by Selene, then vying to become the new Black Queen of the Hellfire Club[3]. Try as she might however, Rachel cannot remember the name of the man. Remembering how the woman so callously killed a man who was just trying to help her out, Rachel decides to go and settle the score.
While back down in the Morlock tunnels, the other X-Men realize that both Wolverine and Rachel are missing and head to the surface to look for them. Later, at Monarch Towers, Phoenix pays a visit to Friedrich von Roehm, the aid to Selene and uses her mental powers to take control of him. She forces him to bring her to the Hellfire Club where she appropriates a maid costume so that she can get into Selene's chambers. There she unleashes her full power on the woman, demanding that she pay penance for the man who she slew. Although Rachel can easily over power the new Black Queen, she is shocked when Selene actually can remember Damiano's name and points out to Rachel that the man must have meant less to her as she cannot. Before she can execute Selene she is interrupted by Wolverine who has managed to walk right into the Hellfire Club and confront her.
Wolverine tells her that he has come to take her home, however she refuses to go without killing Selene. Wolverine points out that what Rachel is about to do is murder, and being part of the X-Men, that is against the rules. He points out that while they have both killed in their lives, the fact that they are X-Men means that they have to stand for something better. When Rachel refuses to stand down she tells Logan that the only thing that will stop her from slaying Selene would be if Wolverine where to kill her. As they debate, Logan gets close enough and the last sound Rachel hears is the trademark SNIKT of Wolverine extracting his claws.
This story is continued next issue...
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in Essential X-Men #6 and will be reprinted in the trade X-Men: Ghosts.
See Also
Links and References
Template:UXM Links
- The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators - accessed on 09/07/2009
- The Official Marvel Index to the X-Men (Vol. 2) #4 - See for further referencing