Phoenix Endsong

• Writer - Greg Pak
• Penciler - Greg Land
• Inker - Matt Ryan
• Colorist - Justin Ponsor
• Lettering - Clem Robins
• Ass't Editor - Stephannie Moore
• Ass't Editor - Sean Ryan
• Editor - Mike Marts
• Editor in Chief - Joe Quesada

Summary

  As the sun rises, Scott is still apologizing to Emma for dreaming about Jean. She says his heart jumps every time he thinks of her; he says she was his wife, they never had a chance to say goodbye, and they had a "ridiculous, apocalyptic, mind-blowing drama" for years. He says she's a telepath and knows this already, and knows he chose her. She agrees but says she wanted to hear him say it; they embrace. She turns to diamond form and removes his glasses, saying she wants to see his whole face, and now he can't hurt her. He blasts her full-force, but she says he has beautiful eyes and kisses him. Scott says it's wrong; she's cold; she apologizes, saying in that form she can't feel it. He puts his glasses on and she reverts to human form and tries again.

  Emma enters Scott's mind, but he warns her she may not like what she sees. He sees himself without his glasses on kissing Jean (UXM 133), and blasting Dark Phoenix, and then looking at Emma without his glasses. She's only bothered that he sees her in diamond form and asks if he only loves her because she's hard, and he can't hurt her. Scot says no, by this time Jean would have blown a hole in the wall and flown away, but Emma stays around. She drives him crazy and pushes him places he doesn't want to go, she's good for him. They are about to kiss again, but Logan jumps onto the window sill and says, "She's back."

  The X-Men assemble around Jean's open grave. Warren wonders if it's a sick joke, but Logan says he saw her, and Hank sniffs the air and confirms she was there, alive. Warren asks what the plan is, and Scott says they find and destroy her. Kitty thinks that's too quick a reaction, but Scott says that it is not Jean, since their psychic rapport isn't there. Logan says she may just be protecting him, since the Phoenix force wants him and Jean's fighting it and tried to get him to kill her. Scott asks what happened to his clothes, and he says she blasted him, in her red and yellow uniform. Scott concludes: not Phoenix, but Dark Phoenix, and even Kitty is convinced.

  Scott sends Logan, Warren, and Emma to search by land, air, and telepathy, while putting out the word to X-Men everywhere, and he has Hank build a larger version of the headpiece he used to block her powers.

  Scott walks through the woods and sees a woman; in a split second he realizes it's not Jean but Emma, and he holds his fire. She says Ororo found a storm in the North Atlantic that feels wrong, but no sign of the Phoenix. Suddenly she points skyward and says, "There!", and Scott blasts Phoenix, pushing her into the cage Hank built.

  End simulation; Scott has Hank return to work on the real cage, while he stays there. Hank says you can't train for this situation, but Scott says he's not training but getting used to killing his wife.

  Alert: an Omega mutant in the mansion. Hank rushes to his lab in time to see Quire burst out of his glass tank; he's looking for Sophie. He reads Hank's mind but refuses to believe she's dead, and he freezes everyone in the school while he looks for her. The Cuckoos, her sisters, hide in a closet and try to empty their minds, but too late: Quire finds them. He realizes Sophie's not with them and really is dead; the explosion takes out a wall.

  Ororo approaches the storm, with Kurt following her in a flying car. She says the hurricane is moving wrong: clockwise in the northern hemisphere. Kurt calls in, but nobody's answering at the mansion.

  The Shi'ar detect Omega-level energy in New York, and the commander orders them to open fire, despite the counselor's protests that the Emergency Senate decree bans interference with Earth. The commander insists the empire is broken, and the Omega mutant could become a host for the Phoenix. Suddenly, the storm parts, and the Shi'ar ship comes face to face with Ororo.

  Quire flies to the cemetery; ‘Sophie: One of Five -- Heroine of Open Day." He raises her corpse.

  Warren warns Logan they've lost contact with the mansion, but he just runs toward a light in the woods: Jean.

  Quire apologizes to Sophie for all the blood, saying he just wanted her to like him, but then he realizes she's dead. He thought the Phoenix came for them, and he cries. Then he sees Jean's open grave and realizes it came for her. He picks up Sophie's corpse and goes to see what the Phoenix can do for them.