issue summaries

Uncanny X-Men 469 Wand’ring Star Part 1 of 3 Writer: Chris Claremont Penciler: Billy Tan Inker: Jon Sibal Colorist: Brian Haberlin & Avalon ( Letterer: Joe Caramagna Assist. Editor: Sean Ryan Assoc. Editor: Nick Lowe Editor: Mike Marts Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Date: April 2006

A short time after the previous issue, Rachel awakes up in her room at the Xavier Institute, thinking about the moment when you wake up and can't quite tell what’s a dream and what’s reality. The difference is her dreams have happy endings. She opens a curtain to a window and sees a Sentinel starring back at her.

She recaps that for her entire life, the Sentinels have been a threat to all mutants and were designed to kill them. Now the government has sent the Sentinels to protect mutants and have them stationed all around the school, watching the mutants’ every move. Rachel isn't sure if she can trust them.

Rachel gets undressed and takes a shower.

Inside one of the Sentinels, the pilot begins scanning Rachel as she showers. Inside the O*N*E (Office of National Emergency) command center at the Institute, the O*N*E crew watches on monitors the feed from surveillance cameras showing Rachel showering. One comments that he wants to look at the archived data showing how Rachel’s powers stack up to Xavier’s or Jean’s, but another comments that he doesn't mind what they have.

Col Reyes interrupts, yelling at them that they are soldiers, not voyeurs. Stanley, the main on gawking at a naked Rachel, claims they are trying to establish a baseline on Rachel but can't get a scan-lock.

Reyes tells him to keep the feed of Rachel showering off the main screens since Dr. Valerie Cooper (O*N*E’s assistant director) will be upset if she sees it, and to not make any copies.

In astral form, Rachel watches on and sniggers, knowing that Reyes won't stop it.

Suddenly, they loose all of their feeds and a cowboy appears on their screens. He calls himself Bean and tells them about the state of the world for mutants following M-Day. Depowered mutants are being attacked by mobs around the world.

Val Cooper comes in, asking what is going on. Reyes explains that it's a pirate feed.

Bean continues that mutants use to depend on the X-Men to save the day, but they haven't been active since M-Day and he questions if they even still exist.

Val yells at the O*N*E staff to stop violating young lady's privacy and find the hacker responsible for Bean.

In the carriage house, Bishop is listening to Bean's broadcast while cooking when Storm calls. She is still in Africa and just heard about the Grey family. She asks if Rachel is all right. Bishops tells her that Rachel is a tough kid. Ororo wants to come home, but Bishops tells her she is better off as a free agent since the X-Men are boxed in at the Institute.

Ororo says it must be a nightmare for Rachel since she grew up imprisoned by Sentinels. Bishop replies that it's a nightmare for all of them.

As Ororo is telling him about the problems facing depowered mutants in Africa, Bishop hears the Sentinels moving.

In Husk's (Paige Guthrie) room, she is surrounded by O*N*E soldiers in riot gear and she punches one of them. They give her a warning to stand down, then fire gas at her that causes her to revert to her human form.

Outside of Paige's room, a Sentinel stand guard. Cannonball (Sam Guthrie) flies at it, telling it to stay away from his sister. It traps him with a force field.

Bishop tells Sam that the show is over. He tries to explain that O*N*E was just trying to investigate the Bean broadcast and suspected Husk. Sam questions if they have any right anymore. Bishop replies that like it or not, they have to play by the new rules.

In the medical lab, Rachel lays on her stomach while Beast (Dr. Hank McCoy) examines the deathmark the Shi'ar Death Commandos placed on her back in Uncanny X-Men 468.

Hearing the noise outside, she asks what the ruckus is. Hank replies that you don't hear the word ruckus very often anymore and then explains that O*N*E suspects Paige is behind Bean.

Rachel comments that O*N*E couldn't just asks for Paige's help, and Hank tells her that this is an adjustment period for all of them.

She sits up and asks what he found out about the brand. Hank replies that it is more than just a tattoo, but it etched into her genome. He can't remove it.

She gets dressed and Kurt and Betsy are waiting for her. Kurt asks her how it's possible that her genome is so malleable that she can turn into an evolved dinosaur, yet she can't erase the deathmark.

Rachel shrugs and says she tried, but guess she has limits. She hugs both of them and thanks them for helping her against the Shi'ar. Kurt tells her if she needs to talk, but she cuts him off saying, she knows that she has him, Betsy, Kitty and Hank. They are the next best thing to a family.

Rachel leaves and Betsy asks Kurt if he believes what Rachel said about the Deathmark. Kurt replies that the Shi'ar murdered her entire family and as long as she had that mark, they will find her. Betsy wonders if that's exactly what Rachel wants.

Next Rachel meets with a psychiatrist named Leonard Samson, who specializes in post-traumatic stress. He's previously worked with Bruce Banner (aka the Hulk) so he has some experience dealing similar situations. She notices a camera on the wall and Leonard explains that he tapes his session. He turns it off and says their conversation will remain confidential, but Rachel doesn't trust that it will. She's familiar with more sophisticated tech and knows that O*N*E is listening to everything she says.

Afterwards, Leonard rages at Val Cooper and Col Reyes that they had his session under surveillance, which jeopardized his ability to do his job. All Reyes will say is that it's classified.

Val asks to speak to Leonard in private. Once Reyes is gone, he asks for Leonard's assessment of Rachel. From one bogus session, he can't tell from much. He describes Rachel as a young woman who has seen her mother and entire family killed in the course of weeks and now lives with a death sentence, and has to deal with the effects of M-Day. He thinks if she has inherited anything like her mother’s powers, it’s a recipe for disaster.

Val comments that Rachel seems okay. Leonard argues that she is functional, but so is Bruce Banner until he gets angry. Val asks if the X-Men can help her, but Leonard calls them damaged goods. They've lost friends, their mentor and their world has been turned upside down with the school turned into a mutant ghetto surrounded by Sentinels. He thinks Rachel needs to see a mental health professional away from the school where she can relax. But Val won't permit it for national security reasons.

Sam and Paige drive a jeep full of supplies to the mutant refugee camp, and complain about what is going on. O*N*E confiscated all of Paige’s computers, which contained her personal emails and diary. She starts crying and Sam tells her it’s time to get payback.

Scott sees a bunch of rental DVDs in Rachel and Kitty’s room and picks one up. Rachel leans against the door with her arms crossed, glaring at him. He asks her if she’s having a rainy day film festival. She replies it’s something like that. He comments that the rentals are current and she simply replies so. She tries to take the DVD from him. He replies that the store doesn't deliver, but Rachel again says "So?".

Scott looks out the window at a Sentinel and tells Rachel he needs her help. She tells him just say the word. He asks if she means that.

Sitting down on her bed, she replies that she is an X-Man and he’s the boss. She can't ask for trust if she isn't prepared to give it in return. Scott replies is she would stop if he asked her to. Rachel replies that she would hope that the same thing would go for understanding as does trust. He tells her it would, but he still is asking. Rachel doesn't reply.

Scott walks towards her and tells her she's so much like her mother. She thanks him, and then hesitantly asked if he's angry about what happened to her family. He corrects her that they were his family to. Jean's parents treated him like a son. He’s far more than angry, but he has Emma to turn to. Rachel says she’s glad about that, and he thanks her.

Looking out the window at the Sentinel outside, he tells her that they are walking a fine line between survival and catastrophe. He hugs her, and continues that even though it hurts, they have a responsibility greater than themselves. She replies that she will remember.

He tells her she is glad she kept Jean’s last name and he and Jean are very proud of her.

He taps her on the nose with the DVD case (the DVD is Die Another Day) and tells her to watch out for late fees. Smiling, she tells him she will be careful and thanks her father.

That night, Bishop and Val have dinner. Elsewhere, Sam and Paige are hacking into the O*N*E computer system.And Rachel is making her escape.

Her narration explains that the run to get the DVDs was just a test of O*N*E’s security. She used her telepathy to hide from her "jailors" and her telekinesis to block the Sentinels’ sensors and override their memories. She visited Forge for some equipment and then took off on her mission, jumping over the fence right underneath a Sentinel She isn't doing it to save the future or for the X-Men, but for herself.