New York City. We open on Forge and Synch outside the Treehouse as they battle demons and attempt to save and shelter as many innocent bystanders as possible. Forge informs Synch that the Treehouse "is at capacity," to which Synch responds by suggesting they use "the Krakoan transit system to send [the bystanders] away from here." Forge agrees and offers to keep the Treehouse's "perimeter secure" while Synch whisks people through the gates to New Jersey. "Aw, man. I don't wanna go to New Jersey," moans one man. "But you wanna live more, right?" asks Synch, likely already knowing the answer.
Outside the Treehouse, Forge thinks to himself, "If we can't bring everyone to Krakoa, maybe we can bring Krakoa to New York." He doesn't know or care why the demons aren't attacking the Treehouse, but he figures they're repelled by what it's made of. Krakoa—"the world's largest bonsai tree, able to be shaped to shelter, provide, and protect"—is an organism he can call upon and bend to his will with the gentle notes of a flute. And that he does—plays flute—and Krakoan vines respond to his melody, descending around him as demons taunt and scream just beyond an invisible boundary only they seem to sense and see.
"Bad news," Forge says to the contorted devils, "unfortunately for you, I'm a genius." He calls Iceman and Firestar on their shared "backup comm channel" and summons them to the Treehouse. "Krakoa is where it grows," he notes before resuming his fluting, the vines commencing their descent. One demon asks another, "What happens if we eat him?" "No," yells yet another before the querent gets a proper response: "The Goblin Queen will make us suffer if it is so!"
"Being at peace with yourself can sometimes be difficult, even more so when you've been cloned."
—Jean Grey
We get snapshots of Madelyne's life in panels and captions: Madelyne in a tube in the background and Sinister examining a test tube in the foreground; Madelyne and Scott kissing; Madelyne giving birth; Sinister and Apocalypse holding identical baby Cables; Madelyne and Scott framed by a broken heart; Jean, Scott, and teenage Cable happy and smiling; Madelyne and Alex kissing; Madelyne and Alex framed by a broken heart; Madelyne on her throne in Limbo.
"Mr. Sinister cloned Jean Grey and called her Madelyne Pryor so that perhaps Cyclops would fall in love with her, and they might have an interesting child, and they did. Cable changed the course of mutantdom forever. And then the Jean copy was discarded by the villains and perhaps the heroes. The real Jean Grey returned, and for a short time, before Cable was sent to the future, the trio was happy. Life went on, and hearts broke again. Now Maddie sits upon the Limbo throne, and she desires the memories of the days Jean lived in her stead, especially those about the baby she lost to the future."
Limbo. Presumably, moments after a notable reverberating slap, Jean and Madelyne are engaged in a tug-of-war over Jean's portable Cerebro backup. "What are you looking for on the Cerebro drive," Jean asks before Madelyne blasts her with a surge of power, causing her progenitor to temporarily fall back. "I want what was stolen from me," Madelyne screams. After all, "That's what this has all been about for the woman who was wronged by many, even our heroes. She wants to become whole in spirit...and mind." Jean reengages in the tug-of-war, which causes the mini-Cerebro to shatter. "No," Madelyne screams, blasting Jean back.
Jean lands on her feet and notes, "I don't need my mutant gift to feel your despair, Maddie. It's time for us to heal these old wounds and for you to learn a few things...including who I am." She clears a path through the psionic haze. "No more games. No more tricks. No more illusions," she asserts before reassuring Illyana that she will free her from Madelyne's spell. "After I free Madelyne." Madelyne is on her knees, crying over the broken pieces of the mini-Cerebro. "Dammit. You took them from me again," she says, referring to Jean's memories of raising Nathan. Jean hovers, her power signature glowing hot pink.
(One wonders what Jean must be thinking, staring down at her doppelganger. Is she pondering what a profoundly intimate violation being cloned without one's knowledge or consent is? Are echoes of her chastizing Scott for leaving Madelyne and Nathan to chase after her and urging him to return to them reverberating in her mind? (X-Factor #8 and #12). Does she recall the time she surrendered her soul to Mephisto to save Madelyne and Nathan and to relieve Scott of his guilt-ridden dilemma? (Mephisto Vs. [X-Factor] #2). Did she recall Mephisto, deeply impressed by her self-sacrifice, calling her soul "rare and wondrous" (Mephisto Vs. [X-Men] #3). Do her memories of admonishing Madelyne afterward and chastizing Scott for marrying sting? (X-Factor #). Does the moment she reabsorbed the fragment of her psyche that gave Madelyne life come to her in waves? (X-Factor #38). Does Ororo telling her there is no "Madelyne other than in your own memories" reverberate (Uncanny X-Men #243)? Do Madelyne's memories–her memories—haunt her? Things to ponder.)
She speaks: "I regret not doing this before, Maddie. I don't know why you thought you could take what you sought by rooting around in an old backup of my mind." In turn, Madelyne explodes with rage, showering Jean with rocks and boulders. "What I would take from you?! WHAT ABOUT WHAT YOU TOOK FROM ME?!" Jean breaks through the airborne debris, "Stop! This doesn't need to end badly," she insists before knocking Madelyne back with a swift punch. "Stand down!" She composes herself. "You can get what you want," she begins to say, but before she can finish, Madelyne is already casting a magical spell. "Yes, I think I shall." A pentagram appears behind Jean, and suddenly, a small gang of demons emerges from the portal, and they pull her into it. Madelyne looks back at them, satisfied. "The notion that I'd negotiate or grovel for what is rightfully mine is insulting," she says, disgusted. "Okay, Maddie. Now you've done it," Jean warns as Madelyne walks away.
"NOW I'M PISSED OFF!" Jean explodes, glowing hot pink, and vanquishes the portal and demons, making minced meat of her magical spell. Madelyne quips, " Who cares? I've only been pissed off for my entire life and—" But before she can finish, Jean socks her in the mouth. They fight—choking each other, pulling each other's hair, Jean putting her in a headlock, both of them aiming their abilities at one another—and seem evenly matched. Frankly, they seem like sisters. "Of course, both women have the same mutant gifts. But they wield them in entirely different ways. Maddie would do very well on Arakko, but, in the end...there's only one Jean Grey." Once again, Jean glows and sends Madelyne flying through a series of stone pillars several feet away. She snaps her fingers, "Wake up, sleepyhead," she thinks to Illyana, who arises from her stupor. "Wh-what'd I miss?" she asks, and Jean telepathically uploads all she needs to know to her mind.
Suddenly, Madelyne quietly hovers above them, several boulders suspended over her. "I wanted to do this the easy way. While you were enthralled in my spell. Now I'll just have to bash the memories out of your head," she says, hurling the stones at Jean and Illyana. Jean catches them with ease and instructs Illyana to go help the team. "The rest of the X-Men could really use your gifts right now," she says, "and this fight between Maddie and me is over because," she pauses, "I'm surrendering." Illyana and Madelyne stare at Jean, bemused, and simultaneously exclaim, "You are?!" Illyana immediately understands and affirms, "'Kay, boss. I'll see how the others are doing," before transporting herself out of Limbo. Only Jean and Madelyne are left, sitting across from each other, hovering in midair.
(cont'd.)