Fanfic / House of Summers

House of Summers by Kookykrumbs is a series of X-Men stories set in an alternate movieverse.

• "The Girl From Tomorrow": Six years post X-Men: Apocalypse. In 2016, Jean Grey was killed in a mission gone wrong. It left her husband, Scott and two children devastated. Her daughter tries to go back a month to prevent the tragedy, but instead ends up too far back in 1989. Her very presence threatens the timeline. Can she ensure her parents still end up together? Can she save her mother? How long can she keep her identity a secret?

• "Wait For Me": Sixteen years after X-Men Apocalypse, Scott and Jean are married and have a young family. They seemingly have their happily ever after. But a devastating injury causes Scott to lose his memories. How will he and Jean cope? How will they keep their family together? Will he ever get his memories back?

• "Hearts See Through Lies": Scott and Jean's children are threatened by Mr. Sinister. He will stop at nothing to harness their powers for his own gain. To do so, he will attempt to turn the Summers' children against their loving parents, and this time, Sinister has an unlikely ally.

• "A Hundred Splendid Summers": Collection of short stories exploring Scott and Jean's adventures in their marriage, parenthood, being part of the X-Men, and other day to day challenges.

It can be found in AO3 and FF.Net.

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Tropes contained in this work:

• Battle in the Center of the Mind: In the very first scene Rachel engages in a telepathic battle with Mastermind and Psylocke. Jean joins to protect Rachel, and accidentally has a glimpse at her memories.
  Jean looked back at Rachel, torn between wanting to help, and respecting her friend's wish to go at it alone. But she could see that Rachel was breaking. She had mere moments left. She could die on the astral plane. She was not going to allow that to happen.
  ** I'm sorry, Rachel.** Jean said as she joined the psychic battle.
  ** No, stay out!** Rachel pleaded, practically begged. She erected walls around her mind that kept Jean out for merely a few seconds. The effort Rachel was exerting in the battle was too much to keep a telepath as powerful as Jean out.
  The physical world around her disappeared the moment Jean was able to break through into Rachel's mind. A flash of blinding light greeted her and what she saw brought her to her knees.
• Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: When original Rachel mentions some guy has asked her out, Scott's reaction is: "Who is he? How did you meet him? How do you know he isn't a criminal? He could be a convicted felon for all we know." By the time alternate Rachel is getting interested in boys, he hasn't mellowed down at all.
  Scott: "By the way, Rachel really loved her gift. What a great idea! What made you come up with it?"
  Jean: "A lot of the girls in my Biology class were talking about it. I know Rachel has a bunch of Beyoncé songs on the iPod we got her last Christmas. I figured we couldn't go wrong. Besides, if I left the gift choice to you, our daughter would have ended up with a mace whistle and pepper spray.
  Scott: (sardonically) "Aren't you a hoot. And I'm not that bad!"
  Jean: "You kind of are."
  Scott: "No, I'm not!"
  Jean: "Really? Well, I didn't want to say anything earlier, but the reason Franklin Richards ignores Rachel is because he's intimidated by you."
• Can't Take Anything with You: Rachel loses her clothes and her wristwatch when she lands in the past.
  She was naked. That was the first thing Rachel noticed as she picked herself up off the cold ground. She had a few scrapes and bruises, but aside from those, she seemed fine. She was a bit disoriented but tried her best to collect herself.
  It was dark. She instinctively looked to her wrist for the time. But she noticed her watch went the way of her clothes and disappeared as well. She looked to her right and noticed the mansion. Did she do it? Did she go back just before her mother's death?
• Catapult Nightmare: Rachel springs up from her bed when she wakes up in 2017.
  Loud music suddenly played, jolting her from sleep. She opened one eye, feeling annoyed she was woken up from such a deep slumber. She noticed patches of light were streaming through the curtains. The radio alarm clock continued to play that annoying Taylor Swift song that just grated on – Wait, what? Taylor Swift? What the hell?! Rachel shot up like a spring and tried focusing her bleary eyes.
• Clark Kenting: So that nobody wonders why the new student looks like a second Jean Grey, Rachel wears glasses and a blonde wig. Beast remarks that's how Superman got everyone fooled for decades.
  Storm: "I can't believe we all didn't see the resemblance because of a thick pair of glasses."
  Nightcrawler: "Don't forget the blonde hair."
  Beast: "Don't feel so bad 'Ro. After all, even Lois Lane was fooled by a pair of glasses for about fifty years."
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Jean is usually quite pleasant... unless someone is making a play for Scott.
  She knew she was getting under Jean's skin. Her mother never showed it much, but she was possessive when it came to Scott Summers. Rachel distinctly remembered when she was twelve years old and a much younger teacher joined the faculty and started making moves on her dad… Oh boy, did that blonde ever learn first hand a redhead's temper.
• Clueless Chick-Magnet: Jean regards herself as a plain-looking thirty-year-old woman, so in spite of her being a telepath she's oblivious to the number of male students with a crush on her. Similarly, Scott is so certain that he's seen as a demanding taskmaster of a teacher he hasn't even noticed his female students ogling to his butt.
  Jean: "Well, at least I can still turn a head."
  Scott: "Ha! Turn a head? You turn heads everywhere you go… Poor Rachel's been telling me how so many of her male classmates have a crush on you. Imagine how awkward that must be for her."
  Jean: (skeptically) "Oh yeah, who?"
  Scot: "I don't know… Rachel refused to tell me. It's for the best, I probably have most of those boys in my classes too. I can still hear Hank's voice in my head saying, 'Scott, what man hasn't had a crush on your wife?'"
  Jean: "Well, I'm still doubtful… That being said, I know for a fact that a lot of Rachel's girlfriends also have a crush on you… and I know because their thoughts are loud."
  Scott: C'mon, Jean… I have a reputation at the school as No-Nonsense Mr. Summers. I seriously doubt that."
  Jean: "Oh, don't get me wrong, they hate that you're such a task master… But they respect you for it… And it doesn't change the fact that those girls ogle you behind your back."
• Crazy Jealous Guy: Scott is just as jealous and possessive as Jean, getting visibly angry when his own students gawk at his wife.
• Crush Blush: Nineteen years married, and Jean still blushes when Scott stares at her.
  "Scott! You're embarrassing me," Jean said, a blush on her pale cheeks.
• Death Seeker: After Jean's death in the original timeline, Rachel often thinks the bullet should have gotten her instead of her mother.
• Digging Yourself Deeper: Scott complains about other men wanting what is his— to Jean's face. then he tries to amend himself by putting his foot further in his mouth.
  Jean: "I think it's sweet that you're jealous."
  Scott (frowning) "I'm not sweet. It's an alpha-male, driven need to protect what's mine."
  Jean: "Oh, really? Yours?"
  Scott: "Umm… you're mine, just like I'm yours and Rach and Nate are ours… you know…"
  Jean: "You want more rope to hang yourself with, darling?"
  Scott: "No, I'm doing just fine on my own."
• Doorstopper: It contains 65 chapters consisting of 219,376 words.
• Eating the Eye Candy: In "Hearts See Through Lies", Scott stares at Jean while she walks out of the shower for long enough to make her blush.
  Scott watched his wife come out of the washroom dressed in her sheer white nightgown. She didn't really notice him staring at her as she was busy patting her hair dry with a towel. Even after almost nineteen years of marriage, she was still the most beautiful woman Scott had ever laid eyes on. His desire for her hadn't dimmed even just a little.
• Fiery Redhead: Scott will be happy to inform you don't want to get readheads angry, let alone Jean.
  Scott: (jokingly) "I could have gone to plan B and proposed to that blonde at the coffee shop who keeps flirting with me… I think she'd have said 'yes'."
  Jean: (scarily saccharine) "I'd like to see you try, hon."
  Scott: "Awww, sweetheart, I was just kidding around. You know I've only got eyes for you."
  Jean: "Good. I'd hate to see blondie have to learn to tie her shoes all over again."
  Scott: (laughing) "Redheads do have a dynamite temper."
  Jean: (smugly) "Glad you know it."
• Happily Married: After nineteen years together, Scott will happily tell anybody he's married to the most beautiful and most desirable woman in the planet.
  Scott watched his wife come out of the washroom dressed in her sheer white nightgown. She didn't really notice him staring at her as she was busy patting her hair dry with a towel. Even after almost nineteen years of marriage, she was still the most beautiful woman Scott had ever laid eyes on. His desire for her hadn't dimmed even just a little. There were days he still had to pinch himself to make sure it wasn't all just a dream.
• Heartbroken Badass: Jean's death in the original family left her family broken.
  Rachel: "You know, when you died that night so long ago for me - I didn't just lose my mother, I lost my father too."
  Jean: (Whispering) "Scott…"
  Rachel: "Your death left him a broken man. He all but died that night too. Couldn't even bring himself to look at me anymore."
• Heroic Sacrifice: At the end of "The Girl of Tomorrow", Rachel sacrifices herself in order to save the X-Men's lives. Subverted because she's reborn in the fixed timeline.
• Invasion of the Baby Snatchers: Scott and Jean are terrified that Mister Sinister will attempt to kidnap their children again.
  Jean: "We share a psychic rapport, Scott… You know what my fears are… I fear that Mr. Sinister is not really dead, and that he's just biding his time before he comes after Rachel again… And now that Nate's older, I have no doubt if he's still alive he'd go after our son too-"
  Scott: (hugging her) "Hey now."
  Jean: "I worry about our children and how they're going to handle their awesome powers when they fully manifest. I worry that the future is set in stone and that I'm still meant to die five years from now, and as a result, Rachel will be destined to die in the cold, black waters of the Cayman Trough… Those are the things that keep me up at night, Scott."
• I Resemble That Remark!: Scott Summers isn't jealous. He's merely irritated by other men ogling to his wife. But he isn't jealous.
  Jean: "Are you jealous, Scott?"
  Scot:: "Depends… are you into that southern charm that Guthrie seems to ooze out of his every pore?"
  Jean: "You are jealous."
  Scott: "I'm not jealous! Guthrie is a green, eighteen-year-old… It's just a little frustrating when all these men are drawn to you like moths to a flame, and they can't see the glare behind my glasses."
  Jean: "I think it's sweet that you're jealous."
• In the Blood: According Jean, Rachel has her looks... and everything else from Scott.
  She was going to force Scott and Rachel to eat their vegetables whether they liked it or not. Much to her dismay, her daughter inherited her father's taste buds. In other words, she didn't enjoy anything green. Sometimes, Jean felt that Rachel inherited everything from Scott except her actual looks.
• Ironic Echo: At the beginning of the first chapter of "Wait For Me", Jean remarks Scott is jealous, and isn't that sweet? Later in that same chapter Scott remarks Jean is jealous, and isn't that sweet?
  Scott grinned. "You are jealous. Awww, honey, that's so sweet!"
  Jean scoffed. "Ha, sweet! You think-" But Jean didn't finish what she was going to say. She realized she gave Scott the exact same spiel earlier in the day. Knowing her husband just one-upped her, she walked away in a huff. It annoyed her to no end, knowing Scott was snickering behind her.
• Kid from the Future: Rachel is Scott and Jean's time-displaced daughter.
• Little "No": Rachel to Jean in chapter 11 during an argument:
  "What do you care?" Rachel asked, showing the first signs of emotion. "You've said about five words to me in the last two weeks. I obviously have no place in your life or in this time. You know how you're going to die, so you no longer need me to save you from that. I can never go back home. And the longer I stay here, the more damage I'm probably doing to the space-time continuum! So yeah, it seemed like the thing to do at the time."
  "I do care! Do you know what losing you would have done to me?" Jean asked, her voice cracking.
  "No," Rachel said simply.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Xavier and Beast knew about Rachel's real identity since the beginning, but Scott and Jean were kept in the dark for years.
• The Matchmaker: When young Jean is wondering if Scott really likes her, her "friend" Rachel lively encourages her to pursue a relationship with him.
• Mythology Gag:
  • The argument between Jean and Rachel in chapter 11 is partially taken from Fatal Attractions (Marvel Comics).
  • Rachel Summers ends up dating Franklin Richards, as her canon self did.
• Noodle Incident: How did Jean get some blonde girl who flirted with Scott to back off? It's not known, except for a detail: Miss Unnamed Blonde had to relearn how to tie her shoes.
• Peggy Sue: "The Girl from Tomorrow" is a time travel story.
• Pop-Cultured Badass:
  • Young Scott used to play Nintendo games.
  • Rachel is a Beyoncé fangirl.
• Relationship Upgrade: Scott and Jean get engaged and finally married during "The Girl from Tomorrow", albeit ironically their time-travelling daughter had to give them a little nudge.
• Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: In 2016 Rachel travels back to 1989, dies one year later... and right afterwards she wakes up in 2017, retaining memories of both timelines.
  "I don't know… but I remember two sets of lives… like two dreams melding together." Rachel turned to Jean, "I remember you dying and me going back to 1989 to prevent it… but I also remember that you never died. I remember a past in which we were never captured by the FOH… It's like I've lived two separate lives simultaneously… Hell, I remember all four of us eating at Red Lobster just last night! But at the same time, it also feels like the last thing I did was drown back in the Cayman Trough twenty-seven years ago!"
• Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Rachel Summers goes back in time to prevent her mother's death. Unfortunately she goes back further what she intended.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: Sixteen-year-old Rachel swears she isn't interested in Franklin Richards. Her taking Advanced Chemistry is because she wanted a challenge. Definitely it isn't because she wanted to be in the same class as Franklin.
  Scott: "Franklin? The new student? Sue and Reed Richards' son?"
  Rachel: "Yes, dad… But Nate's just being annoying, I don't care about Franklin."
  Scott: "Wait… Is that why you took Advanced Chemistry, Rach?"
  Rachel: "Umm…"
  Scott: "I knew something was up! You hate chemistry. You just wanted to be in the same class as that boy."
  Rachel: "That's not why I took it! I wanted a challenge."
• Shipper on Deck: Unshockingly, Rachel is a Scott/Jean shipper.
• Shout-Out:
  • "The Girl from Tomorrow" is a shout-out to another time-travelling female super-hero with that same title. Reinforced because Rachel wears a wig to conceal her true looks.
  • Scott used to play with a Nintendo Entertainment System in the late 80's.
• Stacy's Mom: By the time the second arc begins Jean is a thirty-year-old mother, but her good looks ensure she draws admiring stares from everyone, including her students.
  Jean: "Well, at least I can still turn a head."
  Scott: "Ha! Turn a head? You turn heads everywhere you go… Poor Rachel's been telling me how so many of her male classmates have a crush on you. Imagine how awkward that must be for her."
• Supernaturally Young Parent: Because of time-travelling shenanigans, Rachel looks about the same age than her mother during the first arc.
• Time Skip: "Wait For Me" begins eight years after the end of "The Girl From Tomorrow". "Heart Sees Through Lies" is set twelve years after "Wait For Me".
• What the Hell, Hero?: Rachel lambasts Jean for giving her the cold shoulder during two weeks after finding out about her real identity.