CECILIA REYES: Page 2 of 3

BIOGRAPHY - Page 2

Shortly afterwards, the Beast asked Cecilia out on a date to the opera. By coincidence, Reed and Sue Richards also attended the play, and halfway through a jealous scientist began using the Psycho-Man's equipment on the unsuspecting audience, making them feel hate, doubt and fear. Thus manipulated, Cecilia started to beat up her teammate, blaming him for the hated role as an X-Man she had been dragged into. When the emotion-manipulating machine's energies increased, Cecilia even cried out that she hated herself. Eventually, the heroes managed to defeat their opponent, though Cecilia felt that her privacy had been violated and was rather unforgiving towards the scientist who had had no idea what effects the machine might cause. However, Susan Richards being rather familiar with its effects, provided Cecilia with some comfort. [Uncanny X-Men / Fantastic Four Annual '98]

Time passed and, with Xavier missing and the school still barren, several X-Men began going their separate ways and leading their own lives. Cecilia was one of those X-Men. She opened up her own small practice in Salem Center, so she could pursue her own dream while still helping out the X-Men every now and then. For example, she would housesit at the mansion when the X-Men were away on a mission. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #360] On one occasion, she aided Wolverine in defending some Japanese agents from the mob. During this adventure, Cecilia even stood up to the Silver Samurai, and made him listen to reason rather than to resort to violence. [X-Men Unlimited (1st series) #24]

Over the following months, Cecilia moved her clinic to Vinegar Hill in Brooklyn, by the Manhattan Bridge. She continued her medical work until an injured Nightcrawler arrived at her clinic, shot by the vengeful mutants known as the Neo. Just like Cecilia, Nightcrawler had taken a leave of absence from the team and he apologized to Cecilia for dragging her back into the mess of the X-Men, but their reunion was interrupted by Jaeger, one of the Neo, who had tracked down Nightcrawler. As Nightcrawler was weakened by blood loss, Cecilia had to confront Jaeger by herself. During the battle, Cecilia used her field in offensive ways that she never did before. Not thinking and only reacting, she was able to extend her force field out and knock Jaeger away. However, the skilled Jaeger was still too much for her and she was easily defeated, leaving the injured Nightcrawler alone against the Neo. Right as Jaeger was about to kill Nightcrawler, Cecilia lashed out with her powers, spikes extended from her field and impaling Jaeger. Cecilia was left heartbroken, for as a doctor she pledged to save lives, not take them. [X-Men (2nd series) #100]

On the run from the Neo, the two former X-Men found themselves hiding in an illegal infirmary, where Cecilia continued treating his wounds. All the while, Nightcrawler comforted Cecilia about her killing Jaeger and suggested she start training in the use of her powers. Their solitude was cut short by a gunfight between Detective Charlotte Jones and the drug dealer Delgado. Protecting Charlotte from gunfire with her force-field, Cecilia noticed some vials of the performance enhancing drug after the combatants left and picked them up, not wanting them to fall into the wrong hands. After a brief rest, Nightcrawler and Cecilia returned to the church where Nightcrawler had been attacked in order to help some innocents trapped inside, but they were found by the Neo. With Nightcrawler too injured to fight, Cecilia needed an edge against the Neo, and decided to take one of the vials of Rave. The drug worked and Cecilia fought ferociously, using her powers in ways she never believed possible and defending herself and Nightcrawler until the X-Men arrived. The two groups fought each other to a stalemate and eventually one of the Neo began to seal up all entrances and exits of the building, forcing the X-Men to retreat. However, just as they were about to leave, Cecilia realized Detective Jones was still missing and, still somewhat influenced by the drug, she volunteered to stay behind to find her. [X-Men (2nd series) #101-102]

Cecilia was trapped inside the Neo's complex for a couple of weeks, during which she discovered that Detective Jones and Delgado had somehow been merged into a monstrous creature by one of the Neo, with Delgado as the dominant personality. Cecilia spent much time chasing the Delgado creature so it wouldn’t kill anyone. All the while she searched, she was also avoiding the Neo, especially their leader Domina, who was the widow of Jaeger and desperately wanted Cecilia dead. To do all this, Cecilia consumed more and more Rave, causing her to become addicted to the drug. By the time her supply had almost run out, Cecilia began to lose control of her powers, but fortunately at that point the X-Men performed a rescue mission, freeing both her and Charlotte Jones from the Neo's hideout. [X-Men (2nd series) #106]

Cecilia did not return to her clinic, but rather to the mansion, where she began a detoxification program for her addiction to Rave. Unfortunately, this was easier said than done, as Cecilia had to go cold-turkey in order to beat her problem. Due to the physical addiction, Cecilia’s powers began to lash out wildly to cope with the pain and urge to use Rave. Nightcrawler locked himself in the Danger Room with Cecilia to help the out of control woman, in hope that the exertion and use of her powers would burn the toxins in her system. However, Cecilia became so wild that she began to punch holes in the Danger Room and even destroyed the control booth with her force-field spikes. At that point, Xavier himself entered the Danger Room and, risking his own life, approached Cecilia to calm her down and remind her of her own courageous nature. Though Cecilia had a long journey to go until she would be totally normal, with Xavier’s help she made the first step to beat her addiction. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #389]

Eventually, Cecilia was well enough to walk around the mansion without any power troubles. It was during this time that the Beast finally came up with a cure for the Legacy Virus, making use of the research of the late Moira MacTaggert. However, for the cure to be released into the atmosphere, it required the life of the person who would inject the cure into him- or herself. While the X-Men rejoiced, Cecilia noticed that Colossus was somber. Cecilia confronted Colossus and learned about Illyana Rasputin, Colossus' sister, and how she had succumbed to the Legacy Virus. Ever since, Colossus had felt guilty for letting her die. Realizing that Colossus would inject the cure into himself instead of waiting for an alternative to be found, Cecilia tried to stop him, but Colossus knocked her out with narcotic gas. When Cecilia came around, she found Colossus dying on the lab floor. Although she did her best to save him, Colossus passed away. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #390]

It is unknown how hard Cecilia took Colossus’ death but, shortly thereafter, she did leave the mansion and returned to her practice. The X-Men soon opened up to the public and became more involved in global mutant affairs, causing the team to possibly lose touch with Cecilia. The next time Cecilia did resurface, she was as a prisoner in Neverland, the mutant concentration camp set up by the Weapon X program. There, she was reunited with her former teammate Maggott, who had also been captured. Whereas Maggot was branded for death and ultimately killed, Cecilia was among those prisoners who were kept alive to be experimented on. For weeks, Cecilia did her best to keep the other camp inmates alive, many of them being exhausted after interrogation and torture. [Weapon X (2nd series) #5]

Some time later, When the secret of Neverland was about to be exposed, the Weapon X program packed up their bags and relocated their base of operations. Many of the camp residents were killed, with only a few being kept alive to be brainwashed as future Weapon X agents. It is unknown if Cecilia was one of those brainwashed mutants, but Cecilia did escape the camp. [Weapon X: Days of Future Now #3]

In the wake of the M-Day, during which 90-95 % of Earth's mutant population lost their powers, Cecilia was one of the lucky ones to retain her powers. While she never contacted the X-Men during this time, her older brother, Colonel Miguel Reyes, had entered the lives of the X-Men as a member of the Sentinel Squad O*N*E* program. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #466, 469]