CHAPTER 195
The day had started like any other at Xavier's mansion. The lawn stretched wide and green, Storm's breeze carrying the scent of cut grass through the windows. Kitty was in the Danger Room running obstacle courses, Colossus sketching under an oak tree, Nightcrawler dangling upside down from a beam humming to himself, Cyclops drilling formations with his usual stone face. Logan? Sitting on the steps, cigar in his teeth, watching the world with that half-bored, half-alert stare.
Then the sky tore open.
A white streak burned across the blue, smoke billowing, metal shrieking in its descent. It cut through the clouds like a wounded comet and slammed into the lake with a thunderous crack, water geysering thirty feet high. The shockwave rattled the mansion windows.
Logan spat his cigar. "Well, that ain't no weather balloon."
Storm was already on her feet, eyes wide. "Everyone—move!"
The X-Men raced down the slope, water hissing as flames licked the wreckage. The ship's hull cracked like a roasted shell. Logan leapt first, claws sheathing with a snikt as he ripped open twisted plating. Heat washed over him, the stink of burning plastic and fried circuitry choking the air.
Inside, a man slumped unconscious against the harness. Long coat, blaster scorched, chest rising shallow. A chain around his neck caught the light. Cyclops froze mid-step.
"Wait—" He reached in, pulling the pendant free. It flipped open. A man and woman smiling. Two children between them.
Scott's heart dropped into his stomach. The boys in the photo—himself and Alex.
His visor gleamed red as his face twisted. "…What is this?"
The man inside stirred, coughed, cracked his eyes open. Corsair.
Scott's voice cut sharp as a blade. "What the hell is this doing around your neck?"
Corsair's hand trembled, reaching. "That photo… is my family. The woman—Anne. My wife. The children…" He swallowed. "My sons."
Scott's hands balled into fists, shaking. "Liar." His voice boomed against the hull.
Before Corsair could answer, the lake erupted. Shadows scuttled over the water, clicking, hissing. Arachnid shapes with hard shells and glowing eyes—Sidri hunters. They leapt from the water, a dozen, then two dozen, their jagged mandibles clattering.
Kitty's eyes widened in horror. "What are THOSE?!"
Logan's nose wrinkled. The scent was acrid, electric, insect-metal hybrid. "Trouble. That's what."
"To arms!" Nightcrawler cried, teleporting in a puff of brimstone to land on one's back. His tail whipped around its eyes. "Mein Gott, they're uglier than Logan's socks!"
Logan snarled mid-swing. "Careful, Elf, I'll make ya eat those socks." His claws slashed, sparks screeching as they barely scored the Sidri's armor. "Damn bugs are tougher than they smell."
Cyclops unleashed a beam wide enough to send two staggering into the lake. Storm whipped up wind, trying to scatter them. Kitty phased through one, its claws passing harmlessly, before she shoved her arm into its chest and let go—its circuitry sputtered as her molecules scrambled it.
But there were too many. Dozens crawling from the depths, circling, clicking.
"X-Men, fall back!" Storm shouted, sweat beading as she tried to herd them with gale-force winds.
Corsair stumbled from the wreck, clutching his ribs. "They're Sidri! They won't stop! Heat—that's their weakness!"
Logan's ears pricked. Heat. He glanced at Ororo. "You hear the man, Ro. Turn up the oven."
Storm narrowed her eyes, lightning dancing across her fingertips. "Kurt! Draw them in!"
Nightcrawler blinked, then grinned wide. "With pleasure!" He teleported between them, cracking tails and shouting insults in German, pulling them closer with every bamf. One snapped, jaws inches from his face before he vanished again. "Too slow, mein freund!"
The swarm clumped together in the gale, shrieking as Storm's winds spiraled tighter. Logan smirked through his bloodied lip. "All gift-wrapped. Your move, weather witch."
Storm raised her arms, lightning crashing down in a blinding column. The Sidri screamed, armor glowing red-hot, until they collapsed twitching in a smoking heap.
The battlefield went quiet. The lake steamed. The Sidri lay in a pile, unmoving.
Kitty panted, leaning on Colossus. "We… we did it."
Cyclops lowered his visor, chest heaving. "Contain them. Don't kill. They're unconscious—"
BOOM.
The pile erupted in fire and shards. Corsair stood over them, blaster in hand, smoke rising from the barrel. The Sidri scattered in pieces.
The team's heads snapped toward him.
Storm's voice cracked like thunder. "What have you DONE?"
Cyclops' beam hit the ground near Corsair's feet, dirt exploding. "We don't kill! Ever!" His voice was raw, trembling with rage.
Corsair met their stares, jaw set. "They weren't going to stop. You think they'd show YOU mercy? Out here, ideals get you killed. I'm not about to gamble your lives on a prayer."
The silence burned. Kitty's lip quivered. Colossus scowled, torn between anger and grim understanding. Nightcrawler crossed himself.
Logan's eyes narrowed, smoke curling from his nostrils. 'The man's seen hell. Smells like it's still all over him. But that doesn't mean I like it.'
Before Scott could press further, Nightcrawler raised his hands, tail twitching nervously, trying to break the storm in the air. "Perhaps we should focus, ja? Why were these… bugs hunting you, Corsair?" The Starjammer's face darkened, his voice heavy with ash. "Because while the Shi'ar high officials were gathered in council, terrorists struck. Lilandra was taken. The trail led here—to Earth. The Imperial Guard is enraged, desperate to recover their Empress, and they will scour this planet to the ground if they must." The words dropped like stones. Kitty gasped. Colossus' brow furrowed. Storm's jaw clenched. Xavier's hands tightened on the arms of his chair, his composure cracking at the thought of Lilandra in chains. "No…" he whispered, grief slicing through his usually calm tone. Corsair's gaze swept over them, grim and unyielding. "I came to warn you. But Deathbird and her ilk… they already knew. They sent the Sidri to silence me before I could reach you." The mansion fell quiet, the team struggling to process the weight of what had been laid upon them.
Cyclops stepped forward, fists shaking. "Fine. Then explain THIS." He jabbed a finger at the pendant still clutched in his hand. "Why do you have my family's picture? Why are you lying to me?"
Corsair's face went pale, then heavy, like chains dropped on his shoulders. He looked Scott in the eye. "Because… I am your father."
The words hit like a blast wave.
Scott's voice broke. "No. My father's DEAD. My mother's DEAD. We fell. We—"
Corsair's own voice cracked. "After we gave you and Alex the parachute, we thought you'd died in the fire. Your mother—your mother didn't survive the Shi'ar. I was taken as a slave. Years in chains before the Starjammers. When I met you last time—I knew, Scott. But you didn't remember. I couldn't…" His throat closed.
Scott's face twisted, pain and fury boiling. "And now you want me to just FORGIVE you? After twenty years?!"
Corsair's reply caught in his throat—but the moment was shattered as light swallowed them all. A searing brilliance poured from the sky, engulfing Xavier, Storm, Kitty, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Corsair, Logan, and Cyclops all at once.
Logan's claws snapped out as the light pulled him upward. "Dammit, I hate cosmic $#%&—"
And then they were gone.