CHAPTER 62 THE GHOST OF MIKHAIL
The launch pad roared with life. Searchlights carved through the night as engineers scurried like ants around the towering white beast of steel and flame. NASA uniforms glared at the strange group in their midst, but none dared question. Peter Corbeau's badge cleared every step.
Inside the prep chamber, the X-Men stood encased in bulky white suits, helmets tucked under their arms. Oxygen tanks hissed, straps cinched. It was a strange sight - warriors of fire and storm now wrapped in NASA's rigid armor.
Thunderbird scowled, tugging at his collar. "Feels like a coffin."
Sunfire sneered. "Everything feels like a coffin to you."
"Boys," Storm said, sharp, cutting through them both. "Focus."
Nightcrawler's tail lashed behind him, jittering with nervous energy. "I've teleported across continents, but... space? It feels different, ja?"
Colossus didn't answer. He sat on a steel bench apart from the others, his massive hands covering his face. His shoulders shook.
Storm noticed. She moved to him, crouching low, voice soft. "Piotr?"
He lifted his head. His eyes glistened, rimmed red. "My brother... Mikhail." His voice cracked, deep as a church bell broken. "He was a cosmonaut. Russia's pride. He went into the sky... and never came back. The stars... they ate him."
He turned away, ashamed of the tears streaking his face. "Now I follow him. Perhaps... perhaps I share his fate."
Storm's hand touched his shoulder, firm and warm. "No, Piotr. You are not following him. You are walking your own path. You fight not for the stars, but for family. For Logan. For Jean. For Charles. For the world that still needs you."
Her eyes burned steady, unyielding. "And I swear to you the stars will not take you. Not while I draw breath."
Colossus shuddered. Then slowly, he nodded. His hands dropped from his face. "Da... for
them. For all of them."
The intercom blared: "Final boarding. Countdown T-minus ten minutes."
Corbeau clapped his helmet on, his voice brisk. "Strap in. No turning back after this."
The X-Men filed into the narrow rocket capsule, strapping into their seats, helmets sealing with a hiss. The chamber rattled, trembled, engines below warming with a roar like the heartbeat of the Earth itself.
Scott's voice came low through the comms. "Eyes forward. Hold steady. Remember what we're here for."
"Launch in five... four... three..."
The roar became thunder. Fire consumed the night.
"Two... one... Ignition."
The rocket tore free of the Earth, fire streaming in its wake. The X-Men were driven back into their seats as gravity screamed to hold them down. Muscles strained, bones groaned.
And then silence.
The blackness of space unfolded outside the portholes. Stars shimmered cold and infinite. The Earth shrank behind them, blue and fragile, a memory.
Hours bled as they floated in silence, tethered to seats, the endless void pressing in. Storm's eyes stayed locked on the stars, her lips whispering prayers no one else could hear.
Until the comm crackled, sharp and metallic. "Starcore One to unidentified vessel. You are denied entry. Vacate the perimeter immediately."
And then another voice, colder, mechanical.
"Alert: Mutant lifeforms detected on vessel. Neutralization protocol initiated."
The hull trembled. The first blast struck.
Sentinels had come hunting in the void.