CHAPTER 84 - FIRELORD
The Blackbird groaned as it kissed the tarmac, engines cooling with a low whine. One by one the X-Men disembarked, battered but unbowed, stepping into the cold night air. And there he was.
Erik the Red. Armor gleaming crimson under the floodlights, cape flaring like a bloody banner. His helm caught the glow, eyes hidden, mouth curled in a mocking grin. He stood in their path as if he'd been waiting hours.
Thunderbird's fists tightened. "There he is! Let's tear him apart!"
They didn't wait for strategy, didn't pause to circle. Instinct and rage carried them forward. Sunfire's flames blazed, Banshee's scream cut the air, Colossus charged like a steel avalanche.
Logan hung back a half step, nostrils flaring. The scent slammed into him like cold iron. Not fear. Not anger. But joy. Hidden beneath Erik's posturing, he reeked of secret glee, smug anticipation.
'He's happy... why the hell would he be happy we're here?'
The thought gnawed at him, but there was no time.
Erik spun with an elegance that mocked their fury. His hands blazed with alien energy, crimson beams slicing through the air. Colossus staggered, armor denting under the force. Nightcrawler blinked in with a flying kick-caught mid-air and hurled across the lot like a toy.
Banshee's sonic scream ricocheted harmlessly from Erik's shield. Storm called lightning, the crackling bolt sizzling across the villain's armor only to fizzle in a shower of sparks.
"FOOLS," Erik roared. "YOU THINK TO OPPOSE THE WILL OF THE RED? YOU THINK TO BREAK THE HAND THAT SHAPES YOUR FATE?"
Thunderbird slammed into him shoulder-first, driving him backward. For a breath the fight looked even. Erik snarled, energy surging, blasting the warrior point-blank. Thunderbird hit the ground with a grunt, rolled, and staggered up again, eyes blazing.
Logan finally leapt in, claws flashing silver in the floodlights. He slashed, sparks flying as steel kissed alien alloy. Erik twisted, countered, his gauntlet firing raw energy into Logan's chest. The Canadian hit the tarmac hard, rolled to his knees, spitting blood and fury.
'He's still happy. Taking hits, giving hits, doesn't matter-he's waiting on somethin'...'
The battle raged, the X-Men hammering him with every gift they had. For a moment it seemed they'd cornered him, Erik staggering, his armor smoking from Sunfire's flames, his cape in tatters from Banshee's scream.
And yet... beneath it all, Logan scented the grin. The expectation. Erik the Red wasn't losing. He was buying time.
Logan growled, claws twitching. 'Something's comin'... and I don't like the smell of it.'
Above them, the night sky glowed with sudden fire.
The night split open. A burning streak cut across the sky, brighter than any meteor, brighter than lightning. It seared the clouds to ash as it descended.
The X-Men froze, heads tilting skyward.
The fireball slowed, shape forming inside the light. A man. No, something more than a man. He hovered above the tarmac, his skin blazing gold, hair a crown of living flame. A staff gleamed in his hand, tipped with cosmic fire, each flicker of it enough to melt steel. His eyes burned with the Power Cosmic itself, vast and merciless.
He descended with the calm authority of a god.
"I AM FIRELORD," his voice boomed, carried by power rather than breath. "HERALD OF GALACTUS. SWORN TO THE COSMIC BALANCE"
The air shivered with the weight of his presence.
Erik the Red, armor scorched and dented, fell to one knee as if in reverence. "Mighty Firelord! These mutants-criminals-hunt me without mercy. I beg your justice!"
The X-Men barely had time to react before Firelord struck.
A sweep of his staff unleashed a firestorm that knocked Colossus end over end, his steel skin glowing red as though he'd been cast into a forge. Banshee cried out, his scream drowned as he was hurled backward into the Blackbird's landing gear.
Storm raised a wall of wind. Firelord's flame parted it as though it were mist. The blast engulfed her cloak, sending her spinning helplessly through the air.
Nightcrawler blinked in and out of sight, teleporting in desperation, but the herald's cosmic senses caught him each time. A single backhand from the flaming staff sent him sprawling across the ground.
Thunderbird charged with a roar. Firelord barely looked at him, staff twirling, striking him down like a child swatting a fly.
Logan launched himself forward, claws bared, throat raw with fury. He landed on Firelord's chest, raking steel across the cosmic being's skin. Sparks flew-but the skin did not break. Firelord seized him by the scruff, flames searing his costume, and flung him twenty yards into the dirt.
Logan gasped, choking on smoke, his senses writhing. He sniffed through the firestorm-what he caught made him pause.
'This one... he don't stink of arrogance. Don't stink of cruelty. He smells... honest. Straight as a blade. He believes what he's doin'.'
The thought shook him more than the fire.
Cyclops stood his ground last, visor blazing, beam carving against the herald's aura. Firelord let him strike-then brought the staff down. The explosion lit the night like dawn. When the fire cleared, Scott lay unmoving with the others, smoke curling from his suit.
Silence fell. The X-Men were broken, unconscious, scattered across the ruined tarmac.
Erik the Red stepped forward, armor battered but spirit intact. He inclined his head toward the Herald. "I thank you, Firelord. The galaxy
owes you."
Firelord said nothing. His eyes still burned, but his honor was unclouded. He had done what he believed was justice.
Erik's mind, however, coiled like a serpent.
'Perfect. Just as I planned. Find the Herald.
Whisper in his ear of mutant tyrants. Lure the X-Men to strike me at the airport. Predictable as children. And now Firelord will finish the task-strike Xavier himself. Then the chessboard will be mine.'
The Herald lifted his staff, flames wreathing him as he rose again into the night sky. His gaze turned. Toward Xavier.
Logan stirred, coughing, every muscle screaming. His head pounded, his claws sunk half into the ground. He lifted his nose, smelling again. Firelord's scent. Pure. Noble. Not a villain,
'So why the hell's he doin' this? And why the hell can't I stop him?'
Darkness took him again.