CHAPTER 89 – THE TRAITOR'S TRUTH
The nine suns burned brighter, flares tearing across the alien sky. The battlefield froze for a heartbeat, every soldier glancing upward as the heavens roared. The universe itself seemed to draw a breath.
Cyclops didn't waste the pause. His visor cut red across the field, slamming a line of foes back. "FORM UP! PROTECT KURT AND LILANDRA!"
Logan planted his claws in the dirt, body steaming with blood and fury. "We ain't makin' it out of this one if we don't get a break…"
That break came with thunder.
Engines roared above, loud and raw, shaking the valley. Shadows streaked across the sky. A ship tore from the clouds, scarred hull gleaming, wings bristling with weapons. Its cannons fired, beams of white ripping trenches through the alien army.
The ground shook.
"The STARJAMMER," Lilandra whispered, tears in her eyes.
The vessel screamed overhead, dropping fire and steel. Alien ranks broke apart as figures leapt from the ship into the melee.
At their front: a man with a cutlass, hair long and wild, one eye glinting like fire. Corsair. His blade crackled with energy as he carved into the Guard. Behind him followed Hepzibah, white-furred and snarling, her claws drenched in blood before she even landed. Raza dropped with metallic arms whirring, blades flashing. Ch'od roared, green-skinned bulk smashing into lines like a living tank.
The Starjammers tore into the Guard like wolves among sheep. The tide shifted in an instant.
Colossus surged to his feet, meeting Ch'od shoulder to shoulder. "A comrade of steel!" he boomed, fists smashing.
Storm rose above, lightning joining Hepzibah's claws, raining chaos down. Sunfire streaked with Raza, flame and blade carving their way through.
The Imperial Guard faltered. For the first time, their sheer numbers didn't matter. Their army cracked, split, soldiers retreating under the dual fury of X-Men and Starjammers.
Corsair shouted across the battlefield, voice hard as steel. "Lilandra! We've come for you!"
She staggered forward, clutching Kurt's arm, her eyes blazing. "You risked everything—"
"Better we fall than let HIM win," Corsair snapped, blade rising again. "We'll buy you the time you need."
The X-Men pressed the assault, cutting through the Guard with fresh fury. For a moment, victory seemed possible.
But then the heavens screamed.
The nine suns reached alignment. Their light lanced down as one, spearing the horizon.
The ground shook. The air tore apart.
And far beyond the battlefield, far past the valley's edge, the beam struck the M'Kraan Crystal.
It blazed with impossible light, facets burning brighter than any star. For a heartbeat—every heartbeat in the universe—stopped.
And then—
Darkness.
The entire battlefield blinked out. Every soldier froze mid-strike. Flames paused in midair. Blood droplets hung motionless. The universe itself… skipped.
Logan staggered, claws trembling. 'What the hell—did the world just… die?'
Jean screamed, Phoenix fire lashing wide. "NO!"
The M'Kraan Crystal pulsed again, a heartbeat of light that threatened to tear all existence apart.
And above it all, Emperor D'Ken threw back his head and laughed, madness echoing across frozen stars.