" How are you feeling, Rach?" Ian asked the woman. They were beginning to get ready for their attack and Ian was still concerned about the woman's health.
" I'm fine." Rachel replied. " Thank you, Ian. I just... Need a moment to gather my thoughts. Trying to get that generator together was really tough." Rachel told the man.
" We're appraoching our target men, get ready!" Corsair exclaimed.
Ian turned back to Rachel and nodded.
" Okay, just.. Make sure you stay careful out there." Ian told the woman.
" My, are you worried about me, Ian?" Rachel asked the man.
" Of course, I am. I don't want you getting hurt. Who else is going to be my pretty bird." Ian told the woman. He gave her a smile and a kiss on the cheek and then walked ahead to the front with the others.
" Your pretty bird..." Rachel mumbled she rubbed the spot where Ian kissed her and blushed.
Soon the time came for the plan to begin and the Starjammers.
" Alright, kid. You ready to show what you can do?" Corsair asked.
" Yeah, I'm ready. Just a question. What's the policy on killing?" Ian asked the man and everyone else around him.
" Do what you gotta do. If that means killing every last one of'em so, be it." Corsair replied.
Ian looked to the others around him but more specifically to Kurt and his team. Kurt surprisingly nodded; he was the one who always tried to solve things peacefully first. His eyes then drifted to Warpath who nodded and then finally to Rachel.
' Stay safe.' Ian thought. He didn't need to say it, he knew she could feel his thoughts.
Rachel nodded and Ian turned.
" Alright, then." Ian exclaimed.
The ship the crew was on hurtled straight towards the Shi'ar transport ship in the moment it crashed, the entire ship shook violently and springing out from the ship came the Starjammers in force.
" Starjammers! Kill them! Burn their eyes out!" The Shi'ar captain yelled.
" AhhhH!" Ian came crashing through the lines of soldiers like a bulldozer. He jumped in the air and slammed his hands together creating a shockwave that sent the Shi'ar around him flying with ease. " ALL RIGHT! WHO WANTS TO PLAY WITH FIRE!!!!!"
" Ch'od, you got your distraction. Go ahead with the plan.' Corsair radioed to the man while Ian and the others handled the main security forces onboard the transport ship.
" We're already in Corsair... On our way to the rendezvous point." Ch'od told the man.
" Come on, ladies." Ch'od spoke.
Things were going smoothly for a bit, but it wasn't long until Corsair noticed that things were taking too long.
" We're taking too long. We need to be gone before reinforcements arrive." Corsair stated.
" What kind of reinforcements could help these guys?" Ian asked as he tossed one of the Shi'ar soldiers still hanging onto his back to the side.
" Watch out!" Hepzibah yelled.
" AGH!" The moment Ian dropped his guard he was blasted in the back by one of the Shi'ar soldier's laser guns. It would be fine normally, but the moment he got hurt Rachel felt it as well.
" Ray, you okay?" Lorna asked the woman.
" He's hurt... Ian just got hurt... But he'll be fine. It was minor. He's angry right now. I guess he doesn't like getting shot." Rachel explained to the woman.
" All right, Rachel we need to talk about this." Lorna told the woman. " What's going on with you two?"
" I don't know... He's in my head a lot." Rachel told the woman.
" Oh, he does have the young, tortured soul thing going on... He a good kisser?" Lorna asked playfully.
" Seriously." Rachel replied.
" Rachel! You know he used to be a student at the school, right? Actually, I think he still is. How old even is he?" Lorna asked.
" Eighteen." Rachel replied.
" Rachel! Well.... he's not a child, but he's not an adult yet either. You're four years older than him." Lorna told the girl.
" What do you want from me? I said he was in my head." Rachel told the woman.
" Okay, sure Rachel. Just... be careful girl." Lorna replied.
" Concentrate on the mission, ladies." Ch'od spoke up from ahead. We have an important mission to complete. The others can only hold their attention for so long before they realize we are here as well." Ch'od explained.
While the girls and Ch'od were following behind them, Nightcrawler and Warpath made quick work of the guards surrounding Lilandra's cell.
Nightcrawler bamfed around the room, slamming the men's heads into the walls and knocking them out, while Warpath just bashed their heads in.
" All right, it's clear now, ray... Open the door." Warpath told the woman.
Rachel, Lorna, and Ch'od approached the door and Rachel used her powers to rip it open and Lilandra and her guard came stumbling out of the darkness.
" Kurt? Rachel?" Lilandra asked. " You're with the starjammers?" Lilandra asked.
" We had to help them save you, did we not my lady?" Kurt asked the woman
" Is Charles with you?" Lilandra asked the man. " I have much to apologize to him for..."
" They... They've got him, Empress." Rachel told the woman.
" Yes, I'm afraid Deathbird has Charles in her claws just as she had you." Ch'od explained to the woman.
" Deathbird? No... You've got it wrong... It's much worse than my sister." Lilandra explained.
Unknown to the group at the time, many things had happened in Vulcan's quest for revenge.
See Vulcan is the third son of Corsair, Christoper Summers, and the younger brother to both Scott and Alex. His real name is Gabriel Summers. And just like his brothers, he manipulates energy. But to a much bigger extent. He is far more powerful than his brothers. So much so that he is labeled one of the few Omega Level mutants on earth. A while back he managed to kidnap Scott and Rachel. His ability is so powerful, he could prevent Rachel and Scott both from using their powers by manipulating the energy in his brain to stop their powers from working. When he was first consummated, his mother was kidnapped by the Shi'ar emperor, who used her as his own personal sex slave. after nine months of being raped and tortured, The Shi'ar Emperor, D'ken, at the time forcibly cut Gabriel out of his mother's womb in front of his father, killing her in the process, and then had him sent to the slave camps.
Years later after finally growing up and discovering his powers Xavier, brought the boy in to save his current team of X-men, the first team consisting of Scott, Jean, Angel, Hank, and Bobby, to save them with three other, Petra, Sway, and Darwin. But things didn't go as planned, Gabriel and the others landed on Krakoa to save the X-men and after a brief fight with the beast, Krakoa began slaughtering them. Petra was torn apart by the island. But before she did, she used powers to slow down time around her friends. But it didn't last long, Sway soon died as well, and just before he could die, Darwin used his powers to merge with Petra, Sway, and Gabriel saving Gabriel's life from the Island.
Now, after having returned and having fought with the X-men, Vulcan made his way to the Shi'ar empire for revenge on the emperor. But before he could do that, he was assailed by the strongest military might of the Shi'ar empire.
THE SHI'AR IMPERIAL GUARD!
Led by their leader Gladiator, the Imperial Guard battled Vulcan for hours.
In the end Vulcan killed more than half the guard before finally being beaten unconscious by Gladiator himself.
Now, we return to a present none of the X-men or Lilandra herself had anticipated.
" So, I give to you the triumphant reawakening of the true ruler of the Imperium! The great D'Ken!" Chancellor Araki exclaimed to the Shi'ar people.
D'Ken returned to the throne and behind him was none other than Vulcan himself along with his new mate Deathbird.
Vulcan eyed the man intensely.
For what reason would Vulcan help the man who destroyed his life?