A/N - Oh yeah, we needed happy Jan so much? And she deserves a chance at all the happy. Also - may be having too much fun with Scott and Natasha as kind of siblings, too. They ... it's just ... I mean ... it's so freakin' unlikely of a pairing? And it works so well on a sibling like level. But anyhow. There are other things in play, too ...

Chapter Four: Corsair Returns

Though it took a little while, K finally managed to pry herself from Sam and get out of the house and alone for a few hours. That in itself was a trick with how closely everyone was watching over the little Howlett family. So many threats from so many directions …

The little time K managed for herself, really wasn't much, but considering how stressed out they all were, and how attached Logan was to her - and to checking in on Scott and Jean - K honestly needed to do something entirely different, just to breathe.

So of course, she headed out to the barn. It had been a while since she'd ridden, if nothing else because of Sam and the lead-up to her birth … and the mess afterward.… But now? Now, she had a little time, and the horses were more than happy to see her.

As usual, she went through wordlessly until she found one that looked entirely willing and ready to work. The big mare had bright eyes, and her ears were forward. She was positively locked on to every move K made … so of course, with a muted smile, K opened her stall and pulled her out. She took just a few minutes to brush her out and put on a bridle before she led the horse outside and asked her to bow. Though it had been a few months, K had to smile when the mare took the cue almost immediately, bowing deeply down onto one front knee - the other outstretched. The mare's nose nearly touched the ground, and with a proud look, K climbed on the now much easier to mount horse. With a little kissing noise and a long pet on the mare's shoulder, the horse stood up. And with that, the two of them went to work.

She wanted to start bareback - not for any reason other than she didn't want to waste any time tacking up when she knew that Sam would be looking for her next meal before too long. And as it turned out, it was the right move. Every cue was crystal clear to the mare, and it was apparent that the horse missed doing her job as she pushed herself to show off with every step.

K had to bite back the smile as the mare blew out a snort with every step … just a little sound as she tried to show how serious her job was. In no time, the two of them were making good progress, too - lateral movements, passage, and some great flying lead changes, of course.

But that all came to a halt when a familiar spaceship appeared over the front lawn. The horse was obviously spooked by the aerial visitor, and just on principle, K refused to let something as stupid as that god-awful ugly excuse for a spaceship scare her mare off. "Quit now," K said in a low tone before she picked up the slack on her reins and clicked at the horse to slowly go toward the landing craft.

Every step the horse took was shaky, but K made sure to keep gently urging her forward. The closer they got to the ship, the more she felt like she was sitting on a powder keg - which was exactly what Corsair had coming if he thought showing up unannounced again was a good idea.

And by some miracle, she was still the first one there as the hatch opened, even though the mare was ready to run. She made a soothing noise as she relaxed her body as much as humanly possible and then waited for Corsair to step out.

Of course, Corsair couldn't have known how wound up either K already was based on how relaxed she looked, and since they had parted on semi-reasonable terms, he actually broke into a smile when he saw her. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Uh huh," she said, careful to keep her relaxed stance. "What do you want?"

"Same thing as last time, more or less," Corsair said.

"A lesson in manners?" K asked as the horse pawed the ground.

Corsair frowned at that and shook his head. "The Shi'ar are looking your way again. That thing they were looking for last time?" He gestured to the house. "Somehow, Scott's team must have found it."

K tipped her chin up and held his gaze. "Mmmm. I don't think so." When Corsair took a step toward the house, she gave the horse a quick cue, and the mare quickly blocked his path, snorting and pulling her chin up to her chest as she collected.

"Oh, come on," Corsair said, throwing his hands up. "What's your problem?"

"Right now? You do know how to use a comm or open a line, don't you?" K said. "Or is it impossible for you to talk to someone without being dramatic?"

"Hey, I thought the boys would like a surprise, okay?" Corsair defended.

"And we need to get moving, so…" One of the Starjammers tried to muscle past, giving K a pointed look.

The moment he did, though, K gave the horse a little kiss, and a second later, the mare was up on her back legs - and striking at the Starjammer. When he took a step back, K leaned forward a little and used the mare to push him back. "She will trample you if I ask her to."

"Come on, K - we come in peace and everything," Corsair said, holding both hands up. "Leave my guys alone."

"Do you think they'd rather take the back half of the horse?" K asked as the mare shifted from one foot to the other.

"We're trying to help, you lunatic! You want a Shi'ar warship to come blast the school?"

"So tell me what the hell you saw and what you think it means," K said.

"We raided a scout ship and perused their logs," Corsair said. "They were in this area and reported back on the Phoenix Force being here. Seemed pretty excited."

"Where?" K asked. "Specifically."

"Alaska," Corsair said.

"How long ago?"

"About a week," he said. "Two at most."

She looked thoughtful at that. "Do not walk into that house without me. I'm a little more stabby than you remember, and I won't be held responsible for my actions. It's for your own safety." She loosened the reins and asked the horse to sidestep until it was more or less clear of the crew, and then she slipped off easily only to quietly remove the bridle, rub the mare's forehead, and then click at the mare a few times.

It took all of a second before the scared horse tore off for the rest of the herd, nickering and kicking up clods of grass. "I'm serious. Don't go in ahead of me," K said, pointing a finger toward the Starjammers as she put the bridle over her shoulder. She took her time to gather herself up before she slowly walked ahead of the group, though by the time they got to the door, Bobby was opening it and looking more than a little confused.

"So… space invaders. I feel like I've seen this one already."

"Yep, someone put in another quarter," K said. "Can you get the group gathered up?"

"Yeah, we all saw the ship. Wouldn't be surprised if your kid found an X-Men onesie for his sister, because he's still attached even with the team gearing up…" Bobby looked past K to Corsair. "What's the story? He here to meet the… step-son? Son's-sister?" He looked at K. "I don't even know what the word is."

"No. I doubt that's a concern," K said. "Just … gather them up, please?"

"Yeah, got it," Bobby said, bouncing off to go find the others.

"You've got them jumping for you," one of the Starjammers muttered K's way.

She turned his way, tipping her chin up again. "Yeah? Maybe you're next."

The Starjammer smirked. "Could be fun."

"Yeah…. No." Corsair put his hand out between the two of them. "Don't do that."

K smirked at Corsair. "Welcome back, by the way."

"There's the welcome," Corsair said with a smirk right back at her.

"You screwed up the first ride I've had on that mare in months," K said. "It's gonna take me weeks to work that out of her now."

"I'm sure you're up for it."

"Not the point."

Corsair smirked. "Hey, there's no way I could have known you'd be doing that."

"Um … if you'd called, you'd have known - or I could have ended it early," K pointed out.

Corsair shrugged, but before he could dig himself into a deeper hole, Alex called out, "Dad?"

At that, Corsair grinned crookedly as Alex and a few of the others arrived. "Hey, Alex. How's school?"

"Fine." Alex shook his head, grinning a little wider with every step toward his dad. "What's up? You decide to take me up on the offer to teach you to surf? Because I gotta tell you, man, your timing is rotten. Couple more months and the surf is prime."

"Seriously, Alex?" Scott said, shaking his head as he and Jean brought up the rear with Charles - and Scott was, as Bobby had said, still holding Sam, who was asleep on his shoulder and clearly content where she was.

"Wait." Corsair raised both eyebrows. "Is that…?"

"Mine," K said, rolling her eyes at him. "Control your face."

"Hey, be fair. What was I supposed to think?"

"Um … that your son isn't that irresponsible?" K said, staring at him as if he'd lost his mind.

"I'd have found a way to contact you if I could have," Scott said, one eyebrow raised. "Her name's Sam. She's my new sister."

"Looks good on you, kiddo," Corsair said, the smirk still somehow the same even after K had cleared things up.

K rolled her eyes, then thwacked Corsair in the back of the head- hard. "He's nineteen, you nimrod."

Corsair rubbed his head, seeing stars after the adamantium-laced hit. "You seriously pack a punch."

"That wasn't even much of a tap," K replied, frowning his way as she headed over to take Sam so Scott could get more involved if he wanted to.

"What's going on anyway?" Scott asked, smiling in spite of himself as he handed Sam off to her. Especially since Sam was smiling at him. "If this was a social visit, you wouldn't be bringing the troops."

"True enough," Corsair said, his head tipped to the side. "I was just telling K: the Shi'ar are coming back. Some kind of force that they picked up in Alaska. The Phoenix. They're really worked up about it, too."

Scott and Jean shared a glance at that but didn't say anything - yet. "What kind of force?" Jean asked.

"Cosmic and destructive," Corsair said.

"And what do you think the next step is?" Logan asked as he kicked himself out of the doorframe, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

"Find it before they do," Corsair said. "Because you don't want them getting their hands on something like this."

"What are we lookin' for?" Logan asked.

"Big flaming bird?" Corsair shrugged. "It's an interdimensional power that can wipe out planets. I think we'll know it when we see it."

"Uh-huh," Logan said, looking less impressed by the second. "So you don't even know what the hell you're lookin' for."

"I was hoping something this big? You guys would have noticed it," Corsair pointed out. "It didn't seem like something you just … miss."

Logan looked clearly irritated, and he and K shared a little glance, though they didn't say anything, even as K made her way over to stand next to - and partially block Jean. "Did you want to hold Sam for a little bit?" K asked her quietly.

Jean nodded. Do you think it's that thing? She projected to K. He said Alaska…

I think, based on the timeframe he gave me on the Alaska spotting - and the whole firebird description - I'm a little suspicious. So … we'll protect you.

Thanks, Jean said, even as she took Sam and snuggled the little girl.

"Did the Shi'ar say what they were planning to do with the Phoenix?" Scott asked. It was hard to tell because of the glasses, but he was watching Jean and K - and had more or less figured out what was going on between them and was already ready to defend Jean against the Starjammers if need be.

"Honestly?" Corsair shook his head. "It seemed like they were scared of it. Which is a first."

"And what's your take on that?" Logan asked. "Seein' as you know 'em a helluva lot better'n we do."

"I say we find the Phoenix before they can destroy it - which they will if they beat us to the punch," Corsair said. "Anything that spooks the Shi'ar has got to be worth finding."

"And what do you plan to do with it once you find it?" Logan asked.

But at that, Corsair grinned outright. "Scare Shi'ar."

Logan's eyes narrowed a bit further and then he shook his head. "Forget it."

"What?" Corsair looked between the X-Men, honestly taken aback. "You were fine killing Shi'ar before…"

"And no one was fine with you looting and acting like a dumbass," Logan said. "Protect the planet - fine. Free labor for you? Not happenin'."

"They're coming here anyway!"

"If we do this, you don't get to walk away with it," Logan said.

"Oh come on," Corsair said. "What are you going to use it for? We're the ones fighting Shi'ar!"

"Think you can take me for it?" Logan asked, looking like he was hoping Corsair would say yes.

Scott stepped in between the two of them. "Dad," he said, giving Logan a look before he turned back to Corsair. "Look, there's more going on here than you realize. And I'll talk to you - in private - but Dad's right. You can't walk out with the Phoenix."

Corsair frowned, but when it was clear that no one was going to budge, he let out a sigh. "Alright, Scott. What've you got?"

Scott raised an eyebrow and pointedly gestured to a classroom, which had Corsair letting out another breath before he followed Scott in and frowned when Scott closed the door and turned around looking more serious than a kid his age should look.

"We might know where the Phoenix is," Scott started out slowly. "But it's not a weapon, Dad. It's a person. And you can't walk away with a human being."

For a moment, Corsair looked openly confused. "No, Scott, it's really not. It might be using someone for a host, but it's not a person."

Scott shook his head. "Do you hear yourself? Even if that's true, the host is still a person. Not a weapon."

"Scott … a person couldn't ever control it," Corsair said, looking almost alarmed. "It would consume them!"

"And you're willing to let that happen to get back at the Shi'ar? If that's true, we need to help!"

"Scott this is a bigger problem than just getting back at the Shi'ar," Corsair said, dropping his voice lower. "This entity - it's killed planets on a whim."

Scott honestly had to take a step back, because he didn't know that - and he couldn't reconcile that with Jean. "You … don't understand," he managed to say after a moment. "I know who the host is. I think."

"Then we have to get them out of here before the Shi'ar show up," Corsair said.

Scott held Corsair's gaze for a long moment before he nodded. "Alright. But no one on your crew can know. I don't want someone using … using the Phoenix as a weapon. My team has already seen enough of groups trying to force mutants to be exactly that. I'm not going to stand for it from the Starjammers. Okay?"

Corsair took a moment to watch Scott before finally he nodded slowly. "Alright," he drew the word out as though it was painful to agree. "Who is it?"

There was a moment where Scott honestly wasn't sure if he should tell him. As much as he wanted to trust him, Corsair had changed since he had been Major Christopher Summers. But… it could get dangerous if he didn't know, too.

Finally, Scott let out a breath. "It's Jean," he said, then quickly held up both hands to stop the commentary he knew was coming. "But it's nothing like what you described. Not really. Fiery, yeah, but it's more like she has a boost to her powers with an added element of heat and fire." Scott shook his head. "It's not… planet-consuming. It's just … Jean."

Corsair frowned at that. "That… does explain a few things," he said before he finally let his shoulders drop. "Alright. I won't get in between you and your girl, okay? Let's just keep the Shi'ar from getting their hands on her."

"Agreed," Scott said, though he looked relieved when it was clear he wasn't going to have to fight with his father.

Once the two of them reached their teams, Scott automatically stood by Jean, one hand at her waist as he addressed the rest of the X-Men - at least those that hadn't done this before. "Looks like we're going off-world. If we can lead the Shi'ar away from Earth, that will keep everyone here safe. After that, we can deal with the Shi'ar. Fight them if we have to, slip off if we can."

"What about K and Sam?" Jean asked, glancing down at the little one she was still holding.

Scott paused and glanced to K. "Right."

"I don't even know what to tell you," K said. "We know the Avengers aren't much help …"

Scott held her gaze, though K could see the moment he'd come to a decision, and he nodded. "Yeah, he can't find you in space. And I know you won't let any Shi'ar within sight of Sam. So as long as we don't get shot out of the sky, it would probably be safer for you to come."

K bit her lip at that. "I … honestly don't know if he figured out where the cottage was, maybe I should just go there."

"Okay, time out," Corsair said, looking between them. "Who the hell is so big and bad that a Shi'ar battle is safer?"

"Just a jackass with ties with the worst weapons program on the planet," Logan said. "And a kink for genetics."

"He's after Sam," Scott explained tersely. "So, yeah, she's safer in space. At least right now."

Corsair looked between them one more time before he threw up his hands. "You're all crazy. You know that?"

"Tell you what," K said. "How about when we come back, you can try to play big bad hero and look the guy up yourself? He's more than a little obsessed with Scott, too."

"What?" Corsair turned Scott's way. "Why?"

"Not now, not with a crowd," Logan said sternly. "You wanna do this in private? Fine. But not like this."

"Fine. Then grab your gear and get your butts on board," Corsair said. "Because that sounds like something I want to hear about."

K took Sam back from Jean as Kurt made the jumps to get what he knew the little one would need, and K took the time to make her way over to Corsair, dropping her voice to almost a whisper. "All you have to do is ask. He'll tell you, but it's not something that's comfortable to be shared with people you don't know."

"That's my kid," Corsair said.

K nodded. "It's also how Logan saved him."

"Then should I be asking Logan?" Corsair asked. "Because I honestly don't even know…"

"No, you should ask Scott. If you'd like, I'm sure Logan will join the two of you to fill in any blanks, but it really is something you should hear from him. Or … with him in the room."

"Sounds bad," Corsair said.

K nodded at that. "This is the first time I've come across someone I know I can't beat." She shrugged. "Which probably doesn't mean much to you, but it's bad."

Corsair nodded at that, though he didn't say more — at least not about that. "Kid's cute," he said after a beat, smirking despite himself.

She paused and then looked up at him, unable to stop the disbelieving laugh. "Oh. So that's where he gets it from." She did, however shift so that he could get a little better look at Sam, who was wide awake and studying everything.

"What?"

"Just … the face."

"Yeah, Scott looks like me. That's how genetics work."

K couldn't help but laugh genuinely. "No, I meant the whole … melts for the little ones. I thought he was going to break his face smiling when she was born."

Corsair smirked a little harder at that. "Did the same when Alex was born."

"But not the better-looking, dark-haired one?" K asked, one eyebrow raised. "Come on."

Corsair laughed. "No, no, I mean Scott did that when Alex was born. Kat and I were both thrilled for each other boys."

"He loves being a big brother," K agreed. "Adores this little girl."

"Wait until she's old enough to walk. If she's like Alex, she'll start following him around and he'll start coming up with games for her."

"If she's like me, she'll start off at a dead run on her tiptoes. And he'll have to chase her."

"Don't do anything slow in your family, huh?"

"Apparently not," she said. "Unless you take into account how old I was when I had her. And no, I'm not telling you. Doubt you'd believe me."

"Hey, I know you have a low opinion of me, but I do know not to ask a lady her age."

K couldn't help but smile. "Well … I'm 19 years younger than Logan … that's all I can give you."

"Wait. What?"

"That's the age gap," K said.

"There's no way," Corsair said. "He doesn't look that old, and you don't seem like the type to go with a cradle robber."

"Well … the other women his age are mostly dead."

"Yeah, but he looks my age."

"Who are you kidding?" K laughed. "He doesn't have any gray."

"Hey."

K grinned and bumped him with her shoulder. "Part of the mutation, old man."

"That's just not even fair," Corsair said, grinning and shaking his head at her.

"And I doubt he'll be getting any gray for a looong time."

Corsair smirked as they headed to his ship. "Sure, rub it in."

"I can't help that he's gifted with youth," she teased.

Corsair chuckled, shaking his head at her as they boarded the ship - though he redirected once they were in to get them in the air and get things settled so he could talk to Scott, since that was still rumbling around in his head, too.

The ship was on course, so he headed to where Scott was talking quietly with Jean. It was clear just watching the kid's body language that he was putting himself between Jean and any possible trouble, too.

Corsair frowned when he saw it. He knew what Scott had said about Jean being the host of the Phoenix, but he never would have guessed it. She looked the same as she had before, if a little older.

But he was also interested to see that the protective urge clearly went both ways. When Corsair tipped his head toward Scott to invite him to find a private place to chat, Jean held onto Scott's hand a little tighter and made it perfectly clear that she was coming with them.

"Right." Corsair shook his head but couldn't stop his smirk. He should have known… especially watching the way the two of them had curled up with Scott's new sister. That was just a matter of time…

So long as the Phoenix didn't get in the way.

But they could get to that later. They would have to get to that later - if Jean even survived the Shi'ar attack.

"So… I'm not even sure where to start," Corsair admitted as he sat down with the two of them. "I'm still not convinced it's a good idea to bring a baby to a Shi'ar fight."

"If the team's coming, it's safer this way," Scott promised.

"Yeah, I'm still not convinced," Corsair said. "You only tangled with them once; you don't know them like I do."

"And you don't know Dr. Essex like I do," Scott said. "He kidnapped my family after Sam was born. He's obsessed with 'studying' mutants - but to do that, he controls, tortures, and experiments on them." His arms were crossed, but there was no mistaking the honest hurt and anger in his tone. "We haven't been able to stop him, and we've tried. The Avengers, the X-Men - no one but Jean has been able to do him any real damage."

Corsair gave Jean an inquisitive glance, and Jean shrugged lightly. "Long story."

"If you're really the Phoenix host, I can imagine what the truth is," Corsair said flatly.

"That's what happened in Alaska," Scott said.

Corsair shook his head. "I swear, Scott: your team gets into the craziest things."

"Yeah." Scott paused, but he was trying to clear the air. "This guy, though, he's not a team problem. He ran the orphanage where my dad found me."

Whatever Corsair had been expecting to hear, it clearly wasn't that. He blinked hard and then turned to face Scott properly. "...What?"

"For five years," Jean said, her tone sharper than any Corsair had ever heard from her. "He kept Scott in a basement to cut into him and experiment on him and turn him into a lab rat." She was holding onto Scott a little harder as she spoke. "And he wanted to do the same with Sam. He wants to study healers, and he wants to study Scott's family. He's obsessed."

Corsair honestly looked like he could have been knocked over by a passing wind. "What?"

"You heard me right." Jean tipped her chin up. "This guy has worked for a department that captures and enslaves mutants; he's kidnapped me, Scott, Logan, K, Sam - all of us - multiple times. He isn't afraid to use telepathy to destroy minds or torture to get his way. And he thinks Scott and Logan are his test subjects. So, yeah, you've missed a lot. But I'm sure your revenge quest against the Shi'ar was important."

There was a long beat of silence as Corsair physically took a step back, clearly floored - though Scott didn't look like he knew what to say either.

"It … really was," K told her in Corsair's defense- clearly having eaves dropped from the doorway. "He might have gotten carried away, but … it was absolutely warranted."

Jean let out a little breath and then shrugged at last. "He asked."

"He did. And you answered him perfectly," K agreed. "So proud."

Jean smirked, and Scott shook his head. "Anyway," he said, "where's Sam?"

"With Kurt," K said. "He said he's been neglected in the amount of time he's been given to spend with her and that you're a giant baby hog."

"My sister," Scott said without missing a beat.

K held up both hands. "I'm not defending anyone. Just passing the message on."

"We did have her for over a month," Jean said, trying to be a little more reasonable, since it was obvious she might have left Corsair more or less in a state of shock.

Scott shrugged at that. "Well, anyway… I guess we wait for the Shi'ar to come to us to lure them away from Earth. I guess Kurt can have Sam that long…"

Jean rolled her eyes. "You're so proving him right, you know."

"Still my sister," Scott said, not even pretending to act as if that wasn't the best excuse he had.

Jean smirked at that and took his arm to leave the room. You're ridiculous, and I love you for it.

As the two teenagers kept up their psychic flirting session, K took a hold of Corsair's arm and pulled him aside. "It's best to leave them alone when they're like this," she advised. "Come on, if you have any questions, I'll try to answer them for you."