Chapter 6: Deathstar
"Lilandra," Charles welcomed the Majestrix of the Shi'ar Empire with a warm and heartfelt—if wan—smile. She leaned over his hoverchair and gave him a very empresslike hug that had a wealth of feeling behind it. Charles rather suspected when the immediate business was concluded those feelings would find an outlet he would appreciate. For now, however, as she pulled away from him and took in his worried expression, she put those personal feelings aside for a more pressing matter.
"Have things indeed gotten so much worse, then, Charles?" She asked as they turned to go into the mansion. Behind them, Storm dispelled the thick fog that she had called up to cover the Shi'ar's craft's approach into their airspace. The craft itself, an aesthetically pleasing gleaming silver piece of technology, was now safely stowed away in the hanger that housed the Blackbird, the X-Men's own craft having been telekinetically moved over to allow the much larger craft into its own usual berth. It sat over by the wall now, looking rather outclassed by the much superior silver craft, and Scott looked rather wistfully at the new spaceship before closing the door.
They went directly down to the War Room, all of them; Charles, Lilandra, the X-Men, and the members of the imperial guard, who needed no introductions. They had all met before, having, at various points in the past, been allies and also occasional enemies. Gladiator, Flashfire, Quake, Nightside, Electron, Sibyl, Mentor, and Commando, by name. They all sat around the great round table in the center of the room As Xavier briefed Lilandra on the events of the last four days a ripple of unease started with Gladiator and ran around the table.
"The man is still alive, Lilandra, but just barely," he finished grimly. "By all our definitions he is dead. I don't hold out much hope, but perhaps you have some way of extracting information which we don't."
Lilandra shook her head. 'As advanced as our technology is, Charles," she murmured, "There are some things that even it cannot do, and this is one of them. You may as well release him from the life support and allow him peace, for what you ask is not possible."
Charles deflated visibly even as Logan inflated in anger. "If there ain't nothin' ya can do with all yer fancy machines, then I'll go do it the way I wanted ta, Chuck!" he bellowed. "I'll go an' rip this town apart an' blow up every buildin' if I haveta!"
"Be sensible, Logan!" Charles snapped. "She may not even be in this town. The flight attendant said she disembarked in Shanghai. What if she never left? What if she's there? What if they took her off the plane at a different stopover? Where will you begin, Logan? You can't search the entire world!"
"Perhaps he cannot," Lilandra spoke, "but I can. My ship is in orbit, Charles, with my 'entourage' as you put it. They can scan the planet's surface in less than one of your days, and if Koven is on this planet we will know."
Charles looked at Lilandra with relief. "I was hoping you'd have an idea," he said. "We seem to be fresh out. If you could, please do. Time is of the essence; Sara's been missing for five days now, and we're worried."
"It will be done." Lilandra took out a small instrument that looked rather like an extremely tiny cell phone and spoke into it, turning away from the others as she did so. The averted their eyes in respect for her privacy. Shortly afterward, she turned back to them. "My ship has begun to scan your planet, Charles, but even that will take several hours. As I think we will be here for at least the night, if not a week, my guard will want to see what sort of sleeping arrangements will be made for us and for me."
"Of course," Charles said. "If you will come with me, please," and he led the way out of the room and out of the lower levels to the living quarters in the mansion.
The largest rooms in the mansion were Charles's room and the one assigned to Jean and Scott. The Majestrix would be entitled to the larger ones simply by virtue of her rank, so Jean and Scott had volunteered to move into one of the smaller guest rooms for the duration of her visit. Rogue and Storm also moved, so that entire wing might be available for the Imperial Guard. Storm and Rogue were now sharing a room, and Betsy had chosen to move into Sara's old room for a time. Nothing was said to Lilandra about it, but apparently she guessed that some rearranging had been necessary and thanked them all graciously. They were all worried, and chose to go to bed early.
Betsy woke suddenly, and sat up in bed. Some slight but insistent sound had woken her. After a moment she heard it again; the slight rattling under the bed. Puzzled, she got out of bed and peeked underneath.
The steel box under the bed was vibrating slightly, and a weird violet glow was coming from under its lid. She pulled it out, opened it.
Inside the box Sara's sword was glowing. The blade was almost too bright to look at, and the odd purple stone in its hilt was flickering with an inner fire. She reached out to touch it, hesitantly, and suddenly the purple fire enveloped her, and a deep, masculine voice spoke into her mind.
: Greetings, friend.:
"Who are you?" she whispered. "What are you?"
: I am Chang. I made the sword you hold now in your hand. I made it for the last of the Emperors; I was proud of it, so proud that I wished to keep it for myself. My emperor was displeased, and as punishment for my pride I was bound into the sword until it should break, and upon my Emperor's death was given unto the keeping of the monastery he grew up in. I was only to be released into the world in times of great need. This is one of those times.:
"You mean Sara?" Betsy asked.
: The black bird from the stars threatens not only her but also this entire world. She is the only one who can save it, and you cannot save her but with my help.: The sword was silent for a time, then spoke again. : Know this; the one you seek has but two beings in his army. Two are now one; if you can get me to the Chosen there will be two again. And one will stand against the other, and in the division will be our salvation. But I MUST be with my Chosen to make this happen. When you go to find her you must take me with you, and give me into her hands. She needs me even now; I feel her soulstone pull to mine, bound as she is by compulsions not of her choosing. She was well Chosen; her will is stronger than that of her compatriot. He has been twisted into a creature of such evil he is beyond redemption. She is not yet beyond my reach. I beg of you, take me with you when you go to her!:
Betsy came down to the breakfast table somewhat bemused, carrying the silk-wrapped sheathed sword, and repeated her story. As she did, Lilandra, out of curiosity, pulled aside the wrappings to reveal the sword. She stared frozen for a full moment, then turned to Betsy, full of anger. "Where was this found?" she cried.
It took a moment for Betsy to find her voice. "Sara herself brought it with her from China when she was there on business," she told Lilandra. "She said some monk had given it to her with instructions to use it well and return it upon the completion of its mission."
"How long has it been here?" Lilandra hissed.
Xavier spoke then, puzzled. "I do not see what it is about it that has you so uneasy—" he began.
Lilandra collected herself with an effort. "Charles, the stone on the hilt of that sword is what we call a soulstone. Its particular crystalline structure enables it to convert matter into energy, and hold that energy fast. For the Shi'ar with power that was too great for the body holding it, it was a convenient receptacle for power. Long ago, we used them as jewelry because its abilities were useful. Then we found that the stones captured the essence of its wearer even after the wearer's physical death. The stones were forbidden to all, and the ones currently being worn were destroyed to release the souls held within them. Then the planet we found them on, a remote corner of the Throneworld's home galaxy, was destroyed in a major cataclysm. Very few soulstones still survive, and we thought we had all of them in our royal treasury. It appears we missed a few," she said, turning to the stone.
: It has been here for some time,: the sword spoke into all their minds now. : The stone was one of the jewels of my emperor. He never wore it except for ceremonial occasions. He had it split into two smaller gems. Several centuries after I was bound into one, I discovered that the other half had been set into some silly jewelry or other. I did not see it again until I felt it around Sara's throat.:
"The jewel in Sara's necklace!" Jean exclaimed. "That's a soulstone?"
: Yes,: the sword replied. : Now please can we go and find her?:
"You know where she is?" Charles exclaimed.
: I can feel the other stone,: the sword said.
"Charles," Lilandra said quickly, "I will return to my flagship. Take this," and she handed to Scott the small device she had used to call her ship before, "and signal my guard when you have reached them. They will take care of Koven and his creations, and you will be free to rescue your friend."
"His creations? Lilandra, what if Sara has become one of them?"
Lilandra looked long and hard at Xavier, and her expression was not a pleasant one. "Charles, any of his creations is likely to be tainted by his evil. If she has become one of his experiments, death will be the kindest thing to do for her."
"I cannot accept that," Xavier snapped tersely. "However, this is not the time to argue. We shall decide what to do when she is found."
Logan and Betsy led the way down the slippery, rain-slick pavement to the alley behind the warehouse. Betsy held Sara's sword, unsheathed and ready before her, and Logan followed slightly behind her, sniffing for any scent of danger. She jerked her head up toward the roof, and Storm, Rogue, and Warren flew up there, to the skylight that every warehouse seemed to have. Jean lifted herself up after them. Wolverine, Psylocke, Gambit, and Scott went in the conventional way.
The warehouse was dark, and their footsteps echoed hollowly in the empty spaces. "Where is everyone?" Scott whispered to Betsy, who was probing the warehouse for any psychic signatures.
"One in front of us, coming closer," she whispered, "and two above us, I think on a suspended catwalk. Funny; I can only sense their presence; I can't tell who it is…"
"Well, well," said a voice, and suddenly the warehouse floor was flooded with light, thought the ceiling above them was still in darkness. Behind his back, Scott switched on the communications device that would inform the Imperial Guard of where they were. "The X-Men. I didn't anticipate you finding us so quickly." A Shi'ar male descended the steps, to stand at the foot of them, well out of range of anything the X-Men might choose to throw at him. "But it is just as well. I assume the Imperial Guard is coming. Good. They shall be an adequate test of my two creations." He looked up, and the X-Men followed his gaze up.
There was a crash, and Storm's body came hurtling down through a hole in the roof, out of control. She was almost to the floor when she managed to pull out of the dive. She hovered a foot above the floor, looking stunned, and the other X-Men gasped as Rogue and Warren were slammed through the roof as well. Jean fell through the air too fast for Storm to catch, and she fell into Scott so hard she knocked both of them to the floor. Scott gasped for a moment, the breath knocked out of him, before they all looked up again.
Two figures floated down toward the floor; one a huge, burly Shi'ar male with what looked like half his crest missing. Koven touched a remote control he held in his hand, and the entire warehouse became brightly lit. They stood still, speechless, as they saw him. Half of his head was a gleaming metal plate; it looked like a part of his face, and moved like skin. He wore only a skimpy red loincloth held on by a thick belt that had one of the Shi'ar's energy weapons holstered in it. Huge swathes of metal covered sixty percent of his body, and what little was not covered by the metal was impressively muscled. The X-Men spared a brief glance, took in his appearance, but focused on his companion.
It was Sara. But how changed! She looked like her companion, wearing a skimpy V-shaped scarlet top that fell to a calf-length skirt, slit all the way up the side to expose her hip. But where nothing but pale skin should be, there was a latticework of the same metal that patterned the man's body. It covered a great deal of her body, and the right half of her face was the same metal. The eye in that half of her face was a glaring, milky white, with a single black slitted pupil in the center. The other eye, in the normal half of her face, was its usual vivid violet. It was grotesque, and they stared in horrified silence.
Logan was the first to break the stunned silence. "What have ya done ta her?" he croaked weakly, staring at the being that had once been his lover.
Koven laughed; a harsh, maniacal sound that held a hint of madness in it. "She and Gero here are the new commanders of the Shi'ar Imperial Army. That metal I bonded to their skins is impenetrable as far as Shi'ar scientists could discover; at the same time it is flexible and indestructible. Behold my success! This is Hellguard and Deathstar!"
"Your success is your death, Koven!" came a voice from the door. The members of the Imperial Guard entered the warehouse, followed by Lilandra and Xavier. Xavier stared in mute horror at the creature that was once the lovely young doctor he knew, and at the grotesque parody of a Shi'ar male beside her. Sara—Deathstar—drew the sword from the sheath she wore at her hip, and stepped before Koven. "My Guard, We," she used the royal pronoun, "the Majestrix of the Shi'ar Empire, do now decree that the citizen known as Koven is now a traitor to the same empire. He has disobeyed Our direct and incontestible order that such experiments should not proceed, and has cost the lives of many of Our ally's people. For this crime of disobedience and treason, he is so bound over to you for execution." She paused, and deliberately did not meet Xavier's and the X-Men's eyes as she continued. "As their continued existence is a direct threat to both the Throneworld and this planet, his creations, Hellguard and Deathstar, also known as Gero of the planet Axiel, and Sara Michaels of the planet Earth, are hereby also bound over to the Guard for execution."
The X-Men gasped, and Charles did as well. "Lilandra, no!" he cried. "They have done nothing to warrant death! It is no fault of either of them that Koven has made them what they are! Do not condemn them!"
Lilandra turned to Charles, and her eyes held no warmth, only steel and ice. "Charles, Hellguard has killed other people on other planets at Koven's behest. Before he became what he is, he was also facing prosecution for the death of several innocent Shi'ar children. He is nothing less than a murderer, Charles, and he will die for it."
"Not Sara!" Xavier almost pleaded with her. "She is not one of your citizens; she has done nothing to you or yours! Let us have her! She is our friend!"
"She is his creature, Charles, Lilandra said, sadness in her voice. "Left alone she will continue what he has begun. He has done to her what he has done to Hellguard; taken away the mind and forced the body to obey him. No, it must be this way, Charles. Go, Gladiator." The Imperial Guard moved to obey.
Hellguard drew his energy weapon, and both he and Deathstar took up positions before Koven. "You will not touch Master!" Deathstar screamed defiantly, and swung at Gladiator. He, Nightside, and Flashfire moved in to battle Deathstar, and the others moved in to engage Hellguard. Xavier motioned the X-Men to move in. Do not hurt her, he told them, indicating Sara. Immobilize her, catch her, but do not harm her. If we can break her free of Koven's influence I may yet be able to persuade Lilandra to spare her.
Hellguard shot off energy blasts; Deathstar swung like one possessed. The battle raged on for a while until Gladiator called to his people, "Halt! Regroup!" the Guard retreated a short distance, to eye the two defendants warily.
Betsy stepped forward, her own sword sheathed, holding Chang unsheathed across her hands. "Sara," she said, her voice low and non-threatening. "Sara, you're still in there, I know you are. You haven't been changed for that long that you don't remember us. Remember this? Chang? He is yours, Sara. Take him." She withdrew her hands, stepped back, letting the sword hover in the air.
There was a startled movement from Deathstar as she heard the name Sara called. The white eye flashed in anger, but the violet one looked at Betsy, and there was a look of dawning recognition, of hope. "Betsy?" said Sara's voice, and it was Sara's voice, as unlike Deathstar's discordant shriek as it could be. "Betsy, help me, please, I don't--" and her body jerked. They looked past her, to where Koven was, and he was holding a small black box in his hands. Sara jerked again, doubled over clutching her middle, and dropped to the floor, screaming in pain.
Logan rushed past Betsy, snatching Chang out of the air as he sprinted past her. He stumbled to his knees beside her, shoving Chang into her hands as she lay there, then stood in front of her, facing both the Guard, Hellguard, and Koven, protecting her. She ceased struggling as the soulstone in the hilt of the sword and its matching half around her throat flared to life, bathing her in a violet glow. She stiffened.
