Apocalypse: Fate's Next Turn Chapter 1: Daily Danger
"Look out!"
Sabere's reflexes failed miserably. A blast of wind knocked her to the ground – lucky, because she had not been prepared to deflect the lasers. Hit the ground, roll, shield – the laser shots were blasted into the walls as Storm summoned lightning to destroy the cannons.
"I thought you were the one with good reflexes," Storm called from the balcony as her gust of wind, Sabere's salvation, died away.
"I'm a bit overextended," Sabere replied dryly. "Thanks."
"Anytime." She jogged off down the balcony – the pair had fallen too far behind to be safe.
They were half the rearguard on this mission. Rogue, who was needed specifically for a task, had been injured and the rest of the X-Men had to get her out. Sabere couldn't see them (which was a bad sign), but she knew that Cyclops and Iceman were leading the group out, and hopefully Rogue was a short distance behind them, guarded by Jean Grey. Further behind Sabere and Storm (though hopefully not too much further behind) were Wolverine and Nightcrawler, the final rearguard. The facility looked like it belonged to a mad scientist – one with a fondness for automatic weapons.
"We should have caught up to them by now," Storm said quietly in her earpiece. Their soft, rhythmic footsteps echoing in the stone and metal corridor were the only other sounds. The halls were too quiet – something else should have tried to stop them after they eliminated the laser cannons – not that she minded the break –
Shouts and explosions echoed down the hallway from far behind them. Sabere stopped and peered back, trying to see what was happening – with the last obstacle out of the way, it meant the men were further back than she thought. She pulled her radio headpiece closer to her mouth. "Should we go back and help?"
"They'll call for help if they need it – keep moving!"
Sabere kept running, then guns ahead her reflexes warned her of the next danger. She skidded to a halt just as another set of laser cannons reared out of the floor in front of her. Gathering her teke powers, she leaped ten feet straight in the air to join Storm on the balcony.
Unfortunately, the cannons followed her.
"Heat-seekers – move!" Storm threw herself forward, Sabere lunged back, and the lasers shredded the balcony between them into hot shards of metal. Storm disappeared with a shriek – she had fallen through. The cannon tracked her fall, and Sabere leaped forward, telekinetically shoving the gun a few inches away from Storm. She was probably already dead, but why risk it – when she still had strength –
The cannon, however, apparently decided Storm was no longer a threat and focused on Sabere, who huddled directly underneath it where it couldn't target her. Storm wasn't moving, and didn't respond when Sabere called her name. She swore and reached for her headset again. "Cyclops, Storm is down!"
"Keep moving. We're running out of time," came the curt, unemotional reply.
A few feet down the hall, another cannon rose out of the floor, aiming directly at Sabere. She swore and launched herself back onto the balcony. Her new shield barely held as both cannons ripped into the wall. The blast threw her off the balcony and into the opposite wall, which she hit and slid down like a cartoon. Dazed, she tried to get a grip before she was shot – she barely had time to register both cannons aiming at her before six claws shredded both, leaving sparking metal parts in their wake. Wolverine had caught up.
"Nice shields," he sighed sarcastically. "I'm not supposed to have your back, kid."
"Well, the one who should is down. And where's Kurt?" They took off running again, leaving the wreckage behind.
"No idea. He teleported off a few minutes ago. If he gets hit, it ain't my – "
He was cut off by a strange whirring sound coming from behind. They turned to face half a dozen hovering robots, heavily armed and aiming for them. Sabere set up more shields, already preparing to run –
And Shadowcat burst through the wall, running her hand through the two nearest robots and completely destroying their circuits. They fell to the ground, useless, but Kitty's phasing power couldn't protect her from the blasts from the remaining robots. She collapsed, badly wounded, but Wolverine grabbed Sabere's arm and hauled her forward.
"How did she get here?"
"How the hell should I know? Kurt must've brought her in."
Abruptly, the dark walls and hovering robots vanished, revealing a massive empty chamber. Now Sabere could see the others several yards ahead. Storm was far behind, but stood slowly, massaging a sore arm. Kitty also got to her feet, unharmed. Sabere looked up to the ceiling, where she knew Professor Xavier had been observing the entire "mission."
"What happened?" she called up. Xavier's voice echoed throughout the chamber.
"Rogue was brought safely through the building. The session is over, and most of you passed. Those who didn't, you know who you are."
Moments later, Xavier rolled through the doorway in his wheelchair. "However, that was, if I may say so, an extremely disappointing session. Three casualties? One serious injury? You can do better than that."
"Who was the third?" Kitty asked unhappily, rubbing her stomach where the robot's "lasers," actually rubber pellets, had hit her.
"Nightcrawler. Logan, you were supposed to be watching his back."
"I was," Logan snapped. "It's kinda hard to guard someone when they won't stay in one place!"
"Yes, but before I died, I brought in a helper," Kurt called from where he hung upside-down from a "laser gun" protruding from the wall. Some of his long indigo hair had escaped his ponytail and dangled around his ears. "You can at least thank me for that."
"Yeah, I died. Thanks a bunch, Kurt," Kitty retorted, grinning.
Xavier shook his head, amused at his charges' antics. An outsider would have been more than shocked at the matter-of-fact way in which this team handled danger. Little would that outsider know that this team was the X-Men, a well-trained group of mutants whose goal was to defend mankind from other mutants who would destroy it, while simultaneously attempting to win the approval of mutant-hating humans.
Unfortunately, the former was far easier than the latter.
"That should be all for today," Xavier announced. "Just do better tomorrow."
"Take out some of the robots and we might do better," Sabere grumbled, still sore from her fall.
"That wouldn't be the point, now, would it?" Xavier smiled. "Go get some rest, and heal up if you need to."
The group left the Danger Room, some groaning from bruises and asking Sabere for help healing.
"You know my ability doesn't cover bruises," she laughed. "And if it did, I'd wear myself out even more helping all of you."
"Oh, come, you can't spare some energy for a deceased friend?" Kurt begged jokingly. Sabere gave a strained smile – for one, she was almost too tired to joke, and two, that comment hit too close to home. He realized that – maybe they all did – and didn't press the joke further.
Death was not something the X-Men joked about anymore, not when they had suffered losses turned to miracles in recent times. Several years ago, Jean Grey had been killed in combat, and by forces beyond their comprehension, she had been returned to the living. And only three years ago, Kurt had nearly been killed by a bullet, only to be saved by careful medical treatment and his own teleportation ability that had carried him mostly out of harm's way. Sabere noticed how differently they treated each other now; death now appeared to be a very likely threat to the X-Men, and everyone seemed intent on enjoying and treasuring time together.
/That's probably the corniest thing I've ever heard,/ Jean thought at her.
/What did I tell you about eavesdropping?/ Sabere didn't really mind anymore, actually, but she liked a little warning before someone else's thoughts popped into her head.
/Sorry. You shouldn't be thinking so loudly./
/How do I "think loudly?" Don't you have walls or something?/
/Emotions make you think louder./ There was definitely a sly undertone in Jean's thoughts, but Sabere had a sneaking suspicion as to why. An incredibly brief image of Kurt's face popped in and out of her mind, projected by Jean. Sabere bit down hard on her lip to keep from laughing. /It's been three years! When are you going to stop teasing?/
/When he proposes./
Sabere coughed with surprise and felt Jean leave her mind with a parting chuckle. Ahead of her, Jean took Scott's hand and winked over her shoulder. The pair stepped into one of the elevators that would take them up to the uniform room.
"Hey, Jean!" Sabere called. She caught the door as it closed, and Sabere raised an eyebrow. "You first."
Jean grinned and let the door close.
Kurt held the door as another elevator opened for them. "What was that?"
She smiled as the door closed. "Nothing."