Chapter 7: The Seer Sees Doom

Sabere must have been gone during whatever the "worse" was Kurt had referred to. Despite the urgency and immediate danger Xavier and Hank felt regarding Apocalypse, and despite the endless news coverage of the glowing pyramids, nothing happened. Days passed, November began, and still nothing happened…which meant more waiting. Waiting meant anxiety, and the X-Men, who had braced for the worst, had to sit through nothing happening. They were tense, jumpy, and on high alert almost all the time, waiting for some sign of danger or war that they recognized and could respond to – but nothing happened. There were no more lights in the sky, no attacks, no disappearing people, not even a visit from Magneto. Sabere was even more anxious because of the constant nightmares.

"They're horrible," she confessed to Xavier after Kurt convinced her to try to figure them out. "I feel like all my memories are in a file, and he's flipping through them, reading what he needs to know."

Xavier tapped his lip thoughtfully. "If it wasn't for your recent experiences with Apocalypse, I'd chalk it up to your visions. We know your reflexes are a kind of foresight, and that's what's given you visions in the past – "

Sabere shook her head. "This is very different. If you can, I'd like you to read my mind and see if you can figure out what he wants."

"It may not give us any answers, but I'll certainly try."

So she lay back on the psychoanalyst chair (which always filled her with wry amusement) and tried to relax. Images flickered through her mind's eye, the same images Apocalypse had searched through in her nightmares. Mostly they were of her healing powers, how she had used them over her years with the X-Men, but there were other, more worrisome images – memories of Rogue, Xavier, and others, pieced together to form dossiers of sorts.

/It's like he's profiling us,/ she frowned.

Xavier seemed to find this far more disturbing than Sabere did. /He's researching us his opposition – I don't like this. I'm going to try to put up mental blocks to see if we - /

An explosion.

Cities are burning.

He's still sick, I can't do anything for him, says the doctor. But we need him!

Apocalypse is here, too close, too soon, he should still be in Europe –

He's everywhere!

New York City. The X-men gather, new faces, new powers, but not enough. The explosion again, enormous, fire, pain – they fall under the giant's red eyes –

They're hopelessly overpowered – outnumbered –

We need him!

He's not here and they are trapped and they will die

Trapped

Burning, the shining tower, the spear

It ends, and the X-Men are dead.

"No!" Sabere sat up screaming, tears flowing. "Oh God, oh God, what happened – "

Xavier sat back, just as horrified. His X-Men were all going to die! No! No – focus, Charles, focus.

He took a deep breath and cast a mental net across the school. Every other student who possessed similar foresight abilities was fine, as well as the other telepaths – but Jean was as distraught as Sabere. He reached for Scott, who was of course at Jean's side comforting her.

­/Scott, what happened?/

/She started screaming and just collapsed!/ His astral voice was panicked and red. /Something about a battle in a city - /

/Get her up here. Bring everyone else, too./

Sabere took a deep, shuddery breath. She was curled up cross-legged on the couch, hugging herself. Apparently this vision was one of her worst.

"Sabere?" he asked gently.

"Professor – please, I can't stand it – "

The memories still overwhelmed her. He reached out and touched her forehead with a calming finger, sending a relaxing blankness into her mind, clearing out the painful immediacy of the vision.

"Professor – we can't tell them. It will just make everything worse."

It seemed logical enough, but the others were already congregating, and Jean and Scott both already knew. What could he tell them besides the truth? "We don't know if that is truly what will happen."

"It is! When have they been wrong? When have they been anything other than accurate?"

"There have been variations – "

"Variations! So this one will vary enough so we don't all die? Variation my ass!"

Unfortunately Scott and Jean, followed closely by Hank, arrived in time to hear this exchange. Jean was clutching Scott's arm, her eyes red from crying and filled with confusion and horror. "Sabere," she gasped. "Why did you show me that?"

"I didn't!" The rest of the X-Men filed in, so Xavier broke in to give them the full story.

"I was reading her mind to investigate Sabere's nightmares, so I saw the vision as it occurred. Jean, possibly you picked up the vision as another telepath – "

A babble of protests interrupted.

"What vision?"

"The other telepathic students are all fine!"

"What's going on?"

All attention seemed to focus on Sabere, who looked up at them all with wide frightened eyes. Xavier sensed Kurt's painful surge of sympathy but quickly closed the sensation off. Sabere squinted, simultaneously avoiding memories while trying to recall and relate them – telling a story she didn't want to hear.

"Apocalypse had moved. He was already well out of Egypt, still in Europe, but somehow moved to…to New York City. Someone was sick…a male…someone important, I don't know who. We needed him, but I don't know why – there were plenty of X-Men, some new members, I don't know who they were – we met Apocalypse in New York City…"

She shook her head and looked away, fighting back tears.

"Sabere – "

"Professor, please, I can't – "

"What the hell happened?" Count on Wolverine's sensitivity to bring out an answer.

"We died!" she spat.

Utter silence fell. Sabere looked at each other them, anger and fear and grief in her eyes. The X-Men stood stunned, except for Beast, who knew nothing about Sabere's visions.

"So – sorry, I know I'm new but – she had a vision, in which Apocalypse killed us?" His tone implied that he did not expect her vision to have any more repercussions than a bad dream, but the others knew better.

"Her visions have been wholly accurate in the past," Kurt murmured dully.

"But they're just visions! She's been having nightmares anyway – "

"Just a vision? It's real!" Sabere snapped, jumping to her feet, fists clenched, finally losing control. "They're always real! We're going t- " She broke off suddenly, as if saying it aloud with such finality would confirm their doom.

To die. Xavier looked back at Rogue and Bobby, the newest graduated students, both almost as old as Sabere had been when she arrived and yet neither old enough to have to worry about dying. But they're X-Men. Death looms over them every day and they don't notice.

He interrupted to despairing silence quietly. "This vision represents the future as it will happen now. Many things could change between now and then – and something may even happen then, during the battle, to change the outcome."

"It all depends on the moment," Hank realized.

"Exactly."

Sabere shook her head. "You're grasping at straws…"

He felt a flare of anger. He was trying to give them all hope, something to hold on to, even though he wasn't sure he believed himself. "Yes, Sabere. There is the chance, and we cannot give up."

Scott looked convinced – mostly. "But what about the sick guy? And why did Jean have the vision too?"

Too much. Altogether too much. "I have no idea about either. Perhaps, as the next strongest telepath, Jean could see it; perhaps she was linked to the dreams; I don't know. And from what we know, the sick man could be anyone." He faked a smile and forced himself to try to lift morale. "I do know you have a Danger Room session scheduled that you might want to prepare for."

The X-Men filed silently out, except for Sabere, who sat quietly on the couch, and consequently Kurt, who had been longing to comfort her the entire time. Xavier gestured for him to wait outside and rolled himself close enough to Sabere to force eye contact.

"We're going to be fine," he insisted softly.

"We're not, and you know it," she whispered. "I know what you're trying to do, and I appreciate it, but it's a lie and you and I both know what is really going to happen."

She stood and joined Kurt in the doorway, where he immediately wrapped an arm around her and led her away. Xavier finally felt the beginning of a headache and sat back in his wheelchair. He had already suspected that Apocalypse would be the end of his X-Men, and Sabere's vision confirmed it. They were going to die – but Charles Xavier was certainly not going to let them lose hope and give up. Not when the fight had barely begun.

-----

Late in the night she dreams of a power. Nothing specific, nothing definite…but it is there.

-----

Danger Room was freestyle today instead of mission-based, which was a refreshing break from strategizing and formulating. The group simply had to survive a length of time with the obstacles, operating on reflexes, instincts, and teamwork to succeed. Today's arsenal featured everything from automatic machine guns to small missiles to booby traps to flamethrowers. To Logan's dismay, it was all virtual – rubber pellets substituted for bullets and jets of hot air concealed in computer-generated blasts of fire. He still managed to have fun, however, especially when Scott got himself outnumbered by flamethrowers and got torched despite Colossus's best efforts to help him. Logan "diced" another machine gun, dodged a missile that brought down the blue elf instead, and was about to go help Rogue deal with an electrified cage that had sprung up around her when everything folded back into the walls.

"It's a trap!" Sabere shouted. Gotta love her reflexes.

"Center!" screamed Jean, and the X-Men lunged into the middle of the room as thousands of machine guns emerged from the walls. The two women rose into the air, arms and hopefully shields raised, but something else came out of the ceiling –

Tasers snapped onto both of them, and the shock made them both cry out and fall –

Which mean the shields were gone.

Fortunately the simulation ended before they were needlessly gunned down. Even Logan had to cringe at the bruises those guns could have inflicted.

The lights flicked on, signaling the end of the session, and Logan went quickly to Sabere's side. Of course the tasers' shocks had been reduced, but apparently it was still enough to cause considerable pain.

"You okay?" He gently helped her sit up.

"Was the voltage too high?" Xavier asked from the ceiling. Sabere showed him her middle finger as an answer, and he guessed Jean's response was similar. He grinned and scooped her up playfully in his arms. She weighed less than he thought… "Let me give you a hand."

"Logan!" she protested, laughing, but allowed him to carry her out of the Danger Room to the elevators. Neither of them looked back for Kurt.

Outside the elevators, Logan set her down gently, letting his arms linger around her even though she released him swiftly. She stared up at him with uncertain eyes. "I know what you're trying to do."

"You're not trying to stop me, darlin'." He smiled a little and went into the elevator. Maybe she was happy, or maybe she was fuming. He kinda hoped it was the latter.