Chapter 14: Doctor's Orders

The X-Men took their time recovering. Storm was unconscious for almost a week and suffered from severe burns; Colossus was unable to activate his powers without severe pain for some time; Sabere herself had to have her shoulder in a sling for a few days before it was fully healed. Then there was the mental toll. The younger students had idolized Bobby and Rogue, and their loss shook them deeply. Kitty, who was normally bubbly and bright, hardly spoke and spent much of her time grieving with Piotr. Everyone tried to put on bright faces, but no one was fooled anymore, and the rest of December was looking bleak. Xavier and Beast spent hours closeted in Xavier's office, but no one knew what they talked about. Some optimistically said they were researching and strategizing, but Jean confided her suspicion that they were actually planning how to take care of the students once the inevitable occurred.

They held a quiet service for Bobby, burying him in a small section of lawn near Xavier's rose garden. It didn't feel complete without Rogue, and Sabere couldn't shake the feeling that this would not be their last funeral.

Paris was on the news so often that TVs around the mansion, which were usually on all day, were shut off in annoyance. Only Jamie, who as far as anyone knew didn't do anything other than watch TV, kept watch on one. When he screamed for everyone to turn on the news, everyone obeyed.

Sabere flicked a finger and the TV across the kitchen switched on – and there was the thing she had been dreading since last summer. Dr. Rao stood in front of a massive concrete building, staring confidently out over dozens of microphones at hundreds of reporters.

"Veeda?" Beast asked in surprise.

"You know her?" Scott asked.

"Dr. Kavita Rao, yes – we worked together at Brand for several years." He stared at the screen, watching the woman speak. "I wonder what she's done."

"I have a feeling," Logan answered grimly, thumbing the volume up. Dr. Rao held up a small vial and the camera zoomed closer.

"…around the world can escape persecution. Humans do not mutate by choice, and it seems only fair that science offer them a chance to reverse that choice. Ladies and gentlemen – I present the cure to mutation."

Scott sighed. "It's about time."

"They finally did it."

"Oh God – " Jean's eyes were squeezed shut, her fingers at her temples. "The students are – God, I can barely block them – "

/X-Men, my office, now./

Sabere sat numbly while the rest of the X-Men sprinted from the kitchen. Thoughts swarmed each other in her mind – doubt that the cure would actually work, speculation at who would take it, outrage that that they had actually gone through with the drug, fear at what the government would do now that they had the opportunity to once and for all rid themselves of the troublesome mutant population, and most of all, the weight of their own failure. At the time, Sabere hadn't doubted Rogue's decision to let Rao and the cure escape, but now that it was real, that the consequences were upon them…

/You too, Sabere./

"Liebchen?" Kurt 'ported back into the kitchen. "Will you be okay?"

"Will you?" she asked automatically, turning off the TV.

Kurt looked away. "Xavier wants to see us."

"I'll walk up – I need to think about this." She stared unfocused at the screen, trying not to acknowledge the little voice in her mind insisting that Kurt would be first in line for the cure, the same fear she'd had when they first found out the research had survived. After coming so close to losing him, now this…

"I know. We all need to, but there's no time for that." He stepped forward and brushed her cheek, yellow eyes scanning her face. He stepped closer and 'ported her to Xavier's office. The X-Men were gathered around the huge screen, watching Dr. Rao unravel their world. Xavier was on the phone, and Jean's eyes were closed. Every once in a while she'd name a student, students Sabere guessed were considering taking the cure themselves. Hank was pacing, Logan frowning, Storm looking out the window as if expecting a visitor. Sabere felt a pang as she realized what Rogue might have been feeling if she were here – now she finally had the opportunity to be normal, to actually touch another person, and now the person who had inspired that wish was dead. Sabere found herself not thinking how many would take the cure, but how many would still be left in the mansion when everything was over and done.

Xavier hung up the phone and Scott muted the TV. "That was Moira, my associate in Scotland," he told them all. "She says she's seen some of the work on this 'cure' compared to the drug that was used on us here and believes it is very real and very effective."

"Did SHIELD pass that on to her, too?" Logan grumbled.

"Who has control of it?" Sabere asked quietly, remembering the government's past history with anti-mutant drugs.

"At the moment, Rao's own pharmaceutical company – not Bishop – is dispensing it, but it looks like the government has placed a very large order – and not just our government. Officials from Egypt and France have both requested samples."

"They want to try it on Apocalypse," Scott realized.

"That would require their militaries to get close enough to him to utilize it," Hank said. "Unless they put some in a bomb…"

"Don't give them any ideas," Logan groaned.

"On the contrary," Xavier broke in, reining in the conversation. "It may be our only solution."

Storm looked doubtful. "Even if their militaries could do the job, what's to stop them from turning it on their own mutant communities?"

"The military doesn't need to get it at all," Xavier replied. "We've already determined that the X-Men are the only ones who can put up any kind of fight against Apocalypse. We can get in on our own, with the cure, and stop him."

"Just like that, huh?" Logan chuckled. "I thought that was all we had to do when we raided Bishop."

"Magneto won't let it happen that easily, and not just because of his loyalties to Apocalypse," Storm cautioned. "He'll have something to say about this cure."

Xavier shook his head. "He's beyond our control, now more than ever. We need to keep an eye on the students, talk to everyone, and make sure this doesn't affect what we're fighting for. Right now we need to make Apocalypse a lower priority, and focus on keeping this school together." His blue gaze met each of the X-Men. "We can't dwell on past decisions. This is the now, and we need to keep moving."

Jean turned off the TV, which had moved on from the press conference to the talking heads. The look in her eyes made Sabere think that Xavier's goal wouldn't be as easy as he thought.