Chapter 18: This, Too, Shall Pass
The euphoria surrounding the mansion in celebration of their engagement faded quickly. Xavier, having grown too weak to even leave his room, put Beast in charge of training, and on the day after Boxing Day he called the first training session with the entire team.
The fake Apocalypse reveled in the new powers he had been exposed to. He was unpredictable, and the X-Men were soon exhausted trying to form a strategy against him as he employed power after power against them. They found themselves clustered behind the wall of a building, but so many were missing – Beast had been killed almost immediately, and Boomer and Kurt were missing as well. Cold fear flooded her stomach as she tried to reassure herself – it's just a scenario – but it could happen in real life – at the next battle –
A massive explosion collapsed the rest of the wall, and the X-Men dove into formation, pushed from their hiding place and ready to fight. But they were alone.
In the middle of the street, a small glowing ball appeared. It looked like one of Tabby's bombs, but she was nowhere in sight – and it kept growing –
"Cover up!" Scott bellowed, but Sabere just stood while the others retreated. She could stop it…
The glowing bomb swelled to the size of a car, a little larger, larger – it was taller than she was – and it exploded. She threw up her hands in front of her and wrapped a shield around the fiery shock waves. It was like trying to hold back the spray of a fire hydrant with her bare hands, yet somehow, she was doing it.
She bared her teeth as her shield wavered and pulsed against the explosion. The fireball swelled in furious orange against her shield. Heat scoured her face, and as she turned her face away in pain she saw the X-Men taking cover and ready for her to release. But there was no way she could get out in time…
Her shield wavered and a small burst of flame licked out of the explosion. It doesn't matter anyway…let it go…
"Sabere, no!"
She lifted her hands in surrender – and something else came out of the fire.
A huge bird, beak gaping in a silent, triumphant shriek, lunged out and wrapped its wings protectively around her. The rest of the explosion raged around her, consuming the new fuel, but the fire around her was pleasantly warm and protective.
You are the one from my dream, she thought.
I can save you, but there must be a trade. Those words…
Reveling in the power, she spread her arms and let the fiery wings meld to her. The simulation ended and the explosion melted away.
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Jean squinted through the flames as Sabere spread her arms. It couldn't be…it looked like she had wings…
The simulation ended and the virtual fire blinked and vanished. Less than a second later the flames around Sabere melted away as well. She let her arms fall, and stared in confusion at her hands.
/What did it do?/ Jean demanded instantly, getting to her feet and hiding any sign that she was communicating.
/"I can save you, but there must be a trade." That's what it keeps saying./ Sabere stood still, shaken.
"According to the analysis, we were all killed – except Sabere," Beast read from the monitors on the wall.
"I didn't mean it, I couldn't control the shield – " she pleaded.
"No one's blaming you, darlin'," Logan interrupted. "Looked pretty cool anyway."
"What did you do?" Tabitha asked in amazement.
Sabere shook her head quickly, panicking a little. "Just a shield. I didn't mean to – I tried to shield everyone but I guess it just covered me – "
"It doesn't matter, Sabere," Jean insisted quietly, all the while soothing the minds of the X-Men and gently removing the significance of Sabere's strange new "shield." The fewer questions they all asked, the better…
Jean caught up with Sabere upstairs and drew her aside. "Did you tell it to leave?" she asked immediately.
Sabere shook her head desperately. "It can save us, Jean – why not take its offer?"
"Because it's not an offer made in kindness! 'I can save you, but there must be a trade.' It came to me five years ago and never spoke to me like it has to you, but gave me more and more power until it had convinced me that the only way to properly use all that power was to kill myself. That's what happened at the lake. That's why I died – that power wanted a life in trade."
During this revelation Sabere had sank quietly to the stairs, where she sat and stared blankly at the dark walls. Jean sat next to her and waited for an answer. Finally, Sabere raised her head a little and a determined fire came to her eyes.
"Wouldn't it be worth it? My life for the lives of millions – billions? My life for the survival and well-being of all the generations of the world to come?"
Jean pressed her fists into her eyes, trying to forget the lake, the agonizing grief that she had sensed in her friends' minds as she died – but she could not forget her own determination, and her ultimate success.
"I would advise you to ignore it, and let events unfold as they will," she said slowly. "But it is…ultimately…your decision."