The Sapphire Soldier

Heaven Is So Bright

"Hey," Peter whispered.

Jean slowly looked up at us. The anger that had been consuming her only moments ago seemed to have faded, leaving behind someone who looked exhausted and lost. For the first time, she didn't look like someone we needed to fight. She just looked like a girl who had lost the person she loved most and had no idea what to do with all the grief that came after.

Peter and I exchanged a quiet glance before slowly sitting down on either side of her. None of us spoke for a moment. The silence wasn't uncomfortable. If anything, it felt strangely familiar, like all three of us understood something about each other without needing to explain it.

Peter finally looked toward Jean. "I'm sorry about your sister."

Jean swallowed, her eyes dropping to the floor. "I'm sorry about your aunt."

Then she turned toward me, and there was something almost apologetic in her expression. "I'm sorry about him. That you had to make him forget."

My chest tightened. I looked away for a moment, trying to keep my face from giving away how much those words still hurt.

"Yeah," I said softly. "You would've loved him."

Jean gave me a small, sad smile before looking back down at her hands.

Peter took a slow breath. "Just because we've lost someone doesn't mean we have to do this alone," he said. His voice was quiet, but there was a sincerity behind it that made me look at him. "I mean - we can't. Trust me, I've been trying. It doesn't work."

Jean shook her head slowly. "Even if that's true... I have no idea how."

I glanced at Peter, then back at her. "You have us."

Jean's head lifted immediately. She looked at me for a long moment, almost like she didn't believe I could mean it. Then her eyes moved to Peter, who gave her a small nod.

And for just a second, I thought maybe she believed us.

Then Peter's expression changed. His eyes shifted toward something behind us, his body going tense.

I followed his gaze, confused, until I realized what he was doing.

He was looking for the threat.

I reached out with my mind. And then I heard it.

The sharp crack of gunshots echoed through the building.

Frank was aiming at Jean.

Peter moved before I could even think. He stepped directly in front of Jean and me, putting his whole body between us and the incoming fire.

"Peter!"

I reacted a fraction of a second later, throwing myself forward.

For a moment everything around us seemed to slow. The sound of the gunshots stretched into a dull, distant echo. The shards of glass Jean had been holding in the air stayed frozen around us, suspended. The people caught in her telepathic grip went still.

Then everything snapped back into place.

The glass fell.
The people were released.

The room came rushing back around me, and I blinked several times, trying to force my mind to catch up with what had just happened.

Jean was standing in front of Peter.

"Are you hurt?" he asked her.

She looked at him, startled. "No. I'm fine. I'm fine."

Then I saw it.

Blood.

At first it was only a small dark stain spreading across the back of Peter's suit. Then another drop hit the floor.