A favorite scene from X-Men 2

X-Men United (2003)

DISCLAIMER: The following is based on the specified movie. If you like what you read here, I highly recommend the movie.

**SPOILER ALERT**

“The helicopter was right here!” Wolverine shouted, inadvertently clutching the boy in his arms tighter in his panic. By avoiding the flooded spillway, they had made it out of the base alive- but time was running out. The dam couldn’t take much more. Soon the pressure would exceed its limit, and the water would break out of its confinement.

Curse you, Stryker, Wolverine thought, not for the first time. He looked around wildly, searching for something- anything- that might get them out of this mess. They were a sorry group. Cyclops had one arm around Jean, supporting part of her weight so she didn’t have to walk on her injured leg; Professor Xavier and the five other children whom Stryker had held captive at the base clustered around Nightcrawler and Storm.

Then he heard something. The dull roar of an engine. Collectively, the group stumbled back as the X-Men’s black jet appeared over the canopy of pine trees. Who was piloting? Logan had left Rogue, Pyro and Bobby to wait in the aircraft while he, Storm, Nightcrawler, Magneto and Mystique carried out the rescue.

Magneto. Wolverine bit back a curse. He took the helicopter.

It made sense. He hadn’t seen Magneto or Mystique since he split off from the others to chase down Stryker.

Magneto… A thought occurred to Logan and, still carrying the boy, temporarily left the others at a brisk walk to check out a ruined concrete wall several hundred yards away.

Inside the black jet, Rogue’s white-gloved hands gripped the vertical thrusters so tightly she felt them going numb. Calm down, you can do this, she thought to slow her pounding heart, but it only thumped harder as she struggled to ease down without allowing her muscles to shake. She made it most of the way down before she twitched. The jet descended the last few feet in free fall, landing on the ground with a sickening thump. Beside her, Bobby flicked the switch to extend the ramp. Rogue jumped at a loud whooshing noise, looking back to see Nightcrawler and Xavier in the craft. Her heartbeat sped up again as Storm swept her way aboard with five of the other kids from school and went straight to her.

“It’s all right,” Storm said soothingly, trying to pry Rogue’s hands off the controls. “It’s all right. You can let go.”

Rogue allowed her to extract her from the pilot’s chair, still unable to speak as she stood on shaky legs and went to sit next to Bobby. Scott went to the copilot’s chair.

“Here, Bobby.” Logan appeared at the top of the ramp and handed off the boy, then went to hover as Storm and Cyclops worked the controls.

“Has anyone seen John?” someone asked.

Wolverine went on alert. “Pyro?”

“He’s with Magneto,” Jean said quietly.

Nobody had anything to say to that.

“Vertical thrusters are offline,” Storm reported, voice tight. Logan pushed down the panic he felt tearing at him again. Storm and Cyclops would figure it out. They couldn’t die after all they’d been through. They couldn’t!

Outside, the dam cracked. Water burst through the opening, sending a spiderweb of cracks all over the dam. Several pieces of concrete broke off, propelled by an entire lake’s worth of water.

“The power’s failing,” Storm said tensely.

Jean stood quietly behind them all, feeling strangely detached from the occurring events, as if she’d already been through it all before. The tension in the cockpit ate at the fringes of her mind, but the sensation had to be worse for the Professor than for her. There was a different kind of feeling picking at her – the knowledge that they all were going to die unless somebody did something, and only she had the power to save them.

Only me. Jean took a slow breath. Someone else might have wondered if they were overreacting, but she knew she wasn’t. The jet needed a lift, and no one else here could possibly accomplish it. But how could she leave Scott – and Logan? Jean looked at them, both so focused on activating the jet that they were oblivious to everything else. Both determined to survive and complete the rescue. There were tears in her eyes as she turned, activated and limped down the ramp.

Inside the jet, Xavier’s head snapped up. “Jean?”

Scott and Wolverine were instantly alert. “Where’s Jean?” Logan demanded.

The Professor hesitated for a fraction of a second before responding, “She’s outside.”

“What? No!” Cyclops leapt out of his seat and ran for the door. The ramp retracted seemingly of its own accord, closing just after Scott got a glimpse of Jean’s determined face.

“I’m sorry,” the Professor said. Scott turned and sprinted to Xavier, crouching down next to him, almost in tears.

“You’ve got Jean? Jean!”

“It’s the only way,” Xavier said, relaying the words directly from Jean’s mouth. “Goodbye.”

“Jean!”

The jet gave a jolt and then began to rise. Outside, the water was spilling to either side. The aircraft was temporarily protected as it gained altitude.

Underneath the craft, Jean felt the moment the engines finally engaged, relinquishing the need for her telekinetic push. Mentally and physically drained but triumphant, Jean lowered both hands, closed her eyes and let the cold, surging water of Alkali Lake wash over her.

Logan tried to swallow against the lump in his throat as Storm guided the jet away from the lake. He choked the words out: “She’s gone.”

“Don’t say that!” Scott grabbed at the front of his jacket.

“She’s gone,” Logan repeated, his chin trembling uncontrollably.

Scott sobbed.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want,” Nightcrawler said quietly. “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”