Dallas

"I didn't kill the President."

"The bullet curved, Erik."

"Because I was trying to save him. They took me out before I could."

"Why?"

"Because he was one of us."

The morning sun streamed through the hotel room window, its light muddled by the sheer white of the curtains. It heralded the beginnings of a sunny and humid day in Dallas. It was early, yet the city was already bustling with activity. For today there was going to be a parade, and a very special guest would be gracing the streets.

The President was here.

Erik rose to his feet from the cheap hotel bed. It was far from glorious accommodations, but they had sufficed. Their sole purpose was to provide him safe housing for the night, so that he could accomplish his mission today.

This day was to be another victory for his people, another milestone for mutantkind. For one of their own now sat in the most powerful office in the world. A new era had dawned, not only for America but for the planet as a whole. Finally, for the first time since their emergence in the world, mutants were gaining their rightful place of power. The evolutionary tides had finally turned.

But there would always be threats: those who sought to fight against the basic laws of nature. The strong were destined to inherit the Earth, but some among the weak refused to accept their fate. These people, little more than primitive animals by comparison, still held many positions of power and significance. Erik knew very well that they would stop at nothing to achieve their goals of total dominance, and the eradication of all those who had the potential to threaten their rule.

Now he, in his own mind, was the sole person qualified to fulfill the role of protector of his race. For this day was going to be far from one of pure celebration, for a dark and threatening cloud loomed over the unwitting President. There was a group who sought to bring chaos into the world, and they had decided to descend upon Dallas this day. Erik didn't know their name or their motives, only that their mission seemed to be little more than to cause pure violence and dismay, both among his people and their own. This group, whatever they were called, were little more than monsters.

Setting his jaw firmly, Erik began dressing. He kept his clothes simple, to blend in with the human herds: black dress pants and shoes, purple button down shirt, brown leather jacket. He examined his reflection in the tarnished mirror, examining his firmly set jawline. He looked the part of ordinary civilian.

He removed a black fedora from the nightstand and placed it securely on his head. Donning a pair of black sunglasses, he turned and left the hotel room. Where he was going he needed no weapon, for if violence broke, out everything around him was his weapon.

Jubilant cheering went up as the motorcade drove past. Parents hoisted their small children onto their shoulders, so the little ones could catch a glimpse of the beloved President as he drove past. Erik eyed the progression of the motorcade, ignoring the celebrations around him as his shaded eyes scanned the buildings. His eyes fluttered shut for a moment, as he let his senses expand outward. There was an abundance of metal around him, and he could feel it all, from the cars in the motorcade to the coins in the civilians' pockets. But he was discerning, and knew what he was searching for. He searched for the metal that heralded death, the long, slender shape of a barrel, the cold smoothness of a bullet. He searched for this presence, both in the crowd and in the buildings around him.

There it was.

He sensed the assassin's gun in one of the buildings nearest him. He wasted no time in shoving past people, ignoring their cries of alarm as he darted inside the building. He made his way upward into its heart with as much speed as his limbs could muster. There was precious time left. There was a mutant life at risk.

Erik considered himself fortunate, having gotten wind of this plan quite by accident. He was surprised this corrupt organization knew of the President's true nature, for only he and a scant few others managed to discover the truth. The driving force of Camelot was one of their own, and he had the potential to reign in a kind of Pax Americana…that is, if Erik succeeded today.

The mutant's heart pounded as he felt and searched through the floors, honing in on his target. He could sense it already: a human, crouched by an open window facing the street, the barrel of his rifle poised and at the ready. Erik could feel the bullet entering the chamber, feel the lever pull back, and feel the trigger itching to be pulled.

The door to the assassin's lair burst open, and the man rushed through it, charging at him with full speed. The assassin, clad all in black, leapt to his feet and reached for a pistol at his hip. Before his hand could grab its handle, the mutant raised his hand and narrowed his eyes slightly. The assassin gasped as a dozen of his spare bullets flew into the air by themselves. The mutant clenched his fingers into a fist, and the assassin let out a blood-curdling scream as the bullets shot through the air and clean through his chest and stomach. The human cried out and gargled on his own blood for a moment before finally collapsing to the floor. A pool of blood formed beneath the man's form, bathing the bullets on the floor in a blanket of velvety crimson.

The mutant overlord went to the window and peered out at the motorcade below. The President had already gone by, but the cheers were uninterrupted as the cars continued to pass. In the distance, he could see the pink sleeve of Jackie's dress glinting in the sunlight as she sat proudly next to her husband, waving at the throngs of people gathered. Erik let show a small smile, thinking of the President's young children, and mutant gene their father had passed onto them. They were the next generation of their kind. They were the future. They were the spirit of Camelot, and of a new mutant era.

His thoughts were interrupted by the crack of gunfire.

Erik barely had time to react. He felt the bullet mere seconds before he saw it. He hurled himself at the window, the upper half of his body teetering dangerously over the sill. He extended his hand toward the speeding bullet and commanded it to deflect harmlessly into a nearby brick wall.

A second assassin?

As his concentration remained locked on the bullet, Erik's eyes travelled to where the bullet had come from. In the window across the street he saw another man in black, exactly like the one lying at his feet.

Suddenly the door flew open again, and before Erik could even move, he felt someone charge at him and push his body over the windowsill. His assailant wasted no time, and Erik saw a blurred flash of black metal as the man produced a gun from a holster on his back. The man vanished from Erik's sight as the mutant rapidly plunged toward the ground. The mutant closed his eyes and exhaled calmly as he willed his descent to slow to a halt.

The Master of Magnetism looked back up at the window from whence he had fallen, and his heart and mind raced from adrenaline. He grit his teeth and willed himself to rise back toward the window, where his assailant stood in wait. He expected to catch the man by surprise, but to his disappointment, the man was waiting and ready for him. It was as if this human knew what he was up against.

Did this human know of him?

Erik caught a glimpse of the man's form before the next round of chaos erupted. This man was nothing like the other two. His powerful frame was clad in black, tactical leather, but his left arm was bare and made of…metal…

The man's face was covered from the nose down by a black mask, and black goggles shielded his eyes. A cascade of brown hair fell across the man's forehead as he peered down at the approaching mutant. Erik's eyes narrowed as he approached, directing his concentration on that metal arm.

As he did so, another shot rang out, echoing loudly off the walls. Erik didn't know from where it had originated. It didn't matter, it was heading toward the President, and his life was of the utmost importance. Erik turned to the bullet's path and extended his arm. Before he could do anything, the masked man suddenly leapt out of the window, grasping hold of Erik's body as he landed on him in midair. Erik cried out in alarm, causing his concentration on the bullet to break, and causing both him and the Soldier to fall.

With a cry of frustration, Erik turned his attentions to that metal arm. In his rush, all he could do was command it to hurl the Soldier away and off of him. The Soldier didn't even so much as gasp as he was flung away and sent hurtling toward the pavement. Erik wasted no time, turning his attentions back to the speeding bullet. It was so close to his target. It was moving too fast. He could barely sense it. He could barely grasp it. He fumbled and searched for its presence, to slow it down, to divert it. It was moving too fast. It was all happening to fast. He felt it curve and falter in the air. That was all he had time for. It needed to be enough. Please God let it be enough.

A shrieking noise filled the air as the Soldier landed on the ground, unharmed as he used his metal arm to break and catch his fall. His metal fingers emitted sparks as they dragged across the pavement, and the Soldier remained crouched on the ground for a moment before standing up, unscathed by the fall. He stared up at the mutant through the shroud of his goggles.

A chorus of screams tore through the air, and Erik's jaw slackened in disbelief. No, this couldn't be happening. This should have been easy for him. These were metal human weapons. They were easy prey to his powers. How could this have happened?

How could he have possibly failed?

He didn't even feel the metal turn on him, or see the gun, or even hear the gunshot. All he felt was the hot metal tear through his shoulder, just inches above his heart. Erik gasped and fell from the air, landing hard on the grassy lawn below. Stunned and blinded with pain, Erik clasped his hand over the wound and struggled onto all fours. He peered up through blurred vision just in time to see the silhouette of the Soldier lumbering slowly and menacingly toward him.

His lips curled into a snarl as he willed himself by pure adrenaline to stand up. He raised both hands and focused with all his intensity on that metal arm. The Soldier floated into the air on the Master of Magnetism's command, and he began writhing as he felt his metal arm began to squeeze and tense on its own. Sparks flew from the metallic joints and plates as they were slowly squeezed together, and they emitted a harsh metallic cracking and humming sound as they crumbled. The mutant slowly approached him, an enraged expression carved into his hard features.

With skills born of something inhuman, the Soldier flung himself around in midair, landing one of his boots on the mutant's skull. They both head a sickening crack, and blood seeped down the mutant's forehead as his concentration broke once again. The Soldier landed on his feet once he was free, and rotating his arm he managed to get some of the plates to fall back into place. He pulled an automatic pistol out of a shoulder holster and positioned himself to shoot, ready to complete his mission.

But the mutant was not defeated yet.

The gun flew out of the Soldier's hand, and he felt his mechanical arm move on its own again. This time his own hand flew toward his throat, and the Soldier had to grab it with his biological hand to stop it. The Soldier struggled with his own limb for a few minutes, letting out a few Russian curses. With a growl of rage, Erik waved his other hand, causing all of the Soldier's weapons to fly off his body and into the air. They hovered around them in a circle, positioned to fire at their owner.

"Who are you?" Erik snarled. "Who are you working for?"

The Soldier ignored him, concentrating instead on his own metal arm.

"Answer me!" Erik bellowed. "Why are you here?"

Another crack of gunfire, and Erik felt another hot bullet tear through him, this time through his abdomen. The guns fell to the ground around him as he collapsed to his knees. Now free, the Soldier lumbered over to the mutant, looming over him with a masked, expressionless face.

"You're my mission," the Soldier said simply.

Then Erik's world went dark.