Chapter 1

A warning to the people,

The good and the evil,

This is war,

To the soldier, the civilian,

The martyr, the victim,

This is war...

~This is War; by Thirty Seconds to Mars

"You got the coordinates down?" I looked over at Natasha. We'd been flying in the Quinjet for what felt like a lifetime. I had gotten a message from Charles Xavier telling me where he and his allies were going. I briefly had an encounter with Charles a couple months ago, during a Sentinel attack. I had gotten separated from the others, Charles was trying to keep some other survivors safe. That was where I found out Charles was a telepath, like me. Only I had telekinesis added to the mix.

"Yeah." Natasha let out a sigh. "We should be getting there in about five minutes."

Five minutes. Doesn't seem like a long time, right? Well, when you're living in a world that's become overrun with Mutant-hunting machines—machines that can adapt to whatever Mutation you have—five minutes seems like an Eternity.

"This man is trustworthy?" Thor asked, placing a hand on my upper back.

"I've told you guys a thousand times, Xavier is a good guy." I leaned into Thor's touch. "He's a Mutant, he's helping other Mutants."

"He did bring you back alive," Clint sighed, cleaning one of his arrows. I could still hear a bit of skepticism in his voice.

"Listen, if Xavier really meant any trouble, I wouldn't be here," I exclaimed. "I've met some of his allies—they're good people."

"Now's not the time to be arguing," Steve said. "We need to get to this location. That's the safest spot for us right now."

You're all probably wondering what's going on. What are Sentinels and why are they hunting Mutants? The Sentinels had been created years ago when Humanity considered Mutants to be a danger. The Sentinels were created to kill us. Over the years, those damned Sentinels began changing, being able to adapt to whatever Mutation they went up against. The thing is, though, not every Mutant was slaughtered by Sentinels—there had been, what I've heard to be, 'Mutant concentration camps' built. Mutants and even the Humans who help them were sent there.

"I'm picking up some of the big boys," Tony muttered. Tony had altered the Quinjet to be able to detect when Sentinels—whether or not they were activated—were near.

"They won't be able to detect us, right?" Bruce asked.

"This baby doesn't make a sound when it flies," Tony said. "As long as we don't make ourselves noticeable, they won't detect us."

"OK, guys, we're getting close to the destination," Natasha announced.

A Chinese Monastery. At the moment, that was the safest spot for us. Charles had told me in his message that he was able to get in contact with one of his old students—being a professor at an old Mutant boarding school—who might've figured out a way to end the Sentinel reign. When Natasha landed the Quinjet, we carefully got out.

"That belong to your friend?" Steve asked, nodding to the big, black jet not too far away.

I looked it over carefully before nodding.

"Zelda." Turning, I saw Charles coming out of the Monastery. The elderly man was in a specialized hovering wheelchair, a tired smile on his face. Another older man, wearing black and a cape draped over his shoulders, followed behind him. Then came a woman with white hair and another bigger, gruff looking guy smoking a cigar.

"It's good to see you, Charles," I said, smiling.

"I'm glad you made it safely," he said. "We need all the help we can get."

"These are my friends," I said, waving to the others. "Tony, Steve, Natasha, Clint, Bruce, and Thor. They're not Mutants, but..."

"They can help." Charles nodded, his smile becoming more appreciative. "My old friend, Erik. He can control metal. This is Storm, and then Logan. Adamantium claws and regenerative abilities."

I smiled at them, giving a sight nod.

"Why are we here?" Steve asked.

"I take it she didn't tell you the details?" Erik said, arching a brow at him.

"Some old students of mine think they've figured out a way to stop the Sentinels," Charles said.

"We'd better take this inside, Professor," Storm murmured.

Looking over at her, Charles nodded. "She's right. We can't waste any more time out here, we might set them off."

Inside the Monastery, which had been stationed for the possible onslaught of a Sentinel attack. There, Charles introduced us to more people—old students, new allies. They were people Charles trusted.

"My old student, Kitty, believes she's figured out a way to stop the Sentinels from happening," Charles explained. Nodding, a young girl stepped forward.

"One of my powers is being able to send someone's consciousness back in time," she explained. "The farthest I can go is about a month, but I know that if I can send someone's consciousness back to before the Sentinels were created, they won't exist."

"The Sentinels were around for a long time," I said slowly.

"What happens if you send someone back farther than what you're capable of?" Natasha asked.

"They get brain damage," Kitty sighed. "I need to have someone who's mentally able to handle the journey."

"That's where Logan comes in," Charles said.

"I thought, maybe, I could send the Professor because of his abilities," Kitty said, "but the mind can only stretch so far before it snaps. Logan is able to regenerate instantly. If I can send his mind back, what's going on right now won't even exist."

"How far back are we talking?" Tony asked.

"The 70s," Kitty said. "From what the Professor said, in 1973, the Sentinel Program was pushed further after the man who created them, Dr. Trask, was murdered by a Mutant. It was Trask's murder that pushed everyone into believing Mutants were evil."

"And if you can prevent his murder, you can prevent this future," Tony deduced.

"Precisely," Charles said.

"But there's something else," Kitty said.

"What?" Thor said.

"If this works, we won't remember any of this," Kitty explained. "Only Logan will. I can guarantee you that some of us will die here, and if the future does change, some of us might not even be born."

"So we're sacrificing our lives for a future we won't remember?" Clint asked.

"We've been sacrificing our lives this entire time just trying to survive," Kitty said. "But at least this time, we have a chance to actually have a better future."

Before any of us could say another word, we heard someone from outside shout, "They're here!"

Author's Note:

This is an X Men Days of Future Past crossover with my Avengers story, 'Let the Flames Begin'. I hope it's at least decent. It'll be told mostly through the POV of my OC, Zelda Benningfield, who's a telepath and a telekinetic. If you've got suggestions on future updates, let me know. This my first crossover story.

I own nothing in the 'Marvel' universe, only my characters and fillers.

Leave a kind and helpful review, please!

Thank you.

Susan Strong