Scott's POV

Without my visor, I have no sight. That is why I have practiced with blindfolds to train myself to fight without sight. I thought I was getting pretty good at depending on other senses, but that was in a controlled environment. Now I am surrounded by twenty screaming mutants who I need to try not to blast.

Not only that, but I do not know the footfalls of all the mutants around me like I do my teammates. I don't know if I am near a friend or foe, and if I open my eyes, I will blast whoever is in front of me.

Focus on your surroundings, Scott. I hear the Professor's voice during many training sessions. What do you hear? What do you smell?

What do I hear? I stop trying to focus on the big picture and focus on my ears. On my immediate left, heavy footsteps and grunts indicate a nearby brawl. Behind me, the clanging of metal sounds like someone is up against a chainlink fence.

And above me, a distant helicopter or plane is approaching. By the whirling, I would guess it's a helicopter.

There is a smokey smell, like burning wood. There is heat in the air as well, like a fire is nearby. When I turn my head to the right, my nostrils fill with the smoke, burning my throat and causing me to cough. I step away, bumping into someone.

"Hey! Why don't you open your eyes and see where you're going, mutee?" It's an MRD soldier I ran into. There is a strong smell around him that I recognize as gun oil. It's like gasoline, just five times stronger. He has a weapon on him, and I doubt it is a mere dart gun. I can't afford to be shot. Jean would kill me.

"You're right. I will," I say, opening my eyes. Through the red blast, I watch him fly into the chainlink fence. Just as I am closing my eyes once again, he is flopping forward onto the grass.

I shouldn't do that again. Without my visor, I could end up doing more harm than good.

Someone grabs me from behind, smelling like the same gun oil. They seize my shoulders and cause my skin to scream in pain from the burns. I raise my fist, slamming it backward. There's a sickening crack as my skin collides with a nose, and my knuckles pull away wet. Cursing, the soldier loosens his grip, and I spin on my heels. I ram my knee up. By his reaction, I gauge that I hit him in the groin area.

"Ay! Cyclops!" Bobby shouts. "Helicopter at Twelve O'clock. Wanna blast it down?"

I nod, raising my head. I open my eyes and blast straight up to the sky. My aim is off, and I have to move my gaze before I hit the front of the helicopter. It catches flame and plummets towards the ground in a spiraling motion.

"Everyone! get out of the way!" I shout while I close my eyes.

"I got it!" Rachel yells. I feel her brush up alongside me, causing a spasm of pain up my arms. "Dad, you shouldn't even be out here. You can't see a thing! You almost dropped a helicopter on us! Why didn't you go with mom and Aunt Ororo?"

"I'm starting to think I should have!" I agree.

"What are you waiting for, Child? Are you going to do it or not?" A new voice joins the conversation, and I get the sneaky suspicion that it belongs to the infamous Magneto. "I cannot wait all day."

"Wait, do what?" I demand. "Rachel, what is he asking you to do? What are you doing?"

"I'm about to change the MRD's mind," she answers. "From the inside."

"From the inside?" I repeat. "You mean telepathically? Rachel, are you crazy? There is no way in hell you can reach all of these people, let alone would it be moral!"

"Moral?" Magneto laughs. "Young man, what is moral about throwing mutants in cages just because they are different from the homo sapiens? Men, women, children? All thrown into these jails and left for dead. I've seen this all before, and Charles may think that the world has changed, but history is repeating itself. It is us versus them, and we need to stop the war while we still have the upper hand."

No wonder no one I've spoken to about Magneto speaks of him fondly. My blood is already boiling, and I have not talked to this man longer than a minute. "You can believe that all you want, but you will leave my daughter out of it."

"You don't understand, Dad! You have never seen what I have seen!" Rachel has the same fiery temper Jean had all those years ago when she insisted on fighting Oblivion. "Things don't get better from this. Things get worse. So much worse! I lived through it once as a child, and I will not live through it again. I'm doing what Magneto has planned, and you can't stop me. I have a chance with the Phoenix."

"Come along, Rachel," Magneto says before I can get in another word. Despite my protests, I hear them walking away, their footfalls in the grass blending into everyone else's.

Rachel's POV

Did I have a chance with the Phoenix? Yes. But is it high enough of a chance to actually make this successful? That is still to be determined. As much as I love the idea that I can change the entire world's opinions on mutants with just my mind, I know realistically, it is far too much for me to handle.

As we walk away from my dad, I turn to Magneto, whose hand rests on my shoulder. "I won't be able to reach the important minds from here. I can maybe persuade these guards to stop attacking us, but that won't be enough in the grand scheme of things. I need you to take me to Washington D.C. I'll Handle the Department of Defense and the rest of the government first. I'll make them shut down the MRD and any other anti-mutant programs they have. Maybe have the President sign a few protection laws for us while we're at it."

"Save your energy on the MRD. The other mutants will tire them out soon enough," Magneto says. He motions for me to follow him, and we leave the battle. I feel guilty for leaving my dad behind, but it isn't like he would be helpful now. I board Magneto's jet and situate behind the pilot's seat, where a blue-skinned mutant woman is piloting.

"You are a smart girl, Rachel. I was worried you would be too much like your parents and Charles to see reason," Magneto muses once we lift off.

"I am my mother's daughter," I say, taking some offense to what he said. "But I saw far too much as a child to ever let it happen here. You know the MRD is just the beginning if we don't stop it. I would prefer not to see the destruction of another timeline if I can help it."

"I understand. The genocide of an innocent race is nothing new to me. As I told your father, I have seen all of this destruction before. Families were ripped from their homes and thrown into camps just because they were born different. My family was one of them. My mother, father, and I all entered the concentration camp, and I was the only one who left. Charles lived through that time as well. But to him, it was not real life. He will never understand how it feels to go through such a loss. Not until he lives through it himself. If we succeed tonight, he will never know such pain."

"Good for him. But you know he'll be mad once he learns what we've done?" I ask.

I glance over and see him nod. "I'm aware of the temper he can have when disobeyed. Charles is... was very close to me. A best friend, but more."

"Like a brother?" I guess.

He shakes his head, which confuses me. "no. Not exactly. Something... different. His desire to be loved by humans was a wedge between us. We would see mutants being unfairly treated, even slaughtered, and somehow he never saw homo sapiens as the enemy. I'm afraid he embedded that mindset into his little X-Men."

"Not all of us." I look out the window of the jet.

I may be my mother's daughter, and I may be the Phoenix, but I am someone else as well. I am a mutant. I am powerful in my own right. I may be seen as the weak, mutant girl who destroyed TJ Maxx, but I won't be for long. I am not weak. I am a mutant, proud and powerful.

I am Prestige.

To Be Continued...