They had all changed their clothes before boarding the plane, Rhea was now wearing a dark green suede sleeveless crop top, a brown leather jacket, dark boot cut jeans, and a pair of dark brown boots. Logan had taken his seat from before still sitting a stiff as a log while Rhea saw across from Charles who was rubbing his leg with a grimace.

"You ok?" Rhea asked.

"Getting there." Charles replied.

"Whatever happens today I need you to promise me something." Logan said suddenly. "You've looked into my mind and you've seen a lot of bad, but you've seen the good to, the X-Men." Logan leaned forward. "Promise me you'll find us, use you power to bring us together. Guide us, lead us…Storm, Scott, Vanessa…Jean. Remember those names. There are so many of us. We will need you, Professor."

"I'll do my best." Charles replied.

"Your best is enough, trust me." Rhea smiled.

-0-

Rhea followed behind Hank and the Professor with Logan bringing up the rear up to the White House stepping through a metal detector.

"Can I see you invitations please?" A guard asked.

"Yes you may, these three are with me." Charles said placing a hand to his head.

"Go ahead." The guard waved them on.

"Thank you." Charles said as Hank wheeled him on. Rhea glanced back to Logan as he stepped through the metal detector getting a look of mild surprise when it didn't go off, not used to it.

"Come on Logan, you're holding up the caravan." Rhea smiled.

"This way Sir." A guard said as Logan walked up to Rhea and they walked on to join Hank and Charles. They stood in the center of the crowd as Charles scanned through them all trying to locate Raven.

"I haven't found her yet, but she has to be here." Charles said.

"Try focusing on people who can get close to Trask or the President without causing suspicion." Rhea suggested.

'The President of the United States.' Someone announced and Hail to the Chief started to play as Nixon took to the stage with Trask following along with other cabinet members.

"My fellow Americans today we face the gravest threat in our history…mutants." Nixon started. "We have prepared for this threat. In the immortal words of Robert Oppenheimer…'Behold, the world will never be the same again.'"

Nixon gestured behind with and the curtain fell revealing the sentinels. The crowd cheered as service men stood saluting then Charles found her.

'This is for you brothers and sisters.'

"Raven?" Charles said as he froze her. "I have her."

'Let me go Charles.'

"There, you see, the secret service man." Charles pointed her out. "Left of the stage, go."

"Got it." Logan said as he, Hank, and Rhea walked toward her. Then the sentinels activated rising up into the air.

"Gentlemen, ma'am, you cannot pass this point." A guard stopped them just in time for the sentinels to open fire on the crowd sending the scurrying and screaming for cover.

"Erik!" Charles screamed as everything went to heck in a hand basket.

"Get to cover!" Rhea pushed Hank and Logan away from the fire only for a car to explode sending them to the ground. They scrambled to their feet looking to the sky where Erik was holding up a whole stadium. "Holy crap."

"Charles!" Logan called out as debris fell.

Charles barely had time to dodge out of the way as some crushed his chair and pinned him to the ground. The three raced to get to him dodging more debris as it rained down on them, but the stadium dropped closing off the White house from the rest of the world. Erik descended from the sky with his sentinels on either side of him as he surveyed his work, the machines moving off taking up sentry points around the stadium only one remaining with Erik.

Hank with Logan and Rhea flanking crawled up through some broken stadium chairs and chucks of concrete until they could see Erik staying low as not to be seen themselves.

"I'm probably not supposed to ask this kind of thing, but in the future…do I make it?" Hank asked.

"No." Logan and Rhea said bluntly at the same time getting a shocked look from Hank.

"But we can change that." Logan went on.

"Right?" Rhea looked to him. Hank nodded and slowly started to change into the beast throwing his glasses to the ground with a small roar.

"Do what you were made for." Erik said to the sentinel upon spotting Hank Logan and Rhea.

The Sentinel opened fire on them barely giving them time to get out of the way. Logan attacked first when it landed in front of him, but without his metal claws he was not as effective as he was use to and was hit back. Hank was next leaping onto the machine's neck while Rhea started to fire off her spells.

"Cepitus!" Rhea caused explosions to erupt along the sentinel forcing it back.

"We got this." Hank called out.

"Go." Rhea urged Logan on as she flipped out of the way of sentinel attacks throwing off her jacket so she had better movement. Hank used his teeth to rip cords out of the sentinel causing fluids to fly everywhere.

"Magnum Cepitus!" Rhea formed a large blast forcing the Sentinel back and frying off parts of its armor. Suddenly Rhea let out a scream of pain that was echoing Logan's then fell to the ground gripping her head as it only got worse then everything stopped as her vision went black. "Oh no…please…Logan…"

"Rhea!" Hank called out, but she lay motionless on the ground, unresponsive. He had no time to check on her as the sentinel was bearing down on him. Hank quickly ran for cover the sentinel giving chase luckily ignoring Rhea now that she was no longer a threat.

The safe house burst from the White House, Erik ripping the front off exposing the elected officials and their guards. They reached for their guns, but Erik was faster. Erik then turned all the cameras to himself.

"You built these weapons to destroy us." Erik started to speak. "Why? Because you are afraid of our gifts. Because we are different, humanity has always feared that which is different. Well I'm here to tell you…to tell the world… You are right to fear us, we are the future we are the ones who will inherit this earth and anyone who stands in our way will suffer the same fate as these men you see before you. Today was meant to be a display of your power, instead I give you a glimpse of the devastation my race can unleash upon yours. Let this be a warning to the world. And to my mutant brothers and sisters out there I say this…no more hiding no more suffering. You have lived in the shadows in shame and fear for too long, come out. Join me, fight together in a brotherhood of our kind. A new tomorrow that starts today."

All was silent for a time until the 'president' stepped forward.

"Mr. President." The men tried to stop him.

"Stand down, I said stand down." The 'president' pushed them away and stood facing off against Erik.

"If you want to make a statement kill me and spar everyone else." 'Nixon' said.

"Very heroic Mr. President, but you have no intention of sparring any of us." Erik said as he walked up to him and cocked the guns. "The future of our species begins now."

The sentinel ripped open the car Hank was hiding in only to find that he was no longer a mutant thanks to the injections he jabbed into his leg. Turning away from Hank it targeted Erik and 'Nixon' instead and charged at them.

Erik dismantled it with a few waves of his hand, but his distraction was all she needed. Taking the opportunity she fired a shot from a plastic that went straight through the side of Erik's neck. Erik fell to his knees in pain as Nixon changed into Raven, the other guns and sentinels falling with Erik.

"You used to be a better shot." Erik commented as Raven walked up to him.

"Trust me, I still am." Raven sneered before performing an impressive kick followed by hitting him with her gun both hits to his head knocking Erik to the ground then she whipped around aiming her gun once again at Trask. Everything froze and Charles appeared in front of her. "Get out of my head Charles."

"Raven, please do not make us the enemy today." Charles pleaded as Hank ran over to him trying to get him out from under the debris.

"Look around you Charles, we already are." Raven argued.

"Not all of us, all you've done so far is save the lives of these men. You can show them a better path." Charles reasoned with her.

"Shut her down Charles." Hank said.

"I've been trying to control you ever since the day we met and look where that's got us." Charles said. "Everything that happens now is in your hands, I have faith in you Raven."

Everything unfroze and Raven was faced with her choice. Raven dropped the gun and as it hit the ground Rhea let out a gasping breath as she came to bolting straight up.

"I'm alive! How…un-likely." Rhea said as she looked herself over then grinned. "I love it when that happens."

"He's all yours Charles." Raven said causing Rhea to look in that direction seeing Erik on the ground as Raven ripped off his helmet then walked away. Rhea stood to her feet watching as Charles used Erik to free himself then ran over to them using her magic to repair Charles chair.

"If you let them have me, I'm as good as dead." Erik said looking from his helmet on the ground then to Charles. "You know that."

"I know." Charles replied.

"Goodbye old friend." Erik said.

"Goodbye Erik." Charles said. Erik looked to Raven before he flew away the Raven turned to Charles and Hank with a small smile before walking away.

"Are you sure you should have let them go?" Hank asked.

"Yes, I have hope for them." Charles replied. "There's going to be a time Hank, when we're all together."

"What about Logan?" Hank looked to Rhea.

"He went home." Rhea replied.

"We should probably leave." Hank said.

"I think that would be best." Charles nodded as they left the scene.

"Rhea, why didn't you return with Logan to your time?" Hank asked as they got to the car.

"This was a one way trip for me, I'm stuck here unable to make contact outside of the two of you and complete strangers for at least fifty years." Rhea commented as she leaned back in her seat starring up at the roof of the car.

"So what are you going to do?" Charles asked.

"I know some ways to sneak into Asgard so I thought I might 'borrow' a ship and go explore the galaxy; I always wanted to know what was out there." Rhea grinned with a mischievous glint in her eyes.