China, 1973

One by one the X-Men descended from the jet into the snow and fog and darkness: Storm, Nina, Logan, Erik, and last but certainly not least, Charles, forever their leader.

"Bobby, Kitty!"

"Hey Storm, hey Ms. Nova." They hugged their former students, hardly children anymore.

"Hey kid," Logan addressed, earning a nod in return.

"You made it," cried Kitty.

"Is this all that's left?" Nina gasped. The couple exchanged a look and nodded sadly.

"Then we all must stick together now," Charles said.

Everyone gathered around while Kitty explained their plot and process for evading the Sentinels.

"Whenever the Sentinels attack, Warpath spots them and I send Bishop back to warn of the attack before it happens. Blink scouts the next site and well, then we leave before they ever know we were there."

"Because we never were," Warpath added.

"What do you mean you 'were never there'?" Logan demanded, brow furrowed.

"She projects Bishop back in time a few days to warn the others of the coming attack," Charles explained.

"So she sends Bishop back in time?"

"No, just his consciousness, into his younger self, his younger body," Nina said.

"Wow."

"Yes, Kitty, that's fascinating," breathed Nina. "This might just work."

"Yes, Charles, it just might," agreed Erik.

"What might work?" Kitty asked the question everyone was wondering.

"The Sentinel Program was originally conceived by Dr. Bolivar Trask," Charles explained. "In the early '70s he was one of the world's leading weapons designers but covertly, he had begun experimenting on mutants, using their gifts to fuel his own research. There was one mutant who had discovered what he was doing-"

"A mutant with the ability to transform herself into anyone," added Erik.

"Mystique," said Peter.

"I knew her as Raven," Charles recalled fondly. "We met when we were children, grew up together. She was like a sister to me. I tried to help her, but only succeeded in driving her away." Nina reached out to give his shoulder a supportive squeeze, knowing those wounds were still deep for him. She had been close with Raven too, all those years, all those decades, ago. "She hunted Trask across the world and at the Paris Peace Accords in 1973, after the Vietnam War, she found him, and killed him. It was the first time she killed."

"And it wasn't her last," spat out Logan. Now Nina squeezed his hand.

"But killing Trask did not have the outcome she expected. It only persuaded the government of the need for his program. They captured her that day, tortured her, experimented on her. In her DNA they discovered the secrets to her powers of transformation. It gave them the key they needed to create weapons that could adapt to any mutant power, and in less than fifty years the machines that have destroyed so many of our kind were created. And that brings us here, but it all started that day in 1973, the day she first killed, the day she truly became 'Mystique'."

"You want to go back there," Kitty breathed, uncertainty coating her voice.

"If I can get to her, stop the assassination, keep her out of their hands, then we can stop the Sentinels from ever being born." Charles was so determined, driven.

"And end this war before it ever even begins," Erik finished.

"I can send someone back a couple of weeks, I mean, maybe a month," Kitty countered. "But you're talking about going back decades. You have the most powerful brain in the world, Professor, but you know that the mind can only stretch so far before it snaps." Silence followed. "It would rip you apart," she finished. "I'm sorry, no one could survive that trip."

"I'll do it," Nina jumped to offer. "My mind's, well, weird to say the least. I could try, at least. Raven was my friend too, and I'd like to help stop her from going down a darker path if possible."

"Thank you for your willingness, my dear, but I'm going to need you for another part of our plan," Charles aid. "You know what a dark place I was in then, and looking back I think I will need more convincing."

"What if someone's mind has a way of snapping back?" Logan put in. "What if someone can heal as fast as they're ripped apart?"

Silence while the others exchanged a look. Everyone then looked at Charles who was looking at Logan. It seemed it was decided.

They were sealed within the innermost chamber of the complex, Logan, Nina, Kitty, Bobby, Charles and Erik while the others - Bishop, Sunspot, Peter, Blink and Warpath - led by Storm, provided watch and security.

After sealing the door from within, Logan entered to find Nina laying out on the stone platform, Kitty on one side holding one of her hands, and Charles on the other side holding the other. Logan slowly approached and watched as Nina's signature purple reality energy began to swirl around her, and slowly her body began rising above the platform. Then, suddenly, her eyes snapped open and her body fell, collapsing onto the stone. He dove forward and held her as she recovered, leaning on him for support. "Whew, headrush."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, thanks. We were making contact with my younger self so she can help you. All set."

"Could you give us a moment?" Logan asked the others, who filed out of the room.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked when they were gone.

"Yeah, that was strange, but now we're one step ahead. Now, remember, 1973, we didn't know each other then. You can't flirt with me-"

"That's gonna be tough-"

"Seriously Logan, you can't come on to me. Besides, I was still brokenhearted over Charles, so there was a lot going on."

"Me, come on to you? It's like you don't know me at all." He smirked and pressed a kiss to her head. "Don't worry, Sweetheart, so long as you're waiting for me when I get back, I should be okay."

"You can bet your ass I will be." They shared a parting kiss before inviting the others back into the chamber. "Okay," she said. "Your turn."

"So I wake up in my younger body, God knows where, and then what?"

"First, you'll need to meet up with Nina."

"I'll find you," she promised.

"Then you'll both need to go to my house and find me," Charles continued. "Convince me of all of this."

"Won't you be able to just read our minds?"

"I didn't have my powers in 1973, as you'll soon discover."

Logan huffed. "Convenient."

"Logan, you're going to have to do for me what I once did for you: lead me, guide me. I was a very different man then. You'll have to be patient with me."

"Patience isn't my strongest suit..."

"You'll need me as well," Erik said, stepping forward. "As well as Charles and Nina."

"What?"

"After Mystique - Raven - left Charles, she came with me and I set her on a dangerous path - a darker path. It's going to take the three of us, side by side by side, at a time when we couldn't be further apart."

Charles and Nina both nodded in agreement.

"Great. So where do I find you?"

"It's complicated..."

"Of course it is."

"Basically, your body will go to sleep while your mind travels back in time," Kitty explained as Logan lay down. "I call it 'Dreamwalking'. Now, as long as you're back there, past and present will continue to coexist, but once you wake up, whatever you've done will take hold and become history. And for the rest of us it will be the only history we know. It'll be like the last fifty years never happened, and this world, this war, the only ones who will remember it will be you and Ms. Nova. All right, Logan, I need you to clear your head and to stay as calm as possible." He began to protest. "If your mind gets rocky, it'll be harder for me to hold you, and you could start to slip between past and future."

"What if I need to get a little rocky?"

She shrugged. "Think peaceful thoughts?"

"'Peaceful thoughts'?" he scoffed. "You got any good news?"

"Well I mean, you don't really age, so you'll pretty much look the same, lucky you, both of you."

"You won't have much time in the past," spoke up Bobby. "The Sentinels will find us. They always do."

"And this time we won't be able to run, we'll have no escape. This is or only chance, our last chance," Kitty reminded.

Logan sighed and shifted. "No pressure then."

"Shh, relax," Nina said gently, lacing her fingers with his. "See you soon. Good luck."

See you soon...

Super excited to be diving into this great movie! :) And I know this isn't exactly Dreamwalking, but I realized how similar it is!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :) See you in 1973!