CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE : THE FINAL SHOWDOWN
1973
The plane was ready not even an hour later. So as Hank sat in the cock-pit, readying the flight so it would go as smoothly as possible, the rest of the group sat down. Evie rubbed her arm, the pain that she felt never dulling but was tolerable.
Ever since the incident, her arm went through good and bad days. Some days she couldn't do much with it because it hurt and other days she could move it with no problems. Today was one of the days that she could just about move it. The pain never subsiding but not bad enough that she had to stop it from moving.
Logan looked over to the couple, seeing them sat across from each other. Immediately, he noticed Charles rubbing his legs, obvious getting used to not using them again. "You alright?" The future man questioned in concern.
"Getting there." Charles answered truthfully, giving Logan a tense smile.
"Whatever happens today, I need you to promise me something." Logan lent forward, Charles nodding in understanding. "You looked into my mind and you've seen a lot of bad, but you've seen the good too. The X-Men. Promise me you'll find us. Use your power, bring us together. Guide us, lead us. Storm, Scott, Jean, Olivia. Remember those names. There's so many of us. We will need you, Professor."
Charles nodded slowly, remembering the words. "I'll do my best." He promised.
"Your best is enough, trust me." Logan smiled at the man, sitting back in his chair. A light chuckle came from Evie who sat silently. "What's so funny?" He asked her in confusion.
"It's just ... the more I think about it, the more I realise that I named the X-Men." Evie realised with a smile.
ꕥ
When they arrived at the White House, there was already queues of people standing outside. The group had managed to slip in somewhere so as they were going through the metal detectors, they were stopped.
"Can I see your invitations, please?" One of the guard's asked Charles who was sent through first.
"Yes, you may." Charles replied, placing his fingers to his head and using her powers. A proud smirk appeared on Evie's lips as she watched. "These two are with me." The man motioned to the two other men with him.
Evie looked to the guard, showing her badge. "DOD, here working extra security." She lied easily.
"Go ahead." The guard nodded. Hank grabbed the top of Charles' wheelchair and began to push him.
The brunette quickly scanned the area, not seeing a blue women with a gun anywhere. She didn't expect Raven to be out in the open but sometimes she just wanted the easy way out. As she was about to join Hank and Charles, she looked over her shoulder to see Logan glancing at the metal detector.
"Logan." She called out to him. The man huffed, grabbing his sunglasses and placing them on his face. Once he finally caught up with her, Evie asked, "You alright?"
"Just used to that beeping." He told her as they joined Hank and Charles. Evie smiled sympathetically at him, patting his shoulder.
"I haven't found her yet," Charles informed the two as they stopped. "But she has to be here."
As the telepath carried on searching, the performance infront of them started. There were hundreds of cameras around, broadcasting the entire event. There was no way Erik wouldn't show up, he was too much of a drama queen to pass up this opportunity.
An older man with white hair took to the stage, throwing his hand to the side to announce, "The President of the United States."
They watched as President Nixon took the stage, waving at the screaming crowds below. However, the mutant's eye was not on him, it was on the doctor that was to the left of him.
"Well, we've found Trask." Evie muttered to herself as she watched him carefully, wanting nothing more then to smack the smug smile off his face.
"My fellow Americans, today, we face the greatest threat in our history: Mutants." The President told the audience which made the brunette grit her teeth in anger. "We have prepared for this threat. In the immortal words of Robert Oppenheimer, 'Behold. The world will never be the same again.'"
The white curtain fell from behind him revealing four large robots. There was something in her stomach that told her that these were Sentinels. She glanced to the man stood next to her who had clenched his jaw. That's how she figured out how dangerous these things could be in the future.
"Knowing what they do in the future, those things are scary." Evie comments quietly so that only her friends could hear. Hank nodded in agreement.
"I have her." Charles announced as he pointed towards the side of the stage. "There, see? Secret Service man, left of the stage."
Evie looked to the direction where the man was pointing and saw a frozen man stood awkwardly next to the stage. "Got it, come on."
The trio made their way through the crowds, pushing past people. Nixon was still talking and the Sentinels powered up, not that the mutants noticed. Their pace quickened as soon as they were close to Raven, seeing her mouth moving.
Just as they were about to pass the Stage Guards, one of them stopped the trio in place. "Gentlemen, you cannot pass this point." He told then sternly, not letting them pass even though they struggled.
"I'm DOD, get the hell out of my way now!" Evie demanded, grabbing the guard's hand and ripping it off her body. "There's an emergency!"
The sound of gears moving made them look to the stage. Evie's eyes widened in panic as she watched the Sentinel lift it's arm and began firing at them. Bullets started flying out of the gun that was attached to it.
A bullet lodged into the police car behind them and it exploded. The shock sent the three mutants flying to the floor, Evie landing painfully on her arm. She groaned in pain, rolling onto her back opening her eyes so she could see.
When she did, she saw a white block of concrete falling towards her face. In seconds, she had rolled out of the way and the rock smashed into the ground where she was once led. As she took deep breaths, she looked to the sky.
A shadow fell over them as a floating stadium flew over her head. Her jaw dropped at the sight, seeing more debris fall from it. That's when she saw the one person in the middle, Erik.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw red, metal bars falling to the floor. However, where it was falling was not clear of people. "Charles!" Evie screamed in worry as she watched from a distance.
The telepath had heard her warning after he had stopped the falling metal. However he wasn't fast enough to clear it. Instead he tipped his chair so that he fell but his legs became crushed under the metal.
With no hesitation, Evie started to rush towards her lover. As she ran, blocks of concrete fell through the air and towards to where she was running. With a flick of her wrist, the concrete exploded. It had been a while since she had used her mutation and it felt good.
The floor rocked as the stadium was dropped around the White House. Evie held onto some broken rocks to steady herself, Logan and Hank joining her a moment later. They looked out from behind the rocks to see Erik standing there with his helmet on, a sentinel stood next to him.
Hank ripped off his glasses, his face starting to turn blue. From the distance, Erik seemed to notice them, tilting his head at them slightly. "Do what you were made for." Erik instructed the robot before turning to the White House.
"We can handle this, go get Charles." Logan called out to Evie, his eyes on the Sentinel.
In shock, Evie turned to the man but once she saw the determination in his eyes, she nodded. "Be careful Logan." She told him, leaping off the rock. She paused and turned around. "If I don't see you again -"
"Don't!" He cut in, looking at her over his shoulder. He gave her a small smile. "Save it for the future."
The brunette nodded in understanding and quickly began to move away from the two, hoping to get out of the Sentinel's range. Slowly she moved through the space, hiding from the robotic murderer that was seeking out mutants.
A cry of pain made her freeze up. She peaked over the car she was hiding behind to see Magneto pushing metal through Logan's body. "Logan." She breathed out in panic, seeing her friend be lifted up into the air and thrown out of the stadium.
Her eyes turned back to the man standing in the middle, his attention turning to a massive metal container in front of him. She furrowed her brows in confusion, had that been there before? However, there was a familiar metal structure that was slightly in front of her that she ran to.
Keeping as long as she could, Evie sprinted over to where her lover was trapped. "Charles." She called out which made that man look to her in panic. When he saw it was only her, he relaxed slightly. "Are you okay?"
"Erik." He breathed out, pointing to the man that wasn't that far away from them. "You need to stop Erik."
"But I don't ..." Evie paused, looking to where Erik was stood. She gritted her teeth as she gripped the metal bars in frustration. She looked back to him, stubbornness and determination in her eyes. "Sorry Charles but you're my priority. Try not to move."
"I won't be going anywhere." He sighed as he rested his head on the grass, he face wincing as Evie tried to lift the bar unsuccessfully.
All the cameras turned inwards, guns floating behind him as Erik talked to the people inside the metal container and the people that this was being broadcasted to. Evie watched carefully, seeing how he seemed to believe is own words.
"You built these weapons to destroy us. 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're right to fear us. We are the future." He announced, clenching his fists as he talked, looking at the cameras. "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."
Erik turned to look at the President and the rest of his lackies that were sat, shocked in the metal container. "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 the brotherhood of our kind. A new tomorrow, that starts today."
A commotion was heard inside the container. Evie glanced out to see President Nixon walking out. All his men tried to stop him but he pushed them off and demanded, "Stand down!" The man looked to Erik, pointing a finger at him. "You want to make a statement? Kill me? Fine! But spare everyone else!"
"Very heroic, Mr. President." Erik commented unimpressed, glancing at the man. "But you have no intention of sparing any of us. The future of our species begins now."
As he spoke, Erik clocked the guns. However, it seemed as if one of the Sentinels saw him use his mutation as it started running at him. It's arm was broken so it couldn't shoot at him but Erik hadn't noticed it. But Evie did.
"Erik, look out!" She screamed at him in alarm, letting him know where she was.
He turned in her direction, his eyes widening at the sound of her voice. That's when he saw the robot running towards him. With no effort used at all, he dismantled the Sentinel, pulling it to pieces. His gaze moved back to Evie who was staring at him.
A gun rang out making Evie's grip on the metal tighten. The bullet skimmed past Erik's neck, only just hitting his skin before missing. That's when it was revealed that President Nixon was actually Raven.
"You used to be a better shot." Erik told her, not even phased by the revelation.
"Trust me, I still am." Raven responded emotionlessly, walking towards him. She smacked him in the face with her foot, knocking him out. She picked up the gun, and pointed it at Trask. However everything froze around her. "Get out of my head, Charles!"
Evie looked down to Charles who had placed his fingers on his head, using his powers. "Not all of us. All you've done so far is save the lives of these men. You can show them a better path." He said as Hank ran over to them.
"Shut her down, Charles." Hank told his friend.
Charles glanced at him and shook his head slightly. "I've been trying to control you ever since the day we met and look what that's got us. Everything that happens now is in your hands. I have faith in you, Raven."
With bated breath, they all watched Raven slowly make a decision. And she did. She dropped the gun. As she was limping away, she pulled Erik's helmet off him and announced, "He's all you're Charles."
Immediately, Charles took control of Erik, using his mutation he pulled the metal structure off himself. Once it was clear, Evie and Hank lifted him off the ground, holding up right. During this time, the telepath had given up control of the man.
As they lifted the man up, Erik looked at the helmet then back to the trio. "If you let them have me, I'm as good as dead. You know that." He told them.
"I know." Charles responded as he looked at him.
Erik nodded at him. "Goodbye, old friend."
"Goodbye, Erik." Charles replied with a heavy sigh, looking to his friend.
Just as Erik was about to leave, Evie called out to him. "Erik." The man paused and turned to look at her. "Do us all a favour and get a life. Please." She begged with a playful smile.
The man nodded, a small smile on his lips. He raised himself up and disappeared into the sky. Evie sighed as he flew out of sight, silently wondering whether she'd ever see him again. At the same time, Raven has disappeared out of the entrance and vanished into the crowd.
"You sure you should let them go?" Hank questioned the couple as he watched the chaos of the after-event.
"Yes, I have hope for them." Charles smiled softly as he thought about it. "There's going to be a time, Hank, when we are all together."
"And what about Logan?" Hank continued to questioned, his tone full of worry.
Evie smiled at his concern. "Logan's a survivor, we'll see him again." She told him, a smile on her lips. There was something about this whole experience that made her have hope again.
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