maverick // X-Men

• t h i r t y n i n e •

IN THE OVAL OFFICE, PRESIDENT NIXON LOOKED OUT THE WINDOW. TRASK STOOD CLOSE TO HIM. THE ROOM WAS FULL OF GENERALS AND AIDES.

"This isn't gonna be like goddamn Paris, right?" He turned to Trask. "We got every eyeball in the world watching."

"Sir, the Sentinels are already in place. If they decide to attack, we'll be ready." Trask reassured him. "We'll show the world we can protect them."

Nixon nodded, a little unsure.

"Thousands of people will be here today..." A reporter spoke as she stood at Washington DC Mall. It was teeming with people. "They've come from all over the world to witness history, along with news crews from at least fifty different countries."

The crowd surged towards a stage at the foot of the Capitol Building. Logan's car pulled up. He got out while Grace and Hank helped Xavier into his chair. Xavier looked out at all the faces. "Even more than I feared...."

"Split up and search." Logan told them. Grace nodded at him and headed off on her own.

Xavier wheeled himself forward. He took cover with other men in wheelchairs, Vietnam Veterans. One of them looked over at him. "Fourth Infantry at Tet. Took a Bouncing Betty, wiped out most of my troop. What happened to you?"

"Friendly fire." Xavier gave him a small smile.

"Worst kind." The Vet said to him.

Xavier nodded his head, thinking about Erik. He looked out at the crowd, putting a hand to his head. His mind darts through the thousands of faces, minds. He slowed, trying to process it all. "So many voices..."

The Vet looked over at him, just another man who lost his mind in the war. As Xavier searched the crowd, Grace moved through the mass of people. She looked to see the Presidential motorcade pull up. Nixon was escorted by the Secret Service towards the stage, with Trask trailing them.

"Today is an historic day..." Trask addressed the vast crowd. Nixon, Stryker and the Generals stood behind him. Everyone watched on, except for Grace, as she searched for Raven. "Today, we stand as Homo Sapiens, facing the greatest threat in the history of our species. What the world witnessed in Paris was not an isolated incident. These people are part of a growing population of humans with mutated DNA, 'mutants', if you will."

Charles continued to move through the storm of voices, minds, until he heard a familiar voice. "Raven..."

Raven was moving through the crowd towards the stage. She slowed for a moment, as the speech continued in the background. Xavier and Raven were now having a telepathic conversation. She spoke softly, under her breath. "I thought you said you'd never get in my head."

"You left me little choice." Xavier reminded her. "Please, Raven, stop now. I don't want to use my power against you."

She continued towards the stage. "Why don't you use it against them?"

"Because that would give Trask exactly what he wants." Xavier told her. "And so will you, if you walk into his hands. He needs you, Raven, to seal our fate."

"He can't do that if he's dead." Raven transformed into a DC Police officer, crossing the barricade.

"Raven, stop now, or I will stop you." She kept moving, sliding out a gun. She was almost there. "Raven...." He focused, ready to freeze her, but his eyes fluttered, sensing with dread. "Something is happening..."

Grace heard something. She turned, as did everyone else. A loud cracking sound. Like ice. Only it's marble.

The massive Lincoln statue was cracking, revealing the thin metal skeleton under the stone. The metal twisted and the statue ripped off its base. It came flying out of the memorial, shattering columns, tumbling across the reflecting pond. It smashed into the base of the Washington Monument. The obelisk cracked, splitting. It started to tumble down, but the top of the monument froze in the air. The metal cap was glistering in the sun.

Grace went wide-eyed for a moment. "Erik."

Erik stood at the base of the Washington monument, with one arm controlling the tip of the monument, turning it around, so it could face the Capitol. He hurled it towards the building. The crowd scattered and there was a mass panic.

The top of the Washington Monument came crashing into the Capitol Building, destroying the dome.

The Secret Service rushed the President off the stage. "Sir, we need to get you to the White House!"

Trasked looked at Stryker between the chaos. "Activate the Sentinels! Now!"

On the other side of the Capitol, the crates slid open and five Sentinels went flying over the Capitol. The crowd looked up, seeing the massive machines. Eighteen feet tall, polymer bodies. Deadly.

The Sentinels flew towards Erik, but when they reached him, they suddenly froze, hovering around him.

Trask and Stryker were rushing with the Secret service towards the motorcade, but Trask slowed, confused. "What are they waiting for?" He asked. "Why aren't they firing?!"

"They should have fired already!" Stryker shouted over at him. "I don't know what's wrong."

The Sentinels turned outward, towards the crowd, the city. Erik gave a cold smile. "They answer to a higher power now." He controls them.

Trask saw, stunned. Grace, Logan, Hank and Xavier watch on.

"Don't do this, Erik." Xavier tries to talk to Erik, but he can't hear his voice.

Erik controlled a news camera, which floated towards him. He looked straight into the camera. "I have a message for your President; these weapons you built to destroy us will bring about your own destruction. Your monuments will soon make way for ours." He smirked at the camera. "We are the future now. Not you."

With that, he controlled the Sentinels into the sky, turning them against the humans. As the crowd fled, the President and Trask were pushed into the motorcade, racing away.

Grace looked up into the sky as the Sentinels began their attack on Washington. Panic raced around her body as she remembered the last couple of years running from them with the X-Men.

In the future, Storm's eyes were white, the wind blew, but the Sentinels started to push through the hurricane, too strong to stop. The mutants all braced for battle. "Ready!" Bishop shouted. "HOLD THIS WALL!" The first line of Sentinels attacked, clashing with the X-Men.

Back in the past, the Sentinels attacked the city, all orchestrated by Erik. Grace, Logan and Hank moved through the mayhem. Xavier searched faces and minds, but there was too much chaos.

Grace saw shrapnel flying towards a pack of people. She stepped in front of them, using her force field to protect them. As the shrapnel hit off the force field, she got a glimpse of a secret serviceman rushing to a follow-vehicle for the Presidential motorcade. The serviceman had a familiar limp.

He saw Grace through the crowd. Their eyes locked for a moment, and the serviceman's eyes flickered yellow. It was Raven. He leaped into the car with the other serviceman, and they took off, trailing the motorcade towards the White House.

"I got her!" Grace shouted as she made her way back to Logan, Hank and Xavier. "She's in the President's motorcade. They're heading to the White House."