Hank was rather pessimistic about changing the future.
However, after receiving encouragement and guidance from his future self, Charles regained his optimism. He echoed the words of his future self: "Everyone stumbles and loses their way at times—it doesn't mean they're lost forever."
Seeing this, pietro, watching from outside the screen, frowned. "Isn't the idea of a fixed timeline kind of wrong? In our future, Tony and Captain America traveled through time too and ended up changing everything, didn't they?"
Stephen Strange, ever the stickler for detail, replied calmly, "No, we can't just apply the rules of our world to another. Even though the physics of the multiverse seem similar, there are still subtle differences."
Back in the video feed, Charles, Logan, and Hank boarded a plane bound for Washington, D.C. During the flight, Logan opened up emotionally to Charles. No matter what the future held, he hoped Charles would do everything in his power to bring back Jean Grey, Storm, Scott—and of course, himself.
Charles naturally agreed.
Soon, the trio arrived at the White House. Officially, the press conference they were attending required an invitation, but of course, none of them had one. Not that it mattered—they had telepathy on their side.
Charles led the way, easily using his powers to get both Logan and Hank past security. As they passed through the metal detector, Logan glanced around, seemingly wondering why the thing didn't go off.
Viewers outside the screen chuckled knowingly. With his entire skeleton laced with adamantium, getting through any security gate quietly was usually a nightmare for him.
No doubt about it—this press conference was going to be a turning point in their battle to rewrite the future!
Meanwhile, in the year 2023, the last war for the mutant survivors was about to begin.
The climactic battles of both timelines began almost simultaneously. The video used montage shots to cut between the two battlefields.
In the future of 2023, Sentinel robots swarmed in. Mutant survivors fought with everything they had. In 1973, the President unveiled the prototype Sentinels to the public.
But no one in the audience could have guessed how terrifying those sleek machines would become in the future.
They also didn't know that these prototype Sentinels had already become puppets under Magneto's control.
Charles wasn't concerned with Erik for now. His focus was on Raven, the shapeshifter. He feared she would assassinate Trask during the event, so he used his powers at the venue to scan the crowd for her presence.
Meanwhile, Erik was far from idle. Wearing his helmet and clad in a black cloak, he arrived at a nearby football stadium—a wide, open space not far from the White House.
There was only a single janitor present, who noticed Erik's mysterious appearance and asked, "Can I help you with something?"
Erik didn't even look back. "This is beyond you."
Then he spread his arms and closed his eyes.
As he moved, the ground trembled. Cracks split across the stadium walls. Amid the shaking earth, the entire circular grandstand of the stadium tore free and, guided by Erik's powers, slowly began to rise into the sky!
The janitor was dumbstruck. Viewers outside the screen were wide-eyed too.
They remembered when Magneto once ripped a submarine out of the ocean and hurled it into the sky. That seemed like his peak. Yet now—he raised an entire stadium? This was truly a man made for the big stage!
In 2023, Magneto wasn't falling short either. Faced with a carrier ship full of Sentinels, he casually flung a plane at it and joined his teammates in launching a brilliant, fiery attack that took down many of the machines.
Back in 1973, Erik was flying the stadium straight toward the White House.
On the White House lawn, Charles finally spotted Raven disguised as a Secret Service agent. She had already reached into her coat, ready to draw her gun and assassinate Trask!
Thankfully, Charles intervened in time, using his powers to freeze her in place and pleaded with her to abandon the assassination attempt. At that moment, the prototype Sentinels suddenly powered on and began to lift into the air.
The crowd, clueless about what was happening, applauded in awe at the flashy machines. But Trask grew visibly anxious—he knew something was wrong. The robots were no longer under control.
Of course, this was Erik's doing. He had seized control of the Sentinels and turned these tools of mutant suppression back on humanity!
While they didn't yet have the ability to mimic mutant powers, these prototypes were still armed with modern weaponry. Their mechanical arms aimed at the crowd and the security forces, and suddenly opened fire. Chaos erupted instantly.
Charles couldn't maintain control over Raven any longer. He looked up at the massive robots and shouted, "Erik!"
Knowing Erik well, Charles immediately guessed who was behind the sabotage.
Panicked politicians were escorted back into the White House by their bodyguards, while Erik seemed to answer Charles's call. With the floating stadium in tow, he arrived over the White House.
Suspended in mid-air, Erik looked like a god descending from the heavens. Slowly, he began to lower the stadium.
Debris—chairs, lighting fixtures, and even heavy chunks of concrete—rained down. Charles, still in his wheelchair, couldn't dodge in time and was hit by a steel beam. Pinned to the ground, he couldn't move. Worse, with Erik wearing his helmet, Charles couldn't use telepathy on him.
The stadium descended like a colossal cage, fully enclosing the White House. Erik touched down gently.
Behind him were the Sentinel prototypes—machines that would become mutant-killers in the future, now serving as loyal guardians of their former targets. The irony of the moment wasn't lost on anyone.
Erik wasn't done. He positioned the Sentinel puppets to guard all sides, blocking any incoming threats.
Then, at his leisure, he began searching for the President and other key political figures inside the White House. Wolverine and Hank, hiding nearby, had no idea what to do.
Erik found them quickly and activated the Sentinel's mutant-hunting protocol. One of the robots opened fire on Logan and Hank!
The two of them joined forces to fight it. Hank transformed into his Beast form and managed to hold the Sentinel off for a while, giving Logan the chance to go after Erik himself.
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