"ELEANOR! ELEANOR!"

Those were the first words that reached the woman's ears when she woke up. Eleanor felt the cold, hard ground against her cheek and her whole body ached as she tried to push herself upwards. She felt incredibly exhausted like she had been run over by a car several times. Eleanor felt a numbing pain in her jaw and she remembered that Valerie knocked her out earlier.

Logan was suddenly in front of her, scooping her like carried him to the medical bay where Hank was waiting for them. "Lay her down here." He instructed and Logan gently placed her on the cot.

Charles was then instantly on her side, wheeling forward. His hand went up her hair and brushed them back. "My god! Hank, give me an ice pack! Who did this to you?"

Eleanor groaned as his fingers lightly touched her bruised jaw. "Your fucking ex. She and Raven were down here last night, destroyed Cerebro so we can't stop them."

"Jesus," he cursed and grabbed the ice pack from Hank. He gently placed it on her jaw and Eleanor hissed in pain.

"Fuck! That hurts!"

"It's goin' to be alright."

Eleanor gritted her teeth and winced. "I'm not going to spare her again when I see her." She hissed.

"You better not."

"Logan," Charles warned. "You just need to rest for now, Eleanor."

The woman harshly pushed his hand away. "No, I'm not resting. They destroyed Cerebro because they're planning something big, Charles. I caught glimpse of it in Raven's mind when I took down Valerie. They're assassinating Trask in this big event." She informed them, sitting up. She fought hard against the pain in her body, refusing to be weakened by it.

She still couldn't quite believe Valerie and Raven were going to destroy Cerebro just so they'll achieve their goal. They didn't care about the consequences that will follow with the action they were about to do.

"Dammit!" She yelled and suddenly, three glass beakers placed atop a table not far from them shattered into pieces. The shards flew everywhere and Eleanor threw her glowing red hand to the side, stopping them in mid-air. Eleanor shut her eyes and calmed herself down.

She was now heavily affected by all of this. Truthfully, she only cared about finishing whatever her purpose was in this mission, so she can leave. But, the more she got involved, the more she understood. They were going to be wiped out if they don't stop the assassination and she wasn't going to let that happen, not if she can interfere. With a soft sigh, she dropped the shards on the floor.

"We need to get to them before they do anything that will end us all in the future."

"Okay, but first, you need to calm down." Charles soothed.

"Calm down, my fucking ass." She rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, Charles, but your ex-girlfriend struck me in the face. I'm not going to let that go easily." She snapped and then turned her attention to the scientist beside her. "Hank, I can hear you. You have any leads on Raven and Valerie?"

"Yeah, um, about that." he cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. "There's something I need to show you, guys." Hank beckoned them all to follow him. Without missing a beat, Eleanor jumped down from the cot and smirked as she felt the pain in her body subside. The scientist soon led them to his room where several TV monitors and computers were connected to one another, broadcasting several channels and news. "This is the system I designed to record any news about Paris, over all three networks and PBS."

Logan crossed his arms, snorting. "All three? Wow." He said, sardonically.

"Yeah, and PBS. Look what I found." Hank then played a recorded footage of a news report. Eleanor leant forward to listen to it carefully.

"Tomorrow in front of the White House, the President will make his announcement." The news reporter announced. "He'll be joined by Secretary of Defense Laird and has even sought the help of renowned scientist Bolivar Trask, he's special adviser to combat this mutant issue. The White House has asked..."

Eleanor gasped and placed her hand above her mouth as she finally figured out Raven and Valerie's plans. They were going to kill Trask in front of everyone. Hank stopped the recording and turned to them.

"Raven doesn't realize that if she kills Trask at an event like that with the whole world watching..." Charles started.

"Then, I came a long way for nothing."

"And there's more bad news. I saw the report, they found traces of her blood in Paris. For all we know, they already have her DNA, which is all they'd need..." Hank added, somberly.

"To create the Sentinels of the future." Logan concluded, now feeling hopeless.

"Now," Hank faced them, looking for the right words to say. "there's a theory in Quantum Physics that time is immutable. It's like a river, you can throw a pebble into it, create a ripple, but the current always corrects itself. No matter what you do, the river just keeps flowing in the same direction."

Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows, realizing what he meant. Did that mean she'll have no choice in everything she'll do next? "What are you trying to say?" Logan asked, baffled.

Hank shrugged. "What I'm saying is, what if the war is inevitable? What if she's meant to kill Trask? What if this is just simply who she is?" He suggested.

Charles looked away for a moment before shaking his head. "Just because someone stumbles, loses their way, doesn't mean they're lost forever." He smiled to himself as he shared a glance with Eleanor. "No, I don't believe that theory, Hank. And I cannot believe that that is who they both are. Ready the plane, we're going to Washington."

Eleanor smirked. "You heard the man. Let's get this show on the road."

They all headed to the plane where Eleanor sat in front of Charles. He kindly requested her earlier to stay with him as he felt it would make him feel better. Every now and then, she would notice he would wince and squeeze his thigh. He was still adjusting to the numb feeling of his legs. She knew he missed it already.

"You alright?"

"Getting there." acknowledged the telepath, honestly.

"Whatever happens today, I need you to promise me something." Logan leant forward, his face stern. "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." He urged. "Use your power, bring us together. Guide us, lead us. Storm, Scott, Jean. Remember those names. There's so many of us. We will need the two of you, Professor, ma'am."

"I'll do my best."

"Your best is enough, trust me."

"Look, uh," Eleanor sighed, turning to the immortal. "I cannot assure you what I'll be doing after this, Logan, but I'll give you my word that I'll help establish Charles' school again."

Logan gave her a small smile. "Your heart has always been in the right place, ma'am. I believe whatever you do next will benefit many students in the future."

The woman looked away, twiddling her thumbs. If they truly prove today that the past can be changed, then that means she can freely choose what to do next. She thought about Erik. His fate can be changed as well then. Was there a possibility they'll be able to live together or will their beliefs really keep them apart?

"It's going to be okay, Eleanor. You don't have to think about it for now. Let's focus on the present first." Charles softly reminded, placing his hand above hers. She nodded and smiled a little, believing him. She still had time to decide later.

They arrived soon at White House where they knew Raven and Valerie would be. Eleanor stood behind Hank as he pushed Charles in his wheelchair. They were checked through the metal detector and the security man asked them for their invitation.

Charles smirked. "Yes, you may." He then pressed two of his fingers to his temple and manipulated the man's mind in believing they had invitations. "These three are with me."

"Go ahead."

"Thank you." Hank wheeled Charles off and Eleanor narrowed her eyes at the large crowd, searching for any sign of the women they were looking for.

"Did you know you look handsome today?" She commented as she twirled her fingers.

"Why, thank you, Ellie. "

Eleanor tilted her head to the side. No one has ever called her Ellie before. "Nothing. Just want to give out compliments before everything goes to shit. Nice nickname, by the way." She squinted her eyes as she scanned the minds of the crowd. "Shame I can't call you Baldy yet."

"Please, don't remind me." He cringed. "Have you found either of them?"

"No, not yet. Valerie's going to be harder to search than Raven given her telepathic immunity." It was then Eleanor caught a very familiar shade of long brown hair not far from the police cars. She focused her gaze at the woman and scowled when she confirmed who it was. Valerie Swan was almost unrecognizable as she wore clothes that made her look like an ordinary citizen. "Wait here."

"Eleanor! Where are you going?" Charles called for her.

The brunette snapped her towards the three men. "I'm dealing with her myself."

And with that, Eleanor left them to confront Valerie. As if her rival had sensed her, she walked off to the nearby forest, seemingly removing her disguise. "I knew you would show up." She voiced out, taking off her jacket.

"Of course, I would. We're not over yet." snarled Eleanor as she let power build up on her hands. She then directed them on Valerie who easily blocked it with her forcefield. Her opponent charged forward, raising her sleek weapons.

She swung them both, aiming to hit her in the head. Eleanor, already anticipating this, used her telekinesis to combat Valerie. Everytime the woman would attempt to strike her, she would dodge and sway Valerie's attack to the side.

The two women fluidly moved across the forest as if they were dancing. Eleanor was aware that Valerie was a skilled fighter, but she was so agile and adept herself. She used that to her advantage. Stopping another one of her attacks, she bent her body backwards and threw Valerie on the tree behind her. Her opponent groaned as she tried to scramble back to the tree. "You think I'm doing this for myself, Eleanor? I'm doing this for everyone. That man will not take anymore of us." Valerie panted.

"There are other ways to settle this without using violence." Eleanor deadpanned.

"Oh, you think this is just some petty dispute, Eleanor? It isn't. What that scientist did was murder and no one is even batting an eye on that!"

"And so, you have to take matters into your own hands?" Eleanor retorted.

"Because no one else will."

"I'm trying to save you from who you'll become in the future, Valerie. If you kill that man, you'll never stop killing another again. What do you want to be known for, Swan? A mass murderer? Then, you're no better than Trask."

Valerie stood up, stumbling forward a bit. She shook her head, spitting on the ground. "After Cuba, I was hunted down by the CIA and held in captivity until Erik saved me. Then, I was imprisoned for ten years for a crime I didn't commit. What's worse about that was I had a fucking collar on my neck that would electrocute me if it detected any energy coming out from me. Then, I heard from Logan that my older self was experimented on by that son of a bitch! They even weaponized my ability! Now, tell me, Eleanor, who wouldn't want revenge?"

"If you kill him, we will all die!"

"Is that all you have to say?" She spat. "Because if it is, let me tell you then, El. We all have to die someday."

Valerie then used her forcefield power to blast Eleanor to the ground. The brunette rolled across the floor, gaining a cut on her forehead. Eleanor groaned and wiped the blood from her wound, ignoring the ache on her back. She was angry, truly. She didn't want to hurt Valerie, but if it was necessary, then she'd do it. Her eyes glowed a bright red as she focused all her energy on the woman.

Her enemy cocked her head to the side, smirking. She tapped her batons twice and instantly, both sticks sparked electricity. Eleanor tilted her head to the side, seething. Was Valerie really going to electrocute her?

Valerie hurled both of her weapons at Eleanor, sparing her no more. The telekinetic then raised her hand, stopping the batons mid-air. Glaring at the woman across her, she curled her fingers, disintegrating the sparking sticks into dust.

Eleanor then used her power to slice the tree beside Valerie, letting it fall on her. The woman was quick though for her shield surrounded her instantly, protecting her from the collapsing tree. In retaliation, Valerie sent a plasma powered forcefield towards Eleanor, but the woman only swatted it to the right, burning the trees it encountered.

"Guess I'll have to fight fair." Valerie commented as she ran towards Eleanor and the two engaged in a hand-to-hand combat. The brunette was swift to use her telekinesis to avoid her enemy's punches, but she was caught off-guard when Valerie kneed her abdomen.

Eleanor stumbled backwards, gritting her teeth. She shook her head. "Charles was right, you're hopeless."

This must've stunned Valerie since she paused suddenly in her movements. "He said that?"

"Of course not, but you fell for it."

Eleanor then swiped her hand and immediately a large tree slammed on Valerie, tossing her to the ground. Panting, she got up from her position and sauntered over to the other woman. Not hesitating, she twirled her fingers and let the branches of the tree bind around her, restraining her.

"That should keep you down for a while." Eleanor mused. She was about to send a punch to Valerie's jaw to render her unconscious, but the woman put up a forcefield around her.

"Try punching me now." She challenged.

Not amused by this, Eleanor let a thin branch wrap around her neck and let it strangle her. She watched as Valerie struggle and choke, fighting to stay awake, but then she eventually passed out from the lack of oxygen. "What was that again?" She rolled her eyes and raised Valerie in mid-air telekinetically, carrying her back to the event.

The President had just finished his speech, presenting the early version of the Sentinels. Eleanor swallowed the lump in her throat. So, those were the very weapons that was going to kill them all. She watched the machines levitate in the air and the brunette tilted her head to the side. Just as she was about to observe them further, the Sentinels raised its arm and fired at the police.

In shock, Eleanor dropped Valerie on the ground. She the created a shield to protect herself and the woman beside her. Did the Sentinels detect that there were mutants present? Or did it just go on a rampage?

That question of her was immediately answered when she noticed a moving stadium on the sky. "Godammit, Erik!" fumed Eleanor. "Could you get anymore dramatic than this?"

The entire crowd panicked and ran off to safety as Erik continued to assault the people. She then remembered Charles and the others, panicking as she scrambled to find them. "Charles!"

She levitated Valerie with her, searching for them. She maintained the shield around her and the unconscious female for safety purposes. That's when Erik decided to drop the stadium to trap the White House inside. Eleanor rolled across the ground and pulled Valerie towards her, securing themselves.

A large concrete was about to crush them both when Eleanor raised her hand and using her psionic energy, she dissolved the entire object, turning it into dust. She still couldn't find Charles and her heart hammered wildly against her chest as she saw Erik descend. He commanded the Sentinels to stand guard around the Stadium and attack those who will attempt to get inside.

The brunette watched as Hank battled one of the Sentinels alone just as Logan confronted Erik. "Logan!" she screamed his name when Erik gets a block with rebars and wraps it around Logan's body, piercing him all over.

Taking one last look at Valerie, she departed her side and stood face to face with her former lover. "Erik!" She yelled. A bright red glow appeared above her palm and she directed it to Erik, throwing him several feet off the ground. He landed on his back, groaning in pain.

"I don't want to fight you, Eleanor." He said, standing up on his feet.

"Good. You know better than to do that." She hit him again with another psionic shock wave, but this time, he was able to counter it with a large slab of concrete.

"Please don't."

Erik's eyes pleaded with her. They were staring right into her soul, but she knew what she had to do.

"What choice do I have?"

And with that, Eleanor struck him again with another shock wave, hitting him in the head.