1973

LIVID.

Eleanor Ridges was beyond livid.

She was just fired for her job because she decided to take the task that was meant for her male co-worker. Ryan, her colleague, stupidly messed up their project proposal causing her to create a quick improvisation to fix it. It was applauded and approved by the board of directors, but her boss found out it was her who done it. After the meeting, he terminated her for insubordination, claiming she wasn't following the tasks that was specifically given to her.

But the tasks he assigned to her were meager and not fitting for her job description. So much for being a project coordinator.

"Sexist assholes!" She threw her box in the backseat, slamming the car door shut. Her hands glowed fiercely red as she jumped in the driver's seat. "Okay, calm down. You don't want to bury this parking garage to the ground. That will be quite hard to explain to the authorities."

Taking a few calming breaths, she drove away from her office building, thinking of what she should do next. She raised her hand and telekinetically opened her glove box, levitating her silver metal ball. As she continued to drive along the highway, she let the ball float above her palm. Almost ten years ago, Erik Lehnsherr gave it to her, assuring her that he will return a few days later, but he never did.

Her heart broke when she realized he was never returning. Bastard must've found someone else to mess with or he could be dead. He never even wrote to her when he said he would if ever he didn't come back immediately.

Eleanor loved the man dearly despite his wayward views about mutants being the superior race. She did once explain to him that not all humans were the same and that one day, all will learn to live with one another. A scowl formed on her lips upon thinking about him. The mark he left behind was enough for her not to entertain another man in her life. The man left a hole in her heart she couldn't fill up no matter what she did.

The first time they met was quite interesting. She was having a vacation in her newly bought cabin in the woods when suddenly Erik and his group came. They were currently on the run from the CIA at that time and she helped them by hiding them inside her house, claiming to the agents that they escaped somewhere else.

She first declared that she was a human, hiding the truth that she was like them. She refused to believe she was a mutant, that there was an extra gene in her system that gave her powers to read minds, control objects around her, and manipulate reality. Erik and his group believed that she was a regular human being that helped them, but then she had to save Raven from a falling tree branch, causing them to discover that she was a mutant like them. Erik berated her for concealing who she was, but ever so slowly he showed her that she shouldn't hide. That was maybe how she fell for the visionary.

A sudden tug inside her mind pulled her out of her minor reminiscing and her eyes darted to the rear-view mirror, spotting a car closely following behind her. Slowing down the speed of her car, she infiltrated the other driver's mind.

"We need to get Eleanor to come with us, Charles. That's what I was told to do."

She gasped as she heard his thoughts, raising an eyebrow. They were mutants and were currently following her. Who were they? She groaned, dropping the ball in the passenger seat.

"What the fuck do these idiots want now?" She growled, swerving her car to the right instantly. She parked her automobile and went out as soon as the car behind her stopped. She had no time for their nonsense. She'll rip them apart if they were playing some kind of stupid prank with her, but she was also somehow curious as to how he knew her name.

Her eyes flashed a scarlet red as psionic energy bursted out from her palm. She directed it to the two men that was standing behind the tall, ripped man, throwing them to the vehicle. With little effort, she telekinetically pulled the driver to her, raising him to the air as she choked him. Her other hand shot out, pushing the two men further away.

"You have five seconds to tell me why you're following me." The color in her eyes intensified as she closed her palm. "Starting now."

Eleanor watched him claw at his throat, desperately trying to get some air. "Because," he choked. "I was sent here by you."

"What?"

"I'm... from the future."

"Are you on drugs?" exclaimed Eleanor, her eyes narrowing into slits.

"Put him down, please." The bearded man with bloodshot eyes beseeched. "You're going to kill him."

She gritted her teeth before finally releasing the gruff man, finally turning her head to the two companions. She frowned as she focused on their minds. One of them was an addict, bent on supressing his telepathy and to maintain the feeling on his legs. The other one was his friend, who created the serum to control his mutation. "Mind explaining what your buddy here is babbling about?" She finally asked them.

"Eleanor Ridges. Eclipse." The man grunted beside her, catching his breath. "That's what we call you."

Eleanor tilted her head to the side, raising her eyebrow. "What?"

"You were nine when your classmates started bullying you for being smarter than them..." he started, breathless. "In your rage, you moved a large metal sphere high above the sky, people in your community thought there was an eclipse."

The brunette's eye twitched, raising once again her hand. Red energy built up around her, surrounding her. They all cautiously took a step back as she sauntered towards them. "How the hell did you know that?" She seethed. "Have you been watching me? Are you CIA?"

"I said the same thing." His companion spoke up, causing Eleanor to pause. She had no idea how this man knew her and he was claiming he was from the future. It was difficult to believe that mutants have developed a time-travelling ability. "Look, this bloke right here came to my house, saying that we have to gather all together to stop a war that will obliterate us all in the future."

Eleanor raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"Fifty years from now, the Sentinels will hunt us all down, kill us all. They even targeted humans who carried the mutant gene or even humans that were trying to help us. They were programmed to spare no one." Logan expounded, now getting up from his kneeling position. "I came here to prevent it all from happening."

She pinched her nose, frustrated with all that was happening suddenly. She was just recently fired from her job and now, a man from the future, approaches her and tells her they need to prevent an eradication of their species. "Tell me who on Earth sent you back here."

"You, Charles," he pointed to the rugged looking man. "Valerie, and Erik."

Eleanor blinked twice. "Erik? Erik Lehnsherr? He's still alive in your future?" She scoffed. "Look at that, the bastard lived fifty more years." She shook her head and turned to look at his companions who stayed silent throughout the whole conversation. "What are your names?"

"Logan, and that's Charles and Hank."

"Alright, Logan. Give me one more good reason why I should help you on your mission." Eleanor stepped forward, staring up at him fiercely.

"Because that man over there will be your husband -- "

Eleanor's eyes widened in shock as she looked to where his finger pointed at. The bearded man with long hair was her husband to be. "Him?" snarled the woman. "I'm marrying him? I'll marry this junkie over here?" She exclaimed, not believing what she just heard.

"Excuse me?" Charles pardoned, affronted by her response.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I can hear your thoughts and right now, you're craving for your drug." She snapped. "Please, do control your thoughts, Charles Xavier."

Logan backed away a little from her, a bit baffled. Eleanor could feel his emotions even when she's not looking at him and all of them were negative. "That was unexpected. This was not how I expected this to go." He furrowed his eyebrows. "Shit. You didn't warn me enough that you were this... intense, Eleanor."

"I can't even believe this is happening right now." Eleanor rubbed her temples. Everything was taking a toll on her. This was all very sudden and she didn't know what to do. Her head ached from this and she wanted nothing but to leave. "What the fuck?"

"I don't want to be here too, Eleanor. I'm just here for my sister. We need your help. We wouldn't have come here if we didn't." Charles spoke up, catching her attention.

The woman turned to look at him, studying him intensely. He looked broken, hopeless, lost. He seemed to have lost everything dear to him. She could see his hesitance with all this. Why did she marry the guy? What did she see in him? She sighed. She wouldn't jump to that kind of commitment if she wasn't ready. Did she actually fell in love with him? "I'm sorry I just don't understand all of this. I don't know all of you except Erik. Why am I needed in this?"

"Because we need you to save someone before she'll be taken to Trask Industries for experimentation."

"Can't you guys do that instead?"

"No, Valerie specifically said that it needs to be you." finished Logan.

"Who's Valerie?"

"Valerie Swan. Erik's future wife."

Eleanor's heart sank. So, he ended up with another woman? Was that why she married this Charles?

She raised her hands. She was baffled, utterly baffled. She didn't know why her future self agreed to get involved in the mission, but there might be a reason why she had done so? Maybe because it was what Logan said? That she needed to save this Valerie? She clenched her fist at the thought of that. She was going to With that thought, she relented. She trusted her older self's decision.

"I still don't get why I should be involved, but okay, fine." She surrendered. "I'm guessing we're getting Erik too? Where is he by the way?"

Her heart raced as she realized that she'll be meeting the man again after ten years. She'll know why he never came back. Was it because of Valerie Swan?

"You didn't know?" The man named Hank questioned, adjusting his glasses.

"Would I ask if I do?"

Hank looked reluctant, but Charles nodded, urging him. "He was imprisoned."

"For what?"

"Assassinating the president." replied Charles, bitterly. His face scrunched as he looked far away. This made Eleanor assume he and Erik must have had some bad blood. Erik did after all mentioned he had a friend he regretted leaving.

Eleanor's mouth hung open in shock. She blinked once, then twice before uttering, "The idiot. That fucking idiot." She growled, looking up at them all as she realized who killed JFK. "When we find him, I'll punch him first."

"Yeah? Get in line then, darling." Charles uttered, nodding as he got inside the car.