So, for some reason, my muse had a mental breakdown over this chapter... and didn't want to post it. I swear, it's the first time this has ever happened, and I'm not quite sure why. It was weird and because of that, this chapter's late. I apologize and will try to see to it that this won't happen again.
Also... I was in the land of limited/no Internet connection... so I apologize once more for not posting this chapter!
As a major apology... I shall be updating three times this week... once today, once tomorrow, and once on Friday (just to get things back on schedule).
The Perks of Being a Telepath
Chapter 34: Running Out of Time
The world turned into a dazzling display of bright lights and rainbow colors, all the while spinning violently. Erik felt as though he were going to be sick, and distantly wondered if that was possible here.
He looked for Charles, half expecting this to be some sort of further torture from Onslaught, but the telepath was half-sitting half-slumped against a wall barely an arm's length away, looking green.
Erik reached out and gently placed his hand on Charles' shoulder.
"Are you all right?"
Charles gave a half-shrug, which was more honesty than Erik had been expecting.
"It'll pass. Whatever Onslaught's using, it's having some effect on me, but not to the extremes he's experiencing."
Erik blinked, not sure if he heard that right.
"Come again?"
Charles grimaced.
"This insanity isn't Onslaught's doing. At least, not deliberately. He's either drunk or high, to have lost this much control over us."
Erik stared. He had never actually considered the effects of alcohol and drugs on his powers, or Charles' for that matter. He did remember that one time after Cuba, where alcohol seemed to increase Charles' powers, but practically destroyed the man's control.
"Is this what it's always like for you?"
Charles let out a laugh that came out more as a sad chuckle.
"No. But I've had years to build up a tolerance for it. Onslaught's had at most a few weeks, and even then, it's probably only been a few days. I expect he spent some time locked in the hospital before he finally gave up the pretense of being me."
Their world shuddered violently and then settled back into the serene calm of the Westchester mansion. Erik took that to mean that Onslaught was probably asleep or Charles had somehow interfered with the dreamland.
Charles let out a soft, weary sigh.
"I'm sorry about this. For dragging you into this, for what Onslaught's doing to you… all of it."
Erik shook his head.
"This isn't your fault, Charles."
"Actually, this is the one thing that can truly be deemed as my fault. He is me, after all."
"No. He's not."
Charles glanced sideways at Erik and shook his head.
"You can color it anyway you want, Erik. But whatever Onslaught does, I'll hold myself responsible. Because I could have stopped him and I didn't."
"Why?"
Charles gave a one-shouldered shrug, wincing as the effort obviously pained him.
"I thought, at the time, it was the only way to survive. I had the lives of thousands of mutants' in my grasp and without Onslaught, I would have killed every single last one of them, instead of the thirty-three I couldn't save."
Erik closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath, before exhaling loudly.
"How long do you think it will be before you can face him again?"
Charles bit his lip and looked away.
"I don't know. Maybe a couple of days, maybe a couple of weeks, possibly never. It depends on him. And, in part, it depends on you."
Erik raised an eyebrow.
"Why me?"
Charles was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, he spoke to his knees.
"You can't be here when I face him. There's no telling what will happen and I don't want you caught in the crossfire."
Erik opened his mouth to protest, to claim that together they could face Onslaught and defeat him, but stopped. He had no real power here. His metal wielding ability was useless against the overwhelming power of the telepath's mind. Sheer physical strength wasn't important here either. He realized that in the battle between Charles and Onslaught, Erik would be a liability, someone that Charles had to waste effort protecting.
It went against all of Erik's instincts to agree with Charles, but in the end, he knew it was the right thing to do. If his being there came down to Onslaught using him against Charles, then Erik would rather not be in there.
"Okay."
Charles looked momentarily relieved by Erik's agreement, before his expression turned pensive.
"We need to get you out of here. Back into your own mind."
It was something both of them had mentioned in passing, but Erik had never really given much thought to. He didn't understand how he came to be here in the first place, much less how he would ever get back into his own body. In all honesty, Erik didn't really expect to survive this encounter in Charles' mind.
But now, it was the only thing Erik could think about.
"How?"
Charles grimaced.
"I have a plan, but you're not going to like it."
"What is it?"
Charles told him. The telepath was right—Erik hated it, for it called for way too much sacrifice on Charles' already weakened abilities.
When the metal bender pointed this out, Charles merely shook it's head.
"It's the only option we have. If it fails…"
He trailed off, having no need to finish the sentence. Erik understood all too well what would happen if they failed. He would be erased, simple as that. His body would continue to live on, but without his mind, it was useless. He would be gone.
Erik looked at Charles and plastered something akin to a smile on his face.
"Then we won't fail."
The mansion was silent when Raven woke up. She could immediately tell that Charles wasn't there—there had always been an unnatural stillness to the large house whenever her brother wasn't at home—and upon further inspection, she discovered that Hank and Erik were missing as well.
Sean was in the kitchen, staring at the empty cabinets with dissatisfaction on his face when Raven hopped in, balanced precariously on her crutches.
The ginger turned at the sound of the crutches, his dissatisfied expression turning carefully blank when he saw who it was.
Raven sighed.
"Hey."
Sean studied her for a moment, his blue eyes calculating and showing far more intelligence than Raven though possible.
"You okay?"
His concern was surprising, to say the least. After leaving Cuba with Erik, she had expected much more hostility. Clearly, whatever hatred Sean and Hank held for Erik didn't extend to her.
Raven shrugged one shoulder.
"I've been better."
Sean nodded, accepting the answer for what it was.
"I'm sorry for what Stryker did to you. You didn't deserve that."
His tone implied that she deserved some form of punishment for what she had done, but that was okay. Raven knew that it was the truth. She had been punishing herself for leaving Charles behind since she left him in Cuba.
"Thank you for rescuing me."
Sean quirked a smile.
"It was fun."
Raven didn't doubt it.
They stood there in an awkward silence, before Raven blurted out the words that had been on the tip of her tongue since she had seen Sean.
"I'm sorry about Alex."
Sean visibly swallowed and looked away, turning back to the cabinets that held nothing.
"It was harder for Charles."
It was hard for everyone, Raven knew, maybe even harder for Sean than he was willing to admit. He and Alex had become close during the months leading up to Cuba, and Raven could only begin to imagine the bond they must have had afterward.
"It still sucks."
Sean looked back at her, gratitude visible in his eyes. Raven offered him a smile, which he was quick to return.
After that, conversation flowed easier, reminding Raven all too much of what she had been missing the entire time she had been with Erik. Sure, she had had the opportunity to fight back against a world that hated and feared her, but it was a lonely existence. Erik spent so much time pining over Charles that he barely looked at Raven. None of the other mutants trusted her, either, for they all saw her as the younger sibling of the man they hated. Sean at least had Hank after Alex died, who might not have been the best conversationalist in the world, but at least cared whether he lived or died.
Sean was in the middle of relating to Raven a story about one of Hank's failed experiments that resulted in a fire in the lab, when the phone rang.
It was Hank.
"I don't have much time, but get to a TV."
"Beast? What's going on? Where are you?"
Sean's confusion mirrored Raven's own.
"I don't have time to explain. Just watch the news. It'll explain everything."
There was a television in the kitchen. Sean turned it on and sat next to Raven, looking anxious.
A newscaster on the screen looked grave.
"It's with a heavy heart that I bring you the news that President John F. Kennedy has been assassinated in Dallas, Texas only minutes ago."
Raven's eyes widened, wondering what this had to do with any of them. Yes, it was a horrible tragedy, but what did it matter to them?
Images from a parade in Texas made their way on screen as the newscaster depicted the events leading up to the president's death.
"It is suspected that there was mutant involvement in the Kennedy's assassination."
Raven's heart froze as an image of Charles and Erik was put up on the screen.
Beside her, Sean went completely still.
"Oh shit."