Special thanks to Kuro49 for your extremely long review. That made my entire day and I can't even begin to describe how happy I am that you've enjoyed the story that much. :)

Also, thanks to Haylia Jones-I love you too, by the way :D-Luthien Potter-you're welcome!-and hachoo-here's the next chapter-for reviewing! This chapter's for you guys.

I apologize ahead of time for the major cliffhanger I leave you guys with. I'm starting to feel a little guilty for leaving you guys with such endings...

The Perks of Being a Telepath

Chapter 37: Anger

A week passed. Then another.

Soon, a month had gone by and there was no sign of Onslaught or Charles. Erik was still unconscious.

Raven, Hank, and Sean were rapidly running out of ideas and hope. They had no one to turn to, their other mutant followers being too deep in hiding to be of proper help.

Hank was still at the hotel, unable to risk coming to the hospital to help keep watch over Erik. Sean was there, too, in desperate need of shower and sleep. He had been pushing himself too hard, blaming himself about what had happened to Charles.

Raven let out a weary sigh as she once again shifted her weight in the uncomfortable wooden hospital chair. It was frustrating, to say the least, to be stuck here and not out actively searching for Charles.

The door to the hospital room creaked open behind her. Raven jumped up, instantly on her guard, despite her protesting muscles.

Onslaught stood in the doorway, looking absolutely terrible.

Raven folded her arms over her chest.

"If you want Erik, you're going to have to go through me."

The telepath visibly shuddered, his eyes closing for a moment. When he opened them again, it wasn't Onslaught staring back at her.

"Charles?"

It was indeed her brother, staring back at her from that gaunt face with the red rimmed eyes and unkempt hair. She could see that look in his eyes, the one she hadn't even realized she was missing until that point.

Charles nodded once, his face scrunching in pain.

"Raven, I don't have much time. When Erik wakes, I need you to get him out of here. Get as far away from here as possible and don't look back."

Dumfounded, Raven could only stare. She had just gotten Charles back and now she wanted him to leave? And Erik was going to wake up?

She opened her mouth to protest, but Charles cut across her.

"Do as I say, Raven, please."

Raven longed to say no, to say that whatever was going to happen, they would face it together, but something told her that wasn't an option.

Instead she nodded once.

"Okay."

Relief flitted across Charles' face quickly, before being replaced by a more tortured expression as he stumbled ungracefully by Raven to kneel by Erik's side. He grasped the unconscious man's wrist and closed his eyes, assuming a look of utmost concentration.

Whatever Raven had been expecting to happen, didn't. There was no brilliant display of lights and color, no loud noises, no anything. Simply one minute Erik was in a coma, and the next, he was shooting straight up with a gasp.

Erik looked at Charles, his confused face turning into one of relief tinged with fear.

Not for the first time since the CIA breakout, Raven wondered what the hell was going on.

Charles didn't give her the chance to ask.

"Raven! Get him out of here!"

Before either Raven or Erik had the chance to so much as blink, Charles collapsed into an ungraceful heap against the wall.

Raven was even aware that she was moving, until Erik's strong arms stopped her from going to her brother's aid.

"Let me go, Erik!"

"You're only going to get yourself hurt, Raven. We need to get out of here."

It sounded as though it physically pained him to say those words

Raven struggled against him.

"No! I don't want to leave him again!"

"You can't help him. He has to do this on his own."

"You might be okay with abandoning him again, but I won't!"

Before Erik had the chance to reply, Raven managed to wriggle out of his grasp.

Slowly, as though she were approaching a wounded animal, Raven approached Charles' near-unconscious form. She could almost feel the pain radiating off him in lethal waves.

She gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Charles?"

Charles opened his eyes and in the instant before he lunged, Raven knew that it was Onslaught.

He had tackled her and was reaching for her throat before she even had the chance to react.

Charles couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't breathe at the sight of his once dead stepbrother being escorted through the police station.

It was impossible. This had to be some sort of trick. Cain was dead. Charles had killed him. There was no way he could be here. Not now, not ever.

Somewhere along the way, Charles' abilities kicked in, informing him that his stepbrother was under the name Lee Harvey Oswald, that it was definitely Cain, and that he had shot the President.

He heard his name being called from far away and it took Charles a moment to remember that he wasn't alone.

The telepath blinked, feeling as though he were emerging from a dense fog. They were outside of the police station. Charles wondered when that happened.

Erik came into focus, his gray green eyes alarmed.

"Are you with me?"

With a violent mental shake, Charles turned his attention back to Erik, still feeling as though he had been struck by a live wire.

"That was Cain, Erik."

"I gathered that. How is he alive? You told me this morning that…"

That you killed him. Charles heard the words as clearly as if Erik had spoken them.

He swallowed.

"I know. I thought I did. But apparently, he's alive."

The thought alone was enough to send shivers down Charles' spine.

Erik shook his head.

"How is that even possible?"

"I don't know."

In all honesty, Charles really didn't remember that much about what happened the night he lost control over his powers. Partly because he had been completely wasted after the track meet, and partly because Charles had blocked that part out of his mind.

Erik sighed.

"Can this day get any worse?"

There were some phrases that should just be erased from the human language.

That was one of them.

Before Charles had the chance to respond, there was a poof and Azazel appeared behind Erik.

The metal bender stiffened as he slowly turned around.

"What do you want?"

Azazel looked impassive as always.

"Ve need to talk."