An alternate title for this chapter is Ice Cream and Foreshadowing... but that's just a random fact that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

Anyway, I apologize for the recent lack of updates. I'm not going to bother giving excuses-I have none, outside of the usual real life getting in the way-and I don't think you guys really want excuses anyway. Just more chapters... which is what I'm now giving you.

I will tell you tha this chapter fought me every word of the way, so if parts of it sound a little forced, that's why.

I really appreciate all of your wonderful reviews! If I haven't responded to them, it's not becase I hate you. I love you all, I really do.

The Perks of Being a Telepath

Chapter 45: Conversations

It was silent at Alex's grave, with the morning sun just beginning to come up over the trees. The atmosphere offered an air of peace and serenity, two things Charles had been searching desperately for over the past few days.

Raven's thoughts were the polar opposite, already buzzing with far too many thoughts for such an early time. Her remorse over Alex's death was plain; being so close to his grave brought out many feelings she didn't want to deal with. There were also darker thoughts of Cuba, the CIA prison, and the recent events in Texas that Charles knew he would eventually have to deal with.

The telepath sighed and wrapped his arms around Raven, pulling her close to his chest. She was in her natural form, still too weak to shift into anything else.

It was the first time since she had regained consciousness that they had had any sort of privacy to be brother and sister, and the telepath hadn't realized just how much he had missed his sister until now.

Raven twisted her head to look at him, her yellow eyes studying him with concern.

She gently touched his face.

"Are you all right?"

Charles shook his head.

"I'm just trying to process everything that's happened."

She immediately understood.

"Cain."

He nodded, and looked away, unable to bear the compassion in her eyes. It reminded him all too much of the way things used to be, and that was something he did not want to dwell on at the moment.

"It's impossible that he's alive, Raven. I…I'm not proud of what happened that night, but I do know for a fact what did. And his death did happen."

"So then how is he still alive?"

It was the same question Charles had been asking himself for the better part of twelve hours now. It had driven him insane, keeping him up all night when his mind screamed for sleep. And he still had no answer.

He shrugged.

"I don't know. What's more troubling is the fact that he had a mutation."

Raven pressed her lips together in a thin line. She clearly knew something, something that she obviously didn't want Charles to know.

The telepath sighed.

"What is it, Raven?"

She scowled.

"I hate it when you do that."

"I wasn't in your head."

"I know. But it doesn't make it any less annoying when you can read me that well."

Charles let out a gentle, sad laugh as he ruffled her hair.

"And you do the same to me, so spill."

The annoyed, yet amused look in Raven's eyes vanished, replaced by something far darker and less easy to read. Charles recognized that look—he had seen it in the mirror that morning. It was guilt.

"Raven?"

She shook her head.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Why?"

"Because it will upset you."

She looked away, her eyes landing on her cast. And suddenly, Charles understood. This had something to do with their time apart after Cuba, the time leading up to Raven landing in jail.

Charles mentally sighed.

"I'm not mad at you for leaving, you know."

Raven looked back up at him, her yellow eyes wide.

"Really?"

He nodded.

"You were just doing what you had to. It would be rude of me not to respect that."

She smiled slightly.

"You're always so polite, Charles."

For some reason, that comment, more than anything else, reminded Charles forcefully of the fact that she had spent nearly a year with Erik.

He shoved that thought away, not wanting to dwell on it at the moment. There would be time for that later.

"You thought you knew something about Cain?"

Raven's smiled faltered and she looked away once more.

"It's nothing, really. Just bits and pieces that I've overheard."

A mental image of her waiting outside a closed door, with the sound of Erik and Azazel's muffled voices in the background floated into Charles' mind.

He wisely chose not to comment on it.

"And?"

Raven bit her lip.

"The CIA, or I should say Stryker, has been working on creating artificial mutations."

Charles' mouth fell open as he struggled to find something to say.

Of all of the things he had expected, that had certainly not been one of them.

Then again, he wasn't entirely certain what all he had been expecting.

He swallowed.

"How?"

Raven grimaced and became very interested in the cast on her leg.

"He's been rounding up mutants and doing genetic tests on them, trying to figure out which genes hold the key to unlocking the mutations."

He's taking my research to the next level, Charles realized in horror.

Raven was still talking, the words spilling faster out of her mouth.

"There was talk, when Erik and I were held captive, of Stryker creating a super mutant, to round the rest of us up."

Fighting fire with fire.

How long had it been since McCone had said those exact same words to Moira, back when the CIA was still on their side?

Charles closed his eyes, forcing the memory away. When he opened them again, Raven looked guilty.

"I shouldn't have said anything. You're going to think it's your fault now."

The telepath made a grunt of protest.

"You were right to tell me, Raven. I needed to know."

"But you think this is your fault."

He shook his head.

"I'm more… confused. While that answers some of my questions, it doesn't exactly answer why Cain is still alive."

Raven sighed.

"Maybe he wasn't dead to begin with. Maybe… You were pretty out of it that night. Is it possible that you only thought Cain was dead?"

Admittedly, it was an idea that had run through Charles' mind several times since his step-brother's first sighting. To be completely honest, he hoped that was the case. If it wasn't, that brought up some seriously disturbing questions.

Raven leaned her head against Charles' shoulder.

"What are we going to do now, Charles?"

He shook his head.

"I don't know. Try to gather information, I guess. Get ready for the coming fight."

"Do you think there's going to be a fight?"

"As much as I hope there's not, it would be naïve of me not to expect one."

Raven swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry, Charles."

"For what?"

"For everything. If anyone deserves a break from all of this madness, it's you."

Charles quirked a bitter smile.

"You keep forgetting you dragged you into this madness in the first place."

She shook her head.

"It's not fair for you to keep having to sacrifice everything you believe in. First Cuba, now what happened with Emma… this isn't fair, Charles."

He let out a sad chuckle.

"Life isn't fair, Raven."

"But it seems like it's less fair to you than to anyone else."

"It's all right."

Raven buried her face against Charles' chest.

"No, it's not. None of this is. And you know it."

Charles sighed as he rested his chin against her hair.

"If it's the price I have to pay to keep the people I love safe, then I'll gladly pay it."

"You don't have to be a martyr, Charles."

"I know. But it suits me."

Raven shook her head at his sad attempt at humor. She twisted her neck so she could look him in the eyes, looking utterly serious.

"Being dead is not a good look for anyone. And I know that you're still here, but Erik told me how close it was yesterday. You can't keep doing this to yourself, Charles. You can't do this to me. We still need you. More than your demons, more than Stryker, more than anyone. Never forget that."

A month passed.

Then another.

As winter began to slowly transition into spring, Charles and Erik found themselves busier than ever. They were back to their normal recruit mutants and terrorize the CIA any chance they got way of life. It was going fairly well, too, what, with ten new mutants at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, which was now back up and running in Charles' mansion and Erik getting to thwart Stryker at every turn.

However, not everything was running smoothly. Four months had passed since that horrible night of the CIA breakout, and there was still no word of Moira. Stryker, on the other hand, seemed to be growing stronger than ever, despite his failure of keeping Charles in prison.

Charles seemed to have taken his own advice to heart in making sure the world didn't forget about the mutants. Whenever they went on a recon mission in the CIA, the subsequent fallout of that always made the media. It had happened before, but never before had Charles made it so obvious that it was the mutants behind things.

Part of Erik was glad that they were basically declaring war on the humans that fought against the evolution of their own race, but another part of him was worried. He knew what the consequences of what they were doing would be.

But like most of Charles' plans, this one seemed to work out for the better. Instead of condemning the mutants immediately, the press seemed to be siding with them, encouraging their antics at times. There was an uproar when bits and pieces of what was going on behind those bars wound up on the six o'clock news after one particular mission.

The CIA responded with firm denial, denying even the fact that the mutants existed in the first place. Charles and Erik became two of the most wanted people in the country. This tactic had limited success—the Human Rights Activists (a new group formed upon the realization that mutants were, in fact, real and could be slightly dangerous) gained more supporters, but at the same time, more and more people were beginning to sympathize with the mutants' plight.

There was a storm building on the horizon. No matter how much Charles wished it wasn't going happen and no matter how much Erik hoped he was wrong, they both knew the end was coming.

Erik sat alone in the kitchen when Charles hobbled in a few hours later. Hank had retreated to his lab in the basement and Sean was off doing whatever it was that he did.

Raven was mysteriously absent from her brother's side, a sight Erik found odd. Ever since the telepath had returned from Texas, the shape shifter had attached herself to his side, leaving only when she fell asleep and he left.

Charles had yet to notice Erik as he crossed the threshold of the kitchen and paused. He looked more exhausted than Erik ever remembered seeing him, with dark bags underneath his bloodshot eyes and a gaunt look to his face. His hair was no longer carefully styled—instead, it hung loose and kept getting in the telepath's face. His entire look of exhaustion was completed with the hunched way he was standing, with one hand pressed against his back, and his mouth tightened into a thin line.

Erik sighed.

"You should really have someone take a look at your back, if it's bothering you that much."

Charles turned, clearly unsurprised to find the metal bender sitting in utter silence.

"It's not that bad."

"Yet."

The telepath sighed, conceding the point.

"Do you want anything to eat?"

Erik shook his head, thinking back in amusement to the rather awkward breakfast he had earlier.

Charles shrugged, crossing the kitchen at a limp to the refrigerator. Erik absently debated holding the thing shut until Charles agreed to get help for his back, but he didn't feel like wasting the energy.

It was quiet, as Charles pulled out a large tub of ice cream and a spoon, before joining Erik at the table.

Erik raised an eyebrow in silent questioning.

Charles merely shrugged as he opened the tub of ice cream.

"After the week I've had, I think I'm entitled to some ice cream."

There wasn't anything to say to that, so the metal bender decided that a subject change was in order.

"I think we should spy on the CIA. Maybe even break in."

He half-expected an argument. He was surprised when Charles merely nodded.

"I agree."

Erik's mouth fell open.

"You what?"

Charles smiled slightly and pushed away the ice cream.

"I've been thinking about this for a while. Quite a while, actually, since you and Raven were first abducted. We need information about what the CIA is working on, and that's the only way to do it."

Erik stared, dumbfounded.

"You're serious."

"I am."

Something told Erik there was more to Charles' easy agreement, but the metal bender found he didn't want to push it.

For now.

However, there was another matter he needed to press, and the telepath had presented the perfect opportunity.

"You need to get your back taken care of. You'll do us no good if you get captured because your back gives out."

Charles grimaced, but nodded anyway.

"Fair enough. I'll have Hank take a look at it."

"And I want to be there."

"Are you saying you don't trust me, Erik?"

"I trust you with my life. With yours, however, no. I don't. Not in the slightest."

The telepath let out a heavy sigh.

"I guess I deserved that after everything that's happened."

Erik folded his hands on top of the table and raised an eyebrow.

"You think?"

"To be fair, your mind was in the process of being erased for good, though. And Hank never guaranteed how long his wonder-cure would last."

"Charles…"

The younger man shook his head.

"If you want me to apologize for saving your life, it's not going to happen. After everything that's happened—after everything I've told you—I reserve the right to keep the people I care about alive. Now, if you have a problem with that, then you know damn well where the door is."

With that, he stood and strode calmly out of the room, leaving Erik dumbfounded as to what the hell just happened.