So, somewhere along the way, I got off track in the alternating past/present bits of this story. In a perfect reality, the second half of this chapter should, in all rights, come first, because it does a ton of setting up for the first half of this chapter. But, alas, if I attempted to fix it at this stage in the game, it would screw everything else up... and most of it is already set in stone anyway. So, I apologize in advance for the mass amounts of confusion this chapter will probably cause. If it helps, skip to the line break, read the second half first, and then read the first half.
Yay! I didn't take two months to update! Woot! Enjoy. The next chapter should be up within the week.
The Perks of Being a Telepath
Chapter 46: News and Plans
It came down to a single piece of paper, hidden inside one of the eight dozen files that Raven had pilfered from the CIA during her last mission.
Charles, Erik, Raven, Sean, and Hank were all gathered in the kitchen while the other mutants were training outside.
The piece of paper was lying flat on the table, severely crumpled from where Charles had clenched his fists tightly around it, and taped back together in some places from where Erik hadn't managed to control his anger.
Cain Marko was to be Stryker's lynchpin. The rope with which the mutants hung themselves.
Charles scowled.
"This is impossible."
Erik glanced at the paper over the telepath's shoulder and sighed.
"Hasn't he died twice now?"
"Apparently not."
The metal bender let out a growl that encompassed everything Charles longed to say, but wouldn't in the company of four other mutants.
Raven muttered something incoherent that was along the lines of this is just effing fantastic, before speaking up.
"How did he survive this time?"
Charles gave her a one-shouldered shrug.
"The CIA is based in espionage. It wouldn't be that hard to fake someone's death."
She scowled, as did Erik.
"Makes you wonder what else they're hiding."
Charles rubbed his forehead, trying to alleviate the growing pain in his skull. With Onslaught becoming more and more vocal with each mission, Charles' insomnia, and the fact that he had to deal with dozens of tense, frustrated minds on a daily basis, it was no wonder that his head felt like it was about to explode.
Erik sent Charles a concerned glance, which the telepath proceeded to ignore.
"Right. There's no use in panicking over things that we cannot control."
He received five identical scowls.
Raven spoke first.
"Cain is alive. After he was declared dead in Texas three years ago, not to mention in New York ages before that."
Charles opened his mouth to protest, but Erik cut across him.
"She's right, Charles. We have to figure out how and why Stryker is using him."
It was pretty obvious to Charles and it should have been to Raven and Erik. This went far beyond normal mutant hatred. This was personal. This was Stryker's revenge for what happened nearly four months ago.
He shoved the increasingly dark thought out of his mind for the time being and turned to Hank, who was standing quietly behind Raven with his arms folded over his chest.
"What do you think about this, Hank?"
The scientist blinked, obviously not expecting the question. He recovered quickly when all eyes turned to look at him.
"I think we need to be a little more thorough checking for death certificates. And for bodies in graves."
Charles stared, having not expected the glib remark from Hank of all people. Raven, yes. Erik, possibly. But not Hank.
It relieved the tension, however, drawing out wearied chuckles from the others in the room.
Charles cracked a slight smile.
"Stellar advice, Hank. Thank you for that wonderful contribution."
Hank gave a one-shouldered shrug as an apology, before sighing heavily.
"There's not much we can do at the moment, though. Stryker's obviously got an end game that none of us can predict."
Erik's scowl deepened.
"We need more information."
Raven shook her head.
"It was dangerous enough getting this one piece of information. If we try for any more, then one of us is going to get caught. And no matter how much the press loves us, if Stryker catches us, you know he will kill us this time."
She looked at Charles pointedly when she said this. He once more pretended not to notice.
Erik let out a wordless growl as he took up prowling around the kitchen like a caged tiger.
Charles looked back at the paper and mentally sighed. This was a mess, for a myriad of reasons. The first, and perhaps the most daunting, was the fact that Cain could be the first of many synthetic mutants. Stryker could very well be building an army of them and Charles' merry band of rebels would never know anything about it until it was too late.
The second was the fact that Cain kept coming back to life. The first time had been bad enough, but was thankfully cut short by his sudden death at the hands of an enraged gunman. This time, however, Charles got the feeling his former step-brother wasn't going to go away so easily. Stryker obviously had some torture in mind for Charles and it was only a matter of what exactly it was going to be.
The third was Charles' decision on what to do about Stryker. It was obvious to him that if Stryker were taken out of the game, then maybe things would be easier for mutants.
But you don't have what it takes.
Onslaught's voice was hardly surprising, but it did cause Charles to still ever so slightly. Thankfully, all of the others were too focused on arguing with each other to notice.
Charles closed his eyes briefly, and sighed.
You know I don't.
The telepath's alter ego snorted.
He is going to kill all of your precious little pets if you don't do something about him. And soon.
Charles clenched his teeth together and resisted the urge to bang his head against the kitchen table. It wouldn't have helped, and only drawn suspicious attention.
And if I let you free, you'll kill them anyway.
There was an uncomfortable moment of silence in Charles' mind as Onslaught mulled this thought over.
What if I promised I wouldn't?
It was Charles' turn to snort, but he was brought up short by the earnestness in Onslaught's voice. There was obviously something the alter ego was planning that Charles wasn't aware of.
And what do you mean by that?
The truth was shocking, to say the least. Charles struggled to keep the surprise off his face as Onslaught outlined his plan.
Why would you do this?
Onslaught gave the equivalency of a mental shrug.
No matter how different we are, I come from you. Whatever else may stand between us, at the heart of us both, we are the same person. I've come to care about these people as much as you have.
Had the alter ego said any of that a month ago, Charles would have scoffed. But it was a testament to how much both of them had changed that he accepted it without question.
Still…
You would really be willing to sacrifice yourself for these people?
Yes.
For some reason, Charles' eyes rested on Erik. The metal bender looked worn, but determined, clearly ready to find some sort of solution that would save them all. It was a look said he would be willing to do whatever it took to save the ones they cared about. Even if it meant his own death.
It was then that Charles accepted Onslaught's plan as genuine. Because if someone as broken as Erik could find it in himself to find something he was willing to sacrifice himself for, then maybe Onslaught could too.
Erik looked up at that moment, his eyes meeting Charles'. He cocked his head slightly in question, but the telepath merely shook his head. The metal bender scowled slightly, clearly sensing something was going on, before looking back at the paper.
Charles sighed.
All right.
Onslaught made a contented noise before drifting back off into silence.
Charles swallowed heavily, wondering not for the last time if he made the right choice in deciding to trust his alter ego.
But then he looked at Erik and Raven, the two people he cared about most in the world, and realized he didn't have a choice. If it came down to trusting Onslaught or watching the people he loved get killed on account of him, then Charles would choose Onslaught every single time.
He just hoped he could live with the consequences.
It was all over the news later that week.
The gunman responsible for the assassination of John F. Kennedy had, in turn, been shot and killed merely a few days before he was to stand trial.
If Charles hadn't known Erik's exact whereabouts over the past week, he would have suspected the metal bender of being involved.
"He's dead."
It was all Charles could say as he stared at the picture of Cain's face staring up at him from the kitchen table.
Erik sat across from him, his arms crossed, looking annoyed. Without even bothering to look into his friend's mind, Charles immediately knew that it was because someone had beaten Erik to the punch.
The metal bender sighed.
"For real this time?"
Charles shrugged.
"The article says he was shot through the heart. Announced dead on scene."
Erik scowled
"That seems too easy."
"You think everything is too easy."
"He was one of Stryker's possible synthetic mutants, clearly able to mind control everyone, and obviously a valuable asset. Now he's dead, just like that?"
Charles shrugged again.
"According to the papers."
Erik snorted.
"I don't believe that. The CIA wouldn't just let one of their experiments die."
"Well, maybe they shouldn't have let him assassinate the President. That clearly ticked someone off."
The metal bender stared, obviously not appreciating the glib humor.
Charles resisted the urge to sigh.
"Look, Cain has been declared dead. Maybe we should take this as a blessing instead of a curse and focus instead on our upcoming mission."
The taller man still looked tense, but Charles sensed a victory.
"If this comes back and bites us in the ass, I'm blaming you, Charles."