It had been nearly 3 hours since they'd first found Charles and they still hadn't heard anything. Angel, Darwin and Azazel had disappeared about an hour ago as the first two had word and Azazel was the only one of them who didn't know Charles so saw no reason to stay longer than necessary. Logan had also disappeared though Raven knew he would be around somewhere, most likely keeping an eye out for anyone who might try to attack them. Raven, Alex and Sean were sitting on the floor by the front door with a set of cards Sean had scavenged from somewhere though none of them were concentrating on what was going on.

Erik had appeared from the basement 2 hours previously, dragging a subdued Mark along with him. Raven didn't want to imagine what Erik had done to Mark but she could guess and she couldn't care. "How long does it take?" Alex finally said, jumping to his feet. "It's been hours; surely they must have finished by now."

"The Professor can't be that hurt, can he?" Sean asked and Raven shivered, remembering what Charles had looked like before. Pale, unconscious and Raven didn't even want to think about what those men had been doing to Charles to make him so unresponsive and so obviously in pain.

"Hank didn't say how long it would take." Raven answered and Alex collapsed back on the floor. They were all desperate to know what was going on but neither Erik nor Hank had emerged yet. That had to be a good sign, though; it meant Charles was still alive.

…

Charles felt like he was dreaming. The whole world was blurred around him, coming through in fogs and shapes. Reaching with his mind, Charles was able to get glimpses of a thought before drifting again. Nothing ever solidified as if Charles was the only real thing in his mind. There was a discomfort near the back of his neck but he was glad of it. That was the only thing that kept him anchored.

He'd always had an amazing reach with his telepathy so when it was first taken from him he had felt disconnected from the real world. As if Charles was looking through a one way mirror at everyone outside. Now, that feeling was back except he could still feel thoughts. But not thoughts exactly more like lights in Charles' mind which showed he wasn't completely alone. The words were jumbled or muffled. Nothing ever settled in one place, not even the pain he remembered feeling in what felt like another life time.

When a sharp jolt hit his neck, Charles tensed and he might have made some sort of noise because it was hard to tell when he couldn't even be sure what was happening around him. "Charles?" Erik's voice drifted through both Charles' mind and hearing but Charles ignored it. Erik couldn't be here, Erik was safe. Charles had made sure of that, made sure none of his friends could follow him and get hurt because of him. They couldn't be here.

…

"He moved." Erik suddenly said, making Hank look up from where he was standing. "He twitched." Erik stated.

"It could just be a reaction." Hank replied, though he secretly hoped it wasn't. Any sign that Charles was aware of what was happening, while possibly resulting in pain for the Professor, could mean Charles was alright. "I need you to get the rest of the metal out."

Erik didn't move for a second but when he did, Hank could see his reluctance. Hank had managed to move the metal rod a little out but his hands weren't as steady as they needed to be and hank knew Erik's control was better suited for this than himself.

The metal-bender didn't say anything but Hank could tell that Erik was having second thoughts about this. "It needs to come out but I can't do it." Hank stated which seemed to pull Erik to the present.

Erik kept a hold of the metal in Charles' neck for a minute, making sure he knew the width, the length and any abrasions in it. He knew that one small slip up could cause irreparable damage, which was what was making him so nervous. Finally, Erik started to slowly pull the metal. It was slow going but finally the metal outside the base of Charles' neck started to lengthen. Part of it was blood covered but Erik tried to ignore that, focusing on the metal rather than what he was doing. The rod was flexible, something which Hank had already mentioned but Erik made sure it didn't move unless he needed it to.

He had no idea how long it took to get the metal out but when he and had moved away from Charles so Hank could look at the injury, Erik crushed the metal rod into a small ball and threw it across the room. It landed in the place Mark Warren had been sitting up until Erik had dragged him out of the basement and the mansion. He'd killed the man, not as slowly as he would have liked but the result was the same. Mark Warren was dead. Erik had no idea where the body was, having told Azazel to get rid of it, but he didn't care. Not after what that man had done to Charles.

Finally, Hank stepped away from Charles. A white bandage stood out starkly against the telepaths' neck, a small red line appearing. "I couldn't stitch it at least not yet. I'll change the bandages later." Hank stated and Erik didn't ask the whys or what Hank had done. He didn't need to know, all he needed to know was that Charles was alright.

"When will he wake up?" Erik asked.

"I don't know." When Erik didn't answer, Hank continued. "I'm going to go and see Raven."

"Make sure they get some sleep, you too Hank. I'll stay with Charles." The other nodded, leaving the two alone in the room.

…..

"How is he?" Raven asked as soon as Hank emerged, throwing herself into his arms. Hank was exhausted but he managed a small smile for Raven.

"Is he going to be alright?" Alex asked, quickly followed by Sean as they came over to him.

"I don't know." Hank replied because he really didn't. The damage that Mark's experiment could have caused could very well mean that Charles might die but hank didn't know if there even was any damage.

"Is Erik down there?" Hank nodded in answer. "So we're staying the night?" Raven asked and hank nodded his head again.

At that moment Logan came into view, frowning at the three of them. "Get some sleep; you'll be no use like this." Logan grunted, going to sit on one of the armchairs near the front door.

"But…." Sean started to protest but Logan cut him off.

"Erik's with the Prof, I'll stay up here. Find and room and sleep." Knowing there was no point in arguing, they followed Logan's instructions. It took a while for them all to fall asleep that night but the adrenalin the fighting had caused was quickly disappearing and they soon ended up sleeping.

….

Charles came into awareness rather abruptly. A brain near him was projecting rather loudly, making Charles' unconscious self-toss around as it tried to escape the terror in the other's brain. It didn't really matter that Charles couldn't fully see what the other was thinking as the actual feelings coming from it was enough to make Charles'' eyes fling open.

Waking was a bad idea it seemed, as his neck started to burn as if someone had taken a hot knife and was pressing it against Charles' neck. He tried to move away from the pain but that didn't work as when he moved white hot agony went through his whole body. His eyes started to flutter close when Erik's face came into view. The panic there was obvious but Charles didn't have the energy to say anything as he let the darkness claim him once more. If only to escape the pain for a little while more.

Last two chapter's coming up. As always please review and thanks for reading :)