He opened the letter slowly. It was dated three months ago, and had gone from Mexico to France first, then to Canada. It was addressed to him and his twin sister.

"My dear Kurt.

"I am sorry that Krystal wants nothing more to do with me, but I can understand her reluctance. I hope you can convey my apologies for disturbing her. I had wished she would be more forgiving than I would have been under the same circumstances. I suppose that was incredibly foolish."

He nodded. Krystal was still adamant. She did not want to hear from Mystique at all.

"Your father was a good man, but I was not good to him or for him, I fear. I did not trust him with my true identity, and I paid the price for it. So did you. I am sorry for that, believe me. I doubt he would have rejected us if I had told him from the start who I was and what I wanted. Thinking back, I could have loved him, but I did not until it was too late, and he had gone."

What kind of a man was his father? This merely intrigued him. How had his father rejected him and his twin? They were just babies. How could a man reject his own children?

"You were wonderful babies. I still remember holding you, amazed that each of you were real people already. I wanted to raise you, but I could not. An organization from my past came back to hunt me down. I would not risk your lives by being selfish and making you stay with me. I swear to you I meant to come back when I could, but I was swept away too fast when they came hunting me, and then I got caught up in other things. Now that I have seen you, I suppose I should thank the old witch for doing so well. You both seem healthy, happy, and reasonably intelligent."

He could not imagine Mystique holding a baby, much less himself or his sister. What was she like, then? What organization came after her? Why had Margali never told him anything of this?

"I am busy. Erik is a comfort to me, as I am to him. We both are about the same age, and have had those we love betray us before. His former wife was a demon, you know, who tricked him into impregnating her, and then abandoned him."

He winced. He had no great love for Magneto, but even he did not deserve such treatment. Perhaps that was why he had become the tyrant he was when Kurt knew him.

"I realized I do love him just last year, after our marriage. I did not think about it before. He was, simply, Erik, and he was important to me. Yes. I love Erik."

Mystique saying she loved someone? Another first.

"I suppose I love you both too."

Second. How should he feel about that? It made him uneasy.

"We are trying to care for too many mutants with too few resources. I imagine you are far better off than are we. We have been cutting down on our rations so that the children may have enough to eat, and more children come in every day. Sometimes our friends in the government can take a few from us, but more often than not, we have to care for them ourselves."

He would have to let Logan or James know about that. Maybe Alpha Flight could help get some resources down to Mexico the next time Canada sent a diplomat that way.

"Now, I must close my letter, as we have many more tasks to accomplish. Erik wished me to convey his greetings and apologies for any harm he caused you in the past. He says you were a good friend to his friend, Charles, and that he wishes you well."

Hmph. He'd believe it when he heard it from Magneto himself, and not before.

"Stay well. Stay safe. Do not try to come here.

"Your mother, Mystique"

He stared at the pages for some time, then turned at his sister's voice. "You are going to tell me anyway, Kurt, ja? Tell me now."

He smiled. Krystal had just showered, and water twinkled in her short blue fur. "She is sorry for having bothered you, meine schwester."

"That is all?" Her golden eyes narrowed. "She did not say anything else?"

He shrugged. "They are poor, and have many mutants to feed. She says she loves him, and us."

She leaped over to the desk and looked at the envelope. "Air France. C.O.D." She quirked a brow at him. "You paid for this?"

"I asked for it." He leaned back in his chair. "So, you are interested in her."

She took a deep breath. "Ja, I must admit. But I do not want to talk to her." She took the letter and read it slowly, then put it down on the desk and tapped the paper. "How much of this do you believe?"

"I do not know what to feel, what to think." He swished his tail through the air once. "I do know some of it is probably true."

She got up and gave him a brief hug. "Logan's asked us out again. Want to go?"

"Nein. I need to think about this, all of it." He smiled at her. "You go. You could use some fun, nicht konnten Sie?"

"Maybe." She left, and he stretched out on his bed. He did not want to write back just now. He let his mind wander as time passed in the world outside.