Thank you to kmj1989 for the review! Yeah, Logan really can't catch a break when it comes to his mind being messed with. Today we have some more mind-reading! It will bring some answers, but even more questions. I hope you enjoy it! Thank you to everyone who gives this a read, and special thanks to those who take the time to review!

Answers, and More Questions

Logan waits eagerly for more memories to come, but his mind is frustratingly blank.

In fact, the pressure completely vanishes from his skull, leaving only the lingering echo of the pain that had been.

His eyes pop open to see Charles has removed his hands from his head. "What the hell, Chuck?" he demands indignantly. "Where's the rest?"

The telepath shakes his head wearily- he looks rather exhausted. "There isn't anymore, Logan," he explains. "I was wrong about trauma, it appears. Your memories aren't blocked, they're outright erased. Remus believed that this Romulus Volpe fellow was somehow responsible for it, as far as I can tell. It appears that they were siblings, perhaps even twins, from the sound of it."

"And who the hell is this guy to me?" Logan gripes, sitting up on the exam table.

"Did you say Romulus?" Hank pipes up.

"Yeah."

"And Roxanne's mother is named Remus, as far as we know," the young feral says slowly.

"Yeah, and?" Logan is completely lost.

Roxanne, though, seems to cotton on immediately. "Oh!" she whispers, looking between the two men with understanding dawning on her pretty face.

Hank gives her a small smile of acknowledgement. "In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus were twin sons of Mars and were raised by a she-wolf after being abandoned at birth. Eventually, however, they founded the city of Rome, although Romulus killed Remus in the process."

"Are you saying that this Volpe pair are the same twins from Roman mythology, Hank?" Charles asks dubiously. "That would make them thousands of years old."

"Before Egypt I would have dismissed the idea out of hand," Hank replies, "but now we both know it's not necessarily out of the realm of possibility for mythological figures to turn out to be ancient mutants. I wouldn't rule it out."

"No, I suppose not," Charles admits. He looks at Logan. "I'm sorry I couldn't discover more answers for you, my friend."

Logan grunts.

He's not feeling charitable enough at the moment to tell the telepath that it's alright, considering that he just went through a bunch of pain for what feels like basically nothing. All he knows now it seems is that this Romulus guy, most likely Remus' twin brother, is probably the one who fucked with his memories for some reason.

And he has no hope of ever finding out anything else about his past. All of his memories are gone, forever.

"Maybe you should try reading my mind," Roxanne says suddenly. She turns to Charles. "Gramps reckoned we were about four months old when he found us. That's four months of memories to work with. Do you think you could look into my mind and see if there's anything that could help Logan?"

Logan is rather touched by her desire to help him, almost in spite of himself.

Charles looks thoughtful. "I suppose it's worth a try," he murmurs. "Here, switch places with Logan."

Roxanne pushes down her rising trepidation as she lays down on the examination table, trying to keep up a brave face.

Hank, judging by his worried frown, doesn't feel the same need to hide his concerns.

She reaches out and takes his hand. "Hey," she says, "it's ok. No risk of brain scrambling here- right, Professor?"

Charles chuckles. "Right."

"It's not that," Hank replies, squeezing her hand gently. "I'm more concerned about what you'll find out. I'm assuming you weren't abandoned in the snow for a happy reason."

She swallows. "I've known that my whole life, though. That knowledge has no power to hurt me now," she says. "But maybe knowing the specifics could help Logan- or even find out what happened to my mother."

Hank nods, but he still doesn't look completely convinced.

She notices that he doesn't let her hand go, even as Charles places his palms on her temples and murmurs, "alright, Roxanne. Close your eyes and try to relax."

Brother is afraid to leave their shared warm, safe place, but she is not. She goes first into the brightness, looking around at the great big world with wonder rather than fear. She rarely cries, instead choosing to observe the world quietly and take it all in...

Their mother is beautiful. Her hair frames her face in waves. Sister smiles and reaches for the pretty red color, so bright to her baby eyes. Mother smiles sadly down at her and whispers something.

"What language is that, Professor?" Roxanne asks aloud. It seems familiar, though she can't quite place it- an echo of these long-forgotten memories, perhaps.

"I think it's Latin, but I'm not quite sure."

"Who even speaks Latin anymore?"

"Hank does."

"Of course he does," Roxanne chuckles, squeezing the man in question's hand affectionately.

"I'm going to bring him into your mind as well to translate, Roxanne, if that's alright?"

"As long as he doesn't let go of my hand," she replies, inwardly cursing her own weakness.

"I won't," Hank promises, making soothing circles over the back of her hand with his thumb.

Ignoring Logan's grumbling about being left out, once re-connected Charles takes care to replay the memory they had just seen for Hank to interpret for them.

It is Latin, Hank's gentle voice says in her mind. She's stuck by the intimacy of this situation, even though Charles is also present, and quickly pushes the thought away to focus on the task at hand. This seems to lend weight to the Roman twin theory, doesn't it?

It could, yes. What did she say, Hank? Charles asks.

"You have your father's eyes, little Artemis. I wish he could meet you, but it is not safe..."

Another memory begins.

The air is crisp and becoming cold. Mother hides them in a cave and leaves for long periods of time, but promises to come back each time. Brother cries for Mother, but Sister does not. She knows Mother will come back.

"Your father told me of the Inuit people before my brother erased me from his mind," Mother says. There is hurt in her voice. "They know of ferals, and respect them as members of their tribe. There is an old Inuit feral man nearby who lost his mate earlier this year. He will take care of you, and you will heal his heart, I know." She reaches out and tickles Brother's cheeks, making him giggle. "How do I know, little Aelius Howlett? Because Mother knows these things, my son. Artemis will, too. You must listen to her, my dearest..."

It is cold, so cold. Frigid air is rushing by, stinging their tender cheeks. Sister misses their cave home.

Mother is afraid. She is running from something-

"It is time," she whispers. "I thought we would have more time together, but he is coming for me. I cannot let him know you exist, my dear ones. I love you." Her red eyes fill with tears as she takes off the shiny thing around her neck. "I hope to find you someday. Do not worry, the old man will find you soon. Goodbye, my darlings."

She presses kisses to their foreheads and disappears from view.

Brother cries from the painful cold that hurts them both. Sister is scared. She does not think Mother will come back this time and she cannot move, bound too tightly in blankets that are still not enough to keep out the freezing air. Where is Mother? It is cold and dark and they are alone...

And then a pair of dark eyes look down at them both out of a wrinkly face. "What on earth-?" And then, louder, "anyone out there? Hello-?"

But no one appears. He scoops up the babies and carries them home...

Roxanne opens her eyes and lets out a deep breath- half sob, half exhale.

Oh, Gramps. And-

"We weren't abandoned," she whispers. When she starts to sit up a pair of warm, gentle hands assist her. Hank is looking down at her with understanding and compassion in his gaze. "My mother left us to keep us safe from her brother. She- she picked Gramps to watch over us. Somehow she knew he would love us like his own."

And she can't help it- she breaks down in a storm of weeping as fresh waves of grief over the father figure she lost wash over her, complicated by thankfulness towards the mother who left her for her own safety.

The tears quieten almost immediately after Hank wraps his arms around her. She sniffles to herself while he strokes her hair, and together they listen to Charles explain to Logan the information they gleaned from Roxanne's memories: that his real name must be James Logan Howlett, that Romulus had indeed erased his memories, that Remus must have been pregnant with his children and gone into hiding to carry said children and give birth to them in secret. When her brother Romulus closed in on her she found a safe place to leave her twins and disappeared.

"So what you're saying is, we need to track down this Romulus guy and find out from him why he's been fucking with my thoughts for over twenty years," Logan announces.

"Err- not at all," Charles replies. "What purpose would it serve? There's no getting your memories back, Logan."

"What I just said, Chuck," Logan snarls. "Finding out why. Why did he steal my memories from me, huh? I never got to meet my son, just barely got to meet my daughter, and I still have no fucking idea how old I am."

"He has a point, Charles," Hank notes quietly, while Roxanne nods. "We have no idea what Romulus' motivations were, or if he was involved with Stryker's operation and creating Logan's adamantium skeleton. That's a lot of pertinent questions."

The telepath shoots his friend a rather dirty look. "This Romulus seems like a very dangerous individual. He has the means to erase minds, and for all we know may be thousands of years old," he observes. "I think it would be unwise to go looking for him."

"But what if he comes looking for us?" Roxanne asks, still in Hank's arms.

"We're safe here, Roxanne. Hank's security system is the best in the world," Charles assures her, but she still feels unconvinced. Sensing mutiny in the ranks, the telepath sighs and says, "how about I have Moira make some calls regarding Romulus Volpe first? Before anyone goes on an ill-advised mission to Alkali Lake?"

The three ferals exchange glances.

"Alright, deal," Logan begrudgingly agrees. He turns to his daughter. "Thanks for doing that, Roxanne."

She gives him a small smile and contentedly rests her head against Hank's chest. "Glad to help in some way," she tells him. "Sorry I couldn't do more."