Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men or anything to do with them, (although I wish I did!! ^_^) But anyways, hope you enjoy the third chapter!!

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"Hey kid, wake up. This is it." The fisherman nudged the young girl and she opened her eyes to reveal their ocean blue colour.

He backed away so that she could jump out of the back of the truck and he handed her the duffle bag that she had been carrying with her. "You take care of yourself, ya hear?" He smiled down at her as she swung her knapsack over her shoulder and picked up her duffle bag.

"I will. And thank-you very much for your kindness," she replied as she removed a blonde lock of hair from her eyes.

"Hey, it's the least that we could have done after what you did for my son. He probably would have died if it weren't for you. I thought for sure that he had been hit by that car, but you must have got to him just in time."

She smiled modestly. It had only been a couple of days ago that she had saved the five year old boy. And, yes, he had actually been hit by the vehicle, but it was because of her powers that he was still alive when his parents rushed over. She had picked him up and had transferred some of her own life energy to him so that he would live. And because he was so little, it didn't drain her too horribly. And this is the power that she had ever since she could remember. She could heal others. And she had learned from her mother that she had inherited it from her father who she never knew. And now that her mother was gone, she was here in Bayville searching for her father. This is where her senses had lead her.

The fisherman then went around to the driver's side of the truck and opened the door. "Good luck kid," he said before he climbed into the truck and started to pull away. She waved and watched as his wife and son waved at her through the back window.

Once they were out of view, Jessalyn stepped onto the sidewalk and took a look at all of the buildings that surrounded her. *Well,* she thought, *here goes nothing.* And as she walked down the busy street, she knew that she would have to quickly find a safe and sheltered area.......somewhere where they couldn't find her.

She walked down a deserted alley, took a few turns around some older looking buildings and finally came across a boarded up old shoe factory. She walked around to the far side where she found a small hole in one of the boards. She slipped her fingers into it and pulled back to break open the board. With success, she crawled in. It was kinda dark inside with just sunlight seeping through the many cracks in the boards producing the only light. But it was enough light to easily see where you were going. *Well, I guess this is about as secluded as it gets.*

She dusted herself off a spot of the floor where she sat down and pulled some stuff out of her knapsack: a blanket, a small wad of cash, and a framed picture.

She looked down at the picture sadly. It had been taken when she had been born. She was being held by her mother and her father stood near, smiling down at her. This was the only picture that she had in her possession of her family, for she lost everything else in the fire - including her mother. Her eyes welled up with tears as she thought about it. *I hope I find you soon, dad,* she thought sadly to herself. *I don't think that I can keep this up much longer.*

She brought her knees up to her chin as she thought about the events in the past six months - events that had now taken control of her life. And what made her most frustrated was that she didn't even remember much of the night that her mother was murdered...all she remembered was waking up a few blocks away in the early morning hours. The only clue that she had of that night was a letter that her mother had put into her bag the night that she had died. She carefully unfolded it and read her mother's words:

Jesslayn,

I know you are confused about what is happening right now, and if you are reading this letter, then it probably means that I am no longer with you. I only ever wanted what was best for you and I thought that if you never knew about them, then they would never reach you. But I was wrong, and I do not wish for my actions to cause you pain, so this is my confession to you...something that I should have told you long ago.

When your father left us, he did not do it of his own free will. He left because he knew that they were after him and thought we would be safe if he lead them away. And because he never retuned I do believe that they found him. However, I refuse to believe that he is dead. And that's because of his powers...he is able to heal himself. We always knew that there was a possibility that you could have the mutant gene as well, and as you grew older, it showed. However, somehow I fear, that whoever was after your father found out about you, and is now coming after you.

I promise to do everything I can to protect you, and I would give my life if it meant that you would be safe. But in case something does happen to me, I need you to leave this place. Leave here and never come back. I want you to go and find your father. If you find him, you will be safe. In order to find him, use your senses...I know you can do it. I believe in you.

My daughter, I know you will make a difference in this world. And never let anyone put you down because of who you are. Instead, be proud of what you are, because what you are is a wonderful person...and daughter.

I must leave you now, but know that I am always with you. I love you with all of my heart.

All my love,

Mom

* I will find you dad,* she thought as she folded up her letter and put it back into her bag along with the other things she had pulled out of it. *I just have to keep from drawing attention to myself...which probably means that I shouldn't hang around here all day.* She dug out her sweater and managed to get it on without too much difficulty. *Perhaps I should go enroll at a local school. They'd never think to look for me in a public school.*

Deciding on this idea, she grabbed her dufflebag and swung her knapsack over her shoulder and headed out to find a high school.