::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::A/N:

Hey guys! Thanks to all who reviewed, and sorry if my Jean-not-so-dead thing's confusing. I'll explain it later, but just to make it easier, let's just say that she was found the day after Alkali Lake, on a hilltop that wasn't under water. She was breathing, so not dead. She IS the Phoenix, after all. (Ok, so I totally don't know anything about Phoenix- I'm making it up as I go, so if I'm wrong, please tell me!!!!)

Thanks again, and Review, my pretties!!! reviews make me all warm and fuzzle-y!!

Molly Jeane

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Prof. X's School for the Gifted, New York

The room is silent, but for the shallow yet steady breathing of the girl lying on the bed. Her wavy, raven locks roll down her shoulders, and the cuts and obvious signs of torture have been cleaned, and are free of dried blood.

Charles Xavier sits at the girl's bedside, holding the locket that Scott handed him, searching for an answer. It doesn't do any good, though, as there is no activity in this girl's brain. She has made herself forget anything, a tactic that is used only by those who truly need to. Who would willingly forget their entire life unless it was absolutely necessary?

He sighs, shifting his gaze from the locket to the girl. It shouldn't be like this. The world should stop, and look at this girl's wounds. It should gaze at how she's been tortured, see the spot of red snow at the edge of the wood. But it shouldn't keep going. It shouldn't ignore the fact that an Innocent has fallen.

Jean, seeing that the Professor is in the room, pauses outside the door, hesitating, not knowing whether to go in or not. "Come in, Jean." he says tiredly. She walks in slowly, holding a clipboard that holds the only information known about the girl. "How is she?" he asks, and Jean looks at the girl with amazement.

"Technically speaking, she should be dead. That wound had to have been five hours old, and it was still bleeding. Not to mention that she has burn and slice marks from some obvious torture, and she has a sedative still in her system. Whoever she was running from didn't want her to leave. And if she did leave, they wanted her dead..." She trails off, and the professor looks at her expectantly. "She had a tiny bomb implanted into her head. It was set to go off in an hour, but thank god I felt the bump. I removed it and detonated it." she tells him, her voice soft. "I gave her some more sedative, and some painkillers, so that her body can try to repair itself."

"Why would someone hurt a child this bad?" the Professor asks, and Jean shakes her head slowly.

"A lot of people want to hurt mutants in any way that they can." she says, handing him the sheet that she printed out. "This is a blood work-up of our Jane Doe."

The Professor stares at it for a few moments, skimming the sheet. "This is incredible. She has no junk DNA." he says in astonishment. "What does this mean?" he asks Jean, who shrugs.

"I have no idea, but I do know that this girl is definitely not a normal girl. Just look at her stem cell count. Double the normal, so she can heal quickly. She also doesn't have a blood type. Universal donor. She's genetically perfect." she says, glancing at the paper, a culmination of all the years of genetic engineering combined, something that any black market salesmen would love to have for sale. "No wonder why people were after her."

"But," Charles thinks out loud, "the question is, why would someone go to all the trouble of hurting her when they could make a large profit?"

They both look at the girl, as if she can provide the answer. She just lies there, unmoving, trying to wake up but not knowing how.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Abandoned Military Base, NY

"The implant has gone off?" Ames White asks from his cold-looking metal desk.

"Yes, sir, it's gone according to plan. Something triggered the bomb. She's dead." a nameless assistant tells him, eager to please the guy in charge.

"Good work." Ames says coldly, smiling a mirthless smirk. "You've made me happy."

"Yes, sir." the assistant says, giving him a fresh cup of coffee and closing the door behind him, humming 'Oh, What a Beautiful Morning', happily greeting anyone he meets, only to be returned with a cold stare.

"Stop that awful noise!" Ames shouts angrily, muttering profanities under his breath. "Damn interns."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Girl's PoV

There's nothing here, but the Black. I hate the Darkness....it's so lonely, with no one here....There are voices coming through the black. Someone help me, please.....I don't want to be here.....

I need to keep running......always running, never stopping.....Someone help me out of here...