Hello, once again. I'm on the verge of collapsing at the moment, I'm just so exhausted, but I have so much to do. I have to model a bowling ally by Monday, and Maya (modeling/animation program that hates everyone it comes in contact with) is being a beast. And now that rain has finally started to make itself known again here in Florida, making everything oh so pleasantly muggy, my migraines have been more frequent. And my medication for it basically makes me 'drunk,' which my buddies at school love to watch me stumble around during breaks. Basterds…

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Ellie immediately started to react against Infernos' movements, but couldn't seem to get her limbs to work right. Inferno pressed himself against her, forcing her hands above her head as his tongue sloppily ran over her neck. His free hand trailed down her side, pulling at the hem of her sweatpants.

Out of a pull of fear, Ellie brought her mouth to Infernos' shoulder and bit down as hard as she could. She felt a slight 'crunch' through his shirt. A rather higher pitched yell rang in her ear as Inferno grabbed her neck and yanked her away.

Staring up into those dark, forbidding eyes sent a chill through Ellie. She could practically inhale his anger.

He pulled his fist back, releasing her hands. Reflex caught his hand before it could reach its destination. Inferno was struggling to move his hand in any direction, but it was clamped too tightly in her larger one.

She wriggled her legs, pushing her feet up under Infernos' belly. Pulling together all she could muster, she pushed Inferno off of her, his shirt tearing from her talons.

He was flung back hard and fast, cracking the wall on impact. It took a moment for his eyes to come back into focus. Had he ever been hit that hard?

Ellie still sat on the bed, slightly shaking from fear of nearly being raped and from the strength she didn't know she had. Her brain wasn't functioning properly at the moment; in her minds eye she was already at the door, trying to undo the locks, but her fingers kept going right through them.

Inferno stood wobbly to his feet, cursing as his body throbbed. He glanced at Ellie, whose eyes were slightly glazed over, face in panic, and wondered why she hadn't fled yet. Movement caught his eye by the door to which he looked. He then began questioning his sanity. There Ellie stood, trying to get out, not making a sound. HHer Her fingers where passing through the bolt. But what really got him was that She was transparent, fading in and out.

He glanced between the two a few times before carefully making his way over to the one by the door. He went to put a hand on her shoulder, only to have it fade through her, she not noticing. He looked back to the one on the bed again. She was sitting still, eyes unblinking.

"Fuck me sideways…" he muttered. She made a copy of herself.

He glanced down at his dark shirt groaning when he found it ripped beyond repair. This was the only one he ever wore, solely to hide what he really was. In truth, he'd rather walk around without one at all; he was well covered from the scales. But that would mean giving up the title of 'boss' from his gang, at least in his mind.

He pulled it off, tossing it to the floor and plopped himself in front of her, the taste of her skin coming back to his mouth. He made a face and took a moment to spit into the little garbage can by the bed. Never again would a woman come in contact with his mouth. He snapped his fingers in front of her face a few times, pulling her out of her mental haze.

Ellie blinked, the door vanishing as she did, the image being replaced with Inferno sitting in front of her. She yelped and began to panic again when he suddenly cupped the back of her head and covering her mouth.

"Chill. I ain't gonna' do nothin' to ya'. Not afta' you bitch-kicked me to the wall. I gonna' let you go, an' you ain't gonna' make a sound, an' yo ain't gonna' try an' run. Got it?"

Ellie didn't want to 'get it.' She wanted to fling him against the wall again and make a break for it (she briefly wondered why her fingers kept slipping past the locks). She was far too exhausted, however. The past four days where finally taking its toll on her. What other choice did she have? She nodded and swallowed nervously as Inferno released her.

He sat back into his slouched position and glanced back at the door. "How'd ya' do it?"

"Do?"

"'At thing at the fuckin' door. You were there," he got close to her face. "An' you were here. I wanna' know how."

Ellie wondered how mentally stable this man was. She didn't know of anyone who could be two places at once. She certainly couldn't. Then again, there were new mutants being reported who could do stranger things.

"I-I was at the door, trying to get out. I got up and ran over-"

"Bull. Fucking. Shit! You were sittin'er with a fuckin' stupefied look, an' there was anoth'a you at the door! 'At one I could see through!" His voice was rising as well as his anger. "I wake you up an' the one a' the door gone! Tell me, damn it!"

Another her? Was that possible? No, couldn't be. She knew she got up and ran to the door. She was right there, trying to undo the locks. But, how'd she end up on the bed again so suddenly? Inferno sat there fuming at her, waiting for an answer, while she raked her brain trying to find one.

She began to recall times when something similar to this happened. Once, several years ago, when her and her mother had gotten into a fight and Ellie, being immature at the time, had been contemplating running away. She had been in the living room and moved to her room. She went around her room seeing what could be taken with her, and then suddenly found herself back in the living room, still splayed on the couch. She remembered that she never actually touched anything. Her hands had merely grazed through them. That and everything looked somewhat hazy. She could only think to describe the experience as just waking up from a deep sleep, then dozing back off, dreaming so vividly on getting up and beginning the day.

Finally she glanced up at Inferno, hoping that her answer would not invoke his anger any farther. "I honestly don't know."

Inferno cocked an eyebrow. How could she not know? He found his power when he was very young. Hell, he was born with scales, which was why he called the streets home. Weren't all physical mutations received at birth?

"You not born like that? With the tail an' all?"

"N-no." Why was he so curious all of the sudden? He didn't seem angry anymore, either. "I changed only a month or so ago."

"Huh. Guess everybody not like me…I was born like 'dis, but I couldn' burn anthin' 'til I got older." He explained when her face scrunched in confusion. "Your body mutated befo' your actual ability did at a much later age. 'Ey! Don' be givin' me 'at look! I may be livin' on the street with no schoolin', but I know more shit than people gi'me credit for!"

He glanced back to the door again. "You really don' know how you made a copy of ya'self?"

Ellie shook her head, "But I might have done this once or twice before, now that I think about it." It was odd. She was starting to loosen up now, feeling as though this man wasn't as bad as she had originally thought. Though, she was still keeping her distance.

Inferno nodded, but didn't really seem to be paying much attention to what was being said. He was mulling over how to get Ellie to stay, since he'd done such a swell job so far (but, now he knew for sure she wasn't a total coward)… Offering to help her hone her abilities, maybe? It would be nice to have someone around who could relate to- "What?"

Ellie swallowed hard. It took a lot of mustering to ask the first time, in fear of his reaction. "D-do…. Do you plan on…trying to…" she trailed off, unable to force herself say the word again.

"What? Fuck you?"

Not exactly the way she would have put it, but nodded.

She was taken aback when Inferno started laughing. Was that a good sign?

"Hell, no! I'll fuck a guy if'e looks good, but I neva' anoth'a woman!"

Ellie was confused now, and a little off balance from this information. Was he gay? Granted she didn't really have much of a problem with that, it just seemed out of character to her for a gay man to be as rude and violent as Inferno was. But then again, he did say 'another woman…'

Without thinking, she blurted quite loudly, "Wait! You're a girl?!"

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My bed is calling me; unfortunately, this school has given me insomnia…