Ellis stepped out into the cool, dark air that the night offered. It would have been quiet, if not for the constant yammering of Leo, Ellis occasionally glanced back to the somewhat younger teen, though he couldn't have been more than a year younger than Ellis. The glowing, green tattoos cascaded down the right side of his face, they started as small dots and hatches by his hairline, then stitching together before they disappeared into the collar of his shirt.

  “But like i was saying, the guy came in with one of those black market mechanical replacements for every thing below his knee, that thing was an insult to advancement!” Leo tossed his arms in the air before letting them fall back to his side, some mix of exasperation and laughter in his tone confused Ellis about his true attitude.

  “But still, he came in and doc was there so i had to help him. For free, can you believe that?” Leo spouted out again before Ellis could respond. “And i'm not even saying you have to give me cash or anything, but if you come to someone for a service in a workshop give 'em’ something to work with.”

  “But you still helped him?” Ellis cast another glance back at Leo, this time his eyes catching on three obscured people keeping pace behind the two of them. “Damn right I did! He walked out of there better than if he had his real leg, but if i could get the number of the man who made that thing...”

  Ellis took a sharp left.

  “If you were going to help anyways, why complain about it so much?” Ellis risked another glance and saw the same three walking behind them, keeping the same distance as before. Leo glanced up at the starless sky with wide eyes, “Well, i'm not really sure if i would have if doc wasn't there-” He brought a hand up and rubbed his chin with his thumb, “-I still might have though. Just depends on the kinda person that comes in.” Ellis took another left.

  “What kind of person would you help for free?” Ellis didn't bother taking another glance back, he could see the mens reflections in windows as they passed, two were roughly the same height, one was bigger. He was in the back with an extra set of arms sticking out from above his shoulders, this time Ellis took a right turn heading for a park that was empty late at night.

  Leo didn't seem to realize what was happening, still going on about their conversation, “Well, if i’m really thinking about it then i would probably help a kid for free,” Ellis stopped, dead in the middle of the park and turned. Catching the eyes of the tallest of the three men, them only just entering the park.

  “Hello,” Ellis drawled toward the man who must have been the leader. He was silent as his extra pair of arms pulled the somewhat ragged cloak covering him. Leo backed up behind Ellis, “What the hell’s goin on?” Leo hissed out the question through clenched teeth.

  Ellis was about to say something before a small rock cut through the air near his head like a bullet, his eyes snapped to the one responsible, the smallest of the three men. A few rocks, no bigger than rifle rounds, floated above his upward pointing fingers. Focussing was a mistake, the man he hadn't noticed clawed at him with hands glowing red hot, only the tips of his fingers sparked with a light blue flame, as if the air itself was igniting.

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  Ellis dodged back, it almost wasn't enough, the heat still made a drop of sweat sizzled on his skin and evaporated.

  -why didn't that hurt-

  The tallest man punched at Ellis with one of his muscular arms, missing over his head and splintering a tree behind him. A rock wizzed between the tall mans arms and ripped into Ellis’s shoulder, deep into the muscle and burying itself in the bone of his right shoulder.

  Ellis didn't even get a chance to scream before the man with molten hands was upon him. Their left hand slapped over his mouth with a manic look in their only eye, their other hand slapped over his stomach.

  Ellis clawed at his face while his own burned, but…

  Why did it feel so cold? Yes the hands were hot, but, they didnt feel nearly hot enough to be igniting the ait the way they were. Thet strange burning was back full force as he felt his heart bound against his ribs, his lungs burned from the super heated air he was breathing through his nose.

  Ellis grabbed the man's wrist, how hold was weak with how long he’d spent without the propper nutrients for his muscles, but in beet with his heart the mans forearm bones crunched and splintered. Ellis held his grip even as shards of the mans bone dug into his fingers, the man tried to pull away, screaming. But Ellis was too distracted with being dumbfounded by his new strength, another rock pierce through his bicep before the big man grabbed him and slammed his back into the already destroyed tree.

  Even with that he still held the small mans ruined wrist in his grip, though the large man slamming Ellis through the tree was enough to rip him from the one with the molten hands. Leo was nowhere to be seen, though that was probably a good thing.

  Ellis gasped and pounded his hands at his chest, trying to force the air back in that had been knocked out of him. The four armed man hopped over the now splintered tree trunk, laughing about the way he writhed on the ground, he tried to lift Ellis by the collar before dropping him back on the ground because his shirt was on fire.

  -when did that happen-

  He tried to sit up before a small rock chunk cut through the side of his ear, taking a small chunk off. That was bad enough but a flaming hand, now almost entirely glowing blue, found its way around his throat. Ellis wrapped both of his hands around the wrist, intent on breaking this one as well.

  But, whatever that power was, it seemed to spark up when he tried to burn him earlier, by now the man's face seemed to twist, more like a cartoon villain's evil sneer than the manic grin it really was.

  The feeling of intense heat leaking through his throat into his chest was giving him an idea on how this power seemed to work, the already dark light of the night seemed to dim, blackening at the edges.

  “Li- il, m-m-more,”

  The man holding his throat squinted his one eye and his lips snarled in confusion, one of Ellis’s hands fell away from the man, hitting the ground limply.

  Before tightening his hand into a fist with enough force to cause a clap, before a pulse went through his arm in beat with his slowing heart rate, the punch that followed cracked against his skull with enough force to send him flying into a tree, the residual heat from his hand ignited the tree as he went through.

  Ellis shot up, gasping for breath before leaping at the man with four arms, he was distracted with seeing his friend get sent flying. His hands dug into the man's hair, a pulse from his heart went through his knee as the man's head was pulled into it. Ellis’s knee easily broke the man's jaw, before dropping him in a heap, unconscious. Another rock zipped toward him with the force of a bullet, Ellis sneered as he swatted it out of the air, he scooped up a small piece of shattered tree, about fist sized.

  He whipped it at him with enough force to ignite, it shattered against his chest, cracking a few ribs at the lightest.

  Ellis fell to his knees and gasped for breath, something felt wrong, a feeling deep within his soul but more physical, it was like exhaling, but still breathing out with nothing left in his lungs. It felt like a second set of lungs that didn’t take air.

  Ellis arose, his shirt still burning but it didn’t hurt, it felt like air slowly leaking back into those second lungs. The night air that felt somewhat cool before, now stung like being thrown into the snow while soaked. It was so intensely cold and it didn't feel like it was getting better at what little warmth he felt was leached into his core.

  He blacked out sometime on his way back but still woke up in his tent in the morning.