<strong>Enzo's Clinic</strong><br/><br/>His thoughts were still on Jasmine, who had just left the waiting area. Enzo was naturally prone to occasional bouts of melancholy, normally when he stopped to consider the differences between his current life and the brief period of normality he had experienced out in the 'real world'. It was years ago, and it was true that when he had returned to the Island and felt the power return it had felt like regaining a lost limb, or having one's sense of sight restored after years of blindness. There were trade-offs, though. He knew that the luxury of a normal relationship, with a normal woman, was no longer within his reach. Any woman who was not a Xantelli would always be a lower creature in his sight. Material for experimentation and exploitation. When one could sculpt flesh with a thought, no other outcome was possible. And he would never leave the Island again. He could not bear the loss a second time.<br/><br/>His dark mood was growing when Melody interrupted his introspection. He turned toward her slowly, fingers steepled in front of him. At another time he might have admired her impudence, but this was not that time. She was an irritation.<br/><br/>"Of course, Melody," he answered with a chill in his voice that matched the output of the high power air conditioners. "Although I must warn you, this is not the optimal time for this particular confrontation. If you wish to continue, though, then I will be the last to stop you. You've returned sooner than I expected. I take it that your time in town has not been satisfactory?"