The first thing Melinda saw when she opened her eyes was Hal in a defensive stance that almost caused her to chuckle but the state he was in was anything but Comical.
His clothes were tattered and he was bleeding from several parts of his body. His head was covered in scrapes and bruises that had long stopped bleeding and the look in his sapphire blue eyes were wild.
She had never seen him look like that. Not even when he had fought Rad who had been stronger than him thanks to the Flame maniac pill.
Not even when they had stormed the Holger estate.
This look was new and she did not like it.
Or more accurately, she did not like how it had come to be.
"So... Are you going to punch me now?" She asked in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"Depends" he shrugged as best he could so as not to break his stance
"On what?"
"On who is in control" Hal said with his brow raised in inquiry