Bruce didn't bother with pretenses or bravado.

[color=0072bc][b]"It's temporary, but yes,"[/b][/color] he conceded. [color=0072bc][b]"I'd be hard pressed to imagine worse timing. Thankfully my arcane abilities don't seem to be affected. That didn't help much against Zelriane prior to fusion, but at the very least I can play a supporting role."[/b][/color]

Having said so aloud, Bruce chose that moment to leap toward the nearest platform that had originally been part of the tower- while he could still manipulate Earth at present, Nexus might have done more damage that he'd initially surmised.

Bruce caught the beginning of Zelraka's... display out of the corner of his eye. He frowned at the lack of an apparent payoff.

[color=0072bc][i]'There is [/i]no[i] way in hell.'[/i][/color] Bruce thought flatly, immediately dismissing the idea that just because he couldn't see or sense the result, Zelraka hadn't done something.

Recalling how he'd treated his encounter with Shaidra in the pocket dimension, Bruce formed several stone walls between Zelraka and himself. They [i]did[/i] need information. That didn't necessarily mean they had to offer up their bodies as test subjects.