Samantha Cole had many failings, but her sense of hearing was not on that list. Neither was her power of observation. She knew someone was coming up the stairs even before "the doctor's" messy spray of golden hair rose above the edge of the floor lining the staircase. Her footsteps had been quite a bit lighter than Jaiden's build would have allowed, and even Ashley seemed unlikely to produce this little vibration in the floor as she climbed. With the departure of Her Royal Ladyship of Stabbingshire, that left only one candidate.

Nora was breathing too heavily for a casual pace, and much of the noise of consumption from the kitchen had died down minutes prior to her appearance here. That meant she'd been specifically searching for Sam, and that there had been at least some urgency to that end. Sam could not decide if she liked that; especially combined with her almost too-cautious approach. 

[i]"I'm not a wild animal, doc..."[/i]

The forced smile topped this particular sundae with a proverbial cherry. These were common tactics for psychologists; try to link positive emotions with the discussion, attempt to steer responses toward 'acceptable' behavior, etc, etc. She couldn't hide a scowl as she took her arm away from her face and glared at Nora from beneath wild black bangs. It could have been the lighting, or just the way her brows knit together, but her eyes took on an acid green tint in that moment that seemed almost dangerous.

"I don't even [i]want[/i] any of his shit." She spat, ice hanging from every syllable. "What would I do with a crotch rocket-" she took the time to lean forward slightly, forming every word with a percussive precision engineered to communicate contempt. "-in the [i]middle of the fucking woods?[/i]"

She scoffed to prevent her voice from cracking, but the moisture in her eyes betrayed her emotional state. It had been too much, too fast. In weeks past, she'd have burned her assumed identity, her base of operations, any tech which might have IDed her, and just vanished. She'd have set up shop in another town. But this was not Earth, and she was flying blind. Sam was nowhere [i]near[/i] any of the resources she needed to put this all behind her. For the first time, she would have to face her enemies directly...even if she did not yet know they weren't enemies.

"I do remember you, doc." She finally continued. "But if this is some kind of mental ward, you're doing it wrong. Your security is trash, there are [i]zero[/i] guards, and you haven't even pushed any pills yet." She nodded toward the high ceiling and extravagant decor as another point to make. "No place I've ever been looks like this. Maybe it [i]is[/i] legit. But...if that's true, and you really are just babysitting a bunch of freaks for The Man..."

She trailed off, trying to think of the right words. A tickle on her cheek prompted her to wipe her eye, and she just laughed. This was not who she was. Sam had fought all her life to contain the liability her emotions represented, only to lose that fight in front of a demoted Suit and a bunch of renegade Supers?

"Why help me?" she finally managed. "If you're not just trying to cash in on these 'talents', then why help me? I give it ten minutes before the government knocks on that door and takes me anyway. That is [i]if[/i] you haven't already called them."

"All I want is to finish what I started and live in peace. As long as they know where I am, I can't do that. So, try to understand why I can't give you a name. Until I get away from them, I'm Jane Smith, and I am absolutely [i]nobody[/i] special."