[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/dGFSkqO.png[/img][/center]

It sure seemed like Nicole had done a lot of carrying people around in the last half hour. Suddenly she felt that strain deep within her shoulders, an ache she longed to reach back and rub out. It didn't help that she seemed to be one of the more conscious of the group of girls at the moment. She sat on the other side of the unconscious Vanna, with her legs kicked up against the armrest of the couch with maybe a [i]little[/i] too much irreverence when making physical contact with a daughter of the Duodecim. But honestly, she doubted anyone had the energy left to care. Dana and Penny both looked likely to pass out as thoroughly as the Diana had. Nicole went to rub her eyes and realized, just before she smeared it all over her face, that someone's blood had greased her palm. She thought for a second it might be Vanna's, or the wounded soldiers, before she realized a long, thin gash had opened up across its surface. She must have sliced it open while fumbling around during the crash.

Despite herself, the last of her adrenaline escaped her in a little giggle. [color=ec008c][i]Haha. Gnarly.[/i][/color]

“That was...an enemy combatant. I couldn’t tell you any more than that. Regardless, what you saw is not to leave this ship. Understood?”

[color=39b54a]"Wait, [b][i]what?![/i][/b]"[/color]

Penny turned to the other end of the couch, obviously and justly shocked, to look at Nicole. Looking up from her bloody hand, the most Nicole could do was manage a tired shrug and nod, although she smiled as reassuringly as she could at her exhausted new friend. The girl had been through a lot, and if Nicole was in her shoes then she wouldn't be too psyched for Victoria's backhanded putdown. For what it was worth, Nicole thought that Penny and Vanna had done a hell of a job under circumstances none of them had been prepared for. She tried to communicate all of that in an understated, sympathetic wink at the bespectacled girl - with a crazy foul mouth, come to think of it. She'd seemed so put together when they were talking about cartoons...

[color=ec008c]"We understand, ma'am,"[/color] Nicole answered collectively for all five of them, both conscious and unconscious. It was probably pretty helpful that they start looking like a united front, no matter what. [color=ec008c]"I guess this is the kind of thing we'll have to be prepared for from now on, right? Now we know what we've signed up for."[/color]

Like their earlier conversation, the queen of vibes' gentle, casual way of speaking belied a quiet perceptiveness regarding their situation. She was still staring at the Wing of Justice, wounded herself in the frantic duel that they had witnessed for themselves, although she felt as though they [i]definitely[/i] shouldn't have. She tilted her head curiously. 

[color=ec008c]"Still, that all went to crap pretty fast..."[/color] she mumbled to herself, slumping back in her own display of exhaustion. Her head almost hit Vanna's shoulder before she realized that was probably a little too familiar for a girl who wasn't even at the 'returning finger guns' stage yet. [color=ec008c]"Was there any idea that we would run into enemy, uh...combatants?"[/color]

[color=ec008c][i]Sounds like the sort of thing you call trained soldiers, not a Void...[/i][/color]