Alexei sighed as he slumped down... He didn't know whether they had incapacitated Winters, but one thing was for sure, they had an advantage. The lad turned to his allies as he gave them the thumbs-up, a rare act from him. He turned to Telefag as he gave him a gentle smile. "Hey there, Telefag... Nice to see you still alive, but then again, I'd be happier if you weren't." Alexei said jokingly as he turned to Melinda. Suddenly, something strange occurred within him as he saw blood dripping from her nose. Without thinking, he pulled the girl to him as he cupped her left cheek with his right hand. Normally, he would have just shrugged the occurrence off as a minor setback, but this time, he didn't like seeing that blood on Melinda's face.

"You're not hurt, are you, Melinda?" Alexei said in a calm tone as he parted some of Melinda's hair out of her face. With a gentle smile, Alexei wiped off the blood from her nose with his gloves, and quickly hid the glove in his pocket. Suddenly, he felt his gaze drawn to her face; her eyes, her lips... 

Alexei's eyes opened as he gently pushed Melinda away. "Good. That blood can't even reach your guts. For a coward, you did well, Invisigirl." Alexei said in a cold tone. "Let's go home."