"Call me an idiot one more time, I'm walking out this door." He's not shouting or raising his voice; on the contrary, his voice has grown low, quiet, and cold. Already he's on the threshold between the laboratory and the corridors; while not a man in possession of a short fuse, once it's lit, he doesn't back down easily.

"I get that you were a big shot wherever it is you were before that Fade rift spat you out into our world, and maybe folks didn't have a choice but to deal with whatever sanctimonious bullshit you felt like spewing at them on any given day. Me?" He shrugs and smiles, and it's a decidedly unfriendly expression on a face so often accustomed to easy-going laughter. "I was half deaf before I met you, and it hadn't killed me yet. If I've got to deal with you treating me like dirt just to hear a little more clearly, then sod it. Not worth it."