Nico finally tasted blood and grinned as the sensation of magic loosed to her command rolled through her body. Now the odds were a bit more even.

"Thanks for the science lesson," she said, keeping her voice flat. "My point is, you could have just soured things here for your buddy Jack if I were a little more suspicious about your intentions. I'm pretty good at running when I put my mind to it."

She straightens the rest of the way up from her defensive crouch, shaking the cramps out of first one hand, then the other. "Well?" she asked Jack, lifting her chin defiantly. "Did whatever grab me grab my friends too, or are they back home, safe as any one of us ever gets?"