Brainiac 5 hadn't been paying attention to what he had been doing, so only realised a fraction too late that he was gripping Elle's injured shoulder tightly before she shouted at him and electricity surged over her skin, crackling against his hand painfully. He yelped and let go, clutching the sore hand to his chest with a pained gasp, too distracted to notice Elle stumble and slip into the ditch until she hit the bottom with a loud thump.

He picked his way carefully over to the injured woman, making sure to keep at what he felt was a relatively safe distance. She wasn't looking that healthy, not that she had been before but it was more pronounced now. Under other circumstances he would have suggested cleaning and tending to the wound, but with no supplies there was little point in mentioning it. But he supposed he was expected to do something.

He cleared his throat and shifted awkwardly before speaking. "I suppose I should apologise, I didn't intend to cause you undue pain." Of course he couldn't resist adding, "perhaps now you should consider resting a while."