[ alex sighs again as he sets aside each newly detached piece of the gun, but this time the sound is simply resigned. this guy is clearly having a rough time of things but while alex is perfectly capable of disarming an unsuspecting adult, of using smithers' tools to his advantage, he's honestly not equipped to handle this... this breakdown currently happening in front of him.

he's not so sure his personal method of dealing with panic and fear- 'set fire to the thing bothering you and run' -would be at all welcome or appropriate here. ] He's just unconscious. He'll wake up in a bit with a headache, but that'll be the worst of it.

[ alex pointedly doesn't mention himself. between the swathe of bandages visible through the loose collar of his shirt and the ankle brace, it's all too obvious to anyone with eyes that he isn't, but they're hardly a pressing concern either. if he can fight off kidnappers with a gunshot wound, he can handle whatever this is with a few burns and a fractured ankle.

if he can get any sort of straight answer out of this guy, at least. ] Forget about the bombs for a minute, focus on what you and I can do something about now. What's the first step? What do you need?