"Why would you think that?" he tried to hide behind that bottle or the shift in the air with her being around again without an intention to hurt. He loosened the stiff shoulders, arms laying across each other on the counter top. "You have much more strength on me these days, I hardly think you need to worry." Though his own had grown since the hurricane hit New York, and since there was no more threat being acted upon his life the moment he stepped out of his bubble.
He got the feeling she wasn't looking at him as the monster anymore. Just as he saw a girl for the first time. "Torture is a bit outdated now isn't it?" meaning they had both progressed to something else.