It had been a while since Laura had been able to let loose like this; most of the Defenders' fights had been against more intelligent enemies, proper villains that came in smaller numbers with actual plans, requiring more tactics than simply ripping through them. This was more like some of her childhood training where she was simply expected to kill. The monsters reminded her enough of Mindless Ones that it was easy not to feel bad about it, and she had more stamina than most, allowing her to map a patrol route through the area around the building that took her further than some of the others could probably safely go, constantly listening and smelling for trouble.
She had already automatically pivoted towards the cry for help before her brain caught up to her instincts and she realised how familiar the voice was. This new James had a very slightly different pitch to the one she'd known, maybe because he was younger, but she still recgonised it, and the tone in it was alarming. He wasn't exactly useless in a fight. Something that could make him sound like that had to be bad. For all that she had barely spoken to him she felt her heart skip and start beating faster, taking off into a run almost before she knew it to cross the two blocks between her and where she finally found him. She didn't even stop, barrelling right into the group that was closing in on their prey, her claws sliding into one as she created a magical fire blast that turned it from the inside out into a statue of burning coal even as she sliced another almost in half with the single claw on her foot. It was muscle memory, hammered into her since she could barely walk, not even thinking about the dark, thick blood that smeared over her or the viciousness of her attacks, aiming only for maximum damage in minimum time.
It wasn't until she was done that her mind cleared enough for her to consider how badly James might be hurt. Turning back towards him, she scowled at the car that seemed to have him trapped. He should have been with someone. He didn't heal like she did. "You'd better not be bleeding out," she snapped, more annoyance in her voice than she'd really intended, thickening her accent. "I don't want to tell everyone if you die."