Gabriel stood in the oppressive silence of the cell, his massive, corded frame casting a heavy shadow against the cold Shi'ar alloy. He looked the newcomer over with a forced, twitching patience that didn't suit his volatile nature, his jaw set tight and his dark eyes burning with a restrained, cosmic fire. It was a bizarre standoff, made all the more grating by the fact that he was every bit as exposed and vulnerable as the human standing before him. The Shi'ar inhibitor collar bit into the thick muscles of his neck, a humiliating ring of tech that choked off his god-like connection to the energy around them and labeled him a caged beast. Beneath the grandeur of the Imperial Palace, they were nothing more than two stripped-down pieces of meat. Breaking the tension, Gabriel gestured loosely toward his own bare chest and powerful, uncovered thighs with a sharp, humorless smirk. "I'm not judging you," he rasped, his voice echoing with a jagged edge. "As you can see, I’m in my birthday suit, too."