He doesn't deny the accusation, settling comfortably into his own shoulders as Nick is kind enough to do exactly what he's asked of him.

It's not so much that Tonic distrusts Nick, it's more that Tonic distrusts all intelligent beings on a fundamental level, for no other reason than that they are fallible and occasionally unpredictable. But the tea is a good sign, so he sits back up and wraps his fingers around the mug instead. It's warm. Nice against his bad hand.

"Mm... It might." A small, breathy laugh. "I haven't decided yet."

But fair's fair, and the scene is set. He takes a sip of his tea before saying:

"The short story is that some thugs jumped me in a warehouse, and when it didn't go so well for them, the last one tried to dunk me in a vat of acid to slow me down. I put my arm out--" He holds out his bad arm, leaning in that direction to emphasize, "--Touched the bottom before my whole body could go under. Managed to shove myself back out. I think he expected it do burn a lot faster than it did."

It was painful, though. Very, very painful.

"I believe that one of my brothers is responsible."