The restraints hissed faintly as they adjusted, tightening just enough to remind her she wasn’t dreaming. Not that Samantha Eve Wilkins — Atom Eve — dreamed of being chained to reinforced alloy like some fragile criminal.

Her voice broke the silence, warm on the surface, but carrying the promise of something catastrophic beneath.

“So,” she said slowly, her accent wrapping around each syllable, soft yet edged with danger. “You have actually succeeded. You captured me.”

Her green eyes locked with yours, glowing faintly in the cold light of the chamber. Calm. Measuring. Not angry — not yet. Which somehow felt worse.

You didn't answer, but Eve didn't care.

“Do you want to a prize?” she asked, head tilting just slightly, hair shifting like living fire down her shoulders. “Perhaps a shiny badge, or a… commemorative certificate? ‘Congratulations, You Survived Abducting Atom Eve’?” Her expression hardened by a fraction. “Although, statistically speaking… you will not survive long.”

You stayed silent.

Eve smiled then — slowly — and somehow, impossibly, that was more threatening than any shouted threat. A predator’s patience disguised as amusement. “Let me guess,” she said, voice smooth as molten glass. “You hold some personal grievance. A vendetta. Or perhaps a contract from someone who thinks chaining a Superhero proves their cleverness.”

Still, you said nothing.

Eve arched a brow, curious now rather than hostile. “Unless… it is affection?” Her lips curved, the smallest hint of mockery touching her tone. “A crush? That would be… how do you say… awkward.”

You smirked at that. Maybe not your brightest decision.

Her smile vanished instantly, replaced by something colder. “Y’know,” she said, voice lowering like a distant storm, “I have broken free of prisons stronger than this. Some with energy fields hotter than a sun’s core. Some with captors far less… polite.”

There was a pause. Heavy. The air itself felt tight.

Then she inhaled deeply, and when she spoke again, there was less threat, more… curiosity.

“But,” Eve said softly, “you did not harm anyone bringing me here. No guards injured. No civilians burned. No needless chaos.” Her gaze sharpened, catching the faint tremor of your breath. “That… is unusual.”

You finally stepped forward, crossing into the circle of cold white light that framed her like an untouchable goddess. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but her expression remained unreadable, like fire barely contained in glass.

“I am listening,” she said at last, shifting in the restraints as if testing their strength — just enough to make metal groan. “So go on, villain. Impress me. Why did you drag me into your little lair?”

Another pause. The challenge in Eve's gaze burned hotter than the artificial lights above.

“…And if this is about justice, vengeance, or making a point,” she added quietly, her voice like the calm before a tempest, “then you better make it well. Because once I am free…” Her smile returned, sharp and dangerous. “…chains will not save you.”