The soft hum of machinery filled the room, a constant reminder of the fact that she was still trapped in this metallic nightmare of a lair. Her body ached from the restraints, her patched up wounds protesting with every slight movement. She wasn't a stranger to pain, but this? This was humiliation. Tied up like some lab experiment, waiting for the next wave of mockery from the smug redhead.

As if summoned by her thoughts, the door to the lab slid open with a mechanical hiss. Jack swaggered in, carrying a tray stacked with takeout. He had that insufferable grin on his face again, the one that made her claws twitch with the desire to rip it clean off.

"Guess who brought dinner!" Jack announced in a sing-song voice, holding the tray in front of him like he was some kind of waiter at a five-star restaurant. "Hope you like Chinese. It's my favorite."

She glared at him, crimson eyes flicking to the food before narrowing again. "Do you honestly think I'm going to eat that?"

Jack plopped the tray down on a nearby table, completely unbothered by her icy stare. "What, too fancy for you?"

Her lip curled, a soft growl rumbling in her chest. "I don't need your food."

"Oh, right, I forgot," Jack said, rolling his eyes as he pulled up a chair next to her. "You're a big scary independent beast who doesn't need anything from anybody. Well, guess what? Right now, you're stuck here, and unless you plan on eating the metal bolts off my robots, you're gonna have to deal with this." He made a grand gesture to the tray of food.

She was silent, her gaze cutting to the food again. As much as she hated to admit it, she was starving. She hadn't eaten since… well, she didn't even remember when. But that didn't mean she was going to give Jack the satisfaction of seeing her vulnerable.

Jack leaned in, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "Come on, it's not poisoned."

"Very reassuring," she muttered, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

He laughed, his grin widening. "Hey, I'm just trying to be a gracious host. You know, for someone who tried to rip my head off." He grabbed a dumpling from the tray and popped it into his mouth, chewing dramatically and raising his eyebrows at her. " Mmm, you don't know what you're missing."

She watched him, her eyes narrowing further. "I'd rather starve than accept anything from you."

Jack snorted. "Suit yourself. I'll just sit here and enjoy it, then."

There was a moment of silence as Jack picked at the food, deliberately making obnoxious sounds of enjoyment. Her stomach growled, but she refused to give in. She wasn't going to let this idiot win, no matter how much her body craved it.

Finally, Jack leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms with a smirk. "You know, you're really making this whole prisoner-of-war thing harder than it needs to be."

"Maybe because I don't want to be here," she snapped, her voice low and dangerous.

"Yeah, well, neither do I," Jack shot back, standing up and pacing around the room. "I mean, it's not like I asked for Chase to send his personal assassin to crash into my lab and destroy all my robots. I was having a pretty good day before you showed up, you know."

She rolled her eyes, the chains rattling as she shifted slightly. "Oh, I'm so sorry for ruining your 'perfect' day. It must be so hard being you."

Jack's grin didn't falter. If anything, he seemed to enjoy her sarcasm even more. "It is, actually! I mean, do you know how much maintenance these robots require? And don't get me started on the constant threats from the monks or Chase. It's a full-time job being evil."

"Spare me," she muttered, her voice laced with contempt.

"You know," Jack said, leaning against the table casually, "I've been thinking. If we're going to keep up this whole 'mortal enemies but you're tied up in my lair' thing, I should at least know your name."

Her eyes flicked toward him, full of defiance. She didn't speak.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Oh, come on. You do have a name, right? Chase isn't just calling you 'Hey, you, creepy murder-beast,' is he?"

Silence.

"Wow," Jack said, standing up straight and pacing with exaggerated disbelief. "You seriously don't have a name, do you? What, did he forget that part? Or maybe you're too 'above' human things like names."

Still no response, though her glare sharpened.

Jack stopped pacing and looked her over with a sly grin, his gaze lingering on the streaks of white in her otherwise black hair. "Alright, alright. How about I give you one, huh? Gotta call you something besides 'the snarling lizard girl.' Let's see… black hair… white streaks… red eyes…"

Her expression didn't change, but her eyes followed him warily as he circled her. He was clearly enjoying this moment far too much.

Jack snapped his fingers. " Oreo!" he declared with a triumphant grin. "You've got that whole black-and-white thing going on. Plus, it's cute and sweet, which, you know, is hilarious when applied to someone who tried to tear me apart!"

Her eyes widened briefly, a flash of surprise, before they narrowed in disdain. "You're kidding," she finally hissed.

"Nope," Jack said, popping the "p" as he moved back to his tray of food. "Oreo it is. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

Oreo let out a slow, dangerous growl, but he wasn't fazed. The name, as ridiculous as it was, had clearly gotten under her skin, and Jack was practically glowing with pride.

"Oreo," he said again, as if testing it out. "Yep, it's perfect." He paused in his pacing, leaning on the edge of the table with that annoyingly confident look plastered across his face. "You know, you're really not as scary as you think you are."

Her eyes snapped to his, and for a brief moment, the room seemed to darken with the intensity of her glare. "You haven't seen anything yet."

Jack waved a hand dismissively, completely unbothered. "Yeah, yeah. Big talk. But right now, you're just a cranky, tied-up lizard with attitude problems."

Her claws dug into the metal table, her body tensing with frustration. "Untie me, and I'll show you how scary I can be."

He let out a bark of laughter, shaking his head. "Oh, no. I'm not falling for that one. I've already seen what you're capable of, and I'm not interested in getting shredded to pieces today, thanks."

"Coward," Oreo growled, her voice low and venomous.

"I prefer 'realist'," Jack countered with a smirk, sitting back down. He picked up a piece of food from the tray and held it up to her. "Come on, just one bite. It won't kill you."

She glared at him, her pride fighting with her body's desperate hunger. She hated how easily he got under her skin, how his incessant banter and cocky attitude chipped away at her defenses. After a long, tense moment, she let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine," she muttered, glaring at the dumpling like it had personally offended her. "But don't think this means anything has changed."

Jack's eyes lit up with triumph as he held the food closer to her. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Reluctantly, Oreo leaned forward, her jaw tight as she snapped at the dumpling, tearing it from his hand like a predator being hand-fed at the zoo. Jack pulled back, snickering to himself.

"You know, for someone who's trying to kill me, you're so docile."

Oreo's eyes flashed, her voice sharp. "You'll regret this."

Jack shrugged, leaning back in his chair with a satisfied smirk. "Maybe. But for now, I'm just going to enjoy the fact that you needed something from me."

Her gaze burned with anger, but the sting of his words was undeniable. She hated him. Hated him for making her feel trapped, weak, and vulnerable. But more than anything, she hated that he was right.

And Jack knew it.

The steady clanking of Jack's boots echoed through the dimly lit lab as he made his way back to the makeshift medbay. It had been hours since he last checked on Oreo, and even though she hadn't tried to kill him again — yet — he knew better than to let his guard down completely. Still, something about the silence in the room felt different this time. Less threatening. More... unsettling.

When he entered, she was lying motionless on the cold metal table, her eyes half-lidded, staring blankly at the ceiling. She didn't snarl at him as he approached, didn't growl or spit threats like before. Instead, she just turned her head slightly, regarding him with a mix of exhaustion and quiet defiance.

"Well," Jack said, breaking the silence as he set down a small tray of medical supplies, "I see someone's all out of witty insults tonight."

Oreo's gaze narrowed, but the edge of her usual hostility was dulled. "I'm too tired to waste my breath on you," she muttered, her voice low and gravelly.

He raised an eyebrow, his smirk softening just a touch. "Wow, I didn't think it was possible, but that might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

She didn't respond, just let her head rest back against the table with a sigh, her body limp from exhaustion. The fierce, feral energy she usually radiated had dimmed, and for the first time, he saw just how much the battle had taken out of her.

He hesitated, then picked up a roll of bandages and approached her cautiously. "Look, I'm not exactly a doctor, but... those wounds aren't going to heal on their own. I've already done the bare minimum, but if you want to… you know, not die, I should check them."

Oreo grunted, barely glancing at him. "I don't need your help."

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that one before," Jack said, standing next to her as he started to carefully inspect the bandages he'd applied earlier. "But humor me, alright? I don't need you bleeding out all over my lab. It's bad for business."

Her muscles tensed as he worked, but there was no growling, no snapping. Just a cold silence, one that felt more like reluctant acceptance than defiance. She watched him from the corner of her eye, but this time, her gaze wasn't filled with anger. It was... calculating. As if she were reassessing him, rethinking her earlier judgments.

"You don't seem like the kind of person who cares about keeping anyone alive," Oreo said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Jack chuckled, though it lacked his usual bravado. "What can I say? I'm full of surprises."

A soft snort escaped her — a bitter, humorless sound. "You're full of something, alright."

He grinned despite himself, shaking his head as he tied off the bandage with more care than he'd admit. "For someone who doesn't like to waste breath, you sure like making snide comments."

She didn't answer immediately, her gaze drifting back to the ceiling. For a long moment, the only sound between them was the gentle whirring of machines and the soft rustling of bandages.

"Why?" Oreo finally rasped, her voice sounding a bit strained as if she'd been fighting to keep the question at bay for a while. "Why are you doing all this?"

Jack paused, his fingers stilling over one of the bandages. For a moment, he looked like he didn't know how to answer. His brow furrowed, and he gave a small shrug, still avoiding her gaze. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just curious. Maybe I like a good mystery."

"A mystery?" Her voice was cold, but there was a flicker of something else there — confusion, maybe. She wasn't used to being treated like this. She was a weapon, a monster. And yet, Jack seemed to see her as something more.

"Yeah," he said, peeling away the old bandage and applying a fresh one. "I mean, you show up out of nowhere, tear through my robots like they're made of tissue paper, and then… well, this happens." He gestured vaguely to her bound form.

Silence stretched between them again, but this time, it didn't feel quite as heavy. Jack lingered by the table, unsure of why he wasn't bolting out of the room like he probably should have. Maybe it was the exhaustion in her eyes, or maybe it was the fact that she hadn't threatened to rip his throat out this whole conversation. Either way, something had shifted.

"You're... different than I expected," Jack admitted after a long pause, his voice quieter than usual.

Oreo's eyes narrowed slightly. "What did you expect?"

He gave a short laugh, finally glancing up at her. "Honestly? Some big, dumb brute. You know, like those guys Chase usually sends my way. Something I could outsmart with a clever trap or one of my bots. Not…" He trailed off, his gaze flicking to her sharp features, her taloned feet resting against the cold table, her serpentine tail draped off the table's edge.

"Not this," he finished, his voice quieter now.

She didn't respond immediately. She wasn't sure how to. She'd been called a monster, a beast, a weapon. But never something that gave her enemies pause. Never something that seemed to puzzle them, to make them question their own assumptions.

"I'm not just some mindless creature," she said, her voice steady, though the exhaustion weighed on it. "But I am dangerous."

He met her gaze now, his expression more serious than she was used to. "Oh, I know. I'm not stupid."

"Could've fooled me," she muttered under her breath, earning a small chuckle from him.

"And there it is," Jack said with a grin, though it wasn't the same cocky smirk as before. It was softer, almost… amused. "I knew you couldn't hold back the insults forever."

Oreo rolled her eyes, but there was no bite behind the gesture. "You're an idiot."

"Yeah, well, that's part of my charm," he quipped, but his tone was more relaxed, less taunting. He finished reapplying the bandages and stood up, wiping his hands on his coat. "But you're still alive, so I must be doing something right."

"Don't flatter yourself," she replied, though the venom in her words was dulled by fatigue. "I'd have healed on my own eventually."

"Uh-huh, sure," he said, crossing his arms and looking down at her with a skeptical raise of his eyebrow. "And how exactly were you planning to do that while, you know, unconscious?"

She glared at him, but it lacked its usual fire. She was too tired to argue, and in some small, begrudging way, she knew he had a point. "You're still an idiot," she muttered.

"And you're still tied up," he shot back with a grin. "So I guess we're even."

Silence settled between them, but it wasn't the same tense, hostile quiet from before. It was… different. Oreo could feel it, a subtle shift in the air between them. Jack wasn't taunting her as much, and she wasn't threatening to tear him limb from limb every five seconds. It was unsettling, this strange truce that seemed to form between them without either of them acknowledging it.

Jack stepped back, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "So… yeah. I'll, uh, check on you later. If you need anything— well, you probably won't ask, but, you know, I'm here."

Oreo didn't respond. She just watched him, her observant gaze studying his every move, every twitch of his expression. For the first time since their encounter, she found herself unsure of what to make of him. He wasn't the weak, sniveling fool she had expected, nor was he the overconfident brat she thought he was. He was… complicated.

"You're not what I expected either," she finally spoke, her voice low but steady.

He blinked, surprised by her honesty. "Yeah? What did you expect?"

She looked away, her expression hardening again. "I don't know. Someone... weaker."

Jack scoffed, but there was no real bite to it. "Well, I've got layers, you know. Complexities. Like an evil onion."

For a second, the room was dead silent. Then, without warning, Oreo snorted.

It wasn't a full laugh, more of an uncontrollable burst of air, but it was unmistakable. She quickly tried to cover it up, but her eyes widened, betraying her own surprise at the sound that had escaped her. Jack froze, blinking in disbelief.

"Did you just—?"

"No," she snapped, though the corners of her mouth twitched, betraying her again. Her glare faltered, like she couldn't quite maintain the ferocity anymore. "Shut up."

His grin widened, a genuine one this time. "Oh my God, you laughed."

"I did not laugh," Oreo growled, her face darkening as she struggled to regain her composure. "It was a… a hiccup."

"Right, a hiccup . Sure. That's why you look like you're trying not to smile right now," Jack said, leaning in slightly as if he'd just discovered the most important secret in the universe. "Admit it — you thought my comment was hilarious."

She rolled her eyes, but there was no malice behind the gesture. "It was stupid."

"Stupidly hilarious," he corrected, his grin not fading in the slightest. He tilted his head, watching her closely, his curiosity now fully piqued. "You know, for someone who's supposed to be all 'doom and gloom,' I didn't expect you to have a sense of humor."

She huffed, her gaze shifting back to the ceiling, but the tension between them had lessened. Her shoulders weren't as rigid, and even though she was still physically weak, there was something lighter in the air. "Don't get used to it. I'm still going to kill you when I get the chance."

Jack straightened up, flashing her a dramatic wink. "Yeah, yeah. I'll pencil it in between my evil plans and world domination. But in the meantime, I'll take that laugh as a victory."

She shook her head, the smallest hint of a smirk playing on her lips as she muttered, "You're insufferable."

"And yet, you laughed at my joke." he smirked, taking a small step back to give her some space, clearly riding the high of his small victory. "What does that say about you?"

Oreo shot him a sideways glare, but it wasn't as sharp as it could've been. "That I'm delirious from blood loss."

"Ah, that explains everything," Jack said with a theatrical wave of his hand. "Next time I'll come up with something so evil and diabolical that you'll snort twice."

She exhaled, something between a sigh and a laugh. Jack caught it and for a moment, their eyes met. The sharp edge of their earlier exchanges had dulled, replaced by something neither of them fully understood yet. Uncertainty swirled in the air, but there was a strange, unspoken shift — a crack in the walls they had both built around themselves.

"So..." Jack began, the playfulness in his tone fading just a touch, "you're really sticking to this 'kill me as soon as you get better' plan?"

Oreo's eyes flicked toward him, her expression unreadable. "I don't bluff."

He chuckled softly, but the sound lacked any bravado. "Yeah, didn't think so." He tapped his fingers against his thigh, suddenly unsure of what to say next. "Well, at least you're not dead, so that's... something."

"Thanks to you," she said, her voice softer now, though still guarded.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? I'm a complicated guy. Layers, remember?"

Oreo huffed again. "You're something, alright."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he said, giving a dramatic bow.

He turned toward the door, ready to leave, but paused just before exiting. For some reason, he found himself glancing back at her one last time. Her eyes were already closed, her breathing steady, but there was something different in the way she held herself. Something less tense, less hostile. Jack didn't know what it meant, but he could feel the shift between them.

And as he stepped out of the room, the door sliding shut behind him, one thing became clear — he wasn't quite sure what to think of her anymore.

More unsettling, he wasn't sure what she thought of him either.