Met Your Match

"You know why you're here," Joker said, and it was a statement not a question.

"I do," Adelaide said, her hand resting just lightly on the gun on her hip. She wasn't sure if he would have expected her to bring a weapon or not, but she didn't really care either way. She wasn't stupid. There was no way she was going to go into the lion's den without something to protect herself with.

"Then you know that I can't exactly let you off easy. Debts have to be paid, you know," he said, and she nodded.

"I figured you'd say something like that," she said, and he reached into a drawer of the desk for something. He pulled out a pistol that looked almost exactly like the one she still had her hand resting on. He sat it on the desktop and folded his hands, resting his chin on them.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, pet. But either way, I'm gonna get my money back," he said, and she could almost see his calm facade falling off of him. She reached under her dress and pulled out the gun, setting it in the open on her lap.

"I'm not afraid of you," she told him, and it was true. In fact, there was very little that Adelaide Karson was afraid of.

"No matter. I don't care about fear. I care about money," he said, his voice taking on a threatening tone.

"I don't have the money," she told him, and that was also true. She'd stolen it to help her mother pay for a surgery that her little sister needed. When her mother had seen the stacks of cash, she'd refused it and thrown Adelaide out of her house, saying that she wasn't interested in Addy's drug money. She'd tried to explain that it wasn't drug money (in reality she'd had no idea at the time what -or who- the money had belonged to), but her mother still refused and told her she never wanted to see her again. In a fit of anger, she'd gambled all of the money away that night. Not her best idea, but had made her feel better at the time. That had been six months before, and she still hadn't talked to her mom or been able to get ahold of her sister.

"Well that just won't work. Debts need to be paid around here, darlin'," he snarled, repeating his earlier sentiment. For the first time she really saw the entirety of his shiny silver teeth.

At that moment, the door of the study opened and two giant henchmen walked in. Addy's head whipped in their direction, and she smiled knowing that she could easily take them. See, there was something about Addy that the Joker didn't seem to know: she was technically a genetic mutant; she'd been involved in an explosion when she was younger that had had lasting side-effects including ridiculously exaggerated strength and speed for a girl her size.

"Looks like someone forgot to do their homework," she said in the Joker's direction, slipping her pistol back in its holster. She whipped around and in moments, both of the henchmen were on the floor, blood dripping from their mouths. The Joker was doing his best to look unfazed, but she could tell that he wasn't sure what to do next.

She moved over to where he was standing and looked him right in his wide bright blue eyes. Despite herself, she thought about how beautiful they must've been before they became permanently stained with insanity. He stared back at her for a moment before quickly raising his fist, as if to punch her. She caught the fist easily and squeezed it. He grunted and she felt a few of the bones in his hand snap.

"What... are... you?" he asked her in a strained voice, and she could tell that he was genuinely curious.

"Not your bitch, that's for sure," she said, releasing his fist and turning on her heel and walking out of the room. She heard him scrambling to follow her, and turned right as he stuck his pistol against her forehead.

"How about now? Are you my bitch now?" he asked, cackling maniacally.

"No, but you're about to be mine," she told him, kneeing him in his groin, hard. He collapsed to his knees, but kept his gun pointed upwards towards her. She knocked it out of his hand with her elbow, and they both watched it slide across the tiled floor.

She took him by his shirt collar and lifted him, letting his feet dangle beneath him. "I will never be your bitch," she said, staring him straight in the eye. He was amused by her; she could see it in his eyes. He seemed sure that he was going to prove her wrong. She knew he wasn't fighting back because he was more amused by the situation than anything else, but she was okay with it. Let him be amused by her; it meant he was still underestimating her.

She released his shirt collar and he stood in front of her, staring and willing her to make a move. She did, finally, whipping out her gun and pointing it at him so that she could move towards the front door. As she got there, he started laughing.

"We'll meet again, Adelaide Karson! Debts need to be paid!" he screamed, the sound of his laughter following her all the way to her motorcycle. She could've sworn she heard it the whole ride home.