The Joker and his hench-clowns had burst into the casino, guns blazing, and all the people were cowering in terror. He had surveyed the crowd while he reassured them, pleased, until his eyes fell on the lone figure seated at a poker table, face impassive as she studied her cards. Her auburn hair glittered ethereally under the harsh lights, but she was wearing the same shoes, same dark jeans, the same white shirt as the night he had first seen her. The only difference was the black leather jacket she wore over everything else.
"It's you again," he said rather sourly, and then he brightened as he brandished a pistol in her direction. "But I've got the means this time… Understand?" She blinked slowly and tilted her head while she contemplated her hand. There were five cards, each with an elaborate, red and white back. That she was ignoring the Joker bothered him, made him angry. He approached her steadily, and she was still and calm.
"Hey, look at me," he said in a low voice, and when she did not, he said it again, with a frightening force. "Look at me." He leveled the pistol at her, and finally, she spoke.
"I can't imagine what you think that's going to do for you," she remarked, her voice just a clear as it had been. She shook hair out of her eyes and then looked at him with a mildly bored look. She smirked just a bit, and the tip of a fang shone beneath her upper lip. It was a warning, a reminder of what she was.
"No one can recover from a head shot," the Joker replied confidently, but felt it melting away as her expression never wavered.
"Play a hand with me," she said coolly, "Or maybe some Russian roulette?" The Joker huffed, peevish as a child now.
"Deal me in," he mumbled, sitting across from her, his eyes glued to her face. When no one approached, he snarled the same three words in such a way that a dealer came scurrying, dealt him his cards, and then vanished in terror. She ignored everything now, her eyes lowered back onto her cards, expression now soft, almost apathetic.
"So, ah, what are we, um, betting?" the Joker asked, loud enough for the crowd to hear. She glanced up at him.
"We're betting? Alright then," she looked around at their surroundings, holding her cards with one hand and resting the other on the green velvet, playing idly with a single chip. "How about if you win, you get free rein? Shoot up the casino, kill the people, kidnap someone for one of your infamous videos. Whatever."
"What?! You're going to get us all killed!"
"You're crazy!"
"You're playing with all our lives here, not just yours!" She refused to let anything bother her as she stared the Joker down, her black eyes boring into him.
"And if I lose?" he asked, and she smiled sweetly.
"You walk out. Nothing happens," she answered, and then laid down a card and picked another off the top of the deck. She did not spare the card a glance, still locking him with her gaze.
"Alright then," the Joker said, and looked at his cards. He did the same as she had, discarding one and taking another since the dealer was nowhere to be seen. He grinned triumphantly at his hand.
"Show 'em," he said, "You can't beat this hand." He laid his full house on the table. She blinked at his hand, and he grinned, hand moving to the revolver he had laid on the table.
"Better than I thought you'd do," she remarked, and then added, "Walk it out, Joker." She laid her straight royal flush out on the table, and he stared incredulously at the cards. The queen of spades seemed to be mocking him somehow. He rose from his chair in a daze, and in his usual tones, commanded his clowns to pack it up and skip out. He followed, still frightening to behold, still just as dangerous as ever, leering at everyone, but there was a hint of confusion in his eyes. When he was gone, everyone let out their breath, turning to mob the girl with thanks, but she was nowhere to be seen. She had vanished, and though many people were looking for her, she was simply gone.
The vampire crouched on top of the casino building, listening to the first sirens of the police cars make their way to the casino. There was the flapping of cloth in the wind behind her, and she did not even bother to turn and look.
"Were you the one who made the bet?" the Batman's voice rasped, and she smiled, though it remained unseen by the Dark Knight.
"Yes," she said simply, and she heard his step when he prepared to lunge at her. She turned the most graceful somersault over the edge of the building, falling into the empty space.
"What?" Bruce Wayne gasped, perturbed as he looked over the edge at the street far below. The girl had vanished without a trace, and how, he could not answer. There was no ledge, and the balcony was at least three stories down. There would have been noise if she had landed on it, and she should not have been able to get back up so quickly after the fall. He was frozen for a few minutes, mind unable to comprehend her complete disappearance. The very idea bothered him for the rest of the night.