Why So Serious?

[princesssexci]

Wait, hadn't he said his father abused him? Now, his father left him and he'd only lived with his mother until she found a new boyfriend. Unless, he meant that the new boyfriend had been his father, that made sense...sort of. Her head spun with different conclusions.

Either way, it did show why he...acted out.

"How horrible!" Harleen said, "not that the man died, but how you were so quickly ignored by your own mother." Harleen was silent again, before whispering, "How horrible.."

 

[Ravenloft]

The Joker sat up in his cot, grinning from ear to ear at Harley. "Why so serious?" He whispered back. "But enough about me, for today... I want to hear more about YOU, Harley... What was it, the other day, that you remembered? Something about some cheer leaders... Wasn't it?" The Joker prompted.

 

[princesssexci]

"Oh yeah..that." Harleen said, it wasn't really allowed to go off the topic of the inmate. She didn't really see the harm in it though. After all, the Joker wasn't crazy, not really. Just misunderstood..she thought to herself. "Well, in highschool...I wasn't exactly the most popular girl. Not to say that everyone hated me, just when ya looked at Harleen Quinzel, me....I kinda just blended in with the crowd." She paused for a brief second as memories came back to her in an instant. "I had a crush on one of the jocks, he was the captain of the football team or somethin. Anyways, he'd made a move on me on my 18th birthday. We slept together ya see, and well when the captain of the cheersquad found out and well I was blacklisted so to say." she paused again and took another deep breath, trying to refrain from crying, "they called me Harlequinn cuz I was such a joke."

 

[Ravenloft]

"Oh, I see, oh my... Thats... Thats rich... Hehehe. Thats marvelous! Hahahah!" The Joker began to rock back and forth on his cot as his laughter started to overtake him. He stopped himself when he noticed how close to tears Harley was. "Don't you get it? They told you that you were the joke when the real joke was on them! You went from 'just kinda blending in to the crowd' to sticking out like a sore thumb! They just called you a joke beause they were jealous whores. They wanted so badly to have what you got, that they turned on you. Its the cosmic joke, the one NOBODY GETS! Well... Almost no one..."

 

[princesssexci]

For a moment, Harleen stared at the joker like he was nuts. Slowly though, a smile cracked on her face as well as tiny giggles. He was right, it wasn't that she was the joke, the cheerleaders themselves were the joke because they'd been utterly jealous of her. Why else would they have picked on her so much if they hadn't been, if she'd continued to blend in? It all made perfect sense now. "You're right." She said, "Thanks for that Mistah J." He didn't seem so harmless, maybe the joker was right, maybe everyone didn't get his joke so they called him crazy...because he stuck out like a sore thumb, like herself. She had to find a way to get him outta here.

 

[Ravenloft]

"My pleasure, puddin." The Joker replied, still grinning as the guard outside the cell tapped the bars with his baton. "Time's up." He said flatly, pointing the baton at clock on the far wall. "Well, well, time certainly does fly, doesn't it Miss Quinzel, it feels like we've only just begun... Ah well, there's always tomorow, right?" The Joker mused as he laid back down in his cot, stretching out.

 

[princesssexci]

"Oh, right." Harleen said, standing up. She flashed the joker a small smile, "Yes, we still have tomorrow." Things had just begun for them? The slightest bit of excitement ran down her spine. Had there been something in between the lines that he failed to mention since the guard was there. "Have a nice evening, Mistah J." Her nickname slipped in front of the guard and she ignored the look he was giving her as she walked out of the cell.

 

[Ravenloft]

Julia was in her office when Harleen entered, to deliver her findings for the day. "Miss Quinzel... May I have a moment of your time?" Julia asked, motioning for her to sit down, while extending a hand to take her notes.

 

[princesssexci]

"Sure, Ms. boss la--erm, Miss Julia." Man she was really starting to get more outspoken lately. Harleen took a seat in Julias office, shutting the door behind her, assuming that since Julia had said privately that she wanted the door shut.

"Is there a problem, Miss Julia?" Harleen asked, hoping that those bonehead guards hadn't spilled about her little nickname for the Joker. It was nothing more but a harmless nickname. She didn't see the big deal of why she should keep it hidden.

 

[Ravenloft]

"Yes, frankly, I'm growing a bit concerned... I've been watching some of the footage from your sessions with the joker and, well, there have been a number of instances where it would appear that he has been... Touching you?" Julia said in a questioning tone as she flipped through Harleen's notes. "Hmm... Whats this about trouble sleeping? I understand that you are well within your rights to prescribe medication, Miss Quinzel, but I would advise against authorizing this without personally witnessing that he take the medication. You understand that the inmates often feign illness or problems simply to obtain pills that they barter back and forth amongst themselves."

 

[princesssexci]

"Yes, h-he was Ms. Julia but I swear it wasn't nothin personal really. If he had tried to attack me, I would have screamed out for help or somethin, really!" She said with an exasperated sigh, "and of course I would've come to you before prescribing him any medicine. Really, I would have!" God, how she hated sucking up to the boss. "Don't worry Ms. Julia I'll make sure he takes his medicine."

 

[Ravenloft]

"Yes, yes, of course... You have made so much progress with him, as you well know, that I would hate to have to pull you off the case due to matters of personal boundaries. With the progress you've made, it won't be long before we can simply hand the Joker over to Gotham police, to serve his time as a traditional prisoner. Ahem, my concerns aside, I wanted to tell you that I feel confident in turning over the Jokers entire treatment to you. What you're doing, its nothing short of miraculous... And if you wouldn't mind, I would like to publish your findings on the Joker in our psychology journal."

 

[princesssexci]

For a moment, Harleen's fists were clenched at the thought of her mistah j, no not her mistah j. He didn't belong to her but he didn't really deserve to go to jail, did he? Her mind was dragged away from that thought as Julia complimented her methods of treating the joker, making her the jokers therapist full time. "I told ya he'd respond better to a female. He may be crazy, but he's still a guy."

Then Julia mentioned that she wanted to use her findings of the joker for their psychology journal. Harley's eyes widened, "Yes! Uh, yes of course! I'm so flattered, Ms. Julia!"

 

[Ravenloft]

Julia smiled as Harley showed her excitement over both the promotion and the offer to include her findings in the asylum's prestigious journal. "I am proud of you Harleen, no one thought it was possible... You can go give the Joker his medication before you leave, if you like." She said as she rose and offered her hand in a congratulatory handshake. "But you should hurry, it’s only ten minutes before lights out."

 

[princesssexci]

"Oh, right!" Harley said before rushing off to pharmacy to get his meds. She walked up to the pharmacist and handed her the form with a signature. The pharmacist smiled at Harley and handed her Quietiapine a.k.a Seroquel. It was used most often for people who were bi-polar or schizophrenic. She really didn't see how the Joker was any of those things.

She skipped down the hallway, showed the security guard her new official card and then walked into the Jokers jail cell.

"Here ya go, Mistah J." The name had easily caught on. "I kinda have to sit here and watch you down the pill. Miss Julia's orders."

 

[Ravenloft]

"Oh, of course you do, Puddin, we wouldn't want to give Miss Julia cause to think anything's awry" The Joker said cheerfully as he got up from his cot to meet Harley in the middle of his cell. He took the pill between his thumb and middle finger, examining it closely. "Ah, Quietiapine, one would think you were trying to make me boring, my dear. But if I must..." He said, seeming to resign himself to taking the pill.

With a quick, magician-like gesture, he let the pill slip down his sleeve as he popped nothing but air into his mouth, closed his lips and swallowed. He knew the drill, open your mouth and lift your tongue, to prove you had indeed swallowed. He did, and his mouth was clear.

 

[princesssexci]

Harley smiled successfully. "Thank you mistah j. " Wow, Julia had made it seem like it was going to be a difficult task watching the joker take his pill. "Well, I'll see ya tomorrow Mistah J. Sleep well, okay?" She walked out of the cell, glancing at the joker, forcing herself not to blush then she gathered her things and went home for the evening.

 

[Ravenloft]

"You know, I think I will." The Joker said with his ever present smile as he sat back down on his cot. After she left, he licked his lips as he let the pille he'd been hiding up his sleeve drop into the palm of his hand. With his back to the camera, he took a small piece of paper and turned it into a sort of funnel as he crushed the pill into a powder with his fingers into the funnel.

Getting up, he went to the bars of his cell and called to the guard on duty just as the man took a sip of his foam cup of coffee. "Yoo hoo, might I go for my walk before lock down my good man?" He asked, drawing a grumble from the guard as he got up to escort the Joker out to the enclosed yard.

Hiding the funnel up his sleeve, the Joker followed the guard, releasing his grip on it so that the powdered pill spilled into the guards foam cup as they passed. In one of the cell's they passed there was a man, if you could call him that, with scaley, lizard like skin sitting up in his cot, his red eyes glaring out of the cell. The Joker gave him a wink and a smile as they passed.

Outside, the Joker strolled about the yard for about half an hour, long enough for the guard to go enjoy his coffee and return, tapping the bars to the yard. "Walks ovah, Jack. Back to yer cell now..." The guard called. The Joker returned without a word, beaming all the way. As they walked back to his cell, the guard stumbled and rubbed at his brow, shaking his head.

"Oh, whats the matter officer? Occupational stress?" The Joker asked, knowing that the medication he'd slipped into the man's drink was taking effect. The guard stumbled again, looking up at the Joker as he realized something was terribly wrong and reached for his communicator to call for help. The Joker shook his head, tsking as he drew the guards baton from his belt and smashed his wrist painfully with it. "Allow me to relieve you of your stress, my good man." The Joker giggled as he drew back and swung for the man's skull.

Seconds later, after having taking his keys, tazer and pocket change, the Joker hopped up onto the bars of the lizard man's cell. "So, tell me, have you ever tried moisturizing?" He said, getting an angry growl from the creature. "Tut, tut, is that any way to treat your rescuer, Croc? What do you say we blow this joint?" He asked as he opened the cell door and did a dance like shuffle over to Killer Croc's restrained form. "Or would you rather stay here and contimplate being made into a pair of boots?"

"What did you have in mind?" The croc growled through gritted teeth. "Well... I undo these and you crash through the gates... Colateral damage optional. Sound like a plan?" The Joker asked, dangling the keys just out of Croc's reach. "Works for me... 'boss'" Croc growled.

*Twenty minutes later.*

Three guards lay dead, and seven injured or unconcious recieved medical attention as gate after gate hang mangled and busted on their hinges.

 

[princesssexci]

The next morning when Harley arrived at the Arkham asylum in the most happiest of moods, her smile turned into a frown. All the security guards were running around all frantic like. "Whats going on?" Harley asked and Tess glared at her.

"You should know. You did supposedly give the joker his sleeping medication. Right?" Tess said, still glaring at her.

"Course I did!" Harley said, "Took it like a good lil boy."

Then one of the other interns rushed over to her side. "Harleen, Miss Powers wants to see you."

Harleen nodded, "Probably wants to congratulate me on how good I'm doin." She boasted as she walked to Julia Powers office and knocked on the door.

 

[Ravenloft]

"Come in." Julia called from within her office. There was an odd hollowness in her voice. She looked up from a mass of strewn papers on her desk, her eyes red and puffy as she put on a pair of glasses. A man stood with his back to them, looking out the office window, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Ah, Miss Quinzel... I was hoping it was you... Please, come sit down. This is Commissioner Gordon. He is here due to an... Incident that took place last night... I believe he has some questions for you." Julia got up, the look in her eyes suggesting a grave dissappointment as she turned away from Harleen. "I shall leave the two of you. Please, call me when you're done?" She asked softly, collecting the papers on her desk into a haphazard pile before she stepped out of the room.

"Miss Harleen Quinzel..." The Commissioner began before turning away from the window to look at her. "I don't suppose anyone has told you what is going on? Allow me to inform you. The Joker apparently faked taking his medication, the medication YOU gave to him, and slipped it into one of the guards drinks as he went on his daily walk out in the yard. On his way back to his cell, he overpowered the guard and murdered him with his own baton before breaking another inmate, Killer Croc, out of his cell."

"The two of them proceeded to brutally beat ten more guards as they broke out, killing three of them and critically injuring one. Now... Is there anything you would like to tell me about the Joker? Perhaps reguarding your... Relationship with him?" Commissioner Gordon asked as he sat down at Julia's desk, steepling his fingers in front of him, giving her a cold and critical look.

 

[princesssexci]

Regarding her...relationship with him? What did he mean? She was his doctor and he was her patient, that was it, that was all. "I don't know whatcha talking about." Harleen said honestly. "I gave him his medicine as directed and even checked to make sure he swallowed it. Maybe I'd been bamboozled or somethin, but if you are suggesting that I helped aid a criminal out of Arkham Asylum, you are highly mistaken."

She paused to take a breath, "Not to mention, that the only relationship as you so quaintly put it is just what it is, doctor/patient relationship."

 

[Ravenloft]

"Then how do you explain this Miss Quinzel?" Gordon asked, sliding a couple polaroids across the desk for her to look at.

One was the inside of the Joker's cell. The frame was slightly cocked to one side, in an attempt to capture a message that was written on the cell's wall. The words "Thanks, Puddin." were scrawled in blood, with a sideways winky face at the end.

The second was a close up shot of one of the dead guards faces, his lifeless eyes staring up at Harleen. A wilted daffodil was stuffed in his mouth as his head was framed in semi dried blood.

"I understand that the day before he had given you a flower just like this... I also find it hard to believe that your relationship was just doctor/patient. Mister J, Harlequin, Puddin? These are not the sort of names you would use in a doctor/patient relationship... Now, why don't you tell me what was really going on?"

 

[princesssexci]

"I am tellin you, I swear. The only reason I even allowed him to call me puddin or Harlequinn was because I thought he'd feel more comfortable, like I was a friend. Why in the hell would I aid a criminal? What purpose would there be to do that, then give Miss Powers my notes on the Joker. Mistah J isn't even that big of a romantic name." By now, Harleen was upset as she stared at the few pictures.

"I can't help it if he gained a little crush on me. It's not like I gave him the pill and said, becareful don't swallow or you'll never get outta here." She glared at Commissioner Gordan, "And tell me, Mr. Gordon...why would I risk my job for some...some clown!"

 

[Ravenloft]

"Perhaps... Perhaps you allowed him to call you those names because you were actually developing feelings for him? In your notes, you seem to suggest that he is not insane at all, but is whatever he needs to be at that particular moment. That he recreates himself every moment. Some sort of super sanity, more suited for the chaos of the twenty first century? Did it not occur to you that he was simply recreating himself for you? That he was playing you for a fool all along?"

 

[princesssexci]

"Everything I wrote down there was true." Harleen nearly yelled, still glaring at the commissioner. "And just b-because he might've faked whom he was doesn't mean I would be stupid enough to risk my job, risk what I've earned just to help him outta here." She paused, taking in a deep breathe, "Do I look like a criminals henchwoman?" Again, Harleen Quinzel glared at commissioner Gordon. Still in the back of her mind, Harley knew she had started to gain some sort of...unprofessional feeling for Mistah J. She was actually kind of glad he'd gotten out of the stupid asylum and doubted that he had faked anything with her.