Ever since she was a child growing up in the trailer park Harleen Quinzel wanted to figure out what made people tick. Why they stole, why they fell in love, why they would kill. She dedicated her entire life to psychology. Eventually she found a job at the infamous Arkham Asylum. She heard plenty of rumors about how it was full of criminals and psychopaths and she was ready for each and every one of them. But there was one she had special eyes on…

"Are you sure you want to be in there alone with him lady? You heard the rumors about him right?" the guard asked.

"Oh I'm fully aware of what he is capable of. So if you don't mind, please open the vault door. This 'Joker' is waiting for me….

"My, what a brave little girl you are to have me in here with no guards of locks. Not even my usual straightjacket. They told you what I'm capable of didn't you? Aren't you afraid of what I might do to you… or your family?" The Joker wore his usual prison jumpsuit along with a very malicious smile. As though he had already done it.

Dr. Quinzel was slightly amused. "Not really. I don't really like my family and as for you I'm not that afraid. See in my eyes you are just another psychopath with bleached skin. I'm here to see what makes you tick. To get inside that head of yours. So I'm not going to ask you how you feel or how your childhood was. I'm sure you won't really remember."

"Are you sure you don't want to ask Doc? I've got quite the past. I came from another planet you see. My parents sent me here from Krypton when they thought the planet's core was self-destructing course they didn't know that I was responsible for it and I poisoned them before I left. The Joker laughed manniacly at his retelling of his 'childhood'.

The good doctor was not that amused anymore. "First of all we both know that is not really your origin. That's Superman's. Second of all enough with the jokes. I came to ask you only one question."

He actually frowned at her tone of voice. "Not one for jokes are you? I'll remember that." He said ominously. "So what is that big bad question you want to ask me? Why I decided to become a criminal?"

"No Joker the question I want to ask you is: Why exactly did you decide to become insane?"

The only sound between in that room was the sound of the AC above them. Doctor Quinzel had obviously asked a very though provoking question. One that actually made Him pause to think of his next choice of words.

"Memories can be vile, repulsive little brutes. Like children I suppose. But can we live without them? Memories are what our reason is based upon. If we can't face them, we deny reason itself. Although, why not? We aren't contractually tied down to rationality. There is no sanity clause. So when you find yourself locked onto an unpleasant train of thought, heading for the places in your past where the screaming is unbearable, remember there's always madness. Madness is the emergency exit. You can just step outside, and close the door on all those dreadful things that happened. You can lock them away...forever…"

She was extremely surprised at the tone of voice he had taken. He almost sounded…human.

"Where did that come from" she asked

"Where did what come from?" she asked. Joker actually seem confused. "Where did what come from?"

"That speech…" she said irritatingly "…those words. Why did you said that. What did you remember?

"Sorry Doc…" he shrugged "…but I don't know what you're talking about." Dr. Quinzel took of her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alright, we clearly hit a wall here lets try again tomorrow….

She came back the next few days to interview him. Each day he would tell a joke and each time she would stand there stoned face. He would her out on this a few times and each time she would say its because she was not funny. She was driving home one night talking to herself. "He's fighting me. He doesn't seem to want to remember his past or his first fight with batman. I'll have to recommend some hypnosis to see if we can probe his mind…."

As she drove home trying to figure out her next course of action she did not seem to notice the bright light ahead if her….

She woke up tied to a chair in a warehouse. She tried to struggle but the restraints were tight. She was leaning over the railway teetering behind a vat of bubbling chemicals. She realized that she was trapped in the old Ace Chemicals facility. But who brought her here? "Good morning dear doctor! Glad you're awake. Wouldn't want you to miss the spectacle." The Joker approached her dressed in his usual three piece suit complete with flower lapel that released joker toxin. "What is this? Where am I?!" she asked frantically. "Oh now you show emotion. Too sad, too late. Remember what you asked me all those weeks ago? What was it? Why did I decide to go insane? Well I pondered on that for a while and I came up with an answer. A real answer you see. What better way to let other people see things the way you do then by making them walk a mile in their shoes."

"W-what?!" Harleen panicked "wait a minute…" before she could continue she was sprayed with Joker Toxin from his lapel flower. She began to laugh uncontrollably "Oh and Ms. Quinzel? When I said 'walk' I actually meant swim!" He pushed her into the vat and she sank to the bottom. He moved over to a nearby console and pushed a large red button. She was flushed down the drain with the fluids…

"Well now that that's done, I feel like Chinese. Maybe I'll see what bats is up to." He laughed manically as he left the warehouse…