"Harleen Quinzel, please report to Dr. Arkham's office immediately." The crackling voice over the loudspeaker made Harleen start, accidentally splashing her white button-down shirt with water from the sink. She was in the Arkham Asylum staff bathroom, trying to have a couple of moments to herself before she had her appointment with Killer Croc, the monster-human thing that she had been assigned to a month prior. She had been making slight progress, but her theory was that the monster she had been assigned to was actually just human. But, you know, not.
Her head was a swirling whirlpool of thoughts and ideas and she barely heard as her name came over the loudspeaker. But she did, and so after splashing cool water onto her makeup-free face she made her way down to the elevator and then up to the third floor where Dr. Arkham's office was located.
As she walked into his office, her head was filled with theories as to why she had been called in. What had she done wrong? Harleen's high-heels were uncomfortably loud in the silence of the sterile office.
"Ms. Quinzel."
She turned towards Dr. Arkham, adjusting her glasses self-consciously.
"Please, have a seat." The Dr. gestured towards an empty chair and Harleen reluctantly lowered herself into it.
"I suppose you must be wondering why you're here," Dr. Arkham observed.
Way to go, Mr. Obvious, she thought, but she merely nodded meekly.
"We have a new patient that has been switched from an asylum in California to us. You may have heard of him. His name is Jack Napier, also known on the streets of Gotham as The Joker."
Harleen's heart sped up. The Joker. She had obviously heard the rumors about this insane criminal that would kill anything that stood in his way, along with anything that didn't. He was the definition of a madman, and the very idea of seeing him made her heart pump faster, her face heat up, her eyes widen with excitement.
"Yes, I'm familiar with that name," she said calmly.
"We would like to assign you to the Joker," Dr. Arkham said abruptly, always a man to cut to the chase.
Harleen's whole world stopped. The Dr.'s voice was muted.
"I-I'm sorry, what?" Harleen stammered, not making an attempt to use her normal professional tone. She was in shock.
"Would you like us to assign someone else? There are various other options we have been considering."
Harleen almost said no. She was terrified of the rumors she had heard about this man, of what he was capable of. But she also knew that if she turned this down, she would regret it for the rest of her life.
"No, Dr. Arkham. I anticipate the time when I may start with the patient," Harleen replied, attempting to adapt her usual confident and professional demeanor but possibly trying a little too hard to do so.
"Perfect. He will be arriving in a week, so you can start then. Thank you for your time."
Harleen took this as her being dismissed, so she enthusiastically thanked him and returned to her small office on the fifth floor.
As Dr. Harleen Quinzel sat in her bland, grey chair in the center of her office, her head was a ferris wheel that had been set on high speed. The Joker. Jack Napier. The dangerous madman. My patient.
She glanced at the clock. The red numbers flashed 3:27. She needed to get home soon so that she would be well rested. She had a meeting with Victor Zsasz in the morning, a serial killer who was always exhausting, especially when she didn't get enough sleep the night before. She had a notepad that had chaotic words and letters scribbled hastily all over the paper, the only real words that were visible being that water mark Arkham Asylum at the top.
As much as she was tempted to stay up all night and write down more things to prepare for her meeting with Joker, she had all week. So Dr. Harleen Quinzel reluctantly went down the elevator out of the asylum and drove herself home.
Hey readers! I hope you guys liked this! It's just my first chapter(obviously) but I plan on writing more in the future. Keep reading this, it will get better in the next couple chapters when the Joker is introduced.
-Ms. Ponytail