One

"And how are we today Amelia?" Dr. Vale asked from behind his clipboard. His bored blue eyes barely registering the petite girl before him from behind thick bi-focal lenses. Mia continued her unending stare but said nothing.

"Ah uh," He said, scribbling a few sentences.

"That is a relief I must say, any more of that uncooperative silence and I'd have to extend your time in solitary." He continued and she almost snorted. She had basically lived in solitary confinement for about three years; it wasn't much of a punishment as she enjoyed her own company over that of others. As the session continued with increasing boredom not a word, movement or emotional response escaped her, even when the doctor's annoyingly nasal voice drove her slowly insane as he asked the same questions over again. Towards the end Mia focused her attention on the clock perched upon the bare white wall behind her physiatrist; watching with great interest as the minutes ticked slowly by.

Hurry the fuck up! She begged it silently.

Really Mia? What has your little panties in a twist? Came the teasing voice of Tessa.

Shut up I'm bored.

Only a few minutes to go darling.

Mia waited patiently for the session to end and was so focused on her inner conversation that she didn't see Vale coming until it was too late. His large, wrinkled hands clamped down on her jacketed arms, pinning her to the plastic chair as his lips crashed down onto hers with furious aggression. She shrieked and tried to move away but his grip and the restraints prevented her from moving far enough to do any good. She kicked, squealed and wiggled as much as she could but it was fruitless. In desperation she clamped her small but sharp teeth down as hard as she could on his bottom lip and twisted it viciously until she could feel the warm flow of blood begin to run down her chin. He screamed and belted her hard on her head; through the dizzying daze Mia heard the door behind her bang open. She soon felt her jacketed arms almost wrenched from her sockets as two large male nurses hauled her bodily from her chair and out the door. She continued to scream and writhe in their grip as she was dragged down the thin corridors.

Calm down Mia! Calm down or they will sedate you! Tessa's ever logical voice broke through the hysteria and after a few breaths Mia was able to begin to walk calmly down the neo lit halls of Arkham to her cell.

Keeping her perfected mask of indifferent calm and never saying a single word the entire walk Mia watched in hidden amusement as both patients and their carers moved hurriedly out of her way; their eyes pinned on her in fear until she had passed. Eventually the odd trio reached the solitary cells which were located in an isolated part of the asylum down three flights of stairs and through countless doors. She was ushered, none too gently, into cell 316 then watched through her tiny window as one of the nurses carefully locked the heavily steel door. He was young with brown hair and paused to stare at her. What a sight she must have been; long white-blonde hair that tangled and snarled around a corpse pale face, too large blue eyes would have pinned him and the ruby blood on her chin would have stood stark on the pure skin. After a moment he disappeared leaving Mia alone and silently furious. Slowly she began to count to ten, breathing quietly as she paced the tiny 4X2 cell. Then she began to wrench her arms this way and that, wiggling ad squirming until after about a minutes struggle she had her arms above her head. Another minute of furious and pain filled wrenching saw the arms loosened and less than thirty seconds had her throwing the hated thing to the floor with a triumphant sigh.

It's a new record! Cried an excited Tessa and Mia grinned as she gingerly rolled her recently relocated shoulders.

Bending down with a soft groan removed the smooth credit card from her plain white sneakers and moved to the door. She jammed it into the tight wedge and jiggled it until it worked its magic and the door was opened with a sot click. Scanning the hallway Mia moved as quietly as one can with shackled feet down towards a pair of swinging doors that would lead her to the entrance. The stolen butter knife was clutched tightly in her hand and she cautiously pushed one of the doors open. Suddenly she was throw backwards as they were thrown open to reveal another trio of nurses; two males one female, who pushed a gurney that confined one of the most interesting people she had ever seen. It was a man who although strapped tightly to the gurney, writhed with hysterical laughter as they pushed him past a stunned Mia. As they rushed by the man looked over towards her and their eyes met. Mia was caught by the untamed insanity that filled that dark haunted gaze. His hysterical bellows quieted to cackled as he jeered at her. Mia watched silently as he was lifted, straight-jacketed and shackled, and thrown into the opened cell opposite hers. His cackles calmed as the door was closed but he leered at the nurses and peered consistently beyond them towards her. Mia did a double take. Green dyed air? That was new. His face was covered in thick white greasepaint and a pair of red scars that seemed to twist upon his cheeks in a disfigured, lopsided smile. However it wasn't the scars that held her, once again the dark, intense gaze that burned through hers seemed to hold her to the ground. As his gaze continued the nurses tore their own from him and they fell on her.

Oh Shit!

Run! Tessa yelled and she did but no before one of the male nurses tackled her to the ground.

Her head hit the ground with a sickening crack and she felt a wave of pure rage overcome her. She flip onto her back and with the knife still clutched in her and thrust it as hard as she could into his back watching in glee as the blood flowed like a crimson river from the wound. The man screamed and blood began to pour fro his mouth and onto her, covering her in warm, ruby liquid. After that she felt the remaining orderlies drag her out from beneath the still form of the nurse and into her cell. She didn't struggle very much merely stared unblinking, with a twisted smirk on her face, at the cooling corpse until she was pummeled, shoved and locked inside the small space. Mia watched through the red haze and the body was dragged away; a trail of blood standing out from the pale concrete floor.

Look up. Tessa demanded and Mia moved her vacant eyes to the cell across from her, and if she hadn't been so used to controlling her reactions she would have jumped about a mile. The dark eyed man was still gazing at her, a strangely calm expression painted across his twisted face. At her attention he raised his hands and clapped which brought a true smile to her face for the first time in three years. His grotesque mouth curved into a smirk and she noticed that his straight jacket was gone. Mia bent and picked her own up and the smirk broadened. Never taking her eyes from his she breathed onto the cold glass and wrote carefully in capitals: HELLO. She waited and watched in interest as he returned the gesture.

*Mia* She wrote and he nodded. She pointed to him and smiled.

*Joker* She wrote and his expression turned to one of bashful pride. Mia could think of nothing else she wanted to say to him as she was getting tired and sleep, although not pleasant was always better than the dreary walls of Arkham finest.

*Goodnight J* She wrote and sat down hard on her lumpy mattress without waiting for an answer.

Good thing your flexible. Tessa teased as Mia lay down on the tiny thing with a frown.

Shut up Tess, I'm trying to sleep.

What about Clown Boy?

He'll be there tomorrow, now shut it!

Alright don't shout.

Mia closed her eyes and tried to block out the lovely night time noises of Arkham Asylum before drifteing off to sleep. Her last thought was o escape and the fact that the Joker was going to help her whether he liked it or not.

She was 14 again and hiding under the covers. Angry raised voices were insistent on the other side of the wall. They were fighting again so Amelia slammed her hands over her ears to stop the hallowing sounds until a scream, unmistakably her mother's, brought her out. Cautiously she climbed out of bed and moved to her door in her little white nightie. Mumma had always dressed her in younger stuff and Amelia couldn't bare to see her beautiful Mumma cry more than she already did so she said nothing. She reached their door and, after a long breath, knocked.

"Enter." Came the commanding tone her father always used, it meant no arguments. Slowly Amelia opened the door and stepped into the room.

"Mumma!" She screamed and ran to where her beautiful mother lay, surrounded in a steadily growing dark pool of her own blood, before the fireplace. She knealt and pulled her mother's golden head onto her lap and begged her to come back ignoring the blood that was now dying her nightie deep crimson. Her Mumma moved.

"Mia, I'm so sorry." She whispered and Amelia leand forward to kissed her once flawless cheeks. The big blue eyes held Mia's own and the spark that had been missing for years returned briefly.

"Be strong Mia, do what I could not." She whispered and the eyes closed.

"I love you baby." Those were her final words and the she heaved upwards and was still; her lovely face finally peaceful if only in death. She smoothed a curl of her mother's hair and kissed her battered cheeks once more. Mia began to wail, a tangled broken thing that scared even her.

"Shut up!" Her father demanded and dragged her by her hair up from the floor by her pale hair.

"You will tell no one of this, do you hear me?" He commanded sharply and laid a powerful kick to her side and sending her crashing onto the bed.

"No!" She screamed but it was far too late…

Mia awoke with a gasp. Drenched in cold sweat and tears leaking down her face. She rolled over and sobbed like the little girl she still was and for the dreams that could never be.