It was such a simple idea, in concept at least, so why was it so difficult to get it to work in the real world? The Joker sat at his desk toiling away at his latest invention. It was a gun that used compressed gases to propel capsules of his Joker Toxin. The capsules were intended to break open when they collided with their target, but unfortunately for the Joker the process of launching the capsules also broke them open well before they made it to their target. The failures of the design wore away at the Joker and he felt his frustration with the weapon build up.
With all his attention focused on the device in front of him the Joker was oblivious to the women who strolled up behind him and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. The touch caught the Joker by surprise at first but he recognized who it had come from almost immediately.
"Mr. J, you've been working on that thing for hours. Why don't you have some fun with me."
There was an amorous tone to Harley's words and the Joker knew what she meant by 'have some fun with me', but he ignored her and continued working on his new weapon.
"Come one puddin pretty please" said Harley seductively before she started giving little pecks to his cheek and neck.
The Joker wasn't in the mood; he very rarely was, but especially now that he was so fixated on his new toy. Without bothering to look up from his work the Joker reached out to Harley and gave her a hard shove away from him. Harley nearly toppled over, but the ex gymnast managed to regain her balance before she hit the floor.
"O.K, puddin maybe later" Joker heard her say softly, the hurt and disappointment in her voice was obvious. The Joker continued fiddling with his new toy while his old toy sulked off alone.
That's what she was to him a toy, a pet project he had taken up to keep himself entertained. It was hard enough to fight off boredom when he was free, but when he was locked away in a prison cell it was nothing short of torture for an overly active mind like his. That's' why when he saw the new intern and the way her face and eyes glowed when she looked at him, he knew that this young woman could be a source of entertainment for him, a way to make incarceration bearable. It didn't hurt that the blonde was easy on the eyes either, The Joker typically wasn't motivated by sex, but there was an air about the new doctor that he found attractive.
It was hard work getting a rose into her office but when she confronted him about it he could tell his efforts had been worth it. She was genuinely touched by the gesture even if she acted like it had angered her. From that point on he wore away at her every time they met especially during their therapy sessions, very quickly it became hard to tell who was the doctor and who was the patient. Then one day she confessed to being in love with him, it was a little ahead of schedule but he was pleased none the less. It wasn't that he had feelings for her and he was happy that she returned him. The Joker took pleasure in the fact that he had corrupted her mind into being loyal to him.
Harley proved this loyalty when she broke him out of Arkham dressed as a harlequin clown. The Joker then saw that seducing Harleen Quinzel had done more than just entertain him; it had also provided him with a chance at freedom and a new accomplice.
Although he had never meant for it to happen, Harley stayed with him as his most loyal henchman for several years. He had intended to kill her after a while but never got around to it or succeeded in actually finishing her off. Though he hated to admit it the girl had a few things going for her. For one she was his biggest fan, a narcissist like the Joker had to appreciate someone that fully understood his brilliance. Secondly she understood the dress code; Harley had taken his suggestion and gone with a harlequin alter ego, while the rest of the goons he hired never bothered to dress like clowns and continue the theme he tried to cultivate. Finally on those rare occasions that he felt desire or lust, Harley was always there more than willing to be with him.
The trouble was that several years later his toy had begun to bore him. Harley was a known quantity, she never surprised him and worse yet she wasn't funny to him anymore. When he had first won her over, the Joker found her blind devotion to be hilarious. Now though several years later the Joker didn't care for her any longer and it was painfully obvious to everyone but Harley, who insisted that deep down he really did love her.
The only reason he kept her around was that she was his most dependable and loyal henchmen. Lately though that wasn't good enough for the Joker, her clinginess and demands for attention were really starting to irritate him and he begun to contemplate getting rid of her.
His first thought was to simply kill her, but he quickly thought better of it, just murdering Harley in cold blood wasn't very funny. He liked the idea of driving her away from him now and then bringing her back again for one final joke that would put an end to her and maybe the Bat once and for all.
The problem with that plan was that getting Harley to leave was difficult to say the least. She had always put up with the physical and mental abuse in their relationship, even the few times he had come close to killing her she had always come back to him. So the Joker knew that simply beating her and insulting her would never work. He considered the possibility that it was the occasional acts of kindness he had kept up over the years to strengthen her delusion that he loved her that may have been the reason she stayed with him. So he had stopped doing anything nice for her and stopped having sex with her even when he occasionally felt up to it.
He had kept this up for two months but it hadn't had the desired effect, she still clung to him every chance she got. Giving up on that plan the Joker decided to try something simple, he would just ignore her. Every day Harley tried her hardest to get his attention and approval so he wondered if that he just pretended not hear or see her, if it would drive her away.
After about a week of this new strategy The Joker began to see results. It wasn't obvious but he could see that she was acting differently. Harley wasn't as quite as bubbly as she used to be and even though she still tried to be affectionate with him every day, she gave up easily compared to what she had tried in the past. The Joker knew that it would be a while till she finally left but the plan seemed to be working and he was determined to see it through to the end.