The Joker lowered his head to hide his tears as he rode, handcuffed in the back of the Batmobile. He attempted in vain to suppress his soft sobs but they still went noticed by Batman. Batman let out a sigh of defeat. He wanted so badly to just ignore the Joker's obvious state of mental distress. After all, he could just be trying to trick him but he was a hero after all.
"What's wrong?" He finally grunted after a moment of silence.
"W-What?" The Joker sniffled, a bit surprised that Batman of all people cared about his wellbeing. He still could not figure out for the life of him why Batman would want to keep someone as horrible as him alive.
"You haven't been acting like yourself lately...What's with all these suicide attempts?" Batman questioned as he glanced at The Joker's tearful countenance in his rearview-mirror.
"I-I...I have nothing left to live for..." The Joker finally admitted, his voice cracking with desperation for relief to his emotional pain.
"What?" Batman further inquired. What could The Joker possibly have lost? What could he have possibly found important to him?
"I lost my best friend, I lost my pets and worst of all...I lost the love of my life..." The Joker shakily explained with a whimper.
"How?" Batman questioned, his dark-demeanor now changing to a sympathetic, concerned one.
"Penguin just turned on me completely out of the blue and killed Bud and Lou and Harley...I lost touch with her for years after we were separated during a heist...When I finally did find her again, she wanted noting to do with me..." Much to Batman's surprise and discomfort, The Joker covered his face with his hands, finally breaking down into a fit of soft, broken sobs.
"Joker, please..." Batman began awkwardly. He had never seen The Joker cry before, especially not this much. He now no longer saw The Joker as a dangerous, super villain at this point, he only saw him as a truly, broken man.
"Why won't you just let me die, Batman? I have nothing to live for...Why won't you let me die?" The Joker whimpered in between sobs.
"What if I told you there was a way you could at least get Harley Quinn to accept you again?" Batman proposed. The Joker was at a vulnerable state; he had him right where he wanted him.
"How?" The Joker sniffled as he finally looked up at Batman with pleading eyes. Batman mentally smirked as he knew that he would finally be rid of one of Gotham's most, dangerous villains once and for all.
"Alright! Goodnight, everybody!" Harley shrieked to her audience before stepping backstage.
"Phew! What a night..." She sighed as she let her hair down from the tight bun that was giving her a headache. Her last show had once again left her drained of all energy.
"Hey..." A familiar, smooth voice greeted the former-jester when she had exited her studio. Harley of course let out a small, startled shriek as she quickly turned her head to see who had addressed her.
"Oh...It's just you..." She sighed upon realizing it was Nightwing.
"Nice to see you too..." Nightwing replied sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.
"Whata ya want this time? Another one of my old pals threatenin' To destroy Earth again or did ya just drop by for s'more fun?" Harley half-flirted.
"Actually, me and Batman have a surprise for you." Nightwing explained.
"Oh, so that's how yous guys are gonna thank me for helpin' ya save the World, huh? I've never been down this road before but hey! I'm adventurous!" Harley excitedly cheered.
"Not that kind of surprise! Just follow me..." Nightwing sighed as he began to lead the way to Harley's surprise.
"Alrighty then! Lead the way, hunk-a-rooney..." Harley once again flirted as she willingly followed Nightwing.
"This is Mistah. J's old hideout..." Harley stared up at the abandoned building with a tear-filled look of nostalgia once she and Nightwing had met up with Batman, who was waiting outside.
"Look, I appreciate what yous guys are tryin' to do but me and Mistah. J's relationship was toxic...It's for the best if I stay away..." Harley somberly admitted with a sigh. She knew that leaving The Joker was best for her but she still could not help but feel guilty about her decision. Remembering how her ex tearfully begged for her to return to him made her feel the urge to cry herself.
"It's okay, Harley; he's been better since he's had his operation..." Batman explained.
"O-Opperation?" Harley whimpered as she used every bit of her strength to avoid panicking. Just how hard did The Joker take her leaving him?
"Yeah! It's amazing! He's like a completely, different person now and he'd very much like to meet you." Nightwing grinned as Batman opened the door to allow her entrance into the darkened building. Harley prepared herself for the worst as she cautiously entered the building and there she saw him.
The Joker was sitting in one of his many, beanbag chairs as he wound up a Jack-In-The-Box way, too slowly. His dark eyes gazed in opposite directions as Harley took notice to the visible scar on his right temple. Harley recognized that scar all-too-well from her years as a psychologist as her fearful thoughts became a reality. The Joker had finally agreed to get a Lobotomy.
"P-Puddin'?" Harley squeaked nervously as she timidly approached her ex. It took a few, agonizing minutes before he slowly turned his attention from his Jack-In-The-Box to her.
"Oh? What a...pretty lady..." The Joker remarked with a small giggle as he hesitated between scentences.
"Puddin', it's me, Harley...Harley Quinn? Don'tcha remember?" Harley reminded as she was already on the verge of tears.
"Harley? Oh, yes...That's right..." The Joker slowly began to grin as the few, fond memories he had of Harley began to foggily return to his mind.
"Oh, Puddin'! What have they done to ya?!" Harley sobbed as she tightly embraced her damaged-ex.
"Shhh...shush...It's okay, Harley...I'm better now...Now we can be together again..." The Joker reassured as he weakly placed a comforting arm around his sobbing-girlfriend.
"This is all my fault! I'm so sorry! I promise, I'll never leave ya again a-and no matter what it takes, I'm gonna fix ya!" Harley promised between sobs as she began to cry hysterically over the irreversible consequences of her actions. She should have never listened to Poison Ivy.
"Why, I have half a mind..." The Joker began with a goofy grin until he had lost his train of thought, followed by a blank, mindless stare. Harley just continued to sob, knowing that the love of her life was permanently damaged and that it was all her fault.