What drives a man insane? There are many answers to that question. Doctors and experts believe that most psychopaths become 'crazy' because something traumatic happening in their lives. Having them sit on a couch and talk about their feeling is a form of treatment that is alleged to work. Criminals and psychopaths are like onions. You have to pull them back layer by layer in order to get to the center. But not if you use a knife.
The famous Batman, who is often seen at the also famous Arkham Asylum, believes that any man, woman, or child is either corrupted or influenced by his or her actions, circumstances, and events as their life goes on. Every person goes through hardships and barriers in the course of life. That's just how life is. And life is what you make it.
One person's experience may be thought of as an excuse to someone else. Most known cases of people losing their mind, began when that person was a child. At such a young age, they aren't sure what is happening to them. If something bad happens, they think that's just the way it is. When a parent would abuse their own child, most people aren't sure why. They would most likely just try to ignore it so they don't get involved. The child could be traumatized just from that very moment. And nobody steps in to stop it. How do you think that poor child would feel? Abused? Or just punished because they did something wrong?
I was fortunate enough not to have that happen to me. However, that does not mean that I haven't gone through things that any normal person would have crumbled beneath. I was one of the strong ones. Or so I've heard anyway. My father had blamed himself for the whole thing, but also repressed his memories of the events. Either to protect himself or myself I'm not entirely sure. But I was able to get a story together combining of what he told me and the news media. Almost twenty years ago, he was a chemical engineer at a plant called Ace Chemicals in Gotham City, New York. His name was Jack Nappier back then but you wouldn't recognize him by that name. Jack was considered a misunderstood genius. Working for Ace Chemicals, he enjoyed taking chances and doing what he wanted to do. His employers would have fired him but he was brilliant at what he did. Jack was also known to be somewhat of a loner. No one really noticed that he had a family at home to provide for. He had a loving wife whose name was unknown to me for quite some time. My dad claimed he didn't remember her name, but I believe it was all a part of repressing memories. With the help of newspapers, I was able to conclude that her name was Jeannie. They also had a daughter who was born by the name Cherie.
One day, Jack was all of sudden convinced that being a chemical engineer was not what he wanted to do with his life. So he quit his job at the chemical plant and began pursue his lifelong dream of being a comedian. However, unknown to him, he may have been a chemical genius but he was nowhere near comedic genius. He would stand up on stage and barely get more than a chuckle. He eventually started to realize that there was a dramatic drop in his pay checks. Getting paid to be a comedian is hard when you're not that funny. Having no money was no way to support a growing family. He became desperate and got in deep with the mob.
Two men came looking for Jack in need of his help. Right next to the Ace Chemicals factory, there was a practical jokes shop that was owned by a guy that owed the mob a lot of money and drugs. He was known for keeping his supply in the basement of his shop. For some reason, the men believed the safest way into the shop was from inside the factory. They needed Jack to help them around the factory and getting through security. The security at the factory was extremely tight. They had seen many thieves in the factory before. And Jack found out, this wasn't their first attempt to get into the factory.
They gave Jack the identity of the Red Hood and made him the leader of the whole operation. Jack began feeling under pressure and his conscious was making think about not going through with the plan. His wife was also getting suspicious of his connection with the mobsters. She had noticed him sneaking out at night and not going to work as often as he should. He admitted that he was trying new things to bring more money into the household. Jeannie did not believe that the mob was the only way out. For the safety of himself and the family, she urged him to get out of it while he still could.
Unknown to Jack and Jeannie, the two men and the entire mob were aware of his family. They knew Jack had a wife but the fact that he had a child was more of a myth. They weren't entirely sure how to approach the situation. They began to suspect that Jack was going to back down from the plan. They decided to pay his wife a visit. They thought Jack wouldn't back down from the plan if he felt that his family was in danger. But something had happened that they didn't expect. His wife had fought back. She had Cherie hide and she fought against the guys that broke into the house. Cherie heard one gun shot, footsteps in a run, then a door slam. She quickly called the police and sat in the closet waiting for the police to arrive. I was three years old then. And that was the time when my name was Cherie. The police said that the mob was after me now. So my name had to be changed to protect my identity. That was also the first time I ever came face to face with Batman. Back then, Batman wasn't a much liked vigilante. The police and the citizens of Gotham City would have rather he leave the crime alone.
While the police were investigating the crime scene, I was outside sitting in the back of a SUV owned by the police. I was somewhat by myself. The only officer around me was checking the windows and doors for any forced entry. Then Batman all of a sudden showed up right next to me. I wasn't frightened and he had asked for my help.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Cherie." I said really quiet. I was afraid that some of the other officers were going to hear us talking.
"You're very brave. I heard about what happened in there. An experience like that probably would have really scared someone your age."
His voice was really deep and harsh. Now as I remember it, he may have been doing that on purpose.
"Are you here to help us?" I asked him.
"Yes. I heard that the mob was involved in this murder. I actually need your help with this one."
"What do you need me for?"
"I need to know if you heard them talking about anything. Anything that could help me catch them."
I actually remembered them say something about Ace Chemicals and something about the Red Hood. I wasn't sure what it was at the time but I told Batman everything that I knew. He thanked me and then told me that I was safe. Then he vanished into thin air. I had really believed that he was there to help me and I think he really was. I'm sure he didn't mean to make things worse.
Perhaps it was my fault that my father ended up getting caught. My father didn't back down on the job because he knew that he still had me to take care of. In that moment I became his only reason for living and he wasn't going to disappoint me. But I still wonder if all the consequences were worth it. There was the change in my life along with the dad's life. Even a change in his face. My father grieved a great amount before the heist. He had planned on killing the men himself at the factory during the heist. Then tell the police that he was a 'mole' in the mob's scheme.
They had my dad put on the red ski mask and they called him Red Hood throughout the heist. He didn't know that the red mask was actually to make him look like the boss. The original plan the two men had was that the police was going to go after my dad first because of him being the 'boss'. That didn't go as planned. The security immediately knew what they were up and called the police. A shoot out occurs and the two men are shot dead before he could even get to them. Then Batman came into the picture. From the several case notes, it seems that Batman had scared Jack and he fell over the rail of the catwalk. It was good that there was something there to catch his fall but what caught his fall had changed his life forever. He fell into a huge tank of some kind of chemicals. No one was really sure what he had fallen into and they thought he was dead from the moment he hit the liquid. But he was very much alive and changing. The police or security didn't even go into the tank to try and find him. But the next day when they finally did, there was no body to be found. Well soon after the police left the scene the night before, he emerged from the tank and came to find me. When he found me, I was utterly surprised and I wasn't sure that he had seen himself. I pulled him to a mirror and he was just as surprised as I was. He didn't recognize himself. His skin was bleached white, black hair was now green, and his lips became a bright red. He looked as if he was wearing lipstick and it was strange to see his face looking so different. The weirdest thing was persistent smile that stayed on his face. He almost looked like a clown. For most people, especially children my age at the time would have probably been afraid. But I knew that under that strange face was my dad and I wasn't going to disown him and he wasn't going to abandon me. So ever since that day, we were on the run. I went into hiding most of the time. I didn't mind it much and I learned how to take care of myself. Then after a year or so, he put on the purple suite. From that moment, Jack Nappier was dead. And the Joker was born.
Theoretically, anyone could really be driven insane. Whether it's money, fame, or even fear. He discovered that he may not have been funny, but he was good at causing pain and performing cruel jokes. So he started his reign of crime in Gotham City and his biggest obsession has always been Batman. So what drove him insane?
Over the years, I never felt mistreated or abused in anyway. It's hard for most people to understand that he actually cares about me and would do anything for me. I'm the only person that is not subject to his cruel jokes and crazy antics. I was his daughter. He loved me and I loved him. I was the only person he ever trusted. No matter how many times he was deemed insane and unsafe in public, I never gave up on him. So no matter what, I was always there to help him. Even when I was young, I was helpful by just hiding and not making my presence known. But there was only one place where I wasn't about to help him. Arkham Asylum.
Every time he was on trial, he was deemed insane and sent to Arkham Asylum. Despite all the crimes he had committed, he was always found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was usually able to escape from the asylum with no problem but every time he did, they heightened the security. He decided that he needed to find someone in the asylum that he could trust to help him escape. Then he met Harleen Quinzel.
Dr. Harleen Quinzel was in the process of getting her medical license and was interning at Arkham Asylum when she met the Joker. She was dumbstruck from the moment she met him. I'm not entirely sure how he did it, but within no time, Harleen had become completely mesmerized. Believe it or not, the Joker is quite the charmer and put his full charm on her. She soon falls hopelessly in love with him and becomes his accomplice inside Arkham Asylum. He urges her to stay at the asylum and not to act suspicious in anyway. It was hard for her to keep her new found love a secret but the newly invented Harley Quinn was able to keep her cool.
I knew about Harley from the start because it was strange to see him home so quickly. All he said was 'Baby cakes, I think I may have a new girlfriend.' And he sounded so happy about it and so I was extremely happy. It meant that now he has another person he can trust. And that someone just so happened to be in the place he's sent most. So I had no problem with her at all and I believed that she could totally end up helping us in the long run. Little did I know that she would actually end up being the only mother I ever knew.
When I was six years old, I decided I wanted to go to school. I remember seeing kids my age getting on the school bus and I wished I could join them. I didn't have any friends at that time because I didn't have much contact with other people. With me being so young, I didn't trust many people. I was curious and I wanted to see what it was like. Of course, Joker tried to do whatever he could for me. But school was something that he wasn't sure he could do. Until he got put back into Arkham by Batman. Harley didn't know that I had existed but she was extremely excited when she found out. Joker told her that he needed her help to take care of someone that was very special to him. He asked her to leave the asylum and try interning at Gotham General. She did just that and she met me for the first time.
She did whatever she could to get me into school. They took advantage of the witness protection program I was promised and used it to change my name. Harley became registered as my legal guardian and even introduced me as her daughter when we went to the school for the first time. Harley informed them that I was under the witness protection program and was not allowed to give them my real name. The counselor was too intrigued by the fact that I still wanted to go to school, wanted dead by the mob and all. She thought I was home schooled before and just had me tested to see what grade I'd be suitable for. Being only seven years old, I tested into the 4th grade with a 6th grade reading level. Harley was pretty impressed too considered that I had never been to school in my life. But we decided that I would just start in 2nd grade like I'm supposed to so I could graduate with my same age.
So I did end up with a mother. She was the only mother I ever knew. She stayed at Gotham General interning and getting her medical license until I was seventeen. I didn't go to the hospital or the doctors very often thanks to her as well. She became friends with another villain known as Poison Ivy and she became my physician for most of my life. She knew how to cure any sickness with her herbs and plants she grew in her garden and she was very helpful to us.
Ever since I was sixteen years old, I became the Joker planner. I helped him come up with schemes and plan to rob places or just take control over a certain area. Taking control over a certain area became my favorite thing to do and I got better at it over the years. However, I wasn't always there with him making sure that the plans got executed like they were supposed to so sometimes they did fail. Then there was the big failure that drove Harley over the edge.
Harley had gone back working at Arkham Asylum for a little while. She hadn't been working there long when the Joker came into the asylum all beat up. Batman had nearly pulverized him and beaten him to a pulp. Harley was so upset that she decided to drop her medical license and her whole life to become the Joker's sidekick. She made a jester outfit for herself, helped the Joker escape one last time, and started their reign as the clown couple from hell. Luckily for me, the police and my school weren't able to put together that Dr. Harleen Quinzel, who had signed as my parent and emergency contact, was also Harley Quinn. She still came to a lot of my school events and meetings. She would just put on a wig and a different outfit and no one noticed who she really was.
Growing up wasn't easy in the Joker household, but it wasn't a bad childhood either. I still got a lot of attention and I was called beautiful every day. As the years went by, it seemed as if I started to look more and more like Harley. Friends at school would tell me that I look just like my mom. Which is ironic because she isn't my mother biologically. But the Joker was happy that I didn't look like my biological mother. I think it was because it would just bring too many memories to the surface. I think he's almost completely forgotten his life up until he got dunked in the chemicals. He would show me a picture of his previous self and tell me I looked just like him. I have his jet, black hair and his emerald green eyes. Other than that, I'm supposedly a perfect mix of my mother and father. I'm still upset that I don't have a picture of her.
Most people believe that my father was the biggest and probably the most famous, criminal ever to hit Gotham City streets. They also think he's the most cruel. Even to this day, when criminals want to scare each other, they tell Joker stories. That's their side of the story. The part that they see when he's out and about doing bad things. To me he was my dad and even though he was cruel, I still ended up okay. So I'll let you decide. Am I as crazy as he is, or am I just a girl helping her family? My name is Roxanne Stacey Quince. I am nineteen years old and I am a die-hard criminal.