Here is the next chapter! I hope you all like what the Joker brings to the story!

just a side note, if you feel something is off with my writing and would like to say so, I am always always always up for critiques, I think it is foolish of a writer to turn their face at an opportunity to be able to improve and hone their skills so please , whether through comment or note/message I will always be willing to hear you out!

In this story there will be a lot of morbid jokes because one of the things Jane and the Joker have in common is a morbid sense of humor, if you have a good morbid joke please share, I would love to hear :D

A super big thankyou to Bleedingheart2XLoLa and also to Kay who gave me a great review with awesome critique which i REALLY do appreciate C:

Kay: Thankyou soo much for your critique, I understand your concern about the whole Mary sue thing, I myself really dislike Mary sues because of the inconstant character development, and regarding the psychiatrist thing my plans for this story is that Jane will not stay his psychiatrist it is only a familiar grounds to where they meet and a chance for Jane to really reflect on her life, Through this story my goal is for Jane to steadily change her personality :D but what kind of personality that is will be a surprise! And also thank you for what you said about my writing style, that was really kind of you to say : ))! Once again Thankyou soo much for your critique I really really really do appreciate it because it gives me a chance to grow as a author. Please if you do continue to read this story let me know if there is anything wrong

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE JOKER OR ANY DC COMIC TYPE REFERENCES MADE IN THIS STORY


"In the hunted air of the people there was yet some wild-beast thought of the possibility of turning at bay"- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens


For the first time our eyes met:

His eyes darker than the black plague, his scars were pulled up in a massacred grin as if with every inhale of mine he could see every single evil deed, every skeleton in my closet and with every exhale the breath carrying every sin that I had committed as convenient as a carrier pigeon. I was a book open for him to read as he pleased; I did not have any say in it, not one word, it just happened. I felt myself starting to sympathize with every other psychologist who had the ultimate misfortune of crossing paths with this man. My heart speeded in panic.

I then stopped, tightening my fists, my eyes turned to steel. I was stronger than this, I had personally been escorted to hell and a year later as I strolled through the flames pushing through, the conflagration parting on my command I carved my exit from hell out of smoke and steel. As I departed hell's searing inferno I carried with me two things, in one hand I had a angry red scar and the other hand I had the head of the devil dragging behind me his long black hair silky as a raven's feathers tangled in between my worn fingers his blood creating a river of deep scarlet behind me. Yes, I was much stronger than the previous psychologists finding to solve this man who went by the title of 'human'.

So I did what any fearless man would. I smiled in the face of chaos.


I drank more green tea as if it was the answer to life, right now it was my answer to life, or more a lifeline if you may. This day has been terrible utterly and pathetically ter-i-ble! It all started out when I ran out of white dress shirts to wear because they were all dirty so I had to resort to wearing a purple dress shirt with ruffles that followed along the line of the buttons. I usually wear white because it is a calming neutral color for the patient, what did that make purple I wonder?

After the whole shirt mess first thing inside Arkham I heard one of my patients was doing badly, I sat and talked with him but then his condition got worse and worse and he would start rambling about biblical allusions and the point of humanity soon he hit the mental breakdown stage. He ended up having to be sedated and carted away. That took three whole hours of my day and another hour to report to the higher ups and I was running late to Mr. J's therapy session.

As soon as I entered Arkham today Kelly ran up to me and grasped my arm. "Are you crazy?!" she squeaked at me with her eyes wider than a bush baby's.

"You traded Roo for the Joker?! I just told you yesterday not to be such a push over and this is what you do?!" she fumed at me. I smiled a bit knowing everything she said was for my better. Kelly may act tough but she has a heart softer than Coma's fur.

"Hey" I said looking at her "I'm tougher than I seem, no patient has gotten to me yet and I'm going to keep it that way" I smile reassuringly at her. Kelly did not smile back, her eyes as serious as they possibly could be pushing me back a few steps.

"Jane. This is the Joker we are talking about, he has broken everyone with hardly a bat of his eyelashes, just for his own entertainment. That thing has no heart."

I put a hand on her cheek to get her to stop ranting, it immediately stopped her in her tracks, not used to me ever giving anyone physical touch she looked at me and realized nothing that she could say will change my resolve on the issue. She gave me a sad smile squeezing my shoulder, her eyes teared up a bit as she slowly pulled me into a hug as if not to startle me. Kelly knew that that current moment may be the last one she may have with me being in a normal mental state, or even worse alive.

Kelly may act tough, but she has a heart warmer than a lit fireplace in a house who greets a weary traveler in the mist of a snow storm, the frost bitten trekker entering the home, it's walls protecting the person from the storm, the traveler would then reach out to the warm fire, seeking refuge by the dancing flames.

So now as I currently stand in front of the large white door leading to the small room (not to mention that it was a neutral white) which held inside a table and two chairs. Oh yeah and not to mention Gotham's own Clown Prince of Crime. I was dreading the moment, I felt like not so professionally bashing my head up against the wall but instead I pushed down my protests along with my pride and pushed open the heavy neutral white door.

As I slowly closed the door behind me feigning calmness I looked up and suddenly my dark blue eyes clashed with a pitless black. A second felt like an eternity as his intimidating glare seemed to pierce my soul. I felt a familiar tightness in my throat I was drowning, unable to save myself. I wanted to scream, I wanted to tear my eyes out with my own fingernails, but not a move or a twitch came about. He smiled then, his mangled lips that were far beyond any repair revealing a perfect line of yellowed teeth. His smile was not anything a smile should be, it was not kind, it was not loving, and the very least it was not peaceful. No, his smile was intended to disturb. Shivers racked my body and he smiled wider, his malicious eyes not once leaving mine.

Suddenly I realized that I was playing straight into his hands, that I was hook, line, and sinker falling for what every other psychologist did. I was better than the other psychologists; they had to learned to mend broken people but me, I stitched up my own emotional wounds, I know first hand how deep the human psyche goes I personally felt insanity drift upon me a couple of times but I'd be damned if I didn't come out of it stronger. Using that strength I helped hundreds come out stronger as I had. I would not would not let this Joker drag me down, so I did what I had to do to prove him wrong, to prove everyone wrong, I smiled right back.

A glint of amusement flickered through the depths of his eyes.

"Hello" I took my seat across from him.

"Well he-llo there, so you are my new personal psyche-ologist." He grinned watching my every move as I sat down across from him.

"Yes That is right, you can call me Miss. Malloy, or Jane, which ever you prefer." I nodded at him placing the file in between us on the table along with a notepad and a pen. I flipped open the notepad ready to take notes.

The Joker tilted his head a bit in a curious manner, tonguing at the inside of his cheeks along the mangled line of his scars. "That your real name toots?"

I looked a little confused at him but didn't ask. "Yes Jane is my real name, is that not okay for you…?"

The Joker started cackling as if I just told the absolute funniest joke in the book. After he was finally done he waved his un-handcuffed hand around dismissively.

"Yeah, yeah it's fine."

Then his eyes turned what seemed ten shades darker and his voice ten tones deeper as he talked in a menacing way

"But usually the workers around here prefer to use fake names around me."

Taken aback by the sudden mood change and the fact that his tone was implying something I could not grasp, I blinked, my eyebrows furrowing a bit.

"Why's that?" I asked curiously.

He then let out yet another peel of laughter throwing his head back.

"They are afraid that…I would kill them after I brake out of here." His voice tone fluctuated from light to dark and if he wasn't so bone chilling, I'd go so far to say it was interesting.

I couldn't help the wave of laughter that erupted from my own throat. "So, you're saying that my co-workers and the other dedicated employees of Arkham are counting on you to break out of here?" I shook my head in awe "That says a lot about the staff here."

"You know," he started, making me raise my head to make eye contact. His voice rose and fell as if he was testing out the words putting emphasis on one and leaving out emphasis on another, testing to see what sounded right. "I was going to break out of here just yesterday, but then I heard a pretty little thing like you was going to be my psychologist." He winked at me and I fought down a blush, slightly flattered by the madman's comment although it felt so wrong to be. "but then I deci-ded first, I'd drive you absolutely c-ra-zay, make you want to hang yourself on your stair banister with your own belt until your pretty little face turns blue." He gave a menacing smile his deep dark eyes showing delight in my paled face.

At first I was scared, anyone would be, with the way his dark eyes ebbed and flowed with diabolical intent, but then I got angry. Who was he to throw me around and try to destroy me from the inside out.

I gave him a sarcastic little smile 'If you want me to break, gotta try a bit harder than that.'

"Well Mr. J it's really quite a shame, because I don't have a banister in my house, but I'm sure you'll let me borrow yours and possibly even be kind enough to give me a tutorial." I gave him a full grin wiggling about in my chair adrenaline high.

Okay I seriously did not know where or when I grew some hypothetical lady balls, but whatever, I was not going to let the Joker of all people walk all over me if it's the last thing I did. I had to be strong, I had to be better than the rest. I had to have strength.

The Joker smiled wider his eyes gleaming with something unintelligible. "Wow" He leaned his elbow on the table and rested head on his hand. "Jane has some claws…all the more fun to brea-k." He grinned giddily enjoying our sugar coated argument.

I ignored his comment and moved on to the matter at hand, which made his face fall into a frown "so, The only real name we have recorded for you is Joker, and because it is what you go by I will refer to you as 'Mr. J', seeing as my colleagues have informed me saying your name as is will be playing into your 'twisted game'."

I gave a scoff, how could a simple name mean anything? Did they honestly feel something so petty was a sign of superiority? The Joker nodded unamused and bored again. I cleared my throat awkwardly and continued on.

"So, how has your day been so far?"

he looked up through his dark long eyelashes glaring "dandy." He drawled sarcastically.

After a couple more basic psyche evaluation questions he moved around in his seat obviously bored at my refusal to play any of his games.

"That's a nice shirt." That got me to pause. Sensing my hesitation, like a wolf he went in for the kill smiling wide while doing so. "Purple is really your color, you know it is my color too, it happens to be -uh my favorite of all the colors."

I forced a smile gritting my teeth slightly in annoyance. "I hope white is too because that will be the only color I will be wearing after today."

He tilted his head and gave a little fake sad pout but then raised his eyebrows if striken by an amazing idea, he leaned in to share. "I only like white when it's splattered with red."

'I'm sure we can arrange that….that is, if you don't mind minor blood loss.' I pushed back my snappy remark to inside my head as I reminded myself to be professional .

"Mr. J you are a very …unique man." I said looking at him giving one of the world's most forced smiles.

He smiled "So they tell me, I also prefer the words 'Intelligent' and 'handsome' if you are writing this down." He winked.

I couldn't help to pause my notes of the evaluation and laugh, just for kicks I ripped out a separate piece of notebook paper and on the top I scrawled "Compliments the Joker prefers."

Underneath I wrote down

"Intelligent, Handsome" I then flipped it around and held it in front of his face. The Joker threw his head back in laughter.

When his laughter died down I placed the paper in the back of the notebook.

"Anyways, Mr. J our sessions will be twice a week for an hour and a half each."

His face dropped the smile and gave a fake pout. "Only twice? It's like they are scared to have you in here with me or something."

I rolled my eyes "Scared? Noo, why would they be? I mean your as harmless as a puppy." I drawled sarcastically getting up to take my leave.

As he watched me with that ironic smile I gave a little honest smile back, relieved that he had not pushed me to my wits end today. "See you on Thursday Mr. J"

"See you soon sugar." He gave a wink watching me leave.

-*-*3rd PERSON POINT OF VIEW-*-*

The Joker watched her leave; she was sure a pretty little thing, with her ample curves, dark blue eyes and long eyelashes. Not to mention that bright red hair, he wondered why any psychologist would have bright red hair? Much less one who was so unnerved because she was wearing a shirt that was not a boring white color?

There could only be a couple of reasons for that hair color; One being that she liked to make an impression on people with her appearances, which he highly doubted

'I mean look at her, when she first walked in she was meeker than a toddler who just witnessed its parent's decapitations.'

Or two, it is something that marks her change as a person, like a tattoo, which is more likely, So the question was: What was her past like? Was she a druggie and now recovered she went to helping others through the mental damage they sustained from drugs but actually thanking her lucky stars she got out of it while she could. Or perhaps she was an hooker who decided to turn a new leaf and get out of that lifestyle, he could see it in the headlines.

"Jane Malloy successful psychologist converts from an appalling life style to a thriving upper-class citizen intelligent beyond her peers."

The Joker cackled as he was escorted from the room by two big gaurds, she was really proving to be a lot of fun and worth his stay in the terrible place called Arkham, of all of the thirty or so psychologists who had to deal with him, Jane was by far the most interesting. A good amount of them didn't even last past the first threat and what did she do? She threw sarcasm right back at the joker giving a smile that would make a grown man shiver in fear. Yes, Jane Malloy was quite the fire cracker, but the joker knew it was only a matter of time till he broke her, as what happens with many of his toys, it was only a matter of time until she was laying face down in her own pool of blood. The bright red of her hair intermixed with the deep red of her blood, it would truly be a sight to behold.

He shook my head laughing at the way she laughed so easily around him, it was odd having someone not be so….scared? He wasn't really sure if he liked it or not, usually it was a good showing of superiority when people were so drowned in fright they had to force a laugh and usually pissed their pants at the same time, but in retrospect because of this superiority his jokes were widely unappreciated by others. Possibly, the joker mused, he would keep her around longer, until he bores him, and then obviously he will kill her.

The guards were unnerved when they were leading the joker back to his cell. The joker seemed so happy and excited which was never ever a good thing. When the joker was wound up it meant people would usually die. And fast.

They threw the joker in his cell making sure to lock it and double, no triple check the locks, some part of their brains knowing that it was useless locking the Joker of all people up somewhere. Everyone well knew if the mastermind wanted to escape, well then he would do what he damn well pleased.

As they walked away the joker waved good bye to them, he noticed one of them speed up to the exit which made him chuckle.

He started to pace around his small cell capturing the inside of his scared cheek with his teeth and then running his tongue along it thoughtfully. He had stuff to do, things to plan.

Jane Malloys to break.

Oh and would he break her all right.

When the Joker was done with her, she would be so far-gone she will be singing 'Jesus loves me' while finger-painting on Arkham's walls with her own blood.

The joker smiled gave a wide painful smile, stretching the scars to their full capacity. His ominous eyes glinted darkly.

The joker was sure Jane would create such beautiful of pictures.

Pictures of Chaos.