Assimilation
"Please! Please ill do anything!" He cried. "No Matt its over and you cant keep calling me at work! If you keep this up Im getting a restraining order!" She yelled in a whisper through the phone and slammed it down. She rubbed the temples of her head. He was so pathetic. So annoying. So useless. She didn't have time for his bullshit. The arkham melody played over the speaker. SHIT she thought. She was supposed to already be in the interview room. Matt was always ruining shit for her when they were together and even now apart he was still ruining shit for her. She jolted up and speed walked to the interview room. Her small heels made little clack sounds as she strutted down the hall. Exactly what she didnt want to happen happened.. she ran into the joker being escorted by Cash. "See! I told ya! Look at her she cant wait to get a piece of me!" He smiled and winked at her. She blushed uncomfortably. "Yeah Im sure she loves bleach white freaks like you" Cash scoffed. Joker got that mad murderous look in his eyes again. Cash pretty much hated every inmate. He saw himself doing justice by preventing them from escaping but he especially hated joker almost as much as Croc. Cash opened the door for . "Thanks" she said rushing in tucking a strand of blond hair that had escaped while she was running behind her ear. She hurried up and sat down, flipped her book open and grabbed her pen. Joker walked in and jumped on to the chase lounge. He rolled on his in a provocative position. He pulled out a small tube of chap stick and rubbed it against his lips. He smacked his moist no longer papery lips together and puckered them at her. She pretended to not notice but he knew she did. He smiled with a nice shiny outline. "Oh doc you're good! where better to drive a man crazy than the nut house hmmm?"
"What do you mean?" She asked knowing full well what he meant. Of course he knew she was the one that told whistler to give him chap stick. "You want a nice big kiss don't you? Well im not that easy...but for you i might be! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed
"I care about all of my patients health" She said reaching in her pocket "Im sure you do" He said darkly.
Harleen pulled out a black stress ball. "You know when im feeling stressed out i like to use these" She said squeezing it. She threw it at him and he snatched it instantly and began squeezing it vigorously.
"Stressed out?" She asked with a smart ass tone
"Stimulated..." He stared at her.
"Hes crazy you know" Joker said non nonchalantly
"Who?" She asked
"BATMAN!" He yelled
"ive seen it in his eyes screaming mad! And dishonest! hiding his face behind a mask well no masks for me! i have nothing to hide i laugh at the cruel absurdity of the world but batman... batman hes got them all fooled, hes made them think he can make a difference! that he can actually make things better and the joke of it is ... they all believe him!"
He threw the stress ball at her. She caught it. "Lets try something different." She threw it to him. Instinctively he threw it back. They went back and worth rolling it to each other. "A simple game of catch. An understanding of two people to keep things going. It feels almost natural to just continue. But without the other" Joker threw the ball back to her and she did nothing "It stops." They both sat quietly. "Keep playing doc you had my attention" He smiled. She threw it back to him. "So what would you do if there was no batman?" The very words slashed at him like broken glass. You could see that main and anger boil within him. Cash looked at them through two way glass with a fierce look. The arkham melody sounded and it was time for him to leave her again. She stayed im the interview room a little longer collecting her notes and comparing them to previous notes. She said there quietly when suddenly the sound of pure agony pierced through her ears. Jokers scream ripped through her brain. The scream however lead into a laugh a hysterical long lasting laugh. She peaked her head outside and watched the silhouettes move within the Electroshock therapy room. Cash sat in a chair outside the room and opened a pack of ear plugs and plugged them in his ears. She walked back to her office. Her phone rand at her desk. She swore to herself if it was Matt she was going to really give him a piece of her mind. She picked it up and thank god it was asking her to come to his office. "Id like to let you know im very proud of your work with the joker. Your notes are very incisive." Strange said flipping through his copy of her notes. "With a little more work you just may be able to break into his psyche completely" He handed her back her notes. She was so happy. Happier than she had ever been. She was exelling in her research. Harleen had never went anywhere but up and this would be no exception.
She took a deep breath in. She let her toes feel the ground beneath her. She arched forward and jumped! Colors. Pink purple orange. Her heart beat fast. Falling through the sky. Wind whipping her hair everywhere. Body limp. At peace. This one moment she could lose herself and let go...She hit the mat on her back. High jumping was always a favorite since she was a child. You get to jump over a bar backwards and land on the mat below. It was very relaxing. She kept her eyes closed and took a dean breath. She got back up and looked around the gymnasium. She climbed up on the balance beam and She keeled down on it and stretched one leg out after the other. She got up and did a cartwheel on the beam. Her balance was unmatched. She loved coming to the gym/gymnasium. She came so rarely. She was always so busy with work. It was nice to enjoy some time to herself. For a moment how joker had told she was afraid of falling. For a moment she thought how nice it must me to be completely ignorant of your actions and have no responsibility. She quickly shook of those thoughts. This wasnt a place for work this was a place for her.

She went home and poured herself a drink. Harleen rarely drank but she was exhausted and felt she deserved it. She checked her phone since she refused to check it at work. 10 missed calls and 14 text messages from Matt. Oh they were definitely going to give her the restraining order. She poured another drink. Eventually she sluggishly flopped to her bed. She laid there nice and warm as the room slowly spun.
She woke up groggily. What time was it she thought. One reason she didn't like drinking. She picked her alarm clock up to see she was already an hour late for work! Shit she jumped out and grabbed her cell phone and dialed the number left her. It Rung and Whistler picked up " ?" She asked. "Yes" The voice answered. "Its , I might be a little late" "Oh sure that's fine and you can call me Gretchen, there's no need for formality" She said sweetly on the phone. "Alright Gretchen i will see you at work shortly" Harleen smiled Grabbing some clothes from her closet. She didn't have time to get the restraining order she had to hurry and get to work she couldn't falter at this job she was determined. Back at the Asylum Dr. Whistler called office. "Yes" He answered. " is going to be a little late today" "Alright thank you" He said flipping through files.
Strange walked down the hall and stopped at jokers cell. "Whats up doc?" He said laying on his bed staring at the ceiling. "It seems your doctor is going to be a little late today so your therapy session will have to be postponed for a few hours." He said calmly. "What are you playing at strange?" Joker asked eye balling him. "Are you going to kill ?" He asked. Joker giggled. "Hehehe I don't know yet!". Strange turned on the TV outside jokers cell. It popped on a story about batman. Joker shot to his feet and pressed his face against the bars his eyes glued to the television. "The dark knight stops another bank robbery in the greater Gotham area" Vicky Vail commentated. Joker started breathing heavy. Murder in his eyes. That pure insanity took him over. He was like a rabid dog. Strange studied his face carefully. Joker was completely oblivious to anything else he was entranced by the TV. "I will leave you to your thoughts" Strange said with a smile placing something on the tray slot at his cell. Strange turned around and took his leave back to his office.

She rushed into the building and gathered her books out of her bag and continued to the interview room "Hes already inside" said the guard sitting took a breath and came in the room to see him laying down staring at the ceiling through catatonic eyes. She waited for his smart ass comment about her being late but it didnt come. He didn't even look at her. He just sat there with an exhausted face staring into nothingness. As scary and crazy he was with his smile and psychotic laugh he was even more scarier when he wast smiling.
"Bad day?" She asked casually opening her notebook.
"Theres nothing so cruel as memory" He said
She stopped writing and looked at him. The tone in his voice was so serious. No playful games and jokes here. His face more serious than it ever was.
"Inescapable relentless you cant even escape into madness then your meet someone who changes your life and you don't even know who you are anymore. Inst it funny how one little encounter can chop off little pieces of your past change your memories and persona until you rethink your whole identity and as you realize how foolish it all is, your laughter echos on the walls of your own emptiness" He clenched his fists so hard they began to shake. She watched him as he stood up and started walking towards her. He wanst smiling he had that deep dark insanity nestled into him he looked angry, She placed her hand over the button under her desk to alert the guard. He stared down at her "whats wrong? you think im gonna hurt you? why? Im not the bad one here oh no no no no no. Its LIFE"
"SIT DOWN" came the voice of a guard over the speaker in the room. He looked at the too way glass "what? dont you trust me?" He said pushing his face at the glass. The guard opened the door "I said sit down now" "Make me!" Joker yelled with wide endless eyes. The guard went to grab his shoulder and fast as lightening the joker pulled out a knife and began stabbing the man in the chest. Harley sat in awe. Her voice vanished she couldn't talk she couldn't scream she couldn't even move. She sat there silently and watched joker repeatedly stab the man. Blood began to pool around his unmoving body. He stood over the guards body breathing heavy. He turned and looked at Harleen. She still couldn't move. She should be calling security putting in a red alert or running for her life but she sat there frozen. Joker shrugged his shoulders realizing she wasn't calling security any time soon and grabbed the gun and security key off the hole punched guard. As he walked out he held his hands up apologetically. "Honestly Doc i thought we were making progress" He said taking off into the halls. She heard screaming and gunshots then the arkham alert siren play over the speakers. In fear and shock her heart beat faster and faster finally she stood up and got a good look at the guards dead body. She saw all the blood everywhere and that his chest wasnt contracting for air and she fell to the ground and fainted.