TOO LATE FOR SORRY
The Joker's Perspective:
"You know, I wonder why I keep that girl alive." I exclaimed.
"J, you left her to die after the explosion at Arkham. I think the least you can do is forgive her." Selina replied, clearly disgusted at my attitude and way of thinking.
"That's not the point, she lied to me...do you know what that means? For all I know she's plotting with the bat, hell maybe she's even having sex with someone else, perhaps even Batman. I don't know, Selina...what should I do?"
"You're asking me for relationship advice now? Just...I don't know, just make it up to her somehow...you can start by apologizing to her. You weren't fair on her J and you know it." Selina argued back to me, she made a valid point though. "You've hurt her so many times that I'm amazed she keeps running back to you. If that was me, I would never forgive you."
"You're not helping." I groaned.
"I'm not trying to."
"How long before the guards figure out both me and Harley are free and that I just killed the facility boss?"
"About five minutes."
"You handled a gun before?" I asked, picking up a gun and looking through the sights.
"Please, this will be easy." Selina proclaimed, picking up a rifle and checking the magazine for bullets.
"Alright, let's go and get my girlfriend back." I said, kicking open the office door. "And remember, aim for the part of the body without armour. Every suit of armour has at least one vulnerable spot." I described to Selina, winking at her as we walked down the stairs.
"You're crazy"
"I know. It's great, isn't it?"
"You think Harley will forgive you?"
"Hmph. One thing at a time, cat"
We reached the bottom of the staircase, directly leading through to a corridor with cells on either side of us. Cells that contained inmates that are hungry, ravenous even.
"Hold up, guard." Selina whispered. She gradually sneaked up behind the guard and knocked him to the ground...he was stunned for a few hours after that silent takedown. Selina wasn't much of a fan of killing people either.
Selina and I dragged the body and shoved it in a cell. I took the uniform off the guard and used it to disguise myself. The uniform was a little tight fitting, not really my style and definitely not my colour...but it'd no doubt be useful. I could use Selina as my prisoner escort to be able to move around the facility without hassle from the other guards.
"Surprisingly, you look pretty good in a uniform" Selina commented flirtatiously.
"Don't flirt with me, cat...let's just find Harley so I can get out of this chafing outfit" I replied bitterly.
"Is that her?" Selina asked, pointing to the prisoner leaning against the wall, crying softly into their hands.
I walked towards the prisoner and they moved their hands from their face and looked at me. Her makeup was smudged all over her face and the bright blue eyes were scanning my uniform. It was her...I didn't realize I was so harsh...and now seeing her sobbing, it makes me want to reconsider my words.
"Selina, I'd like to be alone with her...please." I requested to be alone, for no reason but to seek forgiveness from the girl I've hurt.
Selina nodded and left the two of us alone, I was assuming she was going to clear out the rest of the guards.
"Look at you, such a beautiful girl broken down into tears. I'm sorry, Harley"
I stroked my gloved hand across her cheek softly and then lifted up the helmet from my face. She immediately fixed herself onto my eyes. It was a strange mixture of wanting to shove me in a cell and throw away the key or her wanting to hug me until I couldn't breathe.
She looked at me. I've seen her cry before, but for the first time... For the first time, she saw me cry.
A stray tear rolled down from my eye and she gave me her reassuring silence. The silence that tells me she still cares. Deep down in her heart she wants to kiss me but her brain is screaming for her to torture me with her glare. Both sides are winning at the moment, she's looking deeply into my eyes with affection and yet forcing herself to not give into her feelings.
"I've never seen you cry, puddin" she wiped away the tears from her eyes and then put her hand on my cheek, wiping away my tears too.
"You're the only one who will ever see me cry, Harley. That's how much you mean to me. As my therapist you didn't see me cry, as Harley...you see my softer side. I was thinking about what I said...what I've done to you, I cannot explain how you must be feeling. I know sorry isn't enough...but I'll find a way to make it up to you. I promise." I spoke to her softly, truthfully letting Harley know how I felt about her.
She embraced me forgivingly. "Apology accepted" she whispered softly. "I knew you cared, puddin. I always knew you cared about me the way I care about you." she snuggled into my uniform.
I smiled down at her, gradually moving away from the hug. I couldn't hug her in uniform, that wasn't the part of me she fell in love with. I took off the elements of the uniform until only my prisoner clothing remained.
"I was never into uniforms much, how about you?" I asked, kicking the uniform to one side.
"Prisoner uniforms are fine with me, Mistah J" she said, unbuttoning my shirt and removing it from my chest. She threw the shirt on the floor. "But I always loved seeing your body."
"Harley...please, we're in public" I stated playfully.
"That never stopped you before" she winked at me. And then she paused. "I just need to know something, Mistah J" she started.
"And what is that, sugar plum?" I responded.
"WHY WOULD YA BE ANGRY AT ME FOR SAVING MY LIFE WHEN YA LEFT ME TA DIE AN' NEARLY KILLED ME MULTIPLE TIMES? YOU TORTURED ME, ABANDONED ME AND LIED TO ME SO MANY TIMES AND YET YOU FEEL IT'S NECESSARY TO GET PISSY WITH ME BECAUSE I JOINED A SUICIDE SQUAD?" She yelled at me angrily, pinning me up against the wall. "HUH? SPEAK TO ME DAMNIT" she hit me. "WHAT'S THE MATTER? GOT NOTHIN' TA SAY?" she hit me again. "HOW ABOUT YOU JUST DONT SAY ANYTHING FOR ONCE...FOR ONCE IN YOUR MISERABLE LIFE JUST SHUT UP" she screamed at me hitting me again and once more with feeling.
"Harley...I...I...I'm sorry! I'm sorry ok!" I said nervously. For once, she was actually intimidating.
"No. Not this time, sorry isn't enough. I can't believe you think I'd forgive you for all the shit you've put me through. You think it'll be all 'oh I love you Harley, I'm sorry, please forgive me...I promise it won't happen again' bullshit? Well you won't be getting me back that easily!" she punched me in the face several more times until there was visible blood pouring out of my mouth.
She threw me on the floor and kicked me in the chest. Well...so much for thinking she still loved me.
I coughed, spitting blood on the floor. "Harley, whatever you want...it's yours. What can I do to make it up to you"
"Just lie there and feel pain, feel the pain YOU PUT ME THROUGH." she shouted, kicking me several more times. "Oh I have a better idea." she smirked at me, skipping away from my body.
Oh irony...you're an unwelcome dish which is best served cold. She clearly has a whole side of her which I didn't even know about...and that's slightly worrying. She's good at pretending, but at the same time she's dangerous and actually unpredictable. I didn't expect it to be so easy though, that would be boring.
I slowly laughed to myself whilst lying on the floor. Every time I uttered a small chuckle it hurt my throat, but I couldn't see any point in not laughing at what just happened.
Two guards approached me...they must've heard my laughing or were just patrolling this area and saw me. They wandered over here and looked down at my mental breakdown.
"The Joker, inmate #97. What happened to you?" the guards got me to stand on my feet.
Struggling, I managed to find my footing but not enough strength to fight against them. I just continued laughing painfully, with a large awkward smile on my face.
"Death row...poor guy, I don't think we should send him back there. You know that girl...Harley Quinn, inmate #72? I think he should be in the same cell-block as her. She's harmless enough, she seems kinda calm and placid to be honest. Joker though...I know he's bad but hell...nobody deserves death row...everyone deserves a chance." the guard actually felt sorry for me.
Maybe this place actually was different, at least one or two guards cared enough to pick me up and dust me down after being beaten to a bloody pulp by his...ex girlfriend.
But sharing a cell-block with Harley? Yeah that wasn't a recipe for total disaster...but I couldn't find words in my mental state at this point. I think I was just in so much shock of what just happened to be able to think straight.
Did Harley try and find these guards and direct them to my injured body? Just to really get back at me for doing the same to her? Did she just run away and leave me? She was definitely wanting to hurt me, she never usually does...her silence is normally enough to torment me but this...this was one step further to insanity that I honestly didn't think she'd make.
The guards assisted me back to cell-block B, offering me support by giving me their shoulders to lean on. The most interesting part of this was that they didn't know I just murdered about twenty guards in death row and brutally mauled the head of the facility. Oh well, that'll give them a little easter egg to find later.
Cell-block B, rows of cells with strong metal doors and small hatches separating the outsiders from the inmates being detained inside.
There was Harley's cell, and I was being placed in the cell next to her. That wouldn't end well, for either of us. The guards opened the cell door and allowed me to rest on the bed. I collapsed on the bed and the guards left my cell, closing the door behind them and shutting the small hatch. Luckily...despite being right next to Harley, we couldn't see each other as we were separated by concrete walls.
I lay there, just rethinking life. My head was spinning, she hits harder than you'd expect. Her personality, it can change with a snap of her fingers...that's a dangerous weapon, one I suspect she'll use to her advantage.
I don't often have time to myself, to reflect on the day and really open my mind. 'Let your mind run wild... until it hurts someone' my therapist used to say. I guess she was right, and although Harleen and Harley are the same person... they both torture me very differently.
I sat up on the bed and let out a large sigh, gripping my head with my hands indignantly.
God...what have I done?