Chapter 18: The Voices Inside of my Head

"'Cause they very thing that I love's killin' me

And I can't conquer it.

My OCD is conkin' me in the head, keep knockin'

Nobody's home, I'm sleepwalkin'

I'm just relayin' what the voice in my head is sayin'

Don't shoot the messenger,

I'm just friends with the monster that's under my bed.

Get along with the voices inside of my head."

Eminem, Rihanna. "The Monster" - The Marshall Mathers LP2. (2013)

Jodie was the bane of the Jokers existence.

It had been two days of her ordering his men around.

She wouldn't let him in to see Harley.

As it turned out Harley's new friend thought he was scum and not good for her.

Somehow, in her mind, everything that had happened was his fault.

Harley had forgiven him.

That was all that mattered.

To any rational person at least.

This Jodie was a whole new level of hysterical.

Harley was in and out of consciousness from what he could tell. Valerie, the police-officer stopped by with the same paramedic every now and then and they gave her an IV and fluids and took care of her basic needs.

Jodie hadn't left her side and every time the Joker came close she would throw him out of the room.

That was fine by him.

He had locked himself in his bedroom and watched the video over and over again. Johnny hadn't watched the entire thing, which was a good thing because the Joker would have to kill anyone who had seen his Harley in such a state.

Peter and Wendy were going down and he couldn't wait for it.

He wanted to give them some time.

Wanted them to feel like they were safe, before he he would finally strike.

He wanted all of Gotham painted in Wendy's blood.

Peter would have to suffer through her death before it was his turn.

Slow and prolonged and unnecessary.

It would be glorious and he would make sure Harley's words came true. That what they had done to her would seem like a spa treatment.

Loud and frantic knocking interrupted his thoughts and he groaned. He hated these new living arrangements. He wanted Harley back and he wanted it all back to how it used to be. He wanted this new girl out.

He would have her killed, but he knew she was important to Harley and he couldn't really allow any more mistakes on his part. At least for a while

"What?!" He snapped as he ripped the door open.

The chubby girl was hysterical, sweaty and panting.

"It's Harley!" She said getting straight to the point. "She's hitting herself and crying, but I can't get her to stop, because she won't wake up! Can you help her? Please!"

Mr. J arched an eyebrow, looking down at the young woman with a smirk.

"I thought you were her sole care-taker now, Jodie?"

"Please!" She repeated in a desperate tone that would usually have him cackling. But she was desperate for Harley. "I'm really scared for her!"

"Amateur!" He snapped, as he pushed himself past her roughly and went into the room Harley was currently residing in.

There was blood from where she had hit and scratched herself. Because he right hand was in a cast she only had one hand to hurt herself with. But there was a lot of damage. The swelling in her face had gone down. She was mumbling and crying in her sleep. Voices in her mind were upsetting her, he knew it immediately, he'd seen it enough times.

"Harley, please!" Jodie cried from the open doorway. "Please wake up!"

She took sleeping pills, you insufferable girl. Mr. J thought, but he didn't voice this statement.

Instead he slipped out of his jacket, revealing his naked chest.

Jodie sniffled in the doorway, but said nothing.

Harley was still thrashing wildly in the bed, crying out pleas of her own. He strode to her bed fearlessly, in a way Jodie only could admire, despite the hatred she felt for him. In one swift movement he pulled the blanket away from her and onto the floor.

Her arm was covered in bruises where she had scratched and pinched herself. There were also small wounds on her face and forehead. He knew all too well what it felt like to try and beat the voices out of your head. He'd done it too many times to count as well.

"Should we call a doctor?" Jodie whispered and Mistah J laughed.

"A doctor for these few scratches?" He chuckled. "Listen if you want to continue being Harley's new BFF you definitively have to man up."

He remembered when Harley had grabbed a pair of scissors in this state and sliced open both her wrists. What would Jodie have done then? Faint from terror?

Currently she was scowling at him.

"Harley." He muttered softly and stroked some of her loose hair from her sweaty forehead.

For a moment there was silence and his voice and his touch seemed to have a calming effect on her, but then the moment was over and she continued thrashing and moaning in her sleepy state.

As if it were the most natural and normal thing to do Mr. J slipped out of his trousers and the began pulling off Harley's black top, revealing her naked body. She was black and blue all over.

"What are you doing?!" Jodie strode into the room and although she was far from fearless, she was raging with hatred, which was basically the same thing. "Put her clothes back on!"

Mr. J did exactly the opposite. He tugged at the blue pants Harley was wearing and pulled them down as well, until she was lying completely naked in the bed.

"What are you doing, you pig?!"

"I..." Mr. J stepped towards her. "am going to fuck the life out of Harley Quinn and you are not going to bear witness to that."

Behind him Harley cried out in pain and Jodie shook her head.

"No! You can't do that! She's unconscious, you'd be raping her!"

"Well..." The Joker chuckled, shrugging. "Once she wakes up she will have you to thank for that won't she?"

"You're supposed to help her!" Jodie screamed.

"I am helping her." Mr J ran his hands through his hair. "You have no idea what a nice huge cock can do for you, Jodie. You should try it sometime, actually, why don't you go knocking on Johnnys door? I'm sure he can help you."

"You disgusting, vile man!" Jodie spat making her way towards him. "I will not let you do this!"

"Oh I would love to see you try to stop me." With that he pushed her out of the bedroom roughly, slammed the door behind her and locked it from the inside.

"No!" She yelled, hitting the door from the other side. "Mr. J! Open this door!"

"Dramaqueen." He muttered under his breath and pulled out his cell-phone from the jeans lying on the floor.

"Johnny? Please remove Jodie from outside Harle'ys bedroom." He almost hung up, but then remembered: "Oh – and don't hurt her. Harley...likes her..." He rolled his eyes. "Or whatever."

"Sure thing boss."

He hung up and threw the phone back on the floor on top of his jeans and then turned to Harley. She was whimpering in her sleep, hitting against her head again. She still looked the same. Every hair, every birthmark was where he remembered them.

With a sigh he leaned down and picked up the blanket from the floor. He draped it over Harley gently and then lied down beside her, on top of the blanket.

If the foolish girl wasn't such an amateur when it came to Harley, she would know that Harley slept best when she was completely naked.

Or maybe she had only told him that. Maybe she had only confided with him that the feeling of the cool sheets on her naked skin made her feel safe.

"Harley." He whispered and she groaned as if she were in pain. "Harley, Baby." He kissed her sweaty forehead and stroked her face. "I know you can't hear me, but I need to talk to you Harls. In fact...I need you to not hear me. Because..." He sighed deeply. "I can only talk to you, when you're unconscious Harley, because you drive me fucking nuts sometimes!"

She shook her head, as if she could hear him and started slapping at her head again. He reached over and took hold of both of her wrists, running his thumb over them in a surprisingly gentle manner.

"I'm sorry." He finally said. "I know this is all my fault. You know I will never admit that to you in person, but I'm sorry you're hurt, because I made this happen." The Joker paused. "Harley, I'm just so fucking messed up...and you are too and that's why we're perfect together." He leaned over and pressed his lips against her temple. "Two broken pieces make one whole and I...I need you Harley Quinn, because I am broken without you. So, please. Just come back to me."

"Please." She whimpered beside him. "Please, I'm sorry."

Those damned voices. He could have been yelling at her and she never would have heard him. She pulled at her wrists and cried out wildly shaking her head from one side to

another.

"Shh, Harley." He soothed and pulled her up against him, cradling her against his chest. And she began to beat him with her fists. "Don't listen to them." He muttered. "They're lying."

Between her groans and sobs there was suddenly a familiarity in her voice when she whispered:

"Mistah J?"

"Yes." He tightened his grip around her. "I'm here, Harley."

"I failed." She whispered. "I screwed up."

"You're going to be fine, Baby." Mr. J leaned his cheek on her head. "Everything is going to be just like it was before."

"I trusted them."

"I know." He stroked her back gently. "I know."

"They have it on tape."

And suddenly all the pieces fell into place and the Joker realized why Harley had been hurting herself and trying her best to get the voices to shut up. He finally understood what they had been saying to her.

"Harley." He mused. "I saw the video."

She immediately began crying out again, as if in pain and shaking her head.

"I saw the video." He repeated unphased. "And I am so proud of you." He looked down at her. "Did you hear that?" He chuckled. "You laughed in their faces, Harls. And they are terrified. They know what's coming for them. You did so well, baby."

She didn't reply and he thought she'd gone back to her unconscious state. But then out of nowhere he heard her weak voice:

"Stay? Please?"

The Joker smiled to himself. They were endgame, they belonged together and whatever Jodie thought was going to happen was wrong.

They would go back to their normal lives, to how things had been before.

"Sure, Harley. I'll stay with ya."

Once they were dead Peter, Wendy and Neverland would become nothing more than a distant memory. A glitch in the system. A mistake they would both learn from.

They would go back to being the King and Queen of Gotham City in no time.