"Riddle me this, which side of a cat has the most fur?"
"Can we stop with the riddles?" I snapped back with a sigh.
It had been three days since I'd seen the Joker and I was practically counting down the hours till I could have a proper session with him. If it was up to me I would have seen him immediately the next day, but I had to be smarter about things this time. I'd spend months building the perfect persona as the innocent resident who was appropriately disgusted by the Joker. I didn't want to suddenly be seen rushing towards him eagerly.
In the meantime I'd been keeping myself busy with my other cases, which meant boring myself silly. My standard patients had me on auto pilot as I thought about how I could disarm the Joker. The Riddler on the other hand wouldn't stand for my lack of presence. Most of my patients barely even noticed if I was in the room, let alone if I was paying attention to them. Nigma demanded absolute attention.
I could have cancelled my session with Edward under the guise of preparing for the Joker but underneath his disorder I feel the spark of intrigue. He was the sort of guy I'd always had a grudging respect for back at college. The arrogant, egotistical ,intellectual type who couldn't stand to be shown up. I didn't really like them but their dedication to knowledge always kind of impressed me. I was dedicated to my studies, and while I wasn't exactly some incredible intellectual, I understood that drive for knowledge. I suppose my drive came from understanding people rather than random facts.
"Miss Quinzel you're on edge today. It wouldn't have anything to do with a certain clown prince now would it?" Nigma asked in an insultingly fake innocent tone.
"Just how would an inmate know about my patients hmm?" I replied sarcastically, knowing that gossip travelled faster in the Asylum than anywhere, as long as the patients had enough of their mental faculties to listen.
"That is not a hard riddle at all, completely boring. Even for someone like you" Nigma said in his usual smug arrogant tone. "Now if you're looking for a true riddle, how about this, I was born second of twelve but I am the youngest…"
"I thought I said I'd had enough with the riddles today Nigma" I snapped cutting him off, I knew it was something that would trigger his compulsion but I had little empathy in my current mood.
The Riddler looked mortally offended at having been cut off mid riddle, staring at me with utter contempt. I noticed he also seemed to have lost weight, becoming more gangly and gaunt. I didn't blame him, I'd seen the food they served inmates here. He was in his classic pose whenever he was annoyed at me. He would always lean back in the chair with one arm resting on the table while he stared at the nail on the other hand pretending to look uninterested. Predictable as always.
"There's been lots of interesting things happening in Gotham recently, some very strange events. Quite….mysterious really." I said in a teasing voice that had him look at me alert like a meerkat. "I'll make you a deal, if you tell me about your life as a private detective, I'll give you some info on what's happening in Gotham."
"What makes you think I'd give in to demands from someone like you? You really are naïve aren't you? Once again you think just because you went to some school and learnt from some other idiot you can try and outsmart me." He countered, leaning back in his chair with his usual arrogance, showing off his height in an attempt to intimidate me and make me feel small. It was laughable really after being in the presence of the Joker.
"Nigma, can we leave my education out of these sessions? We're here to discuss your obsessive disorder, not my career choice."
"You know if we were out in Gotham rather than this dismal holding cell I can tell you our 'discussions' would be a lot different" Nigma replied icily.
Once again, a normal response to his threat should be fear. I knew that Nigma was more than capable of murder and it would be child's play for him to track me down. Even with his infamy, getting hold of a gun in Gotham would be easy. I had one myself stashed away in a drawer just in case. Worse, he'd probably turn my murder into some sort of macarbe puzzle for Batman and the police. Even if he'd never been outright violent to me the barely veiled threats betrayed his sinister intentions. Edward Nigma was not a man who could handle being controlled and on the day he was released I would be too tempting a prey to ignore.
The only problem was compared to the Joker, he didn't seem like much of a threat at all. When I was near the Joker I understood what true fear was. His mere presence drove my heart to tear through my rib cage. Even as the wave of hysteria birthed a new brand of criminal in Gotham, the spark that ignited the fire seemed like the only truly dangerous individual.
Have you lost your survival instinct as well as your common sense?
Ignoring my growing inner voice I continued to scribble errant thoughts about the Joker on my notepad. I knew it was petty but I took delight in irritating Nigma straight back.
"If you don't think I'm serious Harley then you're in for a surprise. I knew you were a little slow, but I never thought you were this much of an idiot" He declared haughtily and in a completely unprofessional moment I burst out laughing in his face.
Okay, I knew it was wrong but I really couldn't contain myself. I had spent months having every insult, threat and attempted intimidation from both Kingston and my patients. Here in front of me was someone to be feared, making threats on my life and it didn't affect me at all. It was hilarious. In that moment I didn't care that Nigma's threat was more substantial than the others, well apart from Kingston, because I was numb to the harassment. I wasn't the same passive girl I was when I started here. I wasn't even the same person I'd been a few days ago. Every single interaction with the Joker shifted my personality, inching me closer to the edge of an unknown void.
"Nigma I always take you seriously, it's what I'm paid to do. I know outside this Asylum you are a force to reckon with. Even in your sessions you regularly confound me, we both know it." I said gently hoping flattery would work, and like the ego maniac he was he loosened up just a little. He unfolded his arms, his eyes losing their angry edge but his patronising leer remained.
"Why don't we talk about how you got thrown in here, it must be an interesting story" I carried on, hoping I could recover from the laughter and gain something in this session besides pissing him off.
"Read the report if you really want to know. You seriously think getting me to recount my capture would end in revealing more about my nature. You psychiatrists are all so predictable. I've told you my mind is not something someone like you can ever hope to understand."
"Well if we're talking about what I know from your file it's not quite complete. See, it says you were called in to work on a confidential police investigation but your methods were…questionable to say the least."
"Is that really all my file says?" He replied with heavy sarcasm.
"It mentions your anti-social behaviour, your clear obsessions and the incident that led to you being hunted by the police rather than helping them. According to reports you were caught tampering and stealing police evidence. Then you resisted arrest, escaped the police and went into hiding, only resurfacing to rob banks, art galleries, that kind of thing. Things escalated to the point where you took four lives, although the details on motive and method are scarce. Until of course Batman threw you in here. It doesn't say what you were doing with the police though, classified. Which means it's either mafia or Batman related."
The Riddler stayed completely silent, staring intently at the wall behind me.
"I don't care about my capture, I think we should talk about something far more interesting to both of us. Why don't we discuss the Joker?"
"Why would you want to talk about the Joker?" I asked hesitantly. My mind was racing with reasons why the Riddler would want to discuss the Joker. I suppose they were both part of Gotham's criminal underground so they were rivals of sorts. But then again, they both had very different goals and methods, it didn't seem like they would have any real interest in each other at all.
"I'm sure you've seen in your sessions he's…..chaotic to say the least. He's more than just chaos and violence though, there's something there. No doubt you know about his attempts to get Batman to reveal his true identity to the public. Then for some reason he just stopped. Don't you want to know why?"
I bite my lip, thinking about what he said seriously. Everyone in Gotham has seen the Joker and Batman's "duel". The Joker had tried to force Batman into revealing his identity but suddenly seemed to disregard his mission. I'd certainly wondered about why the Joker chose not to simply kill Batman. There was no doubt in my mind he must have had the chance, or could have had the chance if he wanted. But from all the footage I'd manage to find, along with every report ever published about him, I couldn't find any true attempts on his life. The most severe attempt was on Harvey Dent's life. He has scarred the one honest man in Gotham, but it was the Batman who killed him. Maybe the Joker had driven him to it? Or maybe he was the only one who truly understood the elusive Batman.
The Joker's relationship with Batman was definitely something I wanted to delve into, but I didn't have the nerve to bring it up in a session. Temptation whispered the insight a mind like the Riddler could be invaluable. It wasn't safe. No matter how tantalising an extra mind to pick apart the Joker's secrets may be, I knew the hawk-like gaze of Peter was forever focused on me. He was desperate to find an excuse to banish me from the asylum and regain his draining authority. Yet there was another facet of my hesitation. I didn't want to share the Joker with anyone because his mind was mine to decode. I wanted to be the only one who could break through his impenetrable walls. It could be my competitive instinct, which had always served me well during my gymnastic days, or my obsessive need to understand him. But maybe…maybe part of me wanted to protect the Joker from his 'competition'.
"What do you think the reason is? You must have some theories" I replied neutrally, deciding that no matter the reason, I wouldn't reveal anything I knew to the Riddler.
"I have a few theories, nothing concrete as of yet. The most prominent one is that the only reason he hasn't forced Batman to reveal his secret identity is because he already knows who he is."
"I suppose you would love to know who Batman is, and if the Joker knows….." I trailed off teasingly. Nigma leaned forward, no longer maintaining his pretend aloofness, I certainly had his attention now.
"Seeing as he's your old patient surely you would know the most about him. I hear you're once again in control of him."
"I don't think anyone's in control of him" I laughed back at him, avoiding answering the question and internally damning every gossiping orderly to the depths of hell. It could only have been through some loose lipped idiot that Nigma found out I was back on the Joker case.
"Don't play coy with me Miss Quinzel."
"I'm sorry Nigma but patient doctor confidentiality. If you refuse to talk about yourself I think our session is over for now."
It may seem strange but my mind began to drift back to when I was in high school. I wasn't a social butterfly but I had a close collection of friends. I didn't lose my need for friends until college overshadowed any social life. Before that, I was the person all my friends went to with any petty problems because they trusted me. I was as loyal as a rottweiler, and as fiercely defensive. My unwavering loyalty was something I had pride in. Now…well now I was feeling those same protective instincts slithering through my body..over the Joker. Bizarre and unsettling as it was, these emotions must be from possessiveness over his mind and nothing else. I couldn't have any loyalty for the Joker could I?
How much more insane can you possibly get Harley, you actually have feelings for the psychotic clown!
My growing inner voice was getting harder and harder to ignore. The soft and comforting embrace of denial was starting to fade.
Hello again guys! I hope you liked the two new chapters because it's always fun to write the Riddler and the Joker. We are starting to see the cracks develop in Harley's psyche. Soon she's going to have to accept the inevitable but…we aren't quite there yet. It's been fun writing Harley's slow descent into madness and love while maintaining my portrayal of her as a strong and intelligent individual. Sadly she never had a chance with a guy like the Joker. I'm hoping I'm capturing the essence of these three powerful characters in a way that makes sense for the Nolanverse! Do not worry though, Harley's revolution is approaching faster than she realises. :P