Mad Quinn

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything belongs to the movie TDK and the comic series.

Origins of Harley Quinn for chapter two: Harleen Quinzel was once a career-oriented psychologist whose life took a radical turn when she chose to spend a semester interning at Arkham Asylum.


Chapter Two: Questions and Answers


"…and we are all pretty shocked to finally see the Joker in bars that it's a little mind boggling." Rick Kenny said over the TV, glancing momentarily down at a few papers on his desk. "We also have a very important guest here on the show. Say hello to James Gordon, one of the police officials who had to deal with this entire charade from the very beginning."

Harleen Quinzel munched nervously on her granola bar as she watched James Gordon walk on the screen, sending Rick Kenny a polite smile. At first glance, the intelligent psychiatrist could tell Gordon was a person who would make a wonderful role model. He seemed very brave after going through everything between the Joker and Batman.

"Hello Rick," Gordon greeted with a firm handshake. "It's truly an honor to be here."

He then seated himself on the seat across Rick Kenny. Harleen noticed how he ran his hand through his hair—an obviously nervous gesture.

Wow, she thought in wonder. He's nervous. The very man that went through brave fights had stage fright.

"You look like a relaxed man." Rick stated bluntly.

Gordon chuckled. "I am relaxed."

"You should be. The Joker's finally caught and in custody, and Batman hasn't been seen for awhile."

"See," Gordon suddenly sat up, his relaxed composure switching to a stiff jolt, "I'm definitely not relaxed about the Batman."

Rick blinked. "Really?"

"Believe it or not, Batman works in mysterious ways."

"Care to elaborate?" Rick obviously looked confused. Harleen agreed with him. Everyone knew the Batman killed Harvey Dent the same night the Joker was captures. Batman was a criminal just as much as a hero!

"I don't understand the things he does. I don't even know who's under the mask, Rick, but I know that Batman certainly didn't approve of the Joker."

"That's true."

"And, I know he broke his one rule for killing someone—especially Harley Dent, but there had to be some kind of logical explanation for him doing that. He fought against the Joker so hard to keep that one rule. He even almost got killed himself so he wouldn't kill the Joker. It just doesn't make sense to just kill Harvey Dent for no motive."

"Are you saying that Dent must've the Batman, in turn, getting killed?"

"I said nothing of the sort. What I'm saying is that we're jumping onto conclusions too quickly. We're not looking at the whole picture. I know for a fact that the Batman is a very smart individual, whoever he is. It just doesn't…all fit together."

"So you're investigating all of this right now?" Rick laughed dryly. "How do you look so relaxed? It's obvious you're under a lot of pressure lately."

"Hey, pressure is an everyday thing. You learn to get used to it." Gordon grinned at Rick easily, easing down by the second.

"Let me ask you, where is the Joker being held right now?"

Gordon licked his lips. "We…well its obvious the Joker has some…mental illness. And he's way too unstable to keep in a jail cell, judging by what took place the last time. So we sent him to Arkham Asylum, where there's no possible way he could break out. He won't be kept with other prisoners, and will have little freedom as possible."

"But Arkham Asylum is where the most…" Rick paused to think of the right word. "Excuse my choice of words, Officer Gordon, but that's where all the craziest people are. Is the Joker that nuts?"

Gordon shifted in his chair. He seemed unsure of his reply. "Rick, have you ever seen the Joker?"

"Of course."

"No, I mean in person?"

Rick hesitated. "No. I've only seen him on television."

"Now let me tell you something," Gordon started gravely, "I've dealt with drug addicts, gangs, mobs, drug dealers…terrorists. But out of all of these, uh, categories of criminals, none of them could even compare to the Joker. I've seen many frightening situations, but the things the Joker did were downright inhumane and…crazy. Drugs addicts will do anything for drugs. But that's all they want—drugs. Gangs do their little missions, but mostly for money, as well as the mob. And terrorists are just hungry for power. But the Joker? Even after all these days, I still don't know what he truly wants from us. His motive is a mystery—I still don't know his name, age…anything. He's definitely worse than anyone—anything I've seen in all my experience of working with the police."

Rick nodded. "You're right. The Joker sure seems to be skilled when keeping his true identity secret. But why do you think he wants to hide his true identity? He sure seems to be proud of saying he was the Joker and all. So what's the difference?"

Gordon sighed. "I-I don't know. I really don't know. But you know what, Rick? That's another reason why the Joker's in Arkham. So some skilled, smart psychologist can evaluate him and find out just what the Joker is. I'm positive someone can uncover his motive or name."

"I wonder who the person will be."

"Dr. Arkham told me that he'll let me know as soon as he finds out. But I'm sure whoever he picks, seeing his years of experience dealing with employees, that they'll be an expert in dealing with someone like the Joker."

"Good, I—"

Harleen switched off the TV, eyes wide. She had her now vacant granola bar wrapper crumbled in her hand, squeezing tightly as she stared blankly at the empty screen. She could see her mirrored image staring back at her.

I-I can't do this, she thought in a panic. I can't treat the Joker. He's too much for me—I'm just an intern! How could they even think about asking me to do such a drastic, no, dynamic job?

Harleen turned her attention away from the TV when she heard something loud—like a dish of some sort—clash from the window. Someone must've had a little accident next door.

Next time I won't choose this hotel. Good thing I only have three weeks left before going back to where I started. No way am I staying here, and no way will I treat the Joker.

Her mind made up, Harleen wandered into the kitchen and threw away her trash. She nearly laughed aloud. How could she even consider treating the Joker? How stupid could she get? Now if Dr. Arkham threatened her entire job, she might reconsider. But if he actually gave her a choice, she'll decide on what's best for her.

Now relaxed, Harleen returned to her place on the couch and casually switched the TV back on. However, she let out a tiny squeak when the TV showed what it was showing.

The Joker.

"Look at me!" Harleen's eyes nearly popped from their sockets when she saw the one of the Joker's victims, a Batman impersonator, being tortured. She remembered the first time she saw this on the news—she never thought much at the time, though. Her mouth dropped open. Heck, even his very voice gave her shivers. She quickly grabbed the small blanket besides her and wrapped it around her for warmth. "You see, this is how crazy Batman's made Gotham. You want order in Gotham. Batman must take off his mask and turn himself in. Oh, and everyday he doesn't, people will die. Starting tonight. I'm a man of my word."

She nearly turned off the TV again when the clown busted into a wild fit of laughter, the entire screen shaking. The news came up again, but Harleen droned everything out. In fact, she re-winded the footage back to the scene and watched it again. And again. And again.

His eyes, she thought in horror, too dumbstruck to even move as she dazed at the screen like a broken doll. She felt all the energy drain from her body. His mind…I can't understand what he means! Why does he want Batman to take off his mask? Why should it matter to him? And how did Batman make Gotham crazy? Sure I'm not Batman's biggest fan and all, but that makes absolutely no sense to me. No matter how hard Harleen thought over the Joker's actions, she simply couldn't come up with any motive or plan.

Why does he do what he does? Why does he kill? Why does he wear makeup? And why does he dress as a clown?

Suddenly, it dawned on her. All these never-ending questions flashed in Harleen's mind. Curiosity was playing a big role at the moment, taking its rightful toll on her mind.

What is his real name? Certainly it can't be the Joker. How old is he? He looks like he's about 28 or 30. Does his hair really have a tint of green in it, or does he dye it like that?

Wait.

Harleen jumped up, a weird sensation bubbling up within her. What if she did treat the Joker, and succeeded in finding out all these questions? Gotham would honor her—and she'd definitely become a professional psychologist! Heck, she might even get to have her own office here for solving the mysteries of the man!

Harleen smirked to herself, imagining the entire city of Gotham pronouncing her as their new "hero".

"The Woman Who Figured The Joker Out."

"Doctor Quinzel—the woman who looked inside the Joker's mind."

Besides, how hard could it be? Ask the guy a few questions a day and get paid. All she had to do was get a little progress done each day. And she knew she was talented when it came to getting to people. She could persuade a gay guy to become straight—and vise versa! Who says she couldn't find out the Joker's real name?

She slowly sank back into her chair, that scheming smirk still evident on her face. What started out terrible was blooming into something that could be the climax of her "dream" career.


A/N: Ahhh sorry for the long time for an update! I'll be updating this story a lot now, because I'm really getting into it. Gotta warn you guys, the next chapter will have a LOT of Joker in it, and a special meeting between the two ;) Please review!

~YolandaFriella