The word echoed throughout Arkham, from prisoner to prisoner, guard to guard, doctor to doctor. Joker.

"He's here!"

"Oh shi-"

"He's back, and-"

"-heard the Bat captured him-"

"-heard he beat the hell out of-"

"-killed-"

Leland shook her head slightly, continuing her steady walk towards the Joker's cell. The click-clicking of her high heels echoed off the walls of Arkham, and the murmurings in the cells went silent as she walked past. There were two guards posted outside the door to the Joker's cell. She nodded at them as she approached.

"Has he been causing trouble?"

"He wouldn't stop talking earlier," one of them said. "Really freaked Daniels out. He had to go off-duty."

"Noted. All right, let me into his cell and lock it after me." She raised her voice until there was no way the Joker couldn't hear her. "If he tries any hostage-taking, any escaping, shoot him. Don't ask questions."

The guards nodded quickly and unlocked the door. Leland stepped inside onto the soft, padded floor.

As Leland entered Joker's cell, she found him in a headstand against the far wall, his eyes closed, a peaceful smile on his face. Only, considering his arms were bound up in a straitjacket, his full weight was resting on his neck. How he'd gotten into the position and was maintaining it without any apparent difficulty, she couldn't imagine.

She cleared her throat and his eyes opened, the smile pulling into a grin. "Joanie! How good of you to come and visit!"

His feet dropped slowly until he was resting on his knees, his back rolling up as he stood and turned to face her. He was still grinning as he worked his neck slowly from side to side, finally resting himself back against the wall and casually crossing his feet at the ankles.

"Have I been a naughty boy again?"

Leland crossed her arms and leaned against the opposite wall of the cell, glare fixed on the Joker.

"Did you know that over the years you've accumulated 35 life sentences?" she asked. "People take assassination pretty seriously. When they bring this one to trial, I wonder what your new total will be? You might even end up with the death penalty, insanity aside. It'll be interesting to see."

"Only 35?" He giggled at the serious face she was giving him. Christ! She was worse than Batsy!

"You really think I'd get the death penalty for killing a pig, Joanie? Pigs die ever day. In the thousands! It's a fact of life. You see, Joanie - you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have it."

He giggled again and sighed. "As for the rest of them, well, it was clearly the act of a madman. I was not in my right mind, Joans." He winked at her then and continued. "But then, when am I, right?"

Leland rolled her eyes. "You know, my colleagues have so many ideas about what's wrong with you. Pick any disorder in the manual, and someone has an elaborate theory on why it's the source of your mental imbalance. But myself? I think that you're a freak of nature, something that can't be replicated or redone."

Joker perked up at this.

"Ya' know, Joanie - I've always been my own favorite topic of conversation and the fact that the Arkham staff were giving me so much consideration is wonderful. It's really quite refreshing to know that your staff cares and takes such an interest. Especially in me."

Leland's own opinion made him leer and he pushed away from the wall with a modicum of ease. He took a few steps toward her, just a hint of swagger in his walk as he waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Oh, Joanie. You sweet talker, you. Of course I can't be replicated. I'm a one of a kind. A masterpiece! So good to know that you're aware of that."

Leland stepped forward until she and the Joker were an equal distance from each other in the middle of the cell. "Well, you're our most famous and frequent patient. Everyone has a Joker story." Leland tilted her head. "You know, you're lucky that I'm a good deal more ethical than Crane, or most of the past directors at Arkham. Because if I were the kind of person who would take advantage of the fact that I had the man who'd driven my best friend insane completely under my control, I would've put a bullet in your head the minute we got you in the door."

He had begun to close the distance between them, but at her comment he paused, his smile turning to a frown.

"What the devil are you talking about? You don't have a best fr..." Then it hit him. She could only be talking about one person. The sudden gales of uncontrollable laughter he emitted were infuriating. Joker doubled over as tears rolled down his cheeks and he gasped as he tried to speak.

"Oh... oh G-god! HA HA HA! Are you serious? HEE HEE HA! Oh, J-Joanie! D'you mean... Harley?"

Leland simply raised an eyebrow as the Joker laughed. "Yes, Harley. I know that you don't care, and she's too far gone to be bothered, but she was brilliant. Completely brilliant, and a wonderful person, and on her way to having a fantastic career. You ruined that, and you destroyed her. And I take that very, very personally."

She leaned closer to him. "So you should know that if you misbehave, the guards are going to kill you. And I might help."

Joker was laughing so hard now, he couldn't stand up. He dropped to the floor, his legs crossed, as he doubled over and howled with laughter.

"OH! HA HA HA HA! Oh, God! That's... that's amazing! HEE HEE HEE HA! Harley w-was bril-brilliant! AH HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

He coughed and sniffled as more tears rolled down his face, his usually pale cheeks flushed a light pink at the strain of a sudden coughing fit.

"Oh, God... oh, God! I don't know... heh heh heh... what's funnier. You saying H-Harley is brilliant, or... ha ha... or you playing... the h-heavy."

"You'll have plenty of time to think about it while you're here," Leland said. "You won't get the same privileges as Harvey Dent. You're high-security." Leland cocked her head to the side again, considering. Psych evaluations were tricky things.

"What would you do to me, if you weren't restrained and the guards weren't there?"

His laughing fit stopped immediately and he stared up at her, his spine ramrod straight. She had his full attention. He was still smiling, his face still cheerful, but now - now it was predatory. His eyes glittered with a feral light, teeth bared in a crocodile grin.

"Oh, Joanie. Joanie, Joanie, Joanie... I've played that scenario in my head... so many times." He paused and closed his eyes, his face tilting slightly higher as a shiver ran through him.

He was suddenly on his feet, his body lurching forward and closing the space between them. Leland found herself pinned to the opposite wall, Joker's face directly in hers. She'd never noticed just how big his teeth were until he snapped them at her. But then he was tittering again.

"I'd eat your liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti." He gave the trademark Lecter quote, then burst out laughing as Leland groaned in annoyance and shoved him away. He was still laughing as he lost his footing and fell to the floor, unable to keep himself from falling.

"OH! HA HA HA! Oh, Joanie! HEE HEE HA HO! The... the look on your face! PRICELESS! HA HA HA HA HA!

Leland sighed harshly, a headache forming behind her temples. Still the Joker. But not violent, particularly, not serious. Good.

"Good for you," she said, rolling her eyes. Leland turned to the door and knocked on the window. The guard peered in at her, she nodded, and he unlocked the door quickly.

"Move him to a cell," Leland instructed. "He doesn't need to be in solitary."