Shotgun Serenade

2. Curiosity

The Joker was laid out over his padded cell floor, eyes closed and his breathing heavy.

He was tired? No. Bored? Yes.

He never usually slept fully overnight, yet earlier that morning he'd actually had to wake himself up like any other normal person, which... he was frankly, quite worried about. To anyone a good night's sleep was... well, good. But for the Clown Prince? No. No, it meant that he'd been discussing something with himself, or rather, feeling a certain amount of excitement to see his new doctor that it had actually made him tired from his heightened giddiness.

"Manipulation," he said to himself. "I suppose it's been such a long time since I've done it..."

He smiled broadly, overly happy with his possible explanation, and actually believed that his theory was actually what it was that was 'bothering him'.

After being served lunch (which he plainly dismissed because he refused to eat such healthy crap that was the same as they gave other patients, he wanted something more special), a loud, dense knock sounded on his cell door.

"Yo, Clown! I'm here to collect you for Dr Quinzel." a booming voice stated, there was no empathy or emotion in the deep voice - not like Dr Quinzel's voice or Dr... no, only Dr Quinzel spoke with at least some emotion to him. Ha, funny that...

"Okay, okay. Jeez gotta let a guy get up first boys."

The Joker stood up, hearing the door unlock.

The unlocking sound had seemed to sound more hopeful the last time, when his new doctor had opened it. Maybe he was imagining it? He was known for imagining things after all.

Strong hands grabbed hold of him when the door opened, shoving him out of his prison cell roughly without an ounce of thought for whether they'd hurt him or not. He heard his door slam behind him and the sound rebounded down the corridor as the arms held a firm grip on him. The previously loud corridor, in which the other inmates had been shouting from their cells, suddenly quietened.

"Y'know fellas," he began, that wicked smile creeping onto his mouth. "You could be just a tad gentler.."

A fist collided with his jaw, and he began to laugh, like he was enjoying toying with them. That was going to bruise for sure...

"Ohhh come on now, that must be against some kinda law?!"

"Law? What do laws matta to you? You're just a sad, sick freak that wants to run this city into the shit heap."

"Well... At least you got one thing right - OW!"

A bigger fist punched his stomach and a hand pushed him forwards, telling him to keep on moving. Yep, definitely going to bruise...

Soon the guards told him to halt and one guard held him in place as the other opened a white door. The Joker immediately noticed that there was a slot on this door, holding some kind of name card.

Dr. Harleen Quinzel

"Wooww. Hot name!" he commented, chuckling.

A slap was applied to the back of his head and made the Joker frown from annoyance and boredom.

"Oh come on! That wasn't even a smidgen worthy of a slap!" he protested, conveying mock surprise. The guard growled and took a step forward, ready to give him another punch...

"No Jimmy, he's been abused enough already. If bruises show up, Dr Quinzel's gonna wonder..."

"No shit..." Joker muttered, eyes narrowing."When I get outta here I ought to..."

Suddenly the door opened further, revealing familiar beautiful blue eyes and a beautiful figure to match. The Joker's eyes popped out of his skull and his jaw dropped open... well, she had a hot name... why not be hot in the flesh too?

"Dr Quinzel's gonna wonder what?"

Joker wasn't the centre of attention at the moment so he decided to take the opportunity to rake his eyes down his Doctor; her hair was blonde and tied up into a high ponytail, leaving her neck and shoulders visible which had the softest, clearest looking porcelain skin Joker had ever seen. The famous eyes were framed with thin black frames, making her look clever. Her figure was slim and curvaceous which made him grin with curiosity and excitement. Unfortunately, since she was wearing a long white coat, a t-shirt and jeans he couldn't see anything he was wondering frantically about... so he gave up because he knew he was getting carried away - even for him.

"N-Nothin'."

One of the guard's grabbed Joker again to push him into the room.

"That won't be necessary, Jimmy. I'm sure Mr Joker can enter the room by himself."

The guard grumbled and took his hand away.

The other guard tipped his hat to the doctor.

"We'll be back in an hour to collect him. If you want longer that's fine. Some more guards will arrive soon to mind the door. C'mon Jim."

The two guards meandered back down the corridor, arguing as they went.

The Joker watched his doctor with interest as she walked back into her office, motioning for him to follow.

"Come in and take a seat," she said, moving her desk chair over to the leather lounger that was next to an intelligent collection of books on a bookshelf behind it.

Without taking his eyes off her, the Joker did as she said; he walked in casually, using his foot to close the door, and then made his way over to the lounger.

Before he laid down, she told him to stop.

He just turned to her with a smile and she shyly crept closer, hands latching onto the buckled straps of his strait jacket. His smile turned into a toothy grin as she ran her hands over his torso to undo every strap. Soon he could feel his arms wiggling free and the strait jacket was off him, a thin orange t-shirt the only thing covering his top half.

The jacket hit the floor and she brought some silver handcuffs out of her pocket, ordering him to lift his hands up so she could place them around his wrists.

"Ooh. Kinky." Joker said huskily, giving her a playful wink.

She ignored him and latched each ring around both of his wrists. "Just to be on the safe side..."

She left him and sat onto her desk chair opposite him, where he now lay on the lounger, green eyes very not amused as they studied the ceiling. To be honest, he'd rather have been staring at her... now that would definitely be more interesting.

"So, have you had any thought on what you'd like to talk - "

"Don't you think I'm just amazingly fantastic?" Joker interrupted, grin widening as he turned his head to face his doctor. "I mean I must be meant for somethin' if I've actually lived this long. Come on! How long have I survived bein' around that bat for? Ha ha! He'll never get rid of ol' Joker that's for sure!"

Harleen frowned and reached an arm back to her desk, clumsily gripping onto her clipboard. He was actually talking!

Joker rolled onto his side so his whole body was facing her, his elbow propping him up to support his position. She snatched the clipboard and held it in front of her face, hiding the Joker so she didn't have to watch him. She could listen... but she couldn't watch.

"Did those guards hurt you?" Harleen asked, trying to hide that she was genuinely concerned.

"Pfft! Naa! Little fist here and there never hurt anyone. Why do you ask?"

"They... look kinda rough. And they don't treat the other patients like that..."

"Oh. I am special after all."

He gave out a short laugh, forcing his doctor to look at him. She didn't like to see him... but she needed to watch to see his reactions and emotions.

"How do you feel about - "

"Your name's Harleen right, Baby Blue?"

God that nickname again! It wasn't that Harleen didn't like it... it was that she did... and just the way it rolled off his tongue like he'd been calling her it for almost forever...

"Yeah... You read my door?" she asked knowingly, finding herself smirking for no reason other than the fact she knew how he knew her name.

"Well, you're a smartie as well as a hottie - I'll keep that in mind when I get outta here." he said darkly, yet in a way that had a more suggestive intention rather than a scaring intention. He laughed longer this time, sitting up so he was mirroring the way Harleen was sat.

Harleen didn't know what to think... Maybe it was a bad idea to let him out of that strait jacket... but then again he hadn't actually killed her yet so she was doing well so far.

She just hoped that the guards (who she hoped had actually turned up outside) didn't sneak a peek at them inside, they would charge in at the sight if Joker out of his jacket... and then she'd probably lose her job for her own unorthodox methods...

She felt her cheeks flush and her hands began to shake, yet it wasn't fear that shook her this time... it was the fact she had been flirted with by one of the scariest, most wanted criminal minds on the whole of Earth and had felt so flattered by it...

"Y-You're going to break out again?" she asked, desperately wanting to change the subject.

"Yeahhh duhh! Obviously I will! Batso knows I won't last five minutes in here so I'll have to be extra careful on getting out this time." he answered enthusiastically, narrowing his eyes when he saw that she was writing everything down. "Hey! Baby Blue, what's the deal with you writin' this down?!"

Joker launched himself forward and used his cuffed hands as a single limb, pushing the notes out of her grip.

Harleen growled and stood up attempting to get past Joker to collect the clipboard. He used his shoulder to barge into her, sending her flying back into her chair.

"Look," he said calmly as he returned to his seat, smiling at her as she scowled at him. "I will get out of here eventually. And anyone inside of Arkham that finds out any sort of... details on my plans to get out of here and my plans on what I'm going to do once I get out... has two choices."

He paused, grinning as she let out a shaky breath.

"One: I kill them or make them kill themselves, and they're forever forgotten to me - Like my old Doc." He cleared his throat. "... Apparently."

He slid off the seat again to stand up and lean down so his mouth was next to her ear.

"Or two: They come with me and... I choose what role they get to have in my... little club."

Harleen closed her eyes and shivered, feeling his lips stretch into a grin against her ear.

"So, if you're curious about me, Dr Quinzel, be prepared to choose which consequence you want to happen."

He spat her name at her, like he hated the fact he had to use it.

"Is this so if anything would go wrong you could always say that you weren't playing god, since I was the one that chose my own path."

He giggled and nodded.

"Boy you're a smart one!"

His mouth left her skin and he sat back down, resuming his lying on his side position. "So what'll it be, Baby Blue? Gonna give in and get to know me a lil' more and possibly end up in my team (or worse in a dumpster somewhere off the East End ha!)? Or you gonna stay curious so that you're sure to stay in this dull, boring job and you'll never live dangerously... or die dangerously, which would be - "

Joker mocked a yawn and added, "Boorrring..."

Harleen was mesmerized.

This was only their first meeting and already something about choices had come up... But this wasn't the patient's choice... this was her choice. Either way she knew there was a chance she could survive. Survive and get what she wanted.

She looked up, into his viridian eyes and saw mischief present in them as he looked at her. She'd studied the Joker a little bit at home before she'd come into this job, and there was not a single picture that she remembered with him conveying such a... different, unrecognizable emotion. Already he was making her inch closer to knowing more about him.

"I want to know more," she said, crossing one leg over the other to rest her elbow there whilst her palm held her chin in place. "And whether I die knowing more about you is meaningless, it's not like I have anyone that would actually care anyway..."

He was intrigued and interested by her words yet showed no curiosity of his own.

"Then, we have a deal?"

She nodded.

Joker grinned.

He knew he was going to like his new doctor.

A lot.