Aaaaaaand I'm back, baby! *claps and jumps up and down* I just want to thank all those who read and review, and even the silent readers. I can see you, you know.. No, not literally! HA! But i do see how many people have read my story day by day, and it does put a smile to my face. :D So write i shall! Hope you enjoy... Review, they truly keep me posting and updating. Btw, I know this is a long chapter, but I had to punch it all out to flow with session 2! :D
Later on that night, Harleen shot awake in bed. She was panting hard, skin slick with sweat. The room was dark around her, but the night-light plugged into the bathroom a few feet away gave a dim glow to her bedroom. The digital clock's red numbers glared 3:48 AM at her. Looking around, her breath calmed down a bit at the familiar proofs of reality. The previous day's outfit was piled next to the bed where she had shed it once she came home, a beige papasan chair that sat in a corner had the Joker's case box on it, a dresser that had most of it's contents piled on top rather than folded and put away. She threw back the sheets and comforter, swinging her legs over the side and headed to the bathroom.
Turning on the sink faucet, she let it run until it was a luke-warm temperature. She splashed her face a few times and ran a water covered hand on the back of her neck, the warm water starting to soothe her. With the tired reflection of her face looking back at her, she replayed the dream that had awoken her with a start:
Harleen was walking down a street in Gotham. Couldn't tell which street, but it was definitely Gotham. The sky, always seeming cloudy, was dark and dismal. The tall buildings stretching upwards, each one trying to outreach the next. Some buildings were new with automatic doors, big shiny windows yet looked boring. While the others that were old, having grey stone, dingy windows and gargoyles at the edges of the high points up above, seemed the most interesting. The further she walked down the more she noticed people popping up around her. More and more people began heading in the direction she was going. Some veering to the left, others, the right.
The street began to come to a fork, the street jutting to the left looked bright and colorful. Not with the sun or flowers, but with fireworks, multicolored banners hanging from windows, people dressed cheery. No, not cheery. As she walked closer she realized that the people were rioters, and... patients! Poison Ivy was sitting on an over sized pink flower bigger than a van laughing while she had a few guards wrapped up in her plant's vines. Riddler was spray painting lime green question marks on anything he could find. The Hatter had white rabbits dancing around him as he clapped and danced. Patients and other people she didn't know were laughing, drinking, gambling, hell.. just having a party. Random gunfire shots could be heard. And there in the thick of it all, was Him. His proud smile shining bright, his purple clad body looking strong, his feet in dapper spats. He was laughing at the spectacles around him. Everyone looked like they were having fun.
Looking to the right of the fork was the doctors from Arkham Asylum. And the guards. And random people. They were all just.. there. Standing around. Talking to one another. Walking back and forth. Some looking at buildings, some talking on cell phones. They were just.. existing. The buildings had nothing special about them. No one looked to be enjoying themselves, they were just drudging along. Warden Sharp, Officer Cash, Dr. Leland, even Officer Boles were on the mundane side of the road. Everything about them said 'tedious'.
She came up to the end where she needed to go either left or right. Once she stopped at the fork, everyone suddenly looked at her. They all began motioning for her to join their side. She looked back and forth between the bright and colorful road to the dull and uninteresting one. She didn't want to go down the boring road with all her coworkers, but she knew shouldn't want to go to the exciting side with all the people deemed mad.
Joker began dancing toward her, his arms out as if he were holding a dance partner, humming a tune that didn't quite have a rhythm to it. Stopping in front of her, he bowed low extending his hand, looking up with the sinister grin he was known for. He was asking her to dance. She glanced at his hand and back up at him, smiling. She put a foot in his direction when Dr. Leland came up to her as well, looking stern. She motioned to Harleen to walk toward the other doctors and staff in a disappointing manner, as a teacher would look at a student who was late for class. Harleen looked at the doctor with a pout on her lips, not wanting to go with her.
Joker then cleared his throat with a dramatic 'Ahem' and raised an eyebrow as a final offer. She put another foot in his direction, placing her hand in his gloved one. Looking back one last time at Dr. Leland with an apologetic face, she turned her attention to Joker who began spinning her around in a waltz, his head thrown back, laughing. His infectious laugh made hers bubble out uncontrollably. As they danced nearer the party, everyone began clapping and cheering. Ivy, the dead guards forgotten under her plant's vines, had her plant weaving up buildings flowers sprouting up here and there. Killer Croc (whom she hadn't seen before) ripped a fire hydrant out of the sidewalk causing a huge gust of water to spray on everyone like a giant water fountain. They were all happy, dancing under the spray. She looked up at Joker, expecting to see colors run down his face. But they didn't. His true self IS what everyone saw. She laughed harder then before causing him to cackle with her. He then leaned in, holding her closer, his mouth by her ear and whispered "I knew you'd get it." She looked over his shoulder to the right side of the street and saw all the staff members looking at her with sadness and pity. Then slowly, one by one, they turned their backs on her.
That is when she had woken up. Get what? What was she suppose to understand? She watched the her own eyes in the mirror ask her questions she couldn't answer.
It was just a dream, right? Dreams don't mean anything. It was just a dream, Harleen thought.
She grabbed a towel, dried off her face and went to sit on the bed. She could tell there was no getting back to sleep anytime soon. Puffing out a long sigh, she walked out of the room, and into the living room where she turned on her small tv to the cable news. Always a good channel to have on in Gotham. She stepped into the small kitchen, turning on the small light above the stove and put on a pot of water for tea. She could hear the occurrences of everyday life of Gotham humming from the television.
It was the late night GCNN replaying earlier news. A shooting in downtown Gotham, no suspects. Bruce Wayne having a charity event for an orphanage. All charges were dropped in a court case involving Carmine Falcone. Nothing exciting. Once the water was hot enough, she made a cup of tea and sat back on the couch. Covering herself with a small blanket, and blowing on the top of the tea to cool it, she let her mind wander a bit. Not surprising, it wandered to her conversation earlier with her patient. She felt the Joker's concern for her was a positive step, if any. He had wanted her to talk to someone and had wanted it to be him! That had to say something. Maybe he wanted to connect with another person? He had wanted to make sure she was ok, at the very least. He couldn't be the monster everyone thought him to be.
Harleen then thought of the silent moment they shared. Her body up against the glass, his doing the same. He had just stared at her. Really looked at her. No one had looked at her like that before. No guy she ever dated had looked so intently into her eyes. The familiar tingle in her stomach began wiggling it's way around, causing her to shift a little in her couch. She shook her head, I have to stop thinking like that. It's not professional. ... But she couldn't shake the feeling. His emerald eyes, brilliant, though insane. His smile, infectious and terrifying at once. She smiled in her cup and she sipped. I'm at home, so it's not a bad thing if I just think about him a little. After all.. he does have a sort of old charm that is very intriguing. She was happy she had hidden her private thoughts in her office, she needed to write them down somewhere. Finishing her cup, she watched the news with little interest, eventually falling into a dreamless sleep on the couch. Never knowing that through a window, a dark shadow had watched her from a nearby rooftop then glided off into the night.
Joker stood in the shadow of the right side wall of his cell, hearing a guard's boot steps grow closer with every bed check he did. Joker's cell was the last in the line up, probably because the they all avoided him if they could. That oversight always worked to his advantage. When the guard finally came near his cell, Joker stood motionless. The guard looked around, then up at the light bulb that was out. He squinted his eyes, leaning forward, trying to get a better look. Joker just watched as he looked over to the bed, which he had purposely made to look empty. For a moment, Joker was worried he'd radio in getting back up, but that worry was soon gone when the guard, obviously thinking the cell empty, swiped his card and held his gun up, aimed at the bed.
The glass door slid back allowing him entrance. Cautiously, he entered the the cell, gun still pointed at the bed, slowly bending down, as if expecting Joker to be under it. Seeing the HUGE opening, Joker jumped on the guard's back, covering his mouth with one hand, wrapping his legs around his torso restricting arm movement and used his other hand to hit him on the top of the head repeatedly with a balled up fist. As the guard lost consciousness, Joker set him down quietly, grabbing the access badge and put him in his bed, covering him with the old blanket. Normally he would have just killed him, but for his plan to go smoothly, he couldn't risk anyone catching on. One death from him and he'd lose the lovely doc.
Hiding a giggle behind his hand, he swiped the card in the lock, closing the glass door and slipped into the shadows. It seemed that his neighboring inmates were mostly asleep or sedated by now, since none of them began to stir or cause a commotion. Navigating his way around was a bit tricky, but his destination was going to be harder to get to. Figuring he only had an hour or two to work with, judging by the few blows to head he delivered earlier, he knew he had to be quick. He passed hall after hall, corridor after corridor until he reached the stairwell next to the elevator. Most staff took the elevator out of laziness, so it should be empty. He bounded up the stairs, two at a time until he reached the man floor. Glancing out of the small glass window on the door, he saw a pair of nurses were on their way out of the penitentiary, gabbing about getting a midnight snack.
Sounds good to me... heeeheee Joker grinned excitedly. He followed them down the hallway and to the main entrance. Just before the electronic doors closed behind the nurses, he slipped out and immediately hid in the bushes. The watch towers usually had snipers doing a look around every so often. He could see a small glow coming from the makeshift room at the top of the stairs. The guard was watching tv. Moving fast as he could, he made his way across the grounds, past Intensive Treatment, and the Visitor's Center. He hid along a side wall of the Arkham Mansion where the doctors offices, the library and the records room were located. No doctors stayed late if they could help it, so once inside, movement would be easy. Getting in was more of a challenge. Three guards patrolled around the mansion area, and there were more lights lit around the entrance limiting shadows.
"So no going through the front door then," Joker grumbled.
Glancing around, he noticed windows on the side of the building. He could get through, but it might make noise, and the guards would hear. His smile going wide, he looked around his feet for something to throw. There! A small rock about the size of his palm. Looking to make sure no guards were facing him, he chucked the rock hard as he could to the nearby building, causing a loud enough distraction that had the guards pointing their weapons and investigating. The guard in the watch tower, also had his attention on the location of the noise.
Laughing under his breath, saying 'schmucks', Joker began trying to open each window, to see if any were left unlocked. After the third try, one of the windows opened, he slid it across, hopping himself inside and immediately closed it.
"HA! Easy as pie!" he exclaimed. Taking in his surroundings he realized where he was. The Records Room. "Ha Ha Hee-Hee Hah! Great night for a scavenger hunt!"
Walking through the narrow room, he saw that there were over-stacked folders, files, cabinets, and just poorly stacked piles of paper everywhere. "Look at all the organization! It must take them months to sort it all out..." He laughed as he began to knock down the mountainous stacks of documents, and files, avoiding the cabinets so his location wouldn't be detected. After a few minutes of mischievous fun, the floor now covered in papers and folders, he slowly opened the doors and peeked his head out. No one in the hallway, coast was clear! Luckily, the offices were just down the next hallway so he wouldn't have to sneak through the whole building. He swiped the access badge he had taken from the guard to get past the electric current that was at the beginning of the hallway. Probably to keep those pesky patients out. Hee hee hee! Finding her office wasn't difficult, he just had to look for the office that was the smallest, had fresh paint on the door, and no name on the old plaque. He tested the handle, jiggling it a bit, then snickered when it opened without protest. So the doctor had forgotten to lock her office?
"Well, that's not very safe, is it?" he asked aloud once inside, "any lunatic could just walk right in here! Haha ha HA!"
He sat in her small little chair, kicked his feet up on the desk putting his hands behind his head. He immediately looked over to the wall that had him all over it. He stood up and eyed it closely. She had push-pinned, taped, and thumb-tacked all of his glorious self next to her desk. Well at least she has good taste! He sat back down and began rummaging through drawers, finding nothing of interest. Pens, Arkham Asylum handbook, her framed doctorate in one of the drawers(odd place to put that, isn't it?), the same notepad she had brought with her to their first session with Patient interview #1 scrawled across the top and nothing written below it.
Come think of it, leaning back in the chair with his hands behind his head again, he did remember that she hadn't written a single thing down. Just pressed play on the recorder and listened to him. First dolt who actually payed attention, he thought sarcastically. He was just about to get up when he glanced down out of the corner of his eye and noticed a corner of a pink notepad sticking out from underneath the desk.
"HHhhmmmmm... Well, well, well. What have we here?" he inquired gleefully as he pulled it out of it's hiding spot. Where the notepad from his session was blank, this one was covered top to bottom, edge to edge. Kicking his foot on the desk, he pushed himself near the window that had light coming in from one of the outside lamps to better read, since he couldn't turn on the lights and attract unwanted attention. Laughing, he began to read what the doc really thought of him...
Thoughts of Dr. Harleen Quinzel
Today I had my first session with the Joker. It went well, I suppose, he spoke to me. Gave me a brief glimpse on his ideals and how they clashed with the Batman. He even told a joke, he wanted me to laugh. Like he liked my laugh. ^-^ (Is that a bloody smiley face?) After leaving the session, I had talked to Pamela Isely during her sun-break. I watched as the male guards touched her unnecessarily. (bet ol' Pammy hated that..) It was ridiculous. It infuriates me that no one seems to care about the patients here! I seem to be the only one who treats them like regular people. ... (Yeesh, this is turning to be more like a little girl's diary)
Why, .. why did I become a doctor? To please others? To prove that I could do something worthwhile? ... Well I CAN DO SOMETHING! I can help here! I can help my patient. My Mr. J.. (YOUR Mr. J?) That's the nickname I went with. He liked the name.
I'm allowed one more session with him so long as nothing bad happens. (good call, not killing the guard) I wonder if Mr. J thinks about me when I'm not around? He's so charming and articulate. He's actually alot of fun to be near, like you're always on the edge of your seat with him. (Hah! Happy to share, toots!) I am looking forward to seeing him again. After talking to him just a little while ago, he really made me feel better. Maybe, in this crazy place, there is wisdom to find. Maybe I haven't found who I truly am yet. And for a moment, we sort of just looked at one another... I never felt so close to someone before. (what?) Looking aside from his colorful skin and hair, he's actually quite handsome... (What?!) I must go now, I need to get sleep for tomorrow's session.
He just sat there for a moment, then rolled back to the table and kicked his fee back up. Glancing over the words again, his snarled and slapped the notepad down hard on the desk. "WHAT?!" he yelled to the room. Was she crazy? Bonkers? Coocoo for coco-bombs? She felt a 'moment' with me? ... He thought about how they had stared at one another. He was nothing, if not brutally truthful, well.. most of the time. But he, the Clown Prince of Crime had to admit.. he did feel a pull towards her. Not the usual killing whim he felt with most. He rested his elbow on the armrest, his chin on his fist as he puzzled it out. It must be fact that she laughed. Yes! That must be it. Not many laughed with him. Most just screamed in terror. Or pain. Was that it? He peered over to the pink paper again. Thoughts of Dr. Harleen Quinzel. He snapped upright, feet slamming on the floor as he bolted forward. Harleen Quinzel?
"Haaa... Ha ha ha ... HA HA HA aHA AAAAH HAA HAAA HAAA HAAAAAAA!" Joker doubled over in a fit of laughter. Of course! Why hadn't he seen it before? Harleen Quinzel! Her name resembled the harlequin!
"Jumping Jokerfish!" he exclaimed slapping his knee. His plans started coming together in his mind. Oh yes, everything piecing together. It was as if she was meant to be his doctor!
Standing up fast, he put the chair back as he found it, placed the notepad in the original hiding spot and headed towards the door. He needed to get back soon or that gaurd would wake up and ruin his plans.
Snarling, his lips curling back over his teeth, he ducked out of the office through the hallway and into the records room. He sprinted down the long room to the window he came through, sliding a bit on a few folders, giggling as he did, he jumped off of the folders and turned and bowed to the room, as if an audience were watching him. He looked out of the window seeing no guards near him currently. The window slid open, not making much noise and he dropped out, feet hitting the grass silently.
Pressing himself as much as he could against the wall, he slowly spyed around the corner. A guard was walking near him. Glancing up at the watch tower, the sniper was walking around as well. Using the rock distraction probably wouldn't work again. He looked around and saw that the most direct path he used before, going past Intesive Treatment, was being heavily monitored. The sniper had gone back to his tv, judging by the shadows playing off the metal structure. As the guard approached, Joker moved away from the wall walking directly behind the guard, crouched down. The guard tensed after a few moments, as if sensing something behind him. He turned around gun pointed, but Joker had spun around with him, staying out of sight. Once the guard began to walk the other direction still thinking something was back where he came, Joker took off into the shadows once more, this time following the path to the Medical Facility.
There were more guards, not to mention the nightshift medical team in the area, but there were also more bushes and smaller buildings in between Medical and the Penitentiary because they were near the water. Moving through the bushes, he waited a few minutes before one of the doctors came out of the Medical Facility, headed toward the Penitentiary. As the guard swiped his badge and the large mechanical door opened, Joker slipped in and followed the doctor for only a few steps before turning off toward the stairs. Going down the steps, he heard someone from the third floor open the door of the stairwell. Quickly, but quietly, he left the stairwell out of the door that said 'MAXIMUM SECURITY WING. UNAUTHORIZED PERSONEL PROHIBITED' He waited to see if the person in the stairs was going to follow after him, but they continued to the first floor. Peculiar, who would go down there at THIS time of night? Waiting til their back was turned, he peeked out of the glass, only to see a white lab coat, and a bald head. Shrugging, he continued on.
As he walked down the hallway to his cell, cutting across the shadow in the middle of the light path, a voice hissed out at him.
"What are you doing, clown?"
Joker meerly smiled and looked over to Poison Ivy's cell. She was sitting up in her bunk which had taken on a greenish looking fuzz to it.
"Oh, just went out for a stroll. Thought I would stretch my legs! He he he," he finished, seeing her look of disgust grow deeper into her face. He chuckled to see the guard was still unconscious. He hauled him out of his bed, laying him in the middle of the floor and gave him a kick in the spine for good measure. Stepping back inside, he swiped his lock and tossed the card to the guards body just before the glass cell door closed. Hearing a gaurd coming down the hall a few minutes later, he threw the blanket over his body and laid very still.
"Williams! Hey, Williams, you ok?" The other guard came running down the hall and shook his friend awake. After a few shakes, the guard came to.
"Huh? Wha? Where is he? WHERE IS HE?!" the guard named Williams started looking all around, panicking.
"Where's who?" the other guard asked.
"The Joker! He was on me and ... and.." he trailed off looking at Joker's cell.
"Look, man, Joker's still locked up. See?" He pointed toward the cell, "Maybe you passed out, when's the last time you ate something man?"
"I.. uh.. I don't remember. Yeah, maybe I need to eat somethin'... " Williams took the hand of the guard, helping him up, and shook his shoulders to try to wake himself up a bit.
"Hey, I'll take over, do a once around, you go get a snack, ok? Maybe swing by Medical, have 'em check ya out." The guard said, leading him away from Joker's cell.
"Alright, thanks Boles. I appreciate it, man." Williams said.
Boles clapped him on the back, glancing over his shoulder towards Joker's cell seeing the madman look over at him and wink.
"No problem," Boles said, smirking.
Ok, I usually don't leave more than one Author's Note, but I literally wrote this chapter in two days. Very unheard for me. I would really like to know if you enjoyed it, please review/comment below. Ch.15 in the works! Love love love and don't forget to eat your Cocoa Bombs ^-^