"Alright," Dr. Kapoor said to the Joker. "So that is the eighth story."
"You've been keeping count," the Joker said boredly.
"I have," the doctor told him. The Joker had just recounted an instance where he told a man that he got the scars on his face from a drug lord that he could not pay once he had fallen deep into debt after developing a cocaine addiction. The story was a lie like all the others. "It's very clear that you do not recall anything about your past. Your earliest memory is from less than four years ago."
"Mm," the Joker said in a dull tone as he moved a small metal fork shaped device over a tiny tray of sand. He was having a psychiatric evaluation and the sand dish was sitting on a small table beside the small couch he was seated on.
"I think we are making tremendous progress," the doctor told him. The Joker looked up at him for a few seconds before looking back down at the tray. "You've opened up a lot about the parts of your past that you do remember."
The doctor looked at the Joker, who was still looking down at the lines he was making in the sand.
"Your relationship," the doctor said to the Joker, and as soon as he saw the words he saw the fork stop moving momentarily before beginning again. "Is something I would like for us to explore a bit more. I can tell that it was very impactful for you."
The Joker could tell that the doctor genuinely wanted to help him but he could also sense the doctor's curiosity about the subject. It was a strange and delicate subject, because the woman he had been involved with was Adriana, and the Joker knew that the doctor had no clue about it. He was fairly certain that Adriana brought him here because she felt she had no other option when she found him underground and near death. Now they were in a delicate situation. Their past had to be a secret from the doctor, who undoubtedly knew her husband, Bruce Wayne. Adriana was risking a lot just by having him there. He would keep their secret.
"Sure," the Joker said, his voice still monotone.
"She was accepting of you," the doctor said.
"And all of my murderous flaws," the Joker said with an eerie smile. Part of him wanted to make the doctor a bit uncomfortable to get this part of the discussion over with.
"Yes," the doctor nodded. "Would you mind telling me more about how the two of you met?"
Asylum. The Joker was thinking without speaking. He remembered a previous shrink telling him that he had to work with her to practice his communication skills. He remembered playing Jenga. He remembered having no idea what the future would hold for the two of them. It was the furthest thing from his mind.
"I forced her to work for me," the Joker said. He had to skip the beginning. It might be too telling.
"Oh..uh...meaning.." the doctor began to ask cautiously.
"Yes. I forced her to become a criminal. She had useful skills."
"I see," the doctor said, the disappointment in his eyes was obvious. He swallowed before speaking again. "And you became interested her ...while she was working for you."
"No," the Joker said.
"No?" the doctor asked.
"No, I was not interested in her," the Joker said truthfully. "Shortly after she began working for me I could see...her punctuality was substandard to say the least. She was inconsistent. She was bad luck."
"I see," the doctor said. "So..she became interested in you then?"
The Joker waited to answer.
"No," the Joker said.
"Okay," the doctor struggled to see how two people with no interest in each other ended up together, even if only briefly.
"We were..." the Joker went on. "Under the influence...of a very powerful... drink."
"You were both intoxicated?" the doctor asked.
"Hm..." the Joker vaguely remembered being on the phone with a woman explaining that they had been poisoned by the high dose of an aphrodisiac. "You could say so."
He couldn't tell the doctor everything. The truth sounded almost criminal. She was unconscious the first time. He remembered watching her on the floor, laying flat, barely any life left. He didn't want to touch her. He didn't know what to do with her. At one point, he remembered hoping he would slip into unconsciousness soon too. But instead he was hit with pain and pressure in his chest as the potion slowly began to kill him. He was certain that he suffered a mild heart attack and that another was likely inevitable and that the next one would kill him. The pressure and weight, like an elephant on his chest, sending aching pain down his left arm caused his survival instinct to kick in. Weakly he crawled over to her and tried not to look at her face. It was life or death at the time.
"Did the two of you regularly drink?" the doctor asked, trying to assess the relationship further.
"Nope," the Joker answered. "Just the one time."
The doctor waited quietly. He wanted the Joker to share more but wanted him to speak freely and share what he was comfortable with.
"Never expected to see her again after that," the Joker said.
"You didn't continue to force her to work for you?"
"Didn't contact her," the Joker explained. "But she showed up. In the end I could see that she was only doing it to sabotage me and derail my missions."
"And the two of you continued to be intimate?" the doctor wanted to know.
"Yes."
The doctor looked a bit perplexed "How did your relationship end?"
"She sabotaged a very important operation," the Joker replied. "Perhaps I overreacted."'
The Joker watched the doctor swallow.
"Relax doc," the Joker said. "I didn't kill her. I just told her that I would, if I ever saw her again. I told her she was dead to me. Shortly afterwards, she was gravely injured."
"I'm sorry to hear that," the doctor said. "Who was responsible?"
"I was," the Joker said after a momentary pause.
"I thought you said you didn't kill her," the doctor said with a bit of confusion in his voice.
"I am not the one that injured her. But I am the one that was responsible. It would not have happened if it were not for me."
The doctor smiling and the Joker looked at him. The man looked proud. "Taking responsibility for our actions even when others are at fault is a sign of emotional maturity and decency."
"Whatever you say doc," the Joker replied.
"I would like to talk a little bit with you about the future. Where do you see yourself in the future? What are your goals and dreams? Your anticipations?"
The Joker began to laugh.
"Is there something funny?"
"Future... Dreams.. Aspirations," The Joker's high pitched laugh filled the room. "Isn't it obvious? The life of a fugitive on the run. My aspirations and dreams, well hopefully not to end up on death row. But we can't always get what we want can we?"
"Do you see yourself returning to... Your previous way of life?" the doctor tried to put it delicately.
The Joker realized in that moment that he had no interest in... Being the Joker. He had no interest in anything. He could not make any reparations for his past. Perhaps prison and death row what he ultimately deserved and would get once the police caught him eventually.
"No," he answered. "I do not."
"Then perhaps we should begin working on your rehabilitation."
.
.
.
"What are you saying?" Adriana asked the doctor even though she could see very well what he was saying and thinking.
"We received the equipment over 2 years ago but it is highly advanced. Machinery of the future, and it's cost us well over 12 million dollars. I have never had a chance to use it but this is the perfect opportunity. Over the past several sessions that I've had with him I can see the development that he has made. I have complete faith that he can be rehabilitated. "
"I... I know," she said. " I mean I know that he is different now."
"I am not saying that he is completely harmless... that would be naive. But I believe the main thing holding him back from some sense of normalcy and being able to fit in as a normal member of society is his appearance. We can really improve his quality of life and give him a chance at a future. I truly believe this."
"Have you talked to him about it yet?" she asked.
"No but I would like to as soon as possible."
"Actually," Adriana said. "Let me talk to him about it."
.
.
.
Adriana walked out onto the roof where the Joker was standing and looking down over the city. Both she and the doctor decided that it would be good for him to spend at least 30 minutes a day outdoors. He turned around to face her when he heard the door to the small room where the elevator was housed shut. The late spring weather was warm and balmy. The day was slightly cloudy but still nice by Gotham standards.
"Hey," she greeted him.
He was wearing a black baseball cap with his long messy hair tucked underneath of it. The doctor had gotten comfortable enough with him to finally give him a razor to shave his facial hair. The Joker wanted to ask for a pair of scissors to chop off his hair on his head but he did not want to push his luck.
"Hello," he responded with his hands in his pockets.
Seeing him in broad daylight with no paint on his face was something that she was still not used to. It made him more endearing than she had ever remembered and more mesmerizing than she wanted him to be.
"Doctor Kapoor," she finally managed to say. "Wanted me to propose something to you... A medical option."
The Joker furrowed his eyebrows waiting for her to go into detail and reveal what she was talking about. But in the moment something happened to both of them. She found herself lost in his facial expression, admiring it. He was distracted by her overall appearance. Her hair was long enough to reach her mid thigh and it was the first time that he had seen it all free since she rescued him. Every time that he had seen her since he arrived at the medical facility she had always worn it in a long braid. The wind on the roof was blowing her hair around her face, and framing get body in such a way that made him find it hard to believe that someone this beautiful was real. To him she looked mythical.
"Option?" he said after a long pause.
She could see his thoughts and was trying her best not to blush. All of a sudden she felt incredibly nervous and just wanted to get to the point.
"In the Dermatology wing Dr. Kapoor has a state-of-the-art laser... Actually a few different types of equipment but one in particular... It's very advanced technology and he feels that it could be useful...um... I mean basically, for your appearance sake he wanted me to give you the option to use the laser."
"What exactly does this laser do?" the Joker asked her.
"Well.." she says. "It dissolves scar tissue."