"You're still here?" Harri asked the Joker.
"Yes," he answered. He met her in the hallway when he heard someone coming. They were standing outside of Arsenio's room and he was sleeping.
"Oh," Harri said. "Did Adriana go out? You don't have to stay. I'll look after him and I'm pretty sure Alfred is here."
"I'll stay," he said to her. "If you don't mind."
"Of course not," Harri shrugged.
The Joker nodded once. "Well. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Harri said and started to walk back to her room.
The Joker turned to walk back into Arsenio's room.
"Hey, Jack," Harri said, stopping him.
"Yes?" he asked her.
Harri walked back over to him. "Lucius called me earlier. He said that he knew that I had some questions about you and that he would be answering them tomorrow."
"I'm aware of that," the Joker told her. "He let me know."
Harri nodded a few times.
"Look," she said. "I know I can be a little...overly..."
"Curious," the Joker said.
"Well, yes," Harri said. "You know...growing up, sometimes I envied my sister. Knowing everything. Knowing what everyone was thinking. She knew everything about me. I had no secrets with her, ever. Not that I ever had much to hide. I would tell her everything anyway. Things she already knew."
The Joker looked at her, listening attentively.
"People though she had autism or something for a while, when we were kids," Harri said. "It took her a while to learn to ask questions, when she already knew the answers. She had to learn to have a normal conversation and it took her a long time."
"I see," the Joker said.
"Anyways," Harri said. "I know it was a long time ago but for the longest time...it was just us. Super close..me and my sis. I guess I've never gotten used to her having friends of her own and having her own life I guess. I can pry a lot, because I just want to know everything. Especially about the person she had a child with. She always said she never wanted kids. I'm just curious about you. So, I am sorry."
"No need to apologize for being inquisitive," the Joker told her. "I'm aware that she's told you a few things about me, which would only lead to more questions."
"Yes," Harri said. "But look..."
Harri sighed.
"I really don't see why Lucius has to be the one to tell me about you," Harri said. "Clearly there's something you or Adriana don't feel comfortable telling me yourselves. And if that's the case...maybe I shouldn't know? I don't want to make you uncomfortable."
"Well," the Joker said. "It's not my comfort that I am concerned with."
Harri tilted her head.
"So you're concerned with mine?" Harri asked. "Jack...whatever it is, I can handle it."
"I know," the Joker said. "But it cannot be me who tells you."
"Will you at least tell me why not?" Harri asked. "I can certainly handle the answer to that."
The Joker swallowed.
"I would like for you to feel as safe as possible when you learn the truth," he told her.
Harri took a step forward.
"Safe?" Harri asked. "And..for some reason I would feel less safe with you there?"
Harri held in a laugh for a moment and then let it out.
"Jack..why wouldn't I feel safe?" Harri asked, still laughing. "Were you dangerous or something?"
"I assure you, it is not a laughing matter," the Joker told her, his voice serious as well as his expression.
Harri stopped laughing immediately.
"Well...obviously, whatever happened," Harri said and looked at Arsenio's door. "I mean...Adriana trusts you with him. She trusts you with Arsenio. I don't see how your past can be so terrible that I wouldn't feel safe hearing about it but at the same time she trusts you with the most precious thing in her life."
The Joker looked into her eyes.
"Yes, she trusts me with her kid," the Joker said. "And I do not deserve it. I do not deserve to see him or to be around him."
"Her kid is also your kid," Harri said. "You're his biological father. You have the right to see him. And it's not like you have a record or anything. I checked. Whatever you have in your past-"
"Record," the Joker said.
"Yes...I did a background check on you," Harri said. "Squeaky clean."
"And if I told you that clean record was all thanks to a very powerful man," the Joker said to her. "That it had been wiped clean by someone with the capability to do such a thing. Bruce Wayne."
"So, you had a record?" Harri asked.
The Joker realized he was getting very close to telling her the truth himself.
"Did you?" she asked.
"The word 'record' is far too unadorned for what I had," the Joker said. "And I'm sure you believe that I am exaggerating-"
"Well, yes," Harri said. "Bruce is rich, I know. He can make moves to probably get a few charges dropped but if it was that bad, I would have heard something. I've been Googling you for days and nothing. Your full name would be linked to something even if you were cleared-"
"My name," the Joker said. "According to Adriana, Jack is my first name. Hayden..the last name. Picked out of a phone book by Lucius."
"What's your real last name then?" Harri asked.
"No idea," the Joker said. "I do not know or care to."
"So, what name was your rap sheet under?" Harri asked directly. He didn't give her an answer. "That's what Lucius is going to tell me tomorrow."
He nodded once.
"And you don't want to just tell me yourself because you think I won't feel safe," Harri said. "You think you'll scare me. But I'm not afraid of you Jack. So..please, just tell me. I swear whatever it is I can handle."
The Joker considered it for a moment, and then changed his mind. And then changed it back. Over and over again. He was sure he had never been so conflicted.
"Tell me," Harri said. "Please."
He looked at her face but not into her eyes. He wasn't sure he could do it.
"The name on the rap sheet," he said to her. "Was a placeholder name. No one knew my name. Not even me."
"That's okay," Harri said. "What was it?"
He then looked into her eyes.
"It was," he said. "The Joker."
"Joker," Harri repeated.
"Yes," he said, assessing her body language. She looked confused.
"What else?" Harri asked.
"What?" he asked.
"What else was there on your record?" Harri asked. "As far as a name? I mean you obviously don't feel comfortable telling me everything. But if I go and Google 'The Joker' it's going to show the actual Joker, you know the one. I need more specifics-"
"That would be the correct one," he said to her.
Harri blinked a few times.
"So you're telling me you think you're the Joker? The terrorist?" Harri asked. "A dead guy?"
"I did not die," he said to her. "But it was made to look like I did. By Bruce."
Harri waited a long while before replying.
"Oh, Jack," she said and placed a hand on his shoulder.
He could see that she didn't believe him at all. She pitied him. It was like she was just now realizing that she was talking to someone who was mentally compromised. She though he was delusional and slow. He wouldn't try to convince her of the truth. Not now.
"Will you be speaking with Lucius tomorrow?" he asked, making sure she still meant to go.
"Of course," Harri said. Lucius would be able to explain whatever mental illness Jack was suffering from, Harri told herself.
Neither of them realized it but though the door was closed, Arsenio was awake and he had heard every word.
.
.
.
"Are you going to invite me in?" Adriana asked Bruce.
He stepped aside and she went into the suite. She looked around and saw two laptops on the table which was covered in paperwork. Work for Wayne Enterprises.
"So you never even went," Adriana said, not facing Bruce. "You never went to rehab. You've been here this whole time-"
"I went," he said behind her, still near the door.
She turned to him.
"And am completing treatment here," he said.
"Here? At a resort?" she asked. "By yourself? This is what the doctors decided? That you should be here with laptops and work and your cell phone-"
"It was my decision," Bruce said.
Adriana took a breath.
"You can't decide," Adriana said. "You're not a doctor or therapist."
Adriana looked at Bruce. It had been weeks since she had seen him last. And even though she was confused and felt betrayed, she was happy to see him. He looked healthy and relaxed. She had missed him terribly. But she had to get to the bottom of this.
"Because of my status," Bruce said. "I decided it would be best to finish treatment more privately-"
"You're saying you're too famous for the famous people rehab center?" Adriana asked. "Answer me."
"I do not want us to fight," Bruce said. "Not now. We haven't seen each other in weeks-"
"We won't fight if you tell me the truth right now," she said. "Tell me. Which therapists or doctors are monitoring you here?"
"I am completing treatment independently-" Bruce said.
"How long were you there? In rehab?" Adriana cut him off. "Just tell me. For once, the truth."
He cleared his throat. "Eight days."
Adriana pressed her lips together, willing herself not to cry.
"So you left after 8 days and have been hiding out here? At the Four Seasons!" Adriana shouted. "Lying to me!"
"Adr-" Bruce started to say.
"No! Don't say anything!" she said. "I feel like I've been scammed!"
"I haven't scammed you I've just been independently-" Bruce said.
"That's not how rehab works Bruce!" Adriana said. She was still shouting but did not sound angry. She sounded hurt. "You don't go to a resort, unmonitored with no therapists!"
"I am clean," Bruce said. "I got what I needed from the rehab center. I needed to detox-"
"You expect me to believe that?" Adriana said. "How can I believe anything you say?"
"Search this place," Bruce told her. "There is nothing here. I have not taken any Vicodin since I left home-"
"No!" Adriana said. "I'm not going to search anything. You've been lying! You left me and your son to...what? Have a vacation and lie to us?"
"This has not been a vacation!" Bruce said, his voice finally rising. "You think I have been enjoying this?"
"If you didn't enjoy it you would have come home-" she said.
"Adriana, you threatened to leave me if I did not go to rehab," he said.
"So this is my fault? You had to lie and couldn't come home because of my ultimatum?" she asked. "So you were going to wait until 30 days were up and then come home and act like you finished treatment. Because I threatened to leave?"
"You sounded like you have every intention of following through on what you said," Bruce said.
"I meant every word," she said, finally crying. "But at least...if you would have come home..you would have been with us. If would not have been a lie..."
"Please..please don't cry," he said to her, finally touching her arms.
His touch made her want to forgive him for everything. It made her realize how much she loved him and how desperately she had missed him. But she needed to be strong.
"You have to go back," Adriana said, wiping her eyes. "Back to rehab and finish what you started."
"Adriana," he said. "I cannot go back and finish."
"Why not?" she asked.
"Because I've already left," he said. The sound of his voice in person, versus over the phone, again making her feel week. She wanted to embrace him but resisted. "If I return I will have to start over."
"Then start over," she said.
"Adriana," he said calmly. "I cannot stay away for another month-"
"You should have thought of that!" she said and snatched her arms away from him. "Before you started lying to me again!"
"Sweetheart-" Bruce said.
"No!" she said. "Either you go back to rehab, or don't come home."
"So you are kicking me out of my own home?" he asked.
"Yes," she said. "And if you come home...I am leaving. You have to go back to rehab."
"I cannot do that, Adriana," Bruce said to her. "I have told you already, I am clean-"
"Goodnight, Bruce," Adriana said and brushed past him.
"Wait," he said. "We need to talk about this-"
"There's nothing to talk about," she said. "Goodbye."
.
.
.
"Just you," the Joker said. Adriana could see that he was on high alert when she walked through the front door. "That's quite a wound."
After leaving the resort Adriana needed to take out her frustrations on something. She went into the streets as Shade, stopping a teenaged girl stealing a cell phone. It was not the thrill and the fight she had been seeking but the girl surprised her by pulling out a blade and using it to slice her cheek. Adriana had not even looked at it yet.
"It's fine," Adriana said. She was so upset and distracted that she had not noticed the blood on her face and neck.
"It will need stitches," he said.
"It's not that bad," Adriana said, even though she still had not seen it. It felt like a paper cut.
"I'll call the good doc," he said, ignoring her words. He went behind her making sure the front door was locked and then he left the mansion foyer with his cell phone in hand.
Adriana walked over to the mirror by the stairs and saw the gash on her face. Her face looked like it had been split open. The laceration on her right cheek was around three inches wide and she could see the flesh and fat inside of her cheek looking as though it would spill out. She had blood on her shirt but could barely see it because the shirt was black.
"Sit," the Joker ordered when he came back. He was carrying the first aid kit they kept in the kitchen.
Adriana sat on the seat by the mirror in the foyer. A few moments later Alfred came and looked at the scene.
"I will phone the doctor," Alfred offered.
"Already on his way," the Joker said and sat next to Adriana.
"Are you alright?" Alfred asked.
"Yeah," Adriana said. "Would you mind staying with Arsenio?"
Alfred nodded, understanding that after the Catwoman's warning, someone needed to be with him at all times. The Joker cleaned his hands with a wipe and began cleaning the blood around Adriana's wound being careful to avoid touching it directly.
"Who did this?" he asked.
"Some kid...a thief," Adriana said as he wiped the side of her neck. "In jail now."
She looked into his eyes as he continued wiping.
"Is it that bad?" she asked as he looked at the open wound.
"You will be fine," he answered. "The good doc will fix you right up."
The doctor arrived in record time and agreed that the would needed stitches. Skin adhesive would not be sufficient because the wound was too large. After treating the wound he left and assured her they would be able to, in the coming weeks, proceed with treatment to prevent scarring.
Adriana looked into the mirror again.
"I feel like Sally," Adriana said. "From the Nightmare Before Christmas."
Although the visual effect of stitches across her face was jarring, she still felt that she was not deeply affected. She was more worried about Bruce.
She turned around and saw the Joker looking at her quietly. He stared at the stitches.
"I know I look bad but, whatever," Adriana said. "It's a risk, doing what I do. I just wasn't expecting it from some 4' 10'' half shaved head girl in a hoodie."
"You do not look bad," he said. "You are beautiful. Nothing could alter that."
Adriana was quiet. The Joker had not made it a habit of complementing her looks. She was married. It was a surprise. But then she realized he may be been just trying to make her feel better.
"Does it remind you of..." Adriana said. "You?"
He looked at the stitches. The scar was higher up than his past scars had been. The slice was in her mid cheek and was a perfectly straight diagonal line. But as he looked at it, he felt a sense of deja vu.
"Yes," he said. "With any luck you will not scar like I did. But even if you did.."
Adriana looked at you.
"You are perfect," he told her.
"Thanks," Adriana said, willing herself not to blush.
"Are you in pain?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she said.
He nodded. "Good."
She swallowed twice.
"I-" they both started to say at the same time.
"You go first," Adriana said.
"I have something to tell you," he said.
"So do I," Adriana said. "But you go ahead."
"I told your sister," he said. "Who I am."
Adriana stood up straighter. "What? Tonight?"
"Yes," he said. "She does not seem to believe me though. She's still going to see Lucius tomorrow."
"Okay," Adriana said.
"You sound relieved," he said.
"I just," Adriana said. "I couldn't deal with her freaking out right now. Wait until she sees these stitches. And this whole thing with the Catwoman's...bosses or...the League or whatever. And Bruce...I saw Bruce."
"You went to the center?" he asked.
"No," Adriana said. "He's not in rehab. He left after 8 days. And he's been at the Four Seasons. Just like she said he was. The Catwoman knew where he's been. She was right."
"Did you speak to him?" he asked.
Adriana nodded. "He said he's clean and he's doing treatment on his own but...shit...I am no better...I told him not to come home-"
Adriana felt like she would going to cry again. As her eyes shut she finally felt pain in the would on her face.
"Adriana," the Joker said. "No need to cry-"
"You don't know why I'm crying," she said. "I just-"
"I do know why you are crying," he said. "Yes, he lied. And in the moment you were likely very upset and confused. You didn't tell him about the Catwoman threatening his son. Because you were concerned with Bruce. And you were hurt. No need to blame yourself. You will call him now and tell him of recent events. He will come home to be here to protect his son. You have not deprived him of that."
Adriana nodded tearfully. Everything he had said made her feel better.
"Here," the Joker said, handing her his phone. "Call him."