First Real Meeting

[Joker]

There was a brief interaction during the second interview with Jeremiah Arkham with Harleen and the Joker but there was a chemistry that could blow the roof off of the asylum if given a chance. During the patient interviews with Doctor Westwood and the Joker there was one comment that stood out to both her and Jeremiah. No it wasn't the seemingly empty threat of leaving her in a ditch somewhere with a smile. Joker had mentioned that he had his eyes on "another young cookie" and mentioned Doctor Harleen Quinzel by name. All three had a meeting just after the interview had finished and it was a general consensus that Doctor Harleen was the key to getting into Joker's head. She would prove to be the one key element that could potentially help out her future but help out Jeremiah's obsession all the same. But what Doctor Westwood and Jeremiah didn't realize is that Joker didn't just have his eyes on Harleen... she had her eyes on him too or at least it appeared to Joker. Maybe he didn't have an actual interest in Harleen, maybe he did; Joker was always a little strange and there wasn't one person that to date had been able to get int his head. Many had tried, many had failed and even now it had Doctor Jeremiah Arkham on the brink of a personal and mental destruction. So the ultimate question at this point is can Harleen get into Joker's head? Is she REALLY the ticket, does Joker actually have his eye on her showing some form of human emotion... or is it all just a trick to use her in her new and vulnerable state to get out of Arkham.

It had been about 2-3 weeks since Joker's capture and detainment in Arkham and he had seemed while in captivity to entertain himself with having conversations with himself and he found it amusing. He even laughed at his own jokes and stories that he shared with his own mind in captivity.

Joker: ...And so I said to the bat that we were DESTINED to do this forever! HEH-HEH-HEHAHAHAHAHA[/i]

And just then his laughter and story telling was cut a little short when Joker noticed Harleen standing outside of the glass door seemingly just watching him... studying.

Joker: : Why HELLLLOOO there! Welcome to my humble abode! HA HA HA can I interest you in a coffee? Or a crumpet perhaps? But I'd advise against it; between you and me the food they serve here is atrocious. But to what do I owe the pleasure... Doc?You know I like what I've heard about you, ESPECIALLY the name. Harleeen Quinzel... rework it a bit and you could get Harley Quinn![/i][/color]

Harleen: Like the clown character Harlequin, I know, I've heard it before.

Joker: It's got a nice ring to it, don't you think Doctor? It puts an extra big SMILE on my face... makes me feel like I'm not alone...[/i][/color]

Harleen acted like she had heard enough and starts to walk away from the Joker who comes up to the glass watching her walk with a big smile.

Joker: It makes me feel like maybe... maybe there's somebody who would like to hear my [/i](He makes the smack sound with his mouth again, licking his lips briefly.) SECRETS HA HA HA HA[/i][/color]

The moment that 'secret' was said it seemed to stop Harleen in her place with a smile.

[Doctor Harleen Quinzel]

Harleen Quinzel had a strange fascination with the criminal mind, but in recent days she had becoming intrigued by Arkham Asylum’s inmate The Joker. She had heard from her fellow psychiatrists a bit about what he was saying and doing in his sessions, so she had written some notes down. However Harleen was still a little tentative about meeting The Joker face to face. She had no idea what to expect from the man, after all he was a dangerous and unpredictable person. He had acted very different to each and every one of her psychiatrists as well.

This man, he was very intriguing indeed, she was fascinated by his mind. There was much to be fascinated about as well, after all the man had done so much before he had come here. Harleen wanted to know why he had done those things, get a grasp on the man's thinking. However to do that, she had to get into his mind set. This was something she was also scared of doing, getting into anyone's mind set was dangerous, but this came with more risks. She took a deep breath as she got ready to face someone, she guest she wasn't ready to face.

She knew that he had mentioned her in one of his previous sessions, so she was even more nervous about meeting him. Why had he mentioned her to her fellow psychiatrists? She couldn't help but looked at him, as she stood outside the glass door. She listened to him as it seemed like he was talking to himself, but maybe he wasn't. She noted that he was looking at her now, he had noticed that she was watching him. He addressed her now, she tried to look at her notes to avoid his eye contact, but found it hard to do.

Just listening to him talk sent a shiver up her spine. She was a little scared of him, she'd be a fool not to be scared of him. She knew he could hurt her if he wanted to, its why she was a little tentative about going into the room. Yet here he was trying to be humours, trying to make her laugh. She tried not to, but a small smile came across her face. She tried to hide her smile by using her clipboard, but he might have seen it. She stayed silent for now, so for now she let him ask her all the questions. He said that he liked what he had heard of her, especially her name. The Joker then said if you reworked her name a little then you'd get Harley Quinn.

Off course Harley replied,

Harley: “Like the clown character Harlequin, I know, I've heard it before.”

She got he was trying to get on her nerves by twisting her name like that. She tried not to let it get to her, as she wanted to talk to him. Yet he talked to her again, saying it had a nice ring to it. He said he felt like it put a big smile on his face. He also added that it made him feel like he wasn't alone. Harleen acted like she was going to walk away, but she took a deep breath in order to centre herself. Was she ready for this? She had to face him, she looked to the side a little seeing he was standing very close to the glass. Harleen heard his words, what he said really got her interest. When he said the word 'secret' Harley stopped in her place. She turned to him with a smile on her face, she walked toward the glass now.

Harley: “So you really want to tell me your secrets?” She asked him intrigued “Then we really do need to talk, don’t we Mr. Joker.”

[Joker]

Harleen was attracted.... maybe not so much physically but mentally. She was attracted to the idea of being able to break through Joker's mental wall. People could be hearing the name Doctor Harleen Quinzel as she could possibly be the one to break his mental wall and that had her attracted and looking brightly into her future. But to do this... she had to think outside the box. She had to get herself into a dangerous position to get to the real story... and the fact that Joker seemed to have a fascination with her for whatever reason so there was a strong thought that he wouldn't try any funny business and that put her one step ahead of the game. Harleen had her pen, paper and clip board and a chair and she dared enter the danger zone... she entered into Jokers lair, right into his cell and took a seat... This was of course not immediately. It took a couple of months for her to get the OK to do it. And the intrigue of Harleen from Joker had never seemed to stop. He would mention her at least once on a daily basis and it really had her freaked out mentally but he couldn't know that. She had to put on her game face, as terrified as she was.

Joker: "Please my dear Doctor Harley, come in come in! Just take a seat, right there... [/i] Joker points to the chair she brought in. "Relaaaxx, enjoy yourself Doc. You know... I've been waiting for this."[/color]

Dr. Quinzel: "I know, Joker. I've seen the flowers. But I thought we could try things a little different than the others. I see you more than some project like the others. I know there's a person in there so what do you say we try and tackle things a little differently?"

Joker: "Sounds INTRIGUING please do go on."[/i]

Dr. Quinzel: "I think that the patient should know his doctor, as well as I want to know you, don’t you agree?”

Joker had a smile.. more than the sick scarred smile.. but an actual smile. But who knows what could actually be going on in his mind.

Joker: "Alright we'll play this game of yours. I'll go first. So why are you here, Doc? Why are you REALLY here?"[/i][/color]

Dr. Quinzel: "You interest me. You're different, not like all of the rest. I don't know if to say you're sick... but rather... different... Unique for some color. I like unique. How about you? Your scars... you've told everybody a different story but I want to know... what's the real story?

Could this be the beginning of something... more it seemed like it may be. There has been an odd chemistry between these two for some time now but this interview just seemed to begin taking the cake. But when she went to the scars... the scars really opened things up. She thought that she would be ready for anything... she half expected him to pounce on her like he had done to Doctor Westwood... but he didn't. He just sat there, kept his eyes locked on her before he leaned back, crossed his legs and arms and spoke and what came next she never expected.

Joker: "These scars... these scars tell a STORY Doc.... my father used to beat me up pretty badly. Anytime I got out of line... BAM he would take the nearest object and put me back into place. It was a point I preferred when he used his hand because at least it didn't hurt as much. Sometimes I would just sit there, Doc. [/i][/color](he licks his lips and re-positions himself, leaning forward.) But I got used to the pain after a while. It became... more like a game. How many times will dear ol' daddy beat me today? It started to really piss him off when I would laugh... but it became amusing to me. All the bruises.. the broken noses... nothing more than just some SICK and DEMENTED game that he played... but then I started to play too. Daddy didn't like it when I played... because I played rough. Sadly... I only got to play once... HE-HE-HEH-HEH-HAHAHAHAHA!"[/i][/color]

Harley didn't know how to react. She never expected any of this. Was he.. was he opening up? Or was it just another fable?

Dr. Quinzel: "But why... why only once?"

Joker: "Why else? I KILLED him. He never understood comedy, Doc. He never understood my sense of humor and he was always.. just so... SERIOUS. So one day when we were at the breakfast table and I was eating my bowl of Frosted Flakes... they're great you know... dear ol' dad came storming into the kitchen like usual and BAM gave me the strongest back hand he ever gave me and I laughed... and laughed... and laughed and I decided to play, Doc. I did what he always did, I grabbed the thing closest to me and can you guess what that was, Doc? Hmm.. can yoiu?"[/i] (he just gave Harley a blank stare... she didn't know what was going on in his head, and so she shook hers so he would continue, and wrote down her notes.) "It was a knife... a nice BIG ONE too! I kicked him right in the balls to bring him down to size and I brought that knife to his face and I told him, Doc... I told him it was MY TURN and for the first time... I saw a grown man cry. I saw FEAR in his eyes and so I said to him... Why So Serious?! And I cut him, Doc. I cut him for ear to ear and put the biggest smile on his face that I ever did see.... but he died happy, Doc. He died with a SMILE on his face... these scars, Doc.. THESE SCARS?! These scars.. I looked in the mirror and put a big SMILE on my face to remember how happy dear ol' daddy was... HA HA HA HA HA HOO HE HE HAH In his dying breath he understood, Doc.. he understood the comedy... unlike that Batman... but now it's your turn Doc... what about YOUR childhood?[/i]

Doctor Quinzel almost seemed speechless. She just heard Joker give a long childhood story but she still couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't. But he asked about her childhood and that struck a nerve.. but a nerve of sadness. But she couldn't show it... fear if she did that Joker may try something. He had found ways out of his cell, leaving flowers on her desk and everything that he had done. But she looked to him, eye to eye.

Dr. Quinzel: "I think we're done here. Thank you... "joker"

She said it with a wink and a twinkle in her eye. There was one word written boldly on her notes... Batman. That damn bat seemed to be a center of his frustration. Harley saw Joker as just as just a child trapped in a mans body because of the beatings he took as a child. A connoisseur of comedy and the Batman was always there to ruin it.. always so shallow. Poor Joker...

[Doctor Harleen Quinzel]

Harleen had spent months trying to arrange as private therapy session with the Joker. It took allot of work and a bit of begging, but she finally had what she wanted. Off course since the last time she had seen the Joker, she had done a bit more research into the Joker, she had prepared himself for him. Yet, could you ever be truly ready for him? Harleen held her clipboard with a blank bit of paper on it; she held her pen with a slight bit of nervousness.

She had a right to feel that way, the way he mentioned her name, the way her mind thought about him. It was all too scary. Her fractionation was becoming worse, her mind told her to talk to him, get him to spill it all. Yet she knew the danger of learning to much about him, of getting to deep into his mind. Yet this didn't stop her from wanting to find out more about him. After all months ago, he had said he wanted to tell her his secretes. Those words had gotten her attention; this had made her want to talk to him even more. Harleen entered the Jokers Lair, her heart raced in both fear and excitement.

She knew there was a good reason to fear him, but she was also excited as she was hopefully going to get to know him. Maybe she would get to know the real Joker, the person behind the madness. Yet she had to work hard in order to see through his lies. He had told so many lies in his past sessions, he had told lies about his scars as well, so she had made notes of all the stories he had told about them.

That way she SHOULD know when he's telling the truth. Yet could she tell when he's was telling her the truth? The Joker talked to her, he said he'd been looking forward to this. She knew this off course, somehow he been giving her flowers, but why? Why was he so interested by her? Was it just her name he liked?

These were all questions she asked herself, but she shouldn't dwell on them too much, maybe he wanted her to do this. Maybe this was just how he did thing, maybe he made people question themselves, so he could manipulate them. The Joker had finished his statement, she should reply.

Dr. Quinzel: "I know, Joker. I've seen the flowers. But I thought we could try things a little different than the others. I see you more than some project like the others. I know there's a person in there so what do you say we try and tackle things a little differently?"

Yes Harleen wanted to do things a little different; as she felt her Colleagues were doing his sessions all wrong. They were talking to him in the wrong manner. She needed to talk to him as a person and not a criminal. He was a person underneath it all; everyone was a person underneath the façades they made. However, she was glad that the Joker was intrigued by her idea, so he asked her to go on. Therefore, Harleen told him how therapy should work

Dr. Quinzel: "I think that the patient should know his doctor, as well as I want to know you, don't you agree?”[/b]

She noted The Joker's reaction to her words; his smile was not his usual smile but an actual smile. Why was he smiling like now, did he like the idea? It seemed like he did, but he asked why she was hear, why she was she really here, so she answered.

Dr. Quinzel: "You interest me. You're different, not like all of the rest. I don't know if to say you're sick... but rather... different... Unique for some color. I like unique. How about you? Your scars... you've told everybody a different story but I want to know... what's the real story?

She told the truth to him, every word there was the truth. She explained why she liked him, why he fascinated to her. In truth there was no other like the Joker, his mind was so unique. Yet she waited to see his reaction her question about the scars. She prepared herself for what he done in the past, she was ready to move away if he lashed out. Harleen look as he locked his eyes onto her's ; his eyes they scared her. He leaned back crossing his arms and legs; she had prepared herself for most things, but not for the story to come.

Joker: "These scars... these scars tell a STORY Doc.... my father used to beat me up pretty badly. Anytime I got out of line... BAM he would take the nearest object and put me back into place. It was a point I preferred when he used his hand because at least it didn't hurt as much. Sometimes I would just sit there, Doc. (he licks his lips and re-positions himself, leaning forward.) But I got used to the pain after a while. It became... more like a game. How many times will dear ol' daddy beat me today? It started to really piss him off when I would laugh... but it became amusing to me. All the bruises.. the broken noses... nothing more than just some SICK and DEMENTED game that he played... but then I started to play too. Daddy didn't like it when I played... because I played rough. Sadly... I only got to play once... HE-HE-HEH-HEH-HAHAHAHAHA!"

She looked at him blankly, but also sympathetically. No way, was she hearing this right, they had something like that in common. How could this be? She had to remind herself that he could be lying, she couldn't let her sympathetic feeling get to her. Yet what-if this was true? Yet The Joker said he had fought back against his father, Harleen had never fought back against her father, she hadn't been able to. She was weak and unable to fight back, yet the Joker had found the strength to fight back, that how she saw it. What was wrong with fighting back against the man that had hurt you? Harleen saw nothing wrong with it. She heard his laugh, that horrid laugh.

Dr. Quinzel: "But why... why only once?"

Yet she had a feeling of why it was just that once, but The Joker went on in his story and told her why.

Joker: "Why else? I KILLED him. He never understood comedy, Doc. He never understood my sense of humor and he was always.. just so... SERIOUS. So one day when we were at the breakfast table and I was eating my bowl of Frosted Flakes... they're great you know... dear ol' dad came storming into the kitchen like usual and BAM gave me the strongest back hand he ever gave me and I laughed... and laughed... and laughed and I decided to play, Doc. I did what he always did, I grabbed the thing closest to me and can you guess what that was, Doc? Hmm.. can yoiu?" (he just gave Harley a blank stare... she didn't know what was going on in his head, and so she shook hers so he would continue, and wrote down her notes.) "It was a knife... a nice BIG ONE too! I kicked him right in the balls to bring him down to size and I brought that knife to his face and I told him, Doc... I told him it was MY TURN and for the first time... I saw a grown man cry. I saw FEAR in his eyes and so I said to him... Why So Serious?! And I cut him, Doc. I cut him for ear to ear and put the biggest smile on his face that I ever did see.... but he died happy, Doc. He died with a SMILE on his face... these scars, Doc.. THESE SCARS?! These scars.. I looked in the mirror and put a big SMILE on my face to remember how happy dear ol' daddy was... HA HA HA HA HA HOO HE HE HAH In his dying breath he understood, Doc.. he understood the comedy... unlike that Batman... but now it's your turn Doc... what about YOUR childhood?

She almost dropped her pen in shock, why did he have to ask her that? She looks to him sad? How could she tell him about her abuse, when she wasn't even sure that he had told her the truth. She had another reason not to tell him though. The Joker could get out of the cell somehow, so how could she tell him such a thing when she knew he might try something. So all Harley could say was.

Dr. Quinzel: "I think we're done here. Thank you... "joker"

Harleen had gotten most of what she wanted from him, she was already thinking of things to say for their next session. Something had struck her while she was talking to him and that was the name Batman. She had written down his name down in bold. Harleen didn't like that hero anyways, as her mother had once compared her to him.

'Why can't you be more like the Batman? Why can't you help other like he does?' Her mother once said (She said it before Batman 2 The darknight)

Yet Harleen felt she understood The Joker a little better now. The Batman frustrated him, but that wasn't the only thing she understood. She saw him in a new light, she saw a child trapped in a man's body as he had been abused just like her. The man wanted to make people laugh, but the Batman ruined it, was the Batman to blame for everything? She couldn't' help but feel sorry for the man, yet to feel that way was unprofessional. He needed to gather her thoughts, what was wrong with her? Why did she feel this way toward her patient?

How was she going to face him next time? She knew when she did face him she could ask him more. Maybe she could tell him her secret. Maybe he would understand. After all, if what he said was true, then he'd be the person to tell wouldn't he.