Chapter Text
It always seemed to be storming in Gotham, and tonight was no different. Dr. Harleen Quinzel knew that all the thunder and lightning would get the patients riled up and the night would only be made bearable by her newest project. The man known simply as The Joker had been assigned to her only the day before and she was excited to dig in and help him. She knew that he was a murderer and madman but he was also handsome and intelligent. She knew there was a way to get through to him and bring some good to his wretched life.
His file was thick with the details of his crimes and often confusing motivations for them. It often seemed like he lived his life completely at random. Some days acting the fool and the clown, and other days a dangerous psychopath with a violent need for destruction. Harley was about ready to read through the newest incidents in preparation for her session when her boss interrupted her with a new assignment. Harleen could barely contained her anger as she heard enough of the assignment change to know that she wouldn't be working with the man she'd spent so much time analyzing. There was some meaningless blather about lack of experience and an exciting new patient but all she heard was condescension and a lack of caring for her wasted time. She barely glanced at the new file he sat on her desk before he scurried away from her unpleasant glare.
She sat there fuming for a few minutes but curiosity eventually overcame her temper and she flipped open the thin file. Her eyes immediately snapped to the hastily captured polaroid picture stapled inside the file and she could not help but be captured by his eyes. They were barely visible, his lanky black hair hung around his pale face like a screen, but what she could see of his blue eyes told a story. There was anguish there and intelligence to be sure but something more that she could not name. That glimpse was enough to grab her attention. Poring over his file was a frustrating endeavor, as he had only one short note after his vital statistics, a brief account of the crimes which had landed him in Arkham earlier in the evening. The man had apparently shown up in the streets of Gotham, naked, covered in blood, and demanding that "his father restore him to rightful place in the skies". That by itself wasn't strange in a city like Gotham, it had its fair share of weird people, but when the police showed up to investigate the crazed man killed or maimed five officers before a swat team was able to take him down.
It was a miracle he survived the ride to the asylum with the arresting officers with only a few injuries but now it was her job to figure it all out. If she hurried she would be able to sit in on his initial assessment.