"Well, here we go again…" Dr. Joan Leland watched from a distance as the Joker was, once again, lead down the halls of Arkham. This scene had become something of a routine.
"How many times this month?" asked Dan, the guard on duty. He glared at the clown and got the usual 'see you in a few days!' grin in return.
"Including this time? Six." Joan watched as Joker was lead around the corner and out of sight, the grin still plastered on his pale face. She shook her head and sighed.
"What're we gonna do with him this time, Doc?" asked Dan, adjusting his hat in thought. "No matter what, he always gets out. And even if that new cell does keep him in…"
"I know, I know. Nothing we do seems to phase him!" Dr. Leland opened the folder in her hands, Joker's file, and flipped through the various attempts at treatment. She paused and sighed sadly when she saw a familiar name: Harleen Quinzel. 'Poor Harley… she could have been great…'
Joan hadn't realized Dan was still talking till she closed the file again.
"…and if we put him in with any of the other inmates, all he does is make them even crazier than they were before! If that's even possible!" Dan finished his speech just as his watch beeped. "Whoops, time to get out of here. Good luck, Doc!"
Dr. Leland wasn't listening. She'd just had a wonderful idea. "Crazier than before…" she mumbled to herself, taking no notice of Dan's attempts to wave goodbye. Instead of returning the gesture, she rushed off down the hall to make the arrangements.
--
The Next Day:
"You're kidding, right? Look, I know jokes, and this is not funny in the least!" Joker sat in a corner of the new cell looking angrier than anyone had seen him for a while.
There were no windows, no ways out but the thick door that locked from the outside. There was padding over the whole room, and thus no way for him hurt himself seriously. The cell was set far away from any other room, so no one could be bothered by Joker's ranting. None of this really bothered Joker though. What annoyed him was…
"Come on, Puddin'! It's not that bad!" Harley sat down next to him and started messing with his hair. She'd been thrilled the day before when Joan had told her the plan, and her excitement hadn't died down since. "Now we have a room all to ourselves!"
"I'm all a-tingle," the clown replied flatly, pushing the blond off the bed. He growled in frustration when she hit the soft floor without a sound and wasn't hurt at all.
Just outside the door, through the small, barred opening in the door, Joan Leland laughed silently. This was probably the most fun she'd had in all her years at Arkham. Maybe they could just annoy the Joker into reforming. And if not, they at least got an amusing reaction out of him.
"Have fun you two!" Dr. Leland called as she turned and began walking back down the hall.
"Thanks, Joanie! You're the best!" Harley called after her. The doctor smiled in triumph at Dan, who was waiting for her halfway down the hall.
"So?"
"Brilliant, Doc, just brilliant!" The two looked back towards the guarded door. Oddly, there wasn't a single sound coming from the room.
"How long do you think that will last?" asked Dan as they continued walking. Without a word, Joan held up three fingers and counted down: three, two, one…
"LET ME OUT DAMNIT! LET ME OUT! THIS ISN'T FAIR! THIS ISN'T RIGHT! THIS ISN'T FUNNY! LET ME OUT OF HERE!"
"Aw, Puddin', don't be that way! C'mere, we'll do something fun…"
"I'LL KILL YOU ALL! YOU HEAR ME!? NONE OF YOU WILL BE SAFE WHEN I ESCAPE! NONE OF YOU!"
The doctor and the guard continued down the hall, trying to laugh away the fear in the back of their minds. Both knew that Joker's threats were very real, and that no matter what, he'd be out again, putting another plot into action, knowing he'd be caught and brought back for is usual routine.