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Laughter in the Dark	By : FlameWolf666 Category: DC Verse Movies > The Dark Knight Views: 9317 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Dark Knight or the Batman franchise. This story is just for fun and no profit will be made from it.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Author’s Note: Here we have Marie’s first meeting with Joker. This should be interesting.

Chapter Two: The Cage
    Hearing the lock click open was like hearing a hammer hit in coffin nails. Forcing her nervousness to the back of her mind, Marie bravely strode into the barred cage and shut the door behind her. “Well, I am happy you’re amused at least. My name is Dr. Jovian and I’ll be your Psychologist during your incarceration,” she introduced as jovially as she could, staring down at the back of his bent head. His hair would have just reached his shoulders had his head been upright and looked to be a dirty blonde that had been dyed a vibrant looking green. She could even see the roots of the original color, making her idly wonder how long it had been since his last touch up.
    “Should I call you Bon Jovi?” the male cackled, rocking slightly in place but keeping his head pointed toward the floor.
    “Just Dr. Jovian please,” she sighed, rolling her eyes. She had heard that joke ever since pre-school and honestly found herself surprised the criminal hadn’t been more creative.
    “Why so serious doc? Ya gotta get more fun outta life,” he sighed, sounding disappointed as well as slightly angry.
    “Mr. Joker, you know as well as I do that you are a very dangerous individual. You’ve already turned one of our finest nurses into a loyal fangirl and I do not intend to be next. Surely you can see the necessity of handling you with as much caution as possible,” she replied smoothly, not allowing her eyes to move from the back of his head. As curious as she was about her patient, she didn’t want to oogle the man. Still, it was hard to ignore just how lithe he really was. Somehow, she was expecting him to be bigger.
    “Oooh, such big words. Am I supposed to be impressed? Look, with me trussed up like a turkey I doubt I’ll be any danger to ya. What’s the harm in loosening up a little?” the restrained male reminded, jangling the chains on his feet and wiggling within the straightjacket for emphasis.
    “The danger doesn’t come from anything physical as I’m sure you know. Your reputation precedes you I’m afraid but I am not here to pass judgement. I am here to introduce myself and evaluate your condition,” Marie replied smoothly, letting her eyes wander to the cage surrounding them.
    “Though, I must admit, all of this seems a bit excessive,” she continued, a sour look on her pale face. In all honesty, intake had probably done this as a show of force; to show the Joker that they were in charge. From the looks of it, their efforts were fairly fruitless. A light smacking noise brought her back to reality and she jolted slightly as she looked back down at the back of Joker’s head.
    “Ya don’t have ta tell that to me doc. I mean, they act as if I’m insane or something,” the male replied before letting loose another of those horrible howls of laughter.
    Shuddering slightly and moving a strand of her dirty blonde hair behind her ear, Marie could only wait until he quieted again. “Well, shall I show you to where you’ll be staying?” she asked once he had quieted enough. She wasn’t sure of how to respond to his statement and opted to just simply move on as if he hadn’t said it. The Psychologist had heard horror stories about his temper and didn’t want to start things out on his bad side.
    “Oooo, are they four star accommodations doc? Will I have a view of the ocean? Will free room service be provided?” he giggled, squirming a bit in his straightjacket.
    “Well, we do sport three stars but the view is nothing to write home about. As for the food, I would skip it if you want to live a long life,” she replied, smiling despite herself. Something about the man just made you want to joke back with him, though she was sure that would change the first time he tried something.
    Her reply drew a much louder bark of laughter from him, this one containing actual humor as he rocked back and forth. “And here I thought you were gonna be a stick in the mud,” he cackled, shaking his head while keeping his face pointed toward the floor.
    “Before we go, let me talk to the guards a moment. I’ll be right back,” the suit wearing female replied before turning and going to the door of the cage.
    “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere,” the green haired criminal replied, amusement thick in his slightly nasally voice as he began to giggle.
    Wondering if everything was a joke to this man, Marie rolled her gray eyes before leaving the cage, locking it behind her and moving to the gate. Just because the man was restrained, didn’t mean she had to be foolhardy. “Hey, I need one of you guys to run and get me a few things out of storage,” she sighed, glaring at the man that seemed to be in charge of the SWAT team. With his face behind the shaded visor it was hard to make out his expression but the blonde could swear he was glowering right back.
    “What did ya need doc?” came the tired but helpful voice of the guard who had led her here.
    “I believe they keep some extra make-up down there for a few of our patients. Would you bring me a few varieties of white face paint, a lot of black eyeshadow, several different shades of red lipstick and a mirror?” she asked, smiling at the older man kindly.
    “What the fuck?! Do you know how long it took us to wrangle that nut to hose him down?! Now you wanna give him back the thing that gives him power?!” the man who she had assumed was the leader snarled out, looking about ready to slam open the gate between them and throttle her.
    “It was intake’s poor decision to remove this man’s shield. In the act of removing the mask he chooses to hide behind you could have set back me making any actual progress by a significant amount. The sooner I can reestablish a sort of trust with this man, the closer I can get to actually treating him,” Marie bit out, her stormy eyes flashing dangerously.
    “Do you actually think that crazy bastard is even close to rehabilitatable?! He blows shit up for fun and kills people for the hell of it! The man doesn’t even seem to need a reason for anything he does, not even money!” the man continued, gesturing violently as spittle flew from his lips and forced her to take a few steps back.
    “Does his randomness really make him more dangerous than the ‘Scarecrow’ or the ‘Croc’? He may not need a reason for his actions but that doesn’t mean he deserves to be treated like an animal! He’s a human being, which is more than I can say for you at the moment officer,” she bit out, curling her purple nailed hands into tight fists. People like this man never failed to piss her off. They never saw her patients as anything other than menaces, people that needed to be locked away in a dark cell. They never saw the person that was buried under the chaos, crying out for help.
    “You men have done your jobs, I want ya gone when I come back,” the old guard growled, glaring up at the man who had been yelling at Marie. Then he turned to give her a tiny smile before he left.
    Giving the fuming ‘soldiers’ a final glare, the young woman turned and began to stride back to the barred cube. True to his word, her patient hadn’t moved an inch; his head still hanging down to face the floor. Yet his entire posture was different. Instead of loose and almost playful, he now seemed tense, almost angry. Reluctant to be back in the cage with him while he was angry but knowing she had no choice, Marie opened the door once more and let herself in. “I’m not crazy. I’m not,” he hissed in a deadly sounding voice as the door closed and locked behind her.
    “I’m sorry you had to hear that Joker. I suppose you also heard what I’m having brought in?” she asked cautiously, ignoring the sounds of retreating boots behind her.
    “Oh yes! Thanks for that! Otherwise I would have had to have found other means of, uh,... putting my face on,” he purred, his voice regaining some of the amusement from earlier while still sounding dangerous.
    “I know we got off on a bad note but I hope we can grow to trust each other,” she replied, trying not to flinch when he brayed out another long bout of laughter at her statement.
    “I find that highly unlikely doc. Ya see, I have a funny thing about trusting people that so willing participate in active brainwashing,” the restrained male hissed, a hint of sardonicness in his smooth voice. Then there was an odd, wet sounding noise that nearly made Marie flinch. Just what had caused that?
    “I can assure you, we do not brainwash people here,” the blonde replied, a bit insulted at his insinuations. What she was doing was for the good of the people in the hospital, there was no brainwashing involved.
    “Have you seen how the, uh, ‘patients’ act on those pills you guys force down their throats? More like obedient little zombies than actual people,” he replied, sounding a bit bitter and angry. There was another wet sound and Marie had to stop herself from jolting. Whatever he was doing to cause that sound, she wished he would stop it.
    “That’s not...,” she began before she was interrupted by a short, sharp bark of his horrifyingly empty laughter.
    “Oh no? Have you spent time around the ‘patients’? I know you have, you’re too good of a doctor not to. I know you’ve, uh, seen how they act on the medication. In some, it’s worse than becoming catatonic,” the criminal replied, all humor gone from his voice as he almost sounded like he felt sorry for these people.
    Marie opened her mouth to argue but quickly snapped it shut. The horrible truth of the matter was, he was right. Some of the medications made the patients too sleepy to do much of anything other than sit and watch TV. Was this how he had gotten to Dr. Quinzel? By stating things that made far too much sense and shaking her belief in what she was doing? Thankfully a knock on the gate interrupted the dark route her thoughts were taking and she turned to see the guard who had led her here flanked by two other guards. “I’ll be back in a sec,” she murmured, before she walked out of the cage as calmly as she could.
    Locking the door behind herself once again, the off balance woman found herself thinking on his words as she walked up to the gate. Was what they were doing really for the good of their patients? Or was it just a way to make them quiet and complacent, easier to deal with? As much as she didn’t want to allow his words to get to her, she found she couldn’t argue their validity. Shaking herself of what the Joker had said, Marie smiled at the three men outside the gate; her eyes going to the older male’s name-tag. She was ashamed that, after five years of working around him, she didn’t even know this man’s name. The only name on the worn, beaten tag said ‘Ol Joe’. ‘What kind of name if ‘Ol Joe’,’ the blonde found herself wondering as she opened the gate to take the items from her elderly helper. “Thanks Joe,” she replied cheerfully, deciding it was really none of her business.
    “No problem ma’am, after seeing how you treat your patients I’m always willing to help,” he replied, a smile coming onto his worn face. His response almost made her wonder if he had been a patient or if he knew someone that had been.
    “Alright guys, here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to at least remove the straightjacket to allow him to put the make-up on himself. I need you guys at least on the inside of the gate but I want you to face away from the cage. I will be leaving the cage unlocked while I am in there in case I need you, so keep the gate closed and locked,” Marie ordered with much more confidence than she actually felt at the moment. In fact, the young woman wanted desperately to be anywhere but here. Just the thought of being alone in the barred cube with him out of a straightjacket made a cold wash of fear run through her body.
    “Are ya sure that’s a good idea?” one of the younger guards asked, this one much taller than the other two. He had long, brown hair that was tied back in a ponytail, blue eyes, and a goatee on his chin. Marie only glanced to the side before gesturing the trio to come closer.
    “To be entirely honest, this is probably the worst idea I’ve ever had but I have to establish trust somehow. Besides, his legs will still be chained,” the Psychologist whispered, trying to keep her nervousness and fear out of her voice.
    “We got your back Miss Jovian!” chirped the much younger male of the trio. He was slightly taller than ‘Ol Joe’, had short, sandy blonde hair, vibrant green eyes and a cheerful enthusiasm only the very young seem to have.
    Chuckling, Marie looked at their name-tags so she could at least call them their names. The taller man’s name was Roy and the smaller man’s name was Sean, oddly normal considering what she had seen in her five years at Arkham. “Dr. Jovian please Sean. Well, let’s get this show on the road,” she replied, unlocking the gate and swinging it open for the trio. Joe was the first one through, handing her a large bag on his way in. “There are five sticks of lipstick, ten containers of black eyeshadow and ten containers of white face paint in there,” Joe stated before turning to face away from the cage. The other two also filed in, turning like she instructed and locking the gate behind them.
    With the large bag in a purple nailed hand, Marie made a mental note of what Joe told her. If any of that was missing after, she would have to call the three in and hope they were enough to handle the Joker. From everything she had heard about the man, she highly doubted they would be much of a match. Heaving a sigh, and steeling herself for any possibility, the young woman went back to the cage and went back inside; leaving the door open wide behind her. “I have a wide variety of make-up here. Can I trust you enough to release you from your jacket to put on your own make-up?” she asked calmly, stopping a couple feet from the bound criminal.
    “Trust is a funny thing doc. Personally, I wouldn’t trust me even when this restrained,” he replied, giggling quietly as he squirmed within the straightjacket.
    “I’ll make you deal. If I can trust you to not charge at me as soon as you’re out of the jacket, I’ll see what I can do about having your restraints removed for the journey to your... room,” the blonde offered, watching the man cautiously. Honestly, she really didn’t relish the idea of escorting an unrestrained Joker back to his cell. If the man tried anything, she would be the one to blame for it.
    “My room? Oh that’s a good one! You act as if I’m here under my own consent! You know, uh, I accept your deal! I look forward to a ‘leisurely stroll’ around ol Arkham. It’s been, uh, a while since my last tour of the place,” he replied, stilling instantly. The only thing that moved was his chest as he breathed and it was sort of... eerie.
    Reluctantly and cautiously, Marie set the bag down on the floor and began to approach the hunched male. “I’m going to have to bend over you here. There’s no room to get behind you to unbuckle the straps,” she advised when she was bare inches from his bowed head. As she looked down at his green haired head, she couldn’t help but wonder how many times he had been in. She had heard stories but she had taken most of them with a grain of salt, passing them off as gossip. Now she wondered just how much truth to those stories there had been.
    “Be my guest doc. I doubt you have anything to stab me in the back with, unless you plan to use a mascara pen,” the criminal replied, humor in his voice as he remained perfectly still. Marie only made a confirming noise before she cautiously bent over him to undo the strap closest to the bottom.
    Because of how he was bent forward, she didn’t have to press against him to reach the buckle but just being so close to his body nearly halted her breath in her throat. He was lithe but obviously had some serious muscle tone. In fact, the muscles beneath the tight jacket rippled as he breathed and she found herself wondering just how much strength the man truly had. “Havin’ fun doc?” he cackled, shuddering slightly from his hollow sounding laughter. His voice having jolted her out of her daze, Marie began pulling the straps free one by one until the only one left was the one tying his arms back.
    “I’m about to release your arms, if you make any wrong moves those three will be in here within seconds. You will be maced, you will be tazed and you will be thrown into full restraints; do you understand?” the blonde hissed out in a serious tone. With how close she was to the Joker, it would be an easy thing for him to grab her as soon as his arms were free.
    “I have nothing to gain from attacking you. All it would get me is a few months on lockdown and lockdown is so boring. I find having my freedom, a limited as it is, to be far more entertaining,” he reasoned, sounding just a touch impatient. Yet he stayed perfectly still, barely moving a muscle except to breathe or speak.
    Marie took a deep breath before unbuckling the strap and stepping back as quickly as she could. The white, canvas jacket slid off his torso and onto the floor with an audible thud that made dread bloom in her stomach. Hearing that sound solidified the fact that she was now in a cage with a half restrained madman. An unpredictable person who had no reasons for anything he did. He could easily kill her without batting an eye, a fact that was much more apparent in this moment. Yet, instead of leaping at her like Dr. Crane did, he merely reached for the bag. “Ya even gave me a mirror! We are determined to make a good impression,” he giggled as he examined the contents of the bag while keeping his head pointed toward the floor.
    “I’ll give you a few minutes and I will be turning around to give you some privacy. Inform me when you’re finished,” the blonde replied, turning her back and staying within easy reach of the male. In order to gain his trust, she had to show him she trusted him first; despite the fact he had done nothing to earn it. With people that operated like the Joker and Dr. Crane, you often had to give before you received and that had everything to do with how the two viewed the rest of the world.
    After a few moments of him humming to himself and making smacking noises that she could only guess was him evening out the lipstick on his lips, there was more rustling as the items were put back in the bag. “Nice suit doc. Has the look of a man’s suit while still complimenting those curves and it’s also nice and casual with those short sleeves. I can appreciate a woman with good taste in clothing,” came his smooth, slightly nasal voice from behind her. Then, for a second, it almost felt as if he had brushed her mid-back length hair. The sensation caused her to whirl around and she had to fight hard against her urge to jump back.
    The face that greeted her was even more horrifying in person, stark white with black on the eyes to make the sockets look almost skull-like. The only bit of color on his face was the red of the lipstick that coated his lips and the rather interesting scars on his cheeks. The scars were ragged and cruel looking, stretching from the corners of his mouth to nearly both ears. It almost looked as if someone had tested the sharpness of their knife on his skin. His eyes, his eyes were hazel, intense, intelligent, full of a dark humor and completely dead. It was as if the man possessed no emotion other than his humor at the world and it’s rules. “What d’ya think?” he asked, grinning widely as he spread his gray clad arms out to his sides and tilted his head to the side. The end result was some of his green hair falling over his face and giving him an even more eerie look.
    Unsure of what she should say, Marie only smiled as best as she could while her heart thudded in her chest. The worst part was, even with the scars and make-up, the Joker actually didn’t look all that bad. He would have been handsome if his eyes held actual laughter and life, not this cold, dead humor that seemed to laugh at everything and yet nothing at the same time. “Looks good Joker. Not a line out of place,” the Psychologist settled on saying, not sure what else she could say. She couldn’t very well say what she had been thinking, that would be traveling far too close to the road Dr. Quinzel traveled down.
    “Ya don’t look all bad yourself,” he replied, his voice slightly more husky as his intense eyes roved over her form in such a way that it made her want to squirm. It almost felt as if he was undressing her with his eyes and the sensation made her feel ill at ease. Then his eyes were locking out on hers as his tongue flicked out to lick at his lips and scars. making that wet sound she had heard earlier.
    “Mr. Joker, this will be a professional patient to doctor relationship. Please try to keep things that way,” the young woman ordered, wincing at how some part of her voice almost made it sound like a timid request.
    “Sure doc, whatever you, uh, say,” the male replied, smirking slightly as if he knew better. Then he was clapping his hands, placing them on his rather strong looking thighs and getting to his feet. Then he was stretching, reaching upwards with his right arm and bending his left to join it; pulling himself up even taller in an effort to flex his muscles.
    “I can’t tell ya how good it feels to get outta that, uh, thing,” he sighed, jerking his head to the left swiftly and eliciting a loud crack from his neck. Then his arms came down as he began to roll his shoulders as well as rub them.
    “Yeah, I definitely would recommend them for daily wear. They may look fancy but boy are they short in comfort,” Marie found herself responding, a bit shocked at her own playfulness. Why couldn’t she choose a way to act around this man? One moment she was acting like a professional doctor and the next she was joking back with him, even considering things he was saying. If things kept going like this, he would be in her head within a week. What finally shocked her out of her distressing thoughts was a bark of genuine laughter from the criminal.
    “You keep surprising me doc and I have to say I like surprises. I think we’ll get along just fine,” he replied, still slightly giggling as he bent his torso to one side to crack his back.
    “I’m glad, that’ll make things a lot smoother for the both of us. Now let me discuss the next step with the guards and see if they’re amicable,” the blonde responded, before turning around to go to the door of the cage. The only thing that stopped her was a light grip on her shoulder, making her heart leap right into her throat.
    “You can just call them here and save yourself a trip,” he breathed right next to her ear, making her anxiety jolt to all new heights. Yet, under her fear, there was a tiny glimmer of a feeling she didn’t dare identify. If she admitted to that feeling, she would be no better than Dr. Quinzel. Then he was inhaling deeply, burrowing his nose in her hair for a few seconds before he released her.
    Turning around to fix Joker with her best ‘disappointed teacher’ glare, she only saw the man grinning back at her; his accentuated smiled holding a dark, almost predatory look. His hazel eyes were once again roving over her body as his tongue very slowly snaked out to lick at his lips and scars, something oddly sensual about the movement that made something hot and heavy coil low in Marie’s stomach. Doing her best to ignores this, the Psychologist only nodded quickly before again moving to the door.
    Instead of opening it and leaving like she desperately wanted to, the blonde merely called the trio of men facing the gate over to the cage. After the three had come close enough, the suit clad woman calmly explained the deal she had made to them and got the flabbergasted look she had expected from at least two. Only Joe didn’t seem all that bothered by her plan. “Whatever you think is best doc. We can take care of it if he gets outta hand,” the white haired male replied calmly, his brown eyes flicking quickly to the man behind her. Sean and Roy only looked at the male in astonishment and disbelief before begrudgingly nodding their cooperation.
    “Go to the gate and wait there please,” she requested, not really wanting them that far but knowing it was essential to show Joker as much trust as possible without letting her guard down. Then she was turning to face the ‘Clown Prince’ of crime, giving him as friendly a smile as she could muster as she walked back towards him.
    Joker only smiled back down at her, the scars on his cheeks artificially widening the grin. Trying to keep her eyes from naturally wandering to the long healed wounds, Marie carefully bent to collect the bag that held the make-up and inspected the contents. To her shock, everything was there; even the small hand mirror. Looking back up at him, her surprise must have showed because his grin only widened. “Like I said, lockdown is way too boring. Especially when lockdown would limit our, uh, sessions,” he nearly purred as he licked at his scars again, his eyes growing dark as he nearly leered down at the much shorter female. In fact, she only came up to about his chest.
    The sound of his voice caused another wave of unwelcome heat and she fought against the urge to shudder slightly. As it was, she was already flushing and just that reaction was more than enough for the male in the cell with her. “Does the thought of missing our ‘sessions’ bother you as well?” Joker husked out, his voice much more throaty as his gaze once again roved slowly, hungrily over her suit clad body.
    “Please sit down so I can remove you leg shackles,” she replied simply, fighting hard to keep her reaction to his words hidden. What he had said had both embarrassed her because she knew she had been caught and frightened her because it was somewhat true. She already found herself becoming fascinated with the man and his odd behavior. From everything she had heard, she had expected him to be a lot harder to control and much more violent. The person before her, while still seeming dangerous, just didn’t seem as dangerous as the news made him out to be. He almost seemed to border on pleasant and that disconcerted her greatly.
    Thankfully, he sat down and remained still while she cautiously unlocked the shackles around his ankles. As each tumbler turned, she had to fight the urge to flinch as it reminded her that there would be nothing to stop him from trying to charge her. Nothing to stop him from simply killing her, taking the keys and escaping. Yet he didn’t move a muscle, not even when the last shackle fell to the floor with a metallic thud. ‘There, now he’s free. Cripes, I must have one hell of a death wish,’ she thought to herself sardonically as she stepped back from him and kept her gaze locked on the man. “Well, shall we get this circus on the road?” he asked, looking up at her from his seat on the bed.
    Getting him to his cell hadn’t been as big of an ordeal as everyone had expected. In fact, Joker was on oddly good behavior; only making more of his tongue-in-cheek jokes as they went. Once she had opened the door, he had strode in like the lord of his castle; looking around the small, concrete square with a semi-scrutinizing eye. Then he turned to her and smiled widely. “I see you gave me the best suite in the house!” he giggled, motioning to the featureless walls and the tiny, barred window high up on the wall. There was also a tiny, thin mattress on a metal frame as well as a tiny toilet.
    “The accommodations may be shit but the company is great,” she returned before she could stop herself, clapping a hand over her mouth in utter shock. Why couldn’t she stop joking back? This man was not her friend and would probably see such behavior as a weakness, something to prise his way into her mind. Joker only laughed uproariously at her comment, taking several minutes to quiet down again.
    “So, when’s our first ‘session’ doc?” the criminal asked, still giggling slightly as he stared at her through his open door.
    “Tomorrow at noon,” she replied, already feeling uneasy at the prospect. Today had gone well but had also gone very bad. She hadn’t expected her reaction to this man to be so strong, to feel so comfortable around him already. She would have to be more careful her next appointment or she would end up just like the woman who had preceded her.
    “I look forward to it. See ya then doc,” Joker replied, his grin once again holding a slightly predatory look as he swung to door shut between them.
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Laughter in the Dark