Smile for Me

Someone was standing outside my cell. I could hear them breathing. My senses have gotten better after so much time spent alone. I didn’t speak, choosing instead to lean farther into the wall. I’ve had so many people visit me, seeking “the Joker’s bitch”.

Something rattled the bars of my cell. “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he whispered. “What a, ha!, nice surprise. My little Quinn, all locked UP. A little birdie caught in a trap! It’s, hoo boy, it’s been a while, Quinnie. Did you, eh, miss me?” I cracked an eye open, unsure if I was simply hearing things.

Joker was there, though, peering through the bars to grin at me. I’d never hallucinated seeing him before. He hadn’t changed at all. The scars were just as vivid as I remembered. His hair dyed green, hanging in his eyes, makeup smeared messily on his skin. Joker still looked like a demented clown prince.

I struggled up and crawled to him on my knees. “They’ve, haha, got you in a straitjacket, Quinnie! Have you been a bad girl?” “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” I rasped the last words I’d said to him at our trial, six years before. He reached past the bars and cupped my chin, thumb tracing my scars. “Smile for me, Quinn.” I did, although it felt strange on my lips. It had been a long time since I’d smiled. Joker laughed and patted my head. “I’ve missed your smile. Harley could never compare in that aspect.”

I leaned into his touch. “Please, take me back. I’m so sorry.” He appeared to think for a moment before he shrugged, unlocking the door in seconds. “Sure, Quinnie. Harley’s gone anyway.” He picked me up by the straps of my straitjacket, laughing as he tugged me from the cell.

Arkham was in chaos. Most of the cells were open and everyone was screaming, prisoners and staff alike running through the hallways. Blood splashed the walls where people had been killed. Joker whistled happily as he strolled through the riot, eyes closed like he was enjoying a beautiful symphony.

I pressed closer to him. My arms were held back by the straitjacket, so I didn’t want to trip. Something roared close by, and Joker cackled. “That’s Croc! He must be, haha, thrilled to be FREE!” Joker kicked a body aside and turned back to grin at me. “Isn’t it great?” I nodded, smiling.

It was great, to be with him, watching his eyes light up as Arkham burned, to cause mayhem again. I had been stuck in this place screaming for him, trapped in a dark room, and now he had found me. We turned a corner so quickly I slammed into the wall, tasting iron and rust in my mouth.

Joker shoved me into the arms of some henchmen while I was still dizzy. They flinched back from me when I looked up and licked blood away from my chin. “Christ, boss, what the fuck is this? At least Harley was hot,” one of them muttered. Joker laughed and laughed as he shot the guy in the face. His hands went limp around me as something splattered across my face.

“This is, haha!, Quinnie. She’s, ah, she’s an old FRIEND!” Joker said, putting his gun away. “I’ll be, haha, back in a, ha!, in a bit. Take GOOD care of her, or, HA!, I’ll kill you.” Joker winked at me and disappeared through a door. I slumped against the men holding me and waited. He would be back. I knew he would.