Chapter 6: I See You (But Do You See Me?)
Last chapter!
Sorry that it's a bit rushed. I hope you all enjoyed it. 😊
Something seemed to change after Harleen learned Joker's backstory, after she had revealed that she knew his reputation wasn't deserved. He was more open with her, their conversation came easily, almost always ending in laughter. It was nice, simple, friendly.
"I can't believe you're friends with that psycho." Professor Crane admonished. "Harleen, please be careful. If he hurts you, tell me. Ah'll make sure he regrets it."
"He's not a bad guy, Professor." She wouldn't tell him why she thought that, she wouldn't break her word to the Joker. "But I'll be careful. I promise."
Professor Crane was still worried. As were the rest of the staff. It came to the point where Doctor Leland decided to cut all visitation rights, which of course resulted in Joker refusing to eat, drink, or take his meds.
Harleen knew he didn't want to risk another bad reaction, he didn't want to hurt anyone, but no one believed her. She was the only one he trusted to actually pay attention to his biology, and she was terrified that he'd waste away without her.
She was to the point of trying to break him out, had even drawn up a plan, when the news came that he'd disappeared. No sign of how he'd broken out or where he went. Harleen had been as stumped as everyone else, until she'd seen the calendar. It was obvious, after that.
"Heya, Mistah J." Harleen called, walking along the ACE chemicals catwalk. She was in her off-duty clothes, hair in loose pigtails and glasses left at home. She held up two paper bags, along with a water bottle. "I brought ya somethin' ta eat, an' your meds."
Joker sat on the edge of the catwalk, kicking his legs as he stared at the vat below. "I wonder how many years it's been? I can always remember tha day it happened, but never da year."
"How ya doin'?" Harleen asked, sitting next to him. She pulled out a sandwich, watching as he automatically took it and started chewing. "Is dis a goid day for ya or a bad one?"
"A little of both." He chuckled. "Harls, it's my rebirth day. A whole 'nother year of this act. It's hard, ya know? The things I say, the things I pretend to do. But so, so worth it."
"I can see dat." She hummed, looking out over the edge at the glowing green chemicals. The same shade as his eyes.
"Your accent changed." He muttered, as if just realizing something. He stared at her. "Why does it do that, sometimes?"
"Dis is my real accent." She giggled. Then she sat up straight, mouth going into a straight line. "But this accent is more mature and professional. I use it to gain respect amongst my colleagues."
"So why do ya keep dropping it?" He asked. "Mine changes on its own, and Jonny's switches with his mood."
"I don' wanna be fake around ya, I guess." She shrugged. "I know yer real self, ya shoid get ta see mine."
"I..." He grinned. "Harley Quinn, you're a real special girl, ya know that? I'm glad that we're friends. We are friends, right?"
She grinned back. "Of course, Mistah J, now that I'm not yer psychiatrist no more. I like bein' yer friend too."
They sat in silence for a little while, then just started chatting. At some point, Harleen had the idea of celebrating Joker's 'rebirthday' by dancing together up and down the catwalk.
They were laughing and twirling when the police swarmed in, startling Harleen into losing her footing and falling into the vat. Joker screeched, rushing down to the vats to pull her out.
She hadn't even been in long enough for the acid to completely burn through her clothes, but she'd definitely been affected. Her skin had already turned several shades paler, though not quite like his, as did her hair.
"Come on, Harley, stay with me!" Joker ordered, trying desperately to perform CPR. He growled at the police officers that had chased him down the catwalk. "What are ya idiots standin' around for?! Call an ambulance!"
According to the headlines, Joker had seduced a new psychiatrist over six months, culminating in him reenacting his creation. Somehow she survived, and was arrested for helping the Joker escape.
According to the headlines, she broke out of jail to follow her abusive paramour, becoming his new sidekick and girlfriend: Harley Quinn.
Harley laughed over the newspaper, almost choking on a bite of cereal.
"What's so funny, Harls?" Joker asked, walking out of the bedroom of their hideout in nothing but shorts and an undershirt. He accepted the bowl of cereal she gave him with a kiss to her forehead, trying to peer at the paper.
"Da newsies tink we're datin'." She answered, grinning.
"However can they think that?" He asked with mock surprise. He grinned. "We settin' 'em straight or playin' this up?"
"I don' know, Puddin'," she winked, "might be fun ta see where it leads."
"Whatever you say," he winked back, "Pumpkin."
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Comments carried over from AO3 (6)
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Not much of a Joker-and-Harley fan, but I enjoy this setting! Truly brings those Animated series vibes with the way they're talking, and I'm always fond of seeing the headcanon that Harley was Jonathan's best student. That never gets old, and I think it adds a lot to their dynamic! :)
Thanks! I loved that scene in the animated series where Jonathan was raving like a lunatic as he gets dragged down the hall, only to switch to civil and friendly long enough to return Harley's cheerful greeting.
I wasn't much of a Harley/Joker fan until I started reading fanfics where they were pretty much platonic soulmates, and now I'm hooked on the idea. Good Person Joker is my favorite non-canon interpretation of him.
"Good evening, child". They were ADORABLE XD
That scene cracked me up, and honestly what convinced me too that they knew each other beforehand, as teacher-and-student ^^
Oh that's great! I've definitely seen some pretty interesting non-threatening versions of him (including some from old canons) or even a healthy Joker/Harley.
If you want a semi-canon good bond for them, the Lego Batman movie is a blessing. It's super fun and made by fans who used bunch of references, Harley/Joker as a cute platonic couple is fantastic in this universe!
I'm glad you like it! Platonic Joker/Harley is surprisingly fun to write. Though, if I didn't ship Batjokes and Ivyquinn so much, I'd ship healthy Joker/Harley in a heartbeat.
Jonathan was a psychology teacher, Harley was a psychology student, it just makes so much sense that they knew each other. And their friendship is always so adorable and fluffy!
Awww, look at that lovely former-teacher and favorite-student reunion! Surely Jonathan wasn't expecting to meet her again in *these* conditions, but... that was enjoyable! And for sure it melted his heart, somewhere under all the layers of burlap and fake coldness ;)
Also, I love Corvin, I think bonding Jon with a demon is a great idea. You bring it there very well, you were right to use your concept in this story too! It makes Jonathan more interesting, honestly :)
Thanks! And IKR? I love fics where Jonathan has a demon. I honestly can't see him without it now, it ironically humanizes him. And Corvin came out so much cuter than I meant, lol.
Corvin is very cute indeed!
And I get why this headcanon is so popular... after all, you could say Jon sort of *is* a demon, to an extent. I mean, in canon he transformed into the Scarebeast, a monster-version of him, even if he was unaware of this second personality. He truly is a sort of Dr Jekyll / mister Hyde. Gotta love that scary, old professor XD
It's like, technically I should hate him, but he's such a an interesting character! And I love Scarebeast so much. Though, is it true that in canon, Scarebeast is a cannibal? (I really hate that kind of stuff)
You preach to a choir there, Jonathan is on my all-time top 5 favorite DC characters ;)
Well I won't recommend you read the Scarebeast issues, then. To his sort of 'defense', Jon was actually manipulated and turned into the beast against his will (by a doctor working under Penguin's orders. Creepy stuff honestly). I always have a problem with how edgy some canons get, but let's not consider it cannibalism (yuk, disgusted noise upon writing that word) since he technically turned into a *monster*, he was no longer human when he attacked, bit and killed people under his Scarebeast form.
Sorry, you probably wanted other references than this specific arc of his... But he pretty much was the victim in the whole deal!
I've recently taken to reading the comics. While there are some very interesting plotlines, I really hate how graphic some of them are. I especially hate how psychologically disturbing some of them are. I've read over a dozen by now, and there's only like two I'd be willing to reread, despite liking a lot of the plots.
I find the idea of Jonathan getting turned into a beast without knowing/against his will really interesting, but I don't like the bit about killing/biting people. Same problem I have with my love for werewolves, now that I think about it.
I fully get you! Both for the werewolves thing and the not-liking some disturbed storylines.
I'm not sure what fics of mine you read, but there is a deep-rooted hatred for the reboot in every single one of them XD. Plus for unecessary edgy arcs, that honeslty tend to ruin characters (Like Riddler. Current canon!Riddler is definitely ruined for me, while he was wonderful in the previous continuity)
If you want good Scarecrow stories, there's definitely the comics that prolong the Animated Series, in which among others he cries when Robin!Dick brings up his former love for teaching. It's beautiful ^^
I know it's a classic, but Long Halloween never gets old. Scarecrow doesn't have a main role in it, but his appearances are striking and he is buddy with Mad Hatter. Scarecrow: Year One may be relatively recent, it's a great story line (the ending is utterly disappointing, but his backstory-telling is nice, and the aesthetic very neat). Among others ^^
I didn't read it, but I saw parts of that one storyline where Scarecrow tries to return to teaching and becomes hyper protective over a student. I like the idea that (fear experiments aside) Jonathan's actually a really good teacher.
Is Long Holloween the one where Scarecrow, Penguin, and Mad Hatter get tricked into what's basically a haunted house by Batman?
And is the whole Mad Hatter/Scarecrow/Riddler Dork Squad friendship canon?
Good teacher Jon for the win <3
That's the first issue of Batman: The Dark Knight Annual, with the three of them in the haunted house. Not too much plot, some traumatic childhood memories discussed, good designs and a spooky halloween ambiance (because it indeed occurs on Halloween). It's relatively good, even if I believe it could have been much better with proper humor (I mean, three villains locked in a haunted house? that sounds like the beginning of a joke!), and instead it comes off dark and gloomy. Typical New 52.
Long Halloween on the other hand, is a story by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale that focuses on Batman, Harvey (pre-Two Face) and a mysterious killer whose first murder occurs on Halloween. It's a noir detective genre, with heavy investigation plot and every major rogue making at least an appearance during the full year over which Bruce, Harvey and Jim Gordon try to catch that killer. It's a long story, but truly one of the best comic books you can read without having to check for references first. Even people who don't like DC much but enjoy detective stories can have a great time with this one. And Scarecrow rides a horse at some point: that's super badass, but I admit he isn't the main focus XD
Feeling like that'll be a disappointment but... no, the Dork Squad isn't canon. Jonathan and Jervis often work together so it's safe to assume they're friends at least in the main continuity, Jonathan and Edward worked together too (though a lot less), and that's about it. While the Sirens are a canon trio (even if Catwoman being friend with Harley and Ivy comes up later in the main continuity, while Harl and Pamela were buddies even back then in the Animated series), the Dork Squad isn't.
But given how fast writers create alternate universes, I don't doubt they might be buddies somewhere XD
Now I kinda want to read Long Holloween. As well, I love the Harvey-Bruce friendship. Adds depth to the whole Twoface storyline.
That was a great story!
Joker and Harley's bond is definitely touching there, glad they found each other :)
I wasn't thinking you'd make her fall into acid in this verse, but that was a well-written scene, and it's nice to see Joker rushing to help her out.
And awww, the energy in that drawing is lovely! Harley looks mischievous, adorable and up to no good! Plus it's cool that you mixed her post-reboot looks with her original outfit. Good job!
Original Harley will always be my favorite, but I just fell in love with the dyed hair thing. It took me just under and hour and a half to draw all her different outfits, lol.
I wasn't going to have her fall into the acid, but I thought it would explain her similar abilities to Joker in the previous fics. Though she was affected much less, thanks to Joker pulling her out (which was such a fun scene to write, showing how much he's bonded to her at this point).
These are good aesthetic choices!
And it's cool to make them share the dive-into-acid but in a sort of 'positive' way, for once. Nice idea :)
It's supposed to be a positive version of Harleen going to a life of crime, after all, so I thought it would be fun to turn a moment that's traditionally one of the most abusive (Joker tries to turn Harley into a copy, thinking she probably won't survive, and she goes along with it) into something more good-natured.
That's a great point of view you bring up, and I love this bond for your characters!
Oh and, the accents coming and going depending on how they want to "appear" is a nice touch :)
Also, regarding the canon events: to be fair, even if I'm not a Joker fan, I dislike the "pushing Harley into acid" reboot story. Initially, she simply joined him out of love (that was not positive though, as he *indeed* was abusive), I think there was no need to change their early partnership by making Joker dump her into a van of acid. I stick with her first origin story in my verses because I prefer it, but I must say it was pleasant there, to read a reboot-inspired villain origin for her that has a positive side! Very refreshing ^^
Original Harley will always be my favorite, and I haven't really seen many other versions of outside of fanfics, but my sister is OBSESSED with Harley. I've heard pretty much everything related to reboot Harley. I still prefer the concept of Harley just being hyper athletic/strong on her own merits, rather than mutated.
And, honestly, what are the chances that she'd be able to survive just like he did? It feels a bit like they were trying to basically make her female Joker, rather than Harley Quinn. But it was still fun to play with the concept, and lets me explain her fourth-wall breaking abilities.
Yeah I agree. She's better as her own character rather than basing her abilities out of chemicals. Same for Pamela, same for Jervis to some extent. I much prefer when they're skilled people who worked hard, rather than mutants with sort of supernatural strength / abilities.
And still fun to read about the concept ^^
I like the version where Poison Ivy starts off as a regular person, but then becomes a plant mutant for some reason or other. I only recently found out about Mad Hatter's connection to chemicals and utterly despise it (I really hate drug addiction storylines). I like the version of Jervis whose main strength are his mind-controlling cards, his technology skills, and his ability to seem weaker than he is.
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I love how this all tied together! And the bits about why their accents change were really insightful into who they are.
Thank you, I'm glad you like it! I love writing accents, especially to show mental states, even though I'm not the best at it.
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