A Joke By Any Other Name by L. D. Manning (free children's online books .txt) 📕

Chapter One

Meeting

"Mother always said "you can do no wrong . . . the world is your playground.' Oh, mother." I watched as a smile slowly crept on his face, a light of pleasure dancing in his eyes. "how right you are."

I clenched my pen, unnerved by the pure pleasure that vibrated through his voice. my only thought was of the people who had been killed, mangled or traumatized by this man . . . no not a man, a monster. I shouldn’t think this way, I am a doctor. . . I know he is sick, he is a man traumatized by the life he was given. My job was to understand him. To find out what made him tick and if possible. Get him to understand what he did as ‘The Joker’, was wrong and can not happen again.

Though I was one in a long line of doctors that tried to help this man. Twelve to be exact, that’s how many Doctors had come before me, that’s how many had failed, been injured, or in the case of Dr. Phillip Harris killed themselves, after trying to help this man.

Now with me, it would make thirteen . . . not knowing what he would do to top what he did to his last doctor I was a little on edge. And from what I’ve researched, he’s made a game of it and I like the others, would not be an exception.

I would be a toy in the playground his mother had made us out to be.

I took a deep breath knowing that what I was about to do was far from what we were told to do in school. But in my defense, after a review on pass work with him. It was only when doctors lost their cool with him, they are said to make some real progress with him. “Your lying,” I said lightly tapping my pen against my notepad. I could see it, the twitch in his four head, the way his green eyes slightly became more narrow.

“Really and what makes you say that.” The smile never faded from his face, but I could see it right there, behind that pale smiling face. . . . he wanted to hit me.

No this wasn’t my fear of him talking, this was body language. Something that a child, who grow up in a truly hostile environment could understand.

Knowing it would only anger him more I lightly mumbled an ‘I see’ and then wrote it on the paper three times. “And how does that make you feel?” Again a small moment, but this time more than one, and not just in his face. He was going to wait till my guard was down when he didn’t think I'd see it coming. Lucky for me he was locked up behind a glass cage. So the worse he could do was give me a 'B' movie jump scare. The Joker as he called himself, dropped his head and leaned forward in his seat. A seat placed right in front of the glass wall between us. I knew it was so we would stay in eye contact. It was clear he wanted to find my weakness. Or a way to make me feel uncomfortable. “I’m not one to be trifled with child.” His voice dropped in tone, no more of the happy high pitched voice of a maniacal maniac. But now the voice of what I believe to be an evil genius.

“There you are . . .” I smirked at him, then letting him slowly look up at me again. The same smile that never seems to leave his face, looked up at me. “Let me make my intentions very clear ‘Mr. J’, I intend to expose you for what you really are.”

“And what is that my dear.” He moved to the edge of his seat now, his eyes going big with joy, I couldn’t fully understand. “A beast that should have been put down years ago.” The look of joy as quickly as it came faded. The smile he now had could only be put simply as boredom. Showing he had heard it all before.

“let me guess, I’m incurable and-."

“Oh no Mr. J, your perfectly sane and I aim to prove that.” The pause he gave was theatrical at best, but the laugh that rumbled throughout the room was real. It was real and truly pleasure filled. His laugh went on and on, so much so that I began to question, if I should have chosen this way to try and get something out of him. “You couldn’t truly mean that.” Abruptly stopping his laugh, just as quickly as he had started it, the Joker jumped from his seat and walked all the way to the glass. His eyes intensely watching me.

Reaching in my bag I pulled out one of his files. A file his last doctor Phillip had written a few weeks before he killed himself. Opening it up to the last page I began to read it to him. “I see now that the man known only as Joker, is a man controlled purely by logic and reason. Hiding behind the illusion of uncontrollable madness. At first, I wondered if it was multiple personality disorder, but now I'm sure that the joker is nothing, but a man wearing the mask of whatever we give him.” I closed the folder and placed it back in my bag.

“It's clear that your doctor before me saw something others didn’t, or maybe wouldn't see, I’m not sure which, but I do know that whatever he figured out you killed him for it.”

“Hahahaha close but not quite.” There was a beeping noise just above our heads then, cutting off any future discussion. (Dr. Quinzel please report to my office.) I smiled wondering what took them so long. To find out that I was speaking with the Joker. "Well, I'd say it's been interesting... .but I'd be lying."

I grabbed my things and no longer paying the man in the cage before me any attention. This was a mistake, the Joker didn’t let slip. The bang that filled the room had me jumping back, my hand going to my chest.

What I saw had me fearing that maybe I was wrong, that maybe he was as mad as they say he was. What man in his right mind, would bang his head against the glass, just so he could use the blood to draw a clown's grin on his face.

"I'd tell you to stay away, but you won't." He turned from me then, his tone one of boredom. "At the end of the day your nothing more than wallpaper, a useless background character."

Chapter Two

Intervention

The clicking sound of a clock was all that could be heard outside his door. The big Oakwood doors hiding our inferno of an argument. Though if you were to ask Dr. Gillian, it would be called nothing more than a 'light' debate. Sitting behind the desk before me was a bully. And not the playground bullies that lurked here and there in the office, no this was the worst kind of bully, the bully that had power and loved to use it, on those he deemed lower than him.

Looking at him now you would think James C. Gillian would have some understand and compassion for those he held power over. But clearly, all the compassion had been beaten out of the shrimpy four-eyed, thin-haired man a long time ago. "Look if you don't want to waste your time twiddling your thumbs, and want to really help people, fine do that. But do it with someone actually curable." He said waving off the thin piece of hair that had fallen right over his pale pasty skin. "That's what I'm doing, I'm telling you Dr. Harris was onto something. Something that the joker would kill to hide." I leaned forward putting my hands on the desk he kept so messy.

"Damn it Quinzel, the Joker may have gotten to him, but it wasn't him who pushed him off that roof." He was standing now his eyes locking on mine clearly unmoving. "You need to except that Harris was an ambitious man, who couldn't take failure." His fingers came up snatching my ID and key card off my shirt. "Now I thought you wouldn't make me do this but it's clear you're not thinking right. Clean out your desk you're on suspension until further notice." It was then that it happened, that need to grab him by the head and slam it into the computer sitting right next to his hand.

But instead of doing it physically I did that with my head. Letting the image calm me. "I have done nothing to bring this about. All I am asking for is a year . . . A year to either prove or disprove Harris Theory. After that, not only will I give up on the Joker, but I'll take that suspension with a smile and say you were right."

"I know how you operate Harleen, you don't shake ideas out your head as easy, as the rest of us. It's a gift and a curse for you. So how about this. I'll let you work on the Joker if you let me work on you. . . I just want to help you get over your grief." Gillian didn't look at her, just sat her card down on the table as he turned back to his computer. clenching my fist I stood there looking at my card wondering if fighting him on this last issue was really worth it. . .

I took back my ID and turned to leave, even though I knew there was more to his offer. When I reached the door he spoke again. "Also in a year, you transfer to another facility." Blowing air through my teeth, I marched out of his office.  

Chapter Three

Fear

"What makes you think I was lying about my mother." The Joker said as soon as I walked in. Not even giving me time to sit down. For a moment I thought about pulling a power play and making him wait until I sat down, and got my things together. But pissing him off this early would