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Harley Quinn. Before she ran off and joined the circus, she was known as Dr. Krist Perawat Sangpotirat, licensed Psychiatrist.
Not everyone knows, but the Harlequin was once a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum.
He was assigned to the clown himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Doctor!”, Singto gleefully greeted. “Oh, how I live for these moments with you~”
"So, what do you got there, Doctor?", Singto asked with a smile on his face.
"I brought you a kitty. Isn't she adorable?", Krist coos as he holds Muffin, the chubby fluffy cat in his arms.
"Oh, it's a she!", Singto replies with glee and a manic expression.
Krist nods and distracts himself with fidgeting with the papers in his hands, shy at the attention the other man was giving him.
“Tell me more about her, Doctor", Singto says as he takes his hand.
The doctor thought he was curing him, but really, he was falling in love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I need you to do something for me, kitten", Singto proclaims.
"Anything.", was Krist's automatic response. He blushed, "Uhm, I mean, yeah".
"I need a machine gun", The clown says as he looks into his eyes.
"A-a machine gun?", Krist asks hesitantly.
"Of course.”, Singto stared into his eyes as he took his hand and kissed it, slowly as if savoring the doctor. “Can you do it for me, Kitten? Won't you be good for me?”
“Talk about a workplace romance gone wrong”, the agents joked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Loud, terrifying gunshots echoed all over the facility. Men in animal masks kicked down doors and destroyed the walls, wreaking havoc in their path. A grenade there, A c4 here, and soon, dead bodies littered the hallways at Arkham Asylum.
Krist punched one goon in the face, but another bashed him in the head. They captured him by the arms and the legs, kicking and yelling as they dragged him across the corridors.
“Get off of Me!”, Krist wriggled against the bed as his assailants held him down.
“Well, well”, Singto remarked. “Hello, Kitten. ”
“I did everything, didn’t I? I helped you.” Krist said. The unsaid question ‘Why’ hung in the air.
“Oh… But you’re forgetting something, Kitten. You- Along with many ‘Doctors’”, He made finger quotation marks in the air, “so-called ’helped me’ by erasing my mind.” Krist recalled Joker’s early weeks in the Asylum. How he green lighted the multiple electro-shock therapy sessions on him, thinking it would be the right thing to repair the broken screws in his head. Or did he just scramble him even further?
“And I’m… here to pay you back. After all, that’s just fair. Ain’t that right, boys?” Singto looked around his goons with his hand spread. His goons cheered loudly, reminding Krist of that old movie with Scar and his hyenas.
“Here’s my thanks, Dr. Sangpotirat”, Singto taunted as he got the equipment ready for the electroshock therapy. No. Krist refuses to give him the satisfaction. He won’t let this end like this.
“Is that so? Then, Give it your best shot”, Krist taunted back.
“Have fu~n, Kitten”, were the last words Krist recalled as loud screams burst out of his mouth, loud cackling and immesurable pain filled his head.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Months after, when Krist recovered in a hospital, he realized that the electroshock therapy cured him. It put into perspective of what was truly important. Not his researches, his doctorates, his masters, or his career. No. Instead, Joker dogged his every thought. Everywhere he looked, there Joker was, taunting him, asking him to join him and come find him.
And he did. He scoured the underground, mingling with those he knew were in his circles looking for information on him.
Until one day, he scored. By chance, he found out when he would leave his hideout.
Joker drove around, bored out of his mind and thinking of another marvelous plank that would shake Gotham. There, on his windshield, he saw it. The doctor from the Arkham Asylum was chasing him in a motorcycle. He grunted and sped up, but so did he.
The doctor was relentless in pursuit. Soon, he overtook the Joker’s car and maneuvered his bike horizontally and stood on top, deliberately blocking the clown’s way.
Singto growled and stopped the car in front of the scorned doctor.
“You’re not leaving me”, Krist exclaimed as he banged against the front of the car. “YOU’RE. NOT. LEAVING ME!”
“Oh, you’re a pain in the ass”, Singto grunted as he climbed out of the car. In hindsight, a truck approached them.
“I’ve done everything you told me to. All your trials, initiations. I have proved that I love you. Why can’t you accept that?”, Krist’s voice broke at the end and tears pooled at the end. No. He refuses to let them fall and show weakness in front of him. Not until he succeeded.
“I got it. But you see, Kitten, I am not someone who IS loved. I am an idea”, Singto declared with his hands flailing about in wild hand gestures. “A state of mind.”
“I execute my will, according to my plan, and YOU, doctor, are not a part of that plan”
Krist chuckles, “You know, for someone named after a lion you sure are a coward”.
Singto’s head rapidly turns to him.
“Just because I’m not originally a part of your plan, you immediately discard me? Are you so afraid of change that you won’t even give us a chance?”, Krist retorted. “Here I thought Joker’s entire thing was being unpredictable and changeable”.
Singto’s entire face contorts in anger, but before he can reply, the driver the truck behind them yells, “Hey! Go bitch at each other somewhere else!”
Singto turns, but Krist was faster. He takes the gun from inside his coat and shoots at the driver. One, two, then three consecutive shots til the son of a bitch was dead.
Singto turns and feels the cold end of a gun against his head. He grins. “SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT!” He chants over and over. Krist’s hand shakes.
He cackled and took the gun away from Krist’s hand. “If I wasn’t so crazy, Kitten, I’d think you’re insane”, He teases as his eyes turn into slits and his lips form a malicious grin.
He point the gun at him. “Go. Away.”
“No.”, Krist stared at him head on. Singto’s eyes slightly widened as the doctor got even closer to the gun he held. “You can’t force me away, Joker. You might well kill me now if you want me gone”.
Singto growled. That stubborn minx infuriated him. “Fine”, He put the gun down and opened the passenger seat. “After you”, he gestured for him to enter.
Krist’s heart won’t stop hammering in his chest as the Joker drove next to him. Singto was vibrating in agitation, every now and then running his hand thru his hair and his knee jerking up and down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After an hour, they pulled up at an abandoned building on the outskirts of Gotham. ‘Ace Chemicals’, the barely hanging sign outside read.
Krist looked down at the huge vats of boiling chemicals tons of stories below them.
Singto whispered against his ear, “Would you die for me, Kitten?”
“Yes”, Krist answered with no hesitation. To him, it required no thought and no reason. The months they spent apart were spent lying awake desiring only Singto. He would do anything for him.
Singto chuckled. “That’s too easy.” He stood in contemplation. “Would you… Would you live for me?”
“Yes”, he answered once again, thoughtlessly yet truthfully.
Singto clicked his tongue. “Careful, kitten. Do not be so hasty”.
“Desire becomes surrender. Surrender. Becomes. Power”. He foretold as he leaned over the boiling vats below. He deceptively gave a small smile and offered his hand to the doctor, “Are you completely sure you want this?”
“Yes”, Krist answered, eyes transfixed at the other.
“Oh!~ You’re so…”, Singto exclaimed gleefuly as he jumped with excitement. He kissed and whispered, “Go on, Kitten”. He gestured towards the boiling vats of acid.
Krist stood there for a few moments, seemingly contemplating his fate. The Joker watched him at the back, sure that this would resolve his whole fiasco with his psychiatrist. Either he takes the cowardly way and backs out, which will be taken care of by the handy glock situated at his hip or he jumps and the acid below will take care of him.
He deserved his fate both ways. After all, he chased after Singto Prachaya Ruangroj and thought himself in love with him!~ In love!~ HA!~
Singto was long gone. Swept away by the acid he first fell from. What is left is the Joker.
The Joker does not fall in love. It does not care or leaves spaces for others by its side. It’s an illusion. It’s an idea. It’s a nightmare from the depths of hell come to torment Gotham and Batman.
Then, Krist turns towards Singto. He smiled. Then, he spread his arms and tips over.
Down, down, down he goes. A loud plop!~ was heard as he plunged into the acid and excess spilled over. Silence remained as the doctor lay submerged.
The Joker turned to walk away. Well, there goes that nuisance.
As he got near the stairs, the voices in his head argued.
“Is he really just a nuisance?”
“Wasn’t he the one thing you looked forward to in Arkham?”
“Wasn’t he fun?”
All at the same time, the voices all argued, demanding for the kitten he found himself with. Deep inside, he knew, he too craved the eccentric doctor.
He growled. His steps thundered as he returned to the balcony. He hastily discarded his jacket and dove for his kitten.
Another whoosh sounded as the water was displaced. His arms wandered, looking for Krist. He took him by the shoulders and lifted him up.
Once upright, He kissed him passionately and returned his breath. Krist’s eyes opened and took large gulps of air. As he oriented himself, he took in the view in front of him. There Singto was, dripping in acid, clothes peeling off of him and holding him tight.
Krist lunged and kissed him. They poured every ounce of emotions into that kiss- their obsession and their greed for each other. From then on, nothing else mattered. The world was insignificant except for the both of them
.
That night, Krist Perawat Sangpotirat, the head doctor of Arkham Asylum was no more. Instead, Harley Quinn took her rightful place by Joker’s side. Together, they ruled the underground of Gotham City. In everyone’s eyes, they became one. KristSingto, Joker and Harley. The Clown and the Jester.