Behind The Smiles.

Chapter Six.

Though Joker's eyes are burning with tiredness, it takes him two hours to fall asleep. When he finally wake up, he carefully stood up after five minutes just sitting there on the bed, taking deep breaths until he was able to stand up.

He slowly walked into the bathroom, closed the door behind me after he made sure Harley didn't wake up. "Not looking too bad." He smiled and looked at my arms that still were way too skinny, his whole body was practically only bones and skin. "We're feeling better, aren't we?" Even just standing there made him feel so exhausted he had to lean with both of his hands against the mirror and he was glad Harley didn't see how bad Joker's condition was.

"Stop being such a fool!" He looked at his reflection in the mirror and straightened his back, simply suppressing his weakness.
One of those moments he was proud about his self control and started brushing his teeth.

Harley slowly woke up, getting out of bed to stretch. "Time to start another day." She was still exhausted even after getting a few decent hours of sleep. She headed over to the closest to find which suit she wanted to wear today. "Good morning Mr. J!" She called out, getting dressed. "Did you get any sleep?"

"Morning, Harley." He says while brushing his teeth after taking a shower. "Yeah, best sleep in a while." He lied and put on his undershirt, sighing and opening the door as he suddenly realize it didn't hide his skinny figure.
"Still, wasn't the best one." He quickly acted as if his sick look wasn't a problem at all.

"I'm sorry." Harley said, looking at his physique. She knew something was wrong, now she was just curious as to why he wasn't telling her. "If you say so, but if you need or want anything I'm right here." She decided to play along with whatever Joker was hiding.
Harley walked into the bathroom and brushed her teeth.

"I said I'm okay!" He growled while putting on his purple tailcoat. "It's just a side effect from the medicine I'm taking. I'm feeling better since five days." He just walked out the room and to the kitchen area, quickly leaning against a wall with his back. "And the only person possessing a cure is Batsss." He mumbled through his teeth, feeling the anger rising in his body. "Do I really have to ask him for help?" He slowly walked over to the fridge. "Heh. I'd rather die."

"Alright, Mr. J.. Just don't overwork yourself." She got some meat from the freezer and called the hyenas then gave them their breakfast. "Red and I might go to the Iceberg Lounge later." She lied, figuring that if Joker won't spill what's wrong, maybe Batman will.

"Good for you." Somehow, He managed to walk and act as if he was totally healthy and eat an entire sandwich he made himself.
"I will be off with Murphy and a few others to get myself new guns. Our current ones are really way too old. Maybe I'll even stop for a few stuffed animals."
He smiled and looked over to the couch. "Filling them with explosives will be my new hobby, hehe."

"Yeah, hehe." She pours herself a cup of coffee. She needed all the caffeine she could get right now. "And we're going grocery shopping so, if you want any specific food speak now or forever hold your peas." She smiled and drink her coffee.

Joker turned his head to Harley at her last sentence. "That...heh...that was funny." Chuckling, he thought for a moment.
"But no, I don't need anything. After all, why do you go 'shopping'? Those people will freak out if they see you and the houseplant."
He walked out of the kitchen and grabbed some notes from the drawing desk.

"Because, she never eats anything but steamed vegetables and beet juice." She thought for a second. "And she needs the human socialization." She finished up my coffee and place the cup in the sink. "I think I left my purse in the the storage room." She lied once again and went into the storage room to record a message for Batman.

She closed the door to make sure Joker didn't hear. "Hey Batman, something's wrong with Mr. J, he says he's fine but I'm not buying it." She took off her mask and headpiece. It was honestly too hot for it. It also gave the video a little pizazz.
"He also said that you're the only one who has what he needs. So, if you know anything about this you better tell me!" She paused and put on some water woks, Batman is kind of a pushover if you hit the right areas. "Thanks batman." She the end button then wiped away her tears.

"Why would I care what she eats?" Joker asked, coughing a bit before calling Murphy over. "Purse?" He wondered and raise an eyebrow. "You never use one..but that's none of my business, anyway." He suddenly felt his body cramping and his eyes roll back in his head as she left and he got so dizzy Murphy had to catch him and kept him from falling down.

"Are you okay, boss?" He asks and Joker quickly pulled himself together again.
"Of course! Now get your hands off me!" He shook his head and grabbed his jester cane, then waited for Steve and Don to arrive while he held his head with his free hand.
"What would I do to get this formula out of me." He whispered and closed my eyes.

Harley grabbed a purse out of the closet and put the tape inside. "I'll be back in a couple hours, be careful." Harley put on her coat. She walked out the door and headed for a nearby pay phone to call Ivy.

"Hey Red, it's Harley. I told Mr. J I was going to the lounge with you, but I'm dropping of something for batman."
Pamela paused for a second. "Alright I'll play along, but we're still going shopping right?"
Harley sighed in relief. "You got it, I'll see later." She hung up and headed for the GCPD.

"I always am." He glared at her from the side and waited until Harley left, then let himself sink down in a chair while pulling out some pain killers as well as the usual dose of vitamins.

He swallowed all eight pills at once with some water before He bit his lower lip and stood up again. "Alright, get the others and let's get this done with." He said to Murphy before he walked out into the van, waiting for the other three guys to get in.
"What guns are we looking for?" Don asked while joker sighed, annoyed.
"We'll see when we get there! God!"

Harley gave up walking and called a cab to GCPD and walked inside. They have a new secretary at the front desk. "Give this to Gordon immediately, it's an emergency." She put the tape on the desk and walked out.

The blonde reached for her phone to call Red and she picks up. "Hey Harl, ready to go?" She paused for a second.
"Yeah, can you pick me up in front of the station?"
Ivy sounded more excited than usual. "Sure thing, sweet pea."
Harley decided not to question why she was so happy, she decided to take a sit on the front steps and wait for Ivy.

Murphy drove up the street and Joker looked out the window when he suddenly saw Harley sitting in front of the GCPD. "Huh." He blinked. Steve asked if something's wrong.
"Focus on your own things." Joker looked back at the street and moved his fingers over the cane, figuring he must be seeing things. "Alright. Get some rifles and two machine guns. I'm going to take some stuffed animals. See y'all in twenty minutes... Murphy, you come with me." While walking over to the toy store only a block away, he was still thinking if it was really Harley sitting at the GCPD station, but mainly his mind starts working on why Harley was even there in the first place.

Ivy finally showed up roughly twenty minutes later, "Get in, doll face." She yells.
Harley hopped in the car and gave her a hug. "Gees, what took so long?" She was expecting a plant related answer, she threw her coat onto the backseat.
"Penguin's precious, little pet was eating my tulips again!" Pamela's smile started to fade away.
"Well turn that frown upside down, all the food and fertilizer you could ever want is just up ahead." They both chuckled and continued driving.

Breaking the front glass of the store using the iron head of a jester on his cane, Joker jumped in and look through the shelves full of games, stuffed animals and all kinds of fan articles. "Nope. Dumb. Not even a leal thing." He threw one shelve after another onto the ground but stop at a smaller one. "What the...!" He looked closer to two action figures of Batman and himself.

He picked the packaging up and growled in anger. "Become the awesome Batman and catch the crazed criminal, The Joker." He threw it against the nearest wall and looked down at the broken Batman figure.
"Awesome Batsy, eh?" He sprayed some acid from his flower on it, making it melt and he smiled. "Not that smart mouth anymore, are we?" Joker took out a red pen and drew a evil smiley face on every single Batman figure before he grabbed three stuffed animals and ordered Murphy to take some clown masks as well as playing cards and a bunch of other gag items he'd be using later, then returned to the van.