You open the doors to his cell.

“Back for more, Maggie?” He asks.

“I don’t wanna hear about the bomb, I wanna hear about what makes you tick. Tell me about growing up.” You say.

“Oh, look who passed their freshman psychology class..” He retorts.

“I can see this is just too painful for you, we can stop for today.” You offer.

He turns back. “You think you can hurt me, Sweetheart? I’ve been hurt by the best.” He tells you.

“Oh, please, everyone’s hurt by their childhood..” You say.

“Not worse than me..-“ He replies. He pauses. “Fine. You wanna know how I got these emotional scars?” He asks.

“I’m listening.” You reply.

“Alright.. I’ll admit my parents weren’t too fond of me.” He says.

“What makes you think that?” You ask.

He continues. “Let me see, ‘Son, we’re not too fond of you’. My parents were wealthy, but they never gave me much. Especially not their attention.”

“So you spent a lot of time alone..” You think out loud.

“Well, I had Mr. Ferris.” He mentions.

“Was he a role model for you?” You ask.

“He was a ferret.” Joker says back, before continuing. “A beautiful beast. With gorgeous fur. Mr. Ferris, the ferret.. Being an only and neglected child, the pet was a brother to me. We were inseparable.. Until one night, when my mother was away, I’d made the mistake of wandering into my father’s study, where I found dear old dad naked with the maid. He roared, so I rushed out and went straight to bed. I hadn’t even had supper. After all, the maid was… busy. The next morning I found Ferris’ cage empty and daddy above it with the widest smile i’d ever seen. The day my father took away the one thing I ever loved… Then he beat the shit out of me. I can just remember him laughing and punching and punching and laughing and-“ He starts to break down. A mix of sobs and psychotic laughter.

You put a hand gently on his.

He continued: “Personally, I never got what was so funny, but that’s the thing about comedy, not everyone gets the joke."