Chapter Text
The sky over Gotham City had turned a deep slate grey, thick and heavy with storm clouds. Wind and rain buffeted the entire city, and lightning flashed from cloud to cloud, occasionally arcing down to spear the ground or pierce the water. Travel across Gotham’s many bridges between the sections of the city had been restricted to necessities only, while the small islands in the bay were left isolated while waiting for the storm to pass.
Arkham Island was no different. All but one of the boats typically moored at the pier had been sent to the mainland, while the remaining vessel was secured in the boathouse, locked away until either the weather cleared up or there was an inescapable need for it –whichever came first. The staff and residents of the asylum stayed indoors whenever possible, with only those unlucky few who were stuck with no other option but to brave the storm venturing outside.
The luck of one Eddie Burlow had failed dismally. He tugged his raincoat closer around his body with a loud groan, earning a sympathetic glance from the man beside him –a fellow Arkham guard by the name of Louie Green. Both had drawn the short straw and been given guard duty outside and both had decided to stay as close to the boathouse as possible, using the small building as a form of shelter. “Where’d this storm even come from?” he groused.
With a small smile, Louie shook his head. “No clue, but it’d be nice if it left as suddenly as it came, wouldn’t it?” Letting out a huff, he continued. “Can’t even call anyone, so why are they insisting that we stand guard? Who’d be stupid enough to want to be out in this weather?”
“Good question.” Eddie was interrupted from saying anything further by the sound of a loud splash coming from between the boathouse and the steep rocky shore. “What was that?” The pair carefully made their way around the boathouse, squinting through the rain for a few seconds before Louie let out a wordless shout and pointed at a colourful mass in the water, one that looked too much like a body to be ignored.
After a moment of hesitation, Eddie grimaced and dove in. He managed to get a hold on the person’s upper torso and pulled them back onto solid ground with Louie’s help. They lay the stranger out on the boathouse floor, looking them over.
“He’s just a kid…” the thoroughly-soaked guard breathed out between his shivers and chattering teeth, his brown eyes transfixed on the stranger’s face and his mouth hanging slightly open, snapping back to himself when Louie jabbed him in the ribs.
“There’s more to worry about than that, Burlow. Take a good look.”
Eddie grunted. The boy he’d fished out of the water looked entirely out of place… and entirely foreign to Gotham as a whole. He had to cover his mouth when he noticed a massive hole in the stranger’s side, sluggishly leaking something that looked a lot like mercury. “How’d he even…?”
“…hate lightning… always fucking hurts…” murmured a third voice, drawing the attention of both asylum guards back to the boy’s face, and his half-open eyes. “…no, how about you do that, instead…”
Louie let out a sharp hiss, scrambling to his feet. He was halfway to the door before anything else could be said. “What the—?! He’s awake, too? I’m going to get—”
“Yeah, go. I’ll take him up to Medical.” Eddie interrupted with a nod.