Chapter Text
I don't know how long I've been traveling. It's felt like months. I had no idea those traffickers had taken me states away from Gotham.
I'm almost there, I know it. I just have to push through.
I will see my family again.
Each breath is a ragged pant as I trudge through the grassy field. I can see a road up ahead, the occasional car passing by. For such a late hour in the night, there's quite a few. I stop on the sidewalk, hoping to find someone who can give me directions, maybe some food or water, and dare I hope, a lift.
Times passes slowly, and eventually, a dark blue car stops. The window rolls down, revealing a man in his early twenties with light ginger hair, a short, scruffy beard and green eyes looking at me with a concerned expression.
"Hey buddy, lookin' pretty lost there, " he drawls, his voice friendly with a thick southern accent. "Need some help?"
I nod.
"Y-yeah. I'm trying to get to Gotham City."
His eyes widen in surprise. I can't blame him. I probably look a mess, and Gotham City is the last place someone in such a bad condition as I am should go.
"Gotham City, ya say? Well, I'll be passin' by on the way to my destination. Why dont'cha hop on in?"
My face lights up with hope. I thank him and quickly get in, putting on my seatbelt.
"So what's your name, kid?"
"Luke. Luke Wayne."
"Wayne, Huh?"
I see him raise an eyebrow in the rearview mirror.
"You don't happen to be one of Bruce Wayne's kids, are ya?"
"I am, yeah."
Bruce Wayne. I haven't heard my father's name in a long while.
"What brings a rich kid like you all the way out here? Especially lookin' like that. You look like you haven't slept or eaten in months."
I could see the concern in his eyes. Looking at my reflection in the rearview mirror, I saw what he meant.
My cheeks were hollow and sunken in, my face pale and sickly. My usually neat, curly black hair was messy, dark circles lined the bottom of my blue and gold eyes and a long, jagged scar ran across my nose.
"How I got here? I'll warn you, it isn't a pretty story."
The man nods.
"You can tell me, kid. You look like you need someone to talk to."
I lean back in my seat, and sigh, beginning to explain my story.