Chapter Text
Shrieking shack was what it was. A Harry Potter nightmare come to life in Piper’s opinion. With eerie iron Victorian gates seemingly caving in its occupants, the imposing grey bricked tower was seemingly built to cage in the frequent shrieks. If she didn’t know better, it was housing a family of banshees.
Piper shuddered as a cold draft came down. The longer she stared at the building, the longer she was convinced no living beings existed inside. Even Nico, the son of Hades, avoided this place. (But in his opinion, it was the occupants which unnerved him more than the building itself.)
Speaking of the son of hades, he was the reason she was there in the first place. Well, it wasn’t entirely his fault, but he was the spark that ignited a series of chain reactions which led her there.
A month ago, after a date quest with Will and Drew (who had the unfortunate privilege of third wheeling them, in her opinion), Nico shadow travelled them to Gotham in an attempt to lose the cyclops on their tail. It had been the nearest city with the most number of shadows he argued when Drew complained about the fog ruiningher hair.
The good news was that Gotham was known for attracting little to none monsters. The bad news was, besides the obviously high crime rate, the amount of unnatural magic accumulated there. The mist was even more unstable. Back to Nico and his infamously bad fortune, the trio had the opportunity of bumping into Batman. As in running straight into his chest sort of thing. The ridiculously hard armour had broken Nico’s nose much to his boyfriend’s dismay. Will had been practically glowing with rage according to Drew. But Batman had just given him some ointment before rushing off to catch some clown called the Joker? (How unoriginal, Piper wasn’t familiar with Gotham’s criminals, but their names clearly lacked creativity)
Much to Will’s strong dissatisfaction for the lack of apology, it worked in their favour. With rumours of Batman being a persistent detective, the last thing they wanted was to be interrogated by a man in a furry suit for being covered in gold monster glitter.
It also spared Nico the trouble from dealing with the overwhelming number of ghosts clinging to his cape.
A couple in their mid-thirties who mournfully glanced down at him. A teenager in a colourful costume who waved to Nico from behind the cape. And bloody Tristan McLean, who had the audacity to smile sheepishly at Nico.
Yea, somehow Dad had found his way to Batman’s side after leaving hers. A month ago, he’d passed away from cancer after 5 months of agony before that. Nico had been there to confirm his death, but couldn’t sense his ghost in the underworld which meant a flurry of questions and worries for Piper. And now she’d had her answer.
He’d always been fascinated by superheroes in crazy outfits. (There was a reason why he agreed to act in those stupid superhero movies.) Yet, he had no personal interaction with Batman, of this Piper was sure. Dad wouldn’t be able to stay silent about meeting the “Dark Knight”, he’d be so ridiculously happy she’d have the whole story memorised by heart. And just like that, her stomach was twisted in knots with her already palpitating heart beating twice as hard.
“You sure you want to do this?” A voice called her out of her trance. She jumped slightly as she turned to face Nico. He’d been the one to offer to drop her off. Piper tried for a smile that came out more like a grimace. The two of them had grown closer after Jason’s death. Two ridiculously powerful demigods who had their lives directly interfered by gods, dead parents and even messier love lives.
Granted she knew Nico had been much younger and suffered much more than her. But at least he had Will. Nico was the only one who knew Shel had broken up with her a month ago. He was the one who confirmed both Jason’s and dad’s deaths, and supported her throughout Jason’s despite his own grief.
Nico only started to visit her after Jason’s death. He wasn’t obligated to, but strangely enough, she was glad he did. And even more grateful, Nico was the one who shared her dad’s last few words. Although that had opened a whole new bag of questions, which Gotham seemed to have the answers to.
“Piper, you understand you’re gonna be living in this hellhole for a year right?”
She sighed. Arkham had been in need of psychologists and the pay was high. They say curiosity killed the cat, but Piper needed to understand her dad’s relationship with Batman. She tried for a joke this time (to reassure her or Nico, she wasn’t sure). “When else would I get to explore Harry Potter’s haunted castle?”
“Just be careful. The mist here is about as predictable as Daedalus Maze and as safe as drinking wine in front of Mr. D, on a good day” Nico warned.
That was probably why there were so many “superpowered” mortals in this ghastly city. Cabin 6 had always suspected them to be legacies or dryads in Poison Ivy’s case, who were cursed or gifted with unnatural abilities. With no explanation, it was no wonder they went mad. Piper could sympathise. As a child of Aphrodite who hadn’t understood her gift of charmspeak, she’d committed her fair share of crimes…although they weren’t as extreme as infecting a city with fear gas, or taking over parks with overgrown foliage. Still, misunderstood people deserved second chances in her opinion, they just needed some guidance. That probably was what spurred her to become a psychologist…who was now standing in front of Arkham Asylum, infamous for its…severely challenged patients? An understatement, she thought as another shrill cry escaped from the building.
“You can still leave now if you want, there’s plenty of other crazies in the world you could help?” Nico commented. Piper smiled, at the very least Nico could always act as her gateway driver—or shadow traveller.
“No time like the present I guess. Besides, aren’t you curious to know why my dad told you that?”
“Which part?” Nico raised an eyebrow. “He’s a surprisingly chatty ghost—” Piper rolled her eyes at the blatant sarcasm.
“Obviously, the part where he said Batman’s my biological father.”