Chapter 1 Percy I moved to Gotham straight out of college. My parents, who had always been a bit overprotective, had been thrilled when I was accepted into the Gotham Police Academy, but I’d quickly realized that they were right about me not being cut out to be a cop. I was too empathetic to deal with the criminals who ran rampant in the city, and my desire to help people often got in the way of following orders. A few months into my rookie year, I’d injured my shoulder during a fight with a suspect and been put on desk duty until it healed. I’d never gone back out on patrol, and instead had worked behind the scenes as an analyst for the last two and a half years. While I loved my job, I was ready to move out of the house I’d grown up in. My younger sister, for whom I was constantly worried, had left for college at the start of the month, and it was time for me to start my own life. Plus, the commute to the GCPD building was at least an hour each way, which was exhausting. I’d found a great deal on an apartment right across from the main headquarters, and while I knew that it was still technically in the Narrows, I wasn’t too concerned. The neighborhood had been cleaned up considerably over the last few years, and more and more Gotham officers were moving there, which had to say something. I parked my car in front of the rundown apartment building, eyeing it warily. It was only three stories tall and looked like it had been built in the early 1900s. The brick had long since turned black, and there were cracks in several of the window panes. The streetlights flickered overhead, and despite being mid-afternoon, the entire front of the building was cloaked in darkness. I frowned, glancing down at my phone to double check that this was the correct address for the landlord before getting out of my car. The alleyway that ran next to the building smelled like garbage and urine, and I hurriedly climbed up the broken concrete steps to reach the front door. The interior of the building was just as bad as the outside. The floors were covered in peeling linoleum tiles that stuck to my shoes as I walked. The walls were made of gray cinderblocks and were stained in several places. The lightbulbs in most of the fixtures were either missing or burned out completely, so only a faint sliver of light spilled out into the hallway. I made my way down to the last apartment on the left side of the hall before knocking on the door. There was no answer, so I knocked again only slightly louder this time. The door creaked open a crack, revealing a pair of blue eyes. “Can I help you?” I cleared my throat and held up a piece of paper. “I’m here about renting one of your apartments.” The man’s eyes dropped to my chest where my badge hung from my lanyard. “You’re…a cop?” “An analyst,” I corrected. He nodded his head slowly, opening the door a bit further, so I could get a better look at him. He appeared to be about my age—early twenties—with sun-kissed skin and messy black hair. A tight black shirt clung to his taut chest and abs while worn out jeans hung low on his hips. He gave me a once-over before sticking his hand out for me to shake. “Jason.” I took his hand and shook it firmly. “Percy.”

Mar 15

Scenario: A young man named Percy moves into an apartment in the run-down part of Gotham and meets his neighbor, Jason, who helps him move in and they strike up a conversation, leaving Jason intrigued by Percy.

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A young man named Percy moves into an apartment in the run-down part of Gotham and meets his neighbor, Jason, who helps him move in and they strike up a conversation, leaving Jason intrigued by Percy.

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Chapter 1PercyI moved to Gotham straight out of college. My parents, who had always been a bit overprotective, had been thrilled when I was accepted into the Gotham Police Academy, but I’d quickly realized that they were right about me not being cut out to be a cop. I was too empathetic to deal with the criminals who ran rampant in the city, and my desire to help people often got in the way of following orders. A few months into my rookie year, I’d injured my shoulder during a fight with a suspect and been put on desk duty until it healed. I’d never gone back out on patrol, and instead had worked behind the scenes as an analyst for the last two and a half years.While I loved my job, I was ready to move out of the house I’d grown up in. My younger sister, for whom I was constantly worried, had left for college at the start of the month, and it was time for me to start my own life. Plus, the commute to the GCPD building was at least an hour each way, which was exhausting.I’d found a great deal on an apartment right across from the main headquarters, and while I knew that it was still technically in the Narrows, I wasn’t too concerned. The neighborhood had been cleaned up considerably over the last few years, and more and more Gotham officers were moving there, which had to say something.I parked my car in front of the rundown apartment building, eyeing it warily. It was only three stories tall and looked like it had been built in the early 1900s. The brick had long since turned black, and there were cracks in several of the window panes. The streetlights flickered overhead, and despite being mid-afternoon, the entire front of the building was cloaked in darkness.I frowned, glancing down at my phone to double check that this was the correct address for the landlord before getting out of my car. The alleyway that ran next to the building smelled like garbage and urine, and I hurriedly climbed up the broken concrete steps to reach the front door.The interior of the building was just as bad as the outside. The floors were covered in peeling linoleum tiles that stuck to my shoes as I walked. The walls were made of gray cinderblocks and were stained in several places. The lightbulbs in most of the fixtures were either missing or burned out completely, so only a faint sliver of light spilled out into the hallway.I made my way down to the last apartment on the left side of the hall before knocking on the door. There was no answer, so I knocked again only slightly louder this time.The door creaked open a crack, revealing a pair of blue eyes. “Can I help you?”I cleared my throat and held up a piece of paper. “I’m here about renting one of your apartments.”The man’s eyes dropped to my chest where my badge hung from my lanyard. “You’re…a cop?”“An analyst,” I corrected.He nodded his head slowly, opening the door a bit further, so I could get a better look at him. He appeared to be about my age—early twenties—with sun-kissed skin and messy black hair. A tight black shirt clung to his taut chest and abs while worn out jeans hung low on his hips.He gave me a once-over before sticking his hand out for me to shake. “Jason.”I took his hand and shook it firmly. “Percy.”

He released my hand and nodded, stepping out of the way. “Come on in.”I eyed him warily, wondering what I’d gotten myself into. He must’ve noticed the apprehension on my face because he smirked and let out a low laugh.“Don’t worry, I’m not going to murder you or anything,” he said. “I actually just moved in here myself.”I hesitated a moment before stepping inside. His apartment was small and empty, the only furniture being a worn out sofa, an old TV, and a few cardboard boxes that were stacked in the corner. He led me down a narrow hallway to a door on the left with a silver number three displayed on it.“I live in number one, but it’s exactly the same as this one,” he said, gesturing to the door. “They’re both one-bedroom, one bath with a kitchen that has enough room for a small table and an actual refrigerator.”He pointed to the door across from his and gave a nod. “The landlord lives in number two. He’s got an office job or something, so he’s only home on the weekends. If you ever need anything while I’m gone, you can just ask him.”I nodded slowly, taking all of this in. “How long have you lived here?”“Not long enough to know that I want to stay,” he said. “But long enough that I can show you around if you’d like.”“I’d like that,” I said, letting out a small chuckle.He gave me another lopsided grin before pushing open the door to reveal the nearly identical apartment. The only difference was that there was no carpet in the living room and bedroom like his; instead, it was hardwood floors.“Are you from Gotham?” I asked.