Slaughter Swamp, The Outskirts of Gotham City, June 25th, 1987
"That's... that's it?"
Jack gives himself a quick check, making sure he still has all his arms and legs in the right places, and that his skin is on the right side out, jumping a little in surprise as the portal closes behind him, before grimacing as he realizes he just stepped right into a rather soggy spot of marshland. Around us, there's a chorus of chirping crickets and croaking frogs, a few fireflies lighting up the summer evening. Beyond that, far in the distance, you can just about make out the faint noise of the Gotham City traffic.
"What did you expect a magic portal to feel like, exactly?" I say as I watch Jack absorb the experience of his first trip through magical means. Unlike the suit and tie he usually wears, he's wearing a plain, brown jacket with a plaid shirt underneath, something that briefly reminds me of Jack Nicholsons outfit from The Shining, the kind of clothes I usually file under "Dad clothes". On his right hand is his now-magically protective wedding ring.
"I don't know, maybe a falling feeling, or something? Like in Alice In Wonderland? Or like being sucked through something?"
"First of all, we didn't fall anywhere, we just walked from one spot to the next. Second, a feeling of movement would imply we were being transported physically across space, which my portals don't do, they just open a door from Point A to Point B. We weren't moving any different than walking down the street."
"I guess that makes sense..." Jack responds as he wipes the swamp grime from his shoe on a patch of grass before looking around, taking in the dense leaves that block out most of the evening sky above us. "So, this is Slaughter Swamp. Back when I was a kid, we always used to terrify eachother with stories about this place, I never dared to come out here. Somehow, I was expecting it to be less... picturesque..." He shrugs and looks down at a cluster of flowers creeping up along the bark of a tree.
He's got a point, for all the rumors surrounding the place, both justified and not, Slaughter Swamp doesn't really live up to it's name, at least not this time of day and year. It looks more like the kind of place bored teenagers come to hang out rather than a magical hotspot haunted by a superpowered zombie. "Well, few places look all that scary on a pleasant summer eve. I can bring you back here in November if you want, it'll probably look appropriatly terrifying then." I begin walking further into the swamp, making sure to keep myself on dry land, waving for Jack to follow me.
"Uh, I think I'll pass" He says as he hurries to catch up with me "I guess I'm still a bit surprised about the magic stuff you've showed me so far. I mean, it's amazing what I've seen you do, but somehow it's still... no, not mundane, that's the wrong word... I think, practical? Yeah, that's it, practical! It's been surprisingly practical."
"Thanks, I think?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean that as a bad thing, it's just-" he pauses "Whenever I hear the word magic, it makes me think about fantasy stories, you know? Dragons, and castles, and elaborate chanting, and magic wands. No one in the books I read as a kid ever had anyone just make a magic door to go somewhere, they'd ride a giant eagle or something!"
"My landlord doesn't even allow DOGS at his place, I doubt he'd let me bring a giant eagle." I hold up my hand, stopping Jack as our path has led us to a small cluster of blue flowers growing in the middle of a patch of elevated ground sticking out of the swamp. I crouch down, making a grabbing motion towards Jack. "Hand me the empty plastic container in the pack, would you?"
I hear him shuffling around behind me as he shrugs the backpack off, before unzipping it, and pulling out the container. "What are these things?"
"Aconitum, though you probably know them better as Wolf's Bane..."
Jack's eyes widen, and he takes a step back as he watches me begin to harvest the flowers "Um... aren't those the flowers that turn you into a werewolf?"
"Pretty much the opposite, actually. They can CURE lycanthropy under certain conditions, as long as they're processed the right way."
"Is-is that why we're out here? You're going to cure a werewolf?"
I shake my head as I finish putting the last flower into the container, steadying myself as I get back to my feet "Nah, they're also a useful ingredient for healing potions, I've been experimenting a bit with potion making on the side, but I need raw ingredients for that, and they don't exactly sell these kinds of things at the pharmacy." I hand the container back to Jack, who takes it somewhat apprehensively, before slipping it back into the bag.
"I'm surprised these kinds of plants just randomly grow basically around the corner from a city like this. I figured magic plants would require you to wander into the wilderness for days, or climb a dangerous mountain or something. Explore a dangerous cave system at least!"
I shrug "I guess you can if you want, but frankly, Slaughter Swamp has dangers enough on it's own. Why do you think I had you bring a whole grilled chicken?"
"I-I thought that was your lunch or something!" Jack gulps nervously "What do you mean there's danger out here?!"
"Oh don't worry, it's not enough to threaten you while you have your ring on, otherwise I wouldn't have brought you along. I'm just saying that there's a reason for why Slaughter Swamp has the reputation it does, and it's not all urban legends or repurposed folk myths. See, the reason plants like Wolf's Bane thrive out here is because the swamp is a naturally occuring hotspot for magic energy, sort of like an oil well, or a mineral deposit. Problem is, it also happens to be located right next to one of the most crime-ridden cities in the western world. Crime that produced a lot of corpses that needed disposal, and wouldn't you know it, there was a perfect spot for it right around the corner! 200 years of being used as a makeshift graveyard for murder victims, it has an effect on places like this..."
The sun has finally set in the west, leaving the swamp with only the last bit of twilight illuminating it, and suddenly, Slaughter Swamp doesn't feel quite as picturesque anymore. Even the wildlife seems to have become muted, an unnerving silence falling over the marshland. I almost feel like I should be holding a flashlight under my face for added effect while I'm telling Jack all of this.
"W-what do you mean? Is it... haunted or something?"
"Probably, but that's not what I was refering to. You see-" I'm interrupted by the sound of a snapping twig further into the woods, followed by the rustling of leaves as something begins to make it's way towards us through the undergrowth. Something big.
"What the hell was that?!" Jack half-whispers, pressing his back towards a tree as he stares into the gloom beneath the trees, trying to spot the source of the noise.
"That would be one of the effects I mentioned. Just stay behind me, and remember what I said, there's no real danger here for either of us, no matter how scary he might look."
"Wait, who looks scary? What's going- Oh dear god in heaven!" Jack gasps in shock, nearly tripping over his own feet and falling backwards into the swamp before he can catch himself against the body of a tree, as a massive shape suddenly lurches out from the shadows beneath the treeline. He doesn't look quite as exagerated as he did in the comics and cartoons, but there's no denying just how big he is in person. Well over seven feet tall at the very least, his body swollen with unnatural muscle, his chalk-white skin scarred and calloused underneath the ragged, decaying clothes covering him, his white, stripy hair hanging down over one side of his face in matted clumps.
I pretty much had the same reaction Jack is having the first time I saw this guy.
The behemoth lumbers towards me, long-dead eyes staring into mine, as an inhuman voice gurgles from his open jaws "Born on a Monday..."
"Easy there, Solomon. I'm just here for some plants, that's all. I even brought you a little something as a gift..." I walk backwards, holding up my hands in a non-threatening position. Jack is still where he was last I looked, pressing himself against the tree like he's trying to disappear inside it, and I take the bag from him, opening it up and rummaging through it. Finally, my fingers brush against the item I'm looking for, still lukewarm inside it's wrapping, and I pull it out. Nothing special, just a pre-cooked chicken we bought from a grocery store on the way, but the intended recipient isn't exactly a gourmand.
"Christened on a Tuesday..." Solomon Grundy mutters, sniffing the air like a wild animal as I hold the chicken out towards him in offering. Finally, one massive hand snatches it from me, tearing the wrapper off with one tug, and Grundy sinks his rotting teeth into the meal, bones and all, in one vicious bite, the snap of the bones echoing out across the swamp.
"Good god, what the hell is that thing?!" Jack whispers, having regained a bit of his composure as he watches Grundy tear apart his food.
"One of those Gotham legends that just happened to be true. Jack Napier, I'd like you to meet Solomon Grundy, born on a monday! Formerly known as Cyrus Gold, 19th century Gotham merchant and victim of a robbery gone wrong. Over the centuries, the magic energies of the swamp began to affect Gold's body, up until about 50 years ago, when he was brought back to... well, it's hard to tell exactly what he is now. He's certainly not alive, but he's not quite undead either. I honestly don't know what to call it."
"T-that thing has been this close to Gotham this whole time?! Why doesn't anyone know?!"
"What makes you think no one knows? The first Green Lantern certainly does, he used to fight Grundy back in the 1940's, and I'm guessing the surviving members of the Justice Society know about him too. As long as he's content to stay out here these days, I don't think they see fit to go after him."
Jack simply watches in muted shock as Grundy swallows an entire drumstick in one bite "No, no, this is crazy! There can't be a- a swamp zombie right next door to Gotham! Someone would've done something! Said something!"
I shrug "Tell who? Until about a month ago, the police wouldn't try and solve crimes that happened right in front of them, you think they would have gone all the way out here just because someone said they saw a monster? There hasn't been any superheroes capable of dealing with Grundy active here for 20 years at least, and the new Bat guy has his hands full as it is. As long as Grundy keeps to himself, the few people who do know about him are probably content to let him stay out here. I only come out here for the plants, but he seems to be okay with it, as long as I bring a peace offering."
"Married on a Wednesday..." Grundy mutters as he finishes the chicken, giving the two of us one final glance, before turning around and lumbering back into the woods, his heavy footsteps slowly disappearing in the distance.
"Took ill on Thursday... Grew worse on a Friday..."
Finally, Slaughter Swamp falls silent once again.
Jack shakes his head as he stares in the direction Grundy disappeared "That was... that was terrifying! I didn't even think something like that could exist..."
I can only nod in agreement "That's the other side of magic, the darker side. And as far as I can tell, Grundy's creation was a genuine accident, you should see what happens when magic is misused on purpose!"
"Heh, I think I'll pass on that, this was insane enough for me."
"Probably a good call. Okay, let's get back to it, I want to find some nightshade to experiment with before we head back..."