Crocodile Tears
Being a part of the bat-family without actually being a Bat was kind of hard. The first time they'd put a question mark next to: Another Bat Girl. I had sent a rant to their editor that I was not a Bat and anyone with eyes could see I was not dressed like one. I don't wear a mask, so I have no bat ears... sigh. I'm sitting on a rooftop, in my civilian outfit. Blonde hair in a ponytail, instead of flowing around my shoulders and down my back. I blow my bangs out of my face... more of a fringe than anything. Black sports bra and a pair of puffy black pants, instead of a black body suit with silver cuffs and belt. All-black sneakers instead of a pair of flat black boots. I don't go out, so I don't really need a mask. And since they assume I'm wearing a wig or contacts or both... I don't really worry about anyone finding out who I am. I live with the Bats of course, and if I make an appearance it's usually wearing a black wig and green contacts, because Bat just can't stand the thought of being outed and I don't want to out them particularly much.
SMASH! CRASH! WROOAAAAHHHR!
Shit. I stand instantly on the ledge and reach for my belt pouches, to hit my Bat Signal. My eyes dart downward when I hear another growl. Croc. What was he doing down on this end of the city? I frown and forget about the Signal for a moment. Everything is quiet, so I jump down and use my static to slow my descent. I land hard, and roll to absorb the impact. I have a way of following certain electrical frequencies if I'm aware of them. But I can't feel Croc. I frown harder and sprint for the street that I thought the scream of a roar came from. I stop when I see the glow in the alley.
Creeping around the corner and masking my electrical impulses I glance. Croc on the ground, not moving... and Electrocutioner? I frown and watch as he walks away from the lifeless villain. I creep up to the unmoving body and place my hand on his chest. Even though he has thick skin, I can always hear and feel his heartbeat... but not now. It's silent. My mind goes blank for a moment and then I remember I have powers that basically resemble a defibrillator and start charging my hands. I hear a hiss from behind me and duck as I shove my hands down and shock Croc back to life.
I flip backwards and turn to see the Electrocutioner glaring at me. "Meddlesome Brat." My eyebrow twitches. Brat? Why the hell did everyone think I was a kid!?
"Now you done it." I heard a gravelly voice behind me and turned to look. Croc was sitting against a wall, trying to breathe deeply and slowly. Not really succeeding. He gave up and stared panting.
"Do not speak to ME, creature!" Now. I'm not usually one to defend a guy who I consistently kick in the ass on a weekly basis... but calling him a creature kind of got under my skin... so you can sort of see why I sucked the electricity from his suit and shocked him hard enough to burn and steal part of his memory.
Sarcastic applause started behind me and I turned to see him sitting there, struggling to move. "Showed him," He coughed, "Nobody calls you a brat, hah?" He tried to stand up and fell on his knees, then his face. I winced in sympathy.
"You won't be able to move for a while, Croc."
"Can't exactly stay here, can I?" He pants harder and pushes himself up onto his hands and knees, blinking his eyes hard and trying to stop the world from spinning. I could tell because his eyes floated in a bunch of different directions.
"Croc-"
"Ain't goin' to Arkham tonight, bitch." I sigh.
"You aren't comitting a crime right now, so I have no motivation to take you to Arkham. But you may want to go anyway... the infirmary and all." He looked up, his head jerking all of a sudden. He seemed to search my face for something. I pulled my brows together in puzzlement and he coughed an incredulous laugh.
"You don't know. And if you don't know... the Bat doesn't know. Hot damn." He coughed again and I walked toward him.
"What-"
"If our injuries aren't life-threatenin' they don't patch us up, or give us pain killers." I stop, and I stare at him.
"B... I..." He looks up, panting still and struggling to keep his gaze on me.
"Nobody else thinks we should be alive, me and the Joker and the other..." Cough! "Rogues." I felt a wave of rage roll over me. Killing him... is different than torturing him. Torture is even more wrong than murder... I glare at the wall as the electricity flows through me and then bolts upward in a flash of pure white. I'm on my knees when he opens his eyes again, my hands in fists, punching the ground.
"God I'm so naive!" I breathe through my nose and try to calm myself.
"Huh. I'll have to tell the others about this..." I look up and he's grinning in a sick way. "The vigilante with compassion for the bad guys... I mean I know yer a bleedin' heart... but damn. You're crying over US?" I blink in surprise and touch my face. I'm crying.
"Shut up..." I mutter.
"Can't hear ya if ya don't speak up, bitch." I sigh and stand up, walking over to him. He shudders as I grasp his arm and pull him to his feet.
"I'll get you somewhere secluded, and then I'll... frickin'... fix you." He snorts.
"How are you gonna do that? Got secret healin' powers? I highly doubt it."
"Your current... ailment, is caused by electricity. I can make your muscles stop twitching and can fix any nerve damage... it's not much... but you'll be able to walk home." He snorts again.
"Home." I blink and look up at him. He's trying too hard to focus on standing... so he doesn't notice my eyes becoming half-lidded and determined.
I pull him after me until we get far enough away from the alley that I can safely say the Electrocutioner won't stumble upon us. I tuck him against a wall and start sucking out excess electricity, putting some in places where there wasn't enough... Then I heard him choke on a chuckle and a thump. I look over my shoulder. "What happened?" Batman.
"Electrocutioner. Sorry I forgot to call you. I was kind of occupied."
"Any permanent damage?" If there were, he'd probably be happy. That was a mean thing to think... but it would keep him from doing crime, or at least keep him from doing it WELL...
"Not if I can help it." I move my hand down his arm and the electricity follows. He's shuddering and his breathing is getting faster. Damn, I always do this when they're unconscious, and I haven't done it that often. "Does it hurt too much?" I pull my hand away and his lashes out to grab my wrist. I blink at him as he sits there, and look over my shoulder to see Bat at the ready with a 'rang. "I won't stop... if it's making you better." He lets go and I move my hand to his, because his grip wasn't as strong as it should have been. I could just lie on him and do this with my whole body... but I don't really think it would be a good idea. I bite my lip and stare at his hand, long after I've fixed it.
"Quit it." I jump and look up, he's watching me. Were his eyes always that gold color? Like warm beer? "It don't hurt, it just tickles, so just fix it." I look down and move to his other side, moving from shoulder to hand.
He started clenching his hand around mine while I was fixing it. I stroked his knuckles absent-mindedly, like I usually did if Robin needed reassurance. His hand stopped moving, but now it was loosely clenched around my own. I could move my hand fine... it just seemed to cling to me. And then I realize... he died. He knows he died. I look up and search his face. He's got his eyes closed again and when he opens them I warn him. "I have to do your torso now, you need to tell me if I hit anything vital too hard. I'm... kind of new to doing this to someone with thick skin..." He grunts and heaves himself into a better position. His breathing is still fast, but he isn't shuddering anymore. Trembling finely, but not shuddering as if he's going to break into pieces.
"Just do my legs... my body is fine... little numb, but it don't hurt." I sigh and put my hands on his hips. He jumps a little and I ignore it, moving my hands down over his jean-clad legs until I reached his feet. I didn't see what prompted him, but I'm pretty sure the Bat gave him a look, so when he grabbed my hair, I was surprised... but not shocked. Course when he nipped my throat and I went a little limp from terror... he threw me aside and made a dash for it. I think I scared the Bat because I wasn't moving, and when he ran to my side and saw I was unharmed, he turned to chase Croc. I grasped his cape.
He looked down at me, worried. No one else would be able to tell, Alfred, Robin... they would, but nobody else. His brows were pinched and his eyes narrowed, his lips pressed together in a frown. "Can... you take... me home?" I realize I'm having a panic attack. I usually only have them after a fight is over, not when he's about to pursue someone, but I realize suddenly that I don't want Croc to get caught. He could have torn my throat out and it would have had the same effect, the Bat would have paused. But he didn't kill me. Because I had saved his life? Or because he just didn't want to see what that would do to the Bat's morals? I didn't know, but when Bat picked me up and my eyes closed, I was happy enough to smile while I cried.
Poor Croc...
I woke up to the sound of someone saying my name. "Mistress Dart?" I roll my eyes under my eyelids and then blink them open.
"Alfred, I don't like Mistress, it sounds like I'm a dominatrix or something." The chuckle and giggles tell me that Bruce and Dick are both in the room. "Shut up Dick." There's a snort and someone is leaping onto my bed.
"Can I tell her now!?" I roll over and snuggle Dick's legs. I always lay on him when he climbs into my bed, I even made it a rule that if he gets in my bed he should expect it. He just pets my hair as Bruce sighs.
"Don't freak her out, Dick." I yawn and don't really register what he says next.
"Nik." He takes a deep breath, "I think Killer Croc has a crush on you."
"Yeah, whatever." I bury my face in his thighs and then I bolting upward and crashing my head into his face. We both shriek in pain and grab our offended areas. I sit up and wobble a bit. Crap, I used too much energy for too long. "How long have I been out!?"
Bruce taps my cheek and I look up with glazed eyes. He shines a light in them and I cringe with a whimper. "You damaged yourself when you fixed Croc. I would have said something, but you had that look on your face." The look. God I hate hearing about the look and how apparently I'm immovable when I wear it.
"How many days-"
"Two and a half. It's daytime now." I sigh. Not as bad as I thought. Then I tense again.
"Dick..." My voice is dangerous and he swallows hard as I glare at him. "You better hope this is not a joke. What. Happened." He bites his lip and then launches into the story of last night's fight with Killer Croc.
"Okay so I was patrolling and I saw him pacing outside of a jewelry store." He holds back laughter for some reason. "When I hit the button on my belt, you know the one that means, I found action but I'm not in danger yet?" I nod and he goes on. "So I jumped down to distract him and he whirled around. He looked confused, then disappointed!" He bit his lip. "He looked around like he was expecting something else, and I figure he's looking for Batman, but I tell him, 'The old man's on his way.' He jumps like he forgot I was there and asks me, *Where's the Shocky Bitch?*" My eyes widen a little and I dismiss it, he was just wondering why I wasn't there, probably though I was waiting to kick him in the ass again. Yes, I literally kick him in the ass. Dick is grinning his Robin grin. "And I figured exactly what you're thinking. He thought you were hiding and ready to jump out and kick him in the ass... but I said, 'She took a sick day' and oh my god, you're not gonna believe this part!" I raise an eyebrow. "You know how we're not supposed to let on that we can hear them talking to themselves or whispering to each other, but we can cause of the listening devices in our ears?" I nod and start to feel a building anticipation. "I couldn't show my shock but I almost fell over. Cause he muttered to himself... he muttered..." He bit his lip and I nearly shook him.
"What!? He muttered what!?"
"*What the hell did I do this for then?*" I DID fall over then. "He didn't even take anything. He just broke the window and waited for us- for you- to show up! He paced outside so it'd look like he sent somebody in, but he didn't steal anything! He just wanted to see you!" He was moving from side to side in gleeful laughter.
I was reeling. He might have just wanted to talk to me, but it definitely sounded like what Dick said it sounded like. "And he didn't even fight us, he just huffed and held out his hands. *Just fuckin' cuff me then, I don't feel like doin' this dance tonight.*" I rolled onto my face and moaned into the comforter. It really sounded like it. "We ended up dropping him off at Arkham, and he actually looked sad when he saw the Shock Collar, like it made him think of you-" I whipped onto my feet on the bed and my whole body sparked.
"SHOCK COLLAR!?" I'd noticed scars around his neck that night... god why didn't I think to ask about that before? How else could they subdue him?
Dick scurried backwards off my bed, actually afraid. He fell on the ground and I sucked the electricity into my body. "Shock collar." I bit my lip hard. And they don't bandage the burns either. So I bite it out through my teeth, "Do you know that they don't fix their wounds in Arkham? Do you know they just let them writhe in pain without medication of any kind?" If Bat or Robin knew, I was going to bitch-slap both of them in the face.
"Where did you get this information?" I look over at Bruce and he looks skeptical. He doesn't believe me.
"Croc was electricity drunk after I zapped him back to life-"
"Back to life?" Dick was gaping at me. "He DIED? Well that explains why he likes you all of a sudden."
"He told you this?" I nod at Bruce and his eyes get very dangerous. He pulls out the Batphone and hits speedial 1. Commissioner Gordon. As he leaves the room, I am reassured that he'll get on their asses for that... but he didn't care about the collar.
Dick left the room as I collapsed on the bed and curled into a ball. Alfred brought some tea to me and I drank it with shaking hands. "The collar bothers you." I sigh,
"He's not an animal you know. He's not." He hums.
"I am aware... but how else-"
"Shock bracelets, shock implant in the back of the neck, anything but a COLLAR."
"I have noticed lately, you have become more... compassionate toward Killer Croc... after you listened to the tapes." I clenched my hands. The tapes where he told the shrink about his childhood. The ones where he was drugged with some kind of truth serum or something because they 'wanted to help him.'
"Will you bring them to me?" He sighs,
"I do so hate to see you afterwards, you know."
"I just-" I curl into my body. "It won't be as bad as the first time." He huffs,
"Very well, after all you ARE a grown woman." I almost smiled at that.
When he came back with one tape, I told him I wanted the ones Bruce had too, the ones from the beginning. He had looked worried but went back to get them. He watched as I arranged them in lines on the bed. Arranged by date. Alfred cleared his throat and I looked up. "Master Bruce received another one... a few hours ago. Croc was apparently talkative and... hm." He looked embarrassed and I suddenly wondered if I wanted to hear... but I reached out a hand and he gave it to me. I resisted the urge to put that one in and set it down on my lap, reaching for the first tape.
Doctor: I see in the Dossier... you like to be called Killer Croc? Where did you get this name?
Croc: *Snort*
Doctor: I know you CAN speak. If you simply do not think it important-
Croc: I was a freak-show. Wrestled Crocs. Don't like to reminisce.
Doctor: Would you like me to revisit this, at a later date?
There's a pause and I wonder if this is the first time someone has really been kind to him like this.
Croc: I'd appreciate it.
Doctor: What do YOU want to talk about?
Croc: ... I don't know what I would talk about, even if I wanted to talk.
Doctor: I see... Will you tell me your name, if nothing else. I wish to call you something other than Croc... it is so... demeaning.
And suddenly I realize that it is. I never listened to this tape before. I'd heard him refer to him as Mr. Jones in the tape I HAD listened to... but his first name, would he tell him his first name? Why am I so eager to know?
Croc: ... *Sigh.* My name's Waylon. Jones.
Waylon... Waylon...
Doctor: I see. So. Mr. Jones, What is it you like to do in your spare time, any hobbies?
Croc: Sleep.
Doctor: ... you sleep, and commit crimes, and that is all your life consists of?
Croc: What am I gonna do, go to a club and dance with the pretty girls?
Doctor: I see.
Croc: Do ya? I don't think you do. Cause you think, I could go out if I was disguised, or... there are places where they accept all kinds... but there ain't no place like that for REAL freaks, Doc. Not good places, at least.
Doctor: ... I am sorry if I am wrong... you sound like you are talking about a circus, is that where you were in the freak show? I apologize I said I would not-
Croc: Yeah. You're curious, right. Because circuses are supposed to be happy, magical places. A place where freaks can belong. Be family to each other.
Doctor: I am aware that the... so-called 'freaks' are mistreated-
Croc: Really? Do you go to the circus anyway?
The tape stops there, and I'm pretty sure he would have said yes.
A few tapes later, I hear a change in Croc's voice, and hear my name for the first time... well... his name for me at least.
Doctor: You seem... well... you seem to be feeling better lately.
Croc: I'm eatin' and sleepin' the right amounts, ya mean.
Doctor: Is there a reason?
Croc: Somebody lectured me, about my health... and I hate that they're right.
He sounds genuinely surprised.
Doctor: Who?
Croc: Some... god damn... Shocky, Bitch!
Doctor: ...Shocky?
He seems perplexed with this description.
Croc: New hero on the scene. Blonde... blue eyes.
Doctor: The girl who sent the letter to the paper. Telling them her name and that she was NOT a Bat.
There was a chuckle in his voice.
Croc: Yeah. That bitch. You know what she said to me? 'Being a criminal with no family is no excuse to let your health go. You're so skinny!' She says, 'You're giant and I can see your RIBS, man.' She called me man, like a teenage boy.
Doctor: *laughter* Is she boyish?
Croc: Fuck no, she-...
Doctor: ... it is alright, to say it.
Croc: I don't want to.
Doctor: I will not be disgusted if you say she is pretty.
Croc: ... pretty... Pff.
Doctor: What?
Croc: You actually think I'd say something that TAME?
Doctor: ... suddenly I am glad you said nothing.
Croc laughs and I'm blushing my ass off, trying so hard just to keep my face from exploding, I almost miss the last part.
Croc: She lectured me. And then she kicked me in the ass. Literally.
The tape ended and I was laughing and blushing and god I love Gotham.
-
I was getting closer to the one I didn't want to listen to but had to. This one surprised me, because it's the second time he mentioned me, and one of the few times he's talkative. All the tapes in between the ones about me are him growling and asking for food, or ranting for a few seconds about the Batman.
Doctor: How are you today, Mr. Jones?
Croc: Hm. Amused, mostly.
Doctor: Something has amused you?
Croc: Yeah. Something... someone.
Doctor: What did they say? To amuse you?
Croc: Shocky bitch, I called her a brat today, before they subdued me.
Doctor: ... and?
Croc: *Smothers Laughter* She got so angry, and I asked her, 'What, you rather I call you Bitch?'
Doctor: She said yes, didn't she?
Croc: *Raucous Laughter* She thought about it for a minute! And she said, 'Yeah actually I think I would.' Completely straight-faced. She fuckin' mind-fucked me.
Doctor: Do you think you will get more amusement out of calling her a brat again?
Croc: Fuck, you kiddin' me? You call her a brat and she turns into a blonde demon. Her eyes go... flat, like she's thinkin' about the best way to skin ya.
Doctor: She frightened you?
Croc: Nah. But it was unnerving to see her angry. She's always so... fuckin' happy.
Doctor: ... You like to see her happy?
Croc doesn't seem to realize he's said something breakthrough-worthy and he goes on.
Croc: Well, damn, I mean when she smiles her whole face lights up like it's christmas, and she talks back... she never talks about the way I look. She quips sarcastically about my slowness or my inability to catch her, she never... puts me DOWN. You know?
Doctor: I see. And everyone else does? Even Batman?
Croc: The Bat makes jokes about my smelling bad, when I say I smelled him. He makes jokes about my mug, the bird brain just sorta tells me that I'm a monster.
Doctor: She taunts you with what you DO... rather than things you cannot control.
There's a pause.
Croc: I don't want to talk anymore.
The tape ends, and I keep thinking, was his voice... breaking?
-
This tape was going to break me every time I heard it, wasn't it?
Doctor: We have given you truth serum, to help you. Because we NEED to know... about your past, to help you.
I thought he was putting on an act of caring before. Now I know this is a GOOD doctor, and he actually does care.
Croc: Hmm... hm.
It sounds somewhat affirmative.
Doctor: Let us start at the beginning. Your parents?
Croc: Mh. Killed my mother, when I was born.
Doctor: She died giving birth-
Croc: I had claws, and I hung on, on the way out.
Doctor: Your father?
Croc: Dunno, I was told he abandoned me soon as he saw me. My skin and everythin'.
His voice is dreamy, but I can hear the depth in it. The... self-hate.
Doctor: Who did you live with, growing up?
Croc: My aunt.
Doctor: Did she... treat you well?
There was a sickening sound that I realized was Croc laughing and choking on tears at the same time.
Croc: She was a mean drunk... and a slut... kept me locked up in a closet... beat on me, kept me on a metal chain collar.
I hate this. I hate it so much that I can feel my teeth grit and I try to relax.
Doctor: My god...
Croc: I snapped, and I killed her.
Doctor: I do not blame you.
His voice is cold, and I realize now that it was not condemnation and disgust or a false attempt to make a connection. It was rage.
Croc: I joined the circus for a few years. They treated me bad there too, I liked the freaks... not the managers... I hated them. They got killed you know, the freaks. I didn't do it. They were murdered... I killed the managers.
Doctor: Have you ever been IN love, Waylon?
Croc: Once I think.
Doctor: You are not sure.
Croc: Hm. She was... too perfect for me.
Doctor: In what way?
Croc: Too... innocent.
My heart drops into my stomach as I remember what he said about me. The tape ends there and I scramble for the next. I keep hitting stop when I don't hear anything about the girl again and skipping to another one, because these are all short and I know he didn't say anything important because they aren't marked with a red x. Then I come to one with a blue x. I'm confused but I snap it in and I listen.
Doctor: You're agitated.
Croc: Is Bane in Blackgate now?
Doctor: Yes. What is the matter?
Croc: I... I helped.
Doctor: You... helped.
Croc: *Loud Swallow* The Bats and the... shocky bitch.
What?
Doctor: How did you help?
Croc: I... I... snapped the... I tore off the tubes.
Doctor: His venom tubes!? Waylon that was dangerous!
Croc: He hit her.
My heart stops for a moment.
Doctor: Who?
Croc: ... just some girl, she's not important, he just... I just... I looked at her... and I... hated him.
Doctor: She is not important.
Croc: No.
He's growling it.
Doctor: Just a random girl?
Croc: Yes.
Was his curt answer.
Doctor: Have you seen her before?
Croc: ... Yes.
Another curt answer.
Doctor: You didn't like that he hit her, because she was in pain, or because you would rather have been the one to do it?
Croc: YOU DON'T KNOW ME!
The tape stopped. I popped it out and I realized the blue x's mean... they aren't talkative breakthroughs, they're... they're emotional breakthroughs. He felt something.
All the other tapes were just him being obstinate. Until the last one.
Doctor: Mr. Jones... I was told you WANTED to talk to me?
Croc: *Snort* Go on doc, sound more surprised, I will be shocked if you CAN.
Doctor: I apologize. But this is... odd behavior for you.
Croc: Yeah well, I got a... an issue.
Doctor: Only one?
His tone is amused and Croc laughs, to my surprise, sounding equally as amused.
Croc: Well, you see... There's this hero.
My heart almost stops.
Doctor: Batman?
Croc: No. God no. The blonde one, Shocky Bitch.
Doctor: Whitefire.
Croc: Yeah her. She's fuckin' with my head.
The doctor sounds grave.
Doctor: Is she? I had always heard she was a very compassionate individual. She doesn't even use her powers to put down villains unless she feels they need to be stopped at that moment... because otherwise...
Croc: That's the whole damn problem, Doc.
Doctor: What is? Her compassion?
Croc: Would you say the Batman has compassion, Doc?
Doctor: Yes...
He sounds like he knows this is leading somewhere and maybe suspects where...
Croc: The Batman ever occur to you as innocent?
Doctor: No. I suppose not.
Croc: The Shocky Bitch?
Doctor: ... Innocence personified, yes.
Croc: Someone so good... sees something... worthy of life in me. Not because she's just that good... I can't explain this part.
He sounds very frustrated to admit that.
Doctor: You wonder if you are wrong, and there IS something good there. Because you see her as-
Croc: Do you know she told Joker he wasn't crazy?
The doctor seems shocked.
Doctor: What!?
Croc: She said he wasn't crazy. She said he was logical, efficient, and he always KNEW the outcome of his fights with anyone. Even Batman. He knew he'd lose and he did it anyway. Because he wanted to take revenge on the world... and he wanted to be punished for it.
There's a pause in the conversation.
Doctor: I cannot believe no one has ever thought-
Croc: That's the thing. She sees people for who they are. She isn't burdened by prejudice or love or hate. She's... innocent. Everyone is worthy, everyone is... perfect the way they are to her. She stops crimes because she can't stand to see people helpless... hurt... dead. She always kicks me in the ass, you know.
I snort at the topic change and the surprised laughter of the Doctor is highly amused.
Doctor: Do you mean that literally?
Croc: She thinks it's hilarious to ambush me and kick me right in the ass and then jump around while I try to hit her. It's like we're teenage guy friends, communicating in hits... I've never hit her too hard, you know?
Doctor: Because she is a woman?
Croc: No. I was gonna treat her the same but... the first time I met her?
I remembered as he spoke.
Doctor: She reacted in some... other way than usual?
Croc: *Chuckling* She was fighting Bane with the Bat and got hurled into a building. She looked up as I peeked out of the sewer. She glanced at the Batman and I thought she was gonna call him over. But she looked back at me, and she made a shushing motion, and motioned me back down. 'It's not a good idea to come up right now, whoever you are, it can't be good to get between Bane and the Bat.' Then she winced and said, 'In fact I think he broke a few things inside me that I wasn't sure existed. Come back later.'
There was a pause.
Croc: I wasn't wearin' a disguise. I was my usual self. I came up and the first thought she had, was that I'd get hurt and she didn't want me to. She didn't know if I was a hero or a villain, but she protected me in her own way. She gave ME the choice. Because that's her way. But if I'd gotten in the middle, even if I'd just eaten her dog, she'd have jumped in front of me and lashed him with her electrical whip. She didn't think to protect him, because he would be fine, she knew HIS capabilities. As far as she knew, I was harmless, a mutant living in the sewers with no power. And she didn't pity me.
There was a pause, then he spoke with a smile in his voice.
Croc: She just SAW me.
I stop the tape and stare at the ceiling as tears roll down my face. Because it sounded like no one had ever SEEN him... and took him for a normal person ever before in his life... and he wanted them to. So badly.