I don't own any of the Batman things, if I did I wouldn't be worried about college. Wish I did, I love croc. I only own Laura, in all her panicky glory, and an old flute. This is going to be a work in progress, if you're even reading this, which you're most likely not. I don't have a beta! Sorry…

Summary: it was dark and cold, but no one cared, not for him. They were probably thankful honestly. The chemical took effect, setting his scales on fire, drawing hoarse screams from his swollen throat. They watched until he stopped, heart slowing to a crawl before that too stopped. Calmly they dragged his changed body to the water and dumped him, having no hope he would live. They had what they needed, they didn't need his body. Now to report the experiment as a success.

Chapter one, drowning in fire

Burning, everything was burned. Fire creaked through veins and cooked through organs. Eyes wide to the pain and gasping for breath. Invisible flames raced across shifting skin, leaving agony in its path. There wasn't enough AIR! Claws raked his chest, trying to force still ribs to expand farther than they were. His brain was numb, fighting through the pain. Slowly everything seemed to fall before his eyes, before slamming into icy cold water, denying him his breath. The cold shoved the fever down but posed new problems. Limbs tingled in the slush refusing to work, while his lungs fought him. Golden eyes eased open, watching the darkness swirl around him. He was dying, drowning in ice.

Sudden raged raced through his thoughts, screaming, urging him to fight, to live, denying him the peace of Death. Anger, how DARE he give up! Tingling turned to burning as he clawed his way out of ice and water and onto biting streets. His ears rung, picking up yells and pleading, begging. With shaking legs he stumbled over grabbing rotting walls to steady himself. Muffled cries screeched and he took off, bare skin glistening in the stinging winds. He gritted his teeth against the cold, wondering why straight teeth fitting perfectly felt so wrong.

He finally reached the voices and he took in the scene before him. Two masked men held a panicked woman against the wall while a third searched her purse. Taking in the ripped shirt he growled, alerting the men to his presence. They released their burdens and rounded on him in the shadows. One by one the slowed to a halt, taking in his height. They couldn't even flinch before one meaty arm slammed into their side, sending two of them into the wall harder then he meant to. Two went down while the third ran. Give chase! Devour! Destroy! He frowned at himself and turned away from the man and towards the girl. She was lying in a heap of tears and snot, slowly grabbing her overturned purse. Green eyes glanced up at his approach, squinting into the dark. Could she not see him? It wasn't that dark was it? His frown deepened and he shuddered.

"Batman?" the name drove unexpected anger through him and he growled. KILL kill kill kill KilL KILL! He shook his head dispelling the disturbing thoughts. She edged closer trying to see him.

A sudden breeze burned him and he shuddered, reminded of his nudity. His arms shook, iced over from his earlier plunge. A loud pop split his ears and struck his back, driving him to his knees. Dimly aware of the startled screaming, he turned his thick neck to see a fourth masked man make a run for it, throwing away his gun as he did so. Ice cut into his cheek, drawing a grunt from numb lips. GeT uP! When had he decide to lay down? Gold eyes closed, tired, so very tired. He smelled blood. MoVE! Not this time. Limbs tingled from the cold but he was too tired to care.

Laura shifted uncomfortably, worry clenching in her gut. This was a bad idea, a stupid idea. And her unhelpful neighbor helped her with it. I bet he was drunk. That was probably the only reason he helped. She giggled. Oh she needed sleep so bad, but now there was a bald giant in her bed taking up space she didn't have. Giggling harder she gently ran a warm cloth over his head, before tucking the covers in more. She was delusional, there was no way some naked man came to her rescue covered in ice. There was simply too much for a sleep deprived med student. If it wasn't for the scrapes on her back she would have not believed any of this was real.

He let out a snore causing another round of hysterical laughter. Tears rolled down her cheeks before she caught herself. Not the time for crying, that was for when she was alone. Her hands shook violently, feeling the last of the adrenaline leave her system. Trying and failing to brush back her hair she stood up and reached to clean up. Need to clean the sewing needle. She picked up the bloody string, watching as the needle swayed. Extra bandages went up and finally the little ball of metal she pulled from her savoir. To think such a small thing could kill so many.

That man had been lucky, normally a wound like that would have killed in minutes. Instead it had barely entered his skin, making for easy removal. Probably going to be sore as fuck tomorrow though, nothing she could fix with that. The only way she could think for the bullet to not harm him much was because there was so much of him. He was like a walking mountain.

Another snore broke her from her thoughts drawing her attention. At least her neighbor had some pants that fit the guy's waist. She might have had to cut the legs of them so he could bend his knees though. And they barely reached his calf, but he was no longer naked! That was the important thing here. She felt her cheeks redden at the reminder. He was h-No! Not going there.

Laura glanced at the clock to see when to wake him up. You can never be too sure with head wounds. Darn, only a few minutes left, then it was time to wake the sleeping giant and hope he didn't kill her. She wasn't worried about robbery, she had nothing worth stealing. She sighed and tugged at her hair, watching the red strands reflect the light. This was a bad idea, a horrible idea. She didn't really see any way this would end well. Not to mention that he was probably some kind of sex fiend, what with him running around naked. And he was wet. Maybe he liked taking mid-winter swims? Or was a suicidal man. She deflated and moved to wake him. With one hand on his covered shoulder she peered at his face and shook him. He grumbled. Narrowed eyes took in his sharp features and shook harder. Gold eyes popped open and she screamed, scrambling backwards from the man. He raised up on shaky arms, pain visible on his face.

He groaned and held his head in his meaty hands, shivering lightly. What an odd eye color, it was kind of pretty. Oh she needed more sleep, so much sleep. He glanced up at her with unfocused eyes, clearly disoriented. Oh God he was huge, even sitting on her bed he was taller than her. He looked pitiful, which shouldn't be possible with him being so big.

"Wh-what?" he shook harder, drawing her nearer with her warm cloth in hand. She shushed him and pushed lightly on his broad shoulders, which was almost triple her body length. It was scary as hell, but he listened and laid back down. After re-tucking in his covers she placed the cloth on his head and spoke softly. "You've been in an accident, just stay calm or you'll rip your stiches. Now can you tell me your name?" He stared without comprehending, gold eyes unwavering. She fidgeted under his gaze, unused to the attention.

He stared deep into her eyes, not saying a word, gold meeting green. Laura squirmed, drawing a chuckle from him. Suddenly he paled, looking sickly. She panicked, thinking something was badly wrong. Then he puked. On her bed. Letting out a groan he laid back down, falling asleep instantly. Now it was her turn to groan, already moving to grab her bucket and gloves. This is what she gets for letting some man into her house, even though he saved her not even two hours ago. There went her weekend.