Many years later, Wendell wandered in search of jewelry to steal. His parents were sick. He wished to obtain as much jewelry and food with medicine as possible. Wendell remembered his mother wanting lots and lots of pretties. Frowning, he wandered the barren streets of Gotham City. Perhaps he was able to steal food instead. Bread. Perhaps meat. Medicine.
Wendell heard footsteps and began to smile. Jewelry to obtain? He looked back. Wendell's eyes became wide behind round half-shades.
Six young men smiled. Some struck the ground with sticks. The rest held rocks. They approached Wendell.
''Freak! Your long hair. Your thin face. The clothes,'' a man said. He focused on Wendell's brown suit. Light boots and a sash. A string tie on a frilly blouse. A red cloak.
Wendell stepped back. He turned before a hand seized the side of his coat. His eyes remained wide after another hand seized his trousers and pulled them at a snail's pace. Tears formed in them as soon as his blue and white striped boxers were revealed.
Wendell was released. He ran from the bullies and to a sewer. After entering the sewer, he continued to run. Wendell refused to look back. He heard the footsteps of the men. Their voices.
''A sewer for a freak of nature!''
''Sewer rat!''
Wendell paused the minute he viewed two alligators. He began to step back again. He heard the alligators as they snarled. That was when he remembered the toy alligator he had when he was a boy. Wendell's smile came back. He focused on the alligators again. His eyes were wide another time.
''I'm a friend.''
Wendell looked back before the men approached him. After shaking his head in disbelief, he found himself between the animals. His shades slid down his nose the minute the alligators approached the men. He saw their wide eyes. Wendell blinked repeatedly as the men ran. There was a new smile. He crouched by the alligators. He laughed and scratched their snouts while they wagged their tails. The alligators licked his face. New pets.
