Officer Aaron Cash wasn't awake yet. His surgery was a success though and he now had a small, metal plate over the nub where his hand use to be. The doctors said he could personalize it with different kinds of hooks if he'd like. He was a cop after all.
"He did well."
Katerina jumped, startled. "H-Hello Dr. Leland."
The older doctor chuckled. "Sorry. Did I startle you?"
Kat nodded. "Yes. But It's alright."
She looked back over to Officer Cash whom was still unconscious lying in his hospital bed. "I can't help but feel that It's all my fault..."
"Your fault? Honey, It's no more your fault then it is that chair over there." She pointed to a small chair in the corner of the room.
Kat shrugged as she held up her hand and placed it against the glass separating them from Aaron. "Maybe if I had left Croc in a better mood this wouldn't have happened."
Joan shook her head. "No, no. Sweetie, They hate each other. They've hated each other for a very, very long time. It's not your fault. Cash was doing his job by protecting us, trying somehow to keep Croc from escaping. It's just unfortunate it cost him his hand."
She nodded. "I guess you're right."
"Of course I am..." Dr. Leland patted Katerina on the back lightly.
She sighed, turning around to face Joan. "When do you think he'll be conscious?"
"The doctors said possibly tomorrow."
She nodded. "Good. I hope he wakes soon."
"Me too."
They sat back down in the large waiting area, sipping their hot cups of coffee.
"I...don't know if I'm going to be able to help Waylon after all, Dr. Leland."
Joan nearly choked on her drink as she peered at Kat over the bridge of her glasses. "What?! No. Don't talk like that. I know you can help him. He, uh, didn't kill you, that has to count for something."
"He tried."
"Oh." Her face instantly fell. "Well. That's alright you've only had two very short sessions with him. It'll get better, I promise. Ok?"
Kat sighed, still unable to say no to her new colleague. "Ok. I'll keep trying."
"That's a girl." She slapped Katerina on the back playfully and Kat laughed, nudging Joan's shoulder. But she got serious again, grabbing Joan's hand in hers, giving it a small squeeze. "But I want more guards. Ok?" Yekaterina let go as Joan nodded.
"Deal." Dr. Leland shook her hand firmly, smiling.
Katerina knew this was going to be difficult, but not this difficult.
She stayed in the hospital all night, falling asleep on the waiting room's couch. One of the doctors that worked night shifts nudged her awake, telling her that Officer Aaron Cash had awoken a short time ago and that she could go and see him now. Katerina nodded and said her thanks, running to his room, almost slipping in the process.
"A-Aaron?" She opened the door after knocking lightly, peering over at him where he was laying down, propped up on his bed.
He turned towards her, a slight smile spread across his face when he saw who it was.
"Hey, Kat..."
She smiled back and sat down next to him in one of the chairs.
"I'm so sorry about what happened."
He shook his head quickly. "Oh. Baby, It's not your fault. I should have been more careful. I was too cocky. I should have known something would happen sooner or later. I guess I was just hopin' nothin' would actually happen ta me. I wasn't completely prepared for it, Ya know?"
Kat nodded. "Yeah."
Aaron patted her small hand that laid beside his. "I'm okay. Just gotta get use to this thing." He smiled pointing to the metal plate over the nub of his other arm. "It itches."
She chuckled. "I bet..."
He laughed too. "But no worries. I'm still workin' there. Croc ain't gonna stop me." He sat up with a grunt. "No one will."
Katerina smiled. "That's a very positive way to live life. I'm glad you feel that way. Just be more careful from now on. Ok?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Trust me. I will."
"I'll see you later Mr. Cash. Hope you have a good day."
"You too, Kat. You too."
She waved and headed back down to the parking lot, getting into her silver car and driving back home to get ready for work. It was 5:30 AM. And if she didn't go and get ready now, she'd be late.
Katerina took a very quick shower and put on some clothes. She wore a nice, tight, dark green dress shirt tucked into a high waisted, tight fitting, black, pencil skirt with dark green pumps that matched perfectly and she tied her long, blonde hair up into a nice, formal bun, topping it all off with dark, emerald studded earrings. Her makeup was neat and professional as always. She wore her usual foundation and blush routine with a natural, crisp cat eye, and neat black matte lipstick. (She didn't like wearing lipgloss.) Her bright yellow-jade green eyes stood out beautifully, at least she thought so. Katerina grabbed her keys and headed off to work. She couldn't help but think It was going to be pretty scary now that Cash wasn't there to protect her. He stood up to Croc like no other guard would. She certainly wouldn't be able to do that.
"Good morning Kat." Piped up a small guard when she opened the door.
"Hey, Kat!"
"How you doin', Kat?" Said an older doctor as she walked by.
Katerina waved at all of the nice guards and doctors as they greeted her, opening her new office door and laying her stuff down. There was a note taped to her desk. She picked it up and read it quietly to herself.
"Good morning, Katerina. I understand you were at the hospital all night. I'll excuse you this once if you're late. Waylon's file is on your desk. Read it, it'll help you understand him better. Your session with him is as usual at 1:00 PM. Throughout the day you must care for him. Please try to get him to open up about the Cash incident more. Good luck. From: Dr. Leland."
She sighed. Last time they had talked about Cash was the morning after it had happened and he hadn't opened up at all, not really. He had just threatened to kill and eat her again.
Katerina walked down the halls into the kitchen on the other side of the Asylum and grabbed Killer Croc's breakfast. A dead, raw, pig carcass...Delicious...
She made her way down the corridors and stairs and hesitantly unlocked his cell door, it opened with a loud creak, startling her and making her nervous.
"Hello? Waylon? Waylon Jones? I brought you your breakfast."
"I hear ya. I hear ya." His deep voice echoed throughout the room and his head rose up out of the water as he glared at her. His cell was under the asylum, in the Old Gotham sewers. It was completely sealed off so he couldn't escape. They felt this would be an ideal location for him. He seemed to like it better then the regular cells.
The rest of his large and green, scaly body rose up and he sniffed the air taking in his surroundings and the smell of his food. He continued to stomp towards her. Kat was shaking. They had told her if she threw the meat up into the air he'd catch it and she could make a run for the door in time so he wouldn't be able to attack her. To her that felt wrong. But as he stomped closer, it felt more and more like the right thing to do. But she became glued to the ground. She couldn't move. She was completely petrified. Just throw the food Katerina! Throw it before he eats you! Hurry!
Croc made the usual sounds of a male crocodile ready to attack. And if she didn't leave, she would die. He would kill her. Come on! Move! Move Kat! Move it!
He suddenly stopped walking and cocked his bald head to the side. "Usually they run by now. Why aren't ya running?"
The hostile noises stopped emitting from him, and he stood there, confused.
Katerina hesitated before speaking. Sighing as she calmed her nerves. "B-Because It feels wrong to run."
"It feels wrong to run?" He laughed. "Not if you'd like to survive..."
He walked forward again, but still no hostile noises were coming from him. She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
But she continued anyway. "It's mean to run away from someone because they may be different then the rest of us. Even if they are a murderer. I feel you're just really misunderstood. Everyone is misunderstood in some way."
He growled. "That's what they all say. But really they just want to get famous for 'helping' someone like me and to write a stupid, tell-all book. Maybe even make a cure for me to get rich."
Kat shook her head. "Not me. I'm not even a writer or a doctor."
He chuckled darkly. "You're really strange, ya know that?"
"Oh?"
"Talking to me like I'm a regular man. Standing there with a bloody pig carcass in your hands like everything's normal. But I can tell your scared as hell right now. Your body is shaking, and I can hear your heart hammering against your chest. But you still ignore your basic instinct to run."
"W-well...Yeah."
"I could grab you and eat you right now, ya know that?"
"I-I know that."
"...Stupid Bitch..." He muttered as he stood there, looking around yet unmoving.
She didn't know what else to say. She was thankful she had gotten this far and was still alive. His behavior right now was different then when they were having their last sessions. Maybe it was because Cash and the other guards weren't there and he knew she was no threat to him in any way. Maybe it was because he was no longer in a complete hostile environment...
He held out his large hand abruptly, beckoning for her to throw the food. She obeyed, throwing the carcass in the air, watching him dive up out of the water to catch it in his mouth. He devoured it quickly, like he'd never get any food ever again. It was actually kind of sad to watch. She left him there to his meal and went back up to her office, recording what had happened in a little diary of hers.
Dear Diary.
I fed Killer Croc today, AKA Waylon Jones. He didn't attack me like I thought he would. We had a very short conversation. He seems to think I'm a little strange. I'm beginning to think so too. I should have ran from him, but I didn't. I could have died today. Curse me and my conscience for being so nice. I couldn't run. I thought I'd offend him if I did. Silly isn't it? I actually thinking of sacrificing myself because I thought I would offend him if I ran? It's stupid, I'm stupid. I need to be more careful. He let me go without attacking me once though. That's a very good start to our relationship. He needs to trust me if I am to help him.
~Yekaterina.
She opened up Waylon's file. Hopefully it would help her in the long run.
Katerina read out loud.
"Alias: Killer Croc.
Real Name: Waylon Jones.
Occupation: Professional Criminal and Murderer.
Affiliations: Occasionally the Mob.
Hair: Bald. (Doesn't grow hair.)
Eyes: Bright yellow with slitted pupils.
Height: 9 ft 10 in.
Weight: 855 pounds
Bio: Waylon Jones was made as an experiment by his father's hands. His father was a very talented scientist who wanted to bond animal DNA to human DNA. After multiple experiments on his own son, still in the placenta and in his mother's womb, he finally perfected the monster of his dreams. He dreamt his creation would make him millions from the government. Gotham would forever win it's wars because of him for his creation was the ultimate weapon. Unfortunately, Waylon's loving mother died giving birth to him and his father, after he died from liver failure caused by a drinking problem, stated in his will that Waylon Jones was to be put under the guardianship of his (Father's) Sister. Waylon's incredibly abusive and alcoholic aunt. His father's wish for the ultimate weapon would now forever vanish. As the aunt thought of Waylon as nothing but a freak and wanted nothing to do with him and her brother's dream. Brutally abused in his home and locked up in a closet like an animal as his aunt drank and engaged in sexual activities and was relentlessly bullied at school, Waylon accepted his place in society as always being seen as a monster. Murdering his aunt after finally reaching his breaking point, Waylon fled from society and eventually joined a traveling circus where he was made part of the freak-show, becoming known as Killer Croc. Bonding with his fellow performers in the show, Jones finally felt as if he had a real family, until a horrendous attack occurred at Gotham City by vicious audience members, destroying the circus and killing all whom Jones felt attachment for. Seeing humanity as a disgusting waste of flesh, Jones became a cannibalistic murderer, often employing himself to the mob (Usually Black Mask.) For money, before being apprehended by Batman. As time went on, Jones's condition would make him more and more into a monster, quickly eradicating any traces of humanity that might have been left as Croc became a monster in body and in spirit. Always seeking his next meal, Croc has never forgotten the scent of Batman and lusts to kill and devour the hero in retribution for his capture at his hands. Even now he keeps the secret to his creation to himself. He had once hoped to make a cure. (Or have someone else make a cure), but that dream was forgotten as he embraced the animal within him. Even now as the cops and doctors try to get the information from him, promising to make a cure, he doesn't give in. No one knows the secret to his creation and how to do it, except him.
Attributes:
Incredibly thick, tough, scaly skin
Razor-sharp teeth and claws
An expert wrestler, his strength and stamina are at a superhuman level
Heightened senses, and extremely fast reflexes
Able to survive in water for extended periods of time, longest underwater record was a full day, (24 hours.)
An intense hatred of humanity and men in general, (Possibly because of his father. And, or, because of Batman)
Cannibalistic, (Although it may not be cannibalistic because of his DNA, and animal condition.)
No sexual desire of any kind has been shown. His only desires are fame, power, and money, but he ultimately seems to respond if given food.
Master of hand to hand combat
Very violent
An intense hatred of humanity
Appearance: Waylon Jones is a very tall, strong man. (9 ft. 10 in.) And weighs 855 pounds. His skin is a dark jade green and is scaly like a crocodile's. He has bright yellow eyes and his pupils are black vertical slits.
Like a regular crocodile, he has a reflective layer behind the retina, moveable eyelids, and a third transparent eyelid called a nictating membrane that covers his eyes when submerged in water. He has perfect eyesight and hearing in and out of water. And his ears are pointed and have a webbed like shape. The ears also close from the inside when underwater to prevent it from going in and through the ears. He has a palatal valve inside his throat that also prevents water from entering the throat, esophagus and trachea.
He has regular male sex organs, although they too are green and scaly.
His face, although human in appearance, besides the skin, Is of normal proportions. (But matching the size/proportions of his large body.) His mouth is also normal besides the very sharp teeth, each and every tooth grows to a sharp point. Longer then a regular human's but short enough he can keep his mouth closed without any complications or injuries. He has a tongue sheath inside his mouth because of his long, forked tongue, which is unusually blue. And he is also sometimes compared to a snake, but only because of his venom producing abilities. He has a venom-conducting tube, a venom canal, a glottis and venom glands. The inside of the corners of his mouth has the usual flaps of skin a reptile would have. (Ex: A Snake.) He also has fully functioning human-like shaped lips. (Lips are also green and scaly, matching the appearance rest of his body.)
He has a small pit beside each of his nostrils, barely visible, (Nose is also human shaped, being defined, prominent, and aquiline, but also green and scaly like the rest of his skin.) When he is underwater the nostrils are sealed from the inside to prevent influx of water.
While his skin on his belly is thin and soft, (Although considerably thicker and tougher then even the strongest of human's) The rest of his body is heavily armored with bony plates or Osteoderms. Osteoderms lie under the hardened skin scales of a crocodile's head and back. Like armor, the plates protect crocs from most predators. His skin is formed from a thick dermal layer covered with non-overlapping epidermal scales. And like a crocodile he sheds his scales one by one rather then molting in large patches like most reptiles.
His feet and hands are unusually flexible to support him in various positions. He has five fingers on each hand and has only four toes on each foot. All of which are partially webbed to aid in swimming.
He has sharp claws used for traction and catching prey. (And in his case, prey is humans.)
He has a tail that can also act as a 'motor' when it comes to swimming. It provides the main thrust for him when he swims. When swimming his tail forms an S shape as he glides through the water. He also uses his tail as a weapon. (The tail being prehensile.) The tail, like the rest of his skin, is dark jade green and is scaly. Also note that it is heavily armed with Osteoderms like his head, and back.
He is very fit and muscular, often exercising in his cell.
He produces not a single hair on any part of his body, (Including genital areas.)
Side note- As part of a project that he 'obliged' to, we studied him intently, taking high quality pictures and using technology to see what he would look like as a regular human. We planned on showing him, thinking it would give him enough determination to go through with the therapy and in giving the police and doctors the information they needed to actually start making a cure. But we didn't get to show him, because he didn't want to see it, threatening us that if he even saw a glimpse of the picture he's kill anyone and everyone who made it. -Dr. Leland.
His survival information: Like all reptiles, crocs are ectotherms, which means they must gather heat from their environment. This is also what he does to survive. He basks in the sun when he's cool. (Or in his case at the asylum, high heat lights we've had specially made for him.) He also seeks shade or water when hot.
Ectotherms like Waylon don't need to eat regularly to warm their bodies, and so he saves an enormous amount of energy that can be put to other use or stored for later. A croc's metabolism is so evolved that its body uses and stores nearly the entirety of the food it consumes. This is one reason why larger crocodiles can go for over a year without eating a meal. In extreme situations, crocodiles appear to be able to shut down and live off of their own tissue for a long period of time.
Side Note- Of course we have not and would not make him do this. - Dr. Leland.
We regularly give him large meals. The average croc eats about 50 full meals a year. Waylon, of course, eats more.
When they feast, crocodiles are certainly not picky eaters. It's said that a croc will feed on anything it can outswim or ambush and overpower. (Which he constantly threatens to do.)
These reptiles have extraordinarily adaptable diets. Larger crocodiles will eat larger mammals and birds, but they'll also eat fish and mollusks like snails. During difficult times, they will even scavenge for carrion. In fact, crocs will consume almost everything they encounter. (He has also done this and still threatens to do.) And by everything, that means everything. (Ex: Waylon will eat humans.)
A croc's stomach is the most acidic of all vertebrates, allowing it to digest bones, horns, hooves, or shells. Nothing gets left behind in a crocodile's dinner. In fact these hard objects are used as "gizzard stones" in the croc's stomach to help grind coarse food. (His body is the exact same way as a regular crocodiles when it comes to this. Although each of his organs are where a humans would be.)
Side note- It is sickening to watch him eat. Most of us give him his food and walk away. He's a very violent eater. So his behavior is disgusting. -Dr. Leland.
Social: A crocodile's social interactions are a bit more complicated. (His is way more complicated as he is hard to understand.) Crocs are more social than all other reptiles. Though they primarily lead solitary lives, they resort to group behavior for important activities such as hunting, breeding or raising hatchlings. Crocs don't merely recognize one another, they form long-term relationships like humans. They are hierarchical and communicate by means of vocalization, postures, chemical signals, even touch. Male's protect the females and hatchlings. Females also protect hatchlings. Once a male or female finds their mate, it stays it's mate. Males are overprotective when it comes to their mates and territory. (Although he does not and will not have a 'mate', he hates when people come into his cell, usually saying things like, quote: "It's my territory, get out or I'll kill you!" - Or something of the sort when ever someone trespasses.)
They will kill anyone and anything that threatens it, even family. Waylon has not had any friends or family thus isn't friendly at all. But of course he hasn't been exposed to people like him and so we will probably never know if he is actually like this or not.
Breeding/Sexual information: Although it is not known if he is sterile or not since we cannot convince him to let us test him for that, nor can we test his stool or urine to see if he is healthy or having any medical problems as he won't let us get close to him, let alone those parts of his body. We don't know if he can 'breed' this way or normally, like a regular human. He also doesn't seem to have any sexual desire whatsoever. But it is concluded that he is indeed only attracted to females, (Not homosexual.) So this is all we found out about crocodile mating: Breeding season usually begins in late August in captivity and up to a month later in the wild. There is a lot of communication between the males and females before copulation. Before approaching a female, the male will make snapping sounds, bellow, and blow bubbles. The male's approach to the female is surprisingly very loving and very tender. The males will touch the female, rub up against her with his jaw, blow bubbles underneath the females bodies, rub their musky sent on the female, and rumble/purr loudly. If the female is not impressed, she will either dive under water or quickly swim away. If the female is willing, she will lift her head high out of the water and often vocalize. The male will then begin to circle the female, swim over to her, and push her body underwater and then continue to mate. Although there is no one like him that is female or even another male to our knowledge, it is good to have this information at hand. As to just in case he escapes and tries to mate with another woman that may or may not be human. (Though this is very unlikely do to his attitude, and he has never shown any attraction or kindness to anyone before, not to mention it's very unlikely a woman would love/copulate with him, but we have to consider the possibility of rape and the possibility of pregnancy if rape occurs as we do with the other inmates.)
Sounds/Language: He produces sounds like a regular male crocodile and a regular human. He hisses, grunts, coughs, growls, and bellows to convey an incredibly wide range of meanings. He also speaks like a human, although sometimes it's hard to understand him as his voice is very deep and edgy. He also only speaks english, but knows very little phrases in Spanish as he has worked with Bane before. And he apparently can talk to animals. But we haven't been able to prove this. But we have been able to prove that he can in fact talk to other crocodiles, so It's likely he can talk to other animals.
Other Important Information: Has special enmity with Guard named Aaron Cash.
Psychological Profile By: Dr. Penelope Young: Jones being born with the mutation from his father's DNA splicing experiments that created a series of physical disfigurements which have worsened intensely with age. His skin being a dark jade green and also being scaly and his body being very large as it has grown to grotesque proportions. While these disfigurements are unquestionably the sources of Jones' various psychological disorders, his intense misanthropy seems to also derive from an understandably difficult childhood which included alcoholic relatives and social rejection by his peers. He increasingly embraces an animalistic, subhuman conception of self.
Additional notes:
His acute misanthropy makes him difficult to treat, he refuses to respond to socialization, reacting only when he is acknowledged as a dangerous beast, which is clearly how he views himself. It may be that his physical disfigurements are so severe, he will never be able to truly integrate into human society. This challenge is made clear by repeated (and occasionally successful) attempts to maim and kill the asylum's orderlies and doctors."
She sighed sadly. He had a very, very rough life. She should be able to bond with him through this information. Besides, she was in fact an expert crocodile behaviorist. she knew everything anyone could ever know about crocodiles. Not to mention she was very charismatic when it came to humans. (At least so she was told.) She should have no problem with this. He just needed to want this for it all to work. If he didn't want this, it wouldn't work. That's what they all needed to understand. You can only cure someone if they want to be cured.
She tucked away the file in her desk and walked off back to Waylon's cell. She wanted to try to socially interact with him.
