Networking

Sitting on the rooftop with my eyes closed for 30 minutes, I realized that even though I was dead tired, I couldn't sleep no matter how hard I tried. On top of that, after eating pieces of Croc, my body felt odd. A particularly uncomfortable type of odd that was making me grind my teeth.

For a moment, I thought the full-body sensation I was feeling was an effect of the physical trauma… either that, or extreme muscle fatigue; but as time went on, I began to realize that that wasn't the case at all. This was different.

I felt like somehow, multiple fire ant nests had been implanted into my body… hungry fire ants that were attempting to consume me.

'I thought that I healed from everything already, but why am I on fire? I mean, I don't have any marks or anything. When I pulled those teeth out, my body fixed itself, but I still feel like I'm on the verge of death.' I pondered as I lifted up my shirt.

To my surprise, all of my muscles were contracting and releasing in a repetitive cycle. For 4 seconds, my body would tense. For six, it would relax.

If I had a normal muscular structure, I would have just assumed that I was cramping, but for me, it appeared as if corn snakes were moving around in my body. These were obviously the tentacles that had replaced my organs and muscles, but the question was why they were acting in such a strange way?

*sigh*

'I don't know how I would have explained this to people if I didn't steal those clothes earlier.' I thought to myself, covering up the bizarre scene.

Getting up from my seat, I looked out over Gotham while the sun beamed down on my skin.

The city was a lot more beautiful in the daytime. Being in the fashion district reminded me of what New York City was really like in my past life.

There were thousands of people of different races and ethnic backgrounds walking below me; all having a different purpose.

Across the street, there was a park filled with joggers, people walking their dogs, the elderly, the homeless, and even a few wanna-be thugs walking around in ski masks with their pants sagging.

A block from there was a luxurious fashion store with a line that went on for blocks. With my new eyes, I could absorb it all. With my sixth sense, I could feel it all; From the people, to the animals, I could sense their presence.

Having all of my senses enhanced to a superhuman level was a lot to take in, but as time went on, I was slowly starting to get used to it. Not only that, I was starting to like it.

Having the capability to see things 360 degrees, having the capability of hearing a conversation from miles away as if I were right next to people, being able to feel the presence of another being without looking, and lastly, being able to smell the sweet scent of freshly baked cinnamon rolls from a football field away… my abilities began to feel like a blessing the more I adapted to them.

'If I had to guess, it's about 3 pm. And if that's the case, I should probably hurry up and call the police because of the Croc situation… Hopefully, they can take the cripple in. I did make the job easier for them after all. But first, I gotta get down from here though.'

Originally, I had transformed into a Chimpanzee to climb the rooftop I was on, but my chimp form was far from the average size of one, meaning that if I had done the same thing as earlier, my clothes would tear. I needed to turn into something that could climb and would scale down to my base form.

That's when I thought of the smallest primate that I could think of, which was a Marmoset. I had watched a documentary about them in my past world. It was time to put that knowledge to good use.

Marmosets on average we're about 7 inches tall. When I transformed, I was about 3-5 times larger than the creature I intended to become.

With the image of the small primate ingrained into my mind, my body began to shift and warp, converting into an entirely new species.

My fingers and arms became thinner and elongated while they also began to grow black fur that absorbed the light of the sun. Everything was going smoothly.

*rip*

Until my newly formed tail ripped out the back of my denim jeans.

*Ooh* (Shit)

Mumbling in monkey, I washed my hand over my now furry face in disappointment.

'I'm starting to wish that I read more about Beast Boy before I came here. Having indestructible clothes would really come in handy.'

Moving past my irritance, I began to rapidly scale down the building I was on, avoiding each and every window and camera in view.

The interesting thing about my sixth sense was that I could feel when things with an electrical signature looked toward my direction. That was the benefit of eating so many hammerheads.

Descending to the first floor of eight, I dropped down to the floor of the alleyway. Hiding behind a garbage can, I made sure that the coast was clear before reverting back into my human form.

Luckily for me, I didn't feel the sensation of cold anymore, but unlucky, I still felt the breeze of the wind in the back of my pants.

'Oh boy… good thing this jacket is a little longer in the back.'

Walking out, I began to wonder just how I was gonna be able to get my hand on a phone. I could steal one from a store, but what would the point of that be when I didn't know how to activate its service.

I could've robbed someone, but that would have made me a shitty person.

From what I knew from looking at myself in the mirror the night prior, I was a cute kid… an ethnic and gender ambiguous looking one, but a cute kid to say the least. Using that to my advantage was the wisest decision for me. So I j-walked across the street, reviving hostile glances and honks from angry drivers.

Approaching the first person I saw, which was a fit blonde-haired middle-aged woman in pink workout attire, I tapped her leg, gaining her attention while she was in the midst of walking her small fluffy white dog.

"Excuse me, miss?"

"What?" At first, as she turned around her body language suggested that she was upset at the fact that another human being would dare touch her, gripping the leash of her expensive-looking dog tightly; an understandable reaction from someone who lived in Gotham; but the moment her eyes landed on me, her cold expression melted away like ice on the sidewalk in the Arizona sun.

*gasp*

"Oh my god! You're freaking cute!" she exclaimed in a New Jersey accent. Getting down on one knee, she started playing with my hair.

"Ya hair is so long and pretty! You gotta be the cutest little boy I've ever seen before." She smiled.

Seeing her completely overlook the concept of personal boundaries threw me off guard for a second, but in the end, I just accepted.

"I was busy walking Pringles, but for you, I got the time. How can I help you, little man? You want my wallet? My keys? Take 'em. You can have 'em." She chuckled.

"Wait, did you say Pringles? Like the chips?" I asked, raising my eyebrow, disregarding her latter comments.

I wasn't surprised because I thought the dog's name was silly or anything like that; I was more so dumbfounded to discover that something as obscure as a snack brand had managed to avoid planetary existence erasure, yet the memory of my friends and family couldn't.

"That's right!" She smirked, getting the attention of the dog.

"Come here, Pringles." The woman motioned. Obediently the dog made its way to us, looking very happy to meet me.

"He's a purebred Maltese. Would you like to pet him?" She asked, while stroking the dog's head.

"Uh, no. I just wanted to see if-"

"Come on. He doesn't bite. He's a sweetheart. Don't be scared." The woman smiled.

*sigh*

"Alright." I mumbled, begrudgingly getting on one knee and putting my hand out for the dog to sniff.

A part of me began to wonder if the dog would sense something evil in me and start barking at me because I was no longer human, but that wasn't the case at all.

It only sniffed me a few times, then hopped in my lap, vigorously licking my face.

"Ha. Alright, you're cute. I'll give that to you Pringles." I voiced, petting the dog and moving my head to the sky in order to keep my mouth dog-free.

"Huh? That's a surprise. He's not usually like that with people. Not even kids. He must really like you." The woman voiced.

"What do you mean?" I asked, now rubbing the dog's belly.

"Well, I mean, usually, he would have smelled you a few times then walked away. The fact that you're touching him must mean that you're special or something. I mean… your hair and eyes tell me that, but I'm just saying. You must have a good heart or something. You must have good parents." She smiled, patting my head.

"Speaking of your eyes; At first I thought they were just a really pretty blue color, but now that I'm looking at 'em straight up, they're almost like they're glowing. I never seen anything like 'em' in my life." She stated, moving my hair out of my face and tilting her head in curiosity.

'Jesus… Does she not believe in personal space?' I grinned, gritting my teeth.

"Thank you. I appreciate it. Anyway, ma'am, do you have a phone that I can use real quick? I need to call somebody."

"Awe, look at you! You're cute, and you have manners."

'Bitch, I'm 32!' Biting my tongue and swallowing my pride, I waited while the woman dug in her blue fanny pack, taking out her device.

"Now, who do you need to call, cutie pie?"

"I… Need to call my mom. I need to know if it's time for me to go home yet." I uttered.

"Huh? Where is she? She let you come to the park all alone?" She said with a worried look.

"Uh… No. She's just in Big Belly getting us some food."

"But still. This is Gotham. Doesn't matter if it's day or night, it's still dangerous for a good looking kid like you to be out here all alone." She voiced with concern.

She was starting to frustrate me. This weirdo was touching me without my permission, and would probably begin to ask a whole bunch of questions that I would have to make too many on the spot lies for. I didn't want to deal with it.

"Ma'am!" Me raising my voice caused the woman to jump in surprise.

"It's really important that I call my mom right now. It's urgent."

"Hey. You watch who you're raising your voice at. I'm the one who's doing you a favor." She frowned, handing me her phone and crossing her arms.

Grabbing her phone, I noticed that her phone looked relatively modern and had a sleek appearance. It was something that I would have usually ignored until I remembered that the year was 2008 on this Earth. Her WayneTech phone was better than my previous phone.

'Interesting…'

Here's the corrected text:

How much had this world advanced compared to my previous one in terms of technological advancement? That question would only be answered with additional time spent exploring.

Looking up, the woman was still pouting.

'God damn it.'

"Thank you… I'm sorry for yelling, but I just want her to know I'm safe," I said, feigning a sad expression.

"Awe, I can't be mad at you. I forgive you. You're lucky you're cute," she smiled.

"But next time, don't raise your voice at your elders," she said, rubbing my head. Picking up her dog, she sat on a nearby bench with her dog in her lap.

To ensure she couldn't hear my conversation, I walked up to a tree that two squirrels were climbing and made my call.

"911. What is your emergency?"

"Hi, I'm in…Grant Park. One block west of me, you're gonna find an alleyway that's right across the street from a Big Belly Burger. It's right in the back of an apartment building with 8 floors. On the ground, there's gonna be a manhole its cover open. In the sewers, you're gonna find 50 dead people piled up. Perhaps more. There's also hostages… so be prepared."

"Excuse me, but can you slow down, please, ma'am? What's your name, and how do you know this information?" The man on the other side of the line asked. His misgendering made my eye twitch, but I shrugged it off. I couldn't blame him considering how I sounded.

"I said what I said. The longer you wait, more people will die."

"Hold on a second, miss. I still need-"

Without wasting another breath, I hung up. The hostage situation was an obvious lie, but a necessary one. I knew that the police took things like that seriously. I was certain that at least a SWAT team would be sent, which was necessary for someone like Croc, eventually though he was currently disabled.

Deleting 911 from her call log, I made sure to call a random number to cover up my trail when I handed the woman back her phone; otherwise, more questions were certain to come flying my way.

"Here you go, miss. Thank you for that. My Mom said that it was time to go," I smiled, about to turn around, but she stopped me.

"Hey, wait a minute. I didn't get your name. My name is Chrissy. What's yours?"

"..."

For a moment, I debated telling her the truth, but then I realized that there was no harm in doing so. Although she was kinda annoying, she did help me. Giving her my name was the least I could do.

"My name is Kenneth. Nice to meet you, Miss Chrissy," I smiled.

"That's a nice name. It fits you. I mean, you do look like a tiny brown little Ken doll," she chuckled.

"Thank you…" I uttered, not exactly knowing how to take her comment.

"You're welcome. How old are you? The next time you're around, I'd like to introduce you to my-"

"That's okay. I live far away. I'm only here for a day," I lied, not wanting to get set up on a weird tea party date.

"Oh… Then, I guess I'll see you when I see you," slightly disappointed. I nodded, walking away.

…

…

…

[3 Days Later]

It had been days since my fight with Croc. Words about his escapades had spread through the city.

A day after the battle, while disguised as a fruit fly, I crawled into a random home and watched the news and discovered what happened after I left.

After my tip to the police, the police had swarmed Gotham's sewers where they found all the corpses of Croc's victims where the remains of over 62 people were discovered.

Hearing such an absurd number of victims made me wanna go out and eat Croc on principle alone… but I sat patiently and watched the rest of the broadcast. Luckily from him, I did.

G.C.P.D eventually discovered the mangled Waylon Jones attempting to escape their cliches by submerging himself in wastewater. But after 25 minutes of being submerged underwater, eventually came up for air, exposing himself to 13 armed members of the Gotham City S.W.A.T who quickly subdued the man.

Out of the remains discovered, 19 victims were identified to be members of the nationally known False Face Society; a mafia-like organization that has been speculated to be one of the reasons for the recent rise in illegal narcotic trafficking throughout the entirety of the U.S.

Finding that out eased my mind slightly… but I would have to wait a few more months to discover whether Croc had killed any innocents or not. If he did, I would make good on my word… if he didn't, I would let him rot in jail… at least until I found him again.

He was currently held in federal confinement until his court date, and was most likely to be sent to either Blackgate prison or Arkham Asylum, depending on the judge.

What was interesting was that a lot of people saw Croc as a vigilante for permanently taking criminals off the street. Some even praised him instead of looking at him as the cereal killer he was, which was alarming to say the least; but at least the general masses had their heads on straight and saw him for the monster that he was.

For the past couple of days, I had just roamed through the streets of Gotham, aimlessly. For 4 days straight, I hadn't slept or felt the need to. I was concerned at first, but it didn't seem like I was suffering from any adverse effects that came along with sleep deprivation, so I just shrugged my shoulders and kept things moving.

My body had stopped its weird metamorphosis and I no longer felt pain, which was a very good thing, but I had more free time than I knew what to do with.

I didn't have a house, a gaming console, or anything else to do. I had no money for those things, but on the bright side, I hadn't gotten hungry, which was a very good thing… but still, I felt like something was missing from my life and I just couldn't put my finger on what it was.

*sigh*

As I roamed the streets of Somerset, which was Gotham's most northern Island, I started to memorize the geography of East End. Finding landmarks was something I did in my human form to pass the time.

"This place is fucking awful," I mumbled as I took in my current environment. The interesting thing about having 360 vision was that I could see everything without turning my head, even the things I didn't want to see.

All around me were abandoned and boarded-up stores, abandoned apartment complexes, and just overall despair in the air.

For blocks and blocks, people stood outside their tents as if they were houses, doing drugs and having conversations out as if this messed up visual was a part of their everyday life.

A few people rummaged through garbage cans, attempting to find scraps of any remains of food that they could find in order to survive.

'This is just like Skid Row,' I thought as I continued walking forward.

Not only was this the worst-smelling part of the city, it was the.' I thought as I continued walking forward.

Even the people were in bad condition.

part of the city in the worst condition. Even the people were in bad condition.

As I moved through the streets, I heard gunshots, police sirens, and people fighting over nothing.

It was dark out, somewhere around 9 pm, and people gave me death glares as I passed them.

Walking a few blocks up, I was halted by the sight of a kid no older than 15 talking to himself alone in a dark alley next to a rundown old pharmacy. He sat in front of a burning barrel, rocking back and forth, crying.

*sniff*

"It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay." He whispered with tears coming down his face.

He had on clothes so dirty that I could only assume that he found them in the trash. He was pale, and skinny, and looked like he hadn't eaten in days.

"They said they would bring her back in an hour."

*sniff*

"They promised they would." He muttered with snot coming down his nose. Then, picking up a dirty translucent tube off the ground, he began wrapping around his arm, squeezing it tightly with his teeth and spare hand.

'Oh… yeah. This is definitely the most fucked up part of Gotham. Without a question.'

I was near Crime Alley, the infamous part of Gotham where the Waynes were robbed and killed, leaving Bruce to be orphaned. Right now, I understood why they dubbed it that name.

The kid then began digging in his pocket in search of something…

Watching him didn't sit well with me. Even though he had scratches, scars, and bruises all over his body, I could tell that he was a handsome kid. He was so young… He had his life ahead of him. Yet, here he was, sitting in front of a metal fence about to shoot up in front of a flaming garbage can… cold… alone.

I… I felt like I had to say something to him.

"Hey!" I screamed from across the street which caused the boy to jump, dropping his needle on the floor.

Turning his head to me, I realized that he was completely missing his left eye and had been for a while judging by the lack of blood.

Ignoring me, the boy picked up his needle, continuing his objective. Running across the street to the boy as fast as I could, the boy's eye widened in surprise, causing him to jump up again, breaking his syringe.

"Wh-What do you want!" He shouted while I stood in front of his face.

He looked like he was scared for his life… I didn't know if he was just a timid person overall, or the fact that he didn't expect me to show up in front of my face.

"I want to talk to you," I uttered.

Defensively, he got up with his back against the fence.

"What are you? Who are you? What do you want from me? I don't have money, so just leave me alone!" He shouted with tears running down his face.

My ears perked up at his first question… didn't I outwardly look human? What was he so suspicious for?

"I just want to talk. That's it. Please… I don't want to hurt you," I said, putting my hands up defensively.

The condition the kid was living in was terrible. He had holes in his shoes, stains all over his shirt, and dirt all over his hands. His hair was greasy and wild and smelled like he hadn't showered in weeks.

I had to be as gentle with him as possible. He was mentally unstable, to say the least.

"…"

I found the fact that he was so threatened by me odd considering he was twice my size, I had looked past that. His reaction was probably just a trauma response.

"What do you want?" The boy asked, easing his shoulders.

"Well, first, I'm not gonna ask you about the reason you had that needle. That's your business… for now, I just wanna know your name, friend?"

"… It's Joseph," he said, still uncertain of whether or not to trust me.

"Alright, Joseph… My question is, why are you all beat up like that? And also, why are you crying?"

"Why would I tell you anything? I don't know who you are? They probably sent you. How do I know this isn't a set up?" He said, displaying a false sense of bravado.

"… Joseph? Imma need you to think logic for a second. Look at me. I'm a small frail boy. I'm barely 10 years old. Why would anyone send me to do anything?"

"Bull-shit! I just seen how fast you ran! You're not a 10-year-old. You don't even speak like one," he spat, which confused me a little. I ran up to him at regular speed… was his drugs playing tricks on him?

"Alright… that's fair. But my question is why would "they" send me? What is the reason as to why "they" would want to get you specifically?" I asked, to which the boy put his head down.

"Because of what we owe… We never paid. That's why my sister's gone now," he said, sliding to the ground, pulling his beanie over his eyes.

"Joseph…" walking up to him, I placed my hand on his shoulder which made him in turn jolt 2 feet away into a corner filled with used needles.

Holding his knees to his chest, Joseph began to rock back and forth.

*sigh*

"They said they would bring her back today… but she's not here," Joseph mumbled.

"Who?" I said in the most calming voice I could muster. Slightly pulling up his beanie, Joseph looked me in my eyes as if searching for something, then he finally spoke.

"Are you really not one of them?"

"No… I'm not," I said placing my hand on the scared boy's shoulder once more.

"It… it was the False Facers. They took her. They took my older sister because we owed them money. They just kept adding more and more to our debt by forcing us to take their drugs until we couldn't pay them back…"

"…"

…"

"It wasn't like we asked for them either. They just kidnapped us, stuck us with needles over and over again until we couldn't live without the stuff; and for the last 6 months, they kept charging us, more and more every time we used… but today, they said they needed to collect."

"…"

" They said there was only one way we could do that without paying cash… That was when they took my sister and beat me."

*sniff*

"…"

"All they left me was more of this bullshit!"

Taking a full syringe out of his jacket pocket, he smashed on the ground in rage causing his drugs to soak in the piss drenched concrete.

"And now… I'm here… all alone."

*sniff*

"…"

I didn't know how to respond… How was I going to?

Before coming here, I remembered having a sister.

I remembered what it was like to have strong bonds with family… and more importantly, I remembered what it was like to lose them.

As Joseph put his head down in silence, I felt and heard a vehicle with around 6 people coming towards our direction.

Snapping my head back, Joseph looked up in confusion.

A few seconds later, an all white van pulled up behind us causing Joseph to tremble in a mixture of fear and anger.

Closing off our exit path, the back of the van opened up, revealing 4 armed men dressed in fancy looking suits, all adorned with black masks on their faces.

A shorter man looking to be around 5'8 wearing a pink button up, black tie, black suit top and bottom, black gloves, and a dragon tattoo on his neck was the first to step out the van, squinting his eyes at me and Joseph.

"Ah… looks like somebody made a little friend, isn't that right, Joseph." The man jested, causing the other men to chuckle along with him.

Turning around, I stared at the men, irritated at the arrogant aura they had.

"Looks like he's a little handsome one too. He could go for some good money. I'm sure the client who was playing with your sister will have a fun time with him."

I couldn't see his face, but I could tell that the man was smiling.

"Look at his eyes, Merlot. He could easily go for 300k… easily." Said a muscular man who stood at about 6 '8, wearing the same attire, but instead of pink, he wore a green shirt while the other two men wore black ones.

"Johnny… let's make good on our word, shall we?"

Voiced Merlot.

The muscular man then reached into the car, grabbing a dead naked teenager and throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Anna!"

Joseph's eyes widened with fear and sadness.

He didn't know what was going on… judging from his expression, I could tell that he didn't know she was dead yet… but I could. I could hear the heartbeats of other people. Her's… Anna's wasn't beating.

These people… they were sick.

Anna… judging by the bruises around her neck, legs and arms, the girl was brutally sexually assaulted. There were deep cuts around her thighs and arms that were still fresh. There were patches of her hair missing.

These people were monsters… the same kind that were in my last world. Worse than the one that had eaten me and turned me into what I was today.

"What's wrong with her? Why isn't she talking? Why is she naked?!" Screamed Joseph.

"Oh, that? She's fine. Our client just took her to go shopping… he also just so happened ta get her makeup done. He was quite generous like that. Wanna see?" Asked Merlot.

He then motioned for Johnny to come forward.

When Johnny got close enough, Merlot grabbed the girl by her scalp, lifting her head up revealing Anna's battered and beaten face.

Anna's eyes were swollen shut. Her lips… they were detached from her face revealing a bloody skeleton-like appearance. She was tortured, violently, by whoever this so-called client was.

"…"

Joseph's jaw dropped. Tears of rage poured down his face as he collapsed to the ground with a thousand yard stare.

"As promised, here's your sister back."

Johnny stated, tossing the girl to the ground causing the girl's body to flop to the concrete with a loud thud right in front of her still breathing brother.

Joseph didn't speak…

Joseph couldn't think…

Joseph only crawled next to his sister's dead body, placing his jacket over her.

All he could do was hold the girl in his embrace.

She was the only person he had. The world had taken that away from him.

I felt for him… my heart bled for him. This world shouldn't have been like this. Not for two young kids like this. They didn't deserve this. They were two young kids who didn't even get to experience the beauty of life yet.

The idea of our roles reversing ate away at me… being powerless like that… it hurt deep down. The scene playing out before me would never leave my mind.

"Joseph…"

I spoke, crouching down at the boy's side. He didn't look at me. All he could do was weep.

"Joseph… I want you to know that even though this doesn't change what happened, I'm gonna get rid of the person who did this to her. I promise you." Joseph didn't reply. He only nodded in silence.

"Haha! What? He said he's gonna do what?"

Chuckled Merlot.

"Gonna avenge her, huh kid? Cute."

Johnny then stood in front of me, picking me up by the back of my denim Batman jacket with one hand.

I didn't bother resisting. I didn't even attempt to fight back. No… I had a plan.

"So, we're gonna sell this one to the same guy, right?"

Johnny asked, holding me in the air.

I so badly wanted to turn into an animal… With one simple thought, I had the capability of turning into a T-Rex. In that form, their weapons probably had no effect on me. I wanted to stomp them all to death… it would have been so quick and so easy, but I had to be patient for the moment.

"I don't see why not. Look at him. Those eyes of his might as well be money signs." Voiced Merlot as he began to walk back to the van, but as he was about to step in, one of the men in all black stopped him.

"Merlot… this is getting too hot. Everyone knows that Mask doesn't traffic… especially kids. He doesn't even let us sell to them for crying out loud! If he finds out what we're doing, he'll find us… all of us. We'll be as good as dead. I don't know about you bunch, but I got a family to go back to."

Merlot then chuckled under his breath. Swiftly, reaching into his waist, he pulled out a shiny pistol with a thick barrel, aiming at the man's head before he had even realized.

"Y'know what, Beetle? I'm getting real sick of you. Fuck you, ya family, and Black Mask."

*pow*

With a single flick of his finger, the man in all black fell backwards with a quarter sized hole in the center of his head.

I didn't flinch. I didn't move. I was still in Johnny's grasp. I was focused.

'Merlot and Johnny… I'm gonna remember that. After the client I find this client, they're next.' I clenched my fists so tightly that my fingers began to warp through my hands because I lacked bones.

"Anyone else have any problems with making money?" Merlot questioned. The atmosphere went dead silent.

"Now pick up this piece of shit's body and let's get the hell outta here." He said, taking a seat while the other man in black scurried to pick up the corpse off the ground.

I didn't want to kill people… I didn't like the idea of eating people and deleting them out of existence either… but they were the exception. I remembered them… their smell, their voices, and electrical signature that their body

gave off with the help of my sixth sense…

With their help, I had found my sense of purpose in this world.

"In ya go, pretty boy." Grunting Johnny as he tossed me into the van.

***

***

***

In a maximum security cell made specifically for one person, said man laid strapped muzzled to a table-like structure that stood vertically. Mysteriously, he was missing both arms and legs as if he had been injured by an animal more deadly than himself.

"Fuck this cell. Fuck the food here. Fuck that monster. Fuck everything! I'm turning my life over ta god after this. I fuckin swear on ma life!" Shouted the muzzled man.

*bang-bang*

"Quiet! You're the only monster here, now shut ya damn mouth before we come in there and taze you again you fucking lizard." Erupted one of the two heavily armored guards in front of the reptilian man's cell.

"Come try me, fruit cakes! I ain't scared of you. You don't put no fear in ma heart, you lil stank pussy bitches!"

"What the fuck did you just say you inbred roided-out gecko?!"

"You heard what I said. And yo daddy suck dick too. Both of y'all. Y'all ass lucky I ain't got no arms. I only need one too. If I did, I'd be usin em to toss y'all mama's in the air so they can land on my big meaty co–" Before the reptilian man could finish, all the lights inside of the confinement unit turned off as if a random power outage had occurred.

Confused by what was going on, the large reptilian began to slightly panic.

"What the hell is going on?"

One of the guards asked.

"I don't know. Hey! What happened to all the lights!?" the other guard shouted.

The reptilian man's mind and heart began to race. His recent battle had deeply affected psychology, causing the man to have a deep integrated fear in his soul that he had never experienced before.

'Please don't be that fuckin monster, please to god don't be that motha fuckin monster. Jesus! Fuck it, Zeus! If any of y'all have had love for me in any shape or form, please don't let it be him!' The man began to sweat profusely.

For the past few nights, all the man saw in his nightmares was a gigantic black hippopotamus ripping off all of his limbs. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw two glowing blue eyeballs, staring at him.

*thud-thud*

"What the hell? Santiago, are you alrig-"

*thud*

After a few moments of bone-chilling silence, the lights turned on once more, but this time, the guards had been knocked out and were laid atop one another.

But who was the culprit? Who or what had knocked the guards out? There was no one in sight. Not even with his enhanced senses could the man sense any presence whatsoever.

"Waylon Jones… I have some questions that need to be answered. I strongly advise you to cooperate with me," uttered a deep authoritative voice coming from behind, which caused Croc to flinch in surprise. He had expected a much higher pitched voice, but his expectations were averted.

There was only one other person who he could picture being capable of breaking into the facility he was being held at. The man who had broken in was stealthy, efficient, and tactful.

Adding all this up, Jones had deduced who the culprit behind him was.

"And if I don't, Batman?" He smiled, relieved that he wouldn't have to face off against the monster in his nightmares again.

"Oh… I promise you, you will."

"Ha. From what I heard around Gotham, your best ain't even close to his worst. You ain't getting shit out of me." He grimaced.

*crack-crack-crack*

*crack-crack-crack-crack*

"I'd beg to differ. And so will you, soon enough," Batman stated.

*zap-zap*

Jones' eyes widened, uncertain of what was going on behind him. All he heard was the click of a button, then the sound of pulsating electricity.

"Wait… hold on. What are you doing back there?" Jones asked rather unnervingly.

"Showing you my best."

*zap-zap*

Jones began to regret his words prior.