Chapter 06: How to build an Empire (Part 3)

[Clock - 19:00 | 07:00 PM]

[Calendar - 05/01/2003]

[Location - Random Dark Alleyway - Old Gotham, Gotham City]

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POV Change

Waylon Jones - Killer Croc | King Croc

Not many people understand why others would live in Gotham. Waylon also, sometimes, asked himself why people would come to this cursed land... But that was the reason, wasn't it? Because there wasn't anything in this world that would make others want to come to a city famous for its many, many crimes and many deaths, as well for the many batshit (heh) insane fuckers that go around doing their batshit insane crimes.

Talking about batshit-

"Time to go back to Arkham, Croc." The deep voice of the bat was easily recognizable, making Croc want to sigh- He had escaped Arkham Asylum alongside the many other residents after The Joker made his own escape on New Year's Eve, and of course he was one of the first ones to be found... It's not like he made an effort to hide, after all, he didn't really have a reason to hide until two days ago- Oh shit. The kid (Well, he isn't really a kid, but it's fun to call Atlas that and watch as he looks so offended), what will happen to him? Waylon does not trust the Bat, he wouldn't trust the Bat with anything in his fucking life, but- He looked around, sniffed the air trying to find him, but he saw him walk out of the shadows from behind the bat. "Co-operate, and everything will be painless."

"Hey, kiddo." Greeting the one and only Dick Grayson- He would recognize that child no matter what. He was taller than the last time he had seen him, he looked to be about 9 or maybe 10 years old now? Waylon doesn't remember very well how old the kid was when his parents died, all he remembers clearly is the taste of flesh on his teeth, and the sound of bones being broken and chewed on. "Good to see you again... Dick." He had never, while the boy was wearing this ridiculous costume, referred to the boy as "Dick", he always called him Robin as a way to make sure his secret identity was hidden... But he didn't care about that now. He was tired, tired and he didn't want to pretend anymore, so he just... sat down. His long tail swayed from side to side as he looked at the two vigilantes of Gotham City, one clearly showing surprise in his younger eyes than the other older man: "You remember what day is tomorrow, right?"

How could Dick Grayson not know what day was tomorrow? The 6th of January, the day his parents plummeted to the ground and blood sprayed his young face, the day he saw the gray matter of brain, a cracked skull, and boken bones for the first time. The same day, he saw a monster for the first time- You see, after his parents hit the ground, he ran. Something inside him made him snap and he ran to the only adult that his child brain could trust, and that person was Waylon Jones, nowadays famously known as Killer Croc.cHe went seeking help from an adult, only to find a monster covered in blood, holding broken bones, and with flesh on his many teeth- not everyone believed him when he told them what he had seen, after all, although Waylon was one of the Circus' attractions, everyone believed it to be some sort of costume! And, well, if the owner of the circus mysteriously disappeared right after two of his best performers died and it was confirmed he had connections to a crime family, it was only sane to assume said crime family got rid of him.

And not that a crocodilian monster ate the guy.

Years later, nobody would even question the veridity of his claim anymore. Croc has been confirmed a cannibalistic dangerous monster that would hunt and hurt others, Dick himself has witnessed him hunting down another person to eat them, and that was the last straw- he threw away the vision he had of him as a misunderstood man trapped inside a cage, unlucky to be born with a disease that made him look like a monster, and embraced the vision that all of Gotham had of Waylon... That he was a monster.

"Of course... I know..." Hesitantly, Dick said. He ignored Bruce on his side, focusing entirely on Waylon and with heavy caution, analyzed everything about him. He looked tired, he looked down, and most importantly he looked like had lost the will to fight for now. They- he and Batman -could easily overpower him in a synchronized attack and knock him out long enough for the folks at Arkham Asylum to take him back to their little lizard. "Why would I ever forget?" Seriously, that day shaped him as the boy he is today- a 10 year old boy, who saw his parents brutal death, and now works alongside a billionaire furry to keep the streets of Gotham as safe as they could possibly make it -and the man he will be in the future. "...and why would you ever remember?" That... He doesn't remember much about Waylon, maybe its repressed memories due to the shock he was in, or maybe its the trauma itself, but he knew that both his parents interacted with Waylon sometimes, but that's about it.

"...It doesn't matter, not anymore." Waylon said in a voice so husky that it could pull a sleigh- I mean, he sounded very tired. Old friends that no longer were alive, and a child that once looked at him like a human that now only sees him as a monster. "Let's just... get on with it, take me back to that cursed place."

He wasn't in the right mindset to fight against Batman and Robin (He could still feel the destructive anger within him, but that was not something he wanted to use), and neither could he win againat them- he has tried many, many times before, and when hw starts winning they always pull something out of their ass to throw him off of his feet and make them win.

It's kinda ridiculous if you think about it.

"..." Batman simply looked at him in silence for a few seconds. Waylon had no chance to react before something hit him on the face- this thick gas started to spew out of the smoke grenade, and Waylon felt-

-eepy.

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POV Change

Atlas

Atlas was deep into his studies. Magic was not something meant to be very easy, although the level of Cantrips was... kinda easy? Well, he needed to practice a little until the magic happened, and he was learning about Transmutation Magic by reading the book [Transmutation Magic: Beginner's Guide to Basic Spells, by Transmutation High Wizard Kalandros de Vebir] while Baytor was helping him clean around the train cart he was able to get inside- this abandoned subway had about 10 carts from he could see, and each was dirty as fuck.

"[Baytor (Neutral): I am Baytor... (It has probably been... 50 or so years ever since this part of Gotham was abandoned- Apparently part of it started to sink, and people got worried that Old Gotham would be swallowed by the water, and thanks to the politicians and fear mongering of the times, it was an exodus. Familes left like crazy, leaving behind many buildings and other things too- Now, If I recall correctly, the subway stations of Old Gotham were abandoned because of the structural integrity, or the lack of it in this case.)]" Baytor was surprisingly very well informed about what happened in Gotham in the past, he was pretty proud of it as well, acting like a historian whenever Atlas asked questions about the history of Gotham: "[Baytor (Neutral): I'm pretty sure there was also a project to make use of the underground caverns beneath Gotham to make several lanes of underground traffic, but that project was abandoned when Man-Bat started to use those caves as his home alongside his small children... Seriously, nobody respects werebats.)]"

Ah, right... the Werebeasts. They were a race of ancient supernatural beings, a result of the ancient kingdom of Atlantis making experiments with humans and animals, which resulted on the experiments rioting and freeing themselves... Baytor said that one of them ended up bringing the Lord of Chaos Klarion into the city as revenge, sinking Atlantis to the bottom of the sea. He also explained that, although he doesn't know how, many of the Werebeasts ended up mating with normal humans, and their genes were passed on... There are still some Werebeasts in this world, such as Waylon and the Man-Bat, but the majority of them are still human as their Werebeasts genes lay dormant within them.

Bayton kept referring to Waylon as Son of Sobek, and when Atlas asked about it, this was the answer he got:

"[Bayton (Confused): I am Baytor! (I don't know... As much as I'd like to know everything, I don't know why calling him Son of Sobek sounds so... right? He might be a Demigod, for all I know, that wouldn't be that hard to believe. He did say he slowly grew from a human to a Werecrocodile, which sounds exactly like the Werecrocodiles of Egypt would grow- they were also called Children of Sobek, there might be a few of them there still...)]" So now Atlas had more knowledge that he did not know how to put to use- Werebeasts are real. Waylon is most likely the son of the Aprotopaic Egyptian God of Crocodiles, Fertility, Rivers, and Military. Man-Bat (real name pending still) is a Werebat guy who has children (other Werebats). And, at last but certainly not least, Werebeasts were born from Atlantian fucking up and mixing magic with humans and animals... That sounds like what a powerful kingdom that once ruled over the earth would do.

But instead on focusing on things he had no control over, Atlas decided to focus on what he could- Learn more Transmutation magic. There are various universes out there, and each has their own tweaking of Transmutation Magic. Full Metal Alchemist has their Alchemy, Dungeons & Dragons have their Transmutation School of Magic (which he is learning a little), Harry Potter has its own Transfiguration Magic... And they're all parts of a whole. Transmutation Magic is, essentially, putting your will to shape world around you. Be it twisting rocks to make a beautiful statue or transform someone into a pig! Atlas himself has felt the way his internal magic energy interacts with the world whenever he uses it to cast [Mending] (seriously, the amount used is like a droplet to an ocean, which is why he can use it as many times as he wants without tiring), and now that he has read the basics of a lot of different types of Transmutation Magics, he has come to the final conclusion...

He'll just learn it all, then move on to another type of magic.

"Transmutation spells change the properties of a creature, object, or environment. They might turn an enemy into a harmless creature, bolster the strength of an ally, make an object move at the caster's command, or enhance a creature's innate healing abilities to rapidly recover from injury..." Reading out loud the broad definition of Transmutation Magic from the [Transmutation Magic: Beginner's Guide to Basic Spells, by Transmutation High Wizard Kalandros de Vebir] book he was reading, Atlas stopped for a moment- His eyes lit, his mind was ablaze, and grinned: "...Prestidigitation." His finger brushed against the dusty floor before him as Baytor used a broom to try and clean it, and with a wave of wind, the dust was blown away out of the train cart before it was dropped. "That was easier than I expected."

It might be his [Act Like you Know It, Learn as you Do] perk acting right now, because he truly believed he knew what he was doing and that he was an expert in Transmutation Magic.

"Oh, I'm so gonna show off to Waylon." Grinning and finally feeling like he was on the right track, Atlas read further ahead- Because this was a book from a DnD universe, the next section was on 1st Level Spells a Transmutation Wizard should learn. But he saw a simple cantrip that was... interesting. "Destroy Wall?"

He didn't know then, but this cantrip would be very useful to "rescue" Waylon from the Arkham Asylum.