Friendship Is Magic: Gotham

by Jaycren

Crocodile Tears

Author's Note:

This is something that Me and Equestrian Twist have been cooking up. I am writing the chapters pertaining to Fluttershy (Felicity Breen), Rarity Belle (Rebecca Belle), and Twilight Sparkle (Twyla Spark), He is writing Applejack (Amanda Jacklyn Smith, Rainbow Dash (Raymona Dashiell), and Pinkie Pie (Philippa "Pippa" Piedmont). We've been knocking around who gets Sunset Shimmer (Summer Shimry)

It was a silent midnight at The Gotham City Docks, when a dark, scaled thing hoisted itself out of the dark waters. Blood dripping from its mouth and staining its claws. The smells of the city rousing the creature, clearing the haze from its mind.

"What is this fog in my head?" Killer Croc uttered to no one. "How did I get to the Docks?"

Leaning against the wall, the mutant tried to think back. "Me and the Boys was on a job. We went back to the lair, then nothing."

Glancing at his claws and tasting Iron in his mouth, he spoke to the air again, "This here's blood is human. What'd I do?"

Flashes entered his memory, rising from the water, he had turned to his men. Then his mind went red. Dripping Lovely Red. Beautiful Red. The feel of a full stomach, a burp coming up out of the scaled giant, along with something else. Removing it from his mouth, he found a finger, with a very familiar ring on it.

"I ate my men. Why? My disorders stable. Least, that's what I always thought."

A Voice called out, using a name he hadn't heard in years. "Waylon?'

Turning, he saw a thin young man wearing brown pants that bore multiple pockets and a plaid T-Shirt that bore the words "Where's the Fun In Making Sense?" Heavy combat boots covered what Croc knew to be severely mismatched feet. Stepping forward the young man further revealed himself to be covered in brown fur, a single snaggle tooth jutting from his upper lip. His left hand was more akin to that of a bird of prey and his right a lion's paw. Twin horns, one a Stags and the other some twisted unicorn like thing sat upon his head. Black Hair with a central white streak spilled messily onto his shoulders, wait was that a..... Croc smiled.

"The goatee is new Cordy." Putting his hands behind his back, he turned to the mismatched young man. "Last I heard an affair of the heart had you in juvenile detention. How long you been out?"

"Just got off Parole last week. Been working here and there. Waylon, I'm your cousin. Tell me what's going on."

Croc sighed. He didn't have many good memories. Those he did have all concerned the young man talking to him. He couldn't drag him into this. "Cordy, go back to your life. You leave Croc here to his thinking. They catch you with me they'll shoot first, ask questions never. Don't be wasting no chances on me."

Turning to go, Croc began walking back into the shadows, But his cousins voice rang out.

"It's your atavism isn't it?" Cordy took Croc's silence as confirmation. "Thought so, you're not the only one that has a good sense of smell. The blood on you is human, I'm willing to bet you have it in your mouth too. Let me help you."

Croc rounded on his Cousin, snarling he moved forward, his eyes seeing only red. Cordy raised his hand, a snap was heard, then Croc knew only darkness.

---

Croc awoke to the smell of antiseptic, bound by his wrists and ankles to a backboard by zip ties. One around his throat and one around his snout prevented the use of his teeth. Leather straps further restrained him, pulled snugly, but not uncomfortably so. Attempting to move his hands revealed that flat wooden boards had been zipped together, sandwiching his hands nicely, preventing the use of his claws.

"Reminds me of Rumor" He snarled.

Hearing a small squeak, he immediately scented the area, a young woman was nearby. Cursing internally at his own carelessness, externally he asked, "Is someone there?" After all depending on what Cordy told her, this might work out.

"I'm Here. Are you comfy?" A pink haired beauty entered his vision. Checking his straps and restraints for tightness the young girl left his vision, returning after a moment.

I apologize for all of this, but Dissy made it clear that you are just not yourself. I think your tests are going to confirm what he told me."

"Tests?!" He snarled. "I dislike being tested against my will."

The Pink haired girl stared defiantly back. "Dissy is family he gave me consent, also I think that you might want a better answer for your specific Atavism other then it just makes you look like a Croc. I expect you have an increased sense of smell and above average strength. I'm willing also to speculate that you, Mr. Jones, have larger lungs than normal, allowing you to stay underwater longer. I can tell just from looking at you that your eyes contain a nictitating membrane to protect them. Your dermis is covered in scales that can stop small arms fire. From this I can further conclude that your hands, besides being webbed, have retractable claws. That tail, although I'm sure that you use it for other things besides it's intent, allows for greater movement in the water. The tests I took are going to answer one thing that I pray to St. Jude I am wrong on. Now are you going to behave or am I actually going to have to sedate you?"

Croc stared at the girl, startled at her sudden aggression. Unflinchingly, she stared back, scenting her more closely gave him a better picture of things. Chuckling, he leaned back.

"Seems Cousin's Cordy's got himself a firecracker of a beauty for a girl. You a Doc?"

The girl wilted, "Honestly, I'm a Vet tech with a whole lot of self taught knowledge. But, I can't ignore someone in need. I did that once and lost a good friend. It will never happen again."

Croc laughed again. "Well, I been treated by worse in the past and I am a bit of an animal. You at least are sober." Pausing for a moment, he smiled up at the girl,

"Noticed, by the way, you ain't denied that your, Cordy's girl." chuckling again at her flush, he continued. "You got a name girly, or I got to call you Cordy's girl the rest of the time I'm here."

"My name is Felicity Breen." pursing her lips, she continued. "I really do want to help you, but if i'm right then I may not be able to do a damn thing for you."

Croc snorted, "Ms. Breen, story of my life. The world's a jungle, red, tooth and claw. The strong take and those that can't get eaten. My form just reminds others of that. Cordy's too. We're just different types a predator." snorting in disgust, he grimaced at the memory of how Cordy subdued him. "Forgot he's a master hypnotist. Damn, Dragon Dog put me to sleep, can't say I blame him. He could've done much worse. Kinda wondering why he didn't"

"Because I didn't want to upset her you dumb reptile. It figures, I finally get a good thing going and my family comes along to mess it up." Derek Israel Cordy entered the room. Slinking along, his tail wrapped around his waist to prevent accidents.

"And she could teach you a thing or two about hardship. Her story isn't that much different than ours."

Felicity shoot Derek a look. Winking back at her, he kissed her on the head then retreated to the farthest wall from his cousin.

"What about it, Ms. Breen? You want to weigh in on my view on life?"

Sighing Felicity looked at Croc. "I agree with everything you said. The strong do prey on the weak, and I've been one of the weak most of my life. Taken advantage of and used. Indeed, right now you're being held in a animal shelter that specializes on victims of lab testing. Everyday I see evidence that people are nothing more then monsters. That there is no kindness left in this world. I look and I see a never ending parade of those that hurt others and get hurt by others. A never ending river of blood and pain. I'll never be able to do a damn thing to stop it, not a bit, ever. But you want to know what?"

Felicity closed her eyes,. opening her eyes once more, tears freely flowing she glared deep into Croc.

"None of that is ever a reason to stop trying to be better, Mr. Jones. All of that is just a pathetic excuse to be a bully. Nothing more, nothing less. It takes more strength to walk into a place like this and know that everyday you're going to lose. To Know everyday another life is going to have to end, because it's kinder to end that life then let that life continue to be in pain. But to continue anyway, because for a moment you might be able to ease another's suffering for just a moment. The world may be a jungle, but that does not give one the excuse to stop striving to be better. To compromise once is to be lost. I did once and I lost Pamela, I will not lose anyone else without a fight. I will not lose anyone else to this jungle if I can possibly help it."

Croc smirked. "Ms Breen, I'm really glad that Cordy found you. Wish I could've found someone like you myself. But honestly, that in and of itself is the biggest horse hockey that I've ever heard. All those pretty words add up to one thing. You're a doormat. Something that others abuse at their will because you'll do nothing to stop them. What's going to stop this, eh? You've already admitted your weakness. What's going to guard you from the predators of the night?"

A snarl was heard from the far wall, a sound so unlike human speech that Croc shivered at the sound.

"She has me. I'll stand between the world and her. I may be a predator, a monster, But I'm her predator, her monster. I'm what will guard her from all things." Discord, the lord of Chaos as he was once known, glared back at his older cousin. Croc shrank in on himself. This was not his little cousin Cordy, this was what lurked beyond the campfire. This was the breaker of all things.

"Dissy! Enough!" came Felicity's command.

Immediately the terror that had gripped Croc stopped. Shuddering, he thanked himself that Cordy had rules about causing harm. A beeping heard from a darkened corner of the room further distracted the trio. Turning Felicity rushed to the machine. Removing test tubes, she proceeded to check the contents under a microscope. Both men watched as Felicity slumped, the test results obviously confirming the scenario she had been alluding to the entire night.

"Mr. Jones, I have some bad news." Sighing, she walked over to him. "The issue is that your natural Atavism was in fact stable. It was a natural expression of your DNA. The problem is that others tampered with it. You will continue to change, developing mental degradation along the way. Until finally you'll forgot your humanity and become little more than a beast. That blood will not be the last you taste. There's nothing that can be done, anymore. If it'd been caught earlier it could've been stopped or at least slowed, but the major mental degradation has already started."

To the surprise of both Croc cackled. "You say that like it's a bad thing, petite. Just the jungle correcting its mistake. I was a monster born and a monster I'll die. Finally, I can be free of all that I hate. I can at last be the animal I was meant to be."

Straining against his bonds, one by one they broke. Till at last he stood under his own power. Closing his hands shattered the paddles, and with a single swipe he cut the zip tie that held his mouth closed. Cordy pulled Felicity behind him, his eyes full of protective rage, standing between her and all threats, just as he promised. Croc smiled at his younger cousin.

"Let me ask you this Cordy, she brought you to meet her parents yet?"

To his surprise it was Felicity that answered, "Only because he won't do it. I've wanted them to meet him since our second date."

Croc shook his head, "And what do you think their reaction to you dating a patchwork predatory terror will be, huh?"

Felicity once more smiled, "My parents are Agoraphobic shut ins that are terrified of the outside world. I'm the assertive one in my family. They'll honestly be ecstatic that I have my own personal 'patchwork predatory terror' between me and everything they are afraid of happening to me. Even if they don't, I really don't care. I can't sleep without my floofy snuggle buddy." Wrapping her arms around her man, she continued. "He's so cuddly.'

Croc stayed silent. Shaking his head he turned and left. Exiting the back door, he stopped in the ally. Leaning against the wall the last human tear he would ever cry ran down his face. A deep female voice was heard behind him.

"You did a good thing Croc."

He turned to behold a scarlet haired, green skinned woman dressed only in leaves. The covering only served to accent her considerable attributes.

Putting certain things Felicity said into context, he asked. "I take it you're the Pamela she meant? Eh, Ivy?"

Poison Ivy nodded, "She and I were friends once upon a time. I was two years ahead of her in high school. I confided in her about the professor that did this to me. At the time she was unable to support me in reporting him to the authorities. I still keep an eye on her. She and Harley are the last humans I care for. Let's get you out of here. Monsters don't belong near this place. We need to go back to beyond the campfire. Civilisation is for them, not us. Not anymore.

Croc nodded, then moved off with Poison Ivy into the Gotham Night to be with the other monsters. But before they vanished into the darkness, they both turned and paused, then where gone. Indeed, Felicity Breen's parents worries were completely unfounded, for their daughter was not just beloved of one monster, but three.

Comments

[EquestrianTwist]

Great start, looking forward to posting the next chapter.