Dented Scales [Open]

[Deleted]

The ally was dark, lit only by the pale light of the moon, but the tall buildings blocked most of the tremulous light out. Of course, here in Gotham, the stars could offer no guidance, as they could not even be seen. No one other then the large, lumbering beast man inhabited the shrouded alley at the moment, though not everything could remain empty for long here in the city. Despite the soaring population, the night had been rather desolate, not that the brute cared.

His feral eyes glowed with both fury and pain alike, and his fist was clinched while the other hung limply at his side. Sharp, deadly teeth and claws gleamed in the low light, along with the thick scales that covered the whole of the man's body.

It was Croc, and he was injured. Batman had run him out of his new home, in fact, he wouldn't have escaped if not for Harvey, he might be with the FBI by now. But he couldnt return to the warehouse, not anytime soon, atleast. He supposed he owed the man now, but honestly, he didn't care. Croc hadn't landed a single blow on Bat, now his shoulder was shattered and his limbs still felt stiff from the gas Batman had released into the dusty warehouse air. It was a humiliating defeat, but he would make sure the next time they met, Batman would pay

But first, he would have to recover. He needed help. Joker might be willing, but he was untrustworthy. Scratching his head with his one uninjured hand, he thought for a moment but could think of no one. Letting out a low, irritated growl, he slumped to the ground against the brick wall of whatever building to his right and hoped no vigilantes were on patrol in this part of town. He was exhausted, but had no where to go and no clue who could help him. What a great night.

[tiff]

One his undercover men in the East Side had woke him up at the motel Tiffany was staying at. The man had been in a panic on the phone, saying Croc, the Batman, and Two Face were having a face off in one of the warehouses. Tiffany had jumped out of bed, thrown on his gun and badge and headed out the door in a heart beat. After the humiliating escape, Tiffany was not at his top game emotionally. He felt like a complete failure. It had once again been his responsibility to keep these dangerous criminals off the streets and protect the citizens, but the divil had surpassed him again. The divil in blue and black. He had watched and rewatched the five second of clip that showed Nightwing in their building. As far as he was concern, this was an act of war. For now on, vigilantes would be treated as criminals. He would capture and relocate them to the Federal bases. He had passed the clip on to the FBI Director. Tiffany did not quite understand, but the Director had been very pleased and congratulated him for acquiring it.

It felt like false praise. He had failed, and he would be punish for this failure in the after life. No, he had to be successful. He had too. He would capture Jones, Dent, and Batman.

The feeling of confidence left immediately when his men busted down the warehouse door to find nothing. Tiffany slammed his fist into the wall before pacing along the floor. His men watched silently and fearfully. He saw blood and a torn apart dead homeless person. "Call the morgue," he called out, as he continued to look over the scene. There was a lot of blood. His hand naturally went to his cross around his neck as he looked over it. By the looks of the gadget left behind by Batman, it was some type of gas canister. The blood was also different, some of it was more fresh. "Put into evidence," he stated, "And it appears Jones is hurt." He bent down and touched the blood with a latex gloved finger. He wouldn't have gotten far.

"I want a patrol team to search around the other warehouses alleys," he ordered, standing back up and pocketing the glove. Tiffany continued to study the area. Batman naturally would go up to the roofs, but where would Dent go.

"Got a trail, Agent Tiffany," someone radioed in.

He pulled up his radio, "Follow it, but proceed with caution. He might be injured, but he is still dangerous. I will be there soon." Dent and Batman would wait. Jones was a mass murderer that had to be handled immediately.

[Deleted]

It had been an hour, atleast, it seemed like an hour. The slow night was crawling by like a wounded snake. Croc had achieved a slight doze, but he was still exhausted, and a doze certainly wouldn't do much to rejuvinate him both physically and mentally. That didn't mean he was totally helpless, no, to any mortal human he could still be quite deadly. He still had his claws and teeth, and of course, his brute strength, and he was ready to throw all he had to defend himself.

To any of the smarter criminal, they would have found that now might just be the time to give up, but despite this and his horrible position, Croc was ready to fight. True he had not seen anyone else since the warehouse, but if he knew anything, it was that in this town, you were either the hunter, or the hunted, and right now, he was definerly the hunted. This obviously meant that someone was or soon would be after him, as always.

So Croc fled. He rose from his uncomfortable position against the rough wall and, as swiftly as his tired legs would take him, jogged off, away from the dark ally. But where was he headed? He didn't know himself, he simply wondered, and soon found himself in another alley, this one wider, and inhabited. Two ragged looking men stared up at him with fearful eyes. He let out a low growl, and they fled. Forced to stop here from cold and exhaustion, he leaned against the wall and considered what to do. He had made some distance from the warehouse, but would that keep him safe?

[tiff]

Tiffany knelt on the ground where a puddle of blood had settled. Three of his men were with him while five were continue down the trail. The rest of his men were back at the warehouse collecting the rest of the evidence. By the amount of blood and the way it was along the brick wall told Tiffany that Jones was hurt badly. He had rested here for sometime. He could only imagine this being results of the Batman. His methods were violent like any man dealing with wrath. Only a man with an unsettled soul would choose such a dark creature to represent them.

Tiffany wondered silently how he was able to hurt this beast. To Tiffany the only logical solution at Jones' current stage would be to drop the man into holy water and hopefully burn the reptile skin and blood from him. If the man did flee to water though, Tiffany would know how to handle that. The current concern was the man's brutal strength. Force was currently on a different task, so Tiffany would have to rely on resources.

Agent Tiff, two men just seen fleeing the alley screaming. We are going to investigate.

Is the trail in that direction?

Yes, sir.

Gentlemen, do not get close enough for Jones to hurt you until back up has arrive.

Understood, sir.

Tiffany stood and began a quick job to the other's location. They couldn't be too terribly far. He would not live with himself if he allowed one of these monsters to take another one of his men. He shouted quick orders into the radio, gathering his men to move to the point of location where they believed Croc to be located. A cannibal only true place of belonging was in hell, not Gotham. Tiffany would capture him tonight.

Three men in suits, guns pulled, walked towards the alley. There footsteps were careful and quiet, not wanting to disturb whatever was hidden. They all were from outside Gotham, but they all heard the rumors of the Killer Croc. He was no longer man anymore. He was pure animal. None knew what to expect as they hid on the corners of the alley. Their hearts pounded in their chest. Their fear telling them to run. The more senior agent made a signal with his hands. One of the agents nodded and ran to the other side of the building to block off the exit at the end of the alley. They waited there until the express time had passed. Then with a deep breath the two agents on one side jumped out. The other at the other end, stayed hidden.

"Waylon Jones, you are under arrest by the United State's Federal Government," they said, holding themselves together as they aimed at the reptile leaning against the wall.

[Deleted]

Croc had not moved since he settled, but he also had not slept. Something told him to stay alert, so he had. Croc trusted his instincts, always had, and wouldn't suddenly drop that habit now simply because he wad tired. The blood that trickled down his face was starting to tickle, but he refused to itch it, even though it was distracting. His limbs were loosening up some now, helping him to relax, but his shoulder, as stubborn as it was, continued to throb. Each time he moved, it felt like a thousand bees beneath his scales, a stinging mass of black and gold.

Despite the terrible distractions, he soon picked out the scent of several creatures moving toward them, as the frigid air was blowing it right to him. Croc struggled to his feet, panting as pain threatened to force him to the ground again, but he ignored it. Who was out there, sneaking through the shadows? Not Batman. It wasn't his scent. Readying himself for a fight, he started toward the front of the alley before suddenly stopping. Men, gun raised at him, had lept out from behind the walls, informing him he was now under arrest.

He gave a low warning growl. Despite being wary of the gun, he knee most bullets would barely even penetrate his thick flesh. Still growling, he charged, swinging his good hand and catching the man to his right by the shoulder, claws sliding easily through flesh, the force of the blow knocking him into the wall.

[tiff]

He heard the scream from a few blocks away. Tiffany's face scowled. "I told them to wait," he said in a harsh voice, as he moved to sprinting. He would not let his men die to this demon creature. He would not. He had face too much failure in the past few weeks. He would not fail tonight. "Back up is on the way," he asked his second in command, Jared, who ran next to him.

"Yes sir, they are driving east now. They shouldn't be longer then ten minutes," Jared said, though new the answer wasn't sufficient.

"We might not have ten minutes," Tiffany grumbled as he ran. Please Lord, we need you with us in this fight against evil. You did not want this evil on the Earth. We, as imperfect humans, brought it upon us. Please, as the perfect being, please help us rid it, he silently prayed to himself as he ran. He closed his eyes for merely a moment as he took in a deep breath. He had to be successful. His men would be safe. This monster cannot break the will of god. The Devil would never have a reach that far.

The one man who had been clawed fell to the ground and automatically started firing randomly at the beast out of pure fright. The other agent, not the superior, began firing. Without pain, he had more wits about him. He aimed for the face, particularly the eyes. If he could blind the creature maybe they could halt the monster back.

Tiffany heard the gun fire and held himself back from cursing. He hoped he would not see blood. When they saw the alley, he lifted his fist up to halt everyone. He used his hands to signal half the group around and the other half to come with him, except for sending two into the building. If only the back up was there. Then they would have the particular weapon he was waiting for. For now, they needed to distract the crazy beast.

He with his other agents crouched towards the alley. They stayed a good distance. With the noise they already knew, the beast was close to the entrance. He pushed his men away. It was better to have distance at this moment. With one hand signal, all of his men appeared and aimed their weapons at green.

For the first moment in Tiffany's life, he hesitated with the true disgust of what he was looking at. It was only for a second as his eyes took in the scales, the claws, and teeth. He then stated, "Jones, do not doubt that we won't kill you."

[Deleted]

Croc snarled and jerked his hand back as the frightened agent began firing at random. He wasn't much of a problem anymore, so he turned to the second, who was also firing. But his shots were not random. Two bullets hit him on his bruised cheek, and a third just barely missed his eye. It stung, but his thick scales protected him from any major damage. Roaring a challenge, he charged the agent with the full intention of trampling right over him.

That's when Tiff showed up, and he stopped short, growling . Who should he attack? The one shooting, or the one that claimed he would not hesitate to kill him? He spun toward Tiff, flicking blood from his claws as he did so, ivory teeth gleaming with a deadly light. And then he made his decision, and he charged starlight for Tiffany.

[tiff]

Pure monster. When Tiffany faced the devil, and he do so on many occasions, his mind in some sense would go numb. It was like he was creating a wall to protect all of his happiness: Elle, his mother, sunday afternoons on the BBQ, laughter, and his friends. The numb wall made him feel as if he could protect them from what he was seeing and pray that they never know that such things existed. He only had to buy time until his other men with their materials showed up. He had to make sure his other men weren't in danger.

When the beast decided to focus his attention on him, he knew the Lord had been on his side. He trusted Tiffany to protect his men. He trusted Tiffany to defeat this monster. He gave a brief nodded before running straight towards the demon as well. He didn't have time to order his men. They had all begun to shoot at the beast head. It was for the better because that annoyance would distract the monster from what Tiffany was doing. When Tiffany was in close proximity to the big arms, he leaned back tilting his weight backwards. With his current momentum forwards and his black shoes not having the most friction, he was able to slide right underneath the monster legs. His gun in hand, he aimed for the ankle and pulled the trigger. Hoping the close range might actually make it through the thick skin.

[Deleted]

The men around Tiff opened fire. This was to be expected, he was warned after all, but it was mostly a slight annoyance. Small stings here and there, small trickles of blood as some bullets found there mark. But never as much blood that was now pouring from his shoulder. It pained him greatly, but he refused to give up. Refused to grant Tiff the satisfaction of an easy victory.

He was confused, of course. Why the hell would Tiff be running straight toward him? It was when Tiff slid between his legs, and when he unsuccessfully attempted to stomp him as he passed, that he understood. The bullet slammed I.to his ankle, burrowing into the hard outer skin. It hurt, but not so bad as his shoulder, and he found the will to ignore the pain and blood that oozed around the bullet.

Furious, he swiped for Tiff, knowing he would be close, and used his weight to increase his speed in the swing considerably.

[tiff]

A beast did not have intelligent thought. Intellectual thought was given to man because God made man in his image. For that reason, this beast would be treated like an animal and learn to obey those in authority out of respect. Tiff kept low to the ground, knowing that being swiped by that creature would end the game for him. He sat in the crouch position. His mind thinking through option. They still didn't have the electric net he was waiting for, but that didn't mean they were completely unprepared. His men were positioning themselves in the windows to set aim.

"Rope," he ordered one of his men who was farther back and had a duffle near him. The man look frantic and panicked, but he still managed to open the bag and pull out a black rope. The other men continued to shoot, which hopefully provided a distraction as Tiff tried to avoid any arm or leg movements from the beast. The man then threw the rope to another one of his men.

Good. "Jones," he said getting the things attention as he backed away, "If you do not surrender you will be taken down like an animal." He hoped the statement would increase the thing's anger and distract him from the two men that were running towards the beast, doing a very similar move to what Tiffany had just done. They slide below the arms, but made sure to wrap the beast's legs with the rope. Hopefully, it would catch his legs that were moving to wildly for balance and the thing would fall to ground. Tiff just would just have to jump on the way before the creature would land on him.

[Deleted]

Croc snarled, obviously annoyied by Tiffany. To him, the agent was a bug, an annoying insect waiting to be swatted. Some of the shots were beginning to penetrate flesh, and those that struck his shoulder made him wince in pain. He could see the rope Tiffany now carried, but could find nothing special about it. Unconcerned, he charged forward, unaware of the men behind him.

He had nearly reached Tiffany when he felt something constricted like a python around his legs. He tried to stop, but momentum carried him forward, off his feet. He hit the hard, cold ground with a roar, a fresh pain of agony shooting down his arm like fire. Furious, he rolled to his left and onto his back, thrusting his legs into the air. One foot caught someone, probably one of the men who had caused him to trip. He felt the impact, as well as heard it. Bones snapped and shattered as his kick connected. There was short, high pitched wail, and then all was silent besides Croc's furious snarls.

The second man who had tripped him had moved away from his feet, ducking just in time. But he was still in reach. Croc lashed out with his left, uninjured arm and snatched the struggling man from the ground, dragging him toward his powerful jaws, though Croc was likely to use him against Tiffany, rather then kill him. The struggling man might be his last hope. He was to injured to fight off all the agents by himself.

[tiff]

FBI Agents who had been on previous operations with Tiffany understood that the man was a few screw short. His methods were questionable and bordered on illegal. It was the reason his success rate was so high, but they also understood that man never considered any of his acts outside the law. His vision of reality sat far wide from the rest of the Agents, and while the Agents who worked under Tiff now during the PROTECT Operation were fearful of him at times, they also held great respect. He had proven his talent time and time again to the agency.

Times like this though....as an agent is getting dragged to a known cannibal...times like this is when Tiffany appears borderline insane to his men. It is not because he screams or yells. No, he acts completely calm and cold as he always is when handling any situation. It is what he does that makes men question whether he has a heart.

Tiffany managed to dodge out of the falling body. He stood immediately pointing his gun to the creature. It was too late though, the thing had already knocked out one of his men and was dragging the other into a hostage situation. Tiffany gritted his teeth together. This animal had killed so many of his men. During his stay at Gotham, some of his men had died, but never this many at one time. It proved how truly evil this creature was. His hand went into the air, and shots began firing from the windows of the building at the monsters head. He was still a big guy that they could easily avoid the hostage and still hit it.

He needed that van, and as if God were on his side, a black van screeched around the corner. It slammed to a halt and more of his men slide the door open. They had a large metal net like thing. It was something their labs in DC had created, but they hesitated for a moment. The beast possibly frightened them, or they noticed the man in the beast's grip that was struggling and screaming for help.

Tiffany saw the man. It was disgusting that evil had managed to trap such an innocent, but if they allowed this thing to escape only other innocent people would be tainted by darkness and pain. He could not allow that, and he would make the same sacrifice that he knew his men were willing too.

"Throw it," Tiffany ordered, causing the men with the net to pause for another second.

Tiffany didn't shout, but they needed this. Croc had made his hands to preoccupied by the hostage that he wouldn't be able to stop it. "Throw the net," he ordered again, with a sharp glare as he moved to their side.

The looked uncertain, but with their boss's order ringing in their ear. They throw the metallic net over Croc and the hostage. The man with the remote wasn't moving his hand was shaking unsure what to do, as the hostage continue to beg for help and please not do this to him.

Tiffany shook his head and ran to the man. He ripped the remote out of his hands before Croc could free himself from the netting, then pressed the button. The entire net lit up with a high voltage electricity. He heard the man's screams and closed his eyes for a moment. We all must make sacrifice for God.

[Deleted]

Croc heard the van, well, he heard a vehicle, not necessarily recognizing it as a van, but knowing Tiff, it might as well be a tank. The man's petty struggles were starting to irritate him, his panicked screams and pleas echoing through his head. He wanted to silence the man, to devour him live before Tiffany's eyes, but truthfully, he never actually enjoyed the taste of his own kind. It was just another way to intimidate his foes.

Shots began to ring out again, focused on his head. They stung, but at such a distance, barely managed to penetrate skin. He wanted to kill them all, to punish them for their stupidity, and briefly saw himself as a child, struggling against cruel bullies who could not see past his skin. Who decided to torment their own kind. Fury overcame him. How dare they? Was he really so differant?

Eager to tear into flesh, he attempted to stand, screaming agent he was slowly crushing in his grasp still trying to escape his firm grip. But Croc would not show mercy on fools who are to blind to see past their own nose. They all deserved to be punished. He had nearly gotten to his feet when he heard the shouting and felt the net fall over his massive form. He struggled against it, determined to tear it into little peaces.

That's when his vision flickered red and pain rushed through the whole of his body. The hostage's screams grew desperate and agonized. In his pain and fury, Croc crushed the man and let his lifeless body fall to the hard concrete ground. Despite the pain, he still struggled, roaring his outrage and hatred to the world.

[tiff]

The screaming from the man stopped and Tiffany finally opened his eyes. He didn't enjoy seeing his own men die, but the Lord always welcomed them home. Sometimes drastic measures had to be taken for the greater good of a country. When his eyes opened he watched as the beast roared and stood from under the electricity. It was a frightening sight that a thing could even survive such a voltage. It proved how powerful evil can be, but Tiff put away his fear. He was not here to be brought to his knees. He would not fold.

His men seemed to be stuck in the same fear he had been caught in. The bullets stopping with all men staring. How? Was the question that read on all of their expressions.

"Did you bring the tranquilizers?" he asked a shorter Agent that he couldn't remember the name to at the time. It was the same agent who wouldn't press the remote. The agent seemed to startle out of his thoughts and turned to Tiff.

"I'm sorry, sir. Bring what?" he asked in a softer voice then needed in this type situation.

"Tranquilizers," Tiffany said with a straight cold expression. They needed to get the beast under control before he managed to escape the net. It would be an almost impossible feet, but one must never doubt the limitation of evil.

"Yes sir," the man nodded finally understanding. He turned to the van and hopped in. His hand still seemed a bit shaky since he had just entered this mess. He saw the blood and the dead bodies. It was enough to shake anyone up. Anyone who didn't have tunnel vision like Tiffany. The man came back out with a shot gun. "I think the lab folk said it's enough to put down an elephant," the man commented waiting for an order.

Tiffany didn't care about the mechanics behind it. He wanted to get this thing contained. "Shoot," he ordered, causing the man to jump before putting the gun to his shoulder. He pulled the trigger, and the blast seemed to wake the other men from their stupors. They looked and realized what was happening, and they all let out a breath of relief. It was going to be over. They were going to live.

Tiffany wasn't as sure. "Reload and shoot again," he ordered.

The man looked uncertain, "Sir, too many will kill..."

"Reload and shoot again," he ordered looking up at the raging monster. Killing it was not his concern. It was probably be better for Gotham and the nation.

The man nodded and quickly reloaded. He fired the second shoot right into the things neck. The pointed needle of both tranquilizer would more likely pierce through the thick skin. After all these tranquilizer were used to knock out rhinos and elephants.

[Deleted]

Croc continued screaming his rage to the world, oblivious to the racket in the background. The first tranquilizer brought him out of his furious daze and he turned. The needle had struck flesh, but just barely. He pulled it away and dropped it to the ground, to constricted to return it to Tiff in a most bruteish way. Furious, he charge, staggering as the net held beneath his weight. Still, despite the pain, he managed to move several paces toward Tiff. The agents closets panicked and fled before his fury, and rightly so.

The second dart did penetrate flesh deep enough to cloud his mind and stiffen his limbs, but it still wasn't enough, and only doubled his anger. But this time, he turned away from Tiff to the van that was just feet away now. He didn't know what else they had in there, and did.t want to find out. It took all his strength to make it to the van, but he was tireing, the electricity wearing him down. The pain startingbto overcome his resistance.

It was quite possible that the electricity would stop his heart and kill him. He was already having trouble breathing.g. but if he had to die, then he would take as much as he could down with him. With a mighty roar he reached out with massive, powerful hands and tore the van apart, crushing and demolishing it. It would have been nice to throw it at Tiff, but still the net held him. But it was starting to give way. He could feel and hear it as he struggled.

Still determined to destroy those who put him in such a ridiculous position, he turned back toward Tiff and slowly struggled toward him, trying desperately to keep his footing. If he could only reach the agent, it would be all over. But staying on his feet was harder then it seemed, and soon Croc found himself stumbling to his hands and knees and snarling curses and insults as he could barely move any further.