*Thud*
Again Esau picked up the sound as he slowly shifted his footing.
*Thud* *Thud* *Thud*
More and more booming footsteps echoed throughout the sewers as slow steps turned into fast movements as Killer Croc began running. Before taking the serum, in the darkness of the sewer, it would have been impossible for Esau to make out the sight of the shadowed figure bursting around the corner. He would have only been able to see the figure when he was almost upon him and within the narrowed corridor, it would be all but impossible to avoid it in time.
This was why he had wanted to avoid coming into the sewer.
The narrowed structure of the sewer, plus the size and impressive speed of Killer Croc would have made it near impossible to come out alive.
However, Esau was better than before and thanks to his improved eyesight, managed to pick out the sight of Killer Croc as he burst around the bend, his claws digging into the wall to stop him from sliding further down.
Esau didn't even freeze, his body moved seamlessly and with practised movements, unholstering his pistols and fired.
The bullets wouldn't do any damage and so he only fired a few, but they weren't meant to do anything, except for drawing Killer Croc's attention.
"You!" Waylon growled before with a roar charging towards Esau.
Crouching his body down, Esau tensed the muscles in his leg and burst towards Killer Croc with a speed even greater than he had ever felt before. The only reason he was able to actually keep up with the speeds he was moving at was due to his mind which had been boosted to absorb information nine times more effectively than a normal person.
His eyes flickered across the sides of the sewers as he and Killer Croc drew closer and closer.
With another roar, Killer Croc thrust his head forwards and his mouth opened showing jagged teeth dripping with saliva. Yet, Esau had already moved as he dropped to the floor, skidding threw the murky waters of the sewers between Killer Croc's legs and out the other side. Quickly rising to his feet Esau continued to rush down the sewers as Killer Croc turned around and gave chase. Even with a head start and his enhanced speed, Killer Croc was still closing that gap between them, but that's what Esau had expected and wanted.
Hearing Killer Croc drawing closer and closer, Esau waited until just the right moment and leapt to one side, his feet pushing off the side of the wall and jumped up higher, his claws digging into the roof as he pulled his body up till he laid flat against the roof.
Killer Croc who had leaned down to bite Esau once again went straight past.
Esau used this to his advantage and while dropping to the ground pulled out one of the few grenades he had managed to acquire from a few unsavoury individuals who would no longer be dealing in weapons for a very long time, and threw them at Killer Croc. As soon as it came into contact with Killer Croc's armoured skin, it exploded filling the sewer with a thick cloud of smoke and Esau could make out the sight of the cannibalistic killer standing there.
His armoured skin was lightly singed, but nothing major.
'So grenades can cause him damage, that's good.' Esau thought as he continued to rush through the sewers, using the temporary dazed state of Killer Croc to his advantage.
It wasn't forever, he could already hear the sound of Waylon walking out of the smoke followed by a roar of anger that echoed throughout the sewer. But it was too late, Esau was already drawing closer to one of the exits leading to the surface and it was in one of the few sewers that were close to his desired location to fight Killer Croc.
While he had studied the various maps on Gotham's sewers, memorising as much of it as he could, he had also gone out and looked at a number of abandoned areas which would be a good place to fight Killer Croc. There were very few that were good, most had poor stability and were too damaged for him to feel comfortable fighting his superpowered foe. The last thing he wanted was for the ground beneath his feet to give way and give Killer Croc a chance to finish him off.
He had eventually found three locations and the exit he was closing in on was near the second location, an abandoned warehouse right on the outskirts of the East End.
Moving quickly, Esau reached the ladder and climbed up quickly, actually, he jumped missing out a large number of steps and with barely any effort pushed the drain above him up and left the entrance to the surface open to him. But he didn't take it and instead waited for a few seconds as Killer Croc neared his location.
Esau didn't know if he could see the light shining down or if he knew what that meant, but Esau wasn't going to take any chances and pulled out one gun.
Just as Killer Croc first appeared in his eyesight, Esau fired and the bullet bounced off Waylon's head causing him to freeze. Then with a growl, he looked up to see Esau giving him a wave before climbing out onto the surface.
A car horn attracted Esau's attention as he turned to see a car driving towards him and reflexively jumped into the air. The car passed by beneath, but as the car was nearly done driving by beneath him, it seemed to rise up into the air. As a result, Esau placed one foot on the top of the car and pushed off just a little so that he could wrap one hand around a nearby street lamp and swung himself around so that he landed on it in a crouch.
Looking down, Esau saw that the ground was cracking and raised and knew that it meant one thing.
That's when the car flipped through the air and Killer Croc burst from the ground with a roar before he looked around in search of his food.
Smirking beneath his mask, Esau jumped off the street lamp and descended towards Killer Croc who slowly turned to see Esau coming towards him. It was too late and with a shout, Esau swung his left fist round and slammed it into Killer Croc's jaw, the force behind it aided by gravity whipped Waylon's head to one side as Esau rolled across the ground.
Even so, Esau found his hand throbbing slightly before his healing factor kicked in and dealt with the aching.
'So while I'm certainly stronger, it appears I'm not strong enough to cause him any harm.' Esau noted that while his punch moved Killer Croc's head to the side, it didn't do any damage.
Clicking his teeth in annoyance, the blonde quickly leapt backwards as Waylon gave chase, his clawed hands swinging around in an attempt to cut Esau to pieces while said young boy avoided each attack with a hairsbreadth.
'Hmm, he certainly has training.' Esau deduced as he leaned his head back just enough to let Killer Croc's claws cut through the area his head once inhabited. 'But not enough!' Bracing his left hand on the ground, Esau swung his right leg around into Killer Croc's incoming strike, it didn't do loads, but it certainly knocked it to one side enough to avoid hitting Esau.
As soon as his foot struck Killer Croc's hand, it bounced off the armoured skin, something Esau counted on and used this momentum to swing back around and pushed off his left hand to put some greater distance between him and his opponent.
Yet Killer Croc didn't let up and came after Esau much as he had in their previous fight.
However, Esau was more than ready for this as he calmly avoided each strike sent his way.
He wasn't as fast nor as strong as Killer Croc, but he was certainly more flexible and his reflexes were better.
As a result, he avoided each strike sent his way with the barest movement.
It was risky, especially with his limited control over his body's increased strength and speed.
But as the fight progressed, Esau found it getting easier and easier.
Ridding himself of those thoughts for now, Esau focused on his current opponent and waited until just the right moment and as soon as Killer Croc overextended on one of his strikes, jumped up. With one foot he landed on Killer Croc's hand and when Waylon brought his arm down and went to bite at Esau, said boy used his left foot to push off Waylon's forehead.
Spinning slowly, Esau dug the claws on his left hand into the metal walls of the warehouse and braced his feet against it.
"What's wrong, Waylon?" Esau taunted as he leaned against the wall and looked at Killer Croc over his shoulder. "Didn't you say something like you were going to eat me last time?" Killer Croc grunted in response and reached down to pick up a slab of concrete that had been laying on the ground when he burst up from the ground and threw it at Esau as hard as he could.
Due to the strength he possessed, Killer Croc was able to throw a slab of concrete that would weigh around half a ton give or take a hundred pounds with such force that appeared as nothing but a blur. His eyes managed to pick up the sight of the concrete moving as in the space of a few seconds, Esau had already considered every option available to him, coming up with only one viable solution.
First, he could simply stop holding the wall and drop to the ground.
It was a smart choice unless one took into account that Killer Croc was already running that way because either Waylon was smart enough to at least plan this, or it was pure luck.
No matter what the answer was, Esau couldn't do that.
The second option was a matter of jumping off the wall.
However, a fight in the open was dangerous, especially with a few people that had been walking the streets, cowering in fear. Luckily this was the outskirts of the East End so there was only a handful of people who had been at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Either way, Esau wanted to avoid fighting in the open so as to not get anyone hurt.
That left only option three, getting inside and fighting Killer Croc there, which was exactly what Esau wanted.
With his two feet braced against the wall, Esau pushed upwards while removing the claws from the wall, jumping up in the air and reaching for a broken windowsill, gripping hold of it tightly.
His muscles tensed as he pulled himself up, his feet breaking the glass.
Esau made sure to keep hold of the ledge even when he entered the inside of the building as the part of the wall below him where he had once been burst open and the slab of concrete burst through. It continued further and caused a large explosion of dust and smoke as it collided with a number of abandoned and empty wooden boxes.
Releasing a breath, Esau waited a few seconds before releasing his hold on the wall and letting his feet roll against the wall, from the heel to the ball and pushed off. His body fell through the air at great speeds as he plummeted head first and that's when Killer Croc charged inside, knocking the door off ts hinges.
Smirking, Esau tucked his knees into his chest while swinging his arms down to give that little extra momentum as he flipped so that he did a full one-eighty.
Killer Croc didn't even have a chance to dodge, let alone block Esau's double-footed stomp that struck his temple with enough force that the sound echoed. As Killer Croc fell face first into the ground, Esau fell as well and rolled across the ground, his right hand digging into the ground and carving deep groves into the ground as he spun to face Waylon who was still face first in the ground.
'Not yet.' As Killer Croc shook his head and slowly started pushing himself to his feet, Esau let the claws on his right hand flash dangerously. 'Now!' Then he charged forwards once more and quickly covered the distance between him and Waylon in a second, the criminal only having gotten to his knees before Esau's hand flashed through the air and dug deep into his eyes, including his newly healed one.
With a roar, Killer Croc swung his left hand around in order to backhand Esau, only for Esau to flip over the arm and as soon as he landed in front of the supervillain, spun on his heel and lashed out with a spinning back kick. The blow whipped Killer Croc's head to one side giving Esau the perfect opportunity to end this fight quickly.
Jumping up, he landed on Killer Croc's shoulders and while in midair, reached into his pocket.
Swinging his arm down, Esau chucked the contents of his right hand into Killer Croc's still-open mouth and then leapt away.
Landing in a crouch, Esau slowly rose to his feet letting the two pins in his hand drop to the ground.
The sound of it reverberated throughout the silent warehouse as Waylon had gone silent upon forcibly swallowing two objects when they were shoved to the back of his throat. It had been a reflexive movement and he had been unable to stop himself and so swallowed the two objects that were placed there.
That's when an explosion ripped through the air causing Esau to wince as he closed his eye due to the amount of blood and gore that splattered against his clothing. After a few seconds, Esau slowly opened his eyes to see that all that remained of Killer Croc was his legs and a little of his lower torso. The rest was all gone, his upper body spread throughout the entirety of the warehouse.
Sighing, Esau looked down at himself and then walked out of the warehouse.
As he soon as he stepped out he picked up the sight of those same people that had been here when the fighting, still here and hiding. "You know, you could have run." He pointed out causing those closest to him to freeze and upon seeing this began walking across the road to a nearby alley.
So, another chapter is done and with it, Esau has a win and a big one at that, done in a major way. He dominated from start to finish, controlling the tempo of the fight and using all the skills and lessons he learned from his numerous defeats. Killer Croc didn't stand a chance when combining these with Esau's enhancements as a result of the serum. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed and if you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.
Saturday 25th April 2009, 18:00.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
East End.
Bracing his hands against the wall, Esau let the warm water run over his body, releasing a sigh as he felt his tense muscles loosen off. His eyes slowly closed as he remembered back to his fight against Killer Croc a little over an hour ago, but he wasn't as physically exhausted as he thought he might be.
It hadn't lasted as long as he had expected and while he certainly wasn't as physically strong or as fast as the supervillain, it was his enhanced mind that gave him the edge needed to finish the fight decisively. The serum hadn't made him smarter in the conventional sense, it had instead enhanced his ability to process and store information. Even when moving at great speeds, Esau hadn't suffered from tunnel vision and had been able to process everything around him with ease.
Killer Croc who moved at greater speeds than himself seemed to move in slow motion to his eyes.
In a way, this was also a downside as Killer Croc has come close to killing him on many occasions.
This was all down to the fact that while Killer Croc appeared to be moving slowly to his mind, his body had not been able to fully keep up. As a result, he misjudged when to move on a few occasions and suffered a few cuts here and there before he managed to adapt.
Yet those cuts were already healed.
Stepping out of the shower, Esau dried his body off and wrapped the towel around his waist, moving out into his bedroom, he stopped and looked at his image in the mirror.
Over the course of the months in which he had become Black Hood, there was no denying the physical changes he had undergone, his muscle mass seemed to have shrunk over the past few weeks. Whereas in the beginning, Esau had focused heavily on increasing his strength, one thing he had learned from fighting Barbara and Robin was that while stronger, he was nowhere near as fast. So, in the past few weeks, he had been working on increasing his speed, giving him a much slimmer and leaner build than the bulky one he had previously.
Not only that, but the number of scars littering his body had doubled in number, mostly from Talon and his undead servants.
But he also had a few newer bullet and knife wounds.
Tracing his finger along one particularly large scar, Esau released another sigh. 'So, it seems while I have a regenerative ability, it does not heal old scars.'He wasn't overly bothered by this, his scars showed that he had come from small beginnings and had risen above them, but he wouldn't lie and say that he wished they weren't there as well.
His eyes then trailed to his hands that he raised up.
They hadn't changed, but he could feel the difference, the same feeling that he could feel throughout his entire body. His body temperature had shot through the roof going from thirty-seven degrees Celsius to seventy-four degrees Celsius.
It would be worrying if Esau didn't feel any different, the only reason he knew about the difference was that one of his kinder and friendlier neighbours pointed it out. The man had thought he was sick and so had Esau at first until he realised he didn't feel sick and had shown no symptoms, making him believe it was linked to the serum.
Either way, Esau felt powerful.
Sure, he was still learning to control his new body's changes, yet he couldn't see that as a major downside.
In his fight with Killer Croc, he had found himself adapting and learning how his body had changed much better than when he had actually been training.
'Adversity breed excellence.' Esau recounted having read that as part of his homework when he had still been at school.
The saying never rang truer than when it did for him when he was fighting against Killer Croc or his entire career as Black Hood. Esau would not lie that he had become frustrated and disheartened at how much he had been beaten. Against the likes of Deadshot, Batman or Talon who were masters of fighting, what hope did he have against them with the little experience he had?
Very little and it had shown.
But against the likes of Killer Croc?
His victory was proof enough.
It showed just how far Esau had come and he couldn't help but realise how stupid he had been.
Of course, he wasn't going to be able to bridge the gap between himself and Batman in the space of two months.
That was ridiculous and yet, he had expected to be able to do just that.
It would take more than a few sessions in local martial arts clubs to be on the same level as Batman, but that was fine, he hadn't realised how quickly he had been improving. It was just the level of his opponents that made it difficult to show just how much because Killer Croc was dangerous and Esau had already seen the clip of his fight against said supervillain blowing up on YouTube.
Turns out one of the civilians that had been hiding, had also been recording the fight.
It was choppy and all over the place, but the video showed how easily Esau had been able to keep Killer Croc at bay. Sure, he had made a few slip-ups, but they were nothing important and didn't even switch the flow of the battle in Killer Croc's favour. From the start to the end, Esau had been in control of the battle and had dictated the flow.
Esau doubted he could have done it so easily if it wasn't for the serum.
'I still need to get stronger. Killer Croc is someone without much in the way of skill and I know from first-hand experience, that what I need to improve on is my skill. If I want any chance at beating the likes of Talon again, I need to get better.' While Talon was incarcerated, Esau had no doubts he would get out eventually.
If the likes of Killer Croc could get out of prison, then someone as skilled and as cunning as Talon would have no problems.
Esau would prepare for that moment and when Talon got out, Esau would be ready.
He would not lose again.
-X-
Sunday 26th April 2009, 12:30.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Wayne Manor.
"He's on the move again." Bruce looked up from where he was stretching on the floor to see Dick sitting in front of the Batcomputer with numerous camera feeds being displayed on it. "That makes it the fifth time today."
Standing up, Bruce made his way towards his protégé. "Where?"
"East End still. He hasn't left it since, well since the Court of Owls." Dick informed Bruce who nodded his head in understanding as he turned back to stretch his body. While he had slowly recovered, he had started to do some light training, nothing overly major as to worsen his injuries, but enough to keep him in shape and prepared for when he was fully recovered.
Dick on the other hand was still recovering and so spent most of his day using the Batcomputer to study the patterns of criminals. Things in the wider Gotham area had been quiet since the Court of Owls, which was good, but the same could not be said for the East End. The Hammer's takeover of the Casa Nostra was especially worrying and something Batman knew he would have to focus on when everything else calmed down.
Yet, Killer Croc had proved the most immediate threat, he feared what the cannibalistic killer could accomplish and what other opportunistic criminals would do in his absence. Even with Barbara still capable, she was as he had explained, emotionally compromised and wouldn't be able to fully think her actions through.
Skilled she might be, but she was still learning.
As a result, Bruce decided to wait.
He hated to hear the reports on how the people Killer Croc had killed in his moment of absence, but Bruce didn't have a choice. He could have called in for help and while he certainly was willing to ask for help, he needed to be careful.
There were some threats and situations where in reality he should have called in for help.
But right now, despite how bad things had gotten, he couldn't.
If he called for help, he would be giving credence to all those little whispers circulating amongst the criminals of Gotham. It would embolden them, though if things had continued, Bruce would have bitten the bullet and done exactly that. He had already broken the criminals of Gotham once and driven them into the shadows, he could do it again and he would.
However, there was no need to do so.
As of yesterday, Black Hood had done what many people had thought he wouldn't be capable of, killed Killer Croc.
Bruce had seen the fight that had been posted on the internet and he would admit that he was impressed.
Primarily though, he was worried, extremely so.
The increased strength, speed and sheer calmness upon which Esau operated in that fight were beyond anything Esau had shown before. He had dictated the flow of the battle with ease he shouldn't have and had never displayed before. Somehow, he had improved drastically in the space of a few days and it worried Bruce because improvements of that level were not natural.
"He's doing good, really good," Dick spoke up after a few minutes. "Since Killer Croc's death, crime that had been steadily rising by five percent has dropped drastically and is still dropping, especially in the East End. Not so much in the other parts of Gotham because Esau's not there, obviously." Dick looked closely at the statistics shown by the Batcomputer that had already calculated and compiled the data in seconds. "But he's doing good."
Bruce remained silent as he spared a glance at the screen.
'Perhaps, but maybe that is the problem.' Bruce thought as he narrowed his eyes. 'He's too accurate and precise in his actions which doesn't make sense, the information needed to be that accurate is beyond Esau's ability. Not even his supporters should be able to receive accurate data like that. So where is he getting it from?'
With that thought in his mind, Bruce felt his frustrations grow.
Esau was still young and despite having been manipulated by Alton Carver once, Bruce had a feeling Esau might be unknowingly being manipulated again.
A worrying thought, especially seeing as though it seems Esau in the space of a few days was improving at a far faster pace than before.
With every fight Esau was in he improved, adapted and grew stronger.
If he was being manipulated and it was successful this time, Esau could prove to be a dangerous threat.
So, another chapter is done and with it, Esau has been working nonstop to fight crime with guidance from Deathstroke and aid from his followers. But this guidance is making Batman suspicious and very wary because it could turn Esau into a dangerous force to be reckoned with. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed and if you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.
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