Batwoman #21

Issue Details

Synopsis

INTERLUDE III After being turned into the Hydra and destroying half of Gotham City, Killer Croc' was left immobile and confused in the wreckage, returned to his former shape. He could only assume that the heroes had won again, and his benefactor, Medusa had failed. He though he might even be dead, and was surprised to feel himself floating.   He remained unconscious for ten days, collected by Kyle Abbot's Religion of Crime offshoot. Since recovering, he has begun a relationship with a woman named Claire, who shares a similar reptilian exterior, hoping to keep her unaware that she was his first. By night he wanders the tunnels beneath the sewers which the cultists have converted into a labyrinthine church, and encounters a man named Jered, who correctly guesses that Waylon's insomnia is caused by a mind in chaos. Jered supposes that Waylon's transformation into the Hydra gave him a glimpse of his true potential, and that it has changed him; made him one of them. He explains that while the ability of were-beasts to transform ranges widely in degrees, they are all of the same ancient blood-lines. Waylon explains that he has no control over his transformation, and Claire, having eavesdropped, comments that it is time that he took control of what he is. He is the great beast of Babylon, she says; the harbinger of the apocalypse. He shall be their king. With the death of Abbot, they are without a leader, and they have chosen him as replacement - the only catch is that he must avenge Abbot by killing the Batwoman.   Waylon cannot refuse them, and with the others' help, he concocts a plan. They have determined that Maggie Sawyer has the smell of the Batwoman all over her, and may be the same person. So, Waylon spends an evening spying on the detective, only to discover that she and the Batwoman are lovers. Finally, he attacks, expecting Batwoman to protect her girlfriend, but instead, they team up, and Sawyer riddles him with bullets - though they have little effect against his crocodilian skin, apart from one hell of a sting. Fighting that pain, he corners Batwoman with his sword, and though he intended to kill her in front of Abbot's crew, he is eager to make her bleed now. Unexpectedly, though, Maggie retrieves a shotgun from her car and places him under arrest, unloading a blast into the side of his head.   In his rage and confusion, Waylon feels the Hydra trying to fight its way out of him again, stumbling toward the women. As he once heard Medusa calling his name to bring out the creature, he now hears a different voice calling "Waylon, Waylon" over and over. He realizes that it is actually his voice; the voice of his ten year old self. Meanwhile, he is taking a beating from Batwoman, who insists that she can take him back to Arkham. Worse, a third woman, Hawkfire appears and threatens to burn him. Despite feeling that maybe he can take down all three of them, Waylon realizes that Batwoman is connected. She has a family. And if he kills her, more will come back for him - and maybe for those people he cares about now.   So, Waylon runs. He runs until he's sure he's lost the women, and tries to return to his followers, knowing he can't be caught. As he rushes through the waters of the sewer, he recalls being a ten year old again, running through the swamps from the kids who had bullied him for being different. They had sworn they would beat him until they could see what lay under his scales. When they attempted it, he tore their throats out.   As he returns to the tunnels, Waylon is confronted by Claire and Jered, who ask whether he has completed his task. He responds that he let the Batwoman live, which confuses Jered. Angrily, Waylon thrusts his sword through Jered's gut, shouting that his plan would have got them all killed. Turning to Claire, he explains that Gotham is not safe for them. They have to leave tonight. She responds that she knows a place where she grew up that they can go, but getting there will be dangerous. Regardless, Waylon just wants them all to get out of there, especially since Claire now carries his child.