*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.