Chapter 21 Chapter 21
Megan is not a stupid child. Even if she has only a little clear consciousness, she has learned a lot of words, but it is a little difficult to connect them with real things.
Her perception progresses very slowly, and she pays more attention to non-human entities and tiny phenomena that few people pay attention to. She likes to look at shadows, likes to look at dust particles floating in the light, likes to watch the flow of water... She is a child who can get along peacefully in her own small world.
But not paying attention to people.
No one knows Megan's past. Even though she was adopted by the Joker and has the name Megan Chris Damon, no one knows what her life experience is. She has shown her state without reservation from the beginning.
Her body and mind were sick, she was malnourished, developmentally delayed, and her short black curly hair was rough, and her spirit was still trapped in an empty world. She never woke up, never arrived, and only responded to death. Even though she got much better under the clown's training, those problems could not be solved in a short time.
No one knows what kind of family this child came from, how she was treated, whether she was born like this or suffered a major blow later.
…
Back to the present, Killer Croc's hobbies are very different from his terrifying appearance. He likes reading. He had cleaned the library when he came yesterday, so the tables and chairs can be used directly. He and Megan sat on the same side of the table, and he put the children's picture book in front of her.
Megan opened the picture book herself and saw that it was mostly filled with beautifully printed color pictures, with text only used as embellishments. The book used innocent and cute descriptions to introduce what the story was. She could already read and understand some simple stories.
She lowered her head to read a book, her short black curly hair almost falling to her collarbone. There was a slight breeze blowing back and forth in the room. Because her hair was fine and soft, it was easily blown by the wind, making her hair look fluffy. Megan didn't speak and always breathed through her nose. The sound was so small that people often ignored her existence.
But Killer Croc was always paying attention to her. The young child didn't know the correct sitting posture. When her back slumped, Killer Croc hooked her collar with his sharp claws and lifted her up. After repeating this once or twice, she understood what he meant. She touched her cheek and then touched Killer Croc's terrifying arm to indicate that she understood.
Yes, even though Megan was learning language and writing and slowly becoming like a normal child, she still refused to speak.
Killer Croc once wanted to ask Megan this question, but the depths of her eyes were still difficult and ignorant. The bright green color reflected the external objects and many reflections could be seen, but there was no more meaning. It only proved that she did not yet have a clear self.
It was very slow and difficult for her to perceive the outside world. It was a miracle that she could reach this point. If she was lucky, she still had a long future and should not push herself too much.
In the end, including him, Poison Ivy, Riddler, Two-Face and the Penguin who occasionally took care of her, did not question or force the child to speak. After all, there were many lunatics with various mental illnesses in Arkham Asylum, and a little girl was not a big deal. Even if she had some minor problems, she seemed harmless and cute to them.
So does the Joker know about her problems, her resistance to speaking?
——Haha! Of course he knows!
He knew it all too well. He knew Megan better than anyone else here. This timid mouse had clearly begun to sense and respond, but even now she had hidden herself. She didn't dare to show up and was shivering in the corner. She was exactly the same as she was before, without any change.
This really disappointed and discouraged the Joker, but he was patient and had to continue to maintain his fun, watching her seem to become more vivid day by day, but only he knew her true side, she was still refusing, as long as there was the slightest movement from the outside world, she would die -
When people or animals are extremely frightened, they will choose to self-destruct.
Megan, this stupid kid, was very slow to determine whether the environment was safe. She even didn't realize it when she was playing with the monster Killer Croc. Once frightened, she would only follow her instincts: she wanted to die, she wanted to escape.
In short, this is a long process. Megan is a sweet thing that won't become sweet until the end. The Joker is still looking forward to it! He is even less likely to be the one to destroy and hinder her growth.
So under their "care", Megan had a relatively comfortable environment for living, studying, entertainment and leisure. No one put pressure on her, allowing her to grow well here.
Killer Croc is in charge of Megan's studies. Currently, she is learning the commonly used words in life. She may understand some spoken language, but she does not know its spelling. In addition, she also needs to be taught to write.
While she was reading the picture book, Killer Croc listed her learning goals for the day. After she had read about five or six pages, he stood up, wagging his tail, picked up Megan, and said to her, "Reading for a long time is bad for your eyes. Take a break." Then he took her to a green area outside the side door of the library.
Killer Croc didn't hold Megan in his arms all the time. Although she didn't know how to refuse, he knew that children should move more, so he walked slowly in front and Megan followed behind.
The huge Killer Croc's footsteps were heavy. If he was outside Arkham or in the sewers, he would have plenty of ways to make the noise he made insignificant, but here he didn't need to restrain himself. His breathing was also very muffled. The large beast still posed a strong threat even when resting.
They walked back and forth, satisfying Megan's exercise needs and relieving eye fatigue. She picked up a fallen leaf from the ground and held it up, but there was no sunlight outside and no shadow. It took her several minutes to confirm this situation, then she lowered her hand a little and looked at the leaf carefully.
Even though Poison Ivy had introduced many plants to her, most of the plants in the greenhouse were relatively rare. As for those common trees and weeds, they were not allowed into Poison Ivy's greenhouse because they had strong vitality and had already grown everywhere.
So Megan didn't recognize the leaf in front of her, but she didn't necessarily need an answer. She held it in her hand and looked at it for a long time.
Her consciousness was limited and she could only focus on one thing at a time, so she stopped and stood still.
Killer Croc turned to look at her. The little child stood by the flower bed, her gaze fixed intently on a leaf that had fallen everywhere. What was the fun and meaning of it? Was there a story hidden in the lines? Or were there little figures performing a play for her?
But he saw clearly that there was nothing worth paying attention to on the leaf. Megan was only focused on the leaf itself. It did not need to have any meaning. Megan just "saw" it. When she picked it up, two lives that were also born into this world got to know each other.
Even though it meant nothing to others, they knew each other.
Megan looked at one side of the leaf for a long time, but didn't pay much attention to the other side. She took it in her hand, turned it over, and put it on the edge of the flower bed. She tilted her head to see where Killer Croc was. When she saw him, she chased after him and continued to act as his tail skillfully.
Killer Croc bent down slightly and extended his hand to her, and Megan would take it, holding one of his sharp claws in her hand, and slowly walk side by side.
His body reverted to the appearance of a crocodile, but this was more like an evolution, because his arms were not as short as those of a crocodile, but were more robust and sturdy. Even his arms were longer than the normal proportions of humans. Even though he was huge, he could hold Megan's hand and walk with her as long as he slightly bent his back.
Back in the library, Killer Croc handed her the notebook he had written, which contained the simple words and sentences she was going to practice writing today. Megan took it, took out a pen from her pocket, opened the cap and started copying.
Megan is a good and obedient student. She never gets distracted when doing her homework. She tries her best to write every stroke neatly without scribbling. She will only play and rest after finishing her homework.
She is still young and has never been exposed to writing before. The strokes of beginners are stiff and the size cannot be controlled. There is nothing that can be done about it. When she grows up, improves the control of her wrist and strength, and gets used to writing, such problems will no longer occur. Killer Croc is very clear about this and is not anxious.
Copying is a time-consuming task. Sometimes Megan's pen wanders and she will cross out the word and then write it again in the space deliberately left blank below.
It took about half an hour to finish copying. Since I was watching her write, there was no need to check the homework. Her childish handwriting in the neatly formatted notebook was quite cute compared to the other sharp and smooth writing.
Killer Croc put the exercise book away and took out another one—
math.
For Megan, mathematics is simpler than recognizing and copying words. She has already surpassed addition and subtraction and started to calculate multiplication and division. She not only has the concept of negative numbers, but also has easy control over fractions.
This is certainly nothing in Arkham Asylum, which is full of talented people, but Killer Croc, who is paying attention to her academic progress, is happy for her because Megan is not a stupid child. If her illness can be cured, if she has that one in a million chance of luck, when she grows up, she will continue her studies like other children and start her own career at some point.
This is Killer Croc's most sincere wish for an innocent child.
The math homework was completed even faster, and it was almost evening, so they went to the cafeteria to have dinner together. Megan went back to the Joker's cell, and he was complaining!
Seeing Megan come in, the clown curled his lips and said, "Ha! See what I said? I knew it was you, little mouse, who took my pen." Perhaps adults and children alike share the same curse, which is that pens are always scarce. Even if there are a lot of them at the beginning, in the end there will be none left, or the remaining ones will be -
Either the refill is almost empty, the nib is broken, it doesn't run smoothly, or it's just their least favorite.
There was a terrifying smile on his pale face, but it didn't scare Megan at all. She looked up at the clown and slowly handed him the pen in her pocket, without any guilt or fear.
This made the clown's face even gloomier, and there was a strange flash in his slightly narrowed eyes. He stared at her for a long time, but in the end did not take the pen. Instead, he reached out and pinched her jaw. He was not that angry, and he would not care too much about his fun. The atmosphere relaxed, and he glanced at Megan's face and smiled again.
"Well, you've become bolder, which is exactly what I want!"
The author has something to say:
Killer Croc likes to read books or something, just treat it as my personal setting. After all, Megan needs a reliable teacher, she can't be really illiterate (ah hey!) People who have come out of nine years of compulsory education can't stand this (you)
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