Whatever happened, Batman and so many other vigilantes were there. Surely they wouldn't let anyone get eaten.
Look at that tiny little girl. Even she knew to thank the person who had saved her. Were they really worse than a little girl barely a few years old?
"Um, Kill... no, Mr. Waylon Jones, thank you for saving us. If it weren't for you, we'd still be locked in there by that lunatic."
"Yes, thank you. You're so strong. You opened that iron cage in one go."
Once someone took the first step, a second and a third soon followed...
Within two minutes, Killer Croc was surrounded. People came up to thank him one after another, making his corner even livelier than Batman and Robin's.
They saw Killer Croc's terrifying appearance, but they also saw his restraint as he bent the iron cage apart, his care as he held the child, and even his bewilderment at being surrounded by kindness.
The Mad Hatter's hypnotic control had put them through terrible torment, yet it had also allowed them to look past appearances and rumors and seek out the truth hidden beneath.
Whatever these people looked like, whoever they were, they were the saviors who had pulled them out of hell.
Killer Croc had truly never expected a scene like this. When the occasional young child wasn't afraid of him, he could tell himself that children simply didn't yet understand ugliness or fear.
But now men and women, young and old, were surrounding him not to attack or insult him, but to express their gratitude. Killer Croc, long accustomed to misunderstanding and disgust, was utterly at a loss.
He had seen plenty of malice from others, but the warmth of human kindness was rarer to Killer Croc than sunshine in a Gotham winter.