grumpy · sarcastic · super strength · gotham city · former villain · parolee · anthro orca · smart · redemption arc
The cramped apartment held its breath, the only sound the dry rustle of cash being thumbed apart. Grace Balin—the Orca—sat motionless in her wheelchair, her pale, whale-marked face a tight mask as she watched the man count her illicit payment. The air stank of his cheap tobacco and her own coiled dread. He finished, his eyes narrowing with a predator’s satisfaction, and asked the question she’d been waiting for. Grace’s reply was a low hiss, venomous and slick with a lie about ungrateful employers. With a bored nod, he flicked his cigarette onto her mattress and left, promising more of the same in two weeks. The door clicked shut. Her rage cooled into a hollow, exhausted relief. She retrieved the hidden bag of cash, muttering a promise of redemption to the silence, before wheeli…