Chapter 23

Hours later, a peculiar package was left on Arkham Asylum's doorstep. The orderlies were the first to see it: Basil Karlo, former actor and reanimated cadaver. He had looked strong and confident as he'd strolled out, wearing Jim Gordon's face. Now, he looked like he'd gotten on a spider cowboy's bad side. He was encased in a dry, rubbery coccoon of sorts, with a thick piece of duct tape over his mouth. When they got closer, they made two grisly discoveries: first, that one of Basil's eyes had been carefully scooped out like a peach pit. But as they picked him up, the empty socket began to fill with...well, clay. As they looked, the clay bubble solidified and formed a replica of the remaining eye.

Second was the note tucked in between the folds of Karlo's bonds. Written angrily, and dotted with brownish blood, was the message: TELL STRANGE TO SEND AN ACTUAL CHALLENGE NEXT TIME.

Because the letter was indirectly addressed to Professor Strange, it was placed in his hands. He read over it carefully, trying to decipher both its meaning and author. The first was simple enough: whomever had done this to Basil hadn't considered him a worthy opponent, even taking an eye as a sort of gorey trophy. Why? Professor Strange didn't know, but he liked to think that he would find out soon enough. But clearly, Basil had inflicted some kind of damage. After a few brief tests, he discovered that the blood smearing the note wasn't Basil's. Basil's blood type was A Positive. This was O Negative, and the hormone components suggested that it belonged to a female.

O Negative. Why did that type seem familiar?

Setting the note down, Professor Strange turned to his computer. Punching in a few keystrokes, he unearthed the file of interest. A document from nearly a decade rose from the grave of forgetfulness. Smirking almost fondly, he read the basic information:

NAME: Ruby Sinclair

AGE: 18

D.O.B: May 12

BLOOD TYPE: O Negative

RACE: Caucasian

HAIR: Fair

EYES: Blue

HEIGHT: 5 foot 7 inches

WEIGHT: 145 pounds

NEXT OF KIN: Jasper Sinclair (father), Opal Sinclair (mother)

DIAGNOSIS: Patient exhibits very serious skin and organ deformities as a result of her cells' incapacity to reproduce correctly. According to the patint's parents, this is a condition that runs in the family. However, becaue of their union, the effects were doubled within the patient's genetic make-up. Skin often breaks down into sores. The veins in eyes frequently break, staining the scleras red. According to the patient's parents, this first occured during the patient's birth and it is where her name comes from. Problems in reproduction in the blood cells have caused anemia, and the same issue has occured in white blood cells. The organs keep threatening to fail. The patient's parents have reported to keeping the child indoors for most of her life to avoid her falling ill. However, doing so has had biological and psychological consequences. Complete lack of vitamin D, which is obtained via sunlight contact, is one of them. In addition, the patient is extremely shy and fearful in new surroundings, similiar to how a very young child may behave. Rusty vocal chords suggest that she has spoken very little throughout her childhood, and her behavior is very socially underdeveloped.

UPDATE: The patient's parents have not contacted or visited her since her arrival. This has caused a relapse in the subject's progression, to the point that she has refused to leave her cell, interact with others, or even eat. Hopefully, the experimental treatments will keep her body from destroying itself further.

Indeed, the treatments had been a success. To think, Strange's original intention had simply been to supply Ruby's body with the healing properties the clay provided! Instead, she had been the only subject to survive the dose. Then again, maybe it was because of her condition that allowed her body to fuse with the mixture so well! Strange remembered watching Ruby for the months afterward, examining her powers' progression and her mind's repairment. But for all of this amazement, Ruby's powers still did not match Basil's. She could not turn into animals. She had a time limit. She could not shift her form to create weapons out of her limbs. And yet, she had won.

Professor Strange examined the two photos. The first was of Ruby when they had first brought her in. The second showed her the day she left Arkham Asylum. It was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

The man sighed, removing his spectacles. Well, at least he now knew for sure who had been responsible for the break-in some time ago. At the time, he had believed it to be Basil; or maybe some thief with a gun that shot sticky projectiles. But now he knew the truth.

Ruby knew. And instead of dropping Basil off at the police station, she had brought him back here.

She had not betrayed her kind.

Ruby carefully slipped into the kitchen, making sure not to make a sound. Glanced about, left and right. Everything was just as she had left it...except for the counter. A can of sardines was sitting there, the cap closed. A half-eaten loaf of bread rested beside it, as well as a jar of mayonnaise. Ruby rolled her eyes, immediately knowing who had done it. She eyed the clock. Good. Five o'clock. Right when she had said she'd be back. Oswald wouldn't freak out. Hopefully. Ruby locked the door behind her. Quietly put the sandwich ingredients away and wiping the counter clean. As she did, she almost felt like a burglar in her own home...No, that wasn't it. She just didn't want Oswald to see her right now. Bashed up and dusty, hiding an eyeball.

Speaking of which...

Ruby reached one of the cupboards and took one of the many empty jam jars. Now happier than ever than she always held onto these, she held her palm over the gaping lid. The flat surface quickly bulged until it looked like she was smuggling a ping pong ball beneath her skin. The flesh peeled away to reveal Basil's eye, with the thin vein still lassoed to the back of it. The small organ made a wet plop as it hit the jar's bottom. Ruby shuddered. Quickly sealed the jar and stored it in the fridge. Right behind her tofu meatloaf, where no one but her ever looked. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the note. Swallowing, she placed it atop the lid.

Then, as she heard the thumping of a cane against hardwood, Ruby bolted up the stairs. Silent as a mouse.

Oswald appeared not a moment later, carrying an empty plate in one hand and a blood pair of pliers in the other. He noticed the lack of mess on the counter. Gave a small smile and departed, determined to have his business concluded by the time Ruby descended.

Soap. Hot water. Now.

Ruby barely remembered to lock the door. Growing two additional arms she twisted the tub's knob and grabbed a bar of scented soap. As the tub filled the yanked the curtains, darkening the white tiled room. Slowly, steam curled over the mirror and grew heavy in the air. She wrestled out of her clothes and stepped in, letting the water swallow her up to her shoulders. At last, she could relax. Sighing, she leaned back and rested her head on the bath tub's rim. She stared up at the ceiling, counting the cracks and slowing her breathing. The hot water massaged her bruises even as they darkened in color. She scrubbed at her hands, getting rid of the dried fluids residing between her fingers. Shivered.

Not at the encounter itself, though that had upset her plenty. Especially that comment about her Master. That was the straw that had broken the camel's back. Caused her to temporarily go nuts.

Ruby tried not to think about it. But her action was there. Glaring at her.

She had never gone so far in her violence. Sure, ever since Oswald had reverted to his normal self, Ruby had done a few things that she wasn't too proud of. But such actions had never gone so far as major maiming, even if it was to sate her curiousity and let Oswald know what they were dealing with. In those moments, Ruby had felt strangely disconnected from the world. Like she'd been walking on a cloud. Consequences and pain had meant nothing to her. Everything had been painted red. And in those colors, you can't see any red flags. Ruby tried to tell herself that Clayface would simply regrow his eye, but that didn't put her guilt at bay. Really, she felt that she was no better than Clayface. Instead, she was...worse. More limited.

"You could've been me!"

But I'm not, Ruby countered. I'm just...a mistake. A crime against nature, and what Strange did to me has nothing to do with it.

Tears beaded at the corners of her eyes. Refusing to cry, Ruby submerged in the soapy water. Her tears floated to the surface like little jellyfish.

Oswald held the note in one hand, the jar in the other. The text was simple, but he recognized the girlish, curly handwriting by now. He'd seen it on thousands of sticky notes, proclaiming that they were out of bread or eggs. This letter's content was slightly more sinister.

Hey, Oz
Here's a little souvenir from Mission 'Spill the Beans'. Jim Gordon was not Jim Gordon, but an experiment by Strange. I stole this specimen. Hopefully, it'll help us prepare for whatever waits for us beyond Arkham's gates.
Hugs,
Ruby

Oswald smiled at the paper. He couldn't remember the last time anyone since his mother had passed away. All throughout his childhood, his mother would leave little slips of paper that always brightened his day. They would vary from asking him to take out the trash to complimenting him with how well he'd cleaned his room. The notes' content were always ordinary. But they had comforted him. They had been hers.

Taking a deep breath, Oswald folded the note again and tucked it in his pocket. Hopefully, the blood drying on his coat would not stain it. Wasn't his fault. Those scumbags should have asked for more noble reasons for him to give them loans. Instead, eh...whatever projects they had had in store would rot in the grave with them.

But enough trivial matters. Now...the eye. Without the shadow of a flinch Oswald calmly spread a sheet of newspaper across the table. Then, taking a few of his tools, he undid the jar's lid and tipped the container over. The eyeball rolled out, accompanied by a few drops of pale red fluids. The moment it touched paper, the eye changed. Not in size, but in shape. First, it was a square. Then, as Oswald poked it with his screwdriber, it assumd the rocklike form of one of Ruby's jewels. Oswald's own eyes narrowed. "Hmm..." He picked it up with his pliers. In the time it took the eye to reach his line of sight, it had taken the form of a small mace. The surface was sweating, too. Oswald reached out. Brushed a fingertip against it. The consistency was very much like...

"...Clay."

Oswald turned around, still holding the eyeball. Ruby had just climbed out of the tub, if the red patches on her skin and dripping hair were anything to go by. She'd changed into a casual version of her maid attire: large blouse and knee-length black skirt. Oswald could see bruises and scratches along her wrists, collarbone, and neck. It boiled his blood. But seeing her brought with it ice-cold relief. He placed the eyeball back on the table, never looking away from her.

The moment he did, Ruby tackled him in a tight hug. Oswald automatically answered, resting a hand on the back of her damp head. A funny sight, considering she was a head taller than him. Ruby clung to him, shivering and breathing quickly. She buried her face in his hair, inhaling the lavender shampoo's essence. Felt the feathery texture, hardened in places by gel. The faint whiff of blood tickled her nostrils along with it. She felt the soft clothing, sticky with blood, and the thin body beneath it. Ruby closed her eyes. This was real. This was now. Before was just before. No longer existing. Except within her, forever to come.

But right now, there was just Oswald.

Finally, with a shaky breath, Ruby pulled away. Oswald did the same. Clinging to her shoulders, he examined her from head to toe. "What happened?" He asked firmly. "Did someone harm you?" He gestured to the eyeball behind him. "The owner of this eye, perhaps?"

Ruby gave a tiny nod. "Yeah. He...packed quite a punch."

Oswald's icy-blue eyes flashed dangerously. "He is a dead man walking."

Ruby chuckled. "Close enough, after what I did to him."

Oswald blinked up at her. "What?"

Ruby laughed again. This time, it was without humor. "Well, duh! How do you think I got that eye? Did I ask politely for it?" She shook her head. "No. I took it so we could see what we're up against." She paused slightly. "And...after thinking it over, I know what weakens it."

"What?" Oswald asked again. Without realizing it, his fingers gently kneaded into her shoulders. Ruby noticed. Didn't mention it for fear of terminating it. "Extreme cold." To demonstrate, she reluctantly released herself from Oswald grip and grabbed the eyeball. It turned to a vine wrapping around her fingers. Ruby walked to the fridge, opened the freezer's door, and tossed it in. Slammed the door quickly behind it. Oswald and Ruby waited for a minute. Then, two. Ruby swung the door open and peered inside. Smirked. Turned to Oswald and pointed towards the freezer's interior. "Ta-daaa!"

Curious Oswald lurched forward. Ruby grabbed his hand, steadying him. Oswald blushed as he thanked her with his eyes. Ran his thumb over her knuckles. Now standing side-by-side, they saw what had once been an eyeball. It had regained that form. But now, it was frozen solid. A thick layer of frost coated it. When Oswald poked it with his finger, it remained immobile. With a wild flash in his eyes, Oswald curled his hand into a fist and brought it down on the eyeball. He crushed it as though it were made of Styrofoam.

"Yes!" Oswald spun around and took Ruby into anothr embrace. She responded, if only to hide how scared her expression had become. At how she envisioned a part of her own body suffering such a fate.

"Brilliant, Ruby! Excellent work!" Oswald cupped her face, bringing it close to his. Ruby was about to protest when she realized that he'd merely rested her forehead against his. He closed his eyes, sighing contently. "Truly wonderful work." He opened them again. Glanced up at her. "I assume that eye belonged to the person who impersonated Jim?"

"Yep."

"Hmm." Oswald pulled back, now embarking on his train of thought. "Clever on Strange's part, creating something capable of shapeshifting. I wonder how much time it took him to perfect the process."

"Uh, I'm guessing...years." Ruby blurted out guiltily. "And he probably used it on other people. Plenty of them." She looked down at her hand, palm facing up. Tightened it into a fist. "And...maybe a few were successful. Before him, I mean."

Oswald turned to her with nothing short of horror on his face. "You don't think there's another faceless abomination out there, do you?"

Ruby bit her tongue. Tried to tell herself the pain she was feeling came from that. "Uh, I don't know. I do know that a bunch of other experiments were created. I doubt they can all shapeshift, though."

"Ah," Oswald looked away, waving his hand. "What does it matter? They will all die alongside their creator."

A cold, skeletal hand reached into Ruby's chest and squeezed her heart. "You can't mean that."

Oswald eyed her as though she'd gone mad.

Ruby stepped forward. Spoke gently. "Oz, I get that you're scared. But those things...they didn't ask for any of this. They didn't order Strange to play with their DNA."

"This does not erase the fact that Strange did play with their DNA." Oswald replied. "Thus, they are no longer human. At least, not entirely. They have become something extremely dangerous."

"All of them?" Ruby challenged. "All the time?"

Oswald watched her with wide eyes. Ruby stopped. Pressed her fingers against her temples. Breathed slowly. When she looked up again, her expression was calmer, but still firm in opinion. "Oz, I saw those things. So I know how easy it can be to dismiss them as monsters. But they're not." She took a deep breath. "Not all of them, at least. They have thoughts and feelings, just like you and me."

"No." Oswald shook his head. "They're the hideous products of a deranged mind. They are like...like..." He stopped looking around for inspiration. After a moment he found one in a small, marble reproduction of Apollo and Daphne. Pointed at it. "They are like statues, at the hands of a blindman. There was probably an intentional design, but it was lost in the madness. The results are those...things."

Ruby tried to hold in the tears as she listened. But it was like trying to plug up a poorly-constructed dam. With every hole that was filled, two more burst forth, leaking water. One sentence kept playing over and over as her mind grew rusty with grief.

He's talking about me, and he doesn't even realize it.

She looked down at her feet. As she often did when she didn't want people to see her face. But a few heartbeats later, cool fingers cupped her weak chin and lifted it. Glassy, indigo eyes looked up at icy-blue orbs. They were taut with concern and confusion, so gentle that it tore at her heart. Because she didn't deserve it. Ruby freed herself from Oswald's grasp. His hand remained where it had been, reaching in the empty air. "I...I need to be alone. I'm sorry!" She spun around and broke into a run. Oswald watched, baffled, as she disappeared down the hallway. Not turning back. His heart lurched painfully beneath his silken vest. Torn between running after her and remaining encompassed in shock, Oswald crashed in the nearest chair. Rested his face in his hands.

Ruby knelt before her Master's coffin, weeping inconsolably. She didn't even bother speaking at first. Her words would have drowned in the waterfalls flowing from her eyes. Her sobs bounced off the crypt's stone walls like tennis balls. She was about ten feet underground, and the air's earthy tang more than confirmed it. The candles had drowned in their own wax some time ago, so the only source of light came from the stair's top. But right now she felt at home down here. In the dark. The marble eyes of the dead looked down at her, impassive.

Finally, Ruby regained sufficient self-control to wipe her eyes and look up. Master's marble likeness towered over her, his expression as gentle and kind as it had been in life. For the first time, Ruby noticed that Oswald resembled his father's, despite the physical differences, whenever he adopted that expression.

Inhaling shakily, Ruby ran both hands through her damp hair. "Master..." She croaked. Shaking her head. "I don't know what to do. I can't tell him what I am." Her hands crashed to her lap like dead birds. She looked down at them. "How would he see me afterward? To him, I might not be any different than the 'monsters' at Arkham." She trembled. "I could have been one of them. Easily. It was just a matter of timing, and nothing else. Why can't he see? Those 'monsters' could have been any of us. It was a game of chance."

Ruby wiped her runny nose on her sleeve. "You know, Master, it didn't even seem so important at first. Not telling him, that is. I felt that we could be friends even without his knowing it. But it's all different now." Ruby squeezed her eyes shut as more tears ran down her cheeks."He's shared everything about his past with me, Master. Everything! From his being bullied as a kid to him killing a fisherman for his sandwich...and more. And what have I told him in return?" She shook her head. "Next to nothing, that's what. It's just..." A fist slammed against her chest, trying to excise the demons residing there. "Talking about it makes it real all over again. And, besides..." Ruby sighed. "Every day, the idea of telling him just gets harder. Farther away, you know? And..." Ruby sighed shakily. Partaking in her deepest secret, hidden like a stone in a cave. "I really care about Oswald. I care about our friendship, more than anything. If I ended up ruining it..." She closed her eyes. "I would never forgive myself."

Ruby sighed. Covered her tearstained face with her hands.

Half an hour later, the sun was beginning to set. Golden rays shone through the windows, painting the rooms in liquid amber. Flecks of lavender and pink ran across it like multicolored fireflies. A light shower drizzled the world, pattering gently across the roof's tiles.

A sunset had never been so beautiful than through a drunken haze.

Oswald drained his seventh glass of dark red wine. His hollow cheeks were as rosy as November apples, and his eyes had lost some of their sharpness. He didn't care. Ruby was normally his anchor, keeping him from floating away in all of this folly. Now, she was just dragging him down.

Specifically, it was her controversy. Oswald went over it from every angle, yet it refused to make sense. Why? Why did she care about the fate of those abominations? She didn't seem to hold Strange in high regard - at least, not enough to object when Oswald had implied murder. That was a start, he supposed. But what did it matter if those things died as well? They were crimes against nature, and no doubt dangerous. One glance at the bruises that Ruby had attempted to hide made that abundantly clear. Oswald knew that Ruby had a sympathetic soul to those who deserved it, but this seemed to be pushing it.

Why, why, why? Good for nothing questions, cawing in his ears like crows. Even the news that Barbara had given him moments ago on the phone couldn't cheer him up. Nor could the fact that, just because he'd willed it, he and a team of his lackeys would be going to confront Strange at nightfall.

Oswald groaned, and not only because the alcohol was burning a hole in his stomach. This incident, like a pebble thrown in a body of water, had caused ripples to spread across his mind. Inquieries that he'd tried to lay to rest came rising up like the walking dead.

Did it have something to do with Ruby's past? The past that she refused to share with him?

Oswald began to pour his eighth glass of wine. The liquid was a deep, passionate red, and thick like syrup. Like blood. It made his mouth water. Oswald began to sip at it, like a child licking at an ice cream cone. That was when his misty mind came up with an idea.

Ruby had mentioned something about being unsightly in the past. Maybe her parents had brought her before a certain someone who would do what he was paid for first, regardless of the legal issues, and ask questions later.

Coincedentally, it was the very same person that Oswald wanted to hang up on a meat hook.

Hmm. Well, Oswald also wanted Strange to suffer a slow, agonizing death. He might as well ask a few questions while he was at it.

There came a tap on his shoulder. Oswald spun around immediately. Ruby was standing there, wiping her eyes with her sleeves. When she saw him, her eyes widened. Without thinking she reached forward and snatched away both the bottle - now half-empty - and the glass. She quickly set them aside. Oswald watched her every movement, careful not to move. If he did, he feared he'd scare her away. Like a doe you might see in the woods. She certainly had a doe's gentle gaze. Especially now that she was kneeling before him. She took his hands in hers, squeezing softly. Oswald let her.

They stayed like that for a few moments, with only the sleepy twitters of birds seeping through the windows' glass. Neither dared to speak, for fear of breaking the spell. But alas, no moment lasts forever. Ruby sighed. "I'm sorry."

Oswald spoke up. "As am I."

Ruby stared up at him.

"I don't know what upset you so," Oswald said, "but I am still very sorry to have caused you pain." He hesitated. "It's the last thing I want to do."

Ruby's eyes, still sore from weeping, began to tear up again. She forced them back. Squeezed his hands. "Thank you. The same goes for me." She combed a hand through her curly mane. The other remained tightly wound to his. "I just...I understand, Oz, I really do. But those people...they aren't just devils crawling out of hell. They didn't ask to be what they are now. They probably don't want to be this now. From what I can guess, they are just as scared of themselves as we are of them."

Oswald listened carefully, trying to pick up on any clues. All he could gather was the intimacy with which Ruby spoke. It was almost as though she were speaking of people she had established connections with. Or even...Oswald shook the thought away. It was too absurd.

"That's why..." Ruby inhaled. "I want to take care of them."

Oswald blinked. "Come again?"

"If you'll let me," Ruby said, "I want to relocate each of them. At least, all those willing to comply. I'll give them false documents, money, whatever they need. All they would have to do in return is get as far away from Gotham as possible." Every word was like a stone in Oswald's heart. Gone was the hope of gaining the respect of both the lawful and unlawful. Shattered was the daydream of chasing away the monsters and winning the people's hearts. Until Ruby spoke again. "And in the meantime, we can make fake bodies so everyone will think you killed them."

Oswald blinked again. Stared down at her. "Truly?"

"Truly." Ruby met his gaze. Held it. "I know you care about climbing up the ladder, and getting in favor with the law-abiding folk wouldn't be a bad start. Just please," she tightened her grip on his hands, "please let me do this. You wouldn't have to pay for a thing. I'd provide for them out of my own pocket. I'll sell my jewelry if I have to." The last one hurt, but it would be worth it.

Oswald's eyes widened with disbelief. "You would truly do that?"

Ruby nodded with complete conviction. Oswald watched her, trying to label his feelings. Here she was, disagreeing with him but still offering a compromise. Still putting his own wishes on a pedestal, but not completely sweeping away her own. In that moment, Oswald knew that he would do the same. Finally, he nodded. Ruby hugged him. He answered, so grateful that he could cry. Ruby buried her face in his shoulder. Her heart was heavy...but not as much as before. As for Oswald, he felt like he'd just drank a glass of cold water after being forced to lie under the summer sun for hours.

They stayed like that until the sky turned the purple of a week-old bruise, and the first stars began to punctuate the heavens. That was when it was time to strike. And they would.

Together.