Chapter 52

With the force of a hundred winds, siblings Opal and Jasper Sinclair were dragged backwards. Towards the thing that they'd spent the last nine years trying to forget. Opal's silver nails splintered as they dug desperately into the glass floor, all for naught. Jasper tried to kick his way out of the hands' grip, but he may as well have been kicking steel.

When they reached the hands' owner, the hands let go. Fused together to form two whips made of flesh. They coiled around the two. With lightning speed they were thrown across the corridor. Slammed against the walls with white-hot pain. Opal stayed down, her hair covering her face. Jasper looked at her helpless state, then turned viciously to Ruby. His expression only angered her more. "Admit it!" She yelled. "I've always just been an embarrassment to you!" She snagged her whips on him again.

Jasper rolled out of dodge. A large fissure appeared where he had once been. Jasper glared at this...thing. Once upon a time, as Opal had grown big with child, he too had been filled with something: hope. He had always been told that what he felt for his sister was disgusting and shameful, but how can something that feels so good be so bad? This child would prove them all wrong. This product of their love would be as flawless as they were. Instead, it had come out blue and misshapen, with the umbilical cord wrapped tightly around its neck. The condition, coupled with the stress of being pushed out, had caused the blood vessels in the eyes to burst. The child had come out with scleras stained red. In a half-hearted gesture of hope and tradition, they had named her after the only gemstone that she had resembled: a ruby.

What they had hoped to be a jewel had only turned out to be a lump of coal. Now, it was a chunk of toxins. Ready to bite.

The whips lashed again, then again. Jasper shrugged off his coat and used it to bat them away. The result was two long strips of dark silk in his hands. He groaned, turned back to Ruby. "I don't want to fight you."

"I wouldn't want to fight me, either." Ruby snarled. In an instant the whips retracted. So did the rest of her limbs. In the time that it took Jasper to blink, Ruby had transformed into a giant bowling ball in red silk. It sped towards him at neck-snapping speed, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake. In his desperation, Jasper turned to Opal, removed her jewelry, and threw it at the incoming attacker. The ball shrugged off the projected stones, leapt into the air, and reformed as Ruby. While still afloat, she waved her arm. Bullets made of skin and sinew flew straight at him. Jasper jumped out of the way. One bullet grazed his hip.

The pain fueled his anger. Once Ruby got close enough, he swung his leg. His foot hit her in the cheek, sending her backwards. Still seeing red, he followed her, landing as many punches and kicks as he could. The more blood that warmed his knuckles, the more flesh he felt break, the more excited he felt. At last, with one final punch in the nose, he sent Ruby falling flat on her back. Panting, Jasper wiped his brow. Ruby tried to get up, coughing, when he planted his foot on her chest. Pinning her down. "Give. Up." He growled. "You can't beat me."

Ruby glared up at him. "I. Don't. Care!" With an inhuman scream she threw her head back. The skin on her neck and chest turned to bubbling clay, ensnaring Jasper's foot. More gushed forward. Jasper flew upwards, trapped in tentacles. He lashed and fought, even biting into the tentacles. Ruby cried out. The tentacles loosened their grip, if only for a second. It was enough. Jasper fought free and lunged at Ruby, using gravity to his advantage. The tentacles fought him off, ripping the very air in two. But Jasper still slammed his head into Ruby's. She stumbled backwards. Growled. Jasper watched with amazement as the wounds that he'd inflicted sank beneath the surface like stones in water. Within ten seconds, Ruby was good as new.

Opal came up behind her. Wrapped her arms around her neck. "Stay away from him!" She yelled. "Let him go!" Ruby's pupils shrank. Without even blinking Ruby melted, slid beneath Opal's feet, and grabbed her throat. Lifted her off the ground.

"No!" Jasper shouted. Opal croaked.

"SHUT UP!" Ruby shook Opal like a rag doll. "Both of you!" She turned first to her, then to Jasper. "I won't let you two just stand there," she grabbed him, "and remind me of everything I hate about myself!" Then, she threw both of the siblings against the wall. Its glass surface cracked. Both adults felt the lights rush out of them.

As black dots danced in their vision, a shadow fell over them. Opal curled up against Jasper. He wrapped an arm around her. Ruby stood before them. With tears in her angry eyes. Breathing heavily, and not just from fatigue.

The two siblings stared up at her in terror. Then, slowly, clarity eased its way into their gazes. They turned to look at each other. Nodded. Without the shadow of hesitation they both jumped to their feet and charged. Fists raised.

Just like the fists clamping around their throats. Pushing them through the cracked glass, out into the night air. Both of them screamed bloody murder as the cold wind lashed at them, as the sheer emptiness of the drop below engulfed them. But neither Jasper nor Opal tried to loosen the hands' grips. They both knew what would happen if they did. Trembling uncontrollably, they looked down. Far below, in a glowing ribbon were racing lights the size of sunflower seeds. Up here, the honks and police sirens were almost out of earshot.

Death had never been more real.

Shaking, nearly crying, they turned to their captor. Framed in a jagged hole of glass, her arms stretched out to thrice their natural length, Ruby was a terrifying image indeed. She stared intently at their faces and saw what she'd been dreading to see for years. Disgust. Fear. Detachment.

These people had created her. Brought her into this world. But they wanted nothing to do with her.

Ruby sighed. It was a long, deep sigh that left her lungs almost empty. "You should've strangled me in my crib." Squeezed her eyes shut. "At least, if I were dead, I wouldn't know how little I mattered to you." Ruby inhaled shakily. "You never even told them." Tears dripped from her chin and splashed on the floor. "You locked me away and never told anyone. Not even your family." Another trembling breath. "My family."

Jasper and Opal shared a look. Then, Opal spoke up. "It's...not too late."

The tremor in her voice betrayed her.

Ruby gave a bitter smile. "I'm afraid it is."

She let go.

Conjoined screams streaked the night with fear, even as their sources grew smaller. Tiny in the face of the reaper. Ruby watched them fall. Dazed. Eyes glazed. Then, slowly, her eyes cleared. Her breath hitched in her throat.

Opal and Jasper screamed as gravity dragged them down. Stinging air tore through their hair and clothes, burning their eyes. The noises of traffic grew louder. The stars grew distant. Their hands found another's, ready to be together in their final moment.

That was when their fall suddenly stopped. Halted. Froze.

Jasper and Opal shared tearful, confused looks. Then, guided by unspoken instict, they looked up. Tentacles, not unlike the ones that had lashed at Jasper, had hooked through their clothes. Keeping them afloat. Then, almost gently, lowered them to the ground. Once they reached the ground, the silbings embraced. Stared up at the retreating tendrils as they returned to their owner above.

It was the last sight that Jasper Sinclair would ever witness.

Gunshots. Blood on tile. Betrayal. All crumbs for the flocking pigeons disguised as journalists. Flashes shone as the fallen man, a red hood covering his head, kneeled in the spotlight.

Oswald stood on the stage, gasping, as his pale hands travelled across his chest. No pain. No heat. The bullets hadn't been real. But how had Edward known?

Edward. The man he'd been wanting to see all evening, who looked so divine in that shining green suit, stood beside him. Faced the crowd like a true public figure. "The mayor," he planted a hand on Oswald's hunched shoulder, "our mayor vowed that all of the Red Hood would be destroyed, and now we have the real leader caught." Behind his large square glasses, his brown eyes twinkled. "Red-handed." Letting go of Oswald's shoulder, he stepped down from the stage and sprung up before the interloper. He bent over him, hissing something that Oswald couldn't hear, before tearing the mask off. The face beneath it was like a wrecking ball smashing into Oswald's mind.

Butch Gilzean stood before them all, guilty and shameful, his chubby face contorted with conflict.

Oswald couldn't contain the fury in his voice. "I will kill you for this!" With some difficulty he descended from the stage. The excited herd parted for him like ocean waves, all eyes on the delicious scenery. But he didn't care about them. He cared about the man that had taken Oswald's trust and flung it in the wind. "After everything that I've done for you!" Oswald shouted. "I gave you a job-"

"I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING!" Butch's passionate cry resounded throughout the room. Oswald stood there, stunned, as Butch went on. "I used to be somebody in this town. And then you, and that sniveling lil' sunnuva-"

Oswald palm burned into Butch's cheek. Barbara laughed out loud, her hands on her hips.

"Shut up!" Oswald spat down at him. It was only then, in the deafening silence that followed, that he noticed the people staring at him. Judging him. Questioning him. His stomach tied into a knot as he quickly sought a remedy. He hurried back up the steps, going as rapidly as his bad knee would allow. Once before the microphone again, he spoke sincerely for perhaps the first time since running for office. "I am shocked and grieved," he swallowed, "that one of my dearest friends has betrayed me."

Butch glared at him.

Oswald held up a hand, index finger erect in a closed fist. "But let it be known that Oswald Cobblepot will prosecute anyone who threatens Gotham!"

Barbara summoned a bottle of chamapagne from a nearby ice bucket. Raised it high like a trophy. "Hear, hear!" Everyone cheered in response, pleased that the drama was over.

It wasn't.

Ruby rubbed her eyes, trying to control her breathing, when noises trailed towards her from the party. Shouts. Cries. Unrest. So tangled together that distinguishing them was impossible.

She didn't need further encouragement.

Transforming into little better than a weightless clay blob, Ruby flew straight back the way she'd come. Everything was muffled and blurry. It was to be expected, considering in that moment she lacked eyes and ears. But she knew what she felt. She could feel Oswald's aura calling her to him like a flame beckoning a moth. The pull was just as strong.

At the door she reassumed her shape. Her eyes formed from nothing in previously empty sockets. Just in time to witness Butch tackling Edward Nygma. The slender man fell back-first on the stage. Butch remained standing, lording over his prey. Great strong hands wrapped around Nygma's skinny throat, squeezing. Even from the other side of the chamber, over the yells of panic and breaking glass, Ruby could hear him snarl. "I am gonna enjoy this."

Nygma's hands dropped to his sides, his eyes closing.

"Best. Party. Ever!" Barbara exclaimed, still holding the bottle of champagne. Oswald swiped it out of her manicured hands. Swung it over Butch's head. Glass shattered. Skin broke. The large man fell atop the smaller one, face-down and knocked out. Tabitha, in a gorgeous silver gown, hurried towards the scene. Did she intend to attack Oswald? Defend Butch? Barbara's hands on the darker woman's shoulders kept the answers hidden.

"Ed!" Oswald pushed Butch off him, letting the thug fall unceremoniously onto the floor. His hands seized Nygma's jacket, shaking him, as he stared anxiously into the still face. "Ed? ED!" He looked ready to cry. "Ed!"

Nygma suddenly took a savage breath, his limbs thrashing about as though he'd been underwater. But when he saw Oswald's face, he calmed down. Smiled as Oswald cupped his face, practically crying with relief. He stared down at his chief of staff as though he were the most wonderful gift he could ever receive. Worth more than any piece of gold. Or gem. The crowd cheered enthusiastically at the tender scene.

Ruby, on the other hand, retreated deeper into the shadows. Her heart sinking like a stone.