Innocent (A Treacherous Novel)

11

Gotham City, New Jersey

February 25, 2004

"I hate it here" Ashley grumbled as she pushed herself off the edge of another building and onto the roof of another and grunted. "Stupid piece of-" She began to say as she leaned onto another roof. "Is there nothing better to do all night? Where's Ivy? We can pin something on her" Ashley huffed, catching her breath.

"Ashley" Bruce warned with a sigh.

"I'm gonna sue for emotional damages" She said, taking a deep breath.

"You act like we don't do this every night" Dick smirked, looking at the younger girl.

"I didn't sleep last night" Ashley said, rolling her eyes. "I was behind on homework" She explained when her father gave her a pointed look.

"Why are you behind on homework?" Bruce asked, sounding as if he didn't believe her.

"Well her golly, pops I dunno" Ashley said sarcastically and cackled when her father eyed her angrily. "You make me play dress up in a Bat costume so I can beat the shit out of certified lunatics, super-powered assholes with a god complex, and old fat men in alleyways" She said, rolling her eyes as she sassed her father.

"Why can't I have a normal kid?" Bruce asked himself quietly.

"Because the kid that you so happen to have wants to be normal, but you made her the exact opposite" Ashley said, raising an eyebrow at her father. "Or are you forgetting Paris?" She asked him, sounding almost bitter as she grappled to the next building.

"How can I forget?" Bruce sighed. Dick listened to the two bicker and shook his head as they patrolled the city.

"You keep saying that, but you're just mad Mom put her foot down and we came back to this shit show" Ashley sighed as they entered a new argument before hearing a scream. "I'm about over this shit" She grumbled and looked down. She looked down at the alleyway and over to her father who nodded. She looked down again and both she and Dick jumped. While Ashley landed on the shoulders of one of the men and effectively took him down without much effort, Dick landed on the lid of a dumpster. Ashley wanted to facepalm as she looked at him but shook her head. "You know, if you want a girl to look at you with anything other than disgust go hit up weight watchers, cut out the beer and see a therapist because my dudes attacking girls in alleys ain't it" She said and gave a little bow.

"It's the bat kid" One of them whispered. Ashley looked at Dick who just shrugged in response. "Where's the Bat?" They started screaming, looking up, and trying to find her father.

"Ya know, in all honesty, I'm the scarier one" Ashley muttered. "All of your asses are about to be beat by a girl" She swore, flinging a batarang into the neck of one man and kicking the one in front of her between the legs and as he tried to come down on top of her and drove him face-first into the dumpster. She sneered and turned around, looking at the remaining people. "Get the girl out of here Spangles" She told Dick like it was obvious what his role should've been.

"Why can't you?" He asked her.

"Because now I'm mad" Ashley said and pointed to the exit of the alley. "So get on with it."

"You think we're scared of a little girl?" One of them laughed.

"I'll be sure to relay the message to your mom for you" Ashley said, picking up one of the fallen men's crowbars. "It's kind of sad that you need a crowbar to scare girls though" Ashley laughed. "I mean, your faces are ugly enough to give the Joker nightmares" She insulted, smirking as the men began complaining. She moved as quick as a shadow and kneecapped one of the men and brought the crowbar down across his upper back and cackled when he fell to the ground.