Wonderland | Dick Grayson

13

San Francisco, California

The laughter of the children's voices rang out as she looked up to Dick who stood calmly beside her and smiled down at her. "Can you believe school start's tomorrow? It feels like summer just began" He observed. "Johnny and Lilah are getting so big" He said as he watched them play. 

"Don't remind me" Ashley smiled. "She's already eleven. Seven more years and she's packing her things for college" She said sadly. "I still got thirteen more years to annoy Johnny though" She said with a wide smile as he leaned down to kiss her. 

"If things go as planned, you'll have another one to annoy for eighteen more years" Dick laughed and they both observed the children who continued to play. 

"Right now, I'm just thinking about his game tomorrow. Hard to believe he's already big enough to play baseball" Ashley shook her head. "It seems like it was just yesterday he was learning how to walk" Ashley said, trying not to cry as she reminisced. 

"Hey, no tears" Dick reminded her. "We're having fun today, save the crying for tomorrow when he's entering his first day of pre-k" Dick laughed. Ashley looked up at him, her facing looking genuinely depressed. 

"Why can't they stay little forever?" Ashley asked him.

"Because then you would never get to see what happens when they grow up" Dick said. "And something tells me that they are going to be best."

"Of course they are" Ashley snorted and looked mildly offended. "They're my kids." 

"I don't think her body could sustain a full genetic transplant and metagene activation" Ashley heard as she drifted out of unconsciousness. 

"Do it anyway, if nothing else I get to watch Bruce Wayne die on the inside if she dies" Ashley heard Luthor's voice. Ashley tried to force her eyes to open, to see anything but the darkness. 

"Would it truly be worth it? I heard he has a high enough stake in the Justice League he could make his own army from them alone" She heard the other man say hesitantly. 

"He's done more than buy the Justice League, he got a daughter out of someone related to the Canary" Luthor noted. "That doesn't matter now, attach the Amazon's genes to her and then run the metagene activation. That is my final say on the matter" Luthor said. 

"Yes sir" The man said and Ashley fell back into the dark abyss. 

Peace. It was something truly rare in Ashley's life, a life where pain and suffering seemed to be constants. The waves were crashing on the shoreline, her friends were laughing as they played volleyball on the beach. Garth's grunts of pain were heard, and Ashley had no doubt that Donna had just dunked him on the head with a ball, judging by the laughter she heard afterward. "Ashley get your ass up and come play" Hank yelled. 

"How about no?" Ashley asked him, looking up from her book and gesturing to the shade around her. "I have yet to play volleyball in my life, and I am not starting now" Ashley told him

"Come on Ashley, all you've been doing today is reading"  Garth complained. 

"Pipe down blondie, Darkwood is great" Ashley said holding up the book with a smirk. 

"At least you're not ready Midnighters for the fifteenth time" Garth laughed. 

"Take that back, it's the only thing I can tease Wally with" Ashley said, putting her bookmark into the book and setting it down. "I can and will recite the first book of Vampire Academy just so you will suffer" Ashley reminded him.