Wonderland | Dick Grayson

14

"Oh my god" Ashley whispered, shutting her eyes as J'onn finally unlocked the metaphorical door in her head and her agonizing memories came flooding back. Ashley silently screamed as she remembered the pain she had felt at the initial injection, the taunting of Mercy echoing through her mind while the Doctors and Lex attempted to decide her fate. She recalled her heart stopping, a blinding white light, and then nothing afterward. She remembered one of the scientists saying "She physically cannot withstand adding on Amazon genes, they're too unstable to match with metagenes. You would only be making very important people very mad when they found out it was us"  to Lex as he stood over her mostly bare form. She remembered Lex demanding that they run tests to see what Ashley's genes would unlock. For once, it hurt Ashley to have memories that seemed to scream at her. Most of all, she remembered a secret she wanted to bury in her mind and take to her grave. 

"It seems you have found yourself in a predicament, young Wayne" J'onn observed as he pulled back from her mind, gazing at her with masked sympathy at the woman. 

"Please don't tell anyone what was in there" Ashley said, chewing on her lip nervously as she attempted the information that had become clear to her. 

"Of course" J'onn promised. "It is not my secrets to share."

"Thank you J'onn" Ashley said, forcing herself to become contained within her own mind. "You've been so much help."

"Of course" J'onn said. "I must take my leave now, I still have much to do at the Watchtower."

"Of course, J'onn. Thank you for coming on such short notice" Dinah thanked him. Ashley sat forward and put her face in her hands, her gut churning in disgust as she thought about how she had killed one of the scientists in the room with her at CADMUS.

'Clark's gonna kill me if he finds out about everything' Ashley's stomach churned at the thought. "Have a good night, J'onn" Ashley said as her goodbye. Dinah walked J'onn out and Ashley stood up. "I need to clear my mind, I promise I'll be back later" Ashley told Oliver, grabbing her keys and rushing out to her car and narrowly avoiding her Aunt. She needed to figure herself out and make her decisions. 

♠♠♠

Ashley didn't know how she wound up in the middle of a club at two-thirty in the morning but ignored her concerns and bee-lined for the available barstool. "I'll take a mojito" Ashley said as the bartender had come over. 

"Coming right up" She nodded to Ashley and she turned to make Ashley's drink. Ashley's phone started ringing again, with Wally's name appearing on the caller ID. She declined the call and turned off her ringer, sighing in disappointment before the bartender handed her. 

"Hi" The man next to her said, turning to face her. 

"Hello?" Ashley asked in confusion, looking at him with a raised brow. 

"I'm Thomas" The man said, putting his hand out for a handshake. 

"Hi, Thomas" Ashley said awkwardly, shaking his hand. "I'm Ashley" Ashley said, remembering her etiquette. He smiled widely at her, his eyes crinkling while he grinned. Ashley let out an awkward, breathy laugh and sipped on her mojito. 

"So what are you-" Thomas asked before someone tapped on Ashley's shoulder. Ashley turned back to see Wally and shook her head. 

"What are you doing here?" Ashley asked. 

"Roy said it was girls' night" Wally complained. "And you didn't even take us" Wally said, maneuvering her away from Thomas as she nursed the mojito. 

"It is in fact not a girl's night and you're supposed to be in the buttfuck middle of nowhere" Ashley said, reminding him of the fact that he was supposed to be in his city in Missouri.