Deciding to move across the country to Gotham was a decision that was met with disapproval. Well...calling the reactions from her family (her mom and aunt only if she was being blunt about it) as disapproval was an understatement to describe the shock, worry, anger, and stressful diction that came from her family. It wasn't like she blamed them, in fact, she found their response perfectly reasonable. After all the saying goes that only four types of people: make up Gotham: the crazies, the rich who lived in their own little bubbles, the poor saps who are unable to leave for whatever reason, and the ignorant fools who come thinking they can brave it all only to leave as a shell. Most of the people back home would easily place her in group one or four, yet she wished they gave her more credit. Ashlyn heard the horror stories that made up Gotham's history, she wasn't blind to that.

So perhaps she was crazy. That is what most people would call her move from the relative safety of California to one of the most dangerous and crime-infested cities in the world. However, Ashlyn disagreed and saw it as the most logical choice.

Despite the reputation that the city carries, Gotham University was one of the most prestigious universities one could get into and was one of the main reasons people come to the city. Enough to give Harvard and Oxford a run for their money. However, it wasn't just that aspect of the university that drove her to come, it was their clinical psychology program. Of course, it would be Gotham to host the one clinical psychology Ph.D. program that has a forensic neuropsychology and neuroscience concentration.

With that, she would be a fool to pass up such an amazing opportunity. The prestige, the generous monthly stipend, and full-ride was just a bonus. Attending this university would set her on the path of being a capable forensic psychologist, and nothing was going to stop her from that.

So far things have been working out well for her, and hopefully, her luck would continue for a bit. Ashlyn managed to find a nice one bedroom-one bathroom, finally allowing herself to be free from having any more awful roommates. The fact it came with some furnishing, a laundry room, as well as wifi and cable...well it was nearly perfect.

However, there was a reason why the rent was affordable. The apartment she found wasn't in the ideal location, being a couple of blocks away from the East Side of Gotham City, yet the rent was rather affordable for the large size of the room and it was fifteen minutes away from Campus and forty minutes away from Arkham Asylum, the location where she will be doing her clinical and research work.

A loud yawn escaped her mouth as she glanced outside the window. Through the wispy clouds, Ashlyn was able to get a good view of her new home. The tall dark gothic skyscrapers looking ever so imposing in the bright daylight. Ashlyn leaned back into her seat, closing her eyes for a brief moment.

She had two weeks to get settled in the city, which should easily be enough time for grocery shopping, furniture or any other household necessities shopping, getting acquainted with the bus stations and route, and squeezing in a lunch meet up with Dr. Quinzel. After all, she should get situated with the person she would most likely be working under as a research assistant and mentee.

She got this. Everything was going to be fine.

Her fingers rubbed the dog tag that she wore out of habit. She couldn't even remember the last time she went without it.

A small smile grew on her lips. Her mom would always joke about how it was basically born on her. What could she say, it probably was one of the most meaningful gifts she got from her father.

Her smile left as a small feeling of bitterness washed over her. She stopped rubbing the necklace and rested her hands in her lap. With a soft sigh, Ashlyn closed her eyes.

Suddenly, the plane shook, bumping up and down in the air. Suddenly a muffled voice rung out on the intercom, "It seems we have run into a bit of turbulence. The seat belt light has been turned back on so if you are standing please return to your seat. Our estimated time for landing is uh about two minutes. The flight attendants will be coming by shortly to pick up any garbage."

A baby started to cry, it's sharp wailing finally causing Ashlyn's eyes to snap open. Why must people bring infants on planes? She glanced towards the noise, her eyes resting on a family who obviously leaned towards the upper middle-class side of Gotham. To the sparkling diamond earrings and matching tennis bracelet on the mom to the Rolex on the father's wrist. The fact they seemed to have come back from Hawaii given the floral printing and flower lai that their tiny baby was dolled up in.

Rich enough to fly across the country, not rich enough for first class. Or a private jet.

The crying went on. The mother seemed to try to calm her child down, yet it was to no avail.

Ashlyn shook her head and turned to face the window. Her eyes glancing lazily at the city below.

"Any trash?" A soft voice questioned.

"Uh no. Thank you," Ashlyn nodded her head towards the flight attendant with a polite smile. A smile which was returned as the woman walked off, trash bag in hand.

Ashlyn felt the plane slowly lower towards the ground until the sound of its wheel on the runway greeted her ears.

"We have officially landed in Gotham. Please remain seated until the seatbelt light turned off, thank you. If you have a connecting flight, you may find the gate on the display system. Thank you for flying Southwest, I hope you have a safe day." The pilot voice was barely audible, but Ashlyn understood the gist. She had flown enough times to understand the memo as well as to notice that it seemed that pilots must have the prerequisite on mumbling their words.

At least she made it.

Everything was going to be fine.

Exiting the airport was one of the most irritating things Ashlyn had experienced in the past month. And she was living with her parents for the past several months. Never before had she seen so many security checkpoints just to get to the baggage claim area. She couldn't even imagine how it must be to get to a different terminal. So when she strolled out of the airport with her two thick suitcases and backpack tied to them, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Which allowed her to be greeted with the polluted air which was Gotham. Pollution with a mix of sewage. However, she couldn't tell if it was because of where the airport was located or if that was just a part of Gotham.

She pulled her suitcases to the closest bench and took a seat after sliding over a discarded newspaper. Quickly she unlocked her phone and turned off airplane mode. Her phone froze before lighting up with different alerts. A couple of messages from her friends from home and college which she decided to respond to later. One message from her mom. The text was simple and sweet. The usual stay safe and call when you are at your apartment. Ashlyn couldn't help but notice that silence from her father as well as the lack of his mention in her mom's text.

Ashlyn frowned, exiting her mother's text. It honestly wasn't something she wanted to deal with right now. Instead, she opened the Uber app and requested a ride.

It was only a few moments later that her phone vibrated. Ashlyn unlocked her phone, giving a relieved smile when she saw the picture of a woman named Maria appear as her ride.

Thank god for that. While having to catch an uber on her first day of being in the crime capital of the country wasn't ideal, having the driver be a man would've been worse. At least she could have a fighting chance against an older woman if Gotham's reputation came to bite her.

Resting her phone on her lap, Ashlyn stretched her back against the bench. A loud yawn escaped her lips and she rubbed her eyes beneath her wide glasses.

Cars passed her by as they came and went picking people up. Some were the usual bus shuttles while others were fancier vehicles that seemed almost out of place of the gothic industrial architecture that Gotham was made of.

She ignored the cars that seemed to slow down near her, almost coming to a stop before tooting their horn and driving away to where they needed to be. Each time that seemed to happen she recoiled further into her thick fur coat. Disgusting men seemed to be found everywhere.

She glanced to her side, her eyes glancing down at the newspaper that she had moved. Curious and bored, she grabbed it and flipped it to the front.

It must be weird to live in a city so obsessed with their crime-fighting cryptid. Ashlyn couldn't help but find it laughable that some people truly believed that there is a man-bat hybrid protecting the city. Yet, despite the ridiculousness of the thought, she could understand that even believing in a stupid myth could light up some hope. After all, when living in a city with a clown terrorist and oddly themed serial killers, one would need some type of hope. And if said hope comes in the cryptid mutant bat creature then so be it.

Plus, she was sure that businesses must make bank off selling those merchandise. After all, she must've seen ten or fifteen kids in the airport wearing something Batman related.

Either way, still absolutely ridiculous.

Ashlyn skimmed through the paper, tossing the idea of a bat man hybrid out of her mind. The news talked about what she expected. Crime rates, someone called the Riddler being back in Arkham Asylum, some rich Wayne guy throwing a charity gala. Boring and typical from the rumors she had previously heard about the city. Though the Arkham Asylum section did catch her attention. After all, she would be working as an assistant there. She could only hope that it wasn't as bad as people claimed. Besides, it wasn't like those people lived in Gotham before. It should be fine.

Before her mind could continue overthinking every awful and outlandishly horrible outcome, a loud car horn brought her back to reality. Ashlyn glanced up to see a navy SUV with a uber sticker on the windshield.

Ashlyn glanced at the uber app, comparing the SUV picture on her phone to the car in front of her. Suddenly the dark window rolled down allowing Ashlyn to see the driver. Dark curly hair with matching soft brown eyes that complemented her dark skin. Her face matching the profile picture on the app.

"Ashlyn?" The woman said, her voice was light and coated with uncertainty.

Ashlyn gave her a smile, "Yeah."

To her relief, the woman let out a laugh. "Ah thank god, I would've died from embarrassment if I was wrong." She tilted her head, her eyes glancing at the luggage. "You need help with that?"

Ashlyn grabbed her luggage, "It's fine, really."

"Are you sure? It looks heavy." Her voice trailed off as Ashlyn walked towards the car.

"No, it is all good. You're already a lifesaver picking me up." She opened the back door and used threw her luggage inside the car. She could've sworn she pulled a muscle lifting them but stayed silent. She was probably just being dramatic.

Ashlyn closed the door and hopped into the passenger seat. Once she was all settled, they were off.

"How was your flight?"

Ashlyn glanced at the clock, 5:38 it read. She crinkled her nose, stupid time zones. "It was fine, I've been on worse flights."

Her driver smiled and nodded her head. Her eyes never leaving the road.

Silence came over the car, allowing for Ashlyn to rest her eyes for a bit. However, the awkwardness of the silence kept her from gaining any rest.

"What brings you to Gotham?" Maria asked, turning on the radio. Ashlyn blinked at the blunt question. Her accent must've been a dead give away that she wasn't from here, or perhaps it was the luggage. Most likely both.

"Graduate school."

"Ah, congratulations. My oldest just got accepted to Kent State for her undergraduate."

Ashlyn tilted her head towards the driver. "Must be exciting for her. Does she know what she wants to major in?"

Maria smiled, "Biochemistry. She always loved the sciences." Maria stayed silent for a bit, seemingly getting lost in her thoughts. Before Ashlyn could turn back to the window, Maria's voice caught her attention once more. "What about you?"

"Oh uh. I majored in psychology, now I'm getting my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology."

Maria glanced at her quickly, "Sounds interesting."

Ashlyn nodded her head. She could've sworn she saw a flash of uneasiness in Maria's face.

"You just be careful okay?"

Ashlyn blushed.

"I mean it. You are living near the East side as well. There's a reason it has the reputation it does."

"Uh," Ashlyn shifted awkwardly in her seat, "Thank you?"

Ashlyn noticed the older woman's cheeks turn a warm red.

"Ah...sorry. Just my maternal instincts kicking up."

"It's all good. I'm sure you gave your daughter a similar talk."

Maria let out a laugh, "I sure did. My wife thought I was going overboard, but what can I say? She's my baby girl and well, when you grow up here you learn certain lessons."

Ashlyn merely smiled politely at her words, unsure what to say. Instead of thinking of a response, she decided to listen to the music. Her fingers tapping along to the rhythm on her phone case.

Once the conversation seemed to be dead, Ashlyn turned back to the window and stared out, watching as they passed by the high tech and newer buildings and drove towards the older and broken down buildings. It felt like they were entering another county just by watching the devolution of the buildings. As they drove further into the lower side of Gotham, Ashlyn couldn't help but notice how the street became bumpier due to lack of road care. How more and more homeless people started appearing on the sidewalk and in alleys that seemed to go further into the city. Her eyes glanced at the different stores that had metal bars over the windows with some having metal shutters with bullet indents.

"Welcome to the Lower Side of Gotham Ashlyn."

Perhaps Maria's words held more weight and meaning than she originally thought. She felt a bubble of anxiety within her.

Deep breathe in.

Everything was going to be fine.

Slowly the car came to a stop. Ashlyn glanced at the tall rusty brown apartment complex. To its credit, it did match the pictures online. To the metal stair railings on the side and front of the building to the metal bars over the apartment window and the front door.

"Thank you for driving me." Ashlyn opened up her wallet and handed Maria a five-dollar bill.

"It's no problem. Let me help with all your luggage."

Before Ashlyn could protest, Maria was already out of the car.

It didn't take long for both of them to get her luggage.

"Thank you for your help."

Maria just shook her head. "It's fine. Now, I say this as a woman who grew up here, keep your eyes sharp."

Ashlyn couldn't help but smile and nodded her head. It was nice that the kindness of strangers still existed, even in a city like Gotham.

Slowly she rolled her luggage towards the building, nearly tripping over an uneven piece of the sidewalk. Ashlyn glanced at the caged door, before ringing the doorbell four times.

Thankfully she didn't have to wait for the door to open up to reveal an elderly lady. She was extremely short compared to Ashlyn's 5'6 (basically 5'7 if you asked her) stature. If Ashlyn had to guess she would assume the woman was 4'10. Her back was hunched over, leaning most of her weight to her wooden cane.

"You Ashlyn Cooper?" The woman asked with a thick New Jersey accent. Her eyes narrowed at her as if she was assessing her. Ashlyn knew that face, that was the face of someone straining to see. It was an almost laughable sight as the woman's large glasses, that closely resembled a bottle, looked like they should be able to help see anything from five feet away.

"Yes, and you must be Mrs. Cohen."

The landlady nodded her head, her large white curls bouncing, as she fixed her tilted glasses. "Ya late," she grumbled as she hobbled into the building.

Ashlyn felt her face burn up at the elderly woman's words. She bit her lip to stop herself from commenting anything that may come across as rude or defensive and instead followed Mrs. Cohen instead, dragging her heavy luggage behind her. She would rather not anger the person who controlled the rent.

"Make sure ya lock the door. It is a stubborn old piece of shit." Mrs. Cohen yelled out from one of the rooms.

Ashlyn smirked at the bluntness of her words and yanked on the door four times, making sure it was shut, before going through the multiple locks. At least security wouldn't be too bad of a problem.

She walked down the hallway, her eyes glancing at the stairs leading to the floors above. The old metal stairs seemed like they could shattered and collapse any moment. The original black paint coating was nearly gone, only small spots scattered around the steps were the only sign of what they used to be.

The short walk down the hallway brought her to what she could only assume to be Mrs. Cohen's office. As she entered the room, her eyes were greeted to the sight of Mrs. Cohen sitting in a chair that lowered her so much that only her eyes and hair were visible and to a room that seemed both chaotic and organized at the same time. Large filing cabinets took up most of the space next to the walls, mounts of paper were scattered around the room. However, Ashlyn could not judge the disorganization as she was easily just as bad and usually worse when it came to organization.

"You made rent six months in advance?" Mrs. Cohen asked, her eyes skimming the inside of a file.

"Uh yes, online."

"Well, that makes everyone's lives easier." She lowered the file and gave her a smile.

"Here's ya keys. Mail, front door, and your door." Ashlyn caught the keyring tossed at her. "Don't lose it, don't make replicas." Her stern blue eyes seemed to be enlarged by her glasses.

"Of course." Ashlyn nodded her head.

Satisfied with her response, she got out of her chair and hobbled towards her. "Follow me," she ordered.

Ashlyn bit her lip to keep from smiling out of amusement and did as she was told.

"First thing ya should know is that the laundry room is in the basement." Mrs. Cohen tapped her cane loudly on the floor. "I would show ya, but those stairs are bad for my hip." Mrs. Cohen glared at the stairs.

"Here is my room." Mrs. Cohen tapped her cane on a door marked 100. "Don't knock, don't leave notes unless it's an emergency. And if ya hear any moaning...it's just Harold. The lazy bum of a husband."

Ashlyn blinked as Mrs. Cohen raised her voice at the end of her sentence. Despite the harshness of her words, Ashlyn spotted a smile on her lips.

"Over here," Mrs. Cohen walked to the left side of the stairs, "Are the mailboxes. I picked up the mail every afternoon, anything that can't fit gets set to ya door"

"Now do you-" Mrs. Cohen's words got cut off.

"Denise!" A man's voice shouted. Similar to Mrs. Cohen, the man possessed a strong New Jersey accent as well as seemed to belong to someone in their late 80s.

"What Harold?" Mrs. Cohen shouted back, "I'm with the new tenet."

"Our show is on!"

Mrs. Cohen frowned and narrowed her eyes.

"What?" Her voice grew louder

"Our show is on," Harold repeated, his voice trying to match the loudness of Mrs. Cohen only to end up coughing at the end.

Mrs. Cohen rolled her eyes, "He is never able to speak clearly," she muttered to Ashlyn.

"Y'know, how about I get settled in and you can see what Harold wants," she said. As amusing as it was to watch, she was growing more and more tired.

Mrs. Cohen nodded her head and waved her goodbye. Well, it was more of a dismissal type of gesture than a goodbye.

As Ashlyn walked up the stairs with her suitcases, she could hear Mrs. Cohen shout: "Our show is on, why didn't you tell me?"

She could definitely get used to this apartment.

Despite the stairs being more of a workout than she expected, she finally reached her floor. Thankfully she was on the third floor which saved her from walking up any more staircases.

She glanced at each door number before finally stopping in front of door 316.

After unlocking the door and nearly having to kick the stiff door in, she finally entered her new home.

The apartment was close to barren. The neutral colors that made up the apartment basically highlighted the emptiness. The off-white color walls did complement the wooden floors as well as the mostly white and grey kitchen area.

The only furniture she could see was a rather vibrant purple worn down couch and a TV stand.

"This...is workable." Ashlyn locked the door behind her, making sure to yank on the doorknob four times to be sure, and started to walk towards the bedroom. A couple of the floorboards creaked as she walked toured her new apartment.

Her kitchen was basically a part of the living room. It was a bit small and close together by had a good amount of drawers as well as cabinets for dishes and utensils. Below the sink was room for a couple of trash cans. Next to the sink was the dishwasher. The fridge was rather large and was one counter away from the stove and oven while also being next to an old looking microwave.

The hallway contained three doors. One was a storage closet. The second turned out to be an ironing board. The last one led to the bedroom.

Her bedroom was smaller than she originally thought, but not by much. Thankfully the room came with a bed frame that was completed with a mattress, a desk, a large dresser, and a bookshelf. The window above the desk was protected with the same metal bars she saw outside the building and gave her a lovely view of the alley. The closest was probably the length of her arms but it seemed that it could hold a good amount of clothing and spared blankets or whatever she needed.

The bathroom connected from her bedroom and was bigger than she thought. A decent size sink and counter with a mirror medicine cabinet. The lower cabinet was rather spacious as well as the shelves above the toilet. A good couple of feet away from the toilet were the shower and bath.

Overall, it wasn't that bad of an apartment. Especially for the cheap rent.

Ashlyn collapsed on the couch, staring at the ceiling. All she had to buy were some dishes, utensils, blankets, pillows, bedding...

She felt her eyes grow heavy with every moment she stayed on the couch. She should get up and start shopping, yet her body seemed to refuse to listen to her. As if her body was too tired to function.

A short nap wouldn't kill her.

Everything was going to be fine.

Another Batman fanfiction! However, I planned this one to deal with more serious and darker themes as well as explore the life of a Gotham citizen with an outsider's perspective. So this will be fun! Right now this is going to be a slow-burn Jason Todd/OC, but things might change.

I hope you all are staying safe during this pandemic! Remember to stay inside, even if it is boring.

Until Next Time!