Author Notes

In the following chapters we get another look at the future. It isn't the exactly the same future we saw in 'Why I Hate Time Travel' because that time line was erased. However things are somewhat the same.

I changed the dates a little so that Terry McGuinness becomes the Batman in 2042 at the age of eighteen. Which is 10 years after Batman retires for the second time.

The reason for is that I plan to fit the Dark Knight Returns into this time line. It will be set in 2022's and will end differently as it's in the future and the Joker dies in 2010. Superman still gets his ass kicked by Batman, but this doesn't result in Wayne Manor being destroyed.

Arella is born in 2030, and grows up in Wayne Manor as Bruce Wayne's god-daughter and ward. Raven can't be a full time Mum due to being a handmaiden of a goddess and Gothic is cursed with an interesting life so its not safe for him to be a full time Dad. Which isn't to say they aren't around it's just that Arella doesn't see them as much as she would like.

Also at this point of time the Justice League has been reformed with Superman in charge, but it's a smaller group now, less than ten full time members, and Arella has been a part of the team for a year or so. Raven is a part time member and Gothic has his own team who aren't anti-heroes exactly, but they have their own methods and goals.

Anyway it's not really about Arella anyway she's just one of the important women in Gothic's life and she in DC Gothic Teen Titans so another apperence seemed like a good idea. Mostly she just turns up to try and change the future. Which might seem very selfish, but given who her parents are she was bound to do something insane.

Reviews

ImaRussian

Yes he will. Which is part of what these parts of the story has been about. Gothic needed pushing into being 'the man' so he can handle the harem he gets later.

Gordaime

I know Harley is like those women you hear about with abusive partners. She keeps going back to him, and you can't help but want to try and save her. Which Gothic does during his time as Dark Angel.

No Weeping Angels then. Thankfully I have other ideas for surprise crossovers.

Joe Lawyer

Gothic is scared of the Joker so running away is natural. Also why would he freeze the pool? the whole point of summoning the monster was to serve as a distraction.

She already is working on something.

Kara can't help Gothic with his powers. She's not human, she has no understanding of magic and her knowledge of science is so far ahead of his that it would years for Gothic just to learn the basics.

Besides he's not motivated to learn more right now. Although he will be soon. Kara leaves very soon and then Gothic will have time to learn new things.

DC Gothic – Justice League

Women II

The Batcave – Gotham – November 2052

Twenty-two year old Arella Wayne had for the last ten minutes or so, been supporting the entire weight of her body with just one hand. She hadn't been still the entire time as she'd swapped hands every thirty seconds. What made the feat impressive was that Arella hadn't touched the ground with anything other than one of hands.

Arella's dark hair just about touched the floor as the balance beam was half a meter off the ground, and her nimble legs were pointing straight up to the roof of the Batcave. Her body was covered in a synthetic material that was a shade of dark purple.

Anyone watching would note that she was a first class gymnast, and very strong despite her petite form. Arella had even inherited her mother's talent for magic as well as her father's skill for kicking ass with any weapon a person could use.

Even at her young age she was considered to be a powerful woman, and one of the world's greatest heroes. She even had Batman as a boyfriend. Not the first Batman of course as her Uncle Bruce was in his eighties, she had a thing for older men, but not that old. No her romantic partner was Terry McGuinness. So all things considered, she should be a happy person. But she was not.

"He's not coming for Thanksgiving is he?" Arella asked of the man in the shadows.

She knew exactly who was there. She couldn't see her godfather, however she could sense his presence and judging by his emotional state he had bad news to share.

"No" said Bruce Wayne "your mother will be here, but your father is busy on Mars".

Well he was actually on one of the moons of Mars, but Bruce had no idea why the immortal was there and all contact had been lost with both of the planet's moons over a day ago. No doubt there was something major going on, but he had no intention of worrying his god-daughter.

Arella rolled forward and got to her feet.

"Same old story" she said as he headed to the stairs.

Her father was never around when she really needed him to be, and he wasn't in the Justice League either, and they could really use his help. The world was no safer now than it had been fifty years ago and the League was a lot smaller than it use to be.

"Where are you going?" the original Batman inquired.

"Out" was all Shadow Witch in reply.

Bruce was about to go after his young ward when his wife called out to him.

"Let her go beloved. She will need time to calm down" advised Talia Wayne.

Arella would indeed need some time to calm down, about fifty years of worth of time in fact.

(Line Break)

Streets – Jump City – November 2002

"I will break you, little girl" threatened the masked Mexican wrestler.

"Ooh, no what will I do" mocked Blackfire "I'm shaking in my boots. See me shaking? In my new boots".

Bane actually took a moment to study the exiled princess, but that was exactly what Blackfire had wanted as it distracted the villain for a few seconds. Well that and to show off the new shoes she had just brought

"Leave her alone" said a male voice.

Bane turned to see one of the thugs he'd hired hit the ground as the immortal made a dramatic entrance.

"I was weakened when last we fought, boy" Bane sneered. "I will not lose this time".

"What? Do you want me to break your jaw again?" Gothic taunted while shifting into a fighting stance. "Well, c'mon, then big guy. Let's party".

Bane charged Gothic, but the immortal simply moved out of the way of the blow and then struck the masked wrestler in the back.

"I love this part" said Blackfire with sigh of happiness.

She was very much looking forward to the show, but sadly for her a blur shot past and hit Bane so hard that the crook was sent flying into someone's car. Half a second later fighter's Venom pumped had been pulled out and a few seconds after that Bane had a parking meter wrapped around his arms.

"Oh Kara" muttered the princess.

Blackfire had been looking forward to watching Gothic beat up Bane again, but Supergirl had put an end to the fight before it really got going. It was very unsatisfying and Fire knew that Kara hadn't done her boyfriend any favours by ending the fight for him.

"Well that was extremely emasculating" complained Gothic.

Fire had to agree with that. She could of blasted Bane herself, but she'd wanted the immortal to win the day. Clearly Kara did not understand that you were suppose to let the man in your life do at least some of the work.

"Sorry honey" the kryptonian said to her boyfriend "but you're going to be late for your appointment"

"Damn therapy" Gothic almost growled.

Therapist's Office - Jump City - November 2002

"And why do I need to look at inkblots?" I asked of my therapist as she as loaded up the computer program.

"The inkblot test, or the "Rorschach" test to give its proper name, is a method of psychological evaluation. Psychologists like myself use this test to attempt to examine the personality characteristics and emotional functioning of our patients. We also use this test in to diagnose underlying disorders and to differentiate psychotic and non-psychotic thinking" the doctor explained.

That sounded like she'd memorised the information from a text book. Which she may very well have.

"So you want to see if I'm insane or not" I said.

"Not exactly" the therapist told me "Now during the test you will be shown a series of ink blot images. All you have to do is look at each ink blot for a moment and tell me what you see. But you have to try and see something. At the end of the test your responses will be analysed, and that will give a better understanding of your thought processes".

"And that will tell you if I'm insane?" I inquired.

That made the mind doctor smile. Which made her face wrinkle in a sort grandmotherly way.

"It's only a test, and you aren't a normal human being anyway so I wouldn't be too concerned about the results. The reason I'm using it is because some people, especially men, have trouble expressing their feelings. You for example deflect issues with humour, so just talking to you isn't enough. I need more insight before I can help you to get to grips with any problems you have. My hope is that this test will guide me".

Well that sounded pretty harmless actually.

"Okay then. Hit me" I said.

The test started and I was shown the first image.

"A women with wings" I decided after a while.

It didn't really look anything, but there was no option for that and you had to give some sort of answer in an ink blot test, so I gave the best I could.

"And this one"

"A mushroom cloud from an atomic explosion".

It also looked a little like to very oddly shaped men giving each other a high five, but I went with what I saw first.

"What about this".

"Two people trying to lift something " was the best I could do.

"And this"

"Errr... a female sex organ"

It really did remind me of a vagina.

"And this"

This was one was pretty straightforward.

"An upside down bat" I said.

"And this"

"Vagina... sorry but it does"

I seemed to have sex on the brain. Although it may have had to do with the fact that I normally got to have sex every day, and I hadn't yesterday so it could just be that.

"And this"

The next one looked like nothing at all. But nothing wasn't an acceptable answer so I gave it a good long stare.

"Two animals climbing... something" was the only thing that came close.

It did sort of look like that.

"And this".

"Err I have to say... pretty much what you'd see if a women had spread her legs to give you a look".

I really did think about sex way too much. There had to be something wrong with me. I was sure I hadn't been this obsessed with female anatomy the last time I'd been eighteen years old.

"Last one" said the therapist.

I gave the last image an intense stare.

"Lots of creatures running away from me"

When the machine loaded up the results I read the information on the screen.

"Hey that says this program is for entertainment and study only" I said "not for clinical diagnoses"

"I never said it was" the woman reminded "it's just to help me understand you a little better".

I should of known that and as for the doctor, well she did have a Ph.D. In psychology, so she should know what she was doing.

"Well you failed if you wondering, but given what you've been through it's not remotely surprising, and this test is very much out of date. However it did give me a few insights. I do have a follow up questions if you're willing to indulge me".

"I can't promise I'll answer, but I also promise I won't lie" I said as I laid down on the couch.

Which was fair as I knew a lot of things no one should know about. Secret identities and such.

"How's your love life?" the woman asked me "has anything changed recently?"

Given that I'd kept seeing vaginas in the ink blot tests this question was one I had expected.

"Great" I answered, but then I reminded myself that it hadn't been more recently

"Well not really great" I corrected "I mean I told you about the girl who abandoned me, but the other women in my life really upset me just yesterday".

"How?" was the follow up question.

"She got into an argument and in the process the girls I live with managed to kill my bike".

By now the doctor was taking notes.

"Why did you say 'kill'?" she then asked.

I had said killed last night as well. That clearly meant something.

"Well it was my bike" I tried to explain "it was custom made. Totally unique and now it's gone. It was like losing a pet. It's silly..."

"No it isn't" corrected my therapist "it's perfectly fine to become emotionally invested in objects. Especially if that object was special. You said it was custom, so who made it?"

"A friend" was the answer I gave "someone I used to live with".

Cy and I weren't that close, but the effort he'd put into building and then modifying the Gothbike made it destruction all the more tragic.

"It was a gift" the therapist said "and it connected you to your past. You told me that everyone you knew when you first arrived in this world has moved on. So to me it seems that losing that bike reminded you of that".

I didn't think that, but I could see why someone else would.

"For me that bike was like a symbol of freedom" I explained "as long as I had it I could just go where ever I wanted when ever I wanted".

"And now you feel trapped?" the woman asked of me.

Sometimes I did feel caught in a role that I didn't want to play, so yeah maybe that was part of the reason why I'd gotten so upset. Although the big holes in my walls had been a big shock too.

"A little" was all I was willing to say.

The doctor seemed to sense that I wasn't willing to discuss that aspect of my life, so she asked something else.

"How did you deal with the situation?"

"I sent them all to bed" I answered honestly.

Well it had been very late.

"And they did what you told them to?" was the next question.

"Well I had to be firm about it first, but after that yeah" I responded.

"I see" was what the women said next.

She paused for a while as if sorting out her thoughts.

"Do you ever wonder if the women in your life want you to take charge".

By now she'd picked up on the fact that I was the Dad of my messed up little family.

"Sometimes" I admitted "but I don't know if I could".

"Why?"

"You ask a lot of questions" I commented.

"You avoid answering them" she countered.

I sighed and then tried to answer the question.

"They're very powerful women" I finally said "it doesn't seem right that I should be able to boss them around".

Would be damn hot. But it did seem wrong to me. I just didn't know if I could take myself seriously if I tried take control.

"Did you know that most men who visit a dominatrix are very important businessmen".

"No" I said "how do you know that?"

"It's my job to know" she informed me.

That or she'd performed the job to pay her way through medical school. She did have a voice for it, that was for sure.

"So powerful people want to be made to feel powerless" I reasoned.

It kind of made sense. Kara did like to feel powerless during sex. But I'd always assumed that was about feeling feminine and delicate. She'd admitted it in fact. She liked me being stronger than her in bed. Although the power thing could be part of that as well. Maybe she didn't even realise that. Although she was very smart, so it could be her simply wanting to feel like a vunrable girl rather than someone who was bullet proof.

"Maybe the reason why they seem to be trying to drive you crazy is because they want you to make them stop acting out".

That could be it. Perhaps I could start putting my foot down more often.

"So you think they're trying to see how far they can push me before I make them behave" I questioned.

"From what you've told me in our past sessions I'd say that they do, but this isn't about them. It's about you. I'm concerned that you spend to much time worrying about how others perceive you. This is holding you back in many ways. It's good that you worry about your actions as a hero, as lives do depend on you. But your home life shouldn't be so stressful. If you don't think you can cope then you need to change how you live your life".

I had considered asking Blackfire to move out, as that might calm things down. But I didn't want her to leave because while I didn't love her I was fond of her. Plus she seemed to understand Ace more than I did, so if she left that would make the telepathic meta-human harder to handle.

"So I need to start thinking of myself as worthy of being the one in charge" I said mostly to myself.

"You're self esteem is surprising low considering who it is your dating. Most men would consider it a huge ego boost".

I didn't tend to think of Kara as Supergirl. Which was a good thing as no girl wants their boyfriend to love the person they pretend to be rather than who they are.

"And then there's the power issue. You're no push over yourself. I've studied your files. You've defeated Supergirl one of the women who you think of as being vastly superior to yourself".

True and granted I'd used trickery, but that didn't really diminish the fact that I had taken her down so easily. And Ace was pretty much powerless against me. I didn't like the idea that I could hurt the people I loved, but it was silly of me to think that I couldn't at least tell them not to do things that made me uncomfortable.

"But I don't want to be abusive" I pointed out "I shouldn't even think about hurting them in anyway".

"Discipline isn't abuse" argued the woman "it's not just children who act up to get attention. Yes it's possible to cross that line, but it might be worse if you do nothing because you've already started. And just think on this: if they did feel abused in anyway. Would they simply put up with that sort of treatment or would they do something about it?".

Given what I knew about Kara I could honestly say that she wouldn't put up with that sort of thing. She was not like Harley Quinn. Kara had stood up to her own cousin, and made him back off. Then when Mongul had threatened to rape her she had certainly made him regret saying it.

Blackfire was hardly a push over either. She'd ruled a world and after all. People who just take what life throws at them don't get to be leaders. Ace was a bit more vulnerable, and wouldn't be able to stop me from hurting her but she of all people was the safest because I only wanted to protect her.

Then I realised that Blackfire had pointed that out to me, and it hadn't actually sunk in. No wonder she felt as if she didn't contribute to the household, she'd been trying and I'd never really let her.

"Okay I think I'm done for the day" I told my therapist as I got up and headed for the door "I have to go home and start being a man".