Chapter Summaries

Schiller bought Halloween candy and harvested three unusually lively pumpkins, then visited Victor and discovered Billy had brought home a gigantic, edible pumpkin grown through Pamela and Brainiac’s planting project. The chapter ended with Schiller and Victor tasting pumpkin dishes and wondering whether Pamela had truly abandoned her dangerous plant experiments.

• Schiller bought candy and carving knives, then subdued the three pumpkins in his backyard by striking them with a shovel and cutting their vines.
• Schiller offered pumpkins to Victor and Killer Croc, but learned they had already received pumpkins from others; Main Universe Batman then asked Schiller for points to book a room at the Wayne Hotel.
• Schiller visited Victor and saw the enormous pumpkin Billy had brought home using Shazam’s power, apparently grown as part of Brainiac’s school planting project.
• Schiller and Victor dug into the pumpkin, found its flesh edible, and prepared steamed pumpkin and pumpkin pie.
• Victor said Billy had described his planting group’s battle against the giant pumpkin, suggesting it had been their trophy.

Schiller prepared for Greed’s arrival while tending to his home and chopping firewood, unaware that Barry and other agents were surveilling the area for a suspected kidnapper. The agents planned to investigate the forest and nearby homes the next day, leaving Barry worried about what they might encounter.

• Schiller visited Killer Croc, who had eaten much of Harley’s giant pumpkin and turned the remainder into a pumpkin house.
• Main Universe Batman called Schiller after a facial recognition system blocked him from entering Gotham, and Schiller told him to register new personal information in the app.
• Schiller chopped down a pine tree for firewood, then told Shivan, who came to borrow wood, that he could chop trees in the forest too.
• Barry and his colleagues watched the area from a car, mistaking Schiller and Shivan’s nighttime woodcutting for suspicious activity.
• The next morning, Barry told Field Agents that someone had entered the forest, and they decided to investigate the area.

Schiller taught a class, discovered someone had entered his house while he was away, and struggled to find firewood as a gale swept through Gotham. The chapter ended with Greed arriving at Schiller’s door carrying a box.

• Schiller walked to Gotham University, where Jena presented her paper on child psychology and crimes against children, and he offered to submit it for publication.
• Schiller’s afternoon class and football practice were canceled as strong winds swept through Gotham, so he headed home.
• Schiller found his deliveries outside but noticed signs that someone had opened his front door and briefly explored the first floor.
• Schiller checked the house and backyard, found nothing disturbed, and decided the intruder might return during the Halloween break.
• Schiller found firewood unavailable for delivery, then answered the door to find Greed carrying a box and complaining about the gale.

Greed and Pride gathered firewood and shared a meal at their remote Gotham house while a storm battered the area. Meanwhile, Main Universe Batman struggled to reach and check into the Wayne Hotel, where he unexpectedly encountered another familiar face as they were both leaving their rooms.

• Greed and Pride chopped firewood in the forest and noticed a flashlight among the trees before returning home.
• Greed cooked pumpkin stew, seafood rice, and bread, and Pride revived their fireplace with a flamethrower.
• Greed asked Pride about Batman, and Pride guessed he was battling Brainiac.
• Main Universe Batman arrived in Gotham after traveling from Metropolis, struggled to book a room as an alien, and checked into the Wayne Hotel.
• Main Universe Batman prepared to leave his room and froze when he saw another man in a trench coat who also looked at him in surprise.

Main Universe Batman learned that Alberto Falcone had returned from Italy, while Barry and his FBI colleagues investigated three child kidnappings that appeared to involve organized crime. A paper on how kidnappers exploit children’s vulnerability suggested a way to predict the perpetrators’ next move, but the children remained missing.

• Main Universe Batman questioned Alberto Falcone, who said he had returned from Italy the day before and warned Batman not to reveal that they had met.
• Barry and his FBI colleagues found that three kidnappings involved different behavioral patterns, but each had been preceded by professional interference with surveillance cameras.
• The FBI team read an anonymous paper arguing that kidnappers could be drawn into abusing and mentally controlling children because of the victims’ vulnerability.
• Barry concluded that understanding a kidnapper’s desire to establish authority might help the FBI anticipate a risky move and catch the perpetrators.

Bruce worked on agricultural technology at Wayne Manor while Oliver, Pamela, and Arthur discussed their successful crops and harvesting plans. He later reunited with Alberto and drove him to visit Schiller, explaining that the quiet neighborhood had been designated for dangerous people with mental illnesses.

• Bruce hosted Oliver, who showed him enormous potatoes and optimized feed corn intended to help villagers in Mexico.
• Pamela and Arthur discussed the kelp harvest, while Bruce explained that the magic academy was still improving its underwater harvester.
• Alberto visited Bruce, discussed Gotham and his business, and asked Bruce to drive him to see Schiller.
• Bruce told Alberto that Brainiac had designated Schiller's sparsely populated neighborhood as a protected zone for dangerous people with mental illnesses.

Pride and Greed hosted Bruce and Alberto at Schiller’s house, where they discussed winter preparations and ambitious food-growing projects. After Greed reported suspicious logging in the woods, police linked the activity to a child-kidnapping case, and Barry arrived to investigate.

• Greed welcomed Bruce and Alberto to Schiller’s house, where they found Pride chopping firewood for the cold weather.
• Pride and the guests discussed Brainiac’s plan to end hunger, including giant crops, radiation wheat, and canned food for Krypton.
• Bruce gave Pride tickets to a Halloween Eve performance, and he and Alberto left as Pride noticed flashlights in the woods.
• Greed called the police about the excessive logging, and officers arrived despite the storm.
• The police connected the loggers to a child-kidnapping case, found a partial footprint that might belong to a child, and cordoned off the woods.
• Barry arrived in an FBI car and hoped the kidnapper had not already been caught at the house.

Barry investigated the disappearance of three children and followed Greed’s cryptic hint about northern cardinals to realize their calls and other animal sounds could be masking the children’s screams. The chapter left Barry racing toward the house beneath the chestnut tree, suspecting the children were being held inside.

• Barry told Pride that three children had been kidnapped within forty-eight hours, suggesting an organized crime group was responsible.
• Pride described seeing Principal Shivan carrying a flashlight in the woods, and Barry noted that police had found no evidence of large trees being cut down.
• Greed mentioned the varied calls of northern cardinals, prompting Barry to search the woods for birds and nests.
• Barry’s colleagues matched a half footprint to seven-year-old Paul Austin’s bear-patterned shoes and concluded the kidnapper had been leading children around the woods.
• Barry returned alone at night, heard birdsong near a chestnut tree despite the strong wind, and realized animal sounds could be concealing children’s screams.

After the kidnapped children were rescued, Pride discussed the suspects’ hideout and their possible methods with Gordon, then arranged for Greed to gather chestnuts from the tree. Greed brought them home to use in desserts for the evening’s thank-you performance.

• Pride learned that police had rescued the kidnapped children, and he warned Victor and Ron to keep their children safe on Halloween.
• Pride told Gordon he suspected the kidnappers had planned to use the chestnut tree and animals’ cries to conceal their crime, and Gordon said the captured suspect was being interrogated.
• Pride asked Gordon whether he could transplant the chestnut tree into his yard, and Gordon agreed to report the request to Brainiac.
• Pride and Greed planned to bring desserts to the children’s thank-you performance, and Greed decided to add chestnuts to his recipe.
• Greed transformed into Gray Mist, collected most of the chestnuts from the tree, and returned home with them.

Pride, Greed, Barry, and Main Universe Batman roasted chestnuts while discussing Brainiac’s rule over Earth and a plan to help him become a life-form connected to humanity. Main Universe Batman agreed to help prepare for the transformation, while Pride reflected on how the Main Universe’s narrative rules limited what its heroes could change.

• Greed made lemon curd and white chocolate confections while Barry peeled and roasted chestnuts for him.
• Main Universe Batman arrived for a tasting and joined Barry in peeling chestnuts as he advised Greed on the desserts.
• Pride asked Main Universe Batman about Brainiac’s government, and Batman judged its efficiency and Brainiac’s choice to govern Earth more important than assumptions based on his alien origins.
• Pride proposed using Superman and the Life Equation to help Brainiac become a life-form closer to a planetary consciousness, and Main Universe Batman agreed to help prepare for it.
• Main Universe Batman said he could not make sweeping changes in his own universe because its circumstances offered no opportunity, prompting Pride to consider how the Main Universe’s story structure constrained its heroes.

Pride and Greed prepared a meal and chestnut-filled chocolates before driving through a storm to the theater’s thank-you performance. The chocolates delighted the children, and as Selene’s performance reached its climax, Bruce joined Pride’s box and praised his fiancée’s star quality.

• Pride cooked pumpkin porridge and baked seafood pumpkin while Greed made chestnut chicken stew, and they shared the meal with Batman and Barry.
• Pride and Greed assembled chestnut-paste chocolates, packed them, and drove to the theater through the rain.
• Pride handed out Greed’s chocolates to the children in the audience, while Greed joked with Pride and Main Universe Batman about Arkham Asylum.
• Selene sang in a long gown, and the audience erupted in cheers as her performance reached its climax.
• Bruce entered Pride’s box, showed off his engagement ring, and praised Selene as a natural-born superstar.

At the Grayson Troupe’s Halloween performance, Main Universe Batman learned about the troupe’s giant crops before a girl was kidnapped backstage. Selene rescued the girl through a hidden passage, and the discovery linked the kidnapping to a larger case.

• Pride invited Main Universe Batman to a Halloween dinner, and Batman discussed Poison Ivy’s enlarged crops and whether their seeds could grow in other universes.
• Main Universe Batman went downstairs to find Aquaman after learning he and his wife were attending the performance.
• After the show, a mother reported her daughter missing, and Gordon sealed off the street while Barry, Bruce, and Selene searched for her.
• Pride used the girl’s lemon-scented clothing and candy to help the police dog trace her to a hidden passage beneath the theater.
• Main Universe Batman directed Gordon to uncover the passage, and Selene climbed inside and wounded the kidnapper before bringing the unharmed girl out.
• Barry recognized the man as one of the kidnappers from earlier cases and said he would investigate where the passage led.

Pride and Greed investigated the theater kidnapping and suspected Darkseid’s hidden forces on Earth, while Pride received strict requirements for transplanting a nearly extinct chestnut tree. The chapter left Pride and Greed preparing to repair the yard before the required environmental inspections.

• Pride and Greed discussed how someone had altered the theater surveillance footage and considered whether Darkseid was behind the kidnapping.
• Greed read the newspaper report describing the kidnapping as an accident, while Pride said the captured suspects might provide clues.
• Gordon delivered Brainiac’s approval and more than a hundred pages of requirements for Pride to transplant the chestnut tree.
• Greed explained that Pride needed environmental tests and yard repairs before moving the protected tree, and Brainiac justified the strict rules.
• Pride found a gardening market where they could buy grass seed, and he and Greed set out to repair a sunless patch of lawn.

Pride and Greed bought gardening supplies and prepared Pride’s yard for inspection while discussing their plans for Halloween. In the woods, Greed found signs that someone had searched for a missing device, and he and Pride suspected it had fallen into the lake, leaving the kidnapping case’s details unresolved.

• Pride and Greed took public transit to a suburban gardening exhibition, where Pride bought grass and vegetable seeds and they picked out yard tools.
• Greed trimmed the hedges, patched the lawn, cleaned the front yard, and planted flowers and set up a birdbath in the backyard while Pride carved pumpkins.
• Greed went into the woods to find a large tree and noticed cautious adult shoeprints suggesting someone had spent time searching there.
• Greed searched the woods, and Gray Mist suggested the missing item might have fallen into the lake, where a monster lived.
• Greed told Pride about the footprints and the possible lost device, and Pride agreed that the kidnappers might have entrusted a child with setting it up.

Greed and Pride dealt with autumn leaves and prepared to make a greenhouse while Barry investigated a device lost in a lake during the child kidnapping case. Barry went to ask Schiller about the likely underwater search, but Brainiac revealed that a monster lived at the bottom of the lake, and Barry ended up helping Pride carve a pumpkin.

• Greed planted a beech tree, and he and Pride struggled to clear the leaves while discussing how to grow vegetables in autumn.
• Barry learned that the kidnapped children had described a camera-like device falling into the lake and suspected it could have altered Brainiac's surveillance footage.
• Barry's colleagues warned that retrieving the device could require permission and disturb residents, especially Schiller, whose house was closest to the lake.
• Brainiac told Barry that a monster lived at the bottom of the lake and that retrieving the device might require Superman, a Martian, or an Atlantean.
• Barry visited Greed and Pride, who invited him in and asked him to help carve a pumpkin.

Barry discussed the rumored lake monster and a possible underwater retrieval project with Pride and Greed, while they prepared Halloween treats to meet local children and question Paul. The chapter ended when Billy arrived at Schiller’s door calling “Trick or treat!”

• Barry asked Pride about the lake’s history and raised rumors of a monster and a possible engineering project to retrieve important equipment.
• Greed agreed to review a detailed construction proposal, while Pride offered to meet the child victim unofficially and help establish the equipment’s importance.
• Pride learned that Aisha and Zatanna had returned from Italy, and Barry left to pick them up so Aisha could bring Paul and other children trick-or-treating.
• Pride and Greed prepared pumpkin desserts, candy, and Halloween decorations for the children who might visit.
• Schiller opened the door after someone called “Trick or treat!” and found Billy outside.

Pride hosted a Halloween gathering where Aisha brought the neighborhood children to enjoy candy and pumpkin desserts. As Paul joined in with the group, Pride and Greed concluded that Paul had deliberately let the device fall into the lake.

• Billy arrived dressed as Yoda, and Pride welcomed him inside for the children’s gathering.
• Jenny came dressed as a pony, and Harley brought a basket of trendy candy for the children.
• Aisha arrived dressed as Batman with a crowd of children, including Paul in a homemade Tin Man costume.
• Aisha encouraged Paul to join the group, and the children sat down to share pumpkin cake and pie.
• Paul cut and distributed the cake evenly, impressing the children with his judgment.
• Pride quietly agreed with Greed that Paul had intentionally dropped the device into the lake.

Jason Todd returned from Britain and discussed finding work with Pride, who told him about the child abduction cases involving a device that had fooled Brainiac’s cameras. Pride and Jason then joined the Halloween feast at the manor after getting lost, where Victor teased Pride about knowing only one road near his home.

• Jason arrived at Pride’s house, complained about studying and living in Britain, and tried a sour candy before eating pumpkin pie.
• Pride told Jason about four child abductions and suggested he ask Barry about a job; Jason accepted after Brainiac sent him a salary report.
• Paul thanked Pride for the cake, whispered something to him, and left with the other children carrying candy.
• Pride and Jason drove toward the manor, but road closures sent them off course, so Raven led them there on foot.
• Victor mocked Pride for getting lost and for knowing only one road around his home.

Harley hosted a dinner to demonstrate her food-processing plant’s ability to preserve freshly cooked meals, hoping to win Brainiac’s approval for production. Although the guests enjoyed the food, Pride, Greed, and Bruce criticized the idea of sending one style of finished dishes to everyone, and they arranged a Halloween dinner at Schiller’s house for the next night.

• Harley served preserved, piping-hot dishes and candies to Pride, Greed, Bruce, Pamela, Jason, Victor, and the other guests.
• Pride and Greed praised the food’s freshness but identified flaws in the cooking, while Harley revealed she had wagered Brainiac that the guests would approve of her designs.
• Greed and Pride argued that the dishes were not universally suitable, and Bruce suggested sending ingredients instead of finished meals so people could cook according to their own tastes.
• Harley mentioned that Brainiac’s navigation had warned her away from Schiller’s home, and Brainiac privately explained that outsiders were barred because of possible child kidnappers.
• Greed invited everyone to a Halloween dinner at Schiller’s house the following night, and the group agreed to attend.

Pamela approved the site for an American Chestnut Tree, and professionals transplanted it into Schiller’s yard. The tree attacked Greed after workers uncovered a radioactive device beneath it, revealing that it had been made dangerous to deter anyone from disturbing the site.

• Pamela inspected Schiller’s yard and confirmed its soil and water could support an American Chestnut Tree, while explaining the restrictions on cultivating and distributing its chestnuts.
• After the necessary approval came through, arborists and botanists used a crane to transplant the tree into Schiller’s yard.
• Workers uncovered a black box emitting radiation beneath the tree, while Greed was struck and nearly killed by a chestnut the tree hurled at him.
• Pamela stopped the tree and concluded that radiation from the device had fused with its soul and driven it mad.
• Greed realized the tree may have been planted to protect a hidden basement and prevent anyone from discovering or disturbing what was inside.