Chapter Summaries

Bruce, Deadshot, and Victor investigated the mental control affecting Arkham Asylum when news broke that Washington had been devastated by dark-blue lightning. Bruce organized emergency preparations in Gotham and directed people to seek shelter near Downton Abbey.

• Bruce and Deadshot observed Harley Quinn behaving strangely and discussed possible causes of the apparent mental control at Arkham Asylum.
• Bruce warned Deadshot against blaming the Mad Hatter without evidence and worried that supernatural forces might be involved.
• Victor’s phone broadcast reports that Washington had fallen and the Vice President was dead, prompting Bruce to check a satellite feed of the wrecked White House.
• Bruce confirmed that the Pentagon was still safe and told Deadshot to investigate the disaster while Victor mobilized the Wraith Party and planned evacuations.
• Bruce told Victor to direct people toward Downton Abbey and called Lucius, who was already sending company employees to an underground base.

Downton’s family celebrated Zatanna’s arrival, but their gathering was interrupted by news that Washington had been devastated by a supernatural attack. Zatanna identified the magic behind it, and the group began considering who was responsible as Bruce and Alfred arranged shelters in Gotham.

• Downton welcomed Zatanna as the family’s magic consultant, while Zatanna said she had not agreed to join them.
• Lex asked Zatanna whether magic was humanity’s own power, and she admitted she did not know whether using it had a price.
• Bruce warned Lucius to move Wayne Enterprises employees and nearby civilians into underground shelters, then asked Alfred to contact City Hall about an evacuation notice.
• Alfred received Bruce’s urgent call about the Washington disaster and left to coordinate a Gotham emergency shelter plan.
• Pierce showed the group satellite footage of Washington’s destruction, and Zatanna identified a mixture of witchcraft and divine power.
• Lex asked Downton whether he knew any South African gods, and Downton said powerful ones would know to stay out of his way.

Downton and his family reacted to the disaster in Washington as Lex and Bruce prepared to intervene, while Downton stayed behind to protect the estate. He reassured Zatanna that he would help her father when the danger came, and Selina pulled Rachel into an unwanted flirtation.

• Downton let Luthor Enterprises’ employees take refuge near his estate, while Lex prepared to finish the combat suits with Bruce and go to Washington if no one else acted.
• Zatanna volunteered to help, and Downton told her to flee and bring the family with her if the danger became too great.
• Bruce and Floyd arrived; Bruce went with Lex to work on the Supernatural Batman Armor, while Floyd went to see his daughter.
• Downton promised Zatanna that he would help her father when the people plotting against them revealed themselves.
• Selina kissed Rachel when Rachel tried to ask whether Selina was jealous, then invited her to her room.

Floyd prepared to join Bruce and Lex in confronting the threat in Washington, while the two scientists finished building their flight-capable armor. The chapter ended with two unfinished tungsten-steel suits ready for their upcoming battle.

• Selina led Rachel to her room, reassuring her that Tang would handle the crisis in Washington.
• Floyd checked on his sleeping daughter, armed himself, and went to Bruce and Lex's laboratory.
• Floyd told Bruce and Lex he would join them because he feared the threat might reach Gotham and wanted to protect his daughter.
• Bruce and Lex argued over whether their new suits should be called Batman armor or Apocalypse Armor while testing their equipment.
• Bruce, Lex, and Floyd completed two flight-capable suits based on Stark's Mark 6 design.

Lex, Bruce, and Floyd finished painting their powered armor as Victor prepared to join the mission to Washington. Clark Kent stopped Victor at the manor and asked to go with him, saying he could help.

• Floyd painted the armor and asked Bruce and Lex for a suit, while Bruce promised he would get one if Floyd survived.
• Bruce and Lex finished their customized armor, and Lex summoned his aircraft from beneath the ground.
• Victor left the Wraith Party at the manor, while Oswald discussed splitting the mission’s future profits and joining forces against Fish.
• Clark Kent stopped Victor and introduced himself, then asked to accompany him to Washington.

Martha encouraged Clark to leave the farm and embrace his extraordinary potential, despite her fears for his safety. Their conversation was interrupted when their neighbors warned that aliens had invaded Washington and urged them to flee to Downton Abbey in Gotham.

• Martha told Clark how she and Jonathan had prayed for a child before adopting him, then explained that she could see his restless desire to enter the wider world.
• Martha urged Clark to leave Smallville and promised he could always return home, while Clark admitted he envied powerful heroes and feared Downton.
• Clark and Martha noticed the neighboring farm’s lights and went outside when old George’s family drove up in a pickup.
• Old George’s family said aliens had invaded Washington, the vice president was dead, and Alexander Luthor had directed LexCorp employees to seek refuge near Downton Abbey.
• Old George’s family warned Clark and Martha that Downton Abbey was Wraith’s territory and urged them to leave before it filled up.

After the crisis in Washington, Clark decided to take Martha to Gotham, believing Downton Abbey could protect her. He revealed that he intended to help Wraith’s people fight the aliens and hoped his help would secure his mother’s future safety.

• Old George urged his family to flee to Gotham, arguing that Wraith’s territory was the safest place to be.
• Clark told Martha to pack for Gotham because he believed Downton could protect her better than he could.
• Martha objected to Clark getting involved with Wraith and demanded he promise to stay away from him.
• Clark explained that Wraith already knew his identity and family details, making it impossible for them to hide from him.
• Clark told Martha that Downton Abbey’s people, including Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor, were preparing to fight in Washington, and he planned to help them in exchange for Wraith’s future protection of her.

At Downton Abbey, Clark Kent insisted on joining Victor and the others on their dangerous mission to Washington, where the gods had killed or controlled hundreds of thousands. The group recognized Clark as Tang’s friend and benefactor, and Luthor’s unusual interest in him left Clark uneasy as they prepared to depart.

• Victor challenged Clark’s fitness for the mission, but Clark stayed calm and said he was strong and willing to risk himself to protect others.
• After Clark mentioned Smallville, Victor recognized him as a friend of Tang and brought Clark and Martha into the manor.
• Floyd introduced himself to Clark, arranged for maids to care for Martha, and learned that Clark intended to go to Washington.
• Two mech suits arrived, and Selina joined the mission alongside Zatanna and the others.
• Bruce announced the urgency of the mission and recognized Clark as the Smallville farmer who had helped Tang.
• Luthor said he had thoroughly investigated Clark’s family and gave Clark a look that made him feel something about Luthor was different.

Luthor’s group boarded the plane bound for Washington, where they prepared to face the invading force and its destructive tower. Clark introduced himself and downplayed his abilities, while Zatanna began to share what she knew about the invaders.

• Luthor told the group to wait until they were aboard before talking, and everyone entered the plane as Martha watched Clark go.
• Pierce announced the flight plan and invited the group to use the cabin’s dining, bathing, and equipment areas.
• Selina introduced herself as a thief, and Luthor asked Clark to explain his abilities and prove he was not a threat.
• Clark described his strength, speed, and painful red lasers, while Victor introduced himself as a professional killer and Bruce assigned Victor, Floyd, and Selina to provide support.
• Bruce showed the group a tower devouring Washington and warned them to avoid its lightning, then Zatanna said she might know something about the invaders.

Zatanna gave the group antimagic marks to protect them from the Washington spell’s magical effects, and Clark volunteered to draw the lightning and the invaders’ attention. Bruce grew suspicious after Clark revealed he could see and hear Gotham from Smallville, and the chapter ended with Clark struggling to explain himself while Zatanna prepared to defend herself.

• Zatanna explained that the divine spell gathered and transferred power, then gave everyone antimagic marks to blunt its magical effects.
• Clark volunteered to act as the main attacker and shield the others from lightning, believing he could withstand blows as strong as Downton’s.
• Bruce questioned how Clark knew about Downton’s attack on the Court of Owls and accused him of being connected to a secret organization.
• Clark admitted he had powerful sight and hearing that let him observe Gotham from Smallville, but insisted he wanted to protect civilians.
• Bruce rejected Clark’s explanation and continued to suspect him, while Zatanna grew alarmed and Selina grabbed her wrist as she tried to cast protective spells.

As Bruce, Clark, and Lex traveled toward Washington to stop the threat before a nuclear strike, Danzamo and her brother prepared to seek an audience with humanity’s lord. They appeared at Downton’s bedside, mistook his butler Alfred for his envoy, and offered him a fawning greeting.

• Selina reconciled Bruce and Clark, and Lex gathered the group to plan their mission to Washington over food and drinks.
• Danzamo and her brother recovered most of their strength, sealed their spire, and prepared a gift made from three hundred thousand souls to win an audience with humanity’s lord.
• Danzamo and her brother vanished from Washington, leaving behind the spire and soulless walking corpses.
• An old man outside Downton Abbey boasted that he had helped Wraith and led a growing crowd in calling him the King of Gotham.
• Danzamo and her brother appeared in Downton’s bedroom and mistook the sleeping Downton for a being traveling through dimensional rifts in spirit.
• Alfred rushed in with a shotgun, and Danzamo and her brother mistook him for the lord’s envoy.

Alfred housed a witch and her brother while Downton slept, as Lex’s team approached Washington’s spire to confront the threat behind the walking corpses. The team reached the city and began fighting through its dangers, but chaotic lightning still blocked the flyers’ path.

• The witch persuaded Alfred to let her and her brother rest in Downton’s castle, and her brother shrank to human size.
• Pierce stopped Lex’s aircraft outside Washington’s dangerous clouds and offered support with its weapons.
• Bruce assigned the team roles for reaching the spire, and Selina urged everyone to move out on Downton’s behalf.
• Clark landed near a park, cleared walking corpses, and guided Floyd, Victor, and Selina down safely.
• Floyd and Victor fought off corpses as the group headed toward the city center, while Bruce and Zatanna struggled against the spire’s lightning.
• Zatanna revealed that the walking corpses’ souls were gone, and Lex’s missiles cleared debris before she crashed into a building.

The team reached the enchanted spire in Washington, where Zatanna discovered its spell carried divine power and would take at least an hour to dismantle. As they prepared for the prolonged defense Bruce had predicted, winged attackers struck from the sky.

• Lex bombed northern Washington to draw walkers away while the team fought through the city toward the spire.
• Bruce and Zatanna landed at the spire, and Bruce’s missiles cleared walkers from its base as Zatanna examined the tower.
• Zatanna determined the spire’s spell had finished transmitting energy and would take at least an hour to undo.
• Bruce warned that the tower’s controllers were likely nearby and that the team would face an ambush while Zatanna worked.
• A winged man attacked Bruce with a lightning-wreathed sword, while a winged woman attacked another teammate.

After finding no useful records in Amazon archives, Diana hosted Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Doctor Fate, but they returned to the Tower of Fate when news came that Washington had fallen. They confronted Wraith’s forces in the devastated city, where Doctor Fate and Hawkman launched attacks and Bruce was ambushed.

• Diana, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Doctor Fate searched Amazon records for eight hours without finding anything, then shared a meal and discussed Wraith and Superman’s death.
• Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Doctor Fate left for the Tower of Fate, promising Diana they would return to continue searching the records.
• The three learned that Washington had fallen, and Hawkman blamed Wraith or his underlings before they rushed to the city.
• Hawkman and Hawkgirl attacked two armored figures as Doctor Fate began casting magic, while Zatanna struggled against someone trying to seize control of the spell spire.
• Hawkman struck Bruce with his shield and golden whip, then kicked him into the ruins, while Victor spotted the glow above the spire.

Bruce, Lex, Clark, and their allies fought the enemies who had taken control of the spell spire, including an evil Doctor Fate and armored flyers. The battle left Zatanna unable to hold the spire, while Lex discovered the lightning could power his armor’s lasers; Downton had not yet arrived.

• Bruce fought Hawkman and found that ordinary attacks could not pierce the enemy’s armor, though electromagnetic weapons briefly slowed him.
• Zatanna lost control of the spell spire to Doctor Fate and broke down as she struggled against her mental invasion.
• Clark charged Doctor Fate, destroyed a Fate crystal, and was blasted back by the spire’s lightning.
• Floyd changed plans and stayed behind to establish a sniper position while Victor and Selina advanced toward the third plan’s target.
• Hawkgirl knocked Clark away with her transforming spear, giving Lex time to fire a powerful laser that drove her back.
• Lex told Bruce that lightning could charge their armor and let them fire far more high-energy lasers than expected.

Bruce, Lex, Clark, Zatanna, Floyd, Victor, and Selina fought the witch siblings and their forces around the Washington spire while Downton slept. After Alfred told Downton the battle had dragged on all night, Downton found the witch siblings having breakfast in his house and wondered why his team had been fighting them.

• Bruce and Lex coordinated laser attacks on Hawkman while Clark harassed Doctor Fate, giving Zatanna openings to weaken his control of the spire.
• Floyd set up a sniper cannon and helped Bruce and Lex knock Hawkgirl out of the air with an armor-piercing round and an electrode device.
• Victor and Selina joined Zatanna beneath the spire to protect her from the walking corpses as she tried to control it.
• The fight continued through the night, and Alfred told Downton the witch siblings kept interrupting Zatanna's attempts to shut down the spire.
• Downton went to breakfast and found the witch siblings there, bowing to him, and questioned Alfred about why his team had fought them all night.

Downton learned that the witch siblings wanted land in exchange for a divine power essence, but he refused the essence and granted them Israel as their territory. After he flew to Washington, Alfred realized the siblings had been behind the previous night’s massacre and wondered who Bruce and the others had fought.

• The witch offered Downton a divine power essence made from nearly three hundred thousand souls and asked him to grant the siblings territory and believers.
• Downton returned the essence, saying he would not use divine power or souls to grow stronger, and asked the siblings to find their territory on a globe.
• Downton pointed to Israel, and the witch celebrated the grant while her younger brother thanked him.
• Downton left for Washington, telling the siblings to welcome him when he visited.
• The witch admitted to Alfred that she and her brother had harvested souls in Washington to regain their strength, and Alfred wondered who Bruce and the others had fought.

The Wraiths endured an exhausting stalemate beneath the Arcane Spire until Downton arrived and swiftly defeated Doctor Fate, Hawkman, and Hawkgirl. With the enemies dead and Nabu’s helmet in Downton’s hands, the battered team was left to face what came next.

• Clark protected the injured Wraiths while Zatanna and Doctor Fate fought for control of the Arcane Spire, and the battle continued through the night.
• Clark heard Downton approaching and warned the others as Zatanna struggled to maintain her magic.
• Downton seized Doctor Fate from the sky, killed him, and took Nabu’s helmet.
• Downton charged Hawkman and killed him by forcing Nabu’s helmet into his mouth.
• Bruce knocked Hawkgirl away, but Downton caught her and killed her by twisting her neck.

After defeating Hawkgirl and the other enemies, Downton left the cleanup and recovery efforts to his allies while taking Selina home. Clark challenged Downton over his brutal methods, but Downton refused to claim moral superiority and departed, leaving Bruce and Lex with Nabu’s helmet.

• Downton showed Selina Hawkgirl’s body before it turned to ash, then reunited with her as Bruce arrived in damaged armor.
• Downton asked the group to save the badly injured Victor, and Lex arranged medical care while Zatanna continued destroying the spire that empowered Washington’s walking corpses.
• Bruce blamed Nabu’s helmet and Downton for the devastation, but Downton laughed at his accusation; Bruce then set Victor’s broken ribs, waking him in pain.
• Clark asked whether Downton knew about his special abilities, and Downton confirmed that he had known since seeing Clark rush from the farm to the kitchen.
• Downton handed Nabu’s helmet to Bruce, announced that he was taking Selina home and would travel before the victory party, then vanished with her in flames.
• Clark condemned Downton’s extreme violence and asked what made him different from his victims, but Downton said he had never claimed to be different and challenged Clark to stop or kill him.

The team ended the Washington disaster, then learned Downton’s visitors had caused it because they considered Earth his territory and had mistaken the heroes for the tower’s controllers. As another tower rose in Israel, Wonder Woman arrived at the manor and attacked Lex while demanding to know Downton’s location.

• Zatanna dissolved the spell tower, causing the walking corpses in Washington to collapse, and the team left the city aboard Pierce’s plane.
• Alfred told the team that the culprits had visited Downton’s bedside and admitted causing the disaster because they believed Earth belonged to him.
• Clark and the others realized they might have fought heroes who misunderstood them, while Bruce and Lex struggled with guilt over their failed plans.
• Bruce showed the team a new tower rising in Israel, and Clark feared the culprits had begun another disaster.
• Wonder Woman arrived at the manor and attacked Lex while demanding to know where Downton was, but Clark blocked her sword.