Chapter Summaries

Peacemaker led X-Force into Atlantis after following repeated prophetic dreams and forced the submarine crew to obey him. The team reached the Ring of Fire, where Atlantean soldiers approached their unauthorized submarines.

• Dane gave Peacemaker recurring dreams that revealed the route to Atlantis, and Peacemaker killed the captain when he refused to enter the Bermuda Triangle.
• After navigation and communications failed, Peacemaker used his dream’s perspective to guide the submarine through the waters toward Atlantis.
• Peacemaker equipped X-Force with underwater suits and assigned the members to camouflaged probes before they entered the city.
• X-Force marveled at Atlantis and learned from a public announcement that its citizens were gathering at the Ring of Fire to see their king.
• Peacemaker directed the three submarines to hover above the Ring of Fire, violating the venue’s rules, and Atlantean soldiers approached in manta ray-shaped submersibles.

Peacemaker revealed that X-Force had deployed a genetic weapon against Atlantis, and the escaping squad was pursued by Manta submarines. The squad was wiped out or scattered, while Peacemaker escaped and Nanawi continued fighting until Arthur arrived and ordered the Atlanteans to retreat.

• Peacemaker’s torpedo released a genetic weapon into the Ring of Fire, causing Atlanteans to cough as they inhaled it.
• Peacemaker confessed the weapon was designed to wipe out all Atlanteans, then ordered Dot-Man to use his ability against their pursuers.
• Dot-Man’s polka dots destroyed several Manta submarines, but Atlantean soldiers killed him after he was cornered.
• Mongal was stunned by a water cannon, Peacemaker abandoned Blackguard, and Nanawi tore through Atlantean fighters while Blackguard’s bullets failed to pierce their armor.
• The Atlanteans killed Blackguard, Peacemaker escaped the city, and Arthur struck Nanawi with his Golden Trident before ordering everyone to fall back.

Arthur defeated Nanawi and recovered the genetic weapon, while an impostor Peacemaker returned to A.R.G.U.S. and reported the mission to Amanda Waller. Atlanna grew suspicious that Nereus and possibly all of Xebel were preparing for war, especially after learning that Orm had been in frequent contact with him.

• Arthur killed Nanawi by trapping him in an air bubble and crushing him beneath the seawater, then ordered Mongal captured.
• Dane collected the genetic weapon from the dream and advised Arthur to keep it as evidence against the United States.
• An alien creature disguised as Peacemaker killed the submarine crew and returned to A.R.G.U.S., where it told Amanda Waller that Nanawi was probably dead.
• Amanda called General Ryan to confirm the mission was complete and acknowledged that Nanawi had been left without survivors.
• Atlanna questioned Mera about Nereus’s recent contacts and learned that he had often spoken with Orm.
• Atlanna connected Xebel’s secret military buildup and Nereus’s changed attitude to possible ambitions shared by the kingdom, and worried that revealing Orm’s capture could affect their plans.

Mera escaped Xebel to warn Arthur that Nereus had confined Atlanna, and Vico deduced that Nereus was using her to enforce an alliance with Orm. Arthur responded to Xebel’s envoy by killing him and ordering Atlantis’s troops to prepare for war, while Vico tried to dissuade him.

• Mera warned Xebel’s soldiers to treat Atlanna carefully, then slipped out of Xebel and reached Atlantis with Dane’s help.
• Mera told Dane and Arthur that Nereus had placed Atlanna under house arrest, and Vico guessed that Nereus was using her as leverage to uphold an alliance with Orm.
• Nereus admitted to Atlanna that he had agreed with Orm to form an offensive and defensive alliance and refused to release her unless Atlantis honored it.
• Arthur killed the Xebel envoy who delivered Nereus’s threat and ordered Atlantis’s troops to assemble for war.
• Vico furiously challenged Arthur’s decision, but Arthur insisted that Nereus deserved retaliation for taking Atlanna hostage.

Arthur declared war on Nereus after Nereus’s envoy used Atlanna’s safety to pressure him, while Dane planned to use the Dreamstone to keep casualties down. In the dream battle, Nereus insulted Arthur’s mixed heritage, prompting Arthur to order the Atlantean army to attack as Mera watched, unaware that the war was only a dream.

• Mera offered to become a hostage, but Arthur refused to use her as a bargaining chip; Dane suggested punishing Xebel through the Dreamstone.
• Arthur assembled an Atlantean army and marched toward Xebel, where Dane’s Dreamstone enveloped the kingdom in a dream.
• Arthur and Nereus met on the battlefield, and Nereus offered peace if Arthur honored the alliance Orm had made with Xebel.
• Nereus proposed that Atlantis and Xebel join Orm’s plan to attack the surface, but Arthur rejected the scheme.
• Nereus called Arthur a bastard and unfit to rule, so Arthur struck at him before holding back and letting him return to his army.
• Arthur ordered Atlantis to attack, Nereus commanded Xebel to return fire, and Mera watched the battle in distress.

Arthur defeated Nereus and forced Xebel to surrender, after which Dane used the Dreamstone to revive the battlefield’s dead and restore the wounded. As Dane and Nereus left to talk, Batman infiltrated a LexCorp laboratory in Metropolis.

• Arthur charged into Xebel’s forces, turning the battle in Atlantis’s favor and drawing Nereus into a duel.
• Arthur summoned Karathen and threatened to use the beast unless Nereus ended the war, so Nereus surrendered.
• Dane used the Dreamstone to restore the battlefield’s dead and wounded, convincing Nereus that he had witnessed a miracle.
• Mera understood Dane’s earlier reassurance, and Nereus agreed to speak with Dane somewhere quiet.
• Batman infiltrated a LexCorp laboratory in Metropolis wearing the Eternal-Nth Metal suit.

Batman investigated an alien infiltration operation in Metropolis, but the transformed attackers self-destructed before he could preserve evidence. Meanwhile, Harley persuaded Poison Ivy to head to Metropolis, where a new crisis was unfolding.

• Batman traced the genetic weapon to an unknown element and infiltrated a laboratory, where he caught three researchers transmitting a signal into space.
• The researchers transformed into four-armed monsters, but Batman defeated them with his enhanced suit before their bodies burst into flames and ash.
• Superman arrived, and Batman explained that his suit had still identified the transformed aliens as human, raising the possibility that they could possess human bodies or evade detection.
• Harley complained that Gotham had become boring and persuaded Poison Ivy to visit Metropolis because she had heard fighting was happening there.
• The chapter described how Gotham’s crime rate had fallen after major gang leaders were arrested, leaving the Birds of Prey with fewer cases and the gangs wary of Harley, Poison Ivy, and Huntress.

Poison Ivy, Harley, and Black Canary arrived at the apartment where Batgirl and Huntress were fighting over Huntress killing Doomsday Cult members and Batgirl’s no-kill rule. Their argument escalated into a brawl and left the Birds of Prey facing a possible split.

• Poison Ivy and Harley went to the apartment after Black Canary told them Huntress and Batgirl were arguing over the cultists she had killed.
• Huntress fought Batgirl with a reckless attack and irritant gas, then the two wrestled and traded blows until Poison Ivy and Black Canary separated them.
• Huntress argued that heroes should kill dangerous criminals, while Batgirl defended restraint and accused Huntress of abandoning their principles.
• Huntress said Batman no longer hesitated to kill, provoking Barbara, who angrily grabbed her by the collar.
• Harley suggested the Birds of Prey split up, and Barbara agreed that Huntress could do as she pleased.

Harley arranged for herself and Poison Ivy to join Huntress while Black Canary teamed up with Batgirl, then Harley planned a trip to Metropolis. Meanwhile, Amanda assembled a new Suicide Squad to investigate Atlantis, but the recruits protested when they learned their destination.

• Harley separated the feuding Birds of Prey by pairing herself and Poison Ivy with Huntress and assigning Black Canary to Batgirl.
• Pentagon officials learned Batman had uncovered their Metropolis laboratory and ordered A.R.G.U.S. to check on the genetic weapon in Atlantis.
• Amanda tasked Harcourt with forming a new team around Peacemaker to investigate the undersea operation.
• Harcourt recruited The Sage, Katana, Killer Frost, and Vixen for the mission.
• When Harcourt announced that the squad would travel to Atlantis, Killer Frost and Vixen protested, while Katana stayed calm.

Harcourt persuaded the new Suicide Squad to infiltrate Atlantis, while Dane and Arthur arrived in Xebel and reunited with Atlanna after Arthur’s bloodless victory. Peacemaker’s team reached an eerie, apparently abandoned Atlantis, where Vixen discovered a dead Atlantean inside a submersible.

• Harcourt claimed A.R.G.U.S. knew Atlantis’s location, explained the infiltration mission, and sent the newly equipped Suicide Squad toward the Bermuda Waters.
• Nereus brought Dane and the others to Atlanna, and Arthur proudly told her he had forced Xebel to surrender.
• Atlanna scolded Arthur for starting a war, and Arthur explained that Shazam’s power had kept anyone from dying.
• Dane sensed unfamiliar people entering the Dreamscape and activated the Dreamstone as Peacemaker’s team approached Atlantis.
• Peacemaker sent Vixen ahead to scout, and she found a dead person inside an abandoned submersible.

Peacemaker tested a genetic weapon in Atlantis, then attacked the X-Force members when The Sage recognized the danger. Killer Frost and Katana struggled against Peacemaker and the transformed marine creatures, and the chapter left them trying to escape and regroup.

• Vixen died from the genetic weapon, and Peacemaker confirmed that it could kill metahumans before leading the team to her body.
• The Sage recognized the mass deaths as an extraordinarily fast-acting infection and urged Peacemaker to leave, but Peacemaker stabbed and killed him.
• Peacemaker attacked Katana and Killer Frost, stole Vixen's Tantu Totem, and escaped after an underwater mine blast scattered them.
• Marine creatures attacked Katana and Killer Frost as they pursued Peacemaker; Katana learned their secret through Soul Reaver, while Killer Frost was ambushed by a transforming orca.
• Killer Frost called Katana to retreat, and Katana regained her senses and began telling her what she had discovered.

Dane seized the Parasites and Peacemaker’s soul from the underwater battlefield, leaving Killer Frost and Katana to escape and find their submarine empty. A mysterious figure appeared in the control room and rewound time, and Katana decided they should face him again.

• Killer Frost froze Peacemaker’s torpedo tube, causing his submersible to explode, while the mutated creature attacked her and Katana.
• Dane grabbed the Parasites and the real Peacemaker from the battlefield, then captured the Parasites’ sea-beast companion as it tried to retreat.
• Killer Frost and Katana found their enemies gone, boarded Peacemaker’s submersible, and returned to the submarine.
• Killer Frost and Katana discovered the submarine was empty and could not operate its controls.
• A mysterious figure vanished from the control room and rewound time after Killer Frost and Katana attacked him.
• Katana urged Killer Frost to approach the figure again, reasoning that he could have killed them if he wanted to.

Katana and Killer Frost encountered Dane, who revealed himself as a guide of the dead and offered to return them to shore in exchange for Katana’s soul. After Katana accepted and gained a new name and a portion of his power, Dane teleported their submarine to Metropolis, where they awoke safely on the beach.

• Katana asked the cloaked man to help them leave the waters, and Dane demanded her soul as the price.
• Katana accepted the deal, surrendered her name, and received deathly power from Dane, who named her Katana.
• Dane sent Katana and Killer Frost into a deep sleep and teleported their submarine to the eastern coast near their starting point.
• Katana and Killer Frost woke aboard the submarine and realized they had escaped the Sea of Death.
• They climbed onto the beach and recognized Metropolis, where damage from the Atlantis invasion was still being repaired.

Huntress discovered Katana and Killer Frost beside a beached military submarine and fought them until Poison Ivy and Harley arrived. Katana escaped in a cloud of smoke, and Huntress, Poison Ivy, and Harley set off to catch up with her and learn what was happening.

• Huntress approached Katana and Killer Frost at the beach and attacked Killer Frost with a crossbow bolt.
• Huntress used close-combat tricks to knock Killer Frost down, but Killer Frost retaliated with ice beams.
• Harley struck Killer Frost with a hammer, while Katana fought Harley and Poison Ivy tried to ensnare Katana with vines.
• Katana escaped using smoke bombs, leaving Harley briefly trapped in Poison Ivy’s vines.
• Huntress, Poison Ivy, and Harley identified the beached vessel as a military submarine and decided to pursue Katana.

Poison Ivy and Huntress traced Katana and Killer Frost to discarded A.R.G.U.S. armor, then used Justice Hall’s computer to uncover footage of an alien threat in Atlantis. They learned Dane and Shazam were already near Atlantis, leaving them to wonder whether Dane was handling the danger.

• Harley, Poison Ivy, and Huntress followed Katana’s trail and found the Nth Metal Aquatic Suits she had discarded.
• Poison Ivy used a device Dane had given her to extract information from the armor and confirmed it belonged to A.R.G.U.S.
• Poison Ivy teleported the group to Justice Hall, where Cortana decrypted the armor’s recordings.
• Poison Ivy and Huntress watched footage revealing A.R.G.U.S.’s mission in Atlantis and a creature that transformed Peacemaker’s face into tentacles.
• The final recording showed a pair of golden eyes before it cut off, and Huntress urged the Justice League to intervene.
• Cortana reported that Shazam and Dane were near Atlantis, and Harley recognized the location from the footage.

Katana secretly met Harcourt in Metropolis after escaping with Killer Frost, suspecting that A.R.G.U.S. might be compromised. She confirmed Harcourt was genuine and revealed that the rest of the team were dead, then learned Harcourt knew nothing about Peacemaker hunting them.

• Poison Ivy worried that Dane might be in danger, while Harley dismissed the concern and Wonder Woman arrived at Justice Hall.
• Katana brought the unconscious Killer Frost to a safe location and contacted Harcourt, then arranged a secret meeting and destroyed her communicator.
• Harcourt discovered that the aquatic suits could not be tracked and that the team’s bombs were disconnected, but decided to meet Katana alone.
• Katana met Harcourt in a dark factory and cut her pistol in half before confirming she was genuine.
• Katana told Harcourt that Atlantis had become a dead city and that the others were dead, then asked why Peacemaker had hunted them.
• Harcourt was shocked and said A.R.G.U.S. had never ordered Peacemaker to attack Katana’s group.

Harcourt suspected an unknown force had infiltrated A.R.G.U.S. after Katana escaped and reported that impostors had replaced Peacemaker and his crew. In Atlantis, Dane exposed the Parasites’ nature and their plan to rebuild their species using Atlantean bodies, leaving their next move uncertain.

• Katana told Harcourt what she had discovered about the impostor Peacemaker and Atlantis, then escaped before Harcourt’s ambush squad arrived, leaving Killer Frost behind.
• Harcourt considered whether the Parasites had infiltrated A.R.G.U.S. and suspected Amanda or the mission’s planner might be involved, but she could not decide whom to trust.
• At the Pentagon, military officials discussed the missing reconnaissance team and considered advancing their plan, including a desperate protocol if their species faced extinction.
• Dane showed Nereus, Mera, and Arthur that the captured human bodies were occupied by Parasites, then explained how the creatures used genetic blueprints to imitate other life.
• Dane concluded that the Parasites had targeted Atlantis to use Atlantean bodies and magic to overcome their biological flaws, while Arthur pitied the people whose bodies they had taken.

Dane left Atlantis for Justice Hall with Mera, while Arthur stayed to coordinate with the other undersea kingdoms. Back at Justice Hall, Dane faced an awkward reunion with Harley and Diana, as Harcourt investigated Carter Hall and Katana tracked down the admiral behind Operation Vengeance.

• Dane said Atlantis was temporarily safe and prepared to return to Justice Hall with the remaining Parasites and the data Cortana had collected.
• Arthur agreed to stay in Atlantis and contact the other kingdoms, while Mera accepted Nereus's proposal to accompany Dane as an envoy for Xebel.
• Dane returned to Justice Hall with Mera, where Harley rushed into his arms as Diana watched with crossed arms.
• Harcourt searched Justice Society archives, traced Carter Hall's trips to a lonely white tower, and set out to investigate it.
• Katana infiltrated the Pentagon under Cortana's guidance and confronted the naval admiral suspected of initiating Operation Vengeance.
• The admiral fired at Katana, but she split the bullets with her blade and struck him as he tried to escape.

Katana exposed an alien infiltrator inside the military, and the resulting assassination scandal fueled a worldwide campaign against superhumans. Dane announced that the Justice League would withdraw from the United States to draw the alien force into the open, then faced questions about who would protect the cities they left behind.

• Katana escaped the transformed admiral and left him to deceive arriving guards, then secretly departed after witnessing the alien kill two of them.
• The Washington Daily reported the admiral's assassination, and governments and media used the incident to intensify criticism of superhumans and the Justice League.
• Dane announced that the Justice League would withdraw from the United States, while reassuring Diana that the group would only change where it met.
• Dane and Diana shared a private moment, and Diana asked him not to abandon or forget her as Zeus had done.
• The Justice League's withdrawal announcement caused a public backlash and drew an enthusiastic welcome from Greece, while Captain Trevor lamented the authorities' treatment of superheroes.
• At Justice Hall, Dane told Clark and Batman that he had followed the alien force's public-opinion campaign to draw it out, and Nightwing questioned what would happen to public order.

Dane explained how the Justice League would use the Dreamstone to contain damage while hunting the Parasites, who began a dark magic ritual after learning the League had left the United States. Harcourt sought Doctor Fate’s help, and Kent’s vision showed a battlefield filled with casualties and demons, including a giant demon he identified as Shabak.

• Dane told Batman and the Martian Manhunter that Cortana could spread the Dreamstone’s influence across the United States through mobile devices.
• The Parasites argued over their next move, then revealed that one of them had begun a dark magic ritual on Earth.
• Harcourt traveled to a secluded tower and met Kent Nelson, who told her the Justice League had planned for the Parasites and that Shazam’s plan would avert the dangers she feared.
• Harcourt persuaded Kent to use the Helmet of Nabu to foresee the casualties caused by the Justice League’s plan.
• Kent saw a battlefield strewn with human, alien, and Sea Tribe corpses as demons fought the heroes, and he recognized a towering demon as Shabak.