Chapter Summaries

Bruce Wayne escaped Hush’s coffin with help from Li Jie’s officers, while Kara tried to stop a mind-controlled Wonder Woman. Bruce learned that members of the Justice League were under attack and realized he was responsible.

• Bruce struggled to break out of his coffin as Hush’s recording taunted him, then heard explosions and rescuers digging nearby.
• Kara attacked Wonder Woman to stop her, knocking her high into the sky while Poison Ivy and Harleen watched from the docks.
• Li Jie and the officers freed Bruce from the coffin and showed him the giant accomplice they had killed near the grave.
• Bruce learned that Clark had been shot and Wonder Woman had gone berserk, then said the Justice League was under attack by him.

Li Jie learned that Dick had confronted the Batman impostor instead of attacking him by surprise, while Wonder Woman recovered from a toxin-induced rampage and learned she had injured at least thirty people. Nygma removed the Kryptonite bullet from Superman as Starfire held him still, and the watching city celebrated that he was alive.

• Li Jie told Dick that he should have struck the Batman impostor from behind and agreed to let the real Batman’s unpaid debt slide.
• Wonder Woman woke beside Harleen, learned that Cheetah’s neurotoxin had made her fight hallucinations, and discovered she had caused at least thirty casualties.
• Wonder Woman asked about the injured Justice League members, and Kara said she did not know where most of them were.
• Starfire brought Nygma to Superman, and Nygma prepared to remove the Kryptonite bullet while Starfire held Superman’s shoulders.
• Nygma extracted the bullet, and the gathered crowd cheered when they realized Superman was alive.

Vandal Savage hired Deathstroke to eliminate the East End sheriff, but Deathstroke instead confronted Li Jie and offered to spare him for ten million dollars. Li Jie refused to pay and shot Deathstroke, who returned fire before an unknown power trapped him in a vision of the Great Wall of China.

• Vandal Savage learned that Gotham police had rescued Batman and identified the East End sheriff as a threat to the plan.
• Savage hired Deathstroke to kill the sheriff before Batman could regain his footing.
• Li Jie stopped at a Chinese restaurant and met Deathstroke, who revealed a five-million-dollar contract on his life and offered to cancel it for ten million.
• Li Jie pretended to agree, then drew his gun and shot Deathstroke, who shot Li Jie twice in return.
• Deathstroke froze before he could fire again as strange music transformed his surroundings into a vision of the Great Wall of China.

Li Jie unleashed a mysterious golden pillar of light from his plate of beef stew while Deathstroke was immobilized, and Gotham mistook the spectacle for a nuclear threat. Winslow Schott activated his evacuation robot, but the light faded before he could finish the broadcast.

• Li Jie and Deathstroke were shot, then became immobilized by a strange vision of the Great Wall as Li Jie reached toward his stew.
• Li Jie lifted an unseen lid over the beef stew, and the dish erupted into a pillar of golden light that pierced the restaurant roof and dazzled Deathstroke.
• Li Jie heard himself declare that cooking made people feel happiness, and the golden pillar surged higher before thinning and vanishing.
• Winslow Schott's warning system identified the light above Gotham as a possible precursor to a nuclear detonation, so he activated his robot's evacuation protocol.
• Winslow stopped the evacuation broadcast after realizing the light had disappeared, then blamed the robot as it displayed a dismissive message.

Deathstroke fled after an unexplained flash blinded everyone in the restaurant, while the Justice League regrouped after surviving a series of attacks and Batman prepared to pursue their attackers in Louisiana. Li Jie returned to the Police Department, spoke with Nygma and Kara, and ended the evening deciding to get fries at the docks.

• Deathstroke retreated after realizing the strange flash had affected everyone, and Li Jie found Old Zhou conscious but confused about what had happened.
• Wonder Woman pulled Martian Manhunter from the river, and he recovered with help from Batman's neutralizing agent.
• Superman returned after Kara took him into the sun, and Batman told the group their attackers were in Louisiana before summoning a stealth aircraft.
• Li Jie called Nygma, who deduced that Deathstroke had attacked him, then called Kara and learned she was at a celebration ahead of her statue unveiling.
• Li Jie sat alone in his office, wondered about Nygma, Kara, and Deathstroke, and decided to go to the docks for french fries.

Li Jie learned that Vandal Savage was behind the attack on the Justice League and recruited Dick for an operation against him, while Batman revealed that his stolen contingency plans had been used against the League. Dick and his team prepared to travel to Loisiana aboard Winslow’s new Robin Airship, leaving Li Jie behind as they set out to help the Justice League.

• A masked caller told Li Jie that Vandal Savage had hired Deathstroke and was based in the swamps of Loisiana, and Li Jie focused on the prospect of Savage’s wealth.
• Deathstroke decided to let Li Jie and Savage wear each other down rather than kill Savage himself.
• Li Jie gave Dick a map to Savage’s base and recruited him for a major operation, tempting him with the prospect of Savage’s fortune.
• On the flight to Loisiana, Batman admitted he had created contingency plans against every Justice League member and that the plans had been stolen and used against them.
• Winslow showed Li Jie and Dick the Robin Airship, and Dick agreed to lead a team to Loisiana while Li Jie stayed behind.
• Dick assigned Jason to return with Li Jie, but Jason tried to board the airship and was stopped when Dick asked whether he had finished his homework.

Li Jie joined the battle in the Hall of Doom as the heroes fought Vandal Savage’s forces and Savage prepared to destroy half of Earth with a solar flare. After accepting Batman’s offer of half Savage’s assets, Li Jie shot Savage, only to discover that Savage could heal from his wounds and could not be killed; the chapter ended with Savage attacking him at close range.

• Cliff Steele, Dick Grayson, and Li Jie burst into the Hall of Doom, and Li Jie sent Cliff to help Superman while he and Dick moved to confront their own opponents.
• Cliff ignored Metallo Coben’s electromagnetic pulse and smashed his armor until the Kryptonite Heart went dark, freeing Superman from its effects.
• Vandal Savage offered Li Jie two hundred million dollars, but Batman offered him half of Savage’s assets, and Li Jie chose to shoot Savage.
• Savage survived the gunfire and healed his wounds, then attacked Li Jie with a double-ended blade.
• Li Jie abandoned his damaged rifle, drew his M1911, and taunted Savage as the fight continued.

Li Jie and Harleen helped stop Vandal Savage and left the aftermath to the Justice League. Superman brought Li Jie to a meeting in Star City about Batman’s secret countermeasures, where Batman arrived and opened the discussion.

• Li Jie and Harleen knocked out Vandal Savage after the Justice League subdued the other threats.
• Superman told Li Jie that the Justice League planned to discuss Batman’s countermeasures and the trust between them.
• Li Jie encouraged Superman to attend the meeting and traveled with him to Star City.
• Oliver Queen welcomed Li Jie and complained that Batman’s plan for dealing with him was only to grab one of his arms.
• Li Jie joined the assembled heroes at Oliver’s manor, and Batman arrived and began the meeting.

Batman stayed in the Justice League after its members voted, while Li Jie argued that Gotham and its people should shape the city’s future. The story ended with Alfred bringing Damian home to Wayne Manor.

• Superman announced Vandal Savage’s sentence, and the Justice League debated whether Batman should remain a member.
• Batman defended his contingency plans and declared that he was leaving the League, but Li Jie argued that the League needed his strategic abilities.
• The Justice League voted seven to one to retain Batman, and Li Jie later discussed Gotham, loneliness, and Batman’s future with him on a rooftop.
• Li Jie showed Harleen the underground police training base and offered it as a base for her proposed Women’s Justice League.
• Alfred returned to Wayne Manor with Damian, prepared the nursery, and laid the child in his crib.