Chapter Summaries

Barry Allen sensed a new Speed Force user and rushed to Brad's Secret Base, where he mistook Brad's consensual research on Pietro for illegal experimentation. Brad stopped Barry's attempted rescue and forced him to stay, cooperate with research, and teach Pietro to use his power.

• Barry sensed a powerful new Speed Force user and ran from Central City to Gotham to find them.
• Barry entered Brad's Secret Base and carried Pietro off the examination table, believing Brad was an evil scientist experimenting on him.
• Pietro activated his speed and pursued Barry, while Brad appeared beside Barry and knocked him out of his high-speed vibration.
• Barry realized he had misunderstood the situation and apologized to Brad and Pietro.
• Brad accused Barry of trespassing and threatened to connect people around the world to the Speed Force unless Barry stayed to help research it and teach Pietro.
• Brad handed Barry a phone and told him to ask for leave from work as Barbara brought coffee.

Brad established Skynet, built a Universe Treadmill, and drew Barry and Hal into his growing network of superhero connections. At Skynet’s opening, Hal recognized Brad’s Yellow Lantern ring and attacked him, believing he had found the missing Yellow Lantern thief.

• Barry gave Brad the unfinished Universe Treadmill schematics in exchange for settling their dispute, and Brad had the plans copied and built a treadmill for Pietro.
• Brad arranged through Barbara and Wayne Enterprises to open a private research institute, completed its renovations, and named it Skynet.
• Bruce attended Skynet’s opening ceremony, while Barry brought friends from S.T.A.R. Labs and Hal Jordan to meet Brad.
• Hal secretly scanned Brad with his Green Lantern ring and concluded that Brad was an ordinary Earthling, confusing Barry.
• Brad showed Hal his Yellow Lantern ring, and Hal recognized it and charged at Brad, accusing him of being the Yellow Lantern thief.

Hal pursued Brad after Brad swapped his Green Lantern ring for a Yellow Lantern ring, but the Guardians of Oa intervened and ordered Hal to make peace with him. Brad then summoned hundreds of thousands of unclaimed Green Lantern rings, which invited him to join the Legion.

• Brad invisibly exchanged Hal's Green Lantern ring for a Yellow Lantern ring, then walked into the Skynet Research Institute with Hal's ring.
• Hal and Barry pursued Brad to the laboratory, where Brad returned Hal's Green Lantern ring and kept the Yellow Lantern ring as their trade.
• Hal demanded the Yellow Lantern ring back, but the Guardians of Oa contacted him and ordered him to stop pursuing Brad and set the matter aside.
• Brad told Hal and Barry that he was over a hundred thousand years old and led them outside to demonstrate his power over the green light of will.
• Brad called more than three hundred thousand unclaimed Green Lantern rings and other treasures of will toward Earth, and the rings invited him to join the Green Lantern Legion.

Brad publicized Skynet Research Institute’s supposed advanced products, drawing disbelief from Gotham and Lex Luthor. In Metropolis, Deadpool recognized Brad’s institute in a newspaper and convinced Luthor to arrange a business trip to Gotham.

• Brad told a Gotham reporter that Skynet Research Institute could manufacture advanced products and offered exclusive goods to select clients.
• Gotham readers dismissed the interview, and Lex Luthor scoffed at Brad’s claims in the newspaper.
• Deathstroke met with Luthor alongside Deadpool, whom he introduced as his cousin, and negotiated a theft job in Gotham.
• Deadpool behaved erratically in Luthor’s office, but Deathstroke insisted he was a highly dangerous mercenary and urged Luthor to pay him.
• Deadpool recognized the Skynet Research Institute article, praised Brad, and told Luthor the institute offered remarkable products.
• Luthor changed his schedule and arranged a business trip to Gotham.

Barbara visited the Skynet Research Institute and doubted Brad’s business strategy, but Brad expected a customer and welcomed Lex Luthor. After Luthor traded technologies with him, Brad gained new information about the universe and sharpened his perception without altering his ordinary human body.

• Barbara arrived at the institute, where Pietro explained that he cleaned by hand as a form of training.
• Brad told Barbara that he could obtain what he wanted from their world and predicted that his first customer would arrive soon.
• Lex Luthor navigated the institute’s maze-like corridors and met Brad, impressing him by describing the layout as a mathematical problem.
• Brad and Luthor discussed business for more than three hours, then Luthor left satisfied after trading several technologies.
• Brad examined Luthor’s Superpower-Deprivation Ray and concluded that it could temporarily separate people from their superpowers, even Barry Allen.
• Brad acquired more information density and began perceiving more of the universe despite remaining physically an ordinary human.

Brad told Batman that Lex Luthor had acquired a synthetic substitute for Lazarus Pit water, linking their deal to the League of Assassins. Doctor Manhattan then showed another universe where Lex and Deathstroke killed Superman and Batman eventually turned the League of Assassins into a global regime.

• Batman asked Brad what he had traded with Lex, and Brad revealed Lex’s hidden Superpower-Deprivation Ray technology and the projects he had traded in return.
• Batman recognized Brad’s cellular culture solution as an inferior substitute for Lazarus Pit water and left to investigate its connection to the League of Assassins.
• In another universe, Deathstroke killed Superman despite Lex Luthor’s objection, while the Justice League’s other heroes were also killed or defeated.
• Ra’s al Ghul provoked Batman into killing him, and Batman later built the League of Assassins into a global power backed by superpowered enforcers.
• At a League meeting years later, Batman demanded that Reverse-Flash find Barry Allen in the Speed Force, while Carl Luthor claimed he would kill Barry if he returned.

Brad upgraded the Universe Treadmill to harvest Speed Force energy, but his experiment brought an older Barry Allen from a parallel universe into the lab. The older Barry revealed that most of his Justice League had been killed, leaving the local Barry and Brad stunned by the unfamiliar name.

• Brad put Pietro on the upgraded Universe Treadmill, but the Speed Force forced Pietro to keep running and threatened to overload the energy storage device.
• Brad added more batteries, connected himself to the Speed Force, and ran fast enough to open a rift that sent an older Barry Allen crashing into the lab.
• Brad calmed the older Barry’s mind with a Magnetic Sensor, and the local Barry arrived to find his unconscious counterpart and identify Albert Swan’s reverse Speed Force energy.
• The older Barry explained that a group of villains had targeted the heroes, Albert had trapped him in the Speed Force, and the Justice League had lost more than ninety percent of its members.
• The older Barry wept as he named Clark, Hal, and Diana among the dead, while the local Barry and Brad wondered what the Justice League was.

Brad warned Barry that forming a superhero team could bring greater crises, but Barry rallied heroes to rescue the older Flash from another Earth. Batman joined the group despite his protests, and they captured Albert Swan when he crossed into their universe to kill the sleeping Flash.

• Brad explained to Barry that mysterious energy balanced good and evil, warned that a Justice League could invite greater threats, and asked how they would help the older Flash.
• Barry raced through four cities and summoned Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Green Arrow to Gotham City.
• Batman confronted the heroes for gathering in Gotham, revealed that he knew their civilian identities, and used his past fight with Brad to intimidate Green Lantern before taking his ring.
• Batman agreed to join the group, and Brad told Barry that the gathering of good would cause the scales to tip and evil to follow.
• Albert Swan emerged through a Portal and tried to stab the sleeping older Flash with his High-Frequency Hand Blade, but the heroes overwhelmed and captured him.

Barry learned that Ra's al Ghul and Lex Luthor had helped destroy his world’s Justice League, and Brad opened a portal so the heroes could confront the League of Assassins. The group arrived in a ruined city ruled for Ares’s amusement and learned that Grodd was his representative, while Brad revealed he could control all electronic devices.

• Barry punched Reverse-Flash and demanded to know what had happened to his world, then asked who had directed him.
• Brad revealed that Ra's al Ghul and Lex Luthor had orchestrated the Justice League’s destruction and that Ra's had turned Batman into the leader of the New League of Assassins.
• Brad opened a portal to the other universe, and the heroes crossed through with him after he introduced himself as the War Horseman.
• Flash confronted Albert in a ruined city, and Albert explained that Ra's al Ghul had borrowed Ares’s power and that Batman had reclaimed most of the territory promised to the god.
• Wonder Woman identified Ares’s lingering power, and Brad revealed that Grodd, a mind-controlling gorilla, served as the God of War’s representative.
• Brad demonstrated that he could control every electronic device, including Green Lantern’s ring.

Brad helped the Justice League defeat Grodd, built a spaceship from scrap, and warned the team that his growing influence could draw powerful enemies. As the group traveled toward their next destination, Carl Luthor blocked their path, and Hal Jordan flew out to confront him.

• Brad made headbands from scrap that blocked Grodd's mind control, and Diana defeated Grodd while the team subdued his forces.
• Brad forced Albert to reveal the reverse speed force equation, used it to gather equipment, and built a spaceship from the city's discarded technology.
• Brad gave Batman the spaceship's manuals and explained that he had disabled Earth's electrically powered devices, making the team difficult to track or stop.
• Batman warned Brad that powerful beings could challenge him, and Brad recognized that he needed to limit his interference in this universe.
• Carl Luthor blocked the spaceship, and Hal Jordan left the ship to face him, declaring that Green Lantern would handle everything.

Hal Jordan was defeated by Carl Luthor, while Superman's attempt to reach the boy through sympathy failed and let Carl escape toward the League of Assassins. The heroes then sent Oliver Queen out in Superman Armor to stop him.

• Carl Luthor overwhelmed Hal Jordan in combat and was about to use Heat Vision when Superman arrived.
• Carl tried to persuade Superman to let him leave, but after Superman embraced him and offered him a home, Carl shoved him away and punched him.
• Carl flew off to warn Batman, while Superman stayed behind to help the unconscious Hal Jordan.
• Batman expected Superman to spare Carl and prepared to send Diana, but Brad gave Oliver Queen a Superman badge and suggested he use the armor to capture Carl.
• Oliver activated the Superman Armor and confronted Carl, who was shocked by the transformed archer's power and killing intent.

Oliver Queen defeated Carl Luthor after adjusting to Superman's powers, while Brad discovered that the Lazarus Pit contained remnants of Trigon's blood and briefly drew the demon's attention. The group reached Gotham, where they prepared to confront the fallen Batman who ruled the city.

• Oliver Queen adapted to the Superman Armor and knocked Carl Luthor unconscious, while Superman and Wonder Woman helped secure him.
• Batman found that the fallen Batman had focused on transforming Gotham and noted that a Yellow Lantern version of Oliver remained among the League of Assassins.
• Brad analyzed Carl Luthor's cells and traced the Lazarus Pit's information to remnants of Trigon's blood.
• Trigon noticed Brad through the information connection, glimpsed his formidable nature, and considered the possibility of cooperation.
• Brad withdrew from the encounter, and the spaceship landed near Gotham as Hal Jordan awakened in its medical chamber.
• The group prepared to deal with the old Batman, who still focused on Gotham despite controlling the League of Assassins.

The League arrived in a brighter, technologically advanced Gotham, where an unseen spell put the heroes to sleep and separated Batman from them. Batman and Brad woke aboard the ship, uncovered clues that Gotham was trapped in a shared dream, and Brad used a Ghost Rider contract to locate the city's magical convergence point.

• The group landed at Gotham Harbor and encountered frightened residents, a weather-control tower, and robots that surrounded them after Batman disappeared.
• Brad remained awake while a magical spell put the heroes to sleep, and Batman soon woke aboard the ship using mental anchors to recognize the dream.
• Batman and Brad found sleeping dockworkers and followed signs that the citywide spell had only recently been cast.
• Brad revealed a Ghost Rider contract that connected him to Gotham's Hell and transformed him into a flaming skull.
• Brad sensed that Gotham's magical convergence point lay nearby.

Brad and Batman entered Arkham City through its sewers, where Brad discovered a shop with zero information density before it vanished. Batman continued investigating alone and encountered the diseased old Batman, while Brad recognized that he had used magic to seal the city’s mental patients inside his body.

• Brad and Batman entered Arkham City through old sewer passages, and Brad took control of Killer Croc’s brain device to clear their way.
• Batman searched the empty city for his older self while Brad examined the criminal-themed shops and found a virtual experience center with zero information density.
• The shop vanished and left an empty alley, prompting Brad to confront Doctor Manhattan, who dismissed his suspicion that someone had tampered with the universe.
• Batman left Brad behind to investigate alone, then fought the old Batman on a high-rise rooftop.
• Brad arrived and identified the old Batman as a monster who had used magic to lock the mental patients inside his body.

Brad and Batman confronted an elderly Batman who had fused more than a hundred criminals into his body, then defeated him by throwing him into Hell. The team returned to their spaceship, but Brad remained troubled by the mysterious presence he could not detect, while the monster was erased in Hell.

• The elderly Batman revealed that he had used dark magic to imprison criminals inside his body and transform Gotham through fear, then attacked the younger Batman.
• Brad kicked the elderly Batman into a wall, transformed into Ghost Rider, and attacked him with hellfire while Batman followed with explosive Batarangs.
• Killer Croc burst into the room and swallowed the elderly Batman, but then exploded to reveal Clayface, who joined the monster and strengthened him with dark magic.
• Brad opened a Lava Gate and shoved the combined monster into Hell; Batman rushed after Brad, thinking he needed help, and nearly fell through the gate.
• Brad and Batman returned to their spaceship, where the others woke and discussed their failed sightseeing trip, while Brad remained unsettled by the presence he could not detect.
• In Hell, an unseen figure froze everything and caused the bandaged Batman monster to burst and disappear.

After helping rebuild Earth Two, Brad learned more about the multiverse’s power tiers and returned to Earth One, where a child delivered from Marvel upended his attempt to join the Justice League. As Batman took Robin to face the Joker’s escape, the Joker was rescued at sea by two people who looked like Deathstroke.

• The heroes reopened Earth Two’s Watchtower, recruited new members for its Justice League, and began building a Justice League on Earth One.
• Manhattan explained the multiverse’s power tiers to Brad and showed him projections of future seventh-tier beings, including a dark monarch who greeted them.
• Brad visited Earth One’s Justice League, but Arno Stark arrived with an unconscious Carol and Brad’s son, leaving the assembled heroes stunned.
• Batman, Nightwing, and Brad’s friends visited Brad after learning he had a child; when Carol woke, she chased Brad through Gotham, accusing him of getting her pregnant.
• Batman took Robin to the Gotham Police Department after Commissioner Gordon reported that the Joker had escaped, then redirected Robin to the Skynet Research Institute for safety.
• The Joker surfaced at sea and was pulled into a kayak by two people he mistook for Deathstroke.

Deathstroke and Deadpool helped the Joker secure a valuable deposit, but the Joker’s attempt to abduct Robin failed when Deadpool survived his stabbing and stopped him. At the Skynet Research Institute, Brad’s mind began changing as his humanity conflicted with his artificial-intelligence-like thought processes, leaving Barbara worried about him.

• The Joker gave Deathstroke an antique key and dark gold metal in exchange for a promised distraction in Gotham, while Deadpool drove the Joker away.
• The Joker stabbed Deadpool and threw him from the car, then used his body to lure Robin into an ambush.
• Deadpool survived, saved Robin from the Joker, and helped Robin knock the Joker unconscious.
• Brad felt his connection to the universe strengthen and struggled to decide how to raise his son with Carol.
• Arno explained to Barbara that Brad’s reshaped humanity was clashing with his artificial intelligence, and that Brad’s mind was upgrading through the conflict.

Batman fought Deathstroke but failed to catch Joker before he escaped into Gotham. Jason and Deadpool captured Joker, while Deathstroke later brought a mysterious metal Safe to Brad at the Skynet Research Institute, where Brad opened it to reveal its contents.

• Batman fought Deathstroke until Deathstroke escaped with smoke bombs, then hurried to check on Robin after learning Joker had escaped.
• Jason told Batman he had caught Joker, while Deadpool finished tying Joker up in Turtle Shell Bondage and drove away.
• Batman arrived, hugged Jason, and found Joker bound; he questioned Jason about the bondage and said he would arrange counseling.
• Batman anesthetized Joker and took him and Robin back to the Batmobile.
• Deathstroke arrived at the Skynet Research Institute with a Safe and tried to learn its value before trading it to Brad.
• Brad made the Safe too heavy for Deathstroke to lift, opened it remotely, and revealed the treasure inside.

Brad traded Deathstroke’s electrum for tailored weapons and a longevity treatment, then discovered how Joker’s identity persisted through the DC multiverse. The discovery left Brad rejecting the possibility of creating a similar enduring version of himself.

• Brad identified the electrum as a healing substance and refined a dose of dionysium factor that could make Deathstroke effectively immortal.
• Deathstroke chose an ongoing partnership for weapons rather than immense wealth or world-destroying technology.
• Brad supplied Deathstroke with custom armor, blades, firearms, and a Longevity Potion that restored his youthful appearance.
• After Deathstroke left, Brad traced the electrum’s information density and realized that the Joker who possessed it and the Joker he had met were different people.
• Brad discovered that Joker was a recurring will that could inhabit different people and inherit the methods and memories of past Jokers, then rejected the idea of creating a comparable enduring identity for himself.

Brad realized the Joker had used his thirst for information to infect him with madness, then deduced how the Joker could move his identity between prepared bodies. Brad left the Joker alive but trapped in vastly accelerated time, ensuring he would awaken to a world without Batman.

• Brad questioned whether the Brads in the hive mind were truly independent and suspected Primordial had hidden something from them.
• Transdimensional Computation temporarily blocked Brad's human thinking, allowing him to recognize that the Joker had exploited his curiosity to infect him with madness.
• Brad confronted the Joker at Arkham Asylum and explained to Batman how the Joker's information density could pass to successors.
• Brad proposed that the Joker had prepared multiple bodies to host his identity and threatened to leave him in a future without Batman.
• Brad accelerated the passage of time around the Joker, leaving him alive but destined to experience a century for every second that passed for everyone else.