Chapter Summaries

Deathstroke and the others crossed into a new Consciousness Block while searching for the Chief and Cyborg. In a subconscious version of Happy Harbor, Barry and Hawkgirl drew the attention of local fans, while Deathstroke learned that the block’s owner could not see people associated with darkness.

• Blazing Kitten transformed into a flaming skeleton and drove Deathstroke across the wasteland while Barry ran and Hawkgirl flew alongside them.
• Deathstroke learned that Blazing Kitten was only helping for the ride and that their abilities still worked, though his connection to Sepulk was severed.
• The group crossed into a bright, ordinary-looking version of Happy Harbor, where Barry recognized the town from reality.
• Middle school students surrounded Barry and Hawkgirl for autographs but ignored Deathstroke and Blazing Kitten.
• Blazing Kitten changed into a heavily made-up woman and explained that the Consciousness Block’s owner only saw what he considered light; Deathstroke decided to find the owner.

Deathstroke and the others questioned a man in Charlie’s Consciousness Block and learned that Chief had visited the town’s middle school. They headed for Happy Harbor Middle School to continue the search.

• Red Bitch flirted with Deathstroke, but Charlie’s Valkyrie personality took control and apologized for the disruption.
• Hawkgirl searched from the air and brought back a wealthy-looking man from a parked car.
• Deathstroke had Hawkgirl ask why the town had no people of color, and the man revealed his racist beliefs.
• The man said he had seen an old man in a hovering, fire-spitting wheelchair visit the middle school seven days earlier.
• Valkyrie identified the man as Chief, and Deathstroke led the group toward Happy Harbor Middle School.

Su Ming and the Justice League investigated the school in a Consciousness Block, where Deathstroke explained that its inhabitants and surroundings reflected what its owner knew or believed. The Flash found a strange radar-like device that Su Ming identified as their clue, and the group prepared to follow it.

• Barry drove the group and a balding middle-aged man to the middle school, where the man said he had seen an elderly outsider enter the dormitory building.
• Su Ming sent the man home, and Barry and Hawkgirl assured him that rumors about the multiverse incident were false.
• Deathstroke explained that a Consciousness Block contained only what its owner recognized or accepted, while the others encountered faceless background students in the school.
• The Flash searched the dormitory and found a pocket-watch-like device with a blinking dot and a directional arrow.
• Su Ming recognized the device as what they were looking for, and Deathstroke led Barry outside to follow its signal.

Deathstroke and the Justice League used a tracker to search for The Brain, but an ambush led them to a grotesque cyborg who looked like an elderly Victor. Deathstroke concluded that the dead Victor was not their Cyborg and prepared to investigate further.

• Kendra identified the pocket watch as a tracker, and Deathstroke deduced that Chief had left it to help Doom Patrol locate him.
• A beam targeted the tracker, but The Flash moved the group out of danger while Deathstroke located the attacker.
• Deathstroke used five Power Rings to bombard the attacker's position, destroying the playground and crippling a human-machine creature.
• The creature declared that its actions were meant to save the world, then died before it could explain further.
• The Flash removed the creature's helmet and discovered an elderly version of Victor, prompting him to ask if they had killed the wrong person.
• Deathstroke said the dead man was not their Cyborg and suggested they prepare code phrases.

Deathstroke examined the dead cyborg and asked Lucy to use her vibration powers to trace the source of its metal. Lucy’s amnesia foiled his attempts to explain, but her startled reaction destroyed the corpse and sent its vibrations out, leaving the team to wait for the enemy to find them.

• Barry tore the dead cyborg’s face off while checking whether it was a robot, then vomited in disgust.
• Deathstroke asked Hawkgirl to bring out Amnesiac Lucy to inspect the corpse’s metal and trace its origin.
• Lucy repeatedly forgot who Deathstroke was and what he wanted her to do.
• Deathstroke shoved the corpse into Lucy’s arms, triggering her powers to blast it into blood mist and shatter its metal parts.
• Deathstroke asked Lucy to switch personalities and send someone who could communicate.

Su Ming's group traveled through another Consciousness Block, where they saw Batwoman dancing romantically with Joker before a Cyborg-like monster destroyed their car. The Power Ring shield kept them safe, and Su Ming prepared to kill the attacker.

• Charlie changed into Sin Eater, who apologized repeatedly until Su Ming taped her mouth shut and carried her into the car.
• Barry drove the group out of Happy Harbor and into a Gotham inside another person's consciousness.
• Su Ming spotted Batwoman and Joker dancing together atop the Gotham Police Department and photographed them before the group continued.
• A metallic Cyborg emerged and blasted the car, but the Power Ring shield protected everyone inside.
• Su Ming rose into the air with a lightsaber and vowed to kill the monster for destroying his car.

After Sin Eater distracted Alien Cyborg with an apology, Deathstroke killed him and asked Circus Harlequin to create a vehicle. She finished a balloon creation for the team, leaving it covered beneath a cloth for the others to see.

• Sin Eater apologized to Alien Cyborg, distracting him long enough for Deathstroke to slice him in half and kill him.
• Deathstroke praised Sin Eater’s ability, then watched her switch into the Circus Harlequin personality.
• Deathstroke asked Circus Harlequin to make a vehicle that could work with the Speed Force, and she instead cheerfully made balloon animals.
• The Flash questioned whether a balloon vehicle could work, while Deathstroke shared tea with him and Hawkgirl as they waited.
• Circus Harlequin rapidly built a balloon creation using the car seats, covered it with a red cloth, and announced that it was finished.

Harley revealed a pink balloon duck boat that let Barry carry Deathstroke, Hawkgirl, and Harley through the Consciousness Layer using the Speed Force. After traveling more than forty billion miles, they stopped to let Barry recover and prepared to face a swarm of Stalkers.

• Hawkgirl pulled away Harley’s red cloth, exposing a pink duck-shaped boat, and Harley teased her before inviting everyone aboard.
• Harley explained that Barry had to run with the boat around his waist because it had no steering wheel or pedals, and Deathstroke urged him to set off.
• Barry ran through the Consciousness Layer for four hours while Deathstroke followed the locator and the group ate snacks.
• Barry stopped beside a beautiful lake to recover, and Deathstroke spotted a mass of clouds carrying numerous Stalkers toward them.

Su Ming and his allies defeated a group of aged Cyborgs and learned they came from timelines that never existed. Su Ming concluded that an unknown godlike force had pulled them out of Hypertime, leaving the group to investigate what Darkseid sought.

• Su Ming used the Power Rings to overwhelm the Cyborgs while Barry and the others prevented their escape.
• Su Ming questioned a captured Cyborg, who said he came from the nonexistent Next Era and warned that Darkseid would engulf them in darkness.
• Su Ming killed the captured Cyborg and questioned another, who claimed Darkseid sought power hidden within time and beyond the Omniverse.
• Su Ming told Kendra the attackers were not Cyborgs and questioned the last captive about who had brought them from Hypertime.
• The last captive said a god had appeared as a light before dying, and Su Ming concluded that an outside force had brought the group into the Main Dimension.

Deathstroke explained why an older Cyborg did not prove the existence of a parallel world, then asked Madame Violet to examine the locator pocket watch. She identified it as a magical item whose technological screen let their enemies track them, and Deathstroke ended the chapter by hinting that he knew more than he had revealed.

• Deathstroke explained to Barry that an older Cyborg could come from a future time point within Hypertime rather than a parallel world.
• Harlequin switched personalities to Madame Violet after Deathstroke asked for a witch to examine the pocket watch.
• Madame Violet recognized the pocket watch as a magical locator and said its technology made it vulnerable to tracking.
• Madame Violet questioned Deathstroke about how much he knew and asked whether he knew Melinda, and he replied that he knew more because he was Deathstroke.

Deathstroke and the Justice League reached a cheerful mental version of Detroit while searching for Chief and Cyborg. Crazy Jane woke and realized they were inside Cyborg Victor’s consciousness, where Hawkgirl went ahead to scout.

• The old witch left the journey after telling Deathstroke that his future was chaos and inviting him to visit the station.
• Crazy Jane fell asleep during the trip, and the Flash brought the team to the marked location ahead of schedule.
• The team arrived in a lively Consciousness Layer version of Detroit, which Deathstroke identified as Cyborg Victor’s mental city.
• Deathstroke sent Hawkgirl to scout for Chief while Crazy Jane recalled that Chief had entered her mindscape before and nearly died.

Deathstroke and The Flash discussed their differing approaches to helping others while Crazy Jane listened, then she pointed out that Hawkgirl had disappeared. Hawkgirl returned from the sewers without finding Chief, though she had found his wheelchair.

• Deathstroke told The Flash that helping people could sometimes cause harm, but The Flash decided he would keep rescuing people and investigate afterward.
• Deathstroke asked Crazy Jane what she had wanted to say, and she warned him that Hawkgirl had vanished.
• The Flash panicked about losing Kendra, but Deathstroke used the Nth Metal in her body to summon her with a sound from his sword.
• Hawkgirl emerged from a manhole and reported that she had found Chief's wheelchair in the sewers but no sign of him.

Deathstroke, Hawkgirl, and Barry searched the sewers for clues to Chief’s fate, then enlisted Crazy Jane’s help. Jane’s Scarecrow personality emerged and prepared to attack Deathstroke, who tried to negotiate with the demon.

• Hawkgirl and Deathstroke entered the sewers with Barry and found Chief’s damaged wheelchair and a boot Jane recognized as his.
• Deathstroke concluded Chief had been attacked at the site and listed escape, death, or capture as the possible outcomes.
• Deathstroke asked Crazy Jane to summon a personality capable of biological tracking, while Hawkgirl backed his request.
• Deathstroke shook Jane, triggering her Scarecrow personality to appear in flames and prepare to attack him.
• Deathstroke addressed the demon and tried to negotiate.

Deathstroke subdued Scarecrow with a prolonged beating and made it sign a contract to help find Chief by tracking living souls. Scarecrow accepted a chicken soul as payment, and Barry was told to give it the boot they had found.

• Scarecrow emerged in a fury, and Deathstroke attacked it with a shape-changing weapon while Hawkgirl and Barry watched.
• After five minutes of beating Scarecrow, Deathstroke forced it to agree to negotiate and drafted a contract.
• Deathstroke offered Scarecrow a chicken's soul in exchange for tracking living souls to find Chief.
• Scarecrow demanded Priest's soul, but Deathstroke refused and Scarecrow pressed its hand to the contract, activating its holy seal.
• Deathstroke told Barry to give Scarecrow the boot so it could search for Chief's toenail clippings.

Su Ming explained the occult significance of fingernails before an ancient wanderer returned to his former dimension after the Source Wall’s destruction. The white-haired man, introduced as Wales, visited a Los Angeles bookstore to collect an old wooden box.

• Su Ming recounted beliefs and rituals involving fingernails from cultures around the world, including Hela’s lack of the ship Naglfar.
• A demon helped Su Ming find Chief, while the wanderer drifted through time for centuries after growing weary of humanity.
• The destruction of the Source Wall awakened the wanderer, who returned to the dimension that had once belonged to him.
• Wales arrived at the One Thousand and One Pages bookstore and met the shop owner, who led him to a safe at the back of the store.
• The shop owner took an old wooden box from the safe, and Wales asked if it was what he had come for.

An old mage stole Lovecraft’s manuscripts and used them to free the beings inside, killing the bookstore owner before leaving. Meanwhile, Luthor continued investigating a strange crystal in the Fortress of Doom after it briefly flashed again.

• The old man collected Lovecraft’s manuscripts from Mr. Buryman and revealed he wanted to free the beings within them.
• The old man awakened a tentacled creature from the pages, and its touch melted Mr. Buryman’s body.
• The old man summoned vultures to consume the remains, destroyed the bookstore’s surveillance equipment, and vanished with the manuscripts.
• Luthor examined the Skewed Trisoctahedron with Brainiac and reflected on his alliance with him and his cooperation with Deathstroke.
• Luthor recalled that the crystal had stopped producing monsters, but after it flashed once, he resumed his experiments.

Diana, Donna, and Zatanna gathered at Oblivion Bar and discussed Barbara, Constantine’s disappearance, and the need for information about Darkseid. Their conversation was interrupted when a blood-soaked figure arrived and begged Bobo for help.

• Bobo complained about the bar’s workload while Tracy went to fetch beer kegs.
• Donna asked why Bobo would not hire more workers, and he explained that he wanted Tracy to inherit the bar.
• Diana defended her hope of curing Barbara, while Zatanna warned that Barbara had become extremely dangerous.
• Bobo asked whether Constantine or Deathstroke had returned, and Diana said Constantine was still missing.
• A blood-soaked figure stumbled into the bar and pleaded with Bobo for help.

The Justice League sheltered Naomi and discussed the multiversal threat posed by Brutus and Zubado. Naomi sensed Brutus had returned, but when the heroes reached Central City, Hippolyta explained that he had escaped through a red passageway and might have emerged somewhere else.

• Batwoman brought Naomi to the Hall of Justice, where Superman welcomed her and heard her account of Brutus and Zubado.
• The Justice League debated the unknown enemies threatening their world, while Superman defended giving former enemies like Luthor a chance to change.
• Naomi sensed Brutus had returned, prompting Batwoman and the others to respond.
• Superman arrived in Central City and found Hippolyta and Wally beside a crater.
• Hippolyta said Brutus had attacked Paradise Island, escaped through a red passageway, and left her stranded high above Central City.

Su Ming and the others found the Chief in Detroit’s sewers, where he was mourning a cockroach after fleeing from the monsters in the dimension of consciousness. The Chief warned that Doomsday was coming, and Deathstroke knocked him out after suspecting he had concealed information.

• Su Ming’s group found the Chief holding a cockroach in a cup, and Barry recognized him.
• The Chief explained that Cyborg had been hearing electronic beeping and that monsters attacked them after they entered the dimension of consciousness.
• The Chief said Doomsday was about to descend and that none of them could escape it.
• Deathstroke ordered Barry to take the cockroach cup, and the Chief attacked him while demanding that he return Prophet.
• Hawkgirl knocked the Chief unconscious at Su Ming’s nod, and Deathstroke revealed that the Chief had been an ARGUS scientist who was hiding information.

Deathstroke questioned the cockroach prophet Ezekiel about why the Chief helped Cyborg and learned that Grid was luring Cyborg toward a consciousness merger. He deduced that the Alien Cyborgs and the Chief wanted Grid’s personality, then asked Ezekiel to locate Cyborg, but the prophet begged to be sent to safety.

• Deathstroke knocked out the Chief and found a cockroach that spoke English and identified itself as Ezekiel.
• Ezekiel explained that the Chief and Cyborg had brought him along because he was a prophet who could foresee the end of the world.
• Ezekiel revealed that Grid was making the beeping sounds to lure Cyborg into merging their consciousnesses.
• Deathstroke explained that corrupted Cyborg had pledged himself to Darkseid and created the malformed Cyborg Timelines.
• Deathstroke asked Ezekiel to predict Cyborg’s location so they could rescue him, but Ezekiel protested that he could not fight and wanted to be sent out first.