Chapter Summaries

Su Ming tested Zubado in battle and discovered that the Evil Thought Noble wielded a weapon capable of blocking and repairing damage from his merged swords. Zubado delivered the Hand of the Void’s question and claims about Hypertime, leaving Su Ming with new information and a possible weakness to test.

• Su Ming struck Zubado with a golden sword aura, but Zubado blocked the attack with his black greatsword, and the shockwave drove the Waverider back.
• Sara took control of the Waverider while Bobo worried over Zubado’s ability to withstand X Metal, and Harley explained that Multiverse 2 also had Creation Metal.
• Su Ming praised Zubado’s weapon and asked whether his master had given it to him; Zubado repaired a chip in the blade and relayed the Hand of the Void’s question about why Su Ming existed.
• Su Ming summoned a Black Sun and mocked the Hand of the Void, prompting Zubado to insist that his master was immortal and that Hypertime’s destined reality would not change.
• Su Ming inferred that the Hand of the Void could communicate with Zubado and that it knew about his conflict with Darkseid, then decided to test a possible weakness.

Su Ming struggled to break his stalemate with Zubado, whose thoughts Harley could see but not understand. He summoned Deadpool for reinforcements, but Wade's arrival turned into a chaotic distraction rather than a decisive attack.

• Su Ming contacted Harley through Strangle and asked her to read Zubado's thoughts, but she could only see alien writing she could not understand.
• Su Ming and Zubado exchanged hundreds of sword strikes, and Su Ming decided to change tactics after Harley's ability proved unhelpful.
• Su Ming ordered the Adjutant to summon reinforcements, and Deadpool appeared wearing only a mask, underwear, socks, and a parachute.
• Deadpool taunted Zubado, so Su Ming stabbed him, cut his parachute cords, and hurled him at the enemy.
• Zubado dodged Deadpool, then began coughing after inhaling flakes of his skin, while Wade teleported back and forth in midair.

Su Ming ordered Deadpool to deal with Zubado, and Deadpool flew over to face the Cloaked Figure. He launched into a bizarre song-and-dance routine instead of attacking, leaving Zubado bewildered.

• Su Ming stopped Wade's teleporting and told him to deal with the tentacle-faced Zubado.
• Wade agreed after Su Ming threatened to dock his pay, then flew toward Zubado with a noisy jetpack.
• Wade told Zubado to kill himself, but Zubado raised his greatsword and prepared to fight.
• Wade began singing and dancing to "Lucky Love Cookie," hoping Zubado would understand his feelings and take his own life.
• Zubado hesitated in confusion as Wade continued his performance.

Deadpool distracted Zubado with a grotesque song and dance while Deathstroke prepared a surprise attack. Su Ming killed Zubado before he could self-destruct, and Deadpool immediately demanded extra payment for his performance.

• Deadpool sang and danced at Zubado, making most of the Waverider’s viewers flee to the bathrooms.
• Zubado cut Deadpool in half, but Deadpool teleported close and clung to him, leaving Zubado vomiting and unable to use his greatsword.
• Su Ming appeared behind Zubado and pierced both him and Deadpool with a Golden Greatsword as Zubado began to unleash his power.
• Su Ming used Force Choke and Strangle while a Bean Sprout-shaped creature stabbed Zubado with a dagger, turning him and his belongings to ash.
• Deadpool mourned Zubado theatrically, then revealed that he had staged the performance to earn an extra five hundred bucks.

Su Ming and Deathstroke killed Zubado, but his body turned to ash before they could question him, so Su Ming sent the remains for research. With a lead in mind for the search for Darkseid, Su Ming set out to find Luthor and Superman.

• Deadpool distracted Zubado while Deathstroke stabbed him with a Concept Weapon, and Strangler used a dagger coated in Tears of Extinction, causing Zubado to turn to ash.
• Su Ming paid Deadpool for his role, and Deathstroke told him that Darkseid's daughter, Grail, might have clues about the Anti-Life Equation.
• Su Ming sent Deadpool back to 40K Earth and gave the Adjutant the small amount of Zubado's ash he had recovered for research.
• Su Ming asked Bobo to pilot the Waverider into space so they could find Luthor and Superman.

Su Ming watched Lex Luthor brutally wear down Brutus on Mercury while remaining alert for intervention from the Hand of the Void. After Superman returned from charging inside the sun, he joined the fight and confronted Luthor over his tactics.

• Su Ming arrived in another sector and observed Luthor fighting Brutus on Mercury, where Luthor used brutal attacks to torment the rapidly healing Minotaur.
• Bobo saw the fight through Waverider's sensors, while Su Ming told him to move the ship farther away in case the Hand of the Void intervened.
• Superman arrived glowing gold after absorbing energy inside the sun, and Su Ming sent him to help Luthor while he guarded against escape.
• Superman entered the battlefield and told Luthor to stop humiliating Brutus, but Luthor dismissed him and continued his attack.
• Su Ming believed Luthor was steadily draining Brutus's body and healing resources by carving away flesh, while Superman failed to understand his strategy.

Su Ming watched Superman and Luthor defeat Brutus, while he considered the limits and motives of the Hand of the Void. Brutus was left catastrophically injured, and Superman chose to save him despite believing he might not survive.

• Su Ming speculated that the Hand of the Void's influence was limited and wondered whether Brutus had any useful information.
• Superman broke free of Luthor's restraint and knocked Brutus unconscious with a powerful punch.
• Su Ming and Luthor told Superman that Brutus was effectively beyond recovery, forcing Clark to confront the consequences of his attack.
• Superman carried Brutus away to seek treatment, insisting that the injured enemy did not deserve to die.

Su Ming planned to establish an outpost on Soybean Earth and asked Luthor about Grail, hoping to find her and prevent Darkseid from gaining an advantage. Luthor suggested Batman had hypnotized Grail, while Superman defended Batman as the group continued toward Earth-0.

• Su Ming had Adjutant send Synthezoids to Soybean Earth to prepare a Martial Arts Tournament and establish an outpost.
• Su Ming asked Luthor about Grail and explained that she had taken infant Darkseid away after the Darkseid War.
• Luthor said Batman might know what happened to Grail and joked that he had hypnotized and brainwashed her.
• Superman defended Batman, and Luthor stopped arguing while implying Superman himself had been brainwashed by Batman.

After returning to Earth-0, Su Ming dealt with the lingering unease caused by Wade eating Zubado’s tentacles and asked Lex Luthor to help search for Grail. He then asked Sara whether she had considered his terms, leaving her answer unresolved.

• Deathstroke noticed Earth-0 remained dark, and Superman flew down to help Superboy-Prime while Luthor declined to join him.
• Su Ming called Wade and asked what Zubado’s tentacles had tasted like; Wade said they were salty, easing Su Ming’s anxiety.
• Bobo admitted that the sound of Wade eating the tentacles had also left him wondering what they were.
• Su Ming asked Luthor to use the Divinity to search for Grail, but Luthor said he needed time to understand the ship’s equipment.
• Su Ming told Luthor they would investigate from both sides, then asked Sara whether she had considered his terms.

Su Ming returned to Gotham during a worldwide power outage and met Barbara and Damian at the Bell Tower. As the city fought Liquid Metal Robots, he explained the threat and urged Damian to help the Titans instead of joining the battle.

• Su Ming sent the Legends and other companions away, then surveyed rain-soaked Gotham with Bobo from Wayne Tower.
• Batwoman contacted Su Ming and reported that Gotham had lost power despite its generators and batteries working; Su Ming said the entire world was affected.
• Su Ming teleported to the Bell Tower, where Barbara and Damian had waited by candlelight, and reassured them that he was safe.
• Su Ming explained that Liquid Metal Robots were attacking the city and could be countered with energy weapons or extreme heat or cold.
• Damian offered to gather his Teen Titans, but Su Ming suggested he consider helping Nightwing’s reopened Titans Academy instead.
• Damian dismissed Nightwing’s plan to train young heroes, and Barbara privately recognized the difficulty of predicting human nature.

Su Ming arranged for Barbara and Damian to remain safely in Gotham while he set up a way to obtain Batman’s intelligence about Grail through Superman. He then went to a yacht in search of a well-informed detective to help investigate the Liquid Metal Robots and the counterfeit Deathstroke.

• Su Ming reassured Damian, gave him candy for his teammates, and agreed that Damian’s team should stay away from Gotham.
• Barbara explained that the Bat-Signal could draw Batman out, and Su Ming encouraged her to monitor Gotham from the Bell Tower and stay safe.
• Su Ming and Bobo left the Bell Tower, and Su Ming explained that Batman might pass intelligence about Grail to Superman, allowing them to obtain it later.
• Su Ming said he planned to investigate the Liquid Metal Robots and the counterfeit Deathstroke while they waited for Superman to find Batman.
• Su Ming led Bobo to a luxury yacht in Gotham South Bay to meet a well-informed detective, and Bobo recognized the surname on the boat.

Su Ming and Detective Chimp visited Batwoman Kate Kane aboard her yacht during the citywide blackout, where they met her butler Julia Pennyworth and found Kate badly injured after fighting Liquid Robots. Julia treated Kate’s wounds as Su Ming teased her about her defeat.

• Su Ming carried Detective Chimp to a luxury yacht and asked for Batwoman.
• Julia Pennyworth welcomed them aboard and explained that she worked as the Kane Family’s butler and provided Batwoman with intelligence support.
• Julia led Su Ming and Detective Chimp to the powerless lower deck, where she was treating Kate’s injuries.
• Detective Chimp learned that Julia was Alfred’s daughter and admitted he had never known she existed.
• Su Ming and Julia joked with Kate about being wounded after trying to pin down a Liquid Robot.

Kate described how she had earned Batman’s trust by taking responsibility for Gotham’s Mystic Side cases, then joined Deathstroke and Detective Chimp to assess the mysterious robots. She suspected the machines were powered by something other than electricity and that their creator planned to attract major attention.

• Kate’s conflict with Batman eased after she took over Gotham’s magical cases, and Batman gradually granted her more independence.
• After Julia finished stitching Kate’s wounds, Kate dressed and asked Deathstroke and Detective Chimp about the robots.
• Su Ming told Kate they suspected the robots were Magic-Guided Weapons and asked for her opinion.
• Kate said the robots operated without electricity and that their creator seemed intent on making major news.
• Bobo invited Kate to share her investigative ideas and clues with the group.

Batwoman, Detective Chimp, and Deathstroke figured out that Black Hand was controlling the metal robots through magnetism. Su Ming concluded that the enemy had calmed Earth’s magnetic field to use it as a control system, and planned to find someone who could manipulate magnetic fields.

• Batwoman explained that she had examined a robot and found no processor or power source inside it.
• Batwoman, Detective Chimp, and Deathstroke wrote down their theories and all independently identified magnetism.
• Detective Chimp said Black Hand was transmitting commands and energy to the robots through magnetic force.
• Batwoman demonstrated how magnetism could move a metal needle, and Detective Chimp compared the robots to dancers on a magnetic music box.
• Su Ming agreed that magnetic fields could power and control the Liquid Metal robots, praised Batwoman, and said he would find someone skilled at manipulating magnetic fields.

Su Ming and the others discussed possible allies who could use magnetism, but dismissed the candidates as too old, unreliable, or unsuitable. Su Ming decided to summon a friend from Utopia on Earth-40K and bring one hundred Wilson Gift Packs, Type C.

• Bobo suggested Magnetic Kid, but the group rejected him and the Legion of Super-Heroes as unreliable and elderly.
• Batwoman proposed Grant Horford, Herman Bale, and Magnetic Man as possible sources of magnetic power.
• Su Ming and the others dismissed the candidates because Grant was frail, Bale relied on limited technology, and Magnetic Man specialized in underwater combat.
• Su Ming asked Adjutant to send him to Utopia on Earth-40K and prepare one hundred Wilson Gift Packs, Type C.

Deathstroke visited Utopia Island and recruited Lorna to help him fight a planetwide army of shapeshifting Liquid Metal Robots on another Earth. Charles summoned Lorna, while Magneto remained concerned about sending his daughter into danger.

• Su Ming handed the Mutant children gift packs filled with exam workbooks and asked the Adjutant whether the answer sheets had been removed.
• Su Ming found Charles and Erik playing chess and asked for help against a Sentient Machine Crisis involving millions of Liquid Metal Robots.
• Erik offered to join the fight, but Su Ming told him to stay on Utopia and chose Lorna instead.
• Su Ming rejected Erik's suggestion to take Wanda, explaining that her Chaos Magic would not work in the destination universe.
• Charles summoned Lorna, who jumped from a third-floor window and glided down to meet them.

Su Ming returned to Gotham with Polaris, whose magnetic powers could help investigate the abnormal force affecting the city. After sensing the disturbance, she joined the group as they headed to the Gotham Police Department to capture a robot, but a stray bullet enraged her as she prepared to attack.

• Su Ming returned to the ship with Polaris, and Bobo explained the situation in Gotham to her.
• Polaris sensed an abnormal magnetic field over the city, and Su Ming explained why her abilities differed from Magneto's.
• Polaris said she needed to examine a robot to identify the magnetic signal, so Su Ming took the group toward the city.
• The group reached the Gotham Police Department, where Commissioner Gordon and the officers were trapped by robots.
• Polaris jumped onto the rooftop, nearly got hit by a stray bullet, and raised her hands as her anger flared.

Polaris lost control of her magnetic powers while destroying the Liquid Metal Robots, and her anger spread through the nearby area, affecting everyone from Detective Chimp to Commissioner Gordon’s officers. Su Ming went to stop her while Batwoman stayed on the flying carpet and prepared to choose a robot.

• Polaris’s anger surged as she remembered her past and unleashed a magnetic shockwave that warped metal across several kilometers.
• Polaris crushed the nearby Liquid Metal Robots and caused a geomagnetic disturbance that made those around her feel angry and agitated.
• Detective Chimp and Kate told Su Ming they were affected, and Su Ming explained that they were mentally synchronizing with Polaris’s magnetic field.
• Commissioner Gordon and his officers attacked a fallen robot, and some officers chewed on car wreckage after their ammunition ran out.
• Su Ming told Detective Chimp and Kate to stay on the flying carpet, asked Kate to choose a robot, and jumped down to make Polaris stop.

Su Ming calmed the distressed Lorna after she destroyed the robots, then contacted Harley for help. Harley revealed that a Department of Extranormal Operations strike team had attacked her and that one attacker appeared to be a man supposedly killed during Leviathan's first attack, leaving Su Ming to investigate a likely Parallel Universe threat.

• Lorna repeatedly crushed and tore apart the wrecked robots with her magnetic power until Su Ming told her to stop.
• Lorna broke down crying, and Su Ming contacted Harley through the totem after confirming Gordon and the others had begun negotiating with Batwoman.
• Harley showed Su Ming the insignia of the Department of Extranormal Operations on the uniforms of men who had attacked her home.
• Harley identified one attacker as Green Arrow's friend, who had supposedly died during Leviathan's first attack, and showed Su Ming the man's face skin.
• Su Ming concluded the attacker was probably from a Parallel Universe and offered to send Battle Sisters to guard Harley's home, but Harley refused and asked about Lorna.

Su Ming had Harley calm Polaris during a bipolar episode with Bobo’s help, then the group went to inspect the liquid metal robot remains. Gordon let them examine the evidence but refused to let them take it, while the city’s riots and robot attacks continued.

• Harley assessed Polaris and recommended pet therapy, so Su Ming brought Bobo over and guided Polaris as she stroked him.
• Polaris calmed down, resumed her normal behavior, and apologized to Su Ming for her episode.
• Su Ming and the others came down from the rooftop and found Kate and Gordon guarding the robot’s remains.
• Gordon allowed the group to examine the robot but refused to let them remove it from police custody.
• Su Ming warned Gordon that the robots were too dangerous for the officers, while Gordon said stopping the riots remained the priority.
• Su Ming pointed out Doctor Santo’s headless body, and Gordon ordered officers to collect it.