Chapter Summaries

Batman, Wonder Woman, and Deadpool fought their way through hordes of Red-haired Monkeys and escaped with Edmund and his research materials. With their original plan disrupted, Batman led them toward Edmund’s home to gather more information.

• Diana held off the Red-haired Monkeys while Batman worked, and Edmund collected his blueprints and journal as Deadpool joked with him.
• Batman returned with the item he had sought, picked up Edmund, and ordered Deadpool to follow the escape route.
• Diana covered the group’s retreat, then collapsed a tunnel with her Bracelets of Submission to block the monkeys.
• Deadpool recovered from his injuries and asked where they were going next.
• Batman said they would go to Edmund’s home because the monsters had disrupted his original plan and they needed more information.

Edmund brought Wade and Diana to his ship after escaping the Red-haired Monkeys, then entertained them with a tour of its luxurious cabin and stories about its fittings. With the group safe for now, Edmund sent Little Fatty away and prepared to discuss their identities and purpose.

• Edmund led the group to his five-masted ship, where Little Fatty welcomed him and prepared the captain's cabin and supper.
• Edmund invited his guests into the lavish cabin, and Wade compared it to Tony Stark's yacht while Diana observed Edmund's extravagance.
• Edmund described the ship's costly keel, gold-embroidered sails, and salvaged figurehead to Wade and Diana.
• Little Fatty brought tea and pastries, and Edmund sent him away before gathering the guests to discuss their identities and why they had come.

Batwoman used Batman’s fabricated identities to explain the group to Edmund, then borrowed his laboratory to prepare Speed 9. The chapter ended with Wonder Woman asking what Batman was making and learning it was meant to get them out of their predicament.

• Batman’s cover story portrayed Diana as a circus strongwoman, Batwoman as an aerialist, and Deadpool as a Joker.
• Batwoman told Deadpool to unmask, and Edmund fled to vomit after seeing his face.
• Edmund accepted their identities and agreed to lend Batwoman tools from his laboratory.
• Batwoman and Diana went to the lower cargo hold while Deadpool stayed with Edmund.
• Batman began preparing Speed 9 and told Diana it was intended to get them out of there.

Batwoman explained how he had obtained the Speed 9 formula by trapping Reverse-Flash and forcing him to steal it from a Vandal Savage variant. He finished preparing the drug and said he trusted its verifiable chemistry more than the Speed Force, leaving Diana concerned about his plan to escape their Time Point.

• Wonder Woman warned Batwoman that Speed 9 had deadly side effects and urged him not to use it.
• Batwoman explained that he had planted a Flash ring on Jack’s body near the Dionysium lake to lure Reverse-Flash into his trap.
• Batwoman captured Reverse-Flash and forced him to obtain Speed 9’s formula and ingredients from a Vandal Savage variant.
• Batwoman revealed that he had finished preparing the medicine while Diana listened.
• Diana asked why Batwoman did not rely on Reverse-Flash or this world’s Barry, and Batwoman said he trusted chemistry more than the Speed Force.

Su Ming, posing as Batwoman, flew with Bobo and Mindy to the White House and demanded to see the president. The soldiers let them pass, and the group entered the darkened building to find the president, who was likely in an underground Safehouse.

• The military ordered the helicopter to land, but Su Ming directed Bobo to ignore the warnings and land on the White House's South Lawn.
• Batwoman disarmed the highest-ranking officer and told the soldiers she came from a Parallel Universe to help their world.
• The officer and soldiers lowered their weapons, and the officer quietly asked Batwoman to save their Earth.
• Batwoman led Mindy and Bobo into the White House, where they learned the president had likely been moved to an underground Safehouse.

Deathstroke, disguised as Batwoman, pressed the President to mobilize the country and secure supplies for the fight against the gods. After demonstrating his power, he gained the President’s cooperation and asked for a large amount of gold to build a tower.

• Hit-Girl asked Bobo why government leaders opposed the civilians’ turn toward the gods, and he explained that officials feared losing political power to religious believers.
• Batwoman told the President that a divine invasion threatened the country and demanded a press conference and nationwide mobilization.
• When the President asked Batwoman to prove his identity, Deathstroke incapacitated the bodyguards and threatened to approach the next officials in the line of succession.
• The President accepted that Batwoman was genuine and offered to sign a presidential order.
• Su Ming asked the President for a great deal of gold to build a tower.

Su Ming and Batwoman secured the President’s cooperation, announced the Justice League’s formation, and prepared the country for another ancient-creature attack. Su Ming explained that the gold would help draw attention to a plan requiring the world’s Mental Power, and Bobo realized its true purpose was to create a Cosmic Tuning Fork.

• Su Ming gave Mindy a prepared speech while Batwoman persuaded the President and officials to support their plan.
• Batwoman warned the CIA director that another ancient-creature invasion would come, and the President approved surveillance of religious sites.
• Batwoman and Mindy announced a Justice League branch at the press conference, while the President declared a national emergency and called for an international summit.
• Su Ming brought Bobo to a private guest room and let Hermione and the others leave Cloak.
• Su Ming explained that the gold would draw attention to a Lighthouse and that he needed everyone’s Mental Power to reconnect with Adjutant and open a passage through space.
• Bobo concluded that Su Ming was really building a Cosmic Tuning Fork.

Deathstroke proposed using a recreated Cosmic Tuning Fork to break through the Cubes imprisoning their world and restore communication with the Adjutant, while Bobo warned that they lacked the knowledge to operate it. The chapter ended with Deathstroke smiling at Bobo as if he had an answer.

• Bobo recognized that Deathstroke's plan to gather gold and mental power involved the Cosmic Tuning Fork, a device kept under guard at Superman's Fortress of Solitude.
• Bobo explained that Steel maintained the original Tuning Fork and had discovered how to use it for travel between Parallel Worlds.
• Deathstroke said he could recreate the Tuning Fork with Quantum Concepts, even though the original used technology beyond human understanding.
• Bobo warned that the group did not know how to use the Tuning Fork to break through the Cubes or repeat The Batman Who Laughs's method.
• Deathstroke silently smiled at Bobo while the others showed no apparent technical expertise.

Deathstroke persuaded Bobo to help activate a Cosmic Tuning Fork using Tenth Metal, Felix Felicis, and the world’s Mental Power, while planning to livestream the gold’s arrival. Meanwhile, Diana tried to stop Bruce from taking Speed 9, but he declared himself Batman and moved past her.

• Bobo explained the Cosmic Tuning Fork’s technical, energy, and calibration problems, then objected to being asked to operate it.
• Deathstroke said Tenth Metal would determine the vibration frequency and that Quantum Concepts could reverse time if the attempt failed.
• Deathstroke gave Bobo Felix Felicis and said he would wait for the gold and schedule a livestream for the world.
• Diana emerged from the story and discovered Batwoman had prepared Speed 9 while distracting her.
• Diana warned Bruce that Speed 9 would damage his brain, but Bruce evaded her and insisted that he was Batman.

Batwoman explained why Deadpool was the best candidate to take Speed 9 and led Diana to the captain’s cabin. Diana questioned whether Slade had anticipated their situation, while Batwoman maintained her distrust of him; they arrived to find Deadpool joking with Edmund.

• Diana offered to take Speed 9 herself, but Batwoman said the drug was meant for Deadpool and that Diana’s lasso would not work on her because she had Tenth Metal.
• Batwoman explained that Speed 9 boosted bodily and brain activity but caused lethal overheating, and that Miracle Serum’s Healing Factor made Deadpool the safest choice.
• Diana questioned whether Slade had foreseen their predicament, and Batwoman said his defeat of Doctor Manhattan suggested he might control quantum concepts.
• Diana defended Slade, but Batwoman insisted she did not trust him and ended the discussion when they reached the captain’s cabin.
• Diana and Batwoman entered and found Deadpool entertaining Edmund with a crude joke.

The Justice Society fought corpses that could regenerate from any injury, and Sandy suggested that Supergirl freeze them. After Karen immobilized the corpses, Stargirl and Cyclone relaxed, leaving the team to determine whether the threat had truly been contained.

• Jay asked Sandy how the team should handle the advancing corpses, which could reassemble after being blasted apart.
• Sandy recommended that Supergirl freeze the corpses because physical attacks could not destroy them.
• Karen waited for Jay's approval, then froze the approaching corpses with her cold breath.
• Stargirl asked whether the frozen corpses were dead, and Cyclone reminded her they had already been dead.
• Stargirl accepted Cyclone's chocolate and began eating with her while the team remained among the frozen corpses.

Jay returned to the Hall of Justice for help after identical living corpses kept reappearing in the town, only to find the same corpses attacking the Hall’s doors. He entered through a hole in the building and told Wildcat and Hourman that trouble remained in town.

• Karen spotted identical living corpses emerging after she froze the first group, and Jay ordered her to keep freezing them while Stargirl tried to contact the Justice League.
• Jay decided to go to the Hall of Justice for help, and Karen agreed to hold the line.
• Jay found a crashed Bat-plane and identical corpses clawing at the Hall’s doors, then entered through a hole in the building.
• Jay found Wildcat and Hourman putting out the Bat-plane fire, and told them the group in town was still fighting the corpses.

After the Hall of Justice was attacked and lost power, Jay, Hourman, and Wildcat divided up tasks to address the damage, the monsters, and the failing Speed Force. Across the plaza, the Doom Patrol and Teen Titans tried to free Roundhouse from his sealed alien armor.

• Hourman told Jay that Amo had kidnapped Jar-ro, the Hall had lost power, and a plane had struck the building.
• Jay told Wildcat to find Justice League Dark underground and Hourman to repair the wall and ask Nightwing whether Raven could handle the monsters.
• Wildcat headed for the elevator shaft, while Jay left to find Barry because he sensed the Speed Force was failing.
• Chief examined Roundhouse, trapped inside his alien armor, as the Doom Patrol and Teen Titans gathered in a darkened fast-food restaurant.
• Harley suggested burning the restaurant’s tables and chairs for light, and Damian pressured Black Wally into obeying by threatening to withhold games and consoles.

Harley sent Black Wally to buy liquor, while Damian used the drinks to build goodwill with the Doom Patrol. After hearing that a crowd was pounding on the Hall of Justice, Damian laid out their next steps: rescue Little Wu and find Superman.

• Harley urged Black Wally to steal liquor, but Damian explained the legal consequences and Wally agreed to buy it instead.
• Damian gave Wally money to bring back two cases of liquor for the Doom Patrol.
• Damian considered how the Doom Patrol members needed respect and hoped the gesture would win their favor.
• Wally returned with the liquor and reported that a crowd was pounding on the Hall of Justice.
• Damian said Nightwing would handle the Hall of Justice and announced that they would rescue Little Wu and then find Superman.

After a worldwide blackout grounded the Fortress of Doom, Lex Luthor concluded that gods were likely behind the attack and set out with Cheetah to find Superman. They were surrounded by headless undead in the rainforest, and Cheetah prepared to fight them.

• Lex Luthor learned that the blackout had disabled Brainiac, the Amazo army, and his fusion-powered Anti-Superman Armor.
• Luthor concluded that a god or gods using Mystic Side methods might be behind the blackout and decided to find Superman before he could be controlled or killed.
• Cheetah agreed to help in exchange for a house in London near Diana, and Luthor accepted her terms.
• Luthor explained that the Fortress of Doom had made an emergency landing in the South American rainforest, a place he had chosen because local sorcerers might help him.
• Luthor and Cheetah left the fortress and found themselves surrounded by headless undead; Luthor told Cheetah to handle them, and she readied the Tears of Extinction.

Mindy answered reporters’ questions about the Justice League while a Superman arrived and was exposed as an impostor by Batwoman. After Batwoman attacked him, another Batwoman appeared and killed the ape who had tried to lead Mindy into an ambush, warning her that she had nearly been fooled.

• Mindy fielded reporters’ questions, explaining that the Justice League and parallel worlds existed and that Batwoman’s gold-reserve plan was classified.
• A Superman descended into the press conference and drew the reporters’ attention while Mindy wondered why he had not greeted the President or Batwoman.
• Batwoman handed Bobo to Mindy, called Superman an impostor, and punched him through the White House wall before pursuing him into the black Nightfall.
• Mindy asked to join the fight, and the ape suggested they ambush the fake Superman by taking another route.
• A second Batwoman appeared, killed the ape in Mindy’s arms, and warned Mindy that she had nearly been fooled.

Detective Chimp explained how the gods’ impostors had used a staged fight to spread fear and distrust, while Deathstroke revealed that he had anticipated their interference. He trapped the fake Batwoman and fake Superman outside the White House and ordered Strangle to probe one captive’s brain.

• Detective Chimp explained to Hit-Girl that the gods had sent fake versions of Superman, Batwoman, and himself to sabotage their plan and undermine confidence in superheroes.
• Batwoman and Detective Chimp discussed how fear and suspicion could weaken humanity’s unity, while Deathstroke’s plan had deliberately given the gods a chance to reveal themselves.
• Deathstroke carried Detective Chimp through the hole in the White House wall and showed him the two impostors frozen in time and space.
• Deathstroke checked that the fake Batwoman and fake Superman had brains, then ordered Strangle to enter the fake Batwoman’s head.

Su Ming and Bobo learned that a goddess called “Mother” was directing the ancient gods’ attacks, and they speculated she might be connected to Perpetua. Su Ming then turned the gods’ failed attempt to make people fear superheroes into a broadcast portraying them as cowards, leaving the public with Batman’s warning.

• Su Ming told Bobo that the two ancient gods’ deaths could serve as a lesson about how cunning their kind was, and revealed that a goddess called “Mother” had sent them through a god named Amo.
• Bobo suggested the Mother might be Perpetua’s mother, but Su Ming dismissed the idea that she could be the Mother of Hypertime and proposed restoring communications to contact Adjutant.
• Su Ming returned the two corpses to the press conference and told Mindy that the impostors had poisoned themselves when they saw him.
• Playing Batman, Su Ming addressed the cameras and claimed the ancient gods had been so frightened by him that they killed themselves, turning their attempt to make people fear superheroes against them.

At the press conference, Bobo explained the Justice League’s purpose while Deathstroke, disguised as Batwoman, encouraged Mindy after she was fooled by an impostor. The reporters eagerly photographed the dead gods, and Deathstroke waited for the president and the promised gold to arrive.

• Batwoman handed the press conference over to Bobo, who delivered an emotional account of the Justice League’s history and ideals.
• Deathstroke reassured Mindy that she could learn from being fooled, and gave her a Batarang as a memento of her encounter with a superpowered enemy.
• Mindy recalled details that should have exposed the impostors and wondered whether receiving the Batarang meant she had joined the Justice League.
• Bobo invited reporters to photograph the gods’ corpses, and they rushed to pose beside them and take exclusive pictures.
• Bobo and Deathstroke watched the reporters as Batwoman posed for photographs, while Monkey Secretary reminded Deathstroke about the gold and the people waiting to be rescued.
• Batwoman said the gold would arrive soon because the darkness had told her.

Young Barry Allen was robbed of his new shoes and, feeling lost, was picked up by his mother in the rain. On the drive home, she comforted him and teased him about what fast running might mean for his future.

• Barry ran toward KFC to buy a combo meal for its chicken-shaped pencil sharpener, then slowed down to show off his new red sneakers.
• Some boys stole Barry’s shoes and beat him, leaving him stranded in the rain and too ashamed to go home.
• Barry’s mother found him in her car, gave him a towel, and he told her the boys from school had taken his shoes.
• Barry admitted he wished he could run faster so he could avoid trouble, and his mother told him speed could bring new problems.