Chapter Summaries

Su Ming concluded that the Hand of Creation had replaced Multiverse 1, which the Adjutant had moved out of danger, and kept his teammates focused on their mission in the Old Ones’ dream. As the group crossed the ruined city to meet Luthor, they heard a human figure singing ahead.

• Su Ming reasoned that the Hand of Creation had forged a new Multiversal System while the Adjutant had secretly moved Multiverse 1, buying them time before the Origin Judges investigated.
• Su Ming told his teammates that a giant creature had probably moved underground, and Zatanna backed up the explanation with a tale about Death Worms.
• Diana reassured Cheetah that they were in the Old Ones’ dream, and Cheetah talked about wanting to sunbathe after they returned.
• Su Ming ordered the team to leave the alleyways and find Luthor, and they walked through the decaying city along a road of flesh.
• Cheetah heard someone at a corner ahead, and Su Ming recognized a figure humming an old British pirate sea shanty.

Su Ming and the others found an aged Constantine in the Nightmare Dimension, where he had come from the old Earth-One and claimed to be exiling himself for turning nightmare into reality. Su Ming suspected Constantine had also entered the dimension to escape Hell, Heaven, and his worsening lung cancer.

• Zatanna recognized a familiar voice, and Barry scouted ahead before reporting that the singer was Constantine.
• Su Ming led the group to Constantine, who appeared decades older and said he came from the old Earth-One.
• Constantine explained that he had willingly stayed in the Nightmare Dimension to punish himself for making nightmare real.
• Diana questioned whether Constantine was a demon, but he recognized her as an Amazon and described how much time had passed.
• Su Ming inferred that Constantine had also sought refuge from Hell, Heaven, and his lung cancer, and Constantine admitted that Su Ming had guessed part of the truth.

The Old Man explained that escaping the Nightmare Dimension was difficult, while the Justice League remained determined to find Luthor. Deathstroke offered Constantine a stash of liquor, and the old man took it all, choosing to stay behind and drink.

• The Old Man asked why the group had entered Nightmare, and Barry explained that they had come to rescue Luthor.
• The Old Man warned that entering the Nightmare Dimension was easy but waking from it was not under their control.
• Wonder Woman insisted the Justice League would not abandon Luthor, and the Old Man offered to accompany them despite his frail condition.
• Deathstroke offered the Old Man a selection of liquor, and the Old Man took every bottle and decided to stay behind.
• Su Ming offered to drink with the Old Man, who boasted that his drinking could be summed up as keeping on drinking.

Deathstroke played a rigged drinking game with Constantine while the others watched, then suddenly struck him with a Speed Force-powered punch. After Constantine and part of the city were destroyed, Deathstroke prepared everyone for battle and revealed he had recognized that Constantine was not who he seemed.

• Deathstroke and Constantine drank and played finger-guessing, with Deathstroke cheating to win every round.
• Diana and Cheetah watched the game while Diana told Cheetah not to interfere, suspecting Deathstroke had noticed something unusual about Constantine.
• After more than thirty rounds, Deathstroke punched Constantine with enough force to destroy him and half the city.
• Deathstroke signaled everyone to prepare for battle and told the vanished Constantine that he had recognized him.

Deathstroke exposed Nyarlathotep, who had been impersonating Constantine and manipulating events in the Dream Dimension. He reasoned that Nyarlathotep could not kill him there while the other Old Ones remained interested, then led his team away.

• Deathstroke revealed that the fake Constantine had given himself away by playing a drinking game too honestly.
• Nyarlathotep dropped his disguise and admitted that he had lured Deathstroke into his game, though he denied colluding with the Hand of Creation.
• Deathstroke told his teammates to avert their eyes and argued that Nyarlathotep was only a guest in another Old One's dream.
• Deathstroke concluded that the other Old Ones' interest in him prevented Nyarlathotep from killing him and left with his team.

Su Ming led the group away from Nyarlathotep, explaining that the Old One was more interested in amusing itself than killing them and had limited power in the dream. The group continued through the Nightmare Dimension, unsettled by Nyarlathotep’s presence but out of immediate danger.

• Deathstroke carried the group away while Su Ming reassured The Flash that Nyarlathotep could not kill them.
• Su Ming explained to Diana that Nyarlathotep would likely cause trouble but lacked much authority in the dream.
• Barry asked whether dying in a dream could kill someone in the Material World, and Su Ming admitted he did not know.
• Zatanna retched at the sight of Nyarlathotep, while Cheetah asked Su Ming about his past dealings with the god.
• Su Ming described Nyarlathotep as an enhanced version of the Joker and advised The Flash that avoiding deeper investigation helped prevent madness.

Su Ming and the Justice League searched a corrupted dreamscape for Luthor, fighting grotesquely animated store goods along the way. They found Luthor somewhere beneath the store and prepared to descend into the basement.

• Su Ming led the group through a transformed city toward Luthor’s location while Nyarlathotep followed them.
• Glowing flesh tumors attacked Deathstroke in a store, and Su Ming used the Force to throw their pus back at them, killing the animated goods.
• Cheetah changed back into human form because the stench overwhelmed her, and Zatanna conjured clothes for her.
• Su Ming confirmed that Luthor was somewhere in a layer of the dream at the store and decided the group should search the basement.
• Diana insisted that they would not abandon their Justice League teammate, and Su Ming ordered the group to stay close and form up.
• Zatanna cast a violet spatial barrier to seal and reinforce the store as the group prepared to proceed.

Deathstroke and the group entered a clean dream layer beneath the store and found Lex Luthor asleep in a ruined gas station, alive but missing his brain. Deathstroke carried Luthor out, but the mysterious prop that had drawn him into the nightmare was nowhere to be found.

• The group descended the staircase and entered a black desert dream layer containing an abandoned gas station.
• Cheetah called out to Lex Luthor, and Deathstroke went inside while the others waited outside.
• Deathstroke found Luthor snoring beneath a collapsed shelf and discovered that his brain was missing despite his body functioning normally.
• Deathstroke carried Luthor outside and suspected Nyarlathotep was responsible for the strange condition.
• Deathstroke noted that Luthor’s mysterious prop was missing, and he wondered what object had drawn Luthor into the nightmare.

Su Ming returned from Nyarlathotep’s dream with Luthor still asleep and his brain missing. He brought the group back to the Nightmare, promising to explain how he would solve the problem.

• Su Ming ignored the gas station and dropped Luthor onto the road, where he remained asleep.
• Barry and Diana tried to examine Luthor, while Su Ming revealed that his brain had been taken and Zatanna suspected magic.
• Zatanna and Cheetah discussed the danger of seeking Luthor’s missing brain, but Su Ming told everyone to return the way they came.
• Cloak carried the group out of the dream, and they woke on the stairs leading to the basement with Luthor still asleep beside them.

Su Ming rescued Luthor from the Nightmare Dimension and restored him by using its abundant life force to grow him a new brain. Luthor learned that Nyarlathotep had used him as bait, while the fate of his missing artifact remained uncertain.

• Su Ming brought the group and Luthor's body back to the shop, then used Black Matter to revive him.
• Luthor woke screaming and vomited on Barry before regaining his composure and thanking Deathstroke for rescuing him.
• Su Ming told Luthor that Nyarlathotep had taken his brain and used him to lure Su Ming into a contest.
• Luthor realized that the polyhedron he had found in the Cancerverse was also missing, and Su Ming said it might have served as a medium for contacting the Old Ones.
• Deathstroke explained that they were in the Nightmare Dimension, and Luthor deduced that its life force had given him a temporary Healing Factor and a new brain.

Su Ming explained that he had used mutated quanta from the Nightmare Dimension to rebuild Luthor’s brain, while warning that the process would likely give ordinary people brain cancer. After learning how he had been saved, Luthor thanked the rescuers and promised each of them a million-dollar car when they returned to their world.

• Luthor recognized that Doomsday Spores offered a possible route to a powerful Healing Factor, though his research had shown they killed human hosts.
• Su Ming explained that he had assembled a new brain for Luthor from mutated quanta filled with Life Energy, aided by Luthor’s ability to accommodate Deviant cells.
• Luthor asked what the procedure would do to an ordinary person, and Su Ming pointed out the grotesque growths outside as evidence of Life Energy’s dangers.
• Luthor accepted that he had been lucky, thanked the group for rescuing him, and offered each of them a car worth a million US Dollars once they returned to their world.

Su Ming and his team weighed the risks of escaping the Nightmare Dimension while Nyarlathotep watched them, and decided to seek help from The First Dream. Su Ming revealed his plan to use the Sands of Time to find it, leaving the group preparing to sleep inside the shop.

• Su Ming warned the team that leaving the Nightmare Dimension by teleportation or the Speed Force could carry unknown risks, and proposed contacting The First Dream for help.
• Luthor suggested Su Ming use his Quantum Concepts, but Su Ming refused to activate a dangerous contingency that might change his appearance.
• The group left the shop and saw a ghostly figure appear on the quiet street before it vanished.
• Su Ming took out a pouch of Sands of Time and said they could use it to find The First Dream if it would not come to them.
• Su Ming told everyone to return inside, close the door, and sleep.

Su Ming led his companions into a voluntary dream within the Nightmare Dimension, using the Sands of Time to seek The First Dream and evade Nyarlathotep’s spectacle. Nyarlathotep spared the sleeping group and left, but the red moon revealed its true form and swallowed them in tar-like mucus.

• Su Ming chose to use the Sands of Time to dream within the nightmare and reach The First Dream.
• Zatanna agreed with the plan, while Barry and Luthor exchanged remarks before everyone prepared to sleep.
• Su Ming sprinkled the Sands of Time on the group’s eyelids, then fell asleep beside the shop entrance.
• Nyarlathotep tried to wake Su Ming with a horn but decided not to kill him and left the shop as black mud.
• The red moon transformed into a triangular creature, entered the shop, and engulfed the unconscious group in tar-like mucus.

Su Ming woke in the Dreaming and learned that the Hands of Creation had replaced the old Multiverse 1 with a radiant new one while he was asleep. He planned to return to the 40K Universe to check on the Multiverse 1 he had moved there, and invited Big Cat to join him.

• Su Ming woke to find Big Cat licking Luthor's head and asked what commotion it meant.
• Big Cat showed Su Ming that the Multiverse had changed, and Su Ming realized the Hands of Creation had acted while he was dreaming.
• Big Cat explained that God had lost His believers, The Void was counting down to All Things Return to Nothingness, and The Source had benefited.
• Su Ming asked about Lucifer, and Big Cat said he had been drinking tea and playing house with God from the Future in the Rural Utopia.
• Big Cat described the new Multiverse as boring and lacking stray cats, while Su Ming joked with it about eating zombies.
• Su Ming said he would return to the 40K Universe to check whether Multiverse 1 had acclimatized and asked Big Cat to come along.

Dream of a Thousand Cats realized that Deathstroke had gained access to Multiverse 1 through the Hands of Creation’s actions and suspected he had maneuvered events to his advantage. Deathstroke brought the group back to Kamar-Taj, where they admired the gardens before he explained what had happened to their multiverse.

• Dream of a Thousand Cats concluded that it could travel to Multiverse 1 and wondered whether Deathstroke had planned to seize it.
• Deathstroke teased the cat by trapping sand and water in Quantum Concepts, and Dream of a Thousand Cats called it cheating.
• Dream of a Thousand Cats woke the others and suggested they leave the Dreaming so Deathstroke could explain why Multiverse 1 was in his 40K Universe.
• Deathstroke asked Adjutant to teleport everyone to Kamar-Taj, where Mordo prepared a feast.
• The group admired Kamar-Taj’s garden and watched magical apprentices use spells to make lotuses bloom and close.

At Kamar-Taj, Su Ming explained that the Hands of Creation had displaced Multiverse 1 and that it could not return without destroying the replacement multiverse. The group accepted that his backup plan had saved everyone, but left the question of what to do next unresolved.

• Zatanna admired Kamar-Taj and asked Su Ming for permission to explore it with Cheetah.
• Su Ming told Zatanna and Cheetah to look around and invited them to dinner in the Meditation Hall.
• Su Ming explained that the Hands of Creation had moved Multiverse 1 into the 40K Multiverse, leaving a new multiverse in its place.
• Luthor and Diana discussed how Su Ming's backup plan had prevented the two multiverses from colliding.
• Big Cat explained why it had been unable to leave the DC Universe system and distracted the others from what Su Ming had gained.

Su Ming dismissed his unruly apprentices, then hosted a feast where Barry, Luthor, and Zatanna prepared to return to their own concerns. He agreed to take Cheetah and Big Cat back to his home with Diana, while Cheetah grew curious about another resident named Gin.

• Su Ming ordered Hamill to send the apprentices who were disturbing the lotuses to The Playground for a hundred laps carrying millstones.
• Mordo led Su Ming, Barry, Luthor, Zatanna, Cheetah, Big Cat, and the others to a banquet, where they ate and watched comic dialogue performances.
• Barry left with leftovers for his wives, and Luthor returned to Metropolis to tell Superman what he had learned.
• Zatanna returned to the House of Mystery to check on the unconscious Zha Kang.
• Su Ming agreed to let Cheetah and Big Cat stay at his home with Diana, and Cheetah showed interest when he mentioned Gin.

Deathstroke brought Diana, Cheetah, and the Dream of a Thousand Cats to his mountain home, where Gin welcomed them. Diana remained troubled by the New Multiverse that had replaced Multiverse 1, and asked to check whether the original Multiverse had suffered any damage.

• Deathstroke brought the two women and the cat to his secluded home in the mountains and explained that he preferred its quiet.
• Gin welcomed Deathstroke and Diana, and Diana introduced Barbara Minerva as a close friend who might stay for a few days.
• Cheetah teased Diana about her relationship with Slade, while Diana told her to stop making faces or return to the forest.
• Diana withdrew to the living room, still distracted by the New Multiverse, and asked to examine Multiverse 1 for damage.
• Deathstroke told Diana there was no need to rush and said they had to wait for Justice Incarnate to call a meeting.

Su Ming showed Diana the changes to Multiverse 1 after its transfer into the 40K Multiverse, and Adjutant helped her identify affected worlds. With Earth-0 unchanged, Diana inspected the remaining altered planets while Su Ming asked Gin to spar with Cheetah.

• Su Ming asked Adjutant to project the Orrery of Worlds so Diana and Dream of a Thousand Cats could examine Multiverse 1.
• Dream of a Thousand Cats said it had already learned about the changes through dreams and continued eating peaches.
• Diana began inspecting Earth-0’s Single Universe, and Gin asked Adjutant to hide planets that had not changed.
• Adjutant listed just over fifty altered planets and around a dozen stars, while confirming Earth-0 had no abnormalities.
• Diana inspected the affected planets, and Su Ming told Gin to keep Cheetah company in a hand-to-hand spar while Diana was busy.

Gin and Cheetah prepared to spar while Su Ming questioned the Adjutant about the Record Keeper, the Celestials, and humanity’s expanding colonial outposts. The reports left the Record Keeper still evading Franklin, the Celestials quiet, and Su Ming ready to turn his attention to Steve.

• Gin went upstairs to change for a spar with Cheetah, and Su Ming warned Cheetah that Gin fought as a Magic Warrior.
• The Adjutant reported that Franklin had not caught the Record Keeper, which kept escaping across dimensions, while Su Ming planned to let Little Rich pursue it.
• The Adjutant said the Celestials had contracted their activities and that Eternity and the other Creator Gods had recently kept a low profile.
• Su Ming asked about the Great Cosmic Voyage Plan, and the Adjutant reported that 324 human Outposts were under construction, with Great Qin Station leading and S.H.I.E.L.D. ranking third.
• Su Ming noted the strained relationship between Tony and Howard, then suggested messing with Steve for fun.