Chapter Summaries

Su Ming and the others assessed Darkseid’s isolated Spectre Sector and debated whether Cyborg’s team needed rescuing. They decided to enter the research station and ask the Zamaron woman whether her machine could retrieve anyone from the sector.

• Strangle followed Dex-Starr’s scent to a technological station overlooking the Spectre Sector, which had been sealed off by a vast energy network.
• Barry sensed that the Speed Force was repelled within the network, and Su Ming concluded that Darkseid had created a separate Single Universe as an escape ship and safe haven.
• Diana worried that Cyborg’s team would encounter Darkseid, but Su Ming and Bobo argued that the team was safer inside the sector and that Darkseid had likely already discovered them.
• Barry admitted that he wanted to save Jessica, prompting the others to tease him about his past relationship with her.
• Bobo suggested asking the Zamaron woman whether her machine could retrieve people from the Spectre Sector, and the group agreed to enter the station.
• Su Ming scanned the access control with Dex-Starr’s cat face and led the others inside.

Su Ming’s team took control of a New Gods extraction device in the Spectre Sector, but Orion arrived before they could use it. Diana recognized him as a friend thought erased with the other New Gods, while Su Ming demanded to know why he was there and still alive.

• Su Ming knocked Hax unconscious, then had Bobo inspect the New Gods equipment while the team secured the laboratory.
• Bobo translated the console and explained that the device could extract semi-random objects from a selected region of space, though using it might drain the station’s power.
• Orion entered the laboratory and surprised Diana, who had believed he died when Perpetua erased Genesis’s New Gods.
• Orion greeted Barry and Bobo, then asked what the team had done to Hax.
• Harley threw Dex-Starr at Orion and threatened him after he called her Joker Girl, but Su Ming intervened and demanded to know why Orion was alive and at the station.

Su Ming questioned Orion about the New Gods’ extinction and his search for Darkseid, then used Orion’s Genesis technology to teleport survivors out of the Spectre Sector. The machine brought back a Tamaranean, a charred corpse, and an Eskaton, which Su Ming prepared to fight.

• Orion revealed that he had survived the destruction of New Genesis because Darkseid’s Omega Energy flowed within him, and that he had come to the Spectre Sector to stop Darkseid.
• Orion explained that Perpetua had created Eskatons to hunt surviving New Gods, and that his Obscuring Armor concealed his identity from them.
• Su Ming agreed to Orion’s plan to teleport high-energy organisms from the Spectre Sector, and Bobo activated the Genesis machine.
• The machine teleported a Tamaranean, a charred corpse, and an Eskaton into the space station before its control panel and machinery burned out.
• Su Ming drew the Nightfall Greatsword and told everyone to fall back while he faced the Eskaton.

Deathstroke and the others confronted Eskaton, a biological weapon that hunted New Gods, while Barry mourned Jessica’s death. Deathstroke used Strangle to hold the monster at bay and ordered it to be eaten, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Orion, Lingxing, and Diana prepared to fight Eskaton, but Barry recognized Jessica’s charred body and collapsed in grief.
• Su Ming blocked Eskaton’s attack on Orion, then challenged the creature as it declared its intent to devour the New Gods.
• Su Ming and Strangle matched Eskaton’s growing limbs in a strength contest while Diana moved Barry, Jessica, Blackfire, and Harley to safety.
• Lingxing’s attacks failed to harm Eskaton, and it suggested turning the monster against Darkseid.
• Su Ming rejected Lingxing’s plan and ordered Strangle to eat Eskaton.

After Jessica’s death, Barry demanded that the group abandon negotiations with Darkseid and find a way to defeat him. Su Ming agreed, while Blackfire explained what had happened in the Spectre Sector and the group turned to arranging Jessica’s funeral.

• Barry mourned Jessica and told Harley that he intended to defeat Darkseid and avenge her, but refused to kill anyone.
• Blackfire told Diana and Bobo that Darkseid had deceived her and described Cyborg’s group’s experiences inside the Spectre Sector.
• Harley offered Barry a decorated candy box to use for Jessica’s remains, but he insisted Jessica deserved a proper Green Lantern funeral.
• Su Ming emerged from the laboratory and said Jessica’s death made his plan to work with Darkseid difficult.
• Barry begged Su Ming to help defeat Darkseid, and Su Ming agreed after warning that many people might die.

Su Ming and the others left Jessica's body in a coffin while they considered ways to revive her. After discussing Darkseid's plans and the failures of earlier tactics, Su Ming decided to enter the Spectre Universe to discover its rules, leaving Bobo in charge outside.

• Su Ming placed Jessica's body in a coffin and left it in the station's storage room until they could return to Earth and seek a way to revive her.
• Diana knocked Barry unconscious after he claimed to hear Jessica calling him, and Harley diagnosed him with auditory hallucinations.
• Su Ming learned from Bobo that Darkseid and Lucifer had both sought an escape ark called Sepulk, and they agreed they still needed to seize control of it.
• Su Ming ruled out assassination and destroying the Anti-Mother Box, then concluded he needed to enter the Spectre Universe and learn its rules before confronting Darkseid.
• Su Ming left Bobo in charge of the others and asked him what to tell Constantine, but Bobo reported that the monitor was reacting and someone was approaching.

Su Ming disguised himself as Highfather to destroy an approaching Parademon army and make Darkseid hesitate. After returning to the space station, he secretly left for the Spectre Universe to investigate, deciding to seek out lime first.

• Su Ming read a small amount of Orion’s memories and transformed into Highfather while Bobo prepared the team to wake Barry and the technician.
• Su Ming flew out to face the Parademons and used ten rings to erase the entire army in a flash of white light.
• Su Ming returned toward the space station as Highfather, hoping Darkseid would mistake the display for a sign of Highfather’s strength and pause his attacks.
• Su Ming hid outside the station in Cloak’s stealth mode, confirmed Darkseid had sent no more enemies, and headed for the Spectre Universe.
• Su Ming chose to investigate wherever had lime first.

Constantine and Swamp Thing confronted Nabu beside the Tree of Wonder, hoping to stop him from gaining power and betraying them to Circe. Swamp Thing transformed into a colossal tree giant while Constantine prepared costly magic, leaving their battle with Nabu unresolved.

• The narrator entered Darkseid’s energy network and found Darkseid discussing Highfather’s return with Cyborg.
• Constantine and Swamp Thing sensed Nabu’s arrival at the Tree of Wonder after sending their teammates away on a diversion.
• Nabu appeared in a new hostless Golden Helmet and urged Constantine to help him defeat The Upside-Down Man.
• Constantine accused Nabu of planning to betray them to Circe and revealed their mutual-destruction trap.
• Swamp Thing merged with the Tree of Wonder, grew into a giant, and attacked Nabu with The Green and miracle power.
• Constantine raised two red magic circles and began casting a costly spell while Nabu evaded Swamp Thing’s attacks.

Constantine used a magical beacon and a bargain involving Raven to summon Trigon and turn the battle against Nabu. Trigon revived Constantine, destroyed Nabu’s avatar, and demanded that Constantine hand over his daughter.

• Constantine unleashed a devastating spell, but Nabu reflected it into the Swamp Thing and left Constantine badly wounded.
• Constantine revealed that the reflected magic had activated the Swamp Thing as a beacon, and Trigon descended into the Main World.
• Constantine reminded Trigon that their contract depended on keeping Raven alive, then drank while Trigon healed him.
• Trigon snapped Nabu’s avatar apart and dismissed him as weak.
• Trigon demanded that Constantine reveal Raven’s whereabouts so he could take her home.

Donna took Raven from Paradise Island to Gotham, while Su Ming searched a submerged alien world for material to make quicklime. He found the drowned remains of an alien city and gathered the inhabitants’ bones to burn for lime.

• Raven felt an ill omen while staying with Donna on Paradise Island, and Donna suggested they visit Garth and Dick in Gotham.
• Raven opened a Teleportation Portal, and she and Donna arrived beneath Gotham’s Bat-Signal.
• Su Ming chose an ocean planet among Brainiac’s former collectibles, hoping to find shells he could burn into quicklime.
• Su Ming discovered an alien city submerged beneath the sea, with humanoid skeletons in its buildings and no apparent survivors.
• Su Ming told Strangle to collect the calcium-containing bones while he searched for materials to make a raft.

Su Ming investigated the transformed planets and deduced that Darkseid had given Cyborg the concept of encoding, while planning to learn what Starfire’s concept was on Tamaran. He returned to the space station and found the team holding a drunken party, then demanded an explanation from Harley.

• Su Ming reasoned that Darkseid had transformed Cyborg, Starfire, and Deathstroke to exploit what was special about them, and suspected they had been given new Cosmic Concepts.
• Su Ming visited a fully urbanized planet where residents worshipped Cyborg and discovered that Cyborg used the network to convert their contributions into energy and provide them with virtual experiences.
• Su Ming concluded that Cyborg’s new concept was encoding and left to investigate Starfire’s concept on Tamaran.
• Su Ming returned to the space station and found Diana, Harley, Dex-Starr, and the others drinking and partying in the laboratory.
• Su Ming caught the drunken Dex-Starr and shouted at Harley to explain what was happening.

Su Ming prepared to enter the Spectre Universe, explaining how Harley could take the group there and how Tenth Metal would protect them from Darkseid’s transformations. He left Orion and Blackfire behind while Harley began piloting the ship toward the universe.

• Su Ming told Bobo and the others that Harley could carry them into and out of the Spectre Universe by piloting a small spaceship.
• Su Ming gave Tenth Metal discs to the Justice League members so they would resist assimilation by Darkseid’s universe, but he refused them to Orion and Dex-Starr.
• Su Ming accused Blackfire of possibly betraying the group because she had once helped Darkseid, and he ordered her to stay behind.
• Su Ming ordered Orion to lend them a station ship and guard Jessica’s body, then took the Justice League and Harley to the hangar.
• Su Ming merged with the ship through Strangle and told Harley to think about taking everyone into the universe and push the thruster forward.

After crashing on Genesis Planet, Su Ming explained the dangers of the world and laid out a plan to defeat Darkseid’s three New Gods. The group prepared to leave the planet and rescue Cyborg, Starfire, and Deathstroke by defeating them and sending them to allies outside the Spectre Universe.

• Harley crash-landed the spaceship near Genesis Planet’s coast, and Su Ming built a fire while the group recovered.
• Diana identified Genesis Planet and warned that its Zerg could combine into powerful, slime-like creatures.
• Su Ming explained that Darkseid’s New Gods—Cyborg, Starfire, and Deathstroke—embodied the concepts of encoding, fire, and faith.
• Su Ming proposed defeating the three New Gods one at a time and sending them to Orion, Blackfire, and Dex-Starr to free them from Darkseid’s control.
• Bobo grinned at Su Ming’s plan, and Harley joked that he might need an examination at Arkham.

Su Ming’s group encountered Brainiac-controlled Genesis Zerg on the beach, and Su Ming used Cosmic Energy to destroy one before explaining his preparations. He then outlined a plan to split the three New Gods and defeat them separately.

• Diana prepared to fight when Brainiac-controlled bugs emerged from the beach forest, but Su Ming destroyed one with his Photon Shattering Fist.
• Su Ming retrieved the Mind Control chip from the bug and explained that the Power Rings could not recharge in this universe, while his Cosmic Energy could draw on ambient energy.
• Su Ming confronted Barry for failing to tell everyone about his preparations, and Barry admitted he had only been asked to inform Diana.
• Su Ming revealed his Cosmic Energy to Bobo and accepted that Darkseid might be watching, confident that the power would make Darkseid wary.
• Su Ming ordered the group to split the three New Gods apart and defeat them one by one, then sent Barry to retrieve spacesuits from the sinking spaceship.

Su Ming’s team traveled to Steel Star to lure Cyborg into a trap using Brainiac’s mind-control chip and the planet’s network. The chapter ended with Su Ming posing as a Mantis Person and telling his target that their world was still Brainiac’s Matrix.

• Su Ming chose Cyborg as the team’s first target and planned to use Brainiac’s chip to make Cyborg seek out an infected Mantis Person.
• Su Ming led Diana, Barry, Harley, and Bobo to Steel Star and broke into a Mantis Person’s home while he was connected to the network.
• Diana smashed the house robot, and Su Ming disguised himself as a Mantis Person while the others waited for the resident to wake.
• Su Ming addressed the resident as Neo and claimed that he and the other Mantis People were still living inside Brainiac’s Matrix.

Su Ming, posing as Morpheus, convinced Neo that Brainiac had trapped humanity in a false Matrix and that Neo was the prophesied savior. Neo chose the black chip, and Brainiac’s program rebooted his mind as the group prepared to use him.

• Neo initially rejected Morpheus’s claim that his world was a Matrix until Morpheus demonstrated impossible powers and erased a table.
• Morpheus told Neo that he was really Neo, a foremost network engineer, and that déjà vu came from Brainiac repeatedly resetting the simulation.
• Neo accepted his supposed role as humanity’s savior and asked how he could return to reality and free everyone.
• Morpheus offered Neo two chips, and Neo chose the black one and pressed it to his forehead.
• Morpheus ordered Diana to tie Neo up, Bobo to check the equipment, and Barry to fix the door as Brainiac’s program flooded Neo’s mind and rebooted it.

Su Ming’s group lured Cyborg to Steel Star by spreading Brainiac’s program through the network, then ambushed and decapitated him. They left with Cyborg’s head while Neo remained trapped in the sleep pod.

• Bobo connected Neo’s helmet to the network, allowing Brainiac’s program to spread and drawing Cyborg toward Steel Star.
• Cyborg isolated the infection to Steel Heart, failed to remove the program remotely, and flew to the compromised terminal.
• Su Ming, disguised as a Mantis Person, grabbed Cyborg when he entered and began scanning the room.
• Barry brought Diana behind Cyborg through the Speed Force, and Diana used Vulcan’s Sword to cut off his head.
• Su Ming took Cyborg’s head, and the group escaped on Cloak’s flying carpet, leaving Neo in the sleep pod.

After defeating Cyborg, Deathstroke and the Justice League used his captured head to learn where Starfire was fighting the Carrion Eaters. They arrived to interfere in the battle, and their unexpected energy blast strengthened the Carrion Eater and turned it against Starfire’s forces.

• Darkseid learned that Cyborg had been defeated and ordered Death Angel to track down Deathstroke’s group while Starfire fought the Carrion Eaters.
• Deathstroke explained that Darkseid would divide his forces and chose to target Starfire rather than face Death Angel and the Parademon army.
• Diana handed Cyborg’s wrapped head to Deathstroke so Strangle could read its intelligence and locate Starfire’s battlefield.
• Starfire and Tarsol fought a powerful Carrion Eater, struggling because it resisted energy attacks and continually healed.
• Deathstroke’s group appeared and fired a seven-colored beam at the Carrion Eater, replenishing its energy and causing it to devour several of Starfire’s subordinates.

Su Ming, disguised as Wong Fei-hung, arrived with Cyborg’s head and bargained with Carrion Eater to turn it against Starfire and the Lesser New Gods. After feeding the monster its enemies, he faced the last survivors and invited the three remaining opponents to fight.

• Starfire recognized the Justice League and Harley Quinn but did not recognize the man who approached carrying a cage with Cyborg’s head inside.
• Su Ming introduced himself as Wong Fei-hung and offered Carrion Eater Cyborg’s head in exchange for help defeating Starfire.
• Carrion Eater accepted the deal and attacked while Su Ming kept the Lesser New Gods from reaching the cage.
• Su Ming maneuvered the Lesser New Gods into Carrion Eater’s mouth until only Starfire, Tarsol, Su Ming, and Carrion Eater remained.
• Su Ming struck a martial arts pose and invited the three others to fight.

Deathstroke and his allies defeated Starfire and captured her while Carrion Eater fought Tarsol. They escaped on the Cloak of Levitation, leaving the two enemies to fight, and planned to wait for Darkseid’s response after securing Starfire and Cyborg.

• Tarsol warned Starfire that Angel God-brother was coming, but Deathstroke understood their conversation and attacked Starfire while Carrion Eater engaged Tarsol.
• Deathstroke pursued Starfire through the air and struck her in the chest, sending her crashing into Diana’s shield and leaving her unconscious.
• Diana bound Starfire, and Barry carried her as Deathstroke led the group away, leaving Carrion Eater and Tarsol to chase them.
• Carrion Eater and Tarsol failed to catch the Cloak of Levitation, realized they had both been tricked, and resumed fighting.
• Bobo questioned why the group was fleeing, and Deathstroke said they would wait to see how Darkseid responded after checking Starfire for a tracker or self-destruct device.