#55: Concerning The Angle Of Horror (Part 1 of 4)

Previously, in JUSTICE LEAGUE…

Over the last few months, BATMAN and WONDER WOMAN have been subject to a growing mutual attraction, consummated by a kiss that has left the two uncertain as to what will be next…

Meanwhile, a mysterious whistleblower by the name of PATHFINDER has been feeding the JUSTICE LEAGUE information regarding threats to the world. At first it was regarding MAD HATTER’s plot to assault the White House and kidnap the President’s daughter, but surely there are bigger things waiting in the wings…

MAJESTROS, the age-old warlord of a dead race of superhumans, has found a fellow survivor, the automaton JACK MARLOWE—aka SPARTAN—and the duo are working together to uncover the truth about the secretive threat of the DAEMONITES, their archenemies and current occupying threat that has claws across the world!

Finally, JOHN STEWART has returned to the fold of the team as their GREEN LANTERN after an absence, picking up ring-slinging duties after events in the lives of his fellow cosmic law enforcers meant he would need to keep a closer eye on the events of Earth…

With all this in mind, please join us now for the continuing adventures of the JUSTICE LEAGUE--




Ted Kord, currently operating out of Midway City as the super-science hero Blue Beetle, entered the monitoring womb of Laputa, the Justice League’s ocean-bound headquarters, a smile on his face. Under his arm was a thick book, and he sipped from a bottle of lychee juice before he spoke.

“Back on board and yet less than 24 hours later you’re on monitoring duty. Sucks to be the new guy again, right?”

John Stewart, the designated Green Lantern of Sector 2814*, turned to face Kord, and shook his head.

*You’ve not missed anything, check out this month's issue of Green Lantern Corps for more

“I’m used to it, Ted. You think being a Green Lantern is batting from one cosmic crisis to another? I don’t know where you get that idea.” He smiled and continued, “Normally I’m just floating around on patrol looking for trouble. But with everything that’s happened over the last couple of weeks, I get to be a bit more earthbound than usual. It’s refreshing. And with the ring and the monitoring tech the League uses, we’ll be fine no matter what.”

“Yeah, it’s all well and good until the end of the world,” said Ted. “And isn’t it always the end of the world until it isn’t anymore?”

“We’ll be fine. We’re always fine,” said John. “Kind of our motto nowadays, isn’t it?”

“I think we can be better than fine,” said Ted, chuckling. “Anyway, with all the monitoring tech available, you’re just waiting for an alarm to go off--” He paused for a long, silent moment, eyes wandering around the room, then continued. “Heh, usually when I say that, a klaxon blares. I’m glad to be proven wrong, knock on wood. So I thought I’d come over and drop this off.”

Ted handed the thick hardcover book he had with him to John.

“What’s this then?”

“I know your ring acts as some kind of eReader or whatever, but I don’t know what kind of content it holds. Thought you might like something a bit old-fashioned,” said Ted. “Something analogue.”

John turned the book over, then held it out in front of him, reading the title aloud. “‘Concerning The Angle Of Horror’? I’ve never heard of the author, Enos Godwyn.” He flipped it over and began to read the blurb on the back.

Ted began to explain. “Creepy weird stuff, my friend. It’s about a writer who discovers that the reality we exist within is actually a nightmare… well, I shouldn’t ruin it. Lots of wild out-there claims, basically saying that you’re a monster and I’m a monster and we’re all monsters and that’s the way of the world. And that the only folk who can see through the horror are so-called ‘Sane Men’ that inadvertently will lead the world to ruin. Shlocky, pulpy stuff you might get a kick out of.”

“Spoilers. And I don’t think I’m a monster,” said John. “Been called one plenty of times, but hey. I know myself.”

“Lots of it’s crazy talk, but I love it. If it weren’t for the fact my brain runs on a different track, I’d think I was one of the ‘Sane Men’ he talks about, but life’s too short to be an all-too-rational thinker, the role would be wasted on me,” said Ted. “Anyways, I’d like to get some of his stuff signed but he’s dropped off the face of the Earth. All power to him, I say. A bit of peace in this day and age is well worth it.”

“This planet can get loud and scary. Out there,” John motioned above his head, toward space, “crystal calm until the cannons start firing.” He held the book up as a salute. “ Thanks for this. I’ll give it a read through later. I just finished ‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities’ by Jane Jacobs. I need a change of pace after that indictment of this century’s urban planning… not that you care, but hey.”

Ted laughed. “Man, if you got a spare copy, I’ll give it a read. Justice League book club. What could possibly go wrong?”

John looked down at the book Ted offered him. “What indeed?”



“…Hera,” said Wonder Woman. “I never imagined…”

The warehouse located within the New York Harbour was filled from top to bottom with empty Silver Swan battle suits, awaiting bodies to be inserted into them.

The designs were sleek and deadly! The biological interfaces clearly New God in nature! Murder machines primed to degrade and convert wearers into perfect sonic-empowered horrors!

Present from the Justice League were Big Barda, Doctor Light, Majestic and Wonder Woman. Big Barda moved slowly through the rows of battle suits, a stern expression on her face. Doctor Light stood next to Mister Miracle as he worked away on one of the control consoles at the heads of the rows of battlesuits. He threaded a thin line of wire from his Mother Box to the available port available on the console and the tip of the wire shifted until it interfaced perfectly. Within moments he was logged in, and scanning through reams of information.

“This weapons cache is immense,” said Majestic, floating above it all. “You’re familiar with the origins of the armour?”

“It’s from Apokolips,” said Big Barda. The word was laced with venom. She almost shivered, before levelling her eyes on Majestic. “My homeworld.”

Wonder Woman nodded slowly. “Their chief torturer mutilated one of my best friends and made her a monster*, used her as a weapon against me during the Apokolips invasion.”


Diana rarely went a day without thinking of the former Captain of Themyscira House’s guards, Arsinoe. The doctors of Paradise Island worked countless days and nights to remove the technology from her body, but the experience had taken its toll. Arsinoe barely spoke, and the words that came out of her when she did manage to find them were often alien, the ramblings of a madwoman.

“These suits of armour haven’t been touched in months,” said Majestic, his eyes flashing. “My zoom vision detects no disturbances to their surfaces for some time.”

“Data backs that up,” said Doctor Light. “And my own surface scans tell me there’s no ambient energy signatures we can track. They’re completely clean.”

Mister Miracle nodded. “This is worrisome, guys. This is a legitimate Apokoliptian weapons cache that we only found out about through sheer luck. How did you get the intelligence that led us here, Wonder Woman?”

“According to the Guardian, it was an anonymous tip left in one of his dead-drops,” said Diana. She glanced around, the shining metallic surfaces of the Silver Swan suits barely dulled by the months of accumulated dust and grime. “Batman said he would work on tracing the source.”

“Same as the tip that got us to the White House a few months back*?” said Mister Miracle.


“Correct,” said Wonder Woman. “Someone has their ear to the ground. Worrisome that we don’t have the same connections.”

“But lucky that whoever does is on the side of angels,” said Mister Miracle.

“At the moment,” murmured Big Barda. “Who could establish a place like this? Who could have access to the war-technology of Apokolips?”

There was no way to know at this point, and Mister Miracle knew that Barda was simply processing through the situation, but he considered the question and gave an educated guess. “A mad science weapons cache like this? It reeks of Simyan and Mokkari.”

“I’m not concerned,” said Majestic. He held up the face mask of one of the empty suits and then glanced over to Barda and Miracle. “I can decommission this facility in a matter of seconds and we will track those behind it. This is nothing we cannot handle.”

“Then you have no idea of what the forces of Apokolips are capable of,” said Big Barda. “Your naiveté could very well lead to our deaths.”

Majestic released the mask and floated down to Barda. The silver helm clattered to the ground dramatically. “’Naiveté’?”

“You heard me, Majestros,” said Barda. Her grip had tightened around the Mega-Rod she carried. Majestic now floated inches away from her, his own fist clenched. “You’re not the only warrior standing in this room. Not the only warrior who has lived through countless wars. Scott and I survived Armagetto and the Fire Pits. We survived a never-ending God war. You would do well to remember you’re not the only warrior who survived.”

“Barda, I… I apologise,” said Majestic. “You’re right. I know nothing of your war, only that I have pledged myself to your cause. From what I’ve seen of the Justice League and the other teams that operate across this world, I am confident in our abilities to turn away any invaders, be them from Apokolips or elsewhere.”

“Apokolips-- Darkseid-- always puts us on edge,” said Mister Miracle, walking over to the duo. “We only know that he is out there, somewhere, and while our brothers and sisters of Exodus search for him, it is our duty to protect the one place that defeated him.” He gestured all around. “If there is a Dark God presence on Earth, we must stamp it out before it festers and spreads.”

“I am at your service,” said Majestic. He bowed, then turned to face the suits. “What of these?”

“We all know someone who’ll want to examine one,” said Wonder Woman. “But with your permission, Barda, Scott—we should melt down the rest. I don’t want these abominations-in-waiting to exist.”

“Be our guest. The longer they stand around here, the more likely they are to be used and abused,” said Scott. “I’ll boom one over to wherever you want it. Where to? Laputa? STAR Labs?”

Doctor Light powered up her own abilities and Majestic’s eyes flared, ready to destroy any trace of the weapons cache.

“Gotham,” said Wonder Woman. “Send one to Batman.”


The Guardian was designed to adapt to any circumstance. Any battle condition and any war zone. Accepting change was second nature to him, and while he rolled with the punches and allowed the world to shift around him, there was one thing he couldn’t change, and that was himself.

Standing in the centre of the holographic rig in the middle of Nowhere, USA, waiting for his last meeting of the day, made him reminisce about his days way back when.

Back when he was a beat cop back in thirties Metropolis. Back when he accepted a position in Project: Guardian when war broke out. Back when he became the sole surviving subject.

That experience—the one that granted him his abilities-- still left a bad taste in his mouth.

Decades went by and so did the wars, and while he fought and he fought, one thing remained constant, and that was his belief in right and wrong.

Didn’t matter who you were, the colour of your skin or the religion you believed in; it didn’t mean a damn if your sexual orientation went one way while the perceived norm went the other.

What mattered was doing the right thing.

The Guardian missed the days when right and wrong was black and white and the bad guys needed a sock to the jaw without a press release being sent out after.

The holographic rig booted up and the environment shifted. Standing before him now was Chloe Sullivan, dressed in a uniform he didn’t recognise, flanked by faceless, sexless, similarly-uniformed people.

“What’s going on, Chloe?”

“World’s changing, Harp. Means we change with it,” said Chloe. She smiled. “I’m back in charge of the top intelligence agency the world has ever seen, and this time I’m not letting it go.”

“I heard you were the one to take down Bendix and the at-large Stormwatch operatives*,” said Harper. “Good work there, kiddo. But why the cloak and dagger routine now? It’s me, not some politician you’re trying to spook.”


“I had some help,” said Chloe. She held up her left hand and the engagement ring given to her by her fiancée, Hal Jordan, glinted in the light of the room she stood in. “Got the silly boy to dust off his Green Lantern duds and help out. I think Jess likes it when mommy and daddy play superhero.”

Harper smiled. “And now you’re back in charge of the Global Peace Agency. But you didn’t answer my question. What’s going on?”

“Like I said, the world is changing. We can’t do our thing while out and about in the public spotlight. Bendix liked being a man about the world, showing his face and smiling for the cameras. We knew the smile hid something nasty, and eventually we exposed that nastiness to the world. I can’t be Chloe Sullivan and save the world from the shadows. Justice League takes care of the sunny spotlight, and I save the world before it knows it needs saving. I do that like this,” she held up a featureless mask, “new protocol. Global Peace Agency operatives are anonymous. Anyone can be one, anytime, anywhere. We have unique identification software that keeps the ship watertight, but if you’re not on-board, you’re not going to see us until you need to.”

“So why did you ask me here, Chloe?” enquired the Guardian.

“You’re the number two man in my life, Harp,” said Chloe. “Best damn operative the intelligence community ever saw. Fought in more wars than some might say possible. I wanted to know if you wanted back in on the ground floor of the Global Peace Agency Version 2.0.”

“Sounds like I don’t get to keep the shield,” said the Guardian. “You know that’s a deal breaker.”

“We can talk about that,” said Chloe. “But the offer is there. Come back. The Justice League experiment was a successful one, I’ll give you that, but they don’t go to war like you do. So, yeah, come back into the fold.”

The Guardian shook his head slowly. “I’m doing good work. You’re the best damn one for that job, and you’re going to keep us safe at night. But I’ll look after the day, okay? That’s me, that’s you. We meet in the middle sometime, sure, but until then… stay safe?”

Chloe pulled the mask across her face and her features vanished instantly. Her hair was gone, and the holographic images flickered. The entire room Chloe had been standing in was gone, and numerous more Global Peace Agency operatives appeared.

Harper couldn’t tell where Chloe was, or if she was even in that room anymore.

“You stay safe, Jim,” said someone in that room, “be seeing you.”

The holographic feed went dead. James removed the rig from his head and placed it down in front of him. “Good luck, kid,” he said to himself, “do an old man proud.”


The world was quiet. Justice League had a boot on the ground in New York, an anonymous tip arriving via one of the Guardian’s dead drops leading them to where they needed to be. The note was signed ‘Pathfinder’, so while not anonymous enough to be without a name of the sender, vague enough so that Pathfinder could be anyone.

The Guardian didn’t know who this Pathfinder was, but he knew the history of the name. He promised to dig into it, and Batman was doing the same in his downtime. As much good as this source was doing, the Justice League didn’t like being led around by the nose.

John Stewart’s ring fed him all the information he needed as he moved through the silent structure of Laputa.

The day staff were off the island, the night staff strictly skeleton. The guys the Guardian had bought in to support Laputa were good, former members of the Global Peace Agency who found themselves out of work when Stormwatch came into power.

With the GPA back, many had returned to that fold, but others remained on Laputa, happy to support the Justice League when they needed it.

The lower levels of the island-- a structure that had floors below sea level-- were dedicated to the scientific avenues the team had to explore. Most of the time the trio of the Atom, Blue Beetle and Doctor Light were working down here, some project they were tinkering with taking up their spare time away from the team’s operations. But even then, there would be times when others would visit, people like Niles Caulder or William Magnus, scientists wanting to use the state=of-the-art and often alien technology available on the island.

“Didn’t expect to see you here,” said Green Lantern, as he entered one of the tertiary laboratories. The lights were dim and the rest of the lab was empty. The Dark Knight sat hunched over one of the devices Scott Free had delivered during his first tenure with the Justice League, scanning some samples.

“Needed to use the equipment,” said Batman. “Cave tech is state-of-the-art, but this is worlds ahead.”

“Understandable. What are you working on?” said Green Lantern.

Without looking away from his work, the Caped Crusader answered. “Blood analysis. Psychic telemetry. Full body work up.

Green Lantern cocked an eyebrow. “Who’s the subject?”

“Hh. Me,” said Batman. He held up his hand. “What’s your ring say?”

Somewhat taken aback by the answer, John levelled his ring at Batman nonetheless and allowed it to perform a deep scan of the Dark Knight. Moments later, the ring sent a throb through John’s body, answering the question as the wielder interpreted the data fed into his brain from the ring

“Nothing anomalous, apart from the sheer amount of scar tissue present across your body. My God, Batman—the amount of pain you must be in--” John would have continued but Batman’s expression wasn’t one of someone who cared about what the Green Lantern was about to say. “What do you think the problem is?”

“Matches my findings. Hrm,” said Batman. He deactivated the machine and then walked toward Green Lantern. “I had to be sure.”

“Of what?” said Green Lantern.

The nano-radio channel that linked the Justice League buzzed up as Wonder Woman’s voice filled the heads of the two men. {Batman, Pathfinder’s tip paid off. We destroyed the cache of Silver Swan suits we located--}

{You kept one for--?}

{Of course. Mister Miracle has delivered it to the Cave. I would appreciate your consult.}

{It would be my pleasure, Diana,} said Batman. He ended the transmission and turned back to John, who was smiling.

“Oh, I see,” said Green Lantern. He smiled, and headed out of the lab.

Batman followed behind the Green Lantern, turning the lights off as he went. “You see?”

“You’re allowed to have a win, Bruce,” said John. “We all are. Just don’t sit around all day-- or night, whatever-- checking if you’re under the influence of something bad. Just let it happen.”

Batman grimaced. “I have some things to wrap up here, then I’ll head back to Gotham.”

Green Lantern turned back to address his teammate, but the Dark Knight was already gone. “You sneaky bastard. Wonder Woman. Who would have thought?”


“What are we doing here?” said Majestic, looking around the beach he and Mister Miracle were stood upon. “Shouldn’t we be with the others?”

“The Amazon’s laws concerning men are quite clear,” said Mister Miracle. He sat cross-legged, watching the waves lap up against the shore. “We’re not allowed to enter the hospital unless it’s of the utmost importance.” He shrugged. “They’re not just women of myth anymore. Diana opened the doors to anyone who needed sanctuary. Women from across the world live here now, in this mythical realm, safe from those who would do them harm.”

“And those who would do them harm are more often than not men,” said Majestic. “I find this so maddening. On Khera, we had attained a level of peace that only faltered in the face of the Daemonite scourge. All I see, every single waking moment, is my failure. I…”

“Your man in LA is working on the technology required to prevent that from happening here,” said Mister Miracle. “I’ve had a look at the specs and I can barely comprehend what he’s doing. The technology is on par with New Genesis’ own. But it’s as if it’s in a different language. Different fields.”

“Technological advancement came easy when you consider our lifespans,” said Majestic. “Thousands of years spent on the same experiment, the same corner of science. The weapon advances alone… tesseract bunkers… fractal waves… I have considered trying my hand at recreating them, but I believe the Justice League would frown upon my amassing weapons of war.”

“Yeah, they really would,” said Mister Miracle. “We could be cousins, Majestros. Your Khera sounds very much like Exodus. Would you honour me by telling me more?”


“The angle of horror is determined by the observer. Many have glimpsed the edge, but few have seen the degree at which it truly opens. Through-- ”

Sat in the monitor womb, John smiled and shook his head. What followed down the page were a number of degree measurements, that, together, he could tell made no sense at all. The way in which they folded in on each other belied a certain madness, and if they were used in the construction of anything… well, the resulting structure wouldn’t exist, let alone hold anything other than frustration.

The book had been enjoyable, and he could see why Kord found it so engrossing. ‘Real life testimonies’ that were obviously false, all building a narrative that was dread-inducing. The fact that Enos, the author, had apparently received countless accolades for work in his field, came as no surprise.

John held up his ring, and considered the degree measurements on the page. He allowed his mind to wander, and let his ring weave. It seemed like a good idea, and that was what these kinds of books were all about, were they not? He let his ring play, let his ring dance, not realising that the book in his hands had its claws in his psyche, pushing past the training and the discipline instilled in every Green Lantern.

Something sinister, something small but growing, had planted itself in the mind of John Stewart. And all the while, his ring danced, weaving emerald threads of light.


“My Queen, it has been so long since we last saw you here, I hope there is no malady afflicting you?” said Lyssandra, the chief of staff.

Big Barda, Doctor Light and Wonder Woman followed Lyssandra down the well-lit corridor, the marble at their feet producing a faint clink as they walked together.

“My mind is clear and my heart strong,” said Diana. “How are our patients today?”

“Purple Ray treatment soothes even the most raging of souls,” said Lyssandra. “Those who cannot withstand exposure are looked after in a variety of ways. The insight provided by the visiting physicians has been of the utmost interest to the staff.”

“I’m glad,” said Diana. “The work the doctors have done back in Patriarch’s World with our own advancements has been beneficial as well.”

“Good,” said Lyssandra. “I assume you’re here to see Arsinoe?”

“Correct,” said Diana. “How is she today?”

“Agitated,” said Lyssandra. “More so than usual. I intended to send word via the scrying pool to Themyscira House, but I’m glad you came before then. I assume the reasons may be connected.”

Big Barda towered over the two Amazons in silence and Doctor Light trailed behind, marvelling at the medical facility. Lysssandra led them up to the highest level of the hospital. At the top of the stairs were standing two guards, lightly-armed, who bowed in the presence of their queen, Wonder Woman. There were no doors, and the rooms were well-lit. They made their way to the main room, where the walls were lined with Purple Ray emitters, bathing soothing light onto the sole occupant.

“Arsinoe?” said Wonder Woman.

The former head of the royal guard had her back to the three guests. She wore white robes that did nothing to obscure the surgical scars that covered her arms and back.

“All… I ever wanted… was to protect… you…”

Arsinoe’s voice was low and guttural. The damage done by Cheetah’s claws* was one thing, tearing out the better part of her throat, but the brainwashing at the hands of Granny Goodness** and the procedures performed on her by Desaad to make her into Silver Swan*** were another. They’d regenerated part of her vocal chords, but rebuilding flesh from scratch was different to regenerating flesh that was damaged.


“And you did your duty,” said Wonder Woman. She knelt down beside Arsinoe, and smiled as her former guard turned to face her, pale blue eyes swimming with the weight of the horrors she had experienced. “More so than anybody else in your position.”

“Throat… torn out… soul stolen…”

“You’ve had a bad day today, but you needn’t worry,” said Wonder Woman. “You concentrate on getting better.”

“They’re… coming back…”

The words made Big Barda tense up.

“Who are, Arsinoe?” said Diana.

“I can feel it… in my… throat…”

“Who are coming back?”

Arsinoe’s eyes moved slowly toward Big Barda. “I… used to be… someone…”

“Who are coming back, Arsinoe?” said Barda.

“I used… to be… a beautiful… swan…”

Arsinoe began to scream. A guttural, raw scream that must have bloodied her throat from the razor-sharp sound of it. Diana took the damaged Amazon in her arms and held her as she cried out, big, sobbing gasps for air coming out of damaged lungs.

“It’s all right, sister,” said Diana, holding her close, “it’s all all right.”

Barda left the room and hurried downstairs, away from the scene that unfolded before her. She hit the open air in a matter of minutes, and looked to the skies, anger bubbling up inside her. Orion, Lightray, the New Gods of Exodus-- her people-- were across the universe, searching for Darkseid. They hunted the hunter, and she prayed that they hadn’t fallen prey to the Dark God’s machinations. Could she believe in the words of a mad woman? Could she believe that they were coming back?

“If they are,” Barda said to herself, “if he is… I’ll be ready.”


“Something… something isn’t right here…” said John Stewart. His head felt fuzzy. His reactions slow. Something was wrong. His body was screaming at him to pay attention, but his brain didn’t want to listen. He looked down at his hand, and saw something that caused him to gasp in surprise.

The threads of light he had absentmindedly drawn together were intertwining in such a way that the edge of reality was beginning to bend. He could literally see the other side of something beginning to assert itself in this realm of existence, and he couldn’t imagine why.

John looked at the book and then at his ring still not fully comprehending.

Some kind of subliminal messaging? A hidden message sent directly to the back of his brain? Impossible seeds planted by impossible words that grew impossibly fast and were materialising through his nerves, the electrical impulses in his brain, and causing his ring to work at a level beyond anything he had previously known?

“Cease… operation,” said John, struggling to think. “Emergency… shutdown.”

John expected his ring to deactivate. He tried to remember what he had worn before coming on duty, but he couldn’t recall, the job being everything to him these last few months. There was no civilian life, no secret identity. Everything was this moment, this real, loud moment where his ring kept going.

<Unable to comply. Energy // planar // connection to Book of Oa lost // planar // incursion // three dimension // four // five-->

John could only see green as the world exploded all around him.

Levels above, Batman nearly fell to the floor as the island shook violently. All the lights went out, and he moved swiftly over to the window nearby to see that the emergency shield had sealed Laputa in a quarantine.

{Lantern, we’ve just gone into full lockdown, do you have eyes on the cause down there?}

{In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.}

The voice broadcasting from Green Lantern’s end of the Justice League’s secure communication line was not John Stewart’s.

{Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.}

Green Lantern is compromised, thought Batman. {Justice League emergency. Sound off who’s on-board and online.}

There came no response from anybody on-board. Were communications down? All Batman could hear was static--

A dull light began to form down the corridor from where Batman stood. He entered the shadows, hiding himself from view, and watched as the light grew brighter, more emerald than emerald, and the shapes causing the illumination became clear.

Never before had something so horrible existed in all of Bruce Wayne’s life. The things-- and there were countless things, and things were the best name for them-- had angles, and dimensions, but the depth was wrong, the way the slick tentacles flowed outward and over, the eyes, the countless eyes and the claw and the hook, the jagged teeth and the hungry licking. The emerald horrors swarmed forward, and Batman knew that there were scarier, bigger thing in this horrifying reality than he had ever confronted before.

{And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.}

Batman had no choice. He turned and he ran, praying for the first time in his life that he would be fast enough to evade the hungry things swarming behind him.


“I just lost connection with Laputa,” said Mister Miracle. He turned to Majestic, who vanished in an explosion as he broke the sound barrier from standing. “Can you--?”

“Door,” said Mister Miracle, but the Justice League’s instantaneous teleportation method failed to activate. Something was wrong at Laputa. “Okay, I can do this the old fashioned way.” He activated a Boom Tube and the explosion caused the birds, that were left in the trees after Majestic’s exit, to head toward the city of Themyscira.


Instead of landing in the control room of Laputa, the Boom Tube spat Miracle out above the island, currently entombed in the emergency shield that erected instantly if there was a contaminant present.

Majestic was already scanning the island, a concerned look across his face. “I can’t get in. I can’t even see inside the walls.”

“No one can, that’s the way it was designed,” said Mister Miracle, kept afloat by the Aero-Discs attached to his boots. “But there should be a data dump in the remote server telling us what happened.”

{What’s happening?} said Wonder Woman, still on Paradise Island.

Mister Miracle grimaced. {Laputa’s in lockdown, I need a moment to work through the data to see what’s happened.} His Mother Box pinged. She knew he needed her help. “C’mon, c’mon…”

{Cyborg reporting in. I’m already on analysis. Active Justice Leaguers on board were Batman and Green Lantern. The only member of the support staff present was Doctor Spica. Godammit, I was supposed to meet her for dinner, but my work at STAR…}

{I’m reviewing the security footage from my lab,} said Blue Beetle. {Holy crap. Holy crap.}

{Less expletives, more elaboration, Beetle,} said the Guardian, joining the conference call. {What did I miss?}

{I’ve focused on footage containing Bats and GL, and I think something got into GL’s ring. There’s a spatial distortion-- that’d trigger the lockdown-- and then everything goes dead. We’re not getting any active signals out of the island. They’re alone in there.}

{What caused this?} said Wonder Woman.

{Why was the book Green Lantern had glowing?} asked Cyborg.

Blue Beetle made a noise on his end. {I don’t know what’s going on. I gave him that book this evening. We need to touch base, guys. Whatever’s happening took GL out, and who knows what’s happening in there.}

{We need to take the shield down,} said Mister Miracle. {Get inside.}

{No,} said the Guardian. {That shield is the only thing keeping whatever’s in there contained. Batman and Green Lantern are there and they’re the best. We need to do what we can outside of the shield.}

{Majestic, Mister Miracle, stand guard above Laputa. No one gets in or out,} said Wonder Woman. {Everyone else, meet at Blue Beetle’s lab. We need answers. We’ve got people trapped in there, and we need to get them out.}


Blue Beetle disengaged from the group talk and ran his hands through his hair, utterly baffled by what had just happened. “What the hell did I do?”

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NEXT ISSUE: Batman and Green Lantern are trapped aboard Laputa as hordes of emerald monsters roam the island, while the rest of the Justice League work to figure out what the hell is happening! Their investigations will take them further than they have ever gone before, as the adventure and horror continues…