Justice League Unlimited #9 (2025)

At the Watchtower, the Justice League continues to analyze the damage done to the timestream and observe how the multiple alternate versions of themselves are automatically returned to their original times. Hal, standing next to Abin Sur, feels reluctant to tell him about the fate that awaits him if he returns to his original time. Black Lightning demands answers from Grodd, but Grodd admits he is as much in the dark as the Justice League is. The Time Trapper and Alpheus the World Forger are more knowledgeable about the situation and warn the heroes that action must be taken, lest tomorrow might not come. Mr. Terrific has asked his past self for help in saving Air Wave, who has disappeared into the timestream, even though Ted Kord had already warned him about standing too close to a variant of himself. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman have taken this precaution and left the Watchtower to avoid any contact with their variants. The younger Mr. Terrific claims to have found a way to save Air Wave, but he is quickly returned to his time before he can inform his present self. The older Terrific berates himself for being unable to find a solution while his younger self did, until Ted tells him why his younger self succeeded while the older Terrific failed: the younger Terrific had no emotional investment on this problem. If the present Terrific is to save Air Wave, he must let go of emotion and focus on the cold equations. Terrific follows Ted's advice and indeed finds a solution. They find small amounts of Air Wave's energy and if they can gather them, they can return him to his physical form. For that, they need a tuning fork. Their plan works and Air Wave is rescued. At the Watchtower, the Time Trapper and Alpheus explain that Grodd's overuse of Omega energy has caused damage to the timestream and a solution might be found if they vivisect Grodd, much to Grodd's outrage. The heroes debate on this course of action. Abin considers the possibility of killing Grodd to save the timestream, but Black Lightning refuses to let even someone like Grodd die for the greater good. The Time Trapper and Alpheus explain that their universe has been sealed off from the rest of the multiverse and thus prevents the Omega energy from polluting other universes, but if it's left unchecked, it will destroy their reality, including the flow of time. The heroes attempt to prevent the Time Trapper and Alpheus from killing Grodd, until Grodd proposes that he join the cosmic entities and offers his knowledge about Omega energy in exchange for his survival. The cosmic entities agree and escape from the Watchtower with Grodd at their side, but the Challengers of the Unknown and the Atom follow them. For now, the timequakes have stopped but some of the variants have escaped. Meanwhile, Superman has gone to the League's original HQ to meet up with Batman and Wonder Woman to discuss an important matter. In their rush to reassemble the League, the Trinity has made a big mistake.