Justice League Unlimited #14 (2025)

Mister Terrific and what is left of his team continue to traverse the bowels of Hell and find themselves in an area of complete darkness. Superman extends his bioelectric aura to illuminate their path beyond a few steps and the team is surrounded by damned souls. As the heroes move ahead, Aquaman senses water nearby and the team finds Charon, ferryman of the dead. Terrific, having learned of the legends about Charon, offers coins so his team gets safe passage across the River Styx, only for Charon to reject payment. Charon says that the tokens Terrific is carrying have no meaning because the Leaguers are not really dead and if they want to travel across the river with Charon, they will have to offer him items with personal meaning to them. Tim offers a Batarang, Owlwoman relinquishes her cryogun, Gold Hawk gives up his Ntm metal medallion, Doctor Fate gives up her bracelets and Aquaman gives up his hook. They are surrendering those objects because they know that without them, their journey will be much more difficult. Mister Terrific and Superman have nothing physical to give, but Charon takes a fragment of their spirits. Charon vanishes the "Fair Play" tattoos on Terrific's arms because they represent his dedication to equality and fairness in all matters. For Superman, Charon takes his unwavering determination and sense of hope. Aquaman believes Charon is asking too much of Superman, but Superman accepts if it helps his friends on their journey. Once the transaction is complete, Superman feels cold and unable to move forward without the help of his friends. The journey across the Styx begins and the heroes find it quiet and peacefully, somethiing that makes Aquaman uneasy. Suddenly, the boat is attacked by monsters and, as the heroes attempt to defend themselves, Aquaman jumps overboard and tries to control the largest beast he can find it so his friends can escape. Once his friends put distance between the monsters and themselves, Aquaman and the beast emerge from the water. The monster is bloodstained and injured, giving the impression that Aquaman stands victorious, only for the beast to use his last moments in life to spear Aquaman through the torso with its horns. The heroes disembark from the boat and have no time to mourn for their fallen friend, as Terrific reminds them of their mission. At the Watchtower, the Justice League continues overseeing Earth's total evacuation and Red Tornado informs the League that a small group of supervillains is still at large and causing trouble on behalf of the demon Neron. Some Leaguers will be assigned to Earth and help with the capture of those villains, while others will be relocated to the League's lunar outpost to oversee the evacuation alongside the Titans. Unfortunately, that plan hits a roadblock when Ted Kord informs Tornado that the Watchtower's boom tube has malfunctioned and all the League's shuttles have already been deployed, which means the Leaguers are stranded in the Watchtower. Ted and the Challengers of the Unknown work hard to repair the boom tube, until the Watchtower suffers a power outage. According to the Challengers, the Watchtower's energy core has been overtaxed after distributing too much power to auxiliary facilities and evacuation ships scattered across the galaxy. Unless a solution is found soon, nobody has a chance at surviving. Kid Flash, Martian Manhunter and Doctor Occult make their way to Oklahoma City, just in time for Mary Marvel to link up with them. Once the team arrives at the city, they find a church littered with graves. Inside the church, a priest speaks about the blessings of the angel Neron and how the people of Earth can find salvation if they offer their souls to him. The scared survivors agree to give up their souls, but Kid Flash punches the priest, who is revealed to be the Atomic Skull, a servant of Neron. This gathering was actually an ambush, and the villains, calling themselves "the Holy Army of Neron" attack the unprepared heroes.