JLA#14(2004)

Fifteen years in the future and 12 hours away from the end of the world, Earth has been conquered and enslaved by the evil god Darkseid. However, a trio of time-tossed heroes have a plan: unite Earth's remaining heroes as the Justice League, and use Darkseid's own technology to travel back in time and avert this whole scenario by saving the Worlogog, a vital item. It will be difficult... especially since an unseen narrator claims that he alone will emerge as victor... In Darkseid's zombie factory on the Moon, the human race is being stripped of its minds, one at a time by a broadcast array. Aztek and Argent have been sent to shut down the facility. Strapped for ideas, Argent remembers something that she heard once about Green Lantern rings. Using her silver plasma, she creates a flying horde of "superheroes", and she and Aztek fly into the facility as part of the throng. Unfortunately, the guards open fire, and Argent is caught by a stray shot. In Las Vegas, the second group of heroes are going to use Boom Tube technology to sneak into Darkseid's fortress in Metropolis. Batman assures them that they will be disguised as Desaad. In Metropolis, the last group of heroes are preparing to attack the fortress by a different route. On the Atom's signal, Amazo brings down a bike-trooper to steal his vehicle, but they are caught by his friends. Amazo holds off most of it, but he is brought down by a viral program broadcast, and he dies. The narrator takes note of this. The second group of heroes breaks into the fortress using Desaad's Boom Tube equipment, and immediately set off the Schotastic Smoke Bombs that Batman was working on. With these to counter Darkseid's omniscience and Metron's intelligence, it comes down to wits and brawn. Wonder Woman sets out to kill Darkseid and the Grandmother Box, while Batman ambushes Metron and convinces him to become human. As soon as he does, Batman doses him with a hypnotic agent and commands Aquaman, Green Lantern and the Flash to go back in time using the Moebius Chair. Vowing not to fail, the three heroes vanish through time, leaving the world less than ten hours away from ultimate destruction. Wonder Woman's battle is not going well, but with her dying act, she destroys the Grandmother Box. Batman tries to follow this with a batarang to Darkseid's neck, but Darkseid's personal force-field stops him. Before Darkseid can make Batman tell him who he is, Batman draws his attention to the zombie factory on the moon... where Aztek used the suicide fail-safe on her armor to unleash a destructive wave of 4-D energy more powerful than any nuclear weapon on Earth. The zombie factory is no more, and the human race is starting to wake up. And Darkseid has no way to retaliate against Batman on the same scale. Instead, he simply deploys his Omega Effect and sends him beyond the ken of anyone... just before Green Arrow and the Atom round the corner with a plan. Atom requests a flare arrow, and as he does, he points out that clearly, one thing can get through the force-field - light. As Darkseid gloats, Atom destroys his head from the inside. The war is ended And yet, the countdown still runs. In a basement in Metropolis the narrator finds Orion, Soldier God of New Genesis before Darkseid stripped him of his divinity. Orion knows the narrator: Death, the Black Racer. Orion has created what he believes is the Ultimate Weapon - the Genesis Box, with which he will destroy the universe and rebuild it without Darkseid. As the countdown hits zero, energy blooms in Metropolis and the world burns to white... Fifteen years earlier, the Injustice Gang has been defeated. Superman has the Worlogog, but Lex Luthor has worked out that it is thought-activated. Before he can use it against the heroes, Superman lashes out at the device with a wave of energy...