Justice League #40

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Synopsis

THE DARKSEID WAR,  PROLOGUE The dark secret of existence is that history has been destroyed and reborn over and over, in an endless repetition. As far as Metron is concerned, this is a cycle that must end.   Wilson Morgan was one of those infected by the Amazo Virus, recently, but he was also one of the few who retained his metahuman abilities after it was cured. When his neighbor's daughter was kidnapped at gunpoint, he took it upon himself to track her down. Because he is just an ordinary man, though - despite his powers - he is shot when he tries to save her. And in dying, he gains the ability to see Metron. He cares little for the plight of this dying man, knowing that a great war is on the horizon, and if it is not stopped, it will cause history to unravel again - but this time, reality may not be stable enough to survive that unravelling. Without a reality to observe, Metron loses his purpose. Though he has been forbidden to interfere, he has disobeyed in the past.   The first time he broke his word was long ago, in another place, when the worlds of Apokolips and New Genesis were in conflict. He used his Mobius Chair to intervene and parlay with Darkseid of Apokolips. He suggested that Darkseid and his enemy Highfather each exchange a son, to deter them from waging war against one another. Darkseid warned that he would not cease, even with a son on New Genesis, but Metron reminded that it would at least prevent the more caring Highfather from waging war on Apokolips. Darkseid agreed.   Highfather was not as eager to give up any of his sons, but Metron lied, saying it was the only way to stop the war. Overhearing their conversation, young Scott Free begged Highfather not to choose him, but it was he who went to Apokolips in the end - and Metron knew that despite his sacrifice, many would still die. While Darkseid's son Orion was a beast to be tamed, Scott suffered greatly in the slave camps. All the same, the pact had been made, and Scott's survival was irrelevant in the long run, as long as war was averted.   There was peace, but some years later, Metron was shaken by a vision of the end. The Anti-Monitor had risen, with the power to consume universes - and for the first time, reality itself was threatened. Universes fell in the crisis that followed. Sacrifices were made, and in the end, all things imploded. Through the efforts of a few, the disparate universes were reborn as one. That world was a wonder for Metron to observe, unobstructed, for a time.   But there were more threats to come. One threatened to consume history, taking time apart and putting it back together in a new way. Another resulted in the return of the Multiverse. Yet another saw reality remade when the The Flash fought his greatest enemy, and caused time itself to rupture in a flashpoint.   Despite existence's rebirth through that event, reality has yet to solidify and stabilize. Metron suspects that he that threatens reality now knows that, as he approaches him on the ruined remains of Earth 3. The Anti-Monitor has returned, though Metron knows him best by the name Mobius. Fortunately, Metron is protected from his anti-matter attacks by the Mobius chair - a chair which the Anti-Monitor had once sat upon, long before Metron took it. Grimly, Metron admits that while he has always been witness, and Mobius has always been destroyer, the rebirth process is in jeopardy, and reality cannot survive another crisis.   The Anti-Monitor states that he is not going to destroy reality. Metron reminds that he has already begun, weakening reality to the point that even now, Brainiac is set on the path of causing a convergence of timelines. Metron offers a pact between the two of them. He promises that if the Anti-Monitor ceases his attempts to destroy reality, he will give up observing, and put every effort into restoring the Anti-Monitor to what he once was. Coldly, the Anti-Monitor responds that Metron does not have the power to do that, but he already knows who does. He intends to break the cycle of destruction on his own. He has already found the way. Metron warns that if Mobius seeks this path, he will face the wrath of Darkseid. Unexpectedly, Omega Beams destroy the Mobius chair, and warns that he wants war with Darkseid. His death is the key to all, and despite losing his conveyance, Metron will bear witness to the end of the age of the New Gods. The age of the Anti-God will soon begin.   Metron looks up, to find that the one who destroyed the Mobius chair is in fact Darkseid's daughter, who seeks to see him dead.