It is said that the dead do not wear the black rings but rather the black rings are the ones wearing the dead. Reactivating their bodies like some sort of macabre simulation program bent on invoking the emotions of those still living. Like sharks drawn to blood they feast on this emotion and channel it back to their main power battery. These black rings are now found attacking the homeworlds of every Corps across the galaxy as well as Earth, the planet responsible for thwarting many attacks on the universe.

And in the center of one of Earth's most troubled cities, Green Lantern and Flash prepare to make their stand against the Black Lantern Justice League! The rings powering these super-corpses are impossible to remove. Even with the Flash's lightning speed, the rings refuse to budge, having anchored themselves into the flesh of the wearer by a series of black tar like roots. Luckily they don't have to fight them alone.

When Ray Palmer made his trip to see what he thought was his best friend Carter Hall, he found instead the blood-thirsty Black Lanterns that had inhabited the corpses of the Hawks! Shrinking down to microscopic size he managed to save his own life and explore the technology of the black rings as well. Made from a pourous bone like material these rings are laced with microscopic wormholes that channel the energy devoured from the hearts of the fallen back to an unknown point of origin.

Unfortunately Ray's arrival sends the Black Lanterns into a fervor. Because unlike most beings, Ray possesses an emotional quality that others do not. It's called compassion. Compassion for his dead ex-wife and for the life she took. Compassion for his best friend Carter Hall who died still refusing to speak to him. And it's this compassion that attracts a heretofore undiscovered alien corps - the Indigo Lanterns.

Appearing from a blast of bright blue light, their leader Indigo-1 unleashes a torrent of energy that keeps the Black Lanterns at bay. Then, channeling the green willpower from Hal Jordan's ring, Indigo-1 sends another bolt that severs Ralph Dibny's connection to the black ring, reducing his body to ash in mere seconds. His wife Sue soon meets the same fate. And before the other Black Lanterns can regroup, Indigo-1 gathers the heroes together and beams them away.

They arrive at the Hall of Justice to find that Jason Rusch and the other half of his Firestorm persona Gehenna Hewitt are already there. They had been called by an emergency distress signal on the JLA communicator from Mera. Despite the dire nature of recent events, the call had been quite serendipitous for young Jason. He could tell that for quite some time now Gehenna had been thinking about having the big talk - marriage, a future, etc. But Jason is still waist deep in college work and Gehenna is fresh out of high school. He couldn't possibly consider marriage or really anything else much beyond his upcoming chemistry finals.

But now it looks like there might just be a way to stop all of this. Indigo-1 tells them all that if they're able to somehow unite the various colors of the shattered light spectrum they could track down and destroy the source of these black rings. Given his unique relationships with the heads of each of the Corps, Hal is naturally the best choice for this mission. And Hal, of course, is one hundred percent ready to just fly off and begin tracking everyone down. But as his friend Barry points out, now is not the time to go flying off half-cocked. They're going to need re-enforcements from the rest of the League.

Though actually getting to them could pose quite a problem as suddenly Black Lantern Firestorm and Martian Manhunter crash through the ceiling. They bring with them another cloud of black rings that immediately zoom towards the Hall of Justice's crypt area where the likes of Dr. Light and Maxwell Lord lay at rest. Encased inside the tiny room by Black Firestorm's quick creation of a wall of acid, the heroes are left with no other option but to fight. But when Jason runs over to stop his dead predecessor from harming his girlfriend he accidentally triggers the Firestorm matrix and merges with the Black Lantern! With Ronnie Raymond still the dominant Firestorm persona, Jason is left to watch helplessly as the demon seizes Gehenna, lifting her up in the air and calling upon Jason's own knowledge of the elements to slowly turn her flesh into salt!

He screams her name from the top of his lungs but she cannot hear him. He's just a voice inside the decaying head of Ronnie Raymond now. And Gehenna's body turns completely into a pillar of salt, crumbling to the ground. Firestorm stands clutching her heart, encased in an eternal amber glow. But it's the still-beating heart of Jason Rusch trapped within the matrix that continues to feed his power battery! Could this be the source of power that pushes the Black battery over the top and gives rise to their leader?!