WRITER: Dan Jurgens
PENCILER(s): Dan Jurgens
INKER(s): Norm Rapmund
COLORS: Hi-Fi Colours
LETTERS: Sal Cipriano

CHARACTERS: Booster Gold (Michael Jon Carter); Skeets; Rip Hunter; Black Beetle; Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner); Zatanna; Raven; Green Arrow (Oliver Queen); Trigon

PLOT:
All told, less than 38,000 humans remain alive on the planet Earth thanks to Trigon's reign. And the small band of freedom fighters comprised of the married duo of Kyle Rayner and Zatanna along with their key-strategist Oliver Queen are prepared to fight alongside Rip Hunter to un-do the walking tragedy that is their day to day existence. They willingly face the possibility that at worst they could die but at best their world and their entire identities could exist when their timeline is re-written. Together they wait for word from Booster.

Unfortunately the time traveling hero has been struck down by Trigon and taken to an undisclosed laboratory. There Lex Luthor, an agent in Trigon's regime, stands prepared to chemically strip Booster's mind of its basic functions in order to learn the location of Rip Hunter's time bubble. But once the Black Beetle leaves the room, Lex changes his tune. He claims to want out of the world Trigon has created and he's willing to help Booster do whatever he needs to do in order to make that happen. Though leary of Luthor's turncoat claims, Booster realizes that he can easily be dealt with should he betray them.

Free of his restraints, Booster contacts Skeets and has Raven teleport Rip and the other freedom fighters to Trigon's castle. Once there they formulate a plan for gaining access to Trigon's most private of inner-chambers. With the intense security surrounding the chamber, Booster and the others theorize that whatever he has hidden in there could very well be the thing that leads to his downfall. With Kyle Booster and Ollie providing a distraction, Raven takes Rip and Lex Luthor into the chamber. The plan being, of course, that should they come across any demonic or futuristic weapons, Lex's knowledge should allow them to harness these tools and use them against their tormentor.

Inside, the chamber is a hall of horrors. The skeletons of the Justice League hang suspended above them by crude chain harnesses. Shelves stacked to the ceiling are stuffed with memorabilia from fallen warriors. Worse yet, once inside, Lex reveals that he had betrayed the team after all. His secret partner, the Black Beetle crashes through the mighty doors of the hall and begins pilfering Trigon's trophies in search of one very specific item. He opens a small chest to reveal a glowing red Scarab. A more powerful variant of the Beetle technology, once combined with his current Scarab it imbues him with the power to traverse the time stream to anywhere or any-when he wants! He disappears before Trigon can lash out at him but the giant four eyed devil is more than happy to turn his attention to the humans trashing his sanctuary.

Realizing that their only hope is to return to the past and re-store the time line sans Black Beetle interference, Booster and Rip have Raven teleport them back to the time bubble. But not before Booster evens the odds a little bit. Using a beam of energy he breaks open the case containing what would one day become Kyle Rayner's Green Lantern power ring!

In such pivotal moments in time, the outcome of any event is still up to chance. Therefore Booster travels back and impersonates Deathstroke during the all-important battle with the Titans allowing history to right itself. Later Raven will wipe Slade Wilsons mind so that he is convinced that the events did still happen to him, therefore ensuring a correct timeline. But this adventure is far from over. Booster still has to make things right with Batman and for that he needs to go back to the Bat-Cave!

WRITER: Matthew Sturges
PENCILER(s): Mike Norton
INKER(s): Sandra Hope
COLORS: Sal Cipriano
LETTERS: Guy Major

CHARACTERS: Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes); Brenda Del Vecchio; Paco; Black Beetle

PLOT:
Ever since the Scarab re-booted in order to battle the Khaji-Da invasion, the tech seems to have picked up a bit of a sociopathic streak. The almost buddy-like bug is gone and in it's place is a Scarab whose first inclination is always leaning towards massive destruction and often times nuclear weaponry. It's taken all that he has for Jaime to restrain himself and keep the Scarab in check but what he doesn't realize is that the thing he needs to be the most concerned about is himself. Because today the otherwise affable teenager's will be tested beyond anything that has come before. Today he will meet the Black Beetle.

Jaime is out on a trip with his family to Big Bend National Park. Brenda and Paco are tagging along and as usual, the bickering is non-stop as Paco continues to try Brenda's patience over and over again. When suddenly the Black Beetle appears in a bright flash of chronal energy!

The n'er do well immediately tries to push Jaime's buttons - pretending to be his late friend Hector. But the final blow seems to come when Jaime's little sister gets pushed out of the way, falling hard on a nearby rock. Jaime flies into a rage, pummeling the Black Beetle as the suit begins to morph into a heretofore unseen terrifying shape!