The Once and Future Thing: Time, Warped (2) - Recap

Batman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman find themselves in the future. As the cybernetically enhanced Jokerz gang moves in, the future Batman, Static, and War Hawk arrive, representing the JLU. Ghoul launches an attack that Green Lantern deflects, and the other Jokerz move in. The heroes break off to fight the various villains and the future Batman Terry McGinnis is quickly overwhelmed. Static comes to his aid and gives him enough time to free himself and call a retreat. War Hawk and Wonder Woman disagree but the future Batman opens a teleportation portal with a remote control. Chuck destroys the control with his laser lance and Green Lantern tells Static to buy them some cover. The older Static blinds the villains and Green Lantern delays them with a power ring maze.



The heroes go to the current Justice League headquarters. Static and Terry explains the heroes have traveled 50 years into the future and that the other heroes are dead, including the trio from the past. The future Bruce Wayne steps out of the shadows and tells them to deal with it. War Hawk explains that he's Rex Stewart, the son of Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. Batman warns them that they don't want to know too much about their futures. The future Bruce Wayne warns that he doesn't remember this encounter, and they realize time is becoming fluid as the time stream becomes polluted.



David Clinton, Chronos, has established his headquarters aboard the Titanic and brought his wife Enid there. As she endlessly flatters him, the Jokerz report to him and Chucko makes the mistake of interrupting him. Chronos explains that he went to the future and gave them cybernetic enhancements, but they failed his assignment to destroy the heroes from the past. He wonders how the JLU knew where the JL heroes would appear and realizes that Chucko betrayed him. He opens a portal showing Terry paying off Chucko for his information. Chronos sends him back to primeval times just before the asteroid that caused the Ice Age strikes and strands him. He sends the Jokerz to finish off the JL and then boasts to Enid that he's taken over Gotham and can store his entire collection. She asks if taking things from the past could endanger the timestream but he insists he can handle it and she quickly backs down. She asks him to release her mother but he only says that they'll see. He realizes that no matter what he does will make her happy and walks away.



Wonder Woman explains that Chronos was a petty thief and Bruce confirms that the timestream is degrading exponentially. Batman analyzes Chronos' time belt and comes up with a program that will disable it. Now they need to get close enough to insert the programming. Wonder Woman suddenly fades away as history changes and creates a past where she never joined the Justice League. They watch as a curtain of entropy sweeps toward Gotham. With time running out, Batman goes to find Ghoul and interrogate him. Ghoul tries to attack but the other heroes arrive and take him down. Batman takes him off to dangle him over a building but Bruce shows him how it's done and quickly gets Chronos' location. Ghoul tells them everything he knows, including where they can find Enid.



At a relocated pyramid, Enid eats bonbons and watches TV. The heroes burst in, defeating Chronos' robot Egyptian warriors. As John Stewart steps forward, he transforms into a different Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, as the timelines change yet again. Batman warns that any of them could change as disappear. Hal Jordan interrogates Enid, who is glad to tell them that Chronos always sleeps at the Coliseum at the transplanted jail where he spent time in the Old West. As Hal Jordan scans the building, he transforms back into John Stewart. War Hawk wonders what they can do and John Stewart reassures him. The heroes and Enid go in and a disgusted Enid wakes him up. Chronos summons the Jokerz and then slips outside via a time portal.



The battle spreads outside and Static is sucked into a time rift while marauding Redcoats shoot Terry. The Dee Dees ensnare him with their electric whips and kill him as Bruce Wayne looks on in horror from headquarters. War Hawk comes to his father's aid while Chronos confronts Enid and insists that everything he's done has been for her. Time continues to break down as a mastodon charges War Hawk and brings him down. Woof prepares to kill him when Green Lantern interrupts. Batman tries to convince Chronos that he's tearing apart the timestream and he decides to take a different approach. He flees into the timestream and Green Lantern and Batman go after him. Green Lantern realizes that Chronos prepares to alter history and make himself a god, but he has to get there first. Chronos tries to reach the giant hand that holds everything, but Green Lantern manages to snare him just in time. Batman uploads the programming while Green Lantern tries to stop their passage into the past...



Batman and Green Lantern find themselves back at the Watchtower. They're the only ones who remember what happened because the timeline has been restored and none of it ever happened. Wonder Woman doesn't remember anything. John sees Hawkgirl come in and admits that things are complicated. Batman tells him that he reprogrammed the belt so Chronos would never exist.



At home, Chronos tries to use his time belt to leave Enid only to discover that he's caught in an endless time loop.

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