Guest starring

The thirteen members of the JLA, led by Captain America and the Martian Manhunter, stood before the mighty Thanos, ready for combat. Thanos stood calmly. Too calmly, Cap thought.

"Its weak point is under its maw!" Mantis yelled to him. "This one has sensed it."

Hawkman still couldn't get used to the way Mantis referred to herself in the third person. "I understand that," he called back to her. "I'm trying!"

Thanos' stone-like face distorted into a smile. "I did not come unprepared to face you. Thanos leaves nothing to chance. Now, I give you a minute to make your peace with whatever deity you worship. Then, you die."

"Wake me when it's time to fight!" Iron Man said.

"Your threats do not impress us," Martian Manhunter said.

"Leave our planet now, Thanos, or else we'll kick you out!" Cap ordered.

"So say we all!" Thor cried.

Thanos was not impressed. "Very well. Since you do not wish to pray for mercy, let us end this now!"

Thanos pressed a button on his gauntlet. The JLA members tensed, ready for anything. They heard a noise. They looked toward Thanos' ship, where a hatch on the very top was sliding open.

"On your toes, team!" Cap ordered.

From out of the opened hatch came five men. They were all tall, powerfully built humanoid-like beings. They wore blue armor, similar to Thanos' own. They stood on top of the ship, looking down at the JLA. They seemed to be waiting for Thanos' signal.

"That's your big surprise?" Flash asked. "I'm disappointed."

"It would be logical to assume that they are more dangerous than they appear," Vision said.

"He's right," Batman interjected. "Don't underestimate them."

"They are called Daxamites," Thanos said. "And they are very, very powerful. As you will quickly learn."

Thor stepped forward, raising his hammer in a gesture of challenge. "We shall soon see what sort of threat yon varlets do indeed pose. The God of Thunder shall test their mettle."

Thor launched himself at the group of musclemen. Thanos nodded slightly. One of the Daxamites shot forward with incredible speed. Only the Flash was able to see him clearly. The Daxamite's velocity took the Asgardian by surprise. He struck Thor, knocking the Thunder God across the courtyard and through a wall. The Daxamite flew after him, pressing his attack while Thor was still stunned.

The JLA immediately realized the level of the threat that was facing them. Thor was their most powerful and experienced member, except maybe for Wonder Woman, and the Daxamite was handling him easily. This was not good. The other powerhouse members of the team moved up front to shield their companions.

At Thanos' signal, the other four Daxamites attacked. J'Onn J'Onzz, Captain Marvel, Icon, and Wonder Woman met their charge and locked up in battle. Captain America watched the battle for a few seconds and realized that the Daxamites were best left to the stronger members of the League. There were other matters to attend to. Thanos and his creature had to be dealt with.

"All right, we break into two teams,". Cap shouted to his group. "Batman, Wasp, Firebird, you're with me. We're going to help that new Hawkman — if that's who he is — and his friend, fight the monster. Iron Man, you take charge of the others. Try to take down Thanos, any way you can!"

Cap ran toward the monster, and his team followed him. Iron Man turned to the Flash, Giant Man, and Vision. "You heard the man, boys. We've god a Space God to stop! Let's move!"

Miles away, Payne's boss was watching the live feed on a monitor screen. The man was a legendary villain, and an immortal. He studied the battle closely. Ever since he had heard that Thanos was on his way to Earth, he had been monitoring the news and hacking into government computers to get any advance warning about Thanos' possible arrival. He latched onto the same bit of information that had caused the UN to send the JLA to Vietnam. He didn't know what it was that Thanos wanted, but if it was important enough to bring the powerful Godlike being all the way from Titan, it had to be important. And the immortal criminal wanted to know what it was.

Watching the battle, it was obvious that Thanos was trying to dig up something. Maybe there was a weapon there. Something that Vandal Savage could use. Maybe, he thought, he should go there himself. Maybe he could snatch the weapon out from under the nose of both Thanos and the Justice League of Avengers.

Thanos was reaching down. He tore up a chunk of ground. Underneath lay a chunk of Dwarf Star matter. Thanos knew that the Cosmic Cube lay within that dense shell. "Excellent!" the tyrant from Titan said.

Thanos was struck by a beam of energy from behind. He was only stunned for a moment. "I've had enough of them!" he muttered, angrily.

Thanos spun furiously toward his four attackers. "You just got the honor of dying first!" he said to Iron Man.

"Just bring it!" Iron Man said.

Thanos stalked toward the four Leaguers.

"Fire!" Iron man ordered.

Iron Man and the Vision combined their energy rays, blasting Thanos, to little effect. Thanos kept coming. The Flash spun his arms like powerful fans, blowing dust and debris into Thanos' face, more for the purpose of confusing and distracting him than as an actual attack. Giant Man had shrunken down to ant-size, and rode upon an insect, which allowed him to get behind the enemy from Titan. Then, he grew to his top height and power. He cupped his hands and brought them down in a massive blow on Thanos' head. Thanos winced and his knees buckled slightly, but he quickly recovered. He turned toward Giant Man. Iron Man and the Vision kept up their assault, but Thanos seemed able to ignore the pain. Giant Man swung a gigantic fist at Thanos, but the Titan villain held up a hand and easily blocked the blow. Thanos retaliated with a power beam that hit Giant Man point blank in the chest. Giant Man screamed in agony and fell to the ground, holding his chest as if he were in incredible pain.

Iron Man rammed his armored bulk into his enemy and battered him with metal fists. Thanos struck back and knocked Iron man to the ground. He unleashed a jolt of energy that overwhelmed the armored Leaguers battle-suit and temporarily paralyzed him. Thanos was about to shatter the armor of the helpless hero, but the Flash distracted him by pummeling Thanos with thousands of light-speed blows. The Flash felt like he was hitting a stone wall. He had to back up and re-think his strategy. The Vision intervened. With his molecular density increased to its heaviest, the Vision packed quite a punch. He pounded on his foe. Thanos met the challenge and returned blows that were even more powerful. Thanos fired another energy ray but the Vision managed to switch his molecules to his wraith-like ethereal form. The energy beam passed through him. The Vision placed his hands inside Thanos' chest and increased their density. Thanos let out a rare yelp of pain. But then his whole body started to glow and he unleashed a wave of energy that affected even the android's half-intangible form. The Vision was staggered and pushed away from Thanos. The Vision inadvertently returned to his normal form. Thanos struck him, knocking him out of the fight. Thanos was about to squash the defeated android but the Flash yanked his teammate out of the way. The speedster placed the Vision out of harm's way and returned to Thanos. The Flash stopped several dozen feet from the alien menace. Thanos studied the Flash.

"Your speed is impressive, little Earthman," Thanos said. "But how will that help you against me?"

Flash was stuck for an answer. His three partners were out of the picture and the Flash didn't know how to defeat Thanos alone.

Hawkman was still trying to get a clear blow at the gestalt creature's weak point with his mace. But with the creature's combined Khund warrior instincts and Skrull shape-shifting power, it was able to keep the winged hero from reaching the target spot.

Mantis used her martial arts skill to distract the beast with hit-and-run tactics. She hoped that this would allow Hawkman an opportunity to strike. But then the monster snaked out a shape-shifting tentacle, grabbing Mantis by the leg. It dragged her toward its large, fanged maw.

"This one needs assistance!" Mantis cried.

Hawkman started to fly to her rescue but suddenly a shield sailed into view, chopping the tentacle in half, freeing the young woman. The shield returned to Cap's hand. Hawkman smiled and flew closer to Cap.

"Hello, Captain. It's good to see you again."

"Again?" Cap asked, "Have we met before?"

"We know each other," Hawkman said. "But there will be time for catching up later. Just now, we need to organize a strategy to take this beast down. My friend Mantis has sensed a weak spot. If you and your team can distract it, I can hit the target."

"Consider it done," Cap said and then looked to his teammates. "Wasp, firebird, a little aerial fire if you please?"

"You got it, chief," Wasp said, "Come on, Bonita."

Wasp flew bravely at the large, ferocious beast. Firebird hesitated. This was the first time she ever had to fight anything like this. She was scared. But she couldn't let the team down. She followed the Wasp. The two women used their power to blast the monster. It roared and turned its attention to the women.

"Go!" Cap yelled to Hawkman.

The winged wonder streaked for the beast's weak spot. He smashed it with his mace. The monster reared, wailing in pain. Cap threw his shield, striking the same spot. The Wasp added a sting. Hawkman connected with a second blow.

The combination creature cried out, and then skittered away with its tail literally between its legs.

"Don't let it escape!" Cap yelled.

Hawkman, Cap, Mantis, Firebird and the Wasp moved in to finish the wounded beast off.

Close by, Batman had faded into the shadows. The gestalt creature was well in hand. He wasn't needed there. There were more urgent matters that required his analytical intelligence. Batman studied the battle with the five Daxamites.

Captain Marvel, Icon, and J'Onn were holding their own against their opponents but seemed to heading for a stalemate. Thor was having trouble recovering from his early hit, and was mostly on the defensive. He seemed to be setting the stage for a comeback, but that was iffy. Wonder Woman was doing the best of them all, and was the most likely to win her battle but the Daxamite was durable and victory was a long way away.

Batman needed to find a weakness in these villains that would enable his partners to defeat them. But how could he find it? Then, he remembered what Hawkman had said. That girl, Mantis, could sense weakness in the monster. Could she sense it in the Daxamites as well?

Across the courtyard, Cap and his companions had defeated the Gestalt beast. Hawkman gave Cap a quick explanation about the Cosmic Cube, then he looked across the battlefield and saw the Flash battling Thanos alone.

"He's as brave as his predecessors, but hopelessly outmatched," Hawkman said. "He needs help!"

Hawkman launched himself into the fray, slamming his mace into Thanos' face. Thanos was more surprised than hurt. Hawkman hovered in front of him. "I owe you something, you slime. And I intend to have my pound of flesh!"

Thanos was not worried, but he was getting aggravated. These pests were keeping him from his goal. The Cube was so near. Thanos struck out at Hawkman and the Flash but they were both too fast for him.

Mantis sensed someone creeping up behind her. Instinctively, she delivered a potentially crippling martial arts kick. But the man behind her blocked it with amazing skill. Mantis saw that the man who had crept up on her was Batman.

"You're very good," Batman said. "Most people wouldn't have known I was coming."

"This one can say the same of you," Mantis replied. "Most could not have blocked her kick."

Batman noted her way of speaking in the third person. She was probably brought up in a closed environment. She clearly had very little exposure to the outside world when she was a young girl. That was probably where she learned martial arts, he thought.

"I need your help," the Dark Knight detective said. "Can you sense weakness in your enemies?"

"Yes, this one can."

"Good," Batman replied, "I need you to do that now."

"This one will try."

A few dozen yards away, Thanos was getting frustrated at his inability to connect a killing blow on either the Flash or Hawkman. They were both much too quick and maneuverable.

"I weary of this," Thanos said. "I freely admit that speed is not my forte. But while I cannot hurt you, you cannot harm me either. And so, I ignore you."

Thanos started to walk back to the piece of Dwarf Star matter he had unearthed. Hawkman and the Flash tried some more futile attacks, but Thanos shrugged them off and continued single minded toward his goal.

To his surprise, he saw Captain America blocking his way.

"I know what you're after, Thanos," Cap said. "And I refuse to stand by and let you have it."

Thanos laughed. "Your audacity is simply incredible, little Earthman. How do you intend to stop me?"

"Any way I can," Cap answered. "As long as one member of the JLA lives and breaths, you'll have a fight on your hands."

"Not much of one," Thanos mocked.

Thanos pointed at Cap and let out a beam of power. Cap blocked it with his shield, but the impact knocked him backwards. He recovered, rolled over and sprang back onto his feet. He crouched, ready for another attack. Thanos ignored him and reached down for the piece of Dwarf Star. Cap threw his shield. It rebounded off of Thanos. Thanos struck the ground and shattered it under Cap's feet. Cap was thrown off balance. Thanos lunged forward and struck the shield. Cap was sent flying through a hole in the wall. Thanos turned back to the Dwarf Star piece.

Wonder Woman landed the final blow in her battle against the Daxamite. The alien was more powerful than she was, but wasn't nearly as experienced a fighter as the amazon. She skillfully and methodically wore him down and then she finished him off. The Daxamite was defeated.

Wonder Woman saw Thanos reaching down for something. Whatever it was, she thought it prudent not to allow him to have it. She sped forward, with the speed of Hermes. She rammed into her enemy.

Thanos was knocked off his feet. He looked up and saw the statuesque Amazon standing over him.

"Care to try your hand against an amazon?" she asked.

Thanos stood up. "I'm in a very bad mood, woman. You've just volunteered to be the one I take out my frustrations on."

"Why do men always talk when they should fight?" she asked.

Thanos locked up with Wonder Woman.

Flash and Hawkman stood back, watching in amazement. Batman, Mantis, Firebird and the Wasp joined them. They all watched the Amazon take the villain to task.

"Wow! Look at her go!" Flash said.

"She's doing well, but she won't be able to hold out for long," Hawkman said. "We should help her."

"I have an idea," Batman said.

"I was hoping you'd say that," Wasp said.

Batman led Mantis to the fallen Daxamite. "What can you sense from him?" Batman asked.

Mantis concentrated and reached out with the empathic abilities he learned from the Priests of Pama.

"Anything?" Batman asked.

Mantis opened her eyes. "This one senses the sun," she said.

"The sun?" Batman asked.

"That is the impression she receives," Mantis said. "The sun is the key to their power."

"Solar power!" Batman said. "Their strength comes from the sun."

"And a lack of sun is their weakness," Mantis said.

"Very good," Batman said. "We can work with that."

Batman looked around. He saw Iron Man getting to his feet. "Follow me," Batman said to Mantis.

Iron Man stood up. His armor was finally working again. He saw Wonder Woman battling Thanos and wondered if he should help or if he would just be in the way. Batman startled him by appearing at his side.

"I hate it when you do that," Iron Man said.

"We have work to do," Batman said.

"I decided that the situation warranted my attention," the Immortal said, as he looked down on the battle, "You may go now, Payne. I have something to do."

"I'll live," he said. "I hope."

"If you're up to it, Batman has a job for you," she said.

"He has no mercy," Hank replied.

Thor was battling the Daxamite. He had not performed well in this battle. He'd gotten off to a bad start and had been struggling ever since. He was trying to set the Daxamite up for a counter-attack, but the alien had been too fast for him so far.

To his surprise, Giant Man, Hawkman and the Flash joined him in the fray.

"Hey there, Thor," Flash said. "Need a hand?"

Thor was insulted. Honor demanded that he defeat this foe himself. "Stand aside, mortals! Yon villain is mine to smite! Thor wouldst fight alone!"

"Sorry, Thor," Giant Man said. "But Batman needs you. He has a way to stop this insanity, but your presence is required."

"Go! We'll keep your friend busy," Hawkman said.

Thor hated to leave the battle, but he had an obligation to the team and to the world. If there was a way to end this chaos, he had to help. Thor went to Batman's side.

"What doth thou need from the me, Batman?" Thor asked.

"Cloud cover," Batman said. "And lots of it!"

Batman explained to Thor about the Daxamite's power source, and then he went into the JLA jet to help Iron Man with a project. Thor stamped his hammer on the ground twice and then raised it to the heavens.

"Let the clouds gather," the Asgardian shouted. "Let them block out the sun! So speaks Thor, the God of Thunder!"

Quickly, a dense cloud cover formed over the area, making it almost as dark as dark as night.

With his job done, Thor looked back to the Daxamite. The alien muscleman was beating the trio of heroes who'd been sent to deal with him. Thor returned to the fray.

"Have at thee!" he yelled, slamming into the Daxamite with his mallet, Mjolnir. The Daxamite was rocked. "Stand ye back, good comrades!" he told his teammates. "Thor shall now settle with this base villain!"

Thor attacked the Daxamite with renewed vigor. And this time, it was the alien on the defensive, not he. Hawkman, Flash and Giant Man stayed clear. Just as in the case of Wonder Woman's fight with Thanos, they knew they'd only be in the way.

Cap climbed out from behind the wall. He was weak, but determined not to show it. Firebird rushed to him.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"What's the situation?" Cap asked.

"Batman's got some sort of idea," Firebird said. "And Wonder Woman is holding off Thanos. The Daxa-whatever-guys are still up and fighting, except for the one Diana beat."

"Where's Batman now?" Cap asked.

"In our jet with Iron Man," she answered.

Cap nodded and went to seek out Batman, wondering what his idea was. Firebird followed but kept looking at the battling Wonder Woman. ‘She's amazing!' Firebird thought, in awe of her idol.

Cap entered, and saw Iron Man and Batman feverishly refurbishing some of the ship's mechanisms.

"So what's the plan?" Cap asked.

"The Daxamites draw power from the sunlight," Batman said. "We're going to drain it."

"How?" Cap asked.

"The jet has a solar sail that can recharge the engines with the power of the sun," Iron Man said. "It's linked to a massive solar storage battery."

"We're going to hook the solar battery up to the recharge cables," Batman said.

"I get it," Cap said, "We have to hook the Daxamites up to the cables, and the solar battery will drain their energy."

"And the cloud cover supplied by Thor will ensure that they don't recharge," Batman said.

"How do we get the Daxamites to stay still long enough to drain them?" Cap asked.

"I have a plan," Batman said.

"I thought you might," Cap answered.

Flash, in another part of the battlefield, held the recharge cables. He was waiting for Cap's signal. But first, the Wasp had a job to do. She flew in close to J'Onn, which was dangerous considering the magnitude of his conflict with the Daxamite. The Wasp managed to get a message to the Martian and then she flew to safety.

Following the instructions given him, J'Onn grabbed the Daxamite in a clinch and held him as still as possible. Giant Man joined him in trying to keep the powerhouse from moving. Captain America gave a signal and the Flash instantly wrapped one of the cables around the Daxamite's waist. Batman and Iron Man activated the machines, and the solar power started to drain from the Daxamite. The Daxamite felt his strength start to ebb. He panicked and struggled to get free. But as he got weaker, his chances of getting free faded. Eventually, he was as weak as a human. J'Onn J'Onzz knocked him unconscious with one finger.

They repeated the strategy again, when J'Onn and Giant Man helped Icon hold a Daxamite still while the Flash tied the Cable around him. After that, all three of them helped Captain Marvel.

They went to Thor's assistance, but the Thunder God defeated his Daxamite opponent with one last mighty blow from his hammer. The two unconscious Daxamites — the ones beaten by Diana and Thor — also had their power drained.

With the threat of the Daxamites ended, Captain Marvel let out a sigh. "Well, that was quite a work out."

"I'll settle for the training room," Icon said.

Flash tied the five powerless aliens up.

"What do we do with them now?" Firebird asked.

"Thou needs not concern thyself with these wretched villains, fair one," Thor said. "They shall trouble no one ever again."

Thor used his hammer to open a portal to the Dark Dimension, where the sun never shined. The five prisoners where thrown through. The powerless Daxamites would be at the mercy of the hostile inhabitants of the shadow-verse. Thor closed the portal. "And thus, it is done," he said.

Close by, Wonder Woman dropped painfully to the ground. She was still conscious but too weak to stand. She tried to struggle to her feet but just couldn't do it. Thanos grabbed her by the hair and lifted her. He looked her in the eye and she was too weak to even throw a decent punch.

"You put up an excellent fight, girl," Thanos said. "But your efforts were futile from the start. No one can defeat Thanos! Still, I salute your valiant effort and I will kill you in a quick and painless way. But first, I allow you to witness my ascension to Godhood."

Thanos tossed Wonder Woman aside. He reached down and picked up the dense piece of Dwarf Star alloy. Amazingly, Thanos cracked the dense matter like an egg. A colorful cube fell out of the cracked shell of Dwarf Star matter and landed on some rubble. The cube's color's swirled. It pulsed with energy.

The Cosmic Cube was revealed at last!

"Mine!" Thanos shouted gleefully. He tried to quickly snatch it up off the ground. Wonder Woman attempted to crawl over and beat him to it, but she knew she wouldn't make it in time. Thanos' hand was a mere inch from the Cube.

But suddenly the Cube vanished from sight.

"What?" Thanos cried in surprise. "Where . . . ?"

Thanos spied a blue-garbed figure standing nearby. Flash was holding the Cosmic Cube. Thanos' face contorted with rage.

"Give me that!" Thanos roared.

"Make me," Flash said.

Thanos charged the Flash, but the scarlet speedster easily evaded him.

"Catch me if you can," Flash taunted.

Thanos found himself surrounded by the other members of the JLA, as well as Hawkman and Mantis. The villain from Titan sneered menacingly. His agents had been defeated and he knew that he couldn't beat defeat the entire JLA combined. Not without help. It seemed that his plans were undone. He paused, debating his limited options. The JLA stood, ready and waiting.

Flash hung back behind the others. He wanted to keep the Cube as far from Thanos as he could. He knew that his teammates could deal with Thanos, especially with the likes of Thor, Captain Marvel, Icon, and J'Onn on the front line. He almost started to relax. It seemed that everything was under control.

It wasn't!

Flash was attacked, not in body but in mind. A psychic wave hit him. The speedster was disoriented. He started to stagger, wobbly. He attempted to call out to his partners but the couldn't form the words. The Cube dropped from his hand. The Flash tried to pick it back up but he was too uncoordinated. Someone sprang up beside him. The Flash couldn't use his speed in his stunned condition. The new arrival was big and hit the Flash with a powerful punch. The Flash was knocked unconscious.

The immortal criminal had arrived. He picked up the Cosmic Cube. Is this what I think it is? he wondered. My beloved Beautiful Dreamer once told me about a Cosmic Cube. Could this be it? If so, all I have to do is concentrate and my will shall be done!

The ageless villain concentrated and made a diamond appear in his hand. "Amazing!" he said. "It's true. Whatever I wish will come true!"

The standoff between Thanos and the JLA was still holding steady. Thanos looked passed them and saw the new arrival holding the Cosmic Cube.

Thanos pointed. "Who is that?" he snapped.

"You actually expect us to fall for that old trick?" Icon said.

"Lack of imagination," Captain Marvel said.

But Firebird did look. And she saw the man with the Cube. "Hey! There is someone there!"

The JLA members turned and saw the immortal.

"Vandal Savage!" Hawkman yelled, at the sight of his ancient enemy. Through many a reincarnation, he had battled the immortal Savage. Most recently during World War Two, when he was Carter Hall.

"He has the Cube!" Batman yelled.

"That's mine!" Thanos bellowed.

Captain America was very familiar with Vandal Savage from the war and did not want Savage to keep the Cube. "Rush him! Get the Cube!" he ordered.

The team moved forward in unison. Even Thanos joined them. But all Vandal Savage had to do to stop them was to think. Just think.

Savage thought his Machiavellian thoughts and the all-powerful Cube responded to them.

The power of the Cube engulfed the JLA and everything else as well. As the world was altered around them, the JLA felt powerless against this ultimate weapon. While reality was warped at the will of the ancient villain, the helpless heroes started to doubt that they would survive this!