Justice League of America #4

WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS CHAPTER FOUR - THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE SHAGGY

Despite having promised his wife that these late night calls would stop, Arthur Light is wakened from his sleep by a call from Amanda Waller, who requires that he come in to work at A.R.G.U.S.  Elsewhere, Catwoman has got herself an audience with the so-called Secret Society. Unfortunately, that entails being strapped to a chair in a bare room with concrete walls and no windows. Despite the plan to sit tight, and see what happens, she impulsively escapes from the straps and picks the lock on the door.  Meanwhile, Steve Trevor and Waller have Dr. Light in to examine what appears to be a modified silver dollar inscribed with Latin phrases. On one side, it says "Let them hate as long as they fear," while on the other, it says "Forever Evil." Despite the cryptic motto, the object also appears to be some kind of communication device. Oliver Queen had seen Multiplex using it to talk to somebody. The object appears to be emitting a frequency for which there must have been a loophole, given that all other communications in the Kielder Forest were blocked. So, it must be a special communication device for the Society. However, the frequency may be biological or alien.  At the JLA Hangar, Steve introduces the team to their new mode of transportation: the Invisible Jet. Once in the air, Waller relays that the frequency - and Catwoman - have been isolated in the Superior National Forest in Minnesota. Meanwhile, Stargirl is slated to give a battery of radio interviews as PR for the team - but she has chosen instead to stow away on the jet.  In the national park, the JLA follows Catwoman's signal to the Society's mansion, which has somehow transported itself from England to Minnesota. Katana slices the door in half, and they all creep inside, with Stargirl following secretly. Vibe senses some extradimensional technology within the mansion, and they soon discover that it is more of the robotic Justice League that Professor Ivo designed.  Meanwhile, Catwoman is interrupted in her explorations by Ivo himself, who is badly disfigured after he allowed S.T.A.R. Labs to think he died in an explosion. He will not tell her what he is currently working on, simply inviting her to meet their leader in the banquet hall. Rather than go with him, she knocks him unconscious, only to be caught moments later by Copperhead, and strangled into unconsciousness.  The JLA, meanwhile, is suddenly attacked by the monstrous Shaggy Man, and they do not fare very well.  Catwoman wakes strapped to the chair again, with a pale man clad in purple standing in front of her. He demands to know what she and her friends are doing there. He is aware of the JLA's encounter with the Shaggyman, and Dr. Light's attempts to access their communication systems. He warns that Light is about to receive an unpleasant call. As Dr. Light begins hearing a voice from the object, the pale man puts a gun to Catwoman's head, and orders her to start talking. Instead, she warns that if he kills her, the Batman will stop at nothing to find them. This, however, is exactly what the society wants.  Dr. Light is suddenly knocked back by a burst of light, just as the pale man pulls the trigger, leaving Catwoman dead on the floor of the concrete room.

TRIAL BY FIRE

In combat with the Shaggy Man, Martian Manhunter is faced with his greatest fear - fire. Though his body is invulnerable, even to flames, his psyche is not at all. However, it was not always that way.  Long ago, he had completed the Test of State - killing the most deadly beast on Phobos - and was set to return to Mars as the leader of his people. The old leader was dying, but his memories would be recorded and collected; passed on to the next leader.  The people of Mars were all connected by their telepathic collective consciousness, but in order to perform The Test of State, J'onn had had to disconnect himself from it, temporarily. Unfortunately, upon his return to Mars, he found that he would never feel that connection again.  In his absence, Mars had been burned and destroyed, with no lives spared. Though the memories of his predecessor would not be passed on to him, one alien concept was imprinted upon him that day: Man. He had never heard the word before, but he knew that man was responsible.  The reason that fire hurts J'onn now is guilt. He feels that he should not have survived where all of his people had died. He should never have been the last Martian.