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The gods of this world were divided primarily into two factions: the Old Gods and the New Gods. The Old Gods were the primordial deities of Earth, such as Zeus and the other inhabitants of Mount Olympus. The New Gods, however, were the deities of Apokolips, like Darkseid, who were destined to invade Earth in the future.
According to the legends of Themyscira, the humans of Earth were a new race created by Zeus in the image of the Old Gods. The Atlanteans, the race to which Aquaman belonged, were created by Zeus's brother, Poseidon, who had imitated his brother's handiwork.
Because of Zeus's blatant favoritism toward humanity, his eldest son, Ares, the God of War, became consumed by jealousy. He began to secretly corrupt the fledgling human race, instilling within them a thirst for war and chaos. To counter Ares's ceaseless influence, Zeus created the Amazons—a race of fierce, noble warrior women immune to Ares's manipulation. Their mission was to spread love and compassion throughout the world, helping humanity resist Ares's dark designs.
Around 30,000 BCE, Darkseid led his army of Parademons in an invasion of Earth. Zeus and the other Old Gods rallied the three great forces of the world—Humans, Amazons, and Atlanteans—to stand against the threat from Apokolips. The Green Lantern Corps even sent a Lantern to aid the defense.
Ultimately, Darkseid was defeated. He fled Earth in disgrace with the remnants of his army, leaving behind the New Gods' most prized technology: the three Mother Boxes. These devices were the pinnacle of Apokoliptian science. Not only could they open "Boom Tubes" for long-distance interstellar travel, but they could also terraform conquered worlds into new versions of Apokolips. Furthermore, they possessed incredible powers of healing, restoration, and resurrection.
During that great war, Ares had managed to wound Darkseid, causing human worship of the God of War to reach its peak. This adoration convinced Ares that he was powerful enough to usurp Zeus and become the King of the Gods. Under his influence, humanity grew arrogant and began to despise the Old Gods. They even enslaved the Amazons—the very warriors who had once protected them—and helped Ares hunt down the remaining deities.
One by one, the Old Gods fell until only Zeus remained. It was then that Queen Hippolyta led her people in a revolt against human enslavement, liberating the majority of the Amazon warriors. She led them to Mount Olympus to seek aid, only to find Zeus locked in a final struggle with Ares.
Zeus eventually defeated Ares and banished him from Mount Olympus, but the King of the Gods was mortally wounded. In his final days, he lay with the Amazon Queen, leaving behind his final bloodline: Diana, the Wonder Woman. He hoped that once she grew powerful enough, she would be the one to finish Ares once and for all. To ensure Diana remained hidden from Ares's sight, he used the last of his divine essence to create the hidden paradise of Themyscira before finally succumbing to his wounds.
However, Queen Hippolyta had no desire for her daughter to face such a deadly destiny. She wanted Diana to grow up safely on the island, far from the reach of the outside world. As for humanity, the Queen's heart had long since hardened due to their past betrayal and enslavement; she no longer cared for their survival.
This remained the status quo until World War I, when a human soldier accidentally breached the barrier of Themyscira. Defying her mother's wishes, Diana secretly left the island with the soldier and ultimately defeated and killed Ares. The man she loved sacrificed his life to help her achieve that victory.
George, however, suspected that the Ares Diana fought wasn't at his full strength. He likely bore the lingering scars of his ancient battle with Zeus. Otherwise, based on Wonder Woman's current power level, she wouldn't have been strong enough to take down a god of that caliber.
A week later, in Star City, George extended a paw toward a man wearing a hood and carrying a bow.
"Green Arrow, welcome to the Justice League!"
Just as he spoke, the communicator around his neck began to chirp insistently.
"George! George! Earth is in big trouble! I need your help—where are you?"
"Hal, take a breath. I'm on my way," George replied calmly into the device. He tossed a new communicator to Green Arrow. "Batman will be in touch with the details. I have to go check on what kind of mess our other member has gotten himself into."
With a flash, George vanished, teleporting instantly into Green Lantern's home in Coast City.
"What's the situation?"
"The Green Lantern Corps... their attempt to contain Parallax failed..."
Hal spoke rapidly, laying out the entire sequence of events. The body of the fallen Lantern, Abin Sur, which Hal had buried, had been exhumed by the government. It was given to Dr. Hector Hammond, the son of a prominent senator, for study. During the examination, the residual fear energy of Parallax within Abin Sur's corpse saw an opportunity and latched onto Hammond.
Already psychologically twisted by his father's constant belittlement, Hammond was instantly corrupted by the yellow energy. He murdered his father and kidnapped his lifelong crush—Hal's childhood friend, Carol Ferris. During their confrontation, Hal learned that Parallax was already en route to Earth, guided by the beacon of fear within Hammond.
In a desperate bid to save his planet, Hal had traveled to the Green Lantern Corps headquarters on Oa to beg for reinforcements. However, the Corps had suffered such devastating losses at the hands of Parallax that they were paralyzed by fear. Their leadership intended to sacrifice Earth to stall for time while they attempted to master the power of the Yellow Rings to fight back.
With no other choice, Hal had returned to Earth to seek help from the newly formed Justice League. The reason he hadn't asked them sooner was simple: he didn't think they stood a chance. Parallax was a planetary-scale horror. Even the Green Lantern Corps—the intergalactic police of the universe—had been decimated.
In Hal's mind, the Justice League simply didn't compare to the Corps. In terms of numbers, the League was a handful of people; the Corps had thousands. In terms of power, only Superman and Super Cat were aliens; every Lantern was an extraterrestrial with advanced training. In terms of technology, one was limited to Earth-tech, the other to the pinnacle of cosmic science. The League dealt with local crises; the Corps maintained peace for the entire universe.
But with time running out and Parallax closing in, the League was his only hope.
"You need to contact Superman, Batman, and the others right now," Hal urged. "We need to figure out a plan to stop that thing."
"No need to go to all that trouble," George said, waving a paw dismissively. "The others are busy with their own tasks. I can handle Parallax myself."
To George, Parallax's power level was "Heavenly Father" at best—barely touching the tier of a cosmic entity. To him, it wasn't a threat; it was a nuisance.
"What... but..."
Hal froze, his face a mask of pure disbelief. He knew George was powerful, but to suggest he could single-handedly take on a being that had terrified the Guardians of the Universe seemed like pure arrogance.
He opened his mouth to argue, but before he could get a word out, George grabbed him by the collar. They vanished from the room.
"I've already found where that fear energy is hiding."
(End of Chapter)