Businessmen Isaac Noble and Kris Caulder recruit high-schoolers from Kurtzberg High School, the site of the Angya Mainyu fight, to join their worldwide superhero youth group—the New Justice International.
Zugzwang, an organization dedicated to exploitation of the weak and using questionable business practices to profit, has decided to target the people who were involved in the Angra Mainyu fight for (presumably) organ harvesting, experimentation, etc. They were involved in the heist of Miracle Pharma, shooting down the CEO's helicopter.
In Obsidian City, a water company is disregarding the poisoned water that it distributes to poor areas, so the NJI members head there to gather evidence of wrongdoing and root out Zugzwang (the masterminds of the situation).
It is discovered that the poisoned water is creating vengeful Drowned Souls, attracting the attention of Makquer'el (a god of death, darkness and fishing) and his Magical Sea Snail friend, Shelly. They proceed to aid in the confrontation with Zugzwang.
Following the Retroboot, Rick Cannelle, the infamous villain known as Lieutenant Force, ended up certified as a superhero by President Sutler as part of the "Americorps," a group of "superheroes" who were sent in to restore order in Obsidian City. "Restore order" meaning "violently oppress the populace and forbid dissent."
The Anti-Creator, a primordial being who is hellbent on dragging entire universes into his Strange Energy Universe, has set his sights on Easton (and by extension, Earth and its universe). His machinations have already begun to free himself from his sealed-away state. He himself cannot act directly...but his minions can.
The Lurker, an iteration of Wilma whose universe was erased, gets sucked into the main timeline by one of Aileena's reality tears. It gathered a team to go to Kayden, where the Anti-Creator made his next move.
Barely able to escape alive, the Lurker's Squad gets transported back to Easton just as Loe (the Kaydenites' goddess of light) puts Kayden in a pocket dimension and later puts it (and its solar system) in the Library's basement, saving it from destruction.
Elsewhere, primordial and nigh-incomprehensible beings called the Hozuki launch an attack on Axel Adam's building. Fortunately, the Digital Homunculus Koda was invited there and helps to defend the building. But these questions still remain—What are these things? Where do they come from? They will likely remain unanswered, as the Hozuki disappear as quickly as they arrive, warped away by whatever brought them to Easton.
