A mother and child open an ancient book of fairy tales they have inherited from a distant German relative and unleash the Queen of Fables, the archetype of all the wicked stepmothers and fairies in ancient literature. The Queen spots Wonder Woman and thinks she recognizes her, then proceeds to transform Manhattan into an enchanted forest. At the same time, depictions of fictional and legendary characters seem to evaporate from the page and from television screens.

The JLA gather to investigate, but the Queen of Fables finds them first, and takes Wonder Woman away from them, referring to their past antagonisms. Green Lantern realizes that the Queen thinks Wonder Woman is Snow White, and the League muse on the dark origins of the modern fairy tales. They split up to try and find Wonder Woman. J'onn and Plastic Man come upon a house made of cake, and as Plastic Man recounts the story of Hansel and Gretel, he realizes that J'onn is in serious danger: the witch in that story liked to put her victims into a hot furnace-like oven. Flash and Green Lantern meanwhile discover Wonder Woman dead in a crystal casket.

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