In the series, Cosmic Boy and Night Girl have traveled from the 30th century to enjoy a vacation in the 20th century. They find themselves threatened by many citizens and residents of the United States, who have been manipulated by Glorious Godfrey as part of a scheme by Darkseid to discredit Earth's superhero community. Soon after arriving, Cosmic Boy encounters Superman, who does not recognize him—even though Superboy was a member of the Legion for years. He and Night Girl review videotapes of recent history, including references to the bombing of Hiroshima, the explosion of the American space shuttle "Challenger", and the meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, but no mention of Superman's early career as Superboy. Cosmic Boy, a 20th-century Earth history buff, insists that none of these events are correct. As theirs is one of the first journeys through time since the Crisis, the couple fears that something is terribly wrong with history. The future could be in serious danger, since many of the worlds in the United Planets were colonized by settlers from Earth. A space shuttle mission carrying a satellite crucial to Earth’s future development of space travel goes awry, with the shuttle exploding. Cosmic Boy magnetically catches the payload and sends the debris harmlessly toward the ocean, but American soldiers assume that he is a foreign spy. They attack him, implementing President Ronald Reagan's directive outlawing all superhero activity.