[1] As well as regular Wildstorm characters the series introduced a new team, The Paladins, comprising: The story chronologically began in 1945, when General Zebulon McCandless, a very pious and dogmatic person, oversaw the American recovery of a crashed Daemonite flying saucer in Nevada's Black Rock Desert.

He began drafting a plan to capture this era's superhuman heroes and villains, some of whom had contributed their services in World War II, and train them to fight off the End of Days under a program he titled "Number of the Beast".

McCandless had America's hero team, the Paladins (who also knew the general very well), sent to observe the Hiroshima bombing, but they were teleported into the facility built around the saucer, known as Number of the Beast Bunker #1 (NOTB #1).

When the strike team arrived at the bunker, Doctor Sin had The High placed back into the simulation along with a single warden, Sergeant Stringer.

In the real world, Doctor Sin planned on escaping from the bunker; he faked his death by bringing one of the Paladins, Aeronaut, (who bore a strong facial resemblance to the villain) in his place to be killed by Lt. Welles.

After killing the Paladins and leaving only Hotfoot alive, The High was contacted by Welles, who stated to him that she would end the lives of everyone inside the simulation as per her orders from the American government.

Hotfoot immediately searched through the bunker and finally stopped Welles from initializing the 'kill button' by vibro-phasing his hand through her head, inducing brain damage.

The High decided to find more answers and flew to the rebuilt StormWatch satellite base, Skywatch III, where he negotiated a truce between him and Jackson King.

The High was then approached by Slyxx, a Daemonite scientist who was the sole survivor of the saucer crash in 1945 given "amnesty" for working with the Americans in the NOTB program.

Having heard enough of the Daemonite's information and swearing to Somerset that he and the others involved in the Number of the Beast program would pay for their crimes, The High left to fight his clones as they prepared to destroy the world.

Somerset tried to rally his people but found them murdered by Slyxx, who then informed the general that he had just contacted his (Daemonite) high-command with the words, "mission accomplished."

In Iowa, Paladins members Engine Joe, Mago, and Tumbleweed tracked down the retired Zebulon McCandless, informing him that he and those involved with the Number of the Beast would be held accountable for the world's devastation.