The Authority: Under New Management
Written by Warren Ellis and Mark Millar
Art by Bryan Hitch, Frank Quietly, Paul Neary and Trevor Scott

The Outer Dark (#9-12)

During the closing days of 1999, strange alien creatures begin building unknown structures in Africa and on the Moon. This prompts the previous Doctors to reveal to the current Doctor a vital secret: the original creator of Earth, the closest thing to the concept of "God" that exists, has returned from a grand tour of the universe to find humanity as an unwanted infestation in its "retirement home". Thus "God" is terraforming Earth to be habitable for itself (and uninhabitable for humans) in time for the arrival of its person, which is an immense pyramid-shaped object the size of the Moon. The Engineer convinces the Carrier to leave Earth orbit. The Authority pilot the Carrier into the approaching "God" through a pore and manage to navigate to its brain. On the route they encounter the being's immune system as well as a civilization that has evolved from parasites over billions of years. During the closing minutes of December 31st, 1999, Jenny Sparks carries out her final act as the Spirit of the Twentieth Century, electrocuting the ship's brain to death before dying in Jack Hawksmoor's arms.

The Nativity (#13-16)

Now under Jack Hawksmoor's leadership, the Authority try but fail to capture Jenny Quantum, the newborn Spirit of the Twenty-First Century, already proven to be more powerful than Sparks ever was. Instead, she is taken by a superhero-creating mastermind, Dr. Jacob Krigstein, who wants Jenny so he can shape the next century through her. Swift cuts a deal for custody of Jenny with Krigstein, who is granted lab space aboard the Carrier, and the chance to exercise his imagination reforming the dictatorships the Authority overthrows.