Chapter Summaries

After learning that Xu Wenwu had been killed in the attack on the Ten Rings headquarters, Xu Shang-Chi agreed to return and seek revenge. Razor Fist told him Xu Xialing was alive in Hong Kong and that the Ten Rings’ power and Ta Lo might help him prepare.

• Tony Stark returned from the Ten Rings headquarters, and Bruce Banner arrived three days later to work with him despite falling asleep during Tony’s explanation.
• Razor Fist and Ten Rings soldiers found Xu Shang-Chi in New York and forced their way into his apartment after he tried to flee.
• Xu Shang-Chi fought off the attackers until Razor Fist stopped and told him Xu Wenwu had been killed in the battle against Tony Stark and the Ninjas.
• Xu Shang-Chi watched footage of the attack, but it ended before showing what happened to his father or the Ten Rings.
• Razor Fist told Xu Shang-Chi that Xu Xialing had escaped and was in Hong Kong, and that Xu Shang-Chi could develop the Ten Rings’ power and the Heart of the Divine Dragon to avenge Xu Wenwu.
• Xu Shang-Chi vowed to repay blood with blood and agreed to return with Razor Fist.

Xu Shang-Chi and Xialing discovered their necklaces revealed a route to Ta Lo, then turned to their father’s research to prepare for revenge. In Los Angeles, Skye recorded a hooded man rescuing a woman from an explosion.

• Xu Shang-Chi reunited with Xialing and told her that their father had died.
• Xu Shang-Chi placed his necklace in the dragon mural, and Xialing added hers, revealing a map and route to Ta Lo.
• Xu Shang-Chi and Xialing took the necklaces and went to study their father’s research before traveling to Ta Lo.
• A Black father left his son, Ace, beside the Charlotte figurine and ran toward a nearby building after an explosion.
• The hooded father climbed into the burning building, rescued a woman, and escaped as Skye recorded him.

Grant Ward recovered a Chitauri Neural Link in Paris and returned to S.H.I.E.L.D., where Agent Hill questioned him about the Rising Tide. Coulson revealed that he had survived his reported death and welcomed Ward to Level Seven.

• Grant Ward infiltrated a target's home, scanned a safe, and stole a Chitauri Neural Link while fighting off two security guards.
• Grant Ward delivered the neural link to Agent Hill and asked how the Rising Tide had learned about it.
• Agent Hill said the Battle of New York had changed the world and told Ward to ask Agent Coulson why he had been transferred back.
• Coulson emerged from the darkness, surprised Ward, and hugged him as Ward celebrated that he was alive.
• Coulson explained that Fury had faked his death and that a Physical Enhancement Serum had strengthened him after his resurrection.
• Coulson, Hill, and Ward left the office, and Hill corrected Coulson's claim that he had stopped breathing for forty seconds.

Coulson recruited a team to investigate the unknown hooded superhero, while Ward objected because he still distrusted newcomers after Yakushi Kabuto deceived S.H.I.E.L.D. Charlotte returned to the Magic World and learned that thirty pieces of magic equipment had been forged for him.

• Coulson showed Ward and Hill footage of an unknown gifted man rescuing a girl and said he wanted Rising Tide to help them find him.
• Ward refused to join Coulson’s welcoming committee, citing the deception by Yakushi Kabuto, but Coulson said he would still trust another newcomer.
• Hill told Ward he could go, and Coulson left the command room to lead the newly approved mobile team despite concerns about his recovery and strength.
• Hill and a researcher agreed that Coulson must not learn the truth about what happened during his stay in Tahiti.
• Charlotte used the Merlin Array to reach the Magic World, dispelled his Wood Clone, and absorbed its memories of thirty newly forged magic items made with extraordinary creature materials, Mithril, and magic arrays.

Charlotte Doyle recharged thirty pieces of magical equipment for 100,000 Gold Coins, reached VIP 13, and spent most of his funds unlocking two Deployment Slots. After Balthazar warned that the supply of high-grade materials was nearly exhausted, Charlotte considered finding a way to obtain more from the Hell Dimension; meanwhile, the Hooded Hero watched news coverage of the woman he had rescued.

• Charlotte Doyle recharged all thirty magical items and earned 100,000 Gold Coins, advancing to VIP 13 and receiving a privilege gift pack.
• Charlotte spent 118,000 Gold Coins to unlock two Deployment Slots, leaving him one slot short of Cloud Village's emergence.
• Balthazar brought Charlotte another piece of magical equipment and warned that high-grade materials were scarce and the masters would need wages for future work.
• Charlotte accepted Balthazar's warning and considered obtaining more materials from the Hell Dimension.
• The Hooded Hero watched a café news report about the woman he had rescued and smiled at the coverage.

Skye confronted the Hooded Hero and warned him that S.H.I.E.L.D. might come after him, but he refused her offer of help. Meanwhile, Coulson recruited Melinda May to help run his independent team and met Yakushi Kabuto at a sushi restaurant.

• Skye approached the Hooded Hero, identified herself, and told him that S.H.I.E.L.D. could be a danger to him.
• Skye offered to create a new identity for the Hooded Hero, but he refused and left the coffee shop.
• After he left, Skye found his stolen ID badge and learned that his name was Michael Peterson.
• Coulson persuaded Melinda May to join his team and fly the Helicarrier, and May considered changing her duties.
• Coulson went to a Chinatown sushi restaurant, where Yakushi Kabuto joined him and began eating.

Coulson confirmed Yakushi Kabuto’s intelligence file was genuine but remained unsure whether he could trust the Charlotte Agency. He formed a team with Grant Ward, Fitz, Simmons, and Melinda May, then had Skye arrested and questioned about Rising Tide, Centipede, and the hooded hero while his team investigated the explosion site.

• Coulson asked Yakushi Kabuto to verify his intelligence file, and Yakushi Kabuto confirmed it was accurate before leaving the restaurant.
• Grant Ward joined Coulson’s team aboard the Helicarrier, where Fitz and Simmons set up his communicator and Melinda May prepared to pilot them toward a Rising Tide lead.
• Coulson and Ward arrested Skye and interrogated her about the hooded hero, the explosion, and Centipede; Skye revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. did not know about Centipede.
• Michael Peterson argued with the Doctor over the phone about exposing his powers, but the Doctor insisted he return to work, leaving Michael angry over his job and deportation order.
• Melinda May, Fitz, and Simmons investigated the explosion site and discovered a secret laboratory in a self-recovery center, suspecting the blast was connected to the superhero.

Fitz and Simmons searched the explosion site while Coulson and Grant Ward interrogated Skye about Centipede and her unknown contact. The chapter ended with Coulson injecting Grant Ward with truth serum and inviting Skye to question him.

• Fitz used drones to scan the room, and Mei helped uncover a damaged security camera with flash memory.
• Skye told Grant Ward that Centipede had connected from the building that exploded and asked to speak to her contact alone.
• Coulson questioned Grant Ward about Skye's value and wondered whether she was connected to the Ninjas or other unusual beings.
• Fitz found that the camera might contain footage from before the explosion, while Simmons discovered chemicals from something not of Earth.
• Coulson injected Grant Ward with truth serum instead of Skye, and he admitted that the injection hurt before falling silent.
• Coulson told Skye she could ask Grant Ward any question she wanted.

Ward endured Skye’s questioning under truth serum while Michael Peterson, desperate to regain his job, attacked his supervisor and declared himself a hero. After Michael appeared on the news, Coulson’s team identified him and began investigating how he gained his strength.

• Coulson left Ward and Skye alone in the interrogation room, where Skye questioned Ward for an hour as he pretended to reveal truths under the serum.
• Michael Peterson pleaded with his former supervisor Gary to rehire him, then used his strength to knock over a cart and throw Gary into steel pipes.
• Michael called Gary a villain and himself a hero, then struck Gary with an oxygen tank.
• Skye told Coulson that Michael had only needed luck or a job, and she gave him Michael’s employee badge.
• Fitz looked up Michael’s records, and Coulson suggested someone had offered him restored strength and superpowers before asking about surveillance footage from before the explosion.

Charlotte assigned Zaku Orange, Dosu Kinata, and Kin Tsuchi to bring Michael Peterson to the Sound Ninja base for Orochimaru’s research. Meanwhile, Skye helped Coulson’s team recover audio evidence as they investigated the Hooded Hero.

• Yakushi Kabuto told Charlotte that Phil Coulson had recovered and wanted to recruit Ninja, and Charlotte instructed Kabuto to maintain his connection with Coulson.
• Charlotte learned that Orochimaru’s Extremis Virus research was progressing and searched for information about the Hooded Hero, Michael Peterson.
• Charlotte sent Pakkun with a mission scroll and intelligence to Otogakure, where Tayuya tasked Zaku Orange, Dosu Kinata, and Kin Tsuchi with bringing Michael Peterson to the base.
• Fitz and Simmons discussed how audio could help synchronize incomplete evidence, and Skye offered recordings from her van.
• Coulson arranged for Mei to escort Skye to retrieve the van and told her to wake Ward on the way out.

Michael Peterson confronted the woman behind the experiment, who told him he had exposed her and needed to disappear; he declared himself a hero and jumped from the hospital window. Meanwhile, Coulson's team reconstructed the explosion and discovered that Mike carried an unstable Extremis strain, prompting Coulson to send Grant Ward to deal with him.

• Michael Peterson visited the woman he had saved, but she accused him of exposing her plan and said he had to disappear.
• Michael Peterson insisted he was someone else now, called his situation a hero's origin story, and jumped from the hospital window.
• Mei and Skye transmitted audio from the explosion scene while Fitz reconstructed it for Coulson and Grant Ward.
• Simmons identified the substances in the suspect's blood filter as alien metal, gamma radiation, and Super Soldier Serum.
• Coulson recognized the explosion as a new, unstable Extremis strain, and the team realized Mike could explode and endanger everyone within two blocks.
• Coulson told Grant Ward that he had his chance to defuse a bomb.

Skye helped Michael Peterson escape with his son, Ace, while Coulson’s team searched for a way to prevent Michael from exploding. Skye sent S.H.I.E.L.D. Michael’s location, and Coulson and Grant Ward headed there as the Sound Ninja Trio arrived in Los Angeles to stake out Michael.

• Skye hid an intrusion chip, but Michael arrived, knocked May unconscious, and said he was protecting Skye and Ace.
• Michael, Skye, and Ace drove away, with Ace calling them a team.
• Simmons and Fitz told Coulson that Michael would eventually explode and that killing him might stop the process, but Coulson ordered them to find another solution.
• May woke and told Coulson that Michael had taken Skye, prompting him to seek their location.
• The Sound Ninja Trio reached Union Station while Skye deleted Michael and Ace’s old records and began creating new identities.
• Skye sent coordinates through a security vulnerability, and Coulson took Grant Ward and local S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to meet Michael.

Michael Peterson fled through Union Station with Skye and his son, where a fight drew the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Sound Ninja. The chapter ended with Dosu Kinata confronting Michael as Coulson wondered why the ninjas were involved.

• Skye sent Coulson her location while Michael Peterson prepared to take her and his son on a train.
• Coulson and Grant Ward surrounded the van and called for Michael to surrender, but Michael kicked off its door and dragged Skye and his son into the station.
• Skye provoked a group of men into attacking Michael, who fought them off but became separated from his son in the crowd.
• Coulson took Ace to safety while a police officer shot at Michael, and Dosu Kinata killed the officer and crushed his shotgun.
• Dosu Kinata confronted Michael Peterson, while Coulson questioned how the Sound Ninja had become involved.

Dosu Kinata tried to take Michael Peterson for the Sound Ninja, but Michael resisted and Coulson warned that he could explode. Dosu knocked Michael unconscious, and Zaku Orange and Kin Tsuchi sealed him in a barrel and prepared to leave.

• Coulson told Ward to watch the station and not fire without orders, while Skye spotted Kin Tsuchi and Zaku Orange on the second floor.
• Dosu Kinata told Michael Peterson that his lord wanted him, but Michael refused to leave without his son.
• Dosu used Sound Ninja techniques to incapacitate Michael, and Coulson warned him that Michael carried a dangerous toxin.
• Michael recovered, attacked Dosu, and was thrown into a stone pillar before Dosu knocked him unconscious with a Sonic Shockwave.
• Zaku Orange and Kin Tsuchi arrived, put Michael in a barrel, and Zaku sealed it with paper talismans despite Coulson's warning.

The Sound Ninja captured Michael Peterson and delivered him to Charlotte, leaving Coulson’s S.H.I.E.L.D. mission a failure. Nick Fury learned that Otogakure had intervened and planned to assign someone to handle the matter while Natasha remained occupied in Wakanda.

• Zaku Orange sealed Michael Peterson in a barrel with Charlotte’s magical talismans, while Coulson’s team was unable to stop the Sound Ninja from escaping.
• Fitz and Simmons brought the antidote, but Coulson told the team the mission had failed and withdrew from the station.
• The Sound Ninja Trio returned to their base and delivered Michael to Charlotte, who sent Yakushi Kabuto to take him to Orochimaru for study of the Extremis Virus.
• Coulson reported the failed mission and Otogakure’s abilities to Commander Hill, who forwarded the footage and intelligence to Nick Fury.
• Nick Fury said Natasha was occupied with the Wakanda investigation and decided to arrange for someone else to handle the situation with the Ninja.

Nick Fury assessed threats involving Wakanda, the Akatsuki, and the Sound Ninja while Coulson brought Skye into the field after receiving an 084 mission. Meanwhile, Orochimaru examined Michael’s Centipede implant and began planning experiments of his own.

• Nick Fury reviewed Natasha’s report on Wakanda and Hidan’s attacks, then decided S.H.I.E.L.D. would continue investigating Wakanda and punish the Sound Ninja for taking Michael.
• Coulson placed Michael’s son in foster care and explained to Skye that S.H.I.E.L.D. would pursue the unresolved Centipede case and negotiate with the Sound Ninja.
• Coulson invited Skye to join his team, and she accepted after Grant Ward called with an 084 mission.
• Coulson took Skye to the airport in the flying car Laufey, astonishing her with S.H.I.E.L.D.’s technology.
• Orochimaru examined Michael’s Centipede implant, severed his arm to test its healing ability, and asked Yakushi Kabuto to bring him more test subjects.

Skye joined Coulson's team as a consultant despite Ward and Mei objecting, then boarded the Helicarrier for a mission in Peru. Coulson explained that the team was investigating an unknown object, and Skye learned their last discovery had been a hammer.

• Skye finished packing her van and boarded the plane after deciding to join Coulson's team.
• Ward and Mei objected to Skye joining, but Coulson confirmed he had already made the decision and introduced the team's new mission: investigating an 084.
• Fitz and Simmons welcomed Skye aboard the Helicarrier and showed her to her small bunk.
• Ward gave Skye the plane's safety information sheet, then Coulson spoke with her about the aircraft and his past injury.
• Coulson told Skye they were heading to Peru to investigate an object of unknown origin, and said the team's last 084 had been a hammer.

Coulson’s team investigated a dangerous 084 Object embedded in an ancient Peruvian temple and found strange patterns resembling marks from another 084 site. Outside, Grant Ward and Mei uncovered hidden Peruvian military police, but more armed officers arrived and surrounded them.

• Mei landed the plane on a dirt road, and the team drove to the Yactapat excavation site.
• An archaeologist led Coulson into the temple and showed him an 084 Object embedded in a wall beside unexplained patterns.
• Coulson ordered the archaeologist’s team to evacuate and had Fitz scan the patterns, which reminded him of marks left at another 084 Object site.
• Grant Ward checked tire tracks while Mei guarded the entrance, and both discovered hidden Peruvian military police.
• Grant Ward seized one soldier, while Mei disarmed two others; then more military police arrived and aimed their guns at them.

Coulson negotiated with Commander Camila Reyes over a strange object in Peru, but a rebel attack forced the team to evacuate the Temple. As Ward removed the object, Killer B materialized inside, leaving the team stunned.

• Ward held a hostage until Coulson and Camila recognized each other and persuaded both sides to lower their weapons.
• Fitz and Simmons discovered the 084 Object had an active, changing energy source while Ward urged the team to leave.
• Camila and Coulson discussed the object’s fate before rebels attacked the site with guns, grenades, and RPGs.
• Ward rushed the team to evacuate and pulled the 084 Object out of the Temple wall despite Fitz’s warning.
• Killer B materialized inside the Temple, and Skye, Fitz, and Ward stared at him in shock.

Ward encountered Killer B inside the Inca Temple in Peru, and the agents joined Coulson and Camila outside as Rebel Army soldiers attacked. Killer B helped fight off the soldiers, but more arrived in a jeep, and he launched a lightning-charged strike at it.

• Ward identified the location as an Inca Temple in Peru and told Killer B that Rebel Army soldiers were fighting outside.
• Coulson and Camila withdrew toward their truck while fighting Rebel Army soldiers, and Ward led his team and Killer B out of the Temple.
• Killer B attacked the soldiers around the Temple, taking several down with his blades.
• More Rebel Army soldiers arrived and opened fire, so Coulson charged them with his batons while Ward and Camila provided cover.
• A jeep carrying soldiers and a mounted machine gun opened fire, and Killer B charged it with lightning and slashed upward at the vehicle.