Chapter Summaries

After recovering from his injuries, Xia Yu learned that Thor and the others would take about seven days to reach him, then entered Sakaar City with Tate. He hired Hayden as a guide and prepared to exchange Tesseract energy for the city’s currency.

• Xia Yu defeated dozens of scavengers with one palm strike, then spent two peaceful days recovering fully.
• Xia Yu called Thor and learned from Rocket that their group would arrive in about seven days after taking another job with Star-Lord.
• Xia Yu entered Sakaar City with Tate and learned from Hayden that local resources could be exchanged for Glory Points.
• Xia Yu asked Hayden to find him the most luxurious hotel suite and followed him to a resource-exchange shop.
• Xia Yu brought out five hundred containers filled with energy drawn from the Tesseract.

Xia Yu settled into a luxurious hotel on Sakaar with Tate and visited the gladiator arena while considering how to approach the Grandmaster and free the gladiators. After an underwhelming evening of fights, Xia Yu returned to his room and found an unexpected guest waiting inside.

• Xia Yu tipped Hayden generously, and Hayden guided him and Tate through Sakaar City to their hotel.
• Tate marveled at the hotel suite, while Xia Yu told Hayden he planned to adopt him and asked for clothes for Tate and arena tickets.
• Xia Yu learned that the Grandmaster's gladiators were enslaved and considered using the arena to find powerful fighters, approach the Grandmaster, and locate Valkyrie.
• Hayden secured front-row tickets, but Xia Yu saw ordinary fights and spotted neither the Grandmaster nor Valkyrie.
• Xia Yu and Tate returned to their room, where an unknown voice welcomed Mr. Xia to Sakaar.

After Felix Geary tried to invite Xia Yu to meet the Grandmaster, Xia Yu punished him for entering his room uninvited by throwing him from the ninety-ninth floor. Felix was brought to the Grandmaster, where Topaz questioned him and then melted him with her scepter.

• The Grandmaster sent Felix Geary to meet Xia Yu after learning that storage devices containing the Tesseract's energy had been sold on Sakaar.
• Felix Geary entered Xia Yu's hotel suite without permission and delivered the Grandmaster's invitation.
• Xia Yu seized Felix Geary by the throat, threw him from the terrace, and returned to watching television with Tate.
• Hotel staff brought the badly injured Felix Geary before the Grandmaster, who worried about blood staining his carpet.
• Topaz questioned Felix Geary about what happened and melted his body with her scepter.

The Grandmaster learned that Xia Yu had thrown Felix Geary from a hotel room and sent him an elaborate invitation to dinner. Xia Yu accepted, dressing in formal Earth clothing to impress the Grandmaster and investigate him while waiting for Thor and the others to arrive.

• Topaz explained that Felix Geary had entered Xia Yu's room without permission and been thrown out before he could identify himself to the Grandmaster.
• The Grandmaster ordered Topaz to prepare an invitation for Xia Yu and have his portrait printed on it.
• Felix Geary's wife, children, mistress, and illegitimate daughter were killed and dumped in the Junkyard.
• Xia Yu received the Grandmaster's invitation, decided to make friends with him and sound him out, and arranged for Tate to stay at the hotel.
• Xia Yu dressed in a tailcoat and other Earth finery, then traveled by spaceship to the Grandmaster's palace for dinner.

After welcoming Xia Yu to his palace, the Grandmaster secretly investigated his genes and the Infinity Stones he sensed on him. Xia Yu planned to learn more about the Grandmaster and Sakaar before Thor and the others arrived, unaware that the Grandmaster intended to make him a test subject.

• The Grandmaster asked Topaz what she thought of Xia Yu, then revealed that he had sensed more than one Infinity Stone on him.
• Xia Yu and Little Tate moved into the Grandmaster's palace, where the Grandmaster hosted a welcoming party and gladiatorial match for them.
• Xia Yu questioned the Grandmaster about the arena's former champion and decided to investigate the Grandmaster and Sakaar before Thor and the others arrived.
• The Grandmaster took Topaz to his secret laboratory, where Xia Yu's genetic sequence was displayed on a screen.
• The Grandmaster praised Xia Yu's genes and told Topaz that studying him could make her more powerful than a Celestial, but ordered her to keep observing him rather than capture him.

The Grandmaster and the Collector had spent ages experimenting on other beings in pursuit of genes that could let them wield the Infinity Stones, and the Grandmaster saw Xia Yu as their chance to succeed. After secretly searching the Grandmaster’s laboratory and uncovering the scale of the experiments, Xia Yu decided to target the Collector as well as the Grandmaster.

• The chapter revealed that the Grandmaster and the Collector were brothers who had conducted cruel genetic experiments for countless years to create bodies capable of wielding the Infinity Stones.
• The Grandmaster became obsessed with Xia Yu’s potential and imagined combining his genes with those taken from the Celestial skull.
• After the Grandmaster and Topaz left the laboratory, Xia Yu emerged from a portal and asked Tmall to search and analyze its database.
• Tmall uncovered records of hundreds of thousands of genetic samples and experiments, including tests involving Earthlings, Asgardians, gladiators, and Topaz.
• Xia Yu reviewed the experiments, rejected the Grandmaster’s idea of genetic perfection, and decided to visit the Collector and kill him personally.

Xia Yu tried to persuade Valkyrie to confront her past and help stop Hela, while warning her that the Grandmaster was experimenting on gladiators. Valkyrie demanded proof, and Xia Yu invited her to see the Grandmaster’s secret laboratory.

• The Grandmaster hosted banquets for Xia Yu while secretly hoping to collect samples of his blood and hair.
• Xia Yu met Valkyrie, learned she was called 142, and challenged her about abandoning Asgard and seeking revenge on Hela.
• The Grandmaster mistook Xia Yu’s interest in Valkyrie for romance and encouraged him to pursue her.
• Xia Yu approached Valkyrie while she spoke with Korg and Miek, but she tried to leave without hearing him out.
• Xia Yu told Valkyrie that Odin was dying and Hela would return, then accused the Grandmaster of altering gladiators’ genes and showed her records he had found.
• Valkyrie stopped and demanded proof, and Xia Yu asked her to come with him.

Xia Yu tried to persuade Valkyrie to help him attack the Grandmaster, and demonstrated his strength until she agreed to wait for his friends to arrive. Meanwhile, the Grandmaster and the Collector planned to capture Xia Yu and study his genes, with an anesthetic shipment due in three days.

• Xia Yu described his plan to protect a young scavenger and attack the Grandmaster with his friends, but Valkyrie doubted their chances against the Grandmaster and his forces.
• Xia Yu claimed he had fought Hela and let Valkyrie test her Dragonfang against him, then revealed his Armor and convinced her to wait for his friends.
• The Grandmaster told the Collector that Xia Yu had perfect genes and an Infinity Stone, and promised to share him.
• The Collector warned the Grandmaster not to harm Xia Yu and said the anesthetic would be ready to ship in three days.
• The Grandmaster assured the Collector that he would wait for the anesthetic made from Ancient Celestial brain matter.

Thor and the Avengers arrived on Sakaar, where Grandmaster staged an extravagant welcome while secretly planning to capture them. After learning how the group had been delayed by a Kree fleet, Xia Yu planned to use the banquet as cover to make their move, and Tony revealed he had brought an army of Iron Soldiers.

• Thor arrived on Sakaar two days late with the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and nearly the entire team, while Bucky, Falcon, the Winter Soldier, and Vision stayed behind.
• Grandmaster welcomed Xia Yu’s friends with a citywide celebration and introduced himself as Sakaar’s ruler.
• Rocket disabled the room’s listening devices, and Thor and the others explained that Rocket had rammed Kree ships, prompting the fleet to chase them near Earth.
• Xia Yu planned to let everyone enjoy Grandmaster’s banquet before making their move and warned them to be careful around Sakaar’s guards and weapons.
• Tony said he would handle the guards and produced a display case containing at least a hundred Iron Soldiers.

At a banquet with Grandmaster, Rocket and Drax staged a clumsy poisoning scene before Rocket slapped Grandmaster and declared a robbery. The Avengers armed themselves as the attempted extortion turned into a full-scale holdup at Grandmaster’s laboratory.

• Xia Yu hosted a banquet for Grandmaster, Valkyrie, the Avengers, and the Guardians of the Galaxy.
• Rocket mocked Grandmaster’s blue chin streak, and Drax argued with him before performing an exaggerated fake death after drinking wine.
• Rocket stepped in front of Grandmaster and accused him of poisoning Drax, who spat out blood from a hidden blood bag.
• Rocket slapped Grandmaster twice, pulled out a gun, and announced that everyone was being robbed.
• The Avengers drew their weapons and prepared for combat, while Captain covered his face with a scarf.

Xia Yu and the Avengers defeated the Grandmaster on Sakaar, freed the gladiators, and prepared to confront the Collector. When they reached Knowhere, they found the Collector had fled after stripping the city and had left a poison-gas trap, though Xia Yu’s group had protective suits.

• Thor knocked Topaz down with his hammer, and the Avengers subdued the Grandmaster’s guards.
• Xia Yu robbed the Grandmaster, freed the slaves, and sent Thor and Valkyrie to help release the gladiators.
• Xia Yu gave the Grandmaster’s funds to Star-Lord, Rocket, and the others, while Tony took the laboratory data and Xia Yu arranged to house the gladiators on spaceships.
• Xia Yu’s group discovered the Collector’s knockout drug shipment and spent extra time preparing protective suits before traveling to Knowhere.
• The group found Knowhere abandoned and stripped of its energy blocks, then pale yellow gas spread through the city as the Collector watched them from a hidden spaceship.

After The Collector fled Knowhere, Xia Yu and the others began restoring the stripped city, while Valkyrie chose to stay and face Hela. Rocket then warned Xia Yu that the Sovereign fleet had surrounded Knowhere and revealed he had provoked them by sending Ayesha a humiliating photo.

• The Collector withdrew his ambushers and escaped, leaving Knowhere without its energy blocks.
• Tony decided to study the Celestial Skull as a possible material for Xia Yu's floating continent, while the Iron Legion helped set up a temporary base.
• Xia Yu asked Valkyrie what she would do next, and she chose to stay with Korg and the others and fight Hela alongside Asgard.
• Valkyrie said she would join Xia Yu's plan to save the universe if she survived the fight with Hela, and Xia Yu welcomed her aboard.
• Rocket told Xia Yu that Ayesha had announced a warrant for him and that Sovereign ships had blockaded nearby wormholes around Knowhere.
• Rocket revealed he had sent Ayesha a nude group photo of her and Sovereign women, prompting Xia Yu to call everyone to prepare for battle.

Xia Yu and the others prepared for Sovereign’s fleet, which was coming to attack after Xia Yu disrupted a ceremony and Rocket sent the Sovereign a photo. They decided Xia Yu and Rocket would draw the fleet away from Knowhere, and Xia Yu took Natasha with him as they headed toward the enemy.

• Rocket warned the group that Sovereign’s fleet was assembling and said the others needed a way to stay safe during the battle.
• Rocket told Ant-Man that the Sovereign wanted Xia Yu because he had interrupted a ceremony and photographed thousands of naked women, while Xia Yu insisted his arrival had been accidental.
• Xia Yu explained that Rocket had sent the photo to the Sovereign, worsening the conflict, and said the fleet had demanded that Knowhere hand him over.
• The group agreed that Xia Yu and Rocket would meet the fleet away from Knowhere while everyone else stayed behind.
• Natasha insisted on joining Xia Yu, and she boarded the Avengers Ship with him and Rocket as they set course for the wormhole where the most enemy ships had gathered.

Xia Yu, Natasha, and Rocket encountered Ayesha’s Sovereign fleet, and Natasha provoked Ayesha into ordering a full attack. The Avengers Ship survived the barrage intact and charged toward the fleet, with Rocket ready to fight.

• The Avengers Ship reached the wormhole, where Rocket hid from the Sovereign fleet’s communication request and Xia Yu answered it.
• Ayesha recognized Xia Yu, ordered her ships to surround the Avengers Ship, and threatened to destroy it.
• Natasha insulted Ayesha, who lost her temper and ordered the fleet to open fire.
• The Sovereign fleet bombarded the Avengers Ship for nearly a minute, but its Vibranium hull left it undamaged.
• The Avengers Ship emerged from the barrage and charged toward the fleet as Rocket prepared to fight.

Rocket used the Avengers Ship’s agility and ramming strength to devastate the Sovereign fleet, while Ayesha struggled to decide whether to continue the attack or withdraw. The fleet regrouped around the ship as Rocket prepared to act again.

• Rocket dodged the Sovereign fleet’s attacks and led its pursuing ships into a long stream shaped like a nine.
• Rocket turned the Avengers Ship around and rammed through the stream, destroying or causing the collisions of at least half the fleet.
• A Sovereign commander told Ayesha that more ships could not stop the Avengers Ship and warned that wasting resources could bring the High Council against her.
• Ayesha raged over the Cocooning Festival photo but fell silent as the commander prepared to order a retreat.
• The Sovereign ships surrounded the Avengers Ship again, and it suddenly sprang into action.

The Avengers Ship drove off the Sovereign fleet, then returned to Knowhere after the fleet retreated. Dr. Pym shrank the Celestial’s skull so it could be transported to Earth, and Xia Yu set out with Natasha and Star-Lord’s group for the Sovereign Planet, with Ego as their next destination.

• The Avengers Ship swept away half the Sovereign fleet’s encirclement and escaped through a wormhole, while Rocket sent Ayesha a taunting message that enraged her.
• The Sovereign fleet withdrew after the Avengers Ship’s attack, and Xia Yu learned that Star-Lord had accepted the mission to the Sovereign Planet.
• Dr. Pym arrived at Knowhere, examined the Celestial’s skull, and agreed with Tony that it should be moved near Earth.
• Dr. Pym used Pym Particles to shrink the skull until it fit inside a large spaceship.
• The others returned to Earth while Xia Yu and Natasha departed with Star-Lord and his companions, heading toward Ego.

Xia Yu sent Tate back with Tony and the Avengers while he and Natasha continued with the Guardians on their mission to Sovereign. After a week of missions and constant bickering aboard Star-Lord’s ship, they reached the planet and prepared to meet the waiting Sovereign soldier.

• Xia Yu reassured Tate and asked Tony to settle him at the Avengers base, where Peter could keep him company.
• Xia Yu teased Natasha about having children together, and Star-Lord complained about their flirting before Gamora punished him for touching her without permission.
• Xia Yu reflected on spending a week with the Guardians, helping them complete two missions and fighting an unknown Ravager team on an abandoned planet.
• Rocket told Xia Yu and Natasha to put on their space masks as the ship approached Sovereign.
• Rocket landed the ship at the mission location, where a Sovereign soldier was waiting for them.

Star-Lord and the Guardians of the Galaxy fought a giant battery-eating monster while Xia Yu and Natasha watched. After their weapons failed to pierce its hide, Xia Yu killed it instantly with a blast through its open mouth, spraying pus over Rocket and Star-Lord.

• The Sovereign hired Star-Lord and the others to kill a monster from another dimension that stole and ate batteries.
• Gamora questioned why Drax was wearing Rocket's flight pack, while Drax and Rocket argued over music.
• Natasha comforted Groot and plugged in Rocket's speaker as the monster arrived on the platform.
• Star-Lord and the others attacked the monster, but their weapons could not pierce its tough hide and its tentacles repeatedly sent them flying.
• Drax began telling Xia Yu he had an idea, but Xia Yu flew up and blasted the monster through its open mouth, killing it instantly.

The Guardians of the Galaxy collected their bounty from the Sovereign, who handed over Nebula. As they prepared to leave, Ayesha questioned Star-Lord about his unusual lineage, and Natasha challenged her contempt for Earthlings.

• Xia Yu killed the monster in one move, then joined the others as the Sovereign arrived to receive them.
• Ayesha praised the Sovereign’s genetic perfection, while Star-Lord and the High Priestess flirted until Gamora brought the conversation back to their bounty.
• Ayesha offered Nebula as payment, and Gamora accepted her sister despite insisting she was only a bounty.
• Ayesha asked Star-Lord about his family, learned his mother was from Earth, and called his parentage irresponsible and bastardly.
• Natasha stepped forward and asked Ayesha if she thought Earthlings were lowly.

Natasha and Rocket angered Ayesha by challenging the Sovereign people's arrogance, and Xia Yu backed them up. After Ayesha threatened the group, Xia Yu struck the Sovereign guards with Life and Death Talismans and forced Ayesha to face him.

• Ayesha insulted Earth, prompting Natasha and Rocket to criticize the Sovereign people.
• Xia Yu mocked Ayesha, and she ordered her guards to aim their guns at the group.
• Xia Yu formed Life and Death Talismans and struck nearly every Sovereign person in the hall.
• Xia Yu sent guards at the entrance flying and shut the hall doors with his palm wind.
• Xia Yu activated the talismans, leaving the Sovereign people writhing in pain, then removed his mask and offered Ayesha a proper talk.