Chapter Summaries

The Ancient One visited Xia Yu to question him about absorbing the Infinity Stones and disrupting her visions of the future. She left to reconsider how to deal with him, while Xia Yu and Natasha resumed their vacation.

• The Ancient One arrived at Xia Yu and Natasha’s hotel suite, and Xia Yu introduced her to Natasha as Earth’s sorcerer leader.
• The Ancient One brewed tea with spatial magic and advised Xia Yu to develop his Space Source abilities; Xia Yu took her tea leaves as a first-meeting gift.
• The Ancient One questioned Xia Yu about transforming the Infinity Stones’ energy and becoming a variable absent from her visions of the future.
• Xia Yu challenged the Ancient One’s need to control events and told her that he knew about Dormammu.
• The Ancient One left through a portal to use the Time Stone to examine the future, while Xia Yu asked her to bring Natasha a gift.

Xia Yu spent a peaceful vacation with Natasha and learned to expand the space inside their Space Rings. Tony then called him back to the Avengers’ base, where Tony and Banner proposed building a powerful spaceship using the Infinity Stones and asked to test Xia Yu’s energy.

• Xia Yu reluctantly took Hawkeye’s family to Iceland, where Hawkeye’s children clung to Natasha until Hawkeye’s wife distracted them.
• Xia Yu spent several uninterrupted days with Natasha, then practiced directing spatial energy to expand the Space Rings, increasing Natasha’s ring to fifty cubic meters.
• Tony called Xia Yu back to the Avengers’ base, where he had built a workshop for studying items recovered from alien planets.
• Tony and Banner showed Xia Yu plans for a Lightspeed Engine and proposed using the Space Stone for propulsion and the Power Stone for weapons.
• Banner asked to test Xia Yu’s Tesseract-derived energy, so Xia Yu knocked Tony, Banner, and Betty unconscious and joked with Natasha about their excitement.

Xia Yu spent three months helping the Avengers’ Science Team and passing time at the base while Tony developed advanced nanotechnology. When Tony revealed his new Armor, Xia Yu remembered Tony’s sacrifices and resolved to protect his friend.

• Xia Yu recruited Jane Foster and Dr. Selvig to help the Science Team, while Nick Fury formed a new intelligence team to fight Hydra.
• Xia Yu grew bored during three months at the base, expanded his and Natasha’s rings, and played mahjong with Hawkeye, Thor, and Natasha.
• Thor overturned the mahjong table just as Xia Yu was about to win, then rushed over when Tony summoned everyone to see his new technology.
• Tony demonstrated nanotechnology that transformed pieces on his chest and limbs into an Armor resembling the Mark 85.
• Xia Yu reflected on Tony’s journey and decided that while Tony protected the world, he would protect Tony.

Tony completed his Nano Armor and began developing protective suits for the Avengers, but Happy’s injuries from a terrorist bombing drew him and Xia Yu to the hospital. Xia Yu publicly challenged the Mandarin and gave out the Avengers’ supposed base address, prompting Colonel Rhodes to realize he had exposed a secret U.S. military base.

• Tony explained how space batteries and Xandar fighters had helped him complete the Nano Armor and armor legion.
• Tony started planning defensive armor for the Avengers, but learned that Happy had been seriously injured in a bombing at the Huaxia Theatre.
• Xia Yu examined Happy and told Tony that Happy would recover, though he could not safely use his energy to heal him.
• Tony and Xia Yu left the hospital and faced reporters, and Tony challenged the Mandarin to come fight him at the Avengers Compound.
• Xia Yu gave a reporter the address of a secret base, crushed the reporter’s phone, and drove away with Tony.
• Colonel Rhodes watched the news from a secret U.S. military base and cursed Xia Yu for revealing its address.

Rhodey confronted Xia Yu and Tony over the Avengers revealing their address, but Xia Yu redirected him into planning a joint operation against the terrorists. Back at the Avengers Compound, Tony examined the bombing evidence and the team suspected the attacks involved human bombs.

• Rhodey visited the Avengers Compound in uniform and demanded an explanation for Xia Yu publicizing their address.
• Tony challenged Rhodey for keeping the terrorist attacks secret and for not visiting the injured Happy.
• Xia Yu persuaded Rhodey that the Avengers would help the military lure the terrorists into a trap, and Tony joined the planned operation to avenge Happy.
• Rhodey returned to his base, noted that Xia Yu had talked him into hosting the fight, and prepared to evacuate more soldiers while letting the Avengers handle the danger.
• Tony used JARVIS to reconstruct the blast site and found that the explosion had vaporized everything nearby without leaving bomb fragments.
• Natasha and Hawkeye answered Tony's question about a bomb that was not a bomb by suggesting a human bomb.

Tony and the Avengers traced the human-bomb attacks to A.I.M. and uncovered experiments on disabled veterans, while Rhodey left to alert the government. The terrorists then struck Stark Industries in Los Angeles and captured Pepper Potts.

• Tony used JARVIS's reconstruction of Happy's injuries and satellite temperature records to connect the attacks to an earlier explosion in Tennessee.
• Xia Yu, Tony, and Natasha went to Rhodey's military base while Hawkeye and Thor investigated Tennessee.
• Tony revealed his nanotech armor to Rhodey, who learned that Xia Yu had visited an alien planet and had access to advanced technology.
• Hawkeye and Thor reported that Chad, a disabled veteran, had been turned into a human bomb through A.I.M. experiments and that one of two magma-powered subjects had escaped.
• Rhodey learned A.I.M. had worked on Iron Patriot and flew off to contact the vice president, while Tony concluded the company had experimented on veterans with limb-regeneration technology.
• The terrorists attacked Stark Industries headquarters in Los Angeles and captured Pepper Potts.

Maya Hansen warned Pepper Potts that Killian was using the Extremis Virus as a weapon, but Killian’s men abducted Pepper before she could act. At a U.S. military base, Tony and his allies traced the human-bomb attacks to A.I.M. and suspected Killian had powerful collaborators.

• Maya Hansen told Pepper that Killian had turned her Extremis research into a weapon and that the explosions were connected to human trials.
• Killian’s modified men attacked Pepper’s office, killed security guards with their fire, and abducted Pepper.
• Tony learned that Pepper had been taken and used Rhodey’s military credentials to access A.I.M. and military records.
• Tony found files linking Extremis test subjects to the explosions, while Natasha and Hawkeye concluded that Killian and The Mandarin were working with other powerful interests.
• Natasha and Hawkeye began tracing The Mandarin’s videos and cross-referencing A.I.M.’s systems as Xia Yu kicked Thor aside.

Tony blamed himself for Pepper and Happy being taken, while Xia Yu and the Avengers tried to reassure him as they waited for JARVIS to find Killian’s base. At the same time, Killian prepared to inject Pepper with Extremis, driven by his resentment of Tony and his old feelings for her.

• JARVIS needed at least twelve hours to sort through Killian’s false leads, so Tony and the others returned to their base and waited.
• Tony told the Avengers that Happy had warned him about Killian, and he blamed himself for not taking the warning seriously.
• Tony recalled how he and Happy first met, then admitted he had neglected the people close to him while pursuing his work and goals.
• Xia Yu raised a toast to the Avengers, and the group drank together as Tony tried to move past his guilt.
• At a secret underground base, Killian isolated Pepper for an Extremis experiment and watched the virus’s orange-red glow beneath her skin.
• Killian remembered his old resentment toward Tony and resolved to make Pepper a perfect new human and destroy Tony’s armor in front of her.

Killian went to his Miami estate to capture Colonel Rhodes after his men failed to open the Iron Patriot armor. After subduing Rhodey, Killian revealed his plan to seize control of the president and use Pepper Potts and Rhodey as leverage against Tony Stark.

• Eric Savin told Killian that Rhodey remained sealed inside the Iron Patriot and that the president was about to board Air Force One, so Killian went to the estate himself.
• Killian used his Extremis-enhanced heat to overheat the Iron Patriot until its systems began a countdown to opening.
• Rhodey ordered the armor open, surprised Eric Savin with a punch and a kick, then dodged a blast of fire from Killian.
• Eric Savin shoved Rhodey into a wall and knocked him unconscious, while Killian ordered him kept alive as leverage against Tony Stark.
• Killian explained that he and the vice president planned to control the presidency and use fear of terrorism to secure power, with the Extremis Virus enabling an ever-healing army.

Xia Yu and the Avengers found Trevor Slattery instead of Killian or Pepper Potts, then split up to pursue Pepper and rescue the president aboard Air Force One. After Xia Yu and Tony saved the president, Eric Savin healed from Tony’s blast and attacked Xia Yu.

• Xia Yu and the Avengers arrived at Killian’s Miami estate but found Pepper Potts and the other leaders gone; they rescued Rhodey and discovered that the Mandarin was actor Trevor Slattery.
• Trevor told the Avengers about a harbor and ship where Killian’s people were going, and Hawkeye knocked him unconscious after they got the information they needed.
• Xia Yu sent Natasha, Hawkeye, and Thor to watch Pepper’s location while he, Tony, and Rhodey went to Air Force One to rescue the president.
• Xia Yu opened a portal beside Eric Savin as Eric was preparing to put the president in Rhodey’s Armor, and Tony shot Eric through the chest.
• Xia Yu held Eric while his Extremis healed his wound, but Eric heated his hand to three thousand degrees and drove it toward Xia Yu’s heart.

Xia Yu stopped Eric from killing the president and sent him through a portal over the ocean. The Avengers then moved to rescue captives at Killian’s ship, where they found Pepper Potts, Captain, and an injured Bucky fleeing the ship.

• Eric attacked Xia Yu, but Xia Yu’s energy shield stopped his magma-like hand from harming him.
• Eric tried to self-destruct, so Xia Yu threw him through a portal over the ocean and warned the president to keep his teleportation ability secret.
• Xia Yu, Tony, and Rhodey joined Natasha and Hawkeye at Killian’s abandoned port, where gunshots and an explosion came from the ship.
• Rhodey assigned Tony and himself to attack from the air, Natasha and Hawkeye to advance from the perimeter, and Xia Yu and Thor to rescue the captives.
• Xia Yu and the others saw Pepper Potts, glowing with Extremis, run from the ship beside Captain, who carried a severely injured Bucky.

Xia Yu and the others rescued Pepper Potts, Captain, and the badly injured Bucky, then continued fighting the Extremis Soldiers. While testing how to defeat the regenerative enemies, Xia Yu accidentally provoked one into exploding itself against his defenses.

• Xia Yu and the others arrived as Captain, Bucky, and Pepper Potts fled the Extremis Soldiers’ encirclement, and the team drove back their pursuers.
• Xia Yu sent Captain and the unconscious Bucky through a portal to a hospital, then returned Pepper Potts to the base.
• Xia Yu tested the Extremis Soldiers’ regenerative limits and found that destroying the brain could kill them, while attacks on their magma forms were largely ineffective.
• Xia Yu tried spraying a magma-form Extremis Soldier with liquid nitrogen, but it charged through the mist and broke his arm.
• After Tony mocked Xia Yu’s misunderstanding of nitrogen’s boiling point, Xia Yu asked an Extremis Soldier whether he knew it, and the enraged soldier grabbed him and self-destructed without harming him.

The Avengers defeated Killian and the remaining Extremis Soldiers after rescuing Pepper, then celebrated with a spectacular display of exploding Iron Man Armors. The story ended with Rhodey furious that Tony had destroyed the Armors he hoped to have upgraded.

• Tony, Rhodey, Thor, Hawkeye, Natasha, and JARVIS’s Iron Man Armors quickly took down the Extremis Soldiers by targeting their heads.
• Xia Yu, Tony, and the others confronted Killian on the ship’s deck, where Tony and Xia Yu mocked his abilities and ambitions.
• Killian lost control and self-destructed, so Xia Yu sent him into the air to explode like a firework.
• Tony ordered JARVIS to make dozens of Iron Man Armors self-destruct as Christmas fireworks while Xia Yu embraced Natasha.
• Rhodey protested that Tony had wasted the Armors, and Tony revealed his Nano Armor before Rhodey could ask for an upgrade.

Xia Yu learned how Captain and Bucky had secretly followed Killian’s European operation and rescued Pepper Potts, then decided Tony needed to know the truth about Bucky. After Xia Yu told Tony that Bucky had killed his parents while under HYDRA’s control, Tony angrily fired a laser blast at him.

• Xia Yu learned that Captain and Bucky had tracked Killian’s European base, found evidence that Pepper Potts had been taken, and set out to rescue her.
• Captain explained that Bucky had gone after Pepper alone, and that he had followed; Bucky had been badly injured while protecting her.
• Xia Yu arranged for Captain and Bucky to return to Europe after Bucky recovered, hoping Tony would have time to cool down before facing him.
• When Tony said he wanted to visit Bucky, Xia Yu questioned why Captain and Bucky had returned without contacting them, then took Tony aside and revealed the truth about his parents’ deaths.
• Tony asked whether Bucky had killed his parents, and after Xia Yu tried to explain that Bucky had been controlled, Tony fired a laser blast from both hands.

Tony confronted Xia Yu over hiding that Bucky had killed Tony’s parents, then left with Pepper Potts while Xia Yu explained the situation to the others. The truth was out, but Xia Yu and Captain agreed to give Tony time before telling him about the five Hydra super soldiers and the records in Siberia.

• Tony attacked Xia Yu and accused him of knowing about Bucky and helping Captain keep the truth from him.
• Natasha and Pepper Potts tried to stop Tony, but he left with Pepper Potts after confronting Xia Yu.
• Xia Yu told the others what had happened, and they agreed that Tony would need time to process it.
• Xia Yu spoke with Captain, who revealed that Hydra had used serum stolen from Tony’s father to create five frozen super soldiers in Siberia.
• Xia Yu told Captain to wait before informing Tony, since Tony needed time and was likely to focus on treating Pepper Potts’s Extremis Virus.

Natasha took Xia Yu to an amusement park to cheer him up, where they enjoyed games and rides before Peter Parker confronted Xia Yu about supposedly betraying Aunt May. Peter struck Xia Yu with unexpected strength, sending him crashing through a restroom stall and wall.

• Natasha disguised herself and Xia Yu and took him to a crowded amusement park, where her excitement gradually lifted his mood.
• Xia Yu used his Space Ring to steal a row of claw machines, then he and Natasha won toys at a shooting game and gave them away to couples.
• Natasha screamed on the roller coasters despite her past battlefield bravery, and Xia Yu enjoyed their date with her.
• Peter Parker confronted Xia Yu in the men's restroom, insisting that Xia Yu was Aunt May's boyfriend and warning him not to hurt her.
• Xia Yu tried to slip past Peter, but Peter's palm strike sent him crashing through a stall and the wall behind it.

Xia Yu brought the newly empowered Peter Parker and Aunt May to the Avengers’ base after Peter accidentally hurt him while protecting her. Aunt May agreed to let the Avengers examine Peter, provided she could stay with him, and Xia Yu decided to call Tony to handle the situation.

• Xia Yu took Peter and Aunt May back to the base, then asked Hawkeye to keep the amusement-park incident out of public view.
• Peter apologized to Xia Yu, and Xia Yu explained his past encounter with Peter at the Stark Expo, though Natasha and Peter questioned parts of his story.
• Peter told Aunt May that a spider bite had given him enhanced senses, strength, speed, balance, wall-crawling, and a danger-sensing ability.
• Aunt May feared Peter might be harmed or captured, but Natasha reassured her that the Avengers would only perform examinations with her present.
• Aunt May insisted on sharing a room with Peter, and Xia Yu called Tony to ask him to handle Peter’s situation.

Xia Yu brought Peter Parker and Aunt May to meet Tony Stark, introducing Tony to the young Spider-Man and explaining Peter’s sense of responsibility. Tony’s anger toward Xia Yu remained, but Peter’s words caught his attention.

• Xia Yu learned Tony and Pepper were in Los Angeles, then decided to bring Peter Parker to meet Tony.
• Peter told Xia Yu how the spider bite gave him powers and how he chose to use them to help people.
• Xia Yu showed Peter and Aunt May around the Avengers Compound, where Peter excitedly explored its technology.
• Xia Yu took Peter and Aunt May through a portal to Tony’s mansion, where Peter enthusiastically questioned Tony about his home and inventions.
• Tony complained that Xia Yu had brought uninvited guests, and Xia Yu explained Peter’s powers and his commitment to helping others.
• Tony’s eyes lit up when Xia Yu repeated Peter’s belief that failing to help someone could make him responsible for their harm.

At the Avengers base, Xia Yu and Tony discussed the Siberia incident and Tony’s plans to help veterans, but Tony revealed he had donated all of Herbal medicine’s profits using Xia Yu’s forged signature. Xia Yu ended Christmas Eve furious and eating a miserable hot pot.

• Xia Yu welcomed Tony and Pepper to the base, where Tony asked whether Steve had told him about Siberia.
• Tony told Xia Yu he could not face Bucky and planned to deal personally with the five frozen super soldiers in Siberia.
• Tony explained that he would fund a veterans’ support foundation with the year’s earnings from one of his companies.
• Tony revealed that he had donated Herbal medicine’s nearly eight hundred million dollars in profits and forged Xia Yu’s signature on the paperwork.
• Xia Yu grabbed Tony in outrage, but Tony taunted him and left to join Pepper by the turkey.
• Xia Yu spent Christmas Eve eating hot pot that tasted worse than any he had eaten before.

Odin and the Ancient One discussed Xia Yu’s role as a variable in the universe’s fate, while Xia Yu spent Christmas Eve with Tony, Spider-Man, Aunt May, and Happy. The chapter ended with Old Master Li confronting Xia Yu and asking if he had been cursing him in his thoughts.

• The Ancient One visited Odin after her attempt to glimpse Xia Yu’s future through the Eye of Agamotto backfired, and Odin advised her to guide Xia Yu rather than try to control fate.
• Xia Yu and Tony drove Spider-Man and Aunt May home, giving Spider-Man a private-database tablet and a new phone.
• Xia Yu and Tony visited Happy in the hospital, and Xia Yu went out to buy him Coke and fries.
• Xia Yu encountered Old Master Li outside a fast-food restaurant and was pulled into a vast white space with him.
• Old Master Li sensed two Infinity Stones on Xia Yu, then accused him of cursing in his thoughts, leaving Xia Yu pale with fear.