Chapter Summaries

Michael and his allies prepared to confront Mephisto in Hell, and Doctor Strange transported them there. They landed amid a swarm of demons and readied themselves to fight their way through.

• Michael spent a month training with Wanda and preparing with the others for their journey to Hell.
• Michael, Wanda, Doom, and Doctor Strange gathered in Doom's castle, and Michael refused to back out of their agreement with Mephisto.
• Doctor Strange activated the ritual circle and transported the four of them to Hell inside a protective sphere of light.
• The group landed on a small hill surrounded by Hellfire, and demons began swarming toward them.
• Michael summoned his Asgardian Armor and prepared to carve a path through the demons.

Doom, Michael, Doctor Strange, and Wanda entered Hell to challenge Mephisto, who wiped out the surrounding demon army and attacked the four sorcerers. Doom charged Mephisto but was thrown back, leaving the confrontation underway.

• Doom blasted apart the first wave of Hell’s monsters with his magic.
• Mephisto arrived and unleashed a fiery wave that destroyed the demon army, leaving only him and the four sorcerers standing.
• Mephisto denied that Michael had defeated him before and vowed to keep the group in Hell forever.
• Doctor Strange shielded himself from Mephisto’s blood-arrow attack while Michael raised a barrier against a lightning strike and spreading flames.
• Doom charged Mephisto with a magical greatsword, but Mephisto casually shattered the attack and sent Doom tumbling from the sky.

Doom, Michael, Doctor Strange, and the Scarlet Witch fought Mephisto in Hell while trying to overcome his control of the realm. Wanda revealed her Chaos Magic and hurled two enormous boulders at Mephisto, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Mephisto trapped Cynthia Von Doom in a cage and pinned Doom to the ground with his power.
• Michael attacked Mephisto with missiles charged by Odin’s power, while Doom struck with a spell that Mephisto destroyed.
• Michael used the Seraphim Shield to break Mephisto’s pressure on space, and Doctor Strange tried to trap Mephisto in the Mirror Dimension.
• Mephisto shattered the Mirror Dimension and struck Doctor Strange, while Michael continued attacking and the Scarlet Witch clashed with Mephisto’s golden eye beams.
• Mephisto recognized Wanda’s Chaos Magic and feared its connection to Chthon, but dismissed her as a human witch.
• Wanda lifted two massive chunks of earth and hurled them at Mephisto.

Michael and Wanda fought Mephisto, but the Hell Lord’s overwhelming power turned his fury on Michael. Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom joined forces to unleash a powerful spell against him.

• Mephisto stopped Wanda’s boulders and sent their shattered remains crashing against her Scarlet Barrier.
• Michael struck Mephisto with the Hell Channel Sonic Cannon, giving Wanda a chance to resume her attacks.
• Michael and Wanda coordinated their assaults, and Michael wounded Mephisto with a lightning spear.
• Mephisto unleashed rocks and Hellfire at Michael, while Wanda, Doctor Strange, and Doctor Doom struggled to reach him.
• Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom combined their magic and invoked the Faltine Holy Fire to destroy Mephisto.

Michael arrived wearing Reality Armor 2.0 and used the Reality Stone to turn Mephisto’s attack back on him, then challenged the demon in battle. As their powers clashed, Doctor Strange recovered and activated the Time Stone.

• Doctor Strange and Doom combined their magic in a golden attack, but Mephisto emerged unharmed and swept them and Wanda into a deeper level of Hell.
• Wanda shielded herself and the others from Mephisto’s next attack until its force suddenly reversed and struck the demon.
• Michael arrived in Reality Armor 2.0, revealed his Infinity Stone power to Mephisto, and pushed the demon back with a Pulse Cannon.
• Mephisto attacked Michael, and the two fought in a dazzling exchange of power.
• Doctor Strange recovered, activated the Eye of Agamotto, and revealed the Time Stone.

Michael and Doctor Strange unleashed the Reality Stone and Time Stone against Mephisto in Hell, inflicting serious damage and stopping his attack. Strange froze Mephisto’s time, leaving the battle poised for the others to strike.

• Michael decided the fight had become desperate enough to use the Reality Armor, and Doctor Strange activated the Time Stone in response.
• Doctor Strange attacked Mephisto with a green magical sword, wounding his arm before Mephisto blasted Strange back.
• Michael fired Stone-powered energy at Mephisto, but Mephisto struck him into a hill and then unleashed a deadly attack.
• Michael used the Reality Stone to absorb and disperse Mephisto’s full-power strike, though the armor and his body began to fail under the strain.
• Doctor Strange cast a green field that slowed Mephisto and his attack almost to a stop.

Wanda, Doom, and Doctor Strange struck Mephisto with Chaos Magic, a time-slowing field, and an antimatter bomb, apparently destroying his giant body. Michael revealed that Mephisto had escaped in mist form, then blocked his path.

• Doctor Strange slowed Mephisto's time while Wanda unleashed a powerful Chaos Magic attack that pierced his body.
• Doom used the opening to hit Mephisto with an antimatter bomb made using Reed Richards' research.
• The antimatter blast swallowed Mephisto's giant body, and Doctor Strange let the temporal field collapse.
• Doom believed Mephisto had been destroyed, but Michael warned that the fight was not over.
• Mephisto escaped as red mist and fled through the rocks, but Michael stood in his way and asked where he was rushing off to.

Michael and the others defeated Mephisto and forced him to fulfill his contract by releasing Cynthia Von Doom’s soul. Cynthia appeared before Victor, but she could not return to the mortal world because her body was long gone.

• Michael, Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, and Doctor Doom cornered Mephisto and defeated him after a fierce battle.
• Michael used the Reality Stone to pull Mephisto’s heart from his chest and threatened to crush it unless he kept his promise.
• Mephisto warned that his death would throw Hell into chaos, but Michael dismissed his claim and Mephisto agreed to release Cynthia Von Doom’s soul.
• Mephisto explained that Cynthia could not return to the living world, then released her soul as a transparent phantom.
• Victor looked up at Cynthia, and she greeted him by name.

Victor Von Doom freed his mother Cynthia’s soul from Hell, while Michael forced Mephisto to vow that he would never enter the human world again. The group returned to the Kamar-Taj Sanctum exhausted, where Doom rejected Doctor Strange’s help.

• Cynthia thanked Victor Von Doom and departed Hell as a beam of white light.
• Victor turned on Mephisto, but Michael stopped him and demanded that Mephisto promise never to enter the human world again.
• Mephisto accepted Michael’s terms, and Michael returned the demon’s heart to him.
• Michael led the group out of Hell and back to the Kamar-Taj Sanctum.
• Wanda helped Michael stand, while Doctor Strange offered Doom help and Doom slapped his hand away.

After defeating Mephisto and saving Doom’s mother, Michael comforted Doom as he struggled with what to do after achieving his greatest goal. Michael later chose to take a day off with Wanda, leaving Doom alone to consider changing his life.

• Doom accepted Michael’s help to stand, then asked to speak with him privately after Doctor Strange left and Wanda went to rest.
• Doom removed his mask and admitted that saving his mother and achieving his goals left him feeling nothing; Michael told him that even powerful people needed others.
• Doom acknowledged Wanda’s importance to Michael and asked whether Michael had truly planned to give his soul to Mephisto if they had lost; Michael said they had won and he had known they would.
• Michael returned to Wanda, joked that Doom had praised her, and closed his work interface when she suggested taking a day off.
• Michael asked Wanda where they should go, and she suggested getting something to eat.

At Sky Sword Headquarters, Pietro revealed that Wanda had spent the night at Mr. Passo's, shocking everyone. At Michael's residence, Wanda joined him for breakfast after he set aside his work to spend time with her.

• Daisy reviewed files on newly emerged Inhumans while Gwen, Pietro, Venom, and Jessica spent the morning at Sky Sword Headquarters.
• Jessica stole Venom's chocolate beans, and the two bickered as usual.
• Gwen asked why Pietro looked exhausted, and he admitted Wanda had spent the night at Mr. Passo's, silencing the room.
• Wanda woke at Michael's residence and learned from Sherry that Michael was in the laboratory.
• Michael paused his work and invited Wanda to join him for breakfast.

Tony Stark chose to accept the position of Director of the revived S.H.I.E.L.D., leaving Pepper worried about the future. Meanwhile, Michael shared deciphered forty-first-century technology with Doom before watching the president announce S.H.I.E.L.D.’s return and name Tony its new director.

• Tony reassured Pepper that becoming Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was his own choice, then went onstage to make his announcement.
• Michael sent Doom the deciphered future technology and asked him to investigate what could not yet be put to practical use.
• Michael reviewed the performance of his Infinity Stone armor and concluded that improving ordinary technology and personal strength remained important.
• Sherry showed Michael a live broadcast in which the president announced that S.H.I.E.L.D. would be restored with its former authority.
• The president named Tony Stark as the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Tony Stark became Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and addressed the public about protecting Earth from future threats. Michael suspected the appointment was connected to an upcoming plan involving the “Act,” then invited Miss Maximoff to a city banquet.

• The president announced Tony Stark as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s new director after Steve Rogers declined the position.
• Tony took the podium and said he accepted the role because Iron Man and the Avengers had not been enough to protect Earth from its growing dangers.
• Sherry and Michael watched Tony's announcement in the laboratory, and Michael wondered whether the appointment meant the next step involving the “Act” had been planned.
• Michael changed his meeting plans and asked Sherry to invite Miss Maximoff to attend a city banquet with him the following night.

Tony Stark returned to Avengers Headquarters after announcing that he would become S.H.I.E.L.D.'s new Director, and he assured the Avengers that their autonomy would remain intact. Phil Coulson arrived with the Helicarrier to greet Director Stark, whose first jokes left Coulson doubting his reliability.

• Tony Stark returned to Avengers Headquarters, where the Avengers questioned his decision to take over S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Tony told Rogers that he planned to strengthen S.H.I.E.L.D.'s cooperation with the Avengers without compromising their principles or autonomy.
• A Helicarrier descended over headquarters, and Phil Coulson led agents out to greet Tony as Director Stark.
• Tony joked with Coulson and told him that the director had high hopes for him, renewing Coulson's doubts about his new superior.

Tony Stark took charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. and toured its Helicarrier with the Avengers, trading jokes with Coulson and reconnecting with Maria Hill. Coulson then revealed that an important visitor had requested Captain Rogers’s protection from dangerous pursuers.

• Coulson led Tony Stark and the Avengers aboard S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Helicarrier as it took off and activated its optical camouflage.
• Tony criticized the carrier’s equipment and teased Coulson about his appearance and the hardships of running S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Maria Hill greeted Natasha and Clint, then joked with Tony about returning to work under him again.
• Rogers asked whether the Avengers had been summoned for a mission, and Tony and Coulson explained that an important guest arriving in two days had requested his protection.

Captain America protected Cody Scripps from repeated ninja attacks, but a final ambush forced them to flee to a S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house. There, Rogers suddenly collapsed as Scripps revealed a strange change in his voice and warned that the captain might not be safe.

• Rogers guarded Scripps as ninja attacked his motorcade on the first two days, and he defeated the attackers while keeping the old man safe.
• After S.H.I.E.L.D. found no clues about the assassins, Rogers persuaded Scripps to change his itinerary without informing S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Ninja ambushed the convoy again, and Rogers led Scripps through alleys to a nearby safe house.
• Rogers collapsed in the safe house, and Scripps's voice changed as he grinned and warned that Rogers might not be safe.

Captain Rogers fought the woman posing as Scripps while a virus weakened him, and she revealed that she had orchestrated the attack to target him. She identified herself as Cynthia Schmidt, Red Skull’s daughter, and said she wanted revenge and to accomplish what her father could not.

• Rogers attacked the masked woman, but she evaded his shield and forced him to fight with his bare hands as the virus drained his strength.
• The woman wounded Rogers with her dagger and revealed that she had replaced the real Scripps, hired the ninjas, and leaked the team’s itinerary.
• Rogers realized the woman had arranged the entire operation to get close to him and asked why she had targeted him.
• The woman revealed that her name was Cynthia Schmidt and that she was Red Skull’s daughter.
• Cynthia said her plan was for revenge and to prove she could achieve what her father had not.

Cynthia Schmidt, Red Skull’s daughter, attacked the poisoned Captain America, but Winter Soldier intervened and fought her. She escaped the safe house in a smoke screen, promising vengeance on Steve Rogers and Winter Soldier.

• Cynthia Schmidt reflected on her devotion to Red Skull and her years of training to become a powerful fighter.
• Cynthia prepared to kill the poisoned Captain America when Winter Soldier burst into the safe house and shot at her.
• Cynthia and Winter Soldier fought, with Cynthia initially controlling the pace of the battle.
• Cynthia threw a knife at Captain America, and Winter Soldier blocked it with his metal arm.
• Cynthia used a smoke grenade to escape through the window and vowed that Red Skull’s Daughter would soon take revenge on Steve Rogers and Winter Soldier.

Rogers recovered after Bucky gave him an antidote, and learned that Bucky had been assigned to watch Scripps, who had never actually entered the United States. Meanwhile, Michael dismissed Cynthia Schmidt as a minor threat and focused on strange activity in the Atlantic, while Crossbones approached Cynthia with an offer tied to her father’s greatest failure.

• Bucky revived Rogers with an antidote and explained that his superior had ordered him to watch Scripps.
• Bucky and Rogers agreed they were still fighting side by side before Bucky left the safe house.
• Iron Man arrived and learned from Rogers that Scripps had never come to the United States.
• Sherry reported that Cynthia Schmidt was Red Skull’s daughter, and Michael told her to leave Cynthia to other departments while he investigated abnormal Atlantic activity.
• Cynthia returned to her hideout, where Crossbones introduced himself and offered to help fulfill her long-cherished wish.

Wanda nervously prepared for a banquet with Michael, choosing her dress and makeup before he picked her up. After they left, Pietro briefly reflected on Wanda’s growing closeness with Michael, then happily took the chance to play games all night.

• Wanda tried on numerous outfits and asked Pietro for advice, but he praised every one and failed to help her choose.
• Wanda spent most of the day selecting a gown and finishing her makeup for the banquet.
• Michael arrived by car, complimented Wanda’s appearance, and took her to the banquet.
• Pietro watched Wanda leave and thought about how her relationship with Michael had changed and how she would eventually marry.
• Pietro gathered snacks, turned on his console, and began playing games because Wanda was away.