Chapter Summaries

Peggy Carter awoke after Evenson’s treatment, feeling stronger despite still looking old, and discovered magic runes covering her body. As Evenson began the final stage, a force surrounded the factory where they were working.

• Peggy Carter woke on the platform and noticed her strength and health had improved, though her appearance had not changed.
• Evenson told Peggy Carter that her recovery was a phased treatment and explained that the magic runes on her body were part of the ritual.
• Peggy Carter learned that Dottie Underwood had left after receiving a call, and Evenson said she had spoken Russian and claimed her boss was looking for her.
• Evenson began the final stage of Peggy Carter’s treatment.
• A woman told a captain that they had confirmed Ms. Carter was inside the factory and that her situation might be unfavorable.

Nick Fury learned that Evenson was interrogating Peggy Carter and ordered S.H.I.E.L.D. to rescue her and capture or kill him. In London, Melinda warned Captain America against acting recklessly, while Natasha revealed Tony Stark’s Anti-Sorcerer Bracelets as the team prepared to confront Evenson.

• Nick Fury watched footage of Peggy Carter shackled during an interrogation and declared that Evenson had betrayed S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Nick Fury ordered Melinda to ensure Peggy Carter’s safety and bring Evenson back, even if that meant killing him.
• Natasha told Melinda she could barely restrain Captain America, who insisted on confronting Evenson alone.
• Melinda warned Captain America that Evenson was powerful and described his lengthy spell preparations and strange instant-cast spells.
• Natasha showed Captain America the Anti-Sorcerer Bracelets Tony Stark had made to block curse-like spells.

Captain America, Natasha, and Melinda’s covert raid on Evenson’s factory was exposed by Hubbs, and they rushed into a fight with Evenson’s summoned subordinates. Captain America struggled against Tyler’s Demon Guard form while another enemy seized Natasha, leaving the team under attack on multiple fronts.

• Hubbs howled and alerted Evenson’s team to the approaching raid, prompting Captain America to abandon stealth and charge ahead.
• Captain America reached the factory wall, where Tyler burst through it and challenged him to fight.
• Tyler transformed into his Demon Guard form and battered Captain America’s shield with a spiked ram.
• Natasha and Melinda arrived with their team, but a long, thin object wrapped around Natasha’s waist and yanked her away as a woman warned her to stop.

Natasha was intercepted by Sarah, Evenson’s finance manager, while the S.H.I.E.L.D. team pursued their mission. After learning that Evenson’s ritual was nearly complete, Natasha escaped Sarah’s hold, but Sarah transformed into a demonic form and continued pursuing her flirtation.

• Sarah used a whip to pull Natasha to her and held her back while the action team continued toward the captain.
• Natasha learned from Sarah that Evenson’s ritual was about to be completed and that its completion would change the situation.
• Natasha shocked Sarah with a concealed high-voltage pad and broke free, revealing that she had used the delay to gather information.
• Sarah shrugged off the shock, snapped her whip, and transformed, revealing wings, horns, and cloven hooves.
• Natasha called Sarah’s horns pretty, and Sarah took her response as proof that they were made for each other.

Natasha was restrained by Sarah while Captain America fought Tyler and the task force tried to reach the factory. Tripsy, Hubbs, and Dumen combined to repel the task force, while Evenson watched Carter’s struggle to master demonic power and sensed Melinda’s arrival.

• Sarah restrained Natasha with her whip and refused to change their position as they spoke.
• Captain America told the arriving task force to leave him fighting Tyler and rescue the others.
• Tripsy and Hubbs joined forces to attack the task force, then merged with Dumen to form Susanoo.
• Evenson watched Carter battle the Doomguard soul inside her body as she tried to command its demonic power.
• Evenson sensed Melinda’s arrival and greeted her as worthy of the Iron Cavalry.

Melinda confronted Evenson and tried to bring him back alive, but Tony Stark’s device initially appeared to block Evenson’s Mental Power. Evenson changed its frequency and incapacitated Melinda while Peggy Carter’s soul continued its struggle with the Doomguard’s soul.

• Melinda told Evenson that Nick Fury had authorized his death, but offered him a chance to surrender and return alive.
• Evenson questioned whether Melinda could stop him and approached her despite her gun.
• Melinda revealed that Tony Stark had developed a device to block Evenson’s Mental Power using combat recordings from his fight with Obadiah.
• Evenson’s powers seemed blocked, but he switched Mental Power frequencies and made Melinda collapse.
• Evenson moved Melinda onto a chair and continued waiting for Peggy Carter’s soul to defeat the Doomguard’s soul.

Evenson explained how he overcame Melinda’s anti-Sorcerer bracelet and warned her that S.H.I.E.L.D.’s rescue plan could force him to use lethal magic. Captain America broke into the room, but Evenson weakened him with a curse before a winged figure seized and threw him aside.

• Evenson overloaded and destroyed the anti-Sorcerer bracelet, then questioned Melinda about the rescue plan.
• Melinda revealed that Captain America had been meant to attack Evenson while he was distracted, and warned that Nick Fury might activate S.H.I.E.L.D.’s sanitation measures.
• Evenson told Melinda that Peggy Carter was undergoing a transformation as the Doomguard’s soul neared defeat.
• Captain America escaped Tyler by using a grenade’s blast to reach the room and hurled his shield at Evenson.
• Evenson cast the Weakness Curse on Captain America, but a black-winged figure seized him and flung him away.

Peggy Carter completed her transformation, regained her youth, and reunited with Captain America. After accusing him of making her wait sixty years, she kissed him and dragged him away to finish their dance.

• Peggy Carter completed the ritual, shed her demonic wings, and regained her youthful appearance as green Fel flames burned in her eyes.
• Melinda asked Evenson what he had done, and he said fate could be taken into one's own hands.
• Carter took Evenson's cloak, recognized Melinda, and said she felt stronger than she had when young.
• Carter saw Captain America, raised Fel lasers against his shield, and confronted him for returning after sixty years.
• Carter kissed Captain America, reminded him he still owed her a dance, and dragged him outside.

Evenson and S.H.I.E.L.D. cleared up their misunderstanding, and Melinda learned that his promise to give her power was genuine. After the agents left the factory, Evenson privately asked Peggy Carter what she had seen.

• Melinda admitted that she and S.H.I.E.L.D. had misunderstood Evenson, and he lifted her Weakness Curse while keeping a barrier in place to stop her attack.
• Evenson reassured Melinda that she would eventually gain power, though her transformation would differ from Peggy Carter's.
• Evenson realized the battle outside had ended, called off his demons, and found the field agents defeated while Captain America and Natasha were the only S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel able to enter the factory.
• Captain America thanked Evenson for reuniting him with Peggy, and Evenson sent everyone away after warning that the factory was dangerous.
• Evenson stayed behind with Peggy and asked her in Demonic Language what she had seen.

Peggy Carter experienced the Burning Legion’s destruction of countless worlds through a Doomguard’s memories, then agreed to fight the Legion after Evenson challenged her resolve. Evenson revealed his reasons for opposing Hydra and presented Carter with two weapons, while she mourned what had become of S.H.I.E.L.D.

• Peggy Carter panicked after seeing memories of the Burning Legion’s devastation, and Evenson used his staff to bring her back to herself.
• Evenson explained that Carter had glimpsed a Doomguard’s memories and said the Burning Legion threatened their world; Carter asked whether they could win.
• Evenson provoked Carter into demonstrating her resilience, and she transformed into a demon before agreeing to fight the Burning Legion.
• Peggy Carter questioned Evenson about Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D., and Evenson said S.H.I.E.L.D. had ceased to exist years earlier.
• Evenson gave Peggy Carter a flintlock pistol called Havoc and a battle axe called Revenge, which he claimed to have consecrated.

Evenson finished cleaning up after the ritual and returned to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier, where Nick Fury awaited an explanation. On the way to meet him, Evenson encountered Bruce Banner, who had aged noticeably since their last meeting.

• Evenson gave Carter a pair of cheap sunglasses called Richter's Curse Vision, then cleaned up the ritual site and hid a box containing a beating human heart as an insurance policy.
• Evenson, Carter, and the others flew back to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier, where Maria Hill welcomed Carter but ordered Evenson to see Nick Fury.
• Evenson noticed Natasha had changed clothes after the mission, while Sarah insisted that she and Natasha got along wonderfully.
• Evenson met Bruce Banner on the way to Nick Fury and remarked that Banner looked much older than when they had last met.

Nick Fury confronted Evenson and Peggy Carter aboard the Helicarrier, where they discussed S.H.I.E.L.D.’s loss of the Cosmic Cube and the danger of Loki using it. Evenson warned that the Cube’s signal could attract hostile civilizations, leaving Earth needing more heroes and possibly having to send the Cube away.

• Nick Fury tried to reprimand Evenson but checked himself when he saw Peggy Carter, while Phil Coulson greeted Carter enthusiastically and offered her tea.
• Evenson challenged Fury over S.H.I.E.L.D.’s response, and Carter defended her return to action after Evenson restored her youth and enhanced her sight.
• Carter criticized Fury for losing the Cosmic Cube, and Fury explained that Sif had come aboard because Loki, another Asgardian, had stolen it.
• Evenson warned that Loki’s unhidden use of the Cube could broadcast its energy across several star systems and draw dangerous civilizations to Earth.
• Evenson said Earth might have to send the Cube away even if it recovered it, and he linked Carter’s promotion ceremony to the need for more heroes.

Evenson explained why he had kept his plan to empower Peggy Carter secret from Nick Fury, then revealed that a prejudiced mentor had once rejected Carter as a magic student because she was a woman. Carter decided to establish a Women Agents Association within S.H.I.E.L.D.

• Nick Fury challenged Evenson for withholding the ritual from him, and Evenson defended his secrecy by citing compartmentalized management and Fury's own concealed decisions.
• Evenson explained that his magical mentor had given him memories and information about Peggy Carter, including that she had been discovered as a potential magic student before Evenson was born.
• Evenson revealed that his mentor had passed over Carter because he was a forty-year-old Southerner in 1946 and she was a woman.
• Peggy Carter recalled how sexism had restricted her career and declared that she would create a Women Agents Association within S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Nick Fury glared at Evenson after Carter announced her plan.

Evenson revealed that his subordinates were demons summoned from another world and swore not to summon any more. After an agent located Loki in Stuttgart, Nick Fury prepared to go after him with Evenson, Carter, and their guest.

• Nick Fury questioned Evenson about his powerful subordinates, and Evenson explained that they were demons from another world rather than magical creations or mutants.
• Evenson described Sorcerers’ powers and said that summoning demons was basic training for Sorcerers.
• Nick Fury judged Evenson by his actions but demanded to know how the demons came to Earth, and Evenson explained that the Twisted Nether was vast enough for their disappearance to go unnoticed.
• Nick Fury forbade Evenson from summoning more demons, and Evenson swore upon the Well of Eternity not to summon another.
• A bald agent reported that Loki had been found at 28 Koenig Street in Stuttgart, and Nick Fury, Evenson, and Carter prepared to go after him.

The task force reached Germany to confront Loki, and Captain America began fighting him after rescuing the crowd he had forced to kneel. Tony Stark then crashed into Loki under Evenson’s Weakness Curse, leaving Loki embedded in the plaza steps.

• Natasha piloted the Quinjet carrying Evenson, Captain America, Sif, Peggy Carter, and Sarah toward Loki’s location in Germany.
• Sif and Peggy Carter argued over who would deal with Loki, while Captain America jumped out of the Quinjet first.
• Loki forced a crowd to kneel and demanded they accept him as their new lord, but an old man openly defied him.
• Captain America descended, evacuated the crowd, and began fighting Loki, who quickly gained the upper hand.
• Tony Stark flew in to attack Loki but suddenly fainted and crashed headfirst into him, which Evenson attributed to his Weakness Curse.

After Evenson captured Loki, Tony argued with him aboard the plane until Peggy Carter calmed Tony and learned that Evenson could not restore his youth. Thor arrived, knocked Tony down, and flew away with Loki, leaving Evenson, Natasha, and Sif aboard the plane.

• Natasha told Nick Fury that Loki had said nothing and seemed dazed after Evenson had slammed him into the steps and captured him.
• Tony tried to attack Evenson over his humiliating entrance, but Peggy Carter arrived and ordered him to sit down.
• Tony asked Evenson to restore his youth, and Evenson refused because Tony lacked the talent for sorcery.
• Thor landed on the plane, knocked Tony down, and flew off with Loki as Tony, Captain America, and Carter pursued them.
• Evenson closed the plane hatch and stayed aboard with Natasha and Sif because none of them could fly or parachute down.

Thor confronted Loki over the Cosmic Cube, but his clash with Tony Stark was interrupted by Peggy Carter, who fought Thor before identifying herself as an ally. Thor agreed to return with Carter after learning that Sif and Evenson Richter were nearby.

• Thor demanded that Loki give up the Cosmic Cube and return home, but Loki refused.
• Tony Stark struck Thor and fought him, charging his ultimate skill before blasting Thor with his cannons.
• Peggy Carter arrived and attacked Thor with her Demon Hunter weapons and abilities, but Thor weathered her assault.
• Carter mentioned Sif, and Thor learned she was on the plane with Evenson Richter.
• Thor recognized Carter as an S.H.I.E.L.D. ally and agreed to return with her, while Captain America said he wanted nothing.

Thor reunited with Sif, while Evenson’s attempt to push them together damaged the plane and left him stuck to its ceiling. Back on the Helicarrier, Natasha recruited Evenson to help draw Loki out and asked him what Sarah liked about her.

• Thor apologized to Sif for leaving her on Earth, and Evenson shoved her toward him to encourage a reunion.
• Thor mistook Evenson’s fall for an attack, summoned lightning, and blasted a hole in the plane, leaving Evenson stuck to the ceiling.
• Captain America pulled Evenson down and blocked the hole, while the group joked about who should pay for the damage.
• Evenson asked the co-pilot whether he had connections, then told him to take responsibility for the damaged plane.
• Natasha told Evenson that the Director wanted her to draw Loki out and explained that his knowledge of Magic could help.
• Natasha asked Evenson what Sarah liked about her, and he suggested going without makeup, straightening her hair, and growing it longer.

Evenson and Black Widow questioned Loki aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, where Loki tried to recruit Evenson and then undermine his allies. Evenson rejected Loki and showed that S.H.I.E.L.D. already knew about his magic.

• Evenson and Black Widow visited Loki in the Helicarrier’s special glass cage, and Evenson reminded Loki that he had blasted him into the steps in Stuttgart.
• Loki offered Evenson freedom and power in exchange for joining him, claiming that S.H.I.E.L.D. had restrained him and concealed its plans for the Cosmic Cube.
• Evenson refused Loki’s offer, saying he would not become a slave or lackey to a powerful force.
• Loki tried to turn Evenson’s companions against him by warning them that his magic was evil.
• Evenson loudly told the surveillance camera that his magic was black magic, then pointed out to Loki that S.H.I.E.L.D. already knew.

Evenson and Natasha tricked Loki into revealing that he planned to use Banner, while Barton led an armed squad toward the Helicarrier with a mysterious anti-S.H.I.E.L.D. woman. Evenson explained that Barton's deep hypnosis would require a forceful physical treatment to break.

• Loki tried to intimidate Evenson by bringing up his ability to summon life from outer space, but Evenson revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. knew about it and that he planned to inform the World Security Council.
• Natasha questioned Loki about Barton, while Barton flew toward the Helicarrier with an elite squad and a woman who wanted revenge on S.H.I.E.L.D. and to take a title from her junior.
• Loki threatened to kill Barton, and Natasha pretended to become distraught until Loki revealed that he planned to use Banner.
• Natasha reported Loki's plan to Nick Fury, while Evenson chose not to prevent the response he expected would worsen the crisis.
• Natasha asked how to break Barton's hypnosis, and Evenson said that a forceful blow to the head could undo it.