Chapter Summaries

Evenson recruited Peggy Carter for a dangerous operation intended to prepare Earth to resist the Burning Legion and other threats. Meanwhile, Nick Fury questioned the morality of allowing a terrorist attack, but Pierce reassured him that Project Insight had begun.

• Evenson told Peggy Carter that helping him would let her see how far Hydra had developed, and she agreed to join his operation.
• Evenson warned Peggy Carter that the Burning Legion and other forces would eventually threaten Earth, and said the operation would secure resources for resistance.
• Peggy Carter agreed not to involve Captain America or Tony Stark, fearing their connections to Hydra could make them turn on each other.
• Nick Fury asked Alexander Pierce whether they had done the right thing by allowing a terrorist attack they could have stopped.
• Pierce defended the decision as a necessary cost to end ongoing crises and told Nick Fury that the Council had approved Project Insight three hours earlier.

Alexander Pierce secured the World Security Council’s approval to begin preparing Project Insight, while Nick Fury remained suspicious and sent for Natasha. Ancient One visited Evenson and Klayya to discuss the New York Magic node and announced she was taking on a disciple, prompting Evenson to promise a gift.

• Pierce used the recent crisis involving Killian to persuade Nick Fury to support Project Insight, and the World Security Council approved its activation and hardware preparations.
• Nick Fury worried that Project Insight promised an impossible solution and ordered Natasha to report to his office.
• Ancient One visited Evenson and Klayya, explaining that the New York Sanctum’s Magic node had been producing abnormal output.
• Ancient One said she had reached an agreement to split the New York Magic node equally with the two people responsible for its altered output.
• Ancient One announced she was taking on a disciple, and Evenson promised to attend the formal ceremony with a gift.

Evenson mistook Ancient One’s visit for a wedding announcement, but she came to ask how to recruit Doctor Stephen Strange as her disciple. He advised her to have Strange’s hands crushed so Magic could restore them, and Ancient One left in disgust.

• Evenson decided he should give Ancient One a generous wedding gift, believing she had come to announce that she was taking a disciple.
• Ancient One clarified that she had come to discuss recruiting Stephen Strange, a successful surgeon who did not believe in Magic.
• Evenson explained how he had learned Magic and agreed that Strange would be difficult to persuade to leave his career.
• Evenson advised Ancient One to arrange an attack that would destroy Strange’s hands, then offer Magic as a cure.
• Ancient One rejected the suggestion and left while Evenson called after her to negotiate a service fee.

Evenson proposed coercive schemes to recruit Strange, but Ancient One refused to betray her principles. Meanwhile, Holmes and Watson’s belongings began mysteriously burning, prompting them to visit Gospel, where Voskya greeted them.

• Evenson suggested ruining Strange’s life or framing him for a patient’s death to force him to join the Sorcerer Supreme’s cause.
• Ancient One rejected Evenson’s schemes, saying she had never forced anyone else to sacrifice, and left through a portal.
• Holmes’s newspaper caught fire, and Watson found her noodles melted as orange light flickered from Holmes’s hand.
• Holmes and Watson went to the Gospel company building, where Nadia welcomed them and Voskya arrived to escort them.
• Voskya reminded Nadia that the boss had asked her to get a medical examination.

Nadia found work at Gospel Company, which helped her support herself and enroll Danny in school. After months of apparently ordinary employment, a medical examination revealed that Gernos and the company staff had secretly drawn and transfused her blood while she was unconscious.

• Nadia moved to New York with Danny and struggled to afford housing, food, and school tuition.
• Gospel Company hired Nadia as a receptionist and offered generous benefits, including education assistance and employee housing.
• Gospel helped enroll Danny in a public school, and Nadia was promoted to front desk supervisor with a higher salary.
• During a company medical examination, Gernos confirmed that Nadia was unconscious and ordered staff to draw blood from one arm and transfuse blood through the other.
• Gernos stopped the procedure as the effect was about to wear off, and the medical staff erased the needle marks and carried the blood away.

Evenson’s researchers used Nadia’s blood to develop the Tyrant Project and the elite Nemesis program while secretly drawing her blood during examinations. Holmes and Watson drank Red Potion at the Eredar Twins’ office to stabilize their bodies, as Voskya reflected on how her own troubles had led her into the company.

• Evenson determined that Nadia’s unusually resilient blood could stabilize enhancements and enable mass production of Super Soldiers.
• The Eredar Twins secretly collected Nadia’s blood during examinations, using diluted blood for the Tyrant Project and undiluted blood for Nemesis.
• Voskya led Holmes and Watson to the Twins’ office and gave them water mixed with Red Potion to calm their unstable energy.
• Holmes and Watson drank the potion and felt their bodies settle, while Voskya left them waiting and thought of them as new arrivals on a pirate ship.
• Voskya recalled that her father’s injury, her dismissal, and a predatory supervisor had led her to her current situation.

Voskya accepted a job in New York after a mysterious message from Evenson, then became the Twins’ secretary and surrendered her caviar to them. The Twins began interrogating a captured woman, Sergeant Allen Brandy, about betraying her country.

• After Voskya’s father’s retaliation caused police suspicion, she received an American job offer and a burning message that told her to bring caviar.
• Voskya left Russia for New York and met Saloras and Aurelles, who ordered her to serve as their secretary and forbade her from meeting Evenson.
• Voskya explained that customs had confiscated most of her caviar, and Saloras and Aurelles kept the two bottles she had brought.
• The Twins held an unconscious, scarred woman in a reinforced detention chamber and asked Sergeant Allen Brandy why she had betrayed her country.

The Eredar Twins and Ross interrogated Allen Brandy, a former soldier who had been deceived into serving Aldrich Killian. After Ross convinced her that Killian had made her an accomplice in treason, she accepted a chance to redeem herself and was given a new identity as Jessie McNair.

• Ross presented Allen Brandy's military file to the Eredar Twins, who valued her combat training and experience despite flaws in her Extremis enhancements.
• Aurelles used sound and resonance to incapacitate Allen and suppress her Extremis abilities while Saloras questioned her about betraying the country.
• Allen insisted she was carrying out a classified military mission, and Ross revealed that Killian had deceived her and attempted to assassinate the President.
• Ross showed Allen evidence of Killian's crimes and offered her a chance to restore her honor and save her life.
• Allen accepted the offer, and Aurelles gave her the new identity Jessie McNair.

Saloras and Aurelles recruited Jessie McNair into Overwatch, an organization intended to handle abnormal crises, and equipped her with the legendary Colt and an optimized enhancement formula. After McNair left to adjust to her new identity, Ross warned the Eredar Twins about a tour group with special orders from the president.

• Ross questioned Saloras about recruiting Allen Brandy, and Aurelles explained that Killian's enhancement research offered a useful new approach.
• Allen Brandy arrived as Jessie McNair, accepted the Overwatch mission, and received the legendary Colt revolver.
• Saloras injected McNair with an optimized formula that restored her superpowers without their former flaws.
• Aurelles gave McNair an Overwatch badge and sent her to rest and adapt to her new identity.
• Saloras and Aurelles prepared to meet another guest after Ross warned them about a tour group carrying special orders from the president.

Holmes and Watson met the Eredar Twins to keep their Extremis powers while removing the danger, and the Twins offered treatment in exchange for joining their company as intelligence analysts. Holmes accepted after they promised access to resources that could help him with his father and Irene Adler, but the chapter left him and Watson facing an unbreakable contract written with magic.

• Holmes told Aurelles and Saloras that he and Watson wanted to retain their powers while removing the danger of Extremis.
• Aurelles offered to stabilize and strengthen them in exchange for joining the company as intelligence analysts.
• Saloras argued that Holmes needed intelligence resources as well as superhuman power, and Aurelles offered help with Moran Holmes and Irene Adler.
• Holmes accepted the offer, and Saloras presented contracts for Holmes and Watson to sign.
• The Twins warned Holmes and Watson that the contracts used magic learned from Mephisto and could not be broken.

Ross arranged for Saloras and Aurelles’s forces to eliminate the Voodoo Gang, with Inspector Grayson ordered to claim the credit afterward. The Iron Blood Warrior slaughtered Power King and his subordinates, and Aurelles asked whether the observers were satisfied.

• Ross told Grayson that outside forces would attack the Voodoo Gang and the police could take credit afterward.
• Saloras said her warriors were ready, and the command vehicle began displaying live views of the operation.
• Power King divined an omen of extreme misfortune while celebrating with his subordinates.
• A laser strike killed Power King’s deputy, and an invisible attacker rapidly killed the gang members.
• The Iron Blood Warrior revealed himself and beheaded Power King with a curved blade.
• Aurelles announced that the Iron Blood Warrior’s demonstration was over and asked whether the others were satisfied.

The Eredar Twins demonstrated the Iron Blood Warrior armor and explained why Umbrella planned to sell the military a cheaper, simplified version. Lieutenant General Hog then asked them to create a superhero loyal to the US government, and Saloras selected Jeffrey Mason from a stack of candidate files.

• The Eredar Twins showed the inspection group the Iron Blood Warrior armor and described its advanced capabilities and costly prototype design.
• Aurelles and Saloras explained that Umbrella would offer a less capable, more affordable version suitable for mass production, and Hog requested a proposal.
• Hog presented the President’s classified mission and said the US government needed a superhero under its control.
• Hog explained that Captain America served S.H.I.E.L.D. and that Iron Patriot had lost the President’s confidence after the Air Force One incident.
• Hog gave the Eredar Twins files on potential candidates, and Saloras selected Jeffrey Mason.

Hogg learned that making Jeffrey Mason stronger would require extensive bodily modifications, and the government wanted him to retain a normal appearance. The Eredar Twins offered to upgrade him for free in exchange for authority to handle future cases involving illegal super-soldier research, but Hogg deferred the decision to the president.

• Aurelles and Saloras explained that Mason’s strength would depend on how much of his human body he was willing to sacrifice, while Hogg and Ross insisted he retain a normal appearance.
• Hogg said Mason and the other candidates were prepared to sacrifice everything for their country, prompting Saloras to offer the modifications for free.
• Saloras asked the government to authorize the company to handle future incidents involving illegal research institutions, and Hogg rejected the request at first.
• Aurelles argued that the company could capture offenders, hand them over for trial, and recover and optimize their technology; Ross disclosed that his research had cost US$10 billion a year without guaranteed results.
• Hogg reconsidered the proposal but said he would need to consult the president before making a decision.

Aurelles punished the Voodoo Gang’s leader even after his death, while the Eredar Twins’ nightclub staff learned that anyone who harmed their people would face them. Three months later, Evenson and Klayya encountered a mysterious hooded man rescuing a woman, and an Asian girl recognized Evenson and followed him.

• New York newspapers reported that Mayor Ross and Inspector Grayson had wiped out the Voodoo Gang, prompting other gangs to flee toward Los Angeles.
• Aurelles showed the Void's Legacy staff Power King's skull and imprisoned his soul in a flame that would burn for three years.
• Three months later, Evenson complained about Klayya’s convention purchase as they headed home, then shielded himself from a falling wall with a flick of his finger.
• A hooded man jumped from a burning building carrying an unconscious woman, landed unharmed, and quickly left.
• An Asian girl recognized Evenson, then ran after him when he left the scene.

Evenson and Klayya returned to their shop, where Skye confronted him about his powers and warned him that S.H.I.E.L.D. was looking for people like him. After Skye urged him to become a public hero and left her card, Evenson recognized her connection to the Rising Tide Organization and called Melinda to ask about the bounty on its members.

• Klayya told Evenson that he was being boring by criticizing her decorative armor purchase, then warned him that someone had followed them.
• Evenson tricked Skye into buying a protective amulet for one hundred dollars before asking what she wanted.
• Skye identified herself and showed Evenson a video of him shielding people from an explosion three months earlier.
• Skye warned Evenson that S.H.I.E.L.D. was hunting people with powers and urged him to step into the spotlight as a hero.
• After Skye left him a Rising Tide Organization business card, Evenson called Melinda to ask how much the S.H.I.E.L.D. bounty on her was worth.

Skye was arrested after publishing a defiant message for the Rising Tide Organization, while Evenson met Melinda to discuss Coulson’s return to field duty and her dangerous unfinished enhancement. The chapter ended with Coulson and Ward bringing Skye back to the military airport.

• Skye celebrated finding potential allies and posted a stirring declaration challenging S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Two men in black opened Skye’s truck, hooded her, and took her away.
• Evenson met Melinda at a New York military airport and learned that Nick Fury wanted him to observe Coulson after his resurrection.
• Melinda explained that Coulson’s new team included Fitz, Simmons, and Grant Ward, and that the assignment was also meant to support him psychologically.
• Evenson warned Melinda that using her unfinished power could turn her into a mindless killer and that her contract prevented her from explaining its source.
• Coulson and Ward returned with Skye’s battered truck, and Evenson felt pleased that she would be taken off the road.

Evenson met Coulson aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft after Skye was captured, then explained that he had saved Coulson’s soul after Loki’s attack. The two agreed Coulson would repay Evenson later, and Coulson went to interrogate Skye while Evenson asked about Tahiti.

• Evenson greeted Coulson and collected his bounty from Melinda while Skye realized he had helped S.H.I.E.L.D. capture her.
• Ward took the furious Skye to the interrogation room as Coulson showed Evenson the aircraft and asked how many Avengers knew he was alive.
• Evenson said none of the Avengers knew and explained that he had preserved Coulson’s soul after Loki wounded him.
• Coulson said his estate had been distributed after S.H.I.E.L.D. declared him dead, so he could not pay Evenson; Evenson agreed to let him owe the money.
• Coulson headed to interrogate Skye, and Evenson asked how Tahiti had been before Coulson called it a magical place.

Coulson and Ward interrogated Skye about the Rising Tide Organization and a hero she had filmed, while Evenson joined in and revealed that he was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s special consultant and practiced Magic. Skye recognized him as the Black Scythe Lord and asked for his autograph, while Evenson tried to trade it for Captain America's.

• Coulson and Ward questioned Skye about her identity, the Rising Tide Organization, and the hero she had filmed.
• Skye accused Evenson of betraying her and selling her a useless amulet, but Evenson argued that it had saved her from a worse fate.
• Evenson asked Coulson whether he could reveal his S.H.I.E.L.D. role, and Coulson identified him as a special consultant who answered directly to the Director.
• Evenson demonstrated Corruptor Magic and told Skye not to call him a superpowered person.
• Skye recognized Evenson as the Black Scythe Lord and asked for his autograph, prompting Evenson to offer it in exchange for Captain America's autograph.

Evenson tried to frighten Skye into confessing, but Coulson stopped him because he considered her valuable and had other plans. While they waited, Evenson and Skye discovered they had both lived at the same orphanage, then argued about whether S.H.I.E.L.D. was wrong to conceal information from the public.

• Evenson threatened to read Skye’s soul, and Coulson stopped the interrogation before she confessed.
• Coulson told Ward that Skye was valuable and prepared an injector as part of his other arrangements.
• Evenson and Skye learned they had both lived at the same orphanage, though Skye said she had been adopted young and passed between families.
• Skye accused S.H.I.E.L.D. of covering up the New Mexico incident, Project Pegasus, and Centipede, while Evenson admitted he did not know about Centipede.
• Evenson challenged Skye to consider whether she had asked the public if they wanted the concealed information revealed.

Evenson explained to Skye why S.H.I.E.L.D. concealed dangerous truths about alien threats, arguing that public ignorance preserved stability while humanity prepared to face those dangers. Skye accepted that she had misunderstood S.H.I.E.L.D., but maintained that the truth would eventually have to be revealed.

• Skye challenged Evenson's claim that the public preferred fabricated stories, and he argued that truth could cause pain and that she was imposing her own choices on others.
• Evenson described how many alien civilizations viewed humans as inferior and recounted their past exploitation of humanity.
• Evenson warned Skye that the Bifrost could destroy Earth, other alien civilizations possessed devastating weapons, and Dormammu threatened Earth from another dimension.
• Evenson pointed out that Chitauri microorganisms could introduce deadly alien diseases, explaining why S.H.I.E.L.D. recovered their remains.
• Skye acknowledged her misunderstandings about S.H.I.E.L.D. but argued that the truth could not be concealed forever.
• Evenson said S.H.I.E.L.D. concealed threats to preserve stability and formed the Avengers so humanity could prepare without descending into panic and chaos.