Chapter Summaries

Coulson and Evenson discussed recruiting Skye after she agreed to cooperate, then uncovered suspicious gaps in her background that pointed to S.H.I.E.L.D. having controlled much of her childhood. The chapter left them suspecting that this hidden past explained Skye’s obsession with the organization.

• Coulson entered the interrogation room with Ward and prepared to use a truth serum, but Skye unexpectedly agreed to talk.
• Coulson injected Ward with saline solution as part of a staged attempt to earn Skye’s trust, then left her with him.
• Coulson told Evenson that he wanted to recruit Skye because of her exceptional hacking talent.
• Evenson pointed out that Skye’s orphaned childhood and fierce pursuit of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s secrets suggested a personal reason for her obsession.
• Coulson revealed that Skye’s guardian changes followed a mysterious schedule and that her heavily edited records appeared to have been altered using S.H.I.E.L.D.’s methods.
• Evenson and Coulson concluded that S.H.I.E.L.D. may have controlled Skye’s childhood, explaining her fixation on the organization.

Coulson recruited Skye as a probationary S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and investigated Michael Peterson’s connection to the Centipede Project, while Evenson warned that unstable superpowers could turn a good person dangerous. Melinda’s team reached the explosion site and encountered the Black Badge Division, led by Luther, who introduced himself as Lex Luthor.

• Coulson argued that making Skye a secret agent would protect her, and Evenson warned him to watch her closely as her guardian and superior.
• Skye finished questioning Ward, trusted S.H.I.E.L.D., and revealed what she knew before arguing with Evenson over whether stealing was worse than deception.
• Coulson identified the stolen ID as Michael Peterson’s and discussed Skye’s findings about the Centipede Project; Evenson cautioned that Michael’s circumstances and unstable new power could make him dangerous.
• Coulson suspected Umbrella Corporation was behind the super-soldier technology, but treated information about it as classified and asked Evenson to consult the Director.
• Melinda, Fitz, and Simmons found the explosion site sealed off by government personnel, where Luther introduced himself as Lex Luthor of the Black Badge Division.

The US government established the Black Badge Division with the same priority jurisdiction as S.H.I.E.L.D., and Luther and Melinda agreed to investigate a superpowered incident together. After S.H.I.E.L.D. found a strange object that might contain the drug behind the incident, Luther learned that Cowboy had already been sent to find Michael Peterson.

• The US government approved the Eredar Twins' request to create the Black Badge Division and gave it jurisdiction equal to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s.
• Melinda and Luther argued over control of the crime scene, then agreed that both teams would investigate and collect evidence at the same time.
• Fitz used miniature drones to scan the scene while Luther's team examined the wreckage and ruled out an explosion of the suspected type.
• Simmons found an unusual arthropod-like object containing orange-yellow liquid, which Luther's contact suspected was a filter holding the drug.
• Luther's contact said Michael Peterson could provide answers, but told him that the mistress had already sent Cowboy after Michael.

Maya Hansen reinvented herself as Moira and joined the Black Badge Division, while Coulson’s team investigated Michael Peterson’s violent outburst and gathered evidence from the scene. Michael then abducted Skye after attacking Ward, leaving her caught between him and the agents she had already helped.

• Maya Hansen reflected on abandoning her ideals, declared herself reborn as Moira, and took up roles as the company’s chief biochemical consultant and Black Badge Division’s head of logistical technical support.
• Coulson’s team recognized Michael Peterson in a news clip showing him assaulting a factory foreman and destroying equipment, and Evenson warned that his new powers might be controlling him.
• Melinda told Coulson that the Black Badge Division had equal enforcement authority and that investigators had found an alien object with liquid residue and recovered silent camera footage.
• Coulson sent Ward and Skye to retrieve her recordings, and Skye emailed the audio files while secretly hiding a memory card in her cleavage.
• Michael Peterson ambushed Ward, knocked him unconscious, and told Skye he was helping her before carrying his son into her van.

Coulson's team learned that Michael was an unstable super-soldier whose body could explode, while Skye secretly sent them her location after deleting Michael's records. Evenson warned that weakening Michael would trigger an even more violent explosion, leaving Coulson to pursue him without a safe way to subdue him.

• Fitz and Simmons analyzed footage of the factory incident and identified the device on the man's arm as a blood filter carrying an unstable mix of experimental enhancements.
• Evenson recognized Extremis in the mixture, and Coulson discovered that Michael wore the same device and ordered the team to find him before he exploded.
• Ward regained consciousness and told Coulson that Michael had taken Skye.
• Skye deleted Michael's information from the Licensing Authority and secretly sent S.H.I.E.L.D. coordinates through its encrypted channel.
• Coulson asked Evenson to help capture Michael, but Evenson explained that using the Weakness Curse would make Michael's unstable energy trigger an even bigger explosion.

Evenson agreed to join Coulson’s operation after learning it paid extra, but Michael escaped into a train station with Skye and his son. The situation grew more dangerous when Jessie McNair of the Black Badge Division arrived, killed the disguised attackers, and revealed her formidable skill.

• Evenson refused to help until Coulson mentioned the special allowance, then rode with him to Michael’s location.
• Coulson’s attempt to persuade Michael failed, and Michael kicked open the van door before fleeing into a train station with his son and Skye.
• Skye used a group of Russian tourists to distract Michael, while six disguised attackers entered the station and opened fire on him.
• Melinda confronted one of the disguised attackers and met Jessie McNair, who identified herself as a Black Badge Division agent.
• McNair killed the disguised attackers with her spur and revolver, then declared that they were not from the Black Badge Division.

McNair confronted Michael as his Centipede device pushed him toward an explosion, bluntly challenging his grievances before incapacitating him with a dart. Michael collapsed, leaving Coulson and Evenson to deal with the aftermath.

• McNair fell from the second floor and shot Ward’s sniper rifle apart after he aimed it at her.
• McNair challenged Michael’s beliefs about losing his job and rejected his claims that he was a victim of oppression.
• Michael’s body began glowing and cracking as his anger overwhelmed him, and Evenson prepared for the danger.
• McNair fired a dart into Michael’s neck, stopping the energy surge and knocking him unconscious.

McNair asserted the Black Badge Division’s authority and took Michael into custody despite Coulson’s objections. Evenson helped persuade Coulson to let her go, then admitted he had not paid taxes on his S.H.I.E.L.D. salary or Tony Stark’s compensation.

• McNair handcuffed Michael and argued that the Black Badge Division had equal enforcement authority with S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Coulson and Ward tried to stop McNair from taking Michael, but she threatened legal action and pointed her gun at Ward.
• Evenson stepped in to calm the dispute, and McNair threatened to report him for evading taxes on his earnings.
• Evenson persuaded Coulson that the Black Badge Division would have to show restraint because S.H.I.E.L.D. had been involved.
• McNair secured Michael to the back of her motorcycle and drove away, and Evenson told Coulson he had assumed his salary was after tax.

After helping S.H.I.E.L.D. resolve Michael’s case, Evenson was ordered by Nick Fury to investigate a newly discovered 084 in Peru. The team reached a mysterious, unusually small Inca pyramid, where an archaeology professor had found undecipherable writing and warned of a local curse.

• Coulson returned in his flying car, Lola, and told Evenson that Nick Fury wanted him on a new mission.
• Evenson agreed to investigate an 084 after Coulson promised that S.H.I.E.L.D. would help resolve his tax problems.
• Coulson’s team traveled into the Peruvian rainforest and learned that an archaeology professor had discovered the 084 inside an Inca pyramid.
• Evenson questioned the professor, who explained that the pyramid was unusually small and its writing could not be deciphered.
• Evenson entered the pyramid and was drawn to its writing and patterns before he saw the 084.

Evenson deciphered the temple’s incomplete magic runes and identified the 084 as a device that stored energy from the Cosmic Cube, likely a Hydra weapon. As S.H.I.E.L.D. confronted Peruvian soldiers outside, Coulson reunited with their commander, Camilla, revealing their past connection.

• Evenson recognized the temple’s apparent writing as scattered magic runes hidden among meaningless marks and concluded that the pyramid had been built to conceal the older chamber.
• Fitz identified the 084’s precise German craftsmanship, and Simmons estimated that the surrounding walls were at least fifteen hundred years old.
• Evenson told Coulson that the 084 stored Cosmic Cube energy and identified it as a weapon made by Hydra during World War II.
• Melinda and Ward tried to subdue people watching the pyramid, but Peruvian soldiers surrounded them.
• Coulson showed his identification to the soldiers, then greeted their commander, Camilla, with an embrace and a kiss.

S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Peruvian military police faced a rebel attack at the pyramid, prompting Evenson to help the team escape with his wild imps. The others retreated toward their plane while Evenson stayed behind to study the symbols, and Camilla mistakenly believed he had died covering their withdrawal.

• Melinda returned to the pyramid and told Skye and the others that Peru's national military police had arrived, while Coulson spoke with their commander, Camilla.
• Rebels attacked the site, and Melinda prepared the team to evacuate as Evenson pulled the 084 from the wall and summoned seven or eight wild imps.
• Evenson sent the imps against the rebels, triggering explosions that gave Coulson, Melinda, and the others time to escape toward their vehicle.
• Coulson and the Peruvian military police fought alongside each other while Melinda's group drove toward the plane, and Coulson let Camilla believe the explosions came from planted mines.
• When rebels pursued the vehicle, Camilla assumed Evenson had died covering the retreat and offered Coulson her condolences.

Evenson deciphered fragments of ancient runes that named terrifying entities and warned him that Earth might be in danger. After rebels caught him outside the pyramid, he killed them and destroyed the site, then fled as the jungle caught fire.

• Coulson and Fitz discussed the confiscated 084 after S.H.I.E.L.D. escaped, while Evenson stayed behind to study the pyramid’s runes.
• Evenson translated fragments naming entities including the Faceless Ones, the Crawling Chaos, and Y'ha-nthlei, and feared that one might already be on Earth.
• Evenson left the pyramid and found more than twenty rebel soldiers aiming rifles and machine guns at him.
• Evenson used Corruption to melt the rebels’ bodies, then cast Cataclysm and buried them, their vehicles, and the pyramid in magma.
• Evenson withdrew the spell, saw that the jungle had caught fire, and decided to leave before he was imprisoned.

After returning to the plane, Evenson found the S.H.I.E.L.D. team captured by Camilla Reyes and Peruvian soldiers. He helped free them, while Coulson remained tied up and tried to persuade Camilla to surrender.

• Evenson returned to the plane and learned from Melinda that Camilla Reyes and her men had taken control of it to seize the 084 item.
• Melinda explained that the soldiers had captured the team through a coordinated plan, leaving Coulson and Ward no choice but to surrender.
• Evenson incapacitated a Peruvian soldier and criticized the team for being captured on their own plane.
• Ward explained that the raid had been carefully planned, but Evenson told him not to make excuses.
• Melinda blamed Evenson for being absent, broke her restraints, and began freeing the others.
• Coulson kept urging Camilla to surrender, but he could not understand why Peru dared to challenge S.H.I.E.L.D.

Camilla explained that she had seized the aircraft to recover a weapon Peru needed, while Coulson realized S.H.I.E.L.D. would expose the country’s ties to Hydra scientists if it reclaimed the item. The plane remained under Camilla’s control until a blond man appeared in the cabin, poised to stop her.

• Camilla told Coulson the 084 weapon had once belonged to Peru and could help end the uprising and stabilize her homeland.
• Coulson considered how South American countries had sheltered Hydra scientists and the consequences Peru would face if S.H.I.E.L.D. uncovered its history.
• Camilla aimed a pistol at Coulson and forced him to reassure Hill that the aircraft was fine and its flight path was clear.
• Hill asked Coulson to explain the earthquake, volcanic eruption, and forest fires near the mission site, and Coulson inferred that someone had finished his archaeological work.
• Camilla panicked when she realized the disasters had likely wiped out rebels who were actually agents under her command.
• A blond man appeared in the cabin and addressed Camilla as he prepared to snap his fingers.

Evenson and Coulson retook control of the hijacked plane, and Evenson confronted Camilla about her attempt to use the 084 item to strengthen her country. He explained that the item was only a finite, single-use battery, leaving Camilla’s plan doomed as the standoff continued.

• Evenson used Shadow Power to break through the laboratory door, then went to rescue Coulson while Melinda headed for the cockpit.
• Evenson confronted Camilla, and Coulson identified him as the Avenger known as the Black Scythe Lord, causing Camilla to realize her operation had failed.
• When Camilla’s subordinate rushed in with a gun, Evenson snapped and dissolved him into a puddle of pus.
• Evenson handed the 084 item to Coulson and rejected Camilla’s accusation that S.H.I.E.L.D. served the great powers.
• Evenson told Camilla that the 084 item was a finite battery whose energy could not be replenished and would not make her country strong.

Evenson persuaded Camilla that Hydra scientists and powerful Peruvian officials had deceived her country about the mysterious 084 to preserve their wealth and influence. Camilla agreed to expose the collaborators but still refused to reveal Peru’s state secrets, and Evenson warned her to keep quiet until the right person questioned her.

• Camilla rejected Evenson’s questioning and swore she would never reveal state secrets, but Evenson said S.H.I.E.L.D. could trace 084’s history and contacts with gamma-ray scans.
• Evenson argued that Peru’s lack of usable technology suggested the Hydra scientists had never delivered real progress, despite their claims of breakthroughs.
• Evenson compared 084 to the million-pound note, suggesting that its promise had raised the status of the Hydra scientists and Peruvian officials involved in the project.
• Camilla recalled the project’s unexplained deaths and lavish funding, and concluded that officials had colluded with Hydra to conceal the truth and protect their positions.
• Camilla vowed to tell investigators everything about the project’s collaborators while withholding state secrets, and Evenson warned her not to discuss it with anyone else.

After the Peruvian mission, Nick Fury reprimanded Coulson and questioned Evenson about the pyramid and the earthquakes, while Evenson kept the pyramid’s magical knowledge secret. The chapter ended with Fury focusing on Camilla Reyes and the possibility that she was connected to the newly revived Hydra.

• Evenson watched the 0-8-4 rocket launch with Coulson’s team and reflected on the achievement as a human accomplishment.
• Nick Fury scolded Coulson for the hijacked plane, and Coulson accepted responsibility for the damage Evenson had caused.
• Fury confronted the team about the Peruvian earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, then warned Coulson to protect the plane and treat Skye as a risk factor.
• Evenson told Fury that the destroyed pyramid had recorded Magic, but refused to share its secrets because he considered the knowledge too dangerous.
• Evenson redirected Fury’s attention to Camilla Reyes, and Fury said Hydra had finally revealed a trace that might connect her to its revival.

Nick Fury and Evenson discussed how S.H.I.E.L.D. could protect Camilla and investigate Hydra's deception of Peru, which raised fears that Hydra had gathered vast resources through schemes around the world. Fury recruited Evenson to support the Special Squad remotely, and the plane carried Evenson back to New York.

• Evenson told Nick Fury that Camilla had agreed to cooperate, while warning that Peru might try to silence her and demand her return.
• Nick Fury said he would return Camilla if Peru formally requested her, but suggested a conveniently fatal transport accident could prevent her from reaching Peru.
• Evenson warned Nick Fury that Hydra might have deceived other countries and accumulated enormous funds, possibly using them to build a hidden force and profit from conflicts.
• Nick Fury invited Evenson to join the Special Squad, and Evenson agreed to provide remote support by installing a teleportation Magic Array on the plane for a reduced allowance.
• The plane took off to return Evenson to New York, where he had left his car.

Evenson returned home and found Sarah heartbroken because she believed Natasha had dumped her. He reassured Sarah that Natasha was likely keeping her distance for a secret mission, leaving Sarah hopeful they would reunite afterward.

• Evenson drove home in a sports car launched from a stealth aircraft and found his demon pets gathered at the stairs.
• Evenson learned that Klayya and Sarah were upstairs together, then rushed to check on them after hearing Sarah scream.
• Klayya explained that Sarah had returned drunk and crying, and Sarah told Evenson that Natasha had ended their relationship.
• Sarah said Natasha had cut off contact and changed her appearance, which convinced Sarah she had been rejected.
• Evenson suggested Natasha was hiding from Sarah to protect a secret mission, and Sarah stopped crying and accepted his explanation.

Evenson learned from Saloras and Aurelles that his early habit of keeping five demons manifested should have gotten him killed, but his solid fundamentals and comfortable treatment of his demons kept them loyal. After visiting the twins, he discussed Klayya’s growing interest in Fel Magic and her adoptive father’s efforts to steer her toward Kamar-Taj.

• Evenson complained to Saloras and Aurelles about managing his demon subordinates, and they recalled that they had initially expected him to die soon after they met.
• Saloras and Aurelles explained that weak Sorcerers risk being killed by manifested demons, but Evenson’s strong fundamentals and treatment of his demons had kept them from turning against him.
• Aurelles said the demons might stay with Evenson once his plan succeeded, and Evenson teased the twins about whether they still planned to leave.
• Evenson told the twins that Klayya had gone to the New York Sanctum, while Olivann was trying to make her the Sorcerer Supreme’s disciple and draw her away from Evenson.
• Evenson said Klayya had learned some of his spatial summoning and binding Magic, though he suspected she might eventually combine Fel Magic with Kamar-Taj training.