Chapter Summaries

Bucky Barnes woke with no memories, learned that he had been freed from Hydra’s control, and faced a Special Forces assault. Steve Rogers rescued him, but Black Panther T’Challa arrived to attack him over his father’s death.

• Bucky found a note saying he was free, along with clothes and money, and realized someone had erased his memories.
• Allen confronted Bucky, warned him that Special Forces were approaching, and gave him a badge to deliver to either Tony Stark or Steve Rogers before leaving through a portal.
• Special Forces stormed Bucky’s apartment, disabled his mechanical arm, and restrained him as their commander prepared to kill him.
• Steve Rogers arrived, knocked down the Special Forces, and urged Bucky to escape with him.
• Black Panther T’Challa burst through the wall and attacked Bucky, while Wakanda struggled with the damage to its Vibranium mines.

Allen explained that the superhumans’ conflict was meant to warn governments that power was shifting away from them, and he ordered Artoria to tell Sakura to avoid Thanos once he began gathering the Infinity Stones. Meanwhile, Sakura transformed the Casket of Ancient Winters into the Arcane Casket using a Titan’s remains, then learned Allen was pursuing Wanda and grew jealous.

• Allen told Artoria that the fight between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark’s sides warned governments that superhumans would increasingly control power.
• Allen warned Artoria that neither she nor Sakura could survive Thanos’s snap, and Artoria agreed to relay his instruction for Sakura to return when Thanos began collecting the Infinity Stones.
• Edna Bevin brought Sakura the remains of a Titan, which she had secretly preserved despite Allen’s prohibition on interfering with that universe.
• Sakura used the Titan’s matter and Arcane Energy to transform the Casket of Ancient Winters into the Arcane Casket, a weapon capable of unleashing destructive arcane power.
• Edna Bevin told Sakura that Allen had instructed Artoria to summon her back, then explained that Allen was pursuing Wanda to gain authority over Dark and White Magic.
• Sakura became jealous when Edna Bevin revealed Allen’s plans, and Edna Bevin fled through a portal.

The public fallout from the Avengers’ clash intensified as Allen discussed Tony Stark’s motives and met Spider-Man Peter Parker. Allen gave Peter a Holy Light badge and left him excited to join the heroes, while Tony considered training him.

• News coverage of the Avengers’ civil war divided the public and alarmed governments as superpowered figures demonstrated their abilities.
• Steve Rogers escaped the airport with Bucky, and Allen teased Tony Stark about the damage before Tony said he had bought the airport and its planes.
• Tony told Allen that he pursued Bucky partly because Steve’s protection of him stirred resentment over Tony’s parents.
• Peter Parker arrived and challenged Allen’s strength during a handshake, but Allen easily overpowered him and Tony described Allen as a dimensional Demon God.
• Allen gave Peter a badge that could heal injuries and purge toxins, then threw him toward Quicksilver as Peter proudly showed off the gift.
• Tony said Peter was a great kid and considered giving him formal training instead of letting him patrol the streets alone.

Wanda invited Allen on a date, while Allen read Natasha’s memories and discussed the Avengers’ plans with Tony Stark. The chapter ended with Daisy refusing to connect Afterlife to the internet until she received news from the Avengers.

• Wanda asked Allen to see a movie with her on Friday, and he agreed to pick her up at school.
• Natasha warned Allen that he might fall in love, but Allen read her memories and upset her by bringing up her child and painful past.
• Tony Stark told Allen that the International Security Council and the White House wanted him to rebuild the Avengers and bring Steve’s group to justice.
• Allen agreed to ask Steve and the others about Tony’s plan and urged Tony to make sure Ross faced trial.
• Daisy rejected Lincoln’s suggestion to connect Afterlife to the internet until they received reliable news from the Avengers.

Afterlife grew into a heavily defended Inhuman settlement while Daisy reflected on Allen’s role in its creation. Allen then visited Steve Rogers’s fugitive team to relay Tony’s plan for a staged Avengers conflict that could secure their freedom and bring Ross to trial, while warning Steve about Zemo and Bucky’s vulnerability to brainwashing.

• Daisy told Lincoln that Allen had inspired Afterlife’s growth and noted that Coulson had left S.H.I.E.L.D. to join Captain America’s team.
• Steve’s team shared a meal in a hidden warehouse, and Steve left cash to compensate its owner.
• Allen arrived through a portal and told Steve that Tony wanted the Avengers to stage a conflict to pressure the government and International Security Council into restoring their freedom and putting Ross on trial.
• Steve agreed to the plan after Allen promised that John Schmidt would seek justice if the courts failed.
• Allen warned Steve that Zemo had become dangerously consumed by hatred and urged him to guard Bucky against being brainwashed again.

Allen warned Steve and Coulson about T'Challa's feud with Bucky, then revealed the Avengers' benefits and exposed Scott Lang's unauthorized use of Hank Pym's Ant-Man suit. As public pressure forced the president to reopen the case against Ross, Tony Stark held firm and waited for a public trial before agreeing to anything.

• Allen told Steve to keep Bucky close and warned that T'Challa blamed Bucky for his father's death, then disclosed Wakanda's wealth and advanced technology.
• Scott Lang learned that Avengers members received a $50,000 monthly allowance and insurance, but Allen reminded him he had stolen Hank Pym's suit and become a wanted criminal.
• Allen demonstrated that he could create Pym Particles, while Scott worried that Pym would refuse to let him join the Avengers.
• After more than half a week of restrained clashes between the two teams, public anger and plummeting approval ratings pushed the White House to negotiate with Tony.
• The president accepted Tony's terms and ordered the military and FBI to reopen the case against Ross.
• Tony refused to respond to the White House's offer before Ross's public trial, expecting the investigation to produce results within one or two weeks.

Allen prepared to take Wanda on a date while Tony and Pepper dealt with their infant daughter’s uncontrolled Arcane Energy. Allen discussed his plans for Afterlife and political change with Tony, then arrived at Wanda’s school as she changed for their date.

• Pepper dressed Allen in a tailored suit, while Tony gave him a high-tech car for his date with Wanda.
• Tony let Selene practice Arcane Energy, and her uncontrolled outburst sent the living room’s furniture and belongings flying until Tony contained them.
• Pepper scolded Tony and ordered him away from Selene, while Allen warned him about the danger of teaching magic to an infant.
• Tony asked Allen about Afterlife, and Allen said Red Skull would use Hydra’s network to build political parties capable of challenging the traditional establishment.
• Allen rode Tony’s new car to Wanda’s school, where Wanda eagerly changed into a black dress for their date.

Allen picked up Wanda for their date, but a confrontation with her school’s football team turned violent, and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents shielded him from the consequences. After dropping off Wanda’s friend Chloe, Allen and Wanda headed to a movie theater for their date, followed by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

• Allen arrived at Wanda’s school in a futuristic sports car, and the students realized he was her date.
• A girl tried to flirt with Allen, but he scared her off by warning her not to touch his expensive car.
• Sean and the football team confronted Allen, who swiftly defeated them and severely injured Sean and the other players.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. agents took over the incident and let Allen drive away with Wanda and her friend Chloe.
• Chloe got out of the car after teasing Wanda about her date, and Allen and Wanda went hand in hand to see a movie.

Allen left his date with Wanda to project his consciousness into the Azerath Universe, where he discussed Sargeras and was scolded by his administrators and Vilnalasath for being a disastrous romantic partner. He returned to the theater intending to explain himself, only to find Wanda asleep on his shoulder.

• S.H.I.E.L.D. agents monitored Allen and Wanda's movie date but were ordered not to disturb them.
• Allen admitted that the comedy left him unmoved, then projected his consciousness into the Azerath Universe while Wanda stayed beside his motionless body.
• Allen observed the Night Elves' cannons and discussed Sargeras's search for Azerath with one of his administrators.
• The administrators and Vilnalasath criticized Allen for abandoning Wanda during their date and called him a poor romantic partner.
• Allen returned to his body to speak with Wanda and found her asleep on his shoulder.

Allen took Wanda on a dinner date after their movie, and the two grew closer over food, wine, and conversation. He left without telling her he could not return her feelings, while Wanda fell asleep dreaming about their kiss.

• Allen let Wanda sleep through the movie, then invited her to dinner to make up for standing her up earlier.
• Allen and Wanda arrived at a Mexican restaurant and found Quicksilver, Peter Parker, and several teenagers secretly meeting there.
• Quicksilver and Peter told the teenagers that Allen was powerful and had saved Quicksilver's life, while Allen reassured Wanda that Tony Stark would handle any trouble.
• Allen and Wanda shared dinner and wine, exchanged stories, and toasted their first date.
• At Wanda's apartment, Wanda asked Allen for a kiss, and he kissed her cheek before she thanked him and went inside.
• Allen waited until Wanda's bedroom light came on before leaving, and Wanda went to bed replaying the date and dreaming about him.

After Wanda enjoyed the memory of her date with Allen, she and Quicksilver went their separate ways. At Sky City, Allen defeated Artoria in a swordsmanship spar and then ordered Guardians to retrieve the Darkhold safely so he could investigate its secrets.

• Wanda told Quicksilver that her date with Allen had ended wonderfully, though ordinary dating methods did not suit him.
• Quicksilver went to meet his friends at their abandoned-warehouse Secret Base, while Wanda enrolled in a beauty and body-shaping course.
• At Sky City, Gareth judged Artoria's swordsmanship slightly superior in technique but said Allen's precognition and reactions made him the stronger fighter.
• Allen overwhelmed Artoria with a sword style based on momentum from the One Piece World, knocked her sword away, and directed her to related books in the library.
• Allen ordered Edna Bevin to have unintelligent low-level undead retrieve the Darkhold using a Shadow Energy glove and a sealed container.
• Edna Bevin sent an Undead Archmage, six low-level undead, and several Guardians to collect the Darkhold without touching or opening it.

Allen secured the Darkhold and ordered Sky City to withdraw its people from Earth once Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One and All-Father Odin were dead. He then visited Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, where they discussed his date with Wanda and his violent fight with football players.

• Edna Bevin and the guardians sealed the Darkhold in a protected container and delivered it to Allen.
• Allen ordered Edna Bevin to recall Sky City's people from Earth, including Alesia, after Ancient One and Odin died, and learned that Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, and Thor had begun training with new powers.
• Allen visited Tony Stark's home and found him kneeling on a toy building-block board as punishment.
• Pepper Potts asked Allen about his date with Wanda, and Tony Stark revealed that Allen had badly injured football players who attacked him.
• Allen defended his actions and disparaged the football players, while Tony Stark advised him to avoid voicing such views around Falcon and the Wakanda King.
• Tony Stark teased Allen about Wanda, but Pepper Potts smacked him and confronted him about swimsuit magazines.

Allen explained that his immortality had eliminated his sexual desire, leaving him uncertain how to handle Wanda’s feelings. He agreed to let Tony Stark examine him and planned to attend former Secretary of State Ross’s trial with a Hydra operative before returning to the Azerath Universe.

• Tony Stark and Pepper Potts questioned Allen about his date with Wanda, and Allen said he felt no sexual desire because of his evolved, immortal state.
• Allen revealed that Tony had previously researched the Life Evolution equation and that Allen had erased Tony’s memories of it to prevent a disaster worse than Ultron.
• Tony proposed a comprehensive physical examination, and Allen agreed to visit his laboratory the following Wednesday.
• Tony told Allen that Ross’s trial would begin Monday, and Allen asked him to arrange two seats so he could attend with one of Red Skull’s subordinates.
• Allen defended directing Hydra toward targeting corrupt powerful figures, then opened a spatial rift and returned to the Azerath Universe.

Allen recognized the Darkhold’s disturbance as Sithorn’s attempt to provoke him into opening its seal, and hid it in an unknown extradimensional space. He explained his plan to pit his universe against Dormammu’s dimension, then prepared to test Grant Ward while Artoria trained for her fight with Hela.

• Edna Bevin reported that black fog from the sealed Darkhold had drawn Allen’s room into an apparent alternate space, but Artoria sensed no damage to Allen’s seal.
• Allen concluded that Sithorn had created a disturbance to trick him into inspecting the Darkhold, then moved the intact container into an unknown extradimensional space.
• Allen told Artoria that he planned to collide and erode Azerath Universe against a Dimensional Demon God’s dimension, and identified Dormammu as his intended prey.
• Allen explained Hela’s strength and said he planned to use Charm Magic to make her his servant, while Artoria looked forward to fighting her.
• Artoria gave Allen a Hydra badge bearing Grant Ward’s name, and Allen decided to test whether Ward deserved to keep his current identity.
• Allen left to find Grant Ward, while Artoria went to the training grounds and overwhelmed Sky City’s strongest close-combat Guardians.

Ross learned that powerful forces had abandoned him and that his trial would likely send him to prison, while his lawyer urged him to accept a reduced sentence. Allen and Grant Ward monitored Ross and prepared to make him transform into a violent red giant during the trial, leaving the plan ready as Allen reassured Ward that Daisy was doing well.

• Ross raged over the renewed investigation and, after consulting his lawyer, accepted a strategy of admitting some crimes and seeking a reduced sentence rather than threatening to expose others.
• Ross and his lawyer rehearsed answers for the upcoming hearings while Allen and Grant Ward listened to them through surveillance devices nearby.
• Grant Ward explained that Hydra had struggled to infiltrate the military and had monitored Ross since he worked on the Super Soldier Serum.
• Allen told Grant Ward to proceed unless Ross faced the electric chair and gave him a crimson injection that would turn Ross into a murderous red giant at the trial's verdict.
• Grant Ward asked about Daisy, and Allen told him that she led Earth's Inhumans, lived with her biological parents, and had an Inhuman boyfriend.

Allen and Red Skull decided Grant Ward was an unstable liability and arranged for him to die in an accident. At Ross’s trial, a disabled veteran shot him in the abdomen, and Allen and Tony tracked the gunman to his home, where Tony uncovered the tragedy behind his revenge.

• Grant Ward left Allen’s house after Allen warned him not to interfere in Daisy’s life.
• Red Skull offered to have Grant killed during a mission, and Allen approved the plan.
• Ross arrived at the Federal Supreme Court amid protests, where a gunman shot him in the abdomen and the crowd descended into chaos.
• Allen and Tony watched the shooting unfold, then used magic and tracking technology to find the gunman.
• Tony identified the shooter as Kirsten Bartlein, a disabled former Marine whose team and family had been killed during battles involving Hulk and Abomination.

Allen and Tony Stark confronted Kirsten Bartlein about his attempted assassination of Ross and the crimes he had committed as a soldier. After Kirsten exposed Tony’s guilt over Stark Industries’ weapons, Allen revealed that Kirsten’s wife had betrayed him, leaving him enraged and shaken.

• Allen told Tony that Kirsten Bartlein had killed civilians and committed sexual violence, and Tony’s sympathy for the veteran turned to anger.
• Allen and Tony approached Kirsten’s house to question him about the assassination attempt on Ross.
• When Kirsten denied involvement and tried to shut the door, Allen lifted him, took his shotgun, and bent its barrel.
• Allen confronted Kirsten with his past crimes, and Kirsten panicked as he remembered what he had done.
• Kirsten accused Tony of profiting from weapons that killed people, and Tony punched him.
• Allen broke Kirsten’s remaining arm and revealed that Kirsten’s wife had an affair with their neighbor, Mr. Tom, and that videos of them were on Tom’s computer.

Allen broke Kirsten Bartlein’s faith, altered him with Old God cells, and sent him to publicly expose military and government crimes, triggering nationwide riots. As the unrest spread, Allen revealed that he intended to use it to force Ross to face Kirsten and to target the hidden forces of capital.

• Allen revealed the crimes Kirsten Bartlein’s wife and daughter had suffered, leaving Kirsten devastated and weeping.
• Allen secretly controlled Kirsten’s mind, implanted Yogg-Saron cells in him, and explained the Old Gods’ threat to Tony Stark.
• Allen ordered Kirsten to turn himself in; Kirsten publicly confessed to military crimes and challenged Ross on camera.
• The revelations spread online despite the White House’s efforts to suppress them, prompting nationwide riots and international condemnation.
• Allen told Tony that the unrest was only the first step toward forcing a meeting between Ross and Kirsten and exposing the forces behind the government.
• Allen planned for Hydra, led by Red Skull, to find the hidden capitalists and eliminate or control them.

Kirsten Bartlein endured more than thirty hours of interrogation without revealing why he shot Ross, so FBI officials forced the injured former Secretary of State awake to question him. Meanwhile, Grant Ward and Lena prepared for Ross’s fate, and Ross failed to recognize the soldier whose family and unit had died in the Hulk and Abomination battles.

• Kirsten Bartlein remained calm through prolonged interrogation, leaving the FBI unable to extract useful intelligence before the President’s deadline.
• An FBI official secured White House permission to take Kirsten Bartlein to meet Ross in the hospital.
• Grant Ward arrived ahead of the convoy, and Lena prophesied that Ross would flee before dying alone and miserably.
• The FBI official forced doctors to inject Ross with a drug that rapidly woke him despite his serious injuries.
• Ross learned that Kirsten Bartlein had sought revenge for his wife, daughter, and comrades, but he did not remember him.

Ross agreed to meet Kirsten Bartlein after receiving a presidential Amnesty Order, but Kirsten transformed into a tentacled monster and attacked everyone in the intensive care unit. The chapter ended with bullets failing to hurt Kirsten as hospital security called for outside assistance.

• A middle-aged man told Ross that Kirsten Bartlein would reveal secrets if Ross met him, and Ross negotiated for an Amnesty Order in exchange for agreeing.
• Grant Ward left the room, and the middle-aged man brought Kirsten Bartlein into Ross’s intensive care unit.
• Kirsten explained that he blamed Ross for his injuries and the deaths of his wife and child, then revealed that Old Gods cells had given him a monstrous transformation.
• Kirsten’s tentacles burst from his body, grievously injuring several people as Ross and the middle-aged man tried to defend themselves.
• The middle-aged man’s bullets failed to pierce Kirsten’s hardened skin, and a ricochet wounded him as hospital security called for outside help.