Chapter Summaries

White Skull defeated Blonsky and sent him to a laboratory after Blonsky surrendered, while Obadiah returned to his territory. Tony and Chang Wei investigated Blonsky’s prison break and discovered Hydra had three Iron Monger armors, but the trail vanished in a surveillance blind spot.

• White Skull shattered Blonsky’s arm in a second clash, and Blonsky surrendered and called him boss.
• White Skull sent Blonsky with people in Protective Suits to a laboratory and praised Obadiah for prioritizing the mission.
• Tony learned Blonsky had been broken out of prison and saw three Iron Monger armors on the surveillance screen.
• Chang Wei arrived with Bruce Banner, and Tony explained how carefully he had concealed Blonsky’s prison location.
• Chang Wei, Tony, and Bruce Banner examined the scene but found no clues beyond footprints that disappeared in a surveillance blind spot.

Tony, Chang Wei, and Bruce Banner planned an AI-controlled Iron Legion and began assigning research projects to counter Hydra. Meanwhile, Blonsky learned Hydra intended to form an Abomination Legion under his command, though he remained puzzled by Hydra’s decision to stay hidden.

• Tony welcomed Bruce Banner to the team, and the group remained unable to discover how Hydra moved or concealed its base.
• Tony proposed an Iron Legion to fight Hydra’s mass-produced Iron Monger armor, and Chang Wei suggested Megatron and J.A.R.V.I.S. control the suits.
• Chang Wei presented several research projects and made Secondary Kryptonite development the top priority; Tony, Bruce Banner, and Chang Wei divided the work among themselves.
• Blonsky emerged from Hydra’s laboratory able to switch between human form and his hulking form, then met fellow Level Five manager Obadiah Stan.
• Obadiah told Blonsky that Hydra planned to create an Abomination Legion under his command, and Blonsky accepted the prospect of gaining subordinates while questioning Hydra’s caution.

Chang Wei planned to accelerate the creation of Dr. Lizardman to strengthen Hydra, while Professor Connors struggled to make his interspecies gene transplantation research work. The chapter ended with Connors hearing Chang Wei’s voice in the lab and searching for its source.

• Blonsky dismissed his doubts and believed he would become a key figure when Hydra ruled the world.
• Professor Connors’s lizard-gene experiment failed, leaving a white mouse with a severe repulsion reaction instead of regenerated limbs.
• Chang Wei decided Dr. Lizardman would be an ideal villain to strengthen Hydra and considered the possibility of Green Goblin Serum.
• Professor Connors heard Chang Wei’s voice in the lab, panicked, and looked around for him.

Professor Connors discovered a mysterious correction to his Decay Rate Algorithm and decided to test it, while Tony Stark sought help for worsening palladium poisoning. Chang Wei suggested that Tony replace the palladium in his reactor with the Chang Wei Element.

• Professor Connors found new formulas on his erased blackboard, realized they corrected a fundamental flaw in his algorithm, and decided to test them.
• Professor Connors found that the laboratory surveillance system had failed during the time the formulas appeared, leaving their source a mystery.
• Tony Stark’s palladium levels rose dangerously as the element poisoning from his Iron Man reactor damaged his health, and J.A.R.V.I.S. warned his life was at risk.
• Tony tried and failed to find a safe replacement for palladium before asking Chang Wei and Bruce Banner for help.
• Chang Wei recommended the Chang Wei Element as a possible palladium replacement, and Tony thanked him.

Tony replaced his palladium reactor with the Chang Wei Element and discovered that it rapidly reduced the palladium poisoning in his body. Meanwhile, Hammer Industries failed to reverse-engineer War God Industries’ Power Armor, and Ivan Vanko watched Tony on television as events returned to their familiar course.

• Tony had J.A.R.V.I.S. test the Chang Wei Element, which reported that it could replace palladium and help treat his poisoning.
• Tony installed a Chang Wei Element reactor and saw his blood toxicity drop from forty percent to thirty percent, with the visible discoloration in his veins receding.
• Tony avoided pressure from the military and Hammer Industries because War God Industries’ Power Armor had satisfied the military’s interest in his Iron Man suit.
• Justin Hammer secretly obtained Power Armor from the military for reverse-engineering, but the suits’ self-destruct mechanisms destroyed two units and killed more than a dozen engineers.
• The military halted its cooperation with Hammer Industries, and Ivan Vanko watched Tony Stark on television with anger and resentment.

Ivan Vanko discovered that a Dragon Ball had crashed into his Siberian warehouse and investigated its powers, while Chang Wei had created it to stir up trouble in the Marvel Universe. Chang Wei reminded Ivan of his wish to revive his father, and Ivan decided to use the Dragon Balls for that purpose.

• Ivan Vanko prepared an electric whip and a crude Iron Man suit to take revenge on Tony Stark for his father’s suffering.
• A mysterious orb crashed through the roof of Ivan’s warehouse, and he found that it was the One-Star Ball.
• Ivan studied the Dragon Ball, confirmed its unusual properties, and decided to take it with him to search for the others.
• Chang Wei revealed that he had created the Dragon Ball and urged Ivan to remember his desire to revive his father.
• Ivan decided to gather the Dragon Balls to bring his father back.

Ivan Vanko traveled illegally from Siberia to America, hoping to use advanced technology to understand the Dragon Balls and revive his father. After settling in, he targeted Hammer Industries and planned to exploit Justin Hammer’s vanity to gain access to the company.

• Ivan Vanko decided he needed advanced equipment in America to analyze the Dragon Balls and began planning a concealed journey there.
• Ivan crossed Siberia, paid smugglers for passage, and escaped a coastal patrol using an early prototype of the Iron Man suit.
• Ivan hid his identity in America, worked in an electronics factory, and studied advanced technology while seeking a path into a major company.
• Ivan ruled out War God Industries because its boss was allied with Tony Stark and focused instead on Hammer Industries and Justin Hammer.
• Ivan spent half a month observing Justin Hammer and concluded that Justin’s vanity made him easy to manipulate.
• Justin Hammer rode in his luxury car with a young model who had previously been with Tony Stark, intending to compare himself with Tony.

Ivan Vanko ambushed Justin Hammer with his homemade Iron Man suit and offered to build him Power Armor. After demonstrating his abilities and exploiting Hammer’s desire to surpass Tony Stark, Ivan asked what support Hammer could provide.

• Ivan Vanko revealed his Iron Man suit and Arc Reactor after disguising himself as a sanitation worker.
• Ivan Vanko split Justin Hammer’s sedan with his Electromagnetic whip, leaving Hammer and the Cover Model trapped and terrified.
• Justin Hammer tried to buy his life by offering Ivan Vanko increasing sums of money.
• Ivan Vanko asked whether Justin Hammer wanted to surpass Tony Stark and mocked his reliance on others’ achievements.
• Ivan Vanko offered to build Justin Hammer Power Armor and pointed to the Arc Reactor in his chest as he asked what support Hammer could provide.

Justin Hammer agreed to fund Ivan Vanko’s work in exchange for Power Armor technology, while Ivan planned to use Hammer’s resources for revenge. At Hammer Industries’ laboratory, Ivan analyzed the Dragon Balls and found a crystal structure unlike any known natural mineral, suggesting they were extraterrestrial or created with technology far beyond humanity’s.

• Justin Hammer noticed the Arc Reactor in Ivan Vanko’s chest and asked what Ivan wanted.
• Ivan Vanko demanded funding, resources, a legal identity, and a laboratory to perfect his Power Armor technology.
• Justin Hammer agreed to provide Ivan with everything he needed in exchange for help building Power Armor.
• Ivan Vanko used Hammer Industries’ research facilities to scan the Dragon Balls with an X-ray diffractometer.
• Ivan Vanko studied the resulting crystal model and concluded that the Dragon Balls’ complex structure suggested an extraterrestrial origin or advanced artificial creation.

Ivan analyzed the Dragon Balls’ molecular structure, electromagnetic emissions, and elemental composition, finding signs of extraordinary complexity and possible extraterrestrial design. He built a specialized radar in one day to search for and track the Dragon Balls.

• Ivan used NMR analysis and found rare metal-metal bonds and highly ordered molecular structures in the Dragon Balls.
• Ivan detected stable Terahertz emissions with a specific information pattern and designed a phased-array radar to locate the Dragon Balls.
• Ivan used mass spectrometry and energy-dispersive analysis to identify ordinary elements arranged in unusually complex chemical structures.
• Ivan considered whether the Dragon Balls were created by extraterrestrial civilization and pondered why they had appeared on Earth.
• Ivan Vanko built the specialized radar in one day.

A gun battle erupted in a London subway station between vampires and werewolves, and the fighting continued onto the tracks as one combatant transformed into a werewolf. Selena discovered that numerous werewolves had survived and attacked those hiding nearby with specially made Blade Darts.

• A hulking Black man shouted “Vampire!” and opened fire in the crowded station as armed figures joined the fight.
• The white man was shot with Ultraviolet Radiation Ammunition and began burning, while a woman in a black trench coat attacked the Black man with twin guns.
• A combatant in black gear forced the Black man into a subway car, and the white man pursued him onto the moving train.
• The white man and the Black man fell onto the tracks, where the Black man transformed into a werewolf and attacked.
• Selena realized that many werewolves remained and threw Blade Darts at werewolves hiding behind pillars, wounding them.

Selena returned to the Vampire stronghold with evidence of weapons designed to exploit Vampires’ weakness to sunlight and urged the clan to prepare for an organized attack. Kraven dismissed her warning and refused to disrupt the upcoming Awakening Day, leaving their disagreement unresolved.

• Selena’s silver-coated darts weakened the werewolves and slowed their healing, forcing them to retreat before she and her companions lost their trail.
• Selena brought a pistol and its unusual bullets to the Vampire stronghold, where Conn examined the blue liquid inside them.
• Selena identified the ammunition as ultraviolet radiation bullets and warned Conn that humans were using sunlight as a weapon against Vampires.
• Kraven, Aidan, and another Vampire doubted Selena’s claims, while Selena argued that Roger was dead, Nathaniel was still on a mission, and the Deathwalkers needed to prepare.
• Kraven refused to withdraw before Awakening Day, dismissed Selena’s evidence of werewolves as unreliable, and argued that the scattered werewolves could not have formed a large force.

Selena insisted on investigating recent anomalies herself, then discovered a Dragon Ball after a meteor fell nearby. She decided to search for the other six Dragon Balls so she could wish for the blood clan to become immune to sunlight.

• Selena asked Conn to investigate the anomalies and said she would lead the search herself, but Kraven objected.
• After leaving, Selena watched a meteor fall and raced to its impact site.
• Selena found a glowing Two Star Ball in the crater and learned it was one of seven Dragon Balls that could summon Shenron and grant a wish.
• Selena decided to gather all seven Dragon Balls and wish for the blood clan to no longer fear sunlight.
• Chang Wei watched Selena take the Two Star Ball and prepared to arrange the Three Star Ball.

The chapter outlined the origins and turmoil of New York’s vampire society, including the emergence of silver-resistant Reaper variant vampires created through experiments on Chadnomar Makinos. It then followed Deacon Frost as he reflected on the changing lives of Hybrid Vampires and worried that human progress could threaten vampires’ survival.

• New York’s vampire clans were described as descendants of Dracula, with internal rivalries and tensions with Britain’s vampires.
• Makinos deceived his son Chadnomar into a variant experiment, turning him into the bloodthirsty progenitor of Reaper variant vampires.
• Makinos sent vampires to hunt Chadnomar after he tried to escape, and his battles helped plunge New York’s Dark World into chaos.
• Deacon Frost stood in the sunlight wearing specially formulated sunscreen and considered the marginal status of Hybrid Vampires under Gargan’s Pureblood clan.
• Deacon recalled how sunscreen and protective suits had let vampires move freely in daylight, but worried that humanity’s advancing technology would eventually endanger them.

Deacon Frost pursued the Book of the Underworld in hopes of finding a way to save vampires, but a meteorite destroyed Pearl and the translation work she had completed. The meteorite turned out to be the Four-Star Ball, and Deacon learned that collecting seven Dragon Balls could grant wishes.

• Deacon Frost opened the Book of the Underworld and explained to Quinn that he hoped it held the secret to saving vampires.
• Deacon Frost used a technologically advanced library and database to help Pearl study the ancient writing.
• Pearl told Deacon Frost that she had deciphered the name La Magra, the legendary Blood God.
• A meteorite crashed into Pearl's underground base, killing her and destroying her translation samples.
• Deacon Frost picked up the golden sphere and learned it was the Four-Star Ball, one of seven Dragon Balls that could grant wishes.

Nisha Makinos found a Dragon Ball that could grant a wish and brought it to her father, Elida Makinos, hoping it could end the Reaper vampire crisis. Elida identified it as the Three Star Ball and said they needed six more, but insisted that the Reapers remained their most urgent concern.

• Nisha found a glowing Dragon Ball in her training room and learned that it could grant its holder one wish.
• Nisha tested the Dragon Ball, found it indestructible, and brought it to her father at his secluded castle.
• Elida examined the Dragon Ball and identified it as the Three Star Ball, saying six more had to be found.
• Nisha urged Elida to focus on collecting Dragon Balls, hoping to overcome vampires' weakness to sunlight and silver.
• Elida said they did not yet know whether the Dragon Balls were real and maintained that the Reaper variants were the most pressing threat.

Ivan Vanko finished his reinforced Whiplash Armor and used its Dragon Ball radar to track a Dragon Ball to Deacon Frost’s office. He attacked Deacon Frost, leaving the vampire leader in his grasp.

• Nisha accepted Makinos’s decision to leave the matter to his trusted subordinates.
• Ivan Vanko completed his Whiplash Armor, reinforcing it with specialized alloys and equipping it with powerful electric whips.
• Ivan Vanko hacked Justin Hammer’s security network and replaced the surveillance feeds with prepared footage.
• Ivan Vanko used the radar on his armor to locate a Dragon Ball near Deacon Frost’s office.
• Ivan Vanko smashed through Deacon Frost’s office window and grabbed him before he could react.

Ivan Vanko forced Deacon Frost to reveal that the Dragon Ball was in a wall safe, then agreed to spare him in exchange. As the safe opened, Deacon Frost dodged its deadly trap, leaving Ivan Vanko facing poison gas, ultraviolet light, and silver powder.

• Deacon Frost's vampire underlings rushed into the office and attacked Ivan Vanko, who incapacitated them with his electric whip.
• Deacon Frost agreed to reveal the Dragon Ball's location after Ivan Vanko promised not to kill him.
• Deacon Frost led Ivan Vanko to the wall safe and entered a long password before passing its biometric checks.
• The safe opened and released poison gas, ultraviolet light, and silver powder, while Deacon Frost darted aside.

Ivan Vanko discovered VX nerve gas in the room and fought to reach Deacon Frost, who had sealed himself inside a reinforced shelter. After the missile collapsed the shelter’s alloy walls, Ivan entered while Deacon took cover.

• Ivan Vanko’s armor detected VX nerve agent, so its emergency system sealed him inside and deployed antidotes.
• Deacon Frost sheltered behind airtight alloy walls and self-repairing protective glass.
• Ivan Vanko struck the glass with his electric whip, then shattered a window to clear the poison gas.
• Ivan Vanko fired an enhanced anti-tank missile at Deacon Frost’s shelter, cracking the glass and collapsing the alloy walls.
• Deacon Frost used the remaining cover to protect himself as Ivan Vanko strode into the shelter.

Ivan Vanko took a Four-Star Dragon Ball from Deacon Frost, while Selena learned of another Dragon Ball in America and prepared to pursue it. At a Vampire gathering in London, Kraven discovered that Selena had left with a squad of Deathwalkers.

• Ivan Vanko blasted Deacon Frost's office, found a Four-Star Ball, and left with it.
• Deacon Frost emerged the next day, lamented the loss, and decided to rely on the Book of the Underworld.
• Makinos ordered his loyal butler and subordinates to search for Dragon Balls in the name of the Vampire race.
• Selena received a photograph of Deacon Frost with a Four-Star Ball, identified America as its location, and planned to go there despite Kraven's objections.
• At a Vampire banquet, the gathered families discussed Amelia awakening Elder Marcus and uniting against the New Era.
• Erika told Kraven that Selena had left with a squad of Deathwalkers, and he hurried upstairs to investigate.