Chapter Summaries

Elson and Otto learned that Hydra had deeply infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and discussed Merlin Shaw’s remarkable inventions. As dawn broke, Elson ordered an assault on the S.H.I.E.L.D. base while players and guilds mobilized from Washington and Virginia Beach.

• Elson and Otto discussed how the mission platform had changed the way employers hired players and how guilds earned money.
• Elson learned that Alexander Pierce had led Hydra from within S.H.I.E.L.D., Arnim Zola might still be alive, and Crossbones was also part of the agency.
• Elson showed Otto Merlin Shaw’s many inventions, and Otto pointed out that players already used Merlin’s technology.
• Elson ordered the attack as armored suits, aircraft, helicopters, Transformers, and player vehicles advanced toward the S.H.I.E.L.D. base.
• Hellfire players arrived at Virginia Beach by submarine, while players from both major guilds and others moved into position for the coming battle.

The Holy Light Tribunal’s forces flew over Washington despite military warnings and reached the S.H.I.E.L.D. base, now controlled by Hydra. Hill, Natasha, and Hawkeye fought their way through the Helicarrier as they searched for a means to escape.

• The Holy Light Tribunal refused to detour around the White House, and Andrews Air Force Base let its forces pass while monitoring them.
• Pierce retook control of S.H.I.E.L.D. after Hydra members seized the agency, and he ordered Crossbones to hunt down Hill and Natasha.
• Hill, Natasha, and Hawkeye infiltrated the Helicarrier to reach its fighter jets and escape.
• Hawkeye, Hill, and Natasha silently took down three Hydra agents in a corridor.

Natasha and Hawkeye fought Crossbones as S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters came under attack and the Helicarrier launched. Knight Future Technology forces advanced on the carrier, and both sides began a large-scale aerial battle.

• Crossbones attacked Natasha and Hawkeye, but they defeated his Hydra squad while Hill disappeared.
• The Helicarrier’s launch alarm interrupted the fight, allowing Natasha and Hawkeye to escape as Crossbones headed for the deck.
• Crossbones saw Knight Future Technology’s aircraft, armored units, and ground forces advancing on S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
• The Helicarrier launched missiles and fighter jets, while Elson ordered his forces to disperse and deploy Signal Locators into the carrier.
• The opposing aircraft intercepted missiles, and the Helicarrier’s Phalanx close-in guns opened fire on the approaching fighters.

Players attacked S.H.I.E.L.D. by air and ground while a Hellfire squad used Stealth Suits to plant Virus Patches inside the base. The Planner confirmed two target sites and directed the squad toward Site A, whose underground server room was the next infiltration target.

• Players breached S.H.I.E.L.D.'s main gate with a Khanjali Tank and fought agents across the base as fighter jets battled overhead.
• Horn warned his team to treat the attack as a diversion, while Narin cautioned them that players could die for real.
• A Chernobyl anti-air missile vehicle destroyed attacking fighter jets as the battle filled the sky and ground with smoke.
• A Hellfire squad wearing Stealth Suits infiltrated the server room and planted Virus Patches on computer cases.
• The Planner linked the patches to access S.H.I.E.L.D.'s surveillance and data, then identified Site A and Site B and noted that Site A required entry into the underground server room.

The Holy Light Tribunal overwhelmed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier defenses and began an operation to capture the ship rather than destroy it. As Elson sent the Exoskeleton Squad inside to seize the central control room, Hellfire infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computer mainframe room.

• The Transformers and fighter jets drew apart the Helicarrier's Guard Cannons, then attacked its deck and destroyed the defenses.
• Crossbones pierced Superburn's chest with flame energy and escaped to a lower deck while a fighter jet pursued him.
• Elson decided the Holy Light Tribunal would try to take the Helicarrier as its new guild base instead of destroying it with the Orbital Cannon.
• The Exoskeleton Squad entered the Helicarrier with Otto, who planned to capture Crossbones for research, while Elson stayed aboard the Avengers to coordinate.
• Hellfire followed the Planner's instructions and infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computer mainframe room on the lowest level.

Tana learned that Arnim Zola had survived as a Computer Lifeform and was carrying out Project Cradle from inside S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computer room. Unable to attack him directly, she and Franklin considered using Hank Pym's Quantum Tracking Virus to locate him.

• Tana contacted Elson and paid him thirty million dollars for the interrogation report about Dr. Zola.
• Tana read that Zola had transferred his consciousness into a computer, used his algorithm for Project Cradle, and was targeting Bruce Banner and Cairo News.
• Tana asked Franklin whether he could infiltrate and kill Zola, but he said he needed a more powerful computer.
• Tana considered destroying the site with an Orbital Cannon, but Franklin stopped her and found a blueprint for Hank Pym's Quantum Tracking Virus.
• Franklin explained that the virus could track Zola without being detected, then asked Tana for six million dollars.

Franklin bought Hank Pym's Quantum Computer Virus Pack while Tana's infiltration team installed the Signal Locator inside S.H.I.E.L.D. When Hydra's defenses erupted into alarms and explosions, Pierce prepared to flee as Elson urged the assault on the Helicarrier to finish within the remaining time.

• Tana paid Franklin, who bought the Quantum Computer Virus Pack and explained that its virus would infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D.'s network while the team installed the Signal Locator.
• Dr. Zola discovered the infiltrators in the computer room, but the team smashed his monitor, planted the locator, and escaped as alarms sounded.
• Hydra agents found a bomb blocking the computer-room entrance, while a player warned that the Signal Locator could summon the Orbital Cannon in half an hour.
• Pierce judged the base's situation hopeless and headed for a hidden hangar to take the Iceberg stealth fighter.
• Elson rallied the guild to attack the Helicarrier, and Crossbones fired at Doctor Octopus, whose mechanical tentacles blocked the bullets.

Otto and the players captured the Helicarrier and began retreating before its Orbital Cannon fired. Natasha, Hill, and Hawkeye remained trapped aboard, unsure whether to wait for Fury or seek Merlin.

• Otto dodged Crossbones's attacks, defeated him, and carried him toward the Central Control Room with a player in Exoskeleton Armor.
• The Special Team reached the Central Control Room, where Otto began taking control of the Helicarrier with fifteen minutes left before the Orbital Cannon fired.
• Elson ordered the players to retreat, and the fighters and ground forces left the S.H.I.E.L.D. base while Transformers guarded the deck.
• Otto got the Helicarrier's engines running, and it followed the retreating players as the Shield Judgment Hall celebrated their capture.
• Natasha, Hill, and Hawkeye debated whether to wait for Fury or find Merlin while they remained aboard the Helicarrier.

Merlin and Arcee stormed Kingpin’s residence to rescue Hadeski and stop Kingpin, while Gwen searched for the captive. After Merlin killed Kingpin, he sensed a blue beam heading toward Washington, where it struck S.H.I.E.L.D. as Elson, Doctor Octopus, Tana, and the others watched.

• Merlin sent Gwen to search Kingpin’s residence for Hadeski, whom Kingpin had captured for the Optimized Super Soldier Serum formula.
• Kingpin threatened to cut off Hadeski’s leg to force Black Cat’s obedience, but Merlin and Arcee burst into the office.
• Merlin fired on Kingpin and his guards, then killed Kingpin when he attacked and crushed Merlin’s armor.
• Merlin noticed a blue beam piercing the clouds toward Washington.
• Elson and Doctor Octopus watched from above the Helicarrier as the beam struck S.H.I.E.L.D., while Tana and the others watched from the Orca submarine.

Doctor Octopus’s Orbital Cannon annihilated the S.H.I.E.L.D. base and shocked the world, while the Holy Light Tribunal Guild received rewards for completing the Hydra Destruction Mission. Elson learned that the guild had run out of Healing Potions and turned to its new Asset Teleportation Device.

• Doctor Octopus fired the Orbital Cannon, and its antimatter blast flattened the S.H.I.E.L.D. base and nearby hills while an electromagnetic surge disabled electronics across half of Washington.
• Elson, Doctor Octopus, and people around the world witnessed the destruction, and the Eagle president feared the blast could have wiped out Washington.
• Elson asked Otto about the cannon’s cost, and Otto said he had spent thirteen million to ensure the S.H.I.E.L.D. members could not escape.
• The platform announced that the Holy Light Tribunal Guild had completed the first Hydra Destruction Mission and granted it an Asset Teleportation Device, a Nuclear Fusion Engine Blueprint, and other rewards.
• A medical player told Elson that the guild had run out of Healing Potions, and Elson realized the Asset Teleportation Device might help.

After the destruction of the S.H.I.E.L.D. base, Elson and other players dealt with the aftermath while Merlin reunited Black Cat with her father and took over Kingpin’s criminal empire. Merlin received a Second Generation Arc Reactor from Tony Stark and prepared to upgrade Arcee as players began searching the world for Transformers.

• A player brought Elson Alexander Pierce’s corpse and reported that Pierce had died when his fighter jet crashed during the Electromagnetic Pulse.
• Players from several cities searched Washington for Hydra survivors, while Merlin reassured Black Cat that Spider-Man had found her father and she reunited with him.
• The S.H.I.E.L.D. base’s destruction drew worldwide attention to the R-Star Platform and its weapons.
• Merlin took over Kingpin’s industries in Liberty City and made them available as sales and plot missions for players.
• Merlin found Tony Stark’s Christmas gift, a Second Generation Arc Reactor, and recognized that energy remained a weakness for his armor.
• Players including John and Punisher left Apple City to search for Transformers and Sparks as Merlin prepared to upgrade Arcee.

After Fury discovered that the players had destroyed his base and stolen the Helicarrier, the world continued changing under their influence. A year later, Merlin completed the Arcee Gundam and tested its neural link with Arcee, leaving them connected and lifting off together.

• Fury returned with Coulson to find his base reduced to a crater, then learned that the players had also stolen the Helicarrier.
• Players continued missions involving Hydra and Transformers while new Baymax assistants, androids, Spider-Man’s Spider-Tank, and Iron Guard members appeared around the world.
• Natasha and Hawkeye carried out platform missions against Hydra and monitored Transformers activity, while Merlin spent the year working at his modification shop and Space Laboratory.
• Merlin completed an 18.88-meter Arcee Gundam equipped with advanced weapons, armor, and antimatter thrusters.
• Merlin entered the cockpit, underwent neural interaction with Arcee, and tested their synchronized movements and weapons.
• Merlin and Arcee activated the thrusters and slowly lifted the Gundam into the air.

Merlin completed the Neural Interface Link with Arcee and tested her new fighter form, then entered the game world and met The Deceased in Central Node City. He asked about Sam’s progress as he continued preparing to take Amelie’s place as the world’s Extinction Body.

• Merlin merged with Arcee and launched her into the sky after a year of work on the mech chassis.
• Merlin transformed Arcee into a Helicarrier fighter and tested her speed, reaching a maximum of sixty Mach before her body could no longer withstand more.
• Merlin entered the game world and arrived at a laboratory in Central Node City.
• The Deceased greeted Merlin and spoke with him as Merlin asked how Sam’s progress was going.
• Merlin continued working on the virtual testing bench after Amelie had agreed that he would become the world’s Extinction Body while humanity transferred its consciousness to another world.

Merlin joined Sam and Amelie on the Beach as Amelie revealed that she had planned to accelerate the Great Extinction through the Chiral Network. Having abandoned that plan after Merlin’s arrival, she left Sam to decide whether to kill her or let the extinction proceed.

• The Deceased told Merlin that Sam had completed the Chiral Network, and Amelie prepared to reveal the truth to him.
• Heartman asked Merlin to accompany him to the Beach, and Fragile used her umbrella to send Merlin there.
• Merlin arrived on a desolate Beach and saw Sam aiming a handgun at Amelie as she walked toward the sea.
• Amelie’s history revealed that she had used Sam and the Chiral Network to hasten the Great Extinction, but had abandoned that plan after Merlin arrived.
• Amelie left Sam to choose whether to kill her or let the Great Extinction proceed.

Merlin shot Amelie on the Beach to stop the Great Extinction, then underwent a heart transplant using her heart and an improved Super Soldier Serum. He woke with enhanced strength and a growing connection to Amelie's Beach.

• Amelie offered Sam the choice to let the world end or kill her to delay the Great Extinction, and Sam chose to face the end with her.
• Merlin shot Amelie, the Beach began to collapse, and Fragile teleported Sam away while Heartman prepared the medical room.
• Merlin carried Amelie's body to Heartman and underwent surgery to have her heart transplanted into him.
• The Beach's destruction subsided, and Merlin woke with a stronger body and heartbeat after the transplant and Serum injection.
• Merlin sensed his connection forming with Amelie's Beach, and Heartman excitedly affirmed his theory about the heart's link to Ka.

After returning from the Beach, Merlin began designing a player revival system and continued his research until Little Mute alerted him to the coming battle at Hydra’s Sokovia base. Stark then asked Merlin to help with the Sokovia operation, and Merlin agreed to meet him.

• Merlin left the Beach after discussing his plans with Heartman and took a USB drive from beside Amelie.
• Back in his Collection Room, Merlin planned to connect players to the Beach through the Chiral Network and R-Star Platform, with BTs and a Necromancer profession as possible parts of the revival system.
• Little Mute told Merlin that Hellfire, Tana, Stark, and the Holy Light Tribunal were preparing to attack Hydra’s Sokovia base, where Dr. Zola, Baron Strucker, and Decepticons were targets.
• Merlin read forum posts showing that players had divided between the Autobots and Hydra, with many discussing whether to join the Sokovia battle.
• Stark called Merlin about the Sokovia operation, and Merlin agreed to meet him after Stark offered to send Happy.

Stark gathered Merlin, Natasha, and Hawkeye to plan a mission in Sokovia to capture Dr. Zola and stop Project Cradle. The group reached the battlefield, where the players’ forces clashed with the Decepticons.

• Stark explained that Hellfire had tracked Dr. Zola to Sokovia and asked Merlin, Natasha, and Hawkeye to help capture him.
• Stark assigned Natasha and Hawkeye to plug a Data Storage Device into the computer holding Dr. Zola while Merlin sealed off the surrounding network.
• Stark said he would handle Dr. Zola’s Iron Legion, and the group agreed to leave the next day.
• In Sokovia, armored vehicles, aircraft, and Transformers advanced through the forest toward the Decepticons’ stronghold.
• Shatter attacked the players’ aerial forces, and Drift transformed and charged at her as the battle began.

Players and Transformers attacked Hydra forces in Sokovia but were overwhelmed by Tesseract-powered weapons and began retreating. The Holy Light Tribunal arrived aboard a colossal Helicarrier, changing the battlefield’s prospects.

• Drift fought Shatter and Ballbreaker in the sky while Crosshairs and other Transformers battled Decepticons.
• Hydra riders ambushed the players in the forest with Tesseract-derived energy weapons that pulverized fighters and vehicles.
• Starscream blasted Drift out of the sky, and a voice over the headset called for everyone to retreat.
• The players began withdrawing before a vast shadow covered the battlefield.
• The Holy Light Tribunal’s Helicarrier descended, and the players cheered at its arrival.

The Holy Light Tribunal deployed its Helicarrier and a formidable Mech Corps, cableway, and player forces to the battlefield, stunning both factions. As Elson focused on the fight, Starscream escaped unnoticed once again.

• The Holy Light Tribunal's Helicarrier arrived, and its three-unit Helicarrier Knights transformed above the battlefield.
• The Helicarrier launched aircraft and deployed an electromagnetic cableway that brought Exoskeleton players and logistics teams down to the ground.
• Elson and Doctor Octopus directed the operation from the control room while their staff managed supplies and battlefield reports.
• Doctor Octopus reported that Starscream had vanished, and Elson concluded they should deal with the nearby enemies first.
• Otto compared Hydra's weapons footage with recordings from World War II and found a close resemblance.

Elson and Doctor Octopus discussed Hydra’s advanced World War II weapons and the mysterious absence of the Hellfire Guild as the battle began. Holy Light Tribunal forces and Exoskeleton-equipped players overwhelmed Hydra and the Decepticons, while the chapter ended with a player inspecting a weapon taken from a defeated Hydra rider.

• Elson wondered why the Hellfire Guild had vanished from the major mission, and Doctor Octopus said its Planner had filled the Guild’s network with Viruses.
• The Holy Light Tribunal joined the aerial battle, and a sniper Transformer shot Shatter out of the sky.
• Drift explained that the Tribunal’s Transformers were powered by Decepticon Sparks, raising concerns among both Decepticons and Autobots about human intentions.
• A coordinated team of Hydra Transformers killed Decepticons, collected their Sparks, and harassed the enemy across the battlefield.
• An Exoskeleton-equipped player froze a Hydra rider, punched him off his motorcycle, and examined the weapon he had taken.