Chapter Summaries

Pierce ordered the Winter Soldier to kill two Level Six targets and shot his longtime nanny when she unexpectedly witnessed them together. Meanwhile, Leo flew Rogers and Natasha to Washington on Red Whale, where Rogers prepared to uncover Project Insight and Leo warned them about the man with the Metal Arm.

• Pierce told the Winter Soldier that two Level Six targets had to die within ten hours and promised to send him Zola's information.
• Pierce shot Renate twice after she returned to retrieve her phone and saw him with the Winter Soldier, who vanished as the shots were fired.
• Rogers told Natasha that a retired soldier outside S.H.I.E.L.D. had given him the location of a place to stay in Washington.
• Red Whale grew to several meters long, carried Leo, Rogers, and Natasha, and flew them from New Jersey to downtown Washington in less than two minutes.
• Leo told Rogers and Natasha he would deal with their enemies, warned them to be careful of the man with the Metal Arm, and wondered what to do about Bucky.

Quill and Rocket completed the Milan II, an expensive, heavily armed spaceship built to their competing designs. The crew boarded and launched it into space.

• Quill and Rocket oversaw the Milan II’s final modifications at Chetlo Shipyard, creating a larger ship with powerful weapons and a detachable backup warship.
• Rocket and Quill argued over the ship’s colors, laser mining device, and weapons until Lorelei and Groot stopped them.
• Quill invited everyone aboard, and the crew explored the ship’s exquisite interior.
• The Milan II took off from the shipyard and entered space.

Leo tested the New Extremis Serum’s effects on Reiz, who showed enhanced strength and extraordinary healing without a significant rise in temperature. The chapter ended with S.H.I.E.L.D. narrowing its search for the Golden Legend while Pierce grew increasingly anxious to uncover his identity.

• Leo restrained Reiz and assessed his reaction after the serum healed a cut on his neck.
• Zost reported that Reiz’s physical fitness surpassed Brom’s after his previous full injection, and Leo proposed testing his recovery.
• Reiz stabbed himself in the abdomen, then explained that the pain was brief as his wound rapidly healed.
• Leo inflicted numerous deep cuts on Reiz, and Reiz’s wounds healed completely in under half a minute without significant heat.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. analyzed information on hundreds of Asian men, while Pierce grew more urgently concerned about finding the Golden Legend.

Maya tested the optimized Extremis Serum by shooting Reiz, whose wounds healed rapidly and whose combat instincts sharpened under pressure. Leo then prepared to test the serum’s limits by aiming seven assault rifles at Reiz.

• Maya explained that repeated experiments on Chen Haoran had helped her optimize the Extremis Serum and reveal humanity’s hidden potential.
• Maya shot Reiz at close range, and he dodged her continued fire before charging at her with heightened strength and focus.
• Reiz’s wounds healed quickly, and he told Zost and Maya that the serum let him keep fighting despite bullets and made time seem to slow down.
• Maya judged the pistol too weak to test the serum’s limits, and Leo offered to test Reiz himself.
• Leo summoned seven assault rifles and aimed them at Reiz to test how the serum responded to machine-gun suppression.

Leo tested Reiz’s Extremis abilities by firing seven assault rifles at him, and Reiz survived, regenerated, and grew increasingly agitated. The chapter ended with Reiz charging Leo with glowing fists as a wave of heat swept across the laboratory.

• Reiz tried to flee as seven assault rifles fired at him, but he was hit and hurled through the air.
• Reiz instinctively dodged the next volley, retreated behind a metal plate, and rapidly healed his wounds.
• Zost and Dick worried about Reiz, while Maya explained that he had fully activated the Extremis Serum and would need nutrients or another injection after extensive repairs.
• Leo ordered the rifles to fire again, reigniting Reiz’s agitation and raising his body temperature above a hundred degrees.
• Reiz advanced toward Leo under fire, then charged with glowing fists as a surging wave of heat swept toward the group.

Pierce reviewed three suspects in the search for Golden Legend and ordered more investigation into two of them. At the Black Prison Tower, Reiz’s altered reaction prompted Maya to explain the Extremis Serum’s mechanisms and the dangers of Killian’s defective version.

• Pierce examined files on Zhongyu Yang, Tiantian Miao, and Li Guoqiang, but decided Li was not Golden Legend and deferred dealing with him.
• Pierce ordered investigators to thoroughly check Yang and Miao, including their recent activities, homes, and families.
• Reiz rose with a fading fiery glow and a temperature above a hundred degrees, leading Zost to ask whether the Extremis Soldier had lost its superheated attack.
• Maya explained that the Extremis Serum activated the body’s healing potential, while the original method was unstable and could make subjects explode.
• Maya said Killian’s defective serum depleted the body’s energy and lifespan, but insisted that the current results were different.

Natasha and Rogers fought the Winter Soldier on the highway while Leo was unreachable, leaving Natasha badly wounded and near death. Leo arrived from the sky, saved her from a grenade, healed her shoulder, and sent the Winter Soldier flying as Rogers reached them.

• Natasha called Leo, then fired at the Winter Soldier and drew enemy fire while Rogers escaped the bus under attack.
• Sam helped Rogers fight back, and Rogers rushed after Natasha to protect her from the Winter Soldier.
• Natasha ambushed the Winter Soldier with a garrote, but he overpowered her and shot her shoulder.
• Leo sensed Natasha's danger, redirected a grenade toward the Winter Soldier, and descended beside her.
• Leo pulled the bullet from Natasha's shoulder and healed her wound, then sent the Winter Soldier flying as Rogers arrived.

Leo learned that Natasha needed his help while Pierce searched for Golden Legend and waited for the World Security Council members to arrive. In New York, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents found clues linking Liu Chong to a Stark-sponsored student exchange and continued their investigation until they reached Isis's home.

• J.A.R.V.I.S. detected suspicious people in S.H.I.E.L.D., and Leo used Stark's modified glasses to locate them.
• Leo told Hill that Natasha was preparing to infiltrate a target on a plane, and Hill went with him to help.
• Pierce learned the assault team's mission had failed and ordered agents to identify Golden Legend before the Helicarriers took off.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. agents investigating Liu Chong found no school or public records, but discovered a gap in the records of Stark's first student exchange meeting.
• Agents searched the homes of Liu Chong's former classmates in Queens and reached the home of a girl named Isis.

Maya delayed giving Rando and the others Extremis Serum until she could assess its effects on Reiz, who woke from his coma feeling restored. Stacy discovered that the serum had repaired Reiz’s telomerase, extending his expected lifespan to at least three hundred years.

• Maya told Rando and the others that they had to wait for Reiz to wake up before she could decide whether to give them Extremis Serum, citing his pain and unusual urge to fight.
• Maya said the serum might amplify a person’s existing desires and wanted to assess Reiz’s behavior before proceeding; she estimated the next injection could happen within a week if there were no problems.
• Reiz woke, removed his IV, and said he felt healthy and ready to rejoin the team, though he could not recreate his powerful battle state without extreme agitation or more energy.
• Maya questioned Reiz about his condition while Stacy recorded the examination, and Reiz said he felt no unusual urge to fight.
• Stacy discovered that Reiz’s telomerase had been repaired and his cells were no longer bound by the Hayflick Limit; Maya estimated that he could live for at least three hundred years.

Rando fought off three intruders and revealed a powerful lava-like energy trait, leaving one man critically injured. Maya and Zost decided to preserve the intruders for the boss to judge, while Chen Haoran drew crimson energy from the injured man and Zost went to report the attack.

• Rando used his lava-like fists to defeat two armed intruders, though an electric baton briefly weakened his second attack.
• Maya found one intruder near death from severe burns and ordered someone to call Chen Haoran.
• Rando told Maya and Zost that the intruders had targeted the boss, but Maya insisted they keep them alive until the boss could decide what to do.
• Chen Haoran arrived, examined the injured man, and drew crimson energy from his body.
• Zost left to tell the boss about the attack despite Chen Haoran questioning whether it warranted a report.

Leo recognized three infiltrators’ response to a Hydra code phrase and ordered Zost to interrogate them. After learning they had sought information about Leo’s relatives, he declared that anyone who knew the phrase was not from S.H.I.E.L.D. and ordered the surviving captive killed.

• Leo tested the three captives with a Hydra code phrase, then left Zost to interrogate them after they answered correctly.
• Leo congratulated Rando for regaining the ability to stand with the Extremis Serum, but learned Rando had lost a fight to Chen Haoran.
• Leo checked through J.A.R.V.I.S. that Jenny and George were safe and sleeping in China.
• Zost reported that two captives had died from poison and the survivor said they had been sent to find Leo’s relatives and bring them to S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Leo told Zost the captives were not S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and ordered him to kill the survivor.

After receiving the Extremis Serum, Rando regained his ability to walk and fought three agents who were investigating the Golden Legend. He overwhelmed them with his regenerative powers and molten hands, and the two remaining agents charged him with a blade and stun baton.

• Rando leaped over the bulletproof shield and challenged the three agents to a fight rather than let them investigate the Golden Legend.
• The agents fired tranquilizer bullets and then live ammunition, but Rando kept advancing as the Extremis Serum healed him.
• Rando's hands developed glowing lava patterns, and he melted an agent's handgun before kicking its owner away.
• Rando turned toward the two remaining agents, who dropped their guns and charged him with a blade and stun baton.

Leo and the others took control of the last Helicarrier while Red Whale helped disable the other two. After Leo copied the carrier’s database, he arrived to stop Hydra’s escape and began clearing the remaining forces.

• Nick Fury urged Sam to reach the last Helicarrier and insert a Blade Chip so Hill could take control.
• Red Whale carried Rogers onto the last Helicarrier, while Leo copied its database and turned the second carrier into metal for Red Whale.
• Rogers and Sam inserted their Blade Chips, and Hill shut down the last Helicarrier’s weapons and thrusters, making it descend.
• Hydra forces attacked Rogers and Sam, but they held their ground until Leo arrived and returned the gunfire of two squads, killing them.
• Leo ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to identify the personnel aboard and sent dozens of flying shuttles after the red-marked Hydra targets.

Simmons convinced Agent Hand that Coulson’s connection to the Golden Legend made killing him too risky, so Hand ordered her agents to capture Coulson’s group with freeze guns. After escaping the Airbus through a tunnel made by Fitz’s Mole Drill, the group split up to reclaim the aircraft and rescue Simmons, while Garrett proposed killing Hand.

• Simmons told Agent Hand that Coulson had met with the Golden Legend several times and defended Coulson’s actions, persuading Hand not to harm him.
• Agent Hand ordered her agents to use freeze guns and bring Coulson’s group in alive.
• Coulson’s group avoided the boarding Combat Squad by escaping the Airbus through a tunnel cut by Fitz’s Mole Drill.
• Skye and Ward headed for the control center to disable the systems and retake the aircraft, while Coulson’s group planned to rescue Simmons and the others.
• Garrett suggested reaching Agent Hand through the ventilation system and killing her, but Coulson questioned why they would not interrogate her first.

Coulson and May discovered that the secret line reported Director Fury dead, while Garrett concealed his own plans and helped the team prepare for a Hydra assault on the Airbus. As the aircraft came under attack near the Central Base, Ward joined the group and learned that Agent Hand was the Clairvoyant.

• Garrett questioned Coulson about how he had dealt with the fighter jets, but Coulson changed the subject and spoke with May.
• May broke her metal restraints and warned Coulson that Garrett was hiding something; their call on the secret line instead reported that Director Fury was dead.
• Coulson released Ward as the Airbus approached the Central Base, and the aircraft came under attack from shockwave weapons.
• Garrett told Ward that Agent Hand was the Clairvoyant, and Ward understood Garrett's warning without either man explaining further.
• Skye backed up the aircraft's confidential data while Garrett and Fitz prepared traps at the cargo bay; Coulson urged Skye not to rely on outside help.

Garrett revealed that he had defected to Hydra and threatened Coulson, May, and Fitz while discussing Golden Legend’s identity. As Garrett ordered his agents to shoot Fitz, Coulson appeared to be trying to contact Golden Legend.

• Garrett admitted to Coulson, May, and Fitz that he had joined Hydra and urged them to do the same.
• Coulson refused to serve Hydra and challenged Garrett over whether he could deal with Golden Legend.
• Garrett revealed that Hydra knew Golden Legend’s identity was Liu Chong and threatened to use his family against him.
• Garrett offered Fitz a position in Hydra, but Fitz refused and vowed that Golden Legend would stop them.
• Fitz realized Coulson was trying to contact Golden Legend through the Golden Light, and Garrett ordered his agents to shoot Fitz in the knee.

Coulson endured Garrett’s interrogation and declared his faith in the Golden Legend, while Ward fought through Hydra agents to reach Skye. After wiping out Hydra members at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, Leo sensed that Coulson had been injured and left for the Central Base.

• Garrett noticed Golden Light coming from Coulson, questioned him about the Golden Legend, and threw him to the floor.
• Skye and Ward approached the processing center, and Ward asked Skye to get a drink with him if they survived.
• Skye told Ward that the Golden Legend had gone to help another branch but would return, and Ward charged into the agents outside.
• Ward knocked six agents unconscious with the Freeze Gun, then killed four attackers with his dagger and concealed their bodies.
• Leo finished killing Hydra members at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, retrieved J.A.R.V.I.S., and arrived at the Cube Prison.
• Leo sensed through his Golden Light that Coulson had been injured and disappeared from the Cube Prison.

After Hydra agents triggered a rebellion at the Cube Prison, dozens of prisoners escaped and began attacking people on a nearby road. Leo killed the escapees, and the prison warden used the footage to restore order while keeping the facility under control.

• Hydra agents at the Cube Prison were killed by S.H.I.E.L.D. guards, but they had opened the cells and allowed dozens of prisoners to escape.
• A large escaped prisoner attacked a family in a car and prepared to kill the driver.
• Leo arrived and used Metal Darts to kill the escaped prisoners nearby.
• The Cube Prison warden watched Leo’s intervention on surveillance footage and recognized him as the Golden Legend.
• The warden showed the footage to the remaining prisoners, discouraging further escape attempts, and the guards held the prison until the incident ended.

Rocket bought Groot’s needed treatments and supplies, with Leo covering the cost, then waited to collect them until Ego’s business was finished. On Planet Ego, Ego took Mantis aboard his spacecraft and set off to find Yondu and the child he believed Yondu had taken.

• Rocket hesitated over which items to buy for Groot, so Leo offered to pay for all of them.
• Rocket ordered the Tree of Life, ST-7 Energy Fluid, Galaxy Pure Water, the Flower of Revival, and fifty Life Compression Capsules, paying the deposits and contacting the sellers.
• Rocket prepared to change course to collect the goods, but Leo persuaded him to wait until Ego had finished dealing with the matter.
• Ego told Mantis he needed to find Yondu and the child, and reminisced about Earth and his love for Meredith.
• Ego led Mantis aboard his spacecraft and flew toward the Warp Point nearest Planet Ego.

Quill and Gamora grew closer while dancing, but their disagreement over Ego’s intentions escalated as Quill became convinced that Ego was his family. Gamora returned to Leo and the others, who realized Ego was influencing Quill and that he needed to leave immediately.

• Quill and Gamora danced together, shared a romantic moment, and teased each other about their feelings until Rocket interrupted them over the communicator.
• Rocket and Gamora warned Quill that Ego and the planet were dangerous, but Quill defended Ego and accused Gamora of being jealous of his godly heritage.
• Gamora left Quill after telling him that Ego had killed his other children and that he already had a family.
• Ego entered the room and found Quill confused, then invited him to talk, satisfied with his son’s state.
• Gamora returned to Leo and the others and reported that Quill seemed to have forgotten their warnings and fully trusted Ego.
• Mantis confirmed that Ego could influence Quill, prompting Gamora to conclude that Quill needed to leave at once.