Chapter Summaries

Rogers, Wanda, and Pietro fought their way through the iron fortresses to recover the remaining fragments, but Natasha ambushed Pietro and forced Wanda to reveal her overwhelming power. Wanda exposed Natasha by crushing her hiding place, leaving the siblings hesitant to attack their former instructor.

• Rogers ordered Pietro to check the four small fortresses again while Wanda held off the agents attacking them.
• Natasha struck Pietro with an electroshock device as he passed the last fortress, and Rogers rushed to pull him to safety.
• Rogers recognized Natasha and sent Wanda to cover him as he climbed toward the third floor.
• Rogers told Wanda to retrieve the third fragment and warned that they had to escape within thirty seconds.
• Wanda shielded herself and Pietro with a floating metal plate, then crushed Natasha's fortress with her powers.
• Natasha emerged from the wreckage, and Wanda and Pietro hesitated when they recognized their former instructor.

Leo treated the agents injured during Wanda and Pietro’s combat exercise, while Natasha assessed the twins’ weaknesses and need for more training. Leo and Natasha then headed to another training ground, where gunshots suggested a new exercise was underway.

• Leo left the observation room to heal the injured S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, restoring nearly a hundred of them to peak condition.
• Natasha gave the seriously injured agents time off and led the teams away as workers began clearing the training ground for demolition.
• Natasha told Leo that Wanda and Pietro still needed training, noting Wanda’s inexperience and Pietro’s weaknesses in endurance and reaction speed.
• Leo and Natasha agreed that the twins had made tremendous progress but still needed to develop their combat awareness.
• Leo and Natasha arrived at another training ground and heard gunshots from inside, prompting Leo’s interest.

Wanda effortlessly blocked a powerful warhead, while Leo urged the instructors to recognize her and Pietro’s extraordinary potential. After new training plans were made, Leo said he would leave soon to handle matters elsewhere and hinted that Scott might arrive in a few days.

• Wanda’s energy shield stopped Leo’s enormous warhead without a ripple, astonishing the people at the training ground.
• Leo praised Wanda and Pietro’s talents, encouraged Wanda to trust her abilities, and told Pietro to keep running to trigger his Super-Speed State again.
• Hill left to handle urgent matters, while Natasha and Rogers began planning more intense training and tactical programs for the siblings.
• Banner asked Leo about his trip to San Francisco, and Leo said he had gone to find someone and obtain important technology, adding that the man might arrive soon.
• Wanda asked whether Leo would stay, and Leo said he would soon leave to handle matters in Asgard, Norway, or elsewhere in the universe.

Leo returned to Black Prison and stopped a powerful bomb from destroying the gym, confirming that the facility was under attack. He suspected the attack was connected to the mole Maya had reported, while Jenny and George remained safe.

• Maya told George and Jenny that Black Prison had suffered attempted infiltrations and suspected a mole, with attackers possibly linked to Hydra or other organizations.
• Jenny and George said they might leave for China after Leo returned, and Leo arrived with Red Whale before they could decide.
• George demonstrated that the Extremis Enhancement Serum had given him fiery powers, but Leo sensed danger and stopped a bomb from detonating inside the gym.
• Leo searched the building for more bombs and found no others, while Maya and Stacy were shaken by the attack.
• Chen Haoran rushed in to check on Jenny and George, and Leo asked Maya whether there was a mole in Black Prison as Zost and the others arrived.

Banner finished his work on the Mark XLIV project, and Tony reunited with Leo at Avengers Tower. Leo asked Tony and Banner about Thor and the Hand, learning that both men had encountered the secretive assassin organization.

• Banner told Leo that Dr. Zhao had returned to Seoul and that Tony had been researching nanotechnology and developing an unusual idea.
• Tony arrived at Avengers Tower in the Mark XLIII armor, stepped out, and embraced Leo.
• Tony, Banner, and Leo shared whiskey, and Leo said he preferred Coke after drinking his glass.
• Leo asked where Thor was, and Tony said he remained in New Mexico after apparently falling out with his girlfriend.
• Leo asked about the Hand, and Tony and Banner described their past encounters with the assassin organization.

Leo and Thor traveled by Bifrost to Nidavellir, where Thor showed Leo the Dwarves’ star-powered forge and introduced him to the realm. The chapter ended as several Dwarves approached Thor on the landing platform.

• Leo entered the Bifrost with Thor and listened as Thor described the Dwarves’ forging skills and their Star Ring.
• Thor showed Leo Nidavellir, whose Star Ring enclosed a glowing core from a dying star.
• The Bifrost landed on a steel platform, where its leftover energy powered a machine that produced colorful crystals.
• Several Dwarves grabbed and ate the crystals, then Thor and Leo were approached by a group of Dwarves who greeted Thor.

Leo demonstrated his ability to refine Vibranium and forge a Horizontal Blade for Eitri, who offered to make him a stronger weapon and teach him about forging. The chapter ended with Leo eager to learn from Nidavellir’s accumulated expertise.

• Leo refined a piece of Vibranium in his hand, removing impurities and revealing that it came from a gigantic Infinity Stone.
• Leo shaped the refined metal into a Horizontal Blade and sharpened it with his bare hand.
• Eitri praised Leo’s refining but said his own forging could make a stronger blade, then snapped Leo’s first Vibranium blade in two.
• Eitri offered to forge Leo a stronger Horizontal Blade as a gift because he was Thor’s friend.
• Leo looked forward to learning Nidavellir’s forging knowledge while he was there.

Leo agreed to travel with Thor to Nidavellir to have a weapon forged, while Frigga grew wary of the Infinity Stones gathering and the danger they might bring. Thor opened the Bifrost, and he and Leo set off for Nidavellir.

• Frigga recognized Leo’s desire for peace but worried that his growing power and convictions could become dangerous.
• Leo showed Thor his horizontal blade, and Thor blocked its strike with Mjolnir, chipping the blade.
• Thor agreed to take Leo to Nidavellir, while Frigga suspected Leo was seeking a weapon for another Infinity Stone and feared the consequences.
• Thor and Leo returned to the Bifrost Citadel, where Heimdall opened a rainbow portal to Nidavellir.
• Thor leaped through the portal, beginning the journey with Leo.

Leo showed Eitri the Horizontal Blade he had forged, and Eitri examined its enchantment and craftsmanship. After learning that Leo had made it himself, Eitri placed the blade in a machine to test his forging skills.

• Eitri examined Leo's Horizontal Blade and criticized its makeshift sheath, then kept the sheath to modify.
• Leo explained that he had attached Spatial Energy to the blade, and Eitri tested its sharpness before scanning it.
• Eitri transferred the blade's Spatial Energy into an enchantment stone, then praised the blade's Mute Gold material and integral forging while noting flaws in its balance.
• Leo told Eitri that he had forged the blade himself and that Earth called Mute Gold Vibranium.
• Eitri placed the Horizontal Blade into a machine and told Leo to show him his forging skills.

Leo captured Ebony Maw after using metal to bind him, while the approaching Vanguard army threatened the group. Quill admitted he had risked himself to save Gamora, but his explanation left her speechless.

• Ebony Maw fled from the spinning wall toward his reinforcements as the Vanguard beast tide approached.
• Leo transformed the wall into a metal net, caught Ebony Maw, and then bound him in metal bands, leaving him captured and unable to move.
• Gamora helped the recovering Quill to his feet and asked why he had risked himself for her.
• Quill said he could not watch Gamora die and called his impulse a heroic spirit, leaving Gamora speechless.

Sanctum One bombarded Leo while he restrained Thanos, forcing Leo into a crater and rapidly draining his Golden Light Shield. Red Whale then attacked the warship, destroying several cannons, and Thanos ordered it captured.

• Sanctum One fired its cannons and Gravity Light Pillar at Leo while Leo tried to keep Thanos wrapped in metal.
• Thanos broke free, recovered from his wound, and ordered the Destruction Device activated as Sanctum One's bombardment overwhelmed Leo's shield and drove him into the ground.
• Leo commanded Red Whale to emerge from beneath the ground and attack Sanctum One.
• Red Whale smashed through a firing cannon and darted across the warship, setting more cannons ablaze as fighter craft deployed and repairs began.
• Thanos armed himself with a Stone Sword and ordered his forces to capture Red Whale.

Leo fought Thanos and the Chitauri army, surviving Sanctum One’s destructive barrage as his body grew stronger. As Leo turned his attention toward Supergiant Star, the Red Whale rammed Sanctum One and began biting into its hull.

• Thanos retreated after Leo wounded him, and Leo waited for his Golden Shield to recover before attacking the Chitauri forces.
• Leo controlled Chitauri soldiers and metal wreckage to kill attackers, then destroyed the last Leviathan Beast as Sanctum One charged its weapons.
• Sanctum One’s Energy Cannons blasted Leo, but he dodged the attack; the explosion wounded Proxima Midnight and sent Thanos flying until Ebony Maw caught him.
• Leo looked toward Supergiant Star in Sanctum One’s cockpit as the Red Whale struck the ship, destabilized its Gravity System, and swallowed a section of its hull.
• Supergiant Star ordered Sanctum One to direct its starboard energy at the Red Whale, prepare a Star-Destroying Missile, and aim for its head.

Leo fought Thanos above Sanctum One while Red Whale broke through the ship’s destructive energy fields and began to grow. Meanwhile, Corvus Glaive found the Star Ring at Nidavellir and sent a team to investigate.

• Red Whale destroyed more than eighty energy cannons, giving Leo room to escape the crater and pursue Thanos toward Sanctum One.
• Leo teleported above Thanos’s aircraft and crushed it, but Thanos used the Stone Sword to resist Leo’s control and charged at him.
• Leo’s Golden Light Beams began turning Thanos’s sword and skin to metal, but a laser cannon interrupted the attack as Thanos escaped and began purging the metallization with his strength.
• Ebony Maw regained consciousness and hurried to Thanos while Red Whale broke free of Sanctum One’s destructive energy fields and began swelling.
• Corvus Glaive approached Nidavellir’s Star Ring and sent a small team to infiltrate it so he could confirm the discovery to his master.

Leo survived the Star Killer Cannon by freezing its energy sphere in space and erasing it into nothingness, then disabled Sanctum One’s Destructive Energy Cannon. He captured Thanos and two others, while Thanos recognized that Leo had fully mastered the Space Stone.

• Leo emerged from the frozen energy sphere and erased it by tearing open a void that swallowed the sphere.
• Red Whale carried the weakened Leo as he opened Sanctum One’s hatch and warped the Destructive Energy Cannon’s components, causing it to explode.
• Thanos realized Leo had completely mastered the Space Stone and watched him with concern.
• Leo wrapped Thanos and two others in metal wreckage and pulled them toward him despite Sanctum One’s Gravity Light Pillar.

Corvus Glaive and the Vanguard attacked Nidavellir, overwhelming the Dwarves’ defenses as Eitri’s pleas for help from Asgard went unanswered. With the Star Ring’s shield close to breaking, Eitri stabbed himself in the thigh.

• Eitri began forging the Strength Bracer when a dwarf warned him that a huge fleet was attacking Nidavellir.
• Corvus Glaive arrived with a Type-Q Warship, blocked communications, and fired on the Star Ring.
• The Star Ring’s defenses stopped the first attack and aimed its cannons at the warship, but Corvus’s forces continued battering the shield and landed Vanguard soldiers on the ring.
• Eitri called Heimdall and sent a distress signal to Odin, but neither Asgardian responded while Loki dealt with Heimdall.
• As the Star Ring’s shield dimmed and cracked, Eitri stabbed himself in the thigh.

Leo arrived at Nidavellir as Corvus Glaive’s forces attacked the Dwarves, then single-handedly destroyed the enemy fleet and warship. The Star Ring’s defenders were relieved, but Corvus Glaive and the surviving invaders remained to be dealt with.

• Eitri welcomed Leo to Nidavellir and showed him the Dwarves’ fading defensive barrier as Thanos’s forces attacked.
• Leo recognized the Q-type Warship and Vanguard soldiers, while Corvus Glaive ordered them to break through the barrier and force the Dwarves to submit.
• Leo yanked the fighter craft and gunships out of the sky, sending them crashing into the Vanguard soldiers.
• Leo flew outside the Star Ring and tore apart the Q-type Warship, triggering explosions that scattered its forces.

Quill and his companions discussed the danger of seeking out Ego, Quill’s biological father, and Quill explained why he wanted to confront him. They headed to the landing pad to plan their next move, while Yondu’s group reacted to Howard the Duck’s sudden appearance.

• Lorelei and Howard warned Quill that Ego was dangerous, and Howard recalled that crews who visited Planet Ego had disappeared.
• Chen Haoran asked about Quill’s origins, and Quill remembered his mother, his painful return to Earth, and his resentment toward Ego for abandoning her.
• Quill resolved to confront Ego and make him understand what he had thrown away, while Lorelei chose not to repeat Yondu’s harsh words about him.
• Quill, Lorelei, Chen Haoran, and Howard hurried toward the landing pad to discuss their next move after resupplying on Kontraxia Star.
• Yondu’s group was startled when Howard suddenly appeared among them and began looking around, even taking an interest in one of their members.

After learning that Leo had defeated Thanos’s forces and left the Void Land, Quill and his companions wondered where he had gone. Unsure whether Leo was injured or occupied with something important, they decided to upgrade their ship and contact him again in five days.

• Difan told Quill and the others that Leo had left the Void Land, while the group learned that Thanos had escaped after suffering heavy losses.
• Quill, Rocket, and the others discussed where Leo might be, and Lorelei suggested he could be recovering or handling something more important.
• Chen Haoran asked the group what to do next, and Quill suggested contacting Leo through their Golden Light connection.
• Jason argued that they should not disturb Leo, and the group agreed they could not help him right now.
• Rocket proposed upgrading Ship 134’s weapons, so the group headed to a planet known for ship modifications and agreed to contact Leo in five days.

Rocket told Leo that Groot’s evolution had depleted his life essence and left him with only two months to live unless it was replenished. Leo examined Rocket’s research on War Treants and began considering how to save Groot.

• Rocket explained that buying advanced fertilizer had unexpectedly triggered Groot’s evolution.
• Rocket described Groot’s worsening condition: his body had grown, his movements had slowed, and signs of decay had appeared.
• Rocket told Leo that Groot had at most two months left and that six or more War Treants could normally share their vitality to help him evolve.
• Rocket gave Leo the translated War Treant material, which confirmed that Groot had lost too much life essence during his evolution.
• Leo read the material and considered how to restore Groot’s depleted life essence.

Leo told Rocket that Groot's Life Origin lacked a massive amount of life force, and Rocket began searching StarNet for powerful supplies that might help. With no other War Treants to find, Rocket faced a choice among expensive, risky, or abundant life-energy products.

• Leo explained that Groot needed a massive supply of life force, ideally from other War Treants, to recover.
• Rocket said War Treants had been missing for thousands of years and that finding one was unrealistic.
• Leo proposed giving Groot a large amount of Life Origin to see if it could fill the deficiency, and said Beck Stone alone was insufficient.
• Rocket browsed StarNet's trading platform for life-energy treasures and compared their costs, quantities, and risks.
• Rocket considered several options, including Tree of Life, ST-7 Energy Fluid, Galaxy Pure Water, and Life Concentrate Capsules, but remained unsure which to buy.