Chapter Summaries

Agent Hand secured S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Central Base after Garrett’s capture, while Leo left to rescue the other bases. At Triskelion, Fury and the remaining leaders faced the destruction and waited for news as S.H.I.E.L.D. began rescuing its people and imprisoning Hydra agents.

• Agent Hand met Leo and confirmed that her team was purging Central Base after Garrett was defeated.
• Leo vanished to rescue the other bases, leaving Coulson and Hand to discuss Hydra’s infiltration and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s uncertain future.
• Hand’s agents escorted the captured Hydra members away, while Trip reacted angrily to Garrett’s betrayal and Ward denied knowing about Garrett’s activities.
• News crews gathered at the ruined Triskelion, where the vanished Helicarriers and enormous whale left witnesses puzzled.
• Nick Fury told Natasha, Hill, and the Huaguo Council Member to rescue S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, imprison captured Hydra members, and wait for news.

Leo inspected S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Cold Storage, a heavily guarded vault for mysterious objects and dangerous prisoners, then moved on to Sandbox Base. He found Sandbox caught up in unprecedented madness, leaving the cause of the crisis unclear.

• Leo arrived at Cold Storage and learned it held powerful, unexplained objects and superpowered prisoners.
• Leo scanned the facility, saw no signs of unrest, and disappeared without staying.
• Cold Storage’s staff detected Leo’s appearance, raised the entry clearance, and tightened security while awaiting orders from Director Fury.
• Leo arrived at Sandbox Base, where scientific research and the work of criminal talents had expanded to include biological technology.
• Leo found that unprecedented madness had broken out at Sandbox Base.

Coulson urged his team to trust Golden Legend and prepare for S.H.I.E.L.D. to go into hiding after the attacks on its bases. News then arrived that several major branches had quelled their unrest and were safe, with more bases checking in.

• Coulson told Agent Hand he trusted Golden Legend, and Agent Hand left with Agent Ward.
• Coulson told his team that S.H.I.E.L.D. remained in danger and might need to hide while it rebuilt.
• Skye questioned why S.H.I.E.L.D. should hide if Golden Legend had saved its branches and Director Fury was alive.
• Agent Trip spotted communication points lighting up across the map, and Skye reported that several major bases were safe.
• Skye projected a map showing more than twenty small bases checking in, with the number still rising.

Coulson’s team watched the Golden Legend destroy Popova Base and rallied around the hope that S.H.I.E.L.D. could still survive. At Triskelion Headquarters, Nick Fury weighed the remaining time against the bases being lost and worried over the cost of the destruction.

• The footage showed rebar tearing through Popova Base, killing Hydra members and collapsing the ten-story facility.
• Skye marked Popova Base on the map as an orange point, and Coulson ordered her to recover the Airbus data and send the latest information to Headquarters.
• Coulson directed Fitz, Simmons, and May to repair the Airbus while the team regained its fighting spirit.
• At the Triskelion, Natasha and Rogers watched the marked base map as officials and crowds waited outside Headquarters.
• Nick Fury said the officials would give S.H.I.E.L.D. time, but he watched more bases turn into white points and felt the financial loss.

Leo wiped out Hydra forces at Sandbox Base and rescued the trapped S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and researchers, then took copies of the base’s documents. After Tony Stark called to report simultaneous battles across the country, Leo continued toward the remaining Hydra bases while Stark flew to Los Angeles to protect Pepper.

• Leo saw Hydra forces encircling S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and researchers at Sandbox Base and killed the surrounding attackers with his Metal Darts.
• Leo killed Hydra squads at the airfield and searched the base, eliminating more than a hundred additional Hydra members.
• The surviving hostages and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents regrouped and began restoring Sandbox Base.
• Leo copied every document in the archive and prepared to continue clearing other bases.
• Tony Stark called Leo about Hydra attacks across the country, then flew to Los Angeles because he was worried about Pepper.

The Chitauri and their reinforcements overwhelmed the Baronians, destroying their war fortresses and breaking their army. As defeat became unavoidable, the Baronians launched Big Mushrooms at Thanos and prepared more for a wider attack.

• The Chitauri fought fiercely against the outnumbering Baronians while the war fortresses inflicted heavy casualties on them.
• Thanos ordered the deployment of Ghoul troops, and Orbital Fortresses smashed the Baronians’ war fortresses before releasing nearly twenty thousand Ghouls.
• The Ghouls and Obsidian Four Generals devastated the Baronian forces as their air support and Leviathan Beast battles also turned against them.
• The Baronian commanders argued over whether to use Big Mushrooms, then the leading general ordered an attack aimed especially at Thanos.
• The Baronians launched several Big Mushrooms toward the battlefield, scanned space for the alien ships, and readied more weapons on Baron Star.

Leo arrived at Coulson’s aircraft as Garrett came under attack, and warned Coulson not to trust anyone solely because of their friendship. After Leo destroyed the pursuing drones and missiles, he restrained May and left to deal with other problems, while Agent Victoria Hand planned to eliminate the team after they landed.

• Coulson told Garrett that control of his aircraft had been lost, while Leo learned that Ward had killed the supposed Clairvoyant and that Hydra had been exposed at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
• Leo spotted Garrett’s aircraft being pursued by armed drones and missiles, then cautioned Coulson that Garrett’s identity and loyalties could not be trusted without evidence.
• Leo crushed the two drones and detonated the missiles in midair, allowing Garrett to dock with Coulson’s aircraft.
• Leo bound May to a chair, warned Coulson that Garrett seemed to be hiding something, and vanished to address other problems.
• Agent Victoria Hand learned that Garrett had docked with the Airbus and decided to wait until the aircraft landed before eliminating everyone aboard while keeping the aircraft intact.

Thanos’s forces and Baron Planet’s army began a massive battle, as the Baronian commanders feared the technological gap despite their overwhelming numbers. The Chitauri airships clashed with Baron fighters first, inflicting heavy losses on both sides while Thanos remained unmoved by the deaths around him.

• A young Baron officer dismissed Thanos’s small army, but an elderly general struck him and warned that the invaders’ ability to cross the galaxy made them too dangerous to underestimate.
• Baron commanders saw Thanos shrug off gunfire and artillery and ordered their bombers and War Fortresses to attack with everything they had.
• Thanos raised his greatsword and sent the Chitauri, Leviathans, and airship riders charging at the Baron forces.
• Chitauri airships and Baron fighter jets opened fire, with laser beams detonating most incoming missiles and damaging aircraft on both sides.
• More than twenty Baron fighters crashed and over forty Chitauri airships burned in the first clash, while Thanos watched without concern.

Skye discovered that a S.H.I.E.L.D. base had gone silent, then uncovered evidence that hostile agents were killing its personnel and taking over other bases. The chapter ended with surveillance footage revealing Steel Tendons bursting through Popova Base and bringing the entire structure down.

• Skye used Central Base's authorization to investigate the silent base and found no people or activity there.
• Skye tracked Golden Legend's route and identified Popova Base as its likely next destination.
• Skye accessed Popova Base's surveillance feeds, where Coulson and the others saw armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents execute wounded personnel and discuss a takeover.
• The agents destroyed the cameras, and Skye replayed the footage after Coulson ordered her to rewind it.
• Skye, Coulson, Simmons, and Trip saw Steel Tendons erupt from Popova Base's walls and cause the entire base to collapse.

Jason led Little Jie and Roller through Xandar with Rocket and Groot, while Rocket kept hoping for a chance to capture Star-Lord for Yondu. The group reached the broker district, where Star-Lord delivered the Orb of Power to The Broker, leaving the mission's outcome pending.

• Jason introduced Little Jie and Roller to Rocket and Groot, and Groot repeated his familiar phrase while Rocket laughed at Jason.
• Roller explained that Groot's language used only three words and that Rocket had been teasing Jason, while two purple-skinned beings reacted strangely to her voice.
• Jason pulled Roller away to hide her Mind Control ability, and Little Jie began searching for information about Groot's language.
• Rocket failed to catch Star-Lord before the group reached the broker district and Jason's Red Whale Shop.
• Star-Lord entered Broker's Shop and told The Broker that he had completed the mission and brought the Orb of Power.

After Leo woke from a four-hour sleep in Nevada, he learned that Hydra had evacuated the remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. bases he had attacked. Tony brought him back to Avengers Tower, where Banner was following the Triskelion incident on the news.

• Tony found Leo asleep in a crater in Nevada and woke him, triggering a golden shockwave that sent Tony flying.
• Leo regained his senses and caught Tony in midair, then healed him after the shockwave injured him.
• Leo remembered destroying Hydra-occupied S.H.I.E.L.D. bases and learned he had been asleep for about four hours.
• Leo checked the remaining eight bases and found them empty, with their data and equipment removed and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents dead.
• Tony told Leo that J.A.R.V.I.S. could track the scattered Hydra teams, then explained that Fury had been worried when Leo went silent.
• Leo teleported with Tony to Avengers Tower, where Banner greeted them while watching coverage of the Triskelion incident.

Thanos learned that Gamora and Nebula had failed to retrieve the Orb of Power, while Star-Lord escaped with it and headed toward Xandar. The chapter left Gamora pursuing the Orb and Star-Lord planning to sell it to the Broker and visit the Red Whale Shop.

• Supergiant Star told Thanos that Gamora had a lead on the Orb, and Thanos asked how long it would take to balance Baron Star.
• Ronan learned from Kollat that Star-Lord worked for the Broker on Xandar, where Ronan could not safely go himself.
• Ronan assigned Nebula to retrieve the Orb, but Gamora took the mission instead and defied his intimidation.
• Star-Lord examined his new Element Guns, recalled the Earthling from the Red Whale Shop, and kept the Orb of Power.
• Star-Lord planned to sell the Orb to the Broker and visit the Red Whale Shop.

Leo entrusted Bucky Barnes, the brainwashed Winter Soldier, to Wakanda for examination and possible treatment before leaving. After Leo departed, T'Chaka learned that Shuri had escaped the laboratory and was heading toward them.

• Leo explained Bucky's Hydra brainwashing and hidden trigger to T'Chaka, and asked Wakanda to treat him or keep him safely contained.
• T'Chaka agreed that Wakanda would examine Bucky and do its best to help him.
• When T'Challa tried to restrain him, Bucky attacked, but T'Challa quickly subdued him and Dora Milaje secured him with Vibranium chains.
• Leo gave T'Chaka his private number, then left Wakanda with Red Whale by passing through its defensive barrier.
• A Dora Milaje began reporting Bucky's history as Steve Rogers' brother and a Navy SEAL, while T'Chaka received word that Shuri had escaped the laboratory and was approaching.

Jason and Roller went to Xandar Square after Little Jie spotted Rocket and Groot, whom Leo had asked them to watch. Rocket complained about his condemned spaceship and scanned for bounty targets while Groot drank from a fountain, leaving the pair unaware that Jason and Roller were coming to find them.

• Little Jie told Jason and Roller that he had seen a Treant and a raccoon beside the Giant Egg Theater.
• Jason and Roller left the Red Whale Shop to look for Rocket and Groot, with Jason warning Roller not to use her ability or speak outside.
• Rocket complained that Xandar's aviation administration had condemned his spaceship and spent his compensation on equipment and another barely flyable ship.
• Rocket scanned Xandar Square for wanted criminals while Groot drank from a fountain.
• Rocket scolded Groot for drinking dirty fountain water and accused him of lying.

After The Broker refused to buy the Orb of Power because Ronan was involved, Gamora stole it from Quill and fought him. Rocket, Groot, Jason, and Roller spotted the struggle and rushed to intervene.

• Quill told The Broker that Ronan's men had attacked him, so The Broker returned the Orb and forced Quill out of the shop.
• Gamora noticed Quill had the Orb and stole it before kicking him and running away.
• Quill used the Mechanical Flying Stone Lock to trip Gamora, but she quickly subdued him in a fight.
• Gamora prepared to knock Quill unconscious, but his helmet blocked her blade and his Element Gun briefly knocked her back.
• Rocket called Groot over to grab the apparent money, while Jason and Roller rushed to help Quill.

Jason and the others became entangled in the struggle over the Orb of Power when Gamora attacked Quill and Rocket and Groot tried to capture him for a bounty. After Quill revealed that he knew Jason, the opposing groups paused, leaving Gamora to reconsider how to get the Orb.

• Gamora attacked Quill, but an electric shot interrupted her, allowing him to escape with the Orb of Power.
• Rocket urged Groot to capture Quill, and Groot bound him with vines until the Orb fell at Jason's feet.
• Gamora cut Groot's vines to free Quill and challenged him to join forces against Jason's group.
• Jason stopped Rocket and Groot, telling them Quill was one of his own.
• Quill asked Jason to hold the Orb while he confronted Gamora, who reconsidered her approach after realizing how many people opposed her.
• Rocket recognized Gamora as a notorious assassin and grew wary of her powerful connections.

Jason tried to profit from the Orb of Power, demanding four hundred thousand from Gamora to sell it. Gamora, unable to pay, revealed that her buyer was offering four billion.

• Quill reminded Jason that the Orb of Power belonged to him, but Jason ignored him and kept hold of it.
• Jason demanded compensation from Gamora for the trouble caused by the failed deal.
• Quill claimed the bounty was two hundred thousand, and Jason used that figure to demand four hundred thousand from Gamora for the Orb.
• Gamora decided to refuse Jason's price and revealed that her buyer was offering four billion.

Zhang Huan learned that the Golden Legend had revealed his face to the World Security Council and recognized him as Leo from Wen Qing’s sketch. He rushed back to the Peninsula Hotel to meet Leo’s adoptive parents, Jenny and George, whose safety and trust he now considered crucial.

• Zhang Huan waited at the Peninsula Hotel to meet Jenny and George while considering how to learn more about Leo.
• Wen Qing called Zhang Huan and told him that the Golden Legend had revealed his face at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters to several council members and senior agents.
• Wen Qing sent Zhang Huan a sketch and said the Golden Legend appeared to be Chinese and around twenty years old.
• Zhang Huan recognized the sketch as Leo and ordered his driver to return to the hotel immediately.
• Zhang Huan decided to protect Jenny and George and build a good relationship with them before meeting the Golden Legend’s adoptive parents.

Jenny and George waited anxiously for Leo at the Peninsula Hotel while Zhang Huan arranged for Dragon Fang to take over the third-floor restaurant. Zhang Huan approached them under the pretense of offering a hotel spa prize so he could speak with them privately.

• Jenny and George worried about Leo as they went to breakfast, and George urged Jenny not to disturb him.
• Zhang Huan received a report that Jenny and George were eating breakfast and looked exhausted.
• Zhang Huan ordered his team to clear the third-floor restaurant, and Dragon Fang members replaced the guests and staff.
• Jenny and George finished breakfast, unaware that the restaurant had been taken over by Dragon Fang.
• Zhang Huan approached Jenny and George, claiming they had won the hotel's spa service and asking to speak with them.

Leo left Tony Stark and Bruce Banner after revealing that Hydra planned to kill thirty million people, while Tony and Banner worried about the toll the conflict was taking on him. Wen Qing, a Chinese member of the World Security Council, contacted Commander Zhang Huan to report that he had learned the Golden Legend’s identity.

• Leo said Hydra’s Project Insight would have killed thirty million people, and he vowed to destroy every remaining Hydra head.
• Leo vanished before telling Tony what he had wanted to say, and Tony told Banner he trusted Leo and would help him if necessary.
• Tony flew away in the Mark 43 to handle the consequences for Stark Industries, while Banner returned to his research.
• Wen Qing left the Triskelion and called Commander Zhang Huan using Emergency Protocol Three.
• Wen Qing decided China needed to know the Golden Legend’s identity and contacted Zhang Huan.