Chapter Summaries

Leo captured Ghost Jason and returned the spaceship to the meteorite, where he fell asleep with renewed hope. Meanwhile, Tony tested Mark 42 after seventy-two hours without sleep, but the armor malfunctioned and left him terrified on the workshop floor.

• Jason celebrated escaping capture and grabbed a pouch of high-energy batteries, but Leo knocked him out with a metal canister and bound him inside the spaceship.
• Leo piloted the spaceship back to the small meteorite, which enclosed it and returned to its potato-like shape, and then he fell asleep.
• Tony implanted tracking devices in his arms despite J.A.R.V.I.S.'s warning that he needed sleep, then began testing Mark 42's automatic assembly.
• Mark 42's armor parts flew toward Tony, repeatedly struck or missed him, and finally assembled around him as he caught the faceplate.
• A lower-back armor component hit Tony and caused Mark 42 to fall apart, leaving Tony injured and terrified as he stared at the scattered pieces.

Zhang Huan gathered the research teams, guards, and Dragon Fang agents to sort and secure the scientific materials Leo had provided. After the professors began identifying valuable technologies, Leo and Zhang Huan left the restaurant to talk, and everyone present recognized Leo as the Golden Legend.

• Zhang Huan summoned the research teams, guards, and five Dragon Fang Earthly Ranking agents to the restaurant.
• Zhang Huan assigned the professors to organize the materials and ordered the guards and agents to secure the room and prevent anyone from contacting the outside.
• The professors identified valuable technologies, including aircraft-engine designs, gas turbines, and carbon-fiber mass-production methods.
• Zhang Huan learned that Leo had provided Quinjet and Helicarrier materials and placed the hard drive in his custody for the trip to the Capital City laboratory.
• After finishing his meal, Leo asked Zhang Huan to speak outside, and Zhang Huan left the room with him while the agents stayed to guard the materials.

Tony Stark developed specialized armors through Mark XXXIX, Gemini, while searching for Leo, and Black Prison consolidated its hold over Manhattan. Leo remained trapped in the silent void, nearing despair as the Space Stone drifted to within two millimeters of him.

• Tony Stark expanded his armor designs from targeted combat suits to Gemini, a spacefaring armor capable of surviving extreme space conditions.
• Black Prison's leaders discussed stabilizing their Manhattan territory, conserving their dwindling Golden Light, and buying Alien Weaponry.
• Leo remained motionless inside the Golden Light Shield as the distant star slowly grew larger and his isolation drove him toward madness.
• The Space Stone behind Leo came within approximately two millimeters of him.

Leo explained that he had sensed Dragon Fang’s fear and hypocrisy toward him, then gave Zhang Huan extensive S.H.I.E.L.D. research and technical records to support China. Zhang Huan gratefully accepted the materials and offered Dragon Fang’s help if Leo ever needed it.

• Leo questioned why Zhang Huan treated him with such distance and said he had come to honor a promise to Uncle Li and help Dragon Fang.
• Zhang Huan explained that Leo’s power made nations fear him and made it impossible for them to treat him as an equal.
• Leo set aside the tension and gave Zhang Huan records from a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Quinjet blueprints, and materials from Sandbox Base.
• Leo said he could not share Stark’s technological knowledge and explained that he wanted to keep the US Government from becoming dominant.
• Zhang Huan recognized the materials’ immense value to China, thanked Leo tearfully, and promised Dragon Fang would do everything possible to help him.

Jason escaped his restraints and tried to attack the sleeping Leo, but Leo’s powers shocked him and bound him again. Meanwhile, Happy tracked one of Killian’s men, discovered the man’s explosive abilities, and was left badly burned after an explosion.

• Jason saw that Leo’s negative emotions had calmed, freed himself, and approached the cockpit with an Energy Stun Gun.
• Happy followed Killian’s subordinate, secretly took a metal part from a briefcase, and saw orange-red light glowing across the face of the man who had received it.
• The subordinate, Savin, confronted Happy, healed after Happy punched him, and threw Happy aside.
• The briefcase’s recipient began glowing and exploded, while Savin healed his injuries and left Happy unconscious and barely alive.
• Jason spun Leo’s seat around and fired at him, but Leo’s Golden Light turned the gun’s current against Jason and transformed the weapon into wires that bound him again.

Zhang Huan witnessed Xandar through Leo’s ability to travel between civilizations and urged Leo to use its technology to strengthen Earth, but Leo warned against disrupting Earth’s development. After Zhang Huan sensed something strange around Leo, Leo disappeared, saying he would be right back.

• Zhang Huan recalled his brief visit to Xandar and realized Leo had taken him there and back in an instant.
• Dragon Fang teams reported that Zhang Huan’s signal had vanished for fifteen seconds, and Zhang ordered them to withdraw.
• Zhang Huan proposed using Leo’s ability to bring advanced technology to Earth, but Leo warned that doing so could amount to cultural invasion and undermine Earth’s own development.
• Leo told Zhang Huan he had shown him Xandar to reveal the universe’s splendor and remind him how far Earth still had to go.
• After Zhang Huan described a strange feeling of pressure around Leo, Leo formed a glowing shield, asked him to watch over George and Jenny, and vanished.

Leo forced the Cosmic Source Consciousness out of his body and recovered from his powerful ability, but he suspected the danger had only been temporarily resolved. After discussing the anomaly with The Ancient One, he decided to leave Kamar-Taj without answers about who was targeting him or why his system had reacted.

• Leo's thirty-second empowered state ended, and he briefly collapsed before recovering and weaving metal into shorts to cover himself.
• The Ancient One gave Leo a robe, and he explained that using the Time Stone and Space Stone had revealed and expelled Cosmic Source Consciousness from his body.
• The Ancient One said she had never encountered Cosmic Source Consciousness or found it mentioned in her books.
• Leo told The Ancient One he believed the threat was temporary and recalled that someone had escaped his detection despite appearing in the altered flow of time and space.
• Leo wondered why his system had absorbed the remaining fragments and displayed a progress bar, then decided to leave Kamar-Taj because he lacked answers and knew too little about the universe.

Leo discovered a mysterious Golden Bead that irresistibly attracted him, but when he tried to examine it, it shot into his head and left him motionless. Meanwhile, a huge warship emerged from a Warp Point near the Milan, carrying a terrifying figure.

• Leo restrained the Red Whale from eating the Golden Bead and let it feed on the surrounding Void Gold Ore instead.
• Leo struggled against the bead’s powerful attraction, then enveloped it in Golden Energy to study it.
• The bead burst with light and struck Leo in the head, causing him to collapse unconscious.
• Howard the Duck wondered where the Red Whale had gone as the crew worked aboard the Milan.
• A huge warship emerged from a hexagonal Space Wall near the Milan, with a terrifying figure standing on its control-room platform.

Leo met Li Yuan and Zhang Guosheng, recognized their exceptional combat abilities, and asked them to find a man connected to his disappearance. The next day, Jason prepared to suspend the Red Whale Shop for ten days as the group gathered on Xandar.

• Leo learned that Li Yuan was Li Haiyang's second uncle and saw that Li Yuan and Zhang Guosheng had trained their bodies to near-human limits.
• Leo sensed the men's hidden weapons and abdominal energy, then asked what the energy could do.
• Leo formed a detailed metal figure of the person he was investigating and asked Zhang Huan to find him near the street entrance where Leo had disappeared.
• Zhang Huan promised to report back within three hours, and Leo caught a throwing knife that flew from Zhang Guosheng's hand.
• The next day, Jason said he had ordered food and furniture and would close the Red Whale Shop for ten days, while Rocket teased Quill about the shop's name and his ship.

Jason gathered the others to discuss the Orb while they waited for his boss, but Quill, Rocket, Gamora, and Groot urged him to sell it quickly because Yondu and Ronan were closing in. Jason refused to decide without his boss, leaving the group waiting as tensions rose.

• Gamora and Lorelei confirmed that the Red Whale was unique, while Rocket and Groot studied its image before the recording vanished at a flash of golden light.
• Jason called everyone to discuss their next steps, and Quill warned that Yondu might come after him for stealing the Orb.
• Lorelei held the Orb as the group considered its four-billion price, and Gamora offered to take them to a buyer before Ronan became suspicious.
• Jason said Ronan and the Ravagers would not dare cause trouble on Xandar, but Gamora worried that Thanos might bring an army if he learned the Power Stone was there.
• Rocket, Quill, and Gamora urged Jason to sell the Orb and leave, but Jason insisted they wait for his boss to arrive.

Leo regained his voice and freedom after awakening aboard Jason’s ship, then captured Jason and demanded passage to Earth. Jason agreed to refuel the ship and secretly pressed a button as he set a course for a nearby Warp Point.

• Leo woke inside the cabin and freed Jason from the metal restraints, then used his powers to split open the surrounding meteorite.
• Leo recovered his voice and caught Jason as he tried to escape in a pod, binding him again and asking him to take him to Earth.
• Jason said he could not take Leo to Earth without its spatial coordinates and explained that the ship needed fuel.
• Leo agreed to let Jason refuel the ship, while Jason set a course for the nearest Warp Point and secretly pressed another button.
• Jason launched the ship away from the shattered meteorite as Leo sat in the co-pilot seat.

Zost underwent the Extremis Serum experiment first, emerging younger and able to wield fire. His fireball unexpectedly exploded, and the blast wave surged toward Jenny and George as Leo shielded them with blue light.

• Zost volunteered to take the Extremis Serum before Jenny and George to reassure them about the procedure.
• Chen Haoran told Leo that the strange sensation in his body kept growing stronger and weaker, but refused to risk triggering it again.
• Stacy injected Zost with the serum, which transformed his body and made him look more than ten years younger.
• Zost produced flames with his fists and threw a fireball at Chen Haoran, but it detonated like a grenade and sent a shock wave toward Jenny and George.
• Leo clenched his fist and surrounded Jenny and George with faint blue light as the blast approached.

Leo reunited with Jason and his companions, took the Orb of Power from Gamora, and revealed that it contained an Infinity Stone. The group was still reacting to the revelation when Yondu arrived and challenged the idea that Leo was Jason’s boss.

• Leo introduced himself to Gamora, Rocket, Quill, Lorelei, Groot, and Little Jie, then pulled the Orb of Power from Gamora’s hand.
• Leo identified the Orb’s casing as Uru Alloy, and Lorelei asked him for an Asgardian longsword.
• Lorelei recalled surviving Asgard’s catastrophe and said her power awakened afterward; Leo realized she was over fifteen hundred years old.
• Leo asked whether Gamora knew the Orb held an Infinity Stone, and Gamora confirmed that she and her group had suspected it.
• Yondu entered with Jason and found his restrained subordinates on the floor; Jason greeted Leo excitedly, while Yondu mocked Leo as Jason’s boss.

Leo explained the Orb of Power’s ability to destroy a planet, prompting Quill to suggest giving it to the Nova Empire. Yondu tried to take the Orb, but Leo caught and took control of his Yaka Arrow; as Leo offered to strengthen it, an even higher-pitched whistle rang through the hall.

• Jason introduced Leo to Yondu, while Leo greeted Jason and learned that someone had offered forty billion for the Orb.
• Leo explained that the Orb was an Infinity Stone capable of destroying a planet, and Quill proposed handing it over to the Nova Empire.
• Yondu demanded the Orb, while Jason, Gamora, and Rocket prepared to defend Leo.
• Yondu launched his Yaka Arrow at Leo, but Leo caught it, removed it, and examined the sound-sensitive metal.
• Leo offered to strengthen the arrow, and Quill shouted a warning as a higher-pitched whistle echoed through the hall.

Rocket reunited with Howard the Duck in Difan’s collection and learned that Howard had been separated from Lylla and Black Jack. Leo then asked Difan for information about the Infinity Stones, offering to save him from Thanos, and warned that Gamora’s connection to the Orb of Power could put Difan in danger.

• Rocket recognized Howard the Duck in a display case and demanded to know what had happened to Lylla and Black Jack.
• Howard told Rocket their ship had been raided and the group had been forced to separate; Rocket became furious because he had promised to look after Lylla.
• Difan explained that he had kept Howard as a specimen, and Leo cracked the case so Groot could smash it open and free him.
• Rocket tried to attack Howard, but Quill and Groot restrained Rocket while Groot eventually bound Howard with vines.
• Difan concluded that the Aether was likely in Asgard after Leo described the surviving Dark Elves.
• Leo asked Difan for all his information about the Infinity Stones and offered to save him from Thanos, warning that Gamora’s possession of the Orb of Power could bring Thanos to him.

Leo examined Rocket after a sudden pressure surge left him in extreme pain and discovered that the aging machinery inside Rocket’s modified body was causing him constant suffering. The chapter ended as Leo began using his golden energy to investigate the damage.

• A brief burst of pressure made everyone struggle to breathe, and Rocket clutched his chest in severe pain.
• Groot tried to ease Rocket’s pain with green healing energy, while Leo realized Groot’s healing ability and frail build might have set him apart from the War Treants.
• Jason called for a medical kit, and Groot attacked Leo with a vine before Leo explained that he was trying to save Rocket.
• Leo reached Rocket and sent golden energy through his body, examining both his flesh and the machinery inside it.
• Leo learned that Rocket’s body was steadily deteriorating from the old modifications that had caused him years of pain, and his pressure surge had triggered the latest crisis.

Leo traded the metal he had brought in for information about Peter Quill and found Earth’s approximate coordinates in the records. He left the transaction with a lead that could help him return home.

• Hutton lowered his defenses after Leo said he was looking for Peter Quill, and told him Yondu’s Ravagers were likely in the Ridi III Space Sector.
• Hutton inspected Leo’s metal and offered to buy it for fifteen hundred per cubic meter, while Leo asked to trade its value for private information.
• Leo disabled the surveillance cameras after noticing Yumi monitoring the hall, then asked Hutton for detailed information about Peter Quill.
• Hutton found Quill’s records and gave Leo a tablet with ten minutes to review them.
• Leo read Quill’s file and found a link listing Earth’s approximate coordinates and its status under the Interstellar Low-Level Civilization Protection Law.

Leo and his companions faced Korath and a Kree squad on Xandar as the Nova Corps and Nodda Legion tried to contain the confrontation. When Korath threatened them, Leo used his power to make the Kree shoot themselves, leaving the standoff suddenly bloodier.

• Korath led a Kree squad toward Gamora and her companions while the Nova Corps and Nodda Legion followed.
• Quill recognized Korath from their earlier encounter on Morag, and Korath identified Gamora and Quill as his targets.
• Ruby and Korath argued over whether the Kree could seize the group, while both sides aimed their weapons at one another.
• Korath ordered Leo and the others to surrender or die, and Leo mocked Ronan's men.
• Leo made Korath and the other Kree aim their guns at their own heads and fire, killing more than twenty of them.

Leo absorbed the energy sphere, defeated Yumi and captured his surviving men aboard their spacecraft. As Jason scavenged the wreck, the Space Stone moved in and adhered to Leo.

• Leo absorbed the violent energy surrounding him and emerged unharmed with his Nirvana Wings.
• Leo disabled Yumi's spacecraft, forced his way inside, and killed Yumi when he attacked.
• Leo questioned Yumi's two surviving men and learned that Yumi had repeatedly targeted weaker sellers for valuable metal.
• Leo bound the two men, let Jason search the spacecraft, and remained alone in space, reflecting on how he had changed.
• The Space Stone moved closer and adhered completely to Leo's body.

Leo successfully integrated the Space Stone into his Nirvana Wings, then repaired the damage caused by its energy while Jason scavenged a captured ship and sent its two crew members away. Leo and Jason set off toward Earth, leaving the stripped ship behind for Quill to discover.

• Leo's Nirvana Wings carried the Space Stone out of his body, and the wings absorbed its energy before he flew back to the Ghost Shadow.
• Leo began repairing his cracked body while Jason returned with salvaged items and offered him repair spray.
• Leo let Jason decide what to do with the two crew members and the ship, then gave him half an hour to scavenge.
• Jason sent Ao and Xing's two underlings away in an escape pod with his Sawtooth Ring and finished stripping valuable parts from the ship.
• Leo and Jason departed toward the next Warp Point, while Quill arrived at the empty ship and reported it to Yondu.