Chapter Summaries

Ronan subdued Drax long enough to pursue the Cosmic Orb, while Star-Lord and his companions escaped a battlefield crowded with Kree, Yondu's Ravagers, and the Black Order. The Translator trapped Proxima Midnight in a closed-loop space, and the chapter ended with the Other confronting Rettari over the catastrophe on the Chitauri homeworld.

• Drax attacked Ronan under the Persona Mask's influence, but Ronan pinned him beneath a supergravity field and left him trapped as he went to meet Nebula.
• Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot, and Gamora escaped the Kree encirclement, then fled again when the Black Order attacked Yondu Udonta's Ravagers fleet.
• Gamora identified Proxima Midnight and warned the others about the Black Order's power as Star-Lord spotted her fighting the Translator.
• The Translator survived Proxima Midnight's attacks and trapped her in a closed-loop data space after revealing that the Mech-Gods were virtual data life-forms.
• The Other confronted Rettari and blamed him for the devastation of the Chitauri homeworld and Thanos's distrust of his abilities.

Rettari faced the Chitauri and the Black Order at Knowhere, then activated his Combat Authority and turned their fleet into a mechanical army. After trapping Ebony Maw, he left to find the Stones for his Lord.

• Rettari pierced The Other with an Energy Blade, but Cull Obsidian struck him and the Chitauri fleet surrounded Knowhere.
• Ebony Maw tried to control Rettari with his Tongue of Influence, but the Tranquil Blue gemstone freed Rettari from its effects.
• Rettari summoned Mangog of Resentment, which smashed Cull Obsidian into the ground before the ships bombarded them both.
• Rettari entered Combat Mode and transformed nearby Chitauri and Dark Quadrant ships into Mechanical Beings.
• Rettari trapped Ebony Maw inside a Mechanical Factory with layered Energy Barriers, then vanished to find the Stones for the Lord.

Star-Lord’s group tried to unite with the Ravagers and Drax to escape Knowhere, while Rettari’s machines overwhelmed the fighting forces and pursued the Cosmic Orb. Rettari reached the Collector’s location but was stopped by Ronan and Thanos’s allies, and began pulling the Stone toward himself.

• Gamora returned the stolen Necrocraft toward Knowhere as Star-Lord sent her to find the Collector and Rocket and Groot to rescue Drax.
• Rocket and Groot recovered Drax from the battlefield, woke him, and persuaded him to focus on escaping before seeking revenge on Ronan.
• Rettari observed Yondu’s Yaka Arrow and Star-Lord’s approach, then continued toward the Cosmic Orb’s signal.
• Yondu confronted Star-Lord over the Ravagers’ losses, but they fled together when Star-Lord’s Necrocraft joined the attacking machines.
• Rettari used newly created Yaka Arrows to kill hostile forces, then tried to reach the Collector before Ronan and General Glaive disrupted his spatial passage.
• Rettari summoned a massive Tractor Platform and began pulling the Stone toward himself.

Star-Lord and Yondu reached a battlefield where Ronan and General Glaive fought over the Cosmic Orb as Rettari used its power to build a colossal mechanical being. The Mechanical Giant awakened, its purple eyes turning toward the assembled fighters.

• Star-Lord and Yondu discovered that Yondu’s Yaka Arrow was not creating the red web of weapons trapping fighters across the battlefield.
• Star-Lord and Yondu saw the Cosmic Orb drawn from a building into a giant mechanical device, and General Glaive identified it as an Infinity Stone.
• General Glaive tried to seize the Cosmic Orb, but Ronan blasted him aside and chose to claim the Stone for himself.
• Rettari increased the Void Factory’s output and used the purple gem and gathered materials to summon a growing storm of mechanical constructs.
• The mechanical storm blocked Ronan and General Glaive, adapting its defenses and sealing the surrounding space against teleportation.
• Rettari’s machinery activated the Apostle’s Heart and Infinity Engine, assembling the constructs into a winged Mechanical Giant that awakened and looked down at Ronan, General Glaive, and the others.

The Mechanical Giant repelled Ronan the Accuser, General Glaive, and Supergiant, while the Black Order realized the machine was protected by Uru Metal and might be connected to someone collecting the Infinity Stones. The giant began a hammer strike, forcing its enemies to flee as sealed space prevented them from escaping through space travel.

• Mechanical Squids formed a violet barrier that swallowed Ronan the Accuser's golden beam, while General Glaive circled behind the Mechanical Giant and struck its back with the Peerless Blade.
• General Glaive failed to breach the giant's armor and escaped a swarm of Nanite Snakes with severe wounds, then warned Supergiant that its materials were abnormal.
• Supergiant said the Mech-Gods and the giant had powerful mental barriers, and identified energy resembling the Mind Stone within them.
• General Glaive suspected the mysterious force behind the Mech-Gods was collecting the Infinity Stones and recognized the giant's outer shell as enchanted Uru Metal.
• The Mechanical Giant swung a violet-radiant warhammer at the Black Order, and General Glaive, Supergiant, and Ronan fled but could not travel through the sealed space.

The Mechanical Giant’s purple shockwave killed General Glaive, battered Supergiant, and forced Ronan and the Ravagers to flee. After the Sandbox Space gathered the Black Order and other forces on Knowhere, Rettari struck again, beginning to tear the station apart.

• Rettari struck the ground with the Mechanical Giant’s hammer, killing General Glaive while Supergiant endured the shockwave and Ronan escaped with the Universal Weapon.
• Yondu and Star-Lord led the Ravagers away from the battle, while Ronan and Supergiant agreed they needed to join forces.
• Supergiant explained that Proxima Midnight was trapped, Cull Obsidian was pinned down, and Ebony Maw was close to escaping his prison.
• Rettari expanded the Sandbox Space across Knowhere, severing Supergiant’s connection to Thanos and restoring her link to Proxima Midnight.
• Proxima Midnight rejoined Supergiant, but Rettari attacked before they could speak and smashed Knowhere with his hammer.
• Ronan and the others rose above the collapsing surface as the blow split Knowhere apart and unleashed widespread destruction.

Ronan, Proxima Midnight, and Supergiant attacked the Mechanical Giant on Knowhere, but it survived and overwhelmed them with psychic and dimensional powers. As the Mechanical Giant vanished, Ronan and the others began turning into data and faced being trapped in a repeating loop.

• Proxima Midnight hurled her star-forged spear at the Mechanical Giant, while Ronan and Supergiant helped break through its layered energy barriers.
• The spear struck the Mechanical Giant's face, but it returned cracked, and the giant burst through the dust with its wound already repairing.
• The Mechanical Giant entered Supergiant's mind and overwhelmed her, severing the mental link between her, Ronan, and Proxima Midnight.
• The Mechanical Giant fired a beam through Knowhere, opening a Dimensional Void that expanded to engulf the area.
• Ronan began turning from solid matter into data as the Mechanical Giant disappeared, promising to trap them in a repeating loop.

Captain Marvel Carol Danvers investigated the expanding hollow region near Knowhere and entered it despite Roman Dey’s warnings. Inside, she discovered a looping fragment of time that functioned like a virtual world and chose to explore its Orb Conflict instance.

• Carol met Roman Dey and asked whether reports of the Black Order, Ronan the Accuser, and the Dimensional Void had been confirmed.
• Roman told Carol that Ravagers had spread the earliest reports and showed her scans indicating the hollow region was expanding as it consumed matter and energy.
• Carol decided to enter the hollow region, gave Roman a piece of her Energy Core for communication, and flew inside.
• Carol found herself on a transparent platform beneath a starry sky and learned that the hollow region contained a time-loop Data World requiring energy to browse or participate.
• Carol spent energy to view the region’s past and received the Orb Conflict instance’s rules, including a warning that exploiting loopholes could trap her in the loop.

After Captain Marvel returned from the void, she revealed that it contained a dangerous, evolving dimensional world where gains could be brought out at great cost. Roman learned that the Black Order was inside seeking an Infinity Stone and that Thanos might come, so he decided to withdraw the Nova Corps detachment and warn the nearby factions.

• Roman learned that factions had gathered around the void, where rumors claimed it was a treasure site, and advised them to wait for Captain Marvel before investigating.
• The void collapsed inward, and Captain Marvel emerged carrying Proxima Midnight's spear.
• Carol told the gathered factions that the void connected to an unusual dimension with repeating time, where collected items could be materialized by consuming tremendous energy.
• Carol warned Roman that the dimension might have a consciousness and could trap those who exploited its rules; she also said she had sensed the power of several Infinity Stones inside.
• Carol gave Roman memory images of her experiences and revealed that the Black Order was inside seeking an Infinity Stone, meaning Thanos might come to investigate.
• Roman decided to take his team away and broadcast Carol's warning to the factions gathered nearby.

Nick Fury asked Doctor Strange to help S.H.I.E.L.D. develop magical agents, but Strange refused, warning that New Energy could intensify mages’ obsessions and destabilize their community. He offered instead to let willing younger mages work with S.H.I.E.L.D., while Strange remained uneasy about a major threat he could not identify.

• Nick Fury told Strange he wanted closer cooperation because Luke’s growing power and escalating crises left S.H.I.E.L.D. unable to protect the world.
• Strange explained that magic was dangerous for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and that New Energy could infect mages by amplifying their emotions and obsessions.
• Strange warned that New Energy was already affecting the mage community, citing Mordo’s jealousy and the risk of mages becoming increasingly consumed by one emotion.
• Nick recognized that the Ancient One’s departure had left Strange without the same authority to keep the mages’ problems contained.
• Strange declined to train mages for S.H.I.E.L.D. but offered to arrange part-time work for younger mages willing to interact with the modern world.
• Strange urged Nick to buy Luke’s equipment with a low-interest loan, then worried that an unseen crisis involving a powerful Dimensional Demon God might be approaching.

Luke proposed expanding his Data Dimension trading operation into a Multiverse Dimensional Trading Post that would do business with civilizations across universes. After outlining a long-term plan to use trading posts to cultivate and harvest entire universes, he proposed inviting Nightmare as a partner.

• Luke used the Power Stone to create a physical gateway between the Data Dimension and Knowhere, then drafted a proposal for a Multiverse Dimensional Trading Post.
• Odin and Mephisto continued discussing the Nine Realms and sensed a Dimensional Gate opening before them.
• Strange tried to speak honestly with Mordo about the Sorcerer Supreme position, but a beam of light took Strange away before they could finish.
• Nick Fury worried about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s lack of power and was suddenly swallowed by hazy energy.
• Luke brought Strange, Odin, Ancient One, Mephisto, and Nick to a meeting and proposed building trading posts across the Multiverse to serve civilizations.
• Luke proposed bringing Nightmare in as a partner, drawing Mephisto's reluctant question about whom he wanted to invite.

Luke planned to recruit Nightmare to help create a sustainable way to harvest dream energy, and the group assigned Stephen Strange to negotiate with him. Strange accepted the mission after Luke equipped him with enticing products and protection, while Nick Fury was tasked with planning the project.

• Mephisto suggested killing Nightmare to obtain his Dimensional Power, but Luke proposed offering him a probationary partnership instead.
• The group chose Stephen Strange to approach Nightmare after Odin, Ancient One, and Luke declined to negotiate.
• Luke gave Strange a modified Seed of Black Nightmare that could gather energy from sleeping, infected life, and explained that Nightmare would need their help to use it safely in the real universe.
• Luke also gave Strange an Azure Gem to shield him from Nightmare's influence and help create a calm space for negotiations.
• Luke proposed packaging Nightmare's dreams as a virtual game and appointed Nick Fury to organize the plan.

Nick Fury mobilized game designers and S.H.I.E.L.D. resources to develop a virtual game for Nightmare, promising unlimited support and rewards. Strange and Thor then set out through a portal to discuss business, with Strange warning Thor not to start a fight.

• Nick Fury arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and learned that game designers had gathered for his project.
• Nick ordered the designers to focus on creating Nightmare’s game, offering to cover their losses and reward successful work with money and restricted technology.
• Nick showed the designers the wrist devices they would use to connect to the secret host computer and urged them to begin work immediately.
• Thor insisted on accompanying Strange as his bodyguard, while Strange warned him that their visit was for business, not fighting.
• Thor and Strange stepped through Strange’s portal and disappeared.

Strange and Thor entered the Nightmare Dimension to propose an energy deal, but Nightmare attacked them when they arrived. After failing to harm them and hearing Strange's pitch, Nightmare became fascinated by the Seed of Black Nightmare and agreed to meet again, while Strange and Thor left.

• Strange used a spell taught by Ancient One to draw Nightmare to him and Thor, and the two survived Nightmare's repeated attacks.
• Nightmare summoned his monsters, but Strange and Thor fought them and Nightmare for a long time because the dimension's dream powers could not affect them.
• Nightmare finally stopped the battle and asked what Strange and Thor wanted, and Strange proposed a deal to expand Nightmare's power.
• Strange revealed that the Sorcerer Supreme lineage cooperated with Mephisto and Odin, then showed Nightmare the Seed of Black Nightmare provided by Luke.
• Nightmare eagerly examined the Seed and demanded to meet its Maker, so Strange and Thor arranged another meeting and left through a portal.

Luke told Nick to launch every game project together and connect them as scenario-based missions, while S.H.I.E.L.D. and allied magnates mobilized production and advertising for the games and virtual reality equipment. At an Asgard alliance meeting, Nightmare asked Luke how to make the Seed of Black Nightmare, and Mephisto presented a contract Nightmare had to sign to join them.

• Luke told Nick to promote all the game projects at once, package them together, and use later scenarios to prepare for the Nightmare Dimension's power to make dreams real.
• Nick Fury persuaded selected magnates, including Norman Osborn, to redirect their production capacity toward new equipment, and they committed to the project for its promised supernatural-world benefits.
• Game Companies, magnates, celebrities, and politicians flooded the world with advertisements for upcoming games, virtual reality pods, and helmets.
• Nightmare attended the Asgard alliance meeting and asked Luke how to create the Seed of Black Nightmare after his attempts to reproduce it had failed.
• Luke said Nightmare had to become one of them before he could share the method, and Mephisto presented a powerful contract for Nightmare to sign.

Luke and his allies tested their plan to channel energy from Virtual Pod users into Nightmare’s dimension, convincing Nightmare that the arrangement could provide him with a steady supply of fear and nightmare energy. Tempted by the results, Nightmare signed their contract.

• Nightmare resisted Mephisto’s contract, then read it and argued with Mephisto over demands before agreeing to test Luke’s plan.
• Luke linked the Nightmare Dimension to the Data Dimension and used the companies’ Virtual Pods to connect millions of users to Nightmare’s partition.
• Nightmare sensed users entering the partition and began receiving nightmare and fear energy, but an attempt to keep departing users triggered Luke’s defenses.
• Luke assured Nightmare that the large-scale test was only the beginning and introduced Nick Fury as the contact for coordinating future stories and updates.
• After Strange explained the security requirements for placing a Dimensional Power Imprint on Nick Fury, Nightmare left his imprint on the contract.

Luke, Mephisto, Odin, and Ancient One discussed how Dormammu was handling Abyssal Energy spreading through the Dark Dimension. Ancient One revealed that Dormammu was exiling contaminated life through portals, but Luke warned this would worsen the outbreak, leaving Mephisto ready to offer Dormammu an Abyss Contract.

• Mephisto questioned why Nightmare had signed the Abyss Contract, while Luke argued that it offered a mutually beneficial partnership.
• Luke and Ancient One explained that Abyssal Energy was highly contaminating, and Mephisto described the danger it posed to his Hell Dimension.
• Ancient One revealed that Dormammu had discovered the Abyssal Energy and was trying to deal with it.
• Ancient One explained that Dormammu was using lives to absorb the contamination and sending them through portals into other Dimensional Worlds.
• Luke warned that Dormammu's method would spread the Abyss and might create a mini-Abyss in the sealed region.
• Mephisto welcomed the chance to offer Dormammu a contract, while Luke predicted that waiting would make the problem a much larger project.

Nick Fury faced an emergency hearing as General Ross and his allies tried to strip him of his authority over S.H.I.E.L.D. Meanwhile, Luke and Strange planned safeguards and new incentives for Paradise, leaving Strange ready to create a firewall before the proposal went to the Alliance Meeting.

• General Ross accused Nick Fury of concealing Paradise’s ability to grant power and demanded that Nick surrender his contacts and Data World permissions during a review.
• Nick challenged Ross’s claim that the Council supported removing him and warned that Luke Field and Sorcerer Supreme Stephen Strange would have to recognize any decision.
• Strange asked Luke about Nightmare’s influence on believers, and Luke warned that more Demon Gods could exploit Paradise as it grew.
• Luke proposed a mage-built firewall for Paradise, along with New Currency and Data Body powers that users could summon into reality under safeguards.
• Strange agreed to create the firewall and said the larger proposal would be discussed at the next Alliance Meeting.

Paradise’s popularity and the prospect of earning Supernatural Power intensified political maneuvering, while Nick Fury backed plans to make New Currency Paradise’s currency and accepted H.A.M.M.E.R. as a rival organization. Strange returned to Silent City with Dormammu’s daughter Clea after escaping a dangerous negotiation, where Luke greeted them and the Cloak of Levitation fought the Red Ribbon.

• Paradise’s first users and Strategy Groups became celebrities as rumors spread that outstanding first clears could grant Supernatural Power.
• Factions targeted Paradise’s designers, while Nick Fury judged their world designs to be only rough references and favored using known governments to establish factions in Paradise.
• Ross and his allies formed H.A.M.M.E.R., appointed Ross its first Captain, and created the Thunderbolts, while Nick Fury saw little threat in the rival organization.
• Strange emerged from the Dimensional Bifrost with Clea and told Luke she was Dormammu’s daughter and that the situation had nearly exposed him to Abyssal Energy.
• Luke explained that the Red Ribbon had been worn out by looking after Little Becky, and it fought with the Cloak of Levitation.

Luke arranged negotiations between Dormammu and the gathered powers, offering to contain the Abyss in the Dark Dimension in exchange for agreed terms. Dormammu reluctantly accepted the talks, and Mephisto presented him with a long list of demands and a contract to sign.

• Luke told Clea that he could temporarily contain the Abyss's spread, and she said Dormammu would discuss terms.
• Luke informed Odin and the others that Dormammu had agreed to negotiate, and Strange brought Clea to the meeting in Asgard.
• Dormammu sent an Avatar into the conference room and accused Ancient One and Mephisto of releasing the Abyss.
• Luke explained how Malekith's actions had brought the Abyss into the universe, while Mephisto demanded compensation from Dormammu.
• Dormammu asked for help and told the group to name its terms, so Mephisto read out a lengthy list and offered him a contract to sign.