Chapter Summaries

Mephisto secured Dormammu’s agreement to a contract that would limit the Abyss’s spread in the Dark Dimension, bringing a surge of energy to the Energy Bank. Meanwhile, Captain Rogers’s team and Strange encountered signs that they had arrived in a different universe, and Strange separated Banner’s spirit from Hulk so they could talk.

• Mephisto explained the Abyss contract’s safeguards and limits, and Dormammu signed it after negotiating the terms.
• Energy from the Dark Dimension flowed into the Energy Bank, prompting Mephisto to volunteer to inspect Dormammu’s Abyss corruption and Odin to consider joining the bank.
• Captain Rogers, Agent Natasha Romanoff, and their companions noticed that the date and surroundings did not match their expectations and decided to investigate at Stark Tower.
• Strange encountered a rational Hulk who mistook him for someone who had died and reached for the Eye of Agamotto to take its Time Stone.
• Strange dodged Hulk and used an Astral Projection spell to separate Banner’s spiritual body from Hulk, then asked whether Banner’s Strange had ever shown him magic.

Dr. Banner learned from Strange that he and his companions had crossed into a parallel universe while trying to travel back in time to stop Thanos, and that this universe’s Infinity Stones were beyond their reach. Meanwhile, Captain Rogers and Natasha encountered this world’s Tony Stark and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, who mistook them for impostors and prepared to take them in.

• Strange told Dr. Banner that he had arrived in another universe and refused to lend him the Time Stone, explaining that Luke Field held other stones and that the Space Stone had become Luke’s daughter, Little Becky.
• Strange suggested that Dr. Banner and his companions meet Luke, who might offer them help.
• Captain Rogers and Natasha escaped a crowd of admirers and were confronted by this world’s Tony Stark, who accused them of being impostors because they did not know about the rings.
• Phil Coulson arrived with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in Energy Suits and said that Captain wanted to speak with Rogers and Natasha.
• Rogers took up his shield, and Phil ordered the agents to restrain the pair without hurting them.

Captain and Natasha’s team discovered they had arrived in a different universe, where a younger Tony Stark and a far more advanced technology greeted them. As Strange brought them to meet Luke for further examination, Little Becky suddenly teleported herself and Rudd away.

• Agent Phil and other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents restrained Captain and Natasha, while Nick Fury questioned them about their failed time-travel mission and confirmed their account.
• Tony Stark locked down the older Stark’s armor, confronted him and Scott Lang, and invited them into Stark Tower to talk.
• The younger Tony explained that his world had a powerful Data Dimension and described its advanced technology and past conflicts with Mutated.
• Strange arrived with Bruce Banner, confirmed the visitors came from another dimension, and arranged for them to be examined by Luke.
• Little Becky grabbed Rudd’s tail, and Azure Blue light transported them both away from Silent City.

Weathered Thor learned that Malekith and the Aether were tied to the Abyss, so Frigga brought him to meet Luke. Meanwhile, Luke told the Avengers from another universe he could not lend them the Infinity Stones, but could teach them how to condense new ones, then revealed his vast Stone Repository.

• Weathered Thor asked for the Aether to save his universe, but Odin and Frigga warned him against confronting Malekith because the Abyss had set its sights on him.
• Frigga suggested Weathered Thor meet someone, while Strange led Stark, Captain Rogers, and their companions through Silent City and explained its unusual inhabitants and trade.
• Little Becky, whom Strange identified as Luke’s daughter and the original form of the Space Stone, teleported the group to Luke’s observation room.
• Captain explained that Thanos had erased half the life in their universe and destroyed the Infinity Stones, and asked Luke to lend them his Stones.
• Luke refused to lend the Stones but offered to teach the group how to condense them again, then opened a repository filled with Infinity Stones.

Luke explained that his many Infinity Stones were divided fragments whose combined power had not increased, and discussed the dangers and limits of using them to restore another universe. As Stark and Banner sought to learn his technique, Luke asked them to establish a connection between their universes; elsewhere, Thanos's flagship trapped Rhodey, Clint, and Star-Lord near Knowhere.

• Luke explained that the stones on his Star Map were fragments sharing the original energy, and warned they might not work at full strength outside their native universe.
• Luke revealed that the Chitauri had obtained the Power Stone after battles involving Ronan, the Ravagers, the Kree, and the Black Order.
• Rocket and the two Thors arrived, and Luke warned Natasha that Morag was breaking apart and Knowhere had become dangerous after his experiment.
• Rocket received access to the Data Dimension to seek a ship or communication tools, while Luke asked Stark and Banner to establish a contact point between their universes in exchange for learning his technique.
• Near Knowhere, Thanos's Dark Quadrant mothership captured the Ravager spacecraft carrying Rhodey, Clint, and Star-Lord, and Nebula identified the ship.

Thanos captured Nebula and Star-Lord, learned they came from a parallel universe, and decided to travel there with them. Meanwhile, the Avengers debated Luke’s proposal to help them obtain new Infinity Stones and prepared to negotiate terms.

• Thanos captured Nebula and Star-Lord’s group after Nebula refused to let him examine her memories.
• Thanos forced Nebula to reveal her memories and learned that the group came from another universe where Ronan had taken the Power Stone and Thanos had been defeated.
• Thanos discovered that Star-Lord’s group planned to use Pym Particles to return home and said he wanted to go with them.
• In Silent City, Scott, Natasha, Banner, Rogers, Stark, Thor, and Rocket discussed whether to accept Luke’s offer and agreed to negotiate safeguards.
• Luke told Nick Fury that his cooperative proposal was generous, while Fury remained skeptical.

Stark and Banner mastered Luke’s technology in the Data Dimension, while their team searched unsuccessfully for Rhodey and the others. The Avengers returned to their universe, where Thanos was waiting to greet them.

• Luke gave Stark and Dr. Banner access to the Data Dimension and implanted technical knowledge in their minds, revealing that creating Cosmic Stones required a connection to it.
• Stark and Banner learned that the Data Dimension powered this universe’s technological boom and could make their own universe dependent on it, but they accepted the necessity of using it to restore their companions.
• Scott told Stark that Rhodey and Clint could not be contacted, and Natasha explained that the team had scattered across different regions.
• Weathered Thor and Rocket returned from Knowhere and Morag without finding Rhodey or the others, while reporting that Thanos was active near Knowhere.
• Stark decided the team should return home, and the Otherworldly Visitors used their Pym Particle devices to leave.
• The Traversal Machine brought the Avengers back to their universe, where Thanos greeted them while carrying Tyrant's Blade.

Thanos from Luke's Universe invaded to claim the Cosmic Stones and overwhelmed the heroes with his immense strength. As Thor struggled to hold him off, Stark built a new Arc Reactor using the Energy Liquid and began radiating a strange power.

• Thanos demanded the Cosmic Stones in exchange for Rhodey and the other captives, but Stark rejected his terms and Thor started the battle.
• Thanos defeated Thor, Captain, and Hulk with ease, then shattered Stark's magnetic restraints and warned that his forces would destroy the planet unless the heroes surrendered the Stones.
• Stark unleashed a prolonged bombardment, but Thanos emerged nearly unharmed and his fleet began attacking locations around the world.
• Thor concluded that only higher-grade energy could threaten Thanos and charged back into the fight while Stark ordered Friday to build a new Arc Reactor.
• Stark used Nanotechnology to construct the reactor, and an unfamiliar force began pouring into him as his mind and perception of machinery transformed.

Stark’s new abilities let him seize control of Thanos’s fleet and forge powerful armor and weapons for the Avengers, turning the battle against Thanos in their favor. As the newly equipped team attacked, Stark completed a massive mechanical construct and unleashed its fire on Thanos.

• Stark’s unlocked abilities allowed Friday to disable Thanos’s warships and summon mineral deposits from across the world.
• Stark forged Natasha armor and a teleporting spear, and she joined Thor in fighting Thanos.
• Stark armored Thor and Dr. Banner, whose purple-energy blast struck Thanos and drove him into nearby ruins.
• Stark equipped Captain and the others in metal armor, while the Hulk construct overpowered Thanos and drew blood.
• Thanos sensed Cosmic Stone-like power in Hulk’s attack and watched Stark enter a huge mechanical construct.
• Stark called himself the God of Machinery and the Apostle of the End before countless energy rays engulfed Thanos.

Stark and the Avengers fought Thanos through a city-destroying battle that lasted more than ten hours, with Stark’s mechanical army holding back the Outriders while Thor and Dr. Banner led the assault. As their strength and Stark’s Higher-Dimensional Energy ran out, Stark used his final energy to connect to the Data Dimension and send the coordinates.

• Thanos survived the Orbital Turrets’ barrage, and Thor struck him with Stormbreaker but could not sever his arm.
• Thanos summoned his forces and charged for Tyrant's Blade, while Stark deployed a vast mechanical army that contained the Outriders.
• Thor, Dr. Banner, Captain, Hawkeye, and the others fought Thanos as Stark supported them, repaired their bodies, and monitored his dwindling Higher-Dimensional Energy.
• The battle lasted more than ten hours, leaving the city in ruins and both Thanos and the Avengers badly wounded and exhausted.
• As Stark’s Higher-Dimensional Energy was about to run out, he activated a device and sent coordinates to the Data Dimension.

Luke’s reinforcements arrived through the Bifrost just as the portal was about to collapse, turning the battle against Thanos. While Tony and the older Stark worked to stabilize the passage, the newcomers joined the fight and left Thanos pinned down by their coordinated attacks.

• The Metal Cylinder Devices lost power and the white hole began to shrink, but Luke supplied energy from beyond the passage and reopened it.
• Tony, Rogers, Frank, Thor, and Strange arrived through the Bifrost and joined the battle against Thanos.
• Young Tony injected the exhausted Stark with a Longevity Serum, then explained that they needed to stabilize the passage and limit the debt owed to Luke.
• Strange moved Natasha and the others away from the battlefield, while Rogers restored their strength and offered to fight alongside them.
• Thor and Strange kept Thanos occupied as Frank’s carefully charged attacks inflicted heavy damage, leaving Thanos unable to break free and reach him.

The Avengers and their allies sealed Thanos in Luke’s Sealing Pillar and returned through the Bifrost. When Strange arrived, Steve Rogers was missing and an unfamiliar girl had taken his place.

• Strange stopped Hawkeye from touching the Sealing Pillar and explained that it would absorb anyone who touched it.
• Rogers, Strange, Young Thor, and Frank left the battlefield while Stark stayed behind to help his counterpart.
• The Bifrost struck something during the trip, but Strange and the others safely reached Luke’s world.
• Luke stored Thanos’s Sealing Pillar among his mechanical constructs and noticed that Rogers had disappeared.
• Strange confronted the unfamiliar girl who had arrived in Rogers’s place, and she demanded to know how she had ended up there.

Luke and Nick struggled to find Captain after he vanished in another universe, while Strange took responsibility for supervising America Chavez. Elsewhere, a masked man resembling Captain robbed an armed gang in an abandoned factory.

• Nick learned that Captain was stranded in an unknown universe, and Luke explained that the ring might help locate him if Captain could strengthen its signal.
• Luke suggested bringing in a Captain from another universe to temporarily replace the missing one, but Nick remained hopeful they could find the original first.
• Luke left America Chavez in Strange's care, and Strange took her through a portal after she refused to go with him.
• In an abandoned factory, a masked man carrying a shield presented a suitcase of cash to a gang in exchange for metal equipment.
• When the gang recognized him and drew their guns, the masked man disappeared into the darkness and attacked them with his ricocheting shield.

Captain Rogers met Batman, explained that he was gathering equipment to locate his home universe, and refused to reveal details about his companions. Batman demanded that Rogers pause his work until he could assess the risk, while Rogers sensed a dangerous duality in Batman; meanwhile, Jonathan Crane discovered that his mask was filling him with energy and letting him see emotions across Gotham.

• Jim Gordon inspected a gang crime scene and suspected that a lone fighter with an unusual cold weapon had defeated the criminals.
• Captain Rogers brought equipment into his house, where Batman revealed himself and questioned Rogers about his activities.
• Rogers told Batman that he came from another universe and was building a signal transmitter to help his companions locate him.
• Batman demanded information about Rogers's companions and told him to stop his work until he could determine whether they posed a threat; Rogers refused to accept the demand.
• After Batman left, Rogers sensed through his ring that Batman had a powerful mind and a hidden side that could fall into darkness.
• Jonathan Crane found that his Scarecrow mask gave him energy and let him see emotions throughout the city, with fear as his own color.

Jonathan Crane gained power from fear and used it to build a gang and target Bruce Wayne for money and resources. Batman confronted him at a warehouse, where Crane’s fear energy blocked Batman’s attacks and began showing him a terrifying vision of bats.

• Crane discovered that his upgraded Fear Toxin fed energy to his Scarecrow’s Mask, granting him superhuman strength and flight.
• Gordon warned Batman that Scarecrow had become unusually active and might possess unbelievable abilities, then gave him an address.
• Crane decided to target Bruce Wayne after his gang failed to raise enough money, and planned to recruit his university colleagues for research work.
• Batman arrived at Crane’s warehouse and charged through the gunfire as Crane released Poison Gas from a crate.
• Crane absorbed fear energy from the gas’s victims, while his Red-Yellow Energy shield neutralized Batman’s attacks.
• Crane’s Fear Power affected Batman, who began seeing Scarecrow grow larger and hearing the cries and wingbeats of bats.

Steve Rogers visited Bruce Wayne at Wayne Manor and used his ring to ease the fear affecting him. Rogers explained that Emotional Energy had taken root in Gotham and warned that Scarecrow and other compatible people could wield it, leaving Wayne to face a growing threat and the risk that others could discover his identity.

• Gotham's underworld celebrated Batman's disappearance as Scarecrow gained influence and began building instruments to collect Energy for his fear plan.
• Steve Rogers arrived at Wayne Manor, identified himself to Alfred Pennyworth, and asked to speak with Bruce Wayne alone.
• Rogers used his ring's Golden Energy to soothe Bruce and explained how Emotional Energy could influence people and could not be destroyed.
• Rogers told Bruce that Scarecrow was likely a symbiotic host and warned that Gotham's atmosphere could produce more villains empowered by negative emotions.
• Rogers advised Bruce to change Gotham's emotional atmosphere and warned that the ring had led him to Bruce, meaning others might also learn Batman's identity.

Wayne learned from Rogers how Emotional Energy worked and considered studying it as Negative Energy and Mind Energy spread through the city. Rogers urged him to step into the public eye, while the chapter ended with Roman Sionis taking in the Power of Rage.

• Wayne asked Rogers about his power and what it took to wield Emotional Energy, and Rogers explained its dangers and influence.
• Wayne asked to study Rogers and his devices, then asked how soon another energy wielder might appear.
• Rogers warned that Gotham’s atmosphere encouraged Negative Energy and Mind Energy, and urged Wayne to address the city’s problems and consider becoming a public hero.
• Wayne decided to focus first on understanding the energy and finding ways to restrain it.
• Roman Sionis pressed a black mask to his face and felt the Power of Rage flow into him.

Rogers failed to make Bruce Wayne trust the ring’s energy, so he disguised himself as Batman to confront Scarecrow and recover the mask. After Rogers defeated Scarecrow, Hal Jordan and his Green Lantern Ring arrived, and the two rings became attached to Rogers and hostile toward each other, leaving Rogers to propose they talk elsewhere.

• Rogers tried to let Bruce Wayne experience his ring’s energy, but it rejected Wayne because he did not trust Rogers.
• Bruce Wayne agreed to have a Batsuit made for Rogers, who planned to deal with Scarecrow and retrieve the mask.
• Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern Ring took him against his will toward Earth, while Thaal Sinestro sensed a rival and the Guardians of the Universe noticed unusual Emotional Energy in Sector 2814.
• Disguised as Batman, Rogers fought Scarecrow, overcame his Power of Fear, and knocked him down before removing the mask.
• Hal Jordan arrived, but his ring broke its connection with him and gravitated toward Rogers, whose own ring confronted it.
• Rogers proposed that he and Hal Jordan move somewhere else to talk while the two rings remained hostile.

In the cave, Bruce Wayne and Rogers questioned Hal Jordan about the Green Lantern Corps and learned that Hal knew little about its power source or motives. After Rogers argued that Hal could be trusted and should join their effort against spreading Mind Energy, Hal agreed to help.

• Hal Jordan tried to retrieve his Green Lantern Ring, but it avoided him, briefly sought out Bruce Wayne, and eventually returned to Hal.
• Bruce Wayne questioned Hal about his origins, the Green Lantern Corps, and whether he would side with Earth if the Corps had hidden motives.
• Rogers asked Hal about the Lantern Furnace and the Green Lanterns' power, while Bruce suggested the recharge system could also serve as a means of control.
• Bruce turned the questioning to the bound Scarecrow, but Rogers defended trusting Hal and proposed that he join their plan against the spread of Mind Energy.
• After Rogers and Bruce explained the danger of Gotham's Mind Energy corruption and its possible spread, Hal accepted the situation and asked what they needed him to do.

Rogers and Hal Jordan learned how deeply crime and poverty had shaped Gotham, while Wayne proposed helping Harvey Dent lead the city. Bound to Gotham by the ring and Mind Energy, Rogers planned to expand the signal devices and delay the Abyss until Luke could find him.

• Rogers and Hal Jordan discussed how Gotham's crime and disorder made the city seem beyond repair.
• Wayne revealed his plan to help Harvey Dent become Gotham's leader, and Rogers warned that promoting a just prosecutor would not solve the city's entrenched problems.
• Rogers recognized that poverty and a culture of crime lay beneath Gotham's disorder and feared that political change alone could worsen its resentment.
• Rogers realized he could not leave Gotham because Mind Energy had taken root there and his ring's principles required him to face the crisis.
• Rogers planned to expand Wayne Enterprises' signal devices, hoping Luke would find him before the Abyss emerged.