Chapter Summaries

Strange learned how Rumlow wielded a grafted fragment of Beholder’s power without losing his sanity. Master Mage Wang explained that deception and psionics maintained the fragile bond, though the Grafted Ones still needed regular treatment and monitoring.

• Master Mage Wang introduced Strange to Rumlow and brought them through a portal to an open, snowy area for a demonstration.
• Rumlow revealed an eye between his brows and overwhelmed Strange with psychic force, but Strange raised a mental barrier while Rumlow waited without attacking.
• Strange asked whether Rumlow wielded Beholder’s power, and Master Mage Wang clarified that it was only a tiny fragment grafted from a Beholder avatar.
• Master Mage Wang explained that the graft deceived Beholder into thinking Rumlow was still its avatar, while psionics and post-mission checks helped protect the Grafted Ones’ minds.
• Master Mage Wang said Rumlow’s soul was entwined with Beholder’s and described maintaining the balance between their unequal souls as the hardest part.

Strange warned Rumlow that Hebron’s technological grafting would eventually demand repayment, but Rumlow argued that strength mattered more than a safe future for someone who lived on the battlefield. Their conversation left Strange intrigued but still wary of the technology and its dimensional powers.

• Strange told Rumlow that Hebron’s grafting technology could eventually claim his soul, just as magic carried a debt.
• Rumlow explained that he pursued strength because his work as an agent and soldier made ordinary methods increasingly useless and dangerous.
• Rumlow described Blonsky, codenamed Abomination, as a far more extreme power-seeker who had accepted numerous modifications and relied on psionic liquid to keep his body and mind stable.
• Rumlow admitted that his own Beholder-derived power left his soul burdened and required psionic liquid to relieve the exhaustion caused by using it.
• Wang said Strange would understand Rumlow’s mindset better after spending more time with him, while Strange remained doubtful about artificial Dimensional Life Forms technology.

Strange was assigned to deal with an Annihilation Swarm invasion caused by the breach he and the Scarlet Witch had opened between universes. As he prepared to close the breach, Stephen informed him that the invaders had captured Galactus, forcing the mission to change.

• Stephen's magical projection told Strange that his and the Scarlet Witch's violent traversal had exposed a universe to an invasion by the Annihilation Swarm.
• Stephen explained that the Doctor Strange Corps was focusing on creating and managing its own universes and could not promise help in the unclaimed universe.
• Stephen shared memories about the Negative Zone, the Three Great Empires, Quasar, and the breach with Strange through Soul Connection.
• Strange learned that he was to drive out the Annihilation Swarm, with repairing and closing the breach as his primary task.
• Stephen revealed that the invaders had captured Galactus, possibly only an avatar, and warned Strange that his mission would take an unexpected turn.

Sam Witwicky chased his stolen car and discovered that it was an Autobot, then learned from Optimus Prime about Cybertron’s war and the danger the Allspark posed to Earth. He agreed to help the Autobots find the glasses his grandfather left behind, which held information about the Cube’s location.

• Sam saw his car drive away and pursued it by bicycle into a remote wilderness.
• Sam watched his car transform, then found himself surrounded by Optimus Prime and the other Autobots.
• Optimus Prime introduced himself and used virtual images to explain the Autobots’ history and the coming danger.
• Sam learned that his grandfather’s glasses contained information about the Allspark and that the Decepticons were searching for it.
• Sam rode with Optimus Prime toward home as Optimus warned that the Decepticons might use the Allspark to locate the Prime Creator’s planet.

A blonde man and a woman with a metallic body used a wristwatch’s AI to search for a hidden cube on Earth, which the AI said was tied to its creator. They found Barricade and forced him to reveal the Decepticons’ leads, while the AI explained that its goal was to recover technology from an abandoned research chamber.

• The blonde man questioned the wristwatch AI about the cube, and it confirmed the cube was on the planet while warning him not to disrupt civilization.
• The woman hacked the local network and machine cluster, then located a nearby Mechanical Life Form by tracking its energy.
• The blonde man attacked Barricade, and the wristwatch AI used an absolute command to force Barricade to kneel and answer questions.
• Barricade revealed that the Decepticons were also searching for the cube and already had some leads.
• The AI said the Decepticons were seeking a city built by its Lord and told the blonde man that it intended to restore its Main Body with the abandoned research chamber’s materials and technology.

The Mechanical Race's representative reassured the Blonde Man that it would not seize the Enlightenment Empire's power and explained its control over ordinary Mechanical Creations. Later, the Allspark's hiding place was revealed at a dam, where several unidentified figures approached the cube.

• The Blonde Man questioned the metallic voice about its control over Mechanical Creations and voiced the Enlightenment Empire's concerns about its influence.
• The metallic voice said it would not overthrow the Empire, explained that the cube controlled ordinary Mechanical Creations, and said it had set a defector to turn Decepticons to its side.
• The Allspark's location was exposed, and humans, Autobots, Decepticons, and hidden foreign visitors gathered at a dam.
• Agent Simmons showed Sam, Optimus Prime, and the others Megatron frozen in ice and the Allspark, describing the cube's energy and technological importance.
• Simmons noticed a blond man and a tall woman approaching the Allspark, then drew his pistol and ordered them to stop.

Simmons and Sam witnessed the Black Cube transport them and the Transformers from Earth to a legendary metal world. Optimus Prime recognized it as Cybertron, where the awakened Supreme Intelligence introduced itself.

• Simmons fired at the Blonde Man's group, but an Energy Shield blocked the bullets and Optimus Prime's Metal Shield stopped a Plasma Orb.
• The Blonde Man followed the metallic voice's instructions and touched the Black Cube with Mechanical Tentacles.
• The Black Cube unleashed a void that swallowed both groups and parts of the base, then transported them to another world.
• Optimus Prime confirmed the air was safe for humans and told Sam and the others they had reached the legendary land that could help rebuild Cybertron.
• A pair of enormous eyes appeared above the Mechanical City, and the Supreme Intelligence announced that it had awakened.

The Supreme Intelligence revealed itself to Sam, Simmons, and Optimus Prime, offering advanced technology and help in exchange for cooperation. When attackers breached its defenses, it urged them to hide its core components and take them away, and Simmons decided they could not let their enemies obtain it.

• The Supreme Intelligence appeared as Mikaela in a consciousness space and explained that she had used Sam and the others' memories to choose her form.
• She offered to help humanity become a powerful Star Empire and help Optimus Prime restart Cybertron, then described her origins as the central intelligence of a destroyed empire.
• Simmons questioned whether the Supreme Intelligence intended to rebuild its former empire, while she offered to share her surviving technological knowledge.
• The Supreme Intelligence came under attack from intruders familiar with her code, and the space around them darkened as her defenses faltered.
• The Supreme Intelligence told Sam, Simmons, and Optimus Prime to call for her guidance, hide her core components on themselves, and carry them out.
• Simmons decided they had to secure the Supreme Intelligence so the Blonde Man and his group could not obtain it.

The Blonde Man learned that the Nightmare Seed could help the Enlightenment Empire break through its Civilization Barrier by granting endless inspiration, but it consumed its host’s life and knowledge. The metallic voice warned that using it could entangle the whole civilization in a deadly, addictive race, and the Blonde Man asked whether the calamity could be stopped.

• The Blonde Man decided that the Supreme Intelligence alone was not enough to satisfy the Enlightenment Empire, and the metallic voice revealed another treasure called the Nightmare Seed.
• The metallic voice explained that the Nightmare Seed kept its host in a state of Inspiration Outburst, helping them solve problems and advance a civilization’s Technology Tree.
• The Blonde Man asked about the cost, and the metallic voice said the Seed consumed its host’s life while warning that elite researchers might die before the empire advanced.
• The metallic voice warned that the Nightmare Seed was addictive and contagious, and that its use could lead either to repeated advancement or the destruction of the entire civilization.
• The Blonde Man sensed there might be a way to stop the calamity and eagerly asked the metallic voice about it.

The Blonde Man learned that the Nightmare Seed’s influence could only be delayed, and that using a Knowledge/Truth Altar could shift its cost from individuals to collective emotional energy. The metallic voice warned that the altar would eventually draw Evil Gods and threaten the entire universe, leaving the Blonde Man to carry the knowledge back to his civilization.

• The metallic voice told the Blonde Man that the Nightmare Seed’s price could not be avoided, only delayed, and that sealing it was unlikely to work.
• The Blonde Man realized the metallic voice had guided his group to retrieve the Nightmare Seed, and the voice confirmed it had acted to fulfill their wishes.
• The metallic voice explained that the Knowledge/Truth Altar could bear the life-draining cost of the Nightmare Seed in place of living beings, powered by collected emotions.
• The Blonde Man asked about the altar’s hidden dangers, and the metallic voice warned that extreme individuals could emerge and that accumulated disasters would grow worse over time.
• The metallic voice revealed that using the altar would eventually attract Evil Gods, whose influence could bring the universe to its end.

The Blonde Man used Metallic Voice to unlock the Universal Weapon and defeat Megatron inside Cybertron’s treasury. He left Megatron trapped and raced to secure the Nightmare Seed and supplies before complications arose.

• Megatron burst into the treasury and attacked the Blonde Man, while Metallic Voice directed him to a black war hammer.
• The hammer rejected the Blonde Man until Metallic Voice bypassed its locks, revealing its Universal Weapon functions and linking it to him.
• The Blonde Man used the hammer’s energy blasts, matter manipulation, and gravity control to damage Megatron and immobilize him.
• The Blonde Man locked down Megatron’s engines, then raced toward the Nightmare Seed and supplies at Metallic Voice’s coordinates.

Simmons and Sam learned that the Supreme Intelligence had brainwashed them and that a mysterious woman had helped suppress it. The woman revealed that they had been marked by the Dimensional Beasts, then vanished before explaining how they could leave.

• Simmons and Sam woke after the woman defeated them and learned that the Supreme Intelligence had brainwashed them.
• The woman explained that she had uploaded Optimus Prime and the others’ consciousness programs to the Supreme Intelligence’s data battlefield and used the Mechanical Race’s authority to suppress it.
• Simmons questioned why the woman was helping them, and she told him and Sam to inspect their right arms.
• Simmons and Sam discovered eye-shaped marks that the woman identified as protection from the Dimensional Beasts, beings that carried life and resources between universes.
• The woman said their purpose had been achieved and that Simmons and Sam would learn more when they were drawn elsewhere, then vanished as Simmons tried to stop her.

Strange learned how the Energy Bank had obtained Galactus specimens and was sent to meet Harry Osborn for help against the Annihilation Swarm. Harry offered Osborn Industries’ biotechnology support in exchange for Swarm specimens, leaving Strange weighing the proposed cooperation.

• Stephen’s projection told Strange that the Energy Bank had captured several Galactus avatars, but Galactus severed their connection, leaving specimens with Hebron and Stark; Stark turned his damaged specimen into the Anti-Celestial Armor.
• Stephen sent Strange through a Light Screen to meet Harry Osborn, saying Osborn’s laboratory could help with his mission.
• Harry offered Osborn Industries’ support against the Annihilation Swarm in exchange for corpses, live specimens, or embryos, and offered compensation in Energy Bank currency.
• Strange asked what Harry knew about the Swarm and revealed that it had captured a Galactus avatar.
• Harry became excited by the news and argued that Osborn Industries’ inherited biotechnology expertise made it the best partner for Strange.

Harry showed Strange Osborn Industries’ engineered Brood embryos and explained that the Brood could evolve to challenge the Annihilation Swarm. He introduced Strange to Ofinia, a cooperative Brood Queen who agreed to join the mission so she could devour the Annihilation Swarm’s genes and grow stronger.

• Harry led Strange into a simulated spatially unstable environment and showed him stored Brood embryos optimized by Osborn Industries.
• Harry explained that the Brood could parasitize powerful hosts and might evolve into a swarm capable of rivaling the Annihilation Swarm.
• Strange asked how Harry intended to control the Brood, and Harry explained that controlling a Queen meant controlling her swarm.
• Harry introduced Ofinia as an Osborn Industries partner and a Brood Queen who had gained intelligence and composure.
• Ofinia greeted Strange and agreed to cooperate with the mission, provided she could devour the Annihilation Swarm’s genes.

Harry explained that Osborn and Ofinia were competing against other Brood Queens to achieve Leap Evolution, a contest set by Hebron that could determine Osborn’s future standing. Ofinia offered Strange customized Brood embryos and agreed to accompany him as a Zerg Suit, leaving the group prepared for their next mission.

• Harry told Strange that Ofinia and Osborn had to defeat rival Queens and their partners to claim control of the other Zerg Colonies and secure their place among Hebron’s leading corporations.
• Harry explained that Hebron created the competition by licensing the same technology to selected institutions and advancing those that met its standards.
• Strange asked how Osborn planned to use the embryos, and Ofinia explained that she could hatch them into specialized Brood, including symbiotic Zerg Suits, communication networks, and units for magic, combat, or infiltration.
• Ofinia said she would accompany Strange and could become a Zerg Suit to strengthen him, adding that they could escape even an omnipotent God.