Chapter Summaries

After examining the altered corpse Agent Phil brought him, Luke recognized an imperfect form of Weaponized Meme technology linked to his own power and the Tesseract. He became interested in tracing its creators and saw a chance to use the technology and its need for energy to draw people into his planned Dimensional Server.

• Luke examined the corpse delivered by Agent Phil and recognized that it had been artificially modified using a technology resembling his Weaponized Meme.
• Luke concluded that dispersed energy carrying traces of his consciousness and the Tesseract had likely caused mutations, which clever researchers then learned to exploit.
• Luke determined that the technology could merge human bodies with machinery but remained crude, uncontrollable, and harmful to its users.
• Luke saw that researchers and users of the technology would need a reliable energy source, giving him a way to set terms for access to his planned Dimensional Server.
• Luke accepted that others had begun exploring the path ahead of his own preparations and decided he could use their work to advance his plans.

Eddie and Venom infiltrated Hawk’s hideout, but Hawk defeated them with a powerful sonic attack and captured Venom. At Luke’s Laboratory, Luke and Nick identified Skin Anderson’s mechanical arm as the result of a technology Luke called Mechanical Infection, while Venom awoke imprisoned and became fascinated by a mysterious black cube.

• Eddie and Venom entered Hawk’s bar and knocked out the guards while making their way to his private quarters.
• Hawk revealed his metal jaw and used powerful sound waves to force Venom out of Eddie and incapacitate them both.
• Hawk covered the weakened Venom with a metal casing and captured him.
• Luke examined Skin Anderson’s mechanical arm and told Nick that an unknown technology had transformed part of Anderson’s body into a Mechanical Body.
• Nick and Luke agreed that Hebron would receive an initial share of the recovered technology in exchange for a Technology Non-Abuse Treaty.
• Venom awoke inside a transparent enclosure and stared at a black cube radiating energy that reminded him of Luke and Betsy.

Eddie Brock was forced to endure the Tesseract’s energy beam, while Venom shielded him and underwent a transformation into a powerful Mechanical Body. Venom fought the base’s mutated guards as the man who had captured Eddie fled with the cube, and Luke sensed a faint Mental Link at Hebron Laboratory.

• Eddie Brock questioned the suited man about the Tesseract and agreed to join him, but the man strapped him to a chair and activated the cube’s beam.
• Venom escaped his glass case, shielded Eddie from the beam, and survived a clash between the Tesseract’s energy and Holy Light.
• Venom evolved into a metallic Mechanical Body, freed Eddie, and discovered that heat no longer weakened him.
• Venom attacked the man and his bodyguards with his new abilities, but the man seized the Tesseract while two mutated guards kept Venom occupied.
• Luke felt a faint Mental Link while at Hebron Laboratory in Metropolis.

Venom lost his Mechanical Venom transformation while pursuing a cube and fled the base, while Steve Rogers learned that public recognition had temporarily strengthened his Mind Ring. Luke warned Steve and Frank about the mental risks of overcharging their rings, then sent Snoke to retrieve Venom, who had requested help and promised valuable intelligence.

• Luke detected an unknown Mental Link and banned and blacklisted its source.
• Venom reverted to his original Symbiote form, abandoned the pursuit of the cube, and planned an escape with Eddie.
• Steve visited Luke and found Frank helping train Hebron's security personnel while holding Luke's daughter, Becky.
• Luke explained that public recognition had temporarily boosted Steve's Ring of Leadership and warned Steve and Frank that Supercapacity could affect their minds.
• Snoke told Luke that Venom was being hunted and had requested support in exchange for important intelligence, so Luke sent Snoke to bring him back.

Snoke arrived with an army of Mechanical Spiders to rescue the exhausted Venom and Eddie, then used the Full Metal Armor to capture Eric alive. The survivors and captives boarded an aircraft to return to Luke, while Venom and Eddie began recovering.

• Venom and Eddie were nearly overwhelmed by the pursuers until Snoke’s Mechanical Spiders destroyed the helicopters and attacked the enemy forces.
• Snoke met Venom and Eddie, explaining that the expendable Self-Destructing Spiders were being used to test equipment and clear out inventory.
• A Mutated named Eric charged Snoke, but the Full Metal Armor fought him, crushed his mechanical arm, and captured him alive.
• Mechanical Spider units gathered the other captives, and Snoke recalled 2,100 remaining spiders into the Spatial Device in his combat suit.
• Snoke and an exhausted Eddie boarded the Black Phantom-like Aircraft with the captives and departed to return to Luke.

Luke and Nick interrogated Eric Savin, who revealed that Aldrich Killian planned to use the Cosmic Cube to force humanity’s evolution and establish a new world. Eric warned that Killian had already moved the Spark Plan forward, leaving them racing to stop a worldwide release of the Light of Evolution.

• Nick identified Eric Savin as a former Army technology-project leader working for A.I.M., while Luke explained that a mechanical spider had disabled Eric’s mutated limbs.
• Luke concluded that Killian’s Mechanical Virus mutations were unstable, damaged their users’ bodies, and relied on Extremis as an energy source; Eric’s reaction confirmed Luke’s suspicion.
• Luke claimed Hebron had Consciousness Link technology, prompting Eric to reveal Killian’s Spark Plan to transform humanity and replace the existing political order.
• Eric warned that Killian had prepared to activate the Cosmic Cube early and release the Light of Evolution across the world, forcing people to rely on Killian’s stabilizer to survive.

Nick Fury, Steve, and Luke tried to stop Killian after the military refused to help, while General John Lake moved to seize A.I.M.'s research and the Cosmic Cube. Killian activated the Cube and triggered mass transformations, but Luke arrived with the Cube and disarmed Killian, leaving the crisis still unfolding.

• Nick Fury told Luke and Steve that the military had refused to assist, then learned that the Extremist Faction planned to handle the crisis itself.
• Nick, Steve, and Luke boarded a Quinjet with Clint and Natasha and went to A.I.M.'s base.
• General John Lake demanded that Killian hand over the Extremis technology and Cosmic Cube, but Killian refused and activated the Cube.
• Azure light swept across the area, transforming soldiers, and Killian told John that the transformation would spread across the world.
• John's transformed soldier Flax attacked Killian's Steel Giant as Captain Steve arrived and ordered Killian to surrender.
• Luke appeared behind Killian with the Cosmic Cube and used Mechanical Control to disintegrate Killian's metal arm before it could fire.

Luke turned Killian’s severed mechanical limbs into adaptive mechanical creatures and revealed that the Cosmic Cube contained fragments of consciousness. Trapped by the creatures, Killian unleashed the Extremis Virus, triggering a chain of explosions among the Mutated.

• Killian’s mechanical limbs broke apart under Luke’s control, and Luke assembled them into a mechanical hound that adapted to Killian’s attacks.
• Killian ordered the Mutated to attack Luke, but Luke separated their mechanical parts and formed creatures that turned on their former Masters.
• Luke explained that the Cosmic Cube had absorbed fragments of dead Chitauri consciousness and could not truly be controlled.
• As the mechanical creatures overwhelmed the group, Killian stopped restraining his Extremis Virus and detonated himself, setting off explosions among the surrounding Mutated.

Nick Fury gathered Tony Stark, Luke, Captain America, and others to plan for the coming Mechanical Virus crisis and propose putting Captain America in charge of the country. Luke also revealed the Cosmic Cube had become a developing Data Dimension, and he gave Tony and Bruce Banner access devices to test it.

• Nick showed the group records of inhumane experiments and A.I.M.'s joint work with the Extremist Faction on the Extremis Virus and Mechanical Virus, then warned that a major outbreak was approaching.
• Nick proposed making Captain America the country's leader, and Tony, Luke, and others outlined support through funding, technology, publicity, and a national Intelligent Management System.
• Thor declared an alliance among Asgard, the Sorcerer Supreme's lineage, and Hebron, while Tony suggested forming an organization that Luke rejected naming the Illuminati.
• Nick asked Luke about the Cosmic Cube, and Luke explained that it had become a developing dimension able to replicate items and run experiments when supplied with data and energy.
• Luke gave Tony and Bruce Banner wristbands for the Data Dimension, explained its access tests and Knowledge Currency, and told Nick that the Mutated could enter because of their connection to it.

Luke tested data/chip metal and found that its secondary form could stabilize and enhance Hebron's mechanical prosthetics, while primitive data metal remained too costly to produce at scale. Meanwhile, Rettari's Mech-Gods continued building Emotional Temples and learned that Thanos and the Kree were searching for a powerful object that might supply the Lord with energy.

• Luke used data from Wakandan vibranium to transform data/chip metal into Initial Vibranium, tested it, and returned it to its original state.
• Luke concluded that the Mutated's mechanical limb metal was a weakened form of data metal that could heal, evolve, and be developed for Hebron's technology.
• Rettari and the female Mech-God continued constructing Emotional Temples on the one hundred and twenty-eighth planet while evading Thanos's forces.
• Rettari demonstrated his control over the Power of Mental Emotion and reassured the female Mech-God that devoted believers would not be harmed by it.
• Translator reported that Thanos and the Kree had been searching for an object of immense power, and Rettari ordered him to investigate whether it was the Energy Source the Lord needed.

Luke completed preparations to meet Odin and help seal Mangog, the Embodiment of Hatred. After the group reached Nornheim and drew Mangog out of the Bottomless Abyss, Ancient One opened the Mirror Dimension as it attacked Odin.

• Luke approved the completed Dark City Core Energy Chamber and agreed to meet Odin in three days.
• Luke informed Nick of his journey, prepared his equipment, and traveled with Ancient One to Asgard by Bifrost.
• Odin hosted a meeting with Luke, Ancient One, Thor, Frigga, and Karnilla to plan how to handle Mangog in Nornheim.
• The group went to the Bottomless Abyss, where Odin used a spell to release Mangog from its prison.
• Mangog leaped from the abyss and attacked Odin, while Ancient One opened the Mirror Dimension.

Luke and the Asgardians battled Mangog in the Mirror Dimension, but the monster withstood their attacks and grew stronger. Luke used the Ring of Omnipotence to drain and redistribute energy, helping the others strike back as he prepared another mechanical weapon assembly.

• Odin and Ancient One opened the battle by striking Mangog, but he healed, grew larger, and knocked Odin and Thor aside.
• Luke bombarded Mangog with mechanical weapons, but Odin explained that ordinary energy could not seriously harm the high-dimensional creature.
• Luke activated the Ring of Omnipotence, draining energy from everyone nearby and weakening Mangog as the monster charged at him.
• Luke used spatial defenses and the ring's draining power to wound Mangog, then stopped the uncontrolled siphoning after Karnilla complained.
• Luke channeled golden energy to Odin, Ancient One, Karnilla, and Thor, enabling Thor to stagger Mangog with an empowered blow.
• Luke began assembling another mechanical weapon as the others pressed their attack on Mangog.

Luke and his allies captured Mangog in Asgard and transported it into the Data Dimension, where they began weakening it. Mangog approached the agreed power threshold, leaving the battle’s final outcome unresolved.

• Odin, Ancient One, Karnilla, and Luke restrained Mangog while Luke’s green bugs analyzed and uploaded it into the Data Dimension.
• Karnilla stayed behind as Odin, Ancient One, Thor, and Luke entered Luke’s dimension and found Mangog fighting against the Mechanical Core’s force.
• Luke cut off Mangog’s connection to external Mind Energy and summoned six Hulk Data Replication Bodies to fight it.
• Odin and the others battled Mangog as the Core Energy Chamber tracked its condition and Luke gathered energy from the Data Dimension.
• Mangog’s strength and energy steadily declined until it neared the threshold, while Thor watched from the sidelines.

Luke, Odin, and Ancient One shared the energy harvested from Mangog and used it to strengthen themselves and Asgard. Ancient One then explained to Luke how his energy could give mages a reliable source of power, leaving their partnership poised to reshape the Sorcerer Supreme lineage.

• Luke's Core Energy Chamber sealed Mangog, and Luke, Odin, and Ancient One divided the energy according to their agreement, with Odin giving Thor one of his shares.
• Thor absorbed so much energy that he temporarily lost control of his body, while Ancient One absorbed her share without difficulty.
• Odin poured energy into a lake-sized pit near the Asgardian Palace, enriching the land and raising his hopes for Asgard's future.
• Thor's companions stayed with him as he slowly recovered, while Odin hosted Luke and Ancient One at a banquet.
• Ancient One told Luke that his energy could free mages from dependence on higher-dimensional patrons and reduce the dangers of wielding magic.
• Ancient One explained that Odin had agreed to cooperate because Luke's energy was powerful, upgradeable, and backed by Luke's failed attempt at dimensional ascension.

Luke, Odin, and Ancient One negotiated with Mephisto to join their energy-gathering operation and target Beast. After Mephisto’s contract trick was exposed, Luke proposed turning their cooperation into a Dimensional Demon God Energy Bank, leaving Mephisto intrigued.

• Ancient One warned Luke that powerful beings like Dimensional Demon Gods could not be judged by mortal moral standards.
• Odin and Ancient One invited Mephisto to join their successful energy-gathering operation, and Luke agreed to the meeting.
• Mephisto arrived in the Asgardian Palace as an Avatar, sensed the Energy Lake, and agreed to participate in future plans.
• Odin rejected Mephisto’s proposed target and insisted that they choose Beast, prompting Mephisto to protest before negotiating a price.
• Mephisto presented a thirteen-layer contract that Luke, Odin, and Ancient One refused to sign.
• Luke proposed that Mephisto become the first president of a future Dimensional Demon God Energy Bank, and Mephisto showed interest.

Luke persuaded Mephisto to help establish a Dimensional Demon God Energy Bank by recruiting desperate believers and equipping them to challenge evil gods. Mephisto agreed to provide manpower while Luke developed the technology, and they began discussing how to train and present Mephisto’s subordinates.

• Luke asked Mephisto about his reputation and proposed growing the bank by first absorbing the assets of weaker gods.
• Luke suggested that Mephisto aid believers abandoned by evil gods, guiding them toward godslaying and supplying weapons in exchange for contracts.
• Luke proposed an emotional/Mind Energy network to locate abandoned believers and detect concentrations of energy, and Mephisto agreed to provide manpower.
• Luke offered to train Mephisto’s subordinates in customer service and presentation, citing complaints about the Hell Dimension and Ghost Rider.
• Mephisto accepted Luke’s plan to charge training and packaging fees, agreeing that the bank should normalize service fees.

Nick Fury arrived at Luke’s space city and learned that Luke had made a major deal with Mephisto, bringing demons there to train, trade, and seek services. The chapter left Nick unexpectedly responsible for answering Mephisto’s questions about new loan ideas.

• Nick Fury, Coulson, and Hill reached Dark Silent City and asked Master Mage Wang why demons were gathered there.
• Master Mage Wang explained that Luke had promised Mephisto the future presidency of the Dimensional Energy Bank, and that the demons were there for business training and transactions.
• Nick watched demons exchange valuable materials for New Currency and saw Frank, Thor, mages, and robots enforce the rules against unruly visitors.
• Nick saw demons pay for weapon services while dwarves turned away those who had not completed training or met performance targets.
• Luke argued with Mephisto over the demons’ fees, then introduced Nick as the professional who could evaluate Mephisto’s new loan ideas.

Nick negotiated with Mephisto over providing financial talent, but rejected the demon’s demands for their souls without safeguards. After Mephisto left, Luke told Nick he had built a rudimentary psychic network using Loki’s Scepter and introduced a powerful Hell-made Persona Mask.

• Mephisto asked Nick to find financial experts and proposed taking their souls to turn them into demons or absorb their knowledge.
• Nick refused to trade people’s souls without guarantees and consultation with Ancient One and his organization, despite Mephisto offering referral fees and other benefits.
• Mephisto complained about fees imposed by Ancient One, then ended the projection after Nick declined to name a price for souls.
• Coulson remarked that Mephisto seemed reasonable, and Nick explained that Ancient One and Odin’s backing shaped the demon’s attitude.
• Luke returned and revealed that he had modified Loki’s Scepter into the main server for a rudimentary psychic network, promising S.H.I.E.L.D. a share of its future profits.
• Luke identified the mask he brought as a Hell-export Persona Mask and warned Nick that it was more invasive and had more extreme side effects than a Mind Ring.

Drax, a star-pirate driven by the slaughter of his wife and daughter by the Kree, accepted a demonic mask called Wrath in exchange for a ten-year obligation to kill two gods. He set out to gain the power to kill Ronan the Accuser, while the demon secured his contract.

• Drax awoke from a recurring nightmare of his wife and daughter being killed by the Kree, then joined his crew to attack a Xandarian transport ship.
• Drax and the star-pirates seized the transport ship, erased their traces, and hid on a remote, primitive planet.
• While sitting alone beneath the stars, Drax encountered a demon who offered him power in exchange for a contract.
• Drax said he wanted to kill Ronan the Accuser, and the demon gave him the Wrath mask instead of the power to slaughter gods.
• Drax accepted the mask by signing the contract, agreeing to kill two gods within ten years or lose his power and soul.

Drax succumbed to the Wrath mask and slaughtered a group of Star-Pirates before Nova Corps found the ruined battlefield. Meanwhile, Luke gathered Nick Fury and other influential figures to reveal magic and launch a Dimensional Exchange, leaving Nick with the chance to make S.H.I.E.L.D. a major power in the new order.

• Drax put on the Wrath mask, gave in to its rage, and attacked the Star-Pirates’ ships and crew.
• Nova Corps investigated the ruined battlefield, found two survivors, and ordered the missing cargo inventoried before taking them to Xandar for trial.
• The demon sensed the fallen souls gained through his contract with Drax and looked forward to future profits.
• Nick Fury shut down Project Insight, then joined Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Norman Osborn, and others aboard the Helicarrier for Luke’s gathering.
• Luke introduced the group to magic through a portal opened by Stephen Strange and arranged for them to sign confidentiality agreements.
• Luke proposed that Nick establish a Dimensional Exchange using Hebron technology and off-world resources, with S.H.I.E.L.D. managing the participants and their trade.