Chapter Summaries

Nick Fury explained his plan to expose Hydra within S.H.I.E.L.D. while preserving the agency, then asked Aaron to capture the Winter Soldier and keep him away from Steve. Aaron accepted after the system offered missions to capture Bucky Barnes and restore him to normal, and Fury sent him toward the Triskelion before asking him to help with Garrett aboard the Airbus.

• Nick Fury and Natasha explained that Arnim Zola's algorithm powered the Insight Program and that Steve, Romanoff, and Sam had replaced the Helicarriers' targeting modules.
• Nick Fury outlined his plan to use Steve Rogers and Alexander Pierce's Hydra activation phrase to expose Hydra agents while keeping S.H.I.E.L.D. intact.
• Natasha identified the Winter Soldier as Bucky Barnes, Steve's closest friend, and Fury asked Aaron to capture him and prevent him from meeting Steve.
• Aaron accepted two system missions concerning Bucky after Fury promised S.H.I.E.L.D. would owe him a favor.
• Fury directed Natasha to impersonate a Council member and Coulson to retrieve Peggy, while Aaron and Hill were to meet Steve at the Triskelion.
• Coulson told Aaron that Garrett was aboard the Airbus with Ward, and Aaron agreed to go there after dealing with Bucky.

Steve Rogers broadcast that Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and urged agents to stop the Insight Program, prompting a battle between loyal agents and Rumlow's Strike Team as the Helicarriers launched. Steve and Sam raced toward the Helicarriers to disable their targeting systems, while Aaron stayed behind to wait for the Winter Soldier.

• Aaron, Hill, Steve, and Sam prepared to enter the Triskelion, and Aaron promised to spare Bucky's life while stopping him.
• Steve persuaded a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to broadcast his warning that Alexander Pierce and Hydra had infiltrated the agency and planned to use the Helicarriers for mass killings.
• Piers took the four council members hostage as Rumlow tried to advance the Helicarriers' launch sequence.
• Sharon Carter and loyal agents resisted Rumlow's Strike Team, but Rumlow escaped after changing the launch commands.
• The three Helicarriers rose from the lake, and Sam flew toward Helicarrier Two while Steve landed on Helicarrier One and charged toward its targeting system.

Steve and Sam fought to stop Hydra’s Helicarriers while Natasha revealed herself and subdued Piers’s guards, explaining that the Insight Program was Nick Fury’s Snake-Catching Plan. Aaron intervened when Bucky attacked the pilots, crippled his metal arm, and faced him in close combat, where the chapter ended with Aaron drawing an M1911.

• Steve fought through Hydra agents aboard one Helicarrier while Sam evaded anti-aircraft fire as he approached another.
• Natasha revealed her identity to Piers and the Council, defeated his agents, and explained that the Insight Program was Nick Fury’s Snake-Catching Plan.
• Aaron left the surveillance room after Hill spotted Bucky heading toward the airfield to attack the pilots.
• Bucky tried to kill the pilots, but Aaron shot his weapons and damaged his metal arm, giving the pilots time to take off and support Steve and Sam.
• Aaron considered Bucky a candidate for the Warrior Pathway and shot him down, but Bucky dodged further shots and charged Aaron.
• Aaron avoided Bucky’s grab and struck his abdomen, then drew an M1911 as Bucky prepared to attack again.

Aaron incapacitated Bucky and later killed Alexander Pierce as Nick Fury’s plan exposed Hydra agents within S.H.I.E.L.D. After Aaron revived the injured council member Hoy Maynard, Nick Fury maneuvered the situation to charge him for the treatment.

• Aaron shot Bucky in the limbs and knocked him unconscious, then agreed to leave while Steve finished dealing with the last Helicarrier.
• Nick Fury confronted Pierce as Peggy Carter arrived, and Pierce activated a code phrase intended to awaken Hydra agents across S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Coulson revealed that Fury had evacuated loyal agents to branch offices, turning Pierce’s code phrase into a way to expose Hydra operatives.
• Pierce used an explosive badge to fatally wound council member Hoy Maynard and threatened the others, but Aaron shot Pierce before he could escape.
• Aaron revived Maynard with Phoenix Tears, and Nick Fury claimed a one-billion-dollar treatment fee from him.

Peggy pressed the World Council to keep supporting S.H.I.E.L.D., warning that humanity faced threats beyond Hydra and aliens. Meanwhile, Aaron searched the ocean for Coulson's team and discovered their escape pod with Skye, Fitz, Simmons, and May inside, stranded on the seafloor after Garrett deployed a Centipede Squad.

• Aaron left Coulson and Peggy to meet the World Council, while Peggy argued that S.H.I.E.L.D. was needed to defend humanity against hidden threats and had Natasha access a classified security file.
• Aaron's compass led him toward the ocean, where he realized Coulson's team had sunk and decided to search for their bodies.
• Aaron dove into the sea, estimating that he could withstand the pressure only to around eight hundred meters without magic.
• Skye, Fitz, Simmons, and May awoke in an escape pod just over ninety meters underwater and realized they had no way to escape or guarantee rescue.
• May explained that Garrett had brought seven or eight Centipede-enhanced Super Soldiers onto the aircraft, forcing her team into the pod.

Trapped in a sealed compartment a hundred meters beneath the sea, May, Skye, Fitz, and Simmons feared they would run out of oxygen before Coulson could reach them. Aaron arrived alone and pulled them to the surface, where the chapter left them escaping the flooding compartment and learning he had found them with Captain Jack's Compass.

• Fitz explained that Centipede Serum made its users increasingly dependent on it, and he guessed Garrett had developed it to stave off a life-threatening condition and learn how Coulson returned from the dead.
• May, Skye, Fitz, and Simmons realized the sealed compartment had at most half an hour of oxygen and discussed their slim chances of rescue.
• Strange knocking sounded outside the compartment, so May turned off the lights before a huge shadow appeared at the window.
• Aaron arrived outside the compartment, revealed himself with a flashlight, and hauled it up from the seabed.
• Aaron used Shore Flower to blast open the door, and May led the others out before seawater could sink the compartment again.
• Aaron told them he had come alone using a motorcycle and Captain Jack's Compass, and admitted he had hesitated when the compass pointed underwater.

Aaron towed Skye, May, Fitz, and Simmons toward shore while heading for the Triskelion, where Peggy revealed S.H.I.E.L.D.’s hidden history and the Tree of Omniscience to the World Council. The council agreed to provide greater support and receive a general budget breakdown, leaving S.H.I.E.L.D.’s future on a more stable footing.

• Aaron tied the pod to his motorcycle and flew toward shore, agreeing to take Skye to headquarters so she could seek access to the file about her parents.
• At the Triskelion, Peggy showed the World Council evidence of threats including Magneto, the Kree, vampires, and demons, explaining S.H.I.E.L.D.’s role in protecting humanity.
• Peggy and Nick Fury revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been founded to protect the Tree of Omniscience, whose influence caused most people to forget supernatural events and hidden truths.
• Peggy explained that Alexander Pierce’s betrayal and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s upheaval made it necessary to disclose the organization’s history before she died.
• The World Council offered S.H.I.E.L.D. greater support and requested a general breakdown of its spending, which Nick Fury agreed to provide.

Aaron brought Skye to the Triskelion, where he argued with Steve over Bucky’s injuries and demanded payment to treat him. Skye reported that Garrett and Ward were Hydra, and Nick Fury assigned Coulson’s team to pursue them while hinting that Aaron should help if needed.

• Aaron and Skye arrived at the Triskelion after Steve’s team captured the Hydra operatives, including Bucky and Rumlow.
• Aaron agreed to treat Bucky’s injuries and restore his memories for two million dollars, and he asked Steve to bring him Natasha Romanoff.
• Nick Fury told Aaron that Peggy Carter had helped secure more support and resources for S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Skye reported that Ward worked for Garrett, that Garrett was the Clairvoyant, and that the team had escaped after Garrett’s forces took the Airbus.
• Skye revealed that Garrett had learned about Project TAHITI and was heading to its research base, prompting Nick Fury to order Coulson’s team to stop him.
• Nick Fury suggested S.H.I.E.L.D. could use Jean Grey’s identity to secure Aaron’s help, and Aaron challenged him over his earlier promise of a favor.

Aaron negotiated with Nick Fury to protect Jean and offered S.H.I.E.L.D. limited help, while Skye learned that her parents were alive but mentally troubled. A divination revealed that Horn’s tree shaped humanity’s memories and that Aaron was bound to remain in the universe for at least nine years, leaving Hela delighted at the prospect of his continued stay.

• Aaron secured Nick Fury’s promise that S.H.I.E.L.D. would protect Jean and offered Coulson help when needed, while keeping the right to refuse.
• Nick Fury gave Skye partial information about her background and told her both parents were alive but had mental problems.
• Aaron returned to Gaius's Divination Shop, discussed the ocean and the Skyfathers with Hela, and used the Crystal Ball to investigate his unease.
• Aaron’s divination showed a tree planted by Horn and a Stone Tablet, leading him to conclude the tree had concealed the supernatural world from ordinary people.
• Abei noticed Aaron’s ring flash during the divination, and Aaron explained that Horn had left him the ring and a contract requiring him to remain in the universe for at least nine years.
• Hela laughed at Aaron’s predicament and celebrated with Jane, while Aaron asked for a drink too.

Aaron used the damaged Goat Talisman to restore Bucky's memories, then helped him face the guilt and discover Hydra's hidden code-word trigger. Bucky considered suicide, but Aaron urged him to live for Steve and the people who cared about him.

• Steve and Natasha brought the bound Bucky to Aaron's shop, where Jane used pain to stop his struggles.
• Steve paid Aaron, and Natasha returned the cracked Goat Talisman; Aaron used its remaining Soul Energy to restore Bucky's memories and put him to sleep.
• Aaron persuaded Steve to leave Bucky at the shop, then Bucky woke and remembered Hydra's torture and the people he had killed as the Winter Soldier.
• Bucky discovered that a set of code words could still make Hydra control him, and he admitted he did not know what to do next.
• When Bucky said he might commit suicide, Aaron urged him to stay alive for Steve, his wife, and his friends.

Aaron offered Bucky Barnes a chance to atone and escape his painful past in exchange for lifelong loyalty, promising to remove Hydra’s control words and help him advance along the Warrior Pathway. Bucky signed the contracts and drank the Sequence Nine Warrior potion, becoming Aaron’s eighth follower.

• Aaron offered to eliminate Hydra’s hidden safeguards in Bucky and asked him to sign a secrecy contract before revealing that he was a Warlock from another universe.
• Aaron proposed that Bucky become his loyal follower, explaining that he could atone by helping the relatives of his victims and taking dangerous missions for S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Aaron offered Bucky the Warrior Pathway and explained its Sequences, from Sequence Nine Warrior to Sequence Zero Twilight Giant.
• Bucky agreed to become Aaron’s eighth follower and signed the loyalty contract after Aaron promised to help him advance as far as Sequence Two Glory.
• Bucky drank the Sequence Nine Warrior potion, and Aaron told him he could pray to him for help when facing problems he could not solve.

Aaron recruited Bucky, removed Hydra’s control password from his mind, and assigned him to reconnect with Steve Rogers and S.H.I.E.L.D. Meanwhile, Garrett prepared to inject the experimental drug GH-325 in a desperate attempt to survive, leaving Ward poised to administer it.

• Aaron welcomed Bucky as a follower, gave him money, and extracted Hydra’s control password from his mind.
• Bucky accepted responsibility for dealing with those he had killed and left to contact Steve Rogers and report to S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Hela compared herself unfavorably with Aaron, while Aaron collected the rewards for completing his missions involving Bucky.
• Garrett’s team rescued Leena and obtained GH-325, a drug that could revive the dead, after human trials in Cuba.
• Garrett rejected Leena’s suggestion to seek Gaius’s Phoenix Tear and ordered Ward to replace the Centipede Serum with GH-325.
• Ward removed the serum sac from Garrett’s abdomen and prepared to inject GH-325 as Garrett insisted he would survive.

Garrett recovered after Ward injected GH-325 into the Centipede Serum, and he and Leena discussed their plans for evolution and a larger rise. Aaron joined Coulson's team to raid Roxxon Industrial and reclaim the Airbus, while Skye hoped to use his compass to find her parents.

• Ward injected GH-325 into Garrett's gallbladder, and Garrett convulsed before recovering with a heightened sense of knowledge and strength.
• Garrett told Ward he wanted a rise greater than Hydra's, while Leena arranged for Quinn to show the Centipede Serum research to military generals.
• Coulson's team arrived at Roxxon Industrial after Aaron located Garrett and Ward with his compass, and they learned Quinn was presenting the serum to military personnel.
• Garrett discussed Gravitonium and evolution with Leena, telling her she would get the evolution she wanted, but not from him.
• Aaron and Coulson crashed through the base's gate, and Aaron used his modified Shore Flower pistol to blast a path for May and Skye.
• Aaron warned the team not to lose his compass, and Skye used it to point toward the person in charge instead of her parents.

Garrett killed a general during Quinn’s attempt to secure a government contract, while S.H.I.E.L.D. attacked the base and took control of its Centipede Soldiers. Coulson and Aaron confronted Garrett, who recognized Aaron and said he had wanted to find him.

• Quinn showed the military personnel his technology and proposed replacing special forces with mass-produced soldiers, but Garrett threatened the general and killed him.
• Quinn and Leena fled with plans to take the gravitonium as S.H.I.E.L.D. forces fought their way through the base.
• May and Skye confronted Zeller and made him switch the Centipede Soldiers to their default command, causing them to stop pursuing Coulson and Aaron.
• May learned that Mack’s son and Zeller’s wife were being held at the base, while Coulson and Aaron followed the soldiers toward Garrett.
• Garrett dismissed Ward’s warnings and waited for the attackers, but Coulson and Aaron entered the laboratory with the rest of the team supporting them.
• Garrett recognized Aaron and told him that Aaron’s potions had helped keep him alive.

Aaron and Coulson confronted Garrett and his Centipede Soldiers, ending with Garrett’s death and Ward’s capture. May and Skye arrived afterward, and the team turned to extracting Hydra information from Ward.

• Aaron told Coulson he would adjust what he sold to S.H.I.E.L.D. without reducing their monthly potion orders.
• Garrett ordered the Centipede Soldiers to attack, while Ward tried to capture Aaron alive; Aaron repelled the soldiers, blocked Ward’s shots, and knocked him unconscious.
• Coulson shot Garrett, but Garrett survived and claimed GH-325 had revealed the mysteries of the universe.
• Aaron overpowered Garrett, tore out the glowing organ in his abdomen, and Coulson killed him after Garrett begged for help.
• May and Skye arrived to find Ward and the Centipede Soldiers bound, and Skye slapped Ward before Coulson and May promised to question him about Hydra.

Aaron celebrated the end of Coulson’s team’s crisis, then discussed his burdens and plans with Hela. At the Mind World meeting, Slytherin reported on Bohart Star’s development and a possible Kree threat, while Yak asked to leave the planet temporarily.

• Coulson told Aaron that S.H.I.E.L.D. would keep Ward imprisoned, and Coulson set aside the strange pattern Garrett had carved into a laboratory door.
• Aaron returned to his shop, celebrated with a lavish dinner, and told Hela that resolving the crisis had eased some of the pressure he had carried for three years.
• Aaron introduced Bucky Barnes to the Mind World meeting as a former Winter Soldier and a Sequence Nine Warrior, and the believers shared their names and progress.
• Slytherin reported that he had bought Bohart Star, begun developing it as a gourmet planet, and completed a Universal Capsule base with help from Xandar and Nova Prime.
• Slytherin warned that the Kree might target Bohart Star, and Aaron ordered him to destroy them if they attacked while keeping his identity secret.
• Yak asked Aaron for permission to leave Bohart Star temporarily.

Aaron received a prophecy that Apocalypse, the progenitor of mutants, was about to break free and planned to warn S.H.I.E.L.D. while avoiding direct involvement. He also resolved to get Jean away from the Mutant Academy if Apocalypse’s escape exposed mutants to the world.

• Aaron granted Ake leave to digest the Clown Potion and told Naga and Ramon to arrange their own leave through Slytherin, one at a time.
• Aaron sent Frank Castle a Sequence Seven Inquisitor Potion and focused on saving Delicious Points to buy the Food Sink skill.
• Hela remarked that Aaron’s meals had declined in quality, and the Book of Prophecy announced that Apocalypse was about to break free and reveal mutants to the world.
• Aaron reasoned that outside forces would damage Apocalypse’s seal and decided to notify S.H.I.E.L.D. rather than the mutants, while preparing to leave Earth if his identity became known.
• Aaron concluded that Jean would be endangered at the Mutant Academy after mutants were exposed and decided to get her away, even if he had to trick her.

Nick Fury learned that the Tree of Knowledge had changed and paid Aaron for a prophecy that Apocalypse would soon break free and reveal Mutants to the world. Aaron lent S.H.I.E.L.D. his compass to help locate Apocalypse, then visited Jean, whose apocalyptic dream appeared to concern the same threat, and secured her a month’s leave.

• Hill showed Nick Fury the Tree of Knowledge’s newly yellowing leaves, and Aaron later told him that Apocalypse was about to escape his seal and reveal Mutants to humanity.
• Nick Fury agreed to pay Aaron one hundred million dollars for the prophecy and asked for information about Apocalypse’s location.
• Aaron agreed to lend S.H.I.E.L.D. Captain Jack’s Compass, while privately predicting that Nick Fury would try to keep it.
• Fawkes told Aaron that Jean had dreamed of a blue-skinned armored figure atop a pyramid as flames consumed the world, and Aaron connected the vision to Apocalypse in Egypt.
• Aaron found Jean at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and persuaded her to take a month away from school.
• Professor Charles approved Jean’s leave and advised her to be careful, embarrassing Jean when he assumed she and Aaron planned to have a child.

Aaron took Jean to the Divination Shop for a month-long stay, where Hela teased them and challenged Aaron with her swords. Jean explored the shop, then she and Aaron began a romantic night together, while Hela and Jane listened downstairs.

• Aaron left the school with Jean after she took a month's leave, leaving Scott heartbroken as Hank advised him to move on.
• Aaron introduced Jean to Hela and Jane at the Divination Shop, and Hela provoked Jean by hinting at Aaron's relationships with other women.
• Hela attacked Aaron with Swords of the Night Sky, then explained that the contract prevented her from fighting and that she sought amusement by stirring up trouble.
• Jean toured the Divination Shop and learned about Aaron's many unusual identities and work.
• Aaron bought a Ruby Crab for dinner, then kissed Jean in their bedroom while Hela and Jane heard them downstairs.

Hill, Natasha, and Barton followed Aaron’s compass to an underground Egyptian ruin and discovered cultists worshipping the sealed Mutant En Sabah Nur. After arresting them, they learned Apocalypse could transfer his consciousness into new bodies to gain powers and extend his life, leaving the team facing the danger of his escape.

• Aaron and Jean came downstairs after spending the night together, while Hela encouraged Jane to consider becoming Aaron’s sixth partner.
• Hill, Natasha, and Barton arrived in Cairo and used Aaron’s compass to locate a desert ruin, while Natasha tested it to search for a missing childhood companion and a doctor.
• The three agents found an underground pyramid surrounded by cultists chanting En Sabah Nur’s name and waited until the ritual ended before arresting them.
• The cultists revealed that a recent earthquake had exposed the ruins, and that a man had sold a Stone Tablet describing En Sabah Nur as an Egyptian ruler worshipped as a god.
• Natasha explained that En Sabah Nur could replace his body to acquire new abilities and prolong his life, prompting Hill and Barton to warn that he must not escape.