Chapter Summaries

Steve Rogers faced the first Avengers outside the White House, convinced the Cosmic Cube would let him remake the world and restore their lost friends. The Avengers attacked, but Steve effortlessly defeated them and tried to make them join Hydra.

• Steve ignored Hydra ships fleeing the planet and waited for the Avengers, confident they would come despite knowing it was a trap.
• Tony, Natasha, Hawkeye, Thor, and Banner confronted Steve and urged him to abandon Hydra, while Thor said Mjolnir’s judgment might have been wrong.
• Tony’s missiles vanished, Natasha’s punch failed to harm Steve, and Steve repelled Thor and Banner’s attacks with ease.
• Hawkeye’s dark matter arrow nearly dragged Steve into a tear in space, but Steve used reality-altering power to escape and seized Hawkeye.
• Steve offered to create a world where the Avengers’ dead loved ones returned if they said “Hail Hydra,” but Hawkeye refused.
• Natasha and the others declared Hydra their enemy and called on Steve to return to them.

Steve revealed that he had always been a Hydra loyalist from another universe and used the Cosmic Cube to try to control the heroes, but their resistance brought Steve Rogers and his allies back. The Avengers assembled against him, while Ben remained focused on settling their personal score.

• Steve told Natasha and the other heroes that he was a replacement from another universe, raised by Hydra, and had seized power to impose his vision of order.
• Steve defended his rule and the sacrifices he had made, including Rick Jones's death, then used the Cosmic Cube to change the heroes' consciousness.
• The heroes resisted Steve's control and shouted, "Avengers, assemble!" opening a passage for Steve Rogers to return.
• Steve Rogers appeared with Bucky Barnes and Ben, and the Serpent Society reacted in shock at his return.
• The Serpent Society accused Ben of repeatedly interfering, and Ben replied that he was only getting even because the Serpent Society had made trouble for him.

Ben exposed Steve's fake Cosmic Cube and left the heroes to stop the coming Annihilation Bomb while the real Steve confronted Serpent Society. The two former allies fought to a standstill, their shared training leaving neither able to overcome the other's moves.

• Ben rejected Serpent Society's accusation that he was pretending to be a savior and refused to support Hydra.
• Steve raised the Cosmic Cube and tried to use its power, but it failed to work.
• Natasha and Tony realized Steve's cube was fake, and Vision revealed that he had given Steve a false fragment while undercover.
• Ben revealed the real cube, which shattered the core in Serpent Society's chest, then summoned Looma and the others and left, warning that the Annihilation Bomb would activate in an hour.
• The real Steve sent the others to help evacuate and faced Serpent Society, who refused to surrender.
• Steve and Serpent Society traded matched attacks and ended in a stalemate because they had trained under the same master.

Steve defeated Captain Hydra by lifting Mjolnir after revealing that Madam Hydra had altered its enchantment, then joined Natasha to search for a new home as people evacuated Earth. Back in the Ben 10 Universe, the Highbreed discovered that Steve and Bucky’s blood had stabilized his genes, but he could not bring himself to attack them.

• Captain Hydra reached Mjolnir first, but could not lift it because Madam Hydra’s enchantment alteration had been undone.
• Steve lifted Mjolnir, told Captain Hydra he had never truly been worthy, and killed him with thunder.
• Natasha arrived by Quinjet, and Steve agreed it was time to search for a new home as heroes and civilians gathered beyond Earth.
• Ben returned to Wakanda with the cube, Looma, and the others, where he found the Highbreed sitting in despair.
• The Highbreed recalled that Steve and Bucky’s blood transfusions healed him, stabilized his genes, and restored his memories, but left him feeling tainted.
• The Highbreed considered killing Steve and Bucky, but their kindness and their shared hardships kept him from acting.

Ben saved the Highbreed from dying in the desert and offered to cure his species in exchange for ending their expansion and returning everyone they replaced. The Highbreed hesitated, and Ben used the Cosmic Cube to charge the watch, preparing to impose his terms.

• The Highbreed exiled himself into the desert after refusing to kill Steve and the child, but dehydration caused his wounds to reopen and left him dying.
• Ben found the Highbreed and used Swampfire's genetic code to heal him and make him resistant to heat, leaving the Highbreed distressed by his altered body.
• Ben learned that Connorson had entered the final Highbreed tower and vanished after discovering a wormhole inside it.
• Ben offered to cure the Highbreed species if they stopped their expansion and returned the people they had replaced, but the Highbreed said his people would refuse.
• Ben declared that his offer was not a negotiation and used the Cosmic Cube to give the watch three days' worth of charge.

Sirius XII explained how the Highbreed took control of the Kree Empire and planned to eradicate intelligent life out of jealousy and despair over their impending extinction. He asked Ben to let him meet the Highbreed elders, and said that if they rejected genetic changes, Ben should eliminate all Atasians.

• Sirius XII agreed to take Ben and the others to meet the Highbreed elders and explained the Kree’s failed Cosmic Cube project.
• Sirius XII revealed that the Highbreed had seized control of the Kree Empire and planned to build freezing towers, breed Half-Beastmen, and wipe out intelligent life.
• Sirius XII admitted that most Highbreed wanted all life to die with them because they envied other species’ ability to evolve.
• Steve asked whether Sirius belonged to the minority who opposed the plan, and Sirius confessed that he had supported the majority despite Steve’s earlier help.
• Sirius XII asked Ben to meet the elders before altering the Highbreed, and told him to eliminate all Atasians if they refused to accept the change.

Ben and Sirius XII entered a damaged tower and traveled through a passage to the Kree Empire, where Sirius hoped to convince the Highbreed elders that his genetic collapse had been cured. The Highbreed recognized Ben and condemned Sirius for his altered body, then ordered them both executed.

• Ben transformed into a Highbreed, silencing Sirius XII's claim that Ben was too arrogant to understand their strength.
• Ben and Sirius entered the tower, found its cooling system destroyed and its Half-Beastman larvae dormant, then traveled through a passage to the Kree Empire.
• Sirius explained that the Half-Beastmen had once been Kree and said Steve Rogers had escaped the same fate when the cube took him away.
• A Highbreed recognized Sirius XII, and Sirius declared that his genetic collapse had been resolved and demanded to see the elders.
• The Highbreed noticed Ben's watch core, and after Ben changed back, they called him a lowly species and ordered him and Sirius executed.

Ben and Sirius XII fought their way through the Highbreeds and reached their elders, who rejected Sirius XII’s solution to the Atasians’ genetic crisis. Ben ordered the Omnitrix to repair the Atasians’ collapsing genes across the entire universe.

• The Highbreeds attacked Ben and Sirius XII, but Ben used XLR8 and then Humungousaur to evade and resist them.
• Ben transformed into Four Arms and used Sakaar Lightning to defeat the Highbreeds and drive the Half-Beastmen back.
• Ben and Sirius XII forced the surviving Highbreed leader to take them to the elders in a tower.
• An elder rejected Sirius XII’s plan and disowned him for accepting a solution that would change the Atasians’ bloodline.
• Ben told the elders to talk to his watch and ordered the Omnitrix to repair the Atasians’ genes throughout the universe.

Ben’s Omnitrix energy cured the Highbreed’s genetic collapse across the universe, exposing disguised Highbreed and restoring the Half-Beastmen to Kree. The newly healthy Highbreed turned on an elder who still rejected the cure, while the other elders praised Ben and Sirius XII.

• Ben’s Omnitrix energy spread throughout the universe, mutating the Highbreed and turning the Half-Beastmen back into Kree.
• Connorson regained consciousness and realized Ben had solved the crisis as the Kree recognized their restored identities.
• Highbreed who welcomed the cure rushed into the tower and attacked an elder who insisted their bloodlines had been defiled.
• The other elders refused to help the elder and praised Ben and Sirius XII, saying they wanted to live even if it meant becoming lower lifeforms.

Ben returned Connorson to Earth after the Highbreed took control of the Kree homeland, then spent time shopping with the girls while Thor and Loki dealt with a timeline collision. Thor struck the escaped Loki with his hammer after emerging from a time crack.

• The Highbreed refused to leave Kree territory and defeated the Kree who demanded their homeland back, while Ben declined to intervene.
• Ben brought Connorson back to Earth and discussed the fall of the Three Great Empires and the Galactic Plumbers’ plans for independent worlds.
• Connorson expressed interest in studying how the Highbreed stabilized genetic changes, and Ben said the next collision might not happen for another month.
• Ben took the girls to a movie theater, where they discussed the Superman reboot and Enara proposed using their powers to compete for Ben’s affection.
• Loki escaped in another timeline with the Cosmic Cube, but Thor and two others emerged from time cracks and Thor hit Loki with his hammer.

Doctor Paradox explained that the Beyonders were behind the Collision Crisis and recruited Loki, Thor, and Doctor Doom to oppose them. Paradox took Loki and Thor toward their separate roles, leaving Loki alone as soldiers from the Time Administration Bureau arrived.

• Doctor Paradox told Loki and Thor that the Time Administration Bureau's barriers were being dismantled and that the Beyonders were causing the Collision Crisis.
• Paradox asked Loki to infiltrate the Time Administration Bureau and stop Maltruant from obtaining the Power of Time, while promising Thor information about the crisis's controller.
• Paradox revealed that the Beyonders could reshape the multiverse and introduced Doctor Doom as his ally.
• Doctor Doom dismissed Loki and Thor as useless, but Paradox explained that Loki could wield the Time Root and Thor carried the Phoenix Force.
• Paradox took Loki and Thor away, then Loki found himself alone as armed Time Administration Bureau soldiers appeared around him.

Loki fought the Time Police after they tried to arrest him, but Void Illusion defeated him and ordered him collared. Meanwhile, Doctor Doom brought Doctor Paradox and Thor to the World Library, where they met Molecule Man.

• Loki attacked the Time Police with daggers and illusions, killing several officers as they called for backup.
• Void Illusion arrived, dispelled Loki’s magic, stabbed him, and ordered the Time Police to put a time collar on him and repair the timeline.
• The Time Police collared Loki and dragged him through a yellow doorway.
• Doctor Doom brought Doctor Paradox and Thor, who carried the unconscious Loki, to the World Library, a refuge between universes.
• Molecule Man met them in the library and asked whether they had gained anything from their trip.

Doctor Doom prepared to face the Ivory King after absorbing Dagon’s power, while Loki was brought to the Time Administration Bureau and shown the Sacred Timeline. Loki recognized the danger of being made to fight Ben, then watched his alternate history and learned the Avengers’ time travel had been part of the timeline.

• Doctor Doom told his followers that he had absorbed Dagon’s power and needed to prepare further before facing the Ivory King.
• Mobius escorted Loki through the Time Administration Bureau and explained that captured Lokis were usually pruned.
• Loki asked Mobius about the spiky-haired man with a watch, and Mobius warned him to call Mad Ben by that name.
• Mobius showed Loki the Sacred Timeline, including Loki’s failed attempt to kill Thor and his alliance with Thanos.
• Loki questioned why the Bureau had not arrested the time-traveling Avengers, and Mobius explained their actions were inevitable parts of the Sacred Timeline.
• Mobius gave Loki tissues before showing him footage of events he had not yet seen.

Loki watched footage of his future crimes, the deaths of Frigga and Odin, and his final sacrifice, questioning why the Time Administration Bureau had the right to decide his fate. Mobius showed him that Frigga had known she would die but had never blamed him.

• Loki watched himself hurt Odin and Frigga and realized how blind he had been to their love.
• Loki saw himself lead Malekith to Frigga, causing her death, and angrily challenged the Time Administration Bureau's authority over his fate.
• Mobius used a remote to rewind Loki when he rose in anger, and Loki learned his magic did not work in the Bureau.
• Loki watched his future self fake his death, exile Odin, and later reconcile with him before Odin died.
• Loki saw his future self help Thor defeat Hela and then sacrifice himself to Thanos, and he asked whether Thor survived.
• Mobius showed Loki the Avengers' later battles and revealed that Frigga had known of her death without blaming him.

Loki agreed to help the Time Administration Bureau capture a variant of himself while secretly planning to destroy the Bureau. He encountered several powerful Ben Tennysons on his way to a meeting about entering a sealed-off universe.

• Mobius showed Loki the Sacred Timeline and offered to spare him from pruning if he helped capture a Time Criminal.
• Loki accepted, resolved to destroy the Time Administration Bureau, and learned that the Time Criminal was another Loki.
• Mobius removed Loki’s collar, gave him a Bureau suit, and explained that the Bureau managed countless multiverses.
• Loki and Mobius encountered Albedo and Evil Ben arguing before Rampage Ben ordered them to hurry to a meeting with Maltruant.
• Void Illusion arrived with a group of Ben Tennysons and urged them to focus on how to enter the sealed-off universe.

Loki learned that the sealed-off timeline was beyond the Time Administration Bureau’s reach, while He Who Remains Kang convened Maltruant and a host of Ben Tennysons to discuss breaking into it. Albedo explained that the seal likely required Celestialsapien-level power, then lost control to his inherited craving for Spicy Sauce Fries before Kang cleaned him up and ordered the discussion to continue.

• Mobius told Loki that the sealed-off timeline could not be observed, pruned, or entered easily, and urged him to focus on catching the other Loki.
• He Who Remains Kang met with Maltruant, Vilgax, Albedo, and numerous Ben Tennysons, while Maltruant said their shared goal was dealing with the sealed-off universe.
• Albedo said the universe’s seal likely came from the Celestialsapiens and that the Collision Crisis suggested a powerful being was driving it.
• Evil Ben had buckets of Spicy Sauce Fries dumped over Albedo, who delighted in their smell despite insisting he would never eat them.
• He Who Remains Kang reversed time to clean Albedo and told him to continue.

Albedo explained a loophole for entering the approaching universe and assigned a team to exploit it while others hunted Doctor Paradox. Paradox sent Loki home and urged Thor to seek the Phoenix Force in Legerdomain, as Ben investigated a woman who had suddenly erupted into flames.

• Albedo revealed that up to three people could enter the approaching universe through the passage between the collision points, then destroy both universes simultaneously without creating branches.
• Maltruant chose Evil Ben to accompany Rampage Ben, while Void Illusion and Vilgax were assigned to pursue Paradox.
• Doctor Paradox returned Loki to his universe, repaired its timeline, and told Thor that Loki needed to become the God of Stories to change the Time Administration Bureau.
• Paradox told Thor to seek the Phoenix Force in Legerdomain so he could oppose the Ivory King and help stop the Collision Crisis.
• Ben's Spider-Sense alerted him to an explosion in New York, where a woman had burst into flames during an argument.
• Ben transformed into Heatblast and learned that the unexplained incident might be a sudden awakening of Superpowers.

Ben, as Heatblast, stopped Jennie Baker’s newly awakened fire powers from killing more people and arrested her. He took her to the Galactic Plumbers Space Station to investigate whether the X Gene had triggered her powers, while warning that she would face a lengthy prison sentence.

• Jennie Baker’s flames erupted out of control, killing several people and injuring more than a dozen as she desperately sought help.
• Ben transformed into Heatblast, drew the fire away from the street, and contained the flames.
• Ben arrested Jennie Baker and placed her in an energy prison after telling her she was under arrest.
• Police and firefighters stood down after learning Heatblast had resolved the emergency, while ambulances continued to the scene.
• Ben brought Jennie Baker to the Galactic Plumbers Space Station to investigate whether the X Gene had caused her powers to awaken.
• Ben told Jennie Baker that she would avoid the death penalty but face more than ten years in prison.

Ben and the scientists investigated Jennie Baker’s mutation and discovered a dormant X Gene that could awaken with dangerous powers, while Ben wondered why mutants had appeared in his world. In Legerdomain, Charmcaster fought the White Queen as Magik and Colossus discussed her rapid growth and connection to the Phoenix.

• Ben, Norman Osborn, Helen Cho, and Connorson examined Jennie Baker and found that her body had carbonized while her vital functions remained normal.
• Ben compared Jennie’s genes with ordinary human genes and identified a tiny difference that he called the X Gene.
• Norman and Connorson warned that dormant X Genes could awaken unpredictably and cause harm, while Ben said the genes were nearly impossible to detect beforehand.
• Ben questioned why mutants had appeared in his world and wondered whether famous mutants and the Phoenix Force would also emerge.
• In Legerdomain, Charmcaster used powerful magic to fight the White Queen, and Magik and Colossus watched her progress.
• Colossus said Charmcaster carried remnants of Phoenix’s power and was chosen as its vessel, though Charmcaster had only used magic to restore her original appearance.

Doctor Paradox brought Thor beyond the multiverse to intercept the Phoenix Force before it reached Legerdomain. Thor caught up with the Phoenix and provoked it into granting him its power, but the flames began destroying his body.

• Doctor Paradox explained that the Phoenix Force had awakened beyond the multiverse and was heading for Legerdomain, where a fragment of its power could guide it into the universe.
• Thor was overwhelmed by the Phoenix's power but agreed to pursue it so he could gain strength to challenge the Ivory King and avoid disappointing Loki.
• As Thor fell behind, Doctor Paradox used the Bifrost, drawing on a future in which Yggdrasil supported the Omniverse, to carry Thor after the Phoenix.
• Thor hurled Mjolnir at the Phoenix and struck it, making it stop and turn its attention toward him.
• The Phoenix engulfed Thor in its power, and its flames vaporized his armor and burned away his Asgardian body until only his bones remained.