Chapter Summaries

Dane attacked Baron Strucker’s Hydra stronghold, rescued Wanda and Pietro, and decided to leave Hydra infiltrators in Sokovia rather than destroy the base completely. Baron Strucker fled and learned that the assault may have been carried out by a single person, while evidence pointed toward Stark weapons.

• Dane used a Stark-made Jericho missile to devastate Hydra’s castle and bunker defenses.
• Baron Strucker ordered his soldiers to guard the bunker entrances while he gathered documents and tried to escape with Wanda.
• Dane killed the Hydra soldiers in his path, rescued the wounded Wanda, and carried her out of the bunker.
• Dane brought Wanda aboard the Blackbird, confirmed Pietro was safe, and told Yelena to cancel the bombing and keep the remaining sisters undercover in Sokovia.
• Baron Strucker sent soldiers back to investigate and learned that the attackers had left; his subordinates identified Stark markings and concluded that one person might have attacked the bunker.

Dane rescued Wanda and Pietro from Hydra, then brought the siblings to America and told them they needed to study before they could repay him. After Pietro woke aboard the Blackbird and the group reached Manhattan, Dane explained that the twins were illegal immigrants and described America’s identity system.

• Baron Strucker concluded that one attacker had destroyed his Sokovia base and suspected S.H.I.E.L.D. after noticing news about the Hulk.
• Dane confirmed that Strucker had noticed the Hulk story, then offered Wanda and Pietro a way out of Sokovia and warned Wanda that Hydra conducted human experiments.
• Wanda agreed to go to America with Dane and accepted that she and Pietro should study before helping him.
• Pietro woke aboard the Blackbird and found Wanda talking with Dane as the aircraft reached Manhattan.
• Dane told Pietro that he was an illegal immigrant and explained how America tied citizens’ records to Social Security Numbers.

Dane gave Wanda and Pietro fabricated American identities and brought them to his Hell's Kitchen base, where Wanda met the trainees and watched Pietro clash with Sophia. After spending the night with Pepper, Dane returned to the base, and Wanda caught the scent of another woman's perfume on him.

• Dane had Cortana create Social Security identities for Wanda and Pietro as American-raised Maximov twins.
• Dane went to Pepper's villa, apologized for missing their dinner, cooked for her, and spent the night with her.
• Wanda woke at the base, met Anna, and saw Sophia scold Pietro for being undisciplined after his rescue.
• Anna told Wanda that Sophia only listened to people who could beat her, and Wanda asked about Dane before turning red.
• Dane returned to the base and teased Pietro about preferring a camp bed, while Sophia challenged him to a vodka contest.
• Wanda noticed Pepper's perfume on Dane and her gaze turned sharp.

Dane tried to persuade Wanda and Pietro to help lead Sokovia’s rebels, while Sophia won a drinking contest against Pietro. In New York, Dane and Pepper discussed an assassination attempt on Tony Stark, who had been taken to S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick’s office.

• Dane told Wanda that Hydra was fueling Sokovia’s wars and proposed that she and Pietro lead the rebel army, but Wanda asked for guidance before agreeing to learn.
• Sophia mocked Pietro, then beat him in a drinking contest with 96% Spirytus, and Dane sent Anna to rescue him after he passed out.
• Pepper visited Dane’s office, where he explained that Yelena had been sent to infiltrate Roxxon and showed Pepper Stark Industries’ proposal to become strategic partners.
• Dane told Pepper that a woman had tried to assassinate Tony Stark while posing as a cover girl, but Stark’s chest reactor had blocked the attack.
• The assassin was arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D., and Tony Stark sat across from Nick in the director’s office.

Tony rejected Nick Fury’s attempt to recruit him into S.H.I.E.L.D. but allied with Dane to confront the old-money families and pursue new energy technology. The old-money families chose Anton Vanko’s son as a weapon against Tony and tasked Justin Hammer with carrying out their plan.

• Tony refused to join S.H.I.E.L.D. and insisted he could protect the world alone.
• Dane and Tony formed an alliance, and Dane warned that Umbrella could not yet face the old-money families directly.
• Tony learned that Dane had assembled technology companies to cooperate on new energy, while A.I.M. and Pioneer Technology remained outside the alliance.
• The old-money families decided to free Anton Vanko’s son from a Siberian prison and make him target Tony by blaming Stark for Anton’s death.
• Justin Hammer stood at his home’s windows and made a phone call after the old-money families assigned him to handle their plan.

Erik and Ghost Squad killed Anton Vanko in Moscow and eliminated the Russian agents watching him, while a lone agent reported that they might be targeting Ivan Vanko. At A.I.M.’s European headquarters, Dario Agger asked Killian to help him take over Umbrella, and Killian’s body began to glow as he sensed danger.

• Erik led Ghost Squad to Anton Vanko’s home in Moscow, where they killed the sick old man and staged the scene to implicate Stark.
• Ghost Squad discovered Russian security agents watching the house, killed four of them, and escaped in their vehicle.
• A fifth undercover agent reported Anton’s death to headquarters and suspected the attackers wanted Ivan Vanko or his technology.
• Dario Agger visited Killian and asked him to help take over Umbrella.
• Killian agreed to follow Agger’s wishes, but his heartbeat and metabolism surged as Agger’s chuckle made him sense danger.

Dane survived an assassination attempt by Killian’s forces and learned that Killian was behind it. He launched a night assault on A.I.M.’s European base, where he began killing the guards and discovered a way to stop Extremis Soldiers before they exploded.

• Dario Agger asked Killian to obtain Umbrella’s technology through illegitimate means, and Killian agreed to arrange it.
• Dane sensed an ambush while driving home with Pepper, dodged sniper fire, and killed an Extremis Soldier before identifying Killian as the likely mastermind.
• Killian learned the operation had failed and that Dane had defeated his attackers, but he decided he still had a chance to kill Dane.
• Dane called Pepper, located Killian in Europe, and flew toward the A.I.M. headquarters with an assault team.
• Dane parachuted near the base, killed the guards who discovered him, and entered the compound alone.
• Dane killed an Extremis Soldier before its body could heat up enough to explode, discovering that sufficiently early fatal damage could prevent detonation.

Dane infiltrated Killian’s base, killed the Extremis Soldiers and researchers he encountered, and fought Killian after reaching the laboratory. Killian survived a grenade blast but weakened, just as Umbrella’s assault team arrived.

• Dane cut power to the base and used darkness and fear to wipe out the first squad of Extremis Soldiers.
• Dane entered the laboratory, killed the researchers, and fought off several more squads of Extremis Soldiers.
• Dane used a Glock, grenades, and a rifle to defeat the Extremis Soldiers, leaving Killian as the only enemy standing.
• Killian recovered from rifle shots, heated his body, and breathed fire at Dane.
• Dane fired a grenade into Killian’s mouth, blowing apart his upper body but failing to kill him.
• Umbrella’s assault team arrived as Killian’s regeneration slowed, and its squad leader reported to Dane.

Dane raided an A.I.M. laboratory, took Killian and its research data, and burned the base, leaving Maya Hansen and Roxxon to respond to the damage. Back in New York, Dane saw that the failed assassination attempt against him had been reported as a terrorist bombing.

• Dane ordered his team to pack up the wounded Killian, downloaded A.I.M.'s research files, and discovered the company had worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. and studied Man-Thing.
• Dane learned that A.I.M. had adapted the Extremis Virus using Captain America's blood samples and that Pepper might be especially compatible with it; he then ordered the laboratory burned.
• Maya Hansen learned that the base had been destroyed, Killian was missing, and its staff had been murdered, after which A.I.M.'s board appointed her head of the laboratory.
• Roxxon took control of Pioneer Technology, and Dario Agger investigated the attack, considering the Winter Soldier and then focusing on Dane Davis after learning Killian had planned to assassinate him.
• Dane returned to New York and recognized a news report about a supposed terrorist bombing as the failed Extremis Soldier attack against him.

Phil traced the self-detonating attackers to A.I.M. and Nick ordered an investigation into Killian, while Natasha learned that Dane had been the target of the attack. Dane captured the remaining sniper, learned that Aldrich Killian had acted after meeting with someone from Roxxon, and began investigating Dario Agger.

• Phil reported that tissue from the self-detonating attacker contained a virus resembling A.I.M.'s Extremis Virus, and Nick ordered him to investigate Killian and A.I.M.
• Nick assigned Natasha to identify the unusually strong and fast person who had been attacked, and Natasha asked Dane for help.
• Dane told Natasha that he had been the target and had already tracked down the surviving sniper.
• Dane broke into the sniper's home, suppressed his Extremis abilities with a coolant, and learned that Joseph Gillaume belonged to A.I.M.'s Special Operations Team.
• Joseph told Dane that Aldrich Killian had ordered the assassination after meeting someone from Roxxon Energy Corporation.
• Dane questioned Yelena and learned that Dario Agger had recently made a brief business trip.

Dane planted false evidence linking Joseph’s assassination attempt to Roxxon, prompting S.H.I.E.L.D. to investigate Dario Agger. At Chasell Pepis’s villa, Dane encountered the Winter Soldier and began fighting him.

• Dane altered Joseph’s memories so the assassin appeared to target Roxxon’s New York branch manager, then alerted Natasha to Joseph’s location.
• Natasha captured Joseph and confirmed through interrogation that he belonged to A.I.M.; Nick Fury learned Joseph’s supposed target was a Roxxon employee.
• Phil learned that Killian was missing and Roxxon personnel controlled A.I.M.’s experimental base, so Nick ordered him to investigate Dario Agger.
• Dane went to Chasell Pepis’s villa to alter the Roxxon executive’s memories, but found the Winter Soldier carrying a man and exchanged gunfire with him.
• Dane shot the Winter Soldier beneath the ribs and damaged his mask and pistol; the Winter Soldier removed a small copper disc from his body and continued the fight.

Dane fought Bucky, then used his name and memories of Steve Rogers to help him break through the Winter Soldier’s brainwashing. After learning that Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and that Steve was alive beneath the ice, Bucky faced Dane’s appeal to fight Hydra and answer for his past.

• Dane overpowered Bucky in their fight and judged that Bucky’s strength came from his enhancements, firearms skill, and brainwashing rather than Captain America-level abilities.
• Dane called Bucky by his name and mentioned Steve Rogers, triggering memories that restored Bucky’s awareness of his past and the people he had killed.
• Dane spoke the Russian control word, and Bucky instinctively answered as the Winter Soldier before Dane snapped him out of the response and explained Hydra’s conditioning.
• Dane told Bucky that it was 2009, that Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., and that Steve had survived his crash and remained trapped beneath Greenland’s ice.
• Dane urged Bucky to oppose Hydra and take responsibility for Howard and his wife’s deaths, and Bucky asked whether Dane wanted him to work for him.

Dane recruited Bucky to attack Hydra loudly in exchange for help rescuing Steve, while S.H.I.E.L.D. investigated a dead target. In Rio de Janeiro, a capture team’s tranquilizer shot transformed Bruce Banner into Hulk, who began attacking the soldiers.

• Dane persuaded Bucky to target Hydra operatives noisily by promising to provide Steve’s location and professional help rescuing him.
• Dane discovered that the target Bucky had captured was dead, and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Hill reported the death and signs of a fight to Nick.
• Nick ordered an investigation into the killer and gave Natasha a new mission.
• Bruce Banner worked at a soda factory in Rio de Janeiro, then sensed danger while walking through the unusually quiet slum.
• A masked soldier ordered the capture team to move after Banner noticed them, and a tranquilizer shot caused Banner to transform into Hulk.
• Hulk resisted gunfire, threw a rocket back at the squad, and leaped toward the soldiers.

Hulk rampaged through a Brazilian slum before Hydra used Jericho missiles to capture Bruce Banner, while Bucky headed toward coordinates from Dane and the base explosion drew Nick, Tony, and Dane’s attention. The chapter ended with Justin Hammer welcoming two visitors to Hammer Industries.

• Hulk killed soldiers and slum residents until Hydra’s commander ordered a Jericho missile strike that devastated the area and left Bruce Banner captured.
• Bucky received coordinates from Dane and set out to rescue Steve after destroying an underground S.H.I.E.L.D. base.
• Nick argued with Alexander Pierce over the destroyed base and the Security Council’s demands for accountability.
• Tony identified Jericho missile wreckage in Brazilian news footage and ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to investigate flight and travel records.
• Dane assessed Hulk’s strength, suspected Hydra had captured him, and told the Black Widows in Sokovia to monitor Hydra.
• Justin Hammer greeted two men who arrived by helicopter at Hammer Industries.

Erik forced Justin to compensate the Ghost Squad for its losses, while Ivan Vanko joined Hammer Industries and began studying Iron Man technology. S.H.I.E.L.D. discovered Hydra had secretly operated a base in New Jersey, and Baron Strucker began experimenting on Bruce Banner in Sokovia.

• Erik confronted Justin over the inaccurate intelligence that had cost the Ghost Squad three members, then threatened him into paying an additional fifty million dollars.
• Ivan Vanko joined Hammer Industries, impressed Justin with a miniature Arc Reactor, and began researching automated alternatives to Iron Man's armor.
• Dario Agger promoted Yelena to personal secretary as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil learned that Hydra had secretly occupied a supposedly abandoned New Jersey base.
• Baron Strucker and Doctor List examined Bruce Banner's gamma radiation and discussed using his blood to develop new serum.
• Strucker activated an experiment that shocked Banner inside a blastproof enclosure, causing him intense pain.

Dane dealt with the risks of Ava’s quantum-energy dependence while considering sending her into the Quantum Realm, then went to the university after Jessica and Wanda caused trouble. The chapter ended with him learning that Wanda had nearly torn a boy’s arm off during a fight.

• The Baron and Dr. List watched Hulk transform, break his restraints, and nearly smash through reinforced glass before a huge dose of sedative knocked him unconscious.
• Bill Foster stabilized Ava’s condition with Foster Particles, and Dane suggested that she might enter the Quantum Realm; he also told Bill and Ava that Janet was alive and the Quantum Realm was another universe.
• Dane received word that Dario Agger was traveling to New York, then learned that Jessica and Wanda had gotten into trouble at school.
• Dane arrived at the university and learned that Jessica had beaten several students while Wanda had nearly torn Jack’s arm off using a joint lock.

Jessica and Wanda defended themselves from students who harassed Wanda, and Dane took them away from the academy. In Greece, Yelena told Phil that Dario Agger was a Minotaur, leaving Phil struggling to accept the revelation.

• Jessica and Wanda fought off the Queen Bee's hired students after they attacked Wanda, and Jessica frightened the Queen Bee into wetting herself.
• Dane confirmed that the girls had acted in self-defense, then led Jessica and Wanda out of the principal's office and drove them away in his sports car.
• Phil left Roxxon Energy headquarters after failing to find Dario Agger, and Yelena approached him to talk privately.
• Yelena revealed to Phil that Dario Agger's true form was a Minotaur, and Phil asked her to confirm what he had heard.

Yelena convinced Phil that Dario was a Minotaur, prompting Hydra to consider testing and exploiting him. Dario killed his driver and a sniper before missiles brought down a Manhattan building, while Tony prepared to investigate and Wanda woke from a nightmare.

• Yelena showed Phil a photograph of Dario transforming into the Minotaur, and Phil arranged to have it examined while agents watched her.
• A coffee shop clerk reported Yelena's disclosure to Alexander Pierce, who enlisted Baron Strucker to test Dario as a potential Hydra asset.
• Dario discovered that his driver Paul had betrayed him, survived the car crash, and crushed Paul's head.
• Dario killed a sniper who had shot him, but missiles struck the building's foundation and caused it to collapse.
• Tony investigated the explosion footage and ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to prepare his armor.
• Wanda awoke at the Black Widow base after the tremors triggered a nightmare about the missile strike that killed her parents.

Wanda overheard Dane assign the Black Widows a mission connected to the missile attack on Dario Agger. As Jessica fought Dario amid the wreckage, the Black Widows intervened, and Jessica joined them aboard their invisible Blackbird.

• Wanda followed the Black Widows to their conference hall and listened as Dane identified Dario Agger as the target of the missile attack.
• Dane gave the Black Widows a mission to cover someone, while Jessica rushed to confront Dario after a collapsing building threatened her neighborhood.
• Jessica fought Dario but was overpowered until the Black Widows attacked him with the Blackbird's Vulcan Cannon.
• Dario shielded himself with a stone slab, healed from his wounds, and began digging into the ground to escape the barrage.
• Jessica tried to warn the Black Widows, and Anna opened the Blackbird's hatch so Jessica could fly aboard.

Dario Agger escaped the rocket strike but was caught in a battle with Iron Man, Jessica Jones, and Wanda, whose newly awakened Chaos Magic subdued him. An EMP bomb then disabled Tony’s suit and incapacitated the others, leaving Jessica and Wanda captured by armed men while Tony remained behind.

• Sophia fired a rocket at Dario Agger’s escape route, but he burrowed away and emerged across the street, where he attacked Tony Stark.
• J.A.R.V.I.S. saved Tony from Dario’s ambush, but Dario battered him through a civilian home until Tony blasted off one of his arms with the chest beam.
• Jessica Jones carried Dario out of the residential area and struck him repeatedly, but his roar incapacitated her and knocked Tony back.
• Wanda used red Chaos Magic to restrain Dario and force him unconscious, then helped Jessica and reunited with Tony.
• A miniature EMP bomb disabled Tony’s Iron Man suit and knocked out Tony, Jessica, and Wanda; armed men decided to take Jessica and Wanda but leave Tony behind.
• Tony regained consciousness as the men prepared to leave, heard them mention S.H.I.E.L.D., and realized they knew he was awake.