Chapter Summaries

Tony Stark and Johnny Storm investigated the Fire-Men’s powers and searched for their source, while Killian’s forces launched another attack on Pepper. Pepper’s armor protected her from Shane’s ambush, and she chased him to learn why they were targeting her as Tony and Martian Manhunter moved to intervene.

• Tony Stark explained that Matthews’s flames heated like magma, prompting Johnny Storm to consider combining that ability with his own; Kamar-Taj reported no large-scale dimensional invasion.
• Tony Stark ordered Jarvis to investigate buyers of experimental supplies, then returned to Avengers Base with Johnny Storm while Killian learned Matthews had nearly captured Pepper.
• Killian contacted Shane and told his side to prepare to intercept Pepper, who planned to drive home for an evening with Tony.
• Shane blasted the road in front of Pepper’s car, but Tony’s extension armor protected her from the explosion.
• Tony Stark reacted furiously to the attack, and Martian Manhunter offered to help him investigate in person.
• Shane threw a fireball at Pepper and tried to flee, but Pepper dodged it and pursued him, demanding to know why he was targeting her and Tony.

Tony Stark and Pepper stopped Shane’s ambush, and Shane died when his unstable Extremis abilities caused him to explode. Martian Manhunter captured other Fire-Men and uncovered Killian’s role, while Tony learned that Killian’s grudge began after Tony ignored him years earlier.

• Pepper kept Shane occupied until Tony arrived, then Tony attacked Shane from a distance when he realized Shane was pretending to be dead.
• Shane revealed his fire powers, but his body began to fail and he exploded before reaching Tony.
• Martian Manhunter explained that Shane’s abilities had gone out of control, then searched Tony’s other residences and captured several Fire-Men.
• Martian Manhunter and Jarvis learned that Killian had sent the Fire-Men to capture Pepper, but they could not locate Killian.
• Jarvis reminded Tony that Aldrich Killian had once approached him about a research project, and Tony recalled ignoring him while heading off to spend the night with a woman.

Tony Stark struggled to locate Killian after the Fire-Men went into hiding, but Pepper was attacked again while returning home. A mysterious cloaked man saved her, and Robet arrived to investigate as Tony and Pepper grew suspicious of the stranger.

• Tony Stark worried that Stark Mansion could not withstand a Fire-Man attack, gave Pepper armor stored in her watch, and returned to the Avengers Base to search for Killian.
• Killian realized his subordinates had been exposed after their tracking devices stopped working, while the Avengers spent several days unable to find him.
• A week later, a stronger Fire-Man attacked Pepper and Jarvis disconnected, forcing Pepper to pilot her armor and try to escape.
• A mysterious cloaked man with a fishbowl-like helmet appeared and used gas and energy to suppress the Fire-Man as Pepper questioned his conveniently timed arrival.
• Tony Stark rushed to Pepper with Robet and Kara; Robet moved Pepper to safety, then went to inspect the battlefield while Tony and Pepper remained suspicious of the mysterious man.
• Robet told Tony Stark, Pepper, and Kara to stay back as they started to approach.

Robet suspected Mysterio was a Skrull and had Martian Manhunter read his memories, confirming the disguise. They discovered the Skrull had continued the original Mysterio's scheme, and Martian Manhunter left to pursue a lead on more Skrulls.

• Kara stopped Tony Stark and Pepper from approaching while Robet confronted Mysterio, who claimed to be a metahuman and a fan of the Saiyan.
• Robet used mental energy to knock Mysterio unconscious, then took him to a wilderness and pulled his soul from his body.
• Robet summoned Martian Manhunter, who read the soul's memories and confirmed Mysterio was a Skrull.
• Martian Manhunter revealed that the Skrull had taken over an ordinary person who had already planned to pose as Mysterio and join the Avengers.
• Robet speculated that Skrulls could become immersed in the personas they copied, and Martian Manhunter left to follow a lead that might help them catch more Skrulls.

Martian Manhunter captured a Skrull squad impersonating Mysterio’s team and uncovered their plan to infiltrate the Avengers. He proposed going undercover among the Skrulls, while the Avengers began planning the operation and discussed the Skrulls’ connection to Tony Stark’s former employees.

• Martian Manhunter captured the Skrulls posing as Mysterio’s team, read their memories, and learned how to contact other Skrull squads.
• Martian Manhunter told Robet he planned to infiltrate the Skrulls, and Robet agreed while warning him to stay in contact with Jarvis.
• Martian Manhunter killed the captured Skrulls and brought their bodies to Avengers Base, where Tony Stark welcomed the research material with relief and anger.
• Martian Manhunter revealed that Quentin Beck and the other Mysterio impostors had been fired from Stark Industries after working on a holographic system, and the Avengers began refining his undercover plan.
• Johnny Storm told Robet that the Fire-Men’s attacks were tied to Tony Stark’s past with Killian, then asked what might happen if he used the Extremis Virus.

Robet left the Extremis Virus investigation to himself while the Avengers focused on the Skrulls, and Martian Manhunter began an undercover operation by posing as a Skrull survivor. He met another Skrull in New York, where their conversation raised concerns that the Avengers had discovered the invasion.

• Robet agreed to track the Extremis Virus injectees if they appeared again, while Tony Stark asked him to help protect Pepper.
• Kara and Johnny Storm explained that Superman was trying to keep the war between America and Wakanda from escalating over Vibranium, and Robet chose not to intervene.
• Martian Manhunter adopted a Skrull identity and called the Skrull operation’s coordinator, claiming his team had been wiped out and requesting new teammates.
• The coordinator sent Martian Manhunter to meet a Skrull at a New York coffee shop, and Martian Manhunter traveled there without revealing his extraordinary speed.
• At a villa, Martian Manhunter told the other Skrull that the Avengers had captured their companions, prompting the Skrull to suspect the Avengers knew about their identities.

Robet and Kara tracked the Extremis-enhanced Fire-Men to an abandoned factory while Johnny Storm struggled to catch up. Killian’s group discovered their exit was blocked, leaving them trapped as Robet closed in.

• Martian Manhunter used his powers to extract intelligence from a Skrull and learned which people the squad had replaced.
• Jarvis detected another Fire-Man, so Robet and Kara set out to find the group while Johnny Storm followed behind.
• Robet and Kara located the Fire-Men gathering at an abandoned factory and waited for the others to return.
• Killian berated the subordinate who had exposed them, then agreed to take the dead buyer’s money before they moved again.
• The subordinate led Killian’s group toward the exit but slammed into an invisible wall before reaching the entrance.

Robet trapped Killian and his Extremis-enhanced Fire-Men inside the Abandoned Factory with a Telekinetic Barrier, then Johnny Storm arrived to fight them. After Robet accidentally let Johnny crash into the barrier, they entered together, and Johnny emerged unharmed from the Fire-Men’s first attack as the battle began.

• Robet’s Telekinetic Barrier trapped Killian and his henchmen, whose fear caused their Extremis powers to surge out of control.
• Killian ordered his Fire-Men to probe and bombard the barrier, but their flames and explosions could not break through it.
• Johnny Storm arrived, and Robet teased him before Johnny crashed into the barrier; Robet then canceled it and entered the Abandoned Factory with him.
• Killian ordered his men to attack Robet and Johnny, while Robet dodged the flames and moved the experimental equipment to safety.
• Johnny walked unharmed out of the explosion, and one Fire-Man charged him, convinced Johnny’s flames were weaker.

Johnny Storm discovered that his flames could trigger the unstable Extremis Virus in the Fire-Men, causing them to explode, while Robet contained the blasts with a Telekinetic Barrier. Killian swallowed Extremis and tried to escape underground, but Johnny Storm’s sparks set off another explosion as he confronted him.

• Johnny Storm’s flames detonated a Fire-Man, and Robet realized the fire could ignite the unstable Extremis Virus.
• The Fire-Men fled but crashed into Robet’s Telekinetic Barrier, and Johnny Storm’s flames triggered a chain of explosions that destroyed them.
• Killian watched his research and subordinates perish, then swallowed a vial of Extremis in desperation.
• Killian transformed, but instead of fighting Robet and Johnny Storm, he tried to flee by blasting through the ground and collided with it.
• Johnny Storm approached Killian, and drifting sparks set off another explosion beside him.

Johnny Storm and Robet returned to Avengers Base with Killian’s Extremis Virus research and equipment, and Tony Stark began investigating how Johnny’s flames had instantly destroyed the infected men. Johnny hoped the virus could strengthen his powers, while his boasting about being able to defeat the Avengers drew a mocking challenge from Peter Parker.

• Johnny Storm watched Killian explode from a stray spark, and Robet noted that the Extremis Virus data could now be recovered intact.
• Johnny chose to return to Avengers Base with Robet and Kara so Tony Stark could examine the virus and test its compatibility with his powers.
• Tony Stark paused the Skrull research and sealed its data so he and Reed Richards could study the Extremis Virus instead.
• Robet showed Tony Stark footage of Johnny’s flames igniting the infected men, and Tony questioned why the virus reacted so easily to them.
• Johnny bragged that his flames could let him defeat anyone, Pietro mocked him, and Peter Parker joked that a torch or lighter might also counter Martian Manhunter.

Tony Stark and Reed Richards developed an antidote that could erase the Extremis Virus but could not create a safe, controllable version, leaving Johnny Storm to wait while he trained. Robet proposed combining Extremis with Chitauri biotechnology to create Flame Bio-Androids, and Tony began considering the idea after Reed suggested keeping them semi-mechanical and without consciousness.

• Tony Stark and Reed Richards studied Killian's Extremis Virus samples, created an antidote, and learned that Johnny Storm's explosive flames had countered Fire-Man because the unstable injector detonated.
• Tony explained that a perfect Extremis injector could be more durable than Johnny Storm, but the virus remained dangerous and its success rate could not be guaranteed.
• Johnny told Robet that Tony would not let him inject the virus until it was safe, and said he had been exhausting himself daily to try to grow stronger.
• Robet suggested creating Flame Bio-Androids using the Extremis Virus and Chitauri technology to overcome the research bottleneck.
• Reed Richards supported the proposal but urged them to avoid large-scale experiments on living subjects, while Tony worried that creating bio-androids crossed a moral line.
• Reed proposed keeping the bio-androids unconscious and semi-mechanical under Jarvis's control, easing Tony's concerns about the project.

As America and Wakanda suffered mounting battlefield losses, Bast the Panther God detected an invisible force gathering and removing the aura of death. Clark called Robet to investigate, and Robet found the strongest concentration near the rear of the American army.

• America held back from using nuclear weapons, while Wakanda continued sending soldiers into close combat despite its technological advantage.
• Bast the Panther God sensed an invisible force collecting the battlefield’s aura of death and asked Clark for help.
• Clark contacted Robet, who left the Avengers Base and joined him and Bast on the battlefield.
• Robet used his ki perception and soul power to locate an intense concentration of death aura at the northern edge of the battlefield.
• American soldiers fired energy attacks at Robet, but the blasts stopped in midair, prompting their leaders to order a retreat.

Robet and Clark searched for the vanished death aura, then Clark rushed to London to save a child from Robert Thorne. After Thorne was arrested, Damian left with his nanny Belloc, while the boy briefly showed an unexplained aversion to Clark’s aura.

• Robet reasoned that the death aura might belong to an unknown dimension or be concealed somewhere on Earth, and he and Clark focused their search on the north.
• Clark spotted Robert Thorne aiming a pistol at a little boy in London and rushed in, shielding both the child and Thorne from police bullets.
• Thorne called the boy a demon, but Clark found that Damian appeared physically human and dismissed Thorne’s accusation as madness.
• Belloc identified herself as the Thorne family’s nanny, and Damian willingly went with her as police arrested Thorne and took Belloc in as a witness.
• After Damian waved goodbye from the police car, Clark joked to Robet about Thorne’s name, then noticed Robet was gone.

Robet and Clark investigated Belloc after Robet sensed a dangerous aura around her, while the police arranged Thorne’s release and tried to protect Damian. The chapter ended with Belloc apparently inflicting invisible flames on Thorne, until Robet stopped the burning sensation.

• Robet told Clark that Belloc had a frenzied aura stronger than anyone except the Joker, though he could not tell whether Damian was a Demon.
• Robet and Clark decided to watch Belloc and had Jarvis contact the American embassy to prevent the police from torturing Thorne.
• The British police chief agreed not to torture Thorne and planned to use body-camera footage to expose him if America shielded him.
• The chief ordered an officer to guard Thorne, but the officer secretly had his colleagues tie Thorne up in a dark room and wake him.
• Belloc held Damian and repeatedly cursed Thorne to burn, and Thorne began suffering an invisible burning pain.
• Robet and Clark noticed what was happening, and Robet used an invisible force to stop Thorne’s burning sensation.

Robet and Clark watched Belloc and suspected Damian had something wrong with him, while Thorne’s wife Caitlyn arrived at the police station demanding his release. The American embassy agreed to extradite Thorne and keep the arrest footage from becoming public, and Caitlyn was left to find Thorne in the station’s dark room.

• Robet told Clark that Belloc’s curse was weak and that Damian’s lack of reaction to her chanting suggested something was wrong with him.
• Caitlyn arrived at the police station and argued with an officer about Thorne’s arrest, then was accused of being involved in a plan against Damian.
• The officer backed off from questioning Caitlyn after a colleague warned him about the risks of mistreating a pregnant woman.
• The Temporary Ambassador agreed with the chief to extradite Thorne and keep the body-camera footage from being released publicly.
• Caitlyn followed an officer to the dark room and objected to Thorne’s confinement, while the officer warned her she might not have time to take him to the hospital.

Thorne warned Caitlyn that Damian was a Demon and pleaded for his family’s safety, while Belloc’s suspicious reaction prompted the officer to question her. The chapter ended with Thorne trying to swallow his gun before the officer sedated him, and Caitlyn agreeing to take Damian home.

• Thorne recalled why he believed Damian was a Demon and begged Caitlyn to stay away from him.
• Belloc reacted with surprise that Thorne was alive, so the officer questioned her and ordered her taken for interrogation.
• Thorne knelt and pleaded with Damian to spare Caitlyn and their unborn child, while Damian innocently questioned what he meant.
• Thorne seized the officer’s gun and put its muzzle in his mouth, offering his life in exchange for Caitlyn’s and the baby’s.
• The officer injected Thorne with a sedative, and Caitlyn agreed to go home with Damian.

Caitlyn took the unconscious Thorne out of the police station while the chief reviewed footage suggesting Belloc had influenced everyone there. Robet, Clark, and Diana split up to follow Belloc and Thorne’s group as they tried to determine whether Damian posed a threat.

• The Temporary Ambassador accused the chief and officers of harming Thorne, but Caitlyn explained the incident and took Thorne away with the embassy group.
• After reviewing surveillance footage of Thorne and Belloc, the chief suspected a supernatural incident, but an officer reported that Belloc had left and the chief decided the matter was no longer the station’s concern.
• Robet and Clark observed that Belloc had affected the police station, then decided to keep watch on Belloc and Thorne’s group as Thorne prepared to return to America.
• Diana arrived, joined Robet in following Thorne’s group, and heard about Hancock’s encounter with a similar father-and-child incident.
• The Temporary Ambassador asked Caitlyn what had happened and considered whether Thorne’s actions could still be explained to save his life.

Damian revealed that he had engineered Thorne’s apparent attempt to kill him and seized control of the people and weapons in the carriage to stage another deadly scene. Just as his energy pistols opened fire, the bullets suddenly stopped before hitting anyone.

• The Temporary Ambassador warned Caitlyn that Thorne could face a severe investigation and urged her to contact people who might keep him alive.
• Thorne woke in terror and confronted Damian, while the Temporary Ambassador began to suspect that something supernatural was happening.
• Damian took a colleague’s gun, dropped his innocent act, and admitted that he had planned the earlier incident with Thorne and arranged for Belloc to call the police.
• Damian explained that he wanted to create a new scene in which everyone died protecting him, then threatened Caitlyn and her unborn child as rivals for his throne.
• Damian took control of the people and embassy staff’s energy pistols, arranged them around the carriage, and fired, but the bullets stopped before striking anyone.

Robet and Diana rescued Thorne and the others, then captured Damian and discovered he was born with a Demon’s mark. After learning Damian’s birth coincided with a gap in the Earth Dimension, they took him away, while Thorne prepared to explain what happened and leave the United Kingdom.

• A Telekinetic Barrier stopped Damian’s attack and lifted the car, carrying Thorne and the others into the wilderness.
• Robet and Diana opened the car and Robet restrained Damian, identifying his power as connected to Hell.
• Thorne told Robet that Damian was adopted after his birth mother died and had a Demon's mark reading “666.”
• Diana learned Damian was born on December 13th, 2009, when the gap appeared in the Earth Dimension.
• Robet sent Thorne and the others away with the car and said Superman would handle Belloc.
• The Temporary Ambassador reassured Thorne that witnesses and Superman could support his account, and Thorne said he could not remain in the United Kingdom.

Damian used Belloc's self-destruction to unleash Hell Dimension power, escape Robet's restraint, and briefly become powerful enough to challenge Robet, Clark, and Diana. Robet tracked Damian as he fled toward Central Asia, where Damian planned to find Lazarus and claim the power invested in Earth.

• Clark arrived with Belloc and told Robet that Damian had revealed himself after they split up.
• Damian triggered Belloc's explosion, flooding the area with Hell Dimension power and breaking Robet's Telekinetic Barrier.
• Robet mocked Damian, then attacked him after Damian's aura empowered him, but Damian vanished and the Hell Dimension domain disappeared.
• Robet detected Damian's ordinary human aura moving toward Central Asia, and he, Clark, and Diana followed without intercepting him.
• Damian worried about the cost of reconnecting with the Hell Dimension and planned to find Lazarus, take the power Lazarus had invested in Earth, and free himself from the Earth's dimensional consciousness.