Chapter Summaries

Alvin sent an elite Dark Angels squad to secure the Frost Shard and eliminate Laufey while Steve, Natasha, and Barton entered the battle. Steve confronted Laufey in Stark Tower, learned he served Thanos, and activated a Teleportation Beacon to create an opening for the Assault Squad.

• Ollsen received Alvin’s mission orders to acquire the Frost Shard and eliminate the Xenos leader, then finished praying and prepared to deploy.
• Alvin sent the Black Watch’s strongest Tactical Squad after Laufey, while Wakandan forces and Tony’s defenses pushed back the Chitauri.
• Steve led Natasha and Barton into the combat zone on a stolen Chitauri flyer, which crashed into Stark Tower and left Barton unconscious.
• Steve rescued Natasha by shooting two Frost Giants with an Energy Cannon, then faced Laufey as the hall froze around them.
• Laufey offered Steve control of Earth if he served Thanos, and Steve activated the Teleportation Beacon at close range.

Steve and Natasha seized the Frost Shard from Laufey, and Steve sacrificed himself to give Natasha time to escape with it. The Teleportation Beacon brought the First Legion to Steve, and Ollsen ordered that he be treated while promising to petition for his induction if he survived.

• Steve knocked the Frost Shard from Laufey’s hand with his Vibranium Shield, and Natasha grabbed it before Laufey could reclaim it.
• Natasha chose the Frost Shard over rescuing Barton and leaped from Stark Tower to keep it from the Frost Giants.
• Steve tackled Laufey and held him back until Laufey tore off his arms; Steve then bit Laufey’s heel to stop him pursuing Natasha.
• Laufey battered Steve and leaped after Natasha, but the Teleportation Beacon finished guiding its arrival and the First Legion emerged.
• Marquez told Ollsen that Steve was dying, and Ollsen ordered medicine injected and said he would petition His Highness to let Steve join their ranks if he survived.

Natasha fled with the Frost Shard while pursued by the Chitauri Army and Laufey’s Frost Giants, but Laufey caught and immobilized her. Ollsen and four Dark Angels arrived just in time to confront Laufey, who realized he had become the prey.

• Natasha escaped the Chitauri Army’s gunfire with the Frost Shard, but a laser pierced her lung.
• Natasha fought through her injuries and ran from the Chitauri and hundreds of Frost Giants while awaiting support.
• Laufey froze Natasha’s legs, pierced her chest with an ice spear, and then froze her below the neck to prevent her from destroying the Frost Shard.
• Ollsen smashed through the wall and kicked Laufey away from Natasha.
• Four more Dark Angels arrived and surrounded Laufey, identifying him as a heretic to eliminate.

Ollsen and four Dark Angels rescued Natasha’s situation by breaking through the Chitauri forces and defeating Laufey. When hundreds of Frost Giants charged to avenge their leader, the Space Marines met them with heavy weapons.

• After Alvin reported that Natasha was being hunted, Ollsen led four Dark Angels toward her location and cut through the Chitauri forces.
• The Dark Angels found Laufey and fought him, with Ollsen, the veteran Sword Brother, and the Company Champion attacking while the other two provided support.
• Laufey tried to freeze the building, but Marquez struck him with Mind Shriek and disrupted the spell.
• Ollsen cut off one of Laufey’s arms, the veteran Sword Brother severed his legs, and the Company Champion cut off his other arm.
• Hundreds of Frost Giants charged the Dark Angels, who aimed their Heavy Bolters, plasma weapons, and Meltaguns at them.

The Dark Angels massacred the Frost Giants despite Laufey’s repeated surrender pleas, while Alvin refused mercy and vowed to destroy Jotunheim and exterminate their race. Laufey was left alive to witness what Alvin promised would come next.

• Ollsen and the Dark Angels gunned down the attacking Frost Giants, then charged forward to slaughter the survivors in close combat.
• Laufey begged Marquez to stop the killing and offered to make the Frost Giants slaves, but Marquez ignored him.
• Alvin appeared in a projection and told Laufey that the Imperium never accepted Xenos surrender, citing the Frost Giants’ slaughter of hundreds of millions of humans.
• Alvin vowed to kill every Frost Giant and destroy Jotunheim, warning that Asgard would enter a war with the Imperium if Odin intervened.
• Alvin said he would keep Laufey alive to witness the destruction, then identified himself as an Emperor-commissioned Rogue Trader with authority to execute first and report later.

Alvin insisted on exterminating the Frost Giants and ordered Heimdall to open the Bifrost to Jotunheim, but Heimdall refused and Alvin whipped him. Odin arrived to stop Alvin and invoked Asgard’s authority, leaving Alvin defying the All-Father’s pressure and challenging him.

• Tony questioned Alvin’s plan to wipe out the Frost Giants, but Alvin argued that retaliation would deter future invasions of Earth.
• Alvin ordered Thor to bring Heimdall and demanded that he open the Bifrost to Jotunheim; Heimdall refused, citing his duty and the Frost Giants’ ties to Odin.
• Alvin kicked and whipped Heimdall for refusing, until Odin appeared and freed him.
• Odin apologized for the Frost Giants’ slaughter, then demanded that Alvin end his campaign because the Frost Giants were his people.
• Odin pressed Alvin and the Dark Angels with his divine power, but Alvin stood his ground and asked who Odin thought he was.

Alvin forced Odin to back down by threatening Asgard, then led his fleet to Jotunheim and carried out an Extermination Order against the Frost Giants. He ordered the planet dismantled, while Laufey was sent to Earth for a public execution.

• Alvin threatened to kill Asgardians if Odin harmed him or his allies, and Odin agreed to end the dispute and grant him a request.
• Odin opened the Bifrost, and Alvin led his fleet to Jotunheim.
• Alvin issued an Extermination Order in the name of the Valshius Merchant Dynasty and broadcast the attack to Earth.
• Alvin's fleet bombarded Jotunheim and released Black Goo, killing the surviving Frost Giants as Laufey watched helplessly.
• Alvin ordered the Transformers to dismantle Jotunheim and commanded that Laufey be executed by white phosphorus on a live broadcast.

Alvin arranged for Laufey’s public, three-day white-phosphorus execution, turning the spectacle into a warning to aliens and a display of vengeance that rallied humanity behind him. In Asgard, Odin welcomed Alvin as an ally, and Alvin ended the visit by asking the God King for compensation.

• The Dark Angels brought world leaders to the United Nations and presented the captured, mutilated Laufey before a furious crowd and a global livestream.
• After listing Laufey’s crimes, the Dark Angels burned him with white phosphorus, beginning an execution meant to last three days; Fury recognized that the spectacle would win people’s loyalty for Alvin.
• Alvin crossed the Bifrost into Asgard with Odin, Thor, Loki, and the injured Heimdall, and praised the Divine Realm’s scenery.
• Thor suspected Odin might be luring Alvin into a trap, but Loki explained that Odin was making peace because he could not defeat Alvin; Thor then punched Loki.
• Odin asked Alvin to help guide Thor and Loki in the future, and Alvin agreed before asking Odin to discuss compensation.

Alvin accepted Odin’s offer to choose a treasure from Asgard’s vault as compensation and a gesture of goodwill. He chose the Destroyer, hoping to use its Uru metal for future weapons and ambitions.

• Odin joked that Alvin should have been his son, and Alvin eagerly called him godfather.
• Odin took Alvin to the vault and promised he could take any one item as compensation and a gesture of goodwill.
• Alvin inspected the treasures and declined the Eternal Flame, recognizing its connection to Asgard’s destruction.
• Odin recommended the Destroyer, and Alvin chose it for its Uru metal and potential use in crafting weapons.

Alvin tested the Destroyer Armor and learned from Odin that its runes were a curse tied to Asgard’s repeated destruction and rebirth. Odin persuaded Alvin to help protect Asgard, and Alvin secured Odin’s promise to take him to someone who could suppress the Daemons in his weapon.

• Odin transferred control of the Destroyer Armor to Alvin, who tested it with several commands and asked about its runes.
• Odin called the runes a curse and suggested that Alvin consider Asgard’s fate, leading Alvin to infer that Odin wanted to sever Asgard from the World Tree through its destruction and rebirth.
• Alvin asked Odin for more than the Destroyer in exchange for looking after Asgard and asked whether he could stop a Daemon from influencing him while preserving its combat power.
• Odin said he could not handle a multiversal-level Dimensional Demon God but offered to take Alvin to an old friend who might help.
• Alvin agreed to go and promised to live and die alongside Asgard, while Odin reacted with frustration.

Alvin and Odin traveled to Kamar-Taj to ask the Ancient One to help reforge a Daemon Artifact. The Ancient One offered to help if Alvin accepted three conditions, beginning by asking whether he would become the next Sorcerer Supreme.

• Odin brought Alvin to the Himalayas through the Bifrost, where Karl Mordo met them and escorted them to Kamar-Taj.
• Mordo opened a portal to Kamar-Taj and led Alvin and Odin to the Ancient One.
• The Ancient One welcomed them and said reforging the Daemon Artifact would not be easy, then asked Odin to leave so she could speak to Alvin alone.
• Alvin asked what the Ancient One wanted, and she offered to help reforge the artifact in exchange for three conditions.
• The Ancient One asked Alvin whether he was interested in taking her place as Sorcerer Supreme.

Alvin refused The Ancient One’s offer to become Sorcerer Supreme, then learned she could not remove the Chaos Gods’ influence from his soul. He agreed to study magic at Kamar-Taj for three months under strict isolation, after which The Ancient One promised to send him away.

• Alvin refused to become Sorcerer Supreme, and The Ancient One stopped him from leaving long enough to ask why.
• Alvin explained that he feared becoming a puppet, and The Ancient One revealed the many conflicting authorities present in his soul.
• Alvin asked whether the Chaos Gods could be destroyed, and The Ancient One said beings tied to life’s concepts would eventually return.
• The Ancient One asked Alvin to study magic at Kamar-Taj for three months without meeting or communicating with anyone.
• Alvin accepted the condition after The Ancient One promised to make him leave when the three months ended.

Alvin completed three months of intensive magical study under the Ancient One and reunited with Odin, who gave him his reforged weapon and protective gloves. Odin warned that they might never meet again and asked Alvin to protect the people of Asgard.

• The Ancient One forced Alvin through three months of study and exams before he completed his lessons.
• Alvin thanked the Ancient One, who deferred her remaining two requests until his next visit.
• Odin gave Alvin Atropos's Blade, reforged from the souls of 88 Daemons, and Yarngripir, which helped protect him from the weapon's influence.
• Alvin tested the blade and found that Yarngripir reduced its bloodlust-inducing effects.
• Alvin promised to ensure Asgard remained standing, and Odin said this might be their last meeting and asked Alvin to protect those people.

After returning from the Marvel Universe, Alvin reviewed his gains and visited Norman Osborn to confront him about secretly pursuing Serum 5 and to demand progress on its reverse engineering. Alvin left Osborn alive but ordered him to continue the research, while Osborn feared the consequences of crossing him again.

• Alvin returned to the Helicarrier after saying farewell to Odin and assessed the new Council of Terra leadership and his gains from the trip.
• Alvin decided to visit Norman Osborn at Osborn Pharmaceuticals, where Osborn admitted that Vought Company had reverse-engineered Serum 5.
• Alvin forgave Osborn for concealing his progress and conspiring with United States officials, but warned him to keep his ambition under control.
• Osborn explained that Serum 5 still triggered unpredictable powers, and Alvin ordered him to keep researching a reliable formula.
• Alvin vanished from Osborn's office, leaving Osborn relieved and terrified of what would have happened if he had displeased him.

Alvin found the Sword of Redemption shut down and corrupted by the Warp, then encountered the Necron Torzak aboard the ship. Torzak claimed he had repaired the Gellar Field and preserved the crew in a Stasis Field, leaving Alvin stunned by the Necron's unexpected help.

• Alvin sensed a terrifying presence aboard the Sword of Redemption, but the Machine Spirit did not respond.
• Alvin's Sky-Shaking Unicron Armor was invaded by Warp corruption, so he disengaged it and continued toward the bridge on foot.
• Alvin found a Necron in the bridge control room and attacked it with Psychic Impact and Psykana Flame.
• The Necron evaded Alvin's strike through a Pocket Dimension and trapped him in a Stasis Field.
• Torzak identified himself as the ruler of the Necron dynasty on Alert Star and said he had repaired the Gellar Field generator.
• Torzak showed Alvin the crew preserved in stasis and claimed his actions had saved them from Chaos corruption.

Alvin learned that Torzak had saved the Sword of Redemption from a Warp Storm and discovered that Trazyn had sent the Necron Lord to watch him. Unable to escape Trazyn’s attention, Alvin and Torzak agreed to cooperate, with Torzak remaining aboard and helping Alvin when needed.

• Alvin reviewed the Machine Spirit’s logs and learned that a Warp Storm destroyed the Gellar Field, corrupted parts of the Sword of Redemption, and nearly doomed its crew before Penny’s prayer and Torzak’s actions helped save them.
• Alvin thanked Torzak, then questioned why the Necron Lord had disguised himself as a Flayed One and infiltrated the vessel.
• Torzak revealed that Trazyn the Infinite had sent him to watch Alvin and warned that Alvin could not escape Trazyn by expelling him.
• Torzak proposed staying aboard to complete his mission while helping Alvin with problems he could not handle himself.
• Alvin accepted Torzak’s offer, and the two reached a friendly agreement to cooperate.

Alvin and Torzak repaired the ship enough to leave the Warp, then emerged near the war-torn Higanbana world in the Stygian Shield. Alvin realized they had arrived at the end of M41.999, just as the Blood Angels’ fleet approached to exterminate the system to protect Baal from the Tyranids.

• Torzak used Necrotech Scarabs to make temporary repairs and disguised himself as a senior crewman before releasing the crew from stasis.
• Alvin ordered the ship’s Machine Spirit to take them out of the Warp and requested communication with the inhabited planet they found.
• General Droste identified the world as Higanbana in the Stygian System and explained that it was under attack by Leviathan’s Tyranids.
• Alvin recognized that the ship had arrived during the final stage of the Battle of the Stygian Shield.
• Droste rejoiced at the arrival of the Blood Angels, but Alvin saw their fleet approaching and realized Higanbana was among the systems marked for extermination.

Alvin learned that Higanbana was doomed to become a lifeless wasteland and initially ordered his fleet to avoid landing, but Penny’s compassion changed his mind. He decided to evacuate the planet’s people, industry, and resources, asking the Blood Angels to buy him five days.

• Alvin ordered the fleet to keep moving and requested an audience with Chapter Master Dante, fearing the Blood Angels’ arrival signaled Higanbana’s destruction.
• Torzak questioned Alvin’s warning about an Extermination Order, and Carroll reported that the Blood Angels would help only if they evacuated the Cadian Legion.
• Alvin learned Torzak’s Pocket Dimension could hold only a few thousand people and hesitated over whether to reveal his trump card.
• Seeing Penny’s sorrow at the planet’s suffering, Alvin chose to help and ordered the fleet pilots to land at Higanbana Port.
• Alvin asked the Blood Angels to hold the Tyranids back for five days so he could evacuate Higanbana’s people, industry, and mineral resources.

Alvin asked Blood Angels Chapter Master Dante for five days to evacuate Higanbana's population and preserve its industry and resources before Leviathan reached Baal. Dante doubted the plan until Alvin revealed Penny as a War Apostle, leaving Dante shocked by her presence.

• Alvin asked Santikan to connect him with Dante after Santikan refused to delay the Blood Angels' mission to protect Baal.
• Dante explained that Leviathan had broken through two defensive lines and refused to grant Alvin five days.
• Alvin argued that Leviathan was advancing toward Baal rather than harvesting biomass, and said he could relocate Higanbana's people and assets within five days.
• Dante questioned whether the potential gains justified the military losses, and Alvin invoked War Apostle Mathieu to persuade him.
• Alvin revealed Penny, whose eyes glimmered gold, as the War Apostle who had a message for Dante.

Dante gathered the Blood Angels successor Chapter Masters on Baal to coordinate resistance against Leviathan, but announced that they must first defend the doomed Stygian System for a month. When the gathered leaders objected, Dante unexpectedly tasked Alvin with persuading them.

• Hundreds of Blood Angels successor Chapter Masters assembled in the Crimson Conference Hall on Baal, where Dante presented sacred relics of Sanguinius.
• Dante warned that Leviathan had breached both defensive lines in the Stygian Shield and declared that the Stygian System must be defended.
• The Chapter Master of the Blood Angels objected that their forces should protect Baal instead of wasting lives in a doomed system.
• Dante told Alvin that persuading the Chapter Masters was now his responsibility, leaving Alvin stunned.