Chapter Summaries

Oaks infused Peggy Carter with Nature Force, giving her a supernatural connection to nature and extending her healthy lifespan by twenty years. She discovered that she could sense nearby life and anticipate Steve's movements, leaving Oaks surprised by the extent of her abilities.

• Oaks explained that Nature Force would give Peggy Carter a core for resonating with nature rather than turn an organ into a plant.
• Oaks infused Nature Force into Peggy Carter, who sensed Steve and other nearby life auras while the procedure took effect.
• Peggy Carter opened her eyes feeling more connected to nature, and Oaks said she could maintain her vitality for another twenty years.
• Peggy Carter discovered she could sense life auras within about five hundred meters and asked Steve to punch at her.
• Peggy Carter dodged Steve's punch before it landed, revealing that she could anticipate its trajectory.

Peggy Carter and Steve discussed confronting Hydra openly by reorganizing the Howling Commandos, with Peggy leading the effort. Oaks welcomed Sharon Carter into the Benevolence Society and assigned the team Skoll as a special teammate.

• Oaks introduced Sharon Carter as a new Benevolence Society member, and she explained that she trusted Peggy, Steve, and Oaks more than the government after S.H.I.E.L.D.'s collapse.
• Oaks told Peggy that Tony was working to crack Zola's encrypted Hydra files, prompting Peggy to propose acting openly against Hydra.
• Peggy suggested reorganizing the Howling Commandos, and Steve proposed himself, Peggy, Sam, and later Natasha and Clint as candidates.
• Oaks added Skoll to the team, and the talking German Shepherd announced that he was Sky Wolf.

Oaks helped rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D. while preparing to erase Hydra’s lingering traces. After stealing the Mind Scepter and freeing five Winter Soldiers, he destroyed a dangerous recording at Hydra’s Siberian base, leaving the final copy in Bucky’s memories.

• Peggy Carter and Steve helped Coulson obtain a cloaked Quinjet, while Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton joined Peggy’s new Howling Commandos.
• Oaks moved valuable S.H.I.E.L.D. items, including the Obelisk, to safety and waited to wake the sleeping Winter Soldier, Bucky.
• Hati reported that Baron Strucker had created two superpowered twins with the Mind Scepter and supplied Oaks with Hydra’s Siberian base coordinates and a trainer’s address.
• Oaks sent Hati to swap a fake Mind Scepter for the real one in Sokovia, then ordered him to free Hydra’s captives and keep the scientists distracted.
• Oaks found and destroyed a recording at the Siberian base, freed five frozen Winter Soldiers, and realized the final copy remained in Bucky’s memories.

Oaks used the Mind Stone to unleash and control a devastating localized storm, then placed the Stone in a pendant to manage its power. He found Hydra’s dormant backup of Dr. Zola and brought it online, leaving Zola’s digital consciousness on screen.

• Oaks opened Loki’s Scepter and revealed the Mind Stone, then touched it with his mental power.
• The Mind Stone amplified Oaks’s perception and let him control lightning, winds, and blizzards across the Siberian tundra.
• Oaks placed the Mind Stone in a Big Acorn pendant and reflected on sensing a consciousness in Earth’s biosphere.
• Oaks located Dr. Zola’s backup, disconnected its network cables, and entered the command to initialize the computer.
• Dr. Zola’s green face appeared on the screen.

Oaks found Zola’s isolated computer at Hydra’s former Siberia Branch and transferred his consciousness into a portable Little Black Box. He destroyed the facility and left Zola locked in a shielded safe at the Nature Guardian laboratory, intending to make him work against Hydra.

• Oaks told Zola that the Insight Project had failed, Hydra had suffered major losses, and Gideon Malick was still a threat.
• Oaks offered to save Zola’s intelligence by transferring him into a portable device, and Zola agreed when Oaks began to leave.
• Oaks transferred Zola into the Little Black Box, attached a monitor, and destroyed Zola’s old mainframe with Astral Energy.
• Zola guided Oaks to the Siberian Branch’s self-destruct mechanism, and Oaks declared that Zola would work to benefit humanity by opposing Hydra.
• Oaks erased the Siberian Branch, returned to the Nature Guardian laboratory, and locked Zola’s device in a safe protected by electromagnetic and Magic Barriers.

Oaks used the Mind Stone to perceive Earth’s biosphere as a vast ecosystem sustained by energy from the sun, moon, and stars. He merged his consciousness into the flow of energy and matter, experiencing countless cycles until he approached the biosphere’s collective consciousness, the Gaia Hypothesis.

• Oaks resolved to use the Mind Stone to strengthen his own power rather than depend on the Infinity Stones.
• Oaks sensed the Gaia Hypothesis as the collective consciousness of Earth’s biosphere, whose instinct was to maintain its balance and safe evolution.
• Oaks perceived how sunlight, moonlight, and starlight supplied Cosmic Energy to the biosphere and how energy and matter moved through ecosystems.
• Oaks used the Mind Stone to project energy into sunlight and merged his consciousness into the biosphere’s cycles of producers, consumers, and decomposers.
• Oaks experienced countless cycles of energy and matter and brought his consciousness close to the Gaia Hypothesis.

With the Mind Stone amplifying his connection to Earth’s biosphere, Oaks approached the Gaia Hypothesis and learned that it recognized his friendliness. He ended the exhausting contact with a clearer path forward: improve his standing with Gaia, beginning by building a signal base station.

• Oaks used the Mind Stone to amplify his perception and experience Gaia Hypothesis through Earth’s ecological cycles.
• He sensed the biosphere’s vast history and the harm human activity had caused, and vowed to change the situation.
• Oaks discovered that Gaia Hypothesis regarded him as friendly and that his nature spells gained an additional ten percent power within Earth’s biosphere.
• He inferred that improved reputation tiers would increase the bonus further, but his exhaustion forced him to sever the mental link.
• After receiving a positive response to one final inquiry, Oaks put away the Mind Stone and decided he needed to build a signal base station.

After recovering from his Spirit Journey, Oaks learned that Hati had disrupted Hydra’s Sokovia operations and arranged for Colonel Zemo to receive evidence of the base. Oaks then prepared to meet Carl Johnson and used the Mind Stone to protect Bucky’s mind while repairing his memories, leaving him ready for a new mechanical arm.

• Oaks contacted Hati and learned that he had freed prisoners, hidden the Scepter, and helped provoke a fight between Hydra and Colonel Zemo’s assault team.
• Oaks told Hati to give Zemo evidence that the facility was a Hydra base, destroy the Figurine Scepter, and watch the gifted twins and Hydra’s plans.
• Malorne told Oaks that Carl Johnson wanted to meet and that Skye had been trying to hack the butler’s mainframe, so Oaks scheduled a meeting with Carl and a call with Steve.
• Oaks used the Mind Stone to strengthen the shield around Bucky’s control chip, erase memories tied to December 16, 1991, repair the damage from brainwashing, and restore Bucky’s memories.
• Oaks saw that Bucky remained asleep and concluded that he needed a sufficiently strong mechanical arm.

Oaks helped Bruce and Dr. Yinsen finish a powerful mechanical arm for Bucky, reinforcing its Uru Metal armor with Natural Magic before they prepared to install it. Bruce also showed Oaks the planned Heracles armor, which needed more Uru Metal than they had, while Oaks considered seeking more from Nidavellir.

• Oaks inspected the mechanical arm Bruce and Dr. Yinsen had built for Bucky and agreed it would be better to install it while Bucky was asleep.
• Banner described the arm's energy weapon, transforming melee weapons, communications terminal, and tools, and Oaks infused its Uru Metal layer with Natural Magic.
• Banner told Oaks that their experiments had not made Uru Metal rechargeable, since ordinary electricity could not replace Thor's lightning or Oaks's magic.
• Banner showed Oaks the planned Heracles armor and explained that they wanted to cover it in Uru Metal but lacked enough material for spare components.
• Oaks said they should use their existing Uru Metal for now and that he might ask the Dwarf King for more when he visited Nidavellir.
• Oaks confirmed the mechanical arm was ready for installation, and Banner revealed that he had named it Tyr's Hand.

Oaks awakened Bucky after healing the damage from Hydra’s control chip and giving him a new mechanical arm. Bucky recovered his memories and learned that the Siberian base had already been destroyed as he prepared to speak with Steve.

• Dr. Yinsen activated Tyr’s Hand for Bucky, and Oaks awakened him after Banner and Yinsen left.
• Bucky recognized himself as James Buchanan Barnes and remembered Steve as his best friend.
• Oaks explained that he had isolated Hydra’s control chip and healed the injuries caused by brainwashing, then showed Bucky his new arm.
• Bucky identified the Sokovia base and revealed that five other Winter Soldiers had been held at the Siberian base.
• Oaks told Bucky that his dog had already destroyed the Siberian base and was tracking the Sokovia base.
• Steve joined Oaks and Bucky by holographic call, and Oaks told him Bucky could return to the team.

Oaks and Steve prepared to attack Hydra’s Sokovian base, where Baron Strucker was researching Loki’s Scepter and had recruited two enhanced young people. Bucky reunited with Steve, agreed to join the Benevolence Society, and discovered its emblem had appeared on his mechanical arm.

• Oaks told Steve that Hati had found Hydra’s Sokovian branch researching Chitauri remains and Loki’s Scepter, which Baron Strucker had used to create two enhanced young people.
• Bucky joined the planned assault, and Steve argued that the young people had been misled by Hydra and should be told the truth before they were treated as enemies.
• Oaks, Steve, and Bucky reunited aboard the Quinjet with Sam, Natasha, Barton, and Peggy Carter, and they agreed to continue their conversation after taking down Hydra’s European headquarters.
• Oaks explained that he had used a Magic Shield to isolate the chip in Bucky’s brain, then invited him to join the Benevolence Society.
• Bucky accepted the invitation, but Carter noticed the Society’s emblem had appeared on his mechanical arm, prompting him to ask if he could quit.

Oaks and the Howling Commandos attacked Hydra’s secret fortress, destroying its hidden sentries and breaking through its shield. Baron Strucker vanished before reaching the laboratory as the assault began.

• Oaks used the forest to trap and destroy Hydra’s hidden sentries, then the group headed for the fortress with Skoll carrying several members of the team.
• Baron Strucker ordered Hydra’s remaining forces to defend the fortress and called Pietro Maximoff and Wanda Maximoff into battle.
• Sam fired a missile at the fortress’s blue shield, and Baron Strucker vanished after colliding with a strange space.
• Oaks and Skoll summoned Solar Force to shatter the shield, allowing the Howling Commandos to storm the fortress.

Oaks confronted Pietro and Wanda at Hydra’s fortress and learned why they blamed Tony Stark for their parents’ deaths. He used the Mind Stone to show them Hydra’s history, then invited them to examine the evidence before deciding whether Tony was truly their enemy.

• Oaks sent Hati to deliver the captured Baron Strucker to Carter and help destroy the base, then approached Pietro and Wanda.
• Pietro and Wanda told Oaks how a Stark-branded bomb had trapped them beside their dying parents when they were children.
• Oaks raised a Magic Barrier and explained that Tony had redirected the Council’s nuclear missile through the wormhole to stop the Chitauri.
• Oaks used the Mind Stone to show the siblings Hydra’s seventy-year history, leaving them shocked by the organization they had joined.
• Oaks invited Pietro and Wanda to review Hydra’s files and Tony’s record, promising not to stop them if they still chose to pursue Tony, but saying he would bring Tony back to life if they killed him.

Oaks persuaded Wanda and Pietro to verify his account of Hydra before deciding whether to join him, while the Avengers secured Strucker and destroyed the Chitauri weapons factory. The twins still wanted to confront Tony Stark, and Oaks warned the team that Tony might need advance notice of their revenge plan.

• Wanda recognized that Oaks had used power like the Mind Stone's, and Oaks revealed the Scepter and explained its connection to their experiments.
• Wanda and Pietro agreed to verify Oaks's claims with Sokovia's army before deciding whether to go with him, but Wanda insisted on speaking with Stark.
• Carter restrained Baron Strucker and copied his research, while Natasha found the weapons factory and reported its Chitauri Leviathan wreckage to Steve.
• Oaks told Steve that he had the Scepter, then used a Sun Projection to melt the Leviathan and destroy the weapons factory's equipment.
• Oaks described Pietro's speed and Wanda's telekinetic and mental abilities to the team, and the Avengers agreed to warn Tony about the twins' revenge plan.

Oaks proposed a partnership with Sokovia to help rebuild the country through medical aid and crops suited to mountainous land. He presented Zemo with a plan to use specially adapted moss as a foundation for growing other plants, and left the proposal awaiting Sokovia’s response.

• Steve allowed Sokovia’s army to enter the Hydra fortress after receiving Carter’s signal, while Zemo criticized the Avengers for leaving Sokovia with wreckage and losses.
• Oaks joined Steve and offered Zemo a compensation plan, then asked whether the colonel had authority to make decisions for Sokovia.
• Zemo acknowledged that he had suspected someone had secretly provided him with key intelligence about Hydra, and Oaks credited him with putting it to use.
• Oaks described Sokovia’s limited farmland and resources, warning that continued unrest could eventually leave the country empty.
• Oaks showed Zemo Root Four, Mountain Strong-Root Moss, and explained that it could grow across rocks and serve as a base for other crops.
• Oaks proposed partnering with Sokovia on large-scale pilot projects using the moss to expand arable land.

Oaks negotiated a food-growing partnership with Baron Zemo, offering Sokovia modified moss and high-yield crops in exchange for support and help approaching Wanda and Pietro. After the Hydra prisoners were handed over, the twins agreed to return with Oaks to confront Tony Stark without using force.

• Oaks explained how Root Series Moss could turn rocky hillsides into self-sustaining farmland and offered Sokovia high-yield crops.
• Zemo agreed to cooperate, seeing the project as a way to strengthen Sokovia without attracting the attention of major powers.
• Oaks revealed that he wanted Zemo's help persuading Wanda and Pietro to join him, and the two men finalized their agreement.
• Sokovian troops and the Howling Commandos transported the Hydra prisoners to face a United Nations trial and the anger of the Sokovian people.
• The next morning, Pietro and Wanda told Oaks they had verified his claims and agreed to go with him to settle things with Tony Stark without using force.

Oaks brought Pietro and Wanda to meet Tony and arranged for them to review Hydra’s files before resolving their conflict. Over lunch, Oaks explained the nature of their powers to Wanda and told her that people born with magic were called witches.

• Oaks reassured Tony that Pietro and Wanda would not use violence and arranged for them to meet after his afternoon appointment.
• Tony studied Hydra’s research on Loki’s Scepter and suspected Oaks wanted his help understanding it.
• Oaks returned to the Nature Guardian and shared plant-based food with Pietro and Wanda.
• Wanda asked whether her red energy counted as magic, and Oaks confirmed that it did.
• Oaks explained that Hydra’s experiments had awakened and strengthened Pietro and Wanda’s existing potential, and that naturally magical people like Wanda were called witches.

Oaks met Dr. Carl, who urgently wanted to verify what had happened to Hydra leader Dr. Daniel Whitehall. Carl revealed that he had a blood feud with Hydra.

• Oaks arranged for Skye and Sharon Carter to take Pietro and Wanda to review information about Hydra.
• Oaks met the nervous Dr. Carl and used Nature Magic to calm him.
• Carl asked Oaks about Dr. Whitehall and said both Whitehall and Sharon Carter were unusual.
• Oaks asked how Carl was connected to Whitehall and whether he was Hydra; Carl denied it and declared that he had a blood feud with Hydra.

Carl revealed that Hydra had stolen his daughter Daisy Johnson and asked Oaks to let him see her, but Oaks refused because Carl had withheld key facts about her mother, Jiaying. Oaks exposed Jiaying’s life-force-draining ability and pressed Carl to explain what she had done, leaving Carl admitting that she had changed.

• Carl told Oaks that Whitehall had killed his wife and that he had spent years seeking his stolen daughter.
• Oaks explained that he had rescued Carter from Whitehall and restored her youthful appearance without sacrificing anyone.
• Carl revealed that his wife had survived and that their daughter, whom he named Daisy Johnson, had been taken by Hydra.
• Oaks refused Carl’s request to see Daisy, warning that Carl had concealed important information and that Daisy might be in danger.
• Oaks accused Jiaying of draining other people’s life force to recover and asked Carl how many people she had killed.
• Carl admitted that Jiaying had once been kind but seemed like a different person after their ordeal.

Oaks used the Mind Stone to heal Carl and Jiaying, ending their plans to attack ordinary people and reuniting them with Daisy. Daisy awakened her Quake abilities, while Jiaying pledged the Inhumans’ support to Oaks; the chapter ended with Oaks preparing to counsel Pietro and Wanda.

• Oaks healed Carl with the Mind Stone, and Carl revealed that Jiaying was searching for four Obelisks to carry out her plan against ordinary people.
• Oaks told Daisy Johnson about her parents and offered to help awaken her inherited abilities, and Daisy entered a chamber containing Terrigen Crystals.
• Oaks healed Jiaying, who reunited with Daisy and repented for her past actions.
• Jiaying promised the Inhumans would support Oaks, and he gave her talismans that could suppress abilities and restore altered appearances.
• Daisy asked for her parents to stay at Little Rainforest while she continued training, and Oaks went to deal with Pietro and Wanda.