Chapter Summaries

After the attack on Langley Air Force Base and the theft of a nuclear warhead sparked a scramble among government agencies, Natasha Romanoff met Salomon in Oxford to warn him that S.H.I.E.L.D. might expose his identity. She then asked him whether he could make her pregnant.

• Tony Stark visited the injured Colonel Rhodes and learned investigators had found no clear explanation for the massacre at Langley Air Force Base.
• Federal agencies argued over responsibility and funding before the White House ordered a joint investigation and assigned Agent Victoria Hand to represent S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Agent Victoria Hand sought to declare a state of emergency over the missing nuclear warhead, but the White House refused to reveal the loss to the public.
• Natasha Romanoff met Salomon near the Bodleian Library and told him that a stolen nuclear warhead and the ensuing investigation might expose his identity.
• Natasha Romanoff reminded Salomon of his past promise and asked whether he could get her pregnant.

Salomon raided Gideon Malick’s estate to question the Hydra leader and learn about Hydra’s origins. After denying any connection to the being Hydra worshipped, he began explaining that it was a genetically modified organism rather than a god.

• Natasha asked Salomon to restore her missing organs so she could have a child, and he promised to research a way to do it.
• Salomon and the Sisterhood launched a covert assault on Gideon Malick’s estate, killing or subduing its guards without raising an alarm.
• Dinah held Gideon and Stephanie Malick at swordpoint while Salomon searched Gideon’s study for documents and found nothing he wanted.
• Gideon asked Salomon to join Hydra and serve its leader, but Salomon denied any connection to the being.
• Salomon told Gideon and Stephanie that Hydra’s supposed god was an octopus-like genetically modified organism, not a divine being.

Salomon exposed Hydra’s god as a modified Kree creature and forced Gideon Malick and Stephanie to submit to him. He recruited the Malik family to help bring Hydra under his control, then planned to take Stephanie to his base and show her the fight against aliens.

• Salomon told the Malik family that Hydra’s supposed god was a modified Kree battlefield creature and threatened to take Gideon to meet it.
• Salomon transformed the study with magic and used a Golden Light Sword to convince Gideon to surrender; Stephanie remained shocked and silent.
• Gideon and Stephanie signed Bloodline Pacts that promised the Malik family youth and two hundred years of extended life in exchange for loyalty.
• Salomon ordered Gideon to contact Hydra leaders but avoid John Gettler, Alexander Pierce, and Dr. Hotzwell, whom he said were finished.
• Salomon assigned an Artificial Human in Power Armor to coordinate with and protect the Maliks, and said he would take Stephanie to his base to kill aliens.

Salomon took Stephanie Malik to the City of Immortals and offered her a place managing its daily affairs. Later, he apologized to Cassilius for neglecting Kamar-Taj and invited him and others to a family dinner.

• Salomon left five Sisterhood members to monitor the Malik family and brought Stephanie to the City of Immortals.
• Stephanie explored the city, and Salomon offered her the chance to manage its paperwork in exchange for proving her value.
• Salomon visited the No-Door Bar and apologized to Cassilius for neglecting Witch and the Arcanists of Kamar-Taj.
• Cassilius urged Salomon to enjoy his life instead of taking on responsibility too soon, then teased him about his girlfriends.
• Salomon invited Cassilius, Mordo, the Hong Kong Sanctum's guardian family, Master Hamir, and The King to a family dinner.

Salomon explained that Dinah and the Sisterhood were rescuing women from human traffickers in Eastern Europe and recruiting new members, with the rescued women also offered safety in the City of Immortals. Jeanne volunteered to join the mission, while Dinah’s force prepared to use heavy weapons and Tita questioned whether artillery was excessive.

• Jeanne won a card game against Salomon and ordered him to wash the dishes.
• Salomon told Bayonetta and Jeanne that Dinah and the Artificial Human squad were buying weapons in Ukraine and rescuing girls for the Sisterhood.
• Salomon described his authorization for the Sisterhood to attack human-trafficking gangs and said the rescued women could find refuge in the City of Immortals.
• Rodin praised Salomon’s plan, and Jeanne volunteered to join a mission somewhere Dinah’s force had not yet visited.
• Dinah’s Artificial Humans transported rescued girls aboard a stealth aircraft, and Tita asked whether using field artillery near a city was excessive.

Salomon prepared for his birthday gathering while Stephanie Malik helped him get ready for a political reception and learned more about the City of Immortals. He offered her the chance to hunt Hydra as the first step toward her enhancement, and Stephanie decided that her family would follow him.

• Salomon used an Alchemical Simulacrum to prepare turkeys and take a sheep to local herders while he traveled with Stephanie Malik.
• Stephanie chose a suitable suit and watch for Salomon and arranged a new hairstyle before they attended a political reception.
• Salomon told Stephanie that they would make a planet their first hunting ground and offered her the chance to hunt Hydra in return for the ancient lie.
• Stephanie recalled the City of Immortals' powerful resources and concluded that the Malik family should invest and follow Salomon.
• Stephanie praised Salomon's appearance in the mirror, and he privately resented the implication that he was short.

Tita led the rescued girls through a Sisterhood ceremony, urging them to join and serve Salomon. Meanwhile, Salomon discussed Hydra’s plans with Stephanie and asked her about a youth training camp.

• Tita addressed the rescued girls in the Sisterhood hall and called on them to become sisters devoted to their master.
• Catherine comforted a frightened young girl and encouraged her to pray to her Savior.
• Salomon and Stephanie left a political reception and discussed the Malik family’s influence and the coming changes in the United States.
• Salomon said Project Insight would fail but could draw S.H.I.E.L.D.’s attention, then asked Stephanie about a Hydra youth training camp.

Ruby woke from a frightening dream at Hydra’s training base, where Salomon and Stephanie had entered to inspect Dr. Hotzwell’s experiments. Salomon dismissed Ruby as an ordinary person and planned to build a force of modified professional assassins, with Maya Hansen overseeing the work.

• Ruby woke in a cold sweat after dreaming of a ruby shattered by a blade, then reminded herself that she had to attend class the next day.
• Salomon and Stephanie entered the Hydra base unnoticed, and Salomon judged Ruby to be naive, weak-willed, and ordinary.
• Stephanie explained that Ruby was the product of Dr. Hotzwell’s Eugenics project and described the base’s research and connections.
• Salomon declined to visit Baron Wolfgang von Strucker’s base, saying the twins there would not help his plans.
• Salomon told Stephanie that he wanted to train professional assassins skilled at infiltration and willing to face death.
• Salomon said Maya Hansen would lead the human-modification project and keep the recruited Hydra biologists under close surveillance.

Tita and the Artificial Humans prepared the Sisterhood’s first recruits for intensive combat training, while Salomon secretly returned girls who wanted to go home and erased their memories of the City of Immortals. Shuri confronted him about the missing girls, and he dismissed her objections and sent her back to work.

• The Sisterhood housed its first recruits in squads and gave them pistols and daggers as they prepared to begin weapons and combat training.
• Tita led the Artificial Humans in brewing alchemical potions to strengthen the girls for their training.
• Salomon used gold to acquire potion ingredients and supported the Sisterhood’s plans to secretly spread its faith among the recruits.
• Salomon returned every girl who wanted to go home and altered their memories to conceal the Sisterhood and the City of Immortals.
• Shuri stormed into Salomon’s office to demand answers about the missing girls, and Salomon told her what he had done.
• Salomon rebuked Shuri for overstepping her authority and ordered her to return to her work.

Shuri left after clashing with Salomon over the girls he had chosen not to treat, while Stephanie asked whether to alert Wakanda about their cooperation. Salomon explained his plan to counter Wakanda and described his effort to replace religious belief with a necessary lie, leaving Stephanie asking what that meant to him.

• Shuri stormed off, angry at Salomon for refusing treatment to girls who had rejected the Sisterhood and for speaking to her condescendingly.
• Stephanie asked whether she should notify Wakanda, and Salomon showed her an alchemical body in an Incubation Tank as part of his plan to counter Wakanda.
• Stephanie asked why Salomon had been reading Lenin, and he explained that he was seeking a materialist path that could account for magic and gods.
• Salomon argued that gods could be understood as a Machine governing the universe and that worship could not affect it.
• Salomon told Stephanie that he spread the lie that magic did not exist and that Asgardian magic was advanced technology, and Stephanie asked what it all meant to him.

Salomon discussed political language and helped Stephanie shape the new Administrative System before returning to the City of Immortals’ projects and imprisoned Lorelei. The chapter left Lorelei eagerly awaiting Salomon’s attention.

• Salomon explained to Stephanie that political rhetoric could conceal ideas and evade responsibility, and she rephrased her objection to changing “Fries” to “Chips.”
• Salomon continued preparing a weapon for the Sisterhood and assigned Tita to command its combat squad.
• Maya Hansen and the Druid Order of Sola Red Forest studied life-alchemy secrets to develop special organs, while Salomon monitored their progress and Maya’s mental state.
• Salomon described Artificial Intelligence and the imprisoned Lorelei as lower-priority projects in the City of Immortals.
• Lorelei ran to Salomon when he entered the Basement and eagerly asked what punishment or game he wanted.

Salomon continued Lorelei’s training while waiting for a safe chance to return her to Asgard, then presented Tita with a magically enhanced longsword he had forged for the Sisterhood. Dinah and Stephanie argued over who had authority to access Sisterhood records, with Salomon allowing their dispute to continue.

• Salomon kept Lorelei under his control and delayed sending her back to Asgard until the Bifrost could provide a way to evade Heimdall.
• Salomon completed a Uru Metal longsword with enchantments that aided its wielder and hindered enemies, including a segment of his true name concealed in its runes.
• Salomon gave the longsword to Tita, who excitedly examined it and swung it before realizing he was standing nearby.
• Dinah protested that Salomon spent too much time on the Sisterhood, while Salomon indulged her complaint.
• Dinah refused to let Stephanie review Sisterhood documents without Salomon’s permission, and Stephanie argued that she managed all the City of Immortals’ records.

Salomon and Stephanie prepared a costly Middle Eastern strategy involving new weapons, infrastructure, and strict social reforms, while Salomon worked on equipment to detect Einstein-Rosen bridges. The chapter ended with Bayonetta discussing the birthday banquet and asking when Salomon would pay for the manor she had chosen.

• Dinah submitted proposals for armor-piercing weapons, portable bombs, and upgraded Power Armor, and Salomon approved the research funding.
• Salomon and Stephanie planned a Middle Eastern campaign that included investment, guerrilla warfare, infrastructure aid, and the elimination of religious institutions.
• Salomon worked on Jane Foster's bridge-detection equipment, but the Cheshire Cat touched a switch and shocked him.
• Bayonetta brought the Cheshire Cat back and asked Salomon to choose dishes for the birthday banquet and pay for the manor she had selected.

Salomon prepared to move into Riverside Manor and received a modified snowmobile from Tony Stark, who also asked about his future daughter and the multiverse. Salomon explained the dangers facing Earth and Kamar-Taj’s mission, leaving Stark unsettled by humanity’s vulnerability to cosmic powers.

• Salomon finalized the purchase of Riverside Manor with Laura Croft’s help and planned repairs and renovations before moving in.
• Tony Stark told Salomon he was moving to Oxfordshire, gave him a modified snowmobile, and invited him to his wedding.
• Stark asked whether his future daughter was destined to be born, and Salomon explained that the vision showed only one possibility among many universes.
• Salomon told Stark that the Celestials could rival the assembled gods and that Kamar-Taj had helped drive the gods from Earth.
• Salomon described Kamar-Taj’s mission to kill Extra-dimensional Beings and told Stark that he was a barrier against threats from the physical universe.

Salomon secured the Malik family's technical assistance and rewarded Gideon Malick with magical objects after Stephanie showed her loyalty to the City of Immortals. Stephanie then invited Salomon to a banquet attended by the Conservative Hydra, offering him a chance to absorb the faction.

• Salomon returned with Stephanie to Malick Estate and arranged for the researchers to be searched and taken to the City of Immortals.
• Stephanie emerged with cake for Salomon, leaving Gideon Malick troubled by her loyalty to Salomon and her new home.
• Salomon gave Gideon a Noble Savior Pill Set and a bronze griffin figurine as rewards for the Malik family's submission.
• Stephanie told Salomon that her father had invited him to a banquet attended by the Conservative Hydra, and Gideon realized she had exposed the family's opportunity to recover power.

Salomon prepared Stephanie to consolidate Conservative Hydra and accelerate weapons production as threats mounted across the universe. The chapter ended with Bayonetta teasing him after the Witches returned from a spa, while Jeanne was still changing.

• Salomon assigned ten Artificial Humans to Stephanie and urged her to subdue Conservative Hydra, while Gideon Malick accepted that she would eventually take control.
• Stephanie warned Salomon that the Rothschild family and Freemasonry were involved in the companies she controlled, but he dismissed them as threats.
• Salomon promised Stephanie a trip to a Kree black market to trade gold for alien resources and gave her modified Sisterhood Power Armor.
• Salomon told Stephanie that an alien enemy was approaching and that humanity needed to prepare, while he and The Venerable One secretly arranged to accelerate warship construction with the Time Stone.
• The Witches returned from a spa, and Bayonetta kissed Salomon and teased him before asking whether he wanted her apology; Salomon suggested Jeanne sleep on the couch.

Salomon took Little Lorna to meet Wanda in a Hydra cell, where they shared a meal and Salomon explained their multiversal connection. He suppressed Wanda’s powers and studied her abilities, concluding that they formed a dangerous kind of psionic magic tied to Chthon.

• Salomon brought Little Lorna to a Hydra base to meet Wanda and investigate whether Wanda’s powers could help stabilize Lorna’s own.
• Salomon and Little Lorna entered Wanda’s cell unnoticed by the Hydra staff and shared burritos with her.
• Little Lorna claimed Wanda was her younger sister in another universe, while Wanda insisted she had only a younger brother.
• Salomon suppressed Wanda’s powers and told her that they shared a multiversal genetic connection and powers linked to the Celestials.
• Salomon concluded that Wanda’s abilities were psionic magic fueled by emotion and that her awakening had made her indebted to Chthon.

Salomon defeated Wanda Maximoff’s attempt to read his and Lorna’s minds, then offered to teach Wanda methods for controlling her powers in exchange for information about a valuable gem in the Hydra base. The chapter ended with Salomon giving Wanda an absurdly long introduction, leaving her stunned.

• Wanda tried to read Salomon’s and Lorna’s minds, but Salomon turned the probe back on her and briefly searched her surface thoughts.
• Salomon took Lorna and prepared to leave, but Wanda asked whether he was looking for a gem in the base.
• Wanda offered to reveal the gem’s location if Salomon taught her how to control her powers.
• Salomon refused to make Wanda his student but agreed to teach her some methods of control.
• Salomon introduced himself with an elaborate list of titles and claims, leaving Wanda wide-eyed and confused.

Salomon brought Lorna and the Maximoff siblings through Hydra’s base and planned to use the Mind Stone to awaken Lorna’s abilities. Odin recounted Earth’s ancient battles with the Celestials, while Salomon warned Lorna away from the dangerous buried remains and found Hydra researchers experimenting with the Mind Stone.

• Salomon led Lorna, Wanda, and Pietro through the Hydra base, where the operatives failed to notice them.
• Salomon considered how the Mind Stone could strengthen Lorna’s abilities and how Celestial engineering shaped life on Earth.
• Odin told Salomon about the dying Celestial that corrupted Earth and the ancient battle in which Odin, Agamotto, Iron Fist, and Phoenix killed Saggraeb the Ambitious.
• Salomon refused to let Lorna dig up the buried Celestial, but promised her custom Power Armor or a leather outfit once she grew taller.
• Salomon showed the Maximoff siblings the Mind Stone Scepter beneath a Leviathan Beast and explained that Hydra researchers had tried to use it to control the creature.

Salomon used the Mind Stone Scepter to temporarily enhance Lorna's magnetic powers and began teaching Wanda to shape her magic carefully. He warned Wanda that magic demanded a price as they prepared to leave the Hydra facility.

• Salomon explained that the Mind Stone Scepter enhanced mental power and recited an incantation to reveal the Mind Stone's power.
• Salomon touched the scepter to Lorna's forehead, awakening her ability to sense and control electrical currents and magnetic fields.
• Lorna used her new power to liquefy and then repair the metal chains and shell around the Leviathan Beast, and Salomon promised to take her on an adventure once she stabilized her abilities.
• Salomon told Lorna to practice so she could eventually control a dead Celestial made of metal, and Pietro admitted he had been listening.
• Salomon taught Wanda to plant a magical suggestion in an unconscious Hydra researcher and erased some of the man's memories.
• Salomon warned Wanda that magic required a price and advised her to choose carefully what she was willing to pay.