Chapter Summaries

Salomon told Wanda about his first mission and explained why he suspected the witch and Dark Magic incidents in Collins Town, Jerusalem Town, and Salem were connected. He planned to investigate the witch’s corpse with Wanda, while Natasha and Maria Hill discussed the mission and the damage Salomon’s work could cause.

• Salomon recounted his first mission in Collins Town and said he had never found the spellbook that had turned a witch into a Vampire.
• Salomon suspected the Collins Town events were connected to the Dark Magic in Jerusalem Town and Salem, possibly through Morgan le Fay.
• Salomon told Wanda he had located the witch’s corpse through divination and planned to compare its Dark Magic with the other cases.
• Wanda eagerly agreed to go, and Salomon gave her a formal dress and high heels before reminding her to attend training the next morning.
• Maria Hill asked Natasha Romanoff about Salomon’s mission, and Natasha said she would call him while Hill criticized the destruction his missions caused.

Salomon and Wanda searched the Collins Town forest for the witch’s remains, but Wanda was overwhelmed by dark memories embedded in the soil. Salomon warned her against probing the site again and continued the search, leaving open the possibility of asking the Avengers for help if they found clues.

• Maria Hill manipulated Stark and Captain Rogers into arguing in a locked room, where they escaped through a window in an Iron Man Armor.
• Hill sent Falcon to tell Salomon that S.H.I.E.L.D. would provide assistance and asked him what he needed.
• Salomon showed Wanda where the Werewolves, vampires, and ghouls had been active in the forest.
• Wanda touched the soil and was overwhelmed by lingering memories and dark magic before Salomon caught her.
• Salomon warned Wanda that reading the forest’s memories could corrupt her and explained that they would search the forest and then the bay for the witch’s remains.
• Salomon declined immediate help from the Avengers but said they could assist if he and Wanda found clues.

Salomon and Wanda traced the curse through buried werewolf and Vampire remains, uncovering the memories of a witch from England. The girl recovered enough to sleep safely, but Salomon admitted Kamar-Taj was observing her as a channel to the Great Shadow Demon.

• Salomon showed Wanda experimental curse spells and dug up the fifth corpse while recounting how he had cleared Collins Town of its monsters.
• Salomon warned Wanda not to cross the line as she followed his mind through the cursed remains, though she saw memories she should not have seen.
• Salomon and Wanda traced the curse backward and discovered memories of the witch's childhood in England and how the curse had spread.
• Jeanne said the girl’s mental condition had improved after losing her memories, and the witches’ Potions helped her sleep in the guest room.
• Salomon explained that Kamar-Taj was observing the girl as a channel to the Great Shadow Demon, and Jeanne accused Kamar-Taj of using her.

Wanda woke from a terrifying dream of drowning in a bathtub after Salomon found her calling his name during a power outage. Meanwhile, Sam and Agent Hill argued over Salomon’s connection to the bones uncovered near Collins Town and the risks of investigating him.

• Wanda dreamed she was sinking into a dark sea, unable to move as creatures and tentacles surrounded her.
• Salomon found Wanda awake in the bathtub and brought her food, explaining that she had passed out after taking in too many negative emotions the previous night.
• Sam directed the excavation at Collins Town while researchers examined malformed bones scattered across the site.
• Agent Hill pressed Sam about Salomon’s past and Wanda’s condition, but Sam refused to endanger his agents by exposing them to the unexplained remains.
• Sam told Agent Hill he would stop Salomon if necessary, but noted that Salomon had previously acted as a hero by dealing with the man-eating monsters.

Wanda joined Salomon and the witches for breakfast, where Bayonetta helped her feel at ease and invited her to shop and enjoy the witches’ luxurious lifestyle. The chapter left Wanda agreeing to go with Bayonetta to Moscow.

• Wanda sat down to breakfast with Salomon, Bayonetta, and Jeanne, embarrassed by the witches’ beauty and her own appearance.
• Bayonetta asked Wanda how she had slept and chatted with her while Jeanne teased Salomon and accidentally caused the Cheshire Cat to be covered in gravy.
• Dinah carried the protesting Cheshire Cat off to the bathroom for a bath.
• Bayonetta invited Wanda to look through her wardrobe and join a shopping trip, while Salomon and Bayonetta exchanged flirtatious remarks about jewelry.
• Bayonetta described the witches’ plans to move from New York to Salomon’s estate in Oxfordshire and invited Wanda to dine at his restaurant.
• Wanda asked where they were going, and Bayonetta answered, “Moscow.”

Salomon discovered that Tita and Stephanie had failed to report a production bottleneck at the Mars Foundry and suspected someone had influenced Tita’s decision. He ordered an Internal Affairs investigation and turned his attention to Dr. Whitehall, leaving the source of the interference unresolved.

• Tita told Salomon that Malphas’s machinery improvements and the Mars Foundry’s furnace demands had left the City of Immortals unable to produce the new equipment.
• Salomon reprimanded Tita for concealing the technical problem and said Stephanie would also face consequences after she had rested.
• Salomon ordered Tita to summon Internal Affairs clerks and accountants for a thorough review, then asked who had prompted her decision.
• Salomon expanded internal counterintelligence reviews and authorized Victoria Hand to investigate communications passing through the City of Immortals.
• Salomon confronted Dr. Whitehall at the Incubation Tank and questioned whether he had manipulated Tita.

Salomon met Agent Coulson and Skye, agreed to hand Jiaying over to S.H.I.E.L.D., and challenged Skye to consider whether she could kill a relative who threatened many lives. He refused to explain Jiaying’s actions, criticized S.H.I.E.L.D., and revealed that he had killed a former subordinate for betrayal.

• Salomon told Agent Coulson he would hand Jiaying over because she had lost her intelligence value and he still had some compassion.
• Skye joined Salomon and Coulson, and Salomon asked whether she could kill someone whose actions would cause many deaths, even if that person were family.
• Salomon said he would kill Jiaying if necessary and argued that preventing greater loss of life required difficult choices; Skye said she would do the same.
• Coulson and Skye asked whether Salomon was acting on a prophecy and what Jiaying had done, but Salomon refused to disclose anything further.
• Salomon mocked Skye and condemned S.H.I.E.L.D. as useless while eating, then admitted he had killed a former subordinate who betrayed him.

The Arcanist confronted Coulson and Skye about their loyalties and handed them Jiaying’s location after sedating her and restraining her with an explosive collar. Coulson’s team recovered Jiaying and left aboard the Quinjet, unaware that Victoria Hand’s agent had planted a tracker on it.

• At an Oxford pub, the Arcanist challenged Skye and Coulson over whether they stood with humanity and warned them not to attack him.
• The Arcanist gave Coulson Jiaying’s address and said he had sedated her and fitted her with an explosive collar; he temporarily stunned Skye to prevent her from causing trouble.
• Coulson’s team found Jiaying, and Simmons reported that she had superficial injuries while Skye angrily questioned Coulson about leaving the Arcanist alone.
• Coulson told the team that the Arcanist was dangerous and that the task fate had given him was why he had let them go.
• An agent reported to Victoria Hand that he had planted a tracking device on the Quinjet, and Hand called Coulson’s team amateurish.

Salomon addressed Hydra’s attempted coup and ordered Stephanie to help root out the Conservative faction and the CIA. He forgave Tita for her mistake and self-punishment, leaving her reassured and still in command of the Sisterhood.

• Salomon learned that Conservative Hydra members had tried to weaken his authority and establish a parliamentary system in the City of Immortals.
• Stephanie returned from Moscow and asked Salomon for a squad to punish the traitorous families and expose how they had contacted Dr. Whitehall.
• Salomon assigned Stephanie skulls made from the traitors’ heads as assistants and told her to eliminate the CIA as well.
• Salomon stopped Tita from making an atonement speech and ordered her to lead the Sisterhood and ensure its purity through practical work.
• Tita admitted her obedience, and Salomon comforted her by calling her and the other Artificial Humans his daughters.

Salomon built a secret counterintelligence force and a squad of masked assassins to root out traitors in the City of Immortals. After an assassin killed Agent David for betraying the City, Stephanie proposed letting traitors’ families redeem themselves by helping repay the debt owed to the Sovereign.

• Salomon assigned Agent Romanoff and Victoria Hand to lead a counterintelligence department with authority to arrest or kill people without reporting to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
• Agent Hand organized a covert assassination squad whose masked members could bypass the Avengers’ security and began appearing on dangerous missions.
• Agent David worked with a Skull Mask-wearing sniper on an assassination mission and accepted the assassin’s order to withdraw.
• The assassin shot Agent David in the back of the head, then revealed she was his wife and said he had taken money and she still had a chance to redeem herself.
• Stephanie proposed investigating traitors, informing their families, and allowing those families to preserve everyone but the traitor by repaying the debt owed to the Sovereign.

After the rebellion was crushed, Salomon approved Stephanie’s plan to give traitors’ descendants one generation to redeem themselves. At Kamar-Taj, he questioned the Eye of Calamity about the future consequences of spreading Terrigen crystals, but she offered only a warning of war.

• Victoria Hand and Stephanie completed the purge of the traitors in less than a month, with help from the Sisterhood and the assassins.
• Stephanie proposed that only one generation of traitors’ descendants could receive the chance to atone, and Salomon approved her plan.
• Salomon visited the Eye of Calamity at Kamar-Taj and asked whether eating spaghetti would prevent him from eating it in the future.
• Salomon considered releasing Terrigen crystals into the ocean to identify people with ancestral Kree genes and asked the Eye of Calamity about the consequences.
• The Eye of Calamity foresaw war, bloodshed, and gods seeking to defeat Salomon, but she could not say whether his plan would purify humanity’s gene pool.

Salomon explained to Praetorian Guard Zero how the Celestials, the Eternals, and dark witchcraft shaped a ruined alien civilization, then led him in destroying a tribe corrupted by the Great Enemy. Back in the City of Immortals, Zero arranged assassins and security for Salomon, who refused an invitation from Dr. Hank Pym to study a pocket dimension.

• Salomon and Praetorian Guard Zero visited a ruined planet and discussed how religious corruption and Celestial interference had destroyed its civilization.
• Salomon explained that the Celestials created the Eternals from primitive humans, while he had been created from powerful mages, and that the Eternals had walked among mortals alongside the Olympian Gods.
• Salomon and Praetorian Guard Zero attacked a tribe that worshiped the Dark Gods, and Salomon defeated its wizard after a fierce magical battle.
• Sisterhood Commander Tita welcomed the completed assassins, while Praetorian Guard Zero arranged a security convoy and warned Salomon that capitalists might target him.
• Praetorian Guard Zero told Salomon that Dr. Hank Pym had invited him to research a pocket dimension, but Salomon declined and decided to update anyway.

Salomon’s officials discussed the Whitehall investigation and the Sisterhood’s response, while Salomon ignored Hank Pym’s request and collapsed asleep after a month of nonstop work. Bayonetta decided to cancel his appointments and keep him home so he could rest.

• Salomon declined to meet Hank Pym and Praetorian Guard Zero shifted the discussion to Whitehall.
• Praetorian Guard Zero reported that Whitehall’s contacts had been investigated, a Wakandan scientist had been murdered, and the Sisterhood had cleared its members of involvement.
• Salomon left his affairs behind to focus on school and home life, but fell asleep from exhaustion while playing a game with Bayonetta and Jeanne.
• Bayonetta reviewed Salomon’s packed schedule and ordered Dinah to delete his appointments and request leave from his professor.
• Bayonetta asked the maid to bring black leather handcuffs so she could keep Salomon home and let him sleep.

Wanda and Pietro reunited for a joint mission in Essex County, but argued over Salomon, the Avengers, and their beliefs about how to protect humanity. They headed toward a haunted house together, with Pietro hoping the mission would help repair their strained relationship.

• Pietro teased Wanda about carrying her across the muddy road, but she remained angry with him.
• Pietro criticized Salomon’s influence over Wanda, and the siblings argued about Stark, the Avengers, Kamar-Taj, and the danger of monsters.
• Pietro accused Wanda of being Salomon’s mistress, worsening their argument until he apologized and offered his hand in reconciliation.
• Wanda and Pietro boarded a heavily armed, dark-red Assault Transport from the City of Immortals to travel to Essex County.
• Pietro recognized that Agent Hill and Salomon may have sent them together in hopes that each sibling would persuade the other.

Wanda and Pietro investigated the ruins of Borley Rectory, where Wanda sensed a Vengeful Spirit whose source lay elsewhere. Meanwhile, Salomon stayed home with Bayonetta and Jeanne, who drank and argued over a game of rock-paper-scissors.

• Wanda and Pietro traveled to Borley Rectory, a famous haunted site, and Wanda dismissed its ghost stories as frauds and legends.
• Wanda sensed a Vengeful Spirit at the ruins and told Pietro that its source was not there.
• Wanda showed Pietro the protective tools Salomon had prepared and joked that she was now a professional exorcist.
• Salomon stayed home with Bayonetta and Jeanne as they drank, and Jeanne accused him of using magic to make her throw scissors.

Wanda and Pietro investigated a suspected paranormal source on the River Stour while Wanda completed the City of Immortals’ part of the mission. Agent Hill revealed to Nick Fury that she had sent Avengers agents into the situation, but Fury urged her to coexist peacefully with Salomon and his organization.

• Wanda and Pietro bought crosses and books from the local priest, and Wanda threw the books away after discovering that he had written them.
• Wanda performed a ritual along the River Stour and identified a patch of riverbed as the cause of the paranormal activity.
• Pietro explained that the Avengers’ special operations personnel were still crossing the Atlantic and that the Quinjet could not keep up with Wanda’s plane.
• Wanda questioned why Agent Hill was sending Avengers agents to handle a magical problem and worried that the City of Immortals would kill them.
• Agent Hill told Nick Fury that Wanda might not understand Salomon’s organization and defended assigning exposed spies to the mission.
• Nick Fury refused to intervene, told Hill that the Avengers might have to face the consequences of their actions, and advised her to coexist peacefully with Salomon.

Salomon discussed Wanda’s Borley Rectory mission over breakfast while the news interviewed Darren Cross about Pym Technologies. He learned from an online forum that Scott Lang had been released from prison and expected Hank Pym’s work on the Quantum Realm to progress soon.

• Salomon read Wanda’s report and explained that the Borley Rectory mission had uncovered five sets of remains and ended the haunting.
• Jeanne threw a cherry tomato at Salomon when he discussed the disturbing details at breakfast.
• Salomon watched Darren Cross praise Hank Pym on WHIH Newsfront and doubted Cross’s record at Pym Technologies.
• Salomon recalled the online reaction to Scott Lang’s theft from Vesta Corporation and learned from a forum that Scott had been released from prison.
• Salomon expected Hank Pym to make progress on the Quantum Realm after their brainstorming session.

Wanda reunited with Pietro in her Manhattan apartment and prepared a magical meal, while he worried that her cooking might transform him. As they talked about their investigation of Borley Rectory, Wanda insisted they had only helped uncover the remains and left Pietro fearing both her food and her magic.

• Pietro slipped away from the Avengers base to visit Wanda, who suggested cooking him a meal without using magic.
• Wanda explained that her soup, salad, and bread included magical ingredients, prompting Pietro to worry about fairy-tale transformations.
• Pietro praised their role in uncovering the mystery at Borley Rectory, but Wanda said they had only done a little and had called the police.
• Wanda recalled Pietro digging up the skeleton and bringing a priest to the site, then said the remains had been cremated under supervision.
• Wanda warned Pietro to stop touching her cooking and threatened to turn him into a superpowered rat.

Fred told James that the Mars project was run by an independent government preparing to defend humanity from extraterrestrial threats, and recruited him to help build the NERV Mars Base. Salomon then continued across the Martian desert, planning to use accelerated time to finish the base before space pirates arrived.

• James questioned Fred about the foundry’s gravity problem and the confusing manual after their habitat module anchored on Mars.
• Fred explained that the project would use refugees as workers and mechanically modify lawbreakers into slave laborers.
• Fred revealed the project’s true purpose to James and said he could not return to Earth, but that Jennifer had also come to Mars.
• James agreed to work after Fred promised they could soon dock with Jennifer’s habitat module.
• Fred welcomed James to the NERV Mars Base and described plans for advanced manufacturing, space battleships, and Titan Robots.
• Salomon continued across Mars after receiving authorization from The Venerable One to accelerate time and complete the first stage before the space pirates arrived.

Salomon used the end of Wakanda’s loan of the Celestial’s body to pressure Shuri into a secret research agreement, and she accepted in exchange for access to classified projects. He planned to build Mars Foundry into a military-industrial power and prepare for a future war against Thanos.

• Shuri confronted Salomon after the City of Immortals withdrew from the Celestial research project and took back the corpse.
• Salomon cited their contract and refused Wakanda continued access, but offered a limited research partnership restricted to volunteers who would never leave the research site.
• After negotiating with Salomon, Shuri agreed to develop War Machine and seek classified project access for herself, separate from Wakanda’s leadership.
• Salomon decided to keep Shuri away from Mars Foundry while relying on her research skills to support his expanding enterprise.
• Salomon planned to use Mars Foundry’s workforce and fleet to prepare for Thanos, whom he intended to stop from taking the Infinity Gems and devastating Earth.