Chapter Summaries

The Arcanist discussed the City of Immortals’ secrecy and its operations with Stephanie, who urged him to focus on South America. Meanwhile, Laura Croft, Camila, Jonah, and Camila’s team were stranded in the Peruvian rainforest after The Trinity attacked their plane, and they planned to travel on foot for help.

• Stephanie warned Diana List that the City of Immortals had to control knowledge of its hidden wars, then sent her back to work.
• The Arcanist told Stephanie he had claimed to be an Alchemical Golem to spare people the trauma of the Fimbulwinter Campaign, and asked her to check reports about Spider-Boy in New York City.
• Stephanie reported that Camila had helped Laura Croft escape The Trinity’s mercenaries and that Laura had boarded a plane for Peru; she planned to use the US Government’s authority to involve Peruvian forces.
• At a rainforest campfire, Camila promised Laura she would not attack government forces, while Laura complained that Camila’s team had destroyed the Sun Stone.
• Laura, Camila, Jonah, and Camila’s five subordinates prepared to walk two hundred kilometers after The Trinity’s armed helicopter damaged their plane and forced an emergency landing.

Salomon investigated The Trinity’s hidden leadership while assigning Sherlock Holmes to pursue the Croft family cold case, and he insisted that his soldiers learn counterintelligence against the Skrulls without relying on him to do the work for them. The chapter ended with Skrull captives and corpses arriving at the City of Immortals under extreme security.

• Salomon examined intelligence on The Trinity, narrowed the likely masterminds using family history and physical traits, and sent Sherlock Holmes to investigate the Croft case in India.
• Salomon asked that Dr. Maya Hansen be consulted about experimental materials, while Stephanie urged him to review Victoria Hand’s list of suspected Skrulls.
• Salomon refused to personally screen Earth’s population for Skrulls and told Stephanie that the soldiers needed to develop their own counterintelligence skills.
• The City of Immortals transported Skrull captives and corpses through an undersea tunnel train to the Biological Gene Laboratory.
• The Black Armored Interrogators and Fimbulwinter First Secret Regiment secured the transport, with orders to detain staff and prevent any living Skrull from escaping.

Nick Fury reflected on his confinement in the City of Immortals and his conversation with Salomon about the Skrull threat and humanity’s survival. After recalling the rebels’ horrific fate, he toasted the hope that everyone would survive and sent Salomon a message.

• Nick Fury wandered the City of Immortals under surveillance, noting the restricted areas and the treasures on display throughout the city.
• Nick Fury remembered Salomon arguing that any species capable of destroying humanity had to be eliminated, while Fury had asked him to distinguish between Skrulls.
• Nick Fury recalled Salomon hinting at the punishment for rebels, then remembered the human-machine monsters powering the City of Immortals’ reactor.
• Nick Fury drank whiskey, toasted, “May we all survive,” and told someone to pass his words along to Salomon.

Camila's exhausted team struggled through Matses National Park toward Lecna while evading The Trinity, and Camila reflected on her hope of bringing the City of Immortals' changes to Peru. Around their campfire, the group joked about past mishaps and hoped the City of Immortals would find them, leaving Camila confident in the future.

• Camila led Laura and the others through the rainforest toward Lecna, rejecting Laura's suggestion to change course because it was their nearest chance of finding help.
• Camila recalled how the City of Immortals had transformed lives in Africa and affirmed her willingness to fight for a similar future in Peru.
• Camila's team conserved battery power and continued evading The Trinity after losing their supplies and communications equipment.
• At the campfire, Camila told Laura and the others that satellites might be tracking them and hoped an Assault Transport would come to their rescue.
• Benjamin and Aaron joked about getting sick aboard the Assault Transport and Aaron's attempt to flirt with women in Power Armor, lifting the group's spirits.

Romeo and Asolong discussed the missing team and the possibility that their space station unit would be sent into the South American rainforest to find them. On Earth, Stephanie used authority granted by the Monarch to order a search for Laura Croft, while Diana List’s workplace pressure began shaping her ambitions.

• Romeo considered throwing something toward Earth to alert his children to a meteor shower, but Asolong warned him against risking the unit’s standing.
• Romeo worried that shapeshifting aliens might threaten his family, and Asolong reassured him that the Monarch would protect them.
• A search report told Stephanie that Laura Croft’s aircraft had apparently made an emergency landing and that tracks and evidence of a firefight led northwest toward Renak City.
• Stephanie ordered the Space Station to search satellite reports and commanded the Sisterhood to search and destroy, invoking the Monarch’s authority when Diana objected.
• Diana left Stephanie’s office under pressure, and a mock history excerpt described how that experience would help drive her rise in the Empire.

Andrew’s squad received a direct order from the Monarch to form the Secret Wars special squad and lead the long-term fight against Skrull infiltration. With a large-scale purge set to begin in three days, Salomon wanted to join the operation, but Constantine persuaded him to let the soldiers handle it.

• Constantine woke Andrew and delivered the Monarch’s order to create the Secret Wars squad, naming Andrew and his squad members to its roster.
• The order gave the squad priority command authority in Skrull-related operations and permission to recruit and train other soldiers.
• Constantine announced that the first large-scale purge would begin in three days, with tactical nuclear weapons and siege cannons authorized against Skrulls who resisted capture.
• Salomon told Constantine he wanted to join the operation without his golden Power Armor or Excalibur.
• Constantine warned that Salomon could wipe out the settlement alone, and Salomon agreed to let the soldiers conduct the purge while he stayed in his office.

Salomon’s new orbital transport ship completed testing as the City of Immortals prepared to attack a Skrull gathering place. He then told Daniel Drum that the Drum family’s curse was an inherited genetic defect tied to its magical talent, and Daniel offered the lives of every Dram in exchange for more help.

• Salomon’s transport ship was designed to move heavy vehicles and troops between the surface and suborbital space, reducing the City of Immortals’ reliance on Kamar-Taj portals.
• The City of Immortals prepared an armored assault on the Skrull gathering place, with Constantine planning to surround the defenders and the Sisterhood joining the mission.
• Salomon summoned Daniel Drum and explained that the Drum twins’ shared soul came from an inherited genetic defect that also strengthened their arcane talent.
• Salomon said removing the defect would eliminate the Dram family’s talent and gave Daniel a genetic report in exchange for the family’s limited assistance.
• Daniel asked whether Salomon would do more if the Dram family offered the lives of every Dram.

Salomon rejected Daniel Drum’s attempt to secure special treatment for the Dram family, while Stephanie discussed the family’s possible cure and the cost of their loyalty. As Diana List pushed through the Sky Sword Space Station’s demanding preparations for an assault on a major Skrull gathering place, Stephanie suggested that she and Salomon watch the operation and hunt the fleeing Skrulls themselves.

• Salomon told Daniel Drum that the Dram family had to fulfill its duties and guard the Sanctum rather than evade the price of its power.
• After Daniel Drum left, Stephanie suggested that the Biological Laboratory could cure the Dram family’s hereditary defects, but Salomon said he had already fulfilled his promise and expected the family to swear loyalty later.
• Stephanie brought Salomon the logistics documents, and he offered to help address the pressure on the logistics staff.
• Diana List worked without sleep aboard the Sky Sword Space Station, coordinating inventories, troop readiness, medical supplies, vehicles, and weapons for the coming campaign against the Skrulls.
• Stephanie opened the weapons cabinet and invited Salomon to watch the assault and personally hunt down fleeing Skrulls.

Stephanie and Salomon arrived at the Skrull settlement ahead of the assault, where they discovered that Skrull infiltrators had replaced the surveillance agents. Salomon ordered the City of Immortals locked down and counter-infiltration measures begun as the attack approached.

• The Sisterhood prepared to destroy a nearby U.S. airfield to delay reinforcements for the assault on the Skrull base.
• Stephanie joined Salomon in the forest, where she shot a snake with a powerful explosive round and then raced to keep up with him.
• Salomon found a dead Skrull beside a destroyed City of Immortals detector and concluded that the surveillance agents had been replaced.
• Salomon ordered the Black Armored Interrogators and Praetorian Guard to secure the city, shut down server rooms, and begin mandatory genetic, iris, and psychic examinations.
• Salomon sent Stephanie back to the City of Immortals to tighten inspections, focus on recruits from S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury, and alert Victoria.

Salomon and Stephanie continued a hunt that concealed his plan to expose Skrull infiltrators in the City of Immortals. As the Praetorian Guard and Black Armored Interrogators arrested Skrulls hidden in mundane departments, Constantine prepared to raid the next office.

• Stephanie confronted Salomon for using the hunt to carry out a secret operation, then agreed to continue in exchange for the Skrull's claws and a bear hide.
• Salomon explained that his plan involved both purging the Skrulls and rooting out threats within their own ranks.
• The Black Armored Interrogators and Praetorian Guard raided the statistics department and exposed a group of Skrulls disguised as clerical workers.
• Constantine ordered the interrogators to spare one man, who silently left after saluting the Praetorian Guard.
• Constantine told the captured Skrulls that the next raid would target the procurement department.

Victoria Hand led a purge of Skrull infiltrators while Salomon and Stephanie inspected a fortified Skrull settlement and prepared a military assault. Salomon planned to destroy the settlement and conceal the attack behind a fabricated extremist group, whose funding trail revealed corruption in American institutions.

• Victoria Hand mobilized a special squad and began arresting Skrulls, killing a disguised infiltrator in front of Wakandan researchers.
• Salomon and Stephanie inspected the Skrull settlement and confirmed that its bunkers were fortified and its occupants prepared for war.
• Salomon rejected any possibility of allying with the Skrulls and planned to destroy their bunkers with bombs, siege guns, and mechanized infantry, taking no prisoners.
• Salomon arranged for a fabricated extremist organization to claim responsibility for the coming attack and stir political conflict in the United States.
• Stephanie discovered that money sent to the fake organization had originated with the US Democracy Foundation and Wall Street, but much of it had been siphoned off.

Salomon and Stephanie finished clearing Skrull reconnaissance forces while the Sisterhood disabled the nearby airfield, leaving them to wait for the transport ship and the battle to come. Salomon watched the ship descend with confidence that his forces would win.

• Stephanie reflected on Gideon Malick’s instructions to bind the Malik family’s interests to Salomon and preserve his authority.
• Salomon and Stephanie killed Skrull sentries, and Stephanie admitted she was tired of killing despite feeling safe beside him.
• Salomon told Stephanie that Tita had reported the Sisterhood destroyed the radar station, hangars, and runway, delaying U.S. military air support.
• Salomon and Stephanie went to a cliff to watch as the transport ship entered the atmosphere, and Salomon said the battle filled him with confidence in humanity’s future.

Salomon met Victor Von Doom in his mountain home after the attack on a Skrull settlement and discussed the battle, its cover-up, and Doom’s failed attempts to divine Salomon’s secrets. Salomon invited Doom to join his war to defend and unite humanity, conquer the galaxy, and ascend to godhood.

• Salomon arrived at Victor Von Doom’s remote home and shared a drink with him.
• Doom praised Salomon’s precise assault on the Skrull settlement and asked how he had obtained his soldiers and war machines.
• Salomon explained that his troops sought redemption and were enhanced with combat stimulants, while the media blamed the wildfires on a meteor and a secret military project.
• Doom said his prophecy magic had failed to uncover how Salomon acquired his war machines, and Salomon reminded him of his past at Kamar-Taj.
• Salomon told Doom that the Venerable One did not want him killed and invited him to join a war to defend humanity, establish a New Order, rule the galaxy, and ascend to godhood.

After the Southern California attack, Salomon used a fabricated online persona and stolen documents to redirect American public debate toward military experiments and political conspiracies. He then discussed the City of Immortals’ technological goals and the risks of revealing the truth to Victor von Doom, before leaving to meet his girlfriend.

• Salomon’s AI released a fabricated social-media speech and classified documents, shifting public attention toward U.S. military experiments and political conspiracy theories.
• Salomon explained to Victor von Doom that the City of Immortals studied alien technologies to strengthen humanity and that he concealed dangerous truths about the Outer Dimensions to protect people.
• Victor von Doom recognized the slaughter in the research division and praised Salomon’s strategic thinking, while noting that Salomon had not told him everything.
• Salomon warned Victor that discussing his ultimate plan was unsafe and offered to upgrade Victor’s Power Armor at the City of Immortals’ forge.
• Salomon ended their conversation and left to join his girlfriend for dinner.

Salomon assigned Natasha to investigate the Avengers’ response to the Skrull threat while he studied captured Skrulls and pressed her to stop an impending plane launch. At home, he asked whether Wanda’s mission was finished, and Wanda defeated Ghost Rider, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Natasha complained that Salomon had assigned her to gather intelligence while she was tracking the Winter Soldier, and he told her she had forty-eight hours to act before a plane took off.
• Salomon reviewed Skrull interrogation research and instructed Ms. Jones to deliver her experimental report within four days.
• Salomon argued with Natasha about his attack on a U.S. air force base and offered her authority to use a missile to resolve the crisis.
• Salomon painted Jeanne’s nails while Bayonetta objected to him bringing work home, and he asked whether Wanda should come back for dinner.
• Wanda defeated Ghost Rider and warned him not to get back up.

The City of Immortals used the Skrull hunt in North America to draw infiltrators into investigating the Southern California wildfires, while Stephanie uncovered a possible Skrull link to the Saudi royal family. Salomon arranged protection for her meeting in Washington, and the chapter ended with Bayonetta and Jeanne confronting him about a gift.

• The City of Immortals began hunting Skrull forces across Eurasia after clearing Skrull settlements in North America.
• Stephanie told Salomon that the Malik family had traced a suspicious investor to Saudi Arabia and that she would meet him in Washington.
• Salomon assigned Stephanie Sisterhood bodyguards, a Black Armored Interrogator, and an assassin, and instructed her to wear his protective brooch.
• Stephanie left for Washington with two Sisterhood members as the Black Armored Interrogator prepared to join her.
• Bayonetta questioned Salomon about giving Stephanie a brooch, while Jeanne prepared to punish him over his past gifts.

Wanda recounted how she approached Robbie Reyes to help him control the Spirit of Vengeance, but her attempt to stop him from leaving triggered his transformation. She told Salomon that she had touched him and feared she had killed Ghost Rider.

• Wanda called Salomon from the hospital and said she thought she had killed Ghost Rider.
• Wanda explained that she had studied Robbie Reyes and approached him at his garage to warn him that the Spirit of Vengeance could take control and endanger his brother, Gabe.
• Robbie told Wanda that he could not leave Los Angeles or abandon Gabe, but said she could contact him if anything happened.
• Wanda grabbed Robbie's arm as he sat in his car, and the fading sunlight gave way to darkness.
• Robbie transformed into Ghost Rider, shouted "Chaos," and attacked Wanda.

Salomon received Wanda’s account of her fight with Robbie Reyes and investigated whether anyone else had intervened. Wanda explained that she had subdued the Ghost Rider and asked what “chaos” meant, but Salomon told her to focus on obtaining the contract and visiting Gabe Reyes.

• Salomon ordered an investigation into the fight and reassured Wanda that the City of Immortals would provide her with legal help.
• Wanda described defending herself from the Ghost Rider with magic and her staff, enduring burns as the battle escalated.
• Wanda said she had pinned Robbie beneath a house until he exhausted his strength and returned to human form.
• Jeanne and Bayonetta praised Wanda’s fighting while Salomon noted the battle’s fires, explosions, and damage to nearby property.
• Wanda asked why Robbie had repeated the word “chaos,” and Salomon told her to visit Gabe Reyes and secure the contract before Robbie woke.

Salomon and Stephanie discussed their Washington meetings and planned to investigate whether a Saudi prince was a Skrull. Salomon then joined Victor von Doom on a mission to steal evidence of corruption, revealing that his prepared hydroponic farm was on Mars.

• Stephanie arrived in Washington, and Salomon gave her a potion mixed with brandy before they arranged to meet again after their separate meetings.
• Salomon and Victor von Doom prepared to infiltrate a CIA deputy director’s family gathering and steal a document about money taken from Latveria.
• Victor von Doom insisted that Latveria needed nationalized industries and questioned whether the City of Immortals could support its people.
• Salomon told Victor von Doom that he had prepared genetically modified crops for Latveria and revealed that his hydroponic farm was on Mars.

Salomon and Victor von Doom carried out a Washington operation using a wealthy Judean businessman’s identity while Camila and Laura Croft reached a City of Immortals outpost in South America. Camila learned that The Trinity had tracked her group and prepared to defend the outpost until reinforcements arrived.

• Salomon impersonated a wealthy Judean businessman, leaving the real man sedated in his car trunk, and rode to Washington with Victor von Doom to meet politicians and access a safe.
• Salomon criticized Victor von Doom’s lack of wealthy manners and explained that he would distract their target while Victor opened the safe.
• Camila, Laura Croft, and Jonah reached the City of Immortals outpost after crossing the jungle, and Laura Croft and Jonah went to sleep after eating.
• Camila insisted on contacting the City of Immortals and learned that The Trinity had reached the area first and used local drug traffickers as lookouts.
• Camila discovered the outpost had an Explosive Rounds Gun and planned to use it with their remaining Anti-Tank Missiles to hold off attackers until reinforcements arrived.