Chapter Summaries

Laura Croft pressed Salomon for the truth about immortals and their influence on history, but he argued that humanity shaped history and that dangerous knowledge had to remain restricted. He defended a “beneficial lie” meant to preserve humanity’s confidence until people could face the universe, and Laura ended by asking how long he had lived.

• Laura Croft followed Salomon through the manor and asked to learn about immortals who had influenced history, including Jacob.
• Laura observed statues of sages and warriors, recognized Joan of Arc and Huo Qubing, and recalled the supernatural threats and armed forces she had encountered.
• Salomon told Laura that history guided immortals rather than the reverse, and explained that she could not access certain historical knowledge without sealing away part of her own knowledge.
• Salomon argued that knowledge about the Eternals could destabilize humanity and said some histories had to be concealed so people would rely on their own courage and potential.
• Laura asked what had happened to her unpublished articles after The Trinity was destroyed, and Salomon praised their value while predicting they would someday help humanity understand its origins.
• Laura asked Salomon exactly how long he had lived.

At a champagne reception, Laura Croft reflected on her parents’ history and the mysteries surrounding her father’s visit to Kamar-Taj and Salomon’s age. Amon offered her the responsibility of overseeing the Paititi Reconstruction Foundation, and she accepted the request to help ensure its funds reached the people of Paititi.

• Laura Croft received her father Richard Croft’s writings and considered revising Truth Behind Myths with what she had learned about immortality.
• Laura Croft remembered her mother Emilia’s fatal plane crash and the failed resurrection ritual recorded in Richard’s secret journal.
• Laura Croft wondered how Salomon could have been Richard Croft’s Oxford classmate when Jacob said he had known the Emperor for over a thousand years.
• Amon presented Laura Croft with documents transferring management of the Paititi Reconstruction Foundation to her and explained that the Emperor wanted her to oversee its funds.
• Laura Croft thanked the Emperor and agreed to take responsibility for ensuring the foundation’s money supported Paititi’s reconstruction and aid.

As he studied a book in the manor, the Emperor’s soul drew hostile spiritual entities, prompting him to activate the manor’s defensive array and seal everyone inside. The guests learned that the defenses were hunting intruders while Wanda Maximoff sought to reach him, and Laura Croft asked why he could not return to Kamar-Taj.

• The Emperor ordered Amon and Hammurabi to clean the spiritual ash and told them to warn Bayonetta and Jeanne that the manor was sealed while he read.
• The manor’s Sisterhood squads and defenses mobilized, alarming Winston and the other guests as they prepared for a possible attack.
• Bayonetta and Jeanne explained that the manor’s defenses were routine measures against spiritual entities drawn to the Emperor’s studies.
• The madwoman said the evil spirits nearby were all dead, and Laura Croft asked what had happened.
• Wanda Maximoff said she wanted to see the Emperor, but Dinah prepared to stop her from leaving the reception room.
• Laura Croft asked why the Emperor could not return to Kamar-Taj.

Salomon researched a medieval grimoire’s account of a jester demon while Dinah kept Wanda and the others in the reception room during a ritual. Victor von Doom reported progress against a human-trafficking ring, and Salomon revealed that Thanos had Eternals blood and might be revived by their death-returning Machine.

• Dinah ordered Wanda and the other guests to remain in the reception room while the ritual was completed, and Bayonetta reassured them.
• Salomon studied a grimoire describing a jester demon that taught a magician its knowledge.
• Victor von Doom told Salomon that Latveria’s census system had helped capture a cross-border human-trafficking ring and rescue thousands of people.
• Victor warned Salomon that acting too quickly in Kosovo could provoke unrest and complicate Latveria’s efforts.
• Salomon told Victor that Thanos had Eternals blood and could potentially return from death through the Eternals’ Machine.

Victor von Doom and the Emperor discussed the Dark Order, planetary security, and plans to strengthen the empire while addressing Earth’s political and social problems. The Emperor then revealed a plan to investigate a red-haired child star’s possible connection to the Eternals.

• Victor von Doom dismissed the Dark Order as a pirate fleet and ordered more resources devoted to mass-producing Gene-modded Warriors and obtaining the alien Star Fortress in the Kuiper Belt.
• Victor von Doom promised to remove NATO and European Union interference and tackle drugs and guns through government institutions and local consensus rather than military force.
• Victor von Doom visited the Emperor, who explained that the ritual array at the manor supported Dinah’s gardening and the collection of ectoplasmic dust while keeping the Sisterhood vigilant.
• The Emperor asked Victor von Doom to bring Maya Hansen to the manor and assist Master Hamir in reforming Kamar-Taj, including by mobilizing Imperial forces against the Arcanist Families.
• The Emperor proposed pairing a red-haired child star with the only known Eternal to test whether the child’s unaging appearance and emotional reaction revealed a connection to the Eternals.

Wilson Fisk arranged a private party to bring a red-haired Eternal disguised as a child together with an event planner, and he tasked James Wesley with organizing it. James began planning the event while ensuring Fisk’s people handled security and concealed the expenses.

• Fisk used Athena’s lead, old local newspapers, and a television appearance to identify the red-haired child as a likely Eternal.
• Fisk decided to use his personal connections rather than the City of Immortals or Latveria to arrange a private Hollywood party.
• Fisk told James Wesley to keep the party legal and ensure no members of their organization or contraband appeared openly.
• James proposed involving Eleanor Bishop to arrange the gathering and disguise its purpose as a social event.
• Fisk clarified that the real purpose was to bring the young star and the event planner together, and ordered his own people to handle security.
• James planned to charge security and party expenses through company accounts, describing the event as a charity dinner.

Wilson Fisk discussed his growing business ambitions and plans to build up armed strength with James Wesley, while keeping Vanessa’s protectors and his ties to them secret. Fisk decided to use false information to mislead the FBI and pursue replacing a troublesome Nevada senator, despite Wesley’s warning that the Las Vegas casino situation was too dangerous.

• Fisk explained that he was acquiring real estate and other stocks while preparing for a chaotic future in which armed groups would hold power.
• Wesley challenged Fisk’s costly weapons shipment and warned that political donations and casino problems were draining their resources.
• Fisk admitted that he missed Vanessa and described the dangerous organization protecting her, while Wesley recalled destroying evidence Daredevil had given the FBI.
• Fisk reviewed a Nevada senator’s demands and proposed replacing him with an obedient senator by using the scandal tied to the Nevada 3rd Congressional District.
• Wesley warned that the FBI’s scrutiny and local gangs’ pressure made a move in Las Vegas premature, but Fisk ordered him to feed the FBI fabricated transaction records alongside real intelligence.
• Wesley inferred that Vanessa’s protectors were Fisk’s source of Soviet weapons, and Fisk warned him to keep their connection secret.

Wilson Fisk faced the costly demands of his secret contract while drawing strength from Vanessa and their unborn child. At the manor, Laura Croft visited the bear cubs before Bayonetta invited her to Vanessa’s final art exhibition, and Jeanne teased Wanda about the night’s events.

• James Wesley asked Wilson Fisk to let him share in the enterprise, but Wilson kept the reasons for his burdens to himself.
• Wilson Fisk reviewed the demands of controlling cross-country transport routes and satellite equipment, then drew courage from Vanessa’s painting and their coming child.
• Laura Croft watched the genetically modified bear cubs and petted them to distract herself from an embarrassing scene she had witnessed the previous night.
• Bayonetta asked Winston to invite Laura to breakfast and the group’s planned visit to Vanessa’s final art exhibition.
• Bayonetta suggested taking the Cheshire Cat’s damaged canvas to the exhibition, and Jeanne teased Wanda about what had happened overnight.

Winston worried about the manor’s supernatural atmosphere and its effect on Laura, while Laura defended the hosts and their hospitality. Winston stayed devoted to caring for her as she prepared for breakfast, and he urged her to rest at the manor until her next expedition.

• Winston cleaned Laura’s muddy, snow-covered clothes and warned that the manor still seemed dangerous despite its hosts’ hospitality.
• Laura emerged from the bedroom and defended the manor’s owner, recalling his support for her expeditions and her tour of the estate’s animals.
• Winston described the manor’s master as possessing a supernatural, dragon-like charisma that had disturbed his sleep.
• Winston feared Laura might become so captivated by life at the manor that she would abandon Croft Manor and her pursuits.
• Winston criticized Laura’s casual breakfast clothes, but Laura said the hosts valued wisdom over appearances and told him he needn’t work as a guest.
• Winston reminded Laura of his oath to her parents and urged her to rest at the manor until her next journey.

Didros and his squad marched through a Martian sandstorm during a training exercise to reach an extraction point while hunting rogue machines and genetically enhanced enemies. As the storm threatened their route, the Veteran Sergeant warned the recruits not to overestimate the Imperial Guard and claimed he was stronger than Didros.

• Didros remembered his impoverished childhood as the Martian gale battered his armor, then followed the Veteran Sergeant’s order to activate noise reduction.
• The Veteran Sergeant reminded the squad to cover four hundred kilometers in seven hours and kill as many rogue Ranger Cavalry and Mecha-servants as possible.
• Didros recalled his capture during the Knights’ conquest of the Balkans and how genetic enhancement and conditioning had transformed him into a recruit devoted to the Emperor.
• Alashik warned that their upcoming lunar mission could involve guerrilla warfare, while the squad struggled with poor visibility and communications in the sandstorm.
• The Veteran Sergeant told the recruits that the Imperial Guard were enhanced humans, then challenged Didros by asserting that he was stronger than him.
• Alashik claimed he was stronger than Didros because he had beaten him four times.

Didros and his squad hunted and destroyed heavily modified creatures in Mars' Data Wasteland, then turned over their trophies for investigation. The Technical Director explained that the Emperor was using the creatures' brain chips to identify a rogue Technical Sage, as the Regent pushed Mars to move production lines to Earth.

• Didros and the other knights charged a group of armored creatures after their guns weakened the first one.
• Didros fought a creature at close range, and Alashik killed it before the squad tore through the remaining monsters.
• The Veteran Sergeant ordered Alashik to retrieve a creature's serial number and brain chip, then warned Didros and Alashik to obey discipline.
• The first squad returned to the Space Station, where Deputy Nixon recorded their kills and authorized the City of Immortals technicians to take the trophies.
• The Technical Director told Deputy Nixon that the brain chips could identify a restless Technical Sage, while the Regent sought Mars' agreement to move production lines, including War Engine lines, to Earth.

Countess Katarina Karkov gathered intelligence for Natasha Romanoff about the Space Station’s increased traffic and the Emperor’s plans for the Moon. Their tense exchange exposed their competing views of power and loyalty, and Natasha left to continue her work.

• Countess Katarina Karkov gave Natasha Romanoff a list of suspicious researchers and asked what the heavy landing craft were carrying.
• Natasha told the Countess that she only knew the cargo was bound for the Moon and warned that transfers would soon become more frequent.
• The Countess pressed Natasha about her master and accused her of trading intimacy for trust without gaining power.
• The Countess challenged Natasha to choose weapons and fight, claiming she could seize an opportunity from the Asgardian woman.
• Natasha said she had already made a wish and left, asking the Countess to dress when she had no visitors.

Natasha Romanoff watched Lorelei von Rhine and questioned Tita about a conspicuous deployment of Gene-modded Warriors, while trying to understand the coming war and the hidden plans on the Space Station. Tita blamed Natasha’s failure to expose spies and gave her one last chance to complete an operation before the Emperor arrived.

• Natasha Romanoff observed Lorelei von Rhine meet with the Sisterhood and inferred that Lorelei had authority to contact the Space Station’s ruler.
• Natasha considered Countess Katarina Karkov’s renewed dealings with luxury brands and suspected that political corruption had returned to the station.
• Natasha saw Gene-modded Warriors in Power Armor appear before visiting researchers and asked when they had arrived.
• Natasha contacted Tita, who said Lorelei had prompted the deployment to disrupt or provoke a conspiracy among outsiders.
• Tita criticized Natasha for failing to identify spies and told her to finish the prepared operation before the Emperor arrived.

At breakfast, Laura Croft questioned the master of the manor about his harsh guidance of Milia and learned that the girl had a dangerous magical talent and a terrifying bloodline. He sent Laura to meet Anna Hellstrom and his adoptive mother for answers, leaving Laura to follow the Witches to the art exhibition in London.

• The master of the manor told Milia to shoot a dangerous magical creature while teaching her about the dangers of witchcraft.
• Laura Croft challenged his parenting, and he explained that Milia was adopted and destined for a bloody future.
• He told Laura that Milia’s magical talent came with heightened sensitivity and that her bloodline let her command entities from the Outer Dimensions.
• The master of the manor gave Laura a card for Anna Hellstrom, Milia’s blood relative, and invited her to learn more in Boston.
• He urged Laura to join the Witches at the art exhibition and meet his adoptive mother, who admired her work.
• Laura followed the Witches to London, where she discovered her expectations of the adoptive mother were wrong.

At Vanessa's London art exhibition, Minerva introduced Laura Croft to the pregnant host and revealed that Laura's mother had once taught Vanessa in Paris. Minerva then arranged for Jane Foster to join them in the courtyard, where she had something to discuss with her.

• Laura Croft and the Witches arrived at Vanessa's exhibition, where Minerva told Vanessa that someone had funded her London life and helped protect her unborn child.
• Minerva introduced Laura Croft to Vanessa and explained that she knew Laura's mother, Emilia Croft, through the art world.
• Vanessa told Laura that she had studied in Emilia's Paris studio and reminisced about her life there.
• Vanessa noticed Jane Foster at the exhibition and offered to guide her through the artworks.
• Minerva said she had invited Jane Foster and asked Vanessa to bring her to the courtyard.

The Emperor considered how to secure Wakanda’s cooperation against the Dark Order while investigating Attilan, and decided to speak directly with Princess Shuri and King T’Challa. Meanwhile, Vanessa guided Jane Foster through a private art exhibition after Jane admitted she doubted her Nobel Prize was deserved.

• Hammurabi reported that lunar drones had found an anomalous waveform beneath the South Pole-Aitken Basin, likely connected to Attilan, and requested more drones for further exploration.
• Hammurabi urged the Emperor to establish de facto control over Wakanda and relocate chip fabrication plants, warning that King T’Challa might obstruct their plans.
• The Emperor decided to tell T’Challa about the threats posed by the Dark Order and Attilan, first arranging an informal call with Princess Shuri and then a meeting in Golden City.
• Jane Foster attended an art museum exhibition with Darcy, who had found the invitation and eagerly ate from the buffet.
• Jane told Vanessa that she believed political circumstances and the Asgardians, rather than the merit of her research, had helped her win the Nobel Prize.
• Vanessa offered to show Jane the exhibition and reassured her that there were no reporters present.

King T'Challa admitted that Wakanda faced war and political turmoil, but he could not choose between resistance and peaceful concessions. The Emperor pressed him to support the Yugoslav Federation's space program and left him with a proposal and no real choice.

• T'Challa told the Emperor that Wakanda faced pressure over its Vibranium and that his mother and Shuri disagreed over how to respond.
• T'Challa confessed that he doubted his ability to rule and feared both war and agreements that would enable foreign plunder.
• The Emperor urged T'Challa to stand with the Yugoslav Federation and support its spaceport and interstellar logistics plans.
• The Emperor explained that the Lunar Exploration Program would locate Kree-modified humans who might join the Dark Order, and offered Wakanda specimens to study.
• T'Challa said he could not decide whether to support the plans, and the Emperor told him that Erik was better suited to the throne but that others had already decided his course.

Victor von Doom and his advisers debated how to preserve the Yugoslav Federation’s relationship with Wakanda as T'Challa’s policies and the influence of Queen Mother Ramonda threatened to shift the alliance. The meeting ended with orders to prepare for Wakanda’s possible withdrawal of cooperation, while diplomats were tasked with offering Ramonda benefits and avoiding war.

• Victor von Doom replayed his conversation with King T'Challa while his advisers debated whether to win over Queen Mother Ramonda or support another Wakandan faction.
• Victoria Hand argued that Wakanda’s civil war had created lasting opposition to the Yugoslav Federation and urged the group to side with Queen Mother Ramonda.
• Hammurabi reported that T'Challa was arranging a reception for the Emperor with Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and James Buchanan in attendance.
• Hammurabi relayed the Emperor’s warning that T'Challa might favor industrial city-dwellers and neglect rural interests, and ordered departments to plan for Wakanda withdrawing its researchers and industrial support or opening its Vibranium reserves to the West.
• Victoria Hand outlined a possible military intervention but called it a last resort, and Victor von Doom ordered diplomats to promise benefits to Queen Mother Ramonda and avoid a conflict that would divert resources from other campaigns.

The Emperor discussed entertainment, cultural control, and Wakanda’s political future with Queen Mother Ramonda, offering support for stability and African unity. Ramonda welcomed reconciliation with the Yugoslav Federation but warned that Wakandans feared the Emperor because his identity and presence seemed almost divine.

• The Emperor argued that gladiatorial entertainment could distract people from politics and turn heroes like Steve Rogers into consumable symbols, while excess—not entertainment itself—was the danger.
• Queen Mother Ramonda described Wakanda’s post-civil-war insecurity, and the Emperor warned that royal families could become cultural symbols rather than foundations of political rule.
• Ramonda asked for his advice, and the Emperor said he would support humanity’s future and needed Wakanda’s full cooperation.
• Ramonda raised her glass in reconciliation and invited the Emperor to an informal dinner; he promised charitable work for civil-war victims and support for bringing order to Africa.
• The Emperor proposed building a united, secular Africa and suggested allies could be drawn in through the Yugoslav Federation’s diamond trade.
• Ramonda explained that Wakandans feared the Emperor because they could not know or speak his name, and because his eyes and aura seemed to belong to a deity.

T'Challa worried that Wakanda’s planned intervention in neighboring countries could become a new form of colonial exploitation, despite its potential to improve lives. He asked Steve Rogers and his friends for guidance, but the discussion left the risks of war and future abuses unresolved.

• Queen Mother Ramonda and Wakanda’s nobles favored direct intervention in neighboring countries, while T'Challa questioned whether it would truly help their people.
• T'Challa feared Wakanda might exploit those it claimed to save and betray the ideals of his father and the Black Panther.
• T'Challa asked Steve Rogers whether Wakanda could completely save the people living in Kenya’s slums.
• Steve Rogers gathered Sam Wilson and James Buchanan to discuss T'Challa’s concerns.
• Sam Wilson supported clearing out Kenya’s criminals and warlords, while James Buchanan warned about where Wakanda’s intervention could lead.
• T'Challa said war would kill innocents and that rural warlords would likely return even if Wakanda intervened.