Chapter Summaries

Shen Ran watched the chaos in New York and puzzled over S.P.E.A.R.'s lack of response, while Steve Rogers and Johnny Blaze searched Hell's Kitchen for him. Steve then drew residents into the streets by promising justice and compensation, leaving Shen Ran to recognize a familiar scene.

• Shen Ran reasoned that S.P.E.A.R. had failed to identify or stop him, and chose to watch the Makluans' rampage from a Hell's Kitchen nightclub.
• Steve Rogers and Johnny Blaze questioned Hell's Kitchen gangsters, but none knew Shen Ran's current identity or whereabouts.
• Steve decided to recruit residents for the Lone Star Republic in hell and sent his team through the neighborhood announcing a free cultural performance.
• Residents cursed Steve's team and threw bottles at them, but the team continued its announcements.
• Steve's team promised to return or compensate residents for wealth seized from the gangs, drawing people out to see gangsters kneeling on a raised platform.
• Shen Ran saw the platform and remarked that the scene felt familiar.

Lin Hao and Zheng Xian discussed how powerful families were trying to seize S.P.E.A.R.’s spoils, while Steve Rogers’s actions in America advanced the final stage of the “Real and Fake Captain America” plan. The chapter left Thanos understanding that Steve’s public rejection of the American spirit would provoke a spiritual crisis among Americans.

• Zheng Xian warned Lin Hao that wealthy families were pressuring S.P.E.A.R. to hand over spoils and secure their families’ access to space.
• Lin Hao ordered Thanos to handle the scheming families according to the rules, while Zheng Xian kept ships and Kamar-Taj magic under bureau control and removed their maps and spellbooks from the database.
• Zhao Yi contacted Lin Hao after seeing Steve Rogers cause a public disturbance in Hell’s Kitchen.
• Lin Hao explained to Thanos that Steve’s recruitment of people persecuted by the federal government would fail to reform America and instead intensify ideological conflict.
• Zheng Xian explained that the Fake Captain was meant to obscure Captain Zhen’s identity until his actions could be exposed as those of the real Captain America.
• Thanos realized that Steve’s plan would attack Americans’ beliefs by having Captain America openly reject the spirit he represented.

Shen Ran hijacked the television signal to broadcast Steve Rogers’s public trial of gangsters in Hell’s Kitchen, stirring residents and political leaders across the divided United States. As Captain Zhen caught a shield thrown by the real Captain America, Fake Captain realized someone else had an identical shield, while Crossbones fled to answer an urgent call.

• Shen Ran ordered a subordinate to hijack the television signal and broadcast the public trial across the country.
• Johnny Blaze read the gangsters’ confessions as Steve Rogers put them on trial, and Hell’s Kitchen residents demanded justice for their crimes.
• The Southwest Federation supported the broadcast, while the Eastern Federation failed to shut it off and could not agree on sending anyone to stop the trial.
• The real Captain America threw his shield toward Johnny Blaze, but Captain Zhen caught it and mistook him for Fake Captain.
• Fake Captain noticed that the shield on the platform matched his own, and Crossbones ran off to take an urgent call.

Steve from 2023 pursued the Fake Captain into Hell’s Kitchen and found the real Captain America, Daredevil, and the Fake Captain gathered there. As Bucky was mysteriously brought to New York and Coulson prepared a risky operation, the three Captains’ confrontation drew the attention of viewers across the world.

• Brock Rumlow happily ended his undercover act, while Sam Wilson and the Fake Captain wondered why he seemed so pleased.
• Steve from 2023 confronted the real Captain America, and Daredevil Matt Murdock arrived and reunited with his old companion after years away in seclusion.
• Matt sensed the Fake Captain hiding nearby, who stepped out and revealed a third Steve Rogers; Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy watched from an alley as the gathering appeared on camera.
• Carol Danvers and Phil Coulson discussed the three Captains and the Makluans, and Coulson decided to take Melinda and his team to New York while Carol remained a possible distraction for S.P.E.A.R.
• Bucky Barnes, who had escaped Hydra and spent two years hiding in South America, was knocked unconscious and woke on a familiar New York street.

Captain Zhen defended killing criminals and declared that America needed to change through bloodshed, alarming both Steve Rogers from 2023 and the powerful conglomerates. The chapter ended with Bucky arriving at the platform and finding three Steves.

• Steve Rogers from 2023 told Captain Zhen that captured criminals had the right to stand trial and that neither of them could decide who lived or died.
• Captain Zhen argued that America was in the middle of a civil war and needed to change, then declared, "Change requires bloodshed!"
• The conglomerate masters who had fled overseas agreed to eliminate Captain Zhen, while ordinary Americans argued over what he meant by change.
• Bucky reached the platform, saw three Steves, and was stunned; Captain Zhen was equally surprised to see him.

Bucky returned and challenged Fake Captain to prove he was Steve Rogers by answering an intimate question about their past. Fake Captain’s answer exposed him as an impostor, leaving him questioning his identity.

• Captain Zhen and the Steve from 2023 questioned Bucky about which universe he came from, while Fake Captain claimed he was the real Steve Rogers of this universe.
• Bucky asked Fake Captain who he had given his first time to, drawing the attention of Peter Parker, Ned Leeds, and the watching crowd.
• Fake Captain accidentally revealed that his date with Peggy had not started, prompting Bucky to recall that he had taken Steve to a red-light district when they were sixteen.
• The other two Steves and Tony Stark reacted to the revelation, while Sam Wilson began to doubt Fake Captain.
• Fake Captain panicked when he could not remember the experience and asked himself who he was.

Fake Captain rejected Bucky’s challenge, insisted he was Steve Rogers, and tried to prove Captain Zhen was the impostor. His outburst also reminded Americans watching the livestream that Captain Zhen had vowed to destroy America, shifting the public’s attention from the identity dispute to the threat of political upheaval.

• Fake Captain refused to doubt his identity and declared himself the real Captain America, Steve Rogers.
• Captain Zhen tried to persuade Fake Captain to accept help, but Fake Captain challenged him to take off his pants.
• Bucky and Sam Wilson recognized Fake Captain as the impostor, and Sam refused to let him keep impersonating Steve Rogers.
• Fake Captain angrily pointed out that Captain Zhen wanted to destroy America.
• Americans watching the livestream began questioning why Captain Zhen intended to change the country and whether America had reached a crisis.

Steve Rogers from 2023 tried to stop Captain Zhen from pursuing dangerous ideas, but he and Tony Stark were drawn into a fight with Johnny Blaze, Matt Murdock, and armed eunuchs. As their opponents overwhelmed them, Tony realized that this universe held far more powerful fighters than he expected.

• Steve from 2023 challenged Captain Zhen and said he would send him to prison if he would not abandon his ideas.
• Johnny Blaze transformed into a burning skeleton and struck Tony Stark's Bleeding Edge Armor with his Hellfire chain, damaging its components.
• Matt Murdock attacked Steve while Captain Zhen's companions rushed in to defend him.
• Eunuchs wielding Evil-Warding Swordplay surrounded Steve and Tony, piercing Tony's armor with their thin swords.
• Tony marveled at the number of powerful fighters in this universe as Steve struggled to hold them off.

Steve from 2023 and Tony fought Captain Zhen’s forces in New York until Coulson arrived with reinforcements. As Iron Man Armors from across the country rallied to the Fake Captain, three Captain Americas faced off over who America belonged to, while Makluans continued attacking the city.

• Tony from 2011 watched the fight and mocked the 2023 Tony after the Iron Man Armor was knocked away.
• Matt and the eunuchs subdued Steve from 2023, while Captain Zhen blocked Tony’s attack and tried to persuade Steve to stop fighting.
• Coulson arrived with his teammates, who helped Steve and fought Captain Zhen’s forces, creating a temporary stalemate.
• Powerful American leaders sent Iron Man Armors from across the country to New York to protect their interests and defeat Captain Zhen.
• The Fake Captain claimed America belonged to the elites, while Captain Zhen insisted it belonged to all citizens and Steve from 2023 chose the middle ground.
• Three Captain Americas confronted one another as Makluans continued ravaging New York and civilians screamed amid explosions.

As two Makluans attacked New York, Tony Stark and Carol Danvers realized S.P.E.A.R. was not behind the assault and headed to help. In Hell’s Kitchen, Captain Zhen rejected negotiation and attacked the moderates, leaving Steve Rogers and Tony from 2023 struggling to stop him.

• An anonymous Eastern Great Power broadcast images of the Makluans’ destruction in New York and accused America’s authorities and superheroes of failing to protect civilians.
• Tony Stark concluded the attack was not a test by S.P.E.A.R. and prepared to fight the Makluans, while Carol Danvers flew toward New York after hearing from Maria Rambeau.
• Steve from 2023 insisted on helping this universe’s America, and Tony reluctantly stayed with him as the different factions gathered in Hell’s Kitchen.
• Matt Murdock urged Captain Zhen to attack his opponents, and Captain Zhen returned Steve’s shield before creating a magical shield and sword.
• Captain Zhen attacked the moderates, wounded Tony from 2023, killed several of Coulson’s followers, and cut a notch into Steve’s Vibranium Shield.
• Steve charged Captain Zhen again and vowed that he could keep fighting all day.

Tony Stark and Steve Rogers from 2023 sought an alliance with Fake Captain to defeat Captain Zhen, while Lin Hao explained that competing claims over Captain America’s identity served his plan to spread chaos. Tony offered to upgrade the armor pilots, bringing Fake Captain’s side into an alliance and leaving Captain Zhen facing a stronger coalition.

• Captain Zhen overwhelmed Steve Rogers and the eunuchs, while Tony Stark treated Steve and recognized that their weapons and magic made him a formidable opponent.
• Tony proposed working with Fake Captain, who dismissed him and Steve as too weak to be useful.
• Lin Hao told Zhao Yi that people would exploit whichever Captain America they chose to believe, and that the resulting confusion mattered more than proving who was real.
• Tony offered to upgrade Fake Captain’s armor pilots to nanomodels, and the pilots pressed Fake Captain to accept.
• Fake Captain agreed to cooperate with Tony and Steve, and the armor pilots rushed to join the deal.

Ghost Rider, Daredevil, and Captain Zhen overwhelmed the Iron Man Armors, with Captain Zhen slaughtering pilots until Carol arrived and knocked him through a building. The world watched the battle with delight as the fight gained a powerful new combatant.

• Johnny Blaze reignited his broken chain and used flaming iron rings to strike the Iron Man Armors, while Matt Murdock attacked with his batons.
• The Iron Man pilots opened fire on Captain Zhen's eunuchs, and Captain Zhen turned back to kill the attacking pilots with his magical Light Sword.
• Steve Rogers and Tony Stark from 2023 realized Captain Zhen was far beyond their ability to fight.
• Carol arrived, found Coulson and the swordsmen wounded, and charged Captain Zhen after the eunuchs identified him.
• Carol shattered Captain Zhen's light shield with one punch and sent him crashing through a building.

Carol fought Captain Zhen through a building, but three Hogwarts Mages restored it and helped the adults recognize the civilians in danger. As the survivors began rescuing people, Shen Ran redirected Makuahn and Nian toward Hell's Kitchen to start another fight.

• Carol chased Captain Zhen into a building and beat him until their fight damaged a nearby high-rise.
• Carol ordered the surviving Iron Man Armor pilots to rescue the building's residents, but only Tony Stark from 2023 took action.
• Gwen Stacy and two other Hogwarts Mages used Restoration to repair the high-rise and rebuked the adults for neglecting civilians.
• Captain Zhen healed himself and led Steve and Tony from 2023 to rescue people, while Carol returned her teammates to their spaceship before joining the rescue effort.
• Shen Ran redirected Makuahn and Nian toward Hell's Kitchen to begin a second act.

Carol fought the Makluans, but Shen Ran’s wishes made them repeatedly reappear unharmed. After transforming with Nian, Shen Ran wished for America to become an independent kingdom, and Lin Hao noticed the change spreading across the country.

• Shen Ran sent Makuahn and Nian after Carol, who knocked them into the sky while protecting her injured teammate.
• Makuahn struck Carol after suddenly returning to its original position, but she recovered and kept fighting the Makluans as they repeatedly reappeared unharmed.
• Lin Hao found no temporal fluctuations and suspected Shen Ran’s wishes let their targets escape the universe’s influence.
• Shen Ran fired a beam at Nian, then merged with the Holy Son and began transforming into a dragon as Carol confronted him.
• Shen Ran wished for America to become an independent kingdom, and Lin Hao observed an astonishing change spreading across the country.

Shen Ran’s wish sealed mainland America, Hawaii, and Alaska inside separate spherical barriers, cutting them off from the rest of Earth. Carol discovered she could not break the barrier without causing catastrophic earthquakes, and she begged Lin Hao to save America.

• Lin Hao inspected the barriers enclosing America, Hawaii, and Alaska and found that ordinary force could not break them.
• Lin Hao predicted that isolated Hawaii would face a humanitarian disaster because it could not feed its population.
• Planes, ships, and vehicles collided with the newly appeared barriers, causing deaths and widespread destruction.
• Carol flew into a barrier, circled America to confirm the country was sealed off, and tried to punch through it.
• Carol’s Binary Power shook the barrier and triggered massive earthquakes across the continent.
• Tony Stark warned Carol that her attacks could rupture the North American plate, and Carol pleaded with Lin Hao to save America.

Carol and Tony discovered that a light membrane had sealed off America, and Carol realized she could not break it without devastating the continent. Shen Ran escaped and relocated to Alaska, while Carol’s memories of encountering him were erased; the chapter ended with the heroes learning the full extent of the disaster.

• Carol stopped attacking the membrane after realizing that breaching it could devastate the American continent.
• Tony asked Carol what she had found on the nightclub’s top floor, but Shen Ran’s power had erased her memory of encountering him.
• Shen Ran recalled the Makluans, teleported away, and decided to go to Alaska.
• Tony and Carol returned to the ground, where Captain Zhen, Steve from 2023, and others were helping with the earthquake’s damage.
• Tony projected a model showing the membrane sealing America, and Carol confirmed it stretched from the stratosphere deep underground.
• Ned prepared to cast Apparition, but Gwen told him to return and discuss the situation first.

After America was sealed behind an impassable barrier, Gwen, Peter, and Ned confirmed that Ned could still Apparate and gathered Portkeys while Captain Zhen’s group debated their options. As factions began preparing separately, Captain Zhen declared that the crisis was a chance for America to rise from the ashes.

• Gwen realized that Ned must not demonstrate Apparition before the crowd, so the three children slipped away to her damaged villa and found Aunt May safe in the basement.
• Gwen asked Ned to test Apparition, and he successfully traveled to Ottawa and returned.
• Gwen sent Ned to collect the Portkeys from New York and other American cities, then used one to return to school and consult Headmaster Tom.
• Tony from this universe and Tony from 2023 explained that the barrier blocked signals and matter, while Fake Captain asked how to escape and Steve from 2023 warned of the coming public panic.
• Fake Captain’s armored-suit pilots left to secure supplies, while Johnny Blaze urged Captain Zhen to prepare supplies for the civilian faction.
• Captain Zhen left after calling the crisis a great opportunity for America to rise from the ashes.

A mysterious membrane of light sealed the Hawaiian archipelago, trapping its wealthy visitors and residents. Pepper Potts learned that the barrier cut off contact with the mainland and left Hawaii facing shortages, unrest, and accumulating toxic gases.

• American civil war drove wealthy mainlanders to gather in Hawaii and hold lavish parties.
• A yacht carrying hungover partygoers struck an invisible barrier at sea, and its passengers discovered a transparent membrane blocking their way.
• Returning tourists spread word that a barrier enclosed the entire Hawaiian archipelago, sparking panic and chaos on the island.
• Pepper Potts asked Jarvis to contact Tony, and Jarvis reported that the barrier had cut off outside communications and sealed Hawaii at an altitude of fifteen thousand meters.
• Jarvis advised Pepper to secure the villa and establish air circulation, explaining that Tony's stored supplies would last for decades but toxic gases could build up across the island.

Pepper Potts learned that sealed-off Hawaii would soon face lethal air pollution as its overcrowded population, fires, and unrest overwhelmed its limited purification systems. She ordered Happy and Jarvis to fortify their villa, leaving them to prepare for the military and the desperate crowds outside.

• Jarvis analyzed Hawaii’s supply records and warned Pepper Potts that food and water might last a month, but clean air would not.
• Jarvis explained that overcrowding, unhandled corpses, and fires would cause poisonous gases to build up faster than the island could purify them.
• Pepper Potts asked Jarvis to plan a villa renovation and decided their ten suits of armor would protect them from military pressure.
• Happy reported that people were fighting over food and water, and Pepper Potts told him to stay inside while Jarvis handled the defenses.
• Happy and Pepper Potts began fortifying their seaside villa as crowds rushed to supermarkets and warehouses guarded by Marine Corps troops.

After Hawaii was sealed off, the Pacific Fleet seized supply warehouses while residents and businesses fought over food, water, and shelter. Days of unrest left the islands descending into desperation as the air grew murky and the winds died.

• The Pacific Fleet confirmed the blockade and sent Marines to take control of supply warehouses without notifying Hawaiian authorities.
• Riots swept Hawaii, and a hotel guard shot a guest before threatening his widow and striking her when she screamed.
• Hotels and landlords drove out guests and tenants to conserve supplies as people looted food, water, fuel, and other necessities.
• As the unrest continued, armed homeowners refused to share food, and an old woman gave a ragged blonde woman a piece of rotten bread for her infant.
• The blonde woman ate the bread herself, then planned to disguise her dead infant with cosmetics and perfume so she could keep begging for food.