Chapter Summaries

Chthon regained his complete form and overwhelmed Loren in battle, leaving him restrained and badly injured. Chthon explained that Loren had defeated only his projection and that his true power was tied to the universe’s darkness and other forces.

• Chthon assumed his complete form after reclaiming the dark magic scattered throughout the universe.
• Loren unleashed a Super Kamehameha, but Chthon stopped it with one hand and crushed it.
• Chthon struck Loren with a single punch, then attacked again and narrowly missed stomping him into the ground.
• Loren fired dozens of Kamehameha blasts, but Chthon blocked them and trapped Loren in a force field.
• Chthon bound and lifted Loren, then explained that his true existence was sustained by darkness, pain, greed, and the desire for power.

Loren was trapped by Chthon as the exhausted women who fought beside him could only watch. Their powers and devotion merged into Loren, freeing him and transforming him into Super Saiyan Second Form.

• Chthon tightened his dark force field around Loren and threatened to torment him by destroying everything he cherished.
• Wanda, Tsunade, Hancock, Mai Shiranui, Android 18, and the others struggled to reach Loren despite their injuries and depleted strength.
• Loren called the women to him, and their bodies transformed into motes of colored light that surged toward him.
• The lights passed through Chthon's force field and merged with Loren, shattering his prison and forcing Chthon back.
• Loren's aura and appearance changed as he reached Super Saiyan Second Form.

Loren overwhelmed Chthon with his Super Saiyan power and formed a universe-spanning Spirit Bomb infused with his wives’ energy and will. He destroyed Chthon and left only the Dark Magic Origin floating in the sky.

• Loren struck Chthon with a punch, knee, and elbow, forcing him back and making him feel threatened for the first time.
• Chthon unleashed swarms of dark tendrils while Loren gathered energy from across the universe to form a Spirit Bomb.
• Loren’s wives added their wills and emotions to the attack as Chthon raised a massive dark barrier and tried to stop him.
• Loren sent the Spirit Bomb forward, and it shattered Chthon’s barrier before catching and destroying him.
• After the light faded, Chthon was gone, and only the Dark Magic Origin remained.

Loren absorbed the pure Dark Magic Origin and became its wielder, then restored Wanda’s stolen power and helped his wives return to physical form. With Chthon’s threat ended and Kaecilius dead, Loren and his wives left the ruins to go home.

• Loren absorbed the ownerless Dark Magic Origin and became the God of Dark Magic.
• Loren returned Wanda’s stolen Chaos Magic, and she recovered and embraced him.
• The Dark Magic Origin’s feedback restored Tsunade and the other women, making them stronger than before.
• The women gathered around Loren as sunlight returned and Kaecilius’s corpse lay among the ruins.
• Loren and his wives agreed to go home after Chthon’s threat ended.

Life at the manor settled into lively peace as several residents gambled, while Ikaros tended her first successful watermelon. After Nymph secretly picked the unripe fruit, Ikaros traced it to the kitchen and arrived as Nymph prepared to cut it open.

• Tsunade lost repeatedly to Mei Terumi at the gambling table, while Mai Shiranui and Hancock joined in and also lost their chips.
• Ikaros carefully tended a watermelon in the greenhouse and planned to give it to Loren once it ripened.
• Ikaros returned from fetching her notebook and found the watermelon missing, with a fresh cut stem and footprints leading toward the main building.
• Nymph sat in the kitchen with the stolen watermelon and raised a knife to cut it just as the door opened silently.

Nymph accidentally took the unripe watermelon Ikaros had grown as a gift for Loren, so she used her abilities to grow a replacement. Ikaros gave it to Loren, who praised its taste before pulling her into his arms.

• Ikaros confronted Nymph for taking the watermelon she had grown for Loren, and Nymph realized how much it meant to her.
• Nymph apologized and accelerated the growth of a new watermelon in the greenhouse, bringing it to ninety-five percent ripeness.
• Ikaros presented the replacement watermelon to Loren and explained that she had grown it especially for him.
• Loren tasted the watermelon, praised it, and told Ikaros she could grow more.
• Loren pulled Ikaros into his arms and said he wanted to eat pomelos, and Ikaros blushed and agreed.

Tsunade lost eighteen straight rounds of gambling, but Loren gave her his card and reassured her instead of scolding her. With Loren’s guidance, she made a comeback, and the chapter ended with the household relaxing together before Tsunade made a suggestive request of Loren.

• Tsunade lost eighteen rounds to Mei Terumi and asked the others to lend her money, but they refused.
• Loren learned how much Tsunade had lost and gave her his card, telling her that losing was fine as long as she was happy.
• With Loren helping her count cards and calculate probabilities, Tsunade turned the game around and won back her losses.
• That evening, the household spent time together on the terrace while Ikaros insisted that the watermelon she was holding was well-behaved.
• Tsunade told Loren she was hungry, clarified that she meant something suggestive, and Loren silently unfastened his belt.

After a school explosion killed 317 children, public anger prompted the president to enact the Superhero Registration Act, dividing the heroes over whether to comply. Peter Parker refused to register and left the meeting, while Steve Rogers warned that the attack might have been intended to provoke registration.

• An explosion destroyed a Manhattan elementary school, killing 317 children, and investigators found energy residue associated with superpowers.
• Demonstrators across the United States demanded controls on superpowered individuals, and the president signed the Superhero Registration Act requiring registration and tracking bracelets.
• Tony Stark supported registration at a meeting in Stark Tower, while Natasha Romanoff opposed it and Steve Rogers rejected the act.
• Steve warned Tony that the person behind the explosion might have wanted the heroes to accept registration.
• Peter Parker said he would not register because exposing his identity could endanger his family and friends, then used the Symbiote to swing out of the window.

As the Superhuman Registration Act fueled clashes between heroes and Hydra-backed enforcers, Mai Shiranui and her companions encountered officers attacking an unregistered young woman on Fifth Avenue. When the enforcers targeted Mai and the others, the women stood together and a battle began.

• Steve gathered Falcon, Ant-Man, and Hawkeye in an underground base and declared that they would resist registration.
• Hydra exploited the Act by giving government-recognized badges to malicious enforcers, hoping to turn the public against superpowered people and drive Loren away from Earth.
• Mai Shiranui, Tifa, Marie Rose, Mei Terumi, Hancock, Hinata, and Tsunade went shopping on Fifth Avenue.
• Tsunade spotted two enforcers chasing a young woman, and one of them shot her with an energy beam and dragged her up by the hair.
• Mai caught the enforcer's punch to protect the young woman, and he called for the others to seize Mai and claim the bounty.
• The women gathered behind Mai, and the battle erupted as more than a dozen enforcers fired energy beams at them.

Mai Shiranui and the others rescued Lia from the enforcers, but an attacker’s energy bomb killed and wounded many bystanders. Reporters then appeared to frame the group as illegal superpowered individuals, and Tsunade ordered everyone to go home.

• Mai Shiranui, Tifa, Marie Rose, Mei Terumi, Hancock, Hinata, and Tsunade defeated more than thirty enforcers and helped the rescued girl, Lia.
• A man in black combat gear fired an energy bomb at the group, and its blast devastated the street.
• Mai Shiranui found Lia alive, while the others saw that many innocent bystanders had died or been wounded in the explosion.
• Hancock, Tifa, and Mai Shiranui vowed to punish those responsible as the group mourned the victims.
• Reporters arrived and accused the women of being illegal superpowered individuals, prompting Tifa and Tsunade to recognize a trap.
• Tsunade ordered everyone to go home, and the group stopped arguing and prepared to leave.

Loren explained that Hydra had engineered the explosions and street conflict to turn the public against superpowered individuals and force him to leave Earth. As protesters surrounded Morgan Manor, he decided to deal with Hydra and then make everyone forget what had happened.

• News broadcasts blamed unregistered superpowered individuals for the deaths, and thousands of protesters gathered outside Morgan Manor to condemn Loren.
• Mai Shiranui, Tifa, Marie Rose, Tsunade, and the others watched the hostile coverage from inside the manor, while Tsunade apologized to Loren for acting during the street conflict.
• Loren revealed that Hydra had used modified children as human bombs and had placed agents among the law enforcers to provoke a massacre and frame the women.
• Loren told Mai Shiranui that Hydra, not her, was responsible for the deaths, and she cried in his arms.
• When Tsunade and Android 18 questioned what he would do about the public backlash, Loren said he would deal with Hydra and make everyone forget about the incident.

Loren went to Hydra’s Washington headquarters and used the Dark Magic Origin to erase its leaders and members across the world. The next morning, he used the same power to make everyone forget the protests and the events surrounding them.

• Loren told Wanda to protect everyone and vanished from the manor.
• Loren appeared at Hydra’s underground headquarters as its executives celebrated their campaign against him.
• Loren used the Dark Magic Origin to erase Hydra’s executives and agents, declaring that none of its thirty-seven bases would remain.
• Loren walked out to face the protesters and ordered them to forget everything.
• The protesters’ memories and all records of the incident were erased from reality.

Loren erased the protests and destroyed Hydra, then returned to his manor and celebrated with its residents. Outside, intelligence agencies struggled to explain Hydra’s sudden disappearance, while the Superhero Registration Act kept the civil war going.

• Loren rewrote reality so the protesters and reporters forgot the conspiracy, leaving only memories of the civilian deaths as an accidental explosion.
• Loren returned to the manor, where Mai Shiranui, Tsunade, Tifa, and the others welcomed and pampered him.
• Loren confirmed to Tsunade that the protesters had forgotten everything and Hydra was gone.
• S.H.I.E.L.D., the CIA, MI6, and Mossad investigated Hydra’s unexplained disappearance but found no evidence of what had happened.
• The public remained unaware of Hydra and Loren’s actions, while the Superhero Registration Act kept the civil war going.

Tony Stark discovered that Bucky Barnes had killed his parents while under Hydra’s control and confronted him with the mission record. Bucky recognized the evidence, and Tony demanded to know whether Steve had known.

• Bucky Barnes obeyed the Registration Act as an enforcement consultant, despite believing he did not deserve redemption or a peaceful life.
• Tony Stark found a 1991 S.H.I.E.L.D. archive identifying the Winter Soldier as the executor of Howard Stark’s killing.
• Tony watched footage of Bucky attacking his parents’ car and killing Howard, then sat in shock and anger.
• The next day, Tony visited Bucky’s Brooklyn apartment and showed him the mission report.
• Bucky remembered killing Howard, and Tony asked whether Steve had known.

Tony learned that Bucky had killed his parents and confronted him, while discovering that Steve had hidden the truth. Tony spared Bucky but ended his friendship with Steve and declared them enemies.

• Steve found Bucky in his apartment and watched the video Tony had shown him, realizing Tony knew the truth about his parents.
• Bucky blamed Steve for hiding the truth and asked him not to interfere when Tony came for revenge, but Steve vowed to protect him.
• After a day locked in his lab, Tony put on his armor and flew to Bucky's apartment, where Steve stood between them.
• Tony confronted Steve for keeping quiet, and Bucky admitted killing Howard and Maria and offered no resistance.
• Tony lowered his repulsor instead of killing Bucky, then told Steve they were no longer friends and were now enemies before flying away.

A Skrull commander launched a plan to impersonate Tony Stark and kill Bucky Barnes, hoping to frame Iron Man and split him from Captain America. The impostor confronted Bucky in Brooklyn, but Bucky recognized that he was not the real Tony, and the two faced off.

• Tony returned to Stark Tower, removed his armor, and withdrew to his bedroom while Pepper watched over him.
• A Skrull commander ordered an impostor to kill Bucky and post footage of Iron Man doing it to drive a wedge between the Avengers.
• A Skrull transformed into Tony Stark, put on a replica Iron Man suit, and prepared to carry out the plan.
• Bucky went to his usual Brooklyn café, bought black coffee, and thought about his childhood with Steve.
• The impostor confronted Bucky and aimed a repulsor at him, but Bucky deflected the shot and realized the man was not Tony.
• The impostor dropped the act and said he had come to kill Bucky.

Bucky exposed a Skrull disguised as Tony Stark and fought the counterfeit Iron Man through the streets and skies of Brooklyn. After the Skrull hurled him into a building and fired at him, Bucky escaped the blast and landed in an alley.

• Bucky recognized that the armored Tony Stark was a Skrull because his behavior and armor did not match the real Tony.
• The Skrull attacked Bucky with a Palm Cannon, and Bucky dodged the beam and threw a motorcycle at him.
• Bucky punched the Skrull’s armor, then escaped its grip and stabbed its neck seam with a Wakandan Vibranium dagger.
• The damaged Skrull armor flew upward with Bucky attached, then the Skrull hurled Bucky into a building.
• Bucky dodged the Skrull’s energy beams, caught ledges and fire escapes as he fell, and landed in an alley.

Bucky fought a Skrull disguised as Tony Stark in a Brooklyn alley and was killed as part of a plan to turn Steve Rogers against Tony. Sam showed Steve footage of the murder, leaving Steve to watch the video for himself.

• Bucky fought the armored Skrull in the alley but was badly wounded and unable to escape.
• The Skrull told Bucky that his death was meant to make Steve believe Tony had killed him and split the Avengers.
• The Skrull, wearing Tony Stark's face, killed Bucky and arranged for the recorded footage to be widely shared.
• Sam rushed into Steve's apartment and showed him the video, and Steve pressed play.

Steve watched drone footage of Tony killing Bucky in Brooklyn and rushed to confront Tony at Stark Tower. He accused Tony of breaking his promise, but Tony denied going after Bucky.

• Steve watched footage of Tony fighting Bucky and closing his eyes after Bucky fell to the ground.
• Steve asked Sam where Tony was, then ran across the Brooklyn Bridge to Stark Tower.
• Steve climbed the tower, smashed through a laboratory window, and confronted Tony.
• Steve demanded to know why Tony had gone after Bucky and killed him, but Tony denied it and told Steve to leave.

Steve confronted Tony with a video that appeared to show Tony killing Bucky, and the accusation led them into a brutal fight through Tony’s laboratory. Natasha, Sam, and Nick Fury arrived as the two men faced off, battered and exhausted.

• Steve showed Tony footage of someone in Tony’s armor killing Bucky in Brooklyn, but Tony denied being there.
• Steve attacked Tony, and the two fought through the laboratory as Tony insisted Steve should get up and keep fighting.
• Steve hesitated when Tony accused him of avenging Bucky by killing his own friend, allowing Tony to strike back.
• Steve and Tony resumed their brawl in the armor vault until Tony pressed a glowing reactor core to Steve’s chest and blasted him into a wall.
• Natasha entered with Sam and Nick Fury, and Fury ordered Steve and Tony to stop.