Chapter Summaries

Nick Fury stopped Steve and Tony from fighting again and revealed that the killer in the video had been an impostor wearing a fake suit. Steve left to find Bucky’s killer, while Tony vowed to investigate himself and cut off contact for a week.

• Nick Fury told Steve and Tony that Bucky’s death and the video were real, but the person who killed Bucky was not Tony.
• JARVIS confirmed that none of Tony’s suits were missing and that the armor in the video was not an Iron Man suit made by Tony.
• Nick Fury warned Steve and Tony that their feud would help whoever was trying to turn their former comrades against each other.
• Steve left to find Bucky’s killer, and Tony held back from attacking him again.
• Tony decided to hunt down the real killer, ordered JARVIS to add biometric identification to every suit, and canceled his upcoming commitments.

Nick Fury sought Loren’s help after the Avengers fractured over Bucky Barnes’s death, but Loren refused to receive him and summoned Natasha and Seele instead. When they arrived, Loren set aside the Avengers crisis to address their personal matters first.

• Nick Fury waited outside Morgan Manor and was beaten by a Faceless Ones Robot when he tried to enter.
• Fury told Loren that someone impersonating Tony had killed Bucky Barnes, leaving the world blaming Iron Man and driving Tony and Steve apart.
• Loren told Fury that Morgan Manor did not receive male guests and asked him to send Natasha and Seele.
• Natasha and Seele entered the manor and met Loren in his study while Fury was kicked away again.
• Natasha explained that Fury wanted Loren to resolve the Avengers’ crisis, but Loren called on the two women to settle their personal matters first.

Natasha and Hill told Loren that Tony and Steve had split after a Skrull impersonator framed Tony for Bucky’s death, and Loren revealed the aliens’ long-running plan to infiltrate Earth. He refused to handle the threat for S.H.I.E.L.D., leaving Natasha and Hill to seek his help through their own means.

• Natasha showed Loren the aftermath of Tony and Steve’s fight and explained that their relationship had broken down after Bucky’s death.
• Loren identified the impostor as a Skrull and described the aliens’ infiltration abilities and invasion plan.
• Natasha read Loren’s notes, which named Tony, Steve, and Natasha as targets and revealed Skrulls had infiltrated Earth for at least fifty years.
• Loren said he would not give S.H.I.E.L.D. evidence or take responsibility for defeating the Skrulls, and he warned that Tony and Steve were unlikely to reconcile.
• Natasha and Hill asked Loren to help and then surrounded him, appealing to their skilled techniques.

Loren gave Natasha the locations of two Skrull sites and explained that he would let Tony and Steve learn the truth, leaving their reconciliation to time. He demonstrated his ability to erase memories on Hill, who forgot what had happened between them and began flirting with him again.

• Loren gave Natasha the addresses of a Skrull stronghold in New York and a contact station in London.
• Hill asked Loren whether he could make Tony and Steve reconcile, and he said he would leave that to time unless he needed to intervene himself.
• Loren told Natasha and Hill that he could erase anyone's memories and demonstrated by making Hill forget their recent encounter.
• Hill believed she and Loren had only discussed the Skrulls' Secret Invasion and began flirting with him, while Natasha realized he could repeat the memory erasure.
• Natasha urged Loren to withdraw his divine powers before he played Hill to death.

Natasha and Hill brought Nick Fury leads identifying the Skrulls as the force behind the crisis, and S.H.I.E.L.D. tracked them to an abandoned Brooklyn warehouse. There, Natasha’s team confronted a powerful Skrull wearing counterfeit Tony Stark armor, and the agents opened fire.

• Hill told Natasha she felt strangely dry after their meeting with Loren, while Natasha kept the reason to herself.
• Nick Fury met Natasha and Hill outside Morgan Manor, and Natasha gave him a pouch of information identifying the Skrulls behind the Secret Invasion.
• A few days later, Natasha and Hawkeye watched an abandoned Brooklyn warehouse as S.H.I.E.L.D. prepared to raid it.
• A blue energy beam cut through Natasha’s water tower, and Hawkeye used explosive arrows to spread smoke around the warehouse.
• A figure in counterfeit Tony Stark armor burst through the warehouse wall, and Fury ordered the agents to target its weak points.
• Twelve S.H.I.E.L.D. agents took position with alien-technology energy rifles, and the team opened fire.

Natasha and Hawkeye struggled to contain the Skrull in stolen Iron Man armor until Steve and Tony arrived together. The chapter ended with Captain America and Iron Man positioned to attack the Skrull from both sides.

• The Skrull dodged S.H.I.E.L.D.'s gunfire, overwhelmed the agents, and slammed Natasha into the pavement.
• Natasha escaped the Skrull's grip, while Hawkeye struck the armor with an EMP arrow that disrupted it for less than half a second.
• Steve told Natasha that he and Tony were heading to her location, and she ordered the agents to withdraw and hold an outer perimeter.
• Tony flew in from Manhattan as Steve ran across the Brooklyn Bridge, and they formed a pincer around the Skrull.
• The Skrull opened his faceplate, revealing a face identical to Tony Stark's.

A Skrull impersonating Tony Stark revealed his ability to copy the Avengers and overpowered Steve Rogers and Tony Stark in battle. As Steve charged him again, the Skrull used Quicksilver's speed to catch Steve's wrist and throw him into the air.

• The Skrull taunted Steve by claiming he had killed Bucky, while the real Tony and Steve launched a coordinated attack.
• The Skrull transformed into Hulk wearing Tony's armor, caught Steve's shield, and hurled it hard enough to send Steve through a brick wall.
• Tony attacked from the air, but the Skrull stretched his arm, pierced the Arc Reactor, and threw Tony through a building.
• Steve charged the Skrull with his fists to keep him away from Tony, and the Skrull shifted into a green-skinned form wearing the Mark Armor.
• The Skrull used Quicksilver's speed to dodge Steve's punch, grab his wrist, and throw him into the air.

Steve and Tony fought the Skrull impersonating Tony, but the alien overwhelmed them and escaped in Tony’s armor. The Skrull warned that a larger war was coming, leaving the battered heroes to return and make a new plan.

• The Skrull used his speed to pummel Steve and bragged that human strength was insignificant beside Skrull power.
• Tony emerged from the rubble with damaged armor and joined Steve, and the two stood together against the Skrull.
• The Skrull transformed into a silver-skinned form and unleashed an energy wave that battered Steve and swallowed Tony’s repulsor blast.
• The Skrull declared victory, warned that his people would soon come, and escaped into the night wearing Tony’s armor.
• Steve, Tony, and the injured Natasha remained amid the ruins, and they agreed to return and make a new plan.

Loren recognized the Skrull’s final disguise as Silver Surfer and feared it might mean Galactus had become relevant to Earth. He asked Alice to investigate where the Skrull had seen Silver Surfer.

• Loren replayed the footage of the Skrull changing from Hulk into a silver, cosmic-looking figure and recognized the form as Silver Surfer.
• Loren explained that Silver Surfer was Galactus’s herald and realized the Skrull must have seen the real figure to copy its appearance.
• Loren called Tifa and asked her to bring Alice to the study.
• Alice arrived, and Loren showed her the footage and asked her to find out where the Skrull had seen Silver Surfer.

Loren warned Alice that the Skrull who impersonated Silver Surfer might have exposed Earth to Galactus, and sent her to investigate. Alice tracked the Skrull to an abandoned Bronx apartment building and identified a likely disguise, arriving there at 4:42 a.m.

• Loren explained Silver Surfer's connection to Galactus and warned that Earth could be in danger if the Skrull had encountered him there.
• Loren asked Alice to find the Skrull and read his memories to learn where he had seen Silver Surfer.
• Alice searched surveillance cameras across North America and traced the Skrull's armor signature to an abandoned apartment building in the Bronx.
• Alice compared the gaits of twelve people leaving the building and identified a woman whose movement matched the Skrull's telltale pattern.
• Alice arrived at the Bronx apartment building at 4:42 a.m.

Alice tracked a Skrull to an abandoned building and confronted him to learn where he had seen the Silver Surfer. After the Skrull transformed into the Hulk, the confrontation continued.

• Alice entered the abandoned building and found a Skrull resting on the fourth floor.
• The Skrull transformed into a near-perfect Silver Surfer and claimed he could move dozens of times faster than sound.
• The Skrull tried to escape through a window, but Alice caught his ankle and hurled him through the floor.
• Alice landed on the third floor and demanded to know where the Skrull had seen the Silver Surfer.
• The Skrull shifted from the Silver Surfer's form into the Hulk's form.

Alice defeated a Skrull impersonating the Hulk, read his memories with the Mind Stone, and learned the Silver Surfer had passed a planet in the Andromeda Galaxy. She erased the Skrull’s precise shapeshifting templates and left him alive but unconscious.

• Alice caught the Skrull’s Hulk-powered punch and crushed his hand, forcing him back into human form.
• Alice used the Mind Stone to read the Skrull’s memories and learned he had seen the Silver Surfer near a planet in the Andromeda Galaxy.
• Alice told the Skrull she would prevent him from precisely copying appearances, then erased his shapeshifting templates.
• The Skrull fell into a coma, and Alice left him alive among the ruins.

Loren learned that Silver Surfer was traveling away from Earth, but he believed Galactus would eventually find it and resolved to grow stronger. He spent his remaining system points to unlock the DC Universe and received a guide to Super Bio-Weapon Technology and a sample of Silver Age Superman’s DNA.

• Alice reported that she had found Silver Surfer passing a Skrull spacecraft in the Andromeda Galaxy, far beyond Earth and heading away from the Milky Way.
• Loren told Alice that Silver Surfer could eventually find Earth and that only greater strength could prepare them for Galactus.
• Alice promised to protect Loren, and he embraced her before turning his attention to the system.
• Loren spent 100 system points to draw the DC Universe as a new technological world.
• The system awarded Loren a Super Bio-Weapon Technology Guide and a sample of Silver Age Clark Kent’s DNA, warning that creating the Silver Superman Serum could have dangerous results.

Loren received a guide for turning weakness-free Silver Age Superman DNA into a serum, but he recognized the risk of creating an uncontrollable Doomsday-like monster. He decided to study the technology carefully, ordered Alice to keep tracking the Skrulls, and left their next steps ahead.

• Loren examined the Super Bio-Weapon Technology Guide and considered the power and dangers of injecting Silver Age Superman DNA into a human body.
• Loren told Alice he needed to grow stronger to face threats such as Galactus and the Skrulls, and said he would identify the fatal mistake behind Doomsday's creation.
• Loren stored the guide in his system and asked Alice to secretly track the Skrulls, their plans, and their hiding places.
• Alice agreed to continue the investigation, and Loren embraced her in the study.

Loren struggled to create the Silver Superman Serum, as his attempts to fuse human and Kryptonian genes ended in cellular collapse. He reconsidered replacing human genes and turned to Skrull shapeshifting for a possible solution.

• Loren reviewed his week of failed serum experiments and identified energy imbalance and cellular rejection as the main obstacles to gene fusion.
• Loren recalled that 3,700 fusion methods had failed, with the best keeping a cell alive for only four hours and thirty-eight minutes.
• Loren wondered whether Kryptonian genes should replace human genes instead of being fused with them, then questioned whether he would still be himself.
• Loren noticed Alice's report on Skrull shapeshifting and realized Skrull genes might be adaptable enough to accept traits from other organisms without rejection.

Loren studied Alice’s report on Skrull genetic plasticity and planned to use it to fuse human cells with Kryptonian genes, so he asked Alice to find a healthy Skrull. Alice tracked one to an apartment in Chicago and reached his locked door while he slept.

• Loren read Alice’s report and realized Skrull cells might accept Kryptonian genes during a temporary transformation into Skrull cells.
• Loren asked Alice to find a living, healthy Skrull whose memory and genes remained intact.
• Alice identified a Skrull by tracking a pattern of unusually high daily food consumption across different locations and identities.
• Alice located the Skrull in apartment 4B near Logan Square in Chicago and approached his door undetected.
• Alice sensed that the Skrull was asleep and alone, then reached for the apartment lock.

Alice confronted a Skrull in his apartment and demanded that he come with her, offering to spare him if he cooperated. After he refused and transformed to attack, she swiftly disabled him, leaving him badly injured and screaming in fear.

• Alice silently entered the Skrull's apartment and found him asleep in bed.
• The Skrull woke instantly, recognized Alice as a threat, and tried to escape through the window.
• Alice blocked his escape and caught his energy blade between two fingers, then offered him a choice between cooperating and being taken by force.
• The Skrull transformed into a four-armed monster and attacked Alice with four different weapons.
• Alice broke or severed all four of the Skrull's attacking arms in seconds, leaving him bleeding and screaming.

Alice captured a Skrull shapeshifter and brought him to Loren, who analyzed the Skrull's genome in Morgan Manor's underground laboratory. Loren explained that he needed the Skrull's genes and offered cooperation, but warned he would take what he needed regardless.

• Alice defeated the Skrull, scanned his genes, and fitted him with an Inhibitor that blocked his shapeshifting.
• Alice took the Skrull by anti-gravity fighter to Morgan Manor, where Loren restrained him and collected blood samples for analysis.
• After three hours, Loren identified repeated sequences in the Skrull genome that served as templates for shapeshifting.
• The Skrull asked Loren who he was, and Loren said he needed the Skrull's help and genes.
• Loren offered to let the Skrull cooperate with dignity, but warned that he would obtain the genes even if the Skrull refused.

Loren persuaded a captive Skrull to cooperate so he could study the Skrulls’ genetic plasticity and use it to overcome rejection between human cells and Kryptonian genes. He identified the Morphology Control Gene but learned that its enzyme required an external device called a Gene Machine, leaving his research at a new obstacle.

• Loren explained that he wanted to borrow the Skrulls’ genetic plasticity mechanism, and the Skrull described how the Celestials had altered his species.
• Loren offered the Skrull a choice between cooperating and suffering through the experiments, and the Skrull agreed to cooperate.
• Over the next two days, the Skrull allowed Loren to study his blood, cells, and genes.
• On the third day, Loren found the Morphology Control Gene on the Skrulls’ twenty-third chromosome and identified its enzyme as a way to translate Kryptonian genetic information.
• The Skrull told Loren that the enzyme had to be activated by an external device called a Gene Machine.

Loren learned that the Skrulls needed a Gene Infuser to gain the abilities of creatures they transformed into, and he sent Nymph and Android 18 to retrieve it from the Skrull mothership. He freed the captured Skrull and offered him a choice as the mothership Conqueror waited in the asteroid belt.

• Loren learned that the Gene Infuser stored thousands of transformation templates, including the Silver Surfer's, and that the Skrull mothership was in the asteroid belt.
• Loren used the Mind Stone to read the mothership's coordinates and opened a portal to it with the Space Stone.
• Loren ordered Nymph and Android 18 to bring back the Gene Infuser intact, telling them to make the Skrulls hand it over if necessary.
• Nymph and Android 18 entered the portal, which closed behind them.
• Loren freed the Skrull from his restraints and let him choose whether to wait or return to warn his people not to come to Earth.
• The Skrull mothership Conqueror remained hidden among asteroids at the edge of the Solar System.