Chapter Summaries

After returning from Asgard, Mark introduced Amora to his household and told Lina and the others about the Nine Realms, encouraging them to learn magic from her. The Bifrost’s appearance in Los Angeles drew public attention, and S.H.I.E.L.D. confirmed an alien presence while expanding its secret surveillance.

• Mark returned to the manor, reunited with Rosalie, and introduced Amora and the Nine Realms to Lina, Li Qianhuan, Wanda, and the others.
• Mark offered to let the manor’s residents learn magic from Amora, and Rosalie asked to join them.
• Amora agreed to teach them and began calling Mark by his name after he asked her to stop calling him Master.
• Mark returned to the space station to absorb Sunlight Value without telling S.H.I.E.L.D. he was back.
• News outlets reported the unexplained rainbow pillar over Los Angeles, while authorities linked it to extraterrestrial forces.
• Coulson told Nick Fury that S.H.I.E.L.D. had detected spatial-anomaly energy and confirmed aliens had come to Earth, and Fury ordered wider surveillance.

Mark investigated a student’s death at Columbia University and uncovered a growing series of murders linked to a cult marked with an eye-and-thorns tattoo. As he learned that the cult’s killers might serve an evil god, Mark realized they had come after him.

• Nick Fury asked Coulson whether Superman had made contact, and Coulson said he had not.
• Mark reviewed Ultron’s activity and found its behavior normal until Alice showed him footage of a student collapsing in the library.
• Mark spotted a Black student brushing a ring against Clyde Norman’s neck and ordered Alice to send the footage to the police.
• Police arrested Derek Fleming on suspicion of murdering Clyde, and Mark initially assumed the case was over.
• After more students were murdered or disappeared across universities, Mark ordered Alice to retrieve the police files.
• Mark found that suspects shared an eye-and-thorns tattoo and realized the cult behind the killings had targeted him.

After a cultist killed Stran, Mark traced the murderer to the Gazers Organization and ordered Alice to locate its members in Los Angeles. He sent Lina and the Payne Group’s superhumans out to attack them that night, leaving the operation underway.

• Lina told Mark that Stran, a Level 1 superhuman in the group, had been shot dead while filming.
• Mark reviewed nearby surveillance and identified the killer by the eye-and-thorns tattoo on his back.
• Mark ordered Alice to find the Gazers Organization’s hideouts, and she located 47 cultists across Los Angeles by tracking their communications.
• Mark told Lina to gather the superhumans for a nighttime operation, and they assembled at the department’s secret base.
• Lina briefed the 28 gathered superhumans, who armed themselves and split up to approach the cultists’ locations.

Mark’s superpowered team wiped out cultists across Los Angeles and nearby cities, while Laura uncovered that the Gazers Organization planned to summon the Great Watcher through a sacrificial ritual. After Mark alerted S.H.I.E.L.D., its support helped authorities disrupt the cult, forcing its leaders to order members to hide.

• Laura and Mark’s team eliminated all forty-seven cultists in Los Angeles, and Lina rewarded the fighters for their performance.
• Mark sent his team to hunt cultists in nearby cities, where Laura became known as Phantom Wolf and Li Qianhuan as Thunder Woman.
• Laura found a document explaining that the thousand-year-old Gazers Organization planned to sacrifice students and Mutants to open a Void Gate for the Great Watcher.
• Mark anonymously sent the document to the Los Angeles police and S.H.I.E.L.D.; the police dismissed the warning, but Nick Fury ordered agents to support local departments.
• With S.H.I.E.L.D.’s intelligence, police across the Federation raided cult hideouts and arrested members, prompting the Gazers Organization’s leaders to order their followers to stop operating and go into hiding.

After the cultists went into hiding, Mark kept monitoring crime while his allies grew stronger and his academic achievements brought him nationwide attention. He graduated early with a physics doctorate, prompting Tony to donate a research building and Obadiah to plan a gift that could help him get closer to Mark.

• Mark withdrew his superhumans when he learned the police were mobilizing, and Lina distributed rewards while warning the team to stay cautious.
• Mark continued monitoring crimes through Alice, and Laura and the other superhumans became widely known as urban legends while crime around Los Angeles declined.
• Ultron finished digitizing the Columbia University library, and Mark combined its knowledge with magic while earning his doctorate in physics.
• Mark's doctorate made headlines across the Federation, and Tony asked Pepper to arrange a donation of a research building to Columbia University.
• Obadiah told Mills to buy Mark a luxury villa as a graduation gift, intending to approach him and use him to influence Tony.

Obadiah contacted Mark and offered him a Midtown mansion, hoping to use the gift to draw him closer to Tony Stark. Mark denied having any connection to Tony but accepted the property, leaving Obadiah intent on continuing his plan.

• After becoming a visiting doctoral student at Harvard, Mark received a call from Obadiah and agreed to meet him at a Starbucks near Columbia University.
• Mark flew from the space station to New York and met Obadiah, who was surprised that his people had been unable to track Mark.
• Obadiah congratulated Mark on graduating and earning his doctorate, then offered him a mansion worth over a hundred million dollars.
• Mark said he had no relationship with Mr. Stark and prepared to leave, but Obadiah insisted he keep the gift.
• Mark accepted the property transfer agreement and left, while Obadiah decided to continue his original plan.

Mark upgraded Super Breath after absorbing sunlight on the space station, then enrolled as a visiting doctoral student at Harvard. He left Ultron to collect his identification documents, while a video of Mark answering students’ questions made him famous on campus.

• Obadiah learned that his men had lost track of Mark after Mark vanished in front of them, and realized he had underestimated him.
• Mark spent three days on the space station absorbing Sunlight Value, then raised Super Breath to level 16.
• After receiving a message that he could enroll at Harvard, Mark flew there with Ultron and drew students’ attention with his knowledge across many subjects.
• Burns personally guided Mark through enrollment and issued his identification documents.
• Mark left Harvard while Ultron went to the library with his documents, and a video of Mark answering questions spread across the campus forum.

In 2004, Mark learned that Cyrix Chip Company was going into bankruptcy liquidation and ordered Payne Group to bid for it. After Payne Group won the auction, Mark renamed it Payne Chip Company and shifted its production toward mobile phone chips.

• Alice notified Mark that Cyrix Chip Company would be auctioned, and Mark told Talia to prepare Payne Group’s available funds and attend.
• Talia went to the auction, where Payne Group competed against Stark Industries and other major companies for Cyrix Chip Company.
• Mark ordered Talia to keep bidding, and Obadiah withdrew to avoid offending him.
• Payne Group acquired Cyrix Chip Company for 3.5 billion dollars.
• Mark renamed it Payne Chip Company, halted computer chip production, and began converting its production lines to mobile phone chips.

Mark established Payne Phone Company, developed its smartphone, and prepared to launch it as he moved his studies to Princeton University. After testing the first production sample, he approved mass production, and Tony recognized the phone’s potential.

• Mark had Alice develop the smartphone operating system while Talia established a phone manufacturing company, and he chose Princeton University as his next school.
• Mark enrolled at Princeton, then continued his research and phone-component manufacturing aboard his expanded space station.
• Three months later, the Payne Phone Factory produced its first smartphone, and Mark tested it before approving mass production.
• Payne Group began advertising the Payne Phone across Los Angeles, drawing public interest in its games and features.
• Tony played the sample phone’s games at Stark Group Tower and predicted that the device would become popular across America.

Payne Phones sold out rapidly, prompting Mark to expand production and license the company’s mobile operating system to new competitors. By the time rival phones reached the market, Payne Phones had built a strong lead through superior components and brand recognition.

• Payne Phones launched at five hundred dollars each, and customers flocked to stores after discovering the smartphones’ many features.
• Dylan bought a Payne Phone and drew attention at school, inspiring more students to buy one.
• All three million phones sold out in less than a month, and Payne Phone Company built three more factories.
• Mark approved licensing the mobile operating system to new phone companies, while Stark Industries refused to supply them with screens and batteries.
• Rival brands entered the market with inferior components, and buyers often waited for Payne Phones rather than purchasing them.
• Competitors cut prices to attract customers, but licensing fees to Payne Phone Company further reduced their profits.

By 2006, Mark had expanded Payne Phone’s reach across the United States, giving Alice access to millions of users’ phones. After Alice uncovered a Miami gang’s plan to rob a store, Mark sent Julian Lance to stop them, and the police arrested the gang.

• Mark learned that Payne Phone users and users of its operating system had grown to nearly half the United States population, leaving them within Alice’s surveillance.
• Alice alerted Mark that the Black Brotherhood planned to rob a Payne Phone Store in Miami, and Mark learned that Julian Lance was assigned to security there.
• Mark ordered Julian to wait at the store and teach the gang members a lesson when they arrived.
• Julian transformed his body into rock and beat the gang members after they stormed the store and began stealing phones.
• The police arrived and arrested the gang members, and Miami’s Black residents and gangs stopped attempting to rob Payne Phone Stores.

Mark launched the Second-Generation Payne Phone, expanding Payne Group’s satellite network and driving competitors to seek access to it. After Mark refused to meet him, Obadiah grew angry and began considering other methods, while Alice alerted Mark to an abnormal situation involving a young man in a desert.

• Mark ordered Anton to begin producing the Second-Generation Payne Phone, which offered free calls and internet through Payne Group’s satellite network.
• Three months later, the new phones went on sale, attracting many users and pushing GSM communications companies toward bankruptcy.
• Other mobile phone companies paid Payne Group licensing fees to use its satellite network.
• Obadiah called Mark to arrange a meeting after arguing with Tony over Stark Industries’ Middle East weapons sales, but Mark refused and hung up.
• Obadiah angrily slammed his phone down and decided to consider other methods.
• Alice showed Mark an image of a young white man hiking through a barren desert and reported an abnormal situation.

Srian Cross discovered a crashed alien spaceship in the Gobi Desert and posted a video of it on Weibo, drawing public attention and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s response. Mark arrived as agents examined the craft, but its purple beam killed the nearby officers and investigators, leaving him watching from above.

• Srian Cross filmed the Gobi Desert, then found a silver, droplet-shaped object after an explosion and posted a video claiming it was an alien spaceship.
• Mark saw Srian's video and flew to the crash site, while Nick Fury ordered S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to locate and secure the spaceship.
• S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hackers failed to break into Payne Games' network to delete the video, and Nick Fury decided the company warranted investigation.
• Mark reached the site and saw police cordons and five suited investigators examining the spaceship as Srian was escorted away.
• When one investigator struck the spaceship with a hammer, a purple beam swept over the nearby people and dissolved them into bones.

Mark arrived at the crashed alien spaceship and, after its remaining weapon energy failed, lifted the craft into the air. S.H.I.E.L.D. ordered its agents not to confront him, while Mark began smashing the spaceship toward the ground.

• Nick Fury sent the Hawkeye Squad and other agents to Nevada, then warned Hawkeye to yield the spaceship to Superman rather than fight him.
• Mark appeared beside the alien spaceship, and Srian filmed him and uploaded the video to Weibo.
• Mark examined the spaceship, knocked on its hull, and watched its purple weapon glow briefly before going dark.
• Mark heard signs of life inside the spaceship and demanded that its occupant come out.
• Mark used his Biological Force Field to lift the hundred-ton spaceship into the sky, then drove it toward the ground.

Mark captured Fabian, a Kree fleeing Thanos’s conquest of Hala, and claimed the alien spacecraft after S.H.I.E.L.D. agreed to yield it. He brought the powerless ship to Payne Aerospace Company to study with Banner, while S.H.I.E.L.D. took Fabian into custody.

• Mark crashed the damaged spacecraft into the sand, and its injured pilot, Fabian, surrendered.
• Fabian told Mark he was Kree royalty from Hala and had fled after Thanos and the Chitauri attacked his homeworld.
• Hawkeye and Natasha arrived for S.H.I.E.L.D., but offered to give Mark the spacecraft; Mark transferred Fabian to them after securing the ship’s highest control authority.
• Mark flew the spacecraft to Los Angeles, and Nick Fury ordered Hawkeye and Natasha to bring Fabian back to S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Mark delivered the spacecraft to Payne Aerospace Company to study it with Banner, drawing attention from nearby civilians.

Mark deciphered the Kree language, secured control of the alien spacecraft, and had Alice take over its systems. After charging the vessel, Mark took Banner and Brandon aboard and launched for the Moon.

• Mark sat in the spacecraft's cockpit, learned Kree from its neural interfaces, and read the vessel's operating manual.
• Mark ordered Alice to take over the spacecraft and rename it the Payne Vessel, then showed Banner and Brandon its energy core and Jump Drive.
• Mark arranged to charge the spacecraft after learning its energy was too low for flight.
• Three days later, Mark launched the Payne Vessel toward the Moon with Banner and Brandon aboard.
• The spacecraft's takeoff created a sonic boom that startled the civilians and reporters gathered outside Payne Aerospace Company.

Mark had left the alien spaceship at Payne Aerospace for Banner and Brandon to study, but the Federal Security Bureau demanded that the company surrender it. After Mark refused, the bureau sent FBI agents to search Payne Aviation, and they headed straight for the ship.

• Mark flew the alien spaceship to the moon with Banner and Brandon, then granted them access and uploaded Kree writing and language to Alice's server.
• Mark returned to the Space Station, where Freeman called to report that Federal Security Bureau officials wanted to speak with him.
• Preston Wayne demanded that Freeman hand over the spaceship, and Mark told Freeman to say the ship belonged to Superman and Preston should ask him directly.
• Preston ordered the bureau to move in, and FBI agents entered Payne Aviation with a search warrant.
• The FBI agents passed the company's guards and headed straight for the spaceship as reporters filmed them.

Mark flew to Payne Aerospace Company as the FBI moved to seize the alien spaceship, but Banner transformed into Hulk when agents tried to board it. Hulk killed the agents and turned toward Preston and his men, leaving them facing the furious monster.

• Mark transformed into Superman and flew to Payne Aerospace Company to prevent his staff from fighting the FBI.
• FBI agents tried to inspect and seize the alien spaceship, and two of them shoved Banner to the ground.
• Banner's anger triggered his transformation into Hulk, who emerged and withstood the agents' gunfire.
• Hulk charged the FBI agents, killing them as they tried to flee.
• Preston arrived, accused Freeman of creating a secret weapon, and aimed his pistol at him; Hulk then turned toward Preston and his men.

Hulk escaped Payne Aerospace Company and headed for Culver University to find Betty, while Mark took the alien spaceship away. The Federal Security Bureau planned to keep targeting Payne Aerospace, and General Ross learned that Banner had been located.

• Hulk left Payne Aerospace after killing twelve FBI agents, and Preston threatened Freeman before fleeing with two military officers.
• Mark arrived, let Hulk go, then removed the alien spaceship as reporters and bystanders watched.
• News of Superman taking the spaceship and a green monster appearing at Payne Aerospace spread online.
• Preston told Director Halls what had happened, and Halls decided the bureau would continue pursuing Payne Aerospace because investigators had died there.
• At Culver University, General Ross watched another failed experiment and received word that his team had located Banner's green monster.

Mark intercepted Hulk as he ran toward Culver University and fought him to keep him away from a military trap. After beating Hulk into submission, Mark left him badly injured but rapidly healing, while Ross sent more aircraft to investigate the lost drones.

• Ross ordered his five-hundred-man special operations force to capture Banner, and his troops prepared a fortified battlefield along Hulk’s route.
• Mark asked Alice for Hulk’s location and learned that soldiers, tanks, helicopters, and drones were waiting ahead of him.
• Mark flew from the space station, destroyed the drones tracking Hulk, and blocked his path through a forest.
• Hulk told Mark that he wanted to see Betty, but Mark challenged him to a fight and discovered that Hulk’s strength had grown substantially.
• Mark repeatedly punched Hulk until he lay battered on the ground, and Ross sent more drones and a helicopter to investigate the missing signals.