Chapter Summaries

Lu Qi explained why he expected Thanos to seek out Gamora, while Hawkeye and Black Widow met the Hawkeye of this world after watching his family. Barton took them to find Fury, where Old Captain America admitted he wanted to retire after more than a century of fighting.

• Lu Qi told Galacta that Gamora was Thanos's beloved adopted daughter and that Thanos would come looking for her once he learned where she was.
• Lu Qi reassured Galacta that Thanos's plan would fail because she now possessed all the Infinity Stones.
• Hawkeye watched his counterpart's family from afar and realized his own family was still waiting for him in his world.
• Barton confronted Hawkeye and Black Widow, then offered to take them to Fury.
• Fury asked Old Captain America about retiring, and Old Captain America said his years of work and constant pain had left him exhausted.

Hawkeye and Black Widow reunited with Fury and Old Captain America, learning that changes caused by Lu Qi had made their timeline uncertain. After two days with Galacta, Lu Qi went to Stark Tower and helped Peter Parker find JARVIS for a Defenders interview.

• Barton brought Hawkeye and Black Widow to Fury's hidden underground base, where they reunited with Fury.
• Old Captain America explained that he had stayed in the past after returning the Infinity Stones and warned that time travel could bring a backlash, while Hawkeye worried whether his family had returned.
• Black Widow suggested they wait for Lu Qi and stay alert in case this world's Thanos obtained time-travel equipment.
• After spending two days with Galacta, Lu Qi went to Stark Tower, where he found Peter Parker waiting for a Defenders interview.
• Peter told Lu Qi that he had applied to the Defenders and had been instructed to find JARVIS, so Lu Qi led him upstairs.

Lu Qi brought Peter Parker to Stark Tower, where Tony tested him and confirmed he qualified to join the Defenders. Tony began examining Peter’s homemade webbing and planned a new suit, while Lu Qi learned that Tony had nearly finished a redesigned defense system for Asgard.

• Lu Qi took Peter Parker to the top floor, where JARVIS explained that Peter’s interview was scheduled for two in the afternoon.
• Tony met Peter, recognized him as Spider-Man, and invited him to test his abilities for the Defenders.
• Peter showed Tony his homemade Web-Shooter and suit, which Tony mistook for pajamas before offering to make him new armor if he joined.
• Tony tested Peter with Lu Qi’s help, confirmed he qualified for the Defenders, and sent JARVIS to register him.
• Tony praised Peter’s strength and webbing, then examined the webbing while discussing plans for Peter’s armor.
• Lu Qi asked about Tony’s Asgard model, and Tony explained that he had nearly completed a redesigned palace defense system using newly acquired technology.

Lu Qi checked on Banner and Hulk, then watched Tony design Spider-Man’s upgraded suit and explain why he saw the young hero as a model for the Defenders. Tony accepted Spider-Man into the group but said he needed more experience first, and planned to have Happy mentor him.

• Lu Qi found Banner skilled with Dark Energy and left him books, while Hulk reluctantly continued studying under Galactus.
• Tony showed Lu Qi videos of Spider-Man helping people and praised his restraint and popularity with ordinary citizens.
• Spider-Man worried that storing his real identity on a server might expose him, and Lu Qi reassured him that the server was secure inside Stark Tower.
• Spider-Man eagerly asked about joining the Defenders, and Tony said he could join but was not ready for intense battles.
• Tony told Spider-Man to gain experience in his new suit and decided to have Happy work with him.

Tony made Little Spider a member of the Defenders, while Lu Qi watched Star-Lord and his crew fight the Sovereign fleet from afar. Groot and Rocket destroyed the fleet, and Rocket planned to board the Sovereign ship and capture its commander.

• Tony welcomed Little Spider into the Defenders, ending the police pursuit, and Lu Qi left after agreeing to attend Tony's future party.
• Lu Qi watched Star-Lord, Rocket, Gamora, Drax, and Groot prepare to attack a Sovereign warship, with Groot agreeing to use the Multi-Barrel Energy Cannon.
• Rocket modified the cannon, and Groot fired from outside Star-Lord's ship as the crew engaged the Sovereign fleet.
• Star-Lord lured the Sovereign ships into an Asteroid Belt, where he used the rocks to split up the fleet and help the crew destroy many ships.
• Rocket connected an overloaded laser gun to the ship's core, then joined Groot outside and helped destroy the remaining Sovereign ships.
• Rocket salvaged usable parts from the broken laser gun and announced that the crew would board the Sovereign ship and capture its commander.

Lu Qi monitored the Coalition Army’s progress against the Kree Empire while the Defenders gained attention on Earth. Tony traveled to Asgard to meet Loki, who was waiting for him in the throne hall.

• Star-Lord and his companions boarded a Sovereign warship and reclaimed Ronan's head, while Lu Qi watched and anticipated Gamora’s next move.
• Megatron told Lu Qi that the Coalition Army had devastated Kree bases, then urged Nova Prime to hurry toward the Kree capital after they realized the Kree leaders had taken their best technology and escaped.
• News spread that the Coalition Army was overwhelming the Kree Empire, while China and Wakanda successfully tested their warships and Little Spider helped raise the Defenders’ profile.
• Tony told Lu Qi he was going to Asgard to discuss its defense system with Loki, and asked him to keep an eye on Spider-Man.
• Tony traveled through the Bifrost Hall and flew to the palace, where Loki finished reviewing documents and greeted him in the throne hall.

Tony showed Loki a powerful new defense system for Asgard, and Loki agreed to have it built with Thor’s help. Meanwhile, Lu Qi watched Spider-Man enjoy his newfound popularity before noticing reports of a strange heat source moving inside Mount Fuji.

• Tony demonstrated a palace defense system with more than a thousand energy turrets, an energy shield, and a powerful beam weapon, and Loki agreed to commission it.
• Loki arranged for the Dwarves to receive Wakandan vibranium in exchange for helping Wakanda with its armor commission, and Thor eagerly joined Tony to demolish parts of the palace.
• Lu Qi watched Spider-Man help people and celebrate his new status as an honorary citizen, then posted footage of Spider-Man repeatedly passing a police officer.
• Lu Qi watched a report about an unusual heat source moving inside Mount Fuji and noticed that its unchanging shape seemed more like a solid object or gigantic creature than magma.

Lu Qi followed Little Spider to a bank robbery after the police requested help, while Happy guided the inexperienced hero through the hostage rescue. Little Spider moved the twenty-six trapped hostages to safe rooms and headed toward the remaining robbers.

• Happy told Lu Qi that Little Spider had gone to assist police against armed bank robbers, so Lu Qi followed him through the Mirror Dimension.
• Little Spider met the lead officer, learned that thirty people were held hostage, and entered the bank through a ventilation duct.
• With Tony's suit detecting moving targets, Little Spider located the twenty-six hostages and followed Happy's instructions to quietly disarm and subdue the two guards.
• Little Spider reassured the hostages, moved them into several safe rooms, and ran toward the remaining robbers.

Little Spider infiltrated the bank, rescued the hostages, and fought the remaining robbers in the sewer beneath the vault. After a collapse trapped him with a child, Lu Qi arrived to help, and the robbers and gold were recovered as the police reached the scene.

• Little Spider crawled across the bank ceiling, webbed two robbers, and knocked out another before Happy arranged for police to retrieve the first hostages.
• Little Spider found the remaining robbers moving gold through a hole blasted into the sewer and waited for a chance to attack the leader holding a child hostage.
• The robber leader fled with his subordinates, fired at Spider-Man, and threw the child, whom Spider-Man caught before removing an explosive from the child's neck.
• The explosive triggered a sewer collapse, and Little Spider held up the rubble to protect the child while contacting Happy for help.
• Lu Qi arrived through a portal and sent Alien Soldiers to support the rubble, while the Shadow Ninjas recovered the unconscious robbers and gold.
• Little Spider brought the rescued child to the police, praised his bravery, and swung after Lu Qi.

Lu Qi coached Little Spider after his first operation, then responded to a catastrophic Mount Fuji eruption that a mysterious creature had triggered. He cleared the spreading ash but failed to catch the creature, while Surtur escaped underground and began planning to leave Earth.

• Happy treated Little Spider's injuries with rare ointment, and Lu Qi praised his rescue while pointing out his inexperience and poor knowledge of his suit.
• JARVIS informed Lu Qi that Mount Fuji had erupted on an enormous scale and that Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver needed support.
• Lu Qi flew to Japan, cleared the spreading volcanic ash with Dark Energy, and discovered that the eruption's cause had already fled through underground lava channels.
• Wanda told Pietro that she sensed a creature inside Mount Fuji had caused the eruption, and Lu Qi went to find them after failing to locate it.
• Surtur hid deep underground, decided to seek another realm and eventually reach Asgard, and sent disguised fire demons to search for a way off Earth.

Lu Qi investigated a lava-powered monster and found no missing Golzas in his Pocket Dimension, while Loki and Thor uncovered a hidden Asgardian mural showing someone wielding Mjolnir beside Odin. Sylvie learned from Frigga that the figure was their long-lost sister Hela and returned to tell the others.

• Lu Qi questioned Scarlet Witch about the escaped monster, then checked his Pocket Dimension and confirmed that none of Ji God's Golzas were missing.
• Lu Qi praised Ji God, agreed to let him occasionally go outside, and promised to send Dark Giants to help cultivate monsters.
• Tony, Thor, Loki, and Sylvie examined a hidden Asgardian mural that showed a woman holding Mjolnir and fighting alongside Odin.
• Loki asked Sylvie to investigate the mural, and she used a bloodline-tracing spell as a pretext to question Frigga.
• Frigga told Sylvie that Hela was the oldest sibling, and Sylvie later revealed that the woman in the mural was their sister.

Sylvie revealed that Odin had sealed Hela after their conflict over Asgard’s wars, and the siblings planned to contact her through a passage to Hel. Tony returned to Earth with the news, where Lu Qi sent him to check on Spider-Man before he went to gather materials.

• Sylvie recounted how Odin and Hela fought over their conquest and Infinity Stone plans, ending with Odin sealing Hela and her undead army in Hel.
• Thor and Sylvie wanted to meet Hela, and Loki explained that a dangerous spatial rift led to her realm and proposed sending greetings with Recording Stones.
• Thor and Tony removed the mural intact and carried it to Asgard’s treasury while Sylvie prepared the Recording Stones.
• Lu Qi investigated the Mount Fuji eruption by checking visitors from Tiga World, but Tony arrived and told him that Thor and the others had discovered Hela.
• Lu Qi told Tony that Spider-Man had handled a recent problem well and suggested he offer encouragement, so Tony went to check on him.

Lu Qi’s investigation found no anomalies among the visitors from Tiga World, while the Secretary of Defense began negotiating with mysterious aliens who offered Firestone in exchange for access to Trading Station goods. Tony visited Peter Parker at home, praised his actions, and learned that Happy had been visiting to see Aunt May.

• Wanda and Pietro checked every visitor from Tiga World, but Wanda told Lu Qi that everyone was present and normal.
• A group of alien beings met the Secretary of Defense and offered Firestone as payment for help purchasing Trading Station technology, and he agreed to test the stones.
• Tony flew to New York, read reports criticizing Spider-Man, and went to Peter Parker’s home to visit him.
• Aunt May told Tony that Happy had visited Peter several times, and Peter explained that Happy was really coming to see her.

Tony planned to source materials from the Dwarves while Lu Qi arranged to monitor a mysterious magma creature and warned Odin that Thor and the others knew about Hela. At the Trading Station, the Dwarves discovered that the United States envoy had brought them Firestone, and Tony arrived as the envoy suffered a broken arm.

• Tony left Little Spider's home, decided to arrange employee apartments, and headed with Friday to Stark Tower to prepare a materials list for Pepper and negotiate with the Dwarves.
• Lu Qi found no trace of the mysterious creature in the magma, arranged for Galacta's ship to monitor Earth's energy fluctuations, and contacted Odin about Thor and the others discovering Hela.
• Odin, alarmed by the news, told Lu Qi he would return at once to keep Thor and the others under control.
• A United States envoy opened a box of heat-radiating stone for the Dwarves, who recognized it as rare Firestone and eagerly asked whether the United States could make more.
• The excited Dwarf crushed the envoy's arm while insisting on Firestone's importance, and Tony arrived and offered help.

Tony arranged for the Dwarves to prepare materials for his system, while Lu Qi went to Asgard after learning Thor and the others planned to contact Hela. Hela appeared through the spatial rift and confronted her younger siblings about Odin hiding her from them.

• Tony stopped the dwarf from further injuring the United States envoy, then asked the Dwarves to prepare special metals and discussed their Firestone discovery.
• Lu Qi warned Tony that Odin's return to Asgard over Hela might bring conflict, then traveled to Asgard to check on Thor and Loki.
• Heimdall located Thor, Loki, and Sylvie in a cave, where they were tossing Recording Stones through a spatial rift into Hel.
• Hela arrived at the rift, introduced herself as the Death Goddess of Asgard, and asked why her siblings had come secretly.
• Sylvie said they had accidentally discovered Hela and wanted to meet her, prompting Hela to accuse Odin of hiding her existence.

Hela rejected Loki and Thor’s offer to reconcile with Odin and fought Thor in Hel, shattering Mjolnir before Lu Qi intervened. Lu Qi confronted Hela and hurled a dark spear at her as she powered up to counter it.

• Hela demanded Gungnir and Asgard, saying she wanted to imprison Odin in Hel as he had imprisoned her.
• Thor entered Hel and battled Hela, but she caught Mjolnir and shattered it with her death godforce.
• Lu Qi arrived, kicked Hela away from Thor, and had Shadow Ninjas carry Thor to safety.
• Lu Qi seized Hela and slammed her into the ground, then countered her attacks with dark energy.
• Hela unleashed her death force and drove a giant black spike toward Lu Qi’s spear as it hurtled down at her.

After Hela drained her divine power and fainted, she began absorbing Hel’s Death Force, drawing the attention of Death. Death made a deal with Lu Qi, who agreed to take custody of Hela and let her continue absorbing the force until a future being collected her.

• Lu Qi rescued the unconscious Hela and learned from Odin that she had fainted from hunger after using up her divine power.
• After waking, Hela drew in Hel’s Death Force, and Death sensed her encroachment on her domain.
• Lu Qi and Odin approached Hela, whose vision of Death drew them into a strange space where Death explained her deal with a future being.
• Death offered Lu Qi custody of Hela, and Lu Qi signed a contract transferring control over Hela’s life and death to him.
• Death returned Lu Qi to Hel and instructed him to let Hela keep absorbing Death Force, but Lu Qi found that he had received no reward yet.

Lu Qi told Odin that Hela had been spared by Death but was being used as a vessel for laws of death, then promised to manage her fate. After Hela absorbed Hel’s Death Force and woke, she attacked Odin, so Lu Qi killed and revived her before Odin left.

• Lu Qi explained that Death had spared Hela and planted a seed of death’s laws in her, while Odin worried about her growing power.
• Lu Qi revealed that Death had sold Hela as a vessel to a being building a new Multiverse dimension, and said he controlled her life and death.
• Hela absorbed all the Death Force in Hel, and sunlight returned to the realm as she began to wake.
• Hela attacked Odin as soon as she saw him, so Lu Qi killed her and caught her body before it hit the ground.
• Odin agreed to leave Hela on Earth for mental health treatment and departed through the Bifrost.
• Lu Qi accidentally revived Hela while practicing his finger snap, and she lost consciousness again.

Lu Qi brought Hela’s corpse to Stark Tower, explained the deal involving her Rule Seed, and learned from Galactus that it was legitimate. He arranged psychological treatment for Hela, agreed to the Defenders’ merchandise plan, and took her to the hospital Tony had bought.

• Lu Qi startled the Stark Tower heroes by carrying Hela’s corpse, then explained that she needed treatment for psychological issues.
• Hela briefly woke up before Lu Qi made her lose consciousness again, alarming Tony and the other heroes.
• Galactus confirmed that Death’s deal involving Hela and her Rule Seed had no problems and had helped maintain balance.
• Lu Qi told Tony about Hela and asked him to find top-tier psychologists, while the two traded jokes about her being able to die and revive.
• Tony explained that the Defenders planned to sell their own merchandise and donate part of the proceeds to charity, and Lu Qi agreed after asking to review the samples.
• Lu Qi took Hela through a portal to the hospital Tony had purchased so she could begin treatment.

Tony and Lu Qi hosted a Defenders party that brought together heroes and allies, including Shuri, whose new nanotechnology impressed Tony. After the guests departed, a drunk Tony told Lu Qi he was happy that the Defenders had grown strong enough to protect everyone from future threats.

• Lu Qi asked Tony to invite Shuri to the party, and Tony agreed as long as she kept the Defenders' identities confidential.
• Shuri and Galacta completed their nanotechnology outfits, and T'Challa agreed to let Shuri attend with him and Okoye.
• The guests arrived at Tony's barbecue, where Shuri and Tony argued over their intelligence and challenged each other to help Black Bolt speak freely.
• Wanda told Little Spider about the dangers of magic and reassured him that Kamar-Taj could handle threats from Dimensional Demon Gods.
• Galacta sent Little Spider home through a portal, and the remaining guests gradually left after the party.
• Tony told Lu Qi that he was happy the Defenders had formed and could keep enemies away, and Lu Qi helped him to bed.