Chapter Summaries

Lu Qi’s upgraded Dark Energy scout was shot down after soldiers mistook it for an enemy, just as The Ancient One found him across universes and brought him and the Decepticons back to Kamar-Taj. Back home, Lu Qi learned his earlier energy transfer had wrecked the tea room, so The Ancient One ordered him to study more than six thousand spellbooks and rebuild Kamar-Taj.

• Lu Qi finished an octopus-shaped Dark Energy scout, tested its flight and vision, and sent it outside, where soldiers spotted and shot it down.
• The Ancient One opened a portal to Lu Qi, warned that the Infinity Stones could not remain outside the Material World for long, and returned with him and the Decepticons after shrinking them.
• The Ancient One explained that Lu Qi’s earlier energy transfer had damaged her tea room, then assigned him every spellbook in Kamar-Taj and ordered him to rebuild the compound.
• Lu Qi met Mordo, asked for a terrain map, and went to the library to begin searching through the spellbooks.

Lu Qi spent six months studying Kamar-Taj’s spellbooks, expanding his Shadow Legion, and overseeing the reconstruction of Kamar-Taj before the Ancient One allowed him to leave. He returned home and updated his blog, prompting Tony to message him.

• Lu Qi recruited Decepticons to translate spellbooks, signed contracts with dozens of High-Level Mages, and agreed to contract with Megatron in exchange for making him his lackey.
• Kaecilius grew furious at being excluded from Lu Qi’s contracts, but the Ancient One refused to intervene, and Kaecilius began forming a mad idea.
• Lu Qi stayed at Kamar-Taj for six months, finished more than nine thousand books, and helped transform the grounds with new buildings and amenities.
• Lu Qi expanded his Shadow Legion to 50,000 Ninja Soldiers, 150 Blade Soldiers, 100 Troll Soldiers, and 100 Night Bats, while storing nearly a thousand ten-million-energy crystals.
• The Ancient One let Lu Qi leave after he finished his books and completed Kamar-Taj’s reconstruction.
• Lu Qi returned home, changed his blog status to “Eating, drinking, and having fun,” and received a message from Tony asking if he had finally left Kamar-Taj.

Lu Qi visited Tony at Stark Tower, where they celebrated its opening by sharing snacks with Pepper. Agent Coulson arrived with an urgent Avengers-related assignment, and Tony began analyzing it while Pepper and Coulson left for Washington.

• Lu Qi traveled to Manhattan and photographed Tony as Stark Tower lit up for the first time.
• Lu Qi brought street food to Stark Tower, and he, Tony, and Pepper shared the snacks.
• JARVIS told Tony that Agent Coulson wanted to speak with him, and Coulson arrived at the tower.
• Coulson gave Tony a laptop containing an urgent assignment, and Tony began analyzing its information with JARVIS.
• Pepper decided to go to Washington, and Coulson said the director needed Lu Qi there too.
• Lu Qi planned to return for a few things and join Tony the next day while Tony continued working.

Lu Qi brought Decepticons and the AllSpark to Tony Stark, who began studying it while also creating living machinery, including his Mark 6 armor, Saturday. As Tony and Lu Qi prepared to track Loki, JARVIS found the target, and Lu Qi set out with Tony to confront him.

• Lu Qi brought Barricade, Blackout, Megatron, and the AllSpark to Stark Tower, where Tony examined the Decepticons and agreed to study the AllSpark.
• Tony learned that Loki was working with Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight to obtain the Space Stone, while Loki sought iridium and a lure to stabilize the portal.
• Tony used the AllSpark to animate his Mark 6 armor and named it Saturday, then revealed that his algorithm was using phones to search for Loki.
• Lu Qi told Tony about his connection to Loki and explained that sorcerers and technology both used energy, prompting Tony to consider learning sorcery.
• JARVIS located Loki, and Tony and Lu Qi prepared to leave, with Lu Qi bringing his pocket cloak and crystals.

Lu Qi, Tony, and S.H.I.E.L.D. converged on Loki after he attacked a gala and forced its guests to kneel. Lu Qi captured Loki, and Thor arrived aboard the aircraft to reunite with his brother.

• Tony and Lu Qi raced toward Loki’s location, while Fury sent Captain America and the others to intercept him.
• Loki stole a victim’s iris data at a gala, then used his illusions and the Mind Stone to terrorize the crowd in a plaza.
• Lu Qi’s Shadow Ninjas contained the crowd and captured Loki after exposing his illusion, while Tony helped evacuate the guests.
• Lu Qi, Tony, Steve, Natasha, and Megatron gathered aboard the aircraft, where Megatron gave Steve a photograph as a keepsake.
• Thor stepped through Lu Qi’s portal, greeted his uncle, and rushed to embrace Loki when Lu Qi revealed him.

Lu Qi touched Loki’s scepter and underwent a transformation into his true Dimensional Demon God Form, unleashing the Shadow Legion across the Helicarrier. He returned to normal and regained control, but the Mind Stone’s influence and the Legion’s expanded abilities left everyone shaken.

• Corvus Glaive blamed Hawkeye for Loki’s capture, threatened him, and ordered him to follow Loki’s plan while Hawkeye secretly welcomed the conflict.
• Lu Qi stopped Thor from taking Loki to Asgard and insisted Loki answer for the deaths and destruction he had caused on Earth.
• As the group arrived at the Helicarrier, Lu Qi touched the Mind Stone and lost contact with the outside world while shadows and Shadow Ninjas poured from his body.
• Lu Qi transformed into a five-meter demonic figure, and the Shadow Legion restrained Tony and Captain America while Night Bats shot down approaching fighter jets.
• Thor warned the others not to interfere, and Lu Qi soon awakened, recalled the Legion, and learned from the Ancient One that he had entered his true Dimensional Demon God Form.
• Lu Qi returned to human form, handed the scepter to Natasha, and sent the Shadow Legion to clean up the Helicarrier deck.

Lu Qi revealed his otherworldly origins to Fury and displayed Megatron as proof, while S.H.I.E.L.D. assessed the threat posed by his Shadow Legion. As the group pieced together Loki’s plan to use iridium to stabilize a portal, Lu Qi sent Tony to the lab and spread his Shadow Legion across the Helicarrier to prepare an ambush.

• Lu Qi told Fury he came from a parallel world and used Megatron’s projection to show what that world was like.
• Fury left to question Loki, while Natasha returned to the command center and the group watched Loki try to manipulate Fury.
• Thor told the group that Loki had an army called the Chitauri and was likely acting for Thanos to obtain the Tesseract.
• Natasha explained that Barton had stolen iridium, and Tony said it would stabilize and enlarge Loki’s portal.
• Lu Qi sent Tony and Banner toward the laboratory, then walked onto the deck and spread shadows throughout the Helicarrier to prepare an ambush.

Lu Qi defended the Helicarrier from Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive, unleashing his Dimensional Demon God Form to defeat them. After the battle, the Helicarrier tilted when the Avengers reported that the attackers’ beams had disabled two of its wings.

• Lu Qi sent Night Bats to intercept the fighters while one of them blasted a hole through the Helicarrier and the Avengers prepared to fight.
• Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive attacked Lu Qi’s forces, while Thor and Lu Qi supported the defense and Thor’s hammer was scratched by Corvus Glaive’s weapon.
• Lu Qi transformed into his Dimensional Demon God Form, seized Corvus Glaive’s weapon, and annihilated Corvus Glaive with Dark Energy.
• Lu Qi blocked Proxima Midnight’s energy attack with stored Dark Energy, then tore her apart and collected both enemies’ weapons.
• The Helicarrier tilted after the Avengers reported that the beams had destroyed its energy supply lines and shut down two wings.

Lu Qi struggled to land the damaged Helicarrier while Hulk, driven wild by the Mind Scepter, fought Thor and Captain America. Loki escaped by transforming into a Frost Giant and jumping from the ship, and Tony intercepted him but was frozen in midair.

• Lu Qi used the Shield of Seraphim and summoned Dark Energy clones to prepare the Helicarrier for an emergency landing as Fury ordered the main engines shut down.
• The Mind Scepter aggravated Banner's headache until he transformed into Hulk, who smashed Troll Soldiers before Thor and Captain America confronted him.
• Loki used an illusion to hide in his cell, then used the Casket of Ancient Winters to become a Frost Giant and break out past Coulson and Lu Qi's soldiers.
• Loki freed his cell and jumped after it to escape, while Night Bats and Ninja Soldiers pursued him and Coulson reported the escape to Fury.
• Tony handed Hawkeye to Natasha, then pursued Loki and struck him with missiles, but Loki blasted him with icy air and froze him solid.

Tony, Lu Qi, and their allies survived the Helicarrier’s fall, and Lu Qi separated Banner and Hulk’s souls before restoring them to Banner’s body. Fury used the AllSpark to repair the Helicarrier, transforming it into a giant robot that Lu Qi shrank, while Lu Qi secretly planned to take the other Helicarriers later.

• Megatron used Bolts of Balthakk to slow Tony’s fall and catch him, while Saturday reported that Bambi’s signal was still transmitting.
• Lu Qi and the clones slowed the Helicarrier with Winds of Watoomb and Shield of Seraphim, then used the Shadow Giant to stop it on the ground.
• Lu Qi struck Hulk with a spell, separating Hulk and Banner’s souls before pulling them back into Banner’s restored body.
• Lu Qi gave Tony a Ten-Million-Level Crystal and used the AllSpark to repair Saturday, then lent the AllSpark to Fury to fix the Helicarrier.
• Fury tapped the AllSpark against the Helicarrier, which transformed into a colossal mechanical giant; Lu Qi shrank it to around ten meters tall.
• Lu Qi planned to take the other three Helicarriers after gaining Fury’s trust and intended to blame Hydra for their disappearance.

Lu Qi and the Avengers tracked Loki to New York, but discovered that his convoy was a decoy and a bomb trap. Tony identified Stark Group’s old factory as Loki’s likely power source, just as alien forces began emerging from a portal.

• Lu Qi traced Loki’s route to New York and brought Banner along by separating his soul from Hulk’s, then restoring Hulk to his original body.
• Tony used the AllSpark to activate old Iron Man suits for the team and created the heavily armed Sunday from his Mark 7 armor.
• Lu Qi and the Avengers intercepted Loki’s convoy, but Hulk crushed the decoy car and Thor found bombs and a tracker inside.
• Lu Qi shielded the team from the bomb blast, and Banner reasoned that Loki was still nearby and needed a powerful energy source.
• Tony identified Stark Group’s old factory and its Arc Reactor as Loki’s likely target, but a portal opened nearby and black figures flew out.

Lu Qi unleashed Shadowbane against Loki’s Chitauri invasion, and the creature’s overwhelming power incapacitated both enemies and nearby allies. After sending Shadowbane toward the Chitauri mothership, Lu Qi and the others prepared to close the portal, while a mysterious group appeared in an alley in Big Apple.

• Loki enlarged the portal and ordered the Chitauri to overwhelm Lu Qi’s forces, while Hulk, the Shadow Legion, and the Avengers fought back.
• Lu Qi spent vast amounts of energy to create magical clones and summon Shadowbane, a giant creature made of Dark Energy.
• Shadowbane’s Darkness Waves destroyed Chitauri and warships, while his presence caused hundreds of thousands of Chitauri and nearby allies to collapse.
• Lu Qi sent Shadowbane and the Shadow Legion through the portal toward the Chitauri mothership, then reunited with the recovered Steve, Tony, and Thor to prepare to shut down the portal.
• A group of people appeared quietly in an alley in Big Apple.

Lu Qi and the Avengers defeated Loki’s forces, closed the portal, and secured the Mind Stone and Space Stone. As they held a barbecue to celebrate, Lu Qi discovered that future Avengers had been watching them and confronted them.

• Elderly Steve told the time-traveling Avengers that a new superhero had changed the future, but Future Tony decided they still needed to collect the stones.
• Hulk beat Loki unconscious, and Lu Qi’s group captured him while Selvig explained how to close the portal with Loki’s scepter.
• Lu Qi used Dark Energy to bypass the barrier, closed the portal with the Mind Stone, and unlocked a module that explored Dark Dimension coordinates when he touched the Space Stone.
• Lu Qi returned the Space Stone in the Tesseract to Thor, and S.H.I.E.L.D. prepared to clean up as the group set up a barbecue.
• Lu Qi noticed figures in a group photo and sent shadows to investigate, then found Future Tony and the others watching the party from afar.

Lu Qi captured a team of Avengers from a parallel future and learned that they had traveled back after Thanos erased half the universe. Their discussion of the Soul Stone revealed that Barton's entire family had vanished in the other world, while The Ancient One arrived and questioned why Doctor Strange had given up the Time Stone.

• Lu Qi's Ninja Soldiers captured Future Tony, Future Steve, Scott, and the others, and Future Tony explained that their world had been devastated by Thanos.
• Lu Qi showed the group Shadowbane consuming Chitauri warships, then argued that he was stronger than Thanos and used the newly unlocked spatial exploration module to conquer several Lesser and Micro Dimensions.
• The Ancient One arrived with Hulk-form Banner bound in an energy whip, while Scott said their mission to obtain the Soul Stone had failed.
• Lu Qi explained that the Soul Stone required the sacrifice of the person someone loved most, shocking Future Tony and Future Steve, who had not known the cost.
• Barton learned that his family had all disappeared in the future Avengers' world, and The Ancient One asked why Doctor Strange had handed over the Time Stone.

Lu Qi agreed to let Future Tony take the Infinity Stones to another world after the future Avengers explained their plan. As Lu Qi relaxed at the banquet, his Night Bats captured an invisible intruder, who introduced herself as Sylvie.

• The Ancient One agreed to help revive some people if all six Infinity Stones were returned within three days, and she told Tony that technology could be used to cast magic.
• Shadowbane’s core was destroyed by enemy warships, but its dispersed Dark Energy infiltrated the ships and ordered them to find Lu Qi and serve him.
• Lu Qi agreed that Future Tony could bring the Stones to their world, then asked The Ancient One to retrieve the other Avengers, but she refused.
• The future group of four left for the city, while Lu Qi joined Thor and Hulk at the banquet and later ordered his Night Bats to capture an unseen intruder.
• The Night Bats brought a struggling woman to Lu Qi, and she identified herself as Sylvie.

Lu Qi questioned Sylvie about the Time Variance Authority and its claim to protect a single Sacred Timeline, then waited for its agents to appear. When they arrived to arrest Sylvie, Lu Qi refused to hand her over and summoned an army of Shadow Ninjas, leaving a fight about to begin.

• Sylvie told Lu Qi that the Time Variance Authority maintained the Sacred Timeline and pruned branches, but Lu Qi and The Ancient One questioned her account.
• Lu Qi had Loki knocked unconscious, and Loki’s hand revealed a mechanical arm beneath its illusion.
• Thor took Loki back through a portal and brought the Tesseract with him.
• Time Variance Authority agents arrived and tried to collar Sylvie, but Lu Qi’s Night Bats pulled her away.
• Lu Qi summoned over ten thousand Shadow Ninjas and prepared to fight the Time Variance Authority agents.

Lu Qi and the Shadow Army defeated a Time Variance Authority team and learned that the agency used time technology to prune timelines. When more TVA agents arrived, Lu Qi captured them and questioned Mobius and a Parallel World Loki about the organization, its Time-Keepers, and its power.

• Lu Qi sent the Shadow Army against B-15 and her companions, and The Ancient One explained that their devices manipulated their own timestamps.
• The Shadow Army captured B-15, and The Ancient One discovered that the TVA used Time Bombs to sever branches from the main timeline.
• Lu Qi questioned B-15 about the TVA, then captured a new group of agents who arrived through portals, including a Parallel World Loki.
• Lu Qi knocked Loki unconscious, woke him with cola, and sent him to eat barbecue after he agreed to show respect.
• Lu Qi questioned Mobius about the Time-Keepers, and Loki offered information about the TVA and its treatment of him.
• Loki said the TVA treated Infinity Stones like ordinary stones, and The Ancient One explained that the stones needed the Material World to retain their power.

Lu Qi and The Ancient One led Sylvie, Loki, and Tony into the Time Variance Authority after resetting the timeline so the Avengers would forget about it. As the Shadow Legion overwhelmed the Authority, Lu Qi learned more about its origins and invited Sylvie to stay in his world and meet Odin.

• Sylvie revealed that she was also Loki and asked to join Lu Qi and The Ancient One against the Time Variance Authority.
• The Ancient One warned that the Avengers would turn against Lu Qi in a bad future, so Lu Qi had B-15 reset the timeline while Tony accompanied him through the portal.
• Lu Qi arrived at the Time Variance Authority with Tony and the others, then summoned the Shadow Legion to incapacitate its employees.
• Sylvie explained that the Time-Keepers had abducted and brainwashed the Authority's workers, and she said she wanted to recover her lost memories of home.
• Lu Qi invited Sylvie to stay in his world and offered to take her to Asgard to meet Odin.

Lu Qi and his companions fought their way into the Time-Keepers’ chambers, where they discovered that the supposed Time-Keepers were robots. After learning that the real figures could be reached through the Time Graveyard, Lu Qi prepared to use a Pruning Shears device and devised a way to check his future through Tony and The Ancient One.

• Lu Qi summoned Shadow Ninjas to attack Ravonna and the TVA guards, then had the ninjas pin Ravonna with their blades.
• Mobius used Ravonna’s time technology to heal her, and Lu Qi’s group rode the elevator to the upper chamber.
• Ravonna revealed that the figures above were the Time-Keepers, and Lu Qi discovered they were mechanical stand-ins.
• A robot told Lu Qi to use the Pruning Shears to reach the Time Graveyard and defeat its guardian to reach the end of time.
• The Ancient One said she had seen Tony return from the journey but could no longer observe Lu Qi’s future, so Lu Qi planned to use Tony’s notes as a way to check his condition.

Lu Qi tested the Pruning Shears and entered the Time Graveyard, where he found Tony and Sylvie and tried to locate the others. Loki encountered several other Lokis, but a sudden energy wave summoned away the Shadow Ninjas he hoped would lead him to Lu Qi, leaving the group fleeing Alioth.

• Lu Qi pruned Mobius, Ravonna, the Ninja Soldiers, and himself, then arrived in the Time Graveyard with The Ancient One.
• Lu Qi found Tony and Sylvie, searched for the missing Ninja Soldiers, and unleashed a Darkness Wave.
• Loki met several other Lokis, learned that the child Loki had killed Thor, and watched the older Loki conjure an Asgardian castle to lure Alioth.
• Loki tried to bring the Shadow Ninjas to the Lokis, but an energy wave made them vanish before they could guide him to Lu Qi.
• Alioth destroyed the castle illusion, and Loki ran after the other Lokis as they fled.