Chapter Summaries

Dave, calling himself Nightlight, helped the vigilantes defeat Damico’s gunmen at Warehouse 13 and earned praise from New York’s heroes. He made a dramatic escape while Frank and Big Daddy set off to finish dealing with Damico, and Peter planned to visit Doctor Yang for treatment.

• Peter blinded the machine gunner with webbing, allowing Frank and Big Daddy Damon to destroy the armed pickup with grenades.
• Frank, Matt, Peter, and Mindy counterattacked and killed the remaining gangsters in Warehouse 13.
• Dave introduced himself as Nightlight and refused Mindy’s offer to trade for his throwing knife.
• Frank praised Dave’s tactics, Matt noted his unusual control and nonlethal methods, and Big Daddy welcomed him to New York’s nights.
• Dave evaded Peter’s questions and escaped through the warehouse skylight with his grappling hook.
• Frank and Big Daddy went to pursue Damico, while Peter decided to visit Doctor Yang for stitches.

S.H.I.E.L.D. uncovered Hydra’s Valkyrie beneath the Arctic ice and found Captain America alive inside it. In Asgard, Frigga grew fed up with Loki’s absence and decided to travel to Midgard to bring him back and check on Thor.

• Maria Hill ordered the excavation team to drill into Sector Three after scans revealed a huge metallic object beneath the ice.
• Hill and her team entered the Valkyrie and found Captain America frozen in the cockpit beneath his shield.
• A medic detected Captain America’s faint heartbeat, and Hill reported that he was alive to Director Fury.
• Frigga complained that Loki had left her to manage the Nine Realms’ affairs while visiting Thor on Midgard.
• Frigga ordered the Warriors Three and Sif to meet her at the Bifrost nexus so she could go to Midgard.

Frigga, Sif, and the Warriors Three arrived on Earth to rescue Thor and found him scrubbing toilets in a maid outfit while Loki worked as a cleaner. After Loki blamed Yang Ming for their treatment, Sif attacked him, but Jessica Jones intercepted her and prepared to fight.

• Heimdall opened the Bifrost, and Frigga, Sif, and the Warriors Three traveled to Midgard to save Thor.
• The Asgardians found Thor demonstrating toilet-scrubbing to a tearful Loki, and Thor’s maid outfit left them stunned.
• Loki ran to Frigga and accused Yang Ming of breaking his Disguise Magic, forcing him into a two-hundred-million indenture contract, and making him clean toilets.
• Frigga grew furious, and Sif charged at Yang Ming to avenge Thor’s humiliation.
• Jessica Jones blocked Sif’s sword with her fist, knocked Sif back, and challenged her to fight.

Yang Ming faced Frigga and the Warriors Three as they tried to free Thor and Loki, but the signed debt contracts and Thor’s choice to stay changed the confrontation. The chapter ended with Thor declaring his devotion to Jane and asking his mother to leave Yang Ming alone.

• Volstagg attacked Yang Ming, who stopped his axe with two fingers and dented its Asgardian steel.
• Retsu Unohana’s killing intent froze Fandral and Hogun as they moved to attack Yang Ming.
• Frigga threatened Yang Ming, but he showed her Thor and Loki’s debt contracts and explained their obligations to work at the clinic.
• Loki urged Frigga to destroy the clinic, but Frigga slapped and scolded her for neglecting her duties.
• Jane, Dr. Erik, Darcy, Coulson, and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrived, and Thor declared that he would stay and work off his debt for Jane’s sake.

Thor saved Jane from Sif’s attack and declared that he loved Jane, leaving Sif heartbroken. Yang Ming complained about Thor’s romantic success, then quickly regretted it when Jessica and Retsu turned their dangerous attention on him.

• Sif charged at Jane with a sword, but Thor caught the blade with his bare hand and stopped her.
• Thor told Sif he saw her only as a sister and swore that he loved Jane, who embraced him as Sif collapsed in grief.
• Darcy photographed the scene, Coulson took notes, and Jessica and Unohana watched while Yang Ming fumed over Thor’s romantic luck.
• Jessica and Unohana reacted threateningly to Yang Ming’s complaints about romance, and he nervously changed the subject before turning his attention back to the Asgardians.

Frigga recognized Thor’s transformation and refused to pay the termination fee, instead ordering Thor and Loki to honor their contracts as Yang Ming’s employees. She sealed Loki’s magic and left both siblings in Yang Ming’s care, where Loki began her cleaning work under Jessica’s supervision.

• Frigga secretly examined Thor and realized that his work on Earth had strengthened his body and taught him responsibility.
• Loki demanded that Frigga pay her termination fee and destroy Yang Ming’s clinic, but Frigga refused to pay Asgard’s money.
• Frigga declared that Thor and Loki had to serve out their contracts without Asgard’s help, and Thor celebrated that he could remain with Jane.
• Frigga sealed Loki’s magic and entrusted both siblings to Yang Ming, telling him to discipline them according to Earth’s rules.
• After Frigga and the other Asgardians departed, Yang Ming ordered Loki to scrub ten toilets by noon and assigned Jessica to supervise her.

Steve Rogers awakened after nearly seventy years in a S.H.I.E.L.D. base and struggled to face the unfamiliar world of 2011. After Nick Fury showed him the threats ahead and recruited him for the Avengers Initiative, Steve agreed to return to service and asked for his shield.

• Steve woke in a staged 1940s hospital room, realized the baseball game was old, and smashed through the wall to escape.
• Steve fought past S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and defenses before emerging into modern New York, where Nick Fury told him it was 2011.
• Fury showed Steve footage of Abomination and Yang Ming, explaining that the world faced monsters, aliens, and supernatural threats.
• Fury invited Steve to join the Avengers Initiative, and Steve accepted by asking where his shield was.
• In Hell's Kitchen, Yang Ming sneezed and wondered who was talking about him.

Steve Rogers studied Yang Ming’s file and went to the Yang Clinic to investigate the powerful man and the aliens living there. Watching Thor haul bricks, Loki scrub floors, and Yang Ming keep accounts, Steve found the clinic unlike the dangerous operation Nick Fury had described.

• Steve rejected Fury’s proposed training and decided to visit the Yang Clinic to learn about the people he was meant to protect.
• Yang Ming charged Loki for breaking a mop and ordered her to work overtime cleaning medical waste bins.
• Thor interpreted his unpaid construction work as a divine trial, while Jessica told him Yang Ming simply wanted free labor.
• Steve watched the clinic from an abandoned apartment and saw Thor hauling bricks, Loki cleaning, and Yang Ming drinking tea and using a calculator.
• Steve lowered his binoculars, puzzled by how little the clinic’s occupants resembled the monsters Fury had warned him about.

Yang Ming detected Steve Rogers spying on the Yang Clinic and sent Retsu Unohana to escort him inside. There, Yang Ming revealed he knew Steve’s identity and warned him that Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., leaving Steve stunned.

• Yang Ming spotted Steve watching the clinic and sent Retsu Unohana to bring him in, while Jessica offered to confront him.
• Retsu Unohana appeared behind Steve in the abandoned apartment and used her killing intent to make him lower his weapon and accept her invitation.
• Steve followed Retsu Unohana to the clinic, where Thor mistook him for a new worker paying off a debt.
• Yang Ming identified Steve as Captain America and said he had come to spy on the clinic instead of continuing his rehabilitation.
• Yang Ming warned Steve that Hydra agents were secretly embedded in S.H.I.E.L.D., shocking him with the claim that Hydra had returned.

Yang Ming told Steve Rogers that Hydra survived World War II by infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D. through Dr. Arnim Zola and revealed that Hydra agents were embedded throughout the organization. Steve left determined to investigate and destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. if the claim proved true, while Yang Ming demanded a million dollars from Nick Fury for the intelligence.

• Steve rejected Yang Ming's claim that Hydra survived, but Yang Ming explained that the U.S. government recruited Dr. Arnim Zola through Operation Paperclip.
• Yang Ming said Zola used the Strategic Scientific Reserve to rebuild Hydra inside S.H.I.E.L.D. and that Hydra had agents across the organization and the World Security Council.
• Yang Ming revealed that Hydra's Winter Soldier killed Howard Stark and warned Steve that Nick Fury inherited a S.H.I.E.L.D. already deeply infiltrated.
• Steve grieved over the possibility that S.H.I.E.L.D. was Hydra, then vowed to investigate and destroy it if necessary.
• Yang Ming charged Nick Fury one million dollars for the intelligence, and Retsu Unohana escorted Steve out of the clinic.

Yang Ming accepted Tony Stark’s invitation to the Stark Expo, while Peter Parker worried about his friendship with Harry Osborn and the truth about Norman Osborn’s experiments. At Hammer Industries, Ivan Vanko secretly reprogrammed the Iron Soldiers to target Tony Stark.

• Yang Ming agreed to bring his clinic’s crew to the Stark Expo after Tony offered VIP access and a seafood feast.
• Harry Osborn gave Peter Parker two VIP tickets and encouraged him to take Gwen Stacy, leaving Peter torn over Harry’s father’s illegal experiments.
• Justin Hammer praised Ivan Vanko’s Iron Soldiers as a casualty-free army and planned to unveil them at the Stark Expo.
• After Hammer left, Ivan used a USB drive to disable the Iron Soldiers’ friend-or-foe identification and target Tony Stark.

Yang Ming attended the Stark Expo with Jessica, Retsu Unohana, Thor, and Loki as Tony Stark unveiled his Mark VI Armor. The celebration became a massacre when Ivan Vanko sent Hammer’s Iron Soldiers to attack, leaving Tony and Spider-Man fighting to protect the crowd while Yang Ming’s group remained at the VIP dining area.

• Yang Ming brought Jessica, Retsu Unohana, Thor, and Loki to the Stark Expo, where Thor and Loki drew attention at the buffet.
• Peter Parker spotted Yang Ming and Thor, but Harry Osborn pulled Peter into a conversation with Gwen Stacy.
• Tony Stark arrived in his Mark VI Armor and mocked rival energy technology during his presentation.
• Justin Hammer ordered Ivan Vanko to deploy the Iron Soldiers, and Ivan disabled their safety and targeting restrictions.
• The Iron Soldiers attacked Tony and fired into the crowd, while Peter became Spider-Man to save civilians and Tony tried to draw the robots away.
• Yang Ming’s group stayed calmly beside the VIP dining table as more than a dozen Iron Soldiers continued attacking on the ground.

At Stark's expo, Iron Soldiers attacked the guests, and Yang Ming's group fought back while Peter Parker tried to protect civilians. With Peter trapped by missiles and Tony unable to reach him, Tony accepted Yang Ming's costly emergency service offer; the missiles were still closing in when the chapter ended.

• Iron Soldiers opened fire on the VIP dining area, and Yang Ming ordered Thor to carry Loki to safety while Retsu Unohana shielded the table.
• Jessica tore her evening gown for freedom of movement and destroyed the head of an Iron Soldier with her stiletto heel.
• Peter Parker fought flying Iron Soldiers, rescued Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacy, and was trapped in a missile kill zone.
• Tony Stark, damaged and outnumbered in the air, contacted Yang Ming and pleaded for help saving Peter and stopping the robots.
• Yang Ming quoted a ten-million-dollar appearance fee plus a charge for each robot destroyed, and Tony accepted the VIP rush service.

Yang Ming and his allies fought the Iron Soldiers at Flushing Meadows Park while Tony Stark struggled against the aerial units. Natasha Romanoff arrested Justin Hammer, who identified Ivan Vanko as the mastermind.

• Yang Ming intercepted four missiles aimed at Peter Parker and sent them back into the Iron Soldiers.
• Retsu Unohana dismantled three Iron Soldiers and preserved their Reactors and chips, while Jessica destroyed another and complained about her commission.
• Tony Stark called Yang Ming for help as aerial Iron Soldiers damaged his armor, but Yang Ming refused to send assistance without extra payment.
• Justin Hammer tried to flee with bearer bonds and fake passports, but Natasha Romanoff captured him and reported that Vanko was the mastermind.

Ivan Vanko arrived at Flushing Meadows Park in his Heavy Whiplash Armor, but Yang Ming defeated him and captured him. Yang Ming planned to hand Ivan over to someone else rather than keep him at the clinic.

• After the Iron Soldiers failed, Ivan put on his Heavy Whiplash Armor and flew toward Flushing Meadows Park.
• Ivan attacked Tony, and Yang Ming agreed to take Ivan in exchange for Tony's approval.
• Yang Ming opened the first three Eight Gates, withstood Ivan's Electric Whips, and smashed apart his armor.
• Yang Ming pulled Ivan from the wreckage, restrained him, and declared him hired as a low-level blacksmith with no wages.
• Thor returned with Loki, and Yang Ming told Jessica that he would hand Ivan over to someone else.

Yang Ming confronted General Thaddeus Ross as the military tried to seize Ivan Vanko and the Iron Soldier wreckage after the Stark Expo attack. He publicly berated Ross until the general collapsed, and the troops withdrew without taking the prisoner or technology.

• General Ross arrived with soldiers and armored vehicles, demanded Ivan Vanko and the armor wreckage, and threatened Yang Ming.
• Jessica, Retsu Unohana, and Thor prepared to fight Ross’s troops, but Tony Stark landed and claimed the wreckage and Ivan as Stark Industries property.
• Yang Ming stopped Tony from handling the confrontation and loudly denounced Ross for the Harlem disaster and his attempt to seize the technology.
• Ross suffered a chest pain and collapsed after Yang Ming’s tirade, so his adjutant ordered the troops to retreat.
• Tony praised Yang Ming and said he would send a recording of the confrontation to New York’s TV stations, while Yang Ming told Jessica to bring Ivan for their delivery.

Yang Ming prepared to travel through the Anywhere Door to Gotham with Jessica, Loki, and Retsu Unohana, while Thor stayed behind with a million dollars and a vacation. The group entered the portal carrying Ivan Vanko, leaving Thor alone in the Clinic.

• Yang Ming opened the Anywhere Door and invited Jessica to join his trip to another universe.
• Yang Ming gave Thor a million dollars and an extended vacation, but ordered Loki to come along as his cleaner and servant.
• Yang Ming invited Retsu Unohana to Gotham, and she chose to accompany him because she missed Selene and Maggie and wanted to protect him.
• Yang Ming carried Ivan Vanko through the portal, followed by Jessica and Retsu Unohana, while a reluctant Loki entered after Thor failed to help her.
• The Anywhere Door contracted and vanished from the Clinic lobby.

Yang Ming returned to Gotham with Jessica, Loki, and the unconscious Ivan Vanko, where Retsu Unohana stopped a fight between the women and Yang Ming learned Batman had vanished from Gotham for three days. Yang Ming suspected Bruce was struggling to understand Ivan’s Micro Arc Reactor and took Ivan through the Anywhere Door to use him as its living instruction manual.

• Jessica arrived at the Clinic and complained about Gotham’s polluted air while Loki welcomed its atmosphere of malice and despair.
• Yang Ming saw Jason Todd and the Kids’ Gang cleaning the street outside the Clinic, then Maggie and Selina greeted him and Retsu Unohana.
• Jessica, Selina, and Loki began arguing, but Retsu Unohana released her killing intent and made them back down.
• Selina told Yang Ming that Gotham’s gangs were active again and Batman had not appeared for three days; Yang Ming said Bruce was losing his hair over a difficult problem.
• Yang Ming sent Selina to show Jessica and Loki their rooms, then carried Ivan through the Anywhere Door to help Bruce understand the Micro Arc Reactor.

Yang Ming brought the injured Ivan Vanko to Bruce Wayne’s laboratory, where Bruce exposed serious flaws in Ivan’s Arc Reactor design. Yang Ming declared Ivan an unpaid Wayne Enterprises laboratory worker, but Bruce refused to involve an uncontrollable lunatic in his research.

• Yang Ming entered the Batcave through a pink door and dumped the unconscious Ivan Vanko into Physics Lab No. 7.
• Ivan woke, recognized his Arc Reactor, and boasted that only Tony Stark could understand his design.
• Bruce analyzed the reactor and showed Ivan that its inefficient circuitry and palladium leakage could waste energy and poison its user.
• Yang Ming announced that Ivan would work without pay for Wayne Enterprises and threatened him if he refused.
• Bruce rejected Ivan as an uncontrollable risk to his research.

Bruce agreed to keep Ivan Vanko confined in the Batcave and hired him to help solve the energy-matrix problem, while Yang Ming warned that Gotham’s criminals were returning to the streets. Bruce revealed plans for a free boarding school for poor children, but Yang Ming confronted him with the enormous costs and security challenges.

• Bruce ordered Alfred to confine Ivan on level seven, then paid Yang Ming fifty million dollars for bringing him to Gotham.
• Yang Ming warned Bruce that Gotham’s gangs were becoming active again now that Superman was gone and Batman had stopped patrolling.
• Bruce asked about the children at Yang Ming’s Clinic, including Jason Todd’s Kids’ Gang, and announced that Wayne Enterprises had begun building a free boarding school for Gotham’s poor children and orphans.
• Yang Ming recalled telling Bruce that poverty and lack of education fed Gotham’s gangs, and realized Bruce intended to address the city’s problems at their roots.
• Yang Ming calculated the school’s food expenses for hundreds of thousands of children and warned Bruce that construction, staffing, and security would make the plan enormously expensive.