Chapter Summaries

Stephen Strange followed his recurring visions to the bombed Moge Desert, where he drank a mysterious potion as missiles approached. The potion drew him into a dark otherworld, where he swallowed an eyeball disguised as fruit and underwent a terrifying transformation.

• Strange dreamed that an emerald serpent was about to descend and resolved to stop it, then quit work and traveled to the Moge Desert.
• At the site of the previous day's bombardment, Strange sensed a powerful emerald darkness near the rock where the Child of the Sky had sat.
• As another missile strike began, Strange drank the mysterious potion and vanished into pitch-black fog, cut off from the world outside.
• Strange saw a tree bearing what appeared to be a fruit, approached it, and swallowed it before realizing it was an eyeball.
• An eyeball appeared between Strange's brows and two pale arms grew from his back, then withdrew as he collapsed, terrified but conscious.

After recovering from the Eyeball Fruit’s effects, Strange discovered his new powers and was suddenly drawn into contact with a mysterious old man. The old man warned him not to reveal his name carelessly, leaving Strange stranded in an unknown place with more questions.

• S.H.I.E.L.D. brought Strange to a recovery room, where Coulson explained that he was experiencing a period of physical maladjustment.
• Strange recovered within a few hours, then examined the eye between his brows and the two pale arms growing from his back.
• Strange discovered that his third eye enhanced his senses and learning, and had also given him supernatural knowledge he could not safely examine.
• An unknown mental presence contacted Strange, and he accepted the connection after sensing that rejecting it would bring terrible consequences.
• The old man brought Strange to him and asked him to talk, then warned Strange not to give out his name because someone might curse him.

Strange learned about the Foundation and Rayquaza from a member of the 00 Parliament before returning to S.H.I.E.L.D. Sakazuki confronted S.H.I.E.L.D. agents over the threat of the three primordial gods, then told Dr. Gero that the Philosopher's Stone was connected to Rayquaza.

• A member of the 00 Parliament gave Strange information about the Foundation, contained anomalies, and Rayquaza, whose image frightened Strange.
• Strange reappeared in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s conference room and was told by Agent Hill to stay for questioning.
• Sakazuki told Ah Xing and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that they had to wait for Rayquaza and then seek a chance to stop the Gods' Battle.
• Sakazuki intimidated the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, who then asked to remain as liaisons.
• Dr. Gero arrived, and Sakazuki explained that the Foundation had reorganized the 00 Parliament and that the Philosopher's Stone was connected to Rayquaza.

Arthur went on a seaside cruise and rejected the Foundation’s request to save researchers driven mad by their unauthorized experiments with his incantations. He gave the Foundation a spellbook while warning that studying magic was dangerous.

• Dr. Gero recognized the Philosopher’s Stone when Sakazuki mentioned it, then left the room, leaving the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. behind.
• Arthur enjoyed a cruise along the coast while Foundation personnel waited to apologize for the researchers who had acted without his permission.
• Arthur told the Foundation representative that humanity learned only through fear and blood, then asked to be left alone to fish.
• The representative gave Arthur documents about laboratory staff who had gone mad from studying his incantations, but Arthur said they could not be saved.
• Arthur gave the representative the All-Encompassing · Frontispiece · Sky Tome and warned him that ordinary people should not study magic too deeply.

The Foundation's ordinary human leaders debated the Supernatural Alliance's plan to bomb Raccoon City, while Tony and Krillin went undercover to investigate the suspicious city. Tony concluded that Raccoon City was laid out like an experimental facility and its residents were being treated as test subjects.

• The Foundation's higher-ups reviewed current operations and referred the Sky God issue to the 00 Parliament.
• The higher-ups learned that the Supernatural Alliance wanted permission to destroy Raccoon City with missiles and demanded access to investigate the project's danger.
• Tony and Krillin rode into Raccoon City on a truck as Tony explained the city's unusually low population and normal freight traffic.
• Tony hacked the city's management system and found that its public facilities seemed unusually comprehensive for so few residents.
• Tony and Krillin encountered angry residents complaining about repeated subway maintenance, and Tony suspected the city was an experimental facility filled with guinea pigs.

A robot from a ruined future brought Tony Stark and Krillin to a fungal wasteland outside Raccoon City, where it warned them of an impending outbreak and revealed the Philosopher’s Stone’s power to restore the dead. Meanwhile, Jiang Xiang traced the timeline and discovered that outside gods were trying to split Blue Star’s timeline, leaving him ready to counter their move.

• A robot claiming to come from a future devastated by Raccoon City led Tony Stark and Krillin to an off-road vehicle and gave them Exoskeleton Hazmat Suits.
• Jiang Xiang examined visions of a ruined future, traced the timeline, and discovered that a black light had interfered with his progenitor virus.
• Jiang Xiang realized that outside gods were concentrating their power to split Blue Star’s timeline and decided to respond.
• The robot showed Tony Stark and Krillin a landscape covered in writhing fungal growths and warned that the organisms would reproduce on a large scale in seven days.
• Tony Stark nearly fell under the influence of a stone at the site, but Krillin snapped him out of it.
• The robot identified the stone as the Philosopher’s Stone, said it came from Rayquaza, and explained that it could store souls and reconstruct bodies.

Tony and Krillin fought off a horde of flesh mountains around the Philosopher's Stone until Arthur arrived with Foundation soldiers. Several soldiers became infected, and four-armed Strange identified the Philosopher's Stone as the cause.

• Tony and Krillin encountered a flesh mountain, and Tony blasted it apart as its pieces fled into the fungal mats.
• The robot warned of more monsters, and a horde surrounded Tony, Krillin, and the robot.
• The robot used flamethrowers against the monsters until Arthur arrived and a barrage destroyed much of the horde.
• Arthur's presence dissolved nearby flesh mountains, while several Foundation soldiers went mad and attacked their companions.
• The squad captain asked Arthur why his team had become infected, and four-armed Strange said the Philosopher's Stone was responsible.

Arthur and Strange discovered that the Philosopher’s Stone had created a sentient Virus King, while the Foundation’s containment breach unleashed chaos in Raccoon City. Arthur sensed the source behind the disaster and declared, “I found you!”

• Strange tried to save the affected team members, but they died as the Flesh Mountain creatures spread colonies and a changed virus resisted his power.
• Arthur told Strange and Tony that someone had used the Philosopher’s Stone to create the Virus King, and Arthur and Strange attacked it with their powers.
• A robot warned that the world was about to fall as records showed Site 12113’s contained creatures had escaped.
• Zombies and other infected entities overwhelmed Raccoon City, leaving the Foundation uncertain whether missiles would stop the outbreak or spread it further.
• Arthur perceived the spreading viruses and bacteria across Raccoon City, then identified their source and said, “I found you!”

Arthur and Strange defeated the viral entity in Raccoon City, but discovered its ritual was a summoning rather than an ascension. As the ritual activated, Jiang Xiang stopped an attempt to target Rayquaza, while S.H.I.E.L.D. faced video evidence exposing Hydra agents throughout the organization.

• Arthur and Strange confronted the viral entity in Raccoon City, and Arthur struck it down with the golden scepter.
• Arthur examined the entity's memories and saw people, blood, the Philosopher's Stone, and a virus used to create a collective being.
• Arthur and Strange uncovered red runes beneath the ruins and realized they formed a summoning ritual; the formation activated around them.
• Jiang Xiang opened his eyes at Kamar-Taj and used Rayquaza, Kyogre, and Groudon to absorb and expel foreign power aimed at Rayquaza.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. watched videos on a continuous loop showing Pierce, Rumlow, and many others identifying themselves as Hydra.

Tony learned that Hydra had infiltrated most of S.H.I.E.L.D. while Strange revealed a blood-soaked summoning circle beneath Raccoon City, apparently meant to bring Rayquaza into the world. In the aftermath of Hydra’s attack, Coulson struggled to keep S.H.I.E.L.D. functioning as Sharon reported that Doctor Zola was preparing a major move.

• Pepper told Tony that Hydra had resurfaced, Nick Fury was missing, and Captain America’s Avengers Squad had driven Hydra back.
• Arthur and Strange returned and told Tony that the viral amalgamation was destroyed but a summoning circle and many bodies remained beneath Raccoon City.
• Strange identified the being expected to descend as Rayquaza and said they could only wait to see what happened.
• Coulson reviewed S.H.I.E.L.D.’s losses as acting director, and Natasha warned that they had only seventeen trustworthy intelligence channels.
• Sharon Carter sent Coulson intelligence that Doctor Zola was suspected of preparing a major move.

Coulson learned that Doctor Zola and his allies were exploiting the chaos to rehabilitate Hydra’s image and distract S.H.I.E.L.D. The scheme culminated in Steve being sent to a waiting room during a lawsuit accusing the Avengers Squad of unlawfully imprisoning Baron Zemo.

• Sharon Carter showed Coulson footage of Madame Hydra bribing a lawyer to join Hydra’s image-cleanup campaign.
• Coulson prioritized capturing Hydra members inside S.H.I.E.L.D. and identifying detained agents so the agency could operate independently again.
• Doctor Zola teamed up with Baron Zemo, Madame Hydra, Gin, and other reformists, using public distractions and publicity efforts to tie up S.H.I.E.L.D.’s remaining resources.
• A prominent lawyer sued the Avengers Squad in Washington, demanding Steve’s imprisonment and compensation for Baron Zemo’s property losses.
• At the hearing, Steve faced arguments and public attention before being sent to a waiting room, bewildered by the proceedings.

Doctor Zola secured the President’s interest in a Superhuman Registration Act, restoring Hydra’s political standing. As Tony and Strange listened to Arthur explain the Outer Gods, the Virus King waited in hiding for Rayquaza, who emerged above Raccoon City.

• Doctor Zola persuaded the President to consider his proposed Superhuman Registration Act and left believing Hydra’s reputation had been restored.
• Arthur told Tony and Strange that the Outer Gods stood above the Great Old Ones but that Rayquaza had no connection to them.
• The Virus King opened his eyes in a concealed cellar while Jiang Xiang watched him through the Mirror Dimension and coveted the Divine Throne.
• The temperature around the summoning formation rose as Rayquaza appeared in the sky above Raccoon City.

Arthur and Rayquaza attacked the Virus King, forcing him to release vast numbers of viruses to recover and overwhelm Rayquaza. Rayquaza’s Delta Stream churned the virus masses together, leaving the Virus King’s final gambit in failure.

• Arthur merged his energy with Rayquaza, who struck the Virus King with Dragon Ascent and began destroying his body and mind.
• The Virus King opened underground bases and released huge clouds of viruses, forcing Tony, Strange, and the others to flee while governments watched the outbreak through satellites.
• The Virus King used the gathered viruses to recover and sent them against Rayquaza, who ignored their attacks as Arthur approached the Virus King’s main body with a length of rebar.
• Arthur trapped the Virus King in a runic formation, and Rayquaza unleashed Delta Stream to churn the virus masses together, foiling the Virus King’s plan.

Arthur repeatedly broke apart and restored the Virus King while keeping him contained, as Tony, Strange, and the Foundation watched. When a time-wielding evil god and its tentacles attacked Blue Star, Jiang Xiang used the Book of Ages and a Dimensional Array to stop them, then tricked another entity into taking away three dangerous items.

• Arthur repeatedly scattered the Virus King and restored him, while Strange suspected he was refining him and kept watch with Tony.
• A large Mobile Task Force arrived with government authorization and began collecting viral agents and other samples.
• The sky darkened, and the Virus King briefly sensed the being that had granted him power.
• An otherworldly evil god attacked the Book of Ages with enormous tentacles, but Jiang Xiang rewrote the outcome and held them outside the Sorcerer Supreme's Dimensional Array.
• Jiang Xiang disguised three dangerous items with the Virus King's aura and sent them into the tentacles of a being steeped in decay, which carried them away.

Arthur replaced his body with the weakened virus and vanished, while Strange and Tony’s group also left Raccoon City. At Tony’s villa, Steve reflected on his conviction for breaking into Zemo’s home before Pepper announced that the Secretary of State had summoned them to a meeting.

• Arthur put the weakened virus on his body, completed the replacement, dismantled his original body, and vanished; Strange disappeared soon after.
• Tony refused to answer questions without his lawyer, then left with Krillin because the virus in Raccoon City had been exhausted.
• At Tony’s villa, Tony teased Steve about receiving community service after losing his case over breaking into Zemo’s home.
• Tony reminded Steve that his wartime actions had been carried out as a soldier, helping Steve regain his confidence.
• Pepper returned and told Tony and Steve that the Secretary of State had invited them to a meeting.

Tony and Steve learned that the government planned to impose the Superhuman Registration Act, requiring Superhumans to register and obey government oversight. The government pressured the Avengers Squad to register first, while a weakened S.H.I.E.L.D. could do little to intervene.

• Tony and Steve went to Secretary of State Ross's office and heard officials debate the Superhuman Registration Act.
• Superhumans at the meeting warned that rushed registration could expose their identities and families, and they distrusted the government's security after Hydra infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Tony and Steve read the act and recognized that it would place Superhumans under mandatory government control.
• Natasha and Barton watched news coverage criticizing Superhumans after learning that the government demanded the Avengers Squad register first.
• Coulson told the Avengers Squad that most people had abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. and that it had little ability to intervene.

Coulson and Steve reported that the Military and other officials would not oppose the Superhuman Registration Act, leaving the gathered Superhumans without a clear path forward. As Steve urged them to try accepting it, Barton rejected the act, while Tony departed to respond to the expanding battle among Rayquaza, Groudon, and Kyogre.

• Coulson told the gathered Superhumans that the defense spokesperson and the Military's representative supported the Superhuman Registration Act or would not oppose it.
• Tony arrived, shook his head, and showed that he had no objection to registration because it posed little risk to him.
• Steve reported that his Military contacts would not abandon their political futures for him and said they had to try accepting the act.
• Tony received Rhodey's alert that Rayquaza's arrival had expanded the battle zone around Groudon and Kyogre, then left to respond.
• Barton opposed the act, arguing that it would let authorities control Superhumans and could expose his family to his enemies.

Steve accepted that the Avengers had to work with the authorities on the Superhuman Registration Act while promising to keep negotiating. As tensions grew, Hydra provoked Superhumans into violent incidents, and Hawkeye revealed the scheme at a community center.

• Steve told the Avengers that they could not openly oppose the Superhuman Registration Act, though he would negotiate and resist it if it failed its goals.
• Banner and Zhang Fei drank at a bar until Hydra agents provoked them and Banner transformed into Hulk, attacking one of them and triggering chaos.
• Erik and other Superhumans gathered at a New York community center to discuss rising hostility and the registration act.
• Hawkeye told the community that the act was being prepared for wider implementation but would focus on Superhumans who frequently used their powers in public.
• Hawkeye revealed that Hydra had sent people to provoke Superhumans into making mistakes.

Dr. Zola sent the modified Winter Soldier to stop Steve Rogers, while secretly sending surveillance footage to Tony Stark. After Steve confronted government official Smith about supercriminals being sent to Wetland Prison, the Winter Soldier attacked him, and Steve discovered the attacker was Bucky.

• Superhumans blamed S.H.I.E.L.D. for Hydra's renewed activity, but their meeting ended without a plan to address the Superhuman Registration Act.
• Dr. Zola activated the Winter Soldier, who had been enhanced with vibranium, energy fluid, and liquid metal, and ordered him to stop Steve from capturing Pierce.
• Dr. Zola sent surveillance footage to Tony Stark, and over the following week Steve struggled with rising crime as Superhumans retired and the authorities sent captured supercriminals to Wetland Prison.
• After Smith warned Steve that investigating the prison violated the Registration Act agreement, Steve left and was attacked by the Winter Soldier.
• The Winter Soldier fought Steve and the arriving police and soldiers, but Steve unleashed a surge of power and knocked him down before the Winter Soldier escaped.
• Steve saw the Winter Soldier's mask come off and recognized him as Bucky.

After seeing footage of the Winter Soldier murdering his parents and attacking Steve, Tony deployed Stark Industries’ aircraft across New York to search for him. Gin manipulated events on Midtown Street, where a disguised supercriminal exploded and injured Rhodey, while Tony learned the Masked Man had appeared nearby.

• Pepper showed Tony a video of the Masked Man attacking and killing Howard Stark, followed by footage of the Winter Soldier attacking Steve.
• Tony summoned his Iron Man Armor, deployed his Mechanical Army across New York, and ordered JARVIS to access every surveillance feed available.
• Rhodey responded to a supercriminal rampaging on Midtown Street, where the Gray-Blue Freak tore open his throat and exploded.
• Gin triggered the explosion with Command Codes, then arranged for news that the Winter Soldier had appeared to spread.
• Rhodey called Tony for help, and Tony sent a Medical Robot to rescue him while keeping him conscious through his War Machine armor.
• Tony spotted the Masked Man on a surveillance screen and vowed to kill him.