Recaps

Rocket was captured by Yondu and his crew after using traps to fight them, while Lin Ze and Wanderer watched from the trees. Yondu’s men turned against him over his loyalty to Quill, and Lin Ze prepared to strike as one of them aimed at Yondu.

• Rocket lured Yondu’s men into explosive traps, then knocked one attacker unconscious with his Laser Gun and a kick.
• Yondu confronted Rocket, revealed that he had tracked Rocket’s ship since the battle of Xandar, and explained that the High Priestess had hired him to capture the Guardians.
• Rocket offered to reveal where the Batteries were if Yondu spared Groot, but Yondu’s men grew angry when he planned to take the Batteries instead of collecting the full bounty.
• Kraglin accused Yondu of favoring Quill, and the crew began turning their weapons on Yondu and calling for a new leader.
• Lin Ze signaled Wanderer to prepare, then shouted for Scaramouche as an attacker fired at Yondu.

Lin Ze and his companions helped Yondu defeat the mutinous Ravagers, while Wanderer subdued Nebula. After introducing themselves to Rocket and Yondu, Lin Ze asked them for help finding Star-Lord.

• Lin Ze shielded Yondu from a bullet, and Yondu used his Yaka Arrow to take down the ringleaders while sparing Kraglin.
• Itto, Tighnari, and the others stopped the fleeing underlings with attacks and illusions.
• Wanderer caught Nebula and nearly attacked her, but Lin Ze calmed him by explaining that Thanos had made her the way she was.
• Paimon brought Groot to Rocket, and Lin Ze introduced himself and his companions to Rocket and Yondu.
• Lin Ze told Rocket and Yondu that his group was looking for Star-Lord and asked the Guardians of the Galaxy for help.

Ego brought Star-Lord, Gamora, and Drax to his planet and explained his origins, his search for life, and his relationship with Meredith. Meanwhile, Yondu, Rocket, and others boarded the Astral Express, where Rocket was startled by Pom-Pom and Klee comforted him with a handkerchief.

• Ego's spaceship arrived at Ego's Planet, where Mantis explained her ability to sense and influence emotions and revealed Star-Lord's crush on Gamora.
• Ego showed the group his Palace and described how he had become a celestial and built himself into a planet.
• Drax asked Ego whether he had made himself a penis, embarrassing Star-Lord and Gamora before Ego confirmed that he had one.
• Ego showed Star-Lord memories of meeting Meredith and said she had given him his first experience of love.
• Yondu, Rocket, and others boarded the Astral Express, where Rocket became unnerved by Pom-Pom and startled Klee.
• Klee gave Rocket a handkerchief to wipe his sweat and placed another over his head for Groot.

Lin Ze and his companions prepared to confront Ego after Mantis revealed that Ego had killed his other children. Star-Lord discovered his powers while Ego welcomed him, leaving the group ready to attack the planet.

• Yondu and Rocket bickered aboard the Astral Express while agreeing to help Lin Ze, and Pom-Pom rejected Rocket's bid to become conductor.
• Ego explained to Star-Lord why he had left his mother, then guided him to channel the planet's energy and awaken his powers.
• Mantis brought Gamora and Drax to a field of corpses and skeletons, revealing that they were Ego's children.
• Wanderer released Nebula from her restraints as Lin Ze gathered the others to disembark and take on Ego.
• Yondu rallied the group for a many-against-one fight, while Rocket joked with Groot about covering the wrong place.

Gamora learned that Ego had killed his children, while Ego drew Star-Lord into his plan. Gamora and Nebula reconciled, and Nebula revealed that a group of strangers could help them rescue Quill.

• Mantis told Gamora and Drax that the bones belonged to Ego's children and that Ego had killed them, prompting Gamora to demand everything she knew.
• Ego showed Star-Lord his plan involving blue lights across several planets, and Star-Lord was captivated by their beauty.
• Klee gave Lin Ze and Paimon bouquets while Tighnari noticed the flower-covered area had no animals or insects; Lin Ze explained that the planet was Ego's body.
• Mantis helped Gamora understand that Nebula wanted a sister, and Gamora apologized and embraced her.
• Gamora said they needed to rescue Quill, and Nebula suggested asking for help from the strange group that had arrived with her.

Ego revealed that his expansion plan depended on finding offspring with Celestial genes, and admitted he had killed Star-Lord’s mother to keep pursuing it. Star-Lord broke free of Ego’s influence and attacked him, but as Ego moved to kill him, an unidentified figure intervened.

• Ego explained that he planned to spread himself across planets and replace all life with himself.
• Ego confessed that he had deceived women across many worlds and used his children as tools, with Star-Lord the only offspring to inherit Celestial genes.
• Star-Lord asked whether Ego had truly loved his mother, and Ego admitted he had given her the tumor that killed her.
• Star-Lord rejected Ego, drew his guns, and fired at him, but Ego regenerated and prepared to strike back with a blue-energy tentacle.
• A green glow crashed into Ego’s tentacle as a young man leaped behind him amid lightning and declared, “Weigh your sins!!”

Lin Ze’s group prepared to destroy Ego’s core while the Guardians escaped aboard the Astral Express, then chose to turn back and help. The chapter left Star-Lord and the others racing back toward the planet’s core as the Sovereign attacked.

• Wanderer found Drax and Nebula hiding near the Palace, and Gamora asked Lin Ze’s group to help rescue Quill.
• Strange Boy shattered Ego’s head, while Itto repeatedly smashed Ego’s regenerating energy body as the Guardians escaped.
• Lin Ze placed five golden batteries into Klee’s Jumpy Dumpty setup around Ego’s core while Mantis struggled to keep Ego asleep.
• Shouki no Kami fought the Sovereign pursuers as the Astral Express carried the Guardians away from the planet.
• Star-Lord, Yondu, Gamora, Nebula, Drax, Rocket, and Groot insisted on returning to help, and the Train Crew dropped them off to run back toward the core.

Wanderer, Yondu, and the others fought off the Sovereign ships while Lin Ze and the group escaped Ego's collapsing planet. Star-Lord broke free of Ego's control and attacked him, but Star-Lord, Gamora, and Nebula were left down in the fissure as the others prepared to flee.

• Wanderer destroyed many Sovereign ships, while Star-Lord's group and Yondu wiped out the rest of the fleet outside the Crust Core.
• Shouki no Kami burst out of the ground with Lin Ze and the others aboard, just as Ego's tentacles attacked Star-Lord's group.
• Ego tried to persuade Star-Lord to join him while his tentacles trapped the group, and Nebula caught Gamora as she fell into a fissure.
• Yondu reminded Star-Lord that his heart controlled the Yaka Arrow, prompting Star-Lord to break free of Ego's influence and punch him.
• Lin Ze helped Yondu aboard Shouki no Kami and warned that the planet would explode in two minutes, while Rocket and Paimon realized Star-Lord, Gamora, and Nebula were still below.

Lin Ze and the others searched Ego for Star-Lord while Yondu stayed behind to find him, and the planet exploded before they could return. Yondu saved Star-Lord by giving him the only spacesuit, but both were rescued and reunited with the others, where Yondu woke to discover someone had given him mouth-to-mouth.

• Lin Ze took Yondu down into Ego to search for Star-Lord while Wanderer carried Gamora and Nebula back to the train.
• Gamora and Nebula reported that Yondu had stayed behind, and Ego exploded as Lin Ze continued searching for Yondu and Star-Lord.
• Yondu found Star-Lord and put their only spacesuit on him as they fled the collapsing planet, leaving himself exposed to space.
• Star-Lord grieved as Yondu appeared to die, but an enormous dark shape struck them and the group later revived them.
• Yondu woke, joked with Star-Lord, and asked which of the rescuers had given him mouth-to-mouth because his mouth tasted like Chive Pie.

Lin Ze told the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Teyvat group that they planned to stop Thanos from wiping out half the universe, and revealed they had already collected four Infinity Stones. The meeting ended with Gamora shocked that Lin Ze seemed to know the secret location of the Soul Stone.

• Star-Lord and Nebula argued over Gamora until Gamora ordered them both to sit down.
• Lin Ze explained that they wanted to prevent Thanos from wiping out half of all life, and Gamora described Thanos's goal and the destruction he had caused.
• Lin Ze said Thanos could use all six Infinity Stones to carry out his plan, then revealed that his group already had the Space, Mind, Time, and Reality Stones.
• Star-Lord offered to help them find the Power Stone, while Lin Ze suggested Gamora knew where the Soul Stone was.
• Gamora was shocked that Lin Ze knew her secret and asked how he had found out.

Lin Ze persuaded Star-Lord’s group to hear his plan, while Gamora questioned whether they should pursue the Power Stone before the Soul Stone. Remembering Lucy’s advice to consult Minister Wu, Lin Ze tried calling him, but the strange conversation ended before he could ask for help.

• Lin Ze attributed his knowledge of Gamora’s secret to Mona’s divination, and Rocket defended him while bickering with Yondu.
• Star-Lord agreed to help Lin Ze and asked him to explain the plan.
• Lin Ze proposed going to Knowhere first, but Gamora argued that the Power Stone was a safer target than the Soul Stone.
• Lin Ze recalled asking Lucy for advice and learned that she thought Minister Wu might help because of his past Marvel missions.
• Lucy called Minister Wu, whose confused role-playing voices led her to hang up before Lin Ze could ask his question.

Lin Ze learned that Minister Wu would not help him and realized he had to find the Soul Stone himself. At the round table, he convinced the Guardians of the Galaxy to avoid Xandar and set their next course for Planet Vormir.

• Lucy explained that Minister Wu's Honor of Kings system made him imitate the speech habits of whichever hero he used, and Minister Wu rejected Lin Ze's request for help.
• Minister Wu scolded Lin Ze and Lucy, telling Lin Ze to rely on himself, while Lucy laughed and was ordered to write a self-criticism.
• Lucy helped Lin Ze understand that Minister Wu had been hinting he must forge his own path, and Lin Ze decided to find the Soul Stone first.
• Lin Ze warned the Guardians of the Galaxy that Thanos might already know the Power Stone was on Xandar and could be waiting for them there.
• Gamora chose Planet Vormir as the Guardians' next destination after Star-Lord's attempt to rally support for Xandar failed.

At Stark Tower, Tony Stark and his exhausted team tested whether the Quantum Realm could support time travel, but their first experiment left a mouse there for millions of years. The chapter ended when Spider-Man appeared outside the tower windows and greeted the startled scientists.

• Potts stopped Tony's tablet from falling, then woke the exhausted researchers and examined Tony's bloodshot eyes.
• Yinsen, Banner, and Tony ate breakfast while Tony revealed that their lab mouse, Little Lamb, had been sent into the Quantum Realm.
• Tony reported that Little Lamb had been left there for four and a half million years instead of the intended ten minutes, and Banner examined the experiment's data.
• Tony refused to ask Dr. Pym for help, and Potts went to fetch Scott while urging the researchers to get some sleep.
• Spider-Man appeared outside Stark Tower's top-floor windows, greeted the group, and Tony shouted for him to come inside.

Scott led Cassie, Nahida, Qiqi, and sleepy Sayu through a cardboard-box maze to find its treasure, while struggling to drink Qiqi’s Coconut Milk Soybean Milk. After Cassie discovered the treasure was another carton of the drink and tasted it, Potts opened the maze and asked Scott for a few minutes.

• Scott and the children crawled through the maze, with Sayu falling asleep and Qiqi supplying Scott with Coconut Milk Soybean Milk that made him spit it out.
• At the maze’s locked door, Nahida solved the riddle by identifying a book as the answer, and Cassie opened the door.
• Cassie found a carton of Coconut Milk Soybean Milk, which Qiqi had hidden as the treasure because it was rare and precious.
• Scott tried to stop Cassie from drinking the carton, but she tasted it and retched, calling the milk poisoned.
• Potts lifted the cardboard maze’s roof and asked Scott for a few minutes of his time.

Scott, Banner, Yinsen, and Strange discussed the Quantum Tunnel and whether the present could alter a future foretold by Mona, while Lin Ze led his companions across Planet Vormir. Lin Ze secretly arranged something with Lucy and drew Paimon ahead in a curry race as a crimson-faced figure appeared on a cliff.

• Scott recounted his Quantum Realm experience, but Tony, Banner, and Yinsen found nothing useful in it.
• Scott asked what the others would do with time travel, prompting Banner to explain that the past could not be changed; Scott then wondered whether their actions were changing Mona's foretold future.
• Strange arrived after Banner called him for help, but he could not provide a definite answer, and Tony overheard Banner mention the Traveler.
• Lin Ze, Lucy, March 7th, Paimon, Gamora, and their companions set out across Planet Vormir while the rest of the Astral Express crew stayed aboard.
• Lin Ze privately instructed Lucy to remember what he had told her, then distracted Paimon with a curry race and let her fly ahead.
• A crimson-faced figure appeared atop a cliff and welcomed the approaching group.

Paimon fled from a dark cave in fear, but Mantis calmed her while Itto and Drax blundered inside and fell into a pit. As the group continued through the cave toward the summit, a mysterious cloaked figure appeared and welcomed the Guardians of the Galaxy and the outlanders.

• Paimon panicked at the cave entrance, and Mantis used her psychic power to calm her.
• Itto and Drax rushed into the darkness, fell into a pit, and pretended they had been checking it out.
• Lin Ze reassured Paimon that she had won the race and promised to make her a prize when they returned.
• The group traveled deeper through the cave, which opened into a larger space.
• A cloaked figure descended amid black mist and welcomed the Guardians of the Galaxy and the outlanders.

Lin Ze and his companions met Red Skull, the Guide to the Soul Stone, and learned that claiming it required a terrible price. Before Red Skull could explain what that price was, Lucy knocked him out and Lin Ze kicked him off the cliff.

• Quill, Itto, Rocket, Groot, and Klee puzzled over Groot’s joke about a rock man, while Lin Ze understood its dirty meaning.
• Red Skull revealed that he knew everyone who came seeking the Stone, and Gamora asked him where the Soul Stone was.
• Lin Ze recognized Red Skull as Johann Schmidt and falsely claimed that Steve Rogers had sent him a greeting, provoking Red Skull’s anger.
• Red Skull led the group to a cliffside platform and said they would have to face their fears and pay a price to obtain the Soul Stone.
• Lucy struck Red Skull with her bat while Lin Ze distracted him, and Lin Ze then kicked the unconscious Red Skull into the clouds.

Lin Ze bluffed his companions into believing Red Skull had been sent down to prepare the Soul Stone mechanism, then set off with Lucy while hiding his true plan. As the group activated the mountaintop mechanism, Paimon vanished and was found unconscious in the water with a small stone, while Lin Ze was nowhere to be seen.

• Star-Lord confronted Lin Ze and Lucy after they kicked Red Skull off the cliff, but Lin Ze confirmed that his attempted shortcut had failed.
• Lin Ze falsely claimed Red Skull had gone below to prepare the Soul Stone mechanism, persuading most of the group that the cliff was part of a trap.
• Lin Ze assigned everyone to activation points and told Paimon to count to one hundred while he and Lucy went down the mountain.
• Paimon grew anxious as she counted, and the mountain mechanism activated in a burst of light while Itto and the others waited nearby.
• The group discovered Paimon missing and rushed to the bottom of the cliff, where they found her unconscious in the water clutching a small stone and crying out for the absent Traveler.

Paimon searched for Lin Ze after he vanished, while his companions and Star-Lord’s group joined the search. The Wanderer brought Red Skull back, and Red Skull revealed that Lin Ze had traded his soul for the Soul Stone, leaving Paimon demanding that he return Lin Ze.

• Paimon repeatedly counted and searched for Lin Ze, then asked his companions whether they had seen him.
• The Wanderer, Cyno, Tighnari, Albedo, and the others set out to search for Lin Ze, while Lucy stayed behind with the children.
• The Wanderer returned with Red Skull and demanded to know where Lin Ze was.
• Red Skull said Lin Ze had traded his soul for the right to obtain the Soul Stone.
• Paimon threw the Soul Stone at Red Skull and grabbed his injured head, demanding that he give Lin Ze back.

After Lin Ze sacrificed himself to obtain the Soul Stone, Lucy told the grieving group to return to Earth and search for him, insisting that he had promised to come back. In New York, Tartaglia found Neuvillette standing alone in the rain and told him not to cry.

• Red Skull explained that obtaining the Soul Stone required sacrificing the person its wielder loved most, and that the sacrifice could not be reversed.
• Wanderer angrily demanded a way to undo the sacrifice, but Lucy picked up the Soul Stone and insisted that rules could be broken and Lin Ze would keep his promise.
• Lucy recalled that Lin Ze had told her to take everyone back to Earth if he died, and remembered photographing his fall before spotting traces of Captain America and Iron Man in the image.
• Lucy told Wanderer she could not explain more until they were sure and urged everyone to return to Earth to find the answer.
• In New York, Tartaglia approached Neuvillette, who stood alone in the rain, and told him, “Hydro Dragon, Hydro Dragon, don't cry!”

Tartaglia met Neuvillette in the rain, and they discussed the Traveler’s abnormal state and the danger it posed to their world. Neuvillette joined Tartaglia to meet the others, postponing judgment of the gods until they had dealt with the Traveler’s condition.

• Neuvillette explained that the Hydro Dragon had tasted the emotions gathered in the earth rather than cried, then dried Tartaglia and his clothes.
• Tartaglia and Neuvillette compared their concerns about the Traveler, whom they believed connected them to a world that was beginning to reject them.
• Tartaglia invited Neuvillette to meet the others and offered to share his umbrella, but Neuvillette stopped the rain instead.
• Neuvillette said he had the power to judge the gods but that the Traveler’s condition took priority.
• Tartaglia brought Neuvillette to the courtyard, where Neuvillette introduced himself to the gathered gods as Fontaine’s Chief Justice and greeted them as usurpers.

Neuvillette joined the Archons in protecting the Otherworldly Land and agreed to wait for the Traveler's return. On Earth, Tony received a photograph that suggested a way forward, while the Transmigration Management Bureau sent Lin Ze back through the Space-Time Gate after Lucy revealed he was not dead.

• Zhongli, Venti, Nahida, and Raiden Ei introduced themselves to Neuvillette, who declared that he would eventually judge the Usurping Gods but would protect the Otherworldly Land until the Traveler returned.
• Zhongli explained that the world's controller had grown bolder after the Traveler left, and the group decided to wait for a returning train.
• Paimon told Tony and the others that the Traveler was gone, and Lucy gave Tony a photograph she called a turning point before leaving on the Astral Express.
• Minister Wu and Director Ceros tried to revive Lin Ze, but Lucy stopped the medical team and had them put him back through the Space-Time Gate, restoring his account status.
• F.R.I.D.A.Y. analyzed the photograph and found evidence of either Howard Stark's Vibranium Shield or Tony's Mechanical Armor, and Tony asked Steve to support his conclusion.

The Avengers and their allies agreed that Tony would test time travel through the Quantum Tunnel, with the Guardians helping verify the destination. While the equipment was being prepared, Peter found Paimon deeply worried in Stark Tower.

• Star-Lord questioned the risks of time travel, but Tony insisted on testing the Quantum Tunnel himself and persuaded the others to accept his choice.
• Tony decided to travel back more than a few hours to Stark Tower, and the Guardians agreed to help verify the destination using the Traveler’s departure coordinates.
• Mantis woke Drax by making him remember being inside a space monster, and Neuvillette said Drax had likely passed through its brain.
• While the Quantum Tunnel was calibrated and Tony prepared, Peter found Paimon deeply worried in Stark Tower.

Peter took Paimon to Ned, hoping his magic could help find Aether sooner than the Avengers’ Quantum Tunnel plan. Ned’s spell opened a Portal, but it brought back a female version of Aether, leaving Peter and Ned stunned.

• Peter found Paimon upset about Aether’s sacrifice and suggested asking Ned whether magic could help find the Traveler.
• Peter and Paimon met Ned, who admitted he had taken a forbidden spellbook and Wong’s Sling Ring without permission.
• Paimon persuaded Ned to try the spell despite his worries that it might be dangerous.
• Ned cast the spell, opening a Portal as Paimon called for the Traveler.
• Aether emerged from the Portal, and Peter realized that Aether had turned into a girl.

Tony prepared to test the Quantum Tunnel while the Avengers and Guardians traded jokes about his time testing armor with Deadpool. Just as Banner was about to activate the tunnel, Lumine and Peter interrupted, and Lumine begged to join them in finding her brother.

• Tony stood ready on the platform as Banner prepared to activate the Quantum Tunnel, while Steve and the others watched.
• Tony clarified that he had spent a day testing Mark Armor suits with Deadpool, prompting arguments among the Guardians about Deadpool's appearance and Mantis's kiss.
• Steve asked about Paimon and the other children, and Tony learned that Paimon was on her way to the lab.
• Peter and Lumine rushed in and stopped Banner from starting the test.
• Lumine asked the group to take her with them to find her brother.