Chapter Summaries

Tony and S.H.I.E.L.D. began building an outpost on a habitable planet while Su Ming and the Adjutant recruited Dream of a Thousand Cats to prank Steve through his dreams. The chapter left the Avengers planning the colony’s infrastructure and Tony anticipating a boom in alien real estate.

• Tony and S.H.I.E.L.D. used improved spacecraft and unmanned suits to begin constructing a settlement on a habitable planet.
• The Adjutant proposed a new way to torment Steve, and Su Ming suggested using Dream of a Thousand Cats to manipulate his dreams.
• Dream of a Thousand Cats agreed to hear the prank plan after the Adjutant explained Steve’s history of fake deaths and funerals.
• Tony outlined plans for water storage, a robot center, and investigating dangerous native lifeforms, while Fury worried about construction speed and publicity.
• Tony predicted the outpost would attract customers for alien real estate, and Hawkeye and Banner said they could use more money.

During a planning meeting for the new settlement, Steve fell asleep and dreamed that he accidentally killed Godfather while running with Falcon. He woke in distress and left the meeting with Peggy, still shaken by the dream.

• Steve and Bucky dozed through the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents' discussion about the settlement's construction.
• Steve fell into a dream in which he ran laps with Falcon at the National Mall and repeatedly passed him.
• When someone grabbed Steve's arm, he accidentally tore off Godfather's hand, and Godfather lay bleeding beside him.
• Steve saw a Wilson beef burger and relived the guilt of Godfather's death, then screamed and clutched the severed hand.
• Bucky woke Steve, and Steve told Fury he felt unwell before Peggy escorted him from the meeting.

Steve relived the funeral of Godfather in a nightmare after confessing his guilt to Peggy, then woke in the spacecraft conference room and feared he was trapped in another Dream. He asked Natasha to hurt him to prove whether he was truly awake.

• Steve told Peggy that he kept dreaming about Godfather's death and blamed himself for letting Godfather, Bucky, and Aunt Jean down.
• Peggy comforted Steve, then left to return to the meeting and sent for Sharon to keep him company.
• Steve saw Godfather's coffin instead of his wardrobe, relived the funeral, and screamed as he found the severed arm in his hand.
• Steve woke in the conference room, shook off Bucky, and ran into the corridor, unsure whether he was still dreaming.
• Natasha caught up with Steve, and he asked her to hit him so he could test whether he was awake.
• Natasha offered to use Widow's Sting, and Steve urged her to use its maximum voltage.

Natasha shocked Steve with Widow's Sting, but his collision with a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent plunged him into a nightmare about Bucky's death. In the conference room, Su Ming and Adjutant watched Steve suffer through another dream and argued over whether his screams showed progress.

• Natasha used Widow's Sting to shock Steve, who took the pain as proof that he was not dreaming.
• Steve collided with a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and relived Bucky falling from the train, only to see Godfather's face as he fell.
• Steve awoke in the conference room screaming and clutching his head while Bucky slept beside him.
• Adjutant and Sheriff watched the real Steve and Bucky sleeping as Steve dreamed of fighting Crossbones, who turned into Godfather holding a beef Hamburg.
• Su Ming claimed Steve's quieter screams meant his fear was decreasing through desensitization therapy, but Adjutant doubted him.

Su Ming watched Dream of a Thousand Cats torment Steve with endless nightmares while Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. began settling on a habitable planet. The evening was interrupted when Deadpool returned from corrupted Multiverse 2, and Su Ming sent him to be scrubbed clean before hearing his report.

• Dream of a Thousand Cats told Adjutant that Steve was coping with the endless dreams but could not escape them.
• Steve dreamed that Thanos was about to snap his fingers, then saw God of Thunder cut off Thanos's arm and the Infinity Gauntlet filled with tiny hamburgers.
• Su Ming spent the evening at home while Gin and Cheetah sparred and Diana studied the changes in Multiverse 1.
• Deadpool appeared in the garden, reeking, and told Su Ming that he had escaped from corrupted Multiverse 2.
• Su Ming ordered Adjutant to send Deadpool to a Contraxian bathhouse to be scrubbed before he gave his report.

Deadpool returned from Multiverse 2 and told Su Ming about the Hand of the Void, who feared that Multiverse 2 might become the Origin Court’s next target. Su Ming considered using him against the Origin Court, but the pair still lacked a way to locate it, and Deadpool ended by asking for his pay.

• Deadpool returned with a fresh set of clothes after the Adjutant arranged an unwanted massage, and he complained to Su Ming about the Synthezoid.
• Deadpool reported that the Hand of the Void sat in a chair connected to piles of corpses and claimed to be the dark future of the DC Universe.
• Deadpool told Su Ming that the Hand of the Void was afraid Multiverse 2 would become the Origin Court’s next cleanup target after Multiverse 1 disappeared.
• Su Ming considered cooperating with the Hand of the Void or using him as a shield, but admitted they could not find the Origin Court or the Record Keeper.
• Deadpool suggested letting the Superheroes deal with the danger and asked Su Ming to settle his bill because he was broke.

Su Ming explained why the Hand of the Void was a hostile piece of the Great Darkness and agreed with Deadpool’s plan to borrow the Origin Court’s blade to kill it and take its legacy. He rewarded Deadpool with new digital Credit Points, leaving Wade wishing he had physical money to count.

• Su Ming compared the indifferent, corrupting Old Ones with the malicious Hand of the Void and updated his understanding of the Hand as part of the Great Darkness.
• Su Ming recognized that taking the Hand of the Void’s legacy fit his plan to collect concepts of darkness, and he approved Deadpool’s plan to use the Origin Court’s blade.
• Su Ming asked the Adjutant to award Deadpool points, then explained that Wade had received 205,000 Credit Points in a new energy-backed currency.
• Deadpool questioned the digital currency and suggested a Star Wars-style system, so Su Ming told the Adjutant to give him paper bills to count.

Su Ming hired Deadpool to lure the Hands of Creation into Multiverse 2 and investigate whether the Origin Judges would emerge. Deadpool accepted after negotiating a higher fee and left for the mission, while Su Ming stayed behind to monitor other threats.

• Su Ming gave Deadpool spirit money to count and offered him 110,000 Credit Points to lure the Hands of Creation into Multiverse 2.
• Deadpool examined the Wilson Group catalog, praised the cheap burritos, and accepted the job.
• Su Ming said Little Rich was helping capture the Record Keeper while he watched for the Origin Judges, Celestials, and First Firmament.
• Deadpool reasoned that Su Ming had made Multiverse 1 a fortress where outside enemies would lose their home-field advantage.
• Su Ming transferred Deadpool a 30,000-Credit-Point deposit, and Wade teleported away to begin the mission.

Su Ming took the cat to visit humanity’s settlement on Alpha Centauri, where he discussed the colony’s future with Zheng Xian. He advised Zheng Xian to expand by building several smaller cities instead of concentrating the population in one major city.

• The cat asked Deathstroke about his pursuit of the Hand of the Void, and he explained that he began collecting Dark Concepts after Darkseid and the Evil Thought Nobles became involved.
• Su Ming invited the cat to explore human space colonies in the 40K Universe and teleported with it to Alpha Centauri.
• Su Ming and the cat arrived at the Great Qin Outpost, where Zheng Xian showed them the town and its development plans.
• Zheng Xian asked whether the colony should grow into a major city or expand through multiple cities with limited populations.
• Su Ming recommended building multiple smaller cities, arguing that starships and fast communications had reduced the value of population density.

Su Ming toured the new Outpost with Zheng Xian and discussed how the settlement might grow as humanity spread into space. He left the story looking over the monument to the Outpost’s founding while its future remained open.

• Su Ming and Zheng Xian discussed the Outpost’s future growth, and Zheng Xian predicted that people would naturally cluster in an expanding city.
• Su Ming noticed that local grass was mildly toxic, and Zheng Xian said the settlement could rely on food transported from Earth while its livestock industry developed.
• Zheng Xian prepared to investigate an underground cave network with the arriving Dynasty Squad and asked whether Su Ming had used the Celestial Variants research data.
• Su Ming said he had not used the data yet but expected to do so soon, then declined Zheng Xian’s offer of Professor Xu as a guide.
• Su Ming walked through the Outpost and examined its monument honoring the workers, farmers, and soldiers who built humanity’s first Chinese settlement in space.

Su Ming learned that Franklin had captured the Record Keeper and decided to finish eating before questioning it. Little Flower warned him that the Record Keeper served The Source and advised against killing it, leaving Su Ming to consider imprisoning it and letting Strangle feed on it.

• Su Ming and Little Flower ate stewed offal and flatbread at a restaurant in the colony.
• The Adjutant reported that Franklin had caught the Record Keeper, and Su Ming told her to send Scarlet Witch and Monark to seal it while he finished his meal.
• Little Flower praised Franklin for capturing the Record Keeper and explained that the creature had powerful abilities.
• Little Flower identified the Record Keeper as The Source's Administrative Record Keeper and warned Su Ming not to kill it because of its ties to the balance among God, The Source, and The Void.
• Su Ming said he planned to question and possibly imprison the Record Keeper, while Little Flower noted that it might not have a brain for Strangle to eat.

Su Ming brought Dream of a Thousand Cats to the Beyond Realm to meet Little Rich and discuss a prison for the captured Mouse. While Little Rich was busy helping Franklin suppress it, Monark arrived to keep Su Ming company, and Su Ming asked him for mustache wax.

• Su Ming and Dream of a Thousand Cats arrived in the Beyond Realm, where the cat marveled at the dimension’s multiverse projections.
• Dream of a Thousand Cats explored one of the houses while Su Ming waited outside for Little Rich.
• Monark appeared and said Franklin was suppressing the Mouse, so Little Rich had sent him to talk with Su Ming.
• Monark recognized Dream of a Thousand Cats as a powerful Concept Manifestation, and Su Ming reached into Monark’s pocket for his mustache wax.

Su Ming discussed Monark’s rare beard wax and proposed building him a Mage Tower before turning to the captured Record Keeper. He learned that the creature could not feel pain and might be difficult to interrogate, leaving him to consider a question-for-question bargain.

• Su Ming confiscated Monark’s beard wax, applied it to his beard, and smeared some on Big Cat’s face.
• Su Ming offered to build Monark a Mage Tower on Contraxia, but Monark rejected the proposal and mocked its impractical design.
• Su Ming asked Monark whether the captured Record Keeper had been behaving, and Monark said it constantly asked questions and could make sounds even after Wanda erased its mouth with Chaos Magic.
• Su Ming concluded that the Record Keeper might lack a brain and suggested trading answers for answers if ordinary interrogation failed.
• Monark warned Su Ming that they could not tell whether the Record Keeper was lying and that Little Rich needed to study its weaknesses first.

Su Ming and Monark discussed Dream of a Thousand Cats, the rise of Superhumans as humanity spread into space, and Su Ming’s plans for human evolution. Wanda reported that she and Franklin had finished containing the prisoner, and Su Ming set off with the others to begin the interrogation.

• Su Ming told Monark that Dream of a Thousand Cats might help find the Record Keeper by reaching its dreams.
• Su Ming and Monark discussed why cats favored Su Ming and reflected on the growing number of Superhumans as humanity entered space.
• Wanda arrived and told the group that she and Franklin had completed the prisoner’s magical and technological containment.
• Su Ming called Big Cat and the other cats, then headed with Wanda and Monark to begin the preliminary interrogation of the Record Keeper.

Little Rich explained how he had captured the Record Keeper and what he had learned about its existence. Su Ming and the others turned their attention to the Giant Book as a way to investigate it without asking questions.

• Little Rich held the Record Keeper captive in a blue chamber and ignored its relentless questions.
• Su Ming praised Little Rich for capturing the prisoner and asked what he had discovered.
• Little Rich explained that the Record Keeper was shaped by an obsession with gathering knowledge and was not a conventional lifeform.
• Little Rich revealed that he had trapped it by detecting the flow of its energy, which Su Ming compared to using entropy.
• Little Rich suggested that the group read the Record Keeper’s Giant Book rather than interrogate it.

Deathstroke and his companions examined the Record Keeper’s strange book and debated who should read it. As the Record Keeper remained unusually quiet, Deathstroke sought Dream of a Thousand Cats’ opinion before deciding what to do.

• Deathstroke asked whether anyone had looked through the book, and Monark said he had avoided reading it because it seemed dangerous.
• Franklin said the book held intense, unfamiliar energy and suspected it was more powerful than the Record Keeper carrying it.
• Wanda offered to read the book, but Deathstroke refused to put her at risk.
• Deathstroke asked Dream of a Thousand Cats whether he could safely read the book, and the cat said he probably could but was uncertain.
• Dream of a Thousand Cats wondered why the Record Keeper was so quiet and questioned what The Source intended.

Deathstroke began receiving information from the mysterious book while Monark and the others waited, and Deadpool planned how to lure the Hands of Creation away from the New Multiverse. The chapter left Deadpool preparing to use the Hand of the Void and a captured Evil Thought Noble to provoke the Hands into intervening.

• Deathstroke touched the book, which opened and sent green energy into his body as Franklin checked that his vital signs remained stable.
• Monark invited Dream of a Thousand Cats to play mahjong while Deathstroke underwent the information transfer.
• Deadpool discussed the New Multiverse and Multiverse 2 with the Nonexistent Audience as he searched for a way to draw the Hands of Creation away.
• Deadpool decided to capture a higher-ranking Evil Thought Noble and use it to introduce corruption into the New Multiverse, forcing the Hands of Creation to confront the Hand of the Void.

Deadpool searched the Rotten Cesspool Universe for a corruptive creature to kidnap and bring to Prime Earth in the New Multiverse. After a foul monster burst into harmless, screaming fragments, he chose to look for a spore-spreading Mushroom Zombie instead.

• Deadpool arrived on the corrupted Prime Earth to find an Evil Thought Noble capable of spreading corruption.
• Deadpool tried to spear a shit-like creature with his Katana, but it burst into thousands of crawling fragments.
• Deadpool fled from the screaming fragments and decided the creature was too weak and not contagious enough.
• Deadpool resumed searching the ruined city for a Mushroom Zombie that could spread corruptive spores.

Deadpool searched among the Mushroom Head Zombies for a suitably handsome specimen, explaining that he planned to use it to spread infection in the New Multiverse and provoke a conflict between the Hands of Creation and the Hand of the Void. After his livestream moderator pointed out a promising zombie, Deadpool chose it and strode toward it.

• Deadpool explained that Mushroom Head Zombies spread infection through bites, scratches, and spores that could turn victims into Evil Thought Nobles.
• Deadpool discussed how he wanted people in the New Multiverse to face a visually pleasing death as he carried out his destructive mission.
• Deadpool reflected that destroying the New Multiverse might let the Heroes reclaim Multiverse 1's former territory without resorting to mass slaughter.
• Deadpool's livestream moderator drew his attention to a red-capped Mushroom Head Zombie with a seductive gait.
• Deadpool praised the zombie's appearance, chose it as his target, and walked toward it through the flesh-covered street.

Deadpool traveled through a world filled with malice and abducted a Mushroom Zombie to use as a biological weapon. He reached Prime Earth of the New Multiverse and planned to poison New York’s water supply with the zombie.

• Deadpool approached a Mushroom Zombie and tried to charm it with overbearing CEO lines, but it kept trying to walk away.
• Deadpool restrained the zombie despite its struggles and spore attack, then carried it off as his chosen biochemical weapon.
• Deadpool teleported to Prime Earth of the New Multiverse and, after arriving on a rooftop, threw the zombie off his shoulder.
• Deadpool identified the city as New York and planned to put the zombie into the water pipes so its spores would steep into the city’s drinking water.