Chapter Summaries

Su Ming drove Howard to Westchester, where Howard revealed a rumor that someone planned to capture Charles Xavier’s son for experiments because he was suspected of being a Mutant. Su Ming warned Howard that the information came through Hydra and that trusting Zola could put him in danger.

• Su Ming picked up Howard in Manhattan traffic, and they joked about Howard buying property and his interest in Su Ming’s secretary.
• Howard complained that the military had blocked his effort to export arms to West Germany, and he asked Su Ming to help lobby officials.
• Howard asked whether Su Ming’s car was secure, then told him that Doctor Xavier’s son Charles was suspected of being a Mutant and might be targeted for experiments.
• Howard said Doctor Zola had passed along the rumor through his own channels, and Su Ming suspected those channels were connected to Hydra.
• Su Ming warned Howard that Hydra was not truly finished and that trusting Zola’s motives could get him killed.

Su Ming and Howard attended Doctor Xavier’s burial, where Howard tried to persuade Sharon to leave with Charles before unknown forces could target the boy. Su Ming learned that young Charles was a Mutant whose uncontrolled telepathy overwhelmed him, and Charles discovered that Su Ming’s presence brought him silence.

• Howard brought Su Ming to Doctor Xavier’s funeral because he hoped Su Ming’s involvement would draw Steve into helping protect Charles.
• Howard comforted Sharon and pulled her aside to discuss the danger, while Charles stayed by his father’s grave with Su Ming.
• Su Ming spoke with Charles about death, Mutants, and the people seeking to exploit Mutants as weapons.
• Charles revealed that he could not control his telepathy and that he had sensed Howard urging Sharon to take him to Saudi Arabia, while Sharon wanted to investigate Doctor Xavier’s death.
• Charles told Su Ming that no thoughts entered his mind when he was near him, giving him a rare moment of silence.

Su Ming persuaded Charles to leave with him so they could investigate his father's suspicious death and protect Charles's mother. Charles agreed after Su Ming promised Captain America would help, and they prepared to go to Su Ming's place.

• Su Ming asked Charles whether he wanted to flee or investigate his father's death, and Charles said the supposed accident looked like murder.
• Su Ming offered to take Charles in and help uncover the truth, and Charles agreed to call him Uncle Slade.
• Su Ming invoked his connection to Captain America to reassure Charles, who trusted the hero to help protect his mother.
• Su Ming took Charles to Howard and Sharon and announced they would leave for his place, while Howard hurried Sharon toward the car.

Su Ming, Howard, Sharon, and Charles survived a sniper attack at the cemetery and escaped in Su Ming’s armored car. Charles revealed that his father’s project was called “Black Womb,” but Su Ming said he already knew about it and that Doctor Xavier had died for nothing.

• Su Ming sensed a sniper and pulled Howard behind a gravestone before a bullet could hit him.
• Howard drew the sniper’s fire while Su Ming drove his armored car into the cemetery and used it to shield Howard, Sharon, and Charles.
• Su Ming drove the group away from the attackers, who fired from the church bell tower with a sniper rifle and an automatic rifle.
• Howard told Su Ming that he and Doctor Zola were developing rockets for nuclear weapons, then said he knew nothing about Brian Xavier’s independent research.
• Charles told Su Ming that his father’s project was called “Black Womb,” and Su Ming said he already knew about it and that Doctor Xavier had died for nothing.

Su Ming took Sharon and Charles to safety at the academy while Howard arranged to contact Deathstroke using the bizarre instructions on his business card. The chapter ended with Howard’s contact receiving a meeting address and Sharon and Charles settling into a guarded dormitory.

• Su Ming explained to Howard that Xavier’s killer and the gunmen who attacked them were likely different groups, then dropped Howard off at Stark Industries.
• Howard followed the instructions on Deathstroke’s card, stripped and sang in a public phone booth, and received a meeting address for that evening.
• Reporters chased Howard’s contact back to his car after the phone call, allowing him to escape the crowd.
• Su Ming brought Sharon and Charles to an unused academy dormitory and told them to stay there for their safety.
• Charles began watching cartoons while Sharon thanked Su Ming, who left them in the dormitory.

Su Ming arranged a covert security mission for Natasha and the other girls to protect two residents moving into Building 66, including a powerful Mutant and a mind-reading boy. Natasha organized the girls into armed patrols and surveillance shifts, preparing them to capture one intruder alive.

• Gin told Su Ming that Howard had placed a contract with Deathstroke to investigate Doctor Xavier’s murder openly.
• Su Ming and Gin visited another dormitory, where Natasha, Ciri, and the other girls had been practicing for the academy’s New Year celebration.
• Su Ming told the girls that two residents would move into Building 66 and instructed them to protect the residents from a distance without letting the mind-reading boy detect them.
• Su Ming authorized the girls to use heavy weapons against anyone who illegally entered the academy, but told them to keep one intruder alive.
• Natasha selected forty girls for rotating shifts and assigned teams to monitor the academy’s high ground, busy areas, and surrounding snowfields.

Su Ming investigated the timeline discrepancies surrounding Charles and the murder of Doctor Wiesel, then arranged to inspect the Black Womb project through Howard. At Loyalty Academy, he had Hamill contact Cyttorak while Monark protested Su Ming’s neglect of his Sorcerer Supreme duties.

• Su Ming considered how the timeline had diverged from comic-book history and questioned why Charles had claimed to be five despite being born in 1946.
• Su Ming reviewed the military’s Weapon projects and concluded that Doctor Wiesel’s death had been murder, so he needed to inspect the Black Womb equipment himself.
• Su Ming decided to have Howard arrange a contract that would let him investigate the SSR facility without damaging their relationship.
• Su Ming arrived at the principal’s office and asked Hamill to contact Cyttorak, while Gin waited outside.
• Monark objected to contacting the evil god and confronted Su Ming about neglecting his duties as Sorcerer Supreme.
• Hamill opened a crimson portal, and Su Ming called out to Cyttorak.

Su Ming contacted Cyttorak, then joined Howard to stop an assassination attempt and investigate the faceless gunmen. The attackers’ burned-out bodies pointed toward a more complicated plot, and Su Ming left Howard considering who might be behind it.

• Su Ming spoke with Cyttorak through a tiny wormhole, but the demon god told him to find his power within their universe and ended the connection.
• Su Ming left Kamar-Taj after Hamill stopped Monark from pursuing him, saying he would take care of something after dark.
• Deathstroke blocked a sniper’s shot at Howard, then captured the two faceless gunmen and brought them back to the car.
• Su Ming found Wilson-branded weapons and no identifying evidence on the gunmen, who had killed themselves as soon as they saw him.
• Su Ming cut open one corpse and found its organs reduced to ash; Howard could not identify what had burned them.
• Su Ming told Howard the case had grown more complicated and gestured as though counting money.

Deathstroke escorted Howard to Caspian Camp to investigate the attempts on Howard’s life and Doctor Xavier’s death. After forcing his way inside, he demanded access to the deeper laboratories and the new leader, while Nick Fury tried to persuade him to let SSR investigate for him.

• Howard drove Deathstroke toward Caspian Camp after Deathstroke asked him to stop at a public phone.
• Deathstroke lifted the camp’s massive steel gate and smashed through several doors as Howard led him inside.
• Deathstroke confronted armed SSR personnel with machine guns, but Nick Fury ordered them to lower their weapons.
• Deathstroke told Fury that Howard had hired him after two assassination attempts and said the second shooter had killed himself.
• Deathstroke demanded to meet the new leader and inspect the deeper laboratories, warning Fury that anyone who obstructed him would die.

Su Ming questioned Nick Fury about the failed surveillance of Howard Stark, then entered Howard and Doctor Zola’s laboratory to investigate the Black Womb project. Zola denied using the blue energy or experimenting on living people, but revealed that Howard had recently done something unusual.

• Su Ming left Howard with SSR’s new leader and discussed Howard’s protection with Nick Fury.
• Nick told Su Ming that Howard’s surveillance agents had last reported two days earlier and that several agents might have been killed.
• Nick led Su Ming to Howard and Doctor Zola’s shared laboratory.
• Su Ming grabbed Zola and asked whether he and Howard had used blue energy blocks or living people in radiation experiments; Zola denied both.
• Su Ming asked whether Howard had done anything particularly unusual lately, and Zola said that he had.

Su Ming investigated a blood sample linked to Howard’s case and learned that Doctor Nathaniel Richards had supplied it, while struggling with the danger Nathaniel might become Kang. He then examined Doctor Xavier’s laboratory and found Brian’s diary, which revealed his hopeful beliefs about Mutants but offered no direct explanation for his disappearance.

• Zola gave Su Ming a blood slide Howard had received from Doctor Nathaniel Richards, and said the blood appeared abnormal and came from someone seriously ill.
• Zola secretly warned a Hydra agent that someone wanted to kill Dr. Stark, and the agent began an investigation.
• Su Ming explained to Fury that Nathaniel was loyal to the SSR, though he considered preventing him from joining the Brotherhood of the Shield to reduce the risk of creating Kang.
• Su Ming examined Doctor Xavier’s intact Black Womb machine and found no obvious tampering or physical evidence explaining how Xavier vanished.
• Su Ming read Brian’s diary, which recounted his love for Sharon and his belief that Mutants represented humanity’s future.

Su Ming discovered that Doctor Xavier had used the dangerous Item 084 in experiments to create telekinetic Mutants, and learned that it had vanished after Xavier was killed. An SSR search failed to find the Obelisk, leaving Su Ming, Howard, Nick Fury, and the Colonel without a way to recover it.

• Su Ming read Doctor Xavier's records and found that his experiments had involved gamma rays, attempts to replicate Captain America, and plans to create telekinetic Mutants.
• Su Ming identified Item 084 as an Obelisk that could petrify or mutate people, and explained that Howard had refused to assist with experiments involving unwilling subjects.
• Nick Fury checked with Dark Room and confirmed that Item 084 was still listed as borrowed and had not been returned to storage.
• Su Ming ordered an investigation, but the SSR found no trace of the missing Obelisk.
• The Colonel asked Howard how to recover the dangerous item, and Howard suggested trying police dogs or calling the police.

Su Ming questioned Doctor Richards about a mysterious corpse and the blood sample that had led to an attempt on Howard's life. After learning the corpse vanished in sunlight, Su Ming took Howard to test the sample, while the Colonel reported to an Elder that the plan was proceeding smoothly.

• Doctor Richards told Su Ming that a corpse had appeared at his home with a threatening note, and that an unnamed friend had asked him to investigate it.
• Richards described the friend as a scarred, balding man around fifty with a thick white beard, and said the corpse had vanished into gas when sunlight hit it.
• Richards explained that he had collected blood and tissue from the corpse and given them to Howard, who passed them to Arnim.
• Su Ming borrowed a blood smear and pulled Howard along to the biology lab to test whether the corpse was one of the mythical creatures Howard mentioned.
• The Colonel sent Fury with Su Ming and Howard, then called an Elder and reported that the plan was proceeding smoothly.

Su Ming exposed the colonel as the thief who had stolen the Obelisk, but the colonel escaped using a spatial ability. Su Ming advised Nick Fury to bring Captain America back to secure the SSR and prepared ultraviolet lamps as the search continued.

• Su Ming and the Howling Commandos confronted the colonel after Strangle recorded his secret call, and Su Ming demanded the Obelisk.
• The colonel vanished just as Su Ming attacked, leaving Fury and the Commandos to search the office.
• Su Ming explained to Howard that the colonel had used the negotiations to steal the Obelisk and had tried to frame the vampires.
• Su Ming told Fury not to issue a wanted notice and recommended that Captain America return while Agent Carter acted as leader.
• Su Ming asked whether the ultraviolet lamps had been found, and Agent Eric handed him the tubes.

Su Ming explained vampire weaknesses to Fury and revealed that the Inhumans had used the vampires as a diversion while pursuing the Obelisk. He left to investigate the vampires, while the danger of the Terrigen Crystal remained unresolved.

• Su Ming gave Fury a tube lamp to secretly check SSR for a vampire spy and explained that vampires could be fought with ultraviolet light, decapitation, garlic essence, silver bullets, or flamethrowers.
• Su Ming told Fury that the Inhumans had framed the vampires to divert attention while they stole the Obelisk and concealed their plan to kill Howard.
• Su Ming left Howard with Fury and returned to his company, reasoning that vampires were more likely to be found at night in areas near New York.
• Su Ming concluded that vampires had tried to kill Howard and recover the blood sample to hide their existence from SSR and the military.
• Su Ming considered the Obelisk’s Terrigen Mist a threat capable of killing ordinary humans and Mutants, and decided the Sorcerer Supreme should keep it while the Inhumans handed over the Colonel who killed Doctor Xavier.

Su Ming investigated the deaths of two gunmen identified as Vampires and began searching for the group behind them. He sent Gin to investigate missing blood supplies and summoned the Dracula Hunters, who arrived ready to advise him.

• Su Ming read Holloway's report, which described the gunmen as superhuman humanoid creatures whose bodies were vulnerable to sunlight, and told Gin to preserve a blood sample and dispose of the bodies.
• Su Ming explained that concentrated Garlic Essence had killed the Vampires and asked Gin to investigate New York blood banks and hospitals for unexplained blood shortages.
• Gin said she lacked Pegasus, and Su Ming promised to have Howard build her a hover motorcycle before sending her to contact the Vegetarian Faction.
• Su Ming called Hamill and asked him to bring the Dracula Hunters so he could question them about Vampires and the Inhumans.
• Hamill brought the Dracula Hunters through a golden Teleportation Portal, and Su Ming welcomed them into his office.

Slade Wilson introduced himself as the new Sorcerer Supreme and welcomed the Dracula Hunters, using food, gifts, and reassurances to win their trust. The meeting established the hunters’ histories and ended with the revelation that their story would lead to King Hannibal joining Whistler to train Blade.

• Slade Wilson welcomed the Dracula Hunters to his company and confirmed that he sold instant noodles and other products.
• Slade offered the team snacks and sunscreen, identifying Frank Drake and King Hannibal as Vampires and assuring them he accepted peaceful Vampires.
• Quincy Harker relaxed after Slade praised his record and promised tolerance, while Taj Nital ate and Harold Harold recorded the meeting.
• Slade recognized Rachel Van Helsing as the granddaughter of the legendary Vampire Hunter and learned how Quincy had raised her after Dracula killed her family.
• Slade reflected that Rachel’s childhood resembled Harry Potter’s, then noted that King Hannibal would later join Whistler and help train Blade.

Su Ming weighed the danger Dracula posed and decided to keep Kamar-Taj out of conflict with him while considering a new path for Doctor Strange. He then pressed the elderly vampire hunter Harker to explain why he had left a corpse outside Doctor Richards’s home.

• Su Ming considered Rachel’s choice to become a Vampire Hunter and reflected on Dracula’s overwhelming immortality and powers.
• Su Ming recalled how Dracula repeatedly retaliated against Doctor Strange and everyone connected to him, and concluded that Kamar-Taj should maintain its neutrality.
• Su Ming reconsidered making Doctor Strange take the blame, since the Time Stone had become useful, and decided to find him another role.
• Su Ming sat with Quincy, Rachel, and Harker, then asked Harker why he had left the corpse in front of Doctor Richards’s house.
• Harker hesitated, drank his wine, and sighed before answering.

Su Ming questioned Quincy and his allies about their plan to expose vampires and enlist the military, then learned that vampires had begun feeding on Mutants and Inhumans. The group feared Dracula’s imminent return, but Su Ming concluded that defeating or containing him would be exceptionally difficult and that the Dracula Hunters Squad was not worth the effort required.

• Quincy told Su Ming that he had targeted Doctor Richards to draw the military into the fight against vampires, and Su Ming said he would tolerate exposing them.
• Quincy explained that Dracula might soon be resurrected and that his descendants were preparing to exterminate humanity and make him the Blood God.
• Harold showed Su Ming photographs of Mutants and Inhumans killed by vampires, while Jin confirmed their blood strengthened the vampires.
• Harold described how vampires could use lobotomies to incapacitate Mutants and Inhumans and keep them as a source of blood.
• Su Ming considered Dracula’s ability to escape death and seals, then decided that the Dracula Hunters Squad did not merit the costly plan needed to stop him.

Su Ming refused to support the Vampire Hunters’ war against Dracula and began planning how to contain the conflict among vampires and Inhumans. After assuming his role as Sorcerer Supreme, he summoned Monark to Kamar-Taj and sent Mordo on errands, claiming he was trying to keep Mordo out of danger.

• Su Ming told Quincy and the Vampire Hunters that Kamar-Taj would remain neutral, warned them they would die fighting Dracula, and offered to negotiate with him, but Rachel insisted on seeking revenge.
• Su Ming sent the Vampire Hunters away with Hamill and decided to deal with the vampire elders while seeking to control the looming conflict with the Inhumans.
• Su Ming summoned Monark and traveled with him through a wormhole to Kamar-Taj for his succession ceremony.
• After the ceremony, Su Ming sent Mordo to fetch Pre-Qingming Longjing tea and then pastries, while explaining tea to Monark.
• Monark asked why Su Ming was tormenting Mordo, and Su Ming said he was using Mordo for his own good so he would not eventually die at either of their hands.