Ch. 26Is That All?

Mercer fought Loki’s Asgardian Warriors inside the Hexagonal Force Matrix, using the battle to wear them down while Thor recognized he was holding back. Loki sent the Destroyers after him, but Mercer swiftly decapitated one and cut the other in half.

  • Loki realized Mercer had learned the matrix’s incantations by absorbing the warriors’ memories, and Mercer confirmed that ability.
  • Mercer attacked the Asgardian Warriors with lightning-coated claws, shifting between corners to tire them out.
  • Thor explained to Daisy and Jane that Mercer was wearing the warriors down rather than fighting seriously.
  • Loki ordered the warriors to empower the Destroyers, then had them form a circle around Mercer.
  • Mercer caught a Destroyer’s hand with blacklight matter and decapitated it with a lightning axe.
  • Mercer cut the second Destroyer in half with the Dark Saber.

Ch. 27Kotoamatsukami

Mercer defeated Loki’s forces and used Kotoamatsukami on Thor after realizing his intervention had prevented Thor from regaining his divinity. Thor summoned Mjolnir and reclaimed his thunder god powers, leaving Mercer stunned by the technique’s effect.

  • Mercer destroyed the shattered Destroyers, and Loki withdrew with the Asgardians through the Bifrost.
  • Mercer realized Thor might not regain his divinity because the events that would have led to it had changed.
  • Mercer used the Kotoamatsukami Battle-Damaged Card on Thor, briefly revealing his Mangekyo Sharingan and leaving him dizzy.
  • Thor emerged from his daze, summoned Mjolnir, and regained his thunder god powers as lightning struck around him.
  • Mercer watched Thor in armor and concluded that Kotoamatsukami had extraordinary power in the Marvel Universe.

Ch. 28An unexpected invitation

Mercer restored Thor’s ability to lift Mjolnir by using Kotoamatsukami to alter her beliefs, and Thor returned to Asgard to confront Loki. The Ancient One invited Mercer for tea, recognized that he knew too much about this world, and asked which universe he came from.

  • Mercer’s illusion made Thor believe she alone could lift Mjolnir, allowing her to regain the hammer and her divine power.
  • Thor thanked Mercer, summoned Heimdall, and left for Asgard to deal with Loki.
  • The Ancient One arrived after Loki’s army was driven off and invited Mercer to her home for tea.
  • Over tea, the Ancient One pointed out Mercer’s unusual powers and knowledge of the world.
  • The Ancient One asked Mercer which universe he came from.

Ch. 29The Ancient One's request

The Ancient One explained that Mercer’s arrival had blurred the future she could see and asked him to help prevent Strange from becoming a danger if he could not recover from his accident. She revealed that she had survived for centuries by drawing on Dormammu’s power and hoped Strange could succeed her so she could stop.

  • The Ancient One told Mercer that his arrival had obscured her visions of the future, and Mercer admitted he was an outsider who had come to this world alone.
  • The Ancient One asked Mercer to help Strange if his accident kept him from becoming her successor, even suggesting Mercer kill him if he went astray.
  • Mercer questioned why the Ancient One needed a successor, and she revealed that she had relied on Dormammu’s power to survive for centuries.
  • The Ancient One said Strange’s arrival as her successor would let her stop absorbing Dormammu’s energy and retire early.

Ch. 30Crank it up to the max

Mercer agreed to help the Ancient One stop Strange if he lost control, in exchange for access to the Sanctum Sanctorum’s magical books. The Ancient One began teaching him to use magic through a training artifact, and Mercer urged Mordo to give him the hardest practice possible.

  • The Hero Card System issued Mercer a quest to learn a spell at the Sanctum Sanctorum, and he agreed to help the Ancient One if she let him browse its magical books.
  • The Ancient One accepted Mercer’s condition, and they agreed that he would help counter Strange if Strange lost control.
  • The Ancient One showed Mercer sorcerers sparring with enchanted weapons and explained that an artifact’s power depended on its wielder’s magic.
  • The Ancient One handed Mercer the Living Tribunal Staff and asked Mordo to help him channel his magic through combat.
  • Mercer interrupted Mordo’s instructions and told him to crank the training up to the maximum.

Ch. 31A Visitor from Beyond the Stars

Mercer demonstrated extraordinary speed and quickly opened a Sling Ring Portal, though he struggled to use the Living Tribunal Staff. After a fiery object landed in the mountains, Mercer and the Ancient One found a gigantic slime, whose voice accused them of trying to steal its food.

  • Mercer challenged Mordo, deflected his attacks with ease, and left Mordo so demoralized that he surrendered.
  • The Ancient One gave Mercer a Sling Ring, and he opened a portal within minutes of receiving it.
  • Mercer received an Item Card from the system and reflected that he still did not know how to use the magic he had absorbed from the Asgardian Warriors.
  • Mercer noticed a streak of fire fall into the mountains, and he and the Ancient One traveled there through a Sling Ring Portal.
  • Mercer and the Ancient One discovered an enormous dark green slime, which asked whether they had come to steal its food.

Ch. 32The Girl

Mercer and The Ancient One met a purple-clad girl who had chased a Slime to Earth and devoured it. Mercer recognized her as Galactus’s daughter and offered her lightning orbs in hopes of persuading her to stay with him.

  • Mercer and The Ancient One prepared to face the purple-clad girl, who explained that she had diverted the Slime away from a populated city.
  • The girl ate the enormous mass of Slime, then complained that it had not been enough to satisfy her hunger.
  • Mercer asked whether her father was Galactus, and the girl confirmed the connection when she asked how he knew.
  • The girl said she would not harm Earth’s inhabitants as her father did, and Mercer offered her tasty lightning in exchange for staying with him.
  • The girl inspected Mercer’s lightning orbs by catching and eating them.

Ch. 33It worked

Mercer persuaded Galacta to join him by offering her powerful energy to eat, then returned with her and the Ancient One to the Sanctum Sanctorum. There, he began studying magic for ways to summon beings he could devour, while a slime quietly re-formed and fled.

  • Mercer explained that his Lightning Orb could destroy a medium-sized city, but Galacta could safely absorb its energy.
  • Galacta agreed to go with Mercer if he kept feeding her, and they introduced themselves before returning to the Sanctum Sanctorum with the Ancient One.
  • After Mercer and the others left, tiny green particles gathered where the slime had been and re-formed into a dark green slime that wriggled away.
  • At the Sanctum Sanctorum, the Ancient One explained how sorcerers gained magical power, including absorbing energy from other dimensions.
  • Mercer studied magic for summoning techniques while making Lightning Orbs for Galacta to eat.

Ch. 34A sleepless night

Mercer used an Item Card to gain a one-tomoe Sharingan and learned it could not yet fuse with his Kotoamatsukami Battle-Damaged Card. He tested the Sharingan’s illusions on Galacta through the night, leaving him exhausted while she remained eager for more.

  • Mercer tried to fuse his one-tomoe Sharingan Item Card with his Kotoamatsukami Battle-Damaged Card, but the system said the Sharingan was not advanced enough.
  • Mercer used the Item Card and gained a one-tomoe Sharingan, though he doubted its usefulness in the Marvel Universe.
  • Galacta secretly watched Mercer activate the Sharingan, and he caught her outside his window.
  • Mercer brought Galacta into his room and spent the night testing the Sharingan’s illusions on her.
  • Galacta said the illusions were entertaining but could not seriously affect her godlike mental strength, while Mercer ended the night with exhausted eyes.

Ch. 35The Art of the Vishanti

The Ancient One told Mercer and Galacta that Hydra was trying to summon a Sub-Dimensional Being and gave Mercer the Book of the Vishanti to help him prepare. Mercer immediately learned a spell from it, shocking the Ancient One.

  • Mercer and Galacta joined the Ancient One for breakfast, and Galacta quickly ate her meal before finishing Mercer’s food.
  • The Ancient One explained that Hydra had learned Ancient Evil Magic and was attempting to summon a Sub-Dimensional Being, while she could not leave the Sanctum Sanctorum unguarded.
  • Mercer asked how they could deal with the being, and Galacta confidently offered to help.
  • The Ancient One gave Mercer the Book of the Vishanti and suggested he try learning its first few spells.
  • Mercer used Vishanti’s Law, Punishment, and its magical pressure forced the Ancient One back in shock.

Ch. 36The Sharingan's upgrade

Mercer learned the spells in the Book of the Vishanti through his Sharingan, which evolved into its three-tomoe form. He then tested his new magic against Galacta, who emerged unharmed and eager for more.

  • Mercer used his Sharingan to learn and cast the Book of the Vishanti's spells, surprising the Ancient One with his speed and skill.
  • After absorbing the book's magic, Mercer's Sharingan evolved from one tomoe to three, and he said he could now face the Sub-Dimensional Being.
  • Mercer invited Galacta to practice with him in the training grounds, and she revealed that she could quickly learn fighting techniques.
  • Mercer used Vishanti's Law, Four-Sided Suppression to trap Galacta between four massive dark-gold blocks, alarming Mordo and the spectators.
  • Galacta broke free unharmed and laughed, saying the spell had been fun.

Ch. 37A call for help

After testing his magic against Galacta, Mercer answered Carter’s call for help and joined S.H.I.E.L.D.’s effort against Hydra. Natasha revealed that a mole had stolen the Tesseract, which Mercer recognized immediately.

  • Mercer sparred with Galacta, tested around twenty spells, and concluded he could stand equal to The Ancient One.
  • Carter called Mercer to ask for help with Hydra, and he agreed to go to the S.H.I.E.L.D. building with Galacta.
  • Mercer and Galacta entered the S.H.I.E.L.D. operations room through a portal, and Mercer briefly took Galacta away to change her clothes.
  • Natasha explained that a mole among the trusted forces fighting Hydra had stolen something important.
  • Mercer identified the stolen object as the Tesseract.

Ch. 38Meeting

Mercer questioned S.H.I.E.L.D.'s handling of the stolen Tesseract and met Tony Stark and Dr. Banner, who had tracked the theft to New York. Banner asked whether Mercer could help him control or eliminate the Hulk, while Mercer considered the benefits of absorbing Hulk blood but decided against harming him.

  • Mercer asked Natasha how S.H.I.E.L.D. planned to locate the Tesseract, and she said two technical experts were searching for its Gamma Energy.
  • Mercer challenged Nick Fury over S.H.I.E.L.D. using the Tesseract to develop weapons, prompting Carter to demand an explanation.
  • Mercer ended the argument and asked to meet the experts as Tony Stark and Dr. Banner arrived with news that the thieves were still in New York.
  • Stark recognized Mercer from online videos, and Banner asked how Mercer had defeated the Abomination and whether he could help Banner control the Hulk.
  • Mercer considered absorbing Hulk blood but decided to keep the Hulk alive so the Avengers could form.

Ch. 39Check His Teeth

Mercer agreed to study Banner’s blood to help him control the Hulk, while Stark revealed that Hydra planned to act at Queens First High School during a science fair. Mercer volunteered to infiltrate the school using his Blacklight Virus disguise ability, then had Galacta seize a suspicious staff member and told the group to check his teeth.

  • Banner trusted Mercer and gave him a vial of his blood for research into controlling the Hulk.
  • Stark showed the team that a second Gamma Ray signal was coming from Queens First High School, where Hydra could exploit the science fair to bring in equipment.
  • Mercer thought of Spider-Man and offered to infiltrate the school, despite warnings that Hydra would recognize him.
  • Mercer transformed his face into several ordinary-looking identities, astonishing the team with his disguise ability.
  • A staff member dropped an object while watching Mercer, and Mercer ordered Galacta to pin him down.
  • Mercer told Nick Fury and the others to check the captive staff member’s teeth.

Ch. 40Chapter: Comical

Mercer exposed S.H.I.E.L.D. operative Vermier as a Hydra agent, who revealed that Hydra was summoning Loki. After S.H.I.E.L.D. finalized a plan to send Mercer and Galacta to infiltrate the campus, Galacta demonstrated technology that could disguise her appearance and transform her into alien forms.

  • Mercer warned S.H.I.E.L.D. that the captive operative had a poison fang, and Nick Fury confirmed Vermier was a Hydra agent.
  • Vermier declared that Hydra was summoning Loki, but Mercer and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were not alarmed because they already knew about him.
  • Nick Fury ordered Vermier locked up, and the group planned for Mercer to infiltrate the campus and locate Hydra's target site.
  • Galacta disguised her face with a device and demonstrated its ability to transform her appearance into many alien forms.
  • Galacta grabbed Mercer by the collar after he joked about her age, while Stark watched and wanted to study her technology.

Ch. 41An old friend

Mercer and Galacta disguised themselves as students to investigate Hydra’s presence at First High School. There, Mercer spotted Peter Parker from The Amazing Spider-Man and resolved to help him avoid the tragedies ahead.

  • Galacta let Mercer borrow the transformation flashlight, and Stark gave him a gamma-energy isolator for the mission.
  • Mercer and Galacta dressed as students while Nick Fury took a squad to patrol outside the school.
  • At First High School, Mercer and Galacta spotted numerous disguised Hydra agents watching the campus.
  • Mercer recognized Peter Parker as the Spider-Man from The Amazing Spider-Man and vowed to prevent the losses Peter would suffer.
  • When Galacta teased him about staring at Peter, Mercer called him an old friend.

Ch. 42Mockery

Mercer and Galacta found the Tesseract displayed on Hydra’s machine in the crowded gymnasium and searched for a way to deal with it without endangering bystanders. Peter Parker sensed the machine’s danger, and when Flash Thompson mocked him, Mercer insulted Flash in return.

  • Galacta sensed the energy source in the gymnasium, where Mercer discovered the Tesseract mounted on a machine in the middle of the crowd.
  • Mercer stopped Galacta from taking the Tesseract because a fight could kill bystanders, then reported the situation to Nick Fury.
  • Hydra operatives posing as staff drew more spectators by claiming the machine could produce a year’s worth of power in one day.
  • Peter Parker told Mercer that the object inside the machine was emitting powerful energy, and Mercer noticed the red Spider-Man suit beneath Peter’s shirt.
  • Flash Thompson mocked Peter, and Mercer retorted that Flash’s mouth seemed connected to his bowels.

Ch. 43The Search

Mercer provoked a confrontation with Wallace to create a distraction, then secretly sent lightning energy into the Tesseract machine and used Galacta’s help to identify the person activating it. He found a middle-aged man in a black baseball cap chanting while watching the Tesseract.

  • Wallace confronted Mercer after Mercer mocked him, and Peter stepped in to protect Mercer but was pulled out of the way before Wallace’s punch landed.
  • Mercer tripped Wallace’s lackeys and caused them to fall beside the Tesseract machine, secretly sending a flash of energy into it as he fell.
  • Wallace backed down and left with his lackeys, while Mercer thanked Peter and gauged the Tesseract’s growing energy through the crowd’s reactions.
  • Galacta pointed out a man in a black baseball cap, and Mercer used his Sharingan to spot him silently chanting as he watched the Tesseract.

Ch. 44An Unexpected Turn

Mercer used his Sharingan to kill the chanting Hydra operative Manton, but the Tesseract then surged out of control and opened a portal. As Hydra members confronted Mercer, Galacta, and Peter, tentacles emerged from the portal and dragged several people inside.

  • Mercer left Galacta to watch over the venue and approached Manton, who was chanting to summon an evil god.
  • Mercer used his Sharingan to make Manton collapse, then pretended he had only wanted to ask for the bathroom.
  • Hydra members carried Manton away and warned their units that S.H.I.E.L.D. had infiltrated the venue.
  • The Tesseract apparatus shook violently, prompting a panicked evacuation, while Peter became Spider-Man and helped prevent injuries.
  • Mercer and Galacta dropped their disguises as Hydra members confronted them, and the Tesseract shattered its casing and opened a portal.
  • Squid-like tentacles emerged from the portal and dragged three Hydra members inside as Mercer recognized them as the Great Old Ones.

Ch. 45An unexpected turn

Mercer and Galacta tried to contain the tentacled Great Old One Hydra had summoned, while Mercer wondered whether The Ancient One had set him up. He controlled a Hydra member to learn who supplied the summoning spell and discovered the person was a bald woman.

  • The sight of the tentacles drove the Hydra members mad, while Mercer recognized the being as a universal-level Great Old One.
  • Mercer sent Galacta to carry Peter outside, then used her cosmic energy to cast Boundless Lockdown around the gymnasium.
  • Mercer fought off a tentacle with a lightning-charged punch, but failed to damage it and suspected The Ancient One had set him up.
  • Mercer used Four-Sided Suppression to pin the tentacles down temporarily, then controlled a Hydra member with the Sharingan.
  • The Hydra member said a bald woman had given them the summoning spell.

Ch. 46Maximum Temperature

Mercer fought the tentacles emerging from the portal and discovered that The Ancient One had used his lightning to activate a Magic Array around the Tesseract. He realized her scheme had failed to account for his Sharingan, which could copy the magic in the array.

  • Mercer suspected The Ancient One had turned to darkness, then told Galacta to stay back while he confronted the creature.
  • Mercer and Lockdown fought off the tentacles, and Mercer used the Dark Saber at two hundred million degrees to sever them.
  • Mercer dodged the tentacles and cut several more while realizing the Great Old One relied more on psychic attacks than close combat.
  • Mercer reached the Tesseract and saw that his lightning was circulating through the Magic Array beneath it.
  • Mercer recognized that The Ancient One had drawn him into her scheme, but he believed his Sharingan could learn the array's magic.

Ch. 47Purple Skeleton

Mercer evolved his Sharingan into a unique Mangekyo Sharingan after the Ancient One's scheme pushed him into extreme rage. He summoned a powerful, second-form Susanoo and left the enraged tentacles at its mercy.

  • Mercer used spells from the Book of the Vishanti, fused with his own abilities, to suppress and sever the Great Old One's tentacles while vowing revenge on The Ancient One.
  • Mercer felt lightning and black light surge from within him, and his Sharingan absorbed the energies and transformed into a unique Mangekyo Sharingan.
  • The system announced that Mercer's Sharingan had evolved because of his extreme rage as the tentacles recovered and turned red with fury.
  • Mercer stopped Galacta from intervening and manifested Susanoo, a deep-purple skeleton that seized a tentacle and wielded his enlarged Dark Saber.
  • Mercer's Susanoo formed a second-form body from the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's lightning and the blacklight virus, then cut a tentacle off at its base.

Ch. 48A Heroic Sacrifice

Mercer closed the Portal and staged his apparent death, luring the Ancient One into revealing that she had arranged his assassination to take over Earth. As the Ancient One subdued S.H.I.E.L.D., the Tesseract’s energy enveloped her after Mercer’s voice invoked Boundless Lockdown.

  • Mercer severed the Great Old One’s tentacles, dismantled the Magic Array, and closed the Portal.
  • Mercer and Galacta arranged the battlefield before Boundless Lockdown was lifted and S.H.I.E.L.D. entered the ruined Gymnasium.
  • Carter found Mercer apparently dead, while the Ancient One arrived and took the Tesseract.
  • The Ancient One admitted she had arranged Mercer’s death to seize Earth, then subdued Carter and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
  • Mercer’s voice invoked Boundless Lockdown, and the Tesseract exploded in energy around the Ancient One.

Ch. 49Under My Control

Mercer confronted the Ancient One after revealing that he had used an illusion to trick her into taking the Tesseract, and learned she had embraced Dormammu’s power to seize control of Earth. He used the Tesseract to protect the stadium and its occupants, then caught the Ancient One through her Sling Ring Portal, leaving her unable to escape.

  • The Ancient One reappeared badly wounded after Mercer and Galacta revealed themselves with the Tesseract.
  • Mercer admitted he had used the Book of the Vishanti’s All Things in the Universe spell to fool the Ancient One, who had mistaken his illusion for his death.
  • The Ancient One revealed Dormammu’s mark and declared her intention to take control of Earth, then unleashed darkness that corrupted the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
  • Mercer used the Tesseract to stop the darkness and the Book of the Vishanti to send the corrupted agents outside the stadium.
  • The Ancient One opened a Sling Ring Portal to escape, but Mercer reached through it and caught her by the throat, saying the space was under his control.

Ch. 50Simple

Mercer defeated the Ancient One inside a Tesseract-created dimension and sent her through a portal into the Great Old One’s lair. As he and Galacta planned to eat the severed tentacles, the system triggered a mission to rescue the Ancient One.

  • Mercer trapped the Ancient One in a separate dimension where teleportation magic failed, then overwhelmed her attacks by redirecting her spells with the Tesseract.
  • Mercer beat the Ancient One until she surrendered, but he threw her through a portal into the Great Old One’s lair instead of sparing her.
  • Galacta joined Mercer, and he explained that sending the Ancient One to the Great Old One might keep it from attacking their world.
  • Mercer and Galacta decided to keep and eat the Great Old One’s severed tentacles.
  • The system suddenly triggered a mission to rescue the Ancient One.
Arc 2 of 8