Chapter Summaries

Li Chuang and Alice exchanged their gold for money with help from an old friend, then decided to leave home and travel so they would not become a weakness for Li Ge. They set Egypt as their destination and began their journey.

• Li Chuang rejected the idea of asking his former associates for help and persuaded Alice to visit the old man he trusted.
• The old man arranged for Li Chuang to exchange his gold for two anonymous bank cards, paying a relatively high price.
• After returning home, Li Chuang and Alice decided not to interfere with Li Ge’s goals and prepared to travel while growing stronger.
• Li Chuang and Alice left their house, believing their departure would make it harder for enemies to use them against Li Ge.
• Alice suggested Egypt as their destination, and Li Chuang agreed to travel there.

Coulson explained Li Ge’s power and his suspicion of Li Ge’s attitude toward S.H.I.E.L.D. while Li Chuang and Alice noticed the agents following them. In Asgard, Odin stripped Thor of his power and banished him to Earth, where Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis encountered him.

• Coulson told Natasha and Barton that Li Ge had immense power and little goodwill toward S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Li Chuang told Alice that the surveillance van belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D. and that he had used Telepathy to learn they were discussing their son.
• Odin condemned Thor for disobeying his command, took back Mjolnir, removed Thor’s power, and banished him from Asgard.
• Odin sent Mjolnir through a passage to Earth and declared that only someone worthy could wield it.
• Thor crashed into a car near Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis, then called for Mjolnir and Heimdall before Darcy shocked him unconscious with her taser.

Li Ge completed his collection and condensation of mutant abilities while the Professor and the others struggled to restore order after everyone in the Bald Eagle nation awakened powers. After nearly a month of suppressing chaos, the X-Men became the country’s protectors.

• Li Ge condensed collected abilities into origins of elemental power and a special origin representing change and possibility.
• Li Ge placed a barrier around the Bald Eagle nation that sealed most of the powers of anyone who left.
• The Professor and former government officials organized local forces to restore order, but the nationwide awakening sparked fresh chaos and territorial ambitions.
• The Professor, Henryk, Apocalypse, and Tony traveled across the country to suppress powerful mutants, including a mechanical expert whose giant robot resisted their attacks until Apocalypse disabled it with Energy Absorption.
• The Professor recruited suitable people into the X-Men, establishing the organization as the Bald Eagle nation’s protectors.

At Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Apocalypse explained that his main body had finished building the Nine Heavens for the Path to Godhood and announced he was preparing to leave. He agreed to leave his Golden Body Dharma Idol behind so the Professor and Henryk could call on its power when needed.

• Jimmy and Tony asked Apocalypse when his main body would return from the sky, and Apocalypse revealed it could have changed back over a month earlier.
• Apocalypse explained that his main body had condensed ability origins and built the basic framework of the Nine Heavens for the Path to Godhood.
• Tony complained that Apocalypse had not told him about the project, then asked to tour the completed Nine Heavens, but Apocalypse said they could visit later.
• The Professor asked Apocalypse to stay because Bald Eagle still faced powerful mutants, but Apocalypse said he was preparing to leave for their own world.
• Apocalypse offered to leave his Golden Body Dharma Idol with the others and had Tony recite its prayer so the Professor and Henryk could use it.
• The Professor and Henryk memorized the prayer, and Apocalypse began discussing preparations for leaving.

Apocalypse established a fixed portal between the underground base and Tony’s laboratory, creating a route between the two worlds. Before returning, he asked the Professor to coordinate with other countries so his departure would not cause alarm.

• Apocalypse asked Tony whether he had found meteorites for synthesizing adamantium, and Tony said he had recovered a few from Stryker’s search area.
• Apocalypse questioned Tony about the adamantium at Stryker’s base, and Tony admitted he had taken it for his Divinity Space.
• Jimmy recalled the pain of having adamantium injected into his bones, and Apocalypse reassured him that it was in the past.
• Apocalypse led Tony, the Professor, Henryk, and Jimmy to the underground training hall to leave a portal there.
• Apocalypse linked the black sphere to the portal in Tony’s laboratory, establishing a fixed passage between the two worlds.
• Apocalypse said he planned to return to his world, and the Professor asked him to wait while he notified other countries.

Li Ge returned to his original form after completing the first two layers of the Nine Heavens, which he declared his divine artifact and divine kingdom. He reappeared before Apocalypse and the others, who crowded around the miniature world to inspect its unfinished layers.

• The Professor alerted Bald Eagle and other countries that Li Ge was about to return to his original form, while Apocalypse and the others waited and drank King Fruit juice.
• Li Ge examined the miniature universe he had created, with two mostly complete heavens and six chaotic, unfinished ones.
• Li Ge named the sphere the Nine Heavens, described himself as the Ninth Heaven, and said the Divinity World would remain his private space.
• Li Ge opened a portal and returned to Apocalypse, where Tony spotted the Nine Heavens and drew the others over to examine it.

Li Ge left his Divinity with Apocalypse and sent him and Tony back through a portal after promising Henryk that people from his world could join the Path to Godhood. At Li Ge’s research base, Peter’s secret visits were discovered by Harry and Gwen Stacy, who learned about Li Ge’s plan.

• Henryk reminded Li Ge of their agreement, and Li Ge confirmed that more people joining the Path to Godhood would benefit him.
• Li Ge vanished into his Divinity, which entered Apocalypse, and Apocalypse explained that Li Ge’s main body was inside the Divinity Space.
• Apocalypse opened a portal and left with Tony after saying goodbye to the Professor, Jimmy, and Henryk.
• Tony teased Jimmy about the footage of his streaking, making the Professor and Henryk laugh.
• Peter, Harry, and Gwen Stacy went fishing at Li Ge’s research base, where Gwen confronted Peter about hiding his visits.
• Peter explained that he had kept Li Ge’s affairs secret, and Gwen acknowledged that she had learned about the Path to Godhood.

Peter brought Gwen Stacy and Harry into Li Ge’s base, where they learned about Li Ge’s powers and Peter’s origins and began treating the place as their secret gathering spot. Li Ge returned with Tony to his seaside villa and entrusted Tony with the portal sphere before heading back to his own base.

• Peter explained Li Ge’s private world, his travels between universes, and how a spider bite gave him supernatural powers to Gwen Stacy and Harry.
• Gwen Stacy accepted Peter’s account after seeing the base and watching him perform aerial gymnastics, and the three began spending time there together.
• Gwen Stacy asked Harry to comfort Mary Jane, but Harry and Peter argued that they should keep Li Ge’s base and secrets from others.
• Li Ge and Tony emerged from a portal into Tony’s laboratory, where Tony greeted Li Ge and JARVIS.
• Li Ge handed Tony the portal sphere to safeguard and left for his own base, telling Tony to visit Jimmy and the others if he had time.

Apocalypse returned to the research base, where Peter, Harry, and Gwen Stacy learned that Li Ge was refining the Nine Heavens and agreed to receive abilities designed by Apocalypse. The reunion ended when Apocalypse sensed someone watching the base and turned toward the distant sky.

• Tony realized Apocalypse had left him responsible for the portal, but he was eager to study it and use it to travel between worlds.
• Apocalypse returned to the base, startled Peter, Harry, and Gwen Stacy with his appearance, and explained that he was Li Ge's clone.
• Apocalypse told them Li Ge was refining the Nine Heavens and that collecting information about Captain America was necessary before completing the First Heaven.
• Harry and Gwen accepted Li Ge's invitation and asked Apocalypse to design abilities for them.
• Apocalypse scanned the expanded base and its surroundings, then sensed someone watching and stared toward a distant spot in the sky.

Grant Ward monitored Li Ge’s base, hoping to exploit Li Ge’s suspected ability to grant power. After Li Ge discovered the drone, Grant decided to flee, but Apocalypse appeared behind him.

• Grant Ward watched Peter and the others at Li Ge’s base from a cloaked drone and planned to use them against Li Ge.
• Grant saw Li Ge appear as a blue figure and recognized him as the person he had been tracking.
• Apocalypse turned toward the drone and destroyed it, making Grant fear he had been discovered.
• Grant decided to leave his mobile base rather than risk confronting Li Ge.
• Apocalypse appeared behind Grant and spoke to him, and Grant spun around with his pistol drawn.

Apocalypse confronted Grant Ward, exposed his Hydra identity, and transported him to an isolated desert where he could not escape. After returning to Peter, Gwen Stacy, and Harry, Apocalypse said he had only taught the intruder a lesson and turned to discussing the powers he would give them.

• Apocalypse immobilized Grant, disintegrated his pistol, and warned him after identifying him as a Hydra agent.
• Grant resolved to steal Apocalypse’s power, then discovered he had been abandoned in an unfamiliar desert with no way to contact anyone.
• Peter, Gwen Stacy, and Harry questioned Apocalypse about the watcher, and he said he had taught him a lesson and dumped him somewhere else.
• Apocalypse revealed that he had put Grant in the First Heaven of the Nine Heavens and decided to warn Nick Fury about S.H.I.E.L.D.’s mess.
• Grant found that his mobile base could not move and realized the strange desert felt like Li Ge’s base.
• Apocalypse set aside the incident and began discussing the powers he planned to give Harry and Gwen Stacy.

Apocalypse visited Tony, who told him that a mysterious hammer had appeared in Mexico and that its runes identified it as Mjolnir. Apocalypse agreed to go see Thor and the hammer, hoping to learn from the god of thunder’s powers.

• Apocalypse complained that his clone could not help create the Nine Heavens because that work required his main body’s unique abilities.
• Tony explained that JARVIS had detected strange spacetime fluctuations in Mexico and found a hammer that no one could lift.
• Tony identified the hammer’s runes as spelling Mjolnir and suspected it belonged to Thor.
• Apocalypse said he wanted to see Thor and Mjolnir, then pulled Tony through a portal despite Tony’s protests about his drink.

Coulson, Natasha, and Barton watched over Thor’s hammer and discussed their encounter with Li Ge’s parents, whom Coulson suspected had powerful abilities. Tony and Li Ge’s clone, Apocalypse, arrived at the crater, where Tony approached the hammer and Apocalypse explained his identity and interest in studying its owner.

• Coulson told Natasha and Barton that Li Ge had appeared at his research base alongside Tony, and that Li Ge’s parents had sensed their surveillance.
• Coulson explained that his danger-sensing power had alerted him to a powerful presence near Li Ge’s parents, whom he suspected had discovered the agents.
• Tony and Apocalypse arrived, and Tony hurried toward the hammer while flirting with Natasha.
• Apocalypse told Coulson, Natasha, and Barton that he was Li Ge’s clone and shared a linked mind with him.
• Apocalypse said he wanted to study the hammer’s owner and the things that arrived with him.

Apocalypse identified the hammer as Mjolnir, the weapon of Asgard’s God of Thunder, and scanned its materials while Tony failed to lift it. After discovering that the handle contained only a fragment of the World Tree’s information, Apocalypse planned to trade Mjolnir for Thor’s help in reaching the real World Tree.

• Apocalypse told Coulson, Natasha, and Barton that the hammer was Mjolnir and that its owner, the God of Thunder, might be nearby.
• Apocalypse sat on his golden throne and scanned Mjolnir while Tony tried and failed to lift it with his armor.
• Apocalypse obtained information about the neutron star material and Uru alloy, but found that the World Tree wood revealed only an incomplete fragment.
• Tony teased Apocalypse about his difficulty, while Coulson, Natasha, and Barton watched his armor and throne with interest.
• Apocalypse proposed trading Mjolnir to Thor in exchange for a promise that could help him reach the real World Tree.

Apocalypse offered to help Thor master his thunder powers in exchange for a trip to the World Tree, then prepared to hide with Tony, Coulson, Natasha, and Barton and watch Thor arrive. The group became invisible and rose into the air on a platform as Thor approached.

• Apocalypse said he would help Thor become a true God of Thunder if Thor took him to the World Tree.
• Tony and Coulson doubted that Thor depended on his hammer until Apocalypse revealed he had seen Thor get knocked unconscious by a stun gun.
• Apocalypse noticed dark clouds gathering and sensed Thor charging toward them.
• Apocalypse invited Tony and the others to watch Thor reclaim his hammer, and Natasha sat beside him on his throne.
• Apocalypse used Virtualization Invisibility and Telekinesis to hide the group and carry them aloft on a solid platform.

Apocalypse took Tony, Coulson, Barton, and Natasha to watch Thor try to reclaim Mjolnir, after showing off his King Fruit juice and explaining that Thor could not control his powers. Thor failed to lift the hammer and collapsed in the rain, crying out to his father.

• Apocalypse served King Fruit juice to the group and dismissed Tony’s suggestion that he create other delicacies, though he imagined making a world of food someday.
• Apocalypse carried the group through the base on an invisible telekinetic platform toward the God of Hammers.
• Thor fought past the agents surrounding him and charged deeper into the base without using lightning.
• Thor found Mjolnir and pulled at it, but the hammer did not move.
• Thor knelt in the rain and cried out to his father after failing to lift Mjolnir.

Apocalypse brought Thor and the others to the unfinished Nine Heavens, where he offered to help Thor regain Mjolnir and began explaining the realm. Thor remained fixated on his hammer as Apocalypse revealed that they were only in the First Heaven.

• Apocalypse invited Coulson, Tony, Natasha, and Barton to visit the Nine Heavens and told Heimdall to inform Odin that he was taking Thor.
• Apocalypse transported the group to the Nine Heavens and brought Thor along, then seated him at a table.
• Thor asked Apocalypse to help him lift Mjolnir again, but Apocalypse challenged him to think beyond his hammer.
• When Thor demanded an answer, Apocalypse forced him back into his seat and sealed him inside a Telekinesis barrier.
• Apocalypse showed Tony and the others the unfinished realm, explaining that its illusory trees needed Captain America's information and that it was only the First Heaven.

Odin and the Ancient One discussed Apocalypse, whose true body was Li Ge, and learned that Li Ge planned to create a Path to Godhood with power to transform countless worlds. Apocalypse then told Coulson to retrieve Captain America so he could help perfect the First Heaven.

• Odin sensed Apocalypse take Thor away but trusted that Thor would be safe because the Ancient One had not intervened.
• Odin visited the Ancient One, who told him Apocalypse was a clone of Li Ge and that Li Ge had grown close to their level of power.
• The Ancient One explained that Li Ge intended to create a Path to Godhood that could empower beings across countless worlds, and Odin wondered whether he and the Ancient One could grow stronger through it.
• Odin and the Ancient One agreed to help Thor and Li Ge while they still had time.
• Apocalypse asked Coulson to dig Captain America out and bring back information to help perfect the First Heaven.

Apocalypse brought Thor, Coulson, Tony, Natasha, and Barton to the Thunder Domain in the Second Heaven, where he explained how visitors could gain power by passing trials. Thor confronted his loss of power and Mjolnir’s rejection, while Apocalypse described his plans for ten power-gathering domains and a Central Continent.

• After calming down, Thor asked Apocalypse how he could lift his hammer, and Apocalypse transported the group to the Thunder Domain.
• Tony mocked Thor for acting like he had never seen a world of lightning, and Apocalypse restrained Thor when he tried to attack Tony.
• Apocalypse taunted Thor as a powerless mortal, prompting Thor to admit that his father had stripped his power and Mjolnir no longer acknowledged him.
• Coulson asked Apocalypse to explain the Thunder Domain, and Apocalypse said visitors could obtain its power by passing trials.
• Apocalypse told Coulson and the others that the Second Heaven would contain ten domains and a Central Continent for travel, trade, living, and rest.

Apocalypse explained that the Ten Domains offered many powers through trials and urged Thor to reclaim his identity as the God of Thunder without relying on Mjolnir. Thor accepted the challenge to train in the highest lightning pool, while Apocalypse asked him to arrange contact with the Tree of the World.

• Apocalypse explained the Ten Domains and said people could earn multiple powers by mastering their trials.
• Apocalypse challenged Thor to recognize that his power came from himself, not Mjolnir, and secretly added Thor's thunder power to the Thunder Domain.
• Thor declared that he was the God of Thunder and agreed to prove himself by enduring the lightning pool atop the highest mountain.
• Apocalypse flew the group deeper into the Thunder Domain as Thor chatted with Tony and the others and shared stories about Asgard.
• Apocalypse told Thor he wanted to contact the Tree of the World as payment for helping him regain his power, and Thor accepted the explanation.