Chapter Summaries

Lin Xiao and Carol tracked down Skrulls in Rio de Janeiro, while Lin Xiao’s attempts to flirt with Carol on the cruise ship ended in teasing and laughter. After capturing the last Skrull, Lin Xiao left the story with singed, curled hair and Carol advising him to wear a hat on future missions.

• Lin Xiao traveled to Rio with Carol, then tried to apply sunscreen to her on the cruise ship while asking whether Skrulls needed sunscreen too.
• Lin Xiao entered a soda factory disguised with a fake police badge and chased a Skrull who shot at him and singed his hair.
• Lin Xiao caught the fleeing Skrull by trapping him in a discarded plastic pipe and carried him back to the ship.
• Carol had already captured two other Skrulls when Lin Xiao arrived with the pipe and released his captive.
• The Skrull accused Lin Xiao of abusing him, but Carol laughed at Lin Xiao’s singed curls and told him to wear a hat on future missions.

Lin Xiao took Carol flying in Howard Stark’s P-51 Mustang and tried to give her a memorable day before her energy clone faded. As Carol agreed to accompany him to Afghanistan to help the Skrulls, they shared a kiss—and the original Carol received the clone’s memories in deep space.

• Lin Xiao noticed Carol’s left index finger fading and realized her energy clone was nearing the end of its mission.
• Lin Xiao collected a briefcase from Pepper Potts at Stark Tower, then borrowed Howard Stark’s P-51 Mustang from the museum and flew it with Carol.
• Tony’s cape design featured a cartoon fire-breathing lizard, so Carol used her powers to replace it with Lin Xiao’s requested five-clawed golden dragon.
• Lin Xiao and Carol watched the Skrulls prepare to leave Earth, and Carol insisted on joining him to Afghanistan; she explained that she would share the original Carol’s memories.
• Lin Xiao asked Carol whether she would still be herself after the clone disappeared, then embraced and kissed her on Stark Tower’s rooftop.
• The original Carol received the clone’s memories across space, saw Lin Xiao kissing her, and called him a bastard.

Lin Xiao and Carol shared an affectionate morning and traveled to Afghanistan, where they helped evacuate three Skrulls. After Carol persuaded him to let her help with his personal business, Lin Xiao prepared to reveal himself as Homelander.

• Lin Xiao and Carol woke up together, teased each other, and dressed for their trip to Afghanistan.
• Carol sat on Lin Xiao's lap throughout the flight, and Lin Xiao used his S.H.I.E.L.D. ID to stop the captain from separating them.
• Lin Xiao and Carol landed in Afghanistan, joked about the sand, and located three Skrulls hiding near Kandahar.
• Lin Xiao handed the Skrulls over to the American embassy, whose ambassador arranged their safe evacuation.
• Carol asked Lin Xiao to let her help with his affairs, and Lin Xiao agreed to pursue the ten bracelets rather than seek revenge.
• Lin Xiao put on his Homelander nanosuit and prepared to let the world learn about its hero.

Lin Xiao and Carol confronted Wenwu at his villa in Rome, where his Ten Rings proved powerful enough to overwhelm them. Lin Xiao used Enma to destroy one ring, but collapsed from exhaustion as Wenwu charged at him with the remaining nine.

• Wenwu ordered his men to kill Lin Xiao and Carol, and Carol knocked the gunmen aside with a golden shock wave.
• Carol fought Wenwu, but his Ten Rings blasted her backward and slowed the healing of her injuries.
• Lin Xiao attacked Wenwu but was repelled, then took shelter behind Carol as she blocked the rings’ attacks with her weakening shield.
• Lin Xiao drew Enma and asked Carol to draw Wenwu’s attention, then struck through Wenwu’s barrier and shattered one of the Ten Rings.
• Wenwu charged at the exhausted Lin Xiao with his remaining nine rings as Lin Xiao knelt with Enma planted in the ground.

Lin Xiao and Carol defeat Wenwu at the cost of most of Carol’s energy, and Lin Xiao wakes aboard a transport to learn she survived as a fading projection. Before dissipating, Carol reveals that her original self shared every moment with her clone and entrusts Lin Xiao with the Ten Rings and the Skrulls’ departure from Earth.

• Wenwu refuses to approach the weakened Lin Xiao and fires a devastating beam at him.
• Carol shields Lin Xiao, absorbs the beam in her Binary Form, and grabs Wenwu so Lin Xiao can land a fatal Normal Punch.
• Wenwu dies, while Lin Xiao and Carol collapse; Lin Xiao crawls toward her before losing consciousness.
• Natasha tells Lin Xiao he was unconscious for twelve hours, and he discovers Carol is still present but partly dissipated.
• Carol reveals that her original self shared the clone’s memories and perceptions, then tells Lin Xiao to protect the Ten Rings and ensure the Skrulls leave Earth.
• Carol fades away, leaving her glove behind, and Lin Xiao wonders whether he can flee Earth.

Tony Stark visited Lin Xiao while he was recovering from his injuries, but fled after finding May, Betty, Gwen, and Natasha gathered in his apartment. The women confronted Lin Xiao about his relationships, Natasha reported on an upcoming escort mission, and Coulson and Hill stopped by before the four women pinched Lin Xiao for staring at Hill.

• Tony Stark arrived with doughnuts to tease Lin Xiao but left when he saw May, Betty, Gwen, and Natasha waiting downstairs.
• May and Betty traded pointed remarks about their closeness to Lin Xiao, while Gwen revealed that Lin Xiao had taken her for ice cream and agreed to stay overnight.
• Natasha told Lin Xiao that the group scheduled to evacuate in two days would launch from the old Brooklyn docks and that she had arranged an escort mission.
• Gwen, Betty, and May asked Lin Xiao who Carol was, but May went downstairs to answer the door before he could explain.
• Coulson declined Lin Xiao's plea to stay, and Hill told him the agency was monitoring his recovery; when Lin Xiao stared at Hill as she left, four women pinched his waist.

Peter and Ned captured an arms-smuggling crew in Brooklyn, then talked about Peter's upcoming movie with MJ and Ned's work on Peter's equipment. Ned's mysterious ring activated while he slept, and the Ancient One sensed it at Kamar-Taj and prepared for a visitor connected to Lin Xiao.

• Peter and Ned used sand to subdue Notched-Ear Joe and six other arms thieves, leaving them and their weapons for the Brooklyn police.
• Peter told Ned he had agreed to see a movie with MJ, and Ned teased him before promising to help with their vigilante work.
• Ned explained that Mr. Stark's next equipment upgrade would let Peter control sand underwater and in the rain.
• Ned examined the ring whose runes he had reconstructed, then accidentally activated it when his finger pressed a rune as he slept.
• The Ancient One sensed the ring's brief activation and told her disciple to compile a list of promising students because someone might soon attend classes.

Lin Xiao attended the Skrulls’ departure from Earth, where Hill informed him that he had been promoted to Level 7 Agent on Pierce’s recommendation. After the Skrull spacecraft left, Doupao revealed that infiltrators remained on Earth and sent Lin Xiao’s message to Carol.

• Natasha pushed the badly injured Lin Xiao to the harbor launch site, where S.H.I.E.L.D. agents regarded him as a combat hero because the details of his mission had been sealed.
• Hill told Lin Xiao that he had been promoted to Level 7 Agent after Pierce recommended him, and Lin Xiao suspected Pierce was trying to win him over and keep him under surveillance.
• Lin Xiao thanked Pierce through Hill, then watched Sarah and the other peace-faction Skrulls board their spacecraft and leave Earth.
• Doupao told Lin Xiao that Skrulls seeking to infiltrate and control Earth’s leadership remained hidden, mainly in America and Squid Country.
• Lin Xiao asked Doupao to tell Carol that he was waiting for her on Earth, and Doupao sent the message 1.76 million light-years.

After recovering at home, Lin Xiao received an S+ gift that awakened Blue Silver Grass and struggled to activate Wenwu’s ten rings. In Douhun Continent, Tang Xiaosan’s much-anticipated Martial Soul awakening repeatedly failed, leaving him humiliated before the village.

• Lin Xiao returned home, where Natasha, May, and Betty welcomed him and Betty proudly served the Dragon Country dishes she had learned to cook.
• Lin Xiao completed the six-star mission to defeat Wenwu, earned an SS rating, raised his attributes to an A- combat rating, and awakened Blue Silver Grass from the S+ gift pack.
• Lin Xiao discovered that Wenwu’s ten rings responded to his Spirit but would not activate, so he asked Doupao to investigate Tao Yuhan’s background for clues.
• At Holy Soul Village’s awakening ceremony, Tang Xiaosan boasted that he was the chosen one, but the officiant failed seven times to reveal any Martial Soul.
• Wang Erniu mocked Tang Xiaosan while showing off his kitchen-knife Martial Soul, and Tang Xiaosan demanded new testing equipment and another officiant before the ceremony moved on to Wang Ergou.

Lin Xiao discovered several powerful uses for his Blue Silver Grass and rescued Mei Igarashi from a hotel fire, earning the nickname Wheelchair Man. Mei told Storm that Lin Xiao had saved her, prompting Storm to investigate whether he was a mutant.

• Lin Xiao used Blue Silver Grass to walk on vines, grow flowers and edible shoots, and agreed with Tony to joke about starting an agricultural business.
• Lin Xiao spotted Mei Igarashi trapped above a hotel fire, climbed the building on his vines, and carried her safely down.
• Mei introduced herself as a mutant from the X-Men Academy and revealed that Storm punched Lin Xiao’s photograph on her training bag.
• A boy called Lin Xiao Wheelchair Man, and a television report spread the name as the city’s new superhero.
• Mei recounted the rescue to Storm at Xavier’s School, and Storm decided to investigate Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. after recovering, learned that Professor X had invited him to Xavier’s School, and was promoted to Level 7 Agent. Storm arrived with flowers and persuaded him to visit the school that very day.

• Natasha teased Lin Xiao about being caught making out with Betty, then drove him to the Triskelion without telling him Storm had delivered an invitation from Professor X.
• Lin Xiao returned to the agency, where Grant Ward and other agents were astonished by his recovery, and Hill told him to attend the morning meeting and complete his assessments.
• Fury read Xavier’s School’s thank-you letter, which praised Lin Xiao for rescuing Mei Igarashi and helping subdue Pyro, and announced his promotion to Level 7 Agent.
• Lin Xiao tried to leave the meeting before encountering Storm, but found her waiting outside Coulson’s office with flowers and an invitation to visit Xavier’s School.
• Storm said Professor X was free that day, and Lin Xiao reluctantly agreed to visit immediately.

Lin Xiao visited Xavier's School with Storm, where his system identified several mutants and activated psychic shielding against Professor X. During his meeting with Professor X and Jean Grey, both discovered they could not read his mind, and Jean's Phoenix Force reacted to his life energy; Professor X found Lin Xiao intriguing.

• Lin Xiao followed Storm through Xavier's School, sizing up its students and considering their powers as potential mission targets.
• Doupao told Lin Xiao that its upgraded psychic shield would block mind reading after the Ancient One had probed his dreams.
• Storm led Lin Xiao to Professor X's office, where Professor X and Jean Grey both failed to read his thoughts.
• Jean Grey sensed Lin Xiao's life energy stirring the Phoenix Force sealed within her.
• Lin Xiao told Professor X that Nick Fury and Alexander Pierce had sent their regards, then introduced himself to Jean Grey.
• After Jean left to prepare tea, Professor X remarked that Jean seemed unusually interested in Lin Xiao, who joked that women liked him.

Lin Xiao faced Iceman’s accusation at Xavier’s School, apologized for injuring Pyro while defending Coulson, and defused the confrontation with an awkward joke. Meanwhile, Tony defended his Iron Man armor at a congressional hearing and secretly stored Lin Xiao’s blood as a backup in case he was dying.

• Iceman confronted Lin Xiao at Xavier’s School over Pyro’s injuries, while Storm and Professor X watched.
• Lin Xiao explained that Pyro had attacked him after injuring Coulson, apologized, and offered to help with Pyro’s recovery.
• Lin Xiao clung to Storm and asked her to protect him, breaking the tension; Iceman and his companions then left.
• Tony argued at a Capitol hearing that the Iron Man armor belonged to him, and his lawyer rejected the Department of Defense’s ownership claim.
• Tony announced that he was working with S.H.I.E.L.D. on a new superhero team and left the hearing.
• Tony ordered JARVIS to secure Lin Xiao’s blood in a private freezer as a backup in case he was about to die.

Lin Xiao cheered up Storm at dinner with a moonwalk before agreeing to join Tony Stark in Monaco, where he planned to intervene in the coming attack by Ivan Vanko. He left Storm a blue rose and prepared to depart for Tony’s private airfield the next morning.

• At dinner, Lin Xiao performed a moonwalk for Storm, making her smile and laugh.
• Tony Stark called to invite Lin Xiao to Monaco, and Lin Xiao eagerly accepted after hearing about the races.
• Lin Xiao recalled Ivan Vanko’s planned attack on Tony and decided to collect the mission reward and take Vanko’s electric whips.
• Lin Xiao paid for dinner, gave Storm a blue rose, and left the restaurant.
• Lin Xiao called May to say he was going to Monaco and asked her to have Natasha request leave for him at S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Lin Xiao drove through New York, looking forward to the electric whips and his departure with Tony the next morning.

Lin Xiao joined Tony Stark in an exhibition race at the Monaco Grand Prix, where Ivan Vanko attacked the track with electric whips. Lin Xiao defeated and incapacitated Ivan, but the system rated his plot participation D- and barred further involvement, leaving him worried about losing the rewards.

• Lin Xiao convinced Tony Stark to let him race, then drove recklessly through the field and pursued the leader.
• Ivan Vanko attacked the circuit with electric whips, and Lin Xiao overtook the leader while evading the strikes.
• Ivan’s whips destroyed the roof of Lin Xiao’s car before it reached the finish, invalidating its result.
• Lin Xiao confronted Ivan, caught an electric whip, and used it to send Ivan crashing into his own whips until he was incapacitated.
• The system assigned Lin Xiao a D- plot rating and ended his participation, and Tony asked whether he knew who Ivan was.

Tony used Ivan Vanko’s attack to announce the Rebirth Foundation, then planned with Lin Xiao to bait Justin Hammer with altered Iron Man blueprints. Lin Xiao also urged Tony to find a cure for his reactor poisoning, and Tony accepted his candy as they parted on uneasy but friendly terms.

• Tony told reporters Ivan Vanko had attacked him over his father’s grudge, promised to cover Ivan’s medical care, and announced the Rebirth Foundation with five million dollars in seed funding.
• Lin Xiao praised Tony’s press conference and showed him Ivan’s electric whips, which he planned to display in Stark Tower.
• Tony revealed that JARVIS had tied Justin Hammer to Ivan’s attack, but said he could not openly move against Hammer; Lin Xiao proposed sending Hammer altered Mark I blueprints as bait.
• Tony decided to use Ivan’s communications to make Hammer believe Ivan was secretly sending him the blueprints, while Lin Xiao suggested involving Peter, Gwen Stacy, and Ned if Hammer attacked.
• Lin Xiao asked whether Tony had studied the blood sample and urged him to search Howard Stark’s work for a way to save his life; Tony quietly agreed to keep looking.
• Lin Xiao offered Tony White Rabbit Creamy Candy, and Tony took it, insisting it was too sweet.

Lin Xiao was assigned to train the exceptional but inexperienced recruit Kara Lynn Palamas, whose early arrival at S.H.I.E.L.D. resulted from changes Lin Xiao had caused. He began her first lesson by teaching her to “slack off efficiently” and led her toward Deputy Director Hill’s office, leaving Kara curious about what would happen next.

• Coulson asked Lin Xiao to train Kara Lynn Palamas, a nineteen-year-old recruit with excellent grades but no combat experience.
• Lin Xiao learned from Doupao that Kara had been discovered years earlier than in her original timeline because his actions had changed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s recruitment strategy.
• Kara reported to Lin Xiao, who offered her candy and then declared that her first lesson was how to slack off efficiently.
• Lin Xiao told Kara that they would visit Deputy Director Hill as a training exercise, styled his hair, and grew a glowing blue rose from his palm.
• Kara followed Lin Xiao through S.H.I.E.L.D., grew more curious about his unorthodox training, and arrived with him at Deputy Director Hill’s office.

Kara Lynn Palamas recorded her first day shadowing Lin Xiao, whose flirtation and casual advice left her unsure what she had learned. Meanwhile, Justin Hammer received mechanical exoskeleton blueprints and a message from Ivan Vanko, then sent a man to investigate Vanko in Monaco.

• Lin Xiao took Kara Lynn Palamas around S.H.I.E.L.D., flirting with Maria Hill and Natasha before giving Kara cake instead of her chicken cutlet.
• At the training grounds, Lin Xiao watched and coached female agents while Kara practiced shooting, then told her three lessons to include in an observation diary.
• Lin Xiao read Kara’s diary in his office and laughed at her candid complaints.
• Justin Hammer received exoskeleton blueprints and a Russian message from Ivan Vanko urging him to strike back at Stark.
• Justin Hammer ordered a subordinate to leave for Monaco that night and check on Vanko, while the subordinate read a message promising to erase his debt if he completed an assigned job.

At Tony Stark's birthday party, Lin Xiao and Tony gave Rhodey the Mark II armor and welcomed him into the Superhero Team as War Machine. Justin Hammer announced a launch of unmanned armor, while Lin Xiao learned Coulson was headed to New Mexico and asked to accompany him.

• Lin Xiao and Tony presented Rhodey with the Mark II armor to make up for making him the legal representative, and Rhodey agreed to join the Superhero Team as War Machine.
• Justin Hammer arrived uninvited, insulted Lin Xiao, and announced that Hammer Industries would unveil unmanned military armor the following month.
• Lin Xiao and Tony privately predicted that Hammer's armor would fail quickly because its downgraded cooling modules caused the engines to overheat.
• Tony and Lin Xiao discussed a future mission for Peter and Gwen Stacy, with Rhodey providing fire support and Tony handling aerial coverage.
• Coulson told Lin Xiao that Director Fury had ordered him to go to New Mexico on the third of the next month, and Lin Xiao asked to come along.

At Hammer Industries’ launch, Justin Hammer revealed that he had anticipated Tony Stark’s sabotage and unveiled twelve powerful Iron Soldiers and two hundred Locust suits. Tony, Rhodey, Peter, Ghost-Spider, and Lin Xiao stopped his attack, leaving Hammer defeated and the hall secure.

• At the product launch, Hammer exposed Tony’s blueprint sabotage, revealed his reverse-engineered Iron Soldiers, and sealed the hall with the audience trapped inside.
• Hammer ordered the Iron Soldiers to attack, but Tony revealed he had manipulated Hammer through Ivan Vanko’s encrypted connection and suited up.
• Peter used sand to jam the Iron Soldiers, Ghost-Spider attacked them, and Rhodey destroyed one with his armor cannon.
• Hammer revealed two hundred Locust suits in hidden launch shafts and threatened to unleash them over New York.
• Lin Xiao broke through the dome, then disabled the Locust suits by shorting their power conduits with a vine and forced Hammer to his knees.
• Lin Xiao asked the others to make the hole in the dome neater before he left to pick Betty up from the airport.