Chapter Summaries

Lin Xiao, Betty, May, Tony, and Rhodey established Vought Company and chose Lin Xiao to be its first public face, while Peter, Gwen Stacy, and Ned joined remotely to protect their identities. The next day, Nick Fury learned of the company’s launch and prepared to remind Lin Xiao of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s rules as Lin Xiao set out to accompany Coulson to New Mexico.

• Lin Xiao, May, and Betty arrived at the renovated Stane Tower, where Tony and Rhodey were waiting for the company’s founding meeting.
• Betty explained the company charter and equity plan, with Lin Xiao receiving thirty-five percent, Stark Industries thirty percent, Rhodey ten percent, May and Betty five percent each, and fifteen percent reserved for the equity pool.
• The shareholders approved the name Vought International Media and Security Consulting Limited and chose Lin Xiao as the company’s first public face.
• The meeting covered hiring, S.H.I.E.L.D. cooperation, and guidelines for Peter and Gwen Stacy before the attendees adjourned for dinner.
• Nick Fury learned that Vought had registered and that Betty was its technology chief, then approved Lin Xiao’s trip to New Mexico with Coulson and ordered Hill to deliver S.H.I.E.L.D.’s conduct guidelines to him.

At the S.H.I.E.L.D. quarantine site, Lin Xiao confronted Thor as he tried to reclaim Mjolnir and challenged him to a contest. After Thor failed to lift the hammer and lost their fight, he agreed to follow Lin Xiao, leaving Mjolnir behind.

• Jane Foster drove away after Thor entered the restricted area to reach his hammer.
• Thor fought past the guards while Lin Xiao told Coulson he wanted to meet him and healed one unconscious agent with Blue Silver Grass.
• Thor failed to lift Mjolnir, and Lin Xiao also tried to lift it before proposing a one-punch contest.
• Thor accepted Lin Xiao's challenge, but Lin Xiao's punch sent him staggering back and left his arm injured.
• Lin Xiao offered Thor food and shelter, and Thor followed him away from Mjolnir as Hawkeye reported that Lin Xiao had taken the target.

Jane returned to check on Thor and joined him and Lin Xiao at a roadside bar, where Lin Xiao promised to take Thor to his hammer. In Asgard, Frigga discovered an unknown joker card over Thor’s fate card and sensed a fleeting presence near the palace.

• Jane turned back, found Lin Xiao escorting Thor, and followed them as Lin Xiao carried Thor through the air to an abandoned gas station.
• Jane questioned Lin Xiao, then agreed to drive him and Thor to the Red Nose bar.
• At the bar, Lin Xiao told Jane that Thor was a god who had temporarily lost his power, and Thor said he planned to retrieve his hammer.
• Lin Xiao agreed to take Thor to the hammer after he stayed with him for a few days, though he said Thor could not lift it yet.
• Frigga found an unfamiliar joker laid over Thor’s fate card and sensed a fleeting presence outside her palace.

Loki traveled to Midgard to investigate the strange joker affecting Thor’s fate and watched Lin Xiao recruit Thor into Vought while steering him through S.H.I.E.L.D.’s investigation. Loki later found Thor in the camp and told him that Odin was gone.

• Loki saw an unfamiliar joker laid over Thor’s fate card and traveled to Midgard to find its source.
• Lin Xiao persuaded Thor to sign a Vought contract, then revealed that Thor’s three-month probation was unpaid.
• Lin Xiao presented S.H.I.E.L.D. with paperwork establishing Thor as a Vought employee, and Coulson agreed to keep Thor in isolation for two days of questioning.
• Jane realized Lin Xiao had used Thor’s employment to protect him from being treated as an intruder, while Lin Xiao noticed Loki watching invisibly.
• Loki found Thor drawing Mjolnir in the sand, embraced him, and told him that Father was gone.

Loki told Thor that Odin had died and that a peace treaty permanently barred Thor from Asgard, driving him to try and fail to lift Mjolnir. Walker comforted Thor and led him back to camp, while Lin Xiao watched from a motel and prepared for the Destroyer’s arrival.

• Loki told Thor that Odin had died, Frigga was grieving, and a treaty with the Frost Giants had permanently banished Thor from Asgard.
• Thor broke out of his holding room, tore through the fence around Mjolnir, and repeatedly failed to lift it before collapsing in despair.
• Walker found Thor beside the hammer, accepted his apology for the previous day’s punch, and helped him return to camp.
• Coulson called off the medical team after watching Thor leave with Walker, while Hawkeye gave him water.
• Lin Xiao told Doupao that Thor needed to suffer and grow before the Destroyer arrived, then argued with the system about his interest in Sif and Jane Foster.

After Loki seized power in Asgard, Frigga told Sif that Thor was alive in Midgard and that an unknown man was entwined with Sif’s fate. Sif traveled to Puente Antiguo to find Thor, but she immediately attacked Lin Xiao, and the chapter ended as she charged at him again.

• Loki took Odin’s throne and dismissed Sif’s objections to his rule, while the Warriors Three restrained her from escalating the confrontation.
• Frigga told Sif that Thor was alive in Midgard and gave her a golden joker card, saying an unknown person beside Thor was tied to Sif’s fate.
• Sif set out to bring Thor back to Asgard, insisting that she did not believe in fate.
• A Bifrost beam brought Sif and the Warriors Three to Puente Antiguo, where they reunited with Thor and met Jane Foster.
• Lin Xiao introduced himself to Sif, who attacked him with her spear; after he caught its tip, she resumed her fighting stance and charged at him.

Lin Xiao fought Sif before persuading her to stop and join him for a drinking contest, where she revealed her distress over Odin and Loki. They shared a quiet, drunken night beneath the stars, and the next morning Thor and the Warriors Three found Lin Xiao asleep while wrapped around Sif in a cocoon of Blue Silver Grass.

• Sif attacked Lin Xiao with her spear, but he dodged her strikes and drove their airborne fight away from town.
• Lin Xiao challenged Sif to settle their dispute over drinks, and they drank through the Red Nose's entire liquor supply.
• Sif told Lin Xiao that Odin had adopted her and that Loki's control of the temple had left her feeling homeless.
• Lin Xiao told Sif the Cowherd and Weaver Girl story and made her a ring from dry grass as they rested beneath the stars.
• Lin Xiao wrapped the sleeping Sif in Blue Silver Grass and fell asleep holding the cocoon.
• Thor and the Warriors Three found them at daybreak, and Sif left after throwing a stone at Lin Xiao.

Thor learned that Odin was alive and that Loki had sent the Destroyer to kill him and his Asgardian friends. Lin Xiao took Thor to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s camp to retrieve his hammer, then returned toward the battle as Coulson prepared to send Agent Sitwell to the scene.

• Thor told Lin Xiao that Hogun had confirmed Odin was alive and Loki had lied to him.
• The Destroyer arrived through a dark red rift, and Lin Xiao explained that Loki had sent it to eliminate Thor and the others.
• Sif and the Warriors Three stood against the Destroyer while Lin Xiao flew Thor toward S.H.I.E.L.D.'s camp and his hammer.
• Lin Xiao left Thor at the camp, called Coulson, and urged him to send Agent Sitwell and a team to the battlefield.
• Coulson approached Sitwell with news of a dangerous assignment as Lin Xiao flew back toward the fight.

Lin Xiao and the Warriors Three battled the Destroyer while Thor pleaded with Mjolnir to let him return and save them. Lin Xiao and the Destroyer remained locked in a laser clash as Thor awakened the hammer and lightning struck him.

• Lin Xiao caught Sif and struck the Destroyer with lightning, exposing its chest core while the Warriors Three were battered by the blast.
• The Destroyer fired a laser at Lin Xiao, badly burning his arms and shoulders, and Lin Xiao used the Super Sunglasses to counterattack with eye lasers.
• Lin Xiao and the Destroyer’s beams reached a stalemate as Sif and the Warriors Three watched, unable to help.
• At S.H.I.E.L.D.’s camp, Thor begged Mjolnir to let him return and save Lin Xiao, Sif, and the Warriors Three.
• Mjolnir trembled and rose as lightning struck Thor, illuminating his eyes and flowing across the hammer.

Thor returned to find that Lin Xiao had already destroyed the Destroyer by triggering the residual Five Thunder Spell inside its core with his eye lasers. As S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrived, Lin Xiao and Thor prepared to deal with Sitwell’s team while Lin Xiao collected the Destroyer’s crystals and arranged for its metal to be taken away.

• Thor flew back to the battlefield and learned from Hogun that Lin Xiao had destroyed the Destroyer after using lightning and eye lasers to trigger an explosion inside its core.
• Lin Xiao sat injured beside the crater, collected energy crystals from the wreckage, and asked Thor to help him gather the metal.
• Lin Xiao credited Hogun for weakening the Destroyer and offered him a share of the wreckage, while Sif explained that the crystals contained residual starlight power.
• Lin Xiao asked Sif to call Tony to collect the Destroyer’s Uru metal, then flirted with Sif as she retightened his bandages.
• When Sitwell’s convoy approached, Lin Xiao warned Thor that the agents were untrustworthy, and Thor used lightning to make their vehicles crash.
• Lin Xiao mocked Sitwell for arriving late, while Sitwell forced a smile and wondered what Lin Xiao meant by saying more strange events were coming.

Lin Xiao made Sitwell and his agents haul the Destroyer’s wreckage through the desert, then used Thor’s claim of ownership to hand it over to Stark Industries. After completing the mission, Lin Xiao received Heartsteel, a growth item that could make him tougher when enemies damaged him, while Sif began to feel reluctant to return to Asgard.

• Lin Xiao ordered Sitwell and his agents to gather the Destroyer’s wreckage and kept them working in the desert heat while he and the Warriors Three watched.
• Lin Xiao persuaded Sitwell to keep hauling by promising a promotion recommendation, then revealed that he had called a Stark Industries transport to collect the wreckage.
• Sitwell objected to the outside company taking S.H.I.E.L.D. evidence, but Thor declared the wreckage to be Asgardian property and took charge of its disposition.
• Lin Xiao gave Sitwell five hundred dollars for dinner and promised the agents future promotions as Stark Industries loaded and removed the wreckage.
• Lin Xiao and the Warriors Three cooked lamb at camp, where Lin Xiao received Heartsteel as a mission reward and considered asking Thor to beat him so it could strengthen him.
• Sif asked Lin Xiao what he was smiling about, and while they toasted, she wondered whether she still wanted to return to Asgard.

Thor and the Warriors Three left to say goodbye to Jane, leaving Sif with Lin Xiao, who confessed his feelings and shared an intimate night with her. As they faced her return to Asgard, Sif said she believed their fates were intertwined, while Lin Xiao promised he would not let her regret choosing him.

• Thor asked Sif to stay behind and look after the injured Lin Xiao while he and the Warriors Three went to see Jane.
• Lin Xiao gave Sif a purple crystal as a pledge, and after she resisted his first kiss, they admitted their feelings and reconciled.
• Coulson confronted Lin Xiao over his treatment of Sitwell, the handling of Asgardian artifacts, and his conduct during the mission; Lin Xiao defended his choices and promised to prepare an explanation for Director Fury.
• Sif joined Lin Xiao inside a cocoon of Blue Silver Grass, and they shared an intimate night before her expected return to Asgard.
• Sif told Lin Xiao she believed the Queen's prediction that their fates were intertwined and said she did not regret their choice; Lin Xiao promised he would not let her regret it.

Lin Xiao spent the morning with Sif before Thor announced he was returning to Asgard and asked Lin Xiao to look after Jane. Frigga’s invitation to Asgard turned out to be a conversation relayed through Thor, and Lin Xiao’s suspicions and refusal reached her; she postponed his visit, while Sif departed with Thor and the Warriors Three.

• Lin Xiao woke beside Sif and learned that their intimacy had earned him the Young Madam Killer title and an additional attractiveness bonus.
• Thor, Jane, and the Warriors Three found Lin Xiao fastening Sif’s armor, and Thor protested their relationship before Lin Xiao reminded him that Sif could choose for herself.
• Thor said he was returning to Asgard to confront Loki and asked Lin Xiao to protect Jane and help recover her confiscated research; Lin Xiao agreed.
• Thor relayed Frigga’s invitation for Lin Xiao to visit Asgard, but Frigga heard Lin Xiao’s doubts through their soul communication and said the time was not right.
• Thor confirmed that Sif had to return to Asgard, and Lin Xiao and Sif said farewell before Thor summoned the Bifrost for her and the Warriors Three.
• Jane invited Lin Xiao to Puente Antiguo, and he followed her, promising to help recover her research.

Lin Xiao returned Jane Foster’s confiscated research materials and, after she confessed how difficult it was to say goodbye to him, was surprised when she kissed him. Doupao explained that Lin Xiao’s actions had shifted Jane’s feelings away from Thor, and the chapter ended with Jane joining Lin Xiao for dinner as they drove toward Puente Antiguo.

• Lin Xiao gave Hawkeye fragments from the Destroyer and said he would retrieve Jane Foster’s research materials.
• Lin Xiao pressured Hollis into returning Jane’s three boxes of equipment and research, though one notebook was missing.
• Jane told Lin Xiao that his kindness made it harder for her to say goodbye, then kissed him after he jokingly asked for one.
• Lin Xiao fled to his car, where Doupao explained that his actions had drawn Jane closer to him and diverted her dependence from Thor.
• Jane found Lin Xiao, asked him to buy her dinner, and rode with him as they drove toward Puente Antiguo.

Lin Xiao and Jane grew closer in New Mexico after Jane explained that she saw Thor as family, and Thor reluctantly approved their relationship during a call. When Ned called to report that he had opened a portal with Lin Xiao’s ring and met Wong, Lin Xiao hurried to bring Jane and her research team to New York, where a Sorcerer Supreme was waiting for him.

• Lin Xiao spent his recovery week with Jane in Puente Antiguo, and Jane told him that she regarded Thor as a brother and wanted to be with Lin Xiao.
• Lin Xiao and Jane embraced and kissed, beginning a relationship while he stayed in New Mexico for several more days.
• Thor contacted Lin Xiao and Jane, learned that they were together, warned Lin Xiao to treat Jane well, and revealed that the Bifrost had been destroyed and Loki had fallen.
• Ned called Lin Xiao to say that he had used Lin Xiao’s ring to open a portal, and a man named Wong had come through and wanted to meet him.
• Lin Xiao asked Jane to come to New York with him and promised to arrange for her research team to follow; Jane agreed to pack, and Lin Xiao realized that the next threat would involve the Tesseract and a Sorcerer Supreme waiting for him.

Jane delayed her move to New York for a week to finish her work in New Mexico, while Lin Xiao left without her. In Manhattan, Wong tested Lin Xiao on the Ancient One’s orders, and Lin Xiao’s rough response left Wong doubting the assessment.

• Jane told Lin Xiao that her team and unfinished responsibilities would keep her in New Mexico for at least a week, and he accepted her decision despite hating to leave her.
• Lin Xiao flew east after promising to wait for Jane in New York, while she waved goodbye from the RV.
• Wong told Ned that the Sorcerer Supreme wanted him and his Sling Ring brought to Kamar-Taj, and Ned’s mother agreed to let him go.
• Happy drove Wong, Ned, and Peter to Lin Xiao’s Manhattan mansion, where Wong immediately attacked Lin Xiao with magical weapons to test him.
• Lin Xiao dodged Wong’s attacks and struck back with lightning, shocking Peter and Ned and scorching Wong before teasing Peter about Aunt May and Betty.
• Wong explained that the Ancient One had called Lin Xiao a rare talent and asked him to test Lin Xiao’s character, but Lin Xiao declared them friends and Wong rejected the claim.

Wong explained that the Ancient One wanted Ned to study at Kamar-Taj and wanted to meet Lin Xiao because Lin Xiao had altered many people’s fates. Lin Xiao tried to turn the invitation into a family visit, and Wong agreed to consult the Ancient One first.

• Lin Xiao hosted dinner with May, Betty, Ned, and Wong while Wong scrutinized him, and Gwen arrived to join them.
• Wong told Ned that the Ancient One had recognized his magical talent and wanted to initiate him at Kamar-Taj.
• Wong told Lin Xiao that the Ancient One wanted to meet him because his power had changed the fates of Jane Foster, Betty Ross, Natasha Romanoff, and others.
• Lin Xiao laughed at the Ancient One’s warning about his romantic debts, then proposed bringing his family and Ned to Kamar-Taj.
• Wong objected to bringing female family members, but Lin Xiao appealed to their friendship, and Wong said he would consult the Ancient One.

Lin Xiao explained how he had fallen for Jane and become involved with Sif after May, Betty, and Gwen Stacy confronted him for keeping them in the dark. Natasha arrived and revealed that other women, including Deputy Director Hill and Storm, had also been asking about him; the household ended the night sharing soup, while the room prepared for Jane remained ready.

• After Wong left, Gwen Stacy, May, and Betty stopped Lin Xiao from going upstairs and demanded that he explain what had happened with Jane and Sif.
• Lin Xiao admitted that he and Jane had developed feelings for each other in Puente Antiguo and that he and Sif had also become involved.
• May and Betty explained that they wanted to be included in decisions affecting their home, while Gwen Stacy asked whether Jane was pretty.
• Natasha arrived and told May and Betty that Deputy Director Hill and Storm had been asking about Lin Xiao.
• May invited Natasha to stay for soup, and the household ate together without discussing Jane or Sif again.
• The chapter ended with Jane's prepared bedroom still waiting for its occupant.

Lin Xiao faced Fury over his conduct during the Destroyer operation, then negotiated over the Asgardian alloy and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s interest in Banner. The chapter ended with Fury agreeing to work with Lin Xiao to find Banner in exchange for formal protections for Banner and a strategic cooperation memorandum with Vought.

• Coulson warned Lin Xiao that Fury was angry about the desert operation, and Fury confronted him over endangering Sitwell’s team and moving the Destroyer wreckage without authorization.
• Pierce proposed disciplinary action against Lin Xiao, and Fury imposed a pay deduction and demotion before announcing a public commendation, a one-million-dollar bonus, and a promotion that canceled out the demotion.
• After Pierce left, Fury demanded half of the Asgardian alloy, and Lin Xiao offered to ask Tony for some in exchange for an Uru prosthetic eye for Fury.
• Fury told Lin Xiao that General Ross had gone to Brazil, and Lin Xiao inferred that Ross was pursuing Banner.
• Lin Xiao agreed to help Fury find Banner if S.H.I.E.L.D. and the government gave Banner a protected consultant position and S.H.I.E.L.D. signed a strategic cooperation memorandum with Vought.
• Fury accepted Lin Xiao’s terms, and Lin Xiao left the office.

Lin Xiao visited Sitwell with an unconventional apology, then arranged dinner with Hill and Kara. In Brazil, General Ross’s forces pursued Hulk, who tore through their helicopters as Ross ordered more forces to cut him off.

• Lin Xiao brought expired Three Deer milk to Sitwell’s office and apologized while eating Sitwell’s chocolates.
• Kara Lynn Palamas arrived late, told Lin Xiao she had read part of his mission report, and waited while he spoke with Hill.
• Lin Xiao persuaded Hill to have dinner with him and took Kara along, threatening extra training if she failed her counter-grappling test.
• Hulk charged across the Brazilian grassland, pulled a helicopter off course, and smashed another one apart.
• General Ross ordered every drone and armored vehicle sent to a river valley to intercept Hulk.