Chapter Summaries

Lynn used an imitation Mind Stone to amplify his rule-based powers, becoming pathologically obsessed with imposing order on the Chitauri invasion. He immobilized and erased the enemy craft within his range, giving the Avengers an opening to evacuate civilians while the wider battle continued.

• Rogers asked where Thor and Banner were as the Avengers struggled against the Chitauri, and Lynn said they were on their way.
• Lynn implanted the copied Mind Stone in his chest and activated his memory anchor, causing his personality and perception to shift into an obsessive, emotionless state.
• Lynn silently blocked a Chitauri fighter's attack and dismantled three fighters threatening Tony's armor.
• Lynn unleashed his magic circle and domain over Midtown Manhattan, rising into the sky with enormous wings of silver particles and three-colored light.
• Lynn immobilized Chitauri craft and soldiers, disabled weapons aimed at civilians, and ordered Rogers to lead an evacuation while Tony and Ivan covered other areas.
• Lynn disintegrated the immobilized craft within his range, and Rogers seized the opening to begin evacuating civilians.

Lynn fought the fourth wave of Chitauri while his memory-erasing magic array and other powers drove him into a destructive obsession with eliminating every enemy. Tony recognized that Lynn was losing control and ordered Natasha to shut down the wormhole while he flew to intervene.

• Lynn attacked the new Chitauri formations, dismantling their ships and disabling gliders as they threatened civilians.
• As more enemies poured through the wormhole, Lynn’s fighting grew increasingly brutal, and the magic markings spread across his body.
• Tony watched Lynn’s behavior change and realized that the combined strain of his powers and memory loss had overwhelmed his usual temperament.
• Tony ordered Natasha to use Loki’s Scepter to shut down the wormhole and told the others to cover her.
• Tony flew toward Lynn and warned Rogers that Lynn might soon dismantle him too.

The World Security Council ordered a nuclear strike on Manhattan, and Tony raced to intercept the missile while the Avengers fought to protect the city. Thor and Hulk joined the battle as Lynn’s memory-erasing magic array drove him into increasingly brutal attacks, and the chapter ended with Natasha heading upward and Thor and Hulk charging toward Stark Tower.

• Fury told Tony that the World Security Council had launched a nuclear missile at Manhattan and that it would arrive in three minutes; Tony relayed the warning to the team and raced to intercept it.
• Thor arrived, destroyed a Leviathan with lightning, and warned Rogers that the enemy forces were overwhelming them.
• Hulk steadied a collapsing skyscraper so Rogers could evacuate trapped civilians, then joined the fight against the Leviathans.
• Lynn’s magic array continued erasing his recent memories, leaving him agitated and causing him to attack enemy fighters and disable a Leviathan with increasing brutality.
• Tony warned that the missile was nearing and that he might not be able to divert it; Natasha reported that she had secured an aircraft and was heading up.
• Thor and Hulk charged toward the top of Stark Tower as the countdown continued.

Lynn continued fighting the Chitauri while the magic array and Mind Stone left him increasingly unable to think or answer the team. The Avengers let him hold the invaders off as Tony arrived with the nuclear missile and flew toward the wormhole.

• Hulk seized Loki and repeatedly smashed him into the marble floor while Natasha retrieved the scepter and prepared to close the wormhole.
• Tony told Natasha not to close the wormhole because he needed to send the nuclear missile through it, and Rogers reported that Lynn was holding off most of the Chitauri.
• Lynn dismantled Leviathans and aircraft while struggling to preserve buildings, and Rogers told the team that Lynn still seemed to remember that limit.
• Tony argued that they should wait until he arrived with the missile, and the team agreed to let Lynn keep fighting for a little longer.
• Tony flew over Manhattan carrying the nuclear missile and charged toward the wormhole.

Tony sent the nuclear missile through the wormhole, destroying the Chitauri fleet and ending the invasion, while Natasha closed the portal. Lynn collapsed after stopping his magic, but Tony caught him, and he woke after the battle with his strength restored.

• Tony sent the nuclear missile through the wormhole, and its explosion destroyed the Chitauri mothership and disabled the invading army.
• Natasha used the scepter to shut down the Tesseract and collapse the wormhole.
• JARVIS warned Lynn to stop supplying mana, and Lynn's powers faded as he fell from the sky.
• Tony caught Lynn and laid him down, while JARVIS confirmed that he was safely asleep from exhaustion.
• The Avengers regrouped as Hulk roared, startling Lynn awake.
• Lynn saw Tony beside him and asked whether Tony had given him mouth-to-mouth.

After Lynn collapsed from overexertion, Natasha took him home and stayed to care for him. Tony and Ivan investigated his behavior during the battle and concluded that the chest gem had temporarily overwhelmed his information-filtering mechanism, leaving him still fundamentally himself.

• Tony asked who would carry Lynn back, but Rogers went to check on the evacuation and Thor went to find Loki.
• Natasha carried Lynn to his residence in Stark Tower, checked his condition, and stayed after finding him weak but stable.
• Natasha contacted Fury, ordered clothes and medical supplies, changed her bandage, and rested beside Lynn.
• Tony asked JARVIS to compare Lynn’s previous test data with his battle data while Ivan watched.
• JARVIS reported that the chest gem had raised Lynn’s information-processing efficiency to five times its earlier level while his nerve conduction lagged, causing his temporary personality and behavior changes.
• Tony and Ivan concluded that Lynn was still himself, and Tony joked that he hoped Lynn would not try to take him apart next time.

Lynn woke after exhausting himself in the battle and found Natasha making breakfast, then asked Tony what happened while he was unconscious. Tony described Lynn’s powerful but careful attack on the Chitauri and reminded him that he had publicly asked whether Tony gave him mouth-to-mouth.

• Lynn woke with the replica Mind Stone still embedded in his chest and found Natasha cooking breakfast in his home.
• Lynn hugged Natasha from behind, and she swiftly pinned him against the kitchen island before letting him go.
• Natasha told Lynn she had rescued him from a rooftop, served him breakfast, and left without answering when he asked when she would officially move in.
• Lynn went to the laboratory and asked Tony what had happened after he blacked out during the battle.
• Tony said Lynn had grown giant particle wings, destroyed Chitauri aircraft across Midtown, and carefully prevented damage to buildings, though Lynn could not remember doing it.
• Tony reminded Lynn that he had asked whether Tony gave him mouth-to-mouth in front of the whole team, including Hulk.

Lynn learned that after blacking out in battle, he had fought like a ruthless war machine while carefully protecting civilians and buildings. Mortified by the footage, he decided to move to Mars and left the laboratory to sleep.

• Lynn asked Tony whether he had given him mouth-to-mouth after he passed out, and Tony joked that he would only do that for a blonde beauty.
• Tony showed Lynn the battlefield footage, revealing him tearing apart Chitauri forces with silver wings and dark gold markings.
• Tony explained that the gem in Lynn's chest and the Ancient One's magic array had amplified his processing while stripping away distractions and emotions.
• Lynn, embarrassed by his vacant stare and crazed fighting, said he was going to live on Mars and headed for the elevator.
• Tony chuckled as Ivan and the white parrot silently watched Lynn leave.

After recovering from the Battle of New York, Lynn learned that Natasha would be stationed at Stark Tower to monitor him and invited her to dinner. He borrowed a car from Tony, who also discussed plans for new armor prototypes, and left to meet Natasha.

• Natasha told Lynn that Fury had assigned her to live at Stark Tower and monitor his condition after his loss of control during the battle.
• Lynn welcomed Natasha to the private floor, showed her the guest room beside his, and invited her out for a meal.
• Lynn visited Tony and Ivan in the workshop and asked Tony to lend him a car for his dinner with Natasha.
• Tony said he and Ivan planned to develop several types of armor and invited Lynn to help test prototypes at the seaside mansion’s underground lab.
• Tony gave Lynn a car key, and Lynn warned him not to reveal the locations of his home or private bases before leaving to meet Natasha.

Lynn took Natasha out for Chinese food and a day at an amusement park, giving her a chance to see him outside the battlefield. They returned to Stark Tower as companions, though Natasha remained responsible for monitoring his recovery.

• Lynn drove Natasha to a Chinese restaurant, where they ate and talked about New York and his recovery.
• Lynn and Natasha spent the day at an amusement park, riding attractions, sharing snacks, and winning a stuffed toy.
• Natasha gradually stopped treating Lynn only as a surveillance subject and came to regard him as an equal.
• Lynn and Natasha had dinner, returned to Stark Tower, and said goodnight after Natasha reminded him to focus on his recovery.

After more than half a month of relaxing with Natasha, Lynn agreed to visit Tony and Ivan’s seaside villa to watch them field-test their new armor. He and Natasha traveled there through Lynn’s portal.

• Lynn grew restless after spending weeks sightseeing and neglecting his training, and decided he should visit the Ancient One and his old friends.
• Tony called Lynn and said he and Ivan had designed more than thirty armor models, completed eight, and were beginning field tests.
• Lynn asked whether Natasha could attend, and Tony confirmed he had cleared it with Fury and had no objection to her seeing the suits.
• Lynn told Natasha about the tests, and she agreed to go with him.
• Lynn opened a portal to Tony’s seaside villa, and he and Natasha stepped through.

Lynn and Natasha arrived at Tony’s seaside villa, where Tony and Ivan presented nine new Iron Man suits, Mark VIII through Mark XVI, each designed for a different combat role. Tony outlined a comprehensive testing plan, and Lynn invited them to begin.

• Lynn and Natasha stepped through a portal into Tony’s villa, where Tony and Ivan were waiting beside the completed armor lineup.
• Tony revealed nine suits, Mark VIII through Mark XVI, and described each model’s specialized features and role.
• Lynn praised Tony and Ivan for building the full lineup in just over two weeks.
• Lynn asked how they would test the suits, and Tony explained the performance, specialized-feature, and mixed-formation combat trials.
• Lynn gave Tony the floor to begin the tests.

After Lynn told Tony that Stark weapons had orphaned Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, Tony confronted his responsibility and resolved to apologize in person. At Kamar-Taj, he admitted his failures to the twins without asking them to forgive him.

• Lynn canceled his portal to Kamar-Taj and told Tony how a Stark bomb had killed Wanda and Pietro’s parents and trapped them in ruins for two days.
• Tony recognized that shutting down Stark’s weapons divisions had not erased the harm his weapons had caused, and he resolved to face the twins and apologize.
• Tony said he would gather proof of Obadiah’s illicit arms sales, while Ivan offered to help check the records.
• Lynn and Natasha left for Kamar-Taj, where Lynn explained the situation to Wanda and Pietro.
• Tony arrived at Kamar-Taj and apologized to the twins, accepting responsibility for creating and failing to control the weapons that destroyed their childhood.

Tony apologized to Wanda and Pietro at Kamar-Taj for the tragedy caused by Stark weapons, while Lynn urged the siblings to free themselves from hatred without forgiving Tony. Wanda and Pietro chose to stop tormenting themselves, and Tony promised to spend his life making amends before Lynn left them to talk.

• Tony presented Wanda and Pietro with evidence of Obadiah's illegal arms sales and apologized for the harm caused by Stark weapons.
• Pietro confronted Tony, saying the apology could not undo their parents' deaths or the years of suffering he and Wanda endured.
• Lynn acknowledged the siblings' right to hate Tony but urged them not to let hatred imprison their futures.
• Wanda said she and Pietro would not forgive Tony or accept compensation, but wanted to stop tormenting themselves and make Tony remember the tragedy he caused.
• Pietro agreed, and Tony promised to face his mistakes and use Stark Industries' resources to help those harmed by its weapons.
• Lynn left the courtyard to visit the Ancient One, leaving Tony, Wanda, and Pietro together.

Lynn asked the Ancient One for help copying the Time Stone to prevent the personality changes caused by overloading his mind with the imitation Mind Stone. She allowed him to study it under strict conditions, leaving Lynn with a chance to pursue his plan inside Kamar-Taj.

• Lynn visited the Ancient One and showed her the imitation Mind Stone he had copied.
• The Ancient One examined the gem and confirmed that it lacked the Mind Stone’s power to control minds, though it could create a mental barrier and accelerate thought.
• Lynn explained that using the imitation and a magic array during the New York invasion had overloaded his neural transmission and caused abnormal changes in his temperament.
• Lynn said he wanted to copy the Soul Stone or Time Stone to prevent future overloads, but ruled out seeking the Soul Stone because its price was too high.
• The Ancient One agreed to let Lynn observe and copy the Time Stone in the room, forbidding him from taking it out or meddling with time and requiring him to stop if his energy or processing became unstable.

Lynn replicated an imitation Time Stone and tested it with the Ancient One, discovering that it buffered the strain of his calculations and eliminated the danger of changes to his personality. He left the meditation room relieved, while Wanda and Pietro were free to stay at Kamar-Taj or leave with him.

• The Ancient One allowed Lynn to observe the Eye of Agamotto and warned him not to touch it.
• Lynn replicated an imitation Time Stone, and the Ancient One confirmed that it lacked control over time but retained useful auxiliary power.
• Lynn tested the imitation stone by intensifying his calculations and found that it buffered the strain on his nerves and kept his mind stable.
• The Ancient One told Lynn that Wanda and Pietro had completed their foundational cultivation lessons and could choose whether to stay at Kamar-Taj or leave.
• Lynn thanked the Ancient One, left the meditation room, and saw Tony and Ivan strolling through the courtyard.

Lynn confirmed that the Ancient One had resolved the risks of neural overload and personality changes, then decided to take a camping trip with Natasha. They prepared to leave for Iceland’s Hornstrandir Nature Reserve, where the chapter left them waiting for fresh ingredients to arrive.

• Lynn showed Tony and Ivan the completed imitation Mind Stone and Time Stone and assured them his condition was fixed.
• Tony and Ivan returned to the underground lab to continue working on the armor upgrades.
• Lynn asked Natasha whether she wanted to explore Kamar-Taj or go back, and she said she would follow him as his surveillance target.
• Lynn and Natasha returned to his villa, where he asked JARVIS to prepare camping supplies for two people.
• Lynn chose to camp in Iceland’s Hornstrandir Nature Reserve, and he and Natasha packed their belongings and waited for fresh ingredients before setting off.

Lynn took Natasha to an untouched stretch of Iceland’s Hornstrandir coast, where the vast wilderness helped him release the strain he had carried since arriving in this world. Natasha set aside her vigilance and lay beside him, leaving them both in a rare moment of peace.

• Lynn and Natasha traveled through a portal to the remote coast of Hornstrandir with their camping supplies.
• Overwhelmed by the quiet wilderness, Lynn tossed aside the gear, lay on the grass, and played soothing piano music.
• Lynn let the sea breeze and natural surroundings ease the anxiety and loneliness he had kept buried.
• Natasha watched Lynn relax, then set down her bags and lay quietly beside him.

Lynn and Natasha spent a peaceful night camping by the sea, where Lynn shared his wish for an ordinary life together and spoke about the idea of a second birthday. Natasha could not name a time when she had been free to live for herself, so Lynn encouraged her to discover what she wanted and promised her a surprise when she did.

• Lynn and Natasha pitched a tent, lit a campfire, and shared food and beer beneath the stars.
• Lynn told Natasha he wanted a quiet life with someone he loved and praised the relaxed, genuine smile she showed that day.
• Lynn said his second birthday had been the day he left everything behind and stood alone in a New York subway station.
• When Lynn asked Natasha about her second birthday, she stayed silent, unable to recall ever having lived for herself.
• Lynn asked Natasha what she would want if she were not Black Widow, and she admitted she had never had the right to choose.
• Lynn encouraged Natasha to take time to discover her own wishes and promised her a surprise when she found what she truly wanted.

After half a month of quiet in Iceland, Lynn and Natasha were pulled back into the conflict when Tony called to report that Happy had been badly injured in a terrorist attack and a decoy address had been destroyed. Lynn recognized the signs of the coming Iron Man 3 crisis and prepared to return immediately.

• Lynn and Natasha spent half a month in Iceland recovering from the pressures of their lives and growing closer.
• Tony called Lynn and said Happy had been badly injured while investigating suspicious activity and was in intensive care.
• Tony told Lynn that the warehouse address he had given publicly had been razed, confirming the attackers were targeting Stark.
• Lynn recognized that the Iron Man 3 plot was beginning and reassured Tony that Happy would survive.
• Lynn told Tony to stay at Stark Tower and keep the situation under control while he packed to return.