Chapter Summaries

Lynn took Strange to Kamar-Taj, where the Ancient One challenged his belief that his damaged hands could only be healed through medicine. After the Ancient One forced Strange to experience his soul leaving his body, Lynn used a five-colored light to make him lose consciousness, leaving him about to receive a harsher demonstration.

• Strange woke at the inn, and Lynn told him he would take him to Kamar-Taj.
• Lynn brought Strange to the Ancient One, who explained that she had not physically healed Pangborn but had helped him believe he could walk.
• The Ancient One told Strange that spiritual power could help his body heal itself, but Strange rejected her explanation as faith healing.
• The Ancient One pushed Strange's soul out of his body and then recalled it, leaving him shaken and struggling to accept what had happened.
• Lynn touched Strange between the eyebrows with five-colored light, and Strange lost consciousness.

Lynn and the Ancient One exposed Stephen Strange to the vastness of the universe and multiverse, leaving him overwhelmed and begging to be taught. The Ancient One agreed to let Lynn take Strange back to the inn so he could reconsider his motives before returning to Kamar-Taj.

• Strange experienced the universe and a tree-shaped multiverse through a vision arranged by Lynn and the Ancient One.
• Strange returned to his body, fell to the floor, and pleaded with the Ancient One to teach him, but she refused.
• Lynn carried Strange outside and told him to return after deciding what he wanted beyond healing his hands.
• Strange pleaded and pounded on the door, left, then came back and begged to be admitted again.
• The Ancient One warned Lynn that Strange's inner demons could lead him toward darkness and asked Lynn to take him back to the inn to reflect.

Lynn refused to teach Strange until he examined his motives, explaining that his apparent humility concealed the same arrogance that had defined him as a surgeon. Strange still had one day to decide whether he wanted only to heal his hands or to become someone who truly respected and saved lives.

• Lynn brought Strange back to the inn and gave him a week to consider what he wanted, while Strange waited in silence and continued trying to make a fist.
• On the sixth evening, Strange confronted Lynn and asked why he had not been given a chance.
• Lynn explained that the Ancient One had rejected Strange because he had knelt only to get his hands healed, not because he had let go of his arrogance.
• Strange defended his desire to heal his hands so he could return to surgery, and Lynn accused him of treating patients as tools to prove his skill.
• Lynn told Strange to decide whether he wanted to show off his abilities or save lives, and gave him one more day to think.

Lynn gave Strange time to reconsider his reasons for seeking treatment, and Strange returned the next evening admitting his arrogance had shaped his life as a surgeon. Strange decided he still wanted to heal his hands but also wanted to discover who he could become, and Lynn agreed to take him to Master The Ancient One the next day.

• Lynn told Strange not to rush his answer and sent him gently out of the room.
• Lynn called Natasha, and they talked about visiting China and trying its food again.
• Lynn waited while Strange stayed in his room, reflecting on his identity and his reasons for wanting his hands healed.
• Strange returned to Lynn and admitted he had chosen patients to protect his reputation and prove his superiority.
• Strange said he wanted to heal his hands and avoid wasting the rest of his life, and Lynn agreed to take him to Master The Ancient One.

Stephen Strange convinced the Ancient One to let him study at Kamar-Taj, where Lynn arranged his lodging and introduced him to its residents and facilities. Lynn began teaching Strange the basics of magic and warned him that power always required a price, then welcomed him to Kamar-Taj as his studies were set to begin the next day.

• The Ancient One accepted Strange after he explained that he wanted to learn who he was beyond his former arrogance, and she told Lynn to arrange his room and show him around.
• Lynn introduced Strange to Mordo, who agreed to arrange his lodging and later guide his combat training, and to Wong, Kamar-Taj's librarian.
• Lynn opened a portal to Strange's hotel room so he could pack his belongings, then showed him his clean room at Kamar-Taj and the dining hall, library, and training ground.
• Lynn gave Strange the Wi-Fi password and explained that magic shaped reality through spells, while warning that power demanded effort, time, or even a soul as payment.
• Lynn told Strange that his studies would officially begin the next day and welcomed him to Kamar-Taj.

Lynn taught Strange to sense and guide magic rather than force it, and Strange made progress with resonance runes before beginning to practice portals. Lynn returned to New York to spend time with Natasha, then ended the night with her at their apartment.

• Lynn introduced Strange to a basic magical resonance rune and helped him produce a faint strand of golden light by relaxing his fingers.
• Over the following days, Strange improved at sustaining runes, while Lynn warned him against rushing to use magic to heal his hands and urged him to accept failure.
• Lynn video-called Natasha, who told him Peter had submitted a three-thousand-word self-criticism after damaging the training area again.
• Lynn visited Natasha in New York, then returned to Kamar-Taj and began teaching Strange how to open portals.
• Strange produced a faint burst of orange sparks after Lynn reminded him to guide space rather than force it open.
• Lynn returned to Natasha, and they went to bed together after talking and sharing a quiet evening.

Lynn forced Strange to confront the instinctive need for control that kept him from opening portals. After escaping a shrinking magical barrier and a nest of venomous snakes in the Amazon, Strange returned to Kamar-Taj having learned to let go and successfully open a portal.

• Strange repeatedly failed to open a portal in the Kamar-Taj training yard, and Lynn explained that his need for control was holding him back.
• Lynn sent Strange to an Amazon swamp and enclosed him in a magical barrier that would shrink while snakes gathered outside.
• As the barrier contracted, Strange's attempts to draw a portal failed until he stopped striving for precision and let his movements flow.
• Strange opened a portal to Kamar-Taj and escaped the swamp just before the barrier disappeared.
• Lynn confirmed Strange's success, and Strange said he finally understood how to guide the energy.

Lynn formed a magical pact with The Ancient One, offering her a way to end their connection when she was ready to retire. He left Strange to study theory with Wong at Kamar-Taj while he prepared to spend the next week watching over events there.

• After Strange improved at portal magic, Lynn told Natasha he planned to spend several days at Kamar-Taj to protect innocent people from an impending danger.
• Lynn asked The Ancient One to complete a magic circle linking them, and she accepted the pact that would let her end it when she chose.
• Lynn left Strange with Wong to study magical theory for about a week, and Strange thanked Lynn for his help.
• Lynn returned to The Ancient One's meditation room, shared tea with her, and invited her to vacation in the Maldives after retirement.

Mordo explained that sorcerers protected Earth by defending the three Sanctums from Dormammu and his followers. When a bell rang through the library, Strange hesitated but followed Wong and Mordo toward the disturbance.

• Strange asked Mordo and Wong about sorcerers’ duties, and Mordo explained that the Sanctums formed a protective shield around Earth.
• Strange asked about Dormammu after finding his name in the Book of Cagliostro, and Mordo revealed that Kaecilius sought to destroy the Sanctums so Dormammu could enter Earth.
• Strange said he had only come to heal his hands and tried to leave, but Wong reminded him of Lynn’s lesson about guiding more than energy.
• A bell rang, and Wong and Mordo hurried toward the library entrance while Strange hesitated before following them.

Strange was knocked unconscious during a pursuit at Kamar-Taj and woke in the New York Sanctum, where he stumbled into Kaecilius attacking its guardian. Lynn and the Ancient One watched as Strange fought, hoping the experience would teach him why the Sanctums had to be protected.

• Strange followed Mordo and Wong through Kamar-Taj, then ran toward a scream and was blasted unconscious by an unknown sorcerer.
• Strange woke alone in the New York Sanctum at 177A Bleecker Street and searched the building for other people.
• Strange saw Kaecilius threatening the wounded guardian Daniel Drumm and rushed out to stop him.
• Kaecilius and two followers attacked Strange, who tried to defend himself with runes.
• Lynn asked how the Ancient One had persuaded Daniel to stage the encounter, and she explained that Daniel's injuries and pain were real despite the life-preserving artifact.

Strange tried to escape Kaecilius and was driven into a collection room, where the Cloak of Levitation intervened and helped him bind Kaecilius. After Strange uncovered Kaecilius’s mouth, he saw a chilling fanaticism in the defeated sorcerer’s eyes.

• Strange opened an improvised portal that sent Kaecilius’s two followers into a desert and a rainforest, but Kaecilius blasted Strange through a door into the collection room.
• Strange threw several magical artifacts at Kaecilius after failing to activate them, then reached for an axe on the wall.
• The Cloak of Levitation yanked Strange away from the axe and knocked the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak into his arms.
• Strange threw the bands at Kaecilius, and they bound him and forced him to his knees.
• Strange removed the restraint from Kaecilius’s mouth and saw fanaticism in his eyes.

Strange defeated Lucian after Kaecilius escaped, then refused the New York Sanctum’s vacant position as its sorcerer because he had killed someone. The Ancient One challenged Strange’s belief that he had become selfless, leaving him to confront the ego that had driven him as a doctor.

• Kaecilius argued that serving Dormammu would grant eternal life, while Strange realized he had once treated patients as insignificant tools and insisted that every life mattered.
• Lucian ambushed Strange with his stolen Sling Ring, and Kaecilius escaped after sensing Lynn’s hidden power; Lynn subtly helped Strange gain the advantage and knock Lucian unconscious.
• Lynn and The Ancient One returned with Mordo and Wong, and Strange reported that Kaecilius had escaped and that another attacker was dead.
• The Ancient One offered Strange the New York Sanctum’s vacant position, but Strange refused the title of Master and said he would not kill again.
• The Ancient One told Strange that, as a doctor, he had wanted to save only himself and reminded him that no one could control death.

Strange confronted The Ancient One about drawing power from the Dark Dimension to prolong her life, while Mordo defended her and condemned Strange for avoiding responsibility. Lynn left Strange his contact information before departing with Wong, and the chapter ended with Strange alone in the Sanctum after Mordo walked away.

• The Ancient One explained that Dormammu fed on fear, and Strange pressed her about the Dark Dimension spells he had found in the Book of Cagliostro.
• Lynn warned Strange to consider the consequences of speaking, but Strange insisted on asking, and he accused The Ancient One of using Dark Dimension energy to sustain her life.
• The Ancient One declined to discuss the accusation and urged everyone to prepare for the return of Dormammu's zealots.
• Lynn gave Strange his number and left through a portal with Wong, leaving Strange and Mordo in the Sanctum.
• Mordo argued that Strange was a coward for questioning The Ancient One instead of focusing on their enemy, then walked away and left Strange alone.

Strange and Mordo confronted Kaecilius, who mortally wounded the Ancient One before Lynn secretly rescued her. After the Ancient One appeared to die and passed her mantle to Strange, she returned to Lynn, entrusted him with her magical notebook, and left Earth through a portal.

• Strange trapped Kaecilius and his followers in the Mirror Dimension, but Kaecilius twisted its space and chased Strange and Mordo.
• The Ancient One arrived and fought Kaecilius, who stabbed her and sent her falling through a portal into New York.
• Lynn swapped the Ancient One for a fake corpse and secretly caught her, while Strange and Mordo believed she had died.
• Strange followed the Ancient One's soul and learned that she had accepted her death and wanted him to succeed her.
• The Ancient One returned to Lynn, gave him her notebook of magical insights, and revealed that she knew he was a transmigrator.
• The Ancient One left Earth through a star-filled portal, telling Lynn she was leaving the world to them.

After Lynn helped defeat Kaecilius and Strange stopped Dormammu’s invasion, Mordo left the sorcerers over their willingness to break natural laws. Strange then joined Wong in rebuilding the London Sanctum, where he completed his first defensive rune slab and found his hands had largely recovered.

• Mordo agreed to help Strange defend Hong Kong, and Lynn arrived to take on Kaecilius while Strange used the Eye of Agamotto to reverse the destruction around the Sanctum.
• Lynn dismantled Kaecilius’s magic and beat him and his two followers, while Strange trapped Dormammu in a time loop until he agreed to withdraw from Earth.
• Dormammu reclaimed the dark magic sustaining Kaecilius and his followers, and their bodies crumbled to dust as the rift closed.
• Mordo condemned Strange’s use of the Time Stone and left, while Lynn returned to New York to have dinner with Natasha.
• Strange and Wong spent weeks repairing the London Sanctum, and Strange completed his first defensive rune slab after two weeks of work.
• Strange noticed that his hands still trembled but had mostly recovered.

After spending several quiet days with Natasha, Lynn went out with her and learned that Tony and Peter were in conflict over Peter’s attempt to prove he deserved to become an Avenger. Natasha said their dispute was still ongoing, with Tony doubting Peter’s readiness and Peter feeling mistrusted.

• Lynn stayed in the penthouse with Natasha for three days, then asked her to go out with him.
• Lynn and Natasha walked around Manhattan, shared desserts, visited a secondhand bookstore, and ate pizza in Queens.
• Back at the apartment, Natasha told Lynn that Tony and Peter were having a falling-out.
• Natasha explained that Peter wanted to join the Avengers, while Tony still considered him a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
• Peter tried to stop arms dealers at the Queens docks to prove himself, but his unfamiliarity with his new suit caused damage.
• Natasha said Tony thought Peter would not listen, while Peter believed Tony did not trust him.

Lynn persuaded Tony to explain to Peter why he had taken back the suit and kept him away from dangerous missions. Tony agreed to talk to Peter, and Lynn and Natasha spent the afternoon walking around New York.

• Natasha told Lynn that Peter had grown dejected after Tony ignored his messages and barely acknowledged him at school.
• Lynn found Tony in the lab and urged him to explain his concerns to Peter rather than leave him guessing.
• Tony said Peter was not ready to face the consequences of his mistakes and admitted he feared Peter was repeating his own reckless habits.
• Tony agreed to talk to Peter and tell him that his problem was inexperience, not a lack of potential.
• Lynn told Natasha that Tony would speak with Peter, then joined her for a walk through New York.

Tony met Peter after school, apologized for failing to train him properly, and began teaching him how to use his suit. He warned Peter that being a hero required assessing danger and asking for help, then returned Peter’s suit and told him to continue practicing.

• Tony picked Peter up outside school and apologized for leaving him to figure out the suit on his own.
• Tony offered to train Peter from scratch, and Peter eagerly agreed to go to the private lab.
• Tony spent several hours teaching Peter the suit’s modes, authorization locks, and emergency procedures.
• Tony challenged Peter to think before rushing into danger and to call for backup instead of carrying every responsibility alone.
• Tony told Peter to rest, keep training, and take his suit back; Peter thanked him and apologized for destroying the previous suit.

Thor brought Lynn to Asgard to help Jane, who had become the Aether’s host. As the Dark Elves attacked the palace, Lynn stayed with Jane and Frigga and prepared to remove the Aether.

• Thor arrived in New York and asked Lynn to help Jane, and Natasha let Lynn go with him.
• Lynn traveled with Thor to Asgard and found Jane with Frigga in the queen’s chambers.
• Lynn explained that the Aether’s awakening would summon Malekith and the Dark Elves.
• An alarm sounded as the dungeon riot began, and Thor rushed out to confront the attack.
• Lynn promised to remove the Aether from Jane and asked Frigga to take her somewhere safer.

During the dungeon riot, Lynn guarded Frigga and Jane as Malekith and the Dark Elves attacked the queen’s bedchamber to seize the Aether. Lynn drove Malekith away, then told the others they needed to extract the Aether and send Jane back before the danger continued.

• Lynn stayed outside the queen’s bedchamber while Frigga took Jane inside, and he sent guards to block routes from the east.
• Malekith and three Dark Elves entered the palace and approached the chamber, seeking the Aether.
• Lynn fought the Dark Elves with magic, stopping them from reaching the door and defeating or trapping Malekith’s followers.
• Lynn struck Malekith back through the palace railing, and Malekith withdrew as Thor and his troops approached.
• Lynn checked on Frigga and Jane, then told them to extract the Aether and send Jane back.