Chapter Summaries

Qin Xiao tormented Dutelan with increasingly humiliating pranks until the basketball star broke down and apologized publicly. At the Sky Base, Qin Xiao joked with Tony, then warned him to pay attention to his relationship with Pepper as Tony continued obsessively building armor.

• Qin Xiao burned Dutelan's shorts and shirt after making them fall off during a dunk, and videos of the incident spread online.
• Qin Xiao continued harassing Dutelan with wormholes, filth, bugs, ice water, a terrifying python, and burning medicated oil.
• Dutelan broke down after visiting a psychologist and an andrologist, then posted a tearful social-media apology for provoking Qin Xiao.
• Tony asked Qin Xiao what he had done to Dutelan, and Qin Xiao claimed the pranks had only affected Dutelan mentally.
• Qin Xiao urged Tony to make time for Pepper and noted that Tony had been building armor obsessively since the battle in Wakanda and the Chitauri invasion.
• Tony said Pepper would be less busy after Stark Industries completed its transition and that they would have plenty of time together.

Qin Xiao learned that the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes, had killed Tony’s parents while under Hydra’s control, leaving Natasha unsure how to tell Tony and Captain America. He promised to handle the revelation, while Tony remained unconscious after Qin Xiao knocked him out for going days without sleep.

• Qin Xiao knocked Tony unconscious after learning he had gone more than three days without sleeping, and Natasha agreed to arrange a psychiatrist.
• Natasha told Qin Xiao that France had canceled his arrest warrant and governments were now afraid to confront him after his actions against Durant and Dutelan.
• Natasha gave Qin Xiao a Hydra file revealing that Bucky had killed Tony’s parents in a staged car accident on December 26, 1991, and stolen five doses of Super Soldier Serum.
• Natasha explained that Bucky had been mind-controlled, feared hurting others again, and had voluntarily asked to be locked away after regaining control.
• Natasha worried the file would tear the team apart, and Qin Xiao promised to handle the situation.

At the museum, Captain America told Qin Xiao that Bucky had confirmed he killed Tony’s parents, and Qin helped the captain plan how to protect Bucky while delaying the truth from Tony. Tony’s worsening mental health remained a serious concern, and after Natasha took Pepper Potts out to ease her stress, something went wrong.

• A night guard found Captain Rogers and Qin Xiao talking in Captain America’s exhibit, took a photo with them, and left them alone.
• Captain America told Qin Xiao that Bucky remembered killing Howard and his wife, though he had not known who they were at the time.
• Qin Xiao urged the captain to give Tony time before telling him and suggested finding Bucky a quiet place to recover in Wakanda or Asgard.
• Qin Xiao arranged for Natasha to ask Pepper Potts to spend time with Tony, whose fear and sleeplessness had become severe.
• After Tony nearly hit Pepper with a laser cannon during a nightmare, Natasha took Pepper shopping and to a movie, but something went wrong.

A mysterious attacker abducted Pepper Potts and Natasha Romanoff after an explosion at the China Grand Theatre. Qin Xiao and the Avengers rushed to the scene, but Tony could not find the abductors, so Captain America called Hawkeye for backup.

• The lava-bodied man recovered his human form, took a phone, and identified Pepper Potts and Natasha Romanoff among the injured.
• The man dragged Pepper and Natasha away while Happy, gravely wounded, called Qin Xiao and passed out after warning him they had been taken.
• JARVIS played Happy’s recording, and Qin Xiao opened a wormhole that brought Tony, Thor, and Captain America to the theatre.
• Tony scanned the surrounding streets and vehicles but failed to locate Pepper and Natasha, while Qin Xiao sent injured victims to the hospital.
• Captain America said they needed backup and called Hawkeye.

The vice president learned that the Mandarin had abducted Pepper Potts and Natasha Romanoff, while the Avengers investigated the bombing and searched for them. After Happy awoke, Qin Xiao publicly challenged the terrorists and brought the Sky Base to Los Angeles to draw them out.

• The vice president took a secret call from the Mandarin, who revealed that he had captured Pepper Potts and Natasha Romanoff and wanted help covering his tracks.
• Agent Hill reported that surveillance footage near the China Grand Theatre had been erased and asked for intelligence support from the Widows.
• Agent Hill showed the Avengers a video in which the Mandarin claimed responsibility for the bombing and threatened Qin Xiao and Tony Stark.
• Happy awoke in the hospital, and Tony Stark took Qin Xiao there to visit him.
• Qin Xiao threatened the reporters who surrounded him, vowed to rescue the hostages, and challenged the terrorists to attack the Avengers’ base.
• Qin Xiao opened a wormhole and moved the Sky Base to Los Angeles, where it hovered in plain sight.

Maya Hansen came to Tony Stark and Qin Xiao with information about Killian, the Extremis Virus, and Pepper Potts’s kidnapping. She warned them that Killian was building an army of heat-producing, regenerating soldiers as they prepared to find a safe place and decide what to do next.

• Killian lost his temper after seeing Qin Xiao and Tony challenge him, but refused Erik Savin’s offer to attack them because he needed to pursue the plan to capture the Iron Patriot.
• Happy wrote Killian’s name for Qin Xiao, who gave it to Agent Hill to investigate while Tony stayed inside his armor, worried about Natasha and Pepper.
• Maya Hansen arrived at Stark Industries claiming to have news about Pepper, and Tony recognized her and asked about Killian.
• Maya explained that Killian had turned their Extremis research into weapons after Tony’s formula helped start the project, and that he wanted Tony to solve the virus’s instability.
• Maya said she had come to oppose Killian’s plan and warned that successful Extremis subjects could regenerate lost limbs, ignore injuries, and produce heat of three thousand degrees.

Maya Hansen warned Tony Stark and Qin Xiao that two Extremis soldiers had arrived to take them, but Qin Xiao easily overpowered them. The surviving soldier attacked with her superheated body, and the chapter ended with Qin Xiao burning the male soldier to ash with a breath of flame.

• Maya Hansen spotted two Extremis soldiers entering Stark Industries and urged Tony Stark and Qin Xiao to escape.
• The female soldier attacked Tony, but Qin Xiao appeared in front of her and broke her spine with a knee strike.
• The female soldier healed her injuries with the Extremis Virus and attacked Qin Xiao again, heating her arm until it became lava-like.
• Qin Xiao grabbed the female soldier's wrist without being burned and revealed that he could breathe concentrated flame.
• Qin Xiao's flame reduced the male soldier to ash while the female soldier stared in shock.

Qin Xiao and Tony questioned Maya Hansen about Killian’s operation, then returned to the base and used Rhodey’s military credentials to uncover footage of Extremis experiments. The footage revealed how Extremis restored missing limbs and how failed subjects exploded, but Natasha and Pepper’s location remained unknown.

• The female Extremis soldier detonated herself while attacking Qin Xiao, who opened a portal and dropped her into an icy wasteland before returning to Maya Hansen.
• Maya told Qin Xiao that Killian kept changing their meeting places and did not trust her, while Tony urged them to return to the base.
• Agent Hill identified Killian’s companies, including AIM, but Tony called Rhodey for access to the military network instead of waiting for her to hack it.
• Rhodey gave Tony his password, “War Machine Is Super Badass,” and Hill used his account to find footage of human experiments.
• Qin Xiao and Tony watched footage showing Extremis subjects regenerate missing limbs while failed experiments exploded.

After Killian threatened to inject Natasha and Pepper Potts with a more dangerous stage of the Extremis Virus, Tony rushed to work with Maya Hansen while Qin Xiao helped Hill prepare to trace the Mandarin’s next television broadcast. Killian then ordered the women injected immediately, unconcerned whether they survived.

• Tony watched footage showing Natasha and Pepper Potts bound and glowing with the Extremis Virus as Killian gave him three days to stop the next injection.
• Tony left to find Maya Hansen, while the Captain told Qin Xiao to remain and help locate the captors.
• Hill explained that tracing a hijacked television broadcast could reveal its origin, and Qin Xiao ordered JARVIS to give her access and Dr. Banner to help Tony.
• Qin Xiao told Hill to watch television, confident the Mandarin would appear again soon.
• Killian revealed his plan to seize power by killing the president and exploiting the Extremis Virus, then ordered Erik Savin to inject Natasha and Pepper Potts with the second-stage virus immediately.

Qin Xiao, Tony, and Thor captured the Mandarin, who turned out to be an actor hired by Killian. They learned that the president, Natasha, and Pepper Potts were aboard the Norco, and prepared to rescue them despite the many Extremis Soldiers guarding the ship.

• Qin Xiao, Tony, and Thor broke into the Miami estate and found the Mandarin asleep with two models.
• Thor shocked the Mandarin awake, and Tony threatened him until he confessed that he was only an actor.
• Rhodey arrived, mistakenly tackled the Mandarin, and learned from the others what had happened.
• Qin Xiao, Tony, Thor, and Rhodey discovered that Killian had kidnapped the president, Natasha, and Pepper Potts and planned to execute the president aboard the Norco.
• Tony pointed out that Qin Xiao and Thor could fight the Extremis Soldiers, then told JARVIS to prepare the House Party.

Killian taunted Natasha and Pepper while preparing them for their final Extremis transformation, but they condemned his cowardice and reminded him of his dependence on Tony. As Tony, Qin Xiao, and Thor attacked Killian’s ship, Rhodey joined the fight and Tony’s armor suits arrived, leaving Tony and Qin Xiao to head in and rescue the women.

• Killian injected Natasha and Pepper with a stabilizer and declared that they would soon undergo their final transformation.
• Natasha and Pepper criticized Killian for capturing them instead of facing Qin Xiao and for relying on Tony, prompting Killian to rage and vow to defeat Tony.
• Rhodey fired at the searchlights roasting the suspended president, then asked Tony and Qin Xiao for help reaching him and recovering his armor.
• Tony, Qin Xiao, and Thor attacked the ship as Rhodey spotted Tony’s arriving fleet of at least twenty armor suits.
• Tony ordered JARVIS to identify the Extremis Soldiers and protect Natasha and Pepper, while directing Thor to support the assault with lightning and taking Qin Xiao to rescue the women.

Qin Xiao and Tony rescued Natasha and Pepper Potts from Killian’s makeshift laboratory, while Qin Xiao defeated Erik Savin and forced Killian to the floor. After Killian escaped through the melting floor, Qin Xiao reunited the group on shore and arranged for the president to return under Avengers escort.

• Tony directed the Iron Man Armors to fight the Extremis Soldiers while he and Qin Xiao searched the cruise ship for the hostages.
• Qin Xiao and Tony found Natasha and Pepper Potts with Killian and Erik Savin in a converted container laboratory.
• Qin Xiao killed Erik Savin with cyan-blue flames, forced Killian to kneel, and then watched him fall through the softened floor.
• Qin Xiao opened a wormhole and brought the rescued hostages and Tony to shore, where Rhodey had rescued the president.
• Qin Xiao sent Natasha and the others to escort the president toward the White House and warned Rhodey to stay quiet about what had happened to him.

Tony faced Killian in a one-on-one fight aboard the cruise ship after Qin Xiao let him take responsibility for ending the conflict. Killian attacked Tony but failed to melt his vibranium armor, and Tony cut off both of Killian’s arms with hidden blades.

• Rhodey shoved the president through the wormhole, while Natasha and Pepper discussed the effects of their Extremis transformations with Qin Xiao and Tony.
• Qin Xiao closed the wormhole, and the group flew to the cruise ship, where Thor had defeated the remaining enemies and JARVIS detected Killian below deck.
• Qin Xiao taunted Killian and stepped aside so Tony could offer him a chance to surrender and have the virus removed.
• Killian rejected Tony’s offer, charged him, and seized the reactor on Tony’s chest, expecting his heat to melt the armor.
• Tony revealed that his armor was made of vibranium and used hidden blades to slice through both of Killian’s arms.

Tony, Pepper Potts, and Natasha defeated Killian and celebrated by destroying Tony’s suits in a fireworks display. After Qin Xiao earned points for eliminating the Extremis Soldiers, Tony saved the virus for research and injected himself with a dose of the first-stage Extremis Virus.

• Tony severed Killian’s arms and warned him to surrender, but Killian regenerated and lunged at Pepper Potts.
• Natasha intercepted Killian, and Pepper Potts punched through his chest before kicking him toward Tony.
• Tony had JARVIS launch Killian into the sky with an armor suit, then ordered the surrounding suits to self-destruct as fireworks.
• Tony told Qin Xiao that talking with the Captain had eased his anxiety and that he only needed the armor he was wearing.
• Qin Xiao gained 1,000 points for defeating Killian and the Extremis Soldiers, bringing his total to 2,500.
• Tony saved doses of the Extremis Virus for research and injected himself with a first-stage dose.

Tony injected himself with the Extremis Virus to study an antidote, survived the transformation, and decided to repair his body as he had repaired his armor. Qin Xiao then met the young Peter Parker, whose scientific talent impressed Tony and revealed that Spider-Man had entered their story.

• Tony injected himself with the Extremis Virus despite Qin Xiao and Pepper warning him about the risks.
• Tony's body healed, closing the hole in his chest and expelling the shrapnel, and he explained that he wanted to repair himself as well as his armor.
• Tony developed an antidote and told Qin Xiao that stabilizing the virus would risk changing a person's body and personality, while most people could not survive enhancements based on Qin Xiao's genes.
• Qin Xiao asked whether Tony had fathered the boy beside him, and Tony introduced him as Peter Parker.
• Tony explained that eleven-year-old Peter had impressed Stark Industries by improving an engine, and Qin Xiao recognized him as Spider-Man.

A passenger plane deliberately attacked Sky Base, crashing into its central pillar and causing a violent explosion that injured the Avengers and trapped Peter beneath a bookcase. The chapter ended as the bookcase began to rise, revealing Peter’s hand.

• Spider-Man enjoyed Tony's attention and toured Sky Base with him.
• A captain, acting on a mysterious caller's instructions, steered an A380 toward Sky Base.
• JARVIS detected the plane too late, and the Avengers rushed to protect one another as it struck the base.
• The crash damaged a rotor blade and dented the central pillar, while an explosion shook the hall and knocked the Avengers off balance.
• Tony shouted Peter's name when he saw him pinned beneath a fallen bookcase, but the bookcase began to rise before Captain America could lift it.

After Spider-Man displayed extraordinary strength while helping the Avengers clear wreckage from a destroyed section of Sky Base, he explained why he had kept his powers secret and hoped to use them to help people. Tony offered him a future place in the Avengers' reserves, then sent him home to study.

• Spider-Man accidentally launched a bookcase with one hand, revealing his immense strength, and followed the Avengers through Qin Xiao's portal after another explosion sounded below.
• The Avengers found a section of Sky Base destroyed by a crash and a deliberate explosion, cleared the wreckage, and learned that two Widows from the damaged dormitory were missing.
• Tony questioned Spider-Man, who explained that a spider bite had given him powers and that he had kept them secret so he could help people without endangering Aunt May.
• Tony offered Spider-Man a place in the Avengers' reserves when he was older, and Spider-Man excitedly celebrated before apologizing.
• Tony told Spider-Man to go home, study, and return after earning all A's on his final exams, while Qin Xiao opened a portal to send him back.

Hill and JARVIS uncovered evidence that the plane attack was deliberate and that a hidden organization intended to kill everyone at the base with a nuclear warhead. The investigation traced the warhead’s purchase to an unknown buyer whose money led to an offshore company registered to a Japanese man.

• Hill showed that someone had altered New York Airport’s radar records, and JARVIS reported that the hacker was shot dead in Boston after leaving a hotel.
• Hill linked the plane’s crew to a concealed scheme, noting that captain Blau Jack’s cancer records had vanished and that the airport security screeners who died in a bus explosion had finished their shifts.
• Hill revealed a fragment from a former Soviet nuclear warhead, and Natasha identified it as a crude knockoff packed with TNT.
• Tony and Natasha traced the warhead to a Middle Eastern oil magnate’s collection and learned that someone had bought one from his descendants a few months earlier.
• Natasha and Hill found that the buyer’s identity had been concealed, while the funds led to an offshore company registered to a Japanese man.

After tracing the attack on the Avengers to Japan, Qin Xiao destroyed six shrines dedicated to Class A war criminals and covered their ruins with sewage and excrement. Japan’s emperor summoned the cabinet, where the prime minister blamed the Hishiguchi Family and admitted Japan had little ability to retaliate.

• Qin Xiao asked Natasha and Hill to investigate who else was behind the attack, while telling the captain he still intended to kill more of their people.
• A wormhole opened above NM Shrine, and missiles destroyed the site before sewage and excrement poured over the ruins.
• Qin Xiao repeated the attack at five more shrines dedicated to Class A war criminals, then stopped for the time being.
• The emperor summoned the prime minister and cabinet members to discuss the shrine attacks and demanded a solution.
• The prime minister blamed the Hishiguchi Family for sending a plane with a nuclear warhead toward the Avengers’ base and said Japan could not readily defeat the Avengers or win international support.

After Japan’s attack on the Avengers, Qin Xiao rejected the White House’s attempt to intervene and escalated his retaliation by threatening Tokyo with nuclear warheads. He gave Japan five hours to meet his demands and revealed that he had named the warheads “Old Boy.”

• The Japanese prime minister urged the emperor and cabinet to surrender Hishiguchi Shunsuke, apologize, and compensate the Avengers, warning that Qin Xiao’s retaliation had only begun.
• Japan contacted the White House, but Qin Xiao refused its request to intervene on Japan’s behalf.
• At a press conference, Qin Xiao said the shrine incidents were his personal actions and that he had only begun collecting the Avengers’ debt.
• Qin Xiao opened a wormhole to the JG Shrine, produced a nuclear warhead, and gave Tokyo’s residents five hours to evacuate.
• Qin Xiao demanded an apology from Japan’s emperor and cabinet, the abolition of shrines honoring war criminals, the surrender of everyone involved in the attack, and a World War II theme park.
• Qin Xiao displayed more than ten nuclear warheads outside the JG Shrine and called them “Old Boy.”