Chapter Summaries

Alex returned to New York with Lingdan and Crystal to investigate the disease, but discovered that Charles and the X-Men had been captured. As people across New York collapsed and news arrived that Washington had fallen, Nick Fury realized that the cataclysm had begun.

• Alex brought Lingdan and Crystal to New York so Lingdan could investigate the disease, but found signs of battle and learned that Charles and the X-Men had been captured.
• Alex searched witnesses' memories and discovered that an unknown group had defeated and taken Charles's team in minutes.
• Nick Fury arrived with Natasha and Carter, and Alex reacted in shock after recognizing Angel.
• People across New York, including S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, suddenly collapsed unconscious.
• Carter showed Nick Fury a message and photos confirming that the White House had been reduced to ruins and the president's fate was unknown.
• Nick received further alarming reports and acknowledged that the cataclysm had truly arrived.

Alex discovered that a deadly plague was spreading, and Lingdan lost her right arm after the infection attacked her. Plague and her companions confronted Alex’s group, who escaped to Alex City with a sample of the black vapor as the world fell into chaos.

• Alex asked Lingdan to treat the infected S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, but the plague attacked her, forcing her to cut off her right arm.
• Lingdan warned Alex and Nick Fury that the plague was dangerous and that she needed time to find a cure.
• Plague revealed herself alongside Angel, Famine, Death, and War, then unleashed black mist on Alex’s group.
• Alex used energy to contain a sample of the mist and teleported his companions away; Plague promised they would meet again.
• War destroyed a skyscraper and was punished by Plague before following her and the others.
• Alex returned with Nick Fury’s group to peaceful Alex City and told Emma about the plague and their encounter.

After Darwin’s Reactive Evolution helped Elixir develop an antibody serum for the plague, Alex and Elixir treated everyone in Alex City. Hank Pym arrived to help mass-produce the cure, and Nick Fury identified Apocalypse as the likely mastermind behind the outbreak.

• Alex ordered Nick Fury to contact Hydra and Hellfire and told Elixir to find a cure within two days.
• Darwin arrived, and his Reactive Evolution let him adapt to the plague while Elixir kept him alive through increasingly concentrated tests.
• After nearly two hours of testing, Darwin could withstand the complete plague, and Elixir obtained an antibody serum.
• Alex and Elixir spent several more hours making serum for everyone in Alex City.
• Nick Fury returned with Hank Pym, whom Alex asked to help manufacture the serum on a large scale.
• Nick Fury told Alex that his deductions pointed to Apocalypse as the mastermind behind the plague.

After realizing Apocalypse had transformed Warren Worthington III into Angel, Alex rallied the X-Men and broadcast a warning that also pressured the Hellfire Club and the Brotherhood of Mutants to unite with them. Alex then brought the X-Men to New York, expecting Apocalypse to come for him.

• Nick Fury told Alex that Apocalypse had attacked the Hellfire Club and the Brotherhood of Mutants while the plague had nearly wiped out Hydra and AIM.
• Alex remembered Apocalypse's threat to remake people as apostles and realized that Angel was connected to his plan.
• Alex summoned the X-Men and explained that Apocalypse had caused the plague and turned Warren Worthington III into a black-winged puppet.
• The Sage revealed to Nick Fury that Alex's speech was being broadcast to the Hellfire Club and the Brotherhood of Mutants, potentially drawing their members toward the X-Mansion.
• Alex took the X-Men to New York and concealed ninety percent of them to prepare for Apocalypse's arrival.

Alex and the X-Men waited for Apocalypse, but Mr. Sinister appeared instead and offered to reveal Apocalypse’s location in exchange for Alex’s blood. Mr. Sinister threatened that Apocalypse was transforming Charles, leaving Alex furious and under pressure to act quickly.

• Alex and Elixir healed unconscious people while the X-Men gathered them, and Nick Fury told the revived humans a plague had swept across the planet.
• Alex placed an energy barrier around Crystal to shield her from the polluted human world.
• Nathaniel Essex emerged from a dark alley, introduced himself as Mr. Sinister, and said he knew where Apocalypse was.
• Mr. Sinister demanded Alex’s blood and revealed that Apocalypse was transforming an Apostle named Charles.
• Alex threatened to kill Mr. Sinister, but Mr. Sinister said he was unconcerned for his own life and warned that time was running out.

Alex agreed to help Mr. Sinister in exchange for being taken to Apocalypse, then followed him to an abandoned factory with Crystal. Inside, Alex encountered a modified Angel and then Plague and two other Apostles of Apocalypse, who revealed they had been waiting for him.

• Alex gave Mr. Sinister blood samples from himself and Spirit Pill and the others in exchange for directions to Apocalypse.
• Alex ordered the X-Men to stay behind, but Crystal followed him to the abandoned factory.
• Mr. Sinister pointed out Apocalypse’s hiding place, took Alex’s blood, and left him to enter alone with Crystal.
• The modified Angel attacked, and Alex subdued him but could not find or restore his original consciousness.
• Plague and two other Apostles of Apocalypse emerged inside the factory and told Alex they had been waiting for him.

Alex fought Apocalypse's four apostles, but Pestilence threatened Tony Stark's life and provoked Alex into a furious response. The chapter ended with Alex holding Pestilence by the throat as his energy erupted around them.

• Alex sent Crystal to fight War and confronted Famine, whose ability caused Alex's hands to vanish into ash.
• Alex regrew his hands, while Crystal suppressed War and Pestilence's plague failed to affect Alex or Crystal.
• Angel arrived and attacked with metal feathers, but Alex took control of them and surrounded the four apostles.
• Pestilence threatened Tony Stark's life, and Alex grabbed her by the throat in a rage.

Alex confronted Apocalypse’s apostles to find Tony Stark, then descended with Crystal and interrupted Apocalypse as he modified Charles. Alex fought to buy Crystal time to rescue the captives, but Tony was still missing when Apocalypse broke free.

• Alex threatened Pestilence until she revealed that Tony was below with Apocalypse, then left her and the other apostles trapped.
• Alex and Crystal found Charles and other captives in an underground warehouse, where Apocalypse was modifying Charles.
• Alex attacked Apocalypse, whose armor transformed into a shield, and sent Crystal to rescue the captives.
• Alex teleported behind Apocalypse and bound him with giant serpents, but Apocalypse expanded and forced Alex to release him.
• Crystal rescued most of the captives, but Tony Stark was not among them.

Alex survived Apocalypse’s attack and rescued Crystal and the captured mutants, but Tony was missing and Apocalypse claimed he was dead. After confronting The Watcher Otu, Alex sat on the Moon gazing at Earth while Apocalypse released his apostles and hinted at a new scheme.

• Crystal told Alex that Tony was missing, and Apocalypse said they were too late to save him.
• Apocalypse trapped Alex between his hammer-like hands, but a conscious Black Hole emerged, consumed Apocalypse’s hands, and let Alex escape unharmed.
• Alex teleported Crystal and the rescued mutants to Alex City, brought the remaining X-Men there, then visited The Watcher Otu and thanked him before leaving.
• Alex sat on the Moon and admired Earth while Apocalypse emerged from the warehouse and freed his four apostles.
• Plague asked where Alex was, and Apocalypse replied that he had left while wearing an eerie smile.

After escaping Apocalypse, Alex returned to find Alex City devastated by transformed mutants Apocalypse had planted among the rescued prisoners. As Alex struggled to contain Charles and the attackers, Medusa and the Inhumans arrived to help, and the fight continued with Alex insisting the transformed mutants be spared.

• Alex discovered that the energy Black Hole had emerged under threat, breaking Adam's restraints and saving his life from Apocalypse.
• Alex returned to Alex City, found it in ruins, and realized the transformed apostles Apocalypse had let him rescue had sabotaged it.
• Alex ordered the X-Men to protect and evacuate civilians, then fought through groups of transformed mutants.
• Alex confronted Charles and seven other transformed mutants, whose coordinated attacks and Charles's psychic interference kept Alex from stopping them.
• Medusa arrived with armed Inhumans and attacked Charles's group, while Alex warned her not to kill the transformed mutants and joined the counterattack.

Apocalypse and the Four Horsemen invaded Alex City while Alex and Medusa were still recovering from their fight with Charles and the others. Alex rallied the city's defenders against Apocalypse's army, and the chapter ended as both sides prepared for war.

• Apocalypse led more than a thousand soldiers into Alex City after its defenses were disabled.
• Alex sensed Apocalypse's presence and decided to retreat, but Medusa promised that the Inhumans would help and hinted that Black Bolt would join them.
• Emma warned Alex that High Evolutionary, Magneto, and others had escaped, just as Apocalypse's army charged into the city.
• Alex attacked the invading soldiers with a storm of blades, but Apocalypse's arrival forced him to stop.
• Alex's forces gathered to face Apocalypse, and the battle began after both leaders ordered their armies to fight.

Alex used his Black Hole form to hold Apocalypse’s army back while Emma led the X-Mansion forces in retreat. After Apocalypse’s forces attacked him, Alex vanished, leaving Apocalypse and War unsure whether he had survived.

• As X-Mansion’s forces suffered heavy losses, Alex asked Medusa when Black Bolt would arrive, and she said she did not know.
• Apocalypse revealed that the Brotherhood of Mutants and the Hellfire Club had joined his forces, prompting Emma to urge Alex to retreat.
• Alex transformed into a Black Hole and restrained Apocalypse’s army while Emma led the X-Mansion mutants away.
• After the others escaped, Alex ended his transformation, exhausted, and Apocalypse tried to find them through telepathy but failed.
• Apocalypse’s remaining soldiers attacked Alex, and when the energy cleared, he had vanished; War speculated that Alex had been killed.

Alex survived Apocalypse’s attack but lost most of his accumulated energy and strength. He reached Attilan, learned that Maximus had seized power with support from the Gene Council and Fetal Care Center, and prepared to help Black Bolt leave the sealed city.

• Apocalypse failed to find Alex, burned Alex City, and left, while Alex later emerged from a snow cocoon alive but severely weakened.
• Alex arrived in Attilan, where hostile Inhumans tried to arrest him, and he knocked them down before Black Bolt led him to a hidden house.
• His Highness Alex explained that Maximus had rebelled against Black Bolt with secret backing from the Gene Council and Fetal Care Center.
• Black Bolt told Alex through telepathy that he would leave rather than reclaim the throne, but Alex discovered that his Teleportation ability was restricted and Attilan was sealed.
• His Highness Alex said they could escape by destroying Attilan’s protective system or crossing the Forbidden Zone, and Alex questioned why they could not take the latter route.

Alex and Black Bolt escaped Maximus’s attack by teleporting into the Inhumans’ Forbidden Zone, where Alex discovered he could absorb Terrigen Mist and rapidly recover his strength. He stopped just before the absorption could trigger a Second Mutation that might leave him asleep for ten years.

• Maximus attacked the house where Alex and the others were hiding, but Black Bolt restrained his guards from fighting back.
• Lockjaw teleported Alex, Black Bolt, and the others to the Forbidden Zone, where a passage led outside Attilan.
• Inside the crystal-filled cave, Lockjaw revealed strands of Terrigen Mist connecting Alex to the surrounding mist.
• His Highness Alex recognized that Alex was absorbing Terrigen Mist, and Alex deliberately increased the absorption to restore his strength.
• His Highness Alex warned Alex about a ten-year transformation, so Alex stopped absorbing the mist before triggering a Second Mutation.

Alex escaped Attilan with Black Bolt and his group, reunited with Emma and the others in a hidden valley, and learned that Apocalypse had taken control of Earth. After discovering that Maximus intended to cooperate with Apocalypse, the group agreed to move against him in Attilan.

• Alex teleported himself and the others out of Attilan and brought them to a hidden valley in China's Snowy Region.
• Alex reunited with Emma and the others, but the mysterious mage he hoped to find was absent.
• Alex reported that Apocalypse had taken control of Earth and that Maximus seemed ready to cooperate with him.
• Emma urged the group to stop Maximus, and Medusa agreed to give them full support.
• Alex ordered everyone to prepare immediately for an attack on Attilan.

Maximus gained the elders’ approval to invite Apocalypse to Attilan, while Alex was taken from the frozen Mysterious Valley and accepted The Ancient One as his master. The Ancient One gave Alex a jade ring containing his teachings and sent him back to the valley.

• Maximus proposed inviting Apocalypse to Attilan, and an elder reluctantly approved the plan.
• Emma and The Sage found themselves immobilized as the Mysterious Valley’s space-time froze, and Emma realized Alex was missing.
• Alex appeared in a cloud-shrouded realm and met the mysterious mage again.
• The mage revealed himself as The Ancient One and asked Alex to become his disciple.
• Alex accepted The Ancient One, received a jade ring containing his teachings, and was sent back to the Mysterious Valley.

Alex led the Inhumans, X-Men, and other mutants toward Attilan, but its defenses initially blocked their entry. When the defenses unexpectedly opened to admit Apocalypse, Alex brought the group inside and they waited for Maximus to lose support; the chapter ended with Apocalypse beginning his attack.

• Alex gathered more than two hundred allies and learned that Attilan's defenses made a quiet entry impossible.
• Alex unexpectedly managed to teleport the group into Attilan after trying again from the Mysterious Valley.
• Alex discovered that Maximus had opened Attilan's defenses to welcome Apocalypse and his followers.
• Medusa said no Inhumans supported Maximus after he invited Apocalypse, and Alex decided to wait for Maximus to undermine himself.
• Alex relayed updates and secretly contacted people while the group waited, then reported that Apocalypse had made his move.

Alex watched Maximus turn on the Inhuman councilors and elders, then followed him underground and discovered his plan to use Terrigen Mist against Apocalypse and his followers. Maximus released a vast cloud of mist into the level above, leaving its effects unknown.

• Maximus ordered Apocalypse’s Apostles to attack the councilors and elders, but the Inhumans quickly overwhelmed them.
• The councilors and elders collapsed from Maximus’s poison, and Maximus urged Apocalypse to kill them, but Apocalypse refused.
• Maximus’s men carried away the poisoned Inhumans, while Maximus left the palace and Alex secretly followed him.
• Alex realized Maximus planned to destroy Apocalypse and claim power among the Inhumans.
• Maximus activated a huge supply of Terrigen Crystals, sending their purple mist through the ceiling toward the level above.

Alex discovered that Terrigen Mist was strengthening Apocalypse and his apostles instead of killing them, and he began absorbing it himself as he faced a Second Mutation. Medusa and the Inhumans fought the apostles, while Black Bolt prepared to unleash his power as the battle turned against them.

• Alex returned to the hall, found Apocalypse and his apostles absorbing the Terrigen Mist, and began devouring it while warning Maximus and contacting Emma, Black Bolt, and the others.
• Maximus inspected the hall, saw Alex and Apocalypse's forces absorbing the mist, and realized his plan had failed.
• Medusa warned Emma and the others that the mist was lethal to them, then entered the hall with Black Bolt and the Inhumans to fight Apocalypse's apostles.
• Emma told Vivien Leigh, Audrey, and Monroe that Alex was undergoing a Second Mutation, and Alex assured them that it probably would not take long.
• Medusa's group initially slaughtered more than a hundred apostles, but Apocalypse and the remaining apostles recovered and overwhelmed the Inhumans.
• Medusa ordered everyone to retreat, and Black Bolt unleashed a destructive roar against the apostles.

Alex escaped his Second Mutation with Black Bolt’s help, then fought Apocalypse away from Attilan. Apocalypse escaped after Alex tore him in half, and Alex returned injured to find Attilan restored and Black Bolt reinstated as king.

• Black Bolt’s roar cleared the Terrigen Mist and shattered Alex’s crystal, allowing Alex to emerge and thank him.
• Alex and Apocalypse clashed, while Emma and Medusa watched as their battle threatened Attilan.
• Alex and Apocalypse left Attilan to continue fighting elsewhere, and the Earth shook before the battle ended.
• Black Bolt was elected king again after Maximus’s madness was exposed, and Maximus was imprisoned.
• Alex returned injured and told Emma that Apocalypse had escaped but would need years to recover.
• Medusa assured Alex that Attilan was fine and thanked him for helping preserve it.