Chapter Summaries

Brian proved compatible with Excalibur, allowing Loma to send Alex near Shuma-Gorath and guide him back, though Alex would have to leave without Brian fully mastering the sword. After preparing for his possible death and arranging for Magneto to continue the Asteroid Project, Alex stood ready to enter the Chaos Dimension.

• Excalibur calmed in Brian's hands, and Loma explained that Brian could not yet unleash its full power but could help Alex reach and return from near Shuma-Gorath.
• Loma asked Alex to wait one day while Brian trained with Excalibur, and Alex agreed before leaving to prepare for his departure.
• Alex visited Magneto and entrusted him with the Asteroid Project in case Alex did not return.
• Alex met with Charles, the Fantastic Four, Nick Fury, Tony Stark, and others, putting his affairs in order as the day passed.
• At night, Loma brought the trained Brian to Alex, and Brian opened a gate of light leading into darkness.

Alex entered the Chaos Dimension and flew toward Shuma-Gorath, whose aura overwhelmed him. Shuma-Gorath sent a horde of Tentacle Monsters after Alex, and after their attacks proved futile, Alex prepared to fight with Excalibur.

• Alex arrived in the Chaos Dimension, found that his abilities still worked, and sensed Shuma-Gorath's powerful aura in the distance.
• Shuma-Gorath detected Alex, summoned Tentacle Monsters, and sent them charging toward him.
• Alex layered Energy Shields around himself, took Excalibur from Brian, and flew toward Shuma-Gorath.
• A Tentacle Monster shattered Alex's shields and struck him, sending him crashing to the ground.
• Alex's energy attacks failed against the approaching monsters, so he raised Excalibur and prepared to rely on its sharpness.

Alex fought the Tentacle Monsters with Excalibur, discovering that its severed tentacles could not regenerate and that the monsters grew stronger by devouring one another. He searched for a way through the swarming creatures toward Shuma-Gorath and ended the chapter keeping some slain monsters out of reach of the ground horde.

• Alex used Excalibur to sever a Tentacle Monster's tentacles and suspected that the sword prevented them from regenerating.
• Alex evaded the approaching horde, then discovered that some Tentacle Monsters could fly, though they moved slowly in the air.
• The ground Tentacle Monsters caught and swallowed the tentacle-less flyers, growing larger and stronger after feeding.
• Alex avoided killing more flyers at first, but their growing numbers slowed his advance toward Shuma-Gorath and repeatedly forced him to fight.
• Alex discovered that the monsters' single eyes were vulnerable, then attacked them and left the flyers he killed suspended in midair so the ground horde could not eat them.

Alex fought the rapidly evolving Flying Tentacle Monsters, but their growing strength overwhelmed his attacks and escape attempts. With Excalibur ineffective and his other abilities offering little help, he considered using his molecular control to shapeshift.

• Alex threw a Flying Tentacle Monster corpse to lure some Ground Tentacle Monsters away, but a new wave of Flying Tentacle Monsters devoured the remaining corpses.
• Alex slaughtered Flying Tentacle Monsters for hours, inadvertently letting the survivors grow stronger by consuming their fallen.
• Alex tried repeatedly to flee, but the evolved Flying Tentacle Monsters caught and surrounded him, eventually becoming too powerful for Excalibur to harm.
• Alex used magnetic shields and body control to endure attacks and launch himself away, but the monsters caught him and strangled him.
• Alex wondered whether his molecular-level control could let him shapeshift like Mystique and Monroe.

Alex escaped the Tentacle Monsters by disguising himself and slipping away, while the Mandarin arrived at Mysterious Valley seeking Alex and overwhelmed the X-Men. The chapter ended with Alex shedding his Tentacle Monster disguise after escaping the Chaos Dimension battlefield.

• Alex transformed to break free from the Flying Tentacle Monster and vanished from the battlefield, frustrating Shuma-Gorath, who decided to wait for him.
• The Mandarin appeared at Mysterious Valley and demanded that Emma bring Alex to him.
• Crystal recognized the Mandarin, but he shattered her stone attack and used his Ten Rings to injure nearly everyone present, leaving Crystal unconscious.
• The Mandarin spared the X-Men and told them to tell Alex he would wait for him in New York.
• Emma urged Charles and the others to keep watch without provoking the Mandarin, while Crystal explained who he was.
• Alex escaped the Tentacle Monsters by posing as one, then shed its skin and emerged in his own appearance.

Alex challenged Shuma-Gorath to a one-on-one fight and traveled to confront him, while considering how his new transformation ability might combine with Darwin's Reactive Evolution. Shuma-Gorath brought them to a lawless white space and agreed that Alex would never return to Earth if he lost, then asked Alex to name his wager.

• Alex taunted Shuma-Gorath, who recalled the Tentacle Monsters and promised to wait for him.
• Alex studied the limits of his transformation ability and considered combining it with Darwin's Reactive Evolution.
• Alex flew to a towering figure he recognized as Shuma-Gorath and challenged him to fight.
• Shuma-Gorath moved them into a white space beyond universes and dimensions, where Alex discovered his Teleportation might still work.
• Shuma-Gorath offered to stay away from Earth if he lost and asked Alex what he would wager.

Alex negotiated a wager with Shuma-Gorath, offering Excalibur as the stake and insisting that the demons be bound by a contract. Surrounded by powerful demons, he began revising the contract to prevent Shuma-Gorath from invading Earth and demanded to witness its signature.

• Alex offered Shuma-Gorath Excalibur as his stake, and Shuma-Gorath agreed to begin the wager.
• Alex demanded a witness and a contract, so Shuma-Gorath opened Space Gates and summoned Dormammu, Mephisto, and other extra-dimensional demons.
• Alex asked Shuma-Gorath to invite Odin, but Shuma-Gorath refused and threatened to cancel the wager unless they started.
• Shuma-Gorath gave Alex a contract, and Alex changed its wording to forbid direct or indirect use of power to invade Earth.
• Alex noticed Shuma-Gorath had already signed and demanded to watch it sign the contract.

Alex negotiated a revised wager contract with Shuma-Gorath, but had to surrender Excalibur before their battle. After hours of probing, Shuma-Gorath overwhelmed Alex with his six tentacles, and Alex suddenly realized he might still have a way to use Excalibur.

• Mephisto challenged Alex's demands, but Alex shamed the assembled demons into staying out of the dispute.
• Alex and Shuma-Gorath signed the revised contract, which burned away to seal their wager.
• Shuma-Gorath demanded Excalibur as Alex's stake, and Alex handed it over before the fight began.
• Alex and Shuma-Gorath exchanged attacks for half a day, each testing the other's strength while staying within the contract's limits.
• Shuma-Gorath launched a coordinated assault with all six tentacles and nearly pinned Alex down.
• Alex thought of Excalibur and exclaimed its name as a possible solution.

Alex tried to wound Shuma-Gorath with a false Excalibur and discovered that its single eye was not vulnerable, while Shuma-Gorath immobilized him and resisted his teleportation. As Alex considered how to win without being killed, Mephisto urged Shuma-Gorath to end the fight, and six tentacles struck toward him.

• Alex transformed his right arm into an imitation Excalibur and used it to inflict a small wound on one of Shuma-Gorath's tentacles.
• Alex charged Shuma-Gorath and thrust the imitation Excalibur toward its single eye, but Shuma-Gorath immobilized him with a purple flash.
• Alex used Teleportation to break free and attack the eye again, but the blade bounced off it like Adamantium.
• Shuma-Gorath offered to make Alex ruler of Earth after devouring the universe, while Alex considered how to provoke it into breaking their power limit and survive.
• Mephisto told Shuma-Gorath to stop talking and finish Alex, and Shuma-Gorath sent six tentacles whipping toward him.

Alex fought Shuma-Gorath by copying its form, using the struggle to learn its structure and uncover its weakness. After piercing Shuma-Gorath, Alex provoked it by calling himself an ordinary human, leaving their confrontation poised to escalate.

• Alex transformed into a Tentacle Monster and grappled with Shuma-Gorath while secretly learning its structure and evolving his body.
• When Shuma-Gorath attacked, Alex teleported away, but an ambush tentacle struck him and sent him crashing to the ground.
• Alex recovered, passed through Shuma-Gorath's tentacles, and pierced its back with a spear formed from his hand.
• Shuma-Gorath blasted Alex away and demanded to know who he was after realizing Alex had found its weakness.
• Alex called himself an ordinary human and mocked Shuma-Gorath as a tiny ant while secretly gathering strength.

Alex taunted Shuma-Gorath and used teleportation, sword attacks, and a magnetic field to evade and briefly restrain it. Shuma-Gorath lost its temper and began growing larger as Alex prepared to dodge.

• Shuma-Gorath attacked Alex with its tentacles, but Alex teleported behind it and tried to stab its back.
• Shuma-Gorath countered with a hidden tentacle, but Alex avoided it and mocked its body and attacks.
• Shuma-Gorath split its tentacles into dozens of smaller ones, and Alex transformed his hands into Excalibur and cut through them while continuing to taunt it.
• Shuma-Gorath summoned overwhelming magic, but Alex used a magnetic field to tangle its tentacles and briefly bind its body.
• Shuma-Gorath broke free, roared at Alex, and grew several stories tall as Alex prepared to dodge.

Alex tried to absorb Shuma-Gorath’s magical attack, but the demon overloaded his Black Hole and pushed him to the brink of losing control. Shuma-Gorath admitted defeat under pressure from the other demons, but Alex’s Black Hole exploded anyway.

• Shuma-Gorath formed a massive silver vortex and unleashed its magical power against Alex.
• Alex transformed into a controllable Black Hole and began absorbing the vortex’s energy.
• Shuma-Gorath flooded the Black Hole with energy until Alex could no longer control it.
• Alex released his control and threatened to detonate the enormous Black Hole, endangering everyone in the White Space.
• Mephisto, Dormammu, and the other demons demanded that Shuma-Gorath admit defeat, and Shuma-Gorath finally conceded.
• The Black Hole exploded despite Shuma-Gorath’s surrender.

Alex contained Shuma-Gorath’s detonation of his Black Hole at the cost of severe damage to his origin, then escaped the White Space without revealing Earth’s coordinates. The demons failed to track him, but Shuma-Gorath shared its partial information about Earth, leaving the planet vulnerable as Alex traveled through other dimensions.

• Shuma-Gorath detonated Alex’s Black Hole, and Alex contained its explosive energy, badly damaging his body and origin.
• Alex demanded that Shuma-Gorath honor their bet, warned the demons to stay away from Earth, and teleported out of the White Space.
• Excalibur broke free of its contract and vanished after Alex, while the demons failed to track either his location or Earth’s coordinates.
• Mephisto questioned Shuma-Gorath, which revealed that it had only a general range for Earth’s location.
• Alex traveled through extra-dimensional realms to evade pursuit, unaware that Shuma-Gorath’s information could help the demons find Earth.

Alex passed out after a seven-colored Bifrost beam struck him and brought him to Asgard, where Heimdall recognized the severity of his injuries and ordered Thor to take him to Odin. Odin realized Alex was human and carried him away without explaining what he had discovered.

• A seven-colored Bifrost beam struck Alex as he tried to return to Earth, and he passed out at its landing point in Alfheim.
• Sif picked up Alex and insisted he needed treatment, while Thor and the others argued about taking him to Alfheim.
• Heimdall warned that Alex was no ordinary person and was gravely injured, then transported the group back to Asgard.
• Heimdall told Thor to take Alex to Odin immediately and revealed that Shuma-Gorath threatened Midgard and could bring war to Asgard.
• Thor brought Alex to Odin, who recognized him as human, took him from Thor, and left without explanation.

Odin removed the Shuma-Gorath corruption from Alex, who remained unconscious in the Golden Palace and began recovering on his own. In the Mysterious Valley, Alex’s companions feared the worst when Excalibur returned without him, though Loma reassured them that he was probably safe.

• Thor questioned Odin’s sudden departure, while Loki suspected a possible war connected to Midgard.
• Odin placed the injured Alex in a treatment device and discovered Shuma-Gorath’s power within him.
• Odin used the Odinforce and Gungnir to destroy the purple shadow threatening Alex.
• Odin told Frigga that Alex was human but far from ordinary and was recovering through his own energy.
• Monroe, Emma, and the others worried when Excalibur returned to Brian without Alex.
• Loma reassured Alex’s companions that Excalibur’s return meant he was not in danger, though she privately remained uncertain.

After Odin rescued Alex from Shuma-Gorath’s lingering power, Alex remained unconscious in Asgard for a month before waking in the Golden Palace. He told Odin how Shuma-Gorath had attacked him, leaving Odin to consider the threat.

• Loma assured Emma, Audrey, and the others that Alex was alive, though she could not say where he was, and they waited for his return.
• Odin used Gungnir and the Odinforce to remove Shuma-Gorath’s residual power from Alex, who remained asleep despite recovering from his injuries.
• Thor and his companions secretly entered the treatment room, where Alex woke and recognized Thor, Loki, Sif, and Odin.
• Alex thanked Odin for saving him and explained that Shuma-Gorath had ambushed him and fought him.
• Odin dismissed Thor and the others, then asked Alex for details about his encounter with Shuma-Gorath, and Alex recounted what had happened.

Alex warned Odin that Earth’s coordinates had been exposed and discussed the threats facing Earth and Asgard. He revealed what he knew about the Dark Elves and Loki, then left Odin to handle Asgard’s troubles while Earth prepared for a possible demon invasion.

• Alex told Odin that Earth’s coordinates had been exposed, and Odin warned that demons besides Shuma-Gorath could attack.
• Alex named the Frost Giants and Dark Elves, prompting Odin to raise Gungnir and demand to know how Alex knew about them.
• Alex revealed that Malekith had survived and would awaken when the Aether reappeared, convincing Odin that Alex knew prophecy magic.
• When Odin asked how to handle Laufey’s awakening, Alex answered, “Loki!” and Odin said he would deal with Laufey himself.
• Odin and Alex agreed that Earth could only prepare for demons while they were unable to descend in their true forms.
• Alex asked about the Infinity Gauntlet in Asgard’s vault, but Odin refused to let him have it.

After giving up on the Infinity Gauntlet, Alex explored Asgard and challenged Thor to a fight. He ended his tour at the Bifrost, warning Loki that it might break someday.

• Alex ignored the warriors sent to take him to the Bifrost, teleported to a tavern, and asked Thor to guide him around Asgard.
• Hogun attacked Alex, who knocked Hogun's mace into his forehead and then challenged Thor to fight.
• Alex defeated Thor in the arena, leaving Thor humbled and his companions shocked.
• Alex visited Valhalla with Thor, Loki, and the others, then continued touring Asgard with Sif leading the way.
• At the Bifrost, Alex hinted to Loki that it was fragile and walked toward its end.

After Heimdall sent Alex back to Earth, Alex returned to Mysterious Valley and learned that humans and the Hellfire Club had allied against mutants, exposing the X-Men’s refuge. The chapter ended with Alex asking Charles about the Asteroid Project as the group considered finding a new home.

• Heimdall kicked Alex through the Bifrost before Alex could touch him, and Thor praised him for sending Alex away.
• Alex returned to Earth, then teleported to Mysterious Valley while S.H.I.E.L.D. agents investigated the Bifrost rune formation.
• Emma, Vivien Leigh, and the other women welcomed Alex back, and Charles told him that more than three months had passed.
• Charles and Emma told Alex that humans had joined forces with the Hellfire Club to suppress mutants and that the Black Queen had attacked Mysterious Valley.
• Alex realized Mysterious Valley had been exposed, and he asked Charles how the Asteroid Project was progressing.

Alex discovered that Magneto and the Brotherhood of Mutants had vanished from the asteroid base, then decided to rebuild a proper home for mutants using Reed Richards's plans. The chapter ended with Alex asking Reed if he could copy the blueprints directly from his memories.

• Emma told Alex that Magneto had taken over the asteroid and turned it into a military base, so Alex teleported there to find him.
• Alex searched the empty base and found traces of people who had disappeared in the middle of their activities; Emma confirmed Magneto had taken the Brotherhood of Mutants there.
• Monroe mentioned that Mystique remained imprisoned, and Vivien Leigh told Alex that Tony Stark had been attacked and was missing.
• Alex told Vivien Leigh that Tony would be fine, then went to the Baxter Building and asked Reed Richards for the Asteroid Project plans.
• Reed began displaying the complex blueprints, and Alex asked to copy the designs from Reed's memories instead of memorizing them.