Chapter Summaries

Alex arranged to copy Reed's Asteroid Project knowledge using telepathy, then checked on Tony Stark and reassured Pepper that Tony was alive. In New York, Alex encountered the Hulk and realized the Avengers were nearly assembled, with Steve still missing.

• Alex granted Reed temporary telepathy, and Reed sent him the Asteroid Project information.
• Alex found Tony Stark building his first Iron Man Armor in a mountain cave but chose not to rescue him.
• Alex told Pepper Potts that Tony was alive and would return in three to five months.
• Alex spotted a green-skinned figure leaping through New York and recognized him as the Hulk.
• Alex reflected that the Avengers were nearly complete and that Steve was still missing.

Hulk attacked Alex, forcing him to teleport them from New York to a desert and fight back. Alex failed to overcome Hulk physically, injured him with an Electromagnetic Cannon, and vanished as Hulk’s wound healed almost immediately.

• Hulk pinned Alex down and beat him, so Alex teleported them from New York to a desolate desert.
• Alex tried to persuade Hulk to stop, but Hulk charged again and sent Alex crashing underground with a head-on collision.
• Alex switched to quick attacks, kicking Hulk and striking him repeatedly from behind, but Hulk grew stronger and Alex’s blows barely affected him.
• Alex fired a steel ball at Hulk with an Electromagnetic Cannon, piercing his body, then vanished.
• Hulk reacted too late to pursue Alex, and the hole in his body healed within moments.

Alex began constructing Reed’s asteroid in space while the X-Men learned that Mandarin had returned and joined forces with Mr. Sinister. The chapter left Mandarin and Mr. Sinister setting out to find Alex, unaware that he was isolated behind protective magic arrays.

• Alex dismantled Magneto’s Death Star base and began building Reed’s much larger asteroid, sealing himself off with magic arrays to avoid distractions.
• Emma learned that Mandarin had reappeared alongside Nathaniel Essex, once known as Mr. Sinister, and worried about their shared grudge against Alex.
• Charles failed to contact Alex, so Emma ordered the X-Men to prepare for combat, watch Mandarin, and seek help from the Fantastic Four to reach Alex in space.
• Mandarin and Mr. Sinister inspected the ruined Ten Rings headquarters and discussed capturing Alex to obtain his blood.
• Mandarin abandoned plans to restore the headquarters and set out with Mr. Sinister to find Alex.

Charles and Reed prepared to confront Mandarin and Mr. Sinister, but when they returned to Xavier's School, they found the villains’ bio-soldiers fighting the X-Men with mutant abilities. Emma led the heroes in an attack on Mr. Sinister, whom they recognized as the greater threat to mutants.

• Charles told Reed that Mandarin had returned and that they needed to reach Alex in space, while warning that Mr. Sinister was with him.
• Reed showed Charles a flexible armor suit designed to resist Mandarin’s Cutting Beam, and Charles chose Logan to test it.
• After receiving Emma’s telepathic message that Mandarin and Mr. Sinister had arrived at Mysterious Valley, Charles and Reed hurried back to the school.
• Charles saw Terracotta Warrior bio-soldiers fighting the X-Men with intelligence and mutant-like powers, and suspected Mr. Sinister had created them using the X-gene.
• Emma led the heroes in an attack on Mandarin and Mr. Sinister, with the group focusing on Mr. Sinister.

Emma and the X-Men fought Mr. Sinister and the Mandarin, learning that Sinister had been empowered by Apocalypse and that the Mandarin could deceive them with illusions. The battle remained unresolved as Wolverine fought Sinister and the X-Men struggled against the Mandarin and the nearly indestructible Mutant Bio-Soldiers.

• Emma and the X-Men attacked Mr. Sinister, but his energy wave blasted them back, and he revealed that Apocalypse had granted him his abilities.
• Mr. Sinister teleported beside Wolverine and tampered with his mind, but Wolverine resisted and stabbed him before Sinister healed and threw him away.
• The Mandarin joined the fight and asked where Alex was, while Charles directed the X-Men telepathically and Reed charged the Mandarin.
• The Mandarin's ring created an illusion that confused Reed and Charles, and Charles warned the X-Men to rely on their willpower to resist it.
• Wolverine continued battling Mr. Sinister as the X-Men grouped together to fight the nearly impossible-to-kill Mutant Bio-Soldiers.

The X-Men’s battle against Mandarin turned when Vivien Leigh’s emotional-control ability briefly disrupted him, but he unleashed the Ten Rings’ combined power and trapped Emma, Reed, and the others in a Death Storm. The storm suddenly stopped, leaving Mandarin roaring in fury.

• Logan recklessly attacked Mr. Sinister, aiming his Adamantium claws at his head and limbs while Reed led Emma and the others against Mandarin.
• Charles discovered Vivien Leigh could influence Mandarin’s emotions and urged her to agitate him, but her initial attempts had little effect.
• Vivien Leigh’s emotional breakdown unexpectedly strengthened her ability, briefly throwing Mandarin off balance as Emma and the others rushed to seize the Ten Rings.
• Mandarin recovered and unleashed a Death Storm that overwhelmed Emma’s defenses, while Reed shielded the others and was pinned by the Gravity Field.
• Charles told the Sage to evacuate the students, but the Death Storm abruptly stopped and Mandarin roared furiously.

Emma and the X-Men attacked Mandarin after the Ten Rings shattered, but his sorcery remained overwhelmingly powerful. Crystal disrupted the surrounding elemental energy and forced Mandarin to retreat, just as Alex arrived at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

• Emma and Alex attacked Mandarin while he gathered the shattered fragments of the Ten Rings.
• Mandarin rose with his sorcery unleashed and blasted Beast Hank away when Hank attacked him.
• The Sage consulted Vivien Leigh, Audrey, and the other women about countering Mandarin's spellcasting.
• Audrey's suggestion to interrupt Mandarin's gestures failed, so Vivien Leigh urged Crystal to disrupt the energy around him.
• Crystal caused the elements to erupt into chaos, preventing Mandarin from controlling them and forcing him to retreat.
• Alex arrived at Mysterious Valley and discovered that Mandarin was there.

Alex returned to the battlefield as the Mandarin fled and Mr. Sinister surrendered, then learned that Mr. Sinister claimed to know how to defeat Apocalypse permanently. Alex had Mr. Sinister imprisoned and concluded that the Mandarin and his Mutant Bio-Soldiers posed the more immediate threat.

• The Mandarin fled using an escape technique before Alex could catch him, leaving Mr. Sinister trapped with Logan.
• Mr. Sinister stopped fighting, and Emma explained that he had modified the Mandarin's Mutant Bio-Soldiers using the secrets of the X-gene.
• Alex prepared to kill Mr. Sinister, but Mr. Sinister claimed Apocalypse could not be permanently defeated without his help and offered a solution that would not harm mutants.
• Alex ordered Emma to imprison Mr. Sinister, then burned the Mutant Bio-Soldiers to ashes and led everyone back to the academy.
• Alex told Vivien Leigh and the others that the Mandarin—and especially the Mutant Bio-Soldiers—was a greater immediate threat than Apocalypse.

Alex warned the X-Men that the Mandarin had created an army of immortal Undead Warriors and urged them to find him before his forces grew stronger. The chapter ended with Alex identifying mutants robbing banks in New York as Undead Warriors, as Nick Fury warned that the attacks could trigger a war between humanity and mutants.

• Alex explained that the apparent Mutant Bio-Soldiers were immortal Terracotta Warriors, and Charles realized the Mandarin could have thousands of them.
• Alex and the others decided to find the Mandarin and destroy the Undead Warriors, while notifying Nick Fury despite humanity’s distrust of mutants.
• Reed revealed that the Ten Rings had shattered, and Emma showed Alex the battle in which Audrey had secretly damaged them with her Vibration Wave.
• Audrey admitted she had damaged the Ten Rings, impressing Charles with how cleverly she had used her power.
• Nick Fury told Charles that mutant groups were robbing banks and causing destruction in New York, and Alex recognized the attackers as Undead Warriors.

Alex learned that Mandarin had challenged him to a duel at Central Plains Dragon Valley, where he discovered a hidden realm filled with Chinese Divine Dragons. After entering the valley, Alex was overwhelmed by the sight of the dragons, while Mandarin’s whereabouts remained unknown.

• Nick Fury told Alex that a possible discovery in the Arctic might be connected to Steve Rogers, while Alex and Charles suspected Mandarin was preparing something.
• Undead Warrior attacks spread across America for five days, exhausting the X-Men, but they found no sign of Mandarin; the attacks then stopped for seven days.
• The Sage showed Alex a photograph of Mandarin atop an Azure Dragon among many others and explained that he had challenged Alex to duel for the title of king of Earth.
• Despite Emma’s warnings, Alex teleported to Central Plains Dragon Valley, but its mysterious formation repelled him from the psychic world and left him outside.
• Alex studied the formation, entered the valley, and excitedly watched Chinese Divine Dragons flying through its clouds and mist.

Alex confronted Mandarin in Dragon Valley and resisted his illusion, then hid on the Azure Dragon to wait for a chance to kill him. Mandarin struck Alex with a yellow beam, but Alex survived and challenged him to a real fight.

• Mandarin appeared atop an Azure Dragon and surrounded Alex with Chinese Divine Dragons.
• The dragons’ attacks trapped Alex in an illusion, but he recognized it as the power of the Ten Rings and broke free.
• Alex unleashed a Lightning Storm, then hid as a thin layer of flesh on the Azure Dragon while Mandarin searched for him.
• Mandarin’s yellow beam pierced Alex’s concealed body, but Alex rejoined himself and survived.
• Alex told Mandarin he would take him seriously and challenged him to a real fight.

Alex fought Mandarin in Dragon Valley, absorbing his sonic attacks until Mandarin reflected Alex’s counterattack with a vibrating Gravity Field. Mandarin then unleashed a stronger Death Storm that froze Dragon Valley, leaving Alex stunned as the dragons fell from the sky.

• Mandarin attacked Alex with continuous sonic shockwaves, and Alex expanded his body to absorb them.
• After more than half an hour of absorbing the sonic energy, Alex fired a powerful crimson energy wave at Mandarin.
• Mandarin used a vibrating Gravity Field to reflect the energy wave back at Alex, who dodged it into a mountain wall.
• Alex suspected Dragon Valley was strengthening Mandarin and asked what kind of place it was, but Mandarin did not explain.
• Mandarin summoned a stronger Death Storm that froze Dragon Valley and caused the dragons to fall from the sky.

Alex was swallowed by Mandarin’s Death Storm and escaped by transforming into a Black Hole, but Mandarin’s loss of control caused the storm to explode and devastate Dragon Valley. In the aftermath, Alex spotted Mandarin beside a buried alien spacecraft.

• Alex failed to control or weaken the Death Storm, which swallowed him as Mandarin attacked it with beams.
• Alex used a dangerous blind Teleportation to escape the storm and land near Mandarin, then transformed into a Black Hole to pull the storm toward him.
• Mandarin abandoned control of the Death Storm, causing it to collapse and explode across Dragon Valley.
• Alex reverted from his Black Hole form after the blast and spotted Mandarin struggling beside a partly buried bluish-green spacecraft.
• Alex recognized the exposed structure as an alien spacecraft.

Alex confronted Mandarin over the alien spacecraft powering the Ten Rings, but the ship’s White Laser pierced his chest and revealed that Energy Absorption was not invincible. The shock sparked a brief surge in Alex’s Psionic Power before Mandarin’s attack interrupted it, and Alex charged at him in fury.

• Alex questioned Mandarin about the Ten Rings and realized that the spacecraft powered them.
• Mandarin raised the spacecraft from the ground and fired its White Laser, piercing Alex’s chest.
• Mandarin tried to follow up with more attacks while the White Laser recharged and drained the ship’s energy.
• Alex’s injury proved survivable, but the shot shocked him into recognizing that Energy Absorption had limits and briefly awakened his Psionic Power.
• Mandarin’s barrage disrupted Alex’s epiphany, and Alex vowed to kill him before rushing forward and dodging the incoming rays.

Alex fought Mandarin while trying to seize the alien spaceship, but its defenses and a surprise counterattack kept him at bay. The spaceship teleported away, leaving Alex to threaten Mandarin for a way to find it.

• Alex attacked Mandarin with steel balls and energy rays, but Mandarin’s spaceship shielded him with a Force Field that absorbed the energy.
• Alex overloaded the Force Field with repeated electromagnetic attacks, but Mandarin’s White Laser grazed Alex’s ear before Alex healed it with an elixir.
• Alex focused his magnetic field on the spaceship, prompting Mandarin to fire a Petrification Ray and the vessel to teleport away.
• Mandarin breathed a sigh of relief after the spaceship escaped, while Alex demanded to know whether Mandarin could find it.

Alex fought Mandarin, who used a faint Dharma Form Manifestation to overwhelm Alex’s attacks and wound him. Mandarin then detonated the Dharma Form to blast Alex away and escaped by teleportation, leaving Dragon Valley devastated.

• Alex attacked Mandarin with Steel Ball Magnetic Cannons and energy beams, but Mandarin summoned a thirty-meter Dharma Form Manifestation to block them.
• Mandarin’s Dharma Form returned Alex’s steel balls, pierced his body, and proved resistant to Alex’s magnetic field.
• Mandarin realized his unstable Dharma Form was nearly depleted and decided to escape.
• Mandarin caused the Dharma Form to self-destruct, blasting Alex away and expanding Dragon Valley to more than three times its former size.
• Mandarin teleported away while Alex recovered and condemned him for destroying the valley.

After returning from Dragon Valley, Alex learned Steve had been found frozen in the Arctic and rushed to S.H.I.E.L.D. Bobby Drake thawed Steve safely, and Steve awoke to find Alex and Nick Fury beside him.

• Alex returned to Xavier's School, where Emma told him Nick Fury had discovered Steve in the Arctic.
• Alex brought Bobby Drake to S.H.I.E.L.D. and teleported with Nick Fury and Bobby to the cold storage room where Steve was held in ice.
• Alex asked Bobby to save Steve, and Bobby carefully sensed and controlled the ice coffin.
• Bobby disintegrated and vaporized the ice coffin, revealing Steve unharmed as his life force revived.
• Steve opened his eyes, asked Alex and Nick why they were there, and Alex welcomed him back.

Alex brought Steve to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, where Steve reunited with friends and learned that he had slept for sixty-six years. Carter explained that she had waited for him, and Steve apologized as they were reunited.

• Alex teleported Steve and the others from the cold storage facility to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
• Monroe embraced Steve, who failed to recognize her until she introduced herself, and he was surprised to see Vivien Leigh and Audrey.
• Alex returned with Carter and Natasha, and Natasha nudged Carter into Steve's arms.
• Carter told Steve she had waited seventy years, and he learned he had been missing for sixty-six years, seven months, and thirteen days.
• Steve apologized to Carter for making her wait, and Carter said she was glad he had returned.

Steve reunited with his old allies after waking from a seventy-year sleep, then accepted a mission to deal with Doctor Lizard in New York. After learning Howard was dead and receiving the mission files, Steve prepared to face the threat while Alex and Nick Fury planned to watch.

• Steve joked with Alex, Carter, Natasha, and the others before volunteering to fight Doctor Lizard.
• Alex teleported Steve, Nick Fury, and the others to S.H.I.E.L.D., where Fury ordered Coulson to bring the case files and equipment.
• Steve asked about Howard, and Alex and Carter told him that Howard had died while Alex had been away from Earth for more than thirty years.
• Coulson delivered the equipment and reported that Spider-Man was hunting Doctor Lizard.
• Steve declined Alex's offer to handle the case and began studying the files after Nick Fury declared the mission a test.

Steve studied the file on Curt Connors, identified the sewers as Doctor Lizard’s hiding place, and prepared to confront him. Alex secretly boosted Steve’s energy while Coulson searched for a likely laboratory, leaving Steve newly energized when Coulson returned with news.

• Steve learned that Curt Connors had transformed himself into Doctor Lizard after injecting his regenerative serum.
• Alex considered Doctor Lizard’s strength and intelligence, worrying that his schemes could exploit Steve’s concern for civilians.
• Steve deduced that Doctor Lizard was hiding in the sewers and that his experiments required a spacious, clean location.
• Coulson rushed off to screen possible locations, while Steve asked Alex for a charge.
• Alex transferred energy into Steve and carefully enhanced him before Coulson returned with news of Doctor Lizard.