Chapter Summaries

Alex discovered Hydra had infiltrated the Savage Land and traveled to its capital to investigate Strucker’s hidden base. Emma uncovered Strucker’s plan to establish AIM’s headquarters there and seize the entire Savage Land, leaving Alex stunned by the scale of his ambition.

• Alex ended the students’ practical training after discovering Hydra agents in the primeval forest and sent them back to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
• Emma agreed to strengthen the defenses while Alex traveled to Poseidonia to investigate Hydra’s base.
• Alex infiltrated the base beneath an artificial lake, found its leader’s mind protected by anti-telepathy training, and abducted him.
• Alex brought Emma to the beach, where she read the captive’s mind and learned Strucker planned to establish AIM’s headquarters in the Savage Land.
• Emma warned that Strucker intended to seize the entire Savage Land, and Alex questioned whether he could do it before she confirmed that he could.

Emma told Alex that Strucker planned to control and modify the Descendants of Atlantis to seize the Savage Land, prompting Alex to establish the X-Men and send candidates on an assessment mission. The one hundred candidates arrived in Poseidonia, where Alex left them to find and destroy Hydra’s base while secretly observing them.

• Emma explained that Strucker had already controlled some Descendants of Atlantis and planned to modify them before taking the Savage Land.
• Alex chose to establish the X-Men and learned that Emma had selected one hundred candidates from the academy.
• Alex set a mission to find and destroy Hydra’s base in Poseidonia, warning the candidates to put their safety first.
• Alex gave the candidates a day to prepare and form teams before departing for Poseidonia the next morning.
• Alex transported the one hundred candidates to a forest outside Poseidonia and waited as they headed into the city to begin their mission.

Alex monitored the candidate X-Men as they infiltrated Poseidonia, then teleported to rescue a five-person team surrounded by armed beekeepers. He and the rookies defeated the attackers, with Alex turning the battle into a combat lesson.

• Alex had Howard calibrate the surveillance display while Emma and Howard watched the candidates enter Poseidonia and search for Hydra's base.
• Alex discussed his plan to eliminate Hydra agents and seal the entrance, while Emma and Howard doubted that destroying the underground base would stop Strucker.
• Emma spotted a five-person candidate team surrounded by more than a hundred armed beekeepers, and Alex teleported to the battlefield.
• Alex confirmed the beekeepers did not have Hydra's World War II energy weapons and urged the rookies to fight.
• The five candidates and Alex quickly defeated the beekeepers, while Alex explained combat techniques during the battle.
• Emma relaxed after seeing the team prevail, and Howard joked that he would ask Alex to teach his future children.

Alex rescued the candidates from a secret base where Biochemical Mutants attacked them, then destroyed the creatures and launched a counterattack against Hydra’s underground base beneath the artificial lake. He emerged unharmed from a barrage of bullets and unleashed devastating energy on the base’s defenders.

• After the candidates defeated the beekeepers, Alex gathered more than eighty of them and searched Poseidonia for the remaining candidates.
• Emma revealed that the missing candidates were fighting Biochemical Mutants at a secret base, so Alex suspended the mission and brought the other candidates to safety.
• Alex arrived at the base and used steel needles swept into a tornado to destroy the swarming Biochemical Mutants.
• After confirming the base was empty, Alex teleported to the underground base beneath the artificial lake and was engulfed in a cloud of bullets.
• Alex absorbed the bullets’ energy and unleashed it in a burst that turned countless attackers to ash.

After surviving a devastating explosion, Alex faced a powerful young man who knew his name and abilities but denied being a mutant. Emma and Howard watched the fight and feared the stranger might be an alien, while Alex struggled to defend himself.

• Alex sensed danger and teleported away just before an explosion tore open the secret base.
• A gaunt young man emerged from the crater, identified Alex, and attacked him with powerful purple-red Energy Balls.
• Alex tried to persuade the young man that they were both mutants, but the stranger called mutants lowly mongrels and demanded that Alex beat him before he would explain himself.
• Alex dodged the Energy Balls and attacked with steel beads, but the young man used ten smaller Energy Balls to vaporize one of them.
• Emma and Howard watched Alex struggle and speculated that the stranger was an alien, worrying that more beings like him might threaten Earth.

Alex fought Tashim in Poseidonia, using Teleportation, invisibility, and Energy Absorption to survive the Inhuman’s Energy Balls. Tashim revealed that he was an Inhuman and detonated more than a thousand Energy Balls, leaving Alex’s fate unclear.

• Alex stopped fleeing after Tashim threatened his nest and fought back with his abilities.
• Alex absorbed five steel-ball-sized Energy Balls, strengthening his body, before Tashim switched to larger ones that Alex could not absorb safely.
• Alex lost two fingers while attempting to absorb a fist-sized Energy Ball, then regenerated them as he continued to evade Tashim.
• Tashim filled the area with more than a thousand Energy Balls and claimed the blast would destroy the city.
• Tashim revealed that he was an Inhuman named Tashim, then detonated the Energy Balls after Alex teleported away.

After Tashim destroyed Poseidonia, Alex evacuated mutant candidates and went into seclusion, where he discovered he could delete copied abilities. He returned to confront Tashim and test whether his Replication Ability could copy an Inhuman power, and their fight began in the mountains.

• Alex escaped Poseidonia's destruction and returned to the Floating Temple, where Emma and Howard saw the ruined city through his vision.
• Alex asked Howard to defend the Savage Land and told Emma to select mutant candidates he could take away; he later told them the trip was a training mission.
• Alex entered seclusion, discovered he could delete copied abilities at will, and wondered whether he could replicate Tashim's Inhuman ability.
• When Tashim advanced toward the Floating Temple, Alex went to meet him and led him away from a nearby city to the mountains.
• Tashim said he wanted to kill Alex because all mutants deserved to die, then attacked while surrounding himself with Energy Balls.
• Alex used steel pellets to detonate some of Tashim's Energy Balls and tried to create an opening to get close.

Alex copied Tashim’s abilities and survived his explosive attacks, driving him away, but the copied powers then erupted uncontrollably. Howard contained Alex in his laboratory and began examining him while Emma went to calm the people on the Floating Island.

• Alex copied Tashim’s abilities and discovered he was immune to the Energy Balls’ explosions, then forced Tashim to flee.
• After returning to the Floating Temple, Alex collapsed and released powerful Energy Shockwaves that began destroying the building.
• Emma brought teachers and students to help move Alex, and they pushed him toward Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters despite the shockwaves.
• The group placed Alex in a containment device in Howard’s laboratory, where the Energy Shockwaves stopped.
• Emma left to calm the island’s residents while Howard examined Alex and hoped he would recover.

Emma stayed by Alex as Howard explained that energy shockwaves were damaging his body, then Howard sought help from Nick Fury and learned that Tashim was an Inhuman fugitive. Nick Fury prepared to contact the Inhuman pursuing him, while Howard hoped they could help save Alex.

• Emma asked Howard why Alex had fallen unconscious, and Howard suspected Alex was expelling excess energy through damaging shockwaves.
• Howard asked Emma to arrange his return to New York, then traveled to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters to seek reliable scientists.
• Howard told Nick Fury that Tashim had called himself an Inhuman, and Nick Fury described a similar Inhuman incident in Ohio.
• Nick Fury revealed that an Inhuman had warned S.H.I.E.L.D. he was pursuing a fugitive, leading Howard and Nick Fury to suspect the fugitive was Tashim.
• Howard urged Nick Fury to contact the Inhuman and argued that the Inhumans should heal Alex.

Howard brought an Inhuman to the Floating Giant Island to examine Alex, who remained unconscious while powerful Energy Shockwaves poured from his body. After the scientists found no immediate way to help, the Inhuman promised Emma that he would wake Alex.

• Howard told the middle-aged Inhuman that Tashim had been defeated by his friend, Alex, and that Alex had since fallen unconscious amid a dangerous energy eruption.
• Howard and Nick Fury led the Inhuman and five scientists through a portal to the Floating Giant Island, where Emma guarded Alex.
• The Inhuman questioned Alex's name, entered the device surrounding him, and examined him as the scientists studied Howard's data.
• The scientists concluded that Alex was in an extremely dangerous condition but could offer no immediate solution.
• The Inhuman emerged and told Emma, "Leave him to me," promising that he would wake Alex.

Korlon took the unconscious Alex from Emma and brought him to Attilan, claiming only the hidden Inhuman city could give him a chance to wake. Nick Fury suspected Alex had Inhuman blood and might meet his father, while Korlon’s return with Alex raised concern among Attilan’s residents.

• Korlon insisted Alex had to be taken to Attilan, and Emma agreed after a scientist warned that Alex’s body might fail without treatment.
• Emma asked to accompany Alex, but Korlon refused because Attilan did not allow outsiders; he could not say when Alex would wake.
• After Korlon vanished with Alex, Nick Fury speculated that Alex’s father was an Inhuman, while Howard doubted Alex wanted to meet him.
• Korlon carried Alex back to Attilan, abandoning his mission to capture Tashim, and residents recognized Alex as someone whose arrival could complicate matters.

Korlon brought the unconscious Alex to Attilan, where the royal family and Gene Council debated his identity and fate. The Inhuman King ordered Alex to undergo Mist Mutation Induction, leaving his survival dependent on the ability he gained.

• Korlon carried Alex to the royal residence and told Maximus that Alex might be connected to His Highness Alex.
• Maximus questioned Korlon about how he found Alex, then ran off after hearing the details.
• Korlon told the Inhuman King and council that Alex had defeated Tashim after learning to absorb his Energy Ball, which contained power from Terrigen Mist.
• Korlon identified Alex as a mutant leader with close ties to humans, prompting a heated debate over whether to execute him or induce his mutation.
• The Inhuman King ordered Alex to undergo Mist Mutation Induction and said the council would judge his fate by the ability he gained.

Alex underwent Terrigen Mist induction, absorbing repeated doses until the final dose crystallized around him and marked the induction’s completion. Meanwhile, Strucker seized the Savage Land’s plains for AIM, leaving Emma and the others worried that Tashim might return while Alex and Korlon were away.

• His Highness Alex visited Alex in the induction chamber and learned that Alex’s mother was reportedly dead.
• The Terrigen Mist vanished into Alex each time it was injected, and the Inhuman King ordered the induction to continue despite the uncertainty.
• His Highness Alex begged for one last dose, and the mist formed a blue crystal shell around Alex.
• Strucker led tens of thousands of AIM agents into the Savage Land and took control of Poseidonia and the remaining cities of the Descendants of Atlantis.
• Emma reassured Howard that he was not to blame for failing to monitor the holographic control console, then warned that Tashim might appear again.

Howard, Emma, and Nick Fury learned that Strucker wanted an alliance after AIM was defeated by Hydra and Tashim joined Red Skull. Fearing AIM could exploit alien technology in the Savage Land, Emma led mutants to capture the humans in a border city, leaving its Descendants of Atlantis celebrating their sudden freedom.

• Howard asked Nick Fury to contact Korlon about Tashim, but Nick doubted they could stop him without massive casualties.
• Teno delivered Strucker's letter requesting an alliance, and Nick arranged to return to the outside world and help find the X-Men candidates Alex had sent away.
• Nick's report revealed that Hydra had defeated AIM, forcing Strucker and his followers into the Savage Land, while Tashim had defected to Hydra.
• Emma and Howard worried that AIM might uncover alien technology, so they decided the mutants should attack first.
• Emma led a thousand selected mutants into the border city and ordered them to capture every human there, while ignoring the Descendants of Atlantis.
• At dawn, the Descendants of Atlantis discovered the humans had vanished and celebrated without taking defensive precautions.

Emma’s X-Men retook several cities, but AIM’s silence and S.H.I.E.L.D. mission failures suggested that Sebastian Shaw’s escaped mutants were behind a new threat. Howard and Nick Fury suspected the group was planning to raid the Savage Land observation room, while Emma decided the mutants needed their own intelligence network.

• Emma rejected Howard’s suggestion to place the recaptured cities under mutant control and said she wanted to wear down AIM through ambushes.
• After AIM made no response, Emma realized the mutants needed to establish their own intelligence network.
• In Attilan’s Fetal Care Center, His Highness Alex saw that Alex had remained encased in blue crystal for thirteen days and took it as a sign of a powerful transformation.
• Nick Fury showed Howard records of S.H.I.E.L.D. missions that had failed inexplicably, including missions with agent casualties.
• Nick Fury told Howard that some of Sebastian Shaw’s mutants had escaped and were likely connected to AIM’s strange behavior.
• Howard and Nick Fury concluded that Sebastian Shaw’s faction might try to free the mutants held in the Savage Land observation room.

Emma brought Vivien Leigh, Audrey, and Monroe to the observation room after learning that A.I.M. and the Hellfire Club had joined forces to attack Savage Land. Raven, disguised as Emma, knocked the women down and tried to free Sebastian Shaw, but the captive was an impostor, so she took Audrey hostage.

• Howard told Emma that Sebastian Shaw's allies had appeared and might try to rescue him.
• Emma hurried toward Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, while Vivien Leigh, Audrey, and Monroe followed and asked what was happening.
• Emma told the three women that A.I.M. and the Hellfire Club had joined forces to attack Savage Land, then led them into the observation room area.
• Emma's disguise knocked Vivien Leigh, Audrey, and Monroe down and hurried to Sebastian Shaw's cell to free him.
• The supposed Sebastian Shaw transformed into another person, and Raven grabbed Audrey and threatened to kill her if anyone moved.

Emma rescued Audrey and the other girls from Raven, then sent them back to New York without telling them that Alex was at war. As the X-Men liberated most of the plains, Emma and Tessa suspected the Hellfire Club was preparing a larger attack on the observation room.

• Emma knocked Raven unconscious with telepathy, rescued Audrey, and ordered Raven taken for interrogation.
• Emma told Vivien Leigh, Monroe, and Audrey that AIM and the Hellfire Club had joined forces, then persuaded them to return to New York.
• Howard told Emma that Raven knew no secrets and that ten telepaths had found no signs her memories were altered.
• Emma asked Howard to reinforce security around the observation room, where Hellfire Club mutants remained imprisoned.
• After several calm days, Emma and Tessa concluded that the Hellfire Club was likely preparing a larger plan and agreed to strengthen defenses while waiting.

As Emma and the X-Men struggled to explain AIM’s disappearance and defend the Floating Giant Island, Tessa concluded that Alex’s absence was inviting attacks. Alex remained trapped in a prolonged mutation at Attilan, while Little Logan returned with an object that shocked everyone.

• Emma, Howard, and Tessa realized Alex’s disappearance might have kept their enemies at bay, and Tessa warned that an attack would come if he did not return.
• Emma told Tessa that Korlon had taken Alex and then vanished, leaving them without news of him.
• At Attilan, Alex waited in despair as the mutation inside the blue Crystal continued for thirty days without ending.
• Twenty-seven infiltrators appeared on the Floating Giant Island and were captured, prompting Emma to angrily confront those responsible for its defenses.
• Little Logan and Qiqi returned from the forest, and Little Logan showed the group an object they recognized, stunning everyone.

Little Logan found a Hydra energy gun in the swamp and suspected the missing intruders had reached the Great Lake. As Emma’s group captured a team attempting to free prisoners, someone attacked the Floating Temple, leaving its spire tilting.

• Little Logan showed Emma and Howard an energy gun he had found in the swamp and said the missing people might have entered the Great Lake.
• Emma ordered a search of the swamp, but the guards returned to report that intruders had broken into the observation area.
• Emma rushed to the observation area and learned that the intruders had used a dimensional movement ability to sneak in and free prisoners.
• Tessa identified the ability’s owner, and Emma helped capture him along with the other intruders and freed prisoners.
• Emma and Tessa suspected the repeated rescue attempts were a diversion and agreed that only one place on the Floating Giant Island was safe.
• A crash shook the island, and Emma and Tessa saw the Floating Temple’s spire begin to tilt before racing back toward it.

Emma confronted Sebastian Shaw after he escaped from the Floating Temple, then discovered that Tessa had betrayed her and joined Shaw. The two sides fought, but Emma and Tessa staged a convincing defeat that let Shaw’s group escape with the prisoners they had rescued.

• Emma led several hundred people to the ruined Floating Temple and stalled Sebastian Shaw while waiting for the X-Men to return.
• Emma realized Shaw’s allies had planned the escape and found Tessa standing beside him, revealing her betrayal.
• Little Logan arrived on Qiqi’s back, but Emma ordered Qiqi to take him away before the fight began.
• Emma’s group attacked Shaw’s forces, while Tornado and Erik devastated them and Emma fought Tessa among the ruins.
• Sebastian Shaw called for a retreat after learning the observation-room prisoners had been rescued, and Emma knocked Tessa unconscious to help sell her apparent defeat.
• Shaw caught Tessa and led his group away from the Floating Giant Island.