Chapter Summaries

Emma learned that the holographic console at the Floating Temple had been destroyed, leaving only the possibility of restoring surveillance over the Savage Land. In Attilan, Crystal visited Alex’s comatose son and learned that he had absorbed Terrigen Mist a month earlier; Alex vowed to keep waiting for him to wake.

• Emma questioned the guard after finding the observation room empty, then concluded that one of Sebastian Shaw’s mutants had hypnotized the guards and let the prisoners escape.
• Howard told Emma that the holographic console was destroyed and that controlling the Savage Land was no longer possible, while Emma was relieved that surveillance might still be restored.
• Crystal entered Attilan’s Fetal Care Center and met Alex, who was watching his motionless son in a mutation chamber.
• Crystal asked about Alex’s son, and Alex told her how he had left Hui Ru without knowing she was pregnant.
• Alex explained that his son had undergone Mist Mutation Induction a month earlier and had remained asleep since absorbing mist from dozens of people; he promised to wait until the boy woke.

Ten years after Alex was sealed in Terrigen crystals, Attilan faced a slave uprising, and Alex urged Black Bolt to accept the throne and shoulder responsibility for his past. Emma and three women continued waiting for Alex, while Alex remained beside the mutation chamber, still hoping his child would wake.

• Crystal visited Alex at the Fetal Care Center, where he had waited three years for the crystals around his child to break.
• Emma, Little Logan, and Qiqi spent time together in the Floating Temple as Emma continued to worry over Alex's disappearance.
• Ten years after Alex entered the chamber, Medusa and Black Bolt asked him to lead Attilan during a slave uprising.
• Alex refused to take the throne himself and told Black Bolt that he had to accept the burden of kingship despite his guilt.
• Black Bolt agreed to become king, and Crystal stayed with Alex after Medusa and Black Bolt left.
• Emma, Vivien Leigh, Audrey, and Monroe reaffirmed that they would keep waiting for Alex.

After waking from a ten-year sleep, Alex reunited with Emma and the other women at the Floating Temple and learned that Little Logan had grown into a young man. A crowd arrived with murderous intent, and Alex faced an angry man demanding to know who had broken into the temple.

• Emma woke beside Vivien Leigh and two other women, then discovered that Alex had returned and embraced him with them.
• Alex explained that he had slept through the past ten years, leaving the women shocked.
• Fighting outside interrupted their reunion, and Alex stopped Crystal from attacking a young man he recognized as Little Logan.
• Crystal complained that they had wasted a night and asked when they would search for her missing sister; Alex told the women she was his cousin.
• Little Logan said Qiqi was at the front lines and that Emma would not let him go there.
• A huge crowd surrounded them, and a man angrily demanded to know who had broken into the temple.

Alex returned to the Floating Temple and learned from Emma how mutants had endured a decade of upheaval while he was gone. He reunited with the women who had supported them, restored their youth, and demonstrated his new power of Energy Control.

• Alex calmed the X-Men who had rushed into the Floating Temple, then agreed to help Crystal search for her sister with assistance from his people.
• Emma recounted the past ten years, including Sebastian Shaw's escape and the struggles to defend the mutants and the Savage Land.
• Alex thanked Emma and the three women who had helped him, then used his ability to restore Vivien Leigh, Audrey, Monroe, and Howard to youth.
• Alex explained that his youth-restoration ability came from controlling energy and demonstrated by giving Little Logan temporary wings and shaping a fireball.
• Emma, Crystal, Howard, and the others watched Alex's demonstrations in astonishment as he described Energy Control.

Alex returned to the Savage Land and learned that Emma’s mutants, Sebastian Shaw’s Brotherhood, and Strucker’s AIM now controlled separate territories. When AIM’s ability to destroy the Savage Land’s ecosystem prevented Alex from attacking, Little Logan and Emma asked him to become Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters’ combat instructor.

• Emma explained that Sebastian Shaw had left AIM and founded the Brotherhood of Mutants, while Strucker’s AIM and Emma’s mutants divided the Savage Land into three kingdoms.
• Emma showed Alex the enormous wall and crowded mutant settlements along the forest border, then told him Sebastian Shaw had been missing for a long time.
• Howard said AIM had cracked alien technology that could destroy the Savage Land’s ecosystem, so Alex could not attack Strucker without risking the land.
• Little Logan asked Alex to train the students in combat, and Emma said the instructor position at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters had been kept open for him.

Alex visited the City of Brotherhood to retrieve Erik, who had become Magneto and a feared weapon against the X-Men. Erik rejected Alex and attacked him, but Alex managed to touch his shoulder and take control of the steel balls, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• Alex explored the City of Brotherhood and found its mutants devoted to Sebastian Shaw and hostile toward humans, so he abandoned his plan to punish them.
• Alex learned that Erik had become Magneto and went to the young man's villa to bring him back.
• Erik wounded Alex with a steel ball, recognized him, and ordered him to leave.
• Alex insisted he would take Erik with him and reached for his shoulder as Erik slashed off Alex's hand.
• Alex's severed hand reattached itself, and Erik discovered he had lost control of his steel balls.

Alex subdued Erik and Raven and brought them to the Floating Temple, where he reunited with Nick Fury, Carter, and Natasha. He restored Carter’s youth and promised the group he could keep them young indefinitely.

• Alex copied Erik’s metal-control ability, shaped the steel beads into a figure resembling Erik’s father, and then froze Erik when he refused to leave with him.
• Raven entered and tried to stop Alex, but he encased her in blue ice crystals and teleported away with her and Erik.
• Alex arrived at the Floating Temple and reunited with Nick Fury, Carter, and Natasha.
• Alex restored Carter’s youth and told the group he could keep them young as long as they did not die.
• Howard joked that living too long was not interesting, and Natasha kicked him as the group laughed.

Alex reunited with his friends and asked Nick Fury to help find Crystal’s missing sister, Medusa. Nick agreed to launch a search, while Alex’s group ended the night drinking together.

• Howard asked why Alex had brought Erik and Raven back, and Alex explained his reasons.
• Alex asked Emma about promising mutants with powerful telepathy, but she said none had appeared in the past ten years.
• Nick Fury told Alex that Steve was still missing, Bucky had appeared briefly before vanishing again, and Logan continued traveling the world.
• Emma said Logan wanted Alex to name Little Logan, but Alex decided to keep the name everyone already used.
• Crystal confronted Alex about finding her sister, and Alex and Nick reassured her that S.H.I.E.L.D. had begun searching.
• Alex described Medusa and made a likeness of her for Nick, who promised to distribute it to S.H.I.E.L.D. agents before the group drank until they were drunk.

Alex took Crystal to the Snowy Region in China to search near where Medusa had fallen from Attilan. Crystal struggled to breathe at high altitude but recovered after Alex supplied her with air, and she insisted on continuing the search.

• Crystal insisted that Alex leave the Savage Land and help her search for Medusa.
• Alex asked Crystal where Attilan was, then explained that Medusa had likely landed nearby after being knocked out of the city.
• Alex used Teleportation to take Crystal to China's Snowy Region, where Attilan was located atop Mount Everest.
• Alex tried to Teleport toward a nearby village but failed repeatedly, so he began walking there instead.
• Crystal became breathless at the high altitude, and Alex used his energy-control ability to give her air until she recovered.
• Crystal refused Alex's offer to send her back and said she wanted to keep searching for Medusa.

Alex led Crystal through the Snowy Region to investigate a Mysterious Land, while secretly trying to discourage her from searching for Medusa. After finding a way through the valley’s shifting snowfield, Alex entered a lush inner valley cautiously, with Crystal separated from him.

• Alex used telepathy to confirm that Medusa was not in a nearby village, then told Crystal about his ability when she questioned his search.
• Alex told Crystal that he was heading for a Mysterious Land, and she followed him there without complaint.
• Alex and Crystal entered the valley and were separated in a vast, shifting snowfield.
• Alex traced the snowfield’s changes to their source and waited as a blizzard erupted and the landscape transformed.
• Alex emerged in a lush valley and cautiously advanced, keeping ten steel balls around him and Teleportation ready.

Alex entered the valley’s center and met The Ancient One, who revealed herself as an Eastern sorcerer and asked him to become her disciple. When Alex hesitated, she bound him with a spell called Wind Bind, demonstrating how powerless he was against her magic.

• Alex reached the center of the valley and met a Taoist priest, then introduced himself as Alex, also known as Zhang Xuan.
• Alex confessed that his mother was a mutant and his father was an Inhuman, and the priest revealed that she was The Ancient One, an ancient Eastern sorcerer.
• The Ancient One explained the differences between Western magic and Eastern Sorcery, then asked Alex to become her disciple.
• Alex hesitated because he believed his own abilities were enough, so The Ancient One decided to test him.
• The Ancient One used Wind Bind to restrain Alex, blocking his teleportation and preventing him from escaping with his abilities.

Alex escaped the Ancient One’s valley and returned to the Floating Temple, where Nick Fury revealed that Sebastian Shaw planned to provoke a war between the United States and the Soviet Union. Alex recognized the Cuban Missile Crisis as the likely trigger, but the group had no intelligence from the Soviet Union and did not know how to stop Shaw.

• The Ancient One released Alex, who left the valley and reunited with Crystal outside.
• Alex and Crystal returned to the Floating Temple, where Emma rushed Alex to a meeting with Nick Fury, Howard, Natasha, and Carter.
• Nick Fury told Alex that Sebastian Shaw intended to provoke a war between the United States and the Soviet Union.
• Alex recognized the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Nick Fury and Carter connected the Soviet missile deployment in Cuba to Shaw’s plan.
• Alex asked about the situation in the Soviet Union, but Nick Fury said S.H.I.E.L.D. had lost all access to information there.

After S.H.I.E.L.D. lost contact with the Soviet Union, Alex suspected Sebastian Shaw was manipulating the crisis and set out to find him before war broke out. He took Crystal to the Kremlin, learned Shaw and a Soviet general were elsewhere, and returned to the Floating Temple alone to handle the next step.

• Alex and Carter concluded that the Soviet Union's actions could lead to war, while Nick Fury, Howard, and the others worried about a nuclear conflict.
• Alex ordered Emma to prepare people and asked Nick to contact the US Government, then decided to investigate the Soviet Union himself.
• Crystal asked to accompany Alex, and he agreed before copying several abilities and transporting them both to the Soviet Union.
• Alex and Crystal entered the Kremlin, where Alex used telepathy to search for information and discovered Sebastian Shaw had left Moscow with a general.
• Alex returned Crystal to the Floating Temple, apologized, and left to take care of something on his own.

Alex went to New York to meet Nick Fury and learned that both the US and Soviet governments were moving toward war, with Sebastian Shaw’s agents influencing the crisis. He and S.H.I.E.L.D. had no clear way to stop the escalating conflict, leaving them to wait and watch.

• Alex teleported to New York, found Howard at Stark Industries, and asked him to take him to Nick Fury.
• Howard brought Alex to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s new headquarters, where Fury said the US government would not compromise with the Soviet Union.
• Alex asked Fury to identify the official most eager for war, and Alex concluded the low-profile colonel was working for Sebastian Shaw.
• Natasha offered to kill the colonel, but Alex rejected the idea and explained that the Soviet government might also be using the crisis to deploy missiles in Cuba.
• After Alex described what he had seen in the Soviet Union, Fury and Natasha recognized the danger, but Alex said they would have to play it by ear.

As the United States and the Soviet Union moved toward war over Cuba, Alex continued training the X-Men and learned the Soviet fleet would reach the American warning line in three days. He began considering how to stop the conflict before it started.

• Nick Fury told Howard that the Soviet fleet carrying missiles had sailed for Cuba, and they discussed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s duty to protect humanity.
• The US Government sent the Seventh Fleet to blockade Cuba and intercept the Soviet ships as the Soviets dispatched additional escorts.
• During combat training, Alex noticed Remy was distracted by fears that the United States and the Soviet Union would fight, and reassured him that they would not.
• Alex teleported to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s office and asked Nick Fury about the crisis.
• Nick Fury showed Alex the American warning line and said the Soviet fleet's vanguard would reach it in three days, prompting Alex to consider countermeasures.

Alex learned that young mutants were working with the CIA and went to find Professor X’s team in the Soviet Union. He met them at a military shelter, identified himself as a mutant from the X-Mansion, and asked the young Professor X and his companions to introduce themselves.

• Nick Fury told Alex that young mutants had joined the US Government and were close to the CIA.
• Alex searched the CIA for Professor X, learned that he had gone to the Soviet Union, and teleported to Moscow.
• Alex discovered the team was searching for Sebastian Shaw based on false information and found them at a military shelter.
• Alex arrived as the young mutants were questioning a captive loyal to Shaw and introduced himself as a mutant from the X-Mansion.
• The captive recognized Alex from prison and identified herself with the Brotherhood of Mutants, while Alex asked Professor X and the others to introduce themselves.

Alex met Charles Xavier and his companions, then used Teleportation to take them from the Soviet Union to Washington. After nearly leaving without explaining his visit, Alex remembered why he had come when Charles asked him.

• Charles Xavier introduced Hank McCoy, Alex, and Darwin to Alex, who apologized to Hank after laughing and tried to befriend Havok.
• Alex enthusiastically greeted Darwin because he admired Darwin's Reactive Evolution, then suggested that they leave with the unconscious loyalist.
• Alex revealed that he could teleport and transported the group from the Soviet Union to New York by mistake.
• After Charles asked, Alex teleported the group from New York to Washington near the CIA.
• Alex started to leave, but Charles called after him and asked what he had come to see them about, reminding Alex of his purpose.

Alex brought Charles and his team to the Floating Temple to show them X-Mansion and persuade them to join. Impressed by the vast Savage Land and welcomed by Alex’s companions, Charles and the others agreed to join X-Mansion.

• Alex met Charles’s remaining teammates, Sean Cassidy, also known as Banshee, and Angel Salvadore, at the CIA.
• Alex explained his conflict with Sebastian Shaw and said he was ready to collect the debt, while Charles asked whether X-Mansion truly offered mutants a better home.
• Alex teleported Charles and his team to the Floating Temple and showed them the holographic map of the Savage Land, which he called all of X-Mansion.
• Charles and his team met Vivien Leigh, Audrey, Monroe, and Hepburn, and learned the actresses were friends of mutants rather than mutants themselves.
• Charles consulted his teammates, then announced that they were willing to join X-Mansion.

After returning to the CIA, Alex asked Charles and the others to monitor US-Soviet relations and Cuba while he took Hank to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Hank became eager to teach its students, and Alex welcomed him to do so.

• Alex sent Charles and the others back to the CIA and asked them to monitor US-Soviet relations and watch Cuba.
• Wang asked Hank about Cerebro, and Hank explained that he had not yet managed to build it.
• Alex took Hank to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters so he could discuss his research with its scientists.
• Hank asked to teach the students, and Alex agreed as long as he did not harm mutants' interests.

Alex brought Hank to Xavier's School research base, made amends with Crystal, and then learned from Nick Fury that Soviet and American fleets were nearing confrontation over Cuba. He joined Charles's team at the CIA and prepared to leave to stop Sebastian Shaw.

• Alex showed Hank the research base at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and left him with a supervisor.
• Alex apologized to Crystal for neglecting her and promised to help her find Medusa, while Monroe helped calm her.
• Nick Fury told Alex that the Soviet fleet had approached Cuban waters and the American fleet was ready, so Alex left to handle the crisis.
• Alex arrived at the CIA and learned from Darwin that Charles was looking for information there.
• Charles told Alex that the CIA wanted them to stop Sebastian Shaw immediately, and Alex ordered the team to get ready to leave.