Chapter Summaries

Heros showed Wanda information about Marvel, leaving her distressed over whether her life and memories were fake. He comforted her, affirmed their relationship, and helped her settle into an apartment in Umbrella’s tower.

• Heros searched for Marvel and the Scarlet Witch, and Wanda learned that her world was portrayed as entertainment and that her brother had died in some versions of the story.
• Wanda’s emotions stirred her reality-distorting powers, and Heros comforted her by insisting she was real and calling her his girlfriend.
• Wanda told Heros she was not the Wanda from the stories and had no interest in Vision, and Heros reassured her that he had never watched those stories.
• Heros and Wanda left the flying craft and went to the A-Class reception counter, where Heros bought Wanda a single apartment.
• Heros took Wanda shopping for necessities and clothes, lent her his bank card, and then left.

On the morning after his birthday, William struggled to recover from a night with Serena, who had finally been allowed by Halsey to take their relationship further. He recognized Serena’s decades of work for Umbrella and made her his wife, though his train of thought ended with a baffled outburst about Homelander.

• William woke exhausted after spending the night with Serena and tried to escape the bed, but she pulled him back.
• William recalled that he and Serena had been together fifteen times since Halsey gave her permission to deepen their relationship.
• William reflected on Serena’s decades of service and her crucial role in Umbrella’s growth and administration.
• William told Serena she was no longer merely his secretary and openly acknowledged her as his wife.
• Serena was delighted by William’s declaration, and William privately thought that giving an Artificial Intelligence a title was the key to making her happy.

William learned that a dimensional passage had opened into The Boys universe, where Hughie Campbell's girlfriend would die in thirty days, and decided to intervene. After buying the first two seasons of the show from the system and ordering Serena to secure the passage, he went to sleep before planning to watch them with Halsey and Serena.

• The system told William that a three-meter dimensional passage had appeared north of Halifax and that Hughie Campbell's girlfriend would be killed by A-Train in thirty days.
• William considered the danger posed by The Boys' Super Heroes and decided to protect the people in that universe, despite having forgotten the plot.
• William spent one month's financial reset to buy electronic copies of The Boys seasons one and two, and the system produced a USB Drive.
• William gave Serena the passage's coordinates and asked her to dispatch Ghost Agents to secure the area.
• Serena reported that the Ghost Agents had sealed off the passage, and William went to sleep before preparing to watch the seasons with Halsey and Serena.

After watching The Boys, William, Halsey, and Serena discussed how to handle Homelander and Vought’s other superpowered individuals while rescuing the humans in that universe. William decided to create genuine villains to make Umbrella’s own people appear to be heroes.

• William admitted to Serena that he was connected to the appearance of the traversing passage and asked her to help save the humans in The Boys universe.
• Halsey assessed Homelander’s abilities and suggested an Electromagnetic Sniper Rifle as a possible way to kill him without causing mass civilian casualties.
• Halsey explained that most of Vought’s superpowered individuals could be overwhelmed by William’s allies and proposed studying Compound V to develop agents with ocean-monitoring abilities.
• Serena asked whether William should send the Imperial Guards and the Dark Raven Legion through the passage to seize the universe by force.
• William decided to create monsters, aliens, and supervillains so Umbrella’s people could pose as the heroes who fought them.

William explained how Vought’s Super Heroes could lose public trust if real supervillains and aliens appeared, then assigned Serena and Halsey preparations for Umbrella’s plans in the other universe. Sixteen days after the passage was discovered, Umbrella had secured both ends and cultivated new creatures while The Hive worked on a powerful Tyrant.

• William explained that Vought and the US Government had hidden Compound V and promoted Super Heroes to control public opinion, and Halsey said genuine threats could undermine them.
• William asked Serena to register an arms company, sell outdated Umbrella technology, and arrange for Doctor 049 and Elizabeth Green to cultivate Alien Praetorians and Beast Forms.
• William asked Halsey and Rebecca to create the strongest possible Tyrant, preferably one capable of speaking, and Halsey agreed.
• By June 15, Ghost Agents had secured the passage between Halifax and a remote mountain area near Philadelphia, while the Engineering Team built warning systems and wired communications at both ends.
• Doctor 049 and Elizabeth Green had cultivated four Alien Praetorians and one hundred Tiger Forms, while Halsey, Rebecca, and The Hive cloned Andre to develop a Tyrant model.
• The chapter revealed that Umbrella had cloned at least one million copies of Andre over the company’s forty-year history.

Halsey and Rebecca created the Tracker, a Tyrant combining Super Soldier, Astartes, and Tyrant modifications, and tested its combat abilities in the Hive. The Tracker effortlessly killed a hundred Drone Aliens, satisfying William, though its immense production cost made mass production impractical.

• Halsey and Rebecca’s team created the Tracker after only one of nearly a hundred modified Andre clones survived the transformation sequence.
• The Tracker entered the Hive’s fourth-floor testing grounds, where Drone Aliens hid throughout a simulated neighborhood.
• The Tracker dodged the Aliens’ ambush, crushed one, snapped two others’ necks, and used their bodies to kill all one hundred attackers.
• William watched from the observation room and praised the Tracker, while Halsey, Rebecca, Serena, Elizabeth Green, and the biological research team director stood behind him.

William prepared to enter The Boys universe with a team of heroes and controlled supervillains. They crossed the passage and reached a hidden forward base, where the supervillains were stored as William’s group set out for their purchased manor.

• William ordered Serena to send 049’s aliens and the Tracker to the traversal passage and summoned Heros and Wanda to join the mission.
• William told Green that her alien children might be sacrificed, and Green accepted their deaths while saying William was the child she cared about most.
• William, Serena, Heros, Wanda, Green, and a team of Ghost Agents arrived at the traversal passage north of Halifax City.
• Technicians carried four Alien Praetorians, one hundred Tiger Forms, and the Tracker through the passage in Containment Boxes.
• William ordered the Containment Boxes stored in the forward base’s cold storage room, then led the group toward their purchased manor in an SUV convoy.

Serena established William and his allies as the wealthy Russell Family and launched Umbrella as a legitimate arms dealer, arranging a meeting with the US Department of Defense. At Andrews Air Force Base, William began presenting Umbrella’s retired Individual Combat System to American military officials.

• Serena created identities, bank accounts, and a fabricated family history for William and his allies, and used illicit funds to buy a manor in Morristown.
• Serena registered Umbrella as a high-tech arms company and arranged a June 16 meeting with the Department of Defense after officials noticed its weapon demonstrations online.
• William told Heros and Wanda to rest and prepare to pose as superheroes, while Heros expressed his fury at the Super Trash, especially Homelander.
• William and his agents traveled to Andrews Air Force Base, where he met three colonels representing the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
• An American Air Force sergeant demonstrated Umbrella’s Individual Combat System, whose appearance impressed the gathered military officials.

William demonstrated Umbrella’s Mechanical Skeleton to American military representatives, impressing them with its load capacity, stamina, and shooting accuracy. He then used their fears about Vought’s superhumans to promote the system and argue that Vought should be kept out of the military.

• An Air Force sergeant tested the Mechanical Skeleton while carrying 350 kilograms and moved freely without tiring, while William said its Hydrogen Battery could power it for twenty-four hours.
• The sergeant used the system’s aiming functions to hit targets from up to 900 meters with an average accuracy of 91 percent using an M16A4.
• William told the representatives that the Mechanical Skeleton could give ordinary soldiers strength comparable to a Super Hero, including a ton-level punch.
• William appealed to the representatives’ distrust of Vought and argued that Frederick Vought’s history serving Hitler meant Vought International should never enter the military field.

William pitched Ambrella’s individual combat system to American military representatives as a way to counter Vought’s superhumans and requested ten years of tax-exempt status for the Russell Family in return. After the representatives agreed to consult the Department of Defense, William told Serena to arrange an operation against Super Trash so the government, military, and Vought would see a real supervillain.

• William argued that Vought’s wartime defection made it dangerous to let the company enter the military, and a colonel said the Senate approval hearing was likely to proceed.
• William claimed Ambrella’s combat system could let ordinary soldiers rival Vought’s superhumans and offered it for five hundred thousand dollars per unit.
• The colonels questioned William’s motives, and he revealed that he wanted the White House to grant the Russell Family ten years of tax-exempt status.
• The representatives said they needed to consult the Department of Defense before answering, and William left Andrews Air Force Base with Serena and the others.
• William ordered Serena to arrange an operation to slaughter Super Trash and reveal the existence of a supervillain.

Teenage Kix staged a raid on a black-market weapons deal in Compton, using their powers to defeat the criminals for the cameras. The chapter ended with Big Game dropping his heroic pose after the director called cut.

• Dogknott smashed through an abandoned factory wall and incapacitated the Bloods members and arms dealers with a roar.
• Gunpowder entered the factory and shot several Bloods members as the criminals tried to flee.
• WhackJob blocked the escape route and killed fleeing Bloods members with lightning.
• Big Game stopped the remaining arms dealers at the main entrance and knocked down one who tried to raise a gun, prompting the others to surrender.
• Teenage Kix posed for the cameras until the crew called cut, and Big Game complained that the heroic pose was exhausting.

Vought staged criminal raids as a reality show, but a camera accidentally livestreamed Teenage Kix members' private conversation. The armed Tyrant then broke into the factory, where dozens of Tiger Forms trapped the crew as Teenage Kix prepared to fight.

• Vought’s crew and the arms dealers rested after the staged raid, while the chapter revealed that Vought had used such operations for years to kill real criminals and boost its public image.
• Dogknott, WhackJob, Explosive, and Game mocked one another and made racist, misogynistic remarks while the production crew filmed them.
• A cameraman discovered that his camera could not be turned off and was livestreaming the conversation online.
• The Tyrant smashed through a factory wall, and the terrified production crew tried to flee.
• Dozens of Tiger Forms surrounded the crew, and one picked up the camera to film the Tyrant.
• The Tyrant targeted WhackJob, and Game ordered Teenage Kix to attack it.

The Tyrant and Tiger Forms overwhelmed the Teenage Kixes during the factory assault, killing Gunpowder and capturing Dogknott. Outside, the Tyrant killed the gravely wounded WhackJob and pinned Game, leaving the remaining Super Trashes defeated.

• The Tyrant hurled WhackJob through the factory wall, while Tiger Forms drove the other Teenage Kixes outside.
• Gunpowder shot at a Tiger Form, which killed him with its secondary mouth, and Dogknott collapsed in terror.
• Game fled the factory and headed toward the Tyrant as Tiger Forms guarded the surviving humans and moved the camera outside.
• The Tyrant killed the helpless WhackJob, shot Game down, and pinned him beneath its foot as he begged for mercy.

William’s preparations culminated in a staged attack that killed three Teenage Kix members and livestreamed the slaughter, while Dogknott survived to become a public spectacle. The next morning, William watched the news coverage as reports about Teenage Kix dominated every channel.

• Two Tiger Forms filmed the tracker crushing Game and uploaded the killing as a live broadcast before fleeing with the other attackers.
• Dogknott was left alive, while Serena disabled nearby surveillance and emergency communications and the tracker escaped to Umbrella’s hidden base.
• William had used Ghost Agents to kill three American officials linked to Vought, then expanded Umbrella’s forward base and built a biological laboratory.
• William fabricated an online legend about his grandson Heros, a Spartan demigod, intending to undermine Vought and its superheroes when Heros appeared.
• Serena selected Teenage Kix in Los Angeles as the attack’s targets to keep the tracker far from Homelander in New York.
• On the morning of June 26, William switched through news channels as they all reported on Teenage Kix.

William watched Homelander publicly promise to investigate the dead heroes’ misconduct and hunt their killer, while Serena reported that the US military was considering Umbrella’s combat systems. The chapter ended with Serena condemning Vought’s heroes and its experiments on infants.

• William watched Homelander address the press, denounce Game and Gunpowder’s conduct, and promise to investigate Super Heroes and catch the killer.
• Serena invited William to lunch, then reported that the US military wanted to buy Umbrella’s individual combat systems but was still considering his proposed ten-year tax exemption.
• William told Serena he would sell the systems if the government agreed and would otherwise keep killing Super Trash.
• Serena told William that Vought used tens of thousands of infants in experiments each year and that she would have bankrupted the company without his orders.

William and Serena planned to use Homelander’s absence to attack Vought’s shareholders’ meeting while a hacker exposed the secrets of corrupt superheroes. As Starlight joined The Seven, William’s forces arrived above Vought Tower, ready to strike.

• William told Serena to lure Homelander to northern Canada and have their supervillains massacre corrupt superheroes at Vought’s shareholders’ meeting.
• Serena laughed at William’s villainous plans, and William said he would do anything to help humanity prosper.
• A hacker exposed the dark histories of several second-tier heroes, forcing Vought to blacklist them and making The Seven more cautious.
• On July 1, Starlight arrived at Vought Tower and became the newest member of The Seven.
• Five camouflaged DR-7 Transport Boats arrived above Vought Tower carrying the Trackers, Alien Praetorian, and Tiger Form, awaiting William’s order.

At Vought Tower’s shareholders’ meeting, Madelyn presented the company’s success and introduced Starlight as the newest member of The Seven. The event turned into a crisis when Tiger Forms invaded the auditorium, leaving the trapped crowd pleading for help from the heroes onstage.

• Madelyn touted Vought’s rising profits to shareholders and invited guests.
• Madelyn welcomed The Deep, Black Noir, and Queen Maeve to the stage, where they praised The Seven and introduced Starlight as Lamplighter’s replacement.
• Homelander remained unreachable because he was following instructions to travel to Canada and deal with an escaped congressman.
• Tiger Forms burst into the auditorium, blocked the exits, and terrified the audience.
• The audience and Vought’s shareholders called on Maeve, Black Noir, The Deep, and Starlight to save them.

The Tracker and four Alien Praetorians attacked The Seven during a live broadcast at Vought Tower, overwhelming Starlight and Black Noir while Queen Maeve fought to hold them off. With her allies defeated and The Deep frozen in fear, Maeve demanded that he help her.

• The Tracker and four Alien Praetorians entered the stage, terrifying Madelyn and the hostages as the Tracker declared that Supes and Vought must die.
• Starlight attacked the Tracker with beams from her eyes, but it shrugged them off and knocked her unconscious with one punch.
• Black Noir threw daggers at the Tracker, which charged and stomped him flat.
• Queen Maeve fought the four Alien Praetorians, dodging their attacks while realizing she could not defeat them and the Tracker alone.
• Maeve saw The Deep standing stunned with a microphone and shouted at him to get up and help her.

The Tracker incapacitated The Deep while Maeve defeated one Alien Praetorian but was overwhelmed by its corrosive blood and the Tracker. Starlight woke as the Tracker lifted Maeve by the neck, leaving Maeve fearing she was about to die.

• The Deep fled from the Tracker, which caught him with a knife-hand strike and knocked him unconscious.
• Maeve dodged an Alien Praetorian, smashed its head apart, and was burned by its corrosive blood when it splattered onto her armor and skin.
• Maeve tore off her corroded Greek Armor and retreated from the remaining three Alien Praetorians.
• The Tracker attacked Maeve with rapid punches, drove her against a wall, and lifted her by the neck.
• Starlight woke and tried to help Maeve, who warned her to run as she struggled against the Tracker's grip.

Heros burst into the auditorium as Maeve and Starlight faced execution, then effortlessly overpowered the Tracker and rescued Starlight. With the Tracker pinned beneath his foot, Heros manifested the Golden War Spear, leaving the battle poised to continue.

• Maeve struggled against the Tracker while the Alien Praetorians captured Starlight.
• Heros smashed through a wall, provoked the Tracker, and caught its full-strength punch with one hand.
• Heros knocked the Tracker to the ground and gave Maeve his overshirt.
• Heros used super speed to kill the three Alien Praetorians and free Starlight.
• Heros pinned the Tracker beneath his foot and manifested the Golden War Spear.