Chapter Summaries

A-Train gave Hughie a convincing apology, while Ryan learned Hughie had left a listening device in The Seven’s conference room and told Translucent not to kill him. Days later, Ryan arrived at a meeting and found Starlight and Ashley arguing over her outfit.

• A-Train apologized to Hughie for Robin’s death, and Hughie accepted before leaving Vought International.
• Ryan discovered Translucent had found Hughie’s listening device and told him not to kill Hughie while investigating it.
• Ryan spent time at a library and with the other superheroes before several days passed.
• Ryan entered a meeting and found Starlight and Ashley arguing over a gold outfit.
• The Deep and A-Train discussed the argument with Ryan, and A-Train joked that women fought over him.

Ryan witnessed Starlight being pressured into wearing her revealing superhero costume, discovered that he had awakened X-Ray Vision, and watched A-Train assault her after she slapped him. He told Starlight that she would replace retiring Lamplighter after his farewell ceremony, while she continued to object to her costume.

• Ashley threatened to send Starlight back to Iowa unless she wore the costume, and Starlight reluctantly went to change.
• Ryan saw through Starlight's body and realized he had awakened X-Ray Vision.
• A-Train made a crude remark to Starlight, and after she slapped him, he struck her from behind and ran away.
• Ryan told the room that Lamplighter's retirement ceremony was the next day and that Starlight would debut after it.
• Starlight complained that she felt uncomfortable in her costume and said she wanted to put on a jacket.

Ryan attended Lamplighter’s farewell party, where Starlight made her debut as the newest member of The Seven. Later, he intervened when The Deep pressured Starlight in Seven Tower, leaving The Deep buried in the damaged wall and asserting his own influence in The Seven.

• Ashley asked Ryan about his upcoming superhero debut, and he demanded a cool suit from Vought International.
• Maeve gave the speech at Lamplighter’s farewell party because Homelander was absent, then met Ryan and warned that Homelander might return soon.
• Starlight made her debut before the crowd, and Ryan spent the afternoon playing snooker with A-Train instead of listening to her speech.
• Starlight invited Ryan to dinner, then asked him to visit the meeting room in Seven Tower with her.
• The Deep threatened Starlight’s place in The Seven unless she complied with his advances, and Ryan urged her to refuse if she wanted to.
• When Starlight chose to protect her dream of joining The Seven, Ryan struck The Deep with an unseen blow and buried him beneath the broken wall.

Ryan rescued the Deep from the rubble at Seven Tower and took Starlight home to Iowa, where he spent the night. The next morning, Starlight asked to fly with him again, but Ryan left her behind and flew into the clouds.

• Ryan called A-Train to carry the Deep to the infirmary, then stopped Starlight from continuing to kick him.
• Ryan flew Starlight to her childhood home in Iowa, where her mother welcomed them inside.
• Starlight's mother offered Ryan a place to stay, and he took Starlight's bed while Starlight slept on the sofa.
• Ryan woke to breakfast with Starlight and her mother, and Starlight seemed to have recovered from the previous night's events.
• Starlight asked Ryan to fly with her again, but Ryan took off alone and left her watching him disappear into the clouds.

Ryan met Maeve and reassured her that he would not become like Homelander, but their conversation was interrupted when Homelander arrived and Ryan challenged him. Their fight tore through the conference room and moved into the sky, where Madelyn watched the battle endanger birds and people below.

• Ryan told Maeve an improvised story about growing up without heroes, and Maeve shared her fears about Homelander's cruelty and warned Ryan not to become like him.
• Homelander entered the conference room, saw Ryan in his seat, and attacked him after Ryan called him a villain and promised to free the Seven from his tyranny.
• Ryan caught Homelander's laser beam in his hand and retaliated with his own Laser Eyes, burning Homelander's chest.
• Ryan and Homelander exchanged punches, damaging the conference room, before Ryan flew through a window and challenged Homelander to finish the fight in the open sky.
• Homelander followed Ryan into the sky, and Madelyn watched them collide as their lasers missed and charred birds fell while people fled below.

Ryan and Homelander’s battle tore through cities and countryside as Ryan tried to limit the damage, while Homelander deliberately endangered civilians. After Homelander destroyed a fighter jet sent to stop them, Ryan ambushed him with a road roller, but Homelander survived and emerged ready to continue fighting.

• Maeve and A-Train watched the destruction from the Seven Tower, while Madelyn received the military’s demand that Vought stop the battle or face military intervention.
• Ryan and Homelander exchanged eye beams and fought through the city, with Ryan trying to keep the battle away from civilians and Homelander relishing their fear.
• Ryan warned Homelander that people would question his claim to be a hero, but Homelander said he would portray Ryan as a villain after killing him.
• The fight moved from the city to the countryside and then another city, where Homelander destroyed a fighter jet that had fired missiles at him.
• Ryan used a road roller to block Homelander’s view and drive him into the ground, but Homelander cut his way out and survived the attack.

After his fight with Homelander ended without a winner, Ryan considered how to strengthen his powers by studying Compound V. He helped Starlight get a more modest costume, searched for Compound V with A-Train, and was left wary when Homelander returned with an almost maternal look.

• Homelander and Ryan stopped fighting, discussed their backgrounds and Vought International, and flew back to Seven Tower.
• Ryan decided Compound V might help him strengthen his powers and went looking for A-Train, but found no vial in A-Train's locker.
• Ryan asked Ashley to have a more conservative costume made for Starlight, who thanked him and left to change.
• A-Train told Ryan he was going on a date with The Female and asked him to keep it secret; Ryan agreed and parted ways with him.
• As Ryan considered visiting a video store, Homelander appeared and looked at him with a warmth that reminded Ryan of Becca.

Ryan walked with Homelander after their fight, then investigated the wrecked video store and suspected Translucent was missing. He tracked Hughie’s phone through Vought International’s Technical Department and asked Hughie where he was so he could meet him.

• Homelander followed Ryan, explained Vought International was covering the damage from their fight, and told him Madelyn planned to present their aerial battle as Ryan’s debut with The Seven.
• Ryan found the video store trashed and noticed a charred wire, leading him to suspect something had happened to Translucent.
• Homelander flew off to search for Translucent, while Ryan returned to Vought International and tried unsuccessfully to call Hughie.
• Ryan went to the Technical Department and had an employee keep calling Hughie until the call connected and the staff began locating his phone.
• Ryan spoke with Hughie, who sounded exhausted, and asked where he was so they could meet.

Hughie and Billy kidnapped Translucent and tried to find a way to control or kill him, while Ryan tracked them to their hiding place. When Translucent escaped and threatened Billy, Ryan confronted Hughie, who pressed the bomb remote.

• Ryan flew from Vought International toward Hughie's tracked location after Hughie abruptly ended their call.
• Billy and Hughie hid Translucent in an electrified cage, but Billy's armor-piercing rifle could not hurt him.
• Billy devised a remote-controlled bomb and Hughie placed it inside Translucent, while Billy decided Ryan might be a valuable ally.
• Billy went upstairs to distract Homelander, and Translucent short-circuited the cage before persuading Hughie not to detonate the bomb.
• Ryan arrived as Translucent headed for the stairs, and Hughie pressed the remote after Ryan warned him that taking a life would change him.

Ryan confronted Hughie after Hughie killed Translucent, but Hughie refused to turn himself in. Billy arrived and revealed that he was searching for his missing wife, and the chapter ended with Frenchie joining them as Billy’s creditor.

• Ryan took the detonator from Hughie and told him to turn himself in or Ryan would report him.
• Hughie refused, insisting that killing Translucent was the right thing to do.
• Billy entered the basement, said he had diverted Homelander, and refused to let Hughie turn himself in because Hughie could expose them all.
• Billy told Ryan he was searching for his missing wife and that Homelander was his only lead.
• Frenchie arrived, and Billy explained that Frenchie was his creditor and that he owed him forty thousand dollars.

Ryan helped the Boys conceal Translucent's body and learned that Hughie planned to investigate A-Train through The Female. Back at Seven Tower, Ryan avoided choosing between Starlight and Ashley, then Homelander warned him that Vought's push to put superhumans in the military could provoke attacks on superheroes; Ryan kept Translucent's death secret.

• Billy put Translucent in a Zinc Box to block Homelander's X-Ray Vision, while Frenchie explained how Billy had drawn him into the scheme.
• Frenchie told Ryan and Hughie that Translucent had revealed A-Train often visited The Female, and Hughie proposed investigating their affair to damage A-Train's reputation.
• Ryan left Hughie free and asked him to report anything useful beyond the affair, hoping the investigation might reveal a source of greater power.
• At Seven Tower, Ryan refused to take sides in Ashley and Starlight's argument over a scripted patrol, even when they each tried to sway him.
• Homelander warned Ryan that Madelyn was pushing for superhumans in the military and feared opponents might attack superheroes, urging him to help find Translucent.
• Ryan concealed that Translucent was already dead and trapped inside the Zinc Box.

Ryan agreed to go with Homelander to see Becca, and the two went to Madelyn to arrange the visit. Madelyn sent them toward Becca’s home by helicopter and revealed that she now intended to use Becca to keep Ryan in check.

• Homelander asked Ryan to come see Becca with him, and Ryan agreed.
• Homelander flew through several floors of the Seven Tower, and Ryan followed, damaging Madelyn’s office.
• Madelyn arranged a helicopter to take them to Becca’s home.
• Homelander flew out through Madelyn’s office window, while Ryan asked why she had revealed Becca’s location.
• Madelyn told Ryan she no longer needed Becca to control Homelander because Ryan could do that, and she could use Becca to control Ryan.

Ryan returned to Becca’s home with Homelander, reunited with his mother, and shared an awkward family meal while Becca and Homelander tried to connect. The chapter ended with Homelander taking Ryan into the night sky to deliver his strange lesson on adulthood.

• Ryan left Madelyn behind and raced Homelander to Becca’s location, arriving at the same time with their clothes scorched.
• Ryan found Becca asleep at home, and Homelander kicked over the sofa, waking her; Becca hugged Ryan and then treated Homelander as an unwelcome cockroach.
• Ryan returned to his childhood room while Becca cooked, then the three ate together as Becca and Homelander maintained a politely hostile air.
• Becca told Ryan about her lonely life and questioned him about romance, while Homelander agreed with her advice.
• Homelander took Ryan outside and flew with him into the night sky, where he began an eccentric lesson about adulthood and the moon.

Ryan spent the night at Becca’s house with Homelander, then woke to Becca teasing him before deciding to leave. As he departed, Homelander woke and asked where he was going, but Ryan did not answer.

• Ryan stopped Homelander from breaking down Becca’s locked bedroom door by warning him that it would ruin the family life he wanted.
• The next morning, Becca teased Ryan with an adult videotape she had planted under his bed and made waffles while Homelander slept on the sofa.
• Becca asked Ryan what kind of life he wanted, and he promised to buy her a dishwasher instead of answering.
• Ryan kicked over the sofa, sending Homelander rolling into a table and wall, then headed for the door.
• Homelander woke and asked Ryan where he was going, but Ryan said nothing.

Ryan joined Billy, Hughie, and Mother's Milk as they investigated The Female, and the group devised a plan to access her home network. Ryan and Hughie entered her villa disguised as internet technicians, but A-Train arrived while Hughie was working.

• Ryan left Homelander at Seven Tower and went to meet Hughie, Billy, and Mother's Milk in a surveillance van near The Female's villa.
• After hours of watching The Female come and go, the group agreed to pose as internet technicians and obtain her network address.
• Ryan and Hughie went to The Female's villa in work uniforms, and Ryan persuaded her to let them inside.
• Hughie began working on The Female's computer while Ryan kept watch, but A-Train arrived at the door.

Ryan and Hughie obtained access to a camera and microphone inside the Female’s villa while Billy distracted A-Train. The group listened in on A-Train’s conversation and learned he was worried about a new supe named Shockwave challenging his place in The Seven.

• Ryan asked Billy to draw A-Train away from the villa so Hughie could finish his work.
• Billy distracted A-Train by posing as a fan and asking him to sign his shoe.
• A-Train returned to the villa, promised the Female he would reveal their relationship soon, and dismissed her explanation for footprints in the house.
• Hughie finished obtaining the web address, allowing the group to watch and listen to A-Train and the Female through the television’s camera.
• A-Train told the Female that Shockwave, a newcomer to the racing circuit, wanted to outrun him and take his spot in The Seven.

Ryan and The Boys watched A-Train obtain Compound V from the Female, then Ryan intercepted him and made him take it so they could see its effects. A-Train raced down a country road, believing he had left Ryan behind, but Ryan followed overhead.

• Ryan, Billy, and Mother's Milk waited outside the van while Hughie watched A-Train and the Female on the surveillance feed.
• The Female gave A-Train Compound V and persuaded him to take it so he could beat Shockwave, despite its dangerous side effects.
• After A-Train left the villa, Ryan flew after him, demanded the Compound V, and pressured him into swallowing the dose.
• A-Train warned Ryan that Compound V strained the body and could damage his heart, then drank the liquid and glass fragments from the broken Test Tube.
• Ryan challenged A-Train to race down an empty country road, and A-Train sped off, thinking Ryan was far behind.
• A-Train looked up and saw Ryan flying above him, watching with indifference.

Ryan chased A-Train through the night, then recruited him to help obtain more Compound V. A-Train agreed to take Ryan to the Female in two days, while worrying that his place in The Seven was slipping away.

• A-Train ran through the wasteland highway after taking Compound V, but Ryan followed him from the air.
• When A-Train collapsed from exhaustion, Ryan caught up and offered to spare him if he helped obtain Compound V.
• A-Train revealed that the Female could provide another dose and explained that he needed the drug to beat Shockwave in a race for a place in The Seven.
• Ryan agreed to go with A-Train to collect the Compound V in two days, then flew away.
• A-Train sprawled on the deserted highway and wondered when he had stopped being the fastest.

Ryan accompanied Starlight as Vought dealt with backlash over a video of her beating several men, then learned from Madelyn that Vought had created its other superheroes and wanted him to father superpowered children. The chapter left Ryan facing Madelyn’s ambition to use his inherited powers to build a Vought-led world.

• At The Seven’s weekly meeting, Homelander dismissed Translucent’s absence and heard that Starlight had beaten men who were harassing a girl.
• Ashley showed Ryan and Starlight an edited video that portrayed Starlight as an aggressor, and the three discussed how to manage the scandal.
• Ryan and Ashley settled on finding the girl Starlight had saved so she could explain what happened, while Ashley left to handle the fallout.
• Ryan headed to ask Hughie about obtaining Compound V and met Madelyn in an elevator.
• Madelyn told Ryan that Vought had created its other superheroes and that Starlight did not know the truth.
• Madelyn revealed that she wanted Ryan to father children with inherited powers so Vought could rule the world.

Madelyn demanded that Ryan father children for Vought International, then used Black Noir to demonstrate the consequences of defying the company. Ryan decided to seek Compound V to strengthen himself and flew to The Female’s villa, where he found A-Train and kicked in the door.

• Madelyn asked what Ryan wanted in a partner, then told him Vought needed him to have children and warned him against disobedience.
• Black Noir attacked Ryan, resisted his lasers, and bruised his fist before Madelyn ordered him to stop.
• Madelyn left with Black Noir, and Ryan realized he needed to grow stronger so Vought could not control him.
• Ryan left Seven Tower and flew toward The Female’s villa to ask her about Compound V.
• Ryan used X-Ray Vision to find A-Train with The Female, kicked down the front door, and announced a room inspection.