Arc 9The Founding of Vought

Lucian assembled allies to stop the Celestial threat, recruited Wanda and Pietro, and built their strength while preparing for the Eternals’ response. After helping the siblings confront their past and take revenge on Sokovia’s warlord, he seized control of the country in Vought International’s name.

  • Lucian recruited Tony, the Avengers, Helen Cho, and Shuri to prepare for the coming fight, then revealed the Celestial threat and captured the hypnotized Ajak.
  • Lucian recruited Wanda and Pietro, founded Vought International in Hell’s Kitchen, and used the Mind Stone Scepter to awaken and strengthen their powers.
  • Lucian brought Banner and Hulk together in a mental space, where they agreed on rules for sharing control, while Lucian began training Hulk and the siblings.
  • Lucian learned that Ikaris had awakened among the Eternals and was recovering from his injuries, while the others considered how to act together.
  • Lucian trained Hulk and gave Wanda and Pietro serums that strengthened their bodies and Wanda’s Chaos Magic, then offered Simona a serum that granted an unknown power.
  • Tony arrived with a new armor, and Wanda and Pietro attacked him over the missile that had killed their parents until Lucian explained Obadiah Stane’s role in the weapons trade.
  • Lucian used the Mind Stone Scepter to identify Sokovia’s warlord, and Wanda and Pietro killed him before Lucian announced Vought International would take over Sokovia.
  • Lucian gave Sokovia’s armed holdouts ten minutes to surrender, killed those who continued resisting with lightning, and declared Vought International in control.
Chapters 201–225 Vol. 3 Read

Ch. 201New rules

Lucian discovered that he could copy abilities from two people at once, then began copying Sersi’s Matter Transmutation and Sprite’s Illusion Projection. He learned the system could be upgraded with rare high-level items and headed to Chicago with Sersi and Sprite to eliminate threats on Earth, while Tony followed in confusion.

  • Lucian examined Sersi’s Matter Transmutation and learned it could reach level nine with Celestial energy.
  • Lucian started copying Sprite’s Illusion Projection and discovered he could copy from two people simultaneously, moving Sersi’s Matter Transmutation to the background.
  • Lucian learned that copying Matter Transmutation level nine would take 36.5 days and asked how to improve the system’s copying efficiency.
  • The system said it was eligible for an upgrade but required high-level items with different properties, and it had already deciphered the Infinity Stones.
  • Lucian headed to Chicago with Sersi and Sprite to eliminate threats on Earth, while Tony chased after them and questioned his destination.

Ch. 202Makkari

Lucian confirmed that Makkari had rescued Ikaris and warned the other Eternals to evacuate, then gained an enhanced Mind Control ability. On the flight back to New York, he gave Tony Loki’s daggers and discussed the design of his new armor, promising to find him two assistants.

  • Lucian searched Phastos’s Chicago home and found that Phastos and his family had packed up and left.
  • Lucian used nearby residents’ memories to confirm that Phastos had been there that morning, concluding that Makkari had rescued Ikaris and alerted the other Eternals.
  • Lucian’s Illusion Projection merged with Mind Control, and he tested the enhanced ability by making Chicago appear to be in ruins.
  • Lucian headed back to New York with Sersi and Sprite while Tony caught up and asked about the armor’s design.
  • Lucian gave Tony three of Loki’s daggers to use in a vibranium alloy and requested nanotechnology for the armor.
  • Tony explained that nanotech armor would take months to develop, and Lucian promised to find him two assistants who could keep up.

Ch. 203Avengers 2: Emergence Day

Lucian planned to recruit the Avengers and the Maximoff siblings to prevent the Eternals from using their Uni-Mind against him. He told Tony to summon the team to Stark Tower for a strategy meeting called Avengers Two: Emergence Day.

  • Lucian identified the Eternals’ Uni-Mind as a threat and decided he needed allies to disrupt their synchronization.
  • Lucian recruited Tony by warning him that the coming fight would be extremely dangerous and could kill him.
  • Lucian selected Hulk, Steve, Natasha, Hawkeye, Wanda, and Pietro as additional fighters, with the Mind Stone Scepter key to bringing in the Maximoff siblings.
  • Lucian told Tony to contact Nick Fury and summon the Avengers, including Banner and Rogers, to Stark Tower for a strategy meeting.

Ch. 204A helping hand for building the armor

Lucian recruited Dr. Helen Cho to help Tony develop mature nanotechnology for the Nano-Vibranium Armor, using a brutal display of regeneration to overcome her refusal. He took her from Seoul and flew toward Wakanda, where he planned to recruit Shuri next.

  • Lucian left Tony to hide the unconscious captives and teleported to Seoul to recruit two technological geniuses for Tony’s armor project.
  • Lucian entered the U-Gin Genetics Laboratory and asked Helen Cho to help develop mature nanotechnology, but she refused because she feared its military use.
  • Lucian terrified Helen by making two researchers’ hands and an arm explode, then restored their injuries completely with regeneration.
  • Helen recognized the regeneration technology as the realization of her research and agreed to work with Lucian after he promised funding, protection, and safeguards against creating Super Soldiers.
  • Lucian carried Helen out of the laboratory and flew with her toward Wakanda to recruit Shuri.

Ch. 205Snatching People

Lucian broke into Wakanda and used a vision of T'Challa's death to persuade Shuri to help him research nanotechnology, promising to save her brother. He took Shuri and Helen Cho away after stopping T'Chaka's attack, leaving Shuri without a chance to say goodbye.

  • Lucian revealed Wakanda's hidden city and teleported Helen Cho inside, triggering alarms.
  • Lucian entered the royal laboratory, restrained the guards, and showed Shuri a vision of T'Challa dying.
  • Shuri agreed to leave with Lucian to help with nanotechnology research if he saved her brother.
  • T'Chaka attacked Lucian in the Black Panther Suit, but Lucian halted him and tossed him into the air before safely lowering him.
  • Lucian teleported away with Shuri and Helen Cho while Shuri tried to say goodbye to her father.

Ch. 206We are the Preventers

Lucian gathered the Avengers and showed them the Celestials’ plan to destroy Earth through the Emergence, while Nick Fury questioned his claims. Tony then uncovered evidence that the Eternals had lived unchanged across centuries.

  • Lucian arrived at Stark Tower with Helen Cho and Shuri and named the assembled group the Preventers.
  • Lucian showed the Avengers a vision of the Celestials creating the Eternals and explained that humanity would feed a newborn Celestial inside Earth until its Emergence destroyed the planet.
  • Nick Fury questioned how Lucian knew about the threat, why the Eternals had not intervened in past disasters, and how the Avengers could verify his story.
  • Tony revealed JARVIS’s search results showing the Eternals appearing unchanged in historical photographs and records spanning more than a century.

Ch. 207My Hometown

Lucian revealed that a Celestial was gestating beneath Earth and brought the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. to question Ajak, the leader of the Eternals. Ajak confirmed that the Celestial would consume Earth’s intelligent life when it emerged, and Lucian’s answers left the group facing a threat the Celestials had kept hidden.

  • Lucian told Nick Fury that a newborn Celestial slept beneath Earth and urged S.H.I.E.L.D. to investigate, while asking Tony to provide Helen Cho and Shuri with a laboratory.
  • Lucian used telekinesis to carry the group to Ajak’s hidden underground chamber and revealed that she was alive and hypnotized.
  • Lucian questioned Ajak, who identified herself as the Eternals’ leader and said their mission was to eliminate the Deviants and safeguard humanity.
  • Ajak explained that the Celestial would emerge once intelligent life reached sufficient numbers and consume that life energy to complete its birth.
  • Ajak revealed that she carried a communication orb that could alert Arishem, and Lucian denied hypnotizing Helen Cho or Shuri before telling Natasha that his home was New York.

Ch. 208The curtain rises

Lucian refused Nick Fury’s demand to take custody of Ajak, using a mental nightmare to incapacitate him before leaving with her. He concealed Ajak’s location and withheld key facts about the Eternals, setting the Avengers and Ikaris on a collision course.

  • Fury demanded that S.H.I.E.L.D. take Ajak, but Lucian trapped him in a repeating nightmare about the Celestials destroying Earth.
  • Steve, Hawkeye, Natasha, and Tony declined to take responsibility for Ajak, and Natasha warned Steve that Fury had no safer plan.
  • Lucian flew away with Ajak after the sealed chamber hid itself underground, then sent three decoy pods with matching energy signatures in different directions.
  • Lucian reflected that the Avengers and the Eternals each lacked crucial information, including the truth about the Celestial’s birth and Ikaris’s loyalty to it.
  • Lucian expected Ikaris to seek the Eternals’ help to activate the Uni-Mind, while keeping the cost of saving Earth from them.

Ch. 209Poor Souls Destroyed by Fate

Lucian recruited Wanda and Pietro by offering them power in exchange for working for him, then carried them toward Hell's Kitchen. The siblings left Sokovia as their former protest crowd watched in awe and confusion.

  • Lucian buried Nick Fury's pod in the wasteland and flew to Sokovia to find Wanda and Pietro.
  • Lucian read Pietro's memories of their parents' deaths in a bombing and learned why the siblings had spent years protesting Stark Industries and foreign interference.
  • Lucian demonstrated his power by blasting a vast opening through the clouds above Novigrad, convincing Pietro that he could offer the strength they wanted.
  • Pietro offered his life as payment, but Wanda insisted they would face the consequences together; Lucian said the only price was that they work for him.
  • Wanda and Pietro accepted, and Lucian carried them toward Hell's Kitchen while the crowd watched them disappear.

Ch. 210Just How Far Could Those Eyes See?

Lucian used his psychic power to order Hydra leader Alexander Pierce to send elite agents to Hell's Kitchen, then brought Wanda and Pietro there. The siblings arrived uncertain about what Lucian expected of them, and he declared the neighborhood their turf.

  • Lucian reached Pierce's mind and ordered him to send people to Hell's Kitchen to await instructions.
  • Pierce recognized Lucian as Pivot and ordered elite tactical squads to obey him unconditionally, bringing along the woman who had previously contacted Lucian.
  • Lucian decided Hydra's resources were more useful than building an organization from scratch and believed fear would keep Pierce obedient.
  • Wanda worried about what working for Lucian would require, while Pietro repeatedly asked where they were going.
  • Lucian brought Wanda and Pietro to Hell's Kitchen and told them it was their turf.

Ch. 211The new Wo Shing Wo

Lucian established Hell's Kitchen as his territory and ordered S.H.I.E.L.D. agents led by Simona to clear and rebuild the area as the headquarters of Vought International. He took Wanda and Pietro to a meal, where they ate their fill after years of hardship.

  • Simona and dozens of armed agents arrived, bowed to Lucian, and followed his order to secure and clear the buildings in Hell's Kitchen.
  • Lucian told Simona to name his organization Vought International, and she recorded the name.
  • Lucian asked Wanda and Pietro what they wanted to eat, then had Simona arrange a wide selection of dishes from nearby restaurants.
  • Wanda and Pietro ate until they were full while Lucian waited beside them.

Ch. 212He couldn't hold back his smile

Lucian used the Mind Stone Scepter to awaken Wanda’s Chaos Magic and give Pietro super speed, though the process left Pietro unconscious. After checking their abilities, Lucian resolved to keep Wanda and Pietro close and prepare them to grow stronger.

  • Simona told Lucian that the first-floor clearing was complete, and he brought Wanda and Pietro into a room to use the Mind Stone Scepter.
  • Lucian activated the scepter, and its energy awakened Wanda’s dormant Chaos Magic while Pietro endured severe pain.
  • Pietro passed out, and Lucian checked the System Panel, which showed [Super Speed LV5] and [Super Physique LV3].
  • Wanda regained consciousness and worried over Pietro, whom Lucian said would recover after a few days’ rest.
  • Lucian checked Wanda’s abilities and saw her Chaos Magic could develop to far greater levels, then told her and Pietro to learn control and grow stronger.

Ch. 213Weakling

Lucian arranged rooms for Wanda and Pietro, then considered how to prepare for the coming conflict with Ikaris and decided to approach Hulk. At Stark Tower, he asked Banner to bring Hulk out so he could talk to him.

  • Lucian sent Wanda and the unconscious Pietro with Simona, told Wanda they would need to train their powers, and learned the system could not estimate how long copying her Chaos Magic would take.
  • Lucian reviewed the more than thirty days remaining on his Matter Transmutation copy and judged that Ikaris would likely try to rescue Sersi before then.
  • Lucian traveled to Stark Tower and asked JARVIS to summon Banner.
  • In the laboratory, Tony, Shuri, and Helen Cho debated designs for Nanotech Armor while Banner enjoyed working peacefully with Hulk quiet inside him.
  • Banner met Lucian on the top floor, where Lucian asked him to bring Hulk out for a conversation.

Ch. 214Don't Blame Me for Fighting Dirty

Lucian took Banner to a deserted island to help him communicate with Hulk, then copied Hulk’s Infinite Rage ability. Hulk attacked Lucian anyway, and Lucian prepared to fight back using a strategy aimed at calming his anger.

  • Banner refused Lucian’s request to bring Hulk out, but Lucian offered to mediate between them and promised he could help control Hulk.
  • Lucian flew Banner to a deserted island, where Banner triggered his transformation by slapping himself until Hulk emerged.
  • Lucian used mental power to restrain Hulk and discovered that Hulk could understand him, then copied his Infinite Rage ability.
  • Hulk attacked Lucian while he was distracted, and Lucian blocked both punches before warning Hulk not to make him fight dirty.
  • Hulk declared that he would not listen, and Lucian threatened to make him feel so good that he could no longer get angry.

Ch. 215A Bridge Between Them

Lucian fought Hulk without letting him land a hit, then brought Hulk and Banner together in a shared mental space so they could confront their fear, anger, and conflicting memories. After seeing how the military pursuit endangered civilians and how Hulk experienced being shut away, Banner fell silent as Hulk accused him of never listening.

  • Lucian dodged Hulk’s attacks and used psychic power to keep Hulk from building up enough rage to destroy the island.
  • Lucian offered to create a mental channel between Hulk and Banner, and Hulk agreed to meet him.
  • Lucian withdrew his control and opened a stable mental space where Banner and Hulk could speak face-to-face.
  • Lucian projected their memories of the Brazil pursuit, showing Banner being attacked by soldiers and Hulk escaping while a vehicle he struck endangered residents.
  • Banner acknowledged his fear of Hulk and explained that Hulk’s anger could hurt people, while Hulk said he had not meant to harm anyone inside the damaged house.
  • Hulk showed Banner his memory of being trapped alone in darkness whenever Banner was safe, leaving Banner silent as Hulk said Banner never listened.

Ch. 216Eight-Level Hulk!

Banner and Hulk reached a fragile agreement to communicate and share control, and Lucian encouraged Hulk to learn fighting techniques. As Lucian waited for Wanda and Pietro to be brought to the island, Hulk chose Eight-Level Fist for his training.

  • Banner thanked Hulk for protecting him and proposed rules for sharing control, including protecting ordinary people and stopping once danger had passed.
  • Hulk asked Banner to seek his permission before taking control again, and their first willing touch opened a fragile passage between their consciousnesses.
  • Lucian suggested Banner take a break and let Hulk have the body, and Banner agreed to spend a few days off.
  • Lucian offered to teach Hulk fighting techniques, and Hulk eagerly watched training videos on a tablet.
  • Lucian asked Simona to locate Wanda and Pietro and bring them to the island, then saw Hulk choose an Eight-Level Fist tutorial.
  • Lucian began Hulk's first lesson by telling him to practice a standing stance.

Ch. 217Ikaris awakens

Lucian brought Simona and supplies to the island, where he trained Wanda, Pietro, and Hulk as they practiced their newly awakened powers. Elsewhere, Ikaris awoke wounded in the Eternals' spaceship medical bay.

  • Simona arrived with former Hydra agents, and Lucian ordered her to provide Hulk with the best food he wanted.
  • Wanda joined Lucian's training and practiced lifting stones with her powers.
  • Lucian woke Pietro, who discovered his super speed and raced around the island.
  • Pietro tried to surprise Lucian, but Lucian tracked him and snatched the leaf from his fingers.
  • Lucian corrected Hulk's stance while his Copy progress on Infinite Rage continued.
  • Ikaris opened his eyes in the Eternals' spaceship medical bay.

Ch. 218The Eternals' current situation

Aboard the Domo, Ikaris woke from his defeat and learned that Sersi and Ajak were missing while the Eternals investigated Lucian. He agreed to recover before they acted together, but feared Lucian might know the secret of the Emergence.

  • Ikaris woke in the Domo’s medical bay and tried to rush off to rescue Sersi, but Phastos and Druig stopped him.
  • Druig explained that Makkari had rescued Ikaris after sensing Lucian recover from their fight, then retreated rather than risk confronting him.
  • Ikaris learned that Ajak had disappeared and that Druig had found a hidden psychic imprint around Kingo’s consciousness.
  • Ikaris suggested Lucian might be connected to the Deviants, while Phastos showed footage of Lucian fighting alongside the Avengers in New York.
  • Phastos said an unknown energy was damaging Ikaris and ordered him to rest for at least half a month; Gilgamesh and Makkari urged him to recover before the Eternals acted together.

Ch. 219Power of Nine Dragons!

Lucian trained Hulk in the Two-Yi Stance and gave Wanda and Pietro successive serums to strengthen their bodies. The second enhancement forced the siblings to relive their parents’ deaths, and Lucian presented them with another round of injections as Hulk watched.

  • Lucian corrected Hulk’s stance and made him continue training before teaching him to punch.
  • Lucian gave Wanda and Pietro Sister Sage’s improved Compound V, raising their Super Physique levels and strengthening their bodies.
  • Lucian injected the siblings with serum made from Sam’s blood, which brought their painful memories of their parents’ deaths in Sokovia to the surface.
  • Wanda faced her memories and thanked Lucian, while he told both siblings to endure the experience themselves.
  • Lucian produced two more syringes, and Pietro injected himself again as Wanda prepared to follow.

Ch. 220Five injections each

Lucian completed Wanda and Pietro’s V1 enhancements, raising their physical abilities and Wanda’s Chaos Magic while granting them immortality. He then began teaching Hulk Bajiquan as Simona’s agents watched and hoped to earn enhancements of their own.

  • Pietro and Wanda endured their fourth and fifth injections, and Lucian confirmed that their super physiques had reached LV6 while Wanda’s Chaos Magic had risen to LV6.
  • Lucian told the siblings that V1 stopped aging; Wanda tried to kneel in gratitude, but he lifted her and Pietro and called them his people.
  • Pietro backed down from challenging Hulk after Lucian restrained him, and Lucian sent the siblings to eat before continuing their training.
  • Lucian taught Hulk Bajiquan punches and close-quarters techniques, sparring with him and demonstrating how to use his strength.
  • Simona sent her agents on patrol after they asked how they could receive injections, telling them that outstanding work might earn Lucian’s notice.

Ch. 221Tony's unexpected arrival

Lucian trained Hulk and rewarded Simona with a power-granting serum for her work managing Vought International. Tony Stark arrived on the island with a case for Lucian, but Wanda attacked him with a rock before he could finish speaking.

  • Lucian corrected Hulk’s fighting form after ten days of training and confirmed that his Copy progress was complete.
  • Lucian offered Simona a choice between a physical-strength serum and a riskier serum that granted an unknown superpower, and Simona chose the latter.
  • Simona endured the serum’s effects without suppressing her body’s reactions, then promised Lucian she would not let him down.
  • Tony Stark arrived in his red-and-gold armor and asked Lucian where Dr. Banner was, mistaking Hulk for Banner.
  • Tony presented Lucian with a metal case, but Wanda hurled a rock wrapped in scarlet energy at his head.

Ch. 222The Beginning of Revenge

Wanda and Pietro attacked Tony on the island because they blamed him for the weapons that had killed their parents, while Lucian let them confront him. Tony escaped Wanda’s restraints and fought back from the air, but the battle continued as Hulk arrived and asked Lucian why they were fighting.

  • Wanda hurled rocks at Tony while Pietro pulled him from the air and struck his armor.
  • Wanda restrained Tony’s armor with crimson energy as Pietro tried to pry it open, forcing Tony to break free and fly skyward.
  • Tony asked Wanda and Pietro why they hated him, and Wanda said his weapons had hurt their family and killed their parents.
  • Wanda and Tony exchanged Energy Blasts and repulsor fire above the island while Lucian watched without intervening.
  • Hulk came over to Lucian, saw the fight, and asked why they were fighting.

Ch. 223Who should she hate?

Lucian stopped Wanda and Pietro from attacking Tony and made them consider who was truly responsible for the missile that killed their parents. Wanda spared Tony, but was left asking who she should hate, and Lucian promised to help her find her real enemies.

  • Lucian used a magnetic field to bring Tony down and pulled Pietro away when he tried to strike him.
  • Lucian asked Wanda and Pietro whether they hated the missile, the arms dealer who sold it, or the warlord who launched it.
  • Lucian explained that Obadiah Stane had secretly run Stark Industries' weapons trade and sold weapons illegally when Tony did not know about it.
  • Tony admitted that the Stark name was on the missile and offered to answer for that responsibility.
  • Wanda fired past Tony into the sand, then broke down and asked who she should go after.
  • Lucian wiped Wanda's tears and promised to help her make her real enemies pay.

Ch. 224The end of hatred

Wanda and Pietro took revenge on the Sokovian warlord who had ordered the missile strike that killed their parents, while Tony offered to fund Sokovia’s reconstruction. Lucian then declared that Vought International would take over the country and ordered a purge to end the fighting.

  • Tony offered Wanda and Pietro money and technology to help rebuild Sokovia, and Wanda thanked him on behalf of its people without forgiving him.
  • Lucian used the Mind Stone Scepter to search Sokovians’ memories, identify the warlord responsible for the missile strike, and show Wanda and Pietro what he had done.
  • Pietro and Wanda attacked the warlord’s base and killed him, then felt uncertain after their long-awaited revenge was complete.
  • Lucian told Wanda and Pietro not to live as tools and announced that Vought International would take over Sokovia.
  • Lucian carried the siblings away from the ruined base and declared that the first step was a thorough purge.

Ch. 225Dark clouds over the city

Lucian used the Mind Stone Scepter to threaten Sokovia’s armed forces with surrender or death, then destroyed those who resisted with targeted lightning. He declared that Vought International would take control of Sokovia as the storm clouds cleared.

  • Lucian sent every Sokovian a ten-minute ultimatum and darkened the sky with storm clouds.
  • Most soldiers surrendered, while several warlords and commanders ordered their forces to resist or flee.
  • After the deadline, Lucian identified the holdouts’ plans and unleashed lightning that killed the armed leaders and others who resisted.
  • Lucian announced that Vought International would control Sokovia and threatened death for anyone who plundered, harmed civilians, or rebuilt the warlords’ forces.
  • The storm clouds dispersed, and sunlight returned to Sokovia.
Arc 9 of 16
Arc 9 of 16