Chapter Summaries

Annie confronted Donna about the lies surrounding her father and the origin of her powers, then broke down as she struggled with the collapse of her beliefs. Lucian asked whether she wanted to change Vought, leaving Annie to realize he had joined The Seven to go after the company.

• Lucian drove Annie to Donna’s home in Des Moines and waited as she went inside alone.
• Annie confronted Donna, learning that her father had opposed giving her the serum and that Donna had lied about why he left.
• Annie left with Lucian, and he drove them to a hillside where she told him how her mother’s lies had shaped her training and ambitions.
• Annie admitted she no longer knew her goal and was tired, so Lucian held her while she cried.
• Lucian asked whether Annie wanted to change Vought, and she realized he had joined The Seven to go after the company.

Lucian told Annie about his childhood and his reasons for opposing Vought, then revealed his plan to take over the company and give everyone Compound V. Annie agreed to help him.

• Lucian told Annie that Vought had injected him with Compound V as an infant, that his powers awakened at eighteen, and that a Supe attack nearly killed him.
• Lucian explained that he had met William Butcher and learned Vought's corruption was systemic, while the government tolerated it for profit.
• Lucian proposed taking over Vought, obtaining its Compound V research, and injecting everyone to eliminate the divide between Supes and ordinary people.
• Annie reproached Lucian for keeping his past and his contact with Butcher from her, then agreed to help him pursue his goal.

Lucian encouraged Annie to grow closer to Queen Maeve, obtain the Flight 37 video, and explore whether she could fly before carrying her from Des Moines to New York. He then returned to his Detroit research institute, where he gave Sister Sage and twelve mind-controlled researchers data and instructions for developing a safe, permanent superpower drug.

• Lucian told Annie to spend more time with Queen Maeve and seek a copy of her Flight 37 video, and urged Annie to train because she might be able to fly.
• Lucian carried Annie at super speed from Des Moines to Queens, New York, where Annie arrived excited and asked if they could do it again.
• Lucian left Annie to rest and traveled to Detroit, where Sister Sage reported that she had recruited twelve experts for the research institute.
• Lucian used Mind Control on the twelve researchers, making them absolutely obedient and preventing them from leaking information about the institute.
• Lucian gave Sister Sage research data on Temporary Compound V and instructed the researchers to develop a reliable drug that safely granted adults permanent superpowers without mutations.

Lucian joined The Seven at a tense meeting where Homelander welcomed him, while Stan Edgar announced a mission to capture a superterrorist. The chapter ended with Edgar ordering the team to mobilize and catch him.

• Lucian left the research institute after Sister Sage began working with the USB drive and received Ashley's message about The Seven's meeting.
• Lucian arrived at the conference room, where tensions simmered between Stormfront and Annie and Homelander addressed the team.
• Homelander introduced Lucian as The Seven's newest member, and Lucian gave an inaugural speech that won Homelander's approval.
• Stan Edgar entered with the impostor Black Noir and revealed that the company had narrowed a superterrorist's location to an area at sea.
• Edgar said Deep had already been sent to intercept the superterrorist and ordered The Seven to mobilize and catch him.

Homelander took over Vought’s crisis meeting and led the Seven toward a full-team deployment to catch a supervillain. The team set out united under his leadership, while Edgar was left behind and Maeve sat out.

• Lucian and Annie challenged Edgar’s plan to send the Seven out as a distraction, and Maeve also refused to play along.
• Homelander declared that the Seven were a family independent of Vought and called on them to catch the supervillain.
• Stormfront tried to praise Homelander, but Maeve interrupted to ask to sit out, and Homelander let her leave.
• Lucian and Annie crowded Stormfront away from Homelander as Lucian eagerly joined the mission.
• New Black Noir followed Homelander as the Seven departed together for their first full-team deployment.

Kenji escaped his bindings and accidentally caused a police helicopter to crash while attacking Butcher, bringing Lucian and Vought’s attention to the yacht. Deep intercepted the fleeing Boys with sharks and Lucy, but Butcher drove the speedboat straight at him as Deep tried to block their escape.

• Frenchie tried to placate the bound Kenji with food and a drink, but Kenji used telekinesis to free himself with a piece of the crushed can.
• When police ordered Butcher’s yacht to stop, Kenji attacked him with the anchor, and Kimiko’s attempt to stop her brother sent the anchor into the police helicopter, which crashed into the sea.
• Lucian received the crash footage and the yacht’s coordinates from Vought’s Crime Analysis Department.
• Deep and Lucy led a group of sharks to intercept the yacht, prompting Butcher and the others to flee in the spare speedboat with Kenji.
• Deep blocked the route to a storm drain with Lucy, but Butcher accelerated the speedboat directly toward them.

Lucian infiltrated the search for the Boys, copied Black Noir II’s powers, and used mind control to turn him into an accomplice. After Black Noir II attacked Lucian as planned, Lucian struck Stormfront with Heat Vision, giving Kimiko and Kenji a chance to escape.

• Homelander led the group into the Storm Drain after Deep told him where the Boys had gone.
• Lucian split from the others, caught up with Black Noir, removed his mask, copied his powers, and placed him under mind control.
• Lucian, Black Noir II, and Annie found a hole leading out of the drain and followed Stormfront to the rooftop where Kimiko and Kenji were fighting.
• Lucian ordered Kenji to leave with Kimiko, then Black Noir II shot Lucian in the leg with Heat Vision and sent him falling from the roof.
• Stormfront prepared to attack the siblings, but Lucian struck her from behind with Heat Vision and knocked her off the rooftop.
• Kimiko escaped with Kenji, while Annie caught Lucian below and Stormfront returned to find Black Noir II alone on the roof.

Lucian and Annie watched Stormfront fight Black Noir II as Homelander emerged from the rubble and learned that Black Noir had betrayed the operation. After Black Noir attacked him, Homelander killed him and flew after the escaped supervillains, while Lucian and Annie prepared to leave and report to the CEO.

• Stormfront overwhelmed Black Noir II with electrical attacks and reacted with increased hostility after his damaged mask exposed his Black face.
• Homelander burst out of the underground wreckage and asked Lucian what had happened, and Lucian blamed Black Noir II for attacking him and aiding the supervillains' escape.
• Lucian pointed Homelander toward the alley where Kimiko and Kenji had fled, but Black Noir II struck Homelander with Heat Vision as he took off.
• Homelander cut Black Noir II in half with his own Heat Vision, and Stormfront stomped on his face until he stopped moving.
• Homelander and Stormfront flew after the fugitives, while Lucian told Annie it was time to write a mission report for the CEO.

After the failed mission, Lucian renegotiated with Stan Edgar for money and access to Vought’s records, while Edgar began reassessing him. Homelander searched in vain for his attacker, and Mallory prepared to expose him using footage of him killing civilians.

• Lucian told Stan Edgar that the mission had failed, returned the USB drive with information on Temporary Compound V, and withdrew from their deal.
• Lucian demanded Vought shares, then accepted money and the highest level of access to company records instead.
• Edgar ordered a contact to arrange a congressional hearing and investigate Lucian, then opened Lucian’s top-secret file.
• Homelander wrecked his room after failing to find the person who had buried him, then confronted Stormfront about killing Black Noir.
• Stormfront claimed Black Noir was useless and left after Homelander ordered her out.
• Mallory confirmed that Kimiko and her younger brother had reached the perimeter team, then sent footage of Homelander killing civilians to The New York Times.

Lucian searched Vought’s classified files for Soldier Boy but found only an official account claiming he had died in Nicaragua, with no information about his whereabouts in Russia. He copied antigravity flight from Justin and Fast Flow, then approached a tracking analyst searching for Kimiko and her brother.

• Lucian found no useful leads on Soldier Boy beyond Vought’s official report of his death in Nicaragua.
• Lucian visited Justin in Montreal, used mind control to keep him alone, and copied his antigravity flight ability.
• Lucian returned to New York, copied the same ability from Fast Flow during a nighttime patrol, and altered Fast Flow’s memory.
• Lucian went to Vought Tower’s Crime Analysis Department and approached an analyst working to locate Kimiko and her brother.

Lucian traced Hughie's phone call to an abandoned industrial area, where he incapacitated Hughie and Frenchie and searched Frenchie's memories for Nina's location. He also learned that Butcher had left to find Becca and uncovered the safe house Mallory arranged for Kimiko and her brother.

• Lucian called Hughie while an analyst traced the phone signal to a hundred-and-fifty-meter radius.
• Lucian flew to the abandoned industrial area, found Hughie and Frenchie in a basement, and used an electromagnetic pulse to disable their electronics.
• Lucian broke into the basement and knocked Hughie and Frenchie unconscious.
• Lucian searched Frenchie's memories and discovered that Nina ran a drug market in an old Lower Manhattan apartment building.
• Lucian learned that Butcher had left to find Becca and found the location of Mallory's safe house for Kimiko and her brother.
• Lucian planned to get Ryan's location from Mallory.

Lucian searched for Nina by exploiting Frenchie’s memories and arranging a false emergency to draw her out. He then went to the safe house where Kimiko and her sister were staying, disabled the guards, and triggered a mechanism as he entered.

• Lucian bound Frenchie and Hughie, planted a suggestion in Hughie’s mind to contact him if he needed power, and left to search for Nina.
• Lucian raided a drug market, incapacitated its gang members, and learned from the bald boss that Nina spent most of her time in Russia.
• Lucian forced the bald boss to send Nina’s contact a fabricated distress signal and ordered him to notify Lucian if Nina appeared.
• Lucian gathered drugs from nearby gang locations as bait, then dumped them into the sea while flying toward Kimiko’s safe house.
• Lucian used magnetic manipulation to disable the agents guarding the safe house, kicked in the front door, and triggered a mechanism in the living room.

Lucian captured Kimiko and Kenji after defeating Mallory’s agents and began copying Kenji’s telekinesis. He held the siblings hostage until Mallory arrived, then waited to hear what she would offer.

• Lucian escaped the anesthetic gas, destroyed the sonic weapon with his heat rays, and followed Kimiko and Kenji into the sewer.
• Lucian knocked Kimiko unconscious, captured Kenji, and began copying Kenji’s telekinesis LV4.
• Lucian returned to the Safe House with the siblings and ordered an agent to summon Mallory.
• Two hours later, Mallory arrived with armed agents and ordered them to lower their weapons.
• Mallory asked Lucian what he wanted.

Lucian controlled Mallory, searched her memories for Becca and Ryan’s location, and kept copying Kenji’s telekinesis. As footage of Homelander killing civilians in Africa sparked global outrage, Victoria Neuman called for a special congressional hearing against him and Vought.

• Lucian forced Mallory to shake his hand, then ordered her agents to leave and searched her memories for Becca and Ryan’s Pennsylvania home.
• Lucian released Mallory and her agents, sealed the damaged entrance, and resumed copying Kenji’s telekinesis while waiting for the process to finish.
• News outlets broadcast footage of Homelander killing civilians during a mission in Africa, triggering protests and a sharp drop in Vought’s stock price.
• Victoria Neuman seized on the scandal and organized a protest rally outside Vought headquarters.
• Neuman announced that she and fellow members of Congress would push for a special hearing and classify Homelander’s actions as war crimes.

Homelander’s attempt to calm an angry protest failed, and he fled as the crowd turned against him. With his telekinesis copied, Lucian disguised himself as Homelander and flew toward Ryan’s home.

• Homelander addressed the protesters, but they shouted him down and called him a murderer.
• Homelander lost his composure and flew away, while Neuman privately welcomed the boost to her political prospects.
• Stormfront watched the livestream and saw Homelander’s public humiliation as a chance to draw him under her influence.
• Lucian completed copying telekinesis, tested the ability, and used it to open the Safe House’s metal mesh door.
• Lucian acquired a Homelander costume, used Physical Mimicry to take Homelander’s appearance, and flew toward Ryan despite Vought’s security measures.

Lucian visited Ryan and apologized for his past behavior, hoping to gain the boy’s trust while assessing his potential abilities. Becca reluctantly agreed to speak with Lucian about Ryan’s education after Ryan encouraged her to go inside.

• Lucian approached Ryan in the yard, apologized for pushing him to practice and mistreating Becca, and promised to apologize to her.
• Lucian saw that Ryan’s abilities were all developable at LV5 except Super healing, which was LV3, and considered whether he could control Ryan’s mind.
• Becca came outside and put herself between Lucian and Ryan, wary of his intentions.
• Lucian calmly asked Becca to go inside and talk about Ryan’s education.
• Ryan urged Becca to speak with Lucian, and she agreed while telling Ryan to stay in the yard.

Lucian took Ryan away from Becca for a few days and tested how his powers affected the boy. He learned that Ryan resisted direct commands and changes to core memories, but could be gently influenced and have minor memories altered.

• Ryan watched Lucian and Becca talk, then asked whether they had made up.
• Lucian and Becca agreed that Ryan would spend a few days with Lucian, and Lucian altered Becca’s memories to make it seem Stormfront had abducted the boy.
• Lucian copied Ryan’s Heat Vision and flew with him to a remote forest in Canada.
• Lucian’s direct command made Ryan struggle against mind control, but a gentle suggestion helped him fall asleep.
• Lucian changed Ryan’s memory of a basketball to a volleyball, then stopped after trying to replace his father’s image triggered a dangerous reaction.
• Ryan woke with no memory of what happened, and Lucian decided to spend a few days enjoying his trust.

Lucian took Ryan to Jasper National Park for a day of adventures, while Becca woke from a nightmare and discovered Ryan was missing. She met Butcher and begged him to bring Ryan back, and he agreed to help her escape with the boy.

• Lucian disguised himself and took Ryan to Jasper National Park, where they rode a snow coach, crossed the Skywalk, and went horseback riding.
• Becca woke in terror from a dream of Ryan being abducted by a woman wielding lightning and found his room empty.
• Becca remembered her planned meeting with Butcher, packed a bag, and drove to meet him outside the Safe House.
• Becca told Butcher that a lightning-wielding woman had taken Ryan and pleaded for his help.
• Butcher agreed to bring Ryan back and leave with Becca, then urged her to get away from the Safe House.

Victoria Neuman agreed to work with Mallory on a congressional hearing targeting Vought and the Supes, while Stormfront manipulated online opinion and drew Homelander closer by embracing his violence. The chapter ended with Homelander and Stormfront making a destructive, passionate alliance in his penthouse.

• Butcher shoved Becca into his car and drove away along a route he had planned.
• Mallory offered Neuman evidence of Vought's crimes and urged her to lead a congressional hearing; Neuman agreed to work with her.
• Neuman privately looked at a photo of her daughter Zoe and resolved to gain more power to keep her safe.
• Stormfront revealed that she had used memes, fake accounts, and fabricated evidence to improve Homelander's approval rating.
• Stormfront urged Homelander to embrace his violent nature, then challenged him to use his Heat Vision on her.
• Homelander and Stormfront kissed as their powers destroyed parts of the penthouse.

Lucian completed the fusion of his Heat Vision and left Ryan at the Vought safe house after telling him he was not his father and that he would eventually have to choose between his parents. Meanwhile, Homelander faced the coming congressional hearing without Madelyn or any guidance from Stan Edgar.

• Lucian's Heat Vision reached LV5, and his system estimated that its charging process would take twenty years to complete.
• Lucian took Ryan back to the safe house and learned from a guard that Becca had disappeared during their absence.
• Lucian revealed to Ryan that he was not his real father and explained that Becca and Homelander were enemies, leaving Ryan distressed and confused.
• Lucian told the Vought staff to look after Ryan, then flew away.
• Homelander brooded in his ruined penthouse about the next day's congressional hearing and realized Stan Edgar had not contacted him.