Chapter Summaries

Annie confronted Donna about the lies surrounding her father and the origins of her powers, then broke down as she reckoned with the life built on those lies. Lucian comforted her and asked whether she wanted to change Vought, leading Annie to suspect he had joined the Seven to target the company.

• Lucian drove Annie to Donna’s home in Des Moines and waited while she went inside.
• Annie accused Donna of lying about her father, who had opposed injecting Compound V into her as a baby, and Donna tearfully apologized.
• Annie left without reconciling with Donna, and Lucian drove her to a hillside beneath the stars.
• Annie told Lucian how her mother’s pressure and lies had shaped her training, ambitions, and hatred of her father, then admitted she no longer knew her goal and was exhausted.
• Lucian held Annie as she sobbed, then asked what she thought of Vought and whether she wanted to change it.
• Annie realized Lucian might have joined the Seven to go after Vought.

Lucian told Annie about his past and explained that he wanted to bring down Vought, obtain its Compound V research, and give everyone powers. Annie agreed to help him pursue the plan.

• Lucian told Annie that Vought had secretly injected him with Compound V as an infant, that his powers awakened at eighteen, and that he survived a supe attack.
• Lucian revealed that he had met William Butcher and learned how deeply Vought’s corruption ran.
• Lucian argued that the government tolerated Vought because powerful people profited while ordinary people paid the price.
• Lucian told Annie he wanted to take down Vought, secure all Compound V research, and inject everyone so humanity would share the same starting point.
• Annie reproached Lucian for keeping his past and his dealings with Butcher from her, then agreed to help him.

Lucian encouraged Annie to pursue Queen Maeve’s Flight 37 video and develop her powers, then returned her to New York at super speed. He went to his Detroit institute, where Sister Sage and twelve recruited researchers began work on a safer formula for permanent adult superpowers.

• Lucian told Annie to spend more time with Queen Maeve and obtain her Flight 37 video, then urged her to train because she could fly.
• Lucian carried Annie from Des Moines to New York at super speed, and she excitedly asked to do it again.
• After Annie left to rest, Lucian traveled to Detroit and found the research institute upgraded and secured.
• Sister Sage introduced Lucian to twelve recruited experts, whom he placed under Mind Control to ensure their loyalty and secrecy.
• Lucian gave Sister Sage Vought’s Temporary Compound V research data and tasked the team with developing a safe formula for permanent adult superpowers.

Lucian joined the Seven and attended Homelander’s meeting, where Stan Edgar ordered the team to hunt down a superterrorist. The chapter ended with the Seven being told to catch him.

• Lucian left the research institute after placing Sister Sage and twelve researchers in charge of his project.
• Lucian arrived at the Seven’s meeting and gave an onboarding speech that pleased Homelander.
• Stan Edgar entered with a new Black Noir, whom Lucian and Homelander recognized as an impostor.
• Stan Edgar showed the Seven a photograph of a young Asian man and ordered them to mobilize and catch him.

After Edgar ordered the Seven to capture a suspected supervillain, Lucian, Annie, and Maeve challenged the plan, and Homelander turned the meeting into a declaration of the Seven’s independence from Vought. Homelander led the team out on its first united mission, while Maeve stayed behind and Stormfront was left apart from him.

• Edgar ordered the Seven to grab the young Asian man shown on the screen, and New Black Noir took his seat at the conference table.
• Lucian questioned the plan, Annie warned it could look like a distraction from the Compound V scandal, and Maeve refused to help clean up Vought’s mess.
• Homelander declared that the Seven were a family united against the company and announced they would capture the suspected supervillain.
• Maeve asked to sit out and Homelander let her leave, while Lucian and Annie positioned themselves between Homelander and Stormfront.
• Homelander led the Seven out on their first united mission, with New Black Noir following and Stormfront unable to get close to him.

Kenji escaped his restraints and accidentally caused a police helicopter to crash while attacking Butcher, drawing Lucian and Vought toward the scene. The Boys fled by speedboat as Deep and Lucy blocked their route to shore, but Butcher charged straight at them.

• Frenchie offered Kenji food and drink, but Kenji secretly crushed the can with telekinesis and cut through his bindings.
• Kenji burst onto the deck and launched an anchor at Butcher, but Kimiko tackled him and the anchor struck a police helicopter, sending it crashing into the sea.
• Vought's Crime Analysis Department alerted Lucian that the helicopter footage showed a superterrorist attack and provided the target's coordinates.
• Deep summoned sharks and rode Lucy toward The Boys' yacht, hoping to make a triumphant return as a hero.
• Butcher fled with Kenji and the others in the yacht's speedboat, but Deep and Lucy blocked the route to the sewer entrance.
• Butcher accelerated the speedboat directly toward Deep and Lucy, leaving Deep scrambling as the boat closed in.

Lucian followed the Boys Team into the storm drains and used mind control to turn Black Noir II into an ally. After helping Kimiko and Kenji escape Stormfront, he fell from a rooftop and Annie caught him.

• Homelander led the group into the storm drains after Deep revealed where the Boys Team had gone.
• Lucian split from the others, removed Black Noir II’s mask, copied his powers, and placed him under mind control.
• Lucian, Black Noir II, and Annie reached the rooftop where Kimiko and Kenji were fighting Stormfront.
• Lucian ordered Kenji to go with Kimiko, then Black Noir II shot Lucian in the leg with heat vision as planned.
• Black Noir II struck Stormfront with heat vision, giving Kimiko and Kenji a chance to escape.
• Annie jumped after Lucian and caught him below the rooftop.

Homelander emerged from the rubble and learned that Black Noir had attacked Stormfront while trying to help the superterrorist escape. After Black Noir struck Homelander from behind, Homelander killed him, then pursued the fugitives with Stormfront while Lucian and Annie prepared to leave.

• Stormfront overwhelmed Black Noir with lightning as Lucian and Annie watched from the ground.
• Homelander burst out of the buried storm drain and asked Lucian what had happened.
• Lucian blamed Black Noir for attacking him and Stormfront and pointed Homelander toward the fugitives' escape route.
• Black Noir hit Homelander in the back with Heat Vision, and Homelander retaliated by cutting Black Noir in half with his own beams.
• Stormfront stamped on Black Noir's head, then flew after Homelander as he pursued the fugitives.
• Lucian told Annie to leave with him so they could write a mission report for the CEO.

Lucian reported the failed mission to Stan Edgar and negotiated money and top-level access to Vought’s records in exchange for returning the Temporary Compound V data. Meanwhile, Mallory secured Kimiko and her brother’s escape and sent footage of Homelander killing civilians to The New York Times.

• Lucian told Stan Edgar that Homelander had injured Black Noir and Stormfront had killed him, then ended their previous deal and demanded Vought shares.
• Lucian accepted Edgar’s offer of money instead of shares and secured the highest level of access to Vought’s internal records.
• Edgar arranged to contact the CIA and convene a congressional hearing, then reviewed Lucian’s confidential file.
• Homelander wrecked his room after failing to find the person who had buried him, then confronted Stormfront about killing Black Noir and ordered her to leave.
• Mallory confirmed Kimiko and her younger brother had reached the perimeter team and ordered staff to send footage of Homelander killing civilians to The New York Times.

Lucian searched Vought’s classified database for Soldier Boy but found only an official report stating he had died in Nicaragua, then copied antigravity flight from two Supes. He returned to Vought Tower and approached a tracking analyst working on the search for Kimiko and her younger brother.

• Lucian reassured Cate that he was safe, then used his high-level access to search Vought’s records for Soldier Boy and found no information about his whereabouts in Russia.
• Lucian chose Justin and Fast Flow, whose files listed antigravity flight, as targets for copying their abilities.
• Lucian used Mind Control to keep Justin alone with him for thirty minutes, copied his antigravity flight, and left Justin with no memory of the unusual encounter.
• Lucian met Fast Flow during a night patrol, copied the same ability, and altered Fast Flow’s memories of their time together.
• Lucian returned to Vought Tower and approached a senior analyst working to locate Kimiko and her younger brother.

Lucian tracked Hughie’s phone to an abandoned industrial area and knocked out Hughie and Frenchie, then searched Frenchie’s memories for Nina’s location and other intelligence. He planned to find Nina for information about Soldier Boy and expected to learn Ryan’s location from Mallory.

• Lucian secretly traced Hughie’s phone call to a location within a hundred and fifty meters, then flew to the area.
• Lucian found Hughie and Frenchie in a basement, disabled their electronics with an electromagnetic pulse, and knocked them unconscious.
• Lucian searched Frenchie’s memories and learned that Nina ran a drug market in an old Lower Manhattan apartment building.
• Lucian discovered that Butcher had left to pursue personal business, likely to find Becca, and learned where Mallory had placed Kimiko and her brother in a safe house.
• Lucian withdrew from Frenchie’s memories and decided he would soon learn Ryan’s location from Mallory.

Lucian learned from Frenchie’s memories that Nina had once been his master and used her drug network to lure her out. After disabling the guards at Kimiko and her sister’s safe house, he entered the house and triggered a hidden mechanism.

• Lucian bound Frenchie and Hughie, planted a suggestion in Hughie to contact him when he needed power, and flew to a drug market in Lower Manhattan.
• Lucian subdued the gang members, read the bald boss’s memories, and learned that Nina was elusive but could be reached through her contacts.
• Lucian forced the bald boss to send Nina’s contact a false distress signal and gathered drugs from nearby gang sites to make the attack seem convincing.
• Lucian disposed of the drugs, changed his appearance, and flew to the safe house where Kimiko and her sister were staying.
• Lucian used magnetic manipulation to disarm and trap the hidden agents guarding the house, kicked in the front door, and triggered a mechanism beneath his feet.

Lucian captured Kimiko and Kenji after defeating Mallory’s agents and began copying Kenji’s telekinesis. He held Kenji hostage until Mallory arrived, then she asked what he wanted.

• Lucian escaped the anesthetic gas and destroyed a sonic weapon team with his heat vision.
• Lucian pursued Kimiko and Kenji through a sewer, knocked them unconscious, and selected Kenji’s telekinesis for copying.
• Lucian dragged the siblings back to the safe house and ordered a captured agent to summon Mallory.
• After two hours, Mallory arrived with armed agents and ordered them to lower their weapons.
• Mallory asked Lucian what he wanted while he kept his hand on the unconscious Kenji’s neck.

Lucian forced Mallory to reveal Becca and Ryan’s location, then kept Kenji captive while his Copy ability continued. Meanwhile, footage of Homelander killing civilians sparked worldwide outrage, and Victoria Neuman announced a special congressional hearing to investigate him and Vought.

• Lucian made Mallory shake his hand, then used his psychic power to search her memories and find Becca and Ryan’s home in Pennsylvania.
• Lucian ordered Mallory’s agents to leave and made Mallory withdraw with them, then sealed the damaged entrance and resumed copying Kenji’s telekinesis.
• Morning news outlets broadcast footage of Homelander killing civilians in Africa, prompting protests and a sharp fall in Vought’s share price.
• Victoria Neuman seized the moment to announce a protest rally outside Vought’s headquarters and call for a special congressional hearing.
• Neuman addressed the Capitol Hill crowd, declaring Homelander’s actions war crimes and demanding that Vought hand over its records.

Homelander failed to win over protesters and fled, giving Neuman a political boost and Stormfront an opening to approach him. After acquiring telekinesis, Lucian disguised himself as Homelander and headed for Ryan, expecting Vought’s security to let him through.

• Homelander tried to calm the protesters by defending his actions, but the crowd called him a murderer and shouted that he did not speak for them.
• Homelander lost his composure and flew away, while Neuman secretly welcomed the boost to her approval ratings.
• Stormfront watched the livestream and decided Homelander’s public humiliation gave her a chance to win his trust.
• Lucian completed his copy of telekinesis, tested the power, and used it to open the safe house’s metal mesh door.
• Lucian obtained a Homelander costume, used Physical Mimicry to take on Homelander’s appearance and voice, and flew toward Ryan’s location.

Lucian approached Ryan with an apology and a gentle show of affection, while discovering Ryan’s abilities could eventually reach LV5. He asked Becca to speak privately about Ryan’s education, and she reluctantly went inside after Ryan urged her to trust him.

• Lucian greeted Ryan in the yard and apologized for pushing him off the roof and mistreating Becca.
• Ryan admitted he was still angry, but accepted Lucian’s apology and gentle touch.
• Lucian saw that Ryan’s abilities could develop to LV5 and considered whether he could use mind control on him.
• Becca rushed outside, pulled Ryan behind her, and challenged Lucian about why he had come.
• Lucian said he wanted to discuss Ryan’s education, and Ryan persuaded Becca to go inside while he stayed in the yard.

Lucian took Ryan away for a few days, secretly altered Becca’s memories to cover the abduction, and tested how his Mind Control affected the boy. He found that gentle suggestions and minor memory changes worked, but changing Ryan’s core memories provoked a dangerous reaction.

• Ryan saw Becca and Lucian getting along and asked if they had made up; Lucian reassured him and invited him to spend a few days together.
• Becca agreed to the trip, and Lucian hugged her before altering her memories to make her believe Stormfront had abducted Ryan.
• Lucian took Ryan to a remote forest in Canada and began copying Heat Vision LV5 through skin contact.
• Lucian’s direct command made Ryan resist and suffer, but a gentle suggestion that he rest helped him relax and fall asleep.
• Lucian changed Ryan’s memory of playing with a basketball to one of playing with a volleyball, then tried to replace his remembered image of Homelander with Butcher.
• Ryan reacted with panic and a surge of energy, so Lucian restored the core memory and decided to spend time with him instead.

Lucian took Ryan to Jasper National Park, where the boy enjoyed a day of snow, skywalking, and horseback riding. Meanwhile, Becca woke from a nightmare believing Ryan had been abducted by a lightning-wielding woman, and Butcher vowed to help her get him back.

• Lucian changed out of his conspicuous uniform and took Ryan to Jasper National Park for an adventure.
• Ryan rode a snow coach across the glacier, crossed the glass skywalk, and rode a horse with Lucian.
• Becca woke in terror, found Ryan missing, and believed Stormfront had taken him.
• Becca met Butcher and told him Ryan had been abducted by a woman wielding lightning.
• Butcher promised Becca he would bring Ryan back and leave with her.

Victoria Neuman agreed to work with Mallory on a congressional hearing against Vought and the Supes. At Vought Tower, Stormfront manipulated public opinion in Homelander’s favor, then drew him into a violent, intimate encounter that left the penthouse in ruins.

• Butcher shoved Becca into a car and drove away along the route he had planned.
• Mallory offered Victoria Neuman evidence against Vought and asked her to lead a congressional hearing; Neuman agreed, motivated by her desire to protect Zoe.
• Stormfront told Homelander she had used fake accounts, fabricated evidence, and memes to improve his approval rating.
• Homelander embraced Stormfront’s defense of his violence as she challenged him to use his Heat Vision on her.
• Stormfront and Homelander kissed as lightning and Heat Vision tore through the penthouse.

Lucian finished fusing his Heat Vision abilities, then brought Ryan back to find Becca missing and told the boy he was not his father. Meanwhile, Homelander faced the looming congressional hearing alone and feared what would happen if Vought abandoned him.

• Lucian completed the fusion that raised his Heat Vision to LV5 and saw that his system would finish charging in twenty years.
• Lucian took Ryan back to Vought's safe house, where he learned that Becca had disappeared while they were away.
• Lucian revealed to Ryan that he was not his father and told him that his parents were enemies and that he would eventually have to choose a side.
• Lucian left Ryan with Vought's employees and flew away after telling them to take care of the boy.
• Homelander brooded in his penthouse about the congressional hearing the next day and realized that neither Madelyn nor Stan Edgar would help him.