Chapter Summaries

Mother's Milk used the serum to fight Black Noir while Hughie and Kimiko chose to stay and help him. Butcher defeated Stormfront, but Homelander intervened, leaving Butcher ready to face him.

• Mother's Milk caught Black Noir's punch after taking the serum, and Kimiko and Hughie joined the fight instead of escaping.
• Cate and Annie watched from above as Cate waited for a chance to control Mother's Milk.
• Butcher baited Stormfront into attacking his injured leg, then struck her hard enough to leave her incapacitated.
• Homelander blasted Butcher into a mountainside and confronted him after checking that Stormfront was alive.
• Butcher stood up and challenged Homelander to fight him that day.

Butcher used his new powers to fight Homelander, taunting him as the two clashed across the mountain. Butcher managed to wound Homelander before his Heat Vision failed, and the chapter ended with Homelander hovering above him in a rage.

• Homelander mocked Butcher for gaining Supe powers, but Butcher embraced them and traded Heat Vision with him.
• Homelander cut off his Heat Vision and drove Butcher through the forest and into a mountainside, overpowering him in their physical fight.
• Butcher feinted with Heat Vision, struck Homelander with an uppercut, and pinned him against the mountain with his own beams.
• Butcher attacked Homelander from behind until his Heat Vision gave out, but Homelander escaped with bloodied wounds.
• Homelander flew above Butcher in fury, and Butcher mocked him and raised his middle finger.

Lucian failed to control Stormfront because her Nazi ideology resisted his Mind Control, then arranged for Annie and Cate to move her and prepare to control Hughie and Mother's Milk. He sent A-Train to pressure Black Noir's fight without killing Hughie, while he headed toward Butcher and Homelander's battle.

• Lucian found Stormfront badly injured and tried to control her, but her fanatical beliefs resisted his power.
• Lucian warned Cate not to control Stormfront and ordered Annie to take her away.
• Annie and Cate reported that Kimiko and Mother's Milk were keeping Black Noir pinned down, while Hughie still held the serum without using it.
• Lucian sent A-Train to help Black Noir pressure the group and bring Hughie to Cate if he injected the serum.
• Lucian told Annie and Cate to watch the fight and control Hughie, then Mother's Milk, when A-Train brought them over.
• Lucian headed toward the distant fight between Butcher and Homelander.

A-Train and Black Noir cornered Hughie, Kimiko, and Mother's Milk, leaving the injured team struggling to protect Hughie and escape. After Kimiko and Mother's Milk repeatedly shielded him, Hughie injected himself with the green vial and prepared to fight A-Train.

• A-Train joined Black Noir, knocked Kimiko away, and confronted Hughie while Black Noir fought Mother's Milk.
• Hughie threatened to expose A-Train, who dismissed him and claimed Hughie should have accepted Robin's death and the settlement.
• Mother's Milk told Hughie to find Frenchie and get reinforcements, but A-Train intercepted and strangled him.
• Kimiko attacked A-Train to free Hughie, then stood between them and urged Hughie to go while Mother's Milk continued fighting Black Noir.
• Hughie touched the vial, faced A-Train, and injected himself in the thigh.

A-Train delivered Hughie to Cate, who put him to sleep after the drug took effect, while Annie and Cate subdued Stormfront. Homelander was about to kill a badly injured Butcher when Lucian intervened and ordered him to stand down.

• A-Train carried Hughie into the woods as Black Noir attacked Kimiko and Mother's Milk.
• Cate and Annie continued beating Stormfront, and Cate used her power to put Hughie to sleep.
• Annie told A-Train to hide Hughie and Stormfront, then help capture Kimiko, Black Noir, and Mother's Milk.
• Homelander overpowered Butcher, leaving him gravely injured and close to death.
• Homelander prepared to kill Butcher with Heat Vision, but Lucian descended and ordered him to stand down.

Lucian intervened as Homelander was about to kill Butcher, then fought him with his stolen powers. The chapter ended with Lucian blasting Homelander at point-blank range as Homelander landed a punch on Lucian's chest.

• Lucian asked Homelander to spare Butcher and said he would bring him back in a couple of days, but Homelander refused.
• Lucian and Homelander clashed with Heat Vision, and Lucian's stronger rose-red beams forced Homelander to dodge.
• Lucian used super speed and Heat Vision to burn Homelander's face, then blocked his punch with thermonuclear manipulation, carbon skin, and partial metallization.
• Lucian and Homelander fought at high speed, exchanging blows as the battle moved away from Butcher.
• Lucian used telekinesis to pull Homelander toward him and fired a blazing white beam at point-blank range as Homelander punched his chest.

Lucian and Homelander fought across a collapsing mountainside and into the air, where Lucian used his abilities to prepare a concentrated plasma attack. The chapter ended as Lucian released the magnetic cage around the plasma sphere and unleashed Stellar Collapse toward Homelander.

• Homelander struck Lucian through boulders, but Lucian's healing rapidly repaired his internal injuries.
• Lucian blinded Homelander with a burst of white light, then Homelander used X-ray vision and super hearing to track him and realized his speed was limited in the air.
• Homelander destroyed the slope and forced Lucian into an aerial battle, where Lucian used flames and stored light energy to maneuver and evade him.
• Lucian charged a second Light Cannon, then compressed light and flames into plasma and contained it with Magnetic Field Manipulation.
• Lucian used telekinesis to slow Homelander, propelled the plasma sphere with Shockwave, and released its magnetic cage with Stellar Collapse.

Lucian survived the plasma blast and defeated Homelander, whose injuries left him unable to fight and forced him to flee. Standing in the crater, Lucian celebrated that no one could decide his fate anymore.

• The plasma explosion tore through the battlefield, badly injuring Lucian and Homelander while the others escaped its shockwave.
• Lucian's Super Healing repaired his injuries, and he used his Super Senses to locate Homelander beneath the rubble.
• Homelander emerged gravely wounded, but Lucian was already standing and recovering.
• Homelander tried to use Heat Vision, but his damaged eyes could not produce a beam, and he failed to steady himself in flight.
• Lucian taunted Homelander as he stumbled out of the crater and escaped, warning him not to crash and die.
• Lucian stood in the crystallized crater and laughed, celebrating his freedom from anyone else's control.

Lucian survived the explosion that drove Homelander away, and A-Train brought him back to Cate. After Cate revealed she had considered controlling the president and launching the nukes if Lucian was dead, Annie returned with Stormfront and Lucian embraced both women.

• Cate forced A-Train to overcome Lucian’s earlier Mind Control and search the blast site for him.
• A-Train found Lucian alive at the bottom of the crater and carried him back to Cate.
• Cate clung to Lucian, then admitted she had planned to control the president and launch the nukes if he had died.
• Annie returned with the unconscious Stormfront and found Cate embracing Lucian.
• Lucian pulled Annie and Cate into his arms together.

Lucian recovered from his near-fatal Stellar Collapse and helped his allies defeat and capture the remaining fighters. He left the battlefield for Detroit with five prisoners in tow.

• Lucian ordered A-Train to retrieve Butcher and sent Annie to scout while Cate stayed beside him as he healed.
• A-Train brought back a badly injured but living Butcher, and Annie reported that Mother's Milk and Kimiko were fighting Black Noir.
• Lucian, Annie, and Cate joined the battle, subdued Black Noir, and left him unconscious.
• A-Train knocked Kimiko aside, and Lucian and Annie incapacitated Mother's Milk with a combined attack.
• Lucian used telekinesis to gather Black Noir, Mother's Milk, Hughie, Stormfront, and Butcher, then flew with Annie and Cate toward Detroit.

Lucian brought five captives to the Detroit Underground Research Facility and began copying their abilities while recovering from his fight with Homelander. Homelander returned to Vought Tower badly injured, hid his defeat, and lashed out at his apartment.

• Lucian ordered Cate and Annie to rest, then locked Black Noir, Mother's Milk, Hughie, Stormfront, and Butcher in the facility's sealed chamber.
• Lucian assessed the captives' abilities and chose Stormfront's plasma lightning LV5 as the first one to copy.
• Lucian began copying Stormfront's plasma lightning, a process estimated to take twenty-four hours.
• Homelander returned to his apartment and estimated that his injuries would take at least half a month to heal.
• Homelander refused to seek medical treatment or tell Vought about his defeat, then smashed his bathroom mirror and wrecked the room.

Lucian copied Stormfront’s Plasma Lightning and joined Cate in rewriting her beliefs, leaving her to wake as a Communist Warrior. He then injected himself with Temporary Compound V again and began copying Butcher’s Heat Vision.

• Lucian copied Stormfront’s Plasma Lightning and tested its destructive power on the alloy wall.
• Lucian decided to change Stormfront’s beliefs instead of killing her and brought Cate in to help.
• Lucian and Cate used their combined psychic powers and a prepared document to replace Stormfront’s Nazi beliefs with communist principles.
• Lucian sent Stormfront away with Sister Sage, then spent time with Cate.
• Lucian returned to the sealed chamber, injected himself with Temporary Compound V, and began copying Butcher’s Heat Vision.

After strengthening his powers, Lucian created an annihilating beam, made Black Noir loyal to him, and abducted Geisha Headliner to use as bait for Bombsight. With Sister Sage preparing a tougher suit, he flew to Russia with Cate and Annie.

• Lucian fused and enhanced his copied abilities, then tested his heat vision and discovered its black beam erased matter without a trace.
• Lucian used psychic power to replace Black Noir’s allegiance to Vought with loyalty to himself and assigned him to guard the base and Sister Sage.
• Lucian found Geisha Headliner at the Vought Village Supe Retirement Community, took her away, and copied her energy field ability.
• Lucian ordered Sister Sage to design a tougher suit and keep Geisha Headliner confined and cared for.
• Lucian invited Cate and Annie to Russia, and the three flew off together after Annie carried Cate into the air.

Lucian, Annie, and Cate broke into a Russian military base to find Soldier Boy, with Lucian using his newly upgraded powers to tear through the defenses. They found him suspended in a cryogenic pod and carried him away, leaving his fate unresolved.

• Annie ran out of electricity while carrying Cate, so Lucian recharged her and supported both women with telekinesis.
• Lucian seized a guard’s memories and learned that Soldier Boy was held in a top-secret area beneath the base’s eastern sector.
• Lucian blasted through the base’s isolation doors, repelled gunfire, and destroyed defenses with heat vision, lightning, magnetic force, and telekinesis.
• Lucian broke into the central control room and disabled much of the base, then opened the floor to reveal the hidden laboratory.
• Lucian found Soldier Boy in a cryogenic pod surrounded by Novichok cylinders and lifted the pod, Annie, and Cate into the sky.

Lucian began copying Soldier Boy’s Super Physique while keeping him sedated, and Stormfront raided Vought laboratories to free imprisoned children and test subjects. As Vought faltered and anti-Vought protests swelled, Victoria Neuman realized the movement she led might actually bring the company down.

• Lucian selected Soldier Boy’s Super Physique to copy, a process expected to take seven days, and used Novichok to keep him sedated when he began to wake.
• Stormfront’s implanted communist beliefs combined with her extremist ideology, leading her to attack Vought facilities and free imprisoned Supe children and test subjects.
• Stormfront raided several Vought laboratories, and Stan Edgar faced mounting losses as Homelander, Black Noir, Starlight, Pivot, and Maeve became unavailable or uncooperative.
• Victoria Neuman saw anti-Vought demonstrations grow as her approval ratings soared, and she realized the movement might succeed in bringing Vought down.

After completing Super Physique LV6, Lucian tested his new durability and learned that Annie and Cate had also benefited from the enhancement drug. He woke Soldier Boy, whose first reaction was to attack, and the chapter ended with Soldier Boy getting back to his feet and preparing to fight.

• Lucian completed Super Physique LV6, combining his physical abilities into one enhanced power.
• Lucian tested his durability against his Heat Vision and found that even sustained beams barely injured him before Super Healing closed the wound.
• Lucian reunited with Annie and Cate, who had both improved after receiving the enhancement drug, though it no longer affected them after three injections.
• Lucian removed Soldier Boy's Novichok mask and carried him outside the facility to wake him.
• Soldier Boy began charging an energy blast, so Lucian struck his chest with Heat Vision and sent him crashing through a concrete bollard.
• Soldier Boy rose from the rubble, mistook Lucian for an enemy, and prepared to attack him.

Lucian defeated Soldier Boy, freed him from the influence of his scrambled memories, and told him he had been imprisoned for thirty-six years. Soldier Boy agreed to join Lucian’s planned Supe Management Bureau and set out to reclaim his gear and hunt down the people who betrayed him.

• Soldier Boy charged Lucian, but Lucian overpowered him in their fight despite Soldier Boy’s greater combat experience.
• Lucian restrained Soldier Boy and used his psychic power to organize his confused memories, showing him that Lucian had rescued him from the laboratory.
• Soldier Boy learned that thirty-six years had passed and that Homelander had replaced him as Vought’s strongest superhero.
• Lucian offered Soldier Boy a place in his planned Supe Management Bureau and help finding his former Payback teammates, and Soldier Boy agreed on the condition that he could be in charge.
• Soldier Boy told Lucian to take him to retrieve his gear so they could find the people who had sold him out.

Lucian sent Soldier Boy to find Legend, then copied Mind Stone Stormfront’s Nightmare Cage ability. He confronted Victoria Neuman in her office, revealed he knew her past and power, and began explaining his purpose.

• Lucian flew Soldier Boy to Legend’s house and sent him the locations of the other Payback members.
• Lucian found Mind Stone Stormfront in a forest cabin, incapacitated him, and began copying Nightmare Cage.
• Lucian traveled to Washington and used psychic power to learn how to reach Victoria Neuman’s office.
• Lucian entered Neuman’s office and revealed that he knew her former name, Nadia Hayat.
• Neuman tried to use her blood-manipulation power on Lucian, but it had no effect, so she dropped her pretenses and asked why he had come.

Lucian offered Neuman the post of Deputy Director of a new Supe Affairs Bureau, and she began preparing a proposal while waiting to see how he would handle Vought and Homelander. At Vought Tower, Homelander recognized Soldier Boy beside Lucian in a photograph and fled into the sky, terrified they were coming for him.

• Lucian told Neuman he planned to establish a Supe Affairs Bureau and offered her the position of Deputy Director.
• Lucian assured Neuman that Zoe would not need Compound V, then flew away carrying Mind Stone Stormfront.
• Neuman canceled her schedule and ordered her staff to begin drafting a Supe Affairs Bureau proposal.
• Homelander demanded that the Crime Analysis Department find Lucian and recognized Soldier Boy in an enlarged photograph.
• Fearing Lucian and Soldier Boy were coming for him, Homelander burst out of Vought Tower and flew away.

Lucian returned to Vought after securing a fused Mind Control ability and told Ashley she would work for him. He forced Edgar to convene Vought’s board immediately, leaving Edgar fearing that he had brought an uncontrollable threat into the company.

• Lucian tracked Soldier Boy to a highway and handed him the unconscious Mind Stone Stormfront, whom Soldier Boy then beat awake and confronted.
• Ashley warned Lucian that Homelander had been searching for him, but then revealed Homelander had disappeared.
• Lucian told Ashley to report for work with him, leaving her confused about where or how to do so.
• Lucian entered Edgar’s office, reminded him that Vought had given him a valuable gift, and demanded an immediate board meeting.
• Edgar summoned every director while Lucian calmly waited in his office.