Chapter Summaries

Jonah Vogelbaum tried to get Stan Edgar to remove Lynn from Vanguard Camp, but Edgar defended Lynn’s profitable work and threatened to replace Vogelbaum if he interfered again. Vogelbaum then enlisted Barbara, who had tortured John during his childhood experiments, to help him test whether fear could undo Lynn’s influence.

• Jonah Vogelbaum urged Stan Edgar to revoke Lynn’s privileges and proposed framing him to take control of Vanguard Camp.
• Stan Edgar rejected Vogelbaum’s scheme, praised Lynn’s emotional control of John and commercial success, and warned that he could replace the chief scientist.
• Vogelbaum left Edgar’s office resolved to prove that fear could break Lynn’s influence over John.
• Vogelbaum went to Vought International’s underground laboratory and found Barbara sorting old records.
• Vogelbaum asked Barbara to visit John and help test how his childhood fears would affect the emotions Lynn had taught him.

Barbara agreed to Vogelbaum’s plan to trigger John’s memories of his past torture, after Vogelbaum threatened to cut off Emma’s medical care. Lynn then told the children that Edgar had approved their move to Long Island Estate, while John noticed Lynn’s work badge suggested he had been promoted.

• Barbara refused Vogelbaum’s request to provoke John, saying that John could kill her instantly.
• Vogelbaum threatened to end Barbara’s job and Emma’s medical privileges unless Barbara followed his plan.
• Vogelbaum gave Barbara a note and told her to speak to John in her old tone while wearing her white lab coat during Saturday’s outing.
• Lynn visited Edgar’s office, then announced that the children could move to Long Island Estate.
• The children celebrated, and John noticed that Lynn’s work badge seemed to show a promotion.

Lynn took the children from Vanguard Camp on a spring outing to the Central Park conservatory, giving them a taste of ordinary family life outside the estate. The outing began peacefully, with John helping set up a picnic on the greenhouse lawn.

• Lynn told the children they would visit the conservatory in Manhattan's Central Park and let them pack one small backpack each.
• The children got ready early the next morning, and John asked Lynn whether they would keep living together like this; Lynn assured him that they were a family.
• Lynn and the children traveled to the conservatory with a discreet Vought International security team following them.
• The children explored the plants: Reggie nearly touched a Venus flytrap, Annie sketched flowers, and Kevin introduced Charlie the goldfish to the pond's turtles.
• John helped Lynn spread the picnic blanket, arranged the snacks and juice, and lay down on the blanket.

Barbara confronted John in the greenhouse using Vogelbaum’s scripted command, triggering his memories of the laboratory and nearly provoking him to attack her. Lynn intervened and helped John reconnect with the present, though the confrontation’s aftermath remained unresolved.

• Barbara entered the greenhouse wearing a lab coat after a guard admitted her, thinking of her ill daughter Emma and the money she needed for treatment.
• John smelled the medical alcohol and disinfectant on Barbara and recognized her as part of his traumatic past in the laboratory.
• Barbara ordered John to return to his isolation room, and his fear turned into rage as a violent wind swept through the greenhouse.
• John prepared to attack Barbara with his glowing red eyes, while Annie, Reggie, Tommy, and Barbara froze in fear.
• Lynn placed a hand on John’s head, blocked his view of Barbara, and reminded him that he was safe in the Central Park greenhouse.

Lynn calmed John after Barbara provoked him, then confronted her over her abuse of the children and her loyalty to Vogelbaum. He punished Barbara by demoting her to menial work while protecting her daughter’s treatment, and the children returned to their picnic with John feeling safer.

• Kevin restrained Barbara as she tried to provoke John, and Lynn calmed John by reminding him that he was a child, not a code name.
• Lynn confronted Barbara and revealed that he knew her daughter Emma was receiving treatment at Central Hospital.
• Lynn warned Barbara that Vogelbaum could not protect her or guarantee Emma’s care, then slapped her twice for her past cruelty to John.
• Lynn ordered Barbara to report to Vanguard Camp’s Logistics Department for menial work and warned her to tell Vogelbaum to stay out of his territory.
• Lynn returned to the picnic and offered John apple and cranberry cookies as the children relaxed together.

After comforting John about his fear of being taken away, Lynn decided the children would never be safe while Jonah Vogelbaum remained alive. He secretly entered Vought Tower and killed Vogelbaum, then headed home to prepare breakfast for the children.

• Lynn reassured John that nobody could take him from Long Island Estate, and John fell asleep feeling safe.
• Lynn left the estate in disguise and used his clearance to slip into Vought Tower’s core laboratory.
• Lynn confronted Vogelbaum in his office and injected him with potassium chloride, killing him.
• Lynn removed the evidence and left the tower, then drove home thinking about making the children breakfast.

After hearing that Jonah Vogelbaum and Barbara had died, Lynn learned from Stan Edgar that Vought wanted him and the children to travel to Japan to promote Compound V and confront resistance from ancient clans. Lynn accepted, seeing Black Noir’s assigned escort as a chance to approach him, and told the children to pack for the trip.

• Lynn served breakfast to the children at the Long Island Estate, and John said he had slept well without dreaming.
• Stan Edgar called Lynn to report that Jonah Vogelbaum had died of apparent heart failure and Barbara had committed suicide beside her daughter’s hospital bed.
• Edgar said Lynn’s actions had resolved a problem for Vought and demanded a return: Lynn and all the children would travel to Japan to support the company’s market expansion.
• Lynn objected to involving the children, but Edgar insisted and said Black Noir would accompany them for protection.
• Lynn accepted the trip and told the children to pack their suitcases, announcing they were going to Japan.

Lynn took the children from Long Island to Japan for a cherry-blossom trip, with Black Noir accompanying them as Vought’s security escort. After Lynn established that he was in charge and Black Noir silently accepted his gift, the group flew toward Japan, where John asked about meeting onmyōji.

• Reggie overpacked for the trip until Lynn replaced his comics and toys with clothes, while Annie and Kevin prepared more carefully.
• Lynn led the children onto Vought International’s private jet, where they found Black Noir waiting in the lounge.
• Lynn told Black Noir not to frighten the children and offered him blueberry muffins, while John’s presence made clear the danger of threatening Lynn.
• Black Noir accepted the muffins and stayed quiet, allowing the children to relax as the plane took off for Japan.
• John asked Lynn whether onmyōji could really do magic, and Lynn said John could handle any unreasonable ones they met.

Lynn arrived in Tokyo with the children and Black Noir, where Vought’s Asia division had arranged a secluded estate for them. Onmyōji families watched the estate with shikigami, but Lynn told John and the security staff to leave them alone unless they crossed the wall.

• Lynn and the children landed in Tokyo, where Sato welcomed them on behalf of Vought International’s Asia division.
• Sato drove Lynn and the children to a secluded traditional estate outside the city, while John noticed that Vought staff regarded them with fear.
• At the estate, Sato reported that Onmyōji families had placed paper birds and figures around the grounds to spy on them.
• John’s eyes began to glow red as he focused on a paper bird, but Lynn calmed him with a hand on his shoulder.
• Lynn told Sato to have security ignore the shikigami unless they crossed the estate wall, then led the children inside for dinner.

Lynn enjoyed dinner with the children at the manor while Kamo Clan onmyōji watched from the woods and plotted to attack them publicly in Tokyo. Unbothered by the threat, Lynn told Director Sato he planned to take the children shopping in Akihabara the next morning.

• Lynn replaced Reggie's sashimi with grilled Wagyu, while Annie enjoyed tempura and television during dinner.
• John sensed hostile onmyōji outside and began to focus his Heat Vision, but Lynn reassured him and he returned to eating.
• A young Kamo Clan prodigy dismissed the visitors’ vigilance and proposed crushing the American heroes in front of the public the next day.
• Lynn asked Director Sato to arrange roomier cars so he could take the children to Akihabara Electric Town to shop for Super Nintendo games.

Lynn took the children to Akihabara despite Sato’s warnings about the Kamo Clan’s watchers. When the clan attacked by making heavy lights fall toward Annie and Reggie, Tommy stopped them in midair with telekinesis.

• Lynn led Reggie, Annie, John, Tommy, Kevin, Black Noir, and Sato to Akihabara and told the children to stay together.
• At a game store, John used his super hearing to detect the Kamo Clan’s people and warned Lynn about their positions.
• Lynn signaled Tommy to be ready and asked Reggie to protect Annie before paying for game cartridges.
• A young man in a hoodie crushed a talisman, causing heavy pendant lights to break loose above Annie and Reggie.
• Lynn told Tommy to make his move, and Tommy halted the falling lights with telekinesis.

Tommy stopped the falling chandeliers during an attack by a Kamo Family disciple, whom Black Noir captured and interrogated. Lynn took the group to a sukiyaki restaurant, where Black Noir delivered talismans and a booklet listing Kamo Family locations in Tokyo.

• Tommy halted the falling chandeliers and shifted them onto an empty shelving unit, while Reggie moved Annie to safety.
• Black Noir broke the Kamo Family disciple’s wrist, knocked him unconscious, and took him away without alerting the fleeing civilians.
• Lynn ignored Chief Sato’s warnings and led the group out of the mall to find a sukiyaki restaurant.
• Black Noir joined them at the restaurant with blood-flecked talismans and a booklet of Kamo Family addresses that he had obtained from the disciple.

After lunch at a secluded Tokyo restaurant, Lynn decided to confront the Kamo Family despite Director Sato’s warnings and fear of the authorities. He took the children and Black Noir to pursue the address he had found, leaving Sato under pressure to follow.

• Reggie, Annie, Tommy, Kevin, and John ate sukiyaki while Black Noir remained motionless in the corner.
• Lynn examined a register Black Noir had brought back and found the Kamo Family head’s secondary residence in Bunkyō Ward.
• Director Sato urged Lynn to leave Tokyo, warning that the Kamo Family and its yokai could draw them into conflict with Japan’s Special Countermeasures Bureau.
• Lynn told Sato that retreat would damage Vought’s reputation and put Sato’s position at risk.
• Lynn called the children to leave and ordered Black Noir to get the car.

Lynn brought John and the children to the Kamo Clan’s main residence, where the clan prepared a supernatural ambush. As the courtyard’s psychic energy gathered, Lynn told John to clean up the threat, and John unleashed his Heat Vision.

• Lynn asked Director Sato about the Kamo Clan’s residence and told John to stay close and control any fire he started.
• Black Noir drove the group into Bunkyō Ward, where they arrived at the Kamo Clan’s walled compound.
• A young Onmyōji opened the gate and confronted Lynn as Kamo Clan members prepared talismans and ritual staffs.
• The Kamo Clan’s ritual made green flames appear and churned the courtyard gravel, while Director Sato cowered behind the car.
• Lynn told John to clean up the threat, and John fired two beams of Heat Vision toward the courtyard.

Lynn and the children crushed the Kamo Clan’s attack in its courtyard, leaving the young heir terrified and his fighters defeated. Lynn told the heir to stand aside so the children could tour the grounds.

• John vaporized the underground yokai with heat vision, and Lynn praised him.
• Tommy stopped and crushed the Onmyōji’s talismans with telekinesis, then sent them flying back at the attackers.
• Reggie disarmed and tripped several Onmyōji, while Black Noir quickly defeated the samurai guards.
• Kevin spoke with the koi and told Lynn they wanted to live at the Manor in New York because the pond was polluted.
• Lynn confronted the Kamo Clan heir and told him to step aside while the children went in for a tour.

Lynn and the children entered the Kamo Family head’s supernatural realm, where the old man’s shikigami rendered their powers ineffective. Lynn identified the illusion’s weakness and guided John toward the old man’s real body, leaving John poised to attack.

• Lynn led Annie, Reggie, Tommy, John, and Black Noir deeper into the Kamo Family residence, where the surroundings grew unnaturally dark and quiet.
• The elderly Kamo Family head invited Lynn to tea, then used his shikigami to transform the courtyard into a realm of black water and spectral monsters.
• The old man’s realm immobilized Reggie, suppressed Tommy’s telekinesis, and caused John’s heat vision to vanish into a void.
• Lynn remained calm, protected Annie, and explained that the mind-built realm had no physical substance but its creator did.
• Lynn told John to ignore the illusions and listen for the old man’s heartbeat, and John located it behind the false image ahead.

John used his heat vision to break the Kamo elder’s illusion and vaporized his lower legs, while Lynn led the children away and Black Noir secretly killed the young master who had threatened them. The group left the residence and drove off to find sushi, with Lynn promising Kevin a meal without fish.

• John shut out the illusion and used precise heat beams to destroy the Kamo elder’s domain, sparing his life but vaporizing both his lower legs.
• Lynn praised John, warned the injured elder to leave the children alone, and led them out of the main house.
• Lynn patted Black Noir’s shoulder, and Black Noir understood the silent order to kill the young master who had tried to harm the children.
• Black Noir slit the young master’s throat, then returned to the car without drawing attention to himself.
• Lynn reassured Kevin that the meal would include tonkatsu don and no fish, and Black Noir drove the group away to find a sushi restaurant.

After the Kamo Clan’s attack, Lynn’s group ate sushi while Director Sato struggled with the aftermath. Lynn assured Stan Edgar that the children would attend the planned press conference, then asked to have Black Noir assigned to him; the chapter ended with Lynn taking the children back to the Manor for a nap and games.

• Kevin guarded and ate a large pork cutlet bowl, while Reggie rapidly devoured sushi and Annie and John enjoyed their favorites.
• Director Sato sat uneasily as he recalled the violence at the Kamo Clan residence and feared headquarters’ call.
• Lynn answered Stan Edgar’s call and described the morning’s trouble as poor local security and gang activity.
• Edgar said Vought’s public relations team would handle Japan’s protest and arranged a press conference for Annie and Tommy the next morning.
• Lynn asked Edgar to let him have Black Noir, but Edgar refused and ended the call.
• Lynn told the children they would return to the Manor for a nap and that he would help connect their game console to the television.

Lynn tried to recruit Black Noir away from Vought by offering him a place in their household, but Black Noir reaffirmed his loyalty to Edgar. As John and Lynn played Street Fighter, John voiced his fear for Lynn’s safety, and Lynn reassured him before inviting Black Noir to join the game.

• Lynn offered Black Noir double Edgar’s pay, room and board, and a place in their family, but Black Noir wrote that he belonged to Edgar and the company.
• Lynn accepted Black Noir’s refusal and gave him a can of cola, telling him he was welcome under the manor’s roof.
• John defeated Reggie at Street Fighter, then Lynn beat John with skilled play despite the boy’s super-fast reactions.
• John said he wished Lynn could defend himself against the people who threatened him, and Lynn reassured him that he trusted the family to protect him.
• John promised to drive away anyone who tried to hurt Lynn, and Lynn invited Black Noir to take the next turn in the game.

Lynn invited Black Noir to play Street Fighter, where Black Noir defeated him and the children before joining their games for the afternoon. When Vought staff brought costumes and scripts for the next day’s press conference, Lynn rejected the scripts and said Annie and Tommy could speak freely.

• Black Noir accepted Lynn’s controller, chose Guile, and defeated Lynn’s Red Ken without losing any health.
• Lynn challenged John, Reggie, Tommy, and Annie to take turns against Black Noir, who stayed to play and beat the children throughout the afternoon.
• Department Head Sato arrived with public relations staff to prepare for the press conference and found Black Noir playing with the children.
• Lynn read the press conference script, returned it to the public relations representative, and told her to take the scripts back while leaving the clothes.
• Lynn told the staff that Annie and Tommy would wear the uniforms and face the cameras but could speak and act as themselves.