Chapter Summaries

John celebrated his ninth birthday at the Long Island Estate with Lynn and the other children, away from Vought’s cameras and publicity. After his friends gave him presents and Lynn served him longevity noodles, Lynn offered him a small box, leaving its contents unrevealed.

• Vought’s construction crew replaced the estate’s broken backyard window with bulletproof glass without questioning Lynn’s household.
• Annie baked bear-shaped cookies while John gave Buddy a sugar-free treat, and the children settled into a more ordinary life at the estate.
• Lynn prepared birthday longevity noodles with bone broth, choosing not to use seafood because Kevin was attached to Charlie the goldfish.
• John woke early and listened to the familiar sounds of the home before Lynn sent him to wash up and wake the others.
• Reggie gave John limited-edition sneakers, Tommy presented a model aircraft, Annie gave him a drawing, and Kevin offered him a conch shell.
• Lynn served John the noodles and handed him a small black box, which John eagerly prepared to open.

John celebrated his ninth birthday with Lynn and the children, receiving a Polaroid camera and a carved wooden eagle from Black Noir. As John began photographing his home, the story shifted to the tense atmosphere at Vought Tower.

• Lynn gave John a Polaroid camera and encouraged him to capture the people and moments around him, and John took his first family portrait.
• John ate his birthday noodles, made a wish to keep Lynn by his side and protect their home, and blew out his candle.
• Black Noir left a wrapped gift on the Manor’s doormat, and Lynn brought it inside for John to open.
• John found a hand-carved wooden eagle in the box, learned it was from a friend who could not speak, and placed it beside his camera.
• John wandered through the house taking photographs of Buddy and Lynn, while the atmosphere at Vought Tower contrasted with the warmth of the Manor.

Stan Edgar ordered Vought to recruit and condition young supes into a company-controlled hero team, after John’s growing power made Vought’s dependence on Lynn more alarming. While John secretly photographed Lynn at Long Island Estate, Edgar and Madelyn watched Vought’s attempt to imitate the estate’s family-style care fail with Mesmer.

• Madelyn reported that Vought had paid hush money over the sewer incident but lacked enough heroes after Payback’s destruction and several veterans’ retirements.
• Edgar ordered a search for Compound V-injected children and said Vought needed to build the beginnings of a company-owned Seven whose members obeyed the company.
• John secretly took a Polaroid photograph of Lynn reading the newspaper while Annie slept beside Buddy and Reggie rested on the lawn.
• Madelyn showed Edgar that Mesmer had seen through the hired actors posing as his parents and was distraught in the staged bedroom.
• Edgar told Madelyn to condition the recruited children with behavioral psychology and focus on making them appear obedient and profitable rather than truly loved.

At Long Island Estate, Lynn assigned the children specialized training to address their weaknesses and told them hellish training would begin the next day. He decided Black Noir was the best choice to teach John martial arts, though he expected Edgar to resist letting him go.

• Lynn praised the children for protecting themselves during the Charlie incident, then pointed out their weaknesses.
• Lynn told Reggie to train his perception at high speed and Tommy to build his telekinetic endurance.
• Lynn planned for Annie to learn to absorb electricity and convert it into light energy.
• Lynn told Kevin to learn to guide Charlie's transformations with his mind, while recognizing that Kevin's belief he could talk to fish came from childhood trauma.
• Lynn told John that his power was strong but his fighting technique was poor, and considered asking Black Noir to teach him martial arts.
• Lynn gave the children the afternoon off, announced training would start tomorrow, and went to his study to use the encrypted direct-line phone.

Lynn arranged for Black Noir to leave Vought and become John’s combat instructor and security at the Long Island Estate. Black Noir arrived at the estate, where Lynn introduced him to the children as their new coach.

• Lynn asked Stan Edgar to send Black Noir to Long Island, offering John’s help with future crises in exchange.
• Edgar agreed and assigned Black Noir to the Vanguard Camp as John’s combat instructor and the estate’s security.
• Madelyn delivered Edgar’s orders, and Black Noir packed his carving supplies and teddy bear before leaving Vought Tower.
• Black Noir arrived at the Long Island Estate and watched John and the children from outside the gates.
• Lynn came out of the house and called for Reggie to open the gates, announcing that their new coach had arrived.

Black Noir joined Lynn and the children at Long Island Estate, where he taught John how fighting technique could control overwhelming strength. After John asked to become his student, Black Noir stayed for dinner and settled into the family’s lively routine.

• Reggie welcomed Black Noir to the estate, where Lynn showed him a room prepared for painting and carving.
• Black Noir faced John in the backyard while the children watched, and effortlessly threw him despite John holding back his strength.
• John charged again and again, but Black Noir dodged and redirected his attacks before pinning him with an armbar.
• John asked Black Noir to teach him, and Lynn explained that technique could guide strength and prevent destruction.
• Black Noir joined Lynn and the children for dinner, feeling that he would have many chances to paint warm scenes at the estate.

Lynn trained the children in the Manor to improve their abilities and fighting skills. After the exhausting practice, he announced dinner and a dishwashing penalty, leaving Kevin to protest that the rule unfairly favored the others.

• Lynn had Tommy hold twenty bricks aloft, while Reggie practiced catching high-speed tennis balls without moving far from his spot.
• Annie used the battery box to power stronger golden beams, while Kevin tried to guide Charlie the goldfish with his mental power.
• Black Noir corrected John's punching technique and sparred with him as John gradually improved his movement and recovery.
• Tommy dropped the bricks, Reggie collapsed after catching a final ball, and John recovered from another throw by rolling to one knee.
• Lynn sent everyone to shower and change, then warned that whoever arrived last would wash the dishes; Reggie, Tommy, and John raced inside while Kevin objected.
• Black Noir quietly collected the scattered tennis balls and bricks.

Tommy washed dishes after exhausting his telekinetic energy while John learned a combat move from Black Noir at the Long Island Estate. Beneath Vought Tower, Edgar oversaw the brutal training of young Supes and ordered the next batch brought in, prioritizing market-ready reserves over letting them grow up.

• Tommy ran out of mental energy, fell on the lawn, and had to wash dishes by hand while Reggie taunted him.
• John asked Black Noir to explain a takedown, understood how to use leverage, and headed to bed as Black Noir carved a figure of Buddy.
• Madelyn showed Edgar the training grounds, where Marge was forced to punch a steel pillar and shocked with her collar when she refused.
• Edgar watched a younger boy suffer similar collar shocks and ordered the next batch brought in because the Board needed reserves ready for the market.

John practiced a technique Black Noir had shown him and used it to throw Reggie without relying on superpowers. He continued testing the moves against Reggie as Black Noir and Lynn watched his rapid progress.

• Lynn made breakfast while Tommy, Reggie, John, Annie, Kevin, and Black Noir gathered at the estate.
• After breakfast, John asked Reggie to spar using only ordinary strength and speed.
• John copied Black Noir’s technique, disrupted Reggie’s balance, and tripped him onto the lawn.
• Reggie demanded another match, and John spent half an hour practicing the throws he had learned from Black Noir.
• Black Noir silently approved of John’s quick learning, while Lynn watched his progress and nodded.

Lynn’s household finished training and settled into a relaxed evening before Buddy sensed an unknown presence outside the Manor. Grace Mallory arrived through the fog with a British man whose wand-like stick opened the gate, leaving Lynn facing their unexpected intrusion.

• Lynn ended the children’s training, and the exhausted children bathed and ate their prepared dinner.
• Black Noir gave Annie a painting of Lynn and the children gathered in the yard, which she happily accepted.
• Buddy sensed danger outside, and Black Noir, John, Reggie, Tommy, and Kevin prepared for a fight before Lynn calmed them.
• Lynn went outside and found white fog surrounding the Manor, then watched two figures approach the gate.
• Grace Mallory introduced herself through the gate and said her companion had helped her find the hidden Manor.
• Mallory’s British companion used his stick to unlock the gate and identified the Manor’s defenses as a Muggle-Repelling Charm.

CIA agent Mallory and a wizard broke into Lynn’s estate to investigate Vought International’s human experimentation, but Lynn subdued them with the power of his Boundary. Mallory realized she had entered a monster’s lair as Lynn warned her that Vought’s secrets were none of his concern and condemned her for damaging his gate and lawn.

• Mallory entered Lynn’s yard with a wizard and offered to discuss Vought International’s human experimentation assembly line.
• Lynn confronted them for breaking his gate and trampling his lawn while Black Noir prepared to attack the wizard.
• The wizard blocked Black Noir’s throwing knife with Protego, but Lynn’s Boundary crushed both intruders and snapped the wizard’s wand.
• John came outside with his eyes glowing red, but Lynn tapped him on the head and made him stand down.
• Mallory recognized John as Vought’s Superboy and understood that she had underestimated Lynn.
• Lynn told Mallory that Vought’s history did not concern him and that he disliked people breaking his gate and flicking cigar ash onto his lawn.

Lynn drove Mallory and Wizards out of his yard after warning them to keep away, then returned to his household’s routines. The next morning, he paired Reggie and Tommy for a new training exercise.

• Lynn released Mallory and Wizards from the pressure, ordered them off his property, and threatened consequences if they returned.
• John offered to pursue Mallory, but Lynn sent everyone to bed and told Black Noir to repair the gate the next morning.
• Black Noir fixed the gate while Annie watched, and Lynn invited him in for breakfast.
• Reggie and Tommy complained about their doubled training, while John teased them until Lynn ordered him to stop.
• Lynn paired Reggie and Tommy for training: Reggie had to run around an oak without touching the grass while Tommy used telekinesis to suspend bricks as stepping stones.

Lynn took the children to Manhattan to shop, where they witnessed a Poison-Horned Lion appear through a rift above a Vought parade float. Sonic Wave charged the beast to protect the crowd, leaving Lynn and the children caught in the unfolding danger.

• Tommy and Reggie practiced coordinating their powers, but Reggie fell when Tommy failed to place a brick beneath his foot.
• John improved his fighting skills against Black Noir, while the other children trained in the yard before Lynn served them dinner.
• Lynn took the children to Manhattan, where they bought art supplies and enjoyed ice cream.
• A black rift opened above a Vought parade float, and a Poison-Horned Lion dropped onto the street, sending the crowd fleeing.
• Sonic Wave leaped from the float and attacked the Poison-Horned Lion, declaring that he would protect the citizens.

As the Poison-Horned Lion rampaged through the street, John felt compassion for the endangered civilians and asked Lynn for permission to save them. Encouraged by Lynn, John and the other children headed toward the monster to fight.

• The Poison-Horned Lion sent Sonic Wave crashing into a store wall and rampaged through the street, leaving civilians injured and trapped.
• John watched a mother shield her daughter and other helpless victims, and realized he wanted to save them for their own sake.
• John told Lynn he wanted to save the people, and Lynn encouraged him to act.
• Reggie, Tommy, Annie, Kevin, and Black Noir prepared to join the fight as John ordered Reggie to rescue the mother and daughter and the trapped vendor.
• John shattered the pavement beneath his feet and charged toward the Poison-Horned Lion.

John, Reggie, Tommy, and Annie joined forces to protect civilians and fight the Poison-Horned Lion on a Manhattan street. After hearing the survivors thank them, John gained a new understanding of his power and struck the beast with a precise fighting technique.

• John punched the Poison-Horned Lion and sent it crashing into an abandoned bank.
• Reggie carried civilians, including a mother and her daughter, to safety two streets away.
• Tommy pinned the Poison-Horned Lion with a fallen billboard while Annie blasted it with a beam of electricity.
• The rescued civilians thanked the children, and John realized how much their gratitude mattered to him.
• John recalled Lynn's lesson about controlling his strength, then landed on the Poison-Horned Lion and punched its spine.

John defeated the Poison-Horned Lion with precise physical strength and received gratitude from the rescued bystanders, but Aurors erased their memories and tried to Obliviate him and the others. John snapped the lead witch’s wand and fingers, his eyes turning scarlet as the air around him heated.

• John shattered the Poison-Horned Lion’s spine with a punch and landed safely beside the defeated beast.
• Reggie, Tommy, and Annie regrouped with John and Kevin, while the rescued mother and daughter thanked John and Reggie.
• The bystanders applauded the young heroes, and John looked to Lynn before feeling the warmth of being thanked as a hero.
• Five Aurors arrived, called the incident a smuggled Dark Magic creature problem, and began using Obliviate on the bystanders.
• The lead witch tried to erase John and the others’ memories, but John snapped her wand and two fingers as scarlet surged in his eyes.

After Aurors erased the memories of the people John had saved and tried to attack him, Lynn punished them and comforted John. The group left the scene to continue their shopping while Black Noir arranged for the company to handle the aftermath.

• John confronted the witch who had erased the bystanders’ memories, and Reggie broke the wands of four Aurors while Tommy forced them to kneel.
• John prepared to smash the witch, but Lynn stopped him and used Boundary to trap all five Aurors in a terrifying illusion.
• Lynn reminded John that the girl he had rescued was still alive and that the gratitude he had felt had been real.
• John hugged Lynn, who then asked Black Noir to arrange cleanup and take the Aurors to the Public Relations Department.
• Lynn led John and the others toward their SUV, and they discussed buying potatoes for beef stew.

After John, Lynn, and the others stopped the Poison-Horned Lion and defeated five Aurors, Stan Edgar confronted the Magical Congress and forced its director into a business arrangement. The wizarding world left with the Aurors, while Vought kept the creature’s corpse and gained access to magical-material supply channels.

• Reggie bragged about tying the men in black together as Tommy, John, and the others relaxed on the drive home.
• Madelyn reported that the public response to the rescue had raised trust in Vought and sent its stock price up, while researchers could not damage the Poison-Horned Lion’s corpse.
• The director of the Magical Congress entered Edgar’s office with two wizards and demanded the corpse, the five Aurors, and memory erasures for Vought’s executives.
• Edgar showed the wizards footage of John defeating the Poison-Horned Lion and warned that he would expose magical society to governments and the media if they attacked him.
• Edgar offered the Magical Congress the return of the five Aurors in exchange for the corpse, access to magical-material supply channels, and permission for Vought to operate in special fields.
• At the Long Island Estate, Lynn peeled John’s potatoes while the others spent the evening together.

Stan Edgar celebrated Vought’s new magical materials agreement but feared that Lynn’s influence over John left the company unable to control its strongest asset, so he prepared a secret camp of fear-conditioned children as a fallback. At the Manor, Lynn and the children shared dinner after their rescue, while Lynn planned tougher training for the next morning.

• After the Ministry officials left, Stan Edgar reviewed footage of John rescuing civilians and recognized that John’s loyalty belonged to Lynn rather than Vought.
• Stan Edgar examined reports showing John would obey Lynn over Vought and decided the company needed backup options if Lynn turned against it.
• Stan Edgar considered the New Vanguard Camp, where children trained with shock collars, a way to create controllable weapons for Vought.
• At the Manor, Lynn served beef stew and potatoes to Annie, Kevin, John, Reggie, Tommy, and Black Noir as Buddy begged for food.
• John, Reggie, and Tommy argued over who had contributed most to the rescue, while Lynn listened and planned heavier sandbags for the next day’s training.

John thanked two frightened deliverymen and asked Lynn why his politeness had made them more afraid. Lynn explained that John could choose to be kind without expecting others to respond in kind, while Reggie and Tommy began Lynn’s weighted training and John practiced with Black Noir.

• Two Vought International Logistics Department employees delivered Lynn’s 1,200-pound alloy case, and John carried it inside and thanked them.
• John told Lynn that the deliverymen had seemed terrified when he thanked them, and Lynn explained that they did not know him and that their fear was not his responsibility.
• Lynn revealed that the case contained weighted vests and ordered Reggie to run 200 laps wearing one while Tommy dragged him with telekinesis and wore a vest himself.
• After breakfast, Reggie and Tommy struggled through their training as John practiced punching technique with Black Noir.