Recaps

Solomon invited Charles to join Vought as a mentor and offered Hank a chance to regain his human appearance through Vought’s genetics research. Hank accepted the offer, and after the meeting Raven stayed behind with Charles, Erik, and Moira, where Charles asked Raven if she wanted to leave with him.

• Charles recognized Solomon’s plan to let the Black King’s crisis make Vought’s superheroes famous, but objected to the deaths it would cause.
• Solomon invited Charles to join Vought as a mentor, then offered Hank the possibility of regaining his original appearance through Vought’s genetics research.
• Hank accepted Solomon’s offer and left with him to visit the Genetics Laboratory, despite Charles’s attempt to dissuade him.
• A-Train warned Charles and Erik not to interfere with Vought’s recruitment of Mutants, and Roland ended the meeting.
• Raven offered to see Charles, Erik, and Moira out and persuade them to consider joining Vought; after the others left, Charles asked Raven if she wanted to leave with him.

Charles chose to pursue peaceful coexistence outside Vought, while Erik agreed to cooperate only to find Shaw and Raven stayed behind. At Vought Tower, Solomon recruited Hank to develop a device that could locate mutants and raised the possibility of restoring Hank’s original appearance, but the chapter ended before explaining how.

• Charles rejected Raven’s offer to stay at Vought, and Moira supported his commitment to peace between mutants and ordinary people.
• Erik agreed to work with Charles through the CIA’s intelligence channels, but said he would only help hunt Shaw; Raven chose to remain at Vought.
• Solomon showed Hank the advanced laboratory prepared for him and explained that he wanted Hank to develop a Mind Stone Amplification Device to locate mutants worldwide.
• Hank pledged to devote his knowledge to the device after Solomon described how it could help persecuted mutants reach Vought.
• Solomon told Hank that he could help restore his original appearance and explained the X-Gene’s role in mutant abilities and physical mutations.

Solomon revealed that he had developed Compound V, a serum that could give humans X-Gene-like traits and potentially alter mutants’ abilities. Hank followed him to observe an experiment, where seeing a mutant test subject made him suspect Vought was exploiting mutants, but Hirna willingly accepted the risks of taking the serum.

• Solomon told Hank that his genetic serum could grant ordinary people X-Gene-like properties and might strengthen or regulate a mutant’s abilities.
• Hank asked to join the research, and Solomon brought him to the fifty-eighth floor to observe an experiment with Roland’s team.
• Hank recognized Hirna in the laboratory and suspected Solomon had developed the serum through human experimentation on mutants.
• Solomon warned Hirna that Compound V could cause severe harm or death and offered her the chance to withdraw.
• Hirna refused to back down, saying she wanted to become stronger and control her own fate.

Solomon and Hank watched Hirna undergo a voluntary Compound V experiment, which gave her immense strength and concealed defensive scales. The experiment succeeded, and Solomon ordered tests to confirm her genetic stability and measure her new abilities.

• Hank realized that Hirna had volunteered to escape her fate and regretted suspecting Solomon of mistreating her.
• Solomon instructed the researchers to begin the experiment, and they restrained Hirna before injecting her with Compound V.
• Hirna suffered intense pain as the drug altered her genes, forming defensive scales across her body.
• Hirna recovered with heightened senses and enough strength to snap the restraints, astonishing the researchers.
• Solomon declared the experiment a success and ordered a full examination, while Hank proposed studying Hirna's blood and genes to understand the changes.

Solomon concluded that Compound V could reliably enhance mutants by merging with their X-Genes, and Hirna’s tests showed her strength had risen a hundredfold. The chapter ended as security brought in firearms, including a Barrett sniper rifle, for her defense test.

• Solomon reasoned that Compound V could activate or strengthen dominant and recessive X-Genes, while pure humans faced greater risks.
• Hirna’s examination showed stable vital signs and perfect compatibility with the serum.
• Hirna punched the testing instrument and recorded three tons of force, compared with her previous strength of thirty kilograms.
• Hirna repeated the punch and recorded 3001 kilograms, confirming the reading.
• Solomon told Roland to fetch firearms for Hirna’s defense test, and armed security personnel arrived with a Barrett M82.

Solomon tested Hirna’s defenses after her Compound V injection, and she survived a direct hit from a Barrett M82 without injury. After Solomon approved her as a superhero, Hank saw hope that Compound V could help mutants control their transformations.

• Hirna’s skin repelled handgun and submachine-gun fire, leaving her unharmed and increasingly confident.
• A security guard fired a Barrett M82 at Hirna, and her dark-blue scales emerged to protect her from the impact.
• Hirna stood without wounds, and Solomon congratulated her on qualifying to become a superhero.
• Hirna swore loyalty to Solomon and Vought, while Roland took her to handle her contract, identity, rules, and training.
• Hank praised Compound V and told Solomon it might help mutants control their transformations and escape involuntary changes.

After undergoing Vought’s genetic experiment, Hirna returned to the lounge as a contracted superhero, claiming her strength now surpassed every Mutant there. Sean, still resentful after being defeated at the meeting, decided to test her.

• The Mutants discussed A-Train and Solomon’s overwhelming power while Sandra waited anxiously for Hirna to return.
• Hirna came back from the experiment transformed and told Sandra she had become a Vought contracted superhero.
• Hirna urged Sandra to undergo the experiment and accidentally hurt her arm while demonstrating her newfound strength.
• A Mutant with enhanced hearing overheard them, and Hirna confirmed to the gathered Mutants that the experiment had made her stronger than everyone there.
• Sean rejected Hirna’s claim and decided to find out how much stronger the experiment had made her.

Hirna proved the genetic experiment’s effects by defeating Sean with her enhanced strength and speed, prompting many Mutants to consider signing up despite the risks. Raven, after learning what the experiment entailed, was deeply shaken as she considered how it might address her lack of combat ability.

• Sean challenged Hirna with sonic blasts, but she stood firm and advanced without being hurt.
• Sean prepared a full-power attack, but Hirna dodged his sound waves, seized him by the neck, and gently lowered him back down.
• The Mutants were stunned by Hirna’s transformation, and many rushed to sign up for the genetic experiment.
• Hirna explained the experiment’s painful process and risk of death to the cautious Mutants, while Sean, Anqi, and other heroes considered participating.
• Raven reflected on her frail body and lack of combat ability as Hirna’s transformation stirred her hopes.

Raven watched Vought’s genetic experiment transform its Mutant participants but hesitated over the loss of freedom she feared would come with it. After Charles urged her not to trade away control of her life, Erik joined Vought and argued that strength was necessary for Mutants to secure their freedom and survive.

• Over three days, more than eighty percent of the Mutants in Vought Tower received Compound V, with no experiment failures and major improvements to their abilities and bodies.
• Raven saw Anqi, Sean, and the other veteran heroes grow far stronger while she remained unchanged, and she weighed the experiment’s benefits against the restrictions she feared.
• Raven called Charles to explain her conflict, and he advised her not to sacrifice control of her life merely because she feared weakness.
• The next day, Erik came to Vought Tower and told Raven he wanted to join Vought and undergo the genetic experiment.
• Raven asked whether Erik considered the loss of freedom worth the strength, and he argued that Mutants needed power to resist persecution and truly control their own destinies.

Raven committed to Erik’s cause and agreed to join Vought’s experiments, while Solomon and Hank completed the first-generation improved Cerebro. Solomon used it to scan a vast region and identify Mutants worldwide, but Cerebro’s amplification overwhelmed his ability to filter the flood of thoughts.

• Raven accepted Erik’s argument, decided to join the experiment, and took him to tell Roland he was joining Vought.
• Roland welcomed Erik’s decision but could not report it to Solomon because he was busy.
• After three days of work with Hank, Solomon completed and assembled the improved first-generation Cerebro.
• Solomon activated Cerebro and expanded his psychic perception across a radius of five thousand kilometers, taking in an overwhelming torrent of thoughts.
• Solomon focused on identifying Mutant brainwaves and detected the Mutants inside Vought Tower, including Erik’s plan to grow stronger before escaping Vought.
• Solomon’s scan reached across the United States and located hidden Mutants, producing precise coordinates for their signals.

Solomon used Cerebro to locate awakened mutants and identified several notable targets, while Hank prepared to organize recruitment around the detected coordinates. Solomon then brought Hank to observe Raven and Erik before their planned experiments, where Erik was waiting in the observation room.

• Solomon scanned for mutants and located Darwin, Wolverine, Quicksilver, Alex Summers, and other targets, while deciding not to release the buried Apocalypse.
• Hank reported that Cerebro had detected a thousand mutant coordinates, and Solomon asked him to map areas of concentration and arrange voluntary recruitment.
• Solomon told Hank that Raven and Erik were preparing for experiments and explained their abilities and potential.
• Solomon and Hank went to the observation room, where Raven was preparing for genetic modification and Erik greeted Solomon respectfully.

Erik joined Vought and watched as Raven received Compound V, while Solomon warned Erik that only strength could secure his freedom from Vought. Raven’s transformation stabilized after more than ten minutes, leaving her exhausted in her original form.

• Solomon deduced why Erik had joined Vought and told him he could leave or defy Vought if he became stronger than Solomon, but warned him of the consequences if he remained weaker.
• Erik concealed his ambitions and pledged loyalty to Vought, while Solomon heard his thoughts through telepathy and dismissed them.
• Solomon ordered the experiment to begin, and a researcher injected Compound V into Raven as Erik and Solomon watched.
• Raven convulsed as her shapeshifting spiraled out of control, cycling through many appearances, including Erik, Hank, and Solomon.
• Raven’s transformations gradually stabilized, and she returned to her blue-scaled form, exhausted and unable to move.

Raven’s Compound V experiment appeared to fail because her physical readings had not changed, but Solomon realized it had dramatically enhanced her shapeshifting ability. After discovering that she could now replicate a target’s genes and abilities, Solomon summoned Raven to demonstrate the result.

• Researchers examined Raven and reported that her physical readings and base attributes had not improved, leaving the laboratory convinced the experiment had failed.
• Solomon declared the experiment a success and concluded that Compound V had enhanced Raven’s ability rather than her body.
• Solomon probed Raven’s consciousness and acquired Genetic Shapeshifting, which let her record genetic information through contact and replicate a target’s form, abilities, and attributes within her energy limit.
• Solomon realized Raven’s energy attribute had risen from level 4 to level 4.5, giving her the potential to copy multiple mutants’ powers and attributes.
• Solomon explained to Hank that the experiment should be judged by whether Raven’s power had improved, then called Raven to the observation room as Hank asked what her shapeshifting could now do.

Raven discovered that her transformed Shapeshifting ability could copy other mutants’ powers, successfully replicating Erik’s Magnetic Field Manipulation. After she wondered whether she could copy Solomon’s abilities, he invited her to try, leaving the room tense.

• Raven entered Solomon’s observation room believing her experiment had failed, but Solomon told her it had succeeded and had Erik give her a metal knife.
• Solomon asked Raven to turn into Erik and make the knife float; when she failed, he told Erik to teach her how to sense and control magnetic fields.
• Following Erik’s guidance, Raven moved the knife and then made it hover and spin, proving she had copied Erik’s Magnetic Field Manipulation.
• Hank concluded that Raven’s Shapeshifting had evolved to let her replicate other mutants’ X-Genes and abilities.
• Raven wondered whether she could copy Solomon’s powers, and Solomon read her thoughts and offered his open hand for her to try.

Solomon forced Raven to make contact so she could test whether her Gene Replication could copy his abilities. Raven transformed into his likeness, but gained only his appearance, leaving Solomon's true powers and attributes beyond her reach.

• Raven nearly reached for Solomon's hand, but Erik warned her that copying her superior's power could invite suspicion and ruin.
• Solomon clarified that he genuinely wanted to test Raven's ability, but she still refused to touch him.
• Solomon used Mind Suppression to make Raven grasp his hand, then revealed that he had controlled her and told her to transform into him.
• Raven copied Solomon's appearance and build, but discovered that her strength, senses, energy, and other abilities remained unchanged.

Raven’s genetic-copying ability failed to reproduce Solomon’s locked genes, while Solomon assured her she could still become one of The Seven by copying other Mutants. Erik left to prepare for his experiment, and Hank asked Raven for blood samples to help develop a drug that could stabilize Mutants’ appearances.

• Raven transformed into Solomon but failed to copy his genes or abilities because his Biological Immortality +2 prevented genetic alteration.
• Solomon explained that Raven’s ability could not copy him, leaving Raven disappointed and Erik shaken by the gap between their powers.
• Solomon encouraged Raven to copy other Mutants and said she could eventually join The Seven, restoring her excitement and ambition.
• Erik agreed to undergo the next experiment and left for the laboratory to prepare.
• Hank asked Raven for blood samples so he could research a drug to help Mutants control and stabilize their physical forms, and Raven agreed to provide them after the experiments.

Erik underwent Compound V transformation, gaining stronger magnetic powers and greatly enhanced physical abilities. Solomon secretly tested his control over Erik, who sensed it and turned a wary gaze toward him.

• Researchers evacuated as Erik received Compound V, and his uncontrolled magnetic field sent metal objects flying around the laboratory.
• Solomon used his mental power to immobilize the metal, startling Hank and Raven, then kept the objects still as Erik’s energy grew to level 5.
• Erik completed his transformation, broke his restraints, buckled the alloy bed, and shattered a scalpel against his unharmed arm.
• Researchers began testing Erik while Solomon briefly restrained him with psychic power and received confirmation that he had defeated Erik.
• Erik detected Solomon’s control and stared at him through the observation window, while Solomon calculated that Erik’s strength and defense had risen to level 4.

Erik thanked Solomon for transforming him with Compound V and agreed to train at Vought before confronting Shaw. Meanwhile, Shaw learned about Compound V and ordered Emma Frost to steal a dose from Vought.

• Erik thanked Solomon for the experiment after his new strength destroyed the laboratory's impact-testing device.
• Solomon told Erik to train with Raven, delay his revenge against Shaw, and ask Charles to arrange Alex Summers's release from Smith Prison.
• Solomon considered recruiting Darwin, Wolverine, and Quicksilver, then left the Observation Room.
• The White Queen reported to Shaw that Vought's Compound V had greatly enhanced Erik and other mutants.
• Shaw rejected Azazel's plan to raid Vought and ordered Emma Frost to steal Compound V, with the experimental data as a secondary target.

Emma Frost infiltrated Vought Tower and stole Compound V, but Solomon caught her and trapped her astral form in a Mind Stone Prison. She ended the chapter imprisoned in his mental domain, believing she was about to die.

• Shaw sent Emma Frost and Azazel to steal Compound V while he continued absorbing nuclear energy aboard the submarine.
• Emma Frost used her psychic powers to enter Vought Tower through employees and eventually took control of a core researcher on the forty-fifth floor.
• Emma Frost stole the laboratory's row of Compound V vials and headed toward a restroom to contact Azazel.
• Solomon appeared in the corridor and forcibly dragged Emma Frost's consciousness into a conference room inside a Mind Stone Prison.
• Emma Frost realized her astral form was trapped and failed to break free, fearing that its destruction would kill her.

Solomon tried to recruit Emma Frost from the Hellfire Club to Vought, arguing that Shaw used her while Vought would let her choose her own role. Emma remained loyal to Shaw despite recognizing the danger of his ambitions, and Solomon left her free to consider his offer.

• Solomon invited Emma Frost to sit and explained that Vought could offer her a place among its elite after genetic enhancement.
• Emma described how Shaw had rescued her from abuse and given her a sense of purpose as a mutant.
• Solomon argued that Shaw treated Emma as a tool for his ambitions, while Vought would welcome her and let her choose whether to recruit mutants or develop her powers.
• Emma questioned whether Vought would simply use her too, and Solomon contrasted Vought's safe haven with Shaw's willingness to destroy the world for power.
• Emma wrestled with her gratitude and loyalty to Shaw, then prepared to refuse Solomon's offer.
• Solomon stopped Emma and told her she did not need to answer immediately because he had only wanted to talk.

Emma Frost and Azazel stole Compound V from Vought and brought it back to Shaw aboard the nuclear submarine. Warned that the injection could unleash his stored nuclear energy, Shaw teleported to a remote ice field to inject it alone.

• Solomon freed Emma Frost from the mental realm, warned her that Compound V could make Shaw's powers spiral out of control, and offered her a way out if Shaw fell.
• Emma Frost used the researcher's body to pass Compound V to Azazel, then erased the researcher's memories of the theft.
• Azazel teleported Emma Frost and the doses back to the nuclear submarine, where they found Shaw in the reactor compartment.
• Shaw examined the Compound V and prepared to inject it, but Emma Frost warned him about the dangers of the gene fusion process.
• Shaw had Azazel teleport him to an uninhabited ice field a hundred kilometers away and told him to return in two hours.

Shaw injected Compound V in a hidden ice cave and endured a violent surge of nuclear energy before emerging stronger. He demanded another vial for himself, leaving Azazel, Emma Frost, and Riptide to confront the likelihood that Shaw would claim the remaining supply and the resentment it caused.

• Shaw carved a concealed cave into solid ice and injected an entire syringe of Compound V, unleashing nuclear energy that melted the surrounding ice.
• After two hours, Azazel teleported to the ice field and found Shaw standing on a block of ice amid a vast expanse of meltwater.
• Shaw told Azazel to return to the Nuclear Submarine and bring him another vial of Compound V, and Azazel reluctantly agreed.
• Back in the submarine, Emma Frost explained to Azazel and Riptide that Shaw would keep taking Compound V to strengthen himself for his plans.
• Azazel took a vial and syringe back to Shaw, while Emma Frost and Riptide remained in the compartment with their hopes and frustrations unspoken.

After Compound V greatly amplified Shaw’s powers, a psychic blast struck the nuclear submarine and left Azazel helpless while Shaw protected himself. Far away, a catastrophic storm formed around a mysterious figure floating untouched at its center.

• Shaw discovered that his first dose of Compound V had dramatically increased his strength, speed, energy absorption, and blast power, though a second dose had no effect.
• Shaw gave the remaining doses to Emma Frost, Riptide, and Janus, and sent Azazel to take them somewhere safe before injecting himself.
• After returning to the submarine, Azazel and Shaw were hit by a powerful psychic blast; Shaw stopped absorbing nuclear energy and put on a telepathy-blocking helmet.
• Shaw ordered Azazel to leave, but the psychic attack left him unable to teleport, so Shaw sat down and drank wine rather than help him.
• A storm hundreds of meters tall formed on an ice field, grew into a kilometer-wide column, and drew seawater into the sky around a figure floating untouched at its center.

Janus mastered his new wind powers, compressing and controlling tornadoes before flying back to the Nuclear Submarine. Azazel and the White Queen found him there, and Janus demonstrated how he had returned.

• Janus compressed a massive tornado into his palm, created and merged two more, then collapsed the resulting storm.
• Janus formed a cyclone beneath his feet and flew away at increasing speed.
• Azazel arrived at the devastated sea, found Janus gone, and teleported to retrieve the White Queen.
• The White Queen used her enhanced Telepathy to locate Janus in the submarine, and Azazel teleported them there.
• Azazel found Janus calmly drinking wine, and Janus showed them the miniature cyclone he had used to fly back.

After seeing Janus and the White Queen's enhanced abilities, Azazel injected Compound V and endured an hour of uncontrolled teleportation before gaining greatly increased strength, durability, and senses. He came to in an unfamiliar conference room and froze when he saw a figure standing by the window.

• Shaw asked the White Queen and Janus about their improvements, and they described their enhanced powers and physical abilities.
• Azazel teleported to a distant ice field and injected his dose of Compound V.
• Azazel lost control of his spatial powers, teleporting chaotically through places from his memories and briefly reappearing in the submarine.
• After more than an hour, Azazel's teleportation stopped, and he discovered his body and senses had been greatly enhanced.
• Azazel examined the unfamiliar conference room and saw a figure standing with their back to him at the window.