Chapter Summaries

Soldier Boy and Homelander learned that Ambrosius’s unusually intelligent octopus family preserved memories, including knowledge of Super Fish, and that Kailong had a powerful, missing cousin named Kane. Homelander searched the ocean for Kailong but found nothing within 100 kilometers or at depths shallower than 500 meters, then returned to report his failure.

• Soldier Boy questioned Homelander about The Deep’s half-fish, half-human offspring while The Deep beat Ambrosius until she agreed to talk.
• The Deep told Soldier Boy and Homelander that Ambrosius’s family passed memories down through generations and that their records included information about Super Fish.
• The Deep revealed that Kailong had a stronger cousin named Kane, who could regenerate a lost tentacle within a minute and had been missing for a long time.
• Soldier Boy sent Homelander to capture Kailong and learn more about the Super Fish and Ambrosius’s family.
• Homelander searched the ocean with his vision but could see only 500 meters deep and found no trace of Kailong within 100 kilometers.
• Homelander returned after his search failed.

Homelander and Soldier Boy waited for Kailong, while The Deep tried to lure him out by threatening Ambrosius. As the two heroes watched from the sky, The Deep began removing his suit, leaving them stunned.

• Homelander explained that seawater limited his vision, then admitted he had only memorized physics to explain his powers to fans.
• The Deep proposed using Ambrosius as bait, and Homelander and Soldier Boy flew into the sky to watch.
• The Deep carried Ambrosius to the shore, called sea creatures over, and beat her while demanding that they tell Kailong to come.
• After Kailong failed to appear, Homelander prepared to pressure The Deep, but stopped when he saw The Deep taking off his suit.

Homelander and Soldier Boy watched The Deep’s bizarre behavior until Kailong appeared and killed a cheering white dolphin. As Homelander and Soldier Boy approached, Kailong turned on Ambrosius and ate her, leaving Homelander to realize what was happening.

• Homelander and Soldier Boy recoiled from The Deep’s public behavior while sea creatures gathered around him.
• Kailong arrived and tore the white dolphin in half after it praised The Deep.
• The Deep fled to shore as Ambrosius sought refuge in Kailong’s tentacles and urged him to escape Homelander and Soldier Boy.
• Kailong asked Ambrosius about his superpower, then began eating her tentacle despite her desperate protests.
• Homelander used X-Ray Vision and realized Kailong was eating Ambrosius, The Deep’s girlfriend.

Homelander and Soldier Boy tried to stop Kailong from devouring Ambrosius, but Kailong acted with strange calm and attacked The Deep when he approached. After Kailong said his plan had finally worked and The Deep sensed his consciousness vanish, Homelander and Soldier Boy waited as a major transformation began.

• Soldier Boy struck Kailong and Homelander hurled him into the air, but Kailong kept eating Ambrosius.
• Homelander questioned Kailong and threatened to tear off his tentacles, while Kailong ignored him and licked Ambrosius's blood from them.
• Soldier Boy told Homelander to bring Kailong down, where The Deep rushed to embrace him and Kailong crushed several of The Deep's ribs.
• Homelander severed Kailong's tentacle with Heat Vision before it could kill The Deep.
• Kailong laughed that his plan had finally worked, and The Deep sensed his consciousness disappear as Homelander and Soldier Boy watched a transformation begin.

Kailong transformed into a half-intangible creature, causing Homelander’s Heat Vision and Soldier Boy’s charge to pass through him. Homelander kept attacking from the air, but his beams still could not hit Kailong.

• Kailong’s body began to writhe and glow as he laughed, and The Deep warned Homelander and Soldier Boy about the change.
• Homelander fired Heat Vision at Kailong, but Kailong blurred into a half-intangible state and the beams melted the concrete behind him.
• Homelander explained that his X-Ray Vision had shown Kailong’s body disappearing after he ate Ambrosius.
• Soldier Boy charged Kailong, passed straight through him, and slid across the concrete until he managed to stop.
• Homelander circled Kailong and repeatedly swept him with Heat Vision, raising the air temperature as Soldier Boy watched.

Kailong recovered from Homelander’s Heat Rays and revealed that he could speak, while Soldier Boy and Homelander tried to understand his strange, intangible state. The chapter ended with Soldier Boy deducing that Kailong’s kind had superpowers and that more Super Fish might live in the ocean.

• The Deep fled the intense heat and watched from a distance as Homelander’s Heat Rays failed to harm Kailong.
• Kailong opened his eyes, spoke fluent English, and mocked Homelander for attacking him despite the obvious futility.
• Homelander scanned Kailong with his X-Ray Vision and found that he looked like a cloud of smoke, while Soldier Boy reassured him with a pat on the shoulder.
• Soldier Boy probed Kailong about his ability, and Kailong sarcastically confirmed it was a superpower.
• Kailong let slip that he had companions in the ocean, prompting Soldier Boy and Homelander to notice his body grow more substantial and exchange meaningful looks.

Soldier Boy and Homelander mocked Kailong while trying to understand why his body kept shifting between intangible and solid. Soldier Boy used their taunts to make Kailong solidify, then blasted him with his chest energy, leaving Kailong disintegrating and desperate to survive.

• Soldier Boy suggested trapping Kailong in plastic wrap or setting him on fire, and Homelander agreed to try the plan.
• Kailong grew angrier as Soldier Boy proposed using a fan and continued taunting him.
• Soldier Boy and Homelander noticed that Kailong's body became more solid as his anger rose.
• Soldier Boy pretended to suggest mixing Kailong with biogas, then turned and unleashed the energy in his chest.
• Soldier Boy's blast shattered Kailong's body and devastated the surrounding trees, ground, and ocean as Kailong inwardly pleaded not to die.

Soldier Boy and Homelander discovered that Kailong had survived the Nuclear Chest Blast by becoming intangible, though the attack had left it drastically shrunken. Soldier Boy recognized Kailong as a growing threat and prepared to deal with it.

• Kailong regained Intangibility and survived Soldier Boy's two-and-a-half-minute Nuclear Chest Blast, while Soldier Boy exhausted himself.
• Homelander and The Deep saw the devastation across the shoreline, and Homelander helped Soldier Boy stand.
• Homelander spotted a fist-sized Kailong in the crater, and Soldier Boy learned that it could still turn intangible.
• Kailong admitted that Soldier Boy had outsmarted it and said it would be more cautious around humans.
• Soldier Boy decided Kailong could become a future threat and told it to stop talking.

Kailong explained that its power let it consume living beings to gain their abilities and memories, revealing that it had eaten its cousin Ambrosius to acquire intangibility. It blamed Soldier Boy and Homelander for leaving it no choice, but Soldier Boy interrupted its outburst to go to the bathroom.

• Kailong evaded Homelander and Soldier Boy as it climbed out of the crater, while Soldier Boy mocked it over its severed tentacle.
• Soldier Boy agreed to let Kailong explain itself after Homelander teased it for struggling to keep its temper.
• Kailong revealed that its Consumption power let it eat living beings and gain their abilities and memories.
• Kailong said it had eaten its cousin Ambrosius, betting that her power would help it defeat Homelander and Soldier Boy.
• Kailong insisted that it had been forced to eat its closest family, and Soldier Boy stopped its agitated speech to go to the bathroom.

Soldier Boy saw through Kailong’s threat to devour the Super Fish, concluding that Kailong wanted him and Homelander to kill them so it could eat their bodies. He called for The Deep to have the fish follow Kailong and keep it from feeding.

• Soldier Boy mocked Kailong as it described eating its cousin to gain power and protect itself.
• Soldier Boy and Homelander resolved that Kailong’s potential made it too dangerous to leave alive.
• Kailong threatened to devour all the Super Fish and crawled toward the ocean.
• Soldier Boy questioned whether Kailong could devour other Super Fish and accused it of trying to manipulate them into killing the fish for it.
• Soldier Boy told Homelander to summon The Deep and have him command the fish to follow Kailong and prevent it from eating.

The Deep expected his injuries to earn him a return to Vought, but Homelander arrived and stopped the medics from taking him away for a mission. Homelander praised Soldier Boy’s crater-making power, leaving him proud of his father and their growing bond.

• The Deep waited for an ambulance after Kailong badly injured him, imagining that his injuries would help him return to Vought headquarters.
• The medics assessed The Deep’s facial injuries and broken ribs, then suspected brain damage when he smiled and planned to send him for a neurosurgical examination.
• Homelander landed beside the ambulance and told the medical staff that The Deep had to stay for a task.
• Homelander explained that Soldier Boy had created the enormous crater, prompting the medical staff to praise Soldier Boy’s power.
• Homelander felt proud as people admired Soldier Boy and reflected on his growing trust in his father.

Homelander enjoyed the medical staff’s praise before Soldier Boy hurried him to get The Deep out of the ambulance. When Homelander explained why he would not imitate Soldier Boy’s aggressive methods, Soldier Boy approved of him developing principles of his own.

• Homelander accepted praise and autographs from the medical staff while Soldier Boy urged him to bring The Deep over.
• Homelander asked the staff to carry The Deep out, but a doctor insisted that The Deep needed urgent treatment.
• Soldier Boy grabbed the doctor by the collar, dismissed his concerns, and ordered the staff to take The Deep out.
• Homelander reflected on Soldier Boy’s forceful approach but said he could not imitate it because he cared about Vought’s public image.
• Soldier Boy praised Homelander for having principles, and Homelander smiled brightly.

Homelander and Soldier Boy persuaded the badly injured The Deep to help them deal with Kailong by promising he might return to The Seven. The Deep agreed, and the group prepared to approach Kailong.

• The medical workers carried The Deep off the ambulance on Soldier Boy's orders, and he angrily berated a nurse after falling from his stretcher.
• Homelander explained that Private Angel could heal The Deep at Vought Headquarters and offered him a chance to return to The Seven if he performed well.
• The Deep eagerly accepted Homelander's mission and promised to keep Kailong from interfering.
• A nurse told Soldier Boy that his ninety-year-old grandmother wanted him to sign her underwear because she hoped to marry him, and Soldier Boy refused.
• Soldier Boy dismissed the medical workers and joined Homelander and The Deep as they prepared to meet Kailong.

Soldier Boy ordered The Deep to gather sea creatures to surround Kailong, who offered to reveal the truth about the Super Fish in exchange for a chance to survive. The chapter ended with Kailong proposing a blood pact to guarantee Soldier Boy’s promise.

• A middle-aged nurse asked Soldier Boy to call him his grandson, but Soldier Boy kicked him away, and Homelander teased Soldier Boy about his elderly fans.
• Soldier Boy told The Deep to ready sea creatures to surround Kailong, while Homelander noted that The Deep feared him.
• Soldier Boy asked Homelander whether his powers had changed since receiving the Original Compound, and Homelander said he still felt in peak condition.
• Soldier Boy confronted Kailong, who admitted that devouring humans had given him human intelligence and speech.
• Kailong offered to reveal everything about the Super Fish if Soldier Boy let The Deep leave him some small fish and shrimp to eat.
• Kailong rejected a pinky swear and proposed a blood pact based on the power of a Super Fish called Contract.

Soldier Boy agreed to Kailong’s blood pact, which would make the ocean hunt him, and Kailong warned that ancient sea monsters—not merely ordinary marine life—would pursue him. The warning about legends of world-ending floods left Homelander and Soldier Boy questioning whether those disasters were connected to the ocean’s power.

• Soldier Boy hid his excitement about Kailong’s demand and agreed to the pact, while Kailong and Homelander saw through his act.
• Homelander used his heat vision to pierce Soldier Boy’s palm, and Soldier Boy and Kailong mingled their blood on a broken rock.
• Kailong performed a ritual that sent a veil formed from their blood into the ocean, sealing the pact.
• Soldier Boy asked whether Vought had any supes who could become intangible, and Homelander said he knew of none.
• Kailong clarified that the ocean’s hunt would include Super Fish and ancient sea monsters, then asked why many human countries had legends of a world-ending flood.
• Homelander asked whether the floods were connected to the ocean’s hunt, as Soldier Boy considered the possibility.

Kailong told Homelander and Soldier Boy that Compound V’s original formula was based on a Super Catfish, and that ancient Super Fish once ruled the oceans and parts of the land. He ended by asking why they had vanished, leaving their fate unexplained.

• Kailong explained that his octopus lineage had survived for hundreds of millions of years and preserved knowledge of Earth’s past.
• Kailong said Vought founder Vogt had dissected a Super Catfish and used its biological fluids as the blueprint for V1.
• Homelander called Ashley and ordered her to search Vought’s archives for records on Original Compound V and Vogt.
• Kailong said Vought continued refining Compound V from Super Fish after creating the first formula.
• Soldier Boy asked where the Super Fish came from, but Kailong admitted he did not know.
• Kailong revealed that the first generation of Super Fish had once dominated the oceans and occupied much of the land, then asked why they had disappeared.

Kailong explained that the first generation of Super Fish had vanished after a mysterious disaster from beyond, described in an old saying about the sun being swallowed and visitors arriving. He revealed that Homelander’s uncontrolled Heat Vision may have drawn attention from beyond Earth, leaving Homelander and Soldier Boy alarmed by what might come next.

• Kailong told Soldier Boy that the first generation of Super Fish bred only with others who had superpowers and once grew numerous enough to rival ordinary fish.
• Kailong recited his clan’s account of the Super Fish’s destruction: the Sea Clan ruled the cosmos until the great sun was swallowed and visitors came from beyond.
• Kailong admitted he did not know what the saying meant, but hearing it made him feel terrified and compelled to flee.
• Soldier Boy connected the disaster from beyond to Homelander’s weakening powers and asked whether it was also related to Kailong’s claim that Homelander had caused a huge disaster.
• Kailong blamed Homelander’s uncontrolled Heat Vision, explaining that it had streamed through space for ten minutes and extended more than a hundred million kilometers.
• Soldier Boy realized the immense red beams might have attracted attention from beyond Earth.

Soldier Boy concluded that the Super Fish’s inherited fear of exposing themselves came from an ancient massacre caused by a similar incident to Homelander’s V1 injection. As Soldier Boy worried that the Visitors from Beyond were real, Ashley called Homelander with a file about the Original Compound.

• Kailong said Homelander’s Heat Vision might attract the Visitors from Beyond and explained that Super Fish feared exposing themselves.
• Soldier Boy insisted the Visitors from Beyond were real, and Homelander said he had felt something watching him when he injected V1.
• Soldier Boy connected the Super Fish’s fear to an inherited instinct passed down from an ancient massacre triggered by exposure.
• Kailong admitted the Sea Clan’s maxim was true and that Super Fish stayed hidden because they feared revealing themselves.
• Homelander brushed off the threat and said he and Soldier Boy could face it together.
• Ashley called Homelander and said she had found a file containing records of the Original Compound.

Homelander and Ashley discovered that Super Fish had provided the prototype for the Original Compound, and they discussed capturing some for Vought’s research. Ashley then found what might be Vogt’s diary and began reading entries about his experiments and Clara’s killings of enslaved people.

• Ashley told Homelander that the Original Compound’s prototype came from extracts taken from Super Fish, and she proposed capturing some for research.
• Homelander agreed to bring back Super Fish for Ashley, while Soldier Boy urged him to ask whether the files contained anything else.
• Kailong protested that Homelander and Soldier Boy were discussing capturing his companions, and Soldier Boy provoked him while Homelander kept their argument from escalating.
• Ashley found a notebook bearing Vogt’s name and read diary entries about Clara killing enslaved people and Vogt struggling with failed Compound V experiments.

Soldier Boy and Homelander learned from Vogt’s diary that Stormfront had helped procure Black slaves for experiments and that Vogt developed Compound V from a Super Catfish. Homelander realized he might know where the Super Fish were hiding.

• Homelander and Kailong laughed as Ashley noticed the diary described slaves despite the slave trade having ended.
• Soldier Boy confirmed that the diary was mostly true, explained that Clara was Stormfront, and said she had devised the charity scheme used to obtain slaves for experiments.
• Homelander told Soldier Boy that Stormfront had urged him to fund a homeless shelter on an island, but he had refused.
• Ashley found stuck pages recording Vogt’s capture of a Super Catfish and its role in advancing Compound V.
• Soldier Boy accepted that Kailong’s claims were true and worried that breaking their contract could bring the ocean’s pursuit upon him.
• Homelander realized he might know where the Super Fish were hiding.