Chapter Summaries

Luke met Zheng Xian, Director of the God Spear Bureau, and wondered why he had come to Paris beyond attending the Peace Summit. At the banquet, Zheng Xian revealed that five traitors had emerged within the God Spear Bureau.

• Luke warned Howard to be polite to Zheng Xian and discouraged him from visiting Paris’s red-light district by telling him about the risk of disease.
• At the Royal Palace Hotel banquet, Howard became captivated by the dancers while Luke went to speak with Zheng Xian.
• Luke and Zheng Xian discussed food and the God Spear Bureau’s reasons for attending the Peace Summit.
• Zheng Xian told Luke that five traitors had emerged within the God Spear Bureau.

Luke learned that five former God Spear Bureau associates had stolen a treasure and resurfaced after worshipping an evil god, and Zheng Xian enlisted S.H.I.E.L.D. to find them. The two drank through the night, and Zheng Xian woke with a hangover and regrets about his Parisian encounter.

• Luke was surprised to hear Zheng Xian explain that five former associates had stolen a precious treasure, fled, and later caused trouble in Southeast Asia by worshipping an evil god.
• Luke inferred that the five were the founders of The Hand, who had stolen the Dragon Bone and sought vessels for the dimensional beast known as the Black Sky.
• Zheng Xian asked S.H.I.E.L.D. to help find the five, and Luke agreed after insisting they drink together first.
• Luke, Zheng Xian, and the Soviet delegation turned the banquet into a vodka-drinking contest, and everyone except Luke eventually collapsed or became drunk.
• The next morning, Howard described spending the night with twin dancers, while Zheng Xian arrived hungover and regretted waking beside a foreign woman.
• Luke teased Zheng Xian about his Parisian encounter, and Zheng Xian declined Howard's invitation to visit the Moulin Rouge.

At the Versailles Peace Summit, Luke delivered an opening speech as humanity and Atlantis prepared to formalize relations. In London, Mister Sinister and Selene watched Superman on television and weighed the danger he posed to their plans, while Selene admitted her desire for him.

• Luke and Howard discussed the summit, Howard’s exhaustion, and his wish to improve his vitality through fitness or pharmaceuticals.
• Atlantean Legion Commanders from the Hammerhead Shark, Orca Tribe, and Seahorse Tribe arrived to negotiate peace and propose stripping Namor of his kingship.
• Human and Atlantean representatives reviewed their previously negotiated agreement, and Luke gave a speech calling for dialogue and reconciliation.
• Mister Sinister and Selene watched Luke’s televised speech and discussed his strength, his interest in Mutants, and whether he might disrupt their plans.
• Mister Sinister said he preferred peaceful noninterference with Superman, while Selene confessed she wanted to swallow him whole.

The Black Queen planned to seduce Superman and absorb his soul to advance her ambition of becoming a Dimensional Demon God, while Mister Sinister pursued his own scheme to steal Apocalypse’s power through genetic research. At the Versailles Peace Summit, Luke prepared Howard to negotiate for Atlantis’s technology, leaving Howard ready to press the defeated Atlanteans for valuable concessions.

• The Black Queen dismissed Mister Sinister’s warning and decided Superman’s soul could help her become a Dimensional Demon God.
• Mister Sinister revealed his plan to decipher Mutant genes and become a Mutant God, while Selene pointed out that S.H.I.E.L.D. was already building a Mutant gene bank.
• Mister Sinister encouraged Selene to approach Luke in Paris after the Peace Summit, and she agreed the visit was worthwhile.
• Luke returned to his seat at Versailles, felt a chill without knowing Selene was thinking about him, and traded barbs with Howard about war and pacifism.
• Luke asked Howard to prepare for Atlantis’s technology-sharing segment, and Howard listed three technologies relevant to developing Powered Armor.
• Howard took his seat, ready to use his negotiating skills to secure Atlantis’s technology for the Land World.

After securing technology from Atlantis, Howard left the negotiations early and went out to explore Paris nightlife. At the Moulin Rouge, he spotted a mysterious woman in black and abandoned his would-be guide to approach her.

• Howard told Luke that he had obtained the technology he wanted from Atlantis and asked to leave the remaining proceedings.
• Luke reminded Howard that he needed to chair the Mutants meeting and warned him not to catch anything while out having fun.
• Howard returned to the Royal Palace Hotel, rested, and later headed for the Moulin Rouge to experience Paris nightlife.
• A man in a flat cap offered Howard illicit films and a guide, and Howard paid him to deliver a copy to Room No. 1024.
• Howard noticed a tall, alluring woman dressed in black, called her a dire omen, and set off on his own to pursue her.

Howard met a woman calling herself Lania at the Moulin Rouge and went with her to a hotel, unaware that she might be a Vampire. Luke tracked him down, noticed Lania’s abnormal heartbeat, and returned with fruit to watch rather than intervene.

• Howard approached Lania at the Moulin Rouge, charmed her with talk of interesting souls, and introduced himself as a tobacco merchant.
• Lania suggested they go to a nearby hotel, and Howard accepted her invitation.
• Luke returned to his hotel, collected pornographic film reels from a dealer, and learned that Howard had left the Moulin Rouge with a woman.
• Luke worried that Paris’s Vampires might endanger Howard and flew to the Moulin Rouge to search for him.
• Luke found Howard lying in a hotel bed while Lania showered, noticed her unusually slow heartbeat, and flew back to fetch fruit before settling in to watch.

Howard’s hotel-room tryst with Lania turned into a deadly encounter when she revealed herself as a flesh-eating Vampire. Luke rescued Howard by killing her, leaving Howard traumatized by the sight.

• Howard entered the bathroom expecting to join Lania and found her eating a human arm.
• Lania grabbed Howard as he tried to escape, and he called for Luke to save him.
• Luke crashed through the ceiling and questioned Lania about her Vampire family and unauthorized hunting.
• When Lania attacked, Luke crushed her with a powerful blow while Howard closed his eyes.
• Howard looked at the remains despite Luke’s warning and vomited, then swore never to go out at night again.

Luke explained the hidden supernatural world and the history of Vampires to Howard after rescuing him from Lania. He revealed that the Vampires created the Death Walkers, then addressed a woman who had been hiding outside.

• Howard returned to his hotel room shaken by his encounter with Lania, while Luke ate dinner and teased him about the experience.
• Luke told Howard that Lania was a Vampire and explained that the Three Sanctuaries and sorcerers kept Vampires, Werewolves, and other supernatural beings from disturbing the mortal world.
• After Howard recovered from the revelations, Luke described Dracula as the first Vampire and explained how his descendants became weaker and divided into different factions.
• Luke recounted how Hydra experimented on Alexander Corvinus, whose sons William and Marcus became the ancestors of the Werewolves and Vampires.
• Luke said the Vampires allied with human aristocrats and formed the Death Walkers, then called out to the woman hiding outside.

Luke confronted Serena, a Vampire Death Walker, over Howard's attack by Lania and demanded her family account for the incident. He invoked his connection to their ancestor, Lieutenant General Corvinus, leaving Serena stunned.

• Luke detected Serena clinging to the outside of the twenty-second-floor window and cut an opening in the glass with Heat Vision.
• Serena entered the hotel room and explained that she had tracked the scent of Luke's friend while investigating an explosion near the Moulin Rouge.
• Luke told Serena that Howard had been attacked by Lania and demanded an explanation from her Vampire family.
• Serena said Lania did not belong to her family, but Luke insisted that the family was responsible because the attack happened in its territory.
• Serena reached under her coat as the argument grew tense, and Luke warned her against escalating the confrontation.
• Luke said he had spared the family because he had a colleague's relationship with their ancestor, Lieutenant General Corvinus, leaving Serena stunned.

Luke told Serena and Howard that Alexander Corvinus was the immortal ancestor of both Vampires and Werewolves, and that he had secretly kept evidence of their existence from the human world. He revealed that the Werewolves were cooperating with humans and sent Serena to question her elders, leaving her suspicious that her family had concealed the truth.

• Serena asked who Alexander Corvinus was, and Luke explained that he was the first immortal and the father of Marcus and William.
• Luke described how Hydra experimented on Alexander after he survived the Black Death, creating a being with Vampire and Werewolf abilities.
• Luke said Alexander had secretly erased evidence of Vampires and Werewolves and covered up scandals caused by Vampires such as Kraven.
• Serena realized her family had benefited from Alexander's protection and wondered whether her elders knew about him.
• Luke explained that Lucian had led the Werewolves to cooperate with humans and infiltrate their institutions.
• Luke told Serena to ask her elders about Alexander Corvinus and demand an explanation before dismissing her.

After hearing Luke’s account of Vampire and Werewolf history, Serena searched the underground library for evidence about Alexander Corvinus and demanded to speak with Elder Amelia. She left Kraven’s study determined to uncover whether the shared ancestry could end the war.

• Serena left the Superman Lieutenant General and hurried through the rain to Kraven’s estate, intending to check the historical records.
• Serena ignored the revelers, found Kraven in his study, and took the key to the underground library.
• Kraven learned Serena had visited the Royal Palace Hotel and grew jealous, but Serena returned with an old book about Marcus and William.
• Serena told Kraven that Alexander Corvinus’s history might end the war between Vampires and Werewolves, but Kraven dismissed the claim as a lie.
• After learning Elder Amelia had arrived, Serena left Kraven and went to find her or Victor.

Serena questioned Elder Amelia about Alexander Corvinus and the Vampires’ origins, but Amelia denied the family history and promised Victor would answer her after he awakened. Meanwhile, Luke began his day in Paris as Howard asked to join the Vampire investigation, and Howard suspected Luke had another reason for helping Serena.

• Amelia told Serena that Marcus was the family’s first member, dismissed Tallis’s account of Alexander Corvinus, and said Victor would answer Serena’s questions after he awakened.
• Kraven mocked Serena’s belief in Victor and privately recalled that Victor had killed Serena’s family, sparing her because she resembled his dead daughter.
• Luke woke in Paris after rescuing Howard from the Moulin Rouge and reflected on the previous night’s events.
• Howard reminded Luke of their noon Peace Summit meeting and asked to join the Vampire follow-up afterward.
• Luke warned Howard about Vampire bloodlust and denied having improper relationships with Vampires.
• Howard argued that Luke’s history lesson to Serena suggested he either fancied her or had another plan.

Luke explained that Alexander Corvinus’s blood might enable genetic compatibility and planned to investigate the Corvinus family’s descendants with Howard. After Howard agreed to enter the supernatural world, the two traveled through Paris’s sewers to meet the Werewolves.

• Luke told Howard that Alexander Corvinus’s blood might explain how his sons became the progenitors of Vampires and Werewolves.
• Howard realized Corvinus blood might allow Mutant genes or useful animal traits to be transferred to ordinary people.
• Luke proposed speaking with Lieutenant General Corvinus and finding descendants of his uncontaminated third son as a source for compatible blood.
• Luke asked whether Howard was willing to enter the dark world and meet the Werewolves, and Howard agreed.
• Luke and Howard crawled through the Paris sewers, where Howard eagerly anticipated encountering Werewolves.

Luke and Howard found a Werewolf den in the Paris sewers, where Luke sought to make a deal with Lucian. After a Werewolf attacked him, Luke tore the creature apart in front of the pack.

• Luke explained to Howard why the Werewolves hid in the sewers and said he wanted to meet Lucian before Alexander Corvinus arrived.
• Luke used his senses to locate a Werewolf gathering near the Champs-Élysées, where the pack watched Taylor and Pierce fight for sport.
• Luke asked the Werewolves to lead him to Lucian, but Taylor charged at him and Pierce tried to stop him.
• Luke's aura made Taylor recoil, then Luke used his Bio-Force Field and strength to tear the Werewolf apart.

Luke forced the Werewolves to reveal Lucian, then offered the Wolf King a chance to take revenge on Victor in exchange for cooperation. Lucian, shaken by Luke’s knowledge of his secrets, asked what he would need to do.

• Luke tore Taylor apart, frightening the other Werewolves into backing away without attacking him.
• Luke asked the Werewolves where Lucian was, and Lucian emerged from the darkness.
• Luke told Lucian he wanted to discuss Alexander Corvinus and the hybrids, and revealed the truth about Lucian’s dead lover Sonia and their unborn child.
• Luke exposed Lucian’s secret dealings with Kraven and his search for Alexander Corvinus’s third bloodline, then offered to help him get revenge on Victor.
• Lucian questioned whether he could trust a human, then asked Luke what he wanted him to do.
• Luke said Lucian would reveal a truth and witness a revenge.

Amelia awakened Victor as the Vampire family prepared for his return, while Lucian manipulated Kraven into helping him attack the manor. Lucian killed Kraven and presented his corpse to Serena and Luke as proof of the truth about her parents.

• Amelia performed the blood ritual that began Victor's awakening and noticed that Serena and Kraven were missing.
• Lucian told Kraven that humans had discovered the Vampires and Werewolves, then urged him to help attack the manor while Victor was vulnerable.
• Kraven refused at first, but Lucian explained that Victor could uncover his aid to the Werewolves and proposed recruiting Serena with proof of her parents' deaths.
• Lucian pinned Kraven down and snapped his neck, revealing that he had found a stronger partner.
• Lucian brought Kraven's corpse to Luke and Serena, and Luke invited Serena to drink its blood to verify the truth.

After learning that Victor had killed her parents and framed the Werewolves, Serena confronted him in the Vampire manor and tried to kill him. As Victor prepared to strike her down, Luke arrived with Lucian and offered Serena a deal to help her take revenge.

• Lucian told Serena that Victor had killed her parents, and Serena ran to the Vampire manor to confront him.
• Serena entered the underground palace and shot at Victor, but he dodged and seized her by the throat.
• Serena accused Victor of killing her parents and Sonia, then wounded him with a silver bullet when his grip briefly loosened.
• Victor recovered his strength, explained that he had deceived Serena, and prepared to kill her as Lucian's enemy.
• Luke arrived with Lucian and asked Serena what price she would pay to kill Victor.

Luke and Lucian stormed the Corvinus Vampire family’s manor, where Lucian fought Elder Amelia until Luke overwhelmed the Vampires with his heat vision and speed. Luke captured Amelia and led Lucian toward the underground palace to confront Victor.

• A Vampire left the surveillance room to prey on Luke and Lucian, but Lucian killed him outside the manor gates.
• Lucian stormed the manor and slaughtered young Vampires before Elder Amelia and the Death Walkers confronted him.
• Amelia wounded Lucian with a silver sword, and the Death Walkers pinned him down with gunfire.
• Luke cut through the attackers with heat vision, then caught Amelia as she tried to escape and burned off her bat wings.
• Luke captured Amelia and headed with Lucian toward the underground palace to meet Victor.

Serena agreed to give everything in exchange for a chance to avenge her parents, while Lucian challenged Victor to a fight. As Lucian battled the Vampire High Lord, Luke offered Serena freedom and urged her to take control of the Corvinus family.

• Serena accepted Luke's deal, committing herself to revenge against Victor.
• Lucian confronted Victor, and the two transformed fighters began a brutal battle while Luke let Lucian seek revenge himself.
• Victor gained the advantage over Lucian, who continued fighting despite being badly wounded.
• Luke asked Serena to become a family Elder, arguing that Victor would die, Amelia had been weakened, and Marcus would ruin the Corvinus family.
• Luke promised Serena freedom from the restrictions facing Vampires in exchange for her loyalty and encouraged her to leave Paris with him.

Luke offered Serena freedom in exchange for her loyalty, then intervened when Victor defeated Lucian. After revealing his overwhelming power, Luke killed Victor with heat vision and left Serena to consider the deal.

• Serena considered Luke’s offer of freedom in exchange for her loyalty and said she wanted to leave Paris.
• Victor overwhelmed Lucian, who tore off one of Victor’s bat wings before Victor slashed his neck and brought him down.
• Luke warned Victor that Lucian was his client, but Victor threatened to drink Luke’s blood.
• Luke released his Bio-Force Field and revealed his immense power, terrifying Victor.
• Luke burned Victor with heat vision until the Vampire High Lord’s flesh and blood evaporated.