in to turn the city into a high-security, military complex, and enlist Max to their cause. St. Lucifer's villain gang attacks the nuclear plant to seize control of Coalville's power. Max decides that the only way to get what he wants - the freedom to protect Coalville independently in his own way - is to ally with Lucifer and evict the military. Volume 7 (#25–30) In a flashback to Max's childhood twenty-two years earlier, Max is a son to a wealthy, but uncaring family. He is very close to his younger neighbor Katy. Max attempts to capture the Wolf Boy, a child said to live in the woods. When Max springs his trap, the child is revealed to be a young Plutonian who cripples Max. Max recuperates and then runs away from home, but he stays in contact with Katy. He embarks on a life of crime, is disowned by his family, and ultimately stops writing to Katy out of shame at his life. During a robbery, Max is captured by the now-public superhero Plutonian, who recognizes Max as the child who attempted to trap him and crushes his hands out of anger. While Max heals, he rationalizes that in a post-Plutonian world, he must gain power. Max contacts Origin and is given his superhuman abilities. Max sets out to prove that Plutonian is hiding his true self — the brutal Wolf Boy — but consistently fails to beat him because of the lack of sleep required to give him enough strength to compete. Elsewhere Katy watches the beginning of Plutonian's rampage in Sky City as she reads Max's last letter. In the present, Max teleports away with Qubit. Armadale investigates a murder case. Armadale observes the city, finding that the citizens are working to restore their previous way of life and that order is being maintained by Hate Crime, St. Lucifer, and Max. Armadale reveals that the murder case is his own, and his investigation shows that the city can survive without him. Armadale shoots himself. Lucifer blames Armadale's death on Bill Henrie, a man with evidence that a lethal radioactive cloud is approaching Coalville, to prevent the information becoming publicly known. After learning the truth, Max coerces Bill into revealing the evidence on television, believing that it will bring people together. Instead the citizens descend into criminal activity. Max takes Bill back to his prison for safety, but