Chapter Summaries

After arriving in 1944 as fourteen-year-old Erik Lehnsherr, Gu Qing tried to use Klaus Schmidt to escape Auschwitz but could not awaken his magnetic power. Schmidt shot Erik’s Mother to force him to move a Coin, and as Gu Qing feared what awaited him, a voice began searching for worlds available for traversal.

• Gu Qing realized he had become Erik Lehnsherr, a Jewish prisoner at Auschwitz, and considered escaping through Dr. Schmidt, whom he believed was Sebastian Shaw.
• Klaus Schmidt gave Erik chocolate and asked him to move a Coin, while Gu Qing pretended he needed time to control his powers.
• Schmidt brought in Erik’s Mother and demanded that Erik move the Coin or he would shoot her.
• Erik could not move the Coin, and Schmidt shot Erik’s Mother before comforting him and leaving him in the laboratory.
• A voice in Gu Qing’s mind began searching for worlds available for traversal.

After Klaus Schmidt’s experiments triggered Gu Qing’s metal-controlling X-Factor, Gu Qing woke in a clean cell, chose to traverse, and arrived in an instance world near Ravenhill. He learned how the traversal system and Spacetime Value worked, then prepared to influence the world connected to Andrew and his friends.

• Klaus Schmidt subjected Gu Qing to months of painful experiments until Gu Qing’s power awakened and a metal storm killed the researchers while leaving Schmidt unharmed.
• Gu Qing woke in his cell, broke down over his suffering, and chose to traverse to another world.
• Gu Qing arrived in Seattle and located Ravenhill, where students were preparing an abandoned barn for a party.
• Gu Qing reviewed his traversal system, learned that influencing an instance world earned Spacetime Value, and saw that he had accumulated three points.

Gu Qing joined Andrew, Steve, and Matt to explore a mysterious underground cave in Ravenhill, hoping the strange crystals inside would give him a Telekinesis Seed. As the group listened at the cave entrance, a piercing cry suddenly came from below.

• Gu Qing practiced controlling a coin with his magnetic abilities but struggled to aim it or generate much force.
• Gu Qing waited for nightfall, planning to find the cave with Andrew and obtain a Telekinesis Seed to help develop his powers.
• Gu Qing met the upset Andrew at the party, and Steve invited them to join an adventure with Matt.
• Gu Qing, Andrew, and Steve walked through the forest to the cave, where Matt told them a strange sound was coming from inside.
• Steve leaned over the cave entrance to listen, and a piercing cry suddenly came from within.

Gu Qing and his friends discovered a glowing crystal in a cave, and its radiation gave Gu Qing telekinesis without the nosebleeds that afflicted the others. After deciding to stay in this world and grow strong enough to take revenge on Schmidt, Gu Qing was confronted by a gang of robbers in Seattle.

• Steve, Matt, and Gu Qing crawled into the cave despite Andrew’s protests and found a huge crystal filled with writhing black fibers.
• The crystal turned red and triggered a localized earthquake, forcing the four friends to flee as the cave collapsed; Steve, Matt, and Andrew suffered nosebleeds.
• Gu Qing realized the crystal’s radiation had awakened and strengthened his telekinesis without harming him.
• Gu Qing asked the system how long he could stay, then resolved to build his strength before returning to take revenge on Schmidt.
• A group of armed thugs blocked Gu Qing in the street and demanded his valuables, so he pointed them toward a secluded alley.

Gu Qing used Telekinesis and magnetic field control to enter Magnetic Field Rotation and become a Magnetic Field Master, though his strength remained below the ten-thousand-horsepower threshold. After killing a thug who broke into his apartment, he went to a supermarket and found Andrew, Steve, and Matt using their powers to prank shoppers.

• Gu Qing killed two punks with a flying dagger, frightened their leader into revealing his circumstances, and took the dead punks' apartment as a temporary base.
• Gu Qing trained for a month, using Telekinesis to guide magnetic field power and stimulate his body's bio-electric current.
• Gu Qing entered Magnetic Field Rotation, discovered he could produce fifty thousand volts, and became a Magnetic Field Master despite lacking the minimum power threshold.
• A white thug broke into the apartment demanding to see Bruno, and Gu Qing disintegrated him with magnetic force before taking the cash from his wallet.
• Gu Qing went to a supermarket for supplies and found Andrew, Steve, and Matt laughing after using Telekinesis to prank shoppers.

Gu Qing reunited with Steve, Matt, and Andrew in Seattle and offered to teach them how to use Telekinesis to strengthen their bodies. He demonstrated his power and revealed a new ability called Current Propulsion, leaving the three stunned.

• Gu Qing met Steve, Matt, and Andrew at a restaurant, where they discovered he had Telekinesis and asked about his disappearance and changed appearance.
• Gu Qing explained that he was a drifter without an identity and agreed to stay with Steve while he remained in Seattle.
• Gu Qing offered to teach Andrew and the others how to develop their strength, believing their Telekinesis could help them reach greater levels of power.
• Gu Qing crushed a fork into a metal ball without using Telekinesis and told the three he could teach them another way to use their power.
• Gu Qing showed them an electric arc at his fingertips and named the ability Current Propulsion.

Gu Qing helped Andrew and his friends conceal Andrew’s role in a driver’s death, using the incident to push Andrew toward becoming a Magnetic Field God of War. The group left the scene believing they had avoided the police, while Gu Qing planned to create more Magnetic Field Masters and opponents.

• Andrew waved at the car behind them, causing its headlights to burst and sending it over a guardrail into a lake.
• Steve rescued the driver, but the man died despite Steve’s attempts to revive him.
• Gu Qing secretly disrupted Matt’s phone signal so his call to the police would not go through.
• Gu Qing persuaded Steve and Matt that reporting Andrew could expose all of them to capture and experimentation.
• Gu Qing privately recognized that the death would harden Andrew and deepen the rift between him and Steve and Matt.

After the lake incident, Gu Qing trained Andrew and Steve while Matt stayed away from gaining more power. A month later, Andrew learned to generate electricity, and the group discovered Matt had mastered flight.

• Gu Qing, Steve, and Matt returned from the lake after the dead driver and car sank, then Matt confronted Andrew and laid down rules for using their powers.
• Andrew reluctantly agreed to Matt’s rules, while Matt decided to avoid gaining more abilities until he mastered the power he already had.
• Gu Qing trained Andrew and Steve, and after a month Andrew produced electricity; Gu Qing judged his strength sufficient to enter Current Propulsion.
• Gu Qing explained that Current Propulsion could grant Bionic Abilities, and Andrew wondered what other changes he was experiencing.
• Steve brought Gu Qing and Andrew to meet Matt, who appeared floating in the air and revealed that he had learned to fly.

Gu Qing continued training his friends in flight and Current Propulsion while urging them to take their powers seriously, though he declined their plans to travel. A month later, Steve and Andrew prepared for the school talent show, while Gu Qing remained focused on cultivation.

• Matt, Steve, and Andrew practiced flying with Telekinesis as Gu Qing reflected on his growing Magnetic Field Rotation power and his potential to defeat Schmidt.
• The four friends stayed at Steve's house, where Andrew discussed visiting Tibet and Steve encouraged Gu Qing to enjoy life, but Gu Qing said he could not let go of certain burdens.
• Over the next month, Steve trained in Current Propulsion while Gu Qing stayed home to cultivate, and Gu Qing explained that Steve's sharper senses were Bionic Abilities.
• Steve returned with Andrew and announced that Andrew would perform at the school talent show, but Gu Qing did not answer when Steve asked if he would attend.

After becoming a school celebrity and discovering his new strength, Andrew returned home to find his mother Karen suffering without medicine and clashed with his abusive father Richard. Andrew nearly killed Richard before Steve intervened, and Andrew flew off into the storm.

• Andrew flew home after the talent show and party, covered Karen with her blanket, and found no sign of Richard.
• Richard pounded on Andrew's bedroom door, disrupting his excitement, and the next morning Karen suffered a painful illness episode because her medicine had run out.
• Richard found Andrew's camera, accused him of wasting money, and berated him for what he had filmed.
• Andrew confronted Richard about his claims, and when Richard struck him, Andrew's new strength left Richard's hand injured.
• Andrew grabbed Richard and prepared to kill him, but Steve broke in and held Andrew back with Telekinesis.
• Andrew unleashed electric power but chose not to strike Richard, threw Steve aside, and flew away while Steve stayed to call emergency services.

Gu Qing, Steve, and Matt searched for Andrew after he nearly killed his father, Richard. Matt found Andrew at the buried cave, where Andrew declared that power made him a Top Predator and that he would ignore all rules, then his electricity surged to fifty thousand volts.

• Gu Qing sensed a psychic resonance drawing him toward Andrew, but he initially refused to investigate; Steve went to check and returned with Matt.
• Steve told Gu Qing that Andrew had nearly punched Richard to death, and Matt explained some of Andrew's troubled home life.
• Gu Qing agreed to help Steve and Matt search for Andrew, and they split up to look for him.
• Matt found Andrew at the clearing where the cave had been buried by an earthquake and confronted him about attacking Richard.
• Andrew argued that the powerful were Top Predators who needed no restraints, then his electricity intensified to fifty thousand volts.

Andrew attacked Matt and Steve, defeated them, and reached Sixty Thousand Volts before disappearing. Three days later, Steve had recovered and Matt was still healing in the hospital, while Gu Qing said Andrew had returned home and Richard was also unharmed.

• Matt tried to restrain Andrew with Telekinesis, but Andrew broke free and attacked him.
• Steve stepped in to protect Matt, but Andrew defeated Steve and left him unconscious in a crater; Gu Qing arrived and reassured Matt that Steve would survive.
• Andrew stood atop the Space Needle and celebrated his newfound power, declaring that he would do whatever he wanted.
• Three days later, Steve had recovered and reached Thirty Thousand Volts, while Matt remained hospitalized with broken ribs.
• Gu Qing told Matt and Steve that Andrew and Richard were home and appeared to be acting as though nothing had happened.

Matt recovered, learned Current Propulsion, and joined Steve in confronting Andrew after Andrew forced Shawn to beat himself bloody at school. Steve and Matt decided they needed Gu Qing’s help to stop Andrew.

• After recovering from his injuries, Matt asked Gu Qing to teach him Current Propulsion and mastered it after a little over half a month of training.
• At Gao Hua Middle School, Shawn confronted Andrew, but Andrew used Telekinesis to make Shawn repeatedly punch himself while trapping Steve in place.
• Matt rushed into Andrew and broke his control over Shawn, but Andrew sent Matt crashing into a wall before leaving.
• Steve helped Matt up, and the two drove to Steve’s house for Gu Qing’s special training.
• Steve and Matt agreed to ask Gu Qing for help stopping Andrew before he caused greater trouble.

Gu Qing refused Steve and Matt’s request to stop Andrew, urging them to strengthen their own resolve, then wasted 10,000 Spacetime Value on a useless roulette prize. At home, Andrew learned he could not afford Karen’s medicine and, dressed in Richard’s old firefighter gear, went to confront the punks who had bullied him.

• Gu Qing told Steve and Matt that firm willpower was needed to develop their strength, and they left without making clear whether they accepted his advice.
• Gu Qing spent 10,000 Spacetime Value on a roulette draw, received Little Dragon Girl’s Original Underpants, and dismissed the system as a scam.
• Andrew returned home, saw Richard flinch at his arrival, and checked on his ill mother, Karen.
• Andrew confronted Richard over the money for Karen’s medicine, then learned at the hospital that it would cost $750.83 and could not be ordered until the next day.
• Andrew put on Richard’s old firefighter gear and headed to the community park to confront the punks who had bullied and extorted him.
• Andrew flew into the park and landed among the punks, who demanded to know who he was.

Andrew used his new powers to rob and kill several punks, then attacked an armored cash truck to get money for medicine. Meanwhile, Gu Qing’s special training pushed Steve and Matt to fight, but Steve refused to hurt his friend even as they prepared to stop Andrew.

• Andrew killed the punks who tried to rob him, then took their money and decided to pull off something bigger when it was not enough for medicine.
• Andrew attacked an armored cash truck, killed the couriers by hurling their shotgun pellets back at them, and flew away with the cash boxes using Telekinesis.
• Steve and Matt fought during Gu Qing’s special training, but their clothes remained protected by Telekinesis as they traded powerful blows.
• Gu Qing berated Steve and Matt for holding back and failing to awaken their will through danger and pain.
• Steve told Gu Qing that he and Matt were friends and would not hurt each other, though they wanted to stop Andrew.

Gu Qing challenged Steve and Matt to prove their resolve, then easily defeated them. After they saw news identifying Andrew as the superpowered bank robber, Steve and Matt confronted him at home, where Andrew refused to return the money he planned to use for Karen’s treatment.

• Gu Qing told Matt and Steve that Magnetic Field Masters needed unwavering conviction, then challenged them to make him move from his rock.
• Steve and Matt attacked Gu Qing with Current Propulsion, but he sent them flying with two fingers and carried them back to Steve's house.
• After recovering, Steve and Matt watched news footage of a superpowered robber escaping with money and recognized Andrew.
• Andrew celebrated finding millions of dollars in the stolen cash, believing he could pay for Karen's medicine and treatment.
• Steve and Matt confronted Andrew and urged him to return the money, but Andrew grabbed them by the necks and warned them to stay out of his business.

Andrew and Matt fought after Andrew attacked the police, with Matt’s power surging to one hundred thousand volts. As their battle devastated the neighborhood, Gu Qing watched from above while Matt tried to stop the destruction and Andrew kept attacking.

• Matt unleashed Current Propulsion and pushed Andrew back, but Andrew struck him through a wall and drove him into a crater in the street.
• Police arrived to arrest Andrew, but he attacked them; Steve intervened, and Matt rose again to shield the officers.
• Matt’s power surged to one hundred thousand volts, and he punched Andrew through several houses.
• Andrew returned to the sky and challenged Matt to keep fighting as Gu Qing watched from above.
• Matt noticed their battle was killing civilians and tried to reason with Andrew, but Andrew trapped him in a net of electricity.

Andrew escaped after fighting Matt and Steve, while an unknown figure rescued the unconscious pair and took them away. Gu Qing watched over them in a motel as Seattle searched for the three Superpowered Individuals and wondered who had intervened.

• Clemons and Brown watched the battle from a Seattle TV helicopter as Matt pulled it out of Andrew’s path, then Andrew struck Matt in the chest and sent him crashing to the ground.
• Riot-control forces surrounded Andrew, and he fled after confirming his mother Karen was safe, leaving Matt and Steve unconscious in police custody.
• A mysterious figure immobilized Biton Williams and the surrounding officers, seized Matt and Steve, and vanished before the electronic equipment could record him.
• Gu Qing watched the rain from a rundown motel while Seattle residents protested and authorities searched Washington State for Andrew, Steve, and Matt.

Gu Qing used his system’s latest rewards to obtain the Blood Saber Scripture and explored whether its techniques could improve his use of magnetic-field power. After Matt and Steve woke, Gu Qing warned Steve that the motel owner had recognized them and authorities were likely on the way, leaving Steve to face the choice of surrendering or fleeing.

• Gu Qing spent his Spacetime Value on three draws and received the Blood Saber Scripture among the prizes.
• Gu Qing studied the scripture and tried circulating current through his body along its internal-energy route, but found that it produced no change.
• Gu Qing discovered that he could use current to imitate internal energy when performing Martial Arts moves.
• Two days later, Steve woke, and Gu Qing told him that Andrew had escaped an FBI ambush while Matt sat outside in shock.
• Gu Qing pointed out that the motel owner had recognized them and warned Steve that the police or FBI were likely coming.
• Gu Qing suggested that Steve surrender or leave before the authorities arrived, but Steve lamented that he had nowhere to go.

Matt refused to surrender to the F.B.I. and escaped after promising to stop Andrew, while Gu Qing and Steve vanished. Andrew hid in Seattle’s sewers, killed a homeless man who confronted him, and struggled with his hunger and anger because his mother, Karen Demotte, was being held hostage.

• Matt told Agent Polly Osmond that only he could stop Andrew, but refused to surrender to the F.B.I.
• Osmond ordered the agents to use grenades, but Matt broke free of the toxic gas and escaped; Gu Qing and Steve disappeared from the motel.
• Andrew hid in a Seattle sewer, where a homeless man tried to drive him from his shelter.
• Andrew killed the homeless man with an electric blast and ate the food from his bundle.
• Andrew vowed revenge, explaining that his captors were using Karen Demotte to keep him from unleashing his full strength.