Chapter Summaries

On his eighteenth birthday, Lucian recovered memories of a past life and learned that a system had given him an upgraded ability to permanently copy superpowers through contact. After planning how to gain abilities and survive in the world of The Boys, he heard a violent disturbance in his neighbor’s apartment and armed himself with a hammer.

• Lucian finished his late-night convenience store shift and celebrated his eighteenth birthday alone with an expired cupcake.
• At midnight, Lucian recovered his past-life memories and saw the Multiverse Travel System’s interface, which listed his world as The Boys and his ability as an upgraded version of Copy.
• Lucian remembered that Vought had repeatedly injected him with Compound V as an infant, but he had shown no effects, and learned the system had consumed the doses to sustain itself.
• The system explained that Lucian could permanently copy one ability from anyone through direct contact, with stronger powers requiring longer contact.
• Lucian planned to seek out low-level supes first and wrote a list of powers he hoped to acquire, including flight, enhanced physique, healing, and mind control.
• A violent crash and a scream came from apartment 402, so Lucian took a claw hammer from his toolbox and moved toward the door.

Lucian confronted Quake at his apartment door and pretended to be a fan so he could copy Quake’s super physique. After Quake noticed Lucian had stepped in his bloody footprints, he turned back toward apartment 401 and accused him of seeing what happened.

• Lucian recognized Quake, the disgraced former Vought hero, approaching apartment 401 with blood on his shoes and his hands raised to unleash a sonic blast.
• Lucian opened the door, feigned surprise at meeting Quake, and grabbed his hand to copy his super physique ability.
• Lucian kept Quake talking about his old endorsements and blamed Vought for his downfall while the copy progress rose to 93%.
• Quake warned Lucian to stay inside because someone had broken into apartment 402 and the old landlady was hurt, then walked toward the stairs.
• Quake spotted his bloody footprints overlapping a smaller shoe print leading into 401, turned back, and accused Lucian of having seen what happened.

Lu Chen killed Quake after copying his Super Physique, surviving a series of brutal attacks. As police sirens sounded outside, Lu Chen saw three black SUVs waiting below.

• Quake smashed through Lu Chen's door and accused him of already knowing about the bloodstains in 402.
• Lu Chen struck Quake's temple with a claw hammer, then grabbed his wrist to stop him from clapping and began copying Super Physique.
• Quake broke Lu Chen's shoulder and struck his ribs, but Lu Chen completed the copy and gained LV1 Super Physique.
• Lu Chen used the hammer to break Quake's fingers, then struck him repeatedly until he died.
• Lu Chen heard police sirens and saw three black SUVs parked outside his building.

Lu Chen killed Quake with a hammer after she broke into his home, then chose to surrender to the police and claim self-defense. Vought secured his release with a nondisclosure agreement and thirty thousand dollars, leaving him free with a clean record and a bank balance of 62,847.33.

• Lu Chen decided not to flee and waited for police after killing Quake, who had broken into his home after killing the old landlady.
• Police arrested Lu Chen and questioned him about how he had killed a former superhuman, while he maintained that he had acted in self-defense.
• A Vought lawyer offered Lu Chen thirty thousand dollars and a clean release in exchange for keeping the incident secret.
• Lu Chen signed the nondisclosure and settlement documents, then left the Queens police station with his belongings and a bank card.
• Lu Chen checked the card at an ATM and saw that his balance was 62,847.33.

Lucian decided to infiltrate Godolkin University to reach Vought’s internal network, locate the hospital where he had been experimented on, and gain access to more superhumans. He arrived on campus for an assessment, viewing its students as potential targets for building his power.

• Lucian watched Hughie Campbell recount Robin’s death on a livestream before Vought shut the broadcast down.
• Lucian recalled that Vought had used him as a test subject at St. Andrew's Mercy Hospital and decided to find the facility and obtain more Compound V.
• Lucian chose Godolkin University as a route into Vought’s network and applied using a student loan, claiming his power was physical enhancement.
• Godolkin University summoned Lucian for an on-site assessment, and he traveled to its upstate New York campus.
• Lucian entered the crowded atrium and observed students displaying their powers.

Lucian befriended Jordan at Godolkin University and copied Jordan’s Shockwave ability before taking the admissions test. He passed after demonstrating the power and was told to pay his fees and await his dorm assignment.

• Lucian met Jordan at registration, shook his hand, and began copying his Shockwave ability.
• Lucian bought Jordan lunch, listened to him talk about his parents’ expectations, and encouraged him to use his female form to defy them.
• Jordan transformed in a quiet grove, and Lucian continued copying his abilities before they exchanged TikTok information and parted.
• Lucian completed his copy of Shockwave and waited in line for the admissions test.
• Lucian used Shockwave to knock back three rubber dummies, passed the test, and was told to pay his fees and await his dorm assignment.

Lu Chen chose Godolkin University's high-interest superhero loan because it granted access to Professor Brink's Crimefighting Class, a route toward The Seven. He left the administration building intending to use the university and Vought for his own advancement rather than repay the debt.

• Lu Chen waited at the payment office and learned that Godolkin's annual tuition was $77,000, with federal and private loan options.
• The administrator explained that the private loan offered interest and principal reductions for high hero rankings and Vought employment, but charged 9.2 percent interest.
• Lu Chen discovered that only students who took the special loan could enroll in Professor Brink's Crimefighting Class, which he saw as a path to The Seven.
• Lu Chen signed the special loan contract and received a temporary campus card, a textbook list, and a freshman survival guide.
• Lu Chen planned to rise in the rankings, contact Professor Brink and The Seven, and avoid repaying the loan as his plan began.

Lucian moved into his Godolkin dorm room and found his roommate, Rufus Miller, using his mind-control ability in private. After knocking Rufus unconscious, Lucian copied Mind control LV3, completing the process in the room.

• Lucian checked into Building D, Room 317, and found Rufus Miller masturbating when he opened the door.
• Lucian recognized Rufus and recalled warnings about his mind-control ability and how he used it to prey on people.
• Lucian knocked Rufus unconscious with a shockwave and pressed his hand against Rufus's head to copy Mind control LV3.
• Lucian kept Rufus unconscious while guarding himself with a charged shockwave as the copy progress advanced.
• Lucian completed the copy of Mind control LV3.

Lucian used his newly acquired Mind Control ability to erase Rufus’s memory of their fight and make him leave the dorm, then met Jordan and went to a freshman party. At the party, Lucian felt at home among Godolkin’s powered students.

• Lucian implanted false memories and a suggestion in Rufus, who woke up, packed his belongings, and left the dorm without suspicion.
• Lucian aired out the room, rested after using his ability, and arranged to meet Jordan for food.
• On his way downstairs, Lucian saw Cate leaving the administration building and remembered how her uncontrolled ability had caused her brother’s death.
• Lucian and Jordan ate at the cafeteria and decided to check out the freshman party on the lawn.
• Lucian and Jordan arrived at the crowded party, where students drank, floated, and showed off their powers.

At a Godolkin party, Lu Chen copied Chloe’s and Sophia’s super physique through casual contact, adding their abilities to his collection. After returning to the dorm, he examined his enhanced body and decided to keep using the school’s superhumans as opportunities to grow stronger.

• Lu Chen met Chloe at the grill, helped her move a speaker, and copied her LV1 super physique when their hands touched.
• At a party strength challenge, Lu Chen faced Sophia and used his LV2 super physique to resist her strength before she threw him onto the lawn.
• Lu Chen copied Sophia’s LV2 super physique when she helped him up, then felt a stronger surge of energy as the ability took hold.
• Back in his dorm, Lu Chen saw that Quake’s, Chloe’s, and Sophia’s physiques had merged into a permanently acquired LV2 ability.
• Lu Chen resolved to use social contact at Godolkin to keep copying powers, while recognizing that his current abilities were still not enough.

Lucian tested the limits of his LV3 Super Physique, used his Super Senses to avoid a risky hookup, and assessed Golden Boy and Andre as potential sources of abilities. He decided he was ready to intervene in the Translucent incident and planned to use his memory-erasing ability before leaving Translucent to Butcher’s group.

• Lucian shot himself in the thigh and found that his LV3 Super Physique stopped a handgun bullet from penetrating deeply, then estimated how stronger physiques might compare.
• At a party, Lucian used his Super Senses to detect Megan’s recent partners and rejected her invitation to avoid getting involved.
• Lucian saw Golden Boy and Andre arrive at the cafeteria and considered their abilities, but concluded that he could not approach Golden Boy directly yet.
• Lucian checked his abilities in his dorm and decided they were sufficient to intervene in the Translucent incident.
• Lucian planned to copy Translucent’s Carbon Skin and invisibility, use his memory-erasing ability, and then leave Translucent for Butcher’s group.

Lucian manipulated Hughie’s memories to make him distrust Vought and contact an anonymous ally, then planted a vision in Starlight’s mind as she prepared for her debut. Hughie’s anger was redirected and Starlight’s trust in The Deep was shaken as Lucian began his plan.

• A Vought lawyer pressured Hughie to accept a settlement for Robin’s death, and Hughie hesitated in the rain.
• Lucian touched Hughie and altered his memories, leaving him with the number for Queens Ghost and a reason to reject Vought’s legal department.
• At Vought Tower, Annie January prepared for her livestreamed debut as Starlight while the Public Relations Director demanded changes to her appearance.
• Lucian posed as a technician, touched Annie while adjusting her microphone, and implanted a vision of The Deep being humiliated by Homelander.
• Annie left for her debut unsettled by the vision, while Lucian watched her go and continued his plan.

Hughie learned that A-Train had mocked Robin’s death, agreed to plant a bug in Vought Tower, and was caught by Translucent at the electronics store. Lu Chen arrived to rescue him and fought Translucent, taking a blow before challenging the Supe’s strength.

• Butcher showed Hughie a recording of A-Train joking about killing Robin and urged him to stop Vought from silencing him with a settlement.
• Hughie told Lu Chen he would plant the bug in Vought Tower while signing the settlement agreement, and Lu Chen promised to watch from the shadows.
• After Hughie planted the bug, Translucent tracked him to the electronics store and attacked him, demanding to know who had helped him.
• Lu Chen entered the wrecked store and confronted Translucent, then used his super senses to track the invisible Supe.
• Translucent struck Lu Chen in the temple, but Lu Chen recovered and asked whether that had been Translucent’s full strength.

Lu Chen used his enhanced senses and strength to expose and overpower the invisible Translucent, then subdued him with a chokehold. An EMP and flashbang interrupted the fight, and Butcher arrived to find Translucent incapacitated and Lu Chen ready to confront him.

• Lu Chen began replicating Translucent’s carbon skin while dodging his punches and discovering that his own blows could not penetrate the defense.
• Lu Chen splashed water onto Translucent to reveal his outline, then overwhelmed him with a barrage of attacks.
• Lu Chen pinned Translucent against a wall and choked him until he nearly lost consciousness.
• An EMP shut down the shop’s electronics, and a flashbang blinded and disoriented Lu Chen, Translucent, and Hughie.
• Butcher entered the shop with a crowbar, and Lu Chen warned him that Translucent would have been dead if he had arrived later.

Lucian exposed Translucent with red paint and defeated him by throwing him into a high-voltage panel. He joined Butcher and Hughie in taking Translucent away, while his ability panel began extracting Translucent’s carbon skin.

• Lucian used Shockwave to burst paint buckets over Translucent, revealing his position.
• Lucian beat Translucent and electrocuted him with the shop’s high-voltage panel, leaving him motionless.
• Butcher and Lucian worked together to load Translucent into an old sedan while Hughie watched in shock.
• Lucian saw his virtual panel begin extracting Translucent’s ability, with replication progress at 2%.

Butcher took the unconscious Translucent to the underground hideout, where Frenchie tried several ways to break through his carbon skin. As Lu Chen copied the skin and acquired Carbon skin LV5, he proposed destroying Translucent from the inside.

• Butcher brought the unconscious Translucent to the underground chamber and ordered Frenchie to cut off signals before Vought found them.
• Lu Chen sat beside Translucent and began copying his carbon skin while Frenchie prepared methods to penetrate it.
• Frenchie froze Translucent's arm and struck it with a sledgehammer, but the carbon skin remained intact, and Lu Chen shocked him unconscious when he twitched.
• Frenchie tried an ultrasonic oscillator and an ultrahigh-pressure waterjet cutter, but neither damaged Translucent.
• Lu Chen completed the copy, acquired Carbon skin LV5, and told Butcher they could destroy Translucent from the inside.

Lu Chen proposed killing Translucent by dissolving his soft internal organs with hydrofluoric acid, and Butcher forced Hughie to accept the plan. The team killed Translucent, and Butcher regarded Lu Chen as a useful but potentially dangerous ally.

• Frenchie used an X-ray flaw detector and discovered that Translucent’s organs were soft despite his carbonized skin.
• Lu Chen rejected Frenchie’s C4 plan because the explosion could alert Homelander, then chose industrial hydrofluoric acid to dissolve Translucent from within.
• Hughie protested that the plan was too sick, but Butcher threatened him with the consequences of letting Translucent escape.
• Frenchie fed hydrofluoric acid through a hose into Translucent’s throat, and the acid dissolved his body, leaving only scraps of carbon skin.
• Butcher called Lu Chen a sharp blade and challenged him about the kind of work he was suited for.

Lu Chen tried to divert Homelander from the basement where Butcher, Hughie, and Frenchie were hiding by pretending to be a frightened robbery victim. Homelander saw through the act and confronted Lu Chen, leaving his identity and the others’ safety at risk.

• Lu Chen spotted Homelander hovering over the neighborhood and realized the team would be discovered if he searched the factory.
• Lu Chen masked the scent of blood and acid, then told Frenchie to create a distraction while he went to stall Homelander.
• Lu Chen met Homelander in an alley and claimed that several men had robbed him and fled west on Route 278.
• Homelander questioned Lu Chen’s story, detected that his heartbeat was controlled, and accused him of not being an ordinary student.

Lu Chen escaped Homelander by livestreaming their encounter, then returned to the factory to help Butcher and Hughie conceal Translucent’s remains. He chose not to reveal the tracking chip, leaving Vought a trail that could expose the murder of a member of The Seven.

• Homelander grabbed Lu Chen and nearly used Heat Vision, but Lu Chen turned on a TikTok livestream and forced him to maintain his public persona.
• Homelander flew away after telling Lu Chen to stay safe, and Lu Chen kept streaming until an explosion set off by Frenchie drew Homelander away.
• Lu Chen slipped back to the factory, where Butcher and Hughie were dissolving Translucent’s body in acid and preparing to seal the remains in a zinc box.
• Lu Chen spotted the tracking chip among the residue but chose not to warn Butcher and Hughie, hoping Vought would trace it and discover the murder.
• Lu Chen helped Butcher weld the zinc box shut, and the three men loaded it into a car and drove off.

After helping Butcher and Hughie dispose of Translucent’s remains, Lu Chen encountered Starlight rescuing a nurse from two drunk men in a subway station. Starlight told him how she had stood up to The Deep, and Lu Chen welcomed her to the real world.

• Lu Chen left Butcher and Hughie to clean up after Translucent’s death and walked alone through Brooklyn.
• Starlight attacked two drunk men who were assaulting a nurse at a subway station, then noticed Lu Chen hiding nearby.
• Lu Chen revealed that he knew her as Annie, and Starlight recognized him as the fan she had met earlier.
• Starlight told Lu Chen that The Deep had tried to force himself on her and threatened her place in The Seven.
• Starlight explained that she had enlisted Queen Maeve’s help and threatened to expose The Deep publicly.
• Lu Chen told Starlight she had to be ruthless to survive at Vought, then welcomed her to the real world.