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 pretended to be a fan of Quake while copying his Super Physique ability and avoiding a confrontation. After Quake left, he noticed bloody footprints leading into Lucian’s apartment and realized Lucian had seen him.

• Lucian recognized Quake outside apartment 401 and chose to copy his Super Physique ability rather than his sonic blast.
• Lucian feigned excitement and praised Quake’s old endorsements to keep him talking while the copy progress rose to 93%.
• Quake warned Lucian to stay inside because someone had broken into apartment 402 and the old woman was hurt.
• Quake left, then noticed Lucian’s shoe print in the blood at the threshold of 401.
• Quake turned back toward Lucian’s door and accused him of seeing what happened.

Lucian fought Quake after Quake discovered he had lied about seeing the bloodstains in 402. Lucian completed the Copy of Quake’s Super Physique, killed him, and saw three black SUVs arrive below as police sirens sounded.

• Quake burst through Lucian’s door and confronted him about lying after seeing the bloodstains in 402.
• Lucian struck Quake with a claw hammer, but Quake broke Lucian’s shoulder and hit his ribs while Lucian held onto his wrist.
• Lucian completed the Copy and acquired LV1 Super Physique, allowing him to withstand Quake’s knee strike.
• Lucian broke Quake’s fingers with the hammer and struck his head repeatedly until Quake died.
• Lucian looked out the window and saw three black SUVs parked below as police sirens wailed.

After Lucian killed Quake while defending himself, he was arrested and questioned by the police. Vought secured his release with a nondisclosure agreement and $30,000, leaving him free with a clean record and a bank balance of 62,847.33.

• Lucian chose to stay and wait for the police after killing Quake, and officers arrested him at the scene, where they also found his landlady dead.
• At the station, Lucian told the older officer that Quake had been on drugs and that he had struck her with a hammer in self-defense.
• A Vought lawyer offered Lucian $30,000 and a clean record in exchange for his silence, and Lucian signed the agreement.
• Lucian left the station that night with his belongings and a bank card, then checked his account and saw a balance of 62,847.33.

Lucian traced his origins to Vought’s secret Mercy Hospital and decided to infiltrate Godolkin University to access Vought’s network and test his limits. After applying for a student loan, he arrived at the campus for an evaluation and surveyed its young Supes as potential targets.

• Lucian watched Hughie Campbell’s livestream about A-Train killing Robin before Vought shut it down.
• Lucian recalled that Vought had experimented on him at St. Andrew’s Mercy Hospital and decided he needed access to Vought’s S-class database to find it.
• Lucian applied to Godolkin University, listing his power as “Body Enhancement” and accepting that he had no intention of repaying the student loan.
• Lucian received an invitation to an on-site ability evaluation and traveled to Godolkin’s upstate New York campus.
• Lucian entered the chaotic atrium and watched the young Supes, seeing them as potential material for his plans.

Lucian befriended Jordan at Godolkin and copied his Shockwave ability before taking the admissions test. After demonstrating the power, Lucian passed and qualified to apply to the Lamplighter School for Crimefighting.

• Lucian met Jordan, shook his hand, and began copying his Shockwave ability.
• Lucian invited Jordan to lunch, where Jordan described his parents’ pressure to remain in his male form and pursue a career with Vought.
• Jordan transformed into his female form to show Lucian, and Lucian encouraged him to use it to defy his parents.
• Jordan and Lucian exchanged TikTok details before Jordan left, and Lucian’s copy progress reached 100%.
• Lucian completed the physical tests, then used Shockwave to knock back three dummies and passed the admissions test.

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, masturbating with the door unlocked. He knocked Rufus unconscious and finished copying his mind control ability, leaving Rufus still unconscious on the floor.

• Lucian collected his room key, bought supplies, and entered Building D, room 317.
• Lucian recognized Rufus Miller from warnings on Godolkin's internal forum and decided to copy his mind control ability.
• Lucian blasted Rufus with a shockwave when he left the bathroom, knocking him unconscious.
• Lucian held a hand to Rufus's head while keeping a charged shockwave ready in case he woke.
• Lucian completed copying Mind control LV3 after thirty minutes.

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, Lucian copied Chloe’s and Sophia’s Super Physique through casual contact, then fused their abilities with Quake’s to strengthen his own physique to LV2. He realized the Supes around him offered a steady supply of abilities, and resolved to keep growing beyond Godolkin.

• Lucian met Chloe while helping her move a speaker, and copied her LV1 Super Physique through their contact.
• Jordan urged Lucian to challenge Sophia in a strength contest, where Lucian used his power to resist her before she threw him onto the lawn.
• Lucian copied Sophia’s LV2 Super Physique after she helped him up, triggering a powerful surge through his muscles.
• Back in his dorm, Lucian saw that Quake’s, Chloe’s, and Sophia’s Super Physique abilities had fused into a stronger LV2 version.
• Lucian recognized the party as an easy opportunity to copy abilities through social contact and decided that Godolkin was only the beginning.

Lucian tested the limits of his LV3 Super Physique, then used his Super Senses to avoid a suspicious party invitation. After sizing up Golden Boy and Andre, he decided to use his memory-erasing ability to get close to Translucent and copy his abilities.

• Lucian shot himself in the thigh with a Glock 19 and found that his LV3 Super Physique could withstand a small-caliber bullet, though it still caused pain and injury.
• At a party, Lucian detected signs that Megan had been with several other people and turned down her invitation to her room.
• Lucian saw Golden Boy and Andre arrive at the cafeteria and considered how difficult it would be to get close to them.
• Lucian reviewed his abilities and planned to approach Translucent during the incident involving Butcher, copy Carbon Skin and Invisibility, then leave Translucent alive.

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.