The Introduction

While in the shower, Chris thought back on his life. This wasn't his first life, it was his second. In the first life, Chris was just an ordinary programmer in his mid-30s going through the motions of life. He was average at his work and lived an average life.

In his 20s, there was a boom in the software industry so there were plenty of jobs and the pay was very good compared to most of his friends. He was able to live a relatively good life. But in his thirties, the era of AI and layoffs arrived. He was laid off like many others and struggled to find a job that paid a decent salary. He bounced around between a few jobs but was managing to get by.

During one of these jobs, he befriended a hot girl way out of his league. She asked him out on a date and Chris agreed within a heartbeat. He should have sensed something off when the girl planned an outdoor camping trip in the woods but Chris was focused more on the fact that they'd be sharing a tent.

Needless to say, Chris' fantasies never came true and he became a victim of a female serial killer. He was skewered in the heart by the barbeque skewer he had bought himself. Chris became just another schmuck buried in the woods, never to be found.

Chris' second life began when he woke up in the body of a 15-year-old boy with the same name as him, Chris Collins. The boy was a homeless New Yorker who had OD'd on drugs. When they brought him back to life, the original Chris was already gone and the Chris from another world took his place.

When he came to his senses, he was in an unfamiliar place, in an unfamiliar body. It was all too overwhelming to him but he slowly made sense of it in the hospital. As a homeless kid who had OD'd, nobody really cared about him so he was able to get a lot of time to think through things.

He was happy to get a second chance in life but he was also confused about how this chance came to him. Even ignoring the miracle, the fact that he was occupying an unfamiliar body elicited an indescribable mixture of emotions. While coping with all that, he also had to think about his new identity. It all took some time to internalize.

Then one day about a week later, some social workers came by and cleared up some of the confusion he had about his new body by claiming amnesia. "Your parents died in 9/11. You were living with your uncle until you ran away a year ago. We contacted your uncle but they are refusing to take responsibility for you. You will probably have to go with the CPS."

It is 2006 in this world. With my future knowledge, I could probably become a billionaire here in no time.

With his sights on unimaginable riches, Chris didn't want to bounce around through foster homes or the system of child protective services. So, he ran away from the hospital, went around computer repair stores, and asked for jobs.

Most of the stores instantly rejected him without even giving him a chance. It was understandable since he was dressed in rags and he looked like a homeless crackhead.

Chris tried to gain sympathy by talking about the death of his parents. He also talked about himself as a genius in software and that he only needed one chance to prove his skills. But nothing worked, some places even chased him out without listening to him. Finally, a store owner took pity on the pleading homeless kid.

"Okay, kid. I have a daughter who is just around your age so I don't want to just chase you away heartlessly. If your skills are as good as you say they are, then I will hire you. If you are lying…" the kind middle-aged man didn't complete his sentence but his hand was holding something under the counter.

No matter how compassionate the store owner was, he wasn't stupid enough to let a suspicious kid enter his store and mess with the computers while unarmed. Chris understood the man's action and calmly sat down in front of the computer and began fixing it as ordered by the owner.

Because it was an older model, it took a few minutes for him to get a hang of it but Chris was able to smoothly pass the store owner's test. "I am Roger Murray. Take this money, get some new clothes, get cleaned up, and come by tomorrow at 7 in the morning."

With 15 dollars in advanced pay, Chris found his first job after a week of arriving in the new world. With some money in his hand, when Chris relaxed and began exploring around New York in the 2000s, he began noticing something disturbing.

Vought. There were Vought branded products and stores everywhere. It took a moment for him to process where he had heard the name but when he saw posters of heroes plastered around the street, a cold chill ran down his spine. This was the world of The Boys, the TV show he had once watched.

He had watched it in passing so there were only vague memories about the show in his mind but whatever he remembered was enough to scare him shitless. For Chris, who had just recently died and come back to life, the entire city of New York began to feel like a giant death trap.

Chris felt like the city was a giant monster that was trying to eat him. His breath became short and his heartbeat sped up. He began having a full-blown panic attack. Some kind passerby asked how he was doing and handed him some water which helped calm Chris down.

"I'm okay. Thank you. I just felt a bit lightheaded." Chris thanked the kind old man and began walking away cautiously. He was constantly looking around to make sure that there was no superhero or supe around.

He bought some clothes at a thrift store, ate fast food, and found a homeless shelter to stay the night. Early the next morning, he washed up, got dressed, and went to work at Roger's Computer Store.

With the iconic doorbell ringing, he entered the store for the first day of work. Roger turned to the door and spoke with a smile, "Oh, you've cleaned up well. If you gain some weight you might even look like a decent human being. Come, get to work, there are a few computers that need to be sent out today."

Chris who was still shaken up about this being the world of The Boys silently nodded and got to work immediately. With the sounds of the clacking keyboard, Chris' mind slowly began to calm down. He was finally able to think properly in a calm manner. And he reached a quick conclusion, he would leave America as soon as possible.

I will save up some money, move to Europe or Asia, and live a fulfilling life there.

As far as he knows, the superheroes in this world are mostly concentrated in America with a small handful of others scattered across the globe. So, staying away from America was the best way to live free from the fear of becoming collateral damage.

It might seem like an overreaction to run away from the fear of becoming collateral damage but America in the show he remembers was heading down a dark path. He never got to see the conclusion but if the tone of the story and whatever little he heard about the comics were taken as a reference, it wasn't a very good future that awaited America.

Of course, Chris also had the thought of stealing compound V, gaining superpowers, and living without fear. But, the problem with that idea is that first, he had to somehow get his hand on some of the super juice. In 2005, he wasn't even sure where he would have to go to find it.

There was a chance that he might find some of it in hospitals being injected into kids but he wouldn't even know which hospitals to look into. Not to mention that there would be armed security from Vought guarding the place.

Even if he managed to somehow pull off a mission impossible and get his hands on the compound, there was also the problem that the older you are when you take it, the higher the chances of you exploding.

And by some miracle, even if you somehow managed to survive the injection and didn't immediately explode, the powers you might get are all up to luck. You might get invincible powers like Soldier Boy or you might get a power like having your hair glow with bright light.

Even more problems could await after taking the blue liquid since Chris had heard his colleagues in his past life talking about compound V having side effects. Chris was not ready to gamble his life on first stealing compound V and then taking another gamble by injecting it into himself. It was too much risk for an uncertain reward.

So, Chris ruled out the Compound V injection as an option. Instead, when he becomes rich in the future, he decided to start a secret research facility and hire experts to study Compound V and maybe find a way to stabilize the serum. There were mentions of such studies in the show as well.

While he was thinking about the future and focusing on the computer, the store's door opened. Chris looked up at the door, attracted by the bell chime. A girl who seemed to be about 16 or 17 walked into the store while carrying a bag.

"Dad! I'll be late again because of your lunch. Why do I have to deliver the lunch every time?" The girl grumbled while handing a bag to Roger.

Roger took out his wallet and handed some money to the girl, "Here you go. This is the payment for your great troubles of feeding your father."

The girl cheerfully took the money and looked around the store. Her eyes met Chris' who was staring at her. Roger noticed her gaze and explained, "Oh, this is our new part-time worker, Chris Collins. Chris, this is my daughter Nina Murray."

Chris nodded at the girl as a greeting and got back to work. He was over 30 in his mind so there was no interest in the young girl. And even if she had been older, he was too preoccupied with the escape plan from America to think about anything else.