In the neon metropolis of Neo Elysium, superheroines streak across the sky, villains destroy buildings on random weekdays, and honey reigns as the city’s favorite pizza topping. But for Arthur Ward, none of it matters. He’s a burnt-out delivery guy with a life slipping past him and scars he’s spent years running from.

Until the night he becomes collateral damage in a clash between the rookie hero Solaris and the mad genius Doctor Bellreve. Broken, blinded, and drenched in a volatile chemical, Arthur should be dead. Instead, the chemical rewrites the laws of biology…and forces him to evolve.

He becomes the impossible: the first male Empowered.

Suddenly, the man who wanted nothing more than a quiet life becomes the city’s newest—and most dangerous—mystery. His body changes faster than the doctors can track: skin hardening to iron under pressure, frost pouring from his skin under heat. But every power has a price, and villains would burn the world to get their hands on him.

Luckily, he isn’t alone. The guilt-ridden and protective Solaris refuses to leave his side, vowing to help him even at the risk of herself. But more heroines are beginning to notice the lone man who can challenge them… and perhaps even help them. In a world where superpowered women burn hot and need even hotter release to stabilize their powers, Arthur is in more danger than he realizes.

The first male Empowered has arrived, and everyone wants a piece of him.