Name: Alexander McLeod.

Family: Mother (Amy McLeod), Father (Jonathon McLeod, deceased), Sister (Jennifer McLeod)

Height: 5'4 (normal); 6'4 (transformed)

Weight: 140 lbs (normal); 350 lbs (transformed)

Bio:

Twenty years ago

In many ways, men of science are the same of the priests and shamans of the old world. They have all devoted their lives to understanding the universe in one manner or another. Many become lost in the dogma and begin preaching theory as fact; they come to believe that they hold the one true answer. And when they are proven wrong, their faith is shaken. Jonathon McLeod believed more strongly than most that what he was doing was for the good of the world.

He was wrong.

McLeod was a scientist, but he also had a good head for business. He saw that if science was to make any truly great discoveries, then researchers would need the funding and the facilities to explore their fields of study. He brought his think tank idea before several world governments and NGOs. Some expressed interest. None followed through. He sunk years of his life into that project, and after a while groups wrote him off based entirely on his poor track record at winning over sponsors. None of them could see that with more superhuman beings appearing every day, humanity would need some kind of response. They all thought it was too risky, that it would raise too many eyebrows. McLeod began to come unhinged; he began to grow distant from his wife and daughter, and more and more of his friends and colleagues tired to dissuade him before he lost everything.

As the days turned to weeks, he and his wife, Amy, fought more frequently. The neighbours called the police three times, and child services had threatened to take little Jennifer if things continued to escalate. One rainy June night things went off worse than usual, and Amy took their daughter and left to stay with her parents. On that night, while he sat in the dark, halfway down a bottle of Glenborough to try and forget about how far he had fallen, his phone rang. Not the home phone, or the blackberry he used for the office. It was the cell phone he had bought specifically for potential investors. He swayed across the room and fumbled in the pocket of his blazer for it. He answered it. The voice on the other end was deep and brusque, with a slight accent. Whoever it was did not mince words.

"It has come to my employer's attention that you seek financial backing for a special project. She has reviewed the dossier containing the details and wishes to give you her full support. As I am speaking to you, our lawyers are drawing up a contract. It will be delivered to you at precisely six o'clock tomorrow morning."

"Whu-"

"You will have three days to examine said contract. We will expect your concise response at the end of this period of time. Good evening, Mister McLeod." There was the click of a receiver being hung up, and that was that.

Three rapid knocks on the door of his apartment roused Jon from his drunken haze. His head felt like it had repeatedly struck pavement. He searched for a clock. Shit, that had to be them. It wasn't a dream. It actually happened. Empty bottle of scotch still clutched in his hand, he faltered his way across the room, trying carefully to pick his way around the numerous stacks of books and magazines and failing spectacularly. Three more knocks, these sounding angrier than the last set. He reached the door and threw it open. The light of the morning blinded him, but he could make out the figure of a man before him. The man was tall with broad shoulders, but the glare of the sun hid the details of his face. The man handed Jon a brown paper envelope, then turned on his heel and and started off without a word.

The envelope contained the contract that the man on the phone had mentioned. It looked entirely legitimate. Jon reached for his blackberry and dialed his wife's number without looking at the keyboard. He raised it to his ear as he continued pouring over the contract.

"Hello? Amy? Please don't hang up! I want to- I need to apologize." Saga Industries would provide unlimited fiscal resources for the McLeod Think Tank. He could hand pick the candidates, all of whom would be given private work areas. Anything they needed for research would be given to them within two weeks. "I've been too tied up in this think tank project. I should have been a better husband, and- and a better father to Jennifer. But- Please hunny, I have amazing news. Yes but- Yes. I've found a sponsor. The think tank, it's going to happen." Saga Industries will be allowed to claim a patent on whichever of the projects that they desire, at which point the residents of the think tank must relinquish all claim over their intellectual properties. "Wait, what? You're pregnant?"

Cont:

You see, Jon and Amy really did love each other. Sure they fought, but more often than not they made up from those fights in a very intimate fashion. Jon trusted that the baby was his, and it helped bring the two of them closer together. McLeod signed the contract, with an amendment made that travel expenses would be put up for both him and his family to meet the potential recruits all over the world.

Months passed, and the three traveled out to meet dozens of candidates; the brightest of MIT, former Soviet scientists whose time had passed with the Cold War, and child prodigies whose parents couldn't possibly grasp what they were capable of. If Jonathon saw drive and desire to do good that he sought, he offered all of them a chance to come into the fold. Some turned him down. Others couldn't pass him up.

The McLeod Think Tank officially opened one year from the night of that phone call. The speed with which the institute was erected drew the attention of people all over the world; it wasn't long before the building itself had become a tourist attraction. McLeod's mysterious patron didn't waste any time in capitalizing on the attention, quickly turning the surface of the compound into a cross between science discovery centre and a theme park.

This kept the tourists occupied and away from the real work that was taking place. Two dozen men and women dedicating their lives to what they love. The compound provided everything they might need. The McLeods even moved in too when baby Alex was born.

For the first year everything was fine. Then the executives of Saga industries did their first inspection to see how work was progressing. Several of the projects caught their eye. Overnight, those projects disappeared. The researchers attached to them resolved to get to the bottom of the thefts. Another night passed, and they also disappeared. Jon personally went to the Saga executives for answers, but all they would give him was the contract he had signed two years prior. He knew they had the right to take the projects, and no one in the compound actually knew what had happened to the people who had had their work taken. Worst of all, anyone who had signed a contract with Saga Industries was legally obligated to continue their work for the next five years. Jonathon couldn't leave. As he made his way back to his family's quarters, Jon decided that the least he could do was get his family out of the Think Tank. Amy and the children couldn't be legally held there; if they could make it off company property, they could live free. Amy was one of the strongest people he knew. She could survive, and she could give their children a future. But she would never willingly leave him if she knew that he couldn't follow. It would be a terrible, no-win situation for her.

Part of her would always hate him for what he did that night.

Cont.

The next morning Amy woke up in a Washington Bus terminal. It was still early and relatively deserted. In the corner, a man in a raggedy jacket lay curled up on a bench, a silver flask clutched loosely in his hand. The whole place smelled lightly of urine. Something stirred in her lap and she looked down to see Jenny’s head rested there. The girl was still asleep. Next to her was a stroller that baby Alex was safely strapped in to. There was a note attached to the blanket that he was swaddled in.

Amy,

You have brought me more joy than any other person on this planet. I the times when I considered giving up entirely you kept me going. But now everything I have worked for has gone wrong. I can’t leave the Think Tank, but I was able to get you and the kids out. I know you will raise them well. Please forget about me.

Love,

Jon

Tears soaked into the note as she crumpled it and shoved it in the pocket of her PJs. That man was the biggest jackass she knew. She loved him. Amy and Jon had always been careful with their money. They had savings that were separate from their main bank account, and as far as she knew no one else was aware of it. She dabbed the sleeve of her shirt at her eyes and gently woke her daughter.

“Jenny, sweetie, wake up. We’re going somewhere knew.” The little girl began to stir. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she looked around.

“Where are we going? Is daddy coming?” Amy’s throat tightened, but she forced her voice to remain even.

“Daddy isn’t coming. He has to stay at work. It’s just you, me, and Alex.”

“But daddy…”

“Jenny.” Amy took a knee and firmly took the girl’s shoulders in her hands. Her voice was still calm, but she couldn’t hide the tears at the edge of her eyes. “I need you to be a big girl now and help me take care of your brother. Daddy had to stay at work to take care of us.” Jenny nodded slowly.

“Will we see him soon?” Amy turned away, using every ounce of willpower she had to force herself to keep her composure. When she spoke again her voice had brightened.

“Why don’t you help me push Alex? We’ll find the two of you some breakfast, and then we’ll go visit Grandma and Grandpa for a while. How does that sound?” The little girl nodded slowly, though the look in her eyes showed that she understood what subject change really meant. She was a smart girl. And she was resilient. She would survive losing her father. Alex was young enough that he wouldn’t be able to remember Jon very well, so it would be easier for him to grow up without a father. At least, that’s what Amy thought to herself as she and Jenny walked the stroller towards the nearest Diner. He could grow up with no memory of their time in the Think Tank, and Jonathon McLeod’s brain-child would never hurt him.

Cont.

Alex McLeod fell to his knees. His chest felt like it was on fire, and his already keen senses were being overwhelmed by the input of the world around him; the boys in jerseys around him turned into bright smears of blue or green. It felt like his bones were being broken and mended over and over again, each time taking on a different, warped shape. Muscles and sinew began to expand to fit the new frame and he could taste blood. His own blood? He couldn't tell.

All of a sudden the pain ceased. His body was fine, and he was completely naked standing in a forest glade. A woman in white stood before him and smiled as if in response to the dumbfounded expression on his face.

"Hi! My name is Luna Matris, but you can just call me Luna. It's very nice to meet you Alex." He shifted awkwardly in an attempt to cover himself from the pretty girl.

"How... How do you know-"

"I know your name because you're one of the Moon Born now. I know all about you. Well, sort of." Luna bit her lower lip and clasped her hands behind her back. She rocked back and forth on her feet, as if she was embarrassed to admit something. "You're not really a Moon Born. And I don't know everything. So... I guess I lied to you just now." Alex's cheeks flushed red in anger.

"Would you please just tell me what that means? Where am I? What happened to the basketball game?" Luna jumped in realization. She moved towards him and put her hands on his cheeks so that she was looking him dead in the eye.

"You are a werewolf." Silence for a moment.

"Are... Are you kidding?"

"No, I'm not kidding! That's why I wanted to look you in the eye, so that maybe you would believe me. Because you have to believe me and go back to your body right now!" Alex stepped back and looked down at himself.

"I'm... Not in my body?"

"No! Every time a lycanthrope- sorry, werewolf- has their first change, the human part of them comes here, to the source of the new part of them. If the person is strong enough to remember this meeting when they go back then they may be able to cope with the changes and retake control of their body. But you... You're weird." Alex shot her an indignant look.

"Hey-"

"Oh, calm down. I meant... You're unlike anybody else I've seen come here, and there have been a lot. You're a werewolf, I know that. But you're... I feel a stronger connection to you than I have to anyone mortal since the dawn of time. You're significant to me in some way that even I don't understand. The problem is..."

"Yes?"

"I don't know what is going to happen when you go back to your body." Silence again. Alex sat down on the grass and buried his head in his hands.

"I... How did this even happen? I've only even seen a wolf at the Zoo!" Luna guffawed.

"Sorry... Everyone nowadays thinks that is the way it works. It's just really silly." Her face hardened as she stepped towards him and offered him her hand. "I'm sorry, but you need to go back. The change usually doesn't happen around so many people..." Alex's eyes snapped open. He had been in the middle of a basket ball game.

"Send me back now." Luna nodded.

"Take my hand." As his fingers met hers the forest glade dissolved away; the last thing he saw was Luna's smile.

He was kneeling over his mother. One of his hands was wrapped through her hair, and she held a handgun pointed at his chest. A look of shock was etched upon her face. When did he get so tired? Alex blacked out.

Cont.

Alex became dimly aware that he was in the seat of a car, and moving faster than could have been legal. He could smell someone next to him, hear their heartbeat. The lingering scent of tobacco hung around him. He opened his eyes. The tattered uniform that had barely clung to him when he returned to his body had been replaced with a t-shirt and jeans, and a light jacket was draped around his shoulders. His mother was driving, a cigarette clutched firmly in her teeth.

"Since when do you smoke?..."His voice cracked. His vocal cords felt raw, like someone had scraped them with sandpaper. She started and her head whipped to look at him for a moment before returning to the road. Her eyes looked wild.

"Whu- Oh. I haven't since before Jenny was born. Alex..."

"I know what happened. At least, I think I do... Did it..."

"Three. At least a dozen more were in critical condition when I carried you out of there. No one saw you change back, but you can bet someone was filming the game." Alex cocked an eye at her.

"You seem to be handling all this very well." She glanced at him again and let out a sigh.

"I've been worried that Jon did something to you when you were a baby."

"Jon?"

"...Your father." The car turned down a back alley, and for a time neither of them spoke. Neither of them knew what to say. "There are a lot of things I should have told you-"

"You don't say! You told me that you had no idea who my father was! You told me-"

"I know what I told you, dammit! Just shut up and listen, and try to keep calm. Your father founded the McLeod Think Tank, and for all I know he's still there now. You spent the first two years of your life in the facilities underneath that place. Then one day things started going sideways, and the next thing I know I wake up with you and your sister in some bus station a hundred miles away." She paused to let him take everything in.

"What did he do to me?"

"I don't know. But Saga, the people who funded that place, have been tracking us ever since. That's why my friends from the force are always over at our place. I asked them to stay close, to keep you and your sister safe while I was on my beat." Silence. The police cruiser began to slow, and Amy pulled over to the side of the dirt road. "You need to get out and run."

"Wha-"

"There's a duffle bag in the trunk with some supplies. I've had it ready for years in case of something like this..."

"Where am I going?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to know. The only way I can keep you safe is if I don't know where you are. I'll cover your trail from here, but the rest is on you." She looked him in the eye, and her stern facade faded. "Alex, sweetie... I love you. If I could go with you I would, but I can't do anything to help you with this. I know you. And I know you'll be able to survive on your own. You were a much better student than your sister was at survival training." Alex's throat began to tighten, and he could feel tears at the edge of his eyes.

"Mom..." Her eyes hardened again.

"Go." He met her gaze for a second longer, then nodded and undid his seat belt. He went to the trunk to retrieve the supply bag and slung it over his shoulder, then took off at a steady jog to the East, towards the forests at the base of the Appalachians. He didn't look back. She didn't either.

Powers

Alex is a Moon Born, more commonly known as Lycanthrope or werewolf. His Lycanthropy has the same source as most of his kind, but he is different in a few key ways:

1. Alex does not possess the traditional weakness to silver.
2. Alex can manifest aspects of his beast form while still remaining human (growing claws, enhanced senses, increasing physical abilities, etc.)
3. Alex has very little control over his beast form.

Human form:

While in his human form, Alex still possesses enhanced strength (sufficient to lift/press 4 tons), superhuman speed and agility, wolf-like senses, and a healing factor that is tied, more or less, to his will to live. That is not to say that he cannot be hurt or killed, just that he will heal from relatively minor injuries as long as he has the desire to continue. His body is also much more durable than a normal person, with his bones and tissue having become more dense after his first change. In addition, Alex's stamina is great enough that he is capable of performing particularly strenuous acts for days on end before needing rest.

After one of these extended periods of strenuous activity, and after a particularly long period in his beast form without feeding, Alex requires a much greater amount of food for his body to continue functioning at peak condition.

Beast form:

While in his werewolf form, all of Alex's physical abilities are magnified to greater levels. Alex has very little control over his Lycan form at the best of times. While he can change at will if he so desires, the change can also be triggered by a burst of passionate emotion. When this happens he automatically enters a berserk rage and cannot be easily shaken from it.

In both forms Alex has a very strong connection to the spirit world, particularly to the Luna Matris, the spirit of the moon and the source of all Lycans. Alex has yet to test the depths of this connection.