Mark Heaton.

Mark had a strange upbringing. His parents were both biologists who studied the harshest habitats on earth in a joint effort. They hoped to discover the secrets of the life that lived there like no one had before them, and to do that, they needed to go to the ends of the earth for prolonged periods of time. And when Mark was born, he was taken along for the ride. When he was 15, he made the difficult decision to stop traveling the world and focus on his studies, but refused to let them put their research on hold until he grew up. He lived on his own in an apartment on the edge of London, and for the first time in his life went to a normal school. He didn't make many friends; he had never truly learned how with people his own age. He had it tough, but the gifts that his parents sent him and their occasional visits kept him strong. He studied hard against adversity. But it wasn't enough.

When his results came through at the end of his A levels (FYI these are the qualifications you need to get into University) he didn't get what he needed. The fates seemed to be ganging up on him. He didn't know what to do with his life anymore. He wasn't the science genius that he wanted to be. At the exact moment when he was dreading making the call to his parents who he assumed were eagerly awaiting his results to come through, there was a knock at the door. In utter fear that he was in for a surprise visit, he looked through the peep hole in the door, only to see a large parcel on his doorstep. They had never sent a package of this size before. He opened it to find a two tailed scorpion and a letter. It read that his parents were sorry that they couldn't be there with him, so they sent someone else. This was a scorpion that they had found in the Atacama desert, where it really had no right being. But somehow it managed to survive in a place where nothing else does: it reminded them of him, and that they wished that he would take great care of it. They said It wasn't poisonous, and if he wanted to let it crawl over his hands he should be wary of it's claws. They wished him well, and gave their love. Mark carefully folded the letter and put it with the rest; Then he had a good long look at his new friend. He opened it's cage, and reached in to put it on his hand. It scuttled on, scurried up his arm and then it sunk both of it's tails into his forearm. He didn't recoil, he just winced as he slowly took it off and placed it back into it's cage. He let out a hollow laugh: really his parents were the only people on his side. Then he felt a strange sensation flow up through his arm, and promptly fell unconscious.

When he awoke, he tried to gasp.. but couldn't. A piercing noise was filling his ears, and he couldn't see, he couldn't move and he wasn't breathing. He could feel that he was on the floor, but that was about it. His eyelids felt like they had been stapled shut, and now he was panicing. He didn't know if he was dead or he was dying or if his spirit was trapped in his body, but all he knew was that he couldn't get out of his current position. He tried to shout for help to no avail. Then a tinge of pain reminded him that it was all that damned scorpion's fault. His parents had been mistaken: it was terribly poisonous. It was terribly poisonous and they should have known better. They should have known better and now he was going to die. Or maybe he was already dead: he really didn't know. His mind turned from panic to anger as he stopped thinking about what he couldn't do but what he would do if he ever got out of this situation.

And then he heard the phone ringing. He opened his eyes, and he got up with a start. A start so vicious that he damn near threw his arm out of socket.

Over the following weeks, Mark learned many things. He once again had feeling in his right thumb, which had sustained nerve damage after a nasty fall in his youth. He could get more out of his muscles than he could before, but after a while they began to hurt. When he truly focused on a task or on an object, time would seem to slow down as much as he needed it to: it was as if his brain was overclocking itself when it felt like it needed more processing power. He didn't know if there was a limit to how much his perception of time could change, and he has never found out. But most interestingly of all, upon overriding his reflex to breathe, time would almost stop. He couldn't move in this state, only think and watch what his eyes would show him. He didn't know why or how this came to be, but ultimately put it down to something we did not yet understand about the brain. But he concluded that his nerves could regenerate, and it was possible that their entire make-up had been changed: they sent signals like wires. Also, he found that his memory had improved and explanations seemed easier for him to grasp. It was as though things that he struggled with before just made sense. And his muscles always seemed tired. And he was always hungry. And it didn't take much to make him out of breath.

He found out that basic use of his muscles would put them under strain unless he exercised constant control: they no longer limited themselves so he had to consciously. His fitness was growing incredibly quickly, just by living his life. As he grew in his control, his breathing-pauses were becoming less and less frequent and easier to handle; he was ending every day with less fatigue as his body adapted and he learned to use only as much force as was necessary. He was finally feeling confident with what the universe seemed to have given him.

He retook his exams and passed with flying colours. He went to University and that was where his life went in a decidedly different direction than he had anticipated. And then blatant corruption came to his attention. To have it constantly in his peripheral vision irritated him to no end, and using his new abilities, he fought it with an ease that surprised him. He could deduce things as though he were a trained detective, and he could only put it down to the same reason time stopped when he focused on his breathing: he simply had no idea. It was exposed and no one knew how, much to his delight. All went back to normal, with him being the weird kid that was nice, but was a little off. If only they knew. A knock small knock resounded on the door, and he paused for a second. He opened it expecting a surprise family visit, but instead there was an envelope with no deliverer. It read in letters cut from a newspaper that they knew what he had done, and that they congratulated him on the good work. An organisation was interested in his services if he wanted to continue to fight the good fight. It was signed by Gem, with nothing else other than a phone number. He didn't quite know what to make of it.

He continued with his life, but the letter burned away at the back of his mind. He finished his first year, and with no real friends and very little to do in his dorm alone, he called the number. It didn't ring, and went to static before cutting off: "the number you have dialed is incorrect". He really didn't know what to make of that. A few days later on a supply run, a girl was about to bump into him as they walked past. His brain slowed everything down slightly, as it tended to do. He went to move out of the way, but she moved in closer. He felt what anyone else would have ignored, as he felt her hand slide something into his jacket pocket as she made eye contact and mouthed "sorry". He stopped walking as he turned to watch her walk away. She didn't turn around, and her pace slightly quickened. He felt into his pocket and found a phone. Then he followed her. He tailed her without trying to hide his presence, and she broke into a run. He caught up to her as she hid in a coffee shop. He wore a hat, and took off his jacket, ordered two coffees and then sat down opposite her. He offered one to her, and with a timid appreciation, she accepted. She looked younger than him, and by this point he was 19.

She introduced herself as Gem, and that he was the first to be so difficult. She ran a secret outfit of what she called 'vigilantes for hire'. She made them known to people oppressed by rather shady business practices, and then they would work to expose the illegal activity, and reap a large fee from the customer's lawsuit. They were a group of about 6 people at the moment, all like Mark, but none as successful. They all needed Gem's help to bring down the hammer of justice, but he did not. Gem explained that she ran everything, kept everyone anonymous, and was making a decent amount of money. Then she asked if he truly wanted to join them, or if he had simply satiated his curiosity. He took a deep breath to digest all the information, and then accepted a temporary role while he finished Uni. If he liked what he saw, he may consider working with her full time. She smiled, and then proceeded to leave with a man in the opposite stall who gave Mark a grin before leaving. He had a tazer on his belt.

When he finally decided to work full time, he was given a mask, and he chose the code name Wire. He impressed his comrades with his apparent inability to make a mistake, and he famously dodged a bullet (in actuality he had dodged the bullet before the trigger could even be pulled, and even then only by mere millimetres did he escape unscathed). It all was going well until they made an enemy. Their groups sudden increase in efficiency had gained them a notoriety even if it didn't make it to the media. Their success was now their greatest weakness. Multiple traps were set, and one by one the group members died. They could never get to Gem, she hid herself too well, but she could do little to discourage the band not to avenge their fallen friends, as they had done for some many others. Wire was the only one who was unkillable, and in a particularly emotional conversation, where she blamed him for why their friends were dead, and accused him of being a traitor as the only one to stay alive, he revealed his powers to her. The reconciled, and then they worked together to finally bring them to justice. And they did just that.

Now just the two of them, they didn't know whether or not they should continue on with their business. Wire was for it, but Gem was much more curious about his scorpion, and how he came upon it. They discovered after half a year of digging, and at the age of 22, Wire finally found answers to a question he had neglected to ask. There was a hidden bunker in arguably the most sterile place on earth: the Atacama desert. It was used by a very ambitious and promising cell of scientific researchers in their attempts to cure all manner of ailments. One such cure was a cure for nerve damage. However, they were not as good at budgeting as they were at science, and they were quickly running out of funds and the faith of their investors. They were having to resort to increasingly peculiar proposals to keep their interest up. They had gotten the research for nerve damage off the ground by attempting to administer the serum through a scorpion sting, but they were ultimately unsuccessful. The team was dissolved, and the scientists involved were moved to other groups. Mark and Gem could only guess that as Mark's had two tails, it must have been thrown out as it had been born a mutant, and so was unsuitable for testing. The sheer coincidences that surrounded his rebirth gave Mark serious doubts that that was all that it was: coincidence. But that wasn't something that he could fathom, much less come to any logical conclusion about. Upon this realisation, they decided that they had best get back to work. Then the Awakening happened.

TL;DR, Mark gained his powers before the Awakening as a young man, through a bizarre sequence of coincidences. He worked as a 'vigilante for hire' as part of a group bent on bringing an end to corruption, and getting paid to do so. This was headed by Gem, a computer prodigy with a drive. They gained notoriety and were systematically killed off, all but Mark, who had picked the codename Wire. Together him and Gem took their attackers down, but ceased their work for fear that the next time they came under attack, they wouldn't be underestimated. They instead worked to discover the origins of Mark's powers, and they were successful in the endeavor, and began to prepare to get back to work. Then.. well. That kinda got scuppered.

Wire has recently gained some notoriety as a "private investigator" in America, who is willing to take any job if the pay is good enough. As there was no previous public record of his exploits, it is unknown what side he places himself on, or whether or not his only concern is money.

Gem no longer seems to be in the picture.

Wire is constantly in a state of anxiety, although the degree of anxiety varies significantly. He still feels guilty about the loss of his colleagues, as the only conclusion that he can come to as to why they died is that it was his fault. He believes to have buried this away, but it still burns deep within his mind and is the reason why he works alone. He only tolerates Gem as she is safe in a location he would die before he would give up. He is very logical to the point that he factors in his own emotions and the emotions of others in his decision making. When thinking things through, he tends to debate things in his head between two voices, and doesn't know whether or not this makes him mentally unsound. He believes that a higher power keeps the universe ticking, and the Awakening has confused him immensely on what form this power could take. He believes that it is impossible for him to have simply stumbled into his powers, that there must have been some force of fate at work. He has decided that it would be impossible to know, and so he has decided just to keep on surviving with what he has been given.

Name: Luca Novik

Codename: St Francis of The Wild

Age: 40

Gender: male

Place of Birth: he was born in Belarus and moved to New York when he was only two years old.

Affiliations: nature, the catholic faith, and very recently the League.

Occupation: overseer of the wild, protector of nature and part time superhero.

Appearance: Luca is about average in height and stands at exactly six feet. He has dark brown hair and his eyes are a leaf green in color. His skin is slightly darker than most Caucasian Europeans do to his his family being Turkic Roma. While he is in the form of St Francis, Luca wears a dark brown robe that is the typical dress of a monk and a Acorn Hat. His hair is still the same color but he also has a beard

Powers:

Animal Control: St Francis has the ability to communicate and command all kinds of animals with the exception of humans and creatures that are evil. This power has a max range of three hundred yards when it comes to controlling animals but it is not really well known how far he can communicate or call animals to him

Plant Manipulation: This power allows St Francis to grow and control all kinds of plants at a very fast rate. What allows him to use this ability is his ability to use divine mana.

Web of Life Perception: This ability grants St Francis the power to see the web of life which is the connection that all life on earth shares. He perceives the web in a glowing golden aura that all life has. St Francis is also able to see the auras in total darkness, but non-living entities do not give off an aura and so he cannot see them in the dark.

Divine Mana manipulation: Divine Mana is a combination between divine energy and mana which is the life force of the environment. This is what gives St Francis his powers, and replenishes his divine mana reserves by the power of prayer and nature. His reserves can rise to a max level which allows him to use his powers for twenty four hours, but whenever he uses any of his powers he has to use his mana reserves. Finally, St Francis can use the energy to heal himself and living things but the process can be very slow depending on how wounded he or anyone else he heals is and how much mana he is putting into the process.

Ecological empathy: This ability allows St Francis to have a psychic link with the well being of the environment and know if there are any ailments that are befalling it. This can be both a benefit and a curse, if the environment is being harmed then he will experience pain in the form of a bad headache, this power also can make being in heavily industrial area unpleasant for him.

Griffon Companion: St Francis has a divine bond with a Griffon named Horin which he can summon from the heavenly realm of God. Horin can fly at a top speed of mach 2 speeds and is very powerful in combat thanks to his divine energy. St Francis uses Horin as his ride when he needs to get somewhere fast as well as assists him in battle. Summoning can cost a good amount of divine mana and although Horin is very powerful, if he takes too much energy then the griffon will have to return back to heaven to regain his strength and he can die if he receives too many fatal wounds.

Skills: extremely good knowledge of nature and excellent handler of animals.

Equipment/Resources: He has a wooden staff that helps him focus his power and uses it when he gets into a physical fight.

Weaknesses: Weapons made of iron can give him wounds that are much harder to heal and his plant powers are weaker when he is using them on iron. Silver weakens him and if he is in close vicinity of it, his powers will slowly be drained. He has has the vulnerabilities of ordinary humans if he doesn't use his powers as a form of defense. chemicals that harm the environment can hurt him and make him very sick. Severe damage to the environment can cause him great pain and it can make him loose focus.

Psychological Profile: Luca is very withdrawn from society and is more comfortable living out in the wilderness, surrounded by nature and the animals that live in it. He doesn't really see that much of a need to rejoin civilization and feels that there is too many bad memories for him to live in society. His parents' death were the cause of his seclusion and his reasons for becoming a hermit. Thanks to his powers, Luca doesn't need to have a single penny feed himself or live in a house and thus doesn't believe in ties to material goods. Luca is very environmentally conscious and believes that nature like with all of God's creations should be respected and cherished instead of ignored and tarnished.

Luca is very devout in his faith and still will visit a church near a forest every Sunday. He is a friend of St Michael but unlike him, Luca did not openly reveal himself to world by swearing his loyalty to the catholic church before the pope in Rome. He is extremely loyal to the church but he didn't want to become one of its main symbols and believes that he can make a difference in a more smaller way. He really hates people who hurt the environment and make the world's unique animals become endangered. He doesn't really believe in science, Luca views nature in a more spiritual sense instead of a scientific way.

As St Francis, he is able to socialize with the animals of the wild and has befriended many of them. He has a very powerful bond with his griffon Horin and would risk his life a hundred times to save his friend from death. Because he can perceive the web of life, St Francis is also very caring of people, he just doesn't like the pollution that comes with civilization, and will help those in need. He is very gracious and charitable and has fed many hungry people with his powers and has given sanctuary to those that have needed. As a hero, he is motivated by the idea that if evil prevails in man's civilization, then that darkness and corruption will spread to the wild as well.

Biography: Luca's life began in Belarus where he was born to a Roma mother and father. When he was three years old, him and his parents moved to America because of the ignorance that other Europeans attacked his people with. The Roma were never really considered proper Europeans by many, and they faced discrimination from several countries. Once in America, Luca's parents became working class citizens who barely had enough money to put food on the table and from this poor background, Luca learned that materialism and greed did not help with the suffrage of the unfortunate. During his childhood years, Luca was bullied at school for being different and felt like an outcast because of his heritage. He did find solace in the woods and parks of his town where he was surrounded by the beauty of nature. He didn't know why but it felt right to him and he spent a good amount of his time there.

The tragedies in his life didn't stop with his loneliness, and at the age of twelve Luca's parents were killed during a failed break in of their home. They had told him to hind when it happened, but he had been frozen with fear and saw his parents gunned down. He couldn't believe what he had seen and he screamed out in horror at what had just happened. Luca expected the robber to turn his weapon on him and kill him, but the murderer had fled and left Luca to sob over the bodies of his parents. When the police finally came, Luca was knelt over his parents and said nothing as the officers moved him away from them. After his parents' murder, Luca learned that the police couldn't find the man who had killed his parents and he began to doubt his reasons for living in society.

He decided to runaway from the foster system and fled into the wild. Once in the wilderness, he felt a strange presence in the woods with him that was not like any being he had ever known. Luca felt afraid and ran deeper into the woods to try and get away from the thing whose presence he felt. His running soon had him come to a beautiful grove and there he was approached by the legendary St Francis of Assisi. The christian saint told him that even though he has lost so much, God still had plans for him. St Francis of Assisi explained that Luca would gain his powers and be tasked with protecting the earth and the creatures that lived within it. He told him to speak these words in Latin "In name of the father, the son and the holy spirit, St Francis of Assisi, I wish to become thee."

Once Luca said these words he transformed into the great saint and he had also been given incredible powers. He discovered that he had power all animals and plants. When he transformed into St Francis, Luca became even more separate from society and it tooks him years to regain ability to overcome his parents' death. After the Awakening, Luca decided to become a superhero to defend nature and humanity. He eventually was asked to join the League in Chicago and wanting to help make a difference, Luca accepted and became a member.

Name: Eugene Colburt

Code Name: He’s new to this “superhero” thing, doesn’t have one (poor guy)

Age: 25

Gender: Male (both in sex and gender)

Place of Birth: Elk Point, Alberta (resided in Edmonton from the age of three onwards) and currently living in Toronto, Ontario (because I can actually identify some places there LMAO)

Affiliations: Verona Academy (school intended to unlock the magical gifts of users). Previously aligned in a group with several former students before the eventual destruction of the school by another former student. Was in a relationship with another girl who went by the name Allison (real name is currently unknown) before she was “killed” (she technically can’t die due to the fact that, after several hundred years, he body will regenerate due to her monster nature, but Eugene will be long gone). Other members of this team consisted of “Riot” (ability to manipulate her body structure), Delphine (can alter chemical material, such as the amount of oxygen in a bloodstream), Katja (may be used in this RP; can create “silent points”; more TBA if she’s used), Oscar (can change the velocity of organics and objects), and Carullo (non-organic time manipulation). Team was not really used for anything but was disbanded all the same. Enemies with Olivia Whittaker and Raindancer Evers (she’s sort of a hippie LMAO) due to their (mostly indirect) parts in the death of Allison and the school’s destruction, as well as the disappearance and assumed murder of his headmaster and mentor, Silvana Fusetti, who wielded an incredibly powerful but possessive magic known as the Eye of Truth. Seeks to one day kill Raindancer, though her magic would likely prevent him from doing this (she can be gloriously OP, LMAO). Has a twin brother named Caleb who went “dark”, though he has not seen Caleb for many years and doesn’t know this. Father is currently still living in Alberta.

Occupation: Attending school to achieve his doctorate in North American history

Appearance: Eugene is what one would describe as dismally average. He has average dark brown eyes, average ear-length messy hair, and average slightly tanned Caucasian skin. His only not-so-average grace is his height; he is gangly and stands in at about 6 feet and 5 inches. He tends to wear simple clothing, almost exclusively jeans and a t-shirt and occasional hoodie. He is incredibly fond of baseball caps, and generally wears a simple blue one backwards on his head.
I always sort of imagined him as being an older and dweebier Hilbert from Pokemon Black and White, LMAO.

Powers: Eugene has a unique and often underrated power; however, its limitations also can inhibit him from being as powerful as anyone. In fact, Eugene is distinctly NOT powerful. However, his magic is incredibly useful as a supportive means.
Possessing psychometric-like abilities, Eugene is able to touch an object or an organic and see in its past and present. While this may not seem to others like it has much use, this allows Eugene to relive past conversations and thoughts, which permit him to plan against attacks, etc. However, since he’s really damn weak, he often will use his ability to transfer these images and snippets to allies, who would be able to use them more effectively than him.
Eugene can store these images permanently, as well as their sensations, which he can then transfer to others. For example, if he touches an object or person that has undergone serious burn damage, he will accept that pain and be able to transfer it to others. Unfortunately, this means that he’s usually in pain all the time, LMAO. This also does not transfer the actual injury, only the sensation, so the worst he can do is some nerve damage from extreme pain or something, LMAO.
Eugene has a photographic and perfect memory. If you lose your keys, he’ll find them for you with just a tap on your shoulder. :p

Skills: He has a fairly high pain tolerance at this point (partially from visions, partially because his friend Riot had a bad habit of slapping people on the back in a genial manner and sending them flying into walls). However, he is constrained by a weak physical form, so it’s kind of useless unless he is absorbing painful memories.
Again, perfect memory (which is good and bad, LMAO).
He also knows a s*it-ton of history, LMAO.

Equipment/Resources: None. He doesn’t have a superhero outfit either, since he doesn’t really consider himself one. He spends most of his time tooling around and rescuing old ladies purses…if he can catch up with the person (he’s not very fast).

Weaknesses: Has no “superhuman” strength/immune abilities, so pretty much any hit will one hit kill him, LMAO. He has no magical resistances, so any type of spell will hit hard. He’s not particularly strong or fast. Also requires physical contact with whomever he is using his ability on.

Psychological Profile: Eugene is the class clown type of guy. He’s laid back and pretty friendly with anyone who doesn’t try to kill him on their first meeting (though he makes exceptions on occasion *coughsALLISONcoughs*), and often jokes around. He doesn’t appear, on the surface, to take many things seriously; however, beneath that, Eugene has actually struggled with a lot of bad history, and he has a grudge match with the girl who started most of that history. And that’s another thing; Eugene has an absolute fascination with history, and loves handling ancient objects and absorbing their knowledge. For someone who is often kidding around, Eugene is highly intelligent, more so than his everyday conversation may make him seem.
Eugene is willing to get his hands dirty if it means getting a job done, but he is squeamish with harming innocent civilians.

Biography: Eugene grew up in a fairly normal home with his mother, father, and twin brother, Caleb. Both his parents were retired historians who spent most of their time writing novels on their respective areas; his father, Richard, on the Civil War and the southern states of America in general, and his mother, Agnes, on Asian cultures. Eugene, the younger of the twins by three minutes and twenty-four seconds, was considered the “baby” of the family, always being treated as such. He and his brother both got along exceedingly well, and his childhood was mostly spent reading books about history, which fascinated him. His parents were pleased to see their son take such a keen interest in their own field, and their home in Edmonton became a house of knowledge, with them taking frequent trips to the places that his parents described and studied. Caleb did not share the same interests, preferring sport and the like, the brawn to his brother’s brains. He generally didn’t go on the trips.

Eugene never really knew he had power. In fact, it was possible that it was a dormant trait, as it was never exhibited for the early years of his life. Sometimes when he hugged his mum before going to sleep, he could almost see her thoughts, or so he believed, and sometimes when he walked into a room or picked something up, it was as though something about it would fleet through his mind before going again. No, Eugene never discovered what his power was until his father and he took a trip down to an old, forgotten battlefield in Georgia. When he was walking around, looking for artefacts to add to his collection, he came upon a bullet shell. Pleased that he had discovered something, Eugene bent down to pick it up, and instantly it seemed like he was back on the battlefield the day that it was fought on. He could smell smoke and hear the blast of guns and the dying screams of men in starkly coloured uniforms. He could SEE it. In fact, after a few moments, he could feel a searing pain in his left rib – a feeling as though he had been shot.

Collapsing, Eugene dropped the shell, in shock as he curled his hands around his side, unaware that he was screaming. His father rushed to him, but the boy had no visible markings. Concerned that he was having some internal injury, he drove to the nearest hospital, the boy still twitching a little, but on the way there he sat back up, perfectly fine. Mystified, Richard took him to the hospital anyways, but he was deemed fine.

Eugene didn’t know what it was, but from that day forth, every time he touched something, he felt that same jolt, seeing everything there was to see. Once he touched a beam of his house, and he swore he saw the day that the tree was seeded, hundreds of years ago. His parents were still confused about the times he’d touch something and then cry out, grabbing his toe or arm as though he had somehow injured himself. He grew physically distant from them, as though he would be burned if he touched them; in reality, he just didn’t want to see their previous thoughts and actions. However, the family still got on well enough.

Eugene didn’t do that great in his first year of middle school. Other kids were afraid to play with him due to his perpetually confused attitude and the weird jolts they got when he would brush against them in any way. Whenever he would do something odd or space out, they would often call him names, and he was deemed as the “weird” kid. He struggled in pretty much every course except History, which he consistently aced. This behaviour continued into the later grades, but he didn’t mind at all. He had his brother, who would stand up for his twin no matter what. Due to Caleb’s popularity among his classmates, most people left Eugene alone – as long as his brother was around. However, being the only one with powers – and ones that he found he had trouble controlling – made Eugene feel lonely sometimes. He longed to meet other people who struggled like he did.

The choice arose in Eugene’s second year of high school, near the end of the year. He was asked to attend the prestigious Verona Academy, a school renowned only for accepting the most gifted, located on an island far away from the constraints of Canada. Not only this, but he was offered a hefty scholarship. His parents were exceptionally proud and Eugene, excited to perhaps find those who would accept him, agreed as soon as he saw the letter. Caleb, however, was left out cold, though he insisted his brother take the opportunity. Eugene, ever the favourite son, was given a large send-off party and departed for Verona at the beginning of his junior year of high school.

While Eugene may have been gifted in the area of history, this was not the gifts that Verona had meant. He had gotten exactly what he had prayed for – a place where he could learn to control his powers, a place for those with the gift of magic. Roomed with a large group of people from North America, Eugene found himself making friends suddenly and quickly; sharp but witty-tongued Delphine, polite Oscar, optimistic Katja, brash Riot, wildly intelligent pRoxii (who is now renowned among the Internet), hilarious Carullo, and the beautiful, mysterious, cold Allison, a girl he often found himself tongue-tied around, among others. It was a strange feeling to always have people to talk to, but two people among the group on their floor eluded them, Raindancer and Olivia, each quiet and preferring to be alone.

Not only did Eugene begin to excel his classes under the tutelage of his new teachers, he began to learn to control his power. While it remained wild and often left him disoriented, he began to learn to block against the visions when he touched anything, could focus on single moments in history more, and even transfer visions to others, to help or to harm.

When Eugene was first invited to the office of Ms. Fusetti, the headmaster of the academy, he couldn’t help but feel terror that he would be kicked out. It was quite the opposite; Ms. Fusetti, a strange woman with many secrets and an equally secretive eyepatch over her right eye, expressed interest in teaching Eugene privately. He knew she often met students in private (he had seen the two elusive girls from his floor there before) but he didn’t think she made offers like this to just anyone. He accepted this offer, of course, and began to also learn other things from her. These weren’t just things about his power, they were things about magical abilities as a whole, and he was fascinated by her.

He also began to strike up a more friendly relationship with Allison, and even when he discovered her true non-human nature, continued to love her. He was fairly certain he was going to explode when she accepted his invitation to the big end of the year dance, and was sure part of him did when she agreed to begin a romantic relationship with him.

Going home for summer vacation was the hardest thing Eugene ever did. While he enjoyed his time with his parents (and their delight at his willingness to hug and kiss them again), he couldn’t help but feel like he was somehow no longer a part of this mundane world. He missed his classes on magical history. However, the isolation had also cut Eugene off from much of the world, and he was surprised to hear that there were now many commonplace and known superpowered organizations, the largest being something called “The League”.

Realizing this, Eugene finally confessed his power to his parents, who were incredibly relived to finally hear why their son had had his “fits”. Now with such a gifted son, they were almost tempted to boast the town, but at his begging kept it to themselves. However, they did tell Caleb – and he was less than impressed.
Returning to his senior year, Eugene reconnected with his friends instantly. He also continued to see Ms. Fusetti, and eventually, she expressed her interest that, if he so desired, she was willing to make him the next history teacher of the school.

Eugene was overwhelmed with happiness; he would be able to stay at the place that he had found himself in, and instantly agreed. He worked even harder and managed to procure a spot at the University of Toronto in the history department, deciding to specialize in North American history. ESPECIALLY southern America history, where it all began.

Things were also going well with Allison. While she was by no means a SUPER NICE YAY PERSON yet, she had improved greatly, and was interacting with Eugene’s main circle of friends with much less animosity than before. In fact, he was pretty convinced that she actually genuinely like them. Eugene 1, Allison 0.
However, that was when things started to fall apart.

Eugene’s mother died in a freak car accident when she was on the highway with Caleb, though the latter was somehow unscathed by the accident, physically and emotionally. Eugene had to fly back to Alberta for her funeral, during which he and Caleb quarrelled. Caleb was tired of being the “unloved” son, and after a particularly nasty bout of words, stormed out of the funeral. Eugene has not seen Caleb since that day.

The worst, however, was what he heard on the news that evening.

Verona Academy, haven to all supernaturals, had been destroyed…and the main suspect had been a Miss Raindancer Evers, an emotionally unstable and exceedingly powerful supernatural. Ms. Fusetti, who had gone on a trip a week prior, had been declared missing. Many of Eugene’s friends had died.

That included Allison Hendricks.

His entire world had fallen through.

Eugene had nowhere else to go. He began drinking and smoking, almost in a binge like manner, and never showed up for his first year of university. He spent most of his time lurking in the basement of the family home until his father, though understanding of his son’s pain, kicked him out.

It was only when Eugene touched one of his mother’s old books that he began to remember everything he did have to live for as the memories surged through him of all the times he and his mother had sat down, reading that same book. There was a chance, now; a chance to begin Verona again, and a chance to destroy the girl who had torn it down. Possibly, maybe, even a chance to bring back Allison from wherever she had gone.

The best way to do this was through the League.

Though Eugene continued his studies at the University of Toronto (which he began attending) he became a member. He never looked back, after that day.

There was nothing to look back to, only forwards.