Virgil was the classic example of a baby born with a silver spoon in its mouth. Rich, important parents; a family manor nestled in the beautiful landscapes of rural France; and enough money to hire as many servants and spoil as many children as his parents desired. Born as the second child to the Ziegler family, his elder brother Rene was the heir to it all; his Mother's distant yet strong ties to the Aristocracy, and his father's booming business in medical research. However, Rene was too enamoured with money and power to even consider his parent's hopes. As the boys grew older, it became clear that Virgil was the brighter of the two, and his parents made sure to help this obvious intelligence thrive from a young age. Looking back, Virgil would probably concede that his parents pushed him just a little too hard; the young prodigy, as he was scathingly called by Rene. However, this never birthed resentment between the Ziegler parents and their youngest son. Being both competitive and eager to succeed, Virgil took to their teachings, lectures and strict schedule like a duck to water. In time, he no longer bothered with the allocated hours of play he was permitted; it was instead more entertaining for him to read books, work on his languages and sciences, and generally better himself in his academics. Safe to say, he didn't really have many friends as a child, which likely had an impact on his socialising as a grown-up, among with other factors. No friends, that is, until his little sister was born.

Annette Ziegler; Virgil fell in love with her as soon as he saw her little pink face, body swathed in blankets and being held by their (very) exhausted mother. Virgil had never felt this way with Rene; their relationship had been a solely antagonistic one, and upon hearing 9 months prior that his mother was once again pregnant, Virgil assumed the same would occur with the newest addition to the family. The sudden swell of protectiveness and love upon meeting his little sister for the first time was a strange sensation to the then 13-year-old. Perhaps it was because he was old enough to know the difference between a sibling and a rival, unlike Rene had been when Virgil was born; perhaps it was due to the current Omnic Crisis, the very thing that had killed off his Aunt and Uncle and left his cousin Angela orphaned, and had left a strange sense of foreboding across the family despite the two halves of the Ziegler clan being mainly estranged for the majority of their father's lives. Virgil himself had only met Angela once or twice as a child, mainly due to strained family reunions or muted funerals of some distant relation. He had mainly ignored her at that age, as had Rene; the latter too haughty to speak to his cousin because of some silly argument between their fathers, and the former simply finding nothing interesting about the girl, just as he had with most people his own age.

However, Annette changed all of this. Virgil began to grow some empathy, something his father had been worried the boy was lacking in in regards to his future as a Doctor. Spare time was used to help his sister flourish, rather than focusing on his own studies at the time. The children grew, and the crisis passed. By the time Annette was walking, Virgil had already taken part in the MENSA test and given the prestigious title of "Genius"... while Rene had already been arrested twice for public intoxication, public nudity, and vandalism.

Following the graduation of high school, it was no surprise Virgil applied for a medical PhD. Money and well-known parents aside, his sheer enthusiasm and knowledge in the area made his acceptance a sure thing. As the years progressed, he had a more than easy time with the degree; again, it was at socialising he fell down. The other student's attitudes both in general and towards himself began to change something in him... the other medical students seemed to be overly pessimistic, about their work, their degree, and life. All the while mistaking Virgil's lack of socialising for antagonism, he quickly found himself on the outer edges of their friendship groups. After more than a few missing invitations for nights out, Virgil began to turn to other societies within the University for some form of camaraderie. And so he found it in fellow scientists; other like-minded people wanting to learn everything they could. These few fellows belonged to the area of physics, and also another love of Virgil's; space. Oh, he was enticed by the mere mystery of it all, just as he had been with the psychology of the human mind, the brain, the very speciality he was aiming for. These people weren't just friends to go out for drinks with; they were teaching him new things, and Virgil admired that above anything else. Finishing his PhD in record time, far before any of his snooty peers, Virgil received a medical tenure, and once more, applied for another Doctorate - this time in Physics. A dual PhD; Theoretical and Experimental Physics, to be precise. Thanks to his high level of intellect, empty social life, and drive for work, Virgil was able to complete these other PhDs while still carrying on with his work in the hospital as a brain surgeon and researcher. As his expertise lay in the depths of the mind and it's workings, Virgil applied biological and cognitive psychology to help him better understand the human nervous system and the mysterious mind all the better. Thanks to his studies and research, neurological diseases such as motor neurone disease and cerebral palsy were finally being given effective treatments, rendering the problems almost non-existent while using his methods of therapy and medication. Further studies into more mental health problems such as schizophrenia, bipolar and unipolar depression, and even psychopathy were also studied fervently, and better treatments were developed for those afflicted. While not cures, he was happy with the work done, considering how diverse and mysterious the human mind truly was. It was as wide and unknown as space - perhaps this was even why he went on to study physics, and help develop and apply theories in regards to physics of the great expanse of nothingness.

Life was good. Virgil felt good. But it seemed that his fate was destined to drastically change... all thanks to Rene. Over the years as Virgil and Annette had flourished into decent members of society, Rene's life had been a roller-coaster of ups and downs. His habits in drink, sex and drugs caused endless problems for him and his parents, who, if not for the love of their eldest, would have disowned him for such reckless actions. If only they had - then perhaps the tragedy would not have occurred.

Rene, coming home from a night out after - as usual - too much indulgence in his dangerous habits, began rowing with his parents. The topic was nearly always the same; accusing them of loving him the least, complaining that they babied him too much while his precious brother and sister were placed upon a golden pedestal. The drunk man was too gone to be reasoned with, so his father threw him out, unwilling to take such abuse from his own kin. In his blind, drunk fury, Rene broke into the family garage, taking one of the most expensive cars they had and taking it for a joy ride. He tore through the family grounds, turf and dirt spraying behind him as he did; swerving wildly, his addled mind saw the stables too late - crashing straight through the wooden walls and careening through the stalls until coming to a stop by a brick wall. Stumbling away with nought more than a broken and bloodied nose, he wasn't concerned about and horses he may have injured. But among the screaming mares and shivering foals, lay Annette. Quite bloodied, quite broken, and quite dead.

By the time the police hauled Rene in for questioning, he'd already been made aware of what he had done; already called his highly expensive lawyer and created an airtight defence. With a confession on top of that, the murder of Annette was swiftly cut down to manslaughter and dangerous driving. 5 years in prison, but likely to be released early either on parole or good behaviour. Even on the inside, Rene knew his money would provide enough protection and comforts to make the days seem shorter. He was content with it - his grieving parents were not. As for Virgil? In Switzerland at the time, doing some research for the UN, his heart seemed to shatter upon hearing the news. His darling sister, gone? And by Rene's hand? But upon hearing the verdict of his brother's sentencing, razors seemed to replace his insides. While by no means a religious man, Virgil entertained the Old Testament philosophy of "An eye for an eye". And his brother would be losing both of them for such unforgivable actions.

Rene was found by Virgil lounging about their family manor; now vacated by the grieving parents, who couldn't stand to see Rene out on bail, nor be witness to the lack of their daughter's presence in the home. Naturally, Rene was shaken to see his younger brother, and immediately began to grovel for sympathy. But he didn't hear his pathetic apologies; excuses tumbling from whiskey-soaked lips couldn't be heard over the rage that took hold of Virgil. By no means an overly strong man, the inebriated Rene was easy to overcome, and with a firm headlock after that, it took only 3 minutes for Rene's life to ebb away. Even then, Virgil didn't let go - he couldn't risk the bastard miraculously awaken, brain dead or not. Ten minutes passed, and finally Virgil let the limp body of his brother go.

Virgil's parents arranged for his lawyer and defence. They played off his actions as grief; a form of PTSD, he wasn't thinking clearly, anything to get the Jury on his side. They eventually ruled for Manslaughter, the exact same sentence his cowardly brother had received. Virgil wasn't happy; he had expected a life sentence. It was what he deserved, and he was under no pretence that he was any better than Rene for taking a life. But prison was tiresome, and while killing himself would even out the balance of revenge nicely, Virgil was not a believer in suicide. So he took what was handed to him, ready to receive punishment as it came. One of the worst blows of his actions was of course, his medical license being revoked. Virgil had broken the most sacred rule of Doctors; The Hippocratic Oath: Do no harm. While knowledge and PhD were still intact, his reputation and ability to practice in hospitals was now gone. He could no longer help people. Which is what he thought, until the UN contacted him once more.

His research, prior to the family tragedy, had been mainly unfinished - working on the development of weapons employing experimental physics, he and his fellows (The very same ones he had befriended at University) had been trying to make artificial gravity, black-holes and warp drive. The UN employed plenty of murderers, so they were happy to pluck Virgil out of prison on two conditions; One, that he continue working for them. Two; that he did further work - undercover, in the UN's current prize protectors: Overwatch.

After the Omnic Crisis and his release from prison, Virgil was instructed to act as an "Impartial Advisor" between Overwatch, Blackwatch, and the UN. In reality, he was conducting further experiments, those that bent the laws of physics, and the laws of morality that Overwatch seemed bogged down in. Virgil didn't care that his weapons and technology could fall into the wrong hands. Firstly, because he doubted anyone other than himself was capable of using them competently. Secondly, he was obsessed with progress. Empathy disappeared from the man with Annette's life, and he craved to break myths and solve age-long mysteries about space and the ways of the world. Furthermore, he'd seen first-hand the destruction the Omnic war had unleashed, and he was more than happy in aiding the UN in creating a back-up to Overwatch and it's black-ops counterpart. His weapons and research would do jobs that pacifists or the close-minded could not. And even when that came in doubt, Virgil took measures to make certain that he would do the job if necessary. Among the rest of his work, he got his hands on a few Valkyrie suits, made by his cousin Angela. A fine piece of work, for the job she did in the battlefield. For himself, he needed more. The suits were stripped of "unnecessary frills" as he called them, such as the wings and components that allowed the floating motion. Next, he made sure the armour encompassed every part of his body, even creating a helmet to protect his head rather than just a visor like the traditional Valkyrie suits had. Other additions were implemented into the suit, from a Faraday mesh to improved outer armour, and then a paint job. White had never been his colour.

Years passed, and as time grew on, relations between Overwatch and the UN grew sour. Virgil's job was getting harder and harder to deal with, as secrets and rumours flew about the Overwatch bases, he had nothing much to report on. Additionally, he believed that the UN were thinking of some unfair sanctions to place on both of the agencies - while he liked developing a back-up plan, there was no need to make things worse in the current climate. Perhaps sensing Virgil's sudden incompetency or doubts, UN leaders put him in charge of one of their leading secret projects: Operation Ares - Building a base on Mars as one had already been made on the Moon, for further studies into space and secret development of controversial weapons. While knowing this was the UN's chance to just shunt him aside, Virgil was still excited nonetheless. Space! Love seemed to rekindle in his heart at the thought of going up there, being allowed to tread among the mysterious void he had enjoyed since a child. But naturally, like everything else in his life, it went dreadfully wrong.

Perhaps due to lack of interest or funding by UN officials, the Mars facility was not being run well. The basic skeleton had been built by the time Virgil was placed in charge of it; the airlocks were created, the atmosphere in the buildings was breathable, if a little stale. Virgil and his teams were in the process of setting things up when something went wrong. Sabotage jumped to his mind, but considering how secretive the project was, it was more likely just shoddy craftsmanship on the airlocks. It took a while for the alarms to kick in too; indicating a breach in the walls. By the time Virgil realised what was happening, the small breach had developed into catastrophic rips in the walls and ceilings; each section being closed off only for the pressure difference of the space outside causing more ruptures. Virgil barely made it into an escape pod in time; clinging on for dear life as the vacuum attempted to launch him out into space. The doors clanged shut, Virgil fell to the floor gasping, and the escape pod made it from the facility safely. He was the only one to make it out alive.

However, something had survived with him.

When Virgil's pod was discovered and rescued, his old fellows, the ones who had worked with him previously, went through the necessary procedures upon getting their friend back. Quarantine, and testing - a normal thing for any when subjected to an unknown entity like space. It was supposed to be nothing more than staying safe, but in this case, something was discovered. An unknown bacteria, present in Virgil's bloodworks. Weeks passed, and symptoms finally began to show. His friends made the quarantine space larger, realising that this was going to take much longer than anticipated. After a month, scans showed something at the base of Virgil's spine. Not a tumour; something alive. The bacteria had grown, not attacking his organs like previously hypothesised, but aiming to take control of his nervous system. Involuntary spasms, alternating pain and numbness and even partial paralysis of his extremities began to be a daily routine for Virgil as the bacteria grew. Both Virgil's friends and himself (Behind the quarantine glass, that is) frantically tried to cure this, to stop the spread. After several painful months, a chemical compound was finally synthesised to keep the organism in check. While certainly no cure, it stopped most of Virgil's symptoms, also making him non-infectious. With the serum in his bloodstream - and by default, the organism's tissues - strains of it wouldn't survive long enough to infect others outside of it’s host body. And so, Virgil was finally allowed to leave; only to find a much different world.

In his time in space and in quarantine, Overwatch and Blackwatch had finally come to blows. Both were gone now, his previous co-workers scattered to the wind, or simply dead. In addition to his parents, who had both passed away peacefully in his absence from the world. With Overwatch gone, the UN didn't have much need nor want for Virgil - so for the next decade or so, he focused only on himself, and his studies. Although no hospital would take him on due to his tarnished record, he was still able to help people in his own ways. Not out of kindness, you understand; moreso to keep his relevance in this world, and to keep his knowledge up to date and well-practised.

Additionally, he continued his research into experimental physics and applications to weaponry, alongside trying to keep up with the rather adaptable organism entwined with his spinal cord. Over the years, the serum slowed it, but it was still winning the battle. With a lack of resources and network, Virgil was quite happy to take up the call from Winston in regards to Overwatch. He could continue his work with much more ease there, and it would be nice to piss of the UN too.