Chimera

> "A Chimera? It's a creature made of incongruous parts [...] A lion's head, on a goat's body, and a serpent's tail."
>
> - Diana Winchester

## Species Information

### Related Species

* Shifter Werewolf
* Werecoyote
* Kanima
* Werejaguar
* Berserker
* Other Unknown Species

### Distinction

* Humans who have been scientifically engineered with the powers of one or more supernatural species.

A **Chimera** is a human who has been scientifically given the powers of at least one supernatural species by the Dread Doctors, although they typically have the traits of two of these species. These hybrid creatures are not bound by the same rules as real supernatural creatures since they were created through science rather than magic or mysticism, thus making them essentially enhanced humans.

Chimeras can handle Mountain Ash like any other human, whereas a true supernatural (save for Genetic Werewolves, Witches, and other Hybrids) would be unable to touch or manipulate it in any way. Despite this, they are still beholden to some metaphysical rules that are too rigid to be broken, such as being unable to steal a True Alpha Werewolf's powers, as proven when both Belasko and Theo Raeken attempted to steal Scott McCall's True Alpha status; since neither were Betas who were bitten and turned by Scott himself, they were both unsuccessful, though the power they could gain would not be nearly as strong as other alphas, as Scott's power was a stolen one, initially from Derek Hale, and then again from the power of a dead alpha from the Alpha Pack, (likely Kali or Ennis).

Chimeras were created by the Dread Doctors, who specifically chose human teenagers with genetic chimerism (i.e. humans with two sets of DNA, caused by such factors as organ/tissue transplants or fetal resorption syndrome) as their test subjects in pursuit of the ideal vessel for the resurrected spirit of the Beast of Gevaudan. However, all but one of these Chimeras were referred to by the Doctors as "failures," as they transformed in ways that made them unsuitable vessels for the Beast. The majority of these failures were characterized by bleeding from the eyes, nose, and mouth; they often first began to bleed black blood before then getting nosebleeds or vomiting the modified mercury that the Dread Doctors used to turn them in the first place. They then began to forget who they were and eventually devolved into mindless beasts who fought everyone around them, as seen with Tracy Stewart, who was already prone to this madness due to her preexisting condition of night terrors.

The only truly successful Chimera was Mason Hewitt, who was a genetic chimera as a result of absorbing his twin in the womb rather than receiving an organ or tissue transplant, and who ultimately became the host for the Beast of Gevaudan; while Theo Raeken was considered to be a somewhat successful Chimera due to the fact that, he did not reject the transformation like the ten other Chimeras who were considered to be "failures," he was also not truly a success by the Dread Doctors' standards, since he was not a suitable vessel for the Beast's spirit.

## Transformation

The exact transformation process the Dread Doctors used to turn humans with genetic chimerism into super-powered Chimeras remains unknown, but from what was revealed, it appears that they began this process by identifying teenagers with two sets of DNA, likely because teenagers were more likely to survive the transformation than adults were. As seen with Tracy Stewart, it appears that once the test subjects were chosen, the Dread Doctors would give the soon-to-be Chimeras infusions of a modified mercury solution over multiple nights before burying them in the ground as a sort of incubation period.

Once the Chimera was able to dig themselves out of their makeshift graves, they began to exhibit the supernatural traits and powers of the creatures that made up their new hybrid nature, which in some cases meant the species of both creatures combined to create unique powers (though it is unknown how or why each Chimera gained the supernatural characteristics that they developed—it could be that the Dread Doctors chose the species that made up their Chimera nature, though this seems unlikely, or it could be a case of "the shape you take reflects the person that you are" in which the newly turned Chimera's supernatural nature is determined by their personality and body chemistry, which is typical of true supernatural creatures).

After this point, the Dread Doctors gave them a final mercury infusion. From there, the Chimeras would continue to be tested and experimented on, which may or may not include physical transformations like new sets of teeth, talons, or wings. Throughout this weeks-long process, the Dread Doctors would continually modify the memories of the Chimeras so that they wouldn't know what was being done to them until the Doctors were ready for them to be aware of their true nature.

It would quickly become clear whether they were successes or failures depending on their behavior after they exhibited their new hybrid powers. Rejection of this transformation would cause the Chimeras to begin to forget who they were and what was happening to them, sometimes involving hallucinations, and then they would begin to bleed black blood and become unable to heal their wounds at an accelerated rate. Once the Chimera began to bleed modified mercury from their eyes, noses, mouths, or open wounds, the Dread Doctors would determine that they were failures and kill them, as they believe failures tainted the experiment pool.

Mason Hewitt did not seem to go through this rejection process whatsoever due to his status as a truly successful Chimera, nor did Theo Raeken, who became a genetic chimera through a heart transplant performed by the Dread Doctors themselves when he was nine years old, and survived his transformation without any negative side-effects. However, the rest of the Chimeras all began to exhibit signs of being a failure and were subsequently killed, though four of them were resurrected by Theo using a green serum of the Dread Doctors' design that allowed them to successfully complete their transformations without issue after they were revived.

## Physical Appearance

Most of the Chimeras have their own unique form that was given to them by the Dread Doctors, though it remains unknown how or why the Chimeras gained the traits of their specific species. For some of these Chimeras, their physical characteristics appeared to be permanent and could not be transformed back and forth like typical shapeshifters. Other Chimeras are more like true shapeshifters, in that they have a human form and a Chimera form that usually resembled one or both of the supernatural creatures whose powers they possessed.

Both Theo Raeken and Hayden Romero could both shapeshift their features into those that resembled a Beta Werewolf, including glowing golden eyes, claws, and fangs; however, Theo also possessed the ability to fully shift into a wolf due to his Werecoyote side, while Hayden demonstrated she could transform her skin to resemble a Werejaguar when she was dying of a mercury overdose. One specific Chimera, Corey, doesn't have shapeshifting abilities whatsoever; instead, he can camouflage himself by pressing himself against his surroundings like a chameleon and can thereby make himself completely invisible to the human eye.

## Powers and Abilities

The powers of a Chimera vary depending on the individual, though many of them who are partially of the same species may share similar powers; what powers they gain upon their transformation depends on what species make up their Chimera nature and how those two species combine with each other. Additionally, the degree of their powers may not be on the same level as the true supernatural creatures from whom they were derived. Theo Raeken has mentioned that he considers the Chimeras to be "cheap knock-offs," since their powers are still inferior to those of true shapeshifters, although the strength level of a Chimera can even vary within their own species.

Theo seemed to demonstrate the strongest abilities of all the Chimeras, likely due to the fact that he survived his transformation without any negative side effects, and possibly also as a result of the fact that he was turned when he was nine years old; Theo was strong enough to overturn a Jeep, though he was still not as strong as Malia Hale, a Werecoyote, and his healing ability was strong enough to allow him to survive a snapped neck, even though he had been given the blood of Conri Tlanta in order to heal him quicker.

With that in mind, the most common abilities among them were superhuman physical attributes, such as enhanced strength, speed, agility/reflexes, durability, senses, and an accelerated healing factor, all of which seem to be possessed by all Chimeras, regardless of their combination of species, though there was still a great deal of disparity in the strength level of these individual powers. The next most common power was shapeshifting, which all the Chimeras seemed to possess in some manner with the exception of Corey, though this shapeshifting power varies based on the species of the Chimera in question.

Aside from these powers, the rest of the powers they possessed appeared to be somewhat unique to the individual in question—as previously stated, these unique powers were based on the specific supernatural species that made up the Chimeras' nature and the manner in which they combined with each other.

* **Belasko** had the common abilities of an Omega-level Werewolf in terms of physical attributes, but he could also absorb the powers of other supernatural creatures through his talons.
* **Tracy Stewart** possessed the fangs and claws of a Werewolf and the eyes, scales, and paralytic venom of a Kanima, along with the physical attributes of both. She also possessed incredible superhuman durability on a level far surpassing the rest of her peers, which made it so that not even a surgical steel scalpel could cut through her skin, although she was still vulnerable to the claws of Chimeras and true shapeshifters as well as weapons imbued with mystical energy, such as Kira Yukimura's katana. Unlike the majority of her part-Werewolf peers, Tracy did not develop the power to take the pain of living beings.
* **Donovan Donati** possessed the eyes, fangs, and cannibalistic hunger of a Wendigo and the ability to create lamprey mouths wherever he wanted on his body.
* **Lucas** had the claws and physical attributes of a Werewolf and the ability to produce scorpion stingers (complete with scorpion venom that caused agonizing pain in those exposed to it) on the back of his arms and spine.
* **Josh Diaz** had the glowing purple eyes, glowing purple claws, and fangs of unknown creatures, as well as electromagnetokinesis, or the ability to siphon, create, and manipulate electricity, magnetism, and electromagnetic fields. This power also gave him the ability to sense electrical and electromagnetic forces around him, as he needed a source of this energy to fuel his powers, and he experienced a euphoric "high"-like sensation when he absorbed electricity.
* **Hayden Romero** possessed the glowing gold eyes, claws, and fangs of a Werewolf as well as the unique skin patterning and the ability to sense Berserkers that is common among Werejaguars. However, the Werejaguar aspects of Hayden's powers were presumably lost upon her transformation into a real Werewolf after being given the Bite by Scott McCall. Like Werewolves, Hayden was also able to absorb the pain of living beings as a Chimera.
* **Theo Raeken** has the glowing gold eyes, claws, and fangs of a Werewolf, along with the ability to full-shift into a large black wolf due to his Werecoyote nature and the power to take the pain of living beings due to both species. After killing and absorbing the powers of Tracy Stewart and Josh Diaz, Theo gained the ability to excrete Kanima venom as well as the ability to absorb and manipulate electromagnetic energy, though these powers were lost after he was captured and taken to the East Coast by Conri Tlanta.
* **Corey Bryant** possesses the power of Adaptive Camouflage, allowing him to blend in with his surroundings through tactile contact in a manner similar to a chameleon. He was also able to camouflage at least one other person by touching them as well, and his power appears to have advanced to where he can now blend in with the air around him to become invisible, rather than blending himself into a tangible object such as a wall. He also possesses superhuman physical attributes such as super strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and a powerful an accelerated healing factor that allowed him to survive and recover from being completely engulfed in a Hellhound's hellfire, albeit with some help from Malia Hale's pain absorption ability.

## Weaknesses

Unlike true supernatural creatures, Chimeras have shown no specific weakness to substances such as Wolfsbane or Mountain Ash, which are common vulnerabilities among supernatural creatures and shapeshifters. However, this does not make them unkillable or invulnerable, as they are still susceptible to death like any other living creature. Chimeras are susceptible to overdoses from the same modified mercury that transformed them in the first place.

## Known Chimeras

 Theo was only nine or ten years old when he was approached by the Dread Doctors to become a super-powered Chimera. To transform him, they watched Theo let his sister die of hypothermia before transplanting her heart into Theo's body to make him a genetic chimera. Afterward, he was successfully transformed into a Werewolf-Werecoyote Chimera with the power to full-shift into a wolf in addition to his typical werecreature powers, but was not a suitable host for the Beast of Gevaudan, leading him to be referred to as a "failure."
When Theo originally returned to Beacon Hills in the autumn of 2012, he pretended to be a true Werewolf and a friend of Scott McCall and his pack in order to get close to them. However, it was later revealed that not only was he a Chimera, but he was the *first* Chimera, who, at that point, was the closest thing to a success that the Dread Doctors had ever achieved. It was also revealed that he had made a deal with the Dread Doctors to continue working with them in order for each of them to achieve their respective goals. Theo's mission was to orchestrate Scott's death in a way that would allow him to steal his Alpha powers, become a real Werewolf, and take leadership over the remaining members of the McCall Pack.
Unfortunately, Theo's mission ultimately due to a number of factors, and he was taken by the Hale Pack to the East Coast, where he spent months in an underground dungeon, plagued by nightmares of his sister until Conri Tlanta and Ash let him out and he joined the pack. He changed from a cold hearted person, to a caring man, and during the wars between the McCall Pack against the Wild Hunt and the Hunters, Theo came to help, protecting Liam Dunbar from death until the beta and chimera confessed their feelings for each other on Christmas in 2013.

 Mason Hewitt, who was born a genetic chimera after absorbing his underdeveloped twin in the womb, was ultimately the Dread Doctors' only truly successful Chimera after he was found to be the ideal host for the Beast of Gevaudan; according to the Doctors, the only way to find a suitable vessel for the "perfect evil" was to corrupt someone who was "truly good," such as Mason, who was known for being a kind, compassionate, and loyal person who was dedicated to protecting innocent lives.
Since the Dread Doctors couldn't resurrect Sebastien Valet out of thin air, they needed Mason to act as its vessel, and once it was confirmed that he was the sole success of the eleven Chimeras they created, they placed Sebastien's spirit into Mason's body and began forcing it to transform using specific frequencies, which caused Mason to go on several vicious killing sprees until the Beast finally realized its true identity, as it had forgotten its history due to being punished with *damnatio memoriae* in the 18th century.
This realization caused Mason to shapeshift into Sebastien's original body, though Sebastien maintained Mason's memories, which allowed him to more easily navigate through the modern world (such as driving a car) and recognize important people in his final battle, such as Jordan Parrish, the Hellhound he was prophesied to fight. However, after Lydia Martin used her Banshee voice to change Mason back by calling him by his "Christian name," Mason returned to his normal self and forced Sebastien's spirit, in the form of the Beast, out of his body, allowing Scott McCall to kill it with help from Jordan Parrish.

 Belasko was a genetic chimera who, through unknown means, was eventually transformed into a Werewolf-Garuda Chimera and given a special set of harpy eagle talons with which he could use to absorb the powers of other supernatural creatures. He was later sent by the Dread Doctors to kill Scott McCall, but in the process of finding Scott, he ran into Jordan Parrish. When Belasko realized that Parrish was supernatural, he absorbed a portion of his Hellhound powers by stabbing him with his Garuda talons. Upon finding Scott, he informed him of how he was a "devoted fan" due to his belief that he took down Deucalion and broke the Argent Family, before attacking.
Though Belasko managed to stab Scott with his talons, he was unsuccessful in stealing his powers due to Scott being a True Alpha, and an Alpha with the stolen power of another Alpha, and Belasko not being a Beta of Scott's own creation, allowing Scott to get the upper-hand. He broke the talons off of Belasko's right hand before snapping his arm and giving him the choice between running or fighting and getting more hurt. Though Belasko chose to run for his life, he was eventually killed by the Dread Doctors for his failure to complete his mission, and when the Surgeon stabbed him in the chest with his sword-cane, a flock of crows flew out of his chest.

 Tracy was a genetic chimera as a result of an allogeneic skin graft she received on her right shoulder at some point in her past. She initially had no memory of becoming a Chimera due to the Dread Doctors manipulating her memories and her history of night terrors, which led her to believe that all the experimentation she could remember was simply a nightmare. However, in reality, she had begun transforming into a Werewolf at night, eventually going on a killing spree during a hallucination.
Continuing this theme, Tracy went after Natalie Martin when she was meeting with Sheriff Stilinski at the Beacon County Sheriff's Station, where she revealed that she was part-Kanima and had paralytic venom and a tail that could extend and retract from her spinal cord. However, after Malia Hale defeated her in a fight and snapped her out of her night terror by insisting that everything was real, Tracy was killed by the Dread Doctors using an overdose of modified mercury due to her failure as a Chimera test subject.
She was resurrected weeks later by Theo Raeken, along with three other Chimeras, and joined the Chimera Pack, becoming the most enthusiastic and devoted of its members and relishing in her newly stabilized powers after her resurrection caused her personality to become darker. She assisted Theo in his quest to steal the Beast of Gevaudan's powers, only to end up having her own life and powers stolen by Theo as a result, since he needed her paralytic venom to incapacitate the Beast before attacking it.

 Hayden was genetic chimera as a result of receiving a kidney transplant several years before her transformation, who was only known as a girl from Liam Dunbar's past who was initially seen as his enemy due to the two breaking each other's noses in sixth grade. However, after discovering that she was a Chimera, Hayden and Liam began to bond and eventually fell in love as they began a romantic relationship. When she began showing signs of being a failure, the Dread Doctors killed her with an overdose of modified mercury, but she was ultimately resurrected by Theo Raeken using the Doctors' green serum.
Upon her resurrection, she joined the Chimera Pack due to her gratitude toward Theo for bringing her back to life, and learned that, because she was part-Werejaguar, she could sense Berserkers and part-Berserker Chimeras. She also found that her personality had become darker because of dying and being brought back to life, though she did rekindle her relationship with Liam despite this change. In time, she realized that Theo was using the Chimeras as pawns in order to gain more power and decided to pledge her loyalty to the McCall Pack, as she had begun to believe in Scott McCall and his ability to protect the town from the Beast of Gevaudan. After she was gravely injured by Sebastien Valet, she asked Scott McCall to give her the Bite, a request he accepted and which led to Hayden successfully transforming into a true Werewolf. As a result, she is no longer a Chimera.

 After being severely injured from Lucas's scorpion sting, Corey miraculously healed, which led to the realization that Corey, like the others, was a Chimera, though the specific creatures from whom he got his powers remain unknown. Corey's main power-- aside from the typical enhanced physical traits such as super strength, speed, agility, senses and healing-- is the ability to blend into his surroundings in a manner often said to be similar to that of a chameleon by pressing himself against whatever is near him. He has also shown that he can cloak another person in this fashion as well if he is in physical contact with them, as evidenced when Corey put his arm around Mason and hid him from both Devenford Prep students and Scott and Liam.
Corey was killed by the Dread Doctors shortly after it was revealed that he was a Chimera, as he threw up a great deal of black blood and modified mercury after demonstrating his exceptional super strength in the weight room with Mason. After the Surgeon stabbed Corey with his sword-cane, Jordan Parrish, the Hellhound, stole Corey's body and brought it to the Nemeton with the other Chimera failures, where Theo Raeken eventually came and resurrected Corey with the Dread Doctors' green serum.
Corey, like Josh Diaz, was reluctant to join the Chimera Pack at first, but his fear of Theo eventually led him to join them, though he was not a fighter by nature and was uninterested in harming others for more power. Though he was badly burned by Parrish in a battle at Eichen House, he survived his wounds and was ultimately the only Chimera to survive the battle with the Beast of Gevaudan unscathed, as both Josh and Tracy Stewart were killed, Theo was trapped underground, and Hayden Romero was given the Bite by Scott McCall and became a true Beta Werewolf. Corey remains in a romantic relationship with Mason Hewitt and is a member of the McCall Pack.