Jonathan Bridges

Jonathan Bridges is a **psychic** and former agent of the **Hoffman Institute** and **monster hunter**. He's a good, compassionate man with a vast knowledge of the supernatural and a deep, unshakable loyalty to his family. He is the adoptive father of **Erica Bridges**, the husband of **Claire Bridges** and the grandfather of **Bruce Bridges**.

Jonathan was considered one of the primary enemies of **Clive Talbot** and was a high priority target for Clive's forces during the **War against Clive.** Jonathan acted as one of the main leaders of the movement against Clive and played a vital role in stopping Clive for good.

He was present during the Final Battle, leading Team B.

## Characteristics

Jonathan is a former private detective and all-around good guy. He is a cautious man who plans out every move of action, and he is a very skilled and capable combatant. He is somewhat cynical and suspicious of people, although he values human life highly; he will do whatever it takes to protect innocents and those close to him.

Jonathan is a mild-mannered, honest, blue-collar guy who wants nothing more than to provide a comfortable life for his family and leave his past behind him. He enjoys watching sports and movies, having a cold beer at the end of a long day, and tries to make time for Erica whenever he can.

He is well-meaning and acts with a desire to keep his wife and daughter safe, even though that meant leaving them in the dark (though this had some terrible consequences). Jonathan is a determined man and fearless in the face of supernatural terror. In fact, the only thing that scares him is his wife, daughter or grandson being hurt.

Jonathan is very smart and resourceful, and he is an expert researcher. Jonathan is famous among other hunters for being able to find the weakness of anything and never backing down from a challenge or a hunt, no matter how dangerous it is. If killing some evil son of a bitch can keep people safe for another day, then all the better.

Jonathan is a naturally likable guy, although most residents of North Salem keep him at arm's length, due to his psychic abilities making others uncomfortable.

As a psychic, Jonathan is rated by the Hoffman Institute database as a "Class-B" psychic and is classified as a "Reader", which signifies that he has the power of telepathy; that is, he can read the minds of others and communicate via mental prowess. He never uses his mind-reading powers on civilians, and in fact, only uses his abilities in the field. He never uses them on family, either, because he trusts them. He also possesses minor telekinetic abilities and other talents he has developed from years of training.

For the most part, Jonathan's abilities are support abilities and most of his offense capabilities come from his natural strength, and despite appearances, he's dangerous with a blade.

Jonathan is a loving husband and doting father who puts the needs of his family before his own. He is very supportive of his daughter and while he was never supporting of her becoming a Hunter, he couldn't be proud of her.

### Powers & Abilities

Jonathan, as a psychic, possesses **the standard abilities of a psychic**. In addition, Jonathan possesses the following abilities:

* **Blades:** As a hunter, Jonathan knows his way around a knife.
* **Marksmanship:** Jonathan is an able marksman.
* **Memory Manipulation:** As a telepath, Jonathan is capable of fine manipulation of memories. He can alter, erase or even plant new memories with little effort.
* **Supernatural Knowledge:** After years working in the field, Jonathan possesses a vast knowledge of the supernatural and the occult. He's written a journal that contains the majority of this knowledge.
* **Telepathy:** Jonathan is one of the most skilled telepaths in the world.
* **Unarmed Combat:** Jonathan is strong and more than a capable combatant. He's received a little training from the Hoffman Institute.

### Weaknesses

As a psychic, Jonathan possesses all of the **standard weaknesses of his species**.

## History

### Early Life

Jonathan was born the youngest son to Isaac and Penelope Bridges, a banker and his wife, in the small town of Astoria, Oregon. The Bridges owned a small house near the center of town, and growing up, Jonathan was close to his older brother Hank and some of the other neighborhood kids. He got to know the river like the back of his hand, as well as the forests and hills surrounding his little town. Astoria being such a hamlet, Jonathan got to know everyone in town, and was well liked by the other citizens of town.

When he was nine years old, Jonathan, his brother and some of their friends tried making a raft to sail down the river. The raft fell apart and Jonathan went under and nearly drowned, only to be saved by his friend and future longtime girlfriend, **Alison Berkley**. Something was damaged during this incident, which made it so he could not turn off his ability to see the dead. In fact, he saw dead spirits for years before he understood what he was seeing.

In school, Jonathan got average grades despite his keen mind. He was always more interested in sports and being outside with his friends than academics (unlike his brother, who became a Math teacher). He began dating Alison Berkley when he was thirteen and continued to date her through high school and they broke up near the end of senior year. He played sports and made it on the football team, and generally had a pretty average high school life.

### Universal Team

Shortly before high school graduation, Jonathan was approached by a scout from a company called the Hoffman Institute named **William Morris**, who told him that he was psychic and offered him a job with their people as a psychic. Jonathan accepted and traveled to Portland to join the Institute right after graduation.

When Jonathan arrived, he was introduced to **Richard Marlow**, a psychic and supernatural investigator, and eventually Jonathan's handler. After a few weeks of training under Marlow, Jonathan was given field clearance and assigned to **Wonderland Team**, an experimental team comprised mostly of supernaturals. His codename was March Hare**;** Clive, who was on the team as well, received the codename Mad Hatter; Claire, a **Witch**, was Cheshire; **Callum Darby**, the tech guy, was called **Absalom**; and **Bianca Ramirez**, a field scientist and **Mage**, was Alice.

Jonathan and Clive quickly hit it off and became good friends. Jonathan almost immediately fell for Claire, as well, and never noticed Bianca's own affection for him. Their first case was hunting a Wendigo in the forests of northern Minnesota. Although it was a difficult case, and Jonathan himself received a bit of a beating, they killed it and immediately earned a reputation among the Institute. During his time at the Institute, Jonathan met and worked with **Doctor Gregory Dean**, a **werewolf** and **Ando Misahashi**, a warlock. Jonathan and Dean became close friends.

Claire and Clive started dating not long afterward and Jonathan was silently crushed. He kept his mouth shut, however, because he just wanted his best friend to be happy. After about a year, the two married in Claire's hometown of North Salem, New York and Jonathan was Clive's best man.

Jonathan served on the Wonderland team for three years. During this time, Jonathan was put on forced, temporary leave due to a "mental instability", stemming from his inability to turn off his spirit sense. Clive testified on Jonathan's behalf, and it was largely this testimony that convinced the Hoffman Administrative Board from firing him.

Before long, though, Jonathan noticed Clive's own strange behavior. He was acting out against authority, his temper had become volatile and the topper was when Clive executed six innocents in the field. Clive was taken into custody by the Institute. Jonathan visited his friend and promised that, despite everything, he would testify on Clive's behalf, as long as promised to get help. The day of Clive's trial, Clive killed his guards and escaped. Jonathan, Claire and Bianca frantically searched for their escaped friend and found him wandering through a suburban neighborhood just outside of Portland.

He appealed to his best friend's better sense; he tried talking sense into him. But Clive reacted violently, claiming that Jonathan had stolen his daughter and other such nonsense. Jonathan couldn't get a mental read on Clive and soon the two were locked in an intense psychic battle. The fight devastated the neighborhood and was putting innocent people at risk. In the end, Jonathan was forced to kill Clive to protect the people by using his own telekinesis to stab Clive through the heart with an iron pipe. Jonathan wept, as he had just murdered his best friend.

### Erica

Jonathan allowed the Institute to take him into custody and both Claire and Bianca testified on his behalf. In the end, he was not found guilty. However, in the wake of this event, Wonderland Team was disbanded for good, though Bianca kept on as a consultant.

Post Hoffman, Jonathan and Claire began spending a lot of time together in their shared grief, and Jonathan helped Claire out around her apartment. Within a few months, their shared tragedy caused them to grow very close and shortly before the birth of the child, they started dating.

When Claire gave birth, the doctors mistakenly identified Jonathan as the father. He was in the room when the baby girl was born and he was the first person to hold her. Jonathan looked into the baby's eyes and instantly loved her, feeling the need to protect her. Within two years, Jonathan and Claire were married, and Jonathan officially became baby Erica's legal, adoptive father. Though Claire's family soon cut ties with them, for reasons Jonathan never fully understood.

Jonathan and Claire discussed the baby's future and together ultimately decided that she would never know about Clive. As far as little Erica was concerned, Jonathan was her father. When Erica was two years old, Claire's parents moved from their home in North Salem, New York, to an undisclosed residence in Florida and left their house to Claire. So, Jonathan and his family packed up and moved from Portland to North Salem.

For the next thirteen years, the Bridges family would have a normal, loving life of domestic bliss. Jonathan watched with pride as his daughter grew up and displayed enormous intelligence. He taught her from an early age about psychics and spirits, for her own safety; one of the first lessons he taught her was to always hide her toothbrush and comb. They did not, however, tell her about Claire's abilities as a witch, nor about the Hoffman Institute or Clive. Jonathan was a supportive and active parent, and he helped her with the science fair project every year, an annual event he looked forward to every year.

For several years, Jonathan worked as a private consultant to the police, using his telepathic powers to assist them on difficult cases. In 2010, Jonathan opened his own private detective agency. He made a good living doing his job by helping the affluent citizens of Westchester county with missings persons, infedelity and the occasional poltergeist or haunting. Unbeknownst to his family, he would also occasionally consult and even participate in dangerous Hunts at the behest of his friends and other hunters around the country.

In late 2011, Claire disappeared. She left behind a note that told Jonathan and Erica not to come looking for her, and that she left for "a very good reason". Jonathan was devastated by the sudden loss of his wife, and for a short time, home life was hectic. In the end, though, Jonathan and Erica began to bond, becoming even closer than before through the shared grief. Unknown to Erica, Jonathan began his own case trying to find Claire but was unsuccessful. In the summer of 2012, he hired Erica on as his receptionist and often tasked her with filing work and answering phones.

Starting in the summer of 2013, Jonathan began hearing rumors about sightings of Clive and had started working with Gregory Dean (who had taught history at the local prep school where Erica went to school since Claire disappeared, at Jonathan's request) to find him and determine if the reports were true.

To their shared horror, they were.

### Mental - Season 1

Jonathan found himself at the center of a maelstrom of psychic hatred as Clive declared him a high priority target. While he tried to hold his life in North Salem together as long as he could, Clive would eventually make that impossible through the attempted kidnapping of Erica. To keep Erica safe, Jonathan would send Erica to her grandparents in Florida and distract Clive by going elsewhere, to find Claire and find a way to stop whatever *thing* Clive had become.

For more information, **see the episode guide**.

### The War Begins

After Erica disappeared into the 1880's after an attack by **Takeshi**, Jonathan was left behind with Rowan and Troy. The trio eventually met up with **Arthur** and **Holly** and, together, formed a coalition to fight against Clive's operations around the United States, all while trying to locate Erica.

Together, they found both successes and failures, though by autumn things were starting to look bleak.

In October of 2014, they found where Claire was and staged a rescue mission to save her. They did, with Jonathan defeating **Dante** and **Barry** single-handedly (Claire's guardians), though Arthur suffered a grievous leg injury from **Jasper**. In the wake of this, Claire explained everything and the two reconciled.

### Mental - Season 3

Jonathan was still the de-facto leader of the Resistance when Erica, Sam and **Elijah** returned from the past, bringing the **vampire** **Alberto Bianchi** with them. Jonathan was overjoyed to see his daughter again and the two had a tearful reunion.

Jonathan would continue the good fight and was instrumental to victory over Clive. Jonathan led B-Team during the **Final Battle**.

For more information, **see the episode guide**.

## Major Relationships

### Erica Bridges

Jonathan and Erica are extremely close and always have been, even more so since Claire left. When Erica wasn't hanging out with her friends, the two usually would be spending time with each other. He is incredibly proud of his daughter and the woman she became. He tried for a very long time to protect Erica and shield her from the darkness not only in the world but in his own past.

This caused a slight rift in their relationship once that came to light, but they quickly patched things up and they remain extremely close. Jonathan trusts Erica implicitly. Since her disappearance, Jonathan has never stopped looking for her and he's starting to get close. He saw the news about **Daggett Industries** on the news and he could smell a Hoffman cover-up from a mile away.

### Claire Bridges

His relationship with Clair is very close and the two love each other deeply. They have always been honest with each other and supportive of the other, and when Clair left it devastated him. He grew depressed and was only able to keep himself together for his daughter. Since finding Claire again, the two have reconnected and are closer than ever, though he's been keeping his hunt for Erica a secret from her.

### Clive Talbot

Jonathan and Clive were once good friends, brother, even. But Clive's madness and hatred overtook him and Clive became Jonathan's greatest enemy. During the War against Clive, Jonathan fought not just to protect his family, but to free his best friend and help him find peace.

### Sam Hudson

Jonathan always liked Sam. He thought he was a good kid and he treated Erica well. He wouldn't have minded having him as a son-in-law. His death was tragic and Jonathan's heart broke at how it affected his daughter.

### William Morris

Morris was his old boss during his time on Wonderland Team. Jonathan never had the close relationship with him that Clive did, but Jonathan always respected the man and held him in high regard as a man of principle. Morris attended Jonathan's wedding and was always decent to Claire.

Jonathan finds Morris' demise to be tragic and horrible, despite his many crimes and atrocities committed in Clive's name. A part of Jonathan wants to hate him but another understands why Morris did it. Morris was a father protecting his children.

## Equipment

* **Handgun:** This is standard-issue pistol issued to Hoffman Agents.
* **Herbs:** Jonathan usually carries a small supply of various herbs that can be used to harm and hinder various supernatural entities.
* **Ioun Stone:** This stone can store psychic energy to be used at a later date. This particular stone gives Jonathan some measure of protection from psychic effects.
* **Ring of Protection:** This steel ring possesses a minor protective enchantment.
* **Shade Pills:** These small crystals are edible and consumable. They have the effect of shielding the mind of the user for a short time, with minimal side effects.
* **Silver Knife:** Jonathan always carries this knife with him, just in case.
* **Slayer Pistol:** This antique flintlock pistol is enchanted with the ability to kill almost any supernatural creature, even Outsiders. However, the pistol only has two shots left.

## Trivia

* Favorite food is pepperoni pizza.
* Favorite movie is *The Big Lebowski*, followed closely by *Resevoir Dogs*.
* Jonathan's favorite band is Nirvana.