Chimera

**Notice:** This **article** uses content directly taken from the Chimera **article** at the Teen Wolf Wiki, and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.

## Species Information

### Related Species

* Berserker
* Kanima
* Wendigo
* Werecoyote
* Werejaguar
* Werewolf
* Other Unknown Species
* Dread Doctors

### Distinction

* Human genetic chimeras who are scientifically given the powers of two 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. According to Alan Deaton, 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. For example, Chimeras can handle Mountain Ash like any other human, whereas a true supernatural 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.

As previously stated, 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.