Harley

Harleyisa current member of the Young Bloods. He was a former test subject of the Wonder Foundation before ending up as a stray. Harley is vastly more intelligent then most animals with having the mentality of a child but otherwise he acts like any other affectionate dog.

## Biography

Harley knew only two names as a young pup: Specimen #495, the name he was formally referred to by the men that wore white, and Harley, the name given to him by the research staff around him. It seemed as if all he knew at first was that number - #495. This was what he was given when he was picked up from the streets that created him, and the name that he would know meant "me" for the next couple years of his life.

The German Shepherd that would later become known as Harley was picked up off of the streets by the Wonders Foundation, a corporation that had found a way to synthesize superpowers, which they later began mass producing and selling to the public, allowing them to garner a massive fortune and vast popularity worldwide. But, unknown, to the public, the Wonders Foundation housed a dark secret in its highly-covert Test Wing, where the synthesizing many artificial superpowers came about through dangerous, often painful tests and experimentation. After garnering attention from the Pentagon, who saw in the Wonders Foundation the potential application of super-powered soldiers and animals on the battlefield, the Wonders Foundation was granted a hefty black budget to start a new project, the Animal Test Wing (ATW), in which animals from a variety of species would be experimented on to investigate the potential application — and effectiveness — of super-powered animals for military purposes.

Over the course of a year, the ATW collected a literal menagerie of animals ranging from lions to tigers, horses to wolves, and a myriad of other species. One such animal was Harley, a young German Shepherd puppy picked up from the streets to be taken in for testing by the ATW, given the designation number of #495. Before he could be properly administered powers, Harley was first tested mentally and physically as he matured. The scientists had high expectations from Specimen #495 and quickly grew a liking to the German Shepherd, who was able to complete problem-solving puzzles and tasks to a higher degree of success than the other canine test subjects. He was later dubbed "Harley" after a bet from one of the scientists, naming him after his favorite brand of motorcycle. This would gradually surpass #495 as a recognizable name that Harley knew, so much so that the scientists dropped referring to him as #495 altogether and resorted to using the other given name.

Soon, Harley and many other animals under the control of the ATW were old enough and in good enough of a physical condition to be inducted into the tests, which were horrific enough to almost instantaneously change Harley's expectations and views on the people testing him. The Wonders Foundation had effectively perfected a serum that could be used to administer permanent powers to animals, which had quite.. random, and often adverse effects to the animals who were not weak enough to adapt to their new powers. The powers that he was given were administered via IV in a painful process, which forcefully altered his physical structure, sure enough giving him powers that he was not naturally supposed to have. The other animals were not as lucky, either succumbing to the pain of their genetic structure being altered by the super-serum or surviving, but left disfigured in abnormal shapes.

After this, Harley was subject to more tests, this time designed to assess his ability to fight and evaluate the strength of his powers. To him, these seemed like harmless games, at first, consisting of stationary targets which were eliminated with ease... before the live targets came in, much to the horror of Harley, who now somewhat understood the horrific implications of his actions through deductive reasoning. His inability to cooperate with the scientists' instructions only made them more impatient as they forced him to do more, in the form of abusive punishments if he did not. The worst of which was the electric shock baton, which filled him painful doses of electricity that would not relent until he decided to use his powers accidentally or by will.

Coincidentally after this horrific series of tests, a mole within the ATW leaked the horrific results of the tests out to the rest of the Wonders Foundation, looking to shut the entire program down for good and expose it to the public. All information about this event was suppressed from the public in time for the researcher to be fired and the ATW to be shut down completely, its funding taken away by the Pentagon, who saw that super-powered animals (specifically dogs) could, in fact, be used in combat, but questioned the Wonders Foundation's apparent indifference towards the use of questionable ethical policies in the ATW's research. Thus, they ordered that all traces of the test be erased, animals included, before returning to their own devices.

Aware of the danger that wild, super-powered animals running amok posed, the Wonders Foundation began putting down their test animals in droves, causing much panic among the super-powered fauna — many of whom unsuccessfully escaped from captivity. Harley, however, managed to slip away in the chaos that ensued, quickly escaping the confines of his testing facility and seemingly disappearing from existence, leaving the terrible memories behind for good.

Making his way into the streets of San Diego, Harley is now back to being a stray, albeit one with super powers. Aside from the occasional snatch of a petty thief or rescue of a cat from a tree, Harley's life has regressed back to a normal one of scavenging and looking cute to passersby. He has found himself without a proper home or owner, let alone a friend, who can teach him how to use his powers for reasons greater than stopping bad people on the streets: stopping super powered villains. Hopefully, the existence of a certain band of super powered youngsters known as the Young Bloods could teach him how to do so...

## Powers and abilities

Harley gained superpowers by a synthetic process from being a test subject to the Wonder Foundation.

* **Canine Physiology**: As a dog, Harley already has sharp claws and teeth that can aid in combat up close, along with a powerful bite and acute senses. He also can run much faster than a human and can communicate with other dogs, even being able to call upon other nearby dogs to aid him in battle. After his augmentation, his senses — specifically his senses of smell, taste, and hearing — are highly toned up, allowing him to locate targets by smell alone or hear incoming threats.

* **Heightened Intelligence**: From early on in his life, Harley has been able to complete problem-solving puzzles and tasks in various tests and has shown levels of higher intelligence compared to most dogs. Not to mention, German Shepherds have repeatedly been proven to be an intelligent breed of dog as gestured by their work with police, military, and rescue roles. After his exposure to the super serum that provided him his powers his overall intelligence was doubled, giving him a mind comparable to that of a 10 year old human. Additionally, although he cannot talk, he is entirely capable of understanding human speech.
* **Enhanced Condition**: The super serum gifted Harley with the otherwise standard power of super strength. Before Harley was only capable of dealing as much damage as... a regular dog. Now, he is capable of easily smashing through brick walls, the power if his bite and slash of his claws now able to bend and cut through reinforced steel. Additionally, Harley is now faster and more agile than he was before, and is able to recover to injuries much faster than a regular dog. For some reason, his eyes have also turned from amber to a blue color, and apparently glow bright in combat or when Harley is using his powers.
* **Flight**: Harley was also gifted the power of flight from the super serum, allowing him to fly with ease and at high speeds.
* **Sonic Bark**: Harley is now capable of letting out a powerful bark which is powerful enough to crack through reinforced walls, shatter glass, or even stun opponents within range. At closer ranges he can simply blow away enemies and other objects with the sheer force of his bark alone.