Nick Gleason

## Personality

Nick's shy, and while he wants to make friends, he finds it difficult coping with his appearance. While his parents loved him and treated him very, very well, he was acutely aware of the fact that most normal people would never accept him. He's a sweet kid, but some of his perceptions are a bit off if only because, well, he was raised primarily on television and video games.

## Powers

In a few words, Nicholas is permanently stuck in the form of an anthropomorphic wolf; he's not a shifter, and he never will be. This lycanthropic form has several features. He's covered in a layer of wolf fur, has lupine eyes, and has a mouth full of gleaming, sharp teeth behind canine lips. His arms end in thick, powerful hands, and strong fingers that end in razor-sharp claws. His entire body features increased musculature, increasing his strength.

Nicholas enjoys increased strength, agility, stamina, and of course his claws and teeth. His senses are increased to above and beyond that of a wolf's; he can track by scent over long distances, hear ranges of sound above human levels, and he can see slightly into the infrared and ultraviolet spectrum, allowing him to see much more clearly in the darkness and track by heat signatures. He also enjoys a significantly increased healing time and recovery time, being able to recover in days what would take most to recover from in months. His immune system, however, seems to be much more capable than his cellular regeneration, capable of staving off most infections, though serious infections are still an issue for him.

A side-effect of his form is the ability to run on all fours. This grants him surprising speed and maneuverability, and coupled with his natural agility makes him a potentially nimble and capable combatant, and not to mention a very successful hunter if he actually put his mind to developing that skill.

Most notably, Nicholas is permanently stuck in his form. He can't pass as human without some sort of illusion or image inducer.

Nicholas' claws can't easily cut metal, though sufficient punching could stove in heavy armor (think old-fashioned plate) with a couple focused blows, though it would likely hurt his hands a lot to do that.

He is by no means blade or bullet-proof, and is susceptible to beat-downs like anyone else, though adequate conditioning could increase his durability, but not by much. Similarly, he's not fast enough to dodge bullets, and despite an increased healing factor, a gunshot would still leave him damaged for a few days; his healing 'factor' isn't really such except for a decreased recovery time.

Nick has none of the wild animal instincts that other “feral” types tend to have. This is either just a byproduct of his tender upbringing, or is perhaps just a deficiency in his mutation. This makes it harder for him to harness certain aspects of his abilities, mostly the ones pertaining to scent.

## Talents

Nick's really, really good at most video games. He's also got a fair creative streak from his time playing RPGs on the computer and consoles. To say he's talented at much else would be a bit of a stretch.

## Interests

Video games, comic books, making friends, figuring out what to do with his life as a mutant.

## History

William and Georgia Gleason wanted to have a child, after establishing themselves financially and romantically together. And have a child they did. Comfortable in their upper-middle class lives, Nicholas was born on Halloween day in Poughkeepsie, hale and healthy. His parents were loving, not over-indulgent, and raised him well.

When he turned eight, his life was turned upside down. His body began to rapidly grow coarse fur, and over the span of a few weeks, his bone structure slowly and painfully altered. But rather than abandon their freak of a son, William and Georgia banded together, and put into motion a series of events that would change Nicholas' life forever.

Quickly, it was arranged that Nicholas would be home schooled. Additionally, his parents kept the curtains drawn at all times in their home, so that the neighbors would not see him. Nicholas' friends were led to believe that he was very ill, and needed to be isolated for his and their own safety. It was all of course a fabrication. They didn't want to have word spread that their child was some kind of freak; they didn't know what he was, but they knew that he was their child, and they loved him all the same. Shortly afterward, Xavier learned of his existence and contacted his parents. They told Georgia and William what their son was, and maintained contact with him for help and further study.