Gregory Russell (father, deceased), Laura Russell (mother, deceased), Phillip Russell (step-father, uncle), Lissa Russell Price (sister), Nina Price (niece)
PLACE OF BIRTH.
LA, California
OCCUPATION.
Jack of many trades
OOC.
Sara • magikfanfic AT gmail DOT com
magikfanfic (aim) • EST Kris Holden-Ried (pb)
By and large, Jack is easy to get along with, funny and personable and kind with just the smallest touch of arrogance and attention seeking sort of like an adorable puppy that just wants someone to notice him. He can have a very tongue in cheek humor about his predicament.
It’s also easy to tell Jack’s social status by the way he talks, what he wears and the things that he does. At heart, Jack is a child of privilege despite the hardships, and he still sort of carries the chip on his shoulder that comes with that status. This can make him seem sort of snooty and stuck up, especially when dealing with people who might not come from the same background. He also has a habit of stepping up to play protector when women are around. He’s very much a “stay behind me and you’ll be safe” sort of guy, which earns you some grief in the hero world when those very capable females proceed to kick your ass. It's been years and that lesson has yet to sink into his head.
It’s easy to manipulate Jack because he’s a hero at heart, which is something that he doesn’t even really believe. He is, though. Threaten his family or his friends or just innocents in general, and his hackles go right up. If he can’t think of a way around the threat, he’ll do what you ask him. He just might turn on your ass once he’s gotten people out of danger. His own safety is not paramount to him, especially when he’s in his Werewolf form. He’s so used to be able to heal from injuries that he just throws himself into things, especially if it means helping someone else.
As his handle implies, Jack is able to transform himself, at will, into a hybrid wolf form. Some people might refer to this as a "werewolf", but ever since certain teenage paranormal romance novels, Jack isn't too fond of that association. Jack’s wolf form is enhanced in a number of ways, though it should be noted that none of these attributes carry over to his human form.
Physical Wolf Characteristics: First and foremost, Jack resembles a wolf when transformed. He is covered in fur and possess claws on both hands and feet as well as fangs instead of his normal teeth. His claws and fangs are capable of rending through a wide variety of material including fabrics, most woods, a number of building materials such as cinder block and even a few of the lighter metals such as aluminium. He is not capable of tearing through extremely hard metals such as adamantium. Overall he typically tends to avoid metal because of a concern that it might be laced with silver in some way.
Both his fangs and claws are razor sharp and difficult to break. If they do break, they will grow back in a matter of minutes due to his accelerated healing in wolf form. Over the years, he has accidentally mauled and disfigured people, which he still feels guilty about. It has taken years of experience for Jack to truly know his own limits and how to best control himself when physically handling enemies as well as allies.
Strength: As Wolf he has the ability to lift up to 1,500 lbs, though he strains at this peak and cannot sustain the effort for great periods of time. He is able to lift and carry lesser loads for longer periods of time. This strength also enables him to make long distance jumps, either vertically or horizontally. From a crouch, he can leap 18 feet into the air at most, which easily allows him access to windows or rooftops. With a running start, he can clear longer horizontal distances such that he can jump from rooftop to rooftop if needed, though 25 feet is pushing his limit on that.
Speed: Wolf is capable of running at superhuman speeds of up to a hundred miles an hour, though he cannot maintain his fastest speed for long periods of time. For longer runs, he’s usually pretty steady at about fifty miles an hour. When aided by the cover of darkness, Jack is capable of being fast enough so as to almost be undetectable with the normal human eye. He will, of course, he detectable by those with heightened senses or by electronic scanning equipment such as heat readouts and things of that nature, though he is fast enough that any heat signatures could potentially be interrupted as system malfunction depending on the operator.
Agility and Reflexes: In addition to his strength and speed, Jack’s agility and reflexes are both extremely heightened. His reflexes, balance, coordination and agility are all almost double that of the finest human athlete. His dexterity suffers a little due to the claws, however, which is why Jack does not use range weapons when transformed, though he is adapt at using them when in human form.
Senses: While in his wolf form, Jack possess heightened senses that are extraordinarily keen and similar to those of an actual wolf, which allows him to be a very efficient tracker. Thanks to being able to see part of the infrared spectrum, he can detect the heat signatures of living creatures or objects even in total darkness. Even the slight sound of a heartbeat is detectable to him up to thirty feet away. As long as something is within one hundred feet (upwind) of him, he can scent them, and is able to track over most terrains.
Stamina, Durability and Healing: The tissues and musculature of the hybrid form are considerably different than they are when Jack is in his human form. As such the tissue is denser and more resistant to physical injury from things such as low caliber bullets, extreme temperatures (the fur covering his body also helps protect him against these), impacts and even falls from considerable height. His musculature produces far fewer fatigue toxins than when he is in his human form, which allows him to perform at or close to peak capacity for longer periods of time before he begins to tire.
In the event that something is actually able to injure him, which is a feat in and of itself, Wolf is possessed of an advanced healing factor that will regenerate damaged or even destroyed areas of his body at a highly accelerated rate without even leaving a scar. Typically this only takes a few minutes but larger areas may require slightly longer healing times. He is able to recover from bullet wounds, burns, puncture wounds, impact forces and other injuries that would be fatal to the average human body. If Jack is injured in his human form, he can shift to the wolf in order to recover from the damage so long as he is conscious.
One drawback to his powers is an allergy to silver. Like the myths about werewolves, Jack can be injured or even killed by silver bullets. His allergy means that he heals slower from wounds created by silver weapons and any metal containing silver will cause him to break out into a rash if he has extended contact with it whether in human or wold form.
As teenagers Gregory and Phillip Russell (anglicized from Russoff) immigrated from Romania to America with their mother, Louisa, following the mysterious hunting accident that had resulted in the death of their father, Gregor. As an heiress and Baroness (even though she wasn't activly using that title, Louisa could more than afford to settle her children into an affluent area of Los Angeles. Both of the boys acclimated quickly to life in the states, liking the new opportunities and experiences that it offered to them. Louisa became a bit of a recluse and never remarried or even dated. When the boys would ask about their father's death or their family inheritance, she would simply stop talking to them and work on her needlepoint. Over the years, the boys simply learned not to ask anymore.
The siblings had always been quite close, born less than two years apart, and they decided to attend the same university. It was while at university that they met Laura. The unfortunate thing was that they both ended up falling for her. At first Laura was drawn to the younger sibling. Phillip was dashing, clever and talkative. He was a bit of a clown, always working to get people to smile or laugh rather than focusing on his studies. If Phillip was day then Gregory was night. He was somber, prone to hiding away for long periods of time working on things. He was shy, slow to speak and very careful with his words. As she saw more of them, though, Laura became enamored with the mystery surrounding Gregory. When she told the Russell siblings her decision, Phillip was hurt but also glad that his brother was happy. He wished the two of them well but decided that he needed some space. He told them he would finish college, attend their wedding, which was planned after Laura graduated, and then he would strike out on his own to see the world. The inevitable separation from his brother bothered Gregory, but he understood the decision.
True to his word, Phillip left the day after Gregory and Laura were married. For many years, their only communication with him was in the form of letters, postcards and exotic presents sent from around the world. Gregory and Laura settled into married bliss. Gregory's mother had died while her sons were in college so Gregory and Laura moved into the family home, which was almost too large than what they needed. They kept Phillip's rooms exactly the way they had been, and clean, for when he decided to come home. Even though he didn't need to, Gregory easily found a job as a research assistant while he continued to pursue his Master's degree. Laura had been planning on taking at least a part time job, but her plans changed when she discovered that she was pregnant.
Jacob Gregory Russell was born on Valentine's day, and Laura said that he was the best present Gregory has ever given her. As soon as Jack was old enough to figure out that being born on Valentine's Day was a pain, though, he started lying about it, which always made his mother frown at him. The young couple showered love and affection down on their first born. Jack had to have the best of everything even when he was too young to really know the difference between a box and a two hundred dollar toy. Laura was disappointed when Phillip didn't come home to see his nephew. All that arrived was a Tibetan doll with a card that said, "Smile, baby boy." With Gregory back to either working or studying for classes all the time, Laura was getting a little bored without other adult company. But she also wasn't about to leave her son with strangers all day. So she decided that she would look for a part time job when Jack was old enough to go to school. Hopefully Gregory would be done with his schooling by then as well. Then they could be a closer family.
Shortly after Jack's third birthday, Laura discovered that she was pregnant again. This time, though, Phillip listened to her wishes and came home before she gave birth. Gregory had finished his Master's, but he was now working on a Doctorate, which had him out of the house even more than before. Phillip became a godsend, helping around the house and keeping Jack occupied when Laura needed to nap. He even drove Laura to the hospital when Lissa was born as Gregory had gone out of town on mysterious business. As it would turn out, Gregory's mysterious business involved going to Romania to check out the family castle and investigate the family business a little. He had always been fascinated with their past, especially since their mother had refused to say anything about it. The answers, he decided, had to be in Romania. Phillip had encouraged him to go, saying that he would make sure Laura and the children were taken care of in the meantime. He knew that his brother would only continue to be distracted, making him less of a good father and husband, until he had gotten to the bottom of his obsession. Phillip had no idea of what was going to occur though.
Gregory had been away for almost four months when Laura finally received news that he had died while in Romania. The details surrounding his death were odd. The authorities refused to release the body and the report spoke of him having been caught in a fire at the boarding establishment that he had been rooming in. No one else had perished in the fire, which Laura felt meant that Gregory had been dead before the blaze was set as he had never been a heavy sleeper. No matter what questions she asked, though, she was shut down at every turn. She was told that she shouldn't ask questions, and that she and her children definitely should not come to Romania. They apologized for her loss, but said there was nothing else they could do. Widowed with two small children, Laura finally stopped asking questions, seeking solace in Phillip's presence.
Phillip, feeling extreme guilt over the part he might have played in his brother's death, dedicated himself to taking care of his nephew and niece while being a good friend to Laura. Being a friend to Laura soon proved more difficult than he had thought. He was still in love with her. After all those years. Once her grief and anger faded, Laura found herself looking at Phillip with new eyes. He was no longer that clown she had known in school, the one she had worried would never prove himself to be stable and reliable. Now he was both those things. As well as caring and warm. And accessible, which was something that she had never gotten from Gregory. She loved him, she realized. They were married shortly after Lissa's first birthday. Laura decided not to tell the kids about Gregory until they were old enough to understand. Lissa had never even met her father, and Jack had forgotten about him. They both called Phillip Daddy and looked to him for everything. As far as she was concerned there was no reason to confuse their lives with all the weird details.
For years, everything was perfect in Jack's life. At least as far as he was concerned. He was never the best at anything, but he was good at almost everything. There was nothing special or spectacular about him except maybe for the money his family had, and that didn't exactly count considering that the crowd he ran around with was also mostly made of money anyhow. Jack had a good relationship with both of his parents, and he was close with his younger sister, although he had made all of his friends swear not to date her. Things were good. He was normal, average. That suited him just fine.
Things changed when he graduated from high school. He had just turned eighteen a few months ago and was looking forward to going to a local college in the fall even though he didn't have any idea what he was going to major in. It didn't matter. He was young and on top of the world. His father had gotten him a new motorcycle as a graduation present, and he was coming home from a party on it when he passed an ambulance on the side of the road. Something told him to turn around, go back and take a look at everything, but he wrote that off as being ghoulish. When he got home, he noticed that both of his parent's cars were gone. Lissa was reading in her room and didn't know where either Phillip or Laura were when Jack asked. The siblings ordered some pizzas and spent the night watching B horror movies. Jack had always liked The Wolf Man, but Lissa preferred Dracula.
They were halfway through Jack's choice, which was always second, when the phone rang. Lissa answered and then, shaking, handed the phone to Jack. It was Phillip calling to tell them that their mother had been in a car wreck. She had just gotten out of surgery, but the doctor's thought it was best for everyone to say their goodbyes in case the unthinkable happened. Lissa just kept crying the whole ride over, but Jack was stoic and quiet, thinking about the ambulance he had passed, the funny feeling he'd had and wondering whether that had been his mother on the side of the road.
Laura was awake but in a considerable amount of pain when the children got to the hospital. Fearing that she might not have time to tell them later, she explained the truth about Phillip and their actual father. Lissa was too scared to pay much attention, but Jack listened. Strangely, he found himself getting angry at his mother for having kept that kind of secret for so long and said so. Phillip, who had been present but quiet for the duration of the conversation, quickly stepped in to try and talk sense into Jack. He didn't want the boy to end up saying or doing anything he might regret. Jack shook Phillip off, snapping at him that he didn't want anything to do with him or the sordid little situation he and his mother had created for years. Upset, scared, frustrated and shocked, Jack stormed out of the room before anyone could say another word. Lissa was torn between going after her mother and staying with her parents but ended up remaining at her mother's side.
Jack didn't know what he was doing, and he didn't know where he was going. All he knew was that he needed to get away so he ended up driving all night long. The next morning as he was sitting in a roadside diner drinking coffee, he realized that he was terrified that his mother was dying, that she might leave him forever. Instead of staying there with her, for her, he had acted like a child and stormed out. He was still mad at her for what she and Phillip had done, but his life had been happy, hadn't it? Happy. But a lie nonetheless.
Still frustrated he went back to the hospital. As it turned out, Laura was doing a little better. The doctors were quick to point out that it was still touch and go, but she was holding pretty steady. When Jack apologized, she told him to hush. Phillip and Lissa had gone home hours ago to get some sleep so it was only Laura and Jack in the room, talking quietly. Laura told Jack everything about Gregory. His research, his business, how much he had loved his son, how brilliant he was, how focused and determined. Then she told Jack about his father's mysterious death. Jack didn't know what to think, but he did miss the man even though he didn't really remember him. Laura made Jack promise to tell Lissa about Gregory, which Jack agreed to even as he told his mother that she would have plenty of chances to do that herself. Eventually Laura talked him into going out to get dinner. She said that Lissa and Phillip were on their way over, and she wanted to take a nap before they came in. Jack kissed her on the cheek and left. Laura died shortly after of internal injuries.
Following the funeral, Jack moved out of the family home. He got an apartment close to campus for when classes starts and picked up a part time job at the university library. Most of the time he spent reading books on Romania and the Russoff family. As it turned out there were quite a collection of stories about his family, especially when it came to old wives tales involving werewolves. As far as he could tell, though, there was nothing about his father's or his grandfather's deaths. The only thing he could find was the obituary his mother had published once she found out and held the memorial service. That was it. Zip. Zilch. Nada. That seemed strange in and of itself to Jack. Two members of a prominent Romania family die under mysterious circumstances without even a word.
Just like in high school, Jack was average at college. He majored in history, focusing on Medieval Studies and Eastern Europe. Additionally he started taking classes in Italian after learning it was the closest available option to Romanian. During this time he tried to keep in close contact with Lissa, but the fact that she constantly defended Phillip grated on his nerves. Jack didn't hate Phillip, but the whole thing rubbed him the wrong way. He just couldn't be around the man. So his ties to Lissa started to wane as well. There were more than a few relationships that he started, but they just never lasted. For one thing, he was always worried about some deep, dark terrible secret coming out. And he tended to pick some rather interesting people.
Once he had graduated, he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. He was a twenty-two year old man who was passably fluent in Italian and knew a lot about history in a world of young graduates with the same sort of education. There was no way he was going to get more degrees. His father might have been that sort of genius, but he wasn't. Jack was tired of school. He was tired of LA. There was too much pain there, too many memories. So he left. For the next three years, Jack spent his time traveling around the US meeting people, seeing famous places. The nagging feeling that there was something else out there, some other secret kept worrying him, though.
Then one day Jack decided that maybe all the answers were home. Not in LA but the home across the seas, the castle, Romania. So off he went to find the Russoff castle. As it turned out the Italian wasn't quite as helpful as he had wanted, but it was passable. He spent over a year in Bucharest doing more research into the legends around his family with the help of a young student named Topaz. Jack quickly became infatuated with the girl, which he knew meant trouble, but he couldn't seem to talk himself out of it. All of the information they could come across, especially the older stuff, kept mentioning werewolves. There was always a tie between the Russoff castle and werewolves. In everything they came across. Jack had held off on telling anyone his exact ties to what he was researching. As far as they were all concerned, he as an American student working on a thesis.
Jack and Topaz finally set out for the castle. It was located deep in the Romanian countryside, far from any of the cities and only close to one tiny little village that had secluded itself from the modern world for centuries. The closer they got to the castle, the more Jack wondered about his father's death. There weren't any rooming establishments in this area. There was no reason for anyone to be here. How had his father died? Where would he even had died? Stepping into the countryside was like stepping into the past. The longer they were away from Bucharest, the worse Jack felt. Topaz suggested that it might have something to do with the spring water used in the smaller villages they were passing through. There might be microbes that his body wasn't accustomed to. Jack wasn't sure what it was, but he wanted it to stop.
They finally reached the castle on the first night of the full moon. As there was nowhere to stay, Jack suggested that they camp out on the castle grounds themselves. This idea didn't really seem to appeal to Topaz, who had been suggesting they go back since Jack's illness had continued to get worse, but he was adamant so she relented. Charles Xavier would later explain that it was coincidence and mental suggestion from everything that he had been reading, but when it first happened, when he first transformed, Jack was convinced that it was because he had slept under the full moon in his family's castle on cursed land. He had gone to sleep with a terrible headache. It seemed to expand to every part of his body. The next thing he knew it felt like he was tearing out of his skin. And then he was running. Just running through the fields. Like a beast. That first time, Jack barely had control over anything and very little awareness. Charles would explain that as shock. When he came to in the morning, more mental suggestion, he was back to his human form but completely naked. In a field. Surrounded by villagers who looked at him as though he were something Satan had spat on their doorstep.
Thankfully Jack was able to piece together a story about drinking too much alcohol. The villagers didn't look completely convinced, but they also didn't pitchfork him to death and set him on fire so he was happy about that. When he got back to the castle, he went looking for Topaz. She told him that she had been woken up in the night by a terrible noise. And that when she looked there was a giant wolf and he was nowhere to be found. She had been worried he'd been killed. Jack assured her that he was fine, but he thought they should get back to Bucharest. Topaz was confused considering how long Jack had been working toward the goal of getting to the castle but also didn't want to be eaten by wolves so she relented.
Instead of taking the scenic route, the two were able to get to a nearby train station. Jack was hopeful that whatever it was he had experienced wouldn't bother him if he couldn't see the moon so he shut all the shades in their private car and stayed away from windows in the rest of the train as much as possible. He also vowed not to sleep until he had gotten back to the city. Nothing bad had happened there. Nothing bad had ever happened anywhere else. It had to have been the castle, that place.
It was during the train journey that Jack was approached by a man. The man introduced himself as Charles Xavier and invited Jack into his private car. Jack was hesitant about getting into private train cars with strange men in an unknown country, but there was something about Charles that he felt he could trust so he relented. Once inside the man told Jack that he knew what had happened and that he could help. Jack immediately asked him what he knew about werewolves. Charles laughed for a good three minutes while Jack glared at him before he explained what was really happening. The Russoffs weren't werewolves. They were mutants, and their ability seemed to pass genetically. The mutation when it showed up was always the same in the Russoff line, the ability to shift into a human wolf hybrid. The good news was that it was controllable. Right now Jack's power was in an unpredictable flux because he had been drugged for so much of his life. Once he had left Bucharest and started traveling through the countryside, he was no longer getting dosed and his powers had finally asserted themselves. Xavier offered him a choice. He could go back to dosed life and never worry again or he could go with him and be something other than normal.
Jack, who had always been normal, wasn't sure what to do. But the idea of ever accidentally hurting someone was something he couldn't stomach. He told Charles he would go but that he wasn't sure if he would stay. Charles agreed to that and then gave him the address and told Jack to come when he was ready. Jack returned to Topaz but was distant the rest of the train ride. When they returned to Bucharest, Jack told Topaz he had to leave. Topaz asked if he had met someone else. Having no better explanation, Jack said yes, packed his things and got the next flight to New York, making sure to drink enough of the dosed water the entire time to prevent anything untoward from happening.
Once he was at the school, he detoxed. The first few days were terrible and frightening but once they evened out he felt better than ever before. It was weird being the new guy at his age, but eventually he settled in. He settled right in and never left. To a point, he still considers himself to be nothing more than the normal guy. Now he's just the normal guy among all the extraordinary people. Jack has kept in contact with his sister, Lissa, over the years, and he has met his niece. He and Phillip patched their relationship up a couple years after Jack returned from Romania but none of them are as close as they used to be. Too much water under the bridge.
Jack is interesting looking. He's not classically handsome, and his features can even look a little severe. He has a long face with small, close set, dark blue eyes, a thin, pointed nose that is almost beaky looking and a thin lipped mouth. His hair is strawberry blond and naturally curly, which is why he keeps it short enough not to turn into a disaster area but long enough to sort of hide his high widow's peak. His facial hair is the same color, and he tends to keep a full, though very well groomed and short beard and mustache at all times. At the best of times, he looks a little scruffy. At the worst of times, he can resemble a pirate who hasn't brushed his hair in three days. There are a few lines on his face from age, but all of his skin is pale, smooth and oddly flawless. Jack does not bear any scars or marks thanks to the healing ability in his werewolf form.
The sharpness doesn't stop with his face, though. Jack is tall, standing at 6'1" in his human form, lithe, lean and composed primarily of streamlined muscle. This height is balanced evenly over his body, which results in long legs, arms, fingers, torso, feet, etc. Some of his features could look delicate if they weren't so sharp. Everything about him seems slightly dangerous but not completely off-putting unless he’s scowling. When Jack smiles, it makes him look like the happiest person in the world and undoes all of the severe edges to his features. It’s just that the smile doesn’t show up as often as it should these days.
Jack likes clothes, and he has the money necessary to wear whatever he wants. He likes leather and fancy shirts, nice vests and suits. The only sort of fancy clothing that Jack does not take to is hats. They look out of place with the rest of his features. Even with all of his nice clothes, Jack spends a lot of time sans shirt. It's a problem.
When he purposefully transforms into his werewolf shape, Jack does not become an actual wolf. His form is more that of a wolf-human hybrid. This form combines attributes of both. He is significantly taller and larger, possessing claws, fangs, typical wolf style ears and even a tail. His facial features shift to resemble that of a wolf as well. When in this form, he can walk and run either on all fours or on two legs, though he is typically faster when running on all fours like a proper wolf. As the werewolf, he is covered with thick auburn fur and his eyes are normally yellow. If Jack is not completely in control of himself or if he is angry, his eyes will change to red, which is definitely a sign to get out of his way. Jack can speak while in his controlled form, but sometimes it can be difficult to understand what he’s saying because of the physical changes. He’s had a lot of time to practice, though, and it’s normally only when he meets new people who aren’t used to the tonal differences or is talking very fast so that the words slur that those around him have difficulty understanding what he’s trying to say.