Therian Thirty

A ‘black’ project (in the same vein as Project Nightbreed) that was originally conceived as a part of a Department of Magical Affairs (DOMA) collaboration with the Wizarding World-affiliated group known as the Werewolf Liberation Front (WLF), Therian Thirty was the specific effort of Major General Robert Bakeson to create his own legion of metahuman commandoes tasked to serve his wishes on a variety of levels. Having knowledge of the activities of Project Nightbreed, Bakeson realized that something in the same vein would serve his own purposes well; after doing his research, he concluded that the original parameters of Nightbreed were appropriate, yet conservative for his goals. He concluded that with modern nanotechnology available for military and medical purposes (to DELPHI) to be used for control and enhancement, that lycanthropes (werewolves) and lupine-based metahumans would provide a significant advancement. (Possibilities of loss of control was one of the primary reasons why lupines were passed over in the original research phases that begot Project Nightbreed in favor of vampiric-variants.) The project name comes from the Greek word ‘Therian’, meaning ‘wild animal’ or ‘beast’, and for the thirty-day cycle of the Moon.

Agents of 'Therian Thirty' possess a number of metahuman abilities, granted to them by a solution that incorporates elements of the Wolfsbane Potion and the alien-based, reverse-engineered nanite formula known as ‘Bio-Spackle’. The solution is known as the Therian Regulatory and Augmentation/Polyjuice Derivative solution, or TRAPD. (Of course, it is standard policy to NEVER refer to the solution by its informal designation except in official lab reports.) Those abilities are:

Shapeshifting: The signature ability of Therian Thirty, each Agent has the ability to transform into two forms; a lupine-humanoid form and a bestial, lycanthropic form. In all forms, the Agent is capable of bipedal locomotion, hand-to-hand combat, has access to their full mental facilities and is capable of speech. In lupine-humanoid form, Agents are capable of performing all normal human functions and activities, and of wearing any normal outfits, gear, protective outs, etc, as they would in normal form. All Agents have a unique shading and/or patterning to their fur which makes them recognizable to others. Most Therian Agents prefer to operate only in the lupine-humanoid form, as transfoming to the lycanthrope form is incredibly painful.

Uncontrolled Transformation: Due to the nature of the nanites in a Therian Agent's augmented physiology, the nanite saturation level in their bodies drops to a critical level once every thirty days as the TRAPD solution increases by the same amount. The Agent's body takes 24 to 72 hours to compensate and return to normal - but during this period, the Agent will transform into lycanthrope form and is unable to change back or stop the transformation. Only use of the Wolfsbane Potion can allow full retention and control of an Agent's mental state at this time; however, it is strongly recommended that the Agent be sequestered during this period.

In 'free-range' Therians (see below), the same process occurs, but the excess amounts of the solution are reduced through elimination of bodily wastes (specifically through urination).

Enhanced Physical Abilities: Agents can lift up to two tons in human form, and between five to ten tons in their other forms. They are also supremly agile (able to land on their feet even from great heights or run at full speed on wires), and possess endurance far beyond any human or most metahumans.

Enhanced Senses: An Agent’s five senses are superior to normal humans, and have far more sensitive olfactory senses than a Nightbreed. Only a supreme effort at erasing the trail can evade an Agent’s attempt to track a person he/she has the scent of.

Enhanced Speed: In all forms, Therian Agents can move at up to seventy MPH until they choose to rest.

Hyper-Leaping: Agents can leap up to 300 feet up or across an area (from a standing position), or down from heights of up to 500 feet without injury.

Fangs and Claws: Agents can extend their incisors, toenails and fingernails; they can use them to do slashing damage, can climb walls and other surfaces, or hang from ceilings and trees.

‘Death-Slash’: In any of their forms, Theiran Agents can, by an act of concentration, reduce the thickness of the edges of their extended fingernails/claws to effectively monofilament levels. While in this state (which only lasts as long as they concentrate), an Agent can slice through any known solid substances below the strength of Secondary Adamantium.

Emotion Control: While in lupine- and lycanthrope-form, Agents have the ability to generate a specific frequency modulation in their howling that specifically acts upon the fear centers in the brain of all other creatures, causing them to experience fear, terror, and an overwhelming desire to flee. The power, however, is absolutely useless against anyone with protected senses, above-normal (but still human) or enhanced intelligence, or any form of psionic power (in short, anything that alters the brain from baseline-normal standing).

‘Shadow-cloaking’: Therian Agents have the limited ability to ‘blend’ into their surroundings to avoid visual detection. This ability is particularly effective at night, and in wooded or urban areas.

Acclerated Healing: Therian Agents can heal with a frightening speed from almost any injury that is not immediately fatal. An injured Agent will be fully healed of even the most grievious injury within twenty-four hours, and can actually regenerate missing limbs or instantly heal damage even on the celluar level (as from radiation exposure).

Pheromones: Therian Agents have the ability to emit a pheromone scent that acts as a very potent anti-inhibition drug upon anyone exposed to it, causing them to act in ways without regard for safety or modesty. These pheromones can be released by touch or through the air, can be released whether in human or lupine form, and have an immediate effect upon others that lasts for up to six hours. Most Therian Agents release their pheromones in order to make their opposition fight without regard for strategy or their own safety, as many will keep fighting until killed or restrained. Therian Agents are immune to the effects of their own pheromones, and are moderately aroused by the effects of another Agent’s emissions (additional emissions increase the arousal effect). Protected senses, and wearing breathing protection, will protect from the effect.

Power Creation: While Therian Agents possess an ability similar to Nightbreed in that they can secrete a serum that allows them to transform others into Therians, only the method used to transform Beta Nightbreed (a slow diffusion of the organic solution into a recipient by being passed into the system through a blood transfusion) can safely allow the creation of a Therian Agent. Therians can only secrete the solution while in lycanthrope form; however, use of the blood of a Therian Agent drawn while in lupine-humanoid form is the manner in which Theiran Agents are created, as the nanites which stimulate the creation of the solution and allow control of the abilities are passed on therein.

Therians created by simply being bitten by an Agent while in lycanthrope form - and being exposed to the pure form of the TRAPD solution - will become ‘free-range’ metahumans – possessing the abilities of a Therian Agent ONLY in lycanthrope form, with no control over the transformation and with no human intelligence during the period of transformation (being six to twenty-four hours per transformation). Free-range Therians are almost identical in appearance and attitude to the ‘werewolves’ of legend (and the medical condition known in the Wizarding World). There is no reversing the condition; free-range Therians cannot be rid of their abilities, and there is no way to control them, as their bodies were not given the blood-regulation treatment to allow development of the nanites in their bodies.

However, 'free-range' Therians CAN totally supress all of their abilities and transformations by the continuous use of the substance known as Delmitrium-157 (or also by its street name of ‘flush’).

The single exception to a free-range Therian's abilities is that, in human form, they DO possess enhanced physical (strength, speed and endurance) and healing abilities. These, of course, are also surpressed by the use of 'flush'. Some 'free-range' Therians, upon learning about their condition in full, have chosen to wear Mark 40 regulators: these are wrist-worn devices that resemble watches, which constantly monitor the wearer's condition. If they detect the beginning stages of the transformation, they will inject the wearer with a concentrated dose of 'flush' that negates the abilities for a full twenty-four hours and reverses the transformation. Each wrist monitor carries enough 'flush' for three injections, and also has GPS tracking capability.

The Leash Codes: Because of the nanotechnology that gives them their powers, every Agent of Therian Thirty can be controlled by devices that send out a specific override code. This code can be transmitted by any electrical device capable or recieving transmission signals (radios, TV, cellphones, modem-capable computers, GPS devices, etc.). While any Agent can be specifically remote-controlled or tasked to perform a specific task or series of tasks without being aware of such, only four signals have been encoded for transmission to all Agents: 'Baseline' (revert and remain in human form until further notice), 'Frenzy' (attack all targets until slain or ordered to disengage), 'Home' (return to the Denver, Colorado staging area) and 'Sleep' (this command triggers a massive, systemwide failure in the nanotech, which also causes the organic components to suffer catastrophic organ failure followed by immediate, painless death). Therians can also be neutralized by the use of 'flush' in weapons, which reverts them back to human form and allows normal weapons to be effective against them.

At present, very little is known of Therian Thirty, as the project went into hibernation with the death of Bakeson. There are, however, Therian Agents working with the WLF, and providing sigificant funding, access to government materials and facilities, and needed samples of various products (including research-grade supplies of ‘flush’, and pure samples of required mystical pharmaceuticals). It is assumed that they are simply acting under orders given before Bakeson’s demise, or have begun to operate as a rogue agency.