Post by milo on Apr 26, 2009 1:03:52 GMT -5
Player nick: Milo
Name: Milo
Codename: Demon
DoB/Age: Appearance (3-5yrs) Definite age unknown. Date unknown. Date "Changed": 8/14/06
Height: 38"
Weight: 24lbs (11kg)
Powers:
* Calculation -- Some lobes of Milo's brain are suppressed, while others are functioning. Because of this, his logical understanding is warped. The lobes that are functioning grant Milo an advantage of calculation, able to predict momentum and velocity with speed and timing, to enable him to calculate his own movements accordingly. This helps with jumping on to moving things, dodging projectiles, as well as for throwing things. Due to this, his memory is recessive and can store what he learns for later use and future adaptation. Recessing and recalling are two mental skills. Now just because he can process mental information like so, doesn't make him a genius when it comes to things such as trigonometry and algebra. He can answer velocity calculations with ease if in action, but to show the work of how he got the answer and to see a written problem and answer it is something he can't do. This evolved mostly in the circus where it was do or die in performances, and after a while of learning to do things or risk being hurt, his mind took to trying to protect his body. Due to his recent changes, he's lost all other advanced mathematical knowledge. Subtraction and Addition are even a tad foreign to him in their more complicated manners. 2+2=4 22+22=2222
* Full Genetic Shifting -- Milo has the ability to gain animal DNA, and adapt it to his own use by gaining the form of that animal. He also has forms stored inside him due to a lab incident, which are dormant but expose themselves over time, granting him new forms. He does not copy the creature, but rather shifts into what he would look like as that animal. Meaning, if he were a tiger, his stripes would be different from the stripes of the host, and he'd still have physical deformities, like the tooth that juts up from the corner of his mouth and his lopsided jaw. All shifted forms are white, matching his hair, with bright orange eyes. If a form is not used in a while, it will fade away from his ability to use it.
* Partial Genetic Shifting -- Forms he's gained can also be used in partial shifting, the ability to shift to have just an iguana's scales, or a lion's claws. In the forms that have given him the nickname of '"Demon", his forms are red with glowing green eyes and are a composite of creatures he has gained the forms of and is -not- a form he can go into at will. It is also mostly anthro. Partial shifting is not something he has well control over at all, and it hurts terribly so. It's highly unstable, and thus a painful form that does not last very long, based on emotional and mental status.
Forms:
1. Flying Squirrel
2. Lion
3. Mississippi Saw-Back Turtle
4. Skunk
5. Sparrow
6. Mouse
7. House Cat
8. Horse
9. Iguana
10. Gecko
11. Porcupine
* Healing Factor -- His healing factor fluctuates, to where it deals with wounds based on the severity. A paper cut could heal in a day, where a large gash could heal in less then an hour. If he's active, he heals quicker. If not, the healing factor may not even kick into effect, like if he's sleeping. So if he's sick and rests for a while, he will have to get over it like any other being. If he's active and running around, he will get over the illness quicker.
* Evolution -- Evolution is the process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex and better form. Genetically it's a change in genetic composition of a population during successive generation, as a result of natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals, and resulting in the development of a new species. With Milo, evolution occurs only within him. As he gains the use of more forms, his body is starting to pick out what it can use most about those forms to better himself and improve him based on where he is and what he does. This is how he has grown more stable, stability from instability. This is slowly starting to take on a new approach by adding to him in a more physical instance. It's basically a partial shift that becomes part of him on a permanent basis. An example of this would include since he walks upon all fours, his hands and feet could develop padding from a dog form in order to protect him better from the wear and tear of concrete and such. But if he ever switched to just walking upright, the padding could in time fade from his hands due to lack of use, but remain upon his feet. Like forms, if these evolutionary adaptations are not used, then they will cease to exist. He cannot gain permanent things like a snake's fangs or porcupine quills because his genetic structure won't allow -drastic- changes, just small settle ones. Most are for defensive purposes as well. Once a trait is adapted, if he loses the form, the trait is still there, but he cannot gain traits from lost forms.
Evolutions:
None currently.
Weaknesses:
* Understanding or Lack There Of -- Being smart in such an area makes him quite ignorant in others. Milo has a much different way of learning things then others do. He thinks in logic, and thus words that sound alike or are spelled alike, but have double meanings, may be lost to him. Metaphors are lost. Many jokes also go over his head. His ability to learn and program his mind deals with sight and mimicking. To make matters even more difficult, Milo has a more instinctive side that guides things from bodily movement, to reaction in animalistic manners. This makes him dramatic, over emotional, and often compulsive. It also takes him a few tries to catch on to things and time to process gained information for actual understanding. This is why his mind developed recessing and recalling skills, to protect him from him self like trauma victims can.
* Full Genetic Shifting -- Now his forms are 'released' as needed for his system to adapt. This means any time he's close to growing unstable, his form automatically evolves and releases the form and genes stored within for use. New forms also -hurt- a lot. When he shifts, he also doesn't always know the size or age of the creature he will become. Lacking control, Milo may go into a fight and shift to be a lion, but may only end up a small cub instead, thus getting his butt whooped. He must concentrate and take his time in order to get a large form he's picked out to use, unless something propels him to change with his limited control, like being harmed or seeing someone he cares deeply for harmed.
* Partial Genetic Shifting -- This is not something he controls well. It's quite unstable to his structure and painful at times. He can't willingly use the partial shifting of two animals at once, like a goat's horns and a lion's claws, or the form of a lion with goat horns. At times, he does shift with such accidentally, like a mouse with a turtle shell. Milo can't control such well at all, and partial shifting is not something that can be held for long due to the pain and his ability to maintain the form. He also can't shift his vocal chords in an animal form to let him speak. At times he will try to speak but all anyone will hear are the sounds the animal itself can make, like a dog barking.
* Healing Factor -- Having a healing factor is not always a good thing. It hurts.. It's a terrible pain to feel one's flesh reforming, and often leaves Milo's flesh feeling and looking sunburned. To make matters worse, objects such as glass or nails or broken needles are things that his flesh will grow over, and bone grow around, embedding the objects in his body.
* Hypoglycemia -- Also called low blood sugar, occurs when the body's blood glucose (blood sugar) level drops too low to provide enough energy for the body's activities. Milo's form does not retain sugar very well and constantly needs it to help keep him stable and functioning. Hypoglycemia can also happen while he's are sleeping. He might, cry out or have nightmares or feel tired, irritable, or confused when he wakes up. Normally he'd be sweating with such a condition, but Milo doesn't normally sweat, and instead pants like a dog to cool down. Symptoms of Hypoglycemia include hunger, nervousness, perspiration, shakiness, dizziness, light-headedness, sleepiness, confusion, difficulty speaking, and feeling anxious or weak. Which Milo seems to suffer from all the time...
Other Oddities of the Milo:
* Understanding -- Sadly enough, Milo's understanding of things is severely lacking. If he doesn't understand a word, he will often think of the word that sounds most like it and go on from there. Where one may say "immune system", he thinks "a moon system" and then can start talking about the moon. It takes a few tries for him to understand things. He tries. He really does, but this lack of understanding makes it very difficult for him to socialize. His feral ways and the wording of people are often confusing. This is his main downfall.
* Mind -- Where his mind seriously is lacking, he has other parts that are quite exceeding. He has an adaptive mind and body, as well as a highly advanced application of retained knowledge. His mind even has the ability to stop its data processing to help block out terrible things from his mind. Unfortunately this often releases a backup in to Milo's mind, resulting in nightmares or flashes of images that seem to come out of nowhere when something gives the slightest reminder that they exist.
* Behaviors -- Like many animals, Milo walks upon all fours, often with his back arched and supporting his frame with his knuckles and the balls of his feet. That explains why those bones are reinforced with adamantium, as well as a plate in his skull. The kid also builds "nests" out of blankets and "borrowed" clothing of those he is close to, due to their scents comforting him in his sleep. Scavenging and building the nest is all natural, it being instinct to just use his feet to weave the articles of fabric into his nest. He doesn't even have to watch what he does. He feels it. The Milo also purrs, scratches with his back legs like a dog, and even growls and hisses. It's as natural as a human nodding when answering yes to a question.
* Mutation -- A strength and a weakness alike... Milo's form is inconstant mutation. He's always changing, body and structure taking on bits of the animals he absorbs to better him self. It hurts and can be as harmful as it is helpful. Milo has no control over this and it leaves him in a constant soreness. This leads on to many questions. Being only a child and having such abilities from birth, when he's a teen will he gain any power mutations as is common for this with the active x-gene? Or will his remain dormant? Could his body and mind even handle any more changes by that time? Will his body's mutations peak at that time as well? Could he have gained anything more from his "parents" on the subject? In search of these answers, others have found Milo to be an interesting and valuable specimen for research. For now, the answers remain unknown.
Special Skills:
* Acrobatics -- After being in the circus for so long, Milo was bound to retain what he gained through training and observation. His short fur works as a shock absorber, so it helped even more. He can twist and contort his form with grace. Everyday he practices on the gymnasium bars and in his room in the basement, the pipes work wonderfully for such too. To Milo it's fun, so he has no problem working his body out. To him, such things are a release from the world and a way to vent, like being free as a bird, without the wings. And hey.. Milo just loves to hop about!
* Lockpicking -- He learned the skill from a young girl named Jade, who was a thief at the circus. In time, his own crafting skills helped to make the tools he used. Lockpicking is a skill that he practices often, for in labs he has freed him self and other creatures, as well as animals in the circus. He's curious in nature and if he sees a lock, he will attempt to pick it more then likely just for no reason other then "Hey! There's a lock!"
Hobbies:
* Crafting (Also a skill) -- He learned the basics from Father McBeth in his time of being in his care, but it has expanded. From living in the sewers and out of sheer boredom at the circus, Milo has come up with a creative way to use everyday objects and create things of use and beauty. It's mostly little things like picture frames, jewelry, and wind-chimes that he crafts now, but there's potential to learn more and create different things in the future. He makes such to express his feelings for others, as well as to keep him self busy. Milo likes to be productive. He has a very special talent for crafting things of glass and pewter. Of course he gets tons of help and is supervised when working with such things.
* Singing -- Hey, the kid likes to sing. It's more of a hobby then anything and helps him find a beat when working out. He'd often sing in his cage or just staring up at the sky from the sewer manholes. Many people like to sing and Milo has even gotten into a Choir to help with his voice and to just sing his heart out. Some say he's not too bad at it. Others say "Shut that thing up!" Then again, when one hears the singing of Disney songs, that is a usual reaction. His voice in general is small and has a high pitch due to his age. The tone of such when singing seems to always hold a sorrowful quality to it and oddly his crooked jaw and mutilated tongue actually helps with forming the words in a song due to their exaggeration.
* Reading -- Milo loves reading. He may not understand many words, but by knowing words in a sentence he can often piece together what things mean. Milo misses deeper meanings in some things but in others he also can catch the whole broad point. So from the Ugly Duckling to Of Mice and Men, Milo loves to read. He sticks to books he can relate to for the most part, or things that really catch his attention. Milo likes books on dramatic things as well, such as the tale of woe, Juliet and her Romeo.
* Skateboarding -- Milo can't skateboard properly at all but by using his own "technique" he finds it to be quite a lot of fun. Often he makes his skateboard into things, like a decorated pirate ship or a jet. He can't do any "fancy tricks" and doesn't have a clue how to really use the thing, but occasionally he's been caught going down the banister with his board.
* Decorating -- Do not let him into your room. Aww heck, even if you don't, he -will- find a way inside if he really wants in there! Milo likes to decorate people's rooms. He will randomly clean up someone's room and then go wild. Hank has found this out when Milo put up black construction paper all over his ceiling with glow in the dark paints to mimic the night sky and constellations. Milo likes to decorate everything, from his room to others, from his creations to blank walls. And if you are not careful and fall asleep while he has paints or markers around, you may just wake up with a decorated face! Once he even decorated everyone in the school blue thanks to putting powdered dye in the showerheads.
Appearance: Milo's just a very small thing really that can pass from 3yrs to 5yrs old due to being so little. He's a bouncing bundle of blue fur with spiky shaggy white hair, which grows at a pretty fast pace. His form his quite lean and very scrawny, so his ribcage often sticks out for more then it should even with his arms and legs well-muscled. He walks upon all fours and his hands and feet are abnormally large. Larger then such even are his pointed ears, which feel like velvet and can move independent of one another and are quite flexible. Milo's got an extremely long whip-like tail with a dull bladed spade at the end of a violet color, bearing four dark green rings within it. Often seen smiling, his eyes are a bright orange and glow, thin white brows giving him quite expressional features. His jaw is crooked from a long ago injury and so his smile is always lopsided and a large crooked tooth juts up from the left side of his mouth.
Background/History: Created by all, born of none. It takes a pretty sick depraved mind to play God, but that's just what was done. Humans do that sort of thing.. The good doctor was no different. He and his colleagues collected the DNA of animals, humans, and mutants alike. The goal was to create a super being, one with the ability to teleport, having abnormal strength and keen senses, as well as the ability to blend in and look like anyone, anywhere and have such a high level of intelligence that only the scientists who created the creature would ever be able to fathom its potential. What was created ended up being not quite that.. Using the DNA of Raven Darkholem (Mystique), Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler), and Henry McCoy (Beast), a whole new life was brought into this world... But it was not without its flaws. The small fuzzy blue form remained in the fetal position, tubes stuck in his flesh, up his nose and down his throat. His hands and feet were abnormally large, along with those huge pointed ears, and a long demonic-like tail curled and floated in the water. His torso was tiny, form bony and structurally challenged, but ever-changing. He even had tiny velvety wings upon his back. The creature was brain-dead. There was no life, no signs of activity. The machines kept him alive. A tube to the stomach fed him, cut in for he lacked a bellybutton due to no umbilical cord. Scans of the brain showed some areas were underdeveloped, other overdeveloped. In truth there was no reason for the being to not live, although underdeveloped. Many rumors even went around, on the creature lacking a soul.
He was too unstable to survive, thus word was given for the failed experiment to be terminated in the morning. What good was he? None... Yet he did.. It's unknown currently how such was done...
When the time came to terminate the project, plugs were pulled.. But his small heart was beating and he was breathing on his own. Such a premature little thing he was at the time... He slowly took to stabilizing, but as he did such his flesh took on a red coloration to it. Perhaps a recessive gene? It took nearly two years to stabilize and in that time the little guy was hardly half a year old by the looks of him. On the day he was to be released from the holding capsule he had been created in, there was nothing to be released.. The glass was punched in and tubes torn, the lab was a mess.. The experiment was gone.
The little guy ended up on the steps of an orphanage, but the nun took one look at the demonic-looking creature and refused him sanctuary among the children. Instead, the infant was handed off to The Brotherhood of Mercy and Righteousness Religious Faction. There he gained the name of "Demon" and was raised by the priests and friars in a rather unique manner. He was taught to respect mankind and learned of morals and respect for life and death alike. He aged so slowly, but learned well. The boy didn't speak and he walked upon all fours when he finally could. One man was kind enough to truly teach him, look after him, and stay at his side without fear of association. Father McBeth had sugary treats for the boy every day and spent hours at a time in the gardens. Milo gained a curious nature for the world around him and although he didn't talk, he did express him self with odd gestures and sounds. Even better, he learned how to make things. Simple crafts of pottery and paper mache branched into spirals wire and beads, or mosaics with glass and tile. It was a wonderful start for his life, and he could have been truly happy.. If only it would have lasted. It did for two happy years at least.
The good doctor's assistant Magnus had taken charge of finding the lost experiment. When rumor got out about the "Demon" living in a church, mercenaries were hired to go find the creature. So many churches were inspected, burned, vandalized, and not even the nuns could escape being "questioned" of the Demon's whereabouts. Then it happened. The location was given out. After the churches could no longer stand such torture. The innocent was to be punished for existing. The Brotherhood of Mercy and Righteousness Religious Faction was stormed. Everyone was slaughtered. Father McBeth tried desperately to protect the boy, but it was no use. In the end, he too fell to the horror of that night. Oddly enough, the government helped in this terrible act. They covered it up.. The attacks on the churches were blamed on the mutants and their hate for how God created them. It was just another log to fuel the fire of the war against mutants. But one may wonder.. Why would the government step in over one little experiment or demon or whatever it really was?...
Oh it was terrible! For one full year the creature was subject to pain and torture, tests and failures, deformations and enhancement. He had a healing factor, and with such, further changes to his form came. These were unnatural and man-made. Metal was inserted surgically to help strengthen his form's natural weakness of being so frail. The lobes of his mind were dissected, some even cut and damaged in the process. Oh.. He was made a mess there. Because of the torment his form went through and other enhancements through chemicals, the boy's shapeshifting powers had grown drastically active. It hurt.. He was left to scream out in pain as forms were forced upon him, and him lacking control. A few times those tiny wings of his had tried to carry him away from the pain, but alas.. They were cut and torn from his back as a result of his attempts at escape. In such, his red fur had even returned to being that blue coloration, but this change would happen throughout his life. It was just horrid.. And this is one of the few things Milo refuses to speak of in much detail. He does not like "bad doctors" as he calls them.
The lab ended up running quite low on funding. Machines were sold off, employees let go.. And ultimately, experiments too were sold. The boy was bought by the Cirque de Moor, by the co-owner Grimsly. There a whole new hell was waiting for him. With his shifting ability, the boy was put through training. He had to learn commands. His form was worked out, beaten, and broken. But through all of this, there was a person who stood out. The boy had been under the strict training and discipline of the BeastMaster, but when the Fire-Eater Gslat came to join the crew, he became in charge of the boy's teachings. Gslat was kind, and he was the first to ever show this side of humanity to the kid besides Father McBeth. The German man soon found the kid had a very kind nature. He was rewarded for when he performed correctly and the boy was treated more like a person then a beast. Gslat got the bright idea one day to try and work out a form of communication with the kid. Before he knew, Gslat was working on teaching the boy the alphabet. It seemed useless.. And it was dangerous for Gslat to do, knowing he would risk being fired-- or worse. On the day of giving up, the boy was eyeing himself in a reflection from a mirror placed near his cage. He took note of something on the back of his neck, and investigated by moving the fur out of the way. O.L.I.M was tattooed there, from Magnus. Of course the boy saw this as Milo.. And that was his first word to Gslat's surprise. Thus came about the name of Milo, having the old German meaning of generous and the more common one of merciful.. It also meant miles, and Gstlat hoped that meant the boy would go a long way. And Gslat called the kid that. Milo began speaking some, only using one or two words at a time, and never a full sentence. He wrote some as well, but he read -a lot- for one so small. Times were good then.. Then it happened.. One evening a girl by the name of Jade was caught stealing from Gstlat. Rather then hand her over, he claimed her to be his assistant. He ended up teaching her, and she ended up helping Milo and teaching him as well. She taught him how to pick locks quite well, and with his crafting skills, Milo found himself using wires, bobbypins, and even paperclips to help make tools to use. Things were well, so long as Milo performed the best he could, by shifting and moving about on the bars and trapeze. He also had to stay out of Shira's way. Owned by the BeastMaster, she was a beast to not be reckoned with. A huge tiger of black with silver stripes. Many thought her demonic.
*** Sigmund and Grimsly proudly present the Cirque de Moor! This circus of terror was no comedy act, as they brought forth the horrors nightmares were made from. The two ringmasters were dressed almost as wicked as their poster’s design. Long indigo robes decorated with skulls and the screaming of souls adorned both of the men as they were back to back above their title. The flyer was decorated with the most horrid of creature attractions lashing out from the page with their claws and bloodstained teeth baring in full. Razzul the Eater of Fire looked to be some sort of ancient maji hardly clothed as if from the sand lands with flames spouting forth from his lips as his form was set ablaze. The Beastmaster adorned himself in thick black leather with silver chains hooked to skulls and spikes set all about his studded form. Shira the gray-striped black tiger stood at his side slashing out the flyer with her claws dripping of blood. The wickedly dressed clowns lurked all about the page grinning their cynical painted faces with glowing eyes narrowed. At the bottom of the flyer was a beast unlike the other demons on the page. Its dark blue form stood out as on all fours it crept along the flyer’s border. Oh yes, the Living Nightmare was the star attraction! The demonic creature looked far wicked than any other with the howling of beastial souls of all sorts whisking about behind it. ***
One night things went from good to terrible. Jade caught the BeastMaster stealing profits.. She reported it to Gslat and Gslat went to confront the man and report him to Grimsly. Instead, Gslat was accused by Grimsly and the BeastMaster supported this, having stowed away some of the money in Gslat's things. He was framed... Milo saw this, having his cage right near Gslat's things... When Gslat was being escorted off the grounds and Jade pleading to be listened to, Milo shout out. His first sentence... Gslat didn't do it... Amazed the boy could speak, they knew Gslat had to have taught him. Or perhaps the girl.. In mid-stride past the cage of the Big Cats, Gslat was flung inside and the door locked behind him. Jade flung herself against the bars, screaming. Milo could only stare, eyes wide as he saw the movements and shadows, the bloody forms.. Blood hit the bars, and the killing was brutal. He saw Gslat torn to shreds... Jade saw more.. She managed to break free from her captor and took to the high wire. Seeing her being chased, Milo quickly picked the lock to his cage and took off to her rescue. Shifting forms to his flying squirrel, the boy was able to make it up there first and shift back to normal. He clung as Jade made her way to him, his tail holding a trapeze bar to swing them to safety. Men climbed the poles, circus goblins shouting and following.. The line was being cut! Milo reached out and -just- managed to grasp Jade's hand as the line was cut out from under her. He clung to the bar by his tail and legs, one hand holding Jade's as the other reached for her free hand. He was weak. Small. She was slipping. Their fingertips barely touched when suddenly a horrific scene was playing out before Milo's eyes. He screamed out and the vision he saw caused him to lose his grasp on Jade. Those orange eyes could only stare on in horror as she fell into the darkness below...
Milo was caught easily enough in his shock, the trapeze bar being pulled over to the side pole and his form grabbed up. The beating he suffered was a terrible one, but nothing like what was to come. His act was thrust into the supervision of the BeastMaster once more. There certain additions were made to his form to better performance and just for added effect in the show. His jaws were held open, tongue split right down the middle and pierced thrice. Earrings were added to his ears and studs were added in a collar about his neck. Hooks were added for use with chains and pulling the circus performing pieces about as well as for use with his acrobatic workouts. He was kept in line and constantly exhausted. Working. Training. Working. Training. In the sideshow he was picked on and things thrown at him. Kids were cruel.. At one time a brick even hit his head and the kid had to be 'repaired'. During such, Shira seemed to take up the act of watching over the boy in his state. Poor kid.. At times he had even tried to escape when his cage was left open. That didn't work.. The last time he tried such , he was hiding out behind a boxcar near the railroad setup and Milo mistook a young girl for a circus goblin finding him. His claws got her across the face and she stumbled backwards. The blocks the car was on were unstable, so the car fell off and the girl was pummeled by crates and boxes from it. Milo was caught trying to dig her out, calling for help the best he could. He was dragged off and he only made out a single word from the men trying to pull off the boxes. Dead. He killed Gslat.. he killed Jade.. Milo refused to perform that evening and in such, he was flogged. A kick to his jaw from the BeastMaster shattered it, leaving it crooked and lopsided. Sadly, it healed that way.
It was a long hard time there... But thankfully, none ever learned of his skills in lockpicking before it was too late. Sure some chests and cages were often found unlocked, but none ever pinned it to the blue creature in the cage. Milo spent his time gathering what he could, from paperclips to bobbypins, and using the tools Jade had left for him. He practiced. He timed his escape. And during so, Shira seemed to have taken up a liking for the blue boy. She protected him from the other big cats of the circus and would even keep him company when no others were about. Then one night it happened. Milo picked the lock of his cage and by sneaking about in small forms, managed to then pick the locks of other cages as well. In the mess of confusion as elephants stampeded and large cats roamed free, Milo made his own escape. From the circus he fled, unaware he had been followed by Shira. Tuckered out, the boy ended up falling asleep along the roadside for lack of anywhere else to go. He knew not what to do. Shira ended up lifting him, and taking him off for the human city-- New York, where their last show had been.
Milo woke on his own in a nest of scrap cloth and cardboard in a long closed off pipe within the sewers. From there he found his way to the surface. Days and nights were spent learning the sewers and traveling about the city, coming to recognize the sewer and surface to be one and map things out using landmarks like signs, symbols, and anything he could remember or mark on the walls to stay. Milo ate what he could find and in his lion form, hunted animals of the streets in the darkness. Then he saw it.. The church! Well, it was not his church, but this new one indeed looked like it could very well be home.
The boy darted right for the St. Ladislaus Church of Redemption that night and woke those within by banging his fists upon the door. His smile was bright and eyes lighting up the darkness. And then the doors were opened! But the priest reeled back at the sight of this 'demon' and from the start Milo was condemned. He came for help. For sanctuary. For the acceptance he felt he once had in the place he thought he felt safe in. Instead he found Hell on Earth. Milo was kept there in the basement, like an animal while those of council spoke of what to do with him. He was taught he would go to Hell for being what he is, but at the same time he was taught to be good. Live righteous.. Harm no others.. Milo suffered through that 'care' for a while and it took its psychological toll on him. Yet, that did not change his kind-natured demeanor. That seemed to be something that the world could not change no matter how hard it beat down upon the boy.
One evening the man feeding the 'Demon' took note of the markings upon the back of Milo's neck. The corporation was looked up, and thus with a single phone call the boy was returned back to where it had all begun in a cycle. The enhancement of his form continued there, but with such he started to deteriorate rapidly. The life of an experiment, a production of man, is not a long one. Built unnaturally, his form was decaying unnaturally. He lived in such a state for nearly a year and due to him growing so feral and berserk, Milo was fitted with a rather cruel collar meant to keep him in line.
His life changed forever on a night where once again, someone decided to step in. It left things unexplained. Milo only remembers a voice.. opening his eyes and seeing nothing but the green water of the cell he was within. Then a large red hand, like a lobster claw it seemed to the boy, hit the glass and shattered it. Within the rapidly lowering water, that hand reached in and went for him, picking him up as all went black. When Milo awoke, the lab was in shambles. People were dead, mutilated and the mass scent of blood overwhelming. He had blood on his hands too, but had no clue what had gone on. Of course the logical conclusion was Milo had been bad, and apparently taken many lives. He turned from that life, and took to escaping the building and dashing off for the sewers that were to be his home for a while yet to come...
There was a huge change for Milo one night when he was staying in the same place Shira had left him. The tiger came to him once more. She brought with her food she had taken from another, scarring a man into making him drop his bag of Rally's and flee. Milo had lived on his own, stealing and rummaging through garbage. He learned to car-hop and work the city to his advantage. Occasionally he made a friend on the surface, but it was always just a big secret. They kept him alive, those few nice ones out there. Milo even learned to look for signs of 'drop offs' like for robberies, prostitutes, and druggies. The boy was a good thief, taking the money he found from its hiding place. Of course he had no use for money, so while some was given to his friends on the surface, Milo did end up keeping the pretty green papers too. But they were not as valued as the pretty different colored shards of glass he would find from busted bottles.
Shira's visit had him following her from his sewer home. Of course he grabbed his stuffed froggy and hid it away for safekeeping. That froggy.. Father McBeth had given it to Milo, passed down from his own father. It was old, and it looked it and wreaked of sewer. Shira led the boy for a long while.. Hours upon hours... Sneaking to keep out of the light.. Milo found himself seeing things he never saw before.. Rows upon rows of trees.. A deer.. Shira disappeared from Milo as he became engrossed in the area, walking smack dab into a fence. He was looking around in awe, and he lost Shira... The scent of water attracted Milo soon enough and he figured maybe Shira went that way. Thus he shifted into his flying squirrel form, small and white. He climbed up a tree and took flight.
Name: Milo
Codename: Demon
DoB/Age: Appearance (3-5yrs) Definite age unknown. Date unknown. Date "Changed": 8/14/06
Height: 38"
Weight: 24lbs (11kg)
Powers:
* Calculation -- Some lobes of Milo's brain are suppressed, while others are functioning. Because of this, his logical understanding is warped. The lobes that are functioning grant Milo an advantage of calculation, able to predict momentum and velocity with speed and timing, to enable him to calculate his own movements accordingly. This helps with jumping on to moving things, dodging projectiles, as well as for throwing things. Due to this, his memory is recessive and can store what he learns for later use and future adaptation. Recessing and recalling are two mental skills. Now just because he can process mental information like so, doesn't make him a genius when it comes to things such as trigonometry and algebra. He can answer velocity calculations with ease if in action, but to show the work of how he got the answer and to see a written problem and answer it is something he can't do. This evolved mostly in the circus where it was do or die in performances, and after a while of learning to do things or risk being hurt, his mind took to trying to protect his body. Due to his recent changes, he's lost all other advanced mathematical knowledge. Subtraction and Addition are even a tad foreign to him in their more complicated manners. 2+2=4 22+22=2222
* Full Genetic Shifting -- Milo has the ability to gain animal DNA, and adapt it to his own use by gaining the form of that animal. He also has forms stored inside him due to a lab incident, which are dormant but expose themselves over time, granting him new forms. He does not copy the creature, but rather shifts into what he would look like as that animal. Meaning, if he were a tiger, his stripes would be different from the stripes of the host, and he'd still have physical deformities, like the tooth that juts up from the corner of his mouth and his lopsided jaw. All shifted forms are white, matching his hair, with bright orange eyes. If a form is not used in a while, it will fade away from his ability to use it.
* Partial Genetic Shifting -- Forms he's gained can also be used in partial shifting, the ability to shift to have just an iguana's scales, or a lion's claws. In the forms that have given him the nickname of '"Demon", his forms are red with glowing green eyes and are a composite of creatures he has gained the forms of and is -not- a form he can go into at will. It is also mostly anthro. Partial shifting is not something he has well control over at all, and it hurts terribly so. It's highly unstable, and thus a painful form that does not last very long, based on emotional and mental status.
Forms:
1. Flying Squirrel
2. Lion
3. Mississippi Saw-Back Turtle
4. Skunk
5. Sparrow
6. Mouse
7. House Cat
8. Horse
9. Iguana
10. Gecko
11. Porcupine
* Healing Factor -- His healing factor fluctuates, to where it deals with wounds based on the severity. A paper cut could heal in a day, where a large gash could heal in less then an hour. If he's active, he heals quicker. If not, the healing factor may not even kick into effect, like if he's sleeping. So if he's sick and rests for a while, he will have to get over it like any other being. If he's active and running around, he will get over the illness quicker.
* Evolution -- Evolution is the process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex and better form. Genetically it's a change in genetic composition of a population during successive generation, as a result of natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals, and resulting in the development of a new species. With Milo, evolution occurs only within him. As he gains the use of more forms, his body is starting to pick out what it can use most about those forms to better himself and improve him based on where he is and what he does. This is how he has grown more stable, stability from instability. This is slowly starting to take on a new approach by adding to him in a more physical instance. It's basically a partial shift that becomes part of him on a permanent basis. An example of this would include since he walks upon all fours, his hands and feet could develop padding from a dog form in order to protect him better from the wear and tear of concrete and such. But if he ever switched to just walking upright, the padding could in time fade from his hands due to lack of use, but remain upon his feet. Like forms, if these evolutionary adaptations are not used, then they will cease to exist. He cannot gain permanent things like a snake's fangs or porcupine quills because his genetic structure won't allow -drastic- changes, just small settle ones. Most are for defensive purposes as well. Once a trait is adapted, if he loses the form, the trait is still there, but he cannot gain traits from lost forms.
Evolutions:
None currently.
Weaknesses:
* Understanding or Lack There Of -- Being smart in such an area makes him quite ignorant in others. Milo has a much different way of learning things then others do. He thinks in logic, and thus words that sound alike or are spelled alike, but have double meanings, may be lost to him. Metaphors are lost. Many jokes also go over his head. His ability to learn and program his mind deals with sight and mimicking. To make matters even more difficult, Milo has a more instinctive side that guides things from bodily movement, to reaction in animalistic manners. This makes him dramatic, over emotional, and often compulsive. It also takes him a few tries to catch on to things and time to process gained information for actual understanding. This is why his mind developed recessing and recalling skills, to protect him from him self like trauma victims can.
* Full Genetic Shifting -- Now his forms are 'released' as needed for his system to adapt. This means any time he's close to growing unstable, his form automatically evolves and releases the form and genes stored within for use. New forms also -hurt- a lot. When he shifts, he also doesn't always know the size or age of the creature he will become. Lacking control, Milo may go into a fight and shift to be a lion, but may only end up a small cub instead, thus getting his butt whooped. He must concentrate and take his time in order to get a large form he's picked out to use, unless something propels him to change with his limited control, like being harmed or seeing someone he cares deeply for harmed.
* Partial Genetic Shifting -- This is not something he controls well. It's quite unstable to his structure and painful at times. He can't willingly use the partial shifting of two animals at once, like a goat's horns and a lion's claws, or the form of a lion with goat horns. At times, he does shift with such accidentally, like a mouse with a turtle shell. Milo can't control such well at all, and partial shifting is not something that can be held for long due to the pain and his ability to maintain the form. He also can't shift his vocal chords in an animal form to let him speak. At times he will try to speak but all anyone will hear are the sounds the animal itself can make, like a dog barking.
* Healing Factor -- Having a healing factor is not always a good thing. It hurts.. It's a terrible pain to feel one's flesh reforming, and often leaves Milo's flesh feeling and looking sunburned. To make matters worse, objects such as glass or nails or broken needles are things that his flesh will grow over, and bone grow around, embedding the objects in his body.
* Hypoglycemia -- Also called low blood sugar, occurs when the body's blood glucose (blood sugar) level drops too low to provide enough energy for the body's activities. Milo's form does not retain sugar very well and constantly needs it to help keep him stable and functioning. Hypoglycemia can also happen while he's are sleeping. He might, cry out or have nightmares or feel tired, irritable, or confused when he wakes up. Normally he'd be sweating with such a condition, but Milo doesn't normally sweat, and instead pants like a dog to cool down. Symptoms of Hypoglycemia include hunger, nervousness, perspiration, shakiness, dizziness, light-headedness, sleepiness, confusion, difficulty speaking, and feeling anxious or weak. Which Milo seems to suffer from all the time...
Other Oddities of the Milo:
* Understanding -- Sadly enough, Milo's understanding of things is severely lacking. If he doesn't understand a word, he will often think of the word that sounds most like it and go on from there. Where one may say "immune system", he thinks "a moon system" and then can start talking about the moon. It takes a few tries for him to understand things. He tries. He really does, but this lack of understanding makes it very difficult for him to socialize. His feral ways and the wording of people are often confusing. This is his main downfall.
* Mind -- Where his mind seriously is lacking, he has other parts that are quite exceeding. He has an adaptive mind and body, as well as a highly advanced application of retained knowledge. His mind even has the ability to stop its data processing to help block out terrible things from his mind. Unfortunately this often releases a backup in to Milo's mind, resulting in nightmares or flashes of images that seem to come out of nowhere when something gives the slightest reminder that they exist.
* Behaviors -- Like many animals, Milo walks upon all fours, often with his back arched and supporting his frame with his knuckles and the balls of his feet. That explains why those bones are reinforced with adamantium, as well as a plate in his skull. The kid also builds "nests" out of blankets and "borrowed" clothing of those he is close to, due to their scents comforting him in his sleep. Scavenging and building the nest is all natural, it being instinct to just use his feet to weave the articles of fabric into his nest. He doesn't even have to watch what he does. He feels it. The Milo also purrs, scratches with his back legs like a dog, and even growls and hisses. It's as natural as a human nodding when answering yes to a question.
* Mutation -- A strength and a weakness alike... Milo's form is inconstant mutation. He's always changing, body and structure taking on bits of the animals he absorbs to better him self. It hurts and can be as harmful as it is helpful. Milo has no control over this and it leaves him in a constant soreness. This leads on to many questions. Being only a child and having such abilities from birth, when he's a teen will he gain any power mutations as is common for this with the active x-gene? Or will his remain dormant? Could his body and mind even handle any more changes by that time? Will his body's mutations peak at that time as well? Could he have gained anything more from his "parents" on the subject? In search of these answers, others have found Milo to be an interesting and valuable specimen for research. For now, the answers remain unknown.
Special Skills:
* Acrobatics -- After being in the circus for so long, Milo was bound to retain what he gained through training and observation. His short fur works as a shock absorber, so it helped even more. He can twist and contort his form with grace. Everyday he practices on the gymnasium bars and in his room in the basement, the pipes work wonderfully for such too. To Milo it's fun, so he has no problem working his body out. To him, such things are a release from the world and a way to vent, like being free as a bird, without the wings. And hey.. Milo just loves to hop about!
* Lockpicking -- He learned the skill from a young girl named Jade, who was a thief at the circus. In time, his own crafting skills helped to make the tools he used. Lockpicking is a skill that he practices often, for in labs he has freed him self and other creatures, as well as animals in the circus. He's curious in nature and if he sees a lock, he will attempt to pick it more then likely just for no reason other then "Hey! There's a lock!"
Hobbies:
* Crafting (Also a skill) -- He learned the basics from Father McBeth in his time of being in his care, but it has expanded. From living in the sewers and out of sheer boredom at the circus, Milo has come up with a creative way to use everyday objects and create things of use and beauty. It's mostly little things like picture frames, jewelry, and wind-chimes that he crafts now, but there's potential to learn more and create different things in the future. He makes such to express his feelings for others, as well as to keep him self busy. Milo likes to be productive. He has a very special talent for crafting things of glass and pewter. Of course he gets tons of help and is supervised when working with such things.
* Singing -- Hey, the kid likes to sing. It's more of a hobby then anything and helps him find a beat when working out. He'd often sing in his cage or just staring up at the sky from the sewer manholes. Many people like to sing and Milo has even gotten into a Choir to help with his voice and to just sing his heart out. Some say he's not too bad at it. Others say "Shut that thing up!" Then again, when one hears the singing of Disney songs, that is a usual reaction. His voice in general is small and has a high pitch due to his age. The tone of such when singing seems to always hold a sorrowful quality to it and oddly his crooked jaw and mutilated tongue actually helps with forming the words in a song due to their exaggeration.
* Reading -- Milo loves reading. He may not understand many words, but by knowing words in a sentence he can often piece together what things mean. Milo misses deeper meanings in some things but in others he also can catch the whole broad point. So from the Ugly Duckling to Of Mice and Men, Milo loves to read. He sticks to books he can relate to for the most part, or things that really catch his attention. Milo likes books on dramatic things as well, such as the tale of woe, Juliet and her Romeo.
* Skateboarding -- Milo can't skateboard properly at all but by using his own "technique" he finds it to be quite a lot of fun. Often he makes his skateboard into things, like a decorated pirate ship or a jet. He can't do any "fancy tricks" and doesn't have a clue how to really use the thing, but occasionally he's been caught going down the banister with his board.
* Decorating -- Do not let him into your room. Aww heck, even if you don't, he -will- find a way inside if he really wants in there! Milo likes to decorate people's rooms. He will randomly clean up someone's room and then go wild. Hank has found this out when Milo put up black construction paper all over his ceiling with glow in the dark paints to mimic the night sky and constellations. Milo likes to decorate everything, from his room to others, from his creations to blank walls. And if you are not careful and fall asleep while he has paints or markers around, you may just wake up with a decorated face! Once he even decorated everyone in the school blue thanks to putting powdered dye in the showerheads.
Appearance: Milo's just a very small thing really that can pass from 3yrs to 5yrs old due to being so little. He's a bouncing bundle of blue fur with spiky shaggy white hair, which grows at a pretty fast pace. His form his quite lean and very scrawny, so his ribcage often sticks out for more then it should even with his arms and legs well-muscled. He walks upon all fours and his hands and feet are abnormally large. Larger then such even are his pointed ears, which feel like velvet and can move independent of one another and are quite flexible. Milo's got an extremely long whip-like tail with a dull bladed spade at the end of a violet color, bearing four dark green rings within it. Often seen smiling, his eyes are a bright orange and glow, thin white brows giving him quite expressional features. His jaw is crooked from a long ago injury and so his smile is always lopsided and a large crooked tooth juts up from the left side of his mouth.
Background/History: Created by all, born of none. It takes a pretty sick depraved mind to play God, but that's just what was done. Humans do that sort of thing.. The good doctor was no different. He and his colleagues collected the DNA of animals, humans, and mutants alike. The goal was to create a super being, one with the ability to teleport, having abnormal strength and keen senses, as well as the ability to blend in and look like anyone, anywhere and have such a high level of intelligence that only the scientists who created the creature would ever be able to fathom its potential. What was created ended up being not quite that.. Using the DNA of Raven Darkholem (Mystique), Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler), and Henry McCoy (Beast), a whole new life was brought into this world... But it was not without its flaws. The small fuzzy blue form remained in the fetal position, tubes stuck in his flesh, up his nose and down his throat. His hands and feet were abnormally large, along with those huge pointed ears, and a long demonic-like tail curled and floated in the water. His torso was tiny, form bony and structurally challenged, but ever-changing. He even had tiny velvety wings upon his back. The creature was brain-dead. There was no life, no signs of activity. The machines kept him alive. A tube to the stomach fed him, cut in for he lacked a bellybutton due to no umbilical cord. Scans of the brain showed some areas were underdeveloped, other overdeveloped. In truth there was no reason for the being to not live, although underdeveloped. Many rumors even went around, on the creature lacking a soul.
He was too unstable to survive, thus word was given for the failed experiment to be terminated in the morning. What good was he? None... Yet he did.. It's unknown currently how such was done...
When the time came to terminate the project, plugs were pulled.. But his small heart was beating and he was breathing on his own. Such a premature little thing he was at the time... He slowly took to stabilizing, but as he did such his flesh took on a red coloration to it. Perhaps a recessive gene? It took nearly two years to stabilize and in that time the little guy was hardly half a year old by the looks of him. On the day he was to be released from the holding capsule he had been created in, there was nothing to be released.. The glass was punched in and tubes torn, the lab was a mess.. The experiment was gone.
The little guy ended up on the steps of an orphanage, but the nun took one look at the demonic-looking creature and refused him sanctuary among the children. Instead, the infant was handed off to The Brotherhood of Mercy and Righteousness Religious Faction. There he gained the name of "Demon" and was raised by the priests and friars in a rather unique manner. He was taught to respect mankind and learned of morals and respect for life and death alike. He aged so slowly, but learned well. The boy didn't speak and he walked upon all fours when he finally could. One man was kind enough to truly teach him, look after him, and stay at his side without fear of association. Father McBeth had sugary treats for the boy every day and spent hours at a time in the gardens. Milo gained a curious nature for the world around him and although he didn't talk, he did express him self with odd gestures and sounds. Even better, he learned how to make things. Simple crafts of pottery and paper mache branched into spirals wire and beads, or mosaics with glass and tile. It was a wonderful start for his life, and he could have been truly happy.. If only it would have lasted. It did for two happy years at least.
The good doctor's assistant Magnus had taken charge of finding the lost experiment. When rumor got out about the "Demon" living in a church, mercenaries were hired to go find the creature. So many churches were inspected, burned, vandalized, and not even the nuns could escape being "questioned" of the Demon's whereabouts. Then it happened. The location was given out. After the churches could no longer stand such torture. The innocent was to be punished for existing. The Brotherhood of Mercy and Righteousness Religious Faction was stormed. Everyone was slaughtered. Father McBeth tried desperately to protect the boy, but it was no use. In the end, he too fell to the horror of that night. Oddly enough, the government helped in this terrible act. They covered it up.. The attacks on the churches were blamed on the mutants and their hate for how God created them. It was just another log to fuel the fire of the war against mutants. But one may wonder.. Why would the government step in over one little experiment or demon or whatever it really was?...
Oh it was terrible! For one full year the creature was subject to pain and torture, tests and failures, deformations and enhancement. He had a healing factor, and with such, further changes to his form came. These were unnatural and man-made. Metal was inserted surgically to help strengthen his form's natural weakness of being so frail. The lobes of his mind were dissected, some even cut and damaged in the process. Oh.. He was made a mess there. Because of the torment his form went through and other enhancements through chemicals, the boy's shapeshifting powers had grown drastically active. It hurt.. He was left to scream out in pain as forms were forced upon him, and him lacking control. A few times those tiny wings of his had tried to carry him away from the pain, but alas.. They were cut and torn from his back as a result of his attempts at escape. In such, his red fur had even returned to being that blue coloration, but this change would happen throughout his life. It was just horrid.. And this is one of the few things Milo refuses to speak of in much detail. He does not like "bad doctors" as he calls them.
The lab ended up running quite low on funding. Machines were sold off, employees let go.. And ultimately, experiments too were sold. The boy was bought by the Cirque de Moor, by the co-owner Grimsly. There a whole new hell was waiting for him. With his shifting ability, the boy was put through training. He had to learn commands. His form was worked out, beaten, and broken. But through all of this, there was a person who stood out. The boy had been under the strict training and discipline of the BeastMaster, but when the Fire-Eater Gslat came to join the crew, he became in charge of the boy's teachings. Gslat was kind, and he was the first to ever show this side of humanity to the kid besides Father McBeth. The German man soon found the kid had a very kind nature. He was rewarded for when he performed correctly and the boy was treated more like a person then a beast. Gslat got the bright idea one day to try and work out a form of communication with the kid. Before he knew, Gslat was working on teaching the boy the alphabet. It seemed useless.. And it was dangerous for Gslat to do, knowing he would risk being fired-- or worse. On the day of giving up, the boy was eyeing himself in a reflection from a mirror placed near his cage. He took note of something on the back of his neck, and investigated by moving the fur out of the way. O.L.I.M was tattooed there, from Magnus. Of course the boy saw this as Milo.. And that was his first word to Gslat's surprise. Thus came about the name of Milo, having the old German meaning of generous and the more common one of merciful.. It also meant miles, and Gstlat hoped that meant the boy would go a long way. And Gslat called the kid that. Milo began speaking some, only using one or two words at a time, and never a full sentence. He wrote some as well, but he read -a lot- for one so small. Times were good then.. Then it happened.. One evening a girl by the name of Jade was caught stealing from Gstlat. Rather then hand her over, he claimed her to be his assistant. He ended up teaching her, and she ended up helping Milo and teaching him as well. She taught him how to pick locks quite well, and with his crafting skills, Milo found himself using wires, bobbypins, and even paperclips to help make tools to use. Things were well, so long as Milo performed the best he could, by shifting and moving about on the bars and trapeze. He also had to stay out of Shira's way. Owned by the BeastMaster, she was a beast to not be reckoned with. A huge tiger of black with silver stripes. Many thought her demonic.
*** Sigmund and Grimsly proudly present the Cirque de Moor! This circus of terror was no comedy act, as they brought forth the horrors nightmares were made from. The two ringmasters were dressed almost as wicked as their poster’s design. Long indigo robes decorated with skulls and the screaming of souls adorned both of the men as they were back to back above their title. The flyer was decorated with the most horrid of creature attractions lashing out from the page with their claws and bloodstained teeth baring in full. Razzul the Eater of Fire looked to be some sort of ancient maji hardly clothed as if from the sand lands with flames spouting forth from his lips as his form was set ablaze. The Beastmaster adorned himself in thick black leather with silver chains hooked to skulls and spikes set all about his studded form. Shira the gray-striped black tiger stood at his side slashing out the flyer with her claws dripping of blood. The wickedly dressed clowns lurked all about the page grinning their cynical painted faces with glowing eyes narrowed. At the bottom of the flyer was a beast unlike the other demons on the page. Its dark blue form stood out as on all fours it crept along the flyer’s border. Oh yes, the Living Nightmare was the star attraction! The demonic creature looked far wicked than any other with the howling of beastial souls of all sorts whisking about behind it. ***
One night things went from good to terrible. Jade caught the BeastMaster stealing profits.. She reported it to Gslat and Gslat went to confront the man and report him to Grimsly. Instead, Gslat was accused by Grimsly and the BeastMaster supported this, having stowed away some of the money in Gslat's things. He was framed... Milo saw this, having his cage right near Gslat's things... When Gslat was being escorted off the grounds and Jade pleading to be listened to, Milo shout out. His first sentence... Gslat didn't do it... Amazed the boy could speak, they knew Gslat had to have taught him. Or perhaps the girl.. In mid-stride past the cage of the Big Cats, Gslat was flung inside and the door locked behind him. Jade flung herself against the bars, screaming. Milo could only stare, eyes wide as he saw the movements and shadows, the bloody forms.. Blood hit the bars, and the killing was brutal. He saw Gslat torn to shreds... Jade saw more.. She managed to break free from her captor and took to the high wire. Seeing her being chased, Milo quickly picked the lock to his cage and took off to her rescue. Shifting forms to his flying squirrel, the boy was able to make it up there first and shift back to normal. He clung as Jade made her way to him, his tail holding a trapeze bar to swing them to safety. Men climbed the poles, circus goblins shouting and following.. The line was being cut! Milo reached out and -just- managed to grasp Jade's hand as the line was cut out from under her. He clung to the bar by his tail and legs, one hand holding Jade's as the other reached for her free hand. He was weak. Small. She was slipping. Their fingertips barely touched when suddenly a horrific scene was playing out before Milo's eyes. He screamed out and the vision he saw caused him to lose his grasp on Jade. Those orange eyes could only stare on in horror as she fell into the darkness below...
Milo was caught easily enough in his shock, the trapeze bar being pulled over to the side pole and his form grabbed up. The beating he suffered was a terrible one, but nothing like what was to come. His act was thrust into the supervision of the BeastMaster once more. There certain additions were made to his form to better performance and just for added effect in the show. His jaws were held open, tongue split right down the middle and pierced thrice. Earrings were added to his ears and studs were added in a collar about his neck. Hooks were added for use with chains and pulling the circus performing pieces about as well as for use with his acrobatic workouts. He was kept in line and constantly exhausted. Working. Training. Working. Training. In the sideshow he was picked on and things thrown at him. Kids were cruel.. At one time a brick even hit his head and the kid had to be 'repaired'. During such, Shira seemed to take up the act of watching over the boy in his state. Poor kid.. At times he had even tried to escape when his cage was left open. That didn't work.. The last time he tried such , he was hiding out behind a boxcar near the railroad setup and Milo mistook a young girl for a circus goblin finding him. His claws got her across the face and she stumbled backwards. The blocks the car was on were unstable, so the car fell off and the girl was pummeled by crates and boxes from it. Milo was caught trying to dig her out, calling for help the best he could. He was dragged off and he only made out a single word from the men trying to pull off the boxes. Dead. He killed Gslat.. he killed Jade.. Milo refused to perform that evening and in such, he was flogged. A kick to his jaw from the BeastMaster shattered it, leaving it crooked and lopsided. Sadly, it healed that way.
It was a long hard time there... But thankfully, none ever learned of his skills in lockpicking before it was too late. Sure some chests and cages were often found unlocked, but none ever pinned it to the blue creature in the cage. Milo spent his time gathering what he could, from paperclips to bobbypins, and using the tools Jade had left for him. He practiced. He timed his escape. And during so, Shira seemed to have taken up a liking for the blue boy. She protected him from the other big cats of the circus and would even keep him company when no others were about. Then one night it happened. Milo picked the lock of his cage and by sneaking about in small forms, managed to then pick the locks of other cages as well. In the mess of confusion as elephants stampeded and large cats roamed free, Milo made his own escape. From the circus he fled, unaware he had been followed by Shira. Tuckered out, the boy ended up falling asleep along the roadside for lack of anywhere else to go. He knew not what to do. Shira ended up lifting him, and taking him off for the human city-- New York, where their last show had been.
Milo woke on his own in a nest of scrap cloth and cardboard in a long closed off pipe within the sewers. From there he found his way to the surface. Days and nights were spent learning the sewers and traveling about the city, coming to recognize the sewer and surface to be one and map things out using landmarks like signs, symbols, and anything he could remember or mark on the walls to stay. Milo ate what he could find and in his lion form, hunted animals of the streets in the darkness. Then he saw it.. The church! Well, it was not his church, but this new one indeed looked like it could very well be home.
The boy darted right for the St. Ladislaus Church of Redemption that night and woke those within by banging his fists upon the door. His smile was bright and eyes lighting up the darkness. And then the doors were opened! But the priest reeled back at the sight of this 'demon' and from the start Milo was condemned. He came for help. For sanctuary. For the acceptance he felt he once had in the place he thought he felt safe in. Instead he found Hell on Earth. Milo was kept there in the basement, like an animal while those of council spoke of what to do with him. He was taught he would go to Hell for being what he is, but at the same time he was taught to be good. Live righteous.. Harm no others.. Milo suffered through that 'care' for a while and it took its psychological toll on him. Yet, that did not change his kind-natured demeanor. That seemed to be something that the world could not change no matter how hard it beat down upon the boy.
One evening the man feeding the 'Demon' took note of the markings upon the back of Milo's neck. The corporation was looked up, and thus with a single phone call the boy was returned back to where it had all begun in a cycle. The enhancement of his form continued there, but with such he started to deteriorate rapidly. The life of an experiment, a production of man, is not a long one. Built unnaturally, his form was decaying unnaturally. He lived in such a state for nearly a year and due to him growing so feral and berserk, Milo was fitted with a rather cruel collar meant to keep him in line.
His life changed forever on a night where once again, someone decided to step in. It left things unexplained. Milo only remembers a voice.. opening his eyes and seeing nothing but the green water of the cell he was within. Then a large red hand, like a lobster claw it seemed to the boy, hit the glass and shattered it. Within the rapidly lowering water, that hand reached in and went for him, picking him up as all went black. When Milo awoke, the lab was in shambles. People were dead, mutilated and the mass scent of blood overwhelming. He had blood on his hands too, but had no clue what had gone on. Of course the logical conclusion was Milo had been bad, and apparently taken many lives. He turned from that life, and took to escaping the building and dashing off for the sewers that were to be his home for a while yet to come...
There was a huge change for Milo one night when he was staying in the same place Shira had left him. The tiger came to him once more. She brought with her food she had taken from another, scarring a man into making him drop his bag of Rally's and flee. Milo had lived on his own, stealing and rummaging through garbage. He learned to car-hop and work the city to his advantage. Occasionally he made a friend on the surface, but it was always just a big secret. They kept him alive, those few nice ones out there. Milo even learned to look for signs of 'drop offs' like for robberies, prostitutes, and druggies. The boy was a good thief, taking the money he found from its hiding place. Of course he had no use for money, so while some was given to his friends on the surface, Milo did end up keeping the pretty green papers too. But they were not as valued as the pretty different colored shards of glass he would find from busted bottles.
Shira's visit had him following her from his sewer home. Of course he grabbed his stuffed froggy and hid it away for safekeeping. That froggy.. Father McBeth had given it to Milo, passed down from his own father. It was old, and it looked it and wreaked of sewer. Shira led the boy for a long while.. Hours upon hours... Sneaking to keep out of the light.. Milo found himself seeing things he never saw before.. Rows upon rows of trees.. A deer.. Shira disappeared from Milo as he became engrossed in the area, walking smack dab into a fence. He was looking around in awe, and he lost Shira... The scent of water attracted Milo soon enough and he figured maybe Shira went that way. Thus he shifted into his flying squirrel form, small and white. He climbed up a tree and took flight.