Jason Gallant was born on May 16^th, 1981 in Pittsburg, PA, the first and only child of Mary and Carl Gallant.  Carl Gallant was a member of the United States army, and was a veteran of the Vietnam War.  Mary Gallant was a bank teller at the local Pittsburg bank (which has since been bought out by the bank now known as Wachovia).  Carl and Mary were a lower-middle class couple that was comfortable with their place in the world.  Jason grew up in what many would deem a typical American household.

As a child, Jason was an energetic individual who had a hot temper but possessed a heart of gold and a strong sense of justice.  On the playground in elementary school he frequently found himself getting into fights, but not without reason.  If he saw an unfair fight beginning, or a fellow peer being victimized, he had no qualms with stepping in and taking matters into his own hands.  He fought the bullies of the playground, and became the hero of the children whom were the victims of said bullies.  Granted, this behavior made him look like a delinquent to the teachers in the school.  He often found himself in detention and the teachers treated him with disrespect.  One would imagine that Jason would have developed distaste for authority due to this, but there was an event in his life that circumvented this life path.

In middle school Jason joined the wrestling team, and this proved to be his saving grace.  For the first time in his life, he encountered an authority figure outside of his family tree that respected him and was a strong individual himself.  This was his wrestling coach William Bayne.  Under William’s eye, Jason grew into a strong young man with a deep sense of loyalty.  William’s disciplined routines had finally curbed Jason’s hot temper.  To Jason’s luck, William Bayne was transferred up to his high school the same year he entered 9^th grade, so he would be his high school coach as well.

Tragedy entered Jason’s life in 12^th grade.  It was May, and Jason was primed to earn a sports scholarship and graduate with honors.  His father was invited to speak at a function on Memorial Day with his wife in attendance.  Although there was no school that day, Jason had made plans with some buddies that weekend, and he was late returning from the beach.  As his father was speaking about the Vietnam War, a bomb detonated from within the audience.  It was the work of an insane individual who was fiercely anti-war and believed all soldiers must be eradicated.  Many people died, and many more were injured.  Jason’s mother and father were instantly killed.  No less than five minutes later, Jason and his buddies drove by the park on their way home.  They stopped when they saw the numerous police cars parked outside.  It was here that Jason learned of his parents’ fate.  At the news, Jason took a few steps back, gasped for air, fell to his knees, and let out a powerful scream of agony.  The image of the park with a small crater from the bomb was forever etched in his memory.

It was on that day that Jason changed his plans for the future.  To honor his father and bring terrorists and other evil individuals to justice, Jason enlisted in the United States Army.  He was planning to serve for as long as he could, for he felt this was the only way he could atone for not being around that fateful weekend.  The army was also a way for Jason to detach from reality, as the discipline and routine would help to repress the awful truth from his mind.

Jason’s life may have continued in this fashion had it not been for the terrorist attacks of September 11^th, 2001.  This event immediately conjured up the horrible memory of his parent’s death.  As Jason sat in the common room of the army base and watched the events unfold, he began to weep silently into his hands.  It was at this moment that he felt a tap on his shoulder.  He turned around and saw William Bayne.  Bayne took Jason outside.

It was here that William Bayne explained that he worked for the United States Government.  Jason felt his jaw drop to the ground.  He couldn’t believe it.  When he asked how come he was in Pittsburg teaching wrestling, William explained that he was there on official business.  He was there to try and uncover a terrorist cell, the same one that provided the individual that killed Jason’s parents.  Jason still couldn’t believe his ears.  Jason then asked why William had disclosed this information to him, since it sounded confidential.  It was at this point that William asked Jason to come with him to a limo parked outside the base.  William promised to explain everything.  Although slightly hesitant, Jason followed William into the limo.

It was here that William explained his purpose.  The United States government, a few hours after the second plane hit, secretly approved a super soldier program to covertly strike back at the terrorists responsible.  Five individuals were to be selected for the program.  Four were already selected, and they were having difficultly selecting a fifth.  It was at this point that William remembered Jason, and knowing of his ability from his wrestling days, and that now he was a member of the US Army, he suggested Jason as the fifth super soldier.  William then posed the ultimate question to Jason, “Will you join the super soldier program to fight against these terrorists?”  Empowered by the story William told, and the memory of his parents’ death still scorching his mind, Jason accepted the proposition.

Jason was taken to a facility with maximum security.  It was here that Jason was told that the super soldier creation process was still highly experimental, and that permanent side effects may result from the treatments he was to sustain.  Jason was fine with this, and so the treatments began.  Three times a day he received injections of a strange, unknown chemical.  When he wasn’t being injected, he was taught martial arts, basic survival skills, espionage, and some tricks of the trade that criminals use.  About a week into the chemical injections Jason developed the ability to form energy claws that extended from his knuckles.  The scientists were quite pleased, as this was the effect that they were aiming for.  Finally, to help protect his identity, Jason was given the code name Alastor.  This turned out to be appropriate, for alastor was the term for an avenging deity.

About three weeks after the injections began Jason woke in the middle of the night.  He had a pounding headache, and his whole body was sweating powerfully.  Grabbing his forehead, he rushed for the door.  He put his whole weight forward to open the door, but instead of opening the door, he went straight through it.  Looking at his body, Jason noticed he was now partially transparent.  He began to rush towards the laboratory, when he ran into the four other super soldier subjects.  They too were semi-transparent.  They found some scientists in the lab, who looked horrified as they all passed through the steel door.

            It was discovered that this ability of intangibility was a side effect of the chemical.  Although initially they had no control over it, Jason and the rest of the super soldier subjects began to be able to become intangible and regain tangibility at will.  The scientists all spoke with delight as to how this power could be used.  However, with this new power a price was paid.  Jason’s hot temper came back with a vengeance, and with it the chemical had also made his face slightly disfigured.  Jason was no longer the handsome man he once was.

            It was decided that due to these side effects that the treatment was too dangerous to administer to anyone else.  The mysterious chemical was destroyed and all knowledge of it was erased from the computer databases. 

            Jason and the other super soldiers were sent out to Afghanistan along with the rest of the United States army to take down the Taliban.  When America’s attention turned to Iraq, the five super soldiers helped America to take Baghdad in a short amount of time.  For their service to the United States, the super soldier team was sent home to rest and relax for a few months.

It was during this time period at home that the unpredictability of the experiment struck again.  The four super soldiers that were now Jason’s good friends suddenly went insane.  The chemical that had become a part of their genetic code struck again, and burned a mad fury into their brains.  They began to go from town to town, killing at will, terrorizing the citizens, and destroying property.

Jason, being the only sane super soldier left, was pulled out of his vacation and given a new assignment.  He was to track down the rouge super soldiers and terminate them.

Jason was led on a wild goose chase all over the Mid-Atlantic, always one to two steps behind his former cohorts.  All while chasing them, in the back of Jason’s mind he wondered if he too would go insane one day from the chemical.

The chase has led Jason to New Jersey, where he encounters a city that has been the subject of devastation.  At first he blames the super soldiers, but he then learns from the local news that instead a group of spherical robots had terrorized the city about a month ago, and that the previous night there had been a loud rumbling and a sinkhole had appeared.  An apartment complex and accounting firm were destroyed in the sinkhole.  The news intrigues Jason, and his thoughts turn to this city’s current state of affairs.  Although he doesn’t think there is a direct connection to the rouge super soldiers, Jason feels subconsciously compelled to investigate the sinkhole.  Not only may he uncover the trail of the super soldiers, but the pressing situation of the city grabs his attention (most likely as a result of his love for justice), although lingering here would be in direct opposition to his orders.