- name: shay sadler
- designation: x4-313 / 330927014313
- splice: panthera onca ( jaguar )
- face: blair redford
- age: 29+ ( plot & timeline dependent )
- dob: unknown
- zodiac: unknown
- orientation: biromantic bisexual
- residence: seattle, wa / plot dependent
- hometown: seattle, wa
- occupation: mechanic ( plot dependent )
- height: 6'1"
- hair: dark brown, to the shoulders
- eyes: heterochromia ( brown & yellow )
- tattoos: barcode on back of neck
- scars: tbd
- other: pigmentation / " birth marks " on the back of his calves that resemble jaguar spots
- mother: unknown, hailey tayenaka ( adoptive )
- father: unknown
- siblings: none
- children: plot dependent
- extended: tbd
- pets: morty ( stray cat )
- close combat fighting ( various martial arts )
- small calibur weapons
- various blades
- various vehicle proficiencies
- expert swimming
- photographic memory
- enhanced: strength, speed, agility, reflexes, durability, stamina and coordination
- enhanced eyesight
- enhanced healing and metabolism
- enhanced immunity
note: trigger warnings for violence and mentions of death
like other children in manticore's program, 313 ( eventually given the nickname of shay ) was taken from his birth mother and placed into community care with others who passed the first layer of testing. in the x4 program this was a combination of visual and genetic. if trainers felt as though a child could eventually be sent on preliminary missions while also being able to navigate society as a regular human, they were pushed through to state two.
as time progressed, shay's class became smaller and smaller. other experiments either died of natural causes, during training, or were taken in the event a flaw. sometimes it was medical. often, it was behavioral. the older they became the more dissidence bubbled beneath the surface. others questioned why they were trained so hard and that they wanted a little fun. shay had always felt on the fringe of the social circles that had developed over time.
his exceptional scores during combat training put him at odds with those remaining. he'd never really understood their emotional responses to the activities the were doing. shay and several others were noted to be a little less emotionally responsive. later, shay would learn this was by design. different programs to test different outcomes. different programs to test what instilled the most loyalty.
at thirteen, five of the remaining class were sent out into the world with their handlers. the mission, to kill their target and make it safely back to the exfil point. shay's target is a former member of the genetic research team accused of selling secrets to foreign governments. the objective is to kill the target and bring back a specified data drive. 313 completes his mission not only quickly but efficiently. he, over the years, has learned to be one with his feline genetics. the kill is performed with agile grace. he uses the dark and heightened night vision to stalk his prey.
maybe that's why when he returns to the exfil point he finds a gun pointed in his direction. the data drive is placed on the ground, as commanded, and shay gives it several feet of space. what's confusing is the sadness on his handler's face. no malice. no anger. not even a hint of disappointment. what shay sees is pure sadness. it's his own confusion that has him stumbling when he's ordered to run.
shay stumbles into seattle, days later. what he sees has only ever been presented to him in a classroom. the sights and sounds are overwhelming. they're confusing. he has no idea if he should lay low to wait for further orders or fall back on how he was taught to integrate in. it's hard to remember with his mind racing and his heart pumping.
he wakes up in the corner of an abandoned building after discovering he'd basically exhausted himself. shay feels the rumble in his stomach. his higher metabolism demands energy to keep the rest of him moving. but, without clear direction 313 decided to stay put. that is, until his body demands otherwise. logic and training allow shay to work through the fact that he is better off staying in fighting condition than he is withering in a corner. when manticore and his handler come to pick him up after the second part of his test he needs to be able to display his survival abilities.
but, time becomes a blur. night falls and day comes again, over and over. 313 expects it's months later when he's cornered in an alley. doctor, she says. a friend, she says. it's an older woman, approximate fifties, who tells shay that she knows all about him. she knows all about the training at manticore. in fact, she was a good friend to his previous target. they'd been expecting manticore at their door for some time now.
shay runs from that first interaction because the emotional response is, oddly enough, to flee. her knowledge is more dangerous than any gun ever pointed to his head. they run into each other several more times over the coming weeks. few words are exchanged on her end until, one night, she explains herself as doctor hailey tayenaka. her previous position ( and intimate knowledge of his program ) stemmed from her part in crafting it. she'd been part of the behavioral research division within manticore and she couldn't take all the blood on her hands anymore. she didn't sign up for all the scrapped projects or the way rejected children were handled. the doctor explained she wanted to help give shay what normal life she could.
but, that meant trusting each other.
