Luke Costello

• Prominent burn scar across face; visible in either form and must be drawn with it.
• Deer-like ears are a few gradients darker than his hair in human form.
• Can be drawn with or without his antlers; they fall off naturally from time to time so its not unusual to see him without them.
• If drawing his stag form, its important to keep in mind his height dimensions, as he is far larger than a normal elk (refer to reference sheet).

Luke is kind, compassionate, and caring. His empathy for others is what allows him to get along so well with his peers. He is down to Earth and extremely friendly (although can be reserved or even shy at first). Luke also has a great sense of humor. He can be goofy at times with his puns and knows how to nurture his inner child. Luke likes to have fun but he also knows when to be serious as well. Its extremely difficult to make him angry because of his forgiving nature. At times this can make Luke a bit of a pushover. He has stubborn tendencies and struggles with self esteem, but recognizes when he messes up and does the work to try to improve. Takes responsibility for his actions and is mature.

Back Story:

Luke was born in Seattle, Washington, an only child to upper middle class parents. He had a fairly good childhood, but his father's job required him to travel a lot, so Luke barely ever saw him. His mother mostly raised him by herself, with occasional help from her brother. However, as Luke got older, the bitterness and resentment building between his parents came to a head and they eventually divorced.

Throughout school, Luke was a quiet, but bright student, and most days after school, he would go to his uncle's house. Because of him, Luke learned to love music, and began to learn how to play the piano. After graduating high school, he went on to continue his studies at a community college and eventually got a part-time job working with his uncle at the man's auto body shop, saving up to pay off his student loans and get his own car. But one wintery day in January changed everything.

Luke was out taking a walk when he was dragged into an alley, drugged, and kidnapped, later waking up in the care of the disgraced scientist, Doctor Evan Clarke, in a facility in the middle of nowhere several hours away from home. He was to be the final test subject of the doctor's human experiments, as there were other residents living there. Luke tried to escape, but it was the middle of winter and he didn't get very far before he was found and dragged back. After that, he resigned himself to his fate as Evan's prisoner, and the testing began. However, an old rival, Evan's ex-best friend, Matthias, had zeroed in on his location, and sent police and the FBI after him. With the facility soon to be under siege by authorities, it was a scramble to get everyone out onto a getaway bus. All except for Luke.

Not willing to leave him behind, Evan stayed to help him escape, where the cops gradually began to close in. Luke used his burgeoning ability of telekinesis to lift Evan to safety, and let the authorities take him, instead. Later, Luke was found and taken by Matthias, who tortured him and disfigured him by having an assistant hold his head under acid, giving him a distinctive burn scar on his face, and left deep lacerations on his chest to bleed out. Knowing Evan would come back to look for Luke, Matthias left the man to die, curious if the doctor would make it in time. Evan barely made it, but he managed to keep Luke alive on their long drive to South Dakota. He owned another facility deep in the heart of the Black Hills, hidden away and safe from detection.

After Luke recovered from his wounds, the testing and experimentation continued, culminating in a successful melding of elk DNA to Luke's genes. His features changed, growing deer-like ears and antlers, and the ability to shift his form. However, being done against his will, Luke was upset with the changes and his relationship with Evan grew distant and strained. Over time though, it began to improve, at least until the reappearance of the doctor's rival. Hell-bent on revenge, Evan had one of his residents go out and search for Matthias, bringing the man back to the facility. He let Luke decide Matt's fate, which ultimately resulted in Luke flying into a rage and killing the man. Afterwards, ashamed of what he'd done, Luke ran away, backpacking into the wilderness and getting as far as Wyoming before giving up, injured, alone, and hiding from police.

Evan drove out to find him, and along the way back, Luke was kidnapped by traffickers and taken to Washington state. Before Evan could go after him, he was forced to return to South Dakota, as he'd injected himself with a modified serum and his organs had begun to fail. He managed to get it under control and stabilized, resting a few days before going back out. His travels took him to Washington state after Luke, determined to keep his promise to help the other. The traffickers held an auction and intended to sell Luke, as his antlers had grown considerably and couldn't hide them or his ears, making him quite the interesting specimen. The night the auction took place, Luke flew into another rage and liberated himself, killing nearly all of the traffickers and patrons. He fled the scene of the massacre and traveled up the coast before finally passing out from exhaustion on the shores of the La Push reservation. A local Quileute woman found him and nursed him back to health, allowing him to stay on the reservation despite the rest of the tribe's fear that he might be some sort of evil entity.

Believing Evan had died, Luke grew depressed and allowed himself to starve, intending to die, himself. It was at this dire moment where he shifted for the first time, changing forms in his sleep and becoming a massive bull elk. The night he changed was the night Evan found his way onto the reservation. A pack of wolves had surrounded him but at the last second, Luke in his stag form appeared and fought the wolves off. It took a moment for the doctor to realize it was Luke, but he returned with him to the abandoned church Luke had been living in. Reunited at last, but unable to leave until Evan's car got fixed, the two of them spent a few days in La Push. With just the two of them there, their bond grew and strengthened, growing closer with each day that passed until the time came for them to leave. Wanting to see his mother before going back to South Dakota, Luke and Evan drove up to Seattle despite the risks of them being apprehended by police. The visit got out of hand, however, and they were forced to leave.

Back at the facility, things had gone back to normal, except that one of Evan's more dangerous subjects, Selene, had returned. She'd flown all the way from Japan to visit, but for reasons unknown. Meanwhile, Luke built up the courage to confess his true feelings to the doctor, who took it badly and resulted in the two of them having a fight. Hurt, and angry, Luke fell into another deep depression, his emotional state causing him to drink in excess and made him vulnerable to Selene's manipulation. Her words and lies set him off, and Luke left behind a trail of destruction, nearly killing Fel, one of the residents, and Evan himself. The doctor was forced to shoot him to make him stop, and the wounds he sustained, as well as the alcohol poisoning settling in, was causing Luke's body to rapidly fail and die. The only way to save his life was to place him in a medically induced coma, and he remained in that state for a week.

When he finally did wake up, Luke vowed to get better and stronger, not wanting to waste his second chance at life. And Evan decided to take a chance on Luke, a chance on love. Over the course of his therapy and after, they grew closer than ever and things were beginning to look up. For a while, life was good. Until Selene reappeared again, this time with a group of mercenaries. She demanded Evan be handed over and nobody else would get hurt. Unwilling to give Selene what she wanted, Luke and the rest of the residents made a plan to protect Evan and their home, intending to fight back. But not without losing one of their younger residents, a girl by the name of Arianna. She sacrificed herself to save Luke, and in doing so, was able to have Selene stopped. Furious and saddened at the girl's death, Evan developed a serum that would transform Selene, keeping her trapped in the form of a fox to punish her. The entire facility went into a state of mourning for a time, until the dust settled and they were able to rebuild from the damage. And peace did follow, but it was a hard earned peace, one that was tinged with loss. For the next few months a quiet had settled over the facility, but it wasn't to last. An agent working for the FBI had gotten a hold of some surveillance footage, identifying Evan in some of the tape. Determined to find him, the agent - Wilhelmina Larkin - flew out to South Dakota to begin her search.

On-Going:

After catching Evan in an elaborate trap, Agent Larkin returned to the facility. Seeing the potential of the doctor's research, Larkin suggested the idea of setting up a task force, in secret, in order to gather proof that the advancements made there were enough to keep Evan out of prison. She, the doctor, and Luke all sat down to discuss the particulars, which involved bringing in a staff of twelve, plus a personal assistant for Evan. However, over the course of the conversation it was revealed that Arianna was Larkin's daughter. Furious that the child she'd been searching many years for had died under Evan's care, she demanded Luke return to Washington DC with her as punishment. He went, but reluctantly. They spent a week there while Larkin made the necessary preparations.

But being separated from Evan was rough and Luke's mental health began to decline. Larkin originally wanted Luke with her because she, too, has the ability of telekinesis and expressed her desire to eventually teach him more, as she had had it all of her life and was more experienced. They didn't get to train while they were out, however, and returned back to South Dakota. With the arrangements made, it was only a matter of Evan looking over the dossiers of his staff and flying the task force out to the facility. Forced to delve back into the past in order to work in the present, Evan and Luke's relationship was put on the back burner as the doctor grew busier maintaining his staff and work. Meanwhile, an insidious condition resulting from an old head injury is forcing Luke to come to terms with the fragility of his health...and his memory.