Max is the eldest son (21) of two very rich, very bigoted people. He has five younger siblings, and though he was very close to them, he decided to move to Blacklight City with his best friend and on/off boyfriend Jack, hoping for a fresh, independent start in the city. Things went badly for them, however, and they found themselves homeless.

Jack did what he could to keep them in motel rooms by busking with his guitar and working freelance as a bartender when he could. Max, on-the-other-hand, withdrew into himself, becoming very fearful and dependent. In a last ditch attempt to make himself useful, he signed up for what seemed like a perfectly innocent science experiment.

The experiment turned out to be anything but innocent. At first it seemed it had no effect on Max and the scientists released him. However, a few weeks later he started to show signs of having unnatural abilities. Small cuts on his body healed remarkably quickly, and over time he found that he could also heal injuries on Jack as well.

Newspapers began to run little flavour stories about people with similar unusual abilities, and more detailed accounts of these people began to show up on the internet - including tales of the more well known 'freaks' disappearing off the streets and never being seen again. Max kept his abilities a secret from everyone except Jack - and eventually Knowles.

Heal: By transfering his own life force to another person, he can heal any illness or injury a person may be afflicted with. The more severe the injury or illness, the more energy and the longer it takes to heal. Max's emotional state also effects how well this ability works.

Drain: In order to keep himself from dying due to giving away his own life force, Max can drain the life force of other people to replenish himself. If he drains enough from a person, they will die, however it is not a very effeciant way to kill someone, as completely draining a person takes a long time, up to three hours for someone in their twenties.

Sense: People who Max has healed many times, and people who he has spent a great deal of time in the company of, develop a bond with him that allows him to feel any pain that they feel, no matter how far away from them he is. He can block this pain out after a few minutes, but if the person he is bonded to recieves heavy damage to the heart or the head, such as from a gunshot wound, Max will also die.

Trance: Max later develops the ability to trance people, which makes it easier to calm them when he tries to heal them, and also allows him to drain people without them fighting against it. As the ability develops, he can also trance people into protecting him or giving him things.

Rend: After the forced transformation, Jack develops the ability destroy organic material with his mind. He can use it to destroy an enemy by shredding their insides without leaving a mark or to remove obstacles made of organic material such as wood.

Control: Jack has the ability to take control of people and force them to do as he wishes for a limited amount of time. He can also see and hear everything his victim does. It takes a great deal of effort on his part, but it is very useful for taking prisoners and spying on people.

Shield: Jack can thicken the air around him so that approaching him becomes more and more difficult, up to the point where it feels like wading through concrete. He can use it to keep attackers at bay, however, bullets cannot be stopped by the shield, only slowed enough for him to move out of their path.

Dash: Jack can run at supernatural speeds and jump further than a normal person. However, his body has difficulties with the higher speeds and he often injures himself if he pushes himself too hard.