Villain: Francis Gator

Little Francis was a sick child. When he was born, his wet nurse, Sister Mary, informed his mother the child was dead. Francine, whose face was marked with every experience of her long and eventful life of a New Orleans mistress dabbling in occult, sighed “Thank you, God!” But her prayers were unanswered as the newborn heaved a breath, gulped in some air, and started crying. The woman grew silent and never spoke again. The ugly baby was born with a skin disease that covered most of his body: cracked skin, greenish complexion and tough hide around the knuckles and feet.

 Three nights later, Francine was found dead, little Francis licking the blood that gushed out from the deep rake marks across her chest. The wet tracks of huge clawed feed suggested a ferocious reptile walked in, killed the woman and walked out; at least that is what the detectives claimed. Since Francine had no family and her well-deserved reputation of an old weird woman had scared off most of the neighbors, nobody asked any more questions.  Her body was buried by the fence of the cemetery wall and her ugly child was placed in an orphanage.

 The skin disease grew stronger with each passing month and year, and the five-year old Francis was a terror to behold. Scabs and wounds healed over forming scales over his arms and legs, while his nose flattened out. The bullies finally gave up on beating him and by the time he turned seven, whenever they would hear Francis’ shallow breathing, they would run in fear.

On the eve of his 12^th birthday that nobody cared to celebrate, the almost-mute teenager spent many hours glued to the window, staring into the darkness as if looking out for something … or rather somebody. When one of the nuns tried to chase him off to evening prayers, Francis hissed, “This is the day to say goodbye, ma’am.” As the midnight tolled, the door to the orphanage burst open and a huge, biped, albino, gator-like creature walked in, scattering everybody aside as he waded towards the teenager.

Sister Mary shuddered, as she realized that the rumor of Francine bedding the ancient swamp devil under the guise of an albino gator was true and the soul of Francine was doomed to spend the eternity in hell. The giant grabbed the boy, jumped through the window and disappeared into the black of the night.

 30 years later, Francis Gator returned to humanity and began a painful attempt to meld back into the society and enjoy the Southern comfort.

75 years later, Francis Gator finally realized that this would never happen and that his natural talents, backed up with “the swamp years” experience, predestined him to strike terror in the hearts of those who would never accept him.

One of the Saints behind the Coven had a vision of a gator-man who would be a key element to one of the organization’s agendas. Thus Francis ended up on the payroll of the team. Even after many years of service to the Coven, he was feared and rejected by most of the Strike Team, never getting along likes of Rook or Twilight who shed their Coven apparel and go out for a beer in the evening. Papa Zombie, seeing that this may cause more trouble, decided to let Gator move back to the swamps and the ancient hut of his mother, a place that was the refuge of the black magic user. He boards the Coven jet only when the Strike Team needs him.

 Francis Gator has one trait that guarantees his survival against all odds. He is useful.

 His powerful physique is only a host for the mysterious demonic soul able to control the forces of nature. When Gator mutters and hisses, the enemies who have faced him before know it’s time to duck. In his bag of dirty tricks is the ability to control swarms of mosquito and raise the water levels. Some claim that he is able to call upon the spirit of his sire but that was never recorded. He is brutal and cruel but only as evil as the society shaped him. The desire to belong and be loved by people rarely ever surfaces, but if it does, it pits Francis in weird alliances.

June Summers of Channel 4 shot some bizarre footage of Gator side by side with Stoner Hawk and Seabolt, the force of elements battling the Zoidrod X, the experimental military robot the prototype of which was stolen, most likely by the Mysterious Man.