Ratman

Name	Ratman
Race	Mutant
Type	Mammal
Faction	Independent
Premiere	Desideratum: Blood Bonds
Relative(s)	None Applicable

The Xenopox Virus was created at MedUSA, a laboratory, in Oregon, though as a company, its facilities are spread across the globe. The base of the chemical concoction was the actual poison of the snake god, Ophion. In ancient times, anyone that Ophion bit would become snake people, reptilians. They would bite others, and the further away from Ophion’s original victim, the less human traits the victims would keep and the more of a reptile they would appear.

The original poison used had come from an ancient unearthed relic. Using the poison as a starting point, MedUSA began testing and tweaking the properties. The original idea of the board of directors and several of the scientists was to find a way to resurrect the snake god himself, perhaps by cloning. However, all attempts using the poison, failed. They then tested the poison on animals and people. By studying the effects on a microscopic level, they grew to understand the properties of the substance better. It caused mutations of varying types and degrees based on mixing with the DNA of different organisms. After the lab was destroyed by Siri Solen, the mutants that managed to escape sought refuge in the nearby sewer system.

One strain of these fleeing mutants was the rodentians. Among those were some humanoids typically referred to as ratmen or rat people. These humans were warped through the xenopoxian rat DNA. Quick, agile, and cunning, they swarm in hordes and guard their females well. Preferring dark, cool places to live, the Portland Sewer System, specifically the blue section of the Big Pipe Project, has made a favorable home, with one exception. The gatormen have also made their home there, and they hunt and consume the ratmen. Their constant battles were interrupted when Absinthe Van Gothen came to the sewers to find Molly McCoy. She slew all the rat mutants that she came across, though a handful of them escaped and migrated to other cities in the hopes of creating a new home.