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The clues were there, but his family chose to ignore them. He was their brother after all, and just because he was ‘different’, didn’t mean that he was less important in their lives. In fact, they’d all adapted their lives around his.
John kept a specific astronomical chart, plotting the phases of the moon, which in turn, ensured that he wasn’t called out on rescues on those particular days/nights.
It was mainly to keep him safe … as well as the public too.
And that’s why their father chose to move everyone onto a remote island. To avoid putting his middle son …Virgil … under the beady eyes of the public. And to help design and build a reinforced, self-sustaining vehicle -Thunderbird Two.
He was a werewolf.
Simple as that.
And if anyone asked …..
1. He was tired because he’d been on really exhaustive rescues and needed to recover. It took him a lot longer than the rest because he had to manage all the heavy lifting.
2. He was ravenous and needed as much protein as he could muster, due to his fast metabolic rate.
3. He went through loads of hair and shaving products, if only to manage the excessive hair that grew each full moon. He was teased a lot about hogging the bathroom, until he got an en suite of his own.
4. He had a large stash of sturdy red plaid shirts, just in case one was accidentally torn during transformation. And he quickly covered it up by explaining that he’d been working on his big green ‘Bird and his shirt got caught on something sharp. Or he’d been bench pressing, and the seams popped.
5. He felt guilty for shedding hair all over the place, and was often found … after his recovery period … going through the house with a vacuum cleaner. Even if that meant the early hours of the day when everyone else was fast asleep.
6. He also had a keen sense of smell, and could easily forewarn everyone when Grandma was cooking.
As for the howling. Well … Gordon would crank up the music and they’d all howl along with him. His own ‘pack’
But all in all, he was a good boy. He never caused any trouble or tore the place to bits. He managed his affliction very well, and had an amazing supportive family behind him.