William Grey

William Grey is a warlock from the Mortal Instruments continuum. Due to an accident caused by trans-dimensional magic experiment, he transported himself to the PPC HQ and eventually joined the DMS, becoming partners with the recently transferred Agent Jones.

He is written by Matt Cipher.

Appearance
William is a tall and slim man, with bright red hair and green eyes. Like all warlocks from the continuum, he has a demon mark – a unique body trait that identifies them as not fully human; William's marks are his white skin and a black tongue, slightly longer than a normal human's. His hair is middle-length, enough to cover his nape, and often obscures his eyes. William has no characteristic scars, body markings, or tattoos, although he does have a small, pointy goatee.

Because of his longevity, William has been through many different styles of clothing and appearance, from tiny pencil moustache and tail coats, to full beard and cut-off denim jackets. Currently, he prefers wearing various types of t-shirts (v-necks, stretched, torn, etc.) that often have magic-related puns printed on them, dark jeans, boots, and a brown frock overcoat he was wearing when he first happened upon the PPC. Occasionally, he wears accessories such as rings, necklaces, gloves, or hats.

Personality
William is quite a laid-back character, and he remains neutral in most cases – if there isn't something that interests him, or it cannot bring him any benefits, he won't get involved in it. He also refuses to do favours for free, and charges heavily even for the smallest of spells and potions.

He speaks in a politely sarcastic manner, and is often seen as being more cocky and rude than he intends to be. However, he hates people with a superiority complex, and being ordered around; he will even go as far as mocking and ignoring people who try to force him to do something that, in his opinion, doesn't make sense. He also doesn’t appreciate people putting on ‘masks’ and hiding their true feelings. William is a thinker. He doesn't rush into action, but calmly waits for an opportunity. This also makes him a perfectionist of a kind; he is determined to complete missions thoroughly, even if a chance to assassinate the target appears way before the story ends.

He likes spending time at Rudi's – drinking, playing cards or flirting with both men and women. If he's not there or in his RC, he will be in the General Store looking for some stuff to experiment with (he's a regular patron of Jane's Alchemical Shoppe).

Background
William was born in the mid-1860s, in London, to an Englishwoman and a Greater Demon from Hell. He was born with ivory skin, but it didn't raise a lot of suspicion – people tended to think he was just another sickly child. He was raised by his mother and her family in a middle-class setting, and was treated with love and care, until he was seven. At that time his magic manifested along with his other warlock mark – the black, slightly longer tongue. The first noticeable symptoms were small: cutlery moving on the table, plumes of smoke and sparks coming from his fingertips, toys and small objects vanishing and reappearing in different places.

From the very beginning, because William’s mother was the only one raising him, the family was the main subject of the gossiping neighbours. Finally, when the rumours started spreading about William being cursed and 'marked by the devil', his mother decided to give William to a shelter run by the local church. She didn't know the true identity of the child's father but she believed the Lord and His teachings would absolve the boy of all that was wrong with him. It was in that shelter that William met another warlock, Isaac, who decided to raise him and provide him with the knowledge and training he needed.

When William ceased ageing, as every warlock does eventually, he decided to travel the continent to further develop his knowledge. He has acquainted himself with various cultures and, at one point, even became quite wealthy. It didn't last very long, however, and since that day, money has continued to quickly escape his grasp.

In 2015, William decided to experiment with spatial magic – his goal was instant, intercontinental travel without a need to spend a lot of money. While testing his portal, he carved the wrong runes by mistake and the Gate turned into a plothole, which sucked him in and transported him into PPC HQ. Having had the Organisation's purpose explained to him, he decided it would be fun to join. After learning the basics from one of the agent trainers, he was assigned to Venus Jones, a new DMS agent recently transferred from the Department of Intelligence.

Powers & Abilities
William exhibits levels of strength, speed and stamina appropriate to a healthy young adult who exercises on a regular basis. In terms of unarmed combat, he knows the basics of self-defence. His weapon of choice is his cane-sword – a blade concealed in a hollow walking stick, popular in the Victorian Era. Although William was never properly trained in fencing, he knows how to perform basic thrusts and slashes effectively.

As a warlock, William has an innate ability to perform magic. Because of his demon blood, he is able to harness energy from his surroundings, and can use this with his own stamina (or life force, if the spell is more powerful) in order to reshape reality. His powers are stronger in continua where magic exists, and he is at his most powerful in his home continuum. William's magic usually manifests as sickly green sparks or plumes of thick smoke.

Although it is a powerful ability, magic from The Mortal Instruments can be easily cancelled by water – running water and holy water work best, but even casting spells near large bodies of water is extremely difficult, and there are only a handful of warlocks who can do it; William is not one of them. He also needs his hands unbound to perform magic. William's other weakness is rowan; its berries and branches have a natural ability to disperse magic.

Souvenirs
William and VJ share a habit of collecting artifacts and objects brought into the continuum by their targets.
 * Wardrobe: This enchanted piece of furniture used to serve as an armory for Dumbledore's elite crew of assassins. Its powerful enchantments allow only the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and his hitmen, to open it. Currently, William is working to modify the enchantments so that only he and VJ will be able to access the wardrobe.
 * Sue Swords: A pair of katanas, formerly owned by a Japanese Sue, collected in a neat black case. The first sword (nicknamed 'the Demon') is carved out of dark crystal with demonic ornaments around the blade and the handle. The second sword (nicknamed 'the Angel') is fashioned in a similar manner, but made from pure silver, and it has angelic motif for the ornaments.
 * A tricorne: Three-pronged hat that VJ stole from the quarters of Edward "Blackbeard" Teach.

August 2015

 * Accidentally appears in The Marquis de Sod's office. Joins the PPC.
 * Partnered with VJ.

September 2015

 * Completes his first mission with VJ.

April 2016

 * Travels to Middle-earth for the first time with VJ and another team.

Partnered with VJ

 * 1) "Angels and Demons" (Harry Potter)
 * 2) "A Very Merry Un-Birthday" (interlude)
 * 3) "The Last Samurai" (Harry Potter)
 * 4) "Mind Over Matter" (interlude), William with Za'kiir (DMS)
 * 5) "A Quick Bite" (Percy Jackson and the Olympians), VJ with Agent Luxury (DBS)
 * 6) "A Christmas Story" (interlude), with Hip and Hop
 * 7) "Canon's Bane" (Lord of the Rings), with Agents Ami and Chris (DF)