Art by Kostmeyer
 
Written by Pharaoh, July 2002.
Updated, December 2006.

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Code Name: Shade
Real Name: Paris Taylor
Nicknames: None.
Occupations: Student at the Massachusetts Academy. Member of the Hellions.
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no known criminal record.
Identity: Secret. Known to members of the Hellfire Club, Neo-X and Nexus.
Aliases: None.
Place of birth: Manhattan, New York.
Age: 18.
Marital Status: Single.
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual.
Known Relatives: Dwayne Taylor (father) and Silhouette (mother) of the New Warriors. (Both Deceased).
Group Affiliation: The Hellions.
Base of Operations: Massachusetts Academy.
First Appearance: Hellions #1 "Hellfire".
Origin: Paris Taylor is a mutant and was born with his powers, allthough his pwoers did not manifest until he reached puberty.
Height: 5 foot 11 inches
Weight: 180lbs (12 stones and 12 pounds)
Eyes: Brown.
Hair: Bald, originally black.
Distinguishing Marks: None.
Strength Level: Shade possesses the normal human strength of a man his age, height and build who engages in intensive regular exercise.
Known Superhuman Powers: Shade is able to tap into the dark force dimension which enables him to teleport great distances through the shadows. He is also learning to create solid objects from the dark force energy such as knives, shields and bo-staves. Paris is also able to see in complete darkness. Shade’s mind is defended from psychic attacks because of the mental barriers set up by Charles Xavier.
Abilities/Special Skills: Paris is learning to pilot the Hellions shuttlecraft.
Weapons Used: None, except whatever he creates with the dark force energy.
 

Personality: Unlike the other Hellions Paris is afraid to use his mutant powers. He fears that one day he like his parents will vanish forever in one of the shadow ports. His recent experiences while under the control of the Seven have added to his loathing of his powers.
Personal Interests: Paris loves watching late 20th century sitcoms.
History: Paris Taylor was raised by his parents until they vanished when he was twelve. His mother possessed the ability to teleport through the shadows, but one day she and Paris’ father went into one of her teleportation portals and did not come back. It was later revealed that all superhumans whose powers were derived from the darkforce dimension vanished simultaneously, with the exception of Paris. Why he was spared has not yet been revealed.
Paris was taken in by his father’s friend Chord, who did his best to educate him in the use of his powers. Aware that he was dying, Chord consulted Professor Charles Xavier and planned to have Paris join the Professor’s new Neo-X team. Before this could take place, news reached Xavier that the Hellfire Club had once again become strong. Fearful of the plans of the new White King, William Marushi, Xavier consulted his long-time associate Logan, who suggested planting an agent in the Hellfire Club. Paris was selected for this mission, and was trained by Logan, separately from the other members of Neo-X, who were unaware of Taylor’s connection to their organisation. When he was trained, Xavier placed psychic barriers around Taylor’s mind, so that his mission could not be detected by Hellfire Club telepaths. Taylor then joined the newly reconstituted Hellions team, taking the code-name Shade.
Paris Taylor had fought alongside the Hellions in a number of battles before he was bitten by the vampire Ian Rutherford. Under Rutherford’s control, Shade joined the Hellion’s enemies the Seven. Although he returned to normal at the end of the battle, Taylor felt responsible for the Seven’s actions and took a temporary leave of absence from the Hellions. During this leave, he returned to Xavier’s mansion and reported what he had learned to the X-teams. His mission complete, Taylor elected to return to the Hellions, believing that they were not innately bad people, and that he could help them redeem themselves and escape the influence of the Hellfire Club.