biography THOMAS SNOW WAS A YOUNG HOT SHOT INVESTMENT BANKER AND PROUD PLAYBOY. JUDITH ROBERTS WAS A PRETTY YOUNG GIRL FROM OHIO WHO CAME TO NEW YORK CITY TO DO SOME MODELING. THEIR TOXIC RELATIONSHIP BEGAN AT A PARTY, WHERE JUDITH WAS JUST MEANT TO BE PRETTY DECOR. AFTER A FEW YEARS OF ON AGAIN, OFF AGAIN DATING (AND A TON OF WILD NIGHTS BETWEEN) THEY DECIDED TO GIVE UP THE PARTIES AND THE DRINKING AND THE DRUGS AND SETTLE DOWN. THOMAS BOUGHT A LESS-THAN-MODEST HOUSE IN LONG ISLAND AND JUDITH BECAME A SUBURBAN HOUSEWIFE AND, SOON AFTER, MOTHER TO TWO CHILDREN. LOUIS CAME FIRST. THEY'D PLANNED FOR A CHILD, BUT LOUIS WASN'T THE TYPICAL BABY THEY WERE EXPECTING, TOO QUIET, TOO CLEAN, TOO OFF. ALTHOUGH JUDITH LOVED HER SON UNCONDITIONALLY, IT WAS CLEAR EARLY ON THAT THOMAS DIDN'T FEEL THE SAME. BEATRICE CAME FIVE YEARS LATER, A HAPPY ACCIDENT WITH THE LUNGS OF A TINY BANSHEE. HER INCESSANT CRYING DROVE THOMAS TO DRINKING AGAIN, WHICH IN TURN DROVE A WEDGE BETWEEN HIM AND JUDITH, WHO WAS INTENT ON STAYING CLEAN. BY THE TIME LOUIS' EXCEPTIONALITIES WERE BEING RECOGNIZED IN SCHOOL, THOMAS NO LONGER LIVED WITH THE FAMILY.

SCHOOL WAS HARD FOR LOUIS. NOT BECAUSE HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE MATERIAL, BUT BECAUSE HE UNDERSTOOD IT TOO WELL. THIS LEAD TO OFTEN BECOMING BORED OR UNINTERESTED IN LESSONS. WORST OF ALL, IT GARNISHED THE WRONG SORT OF ATTENTION FROM HIS CLASSMATES. GIVEN THE FACT THAT LOUIS WAS MUCH SMALLER AND SMARTER THAN HIS PEERS, GETTING BULLIED WAS UNAVOIDABLE. LOUIS BEGAN TO WATCH AND LEARN AND, EVENTUALLY, COPY THE WAY THE OTHER KIDS BEHAVED TO BETTER CAMOUFLAGE HIMSELF FROM HIS TORMENTORS. STILL, HIS POOR SOCIAL SKILLS, HIS ALWAYS PRISTINE (OLD MAN) CLOTHES, AND HIS NEED TO SORT EVERYTHING WERE ALWAYS A SOURCE OF RIDICULE. LOUIS EVENTUALLY HAD TO BE TRANSFERRED TO A DIFFERENT SCHOOL, TWICE, BEFORE HIS MOTHER DECIDED A SCHOOL FOR THE GIFTED WAS A BETTER FIT FOR LOUIS, MUCH TO HIS FATHER'S CHAGRIN. THE CURRICULUM, TEACHERS, AND EVEN THE STUDENTS WERE SUPERIOR IN EVERY WAY. LOUIS FLOURISHED. THERE, HE FOUND HIS LOVE OF MATH WAS LAUDED, NOT LAUGHED AT. THERE, LOUIS COULD FINALLY BE HIMSELF.

DESPITE PROSPERING IN A GIFTED SCHOOL, LOUIS FLOUNDERED IN COLLEGE. ACADEMICALLY, HE WAS FINE. NOT AS GOOD AS HE COULD DO, GIVEN HIS INNATE IQ, BUT GOOD ENOUGH. IT WAS THE SOCIAL ASPECT OF COLLEGE THAT REALLY STUMPED HIM. WHILE EVERYONE WENT TO FRAT PARTIES AND ATE TOGETHER IN THE QUAD, LOUIS SPENT SATURDAY NIGHTS IN THE LIBRARY AND SEEMED TO ANNOY EVERY SINGLE ONE OF HIS ROTATING ROOMMATES WITH HIS DESIRE TO KEEP THINGS NEAT AND CLEAN. IT WAS HARD TO FIND ANYONE HE COULD CALL A REAL FRIEND. THAT CHANGED WHEN HE MET A VERY OUTGOING BOY THE NIGHT SOMEONE SET OFF THE FIRE ALARM IN THEIR DORMITORY AT THREE IN THE MORNING. THE ENTIRE BUILDING HAD BEEN FORCED TO RUN OUTSIDE, HALF-ASLEEP, HALF-DRESSED AND, IN LOUIS'S CASE, BAREFOOT, AT THE START OF WINTER. NOTICING LOUIS WAS VISIBLY MORE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH BEING BAREFOOT THAN ALMOST BEING TORCHED IN HIS SLEEP, THE BOY OFFERED LOUIS HIS SHOES AND A CROOKED SMILE AND THEIR FRIENDSHIP OF OPPOSITES BEGAN. IT MAY HAVE LOOKED ODD FROM THE OUTSIDE, AN OUTGOING JOCK AND AN ANTISOCIAL NERD, BUT IT FELT PERFECTLY NATURAL TO THE BOTH OF THEM. LOUIS HELPED THE BOY WITH HIS GRADES AND THE BOY FORCED LOUIS OUT OF HIS BUBBLE, DRAGGING HIM TO FOOTBALL GAMES AND CAMPUS EVENTS AND EVEN TO THOSE PARTIES HE'D HEARD ABOUT. TOO MANY RED SOLO CUPS LATER (READ: ONE) AND LOUIS CONFESSED ALL THE THINGS THE BOY MADE HIM FEEL. THAT NIGHT, LOUIS FELT WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO PRESS HIS MOUTH TO ANOTHER'S FOR THE FIRST TIME. FOLLOWED QUICKLY BY THE FEELING OF A FIST COLLIDING WITH HIS JAW FOR THE FIRST TIME. IT WASN'T THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER LOUIS HAD HOPED IT WOULD BE, BUT IT WAS THE END OF HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH THE BOY WHO NEVER ASKED FOR HIS SHOES BACK.

THERE WAS NO MORE BOY AFTER THAT, NO MORE BOYS AT ALL. LOUIS DID WHAT HE DID BEST AND FILED ALL THOSE SORTS OF FEELINGS AWAY AND FOCUSED ON SCHOOL. HE WAS BETTER AT SOCIALIZING THANKS TO THE BOY THOUGH. SO HE MADE SOME NEW FRIENDS, BUT NO LONGER LOOKED FOR MORE IN ANY OF THEM. HE DATED A BIT, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT GUYS HIS AGE WERE SUPPOSED TO DO, BUT ONLY WOMEN, AND ONLY BRIEFLY. THERE WAS NEVER THAT SPARK HE'D ONCE FELT, NOT WITH ANY OF THEM. EVENTUALLY LOUIS STOPPED EVEN PRETENDING TO LOOK FOR IT, CHALKING DATING UP TO SIMPLE BACKGROUND NOISE TO HIS ACADEMICS AND EVENTUAL CAREER THAT FOLLOWED.

NOTHING HE DID, NO ACCOMPLISHMENT OR AWARD OR GPA, WAS EVER GOOD ENOUGH FOR HIS FATHER, HOWEVER. LOUIS LEARNED QUICKLY THAT BEING PUT IN A "GIFTED" SCHOOL HAD ALL BUT CAUSED HIS FATHER TO WRITE HIM OFF AS DEFECTIVE. HIS SISTER DIDN'T FAIR ANY BETTER. HER ANTICS ONLY GOT WILDER WITH AGE, HER OUTLANDISHNESS THE ONLY THING THAT EVER GARNERED ANY REAL RISE FROM THEIR FATHER. THROUGH IT ALL, THEIR MOTHER WAS THEIR ROCK. SHE WAS TENDER AND SWEET, LOVING AND PATIENT. WHEN SHE PASSED AWAY FROM CANCER FOUR YEARS AGO, LOUIS WAS FORCED TO STEP UP AND TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING. THE FUNERAL, THE CREMATION, THE WAKE, IT WAS ALL UP TO LOUIS TO ORGANIZE. BUT THAT WAS OKAY BECAUSE ORGANIZATION WAS HOW HE COPED. BEATRICE COPED BY DROPPING OFF THE MAP TO GO FIND HERSELF HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD. LOUIS BURIED HIMSELF IN WORK, HOPING HE COULD PASS ON HIS LOVE FOR MATH TO THE NEXT GENERATION IN SAN FRANCISCO.

TURNS OUT, MIDDLE SCHOOL WAS JUST AS HARD AS HE REMEMBERED, EVEN AS THE TEACHER. MOST OF HIS KIDS DIDN'T GET HIM, OR THE SUBJECT, AND THAT MEANT THEY DIDN'T RESPECT HIM. WORSE, THE BIG CITY WAS CRAWLING WITH SUPER-POWERED FOLKS, CAUSING CONSTANT CHAOS AND DESTRUCTION ALL AROUND HIM. AFTER A FEW YEARS, IT WAS TOO MUCH FOR LOUIS TO TAKE. AFTER HELPING OTHERS THROUGH A FEW DISASTERS, LOUIS HAD AN EPIPHANY, A SINGULAR MOMENT OF CLARITY, THAT FILLED HIM WITH A GREAT PURPOSE: CIVIC DUTY. ALTHOUGH LOUIS LOVED HIS ROUTINES AND HIS SUPPORT SYSTEMS, HE FELT DRIVEN BY A RESPONSIBILITY TO OTHERS THAT HE HAD NEVER QUITE UNDERSTOOD BEFORE. HE LEFT LAST YEAR, ABRUPTLY, AND CAUGHT UP WITH HIS NOMADIC SISTER, FOLLOWING HER AROUND THE GLOBE. HE TRANSFORMED HIMSELF FROM A TEACHER OF MATHEMATICS OR A STUDENT OF THE WORLD. FOR THE FIRST TIME, HE NOT ONLY LEARNED ABOUT ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF PEOPLE AND CULTURES, HE ACTUALLY GOT TO EXPERIENCE THEM. MORE IMPORTANTLY, MAYBE, HE LEARNED ALL HE COULD ABOUT THE PLANET THEY ALL SHARED, AND HOW DIRE IT WAS TO PRESERVE IT. NOT JUST FROM SUPER-VILLAINS, THIS TIME, BUT FROM THE REAL THREAT: HUMAN BEINGS... ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO DIDN'T UNDERSTAND HOW THE REAL DANGER WAS ALWAYS CLIMATE CHANGE.

AMONG THE DOZENS OF AMAZING PEOPLE HE MET DURING HIS JOURNEY, ONE IN PARTICULAR CHANGED HIS LIFE IN A VERY PROFOUND WAY. HE WAS OLDER, CHARMING, A POLITICIAN TURNED PERIPATETIC. AND HE WAS SOMEONE, LIKE LOUIS, WHO HAD HEARD THE CALLING AND WANTED TO DO MORE BY BEING OUT IN THE WORLD, NOT STUCK BEHIND A DESK. AFTER CAREFULLY TAKING DOWN LOUIS' WALLS, BRICK BY SLOW BRICK, HE CAME TO MEAN SOMETHING MORE, TOO. ONCE HE FIGURED OUT HOW LOUIS' BRAIN WORKED, ONCE HE LEARNED LOUIS DIDN'T JUST DREAM, HE MADE TACTICAL PLANS FROM THOSE DREAMS, HE KNEW LOUIS WAS THE KIND OF PERSON WHO COULD MOVE MOUNTAINS FROM BEHIND A DESK. LOUIS WAS JUST A VISITOR TO THE GLOBETROTTING DO-GOODER LIFESTYLE, AND LOUIS KNEW IT TOO, IN THE END. WHEN HE LEFT, HE GAVE LOUIS A CONTACT NUMBER FOR THE MAYOR OF SAN FRANCISCO AND A LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION, HOPING TO CONVINCE LOUIS TO MAKE CHANGE FROM WITHIN THE SYSTEM THAT HE KNEW AND LOVED SO WELL.

ULTIMATELY, IT WAS BEA WHO GOT HIM TO RETURN HOME, HOWEVER, WHEN, 8 MONTHS INTO HER PREGNANCY, SHE STARTED TO SLOW WAY DOWN. KNOWING SHE WAS IN OVER HER HEAD AND WOULD NEED LOUIS' DOMESTIC EXPERTISE WHILE SHE TRANSITIONED FROM WAYFARER TO SUBURBAN SINGLE MOTHER, BEA BEGRUDGINGLY AGREED PUT DOWN ROOTS... ONLY IF LOUIS JOINED HER IN HER MOST TERRIFYING ADVENTURE YET. THE PROBLEM WAS THAT NEITHER OF THEM COULD QUITE AFFORD A PLACE TO LIVE AFTER A LIFETIME OF LIVING OFF THE LAND (BEA) AND A YEAR OF UNEMPLOYMENT (LOUIS). SO THEY DID THE ONE THING THEY'D BEEN PURPOSEFULLY PUTTING OFF FOR MONTHS: THEY TOLD THEIR FATHER BEA WAS PREGNANT. THE NEGOTIATIONS WERE TOUGH. IN THE END, THOMAS SNOW WAS DISAPPOINTED THEY WOULD BE RETURNING TO SAN FRANCISCO AND NOT HOME TO NEW YORK, BUT HE WAS HAPPY THE BABY WOULD CARRY ON THE SNOW NAME, AT LEAST.

CURRENTLY, BOTH LOUIS AND BEA ARE STILL SETTLING INTO THEIR NEW APARTMENT AND HELPING EACH OTHER THROUGH THE CHANGES. BEA HELPS HIM COPE WITH STARTING A NEW JOB AND RETURNING TO A PLACE HE CAN'T QUITE REMEMBER RUNNING AWAY FROM, AND LOUIS HELPS HER KEEP BOTH FEET ON THE GROUND AND STAY FOCUSED WHILE HER BELLY GETS BIGGER BY THE DAY. ALTHOUGH HE'S TERRIFIED BY THE IDEA OF A LITTLE PERSON RUNNING AMOK IN HIS HOME, LOUIS IS ALSO STRANGELY EXCITED -- HE'S NOT ENTIRELY SURE WHY, SINCE HE'S NEVER BEEN ALL THAT GOOD AROUND BABIES. FOR NOW, THEY'RE BALANCING EACH OTHER OUT, JUST WAITING FOR THE BABY TO COME AND CHANGE THEIR WORLD ALL OVER AGAIN.

HE STILL THINKS ABOUT GETTING A CAT, SOMETIMES...