Paxton is the second of two "prototypes" made from Alma Wade, Wilson Carver, and several other donor 'parents'. His brother Geoffrey was born just around a year before he was, and though they also share some parents with others in the Origin program, they are often seen as among the biggest success stories.

Physically, Paxton is of slightly taller than average height, has a strong but even build, and doesn't weigh nearly as much as you'd expect by his appearance, because of the Icarus treatments that were done to him at an early age. Though he is younger than Geoff, it was always easy to see that he was the leader of the pair - and the rest of the children - simply by his stunning charisma and more than likely his equally stunning Vortal prowess. Usually clean-shaven though often with a goodly amount of 'rugged manly stubble' (thank you Melissa for that assessment), Paxton's appearance ranges from sharp and impeccably clean, to remarkably bloody and terrifying. He has never shown any aversion to getting his hands dirty in the process of fixing up his world.

From a very early age, Paxton exhibited talent for reaching and controlling other minds, other bodies. Because Armacham already was using massive numbers of cloned soldiers for their highly profitable 'replacement personnel' program (where most countries could bid on troops - dispersed through regular military channels and used often times against each other on the battlefield, all instead of there being 'real people', a major selling point), Paxton was able to tap into the 'weaker' of those cloned bodies very easily. By the time he was six, he'd already mastered 'seeing through' his own rapidly-aged cloned bodies, but more he'd also learned how to listen, touch, and move using them. Paxton's brain actually displays significant changes to its visual cortex - he can be equated to seeing like a bug, with faceted eyes and hundreds of lenses, those lenses being his troops.

But also from an early age, Paxton was unable to prevent his mother Alma from doing almost the same thing. She would reach into his mind, take control over his young body, and cause chaos. This happened fully twice before he was 10 years old, both times claiming the lives of scientists around him. Paxton has always felt tremendous guilt over those events, and hates losing control, himself. His brother helped shelter his mind as much as he could, but even he couldn't really keep track of Paxton full-time. Melissa took up the mantle of his shelter, and has been his Sanctuary ever since. Alma might have been able to see Paxton's mind through Melissa's, but couldn't actually affect him.

As he was designed, Paxton is incredibly intelligent. He feels - still - that this was a feature that his keepers never really bothered to fully exploit, so he did it himself. He soaked up knowledge and read as much as he possibly could: from; history to literature, poetry and classic art, Paxton seemed to relish the 'human' side of history quite a bit. Not so much for the sciences, after all he had been designed as a weapon, like his brother - and they weren't expected to be tested on advanced calculus or evolutionary theory. More, they were meant to play off each other, perhaps even against one another: they were tested both as a team and as opponents. Armacham's skill downloads successfully implanted into both their brains all the tactics, weapon handling, and stealth skills that they still use today. After each implant, they were re-tested and often had to be healed artificially as well as having their memories of those fights removed. As antagonists, they work flawlessly as a team. As opponents, it has usually been shown that Paxton will defer to his brother: one good hit from the older man will certainly kill Pax.

Paxton's tactics on his own, being tested for using his cloned forces, usually amounted to 'throwing more flesh at the problem until it goes away'. This proved to be a very bad habit for him after the Events. Since they didn't re-discover the Medusa facility, where Paxton's cloned troops were stored, for a good number of years he had whittled down the "spares" that had been on-site at the Enrichment Center (there was to be a bigger, outdoors exhibition for a number of rich Middle Eastern patrons and possible buyers, which never happened) until he was told to take better care of his 'toys'. Since that time, he's much better about trying to actually keep his variety of bodies alive and healthy, using each of them to their specifically trained skills and trading them out for others as needed.

Like Lane, Paxton can move between bodies if need be - something that Paxton mastered quite early in his life, but his ancestor hadn't until much more recently. But in general, Pax takes on one body and uses it exclusively as his 'base', while extending his senses and acting through others in a more minor way. Though he probably could have done at any time in his life, Paxton has never used them as 'personally' as he does his original or his chosen body - the idea of having multiples of himself being intimate with Melissa simply repulses him. His perception flickers among all of his Replicas at a remarkable speed, acting almost as a 'brain and nervous system' in and of itself. Because the Replicas are built to have stunted brains that house only the most rudamentary information - their physical skills, communication abilities, and the like - sometimes Paxton has to remember to "make them eat". They can function on their own indefinitely if they have a specific task given, and no further instruction: he has numerous 'sentinels' watching certain areas in their home dimension, triggered to respond only to certain stimulus. But they cannot think for themselves in any way. So if you're talking to a Replica and it says its favorite color is "red, the color of blood", you're talking to Paxton.

Even though Paxton will (and probably should) respond to his Vortigese title, Xkah'shuu-vahh is only one of his actual names in that language. 'Shuu' implies 'relation without family'. His newer title, that he himself took as a statement at one point in the reasonably recent past, is Xkah'thoi-vahh, and feels that the man running around calling himself Son of the Mystery should probably keep his mouth shut, because that is what it means. Paxton's acceptance of the Vahh 'name' was a milestone for him as a person as well as the Pantheon as a group: it put Nach'lih Kallah-vahh into a position of power, the patriarch of a very large, and very odd, extended family. Paxton's own children have a strong relationship to him, though he feels particularly guilty about having 'abandoned' Dar'lih at such a young age. She has no issue, but does occasionally pull the guilt card - successfully - on him about it if she wants something from him.

Paxton's relationship with his brother has changed significantly since they were children. Though they had been almost inseparable as children, and competitive but supportive as young adults, there came a time when they had to go their separate ways. Truth be told, if Geoff could have gone in his brother's stead, looking for their mother in the unknown parts of the multiverse, he would have. But the older brother always lacked the distinctive externally functional Vortal powers that Paxton has in spades. And if only he could have been the 'bait' for Alma: when Paxton did return, and the events which led to the downfall of Ulathoi were said and done, he returned much less than 'whole and sound'. Alma had spared no expense to damage her precious son, mad as she was. And though he tried to re-adjust to life rebuilding and mending with his family, Paxton never really did either. Darly was barely the same age as he had been when the Events shook their world, when Geoff had to put a bullet in his brother's head to free him of the immense pain he was in.

Dar'lih was not present for that event, only Geoff, Wilson, Melissa and the Mystery are still privy to the memories of it. Others had been around, witnessed it, but had their memories very carefully erased by Lane before any of it got out to the Pantheon. As far as they knew, Paxton was recovering slowly, and needed to be alone. The rest of the Pantheon and in fact anyone else who was there had more to do than ever - cleaning up behind the mess that Ulathoi left them, and thus they didn't really concern themselves about his whereabouts until he actually came back nearly 12 years later. What he did in that time, only he and Lane know. But the fact is that he did return, and he is unchallenged in his leadership of the Pantheon. Though a bit colder toward his brother, they still at least put on a good act of being something-like-friends. Melissa, by the way, was a complete and total wreck for several years...

For the next few decades, Paxton dedicated himself to destroying the last bits of Ulathoi's presense on Earth as well as other places. With Lane to help him get there, they did manage a few worlds and in the process both learned quite a lot about each other - and themselves. When the Convocation - Lane's people - came to effectively put him on trial, Paxton hadn't been there physically. But he had been among them, and it is entirely possible that his presence in the Vortal realm added to his defense. Paxton chose to return to the realm of the living, very likely, because being among those people pissed him off almost as much as it had his ancestor. Their fear of Alma's power resurfacing in him also likely played some role.

Pax's relationship with Melissa has always been remarkably close, though it too has had to change over the years. From their earliest moments together - Pax is only about three months older than Melissa - they shared an intimate mental bond. That bond grew into a solid friendship and when Paxton needed protection, Melissa allowed him to Vortally 'burrow in' to her mind. Since her regeneration gives her a speedy and infinitely renewable Vortal shield, Alma could shred away at her psychic walls to no avail, Paxton was safe. That's not to say that Melissa didn't feel the woman attempting to break through her mind, but Melissa always considered it nothing more than a callous in her Vortessence. Mel had usually thought that Paxton merely 'rested', pehaps 'slept' while he was tucked away in that portion of her brainspace that she'd allotted him. She was quite wrong - over the years, Paxton learned how to utilize her own brain as well as her Vortal energy to his advantage. Just like mastering anything else he tried to do, Paxton created for himself not just a safe-walled 'temple' appreciable for its beauty and elegance, but the Sanctuary that he stored almost all his 'spare' knowledge. The presence of a fully-formed park with an underground massive library, a running stream, and living trees within Melissa's Vortal space was a bit shocking to everyone, including Mel.

She had no way of even really entering it until Paxton allowed the Mystery, Wilson and her into it via his "doorway". The moment that they'd done so is one that all four of them have a clear, remarkably pleasant memory of. Far from being the fierce and demanding ruler of his subjects that some Pantheon often considered him, in that Sanctuary Paxton was a librarian - every piece of knowledge he'd ever picked up, stored in Melissa's ever-refreshing brain. With the history, art and literature at his fingertips, it became clear how he'd been able to so easily quote philosophers or poets! Given that a small portion of himself resided even while he was 'dead' within it, the gift that Paxton created in that Sanctuary is one that has continued to be given out to every generation since. While real-world libraries were burned to the ground, and actual tangible copies of books destroyed, the Sanctuary's materials will last as long as Melissa does. As things settled and the world began to be rebuilt, this library became the focus of the education process for the children - and adults - of their shattered Earth.

These days, after assisting with rebuilding and making sure that the remaining Humans on Earth don't fight among themselves - effectively putting himself out of a job - Paxton is more than happy to come to Primal Earth and pit his skills against opponents that are surprisingly talented. He might not look happy, but if he was actually angry at the world, it wouldn't even be there. It would be ash, blood, and rubble.