Born shortly after the October Revolution that left the Bolsheviks in power, Constantine grew up on the outskirts of Leningrad as Konstantin Valentinovich Filatov (distantly related, perhaps, to the Russian surgeon Vladimir Petrovich Filatov), in the budding United Soviet Socialist Republic. Knowing nothing other than what was given to him, he enjoyed his life as his rural surroundings rapidly evolved into modern apartments, and he further showed himself to be sharp-minded and quick to learn. He was fortunate enough not only to attend school, but to do well in it, and his aptitudes were determined to be primarily in the areas of the physical sciences, biology and chemistry. In a time of uncertainty, it was effectively certain that he would become a medical doctor (whether he wanted to or not).
Circumstance, however, would not see this play out as easily as it may have with war raging to the west in Europe, and worse still when on September 9, 1941, Nazi Germany and Finland laid siege to the city of Leningrad; Konstantin was trapped, and just as quickly as he had learned to use a scalpel, he learned to use a rifle. Basic as it was, his limited medical training did much to keep him as far from the fighting as possible, which still was never far away, serving as a medic to wounded soldiers and civilians, but just as often, he found himself outside carrying a rifle, or picking up someone else's. More often than not, he found himself wishing that he only had a little bit more time to remove shrapnel or stitch shut a gash. And in the summer of 1942, he found over the course of several days that when the wounded were brought to him, the blood seeping from the injuries seemed to flow more slowly or even to stop. Often times, this provided him with a critical edge when providing treatments. But the biggest shock to him would come later the same year, when a shortage of manpower forced a rifle into his hands once again.
During a firefight with Finish soldiers in empty housing on the city outskirts, Konstantin was struck in the shoulder by a bullet, the round blowing clear through him. Fortunately falling out of sight into one of the apartments. Badly bleeding, the flow of blood not only stopped before the man's eyes, but his shoulder began to heal from the exit wound forward (a process that was fortunately made less painful by his current emotional state), as if it were in a motion picture being played backwards. His wonderment over the experience was short-lived, the sound of gunfire bringing him back to reality. Grabbing his rifle again, Konstantin rushed back out to aid his comrades. Although those that saw him fall assumed the worst, they simply accepted that he was lucky and came out from the battle without much serious injury. Konstantin kept the actual events secret, but suspected that there was something out of the ordinary about himself.
Continuing to work with his apparent ability in secret, Konstantin discovered that he did not possess a healing touch, but could seeming affect the age of objects around him, which included turning back time for wounds sustained in battle (provided they were not too old). Operating in increasing solitude, it wasn't long before a political commissar approached him; the state had been watching him in secret and had taken note of his strange ability; before he knew it, Konstantin found himself bound in a small, cold room for interrogation. The session lasted a long time, but it was determined that Konstantin was truthful in saying he did not know how he'd acquired this power, or if there were others. It was decided, also, that the fact of his power ought to be kept secret; along with the knowledge that he was important, Konstantin was inducted into the Main Intelligence Directorate, the GRU. In the winter of 1942, Konstantin was removed from Leningrad across the frozen "Road of Life" across Lake Ladoga, as those who knew of him felt he would be more useful outside the besieged city. Although a proper laboratory could not be furnished, Konstantin was nevertheless given access to the rare few others who had shown signs of being "unique". Most cases, however, were false positives, spurred by folk tales and little else. Having grown quickly disenchanted with hi position, Konstantin asked to be returned to Leningrad, where Operation Iskra had finally opened a route of supply to the city. His new superiors however, were certain that this time they had proof of someone else like him. However, this individual was nearly in Latvia; Konstantin was given orders to go with a small unit of trusted GRU soldiers to capture this individual and bring them back for study. If, again, it was a false lead, he could return to Leningrad.
The travel was difficult, given the limited resources and occupying Germans, but Konstantin and his assigned unit made it to their destination. Unfortunately, they arrived practically at the same time as Kazimir Volken did, accompanied by several SS storm troopers. Seeing such an aged Nazi present on the field, far from a command post, led Konstantin to believe that he must have been after the same target. GRU engaged SS on Konstantin's order; although he was not the commander of the unit, all of them knew that he possessed some special ability and believed that he could somehow protect them from harm. Kazimir wisely spent most of the battle out of sight, glimpsed by Konstantin only briefly when one of his comrades tried to capture what was obviously a high-ranking Nazi officer and was drained of life; although at a high cost, Konstantin had his confirmation.
Both forces left defeated when two storm troopers had cornered the target in a long house; rather than allow the Nazis to win, Konstantin killed the target (and the Nazis attempting to apprehend her) by using his powers to age and rot the long house's structure, collapsing it on top of them (and, in a way, giving Kazimir his confirmation). Two Soviets had fallen in battle, but a safe distance away, Konstantin was able to save the rest using his ability, a knife and a pair of forceps. They returned to their commanders without the target, but with information; the Nazis were aware of "unique" people as well, had at least one in their ranks, and were seeking them out likely for similar purposes. Konstantin agreed to continue his work researching these abilities for the GRU, but only after the Nazis were driven from the motherland. He was immediately returned to Leningrad, not only by providing medical services to those evacuated from the city, but eventually moving back into the city itself. In the following year, 1944, the siege ended and the Germans were pushed out of Russia. The following April, the war was won, and both the Soviets and Americans scoured the German countryside looking for the Nazi's most valuable leftovers; scientists, research and data.
Konstantin finally had everything he could ever want; a full laboratory, a title (must as he was supposed to despise title and classes) and, most importantly, the opportunity to serve his comrades and country. Immediately, he launched into experimentation; those who actually possessed abilities were rare prizes, and so the primary focus of his research was on those who seemed completely ordinary, searching for a way to stimulate the development of abilities. He employed a variety of chemicals in his research, as well as viruses and bacteria, and even psychological stimuli, trying not only to find a chemical cause, but a mental one as well, simulating as close as he could the conditions he experienced during the Siege of Leningrad. Eventually, he was able to incorporate radioactive isotopes into his experiments as well, as hundreds died from his drive to find answers. This search for answers, however, also aided in the development of several chemical, biological and even radiological weapons (even if many of them were never actually used).
As time wore on, Konstantin discovered, to his delight, that he seemed to be aging at an incredibly slow rate, finding himself in much better condition and health than those around him. Seeing again the potential of paranormal abilities, he worked all the harder, but by the late 1950's, was becoming disenchanted with the U.S.S.R.'s communist ideals. While he had no real issue with his research causing numerous fatalities, he was frustrated that it was not used for much more than causing numerous fatalities.
As he was losing faith in communism, Konstantin was learning of and developing an interest in posthuman philosophy and early transhumanism - a collection of ideas and thought that advocated, ultimately, the use of science and technology to "transcend the human condition" and become something better. It was a small adjustment to turn his research from the manifestation of paranormal abilities to the improvement of the human body and mind. He did not give up the use of (often untested and hazardous) chemicals, microorganisms and radioisotopes in his research, and the mortality rate among his subjects did not decline. Tragically, he found nothing wrong with what he was doing, and to the eyes of the GRU's directors, nothing was different. Like a good citizen, Konstantin was doing exactly the job they wanted him to.
In 1969, the Soviet Union lost the space race to the United States, and Konstantin, by this point a noted intellectual possessing dual doctorates in Medicine and Biochemistry, began wondering if he was working for the right government. However, his position within the GRU enabled him to access information on the countries around the world not available to the average citizen. Knowing of the general public sentiment in the United States regarding the Vietnam War and the Cold War in general, he knew that even if he worked for another government, he would be hard-pressed to get his ideas and research accepted. Worse still, mounting difficulties within the Soviet Union was causing serious issues with his funding. Realizing his options were wearing thin, Konstantin covertly stole a large sum of money, packed up his research and some instruments, and destroyed his laboratory before slipping through the Iron Curtain into the West.
Changing his name to Constantine, he covertly forged a new identity and passed himself of as a Soviet ex-patriot. Taking advantage of his background, he set himself up in poor areas that had yet to fully recover from the war, where qualified doctors were in short supply. Easily blending into the ignored underclass and minority population, he was able to establish a rapport with locals for being good with a scalpel, and he was able to make some money while also conducting (more limited) research on his patients, experimenting with less radical treatments he hoped would improve the human condition in addition to medical conditions. Besides developing a strong grasp of both English and German (which many medical journals were now published in), he had also mitigated the sound of his accent, sounding only vaguely foreign rather than obviously foreign.
In 1984, Constantine was faced with a certain challenge; people in the community began to ask questions about him, and he much prefer the answers to those questions remaining secret. Unwilling to risk details about his past coming into the light, Constantine simply gathered his things and left one day, bound this time for the United States, spending a year after arriving in the US in its heartland, which was allegedly "Real America". Other than polishing his English, however, he found that "Real America" had absolutely nothing to offer him. Once again, he manufactured a new identity, dropping his patronymic and revising his history to cut all ties to his past. He also realized, very quickly, that the largest cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City, bred in them all sorts of groups who were regularly injured and wished to avoid hospitals. Almost overnight, Constantine became a capitalist, charging an exceptional amount of money for his services as a street doctor (known colloquially as a "ripper") in exchange for high quality treatment (given his available resources) and an additional perk: no questions asked, ever. This arbitrage enabled him to amass significant funds, which he used to restart his human experimentation. He found also, however, that for a little extra money, some of his new patients were willing to "locate" test subjects for him to work on, which greatly simplified some of the processes. Los Angeles, with its relative close proximity to the Mexican border, proved to be his favorite, and in 1993, Constantine set up shop there for what he was certain would be forever. It was easy to attain cash inflows, chemicals and test subjects, and was ideal for him.
In 2007, when half of New York City was destroyed or atomized, the city finally caught Constantine's attention not because of the event itself, but because of what happened in the aftermath. Specifically, the announcement made by Nathan Petrelli and the Linderman Act, and even then, the apparent transformation of New York City into a kind of Mecca for the Evolved, those with unique abilities. Sensing another opportunity, Constantine vanished from Los Angeles one day and traveled to New York. The result was almost better than he'd expected; with whole areas of the city abandoned, it was a small matter to set up a new clinic, and with several violent anarchist factions present in the city, however small, he had no shortage of clients.
