Therianthropy

Description
Therianthropy is the common name used for humans who are either part-man, part-animal or who have the ability to shape-shift between an animal and human form. A therianthropes transformation is usually triggered by accident and the human has trouble keeping the animals instincts under control. This should not be confused with the Flash Form power that is more an illusion than a physical form. A therianthrope is a physical form that has to obey all laws of gravity and physics. While in their Therianthrope form a human cannot use any of their other powers ie. telekinesis or electric manipulation. The only exception to this rule is telepathy. A telepathic human can retain their telepathic abilities (except the ability to control another being) while in their Therianthropy form. Therianthropy is most likely an extra-terrestrial genetic experiment, unknowingly conducted on humans. The form a Therianthrope takes is generally the form of an animal it most resembles (physically or spiritually). There are Therianthropes which can't completely change into one form or the other, giving them a man-beast appearance. This can occur due to a mutation in the "experiment" or mass overuse of the Therianthrope form which cause the user to retain some of their Therianthrope features. This term is referred to as Semi-Therianthropy. Therianthrope forms can come in almost any animal with a certain degree of intelligence (ie. it is very rare to have an insect form). The most common forms tend to be wolves, bears, falcons/hawks, tigers, leopards and (in some cases) dolphins.

Level 1
At this stage the power holder will find it hard to control the animals instincts and might find it hard to change back into human form at this stage it is most likely to become a Semi-Therianthrope.

Level 2
At this stage a human retains a sentient and conscious mind while in Therianthrope form and finds it easy to change back into human form.

Level X
At this point a power holder will have gained complete control over their Therianthrope form and can freely switch from one form to the other.

E-Level
The power holder is more likely (but not guaranteed) to have one or more abnormalities.

Abnormalities
These are variants of Therianthropy which cannot completely control their form for one reason or another

Uncontrollable Instincts
This is a term given to Therianthropes who feel their animals instincts when they are in human form. This can be hard for the human to control and the instincts grow stronger over time. This usually results in a mutation that leads to Semi-Therianthropes. This term is also branded on power holders who cannot retain a sentient mind while in Therianthrope form. This makes it very hard for the human to change back.

Spontaneous Transformations
This term is given to humans who cannot actively control their transformations even though some of these transformations have a trigger. A prime example of this is a were-wolf who only turns into a wolf when the light of the full moon shines on his face. These power holders often resume their human form once the Therianthrope form is out of energy or sleeps.

Semi-Therianthrope
This is the term given to a power holder who has assumed a part-human, part-beast form and cannot fully change into either form. They retain physical and mental features from both forms, but generally retain a sentient mind. Semi-Therianthropes are generally stronger and/or faster than normal humans, but their appearance means that they cannot intergrate into normal society.

NOTE: Unlike a Therianthrope, a Semi-Therianthrope can use any other powers that their human form might have had.

Explanation
Therianthropy or Semi-Therianthropy is generally the result of a genetic experiment (extra-terrestrial or otherwise). But how the actual power works is a mystery.