Weapon X program and was used by the Weapon X program to keep imprisoned mutants under control. When the program was about to be discovered, those responsible attempted to erase all information surrounding it by killing the prisoners. Leech survives and is one of the estimated 198 mutants who retained their powers after M-Day and moves to an encampment in the Xavier Institute. When an exploding supervillain causes the general public to turn on superheroes, Domino, Shatterstar, and Caliban break out the 198 and take them to a bunker in the middle of the desert. They are sealed inside with nuclear weapons that are activated for self-detonation, but they are eventually freed from the bunker. Leech accompanies Caliban down to the old Morlock tunnels where they are attacked by an extremist group of Morlocks led by Masque, who after knocking out Caliban, kidnaps Leech because he needs Leech's powers. He is then rescued by the X-Men and Skids. Leech and Artie Maddicks were invited to Franklin Richards's birthday, and as a gift, Franklin invited them to live with the Fantastic Four. The two are now in a special class with intelligent moloids, Alex Power (Zero-G) of the Power Pack and other gifted kids. It is later revealed that Leech's cancelling powers were the reason that Reed Richards wanted him to be with Franklin. Leech later joins Reed's new Future Foundation superhero team. Powers and abilities Leech can dampen or completely suppress, neutralize, and negate for an undetermined amount of time the powers and abilities of any superpowered beings within 50 feet of him. His dampening ability in the beginning was involuntary and uncontrollable, but now his ability appears to be under his conscious control. Leech explained to Johnny Dee he could consciously bring his dampening field in close, so that persons are not dampened unless they touch him. Leech has also been shown to dampen abilities that are non-mutant in origin at times, like the Fantastic Four, Hazmat of the Avengers Academy, and during Marvel's Mutant Massacre crossover event, Leech negated the powers of the superhero team Power Pack, whose abilities were bestowed on them by an extraterrestrial. In X-Men: the Animated Series, Leech was shown to possess telekinesis when he stole fruits from a fruit stand and moved humans that were in his way when trying to escape. When his ability has been targeted at mutants with super strength,