I did the same thing. Guardian--can't be him, he is the leader. Sas---nope, too cool. Shaman---ditto. Northstar and Aurora---would probably cheese off the French Canadian readers. Puck---nope, he is the comedic element. I guess that leaves Marrina. Oh well.
My first memory of Alpha was seeing issue #1 in the comic book rack at our drugstore. I was s thrilled, I bought 3 issues (1 to read, 1 to save in pristine condition and 1 to mail to my cousin in B.C. who was the same age as me).