Some people are just born evil, and by any measure Leon Williams is one of them. He spent his youth torturing animals and smaller children. Nothing fatal, but he was often sent to child psychologists or juvenile hall. The other kids at school learned to avoid him with the same instinct that rabbits learn to avoid wolves.
He eventually graduated high school and managed to make it to a small Division III college due to his respectable skills as a defensive lineman, where his ferocity made up for his lack of bulk. However he soon discovered to his dismay that he wasn't the biggest or the strongest fish in his new pond, not by a long shot. He was however still the most twisted and cruel, and he soon earned a reputation as a dangerous guy to cross. He joined a fraternity, where he quickly earned his place due to his willingness to do anything. He had a few run ins with the law but nothing that couldn't be explained away as college pranks and hazing rituals. Five and a half years later he finally got around to finishing off his course work and got a degree in biochemical sciences.
Taking his new sheepskin out into the workforce, Leon managed to get a job for Biozene Industrial Chemicals, working on the production line as a quality assurance scientist, an entry level position about as low as they come for his line of work. But since he never bothered to do any internships or participate in undergraduate projects while in college, it was about the best he could expect.Leon of course hated his job, and his irritation and frustration festered, burning within with an almost physical effect, bubbling and surging like bile.
Finally, after two years on the job and with little prospect for moving upwards thanks to his unpleasant personality and bad attitude, Leon decided it was time to move on and seek other job opportunities, but first his perverse nature demanded that he lash out at the company that had failed to see his natural right to rise. With the deliberate patience that makes sociopaths so dangerous Leon slowly orchestrated a bold plan of sabotage that would cause a slow failure of systems leading to a chain reaction on the production line, which he projected would occur a few weeks after his departure. However his reach exceeded his grasp; he was never as good or as knowledgeable at his trade as he thought, and a critical error in his calculations ensured that the "accident" he had so carefully arranged occurred quite a bit ahead of schedule and as luck would have it on his shift.
The series of failures of systems and redundancies that Leon had so carefully engineered resulted in a biochemical catastrophe the likes of which the company had never seen; within five minutes the production line was a toxic death zone, and twenty three people were dead or well on their way to an unpleasant expiration. Leon however, understanding what was going on as the chain reaction occurred but unable to escape in time, jumped under a chemical shower and it protected him from the worst effects of the disaster.
He did not escape completely unscathed however, and after the accident he laid in a tox-screened ICU unit for weeks as his burned and damaged body attempted to heal itself. Meanwhile an investigation of the accident was revealing that such a massive failure of so many redundant systems could only be an act of sabotage, and the list of people that could have perpetrated such a tragedy was short. Leon's name was quickly rising to the top of it as the others were cleared.
Things would not have gone well for Leon either way at that point, either a terrible and painful death or prosecution for twenty three deaths awaited him. After three weeks Leon went into what the doctors assumed would be his final convulsions, wracked with pain and with organs slowly failing due to toxic shock. Leon finally flat-lined and was pronounced dead. His still smoking, burned body was carefully bagged by hazmat suited orderlies using metal grips, and the gruesome corpse was carted off to eventually be dissected and studied by Biozene doctors and biologists.
Left in a cold storage room to await the autopsy, Leon unexpectedly revived, born again and forever changed; his biochemistry was altered and in addition to various physical improvements Leon could now secrete highly caustic chemicals from every inch of his body, capable of eating through even the toughest of materials. A useful ability, which Leon immediately and instinctively used to burn away the hazmat bags that he was trapped in before he could suffocate and die again.
Not really understanding what had happened to him but in full command of his faculties Leon quickly let himself out of the cold storage locker, clothed himself in a hazmat suit he found in the next room, and proceeded to work his way to a janitorial closet on the 1st floor against an outside wall where he simply dissolved himself a new door to the outside and freedom. Making good his escape, he stole a fast car from the parking lot that belonged to one of the lead scientists that had repeatedly denied Leon's attempts to get off the production line and into a research lab, and took off for greener pastures.
From such humble beginnings Leon soon established himself as a hired killer and saboteur under the name of Reactor. He soloed for awhile but eventually got hooked up with a group known as the League of Assassins who recruited Leon after he pulled off a particularly daring contract killing in Ontario where he bored his way into a highly secured building and killed everyone inside including a wealthy and politically dangerous businessman. Leon worked with the League for several years and was active on the international scene, until the League was effectively dissolved by the interloping of UNITY. Leon escaped back to the US and was quickly approached by Enforcers Inc. After working several successful contracts for the then fledgling company he was extended and accepted Exclusive status with the firm. |
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